All Falls Away [Igen, Rangiku]

What the everliving fuck?

Waking in the Sawachika family estate, he didn't know what to expect. He figured he'd get up, and then get to work with officer work. Now that all of the upper seated members had been healed, he could focus on his work as Third Seat. He gave a fond farewell to the Sawachika he ran into on the way out. Some of them had a weird look on their face, but he was in a rush so he'd have to check on them later. But on his way out, a messenger showed up and handed him something. A message to all members of the gotei, it was important enough for it to be directly conveyed to the officers?

Fearing the worst, Igen wound up reading the message quickly, but it took several rerreads to fully grasp what was there. And in that moment, he promptly took his leave of the estate, heading back to his office. Wondering if this was a joke.

At first he didn't know what was going on. There were... people milling about. Some getting things together. But ... So many of them were just ... leaving. It wasn't just him. Several copies of the message were in peoples hands, others dropped on the ground. Some had formed groups and were talking excitedly and anxiously, others just sortof ... sat around. A few more continued to stride with purpose. Possibly just... continuing to do what they had been doing, because they decided to process things after they'd finished with their tasks.

He blinked a few times and looked down at the scroll in his hands, furrowing his brows as he ... focused. The feeling of loss clung to him. But it was...frankly familiar to him since the other day. And after several seconds.. he turned and headed out to the Rukongai at a brisk pace. No doubt many would notice the flash and bob of that pink braid as Igen headed off. Intent on where he was going.

The news had hit rangiku pretty hard. With the collapse of the gotei united she was somewhat lost. She wasn't sure if there was anything that she could really do anymore? She wasn't some grand standing leader. Sure she could keep a groups moral high, but she wasn't some grand strategist or something. Being a vice captain had taught her how to be a second in command. Not the person running the show. She found herself standing in the rukongai.

Wearing the same thing she always did, she pulled the vice captain badge from her shoulder as she held it in her hands. Sighing as felt her heart somewhat break. Had the gotei really been this fragile? She wasn't sure if she could have done something differently that could have prevented this? Maybe? Whatever, she needed to drink on this. A thought had went out to Noharu, but she was with Rukia. Shed be fine. Rukia wouldn't just abandoned the wounded like that. She was walking towards momo's house to get some insight into what she could do now.

It was hard to keep himself focused with how many .... people he was walking past. Shinigami. Ex shinigami now he supposed. What even was going to happen with the balance? He gripped his hand tightly and shut his eyes, his jaw clenched. No, the balance would not be left in the dust. He took a slow, steady breath and continued to stride. He just ... needed some time. Kyo was right. He still had barely got any rest. He was going to take some time.. and then he was going to find whoever he could to get things... handled.

It was then that he spotted someone familiar in the crowd. He blinked a few times and promptly broke into a run. "Lie-....Matusmoto!" He shouted after the woman as he promptly caught up with the woman, waiting for her to turn around before he slowed to a stop and gave a sheepish smile.


"You uh... got plans for the evening?" He asked with a chuckle, nodding to a nearby tavern. He didn't even know what to say, but .. he had to talk to someone about all this. And she was as good a place to start as any. He could use a familiar face right now.

Hearing this, she was glad that she heard someone she knew. This could be a fun distraction from all of the bull shit going on right now. A part of her didn't want to even engage with this situation. It wasn't the best, and she had been very stressed. She was a person after all. Despite her composure during hard situations didn't mean that she was going to just be able to handle this news. She knew that the nobles would probably figure something out, but she's not sure if she wanted to be in the next set of the gotei. Maybe she could just teach a bunch of rukongai kids? Turning around she didn't even speak before pulling him into a hug into her chest as she let out a relieved sigh.

"Glad to see a familiar face, Igen. I'm glad you're doing okay with this situation."

She spoke as she kept him in her chest. Trying to make sure that she didn't suffocate the poor shinigami. She wasn't sure what was going to happen next, but she needed to keep her friends.

MMph?!

Igen stumbled a bit as he was promptly reeled into the woman's arms, thankfully Rangiku was one of few women he didn't have to bend down too much f- oh welp, never mine, he was pulled right into her chest. He sighed a bit and chuckled, relaxing a bit and gently hugging her back, ignoring the burning of his face. " I dunno about okay but yea. I ... I know this is all confusing. But I'm glad to see you." He sighed, closing his eyes and squeezing her for a moment before pausing, his mind... raced. Kyo was still at the hospital. He'd have to check on him.... no.. once he was rested. His head was still a fogged out blur. He had something in mind but... was that even a proper thought?

Was he perhaps just.... in shock?

He wouldn't know. And he didn't want to ... rush into any rash decisions. He needed to ... rest. He needed to relax. He needed to clear his head and come at this without any impediments, nor the fucking... work binge he'd just been off. Ugh he was still so wiped out from that. He gently reached up to touch Rangiku's shoulder so that he could stand back up properly and look her in the eyes.

"I...I got a lot going on in my head. The gotei can't.... I mean. Our... WORK. Even if the Gotei is gone. The shinigami can't just dissolve. The balance.... ugh... ahahaha./ So much stuff still needs to be handled. The nobles are probably going to step in... But...I don't know. I got a lot of ... THINGS. But I need to think this through." He noted softly, before smiling and nodding to the tavern."So. I'm going to get... absolutely plastered. I'm going to sleep for ... most of the morning tomorrow. And then, I'm going to figure this out." He noted with a nod of his head.

Drinking? Now that is her strong suit! She had never been into such an idea. Especially not when she was supposed to be dealing with all of these problems. She agreed that she needed to keep going as a soul reaper, but right now. She needed something. She needed an outlet that could allow her to relax. She let out a laugh as she nodded in agreement.

"Let's get shitfaced! Igen where we're you gonna go? I guess we could use my office. Not like it's going to have any use right now anyway."

Igen blinked for a moment and chuckled before shaking his head. "No I ... if I go back right now, I'm ... I'm going to get sucked into work. And YOU." He promptly poked her in the collarbone. "Are still not supposed to be on full duty. You may not be on medical restriction, but I ALSO know you were working your ass off with broken ribs and barely slept. So we're BOTH going to get some rest." He stated firmly, closing his eyes and focusing. "I already got chewed out by a friend of mine... and I have a feeling we're maybe going to need him." He sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"So no. I ... my old place is actually pretty close to here. We'll go to my place, its nothing fancy, but its comfy. And I do have some booze stored up." He chuckled with a grin. This was no time to be laughing, but in this moment, he felt a bit ...swept up in Rangiku's sudden energy. This shit was fucked, but they needed to keep focused.

He promptly started to head towards his place. He couldn't go spending money on booze, they might need it... they would need... fuck theyd need so much stuff. and how would they support the people who stuck with them? thoughts for later. It didn't take long, it was a comfy little shack on the edge of the village. A nice open stretch of grass, and then a forest. Though it was so unkempt it was practically like a jungle. Giving a smile over his shoulder he opened his arms wide.

"Casa del Igen. Uh... its been a few days since I've been here. So uh... it's a little untidy." He explained as he led her inside. The place certainly was cosy. A bit more open and breezy. It definitely had that 'outter rukongai denizen' minimalism to it. All the same, he'd make his way over to a container near the kitchen and start to rummage through it. After a few seconds, he stood back up and sighed, offering a smile as her set three bottles and a small gourd on the counter. "got a preference? Sake? Rum? Mead? Oh... actually... I think I refilled these ... yea okay this is mostly Mead. So uh... Mead or rum?"

Rangiku understood what he meant. Shed get sucked into helping like she wanted to do already. She felt a bit guilty as she did really just take it at face value didn't she? Whatever, she had to take care of herself to. She had many conversations in her past about making sure that she's taken care of. She couldn't give her best if she doesn't give herself the best. Moving into the small place behind him she looked around. It was pretty nice for the area.

"It's no problem at all. It fits ya pretty well, Igen."

She spoke as she untied her sash. Lying it on a small shelf close to the door. Stretching her back she took a seat down at a small table. She wasn't going to be rude and rummage around his place. Taking in the house her childhood flashed back into her mind. Looking around she thought about her and......Gin made it through the struggle of living here.

"Reminds me of when I was just a little one."

He sighed and nodded his head. "I mean yea. I actually uh, spent a lot of my life in the outter rukongai. Technically my adopted family was closer in, but I went out there to hang out, picked up a lot of uh.. decor tips I guess. I thought it was cool. Still is." He grinned proudly as he poured some mead for the both of them, taking a sip of the thick sweet stuff and sighing. closing his eyes before looking back to the woman as it seemed she was going over her own situation.

"Were you from the rukongai? I mean, I guess you never really had much of a .. noble vibe. But still, I didn't think you'd have been from out here." He chuckled as he handed her her glass and then made his way over to the couch and settled down, it was a nice little L shaped thing. A design he'd emulated from his home in the closer districts where they had stuff from the world of the living. It certainly had seen a lot of use. He took a longer gulp this time before sighing and closing his eyes, letting the buzz settle in before he turned to look at his Lieutenant. Resisting the urge to think about work. Stop it, you need to rest. "And I thought my girl problems were gonna be my biggest thing to ignore today..." He chuckled, sighing before taking another sip.

"So what made you decide to become a shinigami? Not something a lot of people this far out think to do."

She smiled gently as she took the drink from him. It had been pretty common for just about any shinigami who stayed in the world of the living for any extended amount of time to being things back to the soul society. Despite the advanced R&D it was still rather behind on things like internet. So seeing all of the gimmicks while you're stationed there make them harder to give up now days. When she was stationed in Karakura way back during the winter war she remembered some of the cool things. For example the school uniform made it easy for her to convince some to do things or let her do things she may not have been able to with a standard kimono.

"Well, it's a long story. Me and an old friend lived together out here. It's not a great place to grow up for kids. Especially kids with spiritual pressure who have to worry about eating."

She reminisced on her time in the rukongai, but truthfully it wasn't the best time. Kids in the districts weren't treated particularly well. She was also much smaller and weaker than she is now. So many issues, but Gin on the other hand was incredibly gifted, but she didn't want to think about thst right now. He was gone.

"Long story short. I had a friend who was rather gjfted and it definitely beats trying to survive solo out here as a kid."