Caged by Fangs [Lerna, Komamura]

There certainly was a lot of people panicking. No, maybe fussing was a better word. Lerna herself just watched it all with a sort of ... passive fascination, feeling the sting in her chest as she looked down at the announcement in her hands. She had somewhat expected Murasaki to suddenly appear and things would work out.

She had no imagined that the one she had devoted herself to so completely would become just a memory. It was a biting sensation, and she could not help but feel.... a tremor in her at the thought. And an itch that she had been trying to ignore ever since that arrancar had stabbed her.

But thankfully, something caught her eye to distract herself from such thoughts. And for a moment, she almost didn't realize what she was seeing, but she DID recognize the his scent, and a calm smile formed as she approached the man, however briefly.

"Lord Komamura." She called out to the man, wondering if he even remembered her.

SAJIN KOMAMURA

Sajin's mind was consumed by the series of events since yesterday. Within the last thirty hours he had nearly been killed by a man once hailed as Soul Society's hero, had been a healed by a woman he barely remembered from a century ago, and now...the Gotei was gone. Whether it was Genryusai-dono's or Murasaki's Gotei, it did not matter, all that mattered was that it was gone. Dead. How could this happen?

Meeting back up with Lyza enlightened him to a few things, but he was loathe to go off what she said alone. He had to hear the story from Erika Masamune's mouth directly. Anything else was mere rumor or hearsay, both of which had spread like wildfire through the Rukongai and Seireitei alike. It was en route to the Koizumi estate that he suddenly heard his name called, and before he even turned to face the woman who the voice belonged to Sajin recognized her heart and Spiritual Pressure.

"Lerna." The woman he had met a while ago in the Rukongai, a member of the Gotei. Or at least, an ex-member now. Sajin hated thinking like that...but it was the truth. "I am no lord, you may call me Sajin. I must apologize for not telling you the truth last we met. I needed to keep my identity a secret...but now, after yesterday, it no longer matters."

HEART OF THE SOUL KING | END POST

She blinked in surprise, he actually remembered her name? Well that certainly was a bit of a surprise. Then again, she supposed she had been in a bit of a mood whent hey last met. She really could talk when she was trying to relax and pry at something that made her curious. "Sajin? I'm honored. And probably undeserving." She noted with a pause as she let her gaze drop down. There was a weight in her chest, and more than that, she felt ... a tinge of fear. Soemthing she hadn't felt near the man, but it wasn't the logical sort, there was a sort of ... air around him that was bothering her. But it was easy to ignore. It was ... comforting, to see him.

"I'm....well...I .... Was.." She paused and then turned to look around her. Technically speaking, she was supposed to be on observation after what had happened during the invasion. Shishiyuki of course had insisted no such thing was necessary. But a shred of uncertainty still was in her heart, and she felt a shudder run up her spine. "under watch... But I wonder if the people assigned to keep an eye on me are even around." Her voice trailed as she turned to face the man once again, offering a rueful smile.

"I noticed your fight. You put a lot on the line for us, I heard you faced Kurosaki directly. I envy you." She noted, her voice soft and wistful, the shame of memory staining her thoughts. "I don't suppose you have a spare bucket?" She ventured, attempting to put a lighter spin on the situation with a joke.

SAJIN KOMAMURA

"There is no need to feel honored, I am nothing more than another Rukongai citizen." said Sajin with no amount of faux humility. Even as a Captain, besides fundamental respect given to his rank, Sajin was no fan of being spoken to as if he was something special. He always knew everything he had he owed to Genryusai-dono, had they never met he would have nothing. So why speak to him as if he was special or unique?

Sajin knew he had felt something strange, off, with Lerna the day prior as he sensed all the different people on both sides fighting. He had no idea what happened outside of his own battle with Ichigo, and it wasn't until Lyza appeared and he spoke to other Shinigami through the night that more of the invasion became clear to him. What was clear now was Lerna appeared to be struggling with something, and the revelation she had been under watch by the Gotei worried him.

"I failed, Lerna. You have no reason to envy me. I came back to defend Soul Society, and now it lies in ruins around us. Once again I have proven unworthy of the trust placed in me by Genryusai-dono and everybody I served with." Perhaps Sajin was being too hard on himself, but he would rather be hard on himself and honest about the situation than pretend the circumstances were better than they were.

A smile flashed across Komamura's face at Lerna's joke, vanishing swiftly as he responded with his usual seriousness "Never give in to the urge to hide yourself, Lerna. Now more than ever we must step out of the shadows and look forward, to face the present and future unencumbered."

HEART OF THE SOUL KING | END POST

Lerna smiled softly at that and canted her head a bit to the side. "Who said you were anything else? I'm honored that a man as good as you would have me call him by his first name is all." She stated simply, folding her arms across her chest. She wasn't saying he was anything extraordinary. He was simply put, a man she was honored to be so familiar with. That even now, after.... who knew how many years, he was welcomed in the gotei, and held in such incredible respect. It wasn't because he was a Captain. It was because of the person that he was.

If only... she could have clung to that warm feeling. Her shoulders hunched ever so slightly and she felt that itch again. Discomfort that she pushed aside, but continued annoying the edges of her mind. Feelings of disgust that weren't her own. "Sajin. At the very least... you protected people." She noted quietly, furrowing her brows for a moment and then looking around. Before stepping a bit closer as her voice lowered. Though frankly, with the differences in size, it was almost like he was a tent or a shield.

"Sajin. I'm.... it's complicated. " She stated very quietly. Her eyes closed as she tightened her jaw. She ... sighed and slowly took a deep breath, forcing down the stress. Especially when she felt that.... URGE boil up along with it. A slow, steady number of breaths, and when she looked back up to him, he'd see the fading traces of blackness in her sclera as she got herself under control.

"I'm sorry. You have enough on your shoulders as it is without me going into it. I .. just wanted to say hello. Uhm... are you heading to the Koizumi estate?"" She asked, changing the subject, as she had almost felt words trying to force themselves out. She didn't know why, but she ... wanted dearly to tell him what had happened. I mean... who... else was she going to tell? Shishiyuki was beyond busy now. A...Asami was... gone. But she fought the urge and kept her focus, looking to the man to see if he'd accept the change in topic.

And well, at that smile he gave, she couldn't hep but smile back just a little. She felt like she deserved to be hidden. "Yea. Cant' really afford to just crumple in on ourselves. Especially not now that ... well....everyone seems to be." She murmured, looking to the numerous individuals in the distance. A few still going about duties, but ... so many of them were just still leaving.

SAJIN KOMAMURA

Instead of arguing, Sajin accepted the compliment of sorts. It was reassuring to know at least one person out there felt grateful for his presence, willing to overlook his absence and instead focus on the here and now. After all, it was how he knew he needed to treat matters too.

I could not protect anyone. thought Sajin in silence, unwilling to say such a thing out loud when Lerna was already clearly struggling with something of her own. He looked down at her with sympathy in his eyes, though not as an adult might at a child with a scraped knee. His sympathy was earnest and true, though he did not know the specifics of her situation he knew what it was like to have skeletons and specters of his own.

"I may have failed, but I am not so frail so as to be unable to lend an ear or shoulder to those who need it, Lerna." Though, he would not press the issue. Sajin looked in the direction he had been walking in and answered her question "Yes. I need to hear from Erika Masamune herself why she did what she did. To learn why the Gotei lies in ruin." He would harken back to a lesson he hammered into the Seventh Division while he was still Captain, which had been hammered into him by Genryusai-dono years before "However we deal with tragedy, we cannot retreat from it. Those able must still stand shoulder to shoulder to guard those unable. That is the duty of the Shinigami, with or without the Gotei."

HEART OF THE SOUL KING | END POST

Looking up and seeing his expression, she supposed she aught to feel...comforted? I all honesty, she didn't know what she felt. But the itch felt lighter. At least for a moment as he seemed to regard her. But what truly startled her was that he almost seemed to be inviting her to speak up about what was bothering her. An owlish blink as she pulled her head back very slightly. She hesitated, naturally. Even with his invitation, no, she couldn't ... shouldn't. Go putting what happened onto him. .. right?

"I don't know if I'm too surprised. I mean, wasn't the whole reason Commander Abalia was able to cut off the nobles was because of money from earth? No more earth travel, no money. But uh, I'm not gonna pretend I know exactly what's going on there." She murmured, very much unaware of the whole Commander fiasco.

However, at the mention of Soul Society being in ruin, she perked a brow and paused. Reaching out, she made a fist and gently tapped his own enormous forearm with it, a playful tap as she shook her head. " The Arrancar left us in Ruin. Not Masamune. And just because the Gotei is gone, doesn't mean the people that made it are." She noted, closing her eyes before sighing softly.

"I was... injected with something. During the invasion. By one of the arrancar. And I ... hurt my squadmates." She left it at that. She looked at her palm, and a soft coil of reiryoku coursed over her fingers. A brief flicker of scales before they melted back into her skin, her sclera darkening for a moment as she took a steady breath. "But I'm still here. You're still here. Failure is not death. It wasn't for us at least. We're the ones lucky enough to still be alive, and wasting that would be the real defeat." She murmured, looking up at the man.

"I can feel whatever they did to me in the back of my head. But it's .. not so bad that I can't keep it under control, so long as I pace myself. I'll... get this .. whatever it is. Under wraps. I need to go. Round up some people out in the rukongai, let them know about the announcement." She sighed, turning and looking out in the direction of the rukongai itself, taking a few steps and shading her eyes as sh let her other hand rest on her hip. "After that, I'm going to stay out there. And .... get rest... and make sure I'm under control. She looked over her shoulder at him. Silent for a few seconds before finally adding.

" But ... later sir. If that offer's still on the table....I wouldn't mind that shoulder you offered."

SAJIN KOMAMURA

Having spent the last century living in an outer Rukongai District, reliant on rumors and hearsay to get a picture of the state of affairs across Soul Society, Sajin remained ignorant on some subjects. He knew Abalia had reduced the influence of the Nobles drastically, but did not have context about the why or even much of the how. The Gotei being funded by other sources made plenty of sense to him, but what escaped his understanding was why it needed so much funding in the first place. Even longtime Shinigami were not rich, at least not remotely on the level of the Seireitei's nobility, and the Gotei managed its own farms. Surely, in his view, there were other avenues for attaining funding beyond becoming entirely reliant on the Central 46 once more.

"The Arrancar did not destroy the Gotei. They attacked it. Whether you call it the Gotei Thirteen or United, the Gotei has always survived attacks...survived war. I fought Demons for nearly a decade in the living realm, witnessed countless Shinigami under my command perish in battle. Yet after Genryusai-dono perished, after I nearly suffered a similar fate, the Gotei Thirteen lived on. It was not the Arrancar who dismantled the Gotei, it was Erika Masamune. I intend to learn why, and will be going to the Koizumi Estate to hear it from her directly."

As for the rest of what Lerna said, Sajin remained silent throughout. He agreed so long as there were still people who upheld the values of the Gotei, they could still accomplish something and were not truly defeated. Her personal situation was as simple a matter as any to Sajin, who did not recoil at the sight of her changed eyes "I cannot judge you by actions not of your own will, Lerna. It is your will to remain in control, to do better and to make up for what happened during the invasion, that matters." Still, he could not help but remain cautious about whatever changed within her. It felt antithetical to the heart beating in his chest, almost like...a natural enemy. As if his own Reiryoku was prepared to lash out at her being.

No.

Sajin would not trust this sensation, only what he could see with his eyes and feel within her heart. The woman in front of him was still the kind, inquisitive woman he met those months ago. "I'll save it for you, Lerna." he said, patting his left shoulder.

HEART OF THE SOUL KING | END POST

Lerna raised a brow slightly. In truth, she wasn't quite sure if the Gotei had ever properly survived the death of Genryusai. Like.... all the shit that happened afterwards. Demons being just let into the gotei. But she wouldn't claim to understand the nuance of what it really meant for the gotei to 'be dead;. "Above my paygrade. But I hope you get the info you're looking for." She noted softly, raising her hands and offering a smile as she conceded to his greater experience.

"I....." Her features shifted a bit in color. It was different to see how forwardly confident he was in her. There wasn't much uncertainty, no just ... right there. First thing out of his mouth. Was assurance, and of all things, trust in her. It was as if he could... TELL that she meant it. But how? Why? Humans were all about earning trust. It was the whole reason why she was under surveillance. And yet, Komamura just trusted her intrinsically. Surely he couldn't see that deep. Or else he'd know the kind of monster she really was under this skin. She didn't get it, but it was still pleasant. "Thanks."

She glanced toward the Koizumi estate. Well, she had no idea how long he'd be tied up there. "Once I've sorted things. I'll be in the rukongai. We can meet at the bar we last ran into each other." Glancing at the shoulder he indicated and smirking a bit. "I'll hold you to that Sajin." She noted softly, before turning to take her leave and leave him to his meeting with the Koizumi.

Her heart a bit lighter.