Ruins of Pillars [Yuri, Yusei]

He wasn't even thinking about anything in particular. Yusei was far and away the best at deleting thoughts from his own head. He didn't like thinking about it. Nearly having his head bitten off defending the Rukongai. He could never go back. He could never return to his old life in the textile mill, his wide-legged hakama and loose yukata forever turned into a Grateful Dead style tie-dye mess from his post mixing pigments. Everything before that was a blur, his life before the Seireitei ending with his head caved in.

Yuri came around the corner, he was none the wiser to this though. There was a smell about him, tobacco cocoa and ginger. His eyes widened, turning around all of a sudden. Yusei looked lost, doe-eyed. Her name just barely escaped him, and he felt guilty.

"Mm. Sharp as ever, Senpai. A temp check like that could be life or death, and I gotta get it together.."

She'd seen pretty much everything then. A scar all around the collarbone and base of the neck that looked like teeth-marks. Shallow breathing slowly going back to normal. A youthful exuberance, eyes lighting up in idle chatter turned dead-eyed and slate-grey. Smiles looked put-on, as much as any mask was. The occasional, near 2am panic attack. And here he was, still rocking those old, dye-splattered work-clothes he used to, zanpakuto tied to his waist with a black cord.

"Mm. Well, you know me..." He paused for a second. It became very clear that he was guessing her name. She could watch the gears turn in his head, if only for a second. "Ms Aiban..." Nailed it. His eyes lit up with a little grin again, like they used to. He brought his sunglasses up, resting them on his forehead. They flattened his bangs against the buzzed sides; someone gave him the Trunks special and he was bashful about it. "Define "trouble". I think I'm makin' a difference in the world.".

But here it comes. She asked a question about his job. He had an answer locked and loaded, and even sounded a little proud of himself. "Gotei, no Gotei... I lived in the Rukon district for a long time, I'm still helping rebuild, and doing patrols. I'll do it with or without someone asking me to."