A night out in Rukongai

Shin'ichi smiled and nodded again. "Well, the only way to cure that is to get to know everyone then, eh?" He laughed a bit and took another sip of his tea and set it down. He picked his pipe up again, and drew from it. "Impossible as it sounds, get to know everyone you can. It will be hard at first, but you'll be thankful in the end. I find that getting to know people before hand will allow you to trust them later in battle, with your life." He nodded.

She nodded slightly. It would be a lot of work to get to know everyone. Could she do it, she wondered. She fell silent as she sipped at her tea now. "How long did it take you to become a Captain...?".

Shin'ichi stroked his chin when Kya asked him this. "Well, we all had to go through the academy at one point. But I had several years of training even after that." He admitted. "After I left the academy, I was originally assigned to the ninth division as a 3rd seat, but after re-evaluation I was placed as the Captain to 7th Division. In all, I'd say about two decades after leaving the academy as a student..."

She smiled at this. Maybe there was hope fo a third seat like her becoming a Captain. Though she couldn't really compare herself to him. "I used to be an unranked member in Squad 6, but I was transferred to Squad 3 for their Third Seat. I've only been out of the academy for about ten years now.", she finished off her tea and set the empty cup down, "So..judgeing from earlier, you have a wind element zanpakuto...right?".

Shin'ichi smiled and nodded. "Yes, Densetsu Kirureru." He answered almost immediately. He reached down and undid the tie, pulling it free sheath and all. He rested the katana down carefully on the table. "My faithful zanpakuto, it's been with me for years. I mastered the Shikai very early, and I only learned my Bankai after leaving the academy and into rigorous training all year 'round." He explained.

"Wow...", she looked at the sword closely, "I only know my Shikai, but I have been training for Bankai...I don't know when it will be reached though...". She untied her own zanpakuto from her side, pulling out the blade to show as well. "This is Enzeru Sakeme. A light elemented zanpakuto".

Shin'ichi nodded and picked his zanpakuto back up. He sheathed it again, and retied it firmly to his side. "No one will ever know exactly when they will find their Bankai, but I promise that if you train, it will come." He nodded. "Just a matter of time; But then again, some aren't blessed with enough spiritual energy to summon it." He explained. "Bankai is usually limited very exclusively to the Captains of each division."

Kya nodded at this. "You're right. But I have heard of some Vice-captains, even third seats having bankai before...So that is why I'm going to keep training to achieve it. Won't know until I try...right?", she looked at him with a smile before sheathing her zanpakuto and setting it beside her.

Shin'ichi nodded. "True enough," He responded softly. "And yes, you won't until you try. That's how I felt, but I wanted to try and be the best that I could be." He explained. "Truthfully, I had been about to give up when I found my Bankai, because I had been training for so long and nothing happened, and then it... just came to me."

"There's a lot of times I've wanted to give up...But since i grew up the way I did, there was not really any such thing as 'giving up'. You give up out there and you die. I became a shinigami because I wanted a better life, I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to have to fight for a meal every night, or not know where I was going to sleep, or having the fear of someone kill me for no reason. So I tried my hardest to enter the academy. I worked for what I have now without giving up. If you give up then all that work and effort was for nothing...right?", she let out a small laugh as she suddnely realized something, "I guess I'm becoming more comfortable. My stuttering is gone at least...".

"Aye," He said softly and he set down his pipe. It had gone out, and he blew a smoke ring into the air. He picked up his cup of tea, and took a generous sip now that it had cooled quite a bit while they talked. "Well, if you just keep working hard, you'll be rewarded." He smiled and nodded. "No hard work goes unrewarded, or so I believe. Everything I ever worked for... I think becoming Captain of the Seventh Division is my payment. I wouldn't give this or my men up for the world." He murmured softly and set the cup back down.

She glanced over at her zanpakuto. "With Enzeru Sakeme...I know I can do it", she stated. She fell silent now as her thoughts wandered to how she first got Enzeru Sakeme and how hard she had trained to achieve Shikai.

Shin'ichi smiled, hearing Kya's confidence in herself and her zanpakuto. "I have faith in you." He murmured and reached over, squeezing her shoulder. He was really confident that she could do it. She was strong enough, she just needed to master herself.

She looked at her shoulder where his hand was, a bit surprised to see it there. She looked at him, confused for a moment before smiling. "Thank you", she now had two Captain's that believed in her. Her own, and now the Captain of the seventh division. She should feel quite honored for that.

Shin'ichi grinned. "Maybe you'll even replace Hanabi!" He laughed, giving her arm a couple good pats before taking his hand away. He finished off his tea and poured some more from the steaming kettle.

At the mention of replacing her own Captain, she quickly shook her head. "A-Ah, oh no! I wouldn't want to do that! I-I mean...Captain Hanabi may not like to do paper work...but she really is a good Captain, despite that and her drinking as well. I would have to decline if I was asked to replace her...", she held high respected for Keiyou, despite how the women slacked off and drank. She could never take her position from her, even if Keiyou herself had said it was fine. She just wouldn't feel right.

Shin'ichi laughed again and smiled. "I was only teasing," He quickly explained. "No need to get worked up over it." He offered to pour more tea for Kya.

She looked down at the table, nodding slightly as he offered her more tea. He may have only been teasing, but even if it happened, she still wouldn't accept it. "Thank you..", she said as he poured her tea. She let out a sigh, "Despite what she's like, Captain Hanabi grows on you I guess...".

He nodded and smiled. "Believe me, I'm well aware. I know Captain Hanabi... sort of. She grew on me too, what with always dragging everyone out for drinks. I wouldn't doubt that she'd knock down my door right now to do so." He joked as he poured fresh tea for Kya.

She laughed at this. "Yes, I guess she is like that", she picked up the cup once he finished pouring her tea and placed it to her mouth, blowing on it once more before taking a sip. "Tonight has been so strange...I mean, just for the fact that I'm sitting here having a casual conversation with a Captain that is not my own. It's not every day that happens", she stated, laughing again.

Shin'ichi agreed, laughing. "Yes, I suppose it isn't." He nodded. "But then again, I don't expect to do this again any time soon. Maybe if we meet again, but that is by chance." He sighed. He seemed dejected at the thought, obviously never having much company.

She frowned at this. "Yes, you're right...", she expected the only time she would be seeing him would most likely be only on duty. But she quite liked talking to him. Especially since he was one of few she was now comfortable around. She sighed in dismay and took another sip from her tea. 'Well good things do come to an end. After all, he's not even your Captain so you can't expect to see him often. Oh well...', she thought to herself.

Shin'ichi enjoyed Kya's company this night. He would certainly look forward to her companionship in the future, since he felt comfortable around her now, judging by how open he was once they got to know eachother better. He set his tea aside and sighed.

Things seemed to fall quiet now after the realization taht after tonight, they probably wouldn't see very much of each other. She continued to sip at her tea quietly. She didn't know how to strike up another conversation at the moment so she would just be quiet.

He paused for a moment, staring at Kya as she looked awayt at something else. He leaned in for a second, but stopped after reconsidering. He chided himself silently for what he thought he was going to do, not wanting her to hate him forever afterwards. He stared down at his hands, which he kept in his lap.