I died so now I'm attending a Kido lecture [JT] [DP]

[Ranth]

[OOC: Training for CTP / Heaven's Gate]

Two days had passed since Ranth's return to the Soul Society. Two days in which he'd had to become accustomed to all of the trappings of Vice Captaincy of the Kido Corps, a role that the Ranth Amanite who had originally resided in this timeline had already been granted before he'd even left for the mission that had changed everything. He had become strong, there was no way to deny that and yet that power had come at a great cost. For starters, his body seemed to have trouble handling his newfound power for extended periods- something that he'd discovered the hard way the first time he'd tried to exert himself during one of his traditional morning practices. Out of nowhere he'd been assailed by a crippling sense of fatigue that had made him genuinely fear that he was dying for a few terrifying moments.

Eventually the fatigue had passed, much to Ranth's relief but it served to highlight the fact that he couldn't push himself in the same ways that he used to and although he hadn't yet had time to explore the intricacies of his new condition, he certainly planned to do so at his earliest opportunity. But that would have to take a backseat for the time being, because as it so happened Ranth actually had something even more important to take care of... and that something was a date with Rin Minamimoto. Of course, by 'date', that actually meant a literal date on the calendar set aside for him to teach Rin Kido.

Of course, Ranth had agreed to Rin's request without a second thought but only later did he realise that he never actually asked Rin what she wanted to learn and that had left Ranth with something of a conundrum. for you see, for him to teach Rin what she wanted to know he needed to know it himself and since he hadn't committed every Kido to memory prior, there was only one thing to do... thus he'd stayed up for the past 18 hours with almost every textbook on Kido that the Corps possessed and pored through them in an effort to memorise the theories and emchanics behind every Kido from #1 to #99 on both the Hado and Bakudo trees.

Artorius, his ever faithful third seat hadn't said anything on the matter, but from the knowing smiles the man gave him each time he poked his head into Ranth's study to make sure he'd eaten, it was clear to anyone that he had a fair idea of what his Vice Captain was motivated by. So he left Ranth to his own devices. Honestly though, he never would have guessed that such an unlikely dynamic would have developed between the unassuming Ranth Amanite and the - by all accounts- domineering Rin Minamimoto. The most adorable thing however was that Ranth himself seemed to be unaware of it... or in denial. But knowing Ranth as he did, Artorius was willing to be that it was the former rather than the latter.

Yawning widely and stretching his arms towards the ceilings, Ranth sat back in his seat and massaged his temples as he completed the last of the myriad of reference materials he'd gathered and slid it across his massive desk to join its brothers and sisters in the almost meter tall pile of other books, scrolls and parchments. He didn't think he could remember a time that he'd crammed so hard, even during the most intense moments of his Academy days and yet... he'd never felt so glad for having done so and a faint smile played across his lips as he gazed out the window and realised with a jolt that the sun was well on its way towards the peak of its daily climb.

Cursing softly as he pushed himself out of his chair, Ranth made a dash for his quarters for the purpose of shwoering and changing out of the robes that he'd been wearing for the better part of the last 24 hours. He'd arranged to meet Rin at midday and he couldn't possibly show himself before her in such an unkempt- and not to mention unshowered- state. Stepping into the hot water, Ranth leaned heavily against the wall of the shower and stared absently at the floor as thick wisps of steam rose around him. Now that the time had almost come, Ranth found that to his surprise he was actually nervous, almost to the point of feeling dizzy and not just from the intense heat of the water that cascaded down upon his back.

"It's just a training session Ranth... no big deal... no big deal at all... it'll be easy... no trouble at all", he muttered to himself under his breath in a vain attempt to steel his resolve and settle his nerves. Yet no matter how he told himself that there was no reason to be nervous and certainly nothing to be afraid of... that didn't do anything to quell the acceleration of his pulse or the cold sweat that prickled his brow even despite the running water that rushed over his skin. Ranth sighed, he could just stay under the water forever and let the outside world take care of itself in that moment, the soothing heat relaxing his muscles and washing away his worries. But alas, such luxuries were not afforded to people with his level of responsibility.

Eventually Ranth coaxed himself out of his heated haven and dressed himself in the white robes that everyone who knew him recognised. In fact, this particular set of robes had been acquired from the first mission he'd ever completed and possessed a unique ability to reflect Kido that he couldn't help but feel was especially appropriate to adorn himself with while teaching someone to use new and unfamiliar techniques. In truth, he didn't see how Rin could possibly be a novice when it came to Kido since he'd seen her use Black Coffin on one occasion, which begged the question as to why she'd asked him for lessons, but in the end the truth was that the reason didn't matter... he was just glad to have an excuse to see Rin again so soon.

Finally, feeling about as ready as he was ever going to be Ranth exited his quarters and made his way towards the main building of the Kido Corps as it was the fastest way to reach the training grounds. As he approached the building though, he realised that he could hear some kind of commotion coming from inside the lobby. A commotion that sounds oddly familiar and filled him with a simultaneous sense of longing and anxiety as he realised that regardless of what any clock might tell him... he was late and that almost certainly meant that there was going to be hell to pay... if not for Ranth himself, then certainly for his poor squad mates.

[Deleted]

ooc: gimme ttp

“You’ve been off since we’ve returned.” The Empress watched herself in the mirror of her bedroom as she had a kimono pulled up against her chest. She tilted her head, pouting.. wondering if her old outfit had been better. Change was good. Change was necessary.. but it was scary. Well, it might’ve been scary to any other peasant but Rin Minamimoto was mighty and above all. She could never! With a single careless toss, she threw the older, red garment on to her bed along with.. all the others. “I told you, I’m fine Empress.” She looked back to her mirror admiring herself vainly. She would smile wryly as she heard Hiretsuna growl angrily at her as she’d repeated that statement for what seemed like the fiftieth time.

She rolled her eyes, and sighed. “You woke up yelling in bloody horror, Hire.” She furrowed her brows as she walked to her bed, looking at the mess she’d created, staring studiously at it. She’d reach for one hanger after another, looking through the kimono she owned wistfully. They truly were a relic of her past and such a safe option. Safe almost felt like a good thing because your majesty felt knots in her stomach for reasons unknown. Sort of. “Yeah and now I’m over it. Don’t worry about it.” His tone was suspicious as if he were hiding something but, unfortunately, if there was anyone this warden couldn’t properly interrogate, it was that insufferable man. It was even worse seeing as though she couldn’t truly get her hand on him. You know… to strangle him.

”What the hell are you doing? You’ve been tossing your clothes all over the place for way too damn long.” The Empress collapsed on her bed, rolling around whilst groaning stressfully. “I don’t know what to wear!” She pulled one of the kimonos over her face, pouting and laying still for a moment, unsure of what to do. “Who cares!? Just wear what you normally do. Aren’t you just training!? How is this so hard for you!?” Rin huffed, pulling the kimono off and massaging her temples at his complaining. She replied begrudgingly. He wasn’t wrong with his line of questioning… Since when did the infamous Empress Rin care about anyone else’s opinion? Never. Wasn’t she just training? “..Yes.” How was it so hard? Goodness, she wished he knew.. It was just training.

Oh, but it wasn’t just training wasn’t it? There were a multitude of things at work and suddenly it very much all the more difficult. She was training with dear, sweet, snowy haired Ranth Amanite and every fiber of her being wanted to truly impress him. Rin relaxed back into her bed, staring listlessly at her red ceiling, thinking for a while. You couldn’t ask her why as the answer eluded her. However, her biggest predicament was that Kido was her weak point. It was her kryptonite. How accurate. A man of the Kido Corps, a place she’d once despised, had the fearsome Empress’s wires crossed and her desires askew. She didn’t know what was at work and what explanation she had for that. How mysterious.

The thought of seeing him and him training her had her smiling just a tinge without her realizing it. She’d been lost in thought for the moment until someone would rudely interrupt her. “You’re training with him?! Why?” It was then Rin got incredibly nervous as she didn’t quite know how to answer her loud mouthed, hot headed spirit. “…You’re not fuckin’ serious? You’re actually gonna learn Kido?” He raised his voice and her heart started to beat just tad quicker. Kido. Was she seriously going to subject herself to this filth? Ugh. She was going to be sick. “I need to confront my greatest weakness, Hire. Don’t try and talk me out of it.” After a century of running up and down Seireitei cursing the likes of it solely because of her own incompetence with it, she was going to finally face the music as they say!

“What weakness. Him or Kido?”

Rin sat up immediately upon hearing Hiretsuna’s less than enthused, snarky comment. She wouldn’t answer him. “Why do you even want to train with him? You’re better than him.” Something in Hiretsuna’s voice sounded downright bitter. More caustic than she was usually used to. “That sort of thinking is going to get me killed. I need to learn it and how to deal with it.” She fired back at him quickly. Rin didn’t know why she was getting so defensive over this. It was just Ranth and Kido. What was the big deal? “…Yeah. I know.” He sighed sadly. That was a tone she swore she’d never hear from the man. “Do whatever the hell you want. Wear the new damn outfit. Since when have you ever been scared of anything..?” She looked to the new outfit hanging on her wardrobe. What was his deal specifically?

Before Rin could dwell on Hiretsuna’s behavior further, she caught a glance at the clock and realized that she’d have to start getting ready. She didn’t want to be late.. for… uh.. training. Yeah. As Rin stared at herself in the mirror, fastening her accessories around her wrists and hips and toyed around with her hair she realized just how dumb she felt. Who cares about what she wore? She looked fantastic regardless. Of course the Empress was just an absolute work of art and everyone else thought so too.. so what was the problem? “What would he think?” Who cares? “But what would he think?” Who cares. What did it matter what Ranth thought? Why was she so nervous?

Rin would strut out of her barracks rather happily as she heard whistles and compliments galore. All eyes on her. Just as it should be. It was the sort of pick me up she needed. Graciously, the Empress waved to her valiant men and women who bustled about with their duties. Though, some of them couldn’t help but notice.. “Empress, isn’t that the direction to the Kido Corps?” Uh-Oh. “Don’t you hate that place?” Oh no. “Why are you going there?” Oh dear. While Rin herself quite disliked anything Kido related and the squad itself, she wasn’t very open about it so she wouldn’t bring attention to it. She wanted to conceal her weaknesses and keep others in the dark about it. The Rin that was once her must have been openly vehement about her disdain for it and its members. That fool.

She’d turn around and smile charmingly at the three squad members who questioned her curiously. Curse them and their ability to sense things out that were abnormal. She’d taught them well. Too well. Rin would begin to open her mouth, ready to deliver the biggest lie of the century and yet another one of her officers would unknowingly come to her rescue. That fool. “Obviously, she’s going there to remind them of who’s on top. Squad 7.” She stared at the officer for a moment before quickly smiling, giving them a knowing wink. She’d turn on the heel and continue on her way towards the Kido Corps. “Get back to work.” She barks all while wearing a look of relief on her face.

It didn’t occur to her that she was literally walking into a Lion’s Den. Granted, Ranth was no lion but she’d certainly made her bed and had to lie in it now. All in the name of not wanting her time with him to end. When she reached the main building, she paused, staring at the grand double doors and took a deep breath. “What am I doing..” She whispered as she looked behind to see if anyone was there, her hands clasping the handle to the door, grasping it. She was hesitant and she swore her heart was going to jump out of her chest. This felt like it was more than just her outfit and Kido. It was about him, wasn’t it? Rin closed her eyes briefly, exhaling one slow, shaky breath. She was never one to get like this. “Compose yourself.” She was here and she was an Empress. She had a show to put on.

Before anyone knew it, those twin doors to the main building swung open violently and in true Empress fashion, Rin would strut her way through gracefully. None would be the wiser of her earlier transgressions and wardrobe malfunctions. “Hello~” Her voice boomed throughout the foyer she took one step towards the other. Her eyes moved from one officer to the other and she watched them like a hawk. Her ears would quickly be assaulted with familiar whispers. “Isn’t that.. Rin Minamimoto?”, “S-She’s alive? She’s supposed to be K.I.A..”, “I heard she died too..”, “How’d she come back?”, “..I heard she was scary.” To that last comment, she’d slowly turn her head, the charms she’d adorn herself making a faint ominous jingle as she moved towards them with her smile growing wider. “Obviously you lot have heard of me~ ” For she was woman who needed no introduction. “How cute.” She leaned an inch closer to the nervous officer for a moment, silent like a tiger who studied their prey before backing off and walking to the center of the room.

She looked to the clock high up on the wall. Ranth wasn’t here. How annoying. She’d made all that effort to get there on time and he was a no show. Wait… What if he didn’t want to show up? That would be rather humiliating. Being stood up.. N-Not that it was being stood up. It was training after all. Training. Training. That’s what it was. “What’s Squad 7 doing here?” Her fingers found a lock of hair which she’d wind between her fingers, seemingly rather bored. In her mind however, she was nervous as all hell. The quicker she could get out of here, the better. As if she’d show them that or answer their questions. She decided to play just a little trick on those who weren’t aware of why she was truly here. “You all know I’m in charge of interrogation now, don’t you~?” Oh, what a trick she was going to play on these gullible fools. "Shouldn't it be obvious~?" She looked around to see their reactions. Some freaking out and others looking amongst each other, believing her and trying to see who the warden was going to whisk away to the Maggot’s Nest.

“I require the presence of Ranth Amanite~” She even had no problem inflicting just a modicum of her spiritual pressure, allowing them to feel the faintest tug upon their shoulders. It was just a fraction of the domineering will she had no problem taking out on others to show that she was not to be challenged in any way, shape or form. She’d relinquish her hold on them. Would she be the infamous Rin Minamimoto of Squad 7 if she hadn’t done this? The Empress had a reputation to keep up. She just had to rattle some bones and she was sure her little misdirection would do just the trick. “Immediately.”

[Ranth]

Ranth paused in his progress towards the main hall as one of his squad mates came dashing around the corner with a look of utmost concern on his face. A look of concern that melted away into relief the moment the man laid eyes upon Ranth, whom he came to an almost skidding stop before and snapped a hasty yet earnest salute. "Vice Captain, it's terrible!" The man exclaimed breathlessly, actually going so far as to double over once he'd managed to adhere to the proper protocol of greeting his superior. Feeling confusion and no small amount of concern at seeing this man's disheveled state, Ranth could only inquire into the nature of the man's distress. "What's wrong? Is the Soul Society under attack?". It would be an incredibly rare occurrence, but it did happen from time to time despite the Gotei's best efforts to maintain its defenses.

But the man shook his head, taking several more deep lungfuls of air before valiantly straightening himself to give his report. "It's Rin Minamimoto from Squad 7 sir", he said as though that alone explained everything. Of course, given the context and the manner of the man's arrival, Ranth couldn't help but feel a surge of panic grip his insides as he stepped forwards intently and seized the man by the shoulders and locked eyes with burning intensity. "Rin is in danger?" He asked urgently. He had no idea what sort of circumstance would leave Rin vulnerable in the midst of her own squad, nor could he fathom how news would have come directly to him so quickly, but-

Ranth's concerned train of thought broke off as he noticed the confused expression on his subordinate's face and it slowly dawned on the Vice Captain that perhaps he'd made a mistake. "Rin... isn't in danger?" he asked meekly as he released his grip on the baffled man and quickly took a step back so as to allow him some personal space. After a moment, the man blinked and shook his head as though by doing so he could chase away his confusion and he shook his head slowly. "No sir... she's here. Right now", he reiterated with a sort of fevered urgency that one normally reserve for when an Espada arrived upon the battle field during a routine mission.

Yet instead of showing any signs of concern or even a modicum of discomfort, the Kido Corps officer was baffled to see his Vice Captain visibly relax and even let out a sigh of relief! "Sir, I'm talking about Rin Minamimoto, the Vice Captain of squad 7. You know... the inquisitor!?" He pressed fervently, convinced that somehow, as impossible as it may seem, his Vice Captain was confusing one of the most feared people among the common populace of the Kido Corps with some other Rin Minamimoto. But alas, any hopes that this was the case was dashed like a ship upon a rocky shore in the dead of night by Ranth's next words.

"Oh, she's a bit early but I suppose that's to be expected", Ranth smiled.
"Sir, forgive me if I'm misunderstanding, but it almost sounds as if... you were expecting her visit?"
"Well of course I'm expecting her. I'm the one who invited her here after all", Ranth confirmed with a frown as he regarded the man with the sort of concern someone reserved for someone they feared might be a little slow. Upon hearing this bold confirmation, the poor man could barely contain his shock and horror, but more than that his utter bewilderment. "B-but sir, this is Rin Minamimoto we're talking about! he protested without thinking.

To his surprise though, Ranth's expression suddenly hardened by a fraction as he caught the implication in his subordinates words. from anyone else, this almost imperceptible shift would have gone unnoticed, but for Ranth who was widely known by every member of the corps to be a friendly and laid back individual it was tantamount to a scowl and the man actually flinched. "What is your name, officer?" Ranth asked gently. "Um, Kevin, sir", Kevin replied cautiously, unsure of just what kind of mess he might have inadvertently got himself into. He'd come looking for Ranth because he thought Rin was bringign trouble to the Corps, but with each passing moment he was realising that he'd been completely off the mark and had no way how to recover.

"Well, Kevin, has the Vice Captain of squad 7 hurt you in some way?" Ranth asked with concern
"N-no sir, I-" Kevin began to say before Ranth interjected.
Then has she perhaps offended you in some way?"
"N-no sir, that is-" Kevin admitted again, beginning to sweat profusely.
have you ever had a single direct interaction with the Vice Captain of squad 7 prior to today, Kevin?"
"No...sir" Kevin hung his head in shame, feeling as though he'd just endured a hellish scolding even though Ranth had never once raised his voice. "it's just... we've all heard the rumors sir. About what she says about the other squads... he trailed off before he even finished the sentence, realising without having to be told exactly how what he was saying sounded.

"Kevin, I would like to think that every member of the Kido Corps has an open mind, especially towards any of our comrades. Although Squad 7 serves a different function than we do, that does make it any less valid or important to the way we function as a community. I would like to think that every member of the Kido Corps would treat all of our comrades with the same level of respect they would reserve for a brother or sister. Have I made myself clear, Kevin?" Ranth's words were spoken softly, yet Kevin felt more thoroughly chastised than any other time in his life that he could remember. Yet he didn't feel bitter about it... he just felt ashamed of himself because nothing Ranth had said was wrong.

Smiling broadly as he watched his message hit home for the other man, Ranth patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "We all make mistakes, that's why it's important that we hold each other to account. That goes for me too, so if you ever catch me slipping I'll be counting on you to call me out Kevin", Ranth smiled again before taking his hand off of Kevin and setting his gaze forwards once again. "Now then, we mustn't delay any longer. It's impolite to keep an Empress waiting", he chuckled and strode off in the direction that Kevin had appeared from with his subordinate hot on his heels.

less than a minute after Rin's arrival, Ranth emerged in his Vice Captain uniform, immediately silencing the muttered whispers of his subordinates who had lingered to keep an eye on the fabled 'inquisitor' rumored to be every bit as cruel as she was beautiful. Some of them felt relief upon seeing their superior whilst others were concerned that he was going to be made a fool of. None of them could have prepared themselves for the first words he spoke upon laying eyes upon her.

"Good morning Empress. You're looking exquisite as always today. Are you ready to learn some Kido? These words were delivered with a bow that was in no way lacking in respect from the perspective of everyone present and yet flew directly in the face of what his words implied. What kind of teacher bowed to their student? But that gave rise to the significantly more shocking question that had almost slipped past the assembled crowd thanks to how casually their Vice Captain had broached the subject. Rin Minamimoto... the Rin Minamimoto was here to learn Kido??? Not even a minute earlier anyone who had suggested such a thing would have been laughed out of the squad and yet now the entire room was deathly quiet as they awaited confirmation that what their Vice Captain had said was actually true.

[Deleted]

What sort of domineering Empress wouldn’t revel in the faces of the gullible and the hapless? Rin watched officers whisper amongst each other with utter satisfaction and her crossed her arms across her chest. Dead? She was here wasn’t she? How? As if she’d ever let any of them know. Why was she here? Who can say, honestly! If Ranth was going to be late, he was going to make the Empress rather bored and a bored Empress will do what she must to keep herself entertained…And my, oh my was this ever so entertaining. Her eyes trained on the clock high up on the wall, thinking of ways to torture the officers that clouded around her.

To her delight, she saw one officer run out in a panic and she could hear his unintelligible cries off in the distance. No doubt about her. “Would anyone else like to run off and join your frightened comrade?” She gestured to the door she assumed Ranth would be coming through. “Perhaps fetch your lieutenant while you’re at it? I really don’t like to wait.” Why should she have to go looking for him anyway? With all this commotion and trouble, she wouldn’t waste time. He’d find his way to her without a doubt and even better, minimal effort on her part. In the back of her mind, she could hear Hiretsuna’s laughter as she carried on in a obnoxious, grandiose manner. It was good to be back. Truly.

Though, it was a distraction for the inevitable. She would have to confront her weaknesses. The thought of it caused her to prickle just the tiniest bit. That and the fact that she was bullying Ranth’s officers just the tiniest bit. He might not like that but it was his fault for not showing up on time~! An Empress must be punctual and if she could make it despite her conniptions, he could make it as well! Hmph! “..What if he doesn’t want to show up?” She swallowed hard at that thought and decided to stare at her nails as nervous thoughts assaulted her mind. She wanted him to show up but there was just that hint of doubt that she couldn’t help but feel. Had he heard of her monstrous reputation and changed her mind?

Somehow that made her sad. Just moments ago she was enjoying seeing the terrified faces of all the young, impressionable officers. However, the thought of that extending to Ranth and him not wanting to show was disheartening to say the least. Before anymore worries could settle in, he’d finally make his way and all the whispers and chattering would cease, causing Rin look at them all amusedly before laying her eyes on the Kido Corps lieutenant himself. "Good morning Empress. You're looking exquisite as always today. Are you ready to learn some Kido?” There was silence with the exception of the light jingling of her jewelry as she shifted her weight to one leg, watching him. As much as she wanted to drop her jaw in shock at his question, she’d remained composed, keeping up that regal look. Her eyes narrowed. She could certainly feel all the eyes on her. More than ever and it might’ve been the first time she wished they weren’t.

First of all.. “He said I looked exquisite..” Some part of the Empress’s heart was fluttering at the compliment for reasons unknown. She was very much partial to compliments.. That much was a given. Oh, who was she kidding?! She loved them. Though his question was what would keep her from remaining 100% pleasant. That bloody fool. Announcing her greatest weakness like that. How embarrassing! What was she going to do now?! “You didn’t exactly tell him to keep it a secret, genius.” Hiretsuna snorted. What was she doing when she asked? Getting swept up in fires and dreams of a special someone to return to.. Ugh! Curses! If it weren’t for the fact that it was Ranth and that he’d called her exquisite, she might’ve felt the urge to ring his neck like a bell. How fortunate for the Kido Corps Vice Captain that he was who he was; Six feet of Empress kryptonite.

A million thoughts ran through Rin’s mind, wondering how she could mitigate the damage he’d just unknowingly did to her reputation. She imagined that she was going to inflict terror on some poor unsuspecting fools in the future to make up for it but today was not that day. Rin sighed as she turned her head the awestruck crowed around her before red lips would slowly curl into one very amused smile. She’d raise her hand to her lips, laughing softly as she looked back to Ranth. “Good morning to you as well, Lieutenant Amanite~” Fortunately, she wasn’t a stranger to these sorts of bumps in social situations. She could skirt her way around it all the same way she dodged bullets and strikes in battle.

“Might I say…” She spoke as she approached him casually, hands folded behind her back. Rin stopped about a foot away, her fingers gingerly picking the fabric of his new white robe, admiring it. “That you, lieutenant look quite dashing in your uniform~” She smiled coyly, locking her eyes with him as she’d let the robe go, knowing that he just might get the tiniest bit embarrassed by his comments. Even more so with his officers crowded around him. “You’ll have to forgive me.. I did have a bit of fun with your officers~” She turned away from him, gesturing her head towards the crowd surrounding them, waiting for an answer from their majesty to Ranth’s question. “They truly thought I was bringing you in for interrogation.” She winked at them, making it quite apparent that she wasn’t actually serious about that at all.

She didn’t want to antagonize him or humiliate him. Not in front of his officers. She likely couldn’t even do it to them if he wanted to climb and still uh.. teach her. If he was to be seen as a leader amongst this pack, Rin knew that being caustic and harsh would get in the way of that and it would be incredibly harmful to him and all his dreams and goals will dissipate. She wasn’t in the business of that. Rin wanted to truly see him succeed. What she also wanted was .. mostly harmless. Thankfully, she was patient and many other ways to enjoy this moment. She wouldn’t do either of those things but she’d find her own way to make the timid lieutenant squirm and mark her words, Rin was going to enjoy every agonizing second of it.

“Come. We have much to do.” With that, she turned on the heel and flipped her hair. It was a command and a statement that didn’t truly answer his question. Not a single officer would be given the satisfaction that Empress Rin Minamimoto was here to learn Kido. They’d see an Empress walk off further into the building, eventually allowing Ranth to lead the way to a room of his choice. She wouldn’t turn around, but she imagined that his officers were left with more questions than answers. Honestly, Rin wouldn’t have it any other way~

Though, she had questions of her own and when they reached a room of Ranth’s choosing, she’d ask. “Have you truly heard nothing of my reputation or do you simply wish to not acknowledge it?” She asked rather bluntly, skepticism painted over her features as she approached him slowly. Rin was curious and knew what she was seen as. Hell, she’d spent the better part of two centuries making sure people saw her that way. A beautiful Empress that could make you writhe if the thought so much as entered her mind. “I’m asking because I can be a rather difficult student~” she shrugged as she slowly wolf- walked around the lieutenant. There was the occasional man who couldn’t be bothered in the slightest.. and then there was Ranth who truly was a wild card in her eyes. Rin wasn’t sure if he was oblivious or if he just didn’t want to see it. The latter would be awfully disappointing. “I merely wish to know if you could handle it.”, she shrugged with feigned innocence.

“T-Though you honestly should know that Kido is my w-weakest point.” Her cheeks would turn bright red and Rin would avert her gaze as she admitted to him her glaring weakness. She nearly choked the word ‘weakest’ out. “I-I know! It’s embarrassing for a Vice Captain… isn’t it?” She grumbled the last bit out as she’d tuck a lock of her hair behind her now red ears. She knew some basic Kido. Good and faithful Sho never disappointed anyone.. At least in her eyes she could see how it was advantageous in certain situations. “Though there’s my little experience with Black Coffin..” She rolled her eyes, recalling the events of how she even came to learn that dreadful technique. Her eyes flickered between him and the wall adjacent to her nervously before speaking. “D-Do you have any questions for me before we start?”

[Ranth]

Ranth did indeed feel a rise in pulse rate as Rin approached him and complimented him on his new attire. Truth be told, most people wouldn't have even noticed that his usual was attire was significantly different to what he'd worn before his promotion, yet that was all the more reason for Ranth to feel a warm fuzzy glow in his chest when Rin did notice. It meant she cared, at least enough to notice when he changed something and although it was a minute detail in the grand scheme of things, it still meant quite a lot to Ranth. Certainly a lot more than he would ever dare to admit out loud. To his credit, he managed to prevent himself from instinctively retreating from Rin as she invaded his personal space in front of a crowd composed entirely of his peers

Unable to muster anything to say in response to Rin's remark about teasing his squad mates and joking about coming here in order to take him away for interrogation. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a tiny voice said that he wouldn't mind if she did burst in to take him away. It would certainly be a fantastic excuse to spend time alone. The only downside was that his reputation would be ruined and his progression within not only the Kido Corps but the Gotei as a whole. For all the slowly budding feelings that were developing within him towards Rin, the reality was that he did need to exercise at least a little caution while he was still consolidating his authority with the way he interacted with the other key figures of Soul Society.

For instance, if he was seen to be too friendly with a particular squad then that carried far more weight than a simple one on one friendship and would by virtue of his position within the Kido Corps carry a far greater insinuation- something akin to an alliance. In theory, this shouldn't pose any kind of problem, but Ranth was not so naive to be blind to the internal politics of the Gotei's 13 core squads and the two that existed beyond the Captain Commanders immediate mandate- one of those being the Kido Corp and the second being the Omnitskudo. Traditionally, this separation existed because the duties of these two auxiliary squads were meant to keep the other 13 in check- especially in the case of the Omnitskudo- yet the way things were now had become far more muddled, especially with the overall decline of the Kido Corps over the last few years.

Sighing inwardly at the political nightmare that he was doomed to be a part of from the moment that he'd accepted the mantle of Vice Captain and set his sights on Captaincy thanks to his interactions with Rin. But it wasn't all doom and gloom either, for as much as Rin's reputation was feared by many of the people who had never gotten to know her- which was almost everyone to be fair- squad 7 was long reputed to be the most powerful squad until only quite recently when their former Captain had died and their current Captain had vanished without so much as a single whisper as to where or why he'd vanished... and that was an impressive feat indeed considering the prowess of the Soul Society's rumor mill. Being closely associated with squad 7, even in its current diminished state, certainly couldn't be seen as a bad thing from a macro level.

Feeling a headache coming on, Ranth pushed aside any thoughts of political ties and focused his attention on Rin, who was leading the way out of the main hall and the crowd that had gathered there and together they moved towards the rear of the Kido Corps compound which was typically reserved for training new recruits in the fundamentals of Kido. Of course, one could not be misled by such a term as 'fundamentals', for the Kido Corps was not named as such without reason. It was said after all that even the weakest member of the Kido Corps had an understanding of the Kido arts that was on par with most Captains. In the general course of events, only individuals who had shown themselves to excel during their academy days or were brought in upon recommendation from the Captain were able to gain membership in this squad.

Before they arrived however, Rin rounded on Ranth with a rather surprising question that caused him to stop dead in his tracks. From the look in her eyes alone, he could tell that this was no simple question, regardless of how casually she tried to mask it with her particular brand of humour that Ranth was slowly becoming accustomed to. This was a test of sorts and he knew from experience that she valued honesty when anyone else might expect flattery or minced words. Still, he hesitated for a moment before deciding that there was no use lying to her. "I am aware of your reputation Empress", he said with a curt nod.

"I know that people refer to you as the inquisitor because of the duties that Squad 7 have been bequeathed. I'm not so naive as to think that you've never had to do things that some would balk at in the course of fulfilling your duty... but I'm confident that anything you've had to do in the past has been for the greater good... and I understand how hard it is when the hardest thing and the right thing are the same", he explained as clearly as possible. "As far as your lessons go, I've been told that I'm a hard taskmaster... but honestly I don't know where that rumor came from", he said with a helpless shrug as he pushed open the door to the building that they'd stopped in front of and led the way inside.

The room that they entered was not unlike a typical university lecture hall with tiered seating arranged in a semi-circle in the form of solid oak benches. At the focal point of the room was a stage like area behind a lectern that looked purpose built for someone to deliver a lecture. "This is where we conduct our basic classes, but please bear in mind that our standards are nothing at all like what you experienced at the academy. You've mentioned a few times that you feel that Kido is a major weakness for you, but I suspect that's not because of an innate failing on your part, but simply a poor foundation and lack of fundamentals", Ranth explained as he led Rin to the front row of seats and gestured for her to take a seat.

"In order for you to get the results you want, you're going to have to work hard and I'm going to push you because I know what you're capable of. But before we begin, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to dispel a few common misconceptions", he continued as he began to pace back and forwards in a very professor like fashion without seeming to be aware of the fact, not that he seemed to have forgotten all of his earlier nerves about teaching Rin now that the moment had arrived. "Learning Kido is fundamentally the same as learning a language. Whether that be English, Japanese, Music or even Art. By mastering the fundamentals there is no limit to what you can accomplish, but without a strong knowledge of the basics you will be fundamentally handicapped", he explained smoothly before producing a textbook almost as thick as someone's head and placing it down in front of Rin along with an blank A4 notebook.

"I do have one question before we start", Ranth said with the very faintest of grins playing at his lips as he held up a pen in one hand and a pencil in the other. "What do you prefer to make notes with? Pen or Pencil?". Without waiting for a response, he laid both of the writing utensils down on Rin's desk before directing her attention to the stupidly thick textbook which was titled 'The Fundamentals of Kido'. "We're going to start from scratch. The fact that you jumped to learning a spell like Black Coffin may be impressive to anyone who doesn't know anything about Kido other than that the higher the number the greater the power, but I can tell you without even seeing you cast the spell that you don't understand why it's powerful or how to apply any of the core principles of that technique to other techniques".

Ranth was no doubt completely shattering Rin's preconceived notions of how these lessons were going to go, but he was used to that by now. Having gone through the academy himself and experiencing first hand how their teaching style possessed flaws that would prevent a holistic understanding of the Kido Arts from developing had led him to realise that of all the graduates who enlisted within the Corps, almost all of then inevitably required at least a basic level of retraining. For some, this was an arduous process and for others it was like having a blindfold removed that they didn't know they were wearing. But in the end, nobody who endured Ranth's lessons walked away regretting having done so.

"Now then... let us begin with Chapter 1... a brief History of on the origins of Kido... there will be a quiz at the end", Ranth said enthusiastically before beginning to speak. What Rin would soon find -if she managed to follow along at all- was that the content of what Ranth was saying was not a mere rephrasing of what was written on the page before he. Ranth was adding details and anecdotes that clarified and emphasised the key elements of the text and the knowledge it was trying to impart. Of course... that didn't necessarily mean that Rin would find the content any more interesting.

[Deleted]

”I am aware of your reputation Empress”

Oh? What’s this? Rin perked up at his response. She half expected him to stutter and beat around the bush. She even half expected some part of him to lie just like everyone else did. She watched the wheels turning in his head.. but not in a way where he was crafting a lie. He was carefully thinking over his words and his response surprised her. He knew who she was. He knew what she was capable of. Yet, none of that seemed to bother him. “Interesting.” He was direct and genuine. Her expression softened as he explained himself. To do the right thing sometimes was the hardest thing and Ranth had no idea of the magnitude.

She exhaled, though it was with relief. At least they were on the same page with that. He knew that much of her? It was impressive. She knew her reputation was widely gossiped about but his own added insight was… nice. Rin felt just a smidge closer to the Kido Corps Lieutenant and he’d see a ghost of a smile play on her lips. “So long as you’re aware your Empress will be your most challenging student~”, she hummed happily. At least he knew she was difficult and stubborn and quick to anger… sorta. Something told her that he wasn’t entirely as oblivious as he appeared to be. It made the Empress curious and it only made her want to spend more time alone with him.

Would he want such a thing? Despite his claims of being a difficult task master, she rather liked the idea of him teaching her, one on one. W-Was that bad? All sorts of thoughts filled her head and before Rin knew it, her face felt hot and she shook her head as if to dispel whatever was racing through her mind as she’d followed him into a classroom. “I’m curious to see your teaching style. A hard taskmaster might just be what I need~” Her smile grew a little wider and instinctively she begun to wind her fingers in a lock of her hair again as he spoke to her. A behavior she hadn’t quite noticed she’d been doing until recently. It might just be more interesting than what she remembered her Academy days were like. She looked to the front row of benches and took a seat where he suggested.

Rin sat up tall and straight, ready for whatever she was about to take on. “If I’m honest..” She stretched in her seat, propping her head up on her hands. “I wasn’t the best student when it came to Kido. I only memorized extremely basic spells so I could graduate. I never really cared much for it because I prefer something much more physical.” She thought back to her time in academy and thought about how completely bored she was and how completely useless it felt to even learn Kido in the first place. Some part of her was even in the same mindset now. Rin wasn’t 100% sure if she was going to ever get to use it. She liked to run and dance and fight in the frontlines of battle. There was nothing better than the feeling of her blade rushing through an enemy to the woman. Every time she fought, she looked forward to the prospect of having to experience that again and again.

“My former captain often used to send me to those lectures but I never stuck around because, frankly, I hated it.” He might not understand and that was ok. It was to be expected as everyone had their own style of fighting and everyone should do what it suited most for them. Battle should be enjoyed and celebrated. Not feared. “I hated it in academy too. It was dull. Boring and it felt rather useless then.” She was trying to be polite but her honesty and politeness were mixing about as well as oil and water and so she’d attempt to dial back her feelings on Kido. Attempt. She did ask Ranth for help and he was certainly accomplished. Why test his patience now? It made no sense and he was going to help her correct her where she needed it. She wasn’t showing it, but the Empress was grateful to him.

“I learned Black Coffin because I had another lieutenant use it on me in the midst of battle and I learned it purely to spite him so that I may use it again on him in the future.” She sat up, reminiscing on the days before she’d left for Enma’s mission. “Buildings were collapsing and we’d decided to fight until the other one fell. Our blades clashed and just as soon as I heard the sound of steel scraping against one another he’d cast it on me and I lost.” He would see her expression darken at the memories of that cursed day. She’d never felt so cheated and that fight haunted her to this day. It infuriated her for so long that older members would remember Rin locking herself away in her office for weeks as she forced herself to learn Black Coffin. She was hell bent on using it on him the next chance she got.

But then he’d run off somewhere. Somewhere far, far away and she hadn’t the slightest clue as to what to do. Now she was left with unresolved anger towards the man and a Kido spell which was fairly impressive but… awkward to use. Rin remembered using Kido in her search for Ranth but she’d only ever done it out of necessity and it was awkward to use then too. It felt like a puzzle piece trying to fit in a spot that didn’t belong. She watched as he dumped a rather thick textbook in front of her and one very disdainful finger would pry open the cover as if she were truly disgusted with the thing before looking back up to Ranth. She couldn’t actually believe she was doing this… Doing this just to be alone with him.

That last thought made her feel not entirely remorseful of her decision. She’d watch a grin slowly creep up on his face and when he asked his question, and amber eyes flickered between both options before she bit her lip and rose from her seat rather suggestively, slightly bending over and stopping him from laying both utensils down. “I think..” She had to tease him just one last time before she was going to get lost in that damned, monstrous sized text book. She’d slowly pull the pen out of his hand. “This will do nicely… Professor Amanite? Do I call you that now? I think it has a rather nice ring to it, ne~?” She giggled before sitting back in her seat, having the last of her fun for what she imagined would be a long, long time.

The Empress cracked open the book and flipped to what looked like chapter one and stared at the page. He wanted to… quiz her? History? Origins? Some part of Rin was dying inside and it would be then she realized that she didn’t have a clue as to what she was staring at and then she started to blank out, staring listlessly at the page, pouting and then anywhere else that wasn’t the text book… and then her pretty bracelets.. and then playing with her hair... then staring at the clock on the wall.. Yeah, it was fairly apparent that she was going to be a problem though, she couldn’t help it! Wasn’t her fault Kido was boring..

[Ranth]

Anyone who had ever gone to school was no doubt familiar with that dreaded first class where you were taken through the long and tedious history of whatever subject they were obligated to sit through. The teacher would invariably drone on about useless details that would never serve them in later life unless by some abject miracle the topic arose in a pub quiz night someday. It was inevitable then that any student would zone out and let their thoughts drift to more pleasant -and not to mention interesting- topics. Of course it stood to reason that Rin was no exception and within the first five minutes Ranth could see all of the telltale signs that he'd 'lost her'.

Her body had slumped slightly with one arm flat on the table before her whilst the other was propping up her chin in a valiant effort to prevent her from straight up lying down and going to sleep. In the end, Ranth actually stopped speaking and just watched her patiently for almost a minute as she gazed absently at the open book before her, then at the jewellery on her wrist and then off into distant space until it finally dawned on her that it was quiet in the lecture hall. Too quiet. Once he saw that Rin knew that she'd been caught slipping Ranth sighed ruefully and opted for a different approach. He wasn't a one trick pony after all and he had already dealt with his fair share of students with different learning styles.

"Do you know why we bother to learn about the history of Kido?" He asked as he leaned against the lectern. He fully expected a joke in response and once she'd made her quip he'd just smile and shake his head. "It's to remind us that there was a time when Kido didn't exist. Too many Shinigami rely on the techniques that have been passed down for centuries without ever trying to innovate. The first generation of Kido was created by people who had no idea what they were doing and for a time, there were great advancements in the art... but eventually we grew complacent and a mixture of complacency and laziness came upon us... although you might hear some refer to it as 'tradition' I suppose".

"Do you know why Kido uses incantations?" He asked suddenly, potentially catching Rin off guard with the sudden tangent. He'd give her a moment to come up with an answer before continuing to speak. "In truth, nobody really understands the significance of incantations. Ultimately, they're just words strung together right?" He let the question hang for a moment so that Rin would consider it before forging ahead. "So it stands to reason that you have to use the incantation in order to cast the spell, right?" He prompted her, knowing that he was leading her into a trap of sorts.

After all, it was common knowledge that Kido techniques were more powerful when the incantation was spoken. Scholars had long pondered the exact relationship between Kido and their incantations. Some had postulated that the words served as a catalyst to some great being- perhaps the Soul King himself- and that the incantations were not unlike a prayer and the resulting power was his blessing. Others had theorised that the words tapped into the true nature of the world and thus invoked the power to change the form of matter around them. Of course there was many other theories besides, but such research had largely dwindled even within the Kido Corps over time as a vague blind acceptance of the way things were had settled in over the entire Shinigami population long before Ranth's time.

"So if we need the incantation to use a spell, why is it that there are those who can cast the spell without speaking, or even without using the incantation at all?" Ranth asked her after a long pause. "What does the existence of mental incantation say about our previous assumptions about the importance of a spoken incantation?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. This time, he didn't give an answer and instead left the question hanging for Rin to consider. "Thus, to summarise my earlier point, the reason why we look at how things were done in the past is so that we can improve upon them in the future. We can learn just as much from the successes of our predecessors as their failures after all

Pushing himself off of the lectern gently, Ranth folded his arms contemplatively as he regarded Rin again. "Naturally, I haven't brought you here to turn you into a scholar, I've just found that it's important to understand the reason behind the 'why' when it comes to learning anything new. Because when we understand something, it becomes a part of us", he explained in what might have been a little too much of an abstract sentiment for Rin to wrap her head around... at least for the time being. "So with that out of the way, I'd like you to tell me why you're suddenly motivated to learn Kido. Are you trying to prove something to someone, like when you forced yourself to learn Black Coffin, or is there more to it?"

His tone was gentle and almost conversational as he asked the question, but his eyes bored into hers with a subtle intensity that made it difficult to look away. From Ranth's perspective, it didn't actually matter why she wanted to learn. But he hadn't actually asked the question for his own sake. He'd asked Rin the question for her own sake, because unless she possessed the resolve to stick with his lessons for her own sake then it didn't matter how excellent he was at teaching, it would never sink in and she would just be wasting her time. However, knowing Rin as he did after what they'd been through, he knew that she had to feel like she had come to whatever decision she made on her own without any guidance or direction from anyone else.

Such was the pride of an Empress.

[Deleted]

Her mind was in another place for the time being. The Empress was bored for the most part. She wasn’t understanding what she was looking at and it all seemed difficult and overwhelming. How she learned Black Coffin in the first place was beyond her. She was seething with rage then. Blinded by anger and determination. She wanted to see that other man suffer like no other and the best way to do it was to use the same thing he’d used on her. It was poetic in her mind and she wanted to serve it to him more than anything. She wanted him to rue the day he dared to bring that blasted Kido in a their duel.

Of course, none of that mattered anymore. Now was no time to be stuck in the past. She was years ahead of that time and although Rin swore she’d cut that man in half if she ever saw him, she could put aside her feelings in the name of keeping up with the times and keeping up her reputation. There were new captains, new members, she was in a newish timeline and most importantly, she had a beautiful new outfit on. Things were moving forward and she had no business looking back. The Rin from then would have never been caught dead or in a Kido lecture.

She was somewhat of a different woman now. Not that Ranth would know.. He might not have noticed. The fact that she was willing to follow through on this was proof enough that she was changing. It was strange how it crept up on you like that. The feeling of silence settled in and she’d sit up straight, blinking a few times at the man. Her cheeks turned pink at the realization that he’d caught mind drifting off what seemed a million miles away. How embarrassing! At his first question, she playfully rolled her eyes. “No doubt it is to put troublesome Empresses like myself to sleep, ne~?” Perhaps he might like that. She was quite difficult and troublesome! Would he give up on her if she protested too much?

It wasn’t a thought she was too keen on testing out. It was senseless. She’d listen to him because she wanted to. Rin normally wouldn’t have given anyone a chance but Ranth was patient and extremely knowledgable. This was his forte and although it was difficult for her to grasp from the get go, she would try nonetheless. She shook her head to his second query, unsure of where he was going with this and she leaned forward in her seat, remaining quite yet interested for the time being. A time when Shinigami didn’t have Kido? There was such a thing? It was hard to imagine.

“Yes..?” She answered entirely unsure of herself “You could cast it, but it’s much stronger when you speak the incantation.” Was it? Rin started to second guess herself and her eyes darted from her book to Ranth. “…I….U-Uhm...I Suppose..?” She spoke shyly, clearly showing that the Empress was very much out of her element. She felt like a fish out of water. All sorts of unreasonable fears started to spring up within her mind and she’d decided on remaining quiet for the time being for fear of further embarrassing herself. She’d settle on listening rather awkwardly, considering his questions. They were indeed questions she hadn’t know the answer to. He had quite the point and as he spoke, a fraction of her couldn’t help but feel like she wanted to know more.

Why we did anything was indeed important. It was like looking for motive in a crime. Sometimes motive was the key to everything and then every piece would fall comfortably into place. It was a sentiment she could very much understand. He’d caught her off guard with her other question and she almost hastily responded. “I—“ She bit her lip and looked off to the side. What a reckless and dangerous thing.. To say the first thing on your mind! Who was she!? First this and now… speaking without care!? Change was certainly starting to terrify the Empress more than anything else. Why she was suddenly motivated to learn Kido?

“I wanted to see you again.”

“I very much dislike it because it’s not where my strength lies but I know more than anyone else that sometimes we must do things we don’t like if we want to further ourselves.”

Her eyes locked with his as she’d speak. Her expression grew more serious as she spoke. It wasn’t a lie but it wasn’t the entire truth either. The first though that popped into her head was something she wasn’t expecting to thing. Sure she knew it but she wasn’t exactly going to tell him out right… B-Because! W-Well! She didn’t know! Why would she say such a thing in the first place?! Would he catch on? Goodness, she hoped not. She wasn’t sure what he’d think if she said that. She had to keep running with this. It was killing two birds with one stone after all, no? “I will further myself. By whatever means necessary.” It was her favorite line because she lived by it. To do whatever was necessary.. Perhaps that was why she was feared. Rin was not afraid to go into the depths of hell if it meant accomplishing whatever was in the best interest for her or Soul Society.

“If I must learn Kido, I will learn it inside out. Carry on, professor~”

[Ranth]

Ranth didn't respond to Rin's answer, if for no other reason than the fact that the question had never been for him. He did however smile and nod, as though to indicate that he approved of her answer- which he supposed he did, even if it had never been the point. Still, a small part of him liked to daydream that her answer to that question had been something entirely untoward... like perhaps that she'd only agreed to it for the same reason that he'd agreed to teach her... because he was willing to clutch at any excuse to spend more time with her. Even if she did tease him incessantly and doze off during his lessons. It was all part of her peculiar charm after all. N-not that he was charmed by her or anything, he just enjoyed her company and that was perfectly normal and not at all unusual or strange!

"Alright, let's take a break from theory for the time being and give you something practical to do", Ranth said after a few seconds of further consideration. It wasn't the way he would normally do things, but taking into account Rin's personality and determination, it occurred to him that there was a perfect exercise that he could teach her which would simultaneously help to build her foundations, but also make her wish she could go back to reading from the text book just for a chance to rest. "Come on up on the stage here", he said as he stepped up onto the stage himself and awaited Rin to join him. As he watched her get up and ascend to the stage, he couldn't help but admire her new outfit, but caught himself before he said anything that might have made things awkward. He was technically her teacher right now after all!

"I'm about to teach you a technique that's designed to help you develop internal control over your reiatsu. I suppose you can think of it as a kind of meditation", he explained as she came to stand beside him. "Get into whatever stance feels the most comfortable and close your eyes", he instructed her patiently before waiting for to do as he'd asked. Once she did so, he continued to instruct her in a slow rhythmic tone which he purposefully adopted in order to help her relax into the right state of mind for the exercise to work. Taking a step back from her, he extended his senses so that he could follow along with her progress in an effort to measure her ability to delve within herself and control the flow of her own inner power.

"Get comfortable, find a relaxed position, and let your body begin to relax. Take a deep breath in, and as you exhale, let the tension start to leave your body. Take slow, calm breaths. Mentally scan your body, taking note of how your body feels. Focus in on the areas where tension is stored, and concentrate on relaxing those areas. Feel your body becoming more relaxed..... slowly releasing tension..... letting go of stress.... You will probably notice that you are relaxing more and more.... and you will continue to become even more relaxed as you begin to visualize a protective light. Imagine that there is a protective light shining around your body... almost as if you are glowing. This light can keep you safe right now from stress, tension, worries, and other problems that have seemed to attack you.

Picture in your mind being surrounded by light. Feel how relaxed, calm, and secure you feel as this protective light surrounds you. The light is like a shield, deflecting anything that is not good. It is like a spiritual armor that can protect you and help you to feel calm and relaxed. Imagine being surrounded by protective light.... from your head to your feet..... Focus your attention on your feet.... feeling how relaxed and maybe even tingly your feet feel. Notice that your feet are surrounded by protective light..... as are your ankles.... let your ankles be loose and relaxed. Feel your lower legs relaxing, surrounded by light..... soft.... heavy..... relaxed. Your upper legs are relaxed and surrounded by light too..... very warm and relaxed. Turn your attention now to your hands..... feel the relaxation there as your hands become very relaxed.... limp..... heavy...... along with your wrists, lower arms.... and upper arms.... all surrounded and protected, shielded by protective light.

Feel the relaxation in the core of your body... starting at your stomach... and flowing outward.... feel the relaxation flowing from the center of your body, out to your back.... chest..... hips..... feel the relaxation filling your body. Notice that your body is enclosed in a shield of light as well. Allow the relaxation to continue to flow through your body, upward to your neck and shoulders.... all the way to the top of your head. Feel your face relaxing.... limp and relaxed.... calm .... and feel the protective light surrounding your head and face, your whole body.... You are surrounded from head to toe in protective light.... shielded from any worries or troubles. Relax.... basking in protective light. Notice that there might still be some areas of tension in your body.... some worries remaining in your mind. You might even be able to picture these areas of tension as dark. See the dark tension being drawn out of your body by the protective light. Feel the worries and stress leaving your body and mind as they are leaving your body.

The protective light is like a magnet, drawing out the dark tension, out of your body and away... once the tension has left your body it is repelled by the light, which works as a shield, protecting you from anything that is not good. The light also works as a magnet for good, peaceful thoughts.... attracting relaxation to you. Feel the protective light drawing away tension, and bringing forth relaxation..... shielding and protecting you, while helping you to feel even more relaxed. Enjoy this feeling of being safe and protected by your spiritual shield of protective light. You are so calm..... so relaxed.... peaceful.... relaxed. Now it is time to return to your day. Remember that you can imagine this protective light again, any time you need to, and can repel stress and tension and feel calm and relaxed. Focus again on your breathing.... taking a deep breath in..... and out.... Now turn your attention to your body reawakening. Gently move your body a little, feeling your muscles waking up. Stretch a bit if you like. Allow your mind to become fully awake and alert, while still feeling relaxed. When you are ready, open your eyes.... fully awake, energized and calm".

[Deleted]

She watched him smile and nod and the part of her that wanted to speak her mind was partially cursing her. Why didn’t she just tell him? It seemed like such a simple thing to do in theory and yet Rin could fathom why she didn’t want to tell him. She should just say what she’s feeling no? She wanted to spend time with him… That meant a lot of things and none of which she could decipher. It left her feeling a knot in her stomach her curiosity and her desire to explore that feeling grew. There wasn’t anything she could do at the moment other than to just go with the flow.

At the sound of the word “break”, Rin instantly perked up and quickly she jumped to her feet. She grinned gleefully as she eagerly made her way to Ranth’s side. “Yes sir~” She chirped as she moved. Were they actually going to do something? Something interesting? She looked up at him, tilting her head with an interested look. He was in teacher mode and she was very much curious to see where this was going. She was seeing Ranth in a different light and she couldn’t help but feel as though he’d listened to her advice from the last time she spoke with him over the campfire. She was right; He had all the makings of a leader.

He was about to show her something that would help her with her Reiatsu. At first, she looked at him with skepticism, feeling as though she had complete control over her reiatsu. He wanted her to meditate. But.. she already knew how? It was how she visited her inner world. Perhaps it was different. Not that it mattered. Who was she to tell Ranth how to conduct his lessons? He knew more than her in this case and so Rin would offer him a small smile, settling in to a stance and slowly her eyes would close. She would listen to his words and remain silent, concentrating on what he told her to do intently.

She concentrated on her breathing first. She didn’t notice it at first, but Rin didn’t realize how tense her body was. She thought herself to be limber and lithe but the moment she focused more on herself, she realized she wasn’t. Her body was poised, stiff like that of a ballet dancer which was very much natural for her. It was as if she were waiting for an attack of sorts. From who? It didn’t matter. Rin always wanted to be prepared for the worst case scenario and that was where her main problem lies. She was ready to expect the worse. She didn’t want to be vulnerable and when she realized that was what she’d be doing, Rin’s eyes snapped open and she blinked a few times, feeling fairly timid for a moment.

If there was anything the Empress feared, it was being vulnerable. A vulnerable Empress who had a great deal of targets on her back. She looked at him from the side from the moment, deciding if she truly wanted to proceed. She couldn’t be a coward now. Not after all that she’d told him. If not for him, then for herself. This was something she needed no? More importantly, she knew that he was here to help her. She wouldn’t have asked him if she didn’t trust him. Rin would try once more, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath once more to dispel her fear of vulnerability. Initially, Rin was nervous but the tension in her body would dissipate rather slowly as she concentrated on his low, relaxing voice.

One might even say the tones his voice possessed were dulcet.

She felt herself almost… sinking? Was that the way to describe this feeling? No it was something else. It felt good. She felt good and it felt as though her body was, as silly as it sounded, light as a feather. It was as if she was enveloped in the very light he describe. Everything he said, she listened and she felt. From her feet, to her legs to her waist and up, the tension would be dispelled. Ranth would visibly see how relaxed Rin became. Almost akin to her being asleep. Though she wasn’t. She felt she was just a hair away from falling into deep sleep. She focused entirely on his words, listening to him.

She finally woke up, feeling revitalized and she looked to Ranth and stretched slowly as if she were waking up from a nap. The Empress wore a hazy smile as if she were at peace and sighed contentedly. “Wow.” She spoke softly. She felt as though she could take on anything. “Did you create that technique, Ranth?” Rin who would normally be resting her hand on her Zanpakuto was in a much more relaxed stance and she watched him for moment before giving him a slight bow. “Nonetheless, I am quite impressed~ Thank you for showing me that. I feel like I am much more ready to take your lessons on now.” She smiled, nodding with determination. She walked back to her seat where she’d sit with her textbook open and pen up, ready for notes and his lecture. "Well~?"

[Ranth]

Ranth chuckled as Rin asked him about the origins of the mediation technique and whether he could be credited with its creation. "No, it's not my technique. Truth be told, it's actually a meditation technique I picked up from the human world", he admitted sheepishly. "Back when I was at the academy I pushed myself quite hard and so I looked into all sorts of methods to boost concentration and push through fatigue. This one in particular just proved unusually effective when it came to controlling reiatsu, so I ended up sharing it with others and now it's an unofficial staple of the Kido Corps... although the script is usually unecessary after the first time'[/color], he explained as simply as possible. It may have seemed unthinkable to most Shinighami- perhaps even Rin included- to think of anything made by humans to be of any use to Shinigami and yet Ranth freely admitted it without shame.

"Now that you're relaxed, I'd like to have you try a different exercise", he continued once Rin had taken a seat. "Place your hands in the air before you, palms facing each other roughly one foot apart", he instructed her whilst demonstrating the action himself. "Once you've done that, concentrate on the space between your hands and imagine a small ball of light forming, no larger than a golf ball", he continued in his instruction whilst focusing his own attention in exactly the way he'd just described. "Once you feel like you have the image firmly in your mind, imagine your reiatsu trickling out of your body and into the ball until it can't hold any more. Feel the reiatsu trickling out of you and taking the shape you imagined"

As he spoke, a sphere or pale blue light began to grow out of thin air between his own outstretched hands until it became roughly the size of a golf ball. After waiting a few seconds for Rin to see what he'd done- assuming she could spare the attention from her own efforts- he continued on with his instruction. "It may take you a few tries, but once you've gotten a feel for the shape, imagine your ball of light expanding as you allow more of your reiatsu to flow into it. Don't let it escape your sphere, focus on it and keep it constrained within". As he spoke, his own sphere grew exactly s he described, steadily becoming roughly the same size as a baseball, then a coconut and eventually coming to rest at the size of a basketball.

"Once you have made it the size of your two fists held together, I want you to imagine that your sphere is as light as air and that if you were to let go if it, then it would just float there without a care in the world", he said softly, adopting a similar kind of tone to the one he'd used when he'd walked her through the meditation earlier. He knew that it was important not to interrupt her concentration and that this sort of sing song way of speaking was the least disrupting whilst still being able to register in the minds of his students. Once again, his own sphere served as a perfect demonstration as he lowered his hands and the sphere remained firmly in place, bobbing up and down ever so slightly as though it were truly just floating on the wind.

At this point, he would wait patiently for Rin to catch up. The poor woman would quickly find that everything that Ranth had described thus far was easier said than done, as each time she tried to move on from one stage to the next, her attention would invariably slip and she would find her sphere in danger of collapsing until she returned her full and undivided attention to it. Slowly but surely however, he could see her making progress. The second thing that Rin would find was that although she wasn't using a significant amount of reiatsu for this exercise, for some reason within a matter of minutes of keeping her sphere maintained she would find beads of sweat beginning to form on her brow no different than if she'd just undertaken a rigorous cardio session.

Ranth on the other hand couldn't have looked any more relaxed as he stood patiently whilst his orb continued to hover unerringly in the air before him. Ultimately, it was the combination of intense mental concentration and reiatsu output that would prove exhausting and the truly cruel aspect of this exercise was that the longer it took to progress, the more exhausted one became and the harder it was to maintain the correct level of concentration- much less split it among the various tasks required for each step. The true goal of this exercise was to focus on developing efficiency, both in terms of reiatsu control and concentration. In order to succeed in this particular trial, the true key was to use as little effort as possible to achieve the desired results.

Thus it was only natural that even though Rin was constantly improving in both aspects throughout the exercise, it wouldn't feel like it was becoming any easier due to her accumulating fatigue. Thus she was forced into taking the most efficient route to her goal possible subconsciously and the true fruits of the training wouldn't manifest themselves until she'd had a chance to rest and recover. This, again, was actually a concept that Ranth had borrowed from a kind of weight training method that humans used where they started with a low number of repetitions on the highest weight they could comfortably lift. Then, once they reached their limit on that weight they would reduce the weight and continue with more repetitions. In this fashion, eventually they could be lifting a mere fraction of the weight they were capable of and yet it would be pushing their muscles to their limit with minimal risk of injury. All Ranth had done was taken a physical exercise and apply its principles to reiatsu.

"Once you're able to maintain your sphere at that size for 60 seconds then you can take a rest", Ranth encouraged her once he could see that she could consistently enlarge her sphere but hadn't quite managed to keep it elevated without 'using her hands' without the sphere beginning to sink or flicker with the threat of extinguishing itself. In truth, Ranth wouldn't normally have pushed someone at Rin's level so hard at such an early stage of their learning, but by the same token it was practically unheard of for anyone to show so much progress in a single session earlier. Then again, what more could he expect from an Empress and a Vice Captain for boot? In any event, the Kido Corps lieutenant found himself willing the exhausted Empress on as she edged closer and closer to the finish line when any sensible person would have quit.

In truth, with the length of time she'd been exerting herself by this point 60 seconds had become an impossible goal and he was soon faced with an unexpected decision. On the one hand, he knew full well how proud Rin was and that she would never willingly back down from a challenge. The trouble was that if he allowed her to continue on like this she would actually be at risk of collapse and as a teacher, that wasn't something he could allow in good conscience. To that end, after a few seconds of idnecision as he watched Rin give her everything to the goal of maintaining her sphere for the full 60 seconds, he steeled himself and did the only right thing, even if it earned her wrath.

"That's enough Empress", he said as he gently placed a hand on her left wrist and gently pushed down so that her latest attempt at a sphere which had been wavering dangerously on the brink of collapse from the moment of its creation winked out of existence before she could protest. "You've done exceptionally well and should be proud, but this isn't the kind of exercise you can brute force you way through with sheer force of will", he said with a faint smile tugging at his lips as he drowned out her protest. Whether Rin realised it or not, she'd been at this particular exercise for almost two straight hours by the time he'd decided it was time to intervene. "How about we go and get some lunch?" he suggested, partly in order to distract her from the interruption and partly because it was literally lunch time.

"We could get food from the mess hall, or we could go somewhere else if you'd prefer"

[Deleted]

“Ah, the human world, ne~?” Rin always thought of the human world fondly and it wasn’t just for her last experience two days ago. Many of her encounters and experiences were rich in nature. Whether it be experiencing a beautiful scenic area or meeting someone new, Rin never disliked her travels there and consistently jumped at the opportunity to go there; even if the task or the mission was far below in caliber to an Empress like her. “There is much to experience there. It is where I learned swordplay.” She smiled as she thought wistfully back to the time she first picked up a sword. “Would you ever be interested in learning?” It was difficult and every time the man that taught her got one up on her or caught her making a mistake, he’d leave a notch on her arms. It’d gotten to the point where she had to cover it up entirely with tattoos.

As instructed, Rin arms rose and her hands were in the air. She looked up to her palms, somewhat guesstimating the distance before looking to his, adjusting herself accordingly. She’d concentrate and briefly, Rin closed her eyes as if it would assist her in imagining that small, golf-ball sized light between her hands. Rin’s eyes slowly opened to see Ranth doing just the same. She watched him studiously, analyzing him and mirroring his actions. She was taking both him and his words apart and applying it to herself. On Rin’s first attempt, she’d felt the Reiatsu flowing from her arms and gradually up to her fingertips.

She looked up to see if she was successful.. And while she was far from getting anywhere near anything ball shaped, Rin did see a spark of something. A spark of her own reiatsu that crackled just a smallest bit. She blinked, looking at the spaced between her hands. Rin certainly felt something there but it wasn’t what she wanted. It was then it started to make sense as to what he’d wanted her to accomplish. He’d wanted her to focus her reiatsu and maintain concentration and control while allowing the sphere to grow in size and power. Making the sphere on its own was trying enough but once she’d started to make sense of it, Ranth would see multiple attempts of what was a small spark of her reiatsu start to take shape into something that once started as a golf ball to something like a basketball.

The Empress was very much used to pushing herself beyond her limits. She’d trained herself and put herself through an extreme regimen.. the whole nine yards. Her missions were dangerous and she had to be ready for just about anything. When Rin was determined and had her mind set on something, she could do it. She willed herself to and she did whatever task was at hand with great ferocity. This exercise was truly something else. It was a concentration that was unlike any other and using brute force just as she’d always done before wasn’t actually doing her any favors. Something about this was exhausting her and on her first try she’d gotten about fifteen seconds into holding her sphere.

“Again.” She told herself as she tried to maintain the sphere yet again. The first ten seconds weren’t as bad as the last time but she’d made it about twenty this time around. Yet, Rin was not disappointed in her inability to keep the sphere up for sixty seconds. She took a moment to relax before going at it again. She was going to increase her hold time by five second increments each time she attempted. She knew she wouldn’t be capable of doing it in one go. Rin needed to slowly find her way there and Ranth would see that each time she tried, although slow, she was holding it fairly well until she told to the end.

The Empress panted when she maintained about forty seconds and relaxed back into her seat for a moment, looking at Ranth frustratedly. Her chest rose and fall as if she were doing some sort of intense workout. As if she weren’t sitting. She one thousand percent refused to quit. This was bloody difficult but she was making progress at the very least.. Even if she was just turtling along. It wasn’t getting any easier and she watched him with fiery determination before raising her hands once more, pushing herself in small increments again and listening to his calming words. Before she knew it, she was maintaining that very sphere for the sixty seconds he’d wanted from her and she was so deep in concentration that she hadn’t noticed him.

”That’s enough Empress

She’d felt his hand on her wrist and Rin would blink back into reality and found herself looking up at the Kido Corps Lieutenant. It wasn’t until she finally stopped that she felt the wave of exhaustion hit her. She felt the beads of sweat on her brow and despite her anger at the sheer frustration and difficulty of the exercise, she couldn’t find it within herself to be furious with him as one, she was far too tired to and two, he was teaching her. Pushing her consistently and in a way, it felt good and she’d felt accomplished. How long had she been doing this…? “Two. Fucking. Hours.” Hiretsuna growled, his protest more than apparent as he could tell the distress her body was under.

Rather than lash out at Ranth, her smile matched his own and when he mentioned lunch, she looked at him with sheer delight. The Empress couldn’t contain her happiness and she thought back to where they could go. There were numerous places she could go but there was one place she could bring him that wasn’t too terribly far. Mid thought, she’d looked down to her wrist with his hand over it which, for some odd reason, she somewhat blushed at as she looked at it. He hadn’t removed it and Rin wasn’t mad at that, so she wouldn’t move it.. though her eyes bounced back to his golden pair, watching his reaction for a moment before smiling as a certain idea came to mind.

“Have you ever been to Squad 7, Ranth?”

She cocked her head to the side and rather than wait for an answer of it, she had a few mischievous thoughts and ideas in mind for causing a commotion or two. From time to time, Rin did often like to rouse her officers up after she lit a fire from under them. Without waiting for an answer, she took Ranth’s hand leading him out of the Kido Corps and towards her own Squad. “We, at Squad 7, have fantastic food.” She grinned at him happily as she pulled him along for sometime before letting go and leading the way to her own Squad’s “mess hall”. A term for peasants. She would show him what the grass was like on the other side. Halfway there, Rin would stop and spin around, halting him for a moment as she needed to get a certain ground rule out of the way. “Ah, Ranth dear, I must tell you one thing..”

She watched him for a moment before speaking once more. The expression on her face was quite serious. “You are not to tell my officers I’m learning Kido.. yet. I mostly kept my disdain for it a secret for fear of drawing attention to my weaknesses. I'd like to in the future though. The other Rin of this timeline might have been a bit more… vocal.” She sighed fairly annoyed. “There are a few differences that I need to correct. Quite troublesome if you ask me. Foolish as well..” Once again, the Empress’s fingers would find themselves twirling and winding themselves in dark, raven locks as she spoke. Some part of her felt rather nervous. It was just lunch after all. Just lunch. That’s all it was. Just lunch with Ranth.

“If they ask just… say…” She turned once more, slowly making her way to the gates of her Squad, thinking up an excuse.. Or attempting to. Rin was sure she could come up with something but the idea of seeing Ranth squirm nervously was admittedly quite cute. Seeing that again wouldn’t be too terrible, ne? “Well, I’ll leave that up to you~ The very esteemed and powerful Kido Corps Lieutenant surely wouldn’t fall under pressure of my officers, ne~?” She looked at him with a sly expression, eager to see how he’d handle being around her squad mates before pushing open the gates. "Welcome to Squad 7."

Upon first glance, based solely on the architecture, Ranth would notice that this place looked like it was straight out of the Edo Period. It was elegant and grandiose. Japanese styled structures from front to back. It was fitting for an Empress. Just at the entrance in the courtyard on either side were officers training amongst each other tirelessly. Some fighting and some other of the lower, seated officers drilling the newer ones. Some would stop and stare to look at Ranth with a confused look for a moment before noticing Rin whom they would greet rather eagerly. "..Isn't that the Lieutenant from the Kido Corps?" he'd hear whispered. Rin had the respect over everyone here and it was apparent that she ran a tight ship. The Empress would wave, smiling at some and giving encouraging comments as she would monitor activities while casually walking in the very middle of it all, leading Ranth in a building.

The further in he got, he’d see how beautifully this place was designed. No doubt the idea behind the design of this place had Rin’s name all over it. All Ranth would need to do is look out a window to see a view of most of Squad 7. There were people hustling and bustling with crate of files and papers in their hands. Out in the gardens, some were training in much smaller groups or others working on some sort of secretive assignment amongst themselves. This place was huge and anyone could find a quiet spot with ease. Even to eat if they wished. Rin would slide open a wooden door to their fairly posh dining hall and gesture Ranth inside. “The sushi here is simply to die for~ Ah! We also have other things to eat as well. What do you wish to eat?”

[Ranth]

Ranth shuddered at the mere mention of learning swordsmanship, although Rin was far too preoccupied to notice. Although his first instinct was to immediately decline her offer, there were a number of factors that made him bite his tongue. First and foremost, what better excuse could he have for seeing Rin again after their lessons were complete than reciprocal training? Of course, he knew that in the long run he couldn't just keep relying on training sessions as an excuse to spend time with her. Eventually he would need to man up and come up with something else, something more casual and conducive to... well, never mind that for now.

The second reason for Ranth's hesitation was that his relationship with swordsmanship was... somewhat complicated. From the very beginning of his academy days, Ranth had been a painfully average swordsman. At best. At first, he thought it was because he'd started later than almost everyone else that led to him picking everything up slower and with what felt a lower ceiling on his skill level. Then he began to think that perhaps he simply wasn't cut out for combat or that he was a poor learner. That theory had been thwarted however when he realised that hakuda and kido came to him almost as naturally as breathing. But more importantly, he could see the results within himself and felt rewarded for the effort he put it.

Then there was the third and most recent reason for his hesitation. His Shikai. For most - and perhaps literally every Shinigami he'd ever heard of- their Shikai and subsequently their Bankai would transform their weapon into an even more dangerous tool which they could wield in order to devastate their enemies. Rin and her scythe were a prime example of just such a release... and yet Ranth's Shikai flew completely in the face of such a concept by literally breaking apart into pieces so tiny that they couldn't possibly be wielded even remotely like a traditional sword. of course, the benefits that his release gave him in exchange were nothing to be scoffed at, but it made the effort of honing his swordsmanship an utter waste of time when considering the fact that in any fight that mattered, he wouldn't even have a sword.

In the end, he didn't actually answer her question, as Rin was concentrating so fiercely that the question may as well have been a rhetorical one. Not to mention that the mere mention of lunch seemed fully sufficient at diverting her attention away from even her frustration at Ranth's interruption. It was actually rather useful to know that a hungry Empress was an easily distracted one and he filed that piece of information away for future use even as he shook his head in response to her question. "No, I've never been", he confirmed. After all, there was really only one reason why anyone who wasn't a member of squad 7 would visit and Ranth hoped that he never found himself in such a position. But despite the negative connotations that the squad had by virtue of its function, Ranth didn't mind going along in the capacity of a guest. Certainly not the guest of an Empress to boot.

As they began to set off towards Rin's home turf, they hadn't gone as far as the door before Rin stopped suddenly and turned too Ranth with a look so grim that he almost took an involuntary step backwards. Yet when he heard just what it was that had Rin looking so serious he almost fell over in surprise. "Rest assured, your secret is safe with me", he grinned as they departed the Kido Corps barracks and meandered through the streets of the Seireitei... streets which he thought that not for the first time could be better utilised by introducing stalls and markets rather than just an empty labyrinth. But that was probably just a thought born from the lingering memories of his false life in the Rukongai, it occurred to him with a pang in his chest.

Before long they arrived at the Squad 7 Barracks and Ranth had to admit that the decor of the place wasn't at all what he realised he was expecting of somewhere that was literally built in order to imprison suspected criminals for interrogation. In fact, now that he thought about it he realised that he'd basically been imagining Squad 7 to be about the same as the infamous Maggots Nest and he scratched his chin guiltily as he realised how he'd let his imagination run wild without even realising it. As they passed through the main entrance and entered a gorgeous courtyard with a surprisingly romantic atmosphere Ranth began to notice the whispers of Rin's squad members, who were now behaving much the same as how his own squad had done upon seeing Rin in their midst.

In truth, Ranth was vaguely surprised that anyone would recognise him as the Kido Corps Vice Captain given that there hadn't been anyone to wear the uniform in years and even then they rarely interacted with any of the other squads within the Gotei. It was a complicated feeling to be recognised on sight and he wasn't sure if he disliked it or not. Of course, along with the whispers was the unspoken questio of why he was there. The most obvious reason in any other circumstance was that Rin was bringing someone in for interrogation... except that no paperwork had been filed, nobody had been informed and the 'prisoner' was walking unrestrained side by side with his supposed jailer so nobody was naive enough to think that was the case for more than a heartbeat... but that just made the question all the more juicy.

As for Ranth, with the promise he'd made Rin firmly in mind he decided that there was really no reason for him to go out of his way to make up an excuse. They were Vice Captains after all and other than the Captain of the squad himself there was nobody with the authority to question their actions. That could certainly be considered a major perk of his newfound authority, but it didn't quite balance out the myriad of responsibilities that went with it either. "I don't mind sushi, although I could go for something spicy. A Katsu curry with chilli would hit the spot if your chefs have it on the menu", he said casually- doing his best to ignore the dozens of eyes drilling into him with every step he took. Didn't they have anything better to do?

[Deleted]

“You’ll get used to it.” She spoke aloud to him as she was sure he heard them. The whispers amongst them. The ones asking about why the man beside her wasn’t in cuffs. Why she wasn’t being rough with him as she had been with all perpetrators… Why wasn’t she being her normal self. It was strange to see the Empress so calm and so casual alongside someone that wasn’t a criminal, much less, someone of another squad. She looked at him from the side offering a sympathetic smile. “The higher you rise, the more people will talk. The more they will want to know about you.” What? The Empress? Smiling with someone outside of her squad? Were they in the twilight zone?

Rin originally didn’t feel nervous. Squad 7 was her home. It was where she felt the most comfortable and it was where anyone of her squad mates had the luxury of relaxing. One often worked the best when the conditions around them were much better, no? This place was designed with that in mind. Besides, all their actual duties took place in the Maggot’s Nest where officers would assists in their interrogations before they handed off their cases to that blasted Omnitsukido. It was quite irritating really. They did damn near nothing while Rin did all the work for them. Alas, there was nothing she could do from her position.

“If anything, they are curious as to why I am not treating you like a prisoner” She looked around at officers who stared at them in one moment and then retreated like rats in the next moment under their harsh lieutenant’s gaze. She huffed as she watched some scurry before turning to Ranth with a mischievous smirk, taking another step closer to him. She knew more of her officers would get a rise out of this and she was giving them something to talk about. “Though, I suppose I always could treat you like one if it makes you feel better~?” Obviously, it wouldn’t but to tease the man in an awkward situation was something the Empress loved to do. She’d let her question float there for a moment before stepping away, giggling.

She looked to where the chefs were stationed and motioned for Ranth to follow her. “Good afternoon~!” She greeted them in Empress fashion to which they’d bow as some others had done. “You know what I like obviously~ Could I trouble you to make a Katsu Curry with Chili? Pretty please~?” She smiled charmingly at her chefs who would nod eagerly and set off to work. Rin would then lean against the wall waiting.. waiting.. and she looked at Ranth and realized that they didn’t have to talk about training. They could talk about something else other than nasty hollow, Kido, darkness.. They could talk about anything that wasn’t a bore or depressing. They could actually spen—

“Whoa she’s not torturing him..?”

Snapped out of her reverie. Rin looked to the owner of the comment who was just a table away from where the pair was standing. He’d been surrounded by a group who was staring directly at Ranth, one glaring, a few extremely confused and one very confused. They were quite obvious with their remarks and didn’t stop until they’d noticed Rin’s stern look honed in on them. All she needed was a singular look for them to turn their attention back to their food. It was strange now. She didn’t think it was initially when she’d strolled into Ranth’s squad but now that it was happening in her very own barracks, she’d come to the realization that it was all different. “You’ll have to excuse them, you’re the first person I’ve brought here that isn’t in handcuffs.”

She looked at him slightly nervous and turning away from him. Not because she was afraid of everyone (because she clearly wasn’t and had no problem exerting her authority over them), but because of the circumstances. Ranth was one of the first people Rin Minamimoto brought in to Squad 7 who wasn’t kicking or screaming. What did that mean specifically? She didn’t know and before she could explore that further, their food was ready and Rin would give her thanks and grab her food. “Why don’t we eat outside? Away from prying eyes?” She spoke as she led Ranth outside to the gardens. She walked about for a couple of minutes looking for a specific spot before finding a gazebo with a rather large sakura tree beside it. They could see the ponds and the koi fish that swam about and other people off in the distance busy with their own assignments and training.

The Empress would take her seat on the bench and placed her food beside her. “This is my favorite spot in all of the gardens.” She spoke softly as she looked out into the distance. “Often times when I wish to be left alone or wish to escape my paperwork… which is quite often these days. What do you think so far?” She sighed, exasperated at the thought of the mess that was waiting for her in her office. “There’s just something rather relaxing about being here and this view.” She sighed dreamily as she leaned up against a post next to her as she looked into the water before realizing that she wasn’t here alone. To which she’d sit up and look at the other lieutenant, trying to catch her bearings. “Y-You should feel quite special Ranth! Hmph!” She crossed her arms and huffed, turning away from Ranth whilst her face was as pink as the petals that fell from the tree adjacent to them. Rin would hesitantly turn to him, biting her lip nervously before averting her gaze “I don’t show this place to anyone b-but I suppose an Empress can make an exception for you..”

“..Why am I suddenly riddled with nerves?”

[Ranth]

For what was quite possibly the first time since they'd first met, Rin would find that her playful teasing wasn't met with embarrassment or fearful retreat. Instead, she would find that Ranth actually stopped and placed his hands on hips hips and smiled at her like a parent might smile at a child who had been naughty in the most adorable way and thought they'd gotten away with it. "Oh come now, surely your reputation hasn't scared everyone so much that even people in your own squad don't think capable of bringing friends over for lunch!" It wasn't a question, nor was Rin given an opportunity to retort as Ranth continued walking through the courtyard, admiring the scenery with the kind of innocent nonchalance that indicated he truly believed what he'd just said- Rin wasn't a scary or malevolent person, nor did he think for a moment that she would be lacking in friends for the purpose of casual events.

He turned back to her with a look of surprise on his face as she continued on to mention that he was the first person she hadn't brought in handcuffs. "Oh, really? That's a shame, this place is so lovely it's a shame that more people don't get to see it", he remarked as he cast his eyes about the magnificently maintained courtyard once more. "I guess I'll just have to visit more often if nobody else is going to. Someone needs to come and appreciate the beauty of squad 7 after all, right?" Ranth's voice was casual as he spoke, as though he wasn't really giving much thought to his words as he spoke about the courtyard, but on the inside... well, on the inside he was sweating bullets at the stunt he'd just mustered the courage to pull.

The beauty of squad 7!? Who on earth says something like that about a courtyard!? Was I too obvious? oh my god I was way too obvious, what the hell have I done? In a moment of wild bravery that had come from seemingly out of nowhere, Ranth had done the unthinkable and actually made an attempt at flirting. Granted, it was a miserably vague attempt but for the young lieutenant it was a monumental step in the right direction. Thankfully, despite his worries to the contrary it seemed that he had indeed been vague enough that one couldn't claim with any sort of concrete evidence that Ranth hadn't been referring to anything other than the perfectly manicured courtyard.

Together, they approached the kitchen that serviced the entire squad and Rin placed orders for the both of them before taking a seat. Unfortunately, before any sort of meaningful conversation -or any conversation at all really- the pair noticed the ill-concealed murmurs from the nearby tables and the furtive glances that were being cast in their direction when they thought they were unobserved. On the one hand, Ranth didn't mind overly much other than that it did occur to him that Rin's image could be in any way damaged through her association with him. Before he could give voice to his concern however, Rin seemed to be one step ahead of him as she suggested they relocate post-haste (grabbing their meals on the way out).

Before long they had left prying eyes behind, though he had felt the lingering gaze of every last person right up until they were literally out of sight and nobody had a good excuse to follow them, thus allowing them to privacy to... Ranth's heart skipped a beat as the gravity of his current situation finally struck him. He was alone with Rin in a garden that was almost as enticing to the eye as she was. On the one hand, this was the kind of setting that every great love story was born from, but on the other hand... this was real life, not a love story. "It's a lovely spot, I have to admit that this place is nothing like I expected. I don't know what exactly I was expecting, but it wasn't.... this", he said with a helpless gesture at the landscape around them.

The more Rin spoke of the gardens and their importance to her, the faster he felt his heart beginning to beat as his mind poked and prodded at the implications against Ranth's will. Why had she brought him here? Because it'a a nice place to have lunch obviously. But she's never brought anyone here before... Surely she's exaggerating. But what if she's not? She definitely is. But- Definitely. Exaggerating Ranth's thoughts went back and forth in an intense struggle between what he felt was the cold harsh truth and the fantasy that had somehow sprouted deep in his heart. No small part of him wanted to be convinced that she'd brought him here because against all odds she was feeling at least a tiny bit of what he was beginning to feel. But as much as he wanted to be convinced, it was a task that was easier said than done.

Suddenly Ranth was jolted out of his internal dilemma by Rin's unexpected outburst and he nearly fumbled his curry so badly that it would fallen from his hands if he hadn't saved it at the last moment. "O-of course I do!" protested before he could catch the words coming out of his mouth and his cheeks colored slightly as he became suddenly fixated on the bowl of food in his lap. "I mean, it's not every day that someone gets to explore an Empress's secret garden after all", he stammered awkwardly, torn between not wanting Rin to find him unappreciative but equally not wanting to out himself in front of her. Clearing his throat and taking a mouthful of his curry to buy himself a few precious extra seconds to think of some way to move the conversation into less dangerous territory, Ranth swallowed- relishing the spice that hit the back of his throat as it went down.

"It feels like I can just... step away from everything else, if only for a little while, in this place", he sighed and his gaze took on a faraway look as he watched a single leaf pulled free of the tree by the water as it danced lazily through the air before eventually landing upon the glassy surface of the rive, creating a single ripple that spread out slowly from the point of impact. "If you allow it, I'd like to come here again", he remarked absently as his thoguhts wandered to and fro, much like the leaf he'd just seen. He thought of his final moments with Rin before her death, he thought of his past that had never been and the family that had never been his. Then, out of nowhere, a question emerged from his lips. "Do you have any family, your majesty?"