Adorable Judan [JT]

[Ruhe Krieger]

Ruhe upon arriving to this location known as the Nijūkan was very swiftly a welcome addition to the location. Having shrunken and seemingly regressed, she'd seemed nothing more than a small child. Cleaned of blood, given some new clothes, she found herself farther than many Quincy could ever hope to get. She slept on a futon along the ground, taking to herself a fox plush of which she found herself comforted by. Ruhe Krieger had become simply "Kin" or Gold. A simple name for a simple girl. Her days were simple.

Simple, but good. The narrative was that she was a survivor of an attack on a poorer district, plagued by demons. Which wasn't unrealistic or wrong depending on the perspective. Insisting on helping? Little Kin would take a broom and sweep the many stairs and hallways leading up to the school fortress, and its outskirts. Or other menial chores. From an appearance, Ruhe couldn't be any older than ten, if not younger. 3'8", and she wore white and red colored robes on her time off, not unlike a Miko.

She wore the outfit of a Judan when working. Yet...

She remembered much of her life. A bit more came back. She remembered Germany, and Berlin, and other vague details, but things felt foggy too. She knew she wasn't from here. Walking through the area in her sandals, she'd find it hard to muse and think when she had so much to do. Help prepare the meals. Clean. Laundry. Watching the people fight and spar however? Either in the sword or martial arts? She'd found herself sometimes fascinated. Other times, she seemed internally disturbed. As if she'd seen something.

She hummed to herself from time to time, some tune she'd heard from here, but at times, she'd sing songs from far, far away. From the world of the living. Her favorite food here had been sticky rice. The meals she had were hearty and everything felt very peaceful. Though at times, she'd felt sick. "I made a splash, but found I'm not free. A fish out of water, bound to the sea." She sang to herself, whilst sweeping the floor of one of the front pass. 

When confronted with the charmingly cute little thing? With her long blonde hair and those shining cerulean eyes, she seemed confused on where and how to move sometimes. In more ways than one, she often felt strange. Especially as she heard the clatter of wooden swords and the shouts of men and women. What more, when she saw the occasional sight of black robes and katanas by waists? It set off feelings of anxiety and worry. Maybe she could learn to fight too. Make the fear go away.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

The darkness of the night was just about as uninviting as it always has been. As it always did, it stretched beyond anything in all possible directions, swallowing every possible instance of light and snuffing it out before it could have the chance to express itself in any meaningful way. Within it, nothing could be seen, heard or even so much as felt, and there was nothing that would allow those who found themselves within it to cleanse this darkness away so as to allow for the return of what has been destroyed. In other words, there was nothing within this darkness that suggested the presence of the life, whether that presence be proper or partial in nature. All there instead was - or rather, all that remained within this darkness, for there must have once been something here that could have been described as being lively in one way or another - was but the death of everything. The death of color, the death of sound, the death of life.

Kimiko was familiar with this place. She had visited it countless times before, not because she wanted to, but because she had no choice but to. Long ago, this place took the form of horrible nightmares within which she would be granted terrible suffering. It was where she was hit by her, mauled by her, tortured by her, and killed by her. It could be said that, in a way, it was like a recreation of Hell, or at least a cruel replication constructed from one's vision of it. These nightmares had ceased for some time, but now, she found herself here in the dark, experiencing another method of torture. Instead of physical pain, this was instead emotional pain. Well, from the looks of it, it appeared as though it was supposed to convey that specific kind of suffering. Without light, without sight, without sound and without feeling, it would be easy for one to simply go insane. Case in point, it would not be uncommon for the Shinigami to see things move in the dark, even though there was nothing there that suggested that there was something present in it.

This environment was the kind that could tear one's sanity asunder. There was no doubt about it. Robbing one's ability to sense anything in the slightest was prone to also eventually rob of them of what constitutes their being. For a while, after a countless amount of dark nights had passed, the Captain believed that she was experiencing this loss of sanity to an extent, if only because it was an exhausting process to go through. However, once that time had come to pass, she began to realize that it was yet another test. It was yet another evaluation, yet another examination created by the being that lied deep within the blackest corners of her soul. These tested the length of her character, the persistence of her will, much like how the nightmares from before instead attempted to showcase the strength of her will against pain and trauma. Thus, much like before, she endured quietly in the dark, remaining there every time she found herself falling asleep, staring back at it with an iron gaze.

Tonight's dream was supposed to be like all the others. It was supposed to be yet another dark slumber, another portion of emptiness for her to experience. This was how it was for the first few hours. Yet eventually, as her night supposedly came to its half, a figure approached her from the dark. At first, its figure was like the others': cold, distant, hollow. However, as time passed, its figure began to take proper shape, or rather, it began to become visible. With a silvery sheen, it presented itself to Kimiko, standing before her with a judging hue that shone upon her. It spoke no words and did not attempt to communicate through conventional means. However, it did speak to the Shinigami. It did so through the changing of its form. Initially blank, it would shift itself, change itself, transform into things which it was never designed to be. It became a statue cut in pieces. It became a Human corpse. It became the pieces of the fallen Rider. It became an officer of the Vandenreich whose arm had been left a bloody stump. It became Ruhe, the Quincy child.

She understood that she should've been shocked by this. Perhaps before she got used to all of this, she would've actually felt at least a semblance of confusion and fear. However, now, Kimiko simply felt unimpressed. She was bored of this. She was tired of this. More importantly, she was disappointed. Not entirely disappointed by the Inner Hollow, mind you, though that was indeed true, as she believed that her capability to do harm was much greater than this. This was absolutely nothing in comparison to everything the creature has put her through, not by a long shot. No, she was mainly disappointed at herself, because there was something that she had just begun to understand, more specifically since she fought against that Quincy child. That something has been ongoing for quite some time now, possibly since the very beginning of her career as an officer of the Gotei 13, and she believes that it has affected her in many more ways than one.

The grey figure continued to change its shape as it stood in front of Kimiko. It turned into various figures. She recognized Celes, Emile, several of her subordinates within the Eleventh Division, Ailene, and an arcade cabinet of Justice Cog IV, among others. However, there were also a few that she did not quite recognize at a glance. An older woman wearing a simple casual dress, a cold-looking man wearing an office suit and holding onto a suitcase, a female Shinigami officer with ripped flesh and bone where her throat should be. Then, there were other figures, all of which more gruesome than the others. From the looks of things, the most of them were Human corpses. Either way, it did not matter, as Kimiko felt nothing then. She did not feel pity, she did not feel angry or sad. She felt nothing. If anything, the dead officers of the Vandenreich as well as the Hellions sprinkled about the atrocities shown to her almost made her satisfied.

The Captain would simply observe the figures switch between one another for a time. In a way, much like many times before, she was hoping to see if the corpses could get her to feel something. Yet, again, she felt nothing. From there on out, her disappointment would gradually turn into frustration. In spite of this, she would attempt to remain silent for a time, if not to continue remaining strong before the Inner Hollow. Keyword being attempt, for eventually, she would find herself letting out a huff. "Alright, I get it. It's pretty damn obvious." Her tone should have been harsh, but it was not. Instead, it was simply bothered, an expression of her disappointment in herself and the Inner Hollow. "You don't need to shove it down my throat." 

Echos of the words could be heard throughout the dark scape shortly they came out of Kimiko's mouth. They resonated a few times, enough so that they could be understood a few more times, both by Kimiko and the gray shape. Upon hearing them, the latter would change shape a few more times before, suddenly, they would form into the one woman which haunted the Shinigami's dreams for many decades now. Her glasses were still as clear as before, and her school uniform was just as clean. Even though it has been years since they have last seen each other, she had not changed. Not even her smile had gone away. "We both know that I could have shoved something else down your throat if I wanted to, Kimiko-chan~," the being would first mock before it would then slowly push her head forward, with her chin up. "You know, you surprised me back there! When we first met, I never thought you would've been able to resist me... and look at you now~."

"You wanted me to cut a kid's head off for the hell of it," the Shinigami spat then, irked by the Inner Hollow's attitude. "Did you really think I was gonna let you do that?"

"Hm, you say that like you haven't crushed a whole bunch of kids to death with that energy of yours already. You really are a hypocrite, Kimiko-chan~."

The Captain wanted to be mad at that. It was a terrible thing for the creature to say to her, especially after what happened with Ruhe. Unfortunately, though, it was entirely possible that Kimiko did do that. The many areas she had that had been turned into battlefields within the Living World most likely had a few Human children in them. She always tried to scare them away nowadays, but in the past - especially while she was blinded by the rage the Inner Hollow had forcefully lodged deep into her heart - it was entirely possible that some of these children were indeed crushed to death by the gravitational pressure which typically surrounded the Captain. She did not want to think that was the case... but the possibility was there, even if she found the idea to be absolutely sickening. Nevertheless, she wanted this to change. She wanted to leave that possibility far, far behind her, so that she could atone for those sins today and in the near future. Thus, she would took a deep breath and stare into her silvery copy. "Are you gonna try to do that again?"

An inquisitive hum would first resonate from the creature, then a thoughtful one. It was almost as though she was actually giving the matter some thought. Eventually, she would simply shrug her shoulders before giving Kimiko a playful smirk. "No. That game has now become boring. It's not as fun to mess with your brains when you know I'm messing with them." There was no sense of guilt in her voice in the slightest, no shame, no embarrassment. It truly seemed as though she believed that what she had done deserved no punishment whatsoever, or rather that it wasn't wrong at all in the first place. "But I'll admit it: this sucks! It was a pretty fun game to play! I liked making you angry. I liked turning you into something that you were not. It took a while, of course, but it was just... really interesting to see Kimiko-chan turn from a shy little girl to the force of nature that she is now~."

Silence followed the Inner Hollow's words, causing the creature to blink and simply readjust herself to stare at Kimiko. It seemed like the Captain appeared almost lost for a brief moment, as though she was thinking about something. Her scarlet eyes were staring at the creature, but they were not there. Instead, they were elsewhere, thinking about a multitude of things. Then, to the Inner Hollow's surprise... a brief chuckle came from Kimiko. One single chuckle. Hearing it caused the gray woman to stare back at the Shinigami with an astonished smile, up until the swordswoman then smirked. "This is really all this is for you. Your threat against Shizukakane, you just vanishing for a while before randomly coming back, you trying to get me to kill Ruhe... Everything... just makes so much sense now." 

The Inner Hollow continued to remain astonished as she stared at Kimiko. For the first time in a very long while, Kimiko wasn't the one that was confused in their conversation. No, it was not her; rather, it was she. "What do you mean, Kimiko-chan?" She would try to ask then, as an attempt to understand what the Shinigami had said. Instead, however, she would watch as the woman she has been haunting for so long turned her back to her and began walking away from her into the darkness. A few blinks would come from the creature as she stood there, almost bewildered by this sudden development. Eventually, she would call again: "I haven't heard your answer, Kimiko-chan!"

An answer then finally came from the Captain.

"Figure out another game for me. Then, I'll give you my attention again."

And with that, the Captain would disappear into the darkness, putting an end to the dream.

---

The swordswoman's scarlet eyes slowly opened on a ceiling that she at first did not recognize. It was different in comparison to the one she usually witnessed upon waking up, a little bit higher with it being composed of bamboo rather than the traditional wood. It was a design reminiscent of Seireitei's to an extent, but it was different, older. Perhaps it was because it was not made of Sekkiseki, which caused it to wear and tear just a little bit faster over the course of time. Either way, it would cause Kimiko to remain there for a moment as she attempted to understand where she was in the midst of her slow, yet steady awakening. Eventually, she would begin to realize that her body was in a rather comfortable futon set upon the floor, in a room that was just about as decorated as her quarters back in the barracks of the Eleventh Division. There were banners and various sword stands, a few papers here and there, and then a few windows overlooking what appeared to be a great village. It was only then that she finally remembered where she was.

She was currently within the halls of Nijūkan North, the northernmost branch of her martial arts school. More specifically, she was in the master's room, a replica of the original room found inside Nijūkan West. The reason why she was here instead of her quarters behind the walls of the holy city was because, yesterday, she had gone on to hold a most important class for her students here in the northern school. Because of the latest attack against the Soul Society, there was a great number of them who had collectively decided to become stronger swordsmen and swordswomen, and as a result of their efforts, they had effectively become masterful enough in the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu school that they were now worthy of the title of Yondan. One of them was even able to reach the title of Sandan, which was not an easy feat to achieve in the slightest. This called for quite the celebration thereafter, and since the Captain was quite a fair bit away from Seireitei then, she had decided that it would be wiser for her to remain here for the time being. It was an effective way to get some rest... and also a good away to make sure Gideon would do her paperwork for her in the morning.

In any case, now that she was awoken, the Shinigami would push herself off the futon and slowly sit up. Looking down, she would be quickly reminded that she needed to change her sarashi, as it appeared to have become dirtied to an extent. She wasn't surprised by this; after all, yesterday was a rather intense training session from everyone involved, and her excitement alone had caused her to sweat  As usual, her blades were resting at her sides while she slept. They were each settled away from one another: the white blade on her right and the black blade on her left. Quietly, she would close her eyes again, as though listening to the blades. Then, she would slowly move out of the futon. "Good morning," she would say as she raised herself, sighing as she would stretch her body and hop a few times to get the energy going. "Yeah, I got another one. It was pretty much the same thing as usual... I prefer them over the others."

Her routine would proceed without any interruptions. She would go on to take a quick bath in the bathroom, replace her sarashi with a cleaner piece of cloth she had set aside in one of the drawers, then put on her Shihakusho and her haori before heading out of the room towards the main courtyard. Although it was somewhat early in the morning, she would quickly notice that most of her students were awake and already training in the dojo halls. Some of them would pass by her and give her a respectful bow, which prompted her to give them words of encouragement. Others would give her a clear "Good morning, Nakajima-sensei!" which she almost always appreciated hearing, even if she tried her best not to show it to them. All in all, it appeared as though this was already turning into quite the peaceful and lovable morning. After what happened in that dream, it was safe to say that Kimiko already liked where this day was going.

The dojo master would walk for a while through the main courtyard before she would eventually notice a young Shinigami who appeared to be in his late tens. From the looks of things, he appeared to be practicing in order to understand the fundamentals of swordsmanship. Seeing him this early in the day surprised Kimiko, yet pleasantly so, enough so that she would feel the need to express her happiness of seeing him here. "Good swings, Tian Kuo! Just remember to move your feet along with the blade! Footwork is important!" She would first tell him, which was enough to cause him to freeze and quickly look towards her with a look of panic. It was clear that he had been so focused in his work that he hadn't noticed that Kimiko had actually been heading towards him all this time. Regardless, she would give him a hearty smile. "Anyway, good morning! It's been a while since I've seen you here this early."

"Uh, y-yes, good morning, Nakajima-shīfù..." the man greeted as he slowly straightened himself out of his stupor. It took some time, but eventually, with a deep breath, he was able to reconstitute himself well enough. "You look a little groggy... Have you just woken up?"

"Yeah, I did. I wanted to wake up a little bit earlier, but I guess I ate too much yesterday," the Captain would find herself casually chuckling as she explained herself, which caused the man to smile rather awkwardly. Unfortunately, he hadn't been at the party yesterday, which prevented him from relating with the swordswoman's sleeping troubles very well. Either way, they would not remain on that subject for long, as not long after, Kimiko would let out a sigh and look a bit more serious. "I know he isn't necessarily under your care, but how is Bushida going? I take it he's still unconscious?"

The male officer would blink for a moment as he tried to recall the name of Kimiko's subordinate. Eventually, however, a flash would brighten in his eyes as he remembered the man properly. At that moment, he would take on a more serious look as well. "Indeed. Bushida-xiānshēng has not been very well since you have brought him to us. Although he is sedated, he is... sometimes agitated. I do not know why that is. We first believed that this was due to us having to remove his arm, but... we do not know. Do rest assured, however: his father has requested that we grant him the greatest of our services. As long as he is in our care, we will not allow him to pass away."

Kimiko would remain silent as she considered the explanation that was given to her. She wasn't quite sure of what to say in regards to what she had just heard, but she knew that what she heard wasn't entirely very good. What happened to Bushida on the day she had gone to save Ruhe was not something that she appreciated revisiting. He had lost a ton of blood due to the shark-like construct the Quincy girl had unconsciously unleashed upon him, and he then had been hit with quite a powerful explosion that had left him with a few burns here and there, and many broken bones. The fact that he had survived was nothing short of miraculous, but with all that agitation Tian Kuo was trying to explain to the Captain, it did not seem as though he was going to come out of his recovery in a good state of mind. Well, regardless, she was glad that he was at least alive, which was enough to make her eventually sigh quietly. "Alright, then, I'll make sure to leave him to you and the rest of Yonbantai. Please, take care of him."

With a final "Of course" from Tian Kuo, the two officers would then say their goodbye for now, and with that, Kimiko would find herself heading towards the entrance to the dojo so as to go down the steps. Since she had just woken up, she hadn't eaten anything yet, and it was safe to say that she was a bit hungry. Thankfully, much like any and all of the 40th districts as of today, the northern branch of the Nijūkan school was also the home of quite the culinary folk. She would most likely not have a very hard time finding a place to eat breakfast here, especially not with such kindhearted folk working hard to perfect their craft as much as possible. As the Captain would go down the steps, though, she would eventually blink as she started hearing a song. Not long thereafter, she would find that someone was sweeping the front pass before the steps that led upward towards the great dojo. That someone was Ruhe, the little Quincy girl... or rather, Kin, as she is now commonly referred to.

Upon seeing her, the Shinigami would very briefly stop. However, not too soon after, she would begin to descend the stairs again. Once she was close enough for the girl to hear her, she would call with a wave: "Good morning, Kin! How's it going? I take it you slept well tonight?" Her tone was as friendly as can be, casual. In spite of her knowing about Ruhe's true origin, she did not treat her any differently than the other kids. On one hand, it was best that she did so to keep appearances, especially given that she was still trying to plan out how she was going to bring her back to the Living World... but on the other hand, she simply preferred doing so. That way, the girl wouldn't feel ostracized in comparison to the other children of the district.

[Celes Castellanos]

The burial grounds of Soul Society were a site of reflection. A place for the living to honor the dead. Among its many headstones and memorial sites was the Captain of the Tenth Division, Celes. Her head hung low and her eyes closed, she simply stood in front of an intricately carved stone. Etched into the age-old rock was KIA. Celes stood in eerie silence before muttering something. "May your souls find fortune in the next life.", she softly spoke. While she addressed everyone on the standing stone, Celes' thoughts were really focused on her own who had fallen during the most recent invasion.

Memories of her smoldering and crumbled barracks immediately came to mind. The disfigured corpses buried beneath rubble. Her surviving personnel who had suffered grievous injuries and were left in the care of the Fourth Division. The rest of her Division who were still capable of fulfilling their duties had taken refuge in their sister Squad, the Eleventh. Despite the accommodations, the whole thing was a logistical disaster and Celes was convinced that she'd feel the ripples of this incident for some time.

As she continued to reflect, paying her respects, the Captain heard a voice in the distance. "I thought I'd find you here. Old habits die hard, ey Celes?" She immediately recognized the voice and turned her head. It was an Academy Teacher and close friend, Venus. Celes flashed a brief smile before returning her gaze back to the standing stone. "It never gets any easier, does it, Venus? The Captain paused for a moment before clarifying, "The guilt. The senseless deaths." Venus hummed for a moment and merely sighed. "No. It doesn't. We've been through this song and dance before, Celes. This is not your fault.", she emphasized.

To Celes, however, this couldn't be any farther from the truth. She had known about this incursion for some time. It had been revealed to her by the Hellion, Brutus. Despite that, the Captain did nothing to alert her fellow Officers. If she had, there would have been one question that she would be hard pressed to answer. Just how had she gotten this intel? She couldn't reveal the circumstances, having been bound by oath and contract to not reveal the details of her hellish benefactor. At the same time, Celes recognized that she should have taken precautions, however, she was so consumed by vengeance towards Guujin that she had failed to act independently. Needless to say, she was convinced that their blood was on her hands. 

Celes just stood silently and didn't offer any retort to Venus. While some might have interpreted it as Celes taking the reassurance to heart, Venus knew better. She recognized that there was no point in arguing. The Captain was stubborn and this was not her first bout with guilt. Nevertheless, Venus gently placed her hand on Celes' shoulder. "Do me a favor, Celes. Take the day off for change." Celes turned her head and blinked. "What? There's so much to be done though. Restoration of the Tenth Division barracks... patrol assignments... reports..." She went on and on about her duties for a few moments. "...Besides. Their morale hangs by a thread. I can't just leave." 

Venus sighed and pointed at herself. "Let me take care of that. You're in no condition to tend to all of this." Celes stammered, "B- but.." It seems that Venus was adamant as she pushed further. "Let me do this for you, friend." The Captain sighed and acquiesced, simply nodding her head in response. The instructor simply patted her shoulder and spoke softly, "Good. Let me handle them while you do something fun. Maybe for a walk or something." She smiled and turned on her heel before disappearing from sight with a Shunpo. Celes' eyes darted to the side as she stared at the Rukongai over the horizon. "...Damn it, Venus..."

---

Walking through the streets of the Rukongai, Celes scanned the area. Despite the invasion by Hell, the districts were managing. Some buildings were still reduced to rubble, but the Sixth Division was diligent. Several Shinigami continued to use their combined skills to lay the foundations for new houses to house the influx of new souls from the World of the Living. Businesses had also returned to some form of normalcy, at least in this district. In fact, several Plus sat in a familiar spot. 

As she approached closer, the smell of ramen noodles filled the air. It was a welcoming aroma. The bustling chatter of its current patrons was interrupted as the owner raised his hand at the Shinigami. "Hey Celes! It's been a while!" Several of the Plus chuckled and returned to their own idle chatter. Hakashi raised one finger as if telling the Captain to wait. Taking off his apron and gloves, the middle-aged man came from the kitchen and into the dining area. Offering Celes a hug, the Shinigami wrapped her arms around him and smiled softly. "It has been some time, friend. I hope you are well?" 

Hakashi nodded and motioned towards a nearby table. "Come, come. Sit." Shuffling over to the table, Celes lowered her Zanpakutō to the ground, leaning it against the seat. "Can I get you anything? A plate of Tonkatsu, perhaps?" Before he had a chance to get up, Celes raised her hand and shook her head. "No, Hakashi. I'm not all that hungry actually..."  She paused for a moment. "I'm just in the area." Hakashi chuckled. "Fair enough. Say, how's that girl of yours doing? Kimiko, I mean." Celes hummed softly. "She's doing well. Captain of the Eleventh. Plus, she opened a school in the West Rukongai." 

He smiled and nodded. "Ah. That must be the schools I hear so much about. Up in the 40th district, no? Y'know, they call it the Shutokendō. The Capital of Swordsmanship." Celes blinked for a moment. "Excuse me, schools?" He simply nodded in response initially. "Yeah. Some of the students drop by occasionally tell me that they want to visit the other sites. She must be pretty good to attract so many students." His head turned as he noticed someone new approach the counter. "Hey Celes, I got to get back to work. Next time you see Kimiko, tell her that I wish her the best." He rose to his feet and gave the Captain a small bow before returning to the kitchen, leaving Celes with her own thoughts. "The Capital of Sworsdsmanship, huh? Well. I guess I might as well check it out..."

---

It would take quite a while for Celes to reach the 40th district. She was not in any particular rush and just chose a comfortable stride as she made her way deeper and deeper into the Rukongai. As with the western districts, the north was quite rural. Rice farmers and other agriculture were quite common around these parts. As she drew closer and closer to her destination, the Captain soon saw a town in the distance. The region slowly grew more and more mountainous as Celes ascended the stone steps which led to the district.

Climbing up the antique stairwell, Celes took note of the larger mountain beside the district. Atop the cliffs were several buildings which loomed in the distance. It looked a little old and weathered, but Celes was sure of it. It was Nijūkan, or at least, another dojo built in its likeness. As she made her way into the 40th district proper, Celes took note of the activity. Countless people were going about their daily lives. Some were working, others chatted while a small group of kids played out in the open. It was a stark contrast to how the western 40th district was when Celes and Kimiko had originally staked out the haunted dojo. Something about this all warmed Celes' heart. Nevertheless, Celes steadily ascended the second set of steps which led up Nijūkan North proper.

[Ruhe Krieger]

When approached? Kin snapped her head towards the sound before seeing Kimiko. Before she slowly curls her lips upwards into a smile. "Umm. Good. I'm just sweeping." She said cheerfully. "I've slept good." She said it shyly, holding the broom to her chest in a pseudo hug. Even though that she was a bit of a fib. Her sleep had been very on and off. Slowly, the little blonde steps forth and wraps the older captain in a hug. Tucking her head into her stomach as she tried to take comfort in her. Mainly because it felt so soothing and good. Also foreign. It felt as if she could never have too much of that. Before she slowly separated and broke that hold. Though it was clear she didn't want to.

"I'm trying my best!" She said in an adorable, but also meek tone. Though she found herself listening. To the sound of footsteps carrying upwards along a staircase. Until eventually finding herself looking at a green haired woman with shining eyes. An odd color. "U-Umm...Mhm." She found herself slowly circling behind Kimiko and hugging the back of her leg, trying to make herself small and fade away. Because she was shy, but also because the woman before her? She seemed...Strong. Big cerulean eyes peeking behind the older woman. The girl always feared confrontations or people approaching her for some reason or another. She wasn't much of a big talker.

Ruhe or "Kin" had gotten well accustomed to the place. She kept her days busy and spending time with others had been nice. Nobody had treated her rudely or meanly as far as she was concerned, and yet. She did feel out of place. Slowly looking out to Celes, she found herself bowing her head slightly from behind Kimiko's lap, before speaking in a meek tone. "H-Hello. My name is Kin. Welcome to Nijukan." She tried to be polite, and with it, if she was exposed, Ruhe at this point in time was very small in comparison to Celes. Likely coming just past her waist, or around that level. Her fingers twiddled with one another as she lightly sweeps the broom in place near her feet. Her cheeks flushed as she tried not to stick out too much. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko's scarlet eyes would calmly analyze Kin as she greeted her. From the looks of it, it appeared as though the little Quincy had quickly gotten accustomed to the life that had been offered to her for the time being. She had been tending to her duties, as meager as they may have been from an outsider's point of view, and she has been doing so with the kind of enthusiasm that was endearing to see. At least, it was endearing to the master of this dojo, even if the attitude itself obviously carried the newfound innocence that had come to the girl ever since then. After all that's happened to the girl, she vastly preferred her seeing her here - in a place that was peaceful in every sense of the word - than anywhere close to the disgusting hell that was the military cesspool of the Vandenreich. Like that, she was at least happy and free, or at least something close to that, rather than chained to something that she didn't want to be any part of.

With that said, it did not take very long to see through the words that the little girl told to her next. She could tell that Kin had, in fact, not been sleeping very well. There were little bags under her eyes, a clear sign of tiredness, and she was slightly slower than usual. That one last point was perhaps just a symptom of the nervousness the girl had developed since she arrived here, but either way, Kimiko could not criticize her from not being able to sleep. After what's happened to her, how could she? For all that the Captain knew, the memories of that day were probably coming back to her whenever she closed her eyes, making sure that she never falls asleep again for the rest of the night out of her own volition. It was something that she had seen occur multiple times within the headquarters of the Eleventh, while some of her soldiers and comrades were recalling their battles in their sleep. It was something that she too had experienced... though her own dreams were another matter entirely, a matter that could not possibly be equivalent to what Kin was experiencing.

But those were not what Kimiko needed to focus on here. She had told the Inner Hollow what she thought of her scheme, and so she believed that they had both moved on from it. After all, she now understood how the creature worked: she needed a game to play, both now and forevermore, until she gets eventually gets bored of it. No, what she needed to focus on in this moment was Kin herself. Thus, once the little girl came to her and gave her a hug, the Shinigami would smile before she smiled and rested her right hand onto the girl's head. "Sure, you did," she would reply to the girl's previous comment about her sleep then, sighing a bit as she was once again reminded of the accursed responsibility that was put onto her shoulders. One day, she will find a way to bring this girl out of here, away from the impending wrath of the Gotei 13 and whoever else who wishes to put an end to her life for being what she is. One day, she shall do just that.

Eventually, the hug came to an end, and the little girl went on to declare that she was doing her best. The comment would make the swordswoman's smile brighten into a smirk. "That's great! I can see you're already carrying one of our school's popular mottos well!" She complimented with the usual positive energy that she tends to give to her students. As she did so, a part of her would begin to realize how strangely quickly she had gotten used to this. Only a few years ago, she was an energetic fighter, but she was not someone that she could deem as being charismatic or even capable of leading. If anything, she believed herself to be somewhat incapable of speaking to people very well. Yet, all it took for her to almost completely change was a few years during which she managed a dojo and a squad all at once. It was... refreshing, but at the same time curious. Was this the work of her Inner Hollow too? Had she changed because of her again? Or had she changed out of her own volition?

Whatever the answer may be, it would not reach her, much like how the many answers to the other questions she has asked herself during her career as a Shinigami have yet to reach her as well. Before she could make a proper conclusion from this, her train of thought would be interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Having rather refined senses, Kimiko could hear many footsteps if she wanted to. In fact, if she focused now, she could sense those which came from the villagers down below as they went through to their day. However, these footsteps did not come from there. Instead, they came from the stairs themselves, which prompted the Captain to look down towards the very bottom of the steps. Since they were further away from the top of the cliff where Nijūkan North rested, said bottom was relatively close, allowing the swordswoman to get a good view of who was heading towards their position. From there, she would find herself blinking in surprise.

It was Celes. For some reason, the Captain of the Tenth was here at the base of Kimiko's northern dojo, walking upward towards it. As she remained there staring at her incoming friend, the dojo master would find herself briefly filled with a feeling of great unease, especially given that Kin was sticking to her. Why was Celes here? She did not visit the 40th districts often due to her duties, and most of the time, they would find themselves away from this place whenever they did anything together. Moreover, last Kimiko had heard, the lime-haired woman had been notably busy due to the destruction of the barracks of the Tenth, and had been supervising the reconstruction efforts. So then, again, why was she here? Had she come here because she had somehow been informed of Kin's true nature? Had she come here to bring the little girl to Seireitei and to judge her as a deserted officer of the Vandenreich, even though Kimiko had reported that there had been no Quincy survivors from the battle?

Whatever the case may be, Kimiko would take a small breath and attempt to calm down. Perhaps Celes hadn't come here for that. Perhaps she had come for something else. Her step was casual, after all, so it could have meant that there was no urgency here. If that was the case, then the possibility of the Captain not coming here to take Kin away was there and that, therefore, the swordswoman needed to keep the subterfuge up. It was not something that she enjoyed doing, especially given that this person was not just another Shinigami officer amidst the masses, but rather someone that she believed to be very close to. Regardless, for the safety of this little girl, she was ready to hide her true nature away from everyone she knew. The Gotei 13 did not need to know about her. Her friend did not need to know about her. The only ones who needed to know were herself, the wounded Bushida, and those of the Eleventh who were part of the group who eliminated the Vandenreich scouts.

With this in mind, the scarlet-eyed woman would eventually become comfortable again before she gave a friendly wave to the approaching Celes. She would try her best to look as natural as possible while she did so. "Oh, Celes! Good morning! I don't think I've ever seen you come here before," she greeted with a friendly tone. As much as she attempted to hide her worries of Kin being caught, the smile was one of genuine happiness. Though she would have indeed preferred for her friend to not be here simply for Kin's sake, she was nevertheless quite glad to see that Celes was actually here; after all, she had always wanted to see her mentor witness the efforts of her labor in one way or another. There was no better way to witness this than to gaze upon it firsthand. Well, at the very last, that is what Kimiko believed. "How's it going? Are the reconstruction efforts going well back at the Tenth? I heard from your officers here that the Sixth had rebuilt a good portion of it."  

As she spoke, Kimiko's worries for Kin would gradually shift away from her and instead towards Celes herself. The latest attack against the Soul Society had not been kind to the Tenth Division. In fact, it had been horribly cruel. In what could have only been described as one fell swoop, an enormous Hollow as well as a traitor to the Gotei 13 had decided to lay waste to the barracks of the Defense Squad. Countless officers had been murdered, and with the barracks gone, many of the survivors of the attack needed to be temporarily relocated. Kimiko had made sure to immediately offer her dojos as shelter for these officers for the time being, and now, many of them remained within them. Since the dojos were all designed to welcome as many students as possible, they fortunately had enough space to welcome those of the Tenth. It was not easy to manage so many people all of a sudden... but it was the least Kimiko could do for Celes. She preferred to do so than to leave her to deal with the horrible nature of her situation alone.

Eventually, after she greeted her friend, Kimiko would hear Kin introduce herself to the Captain of the Tenth. It was a meek and nervous greeting, which did not surprise the dojo master. Although she was not aware of the child's ability to sense people's strength, she has long since recognized the girl as being someone who had a hard time talking to others, if only because she had once been just liker her many years ago. It was rather difficult to not see parts of her past social self in the little girl at times. In any case, once the girl finished her greeting, Kimiko would look down towards her with a smile. "Ah, yeah, I... haven't told you about her yet," she would find herself speaking mostly to, well, herself as she made that comment, doing so in an awkward manner that she could really only showcase in front of Celes at this point. Fortunately, she would quickly recover from this as she straightened herself back up. "Kin, this is Celes! She's the Captain of the Tenth Division. Everything I know, I've more or less learned from her. If it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't be standing here."

That was a bit of an exaggeration, but she felt Kin perhaps needed this. As much as it was normal for children to be shy in front of others, the little girl was not a normal child. In fact, she wasn't even really a child, at least not on a true physical level. As such, she needed to feel more comfortable whenever she was around Shinigami. Perhaps presenting Celes in such a way will make her trust the Captain a little bit more, and in turn, ease any form of suspicion there may be between the two.

[Celes Castellanos]

As Celes climbed the long-winded flight of stairs, Venus' words continued to echo repeatedly in her head. "...This is not your fault." "Let me handle them while you do something fun." "...not your fault." "...do something fun." Her lips curled into a pout as she grimaced. "How the hell am I supposed to enjoy myself when my family is in disarray..." More than ever, the Tenth needed her leadership to keep them focused. Or, perhaps more accurately, she needed to focus on something else to distract herself. After all, her Inner Hollow had delivered a cut deeper than any blade.

Before Celes really had any time to contemplate further, a familiar voice got her attention. "Oh, Celes! Good morning! I don't think I've ever seen you come here before," The Captain's eyes drifted upward and met Kimiko's own. Normally a fountain of optimism and radiance, Celes flashed Kimiko a rather quick and, frankly, half-baked smile at first. She hummed and let out a faint sigh before giving Kimiko a more pleasant smile. It was a little forced, but Celes truly tried the best she could. She had always been the type of person to wear her emotions on her sleeves. Hopefully her effort wasn't too noticeable to Kimiko?

Nevertheless, Celes was slowly bombarded with questions. "How's it going? Are the reconstruction efforts going well back at the Tenth? I heard from your officers here that the Sixth had rebuilt a good portion of it." The Captain gently tapped her own waist before tackling her pupils' comments on by one. "Good morning, Kimiko.", she greeted her. "Yeah, this is my really my first time in the northern 40th District.", Celes briefly admitted. "Guess the ones who couldn't find a place in the Eleventh were moved to these buildings.", she thought to herself. She had read some report on it that she vaguely remembered, and it just made logistical sense.

"I'm not doing too bad.", Celes lied. "The Sixth has been putting in pretty good work and I've been offering a hand as needed. Hopefully, everything will be fixed within the month." Despite being somewhat optimistic, Celes' answers were pretty succinct. Up until now, she had just focused on Kimiko, but all that would change when Celes heard a squeak that barely rose above the distant ambiance of the 40th District. "H-Hello. My name is Kin. Welcome to Nijukan." 

The Captain looked down towards Kimiko's legs and raised an eyebrow. Just behind her fellow Captain's legs was a small figure. As she peeked from behind Kimiko's legs, Celes saw what appeared to be a very young girl. She hummed to herself, intrigued, before looking up at Kimiko with an inquisitive look. Thankfully, Kimiko replied, "Ah, yeah, I... haven't told you about her yet," Before she elaborated, the Captain looked a little bashful. Celes wasn't sure why, but now she was even more intrigued.

"Kin, this is Celes! She's the Captain of the Tenth Division. Everything I know, I've more or less learned from her. If it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't be standing here." The lime-haired Shinigami, despite her haze, let out a soft chuckle. "I think you're flattering me more than is necessary, but I'll take it..." She lowered her stance, practically kneeling on the steps, and met the eyes of the young Quincy girl. "Kin, was it?" Celes extended her hand and brought out a smile. "As Kimiko said, my name is Celes. It's a pleasure to meet you." After a few brief moments, no matter whether Kin took her hand or not, Celes at Kimiko.

"I knew you had a passion for swordsmanship, but I didn't know that you taught them this young."  It was less accusatory and more inquisitive. Celes knew that Kimiko had worked hard to recruit people from the Rukongai since the Hell invasion. Hell, there were a good number of Shinigami that outright studied under Kimiko, both after and before Shin'ō Academy. Had Kimiko been inspiring her students, honing them so they could enter the ranks of the Shinigami? Perhaps she was just overthinking it...

"Well, while I'm here, perhaps you could show me around Nijūkan? I'm more than curious to see what you've built thus far." A bit of energy returned to the Captain as she expressed interest. Her eyes rose to stare at the looming buildings that sat atop the tranquil mountaintop. Celes had visited Nijūkan West in its infancy stages and hadn't had much time to drop by since. Now, her disciple owned multiple schools. It was quite the step and Celes, while somewhat diminished, was proud of Kimiko's work.

[Ruhe Krieger]

There was a moment of pause when the word came out. Captain of the tenth. A hand reached out for her, and there was a moment of brief freezing tenseness. Her blue eyes looked upwards, and with it, her heart skipped a beat. There was a sense of terror she couldn't quite explain. Though, as the hand was offered out and downward, Ruhe instead slowly steps forward and puts her head against Celes' hand. "H-Hello." She blushed pink as she shyly looked down towards the floor, and with it, she found herself lightly twiddling with her fingers. Though. There came the question about seeing how Nijukan was. How it was built up. The young girl felt like she was intruding.

"I-umm...I don't want to bother you." She proclaims, and with it, she finds herself looking to scamper and vanish out of existence. Stepping up those stairs at a brisk pace. Her footsteps were incredibly swift as she looked to evacuate. Fearful of the negative opinion there might be of her. Until she eventually made her way into the halls and training facilities. As people sought to train their abilities and prowess with the blade. There was something that was changing for her. Some metamorphosis that wasn't complete. For some reason, when she looked out to the green haired woman, she felt afraid despite her good nature. The robes she wore. What was wrong with her? She looked out to all those men and women training, and with it, she knew something deep down.

She didn't belong here. Did she? She felt foreign as if she was in an alien world, and that she wasn't supposed to be here. Despite her mental regression, more and more details seemed to come to her with the passing of time. As she found herself more often than not utilizing instinct. As she looked outwards at the trainees beginning to clash their shinai and bokken against one another, her vision seemed to shift. Where she imagined the area around her was surrounded by crimson red. Kin wanted to be held. In someone's arms and lap and hugged, and to be told everything was going to be alright. Because her visions terrified her. Though there was something more scary.

The voice in her mind and heart. The odd feeling that for some reason, a lifestyle of death and violence was her destiny. She remembered waking up in cold sweats, recollecting the visage of dead men and women. She remembered the visage of people in black robes not unlike Kimiko's and Celes' own. She remembered from her past, the hateful face of a man, one that looked upon her as if she was trash and garden. Ruhe found herself lost and absorbed in her thoughts. So much so that she didn't realize she was practically oozing out spiritual pressure. The gravity intensified, and for Celes, she might have sensed that power, if even slight for a moment. It was a heavy power, and from the level of its development?

It had to be captain level. Lower captain mayhaps, but one all the same. Though it'd vanish as swiftly as it had come. Something strange was here. Something wicked perhaps. Though as Ruhe was snapped out from her stupor, she found herself moving forward, controlling her breathing. She tried to steady her emotions, and with it, tried to swallow the sense something was amiss. Especially as she continued on with her work for the day. She had a part in Nijukan just like everyone else, and she had full intentions on seeing it through. Though, it didn't mean there wasn't definite concern. Now the question was. Now that Celes knew there was a powerful person in Nijukan waiting for her to fight? To what limits would she go to find them? 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

As the conflict behind the management of Kin's true nature rang loudly within Kimiko's mind, the swordswoman would find herself feeling a bit anxious as Celes walked forward. What should have been a nice visit, something that she should have enjoyed due to the rare occasion this was meant to be, was slowly turning into something else, and she wasn't really sure she enjoyed. She has known the Captain of the Tenth for quite some time, and although she knows many things about her, there are also things that she wasn't quite sure she knew as much. She knew that she was a kind person and one that valued friendship quite highly, but she did not know how far her loyalty to the laws of the Soul Society went. She also did not know how she would react should she find out about Kin. She could do nothing, yes, as she has done so with the likes of Kishi... but she could also decide to attempt to kill her on the spot. Such was the stain of the Vandenreich onto the Shinigami's affairs, the great disgust of the cross that permeated every rank associated to the reapers.

With that said, while she tried to make herself appear as casual as possible before her friend, she would realize something. Her friend was usually radiant. She was, in a way, sunshine incarnate, someone that could bring warmth to those that she spoke to without really attempting to do so. This radiance, however, was not found today. Instead, Kimiko witnessed something else. The light that typically shone ever-so-brightly around the Captain of the Tenth... It had been dimmed, lessened. Even as Celes attempted to bring her signature smile of hers back, she clearly had a bit of difficulty of doing so, as made evident by the way she first flashed that half-baked thing that could barely be called a smirk. She tried to hide it, of course. It wasn't entirely evident, especially given that said half-baked smile only lasted for perhaps a few seconds. However, to Kimiko, it had been evidently designed to save face, to make Celes appear stronger than she was in spite of what appeared to be a great and perhaps insurmountable struggle.

In that moment, the dojo master almost forgot about the situation with Kin entirely, and her worries completely turned away from the little girl. She saw that her mentor and friend had been deeply hurt by everything that had happened within the Soul Society up to this point, more so than than by any other time that occurred prior. It was hard to blame her for this; after all, her squad was perhaps the one that had suffered the greatest amount of damage during the latest attack against Seireitei, and she had always considered that squad to be her family. In spite of this, it incredibly bothered Kimiko. Perhaps she should talk to her later. She wasn't really sure if she could reach her very well, but considering their friendship and their knowledge over their respective problems as Vizards, she could perhaps reach some kind of conclusion with her. For all that she knew, maybe something had happened between Celes and her Inner Hollow. Hell, maybe something had happened to Yunorashi. It had been a while since she had spoken to the little Zanpakuto spirit, to the point that Shizukakane even found himself contemplating the amount of time that had passed since they had drank tea together.

In any case, after Kimiko greeted Celes, she would eventually find herself listening to her friend. There were a few things that the swordswoman noted as the answers went on. For one, Celes would quickly confirm that this was indeed her first time passing by the 40th northern district of Rukongai. It was a small thing to admit, but it was enough for Kimiko to feel a bit relieved, as she had indeed not misremembered that fact. For two, Celes described herself to be "not doing too bad"... which, given her previous half-smile, was not really something that Kimiko could easily believe. It just didn't feel right. If anything, it reminded her of the time she spoke similar words to her mentor while she herself was dealing with Taishokukane during their more-difficult times. Nevertheless, once again, the Captain of the Eleventh decided that it would be best to perhaps leave this subject for later. Kin didn't need to hear about  such conflicts, and quite frankly, this wasn't really the right place to discuss such matters. Then finally, for three, she described the process of the repairs of the Tenth's barracks to be going well. That, at the very least, was good. It meant that, sooner than later, the Defense Squad would be able to get their home back, even if it would not be entirely similar to what it was once before.

It appeared as though that was just about anything that was going on with Celes and the Tenth for the time being. While she had hoped Celes would have been less reticent to share her darker feelings, Kimiko was at least glad to see that it didn't seem as though her friend had come here for Kin. No, it really didn't seem that way: things would have most likely gone very differently by now should it had been the case. More fortunately, it didn't seem as though Kin herself was going to be difficult, as despite being shy, she at the very least introduced herself to the Captain. It was brief, but good enough, especially given her current form. Most children of her age are typically nervous around high-ranked Shinigami, after all, or really any other positions of authority. Even so, Kimiko was surprised to see her running away so quickly. Blinking, she would find herself turning her head with an inquisitive "Ah?" before she found herself watching the little girl go as she quickly climbed the steps up towards the dojo. By the time she reached the main gates, she would let out a sigh and smile before turning back towards her friend. "Don't mind her. She's always been pretty nervous with people she doesn't know."

By the time the little girl had left the area entirely to join the other students above, Celes went on to express her curiosity regarding the typical age of said students within Nijūkan. Kimiko showed no surprise to this question. It was to be expected, especially given that practically every generation that could come to anyone's mind set foot within her schools. Thus, while her friend's question was not at all accusatory, she decided it best to settle this matter immediately. "I teach to anyone who wants to learn more about the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu. It doesn't matter if they are young or old: everyone is welcome," she would explain to Celes, finding herself looking down towards the village as she did so. As she did so, she would almost appear a bit more resolute than she already was, more radiant. A stark contrast in comparison to the kind of person she was before. "My schools are schools first and foremost. They exist to teach swordsmanship. If my students who have unlocked the ability to use reishi are thinking about becoming Shinigami with the lessons I've taught them, then it's going to be their decision to make, not mine."

Some of the Shinigami within Seireitei may believe this to be somewhat untrue, and quite frankly, Kimiko could not quite blame them from feeling this way. While Nijūkan was always designed to be a place of knowledge above all, there have been many new officers within the Gotei 13 who have decided to become Shinigami because they were once Rukongai civilians who had decided to learn from the Captain's teachings. Moreover, Kimiko had promised the Captain-Commander shortly before the founding of the school that she would try to bring more people from Rukongai into the Gotei 13 with what she referred to at the time as "recruiting booths". In so doing, it would not be difficult to recognize Nijūkan as not just a collection of schools, but rather as something that could be qualified as being similar to these "recruiting booths", something akin to proper recruitment centers. Hell, her teaching her lessons to children could perhaps even be qualified as military indoctrination.

Still, Kimiko did not see the schools nor her actions in such ways. Specifically, she saw her schools as more than just recruitment centers, more than just a place to fill back up the ranks of the Shinigami. She thought of them as something that the Rukongai ultimately needed in order to turn it into a more powerful community, both physically and emotionally. She hoped that Celes had understood or would be able to understand that in time, especially after what happened between them and that awful demon they have slain in order to liberate what has now become Nijūkan West. Regardless, after she was done describing the objective of her school, she would give a brighter smile to her friend as the latter showed interest in visiting her school. "Oh, sure! I've actually been thinking about showing you one of my schools for a long time now," she admitted as she turned around to face the school and outright completely forgot that she had been heading towards the town below not even that long ago to go get breakfast. "We've had to make our schools a lot bigger since you last came to Nijūkan West. So many people joined us since then, it's... Honestly, it's still pretty shocking to me today."  

As she walked up the steps, hopefully with Celes in tow, Kimiko would find herself lightly frowning as she felt something coming from her dojo. It was brief, but she could have sworn that she felt something that was very akin to a very powerful spiritual signature, one that was typically associated to a Captain. At first, she thought nothing of it; after all, there were powerful people amidst the people of her dojo, such as some of the teachers that had decided to help her with her lessons. There was also Emile who, ever since he had been appointed as her very first disciple, had become quite the impressive warrior. However, as she thought about this further, she would eventually frown as she realized that most of the teachers who were currently within the courtyard were not capable of liberating such a great amount of energy. Emile was also not within Nijūkan North, as he typically preferred to remain within Nijūkan West as its guardian. So then, that left her with just another person who was capable of liberating this amount of energy: Kin... or rather, Ruhe.

The dojo master wasn't sure why Kin had decided to liberate such an enormous of energy so suddenly, but she had truly done so in one of the worst times possible. It was enough to make Kimiko begin to worry about her safety once again. She herself could not do it, but if her friend Celes or anyone in the courtyard could identify this energy as being the kind usually liberated by a Quincy, then she would be in trouble. Despite this possibility, the swordswoman would keep her calm as much as she possibly could before letting out an impressed hum. "Oh, nice! Someone must be taking their lessons seriously today," she noted as she crossed a few more steps up towards the main gates. Though she looked calm, her heart was beating quickly with stress and worry.

[Celes Castellanos]

This Kin was proving to be quite the bashful little thing. Not only was she hiding behind Kimiko upon being greeted, but she approached Celes in a way that nobody had before. Instead of shaking the seemingly young girls' hand, Kin gently pushed her head into the Captain's hand like some lost puppy. It was cute, but Celes really wasn't sure to react. Shortly after, Kin excused herself and quickly scurried up the steps. "Don't mind her. She's always been pretty nervous with people she doesn't know.", Kimiko quickly clarified. Celes turned her attention to Kimiko and raised an eyebrow, "You don't say."

Shortly after, Kimiko would answer Celes' questions about her students. It turned out that Nijūkan accepted a wide variety of students, of all ages and backgrounds. It was certainly inclusive. The Captain of the Eleventh even went a step further and surprisingly added that she never pressured any of her students to add their strength to the Shinigami. After all, she did push to draw upon the reservoir of potential talent within the Rukongai during a meeting with Head Captain Ningen. Perhaps she didn't want her to get the wrong idea? Perhaps that's why the explanation flew o close to her initial suspicion.

"Ah well.", the Captain thought to herself. As Celes brought up some interest in seeing the school, Kimiko seemed to be so on board with the idea. "Oh, sure! I've actually been thinking about showing you one of my schools for a long time now," Celes flashed a brief smile in response. "We've had to make our schools a lot bigger since you last came to Nijūkan West. So many people joined us since then, it's... Honestly, it's still pretty shocking to me today." The lime-haired Shinigami was, admittedly, not to surprised by the development. In fact, its popularity only served as an indicator of its quality.

As Kimiko began to ascend the stairway, Celes followed a few steps behind. The Captain, however, was practically on auto-pilot as she became lost in thought. Yunorashi's death, the destruction of her home, her unfulfilled deal with Brutus...it was as if a dark cloud was raining over her. Sliding her hand along the blue hilt of her Zanpakutō, resting in a leather harness at her hip, she'd just groan softly. There was no solace, no hope, to be had from her Zanpakutō. She'd never feel the comfort that Yunorashi provided her ever again.

Suddenly, Celes softly bumped into Kimiko as she spoke, "Oh, nice! Someone must be taking their lessons seriously today,". Celes' eyes rose to meet Kimiko's as she came out of her haze. "Oh... sorry, Kimiko., she'd briefly apologize for her clumsiness. "Happy to hear that your students are so dedicated.", she smiled nervously. Celes hadn't realized it right away, but they were now standing in front of the gates to Nijūkan.

She briefly stared up at the looming buildings briefly before her eyes returned to the gate. It clearly led to a large courtyard, just as with Nijūkan North. In fact, Celes could hear the distant sounds of swords clashing. Before going in, Celes briefly reached for Kimiko's arm. If grabbed, Kimiko would find Celes' grasp to be rather light. The Captain spoke, in a hushed voice, "Hey, can you do me a favor Kimiko?" Pausing for a moment, Celes collected her thoughts. If and when we meet your students, just introduce me normally. As your teacher, I'm technically Sigung to these students and I want to try to avoid any unnecessary fanfare. Sound good?" Thankfully, more often than not, Celes left her haori behind when traveling into the Rukongai to avoid unneeded attention. For all intents and purposes, she just looked like an ordinary Shinigami.

[Ruhe Krieger]

There was a saying. Age was just a number. Frankly, that was incredibly true in the lands of Seireitei. Plus didn't inherently age or seem to go through much change, or if they did, it was an incredibly slow process. However, in these tumultuous times of warfare, blood, invasion, and assaults by now vigorous and hungry Hollows that sought more? It made sense that the people sought to defend themselves, their homes, and livelihoods. In that sense, the Shinigami held a massive advantage.

So long as their institution stood, they would never run out of people that sought to defend themselves and others. Kin found herself washing her hands, and then brushing them along the fabric of her dress. She looked at her reflection in the water, and with it, she found herself thinking. Why did it feel as if something was wrong? In a way, everything about Ruhe was wrong wasn't it? 

As she ran off, and did some silent apprehension of herself, she found herself hungry for something. Some rice, and meat, with a nice soup. Or maybe some cold buckwheat noodles with a barley tea. Her mind wandered as she rubbed her stomach and thought about everything else too. About the green haired woman, and how when she looked at her, she could feel that incredible sense of dread. Instinctively, Ruhe knew that she was strong. Powerful beyond conventional measure. Yet...? There was something else.

She felt warm too. Ruhe largely minded her business, and while Celes and Kimiko caught up, and had a bit of a social gathering? Ruhe did indeed find herself looking to see what the kitchen might have on hand. Even if it was a lighter snack. Hunger really was a driving factor, and she was grateful to have people around that seemed to enjoy her presence. Some people viewing her as a "little sister" of sorts. In a way, while it wasn't perfect, Ruhe could legitimately say she felt happier here. How couldn't she?

The little blonde soon found herself before a small table, eating a bowl of rice, some braised chicken, and a bit of beansprout soup. Soothing to the throat, and filling, she felt much more relaxed now in her solitude. Unfortunately, peace wasn't something that really lasted forever now did it? Not when a Sigung wanted to introduce herself to the people at large. "Mhm. Mhm! Mhm~" She sounded to herself, a few grains of rice on her face. Ah. To be oblivious. Wonderful. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

While she would try to start a conversation in regards to her schools as she and Celes went up the steps leading towards the main gates of Nijūkan North, Kimiko would realize that she was almost practically talking in the void. No response would come from her friend in that moment, or at least, none that would have better represented the person that the Captain of the Tenth usually was. Instead, all she heard was something akin to a quiet groan. It wasn't an annoyed groan by any means, at least not from the swordswoman's perspective, but it was just loud enough to cause the aforementioned swordswoman to look over her shoulder so as to attempt to understand what may have caused this groan to even come up to begin with. What she saw in that moment was enough to cause her to briefly bring her out of her cheerful attitude, to make her lightly bite her bottom up, and to slightly wince at the sight as she was reminded of something she would have preferred to leave in the past.

Her friend was absolutely miserable. She could tell. The smile that she had been attempting to hold since a few minutes ago now appeared just stuck there, fake, and her eyes seemed like they were staring forward at nothing at all as she lightly rubbed her weapon, like she was trying to find some kind of comfort from it. In a way, it was as if she was shrouded in shadow, both unhappy and unwilling to show her unhappiness... which were two things that Kimiko would have never believed she would have once seen coming from Celes. To see her friend like this, to be shown almost an exact image of what she herself once was back before the foundation of her dojo... It was almost sickening to the Captain of the Eleventh. What the hell happened? Surely, at this point, the destruction of the Tenth's barracks was not what caused Celes to appear to be so morose. There had to be something more to this, something that was somehow related to someone very close to her friend.

Before she could arrive to some kind of conclusion to this, however, the burst of spiritual energy that resonated from within Kimiko's dojo occurred, and in so doing, her attention was briefly broken, causing her to look away from Celes and instead towards Nijūkan. In so doing, she would not notice that her friend continued moving forward in spite of the burst of spiritual energy. This would cause the lime-haired Captain to bump into the swordswoman, which would make her let out a brief and somewhat-awkward noise of surprise as she looked back towards her friend once more. "Ah, no, no, it's on me," she would excuse with a reassuring gait, trying her best not to put the blame on her friend before she then let out a brief sigh. "Heh, they really are. Everyone around here always does their best. You should see them! They're about as insane about training as I am." She would pause a moment as she contemplated that idea, then simply smile. "It makes me very proud of them." 

She was also very relieved. From the looks of things, it seemed as though Celes was actually unable to detect the spiritual energy which was released just yet. That was good. Since her friend appeared to be so down the dumps, it was doubtful that her reaction would not be severe should she suddenly learn that one of her students decided to harbor a Quincy, of all people, within her school. Well, at least that was how Kimiko imagined things. As far as she's aware about her views on other races, Kimiko always believed that Celes was rather progressive about the most of them, much like how she was progressive as well. Even so, a Quincy was a Quincy. If Celes would not be mad at her for harboring one somewhere down these great halls, then another Shinigami will be mad in her place. Hell, a couple of officers might be waiting for her behind these great gates to go inform her about that burst of energy; after all, she just spoke to a medical expert from the Fourth...

Well, in any case, the swordswoman attempted to not think about it too hard. At least, not for now. Celes might appear to be a little bit distracted, but if she dared to let even the slightest of information slip about Kin's true nature, then she will most likely have to suffer quite the dire consequences. As such, she would try to focus on simply reaching the gates of her school. However, right before she could do so, Celes would grab her arm, which would cause to blink - both in surprise and terror - before turning her head towards her mentor. Had she found out about Kin after all?! Well... not quite. Apparently, she didn't want Kimiko to attract to much attention towards her. Yet another unfamiliar request from a person who should usually be so much more radiant. "Uh... alright. The most of them know all about you, though, so I don't think you're gonna remain out of the spotlight for very long," the swordswoman would first attempt to jest with a bit of a smirk before then appearing more concerned for her friend. This time, her concern was apparent. "Hey, after this, do you wanna go eat something? I'll pay."

Regardless of Celes' answer, Kimiko would eventually reach the great gates of Nijūkan North. From afar, they were already quite impressive, but from up-close, they looked even more massive. At a glance, it was hard to not consider them to be the gates towards an almighty fortress. They were two great slabs of wood found under a great arch akin to a Tori gate, with both surrounded by the stone walls which surrounded the school. It appeared as though one of the two gates had been slightly left opened, most likely because they were simply too heavy for most of the people who wanted to enter the school before its main hours, and from the person-wide gap could already be heard many noises of talking, training, and swinging. The Captain of the Eleventh would lead the Captain of the Tenth forward, gesturing her friend to follow her through the gap and into the main courtyard. Over there, Celes would be able to observe the great courtyard in all of its glory.

Once more, since it was early in the morning, the number of students was lessened in comparison to the usual amount observed during the evening. Regardless, as the morning hours, it appeared as though a few more people had appeared in the courtyard and in the many halls of the dojo. It would not take long for those in said courtyard to realize that their master had returned with a guest. The most of them would wave and gesture to the swordswoman much like how they did so a few moments earlier, though once they would witness the aforementioned guest, a few of them would blink and quickly approach. Judging by the looks on their faces, they appeared to be members of the Tenth Division. "Ah! Captain Shindazu! W-Welcome!" One of them, a slim man who was sweating all over, would quickly greet Kimiko's friend. The poor guy appeared to be completely exhausted, even though it must not have been very long since he first started training. "I... Master Nakajima hadn't told us you were coming..."

"Ah, Felix!" Kimiko would call with a smile before she then crossed her arms and looked at the man. The bright gaze that she gave to him said it all. "Looks like you've been working hard! I take it you've started your training regimen!" 

"Y-Yes! It's... It's very difficult, Master, but I can do it! I'll just have to get used to it..." the man responded then. "I've been doing... so many pushups and squats and sittups..."

"Oh, really? What's your record so far?"

"A... A hundred... for each..."

"Excellent! Well, if that's true, you can take a break here. If you keep this up, you'll be at your best for our lessons this evening!" The swordswoman would then go on to turn her head towards the rest of her dojo, mostly to see where she could go first. The Nijūkan schools were very grandiose in aspect, both in size and stature, and so there was a good number of facilities she could bring Celes to. With that said, as she looked on over to these facilities, she could see that there was a steady amount of people who had noticed that Celes was in the courtyard. Some of them were people from the Tenth, while others were people who were friends with the people of the Tenth. All in all, it looked like Celes' lack of haori didn't hide the fact that she was a Captain very well. On one hand, this was a bit annoying, especially given Celes' earlier request. On the other hand, it was the perfect distraction from Ruhe's previous outburst for Kimiko. "So much for avoiding fanfare," she would chuckle a bit as she looked towards her friend again. "I told you it wasn't gonna take very long."

Meanwhile, in the kitchens deeper into the dojo, news of Celes' arrival would reach the area a little bit late. However, not before long, a few students would come into the kitchens and call out towards those who were eating breakfast there. The Captain of the Tenth Division of the Gotei 13, Master of Master Nakajima, had arrived! Most unfortunately Celes herself, it was quite the news, and soon enough, people would leave the kitchens one by one to see what was going on. One of these people, a young female student with round glasses on her face and civilian garbs on the rest of her person, would notice Kin eating at her table on her own and give her a smile. "Ah, Kin-chan! Do you want to come say hello to Shindazu-taichou after you finish your meal? I have heard that she is a very nice lady!" She asked then with a caring voice, like a mother dotting a child. "Nakajima-sensei has told us many things about her!"

[Celes Castellanos]

As Celes made her request, she watched the scarlet-eyed swordswoman rather closely. Given her recent experiences, the normally bubbly Shinigami was in no mood for fanfare. Hopefully, Kimiko could understand that. "Uh... alright. The most of them know all about you, though, so I don't think you're gonna remain out of the spotlight for very long," Even though Kimiko flashed a playful smirk, Celes merely replied with a soft sigh. "Damn it...", she muttered softly.

"Hey, after this, do you wanna go eat something? I'll pay." Celes' eyes skirted up to meet Kimiko. A bite to eat? If it were anyone but Kimiko, Celes would've likely turned them down, but this was her friend. Her disciple. "Well... let's play it by ear, I guess. After all, there's much to see." With that, Celes made her way into the courtyard of Nijūkan. There she would find a few students training their swordsmanship rather early in the morning. Despite her demeanor, Celes was happy to see such dedication to their craft.

Reacting to their combined presence, a few of them waved. As they locked eyes, however, the Captain recognized a few of her own. She knew that there were some among the Tenth Division that were Kimiko's students. In any other circumstance, this would be great! Unfortunately, this meant that she would absolutely be recognized. Letting out a soft sigh, she resigned to her fate as a few members approached her. "Ah! Captain Shindazu! W-Welcome!" Celes grimaced at the greeting. "I... Master Nakajima hadn't told us you were coming..."

It wasn't a secret that Celes really didn't care for honorifics, especially from her own Division. How many times had she told them? Controlling herself, she let out a soft sigh. "First, none of that Captain Shindazu nonsense. Celes, or Captain Celes if you must be formal, will do." There was a small amount of tension in her voice. She preferred not to be recognized at all, but this soured her mood just a hint. Nevertheless, she made her point.

For now, Celes just listened to the conversation between Felix and Kimiko. It reminded her quite a bit of the conversation that she and Kimiko would have as the Shinigami maturated through the Academy. It warmed her heart a little, admittedly. It even turned out that they would have a lesson in the evening. As she looked around the courtyard, the Captain noticed that there was more bleeding in the courtyard. Aside from that, there were others who were content to watch from a distance. It seemed that she was attracting a lot of attention...

It seemed that even Kimiko had noticed this. "So much for avoiding fanfare," Celes turned to Kimiko. "I told you it wasn't gonna take very long." The Captain merely rolled her eyes. "Well met, students of Nijūkan North.", she said raising her hand in greeting. "It is an honor to finally visit such an esteemed school." The girl forced a smile as she looked at the sizeable group that was gathering in the courtyard.

[Ruhe Krieger]

When Ruhe saw her again, the green haired woman, she couldn't help but stare. How couldn't she? For there resting before her was a Captain. A Shinigami captain. As the Shinigami surrounded her, and seemed to look on with a sense of reverence, there was something else inside of Ruhe. Her blood felt as if it was tense, the pressure rising, and as she looked, her eyes were widened with the pupil dilated. The more she focused on them, as well as Kimiko, it felt as if there was something...terrifying.

Ruhe'd spent her time in Nijukan, observing the training styles and the spars of the Shinigami. She saw their Zanjutsu kata, and she'd seen them spar in bouts of martial arts and other combat skills. It was an interesting perspective that no other Quincy would likely be able to have a close up to see. She'd looked on with a deep seated interest at that time, and to be truthful, Ruhe would have been interested in wielding a blade herself, if she held the strength and aptitude to stand up to monsters such as this.

Ruhe, now, just as she did in the Vandenreich had hid away most of her abilities. Her capabilities, and instead lived very humbly and modestly by all means considered. However, it was crazy, to think about the capabilities of a Captain. Captain. Captain. The power to wrought destruction and in such scale. She'd not yet even seen the full power of this thing, this rumor called Bankai. Such strength. Even now, it made her skin crawl. When she fought against someone that strong?

It made her want to run away. Looking towards the glasses wearing girl, she blinked for a moment with a nervous sweatdrop. "Mhm. Yeah. I'm sure she's nice." Though, with it, she lowered her gaze and hurriedly shoveled the rest of the food in her mouth and hurried to deposit her dishes. It made her realize something interesting though. That the green haired Captain, that Celes was closely tied to Kimiko. Something that she had to fully swallow and contemplate. 

Ruhe felt as if she rest upon a distant shore. Looking across the sea to see that girl on the horizon. Kin. Kin was a much happier and brighter individual. More innocent and able to live peacefully. Whilst Ruhe was a different sort. Isolated; sitting on their lonesome in what seemed to be a cold and isolating place. She found the distance between those two shores were getting farther and farther apart. As she made her way closer to Celes in question. Awkwardly, before looking her in the eyes. 

"H-Hello." She says softly in a bit of a squeak, and with it, she found her chest was heavy. As if she were about to feel sick. Vomit. Though; the feeling would begin to pass. Anxiety wasn't going to get anyone anywhere after all, now was it? "...My name is Kin. If you remember." She proclaims, looking upwards towards Kimiko and then Celes. Before she said her next words. Words that she felt as if she might deeply regret; and ones she didn't know why she said.

"Can you help me train?"

[Nakajima Kimiko]

It seemed as though Celes wasn't particularly pleased by the fact that she was going to have to confront Kimiko's students once they would pass under the main gates of the great school. Much like before, she appeared discouraged, bothered and grumpy, and even went as far as to let out a quiet swear that hit the dojo master a little bit harder than she thought it would. So much for trying to lighten up the mood.  Celes...  her thoughts couldn't help but mutter quietly as her eyes looked on towards her friend. To think that she would really have one day been forced to witness such a morose version of her mentor, such a downhearted version of her... Frankly, the more she found herself staring at it, the more she couldn't help but think less and less about Ruhe's safety. Her friend should be smiling and shining. She should be brimming with the light that guided her student during the latter's time at the Academy, should be always positive and looking with bright eyes towards the future. The one thing she shouldn't be... was this.

But at the very least, not all hope was lost. Although the Captain of the Tenth was disappointed by her inability to be on the down low for what may be the next few hours spent behind the walls of Nijūkan North, she did seem to be interested by the prospect of getting some lunch together later, once this was all said and done. That, and visiting Kimiko's school was still something that she wanted to do. Even if the attention was going to bother, there was still an interest for the school itself, as made apparent by the way she described it. There was "much to see" indeed, much that would usually bring about a fair bit shock and awe from anyone. Of course, Celes was a Shinigami, and so the exceptional wasn't necessarily something that she was not used to. Still, Kimiko hoped that her work, as well as the work of her own students, was going to make her friend forget about whatever had turned into such a miserable depiction of the person she should be.

It would not take long for them to reach the courtyard. All it took was a couple of steps up the stairs which remained to be crossed, and then a few more through the aforementioned main gates of the school. However, just as the swordswoman had unfortunately predicted, it would also not take long for Celes to be noticed by the students who were in said courtyard. Well, no; rather, it didn't take long for her to be noticed by the whole school itself. First, it was the people who was nearest to them, and then, shortly after, it was the people who were previously occupying the rest of the school's facilities. Needless to say, seeing so many of her students just stop their training and join them simply to meet with Celes was something that Kimiko had hoped they could avoid, especially since this was something her friend had especially wanted to avoid. Unfortunately, at this point, it was simply too late for them to do anything about it.

By the time the lime-haired woman had finished scolding the poor Felix for his innocent formality, a crowd was slowly starting to form in the courtyard. Kimiko noticed this right away. Initially, she had to admit that the sight of it was making her a bit nervous. Obviously, she understood how excited they were of meeting her teacher, but the sight of such a crowd would put anyone on edge, especially someone who wasn't particularly feeling very well. In other words, she simply feared that it would lead her friend to lose her composure, and that such a thing would lead them all to be quite disappointed by the Captain of the Tenth's behavior. With that said, as the crowd grew a little bit further, the dojo master did believe that this could be a way to lift Celes' spirit by a certain degree. Surely, the sight of so many students at once within just one of her schools was going to spark a little bit of pride from her mentor, a little bit of satisfaction for what she has now become.

For the time being, outside of the typical scolding that was usually associated to the subject of honorifics, it at least appeared as though the Captain of the Tenth was able to hold her composure. Her smile was as fake as ever, but it was there nonetheless, and she was able to greet the students that had come to visit her well-enough. While she remained silent at first, if only to follow some of the students to greet Celes back with various waves and bows, Kimiko would eventually chime in to support her. It would be somewhat unkind of her to leave her friend stranded with such a big crowd after being told that she wanted to avoid it in the first place, after all. "Celes has come to visit us to see how we're all doing! While I understand that some of you may be happy to hear that, I nevertheless want you to treat her well! That means no jokes, no pranks, and no need to be too formal!" She would call with an energetic and friendly smile. It was clear that the last part of that speech was more of a jest than anything else, as made apparent by the way a few of the students appeared to be amused by them. "Now, everyone, please return to your training! I know some of you are not done with your exercises just yet!"

It would be quite clear to the lime-haired woman that Kimiko was trying to keep her students from piling up on her back too quickly. The speech was ironically formal and even sounded quite official too, but it was what she believed to be the way to make sure her friend wouldn't be on the spotlight for too long. Even if her students were now aware of her presence within this particular dojo of hers, this should hopefully make sure that they don't stick to her like glue and try to get too much of her attention. Besides, all of these people did need to maintain their schedule if they wanted to improve their physique and technique. If there was one thing that could allow someone to become a better master of the sword, it was most definitely not talking about martial arts with someone who quite literally preferred to fight without a sword more often than not! Well, no, a few things could be learned from that regardless... but that was beside the point!

In any case, once her speech was settled, the students would bow once again to their teacher and their guest before slowly returning to what they were doing. Well, the most of them would, at the very least. There were a couple of them who instead decided to remain for the time being. Some of them were officers of the Tenth who simply wanted to speak to Celes to learn about their squad's current situation, but there were others who had something else in mind. One of these, quite shockingly enough to Kimiko, was Kin, of all people. Indeed, the little girl who had skittered away only a few moments ago was now suddenly standing right in front of them! She even had the courage to actually approach Celes and greet her again! The young woman with the glasses that accompanied her appeared to be pleased by this. However, from the inside, all Kimiko could feel was horror.  Don't do anything weird, Ruhe... Please... I can't protect you if you do,  she would try to plea in this moment. Unfortunately, to this, she would be answered with a simple question that almost left the Captain of the Eleventh completely mortified.

Kimiko hadn't expected the little Quincy girl to be brave enough to ask Celes for help when it came to training. While she was somewhat interested by the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu as well as its practitioners, she had always mainly remained quiet and reserved ever since she began referring to this place as her temporary home for the time being, even with Kimiko herself. So to see her suddenly go up to another Captain and ask her for help... Not only was it rather unprecedented, but it was also extremely risky. Just a few moments ago, she had liberated a fair amount of energy that appeared to have miraculously been missed by every student within the school. If she released that kind of energy right in front of Celes herself as well as a whole bunch of other students... Well, the dojo master was simply not sure of what she was going to have to do in order to keep her safe. For all intents and purposes, she was certain that she wouldn't be able to do anything.

[Celes Castellanos]

It seemed that the crowd that gathered in the courtyard was steadily increasing by the minute. They consisted of members of various divisions, residents of District 40, and plenty of other Districts. Each one clamored to meet the lime-haired Shinigami who had taught their own sensei. There were tons of questions that assaulted Celes' senses and the girl was slowly becoming overwhelmed. Taking a few steps back, she was actually about to make a run for it. That was, at least, until a voice suddenly roared above the crowd. A deafening silence fell across the courtyard and everyone directed their attention to Kimiko.

"Celes has come to visit us to see how we're all doing! While I understand that some of you may be happy to hear that, I nevertheless want you to treat her well! That means no jokes, no pranks, and no need to be too formal!" A few giggles rose from the crowd as many of the Shinigami were aware of the Captain's aversion to formality. "Now, everyone, please return to your training! I know some of you are not done with your exercises just yet!" A few more murmurs arose from some of them until they bowed, excusing themselves to continue training. Celes swiftly wiped the sweat from her brow as she was no longer dogpiled by dozens of students.

A few, however, remained. A healthy mixture of Shinigami and residents of the Rukongai. Celes could only guess that they had completed their exercises. Some of them, members of other Divisions, asked about the state of the Tenth. How the reconstruction of the Barracks was going. Celes tilted her head for a moment and sighed, "We're making steady progress on the Barracks. Rebuilding wasn't really the hard part... it was seeing our home ripped apart. Left in shambles. The Tenth is strong, however. We endured and have always been able to rely on our sister Division, the Eleventh, for help." A few cheers and proud nods rose among the members of the two Divisions.

A few other questions were asked which Celes offered more cursory remarks to. After all, she still didn't quite feel that talkative. Then a familiar voice broke through the crowd. "H-Hello." The Captain suddenly looked down and saw the young girl who had initially greeted her with Kimiko. "...My name is Kin. If you remember." Celes blinked and gently nodded her head. "I do.", she said rather softly. The girl before her did not seem any less shy than when they had first met. Needless to say, Celes was a little intrigued as to what she wanted, if anything.

"Can you help me train?", Kin squeaked. Celes blinked for a few moments. "W- what? She wants me to help her train? I-...", Celes briefly thought to herself. The Captain was no slouch with a blade, but the girl definitely preferred unarmed combat. In fact, she didn't know a single damn thing about Kimiko's style! The other members of the crowd suddenly looked at Celes expectantly. Sweat rolled down her brow again as she tried to formulate a coherent answer. What could she offer Kin? Or did she want to spar?! Celes really wasn't sure.

Ultimately, Celes took a deep breath. "Well... I'm at a loss for words, little one," Her eyes suddenly darted around. "I-," Suddenly, she looked at Kimiko when she suddenly had an idea. "I would love to, but... I actually already promised Kimiko that I would attend one of her classes and... I'd preferably be as well-rested as possible in preparation for it." She laughed nervously, glancing at Kimiko every now and then. Hopefully, her friend would play along with her desperate attempt to get out of teaching.