A Certain Fluid Stability [Toki, Nao]

Even for a man like Toki, fiercely dedicated to his work and lacking in much need for downtime, the recent events in Soul Society had proven rather much to deal with. He knew, of course, that he could always relax at home, but he didn't wish to burden his mother with the thought of the current troubles in Soul Society. After all, she was one of the last women who deserved to deal with topics like that, even in such an abstract form as his own reason for a day to himself. That was why, instead, he'd brought himself to the place that was very nearly a second home to him; the Sawachika family's estate.

Bracing himself, Toki simply knocked on the front gate of the estate, and waited for whoever answered the call. Regardless of who it was, he had to admit that he expected their response to be refreshing, even if he also knew that it would certainly be swift, and likely loud.

Just as well, admittedly. When one had dealt with such stifling severity as was found in sixth division, something more free-spirited was good for the soul.

She was just on her way home when she saw him, now what was he doing here at this time? Nevermind that. She couldn't waste any time ruminating on these things when she was a creature of instinctive deduction, so she pounced like a tiger to rush him and heave him up over her shoulder and kick the gate open.

"Toki! What are you doing here? Why aren't you just letting yourself in? You just have to knock like you mean it."

Nao explained to him like a chiding older sister. With her package over her shoulder she stepped over the threshold into the sancutary of the Sawachika to put him down on the estate's land. He had entered into this sacred space of hard work and grit now, all was right.

Indeed, this was the sort of refreshing presence that Toki had hoped for when he'd come to visit, and he laughed as Nao set him down, not bothering to brush himself off as he otherwise might had this been someone else. He was well-used to these sort of antics, given how long he had known Nao.

"You'll have to forgive me, Nao. Mother's always told me that it's best to be polite with one's friends, so it simply wouldn't seem right to let myself in."

Of course, he did know the Sawachika would approve of that kind of entry, and that was why he always kept it in mind, and had even admittedly practiced once or twice in private to ensure that he could actually do it if it really came down to it. In the meanwhile, however, he felt it was better to handle things as he typically would. It felt more natural to be so composed.

"As for what I'm doing here, I'm simply looking to spend a little time with friends. I can't spend every waking moment at work, after all."

"Aha! So that's it. I see I see."

She rushed out to say while looking at him thoughtfully. A break from hard work was good though to Nao, hard work was broken up with more work! To improve something else and polish another area of oneself after they've exhausted themselves of their current task.

"Well you're in luck. Big sis Nao is always here for you, Toki."

Nao assured with a puffed out chest, conveniently rejecting the fact that he was her senior. If he wasn't so damn tall she'd have reached up to pat him on the head too. Maybe if she got him in a headlock...

Hmm.

"Are you now? How thoughtful of you, nee-san."

Toki chuckled lightly to himself as he said that, his tone having made it rather abundantly clear that he was teasing her for the comment. After all, he was decidedly older than she was, even if he would consider the two of them to have grown up together. He wasn't really bothered by which of them was older; he just found it funny when she used such a title for herself.

"But that sort of hospitality is why I'd sooner come here than near anywhere else, you know. That warm Sawachika spirit is so unlike most of the Seireitei."

Why that little brat, she pouted at him when he teased her over it. He was lucky he was here as a guest right now or she'd have taken his butt straight to the training grounds and whoop his butt until he meant it.

Maybe later though, Nao was smart enough to know that the last thing his body needed was to be worked more. He needed a different kind of working, the spiritual kind that cultivated the internal aspects.

"Family is important, but I don't think there's anything special about the Sawachika spirit. It's pride, hard work, and most importantly family. You just need a wife, Toki, and then I bet you'll have your own Hinamori spirit too."

Nao explained sagely. She could've been more forthcoming and explained about how her parents, and her father's parents before them, were only able to foster this strong environment because of the bond they shared being the strongest mortar one could hope for and how it was an elaborate architectural metalanguage at play....

But she honestly just expected him to understand all that from the layman's terms of it. Nao always tried to summarise her thoughts in the simplest and most straightforward way possible, and as a result it tended to have the adverse effect of what she wanted.

Toki smiled at the advice that he simply needed to find a wife, not entirely agreeing with it, but also not wholly opposed, either. He knew Nao better than many people did, and he understood that she didn't mean anything as straightforward as requiring companionship, or as crass as needing a woman to accompany him. His distance from most people undoubtedly created friction that was decidedly absent here in the Sawachika estate.

"Well, I would certainly disagree that your family isn't anything special. I imagine your father and brother might also disagree, hm? But, I wouldn't be opposed to a wife, I don't think, if she fit well with the Hinamori household."

After all, it wasn't as if Toki was the only one who bore the name, and he was certainly not the kind of man who would ever leave his mother behind for a woman.

"I'm certainly in no rush, though. Besides, I could hardly marry before my dear older sister does, don't you think?"

This lighter side of Toki certainly wasn't one that was seen often outside the walls of the Hinamori household, but the Sawachika estate was one of the few places he felt inclined to smile quite so genuinely.

"Aha, so that's your game, hmm? Don't be a fool Toki. You should not deprive yourself of an opportunity by waiting on others!"

Nao stated with a chiding tone even if he was poking fun at her. Even if she had to work for a hundred or a thousand years to find a worthy man in her life it would not dissaude her. No, if anything she welcomed such a trial of her patience as it meant she could cultivate herself all the more until that time.

"Oh? Then why not just marry you and handle it all nice and quickly, hm?"

The reality, of course, was that Toki wasn't hugely interested in marrying any time soon, and he'd made as much clear not only to his own mother, but to Aunt Matsumoto, and of course to the head of the Sawachika himself. But, still, it was plenty amusing to posit that notion, and he didn't tend to allow himself any other opportunities at jokes anyway.

"But, I suppose I don't exactly fit your aspirations of 'Tenka Musou,' do I? Unless the pursuit of flower arrangements qualify one for such a lofty role."

"Wha!! Toki! Don't be absurd. That would be so strange because you're like Kyo. You can't marry your big sister, and either way, you have a lot to learn about being a man still, Toki."

She declared, he had a naïve idea of the "tenka musou". A man could absolutely arrange flowers but he didn't have the drive that she was looking for. Hinamori was gentle and considerate, important qualities certainly but she had never seen Toki get mad. She'd never seen a fierce passion to defend what he held dear.

"Don't worry. I have all the faith for your success."

Nao assured and gave him a solid pat on the back which might send him flying since she had no reason to hold back. It wasn't like her dad knew how to hold back in showing his affections.