Sights for Sore Eyes [Mizu, Bauher]

Stepping into the little hole in the wall Cafe they found, Mizu's eyes were wide with wonder and interest. In Soul Society she ate at her squad's barracks, or at her family's estate. She had spent sparingly little time in the restaurants in Seireitei, much less in places like this on Earth. Framed pictures and postcards of various landmarks adorned the walls, a tired looking man sat in the corner typing sluggishly on his computer, and a variety of people flitted in and out to get their coffee and lunch orders. Everything about it was so...human. Mizu was amazed.

When Bauher pulled her chair out, Mizu bowed at the waist then gratefully sat and scooted forward a little as she smiled at his comment about her optimism. As he proceeded to dig into Ehefra's character, Mizu listened intently, hanging on his every word. She was grateful for the opportunity to learn, and as he described her, she was even more grateful for having met someone like his daughter. She almost arrogantly wanted to compare the woman's eager aspiration to her own, but from the sounds of things Ehefra was a far greater Quincy than she was a Shinigami.

After ordering a tea, same as Bauher, Mizu considered his question. She asked herself why wouldn't she be interested? But Mizu was hardly ignorant of the past and plight of the Quincy people. She had long since learned what had happened to them, not once, but twice in their history: near-total genocide. By Shinigami. She also knew the reasons given as explanation for such horrendous acts, and though she couldn't fully understand them, Mizu didn't want to dwell on them either. She wasn't there. There was nothing she could do about the past, she could only treat today differently. Maybe someday she would ask Captain Nagoshi about the first genocide, but with no hatred in her heart for Quincies she couldn't stomach treating them any differently.

"Quincies...are human. I'm a Shinigami. That means I am meant to help and protect them. I can't abandon that creed because of what other Shinigami did hundreds and thousands of years ago. What I am sure of is I am glad to have met Kleinmund-san and Richter-san, and that is enough for me."

Besides becoming a Captain, Mizu's other biggest dream has always been creating a world where everyone is on equal footing. In the future she wanted to help build in Soul Society, and possibly beyond, not that she would dare say such an ambitious thing out loud, was one without privilege or such a thing as "birthright". She witnessed first hand how dangerous and unfair those concepts could be, and it was her kindness, innate or taught, that proved to her their needed to be a better way. She was glad Bauher believed she was a caring person.

"Hai. Thank you for the advice, Kleinmund-san. I will try getting in contact with her the next time I'm here in the city. I hope we can be friends, or at least push each other...I'm sure both the Gotei and Vandenreich would be grateful if we succeed!" said Mizu, a bit of playfulness in her voice. She was excited to see Ehefra again, even if part of the reason why was to apologize for how the fight ended. She didn't think the Quincy would rush her like that, and felt a bit of guilt over how she ended up using her crystals.

Mizu respectfully waived her hand at Bauher to indicate she didn't want sugar in her tea before lifting her cup and taking a sip as well. It was good! She loved the sensation of hot drinks warming her from her core, it was a nostalgic feeling for the blond woman who spent portions of her childhood learning about tea ceremonies. Mizu was shocked out of her calm by Bauher's question about her "kids", causing her to nearly spit out the tea in her mouth. She suddenly felt a burning sensation in her nose and had to take a moment to both calm down and recover from the shock from Bauher assuming she had children.

"Oh n-no, I don't have children! Definitely not! Just m-me, all by myself!" she said, clearly flustered.

The scarlet shading of embarrassment never left Mizu's cheeks as she listened to Bauher explain why he thought she would have kids. P-popular with my peers?? What's that supposed to mean??! thought Mizu, stopping herself from having an outburst in the middle of the cafe. She was both strangely flattered by Bauher's assumption and also taken aback by it. His more straightforward compliment of her battle skills was easier for the young blonde to swallow, at least. She gulped down more of her tea and tried to get a hold of herself.

"T-thank you, I guess, Kleinmund-san, but no, definitely not." she said while vigorously waving her hand in front of her face dismissively. "Um, I'm the second youngest among my siblings. I have a pretty big family, there are quite a few Morikawas in Soul Society. As for friends, I've been lucky enough to make many while serving the Gotei both in Soul Society and here in the Living World." Finally Mizu was beginning to calm down after being so caught off guard by her companion, and returned back to her usual bubbly self.

Mizu nodded along in quiet consideration as Bauher spoke of the advantages of having friends and family, specifically that they could function as a support network. She knew without her family, as un-supportive of her career path as her parents could be, she wouldn't have made it through the Shin'ō Academy, and certainly wouldn't have been able to become a Shinigami. Without all the friends she had made as a Shinigami, Mizu was certain she wouldn't have been promoted, wouldn't have unlocked her Bankai, and wouldn't be here, in the City of Light.

"I am grateful beyond words to have the family and friends I have. I am glad you had friends to help you as well, Kleinmund-san." There was a sweet sincerity in Mizu's voice as she responded. After all, she was being entirely truthful; had Bauher not had supportive friends, like a butterfly's wings causing a hurricane elsewhere in the world, who knows how he and Ehefra could have ended up.

Bauher's next question was easily answered by Mizu who did her best to stay up-to-date with her siblings "Oh, no, I don't think any of them would want to. My older siblings are usually too busy with their work in Soul Society, and Mika-san is still in the Academy for now. The only one who would have is, umm...he passed away a number of years ago. Which just leaves me." The next few seconds hung in the air before she asked a question of her own "Do you intend to participate in the Arena, Kleinmund-san?"