To Absent Friends And A Fresh Start (Leona, Armina)

"I can't fully commit to joining Captain Komomura's faction because I'm tempted by the freedom of going to the world of the living." Leona candidly admitted. Earlier she had been leaning towards the first of her two options, but now she was not sure if that was the right idea. Deciding to elaborate the best she could on why she was having a change of heart, Leona continued to speak on the topic.

"If I can't serve the Captain without any second thoughts about what I might be missing out on by joining his cause I'm not going to waste his time and a place on the faction's roster. It wouldn't be right to take the place of someone who's absolutely sure that they want to join." Leona started off. If she could not make such a commitment with absolute certainty then there was no point in seeking out the Captain to ask about his organization. Besides, she was just a former unseated Shinigami, not someone with power and influence like a former seated officer or a former Captain. It was not like she would be a game-changer if she enlisted, so Leona doubted that anyone would care if she left Soul Society for greener pastures.

Well, no one except her family, that was.

"The only reason I haven't already departed for the world of the living is my family. I can't easily leave them behind, not after they supported me despite going against their wishes to enlist in the Fourth Division. I'm more than a little concerned for them and what might happen with all of the changes going on." Leona freely admitted that her family kept her here... for the time being. Before she could elaborate any further Armina discussed the topic of the blonde's social skills and that prompted the latter to shift gears. Leona's attempt to talk about them was derailed when her head was tilted towards the blue-haired woman's and the latter made eye contact. That in itself was enough to make the blonde keep blushing, but Armina's assertion that she was beautiful put Leona at a loss for words.

"R-really? Y-y-you really think so?" Leona asked awkwardly.

Gaining enough calmness to continue the serious portion of the conversation, Leona resumed it with only a slight delay.

"Don't worry, Armina. I'm not going to do anything without telling my family first. They deserve to know what I'm thinking of doing and I hope they'll stand by me again for what might be the most important decision of my life." Leona calmly stated that she would bring the matter up with her family before she chose which path to take. The blonde anticipated a long and difficult conversation if she announced that she was thinking of leaving for the world of the living, but that was understandable. Leona might have to fight one of the hardest battles she had ever fought to convince her mother, father, brother, and sister that she had what it took to go her own way a second time to travel to a new world. The blonde was not going to rush that discussion, though. Even if it started out civil emotions were bound to run high at some point due to what was going to be discussed.

Speaking of emotions, the blonde's calmness faded when Armina confirmed that she truly found Leona to be beautiful. The awkwardness returned in full force as she recalled the blue-haired woman mentioning that she wanted to get to know her better. Leona had trouble speaking because of the thought of someone actually wanting to be around her for reasons other than they found her attractive or that she was a fairly competent fighter.

"Y-you'd want to b-be around me more often?" Leona asked Armina with unconcealed and genuine surprise. The blonde thought that her awkward behavior was annoying the other young woman and that the latter was continuing to talk to her only out of curiosity. Instead it seemed that Armina actually liked her for more than just her beauty and Leona was having a bit of difficulty wrapping her mind around that.

Leona managed to pull herself together again to continue the conversation regarding their friendship without stuttering. She was fairly certain that she had damaged her image as a strong Shinigami by blushing when Armina had paid her a compliment on her looks, but the blonde had been unable to help herself. Hearing another beautiful young woman say that she looked attractive had made her feel a different kind of awkward, but that was due to not getting many compliments about anything. While in the Fourth Division Leona had not performed any astounding feats of arms during World War IV and her skills were decent but not outstanding, so she had not come to the notice of anyone of high status. Even though the Fourth Division was no more and ranks no longer applied having the former Fourth Seat take an interest in her made Leona feel a little self-conscious and made her wonder what about her was so appealing.

"I'm sorry if I'm annoying you by repeatedly asking if you're serious, Armina. It's just that I've never been very sociable, even before the... incident. Having anyone think of me as a possible friend is new to me." Leona apologized for sounding like a broken record player and informed the blue-haired young woman that she too had difficulties socializing. That had likely become clear to Armina from the blonde's reaction to the first compliment the former had paid to the latter. A remark which others might have accepted with ease had caused Leona to lose her composure and suddenly speak in an awkward fashion. Right now she was able to control herself, so while she could do that she would address the topic of being around Armina.

"I'm glad that I could spend time with you, Armina. You've been patient enough to hear my entire story and you've been patient enough to gently assure me multiple times that you want to be around me despite how awkward I can be." Leona expressed her gratitude to Armina for being so patient with her.

"I don't remember really interacting with anyone from the Fourth Division outside of a situation where I was on duty. When I wasn't on duty I was either in my place in the barracks or one of the training rooms." Leona stated that she had no memory of doing anything with another member of the Fourth that did not involve World War IV, the recent invasion of Soul Society, or sparring. The blonde was partially to blame for that because she had been so obsessed with getting stronger that she neglected to try connecting with other people. However, Leona knew what she was getting into when she enlisted in the division... her goals were to train her mastery of all four of the Shinigami arts to the highest level she could reach and see combat to test her skills, not make friends. Perhaps the blonde should have tried to make connections with others because Armina was right about the importance of friends in turbulent times such as these, but it was too late to worry about that now.

However, if Leona played her cards right she might be able to count Armina as a friendly acquaintance, if not an actual friend.

"I'm certain that this won't be the only time we meet, Armina. I don't know where or where our reunion will happen, but one day it'll happen." Leona expressed her genuine belief that their meeting would not be a one-time occurrence and deep down inside she hoped that she would be right. The conversation with Armina had been arguably the most meaningful one she had had in a long time because some of the blue-haired woman's words made Leona think and question what she really wanted out of life. That was almost as valuable as any advice on training the Shinigami arts because knowing what she really wanted would help Leona make a decision that she would not end up regretting.