Finding What Works For Me[Koga, Shuten]

Today had been a rather typical day. She still was undecided about whom she wished to work under, with or without information. However, the Suika woman had been spending her time tending to the residents of the Rukongai. These people were more like her family than those in the Seireitei. After all, the Rukongai, the particularly rough parts especially, was where Shuten grew up.

Today was a rather quiet day, she had recently visited a small amount of people to check on them. She wanted to make sure residents were recovering well, despite everything. As it were, most people were more likely to be physically recovered. Sadly, Shuten could only do so much for other capacities.

It was during this walk of hers that Shuten heard shouting voices, scuffling feet, and the sound of flesh meeting flesh. Without a second thought, Shuten leapt towards the top of the rickety buildings and sprinted along them. Within moments, she was observing the scuffle from above. Truth be told, if there weren’t spectators this would be easy. Shuten could scare them away with her Reiatsu, with the very pressure of her soul. But…

Instead, Shuten leapt towards the head of the group and landed completely on a man. She twisted about him, clawed his face, captured him with her legs and bowled him into his friends with force. She threw a few Kunai for extra measure, to land at feet of any who hadn’t been bowled into by their thrown companion. Afterwards, the Suika righted herself with acrobatic precision, embedded her Zanpakuto into the ground before her and…

She glared at the men, and potentially women, before her. She carefully pointed her rage, and her destructive, unrestrained energy at the gang before her. Some would recognize her horns, that she was a Suika, and maybe even her unrestrained energy that only bore down upon them.

“Fuck off, before I find new fixtures for your necks; or worse. This is the Rukongai, after all. Anything goes… and if you intend to fight an unfair battle, I’ll gladly even the odds. Now, choose. Will you fight and be disembowled or fuck off and live?”

"What? Did the horns give it away?"

As the men recognized her, Shuten let a small grin cross her features. Oh good, one of them recognized what she was. That carried some weight. She pushed this advantage as she glared at them and made to move towards them; at least until they ran with their tails between their legs. One of them yelled a threat at Koga, one Shuten punctuated by throwing a kunai at the man’s feet with blinding speed before he took off; the gesture was clear enough. Koga was one thing, but it was another to make an enemy of a Suika.

Once they had ran, and were gone, Shuten turned around and retrieved her Zanpakuto. She carefully cleaned off the tip with some sake, apologizing to Suidomaru quietly. She had soon turned to face Koga after he had whistled, raising an eyebrow slightly at the man for his whistle. She listened to him quietly, looking him up and down while she removed the gourd from Suidomaru’s pommel.

“I’m glad you tried to put them straight… some of these gangs get a bit too cocky; especially if they’re bothering residents. There’s a reason why they fear my family.” Shuten popped the cork on her healing Sake and held it out to Koga. “Here, drink some of this. It’ll help. And I’m Shuten, Shuten Suika. It’s nice to meet you, Koga.”

It was slightly unexpected how quickly Koga had taken the gourd of sake from Shuten. She blinked somewhat, but allowed the man to gorge himself for a few moments. It would do him good to have a few mouthfuls. Eventually, however, Shuten would gently caution him on drinking the whole thing; too much of a good thing, and all. Additionally, if she happened upon someone wounded, aside from Koga, Shuten didn’t want to burn too much energy to create more.

Shuten took the gourd from the man, gauging its contents with her eye and by gently swishing the liquid around. She corked the gourd, replaced it upon the pommel of her Zanpakuto, and favoured Koga with an amused smile. True… She hadn’t explained what the Sake was all about.

“It’s something that my Suidomaru, and I, create. Simply put, it is healing sake. It helps your body repair itself and, as you just observed, with enough it can cause wounds to repair themselves with alarming speed.” Shuten fixed her Zanpakuto upon her back, adjusting it slightly so she could walk freely. “But, it has absolutely no alcohol content despite the amazing flavor. I just rather you didn’t drink all of it at once, as it is made with my excess reiatsu and reishi.”

Shuten gave Koga another gentle smile before she looked around. It truly did seem like those hooligans had run off, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have eyes; informants. Shuten extended a hand to Koga, inviting him to take it so she could help him up off the ground; if he was on the ground. Otherwise, she would simply look upon him and smile carefully.

“If you’d like some proper sake, I can give you some; but after we leave this area. I’d rather not spill blood in the streets unless they properly threaten lives; and staying here will do us no favors.” Shuten smiled, waiting for Koga to agree before she led them away from this particular area. “So, what do you do when you’re not tussling with gangs of the Rukongai, Koga~?”

Shuten noticed the almost boy-like enthusiasm that Koga exuded once Shuten spoke about her Suidomaru and her healing Sake. But yes, effectively it was derived from her energy. It was honestly a convenient method to control her reiatsu that Shuten had welcomed, after all her Reiatsu was often wild and difficult to control without her Shikai.

“If you have questions, Koga, you can ask them; I don’t mind.”

Shuten gave Koga a reassuring smile before she turned her attention to what he said and his following question. He was a part of the Gotei as well, at least before it was disbanded due to the events of six months ago. Like Shuten, in a sense, he was floating about, uncertain of exactly what should be done. Sure, there were multiple factions within the Soul Society now, factions that had their own interests. Shuten, however, knew little of her own interests. She still helped out with whatever may remain of the kido/healing division, if they were even still active. Otherwise, Shuten just did her best to try and figure out what it was she wished to do now.

“Well… I was in the Gotei as well, as most Shinigami within the soul society were.” Shuten slowly answered Koga, gathering her thoughts. “I had tenure as a Lieutenant, as a Captain, and then as a seated member; in that order, in fact. But now…?” Shuten rubbed the back of her head, the charm that hung between her horns gently bobbed with the movement. “Recently I’ve just been trying to do what I can for those who have been hurt; either by the invasion or someone like you, getting the shit kicked out of them.”

Shuten gave Koga a playful smile as she continued to walk, unconsciously veering towards more familiar streets to the Suika; streets that lead home and to the areas around it. An area where a Suika, unless they were quite foolish, wouldn’t get assaulted just because.

“I’ve just been trying to figure out what I want to do, otherwise. There’s too much now to decide and think upon, especially with all the different factions that have cropped up. What should be united is now splintered and divided.”

Shuten couldn’t help but give Koga a small grin as he spoke about how he wasn’t getting his ass kicked that badly! Anyone could see that he was getting the snot kicked out of him. Shuten wasn’t sure if she could’ve fared any better, but she grew up in some of these streets; and her ferocity of the time was quite helpful in fending off ne'er do wells. But Koga didn’t need to know that~

“Oh yes, you may have been fine. But perhaps it was better I came along before you lost anything important~”

Shuten didn’t really need him to try and save any of his manliness. She found him brave enough for trying to deal with those gangs. They were always such annoyances, perhaps in light of the invasion they had thought to take advantage of the turmoil and the aftermath. Just like Koga, she didn’t properly understand why the acting commander had decided to disband the Gotei; she understood the “reasons” behind it. Aside from that, however, Shuten was genuinely clueless on the matter. The disbanding of the Gotei was the most debilitating event that could have happened aside from the recent invasion. Divided as they were, how could they get work done?

Shuten walked on, absentmindedly pulling out her sake dish. She poured some Sake in it from her gourd and casually sipped on the liquid as they walked. No one shrank from them as they walked, not properly, but Shuten did wave here and there to people who recognized her. Eventually, after Shuten spent an appropriate amount of time digesting what Koga had said, she let silence brew between them for only moments longer.

“At this point… I’m not sure what I want to do. Yuuto asked me to join him in the Daimei, but I’m not sure… A part of me is much more worried about my family at this point.” Shuten took a long draft of her Sake before she looked at Koga pointedly; eyes boring into him. “If you are intent on revenge, think well before you pursue it. In my experience revenge is… empty. Don’t devote your life to it… But tell me, whom are you wishing to get revenge against?”