[BSD-RP] Soul Society: Southeast Seireitei

[Zhou_Feng]

As fate would have it, as soon as he finished grading one of the tests, he could hear someone approaching without hesitation. Zhou didn’t need to sense reiatsu to hear the loud footsteps this one made. How could //anyone// in the 3rd division not know of the one that was feared as well as questioned on a daily basis – Asahi Kajiyashiki. The amount of life this one had was paramount to the amount of the destruction he could produce. He wondered what the small Shinigami was up to, making his way rather chipperly to probably the most awkward soul in the 3rd division. Regardless, curiosity did take him by the reins when Asahi did appear, standing less than five feet tall. Zhou remembered just a while ago when he was that short – well, even he wasn’t that short. When he approached Zhou, he was around 2 feet away before speaking.

It wasn’t until the male said his name that Zhou’s greyish orbs flickered towards him. Asahi would easily be able to see the stoic look painted about his face. Just as unenthused as the last time the male had seen him, Asahi could see that Zhou was well… Zhou. They weren’t really well acquainted, but the two had heard of each other, especially with being in the same division. Mayhaps it was because of the games going on and about that the barracks were distracted with them, but it was potentially the first time the two of them would have had a conversation. Even back when Zhou was in the second division, he paid absolute attention to everyone around him. Always mentally noting their patterns, their capabilities, and the way they handled situations was the only way for him to fight alongside them. Actually speaking, having casual conversation, and beating around any bushes generally didn’t work with Zhou. With Asahi approaching him with such ease, it was something different. Neither refreshing or troublesome, the approach was something he was still getting used to.

“Yes. Was there something you needed of me, Asahi?”

His voice was direct, formal. There was not a hint of annoyance, joy, or anything within it. The monotonous question was just as dry as uncooked rice. He spoke like he always did, unaware of just how bland he truly was. It wasn’t until the thought came to him “Why wasn’t Asahi in the games?” The Kenpachi Games would be something to behold for decades, if not centuries. These games were something no one could make light of. Shinigami ranking as high as captains took part in the games. He thought for a second about who was participating. Two souls that he was directly associated with took part – the same two of which had ties with the second division. For that reason alone, Zhou did not want to see the outcome of the games, as he had a sure idea about how the outcome would be. That sort of “entertainment” was nothing he cared about. Instead, he was more fixated on other things, such as the paperwork that he had more than three days to give back to his students, but instead, decided to do the rest he didn’t do the previous day, today.

Once his question had been answered, no matter the answer, Zhou then thought about someone else currently in the third division that had participated within the games. He wondered if she was okay, if she’d be able to survive the lethal games. No matter how she did, if she was able to come out of the games alive, she was definitely one deserving of some respect. The games in itself served no purpose for Zhou. Growing up Zhou was taught to be a weapon of destruction – fighting for a title was something foreign to him. Even if it were for training, Zhou could have made some sort of meaning out of participating, but with it being solely for a title – killing for something that wasn’t going to advance the Soul Society in a given way, shape, or form seemed like such a waste of potential.

Zhou picked himself up, standing as he easily towered over the smaller soul. It wasn’t something to be taken as intimidation in the slightest – it was just Zhou standing to potentially move locations as he had finished grading his papers. It was then when he saw two Shinigami looking towards the two standing underneath the tree with his peripheral vision, 2 yards away. The two were instructors: taller than Asahi, but definitely shorter than Zhou. The two souls stood, both female. One wore glasses, bore freckles, and had rather short green hair. The other female had long black hair and a rather bland, normal appearance about her -- nothing special to note. Both instructors were rather intelligent, but their overall skills were quite mediocre. The female with the long onyx strands seemed to make some sort of a face, showing her agitation. She immediately spoke in a tone audible for both Zhou and Asahi to hear.

“HE’S INSANE! DID YOU NOT SEE WHAT HE DID JUST LAST WEEK?! I HEARD ONE OF THE STUDENTS STILL CAN’T WALK STRAIGHT! URGH! I would think that an instructor would hold back… But dang it…”

Zhou blinked, slightly confused as to what the female was referring to, but within that same blink, he remembered when he did one of his demonstrations. It was surprising to hear her talk in such a manner, considering he did all he could to hold back. He wasn’t sure how else to pull his punches, but then again, he didn’t really care too much. This was due to his rough background. The standard arm-flip he gave to the student they were referring to was something that was done to him at a mere 5 years old, daily. With her complaining, the words simply went into one ear and out of the other. Regardless, the short-haired female reached out, taking her hand and placing it over her “friend’s” mouth. She hushed her soon after with a panicked look about her face.

“Do you not know he can hear you? You really think that it’s okay to talk ill about other instructors?! Especially someone that was in the Second Division. He is right over there. You should really get a grip, Hira…”

The other female grunted, fully agreeing with what was just said. Emotions easily took the better of her, but at the same time, they were all Shinigami. There was no way Zhou was going to retaliate to something like that... right? If the rumors were true, Zhou was an emotionless, killing machine. If he was a killing machine, what would truly stop him from ending her entirety right then and there? Duty? Obligation? What if he was a mad man...? Her mind raced, all of these questions just building and stacking up on top of one another. Soon enough, it led to an image of the instructor appearing behind her without even a sound – the same eerie feeling one would get in the shower when their eyes closed – the feeling that someone was watching them right then and there. On instinct, the female turned around, pleading and begging for Zhou to spare her. When she opened her eyes, though, she’d see her friend looking at her like she was some sort of weirdo, and Zhou still standing next to Asahi.

“Right… I really don’t think this Shinigami thing is going to work out for you, Hira…”

The female said, as Hira rubbed the back of her head.

“S-shut up, Sugahara.”

​

 

[Vesper]

The Shinigami with the peculiar pupils rested a hand against the tree, supporting his body while looking a bit off into the distance for but a moment before returning his gaze to the other man.

“Yes. Was there something you needed of me, Asahi?”

"Mmmm. Nothing special. Just thought I'd bother you a bit!"

It was the truth. Plain and simple. He may have had a few questions he could ask to the man but at the very core of it all it was his intent to simply stave any boredom back. Would this other instructor alleviate him of such a sensation? Who knows. Asahi was rather easy to please. Having someone to just bounce some words back and forth or to mess with was enough to keep his attention satisfied. Even if it wasn't going to be the most lucrative of exchanges, it certainly beat the alternative of simply gazing at his phone, observing the Kenpachi Games. He needed to be active not stuck in some electronic trance. The last time he found himself without something to do, he ended up seeing how many laps he could make around the barrack's outer wall on just his hands.

Asahi watched as the man took to his feet, causing him to look upward towards the taller individual. His mouth moved as if he was about to speak but then he caught a drift of wandering comments to a pair of women that wandered past.

“HE’S INSANE! DID YOU NOT SEE WHAT HE DID JUST LAST WEEK?! I HEARD ONE OF THE STUDENTS STILL CAN’T WALK STRAIGHT! URGH! I would think that an instructor would hold back… But dang it…”

It was a comment about Zhou. He had heard stray rumors and he was aware of the art to which he taught, but what surprised him was more so the audacity to speak of someone within such proximity to them. Part of it was kind of commendable that they felt secure enough to speak with the threat of confrontation, but was this a conscious action or did were they truly ignorant to their words being overheard. Asahi kept his optics on the male while he listened to the women, gauging a reaction that was rather subdued. Did he not care? Or was he in a place of contemplation? He honestly could relate a bit to not really holding back in his training, but with his more playful nature it ended up not necessarily sparking the same reaction from others. If anything it was more embarrassing for students to be toyed with in front of others. Everything was a game to the Clown, even being thrown into a perilous situation.

Granted, it didn't remove him from taking things serious when they needed to be, he'd just be jovial about it. He was completely capable of threatening someone's life with the brightest of smiles on his face. If someone was willing to charge into battle, especially against an unknown enemy, then there was nothing to pity them for or to bear anger. It just was what it was. Asahi had the luxury of residing almost solely within the Seireitei, able to avoid the craziness that transpires out in the World of the Living. That was excluding practical drills to which he brought students out to Karakura to handle lower grade Hollows with their spell craft.

The starry-eyed reaper chuckled to himself as he noted the reaction of the second instructor, hushing her equal from speaking carelessly. They were lucky this was the Third Division, a place that housed rather tame member. Would they be as careless as to speak in such a manner in the Second or Eleventh Division?

““Do you not know he can hear you? You really think that it’s okay to talk ill about other instructors?! Especially someone that was in the Second Division. He is right over there. You should really get a grip, Hira…””

A voice of reason. Was her way of shutting down the conversation out of consideration for Zhou? No, it was more likely out of fear. The reference to the Second Division cemented that assumption. A band of assassins, spies, and enforcers certainly was not a gang you'd want to upset. He didn't believe that this man would act the same, however. The Hakuda teacher seemed rather reserved, confined to his own mind. Asahi couldn't help but wonder what danced around in his head. This all could be an act of restraint or he truly could just be this docile.

He could taste the unrest setting in for the outwardly spoken woman. It truly set in what she had done. And that brought an even brighter expression to the smaller of the male duo. What would he do in this situation? That is to say if he was the one being spoken of. Likely nothing but it'd be really really funny to put a scare in them. Maybe the day would come but for now the light wasn't on him. He wasn't a stranger to criticisms of his sometimes off putting behavior or the way he goes about his lessons, but none were as bold as this specific female.

“Right… I really don’t think this Shinigami thing is going to work out for you, Hira…”

Asahi snapped his eyes towards the pair, taking in the facial expression of this Hira in response to her friend's remark.

“S-shut up, Sugahara.”

Kajiyashiki returned his attention to his present company, the younger of the two souls, despite the significant difference of height.

"If you are interested, Feng-san... There are stalls around the area that are selling various street foods in celebration of the big event, even here within the Seireitei. We can get more acquainted and hopefully find something yummy to eat."

He wasn't sure if the male was about to run off or not to whatever affairs he had, so this was his way of seeing if he could lock down his companionship for at least a little while. They may not work together directly but they were coworkers and coworkers should establish some form of working relationship. Should they not? Asahi closed his eyes and gave Zhou a warm and welcoming smile as if to shed any discomfort that he had. Whether that worked or not was down to the type of person this man was. The offer stood regardless of his personality. Honestly Asahi was going to probably find something to consume with or without Feng, but it certainly would make him happier to have company during his meal.

​

 

[Zhou_Feng]

With the outburst from the two across the way, Asahi seemed to pay more attention to the two than Zhou did, showing just how irrelevant they were to him. Spending time in the Third Division definitely differed from his time in the Second. The speculations and rumors going around about him was something that was so common, to keep track of everything said about him would have been exhausting. Fitting in was something that Zhou was never good at, even within his Academy days. Due to his upbringing and overall environment, duty just mattered more to him. With the concern for his responsibilities, the idle chatter concerning his past and potential actions didn’t have that much of an impact on him. The question was whether or not he should have cared. Zhou was in a different place in his life now. He still bore his past scars, but was this something that someone should have cared about? Was he supposed to react how the female predicted? Due to his consistent analysis of others, only a true offender or someone who wanted to keep appearances would have acted in such a manner. A number of people probably would have laughed it off, someone who truly was trying to change from whom they previously were would have been at least slightly upset concerning the outburst of opinions. Here Zhou was not feeling a single thing. Not even glancing towards them, Asahi at the very least, looked in their direction. With this much analyzing himself, he was able to truly see the impact of the way he had lived his life for so long.

Soon enough, the two females made their way away from the two Shinigami. The two of them seemed rather embarrassed with one another, but the one that was definitely red in the face was the one donning the long black hair. Thoughts about Zhou “hunting her down later as there were too many witnesses around currently” began flooding and plaguing her mind. A truly fearful one indeed. The only humorous thing about this entire instance was that Zhou wasn’t thinking of her in general. He was simply analyzing how he should have acted in that situation as well as what Asahi wanted from him. Zhou listened to Asahi’s suggestion as to what they could do together. With them getting more acquainted, this could have been a step in the right direction. The soul bearing a rather youthful appearance was rather peculiar, but in a different way than Zhou. Perhaps there was something he could learn from the older one. Zhou gave a nod right before responding to Asahi’s suggestion.

“That’s fine. Is there a certain nourishment you were thinking of having?”

There he was again – the bland response that was even oddly worded. In a sense, they didn’t need to eat. There was no need for nourishment as they hadn’t done any sort of intense training, fighting, or anything that required for them to regain their bearings. With Zhou’s training, Zhou only ate when it was absolutely needed for him to. Although he could cook rather well, he only cooked when the food was for others, and even then if he didn’t need to eat, he wouldn’t. This brought another question: Was //eating// something that he should partake in more? Was it something that would invoke more of his emotions? Would it bring out his inner wants and desires? Souls had a vast difference in likes and dislikes. Sure, there were things he preferred eating such as rice and chicken, but today was the day he could potentially expound upon this. This was when he asked himself the internal question that led him here.

“Is this something that I want to do?”

With years and years of his will being spread out upon the satisfaction of completing his duties, this foreign concept of doing something that was for him still took a lot of mental adjustments. This set him apart from others; he was a true machine. With this realization, Zhou knew that there was a need to change, a need to grow. With the two main opportunities being granted: switching divisions and becoming a Hakuda instructor, the next accomplishment he sought after was truly finding himself. If it was going to be through a food stall, then damn it, he was going to eat his fill. Although Asahi was a bit quirky, there was more substance to him than Zhou, definitely. There was a lot to learn, and Zhou felt like this was the division that he needed to be in to get the emotional development that he lacked. With this, Zhou fixed himself to move along with Asahi towards wherever they were going to go. Asahi seemed like he had an idea of what he liked, so perhaps Zhou would have found something new to add to his palette as the two could have had some common ground. While walking to their one of potentially many destinations, Zhou asked Asahi a simple question that potentially warranted a complicated answer. He also knew that the question could be declined, and that was more than fine. Upon walking to their location, Zhou parted his scarred lips.

“Asahi, why did you decide to join the Third Division?”

Truly not knowing what response he was going to receive, he simply waited to see whether or not the odd eyed Soul would answer. There were multiple reasons as to why one might join a division, he wanted to know what drove Asahi. Although Zhou knew Asahi was vastly different from himself, in truth they were complete opposites, Zhou wanted to see just how Asahi could be how he was. The curiosity tore at him. For some reason, he felt Asahi was a “key” in itself. He was like a flame … sort of like…

He stopped thinking for a brief moment. For the first time during his entire interaction with Asahi, his eyebrow twitched. With him being this far in thought, he could relate the Clown to the bastion of a beast, Yasu Yūgure. A shiver went down his back. She was someone that he truly could not understand. As she was really someone that was disgustingly powerful, she was also someone Zhou could barely understand – especially with her being the second division. She had strength that one might have envied. Some of the souls less apathetic as Zhou joked about how her strength came from how she ate potatoes raw … entire sacks of potatoes raw. Regardless of the oddities that came along with her, She was someone that too had more substance than he.

With the two of them continuing their walk his mind continued to move, a lot faster than his current pace with Asahi. Regardless of him being in thought, he was still able to listen to Asahi’s response. At first, he thought that Yasu would have the Kenpachi Games within the palms of her hands, at least if she didn’t face up against certain Souls. He wondered if she’d grow stronger because of the games, if she truly wanted to join the games, or if she did so because of a requirement. He hadn’t spoken with her in a while, but even when they did speak, it was solely about the tasks of the Second Division. Small talk didn’t necessarily exist with Zhou, and when it did happen, Zhou dismissed it from his mind, and never thought about it again. For the first time, he genuinely wondered if she was okay. He figured she’d find some way to pull through. He didn’t even have to even think about his previous captain as he himself had a plethora of assets to have someone else worry about whomever he faced up against.

​

 

[Vesper]

​

"That’s fine. Is there a certain nourishment you were thinking of having?"​

Zhou's response was rather dry, something that was already predictable from the demeanor he continued to emit. Asahi didn't mind this, though. It was somewhat amusing to experience such an extreme clash of personalities. One of which was bubbly and loud, while the other was significantly subdued. Out of all those he could be exchanging conversation with from the Third, this particular man was the biggest black sheep among them. An enigma. A being that could be quite a fun brain to pick, as he differed from the rest. The irony of being the quiet kid in the crowd but standing out the most, a reversal of expectation.

The Fifth Seat raised a hand to his chin, squinting his eyes and puckering his lips a bit. This expression looked as if he was contemplating the meaning of life itself. Was the decision about what to eat that laborious? Honestly, it was more likely that this Clown had been trying to see if such a response drew any type of reaction out of this milquetoast reaper.

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmm... What to eat, what to eat...? How about some Yakisoba?! I saw a stand not too far from the entrance to the barracks! It was right next to a Imagawayaki stand as well!"

The prospect of all the available snacks made his stomach rumble just from the thought alone. Somewhere along his way, there had also been a Yakitori stand. But would he be able to get away with dragging this man all around the surrounding area just to indulge in the culinary aspect of the festivities? This man surely wouldn't have the patience to deal with the colorful and often exhausting energy of this opposing personality. If there was one thing people could rely on with Asahi it was the fact that he never really seemed to tire out. But when he finally rested, he basically just completely shut down and would become unresponsive. It was likely to compensate for the fact that he was always on overdrive.

Asahi beamed before pivoting on his heel and pointing onwards towards the exit to the division's grounds.

"ONWARD MARCH!"

He shouted his targetless order outward into the ether. Sure, he was, to some extent, requesting the Soul in his company to follow him, but it was primarily a proclamation of what he was about to do. He began to walk forward a few meters in a rather stiff march, as if he was some British Royal Guard member. Eventually, the action broke as he couldn't hold back laughter at how ridiculous this gesture was. People actually did this? It's such a silly way of displaying discipline. Walking like some kind of machine as a show of loyalty. Of course, Japan has its own quirks, but other cultures also have some truly bizarre habits. Yet... who was he to judge? He stood out not only among the Third, but almost all of the Gotei 13.With Zhou tailing behind, he made sure to not waste any time in going at a steady pace, fighting back the urge to just start bolting for the stand. In his head, he just kept telling himself over and over to dial it back, to fight the need to be even more extra.
​

"Asahi, why did you decide to join the Third Division?"​

Curiosity was expressed by Feng. It caught Asahi a bit off guard. He was not expecting to not be the one leading their engagement. This was a welcomed occurrence. He wasted no time at all responding to him. His words came almost immediately after the inquiry.

"New experiences."

Simple and sweet, the response was. Well, that was the case up until a brief patch of silence. His tone and delivery shifted to something a bit more serious with his succeeding sentences. The smaller individual didn't look towards the other, but instead focused on walking onward.

"Things can get so boring in other divisions. A lot of the same thing over and over. You get used to the faces you see. The voices you hear. Every day becomes a clone of the last. What's the fun in that?"

Another pause before he looked to Zhou out of the corner of his eyes.

"This position gives me the opportunity to see different personalities before they are crushed by monotony."

His way of speaking had changed with his acknowledgement of the man's question. Asahi kept his eyes trained on Zhou, using his peripheral vision to guide his steps. He could begin to smell the smells of the aforementioned stands that grew nearer with each placement of their feet. The Clown took a breath and then returned to his chipper self and gave his fellow officer a blindingly bright smile.

"That's all there is to it!"

A lie. There was something more, but he spoke nothing of it.

"I caaaan smell the food! I'm so ready to eat myself into a coma!"

The starry-eyed Shinigami clenched his fists ahead of his body, curling his arms upwards to his torso in sheer excitement. The more he thought of the feast he was about to have, the more he could feel his energy overflowing from him. It was so difficult to contain the nuclear bomb of vigor that flowed within his body. Their arrival at the Yakisoba stand couldn't have come any sooner. Asahi rushed up to the counter and looked the server directly in the eyes and excitedly spoke.

"Two servings please!~"
​

"Coming right up!"​

As the Soul manning the establishment worked away on the grill-top, Asahi scanned the condiment section and locked onto a container of Katsuobushi. That was definitely going to get piled onto his dish when it was finished. He looked at Zhou with a look of unparalleled excitement. Nothing else in this world matters to him at this moment, just that he can absolutely destroy his plate of Yakisoba.

​

 

[Zhou_Feng]

Zhou walked alongside Asahi as the older, yet shorter, Shinigami contemplated their course. With the mention of Yakisoba, his mind flashed to how he’d normally prepare the meal. From the ingredients to how he cooked the meal to his own perfection, his mind processed the lot of it. He had prepared it a few times for the Second Division barrack, and in truth, not a single soul complained about the meal. Of course, souls not complaining could have been because of fear, but Zhou didn’t perceive that being that case. They were content, satiated. Zhou didn’t need praise for his cooking and whether they liked or disliked whatever he made was of no matter to him – he simply knew how to prepare the food based on what he learned from books and watching other cooks prepare the food when he had spare time. As long as the food did not harm them in the slightest, it was good enough for him. The chipper Shinigami seemed to be quite excited over the food, something that Zhou couldn’t really understand. Maybe they had prepared Yakisoba differently from what Zhou usually had done – Would spending Kan have been worth something he could do himself? Would he have liked their Yakisoba? Only time and this new experience would tell. Zhou noticed just how much energy this Shinigami exhuberated, he wondered just how much longer he could keep up that demeanor. Regardless of just how much energy Asahi had, it wasn’t affecting Zhou one way or the other. He wasn’t annoyed, disturbed, nor did it positively energize him. Instead, Asahi’s energy seemed to radiate like the sun while Zhou was akin to the ground that just succumbed to the rays from it – the stone simply existing. With the command to proceed going forward done in a childish fashion, the two set forth towards the stall. As the two continued towards the stall, people could see both Zhou and Asahi together as whispers could be heard.​

“What the hell is he doing? Why are those two together? Shouldn’t they be in the games? I wonder why Zhou’s not participating in the games…”​

Words continued to go back and forth, especially pertaining to Asahi’s actions and Zhou’s lack of appearance causing carnage. With Zhou being a Fēng, a competition like this could have been something expected out of him because of the violence. Regardless of the expectation, Zhou wasn’t there. Regardless of the expectation of a seated officer having some sort of decorum, Asahi wasn’t having that either. With bursting out, laughing at his own actions, a number of souls found it contagious laughing in tandem with the soul, some even sweat dropping and pretending not to see what had just occurred. Asahi was a true character that affected others in some capacity – this was something that the garrulous figure did quite often and quite well. With enough uniqueness he could hand out and still be original, Asahi began leading the way with Zhou slightly behind him. For some reason, Zhou got the feeling that Asahi was ready to blitz straight to the stand, but was holding back. It was probably just because of how fast his smaller legs were taking him – one after the other, one foot in front of the next, going faster and faster. This was just proof of his excitement over something as trivial as food. Zhou wondered exactly what was going through the Shinigami’s mind – how could he have been that excited about something so pointless? It wasn’t going to help him in the slightest, yet, he was driven in such a fashion. One could allude that it was just his personality, but Zhou continued to study his mannerisms, taking note of how he handled even this instance.

Once his question was asked, Asahi seemed to be taken back, but there was not even a pause when responding back to Zhou. The words left his mouth as if he were prepared for this question to be asked – as if he had an preemptive answer ready just for this very moment. The answer was literally something Zhou would give: succinct, concise, blunt. Immediately, that triggered the first red flag. With such a coarse, dry of an answer paled to Asahi’s usual bright, full of life demeanor. This lack of enthusiasm, well, anyone could have caught on to, despite the honey-like tone resonating from his vocal cords. Soon enough, the sun seemed to be eclipsed, a shadow running over the lands that once overflowed with light. A darkness crept up seemingly from nowhere. Not only did his voice alter, but the individual didn’t look Zhou into the eyes when he spoke. Soon enough the last few lines would have given a spine chill to most souls in the Soul Society, the way that his lips parted and uttered the words,
​

“This position gives me the opportunity to see different personalities before they are crushed by monotony.”​

At first, one would find this optimistically pessimistic. This line spoke volumes about Shinigami in general, but it hit home for Zhou. After his graduation from the Academy, Zhou was tugged and pulled in every direction. There came a point where the male literally had his very self taken from him in order to preserve his life. The fact that Asahi wanted to see what people were like before they shifted and shaped by the standards created for Shinigami showed just how much he valued the uniqueness of souls. At least that was one interpretation. Zhou was an expert at analyzing information. Even going as far as a change of heart rate, different mannerisms, odd tendencies, Zhou could tell when someone was lying even when he had just met them. When Asahi concluded that this was all there was to say about the manner, Zhou didn’t refute it.

“I see.”

He said, a soul of very few words. There was no judgment in the slightest; all that existed was the same dryness he had given off before. Instead of continuing the conversation for more clarification or attempting to get Asahi to talk more, he simply continued moving forward. The entire time, Zhou’s stoic demeanor didn’t change. He looked forward even as Asahi looked towards him. Not to mention, Asahi didn’t remotely ask the reason why Zhou joined the third. One could easily tell that it was a subject that didn’t need to be pressed on at this time, and Zhou wasn’t the one for pushing anything like this. This was something personal, and Asahi had every right to share what he wanted to and what he didn’t want to.

Just like that, the energizer bunny of a Shinigami perked back up. They had approached the stall, and soon enough, Asahi spoke up without any sort of hesitation, placing an order for both of them. What made matters worse, Zhou was still a good 10 feet away when the smaller Shinigami practically left him in the dust to order. At first, the Soul taking orders thought the food was just for the smaller soul standing in front. He began to wonder whether or not the Shinigami had eyes bigger than his stomach. It wasn’t until Zhou continued to walk that the Soul understood that they were together. With a smile and a nod the Soul taking the order responded to Asahi.
​

“Coming right up!”​

Zhou inhaled the scent as the food was being prepared. Nothing. Absolutely.. Nothing. There was no trigger, no form of desire. The food just existed. Zhou reached inside of his Shihakushō and retrieved what seemed to be something to store Kan in. He figured he’d pay for the food, there wasn’t anything wrong with him doing so. He tended to spend his money on books, but spent the majority of his money sending it to his family. Ever since he had left the Second Division, he hadn’t heard from his Mother nor Father. The lot of them didn’t exchange conversations too much anyway, but regardless, now it was nonexistent. He thought about going to visit them once the Kenpachi Games were over, but the thought came and went quite swiftly. He hadn’t seen them in forever, but there was no point in visiting them at the moment. He figured that sending them money from afar was the best way of connecting with them. Soon enough, the food had been prepared for the two, the elder male having two trays each holding a bowl of Yakisoba.
​

“Here you go! Eat up while it’s hot!”​

Zhou looked down at the familiar bowl, the bowl that he could have prepared on his own. In a way, he saw this as a waste of Kan, regardless, he gave the money to the male without huss, fuss, aggravation, or change from his apathetic demeanor. With the elder man nodding, the two moved the condiment stand as he finally looked towards Asahi, noticing previously through his peripheral vision, when his eyes weren’t on him or the seller, that his eyes immediately were on the condiment stand. Deciding to give something new for a chance, he followed suit, heading over to the stand as well to place whatever Asahi placed on his dish.

​