Chapter 9 The Weather was Too Nice

Kira was conflicted with himself. 'How do I even teach her that? I'm an idiot if I think I can tutor her how to write better.' The wind blew slightly as he made his journey to training grounds. It was only minutes ago that he made the offer to train his captain. He walked a little faster. His zanpakuto hit his leg from his stride. 'I just need to blow some steam off. No one is going to be there this time of day.'

He walked to the training grounds. He took the time to wonder what was in store for him the day he opened his door to find his captain. He thought about how she would look or act when he was trying to teach her. Then he realized that he didn't know what he was going to teach her at all.

"Oh hey Lieutenant Izuru!" With a light glisten of sweat on his brow, Isu smiled and waved to his lieutenant. "You going to train now? I was just leaving myself."

Kira blinked. "Yeah," he replied. 'Why do I feel so embarrassed?'

"That's great." Isu walked closer and gave Kira a full grin. "It's encouraging to see you training, just to know that you never stop training to get better really helps the rest of us."

Kira smiled. 'Ah…I remember…he's the one who kicked me out of the tub that day.'

Isu waited and gave a final nod to Kira as a drop of sweat was rolling down his collar bone. "Well, anyway, nice to see you Lieutenant. I'll be going now."

Kira turned and watched the shinigami walk away. "Bye Isu." Kira stood there stunned for a second. 'Have I actually ever had a conversation with that man before?' For some reason, the moment made him smile. In some way, he found a reason to be happy. 'They care enough to talk to me…' Kira turned and walked to a large open area and unsheathed his sword. 'I guess they notice me more than I thought.' He motioned his sword up and down in a striking motion to begin the workout. 'And here, I was beginning to think I was forgotten behind the captain.' He could feel the heat on his arms increasing from exertion.

Kira changed his stance to stab the air, keeping his sword pointed straight while his body tensed with the form he took. The continuous stabbing began to make his abdominals stretch and burn with the turning motion. His forearms wanted to give out, but he held on for longer.

"You look like you're working hard."

Kira stopped slowly, lowering his sword. He turned to find a dark haired man looking at him. His face was intelligent and his eyes were kind. Instead of smiling at Kira, he yawned.

"Excuse me." He yawned a second time. "I didn't think somebody would be here." He smiled at Kira, but then let his brown eyes look to the scenery. "But from the look of your face, you seem to be distracted."

Kira's eyebrows furrowed. "Yes, you can say that."

"Would you like to confide in a stranger? I don't have much to do anyway, every one else is busy."

Kira looked the stranger over. He was taller than Kira by a couple inches, and his build was lanky. He stood out in the open field and talked casually with him, making Kira feel a little better with confiding with him. 'He must not know I'm a lieutenant. And I know we aren't getting new recruits anytime soon.'

The stranger sat down, then laid himself down onto his back, the fringe of his black hair slightly parted to show his forehead. "So what's the problem?"

Kira sheathed his sword and sat down next to the laid down shinigami. He looked to the shinigami, but their eyes didn't meet. The stranger was looking up at the sky. Kira turned forward, a bit confused, but eventually followed suit. He noticed a bird gliding across the sky. "I made an offer I don't know how to follow through with."

"Is that so." The stranger continued to stare into the sky, his hands now underneath his hair. A couple of strands caught in his hands so he freed them and repositioned his hands back.

"I offered to teach her how to write more legibly." Kira continued on, leaving his back open to the stranger as he began to let his legs stretch out before him.

"I didn't ask what it was you offered."

Kira stayed silent, taking no offense or hurt from the comment. He knew some kind advice was going to follow anyway. Waiting, he watched a tree shiver from the light gust of wind.

"You must like her if you give such a lame excuse to see her."

Kira eyes widened and then his eyebrows furrowed, turning to the man.

The shinigami lifted his head slightly to meet Kira's eyes. He raised an eyebrow.

"It's not like that." Kira kept his eyes on the stranger, giving a firm look.

"Then what is it like?" The shinigami laid his head back down once again, soaking in Kira's actions.

'I'm trying to figure out if she's an enemy.' Kira looked down, as if he said his thoughts aloud. 'I am sort of leading her on with a false excuse…but it's not entirely like that.' Kira, turned back and thought hard for a second on the best way to say what he really meant. "I…I want to know what's she's hiding."

"What could she be hiding that could make you offer something that lame of an excuse?"

"I'm not making an excuse, she really does need help. Her writing is absolutely awful." Kira chuckled a little, and the mood between the two lightened up. "I mean, she just seems to have something that bothers her sometimes. I've seen it before. Like, whenever she meets somebody, she freezes up for a second. Just for a second, short enough that no one really notices. She looks at them hard after they leave and it bothers me a little bit because it looks like she's…I guess…in pain? I don't even know." Kira sighed. "I just know it isn't normal."

The dark haired man let the words linger, and then breathed in, readying his own. "I don't see how helping her with her handwriting will help you find out anything about her."

"I guess not, but it'll at least bring us closer."

"Is that your real goal?"

'Why does he keep bring me back to square one?' Kira shook his head. "No, but it would help since we have to work together often."

"Oh, so you're a district guardian with her?"

"No," Kira plainly stated.

There was a moment of silence between the two. The shinigami sat back up, pulling his knee to his chest, and putting his arm on his knee. "Does she talk a lot to you?"

"I suppose not." Then Kira thought more about her. "She doesn't look like she talks to anybody outside of work. She isn't shy, she just doesn't say anything that isn't business. Like Captain Kuchiki, except not as cold."

The other nodded in understanding. He yawned. The two men sat next to each other, while one was trying to help the other understand. "Maybe she has something to say, but doesn't want it to be read."

"What? That would make no sense."

The stranger took a long look at Kira, then got up. "I guess not. I'll be leaving. I know I got some things to work on today." He dusted off the back of his uniform and pants, and stood next to Kira who was still sitting. "As for advice for that offer, I have no idea how you're going to teach her how to do it. Maybe you should train her on letting her do it. Get her comfortable you know?"

"I…" Kira began, unsure what he should say.

The stranger laughed. Kira looked up confused, but smiling a little to enjoy some of his laughter as if he understood what was so funny. His eyes, as Kira began to realize, were like Gin's as he smiled. As unsettling as the resemblance was, Kira saw his smile much less malevolent than Gin's. "Ah," the stranger settled down and said with mild playfulness, "if you can teach her how to write better, I'll bow down and call you master. It's just too damn impossible." He patted Kira on the back firmly, sounding like a close friend, he said, "I'll be seeing you around." He began to walk away and Kira watched silently.

Standing now, Kira looked at the empty training grounds. 'I…I don't think he helped me at all.' He shook his head and sighed with a little humor. 'So be it.'

Kira continued his training. When he headed back to his room, his back ached, and his arms were screaming in pain. The night was comforting with itscool air. 'What did he say? Maybe she has something to say but doesn't want it read? What would that… what does that mean?'

He opened his door and settled into his blankets. He drifted off to sleep, unsure what tomorrow would bring him.