She had been a silent witness to a conversation between Ace and a man who was addressed by the Marines as Vice-Admiral Garp. He was an older man with white hair and wrinkles to match it. He had a beard, and spoke of how he'd hoped Ace and Luffy would grow up to be Marines.
Rina couldn't help but snicker at the idea. Ace was a good man, but he wasn't the type to turn a blind eye just for the sake of keeping the peace. He was viewed by his world's government as an upstart, a troublemaker. That's why she knew he'd make an excellent Shinigami if he had the chance. All Shinigami had their own history, her mother was no different, once a notorious gang leader in Inuzuri and now the respected Elite Lieutenant of squad six. Then there was Yachiru Unohana, the founding Captain of squad 11, who laid the foundation for it to become the specialized combat squad it is today. The most notorious serial killer in Soul Society, until she decided to pick up her sword to defend innocents against hollows, before then she had told Rina it was like swinging her blade in the dark, it brought no joy and she was horrendously bored, but it also drove fear into the hearts of the gangs within Rukongai, anyone who had been associated with Yachiru as an ally was off limits to them. They didn't wish to run the risk of angering such a ruthless criminal.
Rina didn't think ill of either woman. Her mother had merely done what she had to in order to survive and provide for her kids, whatever the cost. It wasn't until Hisana had married into the Kuchiki family that Byakuya was able to negotiate with his clans elders to let the kids reside at the mansion while their mother attended the academy. She had excelled at her classes and graduated in two and a half years instead of the usual six. Since at the time she was also raising four children outside of her school hours, that wasn't anything to scoff at. After she graduated and Byakuya helped her get the house they'd spent the rest of their lives living in.
Yachiru was just looking for someone to teach, to raise up, to be more than what she was capable of. In the end she had found that in Squad 11's current Captain, Kenpachi Zaraki. Rina hadn't been there when Unohana had died, but she didn't need to be to know that she died with a smile on her face, having finally found someone stronger than herself. Her time as a serial killer had also given her knowledge of just how much shinigami and others could endure before succumbing to their wounds.
These two women had shaped how Rina viewed things in Rukongai. To this day in certain parts of Rukongai, she wouldn't enforce the law in the outer regions of Rukongai for one simple reason: she could be interfering with someone's survival method.
There were times to follow rules and times to break rules. Being a Shinigami meant knowing when to turn a blind eye and when to act. Ace seemed to have been born with that instinct.
She listened on as Ace in formed this Garp person that his only father was Whitebeard. Very clearly, his biological father was still a wound that he found difficult to speak of. That had happened two days ago. He hadn't been in a very good mood since then. He had told Garp that his father and Luffy's were both criminals, and all they ever gave their sons was the evil in their veins. Since then she and Ace had silently shared each other's company but not spoken.
"Sorry," he apologized, breaking a two days silence.
"For what? Being human and having emotions? That's not something you can help. We have them too, but most of us have mentally trained to push our feelings down. Some find them to be a source of strength, and utilize those feelings in combat," she countered.
He gave a small smile and almost scoffed, "must be nice."
"Not really," she admitted. She made eye contact with him as she confessed, "pushing your feelings down doesn't mean that you don't feel anything—you just don't process it at that moment. For some, it can turn deadly."
"Even still if we get caught up in the moment of a battle, that can prove fatal as well. So I don't ignore my feelings—I put them in a box and close it. Once the fight is over and it's safe to open that box, I do. I used to ignore them, and I'd end up snapping over the dumbest things like misplacing a pen—or not having strawberries in the barracks," she continued with a small giggle.
"Rina," Ace breathed. He had always been able to tell when something was bothering her, but she'd always seemed put together, like she could handle anything that came her way. Now he was learning, from the sounds of it, there were times she felt lost.
She looked to him and shrugged, "so I just learned how to process at appropriate times. You can have feelings about something, good or bad, and it's healthy. Locking up your feelings, not facing the root issue, that's where trouble begins."
He looked to her and asked, "No chance we could cuddle is there?"
Rina smiled at the thought and asked, "you do realize if anyone ever knew about our friendship they'd think it's something else, right?"
"People can mind their own business," he retorted as she scooted next to him. She sat almost next to him, but just enough in front of him that she could rest her head on his shoulder as best as she was able to. Like when she hugged him before, he positioned his head so he was almost touching his cheek to the top of her head as best as he could.
He smirked a little as he commented to her, "we do blur the lines a little, don't we?"
"Yeah, just a teeny tiny smidge," she jested. She knew the end was edging closer. So close she wouldn't be able to return after he fell asleep for the day. She'd return to soul society, and wait until she heard word one way or the other. She had a feeling though, that this Luffy guy would try to stop Ace's execution. She gave a small sigh as she realized she'd have to come back, if for no other reason than to make sure that she fulfilled her promise to Ace.