Almost There [Closed]

"Fourhundred-Ninety-Nine... And... Fivehundred." With a surprisingly light impact, Toja dropped down from the bar he had just pulled himself up on again and again, rotating his shoulders a bit while massaging his arms. They felt as if someone had just put them into a mixer - just right for training. In the past, he really wouldn't have considered training like this, but he had to increase his physical power - otherwise, he'd never be able to wield his Zanpakutō with one hand only. So there he was, in the gym of the fifth division, not wearing a shirt and being handed a towel by a rather odd figure... Something one could only describe as a fairy. With wings made out of what seemed to be fairy-fire.
"Thanks, Hotaru."
And with a thumbs up, the creature disappeared. Toja's Zanpakutō-spirit - he was finally able to call her out into reality ever since his last training with Kaminari, thanks to the realization of what his fire truly meant. And more had changed ever since he started training here - his body, even if he was still small and unassuming in stature, seemed actually toned, and showed clear signs of muscles. It made the tiny Shinigami look at least somewhat more manly. On the first day here, he had barely managed to train for ten minutes without running out of breath - now, he used excercises like this one to warm up for the rest. Nobody had asked him just why he was suddenly using the gym of the fifth division so much, but that was mostly because his explosive temper was well-known - nobody seemingly wanted to check if being driven to physical exhaustion made that temper worse or better.

Using the towel given to him by Hotaru to clean some sweat off of his upper body and face, Toja let his eyes wander. Ever since the last - relatively short-lived - incident with his headaches, where he had literally fallen through a door in the fourth division, they had calmed down a lot. He wouldn't complain about that - if all it took was a colission with a hard piece of door and then floor, he would've done so earlier in his life, instead of dealing with these migraines for the better part of 700 years. Oh well, no use crying over the past! Looking around for something useful to train his upper body and back strength, Toja appreciated the fact that the humans had come up with so many appliances for physical training in the past. Sure, Shinigami were basicially humans as well, but thanks to their Reiatsu normally didn't train their bodies as much... Unless they had to. And the small Shinigami DEFINITELY had to train if he wanted a real chance at two things.
First, unlock his Bankai and realize the true potential of his powers.

Second, he really wanted to show Kaminari that her time spent educating him about the ways of the sword had not gone to waste. After finishing his regimen here - which would probably take a few more hours - he'd go on to the dojo and pick out multiple sparring partners again. The unseated officers of the fifth Division already had to fight him in groups to stand a chance - so he was finally living up to his rank, but not his reputation. Toja was known for having the Reiatsu of a Vice-Captain, so of course he also had to reach the strength, skill, and speed of one! Everything less than perfect wouldn't satifsy him anymore. All those thoughts just flew through his mind as he loaded up a training machine with heavy weights that he could by now lift easily with his strengthened arms. Doing around two hundred squats on this thing for now should give his legs something to work with, as well as his back - and the best way to be able to run faster and for longer was to increase the muscle strength in the legs.

No matter what, today was going to be the day she told him. Kaminari had decided that yesterday. A conversation with a certain Captain helped her realized what she needed to do. It was likely going to destroy him. It was going to tear his dreams apart, but he needed to know. She couldn't watch him suffer anymore. She was determined, but there was a problem. The moment Kaminari stepped into the area and saw him trying his best, she froze. She had hidden herself completely, so he couldn't sense her coming, so when she got there she could only watch. She stood at the entrance, keeping a sharp eye on him. To prevent him from seeing her, she cast a quick Kidō to conceal her from his sight. Beside Toja was a small fairy, but the energy emitted was very similar to the young man himself, so Kaminari came to the conclusion that it was his Zanpakutō Spirit. He really was trying hard and even got Hotaru to be by his side and help him out. A moment after Kaminari saw the little thing, it disappeared. She thought this would be the perfect time to step forward, but she hesitated. A painful feeling in her stomach prevented her from taking a step forward. "I can't do this..." she thought, ready to turn around, but something caught her eye.

"He's changed..." Kaminari raised an eyebrow at the change though. She didn't think it was odd, nor was it a 'what the f*ck' type look. It was more of a 'damn'. She was impressed. There was a bit more confidence in his step, but beyond that, she could tell he had been working out. Now, she hadn't seen his body before, but something told her it wasn't like this. He was toned and had more muscle mass than he did before; that much she knew. Kaminari watched him for a moment and saw him look around after wiping the sweat from his face. For a moment she freaked out, but when she realized she was behind Kidō and was completely hidden, she calmed herself down. "This is going to be harder than I thought..." Kaminari thought and then took in a quiet deep breath. She could tell he was about to start working out again and decided to step in. Removing the Kidō, she stepped over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hello Toja." she said casually and with a soft smile. She didn't know whether she would startle him or not, since that wasn't exactly on her mind, but it was possible. "Do you have a minute?" she asked, "I'd like to talk to you about something."

Toja wasn't one to believe every old saying, but apparently, if you were thinking about someone, the chance of that person also thinking about you did in fact increase. He was surprised to suddenly feel a hand on his shoulder, but the surprised look on his face was quickly replaced by a nice, 'cute' smile, as he saw Kaminari suddenly standing behind him. He really didn't expect to meet her here, all of the sudden - but apparently, she had been looking for him directly.

"Pleasure to see you, Kaminari-taichou." Toja turned around fully - his Captain was more important to him than the workout machine he had wanted to use. Flipping the towel over one of his shoulders, he nodded regarding her question. "Of course I have time. And if I didn't, I'd make some." The seated Officer wasn't about to disappoint his Captain - not only because of rank, but also because she was one of the few real friends he had. Hell, as far as the actual fifth division was concerned, she WAS his only friend here, and a rather dear one, even if they had only spoken a few times. Mostly because around her, he could just be himself, with all of his rough edges. Looking over quickly, he spotted the rest of his uniform, which had been discarded at one of the lockers. He wasn't exactly all that shy, but still, standing in front of Kaminari, of all people, with his upper body exposed, was a little embarassing. Apparently, he wasn't the only one thinking that - because a small fairy was just now carrying his clothes over to him. Hotaru looked up and down on her wielder's captain, making no secret out of her curiosity.
"So you're Kaminari? Nice to actually see you with my own eyes for once." The voice of the small fairy was oddly melodic, and rather high in pitch - but really, not all that much higher pitched than Toja's own voice.
"Don't be rude now, Hotaru." With a sigh, Toja put on the rest of his clothes again - he'd need a shower later, but his Captain was more important than that. And he really wanted to strangle Hotaru for her stupid snickering that she was doing both inside of his head and right next to Kaminari. The fairy wasn't all that much smaller than the Captain, but her body seemed a lot more... frail and thin. Like you'd expect from a sprite, really. "What did you want to talk to me about, Captain?"

Kaminari's stomach curled when he was actually free. She sorta hoped he would say he was busy and talk to her later, but no. He was like most people; he didn't want to turn away his Captain. "Alright, thank you." she said in reply as she sat down on a near by exercise machine. With every passing moment, she could feel her heart beat in her chest. As she sat down, she placed a hand on her stomach and took in a deep breath as casually as she could. She needed to do something to calm herself down. Hotaru came up to her and spoke about it being nice to see her, but Kaminari couldn't say anything back. She stayed silent and just stared at Hotaru with an overly serious expression, which likely seemed rude and was definitely off of her norm. Kaminari blinked once and opened her eyes to look at Toja. "Toja, it's about your headaches..." Kaminari said, her voice shaking as she talked, "I don't think they're normal." That wasn't any good. She cannot come here sounding like she was uncertain. She was not. She knew exactly what was happening, so worrying him was not going to help. Kaminari stood up and took in another deep breath, pacing back and forth for a moment. "Okay, no. I know they're not normal." Kaminari said to him. She stood in front of him and looked to him as seriously as she could. "Do you remember that day you got the really bad headache?" she asked him and then let out a stressed sigh, "Your eyes turned black that day. I saw it for a moment. Your headaches, your fluctuations in power... I don't know if it's related, but I heard there were a few times Hotaru was acting strange..." With a shaky hand, Kaminari stood in front of Toja and looked straight into his eyes. Her own eyes were glistening, showing that she was ready to start crying herself. "Toja, there is a very high chance... that you are going to Hollowfy." she stated as bluntly as she could in this situation, "You are going to become a Vizard." The only thing Kaminari could say at this point is that she feared his reaction.

At first, Toja was surprised. His headaches? Well, if she had something important to say about it, then he'd better listen. Hotaru just blinked with a surprised expression at Kaminari, who just seemed to stare at her - the Zanpakutō spirit didn't realize why that was. From what she had seen when part of Toja's mind, his captain always seemed... different. Not as happy as usual, maybe? The fire fairy didn't know what to do with that assumption, though. She would've been perfectly content with just watching the two... If not for the sudden, deep hole that both Toja and Hotaru seemed to fall into right at her words. No way. Hollowfy? He, of all people? A Shinigami with over 700 years of service, and her, a Zanpakutō spirit filled with flames fuelled by love? If fate made bad jokes, then that was one of them. With a disturbed facial expression, Hotaru vanished again, disappearing into glitter that fell to the ground and evaporated without a trace.

The nice, friendly smile on Toja's face had been consumed away by these news. He wasn't angry, or in denial, at least not visibly. His slightly opened mouth, wide eyes and attempts to take a deep breath spoke of confusion and shock moreso than anything. His mind was in complete turmoil. A vizard... a Shinigami with the powers of a Hollow sealed inside. Not only was he a mortal danger to everyone around him that he cared about - including Kaminari - but being a Vizard was a grave offense. Obtaining Hollow powers was against the sacred laws of the Gotei 13, and he doubted that the Captain-Commander would give much of a damn about how this situation came to be. Because honestly, Toja had no idea why - for all of his life that he could remember, he had either been a Shinigami, or had trained to be one. At no point should a Hollow have had the chance of entering his soul and infecting him - and what was worse, these headaches had been there since day one! For centuries, this monster had lurked in his mind - for all he knew, it was actually the reason for his incredibly foul temper that was triggered by calling him anything feminine!

"I... I see..." Was the first thing that Toja managed to say, his own voice being very low key and sounding out of breath. But he also noticed something. Kaminari, she looked... so sad. So incredibly sad. Really, it broke his heart to see his dear captain in this way, a painful sting in his heart. He wouldn't falter, not now. For her sake, moreso than his own. Really, if he had gotten to know this while alone... chances are, he wouldn't have been able to handle it. Toja was a man of action and discipline, not someone who was even remotely in touch with his own emotions and feelings. But he wasn't going to break down now. He wasn't going to cry, or throw an anger fit. He wouldn't set everything around him ablaze in a juvenile attempt of hiding from the truth. If this was how the facts were, then he'd survive against them. He was Toja Hagiwara of the fifth squad, seated officer for decades, pillar of strength and friend of Kaminari - no matter what kind of monster was using his body as a convinient hiding place!
And with his resolve, his facial expression changed back. A grim smile - a spark in his eyes, not one of sadness, but one of determination. A slow nod, to confirm his own resolution to himself, before he spoke again. His voice wasn't trembling any longer, and it would never tremble again. Such weakness would only serve to hurt Kaminari - and he would NEVER, EVER hurt her. Even if this monster decided this very moment was a nice possibility of starting a hostile takeover, he'd rather kill himself than hurt her. This fierce, burning determination gave his soul new strength.
"That's how it is, then. I should've known something was wrong - no Shinigami has headaches for the better part of centuries. I was an idiot for not even considering a... posession like this one. Kaminari, I'm..." Looking down for a moment, he raised his eyes again to meet hers. "I'm sorry. I guess I really am a burden - both in paperwork, and in this. And I'm truly sorry for that..." Toja sighed, but still didn't lose his smile. "But... Hollow or not, Vizard or Shinigami... I'll always be Toja Hagiwara. Sometimes I'll be needlessly angry or grumpy. But I am... myself. And I'll stay myself, forever." Slowly, he raised his right hand and rested it on Kaminari's right shoulder - for the person actually going through the emotional turmoil, he was definitely more interested in comforting her than anything else. He hoped to convey one very important message...
Don't cry. Because I'll always stay who I am, for you. Nothing will change that.

Toja was taking this much better than she thought he would. Weren't all of his dreams sorta.. crushed? Shouldn't he be angry? He usually would get angry at something like this, at least she thought so. How would he become the Shinigami he wanted to be if, any day now, he would turn into a Vizard? It was easy to admit that Toja surprised her quite often. Kaminari kept staring at him, doing her best to hold back any tears. She blinked a single time, causing a single tear to drop down her right cheek. She quickly wiped it away and shook her head once he stopped speaking. "You're not a burden." she said reassuringly, "It's not like it's your fault. You didn't choose this." Kaminari closed her eyes and lowered her head a bit. Since he was taking this much better than she originally thought, she was able to calm down quite a lot. The main thing she was worried about was his reaction in the first place. His positive acting towards it made her feel much, much better. She raised her head again and looked to him. She just realized something. "Something about this is annoying me..." she said as she sat down on one of the excersize machines and thought about it. "It bothers me that it hasn't been caught before... You said that you've had them checked out right?" Kaminari asked him concerned, "Why couldn't they catch it? They should have been able to sense something was off with your reiryoku." Just thinking about it irritated Kaminari. She'd look into it later. "Anyways..." she said calming down, "What do you think you're going to do now?" Kaminari was trying to move on the conversation. Now that she had gotten everything off of her chest, she felt a lot better. She had been holding that in for way too long. She felt so guilty keeping something important and impacting away from someone she was so close to.

Toja was happy to see that Kaminari seemed to calm down - he certainly didn't want to trouble her further. Still, his own mind was a total mess now. He was trying to downplay it, so as to not to worry his captain - and it seemed to work, for now. Still, the ramifications of this were unpleasant to say the least. He was an enemy of the Gotei now - the very organization he had spent his entire life working for! Even more, all of his friends amongst the Shinigami... how would they react to this? He didn't expect them to all be like Kaminari - who seemed more worried for his sake than she seemed to be worried about herself, or about the safety of the Seireitei. If that was her first concern, she would've reported him to the Captain-Commander, and he'd be sitting in a cell in that damn white tower right now, waiting for execution.

The easiest way of coping with this was... to think of the way forward. Yes. Just standing here and dreading the power lurking within his soul wouldn't be worth anything.
"Yes... Checked them out multiple times, in fact. So either, they didn't see it... Or didn't report it. And since we're not dealing with the science division, who would be crazy enough to keep it a secret... That probably means this Hollow knows exactly what is going on around me, at any point. Including right now. And it hides when it thinks it would be noticed... Thankfully, it slipped up." Those were Toja's conclusions, at least for now. The small Shinigami crossed the arms in front of his chest and sighed, looking down at the ground - he didn't want Kaminari to see the incredibly troubled look they held when he wasn't trying to surpess it. 'Don't let her see, don't let her know.' - Those were his thoughts at it. He wouldn't hurt her... never, no matter the cost to himself. it wouldn't be fair to share this type of burden with a good, trusted friend - that'd just be selfish.

"Well, to be perfectly honest... I don't know what I'll do." His eyes wandered up to the ceiling - a dull pain was rising in the back of his head. Not the usual headaches, though. Probably just his own thoughts being too heavy for his own good. "You know... The Gotei has always been my home. And you, Kaminari - and the few others that can actually stand me... you're my family. If I had a life before being a Shinigami, I've long since forgotten it. So really... What I want to do is simple. I want to stay here... like always." Toja closed his eyes and took a deep breath. These next words... Would hurt him like nothing else. More than any insult to his feminine form, more than any blade could hurt him. But he had to do it... or he'd just create more pain and more danger for the person he valued most.
"But that's just delusional. I'll have to go. Even if I lose everything." Looking at Kaminari again, Toja this time couldn't hide his sadness. He had no real worry or fear in them - he was just sad. "It doesn't matter if I can maybe control this... thing... Or not. If anyone else finds out I have this thing in me, or if it takes control of me and attacks others... Hollows are vicious creatures. It'd probably go after you, too, to just hurt ME more. Not that I think it could do much to a captain like you, but... Even if not, if it came out that you knew of what I was - and kept it a secret - you'd be punished as well. I don't want to be a danger to you. I'll... leave the Gotei. It's the only way to keep you safe... and everyone else too, of course. A suddenly hollowfied Shinigami could be a mortal danger to other... other Shinigami..." Toja's voice cracked slightly and faded out in his last words. Damn, now he was close to crying after all. But it had to be done. For the safety of Kaminari - and of course, for the safety of the rest of the Fifth Squad, and for the safety of his other friends within the Gotei, he'd throw all of his life up to this point away. That was the only way he could see.

"Thankfully?" Kaminari thought and then chuckled. She really had not been expecting such a calm reaction towards unsettling news. Toja was emotionally stronger than she thought. With how many times he destroyed parts of the Seireitei, it's understandable why someone would think that way. Still, the fact that this hadn't been caught for hundreds of years bothered her. Was this hollow inside of him really that smart? "We'll figure something out." Kaminari spoke up, "Now that it knows you know, don't be surprised if it becomes more aggressive." Now she felt like an idiot. Did letting Toja know about this thing push him into dangerous territory? Was his ignorance of what was inside of him the only thing protecting him? If so, she had just destroyed the only thing keeping him a full Shinigami.


And it's back again, the feeling of guilt and regret returned. Kaminari could only shake her head, but not at him. It was at herself. She should have thought this through more. Was telling him really as important as everything else that could come after? She didn't know anymore. She felt that lying was worse, but if he hadn't known for these hundreds of years, then there was a reason for it. What was this hollow planning? There had to be something. "I don't trust it." she said suddenly, "I feel like there is something that's being planned by this hollow. What hollow has been known to stay away for hundreds of years without some sort of plan? This is bothering me." At this point, she should probably keep her mouth shut, but it was starting to anger her. Something needed to be done, but not by her. It was up to Toja now.


"One... We're just not gonna let anyone find out, at least not yet." Kaminari said with a serious tone. She could get in a hell of a lot of trouble for keeping this secret and she knew that. At this point, she didn't care. She loved the Gotei, but their rules against Vizards drove her insane. So many members, loyal and strong, were removed from the ranks because of the hollow inside of them. It would have been easier on everyone if they were just taught to control it, not kicked out of the place they called home. "Two, even if it came after me, that's nothing you need to worry about. I wouldn't hesitate to take you down" Kaminari said just as seriously. It might of been a little offensive, but hesitation could get them both killed. And when she said, "take you down", she did not mean kill. She was restrain him and wait for him to calm down. She would do whatever she could to stop him from hurting people. At that, it was also a message for the hollow inside of him. If the hollow knew not to fuck with her, maybe it'd leave Toja alone for a bit longer.

"And three..." she said, flicking Toja's forehead, "I've lost enough friends to that fucking rule. I'm sick of it. If I get kicked out of the Gotei, fine. They'll lose two of their members in one day, they're issue, not ours." Kaminari hated saying it, but she was going to fight this rule even if it meant she was gone. She couldn't stand it. Not anymore. "For now, you need to rest... Do something to occupy yourself." she said and then glanced off, "Or something... I don't know. I need to think..." Kaminari stepped toward the gyms doorway and looked out. This was going to get complicated...

The feeling within Toja's chest was indescribeable. As if a heavy weight had been lifted, one that he didn't even notice until it was gone - almost made him a bit dizzy, in fact. A Hollow with an evil plan nesting in his head for hundreds of years? Yeah, that was pretty bad news. Bad enough to make a weaker-willed person despair. But Toja wasn't weak-willed... And he wasn't alone. The support expressed by Kaminari, freely without any concern for her own standing within the Gotei, gave the petite Shinigami an even greater appreciation of her than ever before. He could stay here... And even if he was found out, he wouldn't be alone. Even if his inner Hollow decided to go to work right now at taking him over, a person that he'd trust with his life would be there to keep others safe from him. Hagiwara didn't really believe in any gods, but if they existed, he thanked them mentally for sending an angel his way.

"Captain... thank you." A smile returned to Toja's face - one that actually managed to reach his eyes, one filled with warmth. There would be a way to set things right... No matter what this Hollow planned. His view followed after Kaminari as she walked over to the exit of the gym and looked outside. Occupying himself sounded a lot easier than it was, really. Toja had no hobbies to speak of - unless you wanted to call 'going to a bar' a hobby. Also, inhibiting his mental prowess when there was a lurking monster within his soul seemed like a terrible idea to begin with.
"Although I think that... occupying myself might be easier said than done. I could spend my time continuing this training, I suppose, but reaching the final stage of it sounds... risky, at best. I was planning on unlocking the full power within my Zanpakutō, but doing so would also grant this Hollow access to it. So I suppose that simply keeping calm will be my best option."
Toja directed his eyes away from Kaminari, before he could be mistaken for just staring at her. So far, nothing inside of his inner world seemed to change... no voice whispering to him, no headache flaring up. Maybe the Hollow was afraid, or maybe it was still planning a new approach... Whatever the case, the Shinigami couldn't fight his inner monster while it was still keeping itself hidden. Really, Toja had no idea about the plan of that thing... Or so he thought, until the answer came to him so easily that it almost hurt.

"Wait... I think I know what it wants. After we talked for the first time, when I had the really bad flare-up? I decided to train more seriously after that. And right after that day, my headaches subsided almost completely. The closer I got... it's simple, really. That Hollow doesn't try anything because it doesn't want a normal Shinigami to take over. It wants a Shinigami with a Bankai to use."

It was the only logical answer to this question. Toja sighed hard - this would mean absolutely NOTHING to do for the next time. And it also meant that if Kaminari had not decided to tell him the truth now, he would've turned into a monster instead of a 'hero'. Hell, half of his desire for reaching Bankai was actually the thought of being a more useful Shinigami to the fifth Squad and to Kaminari herself.
"Shesh... A bit closer, and that plan could've worked. Gives me goosebumps to think about that possibility. I could really use a drink right now after all on this... Captain, if it isn't too much to ask, let me invite you to one once the immedeate danger is over." saying that with a slight grimace, Toja tried to keep his head held high, so to say. That he also just basicially asked his Captain out didn't really occur to him in this situation, though.

"Captain Koenig, huh..." Toja had to think quite hard for a moment before he was able to attach a face to the name. Captains came and went everywhere in the Gotei, and after seeing the fifth or so person ascend to the rank, Toja stopped caring about who had what position. After all, he'd probably still be there when they were replaced, thanks to their deaths, betrayal, or whatever else happened to captains. At least, that was his mindset before today. From what little he knew, Koening didn't seem like a bad person - otherwise, Kaminari wouldn't have been able to come to him alone and reveal this secret. The small Shinigami had no doubt that all of the 'older' Captains would've demanded to know his name - especially those deeply rooted within tradition.

"It's fine, really. I'm glad that only one person knows about it, instead of the entire Gotei 13." Toja said reassuringly, having the same smile on his face as before. He wouldn't make Kaminari sad or angry if he could help it, and he was actually quite happy that she accepted his invitation. It had been too long since the last time that he went out with anyone, female or male, to get a drink - solitude was nice once in a while, but not that healthy in the long run. "I'll make sure to stay where you can easily find and reach me, until this thing is either destroyed or under control. That way, it won't be able to hurt anyone." Looking over the training room, he tried to figure out if the creature reacted to anything said here. So far, nothing seemed to change... his inner world was the usual chaos of molten rocks, flames and high walls. Hotaru seemed still shaken by the news, but he could feel her presence in his mind normally. The last time this 'Hollow' apparently showed itself, his connection to Hotaru seemed distorted and damaged.
"And believe me, I know all about the things that too much to drink can do to a person." Toja even let out a small chuckle at that. "I've learned NOT to drink that much lately, but when I was younger, I had the questionable 'honor' of being able to drink nearly everyone in the Gotei under the table. Lots of things that shouldn't be said were said back during that time. Makes me almost glad to be older - most people have forgotten the more embarassing stuff. Though now they remember the fiery temperament and anger issues, no idea if that's any better." Really, by talking like this, Toja tried to keep his mind away from this 'thing'. As long as nothing happened, he wouldn't be able to do much against it...
"One last thing, regarding this Hollow. I won't stop, not now." Forming his right hand into a fist, determination burned in his eyes. "I'll obtain my true power. And if that thing decides to attack then and there, I'll burn it to a crisp."

"Captain Koenig, huh..." he replied and she nodded to confirm. "She doesn't seem like the talkative type. I trust her." Kaminari said about the woman that she only had a single decent conversation with. For someone that she just met, she was pretty trusting. Maybe the fact that they were both fellow Captains helped that trust. She didn't know, but she wasn't feeling the need to be cautious either. That had to mean something. "It's fine, really. I'm glad that only one person knows about it, instead of the entire Gotei 13." Toja reassured and she replied with a few accepting nods. Kaminari took a deep breath and let it out in a relieved sigh. The anxiety that built up had faded and she felt a lot better now. "I'll make sure to stay where you can easily find and reach me, until this thing is either destroyed or under control. That way, it won't be able to hurt anyone." he told her and she nodded again.

"Sounds good to me." she raised her arms and stretched her back by leaning backwards, "I'd rather not be on the opposite end of the Seireitei if anything happened, but at the same time... Do not think you need to limit yourself. Go where you want, do what you normally do. Just do not stress yourself too much." Kaminari felt that him limiting himself would cause more stress than needed. The smallest things have the ability to trigger stress, and she wanted the headaches to stop. At this point, she felt a relieved and helpless. Relieved he knew, but helpless because there was nothing she could do. It was time for her to sit back and watch. "And believe me, I know all about the things that too much to drink can do to a person." he said and that caused Kaminari to raise an eyebrow. "Oh really?" she replied with a smirk. "I've learned NOT to drink that much lately, but when I was younger, I had the questionable 'honor' of being able to drink nearly everyone in the Gotei under the table. Lots of things that shouldn't be said were said back during that time. Makes me almost glad to be older - most people have forgotten the more embarassing stuff. Though now they remember the fiery temperament and anger issues, no idea if that's any better."

Okay, so Kaminari was interested. She tried to think of people that might have known him back then. The idea of finding out some embarrassing things about Toja sounded so funny. She couldn't imagine him getting drunk. He just didn't seem like the type to do that. This new found info was going to be fun. "One last thing, regarding this Hollow. I won't stop, not now." Kaminari was pulled from her mischievous thoughts and turned her attention back to Toja, "I'll obtain my true power. And if that thing decides to attack then and there, I'll burn it to a crisp." There was that determination again. Her smirk turned into a smile and she set a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll be able to do it. Just keep on fighting and getting stronger." she told him and then removed her hand from his shoulder. She turned to walk out, ready to let everything play out the way it needed to, but stopped. "Oh... right." she said and turned back toward him, "Try to make a couple of friends. Talk to people, don't burn them. Doing so might help you deal with this a bit better. I'm good... But I'm not that good." Kaminari winked playfully at him before using shunpo to leave his sight.

Exit Thread.