From the Roofs of our Houses [Shaoling, Yuujin]

Shaoling's meeting with the captain commander had gone perfectly cordially, it seemed, and she'd found that most of her former subordinates seemed to think it would be good to have her return. But personally, she was still wholly undecided on the matter, and there was one final opinion that, realistically, mattered more than nearly any other when it came to this question.

"Yuujin, I wish to speak with you."

She entered his room without knocking, as she always did. She didn't expect to walk in on anything especially bothersome, and even if she did, it wasn't as if it would actually bother her. Besides, this was an important conversation to have.

She could have walked into anything, literally anything. However, it's just Yuujin, reading per the norm. It is his favorite way to pass the time after all. Though, this time, he's doing pullups with one arm for no reason at all outside of wanting to. Sometimes he can be a bit of an overachiever if bored enough. Of course, with her teacher now here, he had to give it a rest and drop onto the floor with a look in his eyes. Annoyance, maybe? Maybe it's more a lazy curiosity? Either way, he's giving her the attention she deserves, even closing his book.

"Yeah, Teach? How's the arm?"

Shaoling was certainly a bit proud of his efforts to keep up with training like this, but of course, she wasn't going to say that openly to him. Too much praise would go to his head. His question seemed pointed, but she wasn't going to read into anything unless he was direct with her.

"Healing well. I've been asked to consider returning to the Gotei by the current commander. Her opinion of the prior commander roughly lines up with my own, and she would see to it that I was made a captain again. Would you return with me if I accepted?"

She chose not to mention her more immediate connection to the commander, the fact that the young woman clearly wasn't personally fond of her. That was only a point in her favor for Shaoling, but it wasn't really what she was here for. She had a singular question that was important to her right now.

"No."

His response came out as smooth as silk. It's a bit strange for him to be so straight forward without any sort of outstanding follow-up remark, but his expression didn't change. There was no underlying tone to his voice. A simple answer for a simple question. But, then, he continued.

"I've only been on Earth for a short time, and I've only seen this one city. I left Soul Society to get away from all that stuff. Heading back already... You probably understand."

Exactly the answer that Shaoling had already known would leave his mouth, before she had even asked the question. But she would have been a thoroughly worthless teacher had she not asked, and she would still be a worthless teacher if she did not take it into account.

"I do, yes. Rest assured, I'm not sold on returning myself. The Gotei may be moving in the right direction, but that alone isn't enough to sway me."

Of course, there were still other factors that she needed to consider. They couldn't stay here if she wasn't returning. Urahara had been helpful, certainly, but his own Gotei affiliation meant that things had changed.

"We'll be traveling soon. There's not much else we can get done if we stay here."

"Ever faithful till the end, huh?" Yuujin found himself muttering.

A part of him had hoped she'd have left for the Gotei. Why? He's not entirely sure. Something about having a bit of space to find himself. Of course, he'd want her around, but he was also thinking about doing some personal soul searching, see things without the pressure of another swaying his thoughts. However, that's only a part of him, the part that felt that he'd have been left on Earth. Most of him is glad to still have his teacher.

"Any idea where we're heading, or..."

"I didn't have anything in mind yet, no. A trip across the wastelands might do us both some good."

She chose not to comment on his first statement, a bit of generosity on her end. Shaoling knew, ultimately, that there was some truth to it anyway. She didn't much care for the idea of abandoning him, after all.

"Tell me when you're ready, and we can begin traveling. I'll tell the commander's vice captain that I'm not interested the next time I see her."

Of course, normally she would have simply not bothered answering, but that wouldn't be an option here. She wouldn't be able to keep out of the Gotei's watch even if she tried to, so that would be a complete waste of time. Urahara alone could have tracked her nearly anywhere if she was traveling with Yuujin, and that in turn meant that the commander or Erika could find her. Smarter to just answer now.

“I won’t lie and say I’m never going to go back, but…”

He doesn’t feel like explaining himself and resides to simply nodding his head.

“I’m ready whenever you are.”

The truth is, he has nothing keeping him here besides the money and her. Urahara is cool, but that guy has his own life and plans. Yuujin knows he barely got into the store, much less an actual room. Besides, there’s bound to be libraries he can get books from while they’re traveling. He won’t miss reading the same thing for the umpteenth time.

"Then we might as well leave now."

Shaoling knew neither of them really owned all that much in the way of personal belongings. Anything they would need to bring with them could be gathered into a single small bag in a few minutes, at most. She ran through the list in her head turning to go gather her things.

"Meet me outside when you're finished."

There was no explicit time limit, no threat that Yuujin needed to finish exactly within a certain window of time or face her wrath. Shaoling didn't expect him to idle around, after all. He had already made it clear he wished to see more of the world.

Right to the point, as always. Whelp. No point in lagging now. With a simple nod, he went about gathering everything he wanted and needed, and that was pretty much just the essentials and three books. The books proved to be his favorite from all he's read so far.

Having only one bag over his shoulder made him feel picky, but there's nothing he could or should do about that. Taking a lot of stuff would just make things harder for himself, considering the wanderer lifestyle they're apparently about to adopt. That'll be new. He's never done something like this.

"Teach?"

Even so, he's not backing out that easily, not yet anyhow. He'll miss the city a bit, but he'll get over it. He got over his old home just the same. Anyway, left, or right? It's time to get moving.