He frowns, down at and through the floor. "I don't know," He admits, voice quieter for once. "One second I was there the next I was with you."
Could he be lost somewhere between here and there? Could he be home? Or is he still trapped, alone this time?
"If he had power, I have no doubt he could escape on his own." And he'd kick ass of whoever was responsible easily. The brief flicker of a smirk fades. "But I'm here. I'm the manifestation of that power. I don't think he can get it all back without me."
No, he knows he can't. And maybe, maybe there's some Quincy power left behind. Maybe Ichigo could work out that and get by on it (there's a spike of fear and jealous, however brief), despite all his hopelessness otherwise. But he hasn't heard that other spirit at all. When the two of them went down, they went down together. He very dearly does not want to think about that.
"Which is just another reason why I'll have to get back to him. We usually gain power in tandem, but if I have to do it alone, I know I can. I'll get it back, and I'll find him. Wherever he happens to be."
She nods along with what he says. If Ichigo is still trapped in that other world, then it's imperative that they get him out. She can't go home without him, no matter how much Zangetsu might want her to. But that leads her thoughts in another direction--specifically, towards what she's learned about this place.
"That young man you mentioned before--the one wearing the suits. I talked to him earlier. He told me that there's a way out of here. If Zephyr, the god here, grows strong enough, they can take down the walls and we're free to come and go as we please. Even to other worlds." She pauses a moment, letting that sink in, and then adds: "We can find Ichigo. And we can go home. All of us, together."
He'll get her home. And then, if Ichigo's not there, he'll find him. Even if it means scouring all sorts of worlds, he will find Ichigo. He's already made up his mind on that.
He's surprised by what, at first, seems to be a change in topic. As she explains, his brows only hike higher.
We can go home. All of us together. She makes him ache so badly sometimes.
He focuses on the other part of that. "Are you suggesting we train this kid? I can teach a fair bit but I don't know the first thing about being a god." He wants to be relieved that there is an option, but he has to wonder exactly how this kid gets stronger, and how strong they need to be.
"I don't know anything about gods, either, but we might as well try. If it means going home, you'd be willing to give it a shot, wouldn't you?" She knows that she would, and she's pretty sure that he feels the same way.
"Obviously I would!" He says, but his face screws up and his hand rises to go through his hair. His breath comes out in a rush and he shakes his head.
"The things I do for this guy," He mutters to himself. "Trying to teach him anything was a pain enough." Then to her, louder and looking her way, "alright, so we get our powers back, we teach the kid to fight, right? Kid gets strong enough, we hop on out of here. You want to bet it will be harder or easier than it sounds?"
She doesn't remark on the muttering, but she does hear it. It's a patient sort of smile that she gives him, in light of what seems like exasperation to her. But ultimately he seems to be on board with this plan.
"Mmm... Are we placing actual bets?" She's not sure which way she would wager. She hopes easier, but she gets the impression that he thinks it might be harder.
"I don't know if it's strictly fighting that we'll be teaching them. Like I said, I don't know what god things entail. I don't know what kind of strength they'll need, but I'm sure we'll figure something out." They're both determined enough. Between the two of them, they'll find a plan of attack.
He considers, then wryly says, "... Probably not, I don't have a thing to my name let alone a name of my own, but we can bet in the spirit of it."
And with what she says, he's definitely betting harder. He lets loose a puff of breath.
"Fighting's my expertise. Fighting and survival. If I'm teaching like it's school lessons or like I'm the kid's babysitter then we are going to get absolutely nowhere." But. "...We'll figure it out." He does at least have faith in that.
She laughs a little. Something tells her that she wouldn't be expecting much babysitting out of him. But that's fine.
"I think between the two of us, we can cover a lot." Even if no one else lends a hand--and she doubts that will be the case, but even without that, there's a lot of teaching experience between the two of them. "We'll have them ready for anything in no time."
"Your confidence is inspiring and refreshing," He says, both teasing and earnest at once. It was nice not to have to fight to get someone to work with him.
"Writing a letter to the kid probably wouldn't be a bad place to start, between you and me, finding out exactly what we're working with and need to work on." He laughs, "Then we can compare notes or something." It's a strange concept, the idea that he can just write to some higher power. He thinks again what it might be like if that's how things had worked with him and Ichigo.
"You should get to writing your own letters, then. I've got a head start on you," she teases him back. It's become something of a default state with them. "I don't remember everything that I wrote in my first letter, but I think I can summarize it. I'll keep a copy of everything from here out."
It's not a bad default. It feels comfortable and easy in a way nothing ever really has-- on his side of existence anyway.
"Why am I not surprised," He says to her, laughing. "I'm just going to assume you've already made a friend of the kid and I'll need to clear out for when they come over in, oh, three days time." He honestly wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. "I'll keep notes. That other world left me a phone, believe it or not. I could probably take pictures."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you sound jealous~." Not that she's agreeing to inviting the god child over in three days time, but she probably wouldn't be opposed to it. They sound delightful already. But she'll keep that to herself.
"Taking pictures sounds a lot more convenient, though. Do you want to take some of mine as well?"
He snorts. "As if I'd want to buddy up with anybody let alone some kid," He scoffs, rolling his eyes. No thank you to that. The further he got away from everyone else, the better.
"But sure, I could do that," He says. "I left the phone back at... my place, I guess. Figured out how to use it in the old world. Ha! I bet I'm more up with the times than even you are."
She didn't really mean that he's jealous of her attention with Zephyr... more the attention that he thinks Zephyr's garnered from her. But she doesn't bother making that distinction. It was just a joke, either way.
"I know how to use a phone," she protests, though that's probably not specifically what he was talking about. Still, she crosses her arms in a playful mockery of being offended. "If you've managed to figure it out, I'm sure that I can, too."
The distinction likely wouldn't have mattered much. Everyone would prefer to be with literally anyone else but him. Whether he would be jealous or not is irrelevant. It wouldn't change facts... at least, for the time they came to be so. In the moment, Zephyr's not yet uprooted his meager place.
He grins at her crossed arms. "You sure about that? You know how to take a picture with a phone? I could've sworn that wasn't invented for you yet. It might be best you stick with old fashioned spin dial."
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Could he be lost somewhere between here and there? Could he be home? Or is he still trapped, alone this time?
"If he had power, I have no doubt he could escape on his own." And he'd kick ass of whoever was responsible easily. The brief flicker of a smirk fades. "But I'm here. I'm the manifestation of that power. I don't think he can get it all back without me."
No, he knows he can't. And maybe, maybe there's some Quincy power left behind. Maybe Ichigo could work out that and get by on it (there's a spike of fear and jealous, however brief), despite all his hopelessness otherwise. But he hasn't heard that other spirit at all. When the two of them went down, they went down together. He very dearly does not want to think about that.
"Which is just another reason why I'll have to get back to him. We usually gain power in tandem, but if I have to do it alone, I know I can. I'll get it back, and I'll find him. Wherever he happens to be."
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"That young man you mentioned before--the one wearing the suits. I talked to him earlier. He told me that there's a way out of here. If Zephyr, the god here, grows strong enough, they can take down the walls and we're free to come and go as we please. Even to other worlds." She pauses a moment, letting that sink in, and then adds: "We can find Ichigo. And we can go home. All of us, together."
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He's surprised by what, at first, seems to be a change in topic. As she explains, his brows only hike higher.
We can go home. All of us together. She makes him ache so badly sometimes.
He focuses on the other part of that. "Are you suggesting we train this kid? I can teach a fair bit but I don't know the first thing about being a god." He wants to be relieved that there is an option, but he has to wonder exactly how this kid gets stronger, and how strong they need to be.
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"The things I do for this guy," He mutters to himself. "Trying to teach him anything was a pain enough." Then to her, louder and looking her way, "alright, so we get our powers back, we teach the kid to fight, right? Kid gets strong enough, we hop on out of here. You want to bet it will be harder or easier than it sounds?"
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"Mmm... Are we placing actual bets?" She's not sure which way she would wager. She hopes easier, but she gets the impression that he thinks it might be harder.
"I don't know if it's strictly fighting that we'll be teaching them. Like I said, I don't know what god things entail. I don't know what kind of strength they'll need, but I'm sure we'll figure something out." They're both determined enough. Between the two of them, they'll find a plan of attack.
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And with what she says, he's definitely betting harder. He lets loose a puff of breath.
"Fighting's my expertise. Fighting and survival. If I'm teaching like it's school lessons or like I'm the kid's babysitter then we are going to get absolutely nowhere." But. "...We'll figure it out." He does at least have faith in that.
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"I think between the two of us, we can cover a lot." Even if no one else lends a hand--and she doubts that will be the case, but even without that, there's a lot of teaching experience between the two of them. "We'll have them ready for anything in no time."
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"Writing a letter to the kid probably wouldn't be a bad place to start, between you and me, finding out exactly what we're working with and need to work on." He laughs, "Then we can compare notes or something." It's a strange concept, the idea that he can just write to some higher power. He thinks again what it might be like if that's how things had worked with him and Ichigo.
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"Why am I not surprised," He says to her, laughing. "I'm just going to assume you've already made a friend of the kid and I'll need to clear out for when they come over in, oh, three days time." He honestly wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. "I'll keep notes. That other world left me a phone, believe it or not. I could probably take pictures."
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"Taking pictures sounds a lot more convenient, though. Do you want to take some of mine as well?"
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"But sure, I could do that," He says. "I left the phone back at... my place, I guess. Figured out how to use it in the old world. Ha! I bet I'm more up with the times than even you are."
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"I know how to use a phone," she protests, though that's probably not specifically what he was talking about. Still, she crosses her arms in a playful mockery of being offended. "If you've managed to figure it out, I'm sure that I can, too."
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He grins at her crossed arms. "You sure about that? You know how to take a picture with a phone? I could've sworn that wasn't invented for you yet. It might be best you stick with old fashioned spin dial."
Perhaps that was cold. Yet he feels no regret.