There was always a sense of nostalgia that Bashira felt upon returning to the 6th Division barracks. Her own time here as Captain was a formative period for her, allowing to adjust her beliefs and expectations with the reality of how things worked in the Gotei. A lot of political nonsense, but could do a lot of good if you put pressure on the right people.

The person she was coming to visit was of particular importance. Hyoroshi Iwamura was both a friend of hers as well as a proof of concept in a way. Proof that the beast clans could be successfully integrated into the Seireitei and Gotei ranks. So far things were going well on that front, but she always found reasons to come by and visit just to make sure. After all, his potential success reflected on her judgement. She needed Iwamura to succeed for both their sakes.

Approaching the office door, Bashira readied the bottle of sake and knocked 3 times, as per usual. Waiting for a response and invitation was the proper thing to do, even if she sometimes drew comparison to classic vampires in that way. Barging in was for when someone did something wrong, and Iwamura was a good boy.

A brief pause. Bashira could surmise a vague, passive recognition from within. Then--"it's unlocked, you can come in."

Opening the door, the Captain Commander beheld the office inside. Somewhat familiar from prior visits, there nevertheless seemed to be an uncanny ability on part of the room itself to force an active readjustment of the senses for any entrants, and Bashira was no different. The cause was well known to anyone who'd ever visited the workspace, for one could perceive it wherever they looked: every detail, every object of the office--excluding the unremarkable linen-on-metal visitor's chairs--was a discernable two or three sizes bigger than typical. Yet there was no opulence in any of it; the deepened desk in the rear-center, the ample bookshelves and filing cabinets against the eastern wall, the bulkier chair Iwamura sat in, even the heightened door itself all possessed nothing spectacular beyond their proportions. The entire room was a place of utility, in fact lacking all decoration beyond a small bundle of yellow eranthis flowers upon a sunny windowsill and a few framed photographs capturing moments of the Sixth Division's past. All this Bashira could take in once again.

Iwamura had been intently reviewing a report on the Nest of Maggots when Bashira entered. He glanced up and promptly sprouted a toothy smile, having found his suspicions confirmed.

"Captain-Commander!" His smile briefly grimaced. "Er, Bashira. Sorry, did it again," Iwamura chuckled. He rose from his seat; his eyes flit between the sake and Kinoshita herself, a glint of innocuous uncertainty in his gaze.

"I wasn't expecting you to come around today, you should've said something. I could have blocked out some time." Despite the comment, Iwamura's smile held. "Go ahead, have a seat. So, what brings you here?" As he spoke, Hyoroshi too found his own seat. He stuck a finger at the sake. "A special occasion?"

"It's nothing to worry about. Just remember how much you've improved since you arrived here. I'll say it again, I'm quite proud of you." Bashira gently shook the bottle of sake as she walked across the room and took a seat in one of the normal sized visitor chairs. "My business today is nothing important, really. Just checking in to see how you're doing. And I brought a gift."

Bashira set two cups on the desk in front of her. Cracking the bottle, she took a moment to take in the scent of the sake within. Ginjo, the type of refined sake that she'd brought with her, had a pleasant floral and vaguely fruity fragrance to it. It was her favorite drink, good at keeping one warm on cold nights or for winding down after a particularly long day. "Ahhh... now this is a good batch." with precision and care, Bashira filled both cups and slid one of them towards Hyoroshi. It was a reasonable serving, enough to calm one's nerves without getting them drunk. "How have things been? Keeping up with the work you're being assigned? Everything fine between you and your captain? Oh, and are your squad mates treating you well? That one's very important."

"Well, thank you."

There was a sudden and marked downturn in Iwamura's entire disposition right then, there during Bashira's inquiries that whizzed by, for each question compounded within him that same horrid chagrin that'd been walloped into him by Captain Mazi a mere two days prior. Between then and now, not a word had been uttered by Iwamura in reference of what had happened--in a strange way, Iwamura found a sort of morbid peace in it all, though it was only slight, as if he had put to bed a conflict that was a long time coming.

Nevertheless, a great abundance of shame was evident on his face. Iwamura pulled himself into his desk until the edge of its surface pressed into his gut, as if subconsciously protecting against any further predators, though he could not rationalize the feeling. To the liquor, he could never find appreciation for the stuff, but as Bashira set a cup down for Iwamura he swiftly intercepted it and downed the glass.

"My squad-mates mean a lot to me, Captain. They're probably most of everything, in fact. As I'm sure you've seen by the pictures," a little wistful grin tugged on his lips, "and Lieutenant Arpaggio in particular, I couldn't ask for a better second-in-command than him. He has a, ah, a pure strength of character about him, yes, that isn't common in most people, I've found. And as for the work, that's a non-issue--I enjoy my role here, and I can't say it isn't entertaining to observe inmates' reactions during the prison inspections."  

His brevity wore off then, almost as fast as the liquor's mark faded from his mouth, replaced by a pensiveness.

"Captain Lisola keeps wanting me to spar against her, and I know she only has good intentions, but I've refused her most recent attempt a few days ago. It might be brutish of me to do that in a weird sort of way, given that seems to be the way she likes to bond with us, but I don't know. You remember how much I hated fighting back then, the type that can't justify itself at least; it's pretty much the same today. From my perspective, it's not something befitting the Sixth Division Captain."

Iwamura was staring at his empty cup. His memory had started replaying his comments to Captain Mazi on Lisola once Iwamura had started on her here, in his office, and he had grown a grimace because of it. Bashira could gain the sense that there was a little bit more to Iwamura's regretful admissions by the small shard of indignant, if consciously subdued, harshness in how he gazed at his own muddled reflection in the liquor cup.

"I don't actively dislike her. I respect her tenacity and impartiality, and a lot of her decisions I do not question. I think...yes, I think it comes down to her temperament, and how she presents herself. It's as if there's a type of, ah, irreverence there--but not anything ugly or serious, no. Just, an innocuous lack of care for certain things, is all. Nothing big."

"Well, I'm happy to hear that you seem to be fitting on well enough. Captain Lisola can take a bit of getting used to, but she's a competent woman. Though I do find that irreverence to be a bit... it's easy enough to ignore for the results she achieves."From the sound of it, Iwamura seemed to actually enjoy being in this division for the most part. But she did indeed notice that something was wrong. As soon as she started asking questions, there was a noticable change in his disposition. Sure, he tried to hide it, but she'd known him for a while. In most situations, she could read him rather well. There were a few things that might be the cause. Perhaps Rena was being harder on him than Iwamura was letting on? Or perhaps... no, he wouldn't be that petty, would he?

"Though I can tell something is wrong. Someone in a good mood wouldn't down a cup of sake like that." Bashira sighed, downing the rest of her cup to match. There was plenty left in the bottle, and even if she didn't intend to let either of them get drunk, sometimes a bit of liquor was exactly what the doctor ordered. So she reached for the bottle and poured them each another serving, a little less than the first. Best to pace things. "If something is wrong, Hyoroshi, id prefer if you tell me. I can have it dealt with, unless you'd rather deal with it yourself. In that case, I can offer advice. Either way, whatever is going on is affecting you more than you're letting on."

Hyoroshi was silent for a second, almost deathly so. The look on his face, and indeed the rigidity of his entire form, had grown complex; somewhat regretful with shrunken shoulders, somewhat irked at it all with a half-curled upper lip, and somewhat yearning for a bit of the past. He never could be discreet about a thing, he mused. He was staring at one desktop picture in particular, a fair-skinned woman, physically appearing in her early twenties, smiling with a gemstone's glistening radiance. Her light-blonde hair complimented the orange floral kimono snugly fitted upon her by a wide obi striped smoke-black and cream; his favorite outfit of hers.

"Of course, Bashira. I'm sorry...I'm being a little bit regressive right now." Wanting to get back on track, he slid his shot glass forth until his fingers couldn't touch it without him bending forward. His gaze locked onto Bashira's--his turmoil had practically vanished.

"It's about Captain Mazi. He and I talked a couple days ago. He wanted to check up, see how things were going along. I told him mostly the same things I've just told you, in particular my thoughts on Captain Lisola. It was cordial enough to start."

A sort of emotional, wincing pain flashed through Iwamura's face. "But then he started talking about me being worthy of something more than what I have; he asked if I've been considered for any Vice-Captain roles, as if he'd pull some strings to gift me that sort of position. I...didn't like that at all. I thought he was planning something morally corrupt, so I refused him. He then went on a bit of a tirade against the ruling class--and, well, I lost grip on my emotions a little bit. I thought he was manipulating me into choosing what he wanted for me."

The profound shame had returned to Iwamura's now sullen expression. He could no longer hold his gaze upon Bashira. "I didn't mean to snap at him, but I still did it. And it led to him threatening me with arrest...arrest and a probable execution." Iwamura fell silent again. He was trying to force himself to continue, and after a few seconds of visible struggle he started again, his voice barely above a mutter.

"I wish I could apologize. He may have been in the wrong on some things, but my behavior was uncalled for; I still let my instincts get the better of me. But...I have a feeling he may not want the bridge rebuilt."

Hyoroshi's attention had returned to that same young woman in the orange floral kimono, and his heart was bleeding.

There was a name she was hoping she didn't have to hear today. Once again Ika was proving himself quite capable of being a thorn in her side and a pain in her ass, even when not in the same room with her. Here he was, threatening someone beneath him for "disrespecting" him. Though that disrespect often seemed to just be someone snapping at him after he struck a nerve. It was truly amazing how he never saw that coming, or expected people to just put up with it.

"While you should watch your tone with your those in higher offices, it's not entirely your fault. Captain Mazi does tend to like prodding people for reactions. It just so happens that he tends to not like it when people try to draw boundaries or defend themselves." Bashira's lips tugged at one side, forming a subtle smear on her lips. Some people could handle being alone in a room with Ika, as they had their own ways of dealing with his attitude. For her, she tended to just ignore any jabs he made and immediately started talking business. Bashira let out a deep sigh before taking a sip of liquor, letting the smooth liquid sit on her tongue for a moment before consuming it. "An apology may not be a bad idea, though I'd wait until he's in a good mood. Otherwise, he'll continue where he left off and we'll have a repeat offence on our hands."

With the current conversation stuck on her least favorite subject/person, Bashira was eager to change the subject. Iwamura's faze has returned to a desktop photo. It wasn't someone she'd ever met, but the outfit was quite lovely. Then again, so was the girl herself. Whoever she was, she was obviously important to him. "That girl... she must be important to have earned desktop space. Who is she?"