[quote=Kurisa] Kaizo looked down at Rio as she seemingly got closer to him, he watched as she cried into his chest and gripped his uniform tightly, he then heard her whisper something which caused him to nod lightly "I'm always here for you, just remember you can't face everything by yourself...and if you need to escape from the world you can come to me. I'll keep you in my arms and keep the world away...now...I think we should head back. We can talk more in private..." Kaizo then broke from the hug then he picked Rio up, holding her in his arms as he then looked to his Squad "I want you all training immediately! I will be joining you over these next few month's too further increase the difficulty of your training! That's an order! Now go!" Kaizo watched the Squad 2 Shinigami shunpo off, he then looked down to Rio then smiled a little "I'm tired of picking and choosing to be a Captain or your partner...I'm going to be doing both from now on and I will keep reminding these fools that even if I am soft towards you that they wont get the same treatment..." Kaizo then shunpoed off towards the Squad 2 barracks with Rio still in his arms, they then arrived outside Squad 2 then he looked down to Rio again and spoke "I'm sorry for everything that has happened...especially with this tragic news...but we cannot let Kurisa Kuchiki's death bring us all down...that's what the enemy want, and besides...he'd want us to work harder if anything and that's just what we will do...the enemy has no idea what they got coming..." [/quote] Rio sniffed as Kaizo spoke and broke the hug. She looked up at him, questioning nothing, if anything, she was happy to hear this... Since she too had to choose between being professional and being a girlfriend whenever she was with Kaizo... It had gotten to the point where she just chose to be professional all the time since it was the safest and easiest thing to do to stop their relationship from being discovered. However, this in turn meant Rio had unknowingly distanced herself from Kaizo, something that took her up until now to realise. Considering her personal state and situation at the moment, distancing herself was definitely something she didn't want to do... It wouldn't help at all, if anything it'd make her situation worse and harder to deal with. Kaizo then picked her up, which caused Rio's eye to widen a little from the sudden action, however she just simply smiled at Kaizo, a small but genuine smile. Her head was still throbbing, but she had forgotten about the pain, too focused on Kaizo to notice it. Kaizo had ordered the other Shinigami to train, while Rio gave them a stern look. Even though she was in Kaizo's arms, that didn't mean her professional attitude towards those she worked with had changed. After Kaizo shupo'ed back to the barracks, Rio looked up to him while he spoke, still in his arms. She looked down when he mentioned Captain Kuchiki... he was right, they couldn't let themselves be dragged down by this, she couldn't let herself either... After closing her eye, Rio sighed. [b]"Don't be sorry... It's the enemy that should be sorry. You're completely correct Captain. I promise you, I won't let Captain Kuchiki down by wallowing in sorrow... I will not stand by and watch anyone else be [i]murderer[/i].... Indeed they have no idea what they've just started... This is more than just a war now...."[/b] Rio slid out of Kaizo's arms, standing once again while straightening out her clothes and eye-patch. Looking up at Kaizo, she gave a look of pure determination... She had cried enough, it was time to grow stronger... Not just for Captain Kuchiki, but for everyone she cared about, including for her Captain and partner Kaizo.