Natural Instincts

Kenji didn't stop running until he eventually got to a place where the residences could actually be called houses. Albeit old and worn, at least it was more kempt than the shacks at the previous stop. Kenji stopped to catch his breath and leant against a wall. The female shinigami he had met was... Interesting... Kenji didn't know what to expect of her and could never quite read her. Then again, he had never been able to read people very well in anything except battle - it was a troublesome skill (- if it could be called such).
Kenji thought hard about their conversation; was it really that easy to just like being a Shinigami? For some reason, knowing that he was a Shinigami gave Kenji a niggling feeling. Kenji finally regained his breath and looked up. The first and only things he noticed were the spires of Seireitei that towered in the distance. His vision seemed to fade until only that remained - he didn't know why but the sight of those spires were accompanied by a strong feeling of... Fear? Anxiety? Apprehension? Something like that, or a fusion of those - it was impossible to tell.
Kenji was bumped into by a large man carrying a barrel over his shoulder, breaking his reverie.
"Woops! Sorry." The man apologised instantly.
Kenji smiled and replied, "Don't worry, it's no problem."
Kenji strode away from the scene, once again deep in his thoughts...

Kenji strode through the district - away from the spires of Seireitei - and busied himself looking around to take his mind off of the unfounded fear of the Shinigami home. He saw many things here that would have been luxurious hundreds of years ago but were now commonplace. He scoffed at the way these people treated their belongings; had he ever treated anything that way then he would have been hung for treachery by his wife. His wife...
Kenji wheeled around to the scream of a woman who was being taken into a dark alley by two large men. No one else seemed to care, in fact, no one else even seemed to notice it - everyone just carried on walking and talking like it was the most normal thing in their lives.
"Tch," Kenji scoffed again before running down the alley.
He wheeled a corner to find himself looking at a dead-end clearing, in the middle of which stood a well. On the wall of this well, the woman lay being held down by one man and the other was proceeding to grab her legs to stop her struggling.
"Don't forget," One of the men shouted, "I'm going after you so don't break her."
The other man roared with laughter, "We'll see what happens."
Kenji's anger flared and he moved instantly; Kenji flew at the man grabbing the woman's legs and kicked him in the face. The man flew over the well, slid along the ground and slammed into the wall.
The other man's eyes widened in surprise and he leapt back, releasing the woman. Kenji reached down and pulled the woman up.
"Are you okay?" Kenji asked her.
"Thank you." She said quietly and Kenji lost himself in her eyes for a second.
The pools of brown that pulled him in and hypnotised him until he heard the remaining man rush forward.
Kenji pulled the woman behind him, parried the punch that came and lashed out with a left middle kick. It connected solidly but the man did not move, the man reached down and grabbed Kenji's leg.
"Oh cr-" Kenji began but did not finish as the man grabbed the lapel of his shihakusho with his other hand and flung Kenji through the air...

Kenji was delivered safely to the ground by an unexpected bakudo and turned to face the caster.
"Tch," Kenji snorted, "Why are you here?"
He turned back to face the man who now stood between the woman and Kenji. Kenji rushed at the man and shunpoed just before a punch hit him. Kenji appeared behind the man and grabbed him in a sleeperhold. After holding it for five seconds, the man fell unconscious and Kenji let him drop to the ground before turning back to glare at Rizu.
"I just... Dropped my guard." He winced at admitting the elementary mistake then brushed himself off and took a deep breath to dispel the building adrenaline that was no longer needed. "So," He continued, "Why are you here?"

"No... It's no problem. I just like to fight my own battles." Kenji said as he cooled his head.
Before his hermitage, he had been quite good with people but now, it seemed as though he had lost all sense of sociability and he doubted that it was something easily regained but perhaps this seemingly exceptionally tolerant Shinigami could help cure that.
Kenji turned back to the woman who still cowered against the well.
"You're safe now miss, I suggest you keep your distance from their type from now on though.
The woman nodded mutely then hurried away back up the alley.
"I'm sorry for running out on you that time by the way, Rizu?... Was it?"

Kenji hummed thoughtfully at Rizu's answer and resigned himself to the fact that he would never understand why she thought of it that way... And maybe that he'd never remember why he thought of it his way either. Kenji nodded to the barkeep who slid him some sake which he promptly poured.
"Well, congratulations on your promotion," Kenji said with a smile. "To 4th Seat Rizu!" Kenji toasted as he raised his sake cup and downed it.
Kenji swilled the remnants of sake in his cup before refilling it and offering more to Rizu.
"You seem to have done well for yourself," Kenji smirked, "Much unlike me, as it were. I wish you luck in your pursuit of knowledge and strength."