Allen blinked a couple of times as his brain finally made the connection. Rinali didn't even have her boots and here he was complaining! "A-a-a-ah! I'm sure we'll find the Innocence soon! You're still useful in lots of ways Rinali! You're way smarter than me for one," he gave a short laugh, feeling somewhat sheepish.

Rinali's other question caught him off-guard as well. How did Rinali know Rukia already?! Just what had she said? "She's ah... ah, a friend I made here. She's one of those shinigami and um..." Allen remembered all too clearly Renji's 'we need to talk' speeches on the board as well. Had Rinali seen those? She hadn't asked about Renji yet, so it was possible she hadn't... He was really... not looking forward to this evening, having to face the both of them. He was somewhat tempted to just give exploring on their own a try. Sasuke had given him a map of a good portion of the building now.

"She's... nice. She was one of the first people here to be nice to me," he smiled slightly at that. Rukia had seen him in some of his worse moments though, and he could only hope she wouldn't hold it against him.