[BitP:R] Soul Society 2

[tgva8889]

The office of Taiki Takahashi

A Hell Butterfly floats through the window. Taiki holds up a hand and lets it land on his finger, eying it curiously. For a moment, he remains completely silent, allowing the message it carries to be transmitted to him. Then with a snap of his wrist he traps the butterfly in his hand for a moment. He holds it carefully, not harming it at all but not allowing it to fly away. Then, he releases it, returning it to the sky once more.

"Idiot." Taiki pulls a large stack of papers out of his desk and begins to leave his office. A member of 10th runs up to him, a butterfly following behind. "Take this to Mitsukai Karite. Make sure he fills them all out." The officer nods, takes the papers with a grunt, and makes his way out the door.

"You love making my pulse rise, don't you, Karite."

******

4th Division

A flustered young member of 10th Division runs down the hallway, trying to find Karite's room. He carries a huge bundle of papers, a few of them fluttering behind as he runs. Each time one flies off he stops to go back and pick it up. "Oh...just my luck."

[Frozen_Feet]

[1st Division, one day from Joint-ops, morning]

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[The next morning]

A Hell Butterfly delivers a message to Saiyuri. It comes from Soushi.

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"Dearest Saiyuri,

I apologize if you've been offended by my gift - or rather, the way it was delivered. It might behoove you next time to make sure your door is locked before you leave home. As it so happens, that is how I entered your apartment. I can ensure you that no unbecoming activities have taken place in order for me to gain entry; next time, I will make sure to deliver such important things directly to you, since it appears you're not particularly fond of surprises such as this.

Yours sincerely,
Nagamichi Soushi <3"

Sayuri is on the middle of sorting out her daily workload when the butterfly arrives. She stops reading for a total of two seconds to consider the message.

First, the idea of her leaving her door unlocked was laughable. She always checks the lock twice when going out, and she vividly remembers doing so before going to visit Yuuta. Second, it doesn't matter the slightest anyway. Honest people don't barge to other people's houses uninvited, lock or no lock! It's impolite!, she fumes in her mind. Her body returns to filling various forms and reports of Gotei's bureaucracy, but her heart is definitely not in it.

What's with the tone anyway? It's so sappy she can almost taste it on her tongue. And what's with this sudden eagerness to give me gifts? Indeed, why had the 8th's Lieutenant suddenly become so interested in her?

Suddenly, a thought strikes Sayuri - a thought so horrible it makes a shiver run down her spine and almost causes her to make a writing mistake. A thought about who'd sent the flowers...

Good grief!

---

[11th Division Gates, day of Kazuma's recovery]

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"I could probably hazard a guess, but I'm more interested in your answer, and I'm sure that you have a better answer than I. Why, Michiko-taichou?" Seiko saw that they had arrived back at the division gates, and felt relieved that they hadn't entered the memorial. It always depressed Seiko, though he knew that such visits were necessary, especially for one in his rank.

"Why's there a woman in my office?", Hannibal Magalhães asked, blinking.

Himura Michiko barely resisted the urge to punch him right then and there.

"You asked for your Vice-Captain", she said tersely, her eye twitching angrily. "Well, here I am. Is there a problem?"

It was the day after Araki's defeat. Her new captain stared dully at Michiko, holding a wet rag against his head. Whether it was because of his likely hangover or the new, nasty bruise above his right eye, she couldn't tell. There was a deep, disbelieving frown on her new superior's face. For a moment, the two just looked each other in awkward silence.

The adjudant who'd brought Michiko was cowering in the corner. He was the Division's 15th seat, Yamoto Shichirou. He'd always been bullied by other 11th Divisioners, for his less-than manly build and face. He'd gained his rank due to recommendation from 3rd seat Noburo Kohaku, when Araki had been too drunk to say no. Once Araki had killed Kohaku, Michiko had been almost certain he'd be beaten to death shortly after. She felt sorry for him, though she didn't know why he was so afraid at the moment.

"Nah. Just thought all girls went t' 4th or sumtin'", Hannibal muttered, shrugging. He then pointed at a tall pile of papers on the corner of his desk. "Ye know anythin' 'bout those?"

Michiko gave the pile a quick glance. Araki had sometimes made her do his work, in fact, he'd pretty much had everyone do his work, but... the sheer amount of forms... where had they all come from...? "Why do you ask?" She couldn't hide the disrespect in her voice, but the man didn't seem to care about that.

"There's this chump who calls 'imself th' Commander General, and 'e wants all of these done today", the frowning man growled. "Been fillin' forms all morning, and it's making my 'ead hurt like hell." He beckoned to another pile of papers, twice as tall, arranged to the corner of the room.

Michiko gave the papers a befuddled glance. He'd done what now? "And? What do you need me for, then?" Poor Shichiro winced in his corner.

"Ye daft?", Hannibal asked, narrowing his left eye in annoyance. He pointed past Michiko, out of the open office door, to the line of disgruntled men snarling murderously behind her. "Can't get a minute o' work done 'ere without some damn idiot comin' in and telling 'e wants to challenge th' Kenpachi! I keep tellin' 'em I ain't one, but they just don't give up 'till I kick their arse over it!"

Michiko looked to the side, at the curiously man-shaped hole in the wall. "I... see. So I presume you want me to complete the paperwork while you fight them?"

Hannibal's face fell flat, and he stared at her in utter confusion. Then, a wide smile began spreading on his face. "'ey! That's a terrific idea! I was going t' ask ye to kick 'em out, but that sounds so much better! Nevah would'v though that m'self!"

Michiko looked at him like he'd gone crazy. Well, crazier. "You... didn't think...?" She almost jumped back when Hannibal pounced over his desk and took her hand to his own, shaking it vigorously.

"That's much better, whatcha call it...? Ah yes, arrangement!", Hannibal said, beaming. "Ye keep Head Chump off m' back, and I get t' bash skulls! Th' Division works, and everyun is happy! Now I get why yer th' Vice-Captain, woman!" He patted her on the shoulder and then lead her behind his desk before she could protest.

"Now, if you excuse me, I gotta tell those dimwits t' go back t' their duties", Hannibal said, grinning, cracking his knuckles as he walked to the door. One foot about to step over the sill, he stopped, however, and whirled around.

"Oh yeah! One more thing! No-un's allowed t' drink at work times anymore. Not even me - ye can kick me like a mangy mutt if I do. Clear?"

"Clear... Taichou...", Michiko muttered, taking the first paper, a report of Division strenght. Araki had said exact same thing, many times before. He'd never kept his word.

As such, Michiko never would've guessed that Hannibal would, for all of the 266 years of his reign...

"Good. Now... who wants to be first to kick the bucket?", Hannibal growled, rolling up his sleeves. Before he could charge at the crowd, however, Shichirou grabbed his hand. "Bu- but Ken- kenpachi-sama..." he began, meaning to remind Hannibal that to be legal, a duel would need two hundred witnesses. He didn't get any further before Hannibal grabbed him from his collar and pulled him face to face with himself.

Poor Shichiro. Years of insistence from Araki sure had beaten the habit into him. Now, it'd come to bite him in the back.

"Last time, whelp", he snarled, purple bloodshot eyes burning holes through the effeminate officer's skull as he glared at him nose to nose. "Ain't... no... frellin'... Kenpachi!"

The words were punctuated by Hannibal lifting Shichiro off the ground, pulling his arm back and him with it, turning to face the office window, and then flinging the unfortunate 15th seat through it. There was no crash, since the window was already broken from a previous fight. The last thing Michiko could hear was a wailing "I'm sooooorryyyyy" disappearing to the distance.

Hannibal stood in place for a moment, wondering his actions. "Damn", he muttered, picking the wet rag up and pressing it back to his forehead. "I threw him out again, didn't I? Who th' hell I... I mean, you gonna use as messenger now?"

He then charged out of the office, crashing against the tide of angry challengers, punching, kicking and otherwise mauling bloodthirsty warriors left and right. "Make way! Gotta fetch lil' fella again!", he growled, "He's got t' take word t' Head Chump! Can't have Division affairs lag behind. Otherwise, he'll kill me dead!"

Michiko gave a thoroughly dumbfunded glare after him, a deep frown forming on her face. Was this man for real? What kind of a fool had their Division received to lead it now?

She'd kill him. God damn it, she would kill him.

"During Hannibal's time, 11th's mission rate tripled", Michiko says nonchalantly, putting hands behind her back. "I know, you've likely heard many sorts of horror stories about how he acted towards his men, but in the end, that didn't really have much to do with the issue."

"However, every time opportunity to fight presented itself, he jumped at the call. And he did make sure, in his own way, that each mission his division was assigned to was carried through as well." A sour half-frown is forming on her face now. "After decades of idling, 11th was finally doing its job like it should, and it was proven we... weren't as good as we'd hoped."

Michiko takes few steps outside 11th limits, before stopping and turning to look at Seiko. "Hurry up. There's a nice cafeteria nearby, and if we hurry, we'll still be on time for lunch break offers." She then turns back forwards and resumes her lecture.

"We were too much warriors and too little soldiers, poor at teamwork and much better at killing each other than our designated enemies... those were the real reasons why our numbers plummeted so. Hannibal's reign laid bare each and every fault present in 11th Division's working methods."

"Unfortunately, he lacked the ability to do much about it. He was a product of old 11th too - possessing of great invidual skill and instinct, but incapable of sharing that with others. Often, all his leadership amounted to was taking Commander General's orders and following them to the letter." Michiko's now looking much more relaxed than usually, perhaps a bit carried away by her own tale about the distant past.

"You know what we called him behind his back? 'Soutaichou's dog'. That's what he was, really - the sort of angry mutt which bares its teeth and growls at everybody, pouncing at the first thing triggering its bloodlust, obeying only its master because it doesn't want to get hit with an old shoe. We jokinly wondered how many people he could bite before he'd be put out of his misery. Or did until the joke fell flat, after half of those who'd told it died." Michiko sighs sadly at the thought.

Then she blushes slightly.

Yup.

"I'm sorry if I bore you, Seiko-san", she says. "I haven't talked about these things for a while. It seems I've had a lot of things piling up on my conscience. Glad you've bothered to listen."

[Kayne650]

Most of what Michiko was saying, Seiko already knew. About the 11th being full of warriors, and not soldiers. About them preferring to fight each other than their actual enemies. About the bloodthirsty nature of these people, their homicidal tendencies preventing them from being placed in any other division, and their strength and skill being too great to leave them alone. He wondered briefly if that was why the 11th division was created; to give those men a place to go besides the prisons of the Seireitei.

And other parts of her lecture he didn't know. Things like the increase in the 11th's mission rate, or how Hannibal, for all that he was a lunatic, did some good for the 11th, even if that good was only seeing how bad it was. It at least resulted in some good for the 11th, even if it didn't do any immediate good.

But none of this gave Seiko any comfort. He was glad that Michiko was distracted, because usually she would have easily noticed how distracted Seiko was. But Seiko couldn't keep his mind off of how similar he thought he was to the old 11th Divisioners. He had never shown quite the bloodlust that they had, and he hadn't really exhibited a tendency to harm his fellow division members, but weren't his constant duels with Michiko proof enough? What would he have done if he had actually succeeded in hurting Michiko one day? Would he have exulted in his victory? Or...would he have gone farther? Could he have trusted himself to stop at just beating Michiko?

It's not like you to doubt yourself so much, Seiko. The voice of Maikenoumaru commented in his head.

Yeah, but it's not like Michiko to be so reminiscent, so I guess we're even, Seiko retorted.

But Maiken had a point. Seiko didn't often doubt himself like this. So why had he started now? Perhaps because Michiko was talking so much about her past, and it seemed like she had some more reason behind it than just to talk. She was trying to tell Seiko something, but Seiko couldn't understand what. Was she telling him to be careful to not become those men? Or perhaps she was saying that he already was like those men.

He turned to her after she had finished. "I really don't mind listening, Michiko-taichou. Rather, I'm glad that you feel that you can talk to me about these things. Sometimes...I find myself wondering how much you can trust me, given all of my fights with you. Actually, Michiko-taichou...I wanted to apologize for that. I know that such things are a product of what the 11th used to be, and not what it is now. I know that I don't actually have a chance against, at least not now," Seiko said with a wry smirk.

"But I think that a part of me still feels like a don't belong," Seiko continued, looking more upset than Michiko had probably ever seen him. "With my history, coming from a noble family, I feel like all of this is somehow beyond me, like I don't actually belong in the 11th. Did you know, every now and then, I get homesick? I don't like showing it, but I do." As he spoke, Seiko ran his thumb along one of his favorite scars, one running from the edge of his left eyebrow all the way down to his cheekbone. It was the first that Michiko had ever given him, when he'd gone too far in a fight once.

"Forgive me, Himura-taichou. I didn't mean to speak in such a disrespectful manner." He looked around to see if they had reached the cafeteria that Michiko had mentioned.

He had reverted to formality. That was always a warning sign for Seiko, and he had just started speaking more honestly to Michiko than it seemed he had ever since he had joined the 11th. But his face was once again inscrutable. Though maybe, if she looked very hard, Michiko would notice a slight sign in his eyes, the smallest indication of sadness.

[Frozen_Feet]

[At several spots of the Seireitei, again...]
Not an entire day goes by without a number of seemingly random young women of the Gotei 13 getting flowers and cards in the same fashion as before.

First of them is Katagawa Shizuka. Her bouquet is made up of white violets.

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To Shizuka. Because those that speak the least are those most afraid to be happy, even when they deserve it the most.

--- Your secret admirer.

Shirakawa Kiku's bouquet was made up of sweet williams.

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To Kiku. I long to see what wonderful things will come together out of your thoughts.

--- Your secret admirer.

Feiyan Tewulan's bouquet was made up of white acacias.

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To Feiyan. I hope you'll forgive me for being indirect - but I wanted to capture your heart before your eyes.

--- Your secret admirer.

[horngeek]

Natsuko, while she's walking along the corridor in her house, feels a twinge...

"Oh!"

She takes out two Hell Butterflies, and sends them off to 4th and to Taiki.

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It's coming now, I'd say.

[tgva8889]

Natsuko should hear a faint whistling sound in the distance. Then, suddenly, Taiki flash-steps beside her, one hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright? Let's hurry to 4th Division, we wouldn't want it coming out here."

[InyutheBeatIs]

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[9th Division Baracks] (front porch)

Hirokatsu would turn back to his 10th Seat and nod to him, his gentle eyes somewhat emotionless which was per Hirokatsu's normal demeanor. He would straighten up a bit and look to the 10th Seat a little wryly as he spoke of bringing food back for him (if Shou would think back on it, he would probably notice that he has never seen the Vice Captain eating or drinking anything given to him, as he prepared all his own food and drink) and as Shou finished his response Hirokatsu would respond with a calm but straightforward voice, raising his left hand slightly and waving it a bit from side to side "Akiyama-san...please let ME be the judge of what I find to be 'boring' or not" doing air quotes before continuing "...and 10th Seat, there is no need for an apology, i only ask for your reports, as well as all the reports of the 9th Division, to be as thorough and complete as possible, no matter the consequences.... I and the Cpt and the Gotei for that matter would much rather have the facts as they are...even if they show a slight 'diversion' from the assigned mission...as opposed to a fabrication with omissions cluttering the truth...remember Akiyama-san do not let your pride get in the way of your duty...

Hirokatsu would pause slightly thinking he was being a little too strict for the much younger Shinigami...he then let his eyes slack some to a more warm disposition before continuing... "...and thank you for the offer of extra food, but i must personally decline, however in the future should you have the desire to spend your stipend on the Division, i am sure the other members and the Cpt will be happy for any such refreshments you have to offer, especially if the cuisine is of the level you speak of...I can only imagine the food which would divert ME from processing my reports after a mission." He hoped that last part came across as funny, as he was attempting some mild humor and not belittling...

He then looked to the 10th Seat and nodded slightly before looking back to Sigint and spoke rather straight to the point. "5th Seat sir...i was hoping to ask you a favor concerning the 10th Seat here..." motioning to the 10th Seat with his umbrella before returning it to his right shoulder and after a short pause he continues "...I was hoping to ask for your assistance in conducting a friendly spar between yourself and my 10th Seat here...i believe the providence of your happening to visit today and the 10th Seat here returning is not something to look past...I would be grateful for your assistance in assessing the 10th Seat's skills for potential promotion...that is if you have the time and desire..."

Hirokatsu would look squarely in the eyes of Sigint, only seriousness and respect would greet Sigint's eyes under his mask. He did not look into Shou's direction in any way his back to him as Hirokatsu referred to him. Hirokatsu had not mentioned this to Shou at any point, and truly Hirokatsu thought the providence of Sigint being here right now warranted the consideration for utilizing this occasion to its fullest.

Hirokatsu was hoping to have this done today and now, not wanting his 10th Seat time to prepare but would understand if Sigint wanted to put it off until the morning. Not only did Hirokatsu want to test his 10th Seat's fighting prowess, he was interested also in how well Shou conducted himself with little warning as well as how he conducted his written reports after an unexpected detour to writing them.

Hirokatsu tapped his umbrella on his right shoulder as he awaited Sigint's response.

Sigint raised one of his eyebrows under the mask, glancing towards Shou as he considers the possibility.

What do you think? I think it would be an honor to respect Goto-fukutaichou's wishes. You have nothing to attend to for the moment, so feel free to accept.

Sigint then looked back to Hirokatsu, bowing to him slightly. "I am honored, Goto-fukutaichou. I accept." He then stands back up. "When will you wish to conduct this?"

[horngeek]

Natsuko nods. "Probably a good idea, yeah. I don't want to risk Shunpo myself..."

[Moon Wolf]

Feiyan stares at the parcel. A secret admirer? Saezuki grins within Feiyan's mindscape. I got dibs on him if he's cute. Just then, a message arrived. A rather urgent one. Whoa... Feiyan took a few seconds to register. She then sprinted for the front door. Natsuko-taicho is having a babyyyy! She nearly explodes. Um, guess I better wait for her to show up. And so she waits at the front door for Natsuko to arrive.

[Draken]

Yoshi makes his final selections and hurries to follow his Captain.

"Yes sir! Though, if nothing else, couldn't you run it through the wash later?"

"Yes, I could also not have to run it through the wash later."

Kazuo leaves the storage, with Yoshi on his tail, and closes the door, while a sidehatch opens to allow the crane to bring the R.E.A.P.E.R. out.

Shortly after, a crew of artificials dashes into the scene, with gear to deal with the gas leak.

[horngeek]

Natsuko looks at Taiki. "...can you get me over to 4th?"

[tgva8889]

Taiki nods, lifts Natsuko up on his arms, and begins to shunpo himself. His movements are clean and his landings are soft, making Natsuko feel almost as if she is floating. "It shouldn't take long..." He does not appear to struggle in the slightest, though considering the speed and care with which he moves, that is almost an impossibility.

[horngeek]

Natsuko, meanwhile, holds on tightly to Taiki. She does wince a couple more times on the way, but that doesn't seem to be a problem with the trip.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Meanwhile, somewhere else]

Hannibal Magalães lies on the floor, hands behind his back, staring at the roof. What little food had been left to his cell with him had run out... how long ago already? Not that there's much water left either. Why has no-one come to bring more? Usually, shifts in the Nest were steady and on time, Broken Sword himself made sure of it - one of the few ways Hannibal's had for keeping track of time for the past century and a half, really. For them to be this late... it's mildy disconcerning.

Has something happened outside?, he wonders silently. The world above and beyond his little cell feels so distant now - it might as well not exist. Seconds feel like days, minutes feel like years... how ironic would it be if Seireitei has just fallen to ruin while he's been buried? No-one would ever come to tell it to him - he'd starve to death without anyone ever knowing.

Damn Broken Sword, Hannibal grumbles in his mind, turning to his side if that would make pangs of hunger go away. Why do I have to suffer if his lil' kido monkey feels like flinging its poo about? It's not my damn fault!

I want out.

[Restaurant near 11th]

Michiko is a little put off by Seiko's sudden backlash. Just when she'd started getting nice and relaxed. Maybe she should change the topic to something lighter for a moment. "Ah, no offense taken. I didn't even notice, really. No need to be so formal, consider yourself off-duty for a moment", she says when they step into the cafeteria. She stops conversing with Seiko for a moment to order herself some green tea.

"Say, you haven't happened tp send any flowers to anyone lately?"

[Kayne650]

Seiko ordered himself some tea as well, sitting across from Michiko. He felt embarrassed that he'd said so much; he wasn't used to speaking so openly to anyone, let alone his captain. He looked at her, his face remaining inscrutable. He knew that she was a little offended by his sudden backstep, but he found himself almost ashamed of his sudden confession. Consider himself off-duty, she said. How could he, when he was speaking to his captain? That was easy for her to say, she was the superior here.

Then she asked a very odd question. "Flowers?" He repeated, confused. "No, I haven't. Why, have you received any?" Seiko was now honestly confused. Flowers? Had someone sent Michiko flowers? His captain was an attractive woman, but not someone to be courted lightly. Of course, it might not have been her that had received flowers, but someone else.

[Moon Wolf]

Feiyan is waiting for Natsuko and Taiki. This way, sir! She calls to him, and sprints off for the freshly prepared delivery room.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Restaurant near 11th]

"I'm just curious", Michiko replies, smiling coyly, before taking a sip of her tea. "Wondering whether someone special has caught your eye. I take it your family haven't introduced you to any charming young lady yet?"

[Terry576]

When Taiki's subordinate finds the Vice Captain of the 13th, he notices something... different. The usually so relaxed Vice Captain has an almost feral grin covering his face, and his eyes seemed to flash when the subordinate enters the room, shuddering slightly as he hands the stack of papers to Karite, then exits quickly.

The young shinigami idly wonders what happened to the Vice Captain, to make him change so much, in such a short time. Sure, he was temporarily stripped of his rank, but that wasn't new to Karite. That happened to him a lot, after all, due to his way of handling missions. But... It was still strange. Strange enough that the subordinate debated whether to find Taiki and tell him what he thought he saw when he enter the room... It was just a flash, not even a second, but for a moment, the subordinate could have sworn that Karite's eyes were yellow.

[Kayne650]

Seiko felt himself reddening under his captain's stare. Did she not know? No, Seiko had never told her, and there was really no other way for her to find out. After all, it hadn't exactly been a public event. There hadn't been any announcement, just a simple cut off. Should he tell her, or just continue lying? She was distracted enough now that she would probably believe it, but he didn't think that he could deal with lying to her anymore.

"Actually, I have a confession to make, Michiko-taichou. I haven't spoken to my family in several years. In fact, my last correspondence with them was a letter that they sent me approximately four years ago, informing me that they had disowned me." Seiko's voice remained even, but the downward cast to his eyes and his body language betrayed him; this news had greatly upset him, which would be obvious to Michiko.

"It was actually rather kind that they would inform me; they actually have no obligation to do so. It doesn't bother me much anymore. If they don't want anything to do with me, then that's their problem. I have my position, and the division is all the family I need." This had obviously been bothering Seiko for some time. How much it had been eating away at him was hard to tell, but it had been eating away at him; that much was obvious.

[Frozen_Feet]

Michiko gives Seiko a sad look. His confession resonates with something deep within her, a long-forgotten memory of her own family and how they abandoned her in the Rukongai. Once, she had thought just like him.

"Well, that sounds awful", she says inscrutably, taking another sip of her tea. "Never would've thought a noble family would disown someone in such prestigious position like you." She decides not to pry on their reasons.

"But you didn't answer my question - surely, you have more things in your life than work? Work is a poor bride, they say." Because, when Michiko really thought about, having just the 11th for family hadn't worked so well for her. Seiko doesn't have to repeat her mistakes.

[Kayne650]

Seiko didn't know about his captain's past, so he didn't know how close his misfortune hit her. All Seiko knew was that Michiko's expression softened whens he heard about his family, or lack thereof now, and she was still questioning him about his potential love life.

"Unfortunately, they don't see my position as prestigious. However, I've come to accept their decision. If they wish to have no more to do with me, then I have no more business with them."

"And no, there isn't anyone that...interests me at the moment. I'm afraid that my work leaves me quite busy nowadays. Even my recent breaks for the lieutenant battle and the spar with Kazuma-kun have left me a backlog of work. We've received several new recruits who demand quite a bit of my attention, as we have very few seated officers that I would trust to adequately train new recruits. Unfortunately, that leaves me with the responsibility."

Seiko drained half of his glass and looked at Michiko critically. "Why the sudden interest, Michiko-taichou? Have you been having ideas?" He asked her. His face was impassive, but his eyes danced with mischief. "Has someone caught your attention, perhaps?"

[Frozen_Feet]

"Ah, no. My life is quiet on that front." Has been quiet for longer than some nations have existed in Mortal realm. "Again, just curious. But it's a shame your so busy. What would you say if I arranged you a week or two of vacation?"

[Kayne650]

Seiko had expected her response. His captain wasn't the sort of woman who was often preoccupied with romantic affairs, though whether that was due to choice or not was unknown to Seiko. He hadn't expected her last question, though.

"A vacation, Michiko-taichou? I'm not sure if either of us could afford that. I do have a great deal of work to be done, and a week off would only give me more work when I got back, much less two weeks."

Then he stopped and thought about it. Actually, a week off sounded nice; his bonsai trees were getting unruly, and it would be nice to just not have anything to do. Perhaps Michiko was right, he had been too busy lately.

"On second though, maybe you're right. I have been awfully busy lately, and it might do me some good to get some time to myself. Are you sure you wouldn't mind losing me for a week?" Seiko suddenly looked hopeful at the idea. Michiko would probably remember that her lieutenant actually didn't like work, and she had just offered him a week away from it.

[Frozen_Feet]

"Well, don't we have a potential new 7th seat just waiting for his abilities being put to test?", Michiko asks, smiling as she finishes her tea.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[4th Division]

Alysha had just arrived to the building, ready to go about another day of "business as usual". She was supposed to do a check on Karite today.

But, something else has called for her attention.

Something the form of a Hell Butterfly telling her that she would be needed in the delivery room.

After a moment, she comes up with the reason why, and dashes to the room.

[Kayne650]

Seiko returned his captain's smile. Some people saw Michiko as overly strict, though moments like this kept Seiko from thinking that. Her kindness wasn't obvious, but it was there.

"I suppose that that's true, Michiko-taichou. That sounds nice. And I'm sure that Kazuma-kun will appreciate that. I know that I'll enjoy having a few less duties."

[Frozen_Feet]

"I'll fill all the necessary papers for tomorrow morning", Michiko says, finishing her tea, "so you can leave at noon. In the meantime, you can have rest of the day free." She stands up, takes the dishes away, and starts walking towards the door.

"Enjoy your time, Seiko-san. Don't spend it all on one temple", she says teasingly before disappearing outside.

[Kayne650]

Seiko smiles as his captain leaves. It would be nice to have this much time off, given how much work he'd had lately. Maybe he'd be able to sneak into his family's house and see his cousin. Of course, as a lieutenant of the Gotei 13, they couldn't actually refuse him entrance and hospitality, but he didn't want to deal with the rest of them.

Lost in his thoughts, he barely noticed when the server came by with the bill. Which was about the time that he realized that Michiko had left him to pay. As he got out his money, he thought several unkind things about captains with disposable income who leave their lieutenants to pay for things. Michiko had her nice moments, but she tended to balance those out.

[Frozen_Feet]

[11th Division]

Halfway back to her office, Himura Michiko sneezes and stops briefly. For a moment, she has this odd feeling she's forgotten something, but then pushes the feeling away and continues on her path. Can't be anything too important.

[3rd Division]

After extorting scaring ordering kindly asking her co-workers to give her cookies a try, Nasumi had returned to her chores. However, after returning to the breakroom, she finds the bowl she left the cookies in is still nearly full. Awww, they must be shy because they don't want anyone to be left without a cookie, she thinks to herself. After all, she'd not seen Daisuke or Magatsu anywhere. Hmmm. Well, I guess there'll still be enough for everybody if a take a few to myself. She searches the room for a small basket and puts a handful of the cookies in it.

Hmmm... who else I could offer these tasty delicacies? The coal black pastries don't answer that question.

Oh, I know! I'll take few to Kazuma! I'm sure he'll appreciate them!

Unfortunately, 30 minutes later, after some frantic searching and running about, Nasumi arrives in the 4th, and is told Kazuma isn't there anymore.

Oh, that's a bother... well, then he must be back in 11th! I'll find him - I can't let him miss best cookies he's ever tasted in his life! If said cookies could emote, they'd be sweating now.

So, the ever-cheerful unseated starts skipping towards 11th. Oh, I can't wait to see the look on his face!

[tgva8889]

Taiki Takahashi - 4th Division Delivery Room

Taiki, with incredible speed and grace, deposits Natsuko softly on the bed in her delivery room. Stepping back for a moment, he sets his Captain's haori back in place. He then returns to the bedside and takes Natsuko's hand in his own. "Would you like me in the room, Natsuko?"

In the 4th Division Barracks

The young member of 10th seems frazzled by Karite's strange appearance, but not bothered. He walks off to Taiki's office to confirm the delivery before attending to his normal patrol duties. Just another normal day...