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Post by Captain Juushiro Ukitake on Nov 25, 2014 18:18:21 GMT -6
Juushiro chuckled. "I am right here, you know," he murmured, nudging his friend back. "And I am completely capable of getting to the Fourth on my own."
Shunsui raised an eyebrow. "When you've been showing signs of sickness, yes, you are, but when you think you're fine-"
Juushiro shook his head. "Very well," he walked past them both and smiled at them. "Ryo-san, if you don't pay attention, I might disappear in front of your eyes, just to give this worrywart a headache," he teased. |
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Post by Captain Ryo Hirabayashi on Nov 25, 2014 19:17:41 GMT -6
Ryo smiled and nudged Juushiro. "If I must drag him along, Sir, I will." She followed the Captain Commander. "You know Juushiro, playing ill will only get you out of work for so long."
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Post by Captain Juushiro Ukitake on Nov 25, 2014 22:45:49 GMT -6
Shunsui laughed as Juushiro blinked in confusion. "As if!" the captain commander barked. "I'm afraid, Hirabayashi, that this man is a TERRIBLE liar."
Juushiro shook his head at them both. "I don't really have a chance to learn with you and many others watching over my shoulder."
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Post by Captain Ryo Hirabayashi on Nov 26, 2014 7:49:34 GMT -6
Ryo shook her head. "Well, you have one less person to tend to you. I will be far too busy to look after you, Juushiro. I am unsure of how well Byakuya will look after you. So, take care." She gave a chuckle.
Ryo felt a knot form in her belly. "Ashimitsu, Sir, has he had problems before? Is there anything I should pay particular attention to?"
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Post by Captain Juushiro Ukitake on Nov 26, 2014 11:36:06 GMT -6
Juushiro decided to answer. "Tsukiro Ashimitsu has been very susceptible to Sousuke's manipulations and tricks. Urahara did his best to keep Kita secret and when she was kidnapped, the boy ran into a captain's meeting, wouldn't listen to his superior to wait outside and blurted out the shopkeeper's entire secret. He had one single thing on his mind, his girlfriend Kita. He didn't even consider why Urahara had kept quiet or the captain commander's warnings."
He sighed. "Sousuke opened up a raw wound by taking Kita. It fueled Ashimitsu's already boiling yet barely controlled hatred for the man to the point where the boy lost all sight of his job, skills, and aspirations." The captain shook his head. "If Urahara had not succeeded in his surprise attack on Las Noches and rescued Ashimitsu, I don't know how much longer he would have lasted. His hate started clouding everything, even his love for Kita."
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Post by Captain Byakuya Kuchiki on Nov 26, 2014 11:38:26 GMT -6
Byakuya closed his eyes. "Think of a rabid dog, and that would fit the picture of what Ashimitsu became through a few months of Aizen's manipulations and choice of captive." He opened them again. "The boy's last act of sense that I witnessed was his realization of what he was becoming and his decision to take some time off."
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Post by Captain Juushiro Ukitake on Nov 26, 2014 11:41:53 GMT -6
Juushiro rubbed his forehead. "It was not a pleasant change to witness. Sousuke wasn't even trying yet Ashimitsu was falling apart and there was little anyone, even Yoruichi, Kisuke, or Kita, could do to stop it. He blocked out Hitsugaya-san's example out almost immediately."
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Post by Commander Shunsui Kyoraku on Nov 26, 2014 11:47:50 GMT -6
Shunsui let out a similar sigh to his friend's and set a hand on his shoulder for a moment before turning back to his new female captain. "Before this occurred, I intended to take the steps to prepare Ashimitsu for the seat I left behind when I took Yamamoto's position. Hitsugaya-san believed he was ready." The captain commander turned around again, holding his hat over his eyes. "The boy has potential - I have seen it in him - but none of us have the time or can afford to place a captain's haori on anyone's shoulders if they aren't ready. Your match with him will hopefully give me some clue as to that dilemma."
He started walking forward again. "The seats have been empty long enough that more time won't hinder us. What will hinder us is giving our soldiers an incompetent leader." |
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Post by Captain Ryo Hirabayashi on Nov 26, 2014 13:38:06 GMT -6
Ryo nodded. "Potential does not negate poor leadership. We need someone who can lead, without fearing that he will break beneath the weight of his own emotions." She pulled her arms from her haori, leaving it draped over her shoulders. "I will test his strength." Ryo looked over her fellow Captains, all of them looking as if the topic exhausted them. "If he should fail?"
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Post by Commander Shunsui Kyoraku on Nov 26, 2014 14:05:45 GMT -6
The captain commander heaved a sigh. "If he fails, then I will decide what to do with a kid that owns the Stealth Force but can't grow up," he stated bluntly, "and someone else will be chosen for the Eighth Division." He increased his pace, ending the conversation.
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Post by Commander Shunsui Kyoraku on Dec 16, 2014 13:49:12 GMT -6
"Time Moves Forward" (continued):
Shunsui rubbed his chin in thought as he lay out on floor of his office. On one side were carefully stacked collections of papers waiting to be filed, all filled out and stamped as needed. On the other side, some paper, a brush, and an ink stone were laid out on a piece of cloth, covered in precise calligraphy.
The captain commander glanced again at the letter he had received from Captain Hirabayashi. He needed to decide the time of his next evaluation. According to their new captain, he was improving, but there seemed some pieces he still lacked. Charisma would get him nowhere if he hated the rules and didn’t even attempt to disguise it as such, and he still wouldn’t talk about his family, unless severely pressed. He set the letter down, still contemplating his next move with his favorite captain hopeful and reached for the next report he had yet to reply to, the ongoing discussion between Captain Kotetsu and himself in regards to what was best for his oldest friend.
Juushiro had been in Karakura since Yumiko had shown up three weeks ago, and for a time, it seemed the visit, bittersweet though it was, had given his old friend new strength. He stayed behind to offer his help to Kisuke and the Substitute’s kid sister with the handling of her fire zanpakuto. He chuckled. It had been a while since a fire zanpakuto had found an owner. It was kind of fitting that the owner came from the royal line. Then, he sighed. When Kisuke had reported Inoue-san missing once more, the fate of Sousuke’s captives had begun once again to weigh heavily on Juushiro’s shoulders. His hand clenched. He didn’t know which was worse, Kita being continually beaten into submission or Yumiko’s heart being twisted to serve him. He shook his head. How much longer would they all be able to wait and how long would his old friend’s health last?
A soft knock broke him from his reverie. A rare smile lit up his face. “Hello, Nanao-chan. I’ve done my work properly, as you see. How will you reward me?"
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Post by Lt. Nanao Ise on Dec 16, 2014 13:51:58 GMT -6
Nanao set his evening meal on his desk. “I think this will suffice,” she muttered, not turning to meet his gaze. She pushed her glasses up in lieu of hiding ther faint blush on her cheeks. “Have you finished with your replies to the Captains of the Fourth and the Ninth?”
Shunsui scratched the back of his head as he stood. “Not yet. I am still considering them. You can have them dispatched first thing in the morning.”
“Yes si-” She squeaked as her captain’s hand brushed at her cheek. “Wha- what was that for?” she sputtered, hurrying to keep her glasses from falling.
Kyoraku chuckled, picking up his chopsticks. “You had a smudge of sauce there,” he murmured, smooth as ever.
“I-” she turned around. “That is impossible,’ she finished, composing herself.
“You can turn around, Nanao,” her captain continued, sipping his soup.
She turned around, hands folded before her. “As ordered,” she said.
Why couldn’t she stop blushing? Was it because there had been a time he had stopped touching her? No way. There was no way that could be true. She was happy for the two week break in his lecherous… teasing ways. But each touch seemed to leave more of a mark on her, metaphorically.
She was startled out of her reverie by her captain standing with another long sigh. “Thank you for the meal, Nanao.”
He was already done?
“I will be sure to tell the chefs that,” she stated, voice steady.
Her captain’s lips quirked upwards. “They’re getting quite skilled with their hands, aren’t they?”
She coughed and scurried over to the piles of paperwork on the ground, kneeling to pick up the first stack. “I’m sure they are,” she murmured over her shoulder, hiding her now rose-tinted cheeks.
“Good night, Nanao.” The door closed behind her.
In her solitude, Nanao allowed a soft smile to form on her lips. She rose and looked at the closed door. It faded. She set her free hand on his desk. “Don’t try to carry it all by yourself… Captain.”
She stood again, holding the paperwork to her bosom with tightened fingers. “He will protect the worlds from you, Sousuke Aizen. For all the hearts you have poisoned or scarred –even if the Goddess holds the final key to your defeat—he will protect them.”
She paused before opening the door. “Is your heart finally healing now, Hinamori?”
Fade
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Post by Captain Ryo Hirabayashi on Jan 2, 2015 8:36:35 GMT -6
"Her Captain's Report":Ryo walked to the office of the Captain Commander, after escorting Captain Komamura and Tsukiro Ashimitsu to the Fourth Division. They had just completed Ashimitsu's Captain's exam. Ashimitsu fought well against Captain Komamura. But, Captain Komamura had fought Ashimitsu as if they were equals, and would hand Ashimitsu his defeat. Ryo walked up to the partially opened door of the Captain Commander's office and knocked on the door. "Captain Commander, may I come in? I have my report." He was busy in his papaerwork. Shunsui lifted his head and beckoned Ryo into his office. "Captain Hirabayashi. How did our baby captain do?" Ryo smiled at the nickname the Captain Commander gave Ashimitsu. "He did very well, actually. Better than I expected him to, to be honest. He was more himself, than what we've seen lately. He didn't strike out in anger. He was able to adjust rather quickly. He even displayed a new technique." Ryo handed her written report to Shunsui. "Sajin spared him from nothing. He is resting in the Fourth Division, as we speak." She ran her fingers through her hair and looked to the Captain Commander. "If you wouldn't mind, sir. If we are appointing Ashimitsu captain, I would like to deliver the news to him."
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Post by Commander Shunsui Kyoraku on Jan 4, 2015 11:49:48 GMT -6
The Captain Commander set the report on one of his many stacks and smiled. “By all means, Hirabayashi-san, tell him. The new haori is in progress. After all, I can't give him a haori he will trip in, can I?" He winked. Smirking with some sort of secret scheme, Shunsui looked down at his files again. "That gives the kid three days to recover enough to stand up and prepare anything he may want to say to us.” He chuckled. “I don’t think Kotetsu-san will let him leave her barracks until at least two days, not after a fight with Komamura, and I doubt our baby captain will wait a meeting before moving forward with something. Don’t you agree?”
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Post by Captain Ryo Hirabayashi on Jan 4, 2015 12:09:28 GMT -6
Ryo nodded. "I admire his determination, that's for sure." She pulled out one of the chairs in front of the Captain Commander's desk. "I asked Captain Komamura to stay with him. I am sure Ashimitsu will try to leave well before he should." She thumbed a corner of a stack of paperwork on the Captain Commander's desk. "Your decision to appoint him captain, was a wise one, Captain Commander."
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