Ninth's Office

A simple office with two simple desk and chairs for the captain and the vice-captain. There is a shelf filled with (full) sake bottles within hand reach from the captain's seat, probably for ease of getting a drink when there is too much paperwork and the need for some form of de-stressing arises.

Kano Uyusei slowly strolled into her quaint office, back from her visit to the sixth to check on the well-being of its captain. Already, a stack of paper were on her desk, waiting to be read. There is paperwork to be done but the blue hair captain could not bear to do it. How could she, after knowing the cruel truth of how they died? Having to fill in forms detailing their deaths three times is just like the time back then...

*****

Kano silently got up from the hospital bed before gathering her stuff at the bedside table. There was nothing she owned left, so there is nothing much to pack. Today is the day she is finally discharged from the fourth division after weeks of staying there to recover. When the bandages had came off, they revealed ugly burn scars that her healer told her would never heal. They, along with her haunting nightmares, would serve to remind her of that dreadful day eons after its happening.

"Are you ready to go, Uyusei-san?" Came a male gruff voice.

It was a shinigami at the door. Kano assumed that had they sent someone to fetch her or something, and she nodded back with deadened eyes.

"Very well. Please follow me."

And she did. However, instead of her dormitory room where she used to live in at the Shinigami Academy, the man brought her out of the sterile white hospital room into yet another white room. Only this time, there were no windows, and the only door was blocked by another tall shinigami. Inside, was a lonely table and chair.

"Sit." The guy who brought her here motioned to the girl. She only gave the man a blank glance before she soullessly complied.

At once, the interrogation began. Brutally, coldly and mercilessly, they began culling her for the truth.

*******

The petite girl sighed. She might as well get it over and done with until her vice-captain (if she ever had any) decides to stop fooling around and get to clearing these.

OOC: Time skip from above post.

Kano weakly slide the wooden door to her office open, before helping herself through while grabbing on the frames for support. Sake... she need sake. That visit to the demoness's Keep took much more out of her than she was prepared to. The strain of instinctively keeping herself on guard throughout the "tea party" was taking its toll on her body.

Seriously, Kano wish she could just relax around the seventh captain or something but it would seem that she will need some time to get use to the other woman. The visit was a start, and Kano knew that if she were to ever fight against that monster again (and she will, if the recent news that Masaru had encountered him more powerful than ever were anything to go by) , she will have to conquer her inner fear first.

Slumping onto her chair, the blue-haired girl groaned as she gazed at the stack of paperwork still incomplete on her table. She is seriously not in the mood to do any of those now.

If only her vice-captain will show up soon.

If only.

As if summoned by her wish, by some invisible genie that had decided to take up residence in her desk, perhaps in a potted plan nearby, or maybe in her chest (as such things occaisionally occur, given an ample enough bosom and a sufficiently disturbed genie which would bind itself to such an impermanent medium), the one that had been assigned duty as nothing less than her Fukutaicho-apparent (pending acceptance of the mentioned station by the Taicho which one would assume, considering that it may or may not be an acceptable option to accept him for whatever reason into the fold of her Division) would have at just that moment stepped through the door of the office greater, rolling the shoulders of his small and elegant form back a bit as he stretches out the muscles therein, eyes the color of the sky on a clear summer's day scanning the area to locate such a one as could give him the information he requires in order to find and speak to his new Taicho.

Selecting a sufficiently unoccupied and attractive-seeming female to approach and speak to, quickly gaining two important pieces of information. First, the likely locations where the captain could be found, chief among them the location of her office in relative to the lobby where he currently stands, and secondly, a somewhat more interesting piece of information, the shinigami in questions phone number, which he files away in his mind before placing the piece of paper it came upon into his pocket, just in case. He then makes his way through the hallways of that place, making small changes to his appearence as he goes, small quirks to actually lessen his usually impeccable appeal, as at least for now, it would do better to be seen as official than as his usual charming self (Unusual as that is). He would finally reach the room that he sought, raising his hand to knock sharply upon the door, requesting entry within.

A knock? Not many people visit her office, and the few who do such as Masaru are close enough that they had already done away with knocking. Maybe Masaru still knocks sometimes, due to his noble upbringing but still...

"Come in." Kano called out in exhaustion.

Lets hope whoever this person is, would not have something else to add to her "woes" or all the sake she had drank would be of no help any more.

Because she would then drink enough to pass out drunk and leave all the work undone.

Her voice speaks out through the door, the slight hints of intoxication giving him just a bit of an involuntary smile, soon suppressed to a state of seriousness, slim fingers sliding the seperator sideways to secure his entry to the space. Stepping forward, he bows slightly, those brilliant blue eyes never leaving hers as he shows his repsect to the Taicho.

His lips would part slightly after the movement is completed, to introduce himself in the most succinct of ways, inasmuch as the selection of the data given would be limited to that which was needed, a single sentance sufficing for the needed substance which she would need to render this situation favorable.

"Good afternoon, Taicho. My name is Jiken Hagane, and I have been appointed to become your Fukutaicho, should you be willing to accept me."

Quote :

"Good afternoon, Taicho. My name is Jiken Hagane,
and I have been appointed to become your Fukutaicho, should you be
willing to accept me."

A new fukkutaicho? Did the previous one rage-quitted? It might appear so and the First had seen it fit to send her another vice-captain yet again. The job might be cursed. it seems that her vice-captains always had a tendency to excuse themselves from the post after a brief stint at the job, even the interim ones.

Jiken Hagane. How long will you last?

The man is trying to be polite, to make himself appear favourable even, but Kano do not really care. All she knew was that someone had arrived.

"Good. If you will, go sort that stack of paperwork." She indicated to the files on her table before rubbing her temples to soothe her fraying nerves.

Zer, once back in Soul Society, immediately made his way to 9th Division. He would deliver the bag to the petite taichou and then return to finish the last of his paperwork.
Still though... "Zuerst Ehefrau und nun Botenjunge. Ich werde viel zu weich. Das ist nicht gut. Ich brauche wieder Abstand." he thought, annoyed at himself, and continued on his way through the corridor, ignoring the scared glances of the few Shinigami he passed on his way.

Though once in front of Uyusei-taichou's office did he hear voices coming from inside. The girl was most likely in a discussion.
Just his luck.

Zer placed the bag on the ground before taking off his suit jacket. He folded it neatly and laid it over his arm before bending down to pick the bag up once more. Then he leaned himself against the wall across the door.
And then it hit him.

"Verdammt. Ich habe das Tiramisu vergessen."

---

#1: "First wife and now delivery boy. I am becoming far too soft. That's not good. I need space again."
#2: "Damn. I forgot the tiramisu."

He nods, seeing that he had indeed been accepted into the position. but now it's time for paperwork, and that was the boring part of the job. "Yes, Ma'am." He nods, taking the mentioned paperwork and beginning to shuffle through it, finding an open surface to sort and separate it into smaller stacks for specific subjects, which he then sorts by their urgency. Someone else was outside, small noises attest to this, but if they weren't going to knock, he didn't have any reason to have anything to do with them.

Quote :

"Yes, Ma'am."

Nice. This one has far less complaints than the previous shinigami assigned to the position of vice-captain. He seemed a little reluctant to do the paperwork though, but that is only for moment. She will have more important tasks to give him soon.

Like restocking the sake cabinet whenever it is low.

But of course, she have to deal with the visitor outside her office. The reiatsu emanated was unmistakable. Solid, with a dash of graceful strength, it was the newly appointed captain of the Eleventh division, Zer. Of course, they knew each other even before he was a captain. Zer had already came to her multiple times, always bearing a gifts of some sort, saying they are a gift from someone but never saying who.

She have a hunch that they might be from the man himself.

Kano got out of her seat and walked over the the door. Opening it, she poked her head out and gave the man a tired but warm smile.

"Hello Zer -kun. Please come in and take a seat."

Zer had all the time in the world, knocking was just something... he did not do.
Though knowing Kano, the petite girl would know who was waiting in front of the door anyway.
And he was right. Once the voices behind the door grew silent again, steps could be heard and right afterwards the door was opened.

Quote :

"Hello Zer -kun. Please come in and take a seat."

Zer-kun. Far too friendly. Far too familiar.
That wasn't good.

"Uyusei-taichou." He gave the girl a light nod and then followed her inside, not bothering the close the door. She would do so, if she wanted it.

Ignoring the other person present in the room he walked over to one of the chairs, laid his suit jacket over its back and then sat down - placing the bag on her desk while doing so.

Hagane studiously ignores the other ones, finishing getting the papers all sorted and ordered, separating out those piles that he could not deal with and placing them on the Taicho's desk. Then he takes the other stacks, ordering them into a neat stack. "If there is an office designated for the fukutaicho, I suppose I should take these there, and leave you to your guest, Taicho... s."

Quote :

"If there is an office designated for the fukutaicho, I suppose I should
take these there, and leave you to your guest, Taicho... s."

"There isn't, fukutaicho." Kano said as she closed the door and sat back down onto her chair, facing yet another one of those bags Zer had always brought for her. "This office is shared by both the captain and the vice-captain."

Of course, her division is poor, but there is no need to say that. Having the vice-captain within the same room as the captain also brings about a few benefits to the division. For one, she could make sure that Hagane is not slacking around when he should be working. For two, she can have him do menia- *cough* errands if she needs them done right on the spot.

If the man have any objections, well she can show him the way out of the door.

Glancing at the bag in front of her, Kano wondered what new item could be inside. She could ask the Eleventh captain about it but it would just be better to open the bag and check it out. When she did just that, out from the bag into her hands was a small ring with a weird symbol upon it.

Kano did not know what it means or signify, but it looked pretty, seemingly carved out of pure sapphire. Is this what they say in those trashy romance stories, a proposal? But Zer did not go down on his knees or anything; he is there leaning on a chair without a care in the world which makes Kano rethink her theory that the man himself was the one sending her those gifts.

So who is it? This ring seems to bear some significance which she did not know.

Sliding it onto her finger, she gave a smile of appreciation to the eleventh captain.

"Thank you Zer-kun."

Quote :

"If there is an office designated for the fukutaicho, I suppose I should take these there, and leave you to your guest, Taicho... s."

Just in time...
Zer didn't bother even looking at the boy, his eyes fixed on the wall ahead and his hands folded in his lap.
Yet he did actually notice how the blue eyed was not able to greet his superior. If he cared just a little about it as much as Bolt Boy did, heh, he'd chop the fool's head right off.

Once Kano started to unpack whatever was inside the bag, he settled his eyes onto her face. He was not curious what Schach had given her, still, once she slid the ring on he could not help but notice.

Quote :

"Thank you Zer-kun."

He merely nodded, before standing up once more. Carefully he moved the chair out of his way, grabbed his suit jacket and folded it over his arm again before turning to the petite girl.

"Uyusei-taichou." he muttered simply, before turning around and leaving her office.

He was not one for long visits.

Interestingly enough, Hagane doesn't mind sharing an office with his superior. His first thought is the obvious, that it could lead to long nights spent in each others' company, and thus certain things best left unsaid, but that was quickly pushed out of the way. Much as he didn't like it, she was essentially his boss, and sleeping with the boss never ends well. "Then I'll just get to work, ma'am." He inclines his head, pulling up a chair and readying himself for the long and tedious work of filling out all this paperwork... just how long had the Taicho left these undone, months? At his initial count, there were no fewer than seventy forms to fill, and that's not even counting the ones that got double or mis-filed, some of which will still have to be looked over to make sure that they do not need to be filled out. He lets out a slow breath as he works his wrist a couple times to loosen it up, beginning to work.

Kano watched as Zer walked out of the office and nodded in approval when Hagane replied that he would just carry on doing his work before doing just that. It is good that he did not complain - a subordinate that complains is not a sign of a good subordinate.

Perhaps she can finally get some well-deserved break and enjoy a drink of sake or two. Sitting down on her seat, the bottle of alcohol was at her lips when a certain voice began to reverberate through the walls of the buildings. This... she recognized the spell. It was the kido used to quickly transmit any message across the user's intended targets. That was not all. Kano recognized the voice too.

It was Oukami's voice.

"Jago Oji-san?" the petite girl gasped. Did the fifth captain himself know what he is saying? Did he even realize what he is doing? He is declaring war against Seireitei and justifying it as cleansing the realm of injustice and corruption! How the senior captain deemed himself worthy enough to do so aside, speaking such blasphemy by all accounts is an act of treason and treason is punishable by death. The first thought that came into Kano's mind was that this person is not Jago, but a person claiming himself as he. Something must have happened during the mission to investigate the human world.

However, even if something had happened and perchance an imposter rendered the real Jago indisposed and took over, surely the meticulous Xarath, as uptight as he were, should have noticed some inconsistency when they all returned to soul society. No, Kano shook her head, willing herself not to think of the worst case scenario in which both leaders of the sixth were dead. Right now, the absence of a second message or even a call for an urgent captain meeting to debate this atrocity from "Jago" is proving to be quite appalling.

As a shinigami captain of Seireitei, it would be her duty to correct this act of insanity.

Can she do it? The last spar between them ended in her eating dirt and getting a needle poked in her flesh. Would she make a difference? Or should she even join the old captain in his ambitious endeavor. Kano closed her eyes as a headache starts to throb. Jago had been pretty nice to her truth be told. He was as he claimed, a man of strong will and conviction, nothing less. If Kano had not been a captain herself, she would have definitely thrown her lot in with the Oukami. Unfortunately, she is a captain and the conflict between her sense of duty and her instincts tore her from inside out.

If Jago is even the real Jago.

I will go find him and demand an explanation out of this.
Kekekeke, good! I was looking to pay him back for that time, Hime!

As Kano Uyusei it would be her right to know what is going on and if the man refuse to explain or worse, not who she expected him to be, she will fight him.

Glancing over to Hagane, Kano was sure the new vice-captain would have received the message as well.

"Fukutaicho, stay here." It was not a request, but an order. Then, she was gone.

Hagane was taken completely by surprise by that voice, and even if he had been inclined to break his Taicho's orders and leave, he didn't really want to head out at the moment. He'd only have a chance if he used his shikai, and... well, he doesn't want to go through that again.

You know that you'll have to do this eventually, and you will likely need it for the fight ahead.

You know, Tousaku, I hate it when you're right, and you are, but I am going to put off that revelation for as long as possible, thank you... that week... well, to put it simply, it sucked horribly.

It is not my fault you cannot accept the truth of the matter.

What truth? I don't remember you explaining any of this to me at all, and... Look. Let's just get the division ready for battle if it comes down to it.

I did not tell you because you refuse to hear. And yes, that would be a splendid idea.

With that, the newly-appointed Fukutaicho of the ninth division steps out of the office, a serious look on his face, and begins to gather the squad and get them in discipline, in case they are needed, and getting those skilled in Bakudo to get a barrier up around their district to attempt to avoid collateral damage and those attempting to sneak in.