[BSD-RP] Soul Society: Southeast Seireitei

[BSD]

Time seemed to drag yet leap forward in the same instant. Emotions muddled, a mixture of so many regrets and fears that she had pushed down. All that time;she snapped. There was no other explaining it. Suppressing all of her emotions had led her to make many rash decisions. Having time to calm her mind had revealed to her the scars that were marring her present life. She would need to face her fears. And embrace what she truly wanted in this life. Why the squad or its people were held so dearly in her heart already was a mystery to her. But it was real and she would do everything in her power to prove this.
Given the chance.
The sound of the main gates opening startled them all. Making no outward reaction, she remained awaiting her fate, head down. She would not try to mask her shame. Capable enough to feel their incoming presence but his movements much faster than her ability to track him. Her body was limp, drooping down. There was no need to raise her head before him yet. Remaining in a pose that revealed her regret and apology as well as respect; lastly it left her open for him to slice her neck clean through with no obstruction.
A thump. Harsh words, spat at her. She clenched her teeth slightly. Knowing this would not be easy but still unable to have fully prepared for this moment.
Allowing her eyes to open slightly, bangs covering her face though giving her a view of the floor. That was when she saw it and against her will her head lifted. Is that...
Hands flew to her mouth as she covered a gasp.
Yasu.
The dam broke.

The woman was okay. Catching but a glimpse of what Yasu looked like after the incident two months ago she was uncertain if she would live. As time went on she was relieved to hear she was recovering. However she had not expected this. She caught herself and stood on her own. She gave them a strange look before giving Kazumi a soft smile and retreated.
Yasu is okay. I'm so glad...
For what felt like forever all Kazumi could do was cry. Again. In front of everyone. But she could not control herself. All the emotions she had pushed down and ignored, her fears and anguish. The relief of seeing Yasu in fairly good health overcame her. So much unpleasantness. Wiping away happy tears she felt grateful to know this much at least.
Hands remained covering her face as she slowly composed herself. She wouldn't have been surprised to be smacked or killed as she had her outburst. If she were allowed to continue and explain herself, she was now ready. Steeling herself, her hands moved away from her face, wiping remaining tears away as they went. Placing her right hand over her left, arms straight util they crossed before her. Entire body rigid, she bent only slightly to bow to him and keep her head lower.

"I have no excuse for my actions, sir. I have...not yet left Second's barrack's and planned to today. But I...."
For a moment her mouth quivered like a child, giving herself pause to reign her emotions back in. Swallowing down as if suffocating those feelings she continued, her voice once more blank and listless.
"I feel that I made a mistake in attempting to transfer divisions. As it has not been made official and I as of yet have not entered their barracks or began any duties within their ranks I wish to halt the transfer. And..remain here. In my home. I apologize deeply for the burden this has been on you both. I hope to one day prove to be worth the effort. Or I will freely offer my head as penance. I will accept your judgment without any complaint."
You're blabbering.
The words rolled out of her mouth nonstop. Stopping herself before she continued on babbling at him. Fists clenched at her sides, bare of all weapons that she had relinquished without argument; she felt naked. Exposing such blatant emotion and making such a huge misstep. She had exposed herself in many ways, and felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny. It was strange to consider; she would be content with dying by his hand but did not wish for him to look at her negatively. She might have smiled if she weren't so certain she were about to die.
I was surely taught some strange priorities...

 

[BSD]

Five months was a long time. Five months everything could change and she would be damned to say that they didn't. Captain Mukuro had given her a training regimen before he had vanished seemingly off the face of the universe and that had been the last she had seen of him. That had a tendency to happen when you refused to leave the training grounds. She had been intent on mastering at least one of the techniques that he had left for her. She was tired of being useless in the position that she had been given, even if it was only until the true fifth seat's return. She had wanted to make sure that she was worthy of it but all her failures had given her more and more of an understanding. She didn't belong in that seat. Her superior was there for a reason and that was because he was just that. Superior. Though it had been two years since she had last seen him she knew she was still not even close to being at the level he was nor was she close to being anywhere near the level of the higher seated members of her division. Seventh seat was too good a spot for her. At least this was the thoughts that had gone through her mind while she worked to better herself. Now the thoughts where pushed deep into the darkest recesses of her mind to keep them at bay. Such self destructive thoughts would only do to harm. Only make a person quit when their goal is close to their grasp.

Her mind was sharper now, She had more control from the last few months of solitude had rewarded her but that also meant that she came back to a place no longer familiar to her. Of coarse her first stop had been to gather up a copy of the ninth division's communication but that had only given her so much of the information she wanted to know. She did know that the second was not trusted still that was obvious by the looks given to her and the information heard over her Tsūdentō. She wasn't surprised by this at all. The sceptical looks from people as she left to her own devices was still fresh on her mind and it made her chew absentmindedly on her lip as she gathered her other thoughts. Fighting, destruction, blood, these were things that she could understand more then trying to figure out how to face those outside of her own division. The buzz of what had happened with the sixth division... that was something that had her Tsūdentō with a constant chatter for days after. She still didn't understand the entire story she knew that Lieutenant Yugure was involved though. She personally hadn't had much encounters with the woman due to her close proximity with the captain, a man that intimidated the hell out of her but she knew of her reputation and from brief encounters despite the childish nature she knew her to be completely capable. Though she worried for the woman hearing some of what had been said... others calling her a monster the fear people seemed to have for her, she knew the worry was unfounded. The woman was more fierce then she would appear. She had no doubt that though she might have changed it would make the Lieutenant a stronger person because she wasn't the sort to give up. It was inspiring really. Even if it was only her own perception of the woman it lit a fire in her gut wanting to be more like that.
Her mind lost in thought for so long as as her muffled footfalls on the tamari floor kept her company in one of the halls in the second division baracks... had she been pacing? Had she been walking in circles down the same halls over and over again. The others must have thought that she was crazy if they had seen her like this but then again she was a bit to have been gone for so long. Her hands rested on her face as she began chewing on her lip with more vidger then before as her worry began filling her mind and clouding it.
Calm down.
The thought entered her thought as a command. Was that her own thought? Yes. It had to have been and the command oddly helped she let her lip go with minimal damage to it leaving it only stinging slightly where she had only just broken the skin. Since when had she been able to stop her fretting like that? Normally it would go for hours. She supposed her training had been good for more then just increasing her skill. It made her almost giddy to think so but she knew how inappropriate showing something like that would be considering all the second division had gone through. Her attitude did not stay long.
Tension. Anger, slow boiling into rage. Despair and resignation.
It was palpable in the air and it made her want to burst into tears and shrivel into a corner all at the same time. Anyone could sense such things perhaps that was why the halls where baren. Had she missed it before being too wrapped up in her own head? Her foot shifted backwards but something stopped her from retreating instead it came forward again slapping down on the ground hard before drawing her other forward pushing her into a gallop down the hall to find an exit to the courtyard. She pulled open the sliding door and her eyes darted around nervously a small bulb of blood wetting her tongue from the death grip that her teeth had on her lip. Men blocking escape, the intense pressure of Captain Mukuro's wrath even if not at full force made her chin quiver and her eyes darted over seeing fourth seat Kazumi defeated, broken but not injured, something about her reminded her of someone who had just given up. Then her words of the Lieutenant reached her and her eyes darted to the bubblegum pink hair the slightest flicker of a smile reaching the corner of her mouth seeing her looking well and... exposed? Goodness that was a lot of skin... she had to drag her attention off of the bare midriff of the lieutenant when she hear Kazumi speaking once again. Though she had only met the girl briefly on mission she couldn't help but find that she liked the girl and it hurt her to see such desperation stricken over the girl's face even if from her angle she could only see it in profile. With Captain Mukuro she didn't dare venture too close only just enough to hear to sedate her curiosity.
Hearing Kazumi's words she was shocked, she hadn't been aware that she had been intent on leaving her position, that she wanted so badly to leave but that didn't seem to be the case any longer. The question was would the Captain allow her to take back her resignation. Kazumi's words where heartfelt and she could see that she ment each word. She was willing to die here if the captain so demanded the sacrifice from her. He wouldn't be so cruel? Everything he did was for the betterment of the soul society as a whole. Despite her fear of him this truth was deeply ingrained into Saki's core being. She couldn't afford to doubt the man but... if he turned down Kazumi with how penitent she was... she couldn't see any betterment in that. Her Jika-tabi made the barest sound as she shifted her feet into the courtyard. She knew her opinion would mean little to the captain but she felt the need to say something. She couldn't believe she was doing this and she felt tears in the corner of her eyes form as she looked over to the captain and lieutenant from fear but she didn't let them fall.
"D... did you know that the Marquis de Favras... found three spelling mistakes in his death warrant before his execution..." Why did you say that? she thought to herself letting the random bit of information hang in the air for a moment despite it having nothing to do with the situation her need to say something and her fear had caused her mind to blank out anything she actually wanted to add to defend Kazumi. She had wanted to say that she believed her, that she thought that she deserved a second chance that so many things she couldn't count... but that was what came from her lips... that of all things!? She was hopeless. She really really was!

 

[BSD]

He says nothing further, eyes steeled and sharpened — not unlike the very blade used to cut down many of his enemies, and like a blade his piercing gaze was like a sword pressed to Kazumi’s throat.
He appears unmoved and unphased at the tears wept by the small girl upon catching sight of Yasu. He remains planted in place, impatiently awaiting some form of explanation from the girl.
Yasu senses and reads the tension in the air, it was impossible to NOT notice. She takes this moment to separate herself from them, retreating to her own living quarters leaving Kazumi to face the Captain alone...surrounded only by the equally tensed and panicked Omnitsukido. Kazumi moves to wipe away the tears, unearths her resolve from the depths of her soul, steels herself...and bows deeply before the Phantom — her Captain.
"I have no excuse for my actions, sir. I have...not yet left Second's barrack's and planned to today. But I...."

No response from the Seireitei’s Phantom, none save for his frigid gaze. He watches on as she quivers in place, frightened, hesitant, unsure. She is trapped, encapsulated within an invisible bubble of silent hostility. She understands one wrong move, one misspoken word, a single misconstrued gesture could be the difference between life...and death. Her courage is fleeting, yet despite the struggle, she holds onto it somehow. She suppresses the fear, the doubt and wills herself to continue.
"I feel that I made a mistake in attempting to transfer divisions. As it has not been made official and I as of yet have not entered their barracks or began any duties within their ranks I wish to halt the transfer. And..remain here. In my home. I apologize deeply for the burden this has been on you both. I hope to one day prove to be worth the effort. Or I will freely offer my head as penance. I will accept your judgment without any complaint."
He listens to her blabbering, still not uttering a word. He doesn’t even respond to the return of Yasu, now changed and armed with her zanpakuto once more as she stands at his side. In some cases he would shift his gaze towards her, the two deliberating their own thoughts on the matter through a silent exchange of glances. Now however, he does not move, his eyes do not stray from the blue haired woman.
-
-
The Captain remains quiet. He has not moved an inch, he has not blinked, he has not spoken or uttered a word or sound. It’s as if he is absent of mind, or perhaps lost in thought. If not for the firmness of his gaze and the steady increasing intensity of the area around them, one would question if Kyomu was even truly awake. None dared move, not a soul dared to speak — there wasn’t anyone who wished to be the catalyst that set off the bomb that was their Captain.
Internally, Kyomu replays every word spoken by Kazumi. He concentrates on her tone of voice, studies her posture, her gestures, any and every subconscious tick or movement. He debates on the genuity of her words. Perhaps they were carefully spoken, specifically selected to elicit a certain response from him, made to trick him into lowering his guard. Perhaps every step, every action, every word and every tear was but a ruse. If so, then for what reason? Under the orders of Captain Kojima? No, couldn’t be. Though his Division were a pestering nuisance in their pursuit of stories to fuel their tabloids and propaganda, this method seemed beneath him. There was the chance that he wasn’t aware of it, and she came up with this act on her own. Then there was the other possibility that it had nothing to do with Captain Kojima or the Ninth Division at all, but some other unknown ulterior motive.
Or...perhaps...Could it be? Could it possibly all be….genuine? He had his doubts, as an assassin and the master of secrets, Kyomu was not inherently a trusting man. He ponders silently, wrestling with possibility after possibility.
"D... did you know that the Marquis de Favras... found three spelling mistakes in his death warrant before his execution..."
A small quivering voice interrupts the silent internal meeting the Captain was having with himself. He turns to see the skittish fidgety Sakiko. His heavy gaze bears down on the jumpy girl. He closes his eyes….and breathes.

He steps forward, passing Kazumi as feet carry him towards the barracks. His steps grow heavy as he comes to a stop.
”Yasu, Sakiko...Kazumi. Come with me, the rest of you, guard the barracks and don’t let anyone come within several paces of the main hall.”
His silent streak comes to an end. He continues to walk, with the full expectation that those he called would follow. He walks the finely polished halls of their barracks. His silent, airy steps made it seem like the man was somehow floating above the ground rather actually walking. Their travel is a relatively short one, the group now at the heart of their barracks. He walks into the massive empty hall, scanning and inspecting every inch for any hidden or lingering soul.
He finds none.
Making his way atop the elevated podium, he turns and takes his seat on the ever prepared pillow. None but Yasu were permitted to step up to join him, though apparently what he needed to say involved all three of them. He looks from Sakiko to Kazumi and awaits their attention.

What did the Captain wish to say, in this meeting of only four?

 

[BSD]

"I feel that I made a mistake in attempting to transfer divisions. As it has not been made official and I as of yet have not entered their barracks or began any duties within their ranks I wish to halt the transfer. And..remain here. In my home. I apologize deeply for the burden this has been on you both. I hope to one day prove to be worth the effort. Or I will freely offer my head as penance. I will accept your judgment without any complaint."
Yasu had heard since emerging from her room. She still retained some of her most reliable senses, and they were only heightening the more that she ate. Maybe the food was the answer to everything. Looking back at Kazumi, Yas could still smell the fresh tears she’d shed upon seeing that her lieutenant was doing just fine. In a few instances, looks were exchanged between her and Kyomu as she fiddled around with her blade, now tucked snuggly in a slot beneath her jacket where she could easily wrench it out.
Listening to Kazumi, Yasu didn’t really have any attachment worth mentioning, but it was due to the fact that the majority of her time was spent at her captain’s side, but with what harm could keeping her cause, other than the chance of having their information leaked? Even then, she had said she’d pay with her head, and if something like that happened… well. Casually unwrapping another bar of candy she fished out from her pocket, someone had stepped up, with lime green hair, and an aura that simply made individuals question her actual place in the Second Division.
"D... did you know that the Marquis de Favras... found three spelling mistakes in his death warrant before his execution..."
This earned a small, out-through-the-nose laugh from the lieutenant as she caught sight of Sakiko Nakama, a girl far too fidgety for the likes of Second, but she brought a new air to this place. A small breath from her captain causes Yasu’s amusement to grow. Watching her captain walk past Kazumi, Yasu trailed right behind, before he even let out his roll call. Calling her, Sakiko and then Kazumi, she smiled and skipped after him, grabbing both girls by their hands and dragging them right along.
“C’mon, girlies. Can’t keep Taichou waiting.”
Entering the main hall, her captain thoroughly examined the area through and through for any lingering bodies. Yasu inhaled deeply and found no one else close enough to overhear whatever this discussion was to be about. As Kyomu takes his place, she slides right into her spot, settled between both the subordinates and her captain.
He leaned forward, and she could wonder what he had to say to her, and the other two girls.

 

[BSD]

Gold hues stare at the ground emotionless. The feel of the dry tears upon her cheeks felt as if from a lifetime ago. This was a familiar sensation, one she had felt in her living life.
Only once.
It had taken little time for Kazumi to realize what type of monster Hideo truly was. It seeped into his physical appearance; the evil visible in his eyes. She had reached the verge of death many times due to his abuse. However he had had no intention of this and let her be. That day was different. Looking into his empty eyes she knew she would die that day. She had accepted this. No struggle. Everything ending rather than continue on as it was had been more appealing anyway.
So why....
There was no question in her mind she would meet her death soon. Though harboring no fear, she realized she did not want to die. So many opportunities now faced her with the revelations she had had. And yet... it was futile. Strangely, she both saw this look in Kyomu's eyes and yet she did not. She held no hope he would spare her, however aside from the stare one would expect from an assassin, his actual will to kill her was unclear.
No words were spoken upon Yasu's return, though suddenly Sakiko spoke up. Kazumi nearly smiled at the irony of her statement. She supposed they should have their paperwork in order for her death warrant.
The world was silent. It was almost maddening. View of the world obscured by her hair she simply closed her eyes and focused instead on the reiatsu of those around her and their movement. Nobody stirred. It was almost as if they all collectively held their breath.
The Captain broke the silence. His steps moving toward her. She awaited the blade, attending now to her breathing, keeping herself stead; without a single twitch, she remained in place for his sword.
Instead the was greeted with air blowing toward her face. A small gust caused by his haori as the Captain walked past her. At his words she knit her brows together. Confusion. She did not understand what was happening. Before she could react, Yasu was upon her. The touch of the woman's hand, the kindness and warmth in her voice. Despite herself Kazumi cast a glance toward her before following along at the same pace.

As the Captain assumed his place and the other two did as well, Kazumi found herself a place that was near enough for him to strike her but far enough to give a respectful distance. Nose touching the floor she bowed before him. She wondered how this worked. A more private affair, especially in light of her former position? Witnesses to the crime as well as the punishment. It seemed all the affairs were in order. Remaining low to the ground she remained silent. There were no more words. It was a relief she had shared her true feelings with them, regardless if they believed her or not. It was freeing to speak the thoughts aloud. The loss of this weight made accepting her death more easily she supposed.