Michi takes her place at her desk, folding her hands one over the other atop her desk. As the acting authority within her Division, the Kiyoshi's Princess once more adopts the air of professionalism while conversely, Tōsu who sits lackadaisically across from her, slouched — adopting an air of ineptitude and amateurism. Her eyes shift from her Denreishiki on her desk before shifting over towards the lazy looking male.
“Listen, may understand you are probably like your rest here and there. However…I’d be careful if I were you if you slack off too much.”
His head rolls over to properly stare over at Michi. It was easy to assume that Tōsu was doing nothing but slacking off, that he was a man who was lazy, unmotivated and perhaps incompetent as well. There was almost no one who knew him as anything other than a professional slacker. Today marks the first meeting between these two souls who seem polar opposite of one another, his first impression upon the young Kiyoshi is certain to be lasting. Despite her willingness to accommodate him he couldn't help but still see her as a noble and wonder what possible ulterior motive she held. Perhaps she was attempting to size him up, determine if he held any value to her and some hidden ambition, or to her and her clan. Maybe it was something simpler than that, and she simply enjoyed the presence of someone inferior to herself, bolstering her own self worth. He stares at her with emerald hues, still slouching, his expression still dull and heavy, as if he'd drift to sleep at any moment.
Eyes follow her hands, disappearing under the desk or..at least out of his field of vision. The sound of the drawer opening causes his attention to become more focused. Was this it? Was she about to pull out something in an attempt to lull him over into her employ? Some secret mission she'd demand in exchange for holding her silence, or perhaps money...a bribe to tempt the greed inside him, greed that most nobles assumed all souls had and were enslaved to. He is wrong on both counts. What the Moon Princess retrieves is an ash tray, a lighter, and a pack of cigarettes, three items that honestly didn't fit her appearance. He blinks, confused, taken aback by the contrast of what he was seeing and how he had perceived her to be. The woman secures a single cigarette between her lips, lighting it up she takes a drag from it, as its smoke begins to fill her office. Smoke wafts from between her lips, the hit from the cigarette doing its task well as she resumes speaking.
“You might lose a few close friends or even your squad members if they were to be killed in the human world or worse to another division.”
He stares at her in silence, no response to her foreboding words. It was ironic that she gave this warning, neither of them aware of the danger his Lieutenant and Third Seat were currently facing in Naruki City. Their very lives on the line, the weight of every soul in Naruki resting on their shoulders and the shoulders of those with them. The tear trickling from the woman who had fallen into silence does not escape his notice. He turns his head upward, staring off into the ceiling as he gives her a moment to gather herself. He assumed there was a story behind those tears, a wound left unhealed, and his suspicion and wariness of her lessens a bit more.
KNOCK
KNOCK
The sound of knocking causes both Michi's and Tōsu's heads to shift towards the door. Michi, the more alert of the two begins to panic, scrambling to hide the evidence of her apparently secret vice while also attempting to draw Tōsu's attention to signal him to hide. She grants permission for them to enter, still attempting to secretly aid the seemingly oblivious red head when, the door opens. The Shinigami steps into the office and is met with two pairs of eyes, Michi's...and Tōsu's. The two men glance his way before returning their focus back on Third seat Kiyoshi.
“Lady Kiyoshi, there's a boy came to see you asking about a Man named of Tōsu Shohei”
'Eh?!'
Tōsu sits there confused, his head whipping around to stare at the two males then to Michi who struggles to hide her expression, having been working so hard to tell him to hide only for it to now be in vain. Though it seemed he was now exposed he couldn't help but wonder...what boy would be looking for him? His arms cross his chest, the chair lining back on the rear two legs as he slightly begins to rock, his mind working to trace for all possible candidates.
'A boy...a boy...what boy could they-'
Immersed in his own thoughts, he doesn't hear Michi grant permission for the boy in question to enter. Crossing the threshold into the office, is Koyo Koetsuji, one of the Division's newest recruits and the current Fourth seat. True to the description given by the two shinigami, Koyo appeared as but a boy, one bearing a listless expression at that. Stepping into the office Koyo's eyes shift from the male and the woman, Tōsu and Michi. Tōsu couldn't help but feel that the kid looked..stiff, an opinion that only became stronger when the boy performed the most ceremoniously rigid bow he had ever seen.
'Oh boy. One of those'
He couldn't help but think.
"I am Koyo Koetsuji, Squad Ten's Fourth Seat. I came here to find Tosu; I beg pardon for the abruptness of my arrival. "
The boy's stiff bow was accompanied by an equally stiff introduction. Tōsu turns, draping an arm over the chair staring awkwardly at the boy. He wondered what was up with the kid, seemed more like a robot created in the basement of Twelfth Division than an actual kid his age. That is, until the rigidness of his form is lost. His shoulders grew slumped as he seemed to almost literally deflate, his face shifting from expressionless, to adopting one of self doubt.
"I, to be honest, am uncertain of what it is I should be doing. Lieutenant Hyouzoku and Third Seat Kiyoshi were clear for me to remain behind. Am I going to Fourth and seeking their superiors, but further orders weren't given?"
He begins pouring out his heart, or..rather his thoughts. He lays his doubts open for those present to see, and it seems the orders for him to remain behind have left him in a state of confusion. Why was he left behind? Was he unreliable to them? Did they lack faith in his ability to be useful to them on their mission? What was the mission? The boy was filled with questions, questions that led to even more doubts in himself. He was a ship without a sail, drifting aimlessly at sea.
"I was hoping for some guidance from one or both of you. If I've interrupted something, I can return another time."
It was an odd thing, the position Koyo finds himself in — existing simultaneously as both Tōsu's superior and his junior. In his drifting he comes across those he hope will become his compass and sail, giving the directionless Koyo some actual direction. Seeing his eyes cast down, the way he touched the scarf around his neck, the boy wore his nervousness on his sleeve just as much as he wore his doubts on it as well. Tōsu empathized with the kid, he truly did but-
"If you're looking for guidance, you're probably better off getting it from her y'know."
Tōsu lazily points his thumb towards Michi's direction, attempting to shift the focus and the responsibility to her.
"Not sure what all a Sixth seat like myself could teach ya kid. If I'm a sixth seat and you're a fourth seat there's a reason for that."
Pushing himself up off the seat, Tōsu lifts his arms over his head, twisting and stretching from one side to the other, a notable pop and crack causing him to relax. What he had said wasn't totally inaccurate. Typically if one was seated lower than another, it meant that the higher seated person had accomplished more or held more ability than those they were ranked over. By this logic, it meant that Tōsu had only ever displayed the capability of a lowly sixth seated officer, and so it stood to reason if anyone would be capable of helping Koyo, it would be Michi who was seated higher than both of them. Folding his arms he begins studying the kid, turning his head from one side to the other, quietly sizing up the boy. He gauged Koyo's reiatsu, studied his posture and his build, eyes shifted towards the boy's hands to see how calloused they were, if they were at all. He took everything about the boy into account, even something as minute as which side he wore his zanpakuto on and the length of his sheathed blade were observed. The whole time he seemed to ignore whatever expression Michi wore from being volunteered against her will to help.
'Just what is it that made ya entrust the Fourth seat to this kid Shizuka?'
A reasonable question, though not one born out of jealousy or spite. Tōsu didn't covet the position, if anything he felt sorry for the kid. Currently, it was like watching Koyo wearing clothes three sizes too large for him, stumbling about as he attempted to make the clothes fit him instead of fitting properly into the clothes. Poor kid...maybe he'd have an early growth spurt, and could fill the roll entrusted to him.
