Roy 'Fuujin' Karosiji = Blue
Hiana Maisaku = Black
Word Count - 5098
*Plot Mission Material*
It was a dark and tranquil night that was so peaceful, that if one were to drop a pin amongst the paved rocks it would easily be heard. The night shift was something shinigami hated doing, especially when it involved standing post for long boring hours without a thing to keep one self amused. Roy dragged his feet with his back slouched forward from fatigue as he walked over to the Tashio. For some reason the Vice Captain had requested his presence at this ungodly time for some mission that required his expertise. Or at least that's what Ayami told him since he had to ask her to read the letter for him. Roy cursed at being unable to read before kicking a lone pebble across the floor. 'I hate this weather... it's so freaking cold. I'm going to be pissed if I get called in for guard duty after I already did it yesterday.'
The letter in his hand crumpled a bit as he tightened it at the very thought of having to sit around without seeing any action. It was clear he wanted to get more out of his position in the division than paper work and nap time. The only fights he had for the past to days was when he went toe to toe with that cross-dressing martial artist. "I really hate to admit this, but even fighting that weirdo right now would be more fun than sitting around here and doing nothing. At least I'd get some exercise out of the way."
But alas, he could only sign his fate over to the will of the vice captain now as he approached the door belonging to her office. Roy gave a couple knocks to the oak door before sticking his head through the partial opening, "Is the vice captain here?" Walking in he held up the somewhat wrinkled paper in his hand. "I got a letter telling me to come here to take on a late night mission."
A night like this one was exactly what Mai had expected. She stood at her window, gazing out into the midnight blue sky that twinkled with each little star. The moon's crescent beamed down upon the Taisho and lit up the Vice Captain's features as she stood there quietly, thinking to herself. Recently, there had been another addition to the Fifth Division. A new Shinigami, "Roy Fuujin Karosiji." The red head breathed out quietly.
Yukiko had done a field practice with him earlier this month, and had asked - More like ordered... She thought to herself - Mai to do the same with him. Alas, she had given in and said "what the hell?". Her emerald gaze drifted to her door as she heard a rapping, only to be replaced by the expected visitor.
"Yes indeed." She said softly, turning around with her arms crossed over her stomach, offering a friendly smile to her division mate. "I'm the Vice Captain, Hiana Maisaku. Please come in, sit down, Karosiji-kun." The woman gestured towards the chair in front of her desk. On the edge of the large, mahogany desk, there was a study lamp turned on and emitting a warm yellow glow.
Mai moved around her desk and sat down in her own chair, folding her hands beneath her chin as she smiled at the man. He was rather attractive, which only added to Mai's notice how there simply wasn't an unattractive man or woman in the Gotei. She laughed to herself for a bit and leaned back in her chair. "I supposed you're wondering why I called you here?"
"Well, for the most part yes." Roy walked in crumbling the papered letter into a ball before throwing it in front of him as the door closed behind him. The ball of paper went way over and past the desk, bounced off the wall and fell into nearby waste basket located just to the left of chair his superior sat in. He pulled up a seat and eased into it casually himself while eyeing the attractive woman. The slim well-built beauty before him was definitely something he hadn't expected. If anyone, Roy thought he'd find another annoying old geezer much like Hallidad, who had initiated him without him even knowing. It was actually so surprising that the only real thing he could do at the moment was stare into those emerald green eyes of hers. But he then realized what he was doing and quickly regained his composure by clearing his throat. "So... why am I here? Is it for guard duty again? Cause if that's the case I want to just say that I already did my shift yesterday."
'Please tell me it's something much better than just standing around freezing my butt off all night.' Roy thought to himself in the spout of wishful thinking before looking at his vice captain once more; this time he made sure not to gawk at her like some goof ball. It was strange how he lucked out to get in a division in the first place, even graduate from the Academy without even being able to read in the very least. But that didn't matter to him as he sat there filled with a tremendous amount of joy when he thought about the main roster of his division actually comprising of many beautiful women. 'Even the vice captain is a cute chick, so this really is heaven.'
Shaking her head at Roy's question, she leaned back against the table and rested her head in the palm of her hand. "No, it's not guard duty. If it was you would have received a letter saying so instead, probably." She thought back to her time as a novice in the Division. "That's what I used to get at least." Mai noticed Roy's gaze was fixed upon her and smiled secretly. Hnn..
Standing up, she walked around the end of the desk and stood in front of him, pulling herself up to sit on her desk. Slowly, she crossed her right leg over her left one all while she watched Roy with a smile. "First of all, I'd like to ask you something." Mai said softly. "How do you like being in the Division so far? I hope Yukiko hasn't scared you off." A soft laugh emitted from her throat as she leaned her head in her hand, flicking a few of her crimson tresses over her shoulder.
So far so good, most of the people around here are pretty nice for the most part. Yukiko's one hell of a captain to say the least. Not many captains would go out of the way to entertain the new guy, but she kept me from even thinking of being bored with all the fun I had when I first joined. That kidou mine field was a great way to introduce the terrain. After having to get out of there once and then going back to fill in the holes later on, I doubt I'll ever have to worry about where the mines are." Roy leaned back in his chair, pulling his arms back so as to rest his head against them. He smiled a bit, raising up his right so he could rest the ankle on his left thigh, all the while he continued to casually glance at her. She wasn't that much taller than him in height now that he thought about it. The tattoo on her hip sparked a bit of interest from him, but Roy simply couldn't a good enough look at it before it disappeared under the cover of the hakama. Yet he'd have to dismiss his curiosity about the story behind the design that teased him for a later time.
"Why?" He set his right foot back down before leaning forward, placing his hands on the arms of the seat. His brown eyes meet those emerald green ones belonging to his vice captain for bit before asking, "Have there been any complaints?"
A smile curled upon the red head's lips as she shook her head. "No reason in particular." She said softly, straightening herself and leaning back a bit with her hands supporting her upon the mahogany desk. Shifting her left leg to rest over her right one instead, she didn't break the eye contact they had. She was always seeking for someone who could hold a strong connection when it came to eye contact and this one seemed to be that kind of person. A strong connection meant a strong personality. "I just like to know if my subordinates are happy." Sang the Vice Captain, letting her gaze drift out the window briefly.
Maisaku closed her eyes for a second and emitted a soft sigh which seemed to have the weight of the world hidden within it. Returning her gaze to the unseated member before her, she tilted her head a bit and watched his dark features. Another smile formed upon her lips. "You know about the Ryoka business, right? Because of this, the security around here isn't what it used to be. The Fifth's been working on something top secret, but it's been stolen and our trackers have tracked it down to be in Rukongai."
Jumping off the desk gracefully, Mai's gaze glanced at the stack of papers at the end of the table. "Yukiko assigned me to do some field practice with you." Her gaze returned to Roy's. "I thought this would be the perfect scenario for you. Feel up to it?"
"Heh. Asking me if I'm up for going down into Rukongai to knock a couple of heads around? Sounds like the kind of mission I could have some real fun in." His lips etched back a little more as his smile grew wider, "Lately the only thing I really have been doing has either been tons of paper work or standing still at a dinky little post watching grass grow. To tell the truth, I've been itching to get some exercise and this just looks like what the doctor ordered."
"By the way, you know my name but you've never told me yours. I don't particularly think that's quite fair. Care to alleviate the mystery?" Standing up fully, Roy rotated his right shoulder a bit as he returned the look in kind to his vice captain. "After all, they say secrets can harm a relationship."
"Ah, so very true. But then again, can't women have their little secrets?" Winking playfully, she took the first piece of paper from the stack on her desk, folded it neatly into squares and put it in her pocket. "But if you insist." Mai smiled and walked up to him, noticing he wasn't much taller than herself. Leaning forward, she stood so close to him that she could hear him breathing. "Hiana Maisaku..." Whispered the flame-haired vixen softly.
Pulling away, she turned and sent Roy a playful smile before she went over to the door and grabbed her crimson colored overcoat. Pulling it over her shoulders, she zipped it up, leaving the slit at the end open. "You should probably wear a jacket or a coat or something." She said, stretching her arms over her head. "With winter closing in, it'll get colder on evenings like these."
Roy was beginning to like his vice captain more and more. She was playful enough to attain the attention of those she demanded it from, but restrained herself to point where she didn't send the wrong message. The warm breath against his ear excited him for a moment as she whispered her name to him; permanently fixating it into his memory as she slipped away from him to the door. If she had remained there at his side any longer, she would have seen the blush of red that emerged on his face.
But that wasn't the case as she went to wear her coat while mentioning something about winter and colder days to come. Roy had managed to lose the red on his cheeks before could notice it. Placing a part of his right arm to rest leisurely inside the chest fold of his gi, Roy walked over to the side of his superior. "I'll be fine, I actually have real clothes under this samurai outfit."
With that he reached over with his left and opened the door for her. "Speaking of real clothes. Do you think walking around in Rukongai looking like Death Gods is such a great idea? Are we looking for information, or are we just retrieving the item?"
"Ah, I see. Practical aren't you?" Smiling as she pulled her hair out of her coat and let it flow down her back, Mai blinked a bit as Roy opened the door. "We're only retrieving an item. It shouldn't take long unless the thieves give us more trouble than expected. Besides, where we're going the population is used to seeing Shinigami." Trotting out into the hallway, Mai's emerald gaze glanced around the darkened hallways.
'Good, everyone seems to have settled in.'
Waving at Roy and signaling to follow her, they started walking down the hallways. Maisaku was going over the route to North Rukongai in her head and kept silent while they walked. She would occasionally pick up the piece of paper form her pocket and study it. There were several old markings which Roy would have no chance of understanding so she kept it to herself. Lost in thought, she didn't noticed that they had went out the front door.
Mai blinked a few times and was woken up by the chilly air that brushed against her cheeks. Her crimson locks followed the motions of the breeze as did her coat. Looking to Roy, her face showed signs of bewilderment for a moment before she remembered their objective. "Alright. Follow me as good as you can, and I'll try not to run too fast." The Vice Captain winked and disappeared in a quick shunpo, only to reappear on a nearby rooftop. "This way!" She called and set off in a run over the rooftops, heading in a northern direction.
The moment Mai shunpo'd completely took Roy off guard. He had never seen the technique used at that high of a speed before and at first it looked like she just vanished into thin-air all of a sudden. "This way!" The voice called to him from a nearby rooftop. He caught a glimpse of the crimson red coat belonging to his vice captain. 'There's more to her than it seems.'
Roy chuckled to himself at the very thought of being left behind if he didn't push himself to his limits. Running into the alley adjacent to the roof top, he followed her on the ground before gaining enough speed to dash along the wall and leaping to land on the roof across from that of his superior. They were neck and neck dashing along the two roofs as the headed north bound. Roy then jumped across to the other roof to the one where Mai was currently on; landing he crouched down for a moment so as to keep his balance from slipping. This allowed Mai to her get ahead of him a bit once again. 'She's pretty strong... I like that quality in a woman.'
Bursting out once again to full speed, Roy eagerly caught up to her as she seemingly ran with ease. It was amusing for him to be using this much effort just to keep up with his vice captain, who made it look like a walk in the park. A smirk now began to creep onto his face as he tilted his head down a bit while making yet another jump to the next roof top. He was loving every little bit of this mission from the very start. "How far are we going till we reach the checkpoint?"
"Not too far. When you see the Bloodstone walls, we're half way." The Vice Captain yelled behind her, setting off the roof top she was currently on only to land on the one in front of her. Her steps were graceful as she ran, making sure that she wasn't going too fast for her companion. The wind in her hair made the crimson tresses billow behind her whilst her emerald gaze was focused on the white walls that seemed to be, still, rather far away. Not using shunpo to get to her destination was something Mai hadn't done in a while, and she could easily feel the effects. Her breathing had gotten slightly heavier and she felt the small beads of sweat emerge on her forehead.
Abruptly, she stopped. On the edge of a roof top, the crimson haired woman stopped and looked around. "Alright. Just over a few more roofs and we'll get to the end of the Court." Taking in a deep breath, her breathing became normal once again. I guess I should train my physique a bit more...
Pfft. You know what to do, so why are you not?
Mai blinked at the voice in her head. Ara. A rare visitor. The voice scoffed with a hint of amusement within it. Fuyumiko rarely spoke, but Mai appreciated that she came out when she did. Mai chuckled softly and crossed her arms over her chest. I have to set a good example for my Division member, no?
Well yes, however, showing him the techniques of a basic shunpo would not be such a bad idea, would it?
Guess not. Mai smiled and shrugged a bit, turning to find out if Roy was still with her.
Roy was right behind Mai, in mid-jump actually, when she just decided to stop all of a sudden. With little time to react and only two options to choose from, he maneuvered his body so that he threw himself a little to the side. Doing so allowed that he didn't collide head to head with her, but it also did mean that he was heading sideways towards the roof now. His body rolled up along the panels before eventually the outward sticking tiles created enough resistance to bring to him a stop. He was grateful that the rooftops in Seireitei weren't very steep as he began to push him self up so that he could stand. Smooth move. Not only did you almost run into your boss, you barely missed smashing into the wall instead of this roof.
Dusting himself off, Roy turned around to where Mai was. "Hey is this the blood stone walls you were talking about?" He said pointing his thumb behind him at the massive obstruction that looked like a barrier more than a wall. Pivoting around once more, he tried to see if he could actually get a view of the top. But it proved useless as it was too dark to begin with, even if as he bent backwards a bit to help with the angle, he could not see an end to the expansion of blood stone. "We aren't going to try and scale this thing are we?"
Grand white barrier-like walls stood proudly in the direction of which Roy pointed towards. A smile had been on Mai's face from the beginning where he, quite awkwardly, had avoided smashing into her. "Yeah." Jade orbs gazed at the walls that protected Seireitei. At his question, Mai rose an eyebrow at him with a small grin curling onto her lips. "Well, if you want to try that then go right ahead." She said playfully, throwing some of her crimson tresses over her shoulder. "Though, it'll be easier to go through the gate."
A chuckle rose in her throat before she once again glanced at the walls. "Do you know how to shunpo, Roy?"
Roy was gazing off at the bloodstone walls when she had asked him the question. It had been years since he walked outside of the walls of Seireitei and he possibly couldn't hope to imagine what kind of chaos had emerged when he had left Rukongai. That wasn't to say that the place wasn't filled with trouble when he was running around there, but he knocked around quite a few heads back then.
"Shun-po?" Roy had a curious expression that basically said "Okay I'm confused and have no idea what your talking about; so please give me a clue." written out all over as he turned around to face her. He figured it was some kind of new technique that he had yet to hear of, but he withheld his opinion seeing as it could be anything else just that same. Hell, for all Roy knew, it could have been some kind of special dance that Mai was referring to and agreeing to know how to do something like that would be like setting himself up for more fun awkward humiliation. 'Hopefully she'll explain it to me.'
Smiling at the look on his face, Mai shook her head. Man, what do they teach the kids in the Academy these days?
"Shunpo. It's a technique we shinigami use to transport us faster from one point to another. If you're a specialist in hohou and the ways of shunpo, you can go from the center of Seireitei to the outskirts of Rukongai in one step only." Mai explained, folding her arms over her stomach as she spoke. "It is a technique that most shinigami should know once they enter a Division since it will help you greatly in missions where you have to travel long distances, but also in battle where you have to move think fast and evade attacks. Those are the basics of shunpo."
In a split second, the red headed woman's image disappeared from the rooftop and reappeared behind Roy. "Now, this was only a very small step, but if you want me to demonstrate further, I can." Walking around the unseated member, the Vice Captain was now back at the spot she had been standing at before she had used shunpo.
'Oh yeah, that's what that move is called. I forgot about the name of it so easily even thought I use it almost all the time. Better play along anyway.'
"Um... That's okay. Although I am curious how the move actually works, cause it looks like you're teleporting or something. Is that true?" Roy rubbed the back of his head kind of surprised that such speed was attainable through a technique alone. He never imagined the possibilities of moving that fast in an instant. Even now after just witnessing it for a second time, it still seemed unbelievable. Roy was pretty fast before he died and came to soul society, but this just seemed ridiculously impossible. However, if what the Vice Captain said was true about most shinigami being able to use this move, then he was more than capable too. He did pass the Academy after all, that meant he had the potential to accomplish at least that much.
Mai tilted her head from left to right a few times, mulling over an answer. "Well, I guess you could say that. The technique works by channeling reiatsu into your feet and modifying the air around you so that you can 'disappear' and reappear in any place you want. The stronger you are and the more you train your hohou skills, the further you'll be able to go." Closing her eyes as she said this, the red head started channeling reiatsu into her feet, a white aura starting to pulsate softly around her.
In the middle of executing the technique, Mai's concentration was broken by a voice calling her name. "Hiana-Fukutaichou-dono!" Slightly startled, she canceled her energy flow and turned to see a man clad in full black, kneeling on the roof in front of her. "What is it?" The Vice Captain asked the messenger, frowning deeply. "Fukutaichou-dono, the Sine Qua Non and the Espada have entered Rukongai and they are headed towards Seireitei at this very moment, it is much too dangerous to stay here. Each member of the Fifth is supposed to meet back at the Taisho."
Staring at the messenger, Maisaku's hand stationed itself over her mouth in shock. A few moments passed before she gathered herself and nodded at him and then he was gone once again. Turning around to look at Roy with worry, confusion and hatred in her eyes she swallowed a lump in her throat. "Roy, we need to go back to the Taisho, now. I'm assuming your little joke about Shunpo isn't going to interfere in our return back to the Taisho. You will get more information when we return." Mai winked and smiled knowingly at the unseated member, nodding to him as she took off in a burst of ten step shunpos. It was time for the battles to begin very soon.
'How did she know I was faking all this time? Did I accidentally show off a bit of my hidden reiatsu last time when I avoided smacking into her?' The facade he had put on didn't seem to work but that only made things more interesting to Roy. He was quite impressed by Mai's attentiveness to her surroundings. There had been very few people that were casually aware of things like that off the bat. His only explanation for her aptitude at detecting his phony act was that he either had done a very bad performance in pretending to be weak, or that this was just the difference that a Vice captain had attained from all the time she had to assess situations that were a matter of life and death should something be missed. It was things like this that really excited Roy about being in Seireitei. There were so many strong individuals much like himself and, as a result, other strong people were naturally drawn to Seireitei either to oppose it or to join forces with them. This meant Roy got the cream of the crop on either side, either by sparring with his fellow officers or by fighting those that opposed their power. 'Well I'm quite surprised now. That weird cross dressing freak was actually telling the truth about a war against Seireitei. Then that also means that there's someone in those ranks that knows I'm here. Someone who very well may be after me for some unknown reason. This makes everything all the more interesting. I can't wait to find out who it is and what their intentions are rather than trying to play guess who. '
A smile crept across Roy's face before he suddenly went off in a series of high stepped shunpos behind Mai. Unlike some shinigami, Roy was built especially for speed. So it was probably a surprise that he was able to do a few forty step shunpos to catch up to his vice captain's casual ten step shunpos that she were taking so that he wouldn't be left behind. Now that he was by her, he slowed down his steps so that he could perform shunpo on par with her's. "Thanks for waiting for me, but let's take the pace up to forty steps so we can get back faster."
Feeling Roy coming up beside her with his shunpo steps flaring, she snickered a bit at him and rose her eyebrow playfully. "Only forty? Why not a couple of hundred?" Winking once more at him, she grinned and waved. "See you back at the Taisho." Immediately, she disappeared from his vision, her form already landing at Taisho's grounds.
Roy was left behind eating Maisaku's wake of dust as he watching her zip out of sight with little concern for whether he knew the way back to the Taisho or not. An animated sweat drop appeared on the side of his head as he had a kind of annoyed expression on his face. "Not cool."
'That's what I get for trying to impress her... Great, now how the hell am I going to get back without getting lost? The sounds of foot steps to his right made him turn his head to the solution of his troubles. There beside him was the messenger that had delivered the not in the first place. They were taking steps at the same speed and Roy could only produce a sly smile as the messenger took a moment to stare back at him. He tackled the messenger and hopped on the back of the man dressed up like those classic ninjas.
"The hell are you doing? Get the hell off me you idiot!"
A cloud animated cloud burst between the two as fists and feet came in and out of the cloud along with the chibi versions of the two's heads clenching their teeth. When the dust settled, Roy was on the back of the "ninja" being carried piggyback style. "Now that's we've established who's boss around here.... Onwards to the Fifth Division's Taisho! Or else."
The cracking of Roy's knuckles made the messenger's eyes grow wide open with attention as he straightened up his back and gave a loud "Hai!" to ensure that Roy knew that he acknowledged what he had to do before streaming off in shunpos towards the Taisho. The shunpo steps that the messenger was going were much slowly than before due to the fact that he had to carry Roy on his back while doing them. A small price Roy was willing to pay in order to get back to the Taisho. And since it meant that the messenger wasn't going to get his teeth knocked in, he too was willing to make the trip.
Unfortunately the messenger tired out just before he finished going up the last few steps of the hill just outside of the entrance to the fifth division. Sweating heavily and taking in very heavy breathes of air, the messenger simply passed out then and there without so much as a word of warning coming from his lips. As a result, Roy accidentally ended up sitting on the guy. Getting up and dusting himself off, Roy gave a pat on the man's back. "Thanks pal. I couldn't have gotten back here in the same day without you. You're a real life saver."
With that Roy turned around and walked through the front doors of the fifth division. He disregarded the strange looks the two guards gave him as he proceeded back to his home to prepare for the up coming war. 'Soon. Very soon will you come to find me and then you'll be all mine for the taking. Don't disappoint me...'
Hiana Maisaku = Black
Word Count - 5098
*Plot Mission Material*
It was a dark and tranquil night that was so peaceful, that if one were to drop a pin amongst the paved rocks it would easily be heard. The night shift was something shinigami hated doing, especially when it involved standing post for long boring hours without a thing to keep one self amused. Roy dragged his feet with his back slouched forward from fatigue as he walked over to the Tashio. For some reason the Vice Captain had requested his presence at this ungodly time for some mission that required his expertise. Or at least that's what Ayami told him since he had to ask her to read the letter for him. Roy cursed at being unable to read before kicking a lone pebble across the floor. 'I hate this weather... it's so freaking cold. I'm going to be pissed if I get called in for guard duty after I already did it yesterday.'
The letter in his hand crumpled a bit as he tightened it at the very thought of having to sit around without seeing any action. It was clear he wanted to get more out of his position in the division than paper work and nap time. The only fights he had for the past to days was when he went toe to toe with that cross-dressing martial artist. "I really hate to admit this, but even fighting that weirdo right now would be more fun than sitting around here and doing nothing. At least I'd get some exercise out of the way."
But alas, he could only sign his fate over to the will of the vice captain now as he approached the door belonging to her office. Roy gave a couple knocks to the oak door before sticking his head through the partial opening, "Is the vice captain here?" Walking in he held up the somewhat wrinkled paper in his hand. "I got a letter telling me to come here to take on a late night mission."
A night like this one was exactly what Mai had expected. She stood at her window, gazing out into the midnight blue sky that twinkled with each little star. The moon's crescent beamed down upon the Taisho and lit up the Vice Captain's features as she stood there quietly, thinking to herself. Recently, there had been another addition to the Fifth Division. A new Shinigami, "Roy Fuujin Karosiji." The red head breathed out quietly.
Yukiko had done a field practice with him earlier this month, and had asked - More like ordered... She thought to herself - Mai to do the same with him. Alas, she had given in and said "what the hell?". Her emerald gaze drifted to her door as she heard a rapping, only to be replaced by the expected visitor.
"Yes indeed." She said softly, turning around with her arms crossed over her stomach, offering a friendly smile to her division mate. "I'm the Vice Captain, Hiana Maisaku. Please come in, sit down, Karosiji-kun." The woman gestured towards the chair in front of her desk. On the edge of the large, mahogany desk, there was a study lamp turned on and emitting a warm yellow glow.
Mai moved around her desk and sat down in her own chair, folding her hands beneath her chin as she smiled at the man. He was rather attractive, which only added to Mai's notice how there simply wasn't an unattractive man or woman in the Gotei. She laughed to herself for a bit and leaned back in her chair. "I supposed you're wondering why I called you here?"
"Well, for the most part yes." Roy walked in crumbling the papered letter into a ball before throwing it in front of him as the door closed behind him. The ball of paper went way over and past the desk, bounced off the wall and fell into nearby waste basket located just to the left of chair his superior sat in. He pulled up a seat and eased into it casually himself while eyeing the attractive woman. The slim well-built beauty before him was definitely something he hadn't expected. If anyone, Roy thought he'd find another annoying old geezer much like Hallidad, who had initiated him without him even knowing. It was actually so surprising that the only real thing he could do at the moment was stare into those emerald green eyes of hers. But he then realized what he was doing and quickly regained his composure by clearing his throat. "So... why am I here? Is it for guard duty again? Cause if that's the case I want to just say that I already did my shift yesterday."
'Please tell me it's something much better than just standing around freezing my butt off all night.' Roy thought to himself in the spout of wishful thinking before looking at his vice captain once more; this time he made sure not to gawk at her like some goof ball. It was strange how he lucked out to get in a division in the first place, even graduate from the Academy without even being able to read in the very least. But that didn't matter to him as he sat there filled with a tremendous amount of joy when he thought about the main roster of his division actually comprising of many beautiful women. 'Even the vice captain is a cute chick, so this really is heaven.'
Shaking her head at Roy's question, she leaned back against the table and rested her head in the palm of her hand. "No, it's not guard duty. If it was you would have received a letter saying so instead, probably." She thought back to her time as a novice in the Division. "That's what I used to get at least." Mai noticed Roy's gaze was fixed upon her and smiled secretly. Hnn..
Standing up, she walked around the end of the desk and stood in front of him, pulling herself up to sit on her desk. Slowly, she crossed her right leg over her left one all while she watched Roy with a smile. "First of all, I'd like to ask you something." Mai said softly. "How do you like being in the Division so far? I hope Yukiko hasn't scared you off." A soft laugh emitted from her throat as she leaned her head in her hand, flicking a few of her crimson tresses over her shoulder.
So far so good, most of the people around here are pretty nice for the most part. Yukiko's one hell of a captain to say the least. Not many captains would go out of the way to entertain the new guy, but she kept me from even thinking of being bored with all the fun I had when I first joined. That kidou mine field was a great way to introduce the terrain. After having to get out of there once and then going back to fill in the holes later on, I doubt I'll ever have to worry about where the mines are." Roy leaned back in his chair, pulling his arms back so as to rest his head against them. He smiled a bit, raising up his right so he could rest the ankle on his left thigh, all the while he continued to casually glance at her. She wasn't that much taller than him in height now that he thought about it. The tattoo on her hip sparked a bit of interest from him, but Roy simply couldn't a good enough look at it before it disappeared under the cover of the hakama. Yet he'd have to dismiss his curiosity about the story behind the design that teased him for a later time.
"Why?" He set his right foot back down before leaning forward, placing his hands on the arms of the seat. His brown eyes meet those emerald green ones belonging to his vice captain for bit before asking, "Have there been any complaints?"
A smile curled upon the red head's lips as she shook her head. "No reason in particular." She said softly, straightening herself and leaning back a bit with her hands supporting her upon the mahogany desk. Shifting her left leg to rest over her right one instead, she didn't break the eye contact they had. She was always seeking for someone who could hold a strong connection when it came to eye contact and this one seemed to be that kind of person. A strong connection meant a strong personality. "I just like to know if my subordinates are happy." Sang the Vice Captain, letting her gaze drift out the window briefly.
Maisaku closed her eyes for a second and emitted a soft sigh which seemed to have the weight of the world hidden within it. Returning her gaze to the unseated member before her, she tilted her head a bit and watched his dark features. Another smile formed upon her lips. "You know about the Ryoka business, right? Because of this, the security around here isn't what it used to be. The Fifth's been working on something top secret, but it's been stolen and our trackers have tracked it down to be in Rukongai."
Jumping off the desk gracefully, Mai's gaze glanced at the stack of papers at the end of the table. "Yukiko assigned me to do some field practice with you." Her gaze returned to Roy's. "I thought this would be the perfect scenario for you. Feel up to it?"
"Heh. Asking me if I'm up for going down into Rukongai to knock a couple of heads around? Sounds like the kind of mission I could have some real fun in." His lips etched back a little more as his smile grew wider, "Lately the only thing I really have been doing has either been tons of paper work or standing still at a dinky little post watching grass grow. To tell the truth, I've been itching to get some exercise and this just looks like what the doctor ordered."
"By the way, you know my name but you've never told me yours. I don't particularly think that's quite fair. Care to alleviate the mystery?" Standing up fully, Roy rotated his right shoulder a bit as he returned the look in kind to his vice captain. "After all, they say secrets can harm a relationship."
"Ah, so very true. But then again, can't women have their little secrets?" Winking playfully, she took the first piece of paper from the stack on her desk, folded it neatly into squares and put it in her pocket. "But if you insist." Mai smiled and walked up to him, noticing he wasn't much taller than herself. Leaning forward, she stood so close to him that she could hear him breathing. "Hiana Maisaku..." Whispered the flame-haired vixen softly.
Pulling away, she turned and sent Roy a playful smile before she went over to the door and grabbed her crimson colored overcoat. Pulling it over her shoulders, she zipped it up, leaving the slit at the end open. "You should probably wear a jacket or a coat or something." She said, stretching her arms over her head. "With winter closing in, it'll get colder on evenings like these."
Roy was beginning to like his vice captain more and more. She was playful enough to attain the attention of those she demanded it from, but restrained herself to point where she didn't send the wrong message. The warm breath against his ear excited him for a moment as she whispered her name to him; permanently fixating it into his memory as she slipped away from him to the door. If she had remained there at his side any longer, she would have seen the blush of red that emerged on his face.
But that wasn't the case as she went to wear her coat while mentioning something about winter and colder days to come. Roy had managed to lose the red on his cheeks before could notice it. Placing a part of his right arm to rest leisurely inside the chest fold of his gi, Roy walked over to the side of his superior. "I'll be fine, I actually have real clothes under this samurai outfit."
With that he reached over with his left and opened the door for her. "Speaking of real clothes. Do you think walking around in Rukongai looking like Death Gods is such a great idea? Are we looking for information, or are we just retrieving the item?"
"Ah, I see. Practical aren't you?" Smiling as she pulled her hair out of her coat and let it flow down her back, Mai blinked a bit as Roy opened the door. "We're only retrieving an item. It shouldn't take long unless the thieves give us more trouble than expected. Besides, where we're going the population is used to seeing Shinigami." Trotting out into the hallway, Mai's emerald gaze glanced around the darkened hallways.
'Good, everyone seems to have settled in.'
Waving at Roy and signaling to follow her, they started walking down the hallways. Maisaku was going over the route to North Rukongai in her head and kept silent while they walked. She would occasionally pick up the piece of paper form her pocket and study it. There were several old markings which Roy would have no chance of understanding so she kept it to herself. Lost in thought, she didn't noticed that they had went out the front door.
Mai blinked a few times and was woken up by the chilly air that brushed against her cheeks. Her crimson locks followed the motions of the breeze as did her coat. Looking to Roy, her face showed signs of bewilderment for a moment before she remembered their objective. "Alright. Follow me as good as you can, and I'll try not to run too fast." The Vice Captain winked and disappeared in a quick shunpo, only to reappear on a nearby rooftop. "This way!" She called and set off in a run over the rooftops, heading in a northern direction.
The moment Mai shunpo'd completely took Roy off guard. He had never seen the technique used at that high of a speed before and at first it looked like she just vanished into thin-air all of a sudden. "This way!" The voice called to him from a nearby rooftop. He caught a glimpse of the crimson red coat belonging to his vice captain. 'There's more to her than it seems.'
Roy chuckled to himself at the very thought of being left behind if he didn't push himself to his limits. Running into the alley adjacent to the roof top, he followed her on the ground before gaining enough speed to dash along the wall and leaping to land on the roof across from that of his superior. They were neck and neck dashing along the two roofs as the headed north bound. Roy then jumped across to the other roof to the one where Mai was currently on; landing he crouched down for a moment so as to keep his balance from slipping. This allowed Mai to her get ahead of him a bit once again. 'She's pretty strong... I like that quality in a woman.'
Bursting out once again to full speed, Roy eagerly caught up to her as she seemingly ran with ease. It was amusing for him to be using this much effort just to keep up with his vice captain, who made it look like a walk in the park. A smirk now began to creep onto his face as he tilted his head down a bit while making yet another jump to the next roof top. He was loving every little bit of this mission from the very start. "How far are we going till we reach the checkpoint?"
"Not too far. When you see the Bloodstone walls, we're half way." The Vice Captain yelled behind her, setting off the roof top she was currently on only to land on the one in front of her. Her steps were graceful as she ran, making sure that she wasn't going too fast for her companion. The wind in her hair made the crimson tresses billow behind her whilst her emerald gaze was focused on the white walls that seemed to be, still, rather far away. Not using shunpo to get to her destination was something Mai hadn't done in a while, and she could easily feel the effects. Her breathing had gotten slightly heavier and she felt the small beads of sweat emerge on her forehead.
Abruptly, she stopped. On the edge of a roof top, the crimson haired woman stopped and looked around. "Alright. Just over a few more roofs and we'll get to the end of the Court." Taking in a deep breath, her breathing became normal once again. I guess I should train my physique a bit more...
Pfft. You know what to do, so why are you not?
Mai blinked at the voice in her head. Ara. A rare visitor. The voice scoffed with a hint of amusement within it. Fuyumiko rarely spoke, but Mai appreciated that she came out when she did. Mai chuckled softly and crossed her arms over her chest. I have to set a good example for my Division member, no?
Well yes, however, showing him the techniques of a basic shunpo would not be such a bad idea, would it?
Guess not. Mai smiled and shrugged a bit, turning to find out if Roy was still with her.
Roy was right behind Mai, in mid-jump actually, when she just decided to stop all of a sudden. With little time to react and only two options to choose from, he maneuvered his body so that he threw himself a little to the side. Doing so allowed that he didn't collide head to head with her, but it also did mean that he was heading sideways towards the roof now. His body rolled up along the panels before eventually the outward sticking tiles created enough resistance to bring to him a stop. He was grateful that the rooftops in Seireitei weren't very steep as he began to push him self up so that he could stand. Smooth move. Not only did you almost run into your boss, you barely missed smashing into the wall instead of this roof.
Dusting himself off, Roy turned around to where Mai was. "Hey is this the blood stone walls you were talking about?" He said pointing his thumb behind him at the massive obstruction that looked like a barrier more than a wall. Pivoting around once more, he tried to see if he could actually get a view of the top. But it proved useless as it was too dark to begin with, even if as he bent backwards a bit to help with the angle, he could not see an end to the expansion of blood stone. "We aren't going to try and scale this thing are we?"
Grand white barrier-like walls stood proudly in the direction of which Roy pointed towards. A smile had been on Mai's face from the beginning where he, quite awkwardly, had avoided smashing into her. "Yeah." Jade orbs gazed at the walls that protected Seireitei. At his question, Mai rose an eyebrow at him with a small grin curling onto her lips. "Well, if you want to try that then go right ahead." She said playfully, throwing some of her crimson tresses over her shoulder. "Though, it'll be easier to go through the gate."
A chuckle rose in her throat before she once again glanced at the walls. "Do you know how to shunpo, Roy?"
Roy was gazing off at the bloodstone walls when she had asked him the question. It had been years since he walked outside of the walls of Seireitei and he possibly couldn't hope to imagine what kind of chaos had emerged when he had left Rukongai. That wasn't to say that the place wasn't filled with trouble when he was running around there, but he knocked around quite a few heads back then.
"Shun-po?" Roy had a curious expression that basically said "Okay I'm confused and have no idea what your talking about; so please give me a clue." written out all over as he turned around to face her. He figured it was some kind of new technique that he had yet to hear of, but he withheld his opinion seeing as it could be anything else just that same. Hell, for all Roy knew, it could have been some kind of special dance that Mai was referring to and agreeing to know how to do something like that would be like setting himself up for more fun awkward humiliation. 'Hopefully she'll explain it to me.'
Smiling at the look on his face, Mai shook her head. Man, what do they teach the kids in the Academy these days?
"Shunpo. It's a technique we shinigami use to transport us faster from one point to another. If you're a specialist in hohou and the ways of shunpo, you can go from the center of Seireitei to the outskirts of Rukongai in one step only." Mai explained, folding her arms over her stomach as she spoke. "It is a technique that most shinigami should know once they enter a Division since it will help you greatly in missions where you have to travel long distances, but also in battle where you have to move think fast and evade attacks. Those are the basics of shunpo."
In a split second, the red headed woman's image disappeared from the rooftop and reappeared behind Roy. "Now, this was only a very small step, but if you want me to demonstrate further, I can." Walking around the unseated member, the Vice Captain was now back at the spot she had been standing at before she had used shunpo.
'Oh yeah, that's what that move is called. I forgot about the name of it so easily even thought I use it almost all the time. Better play along anyway.'
"Um... That's okay. Although I am curious how the move actually works, cause it looks like you're teleporting or something. Is that true?" Roy rubbed the back of his head kind of surprised that such speed was attainable through a technique alone. He never imagined the possibilities of moving that fast in an instant. Even now after just witnessing it for a second time, it still seemed unbelievable. Roy was pretty fast before he died and came to soul society, but this just seemed ridiculously impossible. However, if what the Vice Captain said was true about most shinigami being able to use this move, then he was more than capable too. He did pass the Academy after all, that meant he had the potential to accomplish at least that much.
Mai tilted her head from left to right a few times, mulling over an answer. "Well, I guess you could say that. The technique works by channeling reiatsu into your feet and modifying the air around you so that you can 'disappear' and reappear in any place you want. The stronger you are and the more you train your hohou skills, the further you'll be able to go." Closing her eyes as she said this, the red head started channeling reiatsu into her feet, a white aura starting to pulsate softly around her.
In the middle of executing the technique, Mai's concentration was broken by a voice calling her name. "Hiana-Fukutaichou-dono!" Slightly startled, she canceled her energy flow and turned to see a man clad in full black, kneeling on the roof in front of her. "What is it?" The Vice Captain asked the messenger, frowning deeply. "Fukutaichou-dono, the Sine Qua Non and the Espada have entered Rukongai and they are headed towards Seireitei at this very moment, it is much too dangerous to stay here. Each member of the Fifth is supposed to meet back at the Taisho."
Staring at the messenger, Maisaku's hand stationed itself over her mouth in shock. A few moments passed before she gathered herself and nodded at him and then he was gone once again. Turning around to look at Roy with worry, confusion and hatred in her eyes she swallowed a lump in her throat. "Roy, we need to go back to the Taisho, now. I'm assuming your little joke about Shunpo isn't going to interfere in our return back to the Taisho. You will get more information when we return." Mai winked and smiled knowingly at the unseated member, nodding to him as she took off in a burst of ten step shunpos. It was time for the battles to begin very soon.
'How did she know I was faking all this time? Did I accidentally show off a bit of my hidden reiatsu last time when I avoided smacking into her?' The facade he had put on didn't seem to work but that only made things more interesting to Roy. He was quite impressed by Mai's attentiveness to her surroundings. There had been very few people that were casually aware of things like that off the bat. His only explanation for her aptitude at detecting his phony act was that he either had done a very bad performance in pretending to be weak, or that this was just the difference that a Vice captain had attained from all the time she had to assess situations that were a matter of life and death should something be missed. It was things like this that really excited Roy about being in Seireitei. There were so many strong individuals much like himself and, as a result, other strong people were naturally drawn to Seireitei either to oppose it or to join forces with them. This meant Roy got the cream of the crop on either side, either by sparring with his fellow officers or by fighting those that opposed their power. 'Well I'm quite surprised now. That weird cross dressing freak was actually telling the truth about a war against Seireitei. Then that also means that there's someone in those ranks that knows I'm here. Someone who very well may be after me for some unknown reason. This makes everything all the more interesting. I can't wait to find out who it is and what their intentions are rather than trying to play guess who. '
A smile crept across Roy's face before he suddenly went off in a series of high stepped shunpos behind Mai. Unlike some shinigami, Roy was built especially for speed. So it was probably a surprise that he was able to do a few forty step shunpos to catch up to his vice captain's casual ten step shunpos that she were taking so that he wouldn't be left behind. Now that he was by her, he slowed down his steps so that he could perform shunpo on par with her's. "Thanks for waiting for me, but let's take the pace up to forty steps so we can get back faster."
Feeling Roy coming up beside her with his shunpo steps flaring, she snickered a bit at him and rose her eyebrow playfully. "Only forty? Why not a couple of hundred?" Winking once more at him, she grinned and waved. "See you back at the Taisho." Immediately, she disappeared from his vision, her form already landing at Taisho's grounds.
Roy was left behind eating Maisaku's wake of dust as he watching her zip out of sight with little concern for whether he knew the way back to the Taisho or not. An animated sweat drop appeared on the side of his head as he had a kind of annoyed expression on his face. "Not cool."
'That's what I get for trying to impress her... Great, now how the hell am I going to get back without getting lost? The sounds of foot steps to his right made him turn his head to the solution of his troubles. There beside him was the messenger that had delivered the not in the first place. They were taking steps at the same speed and Roy could only produce a sly smile as the messenger took a moment to stare back at him. He tackled the messenger and hopped on the back of the man dressed up like those classic ninjas.
"The hell are you doing? Get the hell off me you idiot!"
A cloud animated cloud burst between the two as fists and feet came in and out of the cloud along with the chibi versions of the two's heads clenching their teeth. When the dust settled, Roy was on the back of the "ninja" being carried piggyback style. "Now that's we've established who's boss around here.... Onwards to the Fifth Division's Taisho! Or else."
The cracking of Roy's knuckles made the messenger's eyes grow wide open with attention as he straightened up his back and gave a loud "Hai!" to ensure that Roy knew that he acknowledged what he had to do before streaming off in shunpos towards the Taisho. The shunpo steps that the messenger was going were much slowly than before due to the fact that he had to carry Roy on his back while doing them. A small price Roy was willing to pay in order to get back to the Taisho. And since it meant that the messenger wasn't going to get his teeth knocked in, he too was willing to make the trip.
Unfortunately the messenger tired out just before he finished going up the last few steps of the hill just outside of the entrance to the fifth division. Sweating heavily and taking in very heavy breathes of air, the messenger simply passed out then and there without so much as a word of warning coming from his lips. As a result, Roy accidentally ended up sitting on the guy. Getting up and dusting himself off, Roy gave a pat on the man's back. "Thanks pal. I couldn't have gotten back here in the same day without you. You're a real life saver."
With that Roy turned around and walked through the front doors of the fifth division. He disregarded the strange looks the two guards gave him as he proceeded back to his home to prepare for the up coming war. 'Soon. Very soon will you come to find me and then you'll be all mine for the taking. Don't disappoint me...'