[PM] [1st/3rd/8th/10th/11th/Open] Week 196: Picking Teams

[Time Lady Katie]

“I don’t intend to die. Honestly, it’s my main thing,” Adelaide was getting slightly more sarcastic than she had already been. She waved him off dismissively. She had noticed someone approaching the Vice-Captain who looked like she had had better days. She made it clear that she was more or less done dealing with Udo for the moment and had other things to do. Meet people. Adelaide loved to meet people, and this person looked like she could use meeting.

She didn’t realize the woman was one of her Division-mates, but probably should have. At the very least, someone powerful but without an arm was still of more utility that one who may have had her left arm, but lacked the skill required to make good use of it. She bowed courteously, as she had when she first noticed the Vice-Captain, and addressed the newly-arrived woman.

This was one of the few times that she thought before she spoke. “Adelaide Pierce, pleasure to meet you.” She didn’t know if the arm was a sensitive topic or not, but she certainly was charming enough to know to avoid such a thing. Walking up to someone and asking what happened to them usually was a way to not make yourself any friends, and Adelaide was savvy enough to realize it. That was more a thing to ask when you got to know someone.

Adelaide also had something occur to her that seemed somewhat unusual. She was here, talking to a woman without anyone else providing an impetus for the conversation, and it wasn’t flirty. Granted, Adelaide was perfectly capable of not being flirty, but often found little reason to choose not to flirt. Right here, though, she figured that this person could use someone whose first reaction had nothing to do with a conspicuously absent arm and Adelaide could use someone besides Udo to talk to. There was utility in trying to establish a friendship here.

324 Words, 1000 Total​

 

[Nekomata]

Ilsa waved a dismissive hand at the Tenth Division shinigami. "Don’t worry, you’re not late.” Another arrival followed hard on his heels, a petite woman with long, straight dark hair. This one bore the Signature of the Arcane on her left wrist. The vice-captain smiled at her.

"Good afternoon, Kamenashi. Have a seat.” She watched as the other arcanist took her place at the table. Kamenashi Yuurei was new to the division, but from all reports she was shaping up nicely. So nicely, in fact, that Ilsa had put her on the First Division roster for this mission.

The smaller woman didn’t have the reiatsu or the experience of most of the shinigami here, but neither was she a weakling. Ilsa couldn’t do anything about the ‘reiatsu’ part, but she could give Kamenashi a chance to gain some experience. This was a scouting mission, not a wartime offensive, and most arcanists fought from a distance when they could. With members of more melee-oriented divisions present, Kamenashi should be able to fight without going toe-to-toe with a more powerful opponent.

Her musings were interrupted by the vice-captain of the Templars. He called me ‘miss’. Ilsa forced herself to nod back politely while she balled her fists under the table. Technically, Reijuu was within his rights to do so, since they were of equal rank and ‘miss’ was a rough equivalent of ‘-san’ for an unmarried woman. But Ilsa hated to be called ‘Miss Maruyama’, or even worse, ‘Miss Ilsa’. It sounded girly. She was fine with being girly off duty- girly things could be fun- but not on duty.

Two members of the Eighth Division contingent had been arguing all this time. Ilsa had been trying to ignore the argument; it sounded like division business. But now they were getting loud. Suppressing a sigh, the vice-captain got up and walked over.

"Is there a problem here that I should knowabout?”

320/952​

 

[Pho]

Udo spotted the vice-captain’s armband on Ilsa, and said, “Oh, my apologies, vice-captain. I’m Tabawara Udo, Eighth Seat of the Eighth Division. I was just discussing with our newest division member, Adelaide Pierce, about whether or not she should volunteer for this mission, since she has only graduated from the academy recently. What do you think?”

Crap! I’ve caught the attention of the mission boss already! Captain Senesati isn’t going to be happy about this…or the vice-captain, for that matter. Just how many people am I going to piss off today?

[91/846]

 

[Shun]

More than one that’s for sure. He could no longer remain silent anymore.

What’s up with that guy? If she’s insistent on going, then why stop her? Ryoujin thought, more annoyed than amused by all of this banter from this Tabawara Udo character.

Clearing his voice, the pink-haired Templar called, flaring a bit of spiritual pressure so that only Udo could sense it, "I hate to interrupt, but I think you’re misunderstanding this, Udo-san. It’s not like we’re engaging any enemies; this is a scouting mission. Adelaide here wouldn’t have become a shinigami had she not been prepared to face the dangers that came with the job. Why’re you treating her like a child and denying her an experience that’ll help her improve? And you forget that she's not here alone. There are tons of seated officers here - three vice-captains at that. Do you really doubt that we can protect her?"​

[ 357 ]​

 

[Pho]

The blademage was startled again, this time by a pulse of reiatsu from someone far, far stronger than him. Ohh crap…

“Oh…no, no, I’m not doubting anyone else’s abilities.”

Now Udo had Ilsa, Seitaro, and this guy to deal with, and Adelaide had already wandered off, with her mind made up. There was only one possible way to fix the situation now. The soul reaper bowed to the collection of people far higher up the food chain than him and said, “I’m sorry for causing this commotion. It won’t happen again.”

Humbled by this experience, Udo decided against saying anything else on the matter. He could only hope that nobody wanted to pursue the issue further.

[116/962]

 

[Code of the Noble]

With his eyes closed and his hand to his forehead, the young vice-captain shook his head. Haven't even been here for five minutes and I already have to deal with some complicated people...

Oh well, it's a part of my job I suppose.

The inked man approached Udo and the others. First, he eyed the officer of the Eleventh and politely said, "I believe that Vice-captain Maruyama can handle herself. Furthermore, you should allow the divisions superior to attend to the reprimanding of one of his own officers.

He placed a hand in the available space between the reprimanding officer and a n unknown body, parting the way. "If you will excuse me, young man," he said to Ryuojin as he shuffled on by toward the First's Vice-captain and bowed politely.

"Apologies Vice-captain Maruyama."

He gestured his hand out toward Udo and requested with a pleasant smile, "May I?"

The silent woman nodded her head in reply to the tattooed officer's request.

"Thank you," he calmly added with a graceful smile. The moment he turned his sights on to the Eighth Seat, his pleasant smile faded away and then was replaced by a more disappointed expression. "You,” he paused, pointing a finger at the man, “Follow me."

 

[Pho]

But of course he wasn’t that lucky. The Eighth Seat followed his Vice Captain to the side, awaiting his fate like a lamb to the slaughter.

[26/988]

 

[Albinocur]

'Damn, it how come I always seem to be running late to these things?' Zak walked through the hallways of the new first division with purpose not wanting to miss any of the impending meeting. Whatever was calling together such a large number of divisions at once must have been pressing and he figured it was likely to do with whatever Captain Tsubaki had run into. His cigarillo puffed as he reached the doors to the meeting hall and was happy to find them open. A number of shinigami had gathered but they seemed to milling about and having private discussions so he figured he hadn't missed anything pertinent just yet. It didn't take him long to pick out the other Templars: Amaya, Kyu, and Ryu had already gathered.

He made his way through the gathered Death Gods to his division comrades. "Hey guys, did I miss anything?"

[148]

 

[Code of the Noble]

With his back turned to lean framed shinigami he began, "You know... I thought I would have this type of conversation with one of the unseated officers.

“But it appears that I am mistaken as I am standing here talking to the division's own Eighth Seat.

"The manner in which you are behaving is totally unacceptable, Udo Tabawara," he concluded with a authoritative tone. Seitaro then turned to meet Udo and looked him dead in the eyes. "You are supposed to be setting an example for your fellow division mates, not acting a fool in a public area, especially in the presence of other divisions and their vice-captains.”

He took a different, more punctual tone with misbehaved officer, "I have you know I do possess the ability to demote officers within the Eighth Division's barracks. You keep this nonsense up and you will be an unseated officer faster than you can release your shikai.

"Do I make myself clear?"

 

[Wayne]

"My, my, what a lovely bunch. I do wonder if this’ll get us killed once the mission begins,” Kyuketsu whispered musingly to himself.

The instant he felt the sudden spike in Ryoujin’s spiritual pressure, the Vice-Captain knew right away what was to come. A shallow grin managed to creep its way up the young man’s face as he watched the Third Seat voice his mind against the green-haired soldier. His amusement was heightened even further the instant the Eighth’s lieutenant intervened in the matter. Unlike his fiery friend, Kyuketsu was by no means willing to engage himself in such trivial and mundane affairs. Although he knew for certain that he had to do ‘something’ as the Templar’s second-in-command.

Affirming his posture, he leaned towards Ryoujin as he pulled him back to his seat. "You heard what the man said. Play nice now, Ryou,” he said, his voice as casual and nonchalant as it always was.

Then, right as he finished, another familiar voice managed to sound off behind him. Glancing momentarily to Zakeriah, Kyuketsu nodded his head and continued, "And no, you’re just in time. Please, have a seat Sir Zakeriah.”​

623​

 

[Redfin]

People weren't getting along already. This could be a really long mission. Picca had taken her time to get to the meeting spot. She was part of the mission and would see it through to the beginning at least. The fourth seat of the first was walking on two legs. She wore the standard hakama but what protruded out of the left side was a piece of metal, not a normal leg.

The metal leg made no sound at all as it stepped along the ground because every time it got close, a thin, shimmering film of reiatsu would stop it from coming in contact with the ground. "Ah'm so aff mah heid," Picca mumbled with an unrestrained accent. Picca moved past the other shinigami and presented herself to Ilsa. "I'm here Vice Captain Ilsa, guess everyone else already got here though."

[142]

 

[Pho]

Seitaro’s first comment really put Udo in his place. If the impatient man had simply kept his trap shut, he may have got what he wanted. Instead, he got threatened with demotion.

When someone asks something important like that, it’s best to look them in the eye when answering, lest they believe you don’t mean it, which then makes the situation even worse. So, Udo looked Seitaro in the eye and said, “Yes sir.”

The wait for his superior’s response felt like an eternity.

[84/1072]

 

[Code of the Noble]

"Good," he replied firmly. Seitaro turned a grim smile into a more welcoming expression as he turned his sights on the First Division's Vice-captain.

The man adjusted his oval frames and approached the woman. "Sorry about that, Maruyama-fukutaichou. I can assure you that will not happen again.

"Now, where were we?"

 

[Pho]

When the vice-captain redirected his attention, Udo knew he was finally free of this roasting. The sad little reaper walked back over the table and took a seat nearby the other Eighth Division members. After a sip of water with a hint of lemon to calm his nerves, Udo sat back in his chair and waited for the mission briefing to begin.

[62/1134]

 

[Nekomata]

An odd sound, like footsteps with half of the sound missing, came from the doorway. The vice-captain looked up with a smile. "Lilli-san! It’s good to see you.” In private, she would use her subordinates’ given names. In public, though, she preferred to give them the dignity of their family names. "And no, this isn’t everybody.” She glanced up and down the table. "Hard as that may be to believe.”

Ilsa looked away as Seitaro began ripping a strip off Tabawara. She almost felt sorry for the Eighth officer... almost. Questioning a subordinate's ability to perform a mission in front of other shinigami- officers from other divisions, no less!- was simply Not Done. It made the division look weak.

She nodded to Seitaro. "Of course, vice-captain." Returning to her place at the head of the table, the tall blonde sat down. "We were waiting for the last of our arrivals. Once everyone's here, we can get this ball rolling."

To be quite honest, Ilsa had her own reservations about the Eighth Division woman in question. A spellblade had to get up close in order to use her unique abilities, from what Ilsa had heard. But it wasn't her place to decide who came or stayed when they were from other divisions. Her job was to make the best teams she could out of who she had.

226/1178​

 

[Albinocur]

"Peaches." Zak said and gave a neck bow. "Vice Captain." Then to his co-seaters. "Amaya, Arashi." He blew the cinnamon laden smoke of his cigar into the air and grabbed a chair before clenching the stogie once again between his teeth. Looking around the room served to reinforce something he was already well aware of, he hardly knew anyone here. He was going to have to make a point of becoming more social among his peers. Even still, he could puck out both old veterans as well as some younger blood mixed among the black-robed soldiers. "Does this have something to do with what the Captain was speaking to us about?"

[113/251]

 

[Shun]

Before he could respond, Ryoujin coughed from the smoke that wafted in the air from the cigarillo that Zak had lit. He had only seen one other Templar smoke, and that was the Captain herself, but no one could really compare to the curly-haired co-third seater. In fact, although the youth was a good drinker, Ryoujin could never really see himself ever smoking.

After taking a moment or two to recover, he finally opened his mouth.

"Eh, I'm pretty sure it does," the pink-haired boy said, "That would at least explain why Tsubaki had us all assembled and prepared for something like this right after she got back from Las Noches."

The mere mentioning of the dreaded place in Hueco Mundo produced several goosebumps and chills of anticipation down his spine.

"To be honest, Zak, I dunno what we'll find on the other side. Maybe this could all be a trap, and we could get ambushed, or maybe there's nothing left in those dunes. All we can do now is really wait for the others to show up and for Ilsa to give us her orders," he said. As lame as it was to admit it, that was all they could really do in this situation. Although things had certainly gotten off to a shaky start in this meeting room, there had to be some semblance of order sooner or later. Else, they might as well find themselves purged from existence by foes that were just as fearless as the dreaded Espada.​

[ 609 ]​

 

[Abbey Rose]

“Do we really have to wait for them, though?’ Griffin spoke up, “I mean, how many people are actually missing? If its only two or three, then someone can fill them in when they get here.” He felt like he was speaking slightly out of turn, but as there was no one else from the Tenth, he had to make sure they had some voice in this meeting.

“We can’t just sit here all day and wait for them,” the Norseman paused and took a sip of his water. He smiled in appreciation of the chill that went down his throat. “If they’re late, that’s their own damn fault.” He would have said the same thing if it had been him who they were talking about. Late was late, no matter who it was.

135/326

 

[Cad]

Kurohashi grew restless, silently gripping the hilt of his battered zanpakutou with agitation. Little more than ‘Hueco Mundo’ need be mentioned to the reaper when his division was notified of the mission. It was more than obvious that the silent figure had little interest in congregating with others, especially outside of his own division walls, but he wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to go back.

Scouting mission or not, there was something strange – enticing – going on in the world of the damned. The Gotei must have found out about it too, otherwise they wouldn’t be here right now. What would they be searching for, though? When would they finally be unleashed again? Kurohashi could hardly think about it any longer before becoming more consumed by the intoxicating thought...

128

 

[Beaks]

Tsubaki
Hamataru Jin
Maruyake Hotaru (Firefly)​

"It might, Zakeriah." Behind the assembled Shinigami the Templar Queen walked up to her assembled officers, wearing an oddly out of place smile on her face. "Then again, even I had no idea our foe would make itself known this quickly." Giving the young man a pat on the shoulder Tsubaki slowly waded through the crowd of soldiers until she reached Kyuketsu.

"As Vice-Captain I don't need to tell you to keep our people safe, Kyu-kun." With speed rivaling a bolt of lightning the woman placed a folded piece of paper in the Heartless Angel's empty hand, closing it around the parcel just as quickly. "Don't worry too much about what you find in that endless desert. I have a strange feeling I'll be at your side before too long."

---

Hotaru felt like she had made a big mistake as soon as she walked into the crowd of assembled blades. There were so many powerful people in the room and she felt as insignificant as an ant. She walked over to the table with the other seated Templars. She felt hollow and naked. She couldn't even hear her Zanpaktou spirit yet and she was signing up to go to Hueco Mundo? She was mad, utterly mad.

"I'm sorry," the pale girl muttered, " I think I made a mistake. I should leave. Umm... yeah, sorry." The death god spoke and walked quickly back the way she came, trying not to notice the many eyes staring at her. Her face was a red as her eyes as she reached to open the door to escape. Before she could touch the handle, it swung open and cracked her in the face.

She sat abruptly on the ground, her head swimming and her nose throbbing and dripping blood on the floor. What the hell? She looked up as soon as she felt her eyes focus and stared at the laughing death god who just broke her nose. She was going to hurt him and she was going to enjoy it.

---

Jin's laugh was empty, hollow as the creatures they were being sent to fight. You are a real damn piece of work, you know that Hamataru? Smacking the bridge of his nose with the flat of his right palm the Eleventh Seat reached down to offer the girl a hand. "I'm really sorry 'Taru. For what it's worth I thought that was Tsubaki on the other side...of..."

Jin's voice trailed into ether as his eyes landed on the Templar Queen, who had very clearly just witnessed his act against the unseated girl. "...I am a dead man."

---

"Not yet you're not." In the span of seconds the Eleventh's Captain had cleared the assembled soldiers, grabbing the boy by the collar and dragging him out of earshot. "Hamataru, would you mind explaining breaking the girl's nose before you have even entered combat?"

"It was an accident, Tsuba-"

"Captain Tsubaki, Jin." The woman's lone leonine irises bore into him without constraint, the intangible ferocity of countless battles brought to bear against him as if he were an enemy as well. "It seems you've already forgotten our little talk, is that it? If so I can easily bring this matter to someone else...maybe an outside opinion may help the lesson stick."

"No!" He blurted out the word thoughtlessly, a reflexive tell of just how rattled the past few days had made Hamataru's nerves. "That...that won't be needed, Captain. My loyalty is to you, and if you want me to keep Hotaru safe-"

"No, Jin. You want you to keep Hotaru safe. You want that girl to come back from Hueco Mundo alive, because doing so ensures that you come back alive as well. I don't know why my uncle chose you Jin, but I guarantee that if harm comes to that girl and you do nothing to stop it...you're going to wish he hadn't."

Dropping the boy onto the ground with the release of his collar, the Templar Queen started off back towards her Division. Nearly all of her officer core was being sent into the endless sands of Hueco Mundo without her presence, and only one man held the true reason why.

---

"Believe me, I already do." Dusting off the thin film of dirt that clung to his backside, Jin watched the Captain depart until she was out of sight, refusing to believe the woman had indeed departed until he witnessed it with his own eyes. Making the trip back to Hotaru in nearly record time, the boy did his best to manage an apologetic smile. "Sorry about the nose...I don't suppose it helps to say it gives you character?"

[637 (Inc. Note)] -Antares-
[207] Firefly

Note for yew, Wayne

Kyu-kun,

If I can't be with you all, it falls to you to bring our people home safe. That sword has returned from Hueco Mundo twice, it will keep you safe as long as you put your faith in it. I don't care if you don't want help. We don't fight alone, Kyu-kun. Come back alive, that's all I ask of any of you.

Tsu