“Aoede has been missing for months and no one has heard a single word from her." Feng said matter of factly. He was growing tired with the accusations and the crossed looks, it was time he stopped it. At the very least reveal enough to shut them up for a while and get a little of the respect his position called for. "I’m not one for formalities as I know the lot of you are currently coming up with a large amount of ‘witty’ mummy jokes. Believe me I’ve heard them all. They are just as annoying now as they were three hundred years ago. And to answer the question since I know you people have a thousand and one explanations as to where I came from, I’ll answer them. I was in the academy for a short time before I ended up in the accident that caused me to take my wrappings.”
He waited a moment allowing that little bite sting, his voice was monotone and to be fair he didn’t really care what he accomplished. “After that I joined Onmitsu Kidou since as I can see in this room how accepting the Gotei is about appearances. I served in the executive militia as an assassin for the Central Forty Six. However my true love has always been genetics. Is that enough to satisfy you and have you know your place? I do not expect to be anyone’s friend, however I am still the vice-captain and expect to be treated as such.”
Before she could reply saying that her face and the floor were already well acquainted, the mummy was already gone. It was probably for the best, anyways. Atsuko shrugged and took a look at the monitors. The guy with the bandages had said that they should form pairs and check the records for similar peaks. This would be fine, if not for the fact that she didn't know who to pair up with. Just then, a death god who looked like he had just got out of bed made his way into the room. The young man also seemed quite lost, and so Atsuko decided to help him before the mummy went after him.
"Hey there!" Atsuko flash stepped to the side of the reaper, greeting him with a wide grin. "Hi, my name's Atsuko and we're supposed to be checking the records for peaks similar to that one in the monitors. Here, you're working with me!"
Without even giving the reaper time to reply, the young woman dragged him along with a surprising strength. Atsuko took the young man to a free computer and sat in a chair. She pressed a few keys and soon the terminal was ready for them to work on.
"I hope these things haven't changed much since I last used one," Atsuko said, as he browsed her way to the records.
Before she answered, Serizawa closed her eyes and shook her head in disappointment. "Well, I am rather relieved that you shared your life story with me, old man.
"For the sake of subordination, I will spare you the commentary I was going to share with you in response to your little flashback.
"There is but one thing you will find out very quickly about me. I do know my place and regardless of your rank I will share my thoughts and continue to ask the questions I need to know answers to. If you ever want a true vitalizing meal, minus the sugar-coating, you'll know where to find me.
"By the way," she paused with a rather curious expression, "just what is your name?"
In a shunpo Feng was across the room, his zanpakutou drawn and pressed against the woman’s neck its edge dug just deep enough to draw a thin trickle of crimson. “in the milaltia insubordination is a nice way of making sure you disappear, no questions asked. I’d watch your tongue. The blade went back into his sheathe just as deftly as it had been drawn, “I’m Feng Yin.” He said his voice losing its monotone and returning to its youthful tambour. “Feel free to leave. Everyone Else who isn’t at a computer you also are free to go, no use having everyone stand around looking like idiots.”
Her expression did not change one bit. A soft gaze met the one eye she was able to meet, due to his face being covered with so many bandages. "My, my," she said, "Asking for a name really hit a nerve with you I see. Perhaps you did not hear me correctly.
"That was not insubordination, I actually held back, which I was rather proud of. I probably would have lost my head had I said the things I wanted to say in reply."
The seductress moved a bit forward on the man's blade drawing a bit more blood from the wound as she added, "A sharp object to my neck does not scare me, vice-captain. I've been a victim, an object of experimentation, and much more. You will come to learn more about this division and its inhabitants the longer you stay here. That I can assure you.
"You'd also do well to know the laws of Seireitei. Not even captains escape the wrath of Central Forty-six, much less an ex-member of the Onki."
“We’ve all got scars woman, realize that and get off the high horse. You’re not the only person who has been wronged so do not speak as though a victim. Regardless of what has happened to you, you are entitled to nothing. You’d do well to remember that. ” There was a small audible chuckle from Feng as he turned to leave. “I’ll be in my lab mulling over options, if anything of note turns up see to it that I’m notified immediately.” Saying nothing more the boy left. That was one hell of a first impression…
Two teams heading to check it? So where will I go or just stay here? young reaper pondered watching all crowd running around.
Not moved by whole this noise he was starts to do what bandaged shinigami say about checking records. Of course he hasn’t joined any of two teams searching through records but with he could be only burden to them. With a well trained move he opened two additional windows on the monitor and started to look at records. Someone who could see that from side would think that he went crazy as data were moving with such speed that normal person wouldn’t be able to perceive them. But Hanabusa was reading with easy reads them, even sometimes wondering if he could try to do it even faster.
“It’s boring. Maybe I should do something else here,” he stopped felling his fingers getting a little numb from work at that speed. Turning around on his chair looked over other peoples in room.
“Nakamura. You act like asshole again. Luckily if something happens you won’t even perceive this as your brain is permanently in slow mode,” Hajime mumbled under nose after hearing other scientist words and seeing his careless and lazy moves.
Seeing as Atsuko drag other shinigami and forcefully put him on chair Hajime waited till she walk away and walked to him.
“You don’t need to do this,” he said almost whispering. “Vice-captain said he needs someone to inform about this situation others divisions and as I notice he was looking at you.”
As soon as the newly instated vice-captain had left the room, a lone, artificial soul walked up to the main computer, a sparkle in her eye as the young marionette looked at something that wasn’t there. But, there was... actually. She could tell, she could see it all too well.
“Uhm...guys?” she began, trying to get the room’s attention, pointing at the large screen, “I think you should-”
Then, without announcement, an enormous spike of energy shot up from out of nowhere, filling all the monitor’s with a dreadful, shrieking sound... before it disappeared again and, along with it, every single monitor and electrical compliance within the room.
Simply ignoring the words spoken to him, Yasutaka was set to actually finish his mission. He simply walked past the one that talked to him, and fixed his glasses to the point where they actually covered his eyes. The short scientist had left the room as soon as he had gotten the orders. Despite being a shinigami himself, he was still given the creeps by the bandaged man. As he exited the room as soon as he could, the chubby man searched for his targets immediately. Not even twenty meters from the labs, he saw a group of people from the ninth, just standing there randomly. Could there be a more perfect time?
Yasutaka ran as quickly as he could, yelling and calling the people, and most probably even scaring them. As he grabbed the first one of them, he held onto his robe and gasped for his breath. A twenty meter sprint was all he could do, and after that, he would almost fall over every time. As the robe-wearing man looked at the group, he felt them fit for his assignment.
“Okay team, listen,” he started, and to his surprise, he had gotten the attention of the group immediately. “I need you to run an errand for me. This is order from the top brass, so just wait here until I call you okay?”
Every single one of them nodded in harmony, and the man went back to the lab to pick up the data he had left there. It took him only a minute to move there and come back. Just like good lapdogs, the shinigami stood there, waiting for him. As he handed them each a copy, he simply told them where they were to go, and let everyone off. I hope they don’t fuck this up now.
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Ooo I feel like someone ignored me, Hajime thought little surprised when Yasutaka treated him like an air and walking out of the room.
Will that upset you? Tess asked quietly.
Not at all. At least we have now little mess up here so it can happen. But I will take a walk to some places, he thought and walked outside. There he looked as fellow scientist scare a group of shinigami and demand them to wait. Before he came back Hanabusa pull of pair or weird looking boots and put them on.
"Time to check if they work or not,” he said to himself slowly walking to the group. When Yasutaka come back male reaper waited before they all moved and targeting one of them heading into First division direction moved after him with shunpo.
"Excuse me. Are you going to the First division?” he asked the other man after Hajima caught up with him.
"Yes,” replied the other man.
"Maybe I will take this and go. I wasn’t heading there anyway. So what you think about it? I will take this message and you can go back to the division?” Hanabusa was slowly speeding up while speaking with other reaper.
"Hmmm,” other man wanders starting to little lag behind. It was clearly that he can’t move so fast. "Okay but don’t tell everyone that I give it to you.”
"Of course I won’t tell it,” young scientist replied with a smile when taking the paper.
Stopping Hanabusa pull off Hekate and using Charon’s Road appear instantly at the First division ground.
"Okay so now let find someone in meantime when you cool down,” he said hiding to pocket division item.
Moment later Young reaper found near the place he appeared his friend.
"Hajime?” Kaneda asked with a surprise look on her face.
"Takeshi. Good to see you. Here,” he handed her paper. "I want you to give it to someone higher situated in your division.”
"Something happened? other shinigami asked.
"I don’t know yet. Maybe it isn’t any important but seeing like us vice-captain was excited about it I shouldn’t ignore it,” Hajime replied and looked around. "So quiet here.”
"Yes. Captain some time ago went to the Tenth division but otherwise nothing interesting is happening here,” young arcanist said with slight bored voice.
"Anyway I should be going back if something important happen,” the scientist said and turn around preparing to go back.
"Bye Hajime,” Kaneda said and turn around walking to the main building.
"Bye Takeshi," Hanabusa said and looking last time at his friend left the First grounds running back to his division.
"Huh?" Atsuko turned her head as the marionette called for them. "What is- ACK!"
The red-haired reaper overed her ears as the sharp sriek tried to pierce through her head. She closed her eyes and waited for her ears to stop ringing, so when she oppened her eyes the room was already pitch black. She wasn't sure what just hapened, but she was certainly not happy about her progress being lost too wathever was that made that sound.
"Bakudou number five, Mage Eye," Atsuko whispered the words and his eyes turned green, allowing her to see in the dark room.
"Okay," said the goddess once she got net to the woman who had spoken before the blackout, with no trace of her usual cheerfulness in her voice, "what the hell just happened?"
The little back and forth between the sassy woman and Feng was slowly drilling holes into Nakamura's skull. Listening to them argue about who had the more difficult past was made only more annoying by the fact that the new Vice-Captain was had threatened the life of another person within minutes of the first. Apparently, minor disagreements in the Onmitsukido were settled with swords to the throat, a habit that was apparently difficult to get rid of. Nakamura had been weighing a number of snide remarks in his head, gauging how likely each was to get him killed or, at the very very least, seriously injured. The scientist had just about come up with the perfect response to their squabble when the shady Vice-Captain said what everyone had probably been thinking.
Get off your high horse, Nakamura mimed inwardly with a half smirk. Everyone in the Ninth Division had probably been under the knife at one point or another; it showed just how crazy of a place the Research Bureau really was. All warm, fuzzy, and full of twisted physical experimentation. But, before Nakamura could say anything in response to Feng's comment, the adjutant promptly told everyone who wasn't doing anything to fuck off and exited the room, completing his awkward first impression.
"That was quite a grand un-entrance," remarked the scientist with a sigh. "At least they managed to pass a few minutes," he said with a shrug. Just as he began making his way to the door, with hopes of acquiring another cup of coffee from the lounge, the watchers found what they had been looking for. The anomaly was truly unlike anything Nakamura had seen; the readings were off the charts, not to mention the horrible noise they made. Then everyone was left in the dark. "Well finally," he said, massaging his left temple. A moment later a solitary beam of white light was produced from his mechanical left eye, illuminating a fair distance ahead and allowing him to properly navigate through the room of chatty scientists. He found a fuse box and, after a moment of tinkering with the wires and switches on the inside, managed to initiate the emergency power, and clicked off his flashlight eye.
Atsuko instinctively closed her eyes when the light came back. Once she opened them, they were in their original color once again. Apparently it was just a matter of a brunt fuse, and the emergency lights were up. From what the other scientist said, she assumed the sound had come from the main computer.
"Wait," she spoke, "you’re saying that thing was the energy peak?"
Atsuko stopped to consider what this could mean. The energy they were receiving came from Hueco Mundo. She had entered the ninth division decades ago, and had been working with hollows long enough to know there was only one thing that could cause such a peak of energy and came from there. For the first time in years, Gushiken Atsuko was genuinely worried.
"Oh dear," she groaned, "There’s no way that can be good."
"Yeah, no kidding. The sensor data backups better have held this time, or we’re up the creek.” Takashi tried the switch to reboot his station and failed. Muttering curses, the thin scientist slid off his chair and reached into one of the several square-shaped pouches on his obi, taking out what looked like a red tool handle. "Something that big out of Hueco Mundo? We’re gonna need all the data we can get.”
Would the Gotei be deployed to the realm of the white sands again? They’d already been there twice en masse, and the only thing they’d done was get a whole lot of good people killed. Takashi turned the Hephaestus multitool in his hand to screwdriver mode. But if something that could blow out the Ninth Division’s sensors- the sensors built to detect anything and everything remotely Hollowlike- got into Soul Society or Earth... A shiver went down his spine.
Concentrate on the job. Do the job. "Okay, let’s find out what blew and where.” Takashi shoved his wire-rimmed glasses up on his nose. "I’ll take the sensor banks starting on the far left. Hopefully we can hook emergency power to the backups and get some readings on whatever that was.”
Carefree as to the wound bestowed on her neck by the newly appointed Vice-Captain, and partially due to her witty remarks and actions, Serizawa passed a confused gaze at Takashi and remarked, "Does it really surprise you that much that something that size would exist in the wastelands of Hueco Mundo?"
She took a couple of steps toward the monitor in the attempt to make out what the brief glimpse of the image was before commenting further. "I mean seriously," she threw her hand at the fuzzy screen and added, "I've seen much bigger in my lifetime."
"Really, Serizawa?” Takashi rolled his eyes as he yanked the panel cover off the wall. Behind it, wires and circuits coiled like a nest of hibernating snakes studded with microchips and runeplates. "Did it slip your mind that we did a major upgrade after the last fiasco in Hueco Mundo? These sensors should have been able to stand up to the kind of thing we’ve seen in the past.”
He turned the dial on his Hephaestus again, and the tool morphed into a tiny pair of pliers. Not enough light in here. "Bakudou number eleven, Ghost Fire.” Five spheres of cold white fire blinked into existence above his head. The lights moved around his head, positioning themselves to exactly the right angles for Takashi’s work. "Unless someone fucked up installing them, in which case I strongly suspect our new captain will have said fuckup’s head on a platter with his blood for sauce.”
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Note
Rob and/or Will, let me know if I'm wrong here. I would be really surprised if the Ninth didn't upgrade their monitoring gear after the Hueco Mundo PMs, though.
“I’m pretty sure,” Mari began, tilting her head slightly, “that that isn’t the case, miss. Though we’ve had upgrades, it was all done by the Central Forty-Six, so even if they did fuck up, I doubt we could do anything about it.
“But I don’t think that’s the case because… look-” pointing at the screens they magically booted themselves up again, continuing their normal readings as if nothing odd had ever happened, “-whatever it was that just happened, it wasn’t due to malfunctioning equipment. It was most likely because we did the readings on all of the computers so that when those reiatsu jolts shot up, it overheated the mainframe.”
Shifting her attention somewhat more central she said, “Could every one of you currently on monitor duty, put yours on back-up mode and focus the excess energy storage on Takashi’s monitor? Whatever it was that hit us, I’m pretty sure it’ll happen again and if it does, we'll need all the back-ups we can.”
The emerald scientist smiled and leaned on the shoulder of the marionette. A sarcastic smile etched across the woman's face as she said to Takashi, "Well, well, well... I think Mari here should be appointed as our new Eighth Seat.
"What do you think Takashi?" she inquired sarcastically with a smirk to match.
Stuffing his Hephaestus back in the pouch it came from, Takashi nodded to the animated doll. "Can do, Mari.” He couldn’t decide whether it- she?- was sentient or not, but since she was the captain’s creation, it was best to err on the side of caution.
The scientist got up off the floor and sat down at his console, feeling rather foolish. Why had he automatically assumed it was a hardware problem, rather than going through the steps of determining whether it was software or hardware first?
Gee, maybe the fact that we’re picking up something incredibly powerful in Hueco Mundo has something to do with that.
Takashi shoved the little voice of fear back into the corner of his mind and began rerouting systems. "Nah, I’m thinking Third Seat for Mari, seems how she’s the captain’s right hand and all, and lingerie model for you, sweetpea.” He looked up to smirk at Serizawa and waggle his eyebrows lasciviously. "’Cause a real scientist would be working about now instead of posing with the bikini-clad construct.” Before the green-haired woman could respond, Takashi turned back to his computer.
A hearty laugh escaped her nude lips as a hand, decorated with purple polish, caressed her chest.
"You are quite the comedian Takashi," she added, patting the semi dried flesh wound. "Don't be jealous of Mari because you don't have the goods to flaunt.
"It's beneath you," she concluded, throwing a hand in his general direction. Serizawa then turned tail and approached a monitor on the opposite side of the room from that of Takashi. "Now if you'll excuse me we real scientists have a job to complete."
