Do I Have What It Takes?[Closed/Hazuki]

Very few people in the Third had actually seen Hazuki do any work since she had taken up the mantle as the newest captain of the division, and yet it seemed there was very rarely—if ever—anything that got passed to the captain’s office that was left undone. Shinigami from the Fourth though reticent as always were all too happy to feed the rumor mill that surrounded the latest addition to the most senior officer’s corps in the Gotei. Some were convinced she didn’t sleep—the dark circles under her eyes certainly seemed to indicate something—others were concerned by the fact that she displayed little to no interest in any of the Demon Arts save for a dabbling in Kaidō. Word had got out that she was largely an autodidact in that particular discipline, and while that had impressed some of the unseated Shinigami, the officers under her command were less than pleased.

Hazuki, of course, paid them no mind. Addressing the issues such as they were would amount to very little, she suspected—not to mention the fact that neither her sleeping pattern nor her training was any of her subordinates’ business. In a word, Hazuki’s captaincy thus far could be summed up quite succinctly: efficient and impersonal. Nobody really knew her in the same way that nobody had really known the lieutenant of the Fourth Division, but they knew of her. They knew that if something needed to be done, odds were Lieutenant—no, it was Captain now, wasn’t it?—Hazuki had probably already done it.

No, for the average member of the new and improved Third Division, the new captain was little more than a signature at the bottom of a set of orders and structural reorganization directives, and there had been quite a few of them. That much, Hazuki knew, was obvious: her main objective thus far had been to trim the fat, for lack of a better term, and despite the scattered misgivings within the rank and file, many seemed to appreciate a return to form for the Third. The reformation of the Kidō Corps had been met with what Hazuki herself could best describe as shock laced with excitement, and the removal of the former captain’s pet projects—no doubt something the First would find itself saddled with, to Hazuki’s muted amusement—had freed up a great deal of manpower that could be put to much better use. Whatever had possessed Wakahisa to concern herself with the residents of Rukongai, it was not an impairment Hazuki suffered; henceforth the Third would devote itself to the Gotei and little else, as it had always been meant to do.

But very few people had actually seen her do these things. Nobody saw her doing them. Whenever someone visited her office, seven times out of ten she was lounging in her chair reading a book or tinkering with her ikebana, the other three she was nowhere to be found. Nobody had seen her leave or had any idea where she might be.

Today was one of the seven times: with her feet on her desk—bare, somehow, as it always seemed to be, save for her swords—she was leaning back in her chair with her nose buried in Heart of Darkness when the soft rap at her door caught her attention. She tore herself from the utter blackness at the mouth of the river Thames momentarily to peer at her secretary. If Hazuki was disappointed at being torn from her book mere pages after starting, she didn’t show it. All she offered in response to the announcement of her visitor was a slight pause, and then a vague motion of her head as if to say alright, send him in.

A moment later, her visitor entered, and Hazuki let him stand at attention as she finished the page she was on and then gently closed the book, cradling it in her lap as she gazed at what she had been told was one of the newer additions to her division.

This wasn’t the first time she had played welcoming party to a new recruit—Shun had asked her to perform that particular function a fair amount of times in the Fourth—and truth be told, if she had chosen a lieutenant yet then she wouldn’t have done it this time. Her mother, father and mentor had all been of one mind when it came to captains of the Gotei: they were symbols of their divisions and of the strength of Seireitei. Lieutenants were the face of the division, the ones everyone trusted and went to for help, but the captains were reserved for admiration. For it to work properly, distance was required, because it made those rare moments when praise or admonishment came directly from the commanding officer all the more important. It was important for everyone in the division to know that their captain was firmly on their side, just as it was important that their ways remained shrouded in a certain mythicism.

Anyone who thought a lieutenancy was something to be taken lightly was, quite simply put, an imbecile. There were some who held the view that XO was a far more important post than CO, and even now, as a full captain, Hazuki tended to share that sentiment.

Still, she was without a lieutenant for the time being, and she would have to make do.

‘You’re early,’ she announced, as if she was making note of the weather. It was a statement that lay everything at the feet of her subordinate and said nothing about herself: she made no attempt to quantify it with I was expecting or must be because—just two words of pure observation. She looked him over, in no particular hurry, then gracefully lifted her feet off the desk and settled into her chair in a manner far more befitting a woman of her pedigree: straight-backed with one ankle tucked behind the other. Her book had found its way onto her desk, and she crossed her arms.

‘Tell me about yourself, Kamizawa.’


°1,015

How long did it take to finish reading a page of a book? Even such an intriguing story such as Heart of Darkness that made the reader think about the absurdity of evil and think if you can judge evil with moral standards and social values. Although Minoru personally hadn’t read the book he knew of it and what it was about from his late friend Taro who loved to read in his downtime and tell Minoru all about the various books he has read, Heart of Darkness being one of them as Minoru could remember Taro mentioning that he was interested in the

Chikki Ume chimed in as he continued to wait: “Perhaps she is testing you. Seeing if you are a biddable little dog that will stand to attention for hours on end, eh?” Minoru didn’t respond or show any impatience, after all, he was an obedient soldier that would indeed stand for hours on end or do whatever the captain would ask of him. He chooses to ignore the annoyance of his spirit and just like a child she would get louder and louder to try and distract him as she hated when Minoru ignored her.

Hazuki was about to finish the page she was on and while she did Minoru took in her unique beauty. She reminded him of a gymnast or swimmer; her body seemed slim however held firm muscle tone and for whatever reason, the captain had an air of grace around her that would suck in Minoru’s crimson eyes that drew his attention. Perhaps it wasn’t just her rank that captivated him to stand firm and tall like a tree but the aura of superiority and regalness she held.

She put the down the book; Minoru could tell she was staring straight through him. Examining his every feature and taking mental notes. However, this was made clear when she said he was early, her voice unclear in tone to him if this was a positive or negative however it made him tense, it felt as if the captain had him tied to a chair and was interrogating him. As she was looking him once over Minoru did notice her carefree and relax posturing only for her form to become one more fitting for their current relationship with one another as this was a formal greeting. It was good he thought that the women before him could indeed distinguish between the need to be structured and informal.

She asked to know more about it, and this is where the nerves of the male could definitely be seen through his eyes that hid no emotion as the rest of his face lied and looked confident and stress-free. He wondered if she could read him, a lot of people had that trouble because of the mask he wore and how he was able to suppress a lot of his body language to hide his true self.

“I believe on a personal level there is nothing to tell, Captain. I am a soldier under your control and will kill, die, sacrifice myself or even hold the darkest secrets if you so asked me to.”

He stopped briefly considering if his answer was sufficient but he decided he’d be a little more honest with the women who Minoru would be serving under as after all if he couldn’t get along with her, Minoru definitely would be an outcast within the division. “I am sorry ma'am, please let me answer the question again.”

He bowed.

“I also like to read to an extent, nothing beats the solitude that reading gives you. Personally, I haven’t read: Heart of Darkness, however, I know of it and believe it is an interesting outlook on the concept of Imperialism and the madness it can bring. Besides reading, I enjoy the simpler things in life however I doubt you want to hear more of what I like or dislike.”

He gave a warmth smile; this one wasn’t forced however as he was starting to calm down as he continued standing proud and tall. Eyes flickering from one wall to another taking in every nook and cranny of his surrounding so he could paint a mental picture in his mind. Minoru was unsure of what to say, did he wait to get asked a question or would Hazuki be more impressed with him taking the intuitive to spark up the next part of the conversation. Surely she would want to know about his combat skills and feats and what he was capable of. Perhaps it was best he made his intentions clear that he wished to join the Kidō Corps in his pursuit of perfecting his skills with Bakudō and Hadō.

Chikki Ume broke the brief silence within his mind and urged him to do the right thing and be honest as she knew the women before him could read Minoru like a book and didn’t want the answer she was expecting but rather the answer she wasn’t. He spoke one last time before completely shutting up for a response as he voice changed slightly. The confident tone was there and lingering. However, his voice carried a weight to it as if he spoke from the innermost part of his soul. His desires expressed forth.

“I do wish to join the Kidō Corps as currently I see myself the strongest in the demon arts and have a unique desire to learn more. The power to protect is one I want to have. You know when we had the invasion years ago I was angry at myself. I wasn’t strong enough or experienced enough to help at the time, and I feel partly the deaths of so many innocence are my fault because I couldn’t even try to help. Captain may I ask a question…?”

“Will I find the strength to protect the people here? Will I be able to become someone who can prevent Hollows from devouring souls or the Arrancar from killing for fun under your command?”

The light-hearted atmosphere that turned formal was now even more severe; it was as if the room was submerged in a thick darkness and the tiniest ray of hope was admitted from the Captain’s direction. Was she the light that could lead him and help Minoru hone himself?

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