I want Progress [Closed | Rania]

The dark circles under Rania’s eyes seemed to become just a little bit more prominent with each passing day since her rise to Captaincy. Really, it made her laugh, reminding the woman of Hazuki, infamous for her own—but whether they were born from forced lack of sleep or an inability to sleep, the results were the same. The office in which she currently resided felt more like a second home nowadays—well, perhaps third home was the more accurate phrase. Neither she nor the Head of Public Safety dwelled in the apartment they shared and the home she had with Tokiyo never truly felt like a home anymore after his departure. And yet this office, this office that she made hers felt and ‘smelled’ like home.

Blue eyes became just a bit more somber as she looked around. It was dark; the blinds were closed and Rania had tried to nap to no avail. In her hands was a file—file after file after file seemed like her life now. Was that all there was to Captaincy, she mused. A mental chuckle; surely it wasn’t but administrative duties seemed to haunt even the highest standings of officers.

With the gentle light peeking in from outside, Rania was able to make out a name from the papers sticking out from said file. ‘Kohara Moriya,’ it was read. It was the name of another one of her subordinates, one of whom she was scheduled to meet today. The mood of his fiery Reiatsu had made his presence known, she could sense it very clearly. He was drawing nearer with each step.

With that in mind, Rania finally stood; blinds uncovered and light streaming freely through now.

“Come in,” she responded swiftly to the knock on the door. Rania gave the man a gentle smile, motioning for him to sit. “Kohara Moriya, how can I help you today?”
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Word count: 316
Total: 316

The audible sound of his captain beckoned the grey fox to enter her office. Just the sound of her voice was enough to stir him with discomfort. The air of his tempered reiastu was tucked in to minimal realising that he had displayed his annoyance to the public. With a slight pull of the sliding door, he sees his captain in full view behind her desk.

He took a step forward, closing the door behind him followed by a polite bow in respect of his captain, Raina Fujikagi. Just not being able to sense her was frightening in itself, but her empowering presence of haori, a piece of cloth that represent the ranking that even he - an information merchant from Rukongai dream of wearing .

“Captain…” he paused. Did he forget his manners? Was his bow good enough? First impression matters so much for him, and for all the good reasons. He wanted to be remembered. He wanted to stand out among the fourth, but the bitter after taste of one who displayed brute strength and power were rewarded for little effort.
His hesitant mind wants him to stop, but his body took further steps closer towards the Dame of the Fourth Division. His body flows all the same, but his mind, his mind wants to claw him out of the room and never speak of this again. It wants to reject all notions and desire of control and to improve and become another faceless goon. After all, he would looks the part with his beauty that was once empowered his short appearance. He felt like he wanted to blame Fat Cat but a light touch on his sides reminded him that she was left behind in his room.

The struggle was all on him. His amber eyes veiled by his own, fresh youthful eyelids it is a wonder how his overwhelming efforts hasn’t put a tired mark under his eyes. Compared to Captain Fujikagi, he should’ve put in more effort. Her graceful smile zapped him into place, like an electric shock stiffened his muscles and rooting him into place. Even with the fatigued look, her long black hair and the royal blue eyes radiate the mystic beauty wowed the Grey haired fox.

No wonder the previous Captain Commander Tokiyo Fujikagi took her as his wife, but he wonder if her wisdom parallel with her beauty.

He got closer towards the captain till he besides the seat and as instructed he sits down. He felt relaxed that he had finally managed to get through this without making a fool of himself, but he knew that it is the start and his mind is still hesitant. He looks down at her desk, taking in a deep breath before pondering the words to say to her.

His eyes closed and opened and with a flash of gaze at the Captain of the fourth division, he spoke clearly.
“I would like an interview for the role of Lieutenant of the Fourth Division,” even he felt that he was over reaching, but in life, ‘if you see something that you so dearly want, you take it,’ would come to mind. He knew that his previous path of progression of being recongised was ruined, thanks to Walkren. He had no choice but to take this route.

“I wanted to become a captain, but my strength pale in comparison to yours, but rather than chasing after the haori. I feel that understanding how seireitei and more importantly, the division function is paramount than seeking out for power. The power of many holds much worth than the power of one.”

The line was made up on the dot, mutated from another well-known line, but his mind was still rocked with hesitation, threatening him from caving in and retracts all the hard work.

[636|972]

Rania’s smile veiled whatever her true mood was, be it tired or curious or anything in-between. It also pruned the desire to ask her subordinate about his mood. As much as he tried to hide it, Moriya’s annoyance was painfully obvious to anyone at Rania’s level of perception. She had to wonder why he felt so strongly as such. Was it the constant changing of hands? True, the Fourth had gone through a series of the Haori steadily going through different owners and perhaps that caused stagnation or worse, regression.

How had the division progressed forward since then? Had it progressed at all? Maybe the ‘useless Fourth’ truly was an apt description but for now, Rania simply crossed her arms, a calm expression awash her face. She would let Moriya steady himself. After all, for Rania, this was to be a simple introduction meeting but for the man before her, it would appear to be anything but.

He immediately forewent the niceties. No ‘nice to meet you,’ not an introduction at all even. While Rania didn’t take offense, it mildly surprised her that Moriya jumped straight to the crux of the meeting. She hadn’t been Captain for very long and organizing the division based on how she saw fit and how her subordinates fit the division was going to take time. Yet here was Moriya already aiming for the second highest position of the Fourth, just one beneath her own.

Her eyes closed momentarily. She then exhaled and tilted her head to the side, an inscrutable glint in her eyes. “Very well, tell me why you think your deserve Lieutenancy.”
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Word count: 270
Total: 586

The reality is this: he had so many words to say to his captain. Things that he felt what was wrong with this squad, the capabilities and even outside of the squad – Seireitei itself, don’t get him started with how the daily on goings of Seireitei. He began to wonder if most Shinigami even understood the sheer gravity of preserving the balance and that scares him the most. The lack of responsibility of their key role hurts all that lives in both living and spiritual realm.


The tempestuous aura that he struggled to quench slipped to the minimum, realising that his anger should not be lashed out to a captain who worked hard to clear the outstanding dealings.


“I don’t deserve it,” Moriya replied. He was worried that just saying that would mean the end of conversation, but saying otherwise would leap him further into chasm of arrogance. “If I did, you’d be the first and I the last to know.” In all reality, there are truths in his words. He had done things since he graduated, things that he felt that was above and beyond the actions of average Shinigami. Dealt with every whims and deeds of every fourth squad, gathered a party together and gained permission from Seireitei to embark a mission to extract Kirito from Hueco Mundo. In all honesty, he deserved it, but he refused to say it, knowing full well that he can go one step further. Why reveal the cards when he’s capable of doing so much more.


His eyes glanced from object to object, trying to think of more to say, but it wasn't too long before he continued with a gaze at the tired looking captain of fourth division. “We have grown incompetent. At least that’s what I felt being a Shinigami. Before I joined, I always expected the Shinigami to be on top of things. Sure, some committed shenanigans towards the Rukongai residents, but to witness the stupidity from few that slowly corrupting the many, that is unforgivable.” His voice was neutral, but filled with determination, like an arrow coursing through the air towards the target, wobbling, but always marks the spot it aimed at. “From this, my ambition has grown stronger. My ambition is to remove the incompetence from Seireitei and make fourth squad a self-efficient and capable of defending themselves rather than being reliant with other divisions. ”


He paused for a moment, realising what he had said. He felt his passion, his resolve and determination sings for him for once. He never felt like this in a long time, not since the creation of his information broker business centuries ago.


“I want this Division to be the best division and even if I won’t become a lieutenant, I will - one day - become a captain, even if it means fighting you to take that Haori Captain. Not because I want power, but I want this division to be a shining example of Seireitei’s might.” The expired air escaped from his lips and plopped back onto the guest chair. He felt like a huge weight off his shoulder. He looked back at her with his eyes, there were a glint of determination, but also fraught. He never really knows much about her let alone what she would do next. Although he did have to admit that he could’ve done it better, but he just couldn’t stop himself from talking. "However, to become a Competent captain, I feel that I should learn one or two things from all of the active captain before I could even consider being one."


“So, what do you say? Would you like me to help you with these paperwork?”
He added a nervous flash of smile, half expecting her to respond negatively, after all. He did add a potential fighting talk there.

[602 | 1609]

She wondered, tried to think back. Was there ever a time that she had felt so indignant? Powerless but brimming with hope, with want of change, it happened all the time and was quite likely very prevalent in the Seireitei. Moriya couldn’t have been—wasn’t the only one. But the time from which Rania inherited the Fourth it was already broken. Rise to leadership exposed even more red tape like a bureaucratic military, an oxymoron in and of itself perhaps, and the cracks? Well, they certainly didn’t fix themselves. A broken thing under a new owner was still broken. A fix to the Fourth was going to be a process in motion; not one fix or two, but many over time.

This was why, despite Moriya’s impetuous behavior, Rania decided to calmly listen on. She gazed at him with even eyes, unchanging and deadpanned. Certainly, the proclamation for Lieutenancy had grabbed her attention and for now at least, he had it. He had her attention for a few precious minutes. “Very well, Moriya,” she responded. “Your ambition is quite clear but just having ambition is not enough. In order to make the Fourth better, how do you propose we proceed? What are your ideas for the division you claim to love so much?”

It was easy to point out all the cracks in the system but finding a way to neatly fill in all these cracks was the hard part. Were the solution so simple, it would have been done long ago. “It’s very easy to want to be a Lieutenant or Captain but it is not easy to be one. There’s a distinct difference but…”

There was a sigh from Rania. She supposed as the division's Captain, it was her job to mold such ambition in the right direction. “With that in mind, how can I help you?” She asked again.
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Word count: 312
Total: 898