The Long Road Home [Open]

Flipping through some of the sheets she had just received she walked with a steady pace through the lustrous corridor on her way to the Interrogation department. There were a couple of interesting things on the schedule today and the Captain had decided to pry into some of them. With the current state of things it wasn’t a bad idea, in her opinion, to put some pressure on certain matters.

‘Nakamura Akihiko’ one of the pages said with ink which had barely lost its glossiness. The pace she went at didn’t change, but her eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. The name did ring a bell, but it took her getting till the next corner by the time her mind had dug it up from the labyrinth that was her mind.

“Interesting.” she muttered under her breath while passing one of the first guarded doors. A glance at the Shinigami opening it for her was how she showed her appreciation. He seemed to be fine with that.

Reported by the Fourth to have opened a Senkaimon-
…missing for about a year…
Taken from the Fifth into custody.

She didn’t pay attention to the other points stated by the smudged writing. Magahara would have probably murdered the one who had written this report. High likely the murder weapon would have been a fountain pen, or a feather. Kasumi wasn’t entirely sure. It didn’t matter. All that did was her taking out the report and deciding to head there first.

The room they had placed him in was a small one. Not that many of the interrogation ones were absurdly spacious. Still, some of them held more than a table with some chairs and a small bunk the seize which Kasumi herself would find uncomfortable after about ten minutes. Perhaps being around six feet wasn’t always equally handy.

“Well then,” she signed off one of the papers before heading inside. First visit of today.

“It’s been a while Akihiko.” Bluntly stating the fact she sat down and placed the report on him in front of her. Now that they were nearby she wondered if he would even recognize her – their meeting had been fairly brief and she had been smaller, louder, and warmer.

“Care to tell me how you’ve been and where you’re been?”


381

'Getting his ass reamed' was all Akihiko had thought would happen. Sure, some stern questions, but he honestly wasn't nervous about the ordeal. A year? In the grand scheme of things, for a Shinigami, what's a year? When you could live thousands, it wasn't even the blink of an eye really. So, as he was near immediately detained and escorted toward's Second Division he was truly boggled by the sudden attention he had received. The duo who led him, as he went willingly, were stern and professional--a hallmark of the Second Division. They couldn't let their hair down for one day. Every day it was 'reports this' and 'spy on that' or hell, for all he knew, 'assassinate this upstart noble'. Either way, he wasn't the fastest Shinigami so he wasn't about to try and outrun a Division who prided itself on being in every shadow. 


Reaching the small room, Akihiko took note of the writing on signs along the way. If he had to hazard a guess, this was a full blown interrogation. That meant a Seated Officer of some sort would be along to poke and proud holes in a story that already had little chance of floating--truth or no. Despite this, Akihiko remained the poster boy for confidence by maintaining a small smirk and a relaxed seated position. Slightly slumped in the chair, Awaisubeta was no longer sheathed behind his back. The sealed Greatsword was taken, likely as a measure of precaution. He could understand it, really. He had been missing, he was an unknown variable. Better safe than sorry. 

After what Akihiko assumed was a waiting period designed to make him second guess either his story or himself, the door opened. A mix of emotions hit the Shinigami. Finally! Someone he knew! And while it had been over a year for her, it felt as if only a few weeks ago the duo were patrolling slaying Hollows. That relief he felt chilled to a sinking feeling as he saw the Haori. It should have been the first thing he saw, but Aki was ever the one to be distracted by a pretty face. The blunt matter of fact tone made Akihiko almost shift in his seat. He wasn't a fool. He could play a damn good one, but beneath that exaggerated facade there was a soul that had been around the block more than once, especially in the Rukongai. Hailing from the outermost rim, the large swordsman knew a dangerous situation when he saw it. The fact that Second's Captain was here sent red flags all over the place for him. Nevermind that the Captain was someone he knew a year ago as not even being a Lieutenant. Something had happened in his absence, something that had catapulted this young woman to heights he felt she shouldn't have reached so quickly. Something had happened to create an opening in the first place. 

And something had happened for a Captain to warrant a face to face. Sure, it may have been she recognized the name, and Akihiko hoped it was, but her tone suggested otherwise. No wasn't the time for a cavalier attitude, as this was clearly no laughing matter. Instead, he stood as she entered, a slow move, before offering a bow of respect. 

"It has been, Captain." It was stated matter-of-factly, no underlying jealousy or disdain. It was simply that: she was a Captain, and he a grunt. Whether or not she motioned for him to sit, he wouldn't until she did--if she did. He answered her question with a shrug of his broad shoulders and a rubbing of his neck. "I've been well, I believe. As for where I've been..." He paused, allowing his hand to drop from his neck. "I honestly have no bloody idea. One minute I'm fighting an Arrancar and a Hollow--and not just a squishy mask either. This one thought, and spoke. I fought them, and when things started going south I.." It wasn't strategically wise to disclose the nature of his Zanpakuto, "managed to break line of sight and hunker down. That's the last thing I remember." 

A pause of silence before Aki, true to his nature, took a stab at lightening up the atmosphere in the room. Shifting slightly, be it standing or seated if Kasumi sat, and gave a small grin. "You look good. Haori suits you."

730

“Do sit down,” she threw in somewhere between the last things he said.

His attitude had changed from the last time they've spoken as far as she could remember. At the moment she couldn’t be too sure if it had to do with the haori she was wearing or whatever had happened to him between then and now. Perhaps the pressuring atmosphere of the Second had something to do with it, too. She would need to try to find out. Unfortunately, as things stood now, it seemed that there wasn’t much to pry into. In fact, there was barely anything at all to go on from.

Figuring to get a bit of help by digging in on another level, she let her reiatsu perception strain as it focused on the only other Shinigami in the room. Having never been a master at reading people, like for example the Chindas had been, she still tried to from time to time. Practice makes perfect, wasn't that what was said? It probably wouldn't work for her, but she pressed on. Soon she had to go through a comfortable, wrapped sensation which appeared to be the natural state of his reiatsu. In a way it reminded her a bit of a blanket. A light one.

Reaching deeper her mental fingers bumped into something more solid. There he was, and he seemed to be a bit of a knot. Some cautiousness, a bit of worry, but mostly surprise and confusion. Either he was better at her in this game of hiding and showing emotions, or he truly had no idea of what had happened to him. She frowned a bit harder, but not because of his comment.

“Thank you,” she replied automatically while her mind still busied itself with the idea of having no memory of a whole year. “but let’s not get carried away.” the added bit sounded a bit more casual, she wasn’t trying to scare or impress him. In fact, she only wanted to know if he truly had forgotten everything during his time of absence.

“Tell me more about the fight you were in.” A pause, she smiled slightly. Some might find the curl of her lips reassuring, others disturbing. She would soon found out how he felt about it.

“Try to remember.”

Something was scrabbled down on the mostly filled in report. Taking notes was handy during times where she tended to forget things. Checking if the Fourth had any data on the place he had gone missing at and any potential portals in the area, during that time, could be a lead.


433/814

Unsure if the suggestion to sit was just that, a suggestion, Aki complied anyway. Sitting back in the seat he took a comfortable position. His legs, stretched out before him, he seemed to slump a bit in the chair, bare arms folded in his lap. His shihakusho sleeves had long been ripped off, during the battle he had previously spoke of. Of course, he was the one who ripped them off. Freedom of movement was important, and while the uniform was hardly constricting, the feel of the cloth on his arms rubbed him the wrong way. Damn things were just so droopy. At her suggestion to stay on track and not get carried away, the large swordsman nodded. This was hardly the time, he'd agree. While missing a year was serious, and Akihiko was certainly confused, it came from Seireitei's willingness to detain him. Sure, just doing their jobs, but it was just a year. People had been missing for far longer--still were. The conversation moved on, and Akihiko's emerald eyes surveyed the young Captain in front of him. His reiatsu, still calm, seemed to be settling even more. As if her words had grounded him, or perhaps her presence. Or even perhaps that she gave him something to focus on, something he could actually do. Akihiko was a man of action, though plotting and thinking weren't outside his realm of being. It was simply that doing something was better than doing nothing.

And so, another nod was given. "Right. Well, decided to patrol Karakura. Work on my reiatsu perception a bit, as I'm bloody terrible at it. Ran into a human who I would come to find out was a Quincy. An Arrancar shows up, we chin wag, and of course a fight breaks out. The moment it does, another Hollow appears raining down it's creepy lookin' mates while trying to get to the Quincy. Being that protecting humans from Hollows is what we do, be they Quincy or other, I told her to leave. Eventually things got pretty hairy, and I took a few knocks. Needed a breather after hiding the Quincy, but I was pretty banged up. So I got outta dodge, and that's the last thing I bloody remember. If they'd found me, I'd surely be dead. Rightly pissed em off, I did, so I don't think they'd just let me sleep it off. If that's even what I've been doing." A heavy sigh and a shrug. 

"Fight was pretty fast paced, do-Captain." Catching himself on the term of endearment he had used the last time they were together, he trudged on. "And I'm just a grunt. My job description is to literally hit things with pointy objects until they stop moving."

He leaned back in the chair now, perhaps too relaxed, but Aki wasn't one to stand on ceremonies. The front two legs of the chair were off the ground as he leaned back. A small smirk appeared as he raised his emeralds to the roof of the room. "Damn bloody Arrancar had a conniption. Don't think she expected some grunt to give her a run for her money." A huff as he let the front two legs snap back onto the floor and he sat forward, arms resting on the table. Ever one to not pass on a quib, he raised his right hand, left over his soul sleep. "That's all I recall, 5th's honor."

570+730+511=1,811

His story really wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. The only problem was the time between his fight and him showing up in the Seireitei. Slowly chewing on the inside of her cheek she wondered if someone had taken him to a lab, or to Hueco Mundo. It wouldn’t be the first time that happened, and he certainly wasn’t the only one to lack memories.

She hummed, watched him lean back and wondered if his disappearance could be linked to what Shigure had told her. Kidnappings happened, but there was always a reason behind them. Some of those taken were tortured for information, others had been used to experiment on.

Tapping the desk a couple of times with the other side of the pen she held, Kasumi wondered if the last scenario was the plausible one. People shaken for information mostly didn’t make it out in one piece. Once the important matters were pulled out of them by any means necessary the traumatized prisoners were no longer needed. If anything they would just bring more trouble later on. Way more than they were worth after a successful interrogation. So, should someone had taken him then they might have tried to adjust his memory to make sure that he wouldn’t tell on them.

“Have you been feeling anything unusual so far?” Of course it was pretty early to see if he felt anything but confusion, and perhaps some relief of being home. But in case that he did, she would have to know.

“Oh, and another thing, how is your communication with your Zanpakutō going?”

While she wasn’t sure if he actually communicated with his Spirit, she figured that it was best to ask about it as well. Considering that disturbances occurred when one was under stress or turning ‘ill’.

Letting the pen rest on the table she called forth a hell-butterfly. Her eyes briefly flicker over Akihiko before speaking her the short message she had in mind. “Officer Wuyts, this is the Captain speaking, I’ll be there with Nakamura Akihiko in a couple of minutes. Please make sure that everything is ready.”

With a quick motion of her hand she signed off the papers and got up from her seat. “Unless there is something else you would like to tell me, let’s go see Wuyts.” Assessing his state of mind to her best ability, she tried to see if he was getting nervous. So far his quite relaxed posture told her that he didn’t feel as if he was in any sort of trouble. Having a hard time to believe that he would be as stoic as the Seconds members, she hoped that he wouldn’t disappoint her later on.

“To the left, end of the hall.” Kasumi said after opening the door. Holding the file in her left, she waited for him to exit before following. The hall was quite long, with directions speaking of different branches of the same department. This was the peaceful part of the interrogations; the rooms weren’t soundproof and didn’t have to be.

The door slid to the side as they approached it. A thin hall lead to a spacious room with multiple floor connected by shiny steal stairs. Racks were filled with weapons. Every single one bearing a the name of the owner and a unique code. It looked like a library for Zanpakutō. In a way it was, except that you couldn’t loan one here.

“Captain,” she earned herself another bow to which she replied with a short nod. Soon the older Shinigami was handing Akihiko his sword. The weapon looked almost ridiculously large. Wuyts’ hands seemed small and fragile when he placed it on one of the large tables in the middle of the room.

“Nakamura Akihiko, 36J8Y.” the sheet with his number and name on top of it was placed next to the sword. “Looks good,” the man with his dark hair smiled politely. Salt seemed to have been sprinkled over his head here and there; bits of gray and silver. She wasn’t sure how old he truly was, but he did his job well. She appreciated that.


687/1501

Her questioning continued and he lowered both hands from their positions, resting them upon the desk between them. A fair question, he felt. Missing a year would be cause for medical concern, after all. Something could very well be wrong. Aki quickly stood and began patting himself down, as if this was perfectly normal. He even went so far as to count his fingers and toes. "Well, Captain, I got all me important bits. As far as how I feel, I was pretty groggy when I woke up but I shook it off. If I've been sleeping, it was one hell of a nap!" He gave a small laugh, as if trying to find humor in his situation. "That's gotta be a record, eh? We have books for those kind of things, right? Let me know if they need a picture to put in there." A natural response for some, using humor to cope with situations they don't comprehend. Some even used humor to cope with situations they did  understand, but had a hard time swallowing. Her second question made him plop back down, arms folded. He always found these questions to be odd. His Spirit was, essentially, a facet of himself. It was like asking if he had any delightful conversations in which he answered himself. Some would think that completely mental, though Aki was always rather forthcoming with his information about Awaisubeta's personality. Emerald eyes fell to the large sealed sword in the corner, a small smile rested on his lips. He was fond of that weapon, it was part of him. He would even venture to say he was fond of that fairy it represented. They'd been through some times, and Aki hoped it would continue to be as such. Him and that annoying ass fairy against all of Hueco Mundo if it came to it. 

Finally, he slid his eyes back to the Captain before him. He spoke of the spirit using a shortened name, a term of endearment to him though a source of chagrin to Awaisubeta himself.. "Beta's been pretty quiet, but that's natural for him if he's angry with me. Ignoring him for a year is reason enough to be upset." Akihiko shrugged as if it didn't trouble him. "I haven't tried to smooth things over with em yet, Captain. I immediately came home." He gave a lopsided grin and furrowed his brows, a humorous expression. "Being gone for a year is reason for pause, I suppose a couple minutes more wouldn't have mattered, but I was already gone for a year. I'm not the most punctual bloke, but that's super late even for me!" Humor brushed with a dash of earnest truth. Aki wasn't ever one to be intimidated by a Captain, but would show respect. Of course it helped that the young Captain before him was a female and one Aki would deem 'pretty'. These japes were as close as he'd come to pushing his luck, though. 

She spoke to a hell Butterfly before scooping the papers up and motioning him to come with in the same action. The large Shinigami followed suite, arms at his sides. When they finally reached their goal, Aki stopped and looked to his sword resting upon a table near an older Shinigami, an Officer Wuyts. He nodded curtly to the man, face somewhat a mask of wonder as emeralds then roamed the racks upon racks of weapons. Hands went to rest upon his hips as he rotated around, looking. "Bloody hell. Who's weapons are these?" A question he wasn't sure if he should have asked.

The older Shinigami approached with his weapon. Akihiko's eyes glancing to his weapon as he carried it. A bit of nervousness, perhaps, but not over receiving the blade back. This nervousness was like when you let someone hold a price possession that is delicate. You trust them not to break it, but you were always watching just in case. This was similar. Clearly he wouldn't just snap the blade in two, or even hurt it if he dropped it. It was a sword for King's sake, but it was important enough to Aki to warrent several glances to the blade as Wuyts approached.


When you have something with you every hour of every day, you tend to feel naked without it even if for only a moment.
"Cheers." The greatsword was inspected in the sheath before he strapped it upon his back, the large blade nearly reaching the ground despite him being over six feet tall. The familiar weight made him instantly feel at ease. 

765/2576

David gave her a curious look when Akihiko let the question on the tip of his tongue escape. She soon figured that it was a mixture between “am I supposed to answer this” and “how much does he know”. Relieving the officer from any discomfort she took the weight of replying on her own shoulders. “Of those who’ve broken the laws of the Seireitei.”

While she had never liked telling lies she couldn’t quite tell him everything about the Second. Not even all of their members knew some of the practices used on prisoners or places where Shinigami were being locked up in. Truth was, a part of the weapons there probably belonged to those in the Nest; not everyone had actually committed a crime, but being a potential danger to the Gotei was at times enough to get yourself a place in that bottomless pit. At least there was light in there, unlike in th-.

“Captain, could you sign this- oh, you’ve already signed it. Never mind, didn’t notice it. Thank you.” The officer returned most of the papers to her, and once Akihiko’s sword was strapped on his back she told David goodbye and exited through the same automatic door they had come in through. This place was almost as much in contrast with the world above as the corridors of the Fourth were. Almost. She wouldn’t have approved of so much white. Steal, concrete, glass and layers of sekkiseki would do for the most part.

Heading toward one of the stairs leading to the upper levels, she turned slightly before letting him know what she was “Let’s get you a bite while we talk.” Honestly she could use some food as well. It would probably be a long day, and ten more minutes wouldn’t force her to miss much.

“There should be some food in here,” she stated, hiding the fact that she used to take food from here during her time as an officer. Not that it was actually forbidden to do so, it was simply meant for the interrogation department so those too busy to head to the dining hall wouldn’t be starving themselves. Thing was, Kasumi had found it cozier to eat here. She basically hadn’t liked to eat anywhere except from Kiriko’s kitchen, but she hadn’t been able to always hang out there while on duty. Such simple times those had been, she almost missed that period of her life. Thinking about it did bring up some fun memories, but also a couple of painful ones.

Shaking them off she entered the room which was about four times bigger than the interrogation one had been. Wooden tables and benches stood in a couple of neat rows. A door on the side led to the room where all the good aromas were coming from. It’s where she headed.

“Take a seat. Meat or fish?” Came the only question before she disappeared into the ‘storage’ room. Mostly warm dishes could be found there, with all types of snacks ranging from sugary desserts to fruits. Recruits regularly came in to bring fresh menus and take away the empty dishes. She hoped that they would have something nice today.


532/2033

Hands upon his hips, he continued to look at all the weapons. There was more than he'd have liked to see, but the Seireitei was a stickler for it's laws. The sheer amount, though, struck Akihiko as rather chilling. So many people locked up. All of that anger and hatred they surely felt seemed to make the swords appear more wicked than they truly were. He wondered, briefly, how the prisoners felt without their Zanpakuto. For just a moment without it he felt naked. Imagine centuries without it. Aki was certain he'd be borderline mad. Their exchange fell on deaf ears as Akihiko continually gave the swords on the wall a critical eye. It wasn't until she was exiting did the larger Shinigami follow, giving Wuyts a two fingered wave and a nod as he exited. 

What was to happen now? With his sword returned, surely he was a free man. Instead she offered food, and Akihiko realized he was famished. His stomach let out a growl in response and Akihiko gave a small laugh. "Well, I was gonna say you shouldn't trouble yourself..." Clearly his stomach had reservations about that. He followed in silence, emerald eyes glancing around. He hadn't been inside the Second before. In fact, now that he thought about it, there was a ton of places he had never been in the Seireitei. For the most part he stayed in the 5th's barracks and only really traveled to the Senkaimon, or the exit to the Rukongai. This was all new to him, but he found the decorations a bit much. But, he was a country bumpkin as they would say. Coming from the outer Rukongai, anything more than four walls and a roof was 'a bit much'. 

He entered a larger room, furnished with tables, just after the accompanying Captain had. The scent of the room instantly made him aware of just how hungry he was, these thoughts drowned out as he sat down and she disappeared. He was having lunch with a Captain. He was a grunt from the 5th, eating lunch with one of Seireitei's elite. With Awaisubeta resting against the table next to where he sat, he gave it a small grin. The fairy had mocked him for his first interaction with the now Captain, over a year ago. And now he was having lunch with her. Sure, it wasn't a date or anything, but it was a far cry from the awkward introductions they had shared all that time ago. 

Which felt to him as if it were just yesterday. 

A small sigh given as he glanced to the door she disappeared into and back to the sword. He'd have to make amends with the fairy later. He answered her question just as it was asked. "I'm fairly certain I could eat a Menos if I had to. I'll be fine with anything." He remained silent as she was gone, looking around the room absently as his thoughts wandered. Kasumi had changed from the younger Shinigami who taught him about Shunko. She was now a woman leading her own Division, from what he could tell, with confidence. Had she been so confident in her abilities before? Had something happened to instill that confidence? Surely that must be the case, as she was a Captain now. For there to be a new Captain there had to be an opening. Otherwise she'd had been a Lieutenant or First Officer at best. 

No, he was satisfied that she was different. There could be hundreds of things that could have happened. He'd simply ask.

The other thing that Akihiko took notice of, as he was ever vigilant for these kinds of things, was that the haori actually suited her. She looked good in it. 

When she was coming back, Akihiko allowed his thoughts to wander off as he spoke. "So...Captain...mind if I ask how that happened? Er...not to discredit you, just..." He gave a small smirk and shrug. "For me, just the other day we were in Karakura killing Hollows. And now" he gestured to her before allowing both arms to rest on the table he sat at, "I just feel like I've missed a lot."

699/3,275

Miso soup with tofu, mushrooms and greens, rice with chop pork, spring onions and an egg on top, some vegetables on the side, a piece of grilled salmon with some amazing seasoning (she put two of those on the platter), plain rice, noodles with some chicken for herself, gyoza with vegetables, and tempura with shrimp. Soya sauce, radish. She had some trouble finding a small cup of wasabi. Apparently the interrogation department really liked that one. With a plate of sashimi in her other hand she returned to the room where Akihiko had saw down. She placed the food between them, got a hold of one of the two pair of chopsticks and mentioned at the food after stealing the bowl of noodles. She really liked those. He could have some if he wanted to, but he would have to go look for them himself.

“Enjoy,” was what she said while gesturing at the food. Her chopsticks were stirring the noodles while she thought about a fitting answer to his question. Nothing about it seemed out of place. On the contrary, it was very normal for him to want to be filled in on whatever had happened during his absence.

She took a bite of her food. Pensively chewed on it in silence, then hummed very gently. The sound was both a way to show her appreciation of the food and to help her mind to come to an answer.

“A lot has happened since you’ve gone missing, yes.” a little smile showed him that she didn’t felt attacked by his words. Even if he had doubted her ability to manage everything that came with a haori, he wouldn’t have been the first to do that. Nor the last, she imagined.

“After the King of Hueco Mundo attacked there was a power vacuum. Commander Fujikagi was gone, and Captain Minamoto was missing. In the chaos after the treacherous Vaizard Tsukiyo Kionchi tried to become the Captain Commander. With Captain Chinda’s and Tsukimiya’s help that was prevented. I took the haori to keep the peace.” some more noodles gave him the time to process the things she had said. A part of her expected him to panic at least a bit. When Erasmus attacked people did die. While it hadn’t been as devastating as it might have been, Kasumi had lost a friend as well.

“The Public Safety Office formed with Tsukimiya Hazuki as its director, the Fourth was given a new, competent leader, and when Captain Minamoto returned not too long ago the current order of things was established.” There wasn’t much more to it. For now the Third and Fifth were lagging behind a bit, but she was certain that in time that, too, would work out well.


459/2492

When the Captain returned with food in arm, Aki gave a broad smile. "Ye-heah!" A small cheer as the food was placed down. The smell reminded him, ironically, of the Rukon district he hailed from. Being on the outskirts, poor wouldn't begin to describe the conditions in which they lived. Being the only spiritually aware in the household (which consisted of him and an older couple) he got all of the food. It was a farm, so vegetables were plentiful despite them selling most of their crop to have money to live off of. Of course, with the bandits and highwaymen it was a fruitless act. 'Protection' fees, and all that. The swarm of emotions he felt at the thought of his 'parents' made him mentally kick himself. They were gone now, and it was through his actions that they had been put in danger. He couldn't right that wrong more than he already had. Those responsible suffered the same fate. 

Pushing these thoughts back to the corners of his mind, he secured a pair of chopsticks and immediately dug into the food. Starting, of course, with a piece of tempura and a sample of gyoza. Both of these were wolfed down in seconds before he started on the fish. He was hungrier than he thought. She gave a small hum and he looked up just as she spoke of things having happened. The line of events she described made him stare at the fish for a moment. They hadn't just lost -a- captain, they had lost several. That was, in the grand scheme of things, devastating. Usually Lieutenants were taught, trained, and prepared by the Captain to take their place should the worse happen. It made sense, in a military manner. If the head was ever cut off, it would simply grow another and continue to fight. Each member knew their job, as well as the job of those directly above them. That was what made them so dangerous, killing one of them accomplished very little when someone could fill their job role. 

She mentioned the Public Safety Office and he raised a brow. "What's that? Like a peace keeping committee? Or are they like the Disciplinary Committee from the Academy?" He rolled his own eyes at the comparison. Talk about a joke they were. Akihiko was on their shit list five and a half of the six years he was in the Academy. 

The first half was figuring out how to piss them off. 

Though this gave him pause as he just realized something. He hadn't been contacted by his own Squad, neither Lieutenant nor Captain had come to retrieve him. They had to have known he was back. Hell, the Third Seat, whomever that was, hadn't even came looking. Perhaps with the attack they were still reeling. He had no idea how long ago the attack was, but a year is certainly within the time limits of still being a shit storm. He scooped some fish and ate it, his face a rare pensive as he reflected on this. Maybe he should buckle down and get serious? If things were that bad, Fifth was going to need all the help they could. While he was by no means a super star, or even rising star, he was as confident as he was talented. If he put forth effort, instead of coasting, maybe he could be of some use. While he disagreed with a lot that the Seireitei did or didn't do, the Fifth had never done him wrong. 

The fish was devoured in it's entirety before he secured a bowl of miso and sipped. This was his home. Maybe it was time he started acting like it, instead of gallivanting around systematically pissing people off. But he knew the dangers of all work and no play. 'Robo-Shini' as he dubbed them, those who were simply yes and no drones, that just did exactly as they were told and didn't question it. Those who existence was completely consumed by work. He didn't want that. 

Emerald eyes fell to the haori sitting across from him. And how was she coping? By throwing herself at menial tasks. A Captain to interrogate a grunt like him? Even if he had been captured he knew about as much as the Hollows did. He was purposely kept in the dark. He was, for all intents and purposes, disposable. Why would they give him any information at all? There was no threat of that. So why would a Captain even bother? Surely there was loads of important Captain-stuff, as Akihiko would call it, that she could be busy with. Didn't someone somewhere need a report? 

She was, perhaps, throwing herself into her work was how she 'kept the peace'. Placate those who would doubt or ostracize her. He gave an inward sigh. This was why he hid who he was. He was perceptive to a fault, and analyzed people's actions far better than he would ever admit. Than any would ever really know. With the exuberant way he went about doing things, loudly yelling, and the flat out crude sexual remarks he made that was no surprise. He essentially pushed people away. Another sip of the Miso before he placed it down. Things were becoming too serious for his liking. 

"Well, I think you're doing a smashing job. Just don't forget to take some time to let your hair down, too. Say, at about nine tonight?" A cheesy grin at the terrible pick up line. This was what he did best, take a delicate situation and smash into it like a bull in a china cabinet. 

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She fit the crunchy gyoza somewhere between the bites of noodles but quickly felt full after that. Munching on a piece of slightly spiced chicken she shifted her attention a little to her left. This ‘lunch’ wasn’t a date, it was an attempt to see if he would behave differently, or rather, come across as if something was wrong with him. So far he didn’t. While he did appear to be fairly quiet for his doing, nothing was really out of the ordinary. The look on his face -which she noticed from the corner of her eye- was speaking of some deep thoughts. He was still processing everything. It was too early to tell if anything had changed.

Nothing about this case brought her closer to the truth, whatever that was.

Everything matched Shigure’s case simply because both were soaked with question marks. The transpired events lacked significant information. There were no useful details, and she had doubts of ever getting any from Akihiko should his disappearance turn out to be just like her friend’s had been.

Hopefully neither of them would suffer from some hidden trauma later on.

“Hmm?” his question interrupted her train of thoughts a bit abruptly. ‘Disciplinary Committee’? She hadn’t even been aware that they had it at the Academy. Perhaps she might have met some their members if she had stuck around the place for long enough to cause trouble without getting expelled from the first time.

“They enforce the Seireitei law, crimes which can’t be handled within the division itself will be investigated and solved by the Public Safety Office members.”

The major crimes would go to the PSO, the small ones had to be handled within the divisions, and then, those that weren’t crimes just yet, were left for the Second to take care of. That way those last ones would never see the light. Kasumi rather liked that. It gave her much more space to act than it would have been the case should she be coloring neatly within the provided lines.

About to take another gyoza simply for the taste, Kasumi’s gaze sharpened and cooled when his comment sank in. Without saying anything, or putting down her chopsticks, she pointed her index finger at the man sitting across of her.

Hadō #1, Shō, the transparent spell flew over the table the moment she had set her thoughts on it. Splinters of wood were soon all across the room. Most of them had belonged to the bench Akihiko had been sitting on. It had loudly crashed into the wall behind him. Cracks were visible on a decent part of the wall. Kasumi remained quiet.

Getting up after putting down her chopsticks she walked toward the door while voices came hurrying down the hall to see what the noise was all about. Wide-eyed a couple of Shinigami poked their heads through the doorway just to see Kasumi moving closer. They didn’t wait for her to say a thing. It seemed that the previous Captains of the Second had made things easier for her when it came down to dealing with her subordinates.

“Clean up the trash, please.” She paused, then smiled politely, and a little bit coldly. “All of it.”

Walking out she then stopped in her tracks, thinking.

“Oh, and he can go.” This time.


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