Post by Ruby on Feb 7, 2018 22:48:56 GMT -5
We are all going to die! This is our repentance for all that we’ve done to the world! We aren’t anything special! We aren’t immortal gods! We are nothing!
The words came at Ruby from somewhere within, a place of darkness that she’d thought long erased. The look on his face as he had spoken those words, it haunted Ruby. Haunted her for years, ever since he took his last breaths mere days after the outbreak.
The outbreak, as the solemn whispers had termed it, caused the greatest crisis in recent Soul Society history. It would be difficult to accurately portray the chaos experienced by those on day zero, and the weeks beyond for that matter. Captains, Lieutenants and Seated Officers alike dropped like flies, and for all their staggering might, they seemed no less affected by the outbreak than those they led.
Many - more than Ruby wished to believe - of those unaffected forsook their duties and deserted, leaving to the other realms in the hopes of avoiding similar fates. Of those who stayed, many fell victim to the outbreak, and the survivors, well, they were tired, weary, and paranoid. Law had long ago become more of a forethought, and crime - of all kinds - ran rampant within even the walls of the Gotei. Shinigami-to-Shinigami homicide wasn’t uncommon, a fact that kept Ruby on edge.
The once mighty Gotei, a military force capable of maintaining intra-realm peace and prosperity, reduced to degeneracy, crime, and hopelessness.
You will be next Ruby heard, whispered into her ear by the frigid wind that swept through the barren courtyard. Panic set in, and she touched her neck as she looked behind her. These strange occurrences had become more and more frequent, more and more on edge. A psychological byproduct of the horrors she’d gone through. Finding nothing, Ruby turned back to face the small detail of soldiers standing at attention. Before she addressed them, she gave Queen of Blades a concerned look, but decided against it. She’d checked her blade for rust not an hour ago.
“At ease,” she called out to them. The quality of the average soldier wasn’t what it once was, and Ruby had learned, reluctantly, to accept what was available to her. The looks on their faces said it all, and she didn’t want to add to the fear, so she made her way to their front and center. “Now,” she said than paused as she collected herself. She went from pair of eyes to pair of eyes, ensuring that they all could hear what she was saying. “Your Divisions have sent you here for a reason. As you can see,” she waved at their deteriorated, and barren, surroundings. There was no other sound besides her voice as it echoed and then died under the absolute silence. Spirit King save them all. “We’re still in a crisis situation. Sure, it’s been five years since the outbreak, but the ripples it caused are still felt today. Every Division, every unit, is undermanned.”
All too true. Most of the Divisions were spread thin, to the point that even Captains were doing the most basic duties. If it weren’t for the request for this training session from the Captain Commander himself, Ruby would be doing what she’d recently taken as a personal duty: patrolling the Gotei to stop the spread of degeneracy, and to lend a hand in rebuilding this once great military.
She bit down on her teeth in an attempt to calm her nerves. This session, even out in broad daylight, could attract the attention of some unsavory people. Things were that bad. “That is why I have been tasked with training you in military discipline. So you can be a one-man, self-sufficient team able to face the rigors that await you, out there.”
Out there? Ruby nearly laughed out of the sheer ridiculousness of her statement. The problem wasn’t out there, it was right here. But she didn’t want to spread fear among them, so she decided to keep on. “I know some of you might be thinking that this is a waste of time, that you’re ready to go out and start doing your job.” She gave out a tiny smile, sincere as they come. “And I’d be right there with you. But this is direct orders from the Captain Commander, and I have no intention of disobeying orders.”
You will be next came the whisper again. Ruby closed her eyes, but did nothing else. She fought back the nerves, and hoped that her pause hadn’t been interpreted as fear by the soldiers before her.
She swung her arms behind her, and centered herself, opening her eyes, the embers within them reignited. Fuck if this place would cause her to fall into despair. With renewed strength, she continued. “Trust me when I tell you, that these lessons will serve you well in the difficult times to come. Trust me.” With nods from some of the soldiers, and grunts of acknowledgement from the rest, Ruby responded with a resounding nod of her own. She went to the position of attention. “Atten-,” she yelled out, her booming voice overcoming the silence. “Hut!”
With her detail at attention, Ruby marched to the side, and then turned to face them once more. “Forward! Harch!” she yelled, and instantly, the three elements of 4 marched forward, all of them in step. “Hup, toop, threep, fourp!” she called out, providing the detail with cadence. Not five steps in, one of the soldiers in the second element turned right, and slammed into his colleague.
“DETAIL!” Ruby cried, frustration in her voice. “HALT!” She was already in the soldier’s face. “What the fuck are you doing?!” she yelled at him, picking him up off the ground. “Did I give you the command of column right?! What the fuck, soldier?! If you can’t follow simple instructions, how are you going to survive against a Hollow?! Or worse yet, a Shinigami criminal?!”
First lesson, maintain your bearing at all costs. No matter what was happening around you, in this case a red-eyed woman blowing you up, you kept your cool, and kept alert.
She’d make warriors out of these men, even if it killed her to do so.
WC - 1038
The words came at Ruby from somewhere within, a place of darkness that she’d thought long erased. The look on his face as he had spoken those words, it haunted Ruby. Haunted her for years, ever since he took his last breaths mere days after the outbreak.
The outbreak, as the solemn whispers had termed it, caused the greatest crisis in recent Soul Society history. It would be difficult to accurately portray the chaos experienced by those on day zero, and the weeks beyond for that matter. Captains, Lieutenants and Seated Officers alike dropped like flies, and for all their staggering might, they seemed no less affected by the outbreak than those they led.
Many - more than Ruby wished to believe - of those unaffected forsook their duties and deserted, leaving to the other realms in the hopes of avoiding similar fates. Of those who stayed, many fell victim to the outbreak, and the survivors, well, they were tired, weary, and paranoid. Law had long ago become more of a forethought, and crime - of all kinds - ran rampant within even the walls of the Gotei. Shinigami-to-Shinigami homicide wasn’t uncommon, a fact that kept Ruby on edge.
The once mighty Gotei, a military force capable of maintaining intra-realm peace and prosperity, reduced to degeneracy, crime, and hopelessness.
You will be next Ruby heard, whispered into her ear by the frigid wind that swept through the barren courtyard. Panic set in, and she touched her neck as she looked behind her. These strange occurrences had become more and more frequent, more and more on edge. A psychological byproduct of the horrors she’d gone through. Finding nothing, Ruby turned back to face the small detail of soldiers standing at attention. Before she addressed them, she gave Queen of Blades a concerned look, but decided against it. She’d checked her blade for rust not an hour ago.
“At ease,” she called out to them. The quality of the average soldier wasn’t what it once was, and Ruby had learned, reluctantly, to accept what was available to her. The looks on their faces said it all, and she didn’t want to add to the fear, so she made her way to their front and center. “Now,” she said than paused as she collected herself. She went from pair of eyes to pair of eyes, ensuring that they all could hear what she was saying. “Your Divisions have sent you here for a reason. As you can see,” she waved at their deteriorated, and barren, surroundings. There was no other sound besides her voice as it echoed and then died under the absolute silence. Spirit King save them all. “We’re still in a crisis situation. Sure, it’s been five years since the outbreak, but the ripples it caused are still felt today. Every Division, every unit, is undermanned.”
All too true. Most of the Divisions were spread thin, to the point that even Captains were doing the most basic duties. If it weren’t for the request for this training session from the Captain Commander himself, Ruby would be doing what she’d recently taken as a personal duty: patrolling the Gotei to stop the spread of degeneracy, and to lend a hand in rebuilding this once great military.
She bit down on her teeth in an attempt to calm her nerves. This session, even out in broad daylight, could attract the attention of some unsavory people. Things were that bad. “That is why I have been tasked with training you in military discipline. So you can be a one-man, self-sufficient team able to face the rigors that await you, out there.”
Out there? Ruby nearly laughed out of the sheer ridiculousness of her statement. The problem wasn’t out there, it was right here. But she didn’t want to spread fear among them, so she decided to keep on. “I know some of you might be thinking that this is a waste of time, that you’re ready to go out and start doing your job.” She gave out a tiny smile, sincere as they come. “And I’d be right there with you. But this is direct orders from the Captain Commander, and I have no intention of disobeying orders.”
You will be next came the whisper again. Ruby closed her eyes, but did nothing else. She fought back the nerves, and hoped that her pause hadn’t been interpreted as fear by the soldiers before her.
She swung her arms behind her, and centered herself, opening her eyes, the embers within them reignited. Fuck if this place would cause her to fall into despair. With renewed strength, she continued. “Trust me when I tell you, that these lessons will serve you well in the difficult times to come. Trust me.” With nods from some of the soldiers, and grunts of acknowledgement from the rest, Ruby responded with a resounding nod of her own. She went to the position of attention. “Atten-,” she yelled out, her booming voice overcoming the silence. “Hut!”
With her detail at attention, Ruby marched to the side, and then turned to face them once more. “Forward! Harch!” she yelled, and instantly, the three elements of 4 marched forward, all of them in step. “Hup, toop, threep, fourp!” she called out, providing the detail with cadence. Not five steps in, one of the soldiers in the second element turned right, and slammed into his colleague.
“DETAIL!” Ruby cried, frustration in her voice. “HALT!” She was already in the soldier’s face. “What the fuck are you doing?!” she yelled at him, picking him up off the ground. “Did I give you the command of column right?! What the fuck, soldier?! If you can’t follow simple instructions, how are you going to survive against a Hollow?! Or worse yet, a Shinigami criminal?!”
First lesson, maintain your bearing at all costs. No matter what was happening around you, in this case a red-eyed woman blowing you up, you kept your cool, and kept alert.
She’d make warriors out of these men, even if it killed her to do so.
WC - 1038