The Start of Something Big. (SWA members only.) Anyone Else: Beware.

Cho Ah burst from the gates of the Amai estate, a piece of toast hanging from her lips as her hands fidgeting with a foot, pulling a Flat over it whilst hopping. A horde of servants were left behind her, each yelling something as a reminder to the femme. She looked over her shoulder to them, waving with reassurance- even as Miwa plowed through them, a few of the Amai servants flying up in the air as she marched forward. Cho Ah froze, face falling in disbelief at her otorei.

Miwa burst from the crowd, large bag in tow. “That... that was a little excessive.” The lieutenant commented, scratching the back of her head at the silent mechanical woman- who just stared blankly in response. Cho Ah finally just sighed defeatedly, turning and beginning towards the Aizawa manor once more. “I think we might be late...” She murmured, her tiny hand lifting to rub her chin thoughtfully as her pace quickened.

She was garbed in a short, strapless blue dress and her typical black thigh highs, her long ebony locks tucked back into a neat pair of thick dual buns. Today was the unveiling of a project she'd been pondering for quite some time, and had only recently made into a real, legitimate thing. It was a club for all of the ladies of the Soul Society; the Shinigami Women's Association. To kick it off, she would be co-hosting a trip to the World of the Living for some relaxing hot springs fun with the help of Maki Takahashi.

At last, she came upon the Aizawa estate, blinking at a recognizable white haired female- or, at least she thought they were recognizable. Cho Ah had failed to ask Maki who she had dispatched for the invitations, but that hair was a good indication that it was Junko Aizawa. She smiled wide, beginning a jog forward with Miwa not far behind. “Neeeeee-saaaaaaaaaaaannnn!” The lieutenant shouted, waving a hand wildly.

But, of course, when the woman turned and gave her a strange look, the Amai nearly froze and fell over in embarrassment; that was most certainly not Junko.

“O-oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were... someone else.” She stammered, laughing nervously as she came to a stop in front of the stranger. She bowed deeply before straightening herself again, making a silly salute and winking. “Cho Ah Amai, pleased to meet you~”






word count - 400 / gp acquired - 8

Mikomi strode through the streets of the Seireitei, her long silver hair swiching back and forth as she walked towards her destination. Today was a strange day, both for Mikomi and for the Gotei as a whole. The entirety of it’s female workforce had, somehow, all received letters overnight, requesting that they come to the Aizawa Estate and meet with the Head Guard, with their Gigai. The wording of the letter, as well as the timing, suggested that those who came might be gone for some time, which had severely peaked her interests. The whole thing smelled of mischief, and, given that the Aizawa's were not know, in any fashion, for being producers of any kind of mischief, Mikomi had decided to investigate. She’d left a note explaining her situation and suspicions to Captain Amai, and, after several hours preparing her things, Mikomi had headed out to the Aizawa estate, a single servant carrying her suitcase of things in tow.

She had chosen to wear an outfit similar to the one her Gigai often wore when she was tasked with visiting the Human realm this time of the year; her hair was tied at both sides in simple (but long) pigtails. Around her neck she wore a sky blue scarf, which hung all the way down to her knees. Her breasts were, as usual, bound with cloth to make them smaller, and her entire body was covered from head to toe in her usual skin tight black bodysuit. Over that was place a simple white blouse with blue trimmings at the bottom and sleeves, as well as a simple white and blue patterned skirt. To complete the outfit, Mikomi had commissioned a pair of snow colored, calf high boots, patterned on the sides with snowflakes. It was a fashionable outfit in the human world, or sos he’d been told, and it was quite comfortable, even if the boots did make her several inches taller than she already was. It would be far more comfortable had you chosen the smaller one child. If you draw on my power during this escapade, that white blouse and skirt will be utterly ruined.

Shaking her head, Mikomi simply sighed inwardly, ignoring her Inner Spirits delightful commentary on what she already knew. She really was going to have to find a way to prove she was worthy of Bankai one of these days; the incessant snide comments about everything were starting to get to her, no matter how well mannered and formal they sounded. A voice, timid and trembling, sounded out through the air, her servant interrupting her train of thought to inform her of their impending destination. “E-Excuse me, mistress, but we have almost arrived.” He pointed to the large, noble looking estate that so obviously belonged to the Seireitei oldest and noblest of families. She could already sense that someone had reached the estate before her, but that mattered little. If anything being the second to arrive place less scrutiny on her; the less she was under the gaze of the Aizawa servants and guards, the more likely it would be that she would be able to slip her Zanpakuto through unnoticed.

She replied to the servant without pause, turning around and lifting the large, bulky suitcase from the man's arms while simultaneously hefting her Gigai from his shoulders. Her breathed a sigh of relief at that. Her things were always very heavy, particularly when she was travelling. “Thank you Jeremiah. That will quite enough for today. You may go home now.” The servant nodded respectfully, shuffling away from Mikomi as she turned back to face the Aizawa Estates, her long, slender body easily crossing the distance between where she had parted with the servant in mere seconds, even with the added weight of her suitcase and Gigai. It occurred to ehr that she could have simply carried her things herself, instead of forcing Jeremiah to carry them... But, then again, a Noble Woman carrying her own luggage would not have been very proper. It was only acceptable in this circumstance because of the fact that she was supposed to arrive alone; servants, particularly male ones, had not been invited.

Pushing open the large, wooden gates to the Estate, Mikomi was greeted by the sight of two women; one, a white haired female, similar in appearance to the Aizawa Family matriarch, Junko, and shorter, black haired woman that Mikomi instantly recognized as Cho Ah Amai, relative of her Captain. She had seen the younger looking female meet with Captain Amai on numerous occasions, although she never found the time to speak to the girl. The Second Lieutenant was an exceptionally difficult job, especially when it came to writing up reports for the Captain. But, perhaps now was the chance to get to know the younger looking noble, and, if possible, become acquainted with her. It was always a good thing to have acquaintances in the other noble families, particularly when said family was the same as that of her Captains. Politely, Mikomi approached the two women, her voice calm and soft, but loud enough for the two of them to hear her as she approached. “Hello Amai-san. I’m surprised you managed to arrive before me. I didn’t think that anyone could ever wake up earlier than I do.”

It was small talk, to be sure, but it was a conversation starter. One that, hopefully, didn’t put the younger looking woman off to Mikomi, who might have already made her uncomfortable thanks to her height (after all, what noble wanted to look UP to speak to someone, let alone crane their neck as far back as it would go?).

[Word Count: 951]
[GP: 19]
[OOC: So, yeah... Mikomi is about 6' 6" in this outfit. So she's nearly a foot and half taller than Cho is. Thought I'd make a joke out of it. Hope it was funny.]

Kiriko looked down at the letter in her hand, a bemused twitch of her lips the only sign of her confusion. Gently, she reached out and smoothed the bent corner of the missive, rereading it just once more time to be certain. Receiving unmarked mail in the form of a request to gather in one location sounded like a perfect way of setting up an ambush. She was a little relieved to hear that other women had gotten this letter so it wasn't a method of removing Kiriko from her newly promoted Captain's side. Nonetheless, the motive behind this little solicitation remained hidden, and she was chary to give it much heed.[/color]

If it wasn't for the fact that she was newly promoted herself and struggling to give off the right impressions, Kiriko would have ignored the letter entirely and placed it in the wastebasket of her tiny office. But this was not the case today, because there was a single notion ringing through her head like that of a faraway church bell. It simply wouldn't cease. What if this is a test? Indeed... What would a lieutenant do? Ask her Captain, probably. But Kiriko wasn't just any lieutenant, she served in the nibantai, and their information gathering skills were renown. Asking her Captain would just illustrate her newness to the position, and her lack of previous background. That was not going to happen. Kiriko had so far managed not to embarrass herself, and she even rather liked to think that her new underlings were somewhat impressed with her collected nature. To act in any other way now would just be sabotage of that carefully cultivated visage.

If she couldn't ask her Captain, than the only other real alternative was to go on her own and see what this was all about. With no background knowledge, she couldn't foresee battle stratagems, but at the very least Kiriko felt her escape tactics were reliable in all but the most extreme situations. If this was an attack, she would take her leave and alert the proper officials. No one said she had to be the one protecting the other Shinigami, that was the Fifth Division's job. Her own charge was a little different.

That seemed simple, and yet she could not get her feet to shift or her hips to rise up off her chair. Staring down at the backs of her hands, Kiriko noted for the first time in that hour how very fragile her body was. Tissue thin skin was all that held it together, and that was so easily torn. Could she really take this risk? Go into danger without a plan? It seemed stupid honestly, but the desire to prove herself as competent was slowly waging a war against that niggling realism. After all, if she succeeded in her mission then everything would be wonderful. It was only if she went and then lost, that she would be labeled as even stupider than if she hadn't gone.

Watching her hands shake, the ever so slight trembling, Kiriko felt her rage shoot upward like the thinnest lazor, aimed at this weakness that held her back. So she was scared to go into battle? What was a person like herself doing in this position then? She'd better go crawl into a corner and die if all she was going to do was whimper when the chances came by! Damned sniveling little child, that was what she was! And it irked her, oh how it irked her, to know this and still be afraid. For her body to shake and her mind to run endless scenarios of her impending death. Shoving into an upright position, Kiriko's chair screeched as the legs rubbed against the floor roughly. Ignoring the disarray of her escape, Kiriko fisted one hand over her eyes to rub away the fearful tears before darting across the room.

She was so angry with herself and her state that she decided to simply leave a note for her Captain as to her whereabouts rather than interrupt him. It was the cowardly response, which only served to ratchet Kiriko's burning revulsion ever higher. Such a damned coward.

Having never been near the aristocracy's compounds before, Kiriko had to wander a bit before finding herself in the right location. With little hope of concealing her reiatsu, and just enough strength to sense the fact that powerful people were already there, she decided to throw down the gauntlet just to spite the terrified little child who was screaming in her head to run away before it got bad. Smoothing loose tendrils of hair back in her tight bun Kiriko was reassured that her professional appearance wasn't lacking with her pressed black shihakusho and stolid stance. With only one chance to do this right, she stood with a firm posture and walked confidently into the meeting area where the others were gathered. Gazing at them assessingly, but not staring, Kiriko addressed the woman everyone seemed to be gathering around with a short bow to preface her concise question, “I received word that I was to come here, am I right in assuming you are in charge?”

WC: 863 | GP: 17 | Total: 17

It was a joke. It had to be. There was no way someone had actually sent a letter to her, and so shortly after her return too. After she had entered her room in the squad six barracks and saw the letter, she had assumed it was some sort of official letter. Perhaps one from an officer who had known her all those years ago, perhaps not. But she had certainly thought it was from such a person, so imagine her surprise when the letter said something simple, instead.

Go to the Aizawa estate and bring your gigai. That...was just about all the information that the letter gave her. And to be honest, she was a little suspicious of this. After all, it gave so little information and, from asking around, she had ascertained that quite a few others had received just such a letter as well. One odd thing though? All the people she asked spoke of women receiving the letters. No men.

...What in the world could that possible mean though?

So she was in her room again, staring at the letter with a contemplative look on her face. To go, or not to go. Well, her decision would be made anyway, if she didn't hurry to the meeting spot. Surely they wouldn't appreciate lateness. And why were they going to meet the Head Guard, anyway? It just made no sense to Lessa. But...bah, she was bored enough anyway, it couldn't hurt to just go ahead and check it out.

So she departed the barracks, and through a simple series of flash steps was moving quickly through the skies of the Seireitei. Now all she had to do was find where the noble compounds were, not an easy task if you had never been there before. In all her life as a Soul Reaper, she had almost never had to go to the noble compounds. Crimes rarely happened there, and criminals were rarely from them. Still, she had gone there on occasion, and so she only had to think a little to remember just where in the world the compounds were in the big ol' place.

Several minutes later she landed on the ground in traditional Shinigami garb. No need to wear anything fancy, especially when she had no idea what in the world this was going to be about. Though, her gigai was dressed in normal clothes. Not a dress though, ick. A long-sleeved shirt. And pants. Not the most flamboyant of outfits, but it wasn't as if she really cared about that aspect of a gigai. Nor did she really care too much about the gigai at all, but rather, what its purpose would be. Shaking her head, the girl began to move, and soon enough found herself at the Aizawa estate. And nearby? A bunch of people she didn't recognize, including one person she DID recognize. "Yo, Lieutenant," the small girl spoke to her, giving a cheeky smile to Mikomi. "Anyone here know what this is 'bout?"

Words: 510
GP: 10/10

Why she had agreed to this in the first place, Maki could never be sure. There was something about the persuasive way some of the nobles of Sereitei could talk sometimes that simply made you feel like doing what they wanted was the right choice, no matter how ridiculous it might actually be. Of course, as introspective as she was, Maki usually figured out later that it was a bad idea, but later didn't get you out of agreed upon obligations. Not unless you were the sort of person that Maki's former Captain (and his lieutenant) had been; lazy slackers who could barely be arsed to wake up, much less get work done.

Even dressed in simple black slacks and a simple white and blue button-down shirt, the former captain of the fifth retained her natural air of command - though at this point it was mostly faux bravado, as recent events had siphoned a significant degree of her natural liveliness. Still, it would hardly do to let down appearances, or worse, to allow her own dampened spirits to effect the others. Fake it til you make it, whiner. Good ol' Sorashiori, always there to put her in her place. Still, the dragonfly had a point. She had to stiffen the upper lip or her efforts would be wasted.

After weeks of quiet preparation, it had finally been made to happen. Arrangements for accomodations had been made, food had been prepared, drinks supplied, and the basic neccessities of the stay taken care of in general. Though she had nearly torn her hair out more than once with the frustration of dealing with so many details, she had nonetheless gone out of her way to make sure that everything would be perfect. Even as she nostalgically looked over and signed the very last of the paperwork, everything slowly began to fall into place.

Complete reservations. What had seemed like such a simple subject had been an overwhelming headache, but she had made them. There would be no interruptions, no unfamiliar faces in the way. Everything they would need had been taken care of, and thus additional personel were unnecessary. As far as she was concerned, it was the most appropriate means for a soul to take a break and relax; without humans around to worry about, they could kick back and be themselves, as Cho Ah and Allessandra had envisioned.

"I always get stuck with the footwork though, for some reason," she mused with a laugh, reflecting on the myriad occasions where she had been sent in person to deal with issues that were either so trivial or so overwhelming that someone else, logically, should have been sent. That was fine. The constant challenge, the never ending array of experiences and things to do, it kept her from getting bored. Boredom was not the sort of thing you looked forward to experiencing after spending a few hundred years bopping around, so the stress was a fine price to pay.

With a soft, contented sigh, she extended her spiritual senses outward. The last human stragglers were departing now, and so she casually flipped open her phone. It was, to the naked eye, a stone age piece of junk model that would have better belonged to a retro-obsessed hippie than someone of her stature. She really didn't care. Casually dialling with her thumb, she hummed quietly to herself while waiting for Alless to pick up on the other side. "Preparations are complete, this side's ready whenever you are."

~
585 Words
11GP