Everyone's too tense around here! (Social, Open)

[Kaen Youji]

Aaaaahhh. Nothing like taking a day off! Well. Not really a day off. More like, putting a "Do not disturb" sign on your office door and sneaking out the back like a thief in the night... except in the middle of the day. But hell! Kaen practically ran Squad 7 now, since Enma was never around. It was a huge pain. He'd never planned on handling responsibilities like this. Squad 7 was Soul Society's strongest squad! He had to handle everything. Delegating patrols, arranging practices to keep the squad's skills sharp, circulating squad members, squad events, squad assignments.... ugh. Pretty much the only perk of doing what he did was that, unless Enma specifically stepped in.... which the man never did, Kaen basically could set his own hours and assign his own missions. Which meant he never had to take the boring patrol missions unless he wanted to. It meant that he could do whatever jobs he wanted and take days off whenever he wanted....

At least in theory. In practice, all of the above kept Kaen ridiculously busy, and so he had to at least maintain the image he was doing something. Hence the "Do not disturb" sign on the door! Aha! It was a foolproof plan (by which it would only fool a fool, as practically Kaen's entire squad knew his habits by now). But anyways. He was here in Rukongai. And he knew for a fact that none of his squad members were patrolling there. Because he assigned their patrols! Hah! Genius.

As it was at the moment, Kaen was sitting on a bench, enjoying a late lunch. A cup of green tea was held in one hand, a tray of steaming takoyaki in his lap, and a rice ball in the other hand, as Kaen casually ate his meal. The sun was bright and warm. A perfect day for napping! Which he decided he'd get to promptly after eating, in order to sleep off his lunch.

Pretty much the only thing the day was missing was company.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru was starting to get burned out on all the work she started to receive from her new Vice Captaincy. She loved getting the promotion, but she wasn't fully prepared for what the position's workload was actually going to entail. She pretty much had to do most of the work, while Alexander was busy planning a lot of the scouting missions. So, it left her with a lot, if not all, of the day to day mundane work.

Her captain was right that she wasn't going to have a lot of time off, but she needed just a little break in her day. So, she did something she never thought she would do. She reached a good point in her paperwork where she could easily stop, and organized. Since she first got promoted, her desk had changed. She was able to get a bigger desk, with an in basket and out basket, which are pretty self-explanatory.

She then had an organizer on the desk just to help her keep everything straight and the new desk really just helped her keep more organized. She had a pad of paper on the desk at all times, with at least four pens on it in various colors. She opened one of her drawers, while grabbing her room key. She put the sign, out of the office be back as soon as possible on the door, locked it and started to Shunpo away.

She had to look like she was running out quickly on business. Once she got to Rukongai, she stopped and slowed down to a walk. She had snuck away for some peaceful time to herself. She took a deep breath of the deep air and went to the nearest food shop. She grabbed some coffee, which she now found she liked more than tea, two rice balls and a nice platter of sushi. Thankfully, they wrapped it up for her and she started to walk towards a place where she could eat.

She didn't have to walk too far before she sensed someone that she had actually met before. She turned her head and noticed that another Vice Captain was eating on a bench. She slowly started to walk towards him, sipping her coffee on the way. Once she was a few feet away, she stopped and did a quick bow, making sure that she wasn't going to spill her drink. "Hello, Kaen-fukataichou. How are you doing this fine day? I'm actually looking for a good place to eat my lunch, you have any ideas?"

[Kaen Youji]

Who was that? A shinigami? Awwww! Come on! Kaen had been certain that nobody was gonna be patrolling out here! But sure enough, she was wearing the shinigami uniform. Oh. Hold on. Nevermind! She wasn't in his squad! Safe! He grinned at her as she greeted him. "Yeah! Hey!" He said in an easygoing manner. And munched down on one of his takoyaki. "Here's as good as anywhere else, right? I don't mind the company." He told her cheerfully, after swallowing. "I could certainly do worse~" He teased, giving her an appreciative look. There. You happy old man? And he heard the answer from the recesses of his mind. "No! A compliment? You have no spine boy! Stand up and take her as yours!" "Arara... You're really a despicable old man..." Kaen answered his perverse Zanpakuto spirit.

Anyways. Back to the topic at hand. "Besides I'm not finishing anytime soon." Kaen added, sipping his tea. Sure it was something of a hot day. But it wasn't that hot. So it was fine. "Well, you seem to know who I am. Sorry if I don't recognize you on sight. You're not from my squad, I can tell that." He said, looking Hotaru over. "You carry yourself well though. You look like you're from Rukongai?" He guessed. A lot of shinigami "raised" in the Seireitei like Kaen himself often had much lighter skin. And this woman's was quite dark indeed. But hell, Kaen had been wrong before. He shuffled over slightly to give Hotaru room to sit down on the same bench as him. "Or maybe I'm way off base?" He asked.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru smiled, happy that a fellow Vice Captain wouldn't mind some company while he ate his lunch. He scooted over on the bench and before she sat down, he did say that he could do worse. She blushed slightly, appreciating the compliment. Of course, it was pretty obvious he didn't know she was married, but it was still nice to receive compliments randomly like that. She bowed slightly, a thank you for the compliment. She then quickly sat down, sipped her coffee while she placed her package on her lap. She unrolled one of her rice balls, slowly eating it.

While he talked, she looked over, keeping eye contact. He said that he was sorry that he didn't recognize her on sight, but that she wasn't from his squad. But, she carried herself well, which she liked that compliment as well, and asked if she was from Rukongai or somewhere else. It was then that she realized that she hadn't even introduced herself properly. She quickly swallowed her rice ball and turned to answer him. "I always try to know the higher ranked officers in the Gotei Thirteen, which is why I know you. I'm not surprised that you don't know me by sight.

I usually am busy in the Human World and don't really walk around Soul Society that often. When I am here, I'm either in my office or back at the manor. Oh, excuse me for not introducing myself before. I am Hotaru Kuchiki, new Vice Captain of Third Division. Thank you for the compliments, by the way, it was nice of you. Though, I have to admit that one of the reasons I came by is because I have heard that you have fire ability with your zanpaktou. I do as well. So, we already have at least one thing in common!" She smiled, taking another bite from her rice ball.

[Kaen Youji]

When she announced her name and rank, Kaen was drinking his tea. And as a result he immediately went into a spittake. Thankfully facing away from Hotaru at that instant. Then he laughed. "Haha! Ah! I should take notes from your book then Hotaru fukutaichou! The old Vice Captain of my squad would have kicked my ass for not knowing another Vice Captain on sight!" He said cheerfully. "And a Kuchiki at that. You guys breed like rabbits, huh?" It was clear at a glance that Kaen did not really bother himself much with formalities. One would never have guessed he himself was highborn at a glance. "Squad three then? Best of luck then. That squad doesn't have a happy history. I hope you can turn that around." He said, returning to his drink. "But you have a fire type zanpakuto too huh? Weird that I don't see more of us around. Everyone's always got either some creepyass one like the former Captain Shade, or a weird overcomplicated one like Captain Iro." He complained. "Mind you. I don't think I won any prizes on my zanpakuto's personality." He joked.

How dare you boy! I am the finest ally you will ever have! You'd never get anywhere with the ladies without me! "And you'd never visit a hotspring without me old man. Don't complain! I'm the one that has to put up with you!" Despite the bickering going on in his own head, Kaen kept face and smiled at Hotaru. "Have to say though. Your family gets around. I mean, squad six is one thing, but it seems there's at least one of you in every squad nowadays, eh?" He asked, sipping his tea, now without the need for a spittake. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what's your story Hotaru-chan?" He asked. "Plenty of shinigami have different reasons for joining the Gotei. And I know the Kuchiki's have a lot of pride, but I'm sure not every member of your family's gone to the Academy."

Motivation was something important to Kaen. He always liked to know the motivations of his colleagues and enemies. Someone's reason for fighting. Kaen had no disrespect for those who wished to avoid combat and live peaceful, conflict free lives. It was never the life for him, but he respected their desires. He wanted to protect those people's right to live. To be the strength for people who didn't have it. And he'd seen people he cared about hurt. He wanted to be their strength too. To protect the people he considered important to him. Soul Society was a path to power. And Kaen believed in the Seireitei. He believed that they would protect people. Thus their aims were the same. It would give Kaen the power to protect others. And it would support his own goals. A symbiotic relationship, in a weird way, with both aiding the other in their own methods.

[Deleted]

Sometimes, being the vice captain of Squad 10 was really freaking boring.

Oh, sure, there was the constant training, and there was always the patrols to look forward to and the people to talk to. And since his promotion, you'd be hard-pressed to find a squad with skills more suited for hand to hand (and taking a punch, Kubi doesn't believe in going soft on the pursuit of strength.) But it was just so. damn. monotonous! Day after day it's the same thing; patrols, training, and to top it all of a great dose of talking around the water cooler. (Figuratively, of course; Squad 10 doesn't actually do that.)

So, with a grin on his face that could only be described as absolutely fucking terrifying, Kubi decided to put a little variety in this life. No spices, though. They tend to make him sneeze. He ditched training duty, leaving them to the tender mercies of fate, and decided to paint the town red; or some other vibrant color. Painting the town red is a bad idea, it would only give those nobles another advantage. And Kubi didn't want that. 'Well, not unless they ask nicely.'

He had just started out (stopping only to grab a 12 pack, just in case) and flashed to his favorite district in the Rukon when he came across an altogether unexpected site; ol' Flamehead, talking with ... His grin widened. "Well, holy fucking shit. If it ain' Flamehead and miss samurai! The hell you two doing here, bein' the perfect examples o' work you two are." He leaned against the table, sliding the cardboard box of alcohol to the center, a clear invitation.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru was enjoying the company of the fukataichou of the Seventh Squad. She smiled at his comments. "I honestly haven't met all of my family, but I'll take your word for it. It's true, from what I've seen, that my family seems to take up a lot of the positions in the Gotei. So, I guess we do 'breed like bunnies' as you say." She then was a little surprised that he asked about her story. He didn't ask about all of it, just the reason that she joined the Gotei. She was pretty sure that she couldn't go into full detail about her history, to give away how she was brought into the family, but she could wing enough to make it work.

"The main reason I joined the Gotei was to honestly hone my blade skills to get stronger. I was a samurai when I was alive and actually went through the Academy before the Kuchiki accepted me into their family. The Academy was hard, but very fulfilling and instilled in me a deeper duty, one that I had only felt while I was alive. It gave me a renewed purpose, which made me feel needed and a place to belong in this new world I was thrust into. I performed my duties to the best of my abilities and was happy.

It was then that I was approached by Sozen-sama. He extended family membership to me and I accepted. With his help, I have learned about the family and how the Kuchikis are proud of their strong heritage. It made me proud that Sozen-sama saw something in me to think that I would be a good fit for his family. It humbled me and made me want to work that much harder to prove my worth. So, I now fight to protect my new home and to protect the innocent, as well as protect my family members and prove that I deserve to be in the Kuchiki family."

She had, of course, fudged a few of the details, but they weren't fudged enough that she was lying. She was just, hiding a few truths. It was then that she decided to glance over and saw a familiar face walking towards them. It was Kubi-fukataichou. She vaguely remembered that he had transferred out of his previous squad and into a new one, but she hadn't had the time to actually look into it. She herself had actually requested a squad transfer as well, and the new rank of captain. She hadn't heard anything yet, but she was content in her job until she found out her status.

She did remember one thing about this man. Cursing. When she had seen him last, every other word was a curse word. She also had yelled at him while she was still a Third Seat and he was a Vice Captain, which was pretty much a big no no, but she actually gained some respect from him for it. I guess having the guts to yell at a superior was enough to earn a little respect. Though, it would be interesting if she did get the Captaincy, since he would then be her underling, though she would guess he would be quite a handful.

Once he spoke, she immediately clenched her jaw shut. The only thing visible would be that her smile was now a closed lipped smile with a little twitch moving in her jaw. She hated the cursing. But, she knew that even if she said anything, it wouldn't stop the man from cursing more. When he said Flamehead, she assumed that he was talking about Kaen. The samurai was, of course, directed at her. It seemed that he was being sarcastic, since they both left to eat lunch in peace. She looked up at him. "Well Kubi-fukataichou, it seems that you're an even better example of work with your box of wine that you're carrying around."

[Kaijin"Harle"Quinn]

It was the first day... The first day that she had been promoted to that of Captain. The beginning of what she had longed for. Her previous goal had been fulfilled, which only began an entirely new path for her to take. Another step towards her long term goal with Marcus. There was more that she required before it was realized. But for now the Jester could take a single day off from all of the hard work and effort she had put into it all to climb the ranks. There was no way that she was going to forfeit it over to any other. For the first time in a long while the French woman felt pride in what she had accomplished. Well, what she was doing was beside the point since it was a day to herself.

Leaving behind her Hatori behind in her new quarter's Harle decided to take a stroll out to stretch out her tired limbs and fatigued mind, and enjoy the fresh air and the company of the common folk. She hadn't yet adjusted to the authority itself after all the time she had been directing the Squad as a Vice Captain. Anywho, she was not going to give a hoot at least for a good while. That said she had kept herself occupied by playing with the children of the Rukon district. Many of them appeared as though they hadn't had fun or hope in a long time, so the Shinigami did as had always done for the lost souls of children. Playing with them, treating to them to the joys and wonders of magic is all that Harle could do for them. As for providing and offering their assistance to uphold the unfortunate of the people in need, Harle understood very well what it meant to be in their positions, and the pride in wanting to help themselves. Besides that, she wouldn't want to force her good intentions onto others. No.

When the time came to rest Harle simply spoke to the little wee ones that she had to rest for some time before going back to play, so she made sure that the children were fulfilled and able to have fun with each other without the need of her assistance. Keeping herself inconspicuous was a tad bit difficult with her in her average jester's attire. A pale white face paint that concealed her natural creamy skin color, black eye liner shaped a half star along the ridges of a single eye and a blue tear drop below the other. The black and white color scheme was a definite give away as her small bells jingled at the ends of her twin tail jester's headpiece. Even using her stealth to its upmost potential was a bit awkward too. Guessing going out in such clothing was not the most brilliant she had when venturing out of the Seireitei, but how was she suppose to get comfortable if she was not in them?

Long story short it would be after she managed to purchase some rice cakes and a pair of vanilla ice cream balls... "mochi" as the Japanese referred to them as, the alluding Captain stumbled upon a small group of Shinigami on the other side of the shacks she was currently passing. A dead give away really when they spoke about squads and "fu.. ka..tai.chou" or whatever. Some swearing was heard as well, but didn't bother the woman at all. It was not the first time she had heard such foul mouths before. But still. It was after leaping onto the wooden hut softly to seat herself along the ledge of the roof, chewing on the first of her two mochi. "Oh oh oh... iz zis un parte par ze?" she inquired before rolling back to the other side of the shack to avoid their gaze, then shortly bursting around the shacks to appear across their field of vision.

Harle merely used her speed to appear and reappear in the blink of an eye, stepping out from the shadows of the shacks across, playfully as she continued to chew on her soft ball of ice cream, "Harle iz here to play az well." she giggled as though she were a child herself.

[Kaen Youji]

Adopted into the family. Sozen was really power hungry. Kaen didn't like that. At all. He took a bite of his takoyaki. But there wasn't much he could do about it as it was. The Kuchiki's just kept getting stronger and stronger. One family should not carry so much power.... Kaen thought privately, as he listened to Hotaru's tale. So. She was a little like him. Joining the Gotei 13 to get stronger. A common enough goal, and a major reason in why Kaen had joined as well. "Seems we have more in common than just a fire zanpakuto then." He commented, switching back to his tea. He'd only drained about half the cup so far. Of course he doubted Sozen had seen anything in Hotaru but her strength. Her potential. Oh well. As long as she was happy, Kaen wasn't going to rain on that parade. She'd told him a bit about herself. Useful stuff. Motivations were always important to know. They could be used to aid someone, or used against them. Moral was an equally important thing for a shinigami.

And then Kubi showed up, and Kaen's eyes narrowed. "Kubi." He said curtly. "Your captain's still letting you carry the title "Vice Captain"? Geez, the tenth squad's really fallen on hard times hasn't it?" He commented, matching Kubi's attitude with his own. Kaen did not have a particularly high opinion of Kubi. The last time they had fought it had been a slaughtering victory in Kaen's favor. The other Vice Captain had failed to land a single blow, even with all of his might. That in itself wouldn't have bothered Kaen, had it not been for the entitlement Kaen had found in him, as Kubi demanded Kaen release his zanpakuto when he hadn't even forced Kaen to draw his sword. He'd probably gotten stronger since then, but Kaen didn't care. Until Kubi proved himself in Kaen's eyes, the 7th squad Vice Captain would see him as undeserving of the title "Vice Captain." Vice Captains were meant to set an example for their squad and in that, Kaen believed Kubi failed utterly. Well. Then again. Wasn't Okusa Shogen the captain of the tenth squad? ....Ugh, but screw it. At least Okusa was strong. He could be something to aspire to in that regard at least. Kubi wasn't even that.

"Harle iz here to play az well." Wait, what? Kaen had been so distracted by Kubi's appearance and Hotaru's company he had somehow completely failed to notice harlequin appear out of nowhere, and this realization caused Kaen to do a second spittake as he drank his tea. This time, not necessarily certain in which direction the hot beverage was being sprayed. "Son of a-- how do all you people manage to find me?" He exclaimed in astonishment. "Ugh... apparently I need to pick a new hangout spot if I want to be discrete." He muttered. Well, it was what it was. He'd been enjoying Hotaru's company so far. Maybe the newcomer and Kubi might prove that the more the merrier had a certain truth to it afterall. He didn't recognize Harle though. Much as he hadn't recognized Hotaru. Her recent promotion had evaded Kaen's notice, but he could tell she was, at least a shinigami. No normal rukon citizen could have moved like that.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru smiled at that. She assumed that the other thing that they had in common was the joining of the Gotei 13. She nodded agreement, sipping on her coffee and ate two pieces of sushi. She hadn't forgotten that Kubi was there, but since Kaen was actually addressing her, she changed her face to one that was happier. After she had nodded her answer, she went make to a tighter lipped smile, focusing more on food. When Kaen noticed him, she could tell that Kubi didn't impress Kaen at all. Especially based on the comment Kaen said after calling the shinigami out by name.

From that comment alone, she wanted to see more of Kubi. What she means by that is that she wanted to see him fight more. She had seen him fight regular hollows before, which was an easy fight, but now she was curious how he would fight against another shinigami of equal or greater power to his own. She contemplated this while eating one of her rice balls. When she heard another voice, she almost choked on her rice ball. She hadn't noticed this new woman popping up. She looked over and noticed that the new Captain of Squad 2 had joined them as well. She had no idea that this man people were going to be here. "Hello, Harle-taichou. How are you?"