The Seireitei Mixer (Social, PG-13, All Gotei 13)

[Satoshi Fuuko]

"Wha-huh!?"

There was a loud blast and subsequent rumble that roused Fuuko from her slumber. As Fuuko shot up and looked around, the bubble she was blowing with her nose popped. She blinked, wiped her eyes and glanced around. Everything seemed much... quieter than usual. She had only been in the Squad 4 for a few days, but those days had been filled with hustle and bustle and chores and... her brother. She blinked again and raked her fingers along her chest, scratching it absentmindedly as she processed earlier conversations.

'Ahhh, shit!" She realized immediately that today was supposed to be some bic mixer thrown by Squad 3. It had already started and her and Kazuhiko were supposed to go together. She had decided to take a little cat nap before the festivities. She explicitly told Kazu to wake her up if she was sleeping but she couldn't recall one time where he ever did that.

"Dammit, the one time ya gotta let me sleep, Kazu!" Fuuko grabbed her zanpakutou, shoved it into her obi and hastily tied her sandals. She rushed out of the barracks to make her way to Squad 3. When she arrived, she was greeted by a well blasted entrance and warily entered the party area. She stepped through the entrance and looekd around. No one seemed to be doing anything but mingling as she stepped through the splintered door and searched for Kaszu. When she spotted her much smaller little brother, she barked fromt he entranceway without even thinking.

"OI, KAZU! WHY DIDN'T YA WAKE ME UP!?"

With her greeting out of the way, she marched up to her brother with long strides, not realizing who he was speaking to until she was right up on him and the squad 11 captain. "Oh, shit!" She clucked and peered at Kimiko, sizing up the squad 11 captain. She then grinned widely and looked at Kazu. Her mouth opened and then she stopped. She slid her thumb along Kazu's face, wiped the ham glaze off it and sucked it off her thumb. "Geeze, Kazu, I didn't teach ya ta eat like a slob." She muttered and then looked back at Kimiko. One hand clapped around Kazu's head and pulled him right up against her ample chest while the other hand struck out to Kimiko. Her grin was wide and infectious. She knew who Kimiko was, if only because she had wanted to join the woman's Squad as soon as she found out about them.



"Taaaichou, nice ta meetcha! Don't tell me this was yer plan all along, Kazu?" Fuuko said, giving Kazu a rough noogie. "Pretendin ta get us in Squad four, then goin behind my back an talkin to the Squad 11 captain!? It ain't nice playin pranks on yer big sis, ya know!" Her eyebrow cocked up. "Unless..." Fuuko shook her head and then scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Handsome as Kazu is, and a Captain you may be, Kazu ain't ready for that! I got some pride as a big sister regardless of yer rank and attractiveness, ya know!" Fuuko said and pointed a thumb at her chest, nodded, closed her hand into a fist and slapped it against her chest.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko would quietly observe the boy as he took the plate out of her hands. Frankly, there wasn't much she could say in the moment. On one hand, it was mostly because there was nothing to be said then; after all, considering what just happened to the poor guy's previous plate, it was better to just let him enjoy his food in peace. However, on the other, it was because she was downright taken aback by what she would then witness. In the span of perhaps a few seconds, practically every bit of food that she had brought to him had been instantly consumed. The ham practically vanished and so did the meat that was previously settled onto the chicken drumsticks, leaving behind nothing but little crumbs and bones. It was needless to say that to see such a process occur so quickly and efficiently shocked the woman just a little bit.  Wow, he was... hungry,  her thoughts commented then as she briefly stared at the now-empty plate, bewildered.  And I thought I ate fast.

Once the plate was emptied, the Captain made sure to keep her own plate away from the medic. As much as she was ready to give him some of her fries and pieces of sushi, she did not want all of them to be gone in an instant like the ham and the chicken, which was rather reasonable, all things considered. Then again, perhaps she did not need to do this, as the subject of food would be momentarily put aside the moment the young one would look up towards Kimiko. He had not noticed the one who had spoken to him while he was eating the food that had been given to him. That much was a given, else he would not have reacted the way he did once his eyes settled upon the superior officer's. It was somewhat of an intense reaction for her to witness, to say the least. The immediate recognition of her rank, the rushed bowing, the successive apologies... It was all done so quickly that his own oversized weapon barely allowed him to do these things efficiently.

Unsurprisingly, his reaction took Kimiko aback yet again. It has not been that long since she has been promoted to Captaincy, and so to see someone acknowledge her in such a bombastic way was a bit... Well, it was embarrassing. She couldn't even remember the last time someone spoke to her in such a way, not even while she was wandering around the quarters of her division. "Woah, woah, it's okay. You don't need to apologize for something like that," she would respond to him quickly in an attempt to settle him down. His energy was something to behold, to say the least, even if it was perhaps not exactly put in the right place. There really was no need for him to react so intensely, especially not here in a place where everyone is supposed to be at their calmest. Then again, she did make quite the impressive entrance for her squad, and so did that teacher with that explosion of his. Maybe she was being a bit hypocritical here...

Well, the boy at least didn't remain apologetic for too long. After the two began to speak of the Academy, he became much more comfortable. In a way, Kimiko couldn't help but smile at how proud the new officer was about his academical success. It was nice to see people succeed, especially when they succeed in doing something that is rather difficult. Even though it has been years now since the Captain has had to do anything scholarly, she still believed that the Academy's workload was no joke. Funnily enough, though, it seemed as though the boy could not quite believe that. Hell... he seemed to have had difficulties with that teacher from before. Heh. How relatable. "Nah, it wasn't because of him... I had another teacher: Shinkawa Hamanai-sensei," she would tell the boy before appearing comically disheveled. "Last I heard, he isn't teaching anymore, but man, he was just... He was an old fart who hated anyone who wasn't good at using spells. I can't even cast Byakurai, so you can imagine how that went between us." 

That man most definitely had been a challenge for Kimiko. Though he most likely was nothing now more than a memory for the Academy and its students, the fearsome Shinkawa Hamanai remains one of the aspects of the school the Captain could remember most. Even now, she could remember his bitterness, his jealousy, his hatred. Hell, every now and then, she still receives hate letters from him. Not as many times as before, obviously, since it appears he occupies within the council of Central 46 nowadays, but still one or two every once in a while. If it was not for Celes' involvement in her Shinigami education, Kimiko was not sure where she would have ended up by the end of her academic years. Considering this, she wasn't sure of how much worse Raion - the Beast-clansmen from before - could be in comparison to Hamanai. Sure, he appeared incredibly eccentric and seemed quite pushy, but he didn't seem to be bitter to anyone or outright mean. Well, not now, at least. Just for that alone, she preferred him in comparison to the now-politician.

Before they could fully continue their conversation, however, a newcomer to the party would suddenly raise her voice in their direction, causing the Captain to turn her red-eyed gaze towards the voice's direction. Its owner appeared to be a brash blonde woman wearing a very light attire. Frankly, at a first glance from afar, said attire barely appeared as a Shihakusho to Kimiko, so much so that she almost thought the girl was wearing casual clothing. Once she was able to reach both the Captain and the smaller boy - who she personally named Kazu - it would not take much longer for superior officer to understand who she was supposed to be.  I'm guessing this is his sister. Well, they look the part, at least... Same energy too,  she would guess quietly as she observed the interaction between the newcomer and the small Shinigami, noting the girl's own attention towards her brother and her dotting.  He must have taken all of that from her.

The girl did not bother to introduce herself to Kimiko. That was already a bit bothersome, but the officer was able to figure a few more things out of her words. Apparently, she too was a member of the Fourth Division. She was also very protective of him. Perhaps too protective. The way she held him so close and appeared to not allow him to have much agency in this current conversation was strange to Kimiko. What was even stranger than this was how the girl assumed that Kimiko was attracted to Kazu, something which she was apparently going to fight against "regardless of her rank and attractiveness", in her own words. This made Kimiko raise a brow. This girl was supposed to be apart of the Fourth Division? She spoke like someone from the Eleventh! Well, since this appears to be appropriate here, the Captain might as well speak to her like she speaks with her own subordinates: with strength and conviction, without giving the other the chance to make her back down.

"I don't know where you got that from, but that's not what's happening here. We were just talking about the Academy. That's it," she first shot the girl's ridiculous thoughts down as quickly as possible. The last thing she wanted out of this conversation is for some rumors to be spread about her liking little boys. Yes, this was the Soul Society and it was thus difficult to gauge someone's age. No, that did not mean that she couldn't care about people's appearances, and the last thing she needs on her conscience right about now is some stupid stories to be told about her. Trying to deal with her Inner Hollow was already difficult as is at the moment, even if she was happy with the current state of her affairs. Thus, she really did not need any more stress. Once this subject would be dismissed, she would then bring the conversation elsewhere. "Anyway... how are things going at the Fourth Division so far? I imagine they haven't had enough time to give you much yet."

[Kimiko Shihoin]

Moving throughout the Shinigami at the social gathering was a large wolf of black and gray fur, more than a single wolf actually, three of the wolves that over the last few months many of the Shinigami in Seireitei would have started to see on a more common note. Haunzu at the moment was doing more than just sitting at the gathering with several others moving throughout Seireitei although they all were more interested in the goings on around their mistress. The social gathering that so many seemingly came to attend. Haunzu stepped around so many found his way to one of the food tables. Leaning back on his hind legs to find a plate with a particular piece of meat.

Grabbing the plate by its edge with his front teeth Haunzu moves back down to all fours then turns and begins to make his way back towards the front entrance of the gathering. By the time he reaches the front his mistress arrives. Kimiko finally having the time to do something other than paper work was delighted to learn of such a gathering. Despite being in times of constant attack there weren’t too many occasions like this that involved everyone trying to relax and have a good day to offset the bad. Dressed in her typical attire with her haori fur as comfortable as ever, Kimiko looked around to see quite a few of the newly appointed in attendance.

Just like that though Kimiko can see herself directly in front of her, a fact that meant Haunzu had found her. The Haunzu that had gotten her a small bit of food now approached. Reaching down and grabbing the plate from his mouth Kimiko smiles at her zanpakuto. “Thank you Haunzu. You didn’t need to come though.” Kimiko looked down not just at the Haunzu who’d brought her a plate, but the two at her sides. Three of them hadn’t really listened, believing they needed to be with her at all times due to the certain attacks. Kimiko though wouldn’t tell them no or seal them when she was doing her best to let them experience more than just the inner world lately.

[Satoshi Fuuko]

Fuuko's eyes lit up at Kimiko's dismissal of her accusation. "He's very handsome, Taichou~" Fuuko said, leaning in and digging her knuckles into Kazu's head for an aggressive noogie. "Aintcha, Kazu!" Fuuko asked, though she wasn't really giving him a chance to answer with a practical choke hold and smother applied to him.

"Oh? The Academy?" She said, relenting enough to let Kazi breath, keeping an arm around his shoulders, but otherwise backing off. "Was Kazu telling ya how awesome he was?" She wagged a finger. "Don't brag too much, Kazu!" She playfully scolded. "The Academy was ok. I barely passed, though. I got fightin down, but I just can't wrap my head around Kidou." She wiggled her finger. "No matter what I just end up blowin somethin up, usually me! Ha!" Fuuko grinned widely. "It sucks! It ain't how I wanna fight anyway! Blastin people? Tch!" Fuuko shook her head. 

"Squad Four..." Fuuko shrugged. "I'm barely settled in but it's sooooo booooring! Since I can't do healin, they're gonna make me sweep sewers all day..." Fuuuko sighed deeply, a very defeated sigh. She then ssqueezed Kazu's shoulder. "But... that's the division Kazu wanted ta go to, so, I joined up." She sighed again, much shorter and with some determination attached to the end. 'That's why I thought he might be talkin ta you, Taichou. Maybe he decided ta get a transfer to a more excitin squad!" Fuuko pursed her lips. 

'But I guess he was just bein friendly..." Another deflated sigh. 

[Tala Selao]

Tala had been putting the performance together as soon as he'd heard about the mixer, and indeed before he'd even asked the Captain about it although he figured he'd be okay with it as long as he was cautious. He hasn't really told anyone what he had planned and had only managed to gather a handful of other performers from within his squad to help him. Finding the ones that had some experience in what he was a little harder than he'd expected but he was grateful that he'd managed to find any at all. The past three days had been somewhat hectic and chaotic, those who have met or know Tala have seen him been the most busy and excited they'd ever seen him as he helped train and choreograph the performance that was to be shown later tonight. He's even spent most of his off time practicing his own part as well as a little something special.

So to say that Tala needed no reminder about tonight was an understatement as he made his way around the mixer to ensure that the performers who were to help him were ready and aware of where to met when the time came but he allowed them to enjoy the party until then. He doesn't drink much himself, and unless he's directly spoken too, he just gives the occasional smile and wave at those who are in attendance as his mind is rather plagued with the thoughts of the performance, going over the steps in his head.

A lone familiar figure drew him out of his anxiety riddled thoughts as he spots Zatoshi sipping on his rice wine alone and figured he'd catch up with his fellow squad mate. So he quickly makes his way over to him, dodging and weaving the occasional arm and leg and gives Zatoshi a warm and cheerful smile, "Hey there! Not much of a fan of parties?"

[Camila Adaronde]

Iroka: 20% bonus with any participant here!
Celes: 10% bonus with any participant here!
Kazuhiko: 10% bonus with any participant here!
Nakajima: 30% bonus with any participant here!
Fuuko: 10% bonus with any participant here!
Raion: 10% bonus with any participant here!
Unfortunately, Tala, Zatoshi, and Kimiko Shihoin fell short of 10 paragraphs, so no bonus here.