School's Out

[Ume Oboro]

Ume opened her phone and looked at the little dot that represented her and the lines it had been following that led her to the Dojo she was going to. During that horrible day where Turkey hollows flooded the human world, she had been accosted by a Captain who had carved up her turkey like so much holiday meal. As Ume recalled, the womna had been quite perturbed at Ume's situation, but the young Nijuubantai shinigami had a similar feeling. The woman had all but excoriated her for not killing the Turkey on site. Well, not only wasn't Ume capable  of it, she was also far too scared to try! 

The bespectacled girl snorted and then began wiping the glasses her hot breath had fogged up. Clearly there was only on brain cell between the entirety of the Juuichibantai if that's how their Captain thought. She was a machine, a tool, built for one reason: extermination. She was the tip of the spear and the only thing sharp was her blades. Far be it from her to ask why  a gaggle of Turkey Hollows was suddenly unleashed upon the human world. No need to ask who might have done it. Bothering with why they might have done it would have taken up precious time that could have been used for slaughtering it. 

As far as Ume was concerned, as terrying as the beasts were, they had qualities that were worth studying. Of course someone else could do that, but she had collected data. SHe had even gotten a live sample. She had achieved on behalf of the Science and Technology Division and she had been promoted for it. Once the time passed where she was no longer involved with Project Wattle she could get back to her duties in the observational department. 

That's when she started thinking about what Captain Nakajima had said. She had demanded Ume go to her dojo. Unfortunately, dojos were where people went to do physical activity, so she quickly dismissed that idea. Unfortunately, Kimiko was a captain. Not only that, but the strongest captain of the strongest division. If the woman wanted to, she could kill Ume just by flexing her muscles. Clearly someone Ume did not  want to piss off. Preservation of life and a quick map search later and she was at the door. 

She looked it over and sighed. She was still wearing her labcoat, but her zanpakutou was slid into her obi sash. Ume pushed open the door and looked around. Her head turned from left to right and then back to the left. She didn't see  the captin, and she fullfillwed her promise. "Nakajima-taichou?" She muttered. "It's Oboro Ume.... the turkey girl..." Ume muttered and then winced at her own worlds. She hoped that wouldn't stick. She counted to three and then exhaled. "Ok, guess you're not here. Bye." She said and then turned around to leave. At least she could say she kept her "promise" One that wasn't totally made while she was afraid or while she was under duress. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Three days ago, within the place now commonly known as the 40th western district of Rukongai, a certain event had occurred which many considered to be somewhat rare. Indeed, on that day, a particular holiday had been celebrated. For those who were aware of its existence or were capable of recalling it after their passage into the afterlife, it was known as Thanksgiving, a ceremony of the fall harvest and of acquaintances. In short, it was the honoring of relations and of success in life. Naturally, this made it a rather common event to organize within many countries of the Living World, as in the eyes of many Humans, there is nothing that matters more than friends and family. However, for those who have already passed, this objective has steadily lost its meaning over the years, especially for those who remained within the aforementioned Rukongai district. That was, until what may as well have become their honorary leader, the warrior known as Nakajima Kimiko, decided to make it so that the district would celebrate it out of the blue.

There had been no warning of this celebration. There was no foreshadowing, no prior plans, and no dates to take into account of. In fact, some of the district's people would describe the celebration as being spontaneous, if nothing else. But nevertheless, in spite of the suddenness of the event, the people followed the directives of their leader, partaking in the energy that she was liberating and the sheer heart that she was showcasing as usual. There was no hesitation, no word of protest from anyone within the district, not even the most stubborn of them all. All that could be seen from each and everyone who participated in the event was the sheer drive to see it through. This resulted in the creation of one particular variant of the Thanksgiving holiday, a day of commemoration for the hard work everyone had accomplished throughout the last few years so as to bring about its current state. This variant would be referred to by the people of the district as the Eighteen-Feathered Festival.

The celebrations went well. For hours, the people - all clad in various colors of autumn - paraded throughout the streets of the district with great turkey dolls and toys, and they enjoyed great foods all centered around the particular cooking of the bird. The main organizer of this event, the aforementioned leader, was there, too. She enjoyed her time with each and everyone as much as she could throughout the first few hours alongside countless officers of the Gotei 13, guardians of the heavenly realm. Then, as the time soon reached midnight, things began to slow down. The people grew tired, their restlessness and boundless energy rendered moot by both the aforementioned food and the alcohol that had also been served alongside it. It was to be expected; after all, a holiday can only last for long before the motivation it brings about steadily loses its flow. Finally, come two in the morning, the festivities were over and silence finally reigned over the district.

It had now been three days since the Eighteen-Feathered Festival had officially come to an end. Even to this day, across the entirety of the district, the people were picking up what had been left off throughout the festival. Such was the unfortunate side effect of having welcomed more civilians of Rukongai than expected. Here and there throughout the streets was various types of litter, ranging from the least offensive - such as small turkey origami and other paper dolls - to the most inconvenient, namely glass left from broken bottles of alcohol. That was not mentioning the lingering smell of cooked turkey that remained in the town alongside the litter. Nevertheless, the cleaning efforts had been rather astounding, as made evident by the fact that there were still people actually even bothering picking up the litter all the while accomplishing their daily activities. Morning and afternoon classes at the district's dojo, Nijūkan West, had even been cancelled for the time being so as to completely focus on this task at the district's own pace. Needless to say, it was a remarkable effort... one that Kimiko didn't believe she brought much contribution to.

It was true that the Captain of the Eleventh Division and owner of the dojo had organized the event. It was also true that it was a spontaneous thing, something that she made somewhat made up on the spot without even so much as warning her students as well as rest of the people of the district in advance. However, she hadn't done it because she suddenly wanted to celebrate the holiday. That was just an excuse that she had made up in her mind just so that she could push herself to do it. No... She had organized the festival because she wanted a distraction. Her Inner Hollow had been right in calling her out. She wanted something to keep her from thinking about everything that had been happening as of late, from the entire ordeal that has been ongoing within the Living World and the managing of Kazuhiko down to the last decision that she had made in order to bring some semblance of security to Ruhe. And the worst part about it all? It was that it didn't even work. 

After those aforementioned first few hours, which was perhaps maybe two or three hours after the festivities began, the swordswoman had been forced to leave the district in order to take care of something that had happened in Karakura Town. Just about as spontaneous as the birth of her own festival, a multitude of turkey Hollows had appeared in Karakura Town. There were a horrible amount of them too, so much so that she had stopped counting them after a while. Even though she had attempted to wrap that up as fast as she possibly could, the operation had lasted for such a long time that, by the time it was all over, she had probably spent the entire evening and following night stuck in the Living World. In other words, what was meant to be a night that could follow her to forget the world even for a very short amount of time, a singular even that could have allowed her to simply just enjoy life at its fullest... was ironically taken away from her by the very thing that she had based her entire festival on: a pack of turkeys.

To say that she has been somewhat frustrated since was nothing short of an understatement. Not only had the cleansing of the Hollows been horribly boring, given that they had posed no challenge to her in the slightest, but she wasn't even able to actually come back to her festival in time. In fact, the only thing that she came back to was the litter, which wasn't a very pleasant sight to behold, even if it had been expected. With that said, there was at the very least one thing that prevented that horrible evening from being too terrible for her. While she was cleansing the Hollows, Kimiko came across a scientist of the Twelfth Division, a researcher going by the name of Oboro Ume who wished to capture one of the turkeys in order to conduct research on them. The woman was, in every sense of the word, inept when it came to the art of combat. She couldn't wield her Zanpakuto at all, causing her to struggle against even a single one of the Hollows back during the time of the incident, and thus, Kimiko had felt great pity for her. Well... disappointment was perhaps the better word here, but let's go with pity. 

Since the incident, Kimiko and Ume had formed a deal with one another. In exchange for the capture of a few of the Hollows, the Captain would teach the researcher how to properly defend herself with her blade. It was a simple deal, one that the superior officer so far, and now, she wanted Ume to return the favor. So, Kimiko had been waiting since then, hoping that the scientist would actually decide to show up. Fortunately, not much had happened since then, given that the district was still recovering the celebrations and there hadn't been any prominent attacks against the Living World as of late. In other words, it had been the perfect time for Kimiko to simply get some rest at the dojo and simply enjoy her time with her students there, even if it wasn't quite the time that she had been hoping to enjoy with them. Those cleaning efforts, after all, sure had caused the dojo to be pretty quiet as of late, and it was clear that most of the people of the district had somehow understandably grown tired of turkey.

Today, Kimiko had mostly been training on her own on one of the training dummies of the facility. The massive courtyard as well as many of the school's other buildings had been somewhat emptied, all except the northern temple which appeared to be moderately filled today. It had only been about an hour since she had started near noon, the time during which the open sun above shone its rays onto the courtyard as brightly as it could, and yet the dummy that she was training on was already severely damaged. The damage it had received, however, was not quite from her blades, for it would otherwise sport many cuts and other sword scars. Instead, it had been somewhat crushed, pressed onto by the sheer pressure of the teacher's energy to the point that its metallic structure had been horribly bent downward. In a way, it almost appeared like a tin can crushed underneath someone's foot. This officer wasn't quite sure of when this happened, having been lost in her training as she did so. However, the sight caused her to sigh in quiet disbelief, as though she couldn't believe that she had lost control at some point, and simply look down towards the white blade. "Shizukakane... Can you please...?"

She was about to ask the spirit of the weapon for a moment of counsel. It had been a time since they had last spoken, and frankly, she was starting to believe that now was perhaps the time for them to talk again. With that said, she did not have the time to finish her sentence, as it would be then that she would hear the familiar groaning of the gates from the room's window. This would cause her to raise a brow, namely because she hadn't been expecting her students to return from their cleaning duties so soon, and thus, she would decide to leave the room and the eastern training facility so as to investigate. Her pace was somewhat swift, if only because of the uncertainty behind this visit. For all she knew, it could be someone important from the Gotei 13 coming to warn her about something. It could also instead only be one of the townsfolk down below who wanted to ask her something. Either way, she sped further and further... until she was able to see what was peaking from the gates.

It was the scientist from before.

In that moment, Kimiko blinked and simply stared at her from afar near the doors of the eastern facility. In all honesty, she was rather surprised to see that the scientist had actually bothered to respect her side of the deal, given that she was not at all someone that the officer could even so much as consider to be at least in-shape. As such, a pleased smile began to creep onto the Captain's face, shortly followed by an air of pleasantness and satisfaction. "Oh, hey! Good mor-" she was about to say from afar before, suddenly, the scientist's head stopped peaking from the gates. Instantly, the rising brightness around the superior officer dimmed, and soon, it was replaced by comical frustration as she very quickly began to speed walk towards the gates at a speed of 400. Then, without warning, she pushed the gates with as much strength as she could before standing there with a bright yet obviously irritated smile. "Hello, Ume!" She greeted again. "It's so nice of you to finally show up!"

Oh no! You won't escape this easily!

[Ume Oboro]

Ume was halfway turned. So close to being out the door after fulfilling her promise to the Squad 11 captain. Even as she was turning she fel her heart start to race even before the rest of her caught up with what was happening. The subtle change in the atmosphere when one was using Hohou. Ume was intimately familiar with it, even if she would prefer to move as little as possible. She knew Kimiko was barely even using it. To the Captain, she was probably just taking a big step, but Ume still understood it. The faint greeting that Kimiko had initially put out int he air tickled her ear. 

Kimiko was in Ume's face within the blink of an eye, with no effort and, even though Ume had an idea she was approaching, She still gasped in surprised at the force with which Kimiko appeared. She loomed over Ume and the scientist's eyes widened. She sqeaked and fell onto her but. "Ahuehuahuh!" *thud* "Owww!" Ume looked up, softly panting and met eyes with Kimiko, who seemed to be forcing a smile. Ume could almost see the vein throbbing on Kimiko's forehead and blushed deeply. 

She quickly scrambled to her feet and then bowed deeply. 'Nakajima-taichou! Hello!" She said stiffly and awkwardly, like she was being assessed. Squad 12 didn't care much for pleasantries, but who knew about this Squad? Kimiko was the strongest Shinigami in the strongest division and she ran a school. It seemed like all the little polite idiosyncrasies of society that Ume found incredibly distasteful and a waste of time was right up Kimiko's Alley. Ume sighed inwardly and straightened up. 

"I didn't think you would be here, taichou." Ume said and waved her hand, feeling her courage come back. "You're the leader of the Shinigami vanguard. I am not even a seated officer in the juunibantai... although I am... extremely  honored, there's no doubt you are a busy woman. I, too , am busy with my projects in Squad 12. So, you see, there's no need for either of us to actually go through  with any of this. It's just going to be embarrassing for both of us, I assure you." Ume said as she grabbed a handful of her gnarled, purple hair and ran her fingers through it to detangle some of it.

Ume glanced away from Kimiko, then back at her then looked at the door once more. She turned again, assuming (hoping)that would be that. "Ok, bye." Ume said and once again turned to leave. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko's figure loomed over Ume's rather menacingly after the researcher found herself falling right onto her behind. She was standing as tall as she could in her apparent frustration, with her emotional energy - which was still very much a mixture of bright and dark - pouring out in droves in an almost-overwhelming fashion. That particular kind of energy was not at all comparable to the kind she usually released in battle, and yet, it almost seemed just as crushing, making her appear even taller and even stronger than she really was in the moment. Some would believe that this was most likely the purest expression of anger a teacher could have ever shown to anyone right then and there, for this was most evidently the wrath of someone who desperately wanted to teach lessons to someone who wanted to avoid them at all cost. Others would instead perhaps see this as a literal death threat disguised behind the most infernally-kind smile imaginable. Either way, the poor Ume needed to respond before she would get dragged into the seven hells against her will.

Quietly, the dual swordswoman listened to the researcher as the latter properly and perhaps finally openly took notice of the teacher's presence before going on to explain why she could not actually come to the dojo. She would comically just stand there menacingly, taking in every word with her scarlet eyes appearing as though they were literally beaming with anger and her entire being feeling as though it was being surrounded by angry flames. It didn't even seem as though she was moving or even breathing, simply continuing to shine that bright smile all the way through with that maleficent energy which poured into the air. In a way, right about now, she was almost akin to a literal demonic statue about to smite the researcher with the strength of a thousand swords, a depiction of a celestial being of evil or a most terrible judge which most likely did not better the image of the woman Ume had formed in her head throughout their previous operation in Karakura Town.

But unfortunately, this would not reach Ume. Or perhaps it did, for it was clear to Kimiko that she did not wish to actually attend any of the teacher's lessons. She tried to use her lowly position within the Twelfth Division as an excuse to avoid the physical work, making sure to play every single facet of the "busy" card she could possibly use in this situation. She even attempted to persuade the teacher that even so much as attempting to teach anything to the girl was going to be a complete waste of the both of their times, and that they most likely had much better things to do in comparison. It was an exemplary case of proud laziness, the complete showcase of a woman's total wish to not work. Maybe, if Ume had actually used such a strategy against anybody else, she would have been granted the benefit of the doubt. However, she used it against Kimiko... one of the people in the entirety of Seireitei, nay, the entire Soul Society who worked almost harder than even some of the other Captains of the Gotei 13!

So, when the girl would turn around and attempt to run away from her inevitable fate once again, she would feel Kimiko's presence again. The higher officer had appeared right behind her at a Speed of 700, a velocity that was most likely still beyond the scientist's comprehension. Then, the researcher would feel the aforementioned officer's hand land right onto her left shoulder. Even though it was nothing more than a mere pat on the shoulder, the sheer emotional energy that came out of it was downright mortifying. "Now, now, Ume! You can't leave so soon! We still have so much to talk about, you and I!" The words still maintained that bright yet dark tone as they were launched straight from Ume's side, where the dual swordswoman currently stood. It felt like she was talking loudly, and yet she wasn't even talking that loud. In fact, her tone almost seemed soft, dangerously so. "Now, come, come! We've got plenty of food and drinks in our cafeteria! We might even have something that's better than those soda cans of yours!" 

It would be then that Ume would suddenly feel the hand around her shoulder begin to tighten. It was not as tight as what one would expect from one of the most powerful freaks Seireitei had to offer, but it was most definitely something to expect from someone who was at the very least well-trained in the physical arts. Thus, it would prevent her from properly escaping. Then, shortly after... she would begin to feel a pull. At first, it was gentle, as though it was trying to merely guide Ume back towards the school. This would remain this way if the scientist didn't decide to struggle or to flee. However, in the case that she did attempt to do such a thing... Well, the pull would then become much more forceful, and at this point, she would pretty much be literally dragged towards the school evidently completely against her will. "We had a deal! I got you your turkeys, and in return, you said you would take sword lessons from me!" Kimiko would tell the researcher then in a more natural tone as she would bring the student back into the dojo. "I won't let you run away from that!"

Whether Ume responded or not, or decided to actually follow Kimiko without any struggle, the Captain would bring her inside the dojo without consideration for anything that she had said earlier. Really, it was completely unsurprising to see that none of the researcher's excuses were able to make a dent on the swordswoman's opinion of the situation. She was very well-acquainted with the idea of having a busy schedule; in fact, being busy was practically her default state of being. However, she very much knew the difference between being actually busy and using the term as a way to avoid to do something in particular. Even now, she could still remember seeing that kind of attitude in many of her first students, who were constantly attempting to avoid having to go through lessons in order to instead prioritize other activities, which was mainly drinking and eating. Not that she hated those activities, but some things need to be prioritized!

As the two of them would head back through the gates, Ume would be once again introduced to the immense courtyard of the dojo as well as its equally-sizable edifices. While the courtyard was pretty much empty and so was the western living quarters and eastern training facility, the northern temple remained somewhat occupied by those who wished to dedicate their time to their various religions... and evidently, the noise which had come from the altercation between the Captain and the researcher would be enough to cause a person who was siting onto the steps leading to the temple to blink and gaze up. She was a small tanned woman with fiery red hair, golden eyes, and what appeared to be a notable scar on her cheek. Judging by her Shihakusho, she also was a Shinigami, though she didn't appear to be carrying her Zanpakuto. Upon noticing what was happening, she would first lift a brow, but she would then smirk and raise herself up. "Now what the fuck is going on there?" She would ask herself with a smirk before disappearing with the aid of Shunpo. A moment later, she would appear near the two women. "Hey, Kimiko! How's it going? It's been a while!" 

Kimiko would pause for a moment, briefly distracted by the voice of what was more or less a complete newcomer to this situation, then turn her head towards the girl. It would not take long for her to then express her surprise. "Oh, Binita! Hey! Yeah, it's been a while!" She would greet with a friendly tone, one that completely differed from the more severe kind that she used while speaking to Ume. "I guess you came here to check up on me?"

"Well, you've been, like, a little grumpy lately, so I wanted us to hang out!" The officer would exclaim with an encouraging smile before she then turned her attention towards the woman Kimiko was dragging, who seemed to be just about as tall as she was. "Who's that?"

It looks like poor Ume will have to deal with a bit more attention than she was perhaps expecting.

[Ume Oboro]

Ume felt the Captain's grip and shivered at the threatening tone swaddled in gentle coercion. Ume's eyes shifted to the hand that held her firmly and attempted to guide her back into the school. Kimiko even tried to bribe her with food, which Ume wasn't unopposed to, but the NEET curled her lip in a frown at the insinuation that anything could be better than her perfectly formulated energy drink. She adjusted her glasses and glanced at Kimiko. "The formula has been tested heavily to ensure maximum efficiency of energy dispersion and flavor, I assure you." 

"O-Ow." Ume winced when the hand on her tightened and gripped her shoulder hard. Despite Kimiko using kid gloves, Ume still whimpered, but was easily guided by Kimiko. Ume did not try and resist Kimiko's urges, but nor did she go along with them. She was like dead weight, or some kind of dummy, and made Kimiko exert herself enough to need  the force, but not enough to need a lot of it. Ume huffed and panted the whole time until Kimiko brought up the turkeys. 

"Oh, yes, and the Juunibantai is absolutely grateful for your service, taichou. I am sure you are eager to hear about all of the things we have learned after getting our hands on them. Honestly, the fact that we have more than one is a blessing. That way we were able to dissect one and still keep the others-" Ume pursed her lips. Maybe it was better not  to talk about Juunibantai business to outsiders. After all, Aramis only real rule was don't get caught. She needed to remember that. She wasn't even really interested in the stupid turkeys. She didn't pay attention to them when they were shipped off to be examined, she just read the reports. 

Ume sighed when it seemed like Kimiko was taking no for an answer. "Actually, if you let me go, I promise to actually run back to the Juunibantai. I am certain that the exercise I receive running back would do my more good than whatever you have planned for me. I don't get out much, you know." Of course  she knew. That knowledge was why Ume was in this predicament in the first place...

She was pretty sure Kimiko wasn't going to have any of her bargaining, so as she was shoved back through the gates and into the dojo, she took the chance to look around as her heels skidded comically across the ground. Ume winced when she heard the loud voice and looked over, only to see the woman appear in front of them. Even though she knew it was shunpo, the abruptness caught her off guard. 

"Wuaheugh!?" Ume said, flailing and catching herself on Kimiko's shihakushou before peeking around it like a tiny child. When she saw that it was the same Shinigami, she straightened up and cleared her throat. When Bintai asked about her, Ume inhaled and exhaled deeply. "Oboro Ume, Juunibantai researcher, unseated." She said, grumbling as she said the last part, staring at Kimiko as she said it. 

"Nakajima Kimiko, Captain of the Gotei thirteen vanguard, must have a lot of vacation time built up, because she wouldn't dare waste any of her on duty minutes on something incredibly meaningless and insignificant as what she is claiming she wants to do." Ume said and then yawned. "Besides, I'm barely awake." Ume said. "This would be better to do when I have gotten some rest." Ume added, certainly not telling Kimiko that she basically never  slept. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko didn't really believe that her talk of food and drinks was really going to work. In fact, she didn't have the intention to actually use it as a bribing strategy of any kind, as she was just trying to find something that could push Ume to return to her school without resorting to quite literally dragging her back into it. However, once the Captain heard the researcher talk about her soda in the way she did, she couldn't help but pause, completely break out of the emotional mixture she had concocted to threaten the girl, and give her a judgemental look. She had no words to give to her, no criticisms. No, she really only had pure and utter disappointment to give, which culminated into a single expression within her mind: Ew. It was one thing to believe that chemically-made products were efficient, but to say that they were outright better than the real stuff produced in true kitchens... To someone who has eaten nothing but natural foodstuff for decades on end, it was blasphemy.

So her grip around the girl's shoulder tightened and she used even more of her strength to bring the girl back to her school. Her conviction was at her highest as she brought the scientist away from the stairs and back through the gates of Nijūkan West, which led them back into the courtyard. Meanwhile, her mind, body and soul were all set ablaze by what she felt was the greatest urge of willpower she had ever felt as of late, and all it took to keep that flame lit was nothing more than a couple of exclamations that she kept repeating in her head. Truthfully, it wasn't very difficult, as her outrage might as well have been unstoppable at that moment. This wasn't right! It cried out incessantly. The people of Squad 12 couldn't be so dense! They couldn't truly all believe in such absurdities like Ume's weird cola drink! No, they truly couldn't! By the time the same words had been repeated three times in a row in her head, she had made up her mind. She was going to make sure they end up in the cafeteria once this was all said and done, and then get this brat a five-star experience in this dojo, whether she wanted it or not!

Of course, Ume continued her protest to this situation unappended. Even as she was quite literally caught in the Captain's grasp, she attempted to alter their deal with promise after promise. Quite unfortunately for her, there was not a single one of them that Kimiko believed to be effective. Although, perhaps more fortunately for her, the swordswoman didn't quite seem to be very interested about the results of her research on the turkeys they had captured either. "I could care less about what you and the people of Jūnibantai did to those stupid birds! Right now, I care more about your skills as a Shinigami!" She would declare with comical sternness as she dragged the poor scientist. "And no, running for hours on end alone won't do you any good, because you and I both know that you will only do that once and never do it again! You need to at least know how to properly swing a sword! That's the bare minimum a Shinigami should be able to do!" 

Technically, that was not true. While a Shinigami's purpose is indeed to slay Hollows and thus bring balance to the cycle of souls, that objective could be accomplished in a multitude of ways. Some took the standard path of the warrior like she did, but there were many others who instead preferred alternate routes, such as the one Ume had taken as a scientist of the Twelfth Division. This was reflected in the existence of the squads of the Gotei 13 as well as the multitude of fighting styles one could follow after their graduation at the Academy. However, Kimiko was a rather-stubborn woman when it came to what constituted the basics of a Shinigami's fighting style. In her mind, any officer should be required to at least know a certain number of basic sword skills, no matter if they actually appreciated liked using them in combat or instead preferred to rely solely on wizardry or gadgetry. That is quite literally how one can use a Zanpakuto, after all. So if a Shinigami is incapable of actually using their sword... Well, needless to say, she believed this to be a very notable issue that needed to be corrected as soon as possible.

By the time they reach the courtyard, it would be then that Binita would decide to appear before them. Ume appeared to be taken aback by the golden-eyed woman's use of Shunpo, enough so that she found herself quite literally hiding behind Kimiko, much to the Captain's renewed disbelief. The new arrival didn't seem to be that bothered by the researcher's reaction at first, even seeming a little bit amused by it if the little snort that came out of her was anything to go by. With that said, once she heard properly introduce herself, that amusement went moot. It was like watching a balloon instantly deflate in real time. "Oh, you're one of those nerds. Fun," she practically immediately judged, visibly both disappointed and bothered that there was even one of the people from the Science Division in her near vicinity. With that said, once she noticed the Captain's own bothered gaze, she would try to straighten herself up and give Ume a smile regardless. "Anyway! Binita Singh, Nakajima Company, Fourth Seat! Sorry for being bitchy. I'm gonna be honest, I'm not, like, a super big fan of you guys."  

A sigh could be heard from Kimiko in that moment. Straight to the point, huh? Well, at least her friend was making sure to set up her boundaries with Ume right then and there, but she still would have preferred to remain a little bit more friendly with the researcher. Obviously, she wasn't a huge fan of the girl either for the time being, but denigrating her while she was trying to convince her to follow her lessons was not really going to encourage her to keep going. That, and it wasn't like there was a huge amount of people from the Twelfth Division who actually were amongst her students. If the purple-haired scientist comes back to her barracks this evening and begins complaining incessantly about how she was treated right in front of her comrades, the chance of ever welcoming people from the Science Division here was unfortunately gonna be lessened until the end of time. Well, more so than it already was, to put it bluntly.

The problem with Kimiko's belief was that Ume was not going to make that idea of hers any easier. Not even a few seconds after Binita introduced herself, the cola-addict began to rant right in front of her, accusing the warrior's Captain of deliberately skipping on work. In that instant, Binita's eyes widened and a slight flare was felt then in her eyes. Her smile immediately vanished and, no sooner than just about a second later, any fake friendliness that she was trying to hold up in an attempt to ignore the feelings she was apparently holding against the Twelfth Division had outright been pulverized. "Excuse you, hoe?" She spat out then with a notable amount of venom, uncaring of how she threatening she appeared then. Her words felt downright acidic, cutting through the flesh and bone as though they were molten lava. Then, she frowned in realization of something, then scoffed. "Oh, I know who you are... You're that turkey girl ! Pff, like, what, were you allergic to the things? Is that why you needed to waste her time with that shit?"

At a certain point during her talk, her tone had become more taunting, as though she was not criticizing the girl anymore, but downright mocking her for being incapable of actually conducing her research on her own. This caused Kimiko's eyes widened in astonishment. She knew that Binita had a tendency to be rather volatile when it came to defending her, but she had never thought she could go that far. "Binita, that's enough!" The Captain would thus immediately scold with a loud tone. Her spiritual energy downright boomed in that instance, causing a wave of power to wash over both Binita and Ume. It felt cold and seething all at once, pulsating with the superior officer's anger. Needless to say, it was enough to cause the officer to freeze as though she was about to face her friend's almighty wrath if she continued to go on any further. Then, upon considering this possibility, she would decide to verbally back off with a quiet "Right" that trailed off in the air. 

The swordswoman kept an eye on her for a moment, as though she was making sure nothing else would come out of her subordinate for the time being. Once she believed that she had been understood, she turned her scarlet eyes towards Ume. "I'm sorry about that. I tried to keep this deal of ours a secret, but as you can see, word travels fast," she would sigh at that moment. This time, her tone was more serious and commanding, the kind to expect from someone of her rank and less someone who was meant to teach to students in a martial arts school. With that said, it seemed more patient in comparison to practically any tone Ume had heard come out of Kimiko by now. In a way, it was impressive. It commanded respect and a clear attention to the experiences she must have gone through in order to reach her current position. However, it did not last for long, as then, a comically-smug smirk appeared on her face. "Anyway, I have an assistant who does most of the boring work for me. That gives me plenty of time for me to actually do my real work, which is teaching. Now, let's go! I've got plenty of things to teach you!"

And with that, Ume began to be dragged again, this time towards the eastern training facility of the dojo. Binita would stand there somewhat awkwardly, unsure of what to do. That was, until Kimiko would call out to her then with a swift "You can come if you want, by the way!" that reached her almost instantly. Upon hearing those words, the warrior would blink, though very soon, an evil grin would appear on her face before it was then replaced with a sweet smile. "Sure thing! I can help with whatever!"  

[Ume Oboro]

"Owww! Hnnngh!" 

Ume wriggled as Kimiko tightened her grip and scolded the scientist. She was going to have a welt or bruise, she knew it. She couldn't let Kimiko's offenses of her division go unanswered, however. With her free hand, she adjusted her glasses. "What we do to those stupid birds is our skill as Shinigmai! We have a whole division of brainless sword jockeys to stand in front of us and keep us safe while we make the Gotei 13 run more efficiently! When we do our  jobs better, you do your  jobs better." Ume explained, trying to use her brain to get through to the brutish captain. Ume shook her head. "No I don't!" She barked. "You sound like my mother. I made it through the academy without having to." Ume added. 

She had her say and was dragged in front of the rest of the peanut gallery that had shown up to watch her embarrass herself. It was clear from the get go that Ume and Binita would have no love lost between them. She wondered if everyone  in the Juuichibantai was as thickheaded as Kimiko and Binita. She didn't need to take a measure of the squad to know the answer. 

"It's fine." Ume said and glanced from Binita to Kimiko. "The feeling is mutual." Ume said honestly. Then, Binita went off and Ume stiffened up. "Hoe? I don't think that word means what you think it means." She muttered. Ume was a lot of things, but certainly not a hoe. Not in any definition of the word. Binita brought up the turkey and Ume shook her head. "I wasn't allergic of them, I was terrified of them." She admitted. Hollws scared her to death. "I never asked the captain to save me. She used my fear to extort me into coming here." Ume said. "Frankly," Ume said. "She knew I wanted the hollows alive and used that leverage to get what she wanted, knowing I was unable to stop her." 

Ume pressed a finger to her lips. "I still don't understand why she's taken an interest in me..." Ume wondered aloud. Kimiko informed Ume that she had a lot of 'work' to do with her and the NEET sighed. She grabbed a can of energy drink from her labcoat and cracked it open. She guzzled about half of it and then followed Kimiko to wherever she needed to be. And she invited Binita. Cool...

Ume knew Hell existed. She would much rather be there right now than with these two pushing her around and telling her what to do. Were they going to pants  her next and make fun of her? Probably.... Ume guzzled the rest of her energy drink and then held it out and waved it at Binita. "Here, help with this." She said and tossed it at Binita's feet. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

There was nothing that could possibly describe how astounding Kimiko found Ume's personality to be. Not astounding the positive sense, mind you, but in the incredibly-negative sense. Never before in her entire career - both as a Shinigami of the Gotei 13 and as the owner of this dojo - had she met someone who was so incredibly bratty and stubborn, all the while being so openly arrogant. In a way, it felt as though she was talking to a woman-child, an overgrown gremlin who believed herself to be more than what she was simply because she had mastered technology instead of the sword. If anything, it reminded her of a few children Kimiko had observed in the Living World during a few of her Hollow hunts, the ones whose eyes were glued to a cellphone or a tablet while their exasperated parents were trying to get a hold of their attention... and the fact that she had unconsciously compared herself to them in this instant was more depressing than she thought it could be.

But fine! If treating this little thing like a baby is going to get the results she want, then Kimiko will do it! It's not like she hasn't done that before, anyway! She has plenty of younger students at her dojo! She'll get through this one too! Such were the exclamations that exploded in her head as she continued to drag the rebellious Ume towards her inevitable fate. The sheer willpower that she showed then, the utmost determination to see that this officer become a proper officer and not just some worthless office jockey, was nothing short of overwhelming. "The Gotei 13 needs more officers right now! Officers! Not office workers addicted to soda! Your brains are gonna be useless if you can't defend them properly!" She barked back at the purple-haired girl with her scarlet gaze set dead ahead towards the dojo's main gates. By then, her voice was so loud that it echoed throughout the land in an almost comical fashion. "I guarantee you that your Captain would agree with me on that one!"

That was a lie. Quite frankly, even to this day, the swordswoman believed that there was no one out there who acted less like a person than Aramis Tezuka. For all that she knew, he most likely could not care less about Ume's inability to actually wield a sword properly so long as she could actually achieve the results he was expecting from her. But, in a way, therein lied a potential problem. If the turkey situation she and the researcher had gone through was anything to go by, there was no quite simply no way that the bratty girl would be able to achieve anything on her own without the need for either an escort capable of defending her - in other words, a plain bodyguard - or the use of expensive technology that could most likely be required elsewhere. Perhaps the same could be said for the rest of the Twelfth Division, all things considered, and so it wasn't much of a concern for Aramis... but either way, it remained one for Kimiko, and that was enough for her to give it much of her attention.

Ume was going to be the first of the researchers she was going to give her time to. The first, but not the last. Once she gets the opportunity to properly forge a tunnel of communication between herself and the people of the science division, she will make sure that they all be trained for combat in the way that she believed best. That way, they could properly achieve results on their own without requiring the constant need for overly-complex technology that only they can really use, or officers from other squads who most likely have much better things to do in comparison. They could also just be better fighters as a whole too, something which could be intensely useful by the time another threat to the Soul Society decides to appear in the middle of the heavenly realm. There have been way too many of those as of late, and as much is it was indeed true that the Twelfth Division did bring upgrades to the Shinigami's quality of life, it was doubtful that everyone of their researchers would be useful in the front lines.

In any case, then came the eventual meeting between Ume and Binita. As Kimiko had expected, it did not go very well. Their personalities quite simply did not mesh well with one another in the slightest. The researcher was, at a glance, a selfish and entitled person who cared only about research and not much else. Meanwhile, Binita was a very passionate fighter who idolized her Captain to a point that, at times, said Captain found to be somewhat odd. So to see the latter quite literally explode onto the former simply because she could not tolerate any criticism of the swordswoman was less than surprising. Still, Kimiko had hoped that her friend and subordinate could have at least showed a little bit of restraint in front of the researcher to some extent. The goal here was not to push Ume away by showering her in insults and demeaning remarks; instead, it was to keep her interested in the dojo to better her physical condition to a certain extent.

Fortunately, it appeared as though the raising of her voice was enough to keep Binita under control. For now, at the very least, she had become more passive, refraining from throwing any more comments down Ume's way in spite of how many seemed to have already formed in her mind the very moment the scientist had even dared to even mutter a few more of her scathing words. This gave plenty of time for Kimiko to explain what they would do from now on, and to comment on Ume's latest observation. "I've already explained to you why I care about your lack of skills: it's because you at least need to be able to fight. You can research all you want, but all that information is going to be useless to you if you can't defend it. If you still can't understand that, then maybe training is gonna allow you to do so," she summarized, then exclaimed her will to head towards the training facility of the dojo. Looks like it was time for them to go, whether Ume wanted it or not.

Once this matter was settled, the trio would then walk for a little while across the massive courtyard so as to reach for the entrance of the aforementioned facility. As they would do so, Binita followed behind them with her hands in her pockets, still sporting that sweet smile of hers to make sure Ume would have a good look at it every time she would stare at her. But as they moved onward, however, that sweet smile would twitch as Ume did something that the fighter had evidently not expected. Without warning, the scientist suddenly removed a can from her lab coat and... attempted to toss it towards Binita's direction. Kimiko obviously noticed this and widened her eyes at the sight. It was not only an attempt to denigrate her subordinate, but also littering, something which she and her subordinate had been trying to remove since the end of the Thanksgiving celebration. Thankfully, though, before the can could be thrown anywhere... something happened.

The empty soda can that Ume had attempted to chuck towards Binita had simply stopped right and there in the air next to the scientist. All momentum that was once fueling its movement had stopped, and by then, it was quite simply floating in the air by the side of the purple-haired girl's head. Then, suddenly, another soda can came out of the scientist's lab coat, then another, and another still... until they all floated in the air in front of her face. With the way they were stuck close to one another, it was as though something invisible was holding onto them. To say that it was a bizarre sight was a complete understatement. "Oh? What's this? That's so, like, strange!" Binita would feign ignorance as she kept her hands in her pockets, looking at the floating cans with widened eyes of exaggerated surprise. Then, the cans would start floating around Ume, as though they were taunting her to retrieve them. "Kimiko, look, look! The soda cans are rebelling! They want to save this bitch from having a heart attack!"

Kimiko said nothing to Binita at first. Quite frankly, she was on her side on this one. Ume had been rather annoying so far. However, by the time they reached the doors to the training facility, she would simply shake her head with a smile before looking back towards the spectacle. She would observe for a moment, crossing her arms as she feigned a lack of understanding of the situation, then she would let out a snort of amusement. "This must be the work of one of our many spirits here. I suppose this is what happens when you have a temple nearby," she joked inoffensively, trying her best to not go too far with this prank due to their vicinity to the temple. Of course, she wouldn't hold this joke for very long, as she knew Ume would most likely realize that this was not the work of an actual ghost. Thus, after she said those words, she would lower her gaze towards the scientist and speak again. "If you behave, I'll give you a soda can per lesson achieved today. Is that right with you?" 

It probably won't. But, then again... it's not like she had a choice, didn't she?

[Ume Oboro]

Ume stared at Kimiko with a tired expression. She didn't understand why she was being lectured like this. Why Kimiko was putting this much effort into something that was such an obvious  waste of time. She pushed her glasses back up her nose and inhaled as Kimiko explained to her why she needed to do this. 

"I'm no where near  officer status. Believe it or not, there's such a thing as too many leaders and not enough that need to be lead. Menial tasks are a waste of time for Captains. Which, since we have a whole division of people who signed up to be meat shields, if I ever need to go somewhere dangerous, I'll just request that some of them come with me." Ume rubbed her temples. She felt like she was talking to a wall. 

Ume brought up both hands and clapped them together. She pointed at Kimiko. "You. Fight." Ume then tilted her hands back and pointed her thumbs at herself. "Me. Research. I don't understand why this is difficult for you to get, Taichou. Also, I'm not addictive. Why would I create a drink that is addictive? That would be stupid." Ume exhaled. "Sleep  is a waste of time. If I don't have to sleep, then I can be doing literally anything else with my time. " Ume shook her head. "If Captain Aramis was capable of it, he'd be having a fit  at all this wasted time. I should have just let you kill the turkey,. How about that? How about we go back to Squad Twelve and I let you kill the Turkeys. Would that put an end to this?" Ume asked, practically pleading. 

Nothing seemed to get through to Kimiko's thick skull. It made sense why she was the Captain of a whole division  of meatheaded Neanderthals. Unfortunately, one of the flock had decided to stick around. Ume was forced to endure her energy drinks get pulled from her labcoat and fly around her face. She sighed at the trick and Bonita's chortling and ducked and walked under the floating cans and away from them. 

Ume looked at Kimiko as she tried to explain with a nonplussed expression. "We are spirits." She corrected. "Are you saying the ghost world has ghosts?" Ume shook her head. "I'm not addicted. I'n not repeating myself again." She reiterated. "You trying to extort me means that there's possibly a way I could not do any of this, though, so, if that's the case, why don't you keep  the cans, I'll go back to my lab and then make some more and get on with my life? Oooooorrrr, since we both know you'll just bully me if I try and get out of this, how about you just show me what you ant me to do so I can hurry up and get it over with?" 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

A slight sense of exasperation was already starting to slightly wash over Kimiko as all of her attempts to reach Ume in one way or another were starting to fail one-by-one. It was evident that the scientist's opinion of the situation was fully entrenched by her bias of her position within the Gotei 13 and that there was nothing that could easily rip it out of there, no matter how many times she was told that it would be for her own good. Worse yet, she appeared to be truly satisfied by her current role as nothing more than a researcher of the Twelfth Division whose sole purpose is to simply do research, and in so doing, she held no motivation to dedicate her life to anything other than that. From this assumption, some could say that she was perhaps the perfect woman for the Science Squad, a person with such loyalty to one particular part of her world that she would not dare to set out to accomplish anything else. However, in contrast, Kimiko found it all to be rather depressing.

The swordswoman wanted to believe that this was nothing more than an assumption of hers; after all, it wouldn't have been the first time she would have been wrong in the regard. Even now, she could still remember the many times she had erroneously analyzed and, consequently, had made decisions that brought negative returns as a result. Unfortunately, though, the more she spoke to Ume, the more it seemed that this aforementioned assumption of hers about the scientist was completely correct. In a way, she understood why Ume was like this. It was true that the Twelfth's people did not need to train because, ideally, they would never have to fight anything due to the fact that it was quite simply not their duty to do so. They also had one of the most secure bunkers in the entire Soul Society, and so it would be difficult for anyone to properly get through it. Yet the same thing had been said about Central 46's own bunker time and time again... and that one had almost been breached during the latest attack. It took the Captain Commander to make sure something like that would not happen.

So when Ume started going on and on about their responsibilities in order to bolster her protest against the teacher's entire effort, she would first gain nothing more than a blank look from the swordswoman, almost as though the latter could not believe how her own arguments kept flying over the researcher's head time and time again. Her attempt to defend her drink - which Kimiko now completely believed was addictive - as well as her defense of sleeplessness did not make things any better. Eventually, however, the woman's frustration would return with a roll of her eyes. "First of all, a fit is the last thing I'm expecting to see from your Captain... or really anything else, for that matter. The guy probably doesn't even know how to smile," she grunted, now annoyed by the fact that she had brought Aramis to this conversation. She should have kept her mouth shut about that: all his name did for the time being was bring her anger and resentment. "Second of all, again, I don't care about your stupid birds! I care about you and all of the people of Jūnibantai, who I am now convinced will instantly die if one of our enemies is ever able to infiltrate your headquarters! If that happens, what is going to then stop them from stealing away your data and learning more about the Soul Society in the process?"

She doubted that this would be enough to reach the scientist. Oh, very much so. But in truth, she thoroughly wanted not only Ume, but also the rest of the Twelfth Division to understand that. Her understanding of modern technology had been limited by her lack of expertise in the field as well as the many years that she has passed barely interacting with it due to her time spent at her dojo and with her squadmates, but she was still aware of the fact that data could be stored on computers and that the Twelfth most likely kept all of their data on them. Of course, she also believed that this data was guarded, either inside or outside of the computers themselves, by all kinds of protocols and defense mechanisms. With that said, she also believed that there is only so much external automated tasks can do when faced with a dangerous threat who can take them all out in a heartbeat. As for the internal tasks? They can most likely be countered by someone that aforementioned threat can bring along with them, a hacker.

Maybe, in that moment, Aramis will simply decide to erase the data before it is stolen. That way, the people who seek the data will not be able to retrieve it, and so their raid against the Twelfth Division will have been fruitless in that regard. However, as fruitless as it may be in that particular regard, it would have been successful in another regard: the annihilation of the Twelfth's personnel. By accomplishing that task, it would then take months to recruit people from the Academy all in an attempt to restore the ranks of the Science Division to what it would have been prior to such an incident, and it would then most likely take a year or even more to retrieve the data that was lost, unless Aramis has some kind of backup computer somewhere from which he can retrieve what was destroyed. All that time, all that effort... It would have been such an absolute waste that could have easily been prevented by simple combat training.

Was she biased herself? Obviously. That much, Kimiko couldn't ignore; after all, she was a teacher of martial arts, someone who cared very much for the physical well-being and expertise of anybody she meets. This was why, even when she witnessed Binita's little prank later on, she simply attempted to use it as a means to indeed extort the girl. Petty little words from the equivalent of a genius woman-child were not going to deter her from this task she had decided to accomplish for what she believed to be Ume's sake. Of course, Binita didn't actually see all of this from her point of view. Absolutely not. In comparison, she evidently only saw someone who mocked someone she idolized. So, she continued with her little trick, even after she witnessed the scientist barely react to it. "Haha, bitch, you speak like one of those Living World junkies! There's no way you ain't addicted. Like, you just don't wanna admit it. See? Even our little friend agrees," she smirked as the soda cans then moved back in front of Ume and then began to float around her, spinning.

Kimiko, this time, made no attempts to either support or stop Binita, given that they had already reached the training facility. Instead, she opened the doors and proceeded inside, hoping that the two girls were in tow as they all headed into a large corridor. From one side of the corridor were present a multitude of doors leading into several rooms, while on the other side were present a multitude of windows allowing the corridor to be bathed in sunlight. There were also windows located by the doors in order to display what was inside the rooms behind them, though this was not the case for every room. Meanwhile, each ends of the corridor they could see seemed to be occupied by stairs heading towards the upper floors of the training facility, all the while the corridor continued onward in a square formation. The Captain would find herself staring at the doors, her scarlet eyes bouncing from one door to the other as she searched for a room that they could use. Once she was done, she headed towards the nearest door and opened it before heading inside.

There, the trio would find themselves in a surprisingly-spacious, yet empty room. Within the room was located every installation one could expect from a training facility. At the far end of the room near a wall were located several training dummies, the majority of them made of leather while two appeared to be made of reinforced solid steel, and by the door was located a rock filled with various wooden renditions of blades. The variety of these renditions was staggering, ranging from your typical katana to the more distant scimitar and falchion. There was even a rapier. How anyone would be able to properly use Iaijutsu techniques with these kinds of weapons would most likely be nothing short of a mystery to Ume for the time being. Meanwhile, in the center of the room was a large conceived to lessen physical shock and trauma when thrown to the ground. Finally, near the door again was a single clock. It appeared to be wooden and old-fashioned, though it nevertheless remained functional.

Kimiko would go forward and reach the center of the mat before turning towards Ume and Binita. From there on, she would then look towards the researcher and give her a smile, if only because she was glad that they were finally here instead of outside where they appeared condemned to listen to Ume's complaining. "Take one of the wooden swords on the rack there, and we can begin," she told her then before glancing towards Binita. "You can participate with the standard lessons if you want to. You may not have a sword anymore, but my lessons still apply to you."

"Heh, sure. Saikokeni's been telling me that I've been rusty with my basic shit anyway," she admitted before she came forward onto the mat. Her hands were still in her pockets by then, and the soda cans were still floating above Ume. At this point, they appeared almost like an oversized angelic halo. They would continue to float in such a way before they were all placed onto the floor near the door. Kimiko had honestly been expecting something worse from what had been happening there... but she was thankful that it hadn't gone any further than that. The last thing that she wanted to do today was to clean soda. Alcohol and turkey scattered about the district was already bad enough as is.

"How are they doing, by the way?"

"Oh, they're doing great! Well, it's kinda hard to tell sometimes, but they were pretty happy last time we spoke! Like, suuuper happy. Never told me why, but I bet it was because I kicked Dai's ass again!"

[Ume Oboro]

"First of all, That's correct." Ume said, mimicking Kimiko while adjusting her glasses. "There's nothing efficient about smiling, even though it uses less muscles to smile than to frown. However, as much as I loooooathe this horrible training you want to do to me, I will admit, smiling could potentially counteract atrophy in the lips." Ume then lifted up her head. "However, replacing the muscles with cybernetics would be a much more efficient solution than constant activity which takes away from precious research time." 

Ume snorted. "Secondly! You don't  care about me  or anyone from the Research and Technology Division. You only care in that we  don't meet what you expect a shinigami to be. you are an overbearing control freak who can't stand a contrary idea! I assure you that our division would be the most well defended of all the squads if there was another  invasion. just because you don't see our defenses, doesn't mean they aren't there. Just because you have only met myself and Captain Aramis doesn't mean we represent the entirety of the division either." Ume wiggled her finger at Kimiko. "Judging a book by its cover. How very Juuichibantai of you." Ume replied back. 

She glanced at Binita as she started talking and her drooping eyes sagged even more. "Whatever." She groaned and "Who are you again? Don't you have a sword to swing or something?" Ume said, ducking under the cans and dragging herself over to the wall of practice swords. She reached up for one and grabbed it off the wall. She inspected it and then turned to face Kimiko and held it up with two hands before her arms wobbled and it clunked to the ground. The reverberations, like a bat hitting a baseball, ran up her arms and she dropped it. As it clanked to the ground, she sighed and grunted as she dropped down to a knee to pick it back up. "Why is it so heavy?" She groaned and picked it back up again, holding it with two hands, cradling it in her arm like a baby as she walked back over to Kimiko and Binita. 

It had seemed like she hadn't been paying attention while she got her sword, but she was listening to the small conversation and when she approached, she looked genuinely intrigued. "What does she mean?" Ume asked. "What do you mean she doesn't have a sword anymore? How can you not have a sword?" The NEET asked incredulously. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

A moment of pause came over Kimiko as she listened to Ume's first argument. For that moment, it almost appeared as though every single bit of expression that was once plastered over her face had all but disappeared in favor of a distant look as her brain attempted to understand how it was supposed to react to the words the scientist had just said. On one hand, there was a fair amount of shock in there that she hadn't been expecting. Never before had she heard someone describe the efficiency of smiling in such a way, and never before had she been told that the act was utterly useless outside of preventing the lips from locking onto itself. On the other hand, the disbelief that she was currently experiencing was such that it almost vastly overshadowed the aforementioned shock, all because of the exact same reasons. The fact that Ume even suggested replacing muscles with cybernetics, an extreme that Kimiko could have never possibly envisioned, didn't help in the slightest. Even Binita seemed taken aback by it all, so much so that she was left completely quiet as she stared at the researcher like she was kind of freak.

Then came the second argument. That one, the Captain felt it was easier to react to, for it was more so an accusation than anything else. More specifically, the soda drinker was accusing Kimiko of not actually caring about anyone from the Twelfth Division, Ume included, but instead only caring about the fact that their skills as fighters didn't respect her expectations. The girl even accused her - and in a way, the rest of her entire squad - of only being capable of judging a book by its cover. These two back-to-back assumptions were enough to cause the Captain to showcase a more serious rendition of her frustration. "As far as I'm aware, your squad was completely useless against every single one of the threats the Soul Society has faced as of late. That includes the latest attack from one of the members of the Espada, the intrusion of the Hellion in the middle of my squad's barracks, and the destruction of an entire Rukongai district by the hand of one of our very Captains," she enumerated with the proper etiquette that one of her rank would carry, for once. She may not be constantly doing as much paperwork as she should thanks to the aid of her assistant, but she was still aware of what was being reported to her every now and then.

Of course, she doubted that Ume would remain quiet then. The girl had proven herself to be quite the sassy kind thanks to her views of the Eleventh Division, and so it was clear that her lack of discipline is currently allowing her to go as far as to not even care about what even Kimiko was telling her. So, the superior officer believed it best to further remind her that she was not simply talking to a martial arts teacher, but a proper Captain of the Gotei 13.  "I don't really care whether you or Aramis thought that we could handle it. My point is that, regardless of whether your defenses are visible or not, you haven't shown any initiative. As far as I'm aware, you just stood by and watched," she shot back at Ume with a pronounced frown. The glare that came with it was briefly covered by shadows in the act, causing her scarlet eyes to almost glow. "So, yeah. You're right. I do believe that none of the people of Jūnibantai meet my expectations, and I do think you will all die if somebody decides to directly attack your barracks to steal everything you're keeping in there. That is why I wanna make sure that something like that doesn't happen." 

It didn't seem like she had said much, but if even for a split-second, it almost felt as though the superior officer's taller height felt more pronounced. Her speech, previously more considerate and encouraging in spite of Ume's constant bickering, had turned into something that was far colder and more judgemental. Even Binita felt a chill down her spine as she heard her friend speak in such a way. However, she said nothing, for she believed that Kimiko was right. Just like the Captain and many of the people within the Eleventh Division, she herself had not seen the effects of the Twelfth Division's contribution to the military operations of the Soul Society. In fact, as of now, the majority of them only believed the researchers to be useful for the quality of the people's lives. This wasn't necessarily something that anyone within the squad loathed, and if anything, pretty much every officer enjoyed much of their work as it allowed many of them to enjoy things that the common soul in Rukongai quite simply cannot get access to. Even so, it remained somewhat difficult for them to properly understand their direct involvement as Shinigami.

Fortunately, Kimiko would not retain this tone of hers. Not at all. In fact, her previous image had returned fairly quickly, as the overwhelming aura of seriousness that had began to accumulate around her person practically vanished the moment they reached the training facility of the dojo. Her ability to quite simply move on from that conversation was impressive, to say the least, but it appeared to leave a bitter taste within Binita's mouth as they moved on through the hallway of the facility. Even the floating cans seemed to float a bit lower then, like they barely wanted to follow Ume any longer, and of course, Kimiko would notice this right away. To see her friend staring at her with such worried eyes... It wasn't very pleasant, to say the least, especially considering that her friend had told her earlier that she had more or less come to check up on her. Needless to say, the conversation that the both of them will most likely have once their business with Ume is all said and done will most likely not be pleasant.

The trio would eventually finally reach one of the training rooms, and from there on, the Captain steadily returned to her teacher role. She would wait for Binita and Ume to ready themselves for the lesson, and in the meantime, she would find herself conversing with her subordinate. That was, until they were both interrupted by the sound of wood suddenly being slammed straight against the ground. In that moment, the both of them would raise a brow and look back towards the researcher, only to realize that it appeared as though the girl had chosen a rather heavy practice weapon. A mocking smirk came to Binita then. "Like, maybe it's because your noodle arms can't handle it!" She first taunted. Then, after the cans were settled on the ground, a smaller wooden sword suddenly slowly floated off of the rack towards Ume. At a glance, it appeared to be more so a dagger than a sword, one that was much more fitting for her. "Oh, hey! Looks like our ghost friend decided to stop being such a dick after all! What a nice guy! I'd thank him with a good time if I was you~." 

A smile came from Kimiko as she watched the scene unfold. While the attempt at maintaining the little prank was entertaining to her, she was glad to see that her subordinate actually wanted to help Ume in her own way. Perhaps there was a chance that these two could actually get along with one another, even if she knew that Binita was as volatile as ever. This chance was only accentuated when she witnessed the researcher approach the fist-fighter and ask her a few questions in regards to her lack of sword. At first, Binita appeared to be surprised that Ume would even care about such a thing, especially since she had been voicing her disdain of this entire training ordeal ever since they had met, but her surprise would then be replaced by a snicker and another smirk. "Oh? Look, Kimiko, I caught the bitch's curiosity! Isn't that, like, fucking amazing?" She would taunt again, still trying to get something out of Ume before her smirk then turned into a more friendly one. Then, she raised her hands out of her pockets and raised her arms in a shrug.

It would be then that Ume would notice something rather curious. Around the girl's wrists appeared to be bracelets. At a glance, they didn't seem to be anything of note, aside from the fact that they were both fabricated with solid gold and ornamented with several jewels. There were even several depictions of hands around the jewels. But then, Ume would feel something else around the bracelet, something that was incredibly heavy. Power. Spiritual power, in fact. Somehow, even though her ability to detect energy was average at best, she could very easily sense the energy from these things now that they were on full display. "You see these bracelets? Fancy shit, right? Well, I didn't pay for these. That's my Soul Cutter, Saikokeni. It's been like that ever since I figured out its name," she explained to Ume before she then raised her left hand. Then, in that moment, the soda cans floated again behind her, this time in a circle formation. "Unlike a lot of people around here, I don't need to release this baby because it's always released! The eggheads at the Academy called it a "permanently-released" type or whatever, but I like to call it a Perma-Release. It's, like, just easier that way."

"It also releases a lot of reiatsu almost constantly. The only reason why you haven't been able to detect all that energy, Ume, was because I taught her a special technique that allows her to conceal it," Kimiko would decide to add to the conversation in that moment with a casual smile. From the way she stared at the bracelets and the floating cans, it would be clear to Ume that the teacher actually appreciated the unique nature of her subordinate's Zanpakuto, even if it wasn't quite a blade. However, it would also be clear that her admiration for it did not prevent her from seeing the negatives which came from this strange state. "It took a lot of effort for her to get to where she is now, but I'm glad we were able to sort it all out before it went out of control. I even had a few talks with the spirit! They weren't too happy to see me at first, but after a while, we became good friends!"   

"Pff, they told you that because they're scared of you! I can smell their piss whenever I even suggest another meetup." 

"Well, that means we need to have a few more spars! That'll make them less scared of me! A brave Zanpakuto spirit is just as important as a brave Shinigami!"

"Yeah, well, you'll have to tell them yourself! Sometimes, like, they don't even listen to me! It's so annoying."

[Ume Oboro]

Ume dragged the sword in one hand behind her as she listened to the captain berate her squad. "You don't know the amount of prevention work we did." She stated. "You can only see what's in front of you. You don't know how to look past what your eyes can see and put together a puzzle with many pieces. I hope that you never force me to do a puzzle with you. I would hate to have to sit there and watch you fail spectacularly." Ume replied. She shook her head and grabbed the sword with both hand and grunted as she lifted it up and held it in front of her. Ume's eyes crossed as she stared at the blade. 

Ume's ear twitched when she heard Binita. "Yeah, that's probably it." She said, accepting the words as fact and ignoring the mockery within it. When the tanto floated towards her, Ume took one hand off the sword and it immediately dropped to the ground with a loud thunk. She let go of it with her other hand and let it clatter to the flow and grabbed the tanto out of the air. She squeezed both her fists around the handle and grunted. "Hngh!" 

As she mulled it over in her hands, she listened to what Binita was saying. "Oh, it's a permanent release type. That's interesting, but nothing new." Ume rattled off a percentage of the zanpakutou that tended to be perma-release types. She glanced at Kimiko when she started to talk about perma releases and rolled her eyes. "I didn't care..." She muttered. "That's why." Ume corrected. She then looked back at Binita. "So, what does it do? Give you telekinesis?" She asked and glanced at the bracers. It probably made ghost hands that could only be seen with a certain amount of senses. 

Ume narrowed her eyes and tried to see if she could spot them as she glanced around and behind her. She had to admit that her senses were fine. None of them were exceptional, really. As she glanced around, she looked back at Kimiko. 'I haven't heard a word from my Zanpakutou, not that I would expect anything. I imagine it will become something in spite of my own desires. I can't imagine there's a zanpakutou ability out there that would compliment my... skills..." Ume sighed. She glanced around to see if maybe she could snatch up one of the cans floating around. She was thirsty. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko listened to Ume's additional defense of the Twelfth Division and attacks against the Eleventh Division with an unchanging severe gaze. It was true that she didn't know what the science-aligned squad had done throughout the invasions. In fact, practically almost nobody but the people of the squad knew of what they had done, for they typically never really shared the results of their operations to the rest of the Gotei 13. However, this wasn't the win that the researcher appeared to believe that it was. All it proved to the swordswoman was that the Twelfth Division was not only a potentially-useless section of their organization when it came to the likes of their military operations, but also an untrustworthy one that could be doing whoever knows what behind their backs with the pretense that they are simply "the smartest ones around". It was such an infuriating-enough thought for Kimiko that it slightly exacerbated the bias she had for the Twelfth ever since the Ruhe incident occurred.

But she held it in. At this point, she believed that she had revealed enough about her opinion of the Twelfth to Ume and that further developing it would only lead to the creation of an obnoxious cycle. It was clear that the researcher hated the Eleventh Division and believed her division to be the best there ever was, so there was no real point in further arguing with her about it all. Besides, Binita was there too, and although she had been quiet ever since Kimiko had told her to back off from Ume's case, she had her limits much like anybody else would. Really, at this point, it was only a matter of time before the fist fighter would suddenly explode onto the researcher again, and once that happens, there was no real way to tell what would happen next. So, instead of continuing this conversation, the teacher decided to simply proceed with the training session that she had in mind. It would be better this way, both for her sake as well as Ume's.

With that said, it would become quite clear from the get-go that this was not going to be an easy task. For all intents and purposes, Ume was already struggling to keep up and they hadn't even started training. She could barely raise the first wooden blade that she had picked from the stand and it didn't seem as though she was faring much better with the smaller practice weapon that Binita's invisible friend had given to her. Quite frankly, the fact that she couldn't lift those blades easily was concerning to Kimiko. So much so, in fact, that it caused her to stare at the researcher with a look of astonishment.  That... That one isn't supposed to be heavy. I had them designed to be even held by a kid,  she mentally recalled as she observed the researcher's apparent struggle.  She can't be that weak. No, she can't. That's just impossible! If she can't even hold a sword properly... how the hell was she even allowed to pass the final Academy exams?! 

Back then, when she was a student of the Academy, she has had to go through several hoops in order to become a proper graduate. Part of the reason why such a thing happened was because she was considered both a sword prodigy at the time and a warrior who had proven herself on the battlefield, and so her education had been accelerated so that she could join the Gotei 13 as soon as possible. However, the main reason was that she was - and still very much is - practically incapable of properly using Kidō, which led her not only to deal with a most terrible teacher who believed her to be unworthy of her success, but also several exams during which she was quite simply unable to get a score greater than an astounding zero. If great effort was what allowed her to pass the Academy... then what was the thing that allowed Ume, of all people, to pass it too? Clearly, it wasn't effort, or at least it wasn't physical effort. She didn't appear to be particularly gifted with spiritual energy either, and so it was doubtful she could cast a lot of spells. 

So, had the girl really just passed the Academy because of her intellect? Was intelligence really the only thing that allowed her to become a Shinigami in the end of it all? If that was truly the case, then maybe Kimiko needed to talk to the people of the Academy sooner rather than later. She understood that their work was not for everyone and that they each had specific tasks to fulfill in accordance with their skills sets, but there comes a point where a line needs to be traced. If a Shinigami - someone who has been granted a Zanpakuto in order to cleanse the corruption from the hearts of the damned and thus bring balance to the cycle of souls - does not even need to actually do any form of cleansing and is only really there to manipulate paper and a computer... then what the hell is a Shinigami supposed to be? In other words, what gave someone like Ume the right to actually be granted a Zanpakuto in comparison to any of the lower students of Nijūkan?

Stop. She needed to stop. Right here, right now. This train of thought has been going on for far too long, and the more she allowed it to continue its course, the more she could feel her brain melt. Fortunately, she was able to anchor onto the matter of Binita's own Zanpakuto before she could allow Ume's case to swallow her whole. The researcher may not care about the Captain's explanations of the troubles her subordinate has had to go through to keep her permanently-released weapon under control, but she did. In the end, that's all that mattered. In a way, that was the only thing that mattered to Binita too. Well, that and Ume's apparent curiosity, which was such that it was already bringing a rather proud smirk out of her. "Nope! Telekinesis is the kind of baby shit you see on TV! I bet you, like, even thought it created ghosts hands too!" She called out as she stood there in front of Ume, basking in what appeared to be an invisible spotlight as she allowed the cans to slowly return to the floor. "Nah! What it allows me to do is grab things. Here! Example number one!"

The redhead would then turn around towards the training dummies at one of the far ends of the room. After she fully turned towards them, she would raise her right hand, then initiated a grabbing motion towards one of the dummies. In that moment, one of the jewels of the bracelet around her wrist would begin to glow... until, suddenly, the dummy went straight up on its own, as though it had suddenly be grasped by something. Binita would then raise her hand up, which caused the dummy to suddenly be raised from the floor and up in the room. This execution was fairly straight-forward, and so it would not take much more than this observation for Ume to understand the basic ability of the bracelets. But then, suddenly...  "Now, example number two!" ... Binita would change her grabbing motion so that it instead formed a particular gesture of the hand, with each finger of her hand connected to either her thumb, another finger, or her palm. The other jewels on Binita's bracelet would then light up, and more spiritual energy would then be emanated from the bracelet. What happened next would be arguably more impressive.

Each and every one of the dummies rose right up from the floor. Unlike the very first dummy, they were not quite held in the same fashion, instead clearly being held by either two or even a single fingers pressing against something invisible. Even so, in spite of this rather-intricate hand sign she was now showing off, it didn't seem as though such a feat of pure strength was noticeably difficult for her. In fact, it almost seemed downright easy. "When I first figured that shit out, I could barely even activate a single of those jewels. Hell, I could barely even use the two fucking bracelets at the same time! Now, though! I can do cool-ass shit like this aaaall the time!" She bragged before she then began to wiggle the fingers of her hand around, which caused the dummies to move in the air in a rather strange fashion. She would then look towards Ume with the biggest grin she could muster. "Now, does that make me an interesting bitch? Yes or yes? I'll accept any of those two answers!"

Kimiko would stare at the scene with a bit of a deadpan, before she eventually let out a sigh and smiled somewhat sheepishly. To brag with such intensity was definitely a quirk of her subordinate that she has tried to subdue every once in a while, but it was needless to say that she hasn't really been able to do that ever since they've met. Binita, for all intents and purposes, was going to remain who she is perhaps until the end of times. Oh well. Perhaps this was why she has enjoyed her company so much. With that being said, she had to admit that she did not really appreciate seeing so many dummies floating off the ground in such a way. "Alright, Binita, your ability's pretty cool, but you can put the dummies down now. I don't think I need to remind you what happened the last time you messed with them like that," she would warn her friend with a bit out of a pout. This would cause the redhead to blink before she rolled her eyes and returned the dummies to the floor with a disappointed "Fiiiiine".

By that point, the teacher had expected this demonstration to be completed and the training session to be about to begin. But then, just before she could try to get it going, she would hear Ume complain about her Zanpakuto. This would cause her to stare back at her and listen to her explanations with a bit of a blink. Huh. Those complaints of hers... They somewhat reminded Kimiko of a few struggles she had back then, prior to gaining access to her Inner World. "I had trouble communicating with my Zanpakuto back then as well. I think it took me... two months to be able to conduct the Jinzen ritual properly," she hummed as she considered Ume's case. Her eyes then drifted towards the researcher's weapon, which was unsurprisingly sheathed in its scabbard at the present time. She would then ask with a more genuine and curious tone: "Why do you think it would become something that doesn't align with your desires?" 

It was a simple question. It could be answered in a multitude of ways, and in all honesty, Kimiko was not expecting a complex answer from someone like Ume. Even so, she wanted to know why she believed such a thing would happen. Maybe it was because of the relatability she experienced when she heard of the scientist's inability to communicate with her blade as of then. Maybe it was instead because it had been a while since the Captain had last heard Shizukakane's voice outside of the Inner World. Perhaps another conversation with him sooner rather than later was overdue.

[Ume Oboro]

Ume watched Binita's little puppet chow. She then looked at the glowing bracelet and back at the puppets. It didn't take a genuis to figure out how the girl's "zapakutou" worked. In the end, when Binita was finished, she titled her head in thought and after a long pause, she pursed her lips. "It's telekenisis.... with more steps." She concluded. "I would like such a utilitarian zanpakutou, though." Ume admitted. "It would make fetching things quite easy. I would barely ever need to leave my station." Ume nodded. 

"Alright, I'll admit I'm jealous. Plus, if some horrible hollow came rushing at me, I could just fling them away." Ume frowned and then sighed deeply. "I want one..." She whimpered and then glanced at the wooden practice dagger and the even more  useless zanpakutou hanging at her side. 

That was when Kimiko responded to Ume's words. She shook her head and her messy hair shook as well. "No, I am not having trouble. I am not attempting to communicate with it. As I have stated, I do not want or need a zanpakutou. I was merely observing the fact that despite my development, my zanpakutou has also not communicated with me. I am quite alright with this." 

Ume sighed at Kimiko's questions. It was like the woman didn't listen to anything. She really didn't. At least in Ume's eyes. She just said whatever she thought she needed to say whether or not it was appropriate. Ume set the practice sword down and grabbed her sword. She carefully unsheathed it and held it up. She let the back of the weapon touch her hand and held it up so the was looking over the blade. 

"This is a weapon. It has only one purpose and that is to shuffle a spirit from one phase of the cycle of life to the next. Its purpose is singular and its ability ubiquitous. It doesn't matter how it achieves this, that is all it is for. It cannot provide us with new information. It cannot improve our lives, it cannot even improve its own function. It can only shuffle a spirit from one phase of the cycle of life to the next." She repeated. "They say a shinigami is defined by their zanpakutou, because it reveals who they really are. It is an extension of their very soul. Well, my  soul is antithetical to the purpose of a shinigami, so how could my zanpakutou reflect that and still maintain its purpose?" 

"Myeh." Ume turned and dropped her hands, letting her zanpakutou clank against the ground. "We are simply not compatible." She said. "However," Ume said and lifted up a finger as she looked from Binita to Kimiko. "That very fact is intriguing enough for me to at least keep it... just in case." Ume said used her outstretched finger to push her glasses back up her nose, letting a glare cover her eyes briefly.