After Visit Summary [Social]

[Celes Shindazu]

It had been a few days since Celes had her fight with Shizuka. Overall, she was feeling a lot better without half of her skin seared and the internal hemorrhaging that Shizuka had inflicted upon her. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the guilt she felt. Her Inner Hollow had taken possession of her body throughout the fight and was not nearly as restrained a Celes. Without a single shred of remorse, Yukito attacked with reckless abandon and untold destruction in his wake. Even so, Celes felt some level of responsibility for the bodies that were buried that day. In fact, she let out a soft wince as she thought back to the event.

Soul Society's prodding was another factor that concerned Celes. Yukito practically wreathed the surrounding area in Hollow reiatsu which naturally produced a Shinigami response. By the time they arrived, however, Celes was alone amongst the rubble. During her stay at the Fourth Division Barracks, the upper echelons of Soul Society wanted to know all they could about Celes' encounter with her mystery assailant. Without much of a choice, the Captain fabricated a story about a vicious Hollow who was far more powerful than she had anticipated. It had blindsided her before the Captain dealt it a serious enough wound to cause it to retreat. It was dubious at best, but Celes remained their only eye witness account so it was their only reliable source of information.

"It's okay. I just need to play it cool for a while until this all blows over...", Celes tried to calmly reassure herself. The girl continued walking down the street. Before long, however, she'd find herself at the steps of a familiar place. The doors of XCution lay before her. She sighed and walked up the steps with a cautious rhythm. After all, it wouldn't be a good luck if Soul Society found her hear. This was the belly of the beast. The dragon's lair. The base of the enemy. Or at least of people who generally didn't see Shinigami in a favorable light. Hell, Celes was an exception to Shizuka's ire toward the Shinigami.

Nevertheless, she had resolved herself to check on Shizuka. As she entered the familiar building, the green-haired girl walked up to the front desk. The brunette receptionist looked up at her and asked the girl how she could help her. Her tone was fairly bubbly. Celes nodded and took a deep breath. "Yes, I'd like to see Shizuka Sanamizu. I'm a friend of hers.", the Shinigami curtly replied. Celes wasn't really sure what state that Shizuka had been left in after their brawl. She was a tough cookie but Yukito rarely left anyone without some level of injury. She could only hope that her friend had recovered since the incident.

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

She didn't remember much outside of waking up in Felicia's arms as the obnoxiously strong woman carried her boss back to the offices. It was apparent that she had been asleep for quite some time because the area where the fight had taken place wasn't exactly super close to Xcution, but it was close enough for the trip home to support a good nap. It wasn't as if Shizuka had much of a choice on the matter, anyway. She'd gotten knocked out cold due to her Inner Power failing - something she wasn't familiar with at all. Of the two times now that she'd called forth such a technique, she found herself unconscious for both after not very long. She supposed that meant she had some work to do.

Amongst the other things that tended to give the blonde a headache, she found that the clothes she'd worn that day were almost entirely destroyed and her hair had been singed. In fact, she had to shave some of it off, so the right side of her face sported a buzz cut that she hated despite every effort her stylist made to make it fashionable. The rest of her hair hung beautifully down the left side of her head and face, framing it with choppy layers. One thing she couldn't do with her abilities was make hair grow faster. She much preferred for it to be long, but this would have to do.

Scars that were still in the process of healing thanks to the Fountain of Youth remained on her skin, but with every short dip she took, they faded more and more. She learned quickly that the fountain worked best with prolonged uses, but Shizuka was a busy woman. Prolonged uses didn't come easily. So with the few breaks she got during the day, she'd go down to the Fountain and simply bathe in it for a few minutes while Felicia kept watch over her boss. She'd occasionally offer a piece of unsolicited advice every now and again, so Shizuka did her best to pretend to listen. She knew she was in over her head.

The phone buzzed. "Madam, you have a visitor."

"Describe them for me?" Shizuka was too tired to even attempt to sense anyone. That ability was hard enough these days.

"Green hair-"

"I'm on my way."

As quickly as she could muster, Shizuka limped over to the office doors. Felicia had gone to do some other work, so she hoped she'd be alone for the time being. A few strides later brought the Fullbringer to the elevator where she stepped in, closed the door, and sighed. She hated how tired she still was and wished it was easier to heal. Weren't Fullbringers at her level supposed to be super durable? Kind of like those Shinigami. That was what she'd always heard, but the other side to this was that Celes - or rather, Yukito - had really done a number on the poor girl. Even Celes would see pretty clearly that there was still work to be done before all of the wounds were gone, but Shizuka covered herself up in some black dress pants and a long-sleeved blouse to try to hide it.

Once Celes was in sight, Shizuka smiled widely. "You back for another round?" She tried to laugh but coughed instead and held her side. This was embarrassing.

[Celes Shindazu]

The brunette who had been attending Celes nodded and gripped a phone that sat behind the desk. It would take a few moments, but the woman would get someone on the other line. After noting that the CEO had a visitor, the receptionist quickly followed up with Celes' most defining feature. The Shinigami had natural lime-green hair. It was an oddity, but it made her easily identifiable for better... or for worse. Nevertheless, the line had been cut and the receptionist looked up at Celes with intrigue. "She'll be right down, Miss Shindazu. You can wait here or take a seat in our waiting area." The woman offered a big smile before her eyes drifted back to the computer screen.

The Shinigami nodded and made her way over to the waiting area. On her way, the girl poured some water from a nearby cooler into a cup. Taking little sips, Celes plopped herself down into the nearest chair. Her body practically creaked as she moved. Accompanying the subtle sound of bones cracking, her muscles ached and her breathing hastened. She gently supported the side of her waist as her bow furrowed. "Damn...", she muttered under her breath. "Guess the Fourth isn't perfect, either.", she softly chuckled.

Thankfully, the Captain of the Tenth did not need to wait long. Shizuka left the elevator and approached the lime-haired woman. The Captain rose from her seat, a big smile plastered across her face. She was quite pleased to see that Shizuka was not in some critical condition. Upon a second glance though, the Shinigami picked out the slight limp as she watched the CEO walk. The smile would become a momentary frown. As she had suspected, Shizuka had some lingering injuries. In truth, she had gotten off easy. Her Inner Hollow seldom left a body intact, but Shizuka wasn't like the rest. She had fought Yukito to a draw! It was quite the feat.

"You back for another round?", Shizuka quipped briefly. Celes' eyes widened in response before she just shook her head. "I don't think that either of us are in any conditions to entertain another fight, Shizuka." Her features softened as the girl smiled at Shizuka once more. "It's good to see that you are still in one piece. I had a feeling that you were a tough cookie, but now I am convinced." Her hand rose and gently nudged Shizuka's shoulder playfully. "So... would you like to retire somewhere? Where there's not so many prying eyes?" The Captain was not one for mystique, but the last thing she needed was for someone to find out that she was here.