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The white hair sat in the general court yard of Seireitei. He wore a loose fitting white robe, his hair tied back with a black knot; classical samurai style. The man's expression was rather lack luster, bored eyes and near expressionless. His blue diamond like eyes, the most beautiful in all of Soul Society may have been his only redeeming feature. He sat in a white chair, in front of him a table which had an umbrella over it. The hot green tea was placed in front of him in a porcelain cup; steam rising from it. Next to it, on a dish, were two pieces of dark chocolate double layered cake with a hint of frosting. In the man's right hand, there appeared to be a book on some mechanics.
He appeared to be reading some rather in depth scientific jibber-jabber on physical realms and quantum spiritual mechanics. He wasn't the intellectual type, however, he had been doing a great deal of research with the 12th captain. He flipped through the pages, occasionally looking away from the book to take a sip of tea or liberate a piece of cake; plopping it into his mouth. It was really a beautiful day, sun shining bright and absolute quite. Today, everyone was working. As for Takashi, he had been given the day off, having finished his case files already. He continued to read, bored as ever. On this warm summers day, what could happen to disturb the silence?
For Ai's first day on the job, she was...lost. She had told herself she would get up early to find her way, and ended up sleeping even later than usual. Thankfully she had already hastily packed her few belongings the night before, and only had to dress and grab her bags as she rushed out the door this morning. She was moving in to the barracks today, and her first order of business was to...Find the barracks. She was already failing that, and was hoping this was not how the rest of her day would go.
For awhile, she wandered around aimlessly. But now, she was still stuck walking, and her shoulders were tired of carrying her bag. Ai had finally quit her stubbornness to ask one man where her barracks were a few minutes ago, but the man had simply waved in some general direction and said 'over there' before walking past her.
"Where the hell is 'over there'?" Ai muttered to herself angrily. She had taken to glaring at everyone who passed her by. Actually, she wasn't actually glaring at them...More like she was debating in her head whether she would stop them and ask directions again, and the internal debate in her mind grew so heated that her outer expression turned angry. In the end, it only served to make people give her an even wider berth than they had before. Most passersby seemed to be busy, anyway, walking with a fast, no-nonsense pace. She ultimately decided that the minute she found someone who looked like they had time on their hands, she'd finally ask again.
She passed by the exact type of person she needed a few minutes later, a man who stuck out from the usual black shinigami uniform because he was wearing white. He was also doing nothing more than sitting with a book, eating cake and drinking tea. Ai abruptly shifted her course to near him, her eyes locking on to his cake, her expression growing envious. In her rush to leave, she had skipped breakfast this morning. Even if she wasn't hungry, in her book cake was always 'something to eat'.
Last Edit: Dec 5, 2014 3:24:44 GMT -5 by Ai Amagiri
Post by Takashi Kuchiki on Dec 5, 2014 3:36:34 GMT -5
There was random patter of feet that echoed through Sereitei. The sound of haste was all too apparent in those rushed foot steps. Takashi slowly lowered his book. A moment later, his bored expression fell upon a younger looking woman with blonde hair. She seemed to have interesting colored eyes and wore the usual shinigami attire. He blinked once as she seemed to be staring directly at him. Her expression was rather...pissed off (for lack of a better word). There was the awkward silence as blue diamond eyes met the woman's. She appeared to be eying his cake with that same angered expression. Takashi let out a soft sigh from his nostrils. The sound of a small 'thump' as he closed the book echoed softly; mainly to get the woman's attention.
"Would you happen to care for some?", he questioned her. He raised his left hand, pushing the plate forward. The plate rested on the opposing side of the table now, right in front of a vacant chair. His rather unenthusiastic expression continued, despite his soft words; it was always strange for people to get use to. In any case, Takashi awaited the woman to take a seat. Although she seemed to be in a rush, she did stop to eye his cake. There was something about her expression that just seemed flustered. At the very least, he could make her feel a bit more comfortable; regardless of the issue. Besides, he had nothing but time to kill right now.
"You seem to be quite troubled. My name is Kuchiki, Takashi. It is a pleasure to be meeting you.", he said as he gave her a slight bow. Getting up from it he looked towards her. "May I perhaps be of some assistance to you?". He questioned her as his right index finger and thumb supported the handle of the tea cup. He rose it up, bringing it to his lips before taking a sip. He placed it down a moment later and looked at the girl with curiosity. He wondered what she needed.
Ai needed no further encouragement. She looked at him directly, her angry expression disappearing to be replaced by a toothy grin. Without hesitating, she dropped her bags to the ground right where she stood, and slid quickly into the seat opposite the man, one hand latching on to the side of the plate to drag it towards her before she was even fully seated in the chair. She saw only saw one fork, and took that too, uncaring as to whether it was his or not. She wasn't going to wait for anyone to go get another.
Ai should have known that the man would ask a follow-up question. Unfortunately, she didn't consider this before she broke off a huge piece of cake and stuffed the entire forkful into her mouth. Her cheeks bulged like a chipmunk's. Momentarily satisfied with the large amount of dessert in her mouth, she looked at him again as he spoke. There was a long pause as she simply sat there and tried to swallow the mouthful she had so she could speak. "Ai," she said finally in return, introducing herself. "Um..." She had to pause again, in an effort to try to phrase her question as eloquently as she could. Unfortunately, being lost and having to ask for directions was not a graceful topic.
"I'm lost, actually. I just got assigned to squad 11, and now I'm looking for their barracks," She said, not willing to beat around the bush just to escape from looking like a lost idiot. Instead, she covered up her distress with another chunk of cake.
Post by Takashi Kuchiki on Dec 5, 2014 16:09:16 GMT -5
There was an awkward pause as the Shinigami eyed this girl. She was already shoving chocolate into her mouth and it hadn't even been a full minute since they'd met. He slowly blinked, watching her devour a large section of the pastry he had offered. She was using his fork no less, seems she was quite hungry. Takashi looked to her with a blank yet bored stare. His eyes trailed downwards diagonally, noticing the bag she had practically tossed on the floor. She was most likely on her way somewhere or one of those new recruits. There was a lot of those this time of the year as academy graduations had just recently happened. In any case, his eyes wondered back over to her as she spoke her name. "I see". He said to her as she returned his gesture of introduction. He just watched her, she was so casual and particular upon trusting strangers; it wasn't every day that you saw that.
He simply sat in the flurry of awkward silences that were present; oh well, at least it was interesting. It was then that she spoke, interestingly enough she was assigned to the 11th. She seemed adamant enough, trust worthy too; she was blunt. "The eleventh you say? Aye, I know where that is. Though, I believe their morning routine began nearly half an hour ago. If you wish, you can finish eating and I can accompany you there?". He questioned, half expecting her to be eating. She was very childlike and reminded him of Ana to a degree. It would have brought a smile to his face had he showed any emotion."Would you like something to drink?", he offered her."There should be a vending machine or a stand outside of this hall behind us". Ai would note a large gate behind them, if she just crossed it, there would be vendors outside. "Here. If you're leaving to go get something, please find me something to eat.".
With that, he set down nearly a hundred ryo of money. The kuchiki family always got their allowances, but he never spent his; hell he had no idea how to spend it. Rather, Takashi just saved it or gave it away to people. He grew up with nothing, so it was weird seeing all this money. He figured others would have more use for it. Though, everything was only a few Ryo, typically for food. He figured she could get whatever she wanted. Generally, Takashi would never be so friendly. However, there was something about this girl that was just adorable; it reminded him of a small child. The shinigami couldn't help but pamper her a little bit, especially since she seemed so flustered; not to mention she was in his division. He figured this would be a good time to make an impression, even if she didn't know who he was yet. "We can depart after you've eaten. I generally do not like to be tardy, but I see no point for you to go now. I believe in any case that they have locked the doors until the next activity anyway."He spoke. There was another weird silence that was filled by him sipping tea. He would then simply stare at her, wondering what she would do.
If there was an awkward silence, Ai didn't pay it much heed. Most of her focus went into seeing how much cake she could fit onto one tiny fork. So far, she had managed some huge bites, and the dessert was almost completely gone at this point. At Takashi's words, she frowned. She should have figured they would have more to do today than simply move into the barracks, but her already having missed a routine for her job was unfortunate. Then again, she got dessert-breakfast out of being late. She tried to feel bad about skipping her work, but it was hard when the cake tasted so good.
She stopped chewing long enough to examine the money Takashi set down on the table as he asked her to go fetch things. Ai glanced back and forth, between the money and the man, for the first time growing a little suspicious. He was just going to let her eat all of his cake, and then hand her money to go buy more? Then again, she had already told him her squad. It wasn't like he'd never be able to find her if she ran off with his cash. And she didn't think there could be anyone too shady in the middle of Seireitei. No matter what though, she was going to clean the plate in front of her before she bothered to get up. And as she sat, he spoke again.
"Tch," she said, annoyed now. Not only had she missed some routine, but now she was also locked out. "Just my luck. Well, as long as you're paying, I guess we're eating," she muttered. Her hand rose to slap down onto the table over the money Takashi had set out, her fingers curling around the money. The plate in front of her empty at this point, she rose, looking to the gate and starting off towards it and soon disappearing from view.
Only a few minutes passed before she reappeared, a similar-looking plate of cake in one hand and a cup of hot black tea in the other. Briefly she had considered buying herself more food, especially when she had seen the large arrangement of desserts. But no matter how casual she appeared to be about spending someone else's money, she did ultimately care, if only a little. Ai had already eaten all of his breakfast, after all. So she had settled on tea and, not knowing what other food Takashi might like, settled for simply replacing his cake with a similar one. She slid the plate in front of him, and then took her seat again, dumping his change into the middle of the table. After taking a sip of her tea, she looked to him again. "I'll take you up on your escort offer afterwards. Thanks," She tacked on the gratitude at the end after a brief pause, as if she hadn't at first intended to say it, but had to remind herself that it was the polite thing to do.
Post by Takashi Kuchiki on Dec 6, 2014 16:06:11 GMT -5
Bored blue diamond eyes gzed up towards the woman who seemed to be debating taking the money he had set. She had an unusual appetite, he hadn't expected someone else to enjoy sweets this early in the morning. In any case, he simply sipped upon his tea once more. She appeared to be annoyed, though secretly delighted that he had paid for her. He simply watched her exaggerated movements, slapping the table to grasp the currency that he had placed. It was only a moment later that she had departed. In his mind, he simply wondered why she was so strange; it was cute though, like a little girl. He picked up the book once more, flipping through the pages until he was once more at the spot he was intending to read. His eyes skimmed across the page at the Garganta research that was still incomplete.
There were a variety of speculations and theories which seemed to hold up. However, it was difficult for a Shinigami to be able to open these types of gates. It was only a few moments that she had returned. The glass plate resting against the table alerted him of this. He lowered his book, his bored eyes looking at her. Pressing it shut over his right shoulder, he looked down. It seemed she had been creative to get him the same thing from before; a good choice. She seemed to have gotten herself some tea, interestingly enough. "I thank you for this dessert and will escort you after this as promised". He spoke as he reached over, grasping the change, organizing it, and then placing it in a pouch in his inner chest pocket. He held out his hand, awaiting for her to sit down and take it easy. He picked up his tea and sipped it.
"So tell me more of yourself? You seem to be new here. I did not catch your last name either, though those things can be trivial. It seems people are quite caught up in whose in what clan; quite foolish I believe.". He said setting down the tea cup. His eyes looked towards the fork. "May I?". He questioned before grasping it. He brought it close to him, but setting it in the middle of the two. His fork came down, slicing off a small piece before plopping it into his mouth. A moment later, he set down the fork face down; it was fine if she wanted some and he made that clear. He looked at her once more. "Tell me about yourself Ai, what is it that made you wish to join the 11th division? It seems not very many females join the ranks, which is quite unfortunate. Though, there is the third seat Hotaru who is of the same gender." He continued to question her.
Ai's eyes narrowed briefly as she watched Takashi. She couldn't decide if he was just bored with life, and that's why his face look so disinterested, or if he was actually peeved about her forcing her company on him. He was polite enough when he spoke, overly polite actually compared to her, but his facial expression, his eyes especially, remained apathetic. In the end, she decided that as long as he directed her to the right place, she didn't really care. He couldn't be that put out if he was offering to help in the first place. It's not like she had tried to force him.
"My last name is Amagiri, using the kanji for 'heaven' and 'fog'," she explained, "but that won't help you much. I'm the only one of my family that's a shinigami. Or at least, I think I am. The name was given to me as a gift." She remembered living her young childhood as nothing more than 'Ai', and even then it was only her mother who called her name. The people who watched over her when her mother was away only called her 'girl' or 'child'.
She broke out of her thoughts when Takashi asked more questions. She blinked at his question, unsure at first how to answer, but then she remembered her academy days. Her peers in the academy often talked about what squad they dreamed of getting into. Especially those from specific clans, like Takashi had said. For Ai, it had been a different experience. She had only wanted to become a shinigami for her own reasons, to take after her mother and pick up a sword. And fight. "I didn't particularly want to join the 11th," she said, wondering if she was possibly saying the wrong thing. She didn't want to offend him.
"Whatever squad got assigned to me would be the one that fit me best, right? Some people change themselves, who they are, to try to get into a certain division. I'll never change myself for anything, or anyone. I guess it didn't hurt that I'm a little bloodthirsty, though," her last words came with a toothy grin. And as she spoke, she eyed his cake, but figured she had stolen enough of his food, so instead she grabbed her teacup and sat back against her chair, awkwardly because of the nodachi slung across her back, to make it obvious she was done eating his cake.
Post by Takashi Kuchiki on Dec 8, 2014 0:59:20 GMT -5
This girl sure liked to stare at him. Takashi's eyes met hers as she seemed to be interested in the little things in life. She seemed to b examining him in all ways. He couldn't help but feel a sense of interest from her. She seemed to be curious about things, honest, to the point, it was interesting. Most people were overly polite or too stuck up. A lot of times, they were rather concerned about their own problems. This girl? She sat down to have a slice of cake with Takashi..which was nice. He waited out the strange silence as she seemed to be thinking. He didn't force any conversation nor did he feel weird about her doing so. To him, it was only nature that she be curious. It was interesting that she wasn't in a rush, oh well, at least she had taken his word...without any real reason as to why. The shinigami supposed though that an offering of chocolate was as good as any.
It was then that she finally spoke her name. A surname that he hadn't heard before, though it had an interesting meaning. She seemed to know that, but a gift..that was interesting. "A gift you say?". The shinigami questioned, his eyes seemed a bit more intent, however, he still had the bored expression about him. He listened in as she answered his enxt question. It was interesting that she opened up with that. Most shinigami that he asked would be thrilled to tell him why they were fit for the division. Though he hadn't met with very many, he had seen what they were like during his academy days; which wasn't so long ago to be honest. It was only a year ago that Takashi graduated from the academy; he was the fastest to become a Vice Captain. Though he wouldn't boast about himself, rather, he would allow himself to simply listen; he liked doing that.
She went on, speaking about how she was assigned the best squad, that was indeed true. She didn't change herself and she wanted the squad she wanted; that was a good thing indeed. The last sentence would have made him smile if he was capable of showing emotion. It seemed as though she thought that she was a bit bloodthirsty. Takashi wasn't one to doubt that, he had seen it in this girls eyes. The man himself had cut off his current third seat's legs when they first met...during a training session. She was stronger than him, but he would cut whoever stood in his path; regardless. He had only released his shikai less than a handful of times...probably three times ever. Twice was on request of higher officers and the last when he unlocked the ability in a death match against a fullbringer. This girl seemed to have good eyes about her, she would make the same strides as he would...potentially.
Though it seemed she had taken more food. He didn't pay it much attention, it was obvious that she was doing what she thought was right. He blinked, watching her. He took another sip of his tea before taking the signal that she was done. He moved the cake towards himself. Using the fork, he took nearly the entire cake and brought it to his mouth. His mouth opened wide and he shoved it into there; his cheeks now bulging; Takashi loved chocolate. With his mouth closed and his cheeks enalarged, he continued to chew the cake. Comedic was the way his eyes were as bored as ever. He swallowed a moment later before casually drinking his tea and then wiping his mouth with a napkin. He waited for her to finish drinking as he took a few sips himself. Setting the cup down he pushed up from his chair and then looked towards her with his blue diamond like eyes.
"Alright, perhaps now is a good time to depart. Thank you for getting this meal for us". He made sure to push in the chair he was sitting in after that. Turning he looked towards her. "Alright...shall we depart?". He waited for her to say yes or give some signal before they were off. He walked in silence mainly, unless she asked him some question or something. For the most part, he was pretty casual about things, there might have been a smudge of cake against the corner of his mouth...but oh well. He kept walking, bored as ever until they arrived a few feet from the 11th division's entrance. There would be an audible and unanimous "HIYA!" heard from a room that was now locked. It was like a giant shed, made to push fighters to an extreme condition. Here, fighters would train like in a dojo, how to swing their swords. Takashi pointed towards where it was. "That is what you have missed. It was training in the morning to make sure the recruits were up to par. They lock the door as so not to be disturbed nor allow any of the simulated conditions to be altered; such as extreme cold or heat. Do not worry though, you'll be doing this every morning.". He looked at her for a moment. "So..what will you do? You could probably sit in the Fukutaicho's office or the waiting hall. The captain is off on a mission, so the Vice Captain takes charge". He said with a bored expression. He wondered what she would do.
"Mm," Ai muttered, and her eyes grew distant as she thought about the circumstances surrounding her surname. "I don't know what my mother's real last name was, but she abandoned it. Well, really, her family disowned her. She got adopted into the Amagiri family later. But this was all when I was alive, so I guess it's all in the past now." As she spoke she would occasionally pause to sip on her tea, and her eyes remained staring off into a vague point somewhere past Takashi's shoulder. She snapped back to the present when she lifted her cup to her mouth, tilted it, and then found it empty. She blinked, looking into the cup with a frown.
She saw him stand, and rose with him, nodding at his words and then looking over to the side where her bags lay. "Sure. Should I just leave my bags here?" As she spoke she stepped over to grab the bags and then shoved them under the table, wondering if anyone would mess with them if she kept them there until she was done for the day and able to put them in the barracks. Then again, it was just clothes. She waved a hand dismissively and followed along behind Takashi.
Before long they arrived in front of a...shed? Warehouse? She arched an eyebrow as she inspected the building. The unanimous yells coming from inside assured her that Takashi wasn't playing a prank by leading her somewhere random. She decided she was wise to keep her mouth shut this time. For all she knew, it could've been nice on the inside anyway. Ai listened to Takashi's explanation of the place, her face withdrawing into an expression of displeasure before she could stop herself. Simulation conditions? Extreme cold? Ai had been through a similar experience in Academy, and she absolutely hated it. Just thinking about extreme cold sent a chill down her spine, making her shiver involuntarily. "Every morning," Ai repeated slowly, straining to keep her voice neutral. She didn't usually like mornings, and it would seem in the days to come she'd have a good reason to hate them.
"I guess I can wait wherever. Would the hall be better to join in on the next activity? Or should I meet the vice captain?" Ai didn't particularly liked being yelled at, which was a possibility when one skipped her daily duties, but she'd take responsibility for her skipping by approaching the vice captain if she had to. It was her fault, after all, and if she was going to get in trouble she'd rather get it over with. "What's the vice captain like?"
Post by Takashi Kuchiki on Dec 8, 2014 22:54:45 GMT -5
Takashi had the same bored expression plastered on his face as he spoke to her about the warehouse. She seemed to have a strange look on her face until he gave the explanation. Everything seemed to come into perspective. The girl's face changed and she seemed to be a bit distraught. The shinigami looked towards her, of course she didn't like training; as all recruits. She would have a horrible time seeing where she slept too. "Aye..every morning", he repeated after her. She spoke saying she could wait or meet the Vice Captain. It was a moment later that she asked what he was like. It was almost a weird question to ask. "You will see". He spoke. "For now, I should perhaps show you where you will sleep. Most of the division is out doing work. Please follow me".
He said as he made his way inside. Takashi turned to the left, not going into the main entrance. There was a door off to the left. He turned the handle but it wouldn't open. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. Placing it into the hole, he turned it so it'd open. He held it open so she could go inside first. After she did, he would take out the key and place it in his pocket again. Walking in, she would see some officers. "This is more or less where you shall sleep. these offices are for Seated Officers with a few beds attached. With the members of Squad 11 away on mission so often, we don't need much more than that. As for you..". He spoke as he continued walking down the hall. His foot steps echoed until he got to the end of the hall; stopping as he did. "These rooms are for the Unseated officers. As you can see, they are simply long rows of beds with footlocker storage. It doesn't happen to be the most comfortable. However, it should suit your needs". He spoke as he began to walk.
He spoke to her as he walked. "If you happen to make a seventh seat or higher, you will have your own smaller room". He then continued until he reached an area where there were couches and much more space. There was an area for a secretary but she wasn't there currently. One of the doors said Captain: Iro Kuchiki on it. The door was closed and rather well crafted it seemed; though far form luxurious. "Captains and Vice Captain have their own individual rooms. They are the nicer rooms". He stopped at the door on the right. The name tag read: Vice Captain: Kuchiki Takashi. "This is my office. You may come to myself or Iro to submit your reports to either of us. Welcome to the 11th division Miss Amagiri". He spoke as he looked at her with the same bored expression. His eyes however...were far more intense; the blue diamond like hue looking at her.
Ai followed behind as Takashi led , quiet for once. She nodded at most of what he said, only letting out a neutral 'hmm' when they got to the regular, unseated barracks. It would be interesting to see what it was like living near so many people all day. Ai had a bad feeling it wouldn't be her favorite thing in the world. When she was alive, for most of her life it had only been her and her mother. And the Amagiri family had lived in a traditional Japanese manor, many small rooms all closed off and separated. In Rukongai, she had had a small place to herself. Cynically, Ai wondered if she'd try to climb the ranks just for a private bed. She was generally too lazy to be power-hungry, but a few nights of bad sleep might just fuel her. The little things in life. She'd have to wait and see. Amused at her own thoughts, she continued on with Takashi down the hall once again, not paying much attention to her surroundings anymore.
They stopped in front of an office door, and when Takashi announced they were at his office she opened her mouth automatically to inquire about the vice captain again. Her voice started to make a sound, but stuck in her throat and never came out. For as she moved to ask, her eyes also settled on the name tag on the door. She'd been expecting to see Takashi's name, of course, since he had said it was his office. The title that came with it, however, made the lingering amusement on her face die a quick death. Her mouth dropped further open, slack-jawed. His eyes were on her and for a few seconds she rapidly switched between looking at him and looking at the name tag.
And then almost uncontrollably, Ai's feet quickly shuffled back away from Takashi and the door. She went until her back bumped the opposite wall of the hall, which didn't seem far enough to satisfy her, because she rapidly turned her heard to locate her nearest exit. Ai even went so far as to turn and take a step towards it, but regained a small ounce of composure long enough to stop herself. Slowly, she turned back to face Takas- her vice captain. Her mind replayed every second of their interaction so far. She'd stolen his cake. She had stolen her vice captain's cake, and then made him show her around. Her face had been pale, but gradually gained color...and then turned pink. But Ai wasn't one to be easily embarrassed, and she didn't enjoy the feeling. To stave off her blushing, she glared at him instead, and then pointed an accusatory finger at him. "You didn't say anything! This whole time!" She yelled loudly, uncaring where they were.
In the back of her mind, she briefly realized that anger wasn't the best reaction to have. But fury was a familiar emotion, and she brushed her worry aside. Until another thought clung onto her conscience: it wasn't as if he had been trying to hide his identity. Actually, when they assigned divisions, didn't they make it clear who the captain and vice-captain were? Ai, in her anger, couldn't remember clearly. Plus she was pretty sure she had dozed off during a part of the Academy's graduation ceremony...a part, or the whole thing. She'd been tired. The point was, at one point someone had probably told her who Takashi Kuchiki was, and she hadn't been listening. The realization made her drop her hand, but she hesitated with her next action. While she thought, she continued to glare at him.
She could apologize, but was she sorry about anything? Ai sucked on a tooth remembering the delicious taste of cake. No, she wasn't all that sorry. Plus, bowing down and begging for forgiveness just wasn't her style. She'd disrespected her Academy teachers often enough to learn that lesson. She might've graduated on the first try, but Ai was fairly sure she almost got held back because of her insubordination. She'd spent a long time at the Academy after class, serving punishments. So instead of bowing, Ai gave Takashi a quick salute. "Thanks for the welcome, Fukutaichou," she drawled, still a little angry. Sure, it wasn't his fault she didn't recognize him. But at some point he must have realized her ignorance, and he'd sat there and led her on.
Post by Takashi Kuchiki on Dec 10, 2014 1:02:05 GMT -5
Okay this was getting weird. The woman's face quickly shifted from joy to shear terror. Takashi blinked once, they made some weird eye contact for a moment. He wasn't sure what was going on but he still made sure to look as bored as ever; check! In any case, Ai was now backing away from him. Takashi was almost tempted to look behind him; perhaps there was a hollow of some sort? Why was this girl so frightened all of a sudden? Surely it couldn't have been at the shock of him being her Vice Captain could it? Whatever it was, she seemed rather terrified. He watched as she seemed to be taking steps to run away. He didn't stop her, maybe this was who she was; he wouldn't judge her. Finally however, a reaction came in the form of what appeared to be anger. Ai looked at him accusingly and pointed a finger at him. Takashi simply looked at her blankly.
She shouted, why did she have to be so loud? He sighed from his nostrils as she accused him of not telling her. "You hadn't asked". He said in a rather 'matter of fact' sort of way. Well it was true! She hadn't asked him any specific details about him. If she thought back, he was doing all the questioning. Ai hadn't taken the time to properly get to know this individual. Rather, she had simply asked a stranger to lead her to the 11th divisions. Perhaps she should have questioned why he knew so much about the eleventh. It should have been more apparent when he told her about the intricacies of their workings; hell why would he even have a key to this place? In any case, she seemed all riled up, perhaps he should have said something more.
"I suppose I should have told you as much, my apologies. I simply believed you'd treat me differently if you knew prematurely. This way, I was better able to grasp what type of person you are.". He spoke to her as she seemed a bit upset still. There was some staring and the casual awkward pause. Then came a weird change in her demeanor. She seemed to salute him, he wasn't sure exactly what to do with that. However, he raised his own hand up and saluted her back; mannerisms were about culture! Perhaps this was the way that Ai wanted to show her respect. Though, the way she said his title did make him question her sincerity. "Aye, you are welcome". He said to her again.
Now with the awkwardness past them he looked towards her. Perhaps she wanted to go about some training or...something. "I suppose I should make up for your lost training. I will make up for this now. Please follow me.". Takashi began to walk, hoping that she would follow and not run away. They continued forward until they reached large gates. Takashi grasped one of them and pulled the circular handle open. Instead, there was a training ground. It was lined with grass and various dummies and things of the sort. He walked casually towards the barrel which possessed a plethora of bokken. He took one and then handed Ai another one.
"Please take this". He said as he handed it over to her. He began to walk until there was a near 15 foot gap between the two. He looked bored as he held out his bokken with his right hand. "Perhaps this will suffice, let us see how you attack and such. Perhaps I can work on your weak points". Oddly, this felt so nostalgic. This was the training that he had gotten from Sozen beforehand. It felt like he was passing on what he learned...he liked it. In any case, this would be interesting. He would add a bit of a twist to this training anyway. "As you do, feel free to ask me any questions. You seem distraught that you hadn't earlier. I will allow you the opportunity now." He said to her. It was time to see what she was made of.
Ai's voice rose again at her vice captain's response. "I was...distracted! Lost! It's my first day, and then there was cake, and making friends with strangers isn't exactly at the top of my to-do list. And it's my first day on the job...and there was cake," Her first counter-points started off rapid-fire, but she slowed down as she went on. She chewed on her lip in silence for a few moments after she was done. So...maybe they'd both been rude. But Ai wasn't strong in the 'socializing' department, maybe for some she'd be mistaken as friendly because of her tendency to talk to anyone willing to listen, but no one could tack on the label 'plays well with others' when describing her. Actually, she didn't often realize the boundary between politely curious and just plain nosy, so she often refrained from asking people a lot of questions altogether to avoid being the latter. Instead, she simply interacted with them and judged people largely on her first impression. Which wasn't always a strong tactic. Even as she spoke, she felt the lack of tension between them, and relaxed as the awkwardness of Takashi's authority and her lack of respect for his rank was promptly swept under the rug. Largely thanks to her vice captain's mild reaction to the whole ordeal. His cool treatment of the situation helped Ai put out her fiery attitude. She was quick to flare, but as long as no one got hurt, she was also quick to get over things. She let out a loud huff, and seemed to settle down.
To her chagrin her vice captain's next order of business was to make up for her missed training. She just barely refrained from groaning aloud as she followed him down the hall and out of the building. They quickly stepped outside once more, entering an outdoor training area. A small part of Ai felt better knowing that she wouldn't be subjected to whatever 'extreme temperature' training Takashi had mentioned earlier. She was busy looking around, expecting the training dummies and such, and only absent-mindedly took the bokken he offered her. Her eyes fixated on the beat-up dummies, she expected that her training would include them, but when she looked over she saw that Takashi was facing off against her holding a training sword of his own. She blinked, and then her eyes widened, but after a few seconds, she figured she shouldn't actually be surprised. Squad 11 was always the most battle-ready, after all, and training against a live person was much better practice than a stationary dummy.
So she gripped the bokken tightly in one hand while keeping her wrist loose, and faced Takashi. She already had a general idea of her weak points from having her academy teachers her berate in practice. Her blows were firm, but she was slow about it. Ai knew it too, could feel it. Her body favored power over speed. However...She wasn't going to come straight out and tell her vice captain all this. She had her pride, after all. And she knew he'd find out soon enough anyway without her having to say anything. "Questions?" She said in response to his words, slowly edging closer to him. Ai wasn't sure if he was going to let her wail on him, or make it hard on her. When she was too close to debate it any longer, she brought her bokken up high simultaneously with her opposite, free hand, and then struck straight down in a rather stereotypical overhead attack. she spoke as she did so, "You asked me about my last name because of clans or something. And I saw you share a last name with the captain. Are the Kuchiki's important, then?"
The surname didn't seem totally unfamiliar to her, and she figured it was because she had heard it before in Academy. But living in Rukongai and even in academy, she hadn't paid much attention to the big family names, although she knew they existed. She even knew that academy teachers would treat some students more delicately because of their last names. But Ai wasn't one to respect someone just because of their name or bloodline, so she hadn't bothered to become familiar with the names of the 'special' students.
Post by Takashi Kuchiki on Dec 12, 2014 2:08:03 GMT -5
The girl seemed to take the bokken passively. Takashi could tell that she really wasn't that interested in training. It was funny really, to see how someone was so determined yet so unmotivated. This girl really was just herself and 'herself' seemed to be a fierce warrior. However, she seemed to dislike the idea of training and becoming stronger. Most people who had passed through the gates of the 11th and wore their badge wanted to be the best. They wanted to get stronger, hone their skills, be feared. This one however..just wanted to sleep; or so it seemed. He slowly blinked as he looked towards her, wondering if her expression would change. However, he thought it pointless and walked to create distance between them. He held the wooden bokken lazily in his right hand. He looked towards her, at least she had a good stance. It seemed the academy had taught her that much. She seemed to also react positively to the idea of questions and such.
It was only a moment later that he realized he had forgotten something. He looked towards the black metallic rings on his wrist. His eyes gauged his opponent before looking back down and setting them to something. He instantly felt the weigh and draining of his power quite suddenly. Now, he would be at the exact statistics that the girl was at. He looked on lazily as she came towards him with an overhead slash. It was a good solid movement, he figured it deserved some good praise. Regardless though, it was pretty casual. He brought his bokken up, supporting it with his left hand. The bokken would hit his and he would instantly begin to move out to the right, turning counter clockwise. At the same time, he let his left hand become lazy and drop down; allowing the woman's bokken to slide off of his while he stepped around it. With his free hand, he quickly brought it down to his right abdomen as the bokken began rotating around hers. When he was now in position, to the left of her sword and perpendicular to her, he jabbed out with the end of his sword; intending to hit her nose in a quick jab.
Oddly, he would continue to talk as he did so. "The Kuchiki are of the four main noble families. They have the most influence as most are of Captain or Vice Captain Rank. I simply asked to see if you too would be of nobility. I do not see status with it, rather, corruption. Clans influence the walls of Soul Society more than you will ever imagine. Do not get caught up in these matters, focus upon your training and your goal". He spoke to her as he made his attack. He would continue to speak, even if she was pushed back or whatever happened next. "Your own goals, I wish to know them. Why have you become a shinigami...and what is your ultimate goal?". He questioned her, his brilliant blue eyes looking towards her and making sure to keep sharp upon her. He wanted to know what she would do.