Today was the big day. The ohsovery important big day. The very first day of work. It was both exhilarating and debilitating at the same time. The young Tanaka, newfound to her abilities and training as a shinigami, had undergone a certain degree of training and now found herself dropped squat in the middle of a lecture regarding something along the lines of operational procedures in the medical facility and the chain of command. Maybe that was last week, or next week?

She was so confused. The way she got to this point was confusing enough, what with stairs and twists and turns that she couldn't hope to remember. There was no way she could find her way back the way the group had come, and so she would be forced to find her own...if she ever got separated from the group. So far, so good, at least.

Visibly harried, her eyes remained rapt with attention; they led her ears in the victory march to graduation, or at least a passing grade. She was hungry for knowledge, eagerly lapping each syllable up and trying her hardest to commit things to memory...if only she wasn't so keen on getting distracted by trying to figure out where she was and what she was supposed to be learning.

Aya had been with the Second Division for thirteen years, now. She knew the routine of the place through observation. The layout of the place was easy to commit to memory through some study, though Aya spent nearly all of her time cooped up inside her quarters. Why, then, would a Shinigami like her go to the trouble of learning the habits of the Gotei Second Division shut herself away doing paperwork?

Aya was scared of people. Nervous, awkward, she made a concerted effort to know the routes others seldom traveled, the long ways around for when she wanted to avoid someone in particular, the shortcuts for when she had someplace urgent to be.

Why, once, when the captain of the division, Hitoshi Kenta, made the rounds, jovially addressing each of his staff on a slow day, she had mumbled out some excuse to her fellows that she was going to use the restroom. Of course, the moment the fretful Nakao girl had left the room, she wandered around, staying opposite her captain in the halls until he finally left.

There was, of course, one thing that she couldn't anticipate. There were common places of travel because members of the division frequented them. They were efficient. They were places of social interaction. They were tradition.

And newcomers did not know that.

A sound pricked Aya's ears, the sound of footsteps rounding the corner. Aya froze, arms trembling. Her eyes flashed around to her various options. Of course there was no escape. She'd walked down this hallway enough times to know that while few came down it regularly, if she caught it at the wrong time, she'd be seen.

Now, it wasn't as if Nakao Aya desired stealth. It was just that being seen meant possibly being addressed, and being addressed meant having to interact with one of her fellows, and that often meant talking about something other than work. Aya didn't know what to do in those situations. She usually just mumbled out responses till the other left. And somehow, now, she was faced with the same ordeal. If she turned back, she'd be caught in a crowd, but if she went forward, this someone breaking habit would catch her off-guard.

And then she dropped a stack of papers in her anxiousness.

And jovially address his fellow medics he did.

Harupia always enjoyed slow day's like this.Not simply because it meant less work. For him, there was always something to do,someone to see, papers to fill, all the works of a younger Fukutaicho. No, the day being slow meant there was little patients that needed a lot of attention. and even if he was a healer, he liked it most when the people of the city were all healthy, happy, and enjoying their lives. Though he didn't mind the pastries that were sometimes brought to the Division by grateful patients. All in all, he was glad there was not much to do.

And so there he was, strolling through the hall's greeting members and patients alike, asking how their day was passing, how were they feeling, all the good stuff. His wandering wasn't completely aimless though, as he had a goal in mind. Today a group of newly trained Shinigami joined their team,and were getting toured in the Division. Seeing how he now had some spare time, he decided to join them on their first day of work.

On his way there though, he would see a somewhat unusual sight. well, maybe not that unusual, but rare. one of the members of the Division had drooped her papers. That happened when one was rushing somewhere...though she seemed to be standing rather still to be in a hurry...maybe she was surprised? Either way, not to far from her the group being lectured was standing. Approaching the women he would say "Everything alright? When you start drooping things, it usually means it a good time to take a break" chuckling a bit, before he would move down and gather the files quickly. He didn't want to be let for the lecture after all, did he?

To her utter delight, Mai managed to follow the crowd of peers to the designated area...which looked a lot like a mess hall with the tables all pushed to the sides so everyone could stand comfortably in the gaggle. The group stood and listened attentively, each one rapt with the attention demanded of their new stations. Newly marked as Unseated, the young Tanaka and her undeclared partner inched closer, both subconsciously needing the 'I don't know you and you don't know me but we're in this together let's stick close' bond the proximity offered.

Which served just as well as if the other had been an assigned guide; the unspoken confidence the other provided enabled Mai to follow the group as it resumed its trek throughout the Second Division headquarters. Now that Mai had a head which she could follow - and hopefully spot out in a crowd - she had relaxed a bit and was able to pay more attention to the guide as she spoke.

...Was that a right or a left from the mess hall.... [/color]

A none-too-subtle 'eep!' escaped the unprepared woman at the sound of her vice-captain's arrival. Face contorted in some look of horrified embarrassment, she struggled (in vain) to collect the documents she had dropped. Of course, each time she went to collect a page, another fell from her trembling arms. What to say to excuse this? Why had it been the vice-captain who had come?

Not that she'd have desired any other person from her division instead, but an official had seen her make the clumsy mistake. Not only that, but it had been because he was coming that she had dropped the papers in the first place! She was fouling up her job without reason. It was simple nerves. Nerves she, of course, could do nothing to shake. All that Harupia received was a frightened and nervous glance his direction as she reached for a page he wasn't. She carefully avoided the ones he was going for her, which actually made her slower than him at retrieving the pages.

"I apologize, Vice-Captain. I... have no excuse," she said, clutching her rescued stack in case they should fall again. Her fingers curled around their edges and clenched with anxiety such that wrinkles began to form in the outer layers of her held stack. If she could just... reach out and get the pages he had collected, she could be on her way, but that required actually reaching out to take them, which she couldn't do to a superior without him offering them, and she couldn't ask him for them. Words seemed to fail her at this point, forming a mucky mess within her mouth.

What was a poor anti-social girl to do?

Harupia would rise a brow at the girl squeaking at his sight, seeing more and more the she was quite startled by his appearance. She looked rather stressed out,she kept dropping of her documents, slowing down so that she didn't intercept him,and in the end apologizing to him. Sighing a bit once he brought up most of the documents that were there, he would stand up and say "Now,now, no need to apologize. I'm not here to smite you because you dropped a few papers...You seem like you need to relax a bit..."

Handing over her documents to her, he would say " I was heading towards the group of new members which are given a tour of the Division grounds...wanted to help them get introduced to the hospital. You can join me if you want, take a small breather from work...of course, if you need to carry those documents somewhere urgently, I'm by no means stopping you. I just think a small break wouldn't hurt" he concluded with a small chuckle.

He would wait a bit for her to make her decision, and after a while he would walk of towards the mess hall, the tour managing to step away from him quite a bit while he was helping the girl out. After a quick walk, with his companion or not, he would finally come close to the group of people in which, unbeknownst to him, Mai was also listening to with attention.Deciding to go in quite for now, he would approach the end of the group, listening to what the Shinigami which was guiding was saying. IN his Shinigami garb, he didn't look much different then an member of a lower rank...the band on his shoulder was there, but he assumed he could pose as an anonymous member for a while at least.

Diligently, Mai followed the group, oblivious to the happenings behind her; if she wasn't paying attention to the man speaking, she would have noticed the fresh arrival into the little group, the Fukutaichou tailing them. If she had noticed, well, she would have upped her game.

To what, she didn't know.

But for now, all she had to do was follow and not get lost. The unknowing partner, or the back of the head she had memorized, saw to that. The rest, well, some people had a problem walking and memorizing. Was that something about quarterly shifts? Or quarters? Or a quarter of an office?

IF ONLY SHE HAD SOMETHING TO WRITE WITH AND ON.

The look on Nakao Aya's face did not desist with Haru's attempts to assuage her anxiety. If anything, it worsened. She knew full well in her mind that the repercussions of her clumsiness weren't going to be anything so severe as actual punishment. That did not mean she felt as if her actions were acceptable. The vice-captain must have felt compelled to show her his sympathy or even pity.

She couldn't let herself burden him like that.

"No, I will follow you, sir. I was simply taking old requisition forms to the archive," she said hastily. To be totally honest, she didn't want to take a break. Work was her break. She could forget that others in the division existed when she did the paperwork needed. Her desire to escape was weaker than her desire not to disagree with her superior, not that Harupia had actually given her an order. She merely felt compelled to follow him. He had suggested it. To decline was to imply she didn't approve of his opinions.

Falling in step with the vice-captain and holding her papers tightly, Aya watched him carefully. What sort of leader was he, really? In her isolation, she really hadn't taken the opportunity to learn about her superiors in depth. She knew their routines, or so she had thought, but not their attitudes. Knowing how they approached a situation would let her do what she did best, behave around them and escape once she was allowed. She stood just behind him when he approached the group, and she still visibly shook. How could she not? Now she was having to blend into a whole crowd of people whose actions were unplanned and unreadable.

Hr rose a brow at her hasty response. If the papers weren't so important, then there was no real reason to fret so much about the whole incident really...he was growing more certain that this was a classical case of taking the job to seriously. Which wasn't that bad, it pushed you to try and be the best you can...but it usually was most useful when dealing with patients, not transporting pieces of written paper. Besides, to much concern about it will make you to stressed to actually function properly...at least that was his take on it.

Still, now was as good of a time as ever to try and let the girl relax a bit. He would smile brightly as she agreed saying "Well then, lets not let them escape now shall we?" before he started heading towards the gathering. As they both followed the tour, he listened to the rather standard thing which he remember was rather similar in the days he joined the Division himself. When shifts were set up, don't be late, clean you hands, eat there, don't sleep, and if you must do it there... some things were more necessary then others, but he didn't interrupt. Basics were where you start at really.

After a few more minutes, the member would start rounding up the tour, making a small recollection of what happened before. Seeing this as the best time to assert himself, he would say quietly "Excuse me" towards Aya, before stepping through the crowd, some of the people noticing just who he was.

Once he stepped before them all, he nodded to the tour giving member so that he could leave, and once he did he turned around to all the people gathered and with a wide smile he said "Soo...as some of you might have noticed, I'll be one of you commanding officers. Fukutaicho Hitoshi Harupia, pleased to meet you all. Now, to finish up what my collage wanted to say before I came up, are there any questions any of you might want to ask at this point?" asking in the end, looking around the crowd with a joyful expression, his green eyes beaming brightly at the new medics.

No one had any questions right away, Mai observed as Harupia addressed the group. They were quite talkative to the previous guide, so perhaps they had a bad case of nerves with the sudden presence of the fukutaichou. Mai herself was unperturbed, having been raised as the daughter of a taichou and used to such displays of rank.

She did not, however, recognize the man speaking as the man who had mended her sprained ankle over a century ago. It was a traumatic experience for her, and while she remembered only bits of her childhood, the incident in the trees was a slight turning point. Perhaps the rukongai wasn't meant for her. So here she was, one hundred and forty years, and more near-death experiences than she should have had to endure, the wiser.

And she would prove it. "Is this all of us?" she asked from the back of the group. "I thought there were more when we started this morning. If we have been separated, will this be our introductory class?" Mai assumed this was the case, but it never hurt to be sure.

sent from my notsosmartphone of breakingthingsness

There was little to say when you were the sort who deliberately avoided people. Aya stood complacent to the side, attempting to understand her superior and juniors alike. Of course, that was certainly a challenge. One of the new inductees had a habit, it seemed, of letting his eyes wander unbidden to seemingly arbitrary things about the room. When the vice-captain spoke, the inattentive person Aya was watching at the time had let his gaze turn towards her.

She stiffened visibly as they made eye contact. The color drained from her already pale features, and she averted her eyes towards her superior officer. His question hung in the air as several faces looked around. Who had a question? No one? Anyone?

Finally, one young girl spoke up. Aya felt that she knew who this was. The name escaped her currently, but the features in the girl's face were familiar. Was she from some important family? Aya felt confident that she knew who she needed to, and there was something telling in the girl's face.

And then her question. Aya wondered if perhaps the vice-captain would call her up at some point during the conversation and willingly shrunk back from the current group introduction. But then the question of how many were in the group had been raised. Suddenly, words came unbidden to Aya's lips. "Seven." As eyes undoubtedly began to turn towards her, she mumbled an explanation for her outburst. "Th-there were seven in the forms I filled out this morning..." Her voice faded quickly from her original outburst and by the end was little more than a whisper.

And now she'd stuck her foot into the conversation... Great.

Harupia looked at the silent crowd, smiling at them as he looked through the faces memorizing them. Now only to get their names, but the would come in time. He was about to suggest moving on, but then one of the new cadets asked a question. A white haired, elegant looking younger women... she seemed somewhat familiar...As she asked about the number of members. And the question was quickly supplemented by additional info from the girl he met along the way. It was good to see her rise to the occasion...even if she spoke more quietly with each word. Well, he couldn't help her being shy...not right of the bat at least.

So, seven members...well, the numbers seemed right...but he brought in one more additional member. So in reality, the group consisted of only 6 members. Rising a brow, he said "It seemes that were are one original member short then...alright then people, tell me now, which areas did you pass during the tour up to this point?" A small test and a way to trace back the stray lamb. He was quite lucky for this predicament.

...What had they passed? Well, the started out in the mess hall, or what Mai assumed to be the mess hall, and then wandered around for a few minutes, through what she assumed to be personal offices -- the offices that she assumed were for lesser members due to the amount of unwelcome clutter and number of desks -- and now to here, a minor hallway leading up to a double door.

She relayed as much, having gained confidence from being the only one who had asked a question, and receiving an affirmation for it, also positing that they were leading into a hallway that was near-to some major hub of the building itself. The question was, however, whether they were outside one of the wings of the exam room, or a different area altogether. Not that she was entirely aware of the layout as she should have been, as she was trying to get lost. But one could always hope, yes?

After her previous outburst, Aya was quick to retreat into her shell of anti-social tendency. Forms and numbers were her forte. Only her skill and talent with reiatsu had even put her here instead of with the archive division. To be honest, she never knew why she had ended up with the medics. It just sort of happened, and she had been far too complacent to refuse.

Perhaps, though, what she had decided was that the place was far more pleasant than other divisions. The vice-captain, at the very least, seemed an able leader. She listened carefully as he identified a missing person. How had she missed that? Where had the seventh one gone? That was the question, and then the familiar girl had spoken up. She knew the layout fairly well, it seemed, but Aya knew it better than anyone. She had to. How else would she avoid the division socialites?

Like her vice-captain.

Quietly, she listened. She knew where the missing member was likely to be simply based on an acute knowledge of the division grounds and also on her analytical sense of who frequented what areas. Ahead was a well-trafficked area where the newcomer would probably ask where the group had gone, so they had to have gotten lost before this point.

There were bathrooms back down the hall, weren't there? They might have stopped in and the group hadn't noticed.

He listened to the girl who spoke up first was still proving to be quite helpful, giving him a quick rundown on what they passed beyond their trip. Offices, mess hall, and the main hallway of the floor he assumed...not the most descriptive recollection of their tour but it would serve but she was trying to pay attention. For now everyone else remained silent, including the member which he met on his way. Not really unexpected, since the layout of the building wasn't the most immediate thing to learn...though it helped not to get lost when you were healing people.

Nodding a bit he would say "I see...well, I'm pretty sure you would remember if something unusual would happen to one of you, so I assume our lost lamb got lost...or found some delicious treats in the mess hall" he chuckled lightly after that before continuing "But returning to the question raised, yes, I would like to be you guide in a more...practical introduction so to speak.

Now behind these doors await us rooms with patients in them" he said turning his head slightly towards the entrance which was behind him "While the Division is by no means crowded right now, there is still some work to be done. Now, before we move forward, and to give out lost companion some more time, I need to ask, what was the guide I stepped in for discussing with you about before this point?" he asked finally, awaiting to do his best not to repeat any things which were already mentioned. No need to be redundant.

Redundancy would not necessarily be a bad thing, as these were the newest members to the division, Mai mused. That, and she hadn't been paying enough attention to be entirely confident on what they had been listening to. "...I think," she started, voice steadily dropping the confidence she had spoken with moments prior to the question before. Licking her lips to moisten them slightly before continuing, using this slight pause as a means to avoid the inevitable consequence of being considered a fool, she flicked her downcast eyes back to Harupia.

Before she could answer, however, a sharp jerking motion caused her to lose all train of thought as the missing member barrelled in through the group, sputtering an apology. He had careened into Mai's erect frame, effectively dislodging her from her position in the middle-back of the pack as he elbowed his way between her and her unknowing partner much like a bowling ball through a rack of pins. She did not go sprawling, fortunately, though she did stagger into the person in front of her, and while she did try to right both herself and the mousy male before her, both of them ended up discombobulated.

"I think I may have bitten my tongue," she then said acidly, clenching her jaw and pressing her hand to her lips to quench any sort of blood that may have been pooling within, attempting to finish her statement. She could feel her tongue swelling with the pain from the bite and inwardly cringed; this day wasn't going so well...figured.

Aya stood diligently behind her vice-captain while he spoke. Her eyes flicked about nervously, but she kept her composure well enough at this point to keep from being thought some kind of incompetent. She knew she wasn't. She was actually one of the hardest workers in the division, given her tendency to throw herself into work to avoid other people, but it was easy for her nerves to get the better of her.

Luckily, she might get a chance to impress him here. He had suggested a practical introduction? Aya surmised that he wanted to either show the inductees how things worked in the division or have them work first-hand with Chiyudo. Aya wasn't sure what sort of leader he was yet and thus couldn't judge whether he'd be the sort to lead by example or throw the lot of them into the deep end to see them swim.

And again, when he asked what the guide had been discussing prior to their arrival, that same girl spoke up. Aya wracked her brains, trying to recall, if nothing else, why her features seemed so familiar.

Tanaka! That was the name. The girl was a Tanaka. The hair color, taller height, and graceful posture gave it away.

And their rambunctious escapee had suddenly bumbled right into her. Aya said nothing. She didn't see her position as the sort where she might offer anything to the girl that her captain would not undoubtedly provide. Besides, while Aya was the sort to show concern when someone she knew was disgruntled, this was certainly not someone she knew.

And Aya was socially crippled around strangers.

Harupia waited for anyone to speak up, perking up as the white hairdo girl started to speak up again, Hmm...the more he thought about it,the more she seemed familiar...he wasn't quite sure from where. Still, he waited for her reply, though he noted she did pause for a second...he wasn't really dead set on repeating what was said earlier, but if he didn't know, he would just improvise... He also wondered how to try and incorporate the medic he met along the way...though he could guess that the amount of socializing she did till now was quite a bit for her.

All deliberations were cut short as the missing lamb showed himself, quite suddenly, to the group. The commotion resulted in one thing in particluar, the girl injuring herself. Well, this was rather sudden...but in the end, it gave him something to work with. He would turn to Aya and say "Well, seems well have a live demonstration...Could you move forward and bring us a bowl, some cotton and water. I'm sure we'll be easy to find" he said with a small smile, before he would move towards Mai.

As he steeped close to her he would say "Try not to talk to much. If you need to spit out some blood, do it on my sleeve. I have enough spare uniforms as it is" moving his sleeved arm close to er, while leading her towards the hall leading to the patient room, motioning all the others to follow him in. Moving close to a window he would say, seeing some of the frightened expressions on the faces of the new recruits "Now, now, no need to panic. The human tongue is one of the fastest healing parts of our body. This will probably be a flesh wound...of course we cant be sure until we look inside, but whatever the wound is, you need to stay calm...Its better to have you calmness rub of the frightened patient than the other way around" he concluded with a warm smile, patting Mai gently on her back. He doubted she managed to bite herself deeply, but he didn't want to check before she had something to spit out all the blood into.

Be it pride or vanity, or some combination thereof, Mai seemed to elevate; her back straightened, shoulders squared, and her head rose. She clearly was displeased with the situation at hand, moreso at the fact that she had been physically, albeit unintentionally, assaulted by a future coworker, than the fact that she was about to become an exemplar. Had she had a choice in the situation, or had one even presented itself, she would have been the first to volunteer herself for a demonstration.

The most basic bits of the preferred and the actual situation were the same in intent - she was assisting and they were not. She was the pet, they were not. It was all about Mai, not about them.

As such, the anger all over her flushed face and swimming in her slanting, violet eyes was not directed at the fukutaichou as he approached, though the flashing contortion brought about as he suggested spitting on him most certainly was -- that was certainly most unsanitary, though given the situation, certainly the most sanitary of options short of swallowing the blood. The look on her face suggested as much, revulsion breaking through the anger (the incident with the hollow months prior still tormented the poor thing on a nightly basis) as she merely thought about the fluids of another touching her. Tanaka Mai could not fathom hers touching another, let alone bringing her face close enough to expel the contents.

Harupia would find himself leading a tense pair of shoulders to the nearest exam room, the head atop held high as she politely declined his offer to spit. She only tensed further as another balked, though her face kept its anger mask on - as though she could convince her clenched jaw otherwise. The fukutaichou's calmness may have an effect on her peers, and if she took but a moment to think, she could have cited the accuracy of his statement having truth to it, as she had once been subjected to it.

Instead, Mai stood solid, waiting for the chance to open her coppery mouth. Her tongue throbbed with the steady staccato of her heart. Every now and then, her eyes would close briefly as she took a wave of pain, but she would show no other outwardly signs. She was in this now, and she wouldn't back out.

Not that she really had a choice.


[iiiiicky post is icky]

Something changed in Aya. Her observational stance waned when she saw her vice-captain take action regarding the girl's injury. He was teaching a lesson. He was about to show how to treat a minor injury. He was also giving a fine example of bedside manner, though Aya was rather inept with this. She kept away from the patient rooms most of the time because of her socially awkward manner. It was too easy to be too cold, too clinical.

But she wanted to be of service. How could she help? As the group headed into the patient room, Aya busied herself isolating what would be necessary. Mechanically, she spoke aloud, likely interrupting anyone else in the group with the abrupt and seemingly out-of-character behavior.

"Given patient reaction, the injury is likely not severe," she said, retrieving a stoppered flask of purified water. "Cleaning the wound is imperative. Since the flow of the river is not easily altered, river water is collected, filtered, and then embued with the same manner of reiatsu that is used for Chiyudo. This results in a clean water supply that would be useful in natural healing as well as aiding in any necessary Chiyudo applications."

She turned, handing the flask to her superior. "Ice would reduce the swelling, but given the time of year, this is difficult. Ice can be stored for a short period of time using sawdust to prevent melting. It's too warm though." Spring had taken away the winter weather and yielded a rather warm climate. Alas. It made soothing pain more difficult.

The Tanaka girl maintained a respectable air of stoic resolve, despite the obvious irritation on her face. Aya mentally confirmed what she had thought earlier. This was a child of an important family. Aya gave her an analytical eye, unaware that she might be criticized for scrutinizing a pained patient. Certainly, were she not in "job mode", she would have fretted and worried about her manner.

"You should press it against the roof of the mouth once clean to put pressure on the laceration. It will reduce bloodflow."

[Whoop. Who needs real sleep? I only have 6 hours of classes today. Also, hooray for reading up on what Aya would already know. Hope I didn't progress things too fast...]

He was glad the white haired girl was cooperating, even if she didn't spit the blood out as he asked. Though it was either way lose lose situation. Holding blood in your mouth or swallowing it is usually a unpleasant idea...but spiting it out on your superiors cloths might not be much better. He still held the sleeve down in case the amount of fluids became to much.

The situation moved forward in a good pace once Aya came through with all the necessary items. What surprised Harupia was how she reacted to the situation. He was expecting her to burrow further into her shell, but what happened was the opposite. She seemed to embrace the situation, and she showed quite a good amount of knowledge. A pleasant surprise indeed.

As he offered Mai the bowl into which she could finally remove all the unnecessary fluids, he would say "Your companion here is quite right. First rinse the mouth out of all unnecessary fluids, then use purified water to make it clean and sanitized. If your lacking such water, you can achieve the same effect with salted water. However, that way is quite unpleasant for the patient so try to use it as a last resort" he said addressing the other patients with a slightly more serious face. Not unpleasant in appearance, but he wasn't smiling as widely. Serious business and all.

Turning back to Mai, wanting to see if she already spat out and rinses her mouth he said "And that is some good advice, especially if you happen to injure you're tongue somewhere far away . Stopping the blood flow is usually the best way to avoid any complications. What remains to be seen is how sever the wound is, and cleaning it up...Unless anyone has anything against it, Ill let the younger medics get a bit o practice" he said with a chuckle, looking between Mai and Aya. If neither of them would voice any protest, he would be standing there, looking closely, ready to intervene if necessary. But it seemed they were doing quite well so far, much to his satisfaction.

Mai's steely gaze kept itself on Harupia, keeping tabs on his every move until the bowl was handed to her. And even then, she simply held onto the bowl, battling with herself, fighting to keep her hand from shaking too much as she continued to watch him. She wasn't necessarily painful at this point - though the throbbing had yet to subside, she was becoming acclimated to the additional rhythm fairly well - but she was more concerned with the task of spitting. Alone, she would have gagged until she vomited, and then vomited until she was dry heaving, and then scrub her mouth out with cooled boiled water until the sensation was a vivid, horrendous memory.

However, now she was with a group of people, and the task of spitting - mundane as breathing to some - loomed overhead. She was Tanaka Mai, daughter of the Soutaichou, a cultured young woman. A dignified lady. Ladies did not spit. Ladies did not cower at their own bodily responses.

As Aya spoke, Mai's eyes drifted over to her, watching. The odd girl bustled about, talking in an odd fashion, as though she was talking out what she was doing. The young Tanaka, having been distracted previously by trying to sound educated and informed, had nearly missed the girl's previous demeanor, but could now see that there had been a change. Perhaps this was her first time touring the newest members and the injury was an unexpected event, and that had thrown the girl for a loop?

Then, the talking stopped, and Mai felt the shift of attention back to her; suppressing the urge to just swallow the tangy saliva in her mouth, her gaze dropped from Aya down to the bowl in her own delicate artists hands. Almost pleadingly, like a forlorn puppy, Mai looked back up to Harupia before obediently emptying the contents of her mouth into the bowl. Her eyes closed, pinching tightly, as she did her best to repress a shudder. Internally, she repeated the command to not vomit in an endless loop.

At least she didn't drop the bowl and spill the pink-tinged saliva all down her front, though her shuddering did manifest as the bowl clearly shifted in several different directions. Setting it down, she took the proffered flask of purified water, took a delicate swig, and swished the tasteless fluid about her mouth. Mai then retreated inward, losing herself to the compulsory obligation to rinse and repeat. She spat, much less dignified than before, and took another healthy dose of purified water to repeat the process.

After three or four rounds of this, water clearer and clearer each subsequent purge, she suddenly recalled the numerous pairs of eyes no doubt scrutinizing her every move and boring into her very soul. After the last spit, she once again focused her eyes on the fukutaichou before her, before looking over the crowd. Eventually, they settled back on Aya, waiting for the next step in this pseudo-humiliation.

Her tongue now throbbed dully, a blatant reminder of what had happened not long ago, though she didn't dare try and speak, for fear of a giant bruise spreading across her tongue - rationally, she was aware that the bruise wasn't likely to occur, that her tongue would only have a redder spot where her molars gnashed it, but the anxiety of having one of those untrained individuals peering in her mouth was nerve-wracking. She'd already gone through enough, hadn't she, and now, to be subjected to peer after peer peering into her mouth?

Totally unfair.

"I'd rather not," she said at last, somewhat thickly as though her tongue was protesting the movement. "It's not...profoundly damaged." As she spoke, she jerkily gestured to the bowl of her saliva on the counter, showing that it would be a waste of everyone's time to look in her mouth. Plus, it was already feeling much better.

And just like that, Aya returned again to her meek attitude. Quiet, intimidated by the foreign need for amicable behavior, she waited, letting her vice captain take the reins. He did have a rather forward way of dealing with things, it seemed. He wanted to inspect the young Tanaka carefully, though the girl was actually almost as old as Aya was. There was only a curiously small age barrier that made the difference in terms of rank.

Aya wanted to speak out. She wanted to say that any further imtimacy with the patient was hardly necessary, but the words wouldn't form in her mouth. They filled it like so much peanut butter, churning about, fighting for which was the right way to let the girl have her peace.

And so Aya was silent. She fidgeted nervously, eyeing their group that had followed. How many of these seven would they actually take on? Seven was a great many to learn the routines of, and that wasn't even considering the group she already had to keep track of. A part of her wanted to run right there, but her face was stoic in that regard. It would cause issue with her superior if she simply departed, and avoiding that sort of displeasing behavior was more important to Aya than avoiding social interaction in general.

[Sorry about the wait. Sleep has been a far-flung opportunity lately.]

It took some time for Mai to to the task of emptying and clearing out her mouth, but she finally did so as he returned her pleading look with a decisive one of his own. He could guess she might find the fact of spiting out in front of everyone else a bit degrading...and he guessed the others would find it somewhat boring as well, judging by the looks, some looking towards Mai with a bit of distaste, some just looking the other way.

As Mai finished up cleaning her mouth, one of the other fresh medics said "Finally, the boring part is over" gathering a small chuckle from the crowd. Turning his head towards him with a raised brow, Harupia asked "Would it be less boring if it all landed on your face?" while making a motion with his hand as if he was reaching for the bowl. The goofy grin on the younger shinigami's face quickly vanished as he covered his face up. Harupia only chuckled and then said "I'm just kidding, I wouldn't pour all of this on you...But a patient could. Either by reflex,out of shock, or just because their feeling particularly mean. Spittle, blood, and all other forms of bodily waste are something you have to be ready to deal with. All. Of. Them"

He punctuated the least sentence with a small pause, giving them all a somewhat determined look as he said "Now, just because some of you got grossed out now doesn't mean you cant become good medics. But you need to learn and cope with this discomfort. Believe me, getting spat on is far from the worst that you will face here. The work of a medic is just as harsh and dirty as that of the other division's, and somewhat less exciting. The key is learning to bear with all the discomfort that comes with the job, and find the satisfaction in seeing the panicking, angry, spiting old lady who drives you insane walking out of the hospital with a smiling face...hopefully Ill be able to help you all to learn and like working in the Second Division" he concluded, smiling towards all the gather people. He wasn't sure how well that worked for a motivational piece, but he guessed he got his message across.

Once Mai voiced her protest about continuing with her tongue, he said "Well, that is up to you. It doesn't seem like the tongue is gravely injured...so i guess we can say this small presentation has ended" nodding with a soft smile towards her, before turning to Aya "I'm sure we'll find some other way for you to show your expertise" giving her a small wink. Now he needed to figure out what to do next...besides getting the bowl cleaned of course.

Mai listened to Harupia's minor lecture somewhat stiffly; after all, she was a subject in his reindeer games at the present time. She tensed and almost dove in front of the bowl of her spit when he made the move to appear to grab it to fling over the onlooking medics-to-be. Thankfully, she had the good sense to realize that his action was lacking in heart, and soon stopped herself from making a mess of things. She covered the lunge with a shuffle forward, as though she was anxious and stiff from standing in one place for too long - and in a way she most certainly was. But it was the panic etched into her face that she could not hide from those who would be looking at her actions: her face clinched tightly as she imagined the sloshing saliva, the banging of the bowl, and the collective gasping of the group as her waste went flying.

But fortunately, the collision had not occurred and the world was safe from the Tanaka's spit. She listened to the rest of the fukutaichou's spiel, flustering and blushing at the would-have-been incident she couldn't not-focus on -- the sheer sound of the bowl clattering against the floor continuously looped itself through her mind, and all other thoughts she might have entertained where lost in the chaos the bowl brought with it. Oh, why did she have to endure such hardships, and on this, the first day of educating.

She needed something to distract her, the unseated member (coincidentally also somewhat sheepish, perhaps), and the other poor sods from the could-have-been disaster. Something stronger, something....


As Mai pondered on the topics Harupia presented, she unconsciously began to fidget with the placement of the bowl. Her hand inched toward it, first to nudge it back from the edge of the counter, then to try and find the center, correctmost place -- to her-- to place it. It started as a second gentle nudge, then another, before she pulled her hand back; before long, she had started a second continuous behavior, the constant adjustment and readjustment of the bowl becoming the outlet to the echoing in her mind. Absent as she was, ignorant to the action, she was still taken aback when Harupia readdressed her tongue, which she had long since forgotten in her quest to forget the bowl of saliva she was currently playing fingers with.

Her head had ducked slightly, turned slightly inward and toward the bowl as she compulsively pulled it here, pushed it there, scooted it back to where it was; as the tongue issue was fully resolved, she jerked her hand back, sending the bowl knocking dangerously side to side. She again cringed at the sound the rocking motion made, but her incessant nudging had rendered it far enough from the edge of the counter that it was in no clear danger of falling off. It was the sound that provided the potential for the disaster to take place.

A moment or two of hand-stowing later, a series of indecisive motions as to where she should just stick her hands, Mai raised her head to look Harupia square in the eye should he look back at her after his ocular journey to Aya. The Tanaka was flushed with embarrassment and panic, even though a larger wave of relief could be seen if one knew where to look.

She had, at last, come up with a way to distract. Hopefully. Now, she just needed a way to articulate it without coming off as an even bigger idiot....

Aya stiffened at the assessment of her abilities from her superior. Another chance to show her expertise? He was implying, then, that she had some kind of medical expertise. Aya saw none of that. She mumbled some kind of meek acceptance, however. It wouldn't be right to protest the praise. That wasn't her place.

A sudden noise punctuated the atmosphere. Aya's gaze turned instantly towards the culprit. The Tanaka girl had been toying with a bowl. Of course, Aya didn't seem angry. No great beast had awoken from its slumber then. No, what had been alerted was a fretful rabbit, wary of predators. Should something go wrong, would she be blamed? It had been her choice to volunteer her expertise.

And inevitably it would come back to bite her. Best to get out now. Best to escape before some irrational fear got the better of her. Maybe she could slip out without Harupia noticing. She edged a bit, watching carefully the group, her superior, and particularly the bright-eyed Tanaka girl.

Who appeared to be looking right at her. It could be that she was just looking at the wall and Aya happened to move into the line of sight, but now Aya was paralyzed in place, fearful, a deer before a flame.

As he spoke, Harupia did noticed the white haird girl's fixation with the bowl of her own spittle, first as he made the mock throw, and latter on it continued. He didn't mind the movement or silent clattering noises she made, though he was a bit confused. He did assume some of the students wouldn't really pay much attention to him talking about the hardships of being a medic. Still, a bowl of you own spit seemed like a weird topic of interest. Still, it seemed to have calmed her down a bit, so if it helped her... still, someone needed to get rid of that.

After he spoke to Aya, who seemed to be somewhat flustered by his words, and he turned back towards Mai...who also was looking a bit flushed. Either he got some really unusual perfume, or he guessed both were a bit anxious of the whole ordeal. Most of the students were in a varied degree of uneasiness and boredom from his speech...something to be expected really. It was time to liven them up a bit.

While he waved to another medic to come by and retrieve he bowl, he would ask "Alright then, now lets hear some of you speak up, shall we? Now assuming that instead of a pain in her mouth, miss...Agh, silly me, I forgot to ask you all for your names." he said, gently poking himself on the forehead. He would then say "Alright, alright, to avoid using silly nicknames we'll do it like this. The question was: What should we do when someone is suffering from a pain in their leg after falling over? Now, first I want each of you to tell me their names,and then Ill be expecting answer" he concluded, thanking the other Shinigami for taking the bowl away,and then waiting for the introductions...and hopefully some medical knowledge on the side.

SPOILER: Click to show

(Not my best post, sorry x.x)

Rattled by the sudden appearance of a shinigami come to take the bowl of vile saliva away, Mai jerked her upperbody backward, though not so far as to lose her balance and fall over. The suddenness of the man in uniform had caught her off-guard, as she had been watching Harupia as he spoke, her own hands safely stowed away in the vast folds of the shihakushou. The fukutaichou's eyes swept back over her, as though he was about to ask her name, but then resumed their direction over the crowd; perhaps, she surmised, that he would take the brunt of the social faux pas by not garnering introductions in an attempt to alleviate some of the anxiety building up from the group.

One by one, the shinigami in the group gave Harupia their names, ranging from the generic "John Smith" types to the less common "Ikuze Jinri" or "Just Lyra." In all, the group of names were quite easy to remember, though Mai did not deign to try; she was not going to be putting up with them for much longer, not if she had things done her way. No, instead, she was going to be out of the introductory level as fast as she could muster.

While she waited, a few minutes at best as the introductions were made, she pondered on his question. If a man falls down, thereby injuring his leg, what should you do? The better question is, what would the fukutaichou do? The man seemed to genuinely care for the wellbeing of his patients, even going so far as to offer his sleeve to spit on if she needed to. He would accept nothing less than the best for his patients.

Recalling a time when she was younger, and she had managed to wound herself in the thick brambles of the forests of the second division, Mai vaguely came to the realization that Harupia had treated her; she couldn't put her finger to it, but now she sort of recognized the man from before, however still grossly unsure of the actual efficacy of it; if they were the same man, that was wonderful, but if they were not, then she would never hear the end of it. It was best to keep one's mouth shut sometimes.

"Tanaka Mai," she stated, head high, as the time came to introduce herself and cut her reverie short. At least she had some sort of idea. "There are several things that come to mind. Firstly, it may be prudent to ens..." she paused, eyes widening as it came to her. This Harupia was a sneaky one, wasn't he? "Introduce yourself and your station, and ask his name. From there, a gross examination can be made."

While maybe not the answer Harupia had been looking for, Mai did have a slight success: if the fallen man was able to recognize the medic assisting him, and fabricate a dialogue between the two, then the injury would not be as severe, or perhaps the wounded man would not lash out as a reaction. Regardless, his mental faculties would be intact. If not, well, maybe the second division offered classes in scrambling backwards.

[forgive me...tired and ill x.x]

The unseated shinigami fidgeted. Did Harupia mean her as well? The newcomers had all spoken their names- Aya was pleased that she had been correct in her assumption that the girl was a Tanaka.- but the vice-captain had yet to introduce himself officially. Perhaps he did want her to chime in. Surely he had seen her face in her file when she had been accepted. Her own paperwork had actually come from his desk to hers a week or so after she started her job. She remembered a signature from the Captain on there and his just above that.

Not one to displease her superiors, Aya judged that it was probably safer to speak her name aloud. "I... I am Nakao Aya, unseated division member." The reaction she got was, of course, what she expected. The group of newcomers to the division all looked at her for a moment, pairing a name to a face. She blanched. Obeying her superior was important, but now she became the center of focus again. She awkwardly tugged at her uniform and looked back towards Mai, who had demanded the vice-captain introduce himself as well.

Aya wasn't sure how she felt about that. It was acceptable for another to act as they pleased. Far be it from Aya to tell them not to behave as they wanted, not that she could even if she felt it was hers to govern, but she also felt that it was certainly disrespectful of the hierarchy. Another turmoil. She tensed, preparing herself to act contrary to what she might in more private situations. "You... you should speak more politely to the vice-captain," she scolded. "Seniority demands... de-demands... umm..."

She trailed away when she realized how she was acting. This was not appropriate. Shut up. Shut up. Keep out of it.

Harupia nodded to each and every of the newcomers who introduced themselves,s though he was a bit disappointed most of them didn't offer any sort of insight to the issue he presented before them. Still, he could start and learn some of their names for future reference...What surprised him the most was the white haired girl, who introduced herself as Tanaka Mai. Not only the fact that the daughter of one of the Taicho's was here, but the fact that he still remembered their little encounter in the past, as the smell,scared girl came to him with a hurting foot...heh, funny how time flied by so much. She did grow quite a lot...it would be interesting to see how she acted when not panicked or hurting.

As Aya inquired about politeness, he would rise a brow a bit while saying "Now, now, its nothing bad for others to ask my name as well...though I was under the impression that I already did introduce myself... No matter. I am Hitoshi Harupia, the Fukutaicho of the 2nd Division. Though do take note of Aya's suggestion here. While Ill never hold however you call me against you, some of the seated members can be a bit more picky about that. Politeness never hurt anyone, remember that" he said with a small smile to all of them.

Mai attempted to give him and answer, but paused for a second before final speaking up. Nodding a bit, he would say "Yes, like I said, politeness is always nice. Giving someone you rank and name allow usually has a calming effect, it shows them you are confident in you skills enough to share your name with them. Of course, that is assuming the patient is somewhat calm and collected. But as you might know, sometimes wounds make you act somewhat irrational. So, what to do with the leg itself?"