Arashi sat behind an old desk in her quarters.  She stared at the pile of folders and papers on her desk.  All complete, surprising. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep. She was upset that she wasn’t able to move on to the next division as quickly as she wanted but…she was so tired for some reason. So very tired, so she decided to come back and sleep. 

She had a nightmare the night before. She kept tossing and turning and waking up in the middle of the night.

It was the little girl that had died the day before. The little girl was missing her eye, it was just…a hollow hole. Nothing in that pocket but blackness. The girl was silent, just crying and then she began to scream. This horrific scream, blood poured from the place where her eye was meant to be. Arashi wanted to go forward and help her but she couldn’t move. She could only outstretch her arms which seem to outstretch for miles. And then, a hollow appeared behind the girl and grabbed her and lifted her up…just like Tsuru. It was then Arashi woke up screaming and crying, she’d toss and turn for a while and then fall back into the start of the dream…replaying it over and over until finally she deemed it useless to try and sleep again.

And now here she was, the sun had already started rising and she’d just finished the paper work for the second division meeting she had just held. She looked at her bed, she’d need to clean it. It was covered in sweat and tears. She sighed and ran her hands over her face.

She punched her desk.Once, twice, again. Why couldn’t she save that little girl? Either one of them?! She could feel the tears run down her face.  She thought she had changed since then, since Tsuru’s accident but she still couldn’t protect a child from death. She stood up and kicked her mat on the floor then turned around. She stared at her sword that was leaning against the wall, next to the door. The last time she drew it was when….Tsuru died.

Arashi grabbed her sword and sighed, tying it to her hip. She quickly ran her arm over her eyes, pushing away the tears on her cheek. She slipped on some sandals and opened her door, she had to get back to business, despite how she felt. She had her orders.

She made her way as quick as possible to the third division. She wanted to get this over with so she could move on to the other divisions and report to Malik as soon as possible. Her pace was fast and her head was low, she just wanted to be done with this. She prayed that this one would be normal and not like yesterday's…she prayed. She rapped on the door to the office of the third division taichou.

”It’s Arashi Shinku.”

Yori ran a discerning eye down his report once more before nodding, satisfied. While he was not on the front lines of the battle against the Hollows, he and several others of the Third Division were frantically putting together files and reports from the data sent back by runners: size of the enemy force, their origins, tactics, and the like. With luck, the compiled data would give the Gotei some much-needed insight about this devastating event. Stepping out from behind his desk, Yori scooped up his report and, after pausing before a mirror to ensure his attire was impeccable (which, apart from a slight but necessary adjustment of his obi, it was), made his way towards Saikokui Kurisuna's office.

As the fourth seat neared his Taichou's domain, he spotted someone already waiting - a stranger. His pace slowed and a scowl formed briefly upon his face, wiped away a moment later to be replaced with a coolly neutral expression. Drawing closer, he asked, "Is there something I may assist you with, ma'am?"

Arashi heard the foot steps of an up coming person. Perhaps she was here before the captain? She turned her head and let a look of shock pass her face before regaining her posture. She quickly looked the stranger up and now and nodded slightly, listening to him speak. She wondered if the captain had invited anyone else to their meeting as Arashi has requested. The captain hadn't said anything about it so Arashi was going to guess not.

She leaned back against the door frame and crossed her arms under her chest. "I'm just going to make an educated guess that you are in the third division. No reason someone from a different division would offer their help to a stranger." Arashi spoke sharp and with a slight frown on her face.

She looked the shinigami up and down once more, tapping a finger against her elbow. Finally she spoke, "Actually, you can assist me. I've been ordered by Tanaka-Soutaichou to speak with a handful of members of each division. You're captain has had her hands full as of late so I'm just going to assume she didn't get the time to ask anyone else to join us for our little meeting. It would be very useful to have another set of ears and opinions in there." Arashi lowered her left arm, without turning she knocked two more times. Perhaps she did arrive before the captain.

"I'm Arashi Shinku, by the way, First division fukutaichou." A look of deep boredom fell upon her face as she gave a low sigh, waiting for one of two things, to hear the captain welcome her in or the stranger to reveal the name behind the face.

Yori's nose wrinkled slightly -- he found this "Shinku"'s lax posture and brazen attitude to both be deplorable, especially for one of her rank. He would have loved to give her a good lecture on decorum for an officer. But then again...she was a Fukutaichou. Protocol dictated that he show the proper respect, even if she could not do the same a lower seat. "You are corrent, Arashi-fukutaichou; I am of the Third Division. Osamu Yori, analyst." He paused, raising his brows in curiosity at the mention of a meeting with Kurisuna. "I know not of any meetings that Saikokui-Taichou has planned. However, I was planning to drop off a report...if she does not object, and this meeting you speak of is not too lengthy, then I suppose I could stay."

The fukutaichou's expression served only to further increase the bespectacled male's ire and general dislike of the woman. Did she find her duties so distasteful? Was it being in the Third Division that made her so glum? Whatever the case, Yori felt compelled to speak up. "Arashi-fukutaichou, you seem displeased for some reason. Perhaps, if you have other pressing concerns, you may simply leave a message with me, and Saikokui-Taichou will get back to you another time," he suggested in a coolly polite tone.

Arashi raised her eyebrows as this Yori began to speak. She chuckled slightly and lowered her head, shaking it. She let out a sigh and ran a hand through her bangs, momentarily allowing the scar on her cheek to become visible.

"I was suppose to get to this yesterday but because I had 'other pressing concerns'...I held it off." Her voice was sour as she looked at the ground. She didn't get to her ranking from ignoring orders or giving them to lower ranking kids.

She sighed and looked up at him. "Not to sound like an ass, but the orders were given to me...I'm not gonna just leave another message with the captain and wait for her response. I rather be in my quarters right now drowning in my problems and depression, but that ain't gonna get me anything but a demotion and the disappointment of Malik." She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, realizing she had just referred to her captain by his first name in front of others. He was a good friend to her, kind, understanding...but it was disrespectful to call him by his first name. "Er...Tanaka-soutaichou."

Arashi gave an irritated sigh out and stared at the door. She shook her head slightly and looked at the man. "I've got to run some other errands though...if you get around to her, let her know I stopped by."

[Exit]

Yori's brows rose in surprise at the fukutaichou's momentary slip of the tongue -- such a personal reference to the Soutaichou was more than a little unusual. Was there something between this woman and the Tanaka male? Unlikely, but Yori found it curious...before he could comment on the matter, however, the woman made an abrupt excuse and left. "Very well; good day," the fourth seat called after Shinku. As it seemed that his Taichou was not to be found in her office, Yori grimaced and returned to his own quarters, determining to send his papers to Kurisuna later on.

[exit]

Rewards:

Yori - 3 RP
Arashi - 3 RP

Apologies for getting to this so late. Shoulda messaged me.

SHIGEO NEXT TIME LINK YOUR PROFILE IN YOUR SIGNATURE.