blackluster
12-08-2007, 11:08 PM
(... continued from 'The Road to Enrollment')
Shuga and the female shinigami stared at each other in silence for awhile, as if they were basking in the awkward moment. The woman's body language suddenly turned from rejoicing to great suspicion, which caught Shuga off guard.
"You want to join?" she asked coldly.
"Yes, if that is possible"
Shuga wasn't so sure anymore. As the young woman emerged from the enclave into the light, Shuga realized the reason her eyes looked so creepy before. They'd had an eerie look, lit by her (now obliterated) mobile phone, and shadowed by the peculiar hat she was wearing. The hat in question, was a large woolen beanie with a large skull embroided on it. The beanie was pulled down all the way to her brow, and almost completely covered her eyes.
How can she even see anything?
Crimson hair poked out from beneath the beanie, covering even more of her face. Her shinigami uniform was differently worn, with the top hanging around her waists. This revealed the long sleeved top she was wearing which sat crookedly, exposing one of her shoulders.
"Follow me, please" , she said in a suddenly friendly voice, interrupting Shuga's assessment of her appearance. Shuga followed her through the gates into the 3rd division headquarters. The buildings just inside the first wall looked much like those outside. More rooms and some larger halls. As they walked further into the complex, they started passing more open courts and training areas. Shuga could see the late morning training sessions drawing to a close.
Hmm... so far it all seems to be kidou training. I haven't seen any kendo practice yet. Perhaps it's on the other side...
As he was looking around he glanced at the woman leading him.
I wonder if I should ask her about those things she was saying earlier... she certainly seemed happy that I was joining for a moment.
"Uh, where are you taking me?"
"We need to get you registered, and stuff. You know. Admin type things." she said as she glanced back at Shuga.
"You didn't have to lead me there, I'm sure I could have made it with some directions. Won't you be in trouble if you leave your post?" Shuga asked, slightly concerned.
She starting chuckling softly.
"Now that you are here, I'm free from that infernal gate..." she said under her breath.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh ... nothing. Look, we're almost there." She replied quickly. Her soft chuckling had turned into slightly hysterical giggling. They approached a small, slightly seperate building, occupying one side of a small courtyard made up of a paved area with various garden features. Above the door hung a sign reading "Tier 2 Administration". They walked up to the door, but before Shuga could reach over and slide the door open for his female guide, she delivered a swift kick to it, smashing it and sending small pieces of debris hurtling into the main room within.
"Behold! A new recruit!" she bellowed. One of the pieces of the door she had just kicked apart, had struck one of the shinigami sitting behind the desk, squarely in the face.
"Yasutoko Kim! You humanoid turd! What the hell do you think you're doing!? Do you want to be punished again!?" The injured shinigami shouted as he removed the plank from his face.
"Hmph, a new recruit arrived, which means the conditions are fulfilled. I can go back to active duty now", Kim replied, still pointing at Shuga. The officer looked at Shuga, and then at Kim, and then back at Shuga.
"Dammit" he muttered, "ok step forward, let's do the paperwork"
Shuga related his name and other relevant information to one of the assistant officers behind the desk. He was issued with a basic mobile phone, ID card, room key and information book.
"Ok, let me explain how this division works", the officer began. Our captain, even though he has held the position for only a short time, holds us to a very high standard. He wants all our basic abilities to be top notch, building continuously on what was learnt at the academy. You will be required to attend extensive morning physical exercises, and kidou practice. The captain wants all of our kidou abilties to stand out among the divisions"
Great, this division specializes in the thing I'm not good at. I think I have a depressing future ahead of me ...
The officer continued: " This office is the 2nd tier adminstration office. We handle all matters related to the low ranking officers and normal member shinigami according to the captain's mandate. This is to increase our efficiency by allowing the higher ups to focus on important things, and to ensure that shinigami who ascend into higher ranks are well aquainted with our glorious 3rd division procedures and structure. Our division partakes in a wide range of missions. We adopt a team structure for missions. As a new recruit, even though you may not be part of missions yet, you will still be assigned to a team. This doesn't mean that you will always be going on missions in a team though. The teams are simply to help newcomers become aquainted with our system, and to facilitate the passing on of experience and knowledge. Your team will have an assigned meeting time, and you will be required to give updates on your missions and sharing your general experiences."
So far it was seeming like a lot to remember.
The structure is so rigid. I guess the other graduates knew about this and stayed away from this place. It seems that just being a member is hard work, even if you don't do anything...
"Any questions?" the main officer asked. Shuga was still trying to absorb the information. "Well then, we should assign you to a team. Let's take a look at your academy results, and see where you could gain the most expereince." The main officer sighed as he poured over the document. His brow furrowed as he noticed the woeful kidou scores. He peered at Shuga who felt uneasy, despite having a completely blank expression. The officer obviously mistook the expression for a sign that Shuga knew what he was doing when he signed up, because he then went to the registered teams list to look for an appropriate team.
"Hurry up old fart, I need some stuff sorted out, like a new mobile phone", interrupted Kim, who was impatiently swinging from her arms on the frame of the broken doorway.
"Silence you delinquent!", replied the officer, "With your kidou skills you could easily have been the 4th seat of this entire division by now. Instead you keep misbehaving and getting demoted, only to end up here tormenting me!" Suddenly, the officers face changed from an irritated look to mischevious looking smile. "You don't have a team, do you Kim?..." he asked rhetorically, "And your kidou skills are exceptional even by vice captain standards..." he continued, clearly hatching a plan he thought was very clever.
Kim stopped swinging on the doorframe: "Don't even think about it", she said very seriously.
"Oh, but it is already done my dear", the officer replied, grinning from ear to ear. "How does it feel, Kim? To be locked into a unfavourable situation. To be chained to a constant reminder of your regrets. To be shackled to a dead weight holding you back. How does it feel hmm?", the officer snickered.
"I don't know", Kim replied, "I'll ask your wife."
As the offcer chased Kim around the courtyard trying to cut off her head, Shuga filled out the neccessary team registration form provided by one of the assistant officers.
"Welcome to the 3rd Division. Please take some time to investigate some of the Seretei assosciations", said the assistant officer. "You might find something interesting you'd like to join", she smiled.
"Thank you, I will", said Shuga as he bowed. He turned and walked to the shattered door. As he was watching the enraged officer continue to unsuccessfully slash away at the very agile Kim, he glanced up at the late afternoon sky.
This place might turn out quite interesting afterall...
Shuga and the female shinigami stared at each other in silence for awhile, as if they were basking in the awkward moment. The woman's body language suddenly turned from rejoicing to great suspicion, which caught Shuga off guard.
"You want to join?" she asked coldly.
"Yes, if that is possible"
Shuga wasn't so sure anymore. As the young woman emerged from the enclave into the light, Shuga realized the reason her eyes looked so creepy before. They'd had an eerie look, lit by her (now obliterated) mobile phone, and shadowed by the peculiar hat she was wearing. The hat in question, was a large woolen beanie with a large skull embroided on it. The beanie was pulled down all the way to her brow, and almost completely covered her eyes.
How can she even see anything?
Crimson hair poked out from beneath the beanie, covering even more of her face. Her shinigami uniform was differently worn, with the top hanging around her waists. This revealed the long sleeved top she was wearing which sat crookedly, exposing one of her shoulders.
"Follow me, please" , she said in a suddenly friendly voice, interrupting Shuga's assessment of her appearance. Shuga followed her through the gates into the 3rd division headquarters. The buildings just inside the first wall looked much like those outside. More rooms and some larger halls. As they walked further into the complex, they started passing more open courts and training areas. Shuga could see the late morning training sessions drawing to a close.
Hmm... so far it all seems to be kidou training. I haven't seen any kendo practice yet. Perhaps it's on the other side...
As he was looking around he glanced at the woman leading him.
I wonder if I should ask her about those things she was saying earlier... she certainly seemed happy that I was joining for a moment.
"Uh, where are you taking me?"
"We need to get you registered, and stuff. You know. Admin type things." she said as she glanced back at Shuga.
"You didn't have to lead me there, I'm sure I could have made it with some directions. Won't you be in trouble if you leave your post?" Shuga asked, slightly concerned.
She starting chuckling softly.
"Now that you are here, I'm free from that infernal gate..." she said under her breath.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh ... nothing. Look, we're almost there." She replied quickly. Her soft chuckling had turned into slightly hysterical giggling. They approached a small, slightly seperate building, occupying one side of a small courtyard made up of a paved area with various garden features. Above the door hung a sign reading "Tier 2 Administration". They walked up to the door, but before Shuga could reach over and slide the door open for his female guide, she delivered a swift kick to it, smashing it and sending small pieces of debris hurtling into the main room within.
"Behold! A new recruit!" she bellowed. One of the pieces of the door she had just kicked apart, had struck one of the shinigami sitting behind the desk, squarely in the face.
"Yasutoko Kim! You humanoid turd! What the hell do you think you're doing!? Do you want to be punished again!?" The injured shinigami shouted as he removed the plank from his face.
"Hmph, a new recruit arrived, which means the conditions are fulfilled. I can go back to active duty now", Kim replied, still pointing at Shuga. The officer looked at Shuga, and then at Kim, and then back at Shuga.
"Dammit" he muttered, "ok step forward, let's do the paperwork"
Shuga related his name and other relevant information to one of the assistant officers behind the desk. He was issued with a basic mobile phone, ID card, room key and information book.
"Ok, let me explain how this division works", the officer began. Our captain, even though he has held the position for only a short time, holds us to a very high standard. He wants all our basic abilities to be top notch, building continuously on what was learnt at the academy. You will be required to attend extensive morning physical exercises, and kidou practice. The captain wants all of our kidou abilties to stand out among the divisions"
Great, this division specializes in the thing I'm not good at. I think I have a depressing future ahead of me ...
The officer continued: " This office is the 2nd tier adminstration office. We handle all matters related to the low ranking officers and normal member shinigami according to the captain's mandate. This is to increase our efficiency by allowing the higher ups to focus on important things, and to ensure that shinigami who ascend into higher ranks are well aquainted with our glorious 3rd division procedures and structure. Our division partakes in a wide range of missions. We adopt a team structure for missions. As a new recruit, even though you may not be part of missions yet, you will still be assigned to a team. This doesn't mean that you will always be going on missions in a team though. The teams are simply to help newcomers become aquainted with our system, and to facilitate the passing on of experience and knowledge. Your team will have an assigned meeting time, and you will be required to give updates on your missions and sharing your general experiences."
So far it was seeming like a lot to remember.
The structure is so rigid. I guess the other graduates knew about this and stayed away from this place. It seems that just being a member is hard work, even if you don't do anything...
"Any questions?" the main officer asked. Shuga was still trying to absorb the information. "Well then, we should assign you to a team. Let's take a look at your academy results, and see where you could gain the most expereince." The main officer sighed as he poured over the document. His brow furrowed as he noticed the woeful kidou scores. He peered at Shuga who felt uneasy, despite having a completely blank expression. The officer obviously mistook the expression for a sign that Shuga knew what he was doing when he signed up, because he then went to the registered teams list to look for an appropriate team.
"Hurry up old fart, I need some stuff sorted out, like a new mobile phone", interrupted Kim, who was impatiently swinging from her arms on the frame of the broken doorway.
"Silence you delinquent!", replied the officer, "With your kidou skills you could easily have been the 4th seat of this entire division by now. Instead you keep misbehaving and getting demoted, only to end up here tormenting me!" Suddenly, the officers face changed from an irritated look to mischevious looking smile. "You don't have a team, do you Kim?..." he asked rhetorically, "And your kidou skills are exceptional even by vice captain standards..." he continued, clearly hatching a plan he thought was very clever.
Kim stopped swinging on the doorframe: "Don't even think about it", she said very seriously.
"Oh, but it is already done my dear", the officer replied, grinning from ear to ear. "How does it feel, Kim? To be locked into a unfavourable situation. To be chained to a constant reminder of your regrets. To be shackled to a dead weight holding you back. How does it feel hmm?", the officer snickered.
"I don't know", Kim replied, "I'll ask your wife."
As the offcer chased Kim around the courtyard trying to cut off her head, Shuga filled out the neccessary team registration form provided by one of the assistant officers.
"Welcome to the 3rd Division. Please take some time to investigate some of the Seretei assosciations", said the assistant officer. "You might find something interesting you'd like to join", she smiled.
"Thank you, I will", said Shuga as he bowed. He turned and walked to the shattered door. As he was watching the enraged officer continue to unsuccessfully slash away at the very agile Kim, he glanced up at the late afternoon sky.
This place might turn out quite interesting afterall...