Battle Arena Crackdown! [Open]

Ah. Zenji is here too huh?

Ears perked up. Wait, what did he just say? Was that a challenge?! Did he actually believe that she'd offered a draw for her own sake? That she'd give up her fight just because someone she knew was standing around?!

Well he does have a point.

Hah! Yes! YES!

With a low growl the wolf dug her claws and sandals into the dirt, pushing herself to her feet. Pain tore through her body. That kido was no joke. But right now anger fueled her. Besides, the man looked ready to finally draw his weapon.

She moved a sleeve to her mouth, wiping away blood. One deep breath was drawn inwards. Then, slowly, she exhaled. For a moment her tail stopped moving.

"I gave you a chance. Fine. You'd better draw your weapon this time. I'm not holding back anymore."

A flick of her tail sent her zanpakuto flipping over her shoulder. Her right hand swept out, snatching up the blade as she initiated a charge against the Shinigami in front of her. When she neared the man Yuki pushed off the ground, sweeping her weapon in an upwards horizontal arch aimed straight for the sixer's center! She wasn't stopping herself this time.

He was always ready. Every action he had made was backed with the intention that he was just. The Beastly girl walked through the makeshift path on the land of the fifth squad that she supposedly belonged to: this was unacceptable.

Two further people did the same, it had become something short of a shortcut: This, too was unacceptable. Paved paths were made precisely for this reason. They should be scolded, but for Rei, he was too focused with the beastly girl with her thirst for blood.

"Don't be so arrogant, fifth squadder." he retorted with a scoff. He wondered if she was acting like this because of his wound on his left, he continued, glad that his wound wasn't too deep, "A Shinigami is not defined by the skill of their sword, but their character and yours is pitiful, Beastly girl. Heed my words if you crave to be better!"

Interference and not a sixth squad member in sight and worse, one of the two new arrivals had a deft hand to pull and produced something that he did not witness before. White walls produced it began by separating himself and his opponent, the beastly girl was nowhere to be found.

"What is the meaning of this!" He spat out in frustration.

Nao nodded to Zenji in agreement, both over this kind of barbarism not being something one would see in the halls of First Division and at his request for support. She had, always found it easier to follow orders than to act for herself. There was a definitive certainty in following the commands of a superior officer, an absolving of conscience. Even instructions as simple as ‘back me up’ were enough to put her nerves aside, at least enough to let the normally meek clerk actually live up to her robes.

She caught herself smiling at Zenji as he began his incantation. She’d stopped studying any of the Demon Arts aside from Kaido in the Academy before she could manage a proper use of Bakudo at like what he was doing, but the words and way he was setting himself were all too familiar for her to not know what was coming.

She squatted down to one knee and waited for the pillars to appear, small swirling clouds of dirt swelling around her tabi as she set the bulk of the stack of papers she had just gathered to the side and withdrew her tanto from its deceptively long sheath. What she would have to do in order to reach the both of them at the same time wasn’t going to be easy, but the barrier wasn’t going to do anything but delay them on its own. She had, at best, a handful of seconds to get them to stop before they found a way to the other side or, worse, decided to go after Zenji.

Breathe, visualize, execute.

The mantra she’d used nearly a century ago in the Academy echoed across the years as she leapt from the ground as soon as the wall had fully formed, leaving behind a small puff of dust. The trip was over a split second after she had jumped, and she had only arrived slightly off target. The top of her foot clapped as it banged against the very edge of the barrier, sending an intense jolt up her leg and making her cry out in a mix of pain and frustration.

There would be time to think of what a failure she was for being so rusty later. Nao still had a job to do. She could have attempted to get the paper to the other two via Kido, but there was no guarantee that the paper would survive the trip or that they wouldn’t see it as an aggressive move. Glancing down at her blade with a grimace, Nao realized that her best chance of stopping any bloodshed would be a display of power similar to what Zenji had already done.

”Inin-jō, Murat,” she called out as loudly as she could, twirling her tanto in her hand as it shrunk in on itself, the blade retracting to form a sharpened silver quill while a long matching hawk feather grew from the back. She felt her knees buckle from the strain, her own reserves of energy dangerously low after having just leapt to the top of the barrier, but she didn’t need to be standing in order to do what she needed. Tossing both of the notices of closure she had kept into the sky from her left hand, she used the quill in her right to spell out the word deliver in the air, sending the official documentation down from the barrier and stopping them in the air directly in front of Lady Kameko and her opponent as if they’d been pinned to an invisible post a foot away from their faces.

Her blade didn't end up striking her mark. No, instead the arching attack impacted against a barrier! The force of the initial impact sent a shimmer throughout the wall in front of her. For a brief moment she stopped and stepped back, glancing towards Zenji. Why was he getting in the way?

Another round of kido and suddenly the barrier was heavily reinforced! She turned towards it, slamming her blade again into the wall in order to test her strength. There was some minor damage. Perhaps she could smash her way through it given time, but it would take a lot of energy to do that. Energy and time. A brief look suggested that the wall had an end point. Spending all of those resources trying to crash through seemed a little pointless if she could just go around.

He is undoubtedly thinking the same!

She started to charge off for one edge of the barrier when Nao also threw herself into the fray! Well, over the fray. Yuki turned her gaze up, wondering if the woman was going to throw her own attack into the mix. Upon her blade taking a new shape the wolf slid to a stop, readying her own weapon defensively overhead.

Like Watari's weapon?! I feel as though I might be behind.

A single piece of paper flew down towards her. She took a little hop backwards, just in case there might be something devious hidden beneath the delivery. But, alas, it was simply a piece of paper. Yuki squinted her eye, reading over it carefully.

Closed off?

It's just a paper!

"This doesn't matter."

With that she bolted towards the northern edge of the wall, fully intent upon continuing the fight! It's not as though the sixer was going to stop for a silly flyer. Why would she? Still, it was an unusual weapon that she had. Was it just used for paper deliveries?

Frustration met with confusion. Wasn't he supposed to be justice and security? Then why was he being hindered? He let out a relaxed sigh, deep down the fight had gotten chaotic and the beastly girl of the fifth had been nothing but relentless, but he couldn't help but wonder. Was her action true? Was this her intention: wanton violence and recklessness? The barrier standing before him was magnificent now that his sight had cleared of anger. He would've complimented the craft, but that was ever faint from his thought.

Another person, a homely woman launched herself onto the roof of the masterwork which had furthered his confusion, her prowess of her leap was something to be admired, even more when her straight bladed dagger turned into a quill after a flash of her pressure. He remained still, watching how this unfolds. The wound from his arm continued to bleed, but it was not grave enough for him to be subdued. As long as it rested on the hilt and the shaft of his word, he could continue to fight until he or the Beastly girl fell - preferably her.

"This fight is over," he flustered and relaxed, his shoulders dropped. To be honest, he felt a little disappointed by the thought of the fight being over due to interference but a little relieved. A film of paper comes screaming across, it was something that he had never seen! The paper abruptly stopped before him, begging him to be read.

"humour me," he thought. He wanted to know what was written, if this was her source of her power - to be able to scribe and deliver - it is a disappointing one indeed, but regardless, it was something he was wary of. Sabitsura Rei, the Sixth Squad unseated was ready to accept offerings, but to reject or accept the words within was another thing.

He could still hear the overclocked rage of a beast on the other side, moving frantically to ignore what stood before her while the ever impressive man reasoned with her.

She’d tried to play nice, there was no disputing that. She’d called for them to stop and almost succeeded, but the kido-wielder had opened his mouth to provoke Lady Kameko to further anger. She half wanted to give a flick of her wrist and cram the notice he was reading down his throat to silence any further incantations, but his resigned posture let her know that wouldn’t be necessary.

Nao dropped to one knee as she readied her quill for another attempt. The amount of pressure she was feeling from controlling both deliveries was too much for her injured leg to bear, but something still had to be done about Yuki. The two notes she’d drifted harmlessly to the ground as she focused her will on a singular task, that of aiding Zenji.

She knew the incantation he was using and could have much more easily backed him up with one of her own, but the disrespect Yuki had shown the orders of First Division was too much a slight for her to overlook. Nao might have a lack of self-respect, but she had an immense pride in her colleagues in First and she wasn’t about to see this rulebreaker get away with an unlawful duel, especially after disregarding her olive branch. Nobility be damned, Yuki was going down.

”Stay down, you!” she called out to the kido specialist, her irritation at the wolf girl bleeding through her façade. As she started to draw the quill down, Nao gestured her other hand back where she had lept off to get on top of the barrier. The stack of loose fliers shifted in an otherworldly breeze as they stiffened up and bound together into a series of strands bound together by Nao’s will. Each successive stroke grew harder and harder, to the point that she needed to bring her other hand forward to grip the quill as well, pressing both hands together to complete the final swipe on her spelling of snare.

No sooner had she finished the writing than the papers rocketed forward, spiraling in on each other as they zoomed over the ground to reach their target. A handful of the sheets spun off from in the tailwind of the burst, embedding themselves in the wall as if they were pitons forced into it by a mighty hammer. The mess of paper roared past Rei’s head, splitting out into five individual ropes as the heavily reinforced sheets rounded the corner and fanned out to catch Yuki from the opposite direction as Zenji’s binding attack, one for each limb with a final and thickest strand aimed for center of mass.

She heard Zenji calling out behind her, but it was too late for stopping. No, her olive branch had been not only refused but mocked! How dare he insult her in such a way! She likened his words to an accusation of cowardice, and she was not going to stand by that!

Chanting. Another kido. She didn't remember what that one did, but it didn't matter. If she could just outrun it, just move around behind the wall, then she could avoid his attempts at stopping her. Oh yes. She would show this sixer what a true warrior from the fifth was capable of!

Something was coming. Approaching fast from behind. She could hear it pushing closer and closer. Yuki had to push harder. Move faster.

Just as she reached the corner she was met by something quite unusual. Papers coiled together, formed thick ropes which slammed right into her body. Too focused upon Zenji's kido was she that she'd not even noticed the second attack! Hiding it behind a wall certainly might have helped as well.

The paper coiled around her arms and legs, around her torso, only to be immediately followed by the kido. A sparking golden tendril slipped around her body, further entrapping the wolf in her binds. For a good minute she struggled against them, pushing out with all her strength, even biting down at whatever she could attempt to reach! But alas it was pointless. Not only was she good and captured but her opponent never even appeared before her! He had already given up his fight!

Captured by paper. Paper!

Her tail thrashed behind her, swiped at the kido which held her, but it too had little if any effect. Nothing was working. Her adrenaline was starting to fizzle and, with it, her desire to continue the fight. Eventually she stopped struggling altogether, although she still kept an eye out for her opponent. Was he also trapped?

"I suppose we'll have to continue this later then!" shouted Yuki.

'Stay down, you' were the words. He couldn't help but smile. He masked his positive demeanour with his hand, of all the things that were said, Stay down were the words written on paper. If the situation hasn't been this silly, he would find himself laughing! Even so, there's little need to do irate the Beastly girl any further.

"The deed has been done," he affirmed himself, lowering his hand. His body shifted, preparing to make his exit. Time was wasted and far too many paperworks had mysteriously placed on his desk. "Beastly girl of the Fifth. There is little no need to continue, but if you continue to persist, come to this place in a week's time…I'm sure you will find the conclusion that you crave so much."

His opponent had been nothing short of weird. As though he had grown to respect her own strength, but he could only wish the same for her manners. Not once had they had the opportunity to reveal their own name to one another and now, as he began to depart, leaving the two to quell the tide of the beast, he had thought now was the better time to reveal his name. A gushing force of papers come blasting past from his flank, just a short foot from his head, flocking over to supplement the binding prowess of one mysterious sage.

Maybe next time…

//exit

Nao smiled weakly as she heard the impact of her trick combining with Zenji’s own efforts, dropping so she was on both of her knees instead of just the one as she kept the tip of her quill held in place. Judging by what her compatriot in First was calling out, everything had worked just as she’d hoped. She could only manage a little thumbs up in recognition from having heard him as she was unsure if she could get words out right from the amount of strain she was in.

She clung on to the barricade as it slowly slid down to the ground, not eager to test her foot so readily on a jump down from such a height. When she finally felt solid ground under her feet again, she looked up to see Zenji addressing the mystery man, whose timely departure seemed to indicate that he understood what she had been trying to convey all along. His request about meeting back here in a week would no doubt require some preventative measures to be set up. Perhaps a nice passive-aggressive map with directions to the nearest sanctioned sparring grounds would be a nice addition to the notices she still had to post.

Remembering the notices, she gave a flick of her quill as Zenji approached, finally releasing Yuki once her aggravator was safely on his way off. The papers unbound themselves from her, slipping away in a tide of off-white before filing themselves away into a neat stack. The handful of pages that had gotten abandoned along the makeshift wall would no doubt blow away, but she could complete her required posting with those left in the stack.

Letting her quill return to its tanto state, she slipped it back into its scabbard after standing and bowing a little deeper than necessary to Zenji. ”Of course, Hatayama-sama,” she said, still slightly panting for breath, ”I fear I’m not going to be able to catch up to the other one, but I should be able to tend to any of Kameko-sama’s wounds.”

With a pronounced limp favoring the ankle she jammed on the barrier, Nao made her way over to Yuki and kneeled before her, wincing in pain as she bent on her knee but observing the social customs that were expected of one of her birth. ”My sincere apologies for the transgression on your person, Kameko-sama. Were you injured in your duel in any way? It would be my honor to heal you.”

She could hear Murat sighing in her head over how quickly she flipped back to her niceties to Yuki, but if Zenji referred to her via her honorific, then she must truly have a high station. If Nao had caused her any injury, she simply must undo that. She couldn’t live with herself if she hurt another of her betters through her carelessness.

Binds dissipated from her body. Not long after so too did the papers, swept back to their original owner. They were both pretty impressive. Perhaps they might put up a good fight?

YES!

Perhaps not. Not right now.

Zenji seemed to be pretty worn out and the woman appeared to have some sort of limp. Nothing too serious she hoped. In fact Yuki did feel a little bad about it. This had been a fight between her and the sixer. A larger battle would be entertaining, certainly, but she wasn't going to force it on Zenji. He was a nice guy. As for the woman, well, she didn't know her.

One week. I can wait a week.

"Are you two okay?" she finally asked, turning first to Zenji and then towards the woman who was, for some reason, kneeling. A hand moved up, scratching at the back of her head. That made her feel a little awkward.

Right. Nobility.

"Please stand up. Yuki is fine. You shouldn't be paying so much admiration to nobility. Most of them are pretty worthless, certainly not deserving of such respect."

Her injuries. She wiped clean her zanpakuto, sheathing the weapon. After a quick glance she noticed that the man hadn't landed one serious strike upon her body! Well, actually, strike that. That last kido of his might have done some damage she couldn't readily see. Also there was the punch to the face but it hadn't really been terrible.

"I'll probably be fine. Bruises. Maybe something else. Dunno really. Don't worry about it."

Nao stayed kneeling for a few moments longer than she ought to, both nursing her sore leg and out of an uncertainty about what to do when a noble requested that you stand. It felt simultaneously wrong to both stand and stay down, but since the request was for her to no longer be on the ground, she brought herself around to compliance, still bowing after she had risen.

”I would, of course, be honored to make sure those bruises heal quickly,” Nao said demurely, holding herself back from insisting that every noble she knew was a paragon of virtue by Zenji’s timely interruption. The words that came next would likely have made her mouth drop if she weren’t already so horrendously rigid.

Her? Talented? Giving someone like him orders? She flushed a deep red and brushed a hand back over her ear to catch a strand of loose hair as lightheadedness from the idea started her feeling a little dizzy, finally realizing the loss of her barrette. Figuring it must have come off during the fighting, she decided that, when they were finished, she would have to circle back and look around for the missing ornamentation.

The absence of her jewelry actually assisted her considerably in overcoming her nerves, as the momentary worry worked to snap her back to some semblance of reality without any of her all too common nervous tittering. ”It was, yes,” she answered his question, completely ignoring the statement that she ought to be a seated officer, ”It’s a long story, but it’s all in my AAR from my last time on assignment. I ran into a mortal shaman named Anatoly and he, well, there was-”

She trailed off, trying to think of how to best describe what had happened. Torture? That would certainly fit, but it didn’t quite encompass just what the man had been trying to do. Zenji could certainly read the report himself, but it couldn’t hurt to have someone of Yuki’s combat prowess and ferocity on the lookout for the man as well. ”He and I got into a fight when he tried to use his magic to turn me into some kind of spiritual slave. It works on anything with writing on it.”

Oh. How could I forget?

Yuki turned directly towards Nao, lowering her head. "My apologies. I didn't introduce myself properly. I am Yuki."

The woman already knew who she was, yes, but that was no reason to be rude! Come to think of it she had forgotten to introduce herself to her opponent. Oh well. Maybe next time she'd remember to do that. Hopefully she wouldn't be so worked up.

"I doubt if my superior would-"

On second thought perhaps they would. The captains had become lazy, hers' included. Did he even fight anymore? She really needed to get herself into better shape. Deal with that issue. Then she could start dealing with other ones.

She had to admit that it was pretty impressive. A shikai. It didn't even look very intimidating which really only made it even more dangerous. What else could she do with it? And that wasn't even taking into account the effort required to achieve such a thing. Yuki could only imagine how much training this woman had actually put herself through.

"A mortal attempted to enslave you?"

That wasn't good. If a mortal could enslave a Shinigami then perhaps they could also enslave a Hollow. It was certainly worth investigating. "Do you remember exactly where you ran into this man? Do you have anything of his? Anything with his scent? A description? Any idea what he might bring to a fight? Special abilities? I might wish to pay him a visit."

Anatoly. Could be fun.

”Nao Aoki, First Division’s forms and processing unit,” she responded to Yuki’s use of her first name with a little bow, almost reflexively asking her how she could be of assistance. She didn’t know how she felt about using the first names of nobles other than Tetsuya, but they had used theirs with her and expressly insisted upon it.

She avoided responding to Yuki’s request for additional in depth personal information on Anatoly right away, not eager to relive the experience any further than she had to. Instead, she shifted her focus to Zenji, shaking her head anxiously at the suggestion she should take a seated position. ”I don’t think my supervising officer would be too happy if I actually had rank,” she says with a slight cringe at the thought, ”That would put me in charge of my unit. I can’t see that sitting well at all.”

”That’s the fucking point. It’s about damn time the shoe was on the other foot.”

She scowled a bit at her blade. The last time Nao had entertained dreams of grandeur, she’d been absent-minded enough to do horrible things to the man she cared most about. She had no interest in repeating that again when she inevitably fucked up and got someone else horribly scarred or killed.

Dismissing Murat’s jabbing, she returned to the events surrounding her discovery of her Shikai. She’d noticed Zenji’s nose pinch and realized that telling the feral murder machine how to find the man might not be the wisest move, especially if Fourth or Third wanted to conduct research on his ability to bring out someone’s spirit. Thankfully, it also seemed the wolf girl wasn’t a big fan of reading, whereas Zenji would have been in the prime position to be able to read over what she was talking about as part of his job. ”My AAR has the specifics on what all happened on my mission. The whole process must have taken me two weeks to get everything written down. I imagine, if you went to the archives with the proper paperwork, you could request access to the drawer they dedicated to my report. I’m afraid I don’t do my field work by scent, so my documents aren’t going to be much help there.”

Nao Aoki. First division. That makes sense. Still, she's not one to take lightly, is she?

Reading. Two weeks of reporting on a single mission must have had plenty of details. More details than she might require, but then going into something like this would warrant that studying. Contrary to what Nao might have seen Yuki was no stranger to intense studies. Decades had been spent studying Kido, and while she hadn't managed to actually pick up the art she also wasn't adverse to studying other things, especially not when those subjects concerned combat.

Or people who enslave others. I wonder if he might be a noble in their world.

"Very well. I will locate and study this report" she confirmed, arms crossing over her chest. Zenji had something interesting to report as well! A Human who could heal Shinigami? Also apparently he went out on patrol recently! Perhaps she should try one with him. It could be fun.

"Also I must agree with Zenji. With your talents he should be supportive. And if he isn't? Well then it doesn't really matter what your supervising officer says, especially if it might put you above them. Rank should be determined by expertise. You said you spent two weeks detailing that report? That sort of drive should be rewarded. If he really gives you any problems about it then you should be able to handle him with that blade of yours. Or, if you wish, I could do that for you."

She turned to Zenji now, pointing a claw in his direction. "Also if you ever wish to patrol just hit me up. I wouldn't mind assisting. The same goes for you Nao."

The situation had gone from bad to worse! Now Yuki was implying she might bring violence upon her supervising officer? Zenji, while not as aggressive, seemed just as interested in seeing Nao rise up the ranks. She began cursing herself for having thought it wise to use her abilities moments before. She ought to have just used her kido to resolve the problem, but she let herself react on impulse when Zenji gave her the reigns.

”And it worked.”

He was right. Nao hated to admit it, but Murat was dead on. She had a sore foot to show for it, but her deciding to use her release instead of a binding spell was enough to send Yuki’s challenger packing and hold the beast girl in her tracks. If she had tried to bind him, the whole mess could have easily devolved into a chaotic melee and there might be much more serious injuries to show for it. Maybe they were right. She supposed there wouldn’t be any harm in consulting with her supervising officer about trying for a seated position.

”I’ll be fine, Ka-“ she started, cutting herself off as she attempted to use honorifics. Nao moved her eyes from Zenji to Yuki, still not sure if this was right for someone of her standing to do. Everything about it felt wrong, but it also felt horrendously wrong to defy their wishes. She exhaled deeply and forced a smile onto her face to cover up her surge of discomfort. ”Yuki,” she continued with a nod before looking over to her companion in First and duplicating the gesture, ”Zenji. I’ll have a talk with my supervising officer first to see what would work best. If I were going to be leaving my station, it would be important to set up succession planning.”

She held on for a moment, considering if she ought to tell Zenji to hold off on her earlier request. She’d gotten cold feet several times, but she had been unable to bring herself to go through the effort of actually calling it off. Now, standing before him, after he insisted that she ought to rise to a position above him, could she really bring herself to back out? The words died in her throat as she nervously swept up the sheets.

”I should probably get to posting these before I do anything like that,” she said, bowing respectfully to the member of Fifth, ”Yuki, if you do end up dueling that man in an approved arena in a week’s time as he requested, I would be honored to adjudicate and provide support with my Kaido. If anything does feel off, please don’t hesitate to come by my office either. I understand if you want to keep this matter from the attention of the healers in Third to avoid any confusion over the source of your injury. As for your generous offer, I will keep you in mind for my next assignment. You certainly handled yourself against him with a ferocity I would not mind having by my side.”

”Zenji,” she said, mirroring her slightly anxious bow, ”Your performance was excellent as well, and I thank you for your assistance. I would likewise consider it a privilege to assist you in the future. As usual, my door is always open.”

Giving two more unnecessarily polite bows, Nao excused herself to get the fliers posted before anyone else decided to shed some blood, limping slightly as she went but finding her mind occupied with delusions of grandeur she had not entertained in nearly a century.

[EXIT UNLESS CALLED BACK]

The wolf nodded once. Good. Nobles didn't need to be addressed so formally. Someday they wouldn't even exist! But one step at a time. This was still a fair start.

"Very well. I'll just put in the request tomorrow. We will have our fight here, should you wish to come. I don't really mind keeping it from the healers. They already know me well enough by now, I'm sure."

She gave the woman a polite bow in return. This woman was pretty cool. Yuki hoped that she might find herself a good seated position. They could use more hardworking Shinigami like her. Speaking of which, she then turned to Zenji, lowering her head towards him as well!

"It is always good to see you Zenji. Again, feel free to let me know if you desire a hunting partner. I wouldn't want to see either of you hurt. Hell maybe I can teach you both a thing or two about proper zanjutsu sometime."

It would only be fair, after all. He had attempted to teach her about kido! And for a moment she had managed to use some. She still hadn't forgotten that.

"In any case I won't keep you any longer. Take care of yourself."

With that she turned, venturing away! Maybe she hadn't really gotten much of a chance to fight, but she'd set something up for the next week! Perhaps her foe would get stronger by then. She also had a new prey to investigate, and investigate she would! Now, in fact!

Going to be a long night of reading.


// Thread Exit!

Zenji returned the woman’s bow with a smile. “I’m thankful for all the help you’ve provided today.” he replied with genuine warmth. “I look forward to hearing about the Challenge.” he added with a twinkle in his eyes that spoke volumes for how closely he’d be following the situation.

As the woman began to walk around Zenji turned his attention to Yuki and gave a respectful bow, the right angle and depth from a senior of lower standing towards a junior of greater blood. He had not forgotten her Clan amongst the new powers of the Seireitei. “The pleasure was all mine. I look forward to our next meeting, I shall certainly keep your kind offer in mind.”

Zenji remained where he was for a while as the other women walked away, he frankly didn’t have the energy to carry him the whole way back to the First Division Barracks. Maybe he’d avail of the Sixth’s gardens, he’d heard great things of the flowering sakura blossoms there. Turning he began to walk away only pausing at seeing something on the ground. Leaning down the Shinigami picked up some sort of hair pin. Frowning at it he realised that Nao had been wearing it earlier.

Spinning around he sighed realising the woman was long gone. Clipping it onto the side of his manilla folder filled with reports Zenji simply decided he’d drop it off at her office the next time he remembered.

Humming pleasantly to himself the tired man took off at a leisurely speed towards where he remembered the gardens to be. He could file the AARs later.

//EXIT!