Summary: It's not always easy for Captain Soifon to keep her troops in line.
"Company, Atten-HUT!"
At the command, the members of Bravo Company, Second Division snapped to attention as one.
"Open ranks. HARCH!"
With the precision born of hours of practice and drill, the ranks of shinigami flowed smoothly into position. As the last heel beat struck the ground, the final rank halted. The company commander paused a beat before executing an about face. He saluted.
"Captain, the troops are ready for inspection. "
Captain Soifon returned the salute and began her inspection, walking down the rows of shinigami standing stiffly at attention, giving each member a quick but thorough review. Her second in command, Lieutenant Marechiyo Omaeda, followed behind with a clipboard. He wrote down whatever his captain found as she went along.
"Loose threads. One demerit." She said for one. "Unkempt uniform, three demerits." for another.
The next two were good, getting a cursory look and a slight nod. She frowned at the next one. Coming to a full stop, she peered up at his face.
"Did you shave with a dull butter knife this morning, soldier?" She barked.
"No, ma'am!" The unfortunate man reported.
"So you didn't shave this morning?" She yelled.
"Uh, yes ma'am, I did!" He said in reply. He was visibly beginning to sweat.
She stood on her toes as she continued to berate the hapless shinigami.
"So which is it? You shaved with a dull butter knife or you didn't shave at all. Make up your mind, numbskull!"
"Uh, um," he stammered as he scrambled for the correct response.
"I…I did shave this morning and I didn't use a dull butter knife! Uh, ma'am!" he finally blurted out.
"Oh really?"She sneered. "Then what do you call this!"
Reaching up to his face, she located the thumb sized patch of whiskers he had missed below his jaw line and yanked out a hair. The man was careful not to flinch. Captain Soifon had no mercy in her heart. Any sign of weakness would be dealt with severely.
She waved the errant whisker under his nose.
"Omeada, five demerits for this man for not shaving!" She snarled.
There were few discrepancies as drastic as that for the remainder. Truth be told, Soifon didn't really care about inspections or drill. They were dry and boring, lacking the thrill of combat training or war games. That didn't mean she slacked off on her responsibilities as a commander. Inspections were just another form of instilling and enforcing discipline. Messy uniforms and loose threads were not important in and of themselves. Obeying orders and accomplishing objectives were. That is why they conducted inspections. The objective was to be in compliance with regulations. Paying attention to detail. Inspections pointed out those who didn't care enough to ensure they met the standard, those who were just trying to get by. She found for the most part these were the ones who would not pay attention to detail when it mattered most. In combat, that could get you killed. She had to know who she could rely on. Who was disciplined. Though she didn't show it, secretly she was very proud of her men. Moving through the forest of dark clad bodies, she also singled out those who impressed her with a curt "Good job" or "Looks good." The ones she faintly praised swelled with pride at her remarks, proud that they had favorably impressed their notoriously hard to please commander. For the most part, she could say there was something outstanding in each and every one of her troops.
Well, almost everyone.
With the company standing perfectly still, it was easy to see the lone figure trying to sneak into the formation at the back.
"What the hell?" She cursed under her breath.
She strode rapidly towards where she could see the offender. The shinigami got out of her way, trying to make a hole to allow her to pass while still maintaining the position of attention. Omaeda trailed in her wake.
"Well what have we here?" She said as she came face to face with the perpetrator. He was a young man, newly recruited to the division and his face was well known to her.
"Watari-sama, how good of you to join us." She said in mockingly sweet tones. "I hope we didn't disturb your rest."
"Uh, well, you see..."He started to mumble.
"Shut up!" Soifon roared. "You show up late for formation, you look like your mama dressed you in the dark and you have the nerve to offer me excuses? Omaeda, how many times have I had to deal with this bed wetter this month?"
Her subordinate shuffled though the papers on the clipboard.
"He's been issued two letters of counseling, one letter of reprimand and has been sent to your office three times for disciplinary issues captain."
"Three times I've personally had to deal with your sorry ass and you still don't have your act together?" She said as she continued to chew out the young man. "What am I going to do with you Watari?"
"I dunno captain." He said with an all too casual shrug. "I guess I just need to be punished again."
Soifon narrowed her eyes as she took in his insolent, slouching posture. She'd seen his type before. Watari had a lot of potential, but he was young and arrogant. If he were motivated, he could easily be one of her best. The problem was he wasn't taking any of this seriously. Because he was smart and talented, and he knew it, he slacked off, doing worse than less talented people who really tried. What did he care if he had a few pieces of paper in his file, or if someone yelled at him once in a while? In his mind, he was still better than everyone around him. She was going to have to do something drastic. Something that would get his attention.
"You think you need more discipline huh?" She said. "Maybe I should have you bound hand and foot and worked over with a cat-o-nine tails?"
He looked down his nose at her, plainly thinking she was bluffing.
"I think I could handle it." He glibly replied.
"Maybe you should be gagged and blindfolded while it's done." She added.
Watari was still not impressed.
"Sure. I'm not afraid." He blustered.
Soifon stepped in closer to the new recruit, getting in his personal space. Her voice came out low and just a bit husky.
"Maybe you should be stripped naked and rubbed with oils beforehand." She suggested.
Watari's eyes nearly shot out of their sockets. He needed a second before he could respond to that. He stared down at the captain's seemingly sincere face. He gulped.
"You really mean that ma'am?" He asked.
Soifon nodded with a coy smile on her face. Watari started to breathe heavily. A flush began to creep up his face.
"If you think it'll help, ma'am." He said.
"Oh, I do." she said in a sultry purr.
Watari couldn't believe his luck!
"Well," He stammered out, "OK then. Let's do it."
"Yes," Soifon said smoothly. "Let's."
She took a step back and turned her head.
"Omaeda!" she shouted.
"Yes, Captain!" He vigorously replied.
"Get this freak out of my sight and carry out the sentence!" She ordered, pointing at the now shocked young man.
Omeada hung his head and sighed. He should have seen that one coming.
"Yes, Captain." He said sadly as he acknowledged the order.
"Wait a minute. Captain? I thought…" Watari babbled.
She snapped her head back to glare at his face, a snarl of anger exposing her teeth.
"What, soldier? You thought what? You were expecting something different?" She snapped.
Watari stared at her in disbelief, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled for words. After a few seconds of staring at his commander's cold, hard, angry eyes, he hung his head in defeat.
"No, ma'am." He muttered.
"That's what I thought." She said.
"Come on." Omaeda said to Watari as he clasped a big meaty paw on the young man's shoulder. "Let's get this over with."
Soifon stalked back to her office without looking back.
"The rest of you maggots are dismissed." She called out over her shoulder.
The orders to disperse rang out across the parade ground.
"Company, Atten-HUT! Fall out!"
She had to fight hard to keep a wicked smile off of her face until she entered her office where no one could see. That would definitely get the cocky young man's attention. It was even more funny picturing Omaeda carrying out her orders. She knew it was wrong to take so much pleasure in tormenting Omaeda. She consoled herself with the thought that it would do him some good. Watari wasn't the only one who could use a little discipline.