It was a standard procedure, but Akon couldn't help but be a little excited. The files stacked neatly in the crook of his arm rubbed against his overlarge lab coat, each still in the alphabetical order his captain had demanded. He wasn't too sure why all these transfers of funds were being requested or what they were to be used for, but he didn't mind the mystery all that much.
Besides, this was his first time outside of the twelfth division barracks in a long time. He was more thankful than curious about the papers wedged between his underarm.
His feet eventually led him to the front gates of the eighth division, the sturdy bamboo doors and painted cherry blossoms along the walls a distinct departure from the steel entrance of his own division. The place even had the faint scent of a flower Akon couldn't necessarily pinpoint, considering most of the flowers he'd seen before were from pictures in textbooks.
A guard from the nearby watchtower peeked his head out at the approaching kid officer, his stare quite uninterested. That was strange - most people he'd met outside of his division usually gaped and soon inquired how such a young boy could be in the Gotei Thirteen. And though a small bit of pride would swell inside his stomach, Akon didn't believe such questions were worth the time to reply to, especially if an experiment was under way.
But this guard was different, the way he stood up and walked down the steps to the entrance doors to greet Akon. It almost seemed that such a young soul reaper appeared normal to him, the way he casually waved hello and asked just what he was there for.
"I am Akon from the twelfth division. I'm here to drop off some documents to Captain Kyoraku," Akon explained, taking the files out from underneath his arm and pinning them close to his chest, "They are confidential and need to be addressed immediately. Could you take me to his office?"
"Huh, well, I need to stay on guard duty, but I do know someone who might be interested in escorting you," the man smiled, causing Akon's brow to crease in response. Odd, just who could this someone be? Had he met them before? Surely he would remember if he had met anyone of prominence from this division.
"Do I know them?" Akon asked, looking around the courtyard for any sign of a familiar face.
"Probably not, but you definitely will soon!" the man replied with the same smile, patting the young boy on the head, "Hey, Nanao! I got a job for you!"
Soon, the pitter-patter of sandaled footsteps against wooden floors could be heard approaching, and Akon turned his gaze to the right, startled at what appeared before him.
A small girl no older than him jogged towards them, her large, round glasses almost falling off her face with every step. Her short, dark hair whipped against her cheeks and neck, but she seemed to pay the minor nuisance no mind. A large book was folded up in her arms and Akon was almost amazed at her grace and poise despite the situation.
"Yes, Mr. Kobayashi?" the girl took a quick glance at Akon before turning all of her attention at her superior.
The man laughed at her behavior, ruffling up the top of her head as he answered her, "No need to be so formal, little Nanao! You're just going to show this young man to the Captain's office, okay?"
"Alright," she nodded her head and turned back to Akon, bowing, "My name is Nanao Ise. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Akon blinked, taken aback at her formal behavior. It was kind of like his, actually. "I'm Akon from the twelfth division. Nice to meet you, too."
"Run along, you two," Kobayashi said as he made his way back up the watchtower, "Captain is waiting, after all."
Nanao nodded again and took the initiative, waving Akon over to follow her, "This way, please."
They were silent for the first minute or so, but it didn't mean that their walk was a quiet one. A flurry of whispers and giggles could be heard from the rooms and the yard alike as they traveled to the center of the barracks. Akon couldn't help but wonder what all the fuss was about.
"Is everyone always so happy here?" he asked, picking up his pace so he walked side by side with her.
"Yes, actually," she answered, her stare straight on the path ahead, "But that's because our Captain Kyoraku is a pretty happy man. He's not like some other captains. Like yours: I hear he can pretty scary."
"He's not so bad once you get to know him," Akon insisted, though he knew a lot of people in his own division would testify to the opposite. He decided to change the subject, eyes wandering over the title of the book she clutched against her chest, "That's a good book, by the way."
Her eyes widened at the statement and her shoulders seemed to tense in excitement, "You've read The Wild Geese before? I thought Lieutenant Yadomaru had been the only one besides me…"
"My captain always ask for the officers assigned to the mortal world to pick up a new book for the division library," Akon explained, "That one came in a few months ago. It was a nice change from all the lab reports I have to read."
Nanao chuckled at that, hugging the book just a bit tighter, "Wow, you have your own division library? I wish we did. Everyone here prefers games or drinking over a good book."
"Lieutenant Sarugaki would have fit in just fine, then," Akon shrugged, "She was always yelling and playing pranks when she should've been working…"
His voice soon trailed, noticing the somber glint shadowing across Nanao's small face. Oh, that's right. Her lieutenant had also been…
"Here's his office," Nanao said, her voice almost callous, "I'm sure someone else can help you out if you need assistance."
"Um…" Akon stretched out his free arm, unsure of how to go about comforting her. While he had been sad for a time, no one in the twelfth division had really mourned the former lieutenant or their traitorous captain. She really had been a pain most of the time, but…it seemed like his relationship with Lieutenant Sarugaki had differed from the one Nanao had shared with hers, "I'm sorry…I didn't mean - "
"Ah! Lovely little Nanao!" The door of the captain's office swung open, revealing a tall, broad-shouldered man wearing an elaborate red kimono. Huh, and Akon had always figured his captain was the most theatrical, "I thought that was your voice outside my door. What brings you here today, sweet child?"
Nanao directed her gaze to the floor, a sudden wave of red swarming over her cheeks, "I - I was escorting this officer to -"
"And who do we have here?" Captain Kyoraku interrupted her, his eyes making their way over to Akon, "Why, you seem just as old as little Nanao. And by the look at that lab coat, you gotta be from the twelfth division. Can't believe someone so young could be so smart! But then again, Nanao is ten times smarter than I'll ever be….are those paper for me?"
Akon stood dumbfounded for a moment, mouth slightly agape. This guy was less serious than any other soul reaper he had encountered, seated or not. How could a captain be so…relaxed? Especially when he still had a lieutenant to replace? "Yes, sir. They are."
"Would you hand them over please? Mayuri will have a fit if I don't get them to him by tomorrow," Captain Kyoraku smiled down at him, though his stare was busy with the flustered young girl to his side, "What's the matter over there, lovely miss Nanao? Is this boy too cute for you to handle?
Nanao sputtered, her book almost falling out of her arms while Akon's eyes bulged at the words, the files suddenly feeling very heavy in his hands. No one had ever called him that before, and he certainly never thought someone of such power could blatantly state it.
"It's not that, Captain!" Nanao denied, pushing the rim of her glasses as close to her face as possible, "I - I'm sorry for my behavior! I will be much more subdued in the future, I promise!"
"Aww, c'mon now, Nanao, where would be the fun in that?" Captain Kyoraku teased, easily taking the files from Akon's laxed grasp, "And how do you even know the word 'subdue?' Do you know what that means, kid?"
"Uh…yes, sir. I do," Akon replied, unsure if the question had been rhetorical or not.
"Just as I suspected," the Captain let out an exaggerated sigh, flipping through the confidential papers with a careless thumb, "Say…I got an idea. Akon, I assume you like to read?"
The boy nodded, disregarding the fact that he had yet to tell the captain his name.
"Good, good," he replied, throwing the papers to his desk and beckoning the two children to come closer, "Then how about you and Nanao make this trip a bit of a sleepover? It's about to get dark pretty soon, and I would feel better knowing you were here instead of getting lost near a bar."
"But won't my captain be expecting me back?" Akon asked, a little surprised he was even questioning the wisdom of the captain. Eccentric and relaxed, yes, but there was a reason he held one of the highest honors in all of Sereitei.
"Probably," he admitted sheepishly, "But don't worry about it! I'll take you back in the morning and explain the situation. Now, you two run along and go read somewhere! But be sure to be back in a few hours, or else all the food from the cafeteria might be gone."
While Akon struggled to comprehend the situation he was in, the Captain turned his attention to the other kid officer, "Nanao, I'm sure you'll take care of our honored guest?"
The red in her cheeks had noticeably lessened, but she was still rigid in her response, letting out a small hum of understanding before she latched on to one of Akon's arms and tugged him down the hall.
"I'll come find you two lovebirds in the morning!" Captain Kyoraku trilled from behind them, "Have fun!"
Nanao growled at the words, but still said nothing, biting her tongue as her neck flushed.
"Where are we going?" Akon asked, his own cheeks starting to redden at the close contact. It hadn't been so obvious before, but beneath her glasses were some of the lightest blue eyes he'd ever seen. And he would know, given all those experiments…
"Captain ordered us to go read," Nanao said, her voice barely above a whisper, "So that's what we're going to do."
"…Okay," Akon replied, "…I'm sorry for what I said earlier, by the way. I didn't mean - "
"It's okay," she cut him off, her tone becoming even, "Your lieutenant was different than mine. You couldn't have known."
They were silent for a few minutes after that, the whispers and giggles from the other officers in the barracks surrounding them once more.
"Besides," Nanao closed her eyes, gracing him with a pretty smile, "cute boys are usually clueless anyway."
And for the first time since his acceptance into the twelfth division, Akon was truly at a loss for words.