I should have mentioned in the first chapter that these events take place before the war for Karakura town. Anyway lets get back to the action…or lack of it for the moment…please don't hurt me D:
The sun was beginning its slow decline to the ground when Cosmo and Nef finally returned to Seireitei, on the journey they were pondering what could be in store for them if two captains have told them they will be joined by a 3rd person, or a liability as Nef though about it. Both of them nodded at the other before they headed off to their respective barracks to return their equipment, it was their way of saying 'Cya later', they knew each other so well that they didn't have to talk to say the small things to each other, some could argue that at times they acted like brothers.
Cosmo had the shortest distance to go so he arrived at his barracks before Nef, going to the room set out for him, he dumped the stuff inside the doorway and just went to his desk. There wasn't much on it besides writing equipment to write up any major reports to take to the vice captain, Isane Kotestu. Cosmo liked being a member of the 4th squad, even if he got ordered around by members of the 11th at times. To think that Kenpachi of all people would be looking to transfer Cosmo to his squad, was beyond belief.
"Now's not the time to be thinking about it, you've got a report to do" Cosmo thought out loud, a habit of his that he never seemed to be able to break out of. Telling himself this he began to write up the report about the authorized clean-up on the outskirts of a town in the human world. Cosmo sighed before getting to work writing the report.
Nef on the other hand was busying himself putting his gear back in the right places in his room, he got annoyed if anyone messed up or moved his stuff around, another member of squad 11 found that out when he tried to pull a prank on Nef, that member spent 2 days recovering from the injuries.
Nef did an almighty stretch and thought about what to pass the time with before they both went to see who this was that was going to be holding them back. 'Cosmo has the report to fill in so at the least I have an hour to kill' Nef thought to himself, he began to pace around while thinking of something to do to pass an hour, usually anyone worth training against was held up with other tasks at this time, and he didn't feel like searching for a fight, so he decided to practice his form. 'I know just the place' Nef thought with a smile beginning to form across his face, leaping for the door he headed out of the barracks and towards the nearby rooftops.
"This is perfect" Nef said aloud to himself as he stood on top of a building, its slanted rooftop being perfect for helping test his balance. "Alrighty then, lets do this" he said whilst drawing his zanpakuto and settling into his ready stance, feet parallel to each other he waited a second before launching in to his first strike, a diagonal slash that is usually aimed at the opponents chest, his balance didn't falter as he moved forward going into different swings and imagining parry's and back thrusts he would have to do. "Too easy" he smirked as he continued to increase his speed.
Back at the 4th squad barracks, Cosmo had just finished handing his report to Isane, who signed it and put it with the rest of the reports that came in that day. Once he got out of the office, Cosmo cracked his knuckles and clicked his neck to loosen them, as he headed back to his room, his mind flickered back to the note and he remember to go get Nef and head to the meeting with the captains of squads 8 and 13.
Cosmo had a knack for locating reiatsu at distance and soon located where Nef was, the familiarity with his reiatsu also helped him when locating Nef, and soon he was on his way to the building where Nef was training on top.
Or was, Nef went for a powerful roundhouse slash that carried too much momentum, and as he tried to stop the momentum, he ended up slipping and falling down the side of the roof top. 'Oh hell no' were Nef's only thoughts as he fell frantically trying to get his body in to the correct position to roll off the ground and prevent the impact from hurting.
"Ooof" Nef grunted as he managed to roll his landing and prevent any slight injury or embarrassment for any who might have happened to look in his direction as he was falling to the floor.
"I give you a 3 for the fall and 5 for the landing" Cosmo shouted to Nef as he witnessed the whole scene, "If you wanted to avoid falling why didn't you just go for a flat roof?" Cosmo struggled to say anything more as he was laughing at Nef for the fall.
"Shut up you, I'd like to see you do better" Nef aimed back at his friend.
"You know I could do better with my eye's closed" Cosmo continued to laugh, it took him a while to calm down but when he did he avoided talking about the fall and went to more serious matters, "Well, feel warmed up enough for the meeting?" he asked.
"Let's just get this over and done with" Nef replied glumly, he hated the thought of having someone trailing them.
"Lets go" was all Cosmo said as he started in the direction of the place they were told to meet with the captains.
The journey was a short one, the note told them to meet up at squad 13's barracks, since Ukitake was hardly ever in good shape, it seemed fit that they don't trouble him with having to travel anywhere else for the meeting.
"I got thinking…"Nef started to say
"Been a long time since you did that" Cosmo said whilst laughing.
"Shut up, idiot." was Nef's reply to the comment, "Anyway, I got to thinking, when was the last time we got called into a meeting with a captain? Other than when we got recruited to our respective squads?"
Even Cosmo had trouble remembering this, they usually only dealt with vice-captains and 3rd seats, never an actual captain. "Ya know, I don't think we actually ever have." Cosmo lost track of where he was walking while he was lost in thought, he was so out of it he walked right into a wall, much to Nef's amusement.
Cosmo realised what he just did when Nef's insane laughter brought him back to his senses.
"Now were even" Nef stated still laughing
"Yeah yeah, calm down clown. Besides were here" Cosmo said while making sure his nose wasn't bleeding from the impact.
As they walked through the barracks to the captain's quarters, both of them began to get nervous, Cosmo knew Nef was nervous by the fluctuations in his reiatsu levels. As they rounded the last corner to the captain's quarters, they stopped, both nervous about what is in store for them.
"Let's do this" Nef said , Cosmo nodded in agreement and knocked on the door and announced themselves and the reason they were here before they entered, manners were always a good start to anything Cosmo thought.
"Ah, excellent timing you two." Ukitake said with a smile on his face, today was one of his good days from the looks of it, this relived a bit of nervousness but not enough to calm them down completely.
"Thank you Ukitake-taicho." Cosmo said while bowing.
"I'm sorry you had to get the news from a note left by your camp but, since your…duties…for lack of a better term can take a couple of days, we figured it best to leave a note rather then send constant messengers to try and find you." Kyoraku stated
"Down to business then, it is rare for two un-ranked Shinigami to get a private meeting with a captain or two but rest assured, there is nothing to worry about." Ukitake worded the sentence to help them calm down their nervousness. Which it did.
"Some of the captain's have taken an interest in your abilities when working as a team and as such, the Captain Commander himself came up with an idea."
Cosmo and Nef couldn't believe what they just heard, the Captain Commander of all people took an interest in them.
"Now, the note was a bit vague but we thought it best to get the clear message across when you came for the meeting. There will be a person joining you but, they won't be aiding you or hindering you, they are there merely to observe how you work as a team and from this, they will use the information to help other squads increase their teamwork." Kyoraku said to the now surprised pair.
"You two were chosen for a very solid reason, so far as we know, you are the only members of squads 4 and 11 that will work together, this is valuable because the information from this could help the tension between squads, tension that has come from the flood of recent events."
Both Cosmo and Nef were having a hard time processing everything they were being told. It came as a shock to them to think that they were going to be the basis for forging teamwork across all the squads.
"You two really are amazing when you work together but what we can't understand is, why wont you work with anyone else? You have always refused missions or duties that involve you working or fighting alongside someone else." Ukitake asked, he already knew the answer to this question because he heard tales of their time in the academy.
"We refuse to work with anyone else because, in my case they would be a nuisance." Is what Nef said "My way of doing things is the only way I will do it, because I find it to be the best way for me to do anything."
"As for me, I just downright refuse to do much fighting, that's why I enjoy working with Nef, I leave the majoritory of the fighting to him since he enjoys it. My scouting abilities fit perfectly with his fighting, and when it comes to kido, the barriers I can set up and the healing I can provide is useful for Nef if we get stuck out in the middle of nowhere on a mission." was Cosmo's explanation, Nef decided to put more emphasis on the fact Cosmo refuses to fight.
"He really does refuse to fight, back at the academy he never participated in the Zanjustsu or Hakuda classes, but excelled in the Kido classes, other than the few times he trains with me and the incident involving a large group of hollows a while back, he has never seen fit to draw his zanpakuto." was all Nef thought he needed to say about it.
"We have heard about the…incident…as you called it, but nothing clear, if you don't mind, would you recall this event for us?" Ukitake asked Cosmo
Cosmo sighed, "I guess so captain, even though I don't really like to talk about it."
"It all started when….."
Phew, another chapter over and done with, the next one is going to be a flashback so be prepared for some action, and it is still a mystery as to exactly which Shinigami will be following Nef and Cosmo, expect to find out soon. I hope to see you in the next chapter. : )
