Second chapter. The important events are yet to come.

Disclaimers : I don't own Bleach, and English is not my native language, so don't be surprised if you find really stupid mistakes.

Chapter Two – Seeds of doubt

Richard Hamilton, 1st division Lieutenant

I was sent by the old monarch, by oh-so-esteemed boss. He thought it would be a good move to reaffirm what being in the First Division meant.
My colleague from the 11th division was making a good job of purifying Hollows. Me, I just stood there. All I wanted was to have a refreshment after going through the pain of making sure all eleven of the lunatics would come.
Being the Lieutenant of the big boss can be so dull sometimes.

_Hey now, said I to the Hollow lying in wait for my attack. How about a Bloody Mary in exchange for going back to your war camp ?

_Are you kidding me ? I feast on souls !

_Herm, but Vodka kind of tastes like souls ! Russian ones, I guess. Or was it chicken ?

Ah, I was making fun of him. I'm rude when I'm sober.

_Okay, just watch. No need to growl like that, I'm not going to bite...

I drew my sword, and compressed my Presence into a shooter glass. A trick useless for battle, but I find it very useful nonetheless.

_Refresh us, Peerless Bartender !

The pommel of my Soulcutter opened, pouring a red, thick liquid. A perfectly mixed and spiced Bloody Mary for you. I was quite popular among young Reapers for that power, and I often stayed out late because of my part-time job as a bartender.

Of course, the cocktail wasn't made for a shooter glass, but I figured the Hollow would prefer to try a little dose at first.

_A Bloody Mary, enjo...

Now I had done it. The Hollow felt provoked, and jumped on me.
He was not even a Menos. What were these guys thinking, really ?
But this event was not the most heartrending, for a Reaper jumped from the wall behind me, Soulcutter drawn, directly falling onto the unfortunate lost soul's head.
His outfit, a human modern one used for sportive events, was black, of course, but also decorated with pure white in his shirt's back.
In short, he was a captain. And not the easiest to handle.

_Chris, I was just about to let this gentleman try a sip of a classical cocktail.

_You're incredibly overzealous as a barman, Rick, ya know that ?

_Yeah, yeah, maybe.

Chris Fury, 4th division Captain. Our best warrior. His scars were here to attest it. And his presence here couldn't have anything but one meaning.

_I believe Captain King did not order you to go fight the Hollows.

_And so what ? Look Rick, look ! In front of us, there is fun ! Countless little balls of fun ! They're calling for me ! Sorry, but you'll have to tell the big boss that I have to indulge myself today.

_Well, there's no helping it.

No, there wasn't. Once Fury is launched, it's over. I felt pity for the Hollows. Being purified in such an...industrial way was seriously lacking in the class department.

_There is no shield, no armor, no shelter, that can save you from my blade ! Dream Destroyer !

I did not watch Fury's Soulcutter shapeshifting. After all, that was a common event. Also, the outcome of the battle was not even worth wondering about.

At the end of the day, I invited the other Lieutenants chosen to fight the Hollows to come to my place for a drink.
Not Fury, he's bad with alcohol.

_Keep the booze coming, Rickie boy ! I have to celebrate this day knee deep in Hollows and far away from this stupid Captain !

It was unclear who between Jake and Kelly said that. Maybe both. None of them were ever interested in cocktails, straight distilled alcohol having their preference.

So I talked with Duncan Holley, 11th division Lieutenant. A scientist specialized in the live dissection of Hollows. Quite barbaric, but I guess it's inevitable when you're in this kind of division. We do Science, don't come annoy us with ethics, was more or less their motto.
Aside from his job, Duncan was a perfectly nice fellow, very fond of the Old Fashioned cocktail.

_Ah, and to say that tomorrow, I'll have to follow my Captain at her great conference, said he in despair. I already see the mess it will be. She can't stand young Reapers, she finds them stupid.

_It's necessary, said I. We must teach newbies as fast and as broadly as we can in order to avoid stupid mistakes on the battlefield. The 2nd division is overflowing with injured Reapers...

_Yeah, and I was told captain Miller was hard at work retrieving the ones incapped in the middle of the Hollows.

_He's doing fine, don't worry. When it comes to saving the day, there's no one like him.

_Yeah, I know that, it's just that it must be tiresome to patrol the fields every day.

He stopped talking for a while and drank. Then, he said, in a more quiet voice.

_Hey, so what do you think about this...traitor thing ? I mean, Do you really think that's possible ?

_It does seem very paranoid of him, said I seriously. But the monarch is not one to let anything overshadow his reason. So I would say it's real. There are traitors among us. What they want, I don't know.

We looked at the two bad-mooded officers in the other side of the room. Duncan asked :

_You think they are...

_I think we don't have to suspect anyone without solid reasons. We are still allied against Hollows.

_Yeah, yeah, you're right. Things will get ugly if we begin to doubt everyone.

Jake Johannsen

Kelly was boasting about her results of the day, talking about hundreds of "kills". While we reapers don't technically kill Hollows, this Irish female Reaper never had any other word for the purification. I always found that kind of nasty.
But nevertheless, I was her friend. I didn't care if it was good or bad, it was the way things were.

Frankly, she wasn't half bad. Not a real beauty, but definitely beyond just plain. Her messy black hair was cut to her ear at the left of her head, and reached the middle of her neck at the right. Her black clothes were a baggy and a sleeveless vest with a zipper. Kind of like a "skater girl" or whatever the living called these.

So why was she hated by most of the Soul Society ? Well, because as I said earlier, she's pure hatred. Towards almost everything. Never happy, never satisfied. She's a damn good fighter, but a very bad person to talk to, unless you are equally twisted as her.
That included Captain Fury and me. Because Fury is a total nutjob as aggressive as her, and I, well, I was in a perpetual state of butthurtness. My Soulcutter made fun of me, My captain was a stupid and clumsy woman despite her outer shell of a Great Herald of Badassery.

_So hey, asked Hartigan after gulping another glass of liquor. Yer always whining about yer captain. Is she at least suited for the job ?

Funny, in the 20 years we've been colleagues, Kelly was never interested in my life.

_Oh yeah she is. She showed all her strength to me, hoping that it would calm me down. Well, it did, but not for long.

_And so ?

_Well it's awesome, of course. Maybe not as badass as the mad scientist's Soulcutter, but definitely not as gay as Miller's.

_C'mere, Miller is the Captain of the Support & Healing squad, bein' gay is in their very nature.

_Sure. Anyway, her Soulcutter is called Orbital Eden.

_Pretty flashy, admitted Kelly.

_Isn't it ? You know our Division is specialized in powers that don't require us to move, well suited for defense and cover. Well, Orbital Eden plays with gravity on a large scale. Hunter can make an area into her non-euclidean playing zone. Only her knows how to fight in this mess.

_Neat.

_Depends. I threw up in the demonstration. In short, I have no hope of taking her place as of now. And for you, how is it doing ?

_Captain Parker is a pain. Either he is calm and unbearably happy-go-lucky, or he is pissed off and nobody wants to be anywhere near him. The only middle ground being when he's asleep.

I told you the 3rd Division were dangerous people. The second you come to think they're okay people, they go lunatic on your ass and hand it over straight to the 2nd Division, if not the Great Beyond.

Parker was the shining example of this rule. Whenever something is troubling the order of things, say, for example, a rookie defeating a Lieutenant, he goes rabid. The bad news being the power of his Soulcutter, Crimson Cross.
It can not only just beat you down, it can completely erase you from reality. And with his combat skills, he does it really easily. It was very rare someone actually goes down the drain because of that, but it always causes an uproar. The last time was 17 years ago, and the elders went batshit for a whole year. Parker spent his days apologizing.
However, with this story of traitors, I don't think Crimson Cross will peacefully remain in his dormant state.

Finally, we slept overnight at Hamilton's, and went back to our quarters, only to find that the Captains had done exactly the same things we did.
Well, plus one...

...It was going to be a shitty day.

You probably noticed that Kelly speaks a little funny. It's supposed to be an Irish accent, but I only spent a few weeks in this country, so I'm certainly not a specialist. It's only an attempt. You can also consider that her accent is far from pure. After all, she spent two centuries in America.