a/n : Aw. Of course I mentioned Josey :) See, I did it again ! Thanks for reading ! :)) Anyway, I wrote this chappy yesterday in a bout of insonmia. I tried to look over for errors, but my sleep deprived brain didn't find anything too obvious. So lemme know if you find any! Also, I'm trying to come up with a new idea for a story, since this story is gonna be coming to an end within I'd say the next 6 chappys or so. I'm not sure yet, it may be more because I tend to sometimes have ideas that deviate from my original plot sketch. So, if anyone out there has a good idea, or something they would like to see happen in the future, I'd love to hear your thoughts. In unrelated news, my traffic counter is still not working. DAMNIT. So, as always, your reviews are appreciated and essencial in order for amatuer writers like me to continue their stuff ! I've enabled anonymous reviews because I know a lot of people don't bother using an account unless they start writing themselves!
disclaimer If I owned Bleach I would insist that "Hug a Captain day"* was an actual holiday. Unfortunately, Tite Kubo is so selfish, he refuses to gimme, even though I offered him a half-eaten sandwich for it. Damn you, Tite Kubo.
Departure
After reluctantly leaving Jushiro to rest, Ryo started making her way towards the 8th squad's offices, where she was hoping she would find her captain. She had noticed the same presence, for lack of a better word, following her back towards the squad halfway through her journey. Although she had been tempted to simply turn around and confront whoever the person was, she opted for seeking her captain's advice, since he would be the next logical person she would go to in case of a problem.
It was the best thing to do, even if she wanted nothing more than to punch the idiot in the face and demand answers. Because whoever was following her was obviously someone who was authorized in Sereitei, and who was going through the trouble of remaining out of her sight, but others as well, always hiding in shadow as he moved discreetly behind her.
Which meant that whatever this person was hoping to gain by following her, it probably either meant he was sanctioned by the Gotei, or a traitor to Soul Society. If he had been a simple stalker, he wouldn't have been trying so hard to hide his presence. Instead, he would have been blending in with the crowd, watching amongst others, or at least that was the conclusion she had come to. She hadn't told Jushiro, concerned he would try to get out of bed and find this person before he was fully healed, opting instead to speak to Captain Kyoraku, whom was not only her immediate supervisor, but a friend, and a fair, cool-headed man at that, even if he had the occasional (okay, maybe more than occasional) moments of lazy self-indulgence.
Upon arriving at the 8th squad, unconcerned with the presence that hovered amongst the shadows of a dark alley close by, she immediately proceeded to her captain's office, hoping she would for once find him there early, as opposed to most days when he strolled in at midday, a sleepy smile on his face. She had been prepared to wait, but luckily, she did not have to. Walking into the office, she noticed the man sprawled on top of his pink, girlish kimono ( which she privately adored, but wouldn't admit to him under any circumstance, unless she wanted Nanao, who had been trying to get the man to stop wearing them for decades, to kill her). He was, not unexpectedly, asleep, but surprisingly, in his office for once. She kicked him lightly and moved away quickly, knowing military men such as him were sometimes known to wake up with a start, and attack before thinking.
Fortunately for her, he was apparently not the type. Either he had noticed her presence as soon as she walked in, or he was a very cool, calm man. He merely looked her way, opened one eye, and yawned, stretching his long frame on the floor.
"Rii-chan, my pretty, what are you doing in my room?" he asked drowsily, smacking his lips.
"We are not in your room, captain. You're sprawled on the floor of your office." she merely said, wanting to comment further, but not wanting to insult the man who was her superior.
"Oh. That's right. Nanao-chan refused to let me sleep at home until I finished the last of my paperwork. Must have dozed before I even got started. My Nanao-chan is so mean sometimes Rii-chan, you should speak to her in my defense~!" he told her in a whiny voice, his little boy attitude so at odds with the womanizing, powerful captain he was known to be.
"I absolutely refuse, sir. With all due respect, if you did at least some of your paperwork on time, the rest of the squad wouldn't have acted so badly while you were gone on honeymoon, without Nanao here to slavedriv-...err... supervise them. They became slovenly in the two weeks you were gone, and poor Captain Hitsugaya was almost driven crazy with the horrible paperwork maintenance he had to supervise. Me too, since Nanao had put me in charge of looking them over before passing them on to Captain Hitsugaya. So, no." she refused, crossing her arms in front of her.
"Aw. Even my Rii-chan is mean to me. How, when did all my wonderful shy kittens become such aggressive wild cats? You wound me, pretty Ryo." he said with a pout, sitting up, stretching his arms wide again, another yawn escaping.
"Uh, hum. Whatever you say, sir. However, I did come here for a purpose, if you don't mind." she continued, not for a minute letting the slight bother her.
"Do you need some sort of brotherly advice from an old married man, Rii-chan? Did your date not go as planned? I hope Jushiro behaved, although he's been known to become a bit wild once he drinks too much... I remember this time in the academ-"
"No! As if I'd seek advice from a person that took over a decade to marry his fiancee. Sheesh. And how did you know I had a date with Jushiro? Is it you following me, you old pervert?" she yelled the last bit, forgetting for a moment that she was speaking to her superior, who could probably kill her in the blink of an eye.
Instead, his face turned uncommonly serious, all joking put aside for the moment. "What do you mean, Ryo? Is someone following you? When did you notice this? Why didn't you come tell me this before?" he asked.
"That's why I'm here, I came to ask your opinion on this." she said. She proceeded to tell him what she had observed, skipping the details of her business with Jushiro, refusing to speak to the man about her private life, specially considering how he tended to gossip about anything involving sex when he went drinking with Rangiku and company. He listened intently, nodding over the information, a somewhat worried expression on his face. If he noticed she blushed at the mention of Jushiro, he chose not to comment, instead concentrating on the business at hand.
When they finished speaking about it, he asked her to stay within the barracks for the day. He left the squad briefly after that, and locked himself in his office right after he came back, an unusual frown in his face. A few hours later, the man called her back into his office, a serious, sombre expression taking over his features unlike she had ever seen.
"Ryo, I have given some consideration to what you have told me, and I've decided to investigate starting immediately. However, your safety, as well as the safety of all my subordinates, is my primary concern. With that in mind, I have chosen to station you in Karakura town under the supervision of Kisuke Urahara, a man who has worked with Soul Society for many decades now, but is currently based in the living world. I had planned to send another officer to aid the people of Karakura and the Kurosakis eventually, since the town has such an unusual concentration of souls with spirit power. . However, now that this situation has come up, I feel you would be best suited for the position. Is that acceptable?" he asked sternly.
"Of course, Captain. I shall follow whatever orders you give me. I was originally from Karakura, in case you didn't know, and I'm acquainted with Urahara, although I fail to see how such a ridiculous man could ever be useful to Soul Society. However, I am under orders, and will fulfill my mission as requested. When do I leave?" she asked just as seriously, not happy with being taken away from Soul Society, or Jushiro, but helpless to argue the orders, since he was after all, her Captain.
"Right away. I would like to see to these matters immediately, and every minute counts." he said, brooking no argument.
"Yes, of course sir. I shall go then. Is there anything else?" she asked.
"Yes, one last thing. Are you sure you don't want to speak with Nanao-chan about this paperwork business before you go? You're usually the only one that helps do paperwork, and with you gone, she's gonna be twice as vicious towards me. She'll have me chained to the desk, Rii-chan!~" he pleaded.
It fell on deaf ears. Without bothering to reply, Ryo picked up her orders and directions,left the office and proceeded to her quarters, only stopping to send Maya and Jushiro a brief message to let them know she would be gone indefinitely. Heart heavy, she picked up the few things she would need while staying in the world of the living, and put them in a small bag. Without any further ado, she opened the seikamon gate, by using her zanpaktou as a key, sticking it in the air and twisting, as she had been told many times in the academy to do. Without looking back, Ryo crossed the seikamon, sending a silent prayer to the universe to keep her loved ones safe and away from harm while she was gone.
Yeay ! One more chappy completed! I gotta write Urahara in next, which is kinda hard, since he's so well...silly ! So, if you have any ideas, please don't hesitate to drop a line in my inbox, or as a review. I'd really appreciate it ! Thanks for reading, cheers,
National Hug a Captain Day: one of my favorite stories on fanfiction! Check out Storm Alert's page for links, also, her Hidden Camera interviews are awesome ! cheers,
