Chapter Soundtrack:
School's out - Alice Cooper
Should I Stay or Should I Go - The Clash
Dropping down from the roof, Rin looked into the Lieutenant's office in ninth division. The door was closed and the lights were out. Frowning, she looked around and listened. To her right. Following the sound, she ended up in a hallway with a few open doors. Most officers were off duty and lounging on the porch. Rin slipped her shoes off and stepped onto the polished wood, padding towards the music. The Lieutenant was sitting on the floor, next to the soundbox she had seen at his office, laughing along with three officers at a fourth's story.
"And then…and then she just slapped him and walked away!" The man was saying, roaring in laughter along with his fellow officers as their Lieutenant noticed her approaching. He stood, but was blocked from approaching her.
"Rin-san. You made it." His smile was welcoming.
"Hello, Lieutenant." Rin smiled back. "Good evening." She greeted the other officers.
"Oh! Hello!" The one sitting with his back to her looked around, greeting her from the floor. He scooted over to make room for her, and Rin sank to the floor, her back against a post to face the open door. It seemed to be the Lieutenant's quarters, and the only source of light for them. Said Lieutenant sat back down by his door and introduced everyone.
"Rin-san, these are Akisawa Ryo, Hamasaki Makoto and Ueno Hachiro." He pointed respectively at a broad-shouldered blond, the man who had greeted her with copper hair and blue eyes, and an obviously drunk green eyed man with a black braid draped over his shoulder. "This is Ayasegawa Rin, a new graduate from the academy."
"So, you've seen our Lieutenant perform?" Hamasaki Makoto turned to her as she dragged the bag she had brought with her to the center of their little circle.
"I have, he's got quite the voice." Rin smirked at said vocalist's blush as she pulled out two sake bottles and the tin of peanuts.
"Oh, what sweet nectar you brought us!" The man with the braid reached to one of the bottles.
"I think you've had enough, Hachiro." Their Lieutenant slipped the bottle from his grasp. "Didn't I order morning duty for you?"
"Oh, woe is me, that I must leave your presence, sweet maiden!" Hachiro grabbed Rin's hand and sloppily kissed it, stumbling upright. "Farewell, and good night!" He waved dramatically, almost smacking into the wall before falling into his room.
"That was...disturbing." Rin laughed along with the remaining three as she wiped her hand on her trousers.
"Ah, he's alright." Hamasaki waved his hand in the direction of their drunken comrade. "So, Ayasegawa-san, I see you haven't been placed in a squad yet. Are we to see more of you around here?"
"Oh, I don't think so, Hamasaki-san." Rin accepted a saucer of sake from the quiet blond. "Thank you. I'm hoping to get into second."
"Lieutenant, finally a friend in second! Hire her to sniff out the secrets of Seireitei for our newspaper!" Hamasaki laughed.
"I'm afraid I have to disappoint you, Hamasaki-san. I'm not one for gossip." Rin sipped at her drink and set it down, reaching for the tin of peanuts.
"That's too bad. I was hoping you'd seen the woman our Lieutenant was talking about meeting at that club." He looked hopefully at her.
"Shut up, Hamasaki." Said Lieutenant was trying to hide his face in his drink.
"Sorry, I was too busy with my own conquest to notice." Rin shrugged and set the opened tin next to the bottles after grabbing a handful for herself. "Do any of you have a deck of cards?" She changed the subject.
They had an enjoyable night, talking, listening to music, playing cards and drinking. Rin looked at the sky and groaned.
"Well, boys, it's been fun, but I have an early morning to look forward to." A chorus of 'aww's rang as she rose from her spot.
"I'll walk you back." The tattooed man stood, but Rin waved her hand at him.
"No need, Lieutenant."
"To the gates then." He walked beside her after she waved goodbye to the other two. After they were out of earshot, he started speaking again. "Thanks for...not mentioning anything." He scratched his head awkwardly.
"No problem, Lieutenant." Rin shook her head.
"You can call me by my name." He repeated.
"Sorry, it takes time for me to stop being so formal. Just ask Rangiku, she'll tell you."
"You know Lieutenant Matsumoto?"
"Yeah, through my brother. He's fifth seat at eleventh." Rin explained.
"That's why your name was so familiar!" He hit his fist against his palm. A pensive look came over his face. "Was that Madarame with you in the club?"
"Yes, my own personal buzz-kill." Rin rolled her eyes. They laughed. "Anyway, thanks for inviting me, I had fun." She turned and raised her hand to wave.
"Let's do this again!" He called after her. A faint 'yep' was all he got before she turned a corner.
Rin awoke to her brother shaking her shoulder. She fluttered her eyes open and took a second to realize she was probably late. Cursing herself, she hastily got dressed to the sound of her brother's laughter and sped away, backtracking to retrieve the papers from under the sofa cushion. She had planned on finishing her punishment before she had to be at tenth division, but she doubted she'd have time. Accepting defeat, she sped towards sixth division and nearly caught an eyeful of Renji as he was changing into his uniform when she barged in unceremoniously.
"Sorry!" She called through the door after she slammed it shut.
"What happened to you being all respectful towards superiors when you're on duty and shit?" Renji exited his quarters and loomed over her.
"I was late and forgot you're not just my brother's stupid friend." Rin replied with a straight face. She laughed as he swatted at her and they went to Captain Kuchiki's office together. "Oh, I have interviews today at noon and at three." She told Renji, who nodded.
"Good luck Rin. You're gonna do great." He grinned down at her.
Upon entering the Captain's office, Rin set the papers on his desk and stepped back, looking at the clock on his shelf. She had two hours until noon. She reported her successes and failures, watching his face for anything other than his stoic mask, but he betrayed nothing. She also told him of her interviews, stating she had already talked to his Lieutenant and intended on finishing her task after the interviews.
"Very well. Report to Lieutenant Abarai after your interviews. You are dismissed." He shuffled his papers and continued working.
"Thank you, Captain." Rin bowed and followed Renji out. He ended up walking her to tenth division, if only to keep her nerves at bay by conversing about meaningless things. She told him of her new friendship with Lieutenant Hisagi, though not of how it started. He was pleasantly surprised.
"Now I can team up with him to play cards against you and Matsumoto!" He laughed.
"I doubt you two make a better team than we do, right, Rin-chan?" The busty woman's voice called attention to them.
"Is that a challenge?" Renji grinned at the two of them.
"Bring it on, pineapple-head." Rin stood next to Rangiku, both women crossing their arms in defiance.
"Tomorrow, when Rin finds out what division she's getting in, we're gonna go out to celebrate and settle this!" Renji pointed his finger at both of them as he walked away. "We're gonna bleed you dry!" He called before turning.
"Yeah, yeah!" Rangiku shouted after him. "So, Rin, are you ready for your interview?" She turned to the shorter woman. Rin nodded. She was nervous, a little bit afraid, but excited. Soon, she'd be a shinigami. "Don't worry. I already sweetened you up to the Captain."
Rin was pushed into the Captain's office and the door was shut behind her. Rin boldly approached the desk and bowed.
"Ayasegawa Rin?" Captain Hitsugaya's voice was still jovial, but he lowered it for the sake of appearing older. Rin nodded. "Take a seat."
"Thank you, Captain." He picked up her file from the academy, looking it over.
"You have good grades. Decent attendance...I'm sure my Lieutenant has something to do with you skipping school?" Rin nodded sheepishly. "Why should I accept you into my division? I'm well aware tenth is not your first choice."
"No, sir. I'm hoping to get into the Onmitsukido." Rin admitted. "I thought of tenth division as a backup plan because of your reputation as a strategist."
"And that interests you?" He asked. He seemed satisfied with her nod. "Tenth and Second often work together, especially for battle strategies. Some field missions as well. I'm sure you'll be able to get into second division from what I can see of your file, and what I remember from the Academy games. Training is not just for the body, the mind needs it too, and despite my Lieutenant, I don't let my officers slack off. If you decide to join this division, you will need to learn to focus." He closed her file. Rin blinked. Did he just…?
"Are-are you saying…?" Rin pointed at him.
"If you wish, the invitation is open to join tenth division." She could see the corner of his lip twitching as if he were holding back a smile. Rin, however, didn't rein in her excitement and a large grin spread across her cheeks.
"Thank you, Captain!" Rin tried to bow while still sitting and almost hit her head on his desk. A squeal pulled their attention to the door, where Rangiku was entering with a spring in her step.
"Matsumoto, I've told you to stop eavesdropping!" The vein on Captain Hitsugaya's forehead began to pulse.
"Come, let's have lunch and celebrate!" Rangiku pulled on Rin's sleeve.
"You have work!" Her Captain barked at her over her pout.
Rin had assured Rangiku she would be happy to celebrate tomorrow night with all their friends and went to have lunch with her brother. It was 'Kill Your Captain' day at the eleventh, so a few members of the fourth were sitting around the courtyard, waiting to tend to the injured. Rin looked around for her brother, ducking when an officer came flying towards her. She sidestepped the knocked out man and jogged to her brother's side, where he was sitting with Ikkaku.
"Guess what." She plopped down next to him.
"Hm?" His attention was still on the fight between his captain and five officers attacking at the same time.
"I got an open invitation to join tenth division!" She grinned at him.
"Good for you, my dear." Yumichika wrapped his arm around her shoulders, but didn't look at her. The fight was almost over, so she waited in her brother's arms until Captain Zaraki cackled in glee at the knocked out bodies around him. "Well, it was to be expected." Her brother rose and pulled her up with him. "Let's have lunch. Tell me about the interview."
Rin relayed what happened, and that she was still hoping to get into second, but she was glad her fallback division had accepted her. She still needed to finish collecting the papers for Captain Kuchiki afterwards, so she declined the invitation for dinner, not knowing when she would be returning.
"I thought I could spend this week with my sister, and you go and get caught at the Kuchiki estate!" Yumichika frowned.
"I'm sorry, Yumi-nii." Rin rested her head on his shoulder. "But we're all going out tomorrow night to celebrate!"
"We'll go to a nice place for lunch, then. Just the two of us." He kissed the top of her head.
"Hey!" Ikkaku snapped his head up to glare at them. "What about me?"
"Is it so wrong of me to want to spend time alone with my beautiful sister?"
Rin had taken the time after lunch to change from her hasty awakening that morning. She switched the red shirt with white flower print for a more discreet one, dark blue with a yellow stripe at the waist, vaguely reminding her of Captain Soi Fon's sash. Brushing her hair more calmly, she pulled it up into her preferred high ponytail and brushed her teeth.
She was knocking at the door of Captain Soi Fon's office ten minutes before three o'clock. She heard the Captain's voice bidding her to enter. Closing the door behind her as quietly as she could, Rin approached the desk and bowed.
"Ayasegawa Rin." The Captain looked up at her, motioning to the seat on the other side of her desk. "Congratulations on being invited into tenth."
"Thank you, Captain."
"But you want to be part of the Onmitsukido?" Rin nodded. "The training is heavy, you won't have much time to spend with your brother and friends." Her eyes rested on Rin's sword peeking over her shoulder. "And I'm afraid your sword is too big. The stealth force is known for shorter, easy to draw swords."
"C-captain, I-" Rin couldn't contain the look of dejection spreading on her face.
"Stop looking like I put your puppy in a blender." Captain Soi Fon waved her hand at Rin. "I'm not finished speaking. I've been receiving reports of Captain Kuchiki's punishment from my officers. Tell me more about your Zanpakuto."
"Chihari's more suited for fighting from a distance." Rin began. She had rehearsed in her mind how to explain her sword to her superiors if the question arose, and was glad she did so. "She helps me suppress my reiatsu, though I am aware I need more practice. She also allows me to sense anything in her web."
"Her web?"
"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't elaborate. Chihari's a spider. When I concentrate, I can feel reiatsu further than I normally can. Like bugs on a web, they tug at the strings. It seems easier if I've been to the place I'm trying to feel before."
"Can you give me an example?"
Rin nodded and closed her eyes, feeling Chihari spread her web. She chose sixth division, since she had been there quite often the last few days and ran her conscience along the silk of Chihari's web, until she sensed Captain Kuchiki.
"Captain Kuchiki is in front of his bookshelf. Lieutenant Abarai is four paces behind him, holding...a file? A pile of papers? Maybe a thin book. Captain Kuchiki's reiatsu seems...irritated. Renji is flustered...and now he's leaving." Rin opened her eyes to find herself leaning sideways against Captain Soi Fon's stomach, her hand on Rin's back. "Captain, I'm so sorry!" She immediately straightened up.
"Confirmation!" The Captain barked at the officer by her door. "You lost your balance." She removed her hand from Rin's back and looked down at her.
"Yes, it happens when I go farther than I'm used to." Rin put a committed look on her face. "I really want to train more, and get better!"
"Captain." The officer appeared at the door. "Ayasegawa-san was correct about what happened at sixth division. Lieutenant Abarai was borrowing a book from Captain Kuchiki's office, and the Captain was scolding the Lieutenant about a new piercing on his lip." Rin's eyes widened and she flushed.
"Dismissed." The Captain sat back down behind her desk. "You wouldn't have anything to do with that, now would you?" Rin smiled sheepishly. "Very well." Captain Soi fon opened her drawer and pulled out a stamp. She slammed it against Rin's file. "Welcome to Second Division, Ayasegawa."
Rin blinked. A smile spread across her cheeks and her chest bubbled with lightness. Before she could open her mouth to thank the captain (her captain), she was interrupted.
"You will be partnered with Nakashima Kouji, who has already been accepted." Rin wasn't too thrilled, but she knew Nakashima and her were good matches. "You are expected to begin training two days from now on Monday morning." Captain Soi Fon stood and walked off to a side door, motioning for Rin to follow her. "The training I have in mind for the both of you require your uniform to not be as loose as the standard Shinigami uniform. In any case, it is customary you receive one." She pointed to a wall full of uniforms neatly folded on shelves, organized by size. "Retrieve your size." She continued walking along the shelves as Rin scrambled to take a uniform. "These are the Onmitsukido uniforms, which you will not be receiving." The Captain ignored the crestfallen look on Rin's face. "These," she pointed "are for the strategy planning and tactical team." She noticed Rin's curious look. "The tactical team is a team of law enforcement and support professionals specifically trained to provide a planned tactical response to high-risk situations that require the application of specialized lifesaving tools, tactics, and capabilities, which exceed those immediately available to the division's first responders." At Rin's look of realization, she continued. "You and Nakashima will be trained in strategy tactics to be considered for a more...specialized position." She finally let a small grin spread over her lips at the excited gleam in Rin's eyes. "Retrieve your uniform, and report to the training ground at 0400 hours on Monday."
"Thank you Captain Soi Fon!" Rin bowed, unable to restrain the massive grin on her face.
Character soundtrack:
(Yachiru Kusajishi) Baby Shark - Pinkfong
(Kenpachi Zaraki) Waidmanns Heil - Rammstein
(Suì-Fēng) Gives you Hell - The All American Rejects
(Marechiyo Ohmaeda) Sweet home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
(Gin Ichimaru) Being Evil Has a Price - Heavy Young Heathens
(Izuru Kira) Kimi Ni Negai Wo - Miyavi
Tite Kubo's choices:
Yachiru Kusajishi - "Yoo-hoo!" Sora Izumikawa
Kenpachi Zaraki - "Superpredators (Metal Posteard)" Massive Attack
Suì-Fēng - "She-Wolf" Megadeth
Marechiyo Ohmaeda - "Oh My Darling" Bobby Summer
Gin Ichimaru - "Snake-Tongued Beast" Saybia
Izuru Kira - "Anata wa Umi no Soko" Mikoto Momono