Before she even opened her eyes, Paniz groaned in irritation. The sunlight was hitting her closed eyes just right to wake her up, subsequently letting her know she was late for training. Ever since she joined eighth division six years ago, her days had been dull, training in the morning, helping her lieutenant with paperwork until the late hours of the evening, then collapsing into sleep. Paniz longed for the social academy days, where she could talk and joke and go out with her classmates, but her high grades had caught the attention of Lieutenant Ise, who quickly snatched her from third division to help her with the overdue paperwork their Captain didn't care about.
Deciding to skip training, she rolled over and sighed. She was allowed some peace on her birthday, or so she believed. Listening to the birds and the silence outside her window was nearly enough to lull Paniz back to sleep, before a sharp knock jolted her awake.
"Hah?"
"Ninth seat Darzi? Your presence is required in Lieutenant Ise's office." a voice called from the other side of the wood.
"Be right out!" she called, shuffling out of the comfortable nest of covers. Quickly changing into her shihakusho and running a brush through her hair, Paniz rushed out of her room and followed the familiar hallways to her destination. She knocked twice. "Darzi reporting for duty!"
A strict 'enter' was heard, and she slid the door open. Lieutenant Nanao Ise was sitting at her desk, a pile of paperwork in front of her, a furious look on her face.
"Ninth seat Darzi. So nice of you to decide to work today." was her greeting. Paniz smiled sheepishly. Six years had taught her that even though she was strict and put her work first, her lieutenant was a very nice woman. "We missed you at training this morning."
"Ah, sorry about that, lieutenant. I overslept."
The day passed quietly as usual. After giving her orders, the lieutenant left to root out whatever new hiding spot their captain had come up with, leaving Paniz with her (rather large) share of paperwork. Captain Kyouraku was an easygoing man, prone to lazing and drinking, mostly to escape his noble and captain duties. He was a very powerful shinigami, but preferred politics over violence. Paniz had seen him many, many times over the years, mostly when he was forced into work by their lieutenant, sometimes when the squad got together to make merry, and she liked the man. He was gentle and kind.
Suppressing a yawn, Paniz cleared her head of unimportant thoughts and got to work. She sometimes resented not being one of the shinigamis that went out on the field to fight hollows, but she knew her lieutenant trusted her with the sensitive information and proper handling of their division's paperwork.
After a few hours, Paniz looked up from her desk to see Captain Kyouraku being led into the office by an angry Lieutenant. Paniz smiled and shook her head, ignoring their bickering, hoping to finish up a little earlier to go out for a drink with some of her colleagues. She vaguely registered a thump, probably the Captain being pushed into a chair, but tuned out her surroundings once again.
A flicker made her blink her tired eyes as Paniz finally realized she was straining her eyes against the darkening room. Looking up, she saw Captain Kouraku lighting a lamp on the corner of her desk.
"So focused." He rumbled with a teasing smile. "I was feeling ignored the whole day."
"I'm sorry, Captain, I thought I could finish these earlier if I rushed a bit more today." Paniz looked out the window to see the moon was already rising. She probably wouldn't be able to catch up with her friends in time for a drink. Sighing, she shrugged and put her brush down.
"Why the hurry?" She looked up to see her Captain leaning his hip against her desk, his arms resting inside his sleeves.
"I was thinking of going out with some friends."
"Oh? Special occasion? You never leave the barracks." His warm eyes were curious.
"It's my birthday." Paniz watched the surprise wash over his face and smiled. "I don't make much of a fuss. Maybe I'll take a walk later. Buy myself something sweet."
"No, no, no, this is unacceptable!" He straightened. "Such a beautiful flower as yourself spending her birthday working and walking by herself!"
"Captain, we're souls. We've been dead for decades." Paniz laughed. "Birthdays really don't mean much to me. They're just a good excuse to eat junk food."
Captain Kyouraku shook his head and grabbed her wrist, pulling Paniz out of her seat and into the hallway. She tried pulling away, but her objections fell on deaf ears. Following the pink haori in front of her silently, she wondered what he had in store for her.