Chapter Eight
Ginrei's POV
I watched the girl's expression change; she was somewhat relieved about the turn out. She looked like a rabbit in a cave full of wolves throughout the entire meeting. I noted Captain Ōtoribashi's interest when he requested to train her. Who could blame anyone here? She was exotic and he was very curious natured despite his bored exterior. I watched the blonde man walk up to my ward. "Howdy." Heather greeted uneasily. I could have shaken my head, what did she think she was doing? He was a captain and deserved much more respect than what she was giving him. The Third Division Captain raised his eyebrow at her; her behavior seemed to amuse him, "Morning." He reciprocated the strange greeting. "So… you're Rose right?" the new comer spirit inquired. This girl was far too informal for her own good. Captain Ōtoribashi smirked lightly at her and replied with an introduction, "Some people call me that. My full name is Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi." "Can I stick with Rose?" she asked meekly. I suppose it would sound like quite the mouthful to a foreigner, what more did I expect? The Third Division Captain's half-amused smirk stayed in place. He seemed to enjoy her lack of reserve and responded to her question kindly, "It's alright, but you're going to have to learn it soon." "Yeah, no problem." Heather replied. She seemed to have a question on her mind but there was no time for idle chit chat right now. What is it with women wanting to talk so much?
Captain Ōtoribashi seemed to have sensed my approach for his smile changed to his usual expression as he turned to face me and greeted, "Ah! Captain Kuchiki, how are you this morning?" "I am well, Captain Ōtoribashi." I responded then inquired, not entirely interested, "And yourself?" "Fine, fine." the blonde man replied with a nod. "Maybe we could discuss this outside?" I offered, watching the two nodded in my direction. We walked together in silence until we were outside of the Head Captain's earshot when the Third Division Captain inquired, "So how well do you fight exactly?" Heather did the most unexpected thing, she laughed her response, "No…no. I never got into a serious fight… ever." "You jest." Captain Ōtoribashi half accused. "No, I'm serious. I just don't like dealing with people, so I ignore stupid stuff more than anything." my ward replied, "I hardly even argue, depending on the case." I looked at her seriously. I never thought that someone as energetic and brash as her would be so passive. "I see," my fellow captain replied seriously, "That means you and I will have to start at square one." She raised her hand and gave him the 'thumbs up' with a fake smile plastered on her face. "Yay." Heather replied, lacking enthusiasm. "It's not that bad, we'll eventually build you up. No one starts out and knows exactly what to do." Ōtoribashi assured lightheartedly.
"How many days and how many hours are we doing this weekly?" Heather asked curiously. The Third Division captain looked thoughtful for a moment and answered, "I think about five days and eight hours each. About a standard work day sounds suitable." "It sounds long, but it's not like you're asking for a lot." Heather replied uncertainly. "Of course, this arrangement would have to be alright with Captain Kuchiki." The blonde man stated. The two appeared to be so deep in their own little world it seemed that they had forgotten I was there. I was a little surprised that the younger man remembered that it was my decision that determined everything. I did not see any harm in an aggressive teaching program like the one that he was planning. "I see no problem with it, Captain Ōtoribashi." I replied, "Heather seems competent enough to do a rigorous schedule. When do you think that you will be ready for her to start?" "Gents, I can't even find where I sleep on my own yet." Heather interjected, "How do you two even figure Lassie's going to find her way to the Third Division and back?" "Lassie?" Captain Ōtoribashi inquired probably as perplexed as I had felt. "Never mind." the woman replied as if she were discouraged.
"Well if you are having trouble navigating around the Seireitei, I could arrange for Byakuya to escort you until you learn your way around." I offered her, "He needs to become more acquainted with the layout of the Seireitei." "At least we'll have each others company while we're finding our way out of the maze." Heather replied. "Well, I need three days to get everything together, so you can, hopefully, learn to find you way by then. How good are you with finding things?" the blonde man inquired. Heather smiled lightly, "I'm a walking map basically. I just have to find things to look out for the first few times going through the area." "Fantastic! I trust you can be here by noon in three days?" He inquired pointing out the main building of his division. "Yeah, I think so." Heather stated uncertainly. "Good, then I'll see you then." the Third Division Captain stated then turned to me, "Pleasure as always, Ginrei." I nodded, "Likewise," I replied. He returned his gaze to his pupil, "Until next time, Heather." "See ya." Heather said her goodbyes nonchalantly, he smiled and turned away.