Welcome!

Thank you all for the attention on this story. Hopefully, you'll send me some more reviews and tell me what you think. This chapter is dedicated to my first reviewer, Aowenn. I hope that you enjoy Tōshirō's first appearance!

List of OCs appearing in the chapter:

Kobashigawa Hinagiku (11th Division)

Tsutsui Tomoka (10th Division)

Kida Rini (11th Division)

Saji Daichi (10th Division)

This story was inspired by a short poem by Julie Martinez:

and if you don't
like me, as i do you;
i understand.

because who would
really choose
a daisy, in a field
of roses?
-Julie Martinez

Chapter 3: Missions assigned

It is dark. When I wake up, I'm greeted by the black void around me. Yet, I know that it isn't a void. It is a space. A space full of things. And, as much as I dislike the darkness, I like the place where I'm in. There is a game that I enjoy playing here.

Finding things.

I go around the blackness, searching for the thing on my mind, and then I find it, by touch and smell and sense. I only find useful things. Paperclips. Information. Paper. Books. Lighters. Chocolate. Strawberries. I don't like useless things. They shouldn't exist. If you have to purpose, then you aren't living, you are simply being there, existing. I like being useful. I need to be useful.

So I find things.

"Come in." The indifferent tone of the 10th Division Captain called Hinagiku into the office and she obeyed. Before sliding the wooden door open, the Shinigami quickly wiped at her lips with her sleeve, taking off the overdone layer of lipstick which her friend had pained her lips in.

"Hitsugaya-dono. Matsumoto-dono." Hinagiku bowed in respect as soon as she entered. "I hope that you've been well."

"She's asleep." Captain Hitsugaya's voice came, still as even as always. Hinagiku looked up, taking his, rather crude, statement as acknowledgment. She spotted the Lieutenant, the busty Rangiku Matsumoto lounging on the comfortable looking couch, dead asleep. In huge contrast, the young Captain was sitting behind his desk, diligently writing, the enormous stacks of paperwork around him rivaling Captain Kyōraku's. "What do you need?" Hitsugaya spoke without looking up from his report. His pen never stopped its scribbling.

"This is the paperwork from Zaraki-taicho. It needs your signature and confirmation before it can be filed." Hinagiku walked forward, extending the two files.

"Due?" The Captain never stopped writing.

"Monday next week, Hitsugaya-dono."

"Taicho." He corrected her, causing Hinagiku's face to burst into flame.

"I meant no disrespect, taicho, it's just the way that-" But, Hinagiku was saved from further embarrassment and trouble with the young, and rather strict, Captain, as his Lieutenant awoke with a gasp. She sat up, staring wildly around the office, halting both Hinagiku's words and Hitsugaya's writing. Then, the busty woman began sniffing the air, finally turning to see the newcomer in the office.

"You!" The sleepy Lieutenant exclaimed, her finger pointing at Hinagiku. The poor girl completely forgot her manners, not used to dealing with someone like Matsumoto. The short officer pointed slowly at herself as well, asking.

"M-me?" Her original Kyoto-ben slipping through the carefully learned grammar and pronunciation.

"You!" Matsumoto now jumped from the couch, hurrying over to the girl, grasping her gently by the shoulders. The Lieutenant took another long sniff, grinning now. "You're wearing Eternal Cherry Fields! That's limited edition!" The busty woman explained and Hinagiku could swear that she heard a crack behind herself. "Where did you get it? I was too late! They sold out." The woman sounded genuinely disappointed.

"A-actually, it's my acquaintance Tsutsui Tomoka who has one." Hinagiku explained. "She insisted on spraying some on me earlier."

"Tsutsui… Tsutsui… That's our Division, no?" When Hinagiku nodded, the Lieutenant seemed even happier. "That's great! I'll just-"

"Matsumoto!" Captain Hitsugaya bellowed from behind Hinagiku, causing her to jump in fright. "If you have time to be worrying about beauty products, you'd better have time to finish last month's paperwork!"

"But, Captain!" The Lieutenant stood up to the fuming man, pouting in displeasure. "I was going to go drinking with Shūhei and Izuru tonight."

"No drinking!" The room temperature had dropped a couple of degrees by then and Hinagiku could feel herself slowly feeling sicker and sicker, like she was going to hurl at any moment. If Captain Hitsugaya didn't control his temper and reiatsu, she probably would. Her fingers were already shaking like leaves on a tree in autumn.

"Alriiiiight." Matsumoto dragged her vowel in clear displeasure, seating herself behind her desk. Hinagiku took that moment to bow to both of them, extremely politely, hoping that she wouldn't incur the wrath of the young Captain. Her head was still pounding from the sheer power that the white haired man emitted.

"If you'll excuse me, Hitsugaya-taicho, Matsumoto-dono." The Shinigami felt her face heat up at the corrected title. "I'll take my leave now." And she scampered towards the door, with as much grace as she could muster, walking slowly backwards and waiting for her dismissal.

"Thank you for bringing these. You're dismissed." The Captain's voice gave her permission to leave, his tone back to its usual monotone. Hinagiku took that opportunity, rushing out the door with another polite bow.

As she quickly found her way back to the place where she's left her waraji, the small Shinigami pondered on the different Captains which she'd had the opportunity to meet. Definitely, it was Hitsugaya-taicho and Matsumoto-fukutaicho that made her the most uncomfortable. It wasn't that they were bad people, far from that. More like, Hinagiku felt like she was intruding on a personal matter whenever she was in their presence.

Of course, they were apart, she was fine with Matsumoto-fukutaicho. The woman was overly enthusiastic and quite perky, even nosy at times. But, Hinagiku's interaction with the high-ranking officer was minimal at best, hence, it wasn't a big problem. Deliver papers, listen to the woman complain, nod along and agree that work is tiresome and troublesome and then excuse yourself.

But, Captain Hitsugaya was a different matter. She had been in the Academy before he had entered, so she remembered the big fuss about the infamous prodigy during her last year. She could recall how Tomoka would drag her to numerous first year classes just so they could 'see' the young man. By their graduation, at which point Hitsugaya had entered advanced and private classes, her friend had memorized his schedule and everything borderline significant about him. It was quite an obsession, which never progressed into any form of a friendship or a companionship, and continued well into Tomoka's later years as an officer.

They had graduated, with Hinagiku choosing the 11th Squad and never fluctuating away from it. Tomoka had, instead, chosen the sixth Squad, under the newly appointed and quite infamous Captain Kuchiki. After that, she had switched to the 13th Squad, and after her short time in the 9th Division, she had then finally settled in the 10th Division, when Hitsugaya had been appointed the 3rd Seat there. Long story short, Tomoka had never stopped obsessing over the young prodigy.

So, whenever Hinagiku looked at or addressed the Captain, she recalled all the borderline intimate details of his life which Tomoka had supplied her with, against her will. To say that she was embarrassed about that was an understatement. She didn't know how to talk to the man. She found herself getting overly flustered and reverting to her embarrassing Kyoto-ben more than often. So, she preferred to deal with Matsumoto-fukutaicho or their 3rd Seat, who was a rather bland man, without much personality.

Hinagiku used a couple of clumsy Shunpo steps to hurry her way to the barracks and entered her room in record time. When she glanced at her clock, she noted the time. It was half past seven. She was doomed, and that was an understatement. Tomoka was always late, so eight usually meant eight thirty in her language, if not more. However, Hinagiku knew that she couldn't afford to use Shunpo in a proper kimono, much less if she wanted to smell like a normal girl, not a Shinigami who has just finished training in the 11th, Ayasegawa Yumichika excluded, as he always smelled amazing.

The shihakushō came off easily, as she was well-practiced in taking it off and putting it back on. She threw her uniform in the basket of dirty laundry and quickly pulled on a light robe. There were going to be no people outside of the dōjō at this time anyways, but she'd rather be on the safe side. After grabbing her bath essentials, Hinagiku hurried out of her shared room and towards the baths.

She was lucky that, despite the lack of women in the 11th Division, they still had a bath for both genders. Stripping completely, the small Shinigami quickly washed herself with a bucket and then dipped into the prepared bath, uncaring that it was rather cold. While she was hurriedly lathering her torso in soap and rubbing it clean, the door to the small room opened and her fellow 11th Division female member entered.

"Kobashigawa." 15th Seat Kida Rini was a slim, tall woman of a gentle, elegant face. She had fiery red hair, cut short due to one of the fighting accidents. You could spot her as easily as you could spot their Lieutenant in the crowd. However, a large contrast to her feminine looks was her speech, which was overly familiar and sometimes even rather masculine. She swore as much as the Captain and she fought as fiercely as their 3rd Seat. But, the rare female officer was a gentle, caring person, with her large family in Rukongai, and considered all unseated members of the Division her precious kōhai. "Oi, that's freaking cold!"

Rini exclaimed when she touched the water, immediately pulling her foot out of the large ofuro. "Sorry, Kida-dono. I was in a hurry, so I didn't bother with the warming up." Hinagiku offered a nod in apology. It was rather hard to stay formal if you were in a bath with someone, after all.

"Well, I'm in no rush." Rini walked out of the small room, and soon enough, Hinagiku felt the water heat up underneath her. "Better, isn't it?" And the 15th Seat undressed herself and began washing her hair with great care for a member of the 11th Division.

"Yes, thank you very much." Hinagiku replied before hurriedly dunking in the water, to wash the sweat and shampoo out of her hair. "I'll change the water for you." She said, exiting the bath and going towards the small mechanism in the corner. It was at times like these that she thanked the Soul King for the brilliance of the 12th Division. The bath at the Kobashigawa residence wasn't a mechanical one, thus needing servants to change water all the time.

"Don't bother." Rini said, stopping her. "You said that you were in a hurry, no?" Hinagiku gave a small nod, standing there, a tad awkwardly. "Then, off with you, Kobashigawa."

"Thank you very much, Kida-dono." And the small Shinigami was off. She couldn't help herself and the thought of inviting the Seated officer to their outing crossed her mind a couple of times on her way to her room, coupled with regret.

It really took her a short time to get ready. Her hair wasn't that long, coming to a little below her ears, and there was no styling required, as it was naturally wavy. Actually, there was no styling possible for it, which had always pissed her Grandmother off. Long or short, her hair had a mind of its own and wouldn't get straightened properly or stand in any bun, even when practically slicked into perfection with gel. So, Hinagiku had given up on styling her hair, instead opting to cut it short enough for it to require less than five minutes on both washing and drying. It was perfect, really.

Hinagiku opened her small wardrobe, as the unseated officers' quarters were quite modest, and rummaged around. She didn't have any clothes from Gense, as she had always gone on those missions with absolute supervision, in and out, no free time. So, the girl only had a couple of formal kimonos to choose from. She really didn't want to dress very formally, in a red and black outfit which her Grandmother had sent her recently, so she opted for a summer yukata with a flower pattern.

The usual time for kimono dressing was anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour, especially when a single person was involved. But, Hinagiku was not just anyone. She had lost count of the number of times which she was forced to dress herself as quickly as possible into a kimono. And, her Grandmother, the strict woman that she was, always demanded perfection.

After rubbing her lotion in, Hinagiku managed to slip into her clothes with some difficulty, as the fabric tended to get stuck on her still moist skin. But, as soon as she tied the obi, she was done. The Shinigami decided to forsake any jewelry or makeup, which Tomoka was undoubtedly going to notice with quite a bit of distaste, to save time.

The petite girl was ready in record time, rushing out of her room. The trip to the 10th Squad barracks was short, as they were much closer to the 11th Division than the rest of them. Hinagiku arrived to the large gates, positioning herself underneath the kanji for ten. She was the first to get there, as usual. The short girl played with the end of her obijime, waiting. She noticed a small flower growing in the middle of two blocks, just next to the gate. She bent down and picked it, smiling. Hinagiku carefully placed it into her hair, making sure that it was secured there properly.

"Hina-chan!~" Tomoka's voice sounded out behind her and the Shinigami turned, facing her friend. The noble was coming over, leading a group of girls with her. As usual, Hinagiku didn't know even one of them. "You look so cute! But, you could've put on at least a bit of makeup, no?" She frowned cutely pouting, her bottom lip outwards. "No worries!~" The girl didn't allow her friend a pause to say anything. "I can fix that in a jiffy!~" And the makeup kit came out of her outfit mysteriously once again.

Hinagiku stood as still as possible as the noblewoman began working on her face. She only coughed once, when the other Shinigami blew on her eyes, so that the excess powder wouldn't get smudged. Next, Tomoka put on some lip-gloss on her friend, smiling as she did.

"There we go!~" The beautiful girl commented, pulling back and grinning wide. "Now, you can be seen with us!~" She giggled, motioning to the rest of the group. "Oh, where are my manners?" Tomoka gave another, rather obnoxious, giggle. "Everyone, this is Hina-chan. Hina-chan, everyone!" And the introductions were officially over.

Hinagiku opted to stay behind the group, listening to the conversation and nodding at appropriate times. Even if she had worn the red kimono, she wouldn't have been overdressed. One of the girls was wearing a formal yukata, in pale turquoise, while her golden, decorated obi was tied in a taiko musubi in the back. Another had on a short, styled kimono, which was obviously ridiculously expensive, Hinagiku could tell, and a very complicated hairstyle. Tomoka stood out the most, though, with her blood red modern dress from Gense and heels, showing off her long legs.

The group of girls headed for the local restaurant, on the Seireitei outskirts, which was quite a popular place for the off-duty Shinigami. It wasn't often that Hinagiku had a chance to go out, but even when she did, this wasn't the place where she went. It was a fancy restaurant, done in wood, with a bar counter. They served everything from sodas, alcoholic drinks, sweets and even lunches. Needless to say, this was Tomoka's favorite place of dwelling, when she wasn't on duty.

The waiter greeted them hospitably, knowing the noblewoman by name and seated the small group of giggling girls into a secluded corner. There, they got menus and began choosing what they wanted. Hinagiku looked through her list, not really finding anything which appealed to her. Sure, she could get a strawberry and caramel sundae, her usual order, but this simply didn't seem like the company to eat that in. They were serious women and she didn't want to appear childish. Now, when the rowdy group from the 12th Division visited the restaurant, then, they usually ordered as many sundaes as she could eat, cheering her on to finish them all.

After around ten minutes of Hinagiku listening to her companions talking about Captain Aizen and how amazing he was, the waiter, thankfully, came back. Tomoka smiled at him, tossing a compliment or two, flirting shamelessly.

"It is very nice to have you, as always, Tsutsui-ojousama." Said handsome waiter, smiling slightly. He seemed only a tad uncomfortable with the attention that the noblewoman was giving him, probably because his superiors wouldn't be too happy if they saw it. Otherwise, judging by the way his eyes wandered up and down Tomoka's dress, which accented all the right places, he was pretty thrilled.

"So, what shall it be girls?~" The black haired Shinigami flashed a smile at her friends, waiting. She didn't order first. Hinagiku knew this situation well. It was quite familiar from their Academy days. Tomoka liked to play this game. She would wait for everyone to order, and then choose the thing which she liked best to repeat as her own preference. Then, the girls would know who her favorite was at that time. Hinagiku once used to be just like these girls, who were smiling at each other, yet thinking of how to best one another with their choice of food or drink.

Luckily, a Jigokuchō appeared, settling on Hinagiku's fingers before her turn to order came. She focused her reiatsu into a point, allowing the message to pass from the black butterfly to her head directly, instead of the words being sounded out loud.

Kobashigawa Hinagiku of the 11th Division please report to your Captain and Lieutenant immediately. You have been assigned a mission. The departure time is set for 600.

The young girl quickly calculated the hours of sleep that she would get. Too little. "Forgive me, Tsutsui-dono, but I must be excused. I have just been assigned a mission." The Shinigami bowed politely to the group of girls, slipping out of the booth and towards the door. The formal geta made it a bit difficult for her to walk, but she managed. Truly, she had been away from home for too long. Shinigami wore comfortable waraji, unlike at her Grandmother's house, where wearing geta was something as normal as wearing underwear. Hinagiku had been glad to trade the big, bulky sandals for simple, straw ones.

Just as the girl was leaving the establishment, her foot slipped in the geta, making her lose her balance. She fell forward. Thankfully, warm, strong arms caught her, straightening her. Hinagiku looked up, meeting kind brown eyes, before looking down once more, her body bending into a formal bow, once she realized who exactly it was that had helped her.

"My apologies, Aizen-dono." The short Shinigami said in a tiny voice, feeling a blush crawl onto her cheeks. There was no denying it. The man was handsome. Not to mention kind. And he was a Captain to top it off. A dream come true.

"It was my pleasure." The man told her, smiling. He was always smiling. His reiatsu was as high as any Captain's, but it wasn't suffocating the unseated Shinigami. No, he was suppressing it just enough so that she could feel its comforting, warm presence. Hinagiku didn't feel sick at all, unlike when she went near her own Captain, who never reined it his reiatsu. "You take care now." Captain Aizen told her, holding the door for her to pass. "Good evening."

"I wish you a pleasant night, Aizen-dono." Hinagiku offered one more bow, before exiting the restaurant as swiftly as possible, given her footwear. The kind Captain seemed more amused by her mishap than anything, and continued on his way. The girl hurried to the nearest corner, where she bent down and slipped her geta and pure white socks off. She couldn't use Shunpo with them properly, not that she could use it very well anyway, and dirtying her socks was not even an option. Here, she did her own laundry, unlike at her Grandmother's house.

As soon as her bare feet touched the cold ground, Hinagiku's posture relaxed. Flat, firm ground was under her soles and she was set. The Shinigami focused her reiatsu on her feet, pushing it into a small, shoe-like shape. Keep calm. Never lose focus of your reiatsu. Think of the place where you want to arrive before you take your step. Imagine yourself speeding up. Imagine your footsteps becoming long. Then, take your step.

Breathe.

Hinagiku recited from the handbook. Then, she stepped.

The small girl flew across the expanse of the street, landing at the corner. She skidded, jumping on one bare foot and made a sound in the back of her throat, expressing pain. Shunpo without any shoes was difficult because it hurt her feet, but it was much more successful than her other attempts. She simply imagined herself wearing shoes. Hinagiku stepped once more and her Shunpo pushed her up onto the roof and then towards the 11th Division barracks.

"So just show this at the gate and off you go." Captain Zaraki handed her a paper, which was crumpled on the edges and had a corner missing. Hinagiku couldn't help but smile at the sight of it, already used to getting her paperwork in damaged form. Her Captain was definitely not the best at keeping track of papers. That was why she did it for him. "While we're still young, Paper. Go kill some Hollow and make us proud."

"I will do my best, Zaraki-dono." Bowed the polite girl, as always, her manners drilled into her from young age.

"Papapuri is leaving!" Yelled out the cheerful Lieutenant, Yachiru, waving away energetically from her spot on the Captain's shoulder. Hinagiku turned, bowing respectively to her as well, before continuing on her journey. She had heard the 3rd Seat Ikkaku and 5th Seat Yumichika talking about how she was the only one in the Squad who was able to treat the Lieutenant with the proper amount of respect, despite the young girl's eccentric nature. And, Hinagiku had blushed with the praise.

Then again, it probably wasn't praise to the 3rd or 5th Seat. But, she was proud of her abilities. If there was one thing that she was glad that she had gotten drilled into her, it was the good manners. Hinagiku couldn't remember when she exactly became two-faced, but she was pretty sure that her acting skills were praiseworthy. She had become able to slip into this perfect, polite, proper lady persona so well when she was young, that it had become her natural demeanor. Now, she didn't know how to let loose anymore. She only knew how to be polite.

That's why she loved the 11th Division and why she stayed there, despite all the protests which she received from her Grandmother. They were rowdy, rude and battle thirsty. And, to top it all, they didn't care about how you addressed them. They only cared about how strong you were. And when it came down to it, under all the quiet, blushing and politeness, Hinagiku had true grit. At least, she liked to believe that she did.

No matter how much it hurt, she didn't give up. No matter how tired she was, she didn't give in. No matter who told her no, she pushed ahead. No matter who doubted her, she believed in her ideals. No matter what, she walked her own path, regardless of her Grandmother's name.

Hinagiku smiled as she left for the gates. She was proud to be a member of the 11th Division, despite the fact that she hadn't managed to rise in ranks. She looked down at the irresponsibly kept paper and read the instructions on it. She would be joining a group of Shinigami from both 11th and 10th Division and heading off to the outskirts of Rukongai. There, there were Hollow to be exterminated.

It wasn't a long journey to the meeting spot, the Western White Way Gate, Hakutōmon, where she was going to wait for the rest of the group. It was the closest Gate to their Division, and their barracks were practically next to it. Hinagiku exited the maze of narrow streets into the main four roads and headed left. In the slowly rising dawn, without any sunlight, yet bright, she could clearly see the humongous Hakutōmon looming at the end of the path. There was a small, black speck near its roots. Obviously, she wasn't the one who would be doing the waiting.

Breathe.

Keep calm. Never lose focus of your reiatsu. Think of the place where you want to arrive before you take your step. Imagine yourself speeding up. Imagine your footsteps becoming long. Then, take your step.

Breathe.

Hinagiku imagined invisible, reiatsu-made slippers over her waraji and stepped forward, her foot hitting the ground harder than the last step. Then, she flew.

It didn't take her too long to cross the distance between her and the group, perhaps a good ten minutes or so. She made sure to slow down at least a kilometer away from the Shinigami, so that she could approach them running, slowly. She didn't want another embarrassment like the day before.

"Hello!" Greeted one of the Shinigami who had been waiting. "My name is Takezoe Kōkichirō, the 7th Seat of 10th Division. I will be the one leading the mission. You are?" He was tall, broad shouldered and dark haired. His face sported a stubble and a thin moustache on his upper lip, but it suited him somehow, making him look rather rugged and manly, unlike their 10th Seat Aramaki Makizō. His eyes were dark, narrowed and stern, despite his friendly tone.

7th Seat? For a Hollow extermination? Why in the world was such a high ranked officer assigned such a job? Something's wrong.

Despite her doubtful thoughts, Hinagiku fixed a smile on her face, bowing respectively to the dark haired man. "Kobashigawa Hinagiku of the 11th Division, it is a pleasure to be working with you, sir." The 7th Seat seemed surprised by gentle and calm demeanor. Hinagiku was used to that. The 11th Squad was well known for their rambunctious behavior.

"Alright, Kobashigawa-san." Kōkichirō spoke, having collected himself. "We have a nine men cell, which will be divided into three three men cells for this mission. You will be assigned to Group 2, along with Nakajima Hideki and Saji Daichi of the 10th Division." He pointed out the Shinigami standing a little ways off, looking mighty nervous. "Get acquainted, we leave as soon as everyone gets here."

"Thank you very much, Takezoe-dono." And with another bow, which brought even more shock to the 7th Seat, Hinagiku walked over to the anxious Shinigami. He looked young, and not in the sense of age. She, too, looked young, barely a teenager, yet she was well over fifty, courtesy of her nature as a Soul. But this Shinigami, he was green. Obviously, new to the job.

Hinagiku would know. She wasn't an expert in sensing reiatsu or determining one's strength based on it. No. It was through her years as a Shinigami officer that she simply knew who was new. They all tended to be a tad anxious or overly confident, a little green in the face and sweating profusely before their first mission as a proper Shinigami. This boy in front of her, he was no exception.

"Good morning." Greeted the girl, bowing to the young man. He jumped a bit, turning to focus his green eyes on her. His hair was dark, messy and stood almost against the gravity. His face was young, gentle and he looked ready to faint. "My name is Kobashigawa Hinagiku from the 11th Division, I'm looking forward to working with you."

"S-Saji Daichi, 10th Squad." He stammered in a high, nervous pitch. "I-It's a pleasure to meet you." Hinagiku offered him a comforting smile and nod, and then a small silence ensued. He seemed rather uncomfortable, switching his weight from one to the other leg and fiddling with his fingers nervously. Then, Saji spoke again. "T-this is m-my first mission. I'm a-a bit n-nervous." And he chuckled awkwardly.

"Don't worry, Saji-dono." Hinagiku offered him a soothing smile. "This is a routine Hollow extermination mission. There are more than enough of us and we will be well organized. Plus, we have 7th Seat Takezoe-dono with us. Surely, you don't need to be that worried."

"Y-you're right, Kobashigawa-san." Stammered the nervous Shinigami. "Besides, I will have you in my group to protect me if we get in a bind. The 11th Division is strong, after all."

"Of course." Promised Hinagiku. "I will protect you."

She had been too naïve.

That's all folks!

A little info from the chapter:

Terminology:

Ojousama-young Lady

Obi-the part of a kimono which goes around the waist

Taiko musubi-way of tying an obi

Yukata-type of a casual summer kimono

Obijime-string used to tie an obi

Kanji-Japanese letters which were brought from China

Bowing (you'll notice that Hinagiku uses the 30 and 45 always, meaning that she's overly polite):

Nod-when you're interacting with people you know very well, such as a friends or relatives

Fifteen degrees-an acquaintance of equal business or social rank

Thirty degrees-sitting in a semi-formal situation and want to show a moderate level of gratitude or respect

Forty-five degrees-interacting with someone who is higher-ranking or has some sort of power over you

Seventy degrees-it conveys profound respect or regret. Outside of religious uses, it's almost entirely reserved for dramatic apologies or audiences with the emperor.

Some other info:

I own a proper kimono and it takes me around an hour to put everything in its proper place xD

To my precious first reviewer Guest: Aowenn. Here's your reply:

Thank you so much for being my first reviewer. I can't tell you how happy I am that you sent me a couple of words :D Hopefully, you will enjoy the plans which I've got for Hinagiku and Tōshirō :) And thank you so much for liking my writing style. I've worked very hard to come to where I am right now, writing-wise. I hope that my technicalities in the story won't turn you away from it, it's just the manager in me being anal about stuff xD

Regarding Hina and her Zanpakutō.. well.. We'll see about that.. xD I really can't promise anything. She will not become too much of a powerhouse, though. She is just a regular Shinigami.

I hope to hear from you again soon!

Thank you all for reading!

All the best :)