Hey! Have a good day! Enjoy!

Isane watched the sleeping girl for a few minutes. She had rolled onto her side at some point during the night, back facing the door. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. It was early even for her. She had no idea why Captain wanted to start this early.

She rubbed her right eye again. Slowly walking up to the bed.

"Hey." Her other hand reached out to shake the girl. "Hey. Wake up please?"

The brunette groaned, swatting away the hand. Isane flinched back, putting both hands up.

"Err…" The Lieutenant looked around. Only a few of the older nurses were there, setting up for the day. If she didn't wake her up, Restu would be so pissed. "Alright. Not today!"

She tilted her head, cracking her neck. Both hands gripped the bed sheet, ripping it off the bed. The girl jumped, yelling in fright.

"What's going on! What happened? Where am I?"/

"Welcome to the Fourth Gotei." Isane spoke as she helped the girl to her feet. She removed the IV with a gentle touch and placed a bandage on it. "I'll take you to Captain's office."

The girl slowly took steps behind the grey-haired woman. She noticed the wooden plaque wrapped around her arm. From the few glances she got, she could see the kanji for the number 4 and a flower. It was really simple so she couldn't tell what it was.

"Um… excuse me?" Isane glanced over her shoulder. "What's your name?"

The Lieutenant tripped over her feet. Falling to her hands and knees. Hezza gasped and ran forward, helping her up.

"Heh heh heh." The older woman took the offered hand and stood up. Dusting off her robes. "My name is Kotetsu Isane. I'm the Lieutenant of this Division." They continued down the long hallway. "We at the Fourth specialize in the medical field and cleaning the sewers. Among a few other things."

"That's like… the total opposite of each other…"

Isane gave another nervous chuckle and stopped in front of a set of doors.

"Well." She knocked on them, announcing who it was before opening them. "It works for us."

The tall woman showed the girl in. Leading her to the large mahogany desk set in the far back of the room. The brunette was a little slower, looking at all of the books lining the shelves. It seemed to be every medical book you could think of. Of every different color. There were even a few scrolls tucked away every so often. Tied up with bright ribbons and threads.

"Ah. Thank you for bringing her here." Retsu had set down the ink brush she was using. Full attention on the pair of women. "Good morning, Hezza. I hope it's not too early for you."

Hezza was going to retort that yes, it was indeed much too early for her likes, but the subtle flinch from Isane told her to not say so. She studied the older woman before her. There was a certain… restrained darkness to her that she did not know what to think about. Best to stay on her good side and not say anything sarcastic.

"Um. Nope. No problem at all… Captain Retsu."

Her grin widened. Satisfied with the girl's answer.

"Perfect." She looked over to Isane, dismissing her. "Thank you for the help. If you don't mind getting the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho started for shift change."

"Of course, Captain Retsu."

Hezza picked up on the way this Retsu lady spoke. While she had a soft voice, there was something about the way she spoke that would leave little room to argue. Her word was final. Once the grey-haired lady, Isane, left the Captain turned her attention to Hezza.

She waved a hand, motioning for the girl to sit in one of the chairs in front of her. A blue leather-bound book was pushed to the center. Making a soft 'shh' sound as it slid against the highly polished wood surface. If Hezza dared to look anywhere but the woman on the other side of it, she could probably see her reflection against the grain.

"This will be your study materials for the next month or so. It's my own personal copy so please don't lose it."

"Yes, Captain Retsu."

The Fourth Captain nodded, her hand gracefully picking up the brush again. She dipped it in the ink well, expertly signing her stamp of approval on a stapled packet.

"I would like you to memorize the enchantments for the first ten Bakudō. By the end of the week I will test you on them. Next week will be Hadō. Then depending on how those go we'll go over a few barriers and a little bit of Kaido. And of course, with Kaido we'll touch on anatomy. You will also be expected to help around our barracks here and the medical ward."

Hezza nodded along, storing the information for later. There were a few questions on the top of her tongue. But at the rate she was talking there was no room to ask. At least not yet. The black-haired woman paid her no mind as she switched to a pen, quickly scratching down notes on a pad of paper.

"Now. Do you remember how you healed the patient's wound?"

Hezza shook her head, lacing her fingers together out of Retsu's sight. Or else her thumb would worry her palm.

"No. All I remember is a cold feeling being pulled from, like, my stomach. I could feel whatever it was around me and how it was going from the doctors to the injured guys." She held up her now untied hands just under the desk, flexing them. She had gripped them together too hard it was getting painful. "It just flowed out I guess."

"That cold feeling you felt was what we call Reiatsu. I'll go over what that is at a later date." She had seen the confused look on the girl's face. Retsu tapped her pen on the desk and then wrote a few characters on a new piece of paper. "We'll have you meditate for an hour after each meal and then for a little bit before bed alright?" Hezza nodded. "Good. Why don't you go outside and get some fresh air while you read? You seem to be completely healed now so you should have no issues getting around?"

Hezza flashed her a giant smile while picking up the book. Time to see what her new 'Earth' looked like.

"Thank you for the help, Captain Retsu!"

She waved the girl off, switching back to the brush.

"Come back after breakfast and we'll get you a shower and a new set of clothes."

The girl stood still for a few moments. Eyebrows knitting together. Just how early had she woken her up?

"Um. What time will that be?"

Retsu looked up, head tilted. Ah. Right. The girl was new here.

"Breakfast normally starts at 0700, lunch around 1200, and dinner around 1800. If you miss the times or are still hungry the kitchen will be able to provide you with snacks."

The brunette nodded again, smiling her thanks.

"I'll be back around 0800 then. See ya then!"

Retsu watched silently as the girl left out of her office. Presumably to try and find the doors that lead to the outside. She kept track of her Reiatsu only until she stepped outside the Medical Ward. It was leaking out everywhere. They would have to work on that. The Gotei Captain leaned back in her chair, tapping the brush against the ceramic ink well. The poor girl really did not have any clothes or any possessions here. It sure was a shame that she only had that dirty dress to wear.

She would look cute in that one kimono…

With her mind made up, she dropped the brush and stood. There was a slight spring in her step as she walked out of her office. Scouting for an unsuspecting victim.

"Ah." Perfect, he would work. "Hanataro dear, come with me."

The frightened boy jumped at his name being called. Slowly turning to see his Captain sweeping down the hallway.

"Ye-yes Captain." He nervously trailed after the slightly taller woman as she left out of the Fourth Barracks. She gave him no hints as to where they were heading but he was kind of glad to not have to clean the sewers today. Even he could get tired of the repeat cleanings when he was one of the few to take it seriously.

The brunette had already flipped open the book, reading the first page. She nodded to herself, whispering the words. Every few sentences she would close the book, using her finger as a bookmark to mark her page. She would mouth the words to the spells while walking forward. Book firmly grasped in her hands.

She walked along with a slight amount of confidence. No set destination in mind as she really did not know the layout of this area, let alone the world. She turned down different alleyways, sometimes landing right back where she started. It was frustrating to see the same spot a few times, but she started to go down other ways.

And while she was mostly concentrating on the words on the pages, she would stop and stare. At the shops and trees. Reading the signs and billboards proudly displayed in front of the store fronts. At the people...

'No. I guess these aren't really people. Not like… the human world.' She closed the book fully, using both hands to clutch it to her chest. Her back met the rough siding of one of the tall walls that seemed to be everywhere. 'That one guy said they were… Shina… Shinigami.'

"Gods of Death." She mumbled, sliding down the wall, coming to crouch on the dirt road.

A small, emotionless laugh escaped from her mouth. She just wanted a nice vacation. Far away from where she had been stuck forever it seemed. Something different to be able to feel something. She had been stagnant for the past few years. School, work, sleep, repeat. Nothing exciting. Nothing that sparked her interest since it all started going downhill.

A group of three black robe clad…

(People? She would still call them people. What else could she call them? Souls? Well… yeah. Maybe they were just Souls.)

…people passed her. Not even giving her another look. Their voices started to draw her out of the dark hole she was digging in her mind. Consuming her every thought. She shook her head, loose grip tightening on the book. It had almost slipped out of her hands.

'I'm not sure how this all happened but I'll be damned if I waste it.'

She stood up, back straining.

'I'll overcome everything that comes in my way.' She nodded to herself, flipping open the pages to where she left off. 'I will not let this be a repeat of my last life.'

"Nemu!"

"Yes, Master Mayuri." The tall, thin woman appeared behind the costumed man. Hands folded in front of her. A politely bored look on her face.

"Let's go turn around our intruder before they wander into one of the labs." He said nothing more and put down the tablet as it chimed again. Notifications of an intruder tripping some cameras in their eastern quarters.

The woman named Nemu nodded while trailing behind the slightly taller Shinigami Captain. His haori billowed out, brushing against her legs.

The man bit his thumbnail. Just for a few seconds. It was a bad habit he had in private. When he was comfortable enough that is.

Nemu glanced around his shoulders. Noticing that he was chewing on the nail. She was going to say something, but the last torturous experiment was still fresh on her mind. So instead she kept her hands clasped in front of her, lips pressed together. Eyes lowered to the ground as she trailed silently after him.

It was a few steps ago that the girl had crossed into the new Division. Only a handful had paused to look at her. In the Rukongai, it was natural to wear the plain short kimonos. There were not many that wore what she had on past the walls into the Seireitei. They usually didn't last too long if they could help it. Usually they wanted to get back to the human world as quickly as they could. If they remembered. Some where also content to stay in the Soul Society.

And so absorbed in her book she did not notice the pair of Shinigami that appeared in front of her. Effectively blocking the black forward. She had closed her eyes, again using her finger to mark her spot. And in the next step forward she ran into something slightly yielding, falling back on her ass.

"Ouch!"

She used only one hand to prop herself up, the other clutching the book close to her chest. Head tilting back with eyes narrowed. She gasped, taking in the person in front of her. Golden eyes pinning her to the ground as they looked down his nose.

"Who are you?"

It was a simple enough question, but the girl seemed to have trouble answering it.

"Ah… Hezza… sir." The 'sir' was tacked on as an afterthought. The white overcoat was somewhat familiar. Where had she seen it before?

"Why are you here?" The man's head tilted. Predatory eyes narrowing as he spotted the book in her grasp. She didn't even try to get up when the attention shifted from her. He would probably attack her if she attempted to get up without his permission.

"I'm not exactly sure where I am, sir." The hand with the book relaxed, coming to rest on her outstretched legs.

The man stooped down, plucking the blue book out of her possession. He went through it carefully, noting the craftsmanship that went into it. The girl was trying to speak up but the tall woman behind the Captain shot her a look that said not to say anything until spoken to. Unless she wanted to really feel pain.

"This is Unohana Retsu's work, yes?" He held it up at an angle in his right hand. "Her notes on Kido and Kaido?"

The brunette nodded, finally being able to move to a kneeling position. The weight of the air had lifted significantly. Which she would only ponder on later when she was out of their stifling presence. Right now, her fight or flight responses were screaming at her to get away, but her body was not responding.

"I believe so, sir. She told me to study the first ten on the list." There had been no name or title on the book as far as she could see. And the words did look to be handwritten.

The man nodded to himself, flipping to the first page.

"Have you learned any of them yet?"

"Yes! I think I can do the first one, sir."

"Nemu?"

The silent woman stepped forward, a blank look on her face.

"Yes, Master Mayuri?"

The odd and terrifying man, Mayuri, gestured between them.

"Try it on her."

Hezza's eyes widened. Nerves setting in. Stomach flipping. Could she really do it?

"Are-are you sure? I don't want to hurt her."

The Captain rolled his eyes, stepping back out of the way.

"She was created to be stronger than most. She won't break so easily."

"I'll be fine." The tone of voice coming out of her was much different than what the girl thought it was going to be. It was even, no fear at all.

Hezza bit her lip while slowly getting to her feet.

"If you're sure?"

They both nodded. Mayuri was getting impatient. Tapping his foot.

"If you don't hurry up, I'm going to use you for experiments." He mirrored the pose that was in the book at Hezza. "Point your fingers towards your target, recite the words, and convert your Reiryoku to Reiatsu."

"Fucking hell." Hezza whispered, squaring up her shoulders. She pointed towards Nemu. Rattling off the incantation. "Bakudo #1: Sai!"

There was a small wave of Reiatsu that flowed out from her. Nemu's arms contorted behind her, locking in place. Mayuri walked around his creation. Taking mental notes of how they both performed. He nodded once, touching a single finger to Nemu's wrists.

She dropped her arms to the side, letting them hang there. Hezza glanced down and saw that there were thin red lines circling around her wrists. A concerned look crossed her face before Mayuri snapped her out of her thoughts.

"A decent attempt for your first try. Next time put a more power behind it to make it stronger."

"Yes, Captain Mayuri. I will practice more."

He nodded, eyes blinking slowly. His arm extended out, book in hand. Hezza took it back, stepping back once.

"Don't wander too far from the Fourth. I won't be so lenient next time." He had turned his back to the girl, raising a hand in leaving. "Sayonara."

The brunette could only watch the two leave. Still rooted in place by the lingering Spiritual Pressure of the Captain. It was kind of… toxic. There was a tinge of bitterness left in the back of her throat. She caught a glance of the number Twelve on the back of Mayuri's haori.

'Definitely would not want to be on his bad side.' She thought to herself. Finally able to move once they were completely out of view. She cleared her throat, covering it with her empty hand. In halting, jagged movements. 'Who knows what he would do if I pissed him off.'

Her body shook off the last paralysis in her system. Book pushing into her chest as her arms constricted tighter. Trying to hold herself together. She nodded to herself and ran off towards the Fourth. If the chiming of the far away bells were anything to go off of, it was getting close to breakfast time. Her stomach protested loudly against spending another hour without food. She turned on her heel, stepping out of the creepy Division.

Half of the food hall fell silent as the brunette girl walked in. The other half wasn't particularly bothered. She stood in the doorway for a second before hugging the wall, trying to keep out of every one's way. There were some scary people here even if they were supposed to be the healing, peaceful group. Everyone ignored her a few seconds after she appeared. Apparently not interesting enough to keep their attention.

She joined the food line. Shifting from foot to foot, fingers tapping against plastic trying to keep her nerves down. The book was still prominent. Peeking out from the fold of the lavender colored kimono. She slipped it in her top so she could have both hands free. Which were now clutching onto a red plastic tray, filled with food.

The kitchen worker behind the metal serving tables had given her a wink and passed her an extra portion of the main meal. It seemed they knew that she had not eaten much in the last 24 hours. She quietly thanked them after her stomach made itself known once again.

"Oi!"

Hezza flinched, nearly dropping her tray.

"Careful now." A slightly taller blonde man appeared at her side, evening out her tray before she lost her food. "Come sit with me."

Hezza couldn't say anything as he led her towards an empty table. He sat, motioning for her to do the same. She took a deep breath and then placed the tray on the tabletop, sliding into the seat. Her ankles crossed, pulling them under herself.

"Thank you."/

He nodded, pushing up his sunglasses with a single finger.

"You're welcome." He pulled out a small black notebook and pen. It looked well-worn in. "You're new here?"

The brunette had eagerly taken a huge bite of the curry, eyes widening. She used the napkin to cover her mouth as she chewed furiously.

"Yeah. Um. I died yesterday." A thin flippant hand waved off the comment while she pulled out the book from her top. "I need to learn a few Kido spells before the week is over."

The man wrote a few things in his book. Engrossed in it.

"I see." He jumped in his seat, looking up to the girl as she ate. "My name is Yasochika Iemura. Third seat of the great Fourth Gotei."

Iemura had a pleased grin on his face when he saw that she slowed the shoveling of food into her mouth. He had grabbed her attention with his high seat in the officer rankings. It was only natural that she would be impressed. She swallowed the mouth full of rice. Tapping the white napkin to her lips.

"Ah! So, you're… three spots under Isane?"

The tension between them could be cut with a knife. Hezza, not sure what she said wrong, tilted her head.

"No." He pushed his sunglasses up again. "I'm directly after Lieutenant Isane."

"Oh… sorry." She gave him a polite, nervous smile. Not missing the emphasis he put on her title. "I guess I don't know the ranks just yet."

He sighed before setting down his notebook. Iemura flipped to a clean page. Furiously scribbling down something that she couldn't see.

"In the Gotei, our ranks are as followed." He turned the black book around, pointing to the top name. "The one in charge over all of the 13 Court Guard is the Captain-Commander. That position is currently occupied by Commander Yamamoto. He also serves as the Captain for the First Division. He is helped by his Lieutenant Sasakibe Chōjirō Tadaoki. Next in rank would be their Third to Twentieth Seats."

"I see, I see." She nodded, studying the list of positions.

"The seated officers are called Sekikan. They get a decent amount of salary depending on their rank. In our Division the Sekikan is also in charge of our 14 Relief Teams. Many of the Shinigami here are exceptional in Kido and Kaido. So, we sort them into different teams based off of their abilities."

"Okay." She seemed to be getting a second wind. "I can learn all of this!"

The Third Seat watched as she devoured the rest of her meal. He was impressed at how much food she could put away. And how quickly. He could feel her minuscule amount of Spiritual Pressure build as she finished. He wondered just how much it could grow if she had proper training.

He offered a few words of encouragement as she jumped up from her seat and ran off to take care of her plates. Book quickly tucked into the top of her kimono. Right now, she needed to find Retsu to get a shower. She felt so gross.

What do you like? Mix of japanese? All english?