Soul Society, the innermost Rukon District
Of all the districts in the Rukongai, the first had suffered the least in regards to the wrath of the Shinigami when they turned the tides of the notorious Rukon Rebellions, where Pluses seeking to improve their lot revolted against the rule of the Shinigami. Junrinian was the closest district to the Seireitei, and as such, had served as somewhat of a base to the Shinigami, to whom many of the districts residents were kindly disposed.
As such, there were a great deal many drinking bars and, if you went into one of the lesser known operating near the edge of the district, you would almost always be guaranteed to find a certain Shinigami drinking there, the stench of drink clinging to him like his own unshaven facial hair. The name of this man was Sakamoto Koike… Were he in the human world, one might have put his age in to his early 20s, with a face that could have once been considered handsome, were it not for the lank, greasy hair framing it, with deep, dark rings suggesting a severe lack of sleep, and the rough scar that ran across his forehead.
Even though he was clearly a Shinigami, another word people could have easily used to describe him was bum, and as such, people were more than happy to stay out of his way, leaving him sitting in the corner of the building, occasionally getting up from the small table to stumble across to the bar, perpetuating his drunken state with increasing amounts of sake. However, were one to actually pay attention to him, they might notice a certain something about him… an certain air about him that implied a greater depth than just a simple drunk, a feeling of sadness almost. It was as if he had taken the phrase "Drinking away your sorrows" deeply to heart, and that he did with aplomb.
It was then that the woman entered the bar, throwing open the rather delicate doors with considerable force. The lady in question was rather striking, for example, she was very tall, standing slightly higher than most men, an had a somewhat angular face, with swept back hair cascading down her back, the blueish silver hue glimmering in the dim light. But the most noticeable thing one would notice about her was the white haori she wore over the standard garb of a Shinigami, signifying her as a captain of the Gotei 13. Piercing brown eyes swept the room, and landed on the drunken Sakamoto, as he made his way shakily to the bar once more. Seemingly having found what she was looking for, she made her way to the bar, positioning herself in front of the shambling drunk.
Mio Kohaku was the newly appointed captain of the 10th Division, and understandably, was somewhat annoyed to find that member of the squad had been missing when she had addressed the division for the first time. Her interest had been piqued when she had asked about this Sakamoto… people seemed careful, nervous even when speaking of him; almost as if they were attempting to protect him. This image however, was not what she would have thought when seeing the selfsame man in the flesh… surely her own squad members weren't this protective of a simple drunkard? Clearing her mind, she cleared her throat noticeably.
"I assume you are Sakamoto Koike?" She asked, a serious tone to her voice. Sakamoto however, did not registed the tone, and was stirred from his semi-conscious state.
"Huh?" he muttered, looking up from the empty sake cup and, hidden depths or not, he was utterly drunk…. So drunk in fact, that he didn't even notice the captain's haori that Mio wore. As such, he acted as the majority of drunks would when faced with a woman. "*Hic* Hey there beautiful, wanna have shum fun?"
To the others in the bar, it happened in an instant, the only warning being Sakamoto begin to move his arm towards his face. Then he went flying, blood streaming from his nose, crashing through the wall of the establishment, and smashed into the dusty ground outside, unconscious. Silence engulfed the bar; it was rare to see such a direct show of a captain's strength, more so in recent times of peace. Jumping lightly after him, Mio grabbed him by the color of his hakama, pausing only to offer the barkeeper compensation for the hole in his wall, then setting off, dragging the inert form of Sakamoto through the streets, heading towards the Seireitei.
The Squad 10 Barracks
Mio collapsed into the comfortable leather chair she had placed by her desk. Somehow, after dragging that oaf Sakamoto back to the barracks, she had no desire to be confronted with masses of paperwork. Life as a captain was surely proving to be more difficult, and fairly different than what she had been expecting.
She leant back, her mind going over the events of earlier that day. That Sakamoto, even though he appeared to be a drunken oaf, there was something more to him, she knew it. First of all, how the others seemed to clam up when talking about him, saying as infuriatingly little as possible about him. Angrily, she cursed to herself, she was captain as if she didn't have a right to know about her squad, what right did they have to keep her from knowing?! As if she didn't have enough to worry about thanks to the worrying reports she had been getting recently without having to worry about stability in her new squad.
And then there was that other matter. Back in the bar, her punch had undoubtedly been effective, no wasted motion, a clean strike to his nose, however, at their respective levels, not to mention how incredibly drunk he had been, Sakamoto shouldn't have even seen her attack coming, let alone begin to react to it. And yet, defying all plausibility, he had attempted to block.
Yes… she decided, looking through her papers, there was something undoubtedly strange about Sakamoto… and she would find out what.
Alright, that's the next chapter up, hope you enjoy
I would write a longer AN, but its nearly midnight here, as such G'night