CHAPTER 8: RECRUITMENT DRIVE

Tayomi stared at the drawing shoved up in her face. It was Rukia's proposal for the recruitment drive's brochure. Being the 4th Seat, she had been put in charge of publicity for the 13th Division. Their Division was relatively popular as their Captain was a disciple of Captain-commander Yanamoto and many graduates would be interested in their Division. Nevertheless, Tayomi intended to increase their popularity even more. Under Captain Ukitake's orders, she was to handle all sorts of things, like posters and brochures. In addition, she was helping out 3rd Seat Miyako and Lieutenant Kaien with logistics, assisting them and dividing their Division into groups to bring the Spiritual Arts Academy's graduates around, as well as providing them with information about the 13th Division.

Rukia had decorated the cover with bunnies, her favourite Chappy. Captain Ukitake, Lieutenant Kaien, 3rd Seat Miyako and her had been turned into bunnies. Bunny Ukitake was wearing the Captain's haori and looked a little hilarious, but it was rather adorable. She had received worse entries, like a group of Shinigami fighting or a candid picture of Captain Ukitake on the cover. Though Rukia's drawing was strange, her entry was definitely much better compared to the other entries she received. Tayomi nodded happily and told Rukia that she would use her drawing. Rukia's face lit up with a smile and she bounced out of Tayomi's office excitedly, telling her that she would draw more brochures and pass them to her three days before the recruitment drive. Tayomi sighed and returned to her paperwork. Now that the brochures were sort of settled, she had to decide on the information to include in it, as well as the posters. 3rd Seat Miyako had helped her settle the drawings on the posters and they would be writing the brochures together, along with Kaien. The week ahead was sure to be packed. She expected herself to be working through the night these few days and wondered if she would have time to meet Hitsugaya. She continued drafting out the brochure's contents and the poster's caption. Just then, she heard someone knock on the door and told whoever it was that they could enter. She looked up and saw a white-haired boy enter her office. Her heartbeat immediately picked up in speed as she rushed forward to greet him.

"SUSU-CHAN!"

She threw her arms around him and hugged him excitedly, sending both of them to the floor. Tayomi could not stop giggling, as they had not seen each other in days. The recruitment drive had kept them so busy that they had met less often. She had not spoken to him in days and missed him dearly. Smiling, she ran her fingers through his hair and laughed happily as she did so. Hitsugaya stared at her blankly for a moment, considering the possibility that she had gone insane, before he smiled as well. He had not seen her face for days and had finished his work quickly in order to look for her. Placing his arms around the waist, with both of them still lying on the floor and Tayomi on top of him, he pushed her head towards his face, kissing her on the lips. Tayomi was surprised, her eyes wide in shock, never expecting him to do that. She stayed there, stunned for a moment before giggling again. She rested her head beside his, over Hitsugaya's shoulder. Suddenly, she realised that she was practically sniffing the floor.

"The floor smells strange." She gasped.

"No one told you to smell it…" Hitsugaya sighed.

"No… But you see, in this position, when I breathe, it's equivalent to sniffing the floor…"

"… You can be so dumb sometimes."

Tayomi got up immediately, followed by Hitsugaya. "Thanks… I know that."

"You aren't mad, are you?" Hitsugaya was worried that she was offended.

"No, of course not! I need to continue doing work now…" Tayomi smiled and walked him out of the door. "So… Bye bye!"

As he watched her return to her Division's barracks, he smiled. Yeah, she can be really dumb sometimes…

At last, the day for the recruitment drive came. After rushing through everything and furiously writing the brochures for three days and three nights, everything was ready. Tayomi, Miyako and Kaien had worked very hard for that day. The Gotei 13's headquarters were bustling with people, both Shinigami and fresh graduates from the Spiritual Arts Academy. Tayomi smiled as she recounted the time when she was one of them, happily dragging Hitsugaya around to take a look at all 13 Divisions, before she made up her mind to join the 4th Division. She looked at their excited faces, bright and full of life. As she had expected, many of them had visited the 13th Division, excited to see Captain Ukitake. Lieutenant Kaien had some supporters as well, many graduates had come to see the Division that the prodigy had joined and wanted to meet him in person. Unexpectedly, she had a few fans visiting the 13th Division's barracks and looking around, wanting to meet the Kidou prodigy that Soul Society had been blessed with. When she came out, she heard a few girls squeal and some boys gasp, before running up to her and bombarding her with questions about the 13th Division. She simply smiled and answered all of their burning questions.

"How is life in the 13th Division?" A girl asked her.

"It's fun… We get sent on missions and protect the inhabitants of Rukongai, protect towns… It's a fulfilling job."

"How's the atmosphere in the 13th Division?"

"It's really nice," Tayomi laughed. "Everyone around here is really friendly and willing to help. Captain Ukitake and Lieutenant Kaien always look after their comrades. The atmosphere around here is warm and everyone is really close."

"Is the 13th Division looking for a certain type of recruit to join? Like for the 11th Division, they seek strong fighters…" A boy asked her.

"No… As long as you're going to serve Soul Society with a willing and honest heart, taking it upon you to protect those you want to protect, you will definitely be welcome to join our Division!"

The eager graduates smiled happily and thanked her. Tayomi gave a sigh of satisfaction, glad that the day was almost over. So far, the whole day had gone smoothly, without a slip. The recruitment drive had proceeded flawlessly, with many graduates entering the Division's barracks, full of vigour and curiosity. The members of the 13th Division answered their questions, introducing the seated Shingami of their Division. The graduates seemed happy, their eyes burning with life. They were all in awe of Captain Ukitake, Kaien and Miyako. Before she knew it, the sun was getting prepared to set and all the graduates left the Gotei 13 headquarters, having the Division they intended to join in mind. The 13th Division cleaned up and returned their Division's barracks back to its original appearance, the atmosphere full of warmth again. The 13th Division had increased in popularity this year and Captain Ukitake was happy to see so many graduates interested in his Division. He praised his Division on a job well-done and like the other Captains, let their Division take a break for the rest of the night. Tayomi was exhausted, but still decided to visit Hitsugaya. She took a short walk down to the 10th Division barracks and walked into his office. She saw him clearing his desk, putting aside all his paperwork and grabbing his Zanpakutou, about to leave. He headed for the door and saw her, already in his office. The both of them walked out of the 10th Division's barracks, holding hands once they were out of the door.

They sat on the tree in the Gotei 13's garden, after a bit of trouble climbing up. Hitsugaya had to pull her up the tree branch and they sat together, sharing bits of their experiences in the recruitment drive. Both of them blushed when they realised that they both had fans coming to their Divisions' barracks to search them out. Tayomi wrapped her arm around Hitsugaya's arm, leaning on his shoulder.

"Were most of them boys?" Hitsugaya asked, aware of the fact that most Shinigami were male.

"Yeah…" Tayomi nodded.

"Did they try anything funny with you?"

"Hm…" Tayomi grinned. "If I said yes, what would you do?"

"Beat them up." Hitsugaya spoke seriously, making her laugh.

"No one did that… Of course they wouldn't dare to provoke me!" Tayomi giggled. "Your response was really cute though…"

Hitsugaya looked at her seriously for a brief moment, before speaking. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

Tayomi blinked at him, clearly touched by his words. She tightened her grip around his arm, closing her eyes.

"I won't let anyone hurt you either…" She smiled.

Realising that it was late and Tayomi was ridden with fatigue, Hitsugaya decided to call it a day and they both hopped down onto the ground. He had his arm around her on the cold night, walking her all the way back to her Division's barracks. After kissing her goodnight and watching her walk into her Division's barracks, he turned and headed towards his Division's barracks for a good night's rest, smiling to himself.

Author's Note:
YAY :D I had no idea what else they could possibly do on a recruitment drive, honestly XD I hope you all liked this chapter! Next chapter, Tayomi gets a shocking piece of news, which is both good and bad... Stay tuned to find out and please continue reviewing! ^.^ Thanks!