[BSD-RP] Soul Society: Northeast Seireitei

[BSD]

He could feel their concern for him as he entered the office, their bewildering stares lingering in his memory. While Emi was rather good at concealing her true emotion, the Captain instantly knew Junko would have much to ask.
"Captain..."
To a degree he had felt sorry for her, leaving her to lead the relief station alone without warning as he selfishly sheltered himself in isolation and Omoni venturing out on a personal trip. Yet even by treating her harshly, she had still sought out to comfort Yū, her pacifying reiatsu effect filling the room with warmth. While the action would be appreciated in reflection, Yū’s pain ran deeper and would need more than comfort and plain motivation to rebuild the man he once was… if he even wished to be the same person, that is.
He wastes no time upon seeing Junko’s curious-filled expression, proceeding on to answer her anticipated questions.
“There’s a lot for me to discuss with you all… and it woulda’ been extra nice if I was able to grab Lieutenant Hageshi in here too. Turns out she has plans with the other lieutenants already and I didn’t think it’d be sensible to mess up Lieutenant Oki’s arranged meeting because… well, you know.
Yū’s hands scramble to arrange the multitude of pages before him as he speaks, seeking the bullet point list of topics he would need on hand to ensure every point he wished to speak about was addressed. He realizes there’s no easy way to start off this update, as the list seems to go on and on, becoming more daunting the further down he reads. Instead of relying on the agenda, Yū clears his throat and decides to go off script as improvising has always seemed to work out for him before.
“So, as you can tell, things here have uhhh… changed.”
“I won’t get too far into details that don’t involve us specifically and it’s already public knowledge anyway so whatever other questions you may have about that… your guess is as good as mine.”
He joins his hands together at the center of the table, interlocking his fingers and resting them down on the desk. They squirm a little as he forms a tight grasp, fiddling around in his seat as he processes what to say next. Yū lowers his head as his tangled hair shields his face, now prepared to reveal his confession.
“However… I have been hiding something. I didn’t really know how exactly I was going to bring it up and uhhh… when exactly I was going to implement this change. That’d be the reason why you guys haven’t seen me much the past few days…”
His shoulders rise and fall as he releases a deep sigh.
“Basically… before Commander Murasaki’s sentence began, he issued new orders for our division. Instead of just having all of us holed up in the relief station all day, by his order the Fourth Division is now going to also start serving as a first response for all assignments outside of the Seireitei.”
A heavy silence lingers as he takes a brief pause. None of them had signed up for this, yet the Captain felt guilty firsthand at inadvertently causing this change. While he was brave enough to confess that this transition was coming, (whether he liked it or not) the young Captain still found it hard and at some moments, pointless, to reveal it was due to his abrasive words all those days ago. He begins to reveal his thought process, however remaining careful not to expose his own misstep.
“At first I thought, well… with the Commander gone now, do his orders even matter? I could’ve kept this information to myself and have us carry on like we always did before. Besides the fact that our new Commander Kagayaki and Lieutenant Oki would both probably follow through with those plans anyway, I knew it wouldn’t be right to disregard his orders… and even then, it’d eventually come back and bite us in the ass— mine especially.”
Yū raises his head now, his voice becoming more stern.
“You guys have noticed it too… all of the things that have happened in the past few months, let alone the past few days, has made the entire Soul Society feel... unsettling, to say the least; And what I saw in the World of Living was some … other shit I’ve never seen before. Former Commander Murasaki made it a point during the meeting with him that we stand no chance if we as Captains don’t get stronger, but… I know I can’t do it on my own. Our division, as a whole, needs to grow stronger… and we’re not going to do that if we’re stuck here. Neither are the hundreds of Shinigami that could die on the field, who won’t even stand a chance without us by their side.”
He catches himself being overly blunt, perhaps striking fear in the two unsuspecting Shinigam before him. Perhaps they had assumed this was merely yet another status update, not a bleak monologue meant to stress them out even more than they already no doubt were.
“I’m making sure not to be too brash with this, because I know as a squad most of us aren’t really the fighting type... and that’s our charm… and that’s why I welcomed you all here in this division. But, we’re going to have to learn to be able to fend for ourselves against greater threats than ever before. ”
Even with Eleventh Division escorts for their missions, it was clear Captain Nakamoto often focused on the worst case scenario and would ensure those from his team would be capable to make it out in one piece... no matter how dire the situation.
“For now, I’m probably going to split the division’s responsibilities in half. You two will most likely be leading the groups that will remain in the relief station. Lieutenant Hageshi will be leading the first response teams and I already have a list of who will be joining her immediately as the combat divisions’ support. It consists mainly of fresh transfers and a few from Omoni’s usual posse…”
... his mind travels to the few unfortunate souls who regularly seem to be victim to Omoni's group training regimes.
“Who knew her informal boot camp would actually be useful for us, bless their souls.”
… he comments in an attempt to lighten the mood, but the chance of this actually being successful... was probably low.
“Eventually, when you two and the others here become stronger, I’ll start having Shinigami flex between their roles until the change feels seamless… it won’t do us any good to have our best medics standing idle most of the time when they can make a difference out there where it matters most.”
“Which brings me to my next point… the more immediate changes!”
He digs back in the pile before him, retrieving a messy sheet with innumerable scribbles on both its sides. Yū leans in to take a closer look at the page…
“Emi… Kurochi.”
… he begins, sounding out her name before lowering his paper and raising his head to make eye contact with the named Shinigami.
“I know your last promotion wasn’t really given at the most opportune time, so I haven’t had much time to spare to formally meet and congratulate you in person ermm… so, it’s finally nice to meet you!”
He does his best to flash a genuine smile, yet the contrast between his haggard appearance and his warm expression is more… unsettling than welcoming. Hopefully, Emi would see past his outward expression and understand he truly meant well.
“While we haven’t met in person though, everything I’ve heard about you doesn’t really paint you as incompetent…” he mentions as his memory flashes to Koro.
“... or insane…” he mentions another name, his mind now envisioning his former 3rd Seat Kagūwa.
“... and fortunately for you, here at the Fourth Division, that’s worth something!” … Yū expresses again in an oddly joyful manner. Perhaps Junko, who had gotten to know the Captain’s usually tame mannerisms over time, would realize something was… off about him… or he was just that bad at making a first impression.
“Your list of responsibilities is definitely going to get longer and I think perhaps bumping up your rank is probably the best solution I could find to soften that blow. You were previously, err… Fifth Seat?”
He peers back to the muddled report and scribbles even more on it for a moment before continuing.

“Well, now you’re gonna be Fourth Seat! Which meeeeeeeeans... ”
His attention now shifts to Junko who he’s noticed has been listening intently since he first arrived.

“... You’re now 3rd Seat.”
… he concludes with a small smile
.
“Similar to Emi, your workload is going to increase as well but in a different way… yours will be focused on a specific task or uhh… technically, focused on someone,”
… he informs, extending his arm out with a thin file from within the pile to hand her.
“Junko’s already very familiar with this man— Emi, you’ll grow to know him. However, growing to like Lieutenant Jinnosuke Uekū… is a different ordeal,”
“Like I mentioned before, our jobs are now going to require us out there as the first response and it’s been confirmed that for virtually every mission here on out, we’re going to be escorted by shinigami exclusively from the Eleventh Division.”
“While I’m not a huge fan of their attitude, their skill isn’t to be tested. However, their Lieutenant is rarely in the shape to put up much of a fight nowadays. He was ordered to escort Fourth Division shinigami out to aid the others in Karakura Town and Naruki City, but because of his injuries he was unable to fulfill his duty. As a result, we were left underprepared and in his absence and my own failure… lives were lost as the result.”
He grows silent for a lingering moment, now staring aimlessly through Junko instead of towards her as before. Dark thoughts try to return to him, but the Captain fights back, trying not to lose his train of thought and snapping back to focus on his newly hired 3rd Seat.
“I’ve been looking over his x-rays taken before Omoni’s treatment and I can tell merely from the photos alone… he’ll be back here any day now— at best, by the end of the week.”
His interlocked hands now draw closer to him, his body following suit as he leans back in his chair. Yū seems to be lost in thought, still struggling to find the right words to say yet so close to concluding the brunt of what he needed to address.
“I plan on simply waiting for that moment… but if he miraculously lays low for the meantime, I’ll call for him. Besides, both of us are going to need time to prepare. This won’t just be a one-and-done operation… it’s highly likely this is going to take years for us to reach completion. It’s a very complex process, but I made sure to list it all out in detail in that file. Feel free to read it at your leisure; Most of it won’t really pertain to you, but it’s just so you have a general idea of what this entails and… the risks involved. But at least with you by his side, I won’t have to worry about him getting impatient and trying to take off halfway through.”
As if a unfathomable weight has been lifted from his shoulders, he releases an even deeper sigh than the ones previous, melting into his chair out of exaggerated fatigue.
“Well, I think that covers… all of it? Hmm... That was probably a lot to take in at once, so if you need clarification on anything… now would be the time.”

 

[BSD]

Itsuki sat upon the crescent rubble of his ruined castle; perched like a crow on the branch of a dead tree, he looked upon the destruction with a statuesque pose. Four days ago he’d been aghast with a deep maelstrom of melancholy that besieged his every waking moment, and yet now he has returned to the site of perhaps his greatest failure… with a look of determination aglow in his beady blue eyes. The wormish and feeble Enso inspired Itsuki— or better put, witnessing the meteoric fall of one so obviously abandoned by the world made Itsuki realize he could no longer soar as freely as he may have in the past. Perhaps now would be the time to rebuild not only the physical side of the Seventh but the heart as well, but the Captain knew… He knew that unlike these superficial wounds that scarred their territory, the soul of his Division has a deep affliction & with a wound so awe inspiringly deep etched fresh in their hearts only time could make or break them as a healer. Itsuki peered down at the rubble stained scene below him, his hand casually slipping into his signature crimson obi as he fished out the pale wooden tanto that was his dearest Itobeni.
Itsuki toyed with the sheathed dagger, teetering it between his digits casually as he continued to examine the entirety of Enso’s destructive wake. He watched as his soldiers rummaged through the scene, cleaning as much as they could, though obviously overwhelmed by the sheer amount of destruction… and yet not once did they utter a single complaint. They impressed Itsuki… his dearly departed Lieutenant had trained these dogs well. A smile, tame and genuine, spread across his sharp otherwise demonic face.
Clack
A single solitary sound; an instance drowned out by the noise of struggling labor all around. The source of this apparently all important sound…? The wooden scabbard that once sheltered the stout blade of Itobeni plummeted to the ground. Now the Captain swayed, his body rocking melodically back and forth with the breeze as he pointed the blade towards the world below. His grasp upon the handle of his Zanpaktou so lackadaisical it almost seemed like it would surely escape his touch— it too falling to the ground in the stead of their sheathe.
“Weave the Heavens and the Earth together… Itobeni.”
In the same breath he spoke, his Zanpaktou’s blade warped and discolored into the signature tuft of knotted vermillion thread their Shikai is renowned for. Within the next breath suddenly hundreds upon hundreds of wispy red tendrils descended from the lonesome Captain on his perch, almost like some sort of Lovecraftian monster hungrily reaching for the world below. As seconds passed, the red thread of destiny consumed the entire ruined pit that once housed the Seventh Division; the stringy length of Itobeni swimming both above and below the site of destruction as it filled the air and the earth. Itsuki had enough of this landscape… enough of this portrait of defeat… and then suddenly the jagged jigsaw pieces of ruination was long removed. The beloved yet fearsome Itobeni nigh instantly carving into oblivion with a frenzied force all which lay within its hungry maw— aside from the hapless soldiers, of course. A scene painted between the blink of an eye. Suddenly the portrait of destruction was no more: there was only gray… a thick, indescribable plume of debris that churned in the otherwise still air.
Itsuki let the smog ruminate for a moment, watching from the sole slab of destruction left— the very spire he had perched himself upon. As the smog threatened to spill upwards, the Captain shut his eyes, feeling the oft-kilter weight of the heaved mist lapping hungrily at his waraji.
It was in this moment where Itsuki indulged in his wolffish nature. His sensory powers expounded upon profoundly from the presence of his awakened Itobeni, it was only natural that he detected the feeble remnants of Enso emerge in the distant Maggots Nest. His power drained so drastically that at first… Itsuki hadn’t even been sure it was his— but as quickly as his subtle presence appeared, it disappeared. The Bloodhound couldn’t imagine the meager lamb of the Third Division overpowering the Agents of the Second nor the Phantom which they serve. Itsuki’s brow furrowed as he connected the likely dots… they disposed of a confessed killer. The Captain couldn’t help but frown; as pitiful as Enso was, he was a sick and demented creature who was so obviously in need of respite and care… Itsuki briefly wondered if such a fragile existence… could such a broken soul ever hope to be free of all which haunted him? Even if he was just given the time and programming… but any potential the Shinigami had was no more. Enso now has been cut short. Itsuki heaved a great sigh, and with that suddenly the threads which had burrowed beneath the surface of the ground jutted upwards and instantly retreated inward once more.
“Kaaa, lemme get dis over with…”
Itsuki, though weighed down with his sympathies towards the demise of a sickened individual, did not allow their demise to impede his course. He was a Captain, and he could not afford the luxury of indulgence. He silently commanded his darling Itobeni… spin. Suddenly the tendrils which had emerged and ebbed back into the ground gyrated… the intense speed of the hundreds of threads and the unique striations Itsuki programmed into the thickness of their lengths creating turbines that sucked in the lingering gray with a voracious force. Now with nothing lingering, neither destroyed buildings nor veneer hazes, Itsuki descended— his haori flapping in the lingering gust produced from his Zanpaktou in an almost angelic manner. It was an unsightly but amusing notion… a man as brutal and famously demonic as he instilled with a heavenly image.
THUD.
The Bloodhound now stood among his legion; his face expressionless as he gazed over the polished and featureless slab of stone flooring. He silently admired the abrasive rubble mist that had buffed and sanded the dilapidated ground. Itsuki nodded contently while marveling at his own work. As usual, the Captain was not unimpressed by the results produced by his sweet Itobeni, which even now remained in plain sight, albeit as a loose thicket of patchy thread that without needing aggression remained almost benign, allowing people to traverse through it with no semblance of issue. A single presence stuck out as a sore thumb to the Captain, a familiar scent that Itsuki easily recollects… an agent of the Second Division tortured, humiliated, and discarded like nothing more than trash. As his own silent sentries waited with bated breath on the commands of their Leader, he ignored them. His neck jutting forward and his head twisting in the same owlish nature it had before; his head craned to the side, and he gazed carefully upon the now former Second Division member. Before she could even draw in a breath his figure which had been hundreds of feet away from her… was now standing directly in front of her with only a foot of distance between the two. He landed soundlessly, and his apparition would be almost ghostly as he timed himself to appear within the very second she blinked. One moment he was too far, and the next… he was too near.
“Kakaka… Now what brings ya all the way out yonder…?
He chuckled, and yet he did not smile. His face was without expression, making the hubris of his hearty laughter even more disturbing. His eyes carefully drank her every detail— from her anguished appearance to the slightest twitch of her muscles, his gaze did not miss a beat. What was her purpose for wandering over to his manger? Was this lost lamb seeking guidance from the big bad wolf? Or perhaps humiliated from her gaffe earlier she sought to harm the Captain who hadn’t raised a hand to help her? Itsuki had failed his Division before; and he wouldn’t tolerate any threat to his precious puppies. Not again. While he couldn’t imagine she would be so daft as to pounce on him, his thumb fondly stroked the handle of his Zanpaktou, the lazily swaying threads quivering in an almost pettish delight— if she aimed to harm his already meek and wounded Division, he would execute her with a cold, callous swiftness expected of her former squad. His own members resigned to the same inaction Itsuki had practiced in the Maggots Nest, knowing better than to involve themselves without an explicit command to do so. Instead as this intense scene began to unfold… they merely continued on with their own tasks, prepping for the grand rebuilding of the Seventh Division, walking & talking as if neither the Captain nor their guest existed.

 

[BSD]

As quiet as one would expect such a place to be, disturbed by the sudden rushing sounds of something like a pedestal reaching skyward lifted from within the barracks before her. Red tendrils of some strange type of rope built this along with debris, raising the Captain high above them all before its controlled decent down. She hadn't quite understood the point of this, though the Captain being such an unknown being to her would help her none. She had been somewhat surprised he had already arrived. Not due to a misjudgement of his ability but more of a question. Had he been expelled from the Maggot's Nest and now was showing the extent of his anger over it? No, that wasn't it. Her ability to sense had been honed well enough to see that it was not an act of frustration. It was difficult to tell the true reason, though. As if she were allowed the chance. Meeting eyes with him for the briefest of moments across the large area between them, he was so far away then suddenly before her. His words sounded similar to how he spoke before yet his overall demeanor had changed.
If she were smarter, Kazumi wouldn't have still been standing there after seeing the release of the man's Zanpakuto. More than that, she wouldn't have been there in the first place. The man's question bared down on her heaver than his gaze, hand wandering about his Zanpakuto as if itching to finish the job her former Captain had started. Despite this, she still could not get her thoughts to process his behavior fully. Thoughts divided between the question posed to her and the new behavior not being exhibited. Before, he had ignored her existence completely. This was no matter and no insult to her. It had been none of his business or concern what happened to her. She had not expected anything more from him than what he had done for her, which was nothing. Stand aside and allow her former Captain to do as he would to punish her. A flare of humiliation struck her at the realization that perhaps this was why he had confronted her now.
Was that what this was? Had he come to rub salt into her fresh wounds, sneer about the casual way she had been thrown away? This was a likely reason, though only one. His stance showed a thinly veiled threat. One that would only be shown if he felt he himself or his squad members were being threatened. By her. The concept of this was absurd to her though she could not blame the man. Perhaps if she were a more spiteful woman she would feel some blame was to be held by this Captain. However her judgement remained unclouded in this matter. It had been nobody's fault but her own. She did not see it as his fault or problem. Now the rift that stood was the question he had asked that felt so loaded she wondered if she would die that day for giving the wrong answer. But what was the right answer?
There were multiple lies she could tell the man that would likely fall beneath his radar. Despite his piercing gaze. The chaotic state of her mind mixed with a mesh of truth and what he would most likely wish to hear from her in that moment would likely suffice to appease him into allowing her to continue on her way. Her mouth opened to speak, a blank look upon her face and yet the words fell short. Dead before they could leave her throat.
If only she were smarter.
"I don't know,"
The truth slid from her lips against her will. This was not the answer he would want to hear and not an answer most would believe. Yet it was the truth, her truth. She would not longer deny herself such a basic right. Even if it became the end of her, at least she had not left with a lie upon her lips. Despite every reason she had thought of that brought her to her current predicament, she truly had no real concept of why she had approached it. Seeing the destroyed buildings had helped her none. She felt no differently about the choices she had made concerning the situation. Everything was the same as it had been when she had stood outside of Second's gates. Still uncertain, still lost. For the first time that she could remember she looked back into the eyes of a man who held her life in his hands. Without wavering, without hesitation. Without anger. Simply staring back, awaiting his reaction to such an absurd little thing.

 

[BSD]

.
.
.
.

Her eyes followed Miss Izumi as she spoke out towards their captain, if she had an ounce of a better sense of Reiastu she would’ve noticed what the woman had done. Emi’s gaze panned back over to the body in the ‘big chair,’ better known as their captain. Pulling slender hands down from her face her smile returned as strong as it was prior. She wasn’t one to show emotion, and while she felt empathy towards their state of fragility she also didn’t know either of them at all. It was in bad taste to put a hand into the trail mix if you don’t know what’s in the bag; she kept silent ever still.
A smile tightly fashioned to her lips and cold irises giving a decent illusion to indifference, she listened to his words closely. Emi didn’t know who this Lt. Oki was but the explanation was suitable for their lack of attendance. Moving on to his statement of things changing, a sparkle lit up in her eyes. Would there be more opportunities for her to implement her cats, or even test her new experiments? This was something she was most curious over as everything else was just filler to her, a way to pass time. Even writing reports was simple but tedious, but she was loyal to orders. Even so, he continued to speak and she couldn’t dawdle on small things.
Many of the things he said didn’t hold interest, being holed up in her office twiddling with machinery would do that. Though this news of going out of the division quarters was somewhat thrilling to think about, all she ever needed was in her office and in the spa. Twirling the thought around for a bit, Emi figured it’d be good not to huddle in the dark of her office as much.
“How marvelous..”
She muttered to herself, she hadn’t really been out of the immediate area much at all. Quickly, however, the Captain’s face distorted from exhaustion into a serious expression as he began elaborating upon Seireitei’s news. The ever-present threat of demise and stronger opponents did little to change her own expression. She knew what was out there when she agreed to her spot, especially given what her Shikai is. Emi was rather prepared to die, whether it was here in the ward, in her office, or even outside of division four. This morbid take wasn’t something she was unfamiliar with and took it more so that he worried for his squadmates. The continuation into a joke about a boot camp she was unaware of painted the picture of using humor to hide emotion. Something she wished she had the humor to do, instead a smile suffices in its place.
Pulling a hand up she gave a light pat to Saahasik on her shoulder, a calm washing over her as she listened to him continue. More schedule changes in her future, it would seem. Not that she would complain, she never had it in her to do so unless on behalf of personal time. This was a duty, not to be taken in the same light as the time at the spa or in her room. Though she perked up to her name being called upon, getting lost in thought was a recurring habit.
”Y-Yes, sir?”
Smooth, Emi, stuttering like this was some sort of insignificant class lecture that she had the leisure to wander into deep thought over. She returned his gaze, smiling ever more like a still life painting. She listened to all he had to say before nodding softly. She wasn’t much of a talker to anyone besides her cats. Hopefully, in time, that would change. Though she was grateful for the kind praise, she didn’t know how much he had heard. She didn’t really have much to contribute as she would have liked. Nevertheless, she gave a warm smile; more relaxed than the others prior to now. She accepted the promotion from the fifth to the fourth seat without a question or a word, though she did seem surprised by it.
As he continues with Miss Izumi, Emi ponders more about the outside. The times have moved forward and Emi has not been out to witness it, even so, she had some excitement for it. Lingering danger and death aside she was in the mood to have a large beast to grill, her skills over the flame of cooking were yearning to be exercised. In a shorter time, than she would have guessed, the Captain ceased speaking to allow questions and concerns. However, this inquiry from him was more towards Emi and Junko, Kooda had the bright idea to sit on the Captain’s desk and lounge comfortably across the mess of papers. While yes, it didn’t seem as though Capt. Nakamoto was using them, Emi was appalled by the feline’s conduct.

She retained a smile as she pulled the cat from his desk, though he clawed into it the last second. Tearing up the edges of some documents as well as slightly harming the surface of the desk. She bowed apologetically, but Saahasik fell from her shoulder and replaced Kooda on the tabletop. The small kitten was startled for sure, but the sparkle of adventure was in its eyes. He was even more Brazen and hopped onto the Captain’s shoulder, laying there for warmth and purring loud enough to fill the room. Emi was at a loss, should she retrieve Saahasik as well? Did the Captain even like cats? She froze like a statue, she had no idea how to proceed. Saahasik was ever comfortable and oblivious to the trouble he may or may not be in.

 

[BSD]

Despite her efforts it appeared his strife was too great for her to handle in her current condition. There was so very little left in her that she had to give. She hoped that perhaps unburdening himself here and now, even just so slightly, might help raise the Captain up somewhat from the slumping form before them. It seemed as though a part of what bothered him so deeply was written within the papers before him. Bad news for the squad? More bad news about Central? It was difficult to grasp the immensity of what exactly had happened and what the consequences would be. Having never met the..former...Captain Commander in person it was difficult to gauge the purpose of such an act. Of course there were rumors, his history brought up as an obvious reason for such a betrayal. Junko herself had a hard time believing this. He had been the Commander for quite some time and though he was a terrifying soul with what appeared to be even more power than she had initially believed, it seemed unlikely this was some selfish thing. Some random act of violence or revenge. He did not seem like one who would act purely out of a personal vendetta.
The Captain seemed to be gathering his thoughts before he spoke, giving little information to start with and being somewhat vague. This was not what he wanted to discuss. How awful was the news that he felt the need to bury it along with obvious and tedious news? Finally the words came forth that she had somewhat begun to suspect. Hiding. Preparing herself for some awful ordeal, she was surprised by what he had to admit. So caught off guard she had nearly let her reiatsu waver away from what little it was doing to comfort the man. Deployed to the World of the Living? Casting a side glance over to Emi, the woman's face was difficult to read. She seemed disinterested in the conversation as a whole, not caring one way or the other. For herself, Junko had wanted so much to join Omoni on missions, leaving the news to her as not particularly frightening but more exciting.
However what he said was true. Most were unfit for combat, and despite what she wished she was unsure how capable she would be on a battlefield. Her position as Fourth Seat would give her little time to prepare in her eyes. She should be able and there were none above her in Fourth who hadn't already faced it themselves. She would need to be ready, and soon. His next statement both relieved her and stung. Of course she would remain behind. Running about the clinic and caring for their many patients had become her entire life. It was not an unimportant task, but it seemed to her a place to stash her away. Somewhere she would not be entirely useless to her squad and not get in their way. She could not argue the decision despite what she truly wanted as she knew it was the best decision for both her and the squad.
A sinking feeling came upon her as the other woman was promoted to her rank. Had she proved so useless she was deserving of a demotion? She supposed so, she couldn't recall anything in particular she had done to be useful during all of the awful events of late. Her face became an unreadable mask, prepared to hear the news and give the proper apologies for failing her Captain when his eyes focused upon her. The words he spoke, however, left her with her mouth agape. Why? Focusing her attention on the rest of his report as she attempted to gather her thoughts she waited until he had finished before standing, preparing to voice her doubts. What had she done to deserve such a thing? She had been useless to them in their time of need, why was she being praised?

The words were lost to her in a dumbfounded silence as one of Emi's cats, then both, began running rampant around the Captain's desk and on his person. She should do something. Should help him. Still locked in place, confusion plain on her face as she simply watched the fiasco of events unfold before her.