For The Love Of The Moon [P]

[Takuya]

So here he was again... The quarters of the Thirteenth Division, standing before the bright moon, feet brushing against the wooden patio as he stared into the swaying grass under the thick cloak of midnight. Life for a master swordsman was difficult. He remembered back before he had awakened Fuyu no Tsuki's power, when he was a member of the Seventh Division, before he had been seated. Life had been easier then. He hadn't had the burden of paperwork or diplomacy to deal with. He hadn't been on the frontline of Seireitei's most important battles. The Seireitei needed him now, as he always relied on it before. He sighed, brushing dark hair out of cerulean eyes.

It was true; he was coming to truly love the Thirteenth Division. Aside from the Eleventh, it was the only one outside of the Seventh he would ever want to be a member of. Between the three, perhaps he would rather be home in his comfortable bunk in the Seventh Division Enlisted Barracks, but he was now a member of the Thirteenth, and he slept in a far more plush and comfortable bed, in his own room, the the Thirteenth Division Officer Quarters. It was something every Shinigami that ascended the ladder of power had to deal with, he supposed. Still, it was lonelier and lonelier when one approached the higher rungs.

He only knew one person in the Thirteenth Division; Anzu Aya-sama, noble of the Anzu Clan. She was a knock-out redhead beauty and a capable Shinigami. He had met her in person only once, in the sands of Hueco Mundo, after rescuing her from the clutches of a samurai-like Hollow. That creature... He still wondered about it, the way it spoke like a thinking soul. It seemed almost as though perhaps it was not the horrific beast every Hollow was, like Rescuezo. He had been wrong about Rescuezo especially, though. It would be a mistake to place any more of his trust in a Hollow. He would never do it again, not after the obvious outcome had occurred.

He wondered if he was going to see her again. He hadn't seen her around the division, though being a member of a noble family probably afforded her enough privilege to avoid having to congregate in the same places for eating, bathing, and relaxing that the rest of the division did. He was bound to bump into her eventually, he supposed. He patted his sword, assuaging the faint grumbles. Fuyu no Tsuki was a jealous lover, alright. She meant well, though, in her heart. He smiled, leaning on the railing, letting the wind flutter the sleeves of his kosode. The moon was beautiful tonight...

[Dr. Abumi]

"Finally!" she screamed while stretching herself. It was yet another boring day of delivering things for her boss, she seriously wished she was seated. "Awww" she yawned without covering her mouth with a hand, she did not care, she was not at the mansion. There, not covering her mouth would be extremely rude and would probably get scolded by her mother. It was night, her favorite time of the day really, she did not know why but the moonlight gave her comfort and strength to do things. Aya would wave her hands towards her seated boss and then leave his quarters. He did not respond, instead he would make a snoring sound and his head felt on the desk which did not wake him up.

Aya would curse him in her mind, he was always the lazy one, drinking and yelling at them to work even when he did not work. She needed to pull a prank on him or teach him proper manners. "Hmmm, I should ask Shinta to help me with this." she thought while walking at the quarters halls, her footsteps were light and one would hardly hear them. Shinta was her new delivery partner, he was clumsy and really funny. Once he spill soup on their bosses head, they were still laughing a week after the incident. Aya would smirk as she was remembering the funny moments with Shinta.

Finaly she would make it out from the quarters to the fresh air, Aya would breath deeply with her eyes closed. Still with her eyes closed, she would walk straight, not seeing what was before her at all and forgetting there was a wooden patio where she stood was a mistake. Suddenly her body would lose balance, she would slowly fall with her face towards the ground. The only thing she was able to do was scream "Aaaaarrrgg!". She felt on something soft although it was supposed to be the ground, was ground always that soft?

[Takuya]

“Hm?” Takuya's eyes narrowed, flickering towards the sounds that graced his ears. It was the sound of sliding, a door being opened behind him. Immediately he reached out with his spiritual senses, feeling the shape of the reiatsu that stepped into the room behind him. It was distinctly female. He swallowed, letting out a quiet sigh. It was a distinctly familiar reiatsu, now that he felt the curves of it in his mind. It belonged to one Anzu Aya-sama, the very girl on his mind. He didn't quite turn yet, preferring to just listen to the quiet sound of her sigh.

Of course, when she didn't say anything, he figured it was time to say something. After all, it would be the height of strangeness to stare coolly off into the distance as she stared at his back. He turned, smiling lightly. Anything he would have said was cut off as she collided directly into him, eyes closed. He stumbled a bit, perplexed and unprepared to be ran straight into. He regained his balance a moment later as she let out a panicking sound. He instinctively grabbed hold of her shoulders, steadying her and gently helping her regain her footing.

“Nice to see you again, Anzu-sama.” He said bemusedly, blushing a little. He let his hands drop off her shoulders, quickly hanging them at his sides. Well, that had been awkward. It was just his luck that it would happen like that. He was really no good around women. Being a master swordsman left little time to practice his social tact. He smiled at her, a little nervously. He wasn't sure entirely what to say, but he was glad to see her. It was nice to see a familiar face around...

[Dr. Abumi]

"What? What is going on?" she asked herself in confusion. She was sure she also heard a voice, not her own so she would be looking around now, and there he was, it was a man for sure. He was holding her shoulders to help her regain balance and was looking for words now, she thought this person was familiar somehow but did not see the persons face yet. Only when she regained balance and stood right in front of him she recognized the person, it was Takuya. He was a shinigami of another division who saved her from Hueco Mundo after being kidnapped by a strange hollow. Another question would come to her mind "What is he doing here? Did he not belong to another division?"

“Nice to see you again, Anzu-sama.” the man said and she smiled for she could feel he was nervous. It was probably because of this awkward situation, she was always so careless!! Luckily it was Takuya and not her boss, oh he would certainly yell. Now she really wanted to know why Takuya was here and could not resist asking him "Hello Takuya-donno! I am really sorry about this." she said with a smile while scratching the back of her head. "I am so clumsy! hehe" she stated and then went silent for a while. "How have you been?" she asked him in the end. Well, that was just a start, hopefully he will say something for she was not good at awkward situations.

[Takuya]

“It's no problem, Aya-sama.” He said kindly, smiling lightly and rubbing his shoulder nervously. “No harm done. I'd much rather you land on me than the ground.” He winced slightly as he said it. He wasn't entirely sure those words would be heard the way he meant them. It was really only a concern about her health and an expression of compassion, but his brain suddenly gave him a strike, a moment after they left his mouth, chiding him for the potentially misconstrued sexual meaning of his words. He bit his lip for a moment, hoping she didn't notice. He rubbed his shoulder quietly, feeling the wound he got from the Gillian in Karakura Town.

“I've been good, very good.” He said at her question, blue eyes lifting as she spoke. “I've been assigned out into Karakura Town several times now. Things seem to be getting hectic there all of a sudden, as though there was something all the Hollows were being drawn to.” He had spent several nights on long-term assignments into the spiritual center, fighting off beasts and nightmares. He brushed a hand through his dark hair, shaking those memories down. It had been a trying time in his life, especially with Rescuezo confusing his convictions.

“Actually...” He said, his eyes meeting hers briefly. She was an interesting one; far younger than he was, and yet superficially they were nearly the same age. The whole meaning of time became meaningless in the Seireitei, unless you were separated from someone by many hundreds of years. “I don't know if you've heard yet, Aya-sama, but I was recently transferred into this division...” He indicated the building around them. “I've been assigned as the Fifth Seat of the Thirteenth.” It was still relatively new information; very few people knew that he was the new Fifth Seat, save for the people he had himself met. He scratched the back of his head, his mouth set in an uncertain smile.

[Dr. Abumi]

“No harm done. I'd much rather you land on me than the ground.” Takuya said before answering her question about how he was, his smile indicated it was OK and he was not angry. Although the words could have some other meaning too, she did not know, but when she thought about it, it made no sense why she thought it would mean something else than what it sounded like. Still playing with her hair when thinking, he would now say he was good and that he was even stationed in Karakura Town for a while. "What a lucky man." she said it in her mind, she was kind of angry she was still doing small work and no adventure, it was not why she signed up in the first place.

Aya needed to see her father about this, maybe he could have her do something else, not paperwork and theories. Her brothers say, she needs to get stronger before getting the dangerous jobs but how could she become stronger without doing something dangerous, she asked herself. She has been trying every day to awake her Zanpakuto's powers but still with no success. Was the zanpakuto toying with her or she needs to prove she is worthy to awake it? Aya had several theories on how to awake the powers that she had not tried yet but maybe Takuya could help her if he knew how to.

“Actually...” he said and then paused for a while “I don't know if you've heard yet, Aya-sama, but I was recently transferred into this division...”. Her eyes widen as she heard what he was saying, he was now from the 13th division? Well, she now wondered what kind of job he will be doing, hopefully not paperwork or theories since he was strong to begin with. “I've been assigned as the Fifth Seat of the Thirteenth.” he continued and she could not believe it. He was her superior now, well he was even the superior of her 10th seat boss. She heard the rumor from the 3rd seat when at lunch but she did not know who it was until now. She did not know what to say to that but she still tried "You are the new 5th seat now? Ughh what kind of job will you be doing?" she asked him and then briskly added "Oh and congratulations!" she also added a smile.

[Takuya]

“Indeed I am, Rika Takuya, Fifth Seat of the Thirteenth Division.” He said, bowing slightly. He had a light smile on his face, cerulean eyes glinting with mirth. “And as for your question, aside from the few bits of paperwork that I unfortunately need to do, my main duty is to lead the Thirteenth Division into battle when the Captain or Lieutenant is indisposed or required elsewhere.” Essentially, he was the third in command in his division when it came to orders on the battlefield. The Third and Fourth Seat were both powerful warriors, but neither of them particularly wanted the duties of commanding. They just liked fighting. Takuya smiled lightly.

“Thank you.” He said, as she congratulated him, brushing a hand through his dark hair embarassedly. “I was surprised myself. It all happened so suddenly.” And yet, oddly enough, he was getting used to it. Life in one division wasn't so much different from life in another division. Perhaps the distractions and way of life were molded differently, but in the end, every member of the Gotei Thirteen was a Shinigami. That was a duty that superseded the varieties of the individual divisions and bound them all together as brother and sister in the endless war. He glanced at her. Even her, she was his comrade in war. The differences that arose from conversations such as these were meaningless on the battlefield.

“And you, Aya-sama?” He asked politely, quirking his head a bit. “How about you? How have you been? Working hard?” He hoped she was well. A noble or not, she was a nice girl, and he wouldn't want anything terrible to befall her. She had the potential to be strong. He could feel it circulating in the depths of her soul, hiding beneath the surface. With proper training and dedication, she could become as powerful as he was in a very short time period. She definitely had that power, if she tried. He linked his hands behind his back, calmly awaiting an answer...

[Dr. Abumi]

“Indeed I am, Rika Takuya, Fifth Seat of the Thirteenth Division.” he said and bowed, why'd he bow? It looks like he is really polite, maybe it is because she is noble? Aya would smile as she thought she realized it "Ehh.... You don't need to bow." and smiled. After that he would continue answering her question “And as for your question, aside from the few bits of paperwork that I unfortunately need to do, my main duty is to lead the Thirteenth Division into battle when the Captain or Lieutenant is indisposed or required elsewhere.” Wow, he was the 5th seat and still had to do paperwork, but he also mentioned leading the division to battle? She was stunned because he was so high ranked, he was like the third in command when it came to fighting in her division. It was common knowledge the 3rd and 4th seat just wanted to fight and not direct the battle"Geez, they should have joined the 11th division." she thought.

Anyway, Takuya would continue again “I was surprised myself. It all happened so suddenly.” he would say. It seems from his tone though that it was not a problem for him, he was probably well prepared to this position since his experience with fighting the hollow and all that in Karakura Town. Previously he was fighting a lot but now, it was still probably less fighting and more paperwork since the 13th squad did not fight that much. Aya would like to get to his position one day, after she gets her own share of fighting perhaps but now she was working for him. "Uhm..... so do you need any help settling in? I could help you out with people around here." she offered him help hoping she would get transferred to work for him and not her lazy boss.

Before he would answer Takuya added “And you, Aya-sama?” he asked her “How about you? How have you been? Working hard?”. Yes, she had been doing all kind of work for her boss, mostly delivering things, checking out the training fields and covering up for the boss while he was sleeping or drunk "Oh yes! I am working really hard." she answered quickly "Although I mostly do a messengers job and then checking out if things work smoothly in Soul Society." Aya would smile gently not to look like complaining which it sure looked like. "I was hoping I would have more adventures like you. I'd like to go to the real world and do stuff. You know what I mean right?" she raised her eyebrows while saying that. "Oh anyway, you are waiting for somebody here? Since you were just sitting over there."

[Takuya]

“Sorry.” He said, grinning. “Force of habit.” He could tell by the look on her face he knew exactly what he meant when he said he had to lead the division into battle, despite being the Fifth Seat. Still, there were rumors for exactly that reason he might soon be promoted, provided his powers continued to evolve at the level they were going at. He hoped, one day, that he could become the lieutenant, perhaps even captain a division himself. It was a far off dream, though. He hadn't even mastered how to use Tsukiyomi's executions, let alone approach the power of Bankai. One day, though, it would be in his grasp.

“Help settling in?” He repeated, smiling lightly at her. “Well, in truth I probably could use a little help.Getting settled into a new division isn't easy. I could have you transferred to work as my assistant, if that's not too presumptuous of me. It'd involve a lot of dangerous work.” He would like her to work as his assistant. It would help with a lot of the pointless paperwork he was doing, but more than that it would be handy to have a second in command for when he had to take extended missions into the Living World. He could help her learn how to use her sword, even, if she trained with him. He tapped Tsukiyomi idly with his fingers, a habit he had fallen into.

“Good, I'm glad to hear you're doing well.” So it seemed she was stuck doing the lower end jobs in the Seireitei. He had been there himself, once. It wasn't easy to rise out of the bureaucracy of papers and step on to the battlefield. It took long years of endless training until someone finally noticed you were strong enough to survive a night in the Juureichi without getting killed. That was no easy task, in a place where Menos Grande emerged almost every month. It was the great fount of spiritual energy and power. His eyes snapped back to her as she spoke. “Oh, no, not at all!” He said quickly. “In fact, I'm glad you spoke to me.”

[Dr. Abumi]

It seems like Takuya was less and less nervous as they began to converse more. He was softly smiling as he was answering her answer about her helping him settling in "Well, in truth I probably could use a little help.Getting settled into a new division isn't easy. I could have you transferred to work as my assistant, if that's not too presumptuous of me. It'd involve a lot of dangerous work.". That was an offer she could not refuse, anything dangerous gave her the thrills and knowing she would work for him now was the best thing that had happened today. This offer could be her ticket out from all that paperwork and boring errands and she could finally show her skills. "Thank you Takuya, I would be honored to be your assistant." she said with a smile on her face as she was really happy. Aya yawned and stretched her arms then noticed he was tapping his zanpakuto, it appeared strange to her.

“Oh, no, not at all!” he said to her asking him if he was waiting for anybody, so it seems he was just resting here or something. Perhaps he had a long day, getting used to new people and job. She would listen to him for he quickly added a response “In fact, I'm glad you spoke to me.”. Aya grinned at him for it sounded quite funny, why wouldn't she speak to him after he saved her from Hueco Mundo. There was another girl from the 4th division, Meimu she was called, she wondered how is she doing? They have not seen each other after their rescue, actually she remembered the hollow gave both a tattoo of some sort. Aya had nearly forgotten all about it and she was now thinking whether to remove the tattoo or not, she could ask Meimu when she sees her next.

All the thinking made her tired now, she yawned once again, this time it was much louder. She would look at the night sky and sighed, the stars were beautiful, not as beautiful as in the real world though. When she was there last, it was full moon and the stars were wonderful. Her thoughts were reverted back towards the tattoo, she didn't even know what was in there so she touched her back where the tattoo was located to try and guess, not that she even could see it or be able to feel what was drawn there. "So Takuya, I noticed you were tapping your fingers at your zanpakuto, it made me think a bit. You are the 5th seat now so that must mean you have awoken your zanpakuto?" she would suddenly speak.