+ Captain's Quarters

[Yokai Manekineko]

+ Captain's Quarters +

Located squarely in the middle of the central gardens, Aine's office is a moderately sized pavilion, ringed by a large reflection pond and joined to land only by a simple wooden bridge arching over the koi and lotus dappled waters. A porch sits bare of anything but two sets of shoes by the main shoji doorway, red decorated getta and Converse boots alike, indicating Aine's presence depending on which pair is missing. Inside the building, the space is conservatively decorated, a small light wood desk, strewn with paper and pens sits to the right while to the left a low table is ringed by deep red sitting pillows. Another, much smaller table sits just beyond with a red metal tea pot, a number of metallic canisters and heating pad ready for company.

Oddly enough, the room is strangely rectangular as the square building is bisected by a row of shoji doors. To the right is a bathroom, simple with white tiles layered over the floor and walls, a shower stall, tub, sink and toilet in bright white ceramics while each fixture is deeply burnished copper. The room opposite the bathroom is Aine's personally quarters, and only lived in space. Her floor is littered with quickly scrawled sheet music, clothing, spare Hoari and each and every wall is plastered with layer upon layer of traditional Japanese ink paintings or shelves of books. When she wishes to sleep, a futon is rolled out, but Aine can most often be found on the back porch, her feet dangling in the water, singing while the white and orange koi n** at her toes.  

[Yokai Manekineko]

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A pristine sheet of paper trembled as the nimble hands that had just hung it sped away to their destination, leaving the singular note to direct the hapless squad members in their Captain's absence. The even black scrawl, haphazardly strewn across the page indicated the urgency of her flight.

"Darlings,

Don't fret, I'm off to right the wrongs that
have befallen my medicine cabinet.
It appears my dear friend, my asinine
companion, believes that powerful
narcotics are to be taken like TicTacs.
I will return shortly, and possibly with
a scalp to decorate my dreary little office.

Do you think white-gray hair would
match the light woods?"

[exit]

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“The depth of darkness to which you can descend and still live is an exact measure of the height to which you can aspire to reach.”

 

[Yokai Manekineko]

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Booted feet scuffed softly across the wood surface of the bridge leading to her office, and Aine yawned lightly as she reached the main shoji door. A few zips later, her boots joined her getta near the doorframe before she pushed her way inside, snatching the earlier note from the door and crumpling the paper as she slammed the screen behind her. The inner office was cast in soft repose, sunlight illuminating the paper on the doorways just enough to create a pleasant ambiance. Boring. Padding quickly past her desk, the entrance to her room was pushed wide as was the exit, which needed a little coaxing to get the clothing and sheet music to let her pass.

Sighing as she plopped down to enjoy the quiet of her back porch, her bare feet slipped off the edge of the light wood to tease the koi in the water below. Leaning back and bracing her arms for support, the little Captain let her mind drift away from the pleasantries of visiting her friends and on to what was needed of her. She’d already completed a round of scheduled training, discussions with the Forth Division maintenance on continued improvements to the outer walls and fully charting the underground passage ways for latter fortifications. So far, it would seem she had some time to herself, as if that would last for long.

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“The depth of darkness to which you can descend and still live is an exact measure of the height to which you can aspire to reach.”

 

[Yokai Manekineko]

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An hour and a half later, Aine was pleasantly surprised by the lack of visitors to her office pavilion. Stretching, her wrinkled toes met wooden porch once more as she made her way back inside, a throng of Jigokucho dislodged by her movement drunkenly fluttering in her wake. Having her fill of lollygagging, the little Captain sank behind her meager desk and brandished a pen she’d snatch while walking past. Before long she was completing documentation at an easy pace, but slowed by a descriptive note she needed to word carefully. As much as she appreciated the Fourth Division, her last venture into the underground passage ways ended with finding the heavy brickwork and molded stone cracking from old age in the east quarter of the Seireitei. A few more minutes of scribbling and her request, along with her report was complete.

Snatching one of the Jigokuchou that flocked to her from the air, she impressed a short message, directing a courier to bring a copy to both the Eighth and Ninth Division for ratification and storage. They’d distribute it to the Forth Division once processed. Sighing quietly after placing the paperwork in an envelope for travel, she stood and deposited it in the box she left open for the couriers, and shoved the main office doors open.

Today was unequiviacally slow, even after chatting with Ketsu and Caedmon, along with the Sixth Captain, but Aine was becoming restless. Find Tekketsu, Aine instructed yet another one of her solemn messengers, tickling the butterflies wings with her fingertips, I need something to do, but present him with this. “Shirking today? Better get here and do your share of the paperwork before I dump the entire load in your personal rooms.” Finished baiting her Vice Captain, Aine sent the Jigokuchou on its way and returned to her desk. The least she could do was play the part until the continuously grim man made an appearance.

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“The depth of darkness to which you can descend and still live is an exact measure of the height to which you can aspire to reach.”

 

[Exiled Time Lord]

Tekketsu Shiso
Lieutenant of Squad 13
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Tekketsu dashed through the central garden of the Squad 13 Barracks, finally arriving at Captain Kirihara's office. He ran across the wooden bridge and knocked on the door before entering the pavillion at the center of the pond. When he walked into the captain's office, he saw the small Captain seated behind her diminutive wooden desk, with pens and paper covering the majority of the surface. "Captain Kirihara, I received your message and came as quick as I could. Now, then, which part of the paperwork is mine?" the tall, morose-looking lieutenant asked calmly. "Or did you just summon me here because you are bored, and wish to relieve that boredom?"