7th Division HQ (Private)

Shin'ichi had gotten word that there was recently a fresh assignment to his division, a new lieutenant after some time of waiting for his officer seats to be filled. Sure, his offices were filled, but none had assumed the five other seats that would make up his cabinet of trusted officials.

He was in his office that day, sitting at his desk and filling out more paperwork. "Never not enough paperwork, that's for damn sure..." He thought to himself. He looked up as a knock rang at his door. "Enter!" He called, and one of his assistants entered to announce that the new lieutenant was here, and disappeared again.

He threw his pen down and leaned back into his chair, staring at the door. So they were finally here? He'd give them the basics, things he expected to be followed, and lay down their duties for the day.

Michiru had been led down a dozen different hallways and then ordered to wait out in a small little waiting room while some assistant of a secretary or someone like that went ahead of her to announce her presence. She wasn't one to feel nervous, but in those brief few seconds of awkwardly standing there, she felt a bit nervous. She tugged at her collar, wondering why the room was so hot.

In a moment that felt like it lasted for five hours, a loud and rough voice was shouting for her to enter. 'Oh boy, here goes everything and nothing,' she thought to herself as she paused to check her appearance in a glass hanging on the wall. She looked dazzling, to be honest. Her hair was behaving well, for a change. Clearing her throat softly, she boldly and proudly stepped into the office that loomed before her.

"Good afternoon, Captain Hasegawa. My name is Michiru Ishikawa, and as you probably know by now, I have been appointed your Leiutenant," she said, stepping up to his desk and bowing politely. "I was just recently promoted this high up, so forgive me if I'm not 100% sure what I'm supposed to be doing just yet. However, I do hope that we will work well together, and will have a long future of working together before us," she said cheerfully.

Shin'ichi watched as Michiru entered his office, still leaning back casually into his crushed velvet chair. He listened to her short speech and nodded here and there to show that he was listening. He rose finally, and reached across his desk. He extended his hand, which easily looked like it could fit around her neck and crush it in one fluid moment. "Welcome, welcome, Lieutenant. Aye, I was notified of your promotion sometime prior to your arrival."

When she took his hand, he gave it a vigorous shake. "Please, be seated." He waited for her then sat down himself. He shuffled through a stack of papers on his desk and handed over a form that explained her duties. "Being my second-in-command, you'll be assisting me a lot with field work, and such things as documenting papers. Although I hold an abiding respect for the opposite gender, everyone in my division is treated equally. That means you'll get worked like a dog, just like every male here." He narrowed his eyes, to show that he was serious.

Michiru was a bit taken aback by the strength behind the handshake, but she did her best not to let it show on her face. Smoothing her kimono down, she took a seat on the other side of the desk and took the form from Shin'ichi and glanced over it. They were getting better and better at fitting more and more words on a single piece of paper, she mused.

"And that is as it should be," Michiru promptly replied, laying the form in her lap for the time being. "To be honest with you, it makes me a bit angry when these younger hot-shot soldiers constantly ask me if they can carry my papers or open doors for me. Unless I'm carrying a large box and using both of my hands, I can open my own doors, thank you very much," she said, giving her hair a little toss. "Mm, paperwork is nothing new. Just more of it up here, I suppose. Field work is new, though. I've spent the last several years sitting at a desk filling out forms and documents. I never got to go out in the field unless we had a fire drill or something," she chuckled.

Shin'ichi smirked. He liked this girl. She'd make a fine lieutenant, and he liked how professional she was about this. His own men had gotten accustomed to calling him Shin'ichi instead of Captain from time to time, which annoyed him.

"Well, you'll be seeing a lot of field work while you're working for me." He promised gruffly. He handed her another form. "This is a disclaimer. Fill it out for me. Tell me about yourself, Lieutenant." He relaxed in his chair.

Michiru rolled her eyes as she glanced over the second form. "Oh, not another one of these things. 'Hi, my name is Michiru Ishikawa. I grew up in Seireitei with my older cousin, Amaru, who raised me from the age of 5. I went to school, I was in the book club...' Oh, I could write one of these blasted things myself," she muttered, snagging a pen from a cup on Shin'ichi's desk. She leaned forward and started filling out the form, brushing back a strand of her hair as she did so.

"Mm, well, Captain Hasegawa, what is it you want to know about me?" she asked, glancing up at him, smirking at him. "Surely you're not interested in boring things like what my favorite color is."

Shin'ichi smirked at Michiru's clever response. "Who knows, Lieutenant? It might save your life," He joked. "But no. Just talk to me. Tell me about yourself. I like to get to know my soldiers personally." He smiled.

Michiru chuckled as she continued writing, filling out line after line of legal jargon. "Well, since you asked, my favorite color is actually cerulean - a light shade of blue, if you didn't know. You'd be surprised how many people don't know that color," she muttered, scratching something out on the form. "Well, like I said, I was raised by an older cousin for most of my life, until I was older enough to live on my own. I believe my parents are dead, but I don't really know. The last time I saw my mother was before I went to the Academy, which was quite some time ago. I still keep in touch with my cousin, though. Her name is Amaru. She runs a flower store back home. Owns and manages it, actually. Some of my interests are swimming and reading, whenever I have any spare time. I have a small garden behind my apartment, so I guess tending to plants must run in my family." She shrugged. "That's about all I can think of... oh, and I'm a blackbelt and trained in taijutsu," she added casually, as if mentioning that she had a salad for lunch that day.

Shin'ichi listened intently, of course doing that little nod from time to time. He smiled when she mentioned her favourite color despite his joke. "I see; All very interesting." He took the form back when she was finished with it and stuffed it away somewhere. "You should've gotten a memo from one of my assistants. It has everything else you need to know in there." He added.

He rose, easily casting a shadow over Michiru. "Oh, and Lieutenant; Welcome aboard. I'll show you to your office." He gestured for her to follow him as he went around the desk and towards the door.

Michiru stood as Shin'ichi stood, realizing just how tall the Captain was. He was nearly a foot taller than her! And she always thought that she was tall for her age. She chuckled to herself as she thought about just how much she was actually going to have to 'look up' at him.

"Yes, I think I got the memo. I have all the papers I've gotten in the last few weeks right here," she said, patting the messenger bag that hung from her left shoulder. "If not, I'll go out and ask your secretary if she has a copy." She paused and smiled as Shin'ichi called her Lieutenant. It had such a nice ring to it. She smiled brightly at him.

"Glad to be here, Captain. ... I get my own office?" she asked after a moment's pause, following him out the door. "Really??"

Shin'ichi nodded as he led her out. "Of course; You're a Vice-Captain, you know. Just be thankful you don't have to work in the main office. It's hectic when the paperwork overflows." He smirked as he led her down the hallway. "Although with the way I'll be keeping you busy, I don't think you'll see much of it." He teased with her.

When they got there, he unlocked the door and walked her inside. "Your own office, fully furnished and everything." He turned and held out the key in his hand, which made the blasted thing appear almost like a tiny rock in his palm.

Michiru laughed a little, and it echoed down the hallway. She gave her hair another toss - a sign a nervousness, maybe? - and followed Shin'ichi to the door that led to her own office. She couldn't keep from smiling at the thought. Her very own office?!

"Well, I'm sure I'll see enough of it. I want to make sure that I learn everybody's names, at least. Everyone from the youngest and newest recruit to everyone on council. I feel that it's important for the higher-ups to know the names of those that serve under them. Don't you agree, Captain?" she asked, following him into her office. She gasped as she saw how big and spacious it was. It wasn't as big as Shin'ichi's office, but it was still pretty dang big.

A brand-spanking new hardwood oak desk was in the back of the room, in front of a wall of bookshelves all ready filled with useful looking books, more than likely supplied by the Academy or maybe left behind by the last Lieutenant. There were cushiony chairs pushed against the walls that could easily be pulled to the other side of the desk for meetings or conferences, and a nice round table in the other corner. There were also a few filing cabinents and shelves on the far side of the room. An ornate rug with the Squad 7 insignia on it was in the middle of the floor. She even had her own water cooler!!

"Oh... I love it," she whispered, glancing back and forth all over the room.

Shin'ichi laughed at Lieutenant Michiru's response to her office. He smiled and nodded, glad that she liked the arrangements. "I hand-picked it some while ago, eager for when my cabinet would be filled," He explained. "I'm glad you like it." He added. He took a look around as well from where he was and placed the key on a nearby shelf.

He nodded at what she said about getting to know her underlings. "Aye, I make it a point to know who I'm working with. Even though I forget a name or two, it's bound to happen. I'll just learn it again eventually." He chuckled. "Anyway, how do you feel about coming on patrol with me to the Living World?" He asked.

Michiru walked over to her desk (her very own desk!) and set her messenger bag on top of it. She would go through all of her papers whenever she had the time and start the large job of organizing them into sections. She turned around to face Shin'ichi as he spoke again.

"... To the Living World??" she repeated, blinking twice. "Go to the Living World... on Patrol?? Oh. Oh my. Yes! Well, I mean, if you're willing to take me. You see, I've never exactly been to the Living World before, let alone to go there and patrol!"

Shin'ichi nodded, understanding completely. "I see; Well, that is understandable. Not many from the Soul Society go to the Living World, especially while they attend the Academy, let alone are fresh Shinigami." He explained. He would make sure to help his Lieutenant become familiar with the other realms as long as she served him.

He held his hand out to her. "Take it, and we'll go." He promised her bluntly. He closed his eyes as he began to summon the reiatsu to make the hop for both of them to the Living World, where they'd more than likely have an uneventful patrol keeping an eye out for Hollows that probably wouldn't even be around today.

Michiru smiled brightly, trying to hide her obvious excitement at getting to go to the Living World on a scouting mission. Captain Shin'ichi was turning out to be a marvelous Captain indeed. She nodded once and held her hand out, which was so tiny in comparison to Shin'ichi's monster hand. She could feel a strange energy begin to feel the room, coming from him.

"Sir, is there anything I should know before we go? I've read many things about the Living World, and naturally I know how to deal with a Hollow if we would chance to run into one. I mean, I've gone through training and all of the classes and such, but classes and simulations are never anything close to the real thing."

Shin'ichi nodded and smirked. "Only two things; Stay out of sight of the Humans, and stick close to me." He reached out further and clasped her hand. Upon touch, they both suddenly warped out of Lieutenant Michiru's office and reappeared atop a tall office building somewhere in Living World, Kyoto, Japan. The roar of the city and the vehicles surrounded them and penetrated them. He let go of her hand and walked to the edge, kicking his foot up on top of it and leaning over on it, gazing down into the streets below. "Welcome to the Living World, Lieutenant." He stated softly over the noise.

Michiru was about to ask another question when Shin'ichi grasped her hand and warped the two of them to the Living World. It was as simple and fast as blinking - one instant they were in her office, and the next they were suddenly standing on a very high building. The steady roar and hum of traffic and crowds hustling and bustling filled the air. It was very different from the normal silence of the Academy hallways and the (usually) quiet offices of work.

Taking a moment to look around in shock, wonder, and amazement, Michiru slowly walked over to join Shin'ichi at the edge of the building. She wasn't quite as bold as him and stayed a few safe inches further back than him, but she did peer down into the streets.

"Oh, my... we're very high up, and there are so very many people down there!" Michiru shook her head in disbelief. "How strange humans are, to want to be cramped up like this. All of these buildings hold hundreds of people, right? Oh, Captain, you said not to be seen by humans, right? But I thought... well, it was my understanding that they cannot see us. Is this correct?"

Shin'ichi nodded and smiled. "Yes, we usually cannot be seen by humans, but we need not announce our presence either. We'll patrol until the later hours before we get back to the Soul Society." He explained. "Now come. Let us make our rounds." He gestured and without warning he burst from his spot with Shunpo, crossing the wide gap from that building to the next across the street, and he waved at her.

Michiru laughed a little. "I suppose that makes sense. I'll try, but there's just so many people!!" she said again, shaking her head in disbelief that so many humans could be in one place. She glanced up just in time to see Shin'ichi halfway across the air on his way to the other building. Not wanting to be left behind or look slow, she jumped into the air after him and joined him on the other building a second after he got there.

"So, Captain, where to first?"

((... lol --> ))

Michiru enjoyed their day of hunting the streets of Kyoto for trouble. She was intrigued upon everything they came across, including a stray kitten who had apparently sensed their presence in an alley earlier. It had taken all of her will not to pick it up and fuss over it. Sooner than she would have thought, the sun was all ready setting. Stars appeared in the hazy sky, and the half-full moon had an ominous halo around it, partially hidden behind some low-lying clouds.

Michiru had a leaf in her hand, which she kept spinning in circles by the stem. The wind tugged at her hair as she glanced up and down the street. "Mm? Did you say something, Captain?" she asked, having been lost in her own thoughts.

Michiru let go of her leaf and watched it drift away, carried off down the street by the breeze. The wind seemed to pick up a little. All of a sudden, it felt colder. Michiru gave a slight shiver and stood up, peering off into the distance. She could sense it - something was indeed out there, close to herself and Shin'ichi.

"... I think if something is going to start up, it's starting up now," she whispered, clenching her hand into a fist.