Joint Squad Operations; Digging For Secrets In The Screams

[Gaz]

Shiro #1

---

Being woken up by a messenger barging through the door to your private room was always a bad start to the day. When you were the Twentieth Seat of Squad Twelve, it was the worst start to your day. It usually meant the captain had a new contraption that she had worked on through the night and it needed a rigorous testing before the next stage.

Today it was for a new reason. Today it was because every other seated officer was busy, away on a research test or quarantined after an experiment went wrong. That left young officer Tagachi as the only viable member of the squad to lead an expedition to investigate a Valley of Screams that had been monitored for some time. This was in fact a joint operation, as Squad Thirteen were going to send one of their seated officers and a contingent of their members to act as guards for the science division while they conducted research. Supposedly there going to be some members from the second squad as well, but he hadn’t seen hide, nor hare from them.

Now here he stood, having been funnelled through a Senkaimon and walked a treacherous path through the Garganta to the Valley of Screams designated Valley Five-Nine-Two. He had barely any time to prep anything beyond his Zanpakuto, his travel supplies and his orders, he didn’t even know who was actually here. In a place that looked like a lush forest, the ground slightly damp from the morning dew and the wind a gentle breeze that made the trees rustle. A sun was high in the partially cloudy sky, bathing the personnel that were here in a warm light that diffused through the leaves.

“Right, let’s set up camp here Squad Twelve. Start with setting up a line of communication back to the Seireitei and then gather some samples.” Shiro said, his eyes passing over the sheet of paper he had been given. The list of orders he was given, a simple guide on how to do his duty as a seated member and a list of the members of each squad that were here.

“We might be here a few days at least…” Shiro muttered to himself as he started to comb over all the papers he was given.

“Shiro, this is your first big assignment. I trust this should be one of your more easily achievable tasks. You are to lead a small team of researchers to find out why this particular Valley of Screams is so stable where all the others of this size collapse. You will be working with Squad Thirteen, they are there as escorts and to act as guards should anything dangerous occur.” The initial note read; it was from his own captain. Well at least it seemed she had some faith in his abilities...

He let out a soft sigh and started to read over his materials as the two squads around them started to follow their orders. Squad twelve following his and squad Thirteen their designated leaders.

---

Shiro: 7319e6

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #1

---

Although she still hadn’t forgiven her mother for denying her application to be on her squad, Lenalee tried to be excited to be on Squad Thirteen. On most days, that was difficult, because she was given babysitting duties of the captain’s daughter. It was a compliment in its own way, that was what she tried to tell herself.

Today, however, things were different! She was finally given a proper assignment, to serve and protect, and to put her skills to good use! There was still one thing to make the grumpy Lenalee ever so unhappy, which was the fact that she was not given a leading role. She was confident in her own ability to take on such a position, but that was given to somebody with more experience on her squad - at least she hoped that was the reason, as it was, in her eyes, the only way there could have been any semblance of fairness in the decision.

Kyoshin, Maki, a well-established member of the Thirteenth Squad was a man of few words who showed up long before Lenalee joined the squad and has been around ever since, loyal and diligent. There was never any animosity between the two, but there was little effort to build a friendship and Lena accepted her part in that.

There was another frustrating part in this assignment. Lenalee was unsure if Maki was simply being tight-lipped about the operation or genuinely didn’t have the information, but he didn’t share very much. All she knew was that they would be escorting and guarding some Squad Twelve members through Valley Five-Nine-Two, which meant there was a chance that Shiro would be one of them. Whether this was a good thing or a bad one, however, she hadn’t yet decided.

“Our camp will always be on slightly higher ground than yours, and there will always be at least two of us stationed nearby.” The designated leader of the Squad Thirteen team on this expedition explained as he approached Shiro, having already given the order to the three squad thirteen members who accompanied him. Maki almost matched Shiro in height and appeared at least a decade his senior, his eyes reflecting the struggles of battle that only came with experience. A scarf was wrapped around his shoulders to replace a shawl over the standard Shinigami uniform, and his arms were completely covered from elbow to his fingers in ink. “You go about your business, we’ll go about ours, and everybody will make it back in one piece.” With a warm chuckle, he raised one hand to pat Shiro’s shoulder and then return to his squad.

Lenalee was helping the rest of the squad set up their camp, though it was simple enough work for her attention to be in two places at once. She was watching Maki as the man engaged with Shiro, curiously wondering what they were talking about. Lena knew that she and Shiro had stirred up quite a bit of gossip recently and she hoped that it wasn’t the topic of their conversation. In any case, she had volunteered for the first shift of being stationed outside Squad Twelve’s camp… they’ll have time to talk properly then.

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Maki Kyoshini: #dd6a00

[Gaz]

Shiro #2

---

Shiro was deep into reading the notes of his assignment and the personnel list of both camps when Maki and his assistants walked over. This was too much, a true position of responsibility and Shiro before this only needed to keep his testing lab organised and Shizu from blowing up the inventions that they needed to rigorously test. This was overwhelming to the point that those stray thoughts of not being ready and unable to actually do this crossed his mind. That was when the voice of Maki pierced his mind.

“Huh? Oh Yes!” Shiro replied, folding the papers he was reading, using his thumb to mark where he had read up to, covering Lenalee’s name. “That sounds fine with me. Though I don’t think I’d need the same guard the rest of my squad will need.” He stated, turning to look at the members of squad thirteen that had come along with Maki to this informal strategy meeting. Then as his eyes Settled on Lenalee in the distance, that instant seemed to settle the nerves running though his stomach as the memories of their trials had flashed through his mind.

“Yes, once we get to the bottom of why this Valley is so stable, we will head back and all in one piece.” Anything could be lurking out there, not just Hollows and arrancar. “Who’ve you assigned to by my guard?” Shiro asked, giving a confident smile. It was somewhat widely known that Shiro was an oddity in the twelfth squad of the Gotei 13, he was no scientist but fighter in a lab coat.

---

Shiro: 7319e6

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #2

---

Maki had seen how nervous Shiro appeared to be and hoped that he had managed to at least reassure him that he’d be in good hands. Of course, he’d heard all about the lad’s fighting spirit, as most people had, but he wasn’t one to judge a person on hearsay and gossip. Being a strong fighter was rarely enough to calm one's nerves when faced with a new and dangerous task. That included gossip that was so blatantly true, as he saw for himself when the young shinigami’s entire body seemed to relax as he spied a particular woman on his squad.

Having said nothing about that and started to leave, he paused when he heard Shiro’s question, to which it took a lot of will power not to smile.

“We will be working on a roster basis and adapt if any issues arise,” he began to explain as he turned round to face Shiro once more. It was at this point that he simply couldn’t hide a knowing smile anymore, although there was no judgement in his eyes - that he revealed. “It just so happens that the first volunteer to sit outside your camp is Lenalee. At some point, it might be me. I believe you two are very well acquainted, are you not?” Maki paused for a moment to gauge his reaction, then continued, “Especially after that fiasco at the exam… which I’m sorry you had to go through.”

While he was not in the habit of feeding gossip with more chitchat and giving it the attention it craved to keep burning, he had a natural detective’s intuition.

“Do you have any other questions?”

Watching Maki turn back to Shiro made Lenalee nervous and dying to know what was being said. From her experience, it was quite unlike him to be so talkative, but knew not to be nosy. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop her from staring - that, however, was interrupted when her gaze met Shiro’s and she promptly looked away, flustered at the idea that perhaps he thought she was trying to listen to their conversation. Focussing on their camp instead, she rushed through her work, and left a couple more menial tasks to be done by the other members until she was satisfied that her job was done and she started to walk over toward Shiro and Maki, eager to start her first shift and feel useful.

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Maki Kyoshin: #dd6a00

[Gaz]

Shiro #3

---

That smile on Maki’s face was suspicious, then he spoke a line that brought a cheeky smile to Shiro’s own face. So, Lenalee had volunteered for the position? That was something that brought out a chuckle from Shiro, it brought up those memories of when they could not stand each other and now Lenalee was requesting to be close so they could chat.

“Really? Well, I will have to have a chat with her when she comes over.” He said before nodding. “We are. Your captain has held me to a promise to help her attain Shikai with her own Zanpakuto. I come around to your barracks every other day to help.” Shiro explained, confirming some of the rumours that weren’t really rumours.

With a laugh he shook his head. “And don’t be sorry about the exam, I let my body move before my brain could think. Anyone would jump into save a life if it were in danger.” It was true, Shiro and his impulses were starting to become somewhat legendary. The exam incident with the proto-arrancar, and the incident with him sprinting past the squad six barracks and pissing off lieutenant Honda were both well known. There was the escape room puzzle Captain Azai had put the two through as well, but only members of squad twelve knew of that fiasco.

“No more questions from me. Thank you for seeing me through this mission Maki… Captain Saeki thinks I can do this mission, so I have to have some good qualities!” Shiro replied quietly, laughing a lot louder as the pair went their separate ways. While he wasn’t a scientist in a traditional sense his problem-solving skills and instincts were top notch. Now that he knew that Lenalee was here, he knew she could help him patch any holes he had in his leadership skills, being the daughter of his squad’s captain meant she had a more intimate knowledge of certain aspects than he did.

---

Shiro: 7319e6

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #3

---

Having his own opinion of Captain Saeki, Maki kept silent and simply smiled with a gentle nod before he was on his way back to his squad. As Lenalee passed him, she looked at him cautiously, but said nothing.

“What are the odds, huh?” The girl’s voice came from behind Shiro as she approached him. “Of all squads to group together… Makes me wonder if it was done on purpose. Oh, and I see you’ve met Maki.” Lenalee looked back toward her camp that was indeed on slightly higher ground, just as the man explained to Shiro, watching the squad leader tidy up some of the work by the others, before settling down in a world of his own thoughts, just watching his surroundings. He often did that and it unnerved her more than anything. 

Shaking her head, she let out a sigh and resumed her attention on her friend, whom she was here to protect. It felt ironic to her since as far as she was concerned they were equals and made an excellent duo. They proved this on the day of their exam, it shouldn’t be one of them protecting the other, it was more mutually balanced than that. A mission was a mission, however, and as with everything else, Lenalee planned to give it her all.

“So are you feeling ready for whatever it is that my mother put you up to? We weren’t given many details, I suppose it’s meant to be on a need-to-know basis.” Perhaps somewhere amidst her genuine concern, she was fishing for information. 

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Maki Kyoshin: #dd6a00

[Gaz]

Shiro #4

---

As Maki walked away Shiro returned back to his papers while standing in the middle of the gap between the camps, losing himself in the pages of text, diagrams and the assorted tests that should be carried out. The young seated officer was in his own world as Lenalee walked up to him and announced her presence with a question.

Shiro, facing away from her, smiled at the sound. While it broke his concentration it was a nice familiar thing to hear in this whole new world of responsibility and stresses. He turned his head to let his eyes take in the sight of her, still obscuring the smile as Lenalee kept talking. He gave her a nod as he lowered the stack of paper, tucking it under his arm, and turning around to face her properly.

“Yeah, I met Maki. He’s a good guy.” Shiro said, casting his glance the same way Lenalee had to watch him walk in into the camp and get stuck right into working on one thing and another. “I think I’ll learn a lot from watching him.” Shiro admitted, he learned best by watching and doing. Maybe this was his captain’s plan all along to give him that boost he needed to make a bigger splash within the squad.

“I’ve got the details…” Shiro said as he shrugged the arm that held all of the papers. “The leadership skills to pull it off?” He asked rhetorically. “I’ll pick them up in a do or die situation like I always have.” He joked, chuckling as he shifted to give her his full attention, relaxing now he could let his guard down.

“A birdy told me that you were ‘assigned’ to be my guard.” Shiro spoke, emphasising the assigned part of his sentence. His tone was almost teasing. “Quite good of Maki to set you up with me, do you think he did it on purpose or it was just blind luck?”

---

Shiro: 7319e6

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #4

---

As they both watched Maki, Shiro’s observation was more positive than Lenalee’s, as her response was a little sceptical hum. “He’s very quiet and appears to be in his own mind a lot. I can never actually guess what he’s thinking. I always imagine he's got some internal conversation going on...” She explained her feelings toward the man, before shrugging and looking up at her friend, “Haven’t had much chance to get to know him, I wonder if that’s why the captain sent both of us on this mission together.”

It didn’t take very long for her annoyance to be made known as she soon followed that up with a complaint. “Although I don’t know why he’s in charge instead of me.”

Lenalee’s gaze left Shiro’s eyes and went to the papers when he said he had the details of their task, and, as she nodded her response, her attention seemed to drift away from the notes and to the rest of his body. She was glad that their first big mission was together, and while she wouldn’t admit it, it was reassuring to know that she could count on him to have her back. Likewise, she would have his in a heartbeat. A smile unknowingly creeping onto her lips, she wondered why the universe seemed to be pushing them together so frequently, while she was quite insistent that it was by no efforts of her or his own. Why would it be?

It was clear that they enjoyed each other’s company to a greater degree than in the past, but to actively seek it out? That sounded ridiculous… their meet-ups were always a consequence of other engagements, sheer coincidences, or for the purpose of some task or another. Right?

“What?” Flustered as she hadn’t entirely been listening, she only caught a fragments of his statements. “Nobody’s setting me up with you, are you drunk?” Red in the cheeks, she nudged him and gave him a classic Saeki scowl. “I don’t like what you’re insinuating Shiro, maybe you should focus a little more on your job and less on my motives for being here. It’s no secret that you’re incapable of staying out of trouble, so you should be glad I’m here. Grateful. In fact, you should be thanking me!” With a huff, she crossed her arms and looked away from him.

Meanwhile, across the field at the Squad 13 camp, Maki chuckled to himself. “That didn’t take very long…”

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Maki Kyoshin: #dd6a00

[Gaz]

Shiro #5

---

Lenalee speaking about why she wasn’t in charge made Shiro look down at her with a raised eyebrow. He was a seated officer, and she was still just working up to get a seat like he and Maki had, but it did show her confidence in the ability to lead. Like with everything the captains had a reason for everything. Her annoyance at the man sounded almost like jealousy for not being given what she believed she deserved.

As he carried on his speaking, he noticed a far-off expression to her face… she got lost in her own world again… just like her mother could sometimes. Her reaction to the last question proved that much as she gave him her classic scowl and huffed with her cheeks puffed and arms crossed. It just brought a big smile to his face, and he bellowed a laugh that echoed around both camps.

“You really got the wrong end of the stick there Lena.” He spoke as he began to walk over to where his command tent had been erected not to far away. “I am truly incapable of staying out of trouble for every move I make is another blunder to be recorded into history.” He joked harshly, pulling the flap up and walking into the empty room that had a table surrounded by chairs. To one side was another flap that led to where he will be sleeping and to the other a large stock of supplies that had been left here to be used in later expeditions of the Valley. This was a quiet meeting room away from the hustle and bustle of the main lab.

“Seriously. Thank you.” He said now they were in a more private space, his face softened into a more welcoming smile and tone warmer. “I know it must be hard for you doing your duties and looking after my clumsy ass all the time.” He stood tall and placed all the papers onto the table and spread them out. He placed them evenly and motioned for the young woman to come over and inspect them with him, even the note from her mother.

“Seeing as you’re going to be my guard and my official liaison between me and squad thirteen you should know the details to.”

---

Shiro: 7319e6

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #5

---

As Lenalee followed him under the flap into the empty room, she didn’t need to bend down at all to avoid her head reaching the end of the flap. It was one of the perks of being so short that she really couldn’t complain about, and her back never suffered for it - though she would bite the head off anyone who readily pointed it out.

Inside, she looked around her. The room was a lot neater than she’d expected it to be, as she always imagined expeditions to be chaotic with papers strewn everywhere, packages and bags of food and belongings, empty and full containers alike scattered all over the place in coded columns and piles... Some would be for delivering to some other tent or the lab, others to be discarded yet somehow never were, and others would be on the to-do list. There was none of that here, it seemed a lot more like a strategic planning centre than anything else, which became more apparent as they approaching the table that would be used for spreading papers out.

When Shiro offered such a sincere thanks, however, she was taken by surprise. Of course she hadn’t been serious about him owing her gratitude, and now she couldn’t go back on her own words or she’d look like a fool. Staring at him for a moment, as if trying to discern if he was taking the mickey or not, her eyes scanned his softer features that appeared now that they were in a more private setting and their initial but very usual butting heads had passed.

She felt her nerves jitter within her for a moment and she averted her gaze. “Yeah, well… you’re welcome…” Lenalee uttered in a quiet tone, not a single ounce of ill will or malicious intent behind her words that could have, and most likely would have, just as easily been spat at him sarcastically in any other circumstances. Not sure if she should say anything more, she struggled to find what to say next and it suddenly felt like there were too many people in the room, within the same space. Ignoring the heat rising to her cheeks, she focussed on the papers he’d spread out on the table to look at.

The first one she picked up was the note from her mother, but she didn’t get through it all. After reading through only half way, she peeled her eyes away from the familiar handwriting and held it to Shiro instead. “I don’t think you should be sharing this with anyone. Paraphrase, pick on the good points, and brief your team instead.”

Lenalee hadn’t even realised she’d slipped into this advisory role, but her manner made it clear that she had no intention of taking his spotlight, even though she quite recently expressed her dissatisfaction with not being given a more commanding role within her own squad. No, this was his… in perhaps the most innocent gesture she may have ever offered, she thrust the reigns back into Shiro’s hands, whether he liked it or not, because she knew that he could handle it.

“So what’s your action plan from here?” Her eyes darted from one document to another, her little fingers occasionally picking a paper up to get a closer look at the text, while others were pushed away. “Do you have any kind of timeline to work with? Does Maki also know all these details? I believe he’s already got the planned route, but I doubt he’d understand the ramblings on half of these papers.” She continued with a slight eye roll, but quickly froze and looked up at Shiro again as she immediately realised how that could have been misunderstood as a jab. “I mean anyone who isn’t on Squad 12 would have a hard time with it, and I guess that’s a part of the point.”

It seemed that no matter how much time passed, having to place herself on the outside of the one place in the world she always wanted to be the most still hurt…

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Maki Kyoshin: #dd6a00

[Gaz]

Shiro #6

---

Shiro nodded to Lena’s suggestion about paraphrasing, he had already done that with the initial briefing this morning before being sent out. It was good to hear that she would have done if not would plan to do the same thing. He started to gather the papers up, sliding the note from her mum, Captain Saeki to the bottom of the pile. That sense of relief almost vanished when she asked him about a plan.

“Plan?” He asked, clearly joking as the smile on his face indicated he had put some thought into all of this while personnel and equipment was gathered earlier. With a flick her pulled out a small map that had a few drawn routes and annotations. “So, we have a few routes we will traverse while the nerds collect samples, the scouts will venture a little out in small groups that are ordered to flair their reiatsu in three quick pulses. That will alert us to danger so all units will abandon what they are doing and come to their aid. If there is a second set of pulses, then we are to fall back and regroup.” Shiro spoke, tapping another sheet of paper he had worked out with his team.

“We are operating at Two of your Squad to an individual from my squad for protection purposes.” He added before sliding over a sheet of paper that Maki had signed to state he agreed to these provisions. They were exceedingly over cautious but that was for a reason, something wasn’t sitting right with him about all of this.

“The overall goal of this expedition is to find out why this Valley of Screams is so stable; it is up to mine and Maki’s call on whether or not we disrupt that because of what we find here.” Shiro didn’t have a scientific bone in his body, but he had the confidence and know how to give the impression he was a seasoned veteran at this… only when Lenalee was around him to help give that moral boost, he needed to stop doubting himself.

He then finally looked to Lena with a great smile on his face. “Maki’s pretty smart, what he didn’t get I explained in Shiro speak.” It was a new phrase the squad had coined after Shiro figured out how to explain things in the most dumbed down way that anyone none science could pick up.

---

Shiro: 7319e6

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #6

---

Shiro’s plan all made sense to Lenalee, which she indicated with a gentle nod here and there while she listened to him explain it. When he passed a sheet of paper to her with Maki’s signature on it, however, she couldn’t help but frown.

“Why so cautious?” the girl asked, equally surprised that Maki approved his proposal and agreed to offer two of their own for every one from Shiro’s. They did outnumber Shiro’s team, but she was quite sure that they didn’t actually have double the number of people on their squad to keep up with a two-to-one ratio.

Her gaze soon left Maki’s swirling signature that looked like something she’d expect to find on a masterpiece at Ren’s massive family home, she looked up at Shiro once more and received her answer almost instantly. It didn’t take much to realise that there was something bothering him about this mission and as he went on to outline their goal, she continued to watch him, paying more attention to his body language and tone than his actual words. Lenalee was no expert, but she knew Shiro well enough to gauge his confidence level just by looking at him. She could recall times when it was brimming, bursting through the roof in the most obnoxious way at the academy and others when it hit the floor…

“Okay,” she replied in as straightforward a manner as she could, considering asking if something else was on his mind, but decided otherwise for now. The compliment that went Maki’s way made her smile and teasingly nudge him.

“Oh come on, we both know there’s nobody who understands your weird Shiro language better than me, but I’ll accept him as a close second.” Lena scrunched her nose as she let out a little giggle, but quickly sobered up and continued, “It sounds like a good plan. We’re in the dark about a lot of things prior to this investigation and sampling, but it can’t be helped… we’ll work with what we gather as we go along and you’ll do what you do best. Improvise.”

She gently touched his arm, hoping that would give him a bit of a boost to limit his self-doubt. While she had more than enough faith in his abilities, she was also aware that her mother could be very harsh and didn’t wish for this job to go sideways and land Shiro in a bad spot with his captain.

"Where do you need me right now?"

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Maki Kyoshin: #dd6a00

[Gaz]

Shiro #7

---

Shiro gave his plan, confident in one thing. It was secure and there was very little in the way of danger to any of the Gotei Thirteen that were present here for the mission. The only thing that he didn’t like was that a gut feeling he had made it that way. It wasted resources and time making the mission for longer than it had to be. An almost equal amount of squad twelve members came to the members of squad thirteen… but most of them were staying back in the camp to facilitate experiments, and communications back to the Seireitei. Lena seemed to sense that unease in Shiro.

“I don’t know… Something doesn’t sit right with me… something is just off.” He responded, looking down at her as she made a quip about his Shiro speak. She had become the only person in all of the squads that could understand him and his mannerisms.

“Thanks.” He said, moving his other hand to put it over hers as she touched him. “Seeing as you are my bodyguard, just stick close while I prep the nerds.” He said with a chuckle, letting go of her hand and moving to exit his command tent. The flaps opened and the bright daylight flooded through the canvas portal and bathed the tall Shinigami in warmth as he walked outside.

It was a short walk as he purposefully spiked his Spiritual Presssure as a method of getting peoples attention. “Squad Twelve! Breifing time!” He called, his voice suddenly booming like thunder around the camp. In moments nearly everyone had gathered around the cleared space that was out the front of his command tent.

He lowered his spiritual pressure as best he could and with a big smile looked around and then down to his bodyguard. “For the duration of this mission treat Lenalee as if she were a member of our squad.” He announced with a nod. All the members grinned back and there was a murmur as one called out that she was basically a member of the squad already.

“Now!” The seated officer called again to calm the chatter. “I need Ten volounteers to come with me on the expeditions, preferably of the quick and nimble variety. Everyone else is to experiment on the samples here in camp and communicate with the Seireitei. Squad Thirteen will form a perimeter but be ready to fight at a moment’s notice. Something about this mission doesn’t sit right with me and I want us to be ready for anything.”

---

Shiro: 7319e6

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #7

---

Lenalee’s smile softened as he thanked her, indicating the very genuine and effortless nature of her support. She then nodded to his instruction, “I won’t leave your side.”

The determination in her voice was unmistakable as she meant her words, although they could easily be misunderstood to have motives that ran deeper than the mission. Of course, it wasn’t a foreign thought to anyone other than the pair itself, it seemed, as rumours and whispers had already begun to spread long ago, yet both Lenalee and Shiro appeared to be oblivious to all of it.

Walking with Shiro, Lenalee waited as he summoned his squad and squad 13 members were instructed to get closer as well by Maki, who approached but didn’t mingle with the crowd. His gaze fell upon the two shinigami with a deep focus, ready to process the instructions that were about to come.

Standing beside her friend, Lenalee crossed her arms in a stern manner as she eyed the members of both squads as if to warn them that they were to follow Shiro’s command to the letter or would face consequences not only from their captain, but from her personally. As she stood there, she could feel a level of confidence and that she rarely experienced within herself. It was as if the warmth that radiated from him, the warmth that she could feel on her bare skin as she was positioned close enough for her arm to brush against his, could somehow spread over her and revitalise her being. He brought good energy not only to the room but to the people all around him. To Lenalee.

Maki was not blind to this effect the two had on each other, and he knew he was not the only one. As other members began to murmur, he too allowed a smile to appear on his face as he watched their closeness. Then, abruptly, he turned to the members of his squad who had followed suit and hushed them.

When the briefing appeared to be over, Maki approached them.

“With Lenalee being so close to you, Shiro, would you like an additional guard to accompany you, or would you prefer privacy for whatever may... happen to ensue?” The subtle smirk that grew on his lips was one that he couldn’t hide, letting the implication of his words sink in for a moment before he moved on. “I will need to come and go for updates from my team, but we have our own communication system in place to work among ourselves. The perimeter will be secure day and night.”

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Maki Kyoshin: #dd6a00

[Gaz]

Shiro #8

---

Having the entire operation placed on Shiro’s shoulders was something he didn’t expect when Maki and his unit arrived and his initial briefing to Squad twelve turned into one for them too. The revelation that this was happening didn’t overwhelm the young officer, quite the opposite in fact. It emboldened him.

“I want the volunteers to meet us by the edge of the clearing in a few minutes. Squad Thirteens Officer Kyoshin will assign two of his squad to each of you. Dismissed.” He said before turning to Lenalee and then to Maki who had gotten close to the pair.

He worded that question in such a strange way, why would Shiro need any more protection? He had acquired his Shikai and was noted as one of the best fighters in all of Squad Twelve. “No need, Lenalee is skilled enough. I can trust her to have my back any day.” He said, remembering how they had bonded in the terrifying escape room and then in the exam that was ruined by the Proto-Arrancar. “Good to know, thanks for your hard work, Maki. I’ll set off on the first expedition now.” Shiro noted as he gave a nod to him and turned away, his fingers waving slightly to be a hint for Lenalee to follow.

He moved to the designated area and waited for a moment and looked down at Lenalee. “That was a good speech!” He said with his characteristic grin, the one he always wore when he was happy and relaxed. The underlying feeling that something was not right about all of this was still there, but there was nothing he could do about that aside from hide it to keep the groups morale high. Telling white lies to make kids feel okay was an amazing skill to pick up from his time in the Orphanage.

“I think it was a little rude of Maki to doubt your skills earlier, you’re a great Shinigami Lena.” He said with a triumphant nod to his shorter companion. “You’ll likely make captain before me.”

---

Shiro: 7319e6