A Spot Of Late Night Team Building Exercises

[Gaz]

Shiro #1

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Now he had cooled off and let Leanlee come back to reality and say her piece the tall student nodded. She was right, he had no right to be that harsh to her mother or a captain. In normal circumstances he would be kicked out or thrown in a cell for insubordination. But he felt the message needed to get across, Captain Azai Saeki needed someone to be the angel on her shoulder. Someone to focus her on more worthwhile things, things that would advance the soul society.

The fact this young woman appreciated the fact that he had stood up for her did give him a sense of right. Though how she was defending her mother still didn’t sit right on Shiro’s shoulder. Purposefully exposing Lenalee to her worst fear? Testing her like this on the night before the most important day of her career? What was the purpose of it all? Shiro couldn’t see anything in it other than maybe teaching Lenalee teamwork… That felt like a stretch.

“Yeah… When your mother and found me she acted surprised that Sammie was doing what she was. And when I was picked up Sammie said some strange things that I just wrote off as her being happy I was getting my dream.” Shiro explained as he moved to stand beside Lenalee and walk towards his dorm… sleep was desperately needed. “You know… outside of being the woman who raised me, I don’t actually know a single thing about Sammie.”

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Shiro: 7319e6

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #16

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Shiro’s concerns were all relevant and valid. Lenalee herself would be wondering what the point of this was and why her mother put her through that, but she wasn’t planning on putting those questions forward as verbally as Shiro just did.

Nodding, she listened to what he described of the situation when her own mother practically fetched the young Shiro and brought him here. While they never really got along, she was now sort of glad that he was here, though a part of her guiltily fell into a little pit of jealousy. It sometimes seemed that Azai paid more attention to Shiro than her own daughter. Now that she thought about it, even the outcome of this training exercise seemed to be directed toward Shiro, though that thought was easily dismissed simply because Shiro did all the talking.

Surely this was only coming from her fatigued mind that prevented her from seeing things clearly.

“That’s something that we should work on - you should get to know her a bit better.” Little Lena shrugged as she walked with Shiro, but she paused at a fork where they would have to go their separate ways to reach their dorms. “After this exam, that’s going to be added to your bucket list and if you don’t follow through, I’ll drag you to her front doorstep myself.” Her threat came with a little giggle, then she pointed over her shoulder down the corridor she needed to head down, her back to it while Shiro’s would be the adjacent one.

“Well, this is me,” she uttered, lingering for a moment as if waiting for something, though she wasn’t quite sure what. This felt very strange - Shiro and herself having a real conversation without any yelling or throwing of objects. “So… goodnight.” The awkward tone in her voice betrayed how foreign this felt to her.

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Lenalee: #54d5e3

[Gaz]

Shiro #17

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Shiro stood at the junction the pair had ended up at. One lead to Leanlee’s residence and the other back to his own dorm where his own bed was. Despite all they had been through Lenalee seemed so much friendlier to him… real and relatable. Like an actual person and not some short-coiled viper in humanoid skin. She was even pushing Shiro to get to know the woman that raised him better, because she knew more about his past than most people did at this point. Despite being a loud-mouthed chatter box that loved to try and be everyone’s friend he never spoke about his past beyond the fact he was an orphan, the people here didn’t like hearing about the woes of those outside in the rukongai district.

“Don’t! She will assume the worst and think we are friends!” He teased, chuckling lightly before Lenalee got awkward and said her good night. That sensation of awkwardness hit Shiro at the same time. This was genuinely the first time they ended and interaction without feeling sour or shouting at one another.

He thrust his hand out to her and looked down expecting her to quickly shake it. “Friends? I think your mum was right to throws us in a locked room with our worst fears.” He spoke before taking a few steps away and waving as he started to make his way to his own dorm. “It got us past the petty squabbles.” He finally said loud enough for her to hear. This realisation came so late, but it was likely Lenalee needed to hear it come from him before going to bed, it would put her mind at ease he thought.

The Shinigami in training did not dally, he went straight into his room, changed out of his damp students uniform and went straight to bed. The exam and squad selection was in the morning and he needed all the rest he could get to be in top shape.

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Shiro: 7319e6

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #17

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Lenalee grinned at Shiro’s apparent panic at the thought of them being mistaken for actual friends. Real friends that could rely on each other to pull them out of tight tunnels or bind some demonic doll that comes to life and tries to murder the other.

As he extended a hand, she nodded and tucked her damp hair behind one ear before slipping her little hand in his, her delicate twig-like fingers wrapping around his larger ones. “Friends,” the girl agreed, a beaming smile on her face, and then she withdrew her hand and watched Shiro walk away. She lingered for a moment on the spot, just swaying ever so slightly, before she spun around to leave.

She heard his last statement after her back was turned, and the response he got was a soft giggle as she looked over her shoulder, but didn’t say anything. In spite of everything, tonight was a good night.

Lenalee previously thought she wasn’t ready for the exam, having not gone over study material enough times to put her mind at rest that she was truly prepared… yet as she made her way to her own dorm, she never felt more ready to take on anything that could be thrown her way. Changing out of her soaked dress, she resorted to the cutest pair of light blue pyjamas with brown and white bears on them before climbing into bed to sleep.

“Tomorrow will be the day we take on the world.” The words muttered by the girl were the last that she thought before drifting off into a world of dreams.

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Lenalee: #54d5e3