New Squadies Make Amends, New Training Begins!

[Gaz]

Shiro #1

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*Thwack* *Smack* *Thud* *Smash* These were all sounds that could be heard from outside one of the many testing rooms in the squad twelve barracks. In the last few days, they had become a regular occurrence, that was because the newest member to the squad had volunteered for every single even remotely dangerous testing. It had made quite the impression on the veteran squad mates who usually had to coax people to do any form of testing. Here Shiro was volunteering to do everything… all because he didn’t want others getting hurt.

“And that makes one hundred Shiro… you can relax now.” A nasally female voice spoke from behind a transparent screen, her thick round glasses magnifying her pale green eyes to unnatural levels as she looked up from her clipboard to see a bruised Shiro wearing a protective padding. “I’ll just say the prototype failed… you look really hurt.” She added as Shiro moved closer and took the padding off of his shirtless torso.

“Yeah… It doesn’t help I only just got out of the hospital a few days ago… The captain seems to really have it in for me!” He said, trying to use a light-hearted tone, failing at points as he winced as different sections of the padding came free. As each piece hit the floor, he lightly kicked it to the side towards piles of other failed prototypes he had tested.

“I-I heard about that from my friend in squad four. You really laid into Captain Saeki… but still… Being made twentieth seat and fighting a proto-arrancar is amazing. Some of the squad are saying you’re a badass!” The woman spoke, a sparkle in her speckled eyes.

“Shizu, thanks!” He spoke, looking up with a smile, taking the final piece of padding off to show his bruised bare torso. “Anyway, I think that is the last one for today. If you need a hand with the reports just ask… I am not the best, but I am sure I can lend a hand.” He said, hoping to the heavens that Shizu said no… he was awful at paperwork and hated every moment of it.

The frizzy haired woman nodded and offered a kind smile back. “It’s fine Shiro, I’ll handle all of them. You go and rest… visit squad four if it is too much.” The woman said as she walked to the door. Shiro still had to get dressed again, but she had already the eyeful she had wanted, the second she was out of the door a blush appeared and she scarpered away with a childish giggle.

---

Shiro: 7319e6
Shizu: b1e619

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #1

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Today was yet another day of training that Captain Adachi seemed to mistake for ‘bring your daughter to work day’ as while Lenalee was trying to brush up on some new kido spells, she found the distraction of little Eri hobbling about. For reasons unbeknownst to her, the young toddler was annoyingly attached to Lena, and being grumpy about it didn’t seem to solve this problem.

Lena was still in a bit of a sulk over the squad that she ended up joining, having been given a very dissatisfying explanation from her mother for it - “this will be better for you” was all she said. The newest squad 13 member begged to differ, but arguing was pointless, and it was either this or fail the exam… so there wasn’t much choice in the matter.

“Eri, no!” she quickly snapped as the young girl took Lenalee’s book of kido spells, and Lena reached out to try and take it back but she felt too apathetic to get up from her seat. She didn’t have a lot of motivation these days, so sitting with a book was the best that she could currently do to keep her mind busy and active.. “I need that-” her words were interrupted by a gasp as Eri’s grubby little hands were all over the pages as she began ripping them out. With a pacifier in her mouth, the young girl giggled while Lena was about to have a heart attack, the papers scattering in the wind and the precious piece of literature ruined.

Dashing past the girl, she used shunpo to reach all the pages that had been ripped out in bunches and she gathered them all in scrambled order, before returning to Eri.

“You can’t just take what I’m doing to get my attention whenever you’re bored…” she grumbled, wanting very much to skin the innocent vandal for what she’d done, but there was no disrespecting the captain’s daughter. She then lifted the child and held her on her hip to keep her out of more trouble. It must have been a funny sight, considering how small Lenalee herself was, but it was easier to transport the adorable menace this way. “Now, where is daddy?” she looked around with a sigh, the tattered book and its pages in her free hand. While her tone was managed fairly well, her facial expression communicated all the frustration that she felt perfectly well, and it could all be summed up in one single phrase: this isn’t fair.

~ ~ ~ 

The clacking sound of Captain Saeki’s heels could promptly be heard coming through the corridor once the testing was done. It didn’t take her long to reach the room Shiro was in, meeting the blushing girl  just outside it as the captain was on her way in and the assistant was on her way out.

With a frown, Azai locked eyes with her in a piercing glance. “Please compose yourself, Shizu, this is not a match-making service.” The words came right out of the woman’s mouth in a cold and terribly blunt manner, her head tilted as if to question if she really were that stupid to mistake this testing session for such a service.

Hardly waiting for a response or making any attempt to conceal Shizu just outside the room, she pushed the door wide open and entered to meet Shiro. Immediately, she raised her eyebrows as Shizu's behaviour suddenly became clearer. “And hurry up and get dressed, you’re not here for modelling.”

Captain Azai missed what happened between the pair, but one was only half dressed and the other was blushing and giggling like a silly schoolgirl. She didn't particularly wish to know more.

“I presume this one was not a success either…” Reaching out, Azai placed a hand over one of his many bruises and gave it a gentle press. “On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being unbearable, and one being barely noticeable, how badly does that hurt?”

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Shiro #2

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The spectacle wearing Shizu skidded to a halt as Captain Saeki walked by and did her best to bow her head to the woman. “C-captain! No… It’s not like that…” She spoke but was not heard as the woman pushed her way into the room Shiro was still changing and cleaning up the results of the tests. With a pout the assistant stood up and started to walk away lethargically, aiming to get on with the paper work that Shiro had set for her.

Shiro on the other hand was already pulling the top half of his Shihakusho up, one of his arms being half way into a sleeve as the captain walked in, dropping that bombshell of a back handed compliment that made him crack a smile. “Yes Captain.” He said as he carried on pulling his top on and tie it closed. She went straight to business; however, the captain must have taken note of his bruises and assumed the failure before even seeing the written report.

“I’d put the bruises at a seven. I would already be heading to see Captain Shinomori if it was higher than an eight.” Shiro spoke now that his uniform was now back on properly and his trained torso was hidden from her. How was she and Lenalee so different? Lenalee was a firecracker and wore her emotions on her sleeve, the captain was just a cold ball of emotional ice. She had a very similar look; in a few hundred years Lenalee may look exactly the same…

“Captain, you didn’t come and visit me just to see if I was hurt, did you? I said I could make it in your squad, and I intend to deliver on that promise.” Shiro spoke, with a defiant tone as he believed she was trying to break him to make him leave. His eyes were reflecting that with that bristling energy of a storm about to make landfall.

~ ~ ~

The thirteenth squad was a grand place to work, the subordinates were diligent and friendly, and it was a safe place for everyone to work! So safe in fact that Captain Adachi could bring his daughter to work so she didn’t have to be couped up in a stuffy day care with cranky old care givers that would never give his baby the attention she deserved! Eri also loved it as well! She was really fond of Lenalee.

“Ahh, life is good!” He spoke as he heard a newly familiar voice from outside of his office. That was a good sign! Lenalee had come to bring Eri to see her papa! With an expectant smile she shifted his posture and moved his important paper work to a draw in anticipation for a knock on his door.

“Come in!” The captain spoke with a chipper chirp in his tone.

---

Shiro: 7319e6
Shizu: b1e619
Captain Adachi: 6c84ff

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #2

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“Hmm… a seven…” with a hum and a nod, Captain Saeki thought about his response for a moment. She considered the possibility that somebody else might have put that up to an eight. Either way, any bruising at all was not the desired outcome, whether it be rated a two, five, or a full on ten. Each of these alternatives would mark a failure.

Narrowing her eyes with a frown, the woman was clearly deep in concentration until Shiro’s words ripped her from her thought process.

“Did I come to see if you were hurt? Well, yes, that is the purpose of these tests, Tagachi. The point is to prevent injury while the armour is worn, so of course I’ve come to see if you have sustained any or not.” Azai’s response came in the bluntest of manner as for a moment she appeared genuinely confused by his question.

Slipping back into her trance of focus, she crossed her arms and shook her head, “This will require an additional visit and further study. Adding more padding will make the protective gear far too bulky and impractical, I’ve not seen such a robust outfit in the land of the living, yet they defend themselves against such dangerous forces… not as powerful as hollows, but their own manmade devices that have the power to break through very dense materials…” Continuing to ramble for a moment, simply thinking out loud, she raised a hand to her chin and then sighed.

Her piercing eyes would finally drift away from the area of Shiro’s injuries and would meet his gaze. “Good. I am glad to hear you have such unwavering determination, because there is a lot of work that needs to be done. What do you know of armour-piercing weaponry?” She asked as an idea hit her - perhaps instead of beginning with the armour, she must start from researching and assessing what damage can be done and work with countering it.

~ ~ ~

As the command to enter was given, Lenalee opened the door and stepped into Captain Adachi’s office with an immediate respectful bow, Eri still held in the girl’s arms. Upon straightening up, however, she put the toddler down, a frown on her face that communicated anything but amusement.

“Captain… I’ve brought your daughter to you because she seemed to have strayed and might have been on her way to getting lost…” she uttered, trying to be as polite as she could, while in reality she was terribly frustrated. “She was clearly looking for you and wants to stay here, in this office, with you. Only you.” She lied, gently pushing Eri from behind to hobble away toward her father so that she could go back to studying her kido spells, the book that had been ripped still in her hand.

“That is all, Captain.” With a sigh, she stood with her back straight, ready to be dismissed and eager to return to a more peaceful and child-free zone.

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Shiro #3

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The woman had come more for concern with the prototype than she had for Shiro to test than his actual physical wellbeing, that was something he believed to be the case anyway. Her thoughts running away as she continued to ponder the possibilities about adding more or less materials would do. All the while Shiro was just ensuring his uniform was on right and covering most of the bruises aside those that were on his neck and shoulder area where he had intentionally ripped holes to allow for quicker movements.

The land of the living? Shiro had only ever been there on a few practical exercises with the academy to train on taking out fake hollows. He had never seen more than what was shown in the books that were horridly outdated. “No captain… I don’t know all too much about armour-piercing Weaponry, the academy does not have a good curriculum on the land of the living…” He spoke before considering her last question a bit more.

“If you want to improve the protection why not change the material you are using?” He asked before making a move to pick up the padding he was wearing previously and rubbing it together between his fingers, it was a thick material padded with what felt like cotton. It was useless against slashing and piercing attacks but it did okay with blunt force trauma.

“If you don’t mind Captain, I have to go and get something to eat before next series of tests this afternoon.” Shiro spoke, now placing the items on the table. He had barely been here a week and already got into the flow of working as part of the squad… that was mostly out of spite however.

~ ~ ~

“Oh Lenalee!” The captain said with a great big smile as he saw the newest recruit to his squad coming in with the most precious woman in the world in her arms. “Well, if Eri wants to see her Papa then she can come and see her Papa!” He spoke before standing up and moving around the desk to pick the small child out of her arms.

“Say, I haven’t see that Daguchi boy come around to practice getting Shikai with you yet.” The captain spoke as he now bounced the girl on one hip, one hand poking at her cheeks playfully. “Why don’t you run around to squad twelve and give him a kick up the backside to keep his promise to you?” The captain spoke, forgetting Shiro’s name and guessing at the closest approximation he could remember.

“He made me a promise that he would, so I expect him to keep it.” He spoke with a stern smile, not wanting to show his daughter anything too serious. He started to move back and sat the girl on the edge of his desk before sitting in his chair. “Oh, and while you are at their barracks, could you hand Captain Saeki this?” He asked before leaning over and picking up a sealed envelope with the name of Lenalee’s mother on it.

---

Shiro: 7319e6
Shizu: b1e619
Captain Adachi: 6c84ff

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #3

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Azai considered his words and then sighed, “Because I wish to test this particular material for its uses… however, it seems that we will have to move on to the next one sooner than I anticipated.” As she uttered those words, she seemed to find the situation personally disappointing, as if she had some personal investment in the material. Of course, this was not necessarily the case, but she was very devoted to her work and any and all failures were deeply felt.

“Very well,” with a nod, her attention shifted onto him instead of the armour. “Of course, go and eat something. No need to come back for additional testing this afternoon before I work on a new prototype. I will let you know - if you do not hear from me, testing is pushed back to tomorrow morning.”

Crossing her arms, the woman stood back, eyeing Shiro for a few uncomfortable seconds. “If you plan to eat with my daughter, please extend my words of encouragement. She may be unhappy in her squad, but she will shine when it’s time.”

With that, the woman turned back to the armour, no longer paying attention to Shiro.

~ ~ ~

Lenalee sighed softly, wishing to get some proper kido practice in and resume her studying that was interrupted by little Eri. “Tagachi, Captain…” she muttered as he got his name wrong and her gaze fell upon Eri.

His words stung. It was like he expected her to go running to Shiro to help her improve, like she wasn’t capable of it on her own. Perhaps to some degree, he was right - it was very difficult to get any solid work done with that little devil about after all. Eri was cute and everything, but she was a nuisance and a distraction for more than just the squad members, as it seemed even the captain himself had his perspective reduced to a very limited field of view when his princess was in the picture.

“Yes, Captain, I’ll find him and remind him of that.” She sighed, before a frown appeared on her features, her gaze fixed on the envelope. As she reached over to take it, she was dying to ask what it was, but she simply nodded. “When will you need me to return, captain?” she asked, already taking a step toward the door to leave.

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Shiro #4

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“Tagachi?! Oh yes that was his name!” He replied with a soft chuckle after sitting back down in his chair. Lenalee was a busy young woman who was constantly doing her best in his squad and it was something the seated officers and him had recognised. The issue was that detracted from her personal time and any form of practicing with her Zanpakuto.

“Take the rest of the day for yourself, you deserve a break for putting in so much hard work for the squad!” Adachi spoke before turning his attention down to his little girl as he rubbed a slight smudge off of her cheek with his thumb. “You’re free to go Saeki, have a nice break!” The captain spoke, looking back up to formally dismiss her from his presence and office.

Once she was gone, he picked his girl up and looked into her eyes as he pulled a goofy face. “Now how is my little Eri doing?”

~ ~ ~

As the captain spoke Shiro tilted his head, was she assuming that he was going to specifically have dinner with her daughter? “Yes captain, thank you for the extended break.” He replied before rolling his shoulder to loosen up after the barrage he had suffered through. “And off of the record, I think the design is fine, the material itself was not enough to absorb the blow… have you considered slipping some steel plates into it to act as a brace?” He asked, having worn the padding and been hit with it gave him a new insight she may never have had.

The young officer pulled the door open and looked back before giving a head bow to the captain. “I’m not hard to find if you need me captain.” He said before leaving and closing the door and starting to walk away.

“Maybe I should find Lena… I think she will have cooled off a bit.” He spoke to himself as he walked onwards. The way they left off at the hospital still replayed in his head from time to time, each time it stung just as much to see that reaction on her face.

---

Shiro: 7319e6
Shizu: b1e619
Captain Adachi: 6c84ff

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #4

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Lenalee smiled, glad to see that her efforts were noticed, but she soon frowned again. She didn’t want the rest of the day to herself, she wanted to do some proper training with a proper captain and without the mini one hobbling about.

With a sigh, however, the girl could do nothing but agree. “Thank you, Captain…” she replied and turned to leave with a sulk.

As she walked, she hugged the ripped book to her chest, her arms crossed firmly over it as she mumbled little grumblings beneath her breath about how this squad was the most unproductive one in the Seireitei. With a roll of her eyes, she considered what Captain Adachi had suggested.

“At least training with Shiro might actually be useful…” she quietly complained as she made her way toward the 12th squad barracks, though she had no intention of entering. The moment she arrived, she stood at its entrance and then sat down on the ground, flipping through the torn pages while she waited. Surely, he’d have to come out some time today… she certainly had no interest in going anywhere near her mother, so she decided to wait outside.

It had been a while since she last spoke to Shiro, and she wasn’t sure that she was ready to yet, but Lenalee took this as an assignment from her Captain. She also wanted to feel like she was doing something useful with her time, even if their meeting would only culminate to a discussion about their Shikai, it was still better than babysitting little Eri. Some part of her also admitted that she wondered how he was getting on and she genuinely wanted to see him… but that part would remain buried very deep within her in the darkest chambers of her heart.

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Shiro #5

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With the rest of the day to himself now was the perfect time to go outside of the barracks and find a good place for a meal at a restaurant. With just the thought of food his stomach rumbled, the sound was loud enough to make one of the passing squaddies chuckle and wave. “Skip breakfast again Tagachi-san?” They asked as they walked on, giving him a pleasant wave. In his short time being here he had tried to establish himself as just Shiro but a good number of the regular members had it ingrained into them to be polite and use correct honorifics.

“You know it Taka!” He replied, spinning on his heel to walk backwards as he did. The gate to the squad was open and he just kept waking out backwards as he gave the other man a wave. It wasn’t until he had turned around and was about to take another step that he noticed Lenalee sitting nearby and in his path.

“Lena!” He spoke with a jump to shift his position and not step over her. “I was just going to go and get some lunch! Do… you wanna come with me?” He asked, a soft smile sitting on his face as he offered a hand down to the young woman. This was a pleasant surprise, taking her to dinner and having a chat would be a great way to smooth over their last interaction and get back into being friends… The thought of them being friends made that smile grow just slightly… a couple of weeks ago that thought would have made him laugh. He and her were like cats and dogs, rarely getting along and always at each other’s throats for one thing or another. Now, however, he wanted to spend just that bit more time with her.

“I just got the afternoon off; the project fell through so the lead is going back to the drawing board.” He explained, his wrists and neckline were still showing bruises from this morning’s tests. He was doing his best to hide the pain just moving about in his uniform was causing.

---

Shiro: 7319e6
Shizu: b1e619
Captain Adachi: 6c84ff

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #5

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With the sudden shift in Shiro’s walk, Lenalee looked up from her torn book with a slight frown. Did he just almost kick me? she wondered to herself, but as he extended an offer to join him for lunch, that frown faded away.

She thought about it with a gentle hum, before grabbing his hand and rising to her feet with a little nod. “Yeah, I could something…” she replied, releasing her hold as she eyed him, noticing the bruises that were visible around his neckline, but she made no comment about those yet. The girl let out a little chuckle as he said that he had the afternoon off, “I actually do too, as ordered by the captain.” The sigh that followed made it very clear that she would rather be doing something more productive than taking an afternoon off. “His daughter is cute and everything, but I can’t get anything done with her around… I don’t know what it is about me that makes her think I always want to play. Look at what she did to my book!”

With that, the devastated book nerd held the vandalised collection of papers out for him to see and assess, the pages ripped in all sorts of places and clearly no longer connected at the spine.

“I see my mum has been keeping you busy though.” Closing her book and holding it in one hand, she reached out with the other to grab his arm and pull it toward her again, unintentionally forcing him into a forward slouch. As she got a closer look at the bruises on his wrist, she shook her head. “What has she got you testing? Is it weapons or armour? Or the third option, some useless gadget which looks nifty so she wants to try and recreate it for who knows what purposes.” With a roll of her eyes, she let go of his arm. The unhappy girl didn't linger on the topic long enough to wait for a response, however, as she started walking away from the barracks. "What are we eating?"

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Shiro #6

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Hearing how Lenalee was handling her time in Squad thirteen brought a bright smile to Shiro… good she was not in danger and was recovered from their incident back during the exam. The fact the captain of that squad kept her close and trusted her to look after his own daughter seemed to be a massive praise! He trusted her so much already! That was amazing and proof that the young woman was going to be great Shinigami one day.

He looked at the papers and chuckled. “Kids will be kids,” he replied with a chuckle. The orphanage had to put all of its book on tall shelves to stop the toddlers getting them. It was a pain because I was the tallest one there and Asami was barely taller than Lenalee.

Then his arm was grabbed, making him wince as she grabbed a bruise as she pulled him down. He managed to hold in any show of pain as he was brought to her level. She had asked the right questions, he was testing both of those and more, though he specifically requested most of it due to not wanting the other and more useful members of the squads to get hurt doing them. As he was released he lingered at her level for a moment before rising and making a move to follow her.

“I was thinking a restaurant not too far from here. I hear there is an amazing one near squad six not far from that one Ren tried to take us.” Shiro spoke, having already memorised the route to get there from maps back in his office. It was not the same place but it was still pretty high end, a good treat for the young Shinigami after their trials of the last few weeks.

“I’m feeling fancy is all. I wanna treat myself and well… I thought you deserved one too after the exam and all of that.”

---

Shiro: 7319e6
Shizu: b1e619
Captain Adachi: 6c84ff

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #6

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As Lenalee spun around to walk backward, her attention on him while he spoke, she gently nodded. A little smile appeared on her face. It would be good to spend some quality time together, whether it was eating or not. Shikai training could wait as she felt that this was far more important.

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” She nodded as she stopped walking and then turned again to walk by his side. “I don’t know what place you’re talking about though, I don’t really go out for dinner very much,” she admitted, glancing up at him somewhat guiltily. She knew the reason for it, and she frequently got an earful for it from her mother - Lenalee simply didn’t enjoy eating. She felt full very quickly and there was always something more important to do than sit down at a table and waste precious minutes devouring food. A snack on the go was far handier and efficient. Slowing down in her step, she allowed Shiro to lead the way.

“Fancy~” she mimicked him in a teasing tone, before a giggle escaped her. “I have not been feeling very fancy lately. The captain has reminded me of our deal about learning Shikai, but I just don’t even want to think about that right now.” she paused and glanced at him for a moment, before sighing.

“I just want to have a nice evening with no little kids or my mum around…” The girl’s tone was clearly disappointed as she lowered her gaze. She wasn’t happy with the way things currently stood but she wasn’t quite ready to address them yet. Eri wasn’t the problem, even though it was easy to say she was - the child was annoyingly in the way sometimes, but she really was an adorable little bundle of energy. Anybody who didn’t love her was truly evil, if the Captain was right about nothing else, he was certainly right about that. No, the real problem was the tension between Lenalee and Captain Saeki, her mother. Their relationship had only become more strained ever since their squad assignments, but Azai was built in a way that allowed her to simply move on with business as usual, expertly hiding any form of emotion behind an expressionless façade, and it was only infuriating the girl further. Lena had learnt that her mother was terrible with emotional signals and cues and was usually fine with it, but this was something that she was struggling to be okay with.

Perhaps a dinner was what she needed. Some time away from the concerns of squads, family, training, and all of that usual stuff she busied herself with. As a smile crept its way across her lips once more, the conflicted girl nodded again.

“A fancy dinner was very thoughtful of you…”

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Shiro #7

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Shiro kept walking with Lenalee by his side as they weaved their way through the Seireitei, expertly dodging people and obstacles with ease as he kept his attention mostly on her. It was a useful skill to have picked up in his life, it let him split his attention just right to look cool. A meal with no kids or captains around sounded really nice the more he thought on it, the tone Lenalee was using was slightly upsetting to him, her sadness had a way of worming into his own heart.

“I do think sometimes!” He spoke before spinning mid step and with his arms scooping up the short young woman and carrying her on his shoulder, facing the direction they were heading. With a chuckle he started running, using the arm she was over to keep her secured. The looks and mutters the pair got seemed amused in some case and annoyed in others. “Now keep that smile! No being sad for you Lena.” He announced as he skidded around another corner at a speed most would consider stupid.

Shiro had learned that the best way to cheer people up was to do the unexpected, throw their thoughts off and have a laugh whilst doing it. This was one of those times, to get Lenalee’s thoughts away from Captain Adachi’s daughter and her own mother’s inability to show emotion. “Almost there!” He called as he laughed, passing by the squad six barracks entrance and what looked to be a captain Kyosuke and his pompador’d lieutenant walking in to said barracks.

With a final slide Shiro gently placed Lenalee down and let out a long and hearty belly laugh, right from the centre of his soul. “AHAHAHAHAHAHA! That was fun!” He said before leaning forward to put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. “I’ve not done that in ages! Just run for the sake of it!” He said before looking up at his companion with the brightest grin on his face and the warmest buzz of energy in his eyes.

---

Shiro: 7319e6
Shizu: b1e619
Captain Adachi: 6c84ff

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #7

---

Shiro’s joke put a little smile on her face as he knew that she would likely imply that he usually didn’t think things through, and the way they could both get away with banter like that always amused her. However, Lenalee was only at the start of a giggle when she was suddenly swept off her feet, the small laugh cutting off sharply into a squeaky scream.

“What are you doing!?” she snapped, immediately squirming and trying to break free. Her feet in the air, she kicked wildly, while her hands worked doubly to hold onto Shiro so she wouldn’t fall, but also trying to push away from him to be released. “Put me down, right now!” her voice was stern, but shook as her body whipped around in the air with no control of her own while her friend skidded around corners at a ridiculous speed. Many other complaints came from the girl, but most were lost in her frantic screams as she feared for her life.

Some people hurriedly moved out of the way, others were too dumbstruck to do so, but whether good or bad, each and every single one of the witnesses to this event formed a new opinion of Shiro and Lenalee.

As they passed the squad six barracks, it was the final straw as Lenalee saw a captain and his lieutenant walking by. In complete and utter embarrassment, she covered her face that was quickly growing redder with each passing moment, unable to bear the looks from her superiors - or anybody else’s for that matter.

Finally, her feet touched the ground as she was put down at last, though her book was still held in front of her face. While Shiro went ahead and had his laugh, Lenalee lowered the book to peer over it at him in eerie silence, the redness in her cheeks spreading to the rest of her face. Then the book was suddenly raised higher with both hands clutching it tightly, higher than her head, and was simply held there for a few seconds while her face was cast in shadow. With a swift motion - and a bit of a hop - Lenalee brought her notebook back down with incredible speed and strength to whack the poor lad on the head and drive it down into the ground at her feet.

“TAGACHI, DON’T YOU EVER CARRY ME LIKE THAT AGAIN, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?” Baring some very sharp teeth, the girl’s usually sweet voice was now nothing short of a bellowing demonic growl.

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Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Shiro #8

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Shiro’s grin was still present as his eyes registered the the book coming down to meet his head, he barely had time to react as it made contact and made a satisfying bonking sound. The sheer impact of it made his stumble back a few steps as he felt where he was hit. The officer locked eyes with Lenalee and saw the sheer fury in her eyes, the anger in her words as they came forth… it was strangely funny to the young man to see her like this. He had never seen her this genuinely angry in all their time in the academy, so this combined with his fun loving nature just brought a smile to his face.

“Deal!” He said with a stiffled chuckle before standing up tall and straightening his uniform. “But, Saeki… why be so formal when telling me off? I thought we were on first name basis?” He asked teasingly as he touched where his head had been whacked and exagerated a wince of pain. She had hit hard but compared to the damage done to him in the tests and fight against the proto-arrancar this felt like nothing.

He then held out his hand to her and the teasing smile turned soft and gentle as he motioned with his head to the door of the building they were stood outside of. “Come on, lunch is on me.” He said, aiming to cool the demon off with offers of free food. It worked in most story books he had read as a kid, so why not now? This real demon was far smaller and better looking than the nasty looking ones in the pictures those books had. “Deal?”

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Shiro: 7319e6
Shizu: b1e619
Captain Adachi: 6c84ff