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[z0pu]

Ren #1

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This was not just any other day at the Academy. As the graduation exams loomed ever closer, the various divisions of the Gotei 13 would attempt recruitment drives to get prospective graduates to join their respective squads. Today was the day the the Eighth Division was giving it ago.

So far Ren had attended every one of those events, they had been quite entertaining for the most part, though really the young man had not made much of an opinion on which squads he had intended to apply for yet. So hopefully all these events would help him make up his mind.

For now the lanky young man sat in one of the front seats of the lecture amphitheater where this particular presentation would happen. If you were going to come to one one of those you might as well have a good seat.

~~~Outside the Room~~~

Hasegawa Yukiko read over her notes for her presentation making sure everything was absolutely perfect. Over the past few years Squad Eight had not had has many recruits, at least not of "quality", as they used to have and this could not stand, this time the Lieutenant took charge of the recruitment drive herself.

however she knew this was not something she could do herself and enlisted the help of some of the Squad members. Namely, today she was helped by Moeagaru Sukiba, one of the latest recruits right out of the academy.

"Moeagaru. Are we clear on the details for the presentation? I will make the speech, and when you are called you talk about your great experience as part of the eighth division yes?"

This time everything had to be flawless, and this time, as Yukiko was here herself she would be able to curate her plans to target the perfect candidates for the Eighth Division. the most skilled of Shinigami and... the pretties of boys.

"Hehehehe..."

That is assuming Hasegawa Yukiko, notorious closest pervert with little social skills, could keep herself in check and focused on the task at hand.

---

Fukumoto Ren #27d3d3

[Reflux]

The pressure mounting over Sukiba's shoulders as she along with her own lieutenant were planning on going in for the recruitment process and trying to gain new academy students for their own division. She remembered that Karo had been an especially sought after pick when they were first inside of the Shinigami academy. Yet now all she could think about was how she wished he was here for a single moment, able to help out with the recruitment process.

"Sure Hasegawa-San... I can talk about my supposed great experience inside of the division. Yet shouldn't I also talk about the supposed risk of being Shinigami? Wouldn't that want more people to think about who they choose? Rather then going down the easiest path?"

She was not aware of her Lieutenants motives as to why they were even trying to advertise for the Eighth Division. She was more so focused on making sure that they got at least a few people to get the message that being a Shinigami certainly wasn't a game that meant they could do whatever. Amber eyes losing the fire they once had held so long ago, replaced with the coals of a soul that was lost inside of the Soul Society.


"I'm ready whenever you are, just make sure it isn't too preachy, we want people inside though, that way we have more people to do jobs besides me and you running around almost all the time, although why isn't Captain here? Wouldn't that bolster up our position?"

[z0pu]

Ren #2

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Hasegawa abruptly turned here eyes away form her notes and to Moeagaru, determination in the Lieutenant's eyes. "First of all the students here should all already be well aware of the danger incumbent to their sought positions, if they do not wish for danger they should not be in this academy in the first place, or if they wish to limit their risks, simply apply to the Kidou corps or 4th Division!"

Hasegawa then turned back to Moeagaru again, ready to face the door to the amphitheatre where they were about to make their presentation. "Secondly this task is way to menial for Onee-sam- I mean Captain Shiroyama, to undertake, the Captains have many duties and are extremely busy people not to be bothered with such things!"

~~~In the Eighth Squad's Captain's Office~~~

The office was always a tidy place, Hasegawa always made sure everything was in the perfect place, that everything was clean and that there were plenty of snacks if the Captain required it, so efficient was Hasegawa at her duties that it left very little for Captain Shiroyama to do. So little in fact that the Captain was actually sleeping peacefully at her desk, all the paperwork and reports she was meant to be going over already sorted and dealt with by Hasegawa, leaving Shiroyama Junko to enjoy her beauty sleep.

~~~Back at the Academy~~~

"Now, Moeagaru, brace yourself for we are about to start!" Hasegawa then started making her way into the amphitheatre. As she stepped into the room the students gathered all went quiet and looked at the Shinigami that walked in, differentiated from the students by their black shihakushou rather than the white and red or blue academy uniforms.

Ren looked over the two that walked in. the first was Hasegawa Yukiko, whom he recognized as the Eighth Division's Lieutenant, that was surprising on its own, normally Lieutenants would not bother with such menial jobs, maybe there would be something more ot this presentation.

The second person, Ren did not recognize, a young woman with bright red hair, clearly a Shinigami from her attire and one would assume a member of the Eighth Division if they accopmanied Lieutenant Hasegawa.

Ren however could not help but to notice that the Lieutenant seemed tense, and for a moment he thought their eyes met and the Shinigami went even more so. Had they met before and the student failed to recall? It would be hard to believe, Ren had encountered Captain Shiroyama but a couple times throughout his life but he was quite sure he never had any dealings with her second in command.

Hasegawa did scan the audience as she walked in, quickly putting a mental grade on prospective recruits, immediate dismissing women for she could leave those to be evaluated by others, the boys she made note of in her mind. one had a strong body but bad hai, 7/10. Another a pretty face but clearly a terrible attitude, 4/10. Eventually though her eyes met that of a tall lanky young man deep blue eyes in the front row. A noble baring with delicate features, big eyes and a gentle look to him. Jackpot 10 out of 10. Target acquired!

For now though the presentation had to be done first! the presentation... the presentation where she said... stuff. Crap, she needed to regain her mind first. At least it would not be obvious to anyone her mind was blanking. Wait! That's why she brought Moeagaru!

"Ah. Welcome one and all to this presentation about the Eighth Division, I will your hoste Hasegawa Yukiko. As I am sure you all know the duties of our Division involve the monitoring of the Mortal world and of unantural activities within it. Butbefore going into more details about that I would like to introduce Moeagaru Sukiba to you all. This young Shinigami is still very close in age to you all and I would like her to describe what it is like to be part of the Eighth Division to you all."

---

Fukumoto Ren #27d3d3

[Reflux]

Moeagaru only leaned her head downwards at her lieutenants words, she couldn't, no she couldn't breakdown right before the presentation. There were people here that needed some amount of guidance. She needed to bring people along to the right path, to the group that was potentially going to house some good people that could help with the group. She snapped her head back up to attention, nodding before answering her superior. "My apologies, we'll be sure to put on a show right Hasegawa-San?"

The mentioning of their captain having too many responsibilities was a bit of a lie, even Sukiba had some inkling that Hasegawa had taken care of the Captains own chores for her. She wondered if Karo would have been in her place instead giving the people a rousing speech or showcase of what he was capable of doing with his own Zanpakuto. The thought lingered for a moment, until eventually Sukiba and Hasegawa both made their way onto the platform. The amount of students was pretty good for this year, scouting out a few based upon how some of them carried themselves. Her blackened Uniform having bandages wrapped around her own chest, having covered herself up before this as her attire had been ripped. Thus her outfit looked for more relaxed then, red hair slightly flowing with the small amount of winds picking up from the east. 

Sukiba could tell that her lieutenant was up to something, she looked rather tense from even the corner of her own eye. Sukiba taking a small glance towards one individual that she had locked eyes with for a single moment. Ren had taken her attention for a single moment, before she quickly turned her gaze towards a few other students, one with a nasty scar, almost looking like he had ripped out the stitches herself running all along from the top of her head to her chin. She seemed like someone that the 11th division would kill for even appearance wise. Another, with long blue hair, slender kind of build, he was on the shorter side, someone who seemed to be nervous to even be standing inside of the presentation room. She took note of a few others that seemed to have some amount of potential deep within them. Yet Hasegawa was taking way too much time before actually introducing herself, yet Sukiba wouldn't comment, knowing that she had to wait her turn for a moment before she could speak.

Yet Hasegawa immediately piping up to introduce Sukiba towards the group, it gave her the front stage, she felt a sudden weight inside of her stomach. How would she talk about her little experiences with the place? Especially when one of her first goes into the human world was met with a Hollow attack that killed a Squad 8 member. She felt a sudden chill up her own spine, yet she couldn't falter now, she was planning to do this, even had volunteered for it... It was now or never.

"The eight division... Is actually kinda scary thinking about it, sure the mortal world is mainly for monitoring and making sure nothing bad happens. Yet my experiences have still been pleasant, our... previous member of the division was really good at showing the way through the division. Monitoring the real world, and getting to see how the living world progresses is something I think everyone should have the chance to see! There is always the risk of Hollows, yet that's wat we trained for, to make sure that Hollows are taken care of and sent to Soul Society or hell, is there any questions regarding the activities of the Division?"

She gave a small smile, her arms tightly held behind her back as she wondered if anyone had questions regarding the Division, knowing that some would like to see how Humanity developed, as well as some would want to seek glory in Squad 8. Hoping that a few of who she saw would be interested in the division and join it. She could always use some more friends besides Hasegawa.

[z0pu]

Ren #3

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Ren took in the words and demeanor of the Shinigami that entered the lecture hall. the first was very much what one would expect of a Lieutenant of Hasegawa-san's reputation, yet the tense feeling from her did not seem to waver, perhapse she was simply nervous bout giving speeches? that did not really seem top track with what Ren knew of the woman but the truth could be very different from rumours.

The second Shinigami was clearly younger and less experienced, while not tense like Hasegawa-san this Moeagaru-san was clearly uncomfortable with the situation as well. From her words Ren could discern a certain amount of melancholy, the mention of former members implied loss, such was the lot of Shinigami, they all risked facing loss, this was a fact Ren had drilled into his head since he had been but an infant.

Eventually the floor was opened for questions. Hmmmm... as it were Ren did have a question. he had the same for every presentation from the various divisions that had come to the academy so far.

The young man raised his hand and waited to be addressed before speaking.

"What would you say has been the most rewarding aspect of being a Shinigami?"

---

Fukumoto Ren #27d3d3

[Reflux]

She clearly was a bit uncomfortable, never one to give speeches like this across whole crowds of people. Some seemed to be enthralled by what she said. Others seemed to have ignored what she had said entirely. It made her wonder if there was even a point to her being there. If she wasn’t able to get the peoples attention, why would anyone go into Squad 8.



Yet the questions that she had gotten were few, some asking why exactly they should join this specific division. Her answers being that they are allowed to wear whatever they want and have freedom of what assignments to take most of the time. Her focus shifted however to one specific question that had been asked. One that made her actually think for a moment, remembering just what exactly had made her want to become a shinigami in the first place.



“The most rewarding thing about being a shinigami… is the progress you get to see for humanity and for ourselves.”



She stopped having her hands hidden behind her back, resting both of them to her side as she spoke up more and more.



“You get to see, and watch as people improve, we as souls live far longer than those inside of the realm of the living. We get to see how humanity has progressed from the times where we were simply children or starting out. You get to watch as progress occurs. Even inside of Soul Society, we get to see some amount of progress. From teaching, to gaining strength, to making bonds that would last lifetimes. That’s why being a shinigami is rewarding, even with all of the deaths, even with the losses that you see before your very eyes…”



She stared towards the crowd as a small ember seemingly began to grow inside of her, pooling into a fire deep in her chest.



“You can always find a way to strengthen yourself, and your eternal friendship with your Zanpakuto… That’s why being a shinigami is rewarding.”



She had hoped it didn’t sound cliche… But it probably did sound like it. But she only gave a cute smirk while waiting to see if she should leave the stage or not. Some people had looked up at her with surprise, and some with the same mellow and disinterested expression. Yet she had hoped that it had satisfied the man's question with her own answer.

[z0pu]

Ren #4

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Ren listened carefully to the words of Moeagarus-san, indeed anyone would be able to feel she was earnest in her answers. To watch the mortal world grow to understand and the world and make oneself grow in turn through the bond with your Zanpakuto... yes there was something beautiful to that.

This may have been the first time Ren got what he could say was not only a fully honest answer to that question but one that actually resonated with him. Most of the Shinigami that gave these presentation either did not care for the job or cared too much and made things up to get recruits. the honesty here was refreshing.

Ren smilled gently and gave a small bow in appreciation to the answer to his question. "Thank you very much Moeagaru-san."

Meanwhile Hasegawa starred almost in shock at how articulate Moeagaru managed to present her thoughts and answer questions. But most importantly, she got a favorable response from the pretty one! From the side of the room the proud lieutenant of the eight division gave two thumbs up to her underling with a clear nod to keep going!

---

Fukumoto Ren #27d3d3

[Reflux]

“You’re welcome, I hope to be seeing any of you inside of the Barracks of Squad 8. Especially you.” She gave a small nod towards Ren, and a slight wink. She didn’t even notice the two thumbs up until she turned her to the left and right to see more of the students. Most of them looked on with slight awe at the speech. She wondered if there would be any other questions for the day. Her arms confidently crossed underneath her chest. Eyes staring back at the crowds before now giving it somewhat of her all.



“Any other questions?” She shouted out. Wondering if there would be any other questions hurled at her now that she had most of the amphitheater's attention. Students that were both pretty and ugly were staring up at her. She wanted to keep that fire in her soul. Wanting to keep up the pressure and the attention so that way more and more people wished to come towards the halls of Squad 8. Wondering just how far she could push until people were fully convinced.