A Team Takes Two (Elyss/Makoto)

The Academy. When was the last time she was here? It’s been a while. However, she hasn’t returned for anything school related. Nah. She’s here to find one specific person, that person being her partner in a secret assignment. Looking around the First Division didn’t help. All she learned was that the woman had finished her assignments and had left to go train. Why here instead of the sparring areas in The Gotei? Elyss doesn’t know. Everyone told her that Makoto has been visiting this place for some reason. Maybe something had happened before or after she was forced to take a bit of a vacation from her duties. Either way, with the woman back in action, that means they’ll be heading out soon. Probably best to talk and maybe get to know each other a bit more before they head out. It’d be weird to have an estranged partner.

However, Elyss used to be bad at talking herself, huh? Luckily, for the both of them, the redhead has matured. Now, where is that white haired woman? The training area is full of growing Plus who have their sights on becoming Gotei members. It’s pretty hard to find her amidst the crowd. Is she even here still? She could have left. It’d be a bother to have to walk around just to not find her. Hmm… Ah. Oh, yeah. Well, if one doesn’t want to take things slowly, just get it all done at once. Putting her hands up, she took a deep breath and yelled.

“Hey! Anyone seen a woman named Makoto!” Her yell would interrupt everyone, causing everything to pause as they all looked at her. Elyss didn’t particularly mind the stares, but she did get a bit nervous about stopping everything like that, but it is what it is.

“Yeah. White hair, red eyes, sort of looks always in thought or grouchy?”

“Looking for you, of course!”

Well, that came out louder than she had expected, but whatever. Makoto doesn’t look pleased to see her, but that’s whatever too. The redhead wanted something, so she had to go get it. Now she has it. What to do with it though? That’s the question. How should she start the conversation? A normal greeting? Straight to the point? Makoto doesn’t look like the woman who enjoys idle conversation. That’s fine. Elyss isn’t the best at it, so that means they should handle their business with one another.

“Well, anyway, I’m here to talk. We are a team, you know? Wouldn’t it make sense to understand one another a bit more before going out on a mission that could possibly kill us both?”

Such a blatant disregard for Makoto’s expression and possible feelings. Elyss really doesn’t show any compassion when she has her mind on something. However, the redhead is curious about Makoto’s reactions. The woman seemed a bit out of touch when they were at Abalia’s place, and, even now, there’s a strange air about her that the redhead can’t put her finger on.

A class? Well then. That’s interesting. Makoto does seem the type to teach people on the side. However, isn’t it weird how Makoto’s calling her third seat? She has a name. Rubbing at her chin, she’d think a bit about what to do with all this information. And, that’s when she’s hit by the brightest of ideas. A small smirk on her face would be the only hint at something going on in the redhead’s brain.

“Well, ya know… I am technically still a student here. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to actually come to class, huh, Miss Arima? If we can’t talk now, I’ll just wait.”

Oh yeah. Elyss knows Makoto’s last name. The people in Makoto’s squad relayed that much information. Then, Elyss took a nice quick scroll towards the back of the group and folded her arms as she leaned against a wall. She doesn’t have anything planned for the day, so why not watch Makoto teach? She might learn something from this.

Makoto is scary. If Elyss knew when to be afraid, she’d be shivering in fear right now. Maybe even pee her pants or whatever these black frilly things are called. She really should stop being such a country bumpkin all the time. Ah. And look at that. The teacher is being all stern now. Did Elyss spoil the mood of the class or something? That’s hot. Elyss can respect a woman that has some girth in their voice. Feeling obliged to follow directions, she’d snatch a seat for herself and sit down with a wide taunting smirk on her face.

“Yes, Miss Arima. Whatever you say, Miss Arima.”

How scary. The class is probably curious about who Elyss is exactly, and how she’s able to walk into their class without a care in the world. They probably think Makoto’s strong too which might make them wonder what kind of strength Elyss has to go back and forth with their teacher. Who knows? Elyss isn’t planning on causing any more trouble than she already has. This is a perfect opportunity to get to know her partner better. And, after class, she’s definitely staying behind for someone on one action. Now, let’s see if things get violent or not then.

Oh. Class is over. Finally. Of course, she’s the only one not getting out of her seat. Some students probably had something they wanted to talk to Makoto about, but seeing how things are going, they probably figured it best to keep it moving for today. Damn. Those eyes felt like they could melt steel beams. Someone isn’t particularly happy. Well, Elyss responded in kind by adopting a more serious look. Her eyes are far from aggressive, but it’s obvious she’s not going to be dancing around with Makoto anymore.

“That’s a really asinine way to look at things, don’t ya think? A mission, running into someone, or just being introduced, there are a lot of ways that people meet each other. We may have been assigned on the same mission, but that doesn’t mean that the mission’s the only pretense we need to talk. Yeah, I stopped by, so we could get to know each other more, so we’d have an idea of how we function together for the mission, but I also just want to get to know you better in general. What? After this mission, we just never talk to each other again or something? Is that how you want this to work?”

This seat is hurting her ass, so she had got up while she was talking, but her stance’s a bit antagonistic. Her hip is a bit protruding with her arms folded over her chest as if she’s ready for a quick debacle. However, she’d prefer if this doesn’t devolve into something like that. Makoto went from not friendly to a bit hostile really fast. It had shocked Elyss a bit, but the redhead had guessed that the woman had some sort of kick about her. The way Makoto had jumped about Abalia’s husband was proof. They’re kind of similar actually, but Elyss isn’t going to point that out yet.

“Sorry about the class, by the way. I had just asked where you was, not what you were doing. I just thought it’d be a bit quirky to sit in. You’re not that bad of a teacher.”