Prompt, Severe, Inflexible [Julian, Makoto]

It was almost strange, to have such a personal request made of him by the Captain Commander. Julian naturally considered Abalia a friend, of course, though he had to concede that his dear wife was a far closer friend of hers than he was. It was simply a touch surprising that she would have entrusted him with a mission of this particular scale, or with such a level of importance for her personally.

Well, he would not decline, of course. He owed a great deal to her.

He made his way through the Shin'o Academy, seeking out the first of his two apparent squadmates. Abalia had already made it rather clear to him that the two were not especially fond of one another, which left him in the less than enviable position of acting as a bridge and, in all likelihood, as a mediator. Just as well, he supposed. He was rather good with these sorts of things. Julian simply ran through a handful of thoughts as he waited for a particular class to end, and once it finally finished, he entered the lecture hall with his typical cordial demeanor.

"Miss Arima? Vice Captain St. Vendemiaire, of the 3rd Division. The Captain Commander has sent me regarding your recent assignment. Shall we discuss this somewhere more secure?"

Julian had been briefed a fair bit regarding the two women he would be working with, and he found that Makoto's demeanor did not entirely seem to match what Abalia had described to him. He quite doubted that she had simply lied to him, so he had to wonder if there was some difference in her behavior around the Captain Commander in particular. Well, it was no matter. He would discern that in time, presumably.

"I do, yes. It is a bit out of the way, so you must forgive me, but I can assure you that there will be no prying ears."

Gesturing for her to come along, Julian led the way out of the classroom, and indeed out of Shino Academy altogether. He had found that, even if he had become fond of the modern Gotei that Abalia had created, there were still far too many prying eyes, too many who would listen into any conversation merely for the sake of knowing more. He did not care for those elements.

"I do hope that I am not interrupting your day by bringing you all this way, but this is a rather important matter, I think you would agree."

"That is good to hear. It is my understanding that you are quite dutiful. A very good trait to have."

Julian knew rather well that, in another lifetime, he likely would have considered Makoto the exact sort of woman to be put into the guillotine. She was dedicated to the Gotei, and to the Captain Commander, with a fervency that would have proven a grave obstacle. However, that was all in the past. Her dedication was to his benefit, and he appreciated it rather dearly.

Leading the way out of the Seireitei altogether, Julian simply looked about the Rukongai, a touch more relaxed now that he was in what he considered a more familiar area. Of course, he did not exactly consider the Gotei to be enemy territory any longer, but he did still consider the lands outside of it to be his home. While he had thought to simply bring this woman home, he did not wish to introduce her to the children before he had been given an opportunity to judge her for himself. Instead, he took her toward a quiet little tea shop, smiling and giving a nod to the lone proprietor as he entered.

"An understeeped kawashio matcha for two, please, with a white jade pot and a platter of three azuki dango."

Gesturing toward a table toward the side of the shop, Julian took a seat of his own, as the proprietor behind the counter disappeared into the back.

"Rest assured that this place is quite secure, Miss Arima. Even the Captain Commander would likely agree with me on that matter."

"Please, do not feel as though you need to apologize. The work of the First Division is very taxing, particularly during these busy times of renovation."

Julian's voice was supportive, very genuine in how he complimented her. He found it rather impressive the degree of work that she and her division undertook so regularly these days. Of course, he had not come here simply to praise her, but he could not speak freely just yet. Slowly, each window of the teahouse was closed from the outside, and the door was sealed shut. Only after the proprietor had returned, giving Julian a nod, did the vice-captain speak.

"My captain has already briefed me on the captain commander's status, and I have been made aware of the full scope of this special squad's mission. However, I do not think it would be particularly prudent to embark on a potentially long term mission without understanding those I am intended to be working with. Would you not agree?"

"Abalia has already told me a good deal about the both of you, from her perspective, anyway. I've been informed that the two of you do not see especially eye to eye, that Elyss is more than a tad headstrong and that you are prone to overwork."

Julian's voice was definitely not accusatory, merely reiterating what Abalia had told him. After all, it was fairly important that they make any potential issues within this squad apparent, otherwise he could not mediate as he had been instructed to do.

"I do not intend to enforce my own standards of behavior onto the two of you, nor to judge you based on your personal matters. While I would be perfectly glad to come to consider either of the two of you a friend by the time this journey is over, it is not the primary concern. This is, after all, something that I am doing for Abalia, both as my superior and as a friend. I suspect you would agree with that as well."

A teapot was in fact brought to the table before long, though it was notably not made of white jade. A simple cast iron teapot, with two plain porcelain cups to accompany. Julian was a polite man, of course, so he poured two cups, one for himself and one for Makoto. He knew relatively little about her, and he considered conversations such as these important to understand people.