Mere Mortals [closed; open for 4th Division]

The Big Woman

Hanako Yamada

There was a first time for everything. For Hanako it was recording a message for the whole division, video and all. She usually preferred to address her troops in person, but somehow this time this seemed more appropriate. It wouldn't allow for any direct questions. Questions she wasn't able to answer anyway. And there would be an assembly later, together with him. In any case, this was something every single member of the Division should know now, and with assembly there was always at least a part of the division absent because of missions or guard duties or similar. It was different now than when she told the troops about Kobayashi's death. If some got the message a day late it wouldn't have changed anything.

"This is a message to all members of the Fighting Fourth."

Yes, glorious intro. Hanako really was probably the least eloquent person in all of Soul Society.

"We have been without a Captain for a while now. It has been tough, but we have managed so far. However, most of you are probably aware that a Division can't go on forever without a Captain. So we will have a new Captain soon."

There was a short pause, not more than a second.

"Since I am aware of the talk I have to say that rumours about my promotion are greatly exaggerated. The new Captain will not be me."

Another pause for everyone to take in what they knew would come next.

"Our new Captain is a member of another Division and a good match for the Fighting Fourth, as I am assured by Captain Commander Murasaki herself. He will be formally introduced the day after tomorrow. The Captain Commander has granted us this time to prepare for the change in command."

A third pause, but this time something in Hanako's eyes changes. Something softens…and hardens at the same time.

"I know recent times have been…rough and many of you resent the thought of an outsider taking our late Captain's place. But he is not the one that killed Kobayashi and deserves a chance. Also we are still a Division of the Gotei and I expect from all of you to do your duties and show the new Captain the same respect and loyalty as you have shown Captain Kobayashi and me. We will not dishonour us by failing him."

Hanako stopped and allowed herself a slim smile, one almost everyone in the Division knew. She trusted the Shinigami in the Fourth and she wanted them to know. She had said what she wanted to say, what needed to be said, and that was that. She ended the recording.

***

That had been two days ago. The message had been sent to the soul pagers of every member of the Fourth Division. And today the day had come. It was the day their new Captain would arrive.

Hanako was standing in the Captain's office. All belongings of the late Kobayashi had been removed from here and his living quarters as well and sent to his family. She had personally taken care of that. Now the rooms were ready.

The Big Woman

Hanako Yamada

The door opened and in walked a man who at least optically seemed to deserve the byname 'The Immortal'. A large frame and the chiselled face of a westerner, which amplified the feeling although Hanako didn't know why she would think that. She had no memory of growing up solely amongst Japanese people (or a memory of growing for that matter), but it had to be, since she herself seemed to be of mixed heritage. In the end it didn't matter. What did matter was that this huge individual, who scanned the empty office, wore a Captain's Haori.

He had a weapon over his shoulder that was so far from any sword that Hanako automatically assumed it was a constant release type Zanpakuto. She almost frowned at the thought. Wasn't it an incredible strain to stay in Shikai all the time? What energy reserves Arkin must have…

Hanako also noticed the eye patch, which struck her as odd. If he had been injured in battle, why not get the eye replaced by an implant, like her arm?

What Hanako didn't realise, or better what didn’t come to mind, was that a Zanpakuto didn’t necessarily need to be in Shikai to be a constant release. Or that an eyepatch was only there to cover up an injury. A power level of that magnitude was just too far above her own level. Also, even Magnolia Everfrost had a sealed Zanpakuto and she was the strongest she knew that Hanako could think of from the top of her head.

Hanako was wearing her usual sleeveless Shihakusho, but with the Lieutenant’s badge on her arm, as was customary, and not fastened to her obi, as was her preference. Her Zanpakuto Bakumusha, a normal and simple, inornate Katana, rested in her obi. Even though her own physical presence was impressive in its own rights, she suddenly felt small.

“Yes. Hanako Yamada, pleased to meet you, Arkin-san. I am the Lieutenant of the Fourth Division and at your service.” she said with a deep bow after her new Captain had asked her identity.

She had no idea what to expect from Arkin. As she had told Murasaki she had never met Arkin in person before. She knew he existed, she knew he was, or had been, a fellow Vice Captain and might even have traded messages and reports with him when units of their respective divisions went on joint operations. But other than that…
She suspected he would probably want to inspect the facilities of the Division. She had noticed his gaze scanning the office space, his office space.

For this reason she was all the more surprised when Arkin obviously was more interested in inspecting his second in command, so to speak.

“How I hit? Uh…sure, Cap…Arkin.”

Not even five minutes after the new Captain had arrived Hanako followed him outside again. Not that she really could build an informed opinion, but so far it seemed as if Arkin, like Hanako, was a person of equally few words. Conversations between the two could be…exhaustingly short.
For the moment Hanako chose to wait and see who Arkin was. If and when he wanted to address the troops or meet the other seated officers. Her face remained without any distinct expression as she walked behind her new Captain. Several division members they encountered on the way stopped in what they were doing for a moment and watched the pair go by, questions boradly visible in their eyes, but they knew better than to say anything.

“I assume you want to use one of the bigger, open training courts?” Hanako finally said after a few moments. Arkin didn’t strike her as one who went easy on anything. Or anyone.

Toward the sparring courts, just before anyone left through the door were music blaring through a cracked door. Recently it had become a common theme of one member to play music constantly when they were available and it helped "livin'" the quiet and "boring" halls of the Fourth Division. Truth be told, no one was bothered by it despure a lot of songs have cursing, slurs, and a variety of violence and such mixed it with it, and people who weren't of His time nor nationality got a taste of genres such as rock, hip-hop, metal, country, techno remixes, and orchestra and a variety of other music that was foreign to anyone. In truth, he was probably the only one who was recent in the Fighting Fourth, which a young soul could indefinitely be what these "Old asses," needed.

Of course, that one young soul who had a mouth was Amon Breach. He was sitting in what used to be an old, almost empty and dusty storage room turned into an office of… His own flavor, so to speak. There was a vending machine, several classic arcade stations that hosted Pac-Man, Galiga, Area 51, and of course, Centipede; all four lined up and booted off as he didn't use them. Toward the back of the room opposite of his office within the room space were a comfy couch and a foosball table, and of course, a fridgerator unit with snacks, alcohol, and raw foods. There were a variety of other things in the large living space, and after weeks worth of work, he knocked out some walls and claimed an unused space turning it into a kitchen. Why need all of this stuff? Because it was "Mr. Breach," and Mr. Breach ended up using the funding from the Fourths budget to do it, but at least it was cheap and barely scratched the scrotum of the budget… mostly.

Besides those things, Amon was behind a desk crunching the last of the numbers into a computer and a rather large calculator which spat out paper after paper. Recently he'd become the accountant by choice, and while he didn't dictate what the Fourth could and couldn't get he omitted a lot of junk they didn't need, essentially getting a lot of money back from the Gotei. He views it as a business, and while he enjoyed having fun with it he knew there was a time to play and a time to work. Despite that, Amon had finished the papers and was looking over them as he finished documenting the spending costs, which he wasn't surprised when they were still massive. Did a lot of people like his decisions? Not really, but with what he was doing with the controlled spending it allowed, as he described, "An ass full of leeway for their budget."

Turning off the stereo in the office which was blaring Photograph by Def Leppard, Amon poured some coffee from a nearby table and walked out of the room with a folder containing said papers between his right put, coffee mug in his left hand and locking the room with his right; he stuff the key into his pocket and walked off toward the Captain's Office. Amon didn't wear the usual robes or outfits that almost everyone wore in the Gotei, instead he opted for khaki shorts, blue Nike shoes, a plain white shirt and his worn Texas Longhorns ball cap. He didn't wear the whole "Shinigami getup" unless it was a serious meeting, nor has he seen Hanako or anyone else for that matter for the past few days.

When he rounded a corner, Amon had looked up and seen Hanako walking with some stranger, and unfortunately it didn't click in his head as to whom he was approaching. With a calm smile Amon was approaching Hanako and when he got close enough he said handing her a fat stack of papers delicately crammed into the vanilla folder, "Bam! I told you, give me a week tops to fix up that storage room and crunch up the numbers, and guess who save y'all a bunch of bucks? Anyway enough gloating, how's it hanging Hana-"

Amon's eyes veered toward the taller man in the hall, nevermind the massive hammer and axe lovechild he had on his shoulders, Amon said to the new Captain before turning back to Hanako, "Nice trim man. Anyways, how's it going Han-" Amon looked back to Arkin before straightening up, "Wait… Oh shi- you the new Captain? Sorry about that man- I mean sir! My name's Amon Breach."

The Big Woman

Hanako Yamada

When Amon came around a corner with a folder under his arm Hanako was honestly impressed. He did promise to have his workspace up and running and the numbers up to date inside a week. And by the Soul King, he did deliver. Unfortunately, in this very moment at least, he did deliver it in his usual manner. Hanako had to give it to him, he was an original.

Normally Hanako couldn’t care less. At first she was one of many for which Amon’s behaviour caused more than one raised eyebrow, being one that was usually quite polite. However, after some time she came to know him and that he was absolutely reliable, even if bad mouthed. So, as she usually did, she took the pragmatic approach, stopped caring about language and manners and instead went on to care about performance. There had been only one condition that applied to the whole Division. As long as all work and duties were done and fulfilled, protocol could be handled laxly, except towards outsiders and superiors. Now, Amon was still fairly new to the life of a Shinigami, granted, but even he should have been able to notice a white Haori or at least an unknown face with an almost overwhelming spiritual pressure at first glance.

Luckily Arkin didn’t seem to mind. He laughed and basically shrugged it off as he walked past the two of them. Hanako, however, shot a quick glance at Amon. It was one of the rather angry “I told you repeatedly to not do this” kind of glances. As Acting Captain Hana had become quite comfortable letting the Division run itself, because it worked far better than micromanaging for the most part. But if one of her few basic rules got bent or ignored…it didn’t sit too well with her.

As soon as they arrived at one of the open sparring areas Arkin invited all of the Division to witness their little bout. He indeed hadn’t exaggerated when he said he wanted to see how Hanako hit.

As she took a position opposite to Arkin, beckoning Amon to join her, she noticed several members of the division gathering, mumbling and watching with visibly mixed feelings. She sighed silently. She couldn’t blame them after what happened. It was recent enough that Hanako herself, even with the help of the Healing Corps, had just healed up. She raised her own voice to address the Shinigami.

“Stay calm. This is not what some of you might think. It is just a friendly sparring…”

She slowly drew her sword.

“...with our new Captain.”

The last words she said in a much lower voice, not sure if Arkin wanted her to tell them in this informal manner, if he preferred to introduce himself or if he didn’t care at all.
Addressing him she said:

“Please excuse that. We had recent events that started out in a vaguely similar fashion…only then there wasn’t anything friendly about it. I can fill you in later, if you like.”

She grabbed her sword with both hands, holding it in front of her and assuming a fighting stance. In a lot of ways Bakumusha’s sealed form was the opposite of Arkin’s Zanpakuto. His was big, almost gigantic, and a sight to behold. Her’s was a rather ordinary Katana. Even less than ordinary. The hilt was wrapped in a plain dark-red wrapping, the fittings made either from wrought iron or copper, but no ornaments of any kind. The blade also had no ornaments whatsoever, but was shiny, well maintained and oiled and gave the distinct impression of being able to split a hair a millimetre before it hit the cutting edge. It was a no-nonsense weapon, not in existence to look pretty, but to cut. Like it’s owner.

“Amon..:” Hanako said, without turning her head.
“I think we don’t have to hold back anything. If I assess the situation correctly, aside from Arkin completely deleting his spiritual pressure, we have no chance whatsoever of actually cutting or hurting him in any way.”

There wasn’t even a need to concentrate. The spiritual pressure of the man before them was on a completely different level than hers. Hanako was sure of it, even if he wasn’t giving off much energy at the moment. It was the same as with Captain Kobayashi, or Magnolia, although of course different than with those two, as Arkin himself was different.

Well then…

A faint blue glow began to surround Hanako as she summoned her powers. Yet, in defiance of her previous words she herself held back, summoned only part of what she had and didn’t release Bakumusha. Maybe Arkin did challenge her to try and cut him…but she still wanted to feel the air first instead of throwing everything she had at him from the very beginning. After all, he was an ally and her new captain and not an enemy she tried to defeat.

With a flash step she closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, swinging her sword in an overhead cut straight down, aiming at Arkin’s shoulder.

At first glance Amon did not notice any spiritual pressure at all or any of the fashionable attire higher ranking Shinigami donned, he only paid attention to people's faces and expressions, clearly by his comment on Arkin's facial hair. This was a bad habit he needed to break, but clearly by Hanako's typical, "Really," Glance, Amon slipped his coffee sip, furrowed his brows as she passed him and gave a quiet, "What?"

As they proceeded to the courtyard the words join us in the ring lingered on in Amon's mind. Why? Why is he joining them in the two in the ring? And even though the words and hunts were as clear as day, Amon suddenly felt a shimmer of dread. He was going to fight the new Captain who he actually started paying a little more mind to, the new Captain whose power suddenly felt overwhelming at all angles. And now that Amon paid attention more and more, there was even more dread building up as he went on to take his place facing some distance away from this new Captain of theirs. He stood just three feet from Hanako when she said to not hold anything back.

A solid grin worked up on Amon's face as he quietly said, "Yeah, I know it certainly won't be like that time when you and I went at it. But! Regardless! I'm ready to get my ass whipped again!"

Taking his battle stance with his Asauchi, Amon scanned the "foe" ahead, taking in the full picture. Before he only paid any mind to certain features but now as this Captain stood in his all, Amon could truly take in everything from the massive weapon Arkin wields to the cocky grin he had. There was something else Amon felt besides the huge spiritual pressure, nothing malevolent but rather a force of eagerness, something that the Shinigami himself normally felt. Maybe Amon wasn't far off from this guy ahead of him? Maybe sometime in the future he too could reach this power, and then it settled in. Amon wanted to test to see what this guy was all about.

And within the blink of an eye Hanako was already off for an offensive, brandishing her own blade and going straight for an overhead attack. Amon was not far behind, catching up in almost an instant, pulling his Asauchi back for a swing to the right side of this Captain. The idea was for Arkin to block either Amon or Hanako and either one of the free arms to catch him off guard. But then again, this man was most likely fast and already knew how to adjust to the offensive. Still, it didn't deter the Little Toaster that Could, which was Amon in question.

The Big Woman

Hanako Yamada

‘That went well…’ were Hanako’s thoughts when she gathered herself up off the floor. He had caught her sword and tossed her aside with an ease she struggled to comprehend. She had no idea if Captain Kobayashi had been on a similar level, but if so he had never displayed his strength just like this. Then again, Hanako had been in fights with Shinigami of a comparable level before. Shinigami who could have defeated her in the blink of an eye. She had expected to be thrown around, smashed against walls and floors. Or into them. It had showed her her limits in a very drastic manner. But this time something was different. She was different.
With a short mental note she activated her comm implant and ordered some division members with the appropriate skill sets to erect energy dampening barriers around the training yard, which would contain damage to the area. She had a feeling they would need them.

She was standing to Arkin’s side and slightly behind him when he challenged them again. He was barely finished when an icy blue flame erupted where Hanako stood. It encompassed her and a wave of spiritual pressure washed over everyone in the vicinity. To Arkin it was probably laughable, a mere breeze in his skin. To everyone else it was the full extent of the Vice Captain’s power, meagre in comparison, but still enough to theoretically flatten a good portion of the division’s compounds. And not only that: Hanako wasn’t holding her Katana anymore. It was now a giant, curved sword, seemingly made from tightly interwoven roots. The slim band of shining metal that was the cutting edge curved all the way back, over the handle, to the pommel. From there a chain sprung, wrapping loosely around Hana’s right arm and behind her back to a full sleeve of samurai style armour.

Oh, she was very well aware that even with her Shikai she had not even the slightest of chances of actually harming Arkin if he wasn’t willing to let her. Only that harming him was neither the goal, nor the issue. The issue was that there was someone who wanted a display of strength. Who twice now had challenged them to try everything they could to cut him. He was strong enough to realistically take everything they could throw at him and walk away fine. So then, why hold back? She realised she had been stupid with her first attack. She was lucky he hadn’t just smashed her into the ground and been done with it. She’d probably have deserved it. This was the combat division, after all.

Arkin wanted to see everything? She’d give him everything.

She raced forward, swinging her sword. She brought it to her left side. A ranged attack would have been more forceful, but at the moment she’d risk hitting Amon. Still, Bakumusha, which was almost as big as her and thus not that much smaller than Arkin’s own weapon, had enough force behind it as it was. The cutting edge was so sharp it audibly cut through the air as she swung it from her lower left to her upper right. It would hit Arkin’s front, and this time Hanako held nothing back.

When the attack successfully collided Amon was expecting to see a cut or his dude drive into the Captain's body. Instead what he saw was a blue hue that was tightly compressed to the skin. Son of a whore, a shield! A knee came upward from the big man delivered right into Amon's gut, however the Shinigami used a free hand to cushion the blow, and he was sent several feet back. Once Amon recovered his balance he took another stance immediately.

Right now the Shinigami's heart pounded hard as the realization hit that this guy was the real deal… Whoever the hell he was. As Amon's mind ramped up into panic mode something started to slowly click in his head. It could have been the fact he was against impossible odds, maybe it was Hanako pulling no stops now… Or it could just be the fact he was plain crazy. Amon's style wasn't hit and run, but rather attack until it bleeds. That was his goal right now was to make sure he got something, anything, on this new Captain.

Tapping into his power, Amon amplified his physical prowess. Speed, strength, his durability even were heightened as well as his senses, and while other Shinigami of his level could do it something like this might have seemed cute to the new Captain. Amon started to pump himself up as well, getting himself angry much like he did when he and Hanako sparred. But sti he held his anger back, he didn't want to jump too far ahead and grow careless.

The moment Hanako sprung her attack, Amon rushed forward. While he wasn't as fast as the woman ahead he was still much, much faster than a Human by a mile. When Hanako swung from her left to the upper right Amon took immediate action in attacking Arkin as hard as he could, swinging his weapon with both hands at the left side of Arkin; just a fraction of a second when Bakumusha left that space for there to be no openings left. Only it lingered in Amon's mind that Mr. Captain was here was far faster than the could blink.