The Flow of the Process [Toki, Mizu]

Naturally, before he'd even gone to get this interview done, Toki had done his research on the woman he'd been speaking to. Morikawa Mizu, a recent rising star in the Gotei United, though many seemed to have some sense of surprise at how quickly she'd made a name for herself. Unassuming in her time at the academy, if reports from others were anything to go by. Still, Toki understood the value of hard work. If she'd succeeded, particularly under someone like Captain Kuchiki, he imagined this woman was the real deal. Knocking on the door to her office, Toki spoke seriously, straight and to the point as seemed typical for everyone in his division.

"Vice Captain Morikawa? Eighth Seat Hinamori, from the 6th Division, here for our appointment."

He wasn't the sort of man who would go about something like this without first sending ahead that he was on the way, of course. After all, while he considered this assignment of the utmost importance, a Vice Captain strictly had all the authority to tell him to leave. Beyond that, though, it was just a matter of courtesy. He wouldn't much like to be caught unprepared for an important meeting like this.

Newly-promoted Vice Captain Morikawa Mizu stood amidst towers of papers on her desk and elsewhere, her once-homey office transformed into something far less cozy. Most of the paperwork consisted of requisition requests and transfer documents for patients in the aftermath of what was looking more and more like a purposeful attack on one of the Second Division's hospitals. For Mizu, who had spent the initial hours after the explosion searching for survivors in the rubble, she was still struggling with what she witnessed. Limbs littering the ground, half-crushed people already dealing with illness or injury gasping for breath as they faded away...the blond Shinigami shuddered as she sank into her seat.

Her chair felt like quicksand as she sank deeper and deeper into it. Her eyes glazed over as she found herself lost in the horrific images she'd witnessed at the hospital. Moisture gathered at the corners of her usually brightly lit golden orbs, threatening to spill down as tears when suddenly she was awakened from her stupor by the sound of rapping at her door. Mizu shot up to her feet and quickly wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands before inviting Toki in.

"Hai! The door is unlocked, Hinamori-san. Please, come in."

Toki entered once he'd been invited in, giving a respectful bow to the vice captain while ignoring any indication that she'd been emotional not long before. He was familiar with that kind of thing, and he was smart enough to know that actually addressing it would not only make the situation worse, it would also just be rude.

"Thank you, ma'am. I apologize for the short notice, and I understand you're busy, so I'll get right to the point. I'm here to compile a report regarding what you've seen at the scene of the crime. I'd also need to speak with you about the security footage from the scene. I understand that the cameras in the hospital are likely not in a spectacular state to access right now, and that some of the data is presumably harder to get right now, but it's vital that the 6th Division be able to access those records. Your assistance there would be a huge help."

He didn't quite mean to overwhelm the young woman, but Toki felt it would almost certainly be better to put everything on the table than to drag things out. That was just how he was on the job. Direct, efficient.

Mizu met Toki's bow with one of her own, never forgetting the standards she held herself to even as she felt overwhelmed by these troubling circumstances. With his introduction came a clearing of the troubled sky that was her mind, allowing her ample opportunity to consider the Sixth Squad member's name. "Hinamori"? Could he be related to the Fifth Division's former Vice Captain? While Mizu had read detailed reports of that tumultuous and terrible saga involving the treacherous Aizen Sosuke, having learned of his subordinate Momo Hinamori in the process, she didn't know much about their personal lives after the final battle. She figured he was just a cousin or something and moved past it.

It took naught but a second for Mizu to consider Toki's requests of her before she responded with a formidable light in her eye "Of course while I cannot speak for Captain Kuchiki-sama, I will do whatever is within my power to enable your investigation Hinamori-san. Any questions you have of me or anyone else from the Second will be answered with the utmost haste. As for any footage of the event, I will immediately draft orders to acquire whatever you need. Now, please, ask what you may."

With her emotions in check, Mizu was once again the highly effective woman who had earned her rank with hard work and determination. Though in recent days she had experienced greater pain than she ever had before, the resolute flame within her refused to be extinguished.

"Thank you very much, Vice Captain. I'll inform my people right away then so they can begin looking through the records."

Toki didn't want to waste any time, so he quickly sent a memo to his immediate subordinates that they had permission to check the records. Technically speaking, they probably should have waited for the paperwork to all be filed away officially, but this was a more important investigation than bureaucracy, and he knew the Captain Commander had already given them a lot of wiggle room on this particular case.

"I'd just like your testimony on what you saw at the scene of the crime when you first responded. Take as much time as you need. Every detail is important, so I don't want you to feel like you're taking up too much time with anything you saw."

Truth be told, Toki wasn't especially good with the more social side of things when it came to his work. He probably could have been a little bit more personable, but his commitment to the job itself far outweighed his otherwise personable nature.

Mizu nodded her head in acknowledgment as Toki thanked her. The smoother this process, the better she thought. All she wanted was a swift resolution, one where the survivors are saved, the hospital is reconstructed, and any potential perpetrators are brought to justice. Or worse. Though an empathetic woman, Mizu had dreamed of finding who or whatever was responsible for this wanton and needless destruction and setting upon them like a vengeful spirit. Such dark thoughts were foreign to her, yet she could not shake them.

Upon Toki requesting her account of things, Mizu closed her eyes and sighed deeply as she dropped and sank into her chair. Images flashing in her mind caused her voice to get caught in her throat, delaying an answer to the man's question. "There....there was..." As she tried to speak Mizu felt herself falling into an abyss just like every other time she thought back to that day. She was drowning in it. Unlike her battle in Africa near that horrible chasm, where everything was already gone and turned to rubble by the time of her arrival, she could still hear the pained groans and screams of terror filling her ears like she'd been plunged into a nightmarish sea.

Enough, Mizu. Get a hold of yourself. Stop wallowing and answer him.

Though blunt, Shōsenmaru's words were like a hand reaching into the abyss and pulling her up to breathe. Mizu again inhaled and exhaled deeply before finally speaking again to Toki. "As a new transfer to the Second, I was acquainting myself with the different organizations and services the Division oversees. On that day I was working at another hospital. When the alarms went off and word reached me, I immediately made my way to the scene where I came upon a large section of the hospital destroyed in what appeared to be an explosion of some kind. The entire area reeked of Hollow. As soon as it was clear there were no enemies in the area, I moved to begin administering first aid to any survivors I could find. There were...many casualties. Limbs strewn about...screams..." Mizu shook her head before continuing "While I aided survivors I witnessed Fifth Division Captain Yuuto Hisakawa-sama do the same. Eventually more Second Division members arrived on the scene and tents were set up to provide better care to those in critical condition before eventually transferring them to another hospital."