One Step Beyond Logic [Toki, Saiko]

No small amount of the recent investigation work was reliant on what was, really, fairly basic deductive work, putting aside impossibilities and following up on obvious points of potential interest. One of those points, of course, was the 7th Division. Toki intended to check on the shinigami who had been on duty around when the bomb had gone off. Did he suspect them? No, at least not any more inherently than he did any other division who might have been traveling to Earth, particularly given how often they went to assist in 7th’s patrols and other affairs. This was just a matter of due diligence.

“Mori-san? Hinamori Toki, from 6th Division. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about your time on duty with the senkaimon recently? I’m compiling reports to try and get a picture of what things were like leading up to the recent hospital attack.”

Toki’s tone, despite the serious subject, was fairly friendly and calm as he approached the small shinigami in question. He wasn’t really the sort that tended to act too uptight, even when handling serious matters such as this, since it wasn’t as if it helped matters. Besides, he understood that this girl had been through something of a difficult time, too, and that some didn’t quite trust her on account of her past.

Well, he understood that fairly well. Probably better than most. Naturally, Toki wasn’t one to make character judgements based on the past. He’d determine the truth for himself.

Before Toki had arrived, Saiko found herself just resting on a bench under the late summer sun. With the woman's eyes looking longingly into the skies above, her thoughts mulled over the work done for the day and if she was genuinely pulling her own weight as her full powers gradually returned. Of course, before she could dwell too much into that train of thought, her gaze gradually shifted to the sounds of another male calling out to her.

Blinking for a moment, she took a few moments to process things as Saiko was surprised someone from the 6th was calling out to her, but she didn't waste much time in addressing him.

"Of course, I got time for you, Toki. Ask anything you need to."

With a gentle smile across her lips, Saiko nodded and continued speaking once her body was fully turned toward him.

Toki was, for a moment, almost caught off guard by how casually Saiko responded to him. Not that he minded that, of course. He was certainly a man who appreciated a more friendly sort of air, but the atmosphere around the 6th division of late simply kept him more serious than he otherwise might have been. Nevertheless, his expression lightened a touch, a subtle smile coming to his lips that was reflected in a far more cheerful look in his eyes.

"Thank you. I'm aware that the Senkaimon was fairly regularly traveled prior to the security increases, so I imagine you've seen a lot of comings and goings. The preliminary question is if you noticed anything unusual when you were on duty. 'Unusual' in the sense of abnormal, that is. I know plenty of the shinigami coming and going would qualify as 'unusual.'"

There was a decidedly more friendly air to Toki in this conversation than was typical for him, a demeanor that could only really be described as "nice." He was typically on the job, and so most only saw the professional approach. He was, however, still a Hinamori, and the tone of conversation had been set to allow him a little more room to be expressive than normal.

Hm. Unusual activity, huh?

Saiko's eyes seemed to have an earnest sense of reflection when she recalled her activities in the Senkaimon. Sure, she traveled through it a lot, venturing back and forth between the realms, but nothing was sticking out of the ordinary to her. After shaking her head, the woman's voice spoke up in a remorseful but otherwise relaxed tone:

"Unfortunately, nothing is really sticking out to me. I wish I could help more."

After rubbing her head and sighing with disappointment, she wriggled her nose and seemed to lighten up a bit more.

"Of course, if you need me to beat up someone, I'm sure I can more than do that."

With playfulness returning to her tone, this whole ordeal just made her want to hurry up and heal faster so she could return to bashing people's heads in. At least, that's what she felt she was the best at~

"It's nothing to apologize for. Given how much has been going on, and how long a span we're looking through, I wasn't necessarily expecting any big breakthroughs. Still, thank you for taking the time to think about it."

Toki couldn't quite help but laugh quietly at her little comment, taking a moment to sit down. He didn't have any other immediate duties that needed attending to, and while he certainly could have found something to do, building rapport with other members of the Gotei, particularly those who could prove helpful later on, was easily something that could be considered part of his work.

"If we find ourselves in need of some help for apprehending any especially unwieldy suspects, I'll be sure to let you know."