Turn Tears into Hope [Beetle, J]

Beetle's life had been suddenly and quickly thrown into chaos in the last several dozen hours. The Eighth Division's barracks had been damaged, so many people were dead in the Rukongai and the Seireitei, the Third Division had been decimated through Ca- ...Kisuke Urahara's betrayal. Even though her division was now working under the first, she had insisted on helping out as much as she could on all fronts.

She had already been helping Kaminari and the Second Division during the initial attack with recon and recovery, she had been taking hundreds of mental notes of what was destroyed, how much it could cost, and how much time it would take to replace or even begin coming back to that level. It was an absolute disaster, and even Beetle's supercomputer brain was starting to feel the stress.

So, as a way of both helping the Sixth, Fourth, and First Division, she found herself out in the districts of the Rukongai, Zanpakuto in hand. Even with all the stress, anxiety, and panic, Beetle still forced herself to stay strong and be positive, even if there were times when she really, really didn't want to.

Nevertheless, she kept a cool head, navigating the damage while she devoted other parts of her brain to planning and thinking.

She had felt a number of Hollows in this particular area, and she was already devising the best way to take care of them. Three of them within ten meters, possibly trying to set up territory after all the destruction, and there could be a dispute. So, with a sharp breath, Beetle took off in one direction toward one of the energy signatures. It was a large, cicada-like creature, and while she wasn't the fastest, she was still quick to notice its wings beginning to move.

Without breaking her gaze, she moved the tanto that was her Zanpakuto into a peculiar position in her hand, its blade sideways and facing outward toward the Hollow. Balanced delicately, she flicked her middle finger against the back of the blade, sending it flying toward the creature like a buzz saw. Energy augmented the power of such a simple move, and it didn't take long for her weapon to close the gap faster than she could.

Just as its wings were beginning to lift it from the ground, the weapon seemed to cut a bit more than the blade's length would imply, the invisible length slicing through a wing like it was butter, grounding it. With a quick burst of Shunpo, she surged forward to retrieve her weapon, before burying it into the Hollow's mask. She had noticed a small crack along the side, and applied all of her force there, allowing it to split and shatter without issue.

Getting back to her feet, she started off toward one of the others, only to noticed the last energy signature had disappeared, and that there was a new one in the direction of the Hollow she was heading toward. Her head canted to the side slightly while she moved, pushing herself to go even faster as she made her way to the presence. Upon reaching it, she saw that the Hollow had already been dispatched. So, she offered a bright, warm smile and a wave in their direction.

"Hiya!"

As Beetle approached the signature, she was quick to make note of his appearance. Despite the casual, bubbly look to her face, Beetle's brain had already gone to work on analyzing details to identify him. He wasn't wearing a haori, so he likely wasn't a Captain, but that didn't discount him potentially being a Lieutenant or Seated Officer. Then, she took note of the headband -- he was nobility.

From what she remembered, that headband was the insignia of the Saionji, a more minor noble family. Now she recognized him: Fourth Seat of the Sixth Division, J. Saionji. She rocked back and forth on her feet as she continued to analyze his appearance. Despite having already fought and dispatched the Hollow that she had been heading toward, his shihakusho and headband were remarkably clean. However, a cheek puffed out slightly as she found herself looking at his hair.

He's a pretty boy, and has really nice hair...jealous.

But, her analysis was suddenly interrupted by J asking which division she was from. So, with a bright smile, Beetle straightened up a little more.

"Eighth Division, Mr. Saionji! I've been trying to help out with the other divisions during this whole mess. Specifically, Sixth, Fourth, and First."

Beetle jumped slightly at the correction, her bright smile turning to one more reflective of nervousness as she gave a nod, playfully tapping the side of her head with a fist. Right, nobility really cared about their titles.

Even with all the research and knowledge she had of Soul Society and of the Living World, having so much sentimentality toward those kinds of titles was something she was never able to understand. It was something that she'd only really be able to understand with personal experience.

She knew that her creator was part of a pretty extensive and notable family, but not anything "noble." The concept never made sense to her in the first place, either. Maybe it was another aspect of her own abnormal "birth" circumstances, but, she never was able to figure out how people came to that conclusion.

"R-Right, sorry, Lord Saionji."

Despite the emphasis, Beetle only put it there to try and make sure he knew that she'd remember to address him like that from now on. As J questioned her optimism though, for a fraction of a second, Beetle's expression turned to one of pure, abject terror. But, before she would let it be too noticeable, Beetle composed herself, that big, bright smile returning.

"Well...someone has to. We're all dealing with the aftermath of this, so...it helps to have someone be happy and keep everyone's spirits up. Staying down in the dumps doesn't help anyone, least of all ourselves."

Seeing the nobleman hold his sword so tightly, by proxy, made Beetle's hand idly travel to the tanto at her side. It was mainly just resting her wrist against it, but her fingers were curled just enough to give her time to grab the handle if she needed to. Her ring finger twitched slightly, causing it to tap against the handle as she waited in eerie silence. Truth be told, that one comment questioning her optimism was bouncing around in her head.

Despite her bubbly look, her brain was endlessly active. That one comment was already being dissected in dozens of different ways, trying to discern all the possible meanings, use those to trace what his intent and overall character was like, yet, at the same time, she was also questioning herself alongside it. Had she done something wrong? After her conversation with Rose when she'd returned, she'd realized that it wasn't all in her head, but, was it really that quick of an assumption to make?

Then, a voice sounded off in her head, sharp and authoritative, yet gentle and reassuring all the same.

'Calm down, Beetle. You've only just started talking. Don't overthink.'

Thankfully, the voice managed to get Beetle out of her own head, setting aside the analysis and processing of his words up until that point -- just in time for her to fully hear his question. She perked up a little, returning to rocking back and forth on her shoes as she spoke.

"Beetle Yuudeshi! I'm not a seated officer or anything, so, I don't really have any special or fancy titles. I'm just...good ol' Beetle."

Questioning her name only made Beetle tilt her head to the side a little bit. Was it really that weird? I mean, someone had the stones to name their child just a single letter. She couldn't even begin to imagine how much of a nightmare that was when it came to any kind of technological registration or searching. Even with his last name, she doubted even any kind of formal paperwork was an easy time.

As he asked for her report, Beetle stopped rocking on her feet, and her hand slipped off her Zanpakuto, resting by her side. She straightened up, her head returning to its natural position. Immediately, Beetle started to compile information all throughout her memory, from how many Hollows she had sensed, to how many she disposed of, to even the potential traits and behaviors of them.

"When I got here, there were at least three within ten meters in any given direction, all of which have been safely and concisely disposed of. Many were leaving and trying to retreat to the ends of the Rukongai. From a variety of behavioral patterns that I noticed through most of them, many are trying to ascertain a sense of territory, some even gathering into something resembling animal packs."