Categories > Anime/Manga > Bleach > Have Faith In Me
Beginning of Court
0 reviewsMichiru enters court to be evaluated as a student... and maybe she'll get a surprise. :3
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*RENJI*
Captain Kuchiki eyed me suspiciously as I exited my room. Which, honestly, wasn't really that much different from his other expressions. It was very nearly that same apathetic, half-lidded look that he gave everyone. But something told me he knew where I'd been.
The court bell rang again, and I ignored the look. Today was Michiru's placement. He couldn't afford to be pissed off at me through the whole ceremony; it'd ruin his image. So I shuffled on, tying my hair up as I went. I counted the bell tolls--2 for summoning, 3 for the beginning of the ceremony, and 5 for the end-- and it still rang twice. I was on time.
When we reached the main court, it hit me just how thin our ranks were. Each captain and assisstant captain was supposed to be there, but a certain three captains were missing and two assisstants still recovering. Not to mention that Iba and Hisagi were still in the human world with Hitsugaya and Matsumoto to keep patrol. That didn't leave much to vote with, but I couldn't do anything about it.
Yamamoto sat in his normal place atop his little podium, papers in hand. He signaled for one more bell to ring about the time Kurotsuchi slinked his way in through the back door. Half of the captains glared at him as he took his place.
Six guards pushed the front door open, allowing Michiru to pass between them. I could immediately feel how nervous she was, but I didn't flinch. She passed between our ranks slowly, holding her head high and doing her absolute best to seem confident. And she did well.
I knew she could feel everyone's eyes on her back as she made her way to the tile square in front of Yamamoto's podium. Even Zaraki showed some interest in her, squinting his uncovered eye at her as she passed by him. I wondered if his hair doubled as little radio antennae for spiritual pressure.
At Yamamoto's command, the large doors shut, and the room dimmed considerably. Michiru bowed respectfully to Yamamoto, but he seemed unaffected. He motioned for her to step aside and face us.
"As most of you know," he began, "we are in dire straits. A situation that we thought we could handle has quickly uprooted even our largest efforts. We desperately need the cooperation of everyone in the Seireiti. The Companies, the blacksmiths, the medics, everyone."
The room shifted uneasily. It was a disturbing topic, even to Zaraki.
"In our time of need, we have come across a rarity. A student who posesses the skills and capabilities of captain rank. She has displayed an amazing skillset, and is the very top of her class in the Academy. Her scores far surpass those of her peers, from kidou to combat. I am not praising her to gain your vote, but I am stating a very obvious fact. Michiru Kobe is needed desperately in some position in the Gotei, and I am prepared to appoint her to the position you see fit."
Michiru stared back at the front doors, trying to take her eyes off the crowd in the room. Lined shoulder to shoulder, the captains and assistants were a threatening sight, and I knew that some of us intimidated her. She didn't dare glance at me, but all eyes in the room were on her, which included my own.
I was sure they noticed how well she presented herself. Slobs weren't well tolerated in the upper ranks, but she gave them no reason to think of her as one. Her new uniform was tailored to fit, and instead of a traditional obi, a white silk wrap cinched in her waist from her ribs to her hips. Which, I noticed, was incredibly flattering. I bit my lip and focused on her sandals as Yamamoto continued.
"I ask you, and I will only ask once, to vote her into a ranking position. I also ask that someone who witnessed her time with Ichimaru, Assistant Captain Abarai, bear testimony to her actions. Abarai?"
I snapped to attention involuntarily. It was something that came naturally after years of service. "Sir?"
"Please come forward and present your findings."
Findings. I tripped up on his sentence, wracking my brain for the meaning behind "findings". Was I the one supposed to be evaluating her?
I stepped forward to where he indicated, which was only a few feet in front of Michiru. Focus shifted to me, but I didn't particularly care. I just had to find a way to sound like I had actually been surveying her actions. Which I hadn't. But surely, Reasearch had some information.
"Michiru was...promising from the day I met her, back when I taught at the Academy," I began. I forced the gears in my brain to turn. Surely, I could sound like I knew what I was doing. "Her potential was amazing, and I'm proud to say that she has made use of that potential. I was not there for the beginning of her altercation with Gin Ichimaru, the former Captain of Third Company. But when I arrived, she had already began to handle the situation extremely well."
"How did you know where to find her?" Yamamoto asked from behind me. I felt like a suspect in a murder crime suddenly, and nearly let my facade crack.
"I heard her bakudou when it reached me. It was garbled, but I knew she was trying to ask for help," I answered.
"Which bakudou, Michiru?
Michiru took a deep breath. "Bakudou 58, sir. Kakushitsuijaku," she said clearly, trying to sound a little more confident than she was.
Yamamoto seemed please, asking me to continue. "Unfortunately, Yumichika Ayasegawa had suffered a serious wound from Ichimaru, and was unconscious for most of the event. Tetsuzaemon Iba, Shuhei Hisagi, and I prepared to flank Ichimaru as she fought. But she handled the situation very well. Ichimaru suffered numerous wounds, mainly from her bankai, which I was unaware she was capable of. Ikkaku Madarame arrived to assist her as-"
He stopped me again. "Describe to us her bankia, Abarai," he ordered. He squinted down at me from under his bushy eyebrows.
I took a deep breath, but didn't struggle recalling her bankai. It wasn't something I could easily forget. "Kinjiri Egonoki is an amazing, frightening thing," I began. I could tell that the whole room was intently listening now, interested in what her bankai could do. Especially Zaraki. "It's nothing I've ever seen before. Gold, ice, glass, something. And capable of engulfing and shattering anything it comes into contact with, including flesh. Its sound is decieving, but when called upon... I don't have words to describe it, sir. In all honesty, I don't know what to tell you about it. Except for it's shaped sort of like a scimitar and a snowbell tree."
Yamamoto sat back in his chair, but seemed satisfied with my poor explanation. I felt like I had ruined her shot at captain with such a lousy description, but the room buzzed with quiet murmurs. Yamamoto motioned for Kurotsuchi to step forward.
"Research was charged with documenting her evaluation, and any time her spiritual pressure surged, she was to be put under surveillance. Captain Kurotsuchi, I assume you have something to show us?" he asked, and Kurotsuchi slithered up to the podium.
He placed something that resembled an eyeball with tentacles on the floor in front of us, mashing on the bottom of it, and a white image appeared on the back of the front doors. "I have a few things," Kurotsuchi said, pulling out a tiny remote. He pressed a few buttons until Michiru's image appeared on the doors.
The image became a video as a sky view of Michiru hacking through Wonderweiss spilled across the screen. Kurotsuchi explained his method of surveillance as the video played through to where she was defending herself against Ichimaru, and the entire crowd totally forgot about Kurotsuchi's commentary.
Her hand-to-hand combat was impressive, especially against someone quick and sneaky like Ichimaru, but everyone was waiting to see her bankai. Even Yamamoto tuned out Kurotsuchi as she lept back from Ichimaru, readying for bankai.
There wasn't a word to be said as her bankai nearly tore through Ichimaru. Everyone saw it, and there was no arguing with the video evidence.
The video reached its end when she collapsed, and Kurotsuchi stomped the contraption with a wet squish noise. Unohana glared at him. "Disposable camera," he explained, then turned to Yamamoto, scraping the bottom of his foot off discretely. "That's all I have."
Yamamoto ushered him away. "The images speak for themselves." He motioned for me to return to my spot next to Captain Kuchiki. "Michiru, I ask you to leave the room with the Assistant Captains as we place our vote. We will call for you when we have made our decision," he told her, and gestured toward the door.
We filed out of the room one by one, but Michiru paused to watch as the court doors slammed closed behind her. She knew her fate was sitting at the podium, wondering when his next tea session would be.
Not long after the doors shut, Yumichika and Ikkaku found their way up the stairs to where we were gathered. Yumichika went immediately to Michiru's side as if he was protecting her. "Have they said anything yet?" he asked in a frantic whisper, tugging on her sleeve.
"Not yet," she sighed.
Ikkaku took her other side, elbowing her playfully. "You can't lose at this point," he told her, trying to cheer her up. "It's 3rd seat and up. Nothing less."
"That's not for certain," she corrected him. "It's all up to the captains now."
Before Ikkaku could argue, Yachiru had latched onto him. "Hey! Pachinko ball!" she squealed, yanking on his sleeve.
Michiru looked up at me. She something from me. What, I wasn't sure. But she still pleaded with her silver eyes for me to come closer.
"Don't worry too hard," I told her, struggling to look away from her gaze. Looking down only sent my eyes past her slightly-more-revealing top and tiny, cinched in waist, so I found myself watching Yachiru color on Ikkaku furiously. "I know I didn't do a great job of speaking for you but--"
"You did fine," she muttered. She leaned against the fence of the courtyard, gazing out over the Seireiti longingly. She didn't want to be here.
"You certainly look the part," Yumichika bragged, jingling one of her hair ornaments. "Thanks to SOMEONE..."
"I know, Yumi," she said, but her smile faded.
I wanted to hold her. I wanted to tell her everything was fine, that she didn't have to worry, but I would be lying to her. But I still wanted to comfort her. It took an incredible amount of restraint not to run to her and snatch her up into my arms.
"Ya know, you kind of stole Isane's haircut," Ikkaku commented, wiping orange marker off his forehead. He shooed at Yachiru, who continued to color on his feet.
Isane glanced over at us. "Not really. Hers is much shorter. And...bluer," Isane said. "She doesn't really look like me at all. She looks more like...I don't know. More like Matsumoto in the face than me."
Michiru cringed. I knew she wasn't particularly fond of Matsumoto, but it wasn't an insult in the least. Of course, I found no resemblance.
"No, no, no, she looks more like Yoruichi!" Yumichika argued. "In the eyes, I mean. Too pale, otherwise."
"Let's not argue about me, please," Michiru blurted. The courtyard silenced. "I've had enough of all this...I don't know. Talk, I guess you could call it. All this talk about me. I can't take it, guys. I just can't."
Her voice broke. I could tell she was about to cry, but so could Yumichika and Ikkaku. They were around her like a wall in an instant, ready to tear someone's head off. But I could see her shivering slightly behind them, wringing her hands nervously. She needed me. I couldn't stand there and watch her panic.
"Michiru, come walk with me," I said sternly, hoping that to the rest of the group it sounded like an order. She nodded slowly, nervously, and began to follow me.
We started down the long staircase that led to the base of the court tower. The stone of the tower was warm, and it radiated off the building in a comforting temperature. She basked in it, taking a deep breath as we walked.
"Thank you," she sighed, knowing that we were out of earshot of the rest of the group. "I needed to get away from that."
"I know. You can't panic, though. It's not good for you," I told her. She chuckled.
"I'll try not to." She walked for a moment, silent, until she found something to say. "I found your flower you left," she said quietly. "It was beautiful."
"What flower?" I said sarcastically. She punched my shoulder, laughing.
"I think you know. Anyway, it means a lot to me," she continued. "But I need to ask you something."
"What?"
She squirmed for a moment. "I don't have anything to swim in," she said lowly, as if she was ashamed.
"So swim in a t-shirt. I have one you can wear."
"A t-shirt?"
"Yeah. Like we wore in Karakura town."
She thought for a moment. "Oh. But aren't they short?" She blushed. "I don't want to--"
"You worry too much, Michiru," I told her. I ruffled her hair gently as we reached the bottom of the stairs. "Just let me handle it. Or have Yumichika take you shopping in the human world. Just don't worry, okay?"
She nodded, then glanced around quickly. Seeing that we were out of sight, she leaned up to kiss me on the cheek quickly, blushing the familiar bright pink. "Thank you," she said again, then turned to start up the stairs. "Let's see if they've said anything..."
Captain Kuchiki eyed me suspiciously as I exited my room. Which, honestly, wasn't really that much different from his other expressions. It was very nearly that same apathetic, half-lidded look that he gave everyone. But something told me he knew where I'd been.
The court bell rang again, and I ignored the look. Today was Michiru's placement. He couldn't afford to be pissed off at me through the whole ceremony; it'd ruin his image. So I shuffled on, tying my hair up as I went. I counted the bell tolls--2 for summoning, 3 for the beginning of the ceremony, and 5 for the end-- and it still rang twice. I was on time.
When we reached the main court, it hit me just how thin our ranks were. Each captain and assisstant captain was supposed to be there, but a certain three captains were missing and two assisstants still recovering. Not to mention that Iba and Hisagi were still in the human world with Hitsugaya and Matsumoto to keep patrol. That didn't leave much to vote with, but I couldn't do anything about it.
Yamamoto sat in his normal place atop his little podium, papers in hand. He signaled for one more bell to ring about the time Kurotsuchi slinked his way in through the back door. Half of the captains glared at him as he took his place.
Six guards pushed the front door open, allowing Michiru to pass between them. I could immediately feel how nervous she was, but I didn't flinch. She passed between our ranks slowly, holding her head high and doing her absolute best to seem confident. And she did well.
I knew she could feel everyone's eyes on her back as she made her way to the tile square in front of Yamamoto's podium. Even Zaraki showed some interest in her, squinting his uncovered eye at her as she passed by him. I wondered if his hair doubled as little radio antennae for spiritual pressure.
At Yamamoto's command, the large doors shut, and the room dimmed considerably. Michiru bowed respectfully to Yamamoto, but he seemed unaffected. He motioned for her to step aside and face us.
"As most of you know," he began, "we are in dire straits. A situation that we thought we could handle has quickly uprooted even our largest efforts. We desperately need the cooperation of everyone in the Seireiti. The Companies, the blacksmiths, the medics, everyone."
The room shifted uneasily. It was a disturbing topic, even to Zaraki.
"In our time of need, we have come across a rarity. A student who posesses the skills and capabilities of captain rank. She has displayed an amazing skillset, and is the very top of her class in the Academy. Her scores far surpass those of her peers, from kidou to combat. I am not praising her to gain your vote, but I am stating a very obvious fact. Michiru Kobe is needed desperately in some position in the Gotei, and I am prepared to appoint her to the position you see fit."
Michiru stared back at the front doors, trying to take her eyes off the crowd in the room. Lined shoulder to shoulder, the captains and assistants were a threatening sight, and I knew that some of us intimidated her. She didn't dare glance at me, but all eyes in the room were on her, which included my own.
I was sure they noticed how well she presented herself. Slobs weren't well tolerated in the upper ranks, but she gave them no reason to think of her as one. Her new uniform was tailored to fit, and instead of a traditional obi, a white silk wrap cinched in her waist from her ribs to her hips. Which, I noticed, was incredibly flattering. I bit my lip and focused on her sandals as Yamamoto continued.
"I ask you, and I will only ask once, to vote her into a ranking position. I also ask that someone who witnessed her time with Ichimaru, Assistant Captain Abarai, bear testimony to her actions. Abarai?"
I snapped to attention involuntarily. It was something that came naturally after years of service. "Sir?"
"Please come forward and present your findings."
Findings. I tripped up on his sentence, wracking my brain for the meaning behind "findings". Was I the one supposed to be evaluating her?
I stepped forward to where he indicated, which was only a few feet in front of Michiru. Focus shifted to me, but I didn't particularly care. I just had to find a way to sound like I had actually been surveying her actions. Which I hadn't. But surely, Reasearch had some information.
"Michiru was...promising from the day I met her, back when I taught at the Academy," I began. I forced the gears in my brain to turn. Surely, I could sound like I knew what I was doing. "Her potential was amazing, and I'm proud to say that she has made use of that potential. I was not there for the beginning of her altercation with Gin Ichimaru, the former Captain of Third Company. But when I arrived, she had already began to handle the situation extremely well."
"How did you know where to find her?" Yamamoto asked from behind me. I felt like a suspect in a murder crime suddenly, and nearly let my facade crack.
"I heard her bakudou when it reached me. It was garbled, but I knew she was trying to ask for help," I answered.
"Which bakudou, Michiru?
Michiru took a deep breath. "Bakudou 58, sir. Kakushitsuijaku," she said clearly, trying to sound a little more confident than she was.
Yamamoto seemed please, asking me to continue. "Unfortunately, Yumichika Ayasegawa had suffered a serious wound from Ichimaru, and was unconscious for most of the event. Tetsuzaemon Iba, Shuhei Hisagi, and I prepared to flank Ichimaru as she fought. But she handled the situation very well. Ichimaru suffered numerous wounds, mainly from her bankai, which I was unaware she was capable of. Ikkaku Madarame arrived to assist her as-"
He stopped me again. "Describe to us her bankia, Abarai," he ordered. He squinted down at me from under his bushy eyebrows.
I took a deep breath, but didn't struggle recalling her bankai. It wasn't something I could easily forget. "Kinjiri Egonoki is an amazing, frightening thing," I began. I could tell that the whole room was intently listening now, interested in what her bankai could do. Especially Zaraki. "It's nothing I've ever seen before. Gold, ice, glass, something. And capable of engulfing and shattering anything it comes into contact with, including flesh. Its sound is decieving, but when called upon... I don't have words to describe it, sir. In all honesty, I don't know what to tell you about it. Except for it's shaped sort of like a scimitar and a snowbell tree."
Yamamoto sat back in his chair, but seemed satisfied with my poor explanation. I felt like I had ruined her shot at captain with such a lousy description, but the room buzzed with quiet murmurs. Yamamoto motioned for Kurotsuchi to step forward.
"Research was charged with documenting her evaluation, and any time her spiritual pressure surged, she was to be put under surveillance. Captain Kurotsuchi, I assume you have something to show us?" he asked, and Kurotsuchi slithered up to the podium.
He placed something that resembled an eyeball with tentacles on the floor in front of us, mashing on the bottom of it, and a white image appeared on the back of the front doors. "I have a few things," Kurotsuchi said, pulling out a tiny remote. He pressed a few buttons until Michiru's image appeared on the doors.
The image became a video as a sky view of Michiru hacking through Wonderweiss spilled across the screen. Kurotsuchi explained his method of surveillance as the video played through to where she was defending herself against Ichimaru, and the entire crowd totally forgot about Kurotsuchi's commentary.
Her hand-to-hand combat was impressive, especially against someone quick and sneaky like Ichimaru, but everyone was waiting to see her bankai. Even Yamamoto tuned out Kurotsuchi as she lept back from Ichimaru, readying for bankai.
There wasn't a word to be said as her bankai nearly tore through Ichimaru. Everyone saw it, and there was no arguing with the video evidence.
The video reached its end when she collapsed, and Kurotsuchi stomped the contraption with a wet squish noise. Unohana glared at him. "Disposable camera," he explained, then turned to Yamamoto, scraping the bottom of his foot off discretely. "That's all I have."
Yamamoto ushered him away. "The images speak for themselves." He motioned for me to return to my spot next to Captain Kuchiki. "Michiru, I ask you to leave the room with the Assistant Captains as we place our vote. We will call for you when we have made our decision," he told her, and gestured toward the door.
We filed out of the room one by one, but Michiru paused to watch as the court doors slammed closed behind her. She knew her fate was sitting at the podium, wondering when his next tea session would be.
Not long after the doors shut, Yumichika and Ikkaku found their way up the stairs to where we were gathered. Yumichika went immediately to Michiru's side as if he was protecting her. "Have they said anything yet?" he asked in a frantic whisper, tugging on her sleeve.
"Not yet," she sighed.
Ikkaku took her other side, elbowing her playfully. "You can't lose at this point," he told her, trying to cheer her up. "It's 3rd seat and up. Nothing less."
"That's not for certain," she corrected him. "It's all up to the captains now."
Before Ikkaku could argue, Yachiru had latched onto him. "Hey! Pachinko ball!" she squealed, yanking on his sleeve.
Michiru looked up at me. She something from me. What, I wasn't sure. But she still pleaded with her silver eyes for me to come closer.
"Don't worry too hard," I told her, struggling to look away from her gaze. Looking down only sent my eyes past her slightly-more-revealing top and tiny, cinched in waist, so I found myself watching Yachiru color on Ikkaku furiously. "I know I didn't do a great job of speaking for you but--"
"You did fine," she muttered. She leaned against the fence of the courtyard, gazing out over the Seireiti longingly. She didn't want to be here.
"You certainly look the part," Yumichika bragged, jingling one of her hair ornaments. "Thanks to SOMEONE..."
"I know, Yumi," she said, but her smile faded.
I wanted to hold her. I wanted to tell her everything was fine, that she didn't have to worry, but I would be lying to her. But I still wanted to comfort her. It took an incredible amount of restraint not to run to her and snatch her up into my arms.
"Ya know, you kind of stole Isane's haircut," Ikkaku commented, wiping orange marker off his forehead. He shooed at Yachiru, who continued to color on his feet.
Isane glanced over at us. "Not really. Hers is much shorter. And...bluer," Isane said. "She doesn't really look like me at all. She looks more like...I don't know. More like Matsumoto in the face than me."
Michiru cringed. I knew she wasn't particularly fond of Matsumoto, but it wasn't an insult in the least. Of course, I found no resemblance.
"No, no, no, she looks more like Yoruichi!" Yumichika argued. "In the eyes, I mean. Too pale, otherwise."
"Let's not argue about me, please," Michiru blurted. The courtyard silenced. "I've had enough of all this...I don't know. Talk, I guess you could call it. All this talk about me. I can't take it, guys. I just can't."
Her voice broke. I could tell she was about to cry, but so could Yumichika and Ikkaku. They were around her like a wall in an instant, ready to tear someone's head off. But I could see her shivering slightly behind them, wringing her hands nervously. She needed me. I couldn't stand there and watch her panic.
"Michiru, come walk with me," I said sternly, hoping that to the rest of the group it sounded like an order. She nodded slowly, nervously, and began to follow me.
We started down the long staircase that led to the base of the court tower. The stone of the tower was warm, and it radiated off the building in a comforting temperature. She basked in it, taking a deep breath as we walked.
"Thank you," she sighed, knowing that we were out of earshot of the rest of the group. "I needed to get away from that."
"I know. You can't panic, though. It's not good for you," I told her. She chuckled.
"I'll try not to." She walked for a moment, silent, until she found something to say. "I found your flower you left," she said quietly. "It was beautiful."
"What flower?" I said sarcastically. She punched my shoulder, laughing.
"I think you know. Anyway, it means a lot to me," she continued. "But I need to ask you something."
"What?"
She squirmed for a moment. "I don't have anything to swim in," she said lowly, as if she was ashamed.
"So swim in a t-shirt. I have one you can wear."
"A t-shirt?"
"Yeah. Like we wore in Karakura town."
She thought for a moment. "Oh. But aren't they short?" She blushed. "I don't want to--"
"You worry too much, Michiru," I told her. I ruffled her hair gently as we reached the bottom of the stairs. "Just let me handle it. Or have Yumichika take you shopping in the human world. Just don't worry, okay?"
She nodded, then glanced around quickly. Seeing that we were out of sight, she leaned up to kiss me on the cheek quickly, blushing the familiar bright pink. "Thank you," she said again, then turned to start up the stairs. "Let's see if they've said anything..."
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