Meeting your Captain! [Trial, Private]

So I will take this burden on and become the holy one

A few months had passed since Kaori had successfully completed the transition process to become a Substitute Shinigami under the Crisis Core, and started her training. She'd trained with many of the sixth division members, first starting with the lower seats, and working her way up as both her power and understanding grew of this world. In that time, she'd heard many stories about the captain she served under, but though she'd spotted him a few times in passing during her training sessions, not once had the two exchanged many words. Many of her division members (funny how she was already thinking herself a part of the division) had told her stories of the captain, tried to explain his demeanor to him. Kaori had listened, and she kept the words in mind, but the girl wasn't the type to form solid opinions of someone solely based on the words of another.

She'd sent a letter to the captain after she felt her potential of a Shinigami had increased exponentially since she'd started the process. And finally, a hell butterfly arrived, informing her the captain wanted to speak with her. She'd been in the human world when word finally arrived, she asked Jumala if he would be willing to finish the rest of her patrol for her.

Now Kaori found herself standing outside the Rokubantai's barracks, staring at the door. It was rare for her to feel apprehension, but at that moment, it was the only word that could describe the feeling in her stomach. She wasn't nervous, not exactly; but she also wasn't completely at ease either. If her late father could see her, he'd likely be disappointed: Kaori and her two brothers had been raised not to show your emotions to another, it gave far too much away about yourself. Closing her eyes and taking a breath to center herself, Kaori raised her hand and knocked. "It's Mejiro Kaori, Kuchiki-taichou, I've received your summons."

Remember I am human and I'm bound to sing this song

So I will take this burden on and become the holy one

"Enter"

At the command, Kaori slid the door open, approaching the desk and waiting for a command.  He was studying her, she could tell, trying to discern what kind of division member she would be from her demeanor.  At least this was familiar territory for the female, having been a part of these political games since before she could talk.  Normally she would be studying the other as he studied her, but something told her that wouldn't be proper behavior at that moment, not with his higher standing than her own.  Instead, she kept her gaze averted, downcast slightly.  She waited, hands clasped lightly behind her back as she stood straight.  The captain spoke, and Kaori assumed he was finished with his initial appraisal; at his indication, she slipped gracefully into the seat provided.

He was flipping through papers, though barely reading through them; likely Byakuya had already familiarized himself with the contents contained on each page.  Studious then.  Kaori got barely a glance at the documents lying out between them, but she needed little else to recognize her Shikai, and the techniques it could perform.  There was a picture of Touu, the female sending the fifteen icicles hurling towards a training dummy, and another one of Tsurara, the giant pillar of ice in the process of collapsing.  "Forgive me if I've been misinformed, but I was under the impression a Shinigami's division wasn't based solely on its Zanpakutou."  The female was well aware that wasn't how it worked; she knew that the Shinigami were allowed to choose which division to join, and the only time specific divisions were assigned to them was if they were being promoted to an available officer position.  "I've not met Hitsugaya-taichou, and I do not make it a habit of forming opinions on a person based on the words of another, so I know little of the Juubantai Taichou, other than his Zanpakutou is an ice type, similar to my own."  Why was she assigned to his specific division?  Honestly the specific reasoning was not something Kaori was familiar with.  "When we awoke from Stasis, we were put through several battle simulations, and based on the results, given a new number, our new division number.  I do not know of the others, but I wasn't told specifically why I was assigned to the sixth, and I didn't ask.  Therefore, any answer I can give is only conjecture."  The female didn't expand further, waiting instead to see if the male wanted her to continue with her assumptions.

Remember I am human and I'm bound to sing this song

So I will take this burden on and become the holy one

The explanation Byakuya gave didn't seem to give her any new information about this other world she was now a part of. Still though she listened: there was always the chance the captain would reveal something she hadn't already learned, or even that Kaori had forgotten or misunderstood something when she'd first learned about the Soul Society and what it entailed to be a Shinigami. Though when he finished the explanation, there wasn't really anything she didn't already know. The captain moved back to the desk and dropped another file on top of the ones already there. Kaori's eyes widened momentarily, before she schooled her features back into a careful mask of neutrality.

Brash was certainly one way to describe the boy, that was for sure. Kaori hadn't forgotten his claim to one day kill a Vasto Lorde, and rid all the realms of Hollows. It was a foolish mission, but one Jumala had set his mind on. "Did you want me to form a camaraderie among the rest of the division like the one I share with Heikka-san, Taichou?" She wasn't sure if she was just trying to read too much into his words, or if there was a different meaning he was trying to express than the one she'd come to.

The responses she could have given to the final placement in the sixth division may have only been conjecture, but Kaori was fairly certain her own deductions had been correct. Or, at the very least, on the right track. The raven haired Shinigami started on the explanation, and as he spoke, Kaori realized her conjecture was nearly spot on. She wasn't familiar how the noble clans worked, only that they had great influence, and many of the officers in the Soul Society were affiliated with one noble family or another. It made sense that with the captain being the head of one of the Great Noble families that the division was considered to be a model division, and now that she was a part of that division, the female held no illusion that she wouldn't be beholden to the very same standards as the rest of the division simply because she was human; Byakuya stated as much. "Am I correct to assume I'm also expected to be the model Crisis Core member and human as well?" Regardless of the answer, her reply to his question wouldn't change. "Hai, Taichou. I promise to uphold the law to the best of my ability, and devote my life to my duties." It may have been strange how quickly she was willing to accept the terms he laid out, readily willing to sacrifice her very life for a world she wasn't wholly apart of. But growing up a Mejiro meant she was burdened with many responsibilities since a very tender age; to her, it was just another concept of her life.

Remember I am human and I'm bound to sing this song

So I will take this burden on and become the holy one

Kaori nodded her head as Byakuya confirmed what she suspected.  It meant more responsibilities, and between the three of them, the girl would certainly have little to no time to herself.  It wasn't that surprising, nor was it that unsettling: she'd always been more at ease when she had something to do.  But dividing her time between her duties to her division, the Crisis Core, and her family, Kaori knew she'd have to make sacrifices somewhere.  Her family would get the short end of that stick, she was sure.  But she'd been drifting away from them as she matured and grew more independent.  "He has, Sir."  In all honesty, Kaori was not very fond of the captain of the twelfth division.  She was thankful of the abilities he'd granted all of them, but the way he treated them as test subjects, it made her feel on edge.

When the raven haired captain held out a file towards her, Kaori reached forward and grabbed the paper, looking at it.  The female was a bit surprised to see it wasn't a piece of paper explaining anything on the Substitute, but rather a picture instead.  It was an orange haired male, a teenager probably around her age, if not a year or two younger than herself.  She wondered how much issue the male's hair caused him, being as bright as it was.  She returned her attention to the captain, placing the picture on top of the pile of other papers she was accumulating.  "Is there anything in particular you want me to learn from him, or is that up to my discretion?"

Remember I am human and I'm bound to sing this song

So I will take this burden on and become the holy one

Kaori nodded as she listened to the raven haired male. It was obvious Byakuya respected the kid, and for someone as stoic as the captain to have respect in another like he did Kurosaki Ichigo, it must have spoken volumes about the teenager's character. She knew the stories, of how he helped the Seireitei defeat Aizen, and how during the incident with the Zanpakutou going rogue and attacking their former masters, and there was the incident with the Bounts who had rallied with Kariya to lay waste to the organization who had created and abandoned them. It seemed that whenever the Soul Society found themselves in some sort of situation, Kurosaki Ichigo was somewhere fighting alongside them.

It was because of the teenager that she and her twelve comrades even existed in the first place.

Because of that, in a way it could be said Kaori and the rest of the other twelve owed the male. Well, in her opinion, it was better to think that she owed Kurosaki more than she owed Kurotsuchi. In all honestly, the science captain creeped the female out. He treated the thirteen representatives like they were test subjects, and to him, he probably viewed them as such. If there was one thing Kaori was positive of, it was that she was glad she hadn't been assigned to Kurotsuchi's division. "I understand," the female started, "Is there anything else to discuss?"  What went unsaid in her question was if she was free to leave, but it shouldn't have been difficult for the captain to pick up on the question that went unasked.

Remember I am human and I'm bound to sing this song