5.) A Noble Decree

lodeuwen had been listening to some record on a modified vinyl record player in her office and doing paperwork when her door had been ripped open. The state of Junta and his dramatic entrance rather amused her, the record scratching to a halt for extra melodrama. It helped that the paperwork was especially dull and so a distraction was more than welcome. She also didn't worry that something had especially gone wrong, Junta never told her about that, it was always some Jigokucho. When he fell to his knees talking about Natsuko Blod rolled her eyes. Honestly. She had seen so much promise in the fiery little redhead, but it was just temper, temper, temper with her. She wondered how the best way would be to approach this.

"Thanks Junta, you go and take a break now." she told him softly, with a smile. She stood to her feet, her purple cloak fluttering as she did so, and walked out of the room. As her reiatsu faded, the record player would resume playing songs from Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado". She walked through the corridors of the Kido Corps' headquarters. It was easy for her to follow Natsuko's reiatsu, she was exerting it after all. Blodeuwen suppressed her own spiritual pressure such that the young shinigami would not sense her coming.

As such she was able to hear much of Natsuko's rant. So this was about becoming a captain of the Gotei 13? As far as Blodeuwen was aware, there were not really any positions available at that moment. Was she complaining at having passed over after the arrancar-war? Blodeuwen was certain that even if now she possessed the strength to be in the running (which she highly doubted), then back then she hadn't. She would come up behind Natsuko, silent as she could be, her reiatsu hidden, until she was just a few steps away.

"Who is stupid, Natsuko?" she asked, smiling sweetly.

single blonde eyebrow arched upwards. Didn't mean to cause a ruckus, eh? She found that hard to believe. She folded her arms, sighing. What was she going to do with Naoko? She didn't exactly enjoy handing out indiscriminate punishments, but then again, she reasoned that her punishments were always pretty reasonable. They were always constructive, never destructive. Junta had seemed pretty scared, and for a shinigami with Naoko's strength to go around flaring her reiatsu like that indoors, there had to be consequences.

"Sorry you may be, but you should know better by now. Come on Naoko, I expect more from you. I'm putting you down at the top of the list for Realm Boundary Fixation duty, and next week you can go and help Aoi on butterfly duty." she said. Realm Boundary Fixation was horrendously tiring, and often took a good while to fully recover from the effects of the serious drain of one's stamina. It was a difficult job, and one that many members of the Kido Corps dreaded doing, but it was the duty of all unranked members of the Corps. Butterfly duty wasn't particularly difficult, most shinigami simply found doing nothing but watching Jigokucho boring, and Aoi's attitude that it was the best thing in the universe tended not to help with that.

Blodeuwen frowned. This... This sounded like politics. She cringed internally. She didn't usually get involved with this type of thing. She was lucky in that she was the "jewel of Hirashi house" when it came to status, but "the adopted daughter" when it came to getting involved in any of that stuff. As a result the mere thought of it gave her a bit of a headache. Nonetheless she felt that there was something quite wrong with Naoko's statement. Given a captain position? Blodeuwen was certain that that wasn't quite how things worked.

"Does becoming a captain of a squad in the 13 court guard squads not require... Well, is the captain position not given to the shinigami who is most worthy on an individual basis? When a position was made available, for whatever reason, would it not be the shinigami that the other captains and the captain commander saw was most fit for the job that was promoted? After all, the Gotei 13 keep us all safe," Blodeuwen almost winced as she said that, "so it is our duty to ensure that only someone who is capable of undertaking the task is chosen." she lectured. She wondered if Naoko would erupt into rage again; that would be the first test she supposed.

lod smiled sweetly, satisfied that her punishment was sufficiently vexing for the young shinigami. Punishing Aoi for any of his misdeeds was... Frankly, difficult. Natsuko on the other hand was much easier to place into situations she disliked, that kind of thing was easier to find out when someone had such a temper. Either way, she was curious to see what Natsuko would say. Blodeuwen frowned though. If she made some misstep here it could potentially prove problematic for inter-familial relations somewhere down the line. She had to make sure not to be too harsh, otherwise there could be repercussions. Usually, being in the top position meant that one was able to easily resolve all power struggles by exerting one's authority. But when it came to blood... Well, such quarrels were never solved so easily.

She absentmindedly pulled at one of her long bangs as she heard Natsuko's explanation. With a gesture, she indicated that they should walk and talk, leading Natsuko slowly back through the corridors of the Kido Corps Shiro. She wasn't sure if she really didn't know, or if they were simply not permitted to tell outsiders. Functionally, it made very little difference. And then Natsuko asked the question that would make this difficult. While resolving power struggles was easy as a leader, ensuring that one's subordinates had confidence in one's leadership and more importantly, ensuring that one was seen to have confidence in one's subordinates skills was key. She hesitated for a moment, giving a pensive 'hmm' as she chose her words with exceptional care.

"Well Natsuko, trust in one's leader is earned, not freely given. It may seem challenging having to prove yourself to your family and to the 13 Court Guard Squads but none of that will be as challenging as proving yourself to the shinigami serving under you. Every captain I have spoken to in depth on the matter would agree. That having been said... You have come a long way. Incidents like today..." she said with another frown and a gesture at the scorched halls, "Show that perhaps you aren't quite ready. But that does not mean you will never be, and it also does not mean that your progress should not be recognised. Keep that temper in check," she tapped Natsuko's head with a slender white finger, "and that spiritual pressure," she tapped her soul sleep, "and perhaps they will make a taicho of you yet." she said with a smile. At this point, she pushed open the doors, leading them out into the succulent spring air.

She paused to consider. Indeed, she weighed up the pros and cons of what she was about to do in her head before ultimately deciding that it would be acceptable and that realistically, she only had herself to answer to.

"In terms of strength I know you are great, Natsuko. But how great? How well can you channel all of that energy of yours when the need is high? Strike me with the strongest Hado you have learned. Don't worry about harming me, give it your best shot, use the full incantation." Blodeuwen said with a grin. Many who had been offered this opportunity took it up with vigor that she found delightful. There was nothing quite like taking one's pent up rage out upon one's supervisor.

lodeuwen couldn't help but smile at Natsuko's dismissal. She herself wasn't best pleased with the Gotei 13 at the present moment. In fact she had a meeting with the Captain-Commander coming up and he didn't sound best pleased. As if the attack on Karakura Town was something that could realistically have been prevented by a single shinigami. As if Arashi Byakurai's betrayal was something she could have prevented. Blod wagered that after the defection of a Taicho-class shinigami and a fifth seat nonetheless, they would be very careful about who they chose for captaincy if it even came up in the near future, not that Blodeuwen could see any reason it would.

"Yes and I want only your best." Blod responded at Natsuko's hesitation. It was often the case that shinigami didn't want to pelt their superiors with kido, but it was only through feeling the spell that she could really, truly grasp the intricacies of its construction. It didn't take long for the redhead to begin her assault. Blodeuwen prepared her reiatsu, and held a hand up to catch the shot of red fire. She slid backwards a few centimeters, her hand stinging from the impact. It was impressive, very impressive. For such a low strength kido, it packed significant punch. However, that wasn't quite enough for what Blodeuwen had in mind.

"Fantastic, Natsuko." she said, stepping from the smoke, unscathed. "Good use of Hado 31. In future, stating the name and number of the Kido further helps to form the reiryoku the right way, but it seems it wouldn't make much difference in this case. I know that isn't the highest numbered Kido you know, however. Why don't you show me what you can do with Hado 73?" she asked with a smile, intending to push Natsuko as far as she could.

Blodewen ignored Natsuko's disappointment with her insight. The only issue with Natsuko was that she was more expressive of the same emotions that everyone else felt. Blod didn't feel exactly qualified enough in dealing with people to know how best to get her to find healthier ways of venting the strain the trials of everyday life put on her. While Natsuko seemed quizzical about the number of the Hado, Blodeuwen knew that she could perform the spell, and Natsuko knew better than to attempt to lie or hide it from Blodeuwen. Blodeuwen steeled herself. This time, she would use a bakudo, not to defend herself, as much as to block and disperse the impact of the attack that was coming her way.

"Bakudo 65, Yottsuyoko Kurokeishu." Blodeuwen cast, and the dark rectangle formed in front of her instantly, at a fourty five degree angle. As such when the beam struck it, the resulting explosion would be angled upwards, away from the Kido Corps Shiro, and also away from Natsuko herself. After a few moments, the smoke would clear, the barrier disappearing as quickly as it had formed. Blodeuwen looked at Natsuko and smiled.

"Natsuko. Well done." she said, with a smile. "I am... Satisfied with your progress. I didn't expect you to be able to use this kido at full power. You need to work on your control; that will come with a better ability to control your temperament. If you do not wish to be a Taicho, so be it. However, if you would like a promotion within the Kido Corps then listen well. The next time I speak to you, I would like you to demonstrate your ability to control this kido. And I would like to see you master another..." She paused to ponder. The challenge she aimed to set Natsuko was not something she expected her to complete easily, but it would certainly show how much she wanted this. "Hmm, I wonder. Yes. Hado 94, Shourinereto." she said, with a note of satisfaction. This was the type of kido that if a shinigami lost focus and lost their cool while performing it, there would be serious repercussions. It was the perfect measure not merely of strength, but of self-control. "In addition to this, I would like to see you create a hado of similar strength to Shourinereto. This may seem like a monumental task, however there are many scrolls and textbooks in the library to guide you. If you complete these tasks to my satisfaction, you will be promoted to Hado Branch Operator." Blodeuwen said, seriously. Below Vice-Kidocho and Soshi, it was the highest rank within the Kido Corps and came with immeasurable respect and authority, almost the same as a Taicho of the Gotei 13. If Natsuko had been dubious that the tasks that she had been set were too hard, she would now understand the necessity of setting the bar so high. But the fact that Blodeuwen had given her the opportunity, meant that she believed Natsuko to be capable of it; that much would hopefully also be apparent to the little red-head. "Aside from anything else, that means no more butterfly duty, and no Realm Boundary Fixation." she said with a little giggle.