Chain of Command [Closed]

[Shizuko]

“I pro-o-o-o-mise I’ll make it up to you,” an excited young voice called out.

The main hall of the Fourth Squad headquarters was eerily quiet, even on such a beautiful day. It was a little strange, because with weather like this the beds were usually beginning to fill with ailing patients, having destroyed themselves as well as one another in training. It was a special day, however, and many shinigami had gathered elsewhere in Seireitei for a notable ceremony.

Yet there were two left behind, and they stood toe to toe now, seemingly locked in a staring contest. It was a fleeting few moments before the older of the two spoke.

A heavy sigh preceded her response. “Okay, okay… go watch the graduation. I’ll finish cleaning up.”

It was with a small gleeful squeal that her companion bounced up and down, throwing her arms around her and exclaiming, “Thank you, Shimizu-sama!”

Shimizu Atsue chuckled at the overwhelming excitement of her young subordinate. Her golden eyes followed the girl enthusiastically rushing to the exit. Once the door had been closed and Atsue found herself alone, she made her way to the broom, tossed aside in the girl’s joyful episode.

Graduation from the Shinigami Academy was an exciting event indeed. Given that her subordinate had only recently graduated herself, it was certainly understandable that she was overjoyed to watch her friends move on and become true shinigami. Or, at least, this is what Atsue told herself.

The Vice-Captain of the Fourth Squad had stayed behind to watch over their halls, should anyone unexpected come knocking at the door in need of help. She’d somehow let herself be talked into cleaning the floors again, though deep down she didn’t really mind the menial tasks as much as she should.

Atsue pulled the broom across the floor in long strokes, rather enjoying the fact that things were quiet. There were no screams emanating from the many beds down the hall. There were no bloodstains to be cleaned up in the aftermath of a gory battle. There was no one around, tugging at her sleeve, begging her to make a decision. It was serene, and it was a calm state not wasted upon this peace-loving woman.

[Long]

A heavy thud broke the silence that had been hanging over the main building of the healers' gotei, caused by two men who looked anything but serene. One of them was on the floor moaning in pain, his face and body covered in bruises. Standing over him, the second man looked around the around the room with a stern look on his face. Here he stood, having carried his battered subordinate all the way to the 4th division like a god damn saint, and not a single soul was even there, "Where the hell are all are all the fuckin' medics."

From his spot on the floor, the hurting shinigami pointed toward a tiny looking woman with a broom, "Tarukane-Fukutaichou, there's... Ahhh" Sadly his attempt to point out the obvious was cut short by a quick kick to the ribs by his tattooed superior.

"Shut it Riki, if yah had just downed the sake I gave yah and sucked it up like a man, then I could down some sake too. Instead we had'ta come all the way here cause yah think yur ribs are broken." At the end of the crude man's rant, he sat himself down beside Riki, taking what he thought was a well deserved rest before he continued, "Besides, I'm Sokou when I ain't on duty."

And really, why wouldn't he deserve a rest; he worked hard. Hell, he had spent his entire morning helping young Riki train with his zanpaku-tou, and which meant the last few hours had been nothing more than the Lieutenant half-heartedly attacking the boy so he could become used to combat, of course his half-heartedly was far more dangerous than most shinigami's full out.

"Seriously sir... just ask her to help," since Riki decided to point a second time, Sokou decided he'd look to see what the hell he was looking at before playfully hitting him again.

"Where'd the hell did the chick come from!"

[Shizuko]

Alas, it was only a few moments of sweet, sweet silence before a pair of ruffians burst through the door. Atsue almost didn’t want to look when she heard a familiar thud upon the floor. Instinct carried her eyes to the ground at the door, however, and as expected a young man was lying there. He was looking at her with a pained expression, apparently hoping that she could help him.

Sokou wouldn’t even have had to finish his relatively rude initial question for Atsue to recognize him by speech. When her gaze drifted upwards, sure enough, the lieutenant of the Eleventh Squad towered over the injured shinigami, lazily glancing around. He was not a stranger to this situation, since he routinely dragged his latest unfortunate vict…subordinate to the Fourth Gotei for medical treatment.

Atsue turned her attention again to the young man on the floor, quickly assessing his injuries by sight to swiftly judge what extra supplies she may need. It appeared that he suffered non-lethal injuries, as they usually did. There were many bruises apparent all across his exposed skin, and the hurt shinigami was adamantly clutching at his ribcage. Sokou’s training regimen generally didn’t break more than a rib or two, so, sad as it was, this seemed to be a case of the usual training session.

The medic couldn’t help but flinch a bit at seeing her fellow lieutenant kick his subordinate. Atsue subconsciously noted for the hundredth time the differences between Squads Four and Eleven. She also noted that there might now be a third rib broken.

By the time Sokou realized that Atsue was standing there the entire time, she’d already set aside the broom she’d been using and begun approaching the pair. It didn’t appear that she’d need any supplies at this point. Time would be the best healing agent in this instance, time and separation from the lieutenant of Gotei Eleven.

“Tarukane-fukutaichou,” Atsue said cheerfully, giving a polite bow. She knelt carefully next to her newest patient. Her bright, warm gaze shifted between the two men as she asked, already knowing the answer, “How may I be of service?”

[Long]

As the damn ninja chick, dub so because of her amazing ability to appear out of nowhere, approached the two 11th division members, Sokou took a moment to look her over. Besides being tiny and cute, the medic also seemed vaguely familar to the lieutenant; as if he should of known who she was. Unfortunately, tiny and cute described most female shinigami, while female shinigami described most of the 4th division. So the only distinguishing thing about the woman was her choppy black and blond hair, who the hell was she and why was she so god damn familiar.

After a polite bow and a formal yet cheery greeting, the medic asked how she could be of service. This forced Sokou to bite his tongue to prevent him from saying one of the hundreds of lewd comments and jokes that suddenly came to him, it was best not to upset a medic before she even began her treatment process; a lesson he had learned in his younger days. Instead he decided to get straight to the point, "Broke two of the kid's ribs trainin', I need'em ready within a week." Pausing, the brutal Lieutenant shifted his view from the woman to his subordinate, grinning with what almost looked like pride, "Yah almost had yur shikai this time, we can't afford tah lose the ground yah gained today."

"Hai Fukutaichou."

With his fellow 11th division-er in agreement, as Sokou knew he would be; the vice-captain once again turned his attention to the only healer currently in the healing gotei. "Think yur up to it babe, or do I have tah go grab one of the high ranks away from the grad ceremony?" Of course the last comment was said in complete ignorance that there was only one higher ranked healer in all of Soul Society.

[Shizuko]

Atsue was better able to observe the injured shinigami’s condition as she knelt at his side while his lieutenant gave a very brief explanation of the situation. The patient was able to speak when Sokou wasn’t kicking him, which was a good sign, and there was no evidence of bleeding or severe internal injury. The closer inspection confirmed that the damage caused by the intense training was as both of the present lieutenants had suspected. It would be easily remedied with a little knowledgeable care. This devoted officer would be up and skirmishing soon, as was apparently his desire.

While the two Eleventh Squad members conversed, Atsue merely nodded as she pieced together the scenario which led to the injury. It was when Sokou turned his attention upon her once more that she was caught a little off guard. In all honesty, she wasn’t sure if he was joking in his last comment or if he honestly didn’t know who she was. If she were to hazard a guess, however, she suspected that it was the latter. It was an amusing thought that he still might not recognize her, as often as he dragged comrades to the doors of Gotei Four. Atsue was almost always nearby when he entered the building, as most of her subordinates found the infamous Tarukane-fukutaichou to be a very intimidating man. Either way, she couldn’t help but chuckle a bit in her answer, despite his slightly irritating use of the term “babe.”

“Oh, I don’t think that will be necessary. I am quite sure that I can handle this on my own,” she responded in a rather amused tone. “I suppose he could be ready in under a week, though he may be somewhat sore without more time to rest. However, it is rather doubtful that a little pain will stop a member of the Eleventh, right?”

Atsue grinned and placed a reassuring hand on the injured man’s shoulder. She then stood and turned to Sokou. “Well, the sooner we begin treatment, the sooner he’ll be fighting again to attain shikai. If you wouldn’t mind, Tarukane-fukutaichou, please bring him this way.”

The lieutenant gave a small bow with her request as she moved away from the pair in the direction of a nearby room. She could have helped move the patient herself, though she figured that if Sokou insisted on being so rough with his subordinates, the least he could do was help them receive treatment for their injuries… beyond just dragging them in the door and leaving them in a heap on the floor.

[Long]

No matter what people would say about the fourth gotei, and Sokou will simply say but they're the only medics we got; before he broke your nose for the sake of irony. Most people assumed he did this because he was a complete asshole, but the truth was that he was a complete asshole who understood that the Yonbantai held every one's lives in the palm of there hands. It probably didn't hurt that most of the women in Seireitei served as nurses, at least Sokou thought that most of the women in Seireitei served as nurses. Actually the only complaint the lieutenant of the 11th Gotei had about the healer's division was that they were all so go damn skittish.

Which was why he found the damn ninja chick refreshing, even if her complement of the 11th's general toughness was a bit too transparent for his liking. This was the reason decided to carry Riki to the treatment room like she asked, instead of simply leaving. Besides, if he left now, Riki would try and get medical leave with pay... Sokou would sell his sword before he let that happen.

Crouching down, the tattooed shinigami picked up his subordinate; a little more gently this time, the girl had said she could have him on his feet in a week and he didn't want to accidentally puncture one of Riki's lungs and have that time extended. Following the girl to the room, Sokou brought the younger shinigami over to the bed and carefully placed him on it; Riki for his part didn't even flinch... much.

Taking a seat in a nearby chair, the lieutenant had decided he was going to be comfortable while he waited. "So how'd yah get stuck here instead of goin' to the ceremony?"

[Shizuko]

Atsue entered the room intended for her newest patient and turned around to face Sokou and his subordinate as they followed some distance behind her. She was pleased to see that her fellow lieutenant was handling things a bit more gently. As the injured man was being lowered to the bed, Atsue retrieved some supplies from a nearby shelf.

Sokou had already stepped away and was making himself comfortable when Atsue returned to the injured Riki. Placing various bandages aside, she began to help her patient out of his shirt in order to assure that he would move as little as possible. When she peeled the cloth away from his skin, the medic couldn’t help but quietly sigh in slight exasperation. The deep bruises the man bore gave testament to the harsh world of Gotei Eleven. Though she’d provided care for members of all thirteen divisions, none could compare to the damage sustained in the Eleventh Squad. This was especially true when it came to training injuries. Still, Atsue acknowledged the hard work involved on the path to become strong in the Eleventh’s ranks. Setbacks like this were only the beginning steps to becoming one of the greatest physical shinigami fighters.

The understated smile never faded from the lieutenant’s face as she went about her work and answered Sokou’s inquiry.

“I volunteered to stay behind, I suppose. Many of the others greatly wished to attend the ceremony, but there were tasks to be addressed here. Besides, someone would have to be available and able to handle things in case there were others who had skipped today’s events and were hard at work… like you two.”

Atsue’s fingers moved to the injured side of Riki’s chest, barely touching the surface of his skin, though revealing that the area was quite tender, given the patient’s reaction. Her open palms were placed above the broken ribs once she’d located the most problematic area. A well-controlled burst of reiatsu from her hands relieved her patient’s discomfort.

“I hope the pain has subsided, though you’ll still have to remain somewhat immobilized for now,” she informed Riki. The medic applied a brace to his back and began winding the bandages around him. Indeed it seemed a little excessive for broken ribs, but since the area was now numb, he would risk further injury if he moved due to reduced pain.

“What about you, Tarukane-fukutaichou?” she asked as she continued her work. “Don’t you have any interest in meeting the new graduates and hopefuls for your division?”

[GoldenKitten]

Moved to Dead RP's.