Continued From: Errand Run, Part 4
If Tsukiro wasn’t at all enthused with visiting Squad Four, he was even less excited about visiting Squad Six. Given who his sensei was, he could already infer that he and the captain, Byakuya Kuchiki were not going to get along. That thought also sparked the realization that he would have gotten along even less with Captain Soi Fon.
Well, dodge one disaster, run into another, I suppose. Maybe if I’m lucky I’ll get to work with the Lieutenant instead. He seems like an okay person, from what I’ve heard…
Tsukiro arrived at the Squad Six gates and went through the normal routine of “halting and identifying” as he liked to call it. After introducing himself and stating his intentions, the guards let him through.
I guess that wasn’t as bad as it could have been, considering the captain is a nobleman.
He walked through the courtyard, finding that the barracks smelled of cherry blossoms and wild flowers. Tsukiro was silently thankful that he didn’t have any allergies, otherwise this visit would have been impossible. He found the smell pleasant yet slightly overwhelming. He continued through the barracks, not really knowing where he was going, hoping that like the other times someone (maybe the lieutenant) would round a corner and randomly find him, since he seemed to be having some good luck.
A smooth and neutral voice reached him from around a corner. "When in strange places, it is best to wait for instruction not wander off, boy."
Just my luck.
Tsukiro turned around to be confronted with Captain Byakuya Kuchiki's quiet penetrating gaze. Even with the sakura blossoms falling around them and a few catching in his hair and scarf, there was nothing soft in those eyes as they evaluated him further in silence.
"Tsukiro Ashimitsu, Tenth Division's Eighth Seat," he murmured automatically. He bowed deeply to the nobleman “Hajimemashite."
Byakuya nodded and asked, “Are you here for evaluation?”
Tsukiro raised his eyebrows. "Evaluation? Sir?"
“Hmmm... Follow me," Captain Kuchiki instructed in a low but sharp voice as he turned around, strolling back through the corridor from whence had come.
Tsukiro sighed, muttering a yes sir and trailed behind the captain. "So, what task am I to complete?"
The captain didn’t reply, only continued to lead him through the large barracks.
Well, isn't he pleasant. -_-"
Tsukiro let out another sigh and quietly continued on behind the captain.
After a dozen or more turns and through more sliding doors, they arrived at a door taped with a large calligraphy signature on paper. The characters were bold, strokes blunt, with spots of ink falling into the white space. "Abarai."
Byakuya pushed the door open, revealing Renji Abarai’s red head bowed over and hard at work in a small desk with some documents. Two piles were on either side of him.
Looking up when the door slid open Renji scrambled to his feet. “Captain!” He quickly bowed. When he stood once more he noticed the runt behind him.
“Who’s this, Captain?”
“Tsukiro Ashimitsu, eighth seat of the Tenth Division.”
“Ah.” Renji looked at the kid once more. “So he is the one Hitsygaya was talking about sending over.” He rubbed the back of his neck thinking to himself. “He ain’t big enough to do much of nothing.”
He looked back to his captain, “What is it you need of me, Captain?”
“Before his usual instructions, if he is any good at mathematics, he may help you with these documents." Kuchiki reached into his haori and smoothed the papers out. "You are to correct these mistakes before you get any farther in the new forms." He placed the stack of folded documents on top of his lieutenant's pile. Thick circles covered the forms. "Some, I am sure, come from your own miscalculations. You need to watch your commas.”
“The rest are not. You are to give the usual punishment to those who failed at their tasks, especially seventh seat, who is to get double. This is the third time he has greatly underestimated the budget. If his relationship gets in the way of his job again, I will personally take a hand in it. This will be his only warning."
Boy, what a hard ass, Kotaishi scoffed.
Shut it, Kotaishi. He's a noble.
Yeah, and you would be too if you'd just--
I said shut up!
Tsukiro watched the captain leave without another word, then he turned to the lieutenant.
"I don't suppose you're going to tell me what I'm supposed to do?"
When the captain left Renji plopped back into his seat. His head falling back and his arms hung to the side of him. Renji did not even hear Tsukiro asking him something because he was too busy cursing someone under his breath.
“Damn you Ichigo! I blame you for this. I told you not to rush me.” He turned to his desk picking up a few sheets of paper and dropped them back to the desk. “Now I have to do this all over again and fix the other’s mess ups.”
Renji then looked up to Tsukiro blankly. “Did you say something?”
Tsukiro was vaguely aware of Kotaishi saying something snarky but he ignored him. Instead he just looked to the lieutenant and said, "I'll be happy to help with anything that needs to be done."
Renji looked back at the papers. “Well from what the captain said we got mathematical issues here in the paperwork that need to be fixed.” Renji grabbed at the top file pulling it toward him. He looked over the paper and handed it to Tsukiro. He then turned grabbing a pencil and handed that to him.
“How are you at math?” Renji gave him a half smile with a raise brow.
It took Tsukiro all of two minutes to look over the budget and detect the problem. He then started erasing and scribbling in figures. He handed the corrected document to Renji.
"You forgot to subtract the cost of repairs to the training grounds from the revenue, plus you added too much up for annual salaries. It's not that hard. Just watch your numbers and your figures."
Renji looked at the file when he was done and laughed. “Thanks. But that’s not my writing.” Renji laughed again. “This is seventh seat; Toda’s writing. He really needs to get his head back in the game or Captain Kuchiki is going to toss him out on his ear.”
"Well, if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself," Tsukiro shrugged. "Anything else that needs doing?"
“Yeah,” Renji grabbed the rest of the half folded document Byakuya left behind. A stack of about 12 documents. “I will take half, plus one since you did the first sheet. If you come across writing like this again.” He grabbed the first document Tsukiro did. “It’s Toda’a. Set it aside.” Renji thumbed through them looking for the payroll document so he was sure he did that one. He handed Tsukiro his half of the stack and they went to work.
Tsukiro grabbed a book to write on and a chair to sit in. He read over each document carefully, setting aside all of the ones that had the seventh seat's handwriting. Once he filtered them out, he reread over the other documents, committing the figures to memory. He corrected them and added up all of the new figures, making sure everything checked out. After finishing and checking his corrections he neatly placed them in a stack on the lieutenant's desk.
"Alright, those are finished.”
Renji looked up from his last paper picking up what Tsukiro did and thumbed through quickly. He was pleased with what he saw. All the figures looked right and the correction neatly wrote out to the side so there was no confusion. Setting those papers aside, Renji finished up his last sheet. Reaching over to the ones Tsukiro set aside. He shook his head and went to work on those next. When he finished he went through them again. Pleased with their work he stacked them all together and stood from his desk.
“Come on. Let’s get these back to Captain Kuchiki. I am sure he is waiting on them.” He walked past him to the door and slide it open. “He can let you know what else he needs from you.”
When Tsukiro stood walking up to Renji, Renji offered his hand to him. Taking his hand Tsukiro shook it.
“Thanks man. That took half the time with your help. I really appreciate it.” Renji paused as their hands parted ways. “You’re alright.”
Tsukiro grinned at Renji. "So are you, lieutenant Abarai."
Once they arrived at the captain's office they knocked and waited for him to answer.
“Come,” he called out.
Renji pushed open the door to a large office. The sliding doors on the other side were pushed back all the way to better view the courtyard. On the step to the outdoors was a bonzai, a carefully sculpted maple tree to, in a shallow pot, leaning towards the garden. A few red leaves had settled on the wooden steps below it. Byakuya, himself, was at his desk on one side, filling out forms. He didn't look up from inscribing his elegant signature to the bottom of a document.
“Are you finished?”
“Yes Captain.” Renji replied in his bow. Standing he set the documents to Byakuya’s desk. “I think you will find them in order now, Captain.”
Renji stepped back from the desk and waited for his next orders for him, if there were any, besides paperwork that is.
“How many pages in total were due to Seventh Seat’s sloppiness?”
“Five of the thirteen pages you gave us, sir.” Renji replied.
Captain Kuchiki’s brush paused in the middle of his next signature. “Five?” he repeated in a low stern voice.
Renji nodded, “Yes, sir. Eight Seat Ashimitsu fixed the errors on one of the pages to show me what he could do. Then he found three more and I found one. So five, sir.”
Tsukiro shrugged as if to say “it was nothing,” however he said in a polite yet suggestive tone. “I think you need a new seventh seat.”
Or they could just hire you, Kotaishi laughed in Tsukiro’s mind.
Shut it, Tsukiro warned for what seemed like the hundredth time. Besides, Hitsugaya would never transfer me, and I’m not to big on exchanging a grumpy kid captain with an equally grumpy noble captain.
True that.
“Five pages is unacceptable,” Captain Kuchiki stated in an even lower neutral voice. He ignored Tsukiro’s remark completely.
Byakuya pulled a new sheet to himself, inspected it swiftly, and signed the page with deliberate precision, eyes narrowed.
“Abarai.”
“Yes, Captain.” Renji popped to attention in front of Byakuya.
“Ashimitsu will be released at sunset. Until then, you are to join him in cleaning the dojo and the practice weapons. Seventh Seat will clean the barracks. That includes removing or hiding those items that I dislike. He will not stop until it is finished. I know for a fact that he asked for time off in order to go on a date with his girlfriend tonight. She can join him at the barracks cleaning if she argues. If I see any of those contraband items from the holidays after today, it is gone. That goes for everyone.”
“When you are done with the dojo, return to me for a final task.” He opened one of his desk drawers and set his seal on a corner of his desk. “Dismissed.” He set his brush down on its inkstone and started gathering documents together.
Renji bowed to his captain again. “Yes, sir. I will personally make sure that Seventh Seat gets this task completed if I have to stand over him with a whip and chair, sir.”
Renji turned to leave as he added, “That is after I have finished my tasks.”
He slid the door to the office for them to exit the office.
Tsukiro sighed as they ventured towards the dojo. He could tell that this was going to be a long visit…
Hard ass, he and Kotaishi’s thoughts combined with each other.
--------------
“Ugh, everything hurts,” Renji groaned as he walked Tsukiro back to the front gates. “Thanks for putting up with all that work. I know the Seventh Seat can be pretty rude and a real smart ass sometimes.”
“Eh, it was nothing,” Tsukiro waved it away, ignoring the ache in his muscles. “I’ve dealt with much worse.”
Renji chuckled, as if not believing that there was anyone worse than Seventh Seat Toda. “So, where are you headed off to?”
Tsukiro yawned and stretched. “Back to my own barracks for the night, then I’ll resume my assignment starting with Squad Seven.”
“Hitsugaya really made you visit all of the Divisions?”
“I know how it sounds, and for the record it’s tiring yet at the same time it is interesting to see how the other Squads operate.”
Renji nodded as they arrived at the gates. “Well, good luck with your other seven Squads.” He reached his hand out to Tsukiro. “It was nice working with you Tsukiro. And thanks again.”
Tsukiro nodded and shook his hand. “You too Renji.”
Renji watched as Tsukiro disappeared beyond the Squad gates. Then he turned around, yawning and scratching the back of his head, thinking to himself that his own bed and a good rest did sound pretty nice right at that moment.
Continued To: Coming Soon
