An Unwanted Break (Open)

Kristoph sat at his Lieutenant's desk, doing his paperwork. He had been at it for seven hours straight and was still going at it. After a while, one of the squad members burst through the door and slammed his palm onto Kristoph's desk. He looked up, removing his glasses.

"May I help yo-," he was cut off.

The squad member grabbed Kristoph by the front of his shirt and dragged him out of the office. Kristoph began to kick and resist, but the squad member continued to drag him along without any sign of giving up.

"Put me down!" he screamed in anger, "Put me down this instant!"

The squad member then flash-stepped farther away from the office and placed Kristoph down. Kristoph hissed under his breath, fixing his torso with a glare to the squad member. "Enjoy your break, Lieutenant!" The squad member then used flash-step to leave the area. Kristoph was lost.

"Great," he cursed as he walked.

This morning, when Soifon walked out of her house, the coolness of the day came as a great relief. It had been so hot lately it was hard to go outside without risking getting heatstroke. Luckily, Soifon had been careful and stayed inside on most of the hot days, but that was getting boring. She had a division to run! You could only do so much from your house and office. Soifon had finished every piece of paperwork she had, cleaned her house and the office twice, and wrote a list of things she needed to do. But everything was done.

Soifon walked slowly through her division, feeling the cool breeze and noticing her surroundings. Since the temperature was so nice today, she decided to train. Soifon loved to train. She loved to get stronger. She dreamed in beating Yoruichi in a match someday. But that wouldn't happen if she didn't train. On the way to the training area, she saw no one. That was strange. Usually the members of her squad were running all over the place. Where could they be? She wondered, as she walked through the silent streets of the second division.

Turning a corner, she saw her lieutenant not too far from her. Relief immediately filled her, accompanied by a foolish feeling. It was stupid to be so scared, she chided herself, shaking her head. What's wrong with you today?

Kristoph sighed as he continued walking. From his pocket, he fetched out something he recieved in the world of the living. It was a small technical device. There were headphones with it that he placed into his ears. He flashed a smirk to the song that was playing. It was a smirk filled with humor. Kristoph cracked his neck, looking over his shoulder back to where he had been.

"I don't need a break," he mumbled.

Kristoph was paler than most. In was a sign he didn't get out much. With a sigh, he placed sunglasses over his eyes, cursing at how bright the sun was today. Thankfully, his shinigami uniform had no sleeves. He gave a low, annoyed sigh as he tried to look around and see if there was anything he could do to have an excuse to go back to his office. His eyes went out of focus due to sleep deprivation. What kept him up was his work that he found necessary to do right away. Kristoph rubbed his temples with a grumble, then lightly bumped into something, or rather, someone. His expression hardened into one of annoyance, but he knew it was his fault. He took his headphones out and gave a sigh.

"Hey," he began to say, "I'm sorry."

Kristoph looked to the person now and his jaw dropped slightly. It was his captain he had litterally ran into. He simply bowed his head in apology and removed his sunglasses. He squinted his eyes, getting used to the brightness of the sun. His blood red eyes shimmered in annoyance from the light.

"Konbanwa, Captain," he greeted, "My apologies for bumping into you like that. I suppose I should be more careful."

Before Soifon could say anything however, Kristoph bumped into her. Though it wasn't that forceful a bump, being significantly smaller than Kristoph it jostled her a bit, and she nearly tripped backwards. Quickly catching her balance and hoping she hadn't looked too foolish, Soifon stepped to the side and looked up at her lieutenant, a rather annoyed look in her eyes.

"Hello, Lieutenant Reiner," she replied, nodding curtly to him. "I would recommend that you do be more careful." She paused for a moment and then said what she had been wanting to say since she saw him but didn't want to sound too insecure. "Have you seen any other of the division members around? I have not come across any and it seems rather quite. I hope the oafs aren't somewhere getting into trouble."

Kristoph listened to his captain and gave a light scoff. One of the squad members happened to be the reason he was outside. He fixed his collar, giving a light sigh as he looked up at the sky. He then brought a hand over his head.

"It's too damn bright out here," he muttered.

Kristoph was more familiar with darkness, of course, as it was his element of choice. He then remembered his captain was still there. He thought for a moment, then cleared his throat in a calm manner.

"I have no idea," he admitted, "But one stopped by my office and dragged me out here because apparently I needed a break."

Kristoph gave another scoff. Of course, by now, he had a headache. It had been exactly 47 hours that he had been running on caffeine or coffee. However, he was still well groomed, as he took time for his personal hygeine. He ran a hand through his silver locks, closing his eyes momentarily. Kristoph then rubbed the back of his neck, making it seem like he was doing it nonchallantly, but he was really trying to numb the pain from his collar. He remembered he had never told anyone about it due to the fact he trusted no one. Kristoph's eyes seemed to dim as he remembered his past. After seeing the first death he caused, he came back to his senses, but did not change at all.

"I'll admit, I don't keep tabs on the squad," he said in a husked tone.

Soifon raised an eyebrow at his scoff. Was that directed at her? Her eyes narrowed. If so, he would find himself in the fourth division hospital for at least a week! No one scoffed at her, no one talking back to her. No one dared. Luckily for her lieutenant, he responded to her question.

"I have no idea. But one stopped by my office and dragged me out here because apparently I needed a break."

So there were other people here! Soifon felt rather relieved. It wasn't like she had thought they'd disappeared into thin air or anything or were all killed by some intruders (she would have heard about that if it were the case), but she had still been a bit anxious. Despite her personality toward her subordinates, she actually cared about them very much. Yes, they were useless if they were weak and lazy, and she would never hesitate to tell them off or beat them up, but it was all for good reason. She needed a strong squad, and she really didn't believe kindness could bring her that.

Kristoph looked rather tired, she observed, watching her lieutenant closely. Had he been getting enough rest? If not, he could never do his best! She was just about to point this out until he spoke his next words.

"I'll admit, I don't keep tabs on the squad."

Soifon frowned a bit, her eyes narrowing once more. "I do not expect you to keep tabs on the squad, but I do expect you to know if every one if missing. That is part of your duty as a lieutenant to be informed of such things."

"I would not be careless enough to not keep in touch," he said calmly, "I know exactly where they are. In fact..."

Kristoph tunred away from his captain, and used flash-step to disappear. He gave a grin as his voice echoed. It would be a little game between Captain and Lieutenant. In his disappearance, a note was left behind. The note simply said: 'Captain, I wish to see how well you know your lieutenant.I may be a loyal dog, but I have a difficult time trusting anyone. There's someone tracking Kristoph Reiner as you read this note. Infact, his last trip to the human world, he was injured by the same person. ...Oh? I forgot to tell you? (Lachen[Translate: Laughter]) Well, let's hope you find him before the clock runs out.
-Kristoph Reiner

Kristoph's laugh echoed from around the division barracks. A gunshot rang out, but it couldn't be identified. Was it the man who was tracking him, or was it from his own weapon out of sheer madness?

"Keeping time, time, time in a sort or runic rhyme," he quoted his favorite author, "Can you keep track of someone as simple as myself? Of course, I wouldn't say 'simple' about myself. No one really knows about me, and I don't plan on letting my secrets slip out. Though, I'll let the Captain of the Second Division know one thing--I am not a traitor, nor do I plan on betraying anyone here. Simply, I'm playing a game of wits."