Days on End: Beginning

Bleach: Days on End

Part I
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The barracks of the was abuzz with life, the wooden floors of the Japanese-style building creeked incessantly, its inhabitants busily moving from place to place, never keeping still for long. The creeking was overshadowed by the sounds of merrymaking and roudy gestures from those within. The atmosphere was a pleasent sort, aided by the scents of well cooked meats and assorted sweets, lined up on various fine wooden tables that sat in the main hall, the largest room, of the barracks. Steam escaped through the open windows rising from the food most recently cooked. The next room over from this main hall had a larger set of windows, opened wide for massive plumes of hot air to use. Manning a pair of stoves was the tall and broadly built Captain of the, Altan Kartal. His massive stature and build painted a typical picture that many men aspired to in fantasies, his strong jawline and crown of well kept, red-brown hair only furthered the ideal as did the great many scars littered across his very visible upper body. Foregoing much of the that his comrades wore in favour of only wearing his haori.

Sweating from the ever present heat still present in the room, Altan effortlessly worked over the pair of stoves before him with assorted utensils preparing all kinds of meat, most notably that of fish and what looked like boar.

"You? You're doin' the cookin'?", said a voice from behind. Slightly rough though clearly feminine, the tone was almost bemused but in obvious jest as remarked upon her expression, that of a raised brow and one sided grin. Standing in the doorway of the kitchen, one hand set on her hip, the other loosely gripping her which rested against her shoulder was another of the 's Captains, this time it was Seia, head of the  and Altan's former protégé. At least a full head shorter than her fellow Captain, Seia was a dark skinned woman with deep jade eyes and long black hair that flowed behind her, swaying at the slightest of movements. She wore the standard Shinigami uniform, including her own Captain's haori. Oddly her attire lacked a right sleeve on either the shihakushō or haori but retained the left.

His head turned to her, his hand raised to deliver a dismissive wave.

"I told you, kid, I'm a master of every art", he responded with his aged, gravelly voice, putting on an air of seriousness. "That includes the art of cooking", his deadpan moment cracked as he started to chuckle inwardly, Seia having done much the same.

"Alright big guy, where's the sake?", she asked. His hand passed over his shoulder, thumb stretched out to point behind him.

"The box in the back", Seia poked her head into the room, turning to the direction that she had been pointed in. Seeing the remarked object she pushed herself into motion, strolling through the kitchen to acquire her quarry. The box was frozen to the touch, its lid opening with an audible creak. Mist rose out from the opened space. Climbing from the amassed ice within the small box. Two bottles of sake were tightly swallowed by the crushed ice. The Captain removed a single bottle, making sure to close the box afterward and swiftly made her exit from the room.

"Talk to ya later big guy", she commented on the way out, receiving a simple nod in acknowledgement from Altan.

In the other room Seia weaved her way through massings of other Shinigami and assorted furniture on the way back to her seat. The room was absolutely packed with Shinigami from all divisions, though primary of the tenth. They had split off into all sorts of little gatherings, snacking on food that had been brought in or otherwise prepared by the eleventh division Captain in the other room, partaking in drinks of the alcohol variety.

Sitting at the back of the room, in between the Captains of the and  divisions was the reason for the ongoing celebration. Frithigern, newly appointed as the Captain of the tenth division following the death of its former Captain, Hanashi Saika. He was young, perhaps one of the youngest people in the room, his face still smooth and baby-ish. He had silver eyes and unkempt black hair, tied loosely behind him with lengthy bangs in front to partially obscure his face. He wore a tight fitting variant of the shihakushō, with a sleeveless kosode. Beneath the uniform he wore a faded blue linen shirt. He did not wear a haori, though he had received one upon his official appointment as Captain. The reason why was painted on his face, his silver eyes betrayed his uncertainty, his expression was almost pained and the few movement he made that weren't uncomfortable fidgeting were half hearted and terribly indecisive gestures.

Johnny Law, sitting to the left of the young nerve-wrecked Captain, dressed up in his attire that painted him clearly as a cowboy, mixed in with the upper parts of the Shinigami uniform, felt it was necessary to prod the shoulder of his fellow and say whatever came to mind.

"Cheer up, kiddo, this 'ere get-to-gether is for you, its somethin' to be proud of", It wasn't the greatest of possible uplifting words, but it gained Frithigern's attention, and that of the other nearby Captain. Xiuhcoatl, dressed up in the typical shihakushō with only the addition of some golden accessories, an ornate headress and the lack of footwear to set him apart. His slow turn to address the other two sent visible shivers down Johnny's spine.

"He's right, young one, you should bear this appointment with pride", the Aztec Captain set about assisting in raising the spirits of their younger counterpart. "Believe in the faith Hanashi-taichō had for you, you'll make a great Captain."

His head sinking towards his chest, Frithigern didn't have the heart to look anyone in the face. "I-I'll try my best", with an unusual mix of defeat and hope.

Wrapping an arm over Frithigern's shoulder, Johnny pulled him close before tossing his free arm up into the air in declaration. "Give us a cheer fer our new Captain guys!", the room promptly burst into praise when the Shinigami around the room registered the call. Arms were pumped into the air, many holding half filled cups of sake, which promptly sloshed and spilled all over the place.

Frithigern jumped to his feet, his eyes avoided looking at anyone, he was almost hyperventilating as he spoke.

"I promise, I won't d-disappoint you all."

His voice was meak, timid, only barely being heard above the roudiness of the celebrations. Those quickly fell silent when the young Captain made a show of things by slapping his arms to his sides tightly and drawing forward in a bow to the Shinigami before him.

"You heard him lads, another cheer for the new Captain.", raising her glass was Icía Cabaleiro do Val, Captain of the, dressed up as she usually was in a wisteria-coloured kimono with her dark brown hair tied up in a singular tail to the left side, which bobbed around with such fervor that it seemed to be incapable of deciding on whether it wanted to be in front or behind her shoulder.

Following the words of the Captain, the celebrations continued, some of the more wasted Shinigami made a show of things by dragging Frithigern away from his seat in the back to give him some drunken pep talks and declarations of brotherly love and eternal frienship.

Though less modern than what Johnny was wearing, Branunn Solmundsdottir, Captain of the, was another Captain dressed up in Western attire. A low cut sleeveless jacket, corset, trousers and boots made up the ensemble, keeping the colour scheme of the Shinigami Shihakushō intact. Her arms were wrapped in gloves, the spine and ribs of some small animal decorating the right.

She watched the festivities going on for a moment before exiting the main hall, and the barracks entirely, to the open air and moonlit night sky.

"Shouldn't you be inside?", spotting Eskengai Segomari in his unassuming Shihakushō and haori, the man glanced at her for only a second before returning to the book between his hands. He had been resting against a simple stone wall, letting the moonlight that peeked over illuminate the pages of his book whilst he read.

"I prefer the quiet actually, much more conducive to reading", he replied turning a page. "How about you?"

She grimaced, her shoulders giving a reflexive shrug. "Can't shake the feeling that something bad is happening and we don't know about it, its making it hard to enjoy anything", she answered.

Eskengai nudged himself to the side and patted on the dirt where he had been sitting.

"Talk to me about it, maybe we can figure something out", seeing no reason not to, the Germanic Captain joined her Gaulic comrade on the dusty ground.