With the Captains suffering casualties and heavy injuries on their side, all hope seemed to be lost... until Shinji Hirako appeared, along with the rest of the former Shinigami. Though the aid of the Vizards certainly helped to draw the battle in their favor, it seemed Aizen's power alone proved too much for them.
Seiji was walking around North Rukongai, searching fro a store that would have THE ONE! After his spar session with Kimiko, his hat was destroyed. Seiji had barely made up enough money to go find a replacement for it.
Seiji rubbed his left arm after bumping into someone on the busy street. Still hurts a bit... It's been over a week since that fight with the menos though... I probably should have gone to the infirmary when I got back... Seiji thought as he came upon a store that looked like it had hats.
Walking into the store, Seiji began to talk. "D you have any pen stripe fedoras for sale?" Seiji smiled after asking that and approached the counter.
The owner came out with a broom in hand. The cleric just looked at Seiji and asked him, "Why are you here shinigami? We don't serve your kind here. Please go, before the owner has to drive you off with a broom."
The owner ran at Seiji with the broom. Seiji started to run out of the shop, but before he could get out, he was smacked in the left shoulder. Seiji rounded the corner of the entrance to the shop and tripped over a stand that was next to the entrance, sending hats everywhere. The owner stood over Seiji and said, "Don't come back here, and if y'know what's good for ya, tell your friends to stay away from here too!" With that said, the owner went back into the store.
Seiji stood up and and dusted himself off. "That was weird..." One shop down, hundreds more to go.
Tsukuyo Ozawa, the new member of Division Seven had entered the North Rukongai. She had some time to burn, nothing really all that important before Iba-senpai needed her for something. She heard this specific district had some pretty interesting shops, though never the shopper type she was still a girl, and enjoyed looking at things. Maybe fine some gifts for her sisters back home or her oji-san something of interest.
She found a robe shop, not too far from the hat shop where a fellow shinigami was shopping as well. The girls might like theses and at this price I could get one for everyone. She thought as she examined each one of different colors.
That's when she heard the commotion around the corner. She put down the robe that caught her eye and wandered over to see a fellow shinigami getting beat by a broom from an owner. Now, to her knowledge, no one gets hit by a broom for nothing. She hadn't heard the owners remarks toward shinigami nor had she thought of it. The first thought was that he had said or done something to deserve it and now caused other shinigami from being able to enter that shop.
As much as she wanted to just leave things as they were, her caring heart wouldn't allow herself to ignore such an act. She walked up to Shinji, her face showed neither concern or relief. A placid face like a calm lake in the morning. "Hey, you ok?" She asked, finally reaching where Seiji stood dusting himself off.
Seiji exhaled slowly. He now disliked brooms with a passion. "The nerve of that guy..." Seiji started to stretch out his left arm. It was still kinda sore.
"Hey, you ok?" A voice came from behind Seiji. He turned around to see a completely calm face.
"Uhh... Yeah I'm fine. Owner didn't want any shinigami shopping there for some reason..." Seiji explained, still a bit baffled by what had happened. He rubbed the back of his head. "You look vaguely familiar, do I know you from somewhere?" Seiji asked after raising an eye brow.
Seiji then extended his hand and began to introduce himself, a formality that needed to be taken care of right away. "I am Seiji Kojima, unseated officer of squad six." A slight smile grew on Seiji's face. He liked to introduce himself, the only thing that would make it better would be to have an actual seat to add to his intro. Seiji didn't really mind either way though.
Seiji looked up and down the street. A lot of attention had been gathered from the incident, a little to much. Seiji knew that people would continue to watch him for a little while.
Tsukuyo listened to Seiji's reason behind the attack, she kept a calm demeanor while nodding once in a while. She was relieved that it wasn't his fault, but the fact the owner hated shinigami. She knew that some citizen's had issues with them, the fact she grew up in a place worst then this one didn't ease the hatred.
But that was another thing to worry about as her eye brow perked at his looking familiar comment. She was very good with faces, but his didn't come up in her memory. "I'm sure we've never me until today." Speaking as she noticed people around them still staring at Seiji. She even heard some mumbling, which was rude but expected.
As far as she was concerned they could do all the gossip and rumor passing to their heart content. She was concerned about her comrade, who just introduced himself.
A firm grip from her tekko covered hand to meet Seiji's own. "Tsukuyo Ozawa, Third Seat officer of Division Seven." She gave him a smile, pushing that scar on her cheek up a bit.
Now it seemed Seiji was noticing the murmurs of the incident, but he didn't look bothered by it. Almost as if he expected it. "So, what were you doing before you got attacked?" She released her grip as she asked her question. Curious as to why he was at a hat shop.
"Sometimes I just don't get it. Why would one of our own go and ruin it for the rest of us? It's kinda disappointing..." Seiji said after placing his hands on the top of his head. He didn't like the fact that some people didn't like shinigami, weren't they the ones who protected the people there? What if a hollow attacked the area? Then they would have to depend on a shinigami, but that wasn't happening anytime soon.
"I'm sure we've never me until today." Tsuyuko perked an eyebrow at Seiji's familiar comment.
Seiji rubbed his chin and looked at the ground for a quick second. "Must be my imagination then." Seiji looked back up and chuckled a bit.
A firm grip from Tsuyuko's tekko covered hand to meet Seiji's own. "Tsukuyo Ozawa, Third Seat officer of Division Seven."
"Nice to meet you." Seiji gave a little bow and a quick smile before mentioning something else. "Third seat, eh? Wow, you're quite far up there on the food chain so to speak. How did you make it that far? If you don't mind me asking."
"So, what were you doing before you got attacked?" Tsuyuko asked Seiji.
"I was just looking for a hat. Well, a fedora anyway. My other one was kinda smashed, so I wanted to get another one." Seiji rubbed the back of his head after explaining what had happened to his former hat, even though it wasn't all of the story.
She had to agree with Seiji on that, but it could be another reason altogether why that man hated them. Some people fear what they don't understand and fear usually results in hate. She knows all to well the results of such fears, all to well.
Nodding as he spoke, Tsuyuko wondered why Komamura-taicho even chose her to be his third seat. She was still mastering her shikai and had more to learn. Maybe he felt she was just what he needed or that the responsibility of third seat would give her a push? She'll have to talk to him about it another time.
Right now, she needed to say something or Seiji might think she was ignoring him. "Komamura-Taicho promoted me. Only he knows why." Crossing her arms, Tsuyuko began to grow a tad bit impatient. Standing here while others kept staring was annoying and she didn't like being annoyed.
"Well, it's obvious you won't get on here. Let's find another shop." She grabbed him by the sleeve and started looking for another shop. Hopefully she wasn't be too forward, but she'd rather do something then nothing right now.
Seiji sighed a little. He wasn't quite use to talking to someone new like they were close, and to everyone around them, it probably seemed that they were close even though they had just met.
Just about everyone Seiji knew was higher up than himself. It disappointed him. Couldn't he do better? Why didn't he just try? Seiji began to think that maybe he should be a little less laid back and a little more of go-getter.
"Komamura-Taicho promoted me. Only he knows why." Tsuyuko explained and crossed her arms.
Seiji thought about Komamura-Taicho for a moment. "Haven't you ever thought to ask him?" Seiji asked.
"Well, it's obvious you won't get on here. Let's find another shop." Tsuyuko grabbed Seiji by the sleeve and started looking for another shop.
Seiji caught up to Tsuyuko so that she would let go of his sleeve. "Apparently I have no other choice." Seiji chuckled a little. "I've noticed, a lot of people like to drag me around by the sleeve. Kinda weird, but do I just give off that vibe or what?" Another little chuckle came from Seiji.
Of course she thought about asking, but you try questioning the reasons of a wolf-man. Not that she was afraid of Komamura-taicho, it's just she didn't want to come off as being ungrateful.
Ask him at a later date, during a training session must likely, but now her concern was Seiji and his hat quest.
It's a good thing he caught up or he'd have lost a sleeve. "That just means you lack assertion. You need to build your confidence." She smiled slightly as her eyes looked around the different shops. She may not know what a fedora is, but she knew it was a hat.
Their had to be another shop around here. She saw toys, robes, fruit, but no hats. "What, was that the only hat stand here?" She wasn't frustrated, but things seemed to be that was the only shop stand around.
Of course she didn't know this area very well, so maybe Seiji knew some other shops.
"That just means you lack assertion. You need to build your confidence." Tsuyuko smiled slightly.
"Agh, whatever." Seiji's face grew a little red as he started to rub the back of his head. He thought he had plenty of confidence, but apparently not, or at least not according to Tsuyuko.
Seiji started to look around. This area wasn't extremely familiar, but he still kinda remembered it from the time he had spent there before entering the academy.
"There should be another shop kinda like that one around here somewhere." He looked down the road a little ways. Far down the road he same a sign that said 'HATS'. "There! There's one down there!"
Seiji then grabbed Tsuyuko by the sleeve and started to run off in that direction. Seiji really wanted to get himself a hat once again, he almost felt bare without it.
She wasn't used to being lead by her sleeves, not since she was a child. As embarrassing as it was, she let it go as she did it to him earlier. Yep, that's a hat shop. Hats everywhere and of different shapes and sizes.
She never got the whole hat thing, even Waru Himitsu wore one. Though to be honest, she could pull it off. Now Tsuyuko, she couldn't pull it off. She was far too active for a hat, at least that's what she thought.
"What's the deal with this hat anyways? It's not like you need one." She asked finally, wanting to know more about others obsessions with hats. She only knew of a few people that would wear one, bald men or women with bad hair.
And Seiji wasn't a woman with bad hair. But looking at the back of his head, she could see a but of a bald spot and it looked like he had a receiving hair line. Maybe she was imagining it.
