It's a Montage!

Hideki scurried along through the library, still going over his itinerary. It was a list of all of the things he needed to do just to get the squad ready for a change in leadership. He was also still resisting the urge to do things like shelve, or sit at his old desk. He didn't know how he felt about the new office.... or any of this... He didn't even have time to get the haori resized.

As he flipped from one page to the other in the book, he walked past a rather precarious stack of books, almost 8 feet tall, without notice, before slowly... painstakingly... walking backwards and turning to face it. He really hated some of the squadmates sometimes. He leaned around the stack, trying to figure out how to approach it best. Hrm.. "Uhh.." Maybe... "Here?" He reached out and took what seemed like a safe book when suddenly the stack teetered away from him. "Uh-oh." He expected the books to fall, creating a huge pile.

And then they rocked back and tipped over, dropping the entire stack on him. "AAHHH!" he was suddenly half buried under books, limbs sticking out and waggling for help.

Eufemia sighed once again. So much work to be done, so many things to be fixed up. Lacking a party captain, the others had taken to annoying habits of making tons of work for her. Like the eight foot tall stack of books in the middle of no where. If it had been against a wall or something it would have been easily dealt with... But no, she had to go find a ladder that could stand on its own so she could get high enough to start taking them off.

Walking back, the ladder safely stored in the cloak, Mia hummed a bit while no one was around... As she got closer to where she SWORE the stack of books were though, there was no sign of them. Instead there was now a pile of books with someone trapped under them!

She was quiet as she ran over, pulling the books off the person with nary a word. Too many times had this happened to her! Another could not suffer this wretched faaate!

It was quickly apparent just WHO was under there by the sounds and she was pulling books off left and right until it would be easy for the person to get out themselves. All the books she had pulled off were stacked perfectly.

Hideki was fairly sure that he was going to die here. Or at least be stuck under here long enough that a crowd would draw and he'd die of embarrassment. That sounded unpleasantly reasonable of an outcome. Just as he was starting to think that this would be the end for any respect the squad would be having for him, he heard footsteps. Oh no. Don't be Craig Don't be Craig DON'TBECRAIGDON'TBECRAIG. Books kept going away until he saw a gloved hand reach in. AH! It's her!

As enough books were removed, he pushed more out of his way and sat up, still partially submerged in books, but able to pull himself out now. "A-Ah! Mia! Thanks so much!" He said with a big appreciative smile. "I ah... guess my Jenga skills need work?" An embarrassed blush crossed his cheeks as he reached up for her to give him a hand. "Help me up?"

Mia shook under the hood, WHY did he have to be nice and smile, but she nodded and waved off his thanks. She was used to being around him a bit now, it was becoming second nature to NOT flee when he smiled. Well, slowly. Very slowly.

His joke made her smile, the bottom part of her head showing today. Though it quickly flushed and disappeared as she pulled the hood down more. Standing up and moving back, she reached onto her back and pull the rather long sword and sheathe off of it. Holding out the end of the sheathe to him, she mimed her pulling the sword and him out once he took it.

Hideki still wasn't sure why she was so shy. Was there something weird going on under that hood? Who knew. She obviously was on top of work and she managed to be one of the more enjoyable squad members to be around, although so far she was prone to disappearing rapidly.

He jerked a little, nervously, when she pulled her sword out but then felt silly about it when she held the sheathe out for him to take. He grabbed the sheathe, trying to use ot to pull himself up but found it hard. He groaned quietly. If he asked for more help she would go get the others. No. No he needed to power through this. He grabbed the sheathe with both hands and pulled as hard as his scrawny arms could pull him.

Mia had to be stronger than the cloak would suggest, especially if she swung around a zanpakuto of this length. Thus when he pulled, she pulled as well and attempted to yank him out of the pile. If he didn't, she would have to just unbury him more so he could do this himself.

Hideki found, miraculously, that the tiny cloaked girl was some sort of rock steady anchor. Not that he'd expected her to trip or anything. Only some cosmic being that intentionally put people into hilariously awkward situations for its own twisted amusement would have planned that. But he hadn't expected her to be able to help pull him out. Lifted from his book-bath, he tumbled forward onto his hands and knees.

"Oh my god. Thank you, Mia." He said, taking his glasses off and tucking them into his pocket. He picked himself up, still precariously on top of the book pile, but sure it had settled. He wobbily stood for a second. "I'm glad I didn't have t-ohhh!" The books suddenly avalanched, carrying a stumbling Hideki forward until he stopped.

Because he had bumped directly into his poor Lieutenant.

Mia swung her sword back and it magically attached, sheathe and all, to the back of her back. She gave a nod and her smile could be seen from under the hood. Still why was he on those books? They were books and needed to be put away, so Mia waved at the captain to tempt him down so she could get to work.

Mia was NOT expecting him to slip and fall though, and as she was still braced from helping him out, instead of sending them both tumbling he instead landed against her. She did stumble back a few steps from the taller young man's weight before a small sound of...something escaped her and she fled in a poof.

Hideki was prepared to face plant directly into the floor when he suddenly felt himself bounce into something.  Wh-what?  He opened his eyes just in time to see a poof of smoke.  Oh man.  He'd... fell into her.  And now she was gone.  Damn.  He recovered his footing and looked over at the pile of books and sighed.  He wasn't going to leave this for her to clean up....  Hideki walked over and began sorting the books into neat little piles, easy to send to their proper place.

While he did, a thought crossed his mind... Mia was soft... Like... Of course she was, it was unlikely that cloak was hiding massive muscles... but... Like... REAAALLLY soft.  Huh... Weird...


---

It was a few days later when Hideki was sitting in his office, going over Personnel files, seeing if anyone needed to be given new duties or reassigned to another division. So far there weren't any who needed much changing, but it was standard procedure for change of command. He glanced across his desk to Mia, sitting there shrouded in her cloak and reading reports. He looked down and frowned. He knew she couldn't talk, but it just felt so awkward not being able to openly communicate with his own lieutenant. But he had to appreciate how much effort it took for her to just be in a room with someone like this.

He sifted through a few reports in his hands before pausing, raising an eyebrow to one. Hrm... He glanced back over at her before putting the others down on the desk.

He picked up a sticky note from his desk and put it on the file, scribbling some things on it before silently placing it on her side of the desk and picking up the stack of files he'd placed down and innocuously reading through them.

The sticky note on the file read simply "Squad duties need reassessment." When she looked at who's file it was, she would find it was her own.

Mia was about ready to take a nap in some out of the way corner of this place, too many reports and reorganizing. Some members of the squad didn't appreciate the switch from PARTY PARTY PARTY to PARTY, work, work. However it was still laid back, moreso than others they would find. Not many outright wanted to leave but... enough grumbled.

As she pulled the next file over, there was a sticky note and she frowned as she flipped it open. It was her file, the latest update being... fifty or so years ago. It listed her zanpakuto and not much else really... Also the picture in it was of a cartoon ghosts.

Under duties it listed "Haunt this fucking place idk".

Mia stifled a laugh, her gloved hand coming up to hold her mouth. They would need an updated file on her and reassessing her duties would be a good thing as well. Maybe she could start doing some of the cooler things.

Hideki looked over at her, allowing himself to smile, but not laugh. It was like watching gazelle. He amusingly noted that if he compared her to a gazelle, he might at most see a flash of red face before she disappeared about as fast as one. He looked at her eyeing over her file and looked at the pile of sticky notes on his desk again. He tilted his lips in what seemed like a little sideways frown, although it was just one of his many thinking faces.

He snatched up another post it note and scribbled something on it. He leaned over the desk and, carefully, placed the post it note under the duties tab.

It simply said "Head of Great Spirit Library Operations?" She worked so much in the library. He was interested to see if she maybe wanted to be in charge of it.

She flinched slightly as he got closer, though Hideki was merely putting another post it note. No one...had ever been so considerate of her before and she flushed. It...was much easier to communicate this way. She didn't have to worry about talking, since neither of them were.

As she read it though, she pulled her hand away from her hood to look at the Captain. What...would he be doing if she was....well to be fair she had basically been running most of the things that absolutely needed for years. It wasn't like their previous captain had cared at all... Maybe if she was in charge she could do a few changes that needed doing.

Gulping, Mia nodded strongly, her hands shaking as she handed back the file. She couldn't resist a happy smile.

He immediately felt like celebrating, opening his mouth to do some sort of cheering before catching himself. He looked over at Mia and gave a knowing look that he was making an effort not to startle her. He took his pen out and scribbled what was on the post-it note in her file, along with two other notes, before holding them up for her to see. "Lord of Baking" and "Queen of Parties" were also written under her duties.

He of course would make sure that she wasn't overloaded with work, or that he had any room to slack. He picked up a post-it note and began scribbling something in tiny letters before stopping, looking at it and throwing it in the wastebasket and grabbing a full sheet of paper. He wrote something and spun it around, pushing it to her.

"The Captain's office has now been deemed unfit for proper use by the Captain. It's too secluded and closed in. The captain should not be holed off and difficult for the squad to reach, with no view except for an external window overlooking grassy area below. Instead, the lieutenant will be demoted to this hole in the wall. Incidentally, this will make the lieutenant unable to fulfill her duties; greeting visitors, finding book selections, and customer service. The Captain will uptake these duties at the front desk until a new office is found for him."

Mia smiled more and more as the sticky notes piled up. Hideki was too nice. Way too nice... She pulled the hood down more, unable to handle too much niceness at once. As he scribbled though she pulled herself from the hood just in time to see a long note...

Reading it, another small sound escaped. This one of shock, her mouth open as she stared... It was too much. Way too much. How could she...do all that... it was her dream. It was what she WANTED to do. not be captain, not be anything else...

She couldn't handle it. Nodding her acceptance and making a small noise of agreement, Mia poofed out of the room. "Mm..."


-----------------------------------

Some time later, could be that day or the next, the hooded woman was leading her Captain along the hallways and back parts of the office areas of the library. She had pleaded and cajoled in her silent way for a bit before he had caught on that she wanted him to follow her. Now the utterly silent Mia was trying to hurry. It needed to be done but...well she didn't want to do it... They wandered through some bookcases, finally reaching a wall with a door on it. The sign on it 'BEWARE OF GHOST', covered up her name and title, so she removed it so Hideki could see.

Pulling a key from somewhere, she unlocked the door to a smallish room. It looked like a large closet had been remade into an office long long ago. There were a few modern things like a minifridge in it but it looked pretty bare... even the bookcase was empty though it hadn't been recently from the lack of dust.

She moved to the desk and did something, which made the bookcases jolt and move aside to reveal a much larger room. This one was also cleared of anything personal. It had soft couches and all sorts of cool stuff in it. It was her old secret hideaway and she waved her arms for him to go in. It was his now.

Hideki followed quietly. It hadn't taken him as long as she suspected to understand she wanted him to follow, but it was just so entertaining to watch her talk that way. Not in a funny way, more in a.. It didn't matter. Point is, he was following. Once they got there, he looked at the sign as she removed it, before slipping it into his Haori. It was a cool sign, he was sure it could be put to use. Inside her office, he looked around before giving her a nice little thumbs up. He cracked the minifridge open to peek inside before she opened the secret room.

"Holy CRAP!" He exclaimed, before covering his mouth, looking over at her with an expression that said 'sorry'. He didn't want to scare her off yet and he knew the tight space would be making her... condition.. worse. He'd grown more and more curious by the day to see what was under that hood and it was starting to get to him.

He looked inside the room, before walking in. Once he got far enough away from her, he did a little spin. "This is AWESOME! You had a secret LAIR?!"

She only flinched and jumped slightly as Hideki yelled about the secret room. Mia's smile was a big smug, even if she had only made it five feet in her jump, at his reaction. That little spin... so adorable...

Pulling the hood down over her smile now, Mia's head shook in what could be construed as a nod inside of it. One hand went into the cloak to pull out a comic magazine with batman on the cover, as well a discovery magazine. She held them up. The issue of the discovery one was about hidden passages and such.

Unaware his spin held such power, Hideki also failed to notice the smile she made. He took a careful step towards her as she went to pull out magazines. Once she pulled them out, he was quite sure he might die any moment. He just sort of stood there for a second. Just staring at the magazines.

"..B..Bat...man?" His eyes went wide as the words inched out of his mouth. His mouth which promptly widened into a gasp. And then he did an overexaggerated half turn and fell flat onto the couch. "Secret lair.... batman... too cool... dyyyiiiing." He hammed it up, far too excited about this turn of events to be even remotely serious. Best lieutenant. EVER.

Mia wondered why he was reacting like this, she was just showing him her agreement in secret lairness. Everyone needed secret lairs and since her new Captain gave up his office... Which she had promptly coverted, he needed somewhere cool to hide too.

However as he fell over... and... did the most adorable thing ever, Mia had to turn away and hunch over. DO NOT LAUGH. DO NOT DO IT.

Hideki looked over at her. "Hm?" He made a quiet curious noise and sat up. What was wrong? She was hunched over... coughing? Gagging? He stood up. Oh god, was she choking? What did she eat? Oh god, he needed to do something. .... What would BATMAN do... But if she panicked and ran while choking, she might just make it worse? He quietly walked over to her, remaining ever so stealthy as he did so.

Stealthy.. like the night...

LIKE THE BAT!

Way too caught up with his batman imagery, and in fact singing the Adam West theme song in his head, he had ever so briefly forgotten her skittishness and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Of course, when she inevitably jumped, his hand would wind up moving to. And it may wind up moving in just a way as to catch her hood and pull it back.

She could get it under control. She would not laugh. That would be rude. You didn't laugh at your Captain doing silly things by accident... You were respectful and polite and friendly and that was mean!

Mia was getting a hold of herself when she felt...TOUCH. Even through her layers, she jumped and well as she did... The hood fell off. NOOOOO

Luckily she was prepared for such things!



Gas mask.

And then MIA WAS GONE.

Hideki at first felt terrible. OH NO! He'd accidentally pulled down her hood. Was she gonna freak out? Oh god, was he? WHAT IF THERE WAS JUST LIZARDS UNDER THERE! The hood fell back and...

Oh. Silky black tresses of hair spilled out? Wow that was "HOLY BALLS, A GAS MASK!" He stumbled backwards and fell, before she poofed. He just sat there, blinking. "What the HELL was that?!" He continued to confusedly blink, just staring at the wall. What the shiiit...

---

A few days later, Hideki was walking up to her office, humming happily to himself. He was holding a file full of various upcoming birthdays, anniversaries, and other potential celebrations for the Seireitei as a whole. He also had something hidden under the file, a surprise for his new lieutenant. He whistled to himself as he approached her office. Walking up to the door, he knocked on it softly. "Lieutenant? Mia? It's Hideki. I have a file for you. Is it okay if I come in?"

A few scuffles were heard from inside the room before the sound of a thud and then feet shuffling. The door opened up, Mia standing behind it with her cloak thrown on hastily. The door that led down into the courtyard was open and she fidgeted the cloak for a minute to make sure it was properly covering everything. Tucking some long hairs back into the hood, she nodded and waved her arm for him to enter.

He frowned, curious as to what all the shuffling was, and leaned a little sideways to see past her, raising an eyebrow at the open window. "Huh." Was all he said, waiting for her to get her cloak all orderly before entering. He walked over to the guest chair and took a seat. He'd considered standing, but sitting down might make her less nervous and, therefore, less prone to running away. He placed the file on her desk, complete with what was hidden underneath it.

He waited for her to walk over to the desk and noticed he hadn't left a note on the file. Should have. "Uhhh.." He spoke softly. "It's a file on all the potential parties we might have. Birthdays, anniversaries and the like." He said, placing his hands in his lap and waiting for her to find the small box under it.

Mia rushed over to the desk, making sure to sit too that way her Captain didn't feel her...rude for standing. She was curious why he was living her this set of papers... she had copies. Maybe it was a newly updated one? But she was sure she kept them as new as possible... Though with the shifting of the squad around, it would be best to have a brand new copy.

She nodded and picked up the file, finding a small box under it as soon as she lifted it up to leaf through. Frowning, her mouth visible from the cloak, she picked up the box and setting the file down with the other hand. Her head moved up and she seemed to glance at Hideki, tilting to the side as she gestured at the thing. Well, she could...open it...

Hideki looked at her, keeping a straight face, neither smiling because he was giving her something, or suspicious, because it had a two fold purpose. When she opened the box, she would find a rather ornate pair of hair decorations. One a butterfly, one a flower, with a little note that read "Belated "Congrats on the promotion" present." on top of them. Of course, it was also his hope that, being as it would seem unappreciative not to, she would try them on, satisfying his curiosity. Of course, he was happy to give them to her if that didn't work out. She was so far, in his opinion, the best lieutenant in all of the Seireitei.

He gave a small gesture as if to say "go ahead."