The Captain Commander's Annual Division Inspections

"Filthy..."

Setsuna muttered as she walked through the bath house of the sixth division. Once a year Setsuna would walk through all the divisions and see how things were. She'd check them for cleanliness and to make sure they were running efficiently. Setsuna was wearing a pair of white cotton gloves to detect the presence of dust and grime. So far she was not pleased with what she was finding.

"Does no one in this division know how to use a sponge and soap? This bath house is disgusting! I would never bathe in it like this."

Setsuna turned and looked at the captain of the division. Masaru Shirakawa. She had known the man since he was a child. She was very fond of him, and had spent a lot of time with him.

"Captain Shirakawa, I expect you can do better. No?"

Masaru held a frown on his usually calm and stoic face, he'd told his subordinates time and time again to clean up after themselves after using things, not just the bathhouse. He wanted them to learn to respect their environment and the property they lived on.

"I apologize for this, I'll clean it up myself as soon as I can." He'd need to put aside some of his paperwork for later, he could already tell there would be another all nighter tonight like he had the night before, it was already obvious by the slight shadowing under his eyes that he hadn't slept. Like usual though, he wasn't going to let a little sleep deprivation stop him from getting his work done.

He knew it wasn't all of his subordinates, there were always those few troublemakers in a bunch. He knew his own by name by how many times he'd had to lecture them about this and that, about never picking up after themselves and the like. Soon he'd have to be more severe with his punishments, as nothing he was doing now never seemed to permanently work.

Setsuna rolled her eyes at the young captain's response. His biggest fault was being too nice, and his subordinates knew this. Now, Setsuna knew not all of them would take advantage of this, but there were those who would; and it was evident.

"Gather your entire division, now."

Setsuna was going to do something about this. If no one else could whip them into shape, she could. She could get this bath house cleaned at the very least.

"Let's see how quickly I can get them to clean this place up."

Setsuna smirked slyly as she said this.

Masaru almost shuttered, he knew what she was planning and it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Yes, M'am." He replied, turning to head out of the bathhouse to gather his subordinates; wiping his eyes lightly as he did so.

It took only a short while, but soon he'd gathered the shinigami that made up the Sixth Divsion before returning to Setsuna's side, "The Soutaicho would like to have a word with all of you, I ask you to be respectful and listen to what she says." He said, his tone harder than it usually was, letting them know he wouldn't take any horseplay lightly in this situation.

Setsuna could see that Masaru was worried about what she was going to say, and for good reason. Setsuna ran a tight ship, and she took no prisoners. Setsuna watched as Masaru returned and the division slowly began to file in. She tilted her head up slightly as Masaru addressed the crowd.

"Very good."

Setsuna stepped forward and began to walk back and forth slowly. The crowds eyes were on her. Half in fear and half in awe that they were being addressed by the captain commander.

"Do the lot of you like living in filth? Well you must. I don't like living in filth, quite the contrary. You see, as the captain commander, all of Seireitei is my home. Not one division or another. I don't like my home to be dirty. You all need to do better than this. I will NOT tolerate it. Each and every one of you will begin to clean immediately, and I don't just mean the bath house. I mean the entire division. Anyone caught slacking off or not working will be dealt with by me personally. Now get started."

Setsuna turned back to face Masaru, but she heard no movement behind her. She turned on her heels and yelled.

"MOVE IT!"

The division scattered. They all began to clean in a panic. Soap suds began to spread like wild fire. Setsuna looked at Masaru, and smiled.

"Very good. Now, let's take a walk."

Just as he expected, Setsuna was a pro at putting the fear of a thousand suns into everyone, he almost flinched himself when she had to shout at them before they decided to scatter. He was glad though he wouldn't have to do the job himself though, he'd promised Nozomi he'd cook for her tonight, and now that he didn't have to worry about cleaning this place up himself he may be able to get at least a little sleep.

Masaru nodded in response to Setsuna, following her out of the room to walk beside her; normally, one would walk a step behind someone in higher command of them, Masaru often forgot though as he'd been walking next to her for as long as he could remember.

"Thank you, I know I need stop being so lenient with them." He said, placing the palm of his hand against the side of his head, he needed to wake up or else he'd be in some trouble later on.

Setsuna smiled at Masaru. She was very fond of him, and she could never be upset with him. At least not for very long. When he was a child Setsuna would dote over him like he was her own grandchild. He was her little Masabutt. Setsuna had a lot of regrets when it came to Masaru. She never saw the signs of abuse from his father. How could she have missed that? How could she not have protected him? How could she not help Mamoru? Mamoru was dead now, and Masaru forever scarred. This was something that would always weigh heavy on her heart.

Setsuna put her hand on Masaru's shoulder as they walked. He really was a good captain. He still had learning to do, but he was still young. He would one day be a great captain.

"You'll learn in time. You're still new at the whole leading thing, but soon enough you'll be a great leader. I'm sure of it."

They walked for a bit through the gardens of squad six. This division had one of the most beautiful grounds, and Setsuna always enjoyed her visits here.

"How have you been dear? How's Nozomi? Sorry I haven't visited recently, but I've been so busy with graduation at the academy approaching and what not. You should send Nozomi to come sleep over with me soon. I miss my little friend. I get lonesome for her, just like I did for you. We had so much fun when you were a kid."

Masaru's childhood visits to Setsuna's home were fond memories for her. They would do all kinds of things, but Masaru was always fondest of their times spent in the kitchen. Honestly, so was Setsuna.

Masaru gave a smile at Setsuna's words, he was glad she believed in him and he hoped he could one day become that great captain she said he had the ability to be.

"Nozomi's been good, though I've been getting lectures recently from her." He said with a laugh, "It's my fault though, I know it's bad to pull all nighters." There wasn't much he could do about them though, a captain's workload multiplied a great deal if they lacked the help of a vice captain, as seated members weren't authorized certain things that a vice captain or captain would be.

"I'm sure she'd enjoy to visit you, she mentioned she missed playing with you just recently now that I think about it."

"Ah I see. You need to find a Vice Captain, Masaru. You can't keep working that way. Although, I do remember times when I was in the same situation."

Setsuna's Vice Captain was a new to her position. She was a lovely young woman. Setsuna had gone a while without a vice captain, and it made her job that much more hectic.

"I suggest for the time being that you give your third and fourth seat a bit more responsibility in the squad, that way you can focus more on your administrative duties."

That's what Setsuna did. When her vice captain was killed in combat, Setsuna was left with an enormous work load. So she simply gave her third and fourth seat more daily responsibilities so they could help her run her division.

"Oh, well send her over! She's such a darling! I think I'm going to teach her how to make caramel squares. I feel like she may like that."

"Well hopefully I'll have one in due time." He replied. All this work piled upon taking care of a child and being the head of a noble clan was something that could probably crack most people but he was managing. He planned to take Setsuna's advice and having his higher seated officers help him more, but he'd need to handle everything they weren't authorized to.

He had to chuckle slightly at hearing Setsuna talk about teaching Nozomi more about cooking, he'd started off the same way and he'd eventually gained a passion for the activity. "She loves sweets so I'm sure she'd really enjoy learning to make that. I know I did when I was her age, I had quite a sweet tooth." He still did if he were to be completely honest with himself, and Setsuna probably knew that as well.

"You will."

Setsuna said as they continued to walk about the division. She could still hear the frenzied cleaning of the sixth division members. She smiled slyly at this. The old girl still had it.

Hearing that Nozomi would like to make sweets with Setsuna warmed her heart. She loved children and spending time with them. So many traditions that would be lost if they weren't passed on.

"Good. A sweet tooth? Ha! That is an understatement. You'd have lived on cookies if you were allowed."

Masaru's cheeks reddened at Setsuna's comment, he couldn't deny it though, cookies were simple to make but they'd always been one of his favorite things to make with her when he was young. Hell, the only time he had ever been able to eat sweets had been when he'd been making them with her.

His father hadn't allowed him sweets after he'd turned cold, if he'd had found out his son was cooking in general, Masaru knew he'd had been in big trouble. Normally it was unbecoming for nobles to make their own meals or even cook in general, it was considered a servant's job and not one for the future head of a clan.

"Hmm, by the way, I promised Nozomi I would cook for her tonight. Any ideas on what I could cook? I don't exactly have that planned out yet." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"I have a loin of pork in my fridge you can cook. If someone doesn't cook it soon it'll go bad, and I just don't have the time to cook it."

Setsuna loved to cook, but with graduation coming up at the academy she just didn't have the time. Plus she had inspections to do. With all that she had very little time for things she enjoyed. Once these things would be over, she would have more time for herself, which she desperately needed.

"Rub it with herb butter and roast it slow in the oven with potatoes and carrots. It'd take about three hours, but would be absolutely delicious."

"That sounds good." Masaru replied with a nod, "I think she'd enjoy that."

It'd been awhile since he'd had time to indulge in his cooking hobby due to work but tonight he'd be sure to make sure the meal turned out perfect. Nozomi would also enjoy hearing that she'd be able to get some dessert cooking lessons and quality time to spend with Setsuna too.

"Well..."

Setsuna began. She had a plan to have quality time with Masaru and Nozomi. She needed to have a nice time with people she cared for.

"I can bring you the loin of pork when I get off, and I can show Nozomi how to cook the caramel squares while I'm there. It'll be lovely!"

"That sounds good." Masaru replied with a smile. "I'll let Nozomi know you'll be there, she'll be excited to hear it."

"Perfect! I'll come over around four, and we'll have dinner about seven."

Setsuna smiled. She couldn't wait to have some quality time with two of her favorite people.

"I must run along dear. Make sure this division gets cleaned."

Masaru nodded, "Alright. I'll keep an eye on them and make sure the job get's done. Again, thank you and see you again around four then."