Scaring Buns

"Th-That's okay!" Mia was quick to reassure the man, he didn't have to learn how to cook! It was fine! She gave him another smile and nod, wanting more than anything to help him calm down. "U-Um that would be good. A t-time and place...all set up well in advance... so that way...no surprises."

Yeah! Scheduling was part of her duties so scheduling a cooking class of one would be a piece of cake for her!

Traps were a bad idea though... very bad. She'd store that away as she nodded solemnly, accepting Hogosha's utter dislike of traps and rather good arguments against them. Though considering the deeper parts of the library, she kind of took traps as par for course by now. "Then no...traps or anything..."

Obie's scream startled her from replying further and she hopped in place before her eyes turned accusingly towards her sparkling happy father.

"Now look what you did Papa! And you ignored other members of your squad?!" Her voice rose just a bit from her normally soft spokenness, the stubborn nature she kept hidden deep inside popping out for just a moment as she gave Kaimu a frown. A frowny frown of frownness that signified she was grumpy, but now wasn't the time for a lecture... Hogosha needed help! She watched him uncurl and pushed the cupcakes closer to him as her smile returned, hoping stuffing him full of sweets would make him feel better.

Kaimu didn't get any!

"P-Pleasure to meet y-y-you, mister Assistant Kaimu sir." Obie repeated, stammering. "It's um, g-good to meet the father of Lieutenant E-Eufemia and everything... I think?" The man had appeared so suddenly, it was like he just... teleported there! Was he really that fast? Oh dear, this Kaimu was such a scary, scary man!

And Lieutenant Eufemia was actually chastising him! Can children even do that to their parents? Does she technically outrank Assistant Kaimu? These were all very important and terrifying questions that Obie would probably need answers to eventually. After being thoroughly terrified today, though. But for now, there were cupcakes being offered to him by Mia that he could focus more on. Cupcakes aren't scary at all! ...Or what if they are and Obie hadn't found out how yet.

"Yeah, I um... would appreciate a class or two. Yeah. Just uh, send me a message, through the mail or something when y-you want to, if you don't mind, Lieutenant. Thanks..." Mail was a good way to communicate too! Letters never jump out and spook you in the middle of a conversation, it's the best form of communication! "A-And yes, traps are... bad. Scary and bad. I... should be able to take care of the g-garden myself. I don't really... plan on having anything attack anytime soon." Oh god I hope not. Would anything attack? What would I do if they did?!

Holding off another panic attack, Obie fought very hard to look over at Kaimu. "S-So Mr. Assistant Kaimu, I um hope that we can w-work together well and e-everything while I'm h-here... N-Not that I don' think that we can or anything, of course!"

"Nice to meet you-" Kaimu had just been about to respond to Obie when Mia began....chastising him!? "Eh!? Miaaaaa... You were lost, that took priority! Any idle conversations could have waited! Uuu..."

At Mia's words he was reverting from sparkles into his whiny state.

He didn't talk to most division members unless it was work related! He wasn't as much of a social butterfly as people seemed to think! Work was work! Mia had been lost so of course he would rush to help her rather than stand around and talk to other shinigami!

"Miiiiaaaa..."

The thought of questioning the hypothetical situation of their roles reversed and her child lost failed to cross his mind...as he was not old, and therefore not old enough to be a grandfather and Mia was no m... Nope! Nope!

He would sit here and whine, and whine!

"Mhm..." Kaimu gave a nod to Obie's words about working together, "If I'm needed for a job I'm here to assist..."

Thus... Assistant.

"I-I can do that." A message was definitely easier! Mia normally sent letters and such on her bad days to her subordinates or others when needed, so a message or letter to Hogosha was no big deal. It even caused another smile to appear. "W-Welcome... and we'll not put up traps then... I-If anything happens and you need my help though... J-Just s-send a message..."

Messages were much easier than... than talking or calling... Mia's eyes darted to the cupcakes and lunch foods, before grabbing a bun to eat herself while Kaimu and Hogosha got acquainted. She just gave her father a look and turned away pointedly as he spoke and whined, there was no point in speaking to him if he was going to be like this.

Instead she smiled at Hogosha and nodded. "H-He is! Y-You can boss him around as much as you like. S-Since he's unranked. A-As long as the Captain doesn't need him for something."

Obie watched silently at the… curious sight that the father and daughter in front of him were engaged in. Never before had he seen a father act so childlike while a daughter… disciplined him? Was that what was happening right now? I don’t… I don’t get it. Aren’t the children supposed to be reverent and respect their parents above all else? Is this how things are done in the Seireitei? So many questions, and Obie had no idea how to answer them. Unless the answer was cupcakes, in which case he had all the answers

“I u-um, look forward to the lessons and everything. I might… be good to learn how to make things o-other than salads every once in a while.” He was still fine with eating salads though, but maybe something new every now and then would be nice? If he doesn’t completely mess it up and burn down his tiny room and all his pillows. Oh geez, please not the pillows… It would take YEARS to get that many back, not to mention the loss of all the memories they contained too. The Grand Pillow Fort must be protected at all costs!

“B-But um… are traps something that you normally have in the Library? Do you have a lot of s-spooky book thieves that try to t-take stuff a lot? Ohhh, I hope not…” Why can’t they just check out books like a normal person? Wait… Can you check out books at the Library? Umm, I guess I should ask? Maybe later, I don’t know… Obie still hadn’t been in the Library yet, so he really didn’t have an idea of what to expect. Books maybe? Probably books.

But as nice as the sudden picnic was, what Mia said next almost made Obie choke on his cupcake. “Oh nononono!” Obie stammered between trying to cough out parts of chocolate from his lungs. “I could never, I-I mean I wouldn’t boss Assistant Kaimu a-around at all! Especially not if he’s the C-Captain’s personal assistant and e-e-everything!” That was unspeakable! That’s like… If someone decided to take over Obie garden without asking him! Well, technically Obie really wouldn’t do too much to stop that. He’d most likely just sit in his safe, dark room among all his pillows. Hoping that his garden was being taken care of properly.

He...was unneeded...

Kaimu let go of Mia and scooted off some as continued with her treatment of him, turning his back to the two like a very, very sad puppy being ignored.

He...had wanted to be sure Mia was alright when she'd asked for his help...and now...

Uuu...

Didn't she realize he prioritized her above idle conversations he didn't want to have to begin with!? She was his family, his daughter...

"G-Great!" Mia definitely seemed more chipper now, happy to teach someone else how to cook... Though maybe small things like sandwiches would be best first. Work his way up... Did he really subsist solely off of salads? Her mind was torn from that interesting thought by Obie's question. She blinked and her head tilted to the side for a moment as she wondered if it was okay to tell him... Well he was a third seat! It should be fine.

"...The...deeper parts of the Library. The normal spots nonlibrarians go are fine! D-Don't worry, just filled with books! Th-The rest though... W-We have things carefully marked so no one ventures anywhere they aren't supposed to!" She hurried to explain, not wanting Obie to be scared of the library. Books were safe and wonderful things! "I-Its really old and built with lots of different Head Captains... s-so parts of it are really...interesting. Maybe some of them were worried about spirit thieves..."

"But its his job to assist... Are you okay? Here, take this..." Mia's eyebrows drew together as Obie choked, wondering if he was okay... Pulling a can of cold tea out of her cloak she offered it and watched Obie for signs of dying. When she was assured of his ability to breath, she smiled softly.

"Would you please draw me a map out Papa and then I can go?" After that she finally...finally paid some mind to her father, her eyes darting to his moping form. People wanted to be friendly and talk to him and get to know the mysterious assistant! How dare he be rude and blow them off!

The more Obie watched Kaimu, the less sure he was that he should be scared of this man. Granted, he did appear spooky enough, coming in out of nowhere like that, but looking at him now Obie couldn’t imagine this assistant doing anything real scary. He was, well, pouting like a little child! It was all incredibly vexing to Obie, but at the same time helped him relax a little bit. Surely someone who acted like this in front of their own daughter couldn’t be too bad… right?

Speaking of not too bad, Obie graciously took the drink that Mia offered after stopping himself from nearly choking on his cupcake. “T-Thank you, Lieutenant Eufemia. It’s um, much appreciated, y-yeah…” He took a small sip to clear his throat, finding that it was cold tea, and cleared his throat a little before resuming speaking. When it came to tea, Obie really only liked it to be nice and piping hot, but he guessed it was the thought that counts?

Wait. Spirit Thieves? "S-Spirit Thieves? In a library? But... But why? Wait, are the books made of spirits? Or are you keeping spirits in the books? O-Oh dear..." Maybe the Library is a SUPER spooky place to visit... How could they make books scary? Ooohhhh... Maybe today was just a bad day to get up in the morning. Well, other than the gardening. That was going really well!

"O-Oh a map would be pretty good! I might... um, c-could use one too, Assistant Kaimu. If you don't mind, o-of course."

"Fine..." Kaimu replied, his tone just as saddening as his appearance as Mia asked for a map, followed by Obie with his own request for one.

Reaching into his shihakushou, without turning to face them, he pulled out some paper and a pen to draw the maps they wanted.

It took him a few minutes, leaving Mia and Obie to talk amongst themselves about the library and such before he finished.

"Here, one map out for each of you." He stated, handing off the completed works to the both of them. "I'll be taking my leave then..."

Saying that he stood, dusting off his uniform from when he'd been sitting before turning and intending to head off.

He...He could go to Lakshmi! At least she understood he wasn't one for idle conversation during work! She understood!

He wasn't the social butterfly his typical atmosphere gave off! He really wasn't!

"Welcome..." Had he liked the drink? Mia was observant but she couldn't tell and if he hadn't, she hoped Hogosha would tell her. She had more things in there... Lots more drinks really. More than she ever needed. Should she offer one to her father? But he was busy making the maps... Mia pulled one out and pushed it towards him almost shyly now, hoping he'd take it.

Her focus returned to the nice third seat though and she felt a bit uneasy talking about secret library things with the uninitiated... Still it wouldn't hurt.

"O-Oh I don't know. Its just...been that way forever, maybe there are...weird things in some of the books too. I-I guess old buildings were just annexed in and the lower levels...well um there's lots of hidden places and we are normally mapping things out. A-And weird terrifying objects... L-Like...mirrors..." Rubbing her arms, the woman shuddered strongly, mirrors...were evil evil things... However that would scare Obie to explain more on the library! Mia stopped her shuddering to look up and blush. "S-Sorry. The regular parts of the library are... p-perfectly safe."

Startled by Kaimu's sudden attempt at departing, she accepted the map with a soft thank you before her smile faded away. Was he that upset? Maybe... she should talk to him... Later though...

"Th-Thank you for the picnic, Hogosha. I should head out too..." Mia nodded softly, knowing she would be needed back at her squad sometime soon otherwise the scheduling conflicts she had just sorted out would become a tangled mess again. She'd stay though and clean up her mess once he knew she had to go.

Obie sipped on the not-hot-but-still-good-tea as he listened to Mia talk more about the library. Now that he had more time to drink it, he realized that having cold tea brought out a different type of flavor altogether! Enjoyable in its own way, and fascinating that the same drink could taste differently just by having a different temperature. Yes these were the things that Obie decided to focus on, not the increasingly spooky sounding library that Mia described.

“O-Oh… That um, sounds… interesting? At least there are some normal sounding places i-in the library to visit? Y-Yeah…” He looked down at the nearly-finished cupcake before taking another bite, deep in thought. Oh geez I hope I don’t learn cooking in the spooky library! I mean, there’s books in there and stuff, probably books about cooking, but what if I get lost and fall into the SPOOKIEST part of the library on accident and oops there goes Obie forever OOPS Luckily Kaimu had finished his map-making just in time to keep Obie from falling into the pit of worry that was his own mind.

He picked up the freshly-made map and brought his glass up to his face, studying the paper with his wide, red eyes. “T-Thank you Mr. Assistant Kaimu! This will um, this will help me a lot, since I don’t really leave the garden all that m-much and everything. So um, thank you. Again.” Obie would be lying if he said he wasn’t the tiniest bit to see Kaimu leaving their impromptu picnic, but other than him appearing spookily and suddenly the time spent with his Captain’s assistant was almost pleasant! Seeing him interact with his daughter in such a… unique way helped Obie’s fear subside enough to not tremble in the man’s presence, at least.

And then it seemed that it was Lieutenant Eufemia’s turn to leave as well! Obie stood up and bowed politely to her, last bite of cupcake still in hand. “A-And thank you for this um, sudden picnic as well, Lieutenant. It was… nice? To talk, that is. B-But I am a bit sorry I got you, well, more lost in our Division. Sorry…”

Kaimu had accepted the drink from Mia, a bit upset but not enough to refuse an offering from her. Though, it wasn't something he could sit around and drink.

He'd get going and drink it when he felt he needed it during work.

Once the maps were handed over, he gave a nod at their thanks, already back into his typical work mode.

"You're welcome, I'm glad I could be of assistance." Despite his typical working manner, he did offer a small smile, though it was nothing compared to the ones he usually wore. "It was no trouble. If I'm needed again, just call..."

Having said that, he turned and again attempted to take his leave. The two should be fine getting out and around with the maps, it wasn't necessary for him to stick around as a guide.

Mia nodded softly, afraid she had scared the third seat away from the library now... It wasn't scary she wanted to proclaim, but it wouldn't help her case now... and there were some utterly terrifying places there she had to admit. Like the light eating room, that once you stepped inside the inky blackness was lit up with almost a galaxy's worth of starpoints on the ceiling but the moment you tried to light anything the darkness coalesced and you couldn't see anything.

"I will. Goodluck at work Papa!" Even though she was worried, it would have to wait for later... Kaimu left though and he had taken the drink at least. So maybe it wasn't too bad? Obie seemed thankful for the man's help as well and had gotten to meet him at least! So now the third seat could ask him for help as well! But they'd definitely need to speak later now for sure...

She stood and carefully stowed the containers of food and such before grabbing the picnic blanket. Mia smiled softly and bowed as well to Obie, stuffing the blanket into her cloak without even looking. "I-I promise I'll memorize the map to not get lost in here again and scare you. I-If you ever n-need anything... f-from the library if you request... I can be there to help..."

"It was really nice to talk..." Mia played with her hair as she straightened up from her bow, seeing Obie with a bit of cupcake still and hoping he had enjoyed it. Her smile returned, happy she had gotten to meet someone else who was rather shy as well. "Please remember to call me Mia though... L-Lieutenant is a bit much f-for friends... And i-it wasn't your fault! I promise. I have to go now though... I should g-get back to work..."

She backed away slightly, wondering if she should just leave... or was there more protocol for this... He was a third seat! So... But it had been a friendly meeting? Her head turned three ways, looking to the map and then out at the garden before returning to Hogosha and repeating.

Obie nodded at Mia and held his own map close to his chest. “R-Right… I um, had a… nice time? With the talking and the picnic. A-And if I need to do anything I’ll be sure to contact you, Lieuten-Err… Mia?” Is that even okay to call her?! S-She’s technically a superior officer to me a-and everything, ohhhh… But, she told me to call her that so… Maybe? Aaaaaa there’s so much to worry about now, oh dear oh geez oh gosh.

“And thank you for all of y-your food. I um, look forward to learning how to cook? Maybe? Yeah…” Mia promised to try not to scary Obie in the future though, so that was good! A big feat to try to accomplish, but the effort was nice! “O-Oh right! I should um, probably get back to work too. The uh, garden needs to be watched over a-a lot, yeah…” So many veggies to take care of, especially after the impromptu getting-lost-then-picnic that had occurred today. But at least now hopefully everything will be nice and quiet again!

Unfortunately, Obie was just as confused as Mia as to the proper leaving procedure between the two. Sneaking a few glances down at his map, Obie also took a small step backwards as he prepared to return to work. “G-Goodbye…” Figuring it was probably best to probably bow to a higher ranked officer as well, Obie slowly made his way towards the garden, taking a step and bowing after every single one. Slowly. Carefully.

Mia's warm smile shone on Obie as he admitted to having a nice time too. She giggled softly and covered her mouth and blush with her hand before looking away. Yes! A new friend for sure! "I look forward too. Good luck with your work!"

"Bye..." She gave him a little finger wiggle wave before pulling up her hood and turning as he bowed his way away. It seemed the protocol was to just go then since Obie was bowing like that! Besides if she left he'd stop sooner, which would be better for his poor back. The dark blue cloak fluttered behind her like a witch's accouterments as she rushed off while following the hand made map carefully. She' d put it in the room for sure... Kaimu had made it for her after all!