Off to meet the Captain~ (Ayame Ryouta)

Draylon had just received word that his application to 12th squad was approved. The only condition was he was to answer a few questions on his invention as well as give a demonstration. Fine with me, I hope that they actually looked over the blueprints at least before they asked the questions. I thought I had it all in there. Draylon sighed and wondered what kind of audience he would have for the demonstration. I hope that nothing goes wrong, that would suck. Well i suppose there is no reason to worry about it now. Lets just get on with it. Draylon took his device and put it in his pocket, and headed off towards where the letter told him he would be demonstrating the device.

He was somewhat surprised that it was in the R&D building. Well, I guess it isn't that odd, I mean this would be the best place to show it off, the right testing facilities to cause no damage and all that. After about 10 minutes of searching he finally found the door that the letter told him to go to. He tried the doorknob, but it seemed that the door was locked. Draylon checked his watch, he was only 5 minutes early. I would think that the door would be open , he glanced over and saw an intercom next to the door. He pushed the button and said, "Hello, Draylon Kerosu here to demonstrate my invention." Then waited for a response.

Dealing with new recruits, in Ryouta's opinion, were a sadly necessary part of his duties as Captain. Most of the time, they were boring individuals whose sole great achievement would be being a peon in some groundbreaking project that individuals with higher intellects had thought up. Still, it was required of him to participate in what his "superiors" called "good PR." As if he cared what people thought of him. Still - being an approachable Captain, albeit a harsh one, was necessary to lure new people in. Today he had already seen a stream of fresh-faced individuals come and go, none of whom had had anything remotely interesting to offer. Most of their ideas were just watered down versions of projects the 12th Division was already working on. The others were just stupid, either because they were too grandiose, impossible, or otherwise flawed.

At the moment, Ryouta was allowing himself to enjoy a brief five-minute respite before the next idiot walked in when the intercom buzzed. Early people...Ryouta preferred punctuality. You arrive when you say you will arrive, not a moment before or after. Not that he always followed that preference himself, but being a Captain, he had a little wiggle room. He supposed he might as well get this over with, and reached over to hit the button that would unlock the door and let the Shinigami in.

Ryouta's mechanical arm lay across the table he sat at. Besides two chairs (one of which he sat in), it was the only furnishing in a sterile gray room about 30x30 ft in area. His mechanical eye stared with its eerie red pupils from the systematically scarred left side of his face. All of the previous candidates had been startled by his appearance - after all, out of all the Captains, Ryouta was one of the most reclusive. Most Shinigami outside his squad had never even seen him in pictures, let alone in person.

"Mr. Draylon Kerosu. Welcome," Ryouta's words, while polite, were cold. Hours of an unpleasant activity tended to have that effect on his social skills. "I will be blunt. Does your invention have the capacity to save a Shinigami's life? Or is it only a gimmick?" Ostensibly pointless, yet intimidating questions. Ryouta didn't need to ask these questions if that was what he wanted to know - he could have gathered that from reading the blueprints. What he couldn't gather from the blueprints was what type of man this recruit was. All the others today had stammered nervously, suddenly stricken with self-doubt about their own worth and their inventions. Not exactly quality material in Ryouta's book.

Draylon heard the door click, and he tried the handle once more, this time the door actually opened. He took the time to take in the room, then focusing on the only occupant in the room. Wow, that's some pretty bad scarring, a mechanical eye and a mechanical arm. This must be the famous Captain Ryouta of 12th, my captain. Draylon stepped into the room more as Ryouta welcomed him inside.

Ryouta then bluntly said, "Does your invention have the capacity to save a Shinigami's life? Or is it only a gimmick?" Draylon blinked in surprise at the question and the bluntness in which it was conveyed. I would think he would understand the implications of my device and the practical uses even better than I would seeing as he has more experience with this sort of thing. He's probably trying to find out stuff about me rather than my device, I should answer carefully. Draylon said in response, "I would say both, if used properly it could save a shinigami's life, however if used improperly it could be a gimmick, In enemy hands it could also be used to take the life of a shinigami, it would all depend on the person using it, and their intentions." I hope that is a satisfactory answer. I want to get on the captain's good side. Draylon looked over at the chair and said, "Would it be alright if i sat down?"

At least he didn't stutter, Ryouta thought. That shows some measure of confidence. But confidence was only part of what Ryouta thought and ideal candidate for his squad should exhibit (besides intelligence and skill of course. but those were obvious prerequisites). Ryouta wanted to see non-quantifiable traits. He wanted to see ambition, the ambition to push one's limits as Ryouta had with his mechanical body parts and his secret Visorehood. And also, ruthlessness - the capacity to break the rules (intelligently of course) in order to further one's own agenda, as Ryouta was doing.

"Right..." Ryouta said in a dull voice, indicating neither approval or disapproval. "I don't care. Do so if you wish."

Ryouta let about a minute of uncomfortable silence pass before he spoke again, organic eye staring up at the ceiling, but mechanical eye never moving from Draylon's face. It was an action he employed that generally had the effect of making people feel extremely paranoid and otherwise uncomfortable around him - he had heard it described as "if he [Ryouta] could see right through you, like you were just a bag of meat and bones." Which technically, Ryouta could via his eye's X-ray capabilities.

"So..." Ryouta broke the long silence with more words without any hint of emotion. "I've read through the blueprints for your invention. You were summoned here to demonstrate it. Which spell do you have prepared within?"

Draylon was somewhat surprised by the lack of interest from the captain, but then again he has to do this fairly often I would think. Draylon walked over and sat down in the chair across from the captain. He looked around the lab a little bit, noticing things here and there, glancing back at the captain he noticed the mechanical eye was staring at him. Feeling a little uncomfortable he pulled out the device had come to show and demonstrate, and started turning it over in his hands as he looked around some more.

Finally Ryouta said, "I've read through the blueprints for your invention. You were summoned here to demonstrate it. Which spell do you have prepared within?" Dray thought about it for a split second and said, "I chose Hado 4. White Lightening for the Demonstration." Pausing for a moment he continued, explaining why he had chosen it. "I thought I would be showing it to more than just you when I got the order. In fact I thought I would be demonstrating it for lesser ranked shinigami, so i chose one that would be both flashy and practical, to draw attention from both the inexperienced and experienced Shinigami." Draylon realized that he had been answering a question that hadn't been asked and glanced up at Ryouta to see what is reaction was, seeing the eye glare at him he glanced down at the device in his hands again.

"Right..." Ryouta said again, and again, his statement did not readily indicate any approval nor disapproval. If anything, he seemed apathetic, as if he was just going through the motions of what his duties as Captain entailed. "Byakurai does have its merits as a spell...I believe it is a signature spell for members of the Kuchiki family, and by extension the 6th Division." Like a lot of what Ryouta said, this statement did not seem to have any real significance to what was physically happening.

"So - please demonstrate," Ryouta said, his organic eye finally leaving the ceiling tiles to meet Draylon's eyes. "Use the spell on me." He didn't move from where he was sitting, and in fact leaned forward. He was basically asking Draylon to use a spell on him at point-blank range. Like a lot of what Ryouta demanded, there was an ulterior motive behind the obvious one. There were a lot of things he could learn about this Shinigami by asking him to do this.

Ryouta privately admitted to himself that this one showed a little promise, at least more potential than the previous ones. While he still seemed a tad timid to Ryouta - there was something there that the others hadn't exhibited. Hopefully this next 'test', however unorthodox, would reveal more.

It looks as if he really doesn't care what is going on, or about my invention, its all a formality to him. Draylon listened as the Captain talked about the kido he had chosen. Why is he talking about that? I has very little relevance to the matter at hand. Is he testing me? Testing my patience? seeing how subordinate i am willing to be? testing my pride?


Draylon froze for a second when the captain told him to shoot him. What? he wants me to aim at him? Well I guess that answers my question, maybe, either way he is the boss, and i doubt my spell could hurt him anyways. Dray looked up at the captain, then back at the device in his hands. He pointed the device at the captain's head. Draylon's only response was a firm, "Yes, Sir!" and then he fired the kido out of the device. A large bolt of Electricity came flying out straight at the Captain's head.

Ryouta watched with some satisfaction as Draylon froze for a moment, obviously taken aback by Ryouta's instruction. Well, he hadn't gained a reputation for being eccentric (re: slightly insane) for nothing. Still, it indicated at least a small fraction of concern in Draylon's being - concern for Ryouta's well-being or life in general was not possible to determine, but it was something that he thought should be suppressed at some point. Those kinds of concerns could hinder progress...anyway, Draylon seemed to get over his hesitation quickly (probably rationalizing his actions somehow) and said "Yes, Sir!" firmly before firing the spell straight at Ryouta's head.

To an observer who wasn't paying attention to the right things, it looked like Ryouta took the attack full in the face, emerging unscathed despite the point-blank range and the fact that it was his face. To someone who was paying attention and knew what to look for, they would've seen Ryouta's lips move quickly, whispering something barely discernible as "Hado#4: Byakurai" whereupon his mechanical eye released an equal and opposite bolt of lightning that countered Draylon's attack. It was an illusion that was masterfully done - in fact, Ryouta had used the same concept in the past to trick people with higher spiritual pressure than himself into thinking that he was at their level.

"Good," Ryouta said, after the brief smell of burning ozone left his nostrils. He held out his mechanical hand. "Now I have two questions for you, Draylon Kerosu. First, may I see it? And second, what is your current impression of me and my Division?" In addition to the word 'good' which generally indicated approval, and his second question, which seemed to indicate interest in Draylon as a person (finally), Ryouta's body language changed to match the sentiment of his words - his shoulders relaxed, the right side of his mouth tweaked up in a somewhat casual manner...it would seem to any observant individual that Draylon had passed some kind of test...or at least, a portion of some kind of test.

Draylon was surprised that the captain hadn't dodged as he expected to, as he got a good look at the captain and realized he was completely fine. I suppose captain class really are on another level all together. Ryouta said, "Now I have two questions for you, Draylon Kerosu. First, may I see it? And second, what is your current impression of me and my Division?" Draylon slid the device across the table to the captain, then pondered the question a bit. I suppose I could answer with what I would think a captain would want to hear, but I would think he actually wants my opinion. I guess I shall speak the truth. Draylon looked at his hands and said, "I am going to speak my mind, I think that 12th division is a gathering place of those who wish to learn, usually experiment and create. However to truly create, you need a few things things. First you need a Reason to create, Second you need to think differently than most, to have creativity. Third you need to be able to learn and use information, and apply it practically. These traits to a varying degree are what i would say define the 12th division." Draylon looked up at the Captain and said, "And you are the captain, the leader of these people, which would mean that you probably have the strongest of all these desires. Given your arm and eye, these reasons are true, at least that is what it says to me. But I would also say you have great ambition given the level of the desires to learn and create."

"So basically what I think of you is that out of all the shinigami, you have great ambition, and a great desire to learn and create, You also have the ability to learn and apply information practically, and because you are a Captain, you are strong in your own right. In my opinion you have the capabilities to become the most powerful in all of Soul Society given time, resources, and opportunities. I am here to observe your techniques and learn from you, and eventually use your techniques and methods to become powerful in my own right."

Ryouta turned the coin-shaped device over in his mechanical fingers, sending it flipping over and under each one with a rhythmic clicking noise, apparently not caring to examine it in closer detail. What would be the point, after all - he had the blueprints. Anyway, he did this while he listened to Draylon talk with either increasing amusement or approval, it was difficult to tell, because while Ryouta's smile widened slightly, the scarred portion of his face prevented any further information from being gathered from his facial expression.

"Hmm...interesting," said Ryouta. "Your phrasing is...interesting. It paints me as a rather dangerous, and possibly untrustworthy individual, wouldn't you say? The ambitious part especially - such an individual - would you say that he is willing to do anything to further his ambitions? After all, those with too much ambition are often the villains in stories, and you say I have the strongest of this desire."

Ryouta paused, but not to allow Draylon to respond, but to add an addendum onto his thoughts. "I would hope that you learn from me, and yes utilize my methods and techniques to further your goals. I would also hope, however, that you do not limit yourself to my methods and techniques. Creativity, as you said, is also important." Another pause. "You have a lot of potential, Mr. Kerosu. As you rise through the ranks in my Division, I hope to see the increased privileges that that will grant you result in it constantly expanding."

Ryouta's fingers stopped playing with the device and flipped it up into the air, so that it fell into the palm of his hand. "Bakudo#21: Sekienton." He charged the device with the spell and handed it back to Draylon. "That may help you stay alive in the future, Mr. Kerosu. You're no good to this squad if you're dead - discretion often is the better part of valor. Don't let those 11th Division brutes tell you any different."

Draylon looked at the captain pondering his responses. Taking back the device, he said, "I will keep in mind what you have said, sir." Draylon licked his lips and said, "About being the most dangerous.... in a way you are, Sir. Because you have free reign to invent and experiment as you wish, you can use those to constantly feed your ambition. What if all that time you fed it you developed something akin to an addiction?" and what happens when you lose the ability to do so, or when your inventions are no longer satisfying to your ambition? Draylon walked towards the door, put the device in his pocket, then pulled the door open. "It scares me to think of what might happen, Sir. Draylon paused then said, "See you later, Sir." Draylon went out through the door and left. That was a lot more tense than I thought it would be, at least I think he likes me. He is hard to read, I suppose I just need to work my hardest towards my goals... Draylon left the building and looked up at the sky, pondering the day ahead of him

"Right..." Ryouta said with a whisper of a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. He gave a small wave before Draylon turned away and the door closed. The new recruit seemed loyal to Soul Society - he had, in stating that he was scared of what might happen if Ryouta's ambitions became an addiction, shown that. "Shame," Ryouta said aloud. "Still...not really a setback. A little time in my squad, perhaps some mentoring later on if time permits - he may very well be a useful pawn. Or even more, perhaps."

[ooc: end of thread]