The time is afternoon
In the Thirteenth Division team building Lieutenant office, the setting sun shines in from the side of the window. The Lieutenant office has almost turned into a dedicated office for Suzuko and Ukitake.
Suzuko neatly coded the last stack of documents, sealed the edges with Reishi, then took a long breath, stretched out on the back of the chair, and her joints made a slight clicking sound. She squinted her eyes and looked at the sunlight that had completely slanted westward outside the window, and her lips bent unconsciously.
"Ukitake, today's portion is done."
Jūshirō Ukitake was sitting at the table opposite, lowering his head to check a list of supplies for World of the Living's garrison. When he heard Suzuko's words, he raised his eyes, with a slight smile on his pale face, and clicked his finger on the list for the last time. After confirming that it was correct, he closed the folder.
"I'm fine here."
His voice was always gentle, and the last few rays of sunlight outside the window fell on the side of his face, making the face that had always been sickly look rare and warm.
"Then..."
Suzuko stood up, walked to Ukitake's table, and looked down at the pile of documents in front of him. "You made three more copies than me, Ukitake, did you secretly take more while I was eating?"
"Nothing"
Ukitake smiled and shook his head, stacking the last folder on the top of the pile. "It's just that you don't need to think too much about these documents. They are purely for reconciliation and can be done quickly."
"Your 'do it quickly' is not the same thing as someone else's 'do it quickly'"
Suzuko put his hands on his hips and looked at him angrily. "Hmm~ Lieutenant said yesterday that your review speed had caught up with his."
Ukitake was a little embarrassed by what she said, and stretched out his hand to touch the back of his neck. "Suzuko You are not slow, either. You compiled yesterday's battle damage report alone, right? I felt numb after just one look at that thing."
"That's because I can't understand" Suzuko said confidently, spreading his hands, without any guilt on his face
"If you don't understand, just classify and label it. Anyway, Lieutenant said the classification is correct."
Ukitake was so amused by her words that she coughed twice and shrugged her shoulders slightly.
There were footsteps at the door.
When Kashima Karasuma pushed the door in, he was Thirteenth Division's Lieutenant
He walked to their desk, glanced down at the pile of neatly arranged documents, and randomly picked out a few books to read. The sound of turning papers was particularly clear in the quiet document room.
Suzuko stood up straighter unconsciously, Ukitake also put down the things he was sorting in his hands, and watched Lieutenant's movements quietly.
Kashima After flipping through the last book, he put the document back and raised his head.
"Hmm"
He nodded, his face still expressionless, but the corners of his mouth slightly raised in an almost invisible arc.
"Not bad"
Two words.
Kashima didn't say anything more, turned around and walked out. Those two little guys are really good.
He remembered that when they first came here, the labels Suzuko could put on the wrong category and the numbers on the wrong lines. Now there is no problem at all. Ukitake, he has always been very good and very suitable for civil service, but he is not in good health. It is a pity that these two swords
Seated Officer The door to the lounge was ajar, and there was the unique subtle sound of tea being poured into the cup, carrying warmth and aroma.
Kashima did not open the door and went in. He leaned against the wall next to the door. Several Seated Officer's muffled voices flowed out from the crack in the door, like rainwater dripping from the eaves at dusk, intermittent, but clear enough.
"No, those two little guys are really capable. I couldn't bear to read the documents they sent me at first. The labels were messy and the numbers didn't even add up. Now they're even more efficient than the few people under me." The person who spoke was the old Seated Officer who was in charge of logistics, his voice was rough.
"The question is not whether it can be done"
Another voice jumped in, with a somewhat meaningful tone. "The problem is, there is only one Lieutenant."
There was a brief silence. Some people put down their teacups, some people smacked their lips, and some people changed their sitting positions on the chairs. The chair legs made a very short creaking sound when they rubbed against the wooden floor.
"So who do you think the captain will let on?" Old Seated Officer's voice sounded again
"It's hard to say, both are qualified, but Lieutenant is not qualified just because he is qualified."
"Then what are you looking at?"
"Look..."
The younger voice paused for a moment when he said this, as if he was considering his words: "It depends on the relationship."
"What do you mean?" Logistics veteran Seated Officer probably frowned.
"Suzuko is the captain's adopted sister, don't you know that?"
"I know, who in the entire team doesn't know that the captain brought him out of the Spiritual Arts Academy, and his name was given by the captain."
"Yes, to put it bluntly, she belongs to the captain."
"So what? Thirteenth Division is not operated by their family, and promotion of Lieutenant depends on ability." The tone of the logistics manager Seated Officer was a little more disapproving, obviously not agreeing with this argument.
"She has the ability. You saw the paperwork and she did it well. Kidō is not weak either, but Zanjutsu is a little bit worse. But how long has she graduated? You can practice all of these."
"So you mean she will?"
"I didn't say it, I just said that she has an advantage that others don't have. The captain trusts her. Absolute trust."
There was another brief silence.
"But Ukitake is the disciple of Captain-Commander Yamamoto." It was the third voice that broke the silence - this voice Kashima recognized. It was the old Seated Officer who was responsible for World of the Living's garrison dispatch. He was usually taciturn, but when he spoke he must hit the point.
"Hmm"
"The captain is also a disciple of Captain-Commander Yamamoto."
"Hmm"
"So Ukitake is the captain's younger brother." The old dispatcher Seated Officer continued.
"... That's true."
"Senior brother, fellow disciple of the Eight Classics"
"So, Suzuko is the foster sister, and Ukitake is the junior brother. One is for friendship, and the other is for appearance." Young Seated Officer answered, and his tone was involuntarily faster. Obviously, this idea made him feel that he had found some kind of explanation framework.
"Facade?" Logistics veteran Seated Officer said with a hint of curiosity in his tone.
"Think about it, who is Ukitake? The direct disciple of Captain-Commander Yamamoto, the holder of dual swords, the number one in the Spiritual Arts Academy's class, he is trained to be the future captain of any team he is placed in."
The old scheduler Seated Officer has been silent for a long time
"Suzuko can't do it?" Apparently someone likes Suzuko
"Suzuko is fine, but Suzuko's identity is different. She is the captain's adopted sister."
"Then who do you stand on?"
"You also know the captain's character. He doesn't rush things, so he might just keep putting it off."
Logistics veteran Seated Officer sighed softly, "So you didn't think of the most important issue?"
"What's the problem"
"Kashima Lieutenant is still here. He is not old enough to retire. If you are so eager to help him arrange a successor, others may not appreciate it."
Kashima stood in the corridor for a moment. After the topic stopped for a long time, he turned around and walked towards his office.