Partners in Crime.

[Maes]

The second division was having a slow day. Well, everyone not yet forced into the Maggot's Nest's guard duty was at least. There had been no traitors, no necessary executions, no real crime to speak of. It was all a bit... boring if anything. Maes was sat in his office in the second division headquarters and, despite keeping up his usual smiling exterior, was yawning on the inside. Secretly, he loved the thrill of the battlefield. The crack of his whip against the skin of an enemy. Or a friend. or a lover. Honestly, no matter how often he denied being a dominatrix and claimed that they were just messing about with his whip zanpakuto, there WAS a reason why it was a whip instead of anything else. It seemed to manifest his item of desire, the best instrument of both war and passion. The perfect all uses tool.

Outside the sky was drizzling, pouring rain over the Soul Society. He thanked god, yet again, for being placed in this division. He pitied anyone stuck on guard duty on a day like this, but at the same time he couldn't help but snigger. he could imagine some of the unlucky female soul reapers out there in the rain, their robes sticking to their skin and giving the lucky guys in the squads a nice view to keep them warm. It was about then that a pervy thought popped into Maes' head, no matter how much he tried to force it out. His captain was outside in the rain, she would be suffering the same problem as those ladies who had their robes sticking to their body. Kasumi's body....... He could feel a nosebleed coming on, and had to slam his head against the desk, trying to force the image out. She was his mistress, he was her servant. It was wrong, immoral, and she was way out of his league. Still... her body was a killer, he could just imagine dominating her and whipping her nubile skin, teaching her the pleasure of pain. NO! he refused to keep dwelling on the mental image no matter how attractive it was.

[Kasumi Suzume]

The skies opened with a down pour of rain. The small shinigami was staring up into the sky, a frown clear on her usually dark features. Slowly a sigh escaped her mouth. It seemed when ever she decided to do something for herself that karma would have none of that. Slowly the crimson eyes shut as the water continued to soak her clearly. Shivering slightly from the chill that was setting in the woman didn't know how to react. Finally she decided to keep on with the meeting she had with her vice-captain. Opening her eyes once more, Kasumi continued on the pace of her peaceful stroll. Rain wasn't going to bother her. It wasn't like she wore makeup to ruin her or anything stupid of the likes. Kasumi was happy her hair was tied in a tight bun so that it wouldn't look like she drowned when she reached the offices. Today was supposed to be her day off where she could go visit the tea shop since it was the slow day. Yet duty to her men declared she'd be there to meet Maes to make sure he was doing something useful. If he was sitting on his ass then she'd be angry about walking all the way over to see that. Kirin was laughing in her mind about how little she seemed to care for the water like she was a feline. Fuck you Kirin, I don't want to listen to this. Kasumi thought sourly with a grunt escaping her lips. Looking up from the hard stone walk way, Kasumi noticed that she was almost at the compound.

Kasumi was at the office in time to watch Maes slam his head into his desk. The crimson eyes narrowed slightly, well at least she would gain some amusement from this then. Delicately she walked in the office, dripping from the torrent outside. Taking off the damp haori, Kasumi threw it over the back of a chair hoping it would hopefully dry out. Finally she cleared her throat. "Not that I don't mind making yourself look like an idiot, may I ask why you're slamming your face into the desk? What did it ever do to you? Kasumi joked slightly staring to the man with a calm look on her face. If the person didn't know her well enough then they wouldn't catch the fact she was joking to him. Looking at the puddle forming at her feet from being soaked the woman looked annoyed before pulling off another layer of clothing so that she was in her normal assassin uniform. The red eyes held annoyance for a moment before she shook her head.

"Well?"

[Maes]

"Not that I don't mind making yourself look like an idiot, may I ask why you're slamming your face into the desk? What did it ever do to you?"
Maes almost jumped out of his skin as he heard his captain's voice behind him. He had to force himself not to turn around. He knew that if he did he'd have a nosebleed or something.
"You're acting too innocent, Maes. Just turn around and take a look. You know you want to." Tengo's voice came from his zanpakuto. He was glad that she was only hearable by him and decided not to answer. After all, it might end up making his feelings obvious.
"Well..." Maes bluffed, still not turning to see her. "... I was doing head-hardness exercises. You know how we're supposed to be able to turn our entire bodies into weapons? Well, my head's surprisingly soft. I need to make it harder to actually do some good damage with a headbutt." He felt stupid that this was the best lie that he could come up with, and thought it would almost certainly be obvious that this wasn't the truth, but maybe she'd think he was joking back.

Maes knew that it was rude not to turn to face her, seeing as they were supposed to be in a meeting and it was rude not to look at someone whilst talking to them, and the last thing he wanted was to be rude to her, but at the same time he was worried that if he looked at her he'd get a nosebleed or something. He tried to cool himself down and make his mind up on what his next course of action. He thought what he had to lose if he did one action rather than the other. If he was to continue not looking at her, it'd be obvious that something was wrong, and she might start to get suspicious. At the same time, not looking at her would be rude and he didn't want her angry at him.... But did he want to risk her finding out that he found her attractive? He had no idea how she'd react to knowledge like that.


Eventually, he knew that he had no other option. Slowly turning around to look at her, he got a good glimpse at what she was wearing. It was her normal assassin uniform, but because of the rain it was sticking to her body. He didn't want to look, and he forced himself to just look at her face, an obvious blush running through his face. He questioned for the first time why she was making him act like this. He had been with hundreds of women over the years and none of them had made him blush for even a second. Hell, even when he was found slipping his clothes back on by his subordinates he didn't blush, he just made a dirty joke. So... why the fuck was he blushing now?

[Kasumi Suzume]

Really? That was the thing he presented to her? The crimson eyes narrowed, Kirin could taste the emotions spilling off of the other male, a low chuckle escaping his mouth. Kasumi looked up at the ceiling for a moment. Well yes she was wet but that didn't mean he couldn't face her when they were talking. The eyes narrowed as Maes explained why he was slamming his head into the wooden desk. "So you're telling me that your head is too soft? Maes I've heard some lie but that's a new one." The woman looked a bit surprised as she shook her head. Stretching comfortably in the heat of the office, the taicho shot a glance around the room. Staring at the back of his head Kasumi was able to notice the sturdy broad shoulders he had. Maes didn't have that slim of a build most would associate with the assassins in the gotei. It was strange how such a bulky man had decided to be a member here when various other squads would gladly take him without a second thought. Her mouth curved into the faintest smile as she stared to the back of his head wondering why he had decided to stay under her command. The woman had known there was members in her division unhappy when she took over. After all she came from the kido core, there didn't seem to be much assassin related to her in the least. Sometimes she even wondered why Maes had let her take over rather than doing it himself. What was the point to that? Shifting a hand through her thick hair for a moment Kasumi let it out of the tight bun so that it would dry faster. Keeping it pinned up would just keep the water in her hair. The woman didn't want to get sick or something like that. Once her hair was out of the tight bun the woman ran her fingers through the raven locks.

Slowly Maes turned to look in her direction, the taicho blinked for a moment. The crimson eyes took in the blush trailing across his cheeks. The hell was wrong with him? Did hitting his head hurt him more than she knew? The woman tipped her head to the side for a moment before shrugging. "Maes, you're blushing. Is something wrong with you?" The woman spoke evenly before stepping closer to him a slight smirk creeping across her face. What, was he attracted to her? "Does someone like what they see?" The woman laughed her Russian accent flowing evenly. It wasn't hard to pick out that she was amused by the shinigami in front of her. If it had been anyone not in her division, Kasumi would have ignored them. It was fun to tease the shinigami in her division just to see their reactions. For the most part she was prim and proper but now and then even the most prude women had to let their hair down. Kirin was the one feeding off of these emotions, growling in amusement to what was happening. Sometimes the second division taicho liked to mess with the people around her. The crimson eyes sparkled as she trailed her damp hand along the strong jaw of Maes face. Her fingers trailed playfully along the skin there before she stepped back. "Do I make you uncomfortable?" The woman asked in a curious manner, leaning back stepping around the desk to one of the chairs that was in the room.

Flopping down in the chair, Kasumi made herself at home the taunting smile on her face never leaving.

[Maes]

Maes rubbed the back of his head flustered, smiling awkwardly
"You figured out my lie that quickly?" He asked, trying to diffuse the awkwardness of the situation. However, that cause was quickly for nought when Kasumi leaned in.
"Maes you're blushing. Is there something wrong with you?" No, Maes thought, nothing wrong at all. There's just a beautiful woman standing infront of me in extremely revealing clothes that I'm having to force myself back from. Nothing wrong in the slightest.
"Hehehe, someone has a crush." Kuto's disparaging voice came, mocking him. Great, both of his Spirits were messing with his head. This, this right here, this was why he drunk.

"Does someone like what they see?" Kasumi asked, laughing. Great, now not even SHE takes me seriously. Maes was a bit annoyed by this and said in an annoyed voice
"Well, what the hell was I supposed to feel when a woman stood infront of me in revealing clothing? It doesn't matter if it's you or any other woman. The mere fact that you're so revealing would make any self-respecting gentleman blush. Or don't you understand how society works?" He asked, his voice bitter with spite. He immediately regretted it, and bowed his head apologetically.
"I'm sorry, m'lady. I wasn't thinking straight. Please ignore my comment." he bowed, his face looking down at the table. It was not his place to talk that way to his mistress, nor to any of the captains. He might have been as good as they are but he wasn't on their level.
"now, what did you want me to do, m'lady?"

[Kasumi Suzume]

Kasumi looked at Maes from where she was sitting. Listening to him snap at her amusement lit her features. Did he expect her to be sorry for poking fun at him? "I think you're forgetting yourself, Lieutenant Maes." The woman spoke softly the laughter gone from it despite the smile etched on the beautiful features. The crimson eyes were locked on his face for a moment as Kirin felt the anger flare up. Kasumi was notorious for her anger if nothing else. Tipping back in the chair she deposited herself in, the woman continued to smile. "As a Captain of the thirteen gotei squads I know how society works. Are you saying you're just another piece that fits into the stereotype? Does it make you uncomfortable to see me like this?" Kasumi's voice was low, the crimson eyes holding nothing more than the faint caress of anger. It was almost strange to see that Maes would react in anger to her. Perhaps he needed to learn how to calm himself before meeting with a superior? Leaning on the edge of her seat, Kasumi used her elbows pressing into her legs so that the palms of her hands ended up supporting her head. She watched the other man for a moment while Kirin growled in her mind suggesting that she show that insolence was not tolerated. Kasumi knew that the spirit of her sword could easily toy with her emotions as if they were nothing. The crimson eyes remained on Maes a tendril of wonder still in her mind at how he could be an assassin still. This life offered a chance from other ones. The way he moved was enough for her to know how trained he was. She was an assassin herself.

Kasumi arched an eyebrow slowly as Maes apologize. "And now you remember yourself?" The woman murmured, watching him like a person would an animal in the zoo. Why wouldn't he just keep on rattling away. Ignoring the comment didn't seem to be n option at the moment. She looked to the wet uniform with a frown, she hated the feeling of damp cloth clinging to her body. It showed the lines of where weapons rested on her slender form ready to be drawn at a moments notice. Idly she looked at the lumps, she'd need a holster to make the weapons less noticeable. Twining a finger through the loose black locks Kausmi huffed at Maes for a moment. "You know I'm tempted to slap you for talking to me as if I know nothing. For one thing I do not have any sexual intentions towards you, nor do I ever figure I will. So whatever you have in your system get it out now." The gaze was still, calm even before she nodded her head. They needed to discuss training more shinigami in.

"Well, I think that we need new recruits. This job tends to burn people out and make soldiers into sociopaths. Having to lock up one of your own men is never fun. We need enough men so that when people need a break someone else can step up. I don't want to be under maned in any situation."

[Maes]

"Does it make you uncomfortable to see me like this?" Kasumi had asked, to which Maes had to bite his tongue. He wanted to admit that, yes, it was making it VERY hard to think straight, and yes he was having to force his eyes away.
"You know I'm tempted to slap you for talking to me as if I know nothing. For one thing I do not have any sexual intentions towards you, nor do I ever figure I will. So whatever you have in your system get it out now." Maes smiled back cockily, eyebrow raising as if questioning that for a second, before laughing gently
"Captain, it's just a blush. Trust me, it's nothing." He said, his voice still respectful but just a little bit jokey.

However, it was the next bit that worried him
"Well, I think that we need new recruits. This job tends to burn people out and make soldiers into sociopaths. Having to lock up one of your own men is never fun. We need enough men so that when people need a break someone else can step up. I don't want to be under maned in any situation." Maes was confused. She knew full-well that it wasn't his job to recruit people, he was in charge of the assassination division. Why she would want him personally to take care of this job he had no idea, but something felt off.
"M'lady, you know that isn't my job. Why are you ordering me to do this? Surely the third seat or someone with more of a public face should do this. Send me, all they're going to see is a sadist. If it's not acting above my position, may I ask what your reasoning around this order is?"

[Sponsored content]