The night was clear and the moon was full, and it was in your eyes as you stood at the top of the stone steps that glowed eerily in the half-light. You were used to it by now, though. Ever since you'd graduated from the Shin'ล Academy and been picked for the Second Division, you'd been picked almost every night for guard duty. Sometimes your comrades would exit and enter with a friendly greeting or goodbye (you'd swear that the creepy Onmitsukidล guys could make their way right past you without you ever noticing), but your job was to look out for interlopers, and otherwise to maintain a stony silence, protecting the dignity of the Second Division, so you weren't allowed to ever speak a word in reply.
There were eyes watching in the dark, after all.
It was ironic, really -- one of the main draws of your division was its headquarters. Renovated with heated floors, automatic doors, a hot spring... completely at odds with Squad Two's ruthless reputation, and something you fervently wished you could spend your nights enjoying more often. Stuck out here in the cold and the dark... you felt more like one of those Eleventh brutes, who you were fairly certain had no concept of indoor plumbing. The sense of injustice stung you, but you were a member of the Second Division, stone-cold killers all. You were above such things.
The wind picked up, and you suppressed a shiver. By the Soul King, but it was cold tonight. Any hint of weakness would be observed and reported back, and you really didn't want that to happen. Who knows what the Captain would do...
"You're a failure as a guard," came the Captain's voice from behind you. Fuck.
"Anyone with their ears open could have heard me coming," said Captain Sui-Feng, head of the Second Division, her voice clipped and curt. She wasn't pleased. You weren't really sure if she ever
was
pleased. "All these nights on guard duty, and you've learned nothing."
You dropped to one knee, not daring to face her and turn your back on the entrance without permission -- you'd learned that only made her angrier. "Captain, forgive my-"
"Silence. Failures do not speak. Failures are not forgiven." You heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed, the slightly curved blade sliding smoothly from its scabbard. "I don't tolerate failure in my underlings. Perhaps it would be a mercy..."
You bowed your head, waiting for the stroke to come.
"Turn around and face me," she ordered, and you obeyed hastily, spinning on your knee. Her slate-grey eyes narrowed in disdain as you met her gaze. She wasn't dressed in the bulky white jacket reserved for captains. She wasn't even dressed in her black Soul Reaper robe. Instead, she wore only her uniform as Supreme Commander of the Onmitsukidล -- black, backless, sleeveless, and entirely impractical for such a chilly night.
"Perhaps you can earn some small measure of forgiveness," she said with the tiniest smirk. "Give me your best tonight, and perhaps,
perhaps
I will overlook your poor performance in other areas."
Gulp. This was why she'd picked you for guard duty: easy access and secrecy. Whenever the whim struck her, she could approach you in the dark, make you do whatever she wanted. Tonight would be no different.
"Yes, Captain," you murmured, rising from your knee and standing before her.