Enoch Drebber ~ The Link Between Science and Magic - The Great Ace Attorney 2 Music Extended
A few days had passed in soul society with Cheshire finding herself out and about.
Of course her cute little third seat was followed behind her with a box of various equipment she'd need even if those grumps wouldn't let her use anything intrusive. Thinking about the lack of probes made the cat pout behind her face mask. Something her third seat-cum-assistant obviously noticed.
"They were never going to accept it…"
"Why not; they could just think about it as a little bit of self discovery~!"
Throwing her arms out as if that would somehow make her half-arsed excuse somehow more convincing to the doubtful girl following behind her. Neither stopped as they headed towards the fourth division to do the bi-monthly health check. Something suggested some time ago by the feline captain of twelfth.
The reasoning given to the average shinigami was just to make sure there were no hidden underlying health issues that could affect their service. Essentially allowing them to see if as a free health check up every two months by soul societies brightest members. As such it was well received by them.
Though if it was merely helping the standard rank & file she would have never gotten such a thing past central 42 without some unorthodox methods.
Methods like why it's no longer 46.
Not that it was actually technically her fault… But she was also the one who didn't exactly go out of her way to warn them that fucking around with Munzumira was a bad idea.
Such thoughts were tantalising but not the focus at the moment.
Instead it was on the true purpose which technically didn't stray too far away from the stated - purely for security reasons as well as gathering materials. Science wasn't a painless pursuit. Though they also had to make sure no one sneaky was making there way in via some simple human-skin masks.
Like a certain bastard.
Sure, such measures were meaningless to Navy, but it was an illusion of safety that those bureaucrats were more than willing to slurp up like the finest of noodle broths.
Sadly she didn't have the time nor patience to go through each and every one of the rank & file which is where a little bit of distribution of manpower came in. First was the obvious in getting the fourth to help since they were the main medical organisation in soul society. It only made sense to get them involved.
As such both squads did their own internal tests with the occasional cross examination should anything of note come up with one of their members. Then the two squads worked together to quickly gather all the information they could. Performing tests alone on the masses without waiting for results immediately.
Time was needed to go over all the information, after all.
So after they were finished the squads continued their collaboration by going through the masses of data in big teams with mixed personnel.
Not only had this massively improved relations between the squads (especially forth & twelfth) but it had also helped the two "support squads" to massively improve their own training. More data meant more they could throw their rookies into. It also massively improved what Cheshire's boys could learn.
Though that was, once again, only for the rank and file.
"So which captain or lieutenant are we doing first, boss?"
"No clue; I left that up to the gallant Ru-Uh-chan since we were busy after that~."
Obviously the old man would refuse to let anyone in the two squads freely have access to the seated members' biological material. At least not after he had learned more than she'd have liked about a certain over cat's not so stealthy exploits in Rukon. So it was left up to their own seated members to sort out.
The first & second seats came to see her along with the captain of the fourth while those below the second seat would be seen to those… Below the second seat. A bit confusing however it allowed for a far more swift process for the true powerhouses of the Gotei 13.
Imagine if Munzumira one day messed up containment and accidentally unleashed a devastating weaponised strain of cold on the upper brass of soul society!
Fortunately this system would allow them to (hopefully) catch it then give their strongest a clean bill of health as fast as possible. It also meant Cheshire got full access to said health records. Sadly she was not as interested in biology as her fellow feline.
Hiyori, who once more heard that strange nickname for the graceful female captain, could only tilt her head only to quickly figure out what that meant.
Letting out a sigh.
"Still can't wrap my head around why someone would want to cause so much trouble…"
Mumbling as the pair half ignored the bowing heads of those they walked by as they began to head through the freshly waxed floors of the fourth. The smell of disinfectant wasn't as strong as in the twelfth and they at least tried to hide it. Though those floral tones could only do so much, unfortunately.
"You make a mistake that many do when it comes to the bastard - a strange assumption that he had some grand purpose with all his actions. In that regard he is actually very similar to a human. That is why it confuses me that he confuses you all so much."
Shaking her head with a faint chuckle as her crimson eyes twinkled as she studied the long orderly lines as people waited their turns.
A front desk guided people in which line they had to join for which room.
Inside those rooms there were more shinigami from the support squads who performed all sorts of tests while quickly storing what needed to be stored. Whether that be the results or samples to be tested when they had more time. One look also revealed it was far from the first time, as well.
Cheshire found herself quite pleased with the progress her once rowdy squad had made in such baseline yet asinine tasks.
Recording data was the basics of the basics in science.
"So… He doesn't have a reason?"
Once more Cheshire find herself laughing good naturedly at the confusion written all over the girls face.
"Oh no, not at all, some may say he has a really good reason for his actions!"
"Then what is it?"
She asked just as the crowds had finally thinned out majorly due to them approaching the "head office" where they would meet up captain Unohana like so many times before.
"He's bored so needed some entertainment, I'd reckon."
Saying that casually without any kind of fanfare; as if it was just something of little importance and maybe it could be considered such to the one they were talking about. But knowing the horror of those bodies after she'd gathered the information about it for mop-head & her captain? Hiyori simply couldn't.
"How… Could anyone be bored enough to do that?"
"Well it isn't even the first time he's done something like this and in a way it can be seen as him also trying to fulfil the role of all life. Though comparing him to life definitely is irony at its finest. Still he is possibly older than time itself so it is quite easy to be that bored."
Not looking back at her third seat as she strutted forward towards the double doors which she promptly pulled open with a grand flourish. The sound quickly caught the attention of the pair already inside the medical head office. A white haired giant pouring some tea for a black haired beauty.
Later carrying herself with a grace that made her seem far older than her unaging appearance would ever suggest she was.
"C-captain Cheshire!"
"Isane my dear, give granny kissies~!"
Being a natural berk she of course instantly began making kissy faces towards the white haired second seat of the forth squad much to the bemusement of the two.
"Please don't bully my lieutenant, Captain Cheshire."
She said to save her subordinate who was currently cowering behind her in order to escape the grabby hands of the old cat. Though her gaze did end up, as a result, landing upon Cheshire's third seat who seemed to be whiter than chalk. Narrowing her eyes while wondering what could cause such a brash girl to be so off put.
Especially since at least three people in this room knew the sort of questionable research Cheshire got up to in that hidden laboratory (if there was even only one) and it definitely wasn't Isane.
Although she also knew better than to ask too many questions.
Both of them knew each other well enough over the last decade - or rather they knew it was better to pretend they didn't know very much. Neither of them were what they seemed on the surface. It made the captain of the fourth wonder just how thick the mask of the cat was.
"Ah~ you treat me like such a menace~!"
"For good reason; tea?"
She asked while already preparing another cup across from her because she already expected-
"Por favor y gracias~!"
-something like that.
"I assume that means yes?"
"Norwegian or something~!"
Part of her believed that was wrong however she also hadn't bothered much with the various languages present in the world of the living.
Thankfully the chaotic little cat seemed to have teased them all enough as she came to sit down in front of her fellow captain with a surprising amount of grace. At least if they weren't used to it. Even the way that cat sipped her tea showed that she had decades of experience in such ceremonies.
Letting them all enjoy the peace for a moment as Hiyori set the box down without needing to ask where to place it. Isane came over to help the twelfth squad's third seat. Meanwhile the two continued enjoy the tea while their subordinates got to setting everything up.
"Will mister Urahara not be joining us this time?"
"Ah~ he has been busy as of late."
"... Any reason you sent him on a wild goose chase?"
Even with her mask being over her mouth (when she wasn't lifting the bottom of it up to sip without revealing her actual face) the captain could make out those cheekbones rising in a grin.
"Smart boy like that would have realised that I gave him a pointless task in hunting down that discarded rat a few steps away from my door. Still a brilliant mind is sometimes a curse when not distracted. So I simply let him distract himself with a painless investigation that may turn up something."
Shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.
"Better than letting him dive into something over his head, I suppose…"
Since she didn't have much of slice in that cake she merely let it go; not that a part of her didn't want to see how strong that monstrous bastard of shadowy overlord in the Rukon were.
"So who are we seeing first?"
"That would be the fifth."
At that the cat clicked her fingers together as if she remembered something.
"Ah~ they Shinji boy did get themselves a new LT after last went and OD'd, right?"
"You supposed sister has been rather busy it would seem… However I somehow doubt you or her care about the results of your actions."
Her words surprisingly contained no actual judgement or scorn in them.
Although they did illicit a surprising reaction from the cat who had her cheeks raise even further as the cane resting across her lap shook as if holding in a laugh.
"I do wonder if it is a strain I would recognise - it is part of the reason why we started doing this kind of thing in the first place. Weird we didn't pick up something so obvious in previous tests but surely they simply had a particularly bad first trip… Should we start~?"