“Oh, haha, Lieutenant Sarugaki. I wasn’t expecting you.” She was right, it was usually Kiyone and Sentaro who accosted him in halls and spare rooms when his illness flared. Often against his wishes, but he couldn’t fault them for their concern. At her inquiry, he gave another weak chuckle, waving off the comment with a floppily animated hand. He hoped the motion would distract from his free hand gripping the wall with all its might. “They’re training with Lieutenant Shiba. Something about them not working as a team, but I’m not sure. I trust Kaien to do right by them though. Were you looking for them?”
She had inquired on his health, a grim reminder of how dubious he must look at the moment, but he ignored it. Hopefully, she’d let the impolite avoidance slide. Taking in the sight of the small lieutenant he couldn’t help but notice the ruined garment in her hands and the strange chemical smell that seemed to slowly permeate the corridor. “Pardon me…but what is that smell?”
Hiyori’s entire expression crumples into something downright murderous as she thinks back on the ensuing incident that lead her here, she brandishes the lab coat at Captain Ukitake with sudden aggression.
“Oh, don’t EVEN get me started!” She shouts, her anger not exactly directed towards him but just vaguely in his general direction. “My idiot third seat keeps trying to kill me! He spilt something on my coat today and it ate through the fabric like it was nothing! I could have been seriously injured if any of that shit touched my skin, but NOOOO, it’s somehow my fault! Because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, just like always! You know, I’d be willing to bet that if your third seats ever pulled something like this on Kaien, they’d never see the light of day, but somehow, that blue haired weirdo always gets a pass from my idiot Captain and I’ll never understand it so that’s what the bad smell is! The smell of dumbass authority and some truly messed up science shit I’ll never understand!” For emphasis, she throws the coat down onto the floor, glaring at it with all the intensity she can muster.
When her anger has subsided, just for a moment, Hiyori takes a deep breath and tries to collect herself, arms crossed tightly over her chest.
“I had to get out of the Twelfth before another idiot tried to kill me with their dumb experiment so I just stomped around until I wound up here. I wasn’t really looking for anyone in particular.” Hiyori answers. She glances up at the older Captain, her eyes narrowed in a glare as she considers him again. It’s a very well regarded fact that there is always something plaguing Captain Ukitake, it seems like every other week the guy’s come down with a bad flu that has him coughing up another lung or two. To the extent of Hiyori’s knowledge, she knows he’s taken a few sick days off more than most other captains should but actually talking to him and seeing him up close, he looks a lot worse for wear. It makes her feel bad, like she should run and get someone from the Fourth who is actually equipped to deal with him in this sort of situation rather than her clueless ass.
“You know, I’m surprised your two stalkers left you alone when you’re looking kinda…” She trails off, trying to quickly think of the most tactful way to go about mentioning his sickly demeanour. “Frail.” She finishes. “Do you need a hand or something?”
