[CENTER][U][B]Zume Tatasuko[/B][/U]
[IMG]http://oi46.tinypic.com/291z79l.jpg[/IMG]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYPcz1GGeRY]Theme I [/url]/|\[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYPcz1GGeRY]Theme II[/url][/center]

Two days.

The captain had put aside the previous two days to do some additional research on hakuda and various martial arts. While for others this would mean little, for Zume it was a tremendous amount of information, which he had processed and would soon put to good use. However, these thoughts were only some of the many which proliferated his vast intellect as he sat at a desk in the 12th division's lab and surveyed an experiment being carried out, for once, in plain sight. Rather than carry out the experiment himself, he had set several of the shinigami ranked far beneath him to do the work, directing them where it was needed, and making absolutely sure that nothing went wrong.

He had been very careful ever since the incident where most of the Research and Development facility had been eviscerated, yes that had been...quite the tragedy. [B]" Ikiro,"[/B] the captain's sinuous voice called, notifying one of the researches that he was needed. The shinigami turned to him and half bowed, obviously nervous, Zume simply shook his head and chuckled, [B]"Calm down, Ikiro, this is just a test on a prototype. I have faith in everyone working on it, I'm only here as a precautionary measure to make sure nothing goes wrong. Cease those formalities, we're scientists right now, not soldiers,"[/B] Ikiro nodded, smiling meekly and speaking up [I]"What do you require, Tatasuko-sama?[/I] Zume ignored the formality that the shinigami had added on, it was to be expected, he had long accepted that many of them would never forget the few times that they had seen him in combat...and he could hardly blame them. [B]"Pump the reishi injector three and a half times and make sure to deactivate the Inhibitor for 10 seconds afterwards, we wouldn't want the reiryoku to condense too much, too quickly or we'll have ourselves a regular reishi singularity, and those are quite...dangerous."[/B] Ikiro nodded, his eyes lighting up at the terms [I]"Of course,Tatasuko-sama,"[/I] the pudgy man turned away and rushed over to a wide array of switches, pumps, and a variety of other technological apparatus, and then slowed down to do as he had been instructed.

Zume smiled lightly as he watched and then redirected his attention to the large cubic diamond shaped object in the center of the test chamber. [B]"Nasuri, adjust the pressure settings to 5.23, and reorganize the settings of the electrical input feed, it isn't releasing energy in the right intervals."[/B] Nasuri, a short, but attractive, young shinigami nodded her head, not even glancing back at Zume as she began until she got to the input feed. [I]"Settings,"[/I] she said in her husky voice, causing Zume to smile again and list them off, [B]"Five, Twenty-six, Three Point two-one-eight, Ninety-one, one, thirty".[/B] She nodded with each adjustment till the very last one, where she looked back at him with a small confused frown. Zume's smile widened, [B]"Have I ever been wrong, Nasuri?"[/B] The woman shook her head and finished the adjustments before turning to look at the object inside of the three dimensional cubid-diamond holding cell. As she watched the adjustments actually happen she nodded her head with satisfaction. [I]"No you have not, not when it comes to experiments involving others. I haven't once seen you fail. However, when it comes to other matters I am not nearly informed enough to make a conclusion,"[/I] her cold yellow-green eyes grazed over him and she smiled slightly, at the joke she'd been making ever since she'd become part of his division via his request.

In response to her apparent jab at him, he chuckled and shook his head, before rising to his feet and checking over the various controls once more. He then walked towards the door and called back, [B]"Nasuri, as usual, you're in charge until I return. I have a different kind of experiment to conduct at the Hakuda competition."[/B] The small woman turned, looking after her captain and called out, [I]"Don't prove me right Zume, I don't like to be right, I'm far too pessimistic!"[/I] In response the man only laughed, deep and throaty, but nonetheless smooth and pleasant to the ear --he had no intention of being wrong...and it was unlikely that he would be anytime soon.
---

Heading up and out of the facility that was home to both the 12th division and the Research and Development Department, Zume Tatasuko, the leader and captain of both the aforementioned organizations, began his leisurely walk towards the 7th division and the Hakuda tournament. There was a gentle and kind smile on his face, but a look of intensity and amusement in his eyes. His haori trailed quietly through the air behind him as he took step after step to his destination. Thinking back to the experiment he closed his eyes, instead using his other highly attuned senses to survey his surroundings. [I]Things will go splendidly. Once that experiment is done I'll know whether or not we can artificially replicate a unique Reichōin(spiritual signature), and from there I can truly begin,[/I] his smile widened slightly and he let out a gentle breath into the air, which flowed in a soothing breeze in the moderate temperatures of the seireitei. He was pleased, it was a beautiful day, and there was something amusing that lay ahead of him.

Things were always better when amusement lay ahead, of this he had been certain for quite a long time. Opening his eyes once more, Zume continued his walk, never truly increasing his pace even as he began to casually shunpo decent distances to quicker reach his destination. Yet as his outer layers regarded the world, the deepest of layers, the core of his psyche was pondering an entirely separate set of notions. [I]How long till they move. Likely soon...it has been quite sometime since I last heard,[/I] the cacophony of persona jittered and reported above the core's layers and it regarded them briefly, absorbing their accumulated knowledge, before continuing its own trains of thought, not that all of them had ceased while it had regarded them. [I]Still, the gears are certainly turning, and the hands which keep them going have increased their pace. The world never stays still for long,[/I]....

Another voice interjected, the voice of [B]Amusement[/B], rather than [U]Observation[/U], who was the primary authority on all matters of their being. Still, Amusement was only one order of power below the Observer, so it was much like the captain speaking to the Captain-Commander, or perhaps the Captain-Commander to Central 46. It mattered not.

[I]Amusement:[/I] The tournament is important enough, as are the experiments we left running you know. There is no need to rush anything.

[B]Observation:[/B] I do not rush. I know the order of things, and the precise measurements of time, which each of them ought to take. My ruling is absolute here. You know this. The reason is clear, is it not, [I]A[/I].

[I]Amusement[/I] simply vibrated, an action similar to shrugging or shaking ones head. [B]Observation[/B] began to thin out, as if narrowing eyes at its subordinate. Still, [I]A[/I] said nothing else, instead returning to its direction of the third layer and related persona.

The Greater Persona, known as [U]Archetypes[/U] were the third order of magnitude, and it was several of these, which governed the peripheral and surface thought processes. It was these [U]Archetypes[/U], referred to as [U]Arches[/U], that composed the personality that those who interacted with Zume would come to know. There were many of these, and they were of lesser rank than the aforementioned concepts. Such was the hierarchy of Zume's mind, a hierarchy that none, but himself knew of. Except perhaps his wife, though he only told her some of what he planned and knew. What he did tell her was always something of a lie, and something of the truth. If anyone ever questioned her, they would get an incorrect read on Zume's plans, and their investigation would be rendered useless when they found absolutely no evidence for their claims. It was an amusing ploy, and essentially fool proof in nature, which is why he'd used it in the first place.

Humming lightly as he made his final shunpo, the 12th division's captain walked through the gates of the 7th division barracks and headed to where he would sign himself onto the competition's roster. He was unsure as to who else had signed on, but it hardly mattered to him. He knew everyone of any real importance in the seireitei, and if it was any of them he'd have plenty of data to execute his experiment properly. Noting this he entered the division itself, locating the desk where a young attractive shinigami sat to receive contestants. She smiled at him and blushed slightly when he smiled back, his roguish features and status apparently causing her a measure of embarrassment before she cleared her throat and managed to speak. [I]“Well good day to you Tatasuko-taichou,”[/I] the woman began, only for him to raise a hand to stop her short. [B]“Just Zume-san, is fine, madam. I am simply here to sign on, this is the roster I presume?”[/B] The shinigami swallowed a bit, looking into his hazel eyes a moment before nodding. Zume nodded and gestured for the pen nestled between her fingers.

She dutifully offerred it to him and he took it graciously, signing the sheet and then raising back to his full height of 6'2, and bowing his head, his hand setting the pen back on the desk in front of her. [B]“Thank you Emeiri-chan, I appreciate your diligence. I do hope they don't make a pretty girl like yourself stay in the back and receive everyone for the duration of the tournament. It'd be a shame,”[/B] he again bowed his head and then walked around the table and past her, leaving the woman wondering why a captain had even known her name.

Zume on the other hand chuckled, if he weren't a married man, he could have had her wrapped around his finger in another two minutes...max. However, he was quite happy with Sayaka, and so he continued on, looking for where he ought to stay until the main event began. He almost couldn't wait...almost, for he was a patient man and while amusement beckoned him fondly, he knew that to succumb to any desire was folly, and so he never would.

Not again.

Never again.

Such was his resolve, and it would stay that way as long as he lived and he intended to live for [I]quite[/I] a long time. So, for now, he waited. The world would begin moving faster soon anyways, so why rush now? To him, there was no reason to do so. There never was. Not for a man with his mind, and he was the only such man.

Lucky him~