The air in the 2nd Division was stale, deader than it usually was on a normal day, and the cause of it was known to every Shinigami under its banner. The Captain was not in a good mood.
It was such a threatening state of affairs that it left the Shinigami extra tense as they went about their day. Their steps and actions were filled with caution because as far as they were concerned, they were treading in unknown territory.
For those who didn't understand, they'd say that they were overreacting but that would be when the Shinigami from the 2nd Division would tell them how wrong they were.
For the majority of them, Itachi had been their Captain for decades and not once have they seen him in anything resembling a bad mood. It was either he was in a rare good mood or he was sharing the same expression as neutral paste, which was most of the time.
It was unsettling for those who've seen him. They witnessed first hand how their Captain, a master of his emotions, looked visibly in a bad mood and he did nothing to hide it.
How were they supposed to react to that? It looked too unnatural. It would be like if Kenpachi suddenly became polite and started giving out sunny smiles on discount.
The ones who had the worst were those who were called into his office — which was already a scary experience on a normal day, what with the crows, low lights, scary Captain, and scarier Seated Officers — which were mainly squad leaders, scouts and the likes.
And one of such people was Hao.
Hao was just Hao. No second name, no specialization, no genius skills, no magnificent intellect. Hao was just Hao, and yet he was personally made squad leader by his death martial of a Lieutenant.
Hao was also one of those that supported the conspiracy that there was a special black ops militia of masked Shinigami within the Division that only answered to the Captain and no one else. They apparently gave up their name and face and were called by the mask they wore, one that they would wear for their whole lives. It was said that not even the Head Captain could command them. Hao believed it.
Just like the rest of the Division, Hao could only speculate on what or who put the Captain in his foul mood.
Some said the Head Captain scolded him. Hao didn't believe it. A scolding from the Head Captain wouldn't dampen the Captain's mood.
One said that he lost someone close to him and Hao couldn't help but snort. While the Captain would certainly obliterate the cause of said death, Hao still believed the Captain wouldn't let it show on his face.
One particular fool had said that the Captain lost the race of love and his intended eloped with a farmer deep into the Rukongai. The idiot was almost lynched in broad daylight for speaking such taboo. Everyone knew what the open secret was but no one had the galls to say it out loud, and saying otherwise was an unspoken taboo.
Hao had a sizable investment on it and he couldn't wait for the day he cashed it out.
As he walked through the halls of the main office building, Hao couldn't help but think of what the angry Captain was going to tell him. Maybe berate him for the low efficiency of his squad. Maybe he would increase their workload and shorten the completion time. Or maybe he would assign Hao to disciplinary because of something Hao did a decade or two ago.
His steps didn't echo off the polished wood he walked on but Hao could swear he was hearing his footsteps loudly in his ears, or maybe that was just his heartbeat.
The hallway darkened as Hao trudged closer to the door standing at the end. Even the air gained a moderate chill, and if Hao noticed all the oddities then he didn't.
He finally got to the door and gave three soft knocks as protocol demanded, waited exactly 3 seconds before he was granted entrance.
'Oh Spirits! It's worse than I thought.' Hao internally panicked but his face was as cold and smooth as the polished wood floor he stood on.
The obvious reason for his internal circuits firing off was the man sitting behind the desk, stacks of paper laid across every inch of the desk, and the rather glaring frown and wrinkles on his face. The man made looking angry look like it was a fashion choice and not a state of mind. Respect.
"Squad leader Hao, sir." He reported in, careful not to increase his voice by a decibel. The last fool who made that mistake seven years ago got a look from the Captain and Lieutenant and rapidly lost his fighting spirit that he was demoted twice in a month.
"Hao, I've read and compared your reports with the other squads in your quadrant and I've seen that you and your squad barely eke out what can be considered an acceptable average. The squads in your quadrant are closely knit, so why the disparity?"
'Oh Spirits! He's looking at me with the frown. He's frowning at me!'
"I have no excuse for my incompetence, sir. I'll try and get my squad on the same wavelength with the others." He parroted out, slightly proud of himself at his skill in accepting blame and pleading leniency in one sentence.
"You will get your squad, and the rest of your quadrant to function with mirror efficiency."
"Yes sir." He almost gave a salute but thankfully he hadn't grown that senile yet.
!!!
"Um… sir?" The hesitation in his voice was natural as his brain screeched to a halt.
"Yes, Hao."
So how could he ask this without implying that he needed his Captain to repeat himself. "You said I should brush up my squad and my quadrant. I'm a little confused sir."
"How so?" The Captain tilted his head, his face still set in a hard expression
Hao pointed at himself in that classic dumb way. "I'm not the Region Overseer, sir." He cursed himself too late as the words left his mouth, his brain finally catching up with everything else.
"You are." The Captain confirmed, pretty much damning Hao to his new reality. A promotion, which ironically was the last thing Hao wanted. "Your former Overseer was relieved from his duties to focus on his new assignments. Dismissed."
His body moved through the motions until he blinked and found himself out of the office building.
Hao. Plain Hao. 'Only Hao, no second name' Hao. His promotion to Squad Leader Hao was the most unwanted highlight of his life and he couldn't even celebrate the loss of the title because now not only was he no longer Squad Leader Hao, he was Overseer Hao.
He couldn't even blame his luck because doing so even felt fake. His life so far had been one major hiccup after another.
First, the former Captain of the 2nd Division, Yoruichi Shihōin, had picked him up from his quiet and generic life as a farm help of one of her vassals and shunted him into the 2nd Division on one of her fanciful whims.
He really couldn't say anything to her. She was a Shinigami Captain and the Head of one of the Principal Families, and he was just Hao. So he did what he could from what he was given. He trained in whatever he could to ensure that he could live to see the next day. Simple goals for a simple life… as if.
Years passed and he kept his ears blocked on every flying rumor. All he knew was that the former Captain left, and after some time they got a new Captain.
He was just happy that the new Captain didn't pay any attention to him and just let him practice in peace, but even that was too much for Hao to ask.
One unremarkable day, the grim reaper herself, Lieutenant Soi Fon, walked towards his little corner of the training yard, asked him for the details of his duties and in the same breath promoted him to squad leader, and walked away without him uttering a word.
He had made his peace with that misfortune years ago thanks to the supportive friends and family who he could speak to about his trauma and mental scars. It was a miracle he pulled through that dark moment of his life.
And here he was, after years of learning how to dissociate from the burdens and baggage that came with a promotion and a title, never letting the expectations have an impact on his life, only for what was supposed to be a simple rebuke turn into a bigger promotion.
"Overseer Hao. Overseer Hao…" he tried the name multiple times but it just wasn't 'Hao'. They even took away the simplicity of his name. He could no longer introduce himself as 'Hao, just Hao' because now he was Overseer Hao. What a fucking joke.
This was just another adversary, another huddle for him to topple. Let it not be said that Hao gave up before the fight started. If he did, the weeds would have done him back on that farm years ago.
––––––
Patreøn*com/QuackVader
––––––