53

With his officers safely gone, Ren returned to the 8th division after taking about 20 steps through Soul Society. He went straight to Tier's dorm to deliver her new and updated uniform.

Ren knocked on the door and waited for Tier to open it before he passed her, her uniform. This was the same uniform she would wear as an Espada (manga version).

It was a jacket with a collar so high that it covered the lower half of the woman's face, including her hollow mask, and the base of the jacket ended just below her breasts. The sleeves on the jacket were long enough that she could hide her hands inside of them with little effort. As for her pants, she wore the same hakuma that all shinigami wore.

"Thank you," she said before turning around to get changed and do whatever else she was doing.

"Is that all? Don't you want to tell me how amazing and inspiring my haori looks?" Ren asked hoping to get complimented on his haori. When he asked the other members they remained silent. Both Shin and Emilou were about to speak up but they had their mouths covered by Kyou and Cyna before they could say anything.

'Bah! They are probably just jealous because they can't wear a haori as magnificent as mine. Maybe I should get some made for all my officers in the division like the 6th does with their elites.'

Tier saw Ren turn around a few times and pose with his haori so that she could see it in its fullness but her eyes held no trace of flattery in them.

"Stop trying to add color to it. Keep it the basic white or inverse the colors if you want. You look more like the division's mascot than its leader. You look like you are trying to make others feel jolly," Tier said ruthlessly.

Ren heard her words and visibly deflated. He looked as if he had just been betrayed.

'I wanted a compliment, not these insults! What mascot? I thought this looked amazing.'

"Tsk. Come to the office when you're done changing. And bring that other one too!"

Ren took off his haori and flung it on the ground in frustration before he went back to his office. Since he had agreed to work with the 2nd division, there was a large amount of paperwork to fill out.

He had only done the portion that allowed him to send his men in and requesting the aid of the 2nd division. Now he had to fill out many logistical parts to it.

Tier and Naoko entered the office in unison after 20 minutes. Ren looked over Tier and was amazed by how good she looked in black.

Nodding to himself for asking their opinions about the uniforms, Ren had both pull up their desks in front of his. He then passed them each several papers that they could sign off on or finish for him since they were officers.

Ren instructed them in the basics of writing reports before leaving them to their work. He would answer any questions that they had but he preferred for them to come up with the questions themselves than having to hold their hands through it.

'Ugh! I can't just have people who know how to fight. We have the title of 'Strongest Division' but I want the title of 'Best Division'. That means we need to excel in all areas.

I was lucky that most of those who awakened their zanpakuto are smart otherwise I would have to miss out on people with great potential because they were too stupid.'

For the next several hours, the group worked in silence with occasional questions and answers in between.

Naoko felt pressured in this environment. The captain was large, intimidating, and scary while the lieutenant was sexy, cold, and scary. The silence they felt so comfortable in was suffocating to him.

'Even if I know that I am safe around them, the pressure they give off is terrifying. '

A few minutes after he had this thought, Ren put down his pen and rubbed his temples. He had done all the work he was missing and had finally caught up.

"How are you two doing? Still need to finish?"

"I'm done over here, Boss."

"I still need to finish a few more. I may need your help for some."

Ren nodded towards Tier. He did not mind staying behind to help her. He had actually gone a bit slower just so he had an excuse to look at her for a bit longer.

"Naoko, you can head out then. I will file the work for you since I will be here for a while longer."

Naoko jumped up and ran towards the door. It was only after he left did he remember that he was being a bit rude so he stuck his head through the door and said,

"Thanks, Lord 8. I'll make sure to work hard tomorrow."

Ren shook his head at his subordinate's behavior and went to make himself some tea. At first, he found it awkward to eat and drink around Tier but after so many days, he had finally gotten used to it.

He sat at the desk across from her and looked at the woman diligently working while he drank his tea in silence. The atmosphere turned much warmer than when Naoko was present unknown to the man himself who was the third wheel.

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Author's Note: I felt like making a slowed down and relaxed chapter. There will be a large time skip in the next 4-10 chapters. Thinking about 200-300 years.

Anyone got any questions about Ren, his abilities/zanpakuto, the division, or anything else that is going on in the story, don't mind doing a Q&A session.