As Scott Thompson strode down the hallway, he was a little unkempt, but he didn't mind it. This time, he was going to see someone whose opinion about him he gave a little less of a damn about. Guys, after all, were not in his repertoire of potential intimate partners. Though, Addison--the woman he'd gone to visit prior--was even a little different than that. Scott wouldn't have tried to wear nice clothes with anyone else.

As soon as Scott reached Eldridge Tsukimono's door, he paused for a moment. It would be around evening for Eld, so he'd probably be in--studying, or something. Or out with Etsu. Now, that wouldn't be too good at the moment, as Scott sort of wanted to get a hold of him.

Eh, they're having problems, anyways. Scott figured with a shrug--not that Eld was probably even aware of any of those problems.

Scott rapped his knuckles hard on the door.

And just in case Eld was taking a nap, or might want to know who was knocking so hard, Scott called out: "Yo, Eld. You in?"

"Just a moment," called a reply from inside, shortly before the door opened to reveal the person Scott was hoping to talk to. It was indeed evening for Eldridge Tsukimono, and he was currently winding down the night with a book.

He was dressed casually, but as always his appearance was neat--hair in place, clothes wrinkle free, face clean--if he weren't so utterly oblivious to his effect on girls his age, he could easily have been accused of being narcissistic. It didn't help that he was rather feminine looking for a guy, more often called pretty than handsome.

"What's going on?" he asked, a bit nervous; he got along with Scott (usually), but they didn't hang out or anything, so he could only assume Scott was here on business--and he was supposed to have the next few days off, just like Etsu was.

"Ah, Eld--yo," Scott greeted Eld on the other side with a casual wave.

He was a casual man in general, really. When he needed to put his business face on, he could--though, not without at least a half of a dozen of cigarettes. Nonetheless, although he did actually spend time with Addison and Etsu--not quite so much with Eld just yet, but that was guaranteed to change with time--he was fairly business oriented. Calm and casual, but he didn't like to take risks that might screw up how his superiors saw him--sort of like sending someone weak like Etsu out all on her own.

"I hate to throw this in your lap," Scott paused for a moment to think--time in which Eld might very well assume the worst, "But I've got a personal request for you. Not an official order or anything, but still. Mind if I come in? I can probably say more private."

"Ah, um, sure," Eld replied, pushing the door all the way open and stepping inside. Eld's room was, like all new Dirige members, little more than a one-room dorm with an attached bathroom. His room was a bit more decorated than Etsu Hikane's--it had a bit of furniture and some personal effects he'd brought from home.

If he were observant, he'd also see signs of how much Etsu spent there--there were a few articles of girl's clothing in his laundry basket. She wasn't there at the moment, however, meaning he got to talk to Eld in private just as he wished.

Eld pulled the chair he'd been sitting at from the desk where he was reading up to a small table--another chair was nearby for Scott to take.

"What can I do for you?" he asked, now more puzzled than alarmed. It wasn't the first time Scott asked for a favor, but it was the first time he sounded somewhat serious about one.

Truth be told, Etsu actually hadn't been around Eld for some time; staying in his room, that is. She had tried to keep herself busy, it seemed, with odd jobs here and there to make money. Scott didn't know if Eld had even noticed this trend at all or not, or if he shrugged it off and just tried to keep himself busy, as well.

Scott nodded in appreciation of Eld putting a chair his way, and took a seat. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to be there long. At best, he hoped he'd just have to explain the "situation" to Eld, and be gone--to make up for some time that he lost when he went to visit Addison. A lot of documents had to be written up for things like this. Involving other Reapers in missions that were not doled out to them required some formal explaining, and Scott figured he could at least go that far to reduce the risks he was taking.

"Well . . . we're sending Etsu out on a mission," Scott replied as he leaned forward in the chair, resting his forearms on his knees, "She's going to be partnered with Yasuo. You know him, right?"

"Y-Yeah, I know him." The mention of him made Eld a bit uneasy; Etsu hadn't been over in some time now; she seemed busy doing other things, and perhaps he was a bit paranoid but it seemed to him to coincide with Yasuo's arrival.

This was made worse by the fact that Yasuo himself was actually quite likable, and that Eld knew very well that Etsu was not the type to go behind his back with someone. He felt guilty for that bit of jealousy; he should be glad Etsu was making other friends. She wasn't a person who easily socialized, but...

"Forgive me for asking, but why Yasuo?" Eld asked. There were many reasons to question the choice; Etsu herself wasn't a great fighter, and Yasuo was so new he wouldn't have had time to learn much yet. But it was fairly obvious the reason Eld asked had to do with the silent question he held back, which was, why not me?

"Ets has already done her field training," Scott replied, "Even though she took too much time or failed a few times--"

A lot of the time, actually.

"--she's still done with it. Unless it's a high rank mission, she's either going it alone or with someone of her rank, like Yasuo. If it's a higher ranked mission, and she's actually going to be sent out for God knows why, she'd be with someone like you, or someone of a higher rank, depending. You know how it works, man. Someone knows how to act on the field, there's no sense sending someone overqualified with them. The overqualified Reaper might just complete it on his or her own. Besides, Ets and Yasuo spar together well."

--something Eld may or may not have even been aware of . . .

There was a little (a lot, actually) bit of bureaucracy amongst Reapers. Ranks and classes and the like; they made things a little more complex, but separated Reapers into specialties and the like. At this point, Eld was at least two or three ranks higher than Etsu, who only briefly got off the ground with rank, only to be stripped of rank later on.

"We don't know a lot about the place, but the Ame Voleur activity we're seeing are movers," --the act of moving and controlling souls against the souls' will, one of the lower ranked Ame Voleur abilities-- "And there doesn't seem to be any violence just yet. Higher ups have it as a lowest priority mission, but they want Ets in on it somewhere--for the field experience."

Indeed, Eld hadn't been aware that Etsu and Yasuo sparred together, let alone that they sparred well. He took that to mean that they were about on equal level of ability.

While he sparred with Etsu himself occasionally, it was generally one-sided one way or another. Between his massive Qi, strength burst, and Kageko, she was no match for him. But none of those were truly his power, and if he sparred with Etsu in sheer weapon combat he lost more often than not. Even though he outclassed Etsu physically in every way, she had years of training with a halberd under her belt, whereas Eld had only been fighting for a few months--the difference in their skill was evident.

At least the mission didn't sound that dangerous, though he hoped they had better intelligence on the area than that one time in Xexoria. He still would have preferred to go with her, but Scott did make a good point, even if Eld didn't agree with that way of thinking.

"So, what does this have to do with that favor you wanted?" he asked, trying not to show his uneasiness at having Etsu and Yasuo paired together--and ultimately failing.

"I know you've got a couple days off, but I was going to ask if you'd, uh . . ." Scott trailed off, coughing awkwardly.

It seemed they had a habit in the Dirige was sending Reapers out, or calling for them, when they were given a break. It was a habit Scott wished he could personally break with his Reapers--but in this case, it just wasn't going to fly. But that was fine. Eld would get a week off after this, after having his off days interrupted by missions and the like . . .

"If you'd be on call while Ets and Yasuo are out there," Scott concluded, "Just in case shit goes down."

Being on call didn't entail much, but it was more than a little annoying. It required significant sleep deprivation, a necessity to avoid taxing activities (to remain rested, while not sleeping much), and being on hand and reachable at a certain point at all times until not longer on call.

Eld would have been hard pressed to deny the request no matter who it was--after all, he didn't want any of his fellow Reapers to die if he could potentially save them--but the fact that it was Etsu made him especially quick to agree.

"Of course," he replied with a nod. From his perspective, he was being done as much of a favor as he was doing Scott; he would be the first to be called (presumably) if Etsu was in trouble, and he wouldn't have to worry about bureaucracy preventing him from coming to the rescue...or more likely, getting in trouble when he left regardless of what he was ordered to do.

This was probably one of the reasons Eld and Etsu were not paired up as often as they wished: they both would prioritize each other's safety over the mission without a second thought, something that wasn't always the viewpoint of the Dirige.

"In return, could you try and arrange it so Etsu and I have some time off together?" Eld asked. He didn't say anything, but part of him hoped Yasuo wouldn't have such time off--not because he disliked Yasuo, he told himself, but because lately he'd gotten to see plenty of Etsu while Eld had hardly seen her at all. It was only fair...

"Thanks," Scott nodded his head in appreciation, "I'll see what I can do about getting you two some time off together."

A busy man, Scott Thompson stood from the chair and started towards the door. Now that this was established, he effectively had two Reapers ready to back Etsu and Yasuo up if need be, Eld and Addison. That wrecking crew was all he needed for now.

Scott suddenly stopped at the door, though.

"Also--another favor," he turned to Eld, "Don't tell Ets that you're on call. I want her to take this seriously. She's going to fuck it up if she think she's got backup beyond Yasuo."

It was the first time that Scott openly said anything to Eld about Etsu's performance in missions--or, rather, the first time he openly criticized her abilities. Eld was mixed company, after all. Best not to talk about that kind of stuff around mixed company--but sometimes, he couldn't help it. Etsu's performance record was still down the shitter, regardless of the fluke success she had when she brought Yasuo in.

"That's..." But Eld stopped, knowing there was no point in arguing, and really no excuse. Etsu simply wasn't that powerful; she was pretty good with her weapon, but before joining the Dirige all she had was sparring experience. Eld, at least, had one real battle under his belt, not to mention all that went on during his time in "limbo" as a Reaper.

But who could really blame her? Even with battle experience, he doubted he'd be doing even as well as she was if it weren't for Kageko and the powers he inherited from Death...

She deserves a better existence than this. But he kept that thought to himself. Death had revived her, just as he'd saved Eld and revived the rest of the village--but was it truly right to serve until they died again? At what point is a debt like that repaid?

"Alright, I won't say anything," he promised, though it was clear he didn't like badmouthing Etsu regardless of the truth of the criticism.