Interview with an Idol [CLOSED]

Today.
Marika had tried for years to get this. Before that, she had tried for years to get the confidence to try this. Ever since she saw him, she knew that she was...
Slap.
No, that thought had to go away. She couldn't let him know. Nope, not today. It was a professional day. Marika was going to actually get to talk to him. She barely was able to say "Good morning, Captain" even after he had walked down the hall. Then again, that was so, so long ago. She had worked up the courage to do it. Marika was still, unfortunately, extremely nervous. As he was extremely busy usually, she was lucky to get a spot in his schedule. She paced back and forth, muttering to herself as she waited.

The guards outside the office of the First Division's Captain's office eyed her curiously and with some amusement. Most people just stood or arrived exactly on time. Not her. Marika was half an hour early. And all during that half-hour, she hadn't stopped muttering or pacing. The only time she slowed was when she checked her bag—again—to make sure that she had everything. Just like the last few dozen times, it was all there.

The door opened and one of the other Captains stepped out—she didn't know which one at the moment. She bowed and bade him good day. She did bow too much and remained at that position too long. She was off her game today, but who wouldn't be? The person she idolized was...

"Next. Enter."

The guard called out, and Marika nearly toppled over backwards with how fast she snapped back up. With a deep breath, Marika approached. The guards had already known who she was, and she didn't give her name or rank. She took the long walk to the desk he was sitting behind. With another deep bow, she introduced herself.

"Good Commmander, Captain-Morning. I am Marika Minakuji, Sixth Seat of the Sixth Division, and Twenty-Second Daughter of the Minakuji clan. Thank you for making time for this interview with the Weekly Seireitei Bulletin."

Marika only stopped bowing when he spoke up. Once again, she shot upright. She was prepared this time and didn't nearly topple over. She didn't catch the verbal hiccup that he had. She smiled widely as she was motioned over to sit, and she did so. She also stumbled over the chair, stubbing her toe in the process of her scurrying over. Despite a small tear in her eye, she hid the pain well. He was watching. She couldn't be weak in front of him.

There were many questions she wanted to ask. Thankfully, she had a few pre-selected that were more for a general audience and not for her own imagination. She took in a deep breath and began to speak. Unfortunately, she was speaking about twice as fast as she should. She didn't catch it. "Well, as part of my duties, I am tasked with interviewing Captains," she wasn't really lying. It was just that she volunteered for this. It wasn't something forced on her. "So some of my questions will be basic. ...I hope that's okay."

The first few questions were, as she said, simple. When was his birthday, how long he had served in the Gotei, etc. Things you'd see in an encyclopedia entry. It was out of left field when she suddenly asked "What kind of fruit do you like?" Not food, not meat, no. Just fruit. It was her way of sneaking in a personal question, you see. The Minakuji family were a minor noble house because they had vineyards and orchards. She needed to know what kind of fruit to get him. If they didn't have it now, next season they would.

"This is a question asked by many of our female readers..." Marika warned as she moved on to the next one. It was one she was curious about too, but she had to make it seem like it was other people wanting to know. Of course, the curious glint in her eye was betraying that idea. "What kind of conditioner do you use in your hair?"

Good, Marika thought. Watermelon was something already growing. She'd just select the best for a gift basket for him. She jotted it down in the tiny notepad she wrote all of her notes in—this one was a high-quality one used only for his interviews. Marika continued with the interview, but she hit a sore spot or something. She wanted to take it back immediately, but he spoke up before she could.

With every new sentence, Marika shrunk back into herself and into her chair. She knew that his hair was a delicate subject. She wasn't going to ask how he took care of it. This interview was going bad already. She wasn't worthy. She wasn't ready. A few awkwardly-silent moments passed before Marika spoke up, her head down. She didn't want to face him right now. "I always asked the other Captains of a favorite 'something' of theirs during their interview. Favorite color... favorite song... Something that they like more than anything in a category. I try not to repeat the same item..."

She moved to the more sensitive topic. "The conditioner was... just something we get asked a lot about, sir..." Marika looked back up to him, her eyes wet from tears welling up. They were tears of anxiety—and of fear. "I didn't mean any disrespect..." Marika breathed in deeply once more. "Our audience is not focused on the females either. But, forgive me for being... forward, but um... there are a lot of women out there that are jealous of your hair. We also received some letters from men asking for it because they want to copy your look, but primarily it is the women that write about that question."

Marika didn't notice the tissue at first and winced as his hand neared her. As she noticed it, she nodded gratefully and turned around to do so. She didn't even know she had been crying. How embarrassing. She was blowing every chance she thought she might have. "Thank you, sir." Marika turned back around, her eyes no longer glistening. Instead, they were a little bloodshot. A natural side-effect of that sort of thing. "I understand, sir. There wasn't any lead-in to those questions, and I do apologize." Marika bowed slightly in her chair.

Marika gladly took a cup of the tea, but she sat it down. The first thing she did was actually grab a slice of the lemon... and bit down. She had a satisfied look on her face as she ate it. It calmed her down. Plus, well, it was her favorite fruit. She sipped her tea, then gawked as he answered. "Nothing...? At all...?" She scribbled that down in her notebook. So many people would complain about that. But it was worth knowing it. "That is... impressive."

"Next question I'd have..." Marika thought for a moment, then had it pop into her head. "What do you feel like is the hardest part of being Captain-Commander?"

Marika was beyond stunned at his answer. She had expected something serious, but not that serious. There was so much raw emotion in the monologue he gave. She watched the lines on his face intensify. He was no longer just a handsome bachelor. He was a battle-hardened warrior who knew the exact number of the entire Gotei Thirteen. He was lamenting for everyone who was lost. He hated himself for allowing it. This was the side of the Captain-Commander that no one else had seen as far as she knew.

Marika had always felt the Captain-Commander was close to perfect. He always just had that look that showed he was in control. And yet, this showed that he wasn't in controland he knew it. This showed that he wasn't omnipotent. This showed that he wasn't the almighty. No, J. Saionji was as human as the rest of them. But even that wasn't correct. Beneath that hard exterior, Marika saw it. It was a glimpse, and it was only thanks to her skills as a reporter that she saw it. She saw just how much better J was trying to make himself—just so he can make the Soul Society better in return.

Marika wrote every word he spoke with mouth agape. There was a long pause before she spoke. And when she spoke...


As soon as the words finished coming out of her mouth, Marika dove into herself, her heart thumping with fear. She couldn't speak anything, and it was hard for her to breathe...

Marika had fucked up. This was the biggest fuck-up in the history of fuck-ups. Off alllll the fuckups she could have done, that had to happen. She'd rather have come in naked than what just happened. She was trembling. She didn't know what he would do. She thought back to the cheap romance stories published in the magazine and blushed harder–a feat many would think impossible. Her eyes were shut painfully tight as the silence continued. She was expected a rebuke. She was expecting a lot of things, most of them not good. But the few that were good...
Slap.

No, Marika. Stop thinking about that.

Instead, Marika was surprised to hear him asking if she had more questions. That single quote would take up the rest of the article space, something she hadn't anticipated. Besides that, any further questions would be tainted by what she just said. Rather, what she just realized. Marika slowly looked up, but she could only look as high up as his chin without cowering back down. "N-no, sir. I-I-I I think I have e-everything c-covered. W-what you said is going to t-t-take up a bit more t-than I t-thought..." Through her stuttering, she shook her head. She was almost ready to leave now. And then, she froze. "Me for questions? I mean, questions for me?" Oh no. Oh no nonononononono. Nope. What was he going to ask? There were so many different options and none of them good. Was he going to get her room number so he could send the 2nd Division to quietly erase her? Was he going to get her room number to come visit her in the night? The thoughts rushed through her head, always with a good thought played off of a bad one.

Marika sat as upright as she could too as the interview was turned around on her. "Captain Gogetsu...? He's been a very good Captain." Marika thought for a moment The man in front of her was the Captain-Commander. He'd want the truth. The whole truth. And nothing but the truth. "Although not as good of one as you were, sir. He flirts a little much for some people's tastes, but he never presses it long enough to be an actual harrassment issue..." Marika nodded, mostly to herself. "But overall, he's handled the Sixth Division well."

As the questions turned to the Bulletin, there was a hefty pride in her voice. Although she still stumbled over a word or two, she was confident in speaking about the Seireitei Bulletin. "Mainly we operate to provide communication throughout the Gotei Thirteen. Festival announcements, news of a new Captain or Lieutenant... That sort of thing is what we tend to spread. As of late, the Bulletin has mainly been about interviewing the various Captains. We're going to be doing a Lieutenant's special starting once your interview is published. Part of this is for the Academy, so that graduates that have a choice of Division can choose which Captain they might want to serve under. Someone might be offered the choice of... the Ninth or Tenth Divisions, but might find Captain Igarashi too... loud for their tastes based on his interview. For your interview... I think that's more of an overall appeal for the Gotei, not specifically just the First Division."

"The audience really depends on what the cover story is about. For the interview with Captain Senju, most sales went to men. For the one with Captain Asami, it was primarily women. For Captain Fujisaki's, it was about half-and-half, with a surprising leaning towards women. We tend to understand these trends and end up putting other articles that supplement the cover story." Marika thought of how to answer his question about the other Captain Saionji. She decided to be a little less matter-of-fact about it. "The other Captain Saionji's interview was the most sold edition so far. We're still doing reprints. His hair's popularity is solely with women it seems."

And then, he called her out. Marika's face reddened again. She looked down, staring at his desk as she responded. "Ummm... Partly, sir, yes..." She was embarrassed that she had been called out on it. Was she being that obvious? "It has been difficult trying to get this interview done—you were meant to be the second interview after Captain Gogetsu. So I wanted to get you something to show my appreciation" and affection, she thought. "But I also haven't asked any of the other Captains that question either."