Author's Notes: Point commissioned by BlueBlazeFire0 from deviantART. The character Yui is owned by her.
Ice Love
Meeting
The first day she met her Captain, she was completely flabbergasted. It was just before her graduation from the academy. She, along with her entire class, was asked to line up while the Captains of the 13 Court Guard Squads with their Lieutenants inspected the newest recruits. No one knew where they were going to be place at the time, only they were going to meet the heads of the Squads. One by one, each Captain came in with their Lieutenant behind him or her in a parade like fashion.
Yui Kusakabe was tall compared to many of her graduating class. She stood at 5'7" and had an average body built. The others around her were mostly shorter than her. She had black hair down to waist with blue bangs, which matched her blue eyes.
She watched as the Captains walked by her but there was one in particular that caught her interest. He was quite shorter than her and had a very young looking face. He didn't even look old enough to be a Soul Reaper, let alone a Captain. But his haori proved he was a Captain. She couldn't believe this guy.
As the parade drew to a close, there was one Captain she saw approach her and he gave her one look and scowled before continuing on. "Not worthy enough," he retorted, passing her.
She gasped in shock as his Lieutenant stepped by her only to have a Captain stop in front of her. He gave her a warm smile. "Do not mind him," he started in a sooth gentle voice. "He's always like that." He then continued on, showing he had no Lieutenant following him.
Already being forewarned not to speak, she gave the man with the white hair a curt nod, waiting for the parade to be finished. When the Captains and Lieutenants finally left the courtyard, it was only then the students were able to breath easy once again.
Yui was a calm and gentle girl who loved having spare times, though being in the academy that was often difficult. She loved hanging around her circle of friends and would never abandon any them. Yui was a kind and helpful young woman and would not abandon another in trouble. She wasn't afraid to act out on her own and would take matters in her own hands from time to time. Yui was also somewhat proud and not afraid to get physical with those that challenge her authority or brag about her abilities. She also could be very emotional, allowing her emotions to control her at times.
Breaking from her formation, Yui left the courtyard, knowing it was ok to leave the area. There were no scheduled classes but everyone had to remain close by in case one of them was called to have a one on one with a Captain or two. Going over to a nearby eating bench, she decided to wait there until her name was to be called to speak with a Captain, if it was to be called.
When the time finally came for her to be called forth, she made her way to one of the classrooms, not knowing whom she was about to speak with. Just as she was about to open the door to the classroom, she could hear voices speaking. One was a woman. There were six Squads with a woman as either Captain or Lieutenant. At least it narrowed it down a little.
She then heard the word 'Captain' from that woman which meant she was a Lieutenant and there were only three Squads with female Lieutenants. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door and then entered.
"You wanted to see…" she stopped short. There before her was the bustiest Lieutenant she ever knew and that one short Captain she thought shouldn't be even a Captain.
Yui saw the woman grin. "Well hello there. I'm Lieutenant Matsumoto. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Thank you," Yui replied.
The short one gave her a curt nod. "We have a few questions to ask you," he started. "One being, I saw the look you gave me earlier and I wish to know why you gave it."
Yui gulped. She didn't think she made a look.
Lieutenant Matsumoto tilted her head. "You can be honest. This isn't a formal meeting. We're only here to know what others think. This isn't going to…"
"Rangiku!" The short one slightly snapped.
The woman frowned. "Sorry, sir."
"Well…I…" she began, feeling a little self-conscious.
"As Rangiku so bluntly put it, you're not being judged here. I just wish to meet those I've asked for on a personal level."
"I think you're too young to be Captain!" she blurted suddenly.
He quirked a brow. "A bold move. But honest, I like that."
Yui gawked at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Rangiku laughed. "It means not many people will actually say that about him. Captain Hitsuagaya graduated a few years ago and was strong enough to become Captain not long after entering the Squad."
"Rangiku!" Toshiro did not like how his Lieutenant spoke about him so casually. But then again, that was Rangiku. He then sighed. "It is true, I am the youngest Captain in the 13 Court Guard Squads, however do not be fooled by my appearance."
"I'm sorry," she said. "So what is this meeting about?"
Rangiku giggled. "As I've said, we're only here to know what others think."
"What would you like to know about me?" Yui asked.
"I happened to overheard Captain Kurotsuchi make a rude comment," Toshiro replied. "Did he upset you?"
Yui was taken aback by the comment; surprised the short Captain would do that. "Well I…" she paused. "I did feel insulted. But the last Captain said not to take it seriously."
Toshiro chuckled. "That's Captain Ukitake for you. He's always gentle towards others. I do have one more question to ask. Why do you feel I shouldn't be Captain?"
She felt like she was being put on the spot. "Well…I… You're shorter than those in the academy."
"And that makes you think I shouldn't be Captain?" Toshiro asked. "One thing you need to realize about Soul Reapers, even Captains. Never judge our strength based on our size. The Lieutenant of Squad 11 is only child size, smaller than me."
Yui lowered her head. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. As we've said this is informal. I wish you luck on where you're placed." Toshiro replied with a nod. "Now if I'm not mistaken Captain Ukitake wishes to speak with you."
"Thank you," Yui answered with a bow. She then turned away to head down the hall where Captain Ukitake was waiting for her.
In the coming months since joining Toshiro's squad, Yui was quick to become fast friends with Rangiku and would often speak to her informally, even in front of their Captain. Yui thought of Rangiku as an older sister, finding her amusing to hang out with. It was Rangiku's idea for the two to try and get to know each other on a personal level. It didn't take long for the two to become best friends, always hanging out together and shop with each other.
But Rangiku wasn't the only who caught Yui's attention. Yui often would find herself thinking of Toshiro and not by means of Captain and subordinate relationship either. After she began her career in the Squad, she was quick to learn Toshiro was nothing like how he looked. Yeah, he looked like a kid and he full well knew that. But he sure did not act like one. He was very professional in his work and wanted to be sure everything was done properly.
Eventually the day came when Toshiro was commanded to go on assignment to the World of the Living. He had asked her to accompany him. He could have asked Rangiku, but he felt Yui's tenacity was probably best. Besides he couldn't find Rangiku, which was nothing new for him.
"What seems to be the problem?" asked Yui as they exited the Senkaimon.
Toshiro's eyes darted around looking for anything. "There is a missing team," he replied. "And I've been asked to check it out. About 15 minutes ago, I sent out a scouting party. We should be rendezvousing with them in a few minutes."
"Any clues as to why the team vanished?" she asked.
"None," he answered. "There were a few Hollow sightings here and a team was sent to investigate. However, they did not check in on their regular schedule."
"And it's now your job to find out what happened to them if they are even still alive."
"Exactly. And I asked you to come to help give you more experience. You haven't had too much experience with fighting Hollows in the World of the Living."
The two continued, going further away from where they had just entered the world. They kept their eyes peeled and made their way to the advanced scouting party. Yui felt relieved when they connected up with the scout party. She was beginning to get nervous for them since there was already missing members of another Squad.
"Anything?" Toshiro commanded.
One of the men turned to the sound, knowing the voice all to well. "Nothing. We are using the tracker made from Department of Research and Development. So far there are no solid leads though we think we did pick up a faint trail from three days ago when the team were to have last reported in."
"It's better than nothing," Toshiro answered. "What sort of trail?"
"According to this," another man started, showing him the device he received from Squad 12. "There's light foot prints dating back three days ago and it went off in that direction. However, the foot prints though light, have a bit of a deeper indent at the ball of the foot, as if indicating whoever made them were running."
"Then that is the direction we shall go," Toshiro commanded. "It's not much of a lead, but it's all we got for right now." His eyes then narrowed. "You three will take the lead. Yui, you're with me, bringing up the rear. The rest of you, you're in front. Keep your guard up. If any trouble, I will get you out."
"Yes sir!" they all called out at once. Many would think the Captain would take the lead, but if whatever happened to the previous team, tried to happen again, it was best to have the Captain be the trump card.
The entire group of Soul Reapers began to make their way on the faint trail, hoping they were taking the right path. It was a long shot, but it was all they had. For what seemed like forever, the trail finally turned completely cold. The men in front stopped.
"What's going on?" Toshiro demanded.
One of the men turned to the short Captain. "Sir, the trail… it's gone."
"Gone?" Toshiro blinked.
Yui stepped forward. "May I see it?" she asked.
The man holding the tracking device handed the object to the woman. She began to look at it closely. Turning it on, she began to backtrack until finding the faint lines of the footprints in the ground. She then turned and very slowly began to walk back towards the group.
Toshiro saw her brows crease in concentration. "You pick up anything?"
She shook her head. "The trail ends here like they vanished." She looked to her Captain. "There is only two things I can think of that happened. Either they were consumed with nothing remaining for evidence or they ended up being thrown."
"Either way, we're stumped," Toshiro replied. He looked to his men. "Fan out! Keep in radio contact at all times and do not stray too far. Each of you are to have a partner and do not let the partner out of your sight for anything."
"Yes sir!"
"Yui, watch my back!" Toshiro commanded.
"Yes sir!" she nodded.
The group then split up, leaving their Captain and his eighth seat where the trail went cold. Toshiro and Yui weren't alone long when the hairs on the backs of both their necks soon stood on end.
Toshiro slowly brought his hand to the hilt of his sword. "Yui…"
"Yes… I feel it," she whispered, wrapping her hand around her sword. Her other hand was holding the scabbard, flicking the sword slightly from it so it would be easier to pull out. "A hollow and it's huge."
"Let's hope the team who went missing was not killed by this thing." Toshiro's eyes darted around; trying to determine which direction the hollow was advancing from. One thing was for sure, he was grateful they were not anywhere near civilization.
"CAPTAIN!" Yui screamed suddenly as the Hollow suddenly appeared directly before her through a Garganta.
"Damn!" Toshiro cursed, pulling out his sword as Yui tried to escape its grasp. "Get out of there!" he yelled.
"AHHHHHHH!" she screamed as the Hollow took a swipe of its hand. It was like it was swatting away a bug or something. Yui felt the pain first before realizing she was airborne.
"Reign over the Frosted Heavens! Hyorinmaru!"
The sky turned dark suddenly as Toshiro's Zanpakuto transformed slightly, giving a long chair at the end where he then grasped it with his free hand. Twirling it twice he then threw it towards the Hollow intending to wrap it around the Hollow's arm. Immediately upon contact the arm froze in thick ice. Toshiro then pulled back, snapping the arm off like it was a twig.
The Hollow howled in pain, giving Toshiro time to flash step over to his injured subordinate. "Yui!?"
Yui was clutching her side as blood was seeping through her uniform. "Captain…" she breathed.
Toshiro took a stance directly in front of her, protecting her. "No way in hell am I allowing you to take anymore of my comrades!" He noticed Yui's Zanpakuto was on the ground by the beast's feet. Probably when it slammed into her, the pressure forced her to let go of her sword.
"Captain…" Yui tried again.
"No, you stay put and don't move. The more you move the worse your injuries will become. I will handle this." He was very concerned for Yui's well being, he could see from the corner of his eye the blood continued to seep through her clothes. He had to get her help and fast but right now he had to deal with the hollow and he could see the beast was stronger than a normal hollow.
His attention was drawn away from her as the beast turned its ugly masking gaze towards him.
"You will die Soul Reaper!" it breathed out deeply.
"No, I don't think so," Toshiro sneered. "No hollow can fool a Captain of the 13 Court Guard Squad."
It opened its mouth, a red beam forming just at the mouth.
"A Cero!" Toshiro gasped. Quickly turning, he rushed to Yui, grabbing her and flash stepped away, just as the beast fired the blast, creating a crater where Yui just was.
Toshiro appeared some distance away, carefully lowering Yui to the ground. He could see she was losing a lot of blood. "You're to stay awake. That's an order Eighth Seat!"
Yui fought to keep her eyes open as she looked at her Captain, vision blurry. "Yes, sir." She tried to sound serious. She knew by the sound of his voice he was extremely worried about her. It wasn't often he would command her so harshly either.
Toshiro turned towards the Hollow. "Time to end this quickly and get you back to the Soul Society." He knew he could defeat the beast without his bankai.
With his Shikai still activated, He then jumped up, swinging his chain once more to connect with the other arm. As the chain wrapped around the arm, Toshiro gave it a pull, causing more ice shards to rain down to the ground. But he didn't stop there this time. While the frozen arm crashed to the ground, Toshiro pulled his sword up over his head, getting ready to strike the monster down.
"Time to end this!" Toshiro yelled as he swung his sword back over his head, slicing it down and through the hollow, not stopping until the Zanpakuto no longer was hitting flesh. He then deactivated his Shikai as he turned in time to see the hollow turn to ice and shatter before during to dust. The once good soul of the hollow was now able to travel to the Soul Society to live in one of the 80 districts of the Rukongai.
With the hollow gone, Toshiro rushed back to Yui just as she lost consciousness. He pulled out his sword once again and opened the Senkaimon.
"Team, I need to head back to the Soul Society at once, Yui has been injured by a Hollow and she's pretty bad. I will return as soon as possible. Any more problems return to the Soul Society immediately and report to me."
He heard many 'yes sir' through his radio before he made his way to the Soul Society and then straight to Squad 4 to get assistance. Hopefully they'd be able to save her. Yui was important to him. More important than he ever imagined and until now, he never thought of it as such. He was attracted to her and had been since the first day he met her when she thought he didn't look old enough to be a Captain.
"What happened?" asked Captain Unohana as Toshiro arrived in her Squad barracks hospital section.
"Hollow attack," he simply replied. "She didn't stand a chance."
"Take her to room 4 and I will see what I can do."
Toshiro nodded and carried the bloodied woman to Squad 4. For several moments he watched the good Captain do what she could to save the woman he cared for. Once Yui was bandaged up, and there was nothing more Retsu could do, Toshiro, knew he still had a job to do and with Yui in good hands, he felt he could leave and return back to his mission.
Yui slowly woke, finding herself in a bed, staring at the ceiling of what she could immediately tell as Squad 4. She turned her head to see Toshiro asleep in a chair nearby her bed. His head was leaned over in an odd angle against the side of the chair while his arms were folded across his stomach. His Zanpakuto was leaning against the chair, on the floor.
"Captain…" she weakly called out.
Just her weak voice alone, stirred Toshiro and he was quick to sit up, his cerulean eyes staring at her with worry. "You're awake!" he gasped. He then smiled. "Good."
"What happened?" she asked.
"After I defeated the hollow you finally lost consciousness. Immediately I brought you here. Once you were taken care of, I returned back to the World of the Living where we found the survivors of the missing team. They were ambushed by ten hollow. Two members of the team lost their lives before there was only one left. The final one sent them crashing away from the scene as you predicted."
"Guess I missed a lot." She turned her head. "I'm sorry for getting hurt."
"Why apologize, it's not your fault. You had no idea the Hollow was strong," he protested. "You have nothing to apologize for." He pulled his chair up closer to her bed. "I'm just glad you're ok. Captain Unohana will want you to stay here for a few days before releasing you and then after that, you will remain off active duty until I feel you're ok."
Yui looked at her Captain and then blushed. He was close to her, almost too close. She could feel his hand nearly touching her hand and he wasn't acting like a Captain to a subordinate. Her heart began to flutter. She did have to admit he was extremely handsome though he was considerably shorter than her. But height didn't matter. So what she was taller. He was extremely smart and knew what he was doing. Better than many in the Squad.
"I'm glad you're ok," he replied quietly as his hand reached over and touched hers. "Yui, I don't know what I would have done if I lost you."
Her breath hitched in her throat. His words and touch were making her skin feel like it was on fire. What was going on? She knew he was cute and all… but now… she couldn't stop her heart from fluttering at his gentleness, something she never seen before from him.
"Thank you, sir," she whispered; afraid if her voice went any higher, it would squeak.
He gave her a smile. "Rangiku's been worried about you as well," he continued. "When I return to the barracks, I'll inform her that you're doing better."
She gave a slight nod, with a small smile, voice completely leaving her now. She didn't know what to say about the matter. Her
lips went dry as he continued to sit a little too close to her for being her Captain.
His fingers lightly brushed along her knuckles almost as if he didn't even realize he was doing it. Soon though his fingers left her hand and he pushed himself out of the chair, standing back to his full height.
"Well I should get back to the barracks, before Rangiku completely tosses my office in disarray," he announced suddenly.
Yui giggled at his words. She knew Rangiku often could make a mess of the office and often would even hide sake in there too where their Captain couldn't find it. Of course the busty woman would sometimes get caught and she would squeal in fright when their Captain got very stern.
When the short young man left, Yui deeply sighed. She had to figure out why her heart was fluttering so much with him in the room. It never did that before. So why now? There was only thing she could think of that could answer it and it was something she really didn't want to admit. She was developing a crush with her Captain.
