Chapter 1: Arrives
Beneath the blazing glare of the Sun, within the towering fortress of white stone, ripples of haunting whispers rose all across the divisions of thirteen. Soldiers wearing black over white uniforms spoke tales and fibs about their returning comrades, having been sent away on assignments meant only for them by order of their supreme General of Captains: Captain-General Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto.
"Hmm... I see." A deep, gruff voice resounded throughout the open room, his subtle remark demanding attention to each word he spoke. "Very well. I hereby reinstate you back to your duties within your division until you are needed once more. An investigation into the matter will be made for now." Sunlight pooled into the room through the balcony, simmering down against the wooden desk and the long ribboned beard of the man behind it. His eyes were narrow, solid, and sharp as they reflected against the light like a well-aged, polished blade, cutting down anyone who dared cross his stare. Currently, they were pointed across the room to a young solider kneeling down before him, his head cast down to cause his long lavender bangs to shade his eyes from the flooding rays of daylight. "Is this understood?" A simple nod from the soldier signified his response. "Dismissed!"
Within the Eleventh Division of the Thirteen Court Guard Divisions, one name rose above the others. The name of a high ranking officer, whose blood lust outmatched all the other bloodthirsty brutes residing in the blood bathed division . An officer as fierce as the demon they called captain. A being appearing not as they truly were.
"Hitoshi Kimyou." Saluted the poised young man. "Reporting for duty, Captain Kenpachi Zaraki." The man addressed looked over his shoulder, raising a bare brow towards the dark lavender banged officer as his large frame laid upon the couch centered in the middle of the office, the black symbol of the Eleventh Division etched onto the long ragged white robe, glaring out at the young officer. "Who are you again? And what do you want?" Zaraki spoke blunt crudeness while he scratched his fine toned stomach in a laxed manner. He hummed in aggravation, having been snapped out of his slumber from the door slamming to a shut when his supposed subordinate let himself in. The young officer blinked his violet eyes in a wide stare at his captain before going on to introduce himself again. "I'm Fourth Seat, Hitoshi Kimyou; part of your division, Captain Kenpachi. I've come back from my previous assignment to resume my duties under your command, Sir." Zaraki gave another rough hum as he gazed an observant glance at the so-called Fourth Seat.
The man had a petite figure from what could be seen through the baggy draping of his uniformed robes. His focus guided up to the man's slender neck, leading to his thin oval head, over his thin pale lips, small pointed nose and sharp heavy-lidded eyes that flickered an intensive flame beneath the calm of ice and steel. All framed around two long arching bangs of lavender, the only length of hair on his crew-cut head. The captain of vicious brutality continued his harden stare at the subordinate with an unsheathed keen eye, tightening his gaze while Hitoshi tighten his lips as the time tick, ticked by them.
"Fourth Seat, huh? Forgot we had one..." The dull bluntness of his captain's nonchalant response felt like a hit to the head with a brick. At least he would've be able to dodge an actual brick. "I-It's understandable why you'd forget, Sir. I have been gone a long time." Despite having said this in mid nervous laughter, inside his mind stormed anger and disapproval. 'As If! He's a goddamn Captain! He should know who all his seated officers are! Twenty-six years or not, he still should have known who his fourth seat was!' Although there was a raging storm inside his head, it did not disrupt the solid structure of his poised composure.
"I don't give a damn. Unless ya going to offer me a fight, leave now." The gruff growl from the disturbed captain resounded from his throat as he addressed the newly discovered fourth seat. "Sir, I'm only here to receive any orders you wish to give me." Hitoshi spoke out in earnest, his brows frowning from impatience in trying to fulfill his responsibilities now that he had return from his previous assignment. There was a pause, extend by silence, before he finally received his orders from the disgruntle captain. "I got nothin' for ya. Do whatever you want." There was nothing else that needed to be said, only to respectfully dismiss himself and leave the captain be as he was.
Striding down the lumbered hallways, a swarm of pondering glances from the Soul Reapers within the Eleventh Division barracks were cast up towards their unknown superior as they were passed by with a neglecting gaze. They tried to figure out who this mysterious person was, with only a few remembering his identity as a high ranked officer in their division. Stepping outside, off the desk to the courtyard, the loud whispers and off sided stares continued to surround him as he briskly walked towards an isolated area in the courtyard, away from the small huddles of men that littered about the grounds. Including one consisting feathered eyelashes and another with a blinding bright cranium .
"Hey. Who's the new guy?" The bald man questioned outright to his companion while they stood against the raised desk. "That's Fourth Seat Hitoshi Kimyou. He recently came back from a special assignment given to him by Captain-General Yamamoto." Calm and collected the man with feathers answered as they both observed the individual in question from their position, watching as he started his training with the basic movements of swordsmanship. "How long has he been gone for?" "About 25 years. Really, Ikkaku, shouldn't you be aware of who your officers are? Especially one seated right below you?" "I just thought he left us or dropped dead somewhere." "Honestly, how could you assume something like that? Don't you think there would be some kind of commotion, if any of those happened?" "Look, Yumichika, I don't give a shit on what goes on with him and it's pretty damn obvious he doesn't give one fuck about any of us either." "True, he has always been a bit asocial. Even back when he attended the academy, or so I've heard." The two continued to converse openly about the subject in question as the subject began upping his training by doing more complex swordsman techniques.
"Hey Baldy! Whatcha two talking about?" a high-pitched shrilling voice of a child torn through the calm open air, catching the two men off guard before a girl with bright pink hair wearing black robes attached herself to Ikkaku's shapely round head. "I'VE TOLD YOU BEFORE! I'M NOT BALD!" Ikkaku raged, his hands pawing all over his body to catch the little pink squirt while she happily chanted "Baldy~! Baldy~!". Meanwhile, Yumichika paid no mind to their routine activity as he went on to answer the question. "Good Afternoon, Lieutenant Kusajishi. We were just discussing the reappearance of Fourth Seat Hitoshi Kimyou." A subtle point over to the man in question brought the attention to the tiny lieutenant, who had been busy salivating and gnawing on Ikkaku's head. With a renewed interest, the young lieutenant gave an intense gander over to the fourth seat, finding trouble remembering him with just the sight of his backside towards them. With a swift turn and stroke of the blade, dark pink eyes widen to the familiar locks of arching bangs swaying into view. There was no mistaking those locks of lavender.
"Maegami-chan!" The child lieutenant chirped aloud before abandoning Ikkaku's head to occupy Hitoshi's. He didn't take much notice to the new occupant plopped on top his head, continuing on with his training, until his head was nudged back, setting him into a state of shock. The little lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi, had her teeny tiny grips on his long bangs, using them like reigns on a horse. He froze in his stance as a counter response while Yachiru kept pulling on his bangs with a wide grin on her cute little face, telling him how much she missed him and his bangs; in truth, she just missed playing with his bangs with little care for him at all. He suddenly started to turn his head side-to-side, up and down, and all around, slowly at first before gradually speeding his movements until he was practically bucking about to get her off. Whirling his whole upper body around and around, his efforts only gained fistfuls of giggles and laughter from the pink haired rodeo star. The two onlookers could only watch on with deadpan stares paired with large dews drooping down their heads, until Hitoshi came to a sudden halt, hunched over while Yachiru furrowed her brows in curiosity, wondering what had happened to her bucking bronco. Several moments passed, the third and fifth seat beginning to wonder if their lieutenant had broken him, before he rose his head with eyes flashing a ferocious glare, his feet shifting into the dirt before taking off into a speedy dash. A burst of pressured air erupted in the area where Hitoshi once stood, heading headlong towards the stone wall surrounding the division with no signs of stopping as they came closer and closer to it. Yachiru held tight to his bangs, shouting with glee while riding on her subordinate's head, unfazed by the approaching danger standing firmly in their way. They were a yard away when the stampeding officer slammed his foot into a skidding halt, gliding across the dry dirt until his face met the wall with a mere two inch to spare. The abrupt stop caused the tiny lieutenant to be flung overhead, pushing herself off his head at the same time to avoid colliding, instead landing softly on top the tiled roof.
"YAY! That was fun! Let's do that again!" Yachiru squealed with bubbly excitement which popped when noticing the retreating motion of her playmate heading towards the front courtyard.
"Awww, Maegami-chan doesn't want to play no more?" She pouted with a finger to her lip.
"Appears that way." "I don't think he wanted to play in the first place." Ikkaku and Yumichika casually commented as they approached their disappointed lieutenant, watching Hitoshi as well as he walked in long strides pass the grounds until, that is, he was stopped by a thunderous bellow.
"Hey! You're that missing Fourth Seat, right?" The attention of everyone in the vicinity came focused on the thuggish brute at the gateway entrance with three other brutish goons standing in crooked intimidation behind him. Hitoshi gave no response while he stood solid in place, showing his attention on the fellow officer with a turn of his head and a keen neutral gaze meeting a hard stink stare.
