Week after week, the same thing. The same -fucking- thing. Zaraki Kenpachi would stand in line with the other Captains, listening to the old man rattle off up to date info about Soul Society, Seireitei and the real world... Kenpachi didn't care. Why would he? Why -should- he? Unless something was going on which would require Kenpachi to kick someone or somethings ass, he couldn't care less about what the old man had to say.
And so Kenpachi stood there, wondering how much sake he had hidden away in his office... That was one of the things he was good at - looking as though he were paying attention, as though he cared. Having to watch out for Yachiru was great practice. He cared deeply for the girl, that was obvious to most people (although they didn't know -why- and weren't stupid enough to ask), but to be honest, listening to her go on and on about candy, or things she saw in Rukongai could get annoying. If she were anyone else, Kenpachi would tell her to shut up and leave him alone, in a fairly rude manner. But it was Yachiru, and rather than hurt her feelings, he pretended to show interest in her ramblings.
After wondering about the sake, his mind began to think of other things. Kenpachi found himself looking at his fellow Captains and, in a strange way, began inventorying their strength in comparison to his.
First there was the amazoness, leader of the Onmitsukido and one of the few female Captains. Inwardly, Kenpachi snorted; yeah, she was a strong woman, as women went, but a fight with her would be a waste of time. It'd be over before it started.
The new Captain, Mister I-Can't-Hold-My-Liquor or something... Kenpachi didn't know much about him, nor what his powers were like since he didn't overlook his test. But from what he heard, and from the new Captain's aura, Kenpachi saw no contest.
The second, and last female Captain, the prissy healer. Were Kenpachi not in the meeting, he would just -laugh-. He was pretty sure he would kill that Captain, inadvertently, if they were to ever fight. Damn healer chick and her Squad... a Squad full of pussies as far as he was concerned.
The Nobleman. Stuck up snot. How the hell had Ichigo had such a problem with that Captain? Pink flowers and swords? Pfft... pussy. Strong battle aura, sure, but not stronger than Kenpachi.
Foxface. He was a friend of the blind man, wasn't he? "Friends" as far as Kenpachi was concerned, usually had the same virtues, and as the blind guy was so caught up on justice (a disgusting weakness, Kenpachi thought), he figured Foxface was too. Justice would only prevent a person from using his highest potential.
Eighth Squad womanizer. He might give Kenpachi some fun, but he was the type to "make love, not war," so it'd be a waste of time if they fought. Unless he would strike up a full blown battle aura, like Ichigo, his strength was nothing compared to Kenpachi's.
Child prodigy. Kenpachi inwardly laughed.
Psycho scientist. In a way, Mayuri gave Kenpachi the creeps, but he -did- help create his eye patch. For that, Kenpachi respected him, but that was it. Science could never beat brute strength.
The sick cripple. Could he even wield his zanpakuto anymore?
Lastly, there was the old man. Kenpachi had heard rumors, and in a way, he supposed the old man was one of the strongest, but Kenpachi didn't -feel- any aura emanating from the old man. Maybe he was just getting too old. Even if the old man could still fight, he was too stuck up on rules. He would only limit his strength by following them.
Overall, Kenpachi was fairly annoyed, and disappointed, that none of his fellow Captains could put up a fight like Ichigo could. As far as Kenpachi believed, he was the strongest Captain. Sure, it was a nice inflation to his ego, but it was also fairly boring. Now, if those traitors, Aizen and Ichimaru, were still around... -They- would put up good fights.
Adjusting his weight to rest on his left foot, Kenpachi peered to his right. The old man was still rambling. Ugh, how long would this meeting last? Before Kenpachi could go back to thinking about his sake, something caused him to stand up straight; something had caught his attention.
Turning to look towards the entrance, the 11th Squad Captain stared at the door. But rather than see a person walk in, he felt an immensely strong aura. And despite himself, he grinned. -This- was the type of aura he had wished one of the other Captains had. -This- was the type of aura Ichigo had. But it lacked one thing Ichigo's aura had: fear. Kenpachi felt his tongue run over his lips. Whoever this person was, Kenpachi wanted to fight him.
"After having passed the taishushiken before myself and two other Captains, Akuuno Keiko will be filling the position of 9th Squad Captain," the old man's voice reached Kenpachi's ears.
Her? The strong aura that Kenpachi was salivating over was a woman? He... was not expecting that.
The old man finally ended the meeting. Normally, Kenpachi would make a beeline for the exit, but he found himself staring at the new Captain. She was off to the side, speaking to the cripple and amazoness. The first and foremost thing in his mind was that he needed to fight this woman. He didn't know how, or when, but he knew he -had- to.
Kenpachi was not the type of person to think; he acted. But for the first time in a while, his mind went into over drive as he tried to think of a way...
"If there's anything you need, or have any questions, feel free to ask," Ukitake-taichou smiled down at Keiko, as friendly as ever.
Keiko returned the smile. "Thank you. It's nice to know a few Captains are so nice," she replied.
"I'll show you to your Squad," Soifon-taichou cut in, turning to look at the shorter woman.
Keiko nodded, first to Ukitake-taichou, then to Soifon-taichou. The newer Captain followed the 2nd Squad Captain towards the exit, but paused, her brow furrowing. A slight shiver ran up her spine before she turned around to find a very -large- man, standing across the room, staring at her. She raised an eyebrow, slightly curious as to why the bulldozer of a man would find such an interest in her, but when she caught his gaze, she simply smiled.
"You should probably avoid him," Soifon-taichou muttered, watching Keiko.
"What, is he gonna eat me or something?" she chuckled, turning to look back at Soifon-taichou.
The leader of the Onmitsukido shook her head before grabbing Keiko by the wrist and physically pulling her out of the meeting room. "No," she started, letting go of Keiko once they were walking towards Squad Nine. "Zaraki is..." Soifon-taichou paused, trying to think of a word. When nothing polite or poetic reached her tongue, she finished with: "psychotic."
Keiko stared at the older woman.
Seeing that her description didn't help things, Soifon-taichou remained silent for a few moments, trying to find some way to describe the 11th Squad Captain to the newest Captain. "He just isn't the type of person you want to associate with. He is a strong Captain, perhaps -the- strongest, but he doesn't always follow the rules. He's reckless, wild and I'm pretty certain he's mentally insane."
Keiko couldn't help but laugh at Soifon-taichou. For as long as she had known the older Captain, Keiko had never heard her speak ill of another person.
"Besides," Soifon-taichou continued, "he's the only Captain around now who actually killed the previous Captain to take his place. He doesn't even know his zanpakuto's name, and thus is the only Captain who cannot release his bankai. And anyway, by the way he was looking at you, he more than likely only wants to pick a fight with you."
Didn't know his zanpakuto's name... couldn't use a bankai... Keiko found this very interesting, and filed it away for possible future use. When the last thing Soifon-taichou said finally reached her mind, Keiko tilted her head to the side. "Sounds like fun." She grinned when the older woman frowned. "What, can you blame me?"
Soifon-taichou simply sighed and shook her head. "Just don't say I didn't warn you." She stopped and pointed before her. "And here is your Squad. Like Ukitake-taichou said, if there's anything you need, just ask."
"Thank you, Soifon-oneesan," Keiko grinned.
The older woman shook her head, but smiled before bidding Keiko farewell and returning to her own Squad.
Once alone, Keiko inhaled deeply, her hands slipping into the opposite sleeves of her Captain's jacket and gripping her forearms. So, she was officially the Captain of the Ninth Squad. In a way, it was intimidating, but she smiled to herself and made her way towards the Squad's main building.
"Hisagi-fukutaichou, do you know anything about our new Captain?"
"I heard it's a woman!"
"We don't need a Captain!"
Hisagi Shuuhei sighed quietly as his eyes wandered over the assembled 9th Squad, his Squad, as it had been since Tosen turned traitor. No matter how many times he explained it, they seemed to still have questions. He didn't know a thing about their new Captain, and apparently, they still found it necessary to ask him a thousand questions he couldn't answer.
"I've already told you all what I know, and, admittedly, it's not much, but it's all I know. All we can do is wait." When he saw quite a few annoyed or downtrodden faces, and a low murmur broke out, he added: "And please don't act like Squad Three did when they met their new Captain. I don't want to hear anything about -our- Squad being rude or impolite." After a few moments, the murmurs subsided, and a few people nodded. Shuuhei was glad to see his Squad act like adults.
"It's so quiet. You'd think someone died or something."
Startled, Shuuhei quickly turned around to find Keiko standing directly behind him and grinning up him. "Keiko-chan?" An eyebrow raised as he looked over the short woman wearing a Captain's jacket.
"The one and only," she replied, the grin softening into a smile. Reaching out, she gripped his hand. "It's been a while, Shuuhei-kun," she murmured, so only he could hear.
With a laugh, Shuuhei returned the grip and shook her hand. "I'm fairly surprised that -you're- our new Captain," he smirked. Before he could say much more, he heard a murmur grow behind him. Letting go of Keiko's hand, he turned around, arms crossing over his chest as he looked back at his Squad. "Apparently, I know a lot more about our new Captain than I thought." Turning so he was facing both the Squad and Keiko, he motioned to her with a hand. "Everyone, meet Akuuno Keiko, an old friend of mine and our new Captain."
For a few moments, it seemed as though Squad Nine wasn't sure what to think. They were torn between not -wanting- a new Captain and their fukutaichou's familiarity with her. Finally siding with trusting Hisagi's judgment, a few smiles and nods broke out.
Keiko smiled solemnly at her Squad, waiting until all the murmurs finally died out. "As Hisagi-fukutaichou has already said, my name is Akuuno Keiko, and I am your new Captain. I know it's not the easiest thing to have a Captain flung on you when one turned traitor and abandoned you. And I'm sure Hisagi-fukutaichou has done a wonderful job, but please, if you can't trust me just yet, then trust him. Before either of us became Shinigami, we worked together on many of our entrance exams, so we know how to work well together. So I hope -we- can work well together." With that, she smiled and bowed low.
There was an awkward silence, mostly caused by the mention of their former Captain. But putting that aside, more smiles broke out, a few people clapped, and many more bowed to their Captain in response.
Standing back up, a grin on her face, Keiko held a sake bottle in the air, which had apparently appeared out of no where. "Now, I hear it's becoming tradition to drink the night away when a new Captain joins Seireitei, so who wants to say screw training for the day and get piss ass drunk with me?" Immediately, the entirety of Squad 9 broke out into cheers and hoots.
Shuuhei laughed at his Squad's reaction. In a way, it wasn't a way a Squad should act, but he was glad to see everyone in high spirits. Leaning forward, he muttered in his Captain's ear: "It's not really tradition… More so a very stupid idea of Matsumoto's to help out Kira."
Keiko snorted a laugh after one of her Squad members took the bottle from her. "I know, but it's a wonderful idea. Just doesn't work so well when the Captain can't hold his liquor," she turned to grin at him. "Honestly though. I'm glad to be working with you again."
He smirked and nodded, turning to look towards the already rowdy Squad. "We have a lot of catching up to do."
"Tomorrow," she nodded. With a laugh, she took one of the cups of sake offered to her and blended in with the crowd, taking the night to get to know her Squad. She, unlike Amagai Shuusuke, could hold her liquor. But she had never been a big drinker, so she spent the time sipping at the same drink for the rest of the night.
Onmitsukido - Covert Ops, Special Forces; lead by Soifon
taishushiken - test used to pass / fail those who would try for Captain rank
taichou - ending given to the Captains of the Gotei 13; "unit commander"
oneesan - ending Keiko gives to Soifon (in private) to show respect, admiration and familiarity to her mentor; literally "sister"
fukutaichou - ending given to the lieutenants of the Gotei 13; "vice-unit commander"
Names
Each break is, semi-obviously, representative of either a change in time, or a change in view. Depending on which character is in control of the story, I try to make the whole occurance stronger by changes in names.
For example, with the exception of Aizen and Ichimaru, he doesn't refer to -any- of the Gotei 13 by their names. (Truth be told, it's been a while since I've seen the first arc of BLEACH, so I can't remember, for the life of me, who he called by what -actual- names.) Unless he feels they can match him in a duel, or at least give him quite a bit of excitement, he will not refer to them by their name (hence: Ichigo, Aizen, Ichimaru). Mind, it isn't exactly meant as being rude, it's just my way of how Kenpachi expresses his respect of peopele.
Then there's Keiko. Being new and mindful of it, she refers to everyone with their proper ending. I even put this throughout her parts outside of the dialogue to stress it. Yeah, I know it can get annoying reading "taichou, taichou, taichou" over and over again, but let's be honest, after a while, our eyes ignore it.
And last, Shuuhei. I had thought of giving Tosen a description rather than a name, due to the betrayal. However, I feel Shuuhei still has a little respect for the man, thus showing it through using his name, albeit his last name and without proper ending.
Captain/lieutenant
These are not grammatical errors. I purposely capitalize Captain while leaving lieutenant lowercase to stress the difference in rank.
Actual BLEACH-verse and characters (c) to all the respective people.
Akuuno Keiko (c) me.