Yuzu Kurosaki had had a rough day at school. Karin being much more popular from her soccer playing, Yuzu was often left out from her sister's antics. She really wanted to be involved with Karin, as they were twin sisters, but they were completely opposite! "How did that even happen?" Yuzu often found herself asking. She walked home alone that day.
"Hello little girl..." A chipper voice said from behind her. "Coming home from a hard day of work... uhh... school?" He asked, completely foreign to the customs of 11 year old girls.
"I gotta go study..." Yuzu said. She had been warned about stranger danger and this guy was shady. She took a look at his face, he was smiling from ear to ear and his eyes were shut. "I'll just go..."
"You can study later..." The man said. This scared Yuzu to no extent. She broke off running, trying to get away from whatever threat she might be facing. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, but tired quickly. 'I made it!' She thought to herself as she came to a halt.
"You aren't the fit type are you?" The mocking voice said to her from right behind her. She jumped up to see the man once again.
"Go away!!!" Yuzu screamed as she started to cry. She broke out in a run again as fast as possible. The man was having no trouble following her, as he was thin, tall, clearly the runner type.
Yuzu made it only a short while longer before she ran into a brick wall. She stopped and turned behind her to see him standing there, not even fazed by their chase. Yuzu was sobbing, "Why!? Why do you want me?!" Yuzu yelled at him, cursing herself for being an 11 year old girl. She knew this wouldn't end well and started to cry even more, scared to death of what he might do. Sex? Murder? Any of the other stuff Yuzu didn't like? It could be any of these things!
The man grew closer to her, putting his hand in his coat and taking out a strange looking badge. Yuzu knew only one self defense move, and decided that this was the time to use it. Her foot went out and connected with the man's crotch. He wasn't even the least bit affected, he just tapped her with the badge and her world was turned completely around.
Yuzu hit the ground, short of breathe and still in tears, and she looked up to see the man standing placidly over her. Over her... Yuzu looked to see her body and started to freak out. She was connected by some sort of chain contraption and her body was lying completely still on the ground. "You wanna try and run?" The man asked her, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "You probably won't make it but..." He hit himself with the badge and out stepped a new man.
"You never know..." He shot two fireballs, burning both his body and Yuzu's to ash. "And it's not like you have any where else to go right?" He said with a cheerful tone just as he had before and pulled out a sword. Yuzu cried even harder as he cut the chain connecting her to the ash. Breathing became easier, but she was still extremely worried. The man hadn't put his sword away and her body was completely gone. Where could she go? She did what instinct told her to do... run...
She ran as fast as she possibly could, screaming everyone's name she could think of. Karin, Ichigo, Ururu, Jinta, even Don Kanonji. None of them were in ear shot, and she began to grow tired.
Sure running was much easier in this form, but she was out of breath in no time and once again, she was faced by the strange man. "W... why?" Yuzu asked, crying her little eyes out.
"Ohh relax, your just a pawn, it's nothing to be worried about." He said. "I'm not going to kill you... not like I did back there anyways..."
"I'm dead?" She asked him, looking with disbelief at her hands.
"That's right... you're the thick one..." The shady man appeared by her side, "Yes, but your new life is just beginning..." And with that, he hit her in the back of the head, rendering her unconscious. "That's ok... we'll fix your thick headedness..."
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Karin had just scored another goal, she was on fire today! She was a dribbling, dodging, scoring fool! No sooner had the game started did they actually call mercy on the other team. "Hell ya!" Karin said. She was glad she had taken lessons from Toshiro, even if he was just a grade schooler (HA!).
"Impressive." A cool voice said from behind her. She turned to see a familiar, albeit oddly dressed man sitting on the bleachers. "Mind if we talk really quick?" The man asked her.
"Sure Mr. Urahara, what's up?" Karin said as she went over and sat next to him.
"Just something... your sister is involved..." Urahara said, bringing out the most serious parts of his personality.
"Is something wrong?" Karin asked, now growing worried about her sister. What could have possibly happened?
"Follow me..." Urahara said. He walked only a short while to the local park. "This is the last place she was..." He stated forebodingly.
"She's.... she's..." Karin couldn't even say the next word. She couldn't lose her twin sister! Sure they were different, but they were best friends!!! "She can't be!" Karin screamed, tears gathering in her eyes for the first time since she met that parakeet.
"She's not all the way gone... her soul is still fine..." Urahara said. He touched the ground. "It was about 15 minutes ago..."
Karin broke into tears. Yuzu had been killed, and Karin couldn't even find her. She hadn't been there for her sister when she needed her most, and Karin wouldn't stand for it. "We'll get her back!" Karin yelled through her tears, "We have to!!!"
"Glad to see we're on the same page..." Urahara said, "Please, come to my shop. You have a lot to learn before she comes back..."
Karin hated the cryptic way he talked. It was disgusting, and way to hard to understand. Did he have no sympathy for her, or for Yuzu? Karin followed nonetheless. Sure she didn't like the way he talked, but she sure as hell was gonna get her sister back, no matter what it meant.
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Yuzu woke up in a dark desert being carried. "Wh... what happened?" She asked and looked up to see the man from before. Her breathing grew panicked once more but he just looked down at her and smiled.
"Don't worry." His tone was much calmer than before, soothing, but still having biting sarcasm to it. "We are saving you, and this will help to make you much stronger..." He said, setting the girl down. "You can run if you really want to... but you don't know how to get back, and this place is very dangerous for a little girl like you..."
Having pre-arranged this, a giant hollow jumped up from the ground and let out a mighty roar. Yuzu started to cry, she had only seen one of these creatures before, and she had been surrounded by her friends. Now, she felt abandoned. She felt to her knees as the creature charged at her, getting ready for the final blow to her body.
Her murderer simply patted her on the head. She looked up to see a long blade stretch out and impale in monster that had been headed straight for her. It turned to dust and vanished. "You see..." the mysterious man said, "It's not safe! Yet..."
Yuzu nodded. "Come; let's go meet your new family..." They walked, they walked forever, and Yuzu thanked the heavens that he didn't have any more taunts or comments for her, she didn't like the way he made fun of her. However, silence was equally as taunting, making Yuzu extremely uncomfortable. She assumed that he had planned this as well.
She couldn't take it any more, she finally spoke up. "So..." She said, he barely turned his head, completely expecting her to speak. She was timid, but she had no choice but to say something. "What's your name?"
"What's yours?" He asked, taunting her as he would to a small child. She went red, much to his silent amusement.
"Yuzu..." She said through her obvious blush.
"Ya I knew that..." He said condescendingly, "How come you don't know mine? Seems kinda rude..." He chided. She hated him already, but she had damn good reason. He had murdered her, taken her here, and now he was taunting her about it.
"But... but..." Yuzu saw the look on his face and knew she wasn't going to get an answer. "Alright... where are we going?"
"To a sunny desert paradise, where we will break you, beat you, and then put you back together as a new person." He said with a laugh. Even through that laugh, Yuzu could tell he was completely serious. "But don't worry; you will make new friends... and enemies..."
They walked forever; Yuzu saw no end in sight. She grew tired and eventually she had to give up. She fell to her knees. Her host didn't even stop walking as she did this and she started to cry, knowing that she may not wake up before one of those monsters ate her. She put her thumb in her mouth, a rare comfort she only indulged in when she was really sad or scared. She was both of those things as she drifted off to sleep.
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"So I have to become a soul reaper?" Karin asked blatantly as Urahara concluded his explanation. "How am I gonna do that?"
"Simple!" Urahara said, regaining someone of his goofiness. "Me, Tessai, Ururu, and Jinta and are gonna help you along, so then you can find your little sister and be a happy family again!"
"Why can't Ichigo do it? Isn't he a lot stronger than me?" Karin asked. "Why do I have to do this?"
"Ichigo is MIA..." Urahara said calmly, "Besides, don't you wanna learn how to cast spells and stuff?"
"I guess..." Karin said. She was nervous about this, but Toshiro didn't mind it, and being able to sword fight and use ice spells like him would be pretty cool. "How?"
"If you would just follow me..." Urahara said, heading down through a trap door. Karin followed placidly, not expecting to see a massive underground facility with a fake sky and rocks to match. She got off the ladder, completely speechless. "I know right!? I surprise even myself sometimes..." Urahara added.
"How does no one know this is here?" Karin finally managed to ask. "This must be big enough to be under MY house!"
"It is!" Urahara said, taking her shock as a compliment. "We have a lot of free time..."
"Clearly..." Karin remarked, regaining some of her former spunk. "So why are we here? Working out or something?" She asked as she scanned the playing field. Urahara didn't miss a beat, rather hitting her with the back of his cane.
She flew out of her body, skidding to a halt. "What the hell you jerk?!" She asked, but her breath became short and she found herself gasping for air.
"There we go; it's much harder to breathe in that form." Urahara said as he put his cane back down, "Now it gives me a chance to talk without you constantly interrupting." Karin could not object to the man, as she was barely able to hold onto her breath.
"You are currently a Plus soul, one still attached to her body. For you to become a shinigami, you must detach from the body, gain complete control over this form, and eventual learn the way of the shinigami." He summed up the complex plus to shinigami process for the girl. "Do you agree?" Karin simply nodded in consent. She didn't really care, but she wanted air... bad...
"Good..." Urahara severed the chain. "We will start with something you know well..." He vanished, reappearing moments later on top of a nearby rock. Karin was to busy with the loose chain hanging from her chest to see a soccer ball flying at her. She didn't get out of the way and was knocked flat.
"What the hell?" Karin asked as she recovered. She picked up the ball, kicking it a few times. "Soccer?"
"See?" Urahara asked, "You are already breathing better! Perhaps your brother shouldn't have been the one to send to the Soul Society..." Urahara joked. Karin was too busy paying attention to the various soccer balls Ururu and Jinta were kicking at her. She kicked a few of them back, assuming it to be somewhat of a game. Ururu kicked one extremely hard, harder than any human could, straight at Karin's head. Karin jumped up and kicked it back, landing in awe.
"How did I jump so high?!" Karin asked Urahara excitedly. "I've never jumped that high ever! I jumped even higher than my head!" She felt invincible.
"Good!" Urahara said, sarcastically clapping as he got back to the ground level of the training ground. "Now you're ready for the next test..." he said ominously as he pointed to a giant hole in the ground.
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Yuzu woke up being dragged through the sand this time. It wasn't as pleasant as her previous wake up call, but at least she was alive right? "And you thought I would leave you in the desert... you make me laugh!" A voice chuckled. Yuzu brushed the comment off. She looked up and saw a gigantic white door. She couldn't help but marvel at the size and majesty of it.
"Ahh Gin..." She heard from the side. She looked and saw a black man with a strange visor on. "You got the girl..."
"Of course!" Gin teased as he picked her up and got her too her feet. "Scratch free! Just as Aizen wanted!" He smiled even bigger; Yuzu didn't even think that was possible! The black man wasn't amused. But rather maintained his distance expression. That was, until Gin patted him on the back. "You need to loosen up Tosen! Have a little fun!!!" Gin taunted. Tosen wasn't pleased.
"Move your arm... or I will remove it..." He said, grabbing his blade. Yuzu didn't like him much more but hey, nowadays, she didn't much. Gin backed off. "Are you Yuzu Kurosaki?"
"Uhh..." Yuzu said, a bit taken back. "Y... yes..." She stuttered, terrified of the situation. He caught her off guard, by bowing politely.
"Please come with me..." He said calmly. He turned around and started walking. "Please don't doddle, Lord Aizen would not be pleased if you are late..." Yuzu felt much safer around him than this "Gin" fellow, so she followed hastily. Don't get it wrong though, she was extremely frightened and nervous. She was chewing her nails, wringing her dress; she even caught herself sucking her thumb while they walked. She corrected her behavior, imitating her guide in his posture and mannerisms. However, she couldn't stop the butterflies in her stomach from going nuts.
Yuzu still couldn't help but admiring the castle. It was simplistic, but graceful at the same time. Even with all those monsters in the desert, this place was completely serene. It was also large, and the walking thing was getting on her nerves. She began to lag behind. "Are you alright?" Tosen asked her. Unlike the last guide, he had stopped. Not only that, but he offered her a hand. She placed her hand gently in his and he helped her get to her feet.
"Are you ready to continue? Or would you like to rest a little bit?" Tosen asked her, which made Yuzu feel much better about the situation.
"Can we break a little bit?" Yuzu asked. Tosen complied. He took her to a nearby bench and sat down with her. "Thank you..." Yuzu said sincerely. She might as well go for the questions she wanted to ask the other guy. "So... where are we?"
"Los Noches, the arrancar headquarters of Heuco Mundo." Tosen said calmly and logically. Yuzu didn't know what any of that meant, but whatever, it sounded like a solid answer.
"Ok... and who are you, and that other guy." Yuzu asked him, swinging her legs to ease her stress. Tosen admired her innocence.
"I am Kaname Tosen. The man who brought you here is Gin Ichimaru." Tosen said calmly. He looked down to observe her expression, which at the time was confusion. "The man you are about to meet is Lord Sosuke Aizen. He will teach you all you need to know..."
Yuzu simply nodded before getting to her feet. "Let's go..." She said, not wanting to stall fate any longer. Tosen obliged silently, and assumed his leader roll. Yuzu had many more questions, but she was still scared, even if Tosen was much more pleasant than Gin. He had a sword, and the aura around him oozed power. The two walked silently.
It was another long walk, but they finally came to a small conference room. Kaname motioned for her to enter, and she did as she was told. She saw a figure sitting in a seat at the end of the table. "Please, take a seat..." A soothing voice told her, echoing off the walls. Yuzu did as instructed. Gin and Tosen had a strong presence, but this man... this was a brand new feeling to her. "We have much to discuss..." The man said, before taking a sip of his tea. Yuzu whimpered as he spoke, his words were heavy, almost pounding her body. She knew things would never be the same again.