Over 100 Years Ago, Soul Society
'Well…here I go…oh god this is bad; this is very bad. Ah I can't do this, where's my sister when I need her?' I let out a sigh, a sign that showed I was terrified out of my wits. I sighed alot when I was scared, nervous, or lost in thought. Right now it was a combination of the three, and I had no idea what I was going to do to calm myself down; I was in a bad situation. You might be slightly confused as to what I'm talking about, allow me to explain myself.
My name is Nagataka Choyo and I am (about to be) one of the many Shinigami in my family. The whole lot of my family have carried on the tradition of being a Shinigami for centauries, now it's my turn. No, my family isn't a noble family; we're more like nobles by association. My father is friends with all of the four noble families and somehow our family got sucked into the life of nobles. So I guess we're nobles in an unspoken kind of way. Anyhow, I graduated the Academy a few years back but have refrained from joining one of the Gotei 13 since my sister's been sick. She was born with a condition called lupus, that progressed as she got older. It destroyed her immune system and made her more susceptible to disease and infection; she's slowly dying of it. Her dream was to join the Gotei 13 and after years of taking care of her, I'm being forcedto join instead. I mean…I understand how important the Gotei 13 are to Soul Society, but I would have been perfectly content with taking care of my sister for the rest of my life. But my father has ordered that I join the Gotei 13, he says one of his children have to join. And since Miyo can't join because of her health, I have to in order to keep the family tradition going. God, I hate that man.
My sister helped me send out my applications to join one of the squads, she was so ecstatic about the whole thing that I wasn't going to ruin her fun. We ended up sending applications to each of the Gotei 13 to ensure that I got a spot. I didn't really care if I was seated or not, I didn't enjoy drawing attention to myself. I just hoped I'd be able to join one of the squads, as an unseated soldier, and lead a relatively normal life there. But of course that wasn't going to happen to me, my life couldn't be that simple. I ended up being placed in the fifth squad, as the seventh seat. Fantastic eh? My dreams had just flown out window. My sister flipped when she found out, she made sure to invite everyone our age to the manor for a party; she always had been the ostentatious one out of the two of us.
But moving on, I had about a week or so to prepare for my entrance into the fifth squad. Well…it wasn't really an extravagant type of entrance, it was merely me being introduced to my taicho, fukutaicho, and the rest of my squad. I'd been a little nervous that entire week and now that I was standing in-front of the door to the fifth squad barracks, I was absolutely terrified. Miyo would have been excited had it been her, bouncing around and dancing to her own beat…me not so much. Miyo and I are complete opposites when it comes to our personalities. I'm more quiet, shy around people I don't know, extremely nice, and I try to keep to myself whereas she's loud, confident, slightly obnoxious, and she's very social. It's not that I don't want to make friends, I'm just afraid to. When you get close to someone you form a bond with them, and I'm afraid of someone using that bond to hurt me. It'd happened a few times in my past, and now I'm trying not to get too close to anyone. Hopefully people here would be different then people from the Academy, I could only hope.
Another difference from my sister and myself is our looks. My sister has dark pink hair that hangs a few inches above her shoulders, with her bangs pushed off to the side slightly covering one of her golden eyes. She's taller than I am, standing at a height of 5'7. She has an athletic figure, with her curves in all the right places (that are slightly over- developed for her age). She has ivory colored skin, but it's a tad darkish for ivory if you ask me. She's the more girly one in the family, wearing some type of kimono almost everyday, and the more attractive one out of the two of us. She's actually engaged to a noble at this moment.
Me, I have white hair that hangs half way down my back. My bangs hang slightly infront of my red eyes but not enough to make me look like a sheepdog. I'm 5'3 ½, shorter than my sister by almost four inches, and the shortest person in my family. I'm not really proud of my figure, I wish I was athletically built like Miyo but I'm not. I'm not fat or anything, but I don't have an overly womanly figure. I guess my shape is just right for my height, my curves are all compatible with my body type so that's a plus. At least I'm slightly attractive compared to my sister. I'm slightly pale though, having porcelain colored skin with white hair kinda sucks. I'm not as girly as my sister is, I don't like wearing dressy kimonos so I just wear something comfy like skinny jeans and a cute top.
Now that I've explained a little about myself you might understand why I'm so nervous about joining my squad, makes sense now right? I would hope so since I've just spilled my guts out about myself. You might be thinking, wow…why are you so nervous if you got seventh seat? You must be powerful, right? Or do you not have shikai or something? The answer is yes, I have obtained my shikai and I've been told I'm pretty tough. But I'm just a naturally nervous person; going into a new environment scares me shitless. Meeting new people, scares me shitless. And not knowing what's going to happen around these people in this new environment, scares me shitless. So now that you know why I'm terrified, lets focus on my current situation.
I took a deep breath, knowing I couldn't avoid entering my captain's office forever and quickly adjusted my shinigami uniform. I was wearing the standard uniform called a shihakushō. This consists of a white kosode, a black kimono and hakama, and a white obi sash. I added my own personal touch to it by altering the uniform to fit my own style, I don't like wearing baggy clothing so I'd actually altered the uniform itself. The kimono top and sleeves were sewed to where they were tight fitting. The sleeves go halfway up the back of my hand and have a sort of loop in the material that goes around my middle finger so the sleeves won't ride up. My top itself is off shoulders and the white kosode is sewed under the black kimono giving it a bit of a layered look. To be honest my top it just a top, it doesn't have the little easy opening in the front that other uniforms have. In my alterations I'd transformed the kimono into a plain top, but it has a little bit of a baby doll style shirt (try thinking of Nemu's dress without the belt). Pretty cool huh? The hakama pants are still slightly baggy but they're not as bad as they originally were. I still have the white obi sash around my waist but it has some awesome black designs on it now. All in all I'd added my own personality to my uniform, and my father had went nuts over it. Miyo had loved it, saying that adding your personality to something was the best thing to do. I appreciated her support, not caring if my captain got pissed at the fact I had altered my uniform. It was my uniform after all.
After making sure my entire outfit was presentable looking, I slowly slid the door open. I peaked inside and my jaw dropped; there was no one inside. 'Great, just great. He/she isn't here. Now what do I do?' I thought back to what my father had told me about meeting my captain. 'If he/she isn't here, then I enter and sit down infront of his/her desk. And I patiently wait for him/her to arrive.' I let out an exasperated sigh and stepped inside my captain's office. I slid the door shut and took a seat infront of his/her desk. I licked my lips, trying to keep my mind occupied with something other than how nervous I was, and looked around the office without really looking at it. Eventually, I got tired of sitting and walked over to the window. I stared upward, watching the clouds slowly scoot their way across the sky. It was all so calming, and now that I thought about it maybe there wasn't any reason to be nervous. That is…until I heard voices coming from outside the door.
"Sousuke I want you to finish up those reports and…" I quickly turned, ignoring the rest of whatever this person was saying, and ran back to my seat infront of the captain's desk. I plopped down, quickly pushed my hair infront of my breasts, and put my hands in my lap. I licked my lips in anticipation and almost cringed hearing the door slide open. "Now get-" He stopped talking and my mind went completely blank…what was I supposed to do again? 'Oh god, oh god, oh god! I forgot what to do…smart Cho, real smart.'
"Ano…can we help you?" a second voice asked. I stood up and turned to face two men, both with curious expressions on their faces. One had short brown hair, in a shaggy type of style. He wore glasses infront of his brown eyes and seemed to be very rehearsed for some reason. I was getting a bad aura from this guy, but I tried not to think on it. He had a badge on his arm so he was apparently the fukutaicho of this squad. The other man had long blonde hair with bangs and hazel colored eyes. I was getting a very laid back kid of aura from him, as well as some other feeling in my stomach. What was it? I mentally hit my emotions realizing what was going on in the subconscious part of my mind and looked to see he was wearing a white haor; that was something a captain wore. 'So…he's my captain then?'
"Hi…ano…I'm Nagataka Choyo." I said, more like mumbled. 'Great, now I'm coming off as embarrassed…fantastic.' "This is the fifth squad, right?" 'And now I'm coming off as stupid, I already knew the answer too! I just need to keep my mouth shut.'
"Yes, it is." the fukutaicho said "Taicho, I forgot to mention our new seventh seat was arriving today." He nodded, rolling his eyes at his fukutaicho, and gave me a big smile.
"I'm Hirako Shinji, taicho of the fifth squad." I nodded, my cheeks felt warm. 'Damn it, am I blushing? Oh shit.' "What was your name again?"
"Nagataka Choyo." I repeated. Hirako nodded stepping forward, his hand outstretched. I smiled, taking his hand. It felt nice holding his hand, it made me feel comfortable…was that supposed to happen?
No, not at all. It's different for you dear one.
"Welcome to the fifth squad, Choyo." he said shaking my hand. I felt my blush heat up, now it probably was noticeable.
"I'd prefer if you called me Cho." I mumbled. His grin widened, if that was at all possible, and he nodded.
"Kay, Sousuke aren't ya gonna welcome her to the squad." he barked, finally letting go of my hand.
"Gomen taicho, welcome to the fifth squad Nagataka-san. I'm Aizen Sousuke, fukutaicho of the fifth squad." Aizen said, quickly introducing himself. I managed to smile through my blush
"Arigato Aizen-san." I said. I watched Hirako…I mean Shinji, walked around to his desk and take his seat. I couldn't help but feel slightly awkward standing there, I really had no idea what I was supposed to do. 'God…imagine if I had come here straight after the Academy. Now that would've been intimidating.'
"Sousuke get ta working on those reports." Shinji ordered
"Hai, Hirako-taicho." Aizen said, sitting at his desk.
"Cho, go on an' sit down. Don't be so nervous." I nodded, still blushing, and sat back down infront of his desk. Was me being nervous that noticeable?
Well of course it is, your face is practically screaming it. I mean, have you seen your blush?
He pulled out a file, I was guessing it was mine, and skimmed through it.
"It says here you graduated the Academy a good two and a half years ago. Third top of the class in marks, kido second top of the class, hand to hand fourth, and swordsmanship second." Shinji stated, I nodded. He looked up from my file at me. "But you've refrained from sending out an application until this month?"
"Hai taicho, my sister has lupus." I explained "I've been taking care of her since I graduated, so I didn't have time to join the Gotei 13." He nodded slightly, closing my file. Was he worried I wasn't going to be committed to his squad or something. "She has her own caretaker now so I decided I'd send out my applications since I have time to commit to the Gotei 13." I added. He nodded again, glancing at Aizen, before his gaze returned to me. I stared into his eyes for a few seconds before lowering them in embarrassment. 'Well that sure was noticeable, but I felt so at easy there for a second.'
Of course the aftereffects of staring in someone's eyes isn't awkward in the least.
"Keep working on those reports Sousuke, I'm gonna introduce Cho to the rest of the squad." Shinji said standing up. I quickly followed his example and looked over towards Aizen.
"Hai taicho, nice meeting you Nagataka-san. If you need help with anything don't hesitate to ask me." Aizen said with a genuine smile, it seemed rather forced if you ask me. I nodded, smiling a little bit.
"Arigato Aizen-fukutaicho." I said. Shinji sighed boredly and headed towards the door. He slid the door open and looked back at me. I followed behind him, crossing my arms over my chest, another thing I did when I was nervous. He exited the room, and I quickly followed him out. He slid the door shut and looked down at me. 'Great, he's taller than I am. How fantastic is this?' I felt my blush spread across my cheeks again and lowered my eyes to the wooden floor.
"Why're ya so nervous Cho?" Shinji inquired. I glanced up through my bangs and pressed my two index fingers together. I twiddled my fingers saying
"I'm just the nervous type." I mumbled. He shook his head, slightly amused, and placed his arm around my shoulders. I felt my blush darken, and he led me off towards the fifth squad's training grounds.
"There's no need for it." Shinji said "Everyone's been a newbie at one point, it's natural to not have a clue what yer doin." I nodded and bit down on my lower lip, another habit of mine. "Just don't be intimidated."
"Ha ha, that's not possible for me at all." I said, holding my right arm with my left hand "I don't know anyone."
"Now that's a lie." Shinji said. I looked over at him confused and he grinned. "Ya know me dontcha?" I giggled slightly and nodded. "Then there's no need at be afraid." I smiled to myself and nodded again.
"Arigato taicho." He smiled a sincere smile, and I glanced down blushing…again. God what was wrong with me today? I normally never blushed this much.
Someone's got a crush!
Shut up, damn it.
He removed his arm from my shoulders and opened the door to the training grounds. He let out a sigh and walked on in. I quickly followed behind him and he shouted
"Alright listen up!" Everyone stopped what they were doing and a silence fell across the grounds. 'Great…this means I'm going to be the center of attention.' "I'd like ya'll to meet our new seventh seat, Nagataka Choyo." Shinji glanced back at me hiding behind him and rolled his eyes. "Stop that." He grabbed my arm and gently pulled me to stand in front of him. I glanced up at all the curious faces and quickly lowered my eyes. 'Scratch that, this is way more embarrassing than meeting just the taicho and fukutaicho.' "I expect you lot ta help her out since this is her first day." I glanced up to see nodding from some of the stronger looking Shinigami, I was guessing they were like the more experienced in the squad; their seats were probably the lower numbered ones. "Cho." I turned to face Shinji and he smiled apologetically. "I have ta go to a meeting with all the taichos, so I'm afraid I won't be able ta help ya with yer training for a while. Stop by my office later and let me know how this lot treated ya." I nodded and bowed my head in respect.
"Of course taicho, arigato." I glanced up through my lashes and his grin widened. He turned on his heel and head out of the training grounds without another word. I took a deep breath and turned to face my squad.
"So let's see if you're really seventh seat material." a voice said 'Well…here goes nothing.'
Thanks for reading, reviews would be nice. Let me know if I kept Aizen and Shinji in character and advice on how to improve the story would be a plus =]