Title: Blaze

Length: 8 chapters; 19719 words; 56 pages

I hear the music
The music is playing
The music is soft
The music is fading

Kathryn Thompson

"I missed you. A lot."

"I missed you too. Keep your head up."

Chapter 1

As his first official act as captain of the Tenth Division, Hitsugaya Toushiro had demoted the useless old man of a lieutenant who had been appointed simply by favouritism and began searching the squad for someone more suitable for the job.

What was he looking for in a lieutenant? Hitsugaya wasn't sure himself. But he figured eventually he would come across someone competent. He scanned the personnel reports on his desk. So many souls, all thinking they would make good officers. They would all be insufferable if they got the position – perhaps not to him, but to those they'd won out over. He turned to a stack of recommendations from other captains and shinigami.

There weren't nearly as many of those as there were applications – only six or seven. He rifled through the applicants to see if any suggestions had applied – they hadn't. The pressure and the load taken off his shoulders, he leant back in his big chair and read the recommendations.

The first was his Tenth Seat officer, a man by the name of Hayashi Kinji. The Fifth Seat had put in for him with the promise that Hayashi was a loyal, intelligent man who lived to do the previous captain's paperwork. He had worked long and hard for the squad. His zanpakuto was an ice type called Touketsukaze, which had a notable feature of launching razor sharp, guided icicles at the opponent. His picture was of a dark, messy haired man with a five o'clock shadow and smiling brown eyes.

"Luis Medina" was next, recommended by Captain Komamura of the Seventh Division, an unseated officer in his division. He was reportedly Argentinean, a rarity in Soul Society – in fact, it was rare of any soul outside of Japan to become a shinigami. Hitsugaya took a quick look at his picture; he was exotic looking, with a dark, angular face and black hair that was cut to perfection. The man had served for nearly a century and had never shown an interest in advancing, though he was capable. Fluidorìo was his zanpakuto, a flowing water type. It's most memorable ability was to drown its victims in a hard-shelled bubble of water. He had gotten top marks in kido at the academy.

Next came a woman from the Twelfth Division, recommended by her captain, Kurotsuchi, named Rosalie. No last name was listed. She too was born outside of Japan; England, it seemed. She wasn't seated and she hadn't been a shinigami long. In the notes section of the paper Kurotsuchi had written I just want to get rid of her. She can probably do the work. Hitsugaya snorted. That was encouraging. It was also noted that Rosalie was her preferred name; in actuality she was Chelsie. Her zanpakuto, a high-wind type called Hurricane, didn't have any special notations, though she had yet to lose a match within Seireitei, and had hardly ever been wounded on missions. It took him a while to figure out why her picture bothered him – it wasn't her brown-at-the-roots blonde hair or her sort of unprepared smile. No, she wasn't wearing the shinigami robes. He could see her bright yellow and green shirt at the edge of the picture.

In another suggestion from Captain Kurotsuchi, with the same side note, was Alice, also with no last name. Her name was really Ashlynn. She wasn't seated either. Phoenix was her sword, a sound-and-fire type who had been rumoured to flare up without command when she was angry. Powerful, but uncontrolled. She too was dressed unusually with a teal shirt and a bright silver necklace shaped like a star. Her hair was dark, nearly black, but lightened by caramel-y blonde highlights. According to the report, she and Chelsie often went on their missions together. He got the feeling that if he took one he'd have to take the other.

Second to last came a man whose hair was dyed a ridiculous shade of orange. His name was printed as Abe Hoshi, a Fifth seat in the Thirteenth Squad. His zanpakuto, a powerful wind type called Amatsukaze, carried its victims helplessly to dangerous heights and dropped them. It could also bind or cut with wind. Hitsugaya nodded approvingly to himself.

Itami Leiko was last, a woman from his own division, also recommended by the Fifth Seat. She wasn't seated, though she'd applied several times and, according to the Fifth Seat, should have gotten the position she wanted. When he looked at her picture, he couldn't help but think that her grey-green eyes and chin-length black hair tugged at a buried memory somewhere in his head. She was reportedly very skilled with her sword, which was a power type called Kyousouzenude. When released it supposedly became a huge mallet.

He sighed and called six hell moths to himself. Each one he told a message and sent to one of the recommendations. They would meet him in the Tenth Division training grounds after lunch, no questions asked, and no possibility of avoiding. He wanted to meet them all face to face before he really decided.

Hitsugaya strolled along after a very satisfying lunch, mulling over his options. Certainly Abe had seemed most capable, and highest ranked as well. Not that that mattered, with the way the previous captain operated. None of the others besides Itami had a good grasp on their powers yet, although he was definitely one to believe that opportunity provided the most growth and thereby as lieutenants they could improve and he would have more room to help them as they needed it.

He turned into the training ground near the Tenth Division's barracks, determined to have Abe as his Lieutenant and have the rest as officers, perhaps raising Hayashi a few seats. He paused in the entryway, watching surreptitiously the friendly sparring match going on.