Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, but I do own Datenshi Ekibyougami and Kasumi, so HA! Oh, and Arianri, too. I used the name from my World of Warcraft character…pathetic, I know.
I know I should be working on my other fic…but I can't help it! Please don't hurt me! I'm almost finished with the next chapter for that one! Though why I'm doing this when I could be updating on that one though is beyond even me. And I'm the authoress. Meh. I think I'm just lazy. Oh well. On to the story.
Note: this is set some years after Aizen and his goons are done with. I don't want to deal with the plotline of the manga, which is giving me some difficulty with my other fic.
Chapter 1
Even though some time had passed since Aizen's defeat, Yamamoto still did not know what to do about the situation regarding the Captain positions.
Sure, he could always just promote the former Lieutenants to full Captain Status, which he did do with Shyuuhei, but there were problems there too. Izuru Kira and Momo Hinamori were a little too unstable to be able to do the job properly.
Luckily, he had thought to put Ichigo Kurosaki in charge of 5th. Thankfully, Hinamori had transferred her loyalty onto him instead of dwelling on the past.
That left 3rd division the only one without a Captain. It was managing fine, for now. There was no telling how long that would last, though. Kira seemed to have increasingly frequent breakdowns every week.
Yamamoto rubbed his temples. When Ichigo came to Soul Society permanently, Rukia had come too. She was now Liuetenant of 13th division. One more problem solved. So now, he just needed a Captain, and maybe two Lieutenants, if Kira was no longer able. The 3rd seat of Ninth wasn't ready for the responsibilities of being promoted. No one in Ninth was, after Tousen.
He had to think of a solution! Some of the former Espada had survived that last battle. Soul Society had to be ready for an attack that may come in an instant, or not at all. It worried the old man to no end.
A knock on the door drew him out of his thoughts. A shinigami he didn't recognize bowed low upon entering.
"Captain-General Yamamoto sir! A messenger from the American branch is requesting to see you, sir!"
"Thank you. Send him on in then." When the man did not move, he added, "You are dismissed."
He bowed again, then quickly ushered the waiting shinigami in before leaving. The new one gave a small bow before looking the Captain-General straight in the eyes. Yamamoto smiled. He knew this child well, even if they had only met a couple of times in the past.
"Well, well! To what do I owe the pleasure of your company—Captain-General Arianri of America?" He could not stop himself from smiling at the silver haired woman with bright green eyes. He chuckled, still amazed that someone who only appeared to be in their twenties was over a thousand years old. He would never understand how she did it.
She gave a small laugh, but it sounded forced. There was definitely something troubling her. Otherwise, she would not have made the journey personally. She could have sent a subordinate; Yamamoto vaguely wondered how things were holding up in her absence.
"In answer to your unspoken question, old friend, nothing serious is happening to us right now. My Captains can handle things for a couple of weeks without me," she spoke in perfect Japanese. At his confused expression, for she no longer had her curious accent, she tapped her head. "New device my research guys came up with. Implant this little chip in the brain—delicately, of course—and you can understand virtually any language, humans ones at least." Before he could protest on the inhumanness of this, she stopped him by holding up a hand. "Now, for America, this was necessary. We get people in with all sorts of different customs and dialects. We wouldn't be able to work as an effective team if we couldn't understand each other!
"Now, let us skip the pleasantries. There are a couple of reasons I'm here. I heard about your plight—don't ask how, I just know—so I may have a solution."
Yamamoto was interested. "Go on…"
Arianri cleared her throat nervously. "I brought along a girl I took in a year or so ago. She flew right through the courses at the academy, but that could be to her unique predicament. You see, I adopted her to protect her from everyone else. However, they still hate and fear her. It may be better here—where no one knows who, or rather, what she is."
The old man furrowed his brow. "It sounds more like you're dumping your problem onto me."
She looked affronted by this. "Of course not! I don't think I can keep her alive anymore! She has had ten attempts on her life in the past month! And she spent most of that holed up with me, coming here!"
Arianri took a deep breath to calm down. "She is definitely Lieutenant Material, if not Captain already! She may not have a Bankai, but she won't need it. She…had some special training immediately after death, before she came to Soul Society."
"What kind, exactly?"
"Maybe I should just start from the beginning. Let me bring her in, though. Kasumi! Come here please!"
A blonde head poked itself through the door. Yamamoto could clearly see her liquid silver eyes. As well as the twin scars that went from her hairline and continued through her eyes to her jaw line. (Imagine Ulquiorra's tear marks, only as scars that go all the way up to her hair.) For some reason, the scars had turned a nasty black colour. "Yes, ma'am?" she asked quietly.
Arianri patted the seat next to her, and Kasumi took the hint. She jogged over, her ponytail streaming out behind her. "Undo your hair girl! You look so much prettier with it down!" She frowned, but did what her adopted mother asked.
Yamamoto could see why she had it up; it wasn't practical to wear her hair down as it would get in the way during a fight. It was wavy in the extreme. However, it really did make her more beautiful, rather than ordinary when it was put up. A deep gold in colour, it was stunning.
"Do you want to tell him?" Kasumi shook her head no. "All right then, I will. Feel free to say something if I get it incorrectly."
The female Captain-General looked over to Yamamoto. "Some of what you may hear will be hard to believe, and I do not want it repeated outside of this room. Ever. Do you understand?" He nodded gravely. "Good. My part began when I went to the living world to do a Soul Burial. I like to do that every once in a while, to get reacquainted. Then, I found her, as a regular human soul, wandering around. She did have more reiatsu than most, potentially Captain level.
"I approached calmly, and explained what I was, what Soul Society was—the basics. She looked at me with the saddest face in the world, and said, 'That sounds like heaven. That's not where I'm going.'"
Arianri's face fell here. "She was right. I preformed the Soul Burial, and the Gates of Hell formed. I was so sad. They took her, then closed and dissolved. I turned to leave, when all of a sudden they formed again behind me! I was surprised. They opened, and she was tossed out. With a zanpakuto at her side, no less. She was out cold. A voice came and said, 'Her crimes were minor compared to what good she can still do. We have trained her a bit. She is special. We don't need her here. She scares us.' Then the gates closed and vanished. As soon as they did, she woke up. I took her with me, and that's the end, really."
Yamamoto stared at her for a second. "Where did you get those scars?" he asked, sighing.
"…In Hell…"
"She doesn't talk about what happened in there—what she saw and experienced."
"Understandable. 'Kasumi' isn't your real name, am I right?"
"No. I gave up the one I had when I was alive. It may have only a couple of minutes to you guys, but I was in there for years. That's how time flows in that place." She shrugged. "My full assumed name is Kasumi Chimamire. Bloody, or Bloodstained, Mist. I did not name myself, in case you were wondering."
While she was talking, she had risen her gaze up to meet the old man's. They had hardened to the point where they looked like steel blades.
"May I have a demonstration of your zanpakuto?" Yamamoto was truly curious to see what she was capable of. Not for long.
"Unless you wish to die, no. I got her in Hell, she is rather bloodthirsty. Any wound she delivers will not heal, and I am still learning to rein her in. Scratch the wanting blood part, she desires death more. Give me a Hollow, and I will gladly show you what she and I are capable of." There was a deadly tone in her voice. It was no wonder the shinigami from her country wanted her gone.
"Could you please go back outside while I discuss this with your superior and adoptive mother?"
She shook her head and left, sitting on a bench outside. She folded her hands in her lap, and stared off into the distance. Kasumi could hear muffled talking on the other side of the door. She wasn't really all that bad of a person; she just didn't like to talk about when she was alive or about Hell. She hoped that was what Arianri was telling about her.
Eventually, the two Captain-Generals walked out. Kasumi stood up at their presence.
"Very well, then. I'll trust you Arianri. Girl, take your belongings and this paper to my secretary. He will give you your apartment assignment. You are to report to Captain Shyuuhei Hisagi of 9th Division at noon, tomorrow. I'll let him decide if you are worthy enough to be a Liuetenant. They need someone strong over there, right now." With that, he gave a large huff and walked away. He did wave goodbye to the women, though. He did have some manners.
Arianri giggled to herself. "Here, honey. I'll come with you. Once you are settled in I have to go back home. Now, I heard from the old man that this Shyuuhei guy has some scars over his right eye! So you won't be the only one! Oh, oh—we have to introduce you to the Women's Association here. I heard its fun!"
"Mother, just where do you get your information?" Kasumi asked tiredly, giving into the demands without a fight. What a 'Demon Child' she was (she personally hated the nickname the others had given her), feeling too lazy to argue right now.
"I have my ways!"
"Right. Sure, whatever."
Kasumi picked up her duffle bag which held her meager belongings.
You ready to go? she asked her zanpakuto.
She could practically feel the sword smiling. Of course, I have no choice in the matter, right? Datenshi Ekibyougami told her.
Nope. With that, she followed her mother on an impromptu tour of the Japanese branch of Soul Society.
And there you have it, the first chapter. I promise to update later on both. Right now, it's 4'oclock in the morning. I'm going to bed. I'll explain the zanpakuto's name later. Please review.