A/N: Hey everyone, this is my first try at a fic, I'll take any type of reviews. Please let me know how I'm doing!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of it's characters. Hotarubi Kara is my own character.
Chapter One: Hotarubi Kara
Damn…that… Kurosaki… Ichigo!!
It was a sweltering summer's day in Soul Society. Most sane people had retreated inside their homes or reclined under the shade, trying to expend as little energy as possible. However, inside Seireitei, there was the sound of a single bamboo sword thwacking at practice dummies in the Tenth Division.
Long orange hair bound smartly back into a ponytail spun as a young woman went through a pattern dance. Sharp brown eyes surveyed the newly set group of the six foot tall practice dummies before there was a sudden flurry of movement, Shinigami robes billowing for a moment before disappearing an a blur of motion. Slender hands grasped the hilt of the bamboo sword as she whirled through the practice dummies; she accurately knocked apples off of every single one of their heads. Quite a feat for someone who stood just less than 5'3".
Hotarubi Kara was not in a good mood. The apples she had hit literally exploded as her sword flew through the air. A drop of the juice had hit her in the face; she wiped it with the cuff of her robe, along with some of the sweat streaming down her face.
Her situation was entirely Kurosaki Ichigo's fault. To save the Shinigami Kuchiki Rukia, he had broken into Soul Society and successfully rescued her, while uncovering the traitorous Aizen in the process. That she could live with; it was ridiculous to be assigned the death penalty because you were missing for a few months. Overall, he had done Soul Society a great service.
No, the root of her problems was what the bastard had done while in his quest to save his princess; namely, destroying the Soukyoku. It was stupid, with power like his he could have disabled it or something. Not destroyed it.
"Brooding on it won't help, and neither will killing yourself in this heat."
Kara turned to see Hitsuguya Toshiro standing in the entrance to the practice court, leaning in the shade. His aqua eyes couldn't be seen from this distance, but she could make out his strange hair gleaming in the shadow. She scowled darkly. "Hello, did you need me for something, Captain?"
"I've been given orders to check on you periodically, you know," he remarked.
"I'm only practicing my kendo. I'm fairly sure that I'm not going to explode into a raging fireball or anything in the next hour at the least."
Hitsuguya stood there for a moment, and then nodded. He had noticed a definite change in her personality ever since 'that' had happened. It made him somewhat sad, but it couldn't be helped. Turning his back, he walked away, mulling over the events of the past few weeks.
Everyone had thought Soukyoku was gone, it was destroyed, it would never be heard of again.
They were wrong.
That much energy doesn't just disappear into thin air. According to the science department, that energy had merely dispersed through the air, unable to be controlled or used. It had taken four months for all of that energy to again bind itself together, but the problem was it didn't have a host. So it chose a soul with compatible energy and simply installed itself inside.
Soukyoku had chosen to nest inside his Third Officer. Her natural power had been to manipulate flames, but with Soukyoku, the number and strength of her flames had exponentially grown day by day until there was no mistaking it for what it was. It had come to the point where Hitsuguya had received special orders from Commander Yamamoto to watch his subordinate carefully; if Kara couldn't get in control of her powers, Hyourinmaru was the strongest ice and water blade in Soul Society. It was a no-brainer, really.
He didn't like it, and knew she didn't exactly appreciate it either. Before, they had rather good friends with each other; she had carried no prejudices from looking at either his status or his appearance, and for that he was grateful. But things had changed as he was forced to treat her in a way that carried all those prejudices against her. The disturbing thing was, he couldn't really tell if she held it against him, or if she was just stressed; apart from being unable to control her powers, the other Shinigami had started to keep their distance from her to keep themselves safe from the random bursts of reiatsu which occasionally erupted from her body. What was even more annoying was that he missed his old First Officer; she was a good sparring partner and had accidently fallen through the sliding paper door to his office more than once…
"Ouch!!" Kara sheepishly rubbed her head. "Eh… you guys should really get rid of that step outside the door, I keep tripping on it!"
"That's Hotarubi, isn't it," Hitsuguya commented without even looking up from his paperwork.
Matsumoto snickered. Kara made a face at both of her superiors before standing up and brushing herself off. "Anyways," she said, pulling a piece of paper out of her belt. "This is the report of the status of some people in the squad who were injured on their latest mission-"
"Aren't you even going to apologize for ripping my door again?" Hitsuguya asked, a small stress mark on one side of his forehead.
"Right…" Kara saluted, a crooked grin covering her face. "Sorry 'bout that, Rangiku-san, Toushiro-kun."
"That's CAPTAIN HITSUGUYA to you."
Hitsuguya shook his head irritably and walked into his office, where Matsumoto was, to all appearances, diligently working. He frowned. "Matsumoto."
She looked up with her usual cheery smile. "Captain! You're back from checking up on Kara-chan?"
"Don't assume things on your own." Walking behind his desk, he picked up a brush and began to sign papers, barely seeing them. He was assigned to check up on Kara twice a day; he'd have to find her again later. "How much work have you gotten done in my absence?"
When there was no reply, he looked up. His Vice Captain was nowhere to be seen.
"MATSUMOTO!!!" he shouted, in a voice that could be heard throughout the entire Tenth Division, but the Vice-Captain wisely chose to ignore it as she whistled cheerfully on her way to go drink with Hisagi and Kira.
Gritting his teeth, he stood up and retrieved the stack of paperwork hidden behind the couch and got to work.
The day was drawing to a close. Kara paused to look at the sunset bleeding oranges and reds and yellows across the sky… just as though the entire sky were being set aflame. She sighed and began to pack up her things. No assignments had come in, and she had spent the entire day doing her pattern dances. It was time to go shower and get something to eat.
"Kara!"
She turned around at the sound of the friendly call, and saw Abarai Renji jogging towards her. Inwardly, she sighed gratefully. Renji was probably one of the only people who still treated her like a normal person, besides a couple others, and it was a relief to see him now.
Towering over her, he looked her up and down and grinned. "So this is where you've been all day, you little idiot," he sighed, shaking his head. "What the hell were you thinking?"
Kara blinked, surprised by this. "What?"
"You're soaked in sweat! Don't tell me you were practicing outside, today of all days in this blazing heat?"
"I was on my way to take a shower, thank you very much. Leave me alone, I can do what I want," she said in mock anger, shoving him playfully. "What've you been up to, I haven't seen you around lately?"
A smug look came onto his face. "Ah, but what would a lowly Third Officer know of the duties of a Vice Captain," he sighed mournfully to the sky, while using her head as an elbow rest, much to her displeasure.
"Shut up, I'll be promoted soon enough," she said, shooting back the old retort before she remembered. Gloom settled on her shoulders again. How could she even think of getting promoted when she couldn't even control her own sword…?
All her life she had dreamed of being a Shinigami, even while living in the poorest slums of Rukongai and those days of scavenging desperately to stay alive. No matter what she did or how much food she was able to steal, the thing she remembered the most clearly from those days was the ever consuming hunger pangs keeping her awake at night. Having gotten herself into the Shinigami academy, she had flown through the classes with high marks; once she had enough food to eat, everything else had seemed remarkably easy. For the first time, she could focus on things other than food, and it was a welcome change in her life, and had been a good student. She had graduated somewhat early, though she had hoped to equal the famous Hitsuguya's record, but it just hadn't happened. She graduated two years after him and had been, coincidentally, assigned to his squad.
All those hours of long work and all her effort put into carrying out every single assignment successfully… were they all going to go to waste?
Renji was silent for a moment, peering into her face. Suddenly, he slapped the back of her head. "Get going then! Weren't you about to take a shower? What the hell are you thinking, stinking up the whole place on such a beautiful day like this?"
Kara was snapped out of her gloom instantly. "For your information, you don't exactly smell like a bed of roses after getting off the practice courts yourself," she informed him.
"Such a refined lady as yourself shouldn't be spreading this stink, it's embarrassing for the rest of us fine company," he explained reasonably, as if talking to a small child.
"If you're fine company with eyebrows like that, then I must be a goddess," Kara retorted. She ducked, making him stumble as the support disappeared from under his elbow. Without hesitating, she hit a side kick in the area where no man should ever be kicked. "And since when am I a refined lady?" she asked, grinning evilly as all the color drained out of his face.
Renji doubled over, something between amusement and extreme pain flitting across his face. "Damn you bitch!" he choked as she walked away. "You'll pay me for this on the practice courts, you hear me?!"
"See ya, Renji. Try not to roll around on the ground for too long." She spared a glance back, a sad smile on her face that he couldn't see. She flicked her head back, making her ponytail swing around mockingly, before heading to the showers, listening in amusement as he yelled after her. He was trying so hard to get her to cheer up… One day, she would have to tell him how much she appreciated it.
Hitsuguya watched the entire exchange while hidden in the shadow of a nearby building with no particular expression on his face. He watched Renji's eyes closely as they followed Kara's figure until she turned a corner and disappeared, before returning back to his office again to finish his work.
Alright folks, let me know how it is so I know whether to continue or not. Also, I'm still divided about pairings, though I know there will be IchiRuki rather farther along the road... but who would make the best fit for Kara?