"Kyouraku Shunsui and Ukitake Juushirou. You two are now the new captains of the Eighth and Thirteenth Divisions," Head Captain Yamamoto declared.
Shunsui and Juushirou exchanged excited glances. After all that hard work they put in, they were finally captains. And to be promoted together, of all things! Even so, things would have been even more satisfying if a third person had also accepted the captain's promotion…
And it just so happened that this person was waiting for them as Shunsui and Juushirou left the First Division's barracks. She was leaning against the railing, staring out at Seireitei, but as the two men approached, she turned and grinned at them.
"Congratulations, you two!" she said. Shunsui and Juushirou smiled back.
"Thank you, Yui-chan," Shunsui replied, touching the edge of his sakkat.
Kamikaze Yui was also best friends with Juushirou and Shunsui. She had flaming red hair and jade green eyes. Based on looks alone, she was already very popular with men, but throw in her unique personality and the male population will be churning out stalkers left and right. Many men had asked her out, but she had rejected all of them, something that Shunsui constantly teased her for.
The three of them had met in Juushirou's and Shunsui's third year at the Shin'o Academy. Yui had ended up in their class, having skipped two grades. Since their first meeting, the three have been practically inseparable, always training together and helping each other improve.
Then, all three of them received requests to become captains. Shunsui and Juushirou accepted immediately, but Yui had refused. When asked why, she would say she wasn't ready for such responsibility. Later, she told Shunsui and Juushirou that she didn't want to have to do paperwork. Of course, the latter was just a joke as Yui has always shown indifference to paperwork.
"You two are going to be really busy now, aren't you?" Yui guessed as the trio walked away from the First Division's barracks, "Although I admit that the haoris look good on you."
Before Juushirou or Shunsui could reply, someone behind them shouted, "Shishou!" Startled, the three turned around just in time for a slightly shorter, brown-haired girl to run into Yui, sending the latter falling to the ground with an audible oof.
"Shishou, I've been looking everywhere for you!" the brown-haired girl cried, still hugging the life out of Yui, "Kotsubari-taicho needs to talk to you about captaincy. I've been running around Seireitei since dawn!"
"Shina, I can't…breathe!" Yui choked, ignoring Shunsui's and Juushirou's laughter. Shina immediately released Yui.
"S-Sorry!" she apologized, blushing and looking flustered.
Yaguki Shina was Yui's apprentice. When Shunsui, Juushirou, and Yui were still academy students, one of their illegal nighttime outings had led them to Shina, who was rescued from a Hollow by the three of them. Unsurprisingly, that was the day (or night) that she began to idolize Yui, vowing to become a Shinigami just like the redhead. She was currently an unseated officer of the Fifth Division, but under Yui's tutelage, she was quickly progressing into a formidable Shinigami. It would be very soon that Shina unlocked her Zanpakuto's Shikai. Trustworthy and loyal, Shina was already much respected, despite being unseated.
"It's all right," Yui waved off her apprentice's apology, "Is Kotsubari-taicho in her office?"
"I think so, Shishou," Shina replied before bowing to Shunsui and Juushirou, "Ukitake-taicho. Kyouraku-taicho."
"Hey, what's with the sudden formality?" Shunsui joked, "Even though we're captains, you can still address us as you did before."
"But…!" Shina protested.
"We don't want to feel as though our promotion has turned us into strangers, Shina-san," Juushirou explained, "Like Kyouraku said, just address us as usual."
"O-Okay then. Thank you, Kyouraku-san. Ukitake-san."
"Well, I should go find Kotsubari-taicho now," Yui sighed, "You two should go meet your new divisions. Come on, Shina! Catch you two later." She walked off with Shina next to her, her red hair billowing slightly in the breeze.
"Let's go, Ukitake," Shunsui clapped a hand on Juushirou's shoulder, "We have our squads to face."
"Kotsubari-taicho!" Yui sang as she opened the door to her captain's office, "You wanted to speak to me?"
"Ah, yes," Kotsubari confirmed. Kotsubari Rin, captain of the Fifth Division, was a medium-height, black-haired woman with dark grey eyes. Her hair was always tied up in a loose bun and there were some creases around her eyes and mouth that were showing as a sign of old age. She was prone to sickness as well, which was something that Yui constantly worried about.
"Are you okay, taicho?" Yui asked with concern, "Has Unohana-taicho sent you your medicine yet?"
Kotsubari smiled. "I received it about half an hour before you got here, Yui-chan. There's no need to worry." She broke off as a bout of coughing interrupted her.
"You sure?"
"Yes," Kotsubari answered firmly, "Please, Yui."
Yui dropped the subject reluctantly. "Understood, taicho. My apologies."
Kotsubari nodded absentmindedly. "I heard that you rejected the captain's position that was offered."
"That is true." Yui prepared herself mentally for the questions that Kotsubari was probably going to ask.
To her surprise, Kotsubari merely sighed and said, "I'm not going to ask why you refused. I'm sure you have a good reason. However, I just want you to know that I think you would make a great captain."
"Kotsubari-taicho, it almost sounds as though you're trying to get rid of me!" Yui joked. Kotsubari laughed.
"I'd never want to get rid of you, Yui-chan, but I do want what's best for you," Fifth Division's captain explained. "The Ninth Division needs to get a new captain as soon as possible."
"If it's Ninth Division, then a better captain would be Muguruma Kensei," Yui said. Kotsubari raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Well, Kensei's been in the Ninth Division since he was first assigned to a squad. He knows that division better than me. The only squad I've ever been in is the Fifth Division," Yui reasoned.
"You are very popular amongst all of the Shinigami. They'd accept you."
"Kensei is actually quite popular, too," Fifth Division's lieutenant, Hirako Shinji, said, "Taicho, if Yui doesn't want to be a captain, then you shouldn't pressure her."
"Hey, Baldy!" Yui waved at Shinji.
"Shut up! Why do you and Hiyori keep calling me 'Baldy' when I'm NOT bald?" Shinji grabbed a handful of his hair, "See?"
"It's because your reaction is funny."
"Shut UP!"
Shunsui stood in front of the Eighth Division nervously. All of the members of the division were staring at him, and he stared right back. He couldn't remember what he was supposed to say to them, and the fact that the lieutenant, Yadomaru Lisa, was staring at him critically wasn't helping.
He cleared his throat. "So starting today, I'm going to be your new captain. My name is Kyouraku Shunsui, and I look forward to working with you all!"
There was a brief silence before the Shinigami of the Eighth Division began clapping. Shunsui let out a silent sigh of relief, and Lisa stepped forward.
"As your lieutenant, I will work with you to make the Eighth Division strong," she promised.
Shunsui smiled. "Arigato, Lisa-chan."
After some time, all the members of the Eighth Division dispersed, leaving Shunsui to head for his office. Upon entering, the first thing he saw was the pile of paperwork on his desk. Sighing, he plopped himself down in his chair, pulling the top sheet of paper towards him and picking up the brush. He sat in that position for a few minutes, staring at the paperwork blankly. Sighing again, he pushed himself away from his desk and headed for the roof of the barracks, where he laid on his back, pulled his sakkat over his face, and decided to sleep the day away.
After a few hours, he was woken up by a sudden and sharp pain in his nose. He sat up, holding his face, and saw Lisa kneeling next to him, a book in her hand.
"First day as a captain, and you're slacking off already?" she asked bluntly. Shunsui grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Ah, Lisa-chan. How can you stand paperwork?"
"I don't," Lisa said, "But it must be done. Go do it."
"If you get me a bottle of sake, I'll do it," Shunsui bribed.
"Do it first. Then I'll get you your sake."
"Does this division have a lieutenant?" Juushirou asked the Thirteenth Squad.
"No, taicho. Are you going to appoint one?" Someone from the squad answered.
The captain of the Thirteenth Division shook his head. "Not now. I'll wait until I know you all better. Then I'll choose a lieutenant. In the meantime, I'd like the Third Seat to take care of all the lieutenant duties."
"Understood, sir."
Juushirou headed for the captain's office, bracing himself to face the paperwork that he knew was bound to be on his desk. However, his desk was perfectly clean when he arrived. Not a single sheet of paperwork in sight. The Third Seat must have taken care of it before I got here, he guessed. He felt glad that he had such reliable subordinates, but he also felt a little guilty at the same time for having those subordinates do his work for him.
Suddenly, he felt the need to cough and quickly covered his mouth. Holding onto the desk for support, he soon fell into a coughing bout. Luckily, there was no blood, but the coughing was harsh enough to worry others.
"Taicho!" A woman had come into his office. She handed him a piece of cloth. Juushirou held it to his mouth, hacking into it instead of his hand. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Juushirou rasped, his throat feeling as though there were thorns scraping it, "Thank you, uh..."
"Oh, I'm the Third Seat, Nabi Furin," she introduced herself, "I apologize for coming in without your permission, but I heard you coughing and thought that I should make sure you're okay."
"Ah, thank you for your concern. I'm okay now."
Furin hesitated for a moment. Then, she bowed and said, "If you say so, taicho."
Juushirou tapped his desk. "Are you the one who did all of my paperwork?"
"Yes, Ukitake-taicho. I thought that as a new captain, you'd rather spend your first day getting to know your new division. That, and I had nothing else to do." Furin smiled.
"Thank you very much, Nabi-san," Juushirou thanked her, "And you're right. I'd much rather spend the day with the rest of the squad."
Yay! First chapter done, and four OCs introduced: Yui, Shina, Kotsubari, and Furin. I actually created Kotsubari and Furin as I was writing, but I had Yui and Shina all planned out when I started this. I hope you guys like this, and reviews/follows/favorites are all welcome! :)