Disclaimer. All characters and general content belong to Tite Kubo, although I do claim ownership for Amai Shiho and any other noncanon characters, fights or locations I decide to create. The story will be rated M for language, graphic violence and other adult scenes that may or may not take place in the future.

Shinigami – soul reaper, death god.

-san suffix – similar to Mr., Ms., Mrs., and so on. It also implies familiarity.

-chan suffix – a form of san used to refer to children and female family members, close friends and lovers.

Taicho – captain.

Fukutaicho – lieutenant.

Shinōreijutsuin – aka Shin'ō Academy, aka Spiritual Arts Academy, aka Shinigami Academy.

Zanpakuto – main weapon of the Shinigami, usually a sword.

Kido – a form of Shinigami combat based on advanced spells. These spells fall into two categories: Hadō for direct attacks, and Bakudō for battle support.

Hakuda – a close-combat style of fighting, in which one is unarmed and uses only one's body.

Zanjutsu – swordmanship, fighting style for the zanpakuto.

Hoho – a defensive style of fighting which relates to footwork, it incorporates speed and agility.

Kanpai – equivalent to 'cheers', said at a toast.

Sake – rice wine.


Chapter Two
Meet the 3rd seat

.

11 years later.

It was a particularly peaceful day in Soul Society. Everyone was relaxing: enjoying the sun's sweet kisses on their skin, feeling the breeze as it gently swayed through the grass. The sound of cicadas was heard everywhere, reminding shinigami and normal souls alike, that summer was in full swing. It was such a wonderful day today, nice and quiet –

"AMAI-SAN! GET YOUR LAZY ASS UP!"

Yes, everwhere except here apparently. Why can't that guy give it a rest for once. The guy I'm talking about is Tadashi Ryou, 6th seat of the division I'm a part of. 5th division.

"I KNOW YOU'RE AWAKE, STOP PRETENDING TO BE ASLEEP."

Shiho gave an exasperated sigh.

"Shut the hell up, christ, can't one take a well deserved nap once in a while or what?" She snapped.

"Well deserved? WELL DESERVED? You have been avoiding me for TWO days straight! Do your goddamn paperwork already," Ryou fumed, "or I'm going to report you to Aizen-taicho."

The girl sent him a hate-filled glare. "Fine. Now leave me the fuck alone." She snarled.

"I really wonder how Aizen-taicho puts up with your behavior.." He said under his breath as he walked away.

Shiho narrowed her eyes at the 6th seat's retreating back and let out a sigh once the guy was out of sight.

Aizen, huh.. It's not like this was the division I intended to join, their principles are too far off from what I believe in. Sacrifice, danger, pure love, humility, sweetness.. No, the only reason I joined was 'cause they offered me a numbered seat straight out of Shinōreijutsuin – the shinigami academy.

She laid down on the wooden floor, raised her zanpakuto and stared at it blankly.

Even my zanpakuto's powers, in my opinion, are a polar opposite of what this division believes in. I really do feel like I don't belong in this squad, but hey, I was made 3rd seat just 6 years after school. Beat that.

She pushed herself up from the floor and walked inside, making her way to her room to finish the dull paperwork. Although she did have doubts about being in this division, she also knew where she stood. She was called a genius. Barely a year after landing her ass in Rukongai, she enrolled in the academy and passed it with flying colours in only one year. She was top of the class in both Kido and Hakuda, second best in Zanjutsu and fourth in Hoho. She was a very well-rounded graduate. She landed an 8th seat in the 5th division straight out of school, which was very, very impressive. And only 6 years after, she was promoted to 3rd.

Pushing the finished papers on the left side of the table, she leaned back on her chair and started twirling the pen between her fingers, deep in thought.

As comfortable I am keeping such a high number officer seat, I really should consider sending applications to different squads though. The longer I'm in here, the more restless I feel. I don't know what exactly, but something is really making my skin crawl around the captain..

She put her elbow on the table and leaned her cheek on her palm, staring at nothing in particular and huffed.

There's just no way someone can be this.. Nice. His personality really creeps me out. And I've learned to trust my instincts. But yeah, try telling Hinamori that..

Shiho rolled her eyes at the thought. The girl practically worshipped Aizen.

Since she was done with the godforsaken paperwork, she picked the pack up and headed towards the captain's quarters to deposit them on Aizen's table.

Might as well get a bath after this; a nice cold bath to cool down from the weather.


Shiho walked out of the washroom towards the changing area, wrapped in a big white towel. She stopped in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection: she really hadn't changed one bit. The same messy, short black hair, the same fair complexion and still only pushing a measly 160 cm in height. Even her eyes were the same deep purple colour. The only difference from now and back when she was a human were a few scars she had obtained over the years as a shinigami. She turned away from the mirror and picked up her shinigami attire from the chair she had thrown it on before.

After dressing she looked at her reflection once more. Her uniform wasn't exactly standard – she had tweaked it a lot to suit her better after all. She now wore a black, sleeveless one-piece that reached a little above her knees. It had a standard v-neck, which showed her cleavage slightly and the pants were just a bit baggy. Under the black one-piece, she wore a white undergarment, to give it a more 'shinigami uniform' look. She tied a pale turquoise sash around her waist to which she attached her zanpakuto. She looked good, the girl mused.

Finished in the washroom, Shiho walked out and took to wandering the streets of Seireitei. Turning the 4th corner, she heard a familiar voice.

"Shiho-chan! Oyy!"

"Rangiku-san, hey!" Shiho smiled at the woman. "What brings you here?"

"Well, actually, I just escaped from my taicho, hehe." Rangiku gave Shiho one of her innocent smiles. "Annnnd, since you're already here, let's go for drinks!"

She grabbed Shiho's hand and started dragging her towards their usual bar, where they hung out.

Matsumoto Rangiku was Shiho's closest friend, one that she felt she could actually trust, thus knowing her the best. There honestly weren't many. Through Rangiku she also became friends with Izuru Kira and she occasionally also spent time with Hitsugaya-taicho. Other than those three, she didn't really become close with anyone, least of all her own squad. Hinamori was nice and all, but she was so boring. Not to mention the fact, that she couldn't hold her liquor at all. Pity.

Before she knew it, she was already seated down in the bar, with a cup of sake in her hand.

"Yosh! Kanpai! May all the paperwork burn accidentally!" Matsumoto said in a sing-song voice.

Shiho laughed and raised her cup to her lips, downing the sake in one go. God she missed the taste of good sake.


2 hours later.

"MATSUMOTOOOO.." A growl was heard from nearby.

Shiho raised her head slowly and tried to see through her blurry vision who the rude interrupter was. Her eyes widened by a fraction, when she saw Hitsugaya-taicho's sour face next to their table.

"Hehe, hey there Hitsugaya-kun." She gave him a wide smile. "I'm sorry, but Rangiku is out cold right now, I'm sure I'll follow suit soon enough, but until then, would you like to share a drink with me?"

The captain narrowed her eyes towards Shiho.

"It's Hitsugaya-TAICHO to you. And no, I do not want to drink. Now wake up my fukutaicho."

"I'm sorry, but I believe that is impossible," she gave him a sheepish smile "you see, with the amount of sake we downed today, I don't think she will be functioning until tomorrow, to say the least."

Hitsugaya's eye twitched in annoyance, then gave an exasperated sigh.

"Fine, just get her back to her chambers and tell her" he gave Shiho a glare "if I don't see her doing her work tomorrow, I will personally hunt her down."

Not wanting to instill his anger, she dutifully carried her friend back to 10th division. After tucking Rangiku in bed and placing a jug of water on her nightstand, she left for her own home. She knew she would be, not as much as Rangiku though, nursing a hangover the following morning, so the sooner she got to bed, the better.

Once back in her room, she made quick work of her clothes, discarding them on the ground and then plopped herself on the already rolled out futon. She never bothered to make her bed, it was too bothersome. Not even 10 minutes in, and Shiho was already blissfully dreaming, dreaming of a warm, golden glow and a beautiful, wide smile.


To be continued.