Chapter One – 18 Years Later
"Come on, Captain." Izumi grumbled, growing more exasperated by the second.
As the man before her continued to abstain from awakening, she could only resume her prodding of his shoulder in hope he might wake in the very near future. It was, of course, a naïve hope, although Izumi was stubbornly ignoring that fact.
"Captain Nakamura." She repeated, this time a little louder.
Shuzo Nakamura grunted, furrowed his thin eyebrows before relaxing once more. He was a tall man, who measured six feet when standing, although this was not something Izumi often took note of as she was just as tall. He wore his brown hair in a short plait, although his current nap had resulted in quite a few strands escaping it, as well as the dishevelling of his uniform. It had ridden up so that it obscured his long chin and mouth, drawing attention to his eyes and crooked nose.
"It's highly advisable that you wake up now." Izumi tried again, still poking him.
When he didn't respond, the well buried frustration within Izumi arose from within, forcing her to choose a more violent method of awakening.
The pair were situated in the barracks of the Tenth Division, inside Shuzo's, Captain of that same division's, office. The design of the building had placed the office on the ground level – which was where Shuzo firmly believed it should remain – and beside the Tenth Division's training yard.
Izumi moved around the room quickly, shutting the windows and doors so that the room was not only in darkness, but also so that no one could peek inside and witness the unfortunate state that their Captain was about to enter.
Swiftly, in a sure movement that didn't match her timid demeanour, she used her foot to sweep underneath the legs of Shuzo's chair, the other pushing against the chair's back. He landed with a crash, a loud, "Shit!", and an expression of such pure, uncharacteristic terror that Izumi cracked a smile.
Calmly and as if she had not just tipped him over, Izumi said, "It's about time you woke up, Captain."
He mumbled something under his breath, which was most likely a curse, before pushing himself onto his elbows.
"May I ask why I am on the floor, Lieutenant?" he inquired.
"You may." replied Izumi seriously.
Shuzo's jaw clenched, before he asked, "Why am I on the floor?"
"You wouldn't wake so I decided that this was the fastest and most efficient method to get you up." She responded, as if the answer were obvious; which it, to her, it was. "You could have avoided this, however, if you would only cut back on the amount of alcohol you drink."
Shuzo was, by now, on his feet. His expression turned from that of an irate man to one who was ready to commit various illegal acts as a consequence of his immense fury. Izumi knew that though she had to admit to being part of the reason why, it was also due to the man's immense temper that appeared only when newly parted from sleep.
"And," continued Izumi, knowing she was digging her own grave, "I think it's about time you shape up."
"Izumi?"
"Yes, Captain Nakamura?"
"Draw your weapon."
"We shouldn't fight in your office; we'll only destroy it and have to pay for the repairs."
Shuzo growled low in his throat. "I don't even care anymore, because you know what?" Izumi shook her head as if to say she didn't, "I'm so pissed at you right now that I'm going to destroy wherever it is we fight, and I'm going to destroy you with it."
With a slow smile and exasperated shake of her head, Izumi replied, "You can only try, Captain."
"I would very much like to." He admitted, just as calm.
Izumi rolled her shoulders, loosening her muscles so that she could utilize her speed and dexterity in a battle with someone has physically powerful as Shuzo. She regretted the fact that a spar with the man would most likely destroy the carefully erected bun in her hair, however comforted herself with the knowledge that it would, at least, free Shuzo from his bad mood. Just as she prepared herself, so did Shuzo. Although he didn't have his zanpakuto on him, he was proficient in other forms of attack that would be just as efficient against his Lieutenant Izumi.
The pair would have soon made a move against the other, if not for a timely interruption.
Captain of the Eighth Division, Shunsui Kyōraku, threw open the office door, took one look at the situation, and froze. "I hope I'm not interrupting something here." He drawled.
Izumi sighed softly – for she had been secretly relishing the chance to battle her Captain – whilst Shuzo grunted in annoyance.
"Not at all." He lied. "My Lieutenant and I shall just have to finish this another time."
"Of course Captain." Izumi approved happily, inclining her head.
"Ah, that's fortunate then." Shunsui smiled his half-smile. "A Captain's meeting has been called at short notice; I thought I should come here and make sure you got the message."
"A Captain's meeting? Why now?" Shuzo asked though he didn't care.
Shunsui shrugged lightly. "Your guess is as good as mine; the only thing I can think of is the disturbances in the Human World from a few nights ago."
Izumi knew to which it was he was referring. The word spreading around the Seireitei was that it had been more than just a mere rise in spiritual energy, and that there had been someone present at the time of incident; a witness. She wasn't sure what to make of it, but had decided that they were merely rumours.
"Perhaps." Shuzo agreed half-heartedly.
Shunsui turned then to Izumi, and he flashed her a flirtatious grin. "Would you like to accompany us to the meeting?" he asked.
"I shouldn't," Izumi pointed out, before adding, "But I will."
"I hope the Division will be okay without us both…" Shuzo wondered, speaking out loud as he had a bad habit of doing.
"With all due respect, Captain, you're asleep most of the time so it hardly makes a difference." Izumi pointed out.
"With all due respect, Lieutenant, you're wrong." Replied Shuzo, causing Izumi to smile softly and disagree with a shake of her head.
They followed Shunsui from the office, neither attempting to take the lead as the focused on their bickering instead.
"You're forgetting the almost perfect score I received for my theory exams when I graduated from the Academy." Izumi pointed out.
"Yes, it was almost perfect. I, however, receive a full hundred percent for my own exams." He argued.
Izumi attempted to reason with him, as she had always used logic as her weapon. "In your day they didn't mark as harshly as they did for me."
Shuzo paled at the remark, his hands flitting to his face. "I'm not that old, am I?" he asked, fingers searching for wrinkles.
At his genuine concern for his appearance, Izumi couldn't help but laugh. She reached over and pulled his hands down to his sides. "Older than me." She pointed out, honestly. "And I'm pretty old."
"And you still look as beautiful as you did one hundred years ago." interjected Shunsui.
A blush seeped red into her cheeks, and Izumi ducked her head to conceal it. "Thank you, Shunsui."
They reached the door leading outside the Tenth Division's barracks, and seeing that it was shut, Shuzo jumped forward. He quickly shouldered his way past Shunsui, opening the door to let the two through. They both muttered a quick thanks to him as they passed, before dropping back so that the three walked in a row.
Izumi stood in-between to the two Captains, scouring her mind for a topic of conversation.
"How's the work going?" Shunsui asked, beating Izumi to it.
Shuzo shrugged, unsure how to answer without revealing his increasing habit of ignoring his duties.
"I've been keeping on top of it." Izumi supplied.
"Of course you have been." Shunsui chuckled.
Shuzo then, in turn, asked, "And you?"
"Oh, you know me." replied the Captain.
Izumi smiled up at him. "So I'm guessing Lisa has quite a bit of extra work then."
"Not at all, I would never force that on one my Division members!" he defended.
"Really?" asked Shuzo, before asking, "Anyway, how's Jūshirō?"
He looked to Shunsui when he said this, and the other Captain held up his hands in response.
Why ask me?" Shunsui wondered, "His sister is right here." He indicated to Izumi by placing a hand on her head.
"I just thought you might see him more." Shuzo explained nonchalantly.
Izumi took the opportunity to interject, saying, "Captain, are you even aware that I live with Jūshirō?"
"What? I thought you lived with Ayumi!" He exclaimed, groaning.
Izumi's smile returned, amused by Shuzo's idiocy. "I do." She said. "And I live with Jūshirō. Ayumi and I were housemates for a time, true, but then she destroyed most of it practising her kidō. Jūshirō's estate has enough room for us all, and it also means that I can provide him medical attention should he need it on short notice."
"I hadn't thought of that." Shuzo conceded.
"Apparently not." Izumi muttered under her breath, amused.
Shunsui began to laugh, having heard the comment. "You should make an effort to get to know your Lieutenant, Shuzo." He advised.
"I do! I know lots about her." He insisted, whining like a child as he spoke.
"Then what's her favourite colour?" countered Shunsui.
"Blue." asserted the other Captain. "Blue, like my eyes."
Shunsui chuckled softly, "It's yellow, actually."
"Actually," interrupted Izumi, who found her voice at last, "You're both wrong. I don't have a favourite colour. I appreciate them all equally."
Shuzo jumped around at this knew information. "Ha!" he shouted triumphantly, pointing his finger at Shunsui. "You didn't know it either!"
Since they were both distracting each other, Izumi took the initiative to grab them both by their wrists and turn them in the correct direction. Had she not, they probably would have walked straight into the approaching wall.
"Okay, I'll settle this once and for all." announced Izumi, letting them go. "If you know me at all, you should be able to answer this one. Do I, or do I not, like summer weather?"
"You don't." Shuzo and Shunsui chorused together.
Izumi smiled broadly, glancing between them both, and gave them a pat on their arms. "Congratulations, you both win." She praised. "Now I suggest not waiting any longer; not all of the Captains are known for their patience."
They trio stopped before a set of wooden doors, the entrance to the Captain's meeting. Though the two men couldn't quite recall how it was that they had arrived so fast, they did see the truth in Izumi's words. Shunsui opened the door this time, waiting for Shuzo to enter before he did.
"See you soon, Izumi." Her own Captain promised, before turning away.
Izumi nodded, before resigning herself to the wait.
It was common for her to appear outside these meetings. She didn't care much for the confidentiality of the information exchanged, and neither did Shuzo; he had always told her of all that happened during the meeting regardless of what she did. It was routine for her, and if Izumi was to be absent from her habitual eavesdropping activities, then something would have to be seriously wrong.
This tradition had only come to exist about eighteen years ago. Izumi knew that almost all of the Captains were aware of it, although none berated her for it. They trusted her, and understood her reasons for doing so.
It was ten minutes later that Izumi decided to begin her walk around the building. The entire meeting room was surrounded by a wooden path, which creaked in deliberate loudness. Izumi was petite enough that she could walk quietly with ease, her familiarity with where to step also helped with the silent journey. She turned the first corner and was met with a familiar sight.
Lisa Yadōmaru was crouched underneath one of the open windows, ear to wall and back to Izumi. She turned, as if sensing the attention, but smiled when she recognised who it was. Izumi hurried over, before kneeling beside her companion.
They had known each other for a number of years now, and though they were similar mostly in appearance only, found themselves getting along quite well. Izumi had first met Lisa upon her promotion to Lieutenant in Shunsui's Division, although she had suffered many conversations with the man regarding the 'beauty and purity of such an intelligent, charming young woman'. It hadn't taken long for Izumi to establish that Lisa was anything but pure.
"Anything interesting?" Izumi mouthed to Lisa, who shrugged.
They returned to their mutual eavesdropping without another exchange for a good, few minutes. Very soon, it became clear that something unusual was going on within. Izumi was aware that Captains meetings didn't normally take this long, as the Seireitei had typically been dull and inactive in recent years. As such, the Captains meetings were a mere formality wherein each Captain would report that they had nothing to report, before they went on their way.
This time, however, something was different.
Izumi lifted her head so that she could actually hear what was being said.
"This situation," Captain Yamamoto was saying, "must be handled delicately. Until you receive direct orders from me, there is to be no action regarding the matter."
"Head Captain?" Izumi recognised the voice as Shuzo's.
"Yes?" came the reply.
"I would like permission to make this information known to Lieutenant Izumi Ukitake, as well as Third Seat Ayumi Kobayashi."
There was a silence, during which Izumi could focus only on her rising heartbeat, before the Head Captain replied, "You have permission."
Shuzo thanked the old man, who cut him off with a curt dismissal of the meeting.
Izumi shrunk down to Lisa's level, who shot her a quizzical look. "How does it concern you?" she asked.
Izumi wondered this as well. "I wasn't listening when they discussed what the problem was. I know you were, but I think I'd like Captain Nakamura to explain it to me."
Lisa looked as if she might argue with her friend, only Izumi had shunpoed away, leaving Lisa alone and confused.
Around at the entrance, Izumi stopped just as the Gotei Thirteen's Captains began to emerge from the meeting room. First came Kensei Muguruma, a muscled, silver-haired man, along with the Eleventh Division's Kenpachi Kiganjō. Then it was Love Aikawa, followed by Ginrei Kuchiki. Retsu Unohana emerged next, Izumi's old Captain, and though she cast a glance over to Izumi, she quickly began to walk away. Yoruichi Shihōin came also, walking alongside Shinji Hirako and, at last, Shuzo Nakamura.
Izumi began to fidget as her Captain approached. The typical light-heartedness and humour within his eyes was gone, leaving them bereft. He was frowning, and while this itself was not unusual, his chewing of his lip was a sure sign that Izumi really did have something to be concerned about.
"Izumi." He called, making her freeze.
"Yes, Captain?" she replied, keeping her cool.
He reached her, grabbing his Lieutenant by her shoulders so that she couldn't move. "How much did you hear?" he asked quietly.
"Only the last few words." Izumi confessed.
He nodded, although whether or not it was in approval was unclear. Izumi caught Jūshirō and Shunsui looking her way from over her Captain's shoulder.
"What happened?" Izumi inquired. "Is it to do with the incident from those few nights ago?"
Shuzo nodded. "What else would it be?" he replied rhetorically. "And I would like for you to hear me out before you run off."
"Yes, Captain." Izumi replied stiffly, finding her mouth dry and the words hard to say.
He nodded again. "Good. Well, they did find a body at the coordinates of the reiatsu spike. She isn't dead, and she has been brought back to the Soul Society so she can be healed properly."
Izumi was about to ask why, only Shuzo answered before she had the chance.
"She wasn't human, that's why she's here. They found a shinigami there, and it wasn't someone who had been posted there-"
"No." muttered Izumi, attempting to step backwards.
"Yes." Shuzo countered. "You were right; she has come back."
Again, Izumi insisted, "No." Shuzo's grip tightened, forcing Izumi to look to him.
"If anyone could do it, it would be her." Shuzo remarked. "But she's here, now. They found Ruka."
Izumi's eyes went wide, and though she looked at Shuzo, and she knew that Jūshirō and Shunsui lay behind him, she saw nothing but her face. It had been that same face that had haunted her dreams for years. Fierce, angular, framed by a short mass of dark, wavy hair. Always shouting, finding something new to be angry about, and saying what she thought when she thought it. For as many years that were spent hoping she'd come back, Izumi spent just as many trying to forget. Now, just when Izumi was beginning to learn how, of course Ruka Sasaki would pull a stunt like this.
She did always like causing trouble.
Whilst Izumi was still trying to figure out Shuzo's words, she blurted out in a voice she thought didn't sound like her own, "Really?"
"Yes." Shuzo confirmed.
Izumi wrinkled her nose. "And this isn't a dream?"
Shuzo pinched her cheek so hard it hurt. "Nope. Unless you just woke up."
"Good, good…" Izumi murmured, and then came to a decision that led her to add, "Okay, bye."
Before anyone could stop her, Izumi pulled away and ran for it. The first opening she had, and she was shunpoing over as many rooftops as she could manage. Izumi knew she had all the time in the world, but she was hurrying like it was the end of everything. It made sense to her. There was no reason as to why she shouldn't run, and since the laws of the universe were no longer in play, there was no reason as to why she couldn't be impatient.
As she ran, Izumi prayed she was actually going where she wanted to go. But Ruka was back, and so nothing would ever be certain for a long time now. The internal monologue of Izumi's thoughts soon changed from 'nonono' to 'yesyesyes' when the truth began to register with her.
Izumi reached the Third Division barracks with the realisation dawning that Ruka Sasaki wasn't dead.
Shuzo hadn't made it sound as if she was very alive either, yet the fact remained that she still wasn't dead. At this point, anything was better than dead.
Shinigami moved from Izumi's path, as if they knew she had found a purpose she would kill to reach. Even when she accidently knocked someone, Izumi didn't stop to apologise. She ignored it, pushed it to the back of her mind, and almost felt like crying when she reached the office belonging to the Third Division's Third Seat.
The door opened loudly, startling the single occupant inside from whatever inane task she had been investing herself in.
"Oh, my beloved Izumi!" Ayumi Kobayashi cried, "You've finally come to rescue me from this hellhole!"
Without hesitating, Ayumi jumped over the desk and bounded forward. Izumi slammed the door shut with such ferocity that Ayumi reconsidered giving her a hug.
"Izumi?" she asked hesitantly.
Bluntly, and without unnecessary details, Izumi said exactly what she was thinking. "They found Ruka."
Ayumi's hand curled into a fist, and Izumi knew no more.
This is probably the longest scene I've ever written, and I usually make them shorter so as to skip the travelling between locations bit. But whatever, I hope it was believable and it makes sense (sort of, I don't want you to know everything yet).
Read and review.