Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach however the plot and the OCs are mine
Chapter Two - Explanation
Head Captain Ukitake was seated at his desk, completely lost in thought, when he heard a soft knock on his office door. Slightly curious as to who his visitor might be, and hoping that the news they brought would not be bad, Ukitake called out, "Come in."
The door of the office slid open slowly and the Squad Three Captain, Natsumi Erisawa, stepped inside. She bowed respectfully to the Head Captain and then approached the desk.
"Natsumi," Ukitake said, offering her a smile. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
Captain Erisawa took a deep breath, as thought steeling herself for what she was about to say, and then spoke in a quiet voice. "I wish to resign my post as Captain of Squad Three. I've tried my best but I simply cannot deal with the stress any longer. I know that this is highly unusual but I don't want to be in charge any more. I'd rather have a normal life."
Ukitake thought about her words for a few moments and then he nodded. "I understand. I really hate to lose you as a Captain but I don't want you to continue to do something that's making you unhappy. There's a position available in the Kidou Corp if you're interested."
Erisawa's face actually lit up at the prospect and she was grateful that the Head Captain was such an understanding man. "Yes sir, I would like that very much."
"Good," Ukitake said, offering her another smile. "I'll draw up the papers for the transfer immediately."
"Thank you so much Head Captain Ukitake."
"You're welcome." Ukitake watched as Erisawa left her office and then he sighed. "And now I'm short a Captain."
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Shiro led the way down the sidewalk, away from the high school that was now surrounded by emergency personnel, with Kasumi following along silently behind him. The girl still seemed to be stunned over their rather untimely deaths and Shiro thought it best to just leave her to her thoughts for awhile. She needed time to come to terms with what had happened, after all it was more of a change for her than it was for him.
Once the two teens had traveled a short distance away from the scene of destruction Shiro held up his hands and summoned a Senkaimon. This was a neat little trick that he'd only recently discovered that he could do. When the portal to Soul Society appeared before them Shiro took Kasumi by the hand and led her through.
As soon as the two teens arrived in Soul Society Shiro led the way across the Seireitei toward the Squad One barracks. The trip took virtually no time at all and when they arrived at Ukitake's office Shiro thrust the door open without even bothering to knock.
"Shiro-chan," Kasumi hissed, pausing at the door. She was hesitant to enter the office of the Head Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads unannounced but at the same time she felt like a complete idiot just standing around outside.
Shiro on the other hand had absolutely no reservations. He walked across the Head Captain's office and threw himself down on the sofa that was situated in the center of the room. Kasumi poked her head around the door frame, sighed heavily, and then scampered across the office to join her best friend. Better for the two of them to get into trouble together than for her to stand outside alone and look like a fool.
Ukitake eyed the young girl's rather unusual outfit for a moment before he turned his attention to Shiro. "Is there something that I can help you with Toushirou?"
Shiro remained silent, as though he hadn't heard the question posed to him by the Head Captain.
"Shiro-chan," Kasumi said in a whisper, elbowing her best friend in the ribs. "Tell him what happened."
"Is there something that I should know about Toushirou?" Ukitake asked, rising from his chair and walking over to join the two teens in the center of the office.
Shiro took a deep breath and then gazed at the Head Captain. "Okay first of all I just want you to know that this is in no way my fault."
Ukitake didn't like where this conversation was going. They weren't getting off to a very good start and that fact concerned him somewhat. "Tell me what happened."
"Kasumi and I went to a school dance," Shiro said, casting a glance in Kasumi's direction before he focused his gaze back on the face of the Head Captain. "Which I didn't want to do and there was an earthquake, which I didn't cause."
Ukitake shook his head as the appearance of the two teens in Soul Society suddenly made perfect sense. "Let me guess, you died didn't you?"
Shiro nodded. "And it was NOT my fault. Apparently the universe is conspiring against me."
"So did you tell your parents what happened?" Ukitake asked.
"Uh, no," Shiro replied rolling his eyes at the thought of informing his parents of his own death. "That's someone else's job. And before you even ask, we didn't tell Kasumi's parents either. I DO NOT want to be reincarnated again. Didn't exactly work out so well for me the last time and I can only imagine how it might get screwed up a second time."
"Alright," Ukitake said. "You two can hang out at Squad Ten until I figure out exactly what to do about this situation."
"Okay," Shiro said as he jumped to his feet, pulling Kasumi along with him. "But just remember, people know I died so you can't send me back to Squad Five."
"Try not to sound so happy about that fact Toushirou," Ukitake chastised.
"Now Dad'll have to do his own paperwork for a change," Shiro said with a smirk, enjoying the thought. "Or else teach Kaien and Masaki to do it. Either way it doesn't involve me so I don't really care one way or the other."
Ukitake shook his head, thinking to himself that Shiro's suggestion would more than likely become reality in a few years.
"Oh hey," Shiro said as a sort of an after thought. "Can you explain why Kasumi looks like a Hollow?"
"I DO NOT look like a Hollow!" Kasumi snapped, glaring daggers at her best friend.
"The shihakusho is likely a result of the fact that Kasumi can already manipulate her reiatsu and is thus really close to being a Shinigami," Ukitake explained, a thoughtful expression on his face as he stared at the girl wearing the reverse shihakusho. "And the color likely means that she retained her Quincy powers after death."
"Oh," Shiro said, then added, "She still looks like a Hollow."
"Can you please tell me why he keeps saying that?" Kasumi asked, turning pleading eyes toward the Head Captain.
"Sorry," Ukitake said. "But you'll have to get Toushirou to explain it to you."
Kasumi sighed as she allowed Shiro to pull her from the office. She'd really hoped that Ukitake would tell her since getting the information from Shiro would more than likely not be easy.
Ukitake watched as the two teens left his office and then he returned to his desk. "Well this may have solved one of my problems."
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Ichigo was sitting at his desk in the upstairs office that he shared with his vice-captain and wife Rukia when he heard the sound of someone knocking on the front door downstairs. With a sigh the Squad Five Captain got to his feet and made his way to the door. Since he was the only one home he had no choice but to answer the door however that didn't mean that he had to be happy about it.
When Ichigo reached the door he pulled it open and came face to face with a uniformed police officer. "Kurosaki-san?" the man asked.
"Yes," Ichigo said, vaguely wondering whether Shiro had finally managed to get himself arrested.
"I hate to be the one to tell you this sir," the man said, his face stoic and yet his eyes revealing compassion. "But your son Toushirou was killed when an earthquake hit Karakura High School. I'm sorry."
Ichigo's eyes widened in shock. He'd felt the earthquake earlier but hadn't given it a second thought. Forcing himself to put on the face of a grieving father, which wasn't that difficult since he really was sad that Shiro had lost his life in such a manner, Ichigo nodded. "I understand."
The police officer bowed respectfully and then walked away.
As soon as the police officer was out of sight Ichigo left his house and quickly made his way across Karakura Town to the small clinic that his dad owned and operated. Rukia and the twins were visiting Isshin and he knew that they would all want to know what happened.
However, as it turned out, Rukia had already recieved word of the earthquake and Ichigo met her and the twins about halfway between their house and the Kurosaki Clinic. "Ichigo," Rukia exclaimed as soon as she saw him. "There was an earthquake at the school where Shiro and Kasumi went to a dance."
"I know," Ichigo said in a quiet voice, thinking that his dad must have gotten victims from the quake. "Rukia, Shiro was killed."
Rukia gasped, a mental image of her eldest son appearing in her mind. While she knew that her son would just become a Shinigami due to his death she couldn't keep herself from feeling sad for him. Shiro was only seventeen and hadn't deserved to lose his life at such a young age.
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"Toushirou," Kasumi said to her friend as he practically dragged her across the Seireitei toward the Squad Ten barracks. "You have got to tell me why you think I look like a Hollow. My clothes are just like yours except for the fact that they're white."
"And the fact that they're white is exactly why you look like a Hollow," Shiro said without missing a beat.
"But I don't get it," Kasumi said.
"I'll tell you about it later," Shiro said as they reached the door of the Squad Ten Captain's office. Reaching out he knocked lightly on the door a couple of times and then stepped back and waited.
"What's up with that?" Kasumi asked eyeing her friend in confusion. "You didn't knock when you barged into the Head Captain's office so why now?"
"Ukitake's office is safe," Shiro replied as he heard a feminine voice from inside call out for them to enter. "Ran-san is a completely different story. I'd be afraid to barge in on her unannounced. You never know what you might see."
Now this wasn't strictly true as Shiro had actually entered the office several times unannounced however Kasumi didn't know this fact and his answer sounded better.
Thinking about the way the Squad Ten Captain wore her shihakusho Kasumi privately didn't think that there was a whole lot left to see however she didn't voice this opinion out loud. She merely followed her best friend into the office.
"Hey Shiro-chan," Matsumoto called out from her spot at her desk.
"Hey Ran-san," Shiro said as he and Kasumi made their way across the office toward the spot where she was sitting. The boy glanced down at the stack of papers that was positioned in front of her and then his gaze shifted back to the Squad Ten Captain. "Are you actually doing your paperwork Matsumoto?"
"Yes," Matsumoto said, sounding slightly offended. "And don't sound so surprised."
"Sorry," Shiro said although he sounded less than apologetic. "It's just that you know I have Hitsugaya's memories and it's hard to reconcile those with what I'm seeing now."
"That's mean," Matsumoto and Kasumi both said.
"Mean or not it's the truth," Shiro said.
"So what exactly are you doing here anyway Shiro-chan?" Matsumoto asked, wanting to shift the topic of conversation away from her days as a vice-captain.
"Head Captain Ukitake sent us here until he figures out what to do with us," Shiro replied as he walked over to the sofa and threw himself down upon it. Kasumi quickly followed his lead and sat down beside her best friend.
"What are you talking about?" Matsumoto asked, her voice filled with confusion.
"Oh didn't you know?" Shiro said, even though he knew full well that there was no way that she could have known. "Kasumi and I died today. I'm a real Shinigami again."
"That's wonderful!" Matsumoto exclaimed, jumping to her feet and running over to the spot where the white-haired teen was sitting. She threw her arms around him and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Now you can. . ."
"I'm not taking over Squad Ten," Shiro told her as he extricated himself from her grasp, watching as the smile melted from her face. She'd been trying to find a way to give him Squad Ten for several years now and he never tired of bursting her bubble. It was cruel, he knew, but it was just so entertaining.
"Why not?" Matsumoto wanted to know.
"I'm not qualified to be a captain," Shiro said. "And besides, like I said before, the job's just too boring."
Matsumoto sighed. "Fine, be that way. Meanie."
"I know," Shiro said, completely unphased by her words. He'd been called much worse in his life and was content to let her call him what she would.
"So Kasumi-chan," Matsumoto said, turning her attention to the young girl who was sitting so quietly beside Shiro. "Are you going to be a Shinigami as well?"
"Head Captain Ukitake seems to think so," Kasumi replied. "But he also thinks that I've kept my Quincy powers which is really weird since if I become a Shinigami then I'll be both and, with the exception of Shiro and I and his dad and my dad, Quincy and Shinigami hate one another. This is so not supposed to happen."
"Yea well that happens more often than you'd think," Shiro muttered. "And I guess the next time I tell you that we shouldn't go somewhere you'll listen to me."
"Don't count on it Shiro-chan," Kasumi said, elbowing him in the ribs.
"So Toushirou," Matsumoto said. "How exactly did you manage to get the two of you killed? Must have taken some work for it to cost both of you your lives."
"It wasn't my fault!" Shiro snapped, gazing at Matsumoto through narrowed eyes. "It was an earthquake. I controlled myself through that damn dance, there wasn't so much as one icicle the entire time we were there."
Matsumoto laughed at the boy's indignation.
A/N - hope you enjoyed this second chapter. please review and share with me your thoughts. til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.
