Yeah, so me and my friend Rhea have had a chat today, and we both agree that this story might be going somewhere. Then again it might not.

Chapter 2: Joining the troops

Arikka looked at her reflection in the long mirror. She was extremely nervous and hadn't slept much the previous night, showing now through the slight bags under her blue eyes. It probably had something to do with today. Today was important. Today wasn't going to be a day she could just forget about.

It was her first day as a fully fledged Shinigami.

As soon as she had received news of her placement she had gone to see her father, just to make sure it wasn't anything to do with his influence. However, he had assured her it wasn't. She also knew her mother wouldn't have had anything to do with it – she hated favouritism almost as much as Arikka. But still, it was unusual. She hadn't even properly figured how her shikai even worked yet. And it had taken her the whole six years of the Academy to even get that far. And yet here she was, on her first day out of the Academy, and being hurried along into the eleventh seat of a strong division. And somehow she would have to live up to it.

But that wasn't the main source of Arikka's anxiety. No, the main source of that was plain as she gazed at her reflection. Her main worry was what her mother had done to her uniform.


"Kuchiki, you're late!"

Arikka closed the door to the hall in her new division headquarters and looked down at her watch. She was only a minute or two late.

"Sorry… err, my watch is slow."

"That's no excuse, now get in li-" the man Arikka recognised as their third seat stopped abruptly as he actually looked at her. He gaped like a fish. "What the hell are you wearing?"

Thanks, mom.

"Er, well, you see-" she didn't really know how to explain how her uniform had magically transformed over night into something that was almost unrecognisable. Sure, it was still the same black clothes and white sash, but instead of the traditional loose kimono and hakama, the top was now fitted and cut off at the elbows while the bottoms were now shorts ending just above the knee, still loose enough to fight in but undeniably tighter. To be honest Arikka was surprised her mother hadn't cut off even more material and made them into something positively scandalous. At least she had that to be grateful for.

"Yes?" the officer looked at her expectantly. Arikka gave up trying to explain.

"It's my uniform." She shrugged. The officer narrowed his eyes and she could tell he was about to start shouting at her. She hit him with a pre-emptive attack. "Why can't I wear it?"

"Because it is not regula-"

"Actually, the regulations say that Shinigami should wear the black clothes provided to them. Technically, that's what I'm wearing. They've just been changed a bit." As she was speaking Arikka could sense the growing disbelief from her fellow new division members in the room. Surely she wasn't disagreeing with the third seat on her very first day? That would be insanity. Apparently the third seat thought so too.

"Why you! Insolence is not accepted in this division! Now you may think that just because you're a Kuchiki you should get special treatment, but I'm here to stamp those thoughts out of you! In here you're the same as anybody else – a nobody until you prove otherwise! No way can you ju-"

"The shouting's starting a bit early today, isn't it, Koma-san?"

The third seat froze in his ranting at the sound of the new voice. He swiftly stood straighter and saluted.

"Taicho!"

Arikka's new captain strolled through the door lazily before stopping and tilting his head to the side. "What's going on here then? Who are all these people?"

"New recruits, sir!" the third seat answered stiffly, still in his military persona. The captain perked up and started peering around the room, his eyes settling on each of the four other new Shinigami in turn. Arikka noticed his gaze paused a little longer when it reached the only other female there. Finally he noticed her. He waved.

"Ah, Rika-chan, thought I saw your name on the list somewhere!"

"Shu- I mean, Kyoraku-taicho." Arikka swiftly corrected herself and bowed. Shunsui chuckled and swaggered over to her. He draped an arm around her shoulders.

"Aww, my little goddaughter's all grown up."

Arikka didn't fail to notice the glares she received from the other recruits.

She frowned. "You're not my godfather."

Shunsui laughed again.

"Rika-chan, you kidder, I think I would know whose godparent I was." He said as if explaining it to a child. Arikka raised an eyebrow.

"But you're not."

"Er, Rika-chan, I think you're a little confused. For who, if not the ruggedly handsome devil that is I, would have the charisma and manly charms necessary to be chosen by your fine parents to act as your godfather?" At some point during his question Shunsui had removed his arm from around her shoulders and had instead raised it into the air dramatically. Arikka almost didn't have the heart to tell him. He would have to find out some day though.

"… Joshiro."

Shunsui's face became expressionless. His hand dropped to his side. He stood there stuttering.

"B- but- but-"

"Taicho, why are you in here?" Shunsui snapped out of his daze and turned to the door. "I thought I told you not to leave the office until that paperwork was done? Do I have to do every little thing myself?"

Nanao stood with her hands on her hips and a dangerous look in her eyes. Shunsui seemed to get rather flustered, especially when he caught sight of that giant book tucked beneath her arm.

"I was just… just saying hello to the new recruits!" he lied smoothly before starting to laugh nervously. Nanao wasn't having any of it.

"Well, you've done that now, so get back to the office."

"Aww, Nanao-chan, you're making me look bad." Shunsui whined. Nanao started towards him. He got the message. "Alright, alright, paperwork here I come!"

Nanao nodded and turned after him before suddenly stopping. She narrowed her eyes at Arikka. "Kuchiki, why are you wearing that?"

The third seat jumped right up and starting waving pointlessly. "That's what I said! I knew it wasn't allowed and I was just telling her so when Kyoraku-taicho-"

"I think it's cute."

"No one cares what you think!" Nanao wheeled around and yelled at Shunsui's head which had poked out from behind the door frame. He pouted. She turned back to Arikka. "Now why has your uniform been tainted like that?"

"Excellent question!" Mr Third Seat spoke up.

Arikka winced. "Well… err… my mother had-"

"Your mother?" the third seat exclaimed in surprise.

"Your… mother." Nanao muttered with gritted teeth.

Shunsui sighed and looked off dreamily into the distance.

"… your mother…"

Nanao whacked his head with the trusty book. "No fantasising about other women!"

"But Nanao-chan, you were there too!"

The book made an even louder sound as it connected with his face again. "That's even worse! And I thought I told you not to call me that at work!"

Shunsui looked at her with wide eyes.

"I love you?"

The book smashed into his forehead. "I-" thump "don't-" thump "love-" thump "you!" thump!

Nanao stormed out. Shunsui made to follow her, yelling about how she was so cruel and asking when she would get bored of teasing him this way. He paused right before leaving and looked at the third seat.

"The uniform can stay."

And with that he hurried out of the room after his precious Nanao-chan.


Needless to say, Arikka's first day hadn't gone entirely to plan.

The third seat, Jitsuma Koma, along with the other new recruits didn't seem to like her very much. They obviously thought that the only reason she had got her seat was that their captain had been under the impression he was her godfather. Add to that how she appeared to cunningly have gotten away with tarnishing her uniform without the slightest punishment and, well, it wasn't a very good first impression. Arikka sometimes wished she was someone else's daughter.

She sighed as she wandered through the gates to the Shinigami preschool. It was usually where the children of Shinigami went, but was also used by those who possessed spiritual energy, but weren't yet old enough to go to the proper Academy. It had been a serious number of years since Arikka had been a student here herself.

She pushed open the door and meandered through the corridors, passed a couple of times by parents collecting their children. Arikka had been here so many times she only needed to subconsciously find the right door before opening it.

"No you cannot have a cookie! What do I look like to you, a baker?"

Arikka blinked. She back stepped and checked she had the right room. She entered it again with a confused look on her face.

"Green is a colour, not a number, you imbecile!"

That was new.

"May- Mayuri?"

Mayuri swept around towards her, a completely stressed out look on his face.

"What?" he snapped.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with wide eyes. It just didn't seem like the weird clown thing to be visiting the preschool. He was more the 'let's dissect the children to see why they're so small' type of person. One of his invisible eyebrows twitched and he suddenly looked down at his side.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Do not touch my zanpaktou! What are your parents teaching you?" he screeched in the little girl's face. The sight of the scary man with the painted face screaming at her so close up sent her into a fit of tears. Mayuri snarled.

"Onee-chan!"

Arikka looked around and spotted the familiar head of purple hair running up to her. She leant down and hoisted the boy into her arms. He grinned at her with that goofy smile of his. Haru waved his arms and pointed excitedly at Mayuri. "Uncle May-kun teached us today!"

Mayuri spluttered and was standing in front of them in a second.

"Uncle? Uncle!" he roared bringing his face closer and closer to Haru's, a look of pure rage on his face. "It's Kurotsuchi-taicho! Kurotsuchi-taicho! And definitely not May-kun!"

Arikka thought that any other child would have wet themselves by now. She was glad this wasn't any other child since it would not have been pleasant to have a peeing child in her arms. As it was, Haru simply looked at Mayuri, laughed, and grabbed his nose in his pudgy hand.

Mayuri was about to explode and gas the entire room. He'd just about had enough of these little miniature humans. Actually, he'd had enough about ten seconds after entering the room, now he was positively fit for poisoning.

"You're teaching here?" Arikka interrupted before this could get Mayuri-goopy.

"The General made me!" he responded far too quickly.

"Why?"

"I don't know, do I? One minute I was conducting a perfectly valid scientific experiment and the next he was ordering me here!" He threw his arms into the air to emphasize the point. It clicked in Arikka's head and she sighed.

"What experiment?" she asked resignedly, half not wanting to know the answer.

"It was a reasonable study into how the central nervous system reacted to stimuli in the limbic system." He answered smugly. Arikka groaned.

"Whose brains and spines were you messing around with this time?"

Mayuri narrowed his eyes. "No one important."

Right, and that was why the General wanted to distract and/or punish you with the use of the thing Mayuri most feared – children.

"Uncle May-kun told us about acids and alkies!" Haru piped up.

"Kurotsuchi-taicho!" Mayuri corrected him forcefully. Arikka cocked an eyebrow.

"You've been trying to teach them science?" Mayuri nodded but continued to glare at the boy in her arms. "But aren't they a little young for that kind of thing?"

"What do you mean?" Mayuri said, finally giving up on his staring contest with Haru. He looked insulted. "I was three months old when I balanced my first chemical equation!"

"Yeah, but you're a little-"

"I'm a little what?" he interrupted in his most evilly threatening voice. Arikkia checked herself. He was a little… creepy? Insane? Manically twisted in the head? Ruggedly good looking in an I-don't-mind-if-you-don't-have-ears sort of way?

"-cleverer than the average person."

Mayuri thought about that and turned back to the class. One of the boys was now grossing a group of girls out by farting in their faces.

"I suppose that's true." He admitted. "But what else is there to teach?"

Arikka blinked. "How about numbers and the alphabet, or colouring or something?"

"I guess I could teach them how to correctly change the hue of an item using optical decompositions."

"No, I meant-"

Arikka was cut off however by the scream from the back of the classroom. Both her and Mayuri turned. Mayuri turned furious and began storming towards where the commotion was coming from.

"You! No trying to set the goldfish on fire!"

Arikka thought this might be a good time for her and Haru to take their leave.

Woot. Done.

Guess what? I've got the same flu again for the third time in six weeks! :D I think there's something wrong with me.

Thanks for Rhea for the idea of Mayuri teaching in the preschool. Yeah, I stole it. What you gonna do about it? Eh, eh?

There once was a girl called Lou
Who didn't leave a review
I was angry at that
So stole her pet cat
And mailed it to Timbuktu

There's a moral in that limerick.