CHAPTER 3

I Wish I Had An Aunt Retsu

Ruka glared at her new badge lying on the wooden floor as she sat drinking her morning tea. The withdrawal from her caffeine drinks in her western travels had made her jittery and she'd barely slept the night before. Also, the added pressure of rising up to be a respected lieutenant made it worse. Her energetic blue eyes were dull as dark circles settled underneath them from the lack of sleep while her brown hair lay limp over her face. She knew insomnia was going to be her friend for a couple of weeks.

I have to meet Captain Hisagi later on, I could give him a heart attack if I look like this, she thought gloomily. The poor man won't even be captain for a week before I kill him accidentally and then his people will kill me!

"A buttercup" she groaned softly and licked her lips when a gust of wind passed through the open door. She loved the wind on rainy days but she outright hated dry or humid air. Her line of vision shot down to her zanpakuto lying idly on the floor next to her and she smiled. Only wind would constantly remind her of her cranky partner. He would have to get used to being in the company of another captain now. Similar to Ruka, her zanpakuto was fiercely loyal along with having a temper against outsiders. Her blue eyes narrowed and she muttered, "If I was human, I'd stab myself to death."

She leaned against the doorway, resting her head back against the wood and sighed. The thought of leaving her beloved squad was heart wrenching, she'd done it before in twelfth but Sajin was practically her father. Sure, she'd still be two divisions away but it wouldn't feel the same. The gap would be there nonetheless. She was used to waking up in the morning to go eat breakfast at Sajin's house before picking up an assignment off his desk to lighten his load. She knew every route to travel in the seventh division and now, she would need to completely map out the ninth division. Challenges were always a good brain exerciser for her but. . .she just didn't want to do this particular one.

(105 years ago)

"I brought a new recruit for you" Captain Kyoraku smiled in greeting to the seventh division captain as he entered the office in high spirits or maybe he was slightly drunk. No one ever knew for sure and he had been drinking a few hours ago. Ruka stared at the masked captain who towered over her like a tree and she gulped nervously, hiding behind her uncle to protect her short stature. His smile widened and he assured her with a pat on the head, "He won't hurt you, Ruka. Sorry, Sajin, she's like this with everyone. Social environments are her weakness despite her age but she has a temper so don't let her fool you."

The masked captain nodded quietly and kneeled down to meet the height of Ruka to ask kindly despite his deep voice, "So I hear you're transferring from thirteenth to my squad? Are you all right with that?"

Ruka eased slightly at his soothing tone and nodded slowly, "Yes, uncle Ukitake can get a tad overprotective-"

"Because he loves you" her uncle prodded in making her smile and pushed her forward gently so she'd be in the open.

"I want to be in a squad where I can have roots in, expand, and flourish from a delicate flower to. . .uncle Shunsui, I'm not reading this" Ruka pointed out with embarrassment as she'd been reading from a card held inside her sleeve and she tore it in half. Her uncle groaned slightly at his failed plan and she spoke on her own behalf, "I want to prove I can make it here with the skills I already have and I'm not afraid to push myself to the max. I need a squad where I can grow to my full potential and your motto is 'courage' which I definitely want."

"Then welcome to the seventh division, Ruka Kyoraku" the captain acknowledged with a nod and she smiled widely.
(End)

Ruka sipped her tea and said in afterthought, "Well, at least I didn't let Iba talk me into tattooing the seventh squad logo on me. . .though I could just to spite ninth. Yet again, I'm there to protect and be their superior, not to have them create a mob and put me on fire."

Can they kill a lieutenant legally?, she pondered and shook her head. Forget it, I'm not making myself paranoid today. Any day is fine but not today.

Grabbing the badge off the floor, she placed it over her left arm and made sure it was snugly and not constricting her blood flow. She stared at it in annoyance and mumbled, "You better not leave tan lines."

Footsteps entered her area and she waited until she spotted a man stop before her. She smiled in greeting and stood up to wrap her arms around her friend's neck and giggled happily, "Oh, you came to see me! You always age beautifully, my friend."

Yumichika Ayasegawa simply brushed his short hair behind his ear and smiled with his pearly white teeth to lecture, "As always, beauty is art, dear Ruka."

She let him go and motioned for him to enter her living space as she said brightly, "I expected to see you yesterday with Ikkaku but I guess you were busy. I would've given your souvenir to him but I wanted to hand it over personally."

Ruka dug into a box of items she'd brought with her from her return trip and pulled out a huge gift basket full of hair care items. Out of all her male friends, Yumichika was her go-to guy for fashion and beauty. . .and guy stuff Sajin wouldn't be much help with. The man was practically a guru with all the items and advice he gave out. She gave him the nicely wrapped present and his purple eyes gleamed happily as he touched the clear wrap of the packaging, his voice in quiet awe, "Is this the new. . .?"

"Facial care line straight from Europe where beauty has no price" she recited with him in unison from the advertised poster and he grabbed her into a tight hug that had her smaller form tugging after his. Her eyes widened when he began to squeeze and she punched his shoulder for release. As a thirteenth squad member, the hit barely registered and she waited for him to finish his glomp before she lost oxygen.

After a few excited exclamations about the gift, he let her go and hugged his gift protectively to declare, "You have no idea how much I love you right now! I've been waiting for this product for ages, Ruka!"

Yumichika hugged the large gift again and Ruka chuckled at his childlike happiness. At times, she wondered how a meticulous man like he could stand living in the rough environment of the eleventh division. Yet again, they were survivalists and her friend looked pretty darn healthy compared to the rest.

"What can I say? Guys with dark hair just tickle me pink" she joked with a goofy smile and patted his shoulder to ask eagerly, "How have you been? It seems like a week ago that we talked."

"It was" he pointed out dryly and she grinned cheekily, forgetting the advanced communication techniques she'd used daily in Germany to connect with her own division. He smiled at her silly expressions and told her casually, "Yachiru told me the promotion news yesterday so I decided to drop by and call a spa day for us today. After all, a decade puts who knows how much dirty blockage in one's skin and I doubt you listened to me about the weekly exfoliation."

"Yachiru probably has the news all over the Seireitei by now" she sighed, knowing the child's determination at outsmarting adults. Nonetheless, she was happy to get out and travel the area to see any new changes given to the Seireitei and the Rukongai districts. She pointed to him and smiled cheerfully, "If that spa has a full package, I'm there."

Yumichika grinned smugly and enticed her with the words, "Ten massage options with fifteen choices in facial masks."

She let out a suppressed giggle, resisting the childish action to hop, and said gleefully, "This is why you rock, Yumichika!"

"I always do" he laughed softly as his ego inflated proudly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they exited her home. He'd drop off the basket at his division before they went into Rukongai. There was no chance he was risking losing his precious gift and held it close protectively as Ruka raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

Yumichika turned to observe and critique the recent changes in his friend and tapped his chin with a finger as he said aloud, "Now, we have to see if we can get a wardrobe change. That dark blue sash is an awful clash with your uniform. You need a pastel color to make your skin glow, not make it dreary with darker tones. And the hair. . .we'll have to wait till it re-grows and style it. Today, we're definitely picking up products for those loose tresses that are just screaming for help."

"It wasn't by choice that I cut it, my experiment accidentally put my hair on fire" she defended quickly about her chin-length hair. It wasn't too short and she'd begun to like it recently since it kept out of her face. It was much better than keeping it tied up in a ponytail or braiding it. However, she wasn't parting with her sash due to its sentimental value. Many had tried to tear it away from her but she clutched it for life with an iron grip. Looking down at her uniform, she objected, "My wardrobe is fine, it's a uniform, but I wouldn't mind shopping a little. Don't make me buy the store, all right?"

"That was eighteen years ago, let it go" he dismissed with an airy sigh and the two took off to spend their morning together at the Junrinan Spa.

Ruka stumbled back into the Seireitei with a goofy smile as Yumichika supported her under the shoulders and held a blissful smile of his own. Each held their own shopping bags as they wandered the Seireitei together, eager to continue their relaxing day as their cheeks flushed a rosy pink.

"That was phenomenal, I think they peeled off forty years" she sighed dreamily and held onto his arm with both of hers as they arrived in the eleventh division. She touched her cheek with her palm and smiled astonishingly at how smooth it was. It was a baby's soft butt on her face and she grinned at the comparison. Usually, she objected to such beauty luxuries since she rarely took constant care on it but it only took Rangiku or Yumichika to drag her away and indulge.

"Keep that package and you'll be Yachiru's age within years" he joked with a sparkly smile that made her envious of his perfect teeth. How was he so neat and tidy while she looked like the maid that cleaned up after him? Shrugging it off, she petted her own cheek again contently while Yumichika waved at Ikkaku in greeting as he sat outside relaxing with a bottle of sake. The two walked up the grassy path, almost stumbling over their own feet as their sluggish bodies demanded rest.

The third seat stared awkwardly at the two as they sat down lethargically on the wooden walkway with their bags and he raised an eyebrow to ask bluntly, "What the hell have you two been on?"

"Heaven" they both sighed with flushed cheeks and Yachiru popped in from behind the door in front of them. She'd been prodding her captain's bells for fun as he wrote a half-assed report to his commander- he was more vocal anyway- and had heard the lively new voices outside, eager to investigate. Anything was better than sitting on her captain's shoulder as he came up with synonyms on how he'd destroyed his enemies brutally.

"Ruki, you're back!" Yachiru cheered energetically and flung herself onto the woman's turned back, wrapping her arms around her neck. Ruka choked in surprise for a moment and waited for the child to release her. The child's hugging always helped her improve on holding her breath anyway. As she suspected, the girl let go and looked over her shoulder with a pout, telling her, "Baldy cleaned off the paint and his big bald head is glaring at me like the sun today."

"I'm not bald, damn it!" Ikkaku shouted defensively and sulked in his spot, chugging down a cup of sake he'd been sipping. Any attempts to fend her off would have Captain Zaraki chasing him down with a bloodthirsty smile as his lieutenant told him where to make the killing blow. He shook his head at the imagined scene and decided to ignore the child. Ignored children usually wandered away for better excitement in the end. He leaned against one of the wooden posts and drank his sake quietly but kept a close eye on the demon child.

"Hmm, would you like kitty sunglasses to help?" Ruka asked her with a smile and pulled out a black pair from inside her sleeve to give the child. Yachiru studied them curiously and put them on, grinning slyly at Ikkaku. She laughed at the smiling kitty cats on the rims as she touched the plastic and the brunette told the trio, "Iba didn't want the second pair so I kept it, I'm not sure what he did with the first. Probably gave it to his mom or something."

Yumichika, Ikkaku, and Yachiru all burst out in laughter at the comment and Ruka shrugged innocently, "What? There's nothing wrong with that, I'd create my own mother if I was allowed to legally. I think it's nice that he has a very close connection with his mother."

That alone made them cackle harder, Ikkaku sprawled on his back as he held his stomach while Yachiru giggled behind Ruka's head. Yumichika laughed to the point that he had tears running down and he sobbed through his laughter, "No, my moisturizer's melting!"

Heavy footsteps headed towards them and the eleventh division captain stepped out of his office to see the commotion and demanded gruffly, "What the hell's goin' on with all of ya?"

Ikkaku calmed his nonstop laughter and choked out, "Iba. . Mother. .Weird. . .Dependency issues."

He stared at Yachiru prance around with her sunglasses as she hopped over to poke Ikkaku's bald head while he laughed. The third seat bared his teeth instantly and turned away to continue his cold shoulder and the captain shook his head at them, "Have you been out drinking? It's still morning!"

"Drunkenness has no business hours" Ikkaku replied lazily and sat up, shooing Yachiru away who returned to Ruka's side for a hug. He patted his abdomen as his ribs tingled after his loud guffaws and informed his superior, "But we're not."

Zaraki stared at the three with a small glare for their lack of training in the fields and noticed Yumichika. There was something off about him and he snapped at him, "Why the hell are you glowing?"

"My beauty radiates its own light" he defended instantly and turned away indignantly. He grabbed one of his teal shopping bags and sorted through his purchased items to pacify his mind.

Ruka chuckled at his words and had to agree he had taken on an odd ethereal glow. Good thing she hadn't gone with his treatment or she'd be a torch for the night. She turned her head back towards the captain and grinned, "He had the most expensive spa treatment in Rukongai and apparently, he can now emit his own glow."

He spotted her as Yachiru whispered to her about all the evil things she had planned for the day and raised an eyebrow. Unlike the rest of Yachiru's female friends, this particular woman had the same destructible tendencies as the child. He shook his head at the possible mayhem and spoke roughly, "So that's why Yachiru's talkin' nonstop lately. You're here. I thought she had one of those speech impediments an' crap."

"I assure you, captain, she does not" she said with a soft laugh and cuddled the bouncy child in her arms. Nothing spelled innocence and pandemonium like Yachiru did. Ikkaku stared as the little girl started gnawing at Ruka's gloved forearm but the older woman gave no recognition of pain as she went on, "She's simply very energetic and needs someone to keep up with her."

"How 'bout using a leash?" Ikkaku suggested with a cackle and Yachiru chucked a rock from the grassy borders. It smacked him in the center of his forehead and she simply grinned innocently from her perch on Ruka's lap. The shinigami groaned in pain and held his face while he let out a stream of curses aimed at the small lieutenant.

"Yeah, I wouldn't insult her" Ruka commented nonchalantly to him and watched Yumichika drag Ikkaku off inside the office to patch up the injury. She could hear the third seat's loud complaints about the evil child and Yachiru simply hummed casually as if nothing had happened. She grinned at Zaraki and asked eagerly, "Any good fights lately, captain?"

"Nah, just plain Hollow activity where you could scratch your ass and still have time left to kill it" he snorted lazily and Yachiru climbed up on his shoulder with a playful smile. He patted her head as she tried to put on her sunglasses on him but he pointed for her to put them back on herself. She showed him happily and modeled the new look as he shrugged to Ruka, "Been tryin' to catch Kurosaki but he was quick yesterday. Why? You want to give me a fight?"

Her eyes widened and she stammered in surprise, "N-no, I. . .um. . .I could never face a captain, I'd probably barf all over your nice sandals and you'd slip!"

Did I just say he'd fall in my barf?!, she thought embarrassedly.

She slapped her cheek for saying that and sighed depressingly in apology, "I'm not very good when nervous. I much prefer slashing Hollows to shreds than facing people."

"We'll toughen you up, right, Kenny?" Yachiru piped up to him, her tone already mandatory.

"She's squad nine, Yachiru" Zaraki pointed out and the woman stuck out her tongue at the ground. Yachiru mimicked the motion and showed her captain proudly. He sighed, her infectious mood already tugging at his tough heartstrings, and ran his hand down his face to agree, "Sure, Yachiru, you can pick whoever ya want. Just make sure neither dies or Yamamoto will have my ass evaluated for captaincy and I'm not about to take those damn anger management classes again."

"Baldy's pretty good, you should get him" she told Ruka and placed her finger on her chin. The brunette grimaced as she remembered the bloody fights that sometimes resulted between him and Iba. Yachiru scratched her head in thought and said aloud, "But he kinda yells everything out so who knows if you'll understand a word of it."

"I heard that!"

"This doesn't concern you, Baldy!" she barked in warning as her small hands clenched and turned to her friend with a smile. Ruka could only smile back nervously and question what her young but mischievous brain was cooking up. She grinned smugly and spoke aloud so Ikkaku could hear, "This is between me and my friends! You don't have any so you can't join in!"

"I have friends!"

Yachiru rolled her brown eyes behind her black kitty sunglasses and Ruka hugged her again to squeal happily, "If I ever have a kid, I want her to be as destructive as her."

The pink haired girl giggled at the compliment and ran over to pull on Zaraki's hakama to hop eagerly, "Oh! We should find her a boyfriend and they can have mini-me's! Wouldn't that be cute, Kenny? I could train them to be my minions and do my bidding!"

"That's just what we need, more Yachiru's!" Ikkaku's aggravated voice shouted from inside.

"I said shut up, Baldy!"

"Lieutenant Kyoraku, Captain Unohana will see you now."

Ruka stood up anxiously from her chair and hauled her gift for the fourth division captain to the door, grunting as she pulled it with her strength. Hanataro Yamada could only stare in surprise as he saw the small woman pull up a peach tree the size of her own height to the captain's office without complaint.

Why is she carrying a peach tree?, he thought strangely.

"Do you need help with that?" he asked timidly as he watched her stop and wipe sweat from her brow. Had she dragged that tree throughout the whole division? He struggled between helping her out and advising that her back would be strained from the pulling but she shook her head.

She waved her hand dismissively and grinned widely, "Nah, I got it."

Hanataro could only give one last stare at the peculiar woman and returned to completing his rounds for the day. Ruka wiped her hands on the back of her uniform and smoothed out any creases from the front to make sure she would look presentable. There were only four people in the Seireitei she would never dare appear shabby to and Retsu Unohana was one of them. She coughed into her hand to make sure her breath was minty fresh and tucked her hair behind her ears to be presentable. She opened the door and stepped into the captain's office with the tree behind her. Captain Unohana simply raised her eyes from the book she'd been reading, not disturbed in the slightest to Ruka's odd gift as she tugged it inside the office.

All she could say was, "Ruka, you brought me another tree. How delightful."

"Anything for you, captain" she smiled cheerfully and sauntered over to hug the captain joyfully around the shoulders. The flowery scent of the healer soothed her instantly and she confessed, "I've missed you so much while in Germany. I even named my mirror Retsu and talked to it at night so I could stay close to you. It's very hard to find and keep friends overseas, they tend to think I'm crazy. You'll never find me crazy, will you, captain?"

"I'm always here for you, Ruka" Retsu chuckled softly and fixed Ruka's hair so her ends could curl outwards. She knew it was hard for the wayward shinigami to keep close ties internationally despite her tries which made her wonder why she chose such assignments. In her view, she needed to keep close to the ones who would guide her rather than run from them but kids are kids. Ruka smiled happily at her mended hairstyle which for some unknown reason, only Retsu could fix with her skilled hands. The healer patted her cheek and smiled gently, "There. I know how much you hate for your hair to stay flat."

Retsu turned her chair to the side and Ruka kneeled on the floor instantly to relax next to her. She'd done that ever since her childhood despite the healer's complaints about her bones hurting later on as she aged but Ruka never listened. Now, Retsu simply waited for her to sit on the floor and rest her head against her legs like a child before opening up about her problems. Unlike Captain Komamura, she told the fourth captain everything including girly stuff her father figure and uncles would be completely clueless about.

"Don't tell anyone or my reputation as a lieutenant will die before it's begun" Ruka said playfully with a smile and placed her cheek against her leg. How could she begin? Her whole week had been turned upside-down since Iba had given her the call. Damn phone shouldn't have been answered at all. She sighed deeply and began with the biggest one, "I hate this new job and I haven't even started, I'm already having nightmares about it. Usually, my nightmares consist of monsters maiming and killing me but this is worse! I've cloistered myself in Sajin's squad and now I have to pack up and go. . .I wish they would've just let me stay as third seat until I couldn't fight from old age and have to retire."

"That would've been a pretty long time and we all want what's best for our people" the captain said calmly and stroked her head to soothe the jittery shinigami. The brunette bit her bottom lip while she twiddled her thumbs and Retsu spoke with an optimistic edge, "You're strong, Ruka, but you dodge and evade any chances to succeed. Maybe this is the little kick you need to jumpstart it. You've always been ahead of most and at your age, you should be at a captain's rank. There's only so much time you can throw away before you have to step up to the challenge."

"Hitsugaya broke the record as youngest captain, I can do oldest" Ruka justified dismissively and the healer chuckled at seeing her uncle's similar laid-back persona in her. Her cheek pressed against her hakama and she admitted softly, "I'm scared about this whole thing, I can whine and complain to my uncle and Sajin but you're my pool of reflection so I need a good pep talk. I don't know how I can leave squad seven and accept ninth wholeheartedly despite Sajin's constant good reviews on the new captain. I think I'd prefer bad reviews compared to that. Seventh has been my longest squad and I've put their teachings into my way of doing things. What if Captain Hisagi's squad does different and he wants me to do it too? It'd be like your division shifting it's motto into eleventh's, it's quite scary."

"Don't fear the unknown, take it head-on and ride it out" Retsu advised with an amused smile and she whimpered softly in reluctance. She knew the woman could be stubborn at letting old things go and assured her, "Captain Hisagi is a good person and he's very loyal to his division. He took on a lot of responsibility running his whole division after his own captain's treachery and I'm sure he wants to reform his squad and build that trust again. You need to be there as an outsider to make sure that trust is created."

"That sounds similar to what Sajin said about captains and divisions bonding together after the Aizen incident" she muttered with a slight frown and couldn't see herself chatting up an unknown captain. She didn't know anything about him and she'd rarely visited the ninth division in her whole life. How would she connect with them?

"The Seireitei needs to work together as a whole, not as separate independent branches" Retsu explained wisely with her own view and the brunette glanced up readily for her next input. Her blue eyes met Ruka's similar hue briefly before turning her line of vision towards one of the open windows in her office. Softly, she spoke, "Power and arrogance always walk closely together and it can corrupt the ambitious and inexperienced. Before Aizen, many of the divisions rarely interacted with the others and only captains and lieutenants saw each other on an average basis. Now, all of us must have constant communication and vigilance to continue our protection from arising enemies. Two captains have now filled three of the voids left from that ordeal and you will fill the rising captain's old seat. You are strong, little Ruka, and with time, you can rise to be one as well."

Ruka smiled softly at her role model's words of confidence and the fear of being unaccepted by the new squad lessened. The nervousness still remained but she felt better as she always did when they talked. The fourth captain always left her tranquil after their small sessions together and she had needed to unload the majority of her problems for the week. That's what she loved about Retsu, she gave the help she needed without a hint of complaint.

"You are the most wonderful mother figure in all the Seireitei's combined" she declared fondly and hugged her slim leg like a toddler. Whenever she traveled, she missed the company of the captain and didn't know what she'd ever do without her. She'd always tagged along behind her as a child whenever she left her division and Retsu had served as her surrogate mother since she had none. With a loving smile, she told her pleasantly, "I'm so glad you're dating uncle Jushiro."

"Yes, well, maybe he'll think about proposing soon" Retsu chuckled with a shy smile and Ruka grinned at her words. It was always interesting to see the healer blush at her romantic woes with the thirteenth captain. The two had been dating for fifty years after Jushiro had finally mustered up the courage after twenty years (Retsu found the modesty alluring) and asked her during a private dinner. She shook her head and joked in a hopeless tone, "I keep dropping hints but he's always cutting away at his little bonsai trees."

"Maybe you need to write it in the bonsais, they need a little flair after he's done with them" she teased gently and heard her laugh at the thought. He loved cutting the trees but his skills weren't very good and her uncle usually had to replace them before Jushiro's estate was full of half naked trees. Ruka laughed fondly at his beloved hobby and said, "Uncle Jushiro needs a little push once in a while, he's very bashful about that kind of stuff. I wish uncle Shunsui could be like that before Nanao ends up filing sexual harassment on him. Now that I'm here to stay, I'd be more than happy getting you to be my aunt by any means necessary."

Kneeling on one knee to abide to her promise, her hands went over her chest as Ruka asked dramatically, "Will you be my aunt, Retsu Unohana?"

The fourth captain sighed with a tiny frown and leaned down to pat her head sympathetically, "Well, it's the best proposal I've gotten so yes."

Shinigami Extras:

Ruka grinned childishly at her painted toes and wiggled them at Yumichika. Her friend had simply manicured his hands with a clear polish as he finished an exfoliating treatment on his feet. She wasn't the type to exfoliate every piece of her body and had been placated easily by staring at her green toes. Yumichika had scolded her for choosing such an ugly color similar to the hue of moss but she liked it.

She glanced as the woman pampering her today brought over a small ceramic container filled with water but she couldn't see it clearly. Glancing at Yumichika, she asked curiously, "What's that for?"

"Your facial, silly girl" he explained with a chuckle to her naivety. "Lean back and just wait."

Ruka listened and about a minute later, she stared up with wide eyes as a hot towel was placed over her face. The intense and unexpected heat made her scream out painfully in bloody murder as Yumichika covered his sensitive ears.

We'll try at-home facials instead, he thought as he watched her thrash like a demon before she chucked the towel at the frightened worker.

A/N: Thanks to all my story reviewers, I appreciate your comments. Also, thanks for reading my story too! So this chapter is mostly filler as Ruka tries to dodge meeting with her new captain but Shuhei will pop up in the next chapter. It'll be posted soon since this had been written originally with chapter 4 infused but I didn't want to make you guys read too long unless you're all right with that? I tend to write long chapters but if you want shorter segments, just tell me.