Disclaimer: My friend is permanently scared from anime... my work there is done.
Kasuo stared at her "Uncle Keiske".
"Kasuo, he... he... He's your uncle?" Ichigo asked astounded. Kasuo and Keiske laughed at his question. "Ichigo, if I was Kasuo's uncle, that would make me related to you. I'm more like a god parent."
"Yeah. Him and Aunt Yoruichi." Kasuo said. Then a woman walked over to Kasuo and Karin, "Kasuo, you don't have to call us that anymore, you're fourteen." She said.
"Yeah," Keiske sighed, "Doesn't time fly Yoruichi?"
"Especially when we don't see you for twelve years."
Kasuo crossed her arms and looked away from Yoruichi, "Not my fault." She said, the smile on her face fading. Not only did this bring her parents into her head again, but made her upset that she didn't get to spend much time with her parents, Keiske, and Yoruichi. "Well, we'll see you three tomorrow." Yoruichi said as the two finished.
Ichigo faced Kasuo and Karin with somewhat of a stern look on his face, "Kasuo," He spoke the most seriously Kasuo has ever heard from him, "bring Karin home right now."
Kasuo gave him a lazy left handed solute and said, "Yes sir Mr. Shinigami sir." and walked away with her little cousin annoyed as ever at Ichigo. Then she whipped her head around and said, "Oh and by the way, the next time something life-changing happens to ya, make sure you keep it a secret like you did with becoming a shinigami." She said sarcastically. Then she whipped her head around and walked away with Karin.
A few blocks from the house, a fancy black limo drove by. "Damn that's a fancy car. Keep your damn money to yourselves!" Kasuo yelled jokingly. Then the car stopped and backed up. Karin looked at her older cousin, "Oh nice Kasuo, now we're gonna get it."
"Maybe if we run fast enough we can get away."
Then a man stepped out and moved towards Karin yelling, "Karakura Red! Long time no see!"
Karin flinched at the man's loud voice and started to back up slowly. "Hey buddy!" Kasuo said tapping him on the shoulder. He turned around and Kasuo punched him in the gut. "Leave her alone!"
"Uh, Kasuo," Karin started.
"Yes?"
"You just punched Don Konongi in the gut."
"Who's Don Kappa Mikey?"
The man started to get up, "Who am I? Who am I?!" He started to yell. This scared Kasuo a little bit and she backed away also. "Uhh..."
10 minutes later
"Uhh... Yeah, I still don't get why you have to bother my little cousin you ped." Kasuo said.
Karin looked at Kasuo like she was crazy. 'Did she just call Don Konongi a pedophile? Oh well, if the shoe fits.'
"You see Miss, I'm making a team of super heroes and your dear little cousin is Karakura Red! The leader of the group." He yelled and boasted. "Buahahahahahaha." He laughed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Kasuo got an idea to mess with this guy's head, "But how can she be the leader of the group when you're the one that organizes them?" She said placing her arms next to her shoulders like she was holding plates.
Don Konongi stopped laughing and looked at Kasuo. "Gee, you got a point. Yeah, you're right. Hey since you made that clear to me little girl, how would you like to be Karakura Blue?"
Kasuo grabbed Karin and started walking away, "When hell freezes over!" She called back with out even turning around.
A few feet from the house, Kasuo stopped and turned around swiftly. "What's the matter Kasu?" Karin asked.
"Karin do you feel like we're being followed?" She asked seriously.
Karin shook her head no and proceeded to walk into the house. "Maybe it's just my paranoia." Kasuo said to herself before walking into the house.
In a tree a few feet from where Kasuo and Karin were standing were two people, one boy and one girl. "That's the girl?" The boy asked.
"The girl with the brown-orange hair is Kasuo." The other spoke
"Good. We'll meet her formally tomorrow."
The next day
Kasuo was standing by her bed, looking at her suitcase, trying to find the dress her mom gave her for her birthday last year. It was a small black dress, with black beading. She needed to get it out for the funeral. To the wakes, she was going to wear a formal, black, three quarter sleeve shirt and a black skirt.
After she got dressed, she put her hair in a French twist. Kasuo looked in the mirror and held back her tears. 'How did this all happen so fast? Why now? We weren't even in Karakura Town for a whole week. It was all that stupid hollow's fault.' She thought angered.
Flash back
Kasuo and her parents were in the car, driving on a highway. They just moved back to Karakura Town two days ago. Kasuo was already edgy because she left all her friends behind in America. Also she left her best friend, Sam, at the worst time possible. Sam's dog, Midnight, had another seizure and was put to sleep the day Kasuo left. There was one thing she was happy about, seeing her family again. The last time she saw Ichigo, Karin, Yuzu, and Isshin was when Masaki died and she was the only one with a clear mind because she didn't know her very well.
"Won't this be great Kasuo? The whole family back together again. And this time it's not for a death in the family." Daichi spoke from the front seat.
"Dad, there's a hollow near by," Kasuo spoke, then swallowed, "Maybe we should get rid of it. You know, before it hurts someone, or gets the soul it's after."
Akane laughed, "Kasuo dear, it'll be okay, that's why there are shinigamis. We don't need to take care of everything spiritual. It's okay if we leave this one to them." She said turning around to her daughter.
Kasuo looked her mother in the eye, then smiled, "Okay mom." Then she looked out the window until there was a loud thud and the car shook. "Daichi be careful!" Akane screamed. "The hollow!" Kasuo yelled right before the car was flung into the air and hit a light post.
Glass shattered as the top of the car landed against the light post. There was a bright orange light and the scream of a girl was audible, "Mom! Dad!" Kasuo screamed.
Akane was clutching the door handle so strongly, that the power of the Kasai came out and a flame started in her palm. The flame hit some gasoline. Yet, the fire hit none of the three. To Kasuo, it actually felt somewhat cold, like ice.
Somehow, the three were moved from the accident to safe ground, but Akane and Daichi were pretty beaten up. Kasuo called an ambulance as fast as she could.
It turned out that as soon as the car hit the post, someone called an ambulance for them and it was there quicker than Kasuo thought it would have been.
All three had to go to the hospital, but Akane and Daichi needed to be there the most. On the ride to the hospital, Kasuo called Isshin to tell him what was happening.
One of the men in the ambulance told Kasuo that she needed stitches in her leg, and that after she got the stitches, Isshin could go and pick her up, but her parents couldn't go anywhere.
Later, after Kasuo's stitches were in Isshin was there to pick her up. Before she left, she wanted to see her parents, but she couldn't because they were both getting an operation to get glass removed from their bodies. Kasuo held back tears and asked if they could stay until she was allowed to see them.
As Isshin talked to his brother on the other side of the room, Kasuo knelt by her mom's bed and began to talk to her. "Mom, I thought you said a soul reaper would take care of it."
"But Kasuo dear, there was a shinigami there. If that one shinigami didn't pull us out of the fire, then we all may have died on the spot. Oh and Kasuo, I need to tell you something. Something important. If you have any questions, you could always ask Uncle Keiske and Aunt Yoruichi. Your father used to be a shinigami. He gave up that life to start a life with me. There are people that live in this world that are soul reapers, but most people don't know it. And me… well I'm what you call a Houka. I have the power to make a flame within my fist. We both past down our abilities to you. You have the ability to create a fire within your fist and if you go to the academy, you could become a shinigami with ease."
Kasuo listened to her mother and held back her tears the best she could. This was a hard time for her. She didn't know if her parents were going to be okay.
Only three days later, Kasuo's mom and dad died. Kasuo was devastated. As Akane and Daichi's lawyer looked over their will and their living relatives. Option one was to move back to America and live with their family friend, option two was to live with Keiske and Yoruichi, and the third option was to live with Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu. Kasuo decided to live with her cousins because she had barely seen them over the past six years.
End flashback
Kasuo put in two diamond stud earrings that her mom gave her for when she got an infection in her ear piercing. Kasuo looked in the mirror in her room, a pathetic smile on her face, "Dad, you were so horribly wrong and right at the same time," then her smile faded. "This time it's two."
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"Come in!" Kasuo called.
Ichigo came in and closed the door behind him. "Kasuo," he began completely serious. "Have you been getting the feeling that you're being followed?"
Kasuo looked down, "yeah. Since we... I came to Karakura Town. I've just assumed that it was a ghost and I should leave it be. Why?"
Outside
"Captain! He's going to blow our cover!"
"Calm down! Ichigo should be smarter than that."
Inside
"Oh so you know. Good I don't have to explain that ghosts follow us around all the time. Now come on. We should go now." Ichigo said. He put a comforting hand on Kasuo's back.
"Okay." Kasuo walked out the door.
Ichigo looked out the window to the two in the tree. "You owe me big time!" He said viciously to the people.
"Did you say something Ichigo?" Kasuo asked.
Ichigo turned around, "nope, not a word." He laughed nervously as the two of them left for the wake.
The funeral home was a decent size. Not to big, but just the right size for everyone that wanted to come.
Isshin stood by the door to greet people that came in and talk with them, while Karin and Yuzu sat by the wall near the middle of the room. Ichigo and Kasuo sat in the middle of the room; Kasuo was closer to the coffins than Ichigo was though. Every once in a while, Isshin would walk over to Kasuo to introduce someone to her saying that they knew her parents from college or grew up with them.
Kasuo was wondering why no soul reapers were there. 'At least one knows about their deaths,' Kasuo thought. She was just about fed up meeting people that knew her parents growing up when Ichigo and a few others came over to her.
"Kasuo, these are some of my friends that I told about this. I hope you don't mind but I told them that you could use some help from some friends."
Then he started introducing them from left to right, "this is Keigo, Mizuiro, Chad, Orihime, Tatski, and Rukia."
"Hello," she said in a small voice, trying her best to hold back tears piling up in her eyes. She felt like she was just about to lose all self-control when Orihime sat down next to her and started to comfort her. "I know what you're going through," she said in a sweet voice. "My brother died when I was about ten when my family died. Though, my only family was my brother, but he was like a father to me."
To Kasuo, Orihime's sweet voice reminded her of her best friend from America.
Tatski sat down next to Orihime and Rukia sat down next to Kasuo.
"You know Kasuo," Rukia started, "I grew up an orphan and I just found out recently that the man that adopted me is actually supposed to be my brother-in-law. Just be glad that your life isn't as messed up as that just sounded."
Kasuo couldn't help but laugh at that, but when she closed her eyes and laughed, tears fell, causing everyone to believe Rukia's story made her cry.
"Okay that's enough story telling for you Rukia," Ichigo started as he pulled her away from Kasuo.
"Ichigo, I'm not crying from her story, I was laughing actually," Kasuo said getting up. "Rukia, could you come to the bathroom with me?" she asked.
Rukia nodded and walked out of the room with Kasuo.
"Rukia, there's something I would like to ask you," Kasuo said as soon as they got into the bathroom.
"What is it Kasuo?" Rukia asked.
"What's your last name?"
"Kuchiki. Why do you ask?"
Kasuo turned to face the black haired girl, a serious look on her face, "are you a shinigami?"
Rukia was caught off guard. She surly didn't expect a little girl she just met to ask her if she was a shinigami. "Why would you think I'm a shinigami?" She asked.
"Kuchiki," Kasuo repeated. "One of the Noble names or whatever it is. Shihouin and Shiba are two others."
Rukia didn't know what to say so she stayed quiet until the door opened again.
"I'll be right back Captain. I'm just going to make sure my hair is okay," an orange haired woman said to someone out side the door.
She walked in and looked at the two girls. "Oh Rukia, nice to see you again. How's life been since you left Soul…" she trailed off after seeing Kasuo.
"Soul land! It's a nickname for New Orleans in America!" she said matter of fact.
"M-Hm," Kasuo said disbelievingly. When she looked back at Rukia, she was able to put it together.
Kasuo looked at the other woman and asked again, "Are you a shinigami?"
The orange haired woman just put a hand on Kasuo's head and said, "my my aren't you smart? Yes I am a shinigami. I'm here to go to the wake of my dear friend Daichi. I grew up and went to school with him you know."
Kasuo raised and eyebrow and Rukia smacked her forehead. "Okay so two shinigami actually came to my mom and dad's wake. Well two and a half, but he had to be here so Ichigo doesn't count." Then it occurred to Kasuo. "Wait, if Rukia tried not to let me know she was a shinigami then why weren't you as cautious? Also, there are other people here that claim they grew up with my father too. I don't think they are shinigami. What the hell are you on?" Kasuo asked rudely.
"Well there are many possibilities. I'm not sure which method your father may have used. Or it could just be that those people exaggerated. Maybe some of them were even shinigami," she said.
"What's your name?" Kasuo asked.
"Rangiku Masomoto."
"Kasuo Kurosaki. If you'll excuse me now, I really think I must be getting back."
And with that, Kasuo left.
Right before she got back into the room, she spotted Ichigo talking with a short boy with white hair. A short boy with white hair. (Expect short jokes)
She paid no mind to it and walked back into the room.
After two more hours, more greetings and sympathies, and a visit from Keiske and Yoruichi, it finally ended.
Kasuo saw the same boy outside talking with Rangiku. When Rangiku spotted Kasuo, she pulled the boy over to her.
"This is Kasuo. Kasuo, this is Toshiro Hitsugaya."
Wow that was long, but I have ideas that I want to put in it! I think I'm making progress. Oh and don't forget I'm going to make some random short jokes. I'm sorry to all the Toshiro fans and I'm not trying to be mean because trust me I'm with you. He's cool. But I was playing against him in Bleach: shattered sword today and I thought of some stupid short jokes that I can't let go to waist. See ya!