Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Come to think of it, since I am still a minor, I don't really own anything…
Feh. I wrote this chapter quite awhile ago, and have been too lazy to post. I am not sorry in the least. Pbbbbbtttt!!!!
That, and college keeps interfering. And the accursed WRITER'S BLOCK!!!!
I eat reviews. Please feed me.
Chapter 4
White walls towered out of sight. Black splashes of old and dried blood stained them, mixing with dark red splotches of the newer. Pale bits of flesh were frozen in the mess.
And insane screaming filled the otherwise empty place.
"LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!!!"
Kasumi awoke in a cold sweat as her alarm rang. She hit the thing with more force than necessary to turn it off. She stared straight ahead, not bothering to remove her hand from the annoying clock. Her scalp prickled at the base. She shivered, the goose flesh spreading to her arms.
[Bad dream? Datenshi asked.
'No. Bad memory.'
[Ah. The sword didn't say anything else, and it didn't seem like she was going to.
Kasumi untangled herself from her blankets that her thrashing had messed up. She saw her pillow on the other side of the room, and wondered how it got all the way over there.
'I don't normally move around this much at night.'
[I know! You sleep like the dead! This is appropriate, considering you are.
Kasumi shot her zanpakuto a glare and threw a stuffed dragon plushy at her. The sword, which had been leaned against the wall, gave a huff and went quiet. Not deferential quiet. Sulky quiet. Kasumi knew Datenshi well enough to tell the difference easily.
Feeling slightly grateful to the pouting piece of steel for improving her mood, she dug through her duffel bag for a cleaning cloth (she still hadn't fully unpacked).
Datenshi perked up immediately, and was practically purring with pleasure. Which was sending vibrations through Kasumi's hands and up her arms. It made cleaning the sword difficult, but it caused her goose flesh to recede.
Sliding Datenshi back into her sheath, Kasumi wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and went to the kitchen to make some breakfast. She unlocked the door so Matsumoto could come in on her own.
She brought out a frying pan, two plates, a bowl, and a cutting board. Not knowing how long it had been since someone had last done so, Kasumi washed the frying pan.
Walking over to the refrigerator, she pulled out a carton of eggs, a tomato, an onion, and the much diminished block of cheese.
Searching out a cheese grater—and subsequently washing it, too—she did a number on the abused cheese block. She swept all of the cheese shavings to one side of the cutting board and chopped up half of both the tomato and onion.
Matsumoto, having always had the best timing, chose that moment to waltz into Kasumi's apartment as if this was a regular occurrence.
"How many eggs do you want?" Kasumi called, rolling her eyes at her neighbor's already immaculate appearance.
"Three, please!" Matsumoto plunked herself down on the sofa. "You need to get a table!" she yelled.
"Why? It's not like I'll have any company, besides you. And do I look like I'm made out of money to you?" Kasumi took out six eggs, putting the carton back in the refrigerator. She cracked them open into the bowl and threw away the shells. Taking a fork, she started to break the yolks apart, mixing them together.
When she was done, she turned on the stove and poured the yellow mess into the frying pan. A minute later, she added the sliced tomato and onion, as well as a generous sprinkling of pepper.
Once it was cooked all the way through, Kasumi turned off the stove and doled out the eggs equally onto the two plates. She handed Matsumoto a fork and a portion, while she took the other. "Scrambled eggs—bon appetite."
She pointed to the cupboards. "Ketchup and honey if you want it." Kasumi had already added honey to hers.
Matsumoto knocked on Kasumi's bedroom door. "Come on! It's almost time to leave! You don't want to be late, do you?" Swearing ensued from the other side, in several different languages. Matsumoto chuckled to herself. "How hard can it be to put on the uniform?"
"God-damn hard! Where the hell does this part go?!" Kasumi yelled. There was a lot of thrashing, and then complete silence.
After a minute, Matsumoto began to get worried. Then she heard Kasumi say quietly, "Help me, please. I'm stuck."
The chuckles turned into full-blown laughter when Matsumoto saw that Kasumi had managed to get her head in one of the sleeves.
"It's not that funny. I've always been clothing-challenged." Kasumi glared at her neighbor, and then started groping around for Datenshi. She waved the zanpakuto threateningly in Matsumoto's general direction.
"Okay, okay! I'll help you out!"
Eventually, Kasumi had the uniform on correctly. She looked distastefully at the long, loose sleeves. "These will just get in the way," she grumbled.
"You are allowed to modify the uniform, just not drastically." Matsumoto indicated her colourful accessory.
Kasumi's eyes brightened and she went off in search of some scissors. She sheared off the sleeves half-way between her shoulders and elbows. "Do you have any needles and thread?"
"In my apartment."
"Let's go then." She grabbed her lunch (which basically consisted of just a sandwich), and they headed over there.
"What do you need the thread for?" Matsumoto asked, handing it over.
"To make some hems on these sleeves so the ends don't fray." She made a few stitches in each, and then handed it back to her new friend. "Here, this will hold for today."
As they stepped outside, the sky growled ominously. "It's going to rain later," Matsumoto observed. "We'd better hurry."
Rangiku walked Kasumi all the way to 9th Division, and then had to leave quickly so she wouldn't get soaked if it started raining.
Kasumi strode over to the office. She knocked, but she didn't get any answer. She slid the door open cautiously. Her Captain was there, but he certainly wasn't going to notice her presence anytime soon. He was fast asleep, sprawled out over his desk.
Kasumi stood there for a moment, surprised. She walked up to him and waved a hand in front of his face, checking to see if he really was sleeping. He was.
Kasumi looked at the papers on his desk and realized that with the sheer amount that was there—completed—he must have pulled an all-nighter to finish the stacks.
Glancing at the time, Kasumi still had a couple of hours until their scheduled meeting. The paperwork had labels as to where it was supposed to go. Might as well be useful while she was waiting, she supposed.
Stepping outside the office, she pulled aside some shinigami that were lazing around. She had them deliver the stacks to their destination, but she couldn't find anyone willing to deliver to 11th and 12th Divisions. She'd have to do it herself, for she lacked the authority to order anyone else to do the task. Luckily, she had been there the day before.
Spying an umbrella in the corner of the office, Kasumi grabbed it to keep the paper dry should it start to rain. Hastily scribbling a note to Shyuuhei, she grabbed the twin stacks and ran out to deliver them.
By the time she was done, Kasumi found herself agreeing with Ikkaku's assessment of the 12th Division's Captain. He was really creepy; he had looked at her like she was something that would be interesting to dissect. It reminded her of the way one of her friends, back when she was alive, would look at a piece of technology she was about to take apart to see how it worked.
She was loathe to go back outside though. She was able to tell that it was raining due to various aches and pains all over her.
The base of her skull pounded as she stepped out. She pulled out the umbrella and started to limp her way back to her Captain's office. The scars that were wrapped around her right ankle to continue up her leg burned like there was an icy fire lit just under the skin.
Half-way there, she began to shiver and shake uncontrollably. It was rather cold out, and the umbrella leaked. Not soon enough for Kasumi, the building came into sight.
When she entered, she found that Shyuuhei was no longer asleep on his desk. There was a note and a towel on the unused Lieutenant's desk. To Kasumi's surprise, it was addressed to her. She started to read it carefully.
Kasumi-
Thank you for taking care of my paperwork while I was temporarily indisposed (Kasumi started laughing at this). I see you took the umbrella with you, but that old thing is a little leaky, so dry off with the towel. There should be a clean pair of socks as well. (Kasumi located them.) Sandalsare—unfortunately—a requirement with this uniform, so your feet are probably soaked. When you are done, meet me in the indoor training area. It's the last door on your right, down the hall
-Shyuuhei Hisagi
Captain of 9th Division
Kasumi was shocked. It had never occurred to her that her Captain would care this much about his subordinates. She got a warm, fuzzy feeling in her belly.
Not wanting to keep him waiting for her any longer than necessary, she quickly did as she was told. When she was completely dry and warm again, she ran off to the meeting place, a small smile on her face.
