Hello My Birds! I hope your week was alright!

I feel that this has been a LONG week so I felt like posting two chapters! We now start getting into the plot and a bit more background about our characters!

Please enjoy, please stay tuned, and as always~

Happy Reading~

Chapter 5

The barracks in Squad Eleven had communal showers for all personnel. I heard from other squads that all officers ranked above five had their own private suites which a lot of the officers in Squad Eleven complained about. I had to admit that the privacy was overrated.

Perhaps it was that I grew up in an area of the Rukongai where modern irrigation was nonexistent. We would all bathe in the estuary. I would only go there every few weeks. The estuary was plagued with muggers and rapists and Takahashi had always made it a habit to avoid trouble when he deemed it unnecessary. At first I was disgusted at the thought of not bathing every night but that became all but a distant want as the years went by. It was only when I entered the Academy did I start showering again. Hell, when I first arrived, I had to ask one of the girls in the shower room to show me how it worked.

"Could I use your shampoo?"

I opened my eyes and moved my head from the spray of the warm water, spotting one of the office girls standing next to me. She had a towel wrapped tightly around her body, clearly uncomfortable about standing naked in front of her coworkers. What a nuisance.

Reaching for my bottle of shampoo, I squirted some into my palm and handed the bottle to her, "Just this once. I know the paychecks are tight when you first arrive here but you gotta make sure you have the basics."

"Is it that obvious?" She smiled then glanced at the bottle, "This shampoo is for men."

I nodded, massaging the shampoo into my scalp, "Maybe it'll wash out some that newbie scent."

She laughed and I grinned crookedly, stepping back into the water and washing the soap out of my hair. Shutting my eyes, I let the water cascade over my face again. Today was going to be busy so I had woken up early to indulge in the warm water before I hit the ground running. Our third-seat, Hisoka Miyazaki, returned a couple of days ago and ever since then, he and Maki had been practicing relentlessly for the Captain's assessments. Kiganjo wanted them to be focused on their training, leaving me in charge of their responsibilities until the assessments were over.

Honestly, I had thought it was ridiculous. The point of being a captain was to be able to balance training, power, and duties altogether. Granted I thought that Maki had nailed the art of multi-tasking but the third-seat would be a poor choice for the replacement of Squad Twelve. I didn't know much about him because he was always out in the field but I never got the right vibe from him. I often wondered if that was why his requests to go to the World of the Living were always approved. Perhaps no one else felt entirely comfortable with him leading Shinigami.

And Kisuke. I was to report on Kisuke Urahara to Maki, Kiganjo, and Hisoka at the end of every week. So far I had found out quite a bit about his achievements in Squad Two since it was the easiest information to access. One of the duties of the fourth-seat in the Seireitei is to collect personnel records and review applicants, approving the potentials and sending those potentials to the lieutenant and captain to give final approval. Because of transfers between squads, all the fourth-seats in the Seireitei shared information with one another so acquiring Kisuke's record from Squad Two was simple.

He had an impressive track record. Became third-seat upon entry of the squad and was placed in charge of the Detention Unit shortly after it was determined by Captain Shihoin and the Head-Captain that he could maintain the position. He had led a number of raids of runaway Shinigami and had graduated at the top of his class at the Shino Academy. According to his skills, he was considered a master in Kido and the art of hand-to-hand combat, Hakuda. He had achieved his Shikai and was currently practicing his Bankai -though I suspected that this record wasn't up to date and he had already achieved.

I didn't have access to delve more into his duties as Detention Unit leader, or any of his missions. But from what I could see, he was a viable potential to become the next captain.

Snapping my eyes open, I shook my head and turned off the shower stream. The cold hit my skin and sent goosebumps across my skin, breaking my train of thought. What was I thinking? Kisuke may have the skills required to be a captain but a lot more than skills went into the consideration of becoming a captain. Besides Squad Eleven's tradition was to defeat the captain in order to become the next captain, all other squads had to undergo intense interrogations and background checks in this process. And that was just to be considered a potential candidate. So many tests were put in place to become a captain of the Gotei Thirteen so that they only had the best of the best leading their men.

I dried myself off and wrapped my robe around me, toweling my hair as I left the showers. Kisuke was immature and too goofy to be a captain. His skills were what had gotten him his spot in Squad Two, but it would take a lot more to become a captain. Besides, he was going up against the likes of Maki who had more than proven his ability to lead.

"Just shamelessly walk around naked while you're at it."

I stopped in my tracks and gasped when I spotted Captain Shihoin leaning against the wall next to me. What the hell was she doing in Squad Eleven? Why hadn't I felt her presence?

Before I could ask, she pushed away from the wall and walked up to me, grinning, "Not that I can judge you for showing off that bod of yours. Kisuke had quite a story about how you were flaunting your breasts at him the other day."

I went bright red and snipped, "He was the one who ran into me and pulled my uniform open!"

"Sure, sure!" She laughed good-humoredly, "No need to hide it, Kumiko. He told me how you couldn't take your eyes off of him when he stripped-"

I gritted my teeth and lost my control for a second. She paused as a burst of my reiatsu whipped through her hair before I calmed myself again. That Kisuke was going to die, after I cut this bitch's tongue out.

"Oh?" She smirked, "Did I touch a nerve?"

I shoved past her, "I'm off-duty right now, Captain Shihoin, so if you're lost I can't help you."

"Actually, you're who I was looking for."

I stopped in my tracks and looked at her. What did she just say? What could she possibly want with me?

"I want to make you an offer," She rested a hand on her hip, "I understand from my fourth-seat that you're quite interested in Kisuke's track records."

I began to defend myself when she held out her hand, "I already know the reason why so don't even think about covering it up with a lie," She tilted her head and grinned at me, "Yes, Kisuke told me what happened the other day Squad Four, including how you took on his reiatsu without passing out. That's impressive, especially coming from a fourth-seat from a squad that isn't exactly known for its spiritual pressure -"

"Excuse me!" I snarled.

"Let me finish," She talked over me, "I want you to transfer to Squad Two. In exchange, I'll let your captain have all of the information he wants on my third, including access to our more sensitive information."

The silence that followed her statement was deafening, and I could only gape at her. Had she just asked me to...join the Second Division? She had. She wanted me to leave my squad, and the audacity had completely thrown me off-guard. More than that, she had just casually tossed in access to highly sensitive information like it was a bonus prize. Was she serious or was this her yanking my chain, making it known that she was aware of my little investigation?

"When my fourth-seat told me that you were sniffing around Kisuke, I decided to pull your own records. Frankly, it was originally to pull some dirt on you -I don't like people snooping around my boys. But when I began to read through these," She reached into her haori and waved a manilla folder around. My records. I frowned as she continued, "I was surprised. You're strong in Kido-type fighting, and we can always help you improve your combat skills -"

"No," I said flatly and she raised an eyebrow at me. I shook my head, "Sorry but if you're trying to threaten or blackmail me, it's not gonna work. I would rather die than join your lackies. I got no use being in a Squad full of cowards who sneak up on their opponents instead of facing them."

"Oh?" She said, the tone of her voice dangerously low. I shrugged and was about to continue when she laughed, "Okay, well I guess I knew that would've been your answer."

"So then why did you ask?" I asked, her nonchalance pissing me off.

She looked at me squarely, "Because I believe that your talents are being wasted here, Kumiko. You're a Kido user and should be with other Kido users instead of a sword-fighting squad. When was the last time you drew your zanpakuto?"

"I'm done with this conversation," I pushed past her again. I was going to be late for the morning meeting if I indulged this moron's need for attention.

"Think about it," She called after me but I ignored her, "Unless you want to be the Squad Eleven lackie for the rest of your life!"

The audacity of that woman astounded me! Who did she think she was, trespassing into another Squad to go and steal their other Shinigami. And that fourth-seat of hers! She just lost an ally in me, along with access to my Squad's records.

Guess you can't expect anything less from a Squad Two snitch.

Reaching my barracks, I quickly dressed and tidied my hair. I rushed towards Hisoka's office, arriving more or less when everyone else did. But throughout the entire meeting, I heard nothing Maki said. I could see his mouth moving but all I could hear was what Yoruichi had said.

When was the last time you drew your zanpakuto?

An honest answer would be...a while. I hadn't used my zanpakuto in a very long time, at least a couple of months. It had been even longer since I had released it. Deep down I knew that she was right, that I was a Kido-user and belonged in a squad like Squad Two, who didn't use their zanpakuto. But the thought of being in that Squad made me feel dirty with betrayal. They were murderers.

They had killed Takahashi, the only man other than Haku who had cared about me, and not what he wanted me to be. They had killed him and it was only my promise to him that had stopped me from going after them to avenge his death. He never gave me a reason why, just told me that we all had a time and that vengeance didn't bring back the dead.

I sighed, wishing he had told me more things about the Seireitei and the Soul Society before he had died. He must have known that it would have been Squad Two that would be the death of him. I had so many questions for my master. Why had he betrayed the Shinigami? Why had he urged me to become a Shinigami? What had his life as a Shinigami been like? And why had he insisted that I had joined Squad Eleven out of all the squads?

There were so many questions in this life and I was afraid that I would never find the answers to them.

My bed had never felt so comfortable before. Today had been as much of a nightmare as I had expected it to be. Thankfully I had the assistance of some of the office girls to take a bit of the paperwork off my hands but I still was juggling the bulk of the three positions. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath in and released it. My muscles loosened but I still felt anxious.

"This job is going to kill me," I murmured, folding my arms behind my head. I stared at my ceiling for a while, startling when I heard a knock on my door, "Come in."

The door opened and my captain walked in, "Hey."

"'Sup," I waved my hand, too tired to care about formalities. He wouldn't mind, because unlike Maki, Captain Kiganjo was easy-going.

"I don't think I've done a full day of captain duties in years," He chuckled, plopping next to me on the bed.

I smirked, "Did you just admit to sitting on your ass all the time, Captain?"

He gave me a hearty laugh, shaking the entire bed, "Yeah, I don't know what I would do without Maki." I cleared my throat and he grinned, "And you, Kumiko."

I sat up and propped myself against my knees, stretching my neck, "Yeah, that's what I thought. Now, what can I do for you?"

"I wanted to know what you thought about this whole captain thing," I looked up at him inquisitively and he continued, "I overheard a few of the captains at the meeting today and I think they are leaning strongly to Squad Two's candidate."

"Kisuke Urahara," I said and he nodded, "Yeah, well, even if they are you should still give them a run for their money, Captain. I'm tired of those asshats always getting their way."

"You don't seem to like them," He chuckled, "Not that I can blame you. A lot of Squad Eleven don't like the Second Division since many of us were chased down by them."

I was tempted to tell him about Captain Shihoin's little offer she made to me today. But if I did it would only cause trouble between the two squads and that was another headache I didn't want to tend to. Instead, I said, "I just don't see why everyone respects them so much. There's nothing honorable about being sneaky," I glanced at him, "I think the Seireitei would be fools to make Kisuke Urahara a captain. He's got the wrong temperament and I don't trust his squad."

"True," He seemed to chew on what I had said, "But once he's a captain, he won't belong to Squad Two."

"Bullshit," I scoffed, "He and Yoruichi are going to team up like you and Maki want to."

I had to dig deeper. There was something more to Yoruichi's visit today. It was only natural for squads to research other captain potentials so what I was doing had not been out of the ordinary. And yet, she had come personally to make a deal with me. She had offered me a place in her squad -which I begrudgingly admit was prestigious among the Seireitei -in order for me to stop me from delving further into Kisuke's records. She had offered me records but records that she would have oversight to.

I understood now. She hadn't really wanted me to join her squad. She just wanted to be able to control what pieces of Kisuke's past I saw which meant there was something that they didn't want me seeing. There had to be something in Kisuke's past that would tarnish his chances of becoming a captain.

"I'll get to the bottom of this," I murmured, "If I find something out, I'll expose it and then Maki will get a headstart in becoming the new captain."

Kiganjo nodded, patting me on the back, "Thank you."

He left and I rubbed my back where he had smacked it. He and Maki were depending on me to get this done, but how? I rested my palms against my chin and tried to think of a plan. The fourth-seat at Squad Two was clearly out of the option and without her I had no access to the Squad Two personnel records.

After Yoruichi's visit, I think it would be best if I avoided interacting with Squad Two at all. Perhaps...I follow Kisuke. No. That would be disastrous if he found out that I was spying on him. I caught my lip in my teeth and lay back on my bed, contemplating the option. I could do it. I had a couple days of leave coming up, so I could use those to do some snooping.

But how? Takahashi hadn't taught me how to conceal my spiritual pressure but he had taught me how reduce my spiritual traces. I couldn't follow Kisuke without him knowing...but I could sneak into his office without him finding out.

"I'm going to find out what you're so determined to hide, Yoruichi," I whispered, smirking. This was getting more interesting with each passing day.