Author's Notes: Alright finals are over and I've got my first chapter for the summer up. Hopefully I'll be able to update more often (the key word here is 'hopefully' sorry but I never know what kind of crap my dad's going to get me caught up in.)
Please enjoy and don't forget to leave a review.
Ch. 9 'Noble' Ambition
"We're here, I'll be out as soon as this annoying farce is done with, don't do anything to embarrass me Rangiku!" Gojou commanded sternly as they arrived at the lobby of the Seireitei's central command.
"Don't worry Captain I won't" Rangiku said just before he huffed rudely and went through the doorway to the Captain's meetings "moral of this story, never ever accept a promotion while drunk."
"So he hasn't arrived yet" Rangiku whispered as she looked around and the courtyard and saw Nanao and Saskibe talking as she walked up to them and out of the corner of her eye she saw Oomaeda stuffing his face with rice cakes.
"Miss Matsumoto how are you doing?" Saskibe asked politely.
"I'm fine, did you all here that we have a new college?" Rangiku asked.
"The head captain informed me" Saskibe replied.
"But I haven't heard who it is" Nanao stated as she adjusted her glasses.
"Didn't your captain try to find out?" Rangiku asked.
"He did, but he…" Nanao replied weakly "...after the third hair brained attempt he couldn't get the Captain in question to even acknowledge his presence."
"Oh he could've just asked me or Captain Ukitake then" Rangiku chuckled earning her a curious look from both Saskibe and Nanao "it's Captain Ukitake's former third seat."
"I see" Nanao replied "he must truly be an impressive…"
"Yay I have a new playmate" a squeaky cut her off "and he's almost the same size as me."
The three lieutenants turned to see Yachiru riding on Toushirou's back and he was in the middle of a futile attempt to throw her off, to the side they saw Kenpachi Zaraki making his way through the doors at a bored pace.
"Did my Captain really just sneak through the door in the middle of the commotion?" Toushirou thought "Damn he's good…" Yachiru propped her arms and her chin on top of Toushirou's head "get off of me" he said in utter annoyance.
"Oh come on frosty loosen up or you won't last long" Yachiru said happily.
"DID YOU JUST CALL ME FROSTY!?" Toushirou asked.
"It would seem you're adjusting to your new post well" Ukitake stated softly as he and Toushirou's former colleagues arrived including Kiyone, Sentarou, and Elaina "sadly since a number of our lieutenant seats are currently vacant some captains are bringing some of their seated officers instead."
"Hi Yachiru" Elaina said happily as she knelt down to the pink haired lieutenant who was piggy backing on the silver haired lieutenant with a smile as Kiyone and Sentarou got into another one of their idiotic squabbles and Ukitake went in to meet his colleagues.
"How you doing Jugs and how's Dark Boy?" Yachiru asked delighted.
"We're good, thanks for asking" Elaina replied.
"Did she just call you 'Jugs' and refer to your father as 'Dark Boy'?" Toushirou asked in shock at the girl's lack of propriety.
"That's her thing, she loves to go around and give amusing and inappropriate nicknames to people" Elaina answered "but I can't help but like her, after all she was always fine with me using her subordinates to get some practice using Onitsume as long as I gave her an oversized lollipop."
"And the offer's open to you at any time" Yachiru said before she looked to her left and jumped to her right and said "incoming Frosty."
"Huh?" Toushirou replied before he felt himself pulled into a hug from his left side.
"Were you just planning to ignore me while we wait for our captains?" Rangiku asked "you're so mean."
"Rangiku" Toushirou said in annoyance as Yachiru and Elaina began to chuckle.
"Yes?" Rangiku asked.
"The reason I sent you the hell butterfly was so you wouldn't humiliate me in public" Toushirou stated.
"When did I agree to that?" Rangiku asked.
"Damn it" Toushirou swore.
Rangiku released him and said "you need to loosen up, otherwise you'll end up just like your captain."
"Rangiku show some respect" Nanao said as she and Saskibe came up "I'm Nanao Ise, squad eight."
"Saskibe Choujirou, squad one" Saskibe said respectfully "I see you've already met squad ten's Rangiku Matsumoto and squad eleven's Yachiru Kusajishi."
"I have" Toushirou replied as he extended his hand "Toushirou Hitsugaya, squad six."
"He seems to get acquainted with people quite quickly" Aizen said softly as he, Gin, and Kaname appeared followed by several of their officers including Alexander and Momo.
"Yer somethin else kiddo" Gin said slyly "keep up the good wirk."
"Congratulations" Kaname said "you've come far since the day you joined my squad, I imagine you'll be joining us behind those doors within the next ten or fifteen years."
"Thank you" Toushirou replied as they headed towards the meeting and he looked to his side to see an upset looking Momo "something you want to say?"
"Yah why did you tell lieutenant Matsumoto about your promotion when you didn't even tell me you were taking Captain Kuchki's Lieutenant's test?" Momo asked "I mean look at you, your arms are covered in bandages and you could've died taking that man's test!!!"
"Byakun knows how to make a fun test, most people chicken out after twenty seconds, it's been years since anyone even made it to the sparring match, let alone actually passing it" Yachiru said happily.
"You're not the boss of me Momo, and in case you're wondering the only reason I kept Rangiku informed was because I was hoping she wouldn't humiliate me in front of my new colleagues" Toushirou said bluntly ignoring Yachiru "If it makes you feel any better it didn't pan out."
"That's not the point; Captain Kuchki is supposed to be the most cold hearted shinigami in the thirteen squads, they say he kills anyone he faces without even the slightest display of emotion, and that he never shows even the slightest emotion" Momo half shouted as Toushirou just looked at her in boredom "I mean he's nothing like…"
"Captain Aizen" Toushirou said in perfect sync with Momo "Momo, you're so predictable it's actually pathetic, I mean you've been comparing people to Captain Aizen ever since we joined" Toushirou gestured to Alexander and Elaina who were both holding orbs of black spirit energy in their palms "I don't know if you've realized it but you've been talking about Captain Aizen as if he's some sort of deity, I hate to break this to you but Captain Aizen is flawed just like Captain Kuchki."
Everyone was silent for a few seconds before Yachiru leapt on Toushirou's back and knocked him to the ground before she squealed "yay Byakun has a new friend."
"Get off me" Toushirou said coldly as he pushed himself up and he looked at Nanao before asking "is she always like this?"
"Pretty much" Nanao answered.
Toushirou saw Momo watching Alexander and Elaina with a concerned look and he could tell that she was honestly afraid of them both "I better not tell her about Youmei…"
Eventually Yachiru got off of Toushirou, and the Lieutenants and other officers got caught up in small talk about what's been going on in their respective squads. Toushirou made his way over to Alexander and asked "any idea what they're going to announce?"
"My guess is we'll be sending more soldiers to Vietnam" Alexander sighed "I spent a couple of months there last year" he began to shake his head.
"I've heard it's bad" Toushirou stated.
"You have no idea" Alexander replied "I tell you it's bad, and this is coming from a man who saw both world wars up front."
"The people in the world of the living sure aren't going to make our lives easy" Toushirou sighed.
"They never do" Elaina sighed "but I don't think you'll have it too bad, for the most part squad six tends to stay in the soul society to keep the peace."
"But you could be called in for special missions or if a Menos is cited" Alexander replied "and since you're a lieutenant you'll be stuck with a limiter."
"I asked Captain Ukitake to put one on me a couple of months before you joined squad thirteen when I was sent out on a mission in Sydney just to know what it's like…" Elaina added "…trust me it sucks, I mean all I wanted to do to those low life hollows was break their faces in half with my bare hands, but I couldn't do it without releasing my sword…it was nightmare."
"And you were a medic?!" Momo asked.
"That's a funny thing about medicinal education" Elaina replied lightly "while you learn a few tricks about saving lives, you also learn over a dozen ways to take lives at the same time, ironic isn't it?"
"It is ironic" Toushirou stated before he whispered "she's trying to freak you out for laughs, don't worry if you end up working with her she won't let anything bad happen to you."
"Unless you talk shit about my family" Elaina whispered in "do that and I'll send a surge of energy through your nervous system causing multiple organ-failure."
Toushirou put his hand to Momo's lips before saying "this is just her way of getting kicks, don't respond, just be grateful that we grew up in the good side of Rukongai" as Elaina went over to talk to Isane.
"Why are you so disturbed by Elaina and her dad?" Rangiku asked.
"When did get here?" Toushirou asked.
"It's just that they both behave so strangely" Momo answered and Toushirou had a very annoyed expression at being ignored "the daughter's bad enough but I've heard that the father often talks about strangling his opponents to death with their own organs or beating them to death with their own severed limbs."
"That's because his powers stimulate the brain nodes that deal with dark and completely sadistic thoughts, it's not his fault, Hell I once saw him over come that influence" Toushirou explained "and when his life isn't in danger and he's not doing something that requires spirit energy he's as close to normal as anyone else your likely to meet in this line of work" he saw Alexander talking to a purple haired woman who's kimono cut off at the knees "who is that woman?"
"Oh that's Nemu Kurotsuchi of squad twelve" Rangiku replied "Nice girl but she really needs to socialize more."
"She's Mayuri Kurotsuchi's daughter so I wouldn't exactly expect her to be a social butterfly" Toushirou replied "I wonder what the hell she's talking to Alex about, he's always spoken of Mayuri as an evil bastard who he wouldn't hesitate to kill if given a good enough excuse."
"I'm sorry Lieutenant it's a worthwhile endeavor, but I'm afraid I can't help you" Alexander sighed.
"But this could prevent incidents like what happened to the Quincy and your own clan from happening again" Nemu replied in confusion.
"I know but the problem is that I'm a shinigami so my spirit energy is worthless for your research, when I gained my first Zanpakutou my spirit energy mutated and gained the ability to cleanse hollows" Alexander stated as he half-way drew Kokuhyou "I'm glad someone in the department of research and development is interested in finding away for people with powers who aren't shinigami to cleanse hollows, what you need is a person from the world of the living with powers who can't purify souls."
"Like another Warlock or a Quincy?" Nemu asked.
"Yeah, the problem is that to my knowledge pure Warlocks and Quincy are both extinct" Alexander answered "I'll tell you what, I'll ask my contacts and subordinates to keep their eyes out for someone in the world of the living with enough spirit energy to help you but I have one condition."
"What's that?" Nemu asked.
"Whoever we find keep them far away from your father" Alexander answered as they heard the unmistakable sound of large doors opening.
"So they're finally done" Toushirou stated.
"I've always wondered why they take so long" Rangiku added lightly "you think they have some sort of drinking party in there while they make us stand around outside?"
"Lieutenant Matsumoto, please" Momo begged not wanting to think of Aizen getting wasted behind their backs.
"Toushirou we're done here" Byakuya said as he appeared right behind them causing Rangiku and Momo to leap in surprise.
"How'd it go captain?" Toushirou asked.
"Our squad is going to continue maintaining order within the soul society" Byakuya answered.
Momo noticed a bandage on Byakuya's left cheek and asked "how did you get injured Captain Kuchki, I heard you came back from your last mission unharmed."
Byakuya didn't answer and Rangiku asked Toushirou "did you do that."
"Toushirou injured a Captain?!" Momo thought "impossible, what is he?!"
"It was a sparring match and we both got carried away" Toushirou replied as he rolled up his right sleeve revealing his arm covered in bandages "he nearly shredded my arms and torso, and I managed to give him a cut on the cheek before I passed out; a couple hours later I woke up in Captain Unohana's hospital to find this badge on my bedside table" he said as he pointed to the badge on his left arm.
"Byakun, we need to go somewhere to celebrate Frosty's promotion" Yachiru squealed happily as she grabbed Toushirou's left arm and Byakuya's right arm.
"Byakun?" Toushirou stated in a mixture of confusion and curiosity.
"Frosty?" Byakuya stated in his usual emotionless tone.
Both their expressions were their normal blank expressions but you could tell they were both thinking 'you to?' and 'wait for it.'
A couple of seconds later Yachiru let go of both Byakuya and Toushirou's sleeves to swing forward. Right after she landed, she felt a strong breeze on both sides of her face as both Byakuya and Toushirou used shunpo to make their get away.
"Oh Byakun and Frosty ran away" Yachiru sighed.
"Wow, he's only been a lieutenant for a few days and he's already gotten a great sync going with his captain" Rangiku chuckled.
"Rangiku we're leaving now" Gojou said sternly as he appeared behind his lieutenant causing her leap in shock.
"Seems theres plenty of excitement going on today" Aizen said softly as the squad ten leaders left.
"Captain did Toushirou really injure Captain Kuchki?" Momo asked.
"Yes it's quite the accomplishment, and to think he's only been with the thirteen squads for about three years" Aizen replied with a smile "give him a few years and he'll be the perfect tool for my plans."
"I just can't believe it, a few years ago all he did was sit around our house and eat watermelon all day and now he's the lieutenant of squad six" Momo stated as she and Aizen started to head back to the Fifth squad.
"And he could become a Captain within the next couple of decades" Aizen added "that will be his reward."
"A captain, do you really mean that?" Momo asked.
"I do, his abilities are impressive and they seem to just keep growing stronger" Aizen answered "but if they get too strong I might have to use you to neutralize him as a threat Momo."
Byakuya and Toushirou arrived in front of the squad six office building, Toushirou sighed in relief before saying "thanks for not telling them about my Bankai, Captain Kuchki."
"I would advise you to work on perfecting it before you rely on it in combat or even think about taking the Captain's exam" Byakuya said with his usual monotonous tone.
Flashback
Toushirou was standing in the middle of a large field holding his released Hyourinmaru. His Kimono was in shreds his left leg was exposed, his top was completely gone, his arms and torso were covered in cuts, and was breathing heavily with a large cut on his forehead which was spilling blood over his left eye. About twenty yards away stood Byakuya Kuchki unscratched surrounded by what appeared to be countless flower petals but were in fact the many blades of his Bankai.
"Are you done yet?" Byakuya asked.
Toushirou swung his blade sending an ice dragon racing towards the Captain, however a stream of blades struck it right in the middle of the mouth causing the dragon to explode in fragments of ice followed by a large number of blades.
"I'll admit that your skills and the abilities of your zanpakutou live up to your reputation" Byakuya stated "and though it took you several tries you did manage to stop my shikai by freezing the blade of my Senbonzakura, however at your current level you lack what it takes to make it past Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, right now you can't even hope to wound me."
Toushirou let out a very soft chuckle before asking "are you sure about that?" Byakuya raised an eyebrow "I'll admit I probably can't beat you but you shouldn't underestimate someone when they haven't shown you everything they can do."
"Have you been hiding something?" Byakuya asked.
"Yeah, granted it'll probably only last about half a minute, but it's worth a shot" Toushirou said as his eyes began to glow, a snow white aura began to emanate from his body and his spiritual pressure began to rise sharply.
"It can't be…" Byakuya said calmly.
"Bankai" Toushirou said softly.
"That's his Bankai?!" Byakuya though in confusion as Toushirou lunged towards him and a number of blades swarmed the boy from both sides, some froze and fell to the ground but most struck their target. Seconds later the boy appeared in front of the captain and stabbed his blade forward cutting into Byakuya's left cheek.
"Well what do you know, I wounded you" Toushirou half chuckled as his Bankai shattered in a shower of ice and he fell forward.
Byakuya looked at the child lying unconscious on the ground "I see it makes sense…the unstable flow of spirit energy, the Bankai's appearance, and the time limit; it must mean that his Bankai is…"
End Flashback
"I understand, I got a little carried away" Toushirou sighed as one of their officers came up to greet them.
She had the appearance of a woman in her early to mid twenties, dark blue eyes, and dark red hair with a braided pony tail that reached halfway down her torso and her bangs were tied into braids on both sides of her face. The blade of her Zanpakutou was somewhere in between the a dagger and a normal Zanpakutou in length, it didn't have a guard, its handle was the same shade of blue as her eyes, it was made of wood, and it blended into the sheath on the right side of her waist.
"Captain Kuchki, Lieutenant Hitsugaya, how'd it go?" she asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"As expected fifth seat Rammyaku" Byakuya replied coolly as headed for his office.
"Youmei" Toushirou said as their captain closed the door to his office.
"Sir?" Youmei replied in a jittery voice.
"If lieutenants Kusajishi or Matsumoto show up, me and the captain are not here" Toushirou said as he went to see the other seated officers.
"Understood sir" Youmei replied.
*Squad Ten Captain's office*
Gojou was reading through the latest squad evaluations with a large scowl on his face as he made a list. When he was done he read the latest status reports on the Shihouin and Shiba Clans which caused him to grin happily.
"Without capable heads I'll easily replace one of them as the one of the four great noble families" Gojou chuckled as he opened an envelope from the department of research and development which caused his face to contort with rage before he softly swore "worthless worm" under his breath as he exited his office and disappeared with a shunpo.
Rangiku was drinking happily with Nanao, Isane, and Kiyone in a pleasant bar not far from her office.
"And then the losey bum left me with aboot a dozen stakz of papa wirk on ma birthday as he took a nap" Nanao swore with a blush before she lost consciousness on their table.
"Is she alright?" Isane asked as Kiyone just laughed "I mean I've never heard of some kind of tea doing this."
"That's because I spiked her tea with sake" Rangiku chuckled "she's so much funnier when she's drunk."
"Rangiku that's mean" Isane replied as her sister just started laughing even louder.
Suddenly the atmosphere in the bar became incredibly tense "Oh please not now" Rangiku thought as she looked over her shoulder to see her Captain standing behind her with his usual arrogant air.
"Rangiku we have some subordinates who have fallen behind their expected performance standards" Gojou said sternly as he handed her the list "I want you to tell them they have three options; they can get their work back up to standards, they can leave my squad, or they can die."
"Sir you have our third through fifth seats on this list" Rangiku said in surprise.
"They aren't performing up to my expectations and if they want to keep their jobs they better shape up or ship out" Gojou replied.
"But sir these seats aren't easy to replace" Rangiku stated.
"Then hopefully they'll choose to shape up" Gojou said with a tone of finality as he left with a shunpo.
"I don't envy you" Isane stated.
Rangiku looked to the bartender before asking "you got anything stronger than sake?"
"Sorry Lieutenant but you've already got our strongest liquor" the barkeep shouted back.
"Damn it" Rangiku sighed.
"Rangiku" Isane said softly.
"Hah, hah, you're captain's got ya on a short leash" Kiyone chuckled before she fell to the ground.
"Don't worry It'll be fine" Rangiku replied as she looked at Nanao and said "I should probably stop spiking Nanao's tea though she might hate me for it."
*Mayuri Kurotsuchi's office(that large creepy room with an organ like computer system)*
"What is the meaning of this Mayuri?" Gojou asked angrily "I went through your process only to have my request denied…by you no less!!!"
"What can I say" Mayuri replied callously "I decided to withhold the data from you since I know that you would to do something stupid with it and it would ultimately be me who would have to deal with all the fallout."
Gojou chuckled darkly before saying "is that so?"
"Exactly" Mayuri answered.
"Do you know what I'm trying to achieve Mayuri?" Gojou asked darkly.
"I don't really care" Mayuri replied bluntly.
"I intend to have my family replace either the Shihouin or the Shiba clan among the four great noble families, but to do that I need more than just simple wealth, I also need more power in order to distinguish the Ikari household to the greatest extent possible" Gojou explained.
Mayuri smiled in amusement before asking "so that's why you want that data, isn't it?"
"That's correct" Gojou answered "so what do you say?"
"I still don't care" Mayuri replied as he turned around and began to walk off.
"Is that your final answer?" Gojou asked.
"You're not worth the trouble Ikari" Mayuri said as he made a jester with his left arm only to suddenly feel it severed from his body as Gojou rushed past him with a shunpo and his drawn Zanpakutou "I knew I should've brought Nemu along, she'd make such an excellent shield…"
"In that case I'm not asking, I'm telling" Gojou said coldly as he swung his sword to remove the blood from the blade "that you will give me what I want you worm!!!"
"Such a nuisance" Mayuri sighed as he pulled out a syringe and injected his left shoulder just before his arm grew back.
"You're still not going to give me what I want, are you?" Gojou said sternly as Mayuri drew his sword.
"This conversation is over Ikari" Mayuri said simply before he chanted "claw out Ashisogi Jizou" his zanpakutou changed to into its strange trident like weapon with what appeared to be a golden baby face at the base of the three blades with a strange purple smoke pouring from the mouth.
Gojou smirked before he chanted "Grace us, Soratsubaki (Sky Camellia)" the blade shortened and curved out into a broad sword shape, there was a curved design across the blade with a dark shade of green towards the back and a lighter shade towards the edge, and five camellia engravings across the blade with two on the darker side and three on the brighter side; the guard was white and resembled a camellia in shape and the handle had turned a solid right green color.
Mayuri swung his sword sending a large fog of purple gas towards Gojou. Gojou focused his spirit energy into his blade and swung it horizontally launching a large gust of wind which blew the gas away cut into Mayuri's body at several points causing some blood to shoot out. Mayuri looked at his fellow captain with an expression of annoyance as he threw several jars towards Gojou. Gojou swung his blade horizontally again sending another large gust of wind blowing the jars away causing them to crash into the ground and the gases drifted away and the liquids merely puddle up.
"It's useless Mayuri" Gojou stated "all your poisonous gases and liquids must travel through the air if you want them to reach me and as you can see my Zanpakutou gives me control over the wind rendering your little trick worthless; now give me the documents I want!"
"Fine then, I'll just…" Mayuri began but was cut off.
"Don't even think about it Kurotsuchi, you and I both know you're no good at close quarters unless you have that little freak of a daughter of yours hold someone down" Gojou stated "face it your no match for me."
Mayuri was furious at this point as he yelled "why you arrogant little bastard!!!" he held his weapon in front of his face and said "if that's what you want then I'll just kill you right here and now!" Mayuri began to laugh hysterically "Bankai, Konjiki Ashisogi Jizou."
"Such a disgusting creature" Gojou stated as the large caterpillar like creature with a golden baby's head and several blades sticking out of its chest.
"Still want to push me?" Mayuri asked.
"This is getting me nowhere" Gojou said in annoyance as he disappeared in a shunpo.
"So he left" Mayuri said smugly.
"Let's see if this changes your tone" Gojou said as Mayuri turned to see him standing in front of several large isles of specimens.
"GET AWAY FROM THERE!!!" Mayuri shouted just before Gojou swung his blade vertically sending a jet of wind rushing through one of the isles destroying any specimens in the way "DAMN YOU!!!"
"Don't even think about it" Gojou stated "I can just blow your gases away and you know as well as I do that I can dodge a direct attack by your Bankai and that you can't stop it fast enough to prevent the destruction of more of your specimens; if you want this to stop, you know what to do."
"Fine" Mayuri half shouted as he sheathed his sword and his Bankai disappeared, moments later he appeared with a few black note books and handed them to Gojou.
"Excellent" Gojou said as he skimmed through one of them with a grin "I'll be on my way now."
"I hope you rot" Mayuri hissed as Gojou left.
"You're moving just as I predicted Gojou" Aizen thought in amusement as he observed in secrecy.
*Squad Six Office building*
"Here are the reports you and Captain Kuchki asked for" Youmei said nervously as she handed Toushirou some papers.
"Excellent work, ahead of schedule as usual" Toushirou replied "good work."
"It's nothing" Youmei said slightly embarrassed.
"Stop being so modest and take the freaking credit, you busted your ass off…again" A voice echoed in Youmei's head.
"Are you alright, Youmei?" Toushirou asked.
"Oh I'm fine" Youmei replied with a weak smile before her expression turned to fear as saw Gojou Ikari walk up to them.
"Where is captain Kuchki?" Gojou asked.
"He asked not to be disturbed" Toushirou answered "he said he would be back in a few minutes."
"That's not what I'm asking" Gojou replied threateningly.
"Sorry about that Captain, but we have our orders" Toushirou said before looking Gojou in the eyes without even the slightest signs of fear.
"Is this piece of Rukongai trash looking down on me?!" Gojou thought angrily to himself.
"My apologies Captain Ikari" Youmei said nervously "If you like I could take you to the waiting room and get you some tea."
"I don't need any pampering from a disowned noble!" Gojou said harshly.
"I'm sorry" Youmei replied.
"You should be" Gojou continued "if you still had any pride you'd have killed yourself along time ago you no good…"
"Captain Ikari you are out of line" Toushirou said calmly "If you need to speak to our captain I recommend you wait for him until he's ready to speak to you."
"Why you little…" Gojou hissed.
"What are you doing here Ikari?" Byakuya asked as he seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"I wanted to talk to you" Gojou replied "but I was annoyed by these vermin."
"If you want to talk to me I suggest you speak with me when we both have time, otherwise I'd appreciate it if you would stop harassing my officers in the mean time" Byakuya stated coldly not even looking his fellow captain in the eye "now did you have anything important to talk to me about?"
"No nothing at all" Gojou replied as turned to leave "why won't he even acknowledge me after all these years?!"
"Thank you Captain Kuchki" Youmei said with a smile as Byakuya walked off.
"Are you alright?" Toushirou asked.
"Yeah I'm fine lieutenant" Youmei lied.
"Don't let what he said get to you" Toushirou stated "he was out of line."
"Lieutenant you do know why I was disowned by my family right?" Youmei asked.
"Of course I do, as the lieutenant of squad six I have access to your records" Toushirou answered "I know all about your little roommate."
"Then why are you and Captain Kuchki so kind to me?" Youmei asked.
"I'm from Rukongai so I don't even have a drop of noble blood in my veins so I don't really care about some scum bag nobles" Toushirou answered "as for the Captain my guess is he only cares about the fact that you're a capable officer."
"Thank you" Youmei replied.
"Although" Toushirou added and she looked at him "If I were in your position, I'd want to show them up, I'd be hell-bent to keep raising through the chain of command until I became a captain just to rub it in their faces."
"But sir, even if I wanted to I don't know anyone who could help me with Bankai training…and I don't know if I could" Youmei said.
"If you decide to you want to try, talk to the fourth seat of squad nine and the sixth seat of squad thirteen, tell them I sent you" Toushirou replied "trust me five minutes with them and you'll feel like your completely normal by comparison."
"I'll think about it…" Youmei answered.
"Come on do it, it sounds like a hell of a good time!!!" A voice chuckled in her head.
*Squad ten officers' gathering two days later*
"I have a new announcement" Gojou declared "from this day forward these areas of the office building are now off limits to everyone unless you receive explicit permission from me."
"Sir you're declaring a quarter of the whole building off limits, what are you going to do with it" the third seat asked and the fourth and fifth seat nodded in shared curiosity.
"That's of no concern to you" Gojou answered crudely "now everyone get back to your posts, I've got work to do."
"I can't stand that man" the female fourth seat swore "how do you deal with him Lieutenant?"
"Give you a hint, there's a lot of sake involved" Rangiku answered earning her a laugh from her colleagues.
"Rangiku can I talk to you for a moment?" Toushirou asked causing Rangiku and the others to jump in surprise.
"Sure why not" Rangiku said with a chuckle as she felt he heart rate return to normal and the other officers left for their posts "So what can I do for you, get you some liquor, help you prank someone, give you some pointers on dating?"
"No that's not why I'm here" Toushirou answered in annoyance "I wanted to advise you to transfer out of squad ten."
"What?" Rangiku replied in shock.
"I don't know what, but Ikari's definitely up to something" Toushirou stated "and I'm certain it's nothing good."
"Because he's closed off a quarter of the squad ten administrative building?" Rangiku asked.
"That and the fact according to Nemu, captain Ikari and Kurotsuchi got into a fight a couple days ago over some research" Toushirou answered.
"What kind of research?" Rangiku asked.
"I don't know" Toushirou replied "but if it came from Mayuri Kurotsuchi there's no way it can be good."
"So you want me to transfer to another squad?" Rangiku asked.
"It's not like I'm asking you to take a demotion" Toushirou stated "Several squads have open Lieutenant seats."
"I'm sorry but my place is here in the tenth squad" Rangiku replied causing Toushirou to raise an eyebrow "these people are my subordinates, and they're like family to me."
"Rangiku" Toushirou said in confusion.
"But I'll tell you what" Rangiku stated "I'll keep an eye on the captain; if I get anything solid I'll let you and the other officers now."
"Just promise me you'll be careful" Toushirou said sternly.
"Ah I'm so touched that you're worried about me" Rangiku chuckled as she pulled Toushirou into one of her bear hugs.
"Let go of me Rangiku" Toushirou ordered in annoyance as he saw Gojou come out from the room and the two locked eyes "and I'll be keeping my own eyes on you."
*Later that night*
Gojou was reading through the notebooks he had received from Mayuri "so according to his research I should be able to carry out the first attempt in about ten or twenty years, providing the set up goes smoothly."
"My ya've really changed things around here" Gin said in amusement.
"Get out of here Ichimaru" Gojou said calmly "I'm not interested in talking to you about how I run my squad."
"Come na I'm not here ta talk about that" Gin replied "I just wanted ta give ya a little advise."
"Then be out with it you low life" Gojou barked in annoyance.
"If you so much as attempt to hurt Rangiku, I can guarantee you'll meet a swift and horrible death" Gin said plainly.
"Are you threatening me?" Gojou asked.
"Like I said, I'm just here ta warn ya" Gin said "the choice ta take it or ignore it is ya's."
Author's notes: and that's chapter's Nine for you, HOPEFULLY I'll be able to update more often now that classes are over. Until then please leave a review and if you need some food for thought ask yourself this question "A man without a conscience and a god complex has just wrapped himself in some research by Mayuri Kurotsuchi, what could possibly go wrong?(I'd love to hear your theories)" and if you need more read the profile for Youmei at the bottom of the page. I'll probably have Toushirou take his Captain's seat in the next chapter or the one after that. And then a mission for the 'new' squad ten which will reveal Alexander Dark-Heart's past and how he ended up with two unique Zanpakutou.
Zanpakutou Profile: Soratsubaki
Translation: Sky Camellia
Release Command: "Grace us"
Soratsubaki possesses the power to manipulate wind which allowed Gojou Ikari to easily deal with poisonous gasses and projectiles, it also allows him to attack enemies from a relatively safe distance.
Character Profile: Youmei Rammyaku
Hair: Dark Red
Eyes: Dark Blue
Sex: Female
Current Position: Fifth Seat of Squad Six
Profile: Youmei at one point was a member of a noble household until she was disowned for a yet to be revealed reason (if you want hints re-read the section where she and Toushirou talked after Gojou left, and consider this; her given name Youmei means order and her last name Rammyaku means chaos). As a result of this abandonment she has some issues with her self confidence even though she holds an excellent performance record and was personally picked by Byakuya Kuchki for her position.
