Tairei9: I do not own Bleach or any of it's contents. I give full credit to it's creator. Okay now on with the story. Renji!
Renji: Right.
Chapter nine.
"So what are Yoruichi-san and Kuchiki-Taichou doing about it?" Hinamori asked.
"As far as I know nothing," Kumiko said in her flat indifferent tone, eating her lunch, "I'm not allowed near the estate so I'm living in my quarters."
"No way," Hinamori said enraged. The cup in her hand looked like it was shaking.
"Have you talked to them?" Matsumoto asked.
"Nope," Kumiko said, "They still have yet to come to me and explain themselves."
"Ha! Good luck to them!" Matsumoto said raising her glass and downing it. She sighed and then perked up again, "So, since you most likely have nothing to do tonight, why not come by my place? I'm having a party!"
Kumiko thought for a moment and grinned, "Sure why not!"
"Yahoo! This will be so great!" Matsumoto said punching air. Hinamori laughed and Kumiko stood up.
"I have to go back," Kumiko said stretching. She had on a standard shinigami Kimono. The Yukata underneath was grey that peeked out from the black kimono. She had on a purple obi today and her hair was in a braid.
"I'll see you later!"
"Bye!" Hinamori said waving but Matsumoto stood up.
"Rangiku-san?" Hinamori asked.
"I'm following her," Matsumoto said, "I don't like what's going on."
"Well me neither," Hinamori said, "But why follow her?"
"Because," Matsumoto said, "I've got a really bad feeling, and I don't like it."
"Oh," Hinamori said and she watched Matsumoto follow Kumiko.
Kumiko ran to eleventh division and went into Zaraki's office.
"Hello Ken-chan!" Kumiko smiling.
"Yeah," he muttered, "Your not depressed are you?"
"No, why?"
"Heard you got kicked out basically," he muttered.
"Oh please, you think that would make me depressed," Kumiko said rolling her eyes, "I'm pissed but not depressed!"
"GOOD!" Zaraki said jumping up, "LET'S GO FIGHT!"
"YAHOOO!"
Yumichika heard a loud crash and ran towards the noise. Two blurs zoomed by knocking him over. He grumbled and got up and saw what the commotion was.
They had made a huge hole in the while.
"Damn! Call the repair guys again!"
"HAI!"
"Yes! Kumiko said as they ran towards the training grounds. He did his maniac laugh but then stopped short. He went deadly quiet.
"Ken-chan?" Kumiko asked confused.
"We need to go somewhere else," Zaraki said shortly.
"Why-?"
But Kumiko then saw why.
Yoruichi and Byakuya were sitting by the lake where she usually trained. She knew why they were there, but did she really want another reason? She was so sick of hearing the words I'm sorry after having the same thing done to her many times.
Yoruichi turned and saw Kumiko and Zaraki standing there.
"Kumiko!" she called and Zaraki said, "Kumiko we're leaving! That's an order!"
"Thank you Taichou!" Kumiko thought as he grabbed her and they disappeared.
Yoruichi groaned and buried her face in her hands.
"I knew this would happen!"
"Damn it Zaraki," growled Byakuya, "He's going to make this so much harder than it should be!"
"We should have just told the elders to forget it!" Yoruichi mumbled.
"Then they would have continued to bother us and stress us out," he said taking her hand and kissing it, "You can't be so stressed out."
"I know, I know," she murmured and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Ken-chan, you can let me go now!" Kumiko said frowning.
"Right," he said dropping her and she cart wheeled away. She then stood up drawing her sword. She looked at him and said, "You go first."
"Oh someone seems confident," he said drawing his sword. He then charged at her and she quickly stopped his attack and ended up slide twenty feet back. She disappeared and reappeared right in front of him and slashed up at him. He blocked it and slashed out sending her flying back. She flipped and pushed off of a tree stump and flew at him again. He then let loose the reiatsu that he was holding back and charged at her.
Instead of wincing, like he thought she would, her reiatsu levels began to increase. Soon they were matching is own and he shouted, "YES! YES! NOW HOLD IT!"
Kumiko grinned and disappeared. She appeared behind Zaraki and slashed out, engraving a nice lesion on his back. She kept disappearing and reappearing and cut appeared all over him. Zaraki could barely see her. But his smirk only got bigger.
"FINALLY! YOUR PUTTING THAT SPEED TO GOOD USE!" he said slashing out and luckily for him, hit her. She rolled against the ground but got up with her side bleeding. This didn't see to affect her too much. She got back up and went at him again.
Her reiatsu clashed with his and finally they called it quits.
"Damn that was fun!" He said as they both ate a couple of pills. Their wounds healed and Kumiko lied back on the grass. They were silent for a long time, the air still filled with reiatsu. Finally Kumiko got up and said, "I have to go."
"Right, see you later," he muttered and she left.
She appeared in front of her quarter's door and she went inside. She shut the door and went into the bathroom. She turned on the bath and when it filled with warm steaming water. She disrobed and went in relaxing in the water. When she had finally finished, she got out and put on her robe. She walked over to her closet and picked out another shinigami Kimono.
Knock, knock.
She groaned and asked, "Who is it?"
"Me."
She sighed dropping the kimono on her bed. She went over and opened the door to reveal Byakuya standing there.
"Something you want?" she asked flatly.
"You know perfectly well why I'm here," he said shortly.
"Oh come on, what was I suppose to do, disobey Ken-chan's orders? That's nuts!"
"…good point."
"Come in."
He stepped in and shut the door, but did not move farther away.
She, however went over to a table, where there was a picture.
"So," she said smiling, "I heard the elders gave you a hard time!"
"Yes they most certainly did," Byakuya said, "They said disown you or else basically."
"I remember the time they told you to tell me that I was not wanted there," Kumiko laughed, "So you passed the message along and when they found me there the next morning all you said was…"
"That I was only to pass a message along," he said softly, almost sad like, "That it meant nothing. And now their pulling the same stunt again."
"So then get it over with," she said jokingly, turning away, "Tell me I'm disowned."
Silence.
"…Otou-san?"
Scene change
Hisagi paced back and forth in his office as Yumichika sat looking down.
"So what are we going to do," Matsumoto said softly, "I mean, what if he actually goes through with it!"
"He wouldn't," Hisagi said as if he was trying to convince himself of it, "He fought so hard to keep her. He wouldn't…"
"I'm not entirely sure what will Miko-chan will do if he does," Yachiru said nervously playing with her hair. Hitsugaya sat right next to her, arms crossed.
"I know," Renji said, "She goes from pissed to quiet. Damn, this is so frustrating! I mean he went so far in having us protect her to just disown her! Over something so stupid!"
"Well I know."
"You know what Yumichika?" Hinamori asked.
"What Kumiko will do if he does."
"What? What will she do?" Yachiru asked.
"Renji," Yumichika stated.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"You remember when I told you that it is easier to break away than embrace?" Yumichika questioned.
"Yeah," Renji said, "What about it?"
"Well," he said, "That is exactly what she is going to do. She will break away, and never embrace."
"Nani?" Matsumoto questioned.
"The situation with Kumiko and Yoruichi was strained from the start," he stated, "Kumiko will never forget the harshness done to her, no matter how hard she may try to put it behind her. There is a lot of damage that has been done, damage that wounds her deeply. It's hard for someone not to snap. Especially Kumiko. Something like this happens...and Kuchiki-Taichou being the person carrying such act out..."
Everyone was speechless.
"So," Satoshi said speaking up, "Expect the worst?"
"Yes," Hisagi said, softly, "Expect it."
Scene change
"…you will be disowned… for a…you will."
In that instant, Kumiko felt her body slowly freeze. She couldn't move, she couldn't feel, she couldn't think straight. Her worst thoughts…
…had become reality.
"That's fine!"
Kumiko force ever ounce of energy she had to turn around with an understanding smile.
"I understand," she said gently. To be totally honest, she felt like she was going to puke as she said this. No she did not understand this. Not one little bit. she didn't understand why he was choosing Yoruichi's child over her. Kumiko felt anger and stung, but wouldn't let it rise to the surface. She had tried her very hardest to please him, tried to be someone who he would be proud of. And she thought they had worked everything out...so why was he doing this to her!
He looked relieved and he hugged her gently. She could felt no warmth in this hug, she felt like it was piercing her. But she kept the false attitude up. Why? Because... it would be the last act of kindness towards him. She felt utterly betrayed, and she couldn't make this feeling go away, no matter how much she loved him. He should know that this would hurt her, he should have known this off the bat! Why...why!
"Until we sort this out, don't come near the estate," he murmured.
"That's fine."
"Come on Byakuya, hurry up!"
Yoruichi's voice stung her horribly. What a coward! Kumiko fought hard not to cry on the spot, at the impatience in Yoruichi's voice. But then she went cold, feeling...wondering... Byakuya release her and left with a wave. The door shut and Yoruichi's and Byakuya's reiatsu grew farther away. When it was very far away, her whole facade dropped. He skin went deadly pale. She staggered over the the bed and collapsed.
"Well, well, that wasn't very nice of him to do."
"Please shut up Gin," Kumiko said faintly.
Gin came out of the shadows. Shockingly enough, he wasn't grinning.
"Hey, hey, that's not nice," Gin said sitting down on the bed, "I'm trying to be nice."
Kumiko buried her face into the pillow and wept bitterly.
"Hey, hey now," Gin said taken aback, "What did I say?"
Tairei9: Sniffle, sniffle. Man, I'm crying as I type this. Review people.
