Lots of writing going on. I'm so happy I'm back. :)
Blood of Spring: Special Girl
Chapter Nine
Kina and Shiori watched as the pair walked away, doing their work in silence. Kina did the dishes from brunch quick and Shiori was cutting more vegetables for the other soups she was working on. They stopped and looked up as the Shinigami left, neither one smiling as they were before. Once the two were out of sight, they got back to work again.
The atmosphere of the room started feeling heavier, which for once, wasn't because of the steam washer they used for washing plates and silverware. It was unusual, even during the setup process, they were quite the talkative women. However, nothing about today was normal for them. "Kina," Shiori said about fifteen minutes after their guests left, "did you know about any of that?"
Kina sighed, placing the beef stew pot back in the sudsy water, closing her eyes. She looked out the window, the one with a view of Haruchi's usual table. "She told me that her class was attacked while doing a simulation project," Kina eventually told her aunt, "but she never said anything about South 55. Never even mentioned how she found Takuya." The niece grabbed a spoon and dunked it into the water, beginning to scrub it roughly.
Shiori couldn't see the girl's face, but even then, she could already picture how upset Kina was. That deep frown and her dimmed eyes, tears forming and falling without a care in the world. You could have told me, Haru, she thought. I wouldn't have thought any less of you. You don't have to be the strong girl. Why would you keep this from me?
A few quiet sobs escaped Kina's lips, but none that she would notice nor willingly acknowledge. Shiori thought of how to approach her sweet niece. Haruchi was always like the protective big sister, she was always there for her loved ones. The girl had always been a good listener, but she still managed to talk to her friends about things. "Well, then," Shiori eventually said, getting back to her vegetables, "I don't know what exactly made her clam up about it, dear. Seven years or not, a wound like that is difficult to heal." The sentence made Kina stop and glare at her hands. "But the fact she felt comfortable telling someone is a good thing. In time, I think she'll open up more about it."
The aunt stared at her niece's back a while longer, and said niece tightened her grip on the spoon. Just as things were getting too tense, though, Kina sighed and relaxed her shoulders. "Yeah, you're right," she said, still a bit upset. It became quiet for a few moments again, but Kina's signature smirk came back to form. "That captain seems to be good for her," she said, looking back at her aunt. "You think she'll try to get him?"
Shiori laughed outright. "I hope so. He seems very polite. Unlike the last boy she met."
Kina let out a groan, her head lifting as she smiled. "Oh Kami, that guy was less a man than Hitsugaya is. And he was three times his size." The ebony usually brought dates to the restaurant for lunch, to see if her friend liked him. It was usually one of the dates before she brought him to the house to meet Yumichika and her extended family. If he couldn't handle her friends, he'd never be able to handle her family.
Her aunt laughed again. "Haruchi beat his ass for his manners. I'd never seen her dump a boy so quickly." She got a snort from Kina. "Well, come on Kina! I need some meat tenderized and seasoned." Kina nodded, heading back to the dishes, thinking of surprise dishes for that could make an evening worthwhile.
For the first time in weeks, an afternoon in the Sixth Division was rather quiet. Very few people were moving, save for those who came in to see the captain regarding patrols. Previous units from different districts reported suspicious activity, but nothing concrete enough to start a full-blown investigation. If the activity was reported further back, Byakuya wouldn't have been that concerned about it. Unfortunately, it was all occurring in places like East District 22 and North District 14. That was more than enough cause for concern.
Said captain was at his desk, filling out the second load of paperwork some of the other sixth seats dropped off for him. The stacks made him scowl. How much longer was Renji going to stay on assignment in the World of the Living? The assignment was sudden and deemed urgent, but the head of the Kuchiki family had yet to learn why, or see a report from his vice-captain. It was more than a bit odd.
He wasn't concerned about the red-head. No, Renji was more than capable of handling himself, it was just the additional work that he had to put up with. The nobleman liked being able to go home by mid-evening, at the latest. Having Renji's responsibilities added to his own made returning to the estate pure luck if he wanted to get home at that time of night...
Then there was there was the sixth seat of the Ninth Division.
The captain sighed, putting his brush down before rubbing his forehead. He hated that woman, but he was the only one who could let her in the office now. If no one's inside to let her in, she would kneel at the opposite side of the hall, out of everyone's way, and wait patiently for him to return to the office. She was a quiet woman, maybe a little stealthy, so Byakuya was never aware when these mornings occur. Not until she greets him from behind anyways, bowing before the noble could turn his head at her.
His eyes narrowed. To be fair, she was never disrespectful towards him, save for the morning after the captain called her a brat. Despite that though, all she ever did was say: "good morning" or "good afternoon," put the paperwork on his desk, tell him: "have a good day" or "enjoy your evening," bow and leave the office. As far as work standards went, she was perfectly fine. By all technicality, he shouldn't have a problem with her.
However, the fact she was the sixth seat just... baffled him. He saw that she was in the Elite Program her first three years, and there, she did have potential. Ayasegawa was one of the best students there - she even topped the class her second year. But she dropped out of it and joined the regular students, which led to a decline in her grades and graduating as a barely-above-average recruit. The captain may have been less harsh if she was granted the fifteenth seat, but the sixth? "Damn brat. First she thinks the regular program is simpler, then she uses her family to ensure her seated position," he said, reaching for his empty cup so he could prepare more tea.
"Oh. So, that's the rumor you heard." Byakuya's eyes widened and his head snapped to his left. The entrance to his office was open, and standing at the other end of the hall, out of the way, was the sixth seat he had been talking about, a bored expression on her face. "Although, that's the nicest of them. Other ones say that my brother had my grades changed to make it look like I passed. Some of them go as far to say I seduced my vice-captain into it," she said, shrugging. Haruchi then approached the door, but she didn't step into the office. She then bowed to him. "My apologies, Captain Kuchiki. The door was open when I got here. I would have mentioned it, but I thought it best not to interrupt you while you spoke."
The red-streaked-ebony stayed in the bowed position, waiting for the captain to say something. Again, the captain wondered why she was acting so properly. It was expected of her to be this way, yes, but he couldn't help but feel surprised. There was no trace of anger around her, no tinge of annoyance. It was as if all she heard was someone talking about the weather.
He soon sighed, closing his grey eyes. "Come in, Ayasegawa," he said. The captain waited for her to lift her body and walk inside.
Once she did, he eyed her as she approached his desk and set down the afternoon's paperwork. She undid the bundle, separating Renji's stack from his before sighing. "I don't blame you for thinking that about me," she said suddenly, making the captain raise a brow. "Those rumors began immediately after I was given my position. It used to piss me off that people thought so low of me, even in my own division. It doesn't matter how many times I or Hisagi-fukutaichou told people that I earned my seat. The rumors have gotten so common, I can't go on a walk without hearing someone whisper about it."
Captain Kuchiki spoke then, slightly intrigued by the girl's sudden talkative mood. "You are their superiors. Certainly you've done something about that, haven't you?"
"Oh yeah," Haruchi said, messaging the shoulder holding the strap of her bag, an exasperated look on her face. "In my first four months, I wrote up almost eighty of the men in my division. Gave them menial probationary work as punishment. If they weren't licking envelopes, then they were stuck counting cards that were being shipped out to the Rukongai." The girl was smiling at the memory, and she was turned away enough that Byakuya allowed himself a smirk. If there was more menial work in the Ninth Division, then he didn't know what it was.
The teal-eyed girl sighed after a few minutes, a hand on her shoulder, a frown on her face, and her eyes staring at the folders she just put on the captain's desk. "After that, though, I decided to reserve it for people who say it to my face. I'm not gonna be able to convince them of my true abilities until I can train with my superiors and I get into the Immediate Action Detail. And I'll only obtain the latter once I effectively lead a patrol," she said to him, not complaining as she spoke, but seeming more resigned to the facts.
Byakuya put a hand to his chin, closing his eyes and thinking over her words. Yes, new recruits weren't allowed to verse their superiors in training exercises until eight months after they joined the division. It was deemed a rule after too many fools died trying to take the captain's position on their first day. From the sounds of things, the captain didn't think Haruchi wanted to try her luck in that regard, rather show that she can hold her own - if only for a short while.
The Immediate Action Detail was unique to the Ninth Division. Every division had men on guard and ready to protect Seireitei. The Ninth Division was the Gotai 13's security force, though. They had to be ready to take action at any given moment, they were always on standby for an attack. The Immediate Action Detail was a specific unit of the security force, made up of men willing to rush into battle at news of a threat. You had to be strong and clever to even be considered for the detail, though. That took most new recruits at least seven months to do.
Which would explain Haruchi's need for leading a patrol. It was the only thing she could do in order to present a clever side of herself. However, new recruits weren't even assigned to patrols until six months in as Shinigami, and Haruchi was only on her fifth. As sixth seat, she would eventually lead a patrol, the captain didn't doubt that. She would have to be supervised by a superior from the detail if she wanted a chance to become part of it.
"I see what you mean," he said. The captain opened his eyes then, looking at the sixth seat as she lifted her head. "If you don't mind my asking, why did Hisagi scout you for the position?"
Haruchi shrugged at him, a passive look coming to her face. "To be honest, I'm not completely sure. He said he saw more potential in me than other recruits considering our division. The only reason I didn't doubt him when he said it was because he scouted the academy for three months rather than a standard week. It was only at the end of them that he gave me the offer."
Byakuya reserved his reaction, narrowing his eyes slightly when one would normally widen them. He was searching for any indication of a lie but saw nothing that even hinted at it. That's an odd amount of time to be scouting a new recruit. Even a great one, the captain thought. "So then," he said, "your brother had nothing to do with it. He ensured nothing for you as Shinigami."
A snort came from Haruchi, a sad smirk forming. "Actually," she said, staring right into his slate eyes, "that's the only part of the rumor that's true." This time Byakuya's eyes did widen, if only a fraction. "Hisagi-fukutaichou gave me an official offer to be his sixth seat, but if Yumi-nii didn't step in, I never would have gotten it," she said, letting out a sigh. She shook her head then, forcing a smile back on her face. "My apologies, Taichou, I've kept you distracted by my rambling. Please, enjoy the rest of your evening."
Before the nobleman could say anything, she bowed to him and left, sliding the door behind her. He stared at his office door for a second, wondering what the girl had meant. She basically just confirmed the basic premise of most of the rumors - her fifth seat of a brother made sure she became a seated officer. The fact was more than displeasing to the girl. Yet, Hisagi had scouted her and gave her the official offer, and she clearly cared about being the sixth seat. Why did Yumichika come into the equation?
A Hell Butterfly came in just then, getting the captain's brows to raise for a brief moment. He then recomposed himself, holding out a hand and listening to the message being transmitted. "Vice-Captains Kuchiki Rukia and Abarai Renji shall return tomorrow morning. All division head officials will report to the meeting hall for an emergency meeting at 0800 to discuss the events transpiring in the World of the Living."
Ikkaku groaned to himself as he walked outside, the summer night air surprisingly cool for one. Today wasn't completely bad, he kept telling himself. He got Yumichika to perk up and fix up his looks, and they got tracked down everywhere the fifth seat had been in during May and April. That got rid of the first month prior to the attack in District 39. There were no leads to be found, but they were now starting to get through the records faster than before. The two of them also had the day off tomorrow, so that was something to look forward to.
The reason the third seat was upset was because he was on his way to the Twelfth Division. Akon was finally able to look into the blue bracelet devices, those anchisukiru that the assailants were wearing. Kurotsuchi didn't label it as a high priority, so it took the third seat a little longer to get to it. By all technicality, this was a good thing, and it would tell them something about the enemy. Something concrete.
This was not the reason Ikkaku was upset, though. To start, he just hated going to the Twelfth Division. He didn't need to understand the chemical structure of a poison or how a device was programmed, he needed to know what they could do and how to combat it. This was normally a drag with most other officers, but Akon got to the point with people outside the division, so that wasn't too bad.
On top of that, not only did the third seat hate the Twelfth's captain, but he also hated him for prioritizing the devices he and Yumichika brought back so low. There was no rush put into researching the thing that allowed regular bandits to take on actual Shinigami, and put up a hell of a fight. Ikkaku didn't understand how that wasn't alarming or at least curious to Kurotsuchi, and to be fair, neither did his third seat. Akon was very reasonable when he learned the specifics of the event. As a result, he tried to get to the anchisukiru as often as he could between projects.
And now the research was done. Once you get through this, you're off the clock, he thought. Yumichika would have gone with him, but the third seat made him go home. The fifth seat rarely got home in time to eat dinner with his little sister. The ebony learned his sister was gonna be done by six, which made him wanna leave and prepare dinner for her. Things were gonna get busier for Haruchi soon, so it made sense that her brother wanted to spend more quality time with her. So, Ikkaku kicked his partner out of the office at five, ordering him to go have dinner with his sister.
The third seat sighed as he entered the research and development department. He had to keep thinking about how happy Yumichika was that he was dismissed from helping more that evening. Just being in the building made him feel like, for lack of a better phrase, a specimen in a petri dish. The glare of the white walls didn't help settle that feeling any. Thankfully there weren't many people there, and Akon was waiting for him at the front desk. "Thank you for coming over, Madarame-san. I know how long you've been waiting for the results," the man said calmly.
Ikkaku just nodded at him, letting the horned man lead him down the halls to his office. The room was bland and lacked much personality. Then again, Ikkaku would be surprised if it had any. Kurotsuchi never really cared about how his subordinates felt. It wouldn't shock the man if the Twelfth Division's captain forbid personalization of any kind. "Please, take a seat," Akon said, sitting down at his own desk. In a clear, plastic box, was the anchisukiru Ikkaku broke off the one guy's wrist.
Once they were sitting across from each other, Akon offered his equal tea that he brewed with some beakers and a Bunsen burner. Ikkaku declined and the horned man sipped on his own. After a few moments of silence, Ikkaku spoke. "So, what can you tell me about this thing?"
Akon put his cup down, letting out a breath before looking back at Ikkaku. "Plenty, but I think you'd prefer I skip most of the structural details and get to the main points." Ikkaku motioned him to continue. Akon sighed. "As you witnessed, this "anchisukiru" gives its wearer the ability to completely conceal their reiatsu, increase their strength, speed and agility, as well as concentrate and strengthen their reiatsu into blasts similar to Hado spells."
"Nothing new," Ikkaku said bluntly while Akon took another sip.
"Indeed," Akon said. "As you also know, these abilities can be increased further by turning the button that activates the device. This begins to get unstable after they reach past the levels of an average sixth or fifth seat, though."
Ikkaku hummed to himself, placing his hands on his lap. "The old guy that got in Yumichika's way said he'd have to fix that. Which means this is gonna change at some point." Again, the horned man nodded. "Did you get anything else from it? Anything we can use as a lead?"
Akon smiled a bit. "Not to worry, these devices revealed a bit to me. However, the facts are contradictory and alarming." Ikkaku narrowed his eyes at him. "The device itself is advanced. The person who made it clearly has a knowledge of engineering and access to high grade equipment. Many of the mechanisms were unique, so this person is building them on their own, with very little guidance," he said.
His guest raised a brow. "How do you know that?"
"Because each bracelet isn't an exact copy. The engineer has enough knowledge of what goes where, but not enough to create all of them identically. However, that's where the 'very little guidance' comes into play," he said. "Though there are several unique mechanisms in the device, there are several patented ones." By Ikkaku's face, Akon got the sense he lost him. "The system to hide the enemy's reiatsu, for example, is on record. The Twelfth Division has many devices with that purpose, and most all of them are programmed the same way this device is."
The man's eyes widened. "Wait," Ikkaku said, raising a hand, "you're telling me that whoever did this, not only has the equipment, but also knowledge about our tech?"
Akon nodded. "Unfortunately, yes," he said. "But that is not all I have for you." Ikkaku put his hand on his chair, leaning in a bit. "I can't tell you where they've been, but I can tell you that all of the assailants you and Ayasegawa-san killed all came from North District 79. I doubt that anyone will tell you who they were, but I bet you can find out their criminal affiliations. Whoever is behind this must have some knowledge of Shinigami procedures when a district is under attack."
"You think these guys' group is on file somewhere." Akon nodded at him. Ikkaku smirked. "You think you can-"
"I'm already going through crimes that occurred in the district," he told him. "However, it will take some time. With the high crime rate of the area, not to mention we don't know when these guys first came up." Ikkaku groaned. Well, that sucked. Back to square one with Yumichika. "If the creator of these bracelets has access to our technology, though, they should be on file. They'd have to go through the same channels we do to get the data and the equipment, possibly. If you'd like, I could check the records for the last year," Akon said.
Ikkaku then sighed, preparing to stand up. "If you're gonna do that, best make it eighteen months." Akon nodded, standing with the third seat and walking out. "Once you got a good suspect list, send it over to my office. I need to cross check it with some of the records we've been pulling," he said as they made their way to the exit. Akon agreed and Ikkaku left.
Well, this fucking sucks, he thought. If this gets more complicated, it better give me a good fight. And with that, he returned to his barrack.
I'm discovering that Adam Lambert singles are the key to getting these chapters done quickly. I hear one and I'm golden. Anyways, thanks for reading!
~ K. Fang-sama
Translations:
Anchisukiru: (警備員) Security Guard
