Disclaimer: I still wish I owned Bleach…
CHAPTER TEN
That night, Jyuushiro went by the ninth squad in the hopes of walking his wife home, only to find her drinking with her entire squad.
She had trained and tested them hard all day; but they had gained some modicum of respect for her and her abilities.
"Aki," she smiled as he joined her. "My squad has been catching me up on some of the gossip of the Seireitei. I really have to meet this Shinigami-daiko."
"He's a good boy," Jyuushiro nodded.
"Did you come to fetch me?" Kimiko asked abruptly.
"No," Jyuushiro looked away to hide his blush.
Kimiko grinned and stood.
"If you'll all excuse me," she addressed the assembled squad. "Enjoy the rest of the sake and be here on time tomorrow," this was accompanied by a look that said 'Or else…' "I have to go home and make love to my husband."
Jyuushiro's face wasn't the only one going bright red.
He quickly stood and dragged her out of the room.
"I think maybe you've become a little too open about our relationship,"
She pouted. "It was just a little fun," she sighed and linked her fingers with his, hugging herself close to him as they slowly began to stroll back to the house they had once shared, not only with each other, but with Shunsui (on the rare occasions he was actually home).
"Isn't the moon pretty tonight?"
Jyuushiro nodded his agreement.
"Aizen and Ichimaru are most likely planning a new attack; Yama-sensei really doesn't want to send anyone back into Hueco Mundo to search them out?"
"No," Jyuushiro shook his head, glancing down at her.
"You're wondering why I was gone so long, aren't you?" Kimiko searched his eyes.
Jyuushiro wasn't surprised, she had always been very adept at guessing what was on his mind.
"More like, wondering why you took so long to contact me," Jyuushiro responded. "I know how your family can be; but I was worried; it isn't like you to not let me know you're safe. I wouldn't have put it past your family to not tell me if you had have died or something, but 90 years without word..." he sighed. "It was hard."
She quickly hugged him tightly.
"I was in a kind of coma for those 90 years," she admitted. "My body was ravaged by a horrible fever. I wasn't aware of it though. Kiyoshi likes to remind me that I would have died if not for him keeping my body alive. The whole time I was fighting an inner battle; Kaida was a tough opponent and I almost lost myself on more than one occasion. Since then, I've spent the last 30 years training and learning to control my…newer abilities."
Jyuushiro was frowning now. "Your fever was bad when they took you away. You suffered that for a so many years?"
Kimiko shook her head. "My body suffered that; as I said, I was not aware of it."
"You seem as healthy as you always have been."
She nodded now and smiled at a group of Shinigami they passed by.
"I am healthy now. When I woke from my battle, however; I was so weak that it was a struggle just to get my eyes open. Recovering my previous strength took some time."
Jyuushiro sighed heavily. "The things your family put you through."
She smiled up at him briefly before concern shadowed her eyes. "What about your health?"
"It has it's moments," Jyuushiro sighed. "Sometimes I'm bad, sometimes I'm really bad," he shrugged it off. "I haven't had a single attack since you pulled me from the battlefield though, so that's a promising sign, considering I was wounded."
"Or perhaps it is simply being in my regal presence," she joked.
He smiled, but they both knew that it was partially because of her presence.
They didn't understand any of it, but they had worked out a long time ago that something about her reiatsu calmed his illness, causing fewer attacks or fits.
Yamamoto had suggested that perhaps she was somehow able to lend him some of her health and strength because they're abilities had a small affinity, but Kimiko didn't believe this as the similarity was far too small.
Shunsui liked to say that it was their love for one another that soothed him and kept him going. Jyuushiro liked to ignore those comments.
They walked on in silence for a time.
"This war has only just begun," Kimiko sighed. "If the Hougyoku we retrieved is the real thing, who knows how long it could be before Aizen finds a new way to attack us," she paused. "I wonder if some other enemy will spring up in his place."
They reached their home.
It was a small manor house of traditional Japanese style, surrounded by high walls. The garden held many trees and flowers surrounding a small lake.
"The housekeeper told me that in the time she has been caring for this place, you have never come here…and Shunsui is, as always, hardly ever home."
Jyuushiro looked sheepish. "There were just so many memories surrounding this place, good and bad. I found it hard being here without you," he shrugged uncomfortably.
Kimiko smiled and took his hand, drawing him inside.
"I found it hard being without you too; but I'm back now," she removed his haori and took his katana from him, moving through the house to place them in their bedroom, hers soon joining his.
The housekeeper, a young woman named Koto Mao, approached them hesitantly.
"Ukitake-sama, Inari-sama," she bowed politely. "Do you desire dinner?"
Kimiko and Jyuushiro wore twin smiles of kindness.
"I believe we have both already eaten, thank you Koto-san," Jyuushiro replied.
Kimiko nodded. "You may withdraw for the night Koto-san. We are not very high maintenance, which is why you are the only one looking after the house, besides the guards."
"Thank you, Inari-sama," she bowed again.
"Arigato, Koto-san," Kimiko smiled and she pulled Jyuushiro into their room.
"I'm not used to there being a servant living in this house," she sighed. "Perhaps we should see if she wants to only come by a few times a week to clean the place like Umeko-san used to do…whatever happened to her?"
Jyuushiro shrugged. "She decided to retire, it seems. Koto-san is, I think, about the twenty-somthingth housekeeper I've hired since Umeko-san left. Shunsui seems to scare a lot of them away on the rare occasions he comes home."
He looked down at his wife and noticed the glint that had entered her eyes.
They reached for each other at the same time; lips locking and hands yanking at clothes.
They were woken by the distant echo of the emergency gong sounding.
Despite being disturbed from their sleep, they were dressed in mere seconds and parting ways at the gate, using shunpo steps to reach their squads.
"Hisagi!" Kimiko reached him, expression serious. "What's the status?"
"Unknown Taicho," Hisagi replied.
Takahiro, the current third seat who had been placed on commanding duty that night approached them.
"Kimiko Taicho, Hisagi Fukutaicho," he bowed his head.
"Report," Kimiko demanded.
"A large group of Hollows appear to have broken into Seireitei," Takahiro stated. "The eleventh squad has been deployed, but the report says there may be too many to handle, the Hollow have broken in from several points sir."
Kimiko frowned.
"Our orders?" she questioned.
"Prepare for battle, sir,"
"Right," she moved to higher ground to face her squad.
She separated them and gave them orders to patrol the area for signs of Hollows, telling them to keep together and in touch at all times.
One team had been ordered to stay and guard the squad house.
"The most important thing for you to do is stick together and report something the minute you see or sense it, understood?"
"Hai," was the collective reply before they separated and moved out.
"Hisagi-kun?"
"Hai?"
"Contact Yama-sensei," Kimiko told him as she watched her squad go. "Someone should be sent to the Shrine of Penitence in case Aizen is trying to extract Tousen. Find out if he has done this."
"Hai, Taicho," Hisagi did as ordered.
When he turned back to his captain, Hisagi saw that she was watching the distant horizon. The scent of cinnamon was strong as she appeared to be assessing the situation.
"Hisagi," she said quietly. "We can't let anything happen to our squad, understood?"
"Hai."
"Good. We're going to patrol from the surrounding rooftops; the Hollows seem to just keep coming, each one seems stronger than the last. The eleventh will be stretched thin and even the Kenpachi can't take them all. Soon enough they will begin to reach us. I want you on guard and communicating with the teams at all times, understood?"
"Hai, Taicho,"
"Good, stick with me; let's move," she jumped to the nearest rooftop and began running along the top, assessing the surrounding landscape.
After a moment, she paused.
"Hisagi-kun, did you sense that?"
"Hai, it's an arrancar," Hisagi looked in the direction the reiatsu had come from.
"It's nearest to here. Come, Hisagi, we're going to meet it before it comes across our weaker squad members."
A/N: okay, slightly boring chapter…hopefully the next one won't be…R&R please