Hello! This is my first ever (official) author's note! You all know me as icegoddez333, but I'd rather you call me ice. If you don't want to read, then skip. I wanted this to be published sooner, but while at school; I sorta, kinda slipped and fell backwards. Now I'm not naming anyone, *ahem* (you know who you are), but a friend of mine caught me, and then he decided to drop me. So I nearly broke/ dislocated my elbow. I was in a sling for a week. So don't blame me, blame my nameless friend. Before you read on, I have some news you'll like. I hope to start updating monthly now. If I miss a month, then I owe you guys 2 chapters the next month. Also, I love questions, whether to about me, or the fanfiction! With that, I'll let you guys read now. Enjoy!
Uta's POV
Laughter and horror. Darkness and red cherry blossoms.
I sat up straight, breathing hard, yet still trapped in the fading dream. Just a dream. Indeed. Oh shut up. At least let me wake up first. Sighing, I got up and walked to the walk in wardrobe that was bare except for a soul reaper uniform, and my own white kimono. I picked it up and looked down at the roses that were spread across the fabric, connected by thorny vines. This was the only thing I've worn since coming to the soul society.
I smiled and took of my night clothes before slipping into it, the fabric worn yet still soft. How have you not trashed this thing? You've been in god knows how many fights in it, and have stained it with yours and your enemies blood. How is it still in pristine condition? How am I supposed to know!
"Uta, you awake sweetie?" I turned to the doors where Rangiku was no doubt standing behind. "Yeah, come in!" The door slid open to reveal the lieutenant. "Nervous?" She asked. I rubbed the back of my head. "A little…" She laughed. "Don't worry, neither the captain nor I will allow anything to happen to you." Unless you do something stupid. Nobody asked you!
"Well, I'm here to escort you to the Soul Gate." What is a Soul Gate? A gate that connects the Soul Society to the World of the Living. You need permission to go through them, and to travel safely you will need a hell butterfly as guidance. Oh, I see now. So we're going straight away huh?
"Uta? Are you listening?" I blinked at Rangiku. "Ah, sorry, just thinking." She quirked an eyebrow. "I see," is all she said in reply. Then she grabbed my hand, and dragged me out of the room. "Rangiku!" She smiled at me. "We have to run, or we'll be late!" I sighed. Why did I get stuck with people again, and the rules that'll start showing up? I liked my nomad life! Your fault. How is it my fault! You insisted on fighting that hollow the day you met Toshirou Hitsugaya. I didn't see you protesting, you said it would be good for training! But was I the one to actually come up with the idea of killing the hollow? As we saw, another soul reaper would've turned up and exorcised it. I had no answer to that.
"We're here captain!" Rangiku hollered. I realised we had stopped running, and had started walking up to a group of people near what I guessed was a soul gate. I recognized all the faces present. Renji was there, as well as Yumichika, Ikkaku, Rukia, and of course the 10th captain himself. He glared at Rangiku. "You just made it."
Rangiku huffed. "We're here now, aren't we?" He shook his head, and looked towards me. "Are you ready?" How surprisingly polite of him. "As I'll ever be." He nodded curtly before turning towards the soul gate. It opened up, and we all stepped in. I walked in between Rangiku and Toshirou, while Yumichika and Ikkaku walked behind us. To their right, Renji and Rukia walked together. They seemed close. Maybe they are, she is captain Kuchiki's sister, and Renji his lieutenant. I wouldn't have guessed it, they seem like polar opposites! Opposites attract. Rangiku turned to me and said, "We'll be walking for a while, so you might wanna get comfortable."
******Time skip to end of soul gate******
Another set of doors appeared before us, and opened up to reveal the sun rising. I let out a breath of air. The World of the Living. My old home. Moron, you haven't even realised it yet. Huh? Then I noticed we were suspended a hundred feet from the ground. "Uh, Rangiku? How are we getting down?" She turned to me and grinned. "Oh, that's right, you don't know how to jump safely." My eyes widened. "J-Jump?" I'd always been fine with heights. I climbed trees, and small buildings, but I didn't go so high. Wimp. Shut up! I'm too young to die by falling! I'll go splat, and then you'll have to find someone else to annoy!
"Well, there's no avoiding it." I turned towards Renji, "What do you mean?" He smirked. "I'll have to carry you down." My eyes widened. "You're joking?" I looked at Rangiku. "Please tell me he's joking." She just waved before stepping off the edge along with her captain. I felt myself being lifted up and placed over someone's shoulder. "Lieutenant Abarai!" I yelled struggling. "Put. Me. Down!" He grunted. "Stop squirming, it'll be over in a few seconds squirt." I was just about ready to punch his face in. "Why you-" I clenched my jaw as he jumped. I screamed through my teeth, so no one would hear me.
He landed safely, and lowered me to the ground. I say, that was thoroughly entertaining. Nobody asked you! I staggered, and then stood straight and glared at Renji. "You could have at least given me a warning!" He laughed. "I could, but your face was priceless!" I growled, about to kick him, but someone beat me to it. A small fist came down upon Renji's head. He made a small sound of pain before grabbing his head. Rukia was behind him. "Don't go round teasing her!" She yelled. Renji turned towards her with a ticked off look on his face. "That's no excuse! You don't just hit people out of the blue!" She crossed her arms. "You deserved it." Renji made a step towards her and growled, "Why you-"
"Cut it out, both of you." They turned to the captain with apologetic faces. "Sorry captain Hitsugaya," they both said. He nodded before turning towards the town. "Rukia. Where will we find Ichigo and the others?" She stepped forward. "It's best if we wait for school to start. Their all in the same class." I cringed. Not this again. It's can't be that bad. Says you. It's terrible, you have… you have to learn stuff. Moron. I was kidding. It's not the learning I hated. It's the people, they're idiots.
Renji started to speak. "Then we'll have to fit in, we'll have to get uniforms." And I forgot that the uniforms are god awful. Friggin' hate skirts. "Then we'll head to Urahara's." Everyone agreed?" Toshirou looked at the group. We all said "Yes." Oh god…. Who was Urahara?
******Time Skip to Urahara's Shop******
We arrived at a seemingly run down shop, with two kids sweeping the front walkway. On the roof, a black cat rested, but it watched us with weary eyes. Couldn't blame him or her, we probably did look like a suspicious bunch. Since when were you a cat whisperer? Since the time I started listening to the voices in my head.
"Uta," Toshirou said beside me. I turned towards him. "What is it?" "Don't trust Kisuke Urahara's image. He is a very smart man, so stay sharp." I blinked, and nodded. "Sure…" Rangiku chose that moment to speak up. "I don't know captain, they're not bad people. Besides, they always have a bottle of sake hangin' around." Renji grimaced. "Always with the sake Rangiku? It's embarrassing what you get up to when you convince Shuuhei and Izuru to drink with you." She pouted, "At least we know how to have some fun."
"Enough, both of you. We're going inside, so unless you want to be left out of the equation, I suggest you stop arguing." They both sighed and said, "Yes sir." That was when the kids walked up to us. The boy had bright red hair, and wore an annoyed look on his face. He was wearing a simple white shirt with blue shorts and sneakers. The other, a little girl that was still infuriatingly taller than me, had black hair with a navy tint. She wore it in two pony tails with a few strands falling between her eyes.
The red head spoke up. "What are you guys doin' here?" Toshirou glared at the kid. "It doesn't concern you. But, is Urahara here?" "Yeah, he's inside, so you can just walk in yourselves." He huffed and walked away. His female companion bowed, before rushing after him. "That was eventful," I muttered. Rukia stepped up beside me and smiled. "They're a little awkward, but they get better once you spend more time with them." I smiled back and nodded.
As we walked into the stop, I noticed that the cat had walked in behind us. I gave it a questioning look, but just shrugged and ignored it. Not my home, so I don't have to worry about it. I thought you were the cat whisperer. And I thought you were knower of all things. Why don't you predict what its thinking?
"So, it seems that the soul society has arrived." I glanced around, before zeroing in on a man that was coming through a door to the right of us. He had blonde hair that fell just past his chin and the fringe fell between his eyes. Over his head, a green and white striped hat rested. He wore a green man's kimono, with a black jacket of sorts of it, with its bottom printed with large diamond shapes. He used a wooden cane, though I did not see any fault in his stride. On his feet, a pair of clogs. A bit of an odd choice, but who was I to judge?
"Urahara," Toshirou replied. Oooh, that guy that he was worrying about… He looks like some kind of shady drug dealer. Since when were drug dealer's not shady? At least most of them are subtle!
"What brings you here captain Hitsugaya?" He asked, leaning on his cane. "We are here to get uniforms to Ichigo's school. We need to see him." He smirked. "Is this about the arrancar attack?" Toshirou's eyes narrowed. "Yes. I'm guessing you assisted Ichigo in that particular fight?" Urahara nodded. Arrancar? What is that? An arrancar is a hollow that has had a piece of their mask removed. They also gain their own zanpukuto. That's… wow. No wonder this Ichigo person had trouble.
"Uta?" I looked towards Toshirou. "sorry, what?" He sighed. "You really need to concentrate." I rubbed the back of my head. "Yeah, sorry." He gestured towards Urahara. "This is Kiseke Urahara. He is… an ally of sorts." I raised an eyebrow, but bowed respectfully. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Uta Kazume." Urahara laughed. "I'm not really a formal person. Just call me Urahara!" I smiled and nodded.
"And as for your uniform problem, I do have some lying around. Why don't you all settle, while I go find them, okay?" With that he turned, heading back the way he came. We all sat down and waited.
The black cat from before walked in and sat down in front of me. It seemed to be mildly curious. I gave it a smile and reached out my hand tentatively, waiting for it to come to me. It glanced at my hand before opening its mouth. "You obviously haven't told her about me, have you, captain Hitsugaya?" I gaped. Did the cat just talk, or do I have another voice in my head? No ones in here but me. Besides, if someone even tried, I'd kick their asses. Don't worry, I'd only listen to you. Maybe.
Toshirou glanced over to us. "No I haven't. Uta, the cat standing before you is Yoruichi. Yoruichi, Uta Kazume." He connected eyes with him, or at least, I thought it was a him. His voice was deep after all. "She is under my protection." The both stared at each other, before Yoruichi bowed his head. What just happened? Seems the captain is becoming possessive. I don't think your right. Believe what you want.
Urahara walked back in. "I've found uniforms! It was a little hard to find some the size of captain Hitsugaya and Uta, but I managed!" I frowned but kept my silence. Toshirou nodded. "We all need gigai's first." I blinked. What was he talking about now! A gigai is a sort of human body that souls can slip into. Ooh, yeah, that makes sense. We all got handed uniforms and a gigai, save Rukia. She waved Urahara off, saying she already had everything. She then left, skipping out the door.
Urahara offered the rest of us changing rooms, and we accepted, one for girls, and one for guys. Rangiku helped me 'slip' into the gigai. I stretched, testing my muscles. "This feels weird," I mumbled. Rangiku turned around, laughing at me. "You'll get used to it. You look nice by the way." I blushed and looked down at my uniform. It consisted of a white, long sleeved t-shirt, a grey skirt that reached to mid-thigh on me, white socks that reached to just above my knees, and brown school shoes on my feet.
When I looked to Rangiku, I almost face-palmed then and there. Half her cleavage was hanging out. Makes me glad my own… assets were small, at least compared to Rangiku. Rangiku did a little twirl, and exclaimed, "These uniforms are so cute!" I sighed and shook my head, before leaving the room.
Everyone else was ready, and Rangiku soon followed me out of the room. We all thanked Urahara, before leaving the store. Looks like we're about to meet the forma ryoka. Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't slightly nervous. You'll do fine. Of you don't, you could always impress them with your cat whispering techniques. If you had a physical body, I would have punched you by now. Don't you love me? Not at this very moment, no.
"Uta," Toshirou said beside me. "I looked to him. "What?" He smirked. "We're here." I looked up to a big, white building. So this is… Yes Uta, Karakura High. We are about to meet one of the strongest people in existence. I gulped.