A/N: Due to circumstances out of our control, we haven't updated in a long while. Writer's block and lack of motivation is a bitch. -_- But Kuchiki Byakuya-sama has renewed our drive to write, because he is a glorious warrior who inspires the sweep of beautiful calligraphy across delicate parchment... If typed pixels were calligraphy... And Pages was parchment... But that technical stuff doesn't matter all that much, 'cause this is a freakin' looooong chapter.
Anyway. The two of us appreciate any and all reviews whether they be words of appreciation or constructive criticism. This being the case, we don't like to pick favorites on a regular basis.
BUT!
We will make an exception this chapter. We'd like to give special recognition to TheSecondQuincy, who gave us an amazing and lengthy review that had both Umino and Kazoku squealing with happiness. Of course, it could be an extended reaction of our excitement for putting our next chapter up after so long, but I digress. You, my dear, are amazing. Both of us appreciate your appreciation. :3 You made Umino feel shiny inside and Kazoku skipped back and forth through her classroom for a good ten minutes with joy.
As for our other reviewers, we thank you all for reading this far! Onward Chappy Cavalry!
Natsu calmly strode through the halls of the Kuchiki manor, not a trace of fear about her despite the task that she was about to perform. She didn't really understand what all the fuss was about, there was no reason to be afraid of their new guest. However, most of the other servants hadn't yet laid eyes on the girl, so they'd ended up drawing straws to see who would have the honor of waking and assisting the ryoka girl every day.
It didn't really matter to Natsu, in her opinion the girl looked sweet...okay, maybe not sweet per se, but she was sure that the girl's cold exterior was simply due to the fact that Master Kuchiki had intimidated her into hiding her true emotions. Besides, the girl was absolutely precious, she'd looked so tiny walking behind the captain. And the little red ribbon in her hair along with the bow tied behind her back? How cute. Maybe she'd allow Natsu to dress her up every day as well, it'd be nice to have a little sister-like figure around for a change. Miss Rukia simply hated being treated as such.
Natsu also had less personal motives for wanting this task, many of them revolving around the idea of not doing the usual boring house chores. No, those would be left to the other maids and butlers while she got to dote on little miss Aka-chan. Hmm, Akadoragon...Umino Akadoragon...the girl's name really didn't suit her. Well, maybe the sea part, but dragon? No, much too violent and destructive for her tastes.
And so, with a bright and cheery smile on her face, the maid slid the ryoka's door open and entered the room.
The shades were already open, allowing the pale, warm sunlight to stream through the window and cast a glow across the sleeping child's form. Oh she was so cute, curled up in a ball with the blankets tightly wrapped around her, nothing but the top half of her face exposed. Her glasses lay on the bedside table and without them it gave her face a much younger appearance.
Softly walking to the side of the bed, Natsu placed a gentle hand on Umino's shoulder and shook her, trying to wake her up when the early sunlight had obviously failed to. "Miss, it's time to wake up. We wouldn't want to get a scolding from Kuchiki-sama for being late now would we?"
Unbeknownst to the maid, she had made a horrible mistake that would affect her for months to come.
When Umino's mind began to stir from its much appreciated deep sleep her mood plummeted. Hearing the fuzzy, yet decidedly sickeningly sweet voice trying to coax her awake certainly didn't improve anything. Feeling a dissatisfied frown fix itself upon her face, Umino snapped her eyes open and turned her head, intent on tearing apart the unlucky soul who had the misfortune to be waking her at the moment.
Despite the fact that her eyes were still foggy with sleep, she managed to sharpen her glare with the intent to burn alive anything in its path. Umino had long ago learned the art of imbuing her person and immediate area with the dark and malevolent aura that she carried within her, so it was within milliseconds that the room began to darken with an ominous evil shadow that seeped into every corner.
Feeling the hand of her target snatch itself away as if burned, the fire elemental girl sat up, allowing her aura to send out a pulse of hostile intent. And so, it was with a smirk of satisfaction that she watched the maid make herself scarce with a blur of motion and the slam of the door as it slid shut, the sound of her terrified scream dying as it echoed around the room.
XxXxXxXxX
"Here."
Kazoku gave a yelp of surprise when a cloud of black assaulted her vision, the dark attacker taking up the air previously drawn upon for breath. Amidst Kazoku's flailing, she heard an exasperated sigh followed by the sudden disappearance of the constricting black. It was replaced with a very irritable Toushiro looking down at her, clutching a bundle of fabric in his small fist.
"What was that for? Trying to suffocate me or something?" Kazoku accused, sitting up from where she had been daydreaming on the couch.
"I assumed you'd be able to at least catch something." He retorted and dropped the bundle onto her lap before retreating to his desk. "My mistake."
"How rude." Kazoku muttered as she unrolled the black fabric, only to find a shinigami shihakusho in her hands.
"Um, Hitsugaya-taicho, what is this for?"
"Seeing as it's a uniform, I'd think that you would wear it."
Kazoku sent a light glare his way. "That's not what I meant. I mean why did you give a shinigami uniform to me?"
"Your training begins this afternoon." He replied as he took up his brush and didn't elaborate further. Instead he set to work minimizing the paperwork that crowded his desk and put the human girl from his attention. Said human girl looked from the uniform to him and back again before scurrying out of the room toward the bathroom, clutching the black bundle in her arms.
She returned some twenty minutes later, clad in the dark shihakusho. "I like it." Kazoku announced and plopped down on the couch, tossing her abandoned jeans and top to the corner of the room. Toushiro scowled.
"This isn't your bedroom. You can't just throw clothes everywhere."
"Well excuse me, but I don't have a room at all." Kazoku answered. "I slept on this couch last night. Onee-chan probably got to stay in the Kuchiki estate, and here you are being completely discourteous to your guest."
"I'm not required to be courteous to you. I'm only required to train you." He said coldly. Kazoku frowned and sat back against the couch, inwardly hoping that she wouldn't have to sleep on the couch for the entirety of her time here. It was stiff and too short to stretch comfortably. Toushiro might be small enough to do so without issue, but she had a few more inches on the child captain and happened to shift considerably in her sleep. And if she ended up rolling onto the floor because she had tried moving into a comfier position, the young captain had better expect a very irate and cruel Karasukami Kazoku.
XxXxXxXxX
Natsu stared blankly at the space in front of her as she slumped against the wall and slid down, her legs unable to support her anymore after having put as much distance between her body and that room as possible. She clenched her hands around her arms, trying to stop the violent shaking of her soul as it slowly regained its warmth. Never had she been more terrified in her life.
Slowly, she got up and examined herself, not understanding why none of her reishi particles had turned to ash. Surely she hadn't imagined the burning sensation that had been caused by the demon?
Nonetheless, she was undeniably grateful that she had escaped with her life. That is, until she realized that she still had to bring the girl her uniform and escort her to the dining hall. Not to mention that she had to enter the dragon's cave every day to wake it up! 'Oh kami have mercy on my soul!' Natsu thought as she dragged her weary body down the hall, all previous cheer absent from her demeanor.
Meanwhile, Umino sighed as she flopped back down onto the bed, letting the black shadows of her anger dissipate until there was not a trace of it left. She wanted nothing more than to snuggle into the feather down comforter and return to her peaceful slumber, but that, sadly enough, wasn't an option. The girl grumbled as she unceremoniously kicked the covers off and placed her glasses on her head before sliding off the bed.
Bending her back until she heard several satisfying cracks, Umino ambled her way to the bathroom. A shower sounded like a great way to ease her aching leg muscles from all the running she'd done yesterday.
Actually, her whole body was sore, but that was to be expected. She had, after all, taken somewhat of a beating before the shinigami had been able to subdue her. She even noticed some bruising along her arms and legs where they had been able to restrain her. Oh well, it couldn't be helped. Although she was sure that they would keep Kazoku entertained, the girl was oddly obsessed with bruises, especially Umino's seeing as they always managed to retain the strangest of colors.
After scrubbing herself clean Umino dressed herself in the standard shinigami uniform that she'd found folded neatly on her bed, which had been made while she was in the shower. No doubt the work of the maid who had stopped by this morning.
While brushing out her hair, Umino glared at the red ribbon sitting on the vanity, then back to her reflection. As much as she hated to admit it, she sucked at braiding her hair. Normally she had Kazoku do it because she hated it when the braid didn't go down her back in a perfectly even line, but unfortunately Kazo-chan was absent and she had no idea when she'd see her sister next. Perhaps she could find a maid to do it.
As luck would have it, the maid happened to be standing just outside the room, so when Umino opened the door she allowed a smile to grace her features. "Excuse me, but would you mind helping me with my hair? I usually have it pulled back in a braid, but to be honest it looks terrible when I do it myself." Umino allowed an innocent sort of tone to creep into her voice, though really the feel of it made her queasy.
The maid gave a sharp nod and a shaky smile as she followed Umino into the room. She wasn't sure what to think of the girl. Her smile and voice had sounded totally believable, and it made her question whether or not she had imagined the previous incident. Something deep down, however, told her to run, that Umino was still the same demon and she could snap her neck in an instant.
XxXxXxXxX
The tenth division was an impressive one, she had to admit. In the walk toward the training field, Kazoku did all she could to memorize the layout as she went, seeing as her sense of direction wasn't the best, and she didn't want to end up like Kenpachi if a battle erupted somewhere.
She had forgiven Toushiro somewhat since that morning, was even amused by his actions. After his cold remark about not being required to be courteous, he had set to getting as much work done as he could before he had to drag his charge out to the fields to assess her current abilities. However, it became apparent that the complaint the girl had made had somehow given him an awareness that brought an embarrassed scowl to settle on his face minutes later.
It seemed that the fact that he was supposed to provide the girl a place of residence during this extended stay had completely slipped his mind. In fact, the realization that the girl had remained in the office the entire night didn't occur to him until she brought it up that morning.
He had stayed late the night before to finish his daily work in addition to the extra documents Matsumoto had slipped on his desk to avoid doing them herself. This work would have been done, had the ryoka not invaded and gave reason for a mandatory captain's meeting. And so, when the moon was high in the sky and illuminated his desk now empty of papers, he let out a sigh of relief at his accomplishment.
Kazoku, on the other hand, had zoned out after the little singing scene and amused herself with quiet little tunes to accompany the tales she spun in her mind to repress her anxiety. Around the time Hitsugaya had finished his paperwork, she was conveniently absent from the office, barely calling a "Bathroom break! " over her shoulder before she had walked out. Despite Toushiro's previous order to stay in his sight, he was surprisingly lenient as long as she was quiet and stayed in the building. She supposed her reiatsu was enough to tell him where she was.
With this in mind, she had taken her time and didn't return to the office for a good ten minutes. But, by the time she slid the door open and yawned, intent on telling Hitsugaya that it really was too late to be here, she had found the room dark and most certainly empty. The exhausted child captain had gone home for the night.
The following hour found the quiet office lit with candles to fend off the dark, and Kazoku curled on the couch under a large fluffy teal blanket that had been unceremoniously thrown in the corner of a storage closet connected to the office. Kazoku granted a mental kudos to the person who decided a teal and white Toushi-Cocoon would be downright adorable. Upon closer inspection, she had found a white tag bearing a simple smiley face in black ink attached to the corner, which she had promptly removed and put into the pocket of her jeans (she had changed back into her human clothes, not wanting to turn her new uniform into her pajamas regardless of how comfy it was).
Other things in the corner of the closet included a basket of child's toys like jacks, cards, and slinkies, a large box of girly kimonos and a package of shiny ribbons, all bearing similar smiley face tags. This caused Kazoku to giggle incessantly as she rifled through the pile; whoever had been sending Toushiro these gifts was genius. After all, the young captain couldn't throw them away lest they be secret gifts from Hinamori or Matsumoto and he was forced to face their wrath for getting rid of gifts they 'had chosen especially for him'.
Her attention had been drawn from the corner when her nose twitched at a sweet scent slightly masked with the musty one of the closet. Looking up, she had realized that the containers stacked to the ceiling were not supplies as she originally thought. They were candy. Boxes upon boxes of sugary treats, each labelled in Hitsugaya's neat handwriting (probably to make it easier for those picky people to choose what they wanted when he gave it all away, or maybe the young captain was just OCD about his candy organization. Either way, it was highly amusing). The young ryoka assumed this was the home of all those candies that took up former residence in Ukitake-taicho's sleeves.
Using the particularly large blanket as a bag to cart a decently sized pile to the couch, Kazoku had spread out the candies on the table and selected a few small pieces of chocolate to nibble on while she made her nest out of the blanket. The couch, as she found out later on, was not as comfy to sleep on as it looked, but she had felt content. With the room illuminated with soft candlelight, the chill in the air from traces of Toushiro's reiatsu contrasting with the coziness of the thick blanket around her, and no worry of running out of snacks anytime soon, Kazoku had settled down and sighed happily before the exhaustion of the day's events crept up on her and she drifted off to sleep.
Of course, she had already woken and cleaned up her mess long before Toushiro had arrived the next morning, so of course he wouldn't have noticed right away. She inwardly giggled. Regardless of his claims, he still needed as much sleep as any child, and the early hours weren't his most lucid times.
That aside, he now walked with an air of one who demanded respect, though she was pretty sure it was half habit, half for the sake of appearances in front of the ryoka. She wished she could have laughed out loud at how cute it was, but doing so would just make him angry.
She settled instead for a soft smile as they walked past the training fields of the Tenth Division. She spotted the lieutenant a ways off training a team of new recruits, various officers sparring, and still more testing their skills at kidou using various targets. It was amazing how chaotic and yet how organized the division really was. Everyone flowed together with little issue, melded together by their dedication to their duties and devotion to their comrades. In a way, she was jealous that she wasn't part of that. And as a human from another world, she supposed she never truly would be.
"We're here."
Kazoku was jolted from her musing when the captain stopped and she bumped into him. "Eh? Oh, sorry about that." She laughed apologetically before she took note of the building in front them.
"Looks like a dojo." She said aloud, tilting her head.
"It's an extension of the- Hey!" He growled when the girl ran past him and inside with an excited grin, resolving that he had to exercise his patience with this girl. That in mind, he too walked through the doors, finding the girl already selecting a wooden bokken from a rack off to the side. The entire place was currently void of any of his division members as ordered.
"You're not using anything like that yet." He said as he walked over. Kazoku didn't seem to hear him.
She tested the weight of the bokken with a few experimental twirls and a downward slash. She liked the feel of the wooden weapon in her hand. She was almost beside herself with excitement at the prospect of being able to wield a weapon and purify Hollows on her own. It was thrilling, the very idea of connecting with a spirit that embodied what looked like a simple blade and guided her, grew with her in her training. Of course, this bokken wasn't going to be it's home, but just the thought filled her with a giddy anticipation.
She tried her best to repress these optimistic emotions that coursed through her just by holding the training weapon. She knew what happened when new recruits entered the division with a reckless overconfidence; it was common knowledge that those who discarded caution were the first to fall. And though she'd like to think that she'd do just fine taking on opponents and wielding a zanpakuto, she knew that it'd be a bit more difficult than that.
"Hey! I said you aren't using-" He blocked a slash with crossed forearms, then pushed the wooden blade aside and grabbed the hand wielding the weapon. His grip tightened almost painfully on her wrist and she tilted her head, face pinching.
"We're beginning with basics." He said and took the bokken from her hand. "This will come later."
"So... Stances?" Kazoku offered. Toushiro set the bokken on it's rack and just stood there without an answer. Kazoku took a step toward him.
"Toushi-taicho?"
She hit the ground with an 'oof' after a quick arm to the gut; she hadn't even seen him move. It wasn't a hard hit at all, just enough to knock her off balance. The girl looked up with confused eyes and was given a level look.
"It's Hitsugaya-taicho." He said blankly. Given how easily she hit the floor, he was fairly certain he'd be here a while.
XxXxXxXxX
Umino watched as the maid shakily combed her fingers through her hair before separating them into three sections. Unsure about whether or not Byakuya would view damage to a person's mental health as a breach in his rules, she decided to make amends with the maid, despite the fact that she'd probably break her again if she decided to wake her up the following morning.
Putting her acting skills to use, Umino made her expression resemble that of an overly curious and sincere little girl, ignoring her own annoyance at the way her face looked in the mirror. "So...might I have the pleasure of knowing your name? I'd rather not refer to you as 'the maid' every time I see you, that would be rude."
Natsu continued to braid the hair as she answered. "My name is Hana Natsu, but the young miss can call me Natsu if she pleases."
"Natsu...hmm, summer...that's a pretty name. It suits you. Oh, and please don't call me young miss, it sounds too polite for me." On the inside, Umino was dying even though she knew her act was working. Her manners were suffocating her! Natsu, on the other hand, had visibly relaxed and a tentative smile made itself known as she replied with a soft thank you.
Finished with the braid, Umino followed Natsu as she led her through the various halls that would lead them to the dining room. "I've brought Akadoragon-san for breakfast Kuchiki-sama." And with that, Natsu bowed and took her leave.
As soon as she vacated the room, Umino scowled and sat down on the cushion across from Byakuya. "You couldn't have let me sleep in a little longer?"...Blank stare...silence...ignored. "Fine, fine. But don't blame me when your maid has to get checked into a mental institution due to repeated traumatic events." At that point the food was served and Umino gave the stoic man one last glare before concentrating on the task at hand. Eating. "Itadakimasu."
After finishing a very awkward breakfast in which Umino could feel Byakuya's cold stare analyzing her table manners, they headed over to the sixth division...in silence. 'This was going to become a habit, wasn't it?' Umino simply sighed. At least she wasn't getting constantly reprimanded. Not that she would mind if it was Hitsugaya-taicho.
After entering the office Umino returned to the wall she had claimed the day before, planning on counting all of the knots in the wooden flooring to pass the time. Just as she was starting to slip into a peaceful, zoned out state of mind, the door slid open with a crash, jolting her back to reality. Renji lumbered into the office with a hand on his head and an irritated scowl on his face. "Morning taicho, Akadoragon."
Umino smirked as he grumbled on his way to his desk. "And good morning to you as well sunshine." Her smirk turned into a full-blown grin as Renji clumsily pulled out his chair and sat down, almost missing the seat entirely. "Have fun drinking with the boys last night? I certainly hope it was worth the headache." The hungover lieutenant shot her a scathing look, which only succeeded in allowing the laughter to escape the confines of Umino's mouth.
Her joy, however, was cut short when she noticed the grin that made its way onto his face. "Remind me to kick your ass later on today when I'm put in charge of your training exercises." The girl scowled and went back to glaring at the floor.
After two hours of absolute boredom, the trio exited the room, leaving the paperwork for later. Captain Kuchiki led his lieutenant and ward out to the training grounds, watching as the rest of the division assembled. Umino was given strict instructions to just sit and watch silently as the sixth division's finest led the group training exercises. Umino kept a strict eye on Renji trying to memorize his fighting style, but all it told her was that she was in for some huge ass-kicking when noon came around.
Finally the lesser shinigami were dismissed, leaving Byakuya and Renji to get down to business. Byakuya addressed Umino with that awesome know-it-all noble voice of his. "You will be instructed in each of the four basic aspects that make up a shinigami's skill set; Hohō, Hakuda, Kido, and Zanjutsu. We will start by testing your agility with hohō. Hohō is the art of speed.'"
"So, in short, Shunpo." Umino said, though no sarcasm was used. She had her learning face on and was giving her full attention to the noble...to be honest, it was kinda weird.
Byakuya's eyes scanned her face suspiciously, still skeptical of how she came about her knowledge of the shinigami. "Essentially yes, shunpo is the greatest expression of hohō."
Byakuya pointed toward the furthest end of the training field. "Starting from this wall, your objective is to test how far you can get with a single flash step heading in that direction. You will be timed. On my mark." Umino crouched and placed her hand on the ground, tensing her legs and bracing her feet against the ground. "San. Ni. Ichi." Umino took a breath, closing her eyes. "...Iku."
Releasing her breath in a rush, Umino pushed off the ground with all her might, scrunching her eyes shut as the wind rushed past her face. She opened her eyes to see how far she'd make it and...the ground rushed up to meet her face. Umino just managed to brace the fall with her hands, but she ended up performing some sort of weird front flip and landed on her back in a collapsed back bend. Tilting her head backwards until everything was upside down, she saw that she had managed to make it at least 8 feet. Frowning, she looked at her captain to see a dispassionate gaze painted on his face...what a surprise. To her right she daren't look, lest she see a smug expression plastered onto Renji's face.
And yet look she did, only to find that his face was also wiped clean of any emotion. "Well, at least we know she can jump..." And then it seemed as though the pineapple wasn't able to hold in his laughter after the utterance of a single sentence from his mouth. He bent over chuckling, tears on the corners of his eyes. "Hah, what the hell was that? Ahaha, that was so pathetic!"
Flushing, Umino jumped up, her glasses flashing, though they were askew, so the effect was lost on Renji. "Oi! I was going on nothing but an order to get as far as I could in one step! It's not like I know how to do this shit, I'm a freakin' human girl for Christ's sake!"
Renji had straightened up and quieted his laughter, but as soon as he looked at the teenage girl he burst out laughing again. "Haha, can't! Breath!" Umino, with her eye twitching, marched over to Renji and gave him a jab to the gut, causing him to double over. "Can you breath now?" "Damn midget!" Umino and Renji now had their foreheads pressed against each other, each gritting their teeth with their fists clenched at their sides. Before they could start exchanging blows however, a stern voice interrupted them.
"Abarai-fuku-taicho, Akadoragon, I am giving instructions on shunpo right now. Hakuda will begin after we finish with this, so, if at all possible, stop acting so impetuously and get back to focusing on the task at hand." Both Renji and Umino snapped to attention and Umino zipped back to her starting point, the two of them refusing to meet Byakuya's gaze.
"I was assuming that you'd be able to achieve shunpo by instinctually using that explosive reiatsu of yours, seeing as your control over it is reminiscent of Kurosaki's. It seems that you will be requiring an in depth lesson on using shunpo." Umino flushed as Byakuya continued on with his explanation of shunpo, trying to describe how to channel her reiatsu into her feet in a controlled burst of energy.
Theoretically, Umino understood the process, she just couldn't do it. Try as she might, she couldn't even find a thread of her reiatsu in her mind's eye, so there was no way for her to channel it to her feet. Thus, the next 15 minutes were spent with Umino zipping from one end of the courtyard to the other while Byakuya and Renji watched from the sidelines.
As it was, Umino only succeeded in tiring herself out, eventually collapsing in the middle of the field. Taking deep breaths to calm her heart, she closed her eyes in frustration. That stupid voice in her head was telling her she was failing again. Umino's eyes snapped open and she jumped up, determined to succeed. She tried remembering how it felt when she had made her reiatsu fluctuate in the captain's meeting. Still nothing.
About ready to rip her hair out in frustration, she stamped her foot in anger, only to find that she was on the roof of one of the buildings surrounding the training area. Taking a second to analyze just how she'd gotten there, Umino smiled and waved at Byakuya and Renji on the ground.
Thinking she'd gotten a handle on shunpo, she tried using it once again to get back on the ground. Unfortunately she only succeeded in jumping off the roof and almost breaking her leg. Byakuya decided that any further shunpo experimentation could only end with further injury to Umino's body, so they moved on to hakuda.
Umino followed her jailers into a building very similar to a traditional dojo. She moved to the center of the room and watched warily as Renji removed Zabimaru from his side. When he turned to face her with a smirk on his face she immediately bent her knees down into a wide stance, arms spread in a defensive position. For every step Renji took, she mirrored it, the two of them slowly circling each other, waiting for the first move to be made.
Suddenly, Renji bounded forward, obviously refraining from using shunpo, and made a swift jab at Umino's stomach. She dodged to the side, but her legs were kicked out from under her before she was completely able to evade. As she fell, Umino grabbed the leg that had not kicked her and jerked it up and forward, causing Renji to fall along with her. Regardless of this minor fumble, Renji was able to pin Umino's legs down before she could regain her footing and captured her arms, pinning them as well. Umino frowned and struggled, but to no avail. Round one had gone to Renji.
They sparred for several more rounds, each round lasting longer than the first. Renji managed to incapacitate her with ease every time, though not without some injuries himself. The undersized girl was proud to admit that she had scored a few hits as time wore on and she got a basic feel for Renji's style of fighting. She really hoped that the bruise adorning the right side of his lower jaw would stay there for weeks to come, as well as the gash on his left forearm where her teeth had found purchase. Not to mention the jammed fingers on his right hand from when he'd tried to hit her neck but got her forehead instead.
Seeing as she was on the verge of collapsing from dehydration and over-exhaustion, the human girl was allowed a short ten minute break. After quenching her thirst and practically dousing her whole body in water, Umino dragged her feet back to the dojo and slumped on the ground. Unfortunately the moocher seemed intent on working her to death. With an evil gleam in his eye, Renji tossed a bokken at Umino's head, the practice weapon meeting its mark. "We're moving on to zanjutsu now, so quit being lazy." The weary and beaten girl grabbed the bokken and looked at it with extreme distaste. "Oh lovely, now I get to experience the sensation of being beaten to death by a toy sword."
As soon as Umino got to her feet, Renji swung his bokken at the girl, who managed to deflect it... sort of. When the lieutenant's wooden blade made contact, it sent Umino's flying out of her hand. Renji allowed the brunette to retrieve her weapon so they could start again, though the next few rounds ended up having the same results. Each time the bokken was sent flying, Renji would smack her upside the head telling her she needed to keep a tighter grip. Unfortunately a better hold didn't seem to do the girl any good seeing as the force of Renji's swings caused her sword to swing back and hit her head or whatever body part she had been trying to protect. Needless to say, Umino's blade work would need some refining.
When the the hot-tempered girl found herself staring at the point of Renji's bokken for what seemed like the millionth time, Byakuya called an end to the training. Umino sighed with relief, knowing that she was sure to have a wonderful collection of bruises and sore spots tomorrow, and tossed the wooden sword to Renji before following Byakuya outside. His lieutenant joined them soon after and it was then that the girl realized they were heading home.
She turned to the noble, confusion lightly coloring her tone. "We didn't work on kido at all." He didn't even glance her way. "...Weren't we supposed to go over all of the shinigami techniques?" At this, Byakuya finally responded. "Kido requires a base control over ones own reiatsu, which you are sorely lacking. Until such a time comes that you are able to keep that rampant spiritual pressure under control, I refuse to teach you kido. Regardless of whatever determination you may possess, I'd much prefer avoiding letting my division go up in flames." Renji smirked at the statement, which Umino deemed a good enough reason to smack him. "Like you're one to talk! 'Check it out, I'm Renji, hado thirty-one, Shakkaho!'" The diminutive girl mimicked having the spell explode in her face, then smirked right back at the pineapple. He just threw her a scathing look, knowing that Kuchiki-taicho would get on his case if he kicked her ass any more than he had already.
And so the day came to a close. Renji left the two to walk alone to the Kuchiki property and when they got there, Umino bid Byakuya goodnight. Deciding a hot shower would be a great way to ease her aching and bruised body, she proceeded to do just that. Limping across the room after her shower, Umino was determined to find a comfy pair of pajamas so she could pass out on her bed for the rest of the night.
The last thing heard before the night was over was Umino's horrified shout echoing throughout the house.
XxXxXxXxX
'Well, that wasn't too horrifying.' Kazoku thought as she flopped on the couch upon returning to the office. Toushiro seated himself at his desk and proceeded to ignore the ryoka girl once again. Really, this was getting rather annoying; it wouldn't kill the guy to be sociable.
But, he was a pretty good teacher so she couldn't be too upset. Her training, after she was knocked on her ass for being a nuisance, began with the most basic of basics. And after she started getting serious about it, he had no problem answering any questions she had.
"We'll start with assessing your capabilities with hohō."
"Um... Hitsugaya-taicho, I don't think training should include sugary snacks. I mean, I'm all for sweets but they'll kill my systems if I exert myself."
She received a deadpan look. It was then that she reflected on what she just said and laughed nervously.
"Um, sorry. I'm used to hearing shunpo when people talk about speed, so I associate 'hohō' with a human snack food. It's a little chocolate pastry thing with cream in it."
He remained silent at the explanation. Processing information...
"How much do you know about each of the four shinigami combat skills?"
Of course he'd disregard the sweets. Che. Kazoku bit her lip while trying to remember the names of each skill.
"Hohō is speed, kido is channeling and manipulating one's spiritual power in order to cast spells, sometimes accompanied by incantations, zanjutsu is swordsmanship and I can't remember the name of the fourth... But it's basically hand to hand combat."
"Hakuda."
"That's it, I knew it had a 'ha' sound..."
Toushiro mulled over this information, wondering just how she knew so much about abilities of the shinigami. In response to his silent questions, she laughed nervously again.
"Don't ask questions, Hitsugaya-taicho, and I won't have to lie to you."
He decided to comply, because as beneficial to his observations the answers would be, he wasn't sure he wanted to delve into the mind of the little spaz. Instead he gestured for her to stand at one side of the large room.
"I want you to try using shunpo. All you need to do is to move as far as you can in one step."
Kazoku frowned. "That's it? No timing or speed recording or anything?"
"Have you done this before?"
"No."
"Then I don't expect you to be able to do it now." He replied, looking at her with a 'what a child' smirk on his young face. "You increase your speed with constant training, not natural talent. So attempt to complete a successful flash step first, and then set to refining it."
Kazoku gave a mocking bow. "Then teach me how, Hitsugaya-sensei. Because unless you want me launching myself off the wall, I won't be getting anywhere today."
And so he stood beside her and explained how to channel reiatsu to the soles of her feet, going on to explain how one would control the direction in which they were flash stepping and warning her of the nausea she might experience afterward. He even demonstrated once or twice, though the whole point of shunpo was to move too quickly for the eye to follow so it didn't help much.
When she was sure she could get it right, she took her place at one end of the room. "Count off for me, 'kay?" She said as she readied herself. She heard the numbers count off and did the best she could to focus her reiatsu in her feet.
Let's just say that, judging by the lovely introduction of Kazoku's front to the wall and then her back to the floor after a rather explosive step, Kazoku didn't quite get shunpo yet.
"You forced too much energy into your step."
"Thank you Obvious-taicho, for pointing that out. The impact on the wall wasn't that much of a-" Kazoku stopped mid-sentence, mortified. Quicker that one should after such a harsh landing, Kazoku threw herself to her feet and stood in front of where she had hit the wall, arms crossed over her chest with a pinched expression.
"Karasukami, what are you doing?"
"Nothing."
"Step away from the wall then."
"Uh Uh. You'll laugh at me."
"Move Karasukami. I won't tell you again."
Her face bright crimson, she took a timid step away from the wall, and then another. Craning his head to see around her, he found two distinct circular indents in the wall where she had collided with it, it seemed, chest-first.
"You should like, destroy this wall. Or do something to get rid of this." She muttered, not meeting his eyes. He looked from her to the wall, torn between amazement (were those things made of steel?) and irritation. Deciding that this was as good a time as any to teach the girl who gave orders, he took on an indifferent expression.
"We're going outside." He announced and gestured for her to follow him to the door. She looked up in horror.
"You aren't going to do anything about the wall?"
"I'll notify someone to repair it after your assessment is over. It's too dangerous to keep you within four walls until you learn to channel your reiatsu correctly."
"B-but... You can't just leave this here!" She gestured wildly at the indents.
"We're going, Karasukami."
After a few moments of rapid flailing and protests, she grudgingly followed the small captain out onto the fields. He ordered a group of officers to move their training elsewhere and took up a position across from her.
"Have you ever had any instruction in any form of hakuda?" The young captain asked,
"Just assume that I know nothing Toushi-taicho." She answered with a shrug. Hitsugaya quirked an eyebrow.
Kazoku loosed a screech and threw herself backwards to avoid a sudden harsh jab to the gut, rolling to the side when she hit the ground and jumping to her feet. She quickly put distance between herself and Toushiro.
"That coulda really hurt ya know." She frowned.
He didn't answer and disappeared in a rustle of shunpo. Her eyes flew wide and she looked around rapidly only to come face to face with the captain. Letting out another yelp, she jumped backwards. A whisper and a step later, the same captain stood behind her with a hand on her shoulder.
"I think I've seen enough."
He walked back to the building they had come from and returned with two bokken. In that time, Kazoku had gathered her thoughts and she was fuming.
"What the heck was that? You didn't teach me anything about hakuda, you just chased me around!"
"This first day is an assessment. Your true training won't start until tomorrow, when I've pinpointed where you need to begin. And I've seen enough to know where to start as far as your hakuda skills are concerned." He tossed her a bokken and she caught it, twirling it so as not to drop it. He didn't fail to note the wide grin that broke out on her face.
"This I can get used to." She murmured as she slashed at the air. She spun the blade to point downward to tuck it into an imaginary sheath, only to 'draw' it again and stabbing in Hitsugaya's direction. Her enthusiasm wasn't lost on Toushiro, and he planned to take advantage of it.
The clash of the wooden weapons brought Kazoku's attention to the young captain. "It's rude to attack a person when their back is turned ya know." She grinned, though her arms shook with the effort to keep Hitsugaya from striking the blade right out of her hand. He definitely had too much strength for his small frame.
"You cheater!" Kazoku accused as she pushed back and slashed at him, only to be blocked and nearly disarmed.
"How am I cheating?" The captain smirked, not seeming offended at all. Zanjutsu was definitely where this girl would find her strength. Her footing was a little off, but she stayed low and naturally adjusted to the blade being an extension of herself. Unlike the crazed men of the Eleventh Division, she hung back when needed and didn't swing wildly. Instead she remained cautious and stayed on her toes. Her stabs could use a bit of work though; they left her wide open for a hilt to the spine. At one point she tried using shunpo to move around him, but ended up launching herself out of the fields and through the roof of the barracks, which both demonstrated the amount of force she had used to put dents in the wall of the training room and marked the end of her zanjutsu assessment.
"Karasukami, are you aware of the definition of insanity besides an instability of the mind?"
"According to some quote my mom taught me, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, why?" Kazoku coughed, dusting herself off. After two beats she scowled. "You're a jerk. Where did you hear that anyway?"
"It doesn't matter." He led her to a group of targets lined up in a row.
"Kido?" She questioned and earned a nod in affirmation. "Okay, well, you'll have to help me out here again then, because I don't wanna blast myself through another roof..."
"If you do, I might be forced to make you fix it yourself."
"How rude!"
And so he went over the channeling of reiatsu again, demonstrating a low level hado spell and directing her to mimic it. She botched the first attempt, then the second, and then the third. Each time her hands suffered minor burns, but still she tried.
"Focus your reiatsu in the center of your palm and concentrate on-"
"Will you shut up!" Kazoku yelled, whirling on her heel and throwing an arm out in distress. "I'm doing my best!"
Her reiatsu fluctuated dangerously in her frustration and Toushiro's eyes augmented when a blast of raw blue energy flew from her palm in an off direction, heading directly toward a group of division members sparring nearby. In the split second it took for him to register that his subordinates were in danger, Kazoku launched herself after the blast with her faulty shunpo and collided with the crackling orb before it could reach the group. As she curled around it her reiatsu fanned out, making the ground shake beneath Hitsugaya's feet. Several seconds passed in silence only broken by the crackling of electricity-like energy before it dissipated in her arms and she fell with an 'oof' on her stomach.
"Karasukami-chan!"
Matsumoto appeared at Kazoku's side and helped the girl sit up, carefully looking for burns or injury. To her surprise, she saw none.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, oooooowwww..." Kazoku hissed when she moved. "Karasukami-chan, don't move so suddenly." Rangiku chided. Toushiro approached cautiously as if he was expecting her to spontaneously combust.
"...How did you stop that blast?" He asked. Matsumoto turned on him angrily.
"Taicho!" She exclaimed incredulously. "She could be seriously hurt! How could you be so insensi-"
"...A box."
Both commanding officers looked down at the young ryoka girl, who was trying to stand up now.
"I made a box around the ball." She repeated, holding her arms out to balance herself. "I curled up, imagined a box, and it was just kinda... There. Around the ball. And then the ball went bah!" She flicked her fingers. "And then the box went puh." She pursed her lips and emphasized the 'puh'.
There was a collective silence. Then...
"Matsumoto, summon a medic from the Fourth. Karasukami is in need of a psychological evaluation."
Though she felt like she had failed considerably during her assessment, the experience was an enjoyable one despite being carted off to the Fourth to ensure that her misfire during her kido evaluation did no permanent damage.
Now, Kazoku looked down at her shihakusho, then at the human clothes she had left on the couch. The former was ready for a good cleaning, given the dirt and sweat that now clung to it as a result of her training moving outside. The latter had already been worn for two days, and she felt disgusted at the prospect of wearing the same underwear for three days straight. She looked at the young captain, then down at the ground.
She couldn't possibly ask Hitsugaya Toushiro to get her new clothes.
But given the situation, she couldn't keep wearing the same thing over and over again either. Asking Rangiku would result in a day long shopping trip at Toushiro's expense, and she really didn't need him more aggravated at her. Plus, Rangiku was still out of the office. Kazoku looked back and forth from her clothes to the captain, trying to make a decision.
Finally she sighed. Forget the awkwardness that might occur. Things were only awkward if you made them awkward, so maybe this wouldn't be so horrifying as long as she stayed calm about it.
"Toushi-taicho?" She said in a sweet voice. Said captain's eyebrow twitched. "It's Hitsugaya-taicho." He said sternly and looked up. "What do you want?"
"Actually, it's not really a matter of what I want... More like need." Kazoku said, rubbing one arm nervously.
"... What do you need?"
She sighed and held up fingers as she began counting off the list. This was one of those times where she wished she had gone with the Kuchiki instead. But she guessed it couldn't be helped.
"Clothes. Specifically underwear, bras or something to bind my chest during training, and spare uniforms. A yukata or two would be nice to lounge in too." She began, noting the the look on Toushiro's face. Well too bad if this was bothering him. He was in charge of her and unless he wanted to face the consequences, she'd need this stuff sooner or later.
"I also need toiletries. Toothbrush and toothpaste, dental floss, mouthwash, shampoo, conditioner, regular bar soap, deodorant, and sooner or later I'll need pads and tampons." She ignored the spluttering from the flustered captain as she continued, abandoning her hand counting when she ran out of fingers. Really, hadn't he gotten used to this kind of stuff being around Rangiku? Or maybe the lieutenant ditched work when she was having supposed crippling pains due to her cycle. So dealing with a female on such personal matters was something new for the little captain... She almost felt sorry for the boy.
"Face wash would be good too, but not a necessity. Ties for my hair and sleeves so neither are getting in my way, and maybe an actual place to stay since I won't be able to move if I keep sleeping on that couch... I need a place to shower too, because this is just gross." She ran a hand through her tangled curls damp with sweat and frowned at the oily feel of the brown locks.
"W-Well..." Toushiro didn't seem to know how to answer. His options were few; either he take the girl shopping himself and face several embarrassing hours of carrying bags while Kazoku picked her... Feminine products out, or risk an empty wallet by turning her over to Rangiku. Neither sounded appealing to him.
Kazoku walked over and sat herself down on the edge of the captain's desk. "Personally, I'd rather you took me shopping." She said. Despite his obvious discomfort dealing with the subject, this was going rather well. There wasn't any excuses not to go from him yet, only a face colored bright red in embarrassment.
"I'm not one for overspending on flashy clothes, so I don't think things would go smoothly if I went with Matsu-san. I'd much rather go in, get the necessities, and get out. No side trips or anything ridiculous." She said, twirling her blue curl. "I really just don't want to smell like Omaeda-fukutaicho." She clapped her hands together. "I promise no funny business and you won't have to go to the checkout counter to pay for the tampons or anything, I can do that myself."
He closed his eyes and massaged his temples. "...I don't have a choice in this, do I?" He muttered, more to himself than her.
"Of course you do. But that choice will determine the future cleanliness of your office." She held up a hand, which had dirt along the crevices of her skin in her palm and fingers. "So, given your character, your answer is already set."
Kazoku: Hiiii! -waves- So! This little segment will be a lot like the Arrancar Encyclopedia hosted by Ichimaru Gin. Only this gives information on me and Umino-nee-chan and little tidbits you might want to know in the future.
Umino: -adjusts glasses- The first official segment will begin in our next chapter. Feel free to leave suggestions in the reviews on what you'd like to know, and we'll see what we can do.
Kazoku: Mhm! Our first subject has already been chosen based on a review we got, so thank you much to our reviewer-
Umino: They can wait until the next chapter.
Kazoku: Fine... -pouts- Toushi-taicho's shopping trip with me is coming up in the next chapter! Also, bonding between Umi-nee-chan and Kuchiki Rukia!