(Author's note: Speech written in italics is actually spoken or written in another language by the indicated character. It has been translated and noted this way for the reader's benefit.)

Chapter 12

Twenty people sit around a long meeting table, organized by number. At the head of the table, I can recognize down to third seat, but don't really know anyone below that, until myself, in the twelfth spot. Kisuke rises at the head of the table, and the conversations around me slowly break up.

"Well, everyone, I'm happy to bring you all here to welcome our new Twelfth Seat from the academy, Emiko Taylor!" He gestures broadly at me, with the fan that seems to go everywhere with him. I wave meekly from my seat, not really interested in drawing any more attention to myself. I feel bad for displacing the people below me, who have probably been working much longer than me. Kisuke laughs at my response to his introduction, and continues.

"Feel free to step up, introduce yourselves, shake her hand, insult her, whatever you see fit!" He jokes, but I imagine that some of these people might take it too seriously. "We do have some friendly party goods, a cake and drinks, so let's enjoy this!" He grins at his party-planning skills, and gestures across the room to the gaudily decorated table of "friendly party goods." Slowly, everyone gets up to make their way over there.

I get up in the midst of the movement, only to be interrupted several times by handshakes. Most of them are friendly, and a couple of them seem strained, like they'd prefer not to have to say anything to me, but fear a punishment if they don't. I really wouldn't be upset if they didn't. Eventually, I make my way to the table and pour a soda, uninterested in alcohol, though the rest of them seem to be. I step away to the wall, receiving a few more introductions before a more familiar face steps up.

"Hello." He says, extending a hand. "I'm Mayuri Kurotsuchi." I don't respond, shaking his hand awkwardly. He makes a vaguely surprised expression at me. "What? Something wrong with your mouth?" He asks, clearly peeved by my reaction.

"Ah, no. Sorry. I was distracted." I drop my hand to my side from the introduction. "It's... nice to meet you." I respond anxiously, really hoping not to have to take this any further. He doesn't seem to, either, and casts a strange glance at me before he walks away. I breathe finally, relieved. He's eerie to be around. I heard that he used to be in solitary confinement, until Kisuke had him released with his power as head of the Detention Unit, before his promotion to captain. I'm not entirely sure why he would do that.

Somebody brings me a slice of cake eventually, but I don't really feel like eating. I nibble at it, anyway, to seem polite. A few more introductions wrap themselves up before Kisuke approaches, with his lieutenant, who I recall is named Hiyori Sarugaki. The latter stares up at me with narrow eyes, arms crossed over her chest. Great, another unfriendly face.

"Emiko! It's really a pleasure to welcome you to the Twelfth Company. I hope that everyone has gotten along with you so far." Kisuke speaks up. I smile a little at him as he speaks, uncomfortable under the glare of the lieutenant.

"Yes, thank you." I reply, not mentioning my feelings of unwelcome from a couple of members.

"Anywho," Kisuke continues, "I thought that it would be a good opportunity to get you introduced to your new home here on the Twelfth Company's property." He smiles, but the smile sort of falls off of my face. I didn't know that there would be a move involved. Most of the other companies don't offer special housing for their members. Kisuke gives me an odd look.

"Uh, yeah, that's alright." I respond quickly. Kisuke nods.

"Great!" He smiles again. "I'll check up on you when these guys start filing out." He waves, fan in hand, and strides off. Hiyori gives me a last narrow look before she storms off after him. I get the feeling that she only holds the position out of obligation.

It takes too long for people to start leaving, but that might be due to the alcohol slowing them all down. Some people give me a final goodbye, some people a sneer. I turn my eyes to the ground and wait, occasionally glancing at their passing feet until I've counted that seventeen have gone. Kisuke walks up shortly after that last pair of feet, lieutenant still trailing after him.

"Hiyori's going to clean up, if you'd like to head out." He tells me, and Hiyori turns her head sharply, shooting daggers. Kisuke pats her head, and she slaps it away so violently that the sound echoes.

"Who's going to clean up?!" She yells back at him. Kisuke looks back at her with a characteristic smile.

"Don't worry, it won't take that long." He assures, and the lieutenant looks like she's about to take his head off.

"Come on." Kisuke says to me, placing a hand on my back and hurrying me out of the room, Hiyori shouting in the background. He ushers me out into the cooling evening, and I stop just outside the doors, not sure where we're supposed to be going. Kisuke closes the tall doors quickly, and then takes a slight lead through the streets.

"The barracks are all kept in this area, for easy assembly. Of course, they're all separate homes for the seated members, and organized by rank." Kisuke explains grandly as we walk. "I already had your things moved over here for convenience, so we wouldn't have to make that long trip." He laughs kindly. I stop. A few feet later, Kisuke glances back at me, realizing I'm not still following. He looks perplexed, and I stare back incredulously.

"You had my things moved? Without even talking to me?"

Kisuke laughs the questions off, walking back and throwing an arm around my shoulders to lead me. "For convenience! Trust me, it's much easier this way. And I made sure that all of your things were packed up safely, to avoid any sort of damage. There's nothing to worry about!" He attempts to reassure me, but I really don't appreciate it. I would have gladly moved my own things, rather than having some random people ship all my stuff out without me even knowing.

Shortly after this, we reach the twelfth apartment of the connected lines on either side of the street, marked in the Japanese numbers. I wonder how that became the official system. Kisuke withdraws his arm from me to fish a key out of his pocket, and hands it to me. "Here you are. I'll give you the honors." He smiles, and I give him a look before unlocking the door myself. Just past the inside of the door is a pile of boxes, and Akahana lays on top of them. I pick her up and strap her to my hip as I pass farther into the apartment. Everything is pre-furnished, which is nice. I step down a short hallway, including a linen closet, a laundry room, and the bedroom. This includes a bare bed, side table, and lamp. A small walk-in closet lies on one wall, bathroom door on the wall perpendicular to that. I decide to leave that for later, and step back out to Kisuke unstacking boxes in the living room.

"I thought I'd help out, since I'm here." He explains cheerily. At least he hasn't opened any of them yet.

I cross to him and cut the tape on one box with Akahana's blade. She grumbles in the back of my mind at "the nerve." Clothes in this one. I pick it up and take it to the bedroom. That should be the only personal collection of items, so I don't concern myself when Kisuke begins opening the other boxes.

"So," I begin, "would you also explain why I'm here, if you're planning to stick around for a while?" Kisuke looks confused as I return to opening boxes.

"What do you mean?" He asks. I don't think I've ever seen him so sincerely puzzled.

"I mean, why am I moving straight into the seated ranks on your company? What's so interesting about me that you were 'fighting' the other captains to get me here?" I stare at the contents of the box in front of me as I speak, too nervous to look at him while asking such a question. I feel like I shouldn't be asking, but I really need to know.

Kisuke laughs, as if my inquiry is some sort of absurd. "You honestly don't know anything about it? I had thought that you were just too fatigued to recall, when we spoke in the Fourth Company's department." That doesn't answer any questions. I unload some books and drop them on the couch, unsure of where I want them to go.

"As I explained in your class, that one day," Kisuke continues, in a more serious tone, "you possess a very rare form of Zanpaku-Tô. I have only known one other Soul Reaper who could carry the constantly released form, and he is one of the Kenpachi of the Eleventh Company. The reason he is able to carry such a blade is his incredibly high level of reiatsu, which you should know as Spiritual Pressure. You are the same." He pauses, again like he isn't sure what to say next. He unloads pieces of my desk during the silence, setting them aside in a pile.

"The problem, and this is only my hypothesis," Kisuke warns, glancing up at me finally to accent the point, "is that you have been trained to believe that you are weak. Reiatsu depends greatly upon will. While you have the will to fight and win, you are constantly defeating yourself inside with the notion that you are weak. This, in turn, weakens your potential strength." He pauses again, trying to sort out the little screws and tools that go with my desk.

"I believe that, with the proper training, you could become invincible. The other captains have seen this potential as well, but none are sure that they have the time, patience, or method to coach it out of you and teach you to control it. I believe that I have all three of these. I have a curious mind, and I hope to discover the secret to powers like yours. I believe that the thing I hold highest among the other captains, and the thing that they lack, is the courage to face what your powers may turn out to be. If handled incorrectly, you may become extremely destructive. It will be a great undertaking, and it may be difficult for you. If all goes well, though, it will be greatly rewarding." He straightens, stretching his back out from leaning over the boxes, and looks over at me. I can hardly speak.

I don't understand what he means about coaching something out of me, or the idea of "if" his ideas work out. I don't like that. I don't like the idea of being a test subject with a possibility of failure. Kisuke seems to understand this, though.

"Of course, we won't begin any of this work right away." He adds. "It's hard to trust a strange and devilishly handsome man with your life so quickly." He's already returned to the jokes, fluttering the mysterious fan in front of his face. "I plan to do much work with you before we set to work with reiatsu. We may even share a few secrets!" He winks, then breaks into a laugh. I duck my head before I look too embarrassed by the notion.

"Uhm, yes." I respond, just to end this uncomfortable conversation. "That's fine." I see him look at me curiously from the corner of my eye, but I just set to organizing the things removed from the boxes. Eventually, he leaves it alone and turns to reconstructing my desk.

After probably more than an hour, we've gotten my apartment into a shape that I can be satisfied with. Kisuke leans against the wall by the door while I survey the rooms once more, assuring that everything is placed correctly. I'll have to go out and pick up some other necessities once my salary starts up.

"I had a wonderful time, Emiko!" Kisuke tells me as I return to the front door. "Thank you for so graciously inviting me into your home!" I didn't, though. He just followed. The help was nice, though. He extends a hand to me, but before I can accept it my position has completely changed.

"I find that the first step to trust should always be a good hug!" He tells me enthusiastically, arms wrapped tightly enough around my back that we're pressed completely chest to chest. My face heats dramatically and I turn it away from the side of his, then raise my arms to awkwardly pat his back in an attempt to end the embrace. After an eternal moment, he releases me and turns immediately toward the door, waving his fan over his shoulder as he exits. "I'll contact you about our plans!" He calls over his shoulder, then disappears down the street. I close and lock the door, heaving a grateful sigh.

"Hmmm... That went well, don't you think?"Akahana comments in my head, causing me to flush once again. I unstrap her from my hip and toss her on the empty couch, trying to ignore the comment and the pounding blood in my veins.

He's so crazy. Absolutely insane. That's the only reason for all this, I'm sure – personal accompaniment to my apartment, helping me set up, hugging me goodbye... You can't be less professional that hugging your subordinates. He has to be insane. I need to drop the whole topic, though, or I'll be driving myself insane.

I walk into my bedroom and change into my sleeping clothes for what I hope will be a long night's rest.

(Author's Note: As predicted on my profile, my posting speed has slowed down – I have to hold down a job, too! I will try to keep my updates coming at least once weekly. I hope this doesn't deter you, and I hope you all continue to enjoy the story! Drop some suggestions or insults in the review box, if you have the time!)