Disclaimer: Summer break is over, but I'm kind of looking forward to school again. I can do anything I want, including owning Bleach!! (Receives glares from lawyers) Okay, go right ahead, ruin my fun! See if I care! I don't own Bleach. (And it should be illegal to get this much homework the first week! Ha! Stupid lawyers!)
I feel…so loved…I can't believe I got so many reviews…I LOVE YOU ALL!!
A.R.T.!!!
Lauren: Thanks for the compliments! Homicidal is a good word to describe Kasumi. And you're the same? That's awesome! Thanks again!
sam: I will take those suggestions into consideration. They may end up in the extras section someday…
Emb: Thanks! I think I mentioned at the beginning that the formal is in one month, so it isn't too far away. The tattoo will be revealed shortly, I promise. I'm so happy that you actually read my author's notes and disclaimers. It takes me a while to come up with good disclaimers. Because I want to laugh at them, too. Chainsaws ARE wonderful inventions, aren't they?
Nikki Devonation: Thank you for your wonderful words! I can't think of anything I can say that would express my gratitude properly…
"Are you sure you don't need any help, Rangiku?" Kasumi asked as they flashed through Rukongai. "He looks heavy." She pointed with her chin to the injured member of Tenth. "Besides," she eyed Matsumoto instead, "you didn't escape unscathed, either." Kasumi could count at least three long cuts on her friend.
Matsumoto merely laughed at the younger woman. "Really? Look at yourself! You could open up your own blood bank account!"
The foreigner blinked at this. "There are some holes in your knowledge of the Living World." Kasumi shook her head. "I think you're confusing two different concepts…"
The Lieutenant of Tenth Division was quick to defend herself. "No way! I learned a lot from Orihime's manga!"
Kasumi blinked. "M-manga? That's where you learned…? Just what are you reading that would involve tanks and blood banks?!"
"Well," Matsumoto edged around the question, "I also learned a lot from shopping…"
And here the poor transfer girl had to think really hard about how you could learn those kinds of things from shopping. She wasn't able to figure it out, and felt that it was better not to ask her friend to clarify. Besides, they were already at the gate.
"Ho!" Matsumoto called. "Danzoumaru! Open up! I think it's going to rain!"
The guardian appeared at the shout. "Well, well! Still alive, I see." He paused, staring at Kasumi for a second. "And you look much worse than you did when I saw you an hour ago."
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Matsumoto yelled. "I'm injured too!" She fumed at the amused looks on Danzoumaru and Kasumi's faces. But after a second, she became serious. "Seriously, though, Heisuke's going to need a bit better medical attention than I can give him. I don't want his wound to reopen."
It was right then that the clouds decided to relieve their burden of water. Not in a drizzle, either, but in a torrent, as if someone was up in the clouds dumping bucket after bucket of rain down on them.
Danzoumaru, also hoping to get some respite from the water, quickly opened the gate for the shinigami to pass through. Everyone was soaked through by the time the gate was high enough for them to pass under.
Feeling a stinging sensation on her back and arms, Kasumi realized that her cuts had started to bleed again. She worried about the one on her back; she couldn't tell how deep it actually was but the pain told her that there was a healing in her immediate future.
Next to her, Matsumoto swore viciously. Glancing over, Kasumi saw a darker patch on her friend's black uniform. Heisuke's wound had, indeed, reopened as Matsumoto had feared.
"Go ahead of me," Kasumi told her. "I don't feel like running, but he needs decent medical attention. I'll walk after you and catch up." Matsumoto gave her neighbor a worried look. "Besides," Kasumi added, shrugging a little, "I need to talk to my zanpakuto. It'll be a bit hard to do that with a lot of people around."
Matsumoto nodded her assent. "Alright, but you had better not dawdle too long! I don't want you to lose too much blood and faint! I'll be held responsible if that happens." She blinked. "In fact, if you die, please do inside one of the other divisions' buildings! Less paperwork for me, that way."
Kasumi laughed. "Not that you do your paperwork in the first place."
"It's a matter of office aesthetics. Paperwork towers are not visually appealing."
"Don't worry, I'll only be a few minutes longer," Kasumi replied, still laughing.
With that, the transferee watched the other blonde take off.
You lie. Datenshi's voice echoed in Kasumi's mind.
'Yes,' Kasumi responded, striding over to a raised platform that was under the cover of a nearby building. 'How do you think she would have reacted if she'd known my legs were screaming in pain? Her squad member getting help is a bit more important than my need to rest a while.'
Datenshi sent waves of irritation at her wielder. Even if you had told her, she would have suggested the same course of action you are taking now.
'Ah, but then she would have worried, no?' Kasumi sat down on the wooden platform, taking the weight off of her legs.
Fool! Datenshi admonished. She worries now! The zanpakuto started to growl at Kasumi. If you are seriously that dense, you deserve to be skewered on a Hollow's horn! Cease your foolery, or I will drown you myself and consume your corpse!
Kasumi flinched badly. Her entire body quivered a little, though mostly due to the influence of the rain and cold than fright. When Datenshi said, 'drown,' she couldn't help but think of her waking terror…had it only been the night before? Time seemed to drag out here.
Datenshi huffed indignantly. Were you even paying attention to what I was saying?
Apparently Kasumi had missed something else the zanpakuto had said.
Never mind; it wasn't that important anyway. You should go to the Fourth Division now. Get your head checked while you're at it, you basket case!
Getting up obediently, Kasumi started to shunpo the rest of the way to the healing division. And not for the first time, she wondered just what it was her sword felt towards her.
It was as if the weapon had split personalities: one that was almost overprotective to the point of obsession, and another that seemed like it would be more than happy to obliterate the fact that Kasumi ever existed in the first place.
Datenshi did not intend to tell Kasumi anything, either.
When she arrived at Fourth Division, Kasumi tapped gently on the doors of the main infirmary instead of just barging in. There was no answer, but she went inside, anyway. If they didn't want mud on their floor, then it was tough shit. She had knocked.
The sight that greeted her reminded her very much of normal waiting rooms in hospitals and clinics in the World of the Living. The main room of the infirmary was quite large; she thought it could probably hold at least twenty people comfortably. There were waiting chairs all lined up together, and even a small couch in a corner with a little table. An L-shaped desk was pushed up against another corner, and there was a young man sitting behind it.
And it was warm. Very warm.
The nervous-looking fellow behind the desk glanced up at Kasumi's arrival. "Oh, hello," he greeted quietly.
"Hello," Kasumi replied, feeling at ease for some reason. Maybe because this was an infirmary with healers. "Do you know where Lieutenant Matsumoto went? I'm supposed to meet up with her."
"Ah, right this way…?"
"I'm Chimamire Kasumi. Nice to meet you."
He nodded in return. "I'm Yamada Hanatarou. Nice to meet you, too." Hanatarou then glanced worriedly at Kasumi. "Um…don't you want to be healed, first?"
Kasumi flapped her hand in a dismissive gesture. "I promised Rangiku I'd meet up with her. I'll get it healed afterward."
"Alright. Well, here you are."
She smiled at him. "Thanks! See you later!" she waved over her shoulder while entering the room. "Hey, Rangiku," she whispered once she was inside, careful not to disturb the man on the bed.
Matsumoto brightened and gave Kasumi a small wave. Getting up from her seat, she left the room along with her friend. "He's doing good; Isane says he needs a couple of days rest but then he'll be as good as new and back to skipping work."
"Just how many slackers are there in your division?"
"Intentional slackers?" Kasumi nodded. "Hmm…including me, there's four just among the seated and unseated officers. I don't actually know about any others. My Captain doesn't get much work done, even though he tries to. I keep him too busy."
Kasumi could imagine that last part all too easily. Poor Hitsugaya. "He chases you around a lot, does he?"
The other blonde nodded, with a solemn expression on her face. "I know. He's still thinks that if he yells at me enough, I'll do my paperwork."
"I feel sorry for him. I really do."
"You shouldn't! He does it of his own free will."
Kasumi wondered about that. Matsumoto could be wrong, or she could be completely right. Thinking logically, Hitsugaya should know that it does no good to chase after his wayward lieutenant. On the other hand, he may be obligated to because he was the captain. There was just no way of really knowing (Hitsugaya himself probably didn't know).
There was a brief moment of silence while they both thought about it.
"Well, we should get ourselves checked out, too," Kasumi said, switching topics. "We're a bit of a bloody mess." Indeed, both looked a bit worse for wear, what with dripping water, blood, and mud onto the floors.
"Yeah," Matsumoto agreed. "Come on, I think I know which way Isane went." Kasumi trailed after the other blonde, limping slightly.
However, down the next corridor they stopped in their tracks. Loud growls were emanating from one of the rooms. Suddenly, a man inside yelled, "Bastard! This is all your fault!"
"I fail to see how any of this is my problem, let alone my fault," a low voice spoke flatly.
"If you weren't such a damn showoff, then I wouldn't be in this stupid bed!"
"I do not see how my performing the kido correctly could in any way be related to your complete and utter failure to perform the most basic of tasks."
"Yeah!" a third, this time female, voice chimed in. "You're even worse than a garbage bug!"
"What was that?! Don't make me get out of this bed!"
"Trash shouldn't make threats it can't carry out."
There was an incoherent scream from the supposedly injured man.
Matsumoto and Kasumi were just barely able to contain their laughter as Captain Unohana brushed by and entered the room in question. The two lieutenants couldn't see who the people inside were, but they were wearing the Academy's uniform.
After a minute Unohana came back out, shutting the door behind her. Smiling, she turned to the blondes. "Well, let's get you two to your rooms then, shall we?" She eyed them critically for a moment. "Since you appear to be bleeding less, Lieutenant Matsumoto, Isane will see you in this room." At the captain's gesture, Matsumoto left.
"This way, Lieutenant Chimamire." Kasumi followed the captain to another room down the hall. It was pretty much barren, with just a bed, a chair, and a doctor's stool. "Kindly sit on the bed, as it will be slightly easier to clean," Captain Unohana instructed.
Doing as she said, a thought occurred to Kasumi. "Oh, Captain? Would you happen to know how to get mud out of a carpet? Rangiku tracked a lot of into my apartment…"
Datenshi was sulking a bit. While it annoyed her that Kasumi hadn't listened to her lecture all the way through, she was actually glad that Kasumi hadn't heard that last bit. Very glad. Because Datenshi had regretted it the instant she'd said it.
You were abandoned! Left to die! Reflect on the reasons and tell me why! Perhaps then you will learn!
(See if you can't guess who the Academy students were!)
SUMMER BREAK!! WHERE DID YOU GO?! (Runs off into the sunset) My eyes! They burn!
Kasumi: Vampire.
Me: Shut it. Not a vampire. Just don't like sun.
Datenshi: …Vampire.
Me: …Oi…don't make me hurt you…I do not sparkle…
Kasumi: If you did, you would like sun more.
Datenshi: Magpie.
Me: …So I like shiny things. What of it?
Kasumi: The extent to which you like the shiny things is disturbing. In many ways.
Me: …Review time now.
Datenshi: Don't change the subject… (!) Stop running away! Get back here!