Kari looked at herself in the mirror: her heart-shaped face had acquired a few freckles in Hueco Mundo, and her dark brown hair had grown down to between her shoulder blades. She normally kept it around the base of her neck, but Kari found she liked it better long. Kari still had her mother's blue scarf, and wore it today. Taking the sash she had made from the old black cloak she'd found Slayer wrapped in, Kari tied closed her Captain's jacket. She looked in the mirror one more time. I'm not as pretty as Captain Unohana, but this is alright for now.
Walking out of her room, Kari made her way to Fifth Squad's main courtyard, where she had gathered most of her Squad. She passed a few people on the way there, and they looked away and kept walking on. I'm their Captain now... As she arrived at the courtyard, she found that there were far fewer shinigami in attendance than there should have been.
One of the last things Segato Sanjiro spoke came back to her. "You can't win! You'll never be a true Captain!" ...he was right. They'll never warm up to me... Kari cleared her throat. "Good morning!" She gulped. "When I was welcomed to this Squad, I was told that we're all still friends here. That will not change! My differences were with Captain Sanjiro, not any of you. Uh, another thing Captain Sanjiro mentioned was working on improving our teamwork and dedication. I would like to suggest working on our teamwork with the other Squads, not just within our own.
Now, I know all of you probably dislike how I became Captain. If it makes you feel any better, I am starting to dislike it as well. But, it's in the past now, and I can't go back and change the past. Who wouldn't, if they could? All we can hope for is to make today the best we can, and that's what I aspire to do with all of you as Captain of Fifth Squad. Thank you to everyone who came." Kari smiled, and waited for everyone to leave. Considering the attendance, that didn't take long.
Tatsufusa Enjoji walked up now. "I have this month's Soul Governance report here... Captain." There was a slightly skeptical look on his face.
"Thank you, I was wondering when I would get it." There were several seconds of silence between the two. "I assume you heard my little announcement?"
"Yes..." Not long before their Trial by Combat, Segato had told him "Tatsufusa... this won't end how everyone thinks it will. Be kind to her." And after the unthinkable had happened, Tatsufusa now understood what his Captain had meant. "I will be very blunt here, Captain: these first few months will be very difficult. The Squad is inches away from mutiny."
Kari sighed. "I appreciate the honesty, but I can see that now. Are there any other reports I should be getting today?"
"No, this is all. It's been pretty peaceful around here for a long time."
Unbidden, a chill went up Kari's spine. "And that's how it should be."
Kari was in her office, going over the Soul Governance report again. It was very dry, but it was still readable enough. Hmm, a little underwhelming on the Human World side. That'll need some work, but it's still acceptable. Kari set the report down, and picked up the last month's Hollow Cleansing report. Her eyebrows went up. Not bad at all... How are they going to spend all those Bounty Points? Looking down the list for her own name, she saw that she was still listed as "inactive". I still have a decent amount of Bounty Points, though. Suddenly, an idea popped into Kari's head. That would be appropriate... I'll go do that now.
On the way out of the office, she stopped at the reception desk. "Nakima-chan? I'll be going out for a while, and I should be back around lunch."
Nakima looked up. "Around lunch? Okay. I'll write that down." Nakima smiled; she was a friendly and optimistic person.
"Thank you." Kari smiled back at Nakima, and went on her way. She was looking for a flower shop that she had heard was now run by a former Vice-Captain. It had grown from being a little shop tucked away in an alley to one of the most prestigious shops in all of Seiretei. It was a long walk away, about an hour. But it was a lovely summer day, and Kari enjoyed the walk. It wasn't the Rukongai mountains, but it was good enough.
When she was only a few blocks away, she saw Eleventh Squad's Captain Zaraki walking towards her. Clinging to his shoulder was his Vice-Captain, Yachiru Kusajishi. Oh! I'd forgotten she come from the same district of Rukongai as me... Kari smiled and waved as she passed them, preparing to turn the corner towards the flower shop, but she felt Kenpachi Zaraki laid a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him, and found a surprisingly understanding look on his face.
"It's hard, isn't it?" Yachiru smiled at Kari from over Kenpachi's shoulder, and Kari remembered something else that she and Eleventh Squad's officers now had in common.
Kari looked down at her feet for a moment. "Yes, it is. I hadn't thought about it beforehand." She looked up at Kenpachi again. He had a reputation for being bloodthirsty, but that wasn't what she was seeing in his eye now.
He smirked. "Hell, I didn't think about it too much either. But I knew what I was coming there for, and so did Eleventh Squad; I was there to do what I do best." Kenpachi smirked again, and walked off.
Kari smiled and shook her head, and turned the corner. Immediately the flower shop came into view: it had a large storefront now, and there were a few arrangements of flowers outside the door. Walking up to the door, Kari took in the scent of the flowers outside the door. She looked up at the sign: The Flying Plum Tree... The door swung open at a light touch, and Kari walked in. There were a few people in here, looking through the flowers to find just the right type. I already know what I'm getting, though. She picked up a small bunch of bellflowers, and one of windflowers, and walked up to the counter.
She was mildly surprised to find Momo Hinamori at the counter. I never knew... the textbooks only said she retired after the Winter War ended... "I would like to have the bellflowers and windflowers delivered, please."
"To where, ma'am- oh, Captain?"
Kari smiled. "I'd like the bellflowers sent to Captain Unohana, and the windflowers to Captain Soi Fon. And, could I pay in Bounty Points?"
Momo gave a sympathetic smile. "We don't accept Bounty Points here. However, a Gotei Thirteen Captain won't be charged for our services! Would you like to attach a note to them?"
Kari thought for a moment. "I'm sorry."
"Did you change your mind?"
"No, that's the note: I'm sorry."
"Ah. Okay then, we'll get these out soon, Captain...?"
"Kari Kuraka, Hinamori-san. I've only become a Captain this week."
"Congratulations, Captain Kuraka! Hope you'll come back soon." Kari smiled and turned away. As she left, Momo pondered what a young woman like Kari could have done to offend two Captains. Well, that wouldn't be the first time a Captain's put up a facade of caring and honesty... I just met her! Don't go jumping to conclusions yet, Momo...
After lunch, Kari was sitting in her office again. While she couldn't care less about Segato, Kari didn't want Fifth Squad to turn against her. She'd noted some of the other Captains had side projects they worked on; Captain Unohana had the ikebana showing, Captain Kuchiki had the Calligraphy Club, and even Captain Kira taught haiku at Shino Academy. Kari didn't have any special talents, and had couldn't sing any of the songs her mother used to-
That's it! I'll write a book of songs! Maybe it could be published in Seiretei Communication Monthly... Kari got out a blank sheet of paper and began writing, trying to use dramatic and colorful imagery whenever possible in her songs.
From eternal struggles, grace and beauty can be born
A crown of roses blooms from the plaited thorns
The western wind brings a scent of victory on the breeze
The cry for glory ascends as I am knocked down to my knees!
There was a hurried knock at the door. Hmm... I'll have to keep working on this later. "Come in!" The door opened and one of Second Squad's messengers appeared.
"Captain Kuraka! A large Hollow as well as several others appeared while one of your units was patrolling the border of Zaraki District! They have placed an urgent call for your assistance!"
Kari began the familiar routine of using Spatial Distortion to teleport a live destructive spell there. "Alright, I'll just-" OH NO! I forgot I can't do that here! "I'll be along as fast as I can!" Kari picked up Slayer and slung it over her shoulder, and ran out the door. She was soon outside, and then took off at her full speed. Her hair and her mother's scarf blew out behind her, and she was fast approaching the gate to Rukongai. In only about thirty seconds, she had reached the gate; quite the accomplishment since Zaraki District was on the opposite side of Soul Society.
She stopped in front of the gate guardian. "Urgent business! Please let me through quickly!"
The giant nodded, and began lifting up the gate. Before it was even fully opened Kari shot under it, and almost as fast as she had traveled from Fifth Squad's offices she had arrived on the scene. The huge Hollow was still on the loose, and it was attacking two of the members of the unit. The third at first seemed unconscious, but then groaned and moved.
Before the huge Hollow could attack again, Kari streaked in and stabbed it through the mask. Another Hollow sprung out of hiding nearby, and Kari flickered. The Hollow had been cut down. She scanned the area for other Hollows, and there were none.
"Thank goodness you made it, Captain!" Shugo had been supervising this mission, watching over the new recruits. He hadn't been prepared to face what they just had.
The girl who had been wounded called, "Uh, a little help here?"
Kari walked over and saw she had been wounded on her shoulder and side, her uniform ripped. "I'll take a look at that..." The clawing wound on her shoulder was more serious, and she worked on that first. Kari was nowhere near as good with healing magic as in other spells, so she could just barely slow the blood loss. "You'll still need the go by Fourth Squad's infirmary, I'm no expert with healing."
The girl nodded. "Thank you, Captain."
"You're welcome." Kari sighed. "Musa-san, let's head back to Seiretei, and I'll have a new unit sent out here."
"Okay. Uehashi, Moribito, you heard her; let's go back." As they left for Seiretei, Shugo recalled how Segato had saved him on more than one occasion, when Shugo was still a member of Seventh Squad. I can't fault her for her dedication to the job. I'll just have to wait and see if she was serious about this morning's talk...