Takashita Azumi
A few hours passed since I was summoned to the Taichou meeting. They scared me from how quickly they strapped cuffs on me and pulled me out of my cell like some sack of potatoes. That Soutaichou…he says 'jump' you say 'how high'...
I guess technically that's how it should be, but it doesn't make it any less intimidating. Some of those people in there were no joke either; I felt like I drowning and surrounded by a group of sharks. I'd hate to meet any of them in a bad mood in a dark alley—let's just put it that way.
I propped the chair against the barred window and looked outside. Now that I got a clearer view since I tried the smarter alternative, it looked nice out today; I noticed a small little patch of flowers at the edge of the grass that were in full bloom. Did the Soul Society have seasons? I stood there for a while, staring at the blades of grass until I heard someone coming.
I quickly put the chair back and sat on my bed, staring at the door to see who it was. Two guards entered the room and came up to my cell; I gulped.
"Takashita Azumi, by order of the Soutaichou you are hereby released into protective custody. Any unauthorized action will result in penalty."
"Woo hoo!" I shouted, interrupting the man.
"We will escort you to your destination." He finished.
I got up and quickly walked to the entrance of the cell. The man who spoke opened the door and the other handed me Yoru no Shedo as soon as I walked out of the cell.
"This way," they said in unison.
One walked ahead of me and the other behind me. I put on Yoru no Shedo immediately and then stuck my hands in my pockets as I followed them. We walked passed the meeting hall from earlier, and then finally through another hallway was the outside world. I looked around and saw that the buildings matched Rangiku's description; It was similar to old-style Japan, but a tad bit more modern in my opinion.
We walked for quite a few minutes, passing buildings with numbers in Kanji on them. It must have been the Squad numbers perhaps? I wanted to ask questions, but these two guards—or what have you—made me slightly uncomfortable, so I stayed quiet. Upon approaching the number 10, we ventured into the section of buildings. Several of the buildings were marked with the number 10 on them, and I assumed this was similar to a base of operations.
We went inside one of the buildings finally, and then came upon a door that said: Hitsugaya-Taichou. Beneath it was a taped on piece of paper that said: AND Matsumoto-Fukutaichou.
I nearly started jumping around and clapping like a dunce.
Before my escort even knocked, a familiar Taichou spoke.
"Come in."
The escort opened the door and took a knee with the other escort.
"Will that be all, Hitsugaya-Taichou?" one asked.
"Yes, you're excused." Toushirou replied.
"Thank you," they both flash-stepped away.
I peeked in and looked around the room.
"Azumi-chan! Hurry up and get in here, you 'treacherous traitor!'" Rangiku laughed.
"Well don't mind if I do!" I laughed back and walked in, shutting the door behind me.
Rangiku immediately hugged me like I was a stuffed animal.
"How does freedom feel after doin' time?" She smirked.
"Oh my goodness, it feels unbelievable. How many centuries have passed?" I giggled, poking her stomach.
"Rangiku, you and Toushirou are the best! You both know that, right?" I stopped tickling her and looked over at Toushirou, sitting at what looked like his desk.
His facial expression eased at my words, but quickly switched back into his serious expression.
"We appreciate the flattery, but you're not out of the woods just yet, Takashita." He said.
"So I heard that I'm under protective custody; was there anything else decided?" I asked, getting serious myself.
"Yes, that's right. You're under my supervision still, but everyone will be watching you. Some are suspicious that you are working along with Aizen, while others seemed to be in support of you. You have to prove your worth to the Soul Society and that you can be of assistance." Toushirou explained.
"Hey, anything you guys want, consider it done. I'm not about to go over to Aizen's side; I want you guys to know I'm on your side. Whatever I could do to prove that, let me know." I immediately responded.
"If only it were as simple as a test," Toushirou started.
"We'll work on getting others to trust you. In the meantime, you're required to stay here in the Soul Society for the time being. You'll be staying in the spare room of my home since you're not trusted to be far away from us. Matsumoto's house is next to mine as well, so if anything—"
"Aww, Azumi-chan gets her own room now? I bet you guys are going to miss being bed-mates," Rangiku smirked and chuckled.
"Matsumoto!" we both shouted in a blush at the same time.
She started belly laughing and I looked away, trying to will away the heat in my cheeks. Toushirou cleared his throat to try and get rid of the awkwardness.
"Continuing—let's talk about feeding. Once a week, we'll go to the World of the Living so you can feed off the Hollows there. If you feel any strange urges and feel like you might change into a Hollow, you need to tell me immediately. Understood?"
Rangiku was trying so hard not to lose it.
"Strange urges..." she stifled.
I could see the tears of laughter she tried to hold back.
"…just let him know immediately…oh, Taichou, how rash of you!"
Oh my God…she went there.
I violently coughed, face no doubt redder than a tomato.
"Matsumoto! That wasn't what I was implying! Don't twist my words, bakayaro!" Toushirou yelled at her, slamming a hand on the desk.
She lost it—she belly-laughed and had to hold herself up on the desk.
"Anyway," he hissed out.
"You know what I meant by that." He continued.
I looked at the white-haired Taichou; his face wasn't as red as mine, but definitely still somewhat red. I nodded quickly in response.
"You got it, dude!" I managed a grin to ease the tension.
"Good, and also, you need to keep training to control yourself in your Hollow form. Perhaps Yoru no Shedo could also help with that." He proposed.
"Yes, she's the one who originally showed me how to gain some control, but still—as I've said a thousand times—I'm still working on it." I subconsciously tugged at Yoru no Shedo on my right ear, finger pushing against the sharp tip of her.
"You'll be training at least once a day with Matsumoto supervising or maybe even myself. I have to catch up on a few months worth of paperwork that's piled up, but if I have time I'll try to help you in your training." He crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in.
I looked behind him and saw stacks on stacks of paperwork behind him. Good God.
"Sounds good to me!" I smiled lightly.
"Can you guys give me a tour soon though? I want to know what the Soul Society is like! It doesn't have to be today, but it would be cool if it was soon! Maybe when I'm trusted a little more." I chuckled.
At that moment, Renji, Yumichicka, and Ikkaku slammed the door open and rushed into the office.
"Takashita!" Ikkaku yelled.
He took out his sheathed Zanpakuto and pointed it at me—I made a sheepish face and leaned back.
"What?" I shouted back.
"Renji told us your powerful—I wanna see it in action! Transform and let's spar for a bit!" Ikkaku's excited smile looked almost evil and I managed a strained chuckle.
"I can't just transform at will!" I countered him.
"That's what I told him, but he wouldn't listen to me!" Renji interjected.
"So let's make you transform! What triggers you? Blood right?" Ikkaku started taking out his Zanpakuto from its sheath.
"Hey, stop it!" I slammed it shut into its sheath.
"I'm trying to get people to like me; if I attack them, they definitely won't like me and I'll be executed!" I said sheepishly.
"Yeah, baldy! Leave Taichou's little Azumi-chan alone!" Rangiku got in between us.
"What do you mean 'Taichou's Azumi-chan?" I yelled back.
I could hear Toushirou sighing in the background, and I could've sworn he at one point said 'why me?' as well.
"Who you calling baldy? You know it's shaved, Matsumoto!" Ikkaku countered back.
"Oh calm down! Just because you cant grow any hair doesn't mean you have to take it out on poor little Azumi-chan," she smirked.
"Why you—!"
"Well isn't it loud and vibrant in here!" an unfamiliar voice said.
"Hello, Kyoraku-Taichou, Ukitake-Taichou," Renji said with a slight bow.
Two older gentlemen—not too older—walked into the room with smiles on their faces. Even if Renji hadn't have said it, I already knew these guys were Taichou-rank just based off their looks.
One had brown hair and a straw hat on with a pink haori on top of his uniform, while the other had white hair and a similar haori to Toushirou's on.
"Hi there, Azumi-chan, I'm Ukitake Juushirou," the one with long, white hair said, outstretching a hand.
I took it and he gripped my hand softly as I shook his hand.
"V-Very nice to meet you, Ukitake-Taichou," I stuttered out.
Although he seemed very nice, the fact that they were Taichou scared me.
"The pleasure is all mine," he smiled warmly and released my hand.
The other Taichou then took my hand.
"Kyoraku Shunsui; nice to meet you, young lady."
He smiled, and then with absolutely no warning, pulled me up to his face. I didn't really know how to even react—it happened so fast.
"H-Hi! C-Can I help you?" I stuttered out.
He studied my face and smiled warmly. He let go of my hand and patted my head.
"You're so cuuuuute Azuuumi-chan! It's no wonder Hitsugaya-Taichou likes you!"
If there was ever a moment when everyone froze from a shocking sentence, this was definitely it.
Rangiku busted up laughing.
"Kyoraku-Taichou, you're the best! I knew I was right!"
Oh my God this was so embarrassing.
"K-Kyoraku! It isn't like that!" Toushirou yelled back in response—he was probably more flustered than I was because he actually knew the people.
"Y-Yeah! Toushirou's right! There's nothing going on between us!" I puffed up, trying to make my face look determined.
Kyoraku just laughed. Somehow I couldn't be mad at the guy, he had this weird 'innocent-child-telling-the-truth' vibe that I just couldn't break through.
"Oooh and on a first name basis with Hitsugaya-Taichou! Young love is so sweet!" he tipped his hat down and grinned.
"I—uh, well, I mean," were all the words that I could struggle out.
Everyone started laughing. As embarrassed as I was though, I was glad this was happening. It's times like these that made good memories. I smiled awkwardly while Toushirou fumed.
"Teme! What the Hell do you all want? There's work to be done here!" Toushirou concluded, slamming a hand against his desk; I laughed in response.
Suddenly, a book came flying through the door and hit Kyoraku right on the back of his head.
"Looks like you're causing problems again, aren't you, Taichou?" A woman with her hair neatly pinned up and wearing glasses entered the room.
"Ah, my beautiful Nanao-chan! There you are!" Kyoraku smiled sheepishly.
"And here you are, causing trouble! My apologies for my Taichou," She bowed at Toushirou.
"Nanao-chan: this is Takashita Azumi! Azumi-chan, meet my lovely Fukutaichou, Nanao-chan!" Kyoraku smiled and grabbed our hands and put them together.
"It's nice to meet you," I smiled, shaking her hand.
"The same to you," she let the corners of her lips creep up in a small smile.
"See, Nanao-chan? Didn't I say Hitsugaya-Taichou's girlfriend was just adorable?"
"That's it!"
Toushirou got up, Zanpakuto in hand, cheeks furiously red and eyes ablaze. I just blushed and laughed.
"Okay, okay, Hitsugaya-Taichou! We mainly came to meet Azumi-chan! We're looking forward to working with you and getting to know you. If you need any assistance with anything, please don't hesitate to ask us!" Ukitake smiled, scratching the back of his head.
"Sure, sure! And same goes to you both as well! I'm not sure how much I can do, but I'll do my best!" I grinned.
"Okay, come on everyone, let's let them be for a little while," Ukitake smiled and ushered everyone out of the room.
"This doesn't change anything, Takashita! I still want to fight with you one day!" Ikkaku proclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it!" I smirked and waved.
Everyone left the room and Ukitake shut the door behind him. Toushirou and I in unison exhaled, embarrassment apparent in both of our faces. Rangiku giggled at us and took a seat on top of what was probably her own desk.
"Matsumoto, here," Toushirou opened his drawer and took out a key.
"Go show her where she's staying." Toushirou grabbed paperwork from on top of one of the stacks and sat down with it.
"Sure! Let's go, Azumi-chan!" Rangiku smiled and grabbed his key.
"Remember that wherever you go you need to have an escort with you, so don't go wandering off just yet." Toushirou said as he wrote something down on the paper.
"Okay, sounds good, but what do I do if I'm by myself and need to get a hold of you guys? I'm assuming only you two can escort me, right?" I asked.
"Matsumoto will give you one of the headsets we use when we're in the World of the Living. We'll keep one on us at all times, as should you. There shouldn't be a time when you're alone, so it shouldn't be an issue, but in case." He replied.
"Sounds good to me!" I said. "So…listen before going to my new room," I started, lowly mumbling.
"Is it time to eat yet?" I smiled sheepishly.
My stomach was literally eating itself at that point; I hadn't eaten anything at all.
"We'll grab something after we get you settled," Rangiku smiled.
"Thank God!" I grinned excitedly.
We walked out of the office and past a couple buildings. Rangiku explained as we walked what every building was and what the responsibility was for the Shinigami who worked there. We came to the section where all the squad barracks were, and off to the far left toward the very edge of the section were two separate buildings. One was a little bigger than the other, but they were both definitely nicer than the other buildings.
"We're here!" Rangiku smiled as she walked to the larger one on the left.
"This is Taichou's house," she started to say while she fiddled with his key.
"My house is the one next door." She smiled.
"Say whaaaaaat," I dragged out.
"That's awesome; perks!" We both laughed.
She opened the door and ushered me in before her.
"I'll let Taichou show you around since it's his house after all—your room is this way,"
We walked past what looked like a living room—I didn't get a very good look since it was dark—and turned down a hallway to the right. We passed what looked like a bathroom, and then reached the end of the hallway to a closed door.
"Here ya go, Azumi-chan! Get comfortable!" Rangiku opened it and motioned me in.
I walked in and looked around. There was a mattress with some sheets, a desk with a chair, a window, and a dresser. It looked a bit dusty, but nothing a little 'TLC' couldn't fix.
"You're actually pretty lucky; since you're staying with a Taichou you get a mattress rather than a Tatami mat which is traditional. Only Taichou and Fukutaichou get mattresses." Rangiku said, leaning against the door frame.
"Looks like I lucked out!" I grinned and jumped on the mattress.
There was a knock on the front door, and Rangiku went to go answer it; I could hear their conversation.
"Matsumoto-Fukutaichou, here are the uniforms you've requested," Someone said.
"Thank you," she replied.
I heard the door shut and in moments she was back in the room. Rangiku set a sack on the bed next to me.
"I got some uniforms for you, Azumi-chan! You'd stick out like a sore thumb, otherwise," she laughed and opened up the bag.
There were seven uniforms in the sack—all identical of course—seven pairs of socks, and one pair of sandals. At least I had a set of clothes for each day of the week, that would solve a lot of problems.
"Thanks Rangiku! I appreciate it!" I smiled, holding one out.
"Wow, you'd think I was a Shinigami or something," I said with an added sarcastic giggle.
"Hey, maybe one day!" She smiled.
"Can I at least add my own touches to this like you do? This is waaaaay too plain; so much that it bothers me. Also, I don't do well with sleeves..." I explained.
"I don't see why not!" She shrugged.
"After dinner, we'll go to the store and get you some essentials, and maybe throw in a few fashionable items," she winked.
"Sounds good to me!" I smiled.
"All right, well, get that on and then we'll head over to get some food!" Rangiku walked out and shut the door behind her.
Before changing, I took a moment to sit on the bed.
I really lucked out on this whole situation.
Being released under protective custody instead of just being executed was obviously huge. I owe it all to Toushirou and Rangiku; without them, who knows where I'd be. If I hadn't have met them when I did, and gotten to know them when I did, there's no doubt in my mind that I'd be strapped down to Aizen's experimentation table and used to do his bidding. Really, if I thought about it, I owed my life to Toushirou and Rangiku. I laid on my back staring up at the ceiling.
What in the world could I possibly do to repay them?
-[×]-
The rest of the night flew by. We went over to the 'cafeteria' and got our food to-go since at this point everything was still so fresh about the situation that I didn't want to scare anyone. We ate back at the office, then Rangiku and I went to the store as she said. After we got just some essential items—since I had absolutely nothing—we went back to the office.
"Shirou-chan, are you listening to me?" said an unfamiliar female voice.
We were right outside the office door, about to walk in when we heard the voice. It was already pretty late, who would come to visit at this hour?
I looked up at Rangiku; she didn't say anything.
She opened the door and we walked in—her in front and me behind her.
"Oh, Momo-chan! It's been a while!" Rangiku dropped the bags and greeted her.
"Hi Matsumoto-Fukutaichou! It has been quite some time! How have you been?" She smiled.
While Rangiku answered her, I took a moment to study her.
She had brown hair with bangs and her hair was pulled back into a bun with a light blue cloth covering it. She was very petite, a little bit taller than myself, and had a very innocent face to her. But that name—Momo—I hadn't heard that name before. But if she's sitting here with Toushirou and can get away with calling him 'Shirou-chan,' then she must be an important person.
"Momo-chan, meet Azumi-chan!" Rangiku smiled and gestured me forward.
I set down my bags then leaned forward and stuck out my hand.
"Takashita Azumi, nice to meet you," I smiled.
She lightly took my hand and shook it.
"Hinamori Momo, nice to meet you as well, Takashita -san!" She smiled back.
Ah, this was Hinamori—that made sense.
I looked over at Toushirou—he was just jotting something down on a piece of paper. He didn't look up, but I could tell that he knew I was looking at him.
"Did you get the stuff you needed, Takashita?" He asked, still writing.
"Yep, I should be all set to go," I replied lightly.
"Have you been here doing paperwork this whole time, Toushirou?"
"Yes, what else would I be doing?" He replied with a huff.
"Oh!" Hinamori suddenly said in a 'shocking' manner before I could reply.
"You're her," she said.
I shrugged.
"Um, sure?" I choked out a chuckle and half-smiled.
"I have to go, Shirou-chan, see you guys later!" Hinamori got up and without making contact, and walked toward the door.
"Hinamori, are you okay?" Toushirou asked her.
"Yep! I just forgot about something!" She turned to us and forced a smile.
"Nice meeting you!" She said, then she exited and shut the door.
A few moments passed with all of us silent. We all stared at the door and then I took a seat on the couch.
"Sorry," I said, twiddling my thumbs.
"I don't know what I did, but I'm pretty sure I offended her somehow. I'll apologize next time I see her." I forced out.
In truth, I had nothing to apologize for, and honestly, if it were anyone else I probably wouldn't apologize or anything. But because this girl seemed to be close to the two of them, I felt obligated to try and get along with her.
"Don't be, you didn't do anything," Toushirou said.
"Yeah, Azumi-chan, don't worry about it." Rangiku also commented.
I shrugged in response.
"Well, it's been quite a day; I'm going to go home. See you both in the morning!" Rangiku got up and walked toward the door.
Toushirou and I both bid her goodnight as she walked out the door. A few minutes passed and I finally spoke up.
"I should've went with her since you still need to work. I got all this stuff to put away and have to clean up the room since it's a little dusty." I said, looking at Toushirou.
Toushirou got up and stretched his arms out.
"I need a break, I'll take you over and help you clean it up a bit. I'll take some of my paperwork with me and finish it for the night at home. That room has remained untouched for years; my apologies. It was the best I could do with short notice."
"Oh, no worries! I'm just glad I have a room!" I shrugged again.
We left the office and got to Toushirou's house fairly quickly. Toushirou unlocked the door and let me in before he went in. We walked straight into my room and I dropped the bags, while he turned on the lights.
"Have you seen the rest of the house?" He asked; I shook my head.
"All right, come on." He said.
He had a two bed, two bath house with a living room, kitchen, and office. It was definitely old fashioned compared to my house, but it made sense since the rest of the Soul Society was old fashioned. Hell, I was just thankful they'd advanced to mattresses. The house in itself was very well kept up; I mean, with a personality like Toushirou's, I can't really see there being any clutter or mess.
"All right, I'll go get some cleaning supplies," he said after the tour when we got back to my room.
He got some and then came back in and started cleaning the dresser. He sprayed it a few times, and started wiping it. I opened up the curtains and shook the dust off them.
The view outside was something I could definitely get used to.
I stood there in awe; right outside was a beautiful little courtyard that was very up kept as well. The moon was out tonight, and glowed through the few trees onto the grassy area and wooden porch.
"Wow, I'm loving the view," I commented.
Toushirou shut the drawer he finished cleaning and walked over.
"It is nice, isn't it?" He added.
"The luxury of being a Taichou," I elbowed at him.
"I suppose, but anyone in my Squad can go out there. It's not specifically reserved for just me." he said matter-of-factly.
"So what is so luxurious about being a Taichou besides being the boss and getting a nice house to yourself?" I chuckled.
"Nothing really," he shrugged.
"Mhm, suuure it's nothing really," I teased.
I walked over to the bed and started undoing the sheets.
"Mind helping me with this?" I asked from the other side of the bed.
He walked over and untucked the covers from the other side and held them up. We, in unison, shook off the comforter and all the dust came off of it onto the floor.
"I bet you're stoked," I half-smiled; he looked at me in a slightly confused way.
"About?"
"About getting your own bed to yourself. You don't have to share with me anymore, plus it's been forever since you've been home. You must be excited," I said, smoothing out the covers on my side.
"I suppose; I'm sure you feel the same." He replied, smoothing out his side.
"Nah, not really," I took one of the pillows and bashed it against my legs.
"Why?" He asked, grabbing the other pillow.
I waved my hand around to will the dust away.
"I'm strangely used to sleeping next to you. I honestly don't think I'll be able to sleep by myself now," I put the pillow back and dusted my legs off.
Toushirou didn't say anything, he just dusted off the pillow with his hands and put it back. It was then that I realized that I probably came off uncomfortably.
"Sorry, I wasn't trying to make it awkward or anything," I blushed and walked away to the desk that needed to be cleaned.
I grabbed another rag, then sprayed the desk with the disinfectant and started wiping it. Toushirou walked back over to the dresser and opened another drawer to clean it.
"No, it's fine," he started saying as he grabbed the disinfectant and sprayed it.
I felt like he wanted to say something more, but he didn't; he just dryly cut off his sentence. Maybe my intuition was wrong.
We finished cleaning the rest of the room, and I started to put my new clothes and belongings away.
"Thanks for your help cleaning up," I smiled.
"No problem," he replied.
"I'm going to go back to work for a bit; I really need to get some more done,"
He looked so tired—I didn't want him to go. But it didn't feel right for me to object; the reason why he was so behind was because of babysitting me for the past few months.
"Oh, okay Toushirou, I'll see you later then," I smiled and shut the dresser drawer.
He walked to the doorway and turned around before leaving.
"If you need anything, call me." He said.
"You got it," I saluted.
He stared out the window to the side of me.
"And if you can't sleep, let me know..."
He looked like he struggled to say it, but it still had me blushing like a fool.
"Thanks, Toushirou," I smiled as he walked out of the room.