Welcome to a new chapter of Daisy!

I would like to thank all of the reviewers and the peeps who alerted and faved the story!

OCs appearing in this chapter:

Kobashigawa Hinagiku (11th)

Kida Rini (11th)

Matsushita Koichi (11th)

This story was inspired by a short poem by Julie Martinez:

and if you don't
like me, as i do you;
i understand.

because who would
really choose
a daisy, in a field
of roses?
-Julie Martinez

Chapter 6: Life goes on

It is dark. The scent of pages floats around me as always. My eyes see nothing. Then, a flame appears. It is a tiny, small flame, but it burns with the light of a thousand stars to me.

I can see.

I can see the space around me, the place where I was born, the place where I've always dwelled. I can see the familiar pages around me, stacked one upon the other. I can see the numerous cranes which I have built. Their shadows create shaky, enormous birds on the ground, trembling as if they will take flight at any moment.

And then, the light is gone and I am thrust back into darkness.

Hurry up.

Call my name.

I am ready.

You are almost there.

We are ready.

Fight.

Fight.

Fight.

Call my name.

She sliced across, but the man read her movement easily and sent her flying backwards. Her behind hit the hard ground when he followed through with one more swipe of his sword.

"You're not trying at all, Paper!" Yelled out Ikkaku, enraged. "Come at me like you mean to kill me!" His katana kept flying at her in a series of complicated motions, making the slight girl scramble back on her hands and butt. "If I were a Hollow you'd already be dead! C'mon! C'mon! C'moooon!" Hinagiku was forced to roll to the side to evade the next attack.

Thankfully, one of the other officers from the group attacked the unrelenting 3rd Seat, pushing him back and off of her. She panted, attempting to catch her breath and calm down the shaking of her hands. As soon as her stitches had been taken out, she had thrust herself back into battle, unyielding. It was sometimes Rini who gave her a beat down that made her sore for the next couple of days, and other times, she joined the group of unseated officers who fought Ikkaku during the day on the front lawn.

Her kenjutsu was steadily improving and Rini kept telling her that she would soon push her out of her Seat. But, Hinagiku was doubtful. While she might be quite handy with her Asauchi, she was nowhere near learning the name of her Zanpakutō. And it was common knowledge that the chances of on being appointed as a Seated officer practically diminished when they couldn't release their shikai. But, Hinagiku wasn't trying to become a seated officer. She had given up on that hope almost as soon as she had joined the 11th Division. If she compared Rini, who was the 15th Seat with herself, she could see just how much she lacked.

The fearsome woman had wiped the floor with Hinagiku a number of times now in a friendly spar, which was testament enough of her abilities. And she hadn't even used her Zanpakutō's ability or Kidō. It was safe to say that in a Squad such as the 11th, Hinagiku had little chance of becoming a high ranked officer. Perhaps, if she transferred. But, she hadn't even considered transferring. No. She was in her dream Division, no matter how difficult it was to be there. She didn't care about a successful career. She felt at home there, in the 11th, where she was the God of Paper(work).

"Orrryaaaaaa!" Ikkaku's battle cry brought her back to present and the girl grit her teeth, holding her sword with both hands. His attack clashed down on her, making her knees hit the ground once more. That will bruise later. The slight girl thought. "Hold your ground, Paper!" Yelled the 3rd Seat cheerfully, kicking away one of the Shinigami who had attempted to help Hinagiku out. "Push back!" He demanded, and the girl tried to obey. However, his strength and weight were on his side, making her lose that battle instantly.

But, Hinagiku wasn't about to give up. Hideki's smiling face flashed through her mind, not that it had stopped haunting her whenever she closed her eyes, and the girl dropped further to the ground, her back hitting the soft grass. Ikkaku let out a shout of surprise, off-balance because he had used his weight to his advantage too much. But, he was much more experienced that Hinagiku. His katana moved in a fluid motion, coming to slash at the girl's side, while he moved his feet, catching his balance in an instance.

Hinagiku was forced to parry the attack, placing her own katana sideways, parallel to her body, before attempting to roll away from the danger. But, she hit an obstacle on her way. Two strong legs were on each side, boxing her in. The girl attempted to knock them out of place, but they were as hard as iron, withstanding her meagre Hakuda skill. She was defeated.

"C'mon now Paper! You can't give up at the first sign of defeat!" Ikkaku shouted above her, still experiencing the high of the multi-officer battle. "You get knocked down, you get up! You get slashed up, you heal up! You get beat down, you power up! That's how we work here in the 11th!" Ikkaku's Zanpakutō hit her side, digging in slightly and drawing blood. "Are you in the 11th Division or not, Paper?!"

Something snapped.

Hinagiku's body moved on its own, her blood burning. Her katana flew up the length of Ikkaku's unreleased Hōzukimaru, all the way to the hilt, causing sparks to fly. The side of the blade slammed with all the force she could muster from her position into the 3rd Seat's privates.

"I'm a member of the Division, too, dang it!" Hinagiku lost control of her accent, not that it was noticed by the distressed 3rd Seat, who had jumped away with a surprised and pained yelp, holding his katana loosely.

"You play dirty, Paper." Complained Ikkaku, lowering himself to the ground while the pain lessened. "That wasn't a proper move." He cried from the floor, as Hinagiku rose up, wincing as she did. He had landed a solid blow to her side. She was going to have to wrap that before doing her paperwork today.

"This wasn't a samurai battle, Ikkaku-dono. It was a spar." The girl smirked, brushing off her shihakushō and sheathing her Asauchi at her hip, where it usually rested. Ikkaku gave her a glare from the floor which said that he definitely did not approve of her sparring methods.

"Well, well, showing your 11th Division spirit here, aren't you, Paper-pusher." Yumichika had arrived, smirking at the small group of Shinigami. He took in their dirty and sweaty forms and frowned. "Ikkaku, we have an assignment. And clean up before you come, won't you?" And the 5th Seat walked away, heading for the barracks for his mission paperwork.

"I should head out as well." Hinagiku concluded. "I would like to thank you for the wonderful spar, Ikkaku-dono." The girl offered a perfect forty-five degree bow to the bald man, who had by now risen from the ground.

"Anytime, Paper. I'm always good for a fight." The 3rd Seat grinned, walking with the girl towards the baths. "Though, next time, I don't want to see any dirty moves." And he laughed, heading off into the men's bath.

"I make no promises." Hinagiku raised her voice so that the man would hear her. Ikkaku's laughter followed her into the bath. She headed for the small locker with her name on it. Hinagiku's eyes locked on the empty Seat number space and the small smile from her playful banter with Ikkaku was gone. She reminded herself loosely that the chances of her becoming a Seated officer were less than low. Maybe closer to nil. There were simply one too many good fighters in the Division. And while her kenjutsu was impressive for a Shinigami her size, she was nowhere near the level needed to become even the 20th Seat.

The warm bath soothed her, despite Ikkaku's loud and out of tune singing from the men's part. She had learnt to tune him out a long time ago, along with any other noise which came from the other side of the wall. The cut in her side stung, but she knew that the water from the bath would make it better. It was the invention of the 12th Division, along with many other things, using the 4th Division's expertise. They had made the water used for baths rich with minerals and healing salts. They stung, yet they helped the injured officers get better faster. Of course, if one was uninjured, they could pour their water from another place, which didn't have the supplements.

Hinagiku went quickly about her hygiene routine, making sure that she was presentable and dressed in a spare shihakushō that was usually in her bathroom locker. Soon, she was heading out towards the offices, her hair still damp from the water. The sun was high in the clear skies and in warmed her skin comfortingly. The air was warm, making Hinagiku wish that she could walk in shade. Perhaps, they could employ the 12th Division to build them some covering or something. Maybe she could buy a parasol.

"Oh, Kobashigawa!" Greeted Koichi, their 7th Seat from his usual position on the floor of the 4th Seat's office. He had always preferred to sit on the ground and write on a small, almost for coffee, table. But, that was only one of his many eccentric habits. "I started bright and early today. You're late."

"It is a pleasure, as always, Matsushita-dono, to be working with you." The petite girl offered a small, polite bow, before seating herself at the usual desk. It would normally be used by their 4th Seat, but seeing as the position hadn't been occupied in well over forty years, it was a frequent home to their own records machine. The slight Shinigami pulled out her reading glasses and begun skimming through the small amount of leftover paperwork. She had miraculously managed to catch up on all the work which she had missed due to her injuries. There wasn't much left anymore. Certainly, not like when she had arrived.

A comfortable silence fell on the two Shinigami as they worked, occasionally taking a bathroom or snack break. There were clashing sounds coming from the front lawn, where their 6th Seat had taken over the group fighting that Ikkaku had been orchestrating earlier. It was common knowledge in the Division that if you walked through the front gates and headed for the offices, you would see a group of brawling greenhorns practicing with a senior member. It was a good way to keep up one's skills and to become stronger. Usually, it was either the 3rd or the 5th Seat who gave those beat downs.

It was in the late afternoon that an unexpected person burst through the doors of the office. The tall form of Captain Zaraki Kenpachi loomed in the doorway for a second, his eyes surveying the current status of the room. On his shoulder was perched his Lieutenant, a happy smile on her face, as always. She seemed to be in a good and non-destructive mood, which brightened Hinagiku's day instantly. The Lieutenant enjoyed disrupting her work as much as she loved causing other types of mayhem. The small pink haired devil thought that it was quite amusing to see the petite Shinigami panic over all the reports that needed to be written and typed out.

"Good evening, taicho." Greeted Koichi, his eyes rising from the paper. He laid down his pen and leaned back, stretching his legs before him, under the small table. "How was the meeting?" The amber-eyed man smirked.

"Pft." Scoffed their fearsome Captain. "Yama-jii is as annoying as always. Preaching about new recruits from the Shin'ō Academy." Complained the tall man. At that point, Yachiru had already gotten distracted and jumped over to the still working Hinagiku.

"What are you doing, Papapiri?" The Lieutenant thought of a new nickname. "We don't need all this silly paper! It's no good!" But, Hinagiku had anticipated this. With a small smile she placed down her pen and carefully moved the finished pile away from the destructive Lieutenant.

"But, paper can be quite fun, Yachiru-dono." Smiled the petite girl. "Shall I show you?" She wondered. The pink haired Shinigami didn't answer, but her starry-eyed expression said enough. She wanted to see what was so special about paper. "Alright. Now, if you would watch carefully." Unknown to her, the young Shinigami had the attention of both the childish Lieutenant and the two men in the room.

She pulled out a small piece of perfect square paper, painted with red colored leaves on one side and began folding it. Her slim fingers knew just how to press the sides and then unfold them, as they had done it a thousand times before. She bent, angled and pressed into perfect, symmetrical lines, making a shape out of the flat surface. And when she was done, she showed the amused Lieutenant her masterpiece. A small, red and yellow, giraffe lay on her hand, complete with ears and horns.

"Woooooah!" Exclaimed the amused pink haired Shinigami, reaching out to the animal figurine. "It's pretty! Pepapiru made a Giraffe-chan!" She giggled, looking the animal over. "Can you make a Lion-kun next? So that he can eat the Giraffe-chan!"

Before Hinagiku could question the girl's logic and general sanity out loud, their Captain spoke in a warning tone. "Yachiru." He reprimanded, sending a look her way. "Why don't you go see who is in the dōjō?" The Lieutenant turned to him, pouting. There were no doubts that she knew that he was simply telling her to get lost. As small and childish as she was, Yachiru was a full-fledged Shinigami.

"If you say so, Ken-chan." She replied begrudgingly, trudging out of the room, origami giraffe in her hand. Something told Hinagiku that she would regret showing her special skill to the Lieutenant.

"Paper." Kenpachi addressed her, glaring down at her small form behind his desk. "I want to organize a tournament to show the new recruits what we are all about. Get the paperwork in order and clear it with Yama-jii. Coordinate with some Seated officers on the activities."

"Understood, Zaraki-dono." Replied the girl, jumping up to bow when she received her next instructions. He turned to Kochi next.

"What are you doing?" The Captain asked.

"Last month's paperwork for my squadron, taicho. And, my own for last week." Koichi replied, pulling his legs back in and preparing to keep working. However, the Captain wasn't done.

"That can wait." He said to his 7th Seat. "Go to the Academy tomorrow and find some strong guys." The man ordered much to Hinagiku's despair. The paperwork would never be finished at this rate. "Paper." The Captain addressed again. "You will go with him and pick up the profiles of all the Shin'ō graduates this year. I need to choose the strong guys." And with that the Captain turned to leave.

"Zaraki-dono!" Hinagiku stopped him, calling out. "If it's not too much trouble could you tell me who will be making our promotion poster for the Academy this year? So that I can coordinate with them about the tournament?" She asked.

"I'll be doing it." The man replied and then looked up, thinking. Hinagiku was pretty sure that all color drained from her face. This was going to be a disaster. Koichi noticed her horrified expression and attempted to mask his laughter with a cough. "With Yachiru." He added, making Hinagiku drop her jaw and Koichi burst into uncontrolled giggles. "Bring me the tournament plan when you clear it with Yama-jii. And stop giggling like a schoolgirl, you bastard."

"Yes, taicho." Replied the 7th Seat, unable to follow that order.

That night Hinagiku was plagued by a nightmare. Half of it was about the recent incident with Hideki and the other half were the numerous posters that her Captain and Lieutenant were making. She truly couldn't pick which had been worse. And as if that wasn't enough, Rini had laughed her ass off in the morning, when Hinagiku had told her of her night terrors.

At least she had working with Koichi to look forward to. There were not too many sane people in the 11th Division, and luckily, their 7th Seat was a rare border-line normal one. True, he enjoyed brawling as much as the next 11th Division Shinigami, but unless he was in a fight, he could be reasoned with. Koichi was infamous for always wooing female Shinigami from different Divisions and getting dumped rather royally, in front of the whole Squad, when he double dated. It was one of the more frequent topics around the Division and the source of everything Hinagiku had learned about romantic relationships.

After all, drunken men shared one too many details that her Grandmother wouldn't approve of her hearing. And, the 11th Division enjoyed more than one occasional drink with the 8th Division.

Hinagiku met Koichi at the Division gates at 8 in the morning, sharp. He was late a couple of minutes, as always, and flash stepped next to her, apologizing profusely. In all honesty, Hinagiku could never hold anything against him. He was simply too genuine in his lies.

"Forgive me, Kobashigawa!" Begged the handsome 7th Seat. "I got up so early this morning and took a bath, getting ready to meet all those little new Shinigami at the Shin'ō Academy, but alas! On my way here, I saw an old lady crossing the road and I just had to help her!" The young man raked one hand through his messy hair, still wet from the shower, and then pressed his palms together in a begging motion. "Do you forgive me, Kobashigawa? I don't know what I would do without your forgiveness!"

"Yes, yes, Matsushita-dono." Hinagiku couldn't help the amount of sarcasm which entered her tone. "You have my forgiveness. Let us not dwell on the subject any longer." She would truly forgive him if she hadn't heard the man himself bragging last night about the young girl that he was bringing to his barracks that evening after their date. If Hinagiku had to guess what he had been doing that morning, she would bet that it had something to do with his lady friend.

"Oh, Kobashigawa!" Koichi didn't restrain himself and grabbed her, pulling her into a hug. "You are too cute for your own good!" Hinagiku felt her face burn as he held her, and she stayed as still as possible until he let her go. She wasn't too good with physical contact. Especially with someone ranked above her whom she didn't know that well.

Thankfully, Koichi, as flirtatious and often a tad too touchy feely as he was, was very good at picking up emotions. He let the small girl go rather quickly and gave her a happy grin, making her forgive him overstepping the obvious boundaries which she had set. Again.

"Shall we practice that Shunpo of yours a tad?" Asked the 7th Seat, smiling down at his companion. He's overly chipper this morning. The girl noted. Must've been a good night.

Hinagiku gave him a shy, still red-faced nod. "I would be honored if you took the time, Matsushita-dono." She could feel herself trembling at the thought. Despite the fact that Koichi had joined the Division after her, he had risen in ranks in a flash, as he was not only skilled in his favorite Hakuda, but in other forms of combat as well. On the other hand, Hinagiku was painfully average in everything, despite the years which she had spent honing her skills.

"Alright then, why don't we play tag all the way to the grounds?"

Keep calm. Hinagiku told herself, focusing on her reiatsu. She envisioned her waraji, coating them in her mind in a layer of her own, pale purple energy. Like lavender shoes. Lavender waraji. They even smell like lavender. She smiled, a scent of the gentle flower coming to her nose. She felt calm. Now, step forward.

Breathe.

Hinagiku flew forward, her Asauchi hitting her leg uncomfortably from its position on her hip. She reached out and gripped it tightly, so that it wouldn't rattle as she moved. Her second step brought her even further through the territory of their Division and soon she would be crossing into the slim belt around the first Squad which belonged to the 2nd Division. The trip would take but fifteen to ten minutes, contrary to the hour that it would usually take her to go around all the dead ends.

She felt Koichi's reiatsu flare behind her in a silent challenge before completely vanishing. He was chasing her. Their game of tag was on. Not straight. Hinagiku grit her teeth, changing direction.

For one as untrained in the art of Hohō as her, it was difficult maintaining a straightforward quick pace in Shunpo, much less skillfully changing directions. She was aware of her reiatsu spiking and lowering all over the place, as she made it milder to be able to stop and then stronger so that she could turn a sharp right, jumping over the roof of the dead end.

She zigzagged to the best of her ability, gritting her teeth. She couldn't feel Koichi behind her at all, her panic of getting caught rising, even if it was just a simple game that they were playing. But, then she miscalculated. Her step took her farther than she had anticipated, as she had obviously put too much reiatsu into her foot and Hinagiku sailed past the corner and towards the wall.

Remembering her numerous incidents with walls and buildings, when she crashed into them with full speed, Hinagiku slammed the end of her Asauchi into the ground. The force sent her light body flying up and over the wall, still at a high speed. She managed to land her toes on the end of the roof, pushing one more flash step out before heading towards the ground rather quickly.

She skidded and stopped, her right shoulder slamming into the wall of a building. Hinagiku panted for a moment, attempting to catch her breath. She looked to the wall only to see it intact. Good. I can't afford giving any more money away on repairs. But, it wasn't just that. Hinagiku would never admit it, but Captain Suì-Fēng instilled such fear in her that she couldn't quite describe it. Having to explain why exactly a wall was missing on the stern woman's grounds would be equal to a nightmare of hers.

"That didn't seem like a bad landing." Koichi's voice sounded from above. Hinagiku looked up to find him chewing on a peach casually. "Clever use of your Asauchi." He gave her a nod of approval. "But, you might want to take care of those turns, they were more than sloppy."

He isn't even out of breath! Hinagiku stared in shock. It's useless, after all. I can't compete with a seated officer. "T-tha-nk y-you f-for yo-ur pa-ti-ence a-and he-lp, Ma-tsushita-do-dono." Panted the girl, attempting to gather herself. She could feel beads of sweat falling from her hair and rolling down her neck and forehead. Luckily, she had remembered to wrap some bandages around her scar, as those had become a substitute for her lost colorful scarf.

"Now." Koichi ate the rest of his peach, jumping down next to her and landing soundlessly. "If you practice controlling your reiatsu more and bring your stamina to a higher level, you will soon be able to give me a run for my money." Grinned the officer and offered her his elbow. "Shall we take a slow walk the rest of the way? It's nice outside."

"I-If it's n-ot too much trou-ble." Answered Hinagiku, her breathing a little easier. And she took Koichi's arm, walking along the streets of the 7th Division, the last before Shin'ō Academy grounds. She was grateful for his subtle way of telling her to take a rest before getting to the Academy. She wanted to be seen there as a proper Shinigami graduate. Someone from the fearsome, battle hungry 11th Division who demanded respect.

That's all for now folks! See you next week! :D

Note: To be honest, I haven't had much inspiration for this story recently… I've been watching Nuraruhyon no Mago and Inuyasha religiously, and I've even seen Arslan Senki xD

Hopefully, I'll get some more juice and pour something onto the empty chapter on my desktop xD

P.S.: Koichi is such a babe, isn't he? I can't help but love him xD

Onto the reviews:

Reaper2908:

Yep, I'm making it up with a new cliffhanger! xD Well, not a bad one… Anyways, yeah, I really like the last chapter because I got to explore Tōshirō as a person and not as a stern Captain :) I think that he may get a bit OOC later on because of how I perceive him xD

Yeah, the real story won't happen for a little longer, I still need some time to develop Hinagiku and get you guys familiar with all of my precious OCs, and not to mention, to build Tōshirō's and Hina's relationship a bit :D

MidnightDusk2104:

Maybe this chapter told you a bit more about the first paragraph?

Errr, I don't think that I'll be switching POVs… maybe later on… Anyways, he went to visit her because of two reasons: he visited all the survivors of the mission, because he partially blames himself that it failed as he was the Captain responsible (you know how he does the whole brooding and staring off into the distance thing xD), and Matsumoto was also on his case about it, as Hinagiku did forsake her own safety to protect his greenhorn officer.

Yeah, I'm not going to make physical injuries a big deal, as they are Shinigami and it's in their job description xD

Girl-luvs-manga:

Especially in the lazy 11th Division!

Cooliceprincess:

Thank you for reviewing! I feel you about the Tōshirō humor… I think that the last couple of chapter affected me a lot in my writing, but regardless of that, I think that he is only shown to us as an anal Captain, except when he's with Momo or Matsumoto (maybe even Ichigo), so I drew from that.. I guess that my perception of his character is weird XD

Aaaah, we'll get to that later on :) It's not to mysterious, though.. just the usual stuff xD

I'm glad that you're enjoying the story and I hope that you keep reading!

All the best and I'm looking to hear from you until next week's update!