Welcome to the new chapter of Daisy!

It's official, this story is on AO3 as well xD I decided to make an account there as well, so it has been added. I'm currently uploading the already written chapters and it will soon be up to date with ff :D

OCs appearing:

Kobashigawa Hinagiku (11th)

Tsutsui Tomoka (10th)

Takagawa Yuuko (9th)

Kida Rini (11th) – mentioned

Here's another poem by Julie Martinez, I hope that you'll enjoy it:

They warned

me not to fall

in love;

but they didn't

warn me

about you.

-Julie Martinez

Chapter 9: Revelations

It is dark.

I'm waiting.

It is dark.

Where are you?

Where did you go?

Hinagiku took off her waraji politely before stepping onto the polished, wooden patio of the 10th Division. She headed towards the general direction of the Captain's office, not really sure if she was going the right way. She had a feeling like she was. And, Hinagiku usually trusted her feelings. Her sensei back at the Shin'ō had called it instinct. A primal sixth sense which one developed through numerous battles. But, the petite Shinigami really couldn't see how that was connected to her sense of direction.

Usually, she couldn't find her own way at her Grandmother's estate. But, after she had entered the Academy, her sense of direction had improved immensely. She had gone to her Kenjutsu teacher, who had spoken of the sixth sense before, and asked him about it. Instinct, the old Soul had told her. She had begun to use her instincts, her body, rather than listening to her sense, her mind.

She found the office after a few tries, but it hadn't really taken her much time. There was a large sign above the door where you could read 'Captain and Lieutenant'. Hinagiku could understand why Hitsugaya-taicho had chosen to share his office with his Lieutenant, despite the new arrangements which allowed for them to have separate rooms. Matsumoto-fukutaicho did little to no work even when he was diligently reminding her, as he had explained, one could only imagine what she would be doing on her own.

"Kobashigawa Hinagiku of the 11th Division, requesting permission to enter!" Hinagiku raised her voice so that the man inside could hear her. There was no answer. She waited for a moment longer and then retracted the little amount of reiatsu which she flared on reflex into her body. Her eyes closed briefly, seeing clearly the willowy, gentle, pale violet energy shimmered around her for a moment before she looked beyond the physical door and into the spiritual dimension of the office. There was no reiatsu inside. "Dang it." The slight Shinigami opened her eyes and headed towards the 3rd Seat's office, a couple of maze-like corridors down.

"Hina-chan?" A familiar voice asked from behind her. Hinagiku whirled about, seeing her friend, Tomoka's face. Strangely, the usually cute and perky Shinigami didn't look all that happy. In fact, although her makeup was as perfect as always, her eyes were so sad and her expression was as if someone had died.

"Tsutsui-dono, are you alright?" Hinagiku moved in a flash coming to her acquaintance and gently gripping her upper arms. "What's going on?" Hinagiku had never seen Tomoka like this. After all, the noblewoman had everything that she could ever wish for. She came from one of the more prominent noble families. She had clothes, makeup, jewelry, private tutors, handsome suitors and people waiting on her beck and call. What more could a person want?

"I-I'm so sorry." Tomoka whispered. "I'm so sorry I couldn't…" Hinagiku searched her eyes, waiting for the noblewoman to spit the problem out. Obviously, something was wrong. But, for the life of her, the girl couldn't guess what. "I should've gone to the 4th to visit you." Tomoka finally whispered out, in a strangely teary voice.

This sent Hinagiku's mind reeling. She had been in the Healing Wings the last time after her failed mission in Rukongai a few weeks ago. Hideki's face flashed in front of her eyes, becoming twisted in pain just like always in her nightmares. The Shinigami compartmentalized in an instant. She pushed the sickening feeling in her gut in a dark box, hiding it within herself once more. She would deal with that later.

"It's quite alright, Tsutsui-san." Hinagiku remembered the expensive bouquet, obviously professionally arranged. "I received your prayers and hope for cheerfulness. It was quite sweet, I assure you." A bouquet of purple crocuses and white hyacinth wrapped in white, lace fabric with a bright yellow ribbon flashed through her mind. Yes, the crocus was cheerfulness and the white hyacinth could mean 'I'll pray for you', among other things.

"B-but I was a coward." Tomoka whispered, her arms coming to wrap around Hinagiku as she pulled the shorter girl towards her in a hug. The petite Shinigami could feel the grip of her Academy friend's fingers on the back of her shihakushō. It was strong and her hands were shaking terribly. For the love of the Soul King, Hinagiku couldn't guess what was wrong with the noblewoman. She had never seen Tomoka like this. "You could've died, H-Hina-chan." Hiccupped the girl.

"But, I didn't, so it's quite alright, isn't it?" This caused another onslaught of hiccupping and sobbing and Hinagiku softly suggested that they take tea in Tomoka's office, since it was closer. It was after around half an hour that the noblewoman finally managed to compose herself and focus enough to tell her troubles.

"I'm such a coward, Hina-chan." She whispered into her fancy, decorated teacup from Gense. Hinagiku had made sure to add some extra cinnamon in her friend's tea, as the noblewoman quite liked the flavor of it. "You went on a routine mission and you got terribly hurt. And I was even too cowardly to go and see how you were doing… Even Hitsugaya-taicho went…"

"You're not wrong, Tsutsui-dono." Hinagiku spoke softly, as if not to cause another bout of tears. "It was a routine mission. At least, it should've been. Yet, not only were nine Shinigami assigned to it, but one of them was a single digit Seated officer." The words spilled, really, and Hinagiku couldn't seem to stop them. She had let the idea fester in her mind for too long. She had covered all the conspiracy theories which she could cover, from the assassination attempt on the 7th Seat of the 10th Division, Takezoe Kōkichirō to her own. She simply needed to say the words out loud, so that she would seem less insane. But, is Tomoka the best person to spill to?

"What do you mean?" The noblewoman asked, her eyes becoming sharp. She was thinking. Gears were turning in her head and then she gasped out a cute, almost squeaky sound. "You don't mean sabotage?" When Hinagiku offered a shrug Tomoka frowned, eyes narrowing. "But, who would want to kill 7th Seat Kōkichirō?"

"Exactly my thoughts." Hinagiku agreed, taking a sip of her tea.

Hinagiku headed towards the Seireishokairō with a stack of papers in her hands. With the Captain's tournament and recruitment going on, she was having trouble finishing her usual caseload. Not to mention Tomoka's guilt trip had taken at least six hours of convincing the girl that it was quite alright.

Hinagiku understood. She really did. At least, after the noblewoman had sobbed to her over her teacup one whole evening. Now, she could relate. Her Grandmother had attempted to sabotage her own mission load a couple of decades back. After all, her only granddaughter was working on a life-threatening position in the military, going on at least a monthly trip into the secluded and dangerous places of Rukongai. Hinagiku was pretty sure that if her Grandmother could see the conditions of living during a mission the woman would faint.

If you weren't a Seated officer, you had a shared tent, if you had a tent at all. Hinagiku had slept on the hard ground enough times to become comfortable with it. At first, she had hated it. Even in the Academy, during their first overnight assignment, she had pretty much agreed with every single complain that Tomoka had loudly voiced to their superior. But, the petite Shinigami had grown comfortable with the hard ground since then.

There was something primal and positively enchanting about sleeping under the stars with the moon lighting the scenery around you, basking it in a silvery hue. Hinagiku remembered that mission well. She had been sent with a platoon of men, led by Abarai Renji, the current Lieutenant of the 6th Division, into the desert to find a Hollow lair. They had decided to camp after a day of unfruitful searching. She could remember how she had listened to the former 11th Division member talk to one of the greenhorns about the missions. She had been lulled to sleep by his growl-like voice and the bright light of the almost full moon. And, since then, she hadn't minded one overnight mission.

Yet, her Grandmother never approved. She never got to the point of understanding that Hinagiku was as much of a Kobashigawa woman as she was. And you need to know that Kobashigawa women were known for their rebelliousness. Setsuko was the first female to ever become a judge in the Central 46. Hinagiku's mother had been the first to give birth to a child to a man outside of the noble bloods. And, Hinagiku had been the first to become a Shinigami. How Setsuko had fought against it. She had used every means available. From bribery to threats.

But, she had miscalculated. Hinagiku's Captain was that Zaraki Kenpachi. He didn't care much for money and he laughed in the face of threats. The young girl had chosen well. Only one law existed in the 11th Division, and her Grandmother could never gain its favor. The strong survive. Her Grandmother was truly strong, but not in the way which Zaraki Kenpachi acknowledged. To him, she was trash, just like the rest of them weaklings.

But, Tomoka had a different situation. She wasn't just a noblewoman. No, she was the noblewoman. She was a Tsutsui Clan member. An heiress. Her family had allowed her to follow in her brothers' footsteps by entering the Shin'ō Academy. Tomoka had explained how she had gotten minimal support. After all, noblewomen weren't supposed to become warriors. They were to be mothers, wives and caretakers. They were supposed to support their husbands from behind and give them children to further the Clan. The Tsutsuis had doubted that Tomoka would manage to finish the Shin'ō even.

The noblewoman had spilled her story that night, through tears and at least ten cups of ridiculously expensive tea which Hinagiku couldn't afford anymore. True, the petite girl had had to sort through the overly dramatized version to figure out what really happened, but she had gotten the gist quite well. And, it was painfully familiar.

The Tsutsui Clan, despite allowing their heiress to become a Shinigami, had used their power in the Central 46 and made sure that the girl wouldn't get any dangerous missions. Tomoka was usually sent on information gathering ones, with one of their single digit officers, perfectly safe at all times. It had been an enforced order, no doubt, which Hitsugaya-taicho hadn't been able to fight. Yet, Hinagiku had lost a fraction of respect for him then. Her Captain had stood up to her Grandmother, who was an influential judge, and he couldn't to a couple of paid-off men.

So, Hinagiku could understand quite well how traumatic her own injuries had been for Tomoka. After all, Hinagiku wasn't just a nameless Shinigami. No, she was someone who Tomoka knew quite well, lying in a hospital bed, wrapped up in bandages. After their chat that day, the girls had become undeniably closer. Hinagiku could feel it. Heck, who was she kidding, Tomoka's frequent visits to the 11th Division spoke for themselves. Not to mention the newfound companionship between the noblewoman and Rini.

"Kobashigawa Hinagiku of the 11th Division, signing in." The Shinigami nodded to Yuuko, the busty officer from the 9th at the front desk of Seireishokairō. The woman in question jumped a bit, closing her book. A romantic novel, Hinagiku would bet. "I hope that you have been faring well, Takagawa-dono." She politely bowed to the woman as soon as she managed to place the pile of finished paperwork on the counter.

"Oh, Hina-chan, I've been marvelous!" Yuuko answered with a smile, typing in Hinagiku's information onto the computer keyboard. There, it would be sealed with Yuuko's reiatsu, so that the logs would be safe. "Charlotte just decided to go back to Mark, instead of marrying John." The woman explained happily. She absent-mindedly extended her hand to Hinagiku, who placed her Asauchi into it. "But, there is also Pierre, the handsome and rich foreigner as well…" Yuuko pondered, placing a tag on Hinagiku's katana before putting it among the other three which were already checked in.

No one above 10th Seat. Hinagiku noted as she tuned out Yuuko's chatter about an unborn baby and the mystery of its father. She, instead, offered one more polite bow. "I wish you a great day, Takagawa-dono."

"Yes, yes, always busy, Hina-chan!" Yuuko giggled, opening her book once more.

Hinagiku struggled with the paperwork. The pile tilted left and right as she headed to her usual spot in front of one of the large, blue screened computers. She placed the papers down, dividing them into two piles so that they wouldn't fall over. Then, Hinagiku ran quickly to fetch the folders from the storage room. She couldn't help the small grin which grew on her face.

No matter how stressful her recent weeks had been, she was good as long as she had her paperwork. There was simply something comforting in the smell of paper, the dim lighting of the Seireishokairō and the rustling of the pages being turned. It calmed her. It gave her inner peace. The petite Shinigami settled into the comfortable chair in front of the computer, taking out her reading glasses and putting them on. She took the first paper and went into autopilot, her mind clearing.

She had wondered quite a few times what the Inner World that all Seated Shinigami talked about would look like for her. Supposedly, it should be a mirage of yourself. Of your inside. Of your soul. Perhaps, hers would be a library. Then, again, she could also imagine a Temple. An old, traditional, Shinto temple. Something calming. She liked the calm, after all.

Hinagiku wondered about her Zanpakutō sometimes as well. She had been in awe of Tomoka at first. After all, the girl had discovered the name and had commanded her Zanpakutō by the end of their first decade in Seireitei as proper officers. It was a beautiful naginata, quite befitting of its wielder. The naginata were famously called the woman's spears due to their past with the high born ladies of the Gense.

In all honesty, Hinagiku was jealous. She knew that that was something that she shouldn't feel, as Tomoka was her acquaintance. Yet, she had felt it. She sometimes envisioned her Zanpakutō as a beautiful woman, tall, slender, dark haired and pale, like her mother. And, at other times, she envisioned the spirit as a short, childish girl, much like herself. She had had numerous ideas as to what the ability of the katana would be. Perhaps faster filing? She usually joked with herself, further falling into depression.

In truth, you see, Hinagiku doubted herself. Deep down she thought that she would never be able to call out her Zanpakutō. Even during their Shin'ō Academy years, in classes specifically designed to help Shinigami contact their Inner Worlds, Hinagiku had failed miserably. She hadn't been able to hear the whispers, like the others. She hadn't been able to feel a presence. She hadn't even dreamt of her Zanpakutō, which was the most common manifestation of contact. Hinagiku had failed miserably for once in her life.

Entering the last key into the computer, Hinagiku rubbed at her eyes, getting them used to the dim lighting of the library once more. The screen really was putting a strain on her sight. She looked to her left, where the two piles of paperwork had been. They was nearly gone. Only a couple of more diagrams and funding plans for their Division's tournament. She was almost done.

A loud crash sounded from somewhere behind and to the right of her, followed by a string of rather colorful swearwords. Hinagiku got up, heading that way. It wasn't uncommon, with the atrocious organization in the Seireishokairō for a Shinigami to accidentally knock a pile of books or papers over, sending them flying all over the place and creating more work for poor Takagawa Yuuko.

"Damn Matsumoto." Hinagiku rounded one of the tall, wooden bookcases only to find a familiar white haired Captain hurriedly picking up papers from the floor, cursing his Lieutenant under his breath. He turned instantly when she stepped into the light, his eyes freezing her in her spot, dangerously narrowed. "Oh, it's just Kobashigawa." He commented, giving her a nod, before getting back to his work, this time in silence.

Hinagiku's legs moved on their own, bringing her to her knees next to the young man. "Did Matsumoto-dono choose to spend her time with Izuru-dono and Hisagi-dono today?" She gathered a couple of reports and professionally hit them on the ground, leveling them with each other.

"Today." The young Captain snorted. "Try the whole week." He shook his head and let out a frustrated sigh, calming down. "I'll send her into Gense on a mission if she keeps it up. Thanks." Hitsugaya accepted the perfectly stacked papers from Hinagiku and placed them on the side, watching the petite Shinigami diligently collecting the paperwork, carefully placing it together.

"If you don't mind me saying, Hitsugaya-taicho, wouldn't that be counterproductive?" The girl couldn't suppress the slight smile which appeared on her face as she quickly collected the rest of the papers, not noticing Hitsugaya's focus on her.

"True." He gave a sigh, sitting back on his knees and raking one hand through his hair. "How have you been, Kobashigawa?" He was stalling, really, and they both knew exactly why. No one, not even her, wanted to dive into the mountain of paperwork which Hinagiku was just finishing collecting from the floor.

The girl hit one more stack of folders on the ground, making sure that they were perfectly aligned. "I've been quite alright, thank you very much for asking. I hope that you've been taking care of yourself as well, Hitsugaya-taicho." The Shinigami handed over the stacked files to the young Captain, but she didn't look into his eyes again. They seemed to be all-knowing and to stop time for her somehow. When she looked at him, she was reminded of just how much power he had and it froze her, literally.

"I've been managing." The young Captain nodded and a short silence ensued. Hinagiku felt her cheeks reddening and she hurried to get up. Hitsugaya followed suit, reaching down and taking the looming papers into his arms. The pile tilted towards the side ominously and the girl reached out at the same time as the Captain, catching the top. "Um-I- Thank you."

"Er- If you would- Here-" Their fingers bumped into each other, tangling as Hinagiku attempted to find the end of the folder. "Let me." She murmured and took at least a third of the folders into her arms. The Captain gave her a nod from behind the papers, his face finally visible.

"Thank you." He repeated. "I'm this way." He told her and they headed through the maze of the Seireishokairō. The large library was separated in a couple of sections, based on one's clearance level. The files were also coded by Division and rank, but most officers didn't bother respecting that. So, the 9th Division had invaded a bit of the 8th's space, their personnel files mixing terribly. Hinagiku had overheard Ise-fukutaicho yelling about it one afternoon while she had been entering her own reports into the database.

But, Hinagiku has never been on a Captain cleared level. Simply, her own Captain had never bothered with clearing her or himself for access like that, and the petite Shinigami had never asked. She had never needed that form of power, anyways. But, now that Captain Hitsugaya was leading her down the flight of stairs and onto the lowest level of the library, she became a bit envious of the power which his rank granted him. Maybe, she should ask her Captain to clear her as well.

The lowest level had no natural lighting, unlike the one which she worked on. No, there were no tiny windows at the top of the walls here, letting the sunlight seep in through them. Here, the lighting was mostly bluish, coming from tall, pillar-like lamps which stood in between rows and rows of records. You could barely make out the kanji on the papers in front of the rows, telling which Division owned which section. Hinagiku followed the young Captain diligently, her eyes going left and right, memorizing as much as possible. She noted that a couple of books and folders had been bound by red, reiatsu infused, tape, making them sealed records.

What she wouldn't give to just take a peek into one of those. Sealed records were just a myth among the lower ranks. They were the ultimate treasure of Seireishokairō. Something that no one dared to touch. But, in Hinagiku's mind, they were only books. And books, she loved to read.

"This way." Captain Hitsugaya led her away from the long rows of books and records and towards one of the computers designed by the 12th Division. "Thank you for all your help, Kobashigawa." He let out a sigh, placing his pile on the desk. Hinagiku knew exactly what came next. He would have to input every single file into the database by hand and then make folders from the papers which will afterwards need to be sorted into their proper place in the Seireishokairō.

"It was no trouble at all, Hitsugaya-taicho." Hinagiku offered a small, courteous bow after placing her own stack of documents on the table. She noted the other computer, back to back with the one that the young Captain would soon be using. The girl felt her fingers going numb from nervousness, but she managed to push the next words out as well. "I-if you would like, I could come down here and help you input the data into the virtual base?" She managed to mumble out, squishing some of her words together.

The Captain seemed surprised, but then shook his head. "You have your own workload, I wouldn't want to trouble you."

"It's no trouble at all!" She interrupted the young man, and then felt her cheeks going warm. She had just interrupted a Captain. A real, living Captain. In his words. "Forgive my insolence. I overstepped my boundaries, Hitsugaya-taicho." Hinagiku's body bowed deeply on its own, hoping that the punishment wouldn't be too severe. She had heard that the Captain of the 6th Division had forced a rude officer to go on a patrol in Rukongai for a month without a break.

"Nonsense, Kobashigawa." Captain Hitsugaya's voice had taken on an unamused note, like he was more displeased by her current display, rather than her earlier rudeness. "After you're done with your work, you may come and help me, of your own free will." There was another moment where Hinagiku didn't dare look up, but merely nodded in silence. "Kobashigawa." Now, this was a warning for her to look at him. She obeyed mutely. Captain Hitsugaya's icy eyes locked her into her spot, all voluntary functions leaving her body instantly. She wondered for a brief second if he had this effect on everyone. "I'm not your Captain. I can't give you an order. Don't forget that."

"I would like to aid you of my own free will, if you would permit it, Hitsugaya-taicho." Hinagiku didn't break their eye contact, no matter how much she wished to bow respectfully once more. She was being rude. She was speaking up. She was breaking protocol. And, she felt exhilarated by it. She was, after all, a member of the 11th Division. Rules were simply guidelines for them.

"Of course, Kobashigawa." Hinagiku caught the briefest upturn of the Captain's lips, but she couldn't be sure that she had seen it. Though, it had seemed like a beautiful expression, and she did wonder why the young Shinigami prodigy didn't smile more. Probably something to do with his male ego and image with his subordinates.

Hinagiku rushed up the stairs and back towards her desk, eager to complete her daily workload. But, she couldn't help the small amount of guilt that was growing inside of her stomach like a deadly disease. As much as she had wanted to offer her help to the young and intriguing Captain, her motives weren't pure this time.

That's all folks!

Oh, I enjoyed writing Tōshirō here so much! I couldn't resist giving him a bit of an awkward moment there xD

Reviews:

Girl-luvs-manga:

To Unohana? Oh, you mean about the tournament? She finished that in the last chapter xD Sorry, I couldn't drag on the story that much… And, I'm not too comfortable with writing Unohana :(

As Darkness Takes Over:

Thank you for the lovely, long review! No worries, I'm glad that you're reading and enjoying :)

Thank you so much! I sometimes have trouble differentiating between my own OCs personalities, so I tried making them as cliché as I could this time, just so that you guys can easily follow them. It does them good that they are so different as well, because their chemistry is even better! :D

Hmmm Slice of Life… Yeah… it does sound like that now that I read through the work… In all honesty, I'm just exploring the universe until I become more comfortable with writing in it. As well as, I need you guys to be familiar with my own characters and their interactions with the cannons. There will be a plot later on, how much it will clash with the universe, I honestly can't tell yet… For now, it won't be that intrusive. Remember, we are still one year before Kurosaki's meeting with Rukia here, so that I can have some stuff happen between Hina and Tōshirō before they mess everything up xD

The fic will follow Hinagiku closely, though, as it is OC centric. So, you will be able to see the first Arc through her eyes, which I will try and make as interesting as possible :) Not to mention that by then, we will have a whole mess of our own in the background (emotional), and Ichigo with bring the fighting home hahahahhaha

In all honesty, I'm winging it here, but I'm enjoying it all the while :) I can't help but imagine all the different scenes that I want to write out… Hopefully, you guys are enjoying the ride as well :D

As for the poem, I've taken that into consideration… hopefully, you'll enjoy the change :D

PouringRain-BlazingStorm:

Thank you very much for the review once again! Hopefully, it seems like I have loads planned, though that's a complete illusion xD I'm winging it xD I promise to think of something good to spice up the easygoing plot soon, though :D

I'm glad that you're enjoying the story :)

Thank you very much for reading!