Changing positions
"It seems we can't keep you away, Kari-san," joked Unohana.
"Um, Unohana-taicho, Kari-san is still unconscious thanks to the medicine I gave her," said Hanatoro nervously.
"Which medicine?"
"The one that keeps those with low spirit energy asleep until they recover enough, Unohana-taicho," replied Hanatoro.
"Ah…well we certainly can't keep her with the others, they might bear a grudge against her."
"She can stay in my room, Unohana-taicho. I don't think they'll ever realize where that is, and it's close enough to the main office in case something happens!"
"Very well, Hanatoro-san, you keep an eye on her until she comes to," said Unohana.
-----
An hour later…
"Ow…my aching head," grumbled Kari wearily.
"Kari-san! You sure woke up fast!" said Hanatoro.
"That would be because of Kitsu and his little chakra donation. Don't ask," she said when she saw the confused look he gave her.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like my head is going to split in two. I haven't had a headache this bad since… Hey, where am I?" said Kari, changing the subject.
"In my room. Unohana-taicho didn't think it would be a good idea to keep you with the others, just in case. She said I could stay with you until you woke up."
"Please tell me you have something for headaches…" she said irritably.
"Hai! Hang on a moment while I get it!" said Hanatoro relieved.
As she waited until he returned, she sensed that she wasn't alone in the room. She looked around, turning her head and trying to find the other presence. Then she spotted it. She grinned; Hanatoro gave her something for her headache and she couldn't resist saying, "You do realize that Hisagomaru is supporting the desk, don't you?"
"Huh?"
"Your Zanpaku-to…Hisagomaru is supporting your desk in the left corner," laughed Kari.
"How do you know my Zanpaku-to's name?"
"I just do, let's leave it at that. So why are you using your sword as something to hold up the desk?" she joked.
"Are you sure that it's my sword and not a stick?" asked Hanatoro nervous.
"It would certainly explain why that stick as you call it is yelling at you for not using him," snickered Kari.
"You can hear my sword too?!"
"If I know its name and attack, I can use them as my own. That's how I dealt with those other 11th division knuckleheads."
"How's your headache, Kari-san?" asked Hanatoro, changing the subject.
"A lot better. I better get going or Zaraki-taicho will have my hide," joked Kari.
"You shouldn't get up so soon! Your reitsu still hasn't…!" protested Hanatoro. He almost finished his sentence when he felt an enormous spirit pressure bear down on him.
"I have a knack for hiding my reitsu. And as for the quick recovery, you can thank my familiar, Kitsu," said Kari as she released the powerful reitsu off Hanatoro.
"Who's Kitsu?"
"Come on out, Kitsu! I'd like you to meet someone!" said Kari as she threw up a small pendant in the shape of a four-tailed fox. A somewhat blinding light appears and when it dissipates, an orange fox appears in its place.
"So was it that you wanted me to meet, Kari?" asked the fox.
"Kitsu, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Hanatoro, but I call him Hana-chan for short," grinned Kari.
"N-nice to m-meet you, Kitsu-san," stammered Hanatoro, a bit taken aback.
"You don't have to use the honorifics around us. You wouldn't happen to be the same Hanatoro, who keeps misplacing his Zanpaku-to, are you?"
"That's the one," grinned Kari.
"Kari-san, where are you going to?"
"I need to see Zaraki-taicho…he might be a bit peeved that I took out nearly half his division in less than an hour. I know you get picked on quite a bit by the others, Hana-chan," said Kari.
"Yeah…"
"You can borrow Kitsu if you like. He'll make sure they don't pick on you too much," said Kari.
"You don't have to…!" protested Hanatoro.
"It's okay…he needs something to keep him entertained, and I can't exactly let him bite the heads off the idiots in my division… You don't mind, do you, Kitsu?" said Kari.
"Not really…so long as I can keep out of that pendant form you put me in. What do you say?"
"I guess it wouldn't bother me…but how am I going to explain having a large orange four-tailed fox with me to Unohana-taicho?" asked Hanatoro. He had a confused look when Kitsu went from four-tails to only one. His size diminished as well, so he could easily fit into Hanatoro's knapsack.
"Is that better?"
"How did you…?"
"Don't tell me you've never heard of a kitsune, Hana-chan!" laughed Kari.
"You mean Kitsu is really a demon fox spirit?" said Hanatoro surprised.
"Yup…I call him Kitsu, which is short for kitsune. Get the joke?"
"We'll meet up with you after you-know-what happens," said Kitsu.
"Okay. See ya later, Hana-chan, Kitsu!" said Kari.
Back at the eleventh barracks…
"What the…?! Kari, what're you…?" said Ikkaku surprised.
"You didn't think I was going to stay down for more than a short time, did ya?" she grinned.
"No way! How'd you recover your spirit energy in less than an hour?!" said Yumichika in surprise.
"You can thank a familiar of mine. He gave me some of his, so it recovered quicker."
"A familiar?"
"A fox named Kitsu, if you want to be exact," said Kari.
"The captain wants to see you. Something about sending nearly half his men to the fourth division for treatment…" said Ikkaku.
Captain's office, five minutes later…
"Well it seems we can't keep you down for long, eh Kari?" said Zaraki calmly. (She didn't sense any anger in his voice, which meant she wasn't in trouble…yet.)
"Nope…you could say I'm like a weed. You can cut me down, but I'll just keep coming back again," joked Kari.
"Candy girl was pretty mean to those other boys!" said Yachiru.
"Those idiots thought that they could beat me since I already sent someone else down to the Medical Ops earlier. Instead I kicked their ass," smirked Kari.
"Well it seems you've definitely earned the fourth seat position," said Yachiru.
"Huh?!"
"Ken-chan said you've been so good at teaching those meatheads a lesson that the only way to prevent any more from going to the Med Ops is to give you a seat position!" said Yachiru.
"Cool…which one?"
"Fourth. Yumichika would complain if I gave you his, and so would Ikkaku. So the fourth one is the only one I can get you," said Zaraki.
"Good enough for me! Maybe now they'll learn not to get on my nerves as much."
"We heard about your promotion! Congrats…I think," said Yumichika.
"Depends on whether those rumors that I was sucking up to the captain finally shut up," said Kari.
"If not then you can just bash their heads in until they do," Ikkaku pointed out.
"True…so who's in the mood for some lunch?" asked Kari with a shrug.
"Your treat?"
"Yup…let's go!"
-----
During lunch…
"By the way, we've been meaning to ask, but when did you get here anyway? I don't remember seeing you here until after…" said Ikkaku.
"I came with the Ryoka," said Kari bluntly. (Both spewed tea at this.)
"What! No way! You fit in a little too well to be a ryoka."
"Heh…that's because my personality naturally suited the eleventh division. That's why I pretended I was with you guys until I actually became one of you," said Kari with a laugh.
"I couldn't even see through your disguise! How'd you do it?!" asked Ikkaku.
"I had help with the uniform. Remember Kisuke Urahara?"
"The last captain of the R and D division? What about him?"
"He helped me make the uniform. I did the rest."
"How'd you make it past the gate?" asked Ikkaku.
"When Ichimaru went after the others after Ichigo beat Jidanbo, I slipped in while he was distracted. The rest was easy compared to that," said Kari.
"I still can't believe you got away with it. Does the captain know?"
"Yeah…I told him a while ago. He doesn't care 'cause I told him I knew who the strongest one was. Want to know how I was able to fool even you?"
"Yes!" said Yumichika and Ikkaku in unison.
"It was fairly easy. If there's one mistake people make when they're trying to go under cover its that they don't act naturally. I just acted like I usually do and as if I did belong and you all bought it."
"So you just acted normally, without any nervousness? You've got guts, Kari!" laughed Ikkaku.
"Thanks," laughed Kari.
"So how were you able to beat Ikkaku?"
"Easy. You remember the last commander of the Special Ops, Shihouin Yoruichi?"
"Yeah…the whole Seireitei was in an uproar after the stunt those two pulled."
"She and Urahara were my sparring partners. I got to say though, I never expected his hand-to-hand combat skills to be so bad," snickered Kari. (Urahara sneezes in the real world after she says this.)
"He always was better at swords than martial arts from what I hear. Yoruichi was the hand-to-hand fighter," Ikkaku commented.
"So will you two turn me in, or will you let it slide like the captain did?" asked Kari seriously.
"Hey, if it's alright with the captain, then it's okay by us. We don't blindly follow him for nothing after all. Wait, that didn't…!" said Yumichika quickly. Kari couldn't resist laughing.
"That's all I needed to hear. I'm mildly surprised you two haven't asked me what my Zanpaku-to does in its initial release!" said Kari.
"Oh yeah…we figured you'd show us eventually. But isn't copying other Zanpaku-to its ability?" asked Ikkaku.
"Nope…that's all me. Mine has a double release on it."
"I've never heard of a double release Zanpaku-to," said the two.
"How about after lunch I show you the first one. The second one doesn't want to cooperate half the time," said Kari.
"Alright, you two ready? Try not to freak out when I release it!" said Kari. They shrugged and she unsheathed her sword saying, "Embrace the darkness, Hikari no Kage!"
At first it seemed like nothing happened…then they were enveloped in complete darkness where not a sound could be heard.
"What the…! This is exactly like your room!" said Yumichika.
"I know. That's the reason I can see and you can't. I'm more used to it than you are," said Kari as she calmly released them.
"Woah…that was just weird. So you have a Kido-type?"
"Not really…it envelops my opponent in the silent darkness while I attack. All it does is make them blind and deaf. I still attack directly."
"True…so it's not a Kido-type, but a mix of both. So your Zanpaku-to's name is 'Light's shadow'?"
"Yup. Ironic, right?"
"Eh, I've heard worse. Lets get back to the barracks," shrugged Ikkaku.
Little did they know that they had been followed by one of the captains who had overheard their conversation. It was Soifon, Yoruichi's protégé. She went immediately to the barracks and waited for them to return.
"So why do you spend so much time with the assistant captain, Kari?"
"She's the only other girl in the division! And besides, I always got along better with kids than I did others."
"Hey, is it me or is the Second Division's captain in our barracks?!" asked Yumichika suddenly.
"Uh-oh…I thought I sensed a powerful spirit pressure following us earlier. I didn't think it would be her!" said Kari in dismay.
"So you're really one of the ryoka, Kari?" said Soifon irritably. (Most likely mad that she didn't realize that sooner.)
"I was…but I'm not anymore," said Kari quickly.
"Just because you gained a seat position doesn't make you a Soul Reaper, idiot!" said Soifon annoyed.
"So? I did pass Zaraki-taicho's little test fair and square. He will vouch for me, and so will Yachiru-chan!" said Kari bored.
"I don't care if they do back you up; you're still a ryoka and you're coming with me!" said Soifon.
"Even if I knew where your beloved Yoruichi was?" said Kari smoothly. (Knew Soifon's major weakness.)
"You're still coming with me."
"Tell you what…if you can beat me in a fight with no Zanpaku-to and no Soul Reaper powers in combat, then I'll come along peacefully, and I'll tell you where Yoruichi is. If not, then you leave me alone. Is that fair?"
"I can agree to that, considering you'll never beat me without a Zanpaku-to or your Soul Reaper powers," said Soifon.
"We'll see…" grinned Kari.
-----
An hour later in the Second Division's barracks…
"Where is that irritating child?!" growled Soifon angrily.
"Here I am…sorry I took so long, but I had to make sure that I didn't have my sword anywhere near me. And just to warn you, I have a certain knack that I developed before I became a Soul Reaper," said Kari calmly.
"Let's get this over with…I want to find her before my anger dies down!" said Soifon. (Kari knew exactly what Soifon meant when she said 'her'.)
"And…begin!" said Marechiyo, the second division's assistant captain. (The judge was Rukia's captain, Jushiro Ukitake.)