She hadn't been in Soul Society long enough to know who was in the Gotei 13, but she had been there long enough to know who could be trusted. And she knew that Aizen couldn't be trusted, long before anyone else knew. She also had a feeling that Gin and Tosen were involved.
She wasn't exactly one of the Gotei 13, but she was always around, like a stray cat. She always helped wherever needed, sneaking around so no one would see her. She was almost like a ghost lurking around, making herself useful wherever.
She was especially useful to the thirteenth division, the squad of Ukitake Jyuushiro. She would always fill out his paperwork and clean for him. That, and she would always leave out his favorite dish, umeboshi-chasuke.
Ukitake thought that it was by dark magic, and Kiyone and Sentarō would accuse each other, thinking the other was just trying to suck up to their taichou. Therefore they strived to surpass each other.
Everyday she would help, sit back in the shadows, and watch. Leaning against the wall, Natsuko, the Shinigami nobody, would silently watch the world of the dead.
But something strange happened today.
She woke up, same as usual, put on her uniform and a black cloak, and rushed out of her hiding spot. Lurking in the shadows, she made her way to the sleeping chambers of the thirteenth squad captain.
She snuck into the room and began organizing the papers. Then she was in the process of filling out the paperwork when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Letting out a small scream, she jumped and turned around, dropping the paperwork.
"So you're the ghost" the white-haired man who startled her said.
"I-I-I'm sorry" she stuttered, standing quickly. She rapidly made her way to the door, which was blocked by Kiyone and Sentarō. Their faces were red with fury and they were breathing heavily, as if they ran through the entire Soul Society.
"Kiyone, Sentarō, I would like you to meet my personal ghost" the man said.
"Sentarō! So you're using your girlfriend to do your dirty work?! Cheater!" Kiyone exclaimed.
"She's your friend!" Sentarō shot back. Suddenly they were fighting with each other, completely forgetting the girl they were fighting about.
"Now now..." Ukitake began, separating the two. When he turned around to talk to Natsuko, she was already gone.
"I would like you to help find her" he said, flash stepping away. They quickly ran off, eager to please their taichou.
Out of breath, Natsuko stopped using shunpo. She heard footsteps and quickly began to shunpo again. That was the last she could do, she used her last bit of spirit energy in that one escape attempt.
"I should be safe here" she said, stumbling down the dark alley. She let out a sigh as her shakey legs collapsed below her.
"Damn it" she muttered, dragging herself further down the dark alleyway. Finally her arms gave out, leaving her temporarily immobile. The last thing she remembered was a blurry figure before shse lost consciousness.
She heard voices, familiar voice and that of a woman. They were whispering about someone, about her.
"Will she be alright?" the man asked.
"She'll be fine. You should get some rest" the woman said.
"I'll be fine" she assured.
Suddenly all talking ceased, as if they realized that she was awake. She warily opened her eyes, her eyelids feeling like lead.
"You're up!" the man said, sounding enthused. She opened her mouth to reply but all that came out was a strange assortment of noises. She wasn't exactly a morning person. He nodded as if he understood what the hell she just said. Turning around, he walked out of the room, going to work on signing papers, she assumed.
Kiyone and Sentarō suddenly lunged at her, startling her.
"Don't think that you have a close relationship with out taichou, just because he saved you. Ukitake-taichou was just being nice" Sentarō snapped.
"Yeah, we're Ukitake-taichou's lieutenants" Kiyone added. Another person entered the room.
"They're the third seat. Don't let them fool you like that" the new person said, "Ukitake doesn't just save random people passed out on the street." He winked at her.
"Uki...take..." she repeated, confused.