Chapter Five
Kirria
The shredded curtains flapped as the wind blew through them, towards the shivering pair of girls crouched down together in the middle of the torn apart room. The older of the two looked up just in time to see a blonde-haired man jump into their apartment through the open window. He glanced at them and back down at the ground.
"I didn't make it in time."
"Who are you? Don't come near us." Kya frowned at him. She gripped her little sister even tighter.
"I've come to send you on your way. You shouldn't be residing in the living world anymore. It's dangerous."
"On my way? On my way to where? I belong here. My sister doesn't have anyone else. My parents they… my parents--"
"-are already on their way to the Soul Society. And that's where you need to go too. If you stay here, you'll get hunted down by another hollow like the one just now. Or you might even become one of them. Soul Society is a wonderful place, I can assure you. I've been there myself."
"Wait. What are you saying? You…You're dead too?" Kya's eyes widened as she slowly let go of her sister.
"I'm a Shinigami. And if it makes it any simpler to understand, yes, I'm dead. Well sort of. Anyway, when you go to Soul Society, it'll be like living a normal life, just a longer one. So don't fret. If you hope to arrive in the same place as your parents, you might want to hurry on."
"But I…" Kya turned to look at her little sister. Kirria was teary-eyed as she toddled over to her shredded bunny, picked it up and whispered, "Sora, don't cry. Kiri's here." Kya turned back to the stranger. She didn't know him, but something about him made her feel like she could trust him.
"But I can't leave my sister on her own! There's no one to fend for her! And she's so little! I can't…" Kya broke down into tears again. The stranger's eyes traveled from the little toddler to the sword that lay not far away.
"Tell me one thing. Where did that sword come from?" Kya looked up at the sudden question and glanced at the sword.
"It… it came out of nowhere. It felt… felt as if I pulled it out from thin air. And when Kirria touched it, the sword glowed and pierced through the creature! I'm… I'm sorry. I must sound crazy right now. But I really saw it happen!"
The blonde man frowned.
"If it'll make you feel better," He turned to look face to face at the crying teenager. "I will personally make sure your sister grows up well, and safe."
Kirria turned on her side and felt the soft material sink under her head. She frowned. Her eyes sprang wide open just to close them back again. She had a feeling the bright light had just half-blinded her. She pushed herself up to a sitting position and squinted at her surroundings. Green walls, white furniture, blue sheets. She sighed and was about to go back under the bedcover when she heard someone knock silently at her door. She squinted at Matsumoto as she made her way into the room without an invite, tiptoeing and closing the door silently. She turned around and saw the half-awaken face of Kirria, jumped, and dropped all the clothes she had in her hands at that moment.
"Kir-Kirria! I'm so sorry. I expected you to be asleep." She bent down quickly and picked up the clothes, talking continuously. "Here's the shihakushō Captain asked me to pass to you. If you're tired, go ahead and sleep some more! You don't need to get up now!" She set the clothes on the desk and fled out of the room in a second. Am I that scary when I'm half-awake? Kirria had been told she had a bad-temper when woken up, but she hadn't thought anyone would react like Matsumoto did.
She got up and walked to the stack of freshly ironed clothes. She picked up the white kosode and sash and put them aside. She held the hunter-green kimono and hakama to her face and expected to breathe in memories, but instead she started choking as she put them back down. Since when did the Squad 10 start using floral scented detergent? She looked around the table for the other thing that had been significant to her since she could remember. Not that she had a lot to remember, she was only 12.
"Looking for this?" Kirria turned sharply towards her door. A certain white-haired captain was standing at her doorway, holding up a gleaming armband which carried her symbol of an all-rounder.
She rushed forward and took it into her hands as Hitsugaya smiled at her eagerness. She traced her fingers over the pattern of the sun, wind, water, and fire.
"I finally get to have the real one in my hands again!"
"The real one?"
"Yep! I made a fake one in the real world to remind me that I was going to come back here again. Well, let me tell you the fake one didn't look as good. Thanks for taking such good care of my stuff too, Toush."
"No Toush. Its Hitsugaya Tai-chou."
"Hey! Lets be fair here! You can call me Kirria, I can call you Toush!"
"I'll let you off today, only because you need to get changed now. The whole Shinigami court is waiting to hear your report on where you were the past six years."
"Why do I need to report to them? It's not like they own me. I have my own life."
"Since the time you became an unofficial captain, you're part of this team. Your life is as much as theirs as it is yours. You can't back out now. Get changed, put on your armband, and report to the main meeting room immediately. One advice, don't keep them waiting. Impatience will lend you no help." He shut the door behind him as he finished his last words.
Kirria sighed and put her hand up to head, hopelessly trying to push the memory of her past out of her head.
The blonde man bent down to face the sobbing toddler. He smiled at her when she looked curiously at him with her large twinkling eyes.
"Little Kirria, you're going to grow up well in my care. I promised your sister you're going to be safe."
Sometimes Kirria wondered what his definition of 'safe' had been.
