Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Ōkami, which are both great things from Japan. I do, however, own my OC's.
Thank you all for reviewing! And special congrats to Lis is Amazing for guessing who Amaterasu and Himiko's parents are! You get digital cookies! Enjoy!
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The rest of you... Wait and see in this chapter.
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—Amaterasu—
My face was still red as the other person started to introduce himself. I kind of tuned him out, though, since I was still sleepy. He looked familiar, for some reason... While he was talking, I saw Himiko's expression darken while string into space, and I suddenly fell sorry for the young captain of the tenth division. If Himiko was thinking of a plan for a prank, then dear Shiranui* help her targets. I grinned inwardly. Meanwhile, the other raven-haired captain droned on.
"...Are you listening?" He asked in a monotone. I turned toward him in surprise.
"Eh... No. Sorry." I muttered, my eyes downcast. "Could you repeat what you just said?" He sighed, then started his whole introduction again.
"As I was saying, my name is Kuchiki Byakuya, and you will be calling me Captain Kuchiki. I am the Captain of the Sixth Division..."
That's all I heard. Suddenly, memories of my mother telling me about this one kid she loved to play tag with came back to me. My eyes widened with surprise.
"In my division, you will be expected to follow the rules and–" I cut across what he was going to say.
"Hey, you're that kid my mother used to play tag with! Well, I mean used to train, of course... You do remember Yoruichi, right? Anyway, mother told me to give this back to you if I ever saw you here."
I took of the red hair band that I usually wore and held it out to him. His eyes narrowed slightly in surprise. Mom had told me before I left for Shinigami Academy to give this back to the head of the Kuchiki Clan if I ever saw him.
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Flashback:
"Okay, guys, we're off!" I waved to the small crowd that consisted of my parents, store helpers, and a couple of Mod Souls. Both of us were ready to go to the Shinigami Academy, and all packed up too. Right now, Himiko and I were at Karakura Town, which is west of Tokyo. And dear Shiranui help you if you don't know where Tokyo is. I mean, it's the freaking capital of Japan, for Shiranui's sake! Sorry. Getting off topic here.
"We'll make you proud! We'll become badass Shinigami and we'll beat a captain or two!" Himiko shouted next to me, also waving. Unlike me, who was already getting a little homesick (don't you dare call me a sissy), Himiko looked excited about leaving and was already running off.
"Himiko! Mind your language! Oh yeah, did we forget anything?" I asked, standing before the Senkaimon that would take us to Soul Society. This door had taken a week for Urahara Kisuke, our father, to make, and we only had four minutes to go through. Or else, we would be trapped in the parallel world called the Dangai, which was in between the Real World and Soul Society.
"How could we? Mom helped us pack, and when does she forget anything? It's like you're saying that–" Himiko was soon cut off when Yoruichi can running to us, two small items in her hands.
"Hey, wait up! Himiko, here. Take this, and don't let Kisuke see it," she whispered quietly. Yoruichi handed Himiko a white metal folding fan, very much like our Dad's.
"This is his spare one. Don't ask me why he even owns two of them, one is annoying enough." Upon that note, we all glanced at him and nodded our heads in agreement.
"Oh? Are you talking about me? I'm just a mere honest, handsome, perverted businessman. How could I do anything wrong?" he sang out, fan fluttering to hide his face. We all sweat dropped. Yoruichi took out a coffee mug from thin air and threw it at him, hitting him square in the face. Kisuke fell on his back withe the mug still in his face.
"Owwww... That hurt, Yoruichi!" He muttered while picking himself up.
"... Well, Amaterasu, use this to tie up your hair," Yoruichi said calmly, as if nothing happened. "But if you see Byakuya-bo, give this back to him, okay? I don't know where he is in Soul Society, but its been 110 years, and I need to return it to him."
Her golden eyes turned nostalgic for a moment, remembering the day when she stole the teenager Byakuya's hairband. I was there too, for my Kidō lessons with
Ginrei-sama. Then, my father stood up and looked at his watch.
"Hey, if you guys don't leave now, then you'll be late for the entry exam, you know."
"Shi- I mean crap!" Himiko almost cursed, correcting herself at the last minute. I wonder when she will ever get out of that habit. "...Sorry Aneki." She apologized.
"Whatever. Let's go. Now, see you!"
"Bye~"
With those two farewells, we both ran through the gate and into Soul Society.
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"She kept it all that time...?" he muttered to himself. For a while, he looked as if he was considering something. "No, you should keep it. Send Yoruichi-san my greetings the next time you see her."
Though I was disappointed that I couldn't fulfill my mother's wishes, I realized that since he was the one that didn't want it back, she could take her anger out on him if she wanted to. As long as she doesn't beat me up, I'm fine. So I shrugged and said, "Whatever suits you best, Captain Kuchiki," and tied up my hair again.
After the small exchange was over, Ōnabara-sensei started to explain the rules and stuff of the Gōtei 13. Again, I nearly fell asleep. Through my half-lidded eyes, I could see Himiko plotting, and totally not listening. While he was explaining why it would be a really bad idea to prank any of the captains (something about the capability of every single one of them getting very angry, killing us, and destroying a lot of buildings, not that I cared, of course.)
An hour and a half later, at least that's what it seemed like to me, he stopped and gestured the captains forward. It was probably just me, but I thought the captains were having a hard time staying awake after the lecture too. See, this is why two years ago, I asked Ōnabara-sensei why he couldn't just drone on a about Shinigami history at a Hollow, and put it to sleep, efficiently giving us a perfect chance to attack. For some reason, he got kinda mad at me. To this day, I still wonder why.
"Alright, you will be given all of today to pack up your things that you want to take to your divisions. You will be required to meet with the captains tomorrow morning at nine in their offices. Understood?" He asked.
"Yes sir," we both replied, Himiko with sarcasm, me in a monotone, though with a hint of respect.
"One more thing. Here are your new Shinigami uniforms. Wear them tomorrow morning when you go meet your captains. Oh yes, and congratulations! You just grew out of the Academy uniforms!"
When no one laughed at his lame excuse of a joke, he sighed.
"Off you go, then". We both ran toward the door, wanting out of that hovel look-alike of a teacher's office.
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When we got to our dorm, Himiko broke into a fit of giggles.
"I'm gonna give him a week to get used to the angelic me, then it's PRANK TIME!" I do have to say that it would be hilarious to watch Captain Hitsugaya go through all that torture that he was going to go through soon enough.
"Oh yeah, did you and that Byakuya dude know each other before? You guys seemed close. Could it be... Love?" She grinned slyly at me. I looked at her in shock.
"Dear Shiranui, no! Did you not notice how cold he was? And how were we close? We only knew each other from before when our mother and father were exiled because of Aizen. And remember our other reason for being here: to keep and eye on Aizen, the captain of the Fifth Division. If he's planning something, then we have to contact them," I stated firmly, not letting any room for argument. My little sister could be a bit idiotic about love. My conclusion is that she needs help with her brain.
After the whole day of packing (we left the dorm empty except with the furniture that it came with) we finally got time to go to our favorite spot in Seireitei, which was under this ancient cherry blossom tree that we liked to call Konohana**. Strangely, the top of the tree curls inwards to itself. The branches were so big that you could lie down on them and still have room to roll around. We usually sat back to the trunk under the tree, just letting the breeze ripple through our hair. Today, we sat on one of the branches, both thinking about our new divisions.
"Himiko?"
"...Yeah, Aneki? What is it?"
"Don't get into too much trouble. I don't want to see you getting sent home."
"...Do I have to promise you? Because I probably will get into trouble anyway."
"Just try your best. I need someone to cheer me up, and everyone at the Sixth Division are all probably dunderheads with no sense of humor."
Himiko snorted softly with laughter. "Fine, I won't get sent back into the Real World. But I'll still prank others to no end. There, you happy?"
With that, I smiled. "Very."
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The next morning, we both went our separate ways in order to find our divisions. After many sisterly hugs we finally departed and Himiko went off to the North road, while I chose the East. That was when I realized something. I had absolutely no idea where the heck my division was. Great. The first day, and I'm already going to be late. Goodbye to the good first impression I was hoping to make to the rest of the division.
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*Shiranui is the wolf god in the game called Ōkami, which is an amazing game, trust me. The whole game is based of japanese sumi-e art style. The plot is also based off the Japanese folklore and legends. The art direction is simply beautiful.
**Yes, for those Ōkami fans out there, Konohana is back! In the game, it was the guardian sapling of the first village you go to. And trust me, it is huge. Go look it up if you want and image. Though,*hint* it's on the cover of the story*hint*.
By the way, this is NOT an Ōkami crossover. I'm just borrowing a couple of things from the game. The disclaimer is at the top of the page, in case you're wondering.
Oh yeah, and the romance will come later, to those of you who are wondering. *Cough*RainbowRoseflower*Cough*
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