Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Koyumi, however is my own!
RECAP
Captain Unohana left the room, as the sixth squad captain took his seat beside the bed, looking intently at the sleeping figure before him. 'Why would she cut herself… what in the world happened after she left the fourth squad barracks?' he thought as he remembered watching her from behind the door, surprised that she had a brother who looked similar to himself. He had gone back to the Kuchiki manor after that, not sensing the trouble until it was too late. 'What in the world happened…'
Story start…
At the fourth division…
The man waited as the fourth division captain began to exam and heal the wounds of the young girl.
"Kuchiki-Taichou, you may come in," a voice called. "The wounds on her leg are merely scratches, but the ones on her shoulder were quite serious and seemed to be self inflicted. Were you with Toriku-san when this occurred?"
"No, I was not. I sensed a strong reiatsu coming from her and thus found her lying in this condition," the captain replied coldly.
"Well, it appears that Toriku-san has a rather odd marking on the shoulder that was wounded. The marking resembled a crescent moon with a blade slashing through it. I've never seen this kind of marking on any shinigami before, but I have already informed head captain Yamamoto about it. Unfortunately, Toriku-san's condition is quite bad at the moment. Perhaps you could be so kind as to watch over her for a while Captain Kuchiki?"
"Hn"
Captain Unohana left the room, as the sixth squad captain took his seat beside the bed, looking intently at the sleeping figure before him. 'Why would she cut herself… what in the world happened after she left the fourth squad barracks?' he thought as he remembered watching her from behind the door, surprised that she had a brother who looked similar to himself. He had gone back to the Kuchiki manor after that, not sensing the trouble until it was too late. 'What in the world happened…'
The motionless girl lay in the fourth division, watched over by a white haired boy finishing the last of his paperwork.
"Yumi, what happened to you?" the young captain murmured.
"Hnn, wait... don't ...go! Please! KATSU!!!"
Koyumi jolted up, but was forced down due to the pain in her shoulder. Unceasing tears slid down her cheeks as past memories began to flood her mind again.
"Yumi, you're awake…"
"Hitsugaya-taichou… Why are you here?"
"You've been unconscious for 2 months ever since you were saved by Kuchiki-taichou near the East Rukon District."
The girl stared at the white haired captain.
"2 months? I apologize, Hitsugaya-taichou for being unable to fulfill my duties. I will return to the division now to start on the paperwork left in my absence."
"Yumi, sit still, you must remain in bed until you are fully healed!"
Koyumi began to step out of bed when her shoulder exploded in pain. She grimaced, losing her balance in the process and stumbled forward. Luckily, her captain caught her before she completely collapsed, but something was wrong. Koyumi gasped for air, unable to breathe while the rest of body became rigid and frozen.
"What's wrong!?!? Yumi, what's wrong!?"
*huff**huff*
"Yumi!" The white haired captain quickly tore off part of the cloth on Koyumi's left shoulder, exposing a bandaged wound with blood seeping through and beginning to trickle down her back. The mark on her shoulder was also glowing, thin lines of blue extending from the crescent shape and running partway down her left arm.
"No… Why didn't you tell me?!" the young captain muttered while using kido in attempts to heal the girl.
"Gomen…. Hitsugaya-kun, I didn't want...ugh… to troub…." But before she could finish her sentence, she had passed out again. The captain began to chant an incantation for a kido spell, one that was unknown to the rest of the 13 Court Guard Squads with the exception of the 2 banished shinigami: Shihouin Yoruichi and Urahara Kisuke. The marks on Yumi's arm slowly began to fade away and her breathing became steady once again. Hitsugaya sighed; the kido spell had taken much more effort and spiritual power out of him this time.
"Oh Yumi…" He gazed at the limp body in his arms sadly, knowing since the two of them were little that Yumi would not have much time. He knew that one day, he would lose his closest friend because he had been unable to protect her. He gently placed the pale girl on the bed and headed towards the door. As he reached to open the door, captain Unohana walked in.
"Oh, Hitsugaya-taichou, has Toriku-san woken up yet?"
"No, not yet," he lied.
"Well, don't be too worried, I'm sure Toriku-san will recover soon. I'll just be doing a check-up on her wounds, if you'll excuse me, Hitsugaya-taichou."
After that visit, the captain of the 10th squad did not visit Koyumi again, but another captain did (You can guess who…). Three months later, Koyumi was finally discharged from the fourth division and returned to a mountain of paperwork in the tenth division quarters. After working the first 7 hours on paperwork, the young girl decided to take a break and right at that moment, her captain walked in.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm Fine. thank you for asking, Hitsugaya-taichou."
"That's good to know. I was just about to deliver some papers to the sixth division, would you like to come? You look like you could use the break." the captain said teasingly.
"Hai… taichou"
'You visited me when I was in the fourth division. I know it. Something happened, but I can't remember… What happened that day? I'll ask later… I guess…'
At the sixth division…
"Koyumi, you're back!" yelled Renji. The quiet girl did not reply as she was unsure of what to say. After being 'hospitalized' for 5 months, Koyumi felt like a stranger around Renji and her other 'friends'. She had never been comfortable around many people and leaving suddenly for such a long period of time caused her to feel out of place, even more so than she already was before the incident.
"Koyumi?"
"Oh, hello Renji"
"Cut the formality would ya?"
"Uh, excuse-me?"
"Can you not talk like my captain for once!?"
A figure appeared behind the loud vice captain.
"Renji…" Immediately, Renji realized who stood behind him.
"Kuchiki-taichou! Uh, um…I uh…"
"Abarai, leave now, we have some important matters to discuss with Kuchiki-taichou."
"Hai, Hitsugaya-taichou!" And with that, Renji quickly ran off, grateful that he had been spared the sight of his angry captain.
"Um, Hitsugaya-taichou, pardon my interruption, but I thought you said we were here to deliver papers." the lilac haired girl stated with uncertainty in her quiet voice.
"Yes, about that, we have also another issue to discuss while we are here."
"Then I will return to the 10th division now captain. My apologies for troubling you Kuchiki-taichou, thank you for saving me that night," she stated in a barely audible voice. As Koyumi turned to leave, she was stopped by her captain.
"Actually Koyumi, the issue we are discussing mainly concerns you,"
"So it would be rather helpful if you remained here." finished the stoic sixth captain.
"Hai, Hitsugaya-taichou, Kuchiki-taichou" the girl replied in a monotonous voice.
"The reason I have brought you here is that I have decided that you should be transferred into the sixth division as third seat under Kuchiki-taichou."
"Why?"
"Koyumi, do you remember when you were attacked that night?"
"Hai, but it's a little hazy. I was training with Touketsu Kagerou when a menos appeared. It was odd that I was unable to sense it though. After its defeat, a continuous flood of Adjucas class menos appeared. That was when…" she trailed off.
"That was when the marks started to appear, wasn't it?" inquired the younger captain.
Koyumi nodded, gazing at the floor with a blank expression on her face.
"Marks?"
"Yes, I'm sure you realized, Kuchiki-taichou, that when you brought Koyumi to the fourth division, you must have noticed the crescent shaped mark on her left shoulder."
"Yes, Unohana-taichou also mentioned it to me." The normally cold captain glanced at the third-seat with concern, but the look disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
"Well…" the white haired captain started while staring distantly through the window in the office, "the mark you saw on Koyumi's shoulder was caused by a hollow when she was young. The mark did not appear to be a problem until 10 years ago, shortly after she entered the Shinigami Academy."
"Problem… was that why you cut your own shoulder that night, Toriku-san?"
"Hai, Kuchiki-taichou" the girl whispered. "The mark you saw is the core of a rare life threatening poison. The poison spreads slowly throughout the body only during certain times, but it is impossible to predict when it will continue to spread. The poison not only weakens the physical state of the body, but causes a loss of control over thoughts and bodily functions."
"She won't have much time left to live as a shinigami, we've known that from the start, but a mysterious stranger appeared when Yumi was injured by the hollow and they were able to develop a special form of kido to delay the spread of the poison to prolong her life. We have not yet identified the stranger who created the kido.
"I see…"
Byakuya's POV
'From the time I saw her at the festival, I can't stop thinking about this girl. Why? Now they say she's in danger of dying. Why am I so concerned? This has nothing to do with me. What is it about her? What are these feelings? Everything about her seems so familiar…'
Normal POV
"Because nobody else has seen what the mark can do except you, Kuchiki-taichou, and you two are fairly well acquainted, I have decided that Koyumi should be transferred into your division because I will be absent from the soul society for a long period of time, being given a mission in the real world. I have already created a legitimate reason that the head captain has accepted, so starting tomorrow, Toriku Koyumi will be part of the sixth division."
To be continued...
Sorry for not updating for so long... please review! any comments would be appreciated (but no flaming please!) Advice, constructive criticism, or random comments are welcome!