Chapter 8
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The next morning Yuki awoke to a knocking on her door. She slowly made her way out of bed and opened it, finding a young looking Shinigami girl standing there. She wore her brown hair in two buns on either side of her head. Her very large blue eyes lit up when she noticed Yuki watching her,
"Hello!" She practically screamed as she pushed her way in.
Yuki slowly closed the door behind her and yawned,
"Oh, now don't tell me you're still tired…"
"Mmm…"
"C'mon now, it's a beautiful day!" She threw down a bag she'd brought with her, "Now hurry up and get dressed, there isn't any time to waste today."
Yuki groggily grabbed the bag and walked back to her small bathroom to change. While she was gone, the shinigami walked around the room a little,
"It's been so very long since I've been here, but so little has actually changed."
A moment later the door reopened and Yuki emerged. Her robes were, once again, too big. They still covered her hands and feet, but by now she was used to it and actually liked them that way. She'd changed her hair as well. She'd brushed her bangs so thata big chunk of them covered her left eye, with a thinner bit over the right. It was pulled into a high, spiky, ponytail. The shinigami looked at her,
"Oooh, you look so great!"
"Okay…" Yuki said, still only half awake.
She shuffled over to her bed and pulled her Zanpakuto out from under the covers. She'd decided to sleep as close to it as she possibly could, so she wouldn't lose it,
"Well, now, are you ready to go?"
"Mmm..Let's go…"
"Good, you can wake up a little more on the way."
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It wasn't too long of a trip to SeiReiTei, but it was a chilly morning and Yuki was wide awake by the time they arrived. They walked up to the eastern gate and were immediately allowed entry,
"I'll just be taking you to your squad, then I have to depart."
"So soon?"
She giggled, "Sorry, I have a lot of work to do today."
"Ah, yes…I see."
They made their way through the winding streets of the city, making small talk along the way. Finally they came to a large gate with a huge number nine painted on it. The shinigami looked down at Yuki,
"Ready?"
"I guess I have no choicce."
The girl nodded and knocked on the gate. It creaked open to reveal an enormous shinigami standing on the other side. He was about eight feet tall and very muscular. Yuki felt a little fear start to well up,
"What is it?" His voice boomed at them.
"I brought the new recruit. She's to go straight to your Taichou."
He took a moment to look over Yuki, "Alright…Follow Me…" He turned.
Yuki went to follow him and the girl patted her on the back,
"Have fun."
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Yuki followed the large shinigami, nearly having to run after him to keep up. After a moment he stopped in front of a tall, heavy, wooden door. He very gently knocked,
"Yes?" A voice said from the other side of the door.
"You have a visitor, Taichou."
"Ah, send her in please."
The door opened and the large shinigami pushed her inside,
"One more thing before you go, gather up the troops, we're going to have a meeting."
"Yes, sir…" He closed the door.
Yuki looked around nervously. The Taichou stood up from his desk,
"Hello my dear. I'll be your Taichou here. My name is Tousen Kaname."
Yuki bowed, "I'm Hitsugaya Yuki."
"I've heard a lot about you, I'm sure you'll become a great asset to our division."
"Thank you sir, I will certainly do my best."
"I would expect nothing less." He smiled, "Shall we go and meet the rest of those you will be working with?"
"Alright…"
"Good, now let's go."
He made his way back out the door, and Yuki followed.
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They made their way outside and across the vast, grassy, courtyard and into a large building on the other side, wher ethe entire squad had gathered. Tousen lead her to the front of the group where another shinigami was already standing. He was very tall with shaggy black hair and dark eyes. 3 claw like scars ran over his right eye and down his face. a 69 tattoo sat under his left eye with a long grey stripe. He gave Yuki a little nod.
Tousen cleared his throat and the room went silent,
"Thank you all for gathering so quickly." He paused to look over the group, "You are all aware that we recently lost our third seat officer due to an…unfortunate…accident…But lucky for us, we've found a replacement from the academy. In a moment I will let her introduce herself. But first, I warn you not to make problems for her, make her feel welcome."
"Yes, Taichou!"
He motioned for Yuki to step forward, and she did so,
"Um…Hi…My name is Hitsugaya Yuki…I look forward to working with you all…" She bowed.
The crowd mumbled a little. Tousen stepped forward again,
"As you all have probably figured, she's Hitsugaya Taichou's twin sister. Remember that, hm?" He looked over the crowd again, "Alright, you're all dismissed."
They all stood up and filed out. Tousen turned to the tall guy,
"Hisagi?"
"Hm?"
"Would you take Yuki around and show her where things are?"
"Sure." He turned to her, "I'm Hisagi Shuuhei…Your Fukutaichou…I guess we'll start around here, then move out into the city."
"O-okay…" Yuki said, following him outside.
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Hisagi first showed her around the ninth division area, including where her quarters were, then went out into the city. She followed him through the maze like streets to various other divisions,
"…And here is the first division. This is where meetings are held…"
Yuki nodded, completely confused. Hisagi laughed a little,
"I know it's a lot to take in at once, but having to run errands and stuff will teach you pretty quick."
"Yeah…"
"Anyway, let's head back."
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They walked for awhile in silence before Hisagi spoke up again,
"So…How'd you get your reccomendation for our squad?"
"Huh?" Yuki said, she'd been trying to memorize the way back, and was startled by his sudden question, "Oh…Toushiro came to the academy and apparently he gave the reccomendation…"
Hisagi stopped in his tracks, "Your brother is the reason you got in here?"
"Well…Not the only reason…" She looked up to find him glaring down at her, "What..?"
"I had to work so hard to get to where I am…Then you come in…You got here so easily…" He turned away from her, "You know what…Find your own way back." He dashed off, leaving her there looking a bit dumbfounded.
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Hisagi bolted all the way back to the ninth division headquarters. He leaned against the outside wall, out of breath,
"You're not as fast as you think…Shuuhei…"
He looked up to see Yuki walking toward him,
"What the? How the hell did you catch up with me so fast?"
"It's simple…I'm faster than you are." She walked up to him, standing as close to him as she possibly could and standing on her tip toes to look taller, although she was still only about as tall as his chest. She looked up at him, her icy blue eyes seeming to glow,
"Hate me all you want…but I'm here now…" She slammed her hand into the wall beside him, making a big hole, "We should try and get along, hm?" She removed her hand from the wall and backed off, "I'll be in my quarters…" She walked through the gate, back inside the ninth division.
Hisagi blinked a couple of times,
"What the hell was that? She completely changed…" He pulled himself away from the wall, noticing a pretty extreme temperature change from where he'd stood before,
"Cold..?"
Suddnely Tousen peeked through the gate,
"Ah, Hisagi, there you are." He looked around a little, "Where's Yuki-San?"
He striaghtened himself up a little and cleared his throat, "She, uh, went back to her quarters."
"I see. Well c'mon, I've got some work for you to do."
He dusted off his robes and followed Tousen. Once inside Tousen spun around to face Hisagi,
"One thing. Wether you like who you work with or not, don't fight amongst yourselves. I won't have our headquarters destroyied."
"Oh yeah…Sorry, sir…" His face turned bright red.
"Good." He walked back toward the main building, Hisagi on his heels.