Sorry this took longer to post than the other chapters, I had to decide which direction I wanted this story to take. But I did write more so this chapter should be longer than the rest. Enjoy!
Chapter 3
"I have reached a decision!" The head captain thundered. "Squad member candidate Kana will be assigned to squad 13 effective immediately. This decision is final!"
Kana wanted to jump up and down in excitement at the news but one did not jump around like a little kid on Christmas morning in front of the head captain so she settled for grinning like a lunatic. This was wonderful news! She was going to be under captain Ukitake and have a chance at the lieutenants seat. But Kana knew it would not be easy. She would have to learn the ways of the 13 Court Guard Squads fast and prove herself to her new captain and squad mates as well as the head captain. Kana bowed to the head captain and the rest of the people sitting up on the dais and quickly left the room. There was so much to do to get ready for her new post!
Retsu Unohana was not so happy. She had been hoping to get the girl assigned to her squad. It was rare for one person to have such a strong affinity for fighting as well as healing. But Retsu knew that the head captain would never have assigned the girl to her squad, not after realizing the resemblance between Retsu and Kana. If Kana was her daughter, then Retsu would constantly be distracted by her and distraction was not allowed in the medical squad. And if Kana was not her daughter, then she would only serve as a constant reminder of the one she had lost and would destroy Retsu. The head captain knew all of this and had wisely decided not to place Kana in Squad 4. But it still stung a little to be overlooked because of such a weakness.
Squad 11's captain was furious. He had found the girl, he was the one to help her pass her exam! He should be the one to have her in his squad dammit! Kempachi seethed with pent up tension and it had only gotten worse since he knew that he would not get the chance to test out the girl himself. No matter though, he would find a way to get the girl to fight him. Jushiro was a reasonable man and as long as the girl did not protest too much, Kempachi knew that he could ask to use the girl as a sparring partner. But it was tiresome to have to worry about all this. He hated politics and he had little patience with dealing with people unless a sword was involved. He stomped out of the room bursting with impatience.
Jushiro and Shunsui waited till Kempachi had a large enough lead and got up to leave themselves. Jushiro had to get the rest of the assignment paper work finished up and Shunsui needed a drink. As they left the room Shunsui asked "So are you excited about your new recruit?"
Jushiro laughed, "Of course, I was one of the captains requesting Kana after all. Though I have to admit, I am a little surprised that the head captain gave her to me. After all, her healing abilities were top notch and I figured that Retsu would have priority of the rest of us because of that."
"The head captain could not assign Kana to Squad 4, she is too close in age and appearance to the missing girl that Retsu was so upset about a few years back. If Kana was assigned to the squad, she would just serve as a constant reminder of the incident to Retsu" Shunsui explained reasonably.
"Oh I had not thought about that"
They both walked in silence after that. But before long, Shunsui spoke up again, "So did you notice how much Kana looks like Retsu? Its kind of eerie, they have the same long black hair and pale skin."
"Yeah, but Kana's eyes are totally different from Retsu's though, and her eagerness for battle is certainly not similar to Retsu's." Jushiro and Shunsui both smiled at the thought of peace loving Retsu and the girl who smiled at the sight of another opponent to battle.
"You have a point there Jushiro."
At the entrance to the squad 8 barracks they said there good byes as Shunsui headed inside in search of a bottle of sake and Jushiro headed towards his own barracks to finish up paperwork. As Jushiro walked, he sorted through his emotions. There was excitement and elation at the announcement that Kana would be assigned to his squad. There was a bit of sadness for Retsu since she had lost out on a chance to add a talented healer to her squad just because the girl happened to look a little like her. And there was a faint sense of recognition that kept tugging on the back of his mind but kept slipping away when he tried to nail it down. Jushiro sighed as he entered his squads barracks, already thinking about the long night ahead. He had to finish up the paper work then make sure that Kana's sleeping quarters in the barracks were in a suitable state for her to move in tomorrow. The thought of Kana in his squad made Jushiro smile, he would have fun with that girl.
Retsu lay awake in her bed staring at the ceiling. There were so many emotions boiling inside her that it made it hard to think. She had been through so much in the past few years. It was not fair that she was expected to deal with it all and keep on going like nothing happened. She sighed and closed her eyes as memories sucked her into her own personal nightmare.
When Retsu found out that she was pregnant, she just stood there in shock for a little bit. "How is this possible?" she asked her reflection, "it was just one night…." But improbable as it was, it was really happening and she had to decide what to do. She paced around her room, all but avoiding the table where the little piece of plastic lay that had told her of her condition. Since she was a captain and she did not dare alert anyone prematurely of her suspicions about her body, Retsu had gone to the world of the living to buy a pregnancy test. The test came back positive.
She decided to tell the head captain first. That turned out to be a wise decision. After raging at her for a while the head captain calmed down enough to make a decision. It was decided that for the safety of both Retsu and her child, Retsu's pregnancy would remain a secret. Retsu was sent on a leave of absence to the world of the living for a year while she gave birth to her child and recovered. She would be allowed to take one loyal squad member to help her during the pregnancy and the birth. The father was not to be told and when the baby was born, it would be given to a family among the lesser nobility to be raised. The child would eventually be told of her parentage, but only after all the mysterious death threats against the captains of the 13 Court Guard squads was cleared up and the child of a sufficient age to defend herself against anyone who would attempt to do her harm. The thought of having her child ripped from her arms as soon as it was born was more than Retsu could take. Now that most of the shock had worn off, she was looking forward to the birth. But the head captain was right. Retsu had received the most amounts of death threats and any child of hers would be a target for her enemies. It was hard to imagine how she had made those enemies. Yes she was a captain of one of the 13 Court Guard squads, but her squad was the paramedics. They carried zampakto but most of the squad members could barely use them enough to defend themselves from low level hollows. And she had not been out in combat in decades. But the reality was that someone had it out for her and Retsu would do anything to protect the life new growing inside her, even if it meant giving the child up to be raised by someone else.
Retsu was not sure at what point her memory turned into sleep but the next thing she knew she was being woken up by a knock on the door. 'That will be Isane with breakfast' Retsu thought. For once, Isane's efforts to care for her captain were a welcome relief. Isane was one of the handful of people who knew about Retsu's pregnancy. The head captain had decided to let Isane in on the secret because he knew that Retsu would need someone close to her to help her through the worst part of the loss. Plus it would be difficult to hide a captain's pregnancy from her lieutenant anyway.
"Good Morning captain" Isane said as she walked into the room. She set down the tray of food on the low coffee table in the middle of the room then bowed to her captain and asked "is there anything else I can take care of for you this morning?"
"No that will be all for now Isane. After doing my rounds this morning though I think I will head up into the mountains to do a little hiking so plan on taking over my duties this afternoon" Retsu replied as she rose from her be and headed to the bathroom. Food held little appeal for Retsu this morning but this was not unusual. Ever since the loss of her daughter, life seemed to have taken on a gray pallor and food and drink stopped tasting like anything special. But Retsu knew, better than most that she needed to eat in order to sustain her life. But she had lost some weight since the incident and it was starting to show. She would have to start eating more if she expected to remain unnoticed by the masses.
After finishing her rounds at the hospital, Retsu headed for the edges of the Rukon district. She headed up into the mountains to the little cabin that she owned near a hidden spring. It was tucked away in a beautiful valley that was covered in flowers in the spring and carpeted by thick plush grass in the summer. The little spring that flowed from the spring bubbled down past the side of the cabin and created a pleasant calming noise that Retsu often used to meditate when she needed to talk to her zampakuto. The cabin itself was modeled after log cabins in the world of the living. It was furnished lightly with only a bed, low table with pillow seats, and a small kitchen that was well stocked with a variety of teas and some basic foods. There was also a large chest in one corner that held a few random objects in it like paper and ink. It was just starting to rain as Retsu reached the cabin so she went inside and started making some tea.
Retsu nearly jumped out of her skin when there was a knock on the door. 'Who could that be? There are only three people who even know about this cabin and of them, only Isane knew I was coming here this afternoon and she should still be working in the hospital right now'. Retsu quickly grabbed her sword and faced the door. With all the trouble in the recent decade with the death threats and seemingly random incidents that kept popping up in the Seireitei, it did not hurt to be cautious. But then she stiffened and nearly dropped her sword when she heard his voice coming through the door.
"Its just me Retsu, so don't kill me when I walk through that door." Jushiro Ukitake said as he poked his head into the room. As he walked all the way into the cabin and shut the door behind him he explained "it is pouring out there and this was the closest place I could think of. I did not know you would be here until I felt your spiritual pressure a few yards from here. Are you suppressing it or is there something in the walls of this cabin that suppresses it for you?"
"If you expect me to believe that you just happened to be passing by here during a rain storm out here in the mountains with your condition you are going to seriously insult me" Retsu glared at the fellow captain, completely ignoring his last question.
Jushiro had the grace to look sheepish. "Well, I guess that was a pretty lame excuse. The truth is that I wanted to see you and talk to you about the new transfer to my squad and make sure that there are no hard feelings between us."
Retsu had to remind herself that Jushiro did not know about the baby and that any overreaction on her part would seem like insanity to him. So pulling back on her mask of unflappability, Retsu calmed herself enough to respond. "There are no hard feelings. The head captain simply did what he thought was best and he clearly thought that Kana would provide the most help to the soul society in your squad. I can hardly blame you for that. Now that you know this you may leave. I came up here to be alone so I would appreciate it if you left." Retsu walked over to the door and opened it up for him. But after a glance outside at the pouring rain she sighed "I guess you can't travel in the rain. Well I suppose you could stay here until it lightens up enough for you to leave"
Oooooo…..what will happen when Retsu gets rained in with her former lover and father of the child she believes is dead? I hope to update soon! Please Review! The more you review, the more motivated I am to get the next chapters written and uploaded!