After the brief introduction, the captain showed Hikari around the barracks. The squad members who were doing their duties around the barracks greeted the captain enthusiastically, but as soon as they saw Hikari, their expression changed into one of wariness, and they greeted her hesitantly by her new rank. The captain did not seem to notice this, and continued showing her around the barracks.
Finally, she was led to the main office which was shared by both the Captain and Vice-captain of the squad. It was a cozy room, big enough to fit two tables, and leaving some empty space. In the middle of the room was a carpet. There were several windows looking out to small, man-made gardens which littered the exterior of the entire squad 3 barracks. The captain signalled to a table in the corner of the room. On the table were stacks of papers that required signing and stamping on. Hikari immediately understood her job for today. She went to the table and looked into one of the papers she was required to stamp at. It was titled "Damage Report (Squad 3)- Soul Society" and below it was a list of places in and outside Seireitei which had been damaged by the squad. At the bottom of the page was the captain's signature, and an empty space for her to acknowledge. She laughed inwardly at the squad's lackadaisical behavior as indicated by the report.
"Hikari." She turned around. The captain was looking at her with a serious look on his face. "It will take a while for you to adjust here, especially since you were a substitute shinigami before you came here. Meanwhile, I apologise for my squad members' rudeness."
"I-it's alright! I don't-" Before she could say any more, the captain continued.
"But regardless of your past, as long as you are a member of my squad, you are my vice-captain, and I will treat you as one of my own. Is that understood?"
The air in the room was still, as if waiting for a response. She nodded. As soon as she gave her affirmative, the wolfish smile was back on her captain's face again, and Hikari realized it gave him a rather goofy appearance.
"I'm glad you did!" The captain walked towards Hikari and gave her a hard pat on the back. She keeled forward a bit before regaining her balance.
"Captain!" Hikari said indignantly. "You almost killed me!"
The captain laughed and walked out of the room, giving a small wave. "All the best! If you work hard enough the other squad members may start to accept you! And I will not tolerate slackers either!"
She watched his retreating figure down the hallway, and for the first time in many years, unconsciously broke into a small smile.
She felt warmth in those words the captain had told her, and kept it close to her heart. Finally, someone who is willing to look at her without discrimination, understanding her but nonetheless treats her just like everyone else.
It was then that she decided to serve this man even to her death.
A/N: Hi all, I am really new to this and this is the first time I wrote a fanfic, so please be kind to me! Anyway, I am really grateful you took the time to read this essay of mine! *bows* If any of you while reading this story felt any similarity to the original Bleach series, yes, you are right! I am writing based on a certain story in the original Bleach, challenging myself with different characters this time.
This author's note is getting a bit long, so I would like to credit someone I got my inspiration of segregating my stories into parts from: Kuroi-cho-tsuki-shiro. Read her stories! They're really good!
Once again, thank you very much for reading this story through to the end; I'm really grateful. Please review!