Chapter 2: The Newcomers
The next morning, Kyouraku and Ukitake were sitting in the barracks of the Thirteenth Division. Kyouraku was describing everything he remembered about the Kuroichi sisters to Ukitake, who had been too ill to meet them a century ago.
"Saki, the oldest, had black hair and green eyes. She seemed to like being alone, never really hanging around her sisters," Kyouraku told Ukitake, "Even as a kid, she was really adept at seeing through lies and had taken on more responsibility that most children."
"Sounds like a child prodigy to me." Ukitake smiled.
"Oh, all three of them could be considered prodigies," Kyouraku said, "Amina had short, spiky, brown hair with brown eyes and loved to pick fights with strong people. On the other hand, Hanako had golden hair and blue eyes and was really shy. She never tried to stand up for herself when she was bullied, so Amina was usually the one to protect her."
"Saki never tried to protect Hanako?"
"She did whenever she was around. Those who suffered Saki's cold wrath made sure to stay away from the Kuroichis for the rest of their lives." They both laughed at Kyouraku's slight exaggeration.
"Did you ever find any clues as to their zanpakuto abilities?" Ukitake pressed. Kyouraku furrowed his brow, thinking.
"Well, Amina did kind of have a strong connection with the wind, and Hanako was labeled as a kind of psychic," Kyouraku shrugged, "I don't know about Saki though. I didn't see her much and the few times I did see her, she called me a pervert and a pedophile and left."
"And their parents?"
"I only met their father, who had golden hair and blue eyes. Hanako takes after him. He was a kind man, and all three girls really loved him." Kyouraku glanced at the sky, "Well, it's almost noon. I think I'll go spy on Captain Unohana for a bit as she escorts the Kuroichis into Seireitei. Coming?"
"Are you sure? We'll get to see them tomorrow when they go through the initiation," Ukitake asked while rising to his feet.
"But we won't get to talk to them during the initiation," Kyouraku whined, heading out the door with Ukitake at his heels.
"They said they don't want to see you though."
"Then they won't see me."
"Hey, hey. How much longer until we get to the gate?"
"Three minutes and twenty-three seconds."
"You sure, Saki?"
"Saki-chan's never been wrong before, Amina-chan."
"Well, yeah. That's true, but can we walk faster?"
"You're the one who's walking the slowest, Amina."
"Oh, shut up, Saki."
There was a moment of silence as the three girls continued to walk south. Hanako glanced at her older sister, Saki.
"Saki-chan?"
"Hmm?"
"Why did Head Captain Yamamoto ask us to be the new captains? I-I mean, we only stayed in Seireitei for a day, and that was a century ago. Shouldn't he have picked someone that he knew better?"
Saki didn't answer for a while, and when she did, she said, "Being the psychic that you are, Hanako, I'm surprised you don't know the reason he asked us."
"You don't look surprised," Amina muttered. Saki ignored the comment.
"Head Captain Yamamoto deliberately went outside the borders of Seireitei to look for the new captains in hope of finding more allies against this Aizen Sousuke," she explained boredly.
"This Aizen must be really strong if the Shinigami of Seireitei isn't enough to take him on," Amina commented. "Are we there yet?"
"Thirty-three more seconds."
"Goddammit."
Thirty-three seconds later…
"Ah, you three are the ones Head Captain Yamamoto was talking about?" The Gate Guardian, Danzomaru, asked.
"Yes, we are. Would you mind letting us through?" Saki asked with cool politeness.
"Well, I'd let you through but your captain escort isn't here yet. I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait," Danzomaru told the three.
"Very well. We'll wait here until our escort arrives," Saki decided.
"There is no need," a new voice made the three girls and Danzomaru turn to see Unohana and Isane approaching them, "We are here now. I apologize if you had to wait long."
"There was no wait at all," Amina said.
Unohana smiled. "I am captain of the Fourth Division, Unohana Retsu. This is my Lieutenant, Kotetsu Isane. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Pleasure to meet you." Isane bowed hurriedly.
"It's nice to meet you, too." Hanako bowed back, "I am Hanako Kuroichi. These are my older sisters, Amina and Saki."
"Yo," Amina said.
"Hello," Saki nodded.
Still smiling, Unohana continued, "Head Captain asked me to tell you that your initiation will be tomorrow at mid-morning. Today, however, I will be giving you a tour of Seireitei and introducing you to some people, and you three will need to talk to the Head Captain as well."
"Alright. Let's go!" Amina cheered.
"Thank you for guarding the gate, Danzomaru," Unohana said to the gigantic gatekeeper as she and Isane led the group into Seireitei.
"This place is huge!" Amina commented as Hanako stared around with wide, blue eyes.
"Your surprise intrigues me, Kuroichi-san," Unohana said, "All three of you have been here for one day a century ago. Surely, you couldn't have forgotten everything?"
"Well, I think I did," Amina admitted sheepishly.
"Captain Unohana, what exactly happened with Aizen?" Saki asked quietly.
"Did Head Captain Yamamoto not explain it to you when he asked you to become the new captains?" Unohana was confused.
"All he mentioned was a betrayal from three captains and that three replacements were needed," Hanako informed Unohana.
"Well, I'm sure that the Head Captain would want to explain things to you himself. You should wait until we arrive at his office," Unohana suggested.
"H-Hai," Hanako agreed quietly.
"What's going on over there?" Amina asked suddenly, pointing at a particularly boisterous bar. As the group approached, an obviously drunk Shinigami approached them. Either he was too drunk to notice Unohana or he didn't care that she was there. He began to blabber nonsense at poor Hanako, who looked terrified and confused.
"Sooooo, sweetie! Wanna grab a driiiink?" he slurred. Amina grit her teeth and Saki's eyes narrowed, both displeased with the way their sister was being spoken to.
"N-no, th-thank you," Hanako stuttered. The drunken Shinigami ignored her protests, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her towards the bar, where his wasted friends were laughing and watching.
A loud crack echoed through the street. Time seemed to freeze for a few seconds before the Shinigami started howling in pain, his arm broken. Amina stood in front of Hanako, hands balled into fists.
"Touch my sister like that again and I won't hesitate to break your other arm," she snarled, eyes flashing dangerously.
"You bitch!" One of the other drunks from the bar ran at Amina, clearly intending to try and avenge his friend. Key word: try.
He didn't get very far before Saki used Oni Dekopin, flicking her pointer finger at him and sending him crashing into the wall.
"Sorry, Captain Unohana, but do you mind if we teach these drunks a lesson?" Saki asked.
"Go right ahead, but please keep the damage to a minimum," Unohana requested.
Meanwhile, Amina was jeering at the Shinigami that was hit by Oni Dekopin. "C'mon, man! Saki barely put any force into that Oni Dekopin. Are you so weak that you can't even withstand that?"
"Why you little…!" More drunken Shinigami stormed out of the bar, intending to take on both Amina and Saki.
"What do you think so far, Ukitake?" Kyouraku asked lazily. The two captains were lying on the roof of a nearby building, spying on the three newcomers.
"They're certainly interesting people," Ukitake said, "Where did they learn to become Shinigami?"
"Their father taught them, I think," Kyouraku answered, "Oh, look. A fight's broken out."
Sure enough, the Shinigami from the bar were converging on Saki and Amina. Ukitake stood up abruptly, but Kyouraku tugged him down again. "Don't interfere. This is our chance to see their skills."
"It might get out of hand," Ukitake protested.
"If it does, then we can step in, but for now, let's observe their power." Kyouraku settled himself more comfortably on the roof. After a few moments, Ukitake sighed and gave in, watching the fight with a bit of apprehension.
"My, oh my," Kyouraku commented, "Amina-chan is taking out enemies left and right." It was true. Without drawing her zanpakuto, Amina was more than a match for the attacking (and drunk) Shinigami.
"However," Kyouraku continued, "it doesn't seem like Saki-chan's even trying to take down her opponents."
Ukitake's eyes flicked to the black-haired girl, who was dodging all of her adversaries' attacks with grace. They're good. Those two definitely have a chance of becoming captain, but what about Hanako? he wondered, watching the shy Kuroichi.
Suddenly, he felt a strong reiatsu settle near the bar. The spiritual pressure was unlike anything Ukitake experienced before. It held a foreboding power, and there was a un-Shinigami-like taint to it. Even Kyouraku sat up when he felt it. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the reiatsu was gone. Ukitake noticed that the Shinigami from the bar were all knocked down by the force of the reiatsu. Unohana was supporting Isane, who also looked deeply shaken.
"Oh, boy," Kyouraku murmured, "Which one of those girls did that?"
Ukitake said nothing. He was pondering about the taint the reiatsu held. It felt strangely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He couldn't even tell who released the spiritual pressure, being too far away.
"Things are going to get interesting now, don't you think, Ukitake?" Kyouraku's question brought the white-haired captain out of his thoughts. "Yama-ji was right when he said they won't be easy opponents. I kind of look forward to tomorrow now."
"Yeah," Ukitake agreed.