Chapter 3: Initiation
"I am glad that you three managed to make it on schedule," Yamamoto said to the Kuroichis as they stood in his office.
"Trust me, Head Captain, we'd never be late for something like this," Amina grinned. Yamamoto nodded.
"Did Niba come with you? I haven't seen him in a century," Yamamoto questioned.
"Father is dead. We have been orphans for the past century," Saki stated flatly.
There was a long silence following those words as Yamamoto studied the three girls. Finally, he sighed and said, "I'm sorry to hear that. How did he die?"
"It was an Adjucha," Hanako whispered, "An Adjucha attacked us and Father sacrificed himself to protect us."
"No," Saki cut in harshly, "It was my fault. I killed Father."
"That's not true, Saki!" Amina shouted, "You were too young to control your power. It's not your fault Father's dead."
"Enough!" Yamamoto interrupted, "We can discuss this later. Right now, your captain's initiations are important. Tomorrow, at mid-morning, you three will each get to choose one lieutenant and one captain to demonstrate your skills against. Keep in mind that you are not allowed to use Bankai against a lieutenant, but Bankai is allowed against a captain. You will be tested in alphabetical order by first name, so it would be Amina, Hanako, and Saki. You will each take on a lieutenant first, so that you can have a rest and regain your strength to fight against a captain. Killing is NOT allowed, am I clear?"
"Understood," the three girls chorused together.
"Good. I wish the three of you luck."
The next morning, the stadium was crowded with Shinigami that came to catch a glimpse of the new potential captains. The front row was occupied by the captains with their respective lieutenants sitting beside them. Many of them looked excited, especially the members of the Eleventh Division. In fact, Ikkaku could barely keep still.
Saki, Amina, and Hanako sat together, doing their best to ignore the stares that were directed at them. Saki didn't seem to have any trouble dealing with all the attention she was receiving, but Hanako looked a little nervous and kept glancing around while Amina looked tense and frustrated.
"Don't these people have anything better to do than stare?" she grumbled angrily.
"Deal with it," Saki said.
"You're so cold, Saki," Amina complained.
"Deal with it," Saki repeated.
"Umm, Amina-chan," Hanako said hesitantly.
"Hmm, what's wrong?" Amina asked. Hanako nodded in the direction of where the captains were sitting.
"Isn't that the captain you picked yesterday? The one with the spiky white hair?"
"Hey, you're right! Heh, he looks like someone who can give me a challenge. That woman next to him must be his lieutenant. She doesn't look as tough as the captain, but I guess I shouldn't judge people by their looks. Do you see the ones that you'll be going up against, Hanako?"
"W-Well, the lieutenant I'm fighting is right there." She pointed to Abarai Renji, "But I don't see the captain of the Eighth Division. He's probably not here yet."
"He'll probably be here soon. Saki, which ones are you challenging again?"
"Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division, Kuchiki Rukia*, and Captain of the Second Division, Soifon," Saki answered boredly.
"Taking on the Stealth Corps, huh?" Amina grinned, "I'd wish you luck, but I don't think you need it."
"I doubt you need any luck either, Amina," Saki replied. They looked at each other for a few seconds before they turned to Hanako and said, "Good luck, Hanako."
"What? S-Stop teasing me!" Hanako protested, looking flustered. Amina collapsed in laughter and Saki permitted herself a tiny grin.
"Hello there. Are you three ladies our new potential captains?" The Kuroichi sisters looked up at the new voice. Two male captains stood in front of them. One of them wore a pink, flowered kimono over his captain's haori and a sakkat on his head. The other had long, white hair and black eyebrows.
"Y-Yes. Nice to meet you!" Hanako bowed quickly.
"Now, now, there's no need to bow," the captain wearing the sakkat said, "This is Ukitake Jushiro, and I'm Kyouraku Shunsui. Nice ta meet ya."
"Yo," Amina replied, "I'm Amina, the blonde is Hanako, and this one's Saki." She gestured to her sisters sitting next to her.
"Hmm?" Kyouraku took notice of the silent black-haired girl and smiled, "My, my, Saki-chan. You've grown since I last saw you. Do you remember me?" He patted her head.
"Don't try anything funny, woman-chaser," Saki said. Kyouraku slumped in defeat.
"So you do remember me…"
"Anyway, do you mind if we sit here?" Ukitake asked, smiling at the three.
"Eh?" Amina blinked, "I thought the captains had to sit over there."
"Well, I suppose we can be the rebels and sit over here. Right, Ukitake?" Kyouraku asked, recovering from Saki's harsh comment. Ukitake nodded.
"Well, I don't mind," Amina said, "What about you two?"
Hanako shook her head as Saki said, "I don't mind, either."
Kyouraku and Ukitake sat down next to Hanako just as Yamamoto stood up to announce the beginning of the initiation. Amina was called out first along with her first opponent, Matsumoto Rangiku. Everyone fell silent, watching the pair in the center face off.
"Kuroichi Amina," Amina introduced herself, "Nice to meet you."
"Matsumoto Rangiku," Rangiku answered, "And right back at you, Kuroichi-san."
"Just Amina is fine, Lieutenant Matsumoto." Amina grinned.
"In that case, you can just call me Rangiku," Rangiku unsheathed her zanpakuto, "Aren't you going to draw your sword?"
"Nah. The battle wouldn't be fun if I revealed all of my secrets at the beginning," Amina explained, getting into a fighting stance. "Come at me with all you've got, Rangiku."
Rangiku smirked and charged, bringing her zanpakuto back and swinging it forward in an attack. Amina stepped backwards with her right foot and kicked out with her left. Rangiku was forced to do a couple of backflips to get a safe distance away.
"Nice reflexes," she complimented Amina.
"Why, thank you." Amina gladly accepted the compliment, running forward and using Shunpo at the last moment to get behind Rangiku. The Lieutenant of the Tenth Division anticipated the move and swung her sword behind her. However, Amina caught Rangiku's wrist with her left hand, and using her right, delivered a powerful punch to Rangiku's stomach. The latter was thrown backwards and barely managed to gain a footing.
"Growl, Haineko!" Rangiku commanded, releasing her zanpakuto's Shikai form.
"Guess I should summon mine now, too, huh?" Amina muttered. She held her hand out in front of her, fingers spread out. "Take control, Yoso*!" Some of the soil from the ground rose up, gathering together to form a sword. Once the creation was complete, Amina seized the sword by the handle, holding it in front of her in a defensive stance.
Yoso had a wide, broad blade with a brown hilt. A brown hilt? Rangiku thought. Never seen anything like that before.
"Here I come!" Amina shouted. She dashed forward. Rangiku snapped out of her thoughts and waved Haineko's hilt. The ash that Haineko's blade had become immediately flew forward, intent on assaulting the opponent. Amina leapt into the air, but the ash followed her up. She held Yoso in front of her and yelled, "Element One: Earth!"
Dirt and rocks rose into the air, molding together to form a barrier between Amina and the ash. Haineko's attack rebounded off the defense barrier.
"That won't work!" Rangiku cried, swinging Haineko's hilt again. The ash circled around the earth wall, easily making it past the simple defensive measure Amina had used.
"Where are you aiming?" A voice asked from behind Rangiku. Startled, the latter turned around just in time for a sphere of water to crash into her body. She was shoved back into a wall by the force, her clothes and hair sopping wet.
Amina smirked triumphantly. "Element Three: Water." The hilt of Yoso had turned into a pretty blue color. I see. Rangiku realized. The hilt of her zanpakuto changes color based on the element being utilized. She swung the hilt of Haineko again. The ash flew in from all directions, closing in on Amina.
Amin sighed internally. She raised Yoso above her head and said, "Element Four: Wind!" The hilt turned gray and she swung the sword in a circle. A whirlwind started up, gusting around Amina and blowing away all of Haineko's ash.
In the audience, Kyouraku lifted his sakkat a bit. "My, my. Amina-chan's pretty skilled."
Ukitake nodded. "She is, although I've never seen a zanpakuto that can control five elements before now."
"Me neither," Kyouraku agreed, "That zanpakuto must be very powerful."
"It is," Hanako said, "Especially when she uses Bankai. Her moves become ten times stronger."
"Wow," Kyouraku whistled while Ukitake looked shocked, "I think it's interesting how she keeps her zanpakuto hidden in the elements."
"Yeah," Hanako agreed shyly, "Saki-chan also has an interesting way of summoning her zanpakuto."
"Oh? Saki-chan, how do you summon your zanpakuto?" Kyouraku asked.
"You'll see," Saki replied, clearly not inclined to share information with the Eighth Division's captain.
Suddenly, Yamamoto thumped his can on the ground. "I have seen enough," he called to Amina and Rangiku, "Kuroichi Amina. Matsumoto Rangiku. Please return to your seats. Both of you have done well. Will Kuroichi Hanako and Abarai Renji please come down to the center for their match?"
*I know Rukia isn't technically Ukitake's lieutenant yet at this point in the story, but I'm changing things up a bit.
*Elements