Soul Society: Seireitei: 12th division main lab.
Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi was seated behind the computer as his faithful Lieutenant/Daughter Nemu approached with a hell butterfly on her finger.
"Excuse me master." Nemu said in her usual emotionless manner.
"Yes what is it Nemu? As you can see I'm quite busy." Mayuri said without looking away.
"We have an inquiry sent to us from Captain Hitsugaya of squad ten from the world of the living. He asks if it is possible for one to gain Spiritual awareness via hollow attack." Nemu reported as Mayuri paused and turned to her with a curious look.
"Now that's a curious question indeed. Hmm…in theory it's possible provided that the person has at least one relative or sibling with very strong spiritual awareness already. The answer is not definitive. I would have to conduct some research on the subject." Mayuri replied. He then thought of something.
"Nemu, does Hitsugaya provide a reason or example for this inquiry?" Mayuri asked as Nemu gave a nod.
"Yes Master. According to a report filed by Captain Hitsugaya, a hollow attacked one Yuzu Kurosaki, the younger sister of Deputy Soul Reaper; Ichigo Kurosaki. Captain Hitsugaya reports that he since has been able to detect a unique spiritual presence coming from her. As a reference he reports that she has a fraternal twin, one Karin Kurosaki, who possesses great spiritual awareness herself." Nemu reported as Mayuri pondered.
"This is indeed a most curious query that Captain Hitsugaya has given me. I'm going to run a search for any material on spiritual awareness that is connected to hollow attacks." Mayuri said as he turned back to the computer and started typing away at the keys. Soon a short list of results appeared.
"Hmm…how curious. There are no files on the computer but with the addition of a library computer, I now know that there is a single book in the library about Spiritual awareness techniques. Nemu I want you to retrieve that book for me!" Mayuri ordered as Nemu bowed.
"Yes master." She said as she then turned and left. Mayuri glanced at the basic data regarding the book and noticed something curious.
"Now that's odd…the author is one B. Wrangler. I have no recollection of there being anyone named B. Wrangler in the Soul Reaper's ranks. This calls for more research." Mayuri said as he typed in the name B. Wrangler in the search bar and hit enter. What he found made his eyes widen.
"WHAT?! IMPOSSIBLE! DO MY EYES DECIEVE ME?!?!" Mayuri asked in disbelief.
"Geez Mayuri calm down, I could hear you all the way outside." Captain Shunsui Kyoraku of squad 8 said as he entered with his lieutenant, Nanao Ise, close behind.
"That's because of this data you buffoon! It's practically impossible for this to be true!" Mayuri screeched as Kyoraku looked at the data then arched a curious eyebrow with a smirk.
"Impossible for you maybe…but not for those who've been around longer than you." Kyoraku said as he pulled his straw hat down over his eyes.
"But…how can this be?" Mayuri asked as he glared straight at a line of data regarding "B. Wrangler."
The line read…
"Division #14."
World of the Living…
Sunday 7:03 am.
Isshin Kurosaki awoke bright and early as usual. He did this so he could prepare his usual morning ambush on Ichigo and that's exactly what he set about doing after checking on Yuzu who was still sleeping peacefully.
He headed down stairs, fully dressed, just as the doorbell rang.
"Now who could that be at this hour of the morning?" Isshin asked as he approached the door and opened it. He looked around and saw no one there.
"Hmm…must have been a bunch of snot nosed punks." Isshin mumbled. He had just turned back towards the house when he heard someone shouting…
"GOOD MORNING ISSHIN!!!"
Suddenly Isshin found himself flat on his face with someone standing on his back.
"Oh come on! After all these years your reflexes have gotten soft on me?! You make me sad Isshin." A woman's voice said as Isshin looked up to see a pair of amused bronze colored eyes with glasses staring at him upside down from a black haired woman's face.
"WHA!!! IT'S YOU!!!" Isshin yelped as he quickly got out from under the woman's feet and onto his own. He stood pointing at the woman in shock. The woman was wearing a pair of blue jeans with matching jean jacket, heeled brown cowboy boots, a light green dress shirt that was partially unbuttoned half-way down and a tee-shirt with the phrase "Never underestimate stupid people in large groups," written on the chest in English. Behind her was a pair of duffle bags.
"Yep-yep! Oh and I don't think I'm a snot nose but I think the phrase punk does describe me quite well." The woman replied with a wave of her finger.
"H-H-H-H-How long have you been here?!" Isshin asked still stunned.
"Oh since Friday. I was going to drop in on you last night but decided against it so today, WHAMMO!!! Here I am." The woman said as Isshin stood stunned in disbelief.
"TOO MUCH NOISE THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!!!" Ichigo shouted as he ran in with a flying kick at his dad and pinned him against the wall.
"Nice to see you're awake too son!" Isshin said as Ichigo pinned him against the wall by the neck with his arm.
"Ah-ha! FRESH MEAT!!!" the woman rejoiced as she pounced at a confused Ichigo and plowed him into the adjacent wall.
"Who are you?!" Ichigo asked in total shock.
"Mwah?! Isshin haven't you told the kid about me?" the woman asked as Isshin pealed himself from the wall.
"Uh well…" Isshin said nervously with a sweat drop as the woman released Ichigo and gave Isshin a playfully hurt expression.
"Oh bro I'm hurt." The woman said as her lip quivered.
(Cue Needle scratch sfx)
"Whoa-whoa-whoa! Hold the phone! Did I just hear what I think I just heard?" Ichigo asked as Isshin sighed.
"Ichigo, meet your aunt and my twin sister, KaichouKurosaki." Isshin introduced as the woman gave a two finger salute with her right hand and Ichigo stood in absolute disbelief.
"My what?!" Ichigo asked in shock.
"Aunt. I know you've probably never heard of me but hey, you've got your dad to blame for that little slip up. Besides I've been traveling the world for nearly a full twenty years, only coming home once when I heard that I became an auntie for the first time. Yep that's right kiddo, I was there when you first entered this here world as the photo here on the wall will testify." Kaichou said pointing to a photo of Isshin with his wife holding an orange haired infant. There was an arm reaching in from off camera giving Isshin a pair of bunny ears.
"You've got to be kidding me." Ichigo asked as Kaichou shrugged.
"Sorry but I ain't kidding." Kaichou said as they both heard a groan come from the stairs.
"What's with all the noise this morning dad?" Karin asked as she sleepily rubbed her eyes, which widened when she saw the strange raven haired woman in the house.
"Ah and you must be either Karin or Yuzu…nope wait you're Karin, I can tell by the hair." Kaichou said as Karin blinked in confusion.
"Dad who is this?!" Karin asked.
"Well Karin you see it's like this…" Isshin said as he began explaining to his daughter who Kaichou was. As he did that however Ichigo noticed something very eerie about his long lost relative.
"That spiritual pressure…it's massive! I'm going to have to be extra careful around her when dealing with the hollows and with the other Soul Reapers." Ichigo thought quietly as he watched and listened carefully to the conversation.
Soon Yuzu emerged from the stairway, bandages still around her head, and quickly got the rundown of who Kaichou was. Kaichou, in the spirit of apology for waking everyone up, decided to fix the whole family breakfast.
"Hey Ichigo! Get dressed! It's not polite to be running around in your pajamas with a lady in the house! Even if it is just my sister." Isshin said as Ichigo rolled his eyes and darted up stairs.
He entered his room to find Rukia flattening Kon under her heel.
"What's going on Ichigo? What's with all the commotion down stairs?" Rukia asked as Ichigo opened the window.
"Come down to breakfast and you'll find out. But be careful. There's a woman downstairs with massive spiritual pressure. She might be able to see right through us if we're not careful." Ichigo said as Rukia nodded and leapt out the window, shoes in hand. Ichigo quickly changed and headed downstairs with his cell phone in hand.
"Hey I just got a call from Rukia. Do you mind if she comes over?" Ichigo asked as Isshin scratched his chin.
"Well I dunno Ichigo, it would be rude to bring this onto your aunt so suddenly to meet a total stranger." Isshin said before getting decked by Kaichou.
"Isshin you idiot. Five minutes ago I was a total stranger to them! And is this the same Rukia that you told me about in your letters?" Kaichou asked as Ichigo and Isshin both sweat dropped. Isshin because he knew she was lying about the letters and didn't know how to proceed, and Ichigo because he didn't know what his father had said about him and Rukia in their letters.
"Yep that's the same Rukia Kuchiki alright. Nice gal you'll love 'er…ain't that right Ichigo?!" Isshin said as Ichigo screamed in horror and threw his dad into the wall.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT RUKIA?!?!" he asked as he grabbed Isshin by the collar.
"Who said what about me?" A confused Rukia asked as Karin let her in. Kaichou instantly noticed her.
"Ah so you're Rukia Kuchiki. Allow me to introduce myself; I'm Kaichou Kurosaki, Ichigo's aunt and Isshin's twin sister. Plus former full-time professional tourist." Kaichou explained as Rukia blinked, confused on what to say.
"Uh hi. I'm uh Rukia." Rukia said nervously. In her mind she was completely blown away.
"Ichigo wasn't kidding, her spiritual pressure is massive! But how did I not notice it until I was standing right in front of her?" Rukia asked herself mentally.
"Come on in Rukia, sit down I don't mind fixing another plate of breakfast. In fact it's quite refreshing to do this again." Kaichou said as Rukia shrugged and sat down next to Yuzu.
"Hey Yuzu, how are you feeling?" Rukia asked as Yuzu smiled.
"I feel okay. My head still hurts a little but not much. I keep getting this strange feeling though. I felt like this morning I saw a ghost. If that's the case then I think that blow on the head finally let me start seeing spirits." Yuzu said excitedly.
"What did this ghost look like?" Rukia asked curiously.
"It looked like a woman dressed as a cowgirl with sunglasses and a bandana over her face. I don't know why but I think she was watching me or something." Yuzu said as Rukia and Ichigo both blinked in surprise.
"I knew I wasn't seeing things! I saw that, "ghost" myself only yesterday." Ichigo said as he stared straight at Rukia for emphasis. She realized what he was implying and started to look thoughtful.
"I've seen ghosts too in the places I've been to. I think I'm being stalked by that cowgirl one you mentioned Yuzu." Kaichou said as Ichigo and Rukia were silently surprised.
"So Kaichou, what brings you to Karakura Town after all these years?" Isshin asked.
"Well, after twenty odd years of traveling I started to feel homesick. So I decided to come home. I wish you could have seen the things that I've seen, been to the places I've been. It's incredible." Kaichou said as Yuzu looked excited.
"Really where have you been aunty Kaichou?" Yuzu asked.
"Well let's see, I've been to the United States, England, France, Spain, Germany, Russia, Italy, Canada, China, Korea, Vietnam, Peru, Mexico, Israel, Romania, Singapore, Africa, South America, Australia, Hawaii, the Caiman Islands, and the Bahamas. But no matter where I go, it didn't feel anything like home right here in good old Karakura town, Japan." Kaichou said as Ichigo arched an eyebrow.
"You went around the world alone?" Ichigo asked as Kaichou laughed.
"Oh heavens no. I had a travel buddy I would meet up with in some places and we'd go paint whatever town we were in red. Wow did I just date myself with that expression?" Kaichou asked as Ichigo and Karin nodded.
"Well I think it's amazing that you went to all those places. What happened to your travel friend?" Yuzu asked as Kaichou shrugged.
"I believe she came back home before I did. Said there was something she needed to look into here so I kept traveling and she came back home." Kaichou said as Ichigo heard his badge start beeping and Rukia's cell phone rang. Kaichou paused when she heard the noise.
"Does anybody hear that?" she asked.
"Oh it's just that Ichigo and I uh…promised to meet some friends of ours today. Thanks-for-the-meal-it-was-great!" Rukia said as she shoved Ichigo out the door with Kaichou standing dumbfounded.
"Wow…I think I know who wears the pants in that relationship." Kaichou said with an amused look on her face.
Meanwhile…
Ichigo and Rukia found the hollow just in time to see it get killed by a well timed blue arrow fired from nearby.
"Huh? Uryu?" Ichigo asked as Uryu emerged from a nearby store.
"Ichigo. Rukia. You're out surprisingly early for this hour of the morning." Uryu said as he approached.
"Well it's a long story. Apparently a long lost relative appeared on my doorstep this morning." Ichigo said as Uryu arched an eyebrow.
"A long lost relative?" He asked.
"Yeah my dad's sister. What's funny is he never even mentioned having a sibling before." Ichigo said as Uryu pondered.
"It's not unheard of. How's Yuzu by the way?" Uryu asked as Ichigo smiled.
"She's back to her old self but remember that Spiritual pressure you felt last night? That was probably her and she claims to have seen that Wrangler woman I keep telling you guys about." Ichigo said as Uryu looked curious.
"I see. As a matter of fact, I've been doing some investigating on that subject myself lately. My grandfather's journal recorded clearly that he remembers a Soul Reaper helping to save his life as a child with the most unusual Zanpakuto. The Zanpakuto was in the shape of a sawn of shotgun." Uryu said as Ichigo suddenly remembered seeing a smoking shotgun with sawn off barrel in the Wrangler's hand yesterday.
"That's her! That's the Wrangler!" Ichigo exclaimed.
"I thought so. If that's the case then that means we need to find her quickly." Uryu said as he pushed up his glasses.
"Why is there something wrong with her Uryu?" Rukia asked as Uryu shook his head.
"No. But she was researching what effect the Quincy arrows had on their targets. She told my grandfather and his parents that she theorized that there was more to the Quincy's powers than we first imagined. She never elaborated on what this theory was so if we can find her, then perhaps she can explain to us what she knows." Uryu said as Ichigo sighed.
"The only problem is that I never know when or where she's going to show up. It could be forever before she reveals herself again if ever." Ichigo said as Rukia had an idea.
"Wait, you said she only shows up when you go to slay a hollow on your own right? What if Uryu and I were to go with you?" Rukia asked as Ichigo shrugged.
"It might work. But I've really got to be careful with my aunt around. I know she's got spiritual pressure and that she's seen this Wrangler woman too. So if she can see the wrangler then chances are that she can see me and Rukia when we use our Soul Reaper powers." Ichigo said as Uryu nodded understandingly.
"Then we'll just have to be extra careful." Uryu said as Ichigo started walking off down the street.
"Hey where are you going Ichigo?" Rukia asked.
"Going to see Mister Hat-n-clogs and see if he knows anything about this Wrangler woman." Ichigo said as Uryu pushed his glasses up.
"Mind if I tag along?" Uryu asked as Ichigo shrugged.
"Can if ya want to." Ichigo said as the trio headed off towards the Urahara shop.
At Orihime's house…
Toshiro was reading from a pamphlet on the Arctic Circle with intrigue when Rangiku entered with a hell butterfly on her finger.
"Captain we have a reply from Captain Kurotsuchi on the question you had sent to him." Rangiku said as Toshiro looked up from the pamphlet.
"What does he say Rangiku?" Toshiro asked curiously.
"He says that theoretically it's possible but he has no definitive answer for us. He has however found a reference book written by a B. Wrangler in the library that might hold the answer. He said that he'll get back to us as soon as he finds an answer." Rangiku said as Toshiro paused.
"Wait…did you say a B. Wrangler? As in Black Wrangler?" Toshiro asked as Rangiku nodded.
"It appears that way Captain." Rangiku replied as Toshiro sighed in thought.
"Perhaps there was more truth in Ichigo's story than we had initially believed. If that is such then we need to investigate. We need to speak with one person who may very well know who this person is. Kisuke Urahara." Toshiro said as he headed for the door with Rangiku in tow.
End Chapter 4.
Kaichou is (from what the translator site said) Japanese for Harmony.
