Sorry, it's been a while since I updated this story. I had a load of stuff going on and I started my GCSE courses about two weeks ago(I'm in year 10) so its all fun and games.
Anyways, I have a high school bleach story I'm writing now, but I can't publish the beginning of that one until I've got to a certain point in this one. It uses the same characters (with the exception of Aizen and Tosen, who aren't in this one in the present), so it contains slight spoilers as to Shizu's past and parents amoungst other things.
That story includes Ruana and Kaori a bit more than this one does at the moment. But don't worry, they will come into it. Shivo is in that story as well. Whilst I'm writing this I've just realised only one person will no who Shivo is, so for all of you who don't, here:
Sakurai Mitsugayani-juuyonbantai taicho (captain of the fourteenth division)
Kaori Akahoshi-Juuyonbantai fukutaicho (Vice-Captain of the fourteenth Division)
Ruana Ukitano-Fourth seat of Juuyonbantai
Shivo Matiko-Third seat of the Juuyonbantai.
~The first four members of this squad possess Bankai. Which indicates none of them are exactly young~
As I'm not entirely sure where I'm bringing them all properly into it yet heres some info about Shivo and Ruana (you'll learn quick with Kaori, she's not as "gentle" as she is in this chapter).
Shivo- Shivo is strict, no-nonsense and hard-working. He hardly ever has any fun, and being surrounded by women is not one of his favourite things in the world (despite his taicho and fukutaicho). He is relatively kind hearted though, beneath the cold shell lies what Sakurai calls "A heart of gold", to which Kaori adds "but first you have to break down the Seki-seki wall with your reitsu"-referring to his exterior.
Shivo holds a lot of respect for his superiors, and is very loyal to his taicho. He respects her greatly, seeing her as the strongest woman he knows(to which she refers to Yoruichi), but he does see her as a bit of a child sometimes, and always tries to keep her in line. With about as much success as Byakuya, a.k.a: not much.
Ruana- Ruana seems a shy, uncapable little girl. At first appearances she could deceive to be as gentle and kind-hearted as Yuzu Kurosaki. Yeah, she's not. Ruana is the fourth seat of this squad for a reason, she could have even been promoted to third or fukutaicho if she wanted to. She is kind most times, but she does have her moments when she can be as judgemental as Yamamoto.
She is a strong and capable woman, with the appearance of a eighteen year old girl. She was formerly a member of squad eleven and has a somewhat close relationship with the Taicho, fukutaicho, and third and fifth seats.
Anyways! On with the story. You will find about more about those two later, especially Ruana (if you want to already, there is a oneshot up called "Are You Blind Ikkaku" or something, I can't remember ^^". But that is based around Ruana. It shows her shikai, and Bankai. As well as her "crush"). Ruana is attatched to Sakurai more so than Kaori or Shivo.
This chapter is from Toshiro's POV.
Three hollows. Each. Since we got here that's how many we'd had to defeat. It was getting annoying. We hadn't even seen Kurosaki yet, and Abarai was losing his temper.
But now we had finally got a break. Must to our displeasure, we reported straight to Ichigo's home. We were all a little worn out by the time we got to the clinic their father ran. I really had no patience for the boy today.
We walked up to the doors, visible to humans in our Gigais.
I was in a black t-shirt, jeans and trainers. Matsumoto was wearing something resembling a t-shirt, as well as a skirt and pink shoes. And Abarai was wearing A red t-shirt, jacket, jeans and trainers.
"This place is really small." Matsumoto was moaning behind me, as usual. "Who would want to live above a clinic?"
"A doctor." I asked her back impatiently, knocking on the door.
After a few moments of banging and clattering inside, the door opened. The girl stood in the doorway was slightly shorter than me, though, in the past four years I had had a growth spurt, so if I hadn't, this girl would be taller than me.
She had black hair that looked as if it would be long were it not tied up in a high ponytail by a turquoise ribbon. She was wearing denim shorts, and a black vest top with a yellow comic-like cat face in the centre. The top was a little baggy, but clung to her upper body quite reasonably.
"Toshiro?" The girl saying my name brought my eyes back to meet her dark irises. "Had a good observation yet?" She put her hands on her hips as I scanned my memory for some recollection of this girl. We must of met, she knew my name.
"Taicho, that's Karin Kurosaki. Ichigo's sister." Matsumoto whispered to me, felt my eyes widen at the realisation.
"Karin?" I looked at her, my eyes returning to their usual emotionless state. Only two other soul reapers other than Matsumoto knew of my meeting with Karin four years ago. One of which was acting very weird at the moment. That was Sakurai, and the other was Momo. He had never told Kurosaki himself, he had never seen the need. He had no idea the two would see one another again.
"Well done. You concentrated on my face enough to remember my name." Karin rolled her eyes, smirking at Rangiku and nodding to her slightly. "I take it you want my brother?" She looked back at me expectantly.
I nodded after a moment, realising she was angry at me(though for what I didn't know). "Yes, if you don't mind."
She shrugged, motioning for us to go inside. "Whatever, no skin off my back." We walked inside, hearing the soft click of the door behind us. Karin walked past me after a moment, I saw her smile at Rangiku, but as she walked past me she glared at me. I'd ask her later why she was mad at me.
"Toshiro!" Ichigo's voice echoed into my ear as we reached the sitting room where the family(including Rukia Kuchiki) were gathered.
"Hitsugaya-taicho." I growled through my teeth as Renji and Rangiku walked up behind me.
"Renji! Matsumoto-fukutaicho!" Rukia leapt to her feet at the sight of her childhood friend.
"What are you all doing here?" Ichigo asked, but when I opened my mouth to answer, he carried on. "You should all be in the soul society right? I mean, there is no big scale thing going on here is there? Nothing that we can't-"
"Kurosaki!" I snapped, getting his attention. "If you gave us chance to answer, we'll explain."
"Alright. Jeez Toshiro, don't be so impatient." He grumbled.
"I am not being impatient! You just asked a question, then carried on talking without giving us chance to answer!" I was losing my temper. "And it's Hitsugaya-Taicho!"
"Alright! Jeez, stop being so rude!"
"Me! The only rude one here is you, Kurosaki!" I could feel my reitsu spiking ferociously.
"Me? You're in my house! Being disrespectful to the person whose house you are visiting is what's I'd call rude, Toshiro!" His reitsu wasn't doing too great either.
"Since when did you give a damn about respect, Kurosaki? You never address any captain or noble member respectfully! Don't criticize me about showing respect when you should show some yourself!" I could feel our reitsu rising to danger point.
Then a sharp and deafening sound silenced both of us. We both clung to our ears in pain as I turned to see where the sound had come from.
Stood in the entrance to the room followed by two others, was the girl I half didn't want to see in the world of the living, taking her fingers from her mouth after she had whistled.
"Rai-chan!" Matsumoto exclaimed, completely shocked to see her there.
The taicho of the juuyonbantai placed her hands on her hips as Karin and her fukutaicho, Kaori Akahoshi, walked up beside her.
"Does some one want to explain why we could hear the two of you arguing down the street?" The girl tapped her foot impatiently.
"Sakurai?" I heard Isshin whisper behind me, sucking in a breath.
"Who the hell are you?" Ichigo asked impatiently, obviously still riled from our argument.
Sakurai glared at him. "Respect your superiors, kid." Her voice was impatient, it made me wonder what had put her in such a bad mood.
"Superiors? You're a kid!" Ichigo argued.
"I'm older than you, dumbass." Sakurai yawned, I knew she had plenty of experience of arguments. I had viewed the, somewhat deadly, spectacle, of one of her harsher arguments with Kuchiki-taicho. Something told me, this argument didn't bother her as much as the others did.
"Who are you calling a dumbass?"
"Kurosaki." I took a step toward him, my eyes warning him off. "If you get into this argument, it won't end well."
"Ichigo." Akahoshi's harsh whisper to him tried to get his attention.
He ignored us both.
"Like this stuck up bitch could do anything to hurt me."
"Wanna test that theory, Kurosaki?" Sakurai took a step forward. She was in her gigai, but I knew she didn't need her ZanpakutÅ to be able to seriously injure the boy. Rukia shook her head at Sakurai from Ichigo's side. Sakurai stood up straight, acknowledging Rukia. "I heard you fought my friend Byakuya a while back." She said calmly to Ichigo.
"Your friend? Forgive me if I don't believe you, but Byakuya doesn't seem the type to make friends. And so what if I did?" Her was pushing it, Sakurai's hands were behind her back, but I could see her fists were clenched.
"Haven't you learnt yet? And you've been a Shinigami for how long exactly?" She sighed, brushing a piece of hair back behind her left ear. Never had she ever brushed hair behind her right ear. Not the hair that purposely covered that side of her face anyway. "Don't judge a book by it's cover, kid."
"Who the hell are you?" He seethed.
"She wasn't kidding when she said he was friends with my brother, Ichigo." Rukia put her hand on his arm. "In fact, she and Nii-sama are best friends."
"Sakurai Mitsugayani, juuyonbantai taicho." Rangiku finished.
"You're joking right? This kid is a taicho?" Ichigo' eyes widened in disbelief. I simply rolled my eyes at Sakurai's increasing spiritual pressure.
"Look kid, do you want to keep all your limbs. I am a heck of a lot older than you. By the fact I'm only a little younger than Byakuya." Sakurai was losing her temper, she had now, in not even a blink, slammed Ichigo against the wall and was practically choking him.
"Looks like I arrived just in time." A voice came from behind Kaori, we all turned to see Kisuke Urahara stood there smirking under his hat. "Let the poor kid go, Sakurai-chan."
"Kisuke!" Sakurai let go of Ichigo and ran over to Urahara, hugging him. He laughed and hugged ehr back before she let go. Emotional things like hugs were not something Sakurai did often, so she must really have missed this man.
"Haha!" He hugged her, letting go as she did. "It's been a long time."
"Too long Kisuke! I've missed you!" She smiled ecstatically. "Yoruichi here?"
"No. I left her and Ururu with Jinta and Tessai at the shop." She nodded as he told her.
"Will some one please explain where there is a group of soul reapers in our lounge?" Karin asked sarcastically.
"I like you!" Sakurai laughed. "You've got guts kid."
"So you like my younger sister and not me?" Ichigo glared at her.
"I got a better first impression off of your sister. As in she's a person who isn't arrogant and self-centred." She looked at Isshin. "Or totally mental."
"Geez, thanks Sakurai." Isshin raised an eyebrow at her.
"You never did like Kurosaki, I can see why you would like Karin though. She even gets along with Hitsugaya." Kisuke told her calmly.
"If I comment on that, he'll hit me again." She shrugged, smiling sweetly at me, I scowled back.
"Why might that be?"
"Well..." She began in a sing-song voice. "Ow!" The taicho looked at her foot and there were bits of ice around it. She just laughed. "Tell you later Kisuke." She winked at him.
"No you will not!" I snapped.
"I'm your superior as well midget. Don't push it." She walked over to me, ruffling my hair playfully. I swatted her away.
"You only use that against me when I'm pissed at you." I raised an eyebrow sarcastically.
"I only use that against anyone when I either don't like them, or I want my own way." She said with a shrug.
"And your excuse for being mean to me?" Ichigo folded his arms in wait.
"The first one." He looked at me for a moment before she translated. "I don't like you." She shrugged, looking at Isshin as he spoke.
"Don't take it personally." He told his son. "Sakurai only likes about ten people in the entire soul society. She hated me."
"Like that's hard, dad." Karin muttered.
"Haha!" Sakurai laughed at the girl's remark. "Your daughter is awesome Isshin! Most definitely compared to her baka of an older brother as well." She smirked, watching Ichigo clench his fists.
"Calm down Ichigo." The other young girl, with short brown hair spoke finally. I'm guessing this was Yuzu. She was wearing a dress with an apron on over the top, her hair was clipped back out of her face and her voice was kind and gentle. She was Karin's twin? I found that hard to believe.
"You're Yuzu right?" Kaori smiled at the girl.
"Y-yes miss." Yuzu answered the juyonbantai fukutaicho nervously.
"Hehe." Kaori laughed. "Well it's nice to meet you, and your sister. I've already had the, uh, pleasure, of meeting your brother."
"Kaori? What are you doing here?" Ichigo narrowed his eyes.
"She's my lieutenant." Sakurai answered him. She folded her arms and glanced at me, I nodded. "Down to business?" She asked Isshin.
"If you wouldn't mind Captain." He nodded to her.
"Well, I'm not here for the same reason as Tosh over there." She pointed her thumb at me. I scowled at her calling me 'Tosh'. "I only dropped by to say hello, and to meet the Shinigami everyone has been talking about for the past four years." She looked at Ichigo directly. "I'm disappointed."
Before Ichigo could lose his temper I spoke up. "Why are you here, Mitsugayani-taicho?"
"Oh. Just gathering information." She shrugged innocently.
"Did they forget?" Kisuke asked her. "About the last time you were here?"
Sakurai glanced at him briefly before she folded her arms and her gaze fell to the floor. "You know the old man, he never forgets." She told him emotionlessly.
"Then why did he let you come here?"
"Maybe because it was nearly one hundred years ago." She scowled at him, leaving me clueless to what she was talking about. "Kisuke, could Kaori and I stay with you for the time being?"
"Of course, Rai-chan." Kisuke nodded with a goofy smile.
"That alright Kaori?" She glanced over her shoulder at her fukutaicho. Kaori shrugged carelessly. Those two were pretty comfortable with one another. Then again, Sakurai was like that with a lot of people. "Great." She said 'great', but she didn't sound cheerful, in fact, her voice carried no emotion at all. "We should get going. I have to see a cat about an Arrancar." She looked at me and smiled. "Later, Toshiro." She glanced at Karin. "I'll se you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Karin looked briefly confused.
"Yeah." She shrugged. "I was told to act the age I looked. So I'm starting at your school tomorrow." She sounded disappointed. I chuckled slightly when she pouted. "I don't do school." She winked at Karin, smirking.
"The Shinigami academy?" Karin asked, she shrugged.
"Never attended." She told her simply. "I'll see you tomorrow Karin, Yuzu." She waved then turned around. "Kisuke, you coming?"
"Yep." Ichigo looked at the man. "I came because Yoruichi sent me to find Sakurai and Kaori." He shrugged. "Bye!" He ran out after Sakurai.
"See you around, Kurosaki." Kaori smirked at Ichigo before following her taicho outside.
"Well, that was brief." Renji raised an eyebrow.
"I like her." Karin shrugged, slouching into a chair and shutting her eyes. I just smirked at her.
"Hitsugaya-taicho, what are you doing here then?" Isshin asked me, Karin opened one eye.
"We were sent to assist. Against the arrancar attacks." I told him. I looked at Rukia as I spoke the next bit. "There was a similar attack in the Soul Society. The hollow dodged Kuchiki-taicho's Shikai. But was defeated by Rai-chan, sorry, by Mitsugayani-taicho's Shikai." Rukia looked momentarily flustered.
"Sakurai-sama released her Shikai?" Rukia sounded shocked. I nodded.
"It dodged Senbonzakura?" Renji looked equally as shocked, I hadn't told him this, apparently, neither had his taicho.
"Yes." I said impatiently. If I'd said it, I wasn't going to be lying was I?
"I'm gonna head over to Orihime's, are you coming Taicho?" Matsumoto asked me.
"I'll catch up." I said with a sigh. I was stopping with Inoue again. She was a nice enough woman, it was her cooking that was the problem. Or, what she called cooking anyway.
"Hey, Ichigo." Renji turned to the man, who glared at him in response. "Mind if I sleep on your sofa?" He asked cheerfully.
"No freaki-"
"Of course you can Renji!" Yuzu smiled.
"I'm leaving." I walked toward the door.
"And, I'm going to play soccer." Karin said impatiently, walking straight past me and out of the door.
"Does she do that a lot?" I looked over at Ichigo.
"Yeah, she does." He shrugged. "She'll be back in about hour, maybe two."
"Uh, right." I nodded slightly before waving my hand and leaving. I caught up with Karin easily. "Karin!" I called out her name and she looked over her shoulder whilst still walking.
"Toshiro, what do you want?" Her voice was cold, emotionless.
"To talk. Is that alright?" I walked up beside her as she shrugged.
"I guess. But I'm heading to the soccer pitch." She told me.
"Okay. How about we talk while playing soccer then?" I smirked when she raised an eyebrow and looked at me again.
"You sure you're up to it, Taicho? Not afraid you'll get beaten?" She smirked.
"Like you could." I scoffed.
"Race you." She laughed slightly and began to run. I followed her and made sure I didn't speed up too much until the last moment, and I beat her easily.
"I win." I smirked smugly. She pushed me over.
"Whatever." She pouted, standing by where I'd fallen. I swung my legs under her feet and knocked her down beside me. "Ow! That hurt!"
"You think pushing me down onto the floor didn't?" I glared at her. She met my gaze for a few moments before she started to laugh. "What?"
"N-Nothing." She coughed, stopping herself laughing.
"Why were you angry at me?" I asked suddenly.
"You didn't know who I was." She shrugged. "I don't look too different." She lay on the ground silently, staring at the darkening sky.
I looked at her carefully, sitting up. She had changed. She was very beautiful now, still the tomboy she was when they had met, but much more beautiful. 'More of a woman' as I had heard Kyoraku say.
"What is it?" She looked at me cautiously, rolling onto her side.
"Nothing. Come on." I stood up, she followed. I then motioned to the football. "We gonna play?"
"Of course, Hitsugaya-taicho." Her use of my title took me back a bit. We were in the game instantly after that. I had no idea how long we were playing for.
But I was having the time of my life with Karin.