Chapter 3: What to do with Rose Bentley
The steel door creaked open and a pair of heavy footsteps entered the room. The room was dark, the only source of light coming from a singular candle on a small dingy table. Shadow Crawler sat at the table making a pyramid out of cards.
"Shadow Crawler I heard that you failed in your mission. I am speechless, you have never failed a mission in the past"
"Fire Dancer, it has been too long since I last heard your kind tone" replied Shadow Crawler in a calm tone.
"Cut the crap Shadow Crawler and tell me why you failed. The boss is furious" snapped Fire Dancer.
"I had the girl but then two Taicho's appeared. I was outclassed and decided to fight another day so I retreated" answered Shadow Crawler in a calm tone.
"You should have stayed and died, at least then you would have kept your honour".
"I lost my honour long ago so that point is moot".
"Whether or not you still have your honour Master still wants the girl and he entrusted us with the job of capturing her. We need a new plan and this time it must not fail. Otherwise it will be our bodies on the Masters operating table" said Fire Dancer in a morose tone.
"Fire Dancer it is unlike you to sound so depressed. As far as I see it half the job is tone. The Soutaicho will order the girl back to the Seireitei were she will be trained to control her powers. Our job is now easier because now we no longer have to smuggle the girl into the Soul Society by using an unauthorized senkaimon. All we have to do is take her from the Seireitei. Also her powers would have developed which means that Master no longer has to waste time drawing it out before he can begin the operation. The Shinigami have, unknowingly, placed us in a more favourable position" answer Shadow Crawler with an evil sneer on his face.
"You make it sound so easy Shadow Crawler. Now might be the best time to tell you that the girl will be guarded day and night but a high ranking soul reaper so kidnapping her will not be easy. Also Master said that her powers are likely to be powerful and unbalanced which means that our job of capturing her is significantly more difficult" snapped Fire Dancer.
"Yes you are correct, but you see my powers allow me to control the shadows, everything that has a shadow is mine to control. I can hear and see anything as long as there is a shadow close by. And right now there is a very good shadow in the 12th division. I hear that they are doing research into a devise that temporarily shuts down reiatsu."
"And?"
"My plan is as followed. You Fire Dancer will infiltrate the 12th Division and steal one of those devises. Then I will provide a distraction long enough for you to grab the girl. We deliver the girl to Master and then we are free from his services" said Shadow crawler while he slowly started to dismantle his card pyramid. Fire Dancer looked down and saw that the cards were not cards, but small mirrors. "Here" continued Shadow Crawler handing a mirror to Fire Dancer, "this is my shadow link into the 12th division. As you can see the devises are protected by a strong kido. You must find a way to infiltrate the Seireitei and undo the kido without revealing yourself".
"Won't the Twelfth Division notice that one of their reiatsu blocking devises are missing?" Inquired Fire Dancer.
"Not if you replace it with a similar looking devise." Answered Shadow Crawler while lifting a large box out from under the table. "This is a model of the devise, replace this with the real thing and nobody will know the difference until it is too late"
Fire Dancer moved forwards and picked up the box. It was surprisingly light. "May I inquire as to how you are going to distract the Shinigami?" she asked.
"I am going to launch a small invasion of the Seireitei". Said Shadow Crawler as if it was the most obvious answer. "Obviously I will use a small army". He continued after seeing Fire Dancer's shocked face. "I have at my disposal a collection of adjuchas level hollows which will be enough to occupy the Shinigami while you grab the girl. It is simple really. You follow in after the initial invasion and then while everybody is busy fighting a hollow you will grab the girl and escape."
"You plan is as devious as ever Shadow Crawler. I can see why Master likes you so much".
"Yes Fire Dancer. He likes me so much that you will be the one he punishes if we fail. He rather likes my abilities and would not want them to go to waste. You on the other hand are expendable according to Masters. So my advice to you is: don't fail, I rather like your pretty face" said Shadow Crawler in is calm tone.
Fire Dancer stiffened at his tone. Although Shadow Crawler did not have the strength to go up against two Taichos he still had a wickedly cleaver mind. He could make even the strongest of arrancar quiver at his words. It was no wonder Master trusted him.
"I will not fail" said Fire Dancer in a forceful tone before turning to leave the room.
"There is defiantly evidence that an arrancar is targeting the girl. The Arrancar who has been identified as Shadow Crawler made it obvious that he would be back for the girl. What is unanswered is why they need this girl. She has high spiritual pressure, but not at a Taicho level one. For the time being she is being guarded by Shunsui until a decision is made regarding her future", finished Ukitake.
"hmmm" murmured the Soutaicho.
"Are you saying Ukitake that Shunsui is currently staying with the girl at this moment?" asked Hitsugaya.
"Yes" sighed Ukitake. He was beginning to regret his decision of allowing Shunsui to stay with Rose.
"Are you sure that was a wise decision?" inquired Kuchiki.
"Yes, Shunsui would never do anything to the girl" replied Ukitake.
"Yes like the last time he was left alone with a girl" muttered Hitsugaya loud enough for Ukitake to hear.
"I can assure you Hitsugaya that Shunsui will not harm the girl" replied Ukitake a little sternly.
Hitsugaya was about to respond but was interrupted by the Soutaicho.
"Enough!" boomed the Soutaicho, "there are more important matters to discuss here. Firstly the girl, Ukitake you report that she has reiatsu, is that correct?"
"Yes"
"Then the question is how she got it".
"The most logical way she got them was through sharing powers with another Shinigami, the same way the substitute Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki got his powers. However, according to the records no Shinigami has been posted in her area for the last 50 years so it is highly unlikely that she met a Shinigami. With this being the case then the only way she got her powers was at birth" explained Kurotsuchi.
"Impossible, a human Shinigami"
"This is crazy"
"How?"
"Impossible".
"Silence!" cried the Soutaicho. "Ukitake you are to go back to the world of the living at bring back the girl. She is to stay in the Seireitei until we can determine how she got her powers. While she is here we will also be able to protect her from the Arrancar. 10th Division Taicho Toushiro Hitsugaya, 13th division Taicho Jushiro Ukitake, I am putting the two of you in charge of discovering why the Arrancar wants the girl. And please inform 8th Division Taicho Shunsui Kyoraku that he is to assist your mission Jushiro. Dismissed!"
The soft beeping of the alarm awoke Rose up the next day. The clock showed that it was 10:00 am and for a moment Rose thought that the previous night had been a dream. Sadly for her that possibility was squashed when she saw the huge, bronzed, mass of a man lying asleep on her floor. It had all seemed so unreal, yet so refreshing to discover the reason behind why she saw ghosts. And, if she was to be honest with herself, very existing. Well minus the point when she was attack by Shadow Crawler. Rose's mind exploded with unanswered question and for a moment she contemplated waking up Shunsui. But then thought against it when she saw how peaceful he looked. Sitting up in bed, Rose contemplate her plan for the day. She had some many questions to ask Shunsui but that would have to wait. She had four hours until her part time job at the bakery started, just enough time to finish writing her essay. With a smile Rose stood up, stretched and made her way over to her laptop. While waiting for her laptop to started Rose started to write down any and all questions concerning the soul society for when Shunsui woke up.
By mid-day Rose had finished writing her essay. All she needed to do now was edit it and then she could submit it the next day and be done with it. She felt a sort of gratifying feeling knowing that she had finished her last piece of coursework of the year. All she had next were exams and those were weeks away. Smiling to herself, Rose spun round in her desk chair and stared at the lump that was Shunsui Kyoraku. God all this man does is sleep, she thought. Looking down at the now long list of questions she had concerning the soul society, Rose pondered something. Something very important was said last night yet she could not remember what. Suddenly it hit her. Anger and rage rose through her like a burning fire. Swivelling round again Rose picked up one of her numerous books on the desk and flung it at Shunsui.
"Argh! Nanao-Chan so cruel!" cried out Shunsui sitting up and rubbing his sore spot.
"Who is Nanao-Chan?" spat Rose.
Shunsui spun round and smiled as his eyes fell upon Rose. "Rose!" he exclaimed. "Such a beautiful sight to see in the morning-". Sadly he was interrupted by another projectile being thrown his way. He dodged this one easily as Rose did not have the throwing skills or aim of a Shinigami.
"Now, Now Rose, it's rude to throw things at guests" said Shunsui.
"What did Ukitake mean when he said that the soul society needed to decide on what to do with me?" spat Rose. "I am not some mindless possession you and your dead buddies fight over".
Shunsui looked at her with a shocked impression. "Rose, you were attacked last night by an Arrancar and we don't know why. It is highly likely that the Soul Society will offer you protection of a sort. It is in your interest to follow what we decide is best for you". His face then lit with amusement. "Dead buddies" he chuckled.
"Don't you mean it is in your interest? And how do you know what is best for me, you met me a few hours ago" snapped Rose.
Shunsui sighed, this girl was almost as trying as his darling Nanao. Rose raised her eyebrow expectantly at him. "Look, maybe the Soul Society will decide to leave you alone. I don't know what they will do but in the mean time I am to wait here until Ukitake, or a messenger tells me otherwise" said Shunsui.
Rose looked at Shunsui for a moment before she swivelled round in her chair and stared at her computer screen.
"Don't worry darling Rose", whispered Shunsui right next to her ear, "no matter what the Soul Society decides I will always be here to take care of you". Rose shivered as she felt Shunsui kiss her hair. The shiver was not one of fear, like with her previous contact with men, but one of anticipation. The way he said 'take care', with lots of hidden meanings did things to her. She suddenly felt attracted to him, like a magnet.
"The changing of weaponry and fighting style in Edo period Japan, 1603-1867. Is that the research project you were talking about last night?" inquired Shunsui.
"Y-yes" stammered Rose. "I have been working on it for the last few weeks. It is due in on Tuesday but I want to get it done by tonight so that I can hand it in on Sunday". The anticipation, the pull, it was making it hard Rose to think.
"And what are these?" Asked Shunsui while picking up the list of questions that were beside Rose's desk.
"Those are questions that I wanted to ask you."
Shunsui read through the questions, occasionally laughing at some. This presence was becoming more and more annoying for Rose. Glancing down at the clock on her laptop she saw that she had an hour until her work started. With a sigh Rose got up and stretched.
"What?" asked Shunsui.
"I have work in an hour so I need to get ready" replied Rose.
"Work?"
"Yes. I have to play my university fees somehow" snapped Rose while she walked past Shunsui towards her cupboard.
"Wait Rose don't you think it is best if you…Argh!" cried Shunsui. Shunsui had tried to stop Rose from moving by grapping her shoulder. However, Rose had been so startled by him that she had grabbed the Taser that sat that was always within arm's length and had zapped him. Rose gasped as she watched Shunsui collapsed to the ground. She had not meant to zap him but he had scared her. She hated physical contact for a reason. The Taser was in her opinion the best weapon she could carry around as it protected her but did not maim the attacker.
After a few seconds her erratic heart calmed down and Rose was able to heave Shunsui unconscious body onto her bed. The least she could do was make sure that he was comfortable, I mean she did zap him. When that was done so got changed and left for her job.