Becoming who we were meant to be
8: Rise from the ashes
Karin escapes the manor once again, this time when the sky barely hits dawn. The air is fresher at this time of day, enveloping her like a cloth of relief. Even though the Seireitei's streets are much less crowded, there are enough people around for Karin to accidentally overhear a couple of conversations. She quickly finds a reoccurring topic to be about none other than her brother.
More specifically, about the captain meeting going down in an hour at most.
And this time she plans on being there when Ichigo comes out. After all, both of their fates could be held in the hands of that meeting.
The fact that this meeting is being held in an hour is probably the only thing overlapping the importance of her father's past. As much as Karin wants to sit down and demystify her family's past once and for all, this is the time to worry about the future, and not what had once been.
You came to the right place. Rangiku's words echo in her head, and Karin mindlessly walks through the streets, foot ahead of the other and eyes lost somewhere invisible to the naked eye.
I was his lieutenant, and Taichou was his third seat.
Could that actually have happened? Toshiro serving under her father, all those years ago?
If that was all true, then just how old was her father?
"Hmpf!" the sound escapes Karin's throat when she hits something tall and hard. She rubs her head and squints, thinking she for sure ran into a wall.
Until the wall turns around and looks down at her, eyes widening with an unsettling and perverse surprise.
"My, my, my. I didn't think I'd ever have the honor of meeting you…Kurosaki Karin," the person snarls like a snake. Karin can feel the hair on her skin raising as if wanting to be peeled off. Karin steps back out of pure instinct when she realizes that everything about this man screams a clear warning; the hat partially covering his facial features, the white paint on his face and hands, the black nails, and the eyes. Staring at her like she's a buffet.
"How do you know me? I've never seen or heard of you." She manages with a frown.
The person's eyes widen beyond what Karin thought possible, and he laughs loudly. So loudly that it makes her jump.
"As direct as her brother, I love it!" he looks up at the sky then back down at her as he licks his lips. The sight of his blue tongue makes disgust crawl into Karin's gut. "Say Miss Kurosaki, will you let me experiment with the extent of your reiatsu? Your brother was a major disappointment in that regard. He never let me conduct any significant research."
"Kurotsuchi-taichou, I think it would be in your best interest to leave the girl alone."
Karin blinks and steps back as the twisted man's face disappears from sight. She looks up and sees someone standing directly between her and the man. That same stomach-turning laugh erupts in the air.
"Well, well… Quite the fascinating turn of event we have here, don't we, Kuchiki-taichou?"
Karin's eyes widen and shock spreads through her muscles. Kuchiki?! She backs up, enough so that she can clearly recognize the man in front of her to be the same man she saw in the Kuchiki garden, just yesterday. His eyes are closed, once again, and he wears a cold face.
The man known as Kurotsuchi shoots her another devil-like amused glance before turning around to leave. "I hope you'll reflect on the offer, Kurosaki Kaaaarrrrinn," he articulates her first name as he rolls it out between his teeth and the next second, disappears from view.
Karin has to take a moment to remember how to move. When she blinks to regain composure and lucidity, the man with long black hair is already walking away silently.
"Hm, thank you. Kuchiki…Byakuya, is it?" she calls out before he can vanish as well.
The man wearing a captain haori stops in his track, and for a second Karin thinks he's gone immobile. But then he turns his head, only enough for his left eye to stare at her. Karin swallows but returns the eye contact without faltering. The man squints his eyes at her, piercing through her in a surprisingly cold but unthreatening way, then closes them again and walks away without another word.
What…the fuck?
"Kurosaki Ichigo. You may follow us."
Rukia's heart leaps in her chest as the guards stand on each side of Ichigo, waiting for him to enter the assembly hall. Once again he turns his head and shoots her a nervous, unsure look, silently asking for confidence. Rukia gives him an assured nod and hopes it will be enough, but let's be honest, there's no way she can fool him. He can probably smell her anxiety from a mile away. Ichigo flashes her one of his soft grins right before the doors close behind him with a loud bang, leaving her alone outside the building.
Rukia sighs silently. She has run every possible outcome of this meeting in her head a thousand times over the last few days, and yet still doesn't know what to expect. When Central 46 gets involved, there is no certainty of any kind.
Same goes with noble clans, she thinks with a shudder.
Her head snaps back up when she feels a familiar presence hiding behind a tree. Rukia lets out the breath she was holding and smiles to herself as she calls out the intruder's name.
"You can come out now, Karin."
The girl doesn't show herself right away, probably startled by the fact that she'd just been caught. When she does come out of hiding, her face looks slightly guilty. "Of course you'd know I was there," she sighs, slowly walking up to Rukia with a shy smile.
Rukia spots a cement bench not far away and gestures for Karin to sit down with her. "We haven't had the chance to talk in a few days. How are you doing?" she asks with genuine concern.
Karin stares down at her joined hands on her lap. "Okay, I guess. I mean, it's not that I have a problem with this place or anything like that. It might actually be the opposite, but…these past few days I've sort of felt… I dunno, stuck between past and present."
Rukia stays silent, giving Karin time and welcoming her to continue explaining rather than interrupting.
"There's just so much about my family I didn't know… There's so much I still don't know. My dad, Ichigo...you too, Rukia," Karin pauses, bites her lip from the inside. "You have all been through so much stuff I had no idea was even possible. It just makes me feel so…small. You know? It's making me realize what actually matters might be more than what they teach us in the human world."
Silence falls over. Rukia studies Karin's troubled expression and smiles slightly. "Trust me, Karin, there's nothing abnormal about the way you're feeling." Karin's eyes meet hers in curiosity. Rukia continues. "Before going to the world of the living; before meeting Ichigo…there were so many things about life I didn't know, stuff they didn't teach us here. I really do believe that no place is perfect. We learn something from every world we visit, whether it be human or soul." Rukia's smile widen a little. "And you know if your curiosity grows too big you can always ask me anything."
Karin blinks at her words and eventually smiles back. She shakes her head a little, remembering Ichigo's words a couple days ago.
"Well, actually… I've been wondering how Ichigo became a Shinigami for so many years…" she grins from the corner of her mouth. "Urahara-san wouldn't tell me, and Ichigo didn't seem comfortable telling me either. Well, not the other day at least. He kept saying how you would have better answers to my questions so…I thought maybe you had a big part to play in that story, and that maybe he actually wanted you to tell me."
Rukia's eyes widen slightly, then her expression softens and she scoffs, as if amused but not surprised. "He sure didn't change…" she murmurs and it almost sounds like she says it to herself only. She takes in a large breath and meets Karin's curious gaze.
"Where should I start?"
As Ichigo walks past the twelve captains of the Seireitei and stands in front of Yamamoto, he internally fights to keep on the shell of confidence he's been slowly building on his way over here. It feels like it could get shattered into pieces any minute now, a feeling he absolutely hates.
"Kurosaki Ichigo," Yamamoto starts speaking in a rather low voice. "Before attending to the matter of your captaincy, I will say my final words on your sister's admittance into the academy." Ichigo only has time to swallow with difficulty before the head-captain continues, head lifted slightly upwards as if making an official statement for everyone to witness.
"After receiving a request of the head of the Shiba clan, and a statement of recommendation from the Kuchiki clan, Kurosaki Karin will be admitted into Shin'O Shinigami academy and officially considered a student and apprentice of the Gotei 13, affected tomorrow, May 30th."
Yamamoto hits his wooden cane to the ground after marking the end of his sentence. A few murmurs echo around him but Ichigo's focus is set on something Yamamoto just mentioned.
Statement of recommendation from the Kuchiki clan?
Ichigo turns his head around and lays shocked eyes on Kuchiki Byakuya. As expected, the man keeps his eyes closed, a veil of forced indifference on his face. Ichigo frowns in confusion. Did Byakuya actually recommend Karin and her admittance into the academy in the name of the Kuchiki clan? Did Rukia ask him to do so?
Before he can give it another thought, Yamamoto hits his staff on the floor, yet again.
"Silence," he warns in a throaty voice. "Now that this is dealt with, the matter of Kurosaki Ichigo's captaincy." Ichigo turns back to the head-captain, an anxious burst erupting in the pit of his stomach.
"Central 46 has sent their second proclamation document, stating that Kurosaki Ichigo, would he agree to the terms, is to be considered an official Shinigami of the Gotei 13. They also stated their accord of him joining the Seireitei's forces as a captain rank soldier, would he get special letters of recommendation from six current captains of the Gotei 13, and approval of at least three captains out of the remaining seven."
Ichigo's heart picks up as he stares at Yamamoto with wide eyes, but the old man keeps going. "Now, since we have been over this matter over a year ago, I will ask each of you to either maintain your approval or to withdraw it."
Yamamoto stops as he gets a document handed over to him. His eyes briefly look over the paper, then back up.
"I will start with those of you who had written a special recommendation for Ichigo Kurosaki's captaincy. Ukitake-taichou, do you maintain or withdraw your position?"
"I maintain," Ukitake's voice reaches Ichigo's ears and he turns around quickly enough to see the man shoot him a kind smile.
"Kenpachi-taichou, do you maintain or withdraw your position?"
"Heh," Zaraki Kenpachi flashes a teeth-showing grin as he answers. "I maintain."
"Hitsugaya-taichou, do you maintain or withdraw your position?"
"I maintain," Toshiro replies seriously, eyes closed.
"Mugurama-taichou, do you maintain or withdraw your position?"
"I maintain."
"Kyoraku-taichou, do you maintain or withdraw your position?"
"Why, I maintain of course, Yama-ji," the man replies with a laugh. Ichigo blinks, his brain barely catching up to whatever is happening in this room right now.
"Kuchiki-taichou," Yamamoto's voice travels through the room and Ichigo immediately turns to look at Byakuya with surprise, already for the second time today. "Do you maintain or withdraw your position?"
Silence echoes for one second, two seconds, then-. "I maintain."
Ichigo can hear his heart race in his ears. Yamamoto carries on, unaffected.
"Hirako-taichou, do you maintain or withdraw your position?"
"I maintain," Shinji's amused voice resonates in the room.
"And finally, Otoribashi-taichou, do you maintain or withdraw your position?"
"I maintain."
Ichigo can't quite believe his ears. If he counted right, then that means…
"Alright, now with the remaining captains. Soi Fon-taichou, do you approve or oppose Kurosaki Ichigo's captaincy?"
"I oppose," Soi Fon speaks in a hard voice, looking down with her arms crossed.
"Unohana-taichou, do you approve or oppose?"
"I approve," the woman says in a warm voice as she smiles.
"Komamura-taichou, do you approve or oppose?"
"I approve."
"Kurotsuchi-taichou, do you approve or oppose?"
The man licks his lips and smirks with a peculiar expression. "Approve," he answers as he snickers.
Yamamoto takes in a breath, and comes back to Ichigo. "And finally, I, head-captain of the Gotei 13, approve. Given the fact that nobody withdrew their recommendations or approval, this results in 8 special recommendations, along with 4 approvals, and 1 opposition."
Yamamoto pauses and looks at Ichigo. It only now occurs to him that he still hasn't spoken a single word since this meeting started.
"Kurosaki Ichigo," the head-captain starts again, this time in a louder voice. "The Gotei 13 has declared you worthy of taking the position of captain of the Seireitei. Do you solemnly declare to oblige by the Seireitei's rules, to live by them, and to teach them to your subordinates? Do you proclaim to grow within our walls as a soldier, and as a leader? Do you promise to protect those around you, the humans and the innocent, to the peril of your own life?"
Silence fills the room. Ichigo feels everyone's eyes piercing holes through his back. This is it, this is when he finally decides what the rest of his life is going to be.
Do you promise to protect those around you, to the peril of your own life?
He thinks about his family, the whole reason he is standing here right now. His dad, Yuzu, Karin… He thinks about his friends, back in the world of the living. Urahara, Yoruichi, Ishida, Inoue, Chad, Tatsuki, Keigo. And about his friends in the Seireitei. Renji, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Hanataro, Rangiku, Shinji.
Rukia.
Ichigo's eyes light up with a burning fire, one he hasn't felt in ages. The nervousness in his gut dissipates, the sweat on his palms dries away, and the tension in his jaw loosens. He looks up at Yamamoto and answers.
"I do."
Yamamoto stares straight into his eyes for a second, completely silent. Another second passes, and a third, before the head captain finally nods his head. "Very well. We will have the formal documents prepared in the next few days. Once you sign those, your status of captain of squad 14 will be official."
Ichigo nods in response. Yamamoto takes in a breath and looks at the other captains in the back as he starts onto another matter. "Now, the process of creating a new division hasn't been done in ages, and it will not happen in the blink of an eye. The 14th division will slowly develop and grow with you as the leader," he mentions to Ichigo. "However, taking into consideration that you only recently officially joined our ranks, you may require the guidance of three captains of the Gotei 13 to help you build and carry your captain duties."
Yamamoto's eyes travel to the back of the room once again. "Therefore, I will ask if any of you would like to volunteer for this task."
Once again silence fills the room and Ichigo's eyebrows move upwards in curiosity as he turns around to face the two rows of captains. To his surprise, someone already raises their hand.
"I volunteer to guide Kurosaki Ichigo through his captaincy," Ukitake says, one hand in the air. His eyes meet Ichigo's and he smiles, so kindly as he always does. Ichigo smiles back genuinely.
"Alright," Yamamoto nods. "Anyone else?"
"I volunteer as well," Shinji Hirako says with an amused tone and he grins widely. Ichigo is torn between frowning and grinning back at the former Vizard leader.
Yamamoto nods in agreement. The room becomes silent again, and Ichigo sees the third hand raising in the air before he hears the captain speak.
And that third hand belongs to none other than Kuchiki Byakuya. Ichigo's eyes widen in surprise, and he can easily hear the amused and shocked reactions of a few other captains, yet the man made of stone still does not make eye contact.
Ichigo swallows, unsure if he should feel relieved of threatened by Byakuya offering him his guidance.
"Very well," Yamamoto speaks, interrupting Ichigo's thoughts. "Ukitake-taichou, Hirako-taichou and Kuchiki-taichou, you will be responsible of offering guidance to Kurosaki Ichigo may he encounter obstacles or require assistance as he learns the skills and responsibilities of a captain, and through the building of the 14th division."
"The 14th division's barracks have been in construction for the past few months. With the few final touches, you should be able to move into the captain's barracks by tomorrow evening. And-"
Yamamoto suddenly stops mid-sentence as Sasakibe approaches him from the side to whisper something to him. Yamamoto frowns as his lieutenant finishes talking, an obviously perturbed look on the old man's face. Ichigo tried to hear what was being said, but unfortunately they weren't talking loud enough.
"Hm…" the head captain groans as he turns back to face them. "Upon receiving recent news, I will have to discontinue this meeting. Kurosaki Ichigo, as I was saying you may move into your new barracks tomorrow. If you have any questions refer to one of the three captains that volunteered to guide you." He hits his wooden staff to the ground, one last time. "You are all dismissed."
Ichigo's head is filled with different questions as Yamamoto disappears behind some kind of other door in the top left corner of the room. He doesn't have time to linger on that matter however, since captains behind him begin to move out of position and exit through the main entrance.
Ichigo's eyes immediately look for Byakuya. This whole thing about the Kuchiki clan supporting Karin's admittance into the academy…it makes him more and more curious by the second. Not to mention the fact that Byakuya Kuchiki himself actually volunteered to mentor him, just a minute ago.
"Byakuya, wait!" Ichigo shouts but of course the man slips through the doors before Ichigo can say or do anything else than sigh.
"Soooo Ichigo," a certain captain with bright blond, square-like haircut steps into view. "I guess we meet again, huh. Don't worry, this time I won't go too hard on you." Shinji smirks with thin mischievous eyes. For a second, he nearly reminds him of Yoruichi when she's got something stuck in her head.
Ichigo opens his mouth to reply but someone laughs next to him and he turns his head to see Ukitake-taichou. "You two are much more similar than you'd like to admit," the man giggles lightheartedly.
Where Shinji's smirk drops like a bee, Ichigo grins. "Ukitake-taichou, thank you for everything you did for me and my sister, really. Helping with her search, requesting the captain meetings, and now offering to be my mentor," Ichigo nods at the captain, smile still on his face. "I couldn't be more honored."
Ukitake laughs again, dismissing all the gratitude with a wave of his hand. "I've ever only done what I believed was the right thing to do. If anything, you should thank Rukia for making me see just how much we needed you."
Feeling a little taken aback by the compliment, Ichigo scratches the back of his neck. Ukitake gives him a couple taps on the back. "We'll come see how you're doing once you're moved into your barracks. And if you need anything, you know where to find me," he tells him and Ichigo answers with an understanding nod.
Shinji begins to move away as well, popping a peace out sign as he turns his back to Ichigo. "See ya in a couple of days, Ichigo."
"See ya," he calls out to both captains with a wave of his hand and notices everyone's already left the room, retrieving back to their daily responsibilities.
Ichigo's eyes fall to the floor and he sighs, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. As a ghost of a smile appears on his face, he turns around and heads back to where he knows Rukia's waiting for him.
When he steps out through the doors, Ichigo wears a wide smile, one he decided he couldn't contain. His face instantly switches over to surprise when he sees his sister sitting next to Rukia, both of their heads snapping up as soon as they notice him.
Karin gets up first, almost as if she'd been waiting there on the edge of her seat, eyes wide in curiosity. "So?"
Ichigo hesitates for a moment, opening his mouth and closing it not long after. His eyes move over to the right and meet Rukia's gaze. He can tell she's just as curious as his sister, maybe even more so, but doing her best in hiding it. She gets up, slowly, and waits for his answer.
He smirks. "Short version or long version?"
Karin scoffs, annoyed and pressing him for an answer. "Start with short."
Ichigo takes a large breath in, then out. "Okay, uh… Karin's starting at the academy tomorrow, and in a couple of days I'll officially be the captain of the 14th division."
Ichigo's mouth breaks into a smile and he laughs out loud at his own words, ones he can barely believe are real, especially coming out of his mouth. Rukia's lips smile at him, while his sister stays standing there, jaw nearly dropping to the ground.
"Holy fuck."