Author's Note: Ch19 was edited for a lot of typos and grammar slip ups, whoops.
In a bedroom, stuffed animals sat on a Queen-sized bed. The frame was varnished dark mahogany. The headrest was covered in red silk, and so were duvets and pillows. Below, floorboards were plain walnut. Above, a chandelier was glowing without electricity. Two windows were frosted, for privacy, Yuzu guessed. This mansion was comfy, she had to acknowledge.
The brass doorknob turned, and the door swung inward without a squeak. A pretty young woman in a sky-blue kimono, around eighteen-years-old, carried a bamboo tray. Yuzu had forgotten her name. On the tray, an old-fashioned—everything here was old-fashioned—porcelain kettle was steaming. A plate of lightly toasted bread cushioned fried eggs and grilled cherry tomatoes. The aroma made Yuzu's stomach gurgle.
The woman set the tray on the desk, saying, "You should eat."
"Where's my dad and Karin?" Yuzu asked. She had said these words so many times. It was an automatic thing now.
The woman sat on the bed. "I still don't know, but I can say now that your father is in a lot of trouble. He's broken a dozen laws."
"What laws?" As Yuzu breathed in, her stomach again gurgled, loud enough that the woman chuckled politely. Yuzu relented, shuffling off the bed and grabbing a stainless steel spoon. The first bite was straight out of Heaven. This was Heaven, right?
"For starters," the woman said, "he abandoned his position and failed to return. Your father was a Captain of the Gotei 13. His name was Captain Isshin Shiba, and he was the head of a Great Noble House."
Captain Shiba. That's what the two angels, the two Shinigami, Toshiro and Rangiku, had called him.
Yuzu sipped sweetened green tea with a hint of vanilla. Delicious. She chewed a cherry tomato and washed it down with a cupful. So delicious. Her body warmed up. This flirty outfit—they called it a Shihakusho—sure wasn't fit for this weather. It wasn't snowing, but wind outside had almost given her frostbite.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" the woman asked.
"I do," Yuzu quipped. "I don't find it that interesting."
The woman's head tilted. Her smile was quaint. "And why not?"
"I just don't." Yuzu shrugged. "My dad… he might secretly be a big pervert, but he's a good dad. He did everything he could for us. Whatever dumb laws you say he broke, I don't care."
The woman was giggling, covering her mouth like some noblewoman. She was a noblewoman. Her big indigo-blue eyes glinted under the chandelier. Her shoulderblade-length raven hair didn't have a single crink or split end. "You are unquestionably a Shiba, Yuzu."
"Thanks, I guess." Yuzu guzzled another cupful of vanilla tea. "And thanks for the food, Miss…."
"It's Hisana Kuchiki. I believe I've told you already."
Yuzu's eyes meandered. "I've heard a lot of names today." After her Human body had turned to dust, it had all happened so quickly within the hour. It had been total chaos at the Kurosaki clinic. A small army of Shinigami had shown up. They'd drawn swords. No blood spill, fortunately.
The name, Kuchiki, then blipped in Yuzu's head. "Wait, do you know Rukia Kuchiki?"
Sleek eyebrows lifted. "Yes, she's my younger sister. She's a Shinigami." Her eyes tensed up a tiny bit. Uncomfortable.
"Rangiku told me Rukia is Ichigo's guiding angel. Are they here?"
"Here, in the Seireitei? I don't believe so." Hisana poured herself a cup of tea. The kettle was almost empty. "Byakuya—"
"Who's Byakuya?"
"Forgive me, you know him as Captain Kuchiki, my husband."
Captain Kuchiki had volunteered to provide accommodation for Yuzu. He was perhaps the most handsome guy Yuzu had ever seen. Flawless skin, striking eyes, the face of a mighty warrior while at the same time cute. Her body heated in a different way just picturing him. Her friendly Hell Butterfly agreed, suddenly appearing.
Hisana cleared her throat. "Byakuya told me it may be quite a number of days before they arrive back from Rukon. Rukia's instructed to mentor him in the basics of Shinigami arts."
"Oh, that makes sense." Come to think of it, it all at last pieced together. Angelic Shinigami were at war with those demonic Hollows that Yuzu's dad had mentioned at the memorial.
"And…" Hisana drank a long sip. "She's assigned to be his personal sex slave."
Yuzu's eyelids batted twice. She looked at her Hell Butterfly. "Oh, that also makes a lot of sense. No wonder Dad was freaking out over my Butterfly."
Hisana sat straighter. "You didn't know?"
"Nope, had no idea." Yuzu giggled. "One of the guardsmen was staring at me earlier. I think he wants me."
"You… don't quite understand." From her kimono sleeve-pocket, Hisana took out a cloth rectangle and held it to the kettle. Calligraphy on the cloth lit up, and the kettle was magically refilled with steaming water. She refilled her cup. "Firstly, it's a duty of Shinigami women to satisfy men. Secondly, your spirit energy has an arousing effect on those around you, but only on those who already hold sexual attraction toward you. The Shinigami man you saw has a son, and I believe his son wants an untouched virgin."
An impish urge made Yuzu say, "I'm an untouched virgin. Send him here."
Hisana choked on tea. "Excuse me." She wiped her mouth on a napkin. "Yuzu, you're—"
"I'm just kidding."
Hisana's eyes closed, her head shaking. "Your body is still immature. Souls who would hold attraction toward you are often sent to Hell; they often commit heinous crimes."
Yuzu's Hell Butterfly offered comforting feelings, but it wasn't needed. She was already numb inside from this whole ordeal. "Crimes like what?"
"Well." Hisana visibly swallowed. "Recently, a group of men in East-Rukon Three was sent to Hell for hiding a girl's remains in a Sake barrel."
That was so macabre that Yuzu was on the edge of laughter. All she could picture was herself chopped into bloody pieces floating in Sake. Funny and terrifying. "How often does that happen?"
"I don't know," Hisana whispered. "The Rukongai is enormous. There aren't enough Shinigami to patrol districts beyond seventy-five. It is truly lawless there."
"Can I go there some time?" Yuzu joked. She didn't know why she was joking so much. This day was a joke most of all.
Hisana did a double take. An exasperated smile softened her eyes. "You are a little devil. You remind me of Rukia when she was younger, although she was a lot more… energetic."
"I hope Ichigo enjoys her," Yuzu said in earnest. "If anyone deserves a sex slave, it's him. A Hollow was about to eat me, and he gave his life to distract it."
Mixed feelings stirred on Hisana's face. She clearly didn't like that Shinigami girls were this way. She also may be jealous of her little sister; Yuzu did sense some jealousy masked in her snobby noblewoman expressions. "Well," Hisana said in a biting tone, "I hope your brother isn't forever scarred by my sister."
Forever scarred?
"What do you mean by that?"
"You'll see." Hisana set her teacup down and lifted the bamboo tray. She walked out with such an over-the-top noblewoman gait.
Captain Byakuya Kuchiki was also like that, come to think of it. He and she were a matching set.
And how could a Shinigami guy even be married? Byakuya had to be surrounded by beautiful angels all the time, tempting him. He couldn't be that strong willed. Not even Yuzu's own father was.
Yuzu's thoughts strayed back to the current fiasco. Karin. Dad. Karin had done nothing wrong, and her Human body was still very much alive. Yet they had also taken her through those traditional sliding doors. Why? It had to be some law of theirs. Arrest the whole family for good measure. It wasn't too far-fetched; many countries throughout history had in fact done that. This place was straight out of medieval times.
Footsteps patted down the hallway. A white-haired man peeked into the room, very childishly. His smile was ridiculously wide. "Oh hello there."
"Hi," Yuzu said in a neutral tone. "Who are you?"
The man stepped inside. He was a Shinigami. He wore a white coat similar to Byakuya's. "I'm Captain Gin Ichimaru of Squad Six. And you must be Yuzu Kurosaki."
Yuzu couldn't get a read on the guy. It was like he was acting. Some adults did put on jovial faces around children, but she wasn't a child anymore. "Nice to meet you, Captain Ichimaru."
"Likewise." Gin walked to the bed, picked up one of her stuffed toys. "These must be from the living world."
"Yep."
"Now isn't that amazing, what the Research Department have done, converting Kishi into Reishi. Otherwise your sister would never be able to set foot here in Soul Society."
Yuzu dropped that tidbit into the uninteresting box. "Okay."
Gin kept rambling: "How ruthless it would be, to separate a girl from her loving family. I've seen it happen too many times. It's a sad reality. But I'm glad you're holding up very well."
"Ah… thanks?"
"You're welcome." Gin looked at her with squinted eyes.
Yuzu was starting to think he wanted something.
Something like…
Yuzu's tongue clicked as she summoned her Hell Butterfly, asking it to project her spirit energy effects outward. She didn't know if that's how spirit energy worked, but Gin did notice the butterfly; anyone would.
"Oh no, I'm not here for fun." Gin chuckled. "In fact, I'm going to offer you a gift." He untied the Katana at his hip, then presented the hilt to her. "Here, take this. It's an Asauchi. One day it will become your very own Zanpakuto." His act had dropped. His eyes were utmost serious, as if saying something he couldn't speak out loud, pleading even.
So she accepted the gift. Silk on the handle was woven in a criss-crossing pattern, comfortable against her palms but didn't fit well. She wasn't going to ask if she could trade it for a smaller sized sword. She unsheathed a couple inches, touched a wavy line that separated dark steel from light. The craftsmanship was superb.
Yuzu's eyes flicked up to the doorway.
Byakuya was there, staring at Gin.
Gin was staring back.
Byakuya broke the silence: "Did the Academy ask you to deliver that Asauchi, Gin?"
"No, they did not," Gin slowly said, sneering. "I came up with the idea all by myself, for our esteemed guest, out of the goodness of my heart—unlike you."
"I see."
"But I do have to go now. Squad duties, you know." Gin walked, and Byakuya stepped aside for him.
Only when Gin's footsteps were no longer audible did Byakuya enter the bedroom. His scarf was loosely worn unlike before, on the verge of falling off, and he didn't have his ornate hair pieces in either. He seemed tired, though he didn't have bags under his eyes. He took the Asauchi, fully drew the blade, looked it up and down, frowning, then sheathed it and handed it back.
"Keep it with you at all times," Byakuya muttered. "Even when you bathe."
Yuzu couldn't help herself: "Want to bathe with me?" Her eyelashes batted.
"No." His tone was uncaring. He walked out, more like a march, and closed the door. His footsteps abruptly vanished in the hallway.
Yuzu buried her face into a pillow. She didn't like him anyway. Dumb snob.
In a dark room, dim red lights cast shadows around computer screens and half-filled vial racks. A chemical smell, not dissimilar to ammonia, irritated Gin's nostrils. This work was most distasteful. His regular duties were tolerable, but monitoring the surveillance bacteria network? He could list a hundred things he would rather do, half of which involved ladies.
His keystrokes were quick and accurate, triangulating a position on the northern Outer Mountain Ring. There were hardly any airborne bacteria in the area, less than in any area on the map. There must've been a battle there recently. But Gin had a hunch it was something else.
Someone else.
He was correct.
Ichigo Kurosaki stood on a ledge overlooking a forest, Rukia Kuchiki at his side.
Gin's spiritual pressure fluctuated to dangerous levels. One vial shattered before he reigned himself in.
Those eyes.
Those godly eyes.
It only meant one thing—divine providence was upon Soul Society. At last. For decades Gin had waited for his time to lunge. And by the will of the gods, now was the chance. He deleted all footage before sending out masked apoptosis signals to bacteria in the area. A risk. But a risk we was willing to die for.
Author's Note: Next chapter back to Ichigo.
Review responses:
- There will eventually be 'sub-pairings' for Ichigo, but Rukia is the main pairing.
- Regarding what Ichibei thinks, I may squeeze in a small passage to show it, maybe.
- Beast realm won't be covered. Hell, it should be pretty clear now where Shinigami girls are getting their lust powers from; the hints are pretty blatant at this point.