Yo! I know that I've been writing some neato Bleach stories lately, but not getting very far with them- I'm sorry for that. I have so many different story idea's rattling around in my head that I can't think straight.
I've had this one in there for a while now and decided to finally try sitting down and writing it. I'm not going to lie, this will start out sad and dark-ish. A character's death is imminent. But it will get better as the story progresses.
So, here it is. Afterlife. Enjoy!
They had noticed for a while, at least since the Ginjo Kugo incident that Rukia had been behaving oddly. Erratically to be completely honest. And now, a month later, they were beginning to get more than a tad bit concerned about what could be causing her strange behavior.
Oh sure, they knew that it likely had something to do with the Substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki. But they couldn't help but continually wonder why she was ditching her duties at random times of the day and night, ducking out of meetings, avoiding questions and simply disappearing to the living world without even a moment's notice.
It might not have been so bad if it had just been her. But recently, the Captain of squad six, Byakuya Kuchiki had begun to notice that Renji was starting to behave similarly.
And he wasn't very happy about it either.
So today, while they were all attending another Captain's meeting, the head Captain decided to call on the two of them before they could scamper off like they usually did and demand some answers.
After all, their recent behavior was unacceptable for a couple of lieutenants and if they continued to act so oddly, they would not only lose their ranks- but possibly even their jobs as Soul Reapers entirely. Which was something that neither the head Captain nor their division leaders really wanted for the pair, but unless they had a better understanding of things, then they couldn't help.
And they were very concerned.
Everyone waited patiently for the two to appear and the moment that they both stepped through the large door, the Captains could tell that something was very, very wrong.
Poor Rukia looked as if she hadn't slept in years. Her skin was paler than usual. So much so that they could almost see the blue of her veins underneath her skin. She had alarmingly dark bags underneath her usually expressive- but now dull eyes. And there was what looked like dried and flaking blood smeared on her left cheek and part of the exposed skin of her neck as well.
However, when they shifted their attention to Renji, he looked like he'd been through the ringer himself.
Their physical states were frightening to them. Alarmingly so.
Especially when the pair just sort of...sank? No- that wasn't the right word. It was more as if they just seemed to fold in on their selves as they wobbled to the floor to sit since their legs didn't seem able to support them any longer.
And the moment that they were seated, Rukia practically burst into tears and leaned herself towards Renji. Though they didn't know if it was for comfort or some sort of desperate attempt to prevent herself from completely falling over onto the floor as Renji rasped out in a hoarse voice that was barely above a whisper. "You called for us head Captain."
The head Captain took one look at the pair of them in such a pitiful state, and nearly exploded with anger at what he was seeing. He didn't know what was going on in the living world, or what could possibly have caused the Substitute Soul Reaper to grow so irresponsible with the physical care of her friends. But he was just a hairs breath away from making his way to the living world to personally kick the irresponsible child in the butt for allowing Rukia and Renji to fall into such distressing states.
"Yes," He said, his voice booming around the room despite the fact that he hadn't even raised his voice. "You will explain why the two of you have been ditching your duties and running off to the living world for the past month. As well as what Kurosaki has to do with your present conditions. Keep in mind that whatever you have to say will determine whether or not any of you suffer any punishment."
Renji merely blinked at him and gave a slight nod as he lifted his arm a bit, with a wince, and slowly wrapped it around Rukia's shaking form before then trying to focus on the head Captain and the others standing there waiting for some kind of an explanation before finally rasping out.
"None of this is Ichigo's fault, sir. She didn't ask us to drop or shirk our duties to go to the living world to see her."
"Then why have you been doing so?"
Renji glanced down at Rukia for a second, noting the tears staining her face and felt his heart breaking all over again for what felt like the millionth time in the past month since the two of them had learned that their friend was dying due to the severity of various injuries that she had suffered from both of her battles with the Espada and Aizen.
However, despite that fact, the final nail in the girl's coffin had turned out to be her fight with Kugo since she had fought him in her physical body before they had arrived and had suffered even more damage to her already weakening body.
And because of that, she was presently in one of the hospitals, barely clinging to life after one of her lungs had exploded in her chest, causing her to nearly drown in her own blood.
"Well, Abarai. We are waiting." The head Captain said in an authoritative tone that indicated that he was running out of patience.
"W-We... We found out that- h-her health- is d-declining..." Renji stammered out almost helplessly.
The second that the words were out, both Renji and Rukia flinched as there was an automatic shift in the atmosphere of the room. The head Captain went from angry to concerned, right along with the rest of the others who began speaking among themselves until the head Captain banged his cane on the floor to silence everyone.
"What do you mean her health is failing?" Toshiro asked/demanded as he stepped forward a tad, breaking away from his assigned place to be closer to the pair.
Renji opened his mouth to answer but didn't seem able to say the dread filled words that he had come to loath so damned much. Instead, he just hung his head in shame and grief, his expression pained as he tried to hold back his own tears and failed.
Toshiro's eyes widened in understanding as he sank to the floor on his knees, suddenly unable to breathe as he said the words that Renji seemed unable to say. His horrified voice ringing with the various emotions rising within his chest. The finality of them was excruciating as they echoed in his own ears.
"Ichigo is dying."
"She'll be here in about a week's time." Rukia's voice finally rang out, weak and trembling.
After that, everything seemed to pass in a panicked blur now that they understood Rukia and Renji's behavior much better.
The two had been ditching their duties to go and care for the Substitute Soul Reaper, perhaps even trying to help her transition from life to death go a bit smoother and easier on the girl.
Whatever the reason, none of them could find it in them to remain upset with the two any longer.
After that, Renji and Rukia were both taken to rest in squad four's infirmary while the rest of them worked on trying to decide on a course of action.
There was a brief conversation where head Captain asked Unohara if perhaps there might be something that she could do to save the human girl's life. Or at the very least extend it. But even he knew that without knowing what was wrong with the girl, there was no way that she could do anything for her.
Which was upsetting to say the least, but understandable as well.
But once the grim conversation ended, they shifted their focus to deciding which squad the girl would be a part of once she was there. After all, she was their savior- they owed her a lot more than they could ever repay in one or even a hundred lifetimes. And just because she would be joining them sooner instead of later didn't excuse them from having a place for her.
But figuring out which squad she would thrive in was difficult. After all, despite the fact that she was joining them soon- they had no idea what her present state was. Nor if whatever was killing her would carry over to her afterlife. She may need time to get well again. And that could take months. Even years depending on her ailment/ailments.
She would need a Captain/squad that could keep an eye on her and not bog her down with too much work while she was healing.
So, squad two was out. And so was squad six, and eleven- no matter what Kenpachi might say about it. Squad four was out since it was a squad of healers and as far as any of them knew she had no affinity for that and would basically be useless to them.
Hitsugaya's squad was out too. Though not because the head Captain didn't feel that she would thrive there once she was well again. But mostly because she would be stuck doing the mountains and mountains of paperwork that Matsumoto didn't want to do and would likely collapse more than a few times from exhaustion.
The science division was out automatically because there was no telling what Captain Kurotsuchi would do to the girl once their backs were turned.
Komamura's squad was automatically out too. But only because his division tended to be full of rowdy people that would likely pester the girl to train with them constantly.
After going through the list of every squad in the thirteen Gotei, all that was left to consider were Ukitake and Kyoraku's divisions.
Both were good men and would certainly look out for the girl. They also wouldn't allow her to overexert herself until she was well again. There was the added bonus of the two being rather intimidating when they were upset- so the head Captain was well aware of the fact that no one would bother Ichigo overly much either.
However, Ukitake often fell ill himself and usually needed time to get better. And the head Captain wasn't certain if placing the girl in his squad would help things any since it just meant that the man would have one more person to worry about.
Which left...
"Kyoraku," The moment that he said his former student's name, the brunette zeroed in on him with hawk like focus that was rare for him. "I wish you to take the girl on as your second lieutenant."
The moment that the head Captain uttered the words, Shunsui's expression became one of utter astonishment and he seemed to be trying to imagine Ichigo as his second seated officer. Equal to Nanao in authority.
Honestly, it felt wrong to Shunsui. Especially since Ichigo had enough power to easily become a Captain herself. Yet despite that fact, it wasn't as if he could turn down an order. And the head Captain had most definitely just given him an order.
"I can do that." The man finally said, sounding slightly uncertain.
"Good. I will need her somewhere where she can thrive once she's here."
"I don't mean to sound unhappy about having Ichigo join my squad or anything, but...what about her current state? What if she needs time?"
"Once she is here Unohana will evaluate her health. If we must, she can be temporarily retired so that she has the time necessary to heal and regain her strength. However, even if that is the case...she will still need to be watched and cared for. I expect you to do that regardless of whether things are official or not. The girl is one of us. We will afford her every curtesy and care as if she had been a full-fledged Soul Reaper from the beginning. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand," Shunsui said, both feeling sad for the girl- who was little more than a child- and at the same time excited that she would be joining his squad. "I'll take care of her, sir." He promised, earning a nod from the head Captain before they then moved on to the next topic needing to be discussed.
With Ichigo having no family that they were aware of; she would need to become someone's ward. Just in case certain decisions needed to be made later on.
It was mostly something that was necessary in case she caught the eye of a noble who wished to take her as their wife. Or if certain medical decisions needed to be made and there was no family to ask what they wanted to do.
However, with the hero that have saved them all becoming a part of a squad, Shunsui decided to duck out of this particular conversation so that he could return to the barracks and begin the process of preparing for Ichigo's arrival. After all, the girl was going to need a room, a bed, clothing and other things too.
So, it was best that he begin to collect, purchase, move things around and so on while he could.