A Reflection of a Soul: Lieutenant Kazuko Tsukumo is shocked to learn that her friend and subordinate Rukia has gone missing in the human realm on what should have been an easy, routine mission of hollow termination. When sent to find her, Kazuko follows an unexpected trail and runs into a familiar face from her distant childhood that she never expected to see again which awakens long forgotten memories of childish worries and struggles that bleed into the present.
Rating: Rated M. This is gonna get dark the longer it goes.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach, I am just borrowing the characters and plot for a time.
Author's Note: Here is chapter 4! Sorry it has been so long! This chapter was a struggle, and I am still figuring some things out as far as the first arc goes with Kazuko being added in. Once the first arc is done, I have so many things planned, but we need to get theri first.
Not a ton happens in this chapter, at least as far as action and fighting goes, but I am still building characters and relationships here, finding Kazuko's place where she originally, obviously, didn't exist. Honestly, I just hope I got Urahara character's correct!
Word Count: 1,639
Chapter 4: Tales and Talks
"Thank you," Kazuko murmured as a cup of genmaicha tea was placed down before her by Kisuke. She reached her hands out to take it, craving the warmth in this unusual situation, when a black cat jumped into her lap, settling with golden eyes staring up at her with a knowing glint.
"You are welcome," the older, blond male replied, sitting across from her at the table, fan opening and waving in his face, a smile on his lips. "This is a treat. How many years has it been Kazu-chan?"
Her eyes narrowed at the male, placing the tea back on the table. "Over 100."
"You look just like him," The cat spoke from her lap. Kazuko froze, back straightening at the remark, an uneasy feeling curling in her stomach.
"Yoruichi-san," Kizuke sighed, a warning in his tone that Kazuko didn't catch, leaning his chin on his hand, fan still covering half of his face.
"What, it's true," the soul-reaper werecat jumped onto the table, settling before their own cup of tea, gold eyes never leaving Kazuko. "The spitting image of Kei. Only more beautiful, of course."
Kei Tsukumo… Kazuko thought, eyes moving from the cat and exiled captain to look into her steaming tea cup, Uncle. The image of a tall, broad shouldered man with golden skin encased in a shihakushō, a white captain's haori, with long, wild red hair, blue eyes that were identical to hers, and an equally wild smile flashed through her memories like a hot brand, painful to the touch and searing her heart. I wonder…blue eyes closed, sighing as their owner lifted the tea cup for a sip, but I better not touch that hornet's nest, besides, they probably would not tell me anything even if I did ask. Instead-
"I am in need of a gigai. Rukia was the one who sent me here, as this was where she received hers," Kazuko started, eyes moving from the black cat to the blonde man, face carefully blank as she chose to ignore Yoruichi's remark. "Now, she obviously did not know who you are, and why she would accept a gigai from a random person will have to be questioned, but you obviously have the technology to help." She shifted, "the question now is will you lend me one, and what you want in return for doing so. There is no way that someone exiled and forgotten by the Soul Society just passes out gigai to random soul reapers after all."
"You were always a smart child," Urahara chuckled, a smile never leaving his face. He closed his fan with a snap, tapping it against his cheek, "I will of course be able to make a gigai for you Kazuko-chan. And you were right, I do want something in return." He chuckled as the young shinigami in front of him gave him an unimpressed look, "but never fear, I just want information."
"Information?" Kazuko echoed, a skeptical expression breaking on her face, "I won't betray my position."
"But aren't you already doing that?" Urahara offered, a smile still in place. Kazuko took a controlled breath in response, hands clenching to her tea cup still.
What should I do? Kazuko took another drag on her tea, trying to catch her thoughts. I want to help Rukia and this human boy. I could go without a gigai but it will make this situation even more difficult. But Urahara is a traitor, I am already in so much trouble if they find out I have talked with him, let alone given him information. But… She took a deep breath, locking eyes with Urahara. "You can ask your questions, but that doesn't mean I will answer your questions," She began, "I can't guarantee the information you are seeking."
"My, my," Urahara responded, "Don't get so worked up Kazu-chan! We're just chatting and I will have your gigai ready in no time! In fact, Tessai!" He waved his fan, and the larger, dark-skinned man who used to be the Kidō Corps Commander appeared in the doorway that lead further into the shop, he was wearing a blue apron and black sunglasses, "please take Kazu-chan here to get scanned for a gigai, then we can have our chat, right Kazu-chan?"
Kazuko sighed, already feeling like she was going to regret her decision, "...yes. Thank you Tessai-san."
—
A few hours later, Kazuko shifted uncomfortably, rolling her shoulders and trying to stretch her arms. "Well, how does it feel Kazu-chan?"
"It's fine," Kazuko responded, rolling the shoulders of her gigai once more. It was heavy and felt unnatural, but she knew she would become accustomed after some time. "Do you not have any other human clothes though?" She wasn't wearing the traditional shinigami uniform in her gigai, understandable because the gigai was meant to allow her to blend in with the living, instead she was wearing a tight, long sleeved white shirt and a pair of dark blue, high-waisted, mid-thigh length shorts that Urahara had called jeans. He had also offered her a pair of simple white sneakers when she needed them.
"Sorry!" The blond replied, smile and fan shining, "That's all Yoruichi-san had here to share! They fit well! I didn't take you for a person who would have a tattoo Kazu-chan, my how you've grown. I wonder what your grandmother Tsukumo thinks of it," he chuckled, remembering his few interactions with the very small and very traditional Tsukumo clan matriarch.
Kazu let her emotionless facade break for a moment and threw him a glare, "Grandmother has never seen it, seeing as she is dead." She was referring to the ink that took up most of her right thigh, it had been a further act of rebellion during her academy days but it was something she was still proud of despite the reasoning for getting it; bright pink gladiolus flowers were intertwined and wrapped around large, bright sunflowers with a scattering of white amsonia and forget-me-nots, everything held together by thorny vines that wrapped around her thigh and disappeared up under where her shorts covered.
"Eh?!" Urahara let out a shocked noise, "Old lady Tsukumo died? When?"
Kazuko sighed resignedly, "almost 100 years ago."
"Oh," Urahara chuckled awkwardly, waving his fan quickly.
"Yes, oh," Kazuko signed again, moving to sit down at the table again where a new cup of tea was waiting for her. "Now, what exactly did you want to know?"
They spent the entire night talking, Urahara asking his questions and Kazuko answering them where she could. He wanted to know who the current Captains were, which she revealed, however when he asked about specifics about their squads and missions, she refused to answer. She couldn't tell if he actually wanted the information or was just testing her. He asked her a surprising amount of questions about squad five captain Sousuke Aizen and squad nine captain Kaname Tōsen. She didn't know much, and only provided that she had been offered a position in both squads at some point but had turned them down. She did not reveal why and strangely, based on his apparent interest, he didn't ask. There is just an uncomfortable aura that surrounds those barracks, she had thought at the time.
"And don't forget-" She had ignored the high, raspy voice of her zanpakuto at the time as well.
He also wanted to know what central 46 was up to, but Kazuko wouldn't tell him, not that she knew much of what the government was doing. She had a feeling that the man knew more than she did, again testing her for some reason, but she again chose to not say anything about her observations.
"Lieutenant Tsukumo!" Kazuko turned toward a new voice, Rukia was standing in the doorway of the room and shop, once more wearing what appeared to be a school uniform. "I see you managed to get a gigai, I'm glad! Ichigo has gone to school, I wanted to find you before joining him." She bowed, an anxious expression on her face, "Good morning Urahara-san! Thank you for providing Lieutenant Tsukumo a gigai as well!"
"It was no problem," the man smiled, waving his fan, "Anything for Kazu-chan!"
"K-Kaz-! Lieutenant Tsukumo, you already knew Urahara-san?"
"Yes," Kazuko replied, choosing her words carefully. The girl was already in enough trouble as well without adding in collaborating with a criminal, she would shoulder that blame when all this came to light - because it would, whether they wished it to or not. "Urahara-san is someone who has helped my…family…before, so we go way back. I'm glad he helped you. We haven't quite gotten to the part where he told me how and why he knew to help you, but that's a discussion for another time."
Urahara chuckled, still smiling and waving his fan in his face.
"You said Ichigo has gone to school?" Kazuko stood, taking the sneakers with her. "Good, I will walk and talk with you on the way. There are some things we need to discuss before I report back to the Seireitei." She bowed slightly in Urahara's direction where the man continued to laze about, "I will be back later Urahara-san, thank you for your help."
"Of course, of course!" He replied, "Thank you for your help as well Kazu-chan! We'll be waiting for your return, and we can continue our conversation later."
Kazuko narrowed her eyes at the man, slipping on the sneakers, who just continued smiling. She ignored the black cat that suddenly appeared again, jumping on the table to sip at a teacup with golden eyes watching them. After a moment she signed and turned to Rukia who was waiting with the same awkward look on her face. "Let's go, we need to talk about the boy and what exactly you have planned to try and fix this."
The flowers in her tattoo:
Sunflowers: hope and warmth, positivity and strength, strong bonds and lasting happiness
Amsonia: endurance, strength and determination.
Forget-me-nots: true love, devotion, and royalty
Gladiolus: strength of character, faithfulness, moral integrity, and remembrance
Thorns: sin, sorrow and hardship
Like I said, not much action but we do get a lot of character interactions. Next chapter will have our favorite strawberry, hollow hunting, and maybe a few others I can't wait to develop Kazuko's relationships with!
And it should be out much faster!