Rain was a constant presence in the area which they lived in. Her sister hated the rain because it washed away the blood that she spilled of her enemies, she loved the rain for the very opposite reason.
It's such a chore to wash off all the blood from her sister's clothes whenever she comes back from another of her killing sprees. This was why she loved the rain, because if the blood on her sister's clothes could be washed off by the rain shortly after it had stained her clothes, the easier it would be for her to do the laundry.
"You are back," Mihira stated when she felt a familiar presence outside of the little hut which they lived in. She had immediately opened the door and true enough, her older sister was there, standing very still in a trance until she greeted her. She tended to just stand outside their house for a long while whenever she returned from her killing sprees, so Mihira had to quickly learn how to sense her sister's spiritual pressure in order to avoid letting her stand in the neverending rain for too long.
"I am."
"Feeling better?"
"Yes. Swinging my sword and killing people helps me to calm down a little," her older sister replied as Mihira led her older sister in. Mihira took a dry towel to quickly dry off Yachiru's hair while Yachiru continued to stare into blank space, allowing Mihira to do as she pleased with her body. Mihira had quickly undressed her older sister and led her to the bath which she had already heated while awaiting Yachiru's return.
"I'm sorry for always adding onto your workload. Washing off the blood must be troublesome."
"A small price to pay to live in a place where nobody dares to lift a finger at us," Mihira replied while diligently using her hands to wash the blood off her older sister's body. "You are my sister, Yachiru. You are the only family I have."
"I know, but I'm not a good role model."
"I don't need a good role model. I needed a sister who would and can kill anybody who dared to lay a finger on me and you did that wonderfully."
"It's not like you needed me to protect you. You are good with a sword too."
"But not as good as you, am I? And is it wrong for the spoiled little sister to want to be protected by her doting older sister?"
"I can never win an argument against you," a small and near imperceptible smile crept up Yachiru's face as her younger sister helped to wash off the blood that was caught in her long hair.
"Have you heard about the rumours?"
"Which one?"
"About how a powerful swordsman who can wield fire is gathering the strongest warriors to create an organisation. They had been quickly gaining traction," Yachiru listened patiently as her younger sister filled her in on the details. She had heard a little of this rumour in passing, but did not take too much stock in it because she believed that it was a hoax. However, if her younger sister believed that it's not a hoax, then it must hold some degree of truth.
An organisation consisting of the strongest warriors? That's something that she will be interested in. She will finally be able to use her blade to kill worthy opponents.
"Do you know where they might be?"
"If what my last patient told me is to be believed, they should be passing by within the next couple of days. I personally believe that they have heard of you and are interested in meeting you, so we probably just have to wait. We are pretty famous in these parts, you know?"
Yachiru released a soft chuckle at her sister's words. Famous? That's an understatement. The entire area near their little hut is their territory, and everyone who tread within this territory has to live by their rules if they want to live. Their territory is well-known for being a neutral zone, where nobody is to raise their weapon or hand against another or risk facing the wrath of the infamous Yachiru.
Contrary to popular belief, Yachiru was not the one who set the rules. Setting up a neutral zone goes against her very instinct to kill worthy opponents. The truth was that her younger sister was the one who set the rules while she, the older sister, is its enforcer. Her younger sister possesses a certain degree of medical knowledge. She knew the best ways to disinfect and bandage wounds, she knew how to create effective balms and salves, she knew methods to combat infectious diseases and treat common colds. How Mihira came upon this knowledge Yachiru sincerely had no idea, but she really didn't care about the how. All she knew was that they are sisters and that they are all the other one has. She will use her life to protect Mihira just as she knows Mihira will do the same for her. Yachiru is content with that.
It's because of this that over time, their hut gradually started to serve as a clinic where anyone could come to Mihira for aid. In return, they have to follow the rules in their territory, that was all she asked. So ironically, the territory where the infamous Yachiru lives ended up becoming the most peaceful area within a ten mile radius. While she was seen as a reaper, her younger sister was seen as the angel who saved lives. Those whose lives were saved were indebted to Mihira and many pledged their support to her if she ever needed them in her time of need, and over time this complex layer of connections also served to further deter any other dangerous individuals from trying to lay a hand on the Unohana sisters.
That was why Mihira said that they are famous in these parts.
"Do you know the name of the fire wielding swordsman?"
"That patient didn't have the full name, but he told me that people refer to him as Yamamoto."
"Let this be a lesson learnt, Lieutenant Hisagi. You should always ask for approval before publishing certain things, because certain rumours only turned into rumours when those that knew the truth had been buried and are forever unable to open their mouths."
Captain Unohana Retsu spoke with a motherly smile as she looked at her newest patient who's currently lying on the sickbed and wrapped in bandages from head to toe. Mihira had not gone easy on Hisagi, it would seem.
Mihira is a bundle of contradictions but at her very core, she is a lazy pacifist. She wouldn't be motivated to go the extra mile to do more work if there is no motivation to do so but she would always somehow find herself buried under tons of work. The fact that she became a captain despite her abhorrence for that position, but also well-known as an incorrigible procrastinator among the captains ever since she took up the position, was an indication of that. The captain commander also deliberately arranged such that Mihira would not be sent out on combat related missions unless absolutely necessary and very few captains would even dare to raise their hand against Mihira in the first place, so it's been a long while since she saw her younger sister raising her hand against another shinigami.
Ah, such fond memories.
"I-I-I am very s-sorry," Hisagi tried his best to verbalise his apologies but it's a little hard for him to make his words clear due to how swollen his face had become. Even Captain Tosen didn't dare to stop Captain Unohana Mihira when she suddenly slid their office doors open with none of them sensing how or when she had slipped into their division's barracks, politely telling Captain Tosen that she's here to beat Hisagi into a pulp with a sweet smile on her face, before proceeding to drag Hisagi out with her.
The rest was history.
Retsu left the room after she had dutifully enlightened the unlucky lieutenant how he had earned her younger sister's ire. There are things that Mihira preferred to be left buried because these are not things that she's proud of. Her sister is a pacifist at heart and she was a healer who had saved countless lives before they helped Yamamoto found the organisation that would later be known as the Gotei 13.
Yet the circumstances which they would later find themselves in would make Mihira become a killer out of necessity, becoming a presence that even the first generation of captains had respectfully feared. She was appointed the captain of the Tenth Division simply because she had slain the original candidate that the Captain Commander had originally intended to set up the Tenth Division. She was the reason why Yhwach's Sternritters were decimated when the Quincies invaded Soul Society a thousand years ago.
It's true that the Captain Commander's presence won them the war when he bested Yhwach and drove him off, but the Gotei 13 only managed to come out of that war paying a price far lesser than their worst estimations because Mihira was there. It wasn't wrong to say that only one woman was needed to decimate Yhwach's best soldiers. She was the vital piece that tipped the scales in Soul Society's favour during that war because her presence freed up the other captains to be able to provide their assistance elsewhere during the war.
There was a very good reason why the Captain Commander forbade Mihira from ever invoking her zanpakuto's powers. One woman buried nearly all twenty six sternritters on her own, it's not a feat that any other captains had ever come close to accomplishing even after a thousand years had passed.
Do not let Unohana Retsu go to the frontlines, do not let Unohana Mihira bleed: that rumour is true, there is such an unspoken rule among the captains of the Gotei, but while Hisagi had succeeded in unearthing this hidden rule what he failed to consider was why such a rule was enforced in the first place and how it originally came about.
If Mihira bleeds, then everyone is in big trouble. Those foolish sternritters learnt that the hard way a thousand years ago.
"Don't worry, your lieutenant is still alive," Unohana Retsu reassured the Ninth Division Captain when she spotted him waiting patiently at the waiting area. She walked past the blind captain and paused her steps.
"But it will do well for you to remind him what can and cannot be made public in the monthly magazine. Some secrets are buried for a good reason and it should remain as such. Mihira had let him off relatively easily this time but if there's a next time, I will intervene."
Unohana Retsu flared up her spiritual pressure slightly to make her point extremely clear.
"And I'm not as forgiving as Mihira is."
Her point made, Unohana Retsu resumed her steps and left, leaving the Ninth Division Captain to ponder over what she had just told him.