Rangiku
"Captain why am I up so early this morning?" I stretched out on his couch and yawned. "A girl needs her beauty sleep you know!"
I could hear the irritation in his voice. "We need to get these division schedules done for next week and I'm not in the mood to be writing them up by myself again. Get to work." I peered over the couch at him, he was writing like a mad fool.
I sat up and yawned. "But why so early captain? Couldn't this have waited until later? I had a really late night last night." A late night drinking with a handsome shinigami.
"No this couldn't have waited, I have an important-, something I can't miss. Don't make me repeat myself lieutenant." I could almost see a nerve bust on his forehead. He was sure testy today.
I looked over at the pile stacked in front of me. Ugh. Why couldn't I convince someone else to do this for me? I'd rather take on a few hollows. After all, a girls gotta see some action once and a while. Maybe I should take that shinigami out again. We could both get some action. What was his name again, I should have written it down. Why can't I remember write these things down when I'm sober? Oh captain stop talking, my head's about to burst! I really shouldn't drink so much on a work night...
***
"RANGIKU!" The captain hollered, almost an inch from my ear. My eyes snapped open and I wiped my face, inspecting the back of my hand. Did I just drool in my sleep?
"Sorry captain I must have dozed off!" I tried looking innocent. He ground his teeth.
"I don't have time for this right now I'm going to be late for that... thing. Get this done before I'm back. I mean it this time Rangiku." he pointed his finger at me severely.
I had a stroke of genius. I reached under the couch and pulled a book out. "I'm really sorry, but I was up so late getting you the latest copy of your comic book! I mean I know how much you love that series captain!" I dangled the book in front of his face.
He looked embarassed and swiped it out of my hands. "It's called manga, Rangiku, and I know damn well that you picked it up last week. Quit procrastinating." He stomped over to his desk and tossed the book in a drawer.
I pouted.
He didn't react. Turning on his heel, he walked straight out the door.
I wonder where he's headed? I looked over at my work and debated. Nah, this can wait until later. I hopped off the couch and check myself out in the mirror. Giving the girls a quick adjustment and running my fingers through my hair, I followed the captain out.
***
I walked up to the large coliseum styled building I had seen him enter. That's right, it's that new captains duel today, what was her name Kira something...Akira maybe? I remembered that the captain had said her name a few times in coversation this week. I was pretty sure he liked her. I really didn't know why; she wasn't much to look at. She was too short, her hair was frumpy and she didn't wear any makeup. Not to mention she was severely lacking in the boob department. I'll problem never understand him.
The inside of the arena was massive. The central ground was surrounded by high rising bleachers and they were packed. Was the entire Seireitei here? Near the bottom by the arena, all of the captains had seated themselves. This must be a pretty big deal then, I thought, making my way over.
Captain Hitsugaya saw me approach. "Why can't you listen, Rangiku?" He muttered, staring at the sky. "Whatever. You're here now so sit down," he pointed at the seat next to him.
"With pleasure captain! So tell me, are you rooting for Akira?"
He ignored me.
"It's okay captain, your secrets safe with me." I ruffled his hair affectionately, he slapped my hand away. I changed the subject. "Why would that big brute pick on a little girl?" I wondered.
"I don't think she would appreciate being called a little girl," he corrected me. "And you have it the other way around; she challenged him."
"Why on earth would she do that captain? That's pretty much career suicide if you ask me."
"I'm not sure exactly." he shrugged. "She must have something up her sleeve. I think that's why all the captains are attending today."
"I think you're just here to see her," I teased.
His face went red. "I couldn't possibly know what you mean." he dropped the conversation. Party pooper.
To my right I saw her enter the arena. She looked different today somehow. Her cute little smile was replaced with a stern look. I followed her gaze. Captain Zaraki entered from the left. He had a cocky grin on his face. I noticed her flinch when she saw him.
"Well now, you showed up. What a surprise." he looked at her with mock humour.
"Captain Zaraki, I'm not one to be goaded by you. We are here to have a duel, that is all." that girl had guts.
"You'd better make sure you're bringing everything into this fight, I won't be holding back." he grinned.
"Are you asking me to use my bankai, Captain Zaraki?"
"If you think you can win without it, you're an idiot. Actually, forget what I just said; you're an idiot if you think you can win this at all."
"Very well." she bowed. She walked over to Captain Kyoraku and shrugged off her haori. Why in the world was she doing that? I shivered just looking at her, it was freezing out. She glanced over toward my captain, blushed and looked away. Aha! It appeared that my captain wasn't the only one who had feelings. I needed to dig into this little nugget of gold later.
Captain Yuki handed her haori to Captain Kyoraku and he patted her on the shoulder. "Knock 'em dead kiddo." I heard him say, adding quietly, "but not really okay?"
She turned her back to us and walked back into the centre of the arena.
I looked at Captain Yukis back. "Captain, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" I looked over at him, confused.
"Yes Rangiku." he tried to hush me, "and no, I have no idea what those are from."
Captain Yuki wore a backless kosode; it exposed two very large jagged scars on her back. Below her scars was a small blade, sheathed around her waist.
She addressed Captain Zaraki. "Well now, shall we get started?"
Captain Unohana stood up. "Very well, let us begin. Remember that I reserve the right to end the fight. As another reminder, there will be no fighting to the death," she shot a stern look at Captain Zaraki.
Capatain Zaraki leaned over his shoulder to his lieutenant, who had been hanging off of him. She was an odd little one. "Yachiru, go find somewhere else to be."
"Right away Kenny!" she peeped and scurried off.
Captain Yuki bowed formally to Captain Zaraki. "Best of luck captain," she bit out. I could see her shaking; she was nervous.
"Luck has nothing to do with it little girl." he rested his zanpakuto on his shoulder.
"Very well." she adopted a wide stance. Reaching behind her, she clutched the hilt of her dagger and unsheathed it. "Reveal yourself to me, Murasame!" she cried. Flicking the blade into the ground point first, I saw an explosion of blue light. A form appeared. I couldn't make out his face immediately but he was tall. He wore a haori like sideways cape. It had a guard on the left side, where the haori met his neck. I heard the sound of scrapping metal as both Captain Yuki and the stranger drew their swords.
"Wait hold on captain, did she just summon a zanpakuto?" I was very confused.
"It would appear so," he crossed his arms. "I had a feeling that's what he was the other night, his spiritual pressure felt odd."
I was stunned. "The other night--? Holy crap! Was that Murray, the man Captain Yuki brought to the party? He's a zanpakuto?" My brain felt like it was going to melt out of my ears.
"You're a quick study, Rangiku." Captain Hitsugaya retorted.
I heard the clash of metal. The fight had begun. Captain Yuki was a blur. She deftly deflected Captain Zarakis blows as Murasame followed up with his own counterattacks. She hopped around him, looking for an opening, continuing to sidestep his blows. She didn't attempt to attack with her sword, she used it only in defence.
"What the heck is she doing? She's not going to wear him out by doing that." I said.
Captain Zaraki continued to swing his sword, slicing at her and then at her companion. "This is getting annoying," he shouted, catching her off guard. He sliced down on her, opening up a large gash on her thigh. She hopskipped awkwardly, grabbing her leg. Murasame caught her as she stumbled.
She held out her hand. "I'm fine Murray."
"First to draw blood." Captain Zaraki grinned, inspecting the wetness on his blade.
She winced. Captain Yuki glanced up at Murasame and nodded almost imperceptibly. They charged at the same time. Murasame leaped into the air and swung his sword downward onto Captain Zaraki, who blocked it with ease. At the same time Captain Yuki swipped the eyepatch from his face, missing his blade as he attempted to deflect her. She jumped back and tossed the patch on the ground.
"What kind of a moron are you?" Captain Zaraki bellowed. "Do you have any idea what you're doing little girl? You're out of your depth here." he pointed to the ground. "That eyepatch was a crutch, I like to use it to keep my battles interesting." he smirked. "You see it prevents me from achieving my true spiritual power!"
Opening his other eye, the arena became engulfed in a yellow light. Shinigami in the stands were knocked down by the sheer force of it. It was so intense that I almost couldn't breathe.
"Captain what the hell is she doing, she just screwed herself!" I shot him a worried look.
His hands were clenched into fists. "I don't know what she could be thinking, that was a stupid move. Come on Akira," he said under his breath.
I watched her cross her arms in front of her face, defending herself from the gust of wind that followed his spiritual release. She whipped her blade through the air, flicking it to her side. Captain Yuki had an imperceptible look on her face; she then uttered a few words.
"Drink, Shi no Tenshi."
Her zanpakuto transformed. A wide cross guard, with elegant filigree etched on its surface, covered her hand. A gleaming metal bracer wrapped around her arm, starting at the top of her shoulder and ending at the base of her wrist. It complemented her sword. The blade its self thinned out, straightening at its tip. She held it outstretched in front of her; it was an elegant thing.
The bright yellow energy that flickered around Captain Zaraki began to dissipate. Her blade, in return, started glowing iridescently.
"Captain Hitsugaya? What is she--," he shook his head. He looked away from me and over to Captain Kyoraku.
"Akira's zanpakuto," Captain Kyoraku began, "has the ability to drain a persons spirit energy and convert it into her own strength. In a way, it levels the playing field for her."
"But how is she wielding two seperate zanpakutos?" the captain questioned him.
"It was her brothers." We looked at him in shock. "I know, I was just as surprised as you when she first used it. Somehow her soul is connected to Murasame as well, allowing him to still exist. We came up with the theory that because she was related to Murasames master, her soul was compatable and she became his new master. I am surprised that she would even use him in this fight; she liked to keep the knowledge of Murasame very private."
Murasame turned away from the fight and made his way over to us. He knelt beside Captain Kyoraku.
"Murray, had enough of the fight?" he patted his shoulder.
"Master Akira does not need me anymore. I would be a hindrance at this point." he said simply.
Captain Zaraki interrupted our conversation with a derranged laugh. "Is that all you got? You're draining my power you little twerp? How boring." he lunged forward and attacked.
She skipped nimbly to her right, attempting to dodge him. She deflected most of the blow with her bracer, but suffered a gouge to her left side. She held her ribs with her free arm. Composing herself, she stood up.
"Alright then, have it your way." she grimaced.
He looked at her like a predator, ready for the kill.
"BANKAI," she shouted. The iridescent energy humming through her blade transferred through her bracer, shooting out from her back with a flash of blinding light. We covered our faces. When we recovered, I looked over to where Captain Yuki had been standing.
She was gone.
I heard the sound of wind gusting and looked up to see her hovering in the air. A massive pair of pearly white wings had taken form on her back.
"I've never seen anything like this." I shook my head. The captain was silent, next to me.
"Shi no Tenshi, Akira's zanpakuto, has an affinity to the wind element. She's nicknamed it the sword of the swan. It's a very deadly weapon." Captain Kyoraku remarked.
"Get down here you little bug." Captain Zaraki pointed at the ground. She obliged him. Dropping to the ground, she swung her sword in a sweeping arc, slicing through his right arm. Blood spattered on to the ground. Standing behind him, she flicked the blood from her blade.
"That's more like it, this might actually be some fun." he howled with laughter, sending shivers down my spine.
He charged at her, slicing left and right, trying to gain an opening. She brought her wings in front of her, guarding his attacks. They continued on like this for what seemed like forever, slowly cutting each other to ribbons.
"If they keep this up they'll both be in the hospital for weeks." I winced, watching Captain Yuki take another blow.
Captain Zaraki stopped his onslaught. With a serious expression and breathing heavily, Captain Yuki stood in a ready stance, waiting for his next move.
"Maybe I was wrong about you, this is starting to get boring again." Captain Zaraki frowned. He tapped his blade on the ground. "You know I heard a funny little rumour about you, Captain Yuki."
She didn't react. "What exactly might that be, captain?"
"I heard-," he shouldered his blade, "-that you're nothing but an orphan. You're brother killed himself, and you're all alone in this world. How sad." he mocked.
Her expression darkened.
"You know nothing about me." she stepped forward and disappeared. She was so fast. Blood spurted from Captain Zarakis chest as she appeared behind him, effectively eviserating him with one swing. He fell backwards with a thud.
The arena was silent.
A large protective barrier formed around Captain Zaraki. I heard clapping and saw Captain Unohana approach from the left. "I think that will be all Captain Yuki. It appears we have a winner, congratulations."
The arena erupted with noise and the strangest thing happened. Shinigami started waiving brooms around in the air.
***
Akira
Toshiro and Rangiku rushed over to see me, they had worry written all over their faces. I snapped out of it. Did I look that bad? I looked down at my thigh, it was bleeding pretty bad. Well crap. I tried clutching it with my hand. I felt the energy leave my body as my bankai finally wore off.
"Akira you need to go to the hospital, now." said Toshiro, concern etched on his face.
I tried to lighten the mood. "Oh it's nothing a couple of drinks won't fix, as Shunsui would say. I'll be fine!" He looked seriously unimpressed. I felt a little faint. "Okay maybe I might pop over for just a little visit." I pinched my fingers together in front of my face.
Murasame stomped over to me, picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. "Captain Hitsugaya is right master Akira, you need medical attention."
I pounded on his back. "Murray put me down you big brute!" He turned towards Toshiro and Rangiku. I was extremely self-conscious of the fact that their only view of me now was my rear. "God Murray, you're such a turd!" I grumbled.
Captain Kyoraku came up beside us and inspected me. "Yup she needs to go to hospital, hop to it Murray. We need the captain here to be all stitched up for her victory party tonight." He slapped my backside. That was utterly mortifying.
"Where exactly is this party Shunsui?" I asked.
"Why at your division Akira. Your squad is holding it in your honour. I heard they're cleaning the place as we speak!" he laughed.
"Lovely." I tried to hurry things along. "Well seeing as the only view of me you have is my backside, I bid you all a good day." I drummed on Murasames back. "Let's go Murray."
I closed my eyes, feeling exhausted and slightly anaemic. As Murasame carried me away, I could distinctly hear Toshiro laugh.