Several raps on the front door woke me out of my sleep. I glanced over at the window. Still dark, I thought. Whoever it was, was a brave soul to wake me up on a school night. I rubbed my eyes and sat up.
It had been eight years since my brother left to join the ranks of the thirteen court guard squad. I was in my fifth year of the soul reaper academy and it had been a tough year. I found myself constantly drained. There was so much studying, meditating and physical training involved. Any opportunity that afforded me sleep, I took.
Rising out of my bed, I tried to step carefully around my textbooks which had been scattered all over the floor from the previous nights study session. I made my way to the front door and attempted to look through the peep hole. It was too dark out to see. Grumbling, I swung open the door to give my visitor an earful. I stopped when I noticed his peculiar outfit.
"Who are you?" I asked. The stranger had a pink kimono drapped over his shoulders and two zanpakutos tucked into his sash. I thought I could make out a white haori underneath, but it was too dark to be entirely sure. "Hold on are you a captain?"
He nodded.
I opened the door wider to invite him in. He tipped his hat and stepped inside. I felt confused at the situation; what was a captain, who wasn't my brother, doing standing in my home?
"Is this about my brother? His name is Yuki, he's a captain as well. Newly promoted a few months ago actually, do you know him?" I prattled on as I closed the door gently behind us.
He avoided my question. "Sorry for the intrusion miss--", he said, slowly searching for the right words, "--but I have come with terrible news."
He sat down on a seat cushion, gesturing for me to join him. I busied myself with lighting the oil lantern on the shelf across the room from the stranger. Nervously, I straightened out my robes and adjusted the sash around my waist. He waited patiently for me to finish. With nothing left for me to fuss over, I sat on a cushion, facing him.
"Your name sir?" I said politely.
"Shunsui Kyoraku." he gave it freely. From the sleeves of his robe he pulled out a small object, wrapped in cloth. He placed it in front of me. I unwrapped it gingerly and held it in my palm. It was a string of tiny coloured beads, spattered with blood. My throat tied in a knot. "Akira," he cleared his throat, "it pains me to tell you this, but your brother is dead."
My heart jumped into my throat, I felt the bile threatening to escape. I shook my head vehemently, bunching my robes with my fists."T-that's impossible. I saw h-him just this morning!" I willed my shoulders to stop shaking. "You're lying to me!" I shouted.
He set his hands on my shoulders to steady me. "I didn't come out here this late at night pull a prank on you, please believe me."
I was inconsolable. "I don't believe you, I-I can't believe you! Where is he? I need to see him now!" I cried.
He hesitated before telling me. "I found him here in the 34th rukon district, he was just on the outskirts. Akira it's not something you should see, he wouldn't want that." He rubbed one of my hands between both of his, trying to calm me.
I jerked my hand away. "Like hell you'd know what he wants." I shot up out of my seat and made for the door. I flung it open and ran as fast as my legs would take me, my tears blinding my eyes.
***
My eyes flew open, waking me from my dream. I rubbed the wetness away with my t-shirt. It had been two weeks since we had arrived in the world of the living. We hadn't found any evidence of the espada we were hunting but none the less we continued our mission.
We worked in shifts, spending our off time catching up on work and our own personal activities. Rangiku spent her time trying to update my fashion sense; to which she wasn't very successful. Kensei asked me on several occasions to spar. Only once I had obliged him and he ended up with a bruised ego, among other things. Toshiro spent most of his time reading or staying in his room. He would have short meals with us and then leave for various reasons. Basically to do anything that involved ignoring my general existence.
Next to me, Rangiku lay asleep in her own bed, her hair ruffled over her face. I quietly eased myself out of bed, trying not to wake her. Grabbing my pants off the floor, I pulled them up on my way out of the room.
In the living room I spied Toshiro. He was sitting on the couch, gazing at the ceiling, drool forming at the corners of his mouth. What a charming view, I thought. The real Toshiro was to my right, standing at the kitchenette and pouring himself tea. He glanced over his shoulder. "What are you doing up this early?" he asked.
"Couldn't sleep." I jammed my hands into the pockets of my jeans. "Is it your shift, captain?" I looked up at the clock, four in the morning it read.
"That would be why I'm not in my gigai, Captain Yuki." he stated plainly.
"Right. I'm sorry, I knew that." I leaned against the cabinet next to him.
He stopped stirring his cup and looked up at me. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Oh uh sorry." I turned around and busied myself making my own cup. I thought about it and stopped what I was doing. "Well, seeing that I'm wide awake now, why don't I take your shift?"
He raised his eyebrows. "I won't argue with that, I need to get my report finished for the head captain." he handed me his cup of tea. "Just remember that your shift starts after mine at eight this morning." he slipped back into his gigai and went to his room.
"How about a thank you?" I mumbled to myself. I poured the tea into a thermos and tasted it. There was a hint of sugar in it, just the way I liked it. reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the soul candy and popped it into my mouth. It felt like a kick to the gut as I was ejected from the gigai. It wasn't a feeling I was getting used to.
"Hi Nani!" I greeted myself. "You may as well hang around here until the rest of the crew wakes up. Rangiku is still asleep and I don't want to disturb her. Maybe make everyone breakfast when they get up, okay?"
She wiggled her nose and grinned at me, it was the oddest feeling seeing me do that. "Roger that miss Akira!" she gave me a thumbs up and flopped down on the couch obediently.
"Okay, well have fun then." I waived to Nani and headed out.
***
I passed the first hour jumping a long the rooftops of the local neighborhood. It felt good to be outside and moving. And also not dreaming, I added mentally. I watched as the city slowly came to life. A few stray cats climbed out of garbage bins with their morning breakfast. Birds started chirping, announcing the arrival of the sun. A business man placed his briefcase on the passenger seat of his car before putting it into reverse; getting an early start on his day. If only these beings knew the things we soul reapers did to keep their lives peaceful.
I seated myself on top of a particularly high rooftop, admiring the view of the sky as it transformed from night to morning. Murray would enjoy this, I thought. I pulled out his blade.
"Good morning Master Akira." He said from beside me. "What are we doing today?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary Murray. We're just doing a little patrol this morning. But hey, check out that sunrise. It's beautiful isn't it?" I laid back against the roof tiles, taking in the view.
He looked over at me an leaned back, watching the sunrise with me. "Are we finally going to discuss this espada you've come here to kill?"
I had avoided the subject with him all week. "I guess we probably should huh? I have my suspicions about it. The markers are there to be sure. This espada uses the same mode of operation. Single stab wound to the chest, burn mark on the forehead. It just seems odd to me that it attacked spirits in the Rukon Districts over fifty years ago and now it's attacking humans. What changed do you figure?"
I heard him sigh next to me. "I don't have a clue Akira, but it makes me uneasy that you're out here chasing it. I don't want the same thing to happen to you, you know."
I grabbed his hand. "It's okay Murray, I don't want to lose you either. We're in this together right?" I squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Besides which," I reminded him, "we still haven't seen any evidence that the espada has appeared."
Below us I could hear a little girl crying. "Sounds to me like a spirit needs my help, lets get to it Murray." I hopped off the building.
Sitting on the corner of the street was a little girl, holding a teddy bear. A long soul chain was affixed to her chest, the only feature giving away her identity. "Hey there. Don't cry sweetie, I can help you." I held out my hand.
She looked at me hesitantly. "Where's my mommy?" she whimpered.
I wasn't sure how to answer her. "Is your mommy like you? Does she have a chain on her chest just like yours?"
She nodded.
They had died together then. "Okay if you can tell me where you last saw her, we can take you to her. How does that sound?"
She sniffed, nodding at me. Murray picked her up and held her in one arm as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "She was over there," she pointed behind us.
We walked down the street until we hit an alleyway. It was so dark that I could only make out shadows from the sunrise. In the distance I could make out the forms of two bodies. My heart sank. The little girl and her mom died very recently. As I let my eyes adjust I could see a figure next to their bodies.
"Is that her right there?" I pointed. The little girl nodded. Unsheathing my zanpakuto, I made my way over to the figure. As I approached, it stood up. A long tail unfurled and the beast reared its head. It snapped its jaws and snarled at me. I saw the fully formed white mask on its face. Damn it. The mother had already turned into a hollow. "Murray stay back with the little girl please." I shot my arm out in warning.
The hollow charged, swipping its claws through the air. I ducked its initial attack and swung my blade in an arc, cutting off one of its arms. The little girl wailed. "Don't hurt mommy!"
"Murray get her out of here." he bowed and disappeared around the corner.
The hollow howled in agony and bit down on my shoulder, tearing at it with its razor sharp teeth. I sliced its chest and kicked my feet against it, bouncing back a few feet. Clutching my shoulder with my free hand, I gritted my teeth. I took the offensive and lept into the air, swinging my sword in a downward motion. The blade cleaved through the hollows head, causing its body to dissipate and set the mothers spirit free.
I tore a strip from my kosode and bound my shoulder. "You can come back now Murray. It's all clear."
He rounded the corner with the little girl. She pushed away from him as he set her on the ground. "What did you do with mommy?" she shrieked.
I knelt beside her. "Sweetie it's alright, your mommy went to the Soul Society and I'm going to send you there too. You'll be with her soon, I promise."
She wiped her face with her teddy bear. "What's the Soul Society?" she asked.
I sat down and fixed her hair, smiling at her. "It's a place where good people go when they've moved on. You and your mommy were both good people. Let me explain how it works okay?" I quickly wiped my blade on my sleeve and showed her the butt end. "Do you see this little stamp on the end of the hilt? I use it to send spirits, like you, to the Soul Society. Think of it as a train ticket okay? At the end of that train will be your new home, and your mom. Are you ready to go?"
She nodded feebly, wiping away the last of her tears. She got up and stood in front of me, giving me a hug. "Thank you miss." I pressed the butt of my blade against her forehead and she dispersed into a dazzling blue light.
Getting up, I dusted off my pant legs. "You've got a little something on you," Murray said softly. He brushed a stray tear from my cheek.
"Why does my job suck so much Murray?" I combed my fingers through my hair, agitated. I walked over to their bodies and knelt down, examining them.
"You bring peace to spirits, I think it's the best kind of job." he stated simply.
"I suppose you're right." I mumbled.
As I rolled one of the bodies over, I frowned. "I spoke too soon about the espada Murray." I pointed. On the forehead of the mother was a burn mark. There was no need to examine the other to know it was marked the same. "I think our patrol just got a lot more serious."
***
Noon rolled around and I returned to the flat. Rangiku had already left for her shift and Kensei had volunteered to escort her as usual. He made it a little too obvious that he was into her. When I entered the living room I saw Toshiro reading a book on the couch. Nani was perched next to him, reading over his shoulder.
"Nani get over here please." I groaned. She bounced off the couch and gracefully obliged. I hugged her and popped back into my gigai. I reached down and grabbed her soul candy off the floor. My shoulder began to sting and I felt the warmth of blood, oozing from the wound. "I didn't realize my injury would still be there in my gigai," I clutched my shoulder.
Toshiro hopped off the couch. "One second, I'll get you the first aid kit." he ran to the bathroom and returned with a small white container.
I sat on the couch, examining my wound. "Would you mind helping me Captain Hitsugaya? It's on my dominate shoulder and I don't think I can dress it."
He nodded. "You'll need to take off that shirt first."
The shirt was pretty much ruined, which I was fine with. Nani had dressed my gigai in some ridiculously girlie clothes. I shrugged out of it gently, trying not to bleed all over the couch. Toshiro politely averted his eyes, his cheeks were bright red. I looked down at the bra I was wearing, an over-the-top pink lacy thing that pushed my boobs into my face.
"Thanks Nani, you big tool." I mumbled. I tried my best to cover myself with my elbow. Thankfully Toshiro was a quick medic. He dabbed the wound with some rubbing alcohol and followed up with iodine. He then placed a piece of gauze and wrapped it firmly with a bandage. Toshiro was quiet through the whole affair.
I tested my shoulder. "That's much better, thank you captain. I have to discuss my patrol with you, just give me a moment to put on something a little less-," I tried to search for a word, "-well a little less this."
In my room I found a pair of soft green pyjama pants and a grey t-tshirt; a much better fit than the outragious outfit Nani had put me in. I needed to have a chat with that girl.
Returning to the living room, I sat next to Toshiro. He passed me a bottle of water and I realized then how truly parched I was. "Thank you." I gestured to the bottle. I laid my head back and closed my eyes. "I found evidence this morning that the espada has been in the area. Two bodies were located with his signature on them."
He sounded surprised. "Any sign of the espada?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Sadly no, I think he's playing hide and seek. I found it odd though, the espada didn't consume the spirits after he killed them."
"It's most likely sending one of us a message." he considered. "The espada might still be in the area, I'll inform Rangiku to be on guard. Was there anything else?"
I tried to stifle my yawn. "A few minor things, but I can include them in the report later today if you want."
"Give me a moment to contact Rangiku and then you can fill me in." he got up and left the room.
I yawned once again. Early morning patrols seemed to be the solution to my insomnia. I put my feet up on the couch and felt my eyes grow heavy. I decided to give in and shut my eyes. I felt the weight of a blanket being placed over me and I could smell the warm scent of amber envelope me. Before long the deep, longing feeling of sleep pulled me under.