Bleach 1. Silence

**I do not own Bleach or any of the characters, locations, powers, objects, souls, colors, odors or oxygen related, as they belong to Tite Kubo. The only things I own are the plot idea of this story and the original characters created. This story is made only for entertainment and stress relieving purposes.**

* * *

Utter silence.

A misty landscape extended in front of her eyes and in every direction. She realized this seemed to be some sort of lake, as she was standing on the surface of the water, yet it was deep enough that she was unable to see the bottom. Touching with her hand the surface of the water, she watched as ripples formed and dissapeared after traveling a certain distance. Why was she here again?

Oh, yeah. Because _Him_. He had called her to this place again, although she had no idea of the motive. He was very proud and looked down on everyone included her, but after knowing him and his name for more than ten months it didn't really bothered her anymore.

So why was she here? He didn't seem to be nearby. Then again, this was his domain, his world, he could very much appear behind her without noticing if he ever wanted. But he never did that, that was 'A thing below someone like him'.

_'...ba'_

A distant voice.

She perked her ears and scanned the place: Where was that voice coming from? It sounded both distant and close, like if it was beyond a dream.

_'...raba'_

_'But technically I am in a dream'_ She tought dryly. What a pain. Closing her eyes she focused on the voice and tried to follow it. He could, for all she cared, suck it up and call her later.

_'...ba ...raba ...raba'_

''SAKURABA!''

Sakuraba opened her eyes. She was back again at the office of Tamamura-Sensei, specifically, sitting on a chair across his desk, in front of a very angry looking Tamamura-Sensei. Just her luck.

''Sakuraba,'' continued the angry looking man, ''were you paying any attention to what I was saying?''

Sakuraba quickly scanned her mind and came empty handed, but she would rather swallow her thick academy books first than admit that she wasn't paying attention in front of this man, so she decided to lie and hope he didn't find it.

''Yes, Tamamura-Sensei'' Ok, that sounded a bit strained but hopefully he wouldn't notice, after all both of them disliked each other so much the whole academy could swear there were sparks flying each time they held their gazes.

''Then Sakuraba, mind repeating what I was saying?'' Crap.

''You were... Explaining my grades... And the different options I have after graduating...'' Tamamura eyes widened a bit, but almost immediatly returned to their usual disdaining look. _'So I hit a bulls-eye. Score for Sakuraba'_

''Yes... As I was saying, your scores are very... _interesting._'' Bullcrap. ''I mean, you have a very high score on both zanjutsu and hohö... Second and first place respectively'' Sakuraba smirked proudly. She worked very hard for those grades. ''But your score on kido it's terrible... It is the first time I see a _female_ student get grades so low there... You ARE a female, aren't you?''

Sakuraba glared at Tamamura so hard that any of her classmates would have averted their eyes already. So what if she had her hair trimmed in a bobcut? It was easier to mantain than long hair and didn't get in the way when fighting... Her chest might be as flat as a wall but it was much more comfortable than having two balls of flesh obstructing in and she prefered it like that, thank you very much. As for her personality... Well, it was her personality, she didn't had to justify it!

''Your hakuda score'' continued Tamamura ''It's average: You can keep your ground, but it's not your strong point. Your written scores are actually high - ninth place out of the five hundred students in your class. I think that's the only thing showing that you can do better than those of the eleventh division.'' Damn right.

''Also, there is the fact that you have _shikai_...'' Sakuraba smiled smugly. It took her a lot of time to finally get to know the name of her very proud zanpakuto, but it was worth every damn frustration and scratch she got in the process. Those days more often than not both her and the spirit had screaming matches while trying to outdo each other and when either of them lost their patience they engaged on brawls and skirmishes across her inner world while Sakuraba screamed every known insult to humanity to the spirit.

In the end, the zanpakuto had acknowledged her perseverance and stubborness after she got in her inner world a certain day with a very foul temper. Ten minutes after arriving the spirit had decided that telling her his name was a small price if that meant she would stop holding his head underwater in an attempt to drown him after he had mocked her. He didn't know if he would die because that, but he really wasn't willing to take the risk.

''... Because this, I think the best divisions for you to apply are the fifth, eighth, ninth and tenth. Here are the applications, fill them and send them before the end of the day so you might get a response at the end of the week. Now get out here, I still have another three hundred and ninety students to talk with''

With a quick, curt nod, Sakuraba left the office. That went much better than what she expected, honestly. Insults were kept to a minimun and they both had been able to talk like two civilized humanoids.

Walking down the hallway of the Shinö Academy that led to the office of Tamamura Hibiki was the most normal thing for the sixth year students this time of the year, after all graduation was at the end of the week and Tamamura was in charge of reviewing the students performance and guide them towards the best division to apply to. Not everyone ended joining the Gotei 13, Onmitsukido or Kido Corps, but that sure didn't make the numbers of students sending applications to them diminish.

So Sakuraba Rika, a sixth year student a week away from graduating of the Academy, was now walking towards the cafeteria on the east side of the campus, her books, forms, brushes and ink all stuffed into her tattered schoolbag. Upon arriving and sitting on the first empty table that she found available, she started to fill the squad applications that Tamamura had given her. Nothing hard, it asked things like name, grades, some personal questions, information about her skills, name of zanpakuto if known and medical information. But there were also several strange questions, like if she was able to hold down her alcohol or if she would date the captain of the eight division...

In the end, Rika decided to fill and send applications only for the ninth and tenth divisions who were the ones with the most ''normal'' questions. Scribbing the address of those two divisions on different envelopes and stuffing their corresponding application on them, she deposited them on the mailbox outside the principal's study, where the next day would be delivered to the offices of the ninth and tenth divisions along with another hundred or so applications of students from both the first and second classes to be read and evaluated by the captains and lieutenants of their corresponding division.

Having nothing else to do, Rika decided to head back to her dorm and spend the rest of her day slacking.

* * *

Captain Hitsugaya was in a bad mood.

Not only had Matsumoto ditched her work again this week in order to meet with her usual drinking buddies, he was stuck having to fill the budget report for this trimester. Even if it was an easy task for someone like him it didn't mean he liked it, after filling and signing papers all the day the last thing he wanted was to fill this particularly time consuming piece of paper.

If Matsumoto had been here he could have started to work on this much, much earlier while she filled other things and they both could have finished early, but the woman seemed to have a rather good nose to know when to avoid the office and her duties. She might not look like it, but Matsumoto Rangiku was actually a very smart and a very efficient lieutenant when she was not avoiding work or drunk like she was getting right now.

_'Can't be helped'_ Tought Hitsugaya while slightly tugging his hair and sighing, grabbing his brush then he proceeded to fill the dreaded budget report.

In the last couple decades Hitsugaya had finally grown up, now standing at 170 cm, sure, he was still shorter than many other male shinigami and his lieutenant, but at least nobody could call him an ''Elementary school kid'' anymore. His facial structure had also matured, giving him a more mature and appropiate look for someone of his rank, other than that, he was still the same: The same silver hair, the same turquoise eyes, the same hairstyle and scarf he wore back at the Vandenreich invasion.

Silence.

Minutes passed and became hours, and save for the sound of the brush on the paper and the clock on the wall the office was completely silent. Hitsugaya would once in a while crack his neck or twist his right wrist to fight the cramps, but continued working diligently on the task.

It was close to midnight when Hitsugaya finally finished the budget report, glancing at the clock he inwardly cursed the piece of paper that had taken almost two hours of his time. There were still papers to be done, but they could wait a couple hours until he returned in the morning, right now he only wanted to sleep.

_Footsteps..._

It had been quiet, but it was the unmistakable sound of footsteps.

Immediatly shaking any drowsiness or toughts of sleeping, Hitsugaya grabbed his zanpakuto and stood alert to the gradually clearer footstep sound in the hallway outside his office. Nobody he knew would come here this late in the night, this called being careful.

_One, two, three-stumble_. The footsteps kept getting closer. By now Hitsugaya had already relaxed: Whoever it was, it didn't plan on sneaking on him so it was an ally... And he had an idea of who it was.

So he adjusted his haori, tied Hyourinmaru to his back, stored the few scattered papers that his desktop still had and stood next to the shogi door waiting for the owner of the footsteps.

_One, two, three_... With his right hand opened the shogi door and with his left grabbed the collar of the owner of the footsteps, who had stumbled again and almost fell face first on the ground.

''Im flyiiiiiinggggg!~~~''

Hitsugaya sighed yet again. It was very obvious that Matsumoto Rangiku was completly drunk by the sound of her voice, the smell of alcohol and the silly movements of her arms trying to imitate bird wings.

Helping her to stand again on her feet, Hitsugaya wondered how this woman managed to find her way back into the office or her house in that state without seriously injuring herself.

''Caaaaaaaptain! There you are! I have been looking for you! Hisagi and Renji passed out already and I still want to driiiink!'' Matsumoto whined, then she held out a bottle of sake at arms lenght and waved it in front of her captain's face. ''You really should take it easy and rest from the work Captain!''

''No thanks, Matsumoto. I would rather prefer if you actually did your paperwork so I could actually take a rest.'' Hitsugaya answered with patience. After several years of having to deal with his crazy and free-spirited second, Hitsugaya had come to know that it was pointless to get angry with her when she was drunk: Either she would go into a drunk rage or break down into tears and the next morning she wouldn't remember a thing. So he had learned that it was a waste of time and energy to scream and get angry at her, and also how to deal with when she came to the office drunk.

''Come oooooooon, just a small, tiny weeeny drink captain!'' He groaned. She really was being insistent tonight.

''Look Matsumoto, I really would rather head back into my living quarters and get some hours of sleep, since tomorrow there is a lot of work to do with the applications we will be receiving from the academy.''

''Appli-? Oooooh right!'' She slammed her hand holding the bottle onto her open palm, which caused some of the sake to splatter into the floor. Then she beamed at her superior ''You really are right captain! As expected of someone as smart as you! All those headaches that you get might actually be because your brain it's so smart!'' She casually pointed. Hitsugaya's eye twitched at her comment, but he choose not to say anything as he watched and waited for Matsumoto to wobble her way to the couch in the office and tumble on it, just for the moment her head touched it doze off in a drunken sleep.

Sighing yet one more time, Hitsugaya took the sake bottle from her grasp and set it down on the floor, then he grabbed and filled a tea mug with water and placed it on the table in front of the couch, together with one of the hangover pills Matsumoto kept on her desk drawers. Hopefully by the time he arrived tomorrow she would already be awake and functional.

Leaving the office, Hitsugaya headed to his living quarters. He really needed a good night of sleep considering he would spend most of his day tomorrow looking and reviewing the academy graduates applications. He hoped that at least this year there would be some serious applicants and not wanting into the Tenth division just to get closer to Matsumoto or him. After arriving to his house and laying on his futon, he couldn't shake the hopeful feeling that, among those hundreds of applications, there could be a single one that would be worth looking at and maybe, accepting it.

When Hitsugaya Toushiro finally fell asleep at his house in the Seireitei, it was already the first hour of January 9.

* * *

So, this is my first attempt at fanfiction of an already existing franchise. Hopefully characters are not OOC.

_Chapter music inspiration:_

_S/he end - xaki - Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru_

_At death's door - Pureco - Umineko no naku koro ni_

___Head in the clouds - Shiro Sagisu - Bleach_


	2. Sound of Rain

**I do not own Bleach or any of the characters, locations, powers, objects, souls, colors, odors or oxygen related, as they belong to Tite Kubo. The only things I own are the plot idea of this story and the original characters created. This story is made only for entertainment and stress relieving purposes.**

Another Chapter! Hopefully you folks will like it.

* * *

Rika was not a morning person. Never had been and never would be in her opinion.

But she have had to get up early for the past six years in order to start her day at the Shino Academy, otherwise the showers would get crowded for hours and the best food would be taken first in the cafeteria. So after a couple weeks of being at the academy Rika had learnt to wake up very, _very_ early.

At Five AM to be more precise.

So it was the most obvious thing that she would be in a terrible, pissy and bitchy mood this early in the morning when most of the student body was still asleep on their perfectly warm futons on this cold winter morning.

'At least I will be out of this place by the end of the week, and with any luck, in a division of the Gotei thirteen'

The morning revealed the sky covered in grey clouds and lacking any trace of wind. One could assume it was very probable it would rain later in the day.

So Rika headed towards the showers of the girls dorm in order to get rid of the sleepiness that treatened her and start yet another day.

* * *

''Good morning Captain Hitsugaya!''

''Good Morning''

Walking past the bowing division members, Hitsugaya headed into his office hoping to make quick work of the student applications he would have to review today. He also was hoping to find a certain blonde sobered enough to help him.

Luckily for him, Matsumoto was already awake and sitting on her desk for once, reviewing the applications. Too bad that knowing her, she was probably only checking the ''Can you hold down your liquor'' question.

''Ah! Captain!'' Matsumoto called when she noticed him on the door. ''You really should see this, most of the new graduates are terrible! So far I can count with a single hand how many of them no longer have asauchis'' and in order to make her point, she grimaced and made an offensive noise. ''on the bright side however, of the ones that already have their zanpakuto four of them have achieved shikai! You really should check them captain.''

Hitsugaya grabbed the papers that Rangiku handed him and started to quickly read through them. She was right, those four seemed to be worthy enough of a more detailed read.

''So, are you going to check them?

Hitsugaya nodded slowly ''Yeah, so far they show promise, if we are lucky one of them might actually be suited for the duties of the Tenth.'' And not be a heavy drinker he mentally added as an afterthought.

Rangiku pumped a fist on the air and gave a small cheer that caused Hitsugaya to roll his eyes. Sure, it had been two years since they managed to get a decent recruit, but they weren't really lacking in the manpower department. Among the Gotei Thirteen the tenth division was the one with the lowest death rate of all the squads, even above the fourth and the thirteenth ones who both had veteran captains.

So he sat down and started to read the four files that were now spread across his desk. First file was about someone called Fujioka Akira, so-so grades in zanjutsu and hakuda, high ones in kido but terrible ones in hohö. Had the highest writing score of the first class. Could be better, but was actually passable. And according to the observations done by the teachers, he was a very hard working student. Definitely someone he could use.

The second file was Rika's. While he was surprised with her total lack of talent in kido (''Girl can't cast a spell to save her hide!'' read one of her instructors remarks.), her grades were actually nice and she really looked like a no-nonsense kind of girl. Maybe she could rub some of that attitude into Matsumoto before she corrupted the girl.

The other two students were terrible on every subject but zanjutsu. Hitsugaya had a strong hunch that those two probably had intended to send their applications to the eleventh. Matsumoto meanwhile had given him two other files that she had deemed ''Worthy of looking'', but just a quick look at the teacher comments had been enough to reject them.

By the end of the day, only the files of Fujioka Akira and Sakuraba Rika had been placed on the ''Accepted'' tray.

* * *

It had been raining since past noon.

The rain had come so suddenly that nobody had really expected to be drenched in less than a minute, because that the students had been forced to spend the rest of their day indoors.

Nobody really complained, the atmosphere of the day was depressing at best. The grey clouds still covered every single inch of the sky like a blanket and the rain pounded against the ground and buildings mercilessly, as if trying to relieve a pain nobody else would understand.

Rika was sitting at her usual spot at the back of the library next to the window that faced the training fields, listening and watching the rain. A forgotten book stood in front of her and the heel of her hand was tucked under her chin, immersed on thoughts.

She had been in that position for hours, but didn't seem to be uncomfortable after all that time. Listening to the sound of the rain droplets hitting the window helped her to calm and relax, to improve her mood. It was at times like this that she prefered to talk to the spirit of her zanpakuto, and since that time she had learned his name, their relationship had improved somewhat: Both of them no longer insulted each other at every available opportunity and they could talk like two perfectly rational beings. Still, she prefered to engage in conversation with the whimsical zanpakuto when she was relaxed.

_'So, what do you think? Think I will manage to get in a division?'_ Asked the girl

_'You should stop worrying about being rejected. Aside your terrible kidö score, your grades are much better than most other students of your class. And even if you don't end in the Gotei I am pretty sure that some noble will hire you... As long as you can keep your mouth shut and speak two sentences without droping some insult.' _Came the reply.

'_I have no intentions of defending the ass of some stuck-up noble... Unless they are paying very well and willing to help me with that, which I highly doubt. As for my vocabulary, I will correct it the day I start wearing ladies kimonos.'_

The loud laugh of the spirit echoed on her mind. Even if they didn't agree on every subject, they both were the same: Born from the same soul, yet each one as different as a fingerprint. Rika smiled lightly, even if the spirit was laughing; it wasn't as an insult, but because he knew that in her whole life in Soul Society she had never used a kimono, rather opting to wear the hakama pants males used.

_'Well, they ARE much more comfor_table' She defended ' _besides, it is easier to run while wearing those than a kimono. You know food doesn't arrives to your door in the Rukongai unless you are a cannibal!' _More laughs. She was known for her morbid sense of humor among her peers, even more than for her tendency of having hadö spells explode on her hand. Absently minded she noticed a student running and slipping through the mud covered field.

Eventually Rika's smile dissapeared and was replaced with a sad expression. The spirit noticed this too and immediatly stopped laughing. He knew his master very well to know what she was thinking, and this truly was no laughing matter.

_'Are you still going to try and find that child?'_

She closed her eyes. The bloody memory flashed before her, as vivid as if it had just happened. Altough the sight no longer caused her nightmares or made her stomach violently churn, it still made her feel uncomfortable.

_'That's the reason why I choose to become a shinigami.'_

The rain continued splashing against the windows on a rhythmically and relaxing sound.

The spirit nodded and then continued: _'And what will you do if __that child_ doesn't remembers you? Most people here eventually end forgetting their their past lives, and it might not be the exception considering what happened.'

She cringed. Of course she knew. She herself didn't remember many things about her past life this days, of the times when she had been alive. But that memory... The regret and despair that accompanied it... It was as if it had been permanently marked in fire inside her mind.

Since she had arrived and asigned to the 27th district of south Rukongai, Rika had spent her days trying to locate that person. For several years she had practically lived on the streets of every district of south Rukongai while traveling and searching, stealing what she needed or performing odd jobs in exchange for a loaf of bread. And when she heard that by becoming a shinigami her abysmal odds of finding someone on rukongai would slightly improve she didn't think twice and seized her opportunity by enrolling at the Shinö Academy.

Even while there, Rika kept looking for this person: She checked every record available of the people that had taken the admission examn for the past twenty years, hoping she would find it's name among them as she remembered the kid to have high spiritual power.

Her efforts hadn't been rewarded.

And more than once she had been ready to give up, to call up her search and just try and forget it, to scream 'Screw this' and try to forget her bloody past.

But then, every time she closed her eyes, the memory would come back to haunt her: The sight of the body, of the blood, the painful screams, the rage filled eyes, the face convulsed in rage, the bloodied hands, the broken furniture, the blood stained wallpaper. Then the guilt and shame would assault her again without mercy and she would resume her search.

The sound of the droplets hitting the window continued, this time with more strenght.

Rika closed the book and stood up, it was still raining very heavily, but if she waited for the rain to end she would probably miss dinner. Today they had tonkatsu on the menu, and she knew how quickly it ran out. So she started walking towards the cafeteria in silence, still thinking on what her zanpakuto had told her. Rika had never been one to let small things stop her and they wouldn't start now. She knew that even if that child didn't remember her, she would never be able to move forward until she found it.

_'Even if the kid no longer remembers me, it is still my fault that died.'_

* * *

At the tenth division, a young shinigami stepped into the rainy night under captain Hitsugaya orders and headed to the Shinö academy, carrying an envelope containing the letters of aceptance of the future members of the tenth division.

After a long day, captain Hitsugaya had finally finished the work of the day. He might have actually finished earlier, but because of the rain there were several complications with the delivery of documents and the hell butterflies didn't work very well due to the heavy rain.

Matsumoto had just left a little bit before, not on the mood drinking at her favorite pub with this climate; So Hitsugaya decided to call it a day, close his office and head back to his living quarters so he could finish the book he was reading. It really was an interesting book from the living world: A mystery novel, about a series of murders happening on an island where ten people were trapped. While not many knew it, Hitsugaya Toushiro actually took pleasure on reading mystery novels, always immersing on the plot and thinking like one of the characters, trying to find the culprit and anticipating its moves, building his theories and taking note of every detail the book lampshaded.

Of course, as a genius he often was right about who the culprit was and took pride on knowing that he had been able to unravel the mystery the book offered, that he had prevailed, and even if the clues had been very minute he had been able to find them in order to complete the puzzle.

And before he knew it, he was standing on his front door.

_'First things first.'_ Getting rid of his wet clothes, he stepped on his bathroom in order to shower. Just because his body temperature was lower than that of a normal shinigami didn't made him immune to the common cold that often came after getting soaked by the rain.

So as he stood under the cold stream of water, he started thinking about the life this last decades and how it had changed. Aizen was still locked in ''Muken'' under the lookout of the Central 46 and the Onmitsukido, Kugo Ginjou had been killed by the substitute shinigami, the Vandereich invasion that had left heavy casualties and had practically decimated the Gotei thirteen with only a handful of people. After that, the training schedules for all of the squads were modified into a more strict regiment as a precaution in case anything like that ever happened again.

That day he had lost many of his men because his inexperience, so he too started to train with all his might in order to get stronger. To protect his division.

Closing the faucet he stepped out and dressed in a sleeping yukata, water droplets hitting the tiles in the floor as he walked around his room. Sitting on the floor, he lit an oil lantern and picked up his book, quickly finding where he had left. It was still pretty early, he could get a couple chapters before heading to bed.

* * *

_Can you guess what book is Toushiro reading?_

_Chapter music inspiration:_

_Cage - zts - Umineko no naku koro ni_

_Voiceless - zts - Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru_


	3. Graduated

**I do not own Bleach or any of the characters, locations, powers, objects, souls, colors, odors or oxygen related, as they belong to Tite Kubo. The only things I own are the plot idea of this story and the original characters created. This story is made only for entertainment and stress relieving purposes.**

Third chapter, enjoy.

* * *

_The pain had subsided she noticed, but why it was still so hard to breathe?_

_Her body no longer had any wounds on it, even if her clothes and hair still had the blood stains and smears on them, so why did she still had the feeling something was wrong?_

_She was able to move and stand up again. She was no longer on the ground writhing in agony, and her mind no longer felt hazy because the blood loss._

_Then why was she unable to pick up that knife in front of her? She had to hurry or otherwise that child would..._

_Then she noticed the broken chain attached to her chest._

* * *

''Sakuraba, Rika''

Rika stood after the principal called her name and headed torwards the stage as a polite applause sounded. It was the graduation day.

Yesterday she had received a letter anouncing that she had been accepted into the tenth division and that she was expected to report at the captain's office after the graduation ceremony the next day to sign several papers regarding her recruitment, and because her resume had impressed the captain, she didn't had to present the Gotei 13 entrance examn that most graduates had to take.

While Rika had never been a person who expressed her feelings very loudly, she hadn't been able to supress the joyful squeal that came after reading the letter.

After shaking the hand and muttering a polite 'Thank you' to the principal and her teachers of the past six years, she was given a black shihakusho: The sign of her ascension as a shinigami and proof of her acceptance into the Gotei 13, the symbol of a daffodil proudly emblazoned on the inside of the uniform.

After that everything was fuzzy. She remembered heading back to her seat and watching how several hundred students received their uniforms and how the principal had given a speech, but she didn't remember any details or words at all.

So when the graduation ceremony finished and most students headed out to celebrate, Rika used the chance to change into her new uniform and head towards the tenth offices: The sooner she finished the paperwork, the sooner she could move into her new barracks.

She had decided to walk in order to memorize the layout of her new home to avoid getting lost in the future. Vaguely, she remembered having read about a certain captain and lieutenant duo that often got lost in the Seireitei despite having lived there for a long time.

After getting herself lost on the Seireitei streets and asking for directions one too many times, she finally found herself in front of the tenth division. Excitement and anxiety rushed over her body and she found herself unable to move for a moment while observing the great building in front of her, it was very well mantained and radiated a commanding presence that left her in awe. It was much more impressive observing this place in person than in pictures or video, those two didn't really made any justice to what was in front of her.

_'Oi, get a hold of yourself Sakuraba. You will be the laughing stock of this place if a building managed to intimidate you!'_ She scolded and mentally slapped herself. Recomposing, she walked through the doors and started navigating the place. Ten minutes later, she was standing in front of the captain's office stuck with nerves. Should she knock or call? And what should she say?

''Did you need something?''

Rika turned around a bit too quickly. In front of her was her total opposite: A woman two heads taller than her, with long blonde hair, the biggest cleaveage she had ever seen and a presence that practically screamed 'Femenine'. She recognized the woman as Matsumoto Rangiku, the second in command of the tenth.

''Ummm... My name it's Sakuraba Rika... I was told to come here after the graduation ceremony of the Shino academy... But if the captain is busy I guess I cou-''

''Nonsense girl!'' Rangiku exclaimed ''Captain will be so glad that you are actually on time. Half an hour earlier than expected actually! Don't let his frowning face and cold attitue scare you, he's actually just a teddy bear with ice powers who tries too hard to be too serious all the time!'' Picking up a very stunned Rika by the armpits and holding her at arms lenght, the much taller woman slided the door to the side with her feet and barged into the office. ''Caaaaaptain! Look what I found! Just look at her, she looks like a doll! Isn't she so cute?!'' Cooed Matsumoto.

To say Rika was not amused was the understatement of the year. Here she was, being hold and shown off like the new toy of a small child in front of her new captain and by her new lieutenant nothenless. Way to make a good first impression.

For the first time in her life, Rika wished to find the largest stone in Soul Society and crawl under it, never to be found again.

* * *

Hitsugaya looked at the girl Matsumoto was holding up.

Truth be told, she kinda looked like a doll, but only because her small frame and round face. The scowl on her face, murderous aura and the look of her eyes that read 'You-are-so-dead' immediately gave away that this girl, even if she looked pretty innofensive and harmless, wouldn't hesitate to viciously bite back.

_'Just like a shrew'_ He thought amusedly. ''And you are...?''

Matsumoto set the girl on the floor, and after glaring the busty woman she turned to the young captain. ''Sakuraba Rika. I was told to come here after the academy graduation. If you are busy at the moment I can return at a later time, captain Hitsugaya.''

_'So she is Sakuraba'_ ''Yes, you are actually quite early - earlier than what I expected. But as you can see, Im not really busy at the moment. So,'' Hitsugaya started fishing through the drawers of his desk and pulled a small stack of papers that he handed her. ''If you could fill those in the meanwhile. Feel free to sit on the couch and use the coffee table.'' Then he turned to Rangiku. ''Did you need something Matsumoto?''

She waved her hands. ''Nothing at all captain. I was just passing through when I saw her standing in front of the office staring at the door like some scolded puppy'' A low growl of annoyance came from the other side of the room. ''And couldn't help but stop by to see if she needed something! But since everything it's in order I guess I can leave!'' Then she turned to Sakuraba. ''If you need help with something, don't hesitate in asking either me or the captain! We will be glad to help you Rika-chan!''

After Rangiku left, the room was filled with an awkward silence. After several seconds Sakuraba decided to break it. ''Is she always so... Cheerful?''

He nodded slowly. ''Sadly, yes. You better start getting used to it: She seems to have taken a liking to you.'' The look of disbelief and the groan of annoyance that the girl gave was priceless.

* * *

For a while everything in the office was quiet, with Hitsugaya writing something and Rika reading and filling the papers in front of her.

Well, the office was quiet for anyone _but_ Rika. Since her encounter with the lieutenant her mind had been filled with the laughs and guffaws her zanpakuto was having at her expense, and more than once she had been tempted to hurl the nodachi across the room and through the window in an attempt of having the spirit shut up.

_'Seriously, that was totally priceless!'_ The spirit roared with laugh. _'Tamamura and Matsuda surely would have died to watch this! And she even had the nerve of calling you 'Rika-chan to boot!''_ More laughs.

_'I get it! I get it! Now could you please shut the fuck up and let me finish this once and for all?! Your stupid laugh it's doing nothing but distract me and I want to finish this today!'_ She angrily screamed at her zanpakuto, but this only made it laugh even louder.

_'That was totally humiliating! I bet captain Hitsugaya will never take me seriously as a shinigami after that little display that blonde twit did!'_ She continued ranting.

_'He will take you even less seriously if you don't finish those papers quickly.'_

_'SHUT UP!'_

* * *

Out of the corner of his eye, Hitsugaya could see that Sakuraba was practically seething in anger and he knew very well the reason. He understood that she probably wanted to dissapear out of the face of earth after that little display, since that had been her first meeting with him and that hadn't been the first impression one hoped to make on their first day of work.

To his surprise, she finished way before what he had anticipated.

He took the papers and started checking them to see if everything was in order. Not averting his sight from the papers he started speaking ''Don't let what Matsumoto did affect you. She has a soft spot for children and she probably saw you like one, and even if she ends up embarrasing you know that she doesn't really means ill. Trust me, I know by personal experience.''

Sakuraba listened attentively as he spoke, then crossed her arms and sighed ''I guess I should be glad then that it happened in front of you and not another person.'' Pausing to take a deep breath she then continued ''Thank you for understanding.''

He only grunted to indicate that he had heard her. Not long after that, the door opened again and revealed a tall young man with chestnut hair and a square jaw. When he noticed Sakuraba he had to blink twice and rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Once he comfirmed that he wasn't dreaming, his eyes filled with disdain.

''Didn't expect you to be anywhere besides the eleventh, Sakuraba'' Spoke the newcomer, not even bothering to hide the mocking tone. Rika glared at him.

''Didn't expect you to be anywhere besides a lab of the twelfth, Fujioka.''

Fujioka Akira grinned in response and stepped in the office while closing the door behind him. Making his way through the office and stopping in front of Hitsugaya's desk, he deeply bowed and introduced himself to his new captain. ''I am Fujioka Akira, I am pleased to be working under your command, Captain Hitsugaya-San.''

_'Bootlicker'_ Thought Rika. Fujioka Akira had to be the greatest flatterer on the world in her opinion. Blessed with a smooth talker talent, Fujioka had spent his years at the academy perfecting his flattering speeches and convincing excuses to save his ass from the teachers every single time he failed to complete an assignment. And every single time, he had been given the opportunity to bring his homework at a later time... Which normally was a modified copy of the best paper the teacher had received.

This smooth talking had also helped him to develop a reputation as a womanizer and philanderer, to the point it had been rare the days when he could be seen without a giggling female hanging from his arm.

Hitsugaya silently nodded and gave Akira the set of papers he had to fill, then he turned to Rika ''Don't leave, Sakuraba. When Fujioka finishes filling those I want to talk with both of you.''

Holding back a groan, Rika complied and sat on the couch opposite of Akira's. Fixing her gaze on the celling so she didn't need to look at him, she began to count the number the number of spots and cracks on it.

No more than ten minutes later, Akira turned the papers and Hitsugaya quickly checked them. Motioning for both rookies to stand in front of the desk, Hitsugaya interlaced his fingers and looked at them with a critical eye before speaking.

''I'll be brief and to the point: You two have been asigned to different unit squads. Fujioka will be asigned to the squad of eight seat Suzuki and Sakuraba to fifth seat Ogata's. You two are to report to your respective squad leader in two hours. In the meanwhile use your time to move your belonging to your assigned bunk in the barracks. Dismissed.''

After bowing and excusing themselves, Rika and Akira left the captain's office and headed to their barracks. Akira was then the first one to break the silence. ''Seriously, I can't see why are you here. A brute like you should be in the eleventh with the rest of the brutes.''

''And I can't see why are you here instead the twelfth. Were you afraid that they would see right away through your bootlicking?'' She deadpaned.

Akira didn't seem to be bothered by the accusation and instead continued. ''And thats exactly another reason why you should be in the eleventh: With that tongue you truly show how uncouth and unfit are for this place.'' Rika rolled her eyes. Since the time Rika had beaten Akira at a practice duel the much taller male had developed a grudge against her for, in his words, 'publicly humiliated him in front of the whole school.' That was, of course, a blatant lie. The duel had been in front of only their classmates, and everyone knew he was weaker than her when it came to zanjutsu so it hadn't come as a surprise she had beaten him.

''Whatever, I can already tell you won't last the week here since your girlfriends are not here to help you. I really feel sorry for eighth seat Ogata, after all, he will have to deal with a spoiled girl possing as an adult male.'' Not giving him time to answer, she shunpo'ed away from him and moved to the barracks.

* * *

Ever the slacker, Matsumoto Rangiku had avoided once again her duties and this time it was thanks to the new recruit.

True, Matsumoto had been just passing through when she noticed the pettite girl standing in front of her captains office (It was also her office, but since she rarely did any kind of work there she considered it Hitsugaya's) looking very nervous and shuffling her feet, so she had decided to take matter in her hands and give her a little boost... It had mostly worked, she was no longer looking nervous but now she seemed to be very embarrassed and VERY angry at her. Deciding to don't push her luck and get on the bad side of the new recruit, Rangiku had been quick to flee.

So now she was walking on one of the streets of the Seireitei looking for something to have for lunch... And better be something she could eat soon, her stomach was rumbling already.

And then she noticed where she was standing. No more than twenty feet away stood one of her favorite ramen stands. It was a moderately big stand made in order to accomodate the number of customers that frequented the place, among them Matsumoto Rangiku and formerly Ichimaru Gin.

Taking a seat she was quickly approached by the owner Oda Yatabuki, a shinigami that was forced to retire early after losing his right leg.

''What will be today Rangiku-chan? Yokohama like always?'' Asked the man while setting besides her a plate with sake.

''Nah... I am more in the mood for a good miso one.'' Yatabuki nodded and then started chopping the ingredients. after taking a sip of her sake Rangiku continued talking ''Anything new lately, Yatabuki-san? Last time I heard one of your nephews was on a mission on the living world.'' Putting a finger on her chin she asked ''Toya wasn't it?''

''Yah, it was Toya.'' Comfirmed the man. ''Kid was sent on a mission to locate a particulary sneaky Hollow... Grey Fog was the name... Apparently, the thing is this Hollow can possess living beings in order to stalk it's prey and avoid detection for long periods of time. Pretty nasty if you ask me.'' The older shinigami shaked his head. ''Sad thing is, after keeping an eye on it for a long time, the bastard managed to get away. Knowing it might take several years before we detect it again.'' Yatabuki turned to Rangiku and set her miso ramen in front of her, which she immediatly started to dig.

''That's a real shame. Hopefully they will locate it again before the end of the year.'' Matsumoto took another sip of her sake. ''But seriously, a Hollow that can possess living things? That sounds like something captain Kurotsuchi would like to dissect.''

''I think he would first experiment on it before dissecting it. But that's enough talk about depressing things! What about your day Rangiku-chan?''

Matsumoto then went and chattered about the boring office job, the lieutenant's meeting, the new recruit she met and how her captain kept slavedriving her.

''I mean, just because he loves to do paperwork doesn't means everyone likes to do it!'' She babbled, by now she was on her nineteenth plate of sake and the effects of the alcohol were starting to show up. ''Maybe he should just marry his office!''

''You know Rangiku-chan, you should bring your captain here at least once. Now that I think it he has to be the only captain in the last two hundred years that hasn't had one of my ramen dishes.'' Said Yatabuki while stroking his chin. Over the years he had managed to even get the two crazy captains of the twelfth and three captains of the eleventh eat his ramen. Surely captain Hitsugaya wouldn't be more mentally unstable than any of those.

''You know what, I should do that. It would do him good to leave that place for something not work-related and relax. Then I could get him to pay.''

* * *

_Action will finally start next chapter._

_Chapter music inspiration:_

_Moonlit Night - Sumiisan - Umineko no naku koro ni _

_HANE - dai - Umineko no naku koro ni_

_Ditty for daddy - Shiro Sagisu - Bleach_

_Rowdy Rumble - Yoko Shimomura - Kingdom Hearts_


	4. Blood

_Music inspiration for this chapter:_

_Heji - Kondoo Yukio - Elfen Lied_

_Golden Slaughterer - zts - Umineko no naku koro ni_

_Witch in Gold (Cembalo) - zts - Umineko no naku koro ni _

_Fishy Aroma - Luck Ganriki - Umineko no naku koro ni_

_I really recommend reading the fifth page with the Golden Slaughterer track. You can find it on youtube._

* * *

_She was not sure how long she had been running as her body no longer could feel fatigue, had it been just a couple seconds or several hours?_

_Or was she still standing in that room and this was just a trick of her mind?_

_If that was the case, was she also imagining the sound of the chain that swinged from her chest? Or the sound of the rain hitting the concrete that her feet no longer touched?_

_Nonetheless, she kept on walking in that black and grey street. Ignoring the people running next to her, looking for cover from the rain or the cars whose bright lights broke through the dense curtain the rain had created._

_She wanted to scream, but she knew that nobody could hear her anymore._

* * *

''Captain! Did you hear that the third found a Menos Grande yesterday in north Rukongai?''

Hitsugaya was forced to back off on his seat or risk getting smacked in the face by Matsumoto's cleavage. That was a painful lesson he learned the very first time he meet her when he was still a child.

Regaining his composture as Matsumoto backed off from across his desk, he thought about it. Yes, he knew. That was the focus of what was discussed today on the captain's meeting.

''I was informed of it.'' Was the curt answer. However the bubbly lieteunant didn't seem to pick up that her captain was subtly telling her that he probably knew more about the situation than her.

''Oh! Then you should know that their group asigned to that area took some heavy casualities! And guess what!'' Her exited question was met by a poker face. ''They are looking for another division to cover that zone for this week! We should totally help them, and I could be in charge of the grou...''

''No''

''Ehhhh?'' The smile from Matsumoto's face dissapeared and was replaced by a pout. ''Why captain? I thought you wanted me to work more! And this is a perfect opportunity to show you that I am perfectly capable of doing some dirty work and to improve the relationship of our division with the others!''

Hitsugaya didn't even blink or change his expresion while answering ''Because, I know well enough that the first thing you will do would be ditching the rest of the team members and go to that tea and snack shop you like in the northern districts.'' Matsumoto's eyes widened ''Don't look so surprised - It's general knowledge that you go there most of the time. As for the work, I really would prefer you filling those papers.''

Matsumoto's mouth opened and closed much alike that of a fish outside the water but remained silent: Her plan had been pretty much resumed by her own captain and any extra arguing would be pointless, so she turned on her heels and left the office looking like she would enter an ''Orz episode''.

After Matsumoto left, Hitsugaya felt finally safe to release a sigh. Truth be told, he didn't mean to be so harsh with Matsumoto, but he had his reasons. On one hand, summer was going to start soon and the last thing he wanted was extra work to do in that suffocating office.

On the other hand it wasn't a Menos Grande what attacked and decimated the shinigami from the third.

According to the reports the members of the third had fought with what initially was thought to be a Menos Grande in appearance save a few minimal differences, but soon enough it was made apparent that it could hardly be classified as a Hollow in the first place.

For starters it didn't emit reiatsu but feed on it. Weaker members of the group fell in less than a minute into the fight because their reiatsu was drained and were forced to withdraw.

Those that withdrew had been the survivors that narrated the encounter.

The members that remained unaffected by the reiatsu drain had managed to continue fighting for about fourty-five seconds more and had managed to inflict some moderate wounds into the target before the situation went out of control.

The eyewitness vary on what happened next, what is known is that ''something'' had happened that decimated the attacking shinigami, some said it was a shockwave, others that it had been a strong wind while others were not able to tell. The result was still the same: Many of the shinigami suffered a relatively painless death as they were beheaded, but the others were not as fortunate as they had their limbs severed or were bisected, while others had suffered what could only be described as ''Turned inside out''.

Whatever it was, it was apparent that the remaining shinigami were no match for it, but nonetheless the creature eventually fell down thanks to the previous wounds the fallen had inflicted and when the captain of the third showed up to dispatch it.

The preliminary analysis and autopsy that the twelfth performed revealed some things, mainly that this creature could only be described as a ''Chimaera'', a being created fusing different soul patterns, including but not limited to those of Hollows, Quincies and Arrancar.

Because not a real conclusion was reached, the captains and surviving shinigami had been ordered to keep quiet about this until the tests were finished.

However the unspoken questions remained: From where did this Chimaera came from? And more importantly: Was it the only one?

For the moment nothing but one thing was clear: Extreme precaution was needed when patrolling the northern area.

* * *

In the end, it was the seventh who ended up covering the patrolling routes of the third while the aftermentioned division sorted and patched up things.

Most of the members of the seventh were veteran fighters so in their words, they were ''The best possible squad to deal with this.'' Of course nobody argued, anyone volunteered to cover this route after that incident was welcome with open arms.

The party was composed of six shinigami, the leader Nomura and his men Hirai, Aida, Aoyama, Kosaka and Ito, all of them strong combatants ready to unsheathe swords at the first signal of a Hollow.

But so far it had been truly peaceful save for a small theft that was resolved almost instantly (Aoyama had been quick to catch the thief) and a two children who had been fighting and needed to be separated.

''Did a Menos Grande really appear here? If it did it must have been totally lost, there is not a single soul around here with spiritual power.'' Complained Aida.

''Don't tell me you are already tired of this, Aida.'' Pipped up Ito. ''This can barely count as a warmup!''

''Yes, Im already tired of this... There has been nothing of interest in the last four hours so we should head back.''

''We can't, we still have a couple more blocks to check so stop your whining already.''

But Aida continued complaining, much to Ito's chagrin who felt the need to stuff his tabi sock into Aida's mouth. Aoyama and Nomura were chatting at the front of the group while Hirai and Kosaka had started to play what seemed to be the twentieth round of 'I Spy'.

So poor Ito, no longer able to stand Aida and his constant complains backed up and joined Hirai and Kosaka on their game, both of them glad to relieve their comrade from his torture.

''All right, I was next'' Said Hirai, the only female of the group. ''I spy something big with horns.''

''Easy, it's that ox over there.'' Kosaka pointed over to a nearby field that had an ox tied to a tree. ''I spy black with white and it's not a shinigami.''

''Mmmm, that cow?'' Guessed Hirai.

''Nope''

''Then those chickens?''

''You are still cold''

''Then the dog?''

''It's not an animal, Hirai''

''The Go stones?'' Ito asked. A couple yards away from them two older men were playing a game of Go.

''Correct! Geez Hirai, you should try and think of other things but the animals.'' Advised Kosaka ''All right, your turn now Ito!''

''Ok, let's see...'' Ito looked at his surrondings, the group had arrived to the most ill-conditioned area of the district and it was hard to find something that was not trash or was colored grey. Maybe he could use that cart over there? No, too obvious. What about the broken window? Then he noticed that all the windows were destroyed.

Then something caught his eye.

''Blood!'' He yelped. This instantly caught the attention of all his group mates who stopped and started asking him where he saw the blood.

At the side of the dirt road there was a small trail of blood, it was fresh so it must have less than fifteen minutes. At first Ito had tought it had been some ribbon or something, but when his eyes had landed on the supposed ribbon it was made clear that it wasn't something as innocent as a hair decoration.

''Let's just hope someone cut their feet with a shard of glass and this is nothing more than a false alarm.'' Said Nomura.

Aoyama, always the first to jump into action, started following the trail through the grime and dirt of the road. At first it was nothing more than a few dropplets and the ocassional smudge, but as time passed it was made clear that it was something more serious than some bare feet cut: The dropplets were soon replaced by puddles and the smudges by long smears of blood.

Soon enough they arrived to a battered hut where the blood trial headed in. Aoyama gave the rest of the group a signal that told them to wait and stay quiet. After just a couple seconds Aoyama and the group charged in the hut.

Inside... What had happened there? It was clear that this was not just a simple murder... It was more like whatever did this had taken particular care to make this as messy as possible!

On the corner of the hut laid what could only be described as a chunk of organs and flesh viciously torn appart. And across the floor, the walls and even the celling were splatters and more splatters of blood, much like if someone had squeezed all the blood a human body carried into buckets and then splashed the whole room with them.

And that was not all, scattered across the floor were the ribbons of what seemed to be the skin, fingers and limbs of the victim, and over there was that the hair of the victim? Then surely that was...

Hirai let out an ear piercing scream and tightly closed her eyes, Nomura let out a soft exclamation while Ito resisted the urge to puke and brought his hand to his mouth. Even the battle hardened Aoyama could feel nothing but disgust at the scene. Kosaka tried his best to ignore the pile of flesh in the corner and threaded carefully to where the mass of hair and blood was, then with the tip of his zanpakuto moved it to show the face of the victim.

It was a young girl, physically no older than ten years old. Her expression was one of pain, indicating that probably she had been very much conscious when she was tortured and killed. One of her eyes had been gouged and her tongue seemed to have been cut to silence her.

Nomura and Aoyama proceeded to analyze the scene, Kosaka and Aida sent a report to the Seireitei asking for the cooperation of both the fourth and twelfth divisions while Ito took Hirai to the fourth.

''Whatever did this, it was clear that this was done for the pleasure of shedding blood.'' Sneered Aoyama. ''If this had been a normal murder then just a decapitation would have been enough.''

Nomura silently nodded and kneeled next to the head of the girl. With a steady hand then closed the single eye of the child and the empty socket of her head.

''This doesn't seems to be the work of a Hollow either, but I wouldn't put it past some of the more bloodthirsty ones either''

''Still, to do this to a young child...'' Aoyama shook his head. ''I can't really think this as the work of a normal Hollow.''

''Me neither. The fourth should be arriving soon so we should move out of their way. I just hope they can at least give a proper burial to this girl. ''

* * *

While a murder in the rukongai was not something unheard of, the murder of the young girl the members of the seventh found was truly impacting through the ranks of the Gotei Thirteen.

Even the members of the fourth had to accept that this had been a particulary gruesome sight and more than couple of it's members had emptied their stomaches while the rest had been unable to eat or drink anything for the rest of the day.

Kurotsuchi, on the other hand, didn't even bat an eye when arrived at the scene and actually looked mildly bored as he and other shinigami from the twelfth started to examine the area in search of any clues that would reveal if this was the case of a Hollow attack or just another psychopath loose in the area.

Two hours and several tests later revealed that, while this seemed to be just another common murder in the area, small, almost imperceptible particles of Reishi could be found both in the surroundings and the body of the victim.

However, and this irked, irritated and angered Kurotsuchi beyond belief, was that whoever the killer was, had used some device to ''Mask'' his Reishi.

Mask was not really the correct term actually, since the reishi looked to be more diluted, modified and altered than anything, but in the end it served it's purpose: To hide the identity of the killer.

So the alarm was sounded in the Seireitei and the nearby districts, the notice that a (very) possible psychopath with a cloaking/masking device in it's possesion and the cunning into luring it's prey into a solitary place where no one would interfere with it's plaything.

* * *

_'Is this... Blood?'_

_It looked at it's hands, they were covered with what appeared to be blood. Sticky, coagulated and a very dark shade of red, almost crimson. It seemed that the obvious answer was that it was blood._

_But not it's blood. The owner of those blood covered hands was alright, it's hair in disarray and clothes covered in the same substance as it's hands, but otherwise uninjured._

_Then it looked around: Was this a dream? The feeling was simillar as if one was half-awake-half-asleep and the surroundings looked hazy and blurry, the edges of the objects in the room diffusing and mixing with the edges of other objects until one could no longer tell where something started or ended._

_Then the sound of a door opening came together with what seemed to be a human figure, it was hard to tell._

_'Is this blood?' The question was repeated monotonously_

_'Yes'_

_'Then... Did I kill someone... Again?'_

_'Yes'_

_'Will I... Will I kill someone again?'_

_'Yes. You will be killing people for a long time. Either until the experiment it's over or until you are destroyed.'_

_'You will be killing until I deem it necessary. You are my puppet: Something that was created to follow the orders of it's master'._

_The person took out something out from it's pocket and the owner of the bloodied hands fell asleep._

* * *

Hey there to the few readers this story has:

Real life happened

*Headdesks*

Yeah, a mixture between the latest chapters of Bleach, college, writers block and just plain laziness has kept me from updating this.

Will try to update this when I can (And the other factors allow it), and will pray that Bleach moves faster: I don't want to use characters that are going to die (Unless we get an ''Orihime Ex Machina'' and she revives all of them)


End file.
