Chapter 3: Chapter Three: First Mission
It had been a week since Suzaku joined the 13th Division alongside his classmate from the Shinigami Academy, Matsuri. Both had been shown the ropes around the Division by the Third Seat Miyako and had pretty much adjusted to everything within the office. Their entire week was spent in the Division barracks and they were yet to be sent out on patrols.
"Everyone, line up!" Kaien's authoritative voice got everyone's attention and within a span of a few seconds, every member present in the office lined up according to their ranks. Third Seat Miyako stood beside the Vice-Captain.
From the rookies' observation for the past week, they noted that all the duties leading to heading the Division were handled by Kaien himself. Their captain, Jushiro Ukitake is a capable captain but unfortunately stays mostly in his personal quarters due to his sickness. In this situation, every responsibility of the captain fell on the Vice-Captain's shoulders.
Kaien even joked about calling him 'Captain Kaien' if they wished to on their first day of joining.
For the 13th Division, Kaien was a blessing in the form of their Vice-Captain. His capabilities and leadership qualities make him no less than a Captain. It is thanks to Kaien and Miyako handling all the major responsibilities that Ukitake has been able to take it easy.
"We have received this week's patrolling assignment for the 13th Division and I will now be assigning you all with the areas you are required to patrol. The patrolling will be done in teams of four." With that said, he started dictating the districts assigned to the squad members and the members they will be taking along with them. "Lastly, North Rukongai, District 64 will be patrolled by Suzaku Kudo and Matsuri Seto."
"Our first patrolling assignment?" The blonde Shinigami couldn't believe her ears at first. Receiving a nod of confirmation from Miyako, she shook her partner in excitement. "Can you believe it? Our first assignment!"
"I have fully functional ears so stop shaking me!" Suzaku protested, freeing himself from Matsuri's grip. He then spared a glance at the Vice-Captain before asking. "Who is going to accompany us? It is our first time on real patrol so we lack knowledge on the basics."
"You don't need to worry about that. Me and Miyako will be accompanying you two." Kaien answered, tossing the papers aside. "We will be showing you how things are done. Plus it will help us gauge your abilities if we encounter any Hollows by chance. And if things get rough, we will take over. Are we clear?"
"Yes sir!"
"Well then, all of you are dismissed!" With that said, all members assigned for patrol duties disappeared using their Shunpo.
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"Feels good to be home." Matsuri said, stretching her arms and taking a deep breath, once the patrolling team arrived at the District. "Everything's the same as it always is."
"The streets and alleys of these districts never change." Suzaku commented, a wave of nostalgia hitting him on seeing the familiar streets and conditions of the districts. He took note of the residents of this district, either walking around or talking with one another. A few of them took note of the Shinigami and greeted them with a slight bow before continuing on with their day-to-day life.
"And nor do people wear slippers." Matsuri added. "I feel like letting go of mine and run around."
"You are not a child anymore nor are you a wild animal." Suzaku deadpanned. Moments like these usually made him wonder how he was able to put up with her in all those classes.
"You little shit! Take that back." Matsuri's behavior did a complete 360 as she stomped towards her partner.
'She is bipolar. That explains everything.' Suzaku gulped and would have made a run for it if not for picking up the sudden change in the atmosphere. And it wasn't just him. His partner and the two experienced Shinigami walking ahead of him also picked it up by now. "Hollows."
"At the south end. Let's make haste." Miyako notified before the four of them headed out for the said direction using Shunpo. It didn't take them much time to arrive at the designated area. The area around them appeared to be a vast wasteland with broken and abandoned houses in the area.
"Just remember your training in the academy and you will be fine." Kaien instructed the rookies, standing a considerable distance from the Hollows that had gathered around. The Hollows seemed to be of low intelligence so he believed things would be fine as long as there are no irregularities.
Then again in a battlefield, one can never be sure of anything which is why he kept himself ready and rested his left hand on the hilt of his Zanpakuto, ready to jump in whenever the need would arise.
"Yes sir!"
With that said, Matsuri dashed in headfirst, performing an outward slash on the torso of one of the Hollows, followed by a finishing downward slash. The Hollow dodged it by quickly moving sideways and attempted an attack from her blind spot, only to have Suzaku appear from her right side at the last second before stabbing the Hollow's mask with his katana, destroying it in the process.
"Interesting." Miyako commented when another Hollow tried attacking from behind Suzaku, only to have the Shinigami switch places in the blink of an eye, after which the blonde girl dealt the finish blow in one strike. "It's just like their reports said. They were known for their well-coordinated fighting style."
"Their reports stated that?" Kaien inquired, his gaze fixated on the pair.
"You say as if you read the reports in the first place." Miyako rolled her eyes. "In their reports, it was specially mentioned that they were able to take down a Hollow that appeared during their visit to the Living World all by themselves before anyone else could act on the situation."
'Not surprising given Suzaku's prior encounter with a Hollow before becoming a Shinigami. What I am surprised about is this girl Matsuri. She has talent, that's for sure.' The Vice-Captain thought to himself, observing Suzaku stab another Hollow in the chest, rendering it immobile and allowing his partner to cut the head off.
Then he used Shunpo to pass through an incoming Hollow, before landing behind it. The moment his feet touched the ground, the Hollow's mask cracked before it turned into dust.
"Shunpo Tangeki?" Miyako gaped at the sight. "It is a very impressive move for a rookie."
Shunpo Tangeki was a short-distance Shunpo technique where the user attacks before it is finished unlike normal Shunpo techniques where one attacks after the duration of the Shunpo to avoid the extra body movement. Among the Shinigami, there were only a few who could perform this feat, with most of them being from the members of the Punishment Force.
"Not surprising given Suzaku's main weapon is his speed and sword techniques which covers up for the lack of his attack prowess." Kaien commented, remembering the numerous times Suzaku avoided a beatdown from Kukaku during their squabbles by easily outrunning her. "On the other hand, Matsuri seems more of a powerhouse."
The blonde female used her sword to block a thrusting claw from one of the more humanoid Hollows, the latter unable to overpower the smaller opponent in terms of strength. Suzaku then skidded in between, cutting off it's limb and leaving it defenseless for Matsuri to finish it off with a rising slash aimed at it's skull.
"Bakudo #4, Hainawa!" A rope of Spiritual Energy left Suzaku's fingertips, binding a Hollow that dashed towards his partner at high speed before flinging it towards a pair of two incoming Hollows.
"Hado #4, Byakurai!" A stream of white lightning left his fingertips, aimed at the masks of the Hollows and were quickly reduced to dust upon contact with the attack.
"Hey! Why did you steal my kill?" Matsuri stomped up to the black-haired Shinigami once all the Hollows were taken care of.
"It's not my fault you are slow when it comes to using Kido." Suzaku shrugged, sheathing his Zanpakuto. Before the blonde girl could proceed to grab his neck for stealing her kill, he made a quick getaway towards their senior officers.
"Excellent teamwork I must say. You two did a great job." Kaien complimented, patting both their shoulders. "You two dealt with the Hollows all by yourself without requiring any help from either of us."
Miyako was about to add another compliment of her when all four of them felt a sudden spike of Spiritual Pressure. The level of pressure emitted seemed to be above the Hollows from before. Suzaku felt a chill run down his spine as the pressure felt all too familiar to him, despite the fact that a considerable amount of time had passed since the incident.
"To think you would be able to take down all of them. Impressive." The Hollow's gruff voice made itself known to the quartet, as it stood on a rocky platform. The Hollow had done well to mask its presence up until now, which shocked the high-ranked officers. What surprised them even more was what the Hollow held in its tight grip. "You wouldn't want to see this little thing get hurt, do you?"
"Hey! Let go of me!" In its tight grip was a orange-haired girl who tried to punch and kick the creature to no avail. Rather than being scared, she seemed more annoyed by her current predicament. "How dare you hurt a beautiful little hostage?!"
"The Hollow's day is about to get a whole lot worse." Kaien's demeanor underwent a swift change as he unsheathed his Zanpakuto, but didn't move an inch to attack yet. Being rash at the moment would cost the life of the hostage and he cannot afford a loss of life, not on his watch.
'It seems to have intelligence. Was it the one commanding all the Hollows?' Miyako studied the Hollow's behavior before sparing a glance at Suzaku. 'Judging from his expressions, I am sure this Hollow was the one from six years ago.'
"Oh. You are that boy aren't you?" The Hollow, after taking a brief look at the Shinigami that had gathered, grew excited when it's eyes met Suzaku. "How about we have a deal? This little girl for that boy over there? If you agree, I will make sure not to harm this little girlie."
"This bastard dares to--!?"
"Vice-Captain." The Third Seat put an arm on the Shiba clan member before shaking her head. "Right now rescuing the hostage takes priority. I have a plan for it. You need to trust me and be ready for my signal."
"When have I not trusted you..." Kaien gave an affirmative nod, calming himself down. Right now it wasn't the time to lose his cool when there was a hostage situation. He fixated his gaze on the Hollow and its movements, making sure the Hollow didn't move an inch.
"Suzaku, how are you holding up? Are you scared of it?" Miyako inquired, with a seriousness evident in her voice. The rookies had never seen her speak in such a tone but right now the situation called for it. "Because right now, we need to rescue the hostage and you are the most crucial part of it."
'I am the crucial part?' Suzaku knew very well that the life of a Shinigami wasn't going to be an easy one for him. He would have to face numerous hardships if he wished to get stronger and he believed that there would come a time when he will have to face his fear. He didn't expect it to be this soon, right after him becoming a full-fledged, official Shinigami of the Gotei 13. 'It is now or never. If I can't let go off my trauma, I can never be strong as Kaien or the Captains.'
'I cannot afford to slip up.' The black-haired Shinigami composed himself. Judging by the way Miyako put it, he might be getting only a single chance to rescue the hostage. "Tell me what I have to do."
"I will release my Zanpakuto to make way for you. When the Hollow gets distracted, make use of your speed to rescue the hostage in the nick of time." Miyako instructed in-between unsheathing her Zanpakuto, in a low voice. "After that Vice-Captain Kaien will take care of it. Remember you need to be fast. For now, keep walking towards the Hollow, showing as if we are going with the deal."
"Alright." Keeping himself on guard, the black-haired Shinigami slowly started making his way towards the Hollow.
"Yes. Keep coming. Just like that." The Hollow's excitement simply grew. Not only did it get its hand on another soul with some rare quality, it managed to find a prey, whom it let slip six years ago. The Hollow counted its luck on seeing the boy alive, despite the injury it had dealt to him. "Too bad, your sister isn't here with you. Then again, one shouldn't be too greedy."
"Turn Scarlet, Hizune!" The Third Seat called out, her Zanpakuto changing shape into that of a crimson shirasaya. Gripping it tightly in both her hands, she performed some empty slashes in the air, aimed towards where the Hollow stood.
"Did you just do something?" The Hollow raised a brow in question, baffled at the sight of some empty slashes being performed and yet there was no effect.
"Maybe I did, maybe I did not." Miyako responded before pointing down her Shikai and tapping the hilt with her pinky finger, producing a ting sound. A sharp gust of wind tore through out of nowhere and cut the Hollow's arms.
"What the-!?" As the surprised Hollow tried to grasp the situation, Suzaku raced in, using his Shunpo at full force, grabbed the girl who was now freed from the Hollow's grasp and raced back towards his teammates.
"Vice-Captain, now!"
"Rage through the Seas and Heavens, Nejibana!" Kaien hollered, suspending his Zanpakuto midair. The blade revolved in the air, changing its shape with a golden glow. It transformed into a trident with a crystalline appearance and a drill at the opposite end. Water flowed freely from both the ends of the weapon.
"Shit! I need to escape!" The Hollow swore, a spatial distortion appearing behind it. The tables had turned and right now its first priority was to escape with it's life intact.
"You are not going anywhere!" Kaien threw the trident with full force, managing to sever the Hollow's leg, making the latter fall face first into the distortion before it closed down. If he were a second earlier in throwing his weapon, he might have killed the Hollow then and there. "Damn it!"
"It's fine." Miyako said, putting an arm on his shoulder as her Zanpakuto returned to its sealed state. "The hostage has been rescued and that is all that matters for now."
"You are right." Taking a deep breath, Kaien retrieved his weapon before sealing it back into its normal form and sheathing it.
"Are you okay?" Suzaku asked the girl, helping her stand on her own feet after putting her down from his arms. "Do you need any help getting home?"
"My home is nearby. I will go by myself." The girl replied before taking hold of Suzaku's hand with both of hers. "...Unless you want to sleep by."
"Hey! It isn't legal at all!" Matsuri shouted, her eyes almost blank at the girl's statement.
"Go scram!" Suzaku freed his hand before lightly punching the girl on her head, maintaining a poker expression on his face. 'I have no intention of spending a week or a month in the 2nd Division jails.'
"Let's head back. We will need to write the reports as well." Kaien reminded. "Any more dilly dallying and I might push on the work on you two."
'Slacker!'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone