Disclaimer: The works of Bleach rightfully belong to Kubo Tite.

Disclaimer 1: All new characters are rightfully my property and I take full responsibility on their behaviour in this story.

Author’s Notes: I have some distinctions between different words in this story. Terms such as asauchi and zanpakuto are also in use when referring to swords, while Kido refer to spells. The term Shinigami is loosely based on plural terms. When referring to a group of two or more: shinigami, when referring to an individual: Shinigami. Just please keep these in mind.

The Calm before the Storm – Two Weeks and Two Days Ago

Seireitei was welcoming the dawn with its towers touched by the morning sunlight. The skies were clear of clouds, which gave good signs of weather today for those who were training. The streets were empty at this time of day. Not many people woke to have a nice stroll in the morning. Haruka breathed in the fresh air, stretching her arms above her head before resting them at the nape of her neck. This was normal daily routine. She was the earliest riser in her quarters and passed the time enjoying the morning air. Sometimes, she would meet a few faces, those who have early duties or others like herself who just passed the time away. It was this time of day that made her feel more relaxed than ever.

“Hey! Haruka!” called out a voice from behind. She turned around to hear running footsteps head towards her, her hands still resting upon her neck. Behind her, she saw a fellow Shinigami running down the small street. With the sunlight now brightening the city, she could spot the black hair swaying behind the Shinigami in an odd fashion, having been messily tied up at the top of her head. As soon as the Shinigami reached Haruka, she bent low, holding her weight upon her knees while she breathed heavily from the run.

“Nezumi?” spoke Haruka, looking down at the exhausted female Shinigami before her.

Nezumi rose back onto her feet, wiping the sweat upon her brow. Her hair was tied messily behind her, some strands falling to her shoulders as if she had just woken from bed. She towered over Haruka by a few inches, looking down at the smaller Shinigami with a grin.

“See?” she spoke, pointing her thumb at herself in triumph. “I told you I can get up early in the morning.”

Haruka smiled with a sceptical look on her face, dropping her arms from behind her and crossing them. She looked up at Nezumi who still held that grin upon her face. “You didn’t sleep again, didn’t you?” she asked, warranting Nezumi toppling over onto the floor before she jumped right back up again.

“Hey! I did sleep!” she retorted, her body taut in frustration. “I slept a lot, thank you very much.”

Haruka laughed. She knew Nezumi was predictable at times and that her lies were obvious to the naked eye. They both knew that, despite Nezumi denying her lack of acting talent.

“You are the worst liar, Nezumi,” commented Haruka, noticing her sister fluster at the sound of it. “But good morning anyway.”

Nezumi sighed, feigning that Haruka’s words had no affect on her, crossing her own arms in jest. With her head poised away from Haruka, Nezumi stood in a pretentious pose, looking back at Haruka with a sceptical look of her own. “You are such a dork,” she merely commented, looking down at Haruka with a smirk.

“No I’m not!” snapped Haruka, unfolding her arms and looking back at Nezumi with furrowed eyes.

Noticing Haruka’s change in behaviour, Nezumi milked the situation, slightly bending low from her hips to emphasise her authority. “Yes you are,” she spoke with a playful tone, pointing a finger atop Haruka’s head. “A short dork.”

Haruka slightly seethed from the denoting suggestion Nezumi had emphasised with her finger. Over the years they had known each other, shse was still slightly offended over Nezumi’s teasing, often referring to their height differences. In many cases, just like now, Nezumi would have the last word. Haruka sighed inwardly and looked towards the sky, noticing the dawn light had diminished and was now clearing for the day.

“I got to get back to my Division Hall,” she spoke, trying to get away from Nezumi’s teasing.

Nezumi too sighed, looking up at the cloudless sky.

“Yeah, me too,” she agreed. “I have to help out my Division in training today.” With that, Nezumi began running past Haruka, heading down the street towards the training grounds of Seireitei. She turned around while in mid-run, waving at Haruka with a smile.

“See you later!” she farewelled. “Kay, Haruka?”

Haruka waved back at Nezumi, placing a hand next to her mouth to cover the distance that Nezumi had covered in her run. “Take care!” she yelled back, watching Nezumi turn a corner and disappear from sight.

Haruka made the remainder of her walk back to the Ninth Division Hall, already seeing a handful of familiar faces standing around. She thought back to her meeting with Nezumi that morning, and couldn’t help but smile. The both of them being best friends could be understatement. They had lived as a family since Nezumi found her in Rukongai, and had treated each other like sisters. She remembered how long ago that was before entering into Shinigami Academy, and now after half a year in the Gotei 13, they both still tried their hardest to meet each other whenever they could.

“Haruka!” called a voice, breaking Haruka’s reminiscing. She turned to find two girls headed in her direction, stopping their light jog before her. They were her female comrades who shared the same quarters as she did, who were now properly dressed for today’s session.

“Where did you go this morning?” one asked with concern laced in her voice.

“I took a walk like I usually do,” simply replied Haruka, acting as if it were normal routine to do so.

“Don’t worry about it,” spoke the other, waving her hands in front of Haruka for reassurance. “You know Kisaki. She’s always the worrywart.”

Kisaki, who had thought otherwise, looked at the other girl with a furrowed sour look on her face. “Am not Osako!” she pouted.

“Are too!” retorted Osako, giving Kisaki the same expression.

Haruka giggled at the sight of her two friends, walking behind them while they glared at each other in jest.

“Come on guys,” she coaxed, gently pushing them ahead towards the hall. “Shouldn’t we be helping everyone set up the hall right now?” While Haruka aided her friends into the hall, the shinigami of their Division had already begun setting up various training apparatuses within, placing a number of mats on the floors. A few others placed poles upon the stands that stood near the back wall. Some were wooden while others were bamboo-woven. The hall was becoming more organised with many of the shinigami contributing their efforts for the start of the training.

“Hey I’m done here!” called out one, fixing the poles upon the stands.

“Yeah, same here!” replied another from the other side of the hall, placing the last piece of matting on the floor.

Haruka, Osako and Kisaki had started bringing in extra mats for precautionary purposes, placing them in the corner of the hall with a number of other mats. After setting them down, the three walked towards the centre of the hall, lightly conversing about a number of things. The hall was relatively ready for training, albeit with a few double-checks on equipment and consumerables. It was training from team members under the 4th and 5th seats, the hall specially set up for the exercises. Many of the shinigami simply waited for the training to commence, sitting around the now organised hall. While watching everybody else finish up on their small jobs, Haruka turned to her friends, watching them still arguing over Kisaki’s overwhelming sense of concern. She smiled at them even though they weren’t aware of her beside them.

Eventually, the hall was finally set and ready for training. The shinigami of the Ninth Division stood around in chatter, waiting for the seated officers of the Lieutenant to arrive. The three girls found a comfortable spot on the floor, sitting in a circle and talking amongst themselves.

“Hey there ladies,” spoke a voice from above, the three girls looking up to find a familiar face greet them, his upper body bent low to tower over them.

“Oh, good morning Yutaro-kun,” greeted Kisaki, seeing the male grin back at them.

“So how’s everybody?” he asked, finding a spot between Haruka and Kisaki.

“Nyah, so-so,” replied Osako, waving her hands nonchalantly.

“We’re good,” replied Haruka thereafter, gaining a grin from Yutaro.

“Did you spot any of our officers on your way here?” asked Kisaki, making Yutaro look up in thought.

“Just a few,” he answered. “They’ll be on their way here shortly.”

“It’s just like you,” groaned Osako exasperatedly, crossing her arms, warranting a curious look from Yutaro. “You’re always late for everything.”

Yutaro’s face faulted from Osako’s observation, making both Haruka and Kisaki giggle under their breaths. Soon, the hall’s murmurs began to die down as two seated officers of the Ninth Division entered inside. The four, among others, stood from the floor, standing respectfully before the officers before seeing their Lieutenant walk into the hall. Shuuhei looked upon his Division before him, inspecting everyone there with his hard look.

“All right,” he started. “I want a clean training exercise. No one is to use any Kido or other techniques. This is purely a sword training exercise to test all of you in the art of swordsmanship. Am I clear?”

A murmur rose from the hall, suggesting everyone had gotten the idea.

“Good,” replied Shuuhei. “Begin!”

After an hour or so, the mats had been worn-down, and the poles upon the stands either chipped or slashed through. Training was intense, with the 4th and 5th seated officers, as well as Shuuhei, overlooking the proceedings. While many shinigami found partners, others preferred to train alone with the designated poles set up by the back wall. As per usual, Osako and Kisaki trained together, having been partners since they entered the Gotei 13 years ago. Yutaro himself found a friend of his to train against, mumbling to him about a bet of sorts in the session. Haruka, however, waited if anyone needed a training partner today, but to no avail, many people had found one and she was left to train by herself. Most of the training was against a wooden pole, testing her strength in her swings and thrusts. But by the end of the training, she had moved onto a bamboo pole, testing her dexterity and agility in her speed and timing. She preferred the bamboo, despite it being a one-off training exercise. She was never capable of overpowering strength against her speed.

Her commanding officer, seat number 4, watched her train on her own among others, giving out some good pointers about judging better means of combat. Haruka took his advice graciously every so often, applying these into her training as best as she could. Despite the advice, Haruka still felt her speed was her strong point. The training exercises had neared its end with many of shinigami sweating from exertion and hard sparring.

“All right, training’s over for today!” announced Shuuhei, looking around the hall of now exhausted shinigami. “You’re all dismissed!”

The chatter of the shinigami rose within the hall, conversing about their efforts for today while Shuuhei and the seated officers left the hall. Haruka wiped the sweat from her brow, turning to find Osako and Kisaki approach her.

“No partner today?” asked Osako with a sceptical look on her face.

“Not today,” replied Haruka, sheathing her asauchi back into her sheath.

Osako sighed, holding a hand to her forehead in slight frustration over Haruka. Haruka looked at her with a bewildered look on her face, blinking at Osako’s mild irritation over the matter.

“Why don’t you just choose someone yourself?” asked Osako, waving her hands in the air in a semi-dramatic fashion. “What are you afraid of? Rejection?”

Haruka laughed at Osako’s observation. “No!” she replied with a smile. “I don’t want to impose on people.”

Osako rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she did so. “You’re just too nice for your own good,” she commented. “You know that?”

“I think it’s a nice quality in a person,” commented Kisaki, making Osako look at her with a sceptical look.

“You mean being a doormat?” she questioned.

“I’m not a doormat!” retorted Haruka, furrowing her eyes slightly at Osako, who waved her hands nonchalantly.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” she replied, making Haruka slightly seethe before her.

When training had ended, all of the shinigami walked out of the worn-out hall, welcoming the fresh air outside. It was now past noon and the skies were still clear since the morning. Haruka and her friends took a small stroll through the streets, heading back to their quarters after a rigorous training exercise to clean up. Yutaro, who had followed them, playfully tried to stroll into their quarters, before an angry Osako kicked him in the behind to leave. Although amused, Yutaro bade the three girls a farewell, knowing he needed a good clean up as well.

The girls eventually took quick baths, not wanting to waste the hot water in their quarters. After redressing themselves, they decided to help out others at the Ninth Division office, hearing that some reports needed to be filed before the deadline. Walking out of their quarters, they made their way to the office, finding a handful of people already moving around with papers in hand. The office was as busy as usual, stockpiling papers, reports and books everywhere.

The three girls inwardly sighed. The afternoon was going to be a long haul.

The sun was setting over Seireitei’s walls with the orange hue illuminating the sky and the city. After a long day at the office, Haruka sat atop one of the buildings, high enough to look over at the horizon where the sun was slowly disappearing. She breathed deeply, looking at how the bright yellow rays of the sun stretched across the horizon, as if the sun was flattening itself upon the earth. She laid her head upon her knees just staring ahead, unaware of footsteps approaching her from behind.

“So…?” called a voice from behind Haruka. “How’s everything in your Division?” Haruka turned around to find Nezumi behind her, standing upon the roof tiles of the building.

“I was wondering the same thing about you,” she replied, watching Nezumi take a seat next to her.

“Oh, you know same old, same old,” she replied, leaning her weight upon her arms. “We were just cleaning up from training. I showed the boys a thing or two.”

Haruka saw the grin cross on her friend’s lips, smiling all the while at her cockiness in the matter. “I hope you didn’t hit them that hard,” she teased, giggling under her breath.

“Hey, they’re guys!” retorted Nezumi in a matter-of-factly tone. “They can take a little pain.”

Haruka laughed out loud, making Nezumi smile at Haruka’s amusement in her day. The both of them had made this routine on a weekly basis, meeting each other on any rooftop to have a proper catch-up session with each other. Dusk felt the most fitting, since all daily activities ended around this time and gave the both of them enough daylight to just chat. To them, it reminded them of their academy days, having always hung out with each other as much as possible.

“So…” began Haruka, breaking the silence that had settled between them. “I am to assume you spent time with Lieutenant Abarai today?”

Nezumi’s face flustered when slight shades of red appeared upon her cheeks. Her body jerked from the sudden question, mentally becoming defensive over it. “Why do you tease me about that?” she asked through the blushing on her face. “It’s frustrating!”

Haruka laughed at Nezumi’s reaction, knowing she was able to have one thing to tease about her. She still felt Nezumi always had the upper hand in the teasing stakes, feeling the brunt of her playfulness and cocky attitude some of the time. But when it came to her Lieutenant, Haruka knew how she felt about it.

“Oh, just you wait and see,” spoke Nezumi with a pouty look on her face, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. “I’ll get closer to him if it’s the last thing I do!”

“That’s the plan, right?” reiterated Haruka, closing her eyes as she spoke.

“Right!”

Haruka giggled and laughed again, making Nezumi blush even more at the idea of Haruka’s treatment of the matter.

“Why are you laughing?” asked Nezumi, feeling a little insulted by Haruka’s reaction.

Haruka calmed herself down, wiping a small tear that crept out of her eye from all of the laughter. She turned to Nezumi with a sceptical look, half-smiling at her friend next to her. “You’ve had a crush on him ever since we started academy,” she remarked, making Nezumi’s blush deeper.

“You think that’s funny?” she asked, still slightly insulted.

“It’s actually cute,” explained Haruka, now smiling at her friend, whose face has now faulted from the sudden change in Haruka’s mood. “And the look on your face when we went on our last mock mission.”

“He was there! There! Right in front of me! In the flesh!” exclaimed Nezumi, throwing her arms in front of her as if to emphasise each broken statement she spoke.

Haruka giggled while holding her hand up towards her forehead in a salute, using two of her fingers instead of the whole palm. “The Lieutenant that bade us good luck,” she remarked, swinging the salute out in front of her.

Nezumi sighed, leaning back onto her arms again.

“If that wasn’t a sign, I don’t know what is,” she remarked, sitting back into her spot on the roof after her recent hysterics. “Now, I’m in Division 6. It’s like fate is pulling me on its strings.” Nezumi clutched her chest with her hands, dramatically playing out her words in a melodramatic manner.

“Or,” interrupted Haruka with her index finger poised in front of her. “You’re just overreacting because you have a crush on him.”

Nezumi narrowed her eyes at Haruka, who smiled in return. She sighed again and thought she could never win against Haruka in this type of conversation and looked back towards the horizon. The sun began to disappear over it, the yellow globe now setting behind the horizon. The remaining light still fractured in the sky, breaking it into colours of orange, blues, and purples. Nightfall was arriving, and the breeze began to get colder. The stars, thought faint, began to appear above, along with the moon that hung in the darkest regions of the sky.

Nezumi lifted her arms and hugged them around her legs, keeping some warmth away from the chill of the coming night. She looked towards Haruka, who still watched the fleeting sunset before them.

“So…” she spoke, breaking another silence that had fallen upon them again. “How’s your Division coping?”

“Hm?” replied Haruka as she turned towards Nezumi beside her, blinking.

“You know, Captain Tousen and all…”

Haruka’s eyes began to sink towards the roof tiles before her. Slowly her head lowered in thought, an empathic sense of despondency engulfing her.

“Oh, that,” she replied monotonously, turning her head towards the faint glow of the horizon ahead. It had been a month or so since the Ryoka incident, and though there were no solid evidence as to what was happening, everyone knew the treachery that had occurred in their city. Haruka noticed how, for the first week alone, everyone in her Division had fallen into some melancholic hole when they discovered their Captain was a traitor, leaving everyone behind. For a while, she saw how everyone couldn’t speak about it, noticing an awkward tension between her friends and herself about the matter. Although, she knew their Division wasn’t the only one that felt the brunt of the problem.

Sighing, Haruka looked back at Nezumi, feeling that despondency return to her after thinking through about the situation. “Everyone’s got mixed feelings about it actually,” she continued, gaining Nezumi’s undivided attention. “I mean, we both haven’t been in our Divisions for long, so I really have no solid opinion on it.”

Nezumi looked back towards the now faint horizon, watching the night engulf Seireitei in darkness. The stars began to shine brighter now that the sun had disappeared and the moon, half-waning, glowed brightly, replacing the bright yellow rays of the sun.

“I kind of feel sorry,” she commented, piquing Haruka’s curiosity.

“Why?” asked Haruka, tilting her head from the side while still keeping her attention on her friend.

“Your Lieutenant,” replied Nezumi, looking back at Haruka and seeing her head upright after her simple explanation. “He must have it rough.”

Haruka shortly thought through about Nezumi’s reasoning before seeing her friend shift her body next to her.

“I mean, think about it,” started Nezumi, now facing her body towards Haruka while leaning all her weight on one arm and using the other to illustrate her point. “Finding out that the one person you’ve put all your trust in just abandons you like that. And now, he has to look after your entire Division, because there’s no one else there to do it.” Nezumi turned her head towards the horizon, now dimmed by the night sky. “I think it’s a little too much.”

Haruka thought more about Nezumi’s explanation, looking down at the rooves of the many buildings below them. The lanterns began to brighten in the small streets, illuminating the city in candlelight just like the stars did in the sky. The breeze brought a slight chill in the air, but the two girls had no qualms about the cold. There were still people walking through the streets, their shadows dancing against the lanterns that lit against the quarters of many of the Divisions. Haruka knew they had to return soon to avoid missing curfew.

“Nezumi,” she spoke, slightly smiling at her friend. “I never knew you were so deep about this.”

Nezumi smirked, lying on her back and pulling her arms up behind her head. She looked up at the stars that sparkled in the sky above them, watching them twinkle in a rhythm of their own.

“I have feelings too, you know!” she remarked, closing her eyes and enjoying her relaxation. She took a deep breath before opening her eyes again, turning her gaze towards Haruka next to her. “I mean, it’s gotten everyone in a bind.”

Haruka gently smiled at Nezumi, with her smiling back at her in return. The both of them returned to stargazing, watching the stars grow in number and cover the sky brilliantly. The wind was beginning to pick up again, sending a slight chill in their presence. It was soon time to head back to their quarters, or else they would have some explaining to do. Haruka stretched her arms above her head and took a deep breath.

“You know?” she started, gaining Nezumi’s attention from the night sky. “I do have an opinion after all.”

Nezumi waited for Haruka to continue, watching as her friend’s body turned towards her.

“I think we just have to look ahead,” continued Haruka, smiling at Nezumi. “Don’t look back.”

“You think so?” asked Nezumi, now leaning on her elbows to lift her head to look at Haruka.

“Do you believe me?” questioned Haruka, waiting for Nezumi’s reply.

Nezumi raised her body from the roof, stretching her arms as she did so. She gave a small whine, shaking her hands nonchalantly. Haruka pouted at her response, raising an eyebrow at such a non-caring reply.

“Oh thanks,” spoke Haruka, crossing her arms. “Shows how much faith you have in me.”

Nezumi looked at Haruka with a baby face, pouting in a teasing and playful way. “Aww,” she cooed, holding her palms together near her chest. “Does poor little Haruka need a hug?” With that, Nezumi grabbed onto Haruka and brought her into a bear hug, tightening her grip on the smaller Shinigami and pushing her into her chest.

Surprised by the sudden reaction, Haruka’s arms flailed around Nezumi while her face was forcibly pressed into her friend’s chest. “Can’t… breathe…”she choked, trying to grab some air from the bear hug that ensued.

Eventually, Nezumi released Haruka from her killer grip, allowing Haruka some fresh air enter her lungs. After a few moments of laughter and finishing up their conversations, both of the shinigami made their way towards the streets of Seireitei and began to walk each other home. It wasn’t long until they were met with the crossroads, a path where they separated after every weekly catch-up and bade each other farewell and good night before making their way back to their quarters. Both shinigami wished each other a good night sleep before going their separate ways. But something at the back of Haruka’s mind knew something was wrong with Nezumi ever since the morning.

She looked bed-ridden. Her eyes were growing weary by the day. For the past week or so, Haruka thought that Nezumi just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, which was an occurrence in her friend’s sleeping habits. Yet something was nagging at the back of her mind, something she had to watch out for. She turned around to spot Nezumi already walking around the corner and out of sight. She sighed inwardly, shaking the feeling from her head and continued to make her way towards her quarters. She didn’t want to get caught past curfew.