Death Is Only The Beginning

Chapter 3: Taken

“No.” Kagome said with an air of finality.

“Miss Higurashi, I don’t think you understand-” Kira tried to reason with her yet again. He’d been there for the better part of an hour trying to convince her that it was in her best interests to go with him willingly. He had his orders and wasn’t one do disobey his superiors…but he was also a gentleman and wasn’t about to manhandle a young woman. Especially when said woman had a sword and an attitude.

“No, Lieutenant Kira, I don’t think YOU understand.” Kagome declared as she turned away from the pot of stew she had over a fire and pointed her cooking spoon at him. “I can’t just leave because your commanding officer says he wants to meet me. I have my own responsibilities here with these children and the other souls of these districts that you and your kind so conveniently turn a blind eye to!” Kagome paused to take a deep, calming breath before continuing. “I don’t know what your Captains would want to see me for, but I’m busy. Now that I believe we’ve settled that…you look tired Lieutenant. When was the last time you ate?” She questioned with a large smile.

~*~*~*~

“Captain Yamamoto? Lieutenant Kira has returned from the Rukongai, sir. He’s come to report in.” One of the younger shinigami members of the first division informed from the other side of the great doors to the large office.

“Send him in.” He answered back. It had taken much longer than he had expected and was wondering what had kept the usually efficient Lieutenant. To say he was surprised when the blond youth entered his office alone and bowed deeply in front of him would have been an understatement even though one couldn’t tell by looking at his battle hardened face. “Where is the girl you were sent to retrieve, Lieutenant Kira?”

Without lifting his head Kira spoke, “I am very sorry, Head Captain Yamamoto. I failed at my mission to bring one Higurashi Kagome to the Court of Pure Souls for an audience with you. She refused to go willingly, and I could not bring myself to lay hands on her in a forceful way.”

“And you were trying to persuade the young lady for that long?”

“Well…not exactly, Head Captain…”

“Then out with it, boy. What was your delay?”

“She…well, she refused to let me leave until I sat down and ate some supper with the children and herself. She’s not a woman of large stature by any means, but something about the way she speaks is very forceful…”

The older man was quiet for a moment. What kind of girl was this to get Kira to return without finishing a mission?? “Very well then. You are relieved of this mission and are to instead inform Lieutenant Abarai that he is taking over for you. I will meet this girl. He is authorized to use force if necessary. Dismissed.”

~*~*~*~

The next morning, Renji was walking through the dusty streets of the Rukongai toward the address he’d been give the previous evening. He’d been told to bring this woman back with him by any means necessary. ‘Why the hell couldn’t Kira handle this??’ He thought as his feet shuffled down the dirt street. Byakuya had been running him ragged lately…of course he could understand why. His captain had been in a dour mood lately and didn’t want him around to see him mourn the loss of his wife as the anniversary of her death approached. But either way, Renji was tired and didn’t particularly want play fetch for the higher-ups this early in the morning.

Rounding another corner he found the humble residence of the person he was looking for. Opting to use some amount of civility, he lifted his hand and knocked several times on the flimsy, make-shift door covering the entrance. A few seconds later the door was opened and he saw the back of a head of raven black hair as he heard, “Shinji, stop teasing Aya and eat your breakfast!” But when he saw the woman’s face he recognized her instantly. It had been a year, but those eyes weren’t easily forgotten.

Kagome turned to see who would come to her home this early in the morning and felt the smile disappear from her face instantly. “YOU!”

Renji tensed as he saw her eyes darken and her cheeks flush. She glared heatedly at him and yelled, “YOU!” It was clear that she remembered him as well. “You’re the one who sent me away before I could even say goodbye to my family!! Where do you get the right to just go around making people who aren’t ready go to the afterlife turn into butterflies all willy-nilly?! You’re lucky these children are here or you would be in a world of hurt right now, mister!” He could hear the children snickering behind her as she scolded him.

“Look, it’s my job. See this??” He said as he pointed to the division badge on his arm. “This is what gives me that right. If I had left you in that world a Hollow would have gotten you eventually and then there’d just me one more of the damn things running around! Now I don’t know what you said to Kira to get him to leave yesterday, but you’re not getting rid of me. You’re going back to the Court with me, and that’s final.” Renji wasn’t one to just lie down and take getting yelled at. If she wanted to be stubborn then that just meant he’d have to do things the hard way.

“Oh yeah?? And what if I still say no?!” But Kagome took a nervous step back at the formation of a smirk on his face.

A few minutes later and Renji had Kagome tossed over his shoulder as she kicked and beat on his back demanding that he put her down. “Hey kid,” he said as he looked at a dark haired boy. “Who’s the oldest around here?”

“I am.” A girl appearing to be in her early teens said as she stepped forward.

“Good, then it’s your job to look after the rest of them until she comes back. Now hand me her sword, she’s gonna need it.” Renji ordered holding his hand out expectantly. When the object he asked for was in his grasp he tucked it into the band around his waist next to his own sword and started walking back: mission complete.

~*~*~*~

The walk back was longer than the initial walk into the Rukongai. Of course when you have a small woman thrashing beside your head and beating tiny fists into your back, walking is a bit more of a challenge. After a good bit of screaming and kicking and beating his back until she was sure it would bruise, Kagome finally wore herself out and was resigned to travel the rest of the way as a fuming mad sack of potatoes. Renji had never been as relieved as when he was standing outside the doors of the First Division Captain’s office waiting to be let in. When the doors finally opened, he strode forward and unceremoniously dropped his cargo onto a cushion positioned in front of the aged man.

Kagome landed on her rear with an ‘oomf’ and turned to glare up at her red-headed captor. “Lieutenant Abarai, what do you have to report?” Captain Yamamoto questioned as he looked at the girl that sat across from him.

“Other than that she’s vicious and practically feral? Not much. She is indeed caring for several children in her home. I think I counted eight in all.”

Kagome looked at him, aghast that he would dare to call her feral. “Yeah?! Well you’re…you’re a stupid…pineapple headed……JERK!” And with that she stuck her tongue out at him triumphantly.

Yamamoto chuckled at the fiery spirit the small woman held. No wonder she had given Kira and Renji a hard time. “Miss Higurashi, I appreciate you being here even if it isn’t of your own free will.” He greeted to get her attention on him. “Lieutenant, I wish for you to stay during this meeting and then escort Miss Higurashi to the Academy.”

“Please, call me Kagome. And you are??” She had no reason to be angry with the old man…other than the whole him ordering his goon to drag her up here thing.

“I am First Division Head Captain Yamamoto of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. I’ve heard some impressive things about you, Kagome. I want to give you a shinigami placement test and have you join my Shinigami Academy and maybe even one of our squads.”

“No.” She answered flatly.

Keeping his ever calm demeanor, Yamamoto gently questioned, “And may I ask why?”

“Because, as I’ve already told your men, I have other responsibilities in the districts that you ignore. I take those children in for a reason. They can’t be out on the streets or they would either be killed or starve.”

“Ah yes, the orphans that you look after. You work many menial jobs for small amounts of pay just to keep you all going, isn’t that correct? Being a shinigami isn’t charity work, Kagome. It’s a job. And like any other job, you will receive compensation for your work. I can assure you that it pays much better than any other you’ll find in the Rukongai. You would be able to find a larger home in a nicer district for your children. There would be more room to take in more orphans and make sure that they’re fed and safe. What do you think now?”

Kagome sat quietly in thought. The offer was tempting…but she would likely be kept so busy that she wouldn’t have much time for anything else. “Would I still be allowed to see the children??”

“Of course. You’ll have a separate home within the Court so that you will be on hand in case of an emergency, buy you will be allowed to travel into the Rukongai.”

She wouldn’t see the children as often, but they would be better taken care of…it was quite a trade off, but she knew the decision she had to make. “Captain Yamamoto, I accept. But I only want to receive enough money to eat off of, the rest is to go to the children.”

“Very well. Lieutenant Abarai, take Miss Higurashi here to the Academy while I call several Captains together for the evaluation.”

“Yes, Captain Yamamoto.” Renji said as he pulled Kagome off the floor and lead her out the door and down the hall.

Yamamoto could hear their voices echoing down the hallway, “Feral demon woman.”

“Pineapple-headed jerk.”

~*~*~*~

Kagome walked into a large, secluded outdoor area of what she was told was part of the Academy’s training grounds. Two men and one woman stood against a wall at the far end of the grounds. “This is where we will test your various strengths and skills, Kagome.” Yamamoto said as he walked in behind her and Renji. “The three that you see standing over there are all Captain’s. They will be watching you complete your tasks and at least two of them have to agree that you pass for you to become part of a squad. If you pass you will be enrolled in the Academy at the appropriate level for your skill. If you fail you may either stay and start from the beginning at the Academy to train or you may go back to the Rukongai.” He then looked over to the awaiting Captains and furrowed his brow as he said, “Shunsui, what are you doing here? I called for Juushiro.”

“He’s having another one of his bad days. I was visiting him when your call for him came. I told him to stay in bed and that I would attend for him. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Very well then…Captain Unohana, you will go check on him after this, yes?”

“Of course, Sir.” The woman answered with a warm smile.

“Then let’s begin. Kagome, first I’m going to ask, do you know kidou?” Yamamoto asked.

“Demon magic?? No, I don’t know any spells.”

“Then in that case I want you to remain standing where you are and hit the target on the far end in the same way that you would attack a Hollow at long range.”

Kagome took a few deep breaths and concentrated on the target. “For the children,” she said to herself. “I have to do this for the children…” So bracing herself on sturdy feet, Kagome faced her right palm up and out, aiming for the target. Her left hand wrapped around her wrist for stability and she pulled a concentrated amount of her energy to gather at her palm. When enough had gathered, she projected it outward and the target was instantly obliterated.

“Well done. Now you’re going to spar. Lieutenant, give her sword back to her now.”

Renji grunted as he yelled “Head’s up!” and tossed it to its rightful owner.

“Now both of you get into position. Kagome, the Lieutenant here is going to be your opponent.”

“WHAT?!” Renji yelled. “You have to be kidding! She won’t stand a chance-”

“What’s wrong, Renji?” Kagome interrupted. “I can keep up. Try me.” She said with a smile.

After a nod from Yamamoto, Renji made the first move. Kagome blocked easily and they continued for a while in very basic steps, almost like a dance. But after a while the both began to get restless and decided to test the waters with each other. Their moves became faster and more pressure was applied to their attacks. As they began to get more serious their frustrations with the other leaked into the fight as things got progressively more dangerous. Then the inevitable happened: Renji’s sword made it past one of her blocks and cut deeply into her arm.

A scream was head echoing across the training grounds followed by two swords dropping. Unohana ran to Kagome’s side to assess the damage done. She looked up to Yamamoto with mild concern for the girl’s wound etched across her face. “Kagome, this will be your chance to use your spirit force for healing. If you cannot tend the wound yourself then Captain Unohana here will take care of it. I suggest you hurry.”

Kagome shook away the fog of pain that settled across her mind and concentrated. Gradually, spirit particles were pulled from the air and ground to wind and solidify around the wound slowly stopping the bleeding and closing it. When she was done it looked more like a scrape than a gash. Testing her arm a few times with stretches and basic movements, Kagome decided that she was pleased with her handiwork and smiled up at Unohana.

“That was very well done for someone who hasn’t been trained, Kagome.” The older woman complimented.

Kagome nodded her thanks and looked up to Captain Yamamoto who in turn looked to the three Captains. A head of pink hair appeared from behind the shoulder of the tallest man and said, “Ken-chan likes the pretty Kaggy lady. She passes!”

“Yachiru! I told ya to stay at the division! This ain’t any of your business.” Kenpachi responded to the child, but nodded his agreement to his superior officer.

“I have to agree that she is quite a skilled young woman. I give her my approval.” Unohana concurred.

“Same here, Old Man. She’s got some serious potential.” Shunsui said as he smiled down at the young girl. He was pleased when he received a brilliant smile in return.

“There you have it, Kagome. You’re officially a part of the Court Guard Squads. You will return to my office tomorrow morning for your squad assignment and class rank. You may return home now. Lieutenant Abarai, I trust that you’ll see your newest comrade home safely. You’re all dismissed.”

~*~*~*~

Shunsui made his way back over to his friend’s home to check on the sickly man. “So how did the evaluation go?” He heard a weak voice ask as he walked through the door.

“It went well. Too bad you had to miss it, that girl was really something. No formal training to speak of, but she almost gave Abarai a run for his money during their spar. How are you feeling?”

“Better. What did the Captains say?”

“She got passing straight across the board. We won’t find out what squad she’ll be in until tomorrow though. So until then just relax and I’ll think of an embarrassing story about someone to lighten your spirits.” Things were quiet for a while between the two men until Shunsui added, “I think you’d like her though. She has a nice smile and the biggest, bluest eyes I’ve ever seen on someone her size!”

“Are you sure you were looking at her eyes, Shunsui??”