With the Captains suffering casualties and heavy injuries on their side, all hope seemed to be lost... until Shinji Hirako appeared, along with the rest of the former Shinigami. Though the aid of the Vizards certainly helped to draw the battle in their favor, it seemed Aizen's power alone proved too much for them.
The day was beautiful, as it often was in Soul Society; the sun shone brightly down upon Seireitei and Rukongai backed by beautifully clear skies and even a soft breeze to relieve those below of the heat of the sun. Umi turned her face skyward and smiled a bit, the feel of longing that tugged at her was all too familiar as she knew the relationship of her Zanpakuto with the sky. Still, she could not linger, it was still yet in the morning and Umi had a lot of things she wanted to do.
First and foremost, she had to find Yumichika, Fifth Seat of the Eleventh Division. She had a small folder tucked under her arm as she paused at the entrance gate to the Eleventh. She really did not wish to run into their Captain again. Still, little was able to deter the girl once she had a goal in her mind. She pushed the doors open and had to quickly dive to one side to avoid being hit by the body flying towards her. Several of the Division were practicing with their usual enthusiasm.
She paused beside one of the members recovering and smiled brightly, "Good morning, I was wondering if you knew where Asegawa-san could be found?' She followed the man's pointed finger before bowing and thanking him politely before moving in that direction until she came to the sliding door that had been previously gestured to.
"Gomen nasai, Asegawa-san, if I am disturbing you but are you available? It's Umi Wasei of the Fifth Division...I was hoping you might be able to help me out with something...?" Most everyone knew that Yumichika had a flawless taste and Umi was hoping he might be willing to loan that to her for a time.
Yumichika had better days. Blasted paint still wouldn't come off, and by now, most people were getting suspicious at his fruityness, something he obviously wasn't particularily proud of. The scarf was good for a while, but he needed to get a little more creative with his disguises.
In one of the spare rooms of the 11th Barracks, he sat, drinking tea and hacking at the abandoned paperwork neither his captain, vice-captain or Ikkaku would even glance at. Such was the way of the least-violent member of that division. But in this instance, he wore a hat, the type with the long flaps that goes past your ears. It was hot and moderately uncomfortable, but he'd wear just about anything to cover pinkishness of his hair. He had purchased the hat on one of his many visits to Karakura town, but never actually found a time to wear them. Until now, of course.
As soon as he heard the door slide open, he looked up and saw a familiar person. Where had he seen her again...? Oh, right, at the kitchens.
"Come in and close the door, the racket outside disturbs me," he said to the girl, pointing at a seat, "What can I do for you?" Wait, was that a folder in her arms? Fantastic. More paperwork he shouldn't be doing, but does anyway.
He hoped that she wouldn't bring up the hat. Because right now, he loathed the hat.
The smile she offered Yumichika was warm and friendly. She stepped in and slid the door closed behind her before taking the offered seat, "Arigato, Ayasegawa-san. Well...I don't mean to disturb your paperwork but I couldn't think of anyone else I would dream of asking for advise on this. I'm thinking of putting together a bout for a party and was hoping that you could help me with it. I was thinking of having a costume party....like they do on Earth? I think they call it Hallowed something. Anyway...I wanted it to be themed and see if Unohana-Soutaichou would allow it." Umi looked to Yumichika with those wide blue eyes for a moment, "Will you help me? The only other person to ask would be...Matsumoto-fukutaichou....and I would really prefer to have your sense of decor than hers. No offense to her, of course."
She opened the folder and held it out to him. Pictures of different masks and costumes were drawn by a rather talented hand. The idea was simple... a masked party. Umi felt that it would be a good idea, this way the tension in Seireitei might be eased a bit and those people suffering from the paint would be masked.
Umi said nothing about the hat nor Yumichika's scarf, indeed, she didn't seem to notice or was polite enough to make it seem that way.
Yumichika listened intently to Umi. A costumed party? Well, that there's a brilliant idea, if he did say so himself! As she spoke, the images mentally leaped from his mind. Groups of well-dressed shinigami gathered together, enjoying themselves and looking delightfully fabulous. Of course, there would be a motif...something nice and simple...burgundy and gold, with hints of silver, just to kick things up. Oh, he almost clapped his hands in excitement. How fun!
"I love it!" he said immediately. "That's just what this place needed. A gala to wash the worries away! What's this?" he asked as he took a look through the folder, noticing how detailed and well-drawn the pictues were. He paused at one illustration for a moment, and took a mental photograph of it. It was a gorgeous ensemble; he would have to remember it for one day. "Impressive, these designs are fanatastic! I can see Unohana-soutaichou in this one," he said, pulling out a page with a layered dress and mask, "And this one would flatter Rangiku-san's figure," he said, pointing at another design. "Did you draw these yourself? I must say that the styles are brilliant."
He placed the folder on the table and continued, "But of course, there's so much more to a masquerade than gowns. We need a motif, music, a large venue...so much to be done! We'll also need a caterer, enough wine to last the night, and that's a lot of wine...we'll need the right lighting too...I get excited just thinking about it!" he said, pausing to catch his breath, "Long story short, I'll be more than happy to help with the gala! And if we're going to plan Seireitei's social event of the century...we'll need to get started soon!" And by 'soon', Yumichika really meant 'now'.
Watch out, Seireitei...the fantastically flamboyant fifth-seat and his trusty sidekick are coming...!
Umi listened and was instantly brightened at his enthusiasm, "Hai! I agree, there's just so many dreary Soul Reapers just trudging along Seireitei that something like this would perk everyone right up!" Umi apparently shared Yumichika's love for big events and her excitement was easily seen in those expressive blue eyes.
When he complimented the designs, her cheeks flushed red and she looked down at her hands in her lap. "H-hai, the drawings are mine, thank you." Red contrastings oddly against the blue of her hair as she rubbed at her bare arm a moment. "Na, I was thinking of a theme to which the gowns could be styled for. There's of course animals like birds and fish or maybe something a bit more unique like Oni. As for music...my sister is amazing on the flute and I'm sure there are musicians in Rukongai. Food would be easy as well, though maybe a bit fancier? My favorite is satori, so." Another blush as she shrugged her shoulder.
"I was hoping you would accompany me to perhaps go look at kimono to maybe finalize an idea for the motif and theme? That way we can let Unohana-Soutaichou see for herself our ideas?"
Yumichika nnoticed that Umi had gotten shy after he complimented her work, "No need to be shy about such beautiful work!" he said "But yes, the gowns must be styled after a theme...after all, we all need to look uniform. Otherwise, it would be a disaster." He tapped a finger on his chin. Flowers and animals and...oni? That was too cliche. If they were going to host the grandest gala Soul Society ever witnessed...it would have to be so crazy and so mind-blowing that it would make people crazy...and then blow their minds.
Wait a minute...he just had an idea so crazy that it just might work...
...but he needed to flesh out the idea first. He'll have to keep it on hold. So, he just nodded. "We should gather more ideas for the motif first before making any final desicions. As for the music, your sister plays the flute? Well, if we can find other talents, then we need to find the right music for them to play. And I've been thinking of serving finger foods, like they do on Earth. Have you heard those tiny sausages? I've been hearing good things about those, maybe we should look into that."
As he cleared his desk from the scattered paper, he froze when Umi asked him to go with her to 'look at kimono'. It was a fancy way of saying...
"Shopping." he said. Instantly, he stood, nearly knocking the desk over. "I know this little store not too far from here that sell the most amazing fabric! We should go there."
Inside his mind, Little Yumichika was jumping for joy. Shopping! How fun!
Umi smiled and stood up when he said he knew a place. "That's great! I'm not all that familiar with the shops in Rukongai. I've gone shopping a few times but not enough to know the best places to go." She was happy to have a companion as well as to have brought a bit of happiness to the man. "Also...if you want...I can help you with your paperwork. I've gotten quite good at it. I'm decent enough in calligraphy due to being apart of Kuchiki-Taichou's Calligraphy club that I can do it quite quickly. I do understand it's for your Division, though, Ayasegawa-san." Smiling at him as she made the offer.
"Shall we go, then? Erg...just no shunpo, please. I'm not very good at it and after being forced to shunpo with Kyoraku-Taichou and Kuchiki-Taichou it's starting to make my stomach lurch some." She offered with a sheepish sort of smile. "I've been avoiding Rukongai...for various reasons...so if I get a bit jumpy...I'll apologize now. My last experience there wasn't...pleasant."
Yumichika nodded, "There are lots of good stores in Rukongai. It could get confusing sometimes." he said. Well, he had lived in Rukongai before joining the Gotei 13, so he understood how large and confusing it could be. "You'd help with that?" he said, pointing at the monstrous stack of papers on his desk, "That would be fantastic! Of course, I'll just give you the mundane ones...can't be revealing the Eleventh Division's secrets now, can I?" he asked happily. His horrible day was slowly getting better thanks to Umi. If she was less-shy, he'd invite her to join the Division. Then again, she was terrified of Zaraki...so maybe that wouldn't be the best idea.
"Yes, let's go! Daylight's wasting." No shunpo, huh? Well that's unfortunate, no shunpo would mean less time to visit shops and more time travelling. But he didn't want Umi to do something she didn't want to, so he'd have to settle for a brisk walk then. "Don't worry about 'being jumpy'. I know Rukongai can be chaotic, but we're both Shinigami. And besides, we're only going to Junrinan." he said as he opened the door, only to see that the division members who were so energetically sparring a few moments ago were all either unconsious or asleep on the floor. Motioning for Umi to be as quiet as possible, Yumichika made his way towards the door, stepping over bodies as he did so.
Just a normal day. A fantastically beautiful normal day.
Umi smiled beautifully to Yumichika and nodded her head, "Of course I would help. I don't mind doing paperwork since I enjoy the practice of my calligraphy. Living up to Kuchiki-Taichou's expectations in the Calligraphy Club are...up there." She stepped out and looked across the Eleventh Division Barracks before back to Yumichika.
"I was in Junrinan when Kurotsuchi-Taichou attacked me when I wouldn't agree to be his newest experiment. He...he wanted to test my sister and I. Kuu is my twin sister, we look and sound almost exactly the same and we share a lot of things and apparently it's really rare. It was...frightening. If Kyoraku-Taichou had not happened by...there isn't much an unseated Shinigami can do against a Captain after all. It doesn't help my swordsmanship is about as good as my shunpo." Umi was blushing softly as she quickly walked with Yumichika towards Rukongai. "That's why I was in the Eleventh Barracks when little Yachiru-fukutaichou found me and I promised to teach her how you make sweet buns. Your Captain...is a lot more intimidating than anyone else I've ever met."
"He's definitely earned the title Demon of the Gotei." She looked to Yumichika and thought to herself. She didn't say it, but she found it odd that Yumichika was in the Eleventh. He didn't seem to 'fit in' as it were. He just wasn't that aggressive, that she could see.
Yumichika listened quietly as Umi spun the tale of one Mayuri Kurotsuchi. He never really liked the man. Not only was he the most disturbing person he had ever met, did terrible and probably painful things to people and was a general freakshow...he had no sense of style. Hello? The Egyptian look went out of fashion centuries ago. And all that make up can't be doing good for your complexion.
"You have a twin sister? He's right, it's really rare. I haven't seen them before. Well, until now. So is she like you?" he asked. If they were alike, then it would be fantastic. One Umi was good, but two would be even better. Imagine how much they could do for the gala if two Umis were running around! "I can't blame you for being terrified at Kurotsuchi-taichou. There's something wrong with that man. He even freaks me out sometimes. It's a good thing Kyouraku-taichou came by then. We all know he'd rather die than let anyone harm a woman, especially two women with Kurotsuchi-taichou. You're both lucky."
He tucked a strand of stray hair into his hat before continuing.
"So that's why you were in the kitchens the other day. I was wondering. But now that you've met fukutaichou...she'll never leave you alone. Never." he said, "For some reason, she loves taichou like a father. It's the same with him; he treats her like his daughter. The two go way back, even before Ikkaku and I met him. And let me tell you something...that was a long time ago." Yumichika thought back to the time when he and Ikkaku first met Zaraki and his pink-haired she-demon companion. It probably was one of the most terrifying things he had experienced in his life. But fortunately, everything turned out for the best, and the two of them found themselves serving under the man they respected with their lives. Not a lot of people understood just why he and Ikkaku held Zaraki with so much respect. That was a long story for another time.
"He may seem terrifying, but Zaraki-taichou is a good man...deep inside. He loves battle, but he's not going to kill you just because...especially since you're friends with fukutaichou. He has morals too."