Bleach: The Forgotten Captain - The Memoirs of Akari Miyazaki

Chapter 5: Growing up?!

I remained home for a few days. The written final exams at the academy were over, and it would be a few more weeks before we started our duties as substitute shinigami. I locked myself in my room, allowing no one to come to me—neither my mother nor Yamachi, nor Byakuya. I wanted to be alone, to lie in bed with my broken heart and stare at the ceiling.

I knew I was one of those who needed this. I needed my pain and sorrow; I had to allow it all to deal with the situation. Over and over, I replayed the final conversation with Gin in my mind, trying to understand what he had gotten himself into. Deep down, I felt that he must be involved into something wicked. I tried to trust him as he had asked me to, yet it was incredibly hard for me to ignore my uneasy gut feeling.

Additionally, I was still trying to make sense of the fact that both my mother and some of my friends had memories I did not have, and I must never let anyone know. A wave of guilt always hit me when I thought about having told Kisuke everything. I was sure he would keep his word and not tell anyone, yet I had a lingering fear. What if he confronted Gin?

Occasionally, I pondered whether I should just tell Kisuke that it was all a joke or that I had been mistaken, but I knew he wouldn't buy it—especially since he had seen the scar on my back.

I would just have to ask him to continue to keep silent and let the matter rest. I sighed. I sighed often these days.

It took a whole two weeks before they all stood at my door: Yamachi, Byakuya, Rangiku, and Kisuke. They forced me to come with them, out into the fresh air by the river, and I relented. It would probably be good to be out a bit with friends. I was quiet and listened to their stories.

They never directly addressed me, talking amongst themselves, and I caught up on what I had missed in Seireitei. Kisuke had spent a lot of time with Captain Yoruichi Shihoin and told us that he had been raised by her family. I had wondered a few times about his family situation, but he seemed to be one of those not born in the Soul Society. So, he was one of those who had come from the world of the living to the Soul Society with death, apparently at a very young age.

As a child, he had been taken in by the Shihoin family, and he had gotten along great with Yoruichi from the start (I was a bit offended that he had never told me, considering how much I admired her!).

Furthermore, rumors circulated that Kirio Hikifune, the Captain of the 12th Division, was planning to resign from her position.

"How did she come to that decision?" I asked, and for a brief moment, my friends stared at me in surprise. It was my first utterance since we had sat down on the lawn by the river.

"They say she got promoted, but she's waiting until they find a worthy successor," Yamachi explained in a know-it-all tone, as if he had firsthand information.

"Maybe one of us will be her successor," he joked, and I noticed Byakuya's shoulders droop. I knew an incredible pressure weighed on him. The world expected him to succeed Ginrei Kuchiki. After the academy, we would work as novice Shinigami for a year before being assigned to different divisions and ranks through exams and observations.

Yamachi continued to speculate about which divisions we would all become captains of.

"Exactly, the three of us will be captains, and both of you will be our vice-captains," he said to Rangiku and Kisuke, who exchanged meaningful glances. Even Byakuya frowned, but I laughed.

Yamachi knew better than any of us that he had no chance of becoming a captain. Not only because he lacked the necessary Reiatsu — he simply had no ambition to become a great warrior. He was content with passing the academy and theoretically joining the Gotei 13. It was something he wanted to prove to himself, and that was all that mattered to him. His main focus was on our family's business.