AMASUKI

甘好き

Risako Matsuki©

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Author's Note:

It's understandable that there is, without question, always Mary/Gary Sues out there, maiming our world of what we delightfully indulge in of fanfiction. True, it seems that I, perhaps one of the most irritating authoresses to ever had existed, always and only writes about original characters paired up with a canon, and seems to be spewing out statements on such Mary Sues that deem hypocritical. I tell thy now that while I strive to abide the standards of a 'good piece of fiction', I yearn to unleash my creativity – in the form of my own character, in this OC x Canon story. Don't like it? Then GTFO, please and thanks.

Summary:

Discipline and mastery of long distance combat – skilled in ranged abilities and attacks. Their symbol is of a wave – a powerful sea current that gives an appearance of utmost calm. These are only few of the many values and functions that uphold and exist in the Ninth Protective Squad of the Gotei 13 in Soul Society. With that said, it certainly seems doubtful for a certain perky newly-graduated shinigami from the Academy – Kisaragi Anzu. While her vivacious ways may seem to lighten up the Ninth Division, vice-captain Hisagi Shuuhei digresses, and decides it's time to discipline the young lady and teach her some manners – and most importantly, the way of the shinigami of the Gotei 13. However, was falling in love part of the package?

Preface:

Thus, this marks my second OC x Canon Bleach fic. Hope it won't be as bad as the shaky start of HYOUJIN. I've grown out of my childish-like fantasies and obsessions over the très bien captain Hitsugaya Toushirou. The inspiration for this piece was probably stemmed from the time when I was promoted as Ninth Captain on a Bleach RP, and I instantly fell in love with the character Shuuhei Hisagi. Unfortunately for me, not much information is known about Shuu-kun's Zanpakutou, but with the arrival of the second movie for Bleach (squeals, it's Hitsu-taichou's debut of his past!) I may be able to collect and retain more information, but that won't be until for a while so everyone shouldn't worry.

Amasuki (the title) consists of the meaning 'sweet like' or 'sweet love'. The meaning will become apparent later on (or now, if you're witty on symbolism meanings).

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01: Apricot Jam

Sweet, and tangy at the same time, it gives a refreshing flavour that cannot be matched anywhere else. When it is eaten, one must slowly savour the natural sweetness that emits from the fruit, the jam jelly provoking mouth-watering instincts to indulge oneself in such a delicacy. It was probably her most favourite food of all, since she's an 'apricot' herself – hence the situation if it's grape jelly or strawberry jam, if she were to be given a decision to choose either one, she'd give a prompt and decisive answer.

"Of course, I'd rather go for apricot jam."

It was spring. It wasn't just because a particular someone is blind and cannot see the ravaging pink storm of cherry petals raining down from the trees, but the entirety of the season and all the other goodness that comes from spring was present. It was finally sunny after a long and hard, grueling period of bleak and weary cold and snow. Outside was, not quite warm but not quite cool either. It was warm enough for the sakura trees to start streaming petals of the pride and joy of Japanese culture, and it was good enough for her. At least, in that sense, because everything would end today, and start again anew.

Cirrocumulus clouds dotted the vast expanse of a deep blue sky, their wispy tails trailing after one another, carried away by the breeze. Along with that current of wind was several tumbling petals of pink and white, scattering and dispersing themselves along with the weather. It was sunny as well. The overall cheeriness of everything seemed to spark liveliness among many of the Seireitei workers and shinigami body – especially, the students of the Shinigami Academy, not too far away from where all the busy-body sakura trees were spewing their pinks and whites.

Scarlet hair flashed along the current of air, untidy and set loose. It wasn't too long – nor was it too short. A set of golden-orange eyes completed the set of crimson colours that swirled past several students. White hems with twin vermillion stripes blazed across and down the slope, tabi and waraji-worn feet clattering in a dry manner quickly after succession, suggesting that she was in a hurry. The identical vermillion-coloured hakama pants fluttered against the wind, and the girl continued to race down the hill, arms pumping back and forth, a large grin plastered on her face, eyes wide and bright.

Meanwhile, it was an energetic gathering of many officers and representatives in the school courtyard. Almost all of the vice-captains were present, seemingly more interested amongst others of their own status, for they conversed quite briskly about today's graduation ceremony, and what types of subordinates were to be recruited upon their team. Gathered in the courtyard, were hundreds of blue and red-clothed students, standing in almost perfect unison of rectangular areas, spread out underneath the shining mid-afternoon sun. It was already starting.

Yamamoto Genryuusai's loud and powerful voice erupted into the court, silencing everyone. He was of an even greater stature than any being in the court, his white and black robes bright underneath the sun. He had a slight tanned complexion, with a noticeable 'X'-shaped scar on his balding forehead, and slanted eyes that scoured everyone's gaze with a single glance. He was old, but powerful, like an ancient power dormant for the time being. Several students flinched underneath his gaze, as for everyone held their breaths while he spoke, and when Yamamoto Genryuusai speaks, no one dares to interrupt.

"It had been my greatest pleasure to welcome you graduates into the company of the Thirteen Protective Squads of Soul Society. For one whose determination and willpower overcoming the hardships that…"

She snuck into the crowd, blending in almost perfectly not only by uniform and colours, but also by the scattered pink and white petals upon her hair and shoulders. Letting out a relieved sigh, the crimson-haired girl bent down slightly to catch her breath, panting gently. Several students turned around to gaze at her briefly before turning back into attention, and her presence was unnoticed once more.

"…can only bring great satisfaction in the duties that you carry out – to protect and purge. Everyone of you whom have been assessed during our examination period are carefully evaluated and are placed to the Division that suits best your results, character, skill, and personality. However, you all may not know the distinct qualities that each Division possesses…"

She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand to hide her action as discreetly as possible. The cherry-haired girl had already considered about that option – however, it usually ended with open-ended questions that left her hanging. Which Division of the Protective Squads did she really prefer over? Now completely ignoring the ceremony, she was pondering to herself. Personally, the cherry-haired girl never liked to fight. Perhaps she was a coward, or she was just too damn lazy. She never memorized the kenjitsu steps and she was only average with hakuda. Kidou spells were out of the question. No doubt, sometimes she wondered herself – how on earth did she managed to graduate?

Smiling slightly to herself, she thought about her traits and compared it with the qualities of the Divisions. No doubt she may not be suit for the 2nd Division, which specializes in assassination and close-quarters combat. She'd never released her Zanpakutou before, thus she is unsure if she's about to control elemental aspects to be in the 10th Division. She has no knowledge of any sort of healing ability at all (she failed the course for Medical Ops) thus she wouldn't even dare to dream on getting in Fourth Division. She wasn't particularly very intelligent either… so much for the Twelfth Squad recruiting her.

Then there were the captains. At first glance, several of them look rather… hostile. They all possess that hard, sharp gaze that seemed to reflect the many experiences, both good and bad; they had endured over the long years. However, when her tangerine eyes rest upon a certain captain, she smiled slightly. It was Captain Aizen Sousuke – lucky! She seemed to hear good things about him – his gentle personality, his friendliness with even his subordinates, and generosity to everyone. Gripping a fist in a symbol of determination, she gave a small nod of her head.

"Yosh, I'll try to aim for the Fifth Division." She whispered to herself.

By the time she was done mumbling and pondering and goofing off a little, the Commander Captain's speech had ended. Everyone was restless, several were whispering amongst themselves on their preference of Division, while others seemed to wait impatiently for the next course of action. She was jittery herself, that she admitted; however, a thrill replaced the butterflies in her stomach soon when she recognized the Second Division Captain, Soi Fong, had taken the spot from Yamamoto Genryuusai, arms folded for a moment, eyes cross. Her expression seemed fierce, but nonetheless she possessed some elegance in her style. Picking up a sheet, she cleared her throat before proceeding.

"I am the Second Division's Captain, Soi Fong. When I call out the following names, please regroup yourselves on the designated plaque on the wall." She gestured towards the courtyard's perimeters, and true enough, a giant bellflower symbol appeared upon a section of the wall, with the kanji for '2' printed neatly underneath.

She started to call out for names.

Our heroine, now completely bored out of her mind, closed her eyes as she listened to the only sound of Soi Fong's voice, and the footsteps of many people whom where migrating over towards the giant bellflower symbol upon the wall. It wasn't before long until the lankiest of the Captains stepped forwards, his wolfish grin always present. This time, a giant spiked chrysanthemum flower symbol flashed upon the wall next towards the Second Division's bellflower. Things continued on like this; Fourth Division's hydrangea, and of her notice, Fifth Division's cowslip flowers symbol flashed upon the wall.

There he was – Captain Aizen, smiling down at the hordes of the remaining majority of students, grasping the sheet in his hand – with the possibility of having her name on it. Heart pounding, she awaited very tensely, eyes wide, lips pursed together tightly.

It was only ten minutes later, and she had given up hope, head hung low, as she sulked. Her name hadn't been called. Heaving a heavy sigh, she slumped down, biting her lip. Perhaps she had pushed her luck too much. Straightening back up, she sighed again and rubbed her sore neck with another expression of boredom. At this point, she didn't quite care which Division she'd be placed in.

Feeling a pang of reiatsu behind her, she swirled around, witnessing the huge lotus flower symbol tattooing itself upon the stone wall. The word 'Nine' flashed underneath, imprinting itself as well. A bead of sweat ran down her temple. The sudden appearance of the Division symbol had frightened her slightly. Turning around with more interest now, she spotted a tall, dark-skinned man with an orange semi twist-braided scarf wrapped around his neck. A clear visor was worn over his eyes, and upon closer inspection to her surprise, she was stunned to see that his pupils were completely white.

The name calling began again.

"Sasaki Keisuke." There was a pause when the sound of the individual scuffling could be heard in the silence. "Shizen Minami."

It was getting close now, towards her last name in hiragana order. Looking nervously back at the flower behind her, she briefly connected her gaze with the captain.

"Kisaragi Anzu."

There was a small feeling of unexpected surprise that had blossomed inside of her at the moment. With her full name revealed now, she took in a small breath and turned around, walking towards the rest of her team members. The male and female shinigami that had been called before both her gave her a brief gaze before losing interest. Anzu bit her bottom lip nervously, making her way towards closer to the wall, her back turned against her members.

It wasn't long before the ceremony had completely ended. Now, the courtyard is bustling and filled with the din of talk. Shaking her head from side to side, Anzu shook off a shower of pink petals that had nestled themselves among her hair. She heaved a sigh. Spring was supposed to be good news – and this is certainly boring in her opinion. They should be more exciting, rather than a dull, toneless drone that grated painfully into her ears.

"Oi, oi. Is everyone assembled?"

Straightening up at the sound of change, Anzu looked around for the owner of the voice. Towering almost a whole feet above her, was a tall young man with spiky purple-black hair that rose up in disarrayed directions. The only things that captured her attention were the three long scar-lines that ran down the right cheek of his face, and the blue stripe and '69' tattoo imprinted on his left. Stumbling back a bit clumsily, she tripped over her own red hakama as a surge of students behind them grouped in closer to this man.

"If you don't know me already, then I'll introduce myself again. I am Hisagi Shuuhei, and I'm the executive second-in-command for our Division, also known as the fukutaichou. From now on, I'll be responsible for recruits like you – freshly-graduated shinigami from the Spiritual Academy – and to help you adjust to your new life in serving the Gotei 13 and the Royal Families." The dark-mauve-haired man spoke up, his voice clear and beautifully audible. Perhaps too audible, for the likes of Kisaragi Anzu. As she struggled back up on her feet after ever so gracefully landing on her rear in a scuffle, the roan-scarlet-haired girl nearly was plowed over when another wave of students crossed their way upon her.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing, lying on the floor?" The vice captain grumbled with a large tinge of irritation in his voice. Reaching down with a massive hand, he grabbed her by the top of her head and pulled her back up on her feet, glaring down at her with mild annoyance. Anzu, to say in the least, looked a little less than elegant at the moment, and responded with a small cough.

"Well?" He pressed on, brows furrowed even deeper. "State your name, recruit." His eyes flashed, demanding an answer.

She paused for a second. "K-Kisaragi Anzu. And you may be?" She asked in return, eyes directed at him without much guile, but anyone who was listening before wouldn't be incorrect to say if she were simply weren't listening, stupid, or too KO'd at the moment to understand anything at all.

"Don't ask for your fukutaichou's name so casually." Shuuhei dumped her back down on the floor with a snappish tonal quality in his voice, looking rather gruff at the impoliteness she had displayed. Rubbing the back of her head, Anzu didn't particularly seemed to be fazed by his scolding and continued to stare at him, red-orange eyes anxious to extract a name, at least, from him. Sighing wearily, Shuuhei clasped his fingers together into a fist, and lightly yet expertly hit her on the head.

"O-Ow! What was that for?!" She nipped out, eyes wincing at his sudden strike. "For being so rude to your executive captain, that's what. Listen, Kisaragi. If you can't even bother to remember your fukutaichou's name, you should take our Captain in consideration." Shuuhei reprimanded her with a pulsating vein upon his right temple. Giving him a rather pointed stare, she folded her arms across her chest in slight anger. "Then tell me your name, fukutaichou."

He hit her on the head again.

"No more outbursts Kisaragi, or no dinner for you." He grumbled, starting to take off in the general direction, towards the exit. Following him quickly, she managed to catch up after a few dashing steps and slowed down to a moderate walking pace, her frame slightly turned towards the tall male in curiosity. Ignoring her for the first few minutes, Shuuhei could feel increasingly uncomfortable (or rather, ticked off) as he continued to feel her heated stare at him.

"What?" He suddenly demanded, his voice dripping with venom.

"You still haven't told me your name yet." She responded, and heaved a sigh. Shuuhei could feel his blood pressure rise – when did she have the right to sigh at him, her superior? He should be sighing at her, for God's sake - her lack of manners was something very unusual, and Shuuhei didn't like it. No one in the division seemed to have such a personality like hers. He shook his head in wonderment, silently praying that her enrollment in the Division was all a mistake – and he'd have a piece of mind later.

"Well?" She pressed, her eyes becoming slightly more aggressive.

"Fine. I'll only say this once; I'm not going to repeat myself. My name's Hisagi Shuuhei – get it memorized in your head." Shuuhei finally replied disdainfully, but felt rather relieved when he didn't feel her gaze on him anymore. She was certainly a strange girl – a rather weird one at that. He took a turn around a corner, and continued down the seemingly long series of pathways that constructed a warren-like system that could easily confuse anyone. Anzu didn't seem to remember where they had come from, and was sticking rather close to him like peas in a pod.

"It's easy to get lost here, you'd better stay close. The headquarters for our Division isn't far off, but it may take a while if we simply just walk over there…" Shuuhei mumbled, considering how inconvenient it was for him just to transport himself through means of walking rather than using Shunpo – but he couldn't, since he has her to worry about. The newbie. Glancing sideways, he briefly gazed at the young recruit to see how she was keeping up. So far, she didn't seem to be tired, but an expression of total and utter confusion and the loss of directions was evident on her face.

"You're totally right – this place is like a giant maze!" Her voice echoed out, and Shuuhei slapped her on the head. Clamping a hand down upon her noggin, his left eye twitched as he quickly silenced her. "Not so loud, Kisaragi! We're close to the Royal Families' residential areas, do you want your head chopped off?!" He hissed venomously, and she quickly covered her mouth with her hands. Muttering unheard profanities and words unsuitable for print under his breath, Shuuhei continued to lead the way.

Twilight cloaked Seireitei soon after. As the sunset cast its orange glow across the nation, shadows extended their reach and masked many areas in pitch-black darkness. Shuuhei was used to this – day in, day out, everyday with exceptions of missions - he'd face these shadows, either on the way home or towards other offices to deliver reports and assignments. So it wasn't completely his fault, when he continued on rather quickly without much thought in his head, until he heard a pattering of frenzied footsteps behind him.

She looked thoroughly shaken, even out of breath, as if she had struggled to keep up with him – but rather, it seemed as if she were hesitant in venturing with him – and there was a brief look of panic over her face. Slightly concerned, he halted to a stop, turning around to face her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Anzu quickly gave him a smile, her hand raised as if the matter was to be dropped. "It's nothing." She dismissed cheerfully, catching her breath before quickly joining him in his promenade.

"Baka." He stated with a slight joking tone, and felt her playfully punch him on the arm. He glowered back at her, and with a look of terror, she quickly tired to shield her head from his attack. However, his speed prevailed, and the next second she was crouching on the floor, clutching the top of her head, moaning in agony.

"You're going to kill me someday later." She groaned.

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A/n: I don't know, I didn't quite feel so comfortable writing the ending for this chapter. It felt slightly weird. But it was rushed, probably that was why Hisagi was a bit OOC.

Second chapter is still in the works! Hit that 'Submit a Review' GO button, and a miracle will happen.

-Risako Matsuki