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| - Saying a short prayer for his friend’s soul, Kentaro stood and wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye as he turned his gaze towards his father; the man he loved and hated, respected and scorned. His father was everything he wasn’t. Calm and composed, strong and courageous, fair and understanding. It was infuriating for him to always be compared to the accomplishments of his father, no matter how trivial the comparison. Couldn’t they see that he was his own man, with his own goals and dreams separate from his father’s legacy? But that was one of the prices that needed to be paid for being the son of a hero, whose knowledge of the future made him a hero among the Gotei 13. He possessed hollow powers, but no one so much as glanced at his father. No. The harsh words and stares were reserved solely for Kentaro. It hadn’t been the death of a friend that brought him close to tears, not solely anyway. The hollow, with their reckless use of Cero often started fires and a great deal of the homes within the Rukon District were either burning or already burned to smouldering heaps of ash that scattered easily in the too warm breeze. The smoke and ash stung his eyes and set small wounds he though healed ablaze anew. "So… this is war?" Looking around, the youngster took in the scenes of devastation; drank them in deeply and burned each and every scene into his mind for fear they may be forgotten in the near future, so, at least, he would remember and mourn their lose. Regret for those who’d lost their lives in the defense of their homes and of the Soul Society filled his heart near to bursting; but he put on a strong front for those who still lived. Morale was important in groups as small as these and one showing sadness or fear could reflect easily on the others. Harumi Kazuki, known to many in Soul Society as the Black Haired Angel worked to heal the injuries sustained in their last skirmish. That was the fight in which he’d sustained the injuries on his arms, received when a hollow struck him through a wall and dazed his straight for several minutes. He’d been saved then, by his father who sustained his own injuries in the hasty defense. Watching his father place a hand on Harumi’s shoulder and her sudden smile of confidence brought a quickening to the youngster’s heart. That always happened when he saw Harumi smile, but today, in this bleak scene of death and devastation, it was even more special to him. How could she, in the face of all this, show a smile of such warmth? He truly respected her for her strength; strength he did not think he possessed. “You okay, son?” Kenji asked, worry entering his tone. It wouldn’t be long until they moved again, this time to flank a slightly larger group of hollow moving closer to Kusaka Kori’s troops. His father’s gaze took in the dead body of the young Shinigami, and he shook his head in anger and frustration, a sudden twitching of his right eye betraying his feelings despite the fact he tried hard to maintain a level of distance between himself and his troops. “Don’t push yourself too hard, you hear?” He said, rising and staring off into the distance. “Ino doesn’t like you, or Harumi, being here... and truth be told, I’m not too hot on the idea myself. Just promise me you’ll be careful, and I might breathe a little easier.” He grinned, and ruffled his hair as he always did, Kentaro squeezing his father’s hand tightly before he walked off, giving commands which the others followed without complaint or the slightest show of hesitation. Standing up and falling in beside his squadron Commander; an angular faced Shinigami by the name of Zero Ukitake with a band of leather worn on his head; Kentaro awaited the briefing of their next mission, which of course, he’d already heard from his father. He was a member of the low-aristocratic Ukitake family and was a fair and well-respected commander among the Rukon Patrol Teams. “Prepare yourself well, Kentaro.” The aging man said, voice betraying no emotion. His angular face may as well have been carved from stone for all the emotion he showed, but suddenly and completely uncharacteristically, the man smiled as he regarded Kentaro with a set of gray eyes. “It is difficult,” His tone was now respectful, “watching a friend die and being unable to do anything. It is not a nice feeling, but in war, an inescapable one.” He looked around, and when he was sure no one was looking – Zero showed little emotion, except to those he either mentored or thought highly of – before continuing in a quieter tone. “Your fathers busy as you know, but I know more about this stuff than he does, lad. I’m here if you want to talk about anything.” Muttering quick thanks, Kentaro found his opinion of the angle-faced commander change. He once thought him a stone with that angled face and no show of emotion, but he was like everyone else; a human being, albeit a complex one. “What’s the mission this time, Zero,” One of the others, a pale faced youth obviously unaccustomed to continual battle with few breaks to be had between, said in a high-pitched voice. “We are going to flank a group of hollow heading for Commander Kori’s position and then head towards the District of Zaraki.” Zero replied, all emotionless and distant as he so regularly was these days, “Reports indicate a growing hollow threat amassing for a potential attack and we’ve been called in to fill the gaps.” He stopped, and turned slowly to regard his small strike force of nine others including Kentaro, Harumi and the pale-faced youth who’d asked the question. “Some of you,” His gaze took in the latter three, “are new to this level of combat activity and may not be used to it.” Again today, emotion entered his tone and strangely, it was respectful as he swept that gray-eyed gaze over his troops. “That is alright, because you will learn quickly. Follow my lead and stay in groups of three, two at the worst. Never,” He put emphasis on that with an increase in tone, “become separated from the group. The hollow outnumber us, but we fight better than they do. That, ladies and gentlemen,” He used the phrase for Harumi exclusively as she was currently the only female among the group he commanded, “is the key to our victory. Commander Hiroshi,” Kenji raised his hand as one with the unit of Shinigami stationed behind him and nodded his head in agreement, “will charge in and form another flanking strike. That’s the plan, so get ready. We leave in five minutes.” Walking off to get ready, Kentaro strapped on his zanpakutō and adjusted it so the blades handle sat at an angle over his right shoulder for ease of drawing before combat. Tieing his silver forearm bracer tightly, the youngster adjusted his ōbi sash, making sure he had a small pouch of salves and bandages encase he needed to dress wounds beyond his skill in healing to mend. His father always told him that those who entered battle unprepared never got the chance to prepare again, and it was a trend he was beginning to see by watching the growing number of dead. The veterans, who prepared well survived, while the new recruits who prepared had a better chance than those who did not, and the figures showed. “Nervous?” Harumi’s clear, musical voice reached his ears and he turned to regard her with the warmest smile he could muster considering their location and company. The other Patrolmen gossiped at the slightest thing, and their close relationship was one of the hotter matters of debate. She was beautiful in every way he could imagine. She wasn’t tall, but her body was well proportioned and curvy and her smile was simply divine. Her long, black hair combed and kept tidy made his messy black hair look unwashed and un-maintained in comparison and her blue eyes shone like twin sapphires. “A little,” He admitted, tone quiet. There were few secrets between them because she could worm anything out of him just by looking. She wore the average garb of a Shinigami today, black as the night sky and even managed to make such simple garb look stylish and appealing. “Just be careful out there,” He said, very worried, “okay? Stay close to me, and I’ll protect you.” He felt his cheeks heat at his own comments and the eyes from the others on him, but Harumi calmly took his hands in hers and smiled again. “I know,” And he pulled her into a quick hug. “Hand it over,” Kenji said to Kazuma Nishiki, his student and most trusted officer. Reluctantly, Kazuma parted with a bag full of coins and sighed, the end of his blue jacket blowing in the breeze. “You and that son of yours will be my undoing financial wise,” He replied before returning to his position beside his allies. With a smile for his son and Harumi, Kenji ordered his men to move and they did so as one with a single shunpo apiece.
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