A Song of Ice and Fire (Jiro, Nishi)

Donning his Captain's Haori, Jiro Minami walked out of his office in the Third Squad's barracks. It wasn't too late in the afternoon, and since he had nothing else to do for the time being, he decided to take a walk around the Seireitei. Despite having been a Captain for over a month now, it still felt a little strange to hear the members of his squad call him "Captain Minami." He couldn't help but smile as he walked through the barracks of his squad. It actually was his squad now.

He reached the entrance of the barracks and walked outside. He didn't really know where he would go, so he just started wandering. It was a nice day out, and after sitting down and dealing with paperwork all day, so it felt very nice.

After a while, he stopped and leaned up against the wall and just stood there, as he had nothing better to do. At least, nothing for the time being.

Nishimura was in her office and was finishing up the last of her paper work. "If I knew that being a captain had this much paper work I might have not accepted then again I'm glad I did" She mumbled to herself. The only problem left for her squad was a lieutenant. She sigh as she got up and decided to take a walk around. She was aimlessly wondering when she realized that she had wondered over to squad 3 for some reason.

She knew she wasn't the only knew captain around and didn't even met the new captain. She only saw him in the meeting room. She though he was cute but she quickly let that thought go. She wasn't the person to easily fall for someone she barely knows. In her past life things weren't always sunshine and smiles. It was dark and slavery and if she had to choose on who was worse, her father would take the cake for sure.

She liked being here in the soul society and wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon even if her parents somehow managed to show up here and had some kind of authority to remove her. Even if something like that happen she would put her foot down and stay. Her life was so dark that she had no say in anything and had to do what was told even if it hurt. Seeing as she wondered to squad 3 she decided to take a break and sat on the grass not knowing that the new squad 3 captain was close.

After a minute or two, Jiro pulled himself off the wall and started heading back toward his barracks, only to see a young woman wearing a captain's haori resting on the grass nearby. "You're the new Squad Seven Captain, right?"

Yes, she was, he remembered her from the Captain's meeting a few days ago. He hadn't had a chance to speak with her then, and he actually hadn't seen any of the other captains since then, due to the massive amount of paperwork that had been thrust upon him.

He walked closer to her and extended his hand in greeting. "Jiro Minami, Squad Three Captain."

His normal, friendly smile was present on his face as he spoke with her. Again, it felt strange to introduce himself as the captain of Squad Three, and he had a feeling that it would feel strange for a while still.

Nishimura stood up as the new captain of squad 3 was talking to her. "Yes I am. I'm Nishimura Shoko." She said as she shook his hand. she wasn't used to being captain just yet but wasn't used to people introducing themselves. They usually avoid her the most and some others might make a small comment. The fact that Jiro introduced himself almost brought tears to Nishimura's eyes.

When Nishimura was in highschool she was teased or called names and to make things worse is that her parents abused her at home making her life even darker. She wished that things would turn upside down and would become better. Now she might have that chance and wasn't going to let it pass. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding. I was lost in thought and didn't know where I was going.'' Nishimura said with a smile on her face. In her life she never smiled.

A lot of her squad members asked things about her seeing as she is their new captain and wanted to know more only to get dark answers from her past. Some of them even told her to change and maybe things would change for her. Even if she was going to change she was going to stay cold not wanting to go out of her comfort zone to fast.

Jiro wondered how powerful this woman had to be to become a captain at her young age. As he thought this, he thought he saw a look of wariness in her eyes. It was probably because he was captain of Squad Three. How many captains from Squad Three had gone rouge? Jiro didn't even bother to keep track. All he knew was that if he ever came across any of them, he'd kill them for betraying and dishonoring their squad.

Shaking off such unpleasant thoughts, Jiro shook his head slightly at Nishimura's second statement. "No, don't worry about it. I was just wandering around as well, had to stretch out after doing paperwork all day." Being a Captain wasn't all fun and games. Jiro could personally vouch for that.

"I have to admit, it still feels a little weird to be called Captain. I can imagine that you feel the same way, right?"

Nishimura smiled at his question. "I agree and yeah I'm out here for the same reason. Those paperwork really is a thorn in the side." Nishimura said with a smile on her face. Just because she had a dark past doesn't mean that she should drag everyone down and be mean to them. In Nishimura's life things were never for the good and that can easily be seen when she had the scars when she was alive if she didn't hide them. The only one that was grateful for having a daughter in the family was her grandmother and the only grandparents she had.

"So do you like being a captain Jiro?" Nishimura asked. "I'm just curios to know. I don't have met the other captains or their lieutenants and my squad is missing one." Nishimura said. She really needed to find a lieutenant because some of her squad members have been bugging her about it. Nishimura wondered if all the other captains are as nice as Jiro.

When she thought about it she went back to the thought she had about Jiro. She had to admit he's not bad but she can't believe she thought he was cute, then again her mind tends to wander to that kind of stuff and it has been happening since she saw Jiro in the meeting room.

Jiro paused for a moment at her question. Being a captain was what he'd wanted for a while now, and now that he was a captain he could say he had what he wanted. "Yeah, it's not bad. Well, minus the paperwork that is. It'll be nice once I get a lieutenant." It was interesting that her squad didn't have a lieutenant either. But that wasn't really important, just a small observation he had. "If nothing else, we'll be able to drop some of the paperwork on them, it'll make that a little easier. But I don't honestly know who I want for my lieutenant."

Mentally, he started going through a list of the people he was considering to be his lieutenant, something which he'd been doing quite a bit since he became captain. He supposed the easiest way would be to give it a little time.

"I didn't know your squad didn't have a lieutenant and yes the paperwork might get easier if we had lieutenants and I don't know what I want in my lieutenant as long as he/she isn't lazy and not doing their work" Nishimura said. she was starting to get interested in Jiro for some reason which she doesn't even know, well yet anyway. "Tell me about yourself" Nishimura asked out of the blue. She was surprised that she was actually asking someone a questions and it's not even work related. In her dark and miserable life she would only talk if she had a question but other than that she was silent.

Now she was actually having a conversation but he asked the same question he's only going to get her dark past but she really didn't care if she told him, he would probably leave her alone after that anyway. Not wanting this to happen she was biting her lower lip not sure if she should have asked about him.

Well, this stroll wasn't entirely pointless after all. It was nice to get to know one of the other captains. He'd end up needing to work with other squads at some point, so it'd be better to know the captains.

Jiro didn't pause before answering her question. "Well, there's really not much to tell. I'm from the 3rd south district of Rukongai, and ever since I became a Soul reaper I've been in squad 3. And now I'm captain of squad 3." He'd given her the highly summarized version for now, just because he didn't want to go into anymore detail. He hated telling long stories anyway.

"How about yourself?" He was curious to learn more about this young, fairly attractive captain, perhaps he'd be able to discover why she was so powerful.

Nishimura was afraid to tell him about her past so instead she said "I had a dark past and I was also in the 3rd South district of Rukongai but I was rarely outside at all and I became a captain when I graduated form the academy." That was all she was going to say unless he really wants to know about her dark and painful past. Nishimura was always cold towards everyone and mainly her parents too. As soon as she got home she fled to her room and did her homework before the abusing started.

She really did like her soul reaper life and wasn't going to trade it in for anything at the moment. Now she was openly talking to someone without acting cold to them and she was happy about that. "You look happy mistress" Ryu said in her mind and Nishimura's smile just grew wider. Her zanpaktou knew that her mistress was falling for Jiro even if Nishimura isn't going to admit it.

Well, that seemed like an even more abridged version of a history than the one he'd told her. But she probably had her reasons to not tell him about her history. He'd hoped for a little more detail, such as why she was made a captain immediately out of the academy, but he could live without knowing that information for now.

He was about to say something when Kazebaningu vibrated in its sheath. He knew what that meant all to well. His Zanpakto felt it was not the best idea to probe deeper into her past. He decided to trust his sword on this, he did tend to have better instincts on this than Jiro did. Her smile widened slightly at the same time that he thought about the fact that she was quite attractive, perhaps she could read minds. Not likely though.

"Also from the 3rd south district, huh? Bet I'd have seen you there if i'd stayed there for very long. But I went into the academy after about forty years there. And that was like... damn, more than five hundred years ago."

"I went to the academy right after i arrived in the district because a soul reaper told me to go and I listened" Nishimura said with ease. She wasn't going to tell him the reason for staying in doors even at the academy she didn't have a room mate. Her room mate left because he thought she was weird and Nishimura was used to it. It was so to say how she lived her life. She was also not usually open to people especially boys but things were different with Jiro. He was kind to her instead of making comments like the others were and wondered why.

"Why are you being nice to me? Most people just run off or make some bad comments or avoid me" Nishimura said hoping not to hurt his feelings in the process of it all and she was hoping that he would stick around her. After all he would be the only real friend she made. Nishimura got inturupted by Ryu. "Mistress are you alright you look a little pale?" Ryu asked with concern and Nishimura knew that she wouldn't be able to hide it so she told her the truth. "I'm just scared that he would run of if I told him what happened to me when I was alive" Nishimura said. "You need to trust him that he won't run. It's not your fault that your parents didn't want you, it's theirs." At Ryu's comment Nishimura was happy that her zanpaktou was at her side through thick and thin.

Her story didn't seem so unusual. Clearly, she had very high spiritual pressure, he could definitely feel it. Well, it seemed that at the very least, he had a better idea of who she was.

He was about to excuse himself and return to the Squad Three Barracks to do some more paperwork and maybe get a lieutenant. However, he stopped short as she asked a very unusual question. He paused for a moment, and his smile slipped slightly, confused as to why she would ask a question like that. "I have no reason to be unkind to you, so why should I be? Besides that, why would run off or try to avoid you?"

It suddenly became clear- people were afraid of her because she was so powerful. However, though that was the most likely answer, there might be other reasons that people would hate her. He didn't know enough about her to think one way or the other.

"Well it's not what you think. Most people avoid me because I'm weird and I was a loner so people were mean to me especially the guys." Nishimura said and then the whole truth came out. "My parents wanted a son and not me. They believe that the woman do all the work around the house while the man provides and can do anything he wants to his wife. They abused me, my mom made me a slave around the house and my dad he used me for his own pleasures and I'm sure you know what kind. I didn't tell you at first because I was trying to avoid it like I always do."Nishimura said, tears flowing down her cheeks.

she really hoped to avoid the whole subject but she guessed it couldn't be helped. She still even had some of the scars that her father left when he abused her and her mother was for her like a witch. She didn't tell him this to make him feel sorry for her, she told him so that he could understand

Now he got something more about her history. As she spoke, his left hand drifted to his zanpakto and gripped it very tightly, and his slight smile faded from his face and the look in his eyes became one of cold fury. Had she not been crying, she would have been able to see the look of anger on his face, furious that anyone would do such evils to anyone, let alone their own child.

In life, Jiro had fought evil and injustice with his sword and the law. In death, he was no different. But what made him even angrier than people committing evil was being unable to undo that evil or bring justice to the evildoers. Now he stood in this situation once again, unable to right the wrong that had been done.

The look of anger passed off his face and he released his grip on Kazebaningu, who was just as angry as he was.

"I see. You need not worry that anyone will ever hurt you again. There is no one who has any power to do so. You are powerful now, and will only become more so. You are no one's slave here, and you must find your own path."

From what she'd said, her life had never really been her own. It had belonged to her parents, and then she had blindly followed the soul reaper's suggestion to go to the academy, but now that she was a captain, she would have to lead, and be her own guide.

Nishimura couldn't believe what she was hearing. Yes her life wasn't her own and was constantly controlled by her parents. The only good thing in her life so far was Jiro and she couldn't believe it. Mistress it's not a dream, it's real. I told you to trust him. Why don't you get to know him better? Who knows you might end up liking him. Ryu said and Nishimura blushed pink at the idea her zanpaktou had. Besides his zanpaktou and him really wants to get there hands on your parents. How do you know that? Nishimura asked her zanpaktou. She was surprised that someone would actually care about her.

In her life she believed no one would care or even love her and now that might be changing for her.

In life, as in death, there was nothing that Jiro Minami hated more than being unable to deliver justice to right a wrong, or otherwise undo an evil. He found that he faced that dilemma more in death than in life, as more often than not, he would never be able to find the one soul in the thousands that lived in the soul society.

Inside his mind, Kazebaningu raged at the injustice of the situation, cursing the perpetrators of the evil that had been done to the young woman standing in front of him. Jiro felt the same rage, but was able to control it for now.

Control yourself, Kaze! This isn't the time for going on a rampage!

Jiro's zanpakto snarled at him, but obediently sank into a simmering silence. They both knew that this wasn't really a time to give into their anger and rage.

Remaining calm, Jiro waited for a few moments, but the silence became fairly long.

"Um... Nishimura? Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm alright just a little hurt that's all." Nishimura said and then heard her zanpakto again. "Mistress relax no one will hurt you unless you face an enemy and believe me they will die right on the spot." Nishimura giggled a little at Ryu's comment. Usually Ryu makes a comment or a joke to cheer Nishimura up but that doesn't always last for long. Nishimura stopped laughing and got serious again. "I wish I had a happy and peaceful life and not the one I had but hey not everyone gets their wishes right?" Nishimura said while looking at the sky. The sun was going down and it was getting late but her paper work was done so she had nothing else to do.

As she looked at the sky she didn't realized that someone was staring at her or that she has a smile on her face. The thing she loves the most was sunsets because they were really beautiful to her and brought hope and energy for the next day but the hope was always in vain.

For whatever reason, Jiro couldn't help but smile as he looked at the young captain who stood before him, and momentarily thought that she was quite pretty. However, he banished that thought before his Zanpakto could make a snarky comment about it.

Her words about wishes reminded him of a conversation he'd had long ago, before he was a soul reaper. "More often than not though, the ones whose wishes don't come true are the ones who actually deserve to have their wishes come true."

He sighed, his face momentarily falling as he remembered the woman who had brought him to the Seireitei. You deserved your wish more than anyone else, Naomi. You suffered so much, and got nothing in return from the world. I can only hope your wish does come true someday.

He looked up at the sky, which was slowly beginning to darken, and though of all the paperwork he still had to do. He rubbed the back of his neck for a moment and let his hand fall back to his side. "Well, I suppose I should get back to the mountain of paperwork on my desk. I'll see you at the next captain's meeting at the very least. Have a good evening, Captain Shoko." He turned to leave, not looking forward to the work he had to do in the next few hours.

Nishimura look at Jiro's back as she though about what he said. "have you wish come true?" Nishimura whispered to herself. She smiled and turned around, going back to her office to do the remains of her paper work. She sighed as she thought of that and wasn't in the mood to get that. At least she might get to tell Jiro good news she finds in the paper work. That is if she sees him at the meeting.

Jiro walked away from the other relatively new captain, and back to his squad's barracks. By this point, most people were elsewhere, leaving him alone to brood.

Nishimura Shoko reminded him very much of another woman. Too much. He shook his head as he entered his office and closed the door behind himself. Sitting down, he started to work his way through his paperwork again, but, as he often did, thought back to what had happened today, and couldn't help but wonder about the other relatively new captain. That reminded him that he needed to finish the paperwork before the next meeting, and began working furiously.