Chapter Two: Resolve

Suzaku hungrily wolfed down the meal laid in front of him. From his manner of eating it was clearly evident that he hadn't eaten for days despite only having not eaten for one day. He used to eat more than his sister in general, almost finishing two plates of the meal laid out in front of him. This was enough to make the girl that visited his room before to add the name "Glutton" to the existing name of "Freeloader Two", much to Suzaku's annoyance.

Despite all that, he shamelessly kept eating. Satisfying his hunger was more important.

He occasionally spared glances at his sister who was talking with the raven-haired tall man dressed in the Shinigami uniform. On his left arm he had a brown-colored badge attached with the symbol of Division 13 engraved on it. From their conversations, he learned the Shinigami's name was Kaien Shiba. The little black-haired girl was his younger sister named Kukaku Shiba and they had a younger brother he had yet to see named Ganju Shiba.

He had yet to meet the youngest of the siblings since according to the older ones, he mostly spends his time outside, loitering around with his friends or gang members as what he calls them.

"How much are you gonna eat?" Kukaku yelled, stomping towards him with a clear intent to kill. She had been made to serve him meals which annoyed her to a great degree. "If you wish to continue freeloading and eating here then you need to work!"

"Work?" Suzaku nearly coughed, staring at her with wide eyes. "You will make guests do work? You lack etiquette."

"You are going to teach me etiquette? Did I hear that right?" A menacing aura took over the second Shiba sibling which almost made the Rukongai citizen imagine her as a demon. "Would you like to try your luck?"

"Kukaku! Don't bully them." Kaien spoke in a stern tone. But that had little to no effect on Kukaku.

"Huh? Why should I not?" She complained before pointing at Suzaku. "He can't just freeload around here and eat all day. Our house rule states that everyone has to earn their keep by working and there are no exceptions!"

"We aren't staying here for long so there is no need for me to work here." The golden-eyed boy protested. "If you insist we can leave right now since I am all patched up."

"About that..." Kaien cleared his throat before continuing. "I have decided that you two will be staying with us. The reason being that the Hollow from before might return for you two. It seemed to be an intelligent one so it would definitely attack when you two are defenseless and we Shinigami cannot be present there all the time. This is simply for your own protection."

'Is he for real?' Suzaku blinked, not believing his ears. Some random Shinigami stranger is being kind enough to give them shelter in his household. Albeit he did save their lives from the Hollow but outright inviting them to stay in his house for nothing in return didn't sit well with him.

Nothing in this world is for free, he knows that very well. Living in the faraway districts of Rukongai had taught him various ways of life. Living there is anything but comfortable. One is actually thankful if they are able to have a roof above their heads to retire for the night in those districts and get to eat two times a day in those areas.

"What's your deal?" Suzaku narrowed his eyes. "Why go this far for some random strangers? I don't believe that you would do something out of pity or generosity unless you have something to gain from us."

"Suzaku! Don't be rude!" Natsumi scolded even though her brother paid no heed to that at the moment. "They are just trying to help us."

"I think he needs a proper--" Kukaku wasn't the one to tolerate disrespect towards her brother and was about to jump in, if not for Kaien stopping her.

"It's okay. He is not wrong." The Vice-Captain calmly responded. 'I can very well understand where he is coming from.'

The distrust Suzaku felt towards them wasn't unnatural. He was simply being cautious about his circumstances which was a given. The districts which are further away from the Seiretei are mostly poorly managed or have no management at all.

Compared to the easy and comfortable life in the districts closer to the Seiretei, it is basically the survival of the fittest beyond District #50. Lowlifes, thugs, murderers, homeless peoples, vagabonds, those are the kinds of people that reside in there. It is even said that beyond District #59, the residents out there don't even wear sandals.

"Let's say the Hollow attacks you once again. Will you be able to protect yourself and your sister?" Kaien asked and this time his voice didn't carry his usual carefreeness. He was actually being serious this time. He even released a little bit of his pressure to make sure his point goes across this time. "You nearly lost your life this time. What if there are no Shinigami nearby the next time it happens?"

'It isn't easy to accept one's weakness right off the bat. It never is.' Kaien thought inwardly, waiting for the boy's answer. 'But this is the time where this boy needs to realize his weakness. It will be beneficial for him in the long run.'

"The problem is with me.....with me being weak right?" It took all of Suzaku's strength and willpower to keep himself from losing his balance under Kaien's pressure. It was clear from one glance that the Vice-Captain was stronger than that Hollow and there are numerous stronger Shinigami out there. "If I am not weak anymore then I can save my family. Fine then, I have decided!"

"I will become a better Shinigami than you, Kaien Shiba! That is how I will repay this debt!" He declared.

Kaien never expected this sort of reaction from him. Having observed his behavior up until this point, he had assumed that the boy would be too prideful to acknowledge his weakness and would come up with numerous excuses. He didn't come off as the type to depend on others and would have attempted something reckless.

But with his declaration and the resolve that burned through his eyes, he took the first step towards accepting himself and focused on getting stronger hereon.

"I look forward to it."

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[Later that night]

Suzaku sat on the roof of the Shiba Family manor, gazing at the starlit skies of the Soul Society. The night was silent and beautiful making him feel at ease here. It gave him ample time to think things through. He was reflecting on how his life had been up to this point and how everything is going to change from this point. He did not regret making the choice of becoming a Shinigami.

"Are you sure about your decision?" His sister's voice snapped him out from his thoughts. Walking up she sat down beside her brother and gently ruffled his hair.

"I am." Suzaku firmly responded before moving her hand from his hair. "You know that I dislike being in someone's debts and I am a sore loser. I already made up my mind to beat that Hollow next time I see him."

"But--"

"There is no changing my mind sis." The male did not even give her a chance to continue. "I am not the child anymore that you have to look after. I am really thankful for what all you have done for me which is more the reason I will become a capable Shinigami. Let me take responsibility for once."

Natsumi felt her eyes tearing up. She felt like she had been rewarded for all her efforts up to this point in raising her brother all by herself. She was able to raise her baby brother into someone she could be proud of. The decision she made that fateful night and 'that' person's sacrifice did not go in vain.

"Just be careful and try not to get too injured." She said, pulling her brother into a hug. "I will be worrying."

"No promises." Suzaku quickly responded with a sheepish grin to lighten the mood. "You know it's a Shinigami's job to fight Hollows so we are bound to get hurt."

He had no idea what his sister went through before he was born. The hardships she went through were unknown to him and he never bothered to ask her about them. Guessing that it might be a painful memory for her, he spared her that pain by never asking about it. He was happy and content with the life the two of them had lived up until this point and he just hopes that their lives will stay the same even if he becomes a Shinigami.

"You cheeky brat." Letting go of the hug, she pulled her brother by the ear. "Did you something?"

"OW! OW! It hurts! Not the ears please!"

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[Two Days Later]

"And that concludes the combined report from our side and Division 12 based on the information we were able to gather." Miyako spoke, adjusting the papers in a proper order before keeping them on the table.

Opposite to her sat a white-haired man with green eyes, wearing a long sleeved white haori over the standard Shinigami uniform, which signified him as the Captain of Division 13, based on the insignia drawn on the haori. He nodded at the information shared by his Third Seat before taking a sip of his tea.

"And what happened to the two children you mentioned?" The Captain inquired to his Vice-Captain who sat right beside Miyako.

Said Vice-Captain had taken a leave of two days without any prior reasoning and only returned to his duties starting today. Though it was evident to the Captain and Miyako that the leave he took was for the sake of those two children and helping them in getting properly treated. It also made things easier for the Shinigami as they were able to get hold of information regarding the intelligent Hollow.

It's being speculated that it was the one controlling the other less-intelligent Hollows though there isn't any definite proof about that.

"I have taken them in." Kaien responded. "Since the Hollow that targeted them was an intelligent one, leaving them unguarded would be dangerous for them. The only option was to take them in."

For the time being, the two seated officers decided to keep Natsumi's powers a secret between themselves. Kaien did not even share this to his siblings. He also made Suzaku promise not to reveal his sister's abilities. Initially the latter was shocked, having never heard about his sister having such a rare ability. He was smart enough to understand why Kaien wanted it to be kept a secret and agreed without a hassle.

"A wise decision." The white-haired Captain nodded in agreement.

"What's more. The boy declared he would be becoming a Shinigami just to repay the debt he owes me for saving them." Kaien added.

"Oh, he seems to be a man with pride." The Captain's interest piqued. "I bet you want him to be in our Division."

"We will have to wait for quite a while then." Miyako commented. "I don't think I need to remind you about the tough curriculum of the Shin'o Academy and the fact that not everyone is Kaien Shiba who would graduate in just two years."

"Hey!"

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[Six Years Later]

Outside the barracks of Division 13 stood two individuals dressed in the standard Shinigami uniform, admiring the building in front of them. It was their first time seeing a division barrack with their very own eyes. This was going to be their base of operations from this point on.

One of them was a girl with light blonde hair kept in a ponytail on the top of her head and bright blue eyes. She wore a red colored headband with a white flower attached to it. 'So this is the Division I have been assigned to. I have heard about the 13th Division. The legendary graduate is in this Division too.'

Beside her stood a rather tall boy with deep black hair with very minute specks of white in them. He had golden-colored eyes which always emitted a sharp gaze. 'Finally I made it here! This will be my starting point.'

"Oh, you two are already here. That's great."

The two rookies turned around to see Miyako standing right behind them. She must have used Shunpo along with hiding her presence at the same time due to which the inexperienced rookies weren't able to detect her. Experienced Shinigami are adept at hiding their presence, something that is a necessity in their line of job.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Miyako, 3rd Seat of the 13th Division." Miyako did a polite bow before ushering the two rookies inside the building. "You two can introduce yourselves inside. Everyone's waiting."