Two Souls, One Story

The Shiba Clan

"Hey," Izuru greeted Rukia, sitting down on the large rock he had found the girl on and dropping a satchel next to them. They were in the park where they revealed their identities to each other. Izuru set down a small bento box filled with handmade sweets, then laid flat on his back, swinging one leg in the air so the black hakama swished back and forth. "I went from leggings and jeans to hakama. Can't tell if this is an upgrade or a downgrade."

"I think that depends on your preference," Rukia responded, picking up a pink mochi and eating it. If Izuru had Luna's preferences, he'd sooner chop off his hand than eat the squishy treat.

"Well, I don't have to worry about what I'm gonna wear every day. So... upgrade!" Izuru set his leg down and rolled onto his stomach, plucking a wagashi jelly in the shape of a leaf, and tossing it into his mouth. "So, what have you been up to these last... twenty years..." He said the last part slowly, quirking an eyebrow. "I'm going to go insane with how slow the Seireitei's time functions."

Rukia chuckled. "You get used to it."

"Oh!" Izuru reached into the small bag and retrieved a thick notebook. "I spent the past couple of days filling out this notebook. Kira's been feeding me information on Captains and Lieutenants so most of that is complete."

Rukia raised an eyebrow and smirked, slowly shaking her head. "I remember in all of your fanfictions you would make a notebook."

"I don't trust my brain. Okay, hear me out," Izuru said, opening the notebook and showing Rukia what was already written out. English lettering was scattered across the pages, along with rough sketches. "I've mapped out the general gist of what I remember the plot being... meaning, mostly everything up until the Fake Karakura town arc. I also have a few character profiles on some of the characters... I need your help to fill in the gaps."

"I don't know... I might have forgotten stuff, you know?" Rukia looked at the pages, chewing on her bottom lip as she squinted at the squiggles that were Izuru's scrawl. "I might need to relearn English all over again, it's been so long since I spoke it."

"I can reteach you. Since we'll be seeing each other more often and going into the World of the Living to, apparently, kindle a positive relationship with the future Kurosaki family." Izuru flipped to the first page of the notebook and clicked a pen. "Come on. We have the chance to change things, but it won't do much if either of us forgets what's going to happen."

"That's true." She nodded with a small smile. "Alright, we should meet up for lessons once a week then."

(linebreak)

In a room within Squad 13th's barracks, three Soul Reapers stood in tense silence.

Kaien stared at Izuru with increasing intensity. Rukia stood off to the side with a serene, innocent smile on her face. Her eyes closed as she hummed softly.

Izuru couldn't help but sweat as he refrained from glaring at the tiny girl in the room. Internally, he would rather be spending the next three hours doing paperwork for Gin, than be within half a kilometer radius of this Lieutenant whom he only talked to once. That was three days ago at a Lieutenants meeting. By talk, that entails saying hello to each other and then sitting far away from each other because of squad numbers.

"Lieutenant Shiba," Izuru greeted through his teeth, giving the faintest bow possible.

"Lieutenant Kira." Kaien's icy's tone cut through the air as he crossed his arms tightly across his chest.

"Rukia!" The short dark haired girl cut in with a wide smile. She gained an unimpressed look from the dark-haired man.

On the other hand, Izuru was covering his face and his shoulders shook. The dark-haired duo could hear progressively louder and louder snickers coming from the blond.