Flying Cotton Candy [Complete]

Kaede crossed her arms as she sat on top of the barracks. She had finished her duties earlier that day and was now content in wasting her time atop the building she spent most of her time in. Her pale blue eyes caught on a cloud high above her head, a pure white and fluffy cotton looking thing. She knew what the cloud was, but she preferred to call them fluffy cotton things. Or flying cotton candy. It kept a child-like presence in her mind.

The wind gave her a gentle, almost non-existent push, nudging her green hair into her face. Her choppy hairstyle was short except for two strands of hair that framed her face. A small smile graced her lips as she pushed her hair back into place and leaned back against the rooftop. She crossed her arms beneath her head for a pillow and sighed contently. Now if only it would be as peaceful like this all day long.

Peaceful serenity. It was a rare thing in soul society. It had been even rarer in the twelfth division. Why? Well, lets make a list. Crazy scientists, given nearly free reign when it came to the insane experiments and inventions so long as no one died from it, a crazy captain who had made a yodeling lion and hand eating llama as a mortal, and finally, an endless supply of insane shit that seemed to take up the majority of the funding for the division. Truthfully, the division DID make some of the most advanced and powerful computers and monitoring systems out there, but thanks to Kuro, the division had some bonuses, and was capable of allowing the higher ranked scientists experiment like crazy, due to a few amazing things. Most of them were actually simple upgrades to older tech, which Kuro often did out of either boredom, or to piss people off. Apparently, there was nothing more fun than making a complicated system even more complicated. Maybe he had spent too much time in the mortal realm and let their inane possessions of low level technology influence his decisions, but that was for another time.

Regardless of the temporary peace, which lasted, oh, all of three more seconds, a loud yodel was heard, disrupting the boring day. Kuro would rather deal with a few thousand hollows than a boring and dull day. It was easier. With that being heard, a lion, with a well known, dark skinned, mad scientist riding on it, jumped thirty six feet into the air and landed in front of the building. The lion rolled around with its rider, before the rider, who was obviously Kuro, began wrestling with the lion. All the while, a prancing llama seemed to be cheering, for which side was not known. Kuro pinned the lion, before throwing him, literally, all the way back to his room. What kind of monster would throw a lion? Well, most people's moral compasses dont point north. Kuro's points in a fourth dimensional direction, breaking the laws of physics to do so. Gotta love insanity, makes everything so much more interesting. Enough of the ramblings, Kuro simply waved at his Lieutenant, who he wondered about. It couldnt be easy being a rank below someone who was three times younger than you. Then again, age meant little to most shinigami. Everyone had different opinions though, was Kaede annoyed at his youth, or perhaps inspired by it? Most were one of the two. Especially that one guy who was over four hundred years old, but not even lieutenant level yet. It was rather sad. But then, most didnt actually train. Sure, he slowed down drastically as he became captain, but he never completely stopped. Though, most of his training now was with experiments.

"Finally finish everything up for the day? Me too!" Kuro was instantly on the roof, doubting Kaede would be too shocked. He often appeared behind people to scare them, so seeing him simply move on top of a roof would be nothing new. Hopefully. He forgot how certain people reacted to his random speed bursts. It was nice though, scaring the hell out of everyone. Especially those who just wouldnt learn, he enjoyed seeing fear. It was enthralling. Then again, he was easily amused. He needed to be, being as smart as he was, otherwise he would be grumpy, boring and just pissy all the time. Hed rather be insane and creepy than grumpy and boring.

Kaede heard the noise. It was hard to ignore, especially when you were enjoying silence just a second before. A groan escaped her vocal cords and the four hundred and fifty year old woman squeezed her eyes shut. Days like the ones she had just experienced were so few in number that sometimes she wished she had become a different districts lieutenant. Sometimes.

She lifted her head slowly, opening her eyes and glaring down at the tussle below. The strange creatures there with her captain had become the fascination of many of the twelfth division's members when the young man originally became the leader. It wasn't hard to imagine why. They were unique and very different, something they had yet to think of. It was natural that they would want to examine them. Afterwards, when they had spent months upon months of listening to the yodeling lion and experiencing the painful bite of the llama, some grew tired of their presence. Especially Kaede, who'd spent most of her time near both the captain and the noisy animals.

She dropped her head back down, covering her eyes with one arm and leaving the other to flop out to her side. Perhaps if she ignored the sounds, they would just fade away into the background like they usually did. At least she hoped they would. It wasn't likely, seeing as the day had been mostly silent and she had, for once, gotten a restful sleep that night. While she laid there, she was surprised that the sounds did stop, though abruptly, and she removed her arm to see what had happened.

She had sat up, looking down into the courtyard below to see when her captain appeared close to her. She gave a minimal jump, pursing her lips and looking up at him. She wasn't usually surprised by his appearances, and even when she was it was usually an internal reaction. He was much younger than her, and had an even more childish nature than she wanted to have. He was quite the mad-man and she assumed that was why he acted the way he did. It was rare that he was ever serious.

"Yeah, unless anymore paperwork gets shipped in tonight I'm finished," She said slowly, freeing herself of the irritable tone that she wanted to use. In a few moments she wouldn't be agitated anymore and she would be able to resume a friendly front. Unless he planned on blowing something up, then she might have trouble with the friendly part.

Carl had followed Yodleo off into the distance, likely going to terrorize some random shinigami. They never ate shinigami, as they didnt like the taste, they only annoyed them. Usually by biting without eating. Thankfully, with barely any real damage, he was only forced to keep them in his division, which they did without question. Why? Because they understood Kuro would get annoyed if they didnt obey. Fear is a very powerful weapon against animals. Like sex scandals and politicians. Well, not in soul society. Frankly, Kuro was pretty sure a captain could fuck a cactus and no one would bat an eye. It was just accepted. It made sense really. Immortal as they were, they were all a little crazy, he understood that better than anyone. Probably because he was crazier than anyone. Or maybe he was the only one who was sane? It didnt matter, sane or not, he was proud of who he was. Why? He was a successful and brilliant scientist with power, respect, fear, and two absolutely insane animals. Why would he even think of switching lives with another? It wouldnt make any sense. Not that his actions usually did to others, but in his mind they always made sense. Many simply didnt understand his actions. In a truth beyond the layers of his personality, he was intelligent. He was different, even from other geniuses. They saw simple statements, whilst he saw layers upon layers of reality folding inward on itself. To others, words had power, immeasurable power. To him, words only meant what you thought they did. It was the ultimate form of the First Great Realization, which he STILL needed to write about. It may be hard to get his philosophical works published, but it would be worth it if even one person became enlightened by his realizations.

What many people didnt understand, while Kuro may be younger in years than most shinigami, he was just as old, if not older, in experience. It was not always apparent, but when he spoke with that experience, it was not a demented scientist they heard, it was an old man with no regrets, and much knowledge to share. It was an enlightening experience, to hear him speak in such a way. Speaking of which, it was time for a momentary pause in his insanity. His face, which had been in a grin, changed into a blank slate, with a steely gaze, staring directly into Kaede's eyes. He was obviously in his serious state. He rarely entered it, only once since he became captain. It was when a traitor had stolen some of the tech from his division, sabotaging the rest. It had been a hectic time reparing the damage, and for once, the entire squad, and some others, had seen Kuro get serious. The result? A bloody mess, not even bones left. It was horrifying, but it had proven to several people that yes, the mad man could be serious when necessary. "Kaede, I am going to capture and compare the different reishi levels between Soul Society, the world of the living, and Heuco Mundo. It will be a short term mission, as Ive already collected reishi levels from here and the residual reishi from the world of the living. In doing so, I hope to attain a comparison to how many souls have become hollows, and how many are recent. In comparing these, I should be able to get a good idea of how many more souls we need to find, which will tell us how many more shinigami we need to send out to keep up with the population flux." Kuro's eyes, no matter in what state he was in, were always piercing and strong. His gaze was unwavering, even the casual blinking did nothing to halt the strange power his stare seemed to exude. It could certainly be an intimidation technique, but no doubt Kaede had seen worse, as he believed she dealt with the previous captain, whose name he had forgotten. He had a shitty memory when it came to unimportant things. Or pretty much anything in general.

Now came the real question. It was a simple one, but it may leave a mark on their lives. "Do you wish to join me in the trip? It shouldnt be a long one, might capture a hollow or two. I figured you could use the relaxation." Of course, he saw it as relaxation, he doubted he would run into any trouble. At worst, he might have to explain to someone why he had left, but that was easily explained. Especially if they learned he may just learn how to destabilize a hollow with pure reiatsu. It may make for a wonderful kido, provided he record the data and translate it into a readable language rather than his own encrypted one. He kept everything encrypted so that only three people knew how to activate any systems, and only he had full control of the systems. He of course, allowed Kaede to go through, and of course the Captain Commander had access. While Kaede was allowed to make several edits, and the Captain Commander could read it, only Kuro could completely change the full system. Well, that was unless he died, at which point it would change access over to Kaede completely, in the normal, non encrypted language. That way, no matter what, it would continue. It registered his death by his reiatsu disappearing from all dimensions. If his reiatsu changed too suddenly, it would also register that as a death. "you dont need to, but it might be better than sitting here all day." Even with that steely gaze of his, he still managed to sound kind, or at least polite enough to make sure Kaede didnt take it as an order to follow him.

She gave him a nervous smile when his expression changed. His usual expression and attitude were normal to her. It was out of her comfort zone to have the sudden change be directed towards her, even though it may only be a simple command or question. Either way, she was nervous and wary of the change and listened carefully as her captain spoke.

The idea sparked her interest. She had always wondered if there could be a way to figure it out, to make it possible to know how many were left or if they were balanced. It was important, and she was glad that he had mentioned this to her. She didn't know if she was expected to come or to stay with the rest of the division, but she would be happy to help either way.

She raised her eyebrows as he asked, her grin widening to the point that the corners of her mouth began to hurt. She jumped up, stumbling a tidbit as she did, and gave an excited yelp, "Definitely yes!" The sudden realisation of her over-excitement coaxed a blush onto her cheeks and she cleared her throat, running a hand through the back of her hair, "I mean, yes I would like to accompany you on this mission."

Kuro's real laugh, not that insane one, echoed through the area. It was a rare sound, a laugh from him which wasnt insane. It would seem he may be bipolar, but that wasnt the case. In his own way, his insanity was a way to entertain himself. At times he could act a child, whining or pouting about some random thing, but when he got serious, his so called insanity was a different type, a maddening enhancement to his mind, with the ability to enjoy anything. Then there were moments like this, when he was genuinely interested in something. At that point, his mind and mood shifted. His mood often became blank, but his mind was focused when it happened. Kuro was not normal, that much was obvious to anyone. Anyone who could create a yodeling lion, or a hand eating llama, could not be considered normal. Yet despite his apparent insanity, he was the most sane of all of them. If they could not see, he would not help them to. His duty was to guide them, true, but not push them further than they were ready. He had seen it before, when pushed, they either changed dramatically, or broke.

People broke if they were pushed, but he had seen a few who survived it. It was so strange, a single great realization could break a man, yet he had pushed through twenty. His mind was amazing, and it was not arrogance that led him to believe this, but experience. Experience made him, taught him, and showed him the path. Others may be older, but they were not in experience. In any case, her faint blush was beyond amusing. Seeing his normally annoyed and bored Lieutenant get excited over something like this was hilarious. Then seeing her be embarrassed about her own excitement. Sure, it was annoying for someone to be ashamed of anything, but he understood. He grinned. "Well, lets go. I have a feeling we may get more than we need for what I am going to do."

He couldnt tell anyone. Not even her. His interest in shinigami was legendary for a long time, but it had faded. It faded, only to leave an emptiness. What filled it, was hollows. Hollows were not the opposites of shinigami, that much was obvious. They were just another species. Oh sure, they were much baser, like animals, but they were still partially sentient. More than that, they had power rival to shinigami, yet they didnt need to be intelligent, they could be absolutely stupid and still equal shinigami. Shinigami trained rarely, but hollows were thrust into a life of either eating or being eaten. Sure, there was a myth that some evolved through other means, but none of them were as easy as what Shinigami did to get power. A few light spars, and people called him a battle crazed madman. Well, the last part was true at least. It was ridiculous though, a spar with someone more than once a month made him crazy for battle in most eyes. Others may have had an inkling towards the truth, but he never told anyone. That would be stupid. Anyone who had lived, not just existed, but truly lived, would be able to understand that conflict creates growth. Mental or physical did not matter. Power was power, and that was what he wanted.

He turned and hopped off the roof, hands in his pockets, haori flowing masterfully. Why? He liked it like that. Flowing enough to make him look amazing, but not so much it ruined it. A light breeze was perfect for the thin, practically useless cloth. It was nothing more than a symbol of his rank, which he cared little for. Rank was meaningless. Not many believed it any more, but he knew better. The captain before him was weak in power, but strong in mind. Due to the fact that Kuro rose to greater power than him while being his lieutenant, the man eventually went insane. Kuro knew better than to judge by rank. He needed something to measure actual power in someone, rather than just listening to their rank. He strode toward the Senkaimon with a practiced glide. "Come on, lets see what we can find out." He grinned, looking at her again.

Kaede darted after him, too excited now to care that a giggle escaped her lips when she watched his impressive flowing cloak. Of course, it wasn't truly a cloak but she could call it whatever she wanted. It was better than calling it a cape. She doubted she would ever wear a haori. It wasn't that she didn't think she could become a captain, she knew that if she tried her hardest she could do it and take her place in the formation of thirteen captains. No, that wasn't the reason. She just didn't want it enough. She didn't care about rank. Sure, she had made her way up the ranks to lieutenant over the years. But that certainly didn't mean she cared. As far as she was concerned, the higher up she went the more of a hassle things became.

She couldn't imagine even wearing one of those ridiculous giant robes over her uniform. The white may have helped her with heat and other such things, but it just added another layer of clothing she had to wear. She would be content wearing what those humans wore, the newest generation that dresses scantily and sometimes were practically naked. She had no problem with the idea of revealing that much skin, though she doubted she would be considered properly dressed in that situation. People hardly dressed normal in a place where you worked seven days a week. There wasn't really such a thing as vacation there. And the off-time you did get, it was to catch up on paperwork you hadn't finished.

The blush that had stroked her cheeks in the pale pink flush had disappeared. If one hadn't seen it first hand, one wouldn't know it had even existed in the first place upon her pale skin. Her skin was completely free of the sign of her embarrassment, and the only reason she knew it was gone was because of the disappearance of the tingling sensation that had plagued her nerves when it first appeared. She was quite glad that it was gone as she followed her captain steadily, staying to the right and about a foot farther back than he. Her previous captain had requested that respect and she had granted him that blessing. Whether her new captain had wanted this or not, she had continued it on in his reign.

"Yes sir," She said with an almost cheerful tone. The excited mood would wear off soon she hoped. It was too much of a hassle to be this chipper.

Kuro chuckled lightly, enjoying her cheerfulness. It was a drastic change from the usual, and he loved change, it was what had made him, what he thrived in. He was MADE for change, a chaotic environment which never stagnated. That was the perfect life for him, constantly advancing, never pausing, always something to do! Sure, there were moments he liked to relax, but even then he never stopped thinking. He grinned, and knew it would be a wonderful time. Both due to the shared anxiousness between Kuro and Kaede, and the interesting ideas which flew around his head, all about seeing what hollows were made of. Shinigami were relatively simple. They were constructs of reishi formed organically. It wasnt hard to imagine Hollows being the same, but they werent. They were different entirely. To compare what hollows were truly made of as to shinigami, would be trying to compare dark matter to normal matter. Hollows were different, he knew this, everyone did. What he WANTED to know was HOW. How were they monstrous, when their forms, if created organically, should be their human bodies. It was a thought not many ever had, as they were too busy killing. Kuro was different, but frankly, if you havent noticed that by this point, you arent even reading.

Kuro spoke quickly with the guard at the senkaimon, telling him he was going out with his lieutenant for a reiatsu measuring and testing experiment, and that they should be back in less than three hours. He said that so that he may have time to thoroughly examine natural reiatsu in the environment. Kuro had seen something others had missed. The human realm DID have its own natural reiatsu, but it too was different. It was actually a mix of shinigami and hollow. Most assumed this was from their entrances into the realm, but Kuro felt different. He had a few ideas, and this may just prove them right. If not, well he got to do something at least. If nothing else, he would at least have enough ideas to keep busy for a while. One thing people didnt understand about being a captain, most of the paperwork was simple, but tedious. It was thanks to him being the twelfth captain that he was able to get so much more free time. For one, he could use a computer to do it, which made it easier than most could imagine. Another was that he could sort through the paperwork, and create a pattern which copied his decisions and applied similar logic to paperwork so that he could only monitor it while it did it, rather than do every little detail. In all honestly, since most of his work pertained to science, which required a good deal of time and research, he rarely got much paperwork.

Unsurprisingly, the guard let him pass. For one, you did not want to attempt to stop Kuro's experiments or research. For another, Kuro would just find another way, and then no one would ever know where he was. Not that many  did now, seeing as he had pretty much mastered the ability to disappear at will. At least it looked that way, for most. In truth, he just mixed his darkness manipulation with his speed, and poof, it looked like he had just faded into nothingness. It was damn intimidating too. Kuro walked through the senkaimon, not even doubting for a second that Kaede was following him. She rarely showed such excitement. While she may not have been as excitable as Kuro, she could be rather excited about such things. This may be a common task, but he had little doubt that she knew he would come up with many, MANY new things to do with this information. He always did. Part of being a genius.

Kaede stayed close to him as they journeyed. The flame at the core of her spirit flared on and burned a set course through her. She was excited, and not her usual "oh I'm meeting a pirate" or "oh look at this wicked looking thorn" excitement either. She was excited because research was the reason she joined twelve, learning new things and experimenting. She craved it like she craved oxygen and the occasional vacation. It was almost a lifeline when looked at it that way.

With the adrenaline coursing through her body, she waited for her captain impatiently. She bounced on the balls of her feet and bit the inside corner of her cheek. What was going to happen? Would things go well? What if something went wrong? Was that even a possibility? She thought it wasn't but she had learned to always expect the unexpected. She smiled brightly around the questions swarming around like flies on a carcass in her head. If something happened, she and Kuro could deal with it.

After they'd let them through, she waved at the guard and kept close to Kurokon again.