Azdeha had been pacing back and forth for the better half of an hour, and was pretty sure that had Chusei's floors not been made of high quality tatami, she would have made a hole in them by now.
She hated waiting to find out what was going on. If only there was some way she was allowed into the meeting, but she knew that was impossible. For the time being she would just have to wait.
She walked over to Chusei's kotetsu table and picked up a small ornamental hair piece with flowers on it. She remembered the day Renji had gone shopping for it. He had dragged her with him to get a girls opinion, then spent about 2 hours trying decide between the ornament she was currently holding, and one with yellow sakura flowers on it, while she had wandered off in search of mochi. In the end, he had decided on the purple one, without her help.
She studied it carefully. She had to admit, he'd made the right decision. It was incredibly pretty and she had seen Chusei wear it on numerous occasions. She placed the delicate flower down on the table again and bit her lip. She hoped that wherever he and Taichou were, they were safe. She would be really pissed off at both of them if they'd been stupid enough to get themselves hurt, or even worse, killed. She'd never forgive them.
Azdeha strolled over to the sliding doors which led to outside, and leaned against the screens, staring out at the garden. She could hear the gentle splashing of water on water from the water feature behind the bushes. It mingled with the sound of the birds in the nearby trees, giving off the impression that all was right with the world and there was nothing to worry about.
But there was.
Behind her, a noise like wood on wood sounded and the girl spun round, anxiously expecting Chusei to be there, but it was merely a wall scroll flapping in the wind.
"Come on. What's taking so long?" She sighed and began to pace again.
***
Azdeha paused, resting her hand on the trunk of a nearby willow tree. Kurobara was sat in the middle of a patch of wild flowers, gently weaving them together.
"I needed to take my mind off things. Chusei is at the captain's meeting and everyone else is back at the barracks preparing for missions."
"So you thought you'd come and cry on my shoulder." Kurobara looked over her shoulder at the shinigami, one eyebrow raised.
Azdeha shook her head and strode forward, standing right next to her zanpakuto. Kurobara sighed and discarded the flower chain she had been weaving. She lay back and folded her arms under her head, staring up at the dark clouds rolling across the usually blue skies of Azdeha's inner world.
"You're worried."
Azdeha threw herself down on the floor and picked at a small pink flower. "I just wish there was something I could do."
"There isn't?" Kurobara regarded her curiously.
"Well, there is, but if something has taken Taichou and Renji out, I hardly think I stand much of a chance against it."
"True. You are vastly inferior to your captain and your brother. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say whatever got them would kill you before you even realised it was there."
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence." Azdeha sneered at her zanpakuto.
"Giving you false hope would be pointless and potentially dangerous. I quite like my existence and I aim to keep it." Kurobara blew a stray strand of hair out of her face and sighed. "You never answered me."
Azdeha frowned. "Answered you?"
"Why are you here? You aren't trying to get me to give you the secret to Bankai are you? Because if you are..."
"No. I genuinely just needed to escape for a while. I figured this would be the best place to come."
Kurobara snorted, "That just proves you're glutton for punishment if you think I'm going to give you any sympathy."
"Trust me to get stuck with the bitch zanpakuto." Azdeha glared into the middle distance, watching the clouds get darker.
"In my defence, I am the embodiment of your soul."
"Don't remind me..." Azdeha's head jerked up suddenly. Someone was calling her name.
"I think you're needed." Kurobara closed her eyes and dismissed the shinigami with a wave of her hand. "While you're at it can you sort out the weather in here. I don't like rain."
"Yeah. Sure...." Azdeha stood up and grinned maliciously down at the zanpakuto lying nonchalantly on the grass. She turned to go as the first drops of rain began to fall, waving obnoxiously over her shoulder.
"Deha chan!"
