Kawa Shimizu; Yonbantai-Taicho

Shimizu lit. def. - Purified Water
Kawa lit. def. - River

ETHNICITY: Eastern-European
COMPLEXION: Ochre
HEIGHT: 5' 3" (161 cm)
WEIGHT: 120lbs (54.43kg)
BODY TYPE: Athletic/thin
EYE COLOR: Sea-Green (Left eye; Crimson/Scarlet during infection)
HAIR COLOR: Teal/Bluish-Green
HAIR STYLE: Straight; short

• Intelligent
• Cynical
• Nihilistic
• Enigmatic
• Sagacity
• Perceptive

Kawa is well known for her extreme knowledge in the medical field, though her intelligence expands beyond that simple limitation. She is well verse with fields of psychological and physiological, highly knowledgeable with history, and often quotes literature from those of both the spiritual realm and the human realm. Kawa excels in her field, and though her abilities are rare and highly regarded, her methods and manner in which she follows through can be extreme. While most pursuers of the medical field act in accordance to help others, Kawa's reasons for continuing the field, as expressed by her, are merely to "keep her mind occupied."

Kawa is also known for her incredible memory and dry, near cruel sense of humor. She's extremely egotistical and will often belittle her underlings. Though in no way does she seem to express herself with a Messianic complex, as most doctors tend to form, she instead holds a Rubik's complex; rather than saving lives to feel important or hold a higher-than-thou aura, Kawa instead uses her knowledge and the means of her medical abilities not simply to save lives, but to take on the most difficult, complicated patients in order to solve issues that no normal healer can tend. This tends to shed a rather bleak light upon the healer, with some rumoring she only saves the lives of those that are unable to be saved by normal means.

She treats her patients as puzzles, often allowing her underlings to make direct contact with them, as to not associate her personally unless their symptoms become abnormal, or untreatable through normal means. Kawa thrives on the mysteries that still shadow over the medical field and will become engrossed in patients who display rare symptoms, diseases unknown to the Gotei, or injuries and wounds normally untreatable. She has excelled in creating various forms of healing through spiritual preservation and spiritual regenerative properties.

Kawa can't seem to hold any form of relationship whether they are friends or lovers. While certainly holding a feminine and beautiful body, and certainly knowing that fact, she rarely expresses her feminine charm, instead holding more of a tomboy persona, certainly conflicting with her normal appearance. When finding herself bored, she'll find means of toying with the minds of others, simply to deduce their reactions. Because of her high intelligence, she can, at times, predict the flow of a conversation, and manipulate it to suit her interests at that time. She uses this ability quite often when she does find herself bored, often causing conflict within her own division simply to humor her.

While certainly appearing cold in most cases, Kawa is well known for having a dry, though cruel sense of humor. Her means of belittling those around her, throwing various insults to her comrades constantly doesn't make her very many friends, and as such, has held only a handful of those she can actually feel she can trust, let alone hold any form of relationship status. Kawa does have quite a bit of immaturity in her, and often expresses this side of her through various pranks, jokes, and so forth at the expense of others. Despite her cynicism and constant degrading personality, Kawa has, at times, expressed some forms of endearment, or at the very least, shown she has cared for her comrades to a certain extent and able to put her pride aside and apologize when she's taken her offensive behavior too far. Still, she'll always conceal her own affection toward her colleagues and those she may care for, denying it to such great extents that she herself may tend to forget.

Kawa has an eidetic memory; that is she can recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with great precision. She is a speed-reader, which aids in her desire to read and recall various quotes from literature and interpretation of such. Kawa can hastily skim through various forms of text, as her mind automatically fills in the blanks while simultaneously continuing through each page. Visually, she can glance at a single paragraph and her mind automatically deciphers the shapes of each line of text or characters, granting her the ability to read and understand a full line at the rate one reads a single word. Because of her eidetic memory, she's able to decipher many words combined within a sentence far more quickly, which allows her mind to 'predict the sentence,' thus allowing her to read at a far faster rate than any normal standard.

Kawa has a fairly bleak view on life, relationships, and people in general. She never expresses her trust in people, and finds many things that others may enjoy pointless or tedious. She thinks relationships are merely a conception of human nature for people who simply cannot live on their own or hold themselves up alone. She often expresses her enjoyment of being alone, and purposely keeps those around her at arm’s length. She has an addictive personality, and finds comfort in narcotics, mostly in pain killers. Due to a medical procedure performed long ago, there was internal nerve damage that was unrepairable, even with the vast knowledge and spiritual abilities of the Gotei. As such, she deals with constant nerve pain in the form of headaches and migraines. While certainly needing things such as painkillers to be without pain, she often takes large quantities to the point where she is considered an addict. Nevertheless, she does not hold the same mentality or traits of an addict; she remains sharp-minded, emotionally stable, and a dependable member of the Gotei. However, she does express instability in her emotions when she's unable to take her medication, perhaps using her disability as a crutch.

When it comes to addressing her name, Kawa prefers her last name to be used, and will often correct those addressing her by her first name. She states that first name announcement as a sign that the individual is being overly familiar. Due to her extensive nature of keeping those around her from forming any means of a relationship, she will always address others as their surname, only expressing honorifics to those of respectable positions. Those below Taichō and Fukutaichō are referred to by surnames only, unless Kawa feels a certain honorific should be added. As a woman brought up by a strict, noble family, she is able to act accordingly in situations, but will often refuse to present herself in such a fashion if it does not suit her desires at the time.

In accordance to family, Kawa attempts to avoid hers at all costs. Her mother, however, is one of the very few able to tear down the walls Kawa keeps well in place, and is able to see her for who she really is; someone simply afraid to let anyone in again. Though very insulting and short-tempered when it comes to her family, like some of her closely-knit colleagues, she cares for them deeply and would do anything she could to save them... though when it comes to them needing her, that's a completely different story. She's often used excuses of meetings and work to avoid her weekly family dinners and any noble arrangements. Her father, a strict man, endlessly attempts to 'marry her off' in the form of arranged marriages. Any meetings her father sets for her, she usually sends a subordinate of hers to message her 'sincere apology' and state her 'desire to aid those who need her, despite having to put her own 'desires' aside.' When it comes to her father, the two often express a battle of wits and are seemingly always verbally fighting. The two know each other more than anyone else, and despite their flawed and visually unrepairable father/daughter relationship, the two do seem to express some form of care for one another.

Kawa was born to the Shimizu Noble Family. Though they were not one of the top-known families, the Shimizu Clan is certainly a well-respected and profitable family within the Seireitei. Her father, the head of the family, was once a Captain of the Gotei 13. As such, he brought high standards to his family, and to his only daughter, a strict and forceful living standard. Kawa grew up under strict, near military-standard orders, and rebelled quite often. While showing signs of great intelligence during her youth, she was too rebellious against her father to pursue it all that much. Her mother would always play the staple of their family, the only one attempting to keep the two calm enough to show their family in a noble light. While rambunctious, Kawa was intelligent enough not to express her attitude of her father in a sense that would tarnish their family name, though would often find herself dancing that fine line the older she got.

Kawa never found any interest in relationships; friends, boyfriends, and the like were boring to her, with those of her age never seeming interesting enough to hold up a conversation, let alone peak any form of interest. Due to her high intelligence, she was often seen as conceded, and excluded during various events, despite her father's attempt to 'pair her off' with the children of other clan members in order to keep the noble family's generations growing. Kawa felt her father saw her as nothing more than a means to keep the head status of their family by bearing his grandchildren, marrying her off to whomever he felt could become the next head of their noble clan, while her father saw her as nothing more than a rebellious, immature child who refused to grow up.

Despite their faults, their conflicts never grew too out of control, and Kawa's mother had always been there to repair whatever the results of Kawa and her father's bouts had caused. When Kawa began to show signs of spiritual abilities, her father enrolled her into the Shinōreijutsuin without her knowledge. While still holding on to that rebellious phase and wishing to do anything that pissed her father off, her mentality and desire to expand upon her knowledge seemed to allow her to actually, and finally, agree with her father's actions.

Kawa excelled greatly at the Academy, becoming one of the five youngest students not only to enroll within the Academy, but graduate just as quickly, being expressed as a prodigy of sorts and graduating in less than the standard six-year time frame. Her ability to not only retains a great deal of information but to recall Kido incantations and understanding of spiritual abilities granted her entry into a seated position of the Yonbantai. Her understanding of medical knowledge and her endless desire to study produced a quality within her she herself never knew existed. However, that drive slowly turned into an obsession, as healing minor injuries became hastily dull and mundane, feeling as though the knowledge she held remained unused.

Kawa continued her study of the spiritual body, as well as various forms of Kido, and eventually obtained and mastered her Shikai. Despite being physically weak compared to most, Kawa's spiritual abilities far surpassed even some superiors she held, and her vast energy and intelligence aided in ushering her hastily up the ranks. As a Kido specialist, Kawa was often sent as back-up, excelling at long-range battles, and able to remain along the sidelines to aid those injured during battle. Her ability to analyze situations quickly and act efficiently allowed her to shine greatly, though her inability to truly work with her teammates brought her rank advancement to a standstill. While advancement in ranks was never something Kawa truly desired at all, her father became furious after a decade of the standstill, which finally broke the relationship between them. In her own furious rage, Kawa ended up giving up her seat, becoming a mere unseated member of her division, just to spite her father. In a further attempt to embarrass her father, as well as to remain as far away from her family as she could, Kawa took a post to the far outer walls of Rukongai for nearly three decades, guarding the perimeter from Hollow attacks, and healing those who ventured out too far beyond the protection of the Gotei.

While someone with a vast intelligence and ability to become bored quickly would find disinterest in such a task, Kawa actually enjoyed the seclusion from not only her family, but the mass members of the Gotei. Those she worked with were busy workers and kept to themselves mostly, with their missions of protecting the outer rim and expanding their knowledge of the area enough to deter the woman from bored to some degree. Ironically enough, Kawa ended up meeting someone who could match wits with her, someone who found her sarcasm and strange, near cruel sense of humor and dish it right back. It was sixteen years in when she received a list of new recruits that would aid in keeping the outer rim well protected from Hollow activity and prompt security for their outer district of Rukongai.

Quinn was the man's name, a strange one at that, but had a wit and sense of twisted humor that rivaled Kawa's own. Their sarcasm and near sexually-harassing comments toward each other easily closed their awkward, yet comforting relationship, building one of Kawa's first actual friends. The man was certainly intelligent, and like her, excelled in his own respective field of gather intelligence and battle strategy. The two often spent their off time playing Shogi, Chess, and various games requiring patience and strategy. For the next few years, the two went back and forth, their witty retorts and sarcastic comments evolving into sexual innuendos and obvious flirtatious behavior. Both seemed to express the desire to move forward, but neither really seeming all that willing to take the next step, merely avoiding the sensitive topic by diverting the conversation or current topic to something else, or merely letting an awkward silence fall heavily between them. Still, Kawa seemed satisfied with what they had. As someone who held great difficulty in obtaining friends while she was young, Quinn was the very thing she needed to fill the emptiness she refused she felt in life.

Having obtained great experience in the field, Kawa was inevitably called back to the Yonbantai division to aid in the hospital directly. Despite her protests, the day-to-day challenges of the more uncommon and rare situations that arose within the hospital were enough to keep her busy mind occupied. To keep her worried thoughts from Quinn, she kept herself busy, pouring in overtime and working herself to the limit within the hospital. While certainly expanding her field and gaining the experience she so desired, after some time, began to take its toll on her, both physically and mentally. Despite her family’s best efforts to contact her not only while away, but even when she returned, she continued to refuse seeing them, to the point where she would avoid any contact all together, preferring to send them letters, usually filled with apologetic words and wishing them the best.

One day, however, she received a case file that would forever change her life.

Hollowfication… it was a word known to the Gotei, and especially the Yonbantai… a taboo of sorts, though the only cases Kawa had ever heard of were cases where it led to death. There had been rumors of cases where patients infected with Hollow blood or Hollow spiritual particles, in fact, lived to tell the tale, though such cases were usually kept under lock and key, unable to be reached by those without proper clearance.

The day had been like any other; mind-numbingly dull, with little to occupy the young healer’s mind. It was the same old wounds and the same old injuries, nothing new; easy tasks to perform, a minor surgery with no real threat. Kawa had been on a smoke break when the report had initially come in, having taken up the habit some time back. Despite being not only a healer, but now a doctor, and knowing the risks nicotine had to offer, it helped to calm her constantly agitated nerves.

A single attack that had wiped out three squadrons of Shinigami, leaving many severely wounded and in need of dire medical attention. It was the first time in a while Kawa had been forced to work with someone outside of her Division; those of not only the Nibantai, but of the Juichibantai as well. To both divisions, the Yonbantai were often looked down upon, but after the initial scare reports, there wasn’t much time for theatrics and conflict between them. In fact, things had worked quite smoothly once the first team arrived on sight, with Kawa leading her own unit to help with the injured and defend the fleeing parties while the Nibantai and Juichibantai worked together, taking out the horde of Hollow that had managed to break through the outer rim of Rukongai and filtered into the villages and settlements. The further one moved from the center of the Seireitei and further out beyond, toward the higher numbered districts, the less care there was. Instead of flourished lives and comfortable living, there was despair and savagery among men. As such, many of those residing in those districts left the wounded for dead. With less structure, it became more difficult to bring control to the chaos. Nevertheless, with the members of the Gotei, Kawa was able to do her part to make certain all those injured, at the very least, were able to be tended. Nevertheless, there were still quite a number of casualties. It seemed it wasn’t just a single spot that had been hit, but several. After her initial squadron had left, several more had been sent to a variety of locations… and while no one could have predicted such a strange and conveniently timed attack, the Gotei did their best to bring their soldiers together to protect all souls within the Soul Society.

“Q-Quinn…?!”

Kawa was shocked when she came back to the hospital to find Quinn’s name listed on the name of those who had been taken in for special treatment. Special Treatment; it was a term used for those with a special list of symptoms, ones that Kawa had only just started to obtain the clearance to tend… various forms of poison, infections, and the like, beyond that of the norm; Hollow infections and so forth. For the first time in her life, Kawa felt her entire world come to a screeching halt. Her heart sank in her chest and her mind crumbled, overflowed with worry, dread, and endless worse-case scenarios. Immediately, she rushed to the medical room where an operation had already started to take place. While being informed that, not only was the man not her patient, but he was still in surgery, Kawa demanded to be allowed into the room to oversee the procedure, as well as to read over his chart to its full extent. It was only due to her skills and knowledge, as well as her inability to lose an argument that allowed her entry into the viewing room and on the team currently handling his situation.

Quinn had received great damage to his body; outward injuries were sustainable, and the internal injuries, mostly organ damage, were what had him currently in surgery. While she kept one eye on the table through the viewing glass, she hastily skimmed through the charts viewing the initial reports. Everything she reviewed thus far had seemed to have been cared for, except for the infection. Kawa herself had only dealt with minor poisons and even more minor Hollow infections. The extent that seemed to be stated on the report was beyond anything she had ever encountered, and Quinn was only one name upon a long, long list. Swallowing the lump within her throat, Kawa immediately attempted to reach out to her Captain in an attempt to retrieve any and all records regarding Hollow infections and the process of Hollowfication. Again, she was met with resistance, not able to speak directly with her Captain, and instead, a higher seated officer. Due to the severity of the cases that were being handled, those who were already familiar with the process were already “taking care of the situation.” Despite what she was told, the young doctor had her doubts.

Kawa then attempted to gain access to the Daireishokairō in order to better familiarize herself with the situation; a library of that extent would certainly hold the information she required, though again was refused access, and this time, warned in full of her efforts as she attempted to not only persuade her way into the compound, but when she was met with resistance, attempted to break in herself. Though being stopped before she officially broke any laws, Kawa was taken into custody overnight until her Captain retrieved her in the morning. Whether it was due to her intelligence, her abilities and skills within the medical field, or merely sensing her division member’s worry, her Captain revealed what she could of Hollowfication to Kawa after her release. Though most cases were deemed classified, her Captain was able to provide Kawa with more insight that she originally had, and while it wasn’t much to go on, it was a start… and in most cases, that was all the young genius required.

After that, Kawa received permission from her Captain to obtain a box full of cases that included Hollowfication within the reports. Nearly thousands of pages were written out, in full detail, depicting the status of each patient, how they were infected, when, the treatments that were attempted, and the timeline in which they survived before the infection eventually spread to the point of no return… and after passing that line, there was no coming back… which meant if she had any chance of saving her friend, she needed to act. It took her only a few hours to review each case as she locked herself in one of the unused offices within the Hospital. Notes and pages were taped along the four walls with three white boards scattered along one side with various notations of treatments and their effects, as well as the attempts made by the previous medical teams.

Thus far, there were means of treating Hollowfication, though only if the infection was minimal, usually when obtained through injuries acquired upon the patient’s limbs. Should the infection be severed before reaching the patient’s core, their internal spiritual core would remain untainted… though severing the infection before that point meant severing the patient’s infected limb. That seemed to be the only explained process that brought promising results, though such a tactic needed to be made almost immediately following the infection, or if the infection was contained with special healing Kido, then they could have more time… but that too was minimal at best. Quinn’s injuries were mostly internal, which meant his core was likely already infected with Hollow reiatsu. Kawa returned to her research in an attempt to gather more data. In other cases, it seemed the Hollowfication process could be slowed by using a variety of restraining Bakudō spells, and in some more extreme cases, Kido that was restricted and forbidden from use unless deemed absolutely necessary. Such tactics were never explained in detail, to which Kawa assumed those cases were the ones her Captain had mentioned as being deemed classified. With another frustrated grunt, she hurled the report to the side and continued onward.

More cases, more trials, all ending in failure; some taking drastic, and rather foolish attempts in combining various healing spells, medicines, and complex potions in order to purify the soul without completely destroying it… though none were successful. No shit; if they were, she wouldn’t be here! Frustrated further, Kawa hurled the next three reports all about the room and returned to one of the whiteboards she used to keep her notes and scratched out various notes and theories she had attempted to come up with, finding out that each one would only result in complete failure, or simply did not have enough time to successfully save her patient. Hours and hours continued to pass, with the young woman not even stopping for a single moment, fearing any time wasted in rest could be the difference between life and death. More reading only brought up zero results, or one of her theories of purification meeting with absolute failure. One of the whiteboards were flipped with such force, it dented the wall and brought many of the papers she so messily tapped to spiral downward along the floor, joining in with the reports she had hurled half a day ago… or was it longer?

Time seemed both highly valuable, yet so undefinable at the moment; her body was exhausted, yet her mind… it just continued to act, endlessly, nonstop, not needing a single moment to rest. In fact, the more tired her body became, the more active her mind worked. As the healing squad stationed over Quinn’s infected body spent days attempting to do their best in slowing down the Hollow poison attempting to take over his body, Kawa began to reach for wild and purely insane theories that, on paper, quite possibly could work, should all the qualifications be met. On the morning of the fourth day, Kawa finally allowed her eyes to blink, having been staring at the one remaining whiteboard that hadn’t received her frustrated assault, and with a trembling hand, continued to review the information she had placed upon it over and over.

“It… it could work… it… its plausible… “

Kawa had refused anyone entry into her office, refusing to be interrupted by any means, even when her own Vice-Captain had attempted to check in on her. Only if Quinn’s status took a turn for the worse, or anything had changed within his charts would she allow any form of interruption. As such, when she did finally open the door to her office to reveal her findings, she was greeted by a blast of bright, blinding light. She hadn’t realized just how dim the candles in her office had become, or the sensation of vertigo she would receive from the sudden change of atmosphere… or rather due to pure malnourishment and complete physical, mental, and spiritual exhaustion. Nevertheless, adrenaline had returned to her system lie a rushing high, one that she planned to ride all the way to her Captain’s quarters in order to obtain strict permission to perform the special treatment she had in mind.

What she had in mind was complete lunacy, according to her Captain. While Hollow infection spreading within a single victim was near impossible to purify, should one or more persons attempt to open a direct spiritual connection to the patient, one that went far beyond the normal standards of spiritual healing and restoration, one could, potentially and highly theoretically, start a filtering process by taking in the spiritual aura of the patient into themselves. It was like a water filtration system; pour the dirty water into a filter, then, pour it into another filter, and then a third, until the water was clean. While certainly something like that could be easily explained, such a process was near nonexistent, and for good reason. Any sort of spiritual connection made with those infected with Hollow reiatsu could become contaminated themselves, resulting in the actual spreading of a Hollow virus of sorts. As such, this type of procedure was never fully examined. Kawa, however, believed it to be possible.

“No. Absolutely not! The only thing you’ll end up doing is infecting yourself, and potentially, others should that reiatsu become unstable during such a procedure!”

Sure, there were risks, but weren’t there always? No matter what she did, she knew she would be met with resistance… which was why Kawa would have to do the procedure by herself… alone. Despite her exhaustion, Kawa still had her wits about, and with a bit of negotiation, skillful words, and ability to manipulate, she was able to slowly reduce those currently watching over Quinn to leave one-by-one, until eventually, they were alone.

“Quinn… you ass,” she spoke softly to the unconscious man currently enveloped in a high-level Kido spell that attempted to keep the core of his reiatsu contained. With a single motion of her hand, she evaluated the infection to the best of her ability… it was worse than she thought. Was he too far gone? The woman denied such thoughts to their fullest extent, and with trembling hands, brought them both toward his body. One was placed upon his chest, the other upon his forehead. Unlike normal healing procedures, Kawa would be acting as a filter of sorts, while simultaneously channeling her own spiritual energy to not only subdue his own, but literally pulling the infectious reiatsu into herself. From there, she would expel short, yet powerful bursts, which would likely gain the attention of those beyond the room… which was the reason for the double-barrier spell she had previous placed over the room once she was alone. It would buy her just enough time to finish the procedure… at least, she hoped. She was confident in her ability to control the combined reiatsu levels and keep them stable… or perhaps, merely convincing herself of such.

“Just hang in there, Quinn…”

And those would be the last words the woman would speak to the man she never told she loved as she opened a direct connection between herself and the unconscious, infected form lying on the bed before her. A soft glow of spiritual energy began to emit from her palms, and as she began to pour in her energy into the man via the hand at his head, she began to pull with the one hovering over his chest. A sickly, thick, tainted form of spiritual energy mucked its way from his chest and was sucked into her palm. Kawa winced instantly as a shock of pain and realization paralyzed her form in a near instant… but there was no turning back. The healing spell previously holding back the infected reiatsu of the man shattered in an instant, and a powerful wave entered the young healer. Kawa’s body shook and trembled as wave after wave began to engulf her own form as she poured her own, purified reiatsu back in to replace what she had taken.

Every single nerve in her body ignited as her blood boiled; it felt like her body was on fire as sweat began to pour from her features, and her breathing became staggered. Nevertheless, she tried her best to fight against it, and let out the first wave of spiritual pressure. The room shook and trembled as a wave of energy was unleashed, the first pulse of purification… with many more to come. Kawa’s chest tightened as she felt liquid force itself up into her throat. A staggered cough sprayed a mix of saliva, phlegm, and blood onto the man’s trembling form as his body began to react to Kawa’s healing method.

“Ck…ckkk….” Kawa had attempted to speak some form of verbal easing for the man as she witnessed his sleeping expression shift into that of pain… horrifying pain, but she couldn’t speak a single work. Her brows pinched inward as her jaw clenched so tightly it likely would remain locked into place. Still, she continued the process, channeling her energy in while she attempted to filter out the infected portions with continuous flaring bursts of her own reiatsu. Trays and medical devices flew onto the floor as each powerful gust threatened the barrier she herself had placed upon the room, distant shouts threatening to end her trial. Nevertheless, Kawa continued… she had to… she just… just…

“GaaaaaHAHAAAA!!!!!”

Quinn’s eyes opened as he began to scream. His limbs flailed about, both breaking Kawa’s concentration and nearly dangerously severing their spiritual connection. Furious waves of spiritual energy lashed out from the man’s body, and nearly hurled the healer across the room due to the intensity. The mere pressure alone felt like she was being cut at all sides, like small, tiny slashes against her skin with every pulsating wave, tearing at her robes and skin and spraying the floors and walls in crimson. The healer attempted to speak once more to calm her… friend, but couldn’t produce any words; she had to continue. If she stopped now, all of it would have been for naught. If she didn’t keep going, he would be executed… there was no cure for Hollowfication… if the infection spread too far for treatment… then…

Then…

Then the door caved in, removed from its hinges completely and flew across the room. Kawa vaguely recalled glancing up, her eyes glazed and vision fogged. She was told, even after she had lost all forms of consciousness, she had still kept the connection between herself and Quinn going, as to sever the connection at that state would have been disastrous for both of them. Even after her eyes rolled to the far back, her body began convulsing, and her head rolled back and forth, she had kept the connection open, working completely subconsciously, to the point where when she had done all she could, filtering as much of his energy as her own spiritual abilities would allow.

But in the end… it was all for naught… as her eyes slowly rolled back, her body cradled in the hands of shadowed nurses, she witnessed her own Captain end Quinn’s life in a single instant. No matter how much she would try later in her life, she would never forget the white substance that leaked from his mouth, forming over his head, as he screamed in a monstrous voice that was not his own as his Captain pierced his skull with a single muttered Kido spell… and then… silence… bitter sweet silence.

What seemed like an endless sea of pure darkness later, a time frame which seemed near immeasurable, Kawa awoke, groggy, and highly disoriented. A sharp, throbbing pain ignited at her temples, as though her skull was both being squeezed and drilled through on both sides. While her body felt far too exhausted to move and her mind too disoriented to properly explain her displeasure, the woman let out a mix of incoherent mutters, which seemed to prompt some shadow in the room to move closer to her. There was a prick at the bend of her arm, and a moment later, a euphoric wave of near ecstasy flowed through her body, numbing the pain, though the pulsing sensation at her temples still uncomfortably remained. Shapes and colors swirled around her vision as she attempted to move her head, and then she felt a warm pressure of sorts against her shoulder; a hand maybe? An echo filtered through, though incoherent… she was too tired to deal with it, and soon, fell back into that endless, comforting black sea.

That sort of awakening happened several times over the course of the month Kawa remained hospitalized and monitored. Despite her best efforts, Quinn perished after nearly fully Hollowfying within the hospital room. It seemed Kawa had become infected, though with the hasty actions of her Captain and fellow division members, the damage she sustained and infection had been able to be kept at a minimum. Nevertheless, while most of her injuries were able to be healed to some degree, the infection itself caused severe and irreparable nerve damage. For the rest of her life, Kawa would feel the constant reminder of her inability to save her one and only friend.

It took two months of treatment, six months of physical therapy, and even more time of both community service and mind-numbing chore work before Kawa was brought back to the position she once held. Her family had visited her quite often while in the hospital, and while her father wished to make amends for all their past grief, Kawa was too stubborn, and continued to push her family away. When she was able to fully return, she kept herself forcefully busy with her work, though seemed less caring about her patients, and more interested in the uncommon, more difficult cases she took. It soon became common knowledge that Kawa wouldn’t handle anything less than what she deemed interesting, and did what she could to pawn off the simple treatments off to those beneath her.

Due to the nerve damage she had received at the hands of her own foolishness, special treatment was ordered for her on a weekly basis in the form of physical therapy Kido sessions. Kawa would often neglect these sessions, and instead, relieved the pain in her head with pain killers. Over time, it became apparent the woman would refuse the specially ordered treatment sessions, and after a while, those forcing her to attend stopped. As such, she became quite addicted to her medication, and would openly take them in front of her colleagues and patients, even while working. Despite the influence the drugs placed her in, she was still very much able to continue working her specialty cases proficiently.

Despite her uncaring nature of rank, Kawa was awarded a higher seated position and continued working within the Hospital, with little to no change in her relationships. She continued keeping people at a distance, remained cold at times to her colleagues and even her patients, though the results she produced were enough to keep her out of trouble for the time being.

One night, a division meeting was taking place, with Kawa, of course, nowhere to be found. Quite often, the woman would remain vacant at these meetings, with any vital information given received from one of her underlings, should the information affect her in anyway, which at times, it didn’t. As such, the woman was again caught in one of the gardens outside the hospital grounds smoking a cigarette when she was spotted by one of the charge nurses; one of the few that she could stand to be around. Apparently, the meeting she was supposed to attend had something to do with their current Captain announcing their retirement, and that a new candidate was to be announced within the following weeks… and also, that Kawa’s name was on the list of rumored candidates. Annoyed by such an announcement, Kawa met with her Captain to confirm the story.

“Have a seat… Kawa-chan,” her Captain was one of handful of people who actually referred to her by her first name, of course bringing an annoyed pinch of her brows and a grunting, yet, reluctant sigh as she sat in the chair across from her elder superior. Her Captain informed her of what she had missed, and also confirmed that Kawa was someone she was interested in having to take her position. Kawa, of course, argued that such a position not only held no interest to her, but began to enlist every fault she had, most of which, she exaggerated to some degree; she even announced her addiction to pain killers, her inability to empathize with her patients and colleagues; not only that, but she didn’t even have a Bankai. How could a Captain be made of a Shinigami who didn’t even know Bankai? Her Captain allowed her to vent off her reasons for turning down such a ridiculous thought, and when her Captain finally asked her if she was finished, a further frustrated Kawa mutely nodded her head.

“First of all, I know you have acquired your Bankai,” her Captain said, flat out, without missing a beat. Kawa blinked, keeping her eyes locked upon her Captain, not shifting her gaze in the least, though slowly swallowed the lump within her throat. “And I know you have since mastered it.”

“Tch…” Kawa finally turned away from the intense gaze. Sure, it was true; she had acquired her Bankai quite some time ago, and only a few months ago had she mastered it in full. The fact that this person, or anyone for that matter, knew that was beyond her belief. She never revealed much of her Shikai, nor its abilities to anyone, and whenever it was inquired upon, she would easily divert the topic to something else. How the hell did her Captain find out? The elder healer went on to inform Kawa that all the candidates would be showing off their abilities to a council of Captains, including the Captain Commander herself. Suddenly, as though reading Kawa’s mind, her Captain continued to inform her that, should she not appear, the punishment would be severe… and by severe, she meant mind-numbing chores that she wouldn’t be able to pawn off to other members of the division. Not only that, but if she didn’t follow her Captain’s orders directly, that they would personally make certain to make the last few months the Captain had a living hell for the young woman.

Well… shit…

The trial was boring, to say the least; expressing her vast abilities in Kido, performing various spells and so forth weren’t much of a challenge for the young healer. While hating to do so, she managed to, as she worded it, “show off” her Bankai to the council, just as she had been ordered to do. Of course, when it came to the face-to-many-faced interview, Kawa planned to butcher the hell out of every question they asked… however, it appeared that not only her Captain saw through her façade, but the Captain Commander specifically had as well. In fact, with every sarcastic, self-deprecating statement she gave, the Captain Commander held a rather witty retort. Eventually, it was just a battle of wits, with Kawa actually becoming more interested in winning the battle by belittling herself to the best of her ability and expressing exaggerated faults, while the Captain Commander shinned a more truthful light to any negative comment Kawa gestured of herself.

It all came down to Kawa disliking authority, holding no ability to interact properly in a team-like fashion and even more, her ability to lead. While she did have some underlings that she did lead, she pawned them off less as ‘fellow division members,’ and more like ‘lap dogs,’ that would obey her command. She was manipulative, argumentative, cynical, and at times, just a raging bitch that didn't get along with anyone, insulted her fellow team members and belittled them in front of everyone, and an addict to boot. Despite her side of the argument, Kawa wasn't confident when the interview concluded. In fact, it was the first time, despite speaking with her own Captain at times, that she felt she had so brutally lost an argument, despite having so many factors on her side.

"You… have got to be shitting me…"

There it was, clear as day nearly three weeks later. A letter, address to Kawa herself, signed by the Captain Commander, announcing her promotional status to Captain of the Fourth Division. No matter how much she had attempted to sabotage her own promotion, it was apparently inevitable. Not only that, but it seemed her own Captain added to the humor when she spotted the second signature on the letter, and attached, a rather childish smiley face drawing next to the name.

And that was how her status to Captain came to be. Despite her childish protests, Kawa became Captain of the Yonbantai. Under her new leadership, she spent most of her efforts into strengthening the hospital. Quite contrary to her initial thoughts, as time progressed, Kawa actually made quite a good Captain, at least, for the most part. She still shoves the trivial workload to those beneath her, mostly to her poor Lieutenant. She reserves anything with great difficulty, complication, or rarity for herself, as always... in fact, not much had really changed, aside from the excessive workload she pawned off, and mandatory meetings that she would still attempt to skip, though would certainly be reprimanded for missing. All in all, she eventually became content and comfortable... for the time being...