[Kaimu Miura] A Brother's Bond

Kaimu sat by the dirty window, watching the many residents of his district pass as he contemplated what to do. He was a young boy, looking no older than the age of seven. He turned, looking over to his mother as she hummed a soft tune to the wriggling child in her arms.

“Would you like to go and wait for your father while I put Tatsuo to bed?” She asked, walking over to her son and kneeling down to speak to him at eye level.

Kaimu scowled, “He's not my Otou-san.”

The man was just some guy his mother had remarried a year ago after his real father had died...

His mother frowned for a moment before giving her eldest son another smile. She knew he was still getting used to having another grown man in the house, and a new little brother as well. To Kaimu no one could ever replace his father, he had been a great, admirable man he'd looked up to.

Sadly though, he'd died  when Kaimu was still very young. One year after that, his mother had remarried and soon after his brother Tatsuo had been born.

He didn't understand why his mother had to get married to that guy, sure he was nice and often tried to spend time with him...but Kaimu just didn't want to get close to him, he was still mourning his real father. He still didn't know what to think of Tatsuo. The first few months after his birth, Kaimu didn't like him, he didn't want a brother. He just wanted his father back.

As the months went by, Kaimu learned to tolerate Tatsuo and then later learned to like him, but he never showed it...


"Onii-san!" Tatsuo's small voice rang, calling for his brother in the backyard of their home as they played.

The young child playfully pounced on his brother, who had been working on his studies, from behind.

"Kai will you play with me?" Tatsuo laughed happily.

"I really need to finish this work, Tatsuo."

Tatsuo frowned, "Pleasssseee? I'm sure Otou-san and Okaa-san will be okay with it! You can finish that stupid work later, come on! I'm bored!"

Kaimu laughed, "Fine. Fine."

He put down his work and turned to face Tatsuo. "What do you wanna play?"

Tatsuo looked thoughtful, "Hmmm..." He then smiled and looked around.

He ran off for a moment before coming back to him, a ball in hand.

"Let's play ball!"

"Okay." Kaimu smiled.

After tossing the ball back and forth for a bit before Tatsuo missed catching it He looked behind him at the ball before running over to his brother. Grabbing a hold of Kaimu's sleeve, he smiled up at him.

"What do you wanna do now?" Kaimu asked.

Tatsuo thought for a moment, "I'll let Onii-san finish his boring work!"

The two laughed as Kaimu went to ruffle his brother's hair.

"Well you're gonna have to do it too someday."

"Nuh-uh!" Tatsuo retorted, sticking his tongue out.

Kaimu grinned, Tatsuo could just be so funny at times.


Kaimu looked over at Tatsuo, who sat on the floor of their home drawing some pictures to entertain himself.

"What are you drawing?" Kaimu asked, curious but also wanting to talk a little.

Tatsuo only stuck his tongue out, "It's a secret!"

"Even from me?" Kaimu replied, pretending to be sad.

Tatsuo nodded, "Yup!" He said before he continued on his drawing.


"What did you do!?" Kaimu yelled angrily at his little brother, whose eyes were brimming with tears as he looked down at the floor in shame.

Kaimu began picking up the broken shards of one of his favorite vases in the house.

"I, I was on my way to see you and...and I was running and I hit...hit it. I-I'm so sorry, Onii-san Please don't be mad!"

"You should of watched where you were going!" Kaimu responded back, a little harshly. "You shouldn't of even been running in the first place! Now look what you've done!"

Tatsuo sniffled, "I..I just wanted t-to give you a-a present."

The younger child held out a piece of paper.

Kaimu, his angered expression still on his face, took the paper and looked at it; not even a moment later the anger vanished, replaced by surprise and guilt. On the paper was a drawing of two people that had arrows pointing to them. The arrow pointing to the smaller person said 'Tatsuo,' while the the arrow pointing to the taller one beside him said 'Kaimu, the best Onii-san in the whole wide world.'

Kaimu looked from the drawing to Tatsuo, who was sniffling and trying to keep himself from crying.

"Tatsuo..." Kaimu's voice was soft.

Tatsuo rubbed his eyes, "Okaa-san helped with the spelling."

Kaimu pulled his little brother into a hug then, unable to stay mad at him. He felt guilty for yelling at him like he had.

"Sorry I yelled at you. I was just upset." He said, pulling back from the hug to place his hand atop Tatsuo's head. "Thanks so much for you present though. I really like it."

He hoped his words would keep his little brother from crying, he really did mean them. "I think I'll even put it right on my bedside table so I'll see it whenever I walk into my room!" He added, giving Tatsuo a grin.

Tatsuo smiled happily, his sadness suddenly gone. "Really?"

Kaimu nodded, "Yup!"

"Huh-Owah!" Kaimu fell face first into the cold water of the river, the fish he'd just caught slipping from his hands and back into the freedom of its watery home.

Tatsuo laughed, sitting on the grass at the edge of the river as he watched his older brother try to fish.

For years he'd been doing this, and he'd never once been exceptionally good at it like some would by his age. Usually, teenagers that lived in the Rukon Districts could catch fish by hand or by handmade spear easily...Yet Kaimu, regrettably, failed in that department.

He looked over at Tatsuo, a cheek puffed out in mock anger. "If you think you can do it go ahead!" He shouted.

Tatsuo stopped laughing then, he wasn't very good at it either...

Kaimu smirked before turned standing up.

"I guess we should have been practicing with Otou-san..." Tatsuo said as Kaimu walked over to sit beside him, wanting to dry off under the sun.

"Can't be helped." Kaimu replied, pulling the sleeves of his yukata up to reveal his arms.

Their father had left them. Not died or anything but he and their mother had separated. Kaimu was angry then. He'd never seen the man as his father or a father figure, but he knew it'd hurt his mother and Tatsuo when he'd walked out on them; leaving them to fend for themselves and their mother responsible for two, still growing, children.

"Did Otou-san not love Okaa-san anymore?" Tatsuo asked, frowning a little.

Tatsuo was still young, not even considered a teen yet. He still held some confusion over the whole ordeal...

"He just..." Kaimu tried to think, he may not of liked the man but he was Tatsuo's father... "He just had other things to deal with."

"More important than us?"

Kaimu frowned, what was he supposed to say to that? Instead of replying, he brought his hand to his brother's head; ruffling his hair softly.

"Do you think he'll come back?" Tatsuo asked, his voice small.

Another question Kaimu couldn't be honest with...

"Hey, let's go to the bakery. Okay?" He suggested, trying to steer them away from the current subject. "We can pick up some bread for dinner. We don't have to have fish, it's a lot of work to clean them anyway."

"Oh, okay." His voice was still rather small, but he obliged anyway; taking his brother's hand when he offered in assistance to help him stand.

–

'I have power...If I can join the academy I can help support Okaa-san and Tatsuo...' Kaimu thought, looking through academy application papers he'd gotten one day, claiming he was going to pick food up when instead he'd headed there.

He was of age. He was young, but he knew if he tried he could do it. He could become a shinigami and use the money he earned to support his family.

"Onii-san, what's that?"

Kaimu jumped, not having noticed his brother enter their room.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just some of the homework Okaa-san gave me to do." He said, putting the papers to the side.

"Really?" Tatsuo asked, approaching his brother and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Maybe we can help each other then. I've been having trouble with mine."

"Oh really? Let me see."

Tatsuo nodded, leaving the bed and walking over to his own to grab the papers; bringing them back over to Kaimu. "I can't figure out how to do this problem."

Looking over it, Kaimu tried to recall how to do it. It was math, and usually, he was good in that. His mother had made sure to educate them unlike most parents really did. Most just either abandoned their young or at least taught them to survive. Their mother wanted them to actually have more than just survival skills. Kaimu was thankful for that, she was a great mother; always trying hard to do what was best for Tatsuo and him. She couldn't do it alone though, he knew that...

Supporting two children with no real income while living in the slums of the Rukon Districts...it was hard. They made the best of what they had and Kaimu tried to help her however he could. She always told him he didn't have to though...that he should enjoy being young while he could.

"See this number?" Kaimu asked, "You need to take it and then multiply it to this one, then you add it to this number over here."

Tatsuo nodded as he listened to his brother's instructions, piecing together what needed to be done.

"When you do that, you'll have your first answer. Understand?"

Tatsuo nodded, smiling at Kaimu. "Yeah! That was all I needed to do for that part? Really?"

"Mhmm, for that part."

"Thanks." Saying that, Tatsuo moved back to the other side of the room; sitting on his own bed to finish his work.


"Hu-wa!" Kaimu huffed as he swung the pole, attempting to practice his swordsmanship. If he wanted to join the academy and become a shinigami, he wanted to be sure to have at least some skill before turning that application in. He wanted to be sure he was strong enough. He could already channel his reiatsu, and was getting better at it.

Doing all of this in private though...it was rather difficult. He didn't want to tell his family, they'd worry too much. Becoming a shinigami meant accepting that you could die on a mission at any time. That you gave your life for their cause...

If his mother found out...if Tatsuo found out...He would never be allowed to do this.

So he had to get in without them finding out, start attending the academy before they could do anything about it.

"Hah!" He swung again, this time working on his position; making sure his arms were right and in the correct position.

Luckily, the applications had no due date...it'd been over ten years since he'd gotten them, and he'd been working hard ever since.

Tatsuo was showing signs of power as well, but he never voiced it to his little brother...he didn't want to put the idea of the academy and becoming a shinigami in his head. He was mature enough now, mature enough to handle and understand much more than he could before...but he didn't want his only brother thinking about taking up such a dangerous job...

Kaimu stopped to wipe the sweat from his brow. He'd been out since three in the morning at least...It was almost daybreak and he knew he needed to be getting home soon.

Just a little more though. He had enough time if he hurried...

He set the pole down, hiding it inside a hollow log under some leaves. That pole was the closest thing he had to a sword. He didn't have a wooden one, or the skill to make a proper one. If he were to see if someone else could make one someone may get suspicious...

With a huff, Kaimu stretched his arms out in front of him. He relaxed his muscles, taking a few deep breathes before he began concentrating his energy to his hands. There, a small orb appeared and it continued to grow...Just a little more concentration...It was larger than his palms now. Kaimu's eyes narrowed, just a little more..

“Kai!”

"Gah!" With that, his concentration was lost. Turning, he saw Tatsuo approaching him; confusion showing in his expression. "T-Tatsuo. What are you doing up so early?"

"I woke up, you weren't in your bed so I got worried when I couldn't find you in the house." Tatsuo looked around. "What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, nothing." He responded, knowing he'd been caught. "I was just wanting some fresh air."

Tatsuo raised a brow, "You're sweating like crazy...And what was that ball thing you were making with you hands?"

"You saw that?"

"Mhmm." Tatsuo replied, crossing his arms as he waited on an explanation.

"I was just messing around."

"You...you sure?"

"Look it's fine. Don't worry about it, okay?" Kaimu replied, trying to drop the subject.

Tatsuo sighed, "Fine, fine."

“Maybe we should get home before Okaa-san wakes up?” Kaimu suggested, “Then we can go get some bread at the bakery...and maybe we can even manage some meat.”

"Sure." Tatsuo then looked over his brother again, "Maybe you should get a bath though first...get rid of the sweat so Okaa-san doesn't question you like I did?"

Kaimu laughed, "Right. Thanks. That's probably best."

Tatsuo had kindly let the subject drop, but he knew their mother wouldn't be so lenient.

"Let's just get home."

Tatsuo nodded as his brother approached and soon walked passed him. Tatsuo looked over the area another moment before giving a shrug, following Kaimu back into their district.

"A shinigami!? Kai that's-"

"My choice." Kaimu interrupted, Tatsuo could only look at his brother in shock.

Tatsuo held the application in his hands, the one Kaimu had just finished filling out the other day.

"But...Becoming a shinigami...you could..."

"I know all the risks." Kaimu replied, trying to calm his brother with a smile. "I'm doing it to support us, Tatsuo. The money I earn could help us, give you and Okaa-san a better life."

"You'd be throwing away yours though!"

Kaimu approached Tatsuo, came closer and planted his hand atop his head; like he had when Tatsuo was younger. "I won't be. I'm doing this because I want to. It's the best choice for all of us...I'm not the first person to ever do this, Tatsu. A lot of Rukon kids do if they're strong enough."

Tatsuo remained silent, not responding to his brother's comfort.

"Think of it this way, I'll be helping us earn a better life." Kaimu continued, "I can visit when I'm on break or when I have days off."

"If Okaa-san finds out..."

"She's not...not until after I join at least." Kaimu stated, "Don't tell her okay? For me?"

Tatsuo sighed, "Fine...but..."

Kaimu raised a brow, "But what?"

"Nothing." He shrugged, moving away from Kaimu's hand. “We need to help with dinner, Okaa-san can't do it by herself anymore.”

Kaimu watched as Tatsuo left the room, heading for the kitchen where their dinner was being prepared. What was he going to say? But what?


"Okaa-san!" Kaimu stood from his seat at the sound of broken glass before running over to Tatsuo and their mother, who sat on the wooden floor of the kitchen over a broken plate; trembling.

"It-I'm sorry you two it slipped." She apologized, trying to wave the two concerned males off.

"Here." Tatsuo offered, helping her stand as Kaimu went to pick up the broken shards.

She was becoming more and more frail each day. Neither brother had spoken of it, not wanting to speak about it...

Kaimu feared their problems were finally catching up to her. The stress, the extra work...

"Tch." Kaimu tried not to make much noise as the shard cut into his hand. He'd been distracted. Quickly, he gathered the pieces into his hands and threw them away just as Tatsuo walked back into the room and sat down at the table.

"She's getting worse Kai."

Kaimu frowned, grabbing a rag to wipe his hands on as he went to sit down.

"Kai?"

"Not now, Tatsuo."

Tatsuo's frown deepened. Kaimu was avoiding the subject...he knew. Kaimu was a lot closer to their mother, having been her first child and all. He'd come to find out how his brother had felt towards his own father, not accepting him as he had him. So his mother was all he had then when it came to looking up to a parent-figure.

"I know...you don't want to talk about it."

Kaimu continued cleaning his cut, if only to distract himself.

"Kaim-"

"Don't." Kaimu stood, walking towards the door. "It's late, I'll be back by the time you wake up."

"Where are you going?"

"Just get some rest."

"Kaimu!"

The door closed as the eldest brother left the house, leaving the younger sitting confused and worried at the table.


"It's been almost six months." Tatsuo huffed, setting the flowers down at the small memorial shrine in their home.

Kaimu nodded, looking at their mother's shrine with a seemingly blank expression; his eyes though, held the sadness...the longing for a mother's comfort.

"And you'll be starting the academy soon."

Again, Kaimu nodded. Their mother had never found out, never knew of her eldest son's plans of joining the shinigami to help support them. Now...she never would. In a way, it was bittersweet. Sweet, because she'd never have to deal with the stress and worry upon finding out. Bitter...because she wasn't here. She wasn't here anymore to talk with them, to spend time with...

"Kaimu..." Tatsuo stood, turning to face his brother. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

Kaimu raised a brow, "What is it?"

"Now that Okaa-san's gone...I can't let you do it alone."

"Wh-what?" In the back of his mind though, Kaimu knew exactly what Tatsuo was talking about.

"You can join the academy, become a shinigami...that's fine." Tatsuo continued, placing a hand on Kaimu's shoulder. "But you won't be doing any of that without me."

"T...Tatsuo."

"Don't argue. You may be older but we're both adults here." Tatsuo interrupted, giving a small smile. "I already turned in my application along with yours last month."

"What?"

"We'll be joining once the semester starts next month. So be ready" Tatsuo couldn't help but laugh. "Geez, who am I tellin' to get ready...you have been for years."

Kaimu couldn't prevent a smile then, giving a chuckle along with his brother. "Guess so."

"So that's it then, starting next month we're on our way."

"We're on our way."

"The taicho's introduction was certainly interesting."

"You think so?" Kaimu responded, looking at his brother with a raised brow.

"You didn't think so?"

"Oh, no. It was, I just didn't think you were taking that much interest in it."

Tatsuo laughed, "Hey, I was listening!"

Kaimu smirked, "Sure, sure. Well, I've gotta get to the training grounds. See you at lunch."

"Alright." Tatsuo said, waving goodbye as his brother hurried off.


"Hah! You see that!" One student cheered happily upon firing a blast of shakkaho. She was rather excited, almost as if it were her first time doing it. It wasn't though, she was quite good in kidou from what Kaimu had witnessed. Her name was Haruki Ide, one of the lower ranking nobles that resided within the safety of the Seireitei growing up. She was a few years younger than him, a little younger than Tatsuo's age. She had long, black hair she tended to always keep up with a rather expensive looking hair-pin. She was slim, quick on her feet. She was sure to make a good shinigami.

She'd eaten lunch with Tatsuo and him a couple of times, most of the time though her other friends wanted her time. It didn't matter much to Kaimu, though he had noticed his brother getting a little twinkle in his eye when Haruki was in their presence.

"Good job, Ide-san." The instructor stated before motioning for another student to demonstrate their power for him.

"You see that, Kaimu-san?" Haruki asked as she went to stand beside him.

Kaimu gave a nod, smiling at the younger woman. "Sure did."

"You did really well too by the way." She said, "Tatsuo-san tells me you've been practicing for a long time."

"Ah, well." Kaimu chuckled lightly. "You're really good with your sword too. I still need improvement in that department."

"I'm sure you're doing fine."

"Next!" The teacher called, a rather nervous looking student taking the place of the previous one. Poor guy, he looked so nervous.

"Um...Kaimu-san?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you...think maybe I could have lunch with you and Tatsuo-san again today?"

"You don't have to ask that, Haruki-san." Kaimu replied with a smile. "You're welcome to join us whenever you'd like."

She seemed to brighten then. "Really? Thank you."


"Man, one student today during class got an attitude with Muto-sensei." Tatsuo stated before taking a bite from his sandwich. "It almost got ugly."

"I heard about that." Haruki replied. "Was everything alright?"

Tatsuo nodded, "Yeah, they had to escort the guy out of class though."

"Maybe he'll be smart enough to not back-sass the teacher next time." Kaimu added.

Tatsuo laughed, "Maybe."

"Oi! Haruki~!" Another female student called, claiming the three student's attention.

"Ah, that's Chizu-san." Haruki noted as she began to clean up her lunch. "I have to go. Sorry!" She said, waving goodbye as she stood and ran over to the other girl.

"You like her." Kaimu noted, not even having to look at Tatsuo as he took a bite from his own lunch.

"Huh, what!?" Tatsuo exclaimed, a look of confusion crossing his face escorted by a tint of red.

Kaimu smirked, "Don't hide it, Tatsu."

"Y-you're crazy."

Kaimu just laughed.


Kaimu stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep as the night went by. He thought, going over the day and the ones before it, thinking about his goals and what he would do once becoming a shinigami. Looking over to the other side of the room, he watched his brother for a short moment; hearing his soft breathing as he slept on.

Now that it was just them, his previous goals weren't exactly the same. He still wanted to make a better life for his brother, wanted to help them through their lives. Now that Tatsuo was working with him though, studying alongside him to become a shinigami...Kaimu could only pray for his brother's safety for when those missions finally came.

They hadn't really discussed much about their plans after the academy...what divisions they were hoping to get into, what they thought their zanpakutous would be like...the usual stuff.

Then again, the work was pretty piled up. Working towards such a job as shinigami was no joke, and was not to be taken lightly.

"Mn..." Kaimu looked over, Tatsuo was stirring from his slumber. "K-Kai, you serious still up?" He asked after looking towards his older sibling for a few moments, his voice tired and groggy.

"Couldn't sleep."

"You're gonna be exhausted during your classes."

"I can get by."

Tatsuo sighed, "If you say so."

"Get some more sleep, Tatsu. You still got a few more hours."

"Try to get some sleep yourself." He suggested, turning over to face the wall.


Kaimu ran, his heart pounding his chest as ran towards the cry of a hollow. A mission simulation. They really were tiring when it came to the later years of the academy. He'd managed to take out two of the dummy hollows so far. Now, he needed to meet up with the rest of his group; as they'd been purposely separated and spread out among the field.

"Hadō thirty-one, Shakkaho!"

That was Haruki, she must be confronting one of the dummies...

Kaimu sprinted from the trees, coming into a clearing to see a rather large dummy hollow attempting to go in for the kill as Haruki fell back. She held a look of fear and frustration as she pointed her palm towards the hollow again.

"Hadō thirty-one, Shakkaho!"

This time she didn't miss, the cry of the hollow echoed through the area as Kaimu moved towards the woman.

"Haruki-san!"

She looked happy at the sight of him, relieved almost. "Kaimu-san!"

"You alright?" He asked after helping her to her feet.

Haruki nodded, "I'm fine, just a little shaken. Thought I was almost done for for a second there." A nervous laugh escaped her.

"Good, let's find the others."



A few more dummy hollows down and six of their group members found, Kaimu and Haruki made it to another clearing, the six other students following behind.

"Almost have everyone.” Kaimu noted, "We just have to find my brother and Daisuke."

Haruki nodded, slight concern in her eyes. "I hope they're alright."

Kaimu smiled, trying to reassure her. "I'm sure they're fine."

"Kai!" Kaimu turned at the familiar voice, seeing his brother in the distance with the other student trailing behind him. "You okay?" He asked when he was with the rest of the group, Daisuke having to lean over as he tried to catch his breath.

"Yeah, we're all fine here." Kaimu answered, "What about you to?"

"We're fine."

"Good." Kaimu replied, relieved.

"Now to just get over to the finish point." Kaimu muttered. They were told to work together on finding it, that they'd know it once they see it.

"Should we get going then?" One of the other students asked, seeming a bit impatient to get this over with.

Kaimu looked over the other students first to see if they had any objections before giving a nod.

"Let's go."