You are about to be elected as third seat of the 6th Division, and you are confident that you will make a good impression on everyone and make new friends. However, there is something that is being stowed away from you about Captain Kuchiki's past. What will you choose to do as you try to delve deep into the heart of the man that was already broken long ago?
Chapter 1
You walk nervously down the corridors of the hallway, feeling sweat collect on your head with every step you take. You slowly push your glasses up and pause for a small second, letting out a deep sigh. Today was your first day in Division 6 of the Soul Society. You had recently graduated from school, and would now be appointed as third-command of the thirteenth squad. The teachers had appreciated your studious practices and hard work in fighting and training, and had optimistically replied that it wouldn't be long before you mastered Bankai. Classmates had nicknamed you tenshi (angel in Japanese), because you were such a goody-goody, yet kind-hearted.
As much as the praise had warmed your heart, the fact that you were finally part of the Gotei 13 was both exhilarating, yet filled you with nervousness. You were only a step away from Lieutenant Abarai and Captain Kuchiki. You didn't really know them that well, either, and hoped to make a good first impression.
Your ice blue eyes wander to the door of Captain Kuchiki's office, where you had been scheduled to meet and take a tour of the barracks. You stop next to the door, while wisps of your long, black hair gently sway from the steady wind of a nearby open window. This was it. Now was the time to meet him.
You knock on the door a little too softly for anyone to hear. Long seconds pass, and no one answers, resembling that no one had heard you knock. You urge yourself onwards, and, with new confidence, stepped up to the door and made the knock crisp and loud.
"I am the new third seat of 6th division. May I have permission to enter?"
You wait for a while longer, and then at the sound of someone saying, "Come in," you carefully turn the cold, brass knob, feeling its cool touch. You turn it, and with a small click, you swing the door ajar. You walk in as much of a straight line as possible, and bow as gracefully as possible to the person at the desk.
There was a man there, with black, straight hair, besides from the white hairpieces at the back of his head. He wore his Captain coat, the white robe with the 6th division symbol on it. He had steely gray eyes and a serious expression, as he put down his calligraphy brush besides his artwork. There was no mistaking that this was Captain Kuchiki.
"So, you are the new recruit." He stares emotionlessly at you, making you feel anxious. Would he even approve of you?
You let out a deep breath when he stands up and says, "We shall start the tour of the building, and then you can get yourself settled."
"Yes, Captain Kuchiki."
You follow him as he exits the door and walks into a different hallway, with red, silk carpets and marble floors. Grand windows with beautiful embroidery had flower vases on the windows sills, making a fresh fragrance fill the halls. You are amazed at the mansion's enormous interior. It already had looked big on the outside, but on the inside, it was even more elegant and maze-like.
Finally, you reach a wood door with golden plating around it. In small, almost illegible print on the top of the door was the number 703.
"This is your dorm room. Remember the number. If you keep going down this hall, you'll go to a small room, where most of the people socialize. Keep going past that and you'll head out of the barracks and go outside. Feel free to do anything you like, but please ask if you are lost. Head back the way you came if you want to come back to my office. The rooms next to yours are dorms for other squad members. You may socialize with them, but remember to do your work. You are third-in-command, so you'll have more work than them."
"Understood," you respond, as respectfully as possible, as you try to tuck in the information for later. It would be embarrassing for the captain if you forgot the first things he told you!
Then, your eyes find a door different than all of the dorm rooms. Instead of a plain, wood door outlined with golden frames, it was a sliding door, leading to somewhere big and grand.
"Captain, where does that door lead to?"
The captain looks at the direction that you point to, and for a second, his emotionless eyes flicker.
"The room is off-limits. Please do not go there."
"Oh..." You look down. Had you said something wrong? There seemed to be something important to the captain behind that door, and you didn't want to venture through his business. You decide not to talk more about the topic, but you can't help but feel a tinge of curiosity as the captain bids farewell to you. He disappears behind a wall with a picture frame of a tree.
You take one last look at the door that the captain had forbid you from entering, and then shook your thoughts off. There was no use in worrying about that. You still needed to get comfortable in your new room. You push open the doors.
As soon as you open it, you are welcomed by the smell of honeysuckle. The windows had velvet curtains, bobbing up and down by the wind, since the window had been opened a crack. The bed was enormous, with a faded white bed cloth with small, printed flowers, and a cover that was purple and gold. The pillows had black outlines on it, shaped like parsley, and were soft to the touch. The candle on the tableside nearby was in a painted cup with pictures of the sea, and some papers were stacked neatly next to it.
"This room is amazing..." You have never seen a room so big, and it was for you! But you couldn't lay down and take a nap yet. You needed to finish your work first. You scan the stack of papers that were on the table, which were forms for registering in the squad. You fill them out slowly, trying to use your neatest handwriting possible. Perhaps the captain commented on my handwriting? It was a fat chance, but you still wanted to make a good impression.
When you are done, you leave the room, puzzled on where to submit the paperwork. Do you just hand it to Captain Kuchiki, or do you just leave it somewhere else? You stand in the halls, unsure of where to go, until you encounter a person with spiky, red hair with a dark headband across his head. Under it were some tattoos. He had narrow, red eyes and was tall.
"Hey there. Are you the third seat?" the person asks you.
"Y-yes. Do you know where to hand in the paperwork?"
"Sure. There's a room next to Kuchiki's office where at least one person manages collecting paperwork and submits it to the other squads. It's room 654, to be specific." The red-headed person scratched the back of his neck casually. "Rikichi, one of our unseated officers, should be there."
You smile in thanks, and then inquire, "What is your status in here?"
"Oh, I'm the lieutenant. Renji Abarai."
"I see..." You scratch your chin. "Not to be offensive or anything, but you and Captain Kuchiki are total opposites."
He grinned. "Yeah, that's true."
You decide that you should stop chatting and start heading to the room. You thank Renji, and then, run off, the papers clutched in your hands. When you get there, you meet Rikichi, the officer that Renji had mentioned.
"Hi! Name's Rikichi. Got any paperwork?"
"Yes, here." You hand him the papers. He looks at the page, and then comments, "Woah, you have good handwriting."
"Actually, I have atrocious handwriting, to be honest. However, I need to make a good impression on the captain, right?"
Rikichi looks down. "Well, that is going to be a hard nut to crack. You can't just approach the captain like that and ask away. People say he's went through a tough past. I don't know much, but you could ask Captain Ukitake about it. He could tell you more about Captain Kuchiki, just in case you're interested.
You know you want to know more about your captain, so you ask, "Where can I find Captain Ukitake?"
Rikichi smoothed his black hair. "He is in the 13th division barracks. Just go outside, take a left around the field, and you'll find their place. It's a tall, black building, and you won't miss it."
Hesitation runs through you. "What if Captain Ukitake doesn't agree to talk to me? I mean, it's kind of bad, right?"
"You just can't talk about it straight to Captain Kuchiki. And trust me, Captain Ukitake is very friendly and open. He'll tell you everything."
You force yourself to run across the hallways and go outside before you can change your mind. You had a cold determination in your heart to find out about Byakuya Kuchiki. Sure, he was serious on the outside, but there was something he was hiding.
As you go across the halls, you pass the door that Byakuya had forbidden you from walking through. You pause for a second, as you think about the secrets that Byakuya could be hiding behind that door. What was so important that it needed to be hidden?
Shaking your head, you continue onward, your shoes clattering against marble flooring, until you come to the end of the hallway. You open a door, and sunlight pours out, making you squint. The halls widen into a room, where some members were chatting and goofing around. At a time, you would have been interested in meeting your new companions, but now was not the time. You want to know more about Byakuya Kuchiki, and that was all.
"Come, sit down. Help yourself to some tea."
Despite Rikichi already telling you about the captain's friendliness, you were still surprised at how nice Captain Ukitake was in welcoming you to tea at absolutely no notice at all. You knew immediately that this captain would be easy to talk to.
"So, you've become the third seat of the 6th Division. How do you feel about it?" he asks, while pouring a tea kettle into two white mugs.
"It's nice, I guess, but I know it's going to be hard." You play around with a strand of hair that dangles from the side of your ear, as you think about how Captain Kuchiki looked when he said the door was off-limits. You saw that expression on his face, even if it was only for a split second. He almost looked...desperate? But why?
"Looks like you're thinking about something."
You nearly jump out of your seat as Captain Ukitake makes the remark.
"Well...yeah. Captain Kuchiki is kind of emotionless. How do I show him that I'm good without approaching him the wrong way?" You curl your hands around the steaming mug of tea.
"That's just how the captain acts, but he's quite kind if you really get to know him. Always does the right thing." He sipped his tea. "Well, his past must be the reason why. Have you met Rukia Kuchiki yet?"
You shake your head no.
"Well, she's considered the sister of Byakuya, you see. She's very nice if you decide to meet her. She once had a sister, Hisana. Byakuya had married Hisana, but then she passed away of a terrible cough. That must have been harsh on him. So, Rukia is now Byakuya's adoptive sister."
"Oh, that's sad..." you murmur, thinking about how prideful your captain was. It was a terrible thing, but you suddenly felt the urge of understanding your captain. You wanted to be able to approach him about the topic, maybe ask him about it. But he would shoo it away if you brought up Hisana, you were sure of it.
"How do you ask Byakuya about stuff? It's too hard to talk to him. I want to understand him, Captain Ukitake." You pick up the mug by the handle and blow on the steam that rises from the top, before taking a tentative sip to test the temperature.
He smiled. "Unfortunately, it's going to be hard to be friends with him. No one can understand Byakuya. He will never find another love, or even make someone close to a friend."
"I wish I could..." You want to talk to him. You have to. Unlike the others, you would approach Byakuya, or at least you would try.
"Thanks, captain. Maybe I'll stop by next time."
"You're welcome here any time!" he called out as you leave your mug on a plate and leave the room.
First, you would have to find out the secret of the door, and see if it had anything to do with Hisana. You know you could get in serious trouble for violating his rules, but sometimes, there were times when you had to break them. You don't know why, but you need to understand the interior behind that serious-faced man.