Summary: Hatomi is an OC character that I wanted to incorporate into the bleach story line. I am trying my hardest to fit her into the canon so that nothing will change that much. Though this might change as the story progresses. It is a byakuya x oc because he just doesn't get enough love in the real story! So if you ever wondered what Byakuya was up to while the canon heros gallivanted around, here you go! The start of the story is a couple of days before Byakuya and Renji are sent to retrieve Rukia.
Disclaimer: I don't own bleach...the only bleach i own has the word CLOROX on it...Tite Kubo is a genius and i can never ever compare my crappy writing to his creations. But i do own my OCs and new plots, =).
Chapter One_
It was an unusual circumstance for Kuchiki Byakuya to be summoned this late at night, especially by the Sotaicho himself. Usually a hell butterfly would've sufficed, but tonight there were no fluttering wings of the black creature, but a messenger from the first division.
"A message from Yamamoto Sotaicho for the Rokubantai Taicho, Kuchiki Byakuya." a nameless figure kneeled down in front of the captain's office and announced. Inside said office, the heir of the noble clan paused his writing of a form to acknowledge the unexpected message. Leaving the comfort of his office chair, Byakuya make his way regally to his door and opened it to face the messenger.
"What is it." A statement, not a question was replied by the captain.
"Kuchiki Taicho, the Sotaicho is requesting your immediate presence at the first division headquarters. The reason is unknown to me." came a dutiful and respectful response. It was expected, of course, for an unimportant shinigami to pay such respect to the 28th heir of the Kuchiki clan, not only because of his nobility, but also his infamous reputation in all of Soul Society. Instead of granting the kneeling subordinate with a reply, Byakuya gave a curt nod and turned back to his office. Seeing how it was already late at night and he was being summoned, there was a slim chance that he would be back in his office after his meeting with the commander. After a quick reorganization of his paper work, Byakuya left the confines of his office and headed over to the first division building.
As expected, there was little activity outside his squad buildings on the streets of seireitei, aside from the few shinigamis stuck with guard duty. Usually on his way home from the division barracks, Byakuya would take his time to enjoy the quietness of the night, but tonight he would not be able to indulge himself in such simple pleasures. Foregoing his normal strides, he opted for using shunpo to carry him the wide distance from his division to the first's. Outside the Sotaicho's office stood two guards, both dressed in a full white haori that was eerily similar to a captain's except that these did not have the design at the hem and the insignia of a division on the back. This, Byakuya knew, was the uniform for all first division squad-members. Unlike the other 12 squads in Gotei 13, the squad directly under the command of the Sotaicho had special duties that even the other captains are not aware of, not that anyone really cared or mind.
The two guards immediately recognized the honorable captain and granted him entry without much hassle. The captain himself was contemplating on whether or not he should berate them for being so trusting. A simple kidou spell could've allowed anyone to disguise themselves as a captain, and if this was how they performed their guard duties, then they were severely lacking. But, since he was being summoned, he did not say anything regarding their less than satisfactory performance.
Like the few other times that he had been inside the commander's wide office, Byakuya found the older shinigami seated on a lone chair in the middle of the room. A thought briefly floated through his mind on whether or not the Sotaicho had any paperwork, like the huge stack he left unfinished on his table, since the wise leader doesn't even have a desk in his "office". A greeting from said Sotaicho disrupted his out-of-character thoughts.
"Kuchiki Taicho, it was nice of you to come so quickly after receiving my summon, I'm ashamed to say that the same trait is not found in many of your colleagues."
"Shunpo is a very useful technique to master." Byakuya supplied. In response, Yamamoto Genryusai gave a slow and thoughtful nod. After eyeing the young captain for a while longer, Yamamoto decided that it was best to get to the point of the meeting; Kuchiki Byakuya isn't known for his vast patience.
"The reason that I have summoned you tonight, Kuchiki Taicho, instead of any other person is quite simple. You, along with the young Hitsugaya Taicho, are the only ones currently still working this late at night." He paused when he saw the slightest twitch in Byakuya's expression. "Of course, this task is something that a Vice-Captain can oversee, but I will feel much more at ease if a taicho-class person is leading it. Currently, in the western district of Rukongai, near the 31st district to be exact, there are some suspicious activities being documented by the guards there. Some say that they feel sudden bursts of reiastu and then the next minute there is nothing there. It has been going on for weeks now and I feel that it is time we send some higher elites in to settle the matter. If the cause is a person with vast reiastu but can not control their powers then bring them with you back to Seireitei. We will enroll them into the academy. If it is not, I trust that you will handle the matter as you see fit." meaning the captain will have to eliminate whoever it is that might cause harm to Soul Society.
"Very well. I will have the task completed tonight." was the promise from the noble head. Byakuya gave the Sotaicho a small bow to show his respect for the commander and was about to leave the room when he was called back.
"Take the two guards outside with you, Kuchiki Taicho."
"There is no need for them, they will only get in my way." He thought back to his previous evaluation of them and frowned.
"Either way, they have been stuck in Seireitei for a while now with little combat opportunities. Hopefully this experience will help them get reacquainted with their skills." reasoned Yamamoto and the Rokubantai Taicho could no nothing but except his fate.
The trip to the 31st district of the West Rukongai was uneventful and a bit frustrating for the Kuchiki heir. First of all, the shunpo of the two guards was even more pitiful than their guarding skills. He had to reduce his speed drastically to match their pace. Secondly, as the head of a noble clan, Byakuya rarely, if ever, stepped outside of Seireitei's wall into the Rukongai districts. Because of this, he only had a general sense of where to go and was expecting his two adjutants to know the way to the 31st district, which of course they didn't. Did the Sotaicho send these two sad excuses for shinigamis to annoy him? It was obvious that these were completely useless people to have around, no wonder why they were guarding the door to an office which held the strongest shinigami in all of Soul Society. After much backtracking and questioning of nearby residents, the three finally reach the outskirts of the 31st district and met with the guards assigned to that particular area.
"K-Kuchiki Taicho…!" a short female exclaimed when she saw his noble form. Immediately her eyes soaked in the image of his handsome face and the way he carried himself with an air of self-confidence and grace. Really, with the way the moon was shining directly down on him and its light enhancing his already god-like features, he was every woman's dream and every man's envy. Her daydream (or is it nightdream?) was quickly broken when he directed at her a very intense stare. His dreamy eyes aren't very dreamy anymore when they were burning pores through her head, she realized.
"Explain to me the situation so that I can resolve this matter quickly." he ordered. The girl was so caught in his stare that she did not answer for a while, causing her teammate to answer instead.
"For a month now, whenever we patrolled this area there are always these small bursts of reiastu coming from somewhere in the woods. By the time we got to that area, the pressure was gone and no one was around. We tried searching but never succeeded in finding anything or anyone." explained a fearful looking young boy. Byakuya tore his gaze away from the two and scanned the surrounding areas.
"What should we do Kuchiki taicho?" one of the first division guard asked. This same question had been asked by either one of the two guards for the last hour or so. Instead of answering him, the captain stared off to his left side and had a look of concentration on his face. A few seconds later that look changed to one of accomplishment and he flash stepped out of the area, leaving behind 4 confused shinigamis.
"Kuchiki Taicho?!" one of them yelled.
"I think he might've sensed something! Let's follow him!" supplied the girl.
It was faint, but he'd felt it; that tiny burst of spirit pressure that the guards were talking about. The trees became a blur as he raced through them at his top speed since he was determined to catch whoever it was and return home. As he quickly reduced the distance between himself and the source of the reiastu he quickly ruled out one possibility. Whoever it was that was emitting the energy, that person definitely knew how to control their powers. It was not sporadic leaking of spirit pressure, but instead it was coming out in powerful yet contained streams. A ryoka? Perhaps an exiled shinigami? No, he corrected himself. An exiled shinigami would not be in the 31st district since they are usually banished to the slums of rukongai. Byakuya realized that it does not matter who is out there, because tonight they would stop their activities once he captured them.
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A/N: I originally wasn't going to post this story up until I'm ALOTTT further along in the story, but i decided that i better get it up here so that i can get some feedback on whether or not i should continue with it. This is my second story, so I'm expecting it to be a bit better than my first one. For one thing, i think my writing improved...somewhat lol. Although I have two stories that im currently writing, I'm already ahead in the other story, so i can spend more time developing this one. So no worries! Some points that i would like to clarify before you ask any questions:
1. I know I interchange my usage of Japanese words and it can be confusing. I sort of wish/hope/pray that who ever is reading my story has at LEAST watched bleach and is familiar with all of it's characters since I will be writing with that in mind. If there are ANY words that you are unfamiliar with, please let me know.
2. Some kidou spells will be entirely made up, while some will be from the story. I think it will be obvious to you which are which (cross fingers =X). I'm writing the number in japanese because it just sounds so cool when they say numbers, and i'm writing the name of the spell in english because i can't make up cool japanese words...even spells from the story will be written in english.
3. I try and reread a chapter at least 3 times to catch any grammar errors and/or mistakes, but it will probably never be perfect since English is my second language. please correct me where ever you see a mistake.
4. Not everything from the real storyline will be on here, for obvious time reason and because i dont want to just rewrite Tite Kubo's story. =). Most of the time i will be summarizing things that happened in the Anime so that i can tie my own twist into it.
5. I don't know how long this story will be, nor do i know how it will end. Lol. I do know that it will take a while before any romance can blossom between Byakuya and my OC, considering his nature and his heartbreaking past. It will take her a while to get pass that wall he's built up.
6. As with my other Naruto story, i will not be expecting 10000000 reviews and comments. As long as i have ONE review a chapter, just so that i know someone is reading my story, then i will continue to post. Critisms and advice are highly appreciated while flames and rude comments will be ignored =). I will be answering questions that are confusing to the reader at the beginning of the following chapter, so please feel free to ask questions!
7. Updates for this story will also be weekly, probably on saturdays or sundays. =) I apologize in advance if i miss an update for any reason.
xxRainDropsxx