A Vision of the Future
Don't let the title fool you, it's set in the recent past. An odd pairing: Shunsui and Rukia. Nothing serious.
Disclaimer: Do I look like I own Bleach?
/
Captain Ukitake opened the door and stepped out of the Thirteenth Division Headquarters. It was a lovely, unseasonably warm morning in Soul Society. He breathed in the fresh air and exhaled slowly. He had spent a good portion of the morning coughing, but a little hot tea had brought some relief, and now the warm sun invigorated him.
He walked along the wooden bridgeway that led from the headquarters building, across the pond, to the entrance gate and dry land. His friend and fellow captain Shunsui Kyoraku was waiting by the gate. He was wearing new robes, yellow with small white and blue flowers. Shunsui had a big smile on his face.
Shunsui was never early for anything. Both men knew that if Shunsui was here first, it was only because Joshiro was running late due to illness. Of course, his friend wouldn't say anything about it.
"Hello! What do you think of my new robes?" Shunsui called out, and spun around. He'd been talking excitedly about his latest purchase for a week now.
Joshiro closed the last few steps between them.
"They're quite fancy."
"I don't know if these are the right colors for me", said Shunsui. He looked perplexed. Was he fishing for compliments, or was he really unsure?
"Well, you're a beautiful man, no matter what", Joshiro said mockingly.
A few shinigami walked past the two of them, politely nodding in their direction as they passed. (Both captains cultivated an air of informality in their divisions.) Then Joshiro spied the newest recruit, Rukia Kuchiki, leaving the headquarters building and heading their way. This should be amusing, he thought.
The tiny, dark-haired girl approached them. She was as nervous as any new shinigami would be. Joshiro had been surprised by that reaction when they first met – he had expected that the adopted daughter of the Kuchiki family would not experience the awe that overwhelmed the "common" shinigami. He wondered if Byakuya was as smotheringly formal in private as he appeared in his public life. If so, he felt sorry for the girl.
Rukia approached the two captains with her head down, then looked up at him when she reached them. "Captain", she said.
He nodded to her, then turned to his friend. "Rukia Kuchiki. This is Shunsui Kyoraku, Captain of the Eighth Division."
His friend didn't have to turn on the charm; he was always charming. He probably didn't know how to turn off the charm. As she turned to pay her respects to him she saw that he was already looking into her eyes, a warm, mischievous smile on his face. "Rukia", he said, dripping with honey. Ah. This was not simply a matter of him using her familiar name. He was also avoiding the reference to her nobility. He was making it clear that he was interested in her, not her family. The man could flirt more in one word than some people do in a lifetime, Joshiro thought.
Rukia held his look a moment longer. "Sir. An honor." With other captains, a young shinigami woman would be intimidated, as this one was with Joshiro. But with Shunsui, the reaction was equally powerful, but in a different way. The look on her face was one of undisguised lust.
She blushed, then lowered her head again, and walked on to whatever important task she'd been assigned. Shunsui covertly watched the sway of her walk as she left.
"I know what you're going to say", Joshiro said.
"What's that?"
"That you have telepathy. Well, it doesn't count as mind-reading when it's that obvious. You have a gift, all right, but it's not telepathy."
"OK, no telepathy then. How about another carnival trick? I'll read the future." He paused dramatically. "I predict…that I'll face death for that woman."
"Yes you will. You'll face Senbonzakura", Joshiro said, referring to Captain Kuchiki's sword. "She's Byakuya's little sister."
"No." Joshiro's friend suddenly looked thoughtful. "This'll be different… I'll be in the right. And you'll be by my side."
The two men walked toward the doorway of the headquarters.
"And will we survive this encounter?" Joshiro asked.
"Who can tell?" Shunsui said, his voice light and playful again. "Anyway, for such a woman, it would not matter."
Shunsui sighed as he cast one more look in the direction of the gate, then entered the headquarters with his friend.