Kioku o Uchikudaka re ta Kako

By - ByaRukifan

Pairing(s): Byakuya/Rukia, Senbonzakura/Sode no Shirayuki

~Chapter One~

"You've been going off a lot lately, you know?"

"I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"I have some business in Rukongai."

"That's really far from here..."

"I'll hurry back."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

–

The dying roar of a hollow echoed throughout the field located near a Rukongai village as Rukia brought her zanpakutou down on it's skull. Once gone, Rukia breathed a sigh and wiped her brow free of sweat. That had been the fifth hollow today in the last forty-minutes by her count.

Who said being a fukutaicho would be easy though?

She knew the missions would become harder, it had actually excited her even. She was finally able to prove she could handle it, and so far it had been going great.

The job wasn't that hard though, she was meant to deal the the hollows that were gathering around the district and then keep watch for about four more hours. In all, the mission would take up around a total of ten hours. She wasn't exactly close to the Seireitei though, so it would take a little over an hour to return.

'I won't be back until late tonight...' She thought with slight regret. 'I wish I could have been able to tell Nii-sama that.'

After all that had happened the two had begun growing closer to one another. Their dinners together had turned from completely silent to where they actually had decent conversations. They drank tea together and took walks now too. Byakuya had even smiled in her presence occasionally when it was just the two of them. Yes, things were definitely a lot better between them and Rukia had started to cherish the time they spent together more than anything. It made her wonder silently, if Byakuya would be upset with her for not telling him about her mission. Silently, she hoped he wouldn't and that he'd maybe understand. It had been one of the conditions of allowing her to become a fukutaicho. He was meant to be notified of every mission she was assigned.

This time though, there hadn't been anytime to let him know...

Rukia ran a hand through her now shorter hair, "Hopefully he won't be too upset." She muttered quietly.

She jerked suddenly at the sound of the deafening roar from yet another hollow. Grasping her zanpakutou securely in her hands she headed off to slay it.

The middle-sized, mantis-like hollow gave out a threatening cry at Rukia's sudden appearance. It's front claws resembled scythes, along with it's second set of limbs, pincers, which clamped together occasionally as if they were just itching to dig into a soul's flesh.

Rukia looked to the side to see a couple of young children cowering away from the hollow. Using shunpo, she moved to stand between them.

"You two, run and get away. Get away as quickly as you can and you'll be safe." Rukia instructed the two wide-eyed boys without glancing at them.

One of them gave a sniffle and a small nod before taking the sleeve of his trembling friend and ran off with him back towards the district.

The hollow howled angrily and rushed at Rukia. She braced herself before jumping up, dodging the hollow's attack. She turned in mid-air before attempting to bring her zanpakutou down on the hollow. Her eyes widened when the hollow turned and used it's claws to block her sword. Scowling, she jumped back and distanced herself.

'Seems this one isn't going down without a fight.'

The hollow rushed forward once more, it's pincers snapping rapidly. Her frown deepened before jumping out of the way but when she turned around to face the hollow it was already rushing back at her.

'Guess I have no choice.' She thought before taking a short breath, "Mai, Sode no Shirayuki!"

"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!" She commanded, quickly stabbing the ground and performing her shikai's second ability.

The hollow's angry roars were immediately silenced by the blast of ice.

Rukia sighed and sheathed her zanpakutou. 'That one was the most troublesome today.' She turned and began walking back towards the district, deciding to take a stroll to pass time until she sensed another hollow.

She was happy that her mission was in one of the better districts. She hated going to the ones that reminded her of her childhood. She never spoke about it much at all. The last time she had brought up her past was when she and Byakuya were having a walk together and he had asked if she would tell him about it. She remembered being nothing short of surprised by his question, she hadn't even known he was interested. When she looked at him though, she could see the...desire to know yet also the...fear of what she may tell him. She remembered how they had sat out in the gardens until dark and how Byakuya had listened to every word she said.

She'd admit, it had upset her to talk about it...to be reminded of all that had happened and she could see it had hurt him too...a lot, even though his expression didn't let that show; it had been the emotion she'd seen in his eyes that gave him away. She remembered how he had placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her before telling her that she didn't need to be upset, that she would never have to live a life like that ever again. She remembered what he had told her after that more than anything though.

"I'll always be there to protect you."

Rukia smiled at those thoughts, they always made her feel more comforted when she was away. She looked around at her surroundings, noticing how these people were so much nicer to each other.

'So different from Inuzuri...'

She looked down when she felt a tug at her sleeve. Standing behind her were the two boys that the hollow had tried to attack. Both of them smiled up at her when she'd taken notice of them.

"Thank you so much for saving us." The smaller boy with light brown hair stated happily, his bright amber eyes shining in admiration.

"It wasn't a problem, I'm just doing my job." Rukia said, returning the smile.

"Was that monster tough?" The taller, blond boy asked curiously.

"Only a little troublesome but it wasn't too much of a problem."

The little one grinned, "You must be really strong then!"

Rukia couldn't help but give a small laugh, "Just doing my best."

The older one now held a determined look, "When I get older I wanna become a shinigami!"

His much smaller friend nodded, "Yeah! Me too! Me too!"

"Well then I wish you two luck." The boys nodded before bidding their farewells and running off, leaving Rukia to continue her stroll.

'They seem pretty happy. I wonder if it's like that all the time here...' She thought, sighing to herself before she continued walking. She couldn't wait to get home and hoped Byakuya wouldn't be asleep by the time she got back so she could te-

BOOM

An explosion sounded off in the distance, shaking the ground on which Rukia stood. Her eyes wide, she ran towards the source.

Before she could even react though, several more explosions went off; one so close, the blast forcing her back into one of the buildings before she finally landed face down on the ground.

She slowly tried to lift her head, both it and her body throbbing from the impact. There was smoke and fires wherever she looked now, despite her vision being blurry. She had hit her head hard against that building. As her sight began to fail her, she saw the blurry silhouette of a figure approaching her...but before she could even utter a single word her world turned black.

Well, there it is. This begins the story of a plot I've actually had in my head for a long...LONG time. A few years now to be a little more exact. This plot came to me when I was having one of my rants...and it ended in me naming all sorts of plots that could be used for a Byakuya film if he were to ever get one.

I ended up with two and this one won out by popular vote when I decided I'd attempt writing it.

The story's rating is likely to change, because I'll tell you now...there are going to be a lot of...dark aspects to this story.

The title can translate a few ways, it's Past Memory Shattered (I was wanting it to be something along the lines of Memory Shattered Past) exactly but it can also mean when the memory was smashed. It's the closest translation available and has the most literal meaning. The reason it's so hard to translate is because to say a memory shatters is English figurative language. So instead of just "SAYING" it, I have to elaborate. That's why it's a longer title

I plan to have chapter two up as soon as I get some free time. I'm getting tons and tons of school work along with a year-long project we have to do. So things are pretty stressful. I've already written up to twelve chapters to this and am working on thirteen now.

So please, let me know what you think as the story progresses. I'd love to hear if you're enjoying it. Those kinds of reviews always leave me with fresh motivation and sometimes even help me get over writer's block when I have it.

Until next time then~

Read and Review!

NO FLAMING.