Heartbeat
Hello! Happy New Year!!! :) Well, this is my first ByaXOC story. Haha, actually it's one of my first stories that I've written and uploaded onto fanfiction in a long time. So, I hope this story will keep you entertained and I hope you like it since there are so many other stories out there. But anywho, enjoy the first chapter of the story, Heartbeat!
Chapter 1: First Meeting
[Rukia's POV]
When I met her, I had just returned from the real world. Ichigo had requested aid from us again. That boy…he was always getting himself into trouble. Well, someone like him was prone to getting into business that wasn't his. Nevertheless, I found myself fighting by his side time and time again. That was, until I met the girl who would change all our lives.
"Oi, Rukia!"
I turned to see the familiar figure of Renji in the distance running towards me. "Renji, what are you doing here?"
He ruffled my hair when he got up to me. "What, I can't visit an old friend?" His face held a smirk.
I scowled. "What's up?"
"Oh right, I was supposed to tell you that there's going to be a new member in your squad. Ukitake taichou wants you, Kiyone, and Sentarou present when she arrives." His face, for once seemed slightly serious at this news.
I tilted my head in confusion. No one mentioned a new squad member to me. "Are you sure?"
Renji nodded. "She'll arrive around noon."
I glanced at the sky. "So, around 3 hours and she'll be here?"
"Yeah," Renji seemed to be getting a little impatient about something.
"What's wrong, you keep fidgeting."
He averted his gaze. "It's nothing."
My gaze remained firm. "Renji, spill it."
He sighed. "I've just been worried about Kuchiki taichou lately. He's been kind of distant and there's just…I don't know, forget I mentioned it." He turned to leave.
"Wait," I called.
He turned back to me.
My eyes softened. "Thanks for worrying about him, but I'm sure he'll be fine, okay?"
He nodded and smirked. "Why would I think otherwise? He is my captain."
I grinned and shooed him away.
"Rukia, this is Hana Keiko. She'll be filling the role as my fukutaichou." Ukitake taichou stated with a soft smile.
I bowed and nodded towards the girl. She was petite, like me, and had a thin, but beautiful figure. Her long, straight black hair seemed to flow down her back. I noticed something off about her eyes. They were brown, but they seemed almost…dead. There was no trace of life in them. Her expression read happy and alert, but from her eyes I saw sadness.
She's so beautiful, so why does she seem so sad? I wonder if Ukitake taichou noticed anything off about her. She seems nice I suppose.
I shook myself back to what Ukitake taichou was saying.
"She's highly trained in fighting and also kido, so I think she'll fit in with our squad nicely, don't you, Rukia?" He gazed at me.
He's just happy about finally filling the spot of fukutaichou. I grinned. "Of course."
"All right, then I think that's about it, but I'm afraid you'll have to find your own sleeping arrangements. Space is a little tight as of late, but we should resolve this problem shortly…ah, Rukia, would you mind giving Hana a place to stay for a little while?"
I nodded. "I'm sure Byakuya Nii-sama wouldn't mind. There's plenty of room at the Kuchiki mansion."
My captain seemed slightly surprised at this remark. "You're staying there?"
My gaze dropped to the floor. "Only for a little while, since I've been going to the real world so much, I gave up my apartment and decided to move into the mansion." I glanced back up. "But I'm working on getting my own place to stay, I just thought it'd be more convenient t-"
"Rukia," He held up his hand with a smile. "It's okay, I think it's great that you and Kuchiki taichou have been able to bond a little more."
I nodded and stood up. "Well, do you have everything with you, Hana?" I smiled at her.
She gave her head a quick nod.
"All right, we should get going and let Nii-sama know since he'll be getting ready to go home soon." We bowed to Ukitake taichou and exited the barracks.
[Hana's POV]
When I arrived at the 13th squad barracks and was introduced to Ukitake taichou, I could tell that I'd like where I was, but it still didn't fill the uneasiness in my heart. Then I met Rukia, who seemed to see right through me. She was nice, but I wasn't too sure of her yet. I almost laughed when Ukitake taichou asked her if I could stay with her for a while since there wasn't space for another squad member yet. This was going to be an interesting experience.
After Rukia and I left the barracks, an almost awkward silence seemed to settle between us until she spoke.
"So, what brings you here to the 13th squad?" She glanced at me as we walked to the 6th squad barracks.
"Well, I've been training personally with the second squad captain for the past couple years and about a week ago she decided that I should be placed into the 13 protection squads. She thought I was good enough to become a ranked officer, and I guess she was right." I watched Rukia's mind working, trying to process what I'd just said.
Out of all the things I thought she'd reply with, she said, "Soifon, huh? I bet she was a lot to handle." She grinned at me.
I was taken aback a second before sputtering an answer. "Oh, yeah, a little I suppose. She wasn't too bad, though. You just have to get used to her."
Rukia stopped abruptly, almost making me crash into her.
"Is something wrong?"
Her bangs hid her eyes, but I could tell she wanted to tell me something important.
"Rukia?" I was getting a little worried.
She glanced back up at me with a smile, but not before I noticed something passing in her eyes. "It's nothing, come on, we're almost there."
I nodded and followed her as we entered the barracks. I was almost immediately bombarded by a guy with red, spiky hair that was put up into a ponytail and had tattoos all over, including a white bandana covering his forehead, giving him a punk look. I tried to stifle a laugh when he walked up to us.
"Rukia, I see you brought the rookie with you!" He gave me a huge grin. "Hey, I'm Renji, the fukutaichou in the 6th squad. Glad to see that the 13th squad has a new member. How've you been settling in?"
I just stared.
Rukia snickered.
Renji glanced over at her. "What, is she deaf or something?"
I arched an eyebrow. "Who said I'm deaf, I was just shocked with how noisy you fukutaichou's are."
He scowled. "That's no way to talk to someone that's got a higher rank than you." He seemed a little smug at this remark.
Rukia coughed. "She's the same rank as you, Renji."
He choked.
Rukia and I began laughing.
"What, how's that possible? I thought you just joined the 13 protection squads! How'd you become a ranked officer so quickly?"
I managed to answer through my laughing fit, "I was training under Soifon taichou for several years."
Renji just gawked.
I regained my composure after several minutes and said, "You should shut your mouth or you'll get flies caught in your throat."
Renji immediately shut his mouth but continued to scowl at me. "She's just like you."
It was Rukia's turn to scowl. "Are you blaming this on me?"
"No, I'm saying it's a bad idea to let her spend too much time with you. You're a bad influence on her."
"Too late, she'll be staying with us for a while-oh, Nii-sama, is he still in his office?" Rukia asked, suddenly panicking.
Renji shook his head. "No, he left just a few minutes before you walked in, and what do you mean she'll be staying with you for a while?"
Rukia ignored him and looked at me. "Did you learn how to shunpo?"
I nodded.
"All right, we have to go. I was hoping he'd still be here but we have to tell him before it gets too late, come on!" She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the office. A few seconds later we shunpo'd to the Kuchiki mansion.
When we arrived, I didn't have much time to gawk at how big the mansion was since Rukia pulled me along past the dining hall and towards a long hallway with several doors before stopping at the last one out of breath.
She knocked.
No answer.
"I'm going to go check inside, I'll be right back."
I nodded and stood quietly outside the door when suddenly I felt a strong reiatsu approaching from behind me. I turned to see a man wearing shinigami robes, and a captain's haori, along with some weird head piece and a beautiful blue scarf that was stylishly thrown around his neck walking towards me, or more to the door I was standing in front of.
At first, he seemed to ignore me, but then I noticed his brow furrowing. "Who are you?"
"I-"
"She's with me!" Rukia cried as she hurtled herself out of his bedroom.
"Rukia, what's the meaning of this?" He seemed slightly annoyed.
"Oh, well, she's the 13th squad's new fukutaichou and she didn't have anywhere to stay and Ukitake taichou asked if I could give her a place to stay, so I was wondering if she could stay here for a while, at least until she finds a place of her own. I promise she won't be any trouble."
I watched as Rukia fumbled her sentences together, forming a jumbled mess of an explanation. It was pretty funny, but with her brother's demeanor, I could see why she was so nervous. "What she means to say is that Ukitake taichou suggested that she find me a place to stay and Rukia decided that I stay with her here."
He turned to me, studying my features and then stated, "All right."
"Nii-sama?" Rukia looked a little surprised.
He turned back to her. "I don't mind if she stays here."
She still seemed a little unsure of what she'd heard, but nonetheless smiled and nodded. "Thank you!"
He nodded and turned back to me. "I don't think I caught your name."
"I'm Hana Keiko, taichou. It's very nice to meet you." I bowed in respect.
He didn't answer, but I noticed his face soften ever so slightly before nodding once more and retreating into his room for the evening.
Rukia and I stood outside his room for several minutes before she turned to me and exclaimed, "How'd you stand up to him like that?! No one's ever done that! Not even me!"
I shrugged. "I don't know, it just kind of came out."
She shook her head in amazement and grabbed my arm as we walked to her room.
"Oh yeah, what was his name? He never told me."
"It's Byakuya, Byakuya Kuchiki. The 28th head of the Kuchiki clan." Rukia smiled proudly.
I smiled. "You're happy to have him as a brother, aren't you?"
She nodded. "Very much, even though he can seem kind of cold at times, he has a good heart."
I giggled. "I noticed, since you seemed to stutter the whole way through explaining why we were standing outside his doorway."
Rukia blushed.
"But anyways," I put my bag on a bed across from the one I assumed to be Rukia's. "We should probably get some rest since we'll be busy tomorrow, right?"
She nodded and showed me where the bathroom was before handing me an extra pair of pajamas and then bidding me goodnight.
It took me a few minutes to get everything unpacked before I realized everything in her room seemed to be rabbit related, at least one way or another, but I almost tripped and fell over a huge stuffed rabbit sitting in the corner of her room. I mentally told myself to ask her what the big obsession was with the rabbits before climbing into bed and turning off the light.
This is definitely going to be an interesting adventure.
All right, that's the first chapter! I'd really appreciate it if you reviewed! They would be generously accepted! Haha. I'll try to update as soon as I can before school starts back up again, so no promises but I'll try and have the next chapter up by Sunday. But thank you so much for reading! I hope it wasn't too boring for you. I'm out of practice at uploading stories. lol. Anyway, Happy new year and please, please review! ^^
-Soralake
P.S. There are definitely possibilities of me writing ByaRuki fics too, so stay tuned for those as a possible in the near future! :)