Ill-Fated Textile
Summary: How to make Kuchiki Byakuya out of character using only two words.
AN: A form of procrastination, please don't ask me for it's purpose : D
Kuchiki Byakuya inhaled calmly as his zanpaktou reassembled itself in his poised and relaxed grip, Senbonzakura having just effectively dealt a killing blow to a renegade Menos Grande. The battle with the overgrown Hollow had been slightly more taxing than the routine encounter, but after a brief struggle, Byakuya had effectively managed to dispose of the loathsome creature.
It wasn't until Byakuya noticed that one half of his body weighed a bit more than the other, making his posture slightly lopsided, that he looked down to assess his own damages. When he discovered what was making his stance so disproportioned, his fingers rose up to touch the frayed edge of the white scarf that was constantly set upon his shoulders.
The white scarf was the symbol of leadership within the fine noble house of Kuchiki. Every leader in the past thousands of generations had donned the article of clothing in order to demonstrate the prestige and honorability that came with the position of heading one of the four noble families in Soul Society. It was a great privilege to be the owner of it, for Byakuya, his father, and his father before him had all worn the scarf with great respect, as it was the physical portrayal of their great legacy.
Said scarf was now torn in half, the right portion of it laying in shreds across the field, where the now dead Hollow had ripped it with its claws in their earlier encounter.
Tapered, pristine fingers pinched the fabric, rubbing against it as gray eyes scrutinized the left portion of the scarf carefully. It was not an easy rip, and would take hours to mend appropriately, to reach the satisfactory level where a trained eye wouldn't be able to recognize the damage dealt to the symbol of Kuchiki honor. It may even have been mutilated beyond repair.
Byakuya sighed slightly, and muttered, "Well, shucks."