Disclaimer: Just borrowing the characters for a little spin of storytelling, everything belongs to Tite Kubo.
Story Note: This is an alternate universe (AU), obviously since Rukia was never in Squad 6 nor is she a fukutaichou, lastly she was not adopted by the Kuchiki family. I took the liberty of giving Rukia a surname, since it was difficult to address her without one. I chose "Tsukino" because it means moon child, which I thought was appropriate for her. Enjoy the story!
ANOTHER LONG DAY
by Yih
"Taichou," Rukia greeted, kneeling outside of his office, "requesting permission to enter."
Byakuya glanced up briefly from his work to see his fukutaichou before saying, "Permission granted."
Rukia slowly rose to her feet and stepped into his office, careful to remove her sandals before she stepped into the office and to hold her shoulders back so she didn't have that messy form he always reprimanded her for with disapproval. She held herself up in the proud posture that was required from a member of Squad 6 and when she reached his desk, Rukia lowered herself gracefully to the floor, her knees sinking into the mat. She instinctively smoothed out the wrinkles of her shinigami robes before placing her hands primly on her lap, waiting patiently.
Byakuya finished reading through the long report that the 3rd seat had left for him to peruse before he raised his head and focused his eyes on his fukutaichou. She sat there, her back properly straight and her robes neatly arranged as befitted a member of his squad, as suited his fukutaichou. Her face was composed, not betraying any of her emotions, not even her impatience.
"Fukutaichou," he said. "Please report."
"Ten new recruits have fulfilled the requirements to join our squad from the Shinigami Academy," Rukia stated. "Two of them show talent exceeding expectations in both kido and zanjutsu. I believe either of them would make a suitable seated officer in time."
"And the others?" he inquired.
"The others show enough ability to represent our squad adequately. You will not not be disappointed with any of them."
"Do make sure of that."
Rukia nodded. "I have already arranged their extra practice sessions based on their weaknesses with suitable squad members."
"Is that all?"
"Yes, Taichou."
Byakuya waved his hand in a gesture that indiated that she was dismissed for the time being. Rukia rose to her feet and he watched her as she gracefully turned around and walked to the door. She slipped her feet into her sandals and placed her hands quietly on the door, sliding it open without disturbing the silence with dissonance. It was why he had chosen her as his fukutaichou over his other more experience seated officers.
There was something about her that made her his choice.
-
The news circulating around the Shinigami Academy was that Byakuya Kuchiki, the new Taichou of Squad 6 would be personally conducting the inspections for those he deemed worthy of entering his squad. As it was typically the fukutaichous of the Gotei 13 conducted the inspections and decided on who was worthy enough to join their squads, quite a few more students had turned out for the Squad 6 inspections than Rukia had thought likely. She nervously waited in the long line, hoping that she still had a chance for a spot in the squad, as it was her top choice.
Rukia caressed the hilt of her zanpakuto, wondering exactly what this inspection would require. Maybe it would just be to show off her zanjutsu and kido, but it was more likely she would have to combat with another shinigami. Her skill with zanjutsu was her weakness. If she was lucky, she would be partnered with another who was at her mediocre level. At the very least, she could count on her kido to help even things out. Her teachers at the Shinigami Academy had always said she had great ability in kido and that she should further hone that skill as it was unlikely with her petite size she would ever be able to overpower an enemy by sheer strength with her zanpakuto.
Hopefully, she thought, her zanpakuto would be kido-based like Momo's.
"Tsukino Rukia."
Rukia looked up, surprised that she hadn't noticed how quickly the line was moving, so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't even realized that it was her turn. She quickly stepped forward and bowed toward Kuchiki-taichou, who was sitting on a chair at the far end of the inspection grounds. She then raised her head and felt her cheeks turn a little warm when she finally got a good look at him. He was beautiful with an aristocratic profile, mysterious gray eyes, and long, black hair neatly arranged underneath his kenseikan.
She forced her eyes to look away as quickly as she could. After all, she didn't want to be caught staring and to be honest, it wasn't the fact he was supposedly the most handsome Taichou of the Gotei 13 that made her want to join his squad. It was because Squad 6 was known for turning out well-rounded shinigami's. She wanted to be equal at kido and zanjutsu, in spite of the fact her strength was in kido.
"Tsukino-san," Kuchiki-taichou said, "can you release?"
Rukia's eyes widened and suddenly she knew why the line had moved so quickly. It was rather rare for a shinigami to achieve a shikai release, certainly most of the shinigami's who reached that level eventually became seated officers, and thus, it was extremely rare for a newly graduated student to have a shikai release. Momo, Izuru, and Renji did, but they were the exceptions rather than the the norm.
And while Rukia knew the name of her zanpakuto, she had never tried releasing it before. She had been hoping that once she was accepted into a squad, she would have mentor who would help walk her through her shikai release… so that nothing went wrong.
"If you cannot release," he stated and pointed with his finger at the others who had not been able to achieve a shikai release, "then stand over there and if there is still space within my squad, I will oversee your abilities."
Rukia reached for her zanpakuto, gripping the handle and unsheathing it slowly. She held it firmly in her grasp, pointing its blade respectfully at the ground, not wanting the withdrawing of her sword to seem like a challenge. Her zanpakuto was a normal katana, nothing striking about it, with a rectangular tsuba with inward-curved edges and a reddish-brown handle, but its name was beautiful… Sode no Shirayuki.
Please, she whispered fervently in her mind as she tried to connect with the spirit of her zanpakuto, please tell me your release.
Rukia closed her eyes, remembering the coldness of her zanpakuto the first time it had ever communicated with her, how its touch had been like ice and yet comforting at the same time. She felt herself growing colder, much colder and she felt Shirayuki cup her face and her eyes flew open, her pupils overpowering her purple irises as she heard her zanpakuto say, Dance!
"Mai!" Rukia exclaimed, holding her zanpakuto out in front and turning it into a circle counter-clockwise, driven by intuition and instinct. "Sode no Shirayuki!"
Her zanpakuto burst into sheer white – the blade, the hilt, the crossguard all the same pure color and a snow-white ribbon formed, fluttering from the end of the handle as the air grew cold, dense around her from Shirayuki's power.
Rukia stared at her zanpakuto, at Shirayuki in her shikai form and she had never seen something so white and lovely. She didn't even feel the cold, instead she felt suffused in the glow of accomplishment at reaching her shikai release so early – before she had even officially become a shinigami! Rukia finally tore her eyes away from her zanpakuto to look at Kuchiki-taichou, who she found was staring at her with unreadable eyes.
"Beautiful zanpakuto," Kuchiki-taichou stated. "Welcome to Squad 6, Tsukino Rukia."
-
Rukia glanced out the window, noticing that the sky was darkening, signaling that the day was growing old and that it was time to finish up for now. She straightened her shoulders and glanced down at the paperwork she was currently working on. It was the supply list for the current month, what food needed to be ordered, what robes, and such necessary materials.
Rukia remembered one of the unseated shinigami complaining to another that there was never quite enough meat during mealtime for them after the seated officers had their fill. She reached over for the accounting book where she balanced the budget for the season and made sure they always came out positive, in spite of unpredictable costs from mishaps during missions.
Being a shinigami was a respected position within the Soul Society, but it wasn't a particularly well-paid job, especially not for the new recruits. Rukia found as long as she maintained a positive operating budget for Squad 6, Kuchiki-taichou left matters in her hands. It meant a great deal that he entrusted such a huge task to her and she made certain that he would never have call to question that trust. It also gave her leave to rework certain things to allow a little more measure of equality between those who were seated and those who were not.
After all, it was not too long ago when she had been in their shoes as a new recruit herself.
"Tsukino-fukutaichou?"
Rukia looked up from her paperwork and saw one of the new recruits had popped his head into her opened window. "Yes, Mori-san?"
"I was wondering… you said us new recruits would get some extra training sessions to help us where we needed work," Mori said, scratching the back of his head. "But I hadn't heard anything, so I thought it'd be a good idea for me to stop by and make sure I didn't have anything early the next morning."
"I think all you will require is regular training," Rukia said, smiling kindly at him. "You did very well during the inspection and I am impress at your abilities as I am sure Kuchiki-taichou will be."
"Thanks," Mori responded, his cheeks looking a little flushed whether from embarassment or pleasure Rukia was not quite certain. "Um…"
"If you ever need anything, please feel free to come by my office," Rukia said as she stood up from her desk. "Unfortunately, I must be somewhere soon. Please enjoy the rest of the day, the weather is quite lovely, not too hot for summer."
"Good day then, Tsukino-fukutaichou."
"Good day," she echoed.
-
The new recruits of Squad 6 were honing their zanjutsu on the practice grounds and Byakuya could hear them swinging their zanpakutos at each other, their blades singing as they tested their mettle and he stood up, hesitating. Tsukino Rukia would be there… Hisana's sister, the one he had failed to find for his wife while she was alive and the one he had searched for after her death only to be thwarted time and time again. But now he had found her and instead of making her a part of his family like he should to keep his promise to Hisana, he had not.
Instead he had allowed her to enter into his squad, something he would have allowed even if she had the most inferior of shinigami skills. He had been more than a little surprised to find that she was able to accomplish a shikai release, the only one of the new recruits who could fully release. Soon, after she had sufficiently practiced with her shikai, she would be promoted to a seated officer, but he would never allow her to go on any dangerous missions.
Byakuya moved to his window and slid it open, narrowing his eyes as the bright sun streamed into his office. As his eyes adjusted to the light, Byakuya lowered his gaze to the practice grounds where he saw her petite form standing on the sidelines, either waiting her turn or having already had her turn. She was shorter than Hisana and should have been frailer, but there was spirit and life in her that his wife had lacked.
Closing his eyes, Byakuya remembered the first time he had seen Rukia… she had been standing there, holding her zanpakuto, her bright violet eyes so earnest and hopeful and he thought that when he found her he would hate her for being more important to Hisana than he was, but as she watched her, as he saw her beautiful release, he wondered then as he had never wondered before… how could Hisana abandon her own flesh and blood?
Byakuya opened his eyes abruptly and saw that Rukia was now standing with her opponent, the 10th seat. Neither of them had drawn their zanpakuto, which meant that they were going to fight using just kido. Byakuya had read all of Rukia's information from the Shinigami Academy and knew that she excelled at kido, but having fundamental knowledge and usage was quite different from using it in fights, especially against Hollows.
He watched with interest and something more than that, although he refused to ponder on it as he saw her fire a hado 33 at her opponent. The burst of blue spirit energy flew from Rukia's hand and the 10th seat barely managed to dodge the powerful attack. Quickly, she pressed her advantage, chanting the incantation for bakudo 30 and aiming it correctly at where she thought he would evade to and pinned him underneath the Beak-Piercing Triple Beam.
Byakuya shut the window when he saw Rukia's eyes start to shift upward to where his office was located. He leaned against the wall, wondering what he was doing, watching her every moment he could spare without her awareness. It was beginning to become ridiculous, how his eyes always sought her out.
Was it because she was Hisana's sister?
Or was it something else entirely?
-
It was the end of the day, the end of the week and Byakuya had finished all of his paperwork and yet he was still lingering in his office, waiting for Rukia. This had become somewhat of a routine, a habit of theirs. Byakuya always wondered when she would stop coming to his office after work was through. After all, he was merely her Taichou. She had no obligation to spend any extra time with him outside of her duty hours, but as the years went by, she still came by.
And as usual, just when he was about to resume pretending to work, he heard her softly knocking against the door. "Taichou, it's me."
"Come in," Byakuya said and he quickly pushed the paperwork that he had been absently working on to the side.
"Are you still working?" Rukia asked, holding a tray of tea and senbei. "I can come back later—"
"No," Byakuya said, gesturing for her to take a seat, "I have already finished."
"I hope senbei is okay," she murmured as she set the tray down.
"It's fine."
Byakuya was careful to only gaze at her when she was not looking his way. It was strange how different she was around him compared to the others in the squad. She was far more carefree and spirited. It bothered him more than he would like to admit, but how could he fault her when she was upholding the honor and dignity of Squad 6?
"How was your day?" she inquired.
Byakuya watched her as she gracefully poured him tea. At first, when she had begun this ritual of serving him tea and a snack after the day was over, she was clumsy. Now every movement of her body was like a piece of art, beautiful and compelling.
"Much like it always is, hectic," he remarked. "How was yours?"
"Busy," she responded, smiling.
It was amazing how a smile could transform her face from the serious, solemn look he was so used to seeing to something bright and cheerful. Byakuya wished she would smile more, just so he could have the chance to see it more. He averted his eyes to the tea when her eyes flickered to him.
"I was thinking I have not been on a mission lately and since we have the new recruits, it would be ideal for me to go on a group mission with them to assess their abilities in a more realistic situation."
"Your idea has merit," Byakuya stated, "but you already have so many responsibilities that I don't wish to overstretch you. Which of the seated officers do you think could handle the task?"
He knew instantly from the slight frown that marred her face that Rukia was not satisfied with his answer to her proposal. She always wanted to do more fieldwork, which most fukutaichous did do, but Byakuya did not want to place her in any unnecessary danger. After all, he had promised Hisana he would take care of her. And he was, in his own way, watching out for her.
And at the same time, he was being selfish, keeping her so busy with paperwork that she never had a chance to leave his side and when she did go on missions, he accompanied her. He wondered if she realized how strange it was, how she never really went on any solo missions. Ukitake had once remarked to him, how Rukia and himself resembled a pale version of Kenpachi and Yachiru – always being together.
Byakuya knew he was being overprotective and to be honest, Hisana was just an excuse. He would be this way even if his wife had not made him promise to keep her sister safe. He was not doing this for her anymore. Actually, he rarely thought of her when he thought of Rukia because it disconcerted him how Hisana had abandoned her own flesh and blood. He could have never done that…
"Taichou?"
Byakuya blinked as he slowly came out of his thoughts. "I apologize. What were you saying, Tsukino-fukutaichou?"
"I believe it would be best if I led this group mission," she said firmly. "I know I have a lot of responsibilities, but I promise my work will not suffer if I take on this additional task. As fukutaichou, I need to be able to assess the new recruits personally."
She always did make it difficult to protect her.
"Thank you," Byakuya said, noting the surprise in her eyes. "You reminded me of my own duties as Taichou. I will accompany you on this mission and inspect the new recruits."
For a moment, it looked like she would protest his decision, but instead Rukia lowered her gaze. "Would you like more tea?" she said finally.
"Please," he said, staring at her hands, at her arms, at her neck, and at her face as she poured the tea.
"Here," she said, holding out the tea to him.
"Thank you," he uttered when she placed the cup into his hands.
Their fingers grazed each other momentarily and their eyes met for a brief second before they both looked away. Byakuya stared down at the cup of green tea, while Rukia turned to the window.
"It's getting late," she remarked. "The sun is going down."
Byakuya turned his face toward the window as well. "Do you enjoy sunsets?"
She shook her head slowly. "Not that they aren't beautiful, but I prefer watching the sun rise than to see it set." Rukia paused. "What do you like, Taichou?"
Byakuya glanced briefly at her black hair and pale, smooth skin before returning his gaze to the setting sun. "I enjoy watching the moon as it glows in the night."
"The full moon?"
Rukia turned to him as he turned to her and he inclined his head in affirmation as her lips curved into a smile. "Do you like the moon?" he asked.
"I do," she murmured, "and the stars because… they are always there."
Byakuya stared down in her eyes, thinking how it was just the two of them, watching the sun say goodbye and the moon say hello. It was the end of the day and the start of the night. One phase was over and another was beginning.
He wanted to say something, but he didn't want to ruin this perfect moment. So he said nothing and they watched as the sun disappear into the horizon together.
-
He was watching her again. Rukia tightened her grip on her zanpakuto and tried to pretend that she didn't notice her Taichou staring down at her from his office. When he had started observing her, she didn't quite know, but what she did know was that when his eyes were on her she wanted to perform brilliantly.
"Mai," Rukia whispered, "Sode no Shirayuki!"
Her zanpakuto burst into a blade of white beauty and Rukia deliberately held it high so that he might be able to see its radiance. Even she, herself, couldn't help admire Shirayuki. Rukia drew the sword close to her chest and then thrust outward, beginning her ritual of dancing with her sword, swinging the blade in accompaniment to her tricky footwork. She did not have the strength of a man, but at the very least, she could be swift.
She wanted her Taichou to see how much she had improved under his guidance. She wanted his approval, his acknowledgment, his praise. She wanted him to see her not as a green shinigami any longer, but someone that was worthy of being a full member of his squad.
One day, she would prove to him that he had not made a false choice. One day, she would stand at his side, somehow. One day, they would be work as partners and she could dare to dream of being his equal.
How long she lost herself in the sensation of dancing with Shirayuki…
How long her Taichou stared at her as she danced for him as much as herself…
How long the time lingered as they both stood at a distance, one below and one above…
THE END
Please review as it's your only chance!
A/N: Thanks for reading this oneshot. I may write more about this particular storyline with followups, but I'm not sure. This took several weeks to write and I do like how this turned out. I was not sure if I would ever do another story in the Bleach fandom, or even about Rukia/Byakuya. This was a nice diversion from "When the Snow Falls." Anyhow, if you would leave feedback as to if you liked this attempt or not, it might inspire me to write more.
I hope this glimpse of a different Rukia/Byakuya was something worthwhile!