In the dead of night in the 78th district of the Rukongai, called the Inuzuri, the lone figure of a woman walked while hunched over with her arms holding a bundle against herself. She was arguing within herself, almost chidingly for even thinking this as a possibility, but also arguing she really should, since she's all out of options. Sorrowfully she looked at the bundle in her arms, looking at the tiny form of life in the rags. Tears fell down her cheeks and stung the small cuts on her face as she held the little girl close and she realized she has to do this. For her sister's good as well as her own. Maybe someone else would find her and be able to provide for her better than she could.
As she continued to walk she looked from side to side making sure she didn't see anyone she knew and looked for a good spot. Finding an area that wasn't damp she brushed the dirt from a spot in the street and looked at the little girl and kissed her forehead one last time.
"Goodbye Rukia, and good luck. May you find much happiness in your life." With that last sentiment to her sister, Hisana set her down then stood up and ran away with tears streaming down her cheeks.
Only a little earlier in the seireitei, a man in a shinigami shihakusho with long ebony black hair just received his lieutenant badge for Squad 6. He was still a young man for a shinigami, but well qualified. So no one was surprised at the choice to advance him to lieutenant, especially when the current captain is his grandfather.
"You have advanced so far Byakuya. You are truly worthy of becoming lieutenant and replacing me as head of the noble Kuchiki family," the grandfather, and captain of the young man, named Genrei said.
"Thank you Taichou," he said as he bowed. When at the barracks and in shinigami uniform, Byakuya was required to address his grandfather formally. Genrei dismissed him then and began to walk to the Kuchiki mansion.
Byakuya had kept his emotions from showing while he was promoted and in his grandfather's presence because Genrei believed one should be in control at all times and would have looked down upon him for any rash actions of happiness. But while he was alone and walking home he couldn't keep a grin off his face. Even though he was still young, he had been promoted to be a lieutenant, and his grandfather is proud of him. For him, his grandfather's approval mattered even more than the Captain Commander's. He began to wonder just how powerful he was. He wanted to test himself somehow without letting his grandfather know since he knew that he wouldn't approve of his actions. He then got the idea that maybe he should time himself with his shunpo. He was very good at it and since he knew the time that Yoruichi had for going to the furthest district of the south Rukongai districts and back, he decided that that will be his route. And he decided that he will do it now while his grandfather was busy with paper work.
He quickly traveled to the place where he and Yoruichi would start at for their races and began the count as he took off.
As she continued down the road she forced herself to stop crying because she knew that she couldn't afford to lose too much of her body's liquid with the fever she had. She wrapped her arms around her to warm herself feeling very cold, even though her body was producing too much heat that she could not feel; she tries to find a safe place to sleep for the night. She found the doorway of an out of the way shop and decided to sleep there. She found a somewhat comfortable position with her back against the door post and was about to fall asleep when a rough hand gripped her shoulder.
"Hey, what's a small girl like you doing here?" the drunken man leered at her as she turned and gaped at him horrified. He tried to bring her closer to him but since he was drunk he didn't have a firm grip on her and she was able to get away from him and run.
She ran for a block or so and stopped running. She panted heavily, and tried to catch her breath. She then looked around her and noticed that she was in an area that, judging from the lack of footprints, no one has been to in a long time. She decided that this is probably the best place for the night and entered into a building that had no doors, nor shutters for the windows, and holes in the roof. She curled up against the far wall intending to just doze lightly so she could be alert in case someone does happen to approach, but in her exhausted state, fell into a deep sleep.
Byakuya Kuchiki decided he was making good time as he continued to shunpo down the districts. As he reached the 70th district he started to feel a little tired but totally disregarded it and forced himself to go faster. At first he totally disregards the rain that started but somewhere in the 78th district of Inuzuri, the mud created by it caused him to slip and start to fall. He caught himself before he did because he didn't want to get his shinigami shihakusho dirty, especially with one of the lowest district's mud. Who knows what was in it. He looked around at the dirty and dilapidated buildings and noticed a pale bit inside an otherwise pitch black building. He wondered what it was so he went inside and found a female soul huddled trying to keep warm, and failing miserable since the holes in the roof made it so the rain was lightly dripping on her. He came closer feeling some kind of pull that he did not understand from her. Wanting to know what was, he went on; he then lightly pulled her shoulder towards him and gasped lightly as he saw the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Her beauty was marred only a little by the scratches on her face and the fact that she was rather flushed, as if by a fever. He gently rested the back of his hand to her face and she did indeed have a fever.
The next thing he knew he had picked her up gently from the floor and in her exhausted state, she didn't even stir. Then he slowly and carefully walked away. To take her to the Kuchiki mansion.