Swat, like an insect
"Concentrate, Byakuya. You're not concentrating enough…"
"It's bad enough without your comments and all," I spat. "Sensei."
I peek out from underneath an eyelid. That old fart is shaking his head. This is a recurring behavior in all my previous Senseis. They all shake their heads when they think I'm not looking. Trying to keep my face from flushing, I shut my eye and try to 'feel the reiatsu' of my would-be-zanpakuto, which was planted in the ground in front of me.
Would-be-zanpakuto. I prefer that term over 'ordinary katana'. It makes me feel better. Especially since the current state of my would-be-zanpakuto is only a temporary. It'll become a zanpakuto. I'm sure of it.
But it's no easy feat ignoring the wonders of Kuchiki manor. Wonders of the Kuchiki manor… I sound like Grandfather. For example, right now the old fart is picking his left nostril. Grandfather is drinking his expensive bag of tea. Sakuras swirl all around, and my would-be-zanpakuto doesn't display even a flick of reiatsu.
As if rebuking me, an unknown reiatsu touches my mind, but briefly. It reminds me of sakuras, their beautiful, pink color, their sweet, sweet smell. I could have sworn it was that katana, no, I mean would-be-zanpakuto. It disappeares just as quickly as it appears. Unfortunately that was all that it took to set me off. I jump and curse, only to be given a sharp whack around my shins.
I could have sworn that I heard someone, or something, laugh inside my head. Again I felt that strange reiastu. I on the other hand, did not find it remotely amusing. Eyes watering, I slowly sink back down onto the grass.
"Hello, little Byakuya!"
I swing around only to come face to face with that were-cat, Yoruichi Shihoin. Ever since I met her I've been wondering how she came to be the niibantai taicho. She was remarkably immature for the 22nd head of Shihoin clan, and all other titles she hold. When I become the next Kuchiki head I'm going to make sure she loses her job. After firing incompetent Senseis, that is.
Yoruichi dance around me with her annoying use of Shunpo. I admit, that is the only good thing that she ever did for the society. What else did she do, except find seriously occupied future heads like myself to play? "Whatcha doin?" she asks.
"None of your business."
"Don't say that. And I came all the way here, too!"
"I'm not asking you to stay. I didn't even ask you to come! I was in the middle of meditating with my kata – I mean, would-be-zanpakuto!"
"Really?" She throws herself down on the grass beside me. "How are you progressing?"
Hell would freeze over before I tell you, I think. In reply to her question, I give her a self-satisfied smirk, along with a murderous expression to Sensei.
He isn't looking at me. He raps the ground with his walking stick. Two overlapping dents form on the previously smooth surface. Grandfather isn't going to like it when he sees. "Concentrate, Byakuya!" cries Sensei. "Otherwise you'll never find your Zanpakuto's name!"
Damn. I forgot that he's blind. It's amazing how that simple, ridiculous sentence can turn my cheeks a deep shade of magneta red. And right in front of Yoruichi Shihoin, too.
"Don't worry, Byakuya." She thumps me on my back. "This happens to everyone!"
I didn't trust myself to speak. Cheeks still burning, I wrench my would-be-zanpakuto out of the ground and positively flee to my room. I slam the door on everybody outside. Counting to ten, I walk over to two big, wooden doors at the far end of my bedroom and push them open to reveal a garden of Sakura trees. My very own pavilion. I call it the "Pavilion of Resting Blossoms". Their petals flying all around, I sit in the middle of it all and again plant my would-be-zanpakuto into the ground. I'm going to leave this room with a zanpakuto, else my name is not Kuchiki Byakuya.
I sit there for ten minutes until my bums grow sore. I try to recall what I was feeling when I first felt my would-be-zanpakuto's reiastu (or at least, I think it was my would-be-zanpakuto). I try to picture Sensei picking his nose. Nothing. Grandfather sipping his tea. Nothing. Grandfather burning his tongue? Nothing. Grandfather spilling his tea? Nothing. Sakuras?
Nothing at first, then I felt that reiastu flick.
I open my eyes and stare at that katana in front of me. Did it just try to flick my efforts away?!
"You arrogant… arrogant brat!" I scream, even though I'm not sure if it can hear me.
I feel its reiastu again. This time it seems to be more eager. I growl, and try to divert my anger at that reiastu. Again, a flick.
I imagine that person or thing or whatever my zanpakuto looks like give me a snort as though I'm not worth his (or her) time, and flick me away with his right hand. Swat, like a fly.
I take a deep, deep breath. Calm down. I told myself. Calm down, or else the whole place will come down. Calm down…
"Byakuya?"
Yoruichi Shihoin. I stand up and look her in the eyes. I can't hear anything. Only the mad rush of wind in my ears, shutting everything else out. She frowns, her expression now serious.
I don't know why, but whenever Yoruichi Shihoin gets serious, I get scared. When the playful, immature brat is serious, it usually means that something bad is going to happen. Something really, really bad, like the collapsing of a building or a huge massacre.
My worry overcomes my anger. All of a sudden the wind dies down. I look around me. The sakura petals fall slowly to the ground; a second ago they were shaping up to a petal storm.
Yoruichi's gaze softens a little, but I can tell that she is still on the alert. "Are you alright?" she asks.
"Fine," I reply, monotone.
Just then, Ginrei Kuchiki appears at the door of the pavilion. He looks at me. I can't really tell his expression behind all that facial hair, but I can tell that he was as worried as Yoruichi.
"What's wrong?" I ask, feeling very timid all of a sudden. Is something bad going to happen?
Grandfather gives me an appraising look. He exchanges a gaze with Yoruichi. They have a quiet, short conversation that I can't hear, not even if I strain my ears. Then Yoruichi leaves the pavilion, her expression as serious as ever.
"Grandfather," I try again. "Did I cause… something?"
It happened once before. Grandfather had taken me to lukubantai, where he works. He left me to my own devices, so I ran around the division, looking around, mildly interested in everything. When I got bored of running I jumped onto the walls so that I could get a clear view of everything. Lukubantai, I discovered, was pretty close to Rukongai, where all the commoners stayed and got on with their dull and uninteresting lives. Despite there being dirty and dusty and dull, I was curious, curious about life behind the white, polished buildings of Seireitei. I checked to make sure that no one was looking, then I jumped down into Rukongai.
I strolled on the dusty street, looking at the things they were selling. It was more interesting then I had believed. I became aware that Rukongai was just this vast, big place with no boundaries and no rules. Things, people, shinigami came and go as they wish. No limits, just freedom.
As I was savoring my newfound freedom I strolled off down a quieter path. A small sign said: "Jurin'an, 1st district West Rukongai". The place was quiet and peaceful. I smiled, enjoying it, and put a foot forward. Then I heard a shattered scream of a little girl's in the air.
I turn my head at the scream, my heart pounding wildly. Again the girl screamed. I shunpoed forward, and found myself facing the back of a hollow.
The hollow must have been a stupid one, since it was incapable of words. All it could do was roar and roar and roar some more, but that was enough to scare the hell out of that poor little girl. I was scared too, but I forced myself to scream "Hey, stupid!"
It was a downright stupid thing to do. I had never been officially educated in the Shinoreijutsin, better known as the Spiritual Arts Academy. I didn't know Kido or Hakuda. Much as I would like to convince myself, my Zanjutsu and Hoho were only of average really. But I was 11, and had no katana, so I had to rely on my average Hoho skills.
Rely on my average Hoho skills. Hold on, kiddo. You're 11, got no weapons, and you're going to take down a hollow? A little voice whispered in my brain. That little voice probably belonged to what little sanity I had left. And it was right, too. Who am I to think that I can take down a hollow? Who said anything about killing it, anyway?
The hollow turned around and looked at me. Too late, I thought. As it turned, its tail wiped the floor clean of boxes and goods. The girl received the full force of it and was thrown into the air.
I shunpoed up and caught her in mid-air. I put her down far away from the hollow. She was unconscious but at least she was alive. I'm not so sure if I would be as lucky as her though.
The hollow swiped at me, but I was too fast for it. I shunpoed behind him and doged his flailing tail. I came forward and kicked at its neck.
The hollow roared, but it didn't look seriously injured. It's tail whipped up again. Too focused on that, I spun around to avoid it. "Ha!" I yelled, triumphant. But I had overestimated that dumb brute. Its right paw clamped me on my left side and sent me sailing into the air like a doll.
I was lucky, since its claws had not torn me in a half, but I felt my left rib crack. I crashed into the roof of a house, and its inhabitants scrambled out, screaming. Dizzy, bleeding, and feeling scared, I was going to curl up and sob, when the hollow raised its feet and stepped on a boy.
The boy had a mop of brown hair, and was my size and build, probably my age too. He had rushed out of his house, brandishing a katana. I could tell at a glance that he didn't know how to use it, but he bravely waved the katana at the hollow, allowing time for his family to escape. The hollow roared in pain as the boy stabbed him in the foot. In its flurry, the angry hollow stepped on the boy like he was an insect. Instantly I felt his life extinguish.
The reality that someone innocent had died shocked me. It awakened my anger. My fear shrank off into a corner. My wounds stopped hurting. The wind picked up. It roared and howled, even louder then the hollow. I opened my mouth and let out a savage roar. It mingled with the screams of the Rukongai citizens.
At the corner of my eye, I saw some shinigami rushing over, grandfather amongst them. But they were too far, too late to save any of the citizens. I encouraged the wind, thinking, If they can't do it, I will! The wind swirled around me. Pressure built, and I saw the citizens paralyze in fear. The hollow, too stopped moving. I shunpoed to where the boy had died and picked up his fallen katana. It wasn't a real katana, it was scarred and worn out. But I didn't care. I shunpoed once more to the top of the brute's head. Then I bring the katana down on his skull.
Crack. His mask shattered, the hollow dissolved. I landed on all fours behind his dissolving body. Now that the hollow was gone, that mad adrenaline rush had left my body as well. The wind died out and the citizens fell to the ground. I saw grandfather rush up; he placed both his hands on my shoulders. Then everything turned black, and I fainted.
When I woke up, I was lying on a bed in the fourth division. Grandfather was sitting beside me, looking anxious. He informed me that I had been unconscious for three days. My feat at Jurin'an had drained my body of Reiryoku. The houses where I had fought the hollow were practically destroyed.
I didn't say much. I didn't even have the energy to open my mouth. But I refused to let grandfather throw away the katana which I had picked up from the fallen boy. "A boy my age used this to fight off the hollow. He used it to protect his family. He sacrificed himself so that they wouldn't die." I repeated vaguely the same thing to anyone who tried to take the katana away. Grandfather even offered to get me a new katana. But I insisted on keeping it, and he got me a new one anyway.
That had happen last year. The katana hangs on my wall with a standard looking sheath. I prefer that katana over this new one that grandfather bought for me. That one is definitely more valuable in my eyes.
Grandfather looks at me. He seemed to be thinking about last years incident, too. "Byakuya," he begins.
"Yes?"
"I've been thinking…"
I look at grandfather. The words completing the rest of the sentence seem difficult to get out. This was most unlike him.
"… I've decided… to send you to Shinoreijutsin." The last part came out in a great, big, rush.
My mouth falls open in shock. Shinoreijustsin?
"What for?" The words tumble out of my mouth.
But I knew, deep down, why the sudden decision. I had lost control of my reiastu just a few minutes ago. And I had lost it over something as trival as imagination. I got insulted and hurt at the 'Swat, like an insect' part, which reminded me painfully of the boy at Jurin'an, but that was only my imagination. But still, the last time I lost control, it was in Jurin'an, and the scale of disaster was shockingly huge.
"You are… different, Byakuya." Begins grandfather. "Not just a different name, but a different person. You must have realized, you are powerful for your age, and you are only 11. Look what you did last year. You have to go for proper training at Shinoreijutsin. This is something that no private Senseis can teach."
I nod my head. He's right. I have to go to Shinoreijutsin. Else I would just wind up killing everybody else. Besides, Shinoreijutsin sounds like a much better deal as compared to private Senseis.
"I'll go," I say. Grandfather might have smiled. "But on one condition," I add.
Grandfather's face changes to a pained expression. "What is it?" he asks in a resigned voice.
"I bring the other katana with me. Not this one." I indicate the brand new katana stuck in the ground.
Grandfather doesn't say anything. When he opens his mouth, I expected a "You'll get laugh at" or "It'll break", but none of that sort. Instead he just nods his head and exits my room.
"School starts next week. You should start packing." He calls over his shoulder.
I smile. I pick up the katana stuck in the ground, and slide it back in its sheath. Removing the worn out blade on the wall, I replace it with the brand new katana. I hold up my would-be-zanpakuto in front of me, and throw myself down on the grassy floor of the Pavilion of Resting Blossoms.
Hello all! This is how I think Byakuya was like when he was a teenager. Please rate and review! Comments are greatly appreciated.
Glossary:
niibantai - second division
lukubantai - sixth division
taicho - captain
Shinoreijutsin - Spiritual Arts Academy
reiastu - spritual pressure
reiryoku - spritual energy
I do not own Bleach or any of it's characters.