Summary: Byakuya and Ukitake, through a strange mix-up, find that they have been sent on earth when they were not entitled to go…and not even at the right spot, either. What is going on? This is a little introduction to Byakuya's and Ukitake's epic arrival on Earth...OCC and slightly AU.

Rating: K

Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo. I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

Note: My first fanfic! Need I say more? Hmm Well, I always loved seeing Hitsu, Rangiku and Co on earth, and wondered what would happen if Byakuya and Ukitake of all people ended down there together! I'll just precise that...there's no intentioned ByaUki xD There might be other couples as the story goes on, if it does, which I hope it will. Enjoy!

He was surrounded by darkness, as he opened his eyes. Well, not actual darkness. It was something dark grey, and dirty, and as hard as stone. And smelled strange. The captain of 6th Squad Kuchiki Byakuya tried to recollect his thoughts. He was lying face down on some kind of strange pavement…and someone was pulling on his sleeve. As well as that same someone was repeatedly calling him Bya-kun, apparently trying to wake him up. Things could hardly get any worse already, and he didn't even know what had happened to him. He waved his arm around, vaguely, as if he was trying to grasp something familiar in what surrounded him and that he could not yet see and caught hold of some silky long material.

"Oh, you're awake-- cough cough Great…Bya-kun…pleasecough let go of me..."

"Ukitake, is that you?" Still face down, the voice seemed defeated, while still trying to maintain a degree of detachment, almost instinctively. He suddenly heaved himself upwards from the ground, and sunlight blinded his eyes as he let go. The first thing he saw was the captain of 13th Squad Ukitake Jushiro was gasping for breath next to him. Byakuya supposed it was hard to smile, talk, breathe and cough continuously at the same time. He stared dejectedly at him, backing off, and Ukitake cleared his throat, smiling again much to his irritation. It was only at that moment that Byakuya realised that the white-haired Shinigami was actually wearing a gigai. Instead of his usual Shinigami uniform and white haori, he had some kind of black top with long sleeves and an open neck, and black trousers, not the flowing baggy hakama of their usual outfit but straight and neatly cut. He had a long white scarf around his neck which was what Byakuya had held on to, and a sort of long, light grey coat of some kind. Noticing his glance, he gestured at something next to Byakuya.

"Yours is right here! I hid it in the bushes. People in the road don't seem to like them lying around in the road, it disturbs them and they always have these – what are they called? – made of metal going past so…"

"Excuse me." Byakuya was staring at him, still trying to register this information properly. The excuse me was meant to be another form of his cold high-society form of disdain, but came out in his tone of voice as being almost sincere. "Which people? What road? Where?" He looked around. They were on a grey stone hard pavement, in a wide, sweeping street, several people walking past. Rukongai in larger, noisier, and this was not Soul Society. This was Earth. This, Byakuya's mind could not register immediately.

"Well…" Ukitake had this lost expression, not really knowing where to begin, which was far from reassuring for the 6th Squad captain. "Well, you know that some people were meant to be sent to the world of the living to see how the substitute Shinigami Ichigo-kun and his team were getting on, right?"

"But that did not include me," replied Byakuya coldly. Then, in an afterthought: "Or you." Ukitake nodded, in a slow way that told the leader of the Kuchiki clan that he was being told of something absurdly obvious that he needed time to understand. It then came to him.

"Oh, I see. You're telling me that we were sent there by some strange mistake." Nod again. "You'll be telling me next that by another strange mistake, we are not even in the town where the substitute Shinigami resides…" Nod. "…and that we somehow cannot somehow contact Soul Society." Nod. Byakuya nodded too. "All right. That's clear and simple—Wait a minute. WHAT THE HELL, UKITAKE? ALL YOU CAN DO IS NOD WHEN WE'RE UP TO OUR NECKS IN THIS? WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON?"

"Well…yes, it is pretty strange, isn't it? Ha ha…that's the first time I knew it happened!"

"Don't tell me they must not have noticed by now. This is impossible...how can Soul Society even do this? Switch people...that's..."

"Well, I don't know…I can't even remember how we got here, do you?" Byakuya indicated that no, he did not, too bemused to even think about how this could have happened. Ukitake continued.

"Needless to say someone had to go there, and it just happened to be us. There must have been a mix-up somewhere…but that's all I can say. Sorry, Bya-kun. It seems we have to stick to it and find our way to where anyone should have been in the first place."

"This is not a great help. And stop calling me that." Byakuya turned dismissively towards his gigai, pulling it out towards him. And sighed. This was unbelievable. And why on earth would they need gigai in the first place? Why not put it on? After all, they were in enough confusion anyway…he looked down. He was wearing some kind of silky white material for the top, a bit of tissue around the collar of this, and the same strange trousers as Ukitake, except in a soft grey, and held by a leather belt. He also had an overcoat on some sort, but shorter, and it the same brown leathery texture as the belt. He instinctively put a hand on his neck. It felt strange, not wearing his usual Captain clothes. He frowned. It felt degrading. How could that guy next to him just sit there in those strange, outlandish clothes and not feel depraved. Maybe, he had no sense of what that involved.

"Byakuya." Ukitake's voice was grave, and soft. He turned around to see Jushiro holding his white scarf to him. It did look a lot like the light green scarf he usually wore, despite the colour the texture and length was the same. "I don't really need it. And you really look awful. I mean, not physically, but…you know. If it makes you feel better…"

He smiled again. Byakuya couldn't believe what he was hearing…and felt a pang of guilt, somewhere. There was no use of him panicking in that way. He had always been disdainful towards Ukitake, had always acted in the way that seemed the most just, the most respectful towards his own honour. And there he was, losing his temper and calm when they were both in exactly the same situation.

"I have no need for it. After all, this is only an exterior form, it does not change anything really. And…" He frowned. "You do probably need it more than I do, the air's worse here than at Soul Society."

"But…thank you." He stood up, feeling embarrassed and Ukitake smiled almost knowingly, getting up as well.

"We are in Japan…" Byakuya remarked, as they walked down the pavement, glancing at the street signs. "And…" He looked up in the cloudless, blue sky. "I can feel it. Her reatsu. Not from here but…" He was not smiling but had a soft, almost hopeful expression on his cold, hard face.

"…but not that far away," Ukitake finished, knowing all to well who she would be. There was a silent understanding between the two captains. As they looked at each other, and then looked at the crowd roaming the streets in front of them. Ukitake shrugged amiably and stepped out.

"Good fellows! Who amongst you knows the road to Karakura town?!"

There was a sudden stillness, as everybody turned around and stared at the two Shinigami.

"Ukitake, I thought you knew how to talk to simple-minded commoners, "sighed Byakuya in the silence.

"That's not helping," smiled Ukitake, as the most rowdy "commoners" started feeling offended and were walking slowly towards them. "You really have no tact, do you, Bya-kun?"

"Shut up!"

Note: To be Continued! In my opinion the whole intro could be improved a lot as well as stuff precised more, and could kind of be crackfic due to its impossible situation, but well...I had fun writing it, I hope you enjoyed just as much reading it. I hesitated about keeping the parts about the scarf and Byakuya shouting, but in the end they're still there, making it very OOC. I started writing this after seeing a Bleach episode where in the ending some of the Soul Society characters are dressed in everyday clothes and I was thinking 'Shame we won't get to see all of them in those...well...wait a minute!" starts writing randomly Thank you for reading this till the end! Please review to tell me what you thought about it, I'd be pleased to know.