Continuation!

I do not own Bleach!


The Unknown Child -2-

In a traditional manor in Soul Society, a girl with long black hair sleeps. The girl finally had her blue eyes opened and sat up, looking around while thinking about how she managed to arrive here. Suddenly she heard bells ringing in her head and she clutched it tight, gritting her teeth before falling into darkness once more.

Once Yuki opened her eyes once more, she saw a kind-looking woman looking towards her with a silver-haired woman by her side. Yuki tilted her head to the side and saw that she was not at the room she woke up in before.

"Where… am I?" Yuki hoarsely said, feeling another headache coming to her head.

"You're in the 4th division ward, little one. My name is Unohana Retsu, and this is Kotetsu Isane." The lady said, as the other bowed.

"I'm… my name… Yuki…" Strange, somehow, she seemed to have forgotten about her family name.

"Yes, Kuchiki-taichou told me. It seemed that you are his long-lost niece, he was very glad he found you." Kuchiki? That name seems to feel familiar to her.

"I don't… remember…"

"You seemed to have gotten quite a hit on your head. Worry not, you will remember things one at a time. Do not force yourself, can you stand, little one?" Yuki then moved her legs and stood up, a bit wobbly before straightening her legs.

"That's good, I will tell Kuchiki-taichou you've awaken. Isane will help you change your clothes, remember, take things one at a time." Yuki then nodded as Unohana patted her head and walked out from the room. Yuki then shyly turned towards the silver-haired woman who is now holding an article of clothing.

"Now, let's get you into your new clothes, okay Yuki-chan?" Isane said as Yuki shyly nodded. Later on, Yuki was standing next to Isane while waiting for Unohana to come fully clothed with a blue-colored kimono.

"Yuki-chan? How are you feeling now?" Isane asked.

"I… don't know, I felt like I've forgotten something important to me…" Isane looked sadly at Yuki for a moment before smiling.

"Don't worry, you'll remember everything soon enough. Like Unohana-taichou said, you'll remember everything one at a time."

"Okay…"

"Yuki." The said girl quickly looked up and saw Byakuya smiling softly towards her as she replied back with a shy smile of her own.

"Remember, Kuchiki-taichou. She is still weak and fragile, don't force her to do anything." Unohana said as Yuki walked towards Byakuya's side as he took her hand in his.

"Let's go, Yuki." Byakuya said as Yuki nodded and bowed to Isane and Unohana before walking away with Byakuya. Isane looked at Unohana worriedly as the elder sighed.

"I hope you know what you are doing, Kuchiki-taichou…"

/

At the Kuchiki manor, Yuki was sitting while swinging her legs back and forth, looking towards the garden with a big tree in it. Yuki was told to stay inside the manor, since she was told it'll be dangerous if she walked outside. She obeyed him of course, after all, Byakuya is her uncle as well as someone who has been taking care of her. But somehow, she felt something empty in her head, did she happen to forgot something?

"Yuki-sama, it's time for your lessons." Yuki heard a maid calling for her as she quickly stood up and walked away.

"Coming." Yuki sat down on the tatami and opened her book and began reading. Everyday, at a specific time, Yuki was instructed to read books about what goes around in Soul Society. About what a shinigami is and what powers they have, what kidou they could and could not use and all other things.

"A shinigami… will I be one?" Yuki asked herself, closing her book and watched the blue sky.

"Have you finished your reading, Yuki?" A familiar voice greeted her. Yuki turned her head towards the door and smiled, seeing her uncle standing there.

"Yeah, I just finished today's reading, oji-chan." She should've felt it's common for her to call him that, but why does it seem unusual for her? It's as if she never called him that before, that's stange.

"Let's go." Yuki tilted her head in confusion as she stood up and walked beside Byakuya.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to show you the divisions." Yuki's eyes quickly widened as she cluthes onto Byakuya's hand.

"Can I? Really? Are you sure, oji-chan?" Byakuya placed his hand onto Yuki's while nodding and smiled at her enthusiasm with a pang of pain from the similarities with his younger sister he saw in Yuki.

"Don't go too far from me."

"Okay!"

/

Yuki had somehow gone quiet and shy, perhaps it's because how everyone kept staring at her. In Byakuya's eyes, it's like seeing his younger sister; she was very shy when people stared at her, just like how Yuki is now, clutching onto his hand as if there's no tomorrow.

"Oji-chan, why are they staring? Are you sure I can come here?" Yuki asked with a tint of fear in her voice. A warm feeling started to surface inside of him, and Byakuya thought to himself; is this the feeling of someone who is taking care of a child? Is this how interacting with his niece felt like? Byakuya somehow had forgotten that he had taken Yuki away from her home, and felt as if she had always been with him all this time. Byakuya still held onto Yuki's hand as they take a turn in a corner.

"They just don't know who you are, they will stop staring eventually. Don't worry."

"Okay…" Byakuya then opened the door and saw shinigami bustling here and there. Yuki looked around and saw a big number 'six' written on the wall and saw a similar number written on Byakuya's white robe.

"Is this the six division, oji-chan?"

"Yes, this is the six division where I work in."

"And you are the taichou, right? People who wear white robes like you are the captain's of a certain division, right?" Byakuya felt proud towards his niece, Yuki had been studying for a limited time and yet she already knew so much.

"That's right." Byakuya said, smiling softly at Yuki who smiled proudly at herself.

"And then every division got their own area specialty, like how Unohana-taichou and the 4th division specializes in healing kidou!" Byakuya placed his hand on Yuki's head and patted it softly.

"That's right, you're getting much better." Yuki noticed the shinigamis looking shocked over something and decided to clutch onto Byakuya's robe instead. Byakuya noticed the shinigamis staring and glared at them, forcing them back to work. Byakuya then opened a door and led Yuki to a sofa.

"You can stay here, don't go too far, I'll ask Renji to look after you if you decided to go outside. Be good."

"He's that big red-haired and tattooed onii-chan, right? Okay, I promise I won't get into trouble, oji-chan." Byakuya then nodded and both of them turned towards the door as they saw Renji entering with a stack of papers.

"Oh, taichou! You're here already, hey there Yuki!" Renji said, grinning at the shy Yuki.

"Hey there, Renji nii-chan." Renji then placed the stacks of paper on the desk Yuki believed to be Byakuya's and knelt down in front of Yuki.

"So, do you have anything in mind today?" Renji asked as Byakuya sat down on his chair and watched Yuki's thoughtful face.

"Can you show me where is which? I don't want to get lost…" Yuki said shyly as Renji grinned and ruffled Yuki's hair.

"Sure do, kiddo! But you should ask taichou first." Yuki then looked towards Byakuya, eyes pleading but quickly brightened up when she saw Byakuya nodding.

"Bring her back before dusk, Abarai."

"Yes, taichou! Come on Yuki, let's get you around, you'll love it." Renji said as he offered his hand to Yuki who gladly took it.

"Okay! Bye oji-chan!" Byakuya noticed Renji almost burst into laughter when he heard her call him with endearments. Byakuya silently glared at Renji and the vice-captain noticed it and quickly walked outside bringing Yuki with him. Byakuya shook his head and went to his paperwork.

"So, Yuki, what do you want to see around Gotei 13?" Renji looked at how Yuki frowned, deep in thought before shrugging.

"Look around?" Yuki said, smiling sheepishly. Renji laughed and shook his head.

"Alright then, a tour it is. Don't get distracted, okay? Gotei 13 is pretty big for a little girl like you."

"Hey!"

/

It was a bit of a hectic tour for Yuki, Renji showed her the division from the first one and so on. Yuki was scared when she saw Yamamoto sou-taichou, but when she realized how wise the elder man was, she couldn't help but relax a bit, even though she's still clutching onto Renji's hand as they moved forward. The second division, let's just say Yuki was in awe, seeing how quick and powerful their captain was. Soi Fon saw how bright and sharp Yuki's eyes were and decided to ask Renji who she is and why is she with him since Soi Fon knew Yuki is still young. When Renji told her about her relation with Byakuya, Soi Fon could only stare at Yuki until the younger decided it was best to hid herself behind Renji.

"You have sharp eyes, you'll be a good shinigami. The only thing you need is to be brave." She told her, Yuki shyly peeked from behind Renji and softly said her thanks. Yuki was very much surprise when she saw Soi Fon's vice captain and marveled at how HUGE the man is. But upon seeing his face, Yuki got scared and tugged Renji's hakama, signaling him that she wanted to go. Soi Fon noticed this and told Renji to bring her away and Renji knew the vice-captain was in for so much more.

Upon reaching the next division, Yuki had suddenly pointed out, saying a silver/white haired man with a captain's robe with fox's eyes before Renji covered her mouth with his hand, silencing her. He had told her it's a real captain, making Yuki nod furiously because she was losing her breath. Renji still hadn't pull his hand back before the said captain came towards him and looked pitifully towards the girl. Renji looked towards Yuki and quickly pulled his hand back, apologizing over and over as Yuki took deep breaths, almost losing all of her oxygen. Gin chuckles and knelt down in front of Yuki.

"So you're that little girl everyone's been talking about? Kuchiki's niece?" Gin asked as Yuki nodded, smiling shyly.

"The name's Ichimaru Gin, pleased to meet ya."

"H-Hello, Ichimaru-taichou…"

"Don't be too formal, 'kay?" Yuki nodded.

"Is oji-chan okay?" Renji almost burst out laughing seeing Gni's face but decided not to since he still wanted to live.

"How about onii-chan?" When Yuki heard that nickname, she felt a pang inside of her but decided to ignore it.

"Okay then, Ichi… Gin nii-chan…" Yuki said after seeing Ichimaru's frown. Gin the broken into a big smile, making Yuki wonder at how could a man's smile be so wide.

"Alright then, why don't you go around? You still have a lot more to see here, Yuki-chan." Gin said patting Yuki's head.

"Okay."

"Excuse us, Ichimaru-taichou." Renji said, taking Yuki's hand and walked away.

"That onii-chan seemed nice, but his smile is so big!" Renji chuckles at Yuki's excitement and walked forward towards another.

Yuki already knew about the fourth division, so when they got there, she quickly walked towards Isane to greet her. After meeting Unohana and a bit of a check up, Renji and Yuki moved once more towards the next division, the fifth. Renji introduces Yuki to Momo, since she was Renji's colleague at Shinigami School. Momo quickly took a liking at Yuki, pinching her cheeks once or twice, taking her for a tour and introduces her to Aizen. Yuki kept on hiding behind Renji when Momo introduces her to her captain, Aizen was a bit disappointed, saying that he'd love to know her more but it seemed that Yuki is still too shy to meet new people. Yuki tugged Renji and they left the division, with Aizen patting her head just before they leave. When Yuki had bumped on the seventh division captain, she craned her neck up, mouth opened in awe at how tall the captain is. Renji introduced her to Komamura and Iba, who were there with his captain. Yuki then tugged on Komamura's sleeve and said how big and tall he is. Renji couldn't help but shook his head, seeing Yuki's sparkling eyes in awe at how tall the seventh division captain is. Iba still couldn't believe that Yuki is Byakuya's niece, but since Renji kept telling him on how similar they are Iba gave in and sighed.

"But how can a little girl like her be related to him? She looks… like how a normal little girl should be." Iba said when he saw his captain carried Yuki on her shoulder, seeing how Yuki laughed and held onto his captain's protective helmet.

"Come on, Yuki. We better go, it's going to get late soon, and we haven't finished our tour." Renji said as Komamura placed Yuki down on the ground and Yuki hugged his hand and waved goodbye to both Komamura and Iba. Renji had tried to steer Yuki away from the eight division, but since he came across Nanao, he had no choice but to introduce Yuki to her. Nanao herself had tried to block Yuki's way to her division, much to Yuki's disappointment. But when Yuki met the captain Shunshui himself, she began to cry as a drunk Shunshui approaches her with a glass of sake in his hand. Renji quickly hauled Yuki out as Nanao decided to lecture her poor poor captain.

"You okay Yuki? You surprised me there…"

"It's just… I don't like that smell… it stings. And that captain is scary, his eyes are unfocused… sake is a bad drink, right?"

"Well… drinking so many is bad… and Kyoraku-taichou is a drinker…"

"I don't like him…"

"It'll be okay… he's actually not a bad person…"

"If he still has that smell, I still won't like him." Renji sighs and patted Yuki's head, understanding her reason for not liking the captain.

"Come on, next is Shuhei's division."

"Shuhei?"

"Hisagi Shuhei, he's a friend of mine. He's the vice-captain of the ninth division. But don't say anything about the captain's eyes, okay? Be polite."

"… Okay." When Yuki met with Shuhei, she quickly pointed out about how Shuhei is like Renji, with tattoes on his face and body. Shuhei raised his eyebrow at Renji who just grinned at him and introduces her to him. When Tousen had walked across them, Shuhei had introduced Yuki to him.

"Pleased to meet you, little one. So you're the one everybody been so noisy about." Kaname said, placing his hand on Yuki's head. Yuki's eyes sparkled, marveled at how he could see her, even with his goggles. When she had asked him this, Tousen chuckled.

"It's because I can see your Reiatsu."

"… What a reiatsu, Renji nii?"

"Reiatsu is something that everyone have, like an aura of their own. But if you train, you can hide your reiatsu. It can be useful if you wanted to sneak onto someone, if they can't sense your reiatsu." Kaname said, to Yuki's fascination.

"Then, I can do it too, right?"

"Yes, of course you can."

"Can you teach me then, Renji nii?" Yuki said, eyes sparkling as Shuhei chuckles.

"And Renji loses to a child." He teased.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll teach you. Now come on, we can't stay too long."

"Okay, bye Tousen-taichou!" Yuki said, pulling Renji's hand away.

/

"Okay, this is the tenth division. I don't think Hitsugaya-taichou will mind if we walk in, just be careful Yuki. Don't even think of following Matsumoto's footsteps."

"Huh?" Yuki said, confused.

"You'll see." Renji said as he pulled Yuki's hand into the tenth division.

"Excuse us!" Renji said, opening the door, looking around not seeing anyone inside.

"Strange, are they out on a mission?"

"What are you looking for Abarai?" Renji yelled and almost jumped when he saw Hitsugaya behind him. Yuki accidentally got pushed back and fell on the floor.

"Ow…" Renji saw Yuki on the ground and quickly helped her up.

"Sorry about that, you okay Yuki?"

"I'm okay… just startled." Yuki said. Yuki then noticed Hitsugaya staring her down and decided to take a step back before a pair of arms grabbed her and pulled her into a crushing embrace.

"Aww! You must be Yuki-chan! Everyone's been talking about you! You're so cute!" Yuki felt her oxygen being cut out as she struggled to break free from Matsumoto's embrace. Renji saw Yuki's face getting pale and panicked.

"Matsumoto! Put Yuki down! She was just released from 4th division yesterday!" Matsumoto quickly let go of her hold on Yuki and the younger quickly dashed behind Renji, clutching onto his hakama.

"Aww! How cute! She looks like a kitty!" Matsumoto cooed.

"Matsumoto…" Renji sighed as Yuki hid further behind Renji.

"Who is she, Abarai?"

"Come on, taichou! You've heard everyone talking about Kuchiki-taichou suddenly bringing in a child!" Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow towards Matsumoto then turned towards Renji.

"Abarai?"

"This is Yuki, she's Kuchiki-taichou's niece. We found her outside Seiteirei, she just got out from the 4th division yesterday, and she got quite a blow on her head, so she's been having trouble remembering things." Renji said, trying not to stutter.

"I see… she was lost before, wasn't she?" Hitsugaya said as Renji pushed Yuki forward.

"Hello, Hitsugaya-taichou." Yuki said, bowing. When Matsumoto walked closer towards Yuki, she quickly went to Renji's other side, hiding.

"Yuki… you don't have to hide…"

"No."

"Well, we should be leaving. Kuchiki-taichou doesn't want her to come back late, excuse us, Hitsugaya-taichou." Renji said as Hitsugaya nodded.

"See you again, Yuki-chan!" Matsumoto waved.

"Hitsugaya-taichou is older than me, right?"

"Yes he is. People say he's a genius since he entered the Shinigami academy and became a taichou after he graduates."

"Oh… he seemed a bit grumpy…?"

"He's that kind of person."

"Okay." After the day ends, Renji would surely know that Yuki will never again try and enter the 11th and 12th division. Renji actually felt apologetic to the little girl for giving her such a scare. It was a coincidence, when they had entered the 11th division, the division was in a frenzy. Ikakku, the bald man, as Yuki said, was running everywhere while Yumichika watches from the corner, trying not to ruin his hair. The shinigamis were getting even more wild when they saw Renji, Yumichika had seen Yuki and introduced himself to her when suddenly Yachiru, the pink-haired vice-captain jumped on her, startling her to death. Yuki actually didn't have any problems with neither Yumichika nor Yachiru, only she was still a bit shy. But when she saw Ikakku and Kenpachi, the girl suddenly cries out loud. Everyone was covering their ears while Renji carried Yuki outside the division. Yuki was still sobbing when both of them walked, and when she suddenly saw a strange creature in front of her, she cried even louder. Renji quickly said that it was only the 12th division captain, but Yuki kept on crying until Renji had to apologize to Kurotsuchi as he kept on walking. Right now, they were in the 13th division when Yuki had finally stopped crying and decided it'll be best if she enjoyed herself in the division's garden.

"The garden's so big…"

"It's because the captain, Ukitake-taichou, has tuberculosis, so he should relax at any time he can. And this garden helps him to do that."

"Why hello, Abarai-kun. Can I help you? And who is this young lady?" Yuki turned her head around and saw a white-haired man wearing a captain's robe.

"Ukitake-taichou! We were just passing through, Yuki wanted a tour." Renji said, pushing Yuki forward.

"Hello, my name is Yuki." Yuki said politely, bowing. Ukitake laughs and patted her head.

"Well, she's a shy girl, I see. Is she the one everyone talked about? Kuchiki-taichou's niece."

"That's right."

"I can see the resemblance though, very clearly." Ukitake said.

"Ukitake-taichou, why is your hair white?" Yuki asked, making Ukitake laugh.

"My hair? It's been like this for so many years already I forgot why. Maybe it's because I'm sick?"

"Then is Hitsugaya-taichou and Gin nii-chan sick too?"

"Oh no! They're perfectly fine, they're just different. You've never seen people like this before?"

"No… and Gin nii-chan has a very big smile on his face."

"Yes he has. And looks like someone is here to pick you up." Ukitake said as Yuki turned around to see Byakuya standing at the door.

"Yuki, let's go back."

"Oji-chan!" Yuki said, latching onto Byakuya's side. Byakuya then saw Ukitake smiling at him and narrowed his eyes.

"Being an uncle so soon, Kuchiki-taichou? Seems like fun, especially with a girl like Yuki-chan. If you have any trouble, you can always come here, Yuki-chan." Ukitake said as Yuki nodded while smiling.

"Okay!"

"Come on, it's getting late for you, Yuki." Byakuya said as he took Yuki's hand and walked out with her. Renji was about to follow his captain before Ukitake hold his hand up.

"Can I ask you a question, Abarai-kun?"

"Yes, Ukitake-taichou?"

"Yuki-chan seemed as if she's never been in Seiteirei, was she born here?"

"W-Well… no, we found her outside Seiteirei actually." Renji said, cold sweating.

"I see, very well then."


Read and review everyone?