bold=authors comments

this chapter isnt long and moves kind of fast but after this the chapters will be a little longer. i just felt it needed to move along in the beginning to get where i wanted the story to go.

Byakuya had been with Mifune and Angela for at least a month. He had been depressed at first because he couldn't get in contact with Mayuri and it was looking more like he was stuck in this new world. He gradually warmed up to his new friends. Mifune had been very protective of Angela and he had now transferred that protectiveness to him. Byakuya had tried to explain how he wasn't from their world. An didn't care but Mifune listened. He even examined the watch to see if he could fix it. He couldn't but told Byakuya he could stay with them as long as he wanted. Byakuya was glad to see that where he was wasn't too much different from his own world except he kept hearing about some academy. When he had asked Mifune, the man shrugged and said he didn't know much about it. The group had settled into a large home on the outskirts of a city. No one dared to mess with them. Of course you had the occasional idiot who thought he could capture Angela. Byakuya didn't completely understand it but it had something to do with her being a witch. Mifune easily handled them though so he never worried about it. However it was on a cloudy day that Byakuya could sense something was going to happen. His instinct was usually right so he decided to go out and talk to Mifune who was sitting on the porch. At least he had been. When Byakuya got outside he saw a boy with spiky blue hair, who couldn't have been much older than himself, fighting Mifune. He watched in amazement as they battled. The boy was good. Byakuya was debating what he should do when he saw Mifune fall from a powerful blow. "Crap" He mumbled. He forgot about the danger and ran to his friend only Angela got there first. She tried hitting the boy and calling him names then when that didn't work she hit him with one of Mifune's swords then ran crying back to the bodyguard who pushed her behind him and offered his life for her own. "No don't!" Byakuya shouted stopping near them. The boy now stood with a young woman beside him. They looked at him curiously.

"Who are you?" The boy asked.

"Doesn't matter, just leave them alone"

"Like I'd kill a kid and her little bodyguard" He and his friend turned to go but Mifune stopped them.

"Wait" He then stood slowly "This is Byakuya, I want him to go with you"

"Absolutely not!" Said boy snapped.

"Sorry, I'm not taking any stragglers"

"Byakuya it isn't safe for you to be with us. I would send An too but she's a witch. It'll be better this way" Mifune said trying to reason with him. Byakuya had known on some level it was coming though the man had said he could stay with them. Mifune constantly worried that a bullet meant for him or An would one day kill him instead.

"Are you listening? I said no" the boy waved his hand in the air to get his attention.

"The kid is Black Star and that's his partner Tsubaki" Mifune ignored him. Tsubaki smiled and bowed slightly.

"I'm not leaving sorry" Byakuya crossed his arms. Angela started crying how she didn't want her aristocat (that's how she said it) to go.

"Please allow him to go" Mifune turned his gaze to Black Star. He fidgeted and looked away but finally mumbled "Sure". The man gave a sad smile "I'm sorry Byakuya but I know we'll see each other again". Before he could protest further he felt something hit him and he was out.

Byakuya hated his instincts. They were always right. When he woke he was lying in a bed. His first thought was the watch. He checked. It was still there. Then he remembered what happened. Bolting up he looked around. He was about to panic when he saw a girl sitting in a chair reading. She looked up when she heard him move "Relax, I'm Maka. You were brought here by Black Star and Tsubaki. How do you feel?"

"Ok I guess but I really need to find Mifune….wait did you say brought here?"

"Yes"

"He let them take me?" As the weeks had wore on he began feeling truly like his younger self, hot temper and all.

"He thought you'd be safer here and you will be. We'll enroll you in classes and everything if you want"

"I don't want to take classes! I want to get out of here!" He snapped jumping up and going for the door but Maka blocked his path.

"Calm down" This wasn't going how she had hoped. He was restrained thankfully by Sid while Nygus got him with a sedative. "Crap" He mumbled before falling limp.

~Some hours later~

Byakuya woke once more. He rubbed his eyes and once he remembered what happened he hit his forehead. He was completely like his younger self. There was no way had he been in his normal body would he have acted in such a disappointing way. Hoping that the Maka girl would still be around for him to apologize to he sat up but he wasn't in the same room. This room was around the same size but wasn't as clean. Clothes were everywhere as were an assortment of pictures displaying weapons. The air also had a strange smell to it. Byakuya thought the room was disgusting. He pushed the blankets back as the spiky haired boy from earlier came in followed by his female friend.

"You're awake! Its about time, the Great Black Star doesn't like having to share his room!"

"Yes we're both happy you're ok. You had us worried before" Tsubaki smiled

"I wish I could've been there, Sid-sensei said you had abnormal strength and he almost couldn't hold onto you"

"Look I appreciate this but all I want to do is apologize to Maka, I think that's her name, and leave" Byakuya pushed a strand of hair out of his eye. Tsubaki sighed dreamily while Black Star rolled his eyes.

"1. Mifune told us to take you, said you wouldn't be safe there. 2. You'll be staying with us now so get used to it though I wish we had let Maka and Soul take you. 3. Tsubaki and pretty much all the other girls who saw you being carried by Sid-sensei over here have a crush on you, just a warning" Tsubaki blushed in embarrassment while Byakuya tried to process the first two things Black Star had said. He knew Mifune had been worrying a lot lately, was that all about him? He had on more than one occasion tried to explain the dangers of living with them. An being a witch and all. Byakuya groaned and fell backwards on the bed. There was no way he was staying here.

"Sooooooo you wont be staying in my room, just throwing it out there" Black Star said while Byakuya remained silent.

"You can stay with me!" Tsubaki offered a little too eagerly.

"I'm leaving" He got off the bed and started to the door.

"Fine I'm not gonna stop you but think about it, where would you go? I'm gonna guess you don't have any family otherwise why would you be with a bodyguard and that kid?"

"I'm not from here! I was a captain of my own division and the head of a noble family-" He stopped short seeing the blank expression on Black Star's face. It was obvious he didn't believe him. Frustrated he sat down on the floor though he knew he'd regret it later. Tsubaki put a hand on his shoulder.

"You can stay with us now and we'll get it all figured out" He gave a nod. Tsubaki looked at Black Star who rolled his eyes. She guided him out of the room so Byakuya could have a little privacy. Once gone, he groaned in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. That's when he heard a static like sound coming from the watch. He put it as close to his ear as he could. Now he could hear what sounded like a voice. He tapped on it then said "Hello?" Static. He tried again. "Hello?" This time a voice said something back.

"Ca….Kuch….." It was going in and out! He tried going to an open window, maybe it would get a better signal, from what he wasn't sure. "Captain Kuchiki?" Came the voice much clearer now. Byakuya recognized it.

"Mayuri, what took you so long?"

"Where is Captain Kuchiki? I will not speak with a child"

"It is me!" He growled into the watch "A side effect of your experiment turned me into a child and I can no longer hear Senbonzakura. I hope you're proud of yourself"

"Byakuya that's you? Amazing, you were turned into a boy" Mayuri gave a small laugh.

"I do not find it funny. When will I be going home?"

"Sorry, its just I never imagined in my wildest dreams. Oh well, I've been trying to reach you for some time now. What are your other side effects?"

"I think I'm becoming more and more like my childhood self. The kidos and other things I remember are what I knew when I was this age. My personality is even becoming more like it used to be"

"Ahhhh yes that famous Kuchiki temper that I only heard stories about"

"Mayuri I want to leave now!" Which caused the captain to laugh even more "WHAT IS SO FUNNY?" Byakuya snapped.

"Its just you sound like a little brat" He chuckled. "Anyway I'm trying to track you now but it is more difficult than I though….." His voice faded out.

"Mayuri!" Byakuya tapped the watch

"….so I…..different…..Head…..Yamamoto knows…angry…..but…." Static began again. Byakuya was leaning out the window, trying to get the signal back but it was too late. He was gone. Sadness and loneliness immediately came over him so much so that he didn't notice until it was too late that he was slipping out the window.

"Why me?" He shouted. Just as his feet were out they were grabbed by Black Star.

"If you really wanna escape you could've just asked"

"I wasn't, I slipped"

"Sure"

"Just pull me up!"

A couple of hours later they were all seated at the table, eating dinner that Tsubaki had prepared. It was Black Star's favorite, pizza and he was eating the majority of it. Byakuya had been sullen and quiet after falling earlier. He had barely touched his food. Tsubaki was nibbling on a slice but she kept passing worried glances to Byakuya. She thought he had been scared stiff by the fall. Black Star stopped abruptly from stuffing food into his mouth. He swallowed then cleared his throat. "I have good news Byakuya! I the Great Black Star have gotten you into the Academy!"

"What are you talking about?" He answered only mildly interested.

"The Shinigami Academy duh, Sid-sensei thought it'd be a good idea to enroll you. He said he saw plenty of potential when he had to restrain you. Aren't you happy? You'll get to be a tech like me. Well of course you wont be as good as me but you can try" Tsubaki rolled her eyes. Then turned to the other boy

"You can travel with us when we go to collect souls, you'll be able to see how to do it then I'm sure you'll find your own weapon partner" Byakuya shrugged. He didn't want to go to some silly school where kids trained to…. His eyes widened and he sat up straighter.

"You have weapons that are your partners?" Maybe they were zanpakuto, he had never heard of this before. Black Star gave a nod to Tsubaki who changed part of an arm into a short blade. Byakuya's eyes widened even more. Humans could turn into weapons! "Amazing" He whispered as he reached out to touch her. She felt like a real blade. "So then there are humans who wield these…weapons?"

"Yes" Tsubaki nodded "They go to the Academy so they can learn. Its every tech and weapon's goal to get enough evil souls so the weapon can change into a Death Scythe. Byakuya sat back once more in his seat. This was a lot to think about. He got up, thanked Tsubaki for dinner and walked back to his room.

"Where the hell is he going?" Black Star jumped up "That's my room!"

"Relax, we'll work something out tomorrow" She smiled. Having Byakuya around was definitely going change things.

That next morning found the three headed to the office to enroll Byakuya in his classes. Tsubaki had washed his clothes so he could wear them again. He was a little taller and thinner than Black Star so he couldn't wear any of his. When they had stepped outside a trunk full of the clothes Byakuya had accumulated with Mifune and An was on the doorstep. Of course they all looked around but there was no sign of the pair. Once they had gotten the trunk inside they were off to school. Had Byakuya's senses been as they once were he would've sensed Mifune watching from a building not too far away, he was gone as quickly as he had appeared. It didn't take long for Byakuya to get enrolled. Before he knew it he and Tsubaki were headed to his first class. Black Star had said something about using another weapon and wouldn't be in class. Byakuya hadn't cared though he wondered if it was really that simple to use another weapon. Tsubaki said the one he was using was that girl that he had scared yesterday, Maka, her partner Soul. Apparently he and Black Star were friends so maybe it wouldn't be that bad. As they walked to their seats he apologized to Maka for how he had treated her. Before she could reply their teacher interrupted.

"And who are you boy that all the other girls keep starring dreamily at?" Byakuya turned to see a man in a lab coat and with a giant screw in his head. Was this a joke? He raised an eyebrow but gave no answer. The man narrowed his eyes. Tsubaki elbowed Byakuya and hissed "That's Dr. Stein, acknowledge him!"

"Byakuya Kuchiki" He said. Dr. Stein nodded

"I wasn't told about you but that's ok. I'm sure you'll fit in" As he continued talking Byakuya zoned out. How could he get the watch fixed? Maybe someone around the school would be able to help him. He also found the whole thing interesting, humans that could turn into weapons. He was so lost in his musings that he missed when Tsubaki and Maka got up. She poked him.

"Huh? What happened?"

"Black Star and Soul got into a fight, Dr. Stein said you could learn something. Lets go" The three followed their teacher outside where the two were fighting with a dark haired boy who had a pair of guns that he held the wrong way. Byakuya was astonished. Not just with the boy's fighting ability but also that the guns were his partners. Dr. Stein explained that the boy, Death the Kidd, was the son of the school's founder. Byakuya stayed silent as he watched while Dr. Stein talked with Maka and Tsubaki, though he did find Byakuya interesting and wanted to keep an eye on him. The fight was going bad for Black Star and Soul. Kidd's guns had turned into cannon like attachments on his arms and he was preparing to fire. Despite being in this body for awhile now Byakuya could still faintly sense Kidd's spiritual pressure and it was amazing for someone his age. After the blast Black Star and Soul were left unconscious on the ground. Kidd smiled in triumph, turned to see Byakuya and he froze. Kidd had never seen anyone so symmetrical and beautiful. He ignored the Thompson sisters calling for him. Nothing mattered except the lovely creature he couldn't take his eyes off of. Byakuya turned away, this guy was weird to him.

"I wonder why he's staring?" Maka whispered to Tsubaki. She never got an answer because Kidd passed out. After the initial surprise she said Black Star had done something on his last attack. Byakuya wasn't listening though, it was faint but he could sense Senbonzakura. He was racing away before anyone could question him.