I OWN NOTHING BUT THE STORY LINE AND THE CHARACTERS THAT YOU DON'T KNOW FROM THE ANIME/MANGA!

Chapter Three

First Glance

The Soul Society. It was an afterlife for the people on Earth. Its inhabitants were either souls or the Shinigami until they are reincarnated into the Human World. Within the Society were laws.

Maintain Balance.

It is against the law for a Shinigami to give their spiritual power to Humans.

It is against the law for a Shinigami to use forbidden Kidō.

It is against the law for any citizen of Soul Society to create weapons of a dangerous nature not sanctioned by the feudal government. To do so is treason.

It is against the law to attack a captain. To do so is treason.

It is against the law to commit terrorist actions or attempt overthrow of the balance of Soul Society. To do so is treason.

It is against the law to commit murder.

It is against the law to kill a Human that a Shinigami has not been ordered to kill.

It is forbidden for a Shinigami to acquire or attempt to gain Hollow-like powers.

It is a crime for a Shinigami to remain in the Human World longer than a certain time limit.

It is against the law for the Gotei 13 to meddle in the affairs of the noble families unless the family in question breaks one of the laws of Soul Society beyond a shadow of a doubt.

It is by ancient law that two Shinigami cannot hold the same Zanpakutō. They must fight for the honor of bearing the spirit, with the spirit going to the winner, and the loser being executed.

It is forbidden for a Shinigami to intervene in anything that is related to Hell.

All Modified Souls must be scrapped.

The punishments were few: Exile. Detention. Imprisonment. The Spirit-Sealing Pit. The Sokyoku.

Hitomi loved learning about all of it but the most important to her was the 13 Gotei, the Kido Corps, and the Onmitsukido. The Kido Corps wasn't really known due to secrecy but they were said to be extremely strong. The Onmitsukido was led by a woman named Yoruichi Shihoin who turned out to be the Captain of Squad 2 as well.

The Gotei 13, or the 13 Court Guard Squads, was a set of 13 different groups that protected the Seireitei. Only a few of them had certain tasks. The 4th Squad was the Medical/supply division. 11th Squad was combat. The 9th was the newspaper/magazine related duties as 2nd Squad was the Onmitsukido.

It had been…Hiromi said almost two years. Her sister had just graduated the Soul Reaper Academy when she came home to find her mother dead and to find that she had an older sister. She left behind the Squad and stayed home as much as she could, taking care of Hitomi but they had to change that. They had started to. Hiromi had situated everything with her Grandfather to battle the other Captains to see if she could make her own Squad. A 14th Squad. It was a good idea on her sister's part, in Hitomi's opinion. In fact, Hitomi had doubted that a new Squad would be made but it seems that she didn't have to worry about it; Genrysai had agreed with the bet. She had never seen her sister fight or even witnessed any of her power but she had to have faith in her and in the last two years that faith had grown to where it needed to be.

The air was cool the next morning but she knew that it would get hotter as the day went on so Hitomi thought that it would be a good idea to go and take a walk. She normally took one at night but she wanted to see the sunrise this time. Hiromi was not here this morning. When her sister came to talk to her last night Hitomi learned that Hiromi had acquired the Captain title. The Court Guard Squad was now 14, not 13. The Squad already had a Lieutenant, too. Some woman named Chisa Kuchiki. Hiromi told her sister that she and Chisa went to the Academy together. Hitomi was excited, wanting to meet another person outside of her family. If Hiromi added her to the new Squad then Hitomi knew that she was trustworthy.

The air was fresh as Hitomi opened her back door. Hiromi had given her a new room, set with a large back door into the garden and a window. Her room had a desk and a bed and books as well as its own bathroom. It held a rack on the wall above her bed as well; her Zanpakto hung there but at the same time Kudja was still always there with her. For the last two years Kudja seemed to be a lot happier than he had been before. He told Hitomi that it was because of her sister. Because Hiromi had been taking care of her. His exact words were along the lines of "I'm glad that she's not like your mother, or else I would have had to kill her too." Hitomi had found it a bit funny but something told her that it wouldn't be a good idea to tell Hiromi what he had said.

The backyard was green. The Cherry Blossoms were starting to fall, scattering around the pond and the walkway. The pink sky gave off a feel of peace as more flowers began to grow around the yard. Hitomi moved carefully across the yard, a smile on her face as she headed towards the bench that sat on the bank of the pond. It wasn't often that she could walk without leaning on something or with Hiromi there with her. To be outside on her own was a great accomplishment.

Hitomi didn't know how long she was outside before it happened. There was suddenly a very strange feeling as she sat there, staring at the graves of their parents. It was almost as if someone was staring at her.

Glancing around, Hitomi thought that it was her sister but there was no one there. No one there but she could still feel the eyes on her. She didn't know what to think. Should she be nervous? Was she really being watched? If she was, did they think that she was Hiromi? Either way, why were they watching her?

"Stop searching for them." Kudja's voice made Hitomi jump. "You won't be able to see them."

"What?" She asked as Kudja's form appeared beside her on the bench. "Why not?"

"Whoever it is, is using their Zanpakto."

"Do…do you know who it is?"

Kudja nodded. "Kyoka Suigetsu. But I do not know the name of his wielder."

The man fell silent for a moment. "Go inside. Don't just sit here and let them stare at you."

Hitomi nodded and pulled herself to her feet…only to fall. She gave a cry as she landed on her hands and squeezed her eyes shut. Are you serious? Could this be happening right now? That wasn't fair! Why would she loose her strength at a time like this?

"Are you all right?"

"Why?" She asked herself. "Why now?" She tried to pull herself back to her feet but her legs couldn't hold her. She was going to have to crawl.

Hitomi felt like crying. She felt so…so weak. So useless. What was her point here? She had a point, didn't she? Or was she just supposed to wait her time out until she was sent back to Earth? Would she be sick down there too?

Hitomi paused as the porch, breathing hard as she wiped sweat away from her forehead. This was ridiculous. If someone was here she wouldn't have a problem in crawling back to her room. She could call for someone's help!

She half argued with herself for asked the one watching her for help, she could still feel their eyes on her, but she didn't open her mouth. Instead, an idea came to her mind instead. She could just call Hiromi. They had reached a way to greet the other when they were separated. Hitomi had felt that she would have been able to walk on her own but it seemed that she was still stuck to her sister.

Lifting her hand, a small black orb appeared moments before disappearing. Hitomi stayed on the walkway for a moment, catching her breath, before crawling the rest of the way back inside her room.

The room was large and dark, the only light coming from the small window towards the back. The doors to the backyard was shut behind her and she crawled to her bed, pulling herself up.

"Are you all right?"

Hitomi smiled at Kudja's voice again. "Yes. I just…"

"I know. You want to walk. Move on your own." Glancing up, she saw the blue haired man sitting on the edge of her bed, his black and white mask showing his intent yellow eyes as he stared at her. "Believe me, I want to help but it seems that your body does not like it. Whether is it because of how you've grown up or from your disease I do not know." He moved to sit beside her on the bed, grabbing her hands. "But we will find a way to heal you."

"But…how can we-"

"Hitomi?"

The voice outside the doorway cut her and Kudja off and she glanced at the door. "Hiromi," Her voice was frail and weak; feminine.

The door opened and Hitomi saw Hiromi standing there with a stone face. "You summoned me, Hitomi?"

"Yes, I did. I need-" As she spoke she was taken over by a fit of coughs. Hiromi moved forward and began to rub circles on her back, claiming the coughs down. Her breathing was still rough as she lifted her hand to rub the sweat from her brow.

"Would you like for me to go get you something?" Hiromi offered softly.

Hitomi shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I just," She then gave a sigh. "I went outside…while you were out. I, I couldn't walk!" Her voice held immense pain as she struggled. "In the house I have my walls to grip, but outside," Hitomi shivered. Her eyes opened when something spread across her shoulders and she looked down to see that her sister had placed her new Captain Haori around her shoulders. "I had nothing. I just collapsed! Collapsed and had to crawl back inside. I thought that I had enough strength to just walk around the pond outside, but…"

Her sister placed a caring hand on her arm. "You have strong days and weak days. You'll be able to walk again, I promise. I will find a way to cure you."

"But this wasn't what I called you here for. It was something else," Hiromi stayed silent, waiting. "I'm…I'm afraid someone was watching me."

"What?" The rage in Hiromi's voice made Hitomi flinch.

"I don't know who it was." She answered her. "I didn't see them but I could feel eyes on me. They didn't say anything or do anything, they just watched."

Hiromi scratched her head. "Well, there's nothing that we can do about it now," She gave a smile. "We'll just be careful next time you go outside." She quickly thought. Tonight would be a good night; not too hot and not too cold. Would you like a stroll around the estate?"

Though she had just come inside she didn't want to stay in her room. She was tired of it. "Yes. I would like that," Things fell silent for a moment. Hitomi's mind was running in circles as she gathered the courage to talk about what she wanted. "Hiromi…when will you introduce me to your squad? Since this will be where your office is, you will have to let them know I'm here."

Her sister stared at her for a moment before nodding. "I think we'll wait until I have more than just a Lieutenant. Let me acquire a few more before your exposed, okay?"

Hitomi had been excited about being introduced to more people but she also understood her sister's point. Why not wait a bit long to meet more than just one person? "Of course." It wouldn't hurt to wait a bit longer. She's been waiting all her life after all.

Hiromi stood. "I have some more things to do at the moment. I will be back later this evening. Get some rest."

Hitomi watched as her sister shut the door behind her. She had left her Haori here with her. Hiromi was sweet but the elder sister found herself wondering just how Hiromi would act around others beside herself. Was this just an act that she was putting on?

Hitomi had fallen asleep but she didn't know for how long. The sun was still up so it hadn't been that long. The sun hadn't even begun to set yet. As she sat up she noticed that she still wore her sister's Haori. Why didn't she come back for it? Should Hitomi go give it to her? Was Hiromi even here?

Pushing herself up from the bed Hitomi found her legs still a bit weak but as long as she held onto the wall she would be fine. She could walk in the house since there were things she could hang onto. She had to return the Haori to her sister. If Hiromi wasn't in her office then she would just leave it there on her desk.

But what if Chisa was there? Maybe she could pass off as Hiromi…as long as her sister wasn't there as well. The house was a bit dark due to the closed windows and so she didn't have a problem with walking through the house…until she came across a man after turning a corner in the hall.

Hitomi froze, holding her breath as she pinned herself against the wall. An alarm was sounding in her head at the sight of the man. Had he seen her? She prayed not. Taking a deep breath, Hitomi peered around the corner again and took a better look at the man in the hall.

He was tall, about 6'1' and looked to be in his twenties. He was dressed in that black and white outfit that her sister wore with short brown hair, matching eyes, and black, square glasses.

Hitomi stared at him as he stood there at the front door. Why was he just standing there? The man was staring off at…something as he seemed to be thinking. She wanted to approach him, he was the first person outside of her mother and sister and Kudja that she had ever seen, but knew better than to do so. She did want to know who this man was. What was he doing here? He was one of the Soul Reapers so was he a new member of the Squad? That had to be why he was here, right?

Hitomi bit her lip and pulled back around the corner when his head had turned to look to his left. Had he seen her? She prayed not. She didn't want to upset Hiromi for being seen. Would…would her sister grow furious? Would she be in trouble? Would Hiromi…

Hitomi's worries were cut short by the sound of a door opening. Risking a peek, Hitomi saw the man as he walked out the front door. A sigh of relief escaped her mouth as she leaned against the wall behind her. Her heart was pounding in her ears, left to wonder what would have happened if the man had seen her.

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