A few months since the altercation with Senbonzakura, Byakuya was definitely feeling the strain of an angry zanpaku-to. Rather, an angry zanpaku-to that was refusing to talk to her wielder. It was quite a distraction, and it was wearing down on Byakuya's patience. He had not convinced her that his apologies were sincere, and thus her refusal to extend her powers to him had the blade being only that- a blade.
Byakuya looked down at the hilt of his sword. He cursed her silently, though he knew that was a bad idea. But he was having a bad week, so he figured he had a little bit of a right to be upset. Everything in the last week or two had been one after another, and not at all pleasant. This was just the cherry on top of it all.
Or it would have been, if this newest assignment given to the Lieutenant of the thirteenth squad hadn't been so awful. Yes, it was the worst thing he could have possibly gotten. He wondered how exactly he had offended Captain Ukitake, because he would have rather fought ten thousand Vasto Lordes all at once than had to go to the academy for the Soul Reapers in-training.
Byakuya set his face in the mask of indifference as he entered the grounds for the academy. His task was not difficult, just to make sure that a group of students visiting the World of the Living got there and back safely. Hardly necessary for a Lieutenant to supervise normally, but lately there had been heightened Hollow activity, and so precautions were being taken that normally would have been absurd.
"Good morning, Lieutenant Kuchiki!" and several other greetings were thrown Byakuya's way, to which he gave cold nods, but never any eye contact. Why should he bother with people so far below him?
He was almost to the meeting place for the group he was to supervise when a shout caught his attention.
"Hey, Lieutenant!"
He turned, almost surprised that somebody would address him in such a way. And just when he thought his day couldn't get any worse…
"You walk very fast when you so wish," the owner of the voice giggled.
It was that girl…Hisana, was it? Whatever her name, Byakuya was half tempted to just turn around and keep walking. The instincts that were drilled into his personality since he was born, however, kept him in his current position.
And so, he gave her a blank stare.
She raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it polite to at least say hello?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her.
"Only to those who would return such a favor of decency," he said, his stare becoming rather frosty.
Hisana's face morphed into confusion, before she remembered what he was talking about. "Oh, do you mean the money I stole? You mustn't take that very seriously, you certainly weren't the first. It wasn't very much for one on a Lieutenant's salary anyway, is it?" she asked, quirking her lips up.
Byakuya seemed to straighten his already pristine posture. "The quantity matters not, it is the thought and motive behind the action that is important."
Blue eyes looked down, all traces of a smile gone. "I did not mean to make a mockery of theft. I actually came to apologize that I did that to you, but I am not very good at conveying what I am trying to say. However," she said, looking up into Byakuya's eyes, determination the only word to describe what lay in her gaze, "I shall not say that I am sorry I took it. Without it, I would have starved for several more days."
Byakuya was mildly shocked. Rarely did anyone besides his grandfather and Captain Ukitake look him straight in the eyes. Even though she had finished speaking, Hisana's gaze did not drift from his, her perfectly blue eyes staring at him, into him, or perhaps even right through him.
"I…I did not…" he started, eyes wide.
A gentle smile then graced Hisana's features. "All I ask is that you may in time forgive my desperate actions. I fully intend to pay you, and everybody else I took from, back." And then her genuine smile was gone, replaced with something more mischievous. "As for today, however, you are to escort my group to the living world, correct?"
Deep gray eyes blinked. And then a deep exhalation. This girl was too many things at once. Byakuya looked back into her eyes, his perfect mask slipping a bit to show how tired he was.
"You are in the advanced classes?"
She nodded several times. "I guess I've got more of that spiritual energy than we both thought, huh?" She smiled.
"How…in only a few months have you progressed so far?" Byakuya wondered, possibly to himself.
"You mean from street rat to advanced academy student?" Hisana allowed herself some pride, seeing gray eyes shift away from her with sheepishness. "Perhaps we are not all as we might first seem."
Byakuya's eyes trained back to hers at her last statement.
"Perhaps not."
"Students! Is everybody here? Ah, Lieutenant Kuchiki, I'm very glad to see you made it."
The instructor was walking quickly toward the small group that had gathered, his head bald and shining, and oversized square glasses making his eyes appear larger than normal. The students had massed together, excited murmuring buzzing between them.
Byakuya looked to the instructor, then back at Hisana. She was smiling up at him, azure eyes positively sparkling.
"See you later, Lieutenant," she said softly, before turning and merging with the group that had appeared.
"Good, good, everyone. Settle down, be quiet! Okay, everybody, you all know your supervisor, Lieutenant Kuchiki." He gestured vaguely in Byakuya's direction. "Now, do you all remember our lesson on Hell Butterflies? You're going to need it to get through the senkaimon. Everybody prepared?"
Affirmative nods and murmurs of yes ran through the students before silence fell again. Hands grasped the hilts of swords in anticipation, and several individuals were fidgeting, excitement getting the better of them.
Hisana, Byakuya noticed, was quite calm. She stood in a relaxed posture, but her eyes were quite attentive on the instructor. Her blue irises flicked to him, and a small black eyebrow rose as she caught him staring at her. He immediately looked away and moved toward the front, near the instructor.
The bald man had just finished giving last minute instructions on how exactly to use Hell Butterflies. "You shall now enter the World of the Living, students. Remember, only the souls can see you. Do not stray far from the group, stay with your partner, and should you hear or sense a Hollow, notify Lieutenant Kuchiki immediately!"
Byakuya grimaced inside, thinking that he would most definitely sense a Hollow before any of these first timers would.
"Here is the gate," the instructor continued, pointing at the circular door that had appeared. "Good luck! And remember this counts as a part of your grade!"
Byakuya summoned his Hell Butterfly and moved to the gate. He glanced back over his shoulder to the group hesitantly following him, and stepped through.
-+-
The group of students and Byakuya had been in the living world for nearly a half hour. And while the heir to the Kuchiki clan corrected konsos and pretended to be scouting out danger, he would glance over to where Hisana and her partner were.
"Hi-sa-na! That was perfect! You're gonna be a captain before you know it!"
The hyper blonde woman with an abnormally large chest was jumping up and down, in apparent awe of Hisana's recently performed konso. Her hands clasped together before she grabbed Hisana around the middle and spun her about.
"Ra-ran--!" Hisana tried to gasp breath in, with little success. She grabbed ahold of her friend's arms and forced herself out of her embrace, only to crumple to the ground and worship the air she could now breathe.
"Please, Rangiku, focus on the task at hand," Hisana said, pouting to the best of her ability. "You have yet to even perform a konso."
Rangiku frowned. "I'll get to it…just give me some time."
Hisana rolled her blue eyes up to the sky, a small smile on her face. "Why do I put up with you…?"
Byakuya had been watching their interactions so intently that he didn't notice when Rangiku had looked over and caught him staring. She quickly got Hisana's attention and pointed, and only when she had started turning his way did Byakuya have the sense to turn himself.
Luckily they were on the roof of a tall building, Byakuya on one of the corners, so when he turned out toward the city, his blush went unnoticed by any that may have been watching.
However, when his attention did go out to what he was seeing, he sensed an abnormality. Smoke, or perhaps dust was collecting in the air, not very far from where the group was currently practicing. Byakuya closed his eyes and concentrated on the source, hoping it was a mere human error.
A scream sliced through the air, making the hairs on the back of every student's neck stand up. The laughter had stopped, and eyes that opened wide in fright were now facing Byakuya, whose sword was now brandished.
Without turning his head, he addressed the students. "Do not panic, it is only a lower Hollow. However, precautions must be made, and I fear I do not have the time to open another senkaimon for you before it gets here. Have any of you learned how to make the gate?"
"Ye-yes, sir," one boy volunteered. "We know the theory behind it."
"Then please do so. I will defeat the Hollow while you all get back to the Soul Society."
"Yes, sir!" came a chorus of shouts.
Byakuya looked back to the group effort of making the gate to the Seireitei. He deliberately looked away from the pair of eyes still watching him, knowing that a distraction now could cost him lives, even if it was only a lower-ranked Hollow.
The piercing scream came again, this time much closer. Byakuya was about to jump to the next building when it appeared right in front of him. Refusing to be surprised, he jumped up to attack it from behind, but it dodged.
Fast…almost too fast... Byakuya thought, landing between the students and the Hollow.
He ignored the delayed screams of his charges, and planted his feet on the roof of the building. He raised his sword out in front of him, preparing to release the power of his shikai to this monster.
"Scatter, Senbonzakura."
Nothing happened. Byakuya's gray eyes widened in the split second he had, remembering the status of his sword, before it was knocked from his hands.
Byakuya was so shocked that he didn't see that the Hollow was on the move again.
"No!" A shrill cry, almost as fearsome as the Hollow's itself, registered in the now sword-less Byakuya's consciousness.
He was knocked to his knees as something hit him, but the cry of pain that was uttered was not from his lips. Byakuya looked up, shocked, at the bloody front of Hisana's Academy robes.
The hollow's teeth were clamped down on her sides, its head appearing sideways to the people watching.
"Augh-uh-unh--!" Hisana grunted, her arms staying straight, keeping her and Byakuya at least her arm's length away. But her hands, which had twisted themselves into the front of his robes, were convulsing in obvious pain.
"Hisana!" came a shriek, bringing him back to reality.
Without further hesitation, Byakuya summoned his sword back to him, and it burst into a thousand cherry blossoms. Within seconds, the Hollow was gone, and Hisana started to fall.
Byakuya's arms reached out to catch her, then pulled her close to himself, and lifted them both until he was back on his feet.
The students were all frozen, fright and awe apparent on each face.
"Have you made the senkaimon operational yet?" Byakuya asked, an undertone of commandment in his voice.
"Almost, s-sir," one of the students started.
"Good. Make it fast."
After that, Byakuya would pay them no more attention until they said the senkaimon was complete. He looked down to the still semi-conscious Hisana. Her skin had a layer of sweat, and blood had made most of her white uniform match the red stripes on the sides. Her shocking blue eyes were now closed tightly while her jaw was clenched as well.
Her hands kept grasping Byakuya's robes.
"Hisana…Hisana, can you hear me?" he asked quietly, so none of the bustling students would hear.
She moaned in response, one of her eyes opening slightly to acknowledge him to the best of her ability.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered, hanging his head so that his hair all but covered Hisana's face.
"Maybe…" she started, whispering, "maybe you need some…pr-practice…too…Lieutenant…" She managed a weak smile, but it was ruined by the blood that had started leaking out of the corner of her mouth.
"Sir! The senkaimon is complete!"
Byakuya drew his head back up, and walked quickly towards the gate. His goal was now to get Hisana, the girl who had gotten hurt because of his stupidity, to the Fourth Squad as soon as was physically possible.
-+-
As soon as, or perhaps before, Byakuya's feet had touched the ground of the Seireitei, he had carefully gathered Hisana higher up into his arms, and made a quick shun-po to the Fourth Division's entryway.
The nurse on duty gave a wide-eyed look before immediately ushering Byakuya to a room, calling for help along the way.
"What's happened to her?" the nurse asked as Byakuya set Hisana down onto the table.
"She was…attacked. By a Hollow," he said quietly.
"Oh dear…oh no…" the woman muttered, now ignoring Byakuya and putting her full attention onto Hisana's wounds.
She pulled the robe off, surprising Byakuya, making him turn away for her modesty. However, before he turned, he saw the gaping wounds, glistening bones and torn muscles that dirtied Hisana's body. He was disgusted, not only by the wounds, but by himself.
"Hisana," he whispered.
Without another thought, he turned and fled the small room that was quickly becoming crowded with healers and doctors.
Byakuya soon found himself back at his estate, in the vast gardens and tall grasses. While he would usually have a leisurely gait, it was instead fast and uneven. Whether any servants noticed or not, Byakuya didn't know or care. He was trying to find somewhere, anywhere, to sit quietly and think upon his actions and the consequences that may have come with them.
In a few minutes' time, he found a deserted enough spot. He thought without really noticing that if he were to lay down, the tall blades and flowers of the grass would shield his presence quite nicely. Mindlessly, Byakuya got on his back, on top of the warm dirt, and stared up into the clouds.
"How careless of me. How utterly clueless I am. I am too arrogant, too confident. How could I possibly aspire for the title of Captain, if I cannot even protect students? If I must rely on an inexperienced, young, beautiful girl…"
That was a thought-stopper. Byakuya resisted the sudden urge to sit straight up, though his eyes did widen as far as they could. What did he just say…?
"I am sure I did not…it slipped out. It is nothing, I am sure…"
His eyes closed. In his mind he saw Hisana's face, her bright blue eyes, her gentle smile and soft lips…
"No, I mustn't!" he muttered a little louder than he had been before. "She is Rukon filth, she is not nobility…" If I form an attachment, it would end badly for me, if not both of us…
Gray eyes looked miserably into the clouds, despair their only emotion. But I want to.
"I cannot…I cannot…" he repeated to himself, and anybody who hadn't known better would swear that it sounded as if the young Kuchiki heir was close to tears.
And then silence reigned, and it stayed for a great long while. The sun was on its way down, dusk laying its intruding touch the edges of the sky. During all of that time, Byakuya thought on his next course of actions, and was debating within himself.
For the first time in Byakuya Kuchiki's life, his personal desires strayed from his family's.
I do not even know her that well…I doubt if she would be taken with me, anyway… And then a thought occurred to him. Regardless of my personal wants, I must see her. To apologize for my actions…for her injuries. It is the right thing to do.
"I must see her," Byakuya said softly to himself, eyes narrowing slightly in determination.
"You know…speaking to oneself is the first sign of insanity, Byakuya."
Byakuya jumped, sitting straight up. Once in this position, out of the corner of his eye, he caught the fluttering edge of a Captain's haori.
"Grandfather," Byakuya gasped. "How long have you been standing there?"
Ginrei closed his eyes. "Long enough, young one. I see you have some problems to struggle through."
Byakuya sighed, eyes closing as he fell back to the ground, once again gazing upon the clouds.
"Forgive me, grandfather, for I am a fool."
A/N: Yeah, so…stuff happens…that makes me not update for weeks…my deepest apologies, really, I was so excited to update this.
Thank you to sky, . awaken . the . dawn ., EienSuzume, StormyShadows, Twilight Countess and SummerSarah for your interest and little bits of awesome-ness.
xoxo/Revalations