Disclaimer: Do not own Bleach, however owning plot.
'thinking'
"talking"
.
.
(Recap)
Turquoise eyes glanced at her features; soft and delicate. Even until now, her purpose of being here seemed too much of a coincidence and he still had his suspicions.
"Don't be so guarded Toushi-kun, even though the rest of the captain's aren't, I'm very sure that Yama-jii is keeping a stern eye on me"
Slender fingers reach over to grab a slice of watermelon.
"Come on Toushi-kun! You always used to love watermelons in the spring!"
Hitsugaya froze for a quick second. It was true; he enjoyed watermelons the best during the springs, only because of the fact that the tranquil rich colors of nature calmed his heart.
Gaze softened and nibbled on the watermelon he had been holding, missing the small sincere smile that had graced the lips of the time-traveler.
Rukia stared out the window from the corner of her room, gazing softly through her lone iris, watching silently as bright blue started to steadily spread through the night sky, the glimmering of the stars slowly fading and the sun rising over the horizons to continue its chase after the moon.
She couldn't deny the weightlessness her heart felt after being flooded with warm colors again.
She missed this.
She missed everything about this.
The colors, their smiles, their laughter and times of tangible tranquility that she had so dearly wanted to return to.
It was all here.
A small smile tugged on her lips, and she buried her head snuggly into arms that had held her knees close to her chest.
Being here for the past couple of weeks had made her soft, something that she would never have allowed herself if she was back in her time, but just this once…
Just this once.
She wanted to indulge in her own happiness.
Ears slightly twitched at the sound of the sliding of a door and even without lifting her head up, with the barely audible sound of shuffling feet, and the fragrance of fresh sakura blossoms wafting throughout the air, Rukia already knew who had come to visit her.
When sandaled feet came to a halt, Rukia breathed out a small empty sigh. The silence prolonged even after she had lifted her head, and felt steely gray eyes observing her every movement as she got up and straightened herself. She paused for a while before finally turning to greet him.
"Good morning, Byakuya."
She didn't miss the slight raise in his neat eyebrow; she knew what he was pondering about.
He gave a curt nod to show his recognition.
"…Kuchiki Rukia…"
There was hesitance in his voice, barely there, but Rukia knew him well enough by now and nothing escaped her observant eye.
She gave a small smile and lowered her eye to the floor, gray-violet looking distantly in to thin air.
"Actually… it's just Rukia now."
Eyes narrowed slightly. She looked back up to his stern face, tracing over delicate features. The unyielding gray eyes that she always used to get herself lost in, the long black hair that reminded her of a stallion's mane, the white kenseikan that had symbolized his nobility as the head of the Kuchiki family, the white haori that had signified his power as the Captain of the Sixth Division.
He was here.
Alive.
"… And I haven't called you nii-sama for at least fifty years now…"
His eyes widened ever so slightly but all Rukia did was give a soft smile, with her eye now closed, she slowly walked towards her title's predecessor, stopping only when she could feel the slightest of brushes from the shoulders of his captain's haori.
"…Hisana-nee-san…"
She heard the slightest ruffles made by fabric and knew that she had gained his full attention. Her soft smile still in place, she refused to make eye contact with him, knowing well that he would try and read them.
But she wasn't the young Rukia that had followed every beck and call; biting her lip every time ill words were spread about her around the manor, flinching every time she knew that she had disappointed her seniors. Following absent-mindedly the duty and rules of the shinigami, never questioning and never thinking, blinded by the justice that they had so often called it.
War and suffering made her learn of the reality beneath the deception; sometimes the truth had to be dug out, one would have to toil in the mud and the muck and even after getting so dirty; so tainted, the truth would decide to continue its play of hide and seek.
But Rukia guessed that luck had been on her side, she couldn't imagine how much more of torture she could put up with, waiting until she had found that truth.
After obtaining and coming to terms with reality, even if people had wanted to reach through the windows of her soul, even if they had wanted to see the same Rukia from years ago, they couldn't. Regretful to say, that Rukia ceased to exist a long, long time ago, she was never coming back and even if she had wished direly to do so, she had no place to come back to.
"… I want to see… Hisana-nee-san."
She finally opened her eye; steadily turning her head to meet greet grey irises. A river of velvet raven flowed behind her like waterfall as she tilted her head. Staring squarely into his eyes, it was an almost amusing sight.
Rukia was aware that she was probably like an open book in her youth, eyes reflecting like glass when her heart was troubled and sparkling when happy.
But the tables have turned now; it was now he who couldn't read her emotions, and her who could sing his like a song.
She saw his eyes searching into hers, holding their steady gaze into pools of emptiness trying to search for an answer, but she knew that he was never going to find one.
'Sorry Nii-sama, the Rukia you know isn't here anymore…'
(Flashback)
It was seventeen years into Aizen's triumph over Seireitei, numbers of shinigami were depleting; some converted sides in order to survive, while others were hunted down in one of the favorite past-times of arrancars, 'catch the reaper'. It was almost a daily routine for those who had managed to survive and resist the temptation to betray their side.
After being experimented on by that psychotic Octava, surviving shinigamis were released out into the open plains of Hueco Mundo in a state of half drunken madness; decorated with a bright red ribbon around their neck to indicate that they were a target.
The shinigamis had their own opinion on the game as well, calling the red ribbon, 'The collar of red death."
And to all those who stared true to themselves, it wasn't a matter of question now; nor was it even open to any debating or arguement.
For even though they stood up for their honor...
In the end, they eventually met with dishonorable death.
And that was the reality they all accepted.
But that was something Rukia didn't want to experience; death was death, there was no honorable death or a pleasant one, even though one may have sacrificed their life for another, they would have been taking equally that much of life from the people who would mourn over them.
And one thing that Rukia hated was making her precious people cry.
Even if she would obtain corrupted power, even if she had to drown herself in darkness, she would do so in order to protect her precious people.
And it was exactly what she did.
She grinded her teeth every time she looked dead straight into framed amber eyes, ones that held grotesque fascination whenever scrawny fingers played out the usual process of injecting colorful, unnamed liquids into her right eye; grinding and grinding even after the dull pain had managed to seep into her jaws, firmly keeping them shut from screaming out profanities because of the hot fire that was spreading throughout her body.
Clenching her dainty hands into white-knuckled fists, even when she felt warm blood slide down in between the valleys of her fingers, to drop to the cold concrete floor; she never loosened her grip, her now lone iris glaring in silent rage as she agreed to work under the very man who had ruined her world.
A man who was far more cunning than any other man she's ever met, a man who intended to crush her—one way or another.
Reminiscing through her memories, she remembered a time when she was on patrol duty in the ruins of Seireitei, walking gingerly through the places that were once built up high and proud, a place where she made all her pleasant and sad memories with her loved ones. Panning her head around to see the carnage, the impact of war settled in her heart. In the darkness of the eternal night, she jolted and looked down when she felt herself kick something away, something made of metal.
Her lone pool of grey-violet gradually widening as they traced over the curves and swirls carved into the plate.
She had just kicked the sign of the noble Kuchiki Clan.
That was when she knew that he had purposely sent her here, to make those wounds fester where they rested in her heart.
It had been years since the noble family had decided to abandon her and take back their adoption agreements. Rukia supposed that in the end, she was just too much of a commoner for the Noble Kuchiki Clan; a place where they held their nobility in high regard, some even higher than the lives of former human souls.
Having come from the poor seventy-eighth district of Rukongai; having known how much people had toiled in their sweat and tears in order to live, she could never allow herself to stoop to such a low and humanely degrading level.
Despite all this, the Kuchiki manor was still once her home, the very place that Byakuya and her sister had lived. She could never forget the feeling of soft timber floors beneath her feet, the faint scent of grass that was in the air.
Kuchiki manor had once been her family.
And Rukia couldn't help but feel her heart clench painfully as she realized that the ruined part of Seireitei she had been patrolling in, was in fact, the very ruins of the Kuchiki Manor.
'Truly a cunning man.'
Whilst looking at the burnt wood and the sign of the Kuchiki clan tossed aside so carelessly, even though she had felt like crying; she couldn't. Her tears had already dried up a long ago and she refused to sing her sorrows, knowing that he would chuckle with mirth and urge her to sing even higher and longer; even as her voice got hoarser, he would urge her to sing until she was a broken, wingless bird who had been denied the freedom to soar away from this hell hole.
'Truly a cunning man indeed.'
(End flashback)
Rukia never got a chance to give a proper farewell to her sister, let alone to Byakuya; after all, she had so naively believed that the war wouldn't prolong for long; that they would actually win. But after her former brother-in-law and sibling had been ripped away from her, she felt the poison of regret piercing her body.
All the words left unsaid, all the promises left unkept.
Had she had known that the downfall of Seireitei was going to be the conclusion of all their struggles; she would have taken the time to get to know them earlier all those years ago.
Lone iris shifted up from her knelt form and gazed at the framed photo.
She was beautiful.
Short, midnight hair had framed her small, delicate face that always seemed sickly pale; violet orbs with a hint of blue, held a soft gaze, sending waves of indescribable calm down Rukia's spine. A familiar strand of hair had positioned themselves in the middle of her face, only shorter and more frayed at the end. Her last photo captured her warm smile and Rukia felt bliss flooding her heart.
Her sister was so beautiful.
"I was meaning to thank you for fulfilling Hisana-nee-san's dying wish; I know it wasn't easy for you to go against the rules… against the whole of the Kuchiki Clan and well over one thousand years of tradition…"
Byakuya stared at the back of Rukia's knelt form, slightly narrowing his eyes and preparing his heart for what she might say next.
"…I'm sorry that I couldn't hold my end of the deal, but I was happy that we had maintained a good bond even after I was no longer your younger sister…"
Byakuya gave no reply, watching silently as she bowed in her knelt form, watching the back of her torso as she straightened herself again.
"…She's so beautiful, ne?"
Rukia never turned back to face him, he closed his eyes and gave a small grunt of approval.
"…I spent a lot of my days here with you, just looking at her. The elders were considerate enough to allow me inside so that I could see her..."
There was a long pause, Byakuya slowly opened his eyes and looked back to Rukia.
"Did I… abandon you..."
He saw shoulders stiffen slightly before they slumped down with a barely audible sigh, he's brow raised slightly in question when Rukia turned her body to face him. The only thing he was focusing on was the small tug in her lips of a sad smile.
"No… you tried to stop the elders from kicking me out… but eventually I agreed to walk out on my own… I've troubled you enough as it was."
He noticed the distant look in her eye.
"The cherry blossoms are always in full bloom here in Seireitei, ne?"
Byakuya turned to gaze out to the pink and white tinted flowers. So the Kuchiki elders had decided to unadopt Rukia sometime before the war, he also presumed that he had died. Her eye refused to open itself for him, but he could hear her emotions just as well from her voice. She sounded as if she had many regrets; those of things she had wanted to do and those of what she wanted to say, the chances all ripped away from her grip in the spiraling end of war.
"What have we been doing… while you were suffering like this?"
He's deep voice penetrated her heart, and Rukia could barely work up the nerve to tell him.
(Flashback)
"Ne Rukia-chan! Do you want me to save him?"
On a night so cold and dark, the gods have once again sent down rain to mark another death of a loved one. She felt her gut clench tightly as she stared up to the speaker, her eyes blurred from her tears and the rain; she felt helpless when she couldn't look anywhere except for the slits of his eyes.
'Save him…'
'…Please save him…'
She cursed herself when she felt a small spark of hope ignite; with inky tresses fanning over her lap and mixing with the mud, she cradled the pale face of her dying brother-in-law in her trembling arms.
"…Please…"
She choked and sobbed at her vulnerability, she just couldn't bring herself to say those three words.
'Please save him.'
The grin that was never-changing only broadened at the site below him, narrowed eyes opened to reveal bright sky blue irises dancing with amusement. She was a promising one, that Kuchiki Rukia, he's grin only widened at the thought. Oh, how silly of him, she was now nothing but a common rat; no longer a bearer of the Kuchiki name.
He saw the hope kindle in her tearful eyes and couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
"Just kidding"
He felt glee burst through his heart when he saw her halt; he narrowed his eyes once again in amusement as he saw her clenching her jaw tightly.
'Soon, anguish will settle.'
And she didn't disappoint.
Hugging and clenching onto the body of the once proud Kuchiki Byakuya, Rukia let out an anguished howl. Gin mused in delight at how even her chokes and sobs managed to sound so adorable.
"I'm sorry but I have to be on my way now! I hope we can meet again Rukia-chan!"
It was the same damn sing-song voice that she had detested so intensely; but as much as she loathed him, she hated herself even more. Walking right into the snake's trap, she allowed herself to get carried away by his mockery, and allowed herself to be manipulated.
As she cried, the rain did nothing to drown out her wails. Rocking back and forth, she didn't care if that damn snake was walking out of her grasp, she didn't care even when she felt the rain pour down to her bones and chill her heart.
Clutching her brother's cold, stiff body closer to her, she buried her face into his neck and continued to howl.
'Goddamn you, Ichimaru Gin.'
(End flashback)
Byakuya didn't dare to press the question further; nor did he find any reason to.
It was clear that the woman in front of him didn't expect anything from him; she was just an unfortunate soul who was granted the miracle of a second chance. What she made of the second chance, however, was more questioning to him.
Long after the gentle silence had settled, Byakuya felt the reiatsu of his Lieutenant inside the noble grounds; he had no doubts that Rukia had also felt it as well.
"Kuchiki-Taichou!"
One of the doors on either sides of the room slid open with a bang, and caused Rukia to snap her head to the source of the ruckus, seeing the familiar red mane and black pigment on tanned skin, she stared into widened eyes filled with surprise. Renji hadn't predicted the possibility of seeing the time-traveler; let alone meeting her.
The two childhood friends held their gaze of shock before Byakuya spoke.
"What is it, Abarai-fukutaichou?"
Renji snapped back from his stupor and glanced at the seated captain, slightly hesitant to reveal the news in front of the mystifying woman.
"Hollows, a lot of them, started invading and attacking Seireitei, the captains are on their way to eliminate them."
Byakuya didn't understand why the captains would be handling a mere number of hollows, something as trivial as that could be handled by the seated officers and lieutenants.
Renji sighed in slight impatience; refusing to look at Rukia, he spoke again.
"They're of adjuchas class, captain, we need to hurry to the Shino academy, there's no way that the students can fight them off."
Rukia closed her eye, so that was the reason for Renji's hesitance… He had suspected her of having a connection with the invasion. She wondered how hollows of Adjuchas level had managed to come into Soul Society. She stood up from her spot and straightened herself to her full height.
"Then what are we going here, let us hurry."
She didn't miss the small cautious step taken backwards by her friend and heard the soft rustling of fabric, as Byakuya stood up in front of her.
It was a given, in a field of chaos, one would always see someone who would rush in to fight, while another would run as far away from the battle as possible.
When the three had reached the academy, the Captain and Lieutenant of the Sixth Division had immediately sprung to slice down the invaders. Rukia stood suspended in air, as she saw waves of red, white and blue uniforms and swarms of tertiary toned masks. As expected, some were attacking while others were fleeing, screams filled the Kido grounds and Rukia was reminded of the first battle of the official war.
Truly the adjuchas were in unusually large numbers and were stronger than normal, Byakuya had already scattered Senbonzakura as did Renji, who had already howled Zabimaru. Rukia hadn't felt the obligation to protect for a long while, looking at the fear and awe evident in the eyes of the students, she thought of how innocent they were.
Glancing back to the open Kido field, Rukia waited until all of the students were at one side of the training ground, she turned her gaze to the two fighters whilst slowly drawing her sword. She narrowed her eyes as she turned her blade counter-clockwise.
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."
The familiar feeling of power flowed through her body in chilling calm waves as the katana slowly turned pure white; the long white ribbon flowing from the pommel like a breeze of air. There was rush of cold air from all directions and a cold fog descended upon the area.
The students all snapped their heads to the woman and stared with wide eyes; the rumored Sixth Division captain from the future; their breaths came out in small fogs to the sudden cold upon them, and they were sure that the cold wasn't the only reason to why they were trembling.
"Next Dance, Hakuren."
A rampaging tidal wave of pure white flooded across the whole of the grounds and froze everything in its tracks. Rukia glided down to the middle of the field, her expression never changing as she stood in the middle of the still-chaos that she had created. With a flick of her wrist, the frozen ice plane shattered into millions of pieces, preventing any chances of resurrection.
The students stared in awe.
Black, velvety tresses were fluttering behind her curvaceous frame in the cool breeze; smooth pale skin was lit up by the glittering of ice; thick, dark eye lashes got tangled at the ends every time she blinked; pink, plump lips were moist and slightly opened to let out the small breaths that made her chest rise in rhythm.
In all her mystical glory; she seemed like a real life goddess.
Rukia sheathed her sword as her two companions appeared beside her; she initially didn't want to release her shikai however, she came to the conclusion that it would be fine so long as she didn't show them everything.
Whilst the students and teachers tried to organize the former battle field, Renji scratched the back of his head out of habit and turned to the other Sixth Division captain, though he still refused to look her in the eye.
"Ano, thank you for your help… Kuchiki-Taichou."
Renji felt the uncomfortable silence set in and mentally kicked himself for starting such an awkward conversation with the ample figure. He mumbled under his breath before hearing a melodic voice vibrate in an amused laugh. He, along with Byakuya and the students turned to Rukia; who had one hand clenching the fabric over her stomach, and the other attempting to drown out the laugh to no avail.
Renji stood dumbfounded when he saw tears at the corner of her eye; just staring as she calmed herself down enough so that she could wipe tears of mirth from her eye. She crossed her arms and grinned broadly at him.
"Didn't think I'd live to see the day when you started calling me Taichou, Hihi-sama."
A vein throbbed at the black pigmented temple. Renji clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.
"Did you just call me a baboon?"
Seeing the once calm and collected woman double over in another burst of laughter, Renji wondered why he had felt so anxious in the first place, she was still Rukia after all. A deep chuckle joined the mellow laughter in the air and Renji couldn't help but join in.
Byakuya stayed silent throughout the unfolding scene, listening calmly to her smooth voice, only opening his eyes when he realized the silence; he looked up to see Rukia standing in front of him with a wide smile on her face.
"You should hurry back and fill in the reports and paper works, you can leave everything here to us."
Byakuya stared into her violet-gray iris, and tried to read for her motives. But alas, she kept her cards well played.
Without a word, he turned around and started walking before shunpoing off, Rukia gave a soft knowing smile when she saw a fluttering of black and maroon wings from the corner of her eye.
Turning to her red-haired companion, she linked arms with him and giggled when he stiffened and could almost feel the heat come off of his tall stature.
"Come on Hihi-sama, we've got work to do."
Renji snorted and turned to look the other way, trying desperately to fight the blood from rushing to his face.
"I told you not to call me that, damn woman!"
She had calculated how much of herself she would show, but it was plenty enough for Byakuya to draw the conclusion that indeed, she was strong. The question now, was whether she was a powerful ally or a dangerous enemy. Byakuya had to admit that he never experience a was in all his years of being a captain, but he knew well enough that war was something that changed a person for life.
When he walked into the office, he saw the three senior captains standing around Captain-Commander Yamamoto's desk. They all turned to greet him.
"It seems that war has taken a toll on her strength, it seemed to me that she only showed a very small amount of her strength. Her attacks have reached greater levels than of our present-Rukia; she managed to level the entire frozen ice planes full of Adjuchas leveled hollows, with a flick of her wrist"
The captain of the Eighth Division let out a small sigh as his large, tanned hand reached up to slid off his straw hat.
"Ne, don't you think you're being too harsh, spying on your sister like that, even when all she wants to do is bond with her dear brother."
Byakuya snapped his steely gray eyes towards his senior and held an unwavering gaze.
"It's a captain's duty to report any and all information on a possible enemy; I'm just doing what is asked of me."
"Or rather what is asked of your title."
Byakuya glanced between Ukitake and Kyouraku. Though they were two very perspective people, it seemed that the respectful captains were sticking to the idea that future Rukia wasn't intending to be a threat.
"That is quite enough."
The three debating captains turned their attention to the Captain Commander; who had stood in full height and were staring at them through narrowed eyes.
"There is no mercy for he who obstructs justice; regardless of what she has gone through, or who she was in the past, there will be no exceptions once she goes against the laws of Soul Society; you have done your duty, dismissed."
Byakuya closed his eyes at the dismissal.
"Then if you will excuse me."
In a fortress of black and white, the lean figure of the Cuatro Espada stood in front of Hueco Mundo's King.
"Aizen-sama, it seems as though there is an unexplained presence of a powerful shinigami."
Calm, chestnut brown eyes tilted up to look into eerily bright green irises, Aizen rested his well-sculpted face on his fist.
"Is that so, anyone I would know?"
"Yes and no; it looks as if Kuchiki Rukia has gone missing from Soul Society, and has been reported that the nameless shinigami is able to use the same zanpakuto as the girl."
A grin managed to stretch over smooth skin, showing pearly white teeth that promised great mischief.
"How interesting."
.
.
.
To be continued…
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Might re-update this chapter in the near future!
Thank you to: TKY363, StarPrincess999, XxGryffindor LionessxX, xXNiNaXx, SAS.363, Kazeshini99, sayap hitam, nuABO96, HeadPhoneOrgyy, pauLinian4eVer, Ubernaut and violetLoVeR for your comments!
Thank you to: CrazyOnDisplay, Kage-Hyuga-Nara, Violetchi, pauLinan4eVer, sayap hitam, TKY326, Ubernaut, XBlueSkyX, yukionna226 for adding the story on favorite list!
Thank you to: Chappy12, CrazyOnDisplay, Goranus, Kage-Hyuga-Nara, pauLinan4eVer, sayap hitam, StarPrincess999, The Kataklyst, XxGryffindor LionessxX for adding the story on story alert!
R&R!
~Peace, M.
