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Chapter 3; 1st Part – Shinigami


They sat eating upon the hard ground of the training area beneath Urahara's Shoten; a well-earned break from their training since the meeting ended this morning with Byakuya, Rose, Kensei and Lisa's departure to begin their scouting shift. The questions, bantering, and arguing came to an eerie halt when they stood to leave; it was no longer a mystery to them as to who was responsible for the rapid flares. Urahara was confident in keeping to the scouting roster; an opportunity this time to ascertain how many assassins they were up against but with the appearance of still not knowing the truth.

Rukia wasn't eating she felt too dirty and sore, and extremely uneasy; Urahara had instructed them all to train within their bodies, which of course was of no consequence to Chad, Orihime and Uryuu. It only affected Ichigo and herself; the Visored's, Yoruichi, Soi-Fon and Urahara were all already skilled enough in Kido and hand-to-hand combat that they did not need to rely on shedding their gigai and resorting to their zanpakuto. Rukia had found herself partnered with the very aggressive Hiyori and cunning Soi-Fon. Ichigo was more unlucky, he knew no Kido and so found himself partnered with Urahara and Yoruichi who were both forcing him to use a spell directly after teaching him it; his shunpo was the only thing that was saving him from killing blows, luckily, his hand-to-hand combat skills were superior to Rukia's so overall they were even.

They were advised to move always in pairs or a group, so she left with Uryuu; he planned to visit his father's hospital to 'borrow' certain equipment, she planned to change into clothing more appropriate for training. Ryuken Ishida's secretary was waiting at Orihime's apartment for Uryuu, he left with her and Rukia continued inside to change and finally eat. A quick shower to rid herself of the dirt and grime and then a hot bath to quell her uneasiness and the ache of her muscles was her first priority; food followed and she thought to herself that she should deliver her brother food as well. Byakuya had eaten very little at breakfast, and touched none of the tea at the meeting, it was already six hours since he had left for patrol, he would definitely be hungry she decided.

Without further thought, she packed him a meal and headed out the door catching the bus from around the corner that had arrived soon after she reached the stop. She paid the driver the bus fare and made her way to a seat in the back. Just as the bus pulled back onto the road the heavens closed in, looking ominous with the heavy load that promised torrential downpour. Rukia spent the ride, gazing up at the ominous sky, fascinated in its cooling promise, drawn to the sheer darkness it emanated. The rain…much heartache occurred in the rain, but no matter how hard it rained it never washed away the darkness…the pain; it seeped into the soul and chilled from within, freezing the moment, that pain and guilt. The rain never bodes well.


Rukia stared at the grave of Masaki Kurosaki, it was only then that she realised her fault; she had travelled alone with no means of contacting her brother, her cell she had left at Urahara's and Byakuya like the other's when patrolling would alternate between his gigai and suppressing his reiatsu when not within it. There would not be a bus passing through for another hour. She moved away quickly; her gigai sadly, prevented her brother detecting her but it prevented the enemy from sensing her also, she was counting on that, she would find a place to wait until she would sense or see her brother, or until the next bus arrived, which ever came first.

She returned to the spot looking over the cemetery where she had sat with Kon waiting for Ichigo as he and his family had visited Masaki's grave. She sat down; it was the perfect spot commanding a view of the entire area and Karakura Town in the distance, she would not be surprised if Byakuya would come across her, it was the perfect position for patrol.

Again, she gazed up at the threatening clouds, fascinated by the darkness it emanated, by the pain it promised to freeze forever to her soul. She tore her eyes away, unable to gaze any longer on the omen, the snap of a twig awakened her senses. Rukia grabbed the packed lunch at her side and ran towards the noise, she couldn't sense it but her instinct told her anyway…a hollow.

She froze in her tracks, it was an Adjuchas; it was suppressing its reiatsu well from any detection, even she could not sense it though it stood just a 100m from her. She spied it consuming the soul of a little girl, her anger flared, she grabbed the Chappy Soul candy in the pockets of her shorts, flicking open the bunny mouth she swallowed the modsoul.

Her soul pushed off from the gigai, and in those two seconds she caught three things; the flash of lightning, similar to the byakurai kido spell she and her brother used, hitting and consuming the Adjuchas its piercing scream ringing her ears, and then, a blur of white moving fast towards her. Lastly, the darkness shadowing the face of a hooded figure, the call to release her zanpakuto died in her throat as it pressed a hand firmly against her chest and pushed her soul back into her gigai. The modsoul pill flew out, landing to the ground softly; the package of lunch dropped from her grasp rolling into a bush as the figure clutched the collar of her top and practically threw her to the side. Her back hit the trunk of the tree hard and before her head could follow suit, a hand rested there preventing the sharp impact and unconsciousness that would have followed.

It was all so fast, the Adjuchas dead and her captured by a Matsuyukisou. She wanted to scream in indignation as she felt an arm wrap around her waist, the Matsuyukisou trapping her against the tree with his body, but his other hand had moved to cover her mouth. Her hands were pinned between their bodies, she tried moving her fingers to dig her nails against his chest but he just pressed his body closer to prevent her, his hand tightening against her mouth in warning.

The piercing scream and spike of reiatsu by the Adjuchas before it died would have alerted her brother, he would be here soon and this Matsuyukisou was holding her hostage. She squirmed as much as she could to move away or gain some distance to kick or elbow or anything to get away, she'd be damned to continue to be propped up against a tree in some sort of lovers embrace. A soft growl escaped the Matsuyukisou, he tightened his hold around her and pressed her body closer against the tree with his own, his hand tightened painfully around her mouth that she squeaked before he loosened it slightly. She glared into the darkness the hood afforded him, this close together she guessed a spell must have also been cast upon the hood to shadow the features of the wearer.

He began muttering under her breath, her eyes widened in alarm, he removed his arm around her waist and stretched it out, his head turned in the direction his palm was open is if prepared to blast whatever was coming. She looked in the same direction and heard the faintest movement coming towards them, nee-sama!

His palm glowed, a disk of white energy forming around it, she squirmed desperate to warn her brother, desperate to stop what was coming, she could not sense the reiryoka this Matsuyukisou was condensing, therefore her brother couldn't either, he was walking right into a trap! She faced the Matsuyukisou, pressing her palm against his chest more as if trying to shove him off, her kido wouldn't be as successful against him without the incantation but it would be enough to distract him and get her free. She began muttering against his hand, his head snapped towards her; though she could not see his eyes, she was certain he was glaring at her, the glow from his hand brightened to transparency. He bent his head lower towards her, and she couldn't help but feel a tremor of fear run down her spine at the thoughts of what he could possibly do to her since he had not killed her yet and seemed not inclined to at the moment.

"They mustn't discover you," his voice whispered dangerously in her ear, she stopped her attempt at a muted kido blast and looked at him with wide eyes full of shock and suspicion, he didn't want her brother and friends discovering her, he had plans before killing her, she shivered once again. The bush rustled with movement, her eyes widened even more, nee-sama, screamed her mind desperately

It wasn't her brother though but two other Matsuyukisou assassins, both tall and one obviously so muscular, he could pass in height and build as Captain Zaraki. She stared in horror as they made their way out of the tangle of bushes; both were hooded like the one holding her captive, they walked closer into the clearing, brushing off trigs and leaves caught in their attire.

"Where the Hell is she, damn it?" boomed the larger one. Rukia's eyes widened in surprise, she was certain they had come for her too, surely they had seen her caught by one of their own, they were standing just 10m from her. "Damn it! I know she's here, she must be here somewhere, I sensed that little shinigami's soul freed from those damn gigai" belted the larger one again in frustration and anger

"She may have already moved. If your displacement abilities had been better we would have arrived here in time to catch her," replied the other calmly. "The question now is, where could she have gone, she cannot be far since she is obviously back in her gigai, she cannot shunpo or whatever it is they call their Hirenkyaku without being detected, therefore she must be close."

The larger one, turned around in the spot as if expecting her to be just standing close. Rukia turned her attention to the Matsuyukisou that was shielding her, she realised that whatever he had been muttering before was probably a sort of Bakudo shield spell, like Kyokko, which bent light away therefore shielding the caster from being seen, he must have cast the Quincy equivalent, was he protecting her then or keeping her for himself. She continued to stare at him trying to catch his attention but he was too occupied in staring at the other two or at least at the ground near them, she followed his gaze and swallowed the gasp that had nearly escaped. Her modsoul pill was upon the ground, they could easily place the modsoul in a body and torture the information of her whereabouts from it.

Their attention was quickly drawn away by the arrival of another Matsuyukisou, smaller in build and height than the present two; this Quincy glanced around as if suspecting their presence. She felt the Matsuyukisou she is with tense, the newest arrival spots the modsoul, Rukia holds her breath for what is about to come.

"What the hell are you doing here, Hikari?" growls the large Matsuyukisou turning around to face the latest arrival. Her assassin stiffens, Rukia notes this Hikari stepping closer, his foot falling on top of the modsoul pill smashing it and pressing it into the soft earth, the hand around her mouth and against her hip relaxes. Hikari knows, she realizes. The stomping feet of the larger Matsuyukisou muffled the sound of the modsoul breaking, "I asked you a question, brother"

"I sensed the Kuchiki girl, since I was close I came to complete or assist in the completion of the mission," answered Hikari

"I will not let that happen," came the cool voice of Byakuya Kuchiki. Rukia's breath hitches, nee-sama, her eyes worried as she gazes at her brother, he swallows his modsoul pill, and lands gracefully in front of his gigai.

"A shinigami captain, Tsch…tell us the girls' whereabouts and we will let you live," growled the large Matsuyukisou. Byakuya answered by withdrawing his zanpakuto from its sheath.

"That is not wise, shinigami," spoke the other almost compassionately. The kenseikan glinted softly in the sunlight, 'a noble, and a captain, so this is the great Byakuya Kuchiki' Byakuya's steady gaze showed his resolve, the Matsuyukisou sighed 'he is indeed the Kuchiki Lord'. "Very well then," his left hand flickered out, his Quincy-cross secured around the wrist, he bowed his head slightly and muttered beneath his breath.

The area glowed with reiryoku, condensed into a pentagon formation upon the ground, all too fast for Byakuya to react or move, he was caught in the centre, his gigai fell to the ground the sharp ring indicating the destruction of the modsoul within. One of the points of the pentagon reached Rukia and the Matsuyukisou, she felt him tense again and hold his breath, but the caster and others were still unaware of his presence and hers. She felt the rush of breath of his sigh against her neck; they were still protected but now trapped. The pentagon glowed, the circular area enclosing them all in a dome shield.

Byakuya fell to his knees, he could feel it within, the shield not only prevented his escape but also locked his soul within; he could feel it chaining him to the area. Byakuya was skilled enough to prevent a leak of reiatsu when leaving his gigai, he was certain that the shield prevented outside detection, which meant no one was aware or would be of the battle that would occur. He pushed himself up, at the very least, they could not go after Rukia, she would be able to escape back to Urahara and inform them, he wondered why she was within the area in the first place. Where was the other's, did she come alone?

Byakuya braced himself for the battle to come, sizing up the three hooded Matsuyukisou before him, the smallest one could easily have been any of the four he had encountered at the supermarket, he was of the same height and built, he stood back however, with the one that had cast the sealing spell. The largest of the three stepped forward, Byakuya was certain the man was smirking with delight at a battle.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura," he intoned deeply, the blade shattered into the thousand petal blades

A low chuckle escaped the Matsuyukisou, "Raze the Earth, Ushioshini!", his left hand raised, the Quincy cross hanging from the wrist, it glowed bright revealing a bow shaped much like a scythe, the long upper and short low limb of the bow was rounded like a handle staff, the sharp curved blade of the scythe resting at the top. "Are you prepared to die shinigami…because I'm prepared to kill"

Rukia could not help the soft whimper that escaped, 'nee-sama!'


AN: I kept this to 4pages

Chapter 3 will occur in three parts,

Ushioshini (Death Tide) is modelled off Hisagi's, Kazeshini (Death Wind).

The Matsuyukisou refer to and consider one another as brother, in the sense of sworn-brothers, or brothers-in-arms kind of thing.

Byakuya arrived upon sensing and hearing the death of the Adjuchas and sensing Rukia when she was out of her gigai. The Matsuyukisou assassins still cannot be detected, so don't expect Urahara etc. riding in as the cavalry

Next part of this chapter is finished and will be uploaded in a couple of days.

Reviews are appreciated

'til next time

AlaeaMori