Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. All credit goes to Kubo for his characters and themes. The only things I own are the characters that I designed, and this story.

.

Part 07

That night Haruka found herself again in that room that she had nearly leapt from the window of earlier that day. She sat quietly and stared at the wall, her back to the other person in the room. She just sat and thought about how she had gotten into her current situation. First off she was captured, then she was brought to one of the most powerful people in Soul Society and almost killed by his outburst of reiatsu, then she was offered a job as a Shinigami. What a day. She wasn't about to lower her guard and accept the offer to stay though. She knew that they only wanted her there because they would try to get her to help with the investigation of Rukongai. She shuddered at the thought that at any moment she could be apprehended and they might try to force information out of her. They wouldn't resort to torture would they? To be honest, she knew she was being ridiculous imagining what could happen, as she knew almost nothing about how things worked inside the Seireitei, but what she did know was that she needed to focus on getting out of there.

Fighting her way out was no good. She was obviously too weak by herself, and what was even worse is that she still didn't have any weapons. She had gotten her bag with her wallet and whistle back, but they hadn't given her back her Zanpakuto or dagger. They trusted her just as much as she trusted them. At this rate, perhaps the best course of action was to try to gain the trust of somebody, and they would help her. Not likely, but she would go with that and look for any important information that could be useful until she found a way to free herself from the Seireitei. It was a mistake for her to be there in the first place, and she needed to get out, and without attracting too much attention to herself.

Haruka turned to see the person that was left to supervise her. It was the girl she had first saw when she woke up in the unfamiliar room after being abducted. Haruka knew this was a bad place to start, as she had already made a bad first impression when she threatened the life of her friend, but what other choice did she have? At least she seemed like a good natured person.

"So… Ah, this place is pretty big huh? You guys must be rich or something." Haruka tried to awkwardly start a conversation.

Haruka had been quiet for so long that Rukia didn't quite register that she was talking to her at first. Rukia blinked and looked around realizing it was only the two of them in the room. "Oh. Yes, I guess we are pretty well off. I also thought that the Kuchiki manor was over the top when I first saw it."

"You're a Kuchiki; like of the noble house of Kuchiki?" Haruka exclaimed breaking up the silence that filled the room.

"I never did introduce myself did I? I'm Rukia Kuchiki. I heard from Nii-sama that you would be housing here for the time being. You will be staying in the room over, right next door to me… so you can ask if you need anything, miss…"

"Haruka Takani." She sputtered. "Your brother, the man from earlier, is he Byakuya Kuchiki?!"

"Yes, he was the one who brought you here in the first place. I'm sure he meant well though! You looked terribly injured." Rukia tried to justify what had happened. "On the Kuchiki pride, he would never do anything ill natured."

Haruka dropped her head. She was kidnapped. By Byakuya Kuchiki. So much for staying out of a situation that would attract attention.

"Alright, so I really don't know how long I'm going to be staying here, but I don't have any money…" Haruka looked at the floor, embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it! If you ever need to borrow any-"

"Thanks. But in all honesty, I've been taught not to gather a debt."

"Oh… Well, if what nii-sama told me was true, the head captain said he would have no problem hiring you right away."

Haruka didn't respond for a long while, deep in thought. "… To be true… I can't fight. I don't want to have any sort of combat related career right now. I wish I could just… Go back."

"Oh, um actually if it's a more domestic profession you're looking for," Rukia quickly piped up, trying to divert attention away from depressing topics. "I know a few good places to start. I don't have to go back to my division for a little longer, so if you'd like I can go with you and show you some possible jobs."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to take up all of your time that way. If it's just a normal job, I can just go out by myself and look for one."

"There's just one thing…" Rukia tried to word her sentences carefully, afraid of seeming offensive. "About that. The Head Captain thinks it's a good idea to keep an eye on you. You know, just to make sure nothing happens… I'm not too keen on all the little details, but I believe you need to be accompanied outside the walls of Seireitei. Not that we distrust you or anything! I think it's more of a formality than anything else."

Haruka mentally groaned. "Oh…" What a pain. There went whatever plans she had for that idea.

"There are still things to do inside Seireitei though! For example, the 12th division is home of the Research and Development department, and the 4th specializes in medical aid. They are even shorthanded." Rukia brought her hand up to rest her chin in it in a thoughtful way. "So I also heard that Nii-sama said that the Head Captain was going to place you in the 9th division. That's under Shuhei Hisagi. He's the main editor for the Seireiti Bullitin, and they're always asking for volunteers since he's so busy taking care of the company even since Tousen…" Rukia trailed off.

"The Seireitei Bullitin? The magazine? I think one of my friends used to read it. I guess I can just go over there and see if they need any extra help… At least they might have something I could do to pass the time."