Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Chapter 9: Rukongai

Miya made her way through the empty Seireitei streets towards the south Seireitei gate. It was early Saturday morning and few shinigami were out in the streets. A strong breeze tore by and Miya pulled on her black kimono top so that it would cover more of her chest. She was extremely excited about being able to go back home, even if it was just for the day. She hadn't imagined that she would have been able to so soon or at all for that matter.

She tightened her hand on the sheet of paper Captain Ukitake had given her the day before. Why had he done that? Why had he gone out of his way to be nice to her? He said that he knew that she was having a hard time adjusting to life in the Seireitei. How did he know that? Was he really able to read her that easily? Was he really that perceptive? No, that was impossible. No one had ever been able to read her and she liked it that way.

If it was one thing that she had learned from her mother, it was that wearing your heart on your sleeve made you vulnerable. Letting everyone know how you felt only made you a moving target, it made you easy to attack. People, no matter how pure their intentions were at first, would in the end, turn on you and exploit you. She had seen it happen to her mother so many times. Miya refused to ever put herself in a position where she could get hurt.

After Captain Ukitake had given her she sheet of paper, she had hugged him. She had hugged him without even thinking. It was only after he had turned to leave that she had realized what she had done and a deep blush had crossed her cheeks. How had he inspired such an emotion in her?

Miya sighed and continued to walk towards the south Seireitei gate.

When she finally arrived at the gate, Miya handed the piece of paper in her hands to one of the two guards guarding it. He read the paper over before handing it back to her. The first guard nodded at the other guard and he slowly began to open the large gate. She thanked him, tucked the piece of paper into her kimono pocket, and began making her way through the open gate.

Miya was several feet past the gate when she suddenly felt someone tug hard on her right arm. A low "umpth" escaped her throat as she was violently spun around.

"Where are you going?" Captain Kuchiki stood in front of her with a stone face. Although his face remained expressionless, Miya could see the tension in his jaw and the anger burning behind his steel grey eyes.

"Ow! Let go of me!" she exclaimed as he tugged her back through the open gate and towards the Seireitei. He didn't let go despite her efforts to pry his hand from her right wrist. "Let go! You're hurting me!" He stopped and spun around to face her. Miya saw the tension in his jaw relax a couple of notches and the fire behind his eyes dulled a bit. He didn't let go.

"Just where do you think you're going?" he demanded, his voice hard.

"I'm going home!" she exclaimed as she tried walking back through the open gate.

"This is your home now," he stated as he tightened his grip once more and tugged her back. "Unranked shinigami are not allowed to leave the Seireitei unless they have been granted explicit permission from their commanding officers."

"Well, lucky for me I'm not a shinigami." She tried tugging her arm loose again. It was no use. Captain Kuchiki's grip on her wrist was like an iron vise.

"You're a servant to the Soul Society. That means the rules apply to you as well." His jaw tensed again. "Do you even know what the punishment is for leaving the Seireitei without permission?" Miya didn't answer, she merely balled the hand he was tugging on into a hard fist. "Death. Death is the punishment. I would be one of the first sent out to find you so that you could be brought back and executed. I won't let you risk it."

"Well, good thing for me, I have permission!" she growled through her teeth. Shock flickered across his face before it became hard again.

"And who gave you permission?" he demanded.

"Captain Ukitake," she retorted.

"Ukitake? That's impossible. You aren't even officially a member of his squad. For you to leave, you would have to be granted permission from the head captain himself."

"She does have permission to leave Captain Kuchiki." Thrown off by the unexpected voice, Miya and Byakuya spun around to the direction that the voice had come from. The shinigami who had taken the sheet of paper from her stood next to the gate. "Captain Ukitake did petition and sign the pass to allow her to leave the Seireitei today, but it was the Head Captain himself who approves the petition. We received word from the First Division yesterday afternoon that she would be coming by this morning and to let her pass through the gates when she did." Byakuya glared at the guard who had spoken. The guard shrunk back as if his eyes had burned a hole into him. The second guard spoke up to back up the first.

"It's true Captain Kuchiki. She's been granted permission from the Head Captain to leave for the day." Byakuya glared down at the ground in front of him and after a brief internal battle, he finally released her arm. She instantly brought her abused wrist to her chest and began rubbing it. He met her dark brown eyes with his steel grey ones.

"Very well then." With that, Byakuya turned around and disappeared back into the Seireitei. Miya stared out in the direction that Byakuya left in for a while as she continued to rub her wrist.

"I'm sorry Miss Miya," said the first guard after a moment.

"It's okay," she replied. Miya turned and once again began walking out into Regonki.

The walk to the 80th District was a long one and as she walked Miya couldn't help but think about what had just happened. What was Captain Kuchiki's problem? Disrespect my family—die. Break the rules—die. The guy was like a walking rule book. And when he said that he wouldn't let her risk being sentenced to death, what did that mean? He had gone from the person who had wanted to kill her for disrespecting his family to the person trying to prevent her from being killed for breaking the Seireitei's rules. What was that about? Maybe he just wanted to see her serve out her full 150 year sentence in the Seireitei instead of getting the easy way out by being executed. Or, maybe he hadn't wanted her to be sentenced to death by the Gotei 13 because he wanted to kill her himself for embarrassing him in front of all of the squad captains. That was probably it. It was people like him that made her think that all shinigami were the same—arrogant, blood thirsty, and self centered.

As Miya continued to walk deeper and deeper into Regonki, the streets became dirtier and narrower until by the time she reached the 70th District, they decayed into full blown slums. Finally she reached the 80th District, the outermost district of Regonki. She passed by groups of beggars and homeless people who lay sprawled out on the street. If she hadn't grown up there, she might have been frightened. She made her way down the familiar filthy miserable streets and towards her home.

"Miss Miya!" exclaimed a voice. Miya turned around and saw her neighbor Ms. Adachi standing on her poach while balancing one of her children on her hip.

"Ms. Adachi!" exclaimed Miya as she made her way over to the small poach. She gave her friend a hug. "It's so nice to see you!"

"It's nice to see you to Miya!" Miya could see the woman's eyes tear up as she bounced her young son on her hip. "I thought I might never see you again. Kazuma told me what happened. Did they release you?"

"Regretfully, no," she replied as she hung her head. "I'm only here to say hello to everyone and get my things."

"Oh. I see." The woman reached up and pulled a piece of hair that her son had been tugging on out of his sweaty little hand. "Well, when will you be back again?"

"To be honest, I don't quite know. I don't think I'll be able to visit again anytime soon." Her friend frowned.

"We'll sure miss having you around. I know my little girls will feel bad that they missed seeing you." Miya sighed. She had lived near the Adachi's for a very long time. She would most definitely miss them. "Well, I won't keep you. It was good to see you Miya. And please, do come and stop by the next time you're in Regonki. Don't forget about us just because you're living in the Seireitei now."

"I could never forget about you guys. Everyone here is like my family." Mrs. Adachi smiled.

"Take care Miya."

"You too Mrs. Adachi." Miya gave her friend another hug before she turned and continued to make her way down the narrow street until she reached the end.

At the end of the street, Miya found herself standing front small run down house. She stood in front of it for a moment and took in the cracked door that hung on broken hinges in the doorway, the tattered patched curtains that hung in the small broken glass window, and the poach that was missing several floorboards. She took a deep breath and sighed.

I'm home.

The front door opened with a loud creek. Miya stepped inside the rundown house to find herself standing in the small living room that also functioned as a kitchen and bedroom. Miya heard footsteps approaching from the back room and in a matter of seconds, a small head popped timidly into the doorway.

"Miya!" exclaimed a small boy as he emerged from behind the doorframe. He ran up to her and gave her a tight hug. At seven, Yori was the youngest member of Miya's makeshift family. He had been living with them ever since Miya had found him starving and half dead in an alleyway four years ago. In the time that he had been living there, he and Miya had grown very close.

"Yori!" Miya bent down and gave the small boy a hug.

"Yori, did we hear you say that Miya—" Miya looked up to see the twins Kane and Ryuu appear in the doorway that Yori had just emerged from. The twins had joined Miya's family over a century ago. She let go of Yori and gave them each a hug.

"We've missed you!" said Kane as he pushed his red hair out of his green eyes.

"Terribly," continued Ryuu. "Are you here to stay? Did they let you out?"

"No, unfortunately. I'm just here for the day." Yori's face fell.

"You're leaving again?" he asked in a small voice.

"I'm afraid so."

"What's wrong Miya? Don't you like us anymore?"

"Of course not, Yori. You know I love all of you. It's just something I have to do."

"Miya did it to save all of us." Miya spun around to see a tall blond boy with piercing blue eyes leaning against the opened front door. A large smile broke across her face.

"Hello Kazuma."

Miya shifted the weight of the bag she slung over her right shoulder to her left one. The sun hung low in the sky, preparing to set behind the Seireitei walls up ahead.

"You know, Kazuma, you really didn't have to walk me back to the Seireitei," said Miya as she turned to look at her friend. Kazuma ran a hand through his short blond hair making it stand on ends. He turned and looked at her an intense look in his blue eyes.

"I know I didn't have to. I wanted to." Miya quickly focused her attention back on the road in front of them. "Besides, who knows when I'll get to see you again." They continued to walk in silence. "You shouldn't have done it," said Kazuma abruptly in an frustrated voice. Miya turned to face him once again, thrown off by his sudden change in tone.

"Done what?" she asked, her eyebrows lifting in confusion.

"Volunteer to take all of our prison sentences so that the rest of us could leave."

"Oh," she replied. She saw this eyebrows furrow in anger. "I did what I had to."

"No you didn't! You didn't have to. We could have all served our sentences and then come back to Rukongai together."

"Come on, Kazuma. That wouldn't have made things better. It was better for one of us to stay in the Seireitei than all of us." Kazuma's face hardened and he turned away from her to stare down the street. "What do you think would have happened to the families that were left behind if we would have all been stuck there? What would have happened to Yori if me, you, and the twins would have been sealed away for twenty years? The kid can barely walk without falling, much less take care of himself. What about Mrs. Adachi?—what would she and her four children have done if her husband would have had to stay in the Seireitei as well?" Kazuma thought about what she had said for a moment and his face softened slightly. "Come on Kazuma, this was the best way to solve things."

"But, why did it have to be you that stayed behind? I would have done it."

"Sure you would have," said Miya under her breath.

"I would have," Miya turned to look at Kazuma again. She knew that he was being sincere. If there was one thing that she had learned about Kazuma in the many years that she had known him, it was that he would never say anything if he didn't truly mean it. "You shouldn't have taken it all upon yourself. God Miya, when will you ever learn to let people in? When will you ever let anyone help you? You can't fix the world all on your own."

"You make it sound as if living in the Seireitei is such a terrible, horrible thing," replied Miya, choosing to ignore his questions.

"Are you telling me you actually like living there?" asked Kazuma, his right eyebrow raising in a skeptical look.

"No, but, I mean—it's not too bad. Things could be worse. Some of the people there are actually, pretty nice." Captain Ukitake's face flashed across her mind.

"Woah—" said Kazuma as he made a halting motion with his right hand. "Please don't tell me you're actually starting to like shinigami now."

"No, of course not." Kazuma examined her face for a moment.

"Good." He replied. "I really don't like the fact that you're there alone with those evil power happy hypocrites."

"I can take care of myself Kazuma," she replied. Kazuma didn't argue with her statement. He knew how strong she was and he knew that she would never admit that she needed help.

"Well," he whispered aster a few moments of silence, "I guess you being in there won't be all bad. Since you're in there, you might as well do a little recon work. Discover the crack in the Gotei 13's foundation. Find out how to take those bastards down from the inside." Miya rolled her eyes.

"Kazuma, I am far too old to discuss overthrowing the Soul Society hierarchy with you."

"What happened to the girl I used to know who couldn't wait to find a way to overthrow the Seireitei and give the Soul Society back to the people?" asked Kazuma, his face disappointed.

"She grew up and realized that violence never solves anything." Kazuma sighed.

"We're here." Miya looked up and realized that they were indeed standing in front of the Seireitei gate. She took the sheet of paper out of her pocket and handed it to one of the guards who proceeded to open the gate. Miya took the bag that Kazuma had been carrying for her out of his hand and proceeded to give him a hug. He held on to her a moment longer than necessary. "Go on, get out of here." He said as he nodded towards the opening in the Seireitei wall. "I'll see you soon."

"Not soon enough," she replied as she turned to walk through the gate.

"Sooner than you think," she heard him mutter from behind her.

"What?" she asked, as she turned around to face him once more.

"You'll see." With that, Kazuma turned and headed back into Rukongai. He waved at her over his right shoulder with the back of his right hand.

Jushiro sat looking at the clock on the teahouse wall. It was six thirty in the evening and the sun would be setting soon.

"Calm down Jushiro," said Shunsui, his voiced muffled from under the straw hat that covered his face. He currently lay sprawled out on the teahouse floor with his arms crossed behind his head.

"What do you mean calm down?" he asked. Shunsui groaned and pushed himself up onto his elbows. The movement caused his hat to fall off his face and roll onto the floor.

"Seriously, you're about to pop the seam on that haori if you don't stop tugging on the sleeve." Jushiro looked at his left shoulder and sure enough, the seam in the white fabric was already starting to come loose. Had he really been tugging on it that hard? "Ever since we were kids, you would always tug on your shirt sleeve whenever you got nervous. So please, calm down." Jushiro's cheeks warmed slightly.

"Do you really think that it was a good idea to let her go into Rukongai for the day? Yamamoto sure didn't think so."

"She'll be fine. By the way, what did you have to do to get Old Man Yama to agree to let her leave the Seireitei for the day?"

"I volunteered to take over his night time academy training shifts for the next two months."

"Ugg." Shunsui slowly sat up and poured himself another glass of tea.

"Shunsui," asked Jushiro after a moment of silence.

"Yeah?" replied Shunsui.

"What if she decides to make a run for it and not come back?" asked Jushiro his voice grave.

"Don't worry Jushiro, you'll see her again." Jushiro felt himself blush again and lifted his tea cup up to his lips in an attempt to hide his face. Shunsui laughed.

At that moment, the teahouse door swung open. The door banged loudly as it hit the wall next to it, the sudden sound causing Jushiro to nearly choke on his tea. The next second, Byakuya Kuchiki stormed into the room and over to the table where Jushiro and Shunsui sat. Jushiro and Shunsui sat blinking at Byakuya, shocked by his sudden appearance. They waited for the Kuchiki to speak but Byakuya didn't, he merely stood at the end of their table breathing loudly through his nose and emanating a black cloud into the air around him.

"Uh, can we help you?" asked Jushiro in order to ease the tension in the air. Byakuya narrowed his eyes at him and Jushiro involuntarily flinched back.

"What kind of idiotic notion caused you to believe that sending Miss Tanaka into Rukongai for the day would be a good idea?" demanded Byakuya through clenched teeth. Of all things for Byakuya to have said, Jushiro sure hadn't been expecting that. It took him a moment to process the question before he could answer.

"I thought it would be good for her to get out of the Seireitei for a while. She left Rukongai so abruptly, she needed to go back and visit her friends and family."

"That's one of the most absurd ideas I have ever heard," replied Byakuya, his voice hard. "What if she decides to make a run for it while she's out? She'll be hunted down by the Gotei 13 and executed for escaping? Why—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Shunsui, lifting his hand up to stop Byakuya from speaking any further. "Little Byakuya, you need to settle down. Miss Miya is smart enough to know that if she were to take off, the Head Captain would send shinigami to track her down and bring her back. Furthermore, she knows that all her friends who were caught that night would also be tracked down, dragged back into the Seireitei, and thrown in prison for an indefinite amount of time. Even if she would risk her life, she sure wouldn't risk the lives of the others. Besides, she doesn't strike me as the type of person to go back on her word once it's been made." Byakuya glared at Shunsui before turning back to glare back at Jushiro.

"If Miss Tanaka does make a run for it while she's out and I have the unfortunate responsibility of having to drag her back here to be executed, I will personally hold you responsible Ukitake. I—"

At that moment, as if saying her name had conjured her out of thin air, Miya appeared in the open teahouse door. Spotting Jushiro across the room, Miya slowly made her way to his table the corner of the room. She glared at Byakuya before turning to face Jushiro.

"Good evening Captain Ukitake, Captain Kyoraku…Captain Kuchiki," she bowed at each captain as she said their name.

"Good evening Miss Miya. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" asked Shunsui with a smile.

"I just got back from Rukongai. Kiyone told me I could find you here Captain Ukitake. I just wanted to thank you again for letting me go back home for the day." Jushiro saw the corners of her mouth turn up into a small smile.

"Um, y-your very welcome," he stuttered as he tried to fight a blush from creeping into his face. Byakuya angrily turned on his heel and stormed back out the open teahouse door.

"What's wrong with Captain Kuchiki?" asked Miya as she back around to face Jushiro and Shunsui.

"I have no idea," replied Jushiro.

"Would you care to join us for tea Miss Miya?" asked Shunsui as he motioned to the teapot on the table in front of him.

"Sorry, I can't. I promised Matsumoto that I would go have tea with her and Rukia later today. I should really be going."

"Of course," replied Shunsui. Miya bowed her head at both captains.

"Thanks again Captain Ukitake," she said. She turned and began making her way to the door.

"D-don't mention it," replied Jushiro. A moment later, she was gone. Jushiro stared after her until he heard Shunsui clear his throat loudly next to him to remind him that he was still there. Jushiro turned to see his friend smiling lazily at him. "What?"

"Jushiro, did you just stutter?"

"What? I—no, of course not."

"I think you did," replied Shunsui. Jushiro took another sip of his tea, attempting to hid his blushing face with his teacup again.

Shunsui laughed. "Humm, interesting."

A/N: Thanks guys for the reviews! Just to remind you—Kazuma was with Miya the night that she was in the woods. He was the guy dressed in black that tried to stab Jushiro after knocking him out of the wagon. There was a lot about him in this chapter because he's going to be important later on. I promise there will be a lot more of Jushiro and Miya in the next chapter. I'm really excited about the next few chapters. I'm been having so much fun writing them! Until next time!

Review Please :)