Anonymous asked:

What if the Hisana-Rukia family were also some level of nobility - either by being born into their own noble family or by being the current 'most important Kuchiki' in place of Byakuya? Either way the Byakuya-Hisana marriage would likely face less opposition, but the Renji-Rukia relationship would suffer from them not being together in Inuzuri. (Unless his backstory is modified too to enable his meeting/interaction with Rukia.)

There were so many places I could have gone with this, but promised to do a nice one next, so please enjoy this universe where Kuchiki Sisters be the flyest noble girls in the Seireitei and Byakuya is just weirdly intense rando from Inuzuri who is fortunate enough to be best bros with a charming jock who keeps him pointed in the right direction (most of the time).

[Note: I got quite a few variations on Byakuya - Rukia - Hisana swaps, and hopefully this will reasonably satisfy people]

"You're late," Inuzuri Byakuya noted, not bothering to look up from his kidou textbook as his erstwhile best friend flopped down heavily in the grass next to him.

"I am exhausted, a tender pile of bruises, and this is the greeting I get?" Abarai Renji replied, throwing one arm over his eyes dramatically.

"A tender pile of excuses, more like," Byakuya muttered.

"It's hard work being on the advanced track!" Renji defended himself. "Cut me some slack!"

"Your last class ended forty-five minutes ago. You were sparring with that girl again, weren't you? You can let her beat you up, if you must, but don't complain to me about your aches and pains."

"Her name is Rukia and I don't let her do anything," Renji sighed dreamily. "She's just really strong. Anyway, I'm less late than usual! Ordinarily, Rukia takes at least an hour to work me over, but her sister is visiting this afternoon, so she gave me the express beat-down. I thought that was very considerate, to squeeze me into her busy schedule."

Byakuya gave a noncommittal grunt. "Which kidou did your class cover today?"

Renji was not so easily budged from his current favorite subject. "I wish you'd give her a chance. She's a lot like you, you know. Real serious exterior. Goes hard as Hell on literally everything. Thinks about everything too much. Cares about everything too much."

"She's a noble, Renji, from one of the most important families in Soul Society. I'm sure she's very polite, but she wouldn't understand the kind of life we've led. You're better off not to get too close to her."

"Rukia's not like other nobles. Her mom died when she was born, and they ended up fostering her out to the Shiba, you know, the crazy nobles who live out in Momo's district? I guess they were hoping her dad would remarry and have a son, but he ended up dying instead, and her sister got made clan head. The sister is a pretty wild bird, apparently. She was friends with that cool Shihouin clan head that got exiled?"

"Maybe if your head wasn't so full of Seireitei gossip, you'd actually be able to cast a shakkahou."

"Doubtful. You'll love this next part. Their grandfather tried to make Lady Hisana take a husband, I guess, but she refused to marry anyone who couldn't beat her in a sword fight?"

"If I were an old, horrible grandfather, I would simply not agree to such terms. It always ends the same way."

"It did, too, that's how she ended up becoming clan head herself. Anyway, Rukia really looks up to her sister and is determined to live up to her example."

"I know how much you love immensely troublesome people, Renji, but I am telling you that this one is going to get you a lot worse than a few black eyes if you don't take care, a thing you have historically shown no aptitude for whatsoever."

"Pbbt." Renji hauled himself up into a sitting position. "I get your point, Byakuya, but I think you're being really short-sighted. A lot of nobles are jerks, sure, but that doesn't mean they all are. And like it or not, connections will get you everywhere in the Seireitei. I know how much you like to stab yourself in the foot with your own principles, but if making friends with a Kuchiki gets me a spot in the court guards, I won't lose any sleep over it."

"If 'making friends' was all you had on your mind, I wouldn't be nearly so worried," Byakuya turned a page in his book. "But as it happens, one of the reasons I have to train so hard is so that I can help defend your sorry butt when her family comes after you for besmirching her honor."

Renji made a wistful hum. "If I could get within a spirit mile of besmirching distance, I'd die a happy man."

Byakuya shook his head. "You're an idiot. She has her pick of companions at this place. Why in Hell would she spend time bashing her sword against your oversized, hunky carcass if she weren't just as besotted with you as you are with her?"

"That's kind of a good question, now that you mention it," Renji scratched the back of his head. "You think? You really think that's possible?"

"I cannot believe they put you in the advanced track and not me."

Renji wagged a finger thoughtfully. "Like I don't ask myself that every day. I happened to mention that to Rukia, actually-"

"Why are you talking about me to your friends? Do not talk about me to your friends."

"My friends love Byakuya stories. They think you are enigmatic and mysterious, no matter how much I tell them you are just boring and grumpy. In any case, Rukia says that first of all, there's a quota of the number of kids from Rukongai that are even allowed in the advanced class, and it's not very high. As far as I can tell, there might be four of us, total? More importantly, Seireitei people only like shinigami from the Rukon that fit into neat little stories. Momo's okay because she's from District 1 and she's smart and cute and follows the rules. I'm okay, because I'm big and strong, but also dumb and don't have any of those, whaddya call 'em. Social graces."

"You're not dumb, don't say that."

"You call me dumb all the time."

"That's different. We have a long and rich history together. I saw you get in a shouting match with a tanuki once. The arrogant jerks in this city haven't earned the right to call you dumb, and it's not a thing you should hand over lightly."

Renji sighed. "See, this is exactly what Rukia was talking about. You're brilliant and you're talented and you call out 100% of the bull you hear. The jerks don't like it when guys like you come out of the trash end of Rukongai. It scares 'em."

Byakuya made a little humming noise as he pretended to study the chant breakdown chart for soukatsui. "Lady Rukia doesn't like me, then?"

"Rukia thinks you're great, because all she knows about you is the shit I've told her. She doesn't like being called Lady Rukia at school, by the way. I wish you would meet her. She's not like what you think. She's nice and she cares about people. She says she wants to make Soul Society better for everyone, especially people from the Rukon."

"That's a nice sentiment, Renji, but it's all just talk. It physically pains me to say these words out loud, but you do have an objectively…" he grimaced, "very…attractive…body…situation, or so I am told, frequently, against my will. Miss Kuchiki just wants you to like her. And as endearing as your puppy-like naivety may be, you can't just turn into a pile of damp cardboard every time someone with a pretty face bats their eyes at you."

"I think you're real cute, too, buddy. But you are wrong about Rukia. She's a really good person. I am very discerning about who I turn into damp cardboard f- Oh! Crud! Stand up! Stand up!"

Both young men shot to their feet, snapping into the ramrod posture that seven months at Shinoureijutsuin had burned directly into their nervous systems. "What, what, what's happening?" Byakuya sputtered out of the side of his mouth. There were two people coming toward them. Women. One in Academy reds, the other in black and white. He wasn't very good at these sudden context shifts, a fact which only contributed to his reputation as an ill-mannered malcontent.

"Noble," Renji spat back. He seemed to grasp the subtleties of a social situation so intuitively that it made Byakuya's head spin sometimes. "Super noble. Highest level of formality. Speak only when spoken to. Maybe don't speak at all. Crap."

"I won't screw this up," Byakuya hissed desperately. "I promise!"

"I'm not worried about you!"

"Renji! Renji, there you are!"

The slightly smaller of the two approaching figures was waving at them cheerfully.

Extremely tentatively, Renji waved back.

Byakuya might take issue with Renji's judgment from time to time, but there wasn't anything wrong with his taste. Kuchiki Rukia was a very attractive young woman, with her heart-shaped face and big violet eyes and cute little pointy nose. But as Byakuya's eyes drifted over to her companion, he felt like his heart had been knocked clear out of his body.

Rukia's sister- because it had to be Rukia's sister, who else could it be?- was really only a series of slight variations on her sibling, and yet, the result was something exquisite, something inhuman. Her eyes were just a shade bluer and darker and far more serious. Her hair was a trifle longer, finer, with a tendency toward curling. She was ever so slightly taller and slimmer, her frame fey, where Rukia's was gamine. She held her reiatsu close, as their teachers did, but Byakuya could feel it humming out from her, rattling the air right out of his lungs.

"Sister," Rukia said warmly, "This is my friend that I've been telling you about, Abarai Renji, and his close friend, Inuzuri Byakuya, whom I don't know very well, but I've heard many good things about. Abarai-san, Inuzuri-san, may I introduce my illustrious sister, Kuchiki Hisana, 28th Head of the Kuchiki Clan and the Captain of the Sixth Division."

Byakuya was dimly aware of Renji beside him, dipping into a deep bow and saying something that wasn't registering as words to his ears. He probably should also be bowing, but he simply couldn't, all he could do was stand there like an idiot and gape at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, even as she narrowed her eyes and looked him over as one might scrutinize a bug that has just scuttered out from under the bed.

Ah, he thought to himself. So this is what turning a pile of damp cardboard feels like.