Bleach
© Hibiki Sakura I DO NOT OWN BLEACH! I own the new characters… hehe
Notes: I watched all until the latest episode so I hope I'll get the story right, please support me

Title: Apples and Oranges
Summary: Kurosaki Riiko's life was almost 'perfect' until her birthday; she was rejected by a 6-years-old crush and was forced to train in the 'Soul Society' and by all people, under Byakuya. Would this Apple and Orange mix together?
Category: Mystery/Romance/Fantasy

Firstly I love to thank:

Bashima Isuhaqu, the Beta Reader
shadow-5-girl
Long Winded
aezirka


Episode 04: The Busy Society

The black cat and the red-headed girl walked through the Flea Market surrounded by Soul Society citizens. It was similar to the 'outside' world but their outfits were different. She felt that she was in the old era. Her head kept on swiveling from side to side; she was the center of attention especially with her clothes. The black cat; Yuuroichi had sweat drops on his head and stopped in the middle of the crowd.

"Don't get lost. This area is very huge and-?" She turned around and found that Riiko was out of sight. Her eyes transformed into irritated slits and more sweat drops appeared, "That dolt…"

"Why if it isn't Yuurochi…" She looked up at the silver haired, green-blue eyed man who was around his mid-twenties, "What brings you to Soul Society?" A blade was sheathed behind his back, which was secured tightly. There was a smirk on his face and the cat didn't reply. Riiko wasn't as disciplined as her parents; that was certain.

The red-headed girl wandered around the Flea Market and was getting excited. She wasn't aware that she had lost the black cat in the crowd. She had never gained good marks in History tests since she didn't really understand anything that came out of the teacher's mouth, especially about how the surroundings looked like in the past. That bit of information flew right out the window. Suddenly she stilled. She had just realized one thing that bugged her. "Who am I trained under? No one, not eve Kisuke, mention about it…" She began to worry, "Yuuroichi-san?" She looked to her left and right. Her head began to hang low, "Uh…uh…" Sweat drops began to emerge from her head.

She looked up as soon as her whining attracted more attention than before or so she thought until a small yet expensive-looking carriage passed by and her eyes grew wide in surprise. "It's Kuchiki-sama!" Everyone was energized because of this one man. "Kuchiki?" The name repeated in her mind and her eyes caught the dark-purple eyed man in the carriage, sitting in an elegant and composed manner. His eyes were sharp, staring directly at her, coldly, but he slid his gaze away as the carriage passed by her while hers were still on him. She felt deep inside something blooming inside her. She adored those sharp, determined eyes. She jumped and looked left to right. She should be with Yuuroichi! She ran off.

Riiko squatted at the edge of a river that was near the Flea Market and pouted childishly. She was lost in an unknown place and she was alone. How can her parents expect the best from her this way? Her eyes narrowed reflectively and she looked at the children on the other side of the river; they looked like they were having fun. She suddenly felt that she missed Ruu; her baby brother. "Yuurochi-san… where are you?"

She realized the wind lifted in a comfortable breeze and it seemed to calm her in a way. She closed her eyes and that was when she heard footsteps behind her. She opened her eyes and slowly turned to see who it was. There was a tall, lean built gentlemen standing behind her with no expressions evident on his face at all. The eyes were sharp and narrowed. There were two huge white clips on the right temple of his head. She realized that he was the man on the carriage. Those sharp, determined eyes pierced through hers and she gasped in response. His eyes burned into hers like fire but there was sadness in them too. Her eyes began to tremble.

"Did you come from the other world?" He asked and she blinked, awoken up from the awe of his deep stare. His face and eyes locked onto her. She felt like as if she was being burnt under his stare. Unlike the stares she got from Akira, this was filled with unbearable mental heat. She nodded in response, afraid to speak. The breeze lifted and in a short distance away a few wind chimes tinkled in many different melodies. "Follow me," He ordered unexpectedly and turned around without waiting for her to get up. Without hesitation or asking any questions, she obeyed the stranger. She sensed that this guy can be trusted, like Kisuke.

She stopped in her tracks when she arrived in front of a huge building with a huge entrance. Her eyes were as wide as saucers, she had never seen such a scenery before. There were 'Soul Society' people guarding the entrance and when she walked past them, closely following the stranger, they did not move an inch. 'Is this a castle?' She asked to herself and quickened her pace when she was being left behind by the man.

"Kurosaki Riiko!" She jumped and moved her head to the left. "Where were you?" She saw the black cat sitting comfortably on the wooden floor, "You made everyone worry!" Her smile widened then her eyes had little balls of tears in the corners of her eyes. She ran over to the cat in chibi form with heavy tears and stars all over her.

"Yuurochi-san!" Bells were heard and she crashed down as the cat's paw hit on her forehead. Riiko's eyes turned into swirls. The pervious man had sweat drops and a crooked look on his face. Yuuroichi smirked. "You cannot blame me! I couldn't see you in that crowded…" She made an excuse for herself, still crying heavily and those serious eyes were set on her. Her eyes caught his and he immediately looked away. 'What's with this man anyway? Is there something on my face?' She was a bit irritated because of his stare. At first, she didn't mind but until now? It was too much. 'Who is he?' She rubbed her wounded forehead.

The gentleman looked at Riiko from behind as they walked through the corridor. Earlier that day, he was informed by their head, the 1st Division Captain Yamamoto, that he was elected to take care and tutor a young Shinigami but he did not expect it was a girl.

All the captains stood in the assembly room in a row seriously with the old goat at the end. He was holding a staff, balancing his position. His eyes couldn't be seen under the thick eyebrows. He looked directly at the 6th Division captain.

"Kuchiki Byakuya…" All heads turned to the middle and he braced himself. "Kurosaki Riiko will be sent under your care and you will be assigned to be the trainer." He informed and all eyes grew wide. Some of them gasped in surprised and a murmur built up.

"Kurosaki?" They all repeated but Byakuya was silent. Reminding him the name 'Kurosaki' made him recall the past, he owed Kurosaki Ichigo, for his courage and advice; Byakuya made a mistake once. The old goat nodded, for some reason, pleased with the new Shinigami.

"Old man, why don't you select me instead?" The huge man stepped forward with his right eye hidden behind an eye patch. The murmuring stopped and everyone stared at the man with narrowed eyes indicating their disagreement.

"Kenpachi, wouldn't it better to be the opponent than to be a trainer?" Someone said in the line. The others began to laugh and the huge man held the back of his head innocently.

'Kurosaki…' Byakuya stood there silently and still as the other captains were talking and laughing. In his opinion, the son must be similar to the father and may have inherited the mother's polite and respectful nature... unlike the father; Ichigo. He looked forward in confronting another Kurosaki. He actually had a small smile under that cold expression.

Walking down along the corridor made everyone present inside the building stop just to look at her. She was a bit irritated but also a bit proud; she felt like a high ranked person. She heard them whispering and calling her a 'Ryoukai' because of her strange dress. The man that she followed stopped and she did the same. They had reached a wide door that was opened, bigger and wider than any other that she had seen and they both entered the room.

She saw a dozen adults inside, wearing the same garments as the stranger who brought her here before. They looked more than surprised when she stepped into the room, while the old goat at the end of the room had a huge proud smile. Even though he was short and tiny, Riiko could feel a very strong presence coming from him compared to the others. Her eyes were directly on him. She could immediately tell that he was the head of everyone in that room.

The old man stepped forward, "Welcome to Soul Society, Kurosaki Riiko. We were expecting you…" All faces turned to him with another surprised expression and a few moments later, their eyes slid over to the red-headed girl at the other end of the room. Riiko had sweat drops sliding down above her head. They started to mumble to each other.

"I thought Kurosaki Riiko was a guy!" The red-headed Renji pointed out loud and had crossed his arms in front of his chest while the black cat snickered in an irritated way.

"No one said that she was." Veins began emerging out from Renji's head, he was provoked. Everyone shared the same sweat drop. The huge man in the room headed towards Riiko and began to observe her. Riiko, on the other hand, was a bit frightened; she had never seen someone as huge as this man before.

Kenpachi mushroom breathed in a disappointed way, "How can I possibly fight with a lady? Ichigo should've had a son!" He complained with crossed arms and an idea popped out from his tiny brain. He looked nose-to-nose at Riiko with an excited look, "Do you have any brothers?"

Riiko's head moved back with sweat drops all over and a troubled look, "Uh… well… I-I d-do have a baby brother…" She scratched her chin with a fake smile, "Does that count?" She jumped with her hands and one leg up high as soon as he screamed in excitement. Her eyes were round dots, blinking slowly.

The others chuckled while the old man at the end smiled. "Kurosaki Riiko, you might be wondering who you'd be trained under. He's Kuchiki Byakuya!" He said. The way he said the name was so highly placed that Riiko's eyes widened in excitement. She was sure it wasn't the name her father mentioned earlier but she was certain the family name was very familiar.

Riiko's fist balled on her chest with her hopes high, "So who's this Kuchiki Byakuya! The person sounds …interesting!" Her eyes wide open; her feet were firmly on the ground, impatient with wonder. Only God knows what she'll learn from the new tutor named 'Kuchiki Byakuya'. Her mind, on the other hand, was trying to find a cute short name for her new tutor.

"He's there…" Yuuroichi, who was sitting on the floor told her and she tilted her head to the side before turning around to look at her new tutor. She wondered why it wasn't one of the 12 adults in that room. Her heart stopped and everything seemed silent around her. The man stared at her with his narrowed eyes of expressionless annoyance. Riiko could not believe her eyes. The man with the sharp determined eyes sighed. She pointed at the man and her mouth opened in a confused question, "YOU—!"

To be continued

Episode 05: Kuchiki Household

Please Review

A/u: OO Would you expect them fighting in their first meeting? Hehehe well, almost… Riiko actually wanted a better tutor, from the look of her face…
B/Reader: I'm so tired...