She had been awake for several minutes now but she had yet to open her eyes. On top of being surrounded by an unfamiliar smell, her body also felt foreign and the surface she was laying on was firmer than she remembers her own bed feeling...
Memories of the bus ride and the forest were still fresh in her mind.
After realizing she had probably stalled enough she blinked her eyes open and stared up at the ceiling. "Huh." It wasn't her ceiling. It wasn't any type of ceiling she had seen before in her life.
Carefully she sat up, when she looked down at her hands, she couldn't help but stare in awe. "So tiny." She almost cooed. But that would be weird so she opted for whispering instead. Looking around she noticed a sword in a white scabbard next to a small wardrobe.
"Oh?" She threw aside her covers and got off what she thought might be a futon. "Geez. This is strange. Even my feet are tiny." She looked down before she realized something. "Holy shit, I can see my feet!"
The realization started to kick in and she grabbed at her small breasts. "Damn. What happened to my big tatas? This is great!" She lifted up her shirt and poked at her slim belly. "Wow!" She looked up and noticed another new thing.
"Long dark hair huh? New body? What the heck?" She twisted and turned as she tried to get a good look at herself. "Mirror. I need a mirror." She needed to know who she woke up as. The man said she would be reborn into a well-loved and cherished show. She had already died after all. No point in dwelling on that fact.
If she did all it would cause was unnecessary depression and she'd rather not deal with that right now.
She looked around the room before noticing a handheld mirror on the wardrobe next to the sword. "Nice." She carefully padded over to it and picked it up. "How lucky…"
What she saw in the reflection was startling. "What the fuck?!" Not even the fact that she was effortlessly speaking fluent Japanese could have stunned her the way her reflection did. "Rukia?!" She wasn't upset or even angry, in fact, a passerby could have said she looked excited, a face-splitting grin spreading wide as she looked at her reflection. "Wow. Cool. Okay. So. I'm in Bleach? Ah shit. I'm probably gonna get myself killed… wait. How am I Rukia? She's a spirit, isn't she? How do you take over a spirit as a spirit?" The pale skin reflecting back to her was almost as white as the shirt on her back. The midnight black hair was such a sharp contrast it was a little concerning.
The large violet eyes reflected back that same curiosity she felt deep inside. A voice, very similar to the one she could hear when she spoke, echoed quietly in the back of her mind that a servant by the name of Hibiki was approaching her door. She set down the mirror and carefully rearranged her face to one of barely restrained nervousness. If the very vibrant memories in her mind were correct, she had just been adopted into the Kuchiki family. Great, she gets to kill Kaien. And she just broke Renji's heart. Her heart clenched painfully and she couldn't quite tell if it was her own emotions or the body she currently inhabited.
There was a gentle knock on the door and she turned to it after letting out a quiet and hesitant "Come in?"
The door soundlessly slid open and Hibiki sat on his knees with his head bowed. "Lord Kuchiki requests your presence, Lady Rukia."
Her face screwed up in discomfort.
"Just Rukia, please." Her voice was meek and quiet. A far cry from the excitement she felt earlier. Good god, how was she supposed to be Rukia? Their personalities were almost polar opposites… Though, before Ichigo, Rukia might be closer to her, before becoming a Kuchiki might be closer. But… waking up after adopting Rukia would be better, etiquette lessons and all. The room felt like it was spinning and she could faintly hear Hibiki in the background telling her to breathe.
Gulping down mouthfuls of air, she managed to slowly bring her breathing to an acceptable pace.
"Are you well, Lady Rukia?" She turned to look into the wide, terrified green eyes of Hibiki.
"Ah… I'm fine." She smiled nervously. "Just… Nervous… Being a Noble and all… Now…" Hibiki nodded slowly. She noticed that, with his brown hair in his face and the freckles on his cheeks. He was quite young, maybe around 11 or 12, and not quite Japanese-looking. It was strange, for sure. Maybe he was a foreigner who happened to die in Japan?
She shook her head quickly. "Is there a woman… Who can help me dress?" She asked, the question causing the young boy to flush red and nod quickly. He left the room and was quick to return with a girl around the same age, maybe a little older, probably closer to Rukia's own age of around 13 or 14 physically. The girl introduced herself as Meyumi.
Rukia fought back a snort. That was pretty close to Meyuri's name. The girl quickly dressed her in a formal Kimono before Hibiki led her toward her brother's office. Rukia knew she had already told her brother her rank and everything else that she had gotten in 13th… She wonders what it was he wanted.
She followed slowly behind the boy as they walked, flashes of memories of the woods and the creepy bus driver. She shuddered. How could she forget about that? Her gut wrenched tightly. What happened to Luna? She hopes to every deity that she is okay and, at the very least, alive.
It wasn't much longer before they were standing outside her brother's office door. A strange, deep-set excitement welled up inside her. In her past life, she had always wanted an older brother, and now she has one. One that was so emotionally distant they might as well be strangers completely.
Come on Byakuya, she's physically like 13 years old. The least you can do is smile a little bit.
A frown that looked eerily similar to a pout set into her small pale face as she stared at the office door. A somehow familiar presence behind the door.
"Enter." A cool voice emanated from the opposite side of the door, deep within the room.
Rukia gulped and slid open the door to the office. She stood frozen on the spot as her dark violet eyes landed on the pale, perfect form of her brother. She momentarily forgot herself as she gaped openly at him. Damn. She was lucky to have such a sexy big brother. She shook her head quickly and flushed scarlet as she closed her mouth. Whoops. Shouldn't think like that.
"Greetings… Brother." She rubbed her thumb across the back of her hand. How was she supposed to act? Does it really matter in the safety of her own home? She didn't think it should. In public was another story. She held her breath as he slowly lifted his head to meet her eyes.
For a moment, Rukia could have sworn she saw relief flash across his eyes. But just as the look arrived, it left. "You've been a part of the Kuchiki family for a month. I trust your studies on noble etiquette have been sufficient?"
Rukia forced herself to breathe calmly as the question caused her heart to stutter with anxiety. "It has." She responded cooly, schooling her expression to be blank. Really all she wanted to do was squeal and hug Byakuya tightly and never let him go. But, this was a crucial moment. That and a voice was screeching at her to not do what she was thinking of doing. She could barely contain her wince as the voice continued to badger and yell at her to hold back.
Byakuya set down the brush he held in his hand and stood in one fluid motion. "Walk with me. You need to familiarize yourself with your surroundings."
Rukia felt her heart jump in her throat as she carefully stepped back and out of the way of the man. "So soon? Are you sure? You want me out in public?" Her voice squeaked, while that was far from proper noble etiquette, it was understandable simply because she was still new to it all. "I don't know Brother, I don't think I'm ready for that just yet." She was talking way more than she had since first being adopted. Which was probably confusing to most since she would barely speak in full sentences altogether.
"You are a Kuchiki," Was all that Byakuya offered before he wrapped his scarf around his neck and walked past Rukia, not even passing her a glance.
Rukia let out a little huff. She wanted so badly to snap at him and tell him to treat her like his sister if she was so much of a Kuchiki. But she knew that was too much to ask and instead resigned herself to following behind him. She could feel the depression closing in on her now. She shook her head quickly. Nah, she'll let it go for now. She should focus on saving her Assistant Captain Kaien before doing anything else!
She was too lost in thought to realize that Byakuya's presence was getting closer until something was placed on her head. Rukia looked up to find Byakuya's arm within her line of sight, and fingers buried in her hair.
"Never bow your head to those under you, Rukia." Just as Byakuya's words crossed his lips, Rukia saw a servant passing them, bowing deeply in their presence as he rushed by.
Rukia turned her gaze up to her brother's dark eyes and offered him a bright smile. "Okay Brother." She wouldn't point out that he didn't need to pat her head to tell her this. She'll enjoy the attention while she can get it. "I'll keep that in mind from now on." She didn't even notice that she was watching the floor as she walked, a force of habit from her previous life and likely Rukia's from living in the Rukongai.
A small, very faint blush colored the head of the Kuchiki's ears as he nodded, his blank expression never changing as he turned away from the tiny girl at his side, and began their walk once again.
Rukia let out a quiet giggle as she began to follow him, her gaze kept straight forward as they walked.
The dark-haired duo kept a calm pace as they made it outside. The lush, dark green grass is a stark difference from the sand and hard-packed dirt of the district Rukia grew up in. She couldn't stop herself as she spun around this way and that to take in all the sights. She really loved nature. The bushes with Tsubaki flowers were planted in planned and yet scattered spots as well as tall oak trees. She didn't even notice these outside her window at all.
Byakuya watched the girl as she practically ran from bush to bush, smelling flowers and gently touching their petals. He almost smiled. Almost.
"Rukia." He called, getting the girl's attention.
She couldn't help but flush red as she looked over at her brother, she patted over softly, barely ruffling her kimono as they continued to walk. She thanked every deity around that Rukia had natural grace or she would have tripped several times over otherwise.
The duo kept walking until they came to more public space. Rukia couldn't help but slow further as she got caught up in looking around, wide violet eyes glinting with childlike wonder as she barely kept pace with her brother.
Suddenly, a spiritual pressure like a snake coiling around her body, aiming to strike, appeared. Rukia lifted her gaze to her brother and saw him talking with a tall, thin man with impossibly narrow eyes and the smile of a serpent.
Rukia's eyes widened as she stared at Gin. He had the captain's haori, but Izuru wasn't anywhere to be seen. He and Renji must still be at the academy.
Gin acknowledged her with a wider grin, but exchanged no words beyond slamming her with spiritual pressure that could have made Rukia fall to her knees if she wasn't expecting it to happen. Byakuya looked over his shoulder at Rukia, and with a frown, walked past Gin.
Rukia followed after him, bowing her head as she passed the captain.
'So… this is my new life?' Rukia thought to herself as she stared at Byakuya's back. Walks with her new brother, training to become a Soul Reaper, and lots of etiquette classes. It could be worse, much worse. There were worse bodies to end up in. Rukia was cute, tiny, and had a beautiful Zanpakuto. She could use her knowledge… to change things!
First things first: Make Byakuya get that gold-encrusted stick out of his butt.
Second thing is: Figure out what can be changed. She had about 40 years, plenty of time!
The third thing: Find out if Luna came to this world too… and as who.
So Tanner (Rukia) is me and Luna is my co-author SlytherinLife! Check out their work on AO3! They've got an amazing series going for Harry Potter that I definitely recommend!
