Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach
This story is in response to the challenge from 'Naruto Bael'.
Please Note: All REVIEWS will be answered on my facebook page after a 24-hour period.
Betad by: HaretaSora
Moonless Night – Chapter 2
"Your form is too rigid Naruto and your swings are too hard. Try to relax or you might end up straining your body." Byakuya instructed from where he stood beside Naruto with a Bokutō in his hand as the two brothers trained in Zanjutsu, "Keep in mind Naruto, there is no strength in sword-play based off of force. When you swing, each stroke must be delicate and precise." Byakuya lectured, reciting one of the many lessons he had learned from Isshin.
Naruto nodded before taking a deep breath as the grip on his own Bokutō relaxed but remained firm nonetheless.
"We will go for a hundred swings and practice what I just said." Byakuya instructed once more as he took a stance followed by Naruto. "Ready? 1, 2…"
In that late morning air, standing within the gardens of the Kuchiki Clan Manor, the two brothers continued on with their daily training undisturbed, and it was only when they were nearly done that a voice called out behind them.
"Well, you two sure are working hard."
The two brothers turned – wiping the sweat from their foreheads – and their faces lit-up when they saw their grandfather standing behind them with his arms crossed in the sleeves of his shihakushō while giving the two a barely noticeable smile.
"Jii–chan!" / "Grandfather!"
Naruto immediately went over to his grandfather and hugged him around the legs with Byakuya coming to a stop in front of Ginrei who had placed a hand on Naruto's head.
"You haven't been around as of late, grandfather! It's good to see you again!" Byakuya greeted, sounding happy. It has been a while since he last saw his grandfather and he was the 3rd Seat of the 6th Division. But then again it was just one of those times when only the Captains and Lieutenants knew what was going on.
However, from what he knew, not even most of the Lieutenants knew what had been going on – except for his father – this time around.
"Yes, it indeed has been some time since I was last here, has it not?" Ginrei agreed calmly, having not been at the Kuchiki Clan manor for about the past two weeks and while normally, he would much prefer to stay over at the manor, certain circumstances would sometimes leave him with no other option than staying at the Barracks.
"So you'll be staying over here again, Jii-chan!?" Naruto asked as he finally let go of Ginrei and smiled excitedly up at him.
"Un." Ginrei nodded. "That is correct. Which reminds me, I brought a guest over."
"A guest?" Both Naruto and Byakuya asked at the same time curiously, wondering who could be visiting at this hour. Guests of noble families usually only visited during the evenings.
Byakuya got the answer when he suddenly felt two soft mounds at the side of his face and immediately his face contorted into an annoyed one. He didn't need to look to know who this 'guest' was.
"It's you cat-monster!" Byakuya exclaimed, swinging his bokutō at the culprit's head.
Yoruichi Shihōin laughed as she leaped back, dodging the swing expertly as she appeared a couple of meters away from Byakuya.
"A cat-monster? Is that what I get for taking the time to visit?" Came her witty remark as she smiled cheekily at Byakuya.
"I never asked for you to come visit!" Byakuya rebuked fiercely, "In fact, I'd prefer it if you don't visit!" He demanded with vigor but stopped when he noticed that Yoruichi wasn't paying attention to him anymore but rather was staring intently to his left. He instantly got a bad feeling when he took noticed to just where or rather who she was looking at.
Meanwhile, Naruto was staring right back at the lady that had appeared out of nowhere. She had dark skin, short purplish-black hair and golden eyes. He guessed that she was a captain seeing that she was wearing a Captain's haori, though her shihakushō was different from his grandfather and uncle's; it was sleeveless and backless.
He continued to stare at her curiously, wondering who the pretty lady could be. His brother and grandfather knew her so she obviously couldn't be a stranger but Naruto hasn't seen her before today.
Looking at her still, Naruto was reminded of a cat. A feral hellcat that is.
Naruto blinked. A hellcat? For some reason, when he thought of a hellcat, the image of a huge cat with a flaming blue body and two tails appeared in his head. Before he could ponder on the random thought though, Yoruichi had suddenly appeared right in front of him; her face inches away from his own, still staring at him silently.
Naruto, not knowing what to do in this situation, did the only thing that his six year old mind could think of. He tilted his head slightly to the side before, "Hello." Greeting innocently, he blinked once.
Yoruichi's face broke into another grin. "Let me guess, you're Naruto!"
He regarded her with a confused look. "Ah, yeah…"
"Nice to meet you, I'm Yoruichi!" She glomped him in a hug without any warning and buried his face into her chest, before proceeding to hug the life out of him.
She seemed so engrossed in her own excitement that she didn't notice – or perhaps simply choose to ignore – that Naruto was turning blue from a lack of oxygen and trying but failing to get out of her hold.
Seeing the danger that he seemed to be in, Ginrei decided to go to the rescue of his grandson when Byakuya beat him to it.
"Let go of him!" Byakuya demanded as he swung his bokutō at Yoruichi's head again, who once more evaded by disappearing in a Shunpo. "Naruto! Are you alright?" Byakuya inquired his little brother as he went over and knelt down in front of him. Naruto could only nod his head as he took huge gulps of air into his lungs to catch his breath.
"Did you really have to interrupt our bonding time?"
Byakuya's head snapped back towards Yoruichi, who was standing a couple of meters away from them with that same cheeky grin on her face.
"What bonding time? You were about to suffocate him to death, you boob-monster!" Byakuya exclaimed angrily at Yoruichi who only laughed at being called a 'boob-monster' which did nothing but cause Byakuya to get angrier. "Stop these games of yours, they're not fun!"
"Is that so?" Yoruichi said mischievously before disappearing from her spot and reappearing right besides Byakuya who couldn't react in time as Yoruichi took the red headband tying his hair in a ponytail, and by the time Byakuya swung his bokutō at her again, she had already disappeared once more.
"They may be games to you but I'd be worried about the clan's future if a mere girl could take a headband from its heir's head so easily!" Yoruichi commented as she waved the red headband from where she stood atop a wall.
Byakuya's eyebrow twitched violently at that remark. There is no way he was going to let that one slide. "Stay right where you are Yoruichi Shihōin-san," Byakuya began to say as he seemed to slump slightly to the front before looked back up at her with a fierce gaze, "You have yet to see my Shunpo! In fact, I am about to prove to you that my Shunpo is far superior to yours!"
"Why don't we see about that then?" Yoruichi said one last time before disappearing and was immediately followed by Byakuya who wasted no time in chasing after her.
"That Byakuya… There is no telling how far he will go if he can just learn to control his temper." Ginrei shook his head as he witnessed whole exchange between his eldest grandson and fellow Captain and Clan Head.
"Jii-chan…" A now recovered Naruto began as he clutched onto his grandfather's haori. "Who was she?"
Ginrei simply patted Naruto's head slightly before addressing him. "Since your training got interrupted, why don't we go and have some tea? I can introduce you later."
"Un." Naruto nodded his head before following his grandfather as the two made their way through the gardens of the Kuchiki Clan Manor.
It only took the two a short walk to reach the veranda right by the gardens of the manor, and instantly, Naruto's face lit up when he saw his mother sitting there – looking graceful as ever as a maid servant served her some tea. Wasting no time, he rushing forward and climbed onto the veranda. "Kaa-chan!" he called out happily, glomping her into a hug.
"Naru-chan!" Asanoha gave a light laugh as she hugged Naruto back. "Done with your training already?"
Naruto shook his head negatively as he let go of his mother. "We got interrupted and now nii-chan is chasing some lady around." Naruto answered as he took a seat to his mother's left.
Asanoha nodded her head before turning towards Ginrei who had taken a seat on the veranda in front of the two. "Otō-sama, good morning." Asanoha greeted as she bowed her head slightly.
"Un, a very good morning to you too." Ginrei nodded his head as he accepted the tea served to him.
"I take it the matter has been dealt with?" She questioned about the matter that has had the captains busier than usual for about the last two weeks and seeing Ginrei at the manor again and at this hour no less, she could only guess that everything has been dealt with.
She has, of course, been aware of the happening since the beginning.
"For the most part, but I would not say it is dealt with just yet. Although, it will be by the end of the day." Ginrei answered calmly while sipping his tea.
"I see." Asanoha closed her eyes, understanding what he meant as well as knowing what it meant for one of her friends. "In any case, Yoruichi!" She called out, seemingly to no one.
At that very moment, Yoruichi appeared on the veranda out of nowhere as she smiled sheepishly. "It's been a while Lady Asanoha." She greeted, giving a bow.
"Indeed it has." Asanoha nodded her head at Yoruichi. "Now I would appreciate it if you would stop making my son run around the manor as if on some wild goose chase." She said with a stern look on her face and Yoruichi knew that she wasn't asking, she was telling her to stop.
Yoruichi in turn gave a barely noticeable sigh, it seems like her fun time came to an end. No matter how much she may love teasing Byakuya; it was that you just don't defy Lady Asanoha Kuchiki. Besides, Asanoha was the one person she respected above everyone else and would never even think of acting out of line in front of her.
She then proceeded to take a seat to Asanoha's right and her face broke into another grin when she noticed that Naruto was giving her a slightly wary yet curious look as he clutched onto his mother's sleeve.
It was at that moment that Byakuya also appeared on the veranda looking a little out of breath as he glared at Yoruichi. It hadn't taken him long to realize that Yoruichi Shihōin wasn't fast, no, she was ridiculously fast. In fact, the only person he could think of who was definitely faster than her was his mother and so he had lost, lost badly.
Yoruichi couldn't help but grin when Byakuya finally appeared. "What took you so long? I was just about to go looking for you!" She teased as she stopped playing peek-a-boo with Naruto while Asanoha merely shook her head.
Byakuya though, went red in the face at Yoruichi's words. For all his boasting earlier, he hadn't been able to keep up with Yoruichi at all. He then took a deep breath to calm himself; getting angry won't accomplish anything, he'll just have to train harder later on –
"GOOD MORNIN' BYAKUYA!"
It seems that today just wasn't his day as just when he was about to take a seat, he once more felt something connect to the side of his face and his world turn over before he found himself slammed hard into the wooden wall of the manor which shattered upon contact.
"Well hello there punk, it's been a while!" Isshin greeted, grinning like mad. "You have no idea how much I've been itching to beat the ever lovin' snot outta ya but couldn't during the few times I saw you within the 1st Division Barracks for the sake of formalities but here," If possible his grin grew even wider at that point, "Here you're fair game."
Byakuya at this point had gone red in the face to the point that he was actually steaming with his eyes having gone completely white from where he lay into the broken wall and as if things couldn't get any worse, a piece of wood that was barely hanging above him broke and tauntingly hit him on the head.
"It's just one thing after another…" Byakuya gritted out from clenched teeth. "Why don't you give it a break already, you damned shitheads?"
Perhaps it was a stroke of bad-luck, or perhaps misfortune, or maybe even fate but at that very moment, Naruto turned to his mother and asked with all the innocence of the world, "Kaa-chan, what's a damned shithead?"
Every single person – including Ginrei – stilled at those words while Byakuya and Isshin went ghostly white before the others – except for the two – studied Asanoha with caution. Who, for her part though, continued to calmly and ever so elegantly sip her tea before turning her head and smiling beautifully at Naruto, "Whatever could you be talking about Naru-chan? There were no such words."
Naruto blinked. "There weren't?"
"But of course silly, you must have misheard." She said with certainty, still smiling as she patted Naruto on the head gently.
He seemed to ponder on it for a bit before nodding his head in acceptance. After all, his Kaa-chan said so and there was no way that his Kaa-chan was wrong.
"Which reminds me," Asanoha began as she put her now empty tea cup down and turned to the still ghost-white Byakuya and Isshin, "Byaku-chan, Shin-chan." She addressed with sweetness dripping from her words and smile, "There is something of utmost urgency that I need to discuss with you two."
Byakuya and Isshin slowly and shakily turned their heads towards her and if possible, even their hair turned white when they saw her smiling face. The two of them then once more slowly turned their heads towards each other – with Byakuya slowly getting up and standing right in front of Isshin – and came to a mutual agreement:
They had to get the hell outta there!
Before they could even move a muscle though, Asanoha had appeared right beside them and placed a hand on each of their shoulders and gripped hard. "Would you please follow me?" Despite her smile and kind voice, it was not a request.
And at that moment, the two of them knew: there was no escape.
Like criminals convicted to death, the two reluctantly and obediently followed Asanoha as the fusuma closed almost ominously behind them.
The other three left behind could only watch in silence as a hallow wind whistled around them.
Yoruichi Shihōin tried to not let it bother her, she honestly did, but the two idiots really were getting on her nerves.
How was she supposed to enjoy her tea with them bawling like babies?
She casted another look at the two sitting on their knees right next to each other with their hands fisted over their thighs as they bawled; their right cheeks and ears looking mysteriously big and red.
In another situation, she might have wondered about what had happened to the two but as things stood, she knew she was better off not knowing.
"Oh!"
She turned her head towards Asanoha who seemed to have perked up suddenly. "Is something the matter, Lady Asanoha?"
Asanoha turned to her and smiled. "Oh no, it's nothing. I just have to go and prepare Sōjun's lunch is all." She answered before getting up from her sitting positing.
Yoruichi nodded her head before realizing something. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him today. Where is he anyway?"
"He is away on a reconnaissance mission to the South Rukongai, District 78, Inuzuri." She answered before turning to her two victims; not at all fazed by their current predicament. "Now you two behave alright." She stated, sounding almost delightful.
"I'b… shoo… berry… showwy…"
Asanoha merely smiled before excusing herself.
Throughout the entire exchange no one noticed the mischievous grin that broke on Naruto's face when he heard his mother's words.
"You are going to get the both of us in trouble, you do know that right?" Byakuya asked, now dressed in his shihakushō with his Zanpakutō strapped to his side and a fairly large bento carried in his hand.
"No we won't. Kaa-chan agreed to me going with you!" Naruto replied with a grin as he happily walked beside his brother as the two made their way through District 78.
"I see," Byakuya gave Naruto a suspicious look but made no attempt to press any further. Knowing what a tricky little fox his younger brother can be, who knows what he must have pulled for their mother to have agreed.
Deciding to put it out of his mind for now, Byakuya focused on the road ahead of them as the two neared their destination: A deserted part on the outer side of Inuzuri with a few run down houses here and there along with a forest further up ahead with Shinigami scattered all across the area.
Coming on the scene, they noticed their father giving orders to his 6th Division subordinates and Naruto wasted no time to shout out to his father as he waved at him excitedly which seemed to have caught his attention as he turned to their direction with a surprised look appearing on his face.
Naruto then ran up to his father with Byakuya following after in a slower pace and immediately glomped him in a hug. "Tou-chan!"
"Hey, Naruto!" Sōjun smiled at his youngest son and ruffled his hair lightly before looking up at Byakuya who caught up. "This is a surprise. You two decided to bring my lunch for me today?"
"Something like that…" He replied. The only reason he had decided to bring it was because Naruto had insisted to come along.
Accepting the bento offered to him, Sōjun raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. After all, if they were here then it must be with his wife's permission so he guessed it was fine.
"What were you doing here Tou-chan?" Naruto asked as he looked around him in something akin to awe. This was the first time ever that he had stepped outside of Seireitei so he couldn't help but feel excited.
Passing the bento over to the Shinigami beside him – who gave a nod in return before leaving – Sōjun couldn't help but smile as well when he saw the obvious happiness of his youngest son. "Oh, we are here to –"
Before he could finish, a large explosion happened behind him followed by a loud roar.
He turned his head to the scene and stated when he saw the shadow of a large figure amidst the cloud of dust, "Ah, it's here."
Naruto immediately clutched onto his father's hakama-pants when he saw the… thing that came out of the dust-cloud. It appeared to be some kind of large humanoid monster with purple skin, a white mask and a hole in its left pectoral area, and was about three times the size of his father.
However, what scared Naruto wasn't its appearance but rather its Reiatsu! It was heavy, dark and malevolent. And that accompanied with the fact that he could actually feel its bloodlust and hunger – froze Naruto in his place. This thing meant them more than just harm.
He wasn't the only one though, Byakuya was also looking at it with beads of sweat tickling down his forehead. While his sensing ability wasn't as advanced as Naruto's, he was still proficient in it; he could tell, this thing's Reiatsu was monstrous! It went above and beyond from that of the ordinary hollows he was used to dealing with.
"Father… is this?" Byakuya asked his father to confirm his suspicion.
"Yes, an Adjucha." Sōjun answered as he studied the Intermediate Great Hollow with narrowed eyes. "This one in particular is rather good at hiding its Reiryoku which made it difficult for us to track."
"So then why…" He trailed off – why was it showing itself out in the open like this?
"What do you think?" Sōjun paused, "It's because of the three of us. Three people possessing the levels of Spirit Energy like we do was simply too much for it to resist." He finished before preparing to go and take care of it when he saw that his men were unable to detain it. "Byakuya, take Naruto and go." He did not want to risk his sons getting hurt in the process.
"Tou-chan…" Naruto clutched onto his father's hakama-pants a bit tighter as he looked up at him with worried eyes.
Seeing his youngest son's worried look, Sōjun smiled reassuringly and patted him on the head. "Don't worry Naruto, I am going to be just fine." Looking at Byakuya, he once more said seriously, "Now go!"
"Yes, father!" Understanding the situation, Byakuya nodded his head. "Come on Naruto." Taking Naruto's hand, he immediately started to hurry away from the scene.
However, before they could even make it a fair distance away, he was halted by Naruto's shout.
"Nii-chan!"
Turning his head in time, his eyes widened when he saw a crimson-red cero headed their way. Of course, it's going after them! They were easy prey.
Pulling Naruto close to him, he immediately started to draw his Zanpakutō. However, 'The speed and power are off the charts! I will not make it!' And true to that, before his Zanpakutō was even half-way drawn, the Cero was already upon them.
However, just before it could reach the brothers, the Cero was split into two and passed harmlessly by their sides.
Naruto and Byakuya stared wide-eyed as their father stood in front of them with his sword drawn. Byakuya went to say something but one look at his father's face stopped him in his tracks.
"Byakuya, get going." Sōjun said before slowly raising his sword and pointing it at the hollow standing meters away from them. His Reiryoku spiked with that gesture before purple Reiatsu erupted all around him.
The eyes of every single Shinigami including Byakuya's widened when they saw the action. "Lieutenant!" A Shinigami nearby exclaimed before jumping away followed by the others.
Naruto for his part was confused. What were they all so scared of. Turning to his brother, he noticed that Byakuya also had the same expression of panic. "Nii-chan?" He asked confused, which got his attention.
"We have to get out of here Naruto! Father is about to release his Zanpakutō!" Byakuya stated before proceeding to picking up his younger brother and preparing to flash-step away from the scene.
Naruto was still confused and simply turned to look at his father and just before they disappeared, he managed to hear his father call out the name of his Zanpakutō.
"Whisper, Muramasa!"
"Nii-chan, wait!"
Just when they had made it into Inuzuri, Naruto suddenly called out to Byakuya out of nowhere.
Realizing they were a fair distance away, he stopped and turned to Naruto, still in his arms. "Sorry about that Naruto but father's Zanpakutō can be rather dangerous to inexperienced Shinigami or if you don't have considerable enough Reiryoku as it will affect you if you are too close to –"
"That's not it!" he shook his head as he cut off Byakuya. "It's about that thing, there are more of them!"
Byakuya's eyes widened when he heard Naruto's words. "What do you mean more of them?!"
He closed his eyes and his brow frowned in concentration. "Six… no seven more! They don't feel as strong as the one Tou-chan is fighting and other Shinigami are heading their way but…" Naruto trailed off as his frown deepened before his eyes snapped back open and he looked at Byakuya with urgency. "Someone's in trouble Nii-chan!"
"What are you talking about Naruto? Explain!" Byakuya asked of Naruto seriously, his Shinigami mode kicking in.
"The Shinigami are going towards them but one of them is about to get to someone! The other Shinigami won't make it in time Nii-chan! We are the closest ones!"
Understanding the severity of the situation Byakuya nodded. "Alright Naruto, tell me which way are they?" Byakuya asked seriously. Even though Naruto's sensing prowess was curious to him, he realized now wasn't the time to look more into it.
He wasted no time in pointing towards Byakuya's right. "It's that way Nii-chan!"
Byakuya nodded his head before flash stepping towards the direction.
She couldn't move.
In another situation, she would have thought that maybe it was because of her injured leg but that wouldn't explain why she couldn't move her arms or the rest of her body for that matter so she guessed that it was most likely because of the thing – she didn't know how else to describe it though looking at its bug like body, the white mask and the hole in its abdominal area, she could guess that it was one of those hollows she had heard the passing Shinigami talk about.
The hollow took another step towards her with its mouth open and salivating.
It was strange she thought. Here she was, literally being stared down by death and she didn't feel a single shred of fear, all she felt was… regret.
Perhaps that was because she realized the hopelessness of her own situation. She was tired, she was sleepy, she was hungry; she didn't even have the energy to speak much less cry out for help and besides, it's not like there would be much point seeing as how there wasn't anyone else around to help her.
And yet, none of that even mattered to her. All she could even think of in this situation was the one she had thrown away – the little sister she had abandoned.
She didn't want to die.
She knew she didn't want to die, not without seeing her baby sister again.
And yet, that was exactly what was going to happen here. She was going to die without ever getting to see her sister again and a part of her felt that this was exactly what she deserved: to die without even getting to see her face.
'I'm so sorry... Rukia…' She closed her eyes in resignation and waited for the hollow to come get her.
It never came. Instead she heard a voice call out.
"Scatter, Senbonzakura!"
She opened her eyes again in time to see the hollow get ripped to shreds by what appeared to be cherry blossom petals before someone appeared right in front of her – a Shinigami she guessed, seeing that he was wearing the traditional shihakushō and carried a Zanpakutō.
He was quite good-looking she supposed. He appeared to be around her age and had this regal air about him. He also had a small kid with him who appeared to be around the age of six to seven and looked to be a smaller version of the older boy with shorter hair and a blue tint to their otherwise identical gray eyes.
She didn't need to look at them twice to know that they were nobles.
Taking notice of the Sakura petals from earlier, she watched in fascination as they all floated over to the empty hilt in the older boy's hand and formed the blade.
Turning her eyes over to the two again, she watched curiously as the older one put the younger one down and sheathed his sword before kneeling down to her eye-level.
"Are you alright miss?" He asked in genuine concern which she honestly found surprising as most nobles would never concern themselves with those of the 'lower-class'.
"Don't be silly Nii-chan, of course she is not alright!" The younger boy answered on her behalf as he gave his 'Nii-chan' a teasing grin and she watched in concealed amusement as the elder brother flushed slightly, no doubt at having his 'professional attitude' broken and by his own chibi no less.
He then coughed in his hand and simply said, "Right."
The younger boy then turned to her and lost his grin as he gave her a worried look. "She's not doing so good Nii-chan." She blink in surprise when she heard that. It seemed that despite his young age he was quite perceptive. "We have to get her to Unohana–Taichō right now Nii-chan! It's not just her injuries but her Reiryoku is also about to disappear!" She looked at him in astonishment at that, although she knew nothing about Spiritual Arts, she did know that Reiryoku was a soul's life-force (those souls that did possess it anyway) and guessed that that explained her current condition.
Still, she had no idea her current condition was that bad.
Though it seemed that she wasn't the only one as the eldest of the two was also looking at the younger one with what she guessed was a surprised look as he only had raised an eyebrow as he regarded his little brother. "How can you tell all of this anyway?"
The younger one blinked at that. "I…" He trailed off as his brow frowned before he crossed his arms and closed his eyes in a gesture that indicated he was thinking hard and she couldn't help but find him absolutely adorable at that moment. No doubt, if she could move right now, she would be squealing and hugging the life out of him – his status as a noble be damned.
Finally after a while of trying to think up an answer, he looked up at his big brother. "I just do." He said simply as he tilted his head to the side.
If her circumstances were different, she would be giggling at the adorable gesture and on the other hand, just by looking at older boy, she could tell that he was resisting the urge to palm his face. Now whether at his own question or at his younger brother's answer was anybody's guess.
"What are you waiting for Nii-chan? Hurry up and pick her up already so we can get going!" Pointing towards her, the younger one said to his big brother once more as he looked up at him and she felt her cheeks burn ever so slightly at the thought of being carried by a boy, and someone this attractive no less.
"I know that but…" He trailed off as he looked at her a bit uncomfortably. She didn't even need to guess what he was so uncomfortable about.
"Come on Nii-chan, we have to hurry!" As the younger one pressed further, she could make out the slight up-turn of his lips as his eyes danced with mischief. She came to realize that the he was already aware of his big brother's inconvenience and was actually having fun with it.
"I know but it is going to be hard to carry two people while flash-stepping back to Seireitei!" He argued, or at least tried to argue, but she could tell that while what he said seemed true enough, he was still mostly just uncomfortable.
"Think of it as training then! If you flash-step while carrying the two of us it will be good practice for your Shunpo!" That seemed to effectively put an end to their little argument as the older brother tried but failed to come up with anything after that.
"That… is true I suppose." He relented after a bit of pondering before giving a sigh. "Very well then." He conceded before turning towards her, completely missing the grin that his younger brother shot at him. "Alright miss, there is no need to worry. We are going to take you to a medic so I ask you to trust us." It might be weird for a Shinigami to ask for someone to trust him normally but she understood where he was coming from. Most people form the Rukongai were rather distrustful of them after all.
Being unable to respond to him, she just sat there and stared at him with undoubting eyes.
Apparently, finding his answer he nodded his head before gathering her unmoving form into his arms. He then turned his head and looked behind him. "Come on Naruto, it is time to get going." A few moments later she took notice of the younger one, Naruto, grinning down at her from over his brother's shoulder.
Slowly and shakily her own lips formed into a small, barely noticeable smile and before she knew it, the world around her had become nothing but a blur.
Now that the excitement of the moment had died down, she came to realize just how tired she actually felt. Her eyelids slowly started to close shut as exhaustion finally took its effect and there, she fell asleep in the sanctuary of her savior's arms.
When she woke up again – her mind groggy and her vision blurry and unfocused – she had no idea where she was nor how she got there but she felt strangely warm and comfortable. Blinking a few times to clear her vision she could distinctively make out the sound of people talking though not as to what was being said.
"Ah, you're finally awake I see."
She turned her head to her right and saw a mature woman looking down at her with a gentle smile. She went to make a move to sit up with the older woman immediately coming to her aid before offering her a glass of water after she sat up on the bed.
Drinking the glass of water empty to relieve her parched throat, she looked around to see that she was in some medically equipped room with herself lying on a bed with white sheets before she turned to the woman to her side and asked, "Where am I?"
The woman once more smiled gently at her before answering, "You are within the 4th Division barracks and I am Retsu Unohana, the captain." She perked up in shock at those words though before she could say anything Unohana continued, "You were brought here by Byakuya-kun and Naru-chan after having a run-in with a hollow." She said gesturing towards the bed right to the side of hers.
Following Unohana's hand her eyes widened when she laid eyes on the two boys sitting there, also looking at her with the younger one raising his hand and muttering a 'Yo!' while grinning at her and everything came back to her: her going on the search for her sister, getting injured by the sudden hollow attack and then getting saved by the two.
She immediately bowed her head. "I am forever grateful for your help, Byakuya-sama, Naruto-sama! Thank you!" She thanked the two sincerely as not only had they saved her from the hands of death but had also preserved her hope for finding her little sister.
She kept her head bowed even as she was met with 'You are welcome' and 'No problem' from Byakuya and Naruto respectively.
"Hisana-san." Finally raising her head, she was met with the serious face of Unohana. "There is the matter of the condition you were brought here in that I would like to consult you with." She fully sat up at this and waited for her to continue. "You should know that your condition was not caused by the hollow attack." She looked at Unohana in surprise at those words.
"The injuries you received through the attack were mostly just superficial and nothing serious, and as you can see, I had no trouble healing them." She blinked and silently studied herself to see that her previous injuries were indeed gone completely. "However, despite the minor injuries, you were brought here in a near critical condition. Do you know why?"
"I'm sorry but I… I don't know." She shook her head negatively, not having an answer though she could probably guess the cause.
"I will put this in simple terms then. You see, when souls possessing Reiryoku do work, they utilize that very spiritual energy doing so, and the more they work, the more Reiryoku is spent. And it is not just fighting that costs us our spirit energy but also mundane tasks such as walking or doing simple chores also utilizes spiritual energy granted, much less than any fighting but they cost us our spirit energy nonetheless. Do you follow?" She nodded her head at Unohana.
"So when the Reiryoku levels have diminished after a long day of work, the soul begins to feel signs such as hunger and exhaustion which are basically signals telling the soul to stop and replenish the lost energy. In those times it is crucial for the soul to eat properly and rest well to recover its Reiryoku as Reiryoku is essentially the life-force of the soul and should it disappear completely, then so too will the soul, becoming Reishi. Do understand where I am going with this?" She couldn't help but flinch slightly at the look Unohana gave her and couldn't say anything thing in return as she did get where she was going.
"Your condition, Hisana-san, was caused by Reiryoku overexertion. Now I am sure you are aware of this but you are in possession of a considerable level of Reiryoku." Unohana gave a pause here and studied her with a critical eye, "I will be blunt with you Hisana-san, but by the time you were brought here, your soul should have already disappeared." Her eyes widened at those words. Even though she had already guessed the cause of her condition, she definitely had not expected to be dead by now.
"You have literally been working yourself to death, all the while not allowing your soul to rest properly nor eating properly. In fact the only reason your soul has remained intact is through sheer willpower! Now while I find that to be impressive, I would still like to know Hisana-san: what could have been so important that you would disregard your own life yet at the same time refusing to die?" While Unohana waited patiently for an answer, she bit her lower lip in thought.
After a while of thinking, she decided to tell them. They had saved her life when they didn't have to so the least she could do was tell them the reason behind her actions.
"I was looking for someone. My baby sister." Looking up for a bit, she noticed that Unohana as well as Byakuya and Naruto were listening to her attentively.
"A few months ago, I, along with my baby sister who was about a month old died in the world of the living and arrived at Inuzuri." She stopped for a bit as images of her time in Inuzuri came back to her, "It was hard. But what made our situation worse was that I had a considerable amount of spirit energy so I was prone to collapsing, sleepiness, exhaustion and hunger and I wasn't the only one, Rukia, my baby sister also had spirit energy of her own. Though minute, it was enough for her to be fussy."
"After the first couple of months, I came to realize that if we stayed together… we will not survive." She clutched the bed-sheets as the weight of her own decision weighed heavily against her.
"While still in Inuzuri, I learned that for people possessing spirit energy like I do, there were only two ways to survive. First was by becoming a Shinigami." She once more paused and thought of her frail body, "I had no interest nor the fighting talent to become a Shinigami so that only left me with the second option which was by finding some place to work."
"I…" Her eyes burned with unshed tears as she recalled leaving her precious little sister behind and going off on her own. "Promising that I will come back for her, I left Rukia at a common care place for the small children who arrive at the Soul Society and went to search for a job."
"I wondered around for about a week with no luck before collapsing near the edge of Seireitei and it was by pure chance that an old married couple stumbled upon me before I had died of starvation. The old married couple happened to own a small tea house in the Seireitei near the border." She couldn't help the small smile that came over her lips at the thought of the kind old couple that treated her as their own.
"After nursing me back to health, they gave me the position of a waitress around the tea house." Her smile was still in place as she recalled the old couple waving her off and telling her that it made their job easier as they were too old to do it themselves – after her thousand bows of gratitude.
Her smile melted off her face however, as she recalled what happened next. "I was happy that I finally had a job to sustain both myself and Rukia so I went back to get her the next day. But when I got there," She paused as her eyes stung with hot tears, "She was gone."
"I asked around the care place but none of them knew where she was, or more like couldn't be bothered with what became of one measly kid." She gritted out, recalling the words said to her by some of the seniors at the care place. "So I went to search for her myself. I searched everywhere but couldn't find her." Her lips quivered as she recalled helplessly searching for her little sister without any luck. "All of that happened about a month ago. Now every day after getting off work, I would go looking for her."
After finishing her tale, there was silence in the room before she heard Unohana speak, "So it was because you were searching for your younger sister that you neglected your health?"
"Yes." She answered without raising her head.
"I am sure that you are fully aware of this, being a former resident of Rukongai, but district 78 is not a place where a newborn can survive without adult supervision. You may not want to hear this Hisana-san but," Stop… She didn't want to hear it! "Your little sister may already be dead–"
"Or she may still be alive somewhere!" She closed her eyes shut tight and bit into the quivering lower lip as tear drops fell over the back of her fists and on the bed-sheets.
After her sudden outburst, there was silence within the room for a long moment before Unohana spoke once more, "If that is how you feel then there is nothing else for me to say." Saying this she could hear Unohana walking away before stopping. "You are free to leave at any time you wish. While your condition was serious enough, you were brought here on time and I was able to fully restore your spirit energy. In any case, I would advise staying here for the night."
After she gave her last minute advice, Unohana walked away leaving her alone in the room with Byakuya and Naruto, both of whom were silent which she was grateful for. She did not want to hear those two of all people – the ones who had preserved her hope – saying it was hopeless for her to continue searching.
She did not want to hear them telling her to give up.
"I am not going to tell you to give up."
Hisana's head snapped towards Byakuya with her eyes widening when she registered what he had just said.
They had left the 4th Division barracks a while ago with Byakuya and Naruto offering to walk Hisana back home. She had of course tried to refuse, saying they had already helped her enough but they had insisted on walking her safely back home.
So after accepting their generous offer, the three of them were now walking towards the tea house.
Their trip up to that point had been silent, with all three immersed in their own thoughts, when Byakuya had suddenly spoken out of nowhere.
Looking at him with wide disbelieving eyes still, she couldn't even form any words. Of all the things she had expected him to say, this was not one of them.
Byakuya though, did not turn towards her before continuing, "I am not going to claim to understand your situation, nor am I going to say I know the hardships of living in the Rukongai. However what I do understand is your position as an older sibling." He paused as he looked over at Naruto from the corner of his eye, "And I do know that if in a moment of weakness I was forced to leave Naruto behind," He trailed off and turned to look at her with a fierce look in his eyes, "I will go find him …or die trying!"
Her eyes widened even further at those words as she could do nothing but stare at him with something akin to fascination while Byakuya stared right back at her with eyes filled with unwavering determination.
The two of them continued to just silently stare at each other for a while before realizing what they were doing and slowly they went red in the face as Byakuya's eyes also widened and immediately the two looked away from each other.
"T-thank you…" Hisana muttered shyly as she fiddled with her floral pink kimono while looking at the ground.
"U-un…" Byakuya nodded in response as he looked the other direction.
And just like that the air around the two turned incredibly shy as the two walked side by side silently.
Meanwhile, Naruto was looking at his Nii-chan and the girl he just dubbed as Nee-chan with wide eyes filled with wonder.
Unfortunately, while Naruto was good at sensing the bad emotions of those around him, he had trouble getting anything else so what was happening in front of him was totally new to him. In the end he settled on observing the two walking in front of him with rapt interest as they walked shyly beside each other.
The rest of their trip was spent in complete silence as two of them were too shy to speak and the third one was too wonder-struck to say anything.
When they reached the tea house, Byakuya immediately recognized it as this particular tea house was quiet famous among the Shinigami. Being situated right by the border of the Seireitei, Shinigami going on or returning from missions would always stop by for refreshments.
Byakuya himself had stopped by here a number of times with either his uncle or father and grandfather.
Seeing that they had arrived at her destination, Hisana turned to Byakuya and Naruto and started to speak "Byakuya-sama, Naruto-sama –"
"You know what Nee-chan!" Naruto cut her off as he grinned up at her, "You can just call me Naru-chan!"
Hisana couldn't help but smile at the little bundle of joy. More than anything else, Naruto was the one who sparked her hope of finding her little sister. When she had witnessed him bickering with Byakuya and yet at the same time looking up at him with obvious adoration in his eyes, she had realized that she wanted this. She wanted her little sister to look up at her with such love and adoration.
She wanted to have what Byakuya had with Naruto.
"Well then, Naru-chan …Byakuya-sama," She added Byakuya's name a little shyly while giving him a short glance. "I know it's not much but I would like to show my gratitude. So if you would like to come inside I can treat you with a cup of tea and some dango." She offered as she bowed.
Byakuya and Naruto looked at each other for a bit, both wanting to take her up on her offer however, "As much as we would like to take you up on that offer, I am afraid it is already late enough and if we don't make it home soon then we will get in trouble… serious trouble." Byakuya almost shivered as the smiling face of his mother came to his mind.
"Oh…" Hisana looked down in disappointment. She had wanted to spend a little more time with the two.
Looking at her dejected face made Byakuya want to just accept her offer but his newfound liking to this girl was no match for the terror that was his mother. "But if that offer still stand, then maybe we can come visit some other day?"
The smile he got in response made Byakuya feel quite pleased with himself and was enough for him to almost smile too but when he took notice of Naruto looking at him and Hisana with a critical eye, he stopped himself. If Naruto got any ideas then his life was going to become infinitely harder.
"In that case I will be patiently awaiting your visit!" Hisana said happily.
"Very well. Now we must be on our way, come Naruto." Byakuya addressed Naruto before turning to leave. "Be sure to take care." He bid her one last time before starting to leave.
"Bye-bye Nee-chan, take care!" Naruto waved at her as he grinned before following his brother.
"I will. You two take care as well!" Hisana bid her farewell as she smiled the two before giving one last bow and walking into the tea house.
As Naruto caught up to his big brother, he looked up at him and grinned before commenting excitedly, "I like her! Can we have that visit tomorrow?"
"Sure!" Realizing his slip-up, Byakuya coughed with light pink dusting his cheeks. "If that is what you wish then of course."
Naruto merely grinned and happily continued to walk beside Byakuya.
Yep, he was right. His Nii-chan also liked her!
"There you are!"
The two nearly jumped when Isshin appeared in front of them out of nowhere. One look at his serious face and the two realized that they were in serious trouble. Isshin was only ever serious when the situation was no laughing matter.
"Hello uncle, what are you doing here?" Byakuya asked nervously.
"The two of you were gone for a while now so I came looking for you!" Isshin answered seriously as he walked over to the two.
"We actually have good reason for being late uncle –"
"Never mind that! Let's just get going!" Isshin cut off Byakuya as he picked up Naruto and placed a hand over Byakuya's shoulder and the three immediately disappeared in a flash step.
When they reappeared within the living room of the Kuchiki Clan manor, the first thing they noticed was their parents and grandfather sitting around a table over which was a rectangular wooden box with golden ornaments decorating the sides and top.
"Ah good. You are here." Ginrei commented once they arrived.
"What's… going on?" Naruto asked noticing the serious atmosphere.
"Let's go take a seat first. Everything will be explained then." Isshin said to Naruto still in his arms as he made his way over to where the others were sitting and was followed by Byakuya.
Placing Naruto beside his mother, Isshin took a seat beside Ginrei with Byakuya taking a seat by his father.
"Now I am sure you two are wondering about the situation but before that, you two have not been made aware of what has been happening this past month have you?" Ginrei addressed his two grandsons once everyone was seated.
Naruto and Byakuya looked at each other before shaking their heads negatively.
"Um. I thought as much." Ginrei started to speak, looking at the two, "You see, what happened is that about three weeks ago, the 12th division captain, Kirio Hikifune was promoted."
"Promoted?" Byakuya asked confused, "As in she was promoted to Central 46?"
"No. Not Central 46." It was Isshin who answered, "She was promoted to the Royal Guard, Division Zero!"
Byakuya's eyes widened as he looked at Isshin with shock written all over his face while Naruto for his part was merely confused. Can a captain even get a promotion and what was the Royal Guard anyway? He certainly hasn't heard of any Division Zero before.
Seeing Naruto's confused face, Ginrei addressed him. "Naruto, I am sure that you do not know of the Royal Guard and Division Zero just yet, and I will explain it to you at a later date, but for now all you need to know is that the Royal Guard is the division that is charged with the protection of the Royal Palace and the Soul King."
"Soul… King?" Naruto felt a strange familiarity to that name but didn't know from where. He knew he hadn't met any Soul King before so then why… "The king of Soul Society?" How did he know that?
"Yes."
All the adults in the room looked at Naruto but remained silently.
"Wait a minute!" Byakuya exclaimed, catching their attention, "A promotion to Division Zero? Is something like that even possible?"
"I understand what you mean Byakuya." Ginrei commented, "Something like this has never happened before. Division Zero has always comprised of a set of Shinigami who contributed to the founding of this Shinigami organization along with the Captain-Commander. There has never been a promotion to the Royal Guard throughout the entire history of the Gotei 13. However, that is not the reason for which we are gathered here today."
Naruto and Byakuya waited patiently for their grandfather to continue.
"The reason we are gathered here today is this." Ginrei said, looking at the box sitting on the table.
Byakuya and Naruto also turned to the box and looked at it curiously. Was this box somehow connected to the Royal Guard?
"Just this evening, when the Royal Guard came for Kirio Hikifune, one of them approached me and handed over this box." Ginrei said before looking at directly at Naruto, "It was addressed to you, Naruto. A gift from the Soul King himself."
Naruto tilted his head to the side and blinked a few times. "Me?"
"Yes." Ginrei nodded his head before pushing the box towards Naruto. "Why don't you go ahead and open it Naruto?"
Naruto looked at the box in slight wonder before nodding his head. "Un."
Reaching over, he slowly tugged at the lid before lifting it up. He blinked once more when he saw that inside the box was a necklace – a jade greed crystal attached to a black string – and below the string was some kind of crimson red cloth.
Taking the necklace in one hand, Naruto, with the help of his mother pulled the cloth out of the box to see that it was a long crimson scarf. It was much longer than the one Ginrei wore.
Delicately examining the scarf in her hand, Asanoha narrow her eyes before turning to the others. "Do you feel it?"
The other adults nodded their heads positively.
"The quality of this scarf is much greater than the one I wear but that is not it! There is this… aura about this scarf as well as that necklace." Ginrei commented while studying said objects closely, "I suppose it is to be expected of gifts from Soul King himself."
"What," Naruto began as he turned to the adults, "Should I do with them?"
"You are to wear them Naruto." Ginrei stated firmly, "Throughout the entire history of the Soul Society, the Soul King has never gifted a single person. Wear them with pride and honor!"
Naruto looked at the others to finds them smiling encouragingly at him before he looked at the items in his hands. He didn't know why the Soul King would send him these gifts but from the way Jii-chan spoke, it was a pretty big deal.
Clutching onto them tightly, he came to a decision. He will wear them and someday, he will ask the Soul King as to why did he send these gifts to him. Until then, he promised to never lose them!
To be continued…
AN: Yo people! Sorry for the wait but I have explained my reasons on the previous update of my story "The Origin" so I don't feel like explaining myself again! Anyways, this chapter didn't come as the way I had wanted but my muse and life were both being bitches.
This chapter as you guys saw was for the most part an introduction of Hisana's! While at first I had wanted this chapter to be of Naruto's entrance into Shin'ō Academy but when I was watching Rukia Rescue Arc for some inspiration and saw Byakuya talking about Hisana, I thought of introducing her and my own take on how she met Byakuya.
And due to the sudden change in chapter point, I had to do a lot of scrapping and in the end it didn't turn out like I had wanted it. Still, I hope I did a good job and that you guys liked it.
Now there is the matter of the Harem I need to talk about. You see, I have been wondering if I should replace Harribel with Orihime.
I came to this because thinking about it, there isn't much I can do with Harribel as a pairing while I can do a mountain load of things with Orihime and not to mention, Orihime is my most favorite Bleach female character. What can I say, she is just so hot and her power utterly fascinating! It is one of the most incredible powers I have seen in anime/manga so far and just thinking about how much I can do to improve and other things with her power has me shaking in excitement!
Just thinking of the fact that Orihime has the potential to be the single most powerful character in Bleach is… you get the point!
Though I was pissed when Kubo didn't develop her power any further, I guess I can also understand why he didn't do it. If her power was developed to full maturity, it will be seriously overpowered – I am not buying the whole human thing, Juha Bach was also said to be human but look at him now, he is basically a god!
Anyway! You guys get what I am trying to say! I like Harribel and don't want to make a hasty decision just yet so I posted a poll to see your opinion and while I won't exactly go with the result of the poll, it will greatly help me decide. Feel free to also leave your thoughts in the reviews, I can really use the help. I am open for suggestion and consideration till the story hits canon so please let me know your thoughts!
Well, I guess there is nothing else left to say.
Please don't forget to leave a REVIEW to let me know your thoughts and do not forget that all reviews will be answered on my facebook page – the link to which is on my profile. I will also be posting my thoughts there!
Well, ciao!
- El Emperador