Full summary:
Show no fear... Exercise strict discipline with others and especially within yourself... Do whatever is possible to preserve your clan's honor...
It is within the invisible walls these rules built that Kuchiki Byakuya grew up. Eventually, he became the perfect man, the perfect leader to govern the noble house of Kuchiki, and a captain of one of the squads under the elite Gotei 13.
Byakuya became a stone warrior, precise and faultless in his decisions and actions.
But what appears to be a life blindingly white and pure is, in reality, a life dictated and governed by mass bloodshed and buried secrets.
The truth will soon be revealed- a truth filled with blood, hidden, tainted black and white.
Tainted Black and White
Chapter One: Speak no evil
by Calistus053
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and all its expensive merchandise.
NOTE: words/group of words/sentences that come after these-1- numbers are further explained after the fic
Time the story is held: after the Soul Society Arc, after the ryoka (Ichigo and his comrades) invade Soul Society and discover Aizen's plot; aftermath
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6th Squad lieutenant Abarai Renji woke up with an uneasy start that morning. The moment he opened his eyes, he was already quite sure that something was going to go wrong. The fact that he woke up late, tripped over his wooden bathroom stool, burned breakfast, and accidentally ripped the left leg of his black shinigami robe all proved to be stronger hintings of the nasty day ahead.
And the moment he entered his squad headquarters, it was as if hell itself froze over and fell with a loud 'thud' on his head.
"Abarai-fukutaichou, you are late." Kuchiki Byakuya, captain of the 6th squad and renowned ice prince of Soul Society, stated stonily. He did not even spare his lieutenant a glance since he could tell that Renji had an awful morning, what with the way he replied with-an annoyed groan-and the final huff said lieutenant uttered as he sat down on his own desk.
Renji cast a weary look over his mound of paperwork for today. Was it just him or did the pile increase in quantity from yesterday's? Ah, never mind that now...since his captain seemed to be in quite a sour mood as well, and annoying him by not doing paperwork might be the as risky as putting his head inside the lion's mouth...or Zaraki-taichou's squad headquarters.
There were small signs that could tell if his captain was in a 'less-than-great' mood. Renji made sure he was well-versed with these since he did spend long hours of work with the cold and regal Kuchiki, usually alone with him and doing paperwork in the headquarters.
Usually, Kuchiki-taichou's greetings were quite a giveaway. And since Byakuya just called Renji 'Abarai-fukutaichou', it meant he was to be extra firm today. All conversations or other miscellaneous activities (should there be any) must strictly be business-like in manner.
The second sign would be the way he gripped his brush. It was a bit tricky to try to notice but this sign is pretty reliable and was always 80 true. If Kuchiki-taichou gripped the brush too tightly, it made small, almost imperceptible, squeaky sounds. That usually meant he was in a bad mood and is taking out a bit of his annoyance at signing the papers.
Renji smirked to himself as he went on with his own work. With his expertise in observing, he should be able to land a decent position in the 2nd squad if ever his taichou decides to kick him out of the 6th...not that he wanted that to happen...It just might...
"Quite the weather we're having, huh?" Abarai-fukutaichou drawled, bravely starting a conversation with his captain. Obviously, Renji's bad luck for today is making itself more pronounced by loosening said boy's tongue. That, in itself, was very dangerous.
As expected, the Kuchiki did not reply and went on with his work.
The redhead went on, seemingly unaware of the danger he is posing for himself,
"I mean, with all the sun and rain coming at unexpected times. It's like the weather can't make up its own mind."
A rock would have stood in for Byakuya, and Renji would have never noticed the difference. The rock might be an improvement, though, since it could never shoot you a quick but venomous glare, just like the one Byakuya shot at his fukutaichou.
Shit, what's with my mouth today?? I'm only makin' things worse for myself!!!
Renji's mouth went on, uttering words, while the red-haired fukutaichou's inner mind kept yelling at him to shut up...Damn you, subconscious, damn you...
"I even told my friend over at the 11th squad that he'd better just stay home, what with his bald head goin' from red hot to cold with the freakin' weather we're havin'..."
Byakuya cast a cold stare over at his lieutenant, "Abarai-fukutaichou, kindly return to your work...quietly."
"Huh? Oh, sure, Kuchiki-taichou..."
The stoic Kuchiki would have uttered a loud sigh, but learned from experience on how to prevent himself from doing so, since it was quite impolite. He continued writing more uninteresting details on the evaluation form concerning the past ryoka attacks, when...
Renji just had to let his mouth flap open.
"...but the weather sure is freaky, ne, taichou?"
In an instant, Lieutenant Abarai Renji was sent out of the 6th squad office, with the stern order from Kuchiki-taichou to finish all his babbling outside in the halls, where he would disturb no one.
And that is how Renji found himself wandering off to the 13th squad headquarters, where he knows he'll meet a friendly face.
---
"So, he sent you out, huh?"
Abarai Renji nodded glumly at his best friend, Kuchiki Rukia, who (thankfully) decided to stay with him in Soul Society after all the ruckus, what with all those ryoka who tried to rescue her, and stuff.
"Yep. I went on talking like an idiot, Rukia. It was like my mouth was possessed, or something..."
Rukia merely glanced at him, "You should know better than to mess with nii-sama when he's in one of his moods."
The redhead shrugged and looked at the vast expanse of space that Seireitei had to offer, and this was even less of a quarter of the size of the whole place, "I really didn't know what came over me."
The young Kuchiki sighed and shook her head. A cold breeze came blowing through and Rukia found herself somewhat shivering. Dark clouds were forming above them, approaching like a huge terrible menace. Even with the protection the tree towering above them offered, the two felt somewhat concerned of the forthcoming storm.
Renji casually shifted his weight from one foot to the other, before uttering a loud sigh and saying, "Well, I'd better be goin', then..."
The red-haired lieutenant was about to walk off, when a hand stopped his arm.
"Wait, Renji... I need to tell you something."
Random panoramic movies scrolled in Renji's head, all of them involving Rukia talking of something urgent and important to him. One scene included her saying 'I love you', but said turnout was pretty impossible, seeing that Rukia's tone of voice was far from lovesick. Besides, Ichigo would've probably murdered him if that happened...then leave his corpse to be killed again by Rukia's nii-sama, whom, he discovered from experience, was very protective of his younger sister.
Another scene involved Rukia saying 'I'm pregnant', but said sentence would bring only worse consequences to Renji...like being hunted down by all of the Kuchiki clan, then settling down to have a family with his past high school crush. Then there was the matter of having children and raising them by Rukia's side...a dozen or so screaming and crying tots...
Renji shook his head slightly to clear himself of such unpleasant and disturbing thoughts, and gave his nod to Rukia, "Hey, I'm listenin'."
Rukia gave a warm, appreciative smile towards her friend, before delving into a more serious tone and mood, "It's about nii-sama."
The redhead made a thoughtful nod. Great, a topic he had to know more than he wanted to know about in order to save his skin. "What about him?"
"Don't you think he's been acting...strange lately?"
Duh. He sent me out of the office for talking too much. "Well...yeah, he's been actin' weird."
The younger Kuchiki leaned back into the strong sturdy tree trunk and let a low rumble from the skies pass by before replying, "I...well...something happened..."
Another low rumble of thunder after a quick flash of lightning, "What?"
Rukia was about to relay her story, when light raindrops pelted their heads. With a swift hand gesture, she called Renji to join her into the 13th squad's building for a while, to continue their conversation somewhere else and, perhaps, to wait for the rain to pass.
---
Renji checked both ways- left to right, right to left- before giving a nod of approval to his friend, "Yep, coast's clear."
The shorter of the two nodded in confirmation and pulled Renji into a spare room where part of the 13th squad's cleaning tools were stored. She sat down comfortably on the wooden floor right after Renji closed the door.
As the red-haired shinigami took the floor beside her, one of his 'creatively' tattooed eyebrows shot up, "What's up?"
Rukia held up a finger to silence him, glanced back at the closed door, then uttered in a whisper, "I just think the matter's kinda sensitive, you know?"
"But no one will be crazy enough to spy on you, especially when you're about to divulge some secret about your nii-sama that could spell his life or dea-...good point." Renji crouched now, making it easier to hear what the younger Kuchiki had to say, "So...what is it?"
She checked the door one last time and took a deep breath, "Well, it all started a few days ago..."
-Flashback-
Rukia was very rarely home, if by home you mean in the Kuchiki estate. She never bothered to tell anyone, but the stiff and cold atmosphere that the house held was too much for her. Most of the people she saw were loyal servants, most of them practically fawn over her and flood her with unnecessary questions like 'Would you like some tea, ma'm?' or 'Can we do anything for you, ma'm?'
Well, Rukia forgave all of them since they were just juicing the opportunity of acting all servant-like because they could never do the same thing with Rukia's nii-sama. The man was practically untouchable, in the sense that he had that stifling and regal air about him that could have another decent gentleman sweat nervously upon sight.
Besides, if Rukia was...lucky enough, she might catch a glimpse of any other member of the noble Kuchiki clan, and these encounters usually bring nothing but nervous airs and cold glances. Save for some friendly faces, like Kuchiki Mizure-sama 1 (who was her nii-sama's grandfather), most of the members of the Kuchiki clan never did fully accept her into the family. But thankfully, some of the most 'formidable' (in Rukia's point of view) members of the house were usually out of sight, hidden in their private chambers.
Her feet made small 'thunk' noises against the wooden floor, and she sped up her pace a little bit. She was only here to gather some of her shinigami robes after all. There was no sense in staying longer than was necessary...
"Rukia."
That deep voice made her turn around, eyes widening just a fraction of how big they were, "...Nii-sama..."
Kuchiki Byakuya stood just a few feet from Rukia. His white haori was billowing in the wind that came blowing just a few minutes ago. Rukia would have noticed her nii-sama's reiatsu but she was too bent on coming and leaving quickly and unnoticeably that she failed to feel such a presence near her.
"I was just here to get some of my robes-"
"I need to talk to you about something."
Rukia froze in her spot, mostly from the shock and bizarreness of it all. Her nii-sama never invited her into a conversation before. Well, there was one time, but her nii-sama was all bloodied and was being medicated by Unohana-taichou after all the attacks he received from Ichigo and Gin. That one didn't really count.
Byakuya took a few steps towards her, and Rukia took no steps back. There was something...strange that was going on, from the tone her nii-sama used in addressing her to the way he walked towards her.
He looked almost...doubtful about something.
If Rukia hadn't known better, she'd say Byakuya was...afraid of something...
But this was Kuchiki Byakuya. He's never afraid of anything...
...or was he?
A pale slender hand rested on Rukia's shoulder, making the younger of the two jump slightly from the contact. It all felt so queer to her, so foreign...
Byakuya was about to say something, when Kuchiki Mizure-sama rounded the corner and spotted them. He smiled at the shorter of the two and called Byakuya with him, going on about a meeting of some sort.
Rukia never did know what her nii-sama wanted to tell her that day...
-End of Flashback-
"..."
"..."
Lightning danced across the dark sky outside. Thunder boomed afterwards, loud and deafening. Renji and Rukia's faces were momentarily lit up by a nearby clash of lightning.
Rukia chose this chance to speak, "He never did tell me what it was he wanted to tell me that day. We rarely saw each other... What do you think about it, Renji?"
Renji relaxed his pose and stretched his arms backward a bit, letting his hands hold him up from behind, "I dunno, Rukia...I think you're just paranoid...that's all."
The shorter shinigami glanced at her friend, "Really?"
"Yup." the redhead sighed and decided to lie down on the wooden floor completely, hands tucked behind his head, "I bet he just wanted to say somethin' brotherly but decided against it., coz it'll be pretty awkward an' all..."
"..."
"Besides, this is Kuchiki Byakuya we're talkin' about. He rarely worries 'bout anythin'."
Rukia put on a thoughtful face, then nodded, "Yeah, I guess you're right, Renji. I'm worrying about nothing."
The red-haired fukutaichou nodded beside her and stretched, yawning a bit, "It'd be best if I stay here for a while...or until the rain weakens, ne, Rukia?"
Rukia nodded and smiled, before hitting Renji with the handle of a nearby mop, "Yep, but you have to earn your keep here, so you'd better clean up after the rain, got it?"
The other merely shrugged, "Sure beats signin' papers in a room with a rock any day."
---
The rain was over now, and the sky was dark, not because of another upcoming drizzle but because it was already night.
All of Rukongai was quiet and still, a strange occurrence since the said streets were usually teeming with life and laughter. The lights were all turned off and a strange tent-like structure stood in one of the most secluded parts of town.
The usually noisy and carefree people were now replaced with the unfriendly form of ruffians and fighters of all shapes and sizes, all emerging from the night and approaching said structure. Gleaming eyes dotted the streets; most of these eyes were shining with utter bloodthirst, the same eerie stare reflected in the menacing weapon each thug held.
Somewhere else, a slender figure darted across Rukongai.
His piercing blue eyes scanned all in sight, before disappearing in a flash.
And thus started the night.
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I am pleased to inform you that the real hype of the story starts in the next chapter. Please be sure to read it.
1- This was just a name my friend and I guessed. Practically an OC, but not quite. Keep an eye on this character!
Reviews and other comments are very much welcome. Chapter 2 will be ready soon.
Thank you for the time.
P.S. There will be an extra surprise at the end of the next chapter! I am sure you'll all love it!!
Adieu:)