Chapter one - Beckoning
Link by link, I see inescapable line of chains stretching out into the distance. I can see, perfectly see through the screened iron bars of my cage…
Thunder rolls as the rain beats hard in the office of the Fifth Hokage Tsunade. Shizu stood patiently in front of her while she watched her sensei study anxiously at the documents she had passed on to her.
"Tch"
Naruto tossed his head to the side, trying his best to act cool in front of his eternal rival/best friend Sasuke. He had found him in the fields laying on the grass and looking up towards the raining sky. Naruto stood as looming figure over him looking down at his face.
"Are you done bugging me? You're in my line of vision…dumbass." Sasuke retorted with a smirk.
Naruto couldn't take it anymore.
"Bastard!" he exploded, "You're worse than Shikamaru! You're lazing around all day, the least you can do is train with me!!"
"No."
"Why!?" Naruto cried, "At least have the decency to tell me why!"
"I'm going to exhaust myself, idiot."
"Whaaa?" Naruto couldn't believe what he was saying. Sasuke sat up and gave him a curious look. His eyebrow raised and a smile began to curl at the edge of his lips
"Don't tell me you forgot…?"
Naruto squinted his trademark fox like eyes, "Eh?"
"Idiot."
A great poof of smoke sprouted from the location Sasuke had rested leaving in it's place, a large stone with a note taped on to it.
"Arrrghh!" Naruto rubbed his head in panic, "A substitution jutsu… did he just play a trick on me?" He bent down and snatched up the not. It went on like this:
Dearest Dumbass,
A week ago Tsunade called us to group up together as the former team 7 to participate on a certain mission. It's been a while since we all three worked together, and I already placed bets with Sakura-chan knowing you'd forget…
I WIN…
In the distance at the foot of the Hokage's building, Sakura heard a faint scream that mirrored Naruto's voice.
"Hmm… oh well," she simply shrugged her shoulders. She thought on, remembering how Kakashi settled that they'd meet at the foot of the building at noon, now it was ten minutes passed that. Sakura continued to stand there, alone with umbrella in hand and a weight in her soul.
"All three of them are late," she whined to herself.
Spinning round and round, constantly revolving this world runs on fate. The eternal never ending circle that we call life. It is something unseen by me, but I feel, strongly I feel from the awkward pedestal I have been placed on…
Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, head captain of Gotei 13 looked sidelong admiring the bright weather beating down in Soul Society. His lieutenant entered reporting that the orders had been sent just as the elderly commander had requested.
"Good,"
Ikkaku grinned, "I've been aching for something exciting to do anyways. "This assignment to the human world should just do the trick!" Yumichika just sighed.
Ukitake sat on his porch feeding the small birds that came fluttering towards him. He had been feeling really feverish, however on this day he turned out well.
The sakura trees will bloom soon… That can only mean that winter is finally is going to end, he thought smiling. Looking towards the bare branches, he can see the small buds bursting from it's bare branches.
"I really can't wait for them to bloom…" Ukitake whispered out loud.
"So do I."
Startled Ukitake turned to his right and spotted to his grim surprise Kuchiki Byakuya standing right across from him. The poor silver haired captain did not even sense him arrive.
Was I really that distracted?
Birds landed on the tree's branches. The grim captain calmly gazed at the peaceful scene before turning his attention to the still-shocked Ukitake. He already sensed what this was about.
"Why has Rukia been sent to the human world?"
Silence filled the air along with the accented sounds of the birds and blowing wind.
"That has nothing to do with me," he answered calmly, "They were orders from Yamamoto himself."
"Who else is going?" he coldly asked.
"Your lieutenant Abarai Renji, Madarame Ikkaku, Ayasegawa Yumichika, Rangiku Matsumoto, and Hitsugaya Toushiro."
He turned around as Ukitake watched him in question.
"I wait that she returns to me soon."
The sickly captain raised an eyebrow and frowned in complete confusion. He didn't want to come to that conclusion, but somehow with the rumors that his old friend Shunsui had murmured to him, it was boiling down to that idea.
"For what may I ask?"
A pale calloused hand reached down and grasped a small handful of seeds in the pouch that laid in Ukitake's lap.
His fragile conditioned heart jumped. All he did was blink and then he was next to him pulling the seeds out from his pouch.
"If she lasts for too long…" That hand felt the small grains slip through the long thin fingers and fall towards the ground. Not all escaped however, and at the sound of the cascading seeds the tiny puffy birds flocked, "The sakura flowers will bloom without her…" With his hand outstretched a tiny colorful bird landed and happily ate without fear. Ukitake then just realized that he too, often fed birds for they recognized him.
Ukitake's eyes widened. His idea was so closely confirmed. He blinked but just then, the sixth captain was gone.
Yes without a doubt…it must be that.