Part 3 'Something New'
Rayna awoke to the setting sun. 'So much for breakfast,' she thought to herself as she got up and began getting dressed. It was time to head to the river for a bath. Hopefully, Binta saved her something to eat. If she didn't tough, would be no surprise. Food didn't stay long here.
She was almost done dressing in her usual teenage boy disguise, when there was a knock followed by the door sliding open.
"We need to come up with a better way to hide that figure of yours. Teenage boys don't have curves." Yarinju said as he brought in a tray of food. He set it on the chest by her bed and picked up her cloak. Walked over to the open window and nonchalantly tossed it out.
"Hey what are you doing?" Rayna moved to try and grab prized cloth. She was only in time to watch it fall to the waiting children below. They waved happily and quickly ran off with it. "What are you thinking? I don't have another cloak? That one was hard enough to come by." She crossed her arms and looked at him lividly.
"Allow me to present you with a gift from all of us." He bowed heavily and handed her a dark orange cloak it. Rayna's eyes glittered. It was absolutely perfect. Heavy enough for the winter and sturdy enough to handle the abuse she would give it on a daily basis.
"It is perfect." She wanted to cry because she had not had such a luxury in a long time. Her happiness was quickly replaced with worry, and she pushed the cloak back at Yarinju. "The children need food." She would not, could not accept such a gift if the children were going to starve.
"The children would not eat for a week if you tried to give it back. I think it best if you just wear it. Oh, and then there is this." He produced a plain green cap. Walked over to her and tucked her hair up and placed it on her head. When she looked at her reflection in the darkening window, there was no mistaking that she could now pass for a teenage boy. "Perfect, now you won't have to cut your hair."
Rayna cocked her head at him. "Who said anything about cutting my hair?"
He turned and headed for the door. "Lady Yoruichi is waiting for you so don't be long."
When Rayna came downstairs it was to absolute chaos. Children were everywhere. Some were playing, others where reading, and others still doing chores. One child sat on the floor in the corner pouting. Of course it would be Runi. The redhead didn't even want to know. Then she noticed that Nonu was sitting on the floor near him playing with a soccer ball.
"Is it a little crowded in here or is it just me?" A black cat said from atop the dining room table. Three children sat around the cat in absolute fascination. Rayna could tell they wanted to pet it, but they would not dare. A cat is one thing. A talking cat is a whole different set of troubles.
"We don't have much time. So let's go." Yoruichi leaped from the table and headed for the door. Rayna followed the furry lady unquestioningly, and secretly hoped for more training.
The dark cat lead them to a quiet and secluded place. Rayna could tell the lady clearly had something in mind. Yoruichi took on her human form again. Dressing quickly, before she planted her fist in Raynas face. The surprised woman fell backwards on the ground. "You fool! What were you thinking, taking on an Arrancar. Captains have tried and nearly lost their lives." She was standing over a felled Rayna, and not willing to accept any excuse. This girl made careless mistakes with her own life, and by extension, others.
Rayna's response was an angry one. "You cannot ask me to sit idly by when I feel the presence of suffering." The redhead was angry now and her Reiatsu began to rise with her emotions. Rayna was aware that Shinigami were trained not to have emotions but she was different. Her power was directly tied to her passions. When they flared so did her spiritual pressure.
"Hide your spiritual pressure, you fool. Control your emotion or the entire Seireitei will feel your presence." Yoruichi said looking down at her. "Perhaps it is time to make your training more difficult." This was said as Yoruichi kicked the defenseless woman in the gut.
Rayna exhaled sharply making a gasping sound. Immediately, she rolled to get out of the way of the next attack. Rolling and dodging the onslaught, the agile woman kept moving until she could regain a standing position. Shaditsukaya appeared in her hand before she realized she had drawn the weapon.
"You rely too much on your Zanpakato, for you it could be a weakness." The dark skinned beauty was next to Rayna in less than a second. Quickly she disarmed the girl by focusing her Kido on Raynas shoulder. Rayna grunted in pain and dropped Shaditsukaya. "Until you learn to utilize it fully do not draw your Zanpakato or you will place it and yourself under threat."
Rayna learned the lesson well. She swung her legs around kicking the lady in the gut. Using the momentum of the acrobatic she maneuvered and picked up the fallen Zanpakato. "It seems todays' lesson is in dirty tactics." Rayna said still trying to catch her breath from the previous kick.
'You think someone trying to kill you is going to fight fair. Shinigami are honorable our enemies are not." As she said this she charged her kido and came at Rayna again.
Rayna was ready this time and as she moved out of the way easily. Never turning her back on the lady she kept her Zanpakato at the ready between the two of them.
Lady Yoruichi did not see the look on Raynas face or she would have realized the girl had found a tactical advantage. The red head drew her Zanpakato back, held up her hand, and waited for the lady to get closer.
Yoruichi still intent on teaching the girl a lesson came at her with enough power to seriously hurt the noblewoman. Rayna still fought without the intention to kill she needed to instill that in her before her kindness got her killed. Especially, now that she had fought an Arrancar, Rayna had to be prepared to kill her enemy. Attacking the girl with the intention of seriously injuring her, the ex-captain was not prepared for what Rayna had planned.
As Raynas target came closer she focused her spiritual pressure into the hand that she held up. When Yoruichi came close enough to be a threat she released the Reiatsu into the Lady's face. The bright light blinded her temporarily. Rayna had her and the lady knew it she swung her sword to strike and was surprised when it reverberated from hitting against another Zanpakato.
'Where did he come from?' Rayna thought. Between Rayna and Yoruichi stood a very dangerous looking Captain Kuchiki, his black eyes staring right through her. He had no expression on his aristocratic face except for the slight furrowing of his eyebrows. Rayna knew the stance, and there was no mistaking the ominous air rolling off of him in waves. He was going kill her.
In the next instant, Yoruichi inserted herself before Rayna and Captain Kuchiki and yelled at the redhead. "Run now!"
Rayna did not have to be told twice. The man was so terrifying that her knees were shaking. She was gone in an instant using her flash-step. It had been honed to perfection. Concentrating on concealing her spiritual energy was hard because she feared for Yoruichi as well as herself. She was tempted more than once to go back and help her teacher face the captain. Suddenly she realized she had more pressing problems. Kuchiki was following her. 'How?' she thought. She paused underneath an awning in a shady alley. It took a moment to force her Reiatsu into submission. Luckily the captain was not following her, he was following Lady Yoruichi, and they had already passed her.
Rayna was never really one to do what she was told. She could 'run' as she followed them, so that is what she did. Taking another brief moment to make sure her spiritual pressure was well concealed, she was gone in an instant following the two.
Yoruichi stopped in an empty clearing and let Byakuya catch up to her. Out running him, would only create problems for Rayna within the Seireitei. The Captain clearly had a sense of her power and she knew he came for answers.
"Lady Yoruichi, you know it is treason for anyone but a Shinigami to wield a Zanpakato." The tone was matter of fact, devoid of emotion. "Where is the boy?"
"You concern yourself with matters that don't involve you." Facing him, Yoruichi realized that there was no way to convince the captain to let the matter drop. She stood silent and unmoving hoping Rayna had obeyed her and hidden herself away.
"What are you up to 'demon cat'?" He asked in a voice that was used to intimidate others. Yoruichi almost laughed at him. The former student should know better than to try and press a commanding presence on her.
Then the atmosphere suddenly changed. As the air around them grew dark both nobles dropped the matter and prepared for a battle.
"How do they get here so easily?" Yoruichi asked rhetorically.
"Aizen knows most of our defenses. It seems it is easy for them to slip in and out unnoticed." He did not inform her that was his current mission. To track how the Arrancar were coming and going into the Seratie at will.
"How much fun will we have today?" Grimmjow said to the black haired boy standing next to him. "Two of the noble class? That is what I call a challenge." He charged them immediately drawing his Zanpakato on Byakuya.
Kuchiki was ready and protected himself with his own Zanpakato. The sound of the swards hitting against one another reverberated through the night air. The battle between the two was a fury of swinging blades. Both combatants were adept and skilled. When one would strike the other would counter and strike back. This went on for some time before Grimmjow became frustrated. "Grind Pantera!" he shouted as he released his Zanpakato's Shikai. The captain was ready with his own attack.
"Scatter Senbonzakura," the Shinigami released his own Shikai on the Arrancar. The explosion of the two meeting was forceful and almost overpowering. It did not go unnoticed. The rest of the 6th squad started to appear all around them.
Across the field Yoruichi faced the Black haired boy. "You will help me prove myself to lord Aizen. So know my name before you die. Remember me I am Saezu Hinisana." He charged her with his own Zanpakato. To Yoruichi's surprise he was very adept with such a small Zanpakato. The young Arrancar came at her furiously. She held her own and almost enjoyed the battle but the small boy found a weakness in her defenses and his Zanpakato nicked her right arm.
For a moment she was unaffected by the wound but her limbs began to slow and feel heavy. She felt as though she had been polluted, as a strange cold began to take over. Immediately, she knew that her Reiatsu had been poisoned. She was quickly losing ground and was probably going to succumb to the boy. Angry at herself for underestimating her opponent, she was surprised such a small cut could have such an effect on her. A few more seconds and it would render her unconscious.
Yoruichi could barely stand and charged her Kido for one last attack. Suddenly she felt familiar warmth that started spreading over her entire body. She was aware enough to recognize the figure standing in front of her and screamed out "NO!" but it was too the late girl had already entered the fight. Her glowing Zanpakato countered the boy's blade. As she fell to the ground her last conscious thought was "hide your spirit energy.'
Byakuya was aware of the change in the spirit energy around him as soon as the boy appeared in front of Yoruichi. He had a sensation of something familiar but had never felt anything so pure. It encompassed all that was good and he found himself being attracted to it. It was almost distracting. The spiritual energy that the boy emitted was not only pure, it was also very powerful. Its power fed into his own Reiatsu.
The boys' spiritual energy seemed to have an effect on his opponent. It was as if an unseen light was burning too brightly and Grimmjow could hardly stand it. In the next instant both Arrancar where gone. It seemed as if they were unable to stand up against the power of the boy. The captain had never seen such a reaction come from any being of Hueco Mundo. If anything they should have been attracted to the strange childs' spiritual pressure not pained by it. The Reiatsu of the boy soon faded and Byakuya expected to find him gone too. When he turned his attention to the felled lady, he was surprised to find the boy kneeling over Yoruichis' unconscious body.
How could someone so young completely conceal his spiritual energy so fast? Quickly moving toward the boy, Byakuya came up behind him ready to strike. He did not need to, the boy had sheathed his Zanpakato and carefully covered Lady Yuroichi with his cloak. Byakuya watched as young hands carefully examining the body of Yoruichi. "Stay back!" he ordered his squad. He would arrest the boy after the current situation was dealt with.
Then he noticed something unusual. Yoruichis' skin was turning blue and her breath had become ragged. Byakuya could sense fluctuations in her spiritual pressure. Whatever had happened during the battle, it had affected her Reiatsu.
The boy in front of him placed his hand on Lady Yoruichi's forehead. Byakuya was unsure what he was doing so he crouched down next to the boy to get a better look. It would not surprise him it the child possessed healing Kido. Best to let him do his work, but better to make sure. Suddenly, his very powerful Reiatsu surround the three of them with a spirit energy he now recognized, yet could not define. The Reiatsu of the boy covered them in beautiful, attractive, warmth that was inviting beyond all reason.
The Captain was so absorbed in the sensation of this new Reiatsu that he almost didn't notice the sudden change in spiritual pressure. There was a slight variance as the young Arrancar returned. The black haired boy suddenly appeared behind them with his Zanpakato poised to strike the teenage male trying to heal Yoruichi. "Our mission is complete but I thought I would give you something to remember me by."
Byakuya did not have enough time to mount a defense that would protect them all. Quickly, he moved himself between the teenager and the Arrancar. It was not a surprise when the boy's small blade pierced his shoulder close to his lung instead of its intended target.
The Captains' spiritual energy immediately responded to it as if he had been poisoned and he no longer had control over it. Cold suddenly flowed into him and Byakuya knew that he too would soon lose consciousness. With the last of his energy he struck out at the boy and was satisfied when the boys' blood was spilled onto the ground beneath him. The Arrancar grabbed his bloodied shoulder and disappeared. Before he lost consciousness, Byakuya was aware of a very painful cold that was eating away at his Reiatsu and quickly. Leaning on his Zanpakato, he was on his knees and panting.
Rayna did not know what to do she had to save her mistress and the menacing captain, but did not dare let his guard squad take her back to the court gate. There was no time to think. The 6th division was moving in, she had no choice. Pulling a small pendant from her neck, Rayna channeled enough spiritual energy to transport all three of them. A gate immediately opened around her and the three of them disappeared into it as the captain beside her fell into unconsciousness.
I went ahead and put back in some of the original fight scenes after deciding that I liked them. Sorry no mush yet but hang in there it is coming.. My nature being that of a romantic, I like to build these things slowly. Besides it suites the characters..