High pitched giggling and roaring laughter rang through the calm, summer air. The sun was high in the air, shining brightly over the field in front of the large house. Two silhouettes stood out against the sun's raise. The larger one spun around, a smaller figure held high over his head.
"Daddy, stop! I'm getting dizzy." A little girl with long, chocolate brown hair yelled through her giggles.
"Alright, alright." A man with matching colored hair and a set of small, prominent white horns on the crown of his head relented. He lowered the girl, holding her to his chest, one arm under her to keep her up. His laughter died down for the moment and they enjoyed each others presence.
It was a calm summer day, the wind blew slowly and cooled the heated earth. A few other figures stood off the side. One was a petite female with long, wavy blonde hair and sincere teal green eyes. The tips of her horns could only barely be seen from the crown of her head. She giggled at the pair and smiled, warmly.
The little girl squirmed in her father's arms, wanting down. The man laughed and let her down, but not before gently rubbing his nose against hers. It was a sign of affection in her family. The girl laughed and returned the gesture. Once she was set on her feet, she brushed off her pale blue kimono. The skirt reached her ankles and her feet were bare. Royal blue and gold dragon flies swirled around the waist and skirt just beneath a pale yellow obi sash.
The man straightened up, running a hand through his hair and turning to the woman. He was dressed in a simple green yukata with darker trim. His hair was messy as usual and jagged bangs fell into piercing blue eyes. He reached out and ruffled his daughter's matching hair and nudged her along.
The girl wandered off a little, looking around at everything. The woman stepped toward her husband. The skirt of her lilac kimono swished softly back and forth. She too was barefoot along with her husband. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail with strands falling over her shoulders. Small silver dragonflies danced around her skirt with a matching colored obi sash.
The woman leaned against the man, her head on his shoulder. The pair watched their youngest run around, chasing butterflies. Another figured appeared beside her, watching carefully and following her. The figure was male, about a head shorter than the father. His hair was chin length, messy golden blonde. His eyes were a piercing blue that sparkled in the sunlight. He wore a royal blue yukata with pale blue trim. His arms were hidden in the sleeves as he faithfully followed the little girl.
The little girl stopped and turned to face her guardian and smiled up at him. The man smiled back and leaned down, rubbing his nose against hers. The girl returned the gesture and hugged him, then began to jump in place. The man laughed and hoisted his sister up onto his shoulders, walking around the field, laughing as she reached out to passing butterflies.
The little girl then looked down at her older brother and lightly played with his more prominent horns. The males of her family always had longer horns. Though they were still small and rounded at the tips. They were at least a half inch longer than the females. Her brother flinched and tilted his head up to look at her. The girl giggled and went back to pointing things out.
Takuya smiled at his children as he then turned to greet his wife in the same affectionate nose kiss he gave his daughter. Ayumi returned the gesture, pushing closer to her husband. It was a peaceful day for an outing. They had been outside all day, playing and talking. There wasn't a cloud in the sky so the sun was it's brightest. She hummed to herself as her husband kissed her hand. They had a simple life for a noble family. They kept to themselves mostly so they were not part of the main noble houses.
They broke from their reverie at a shriek. They turned to see their daughter, now on the ground, running away from their son. Takuya smiled softly at this. They were truly inseparable and Koji always acted as guardian to his younger sister, Hitomi.
Hitomi giggled as she ran from her brother. She looked around and noticed a familiar figure standing a distance away. She grinned and ran towards them, diving behind them to try and hide from Koji. The figure was a male about a couple years older. He stood a couple inches taller than Hitomi. He had messy coal black hair with parted bangs. His eyes were narrowed and brow-less. His eyes matched his hair. He wore a dark gray yukata and small traditional sandals.
Hitomi pressed against the back of her best friend. He had shown up one day on their property, no family to contact. The family took him in as their own and Hitomi grew attached to him. Koji stared down the boy with a smirk. The boy stood his ground, standing straighter to look stronger. Koji laughed softly and tried to lunge at his sister.
The boy moved quickly and blocked Koji's path. Koji laughed and tried again. Each time his path was blocked by the shorter male. Hitomi giggled and took off from the two feuding boys. She darted off to her parents, the boys close behind. She was about halfway there when she was suddenly picked up and carried away. "GOTCHA!" a familiar voice rang out. She looked up to see her best friend carrying her, trying to keep her away from Koji. Hitomi giggled and yelled for her friend to go faster.
Takuya and Ayumi smiled at the trio, laughing softly at their antics. He would make a great husband for their daughter. It may have seemed like a joke in the family, but they truly believed the boy would be great for Hitomi. The couple watched the children play and soon it was time for them to return home.
Teal green eyes snapped open, taking a moment to focus in the darkness of her room. She sighed as she sat up on her bed and ran a hand through hair and rubbed at her eyes. Ever since she found out who Akon was, she had begun having dreams of home. She missed her family, she hadn't heard anything from them since she went to the academy.
A small ache started in her chest as she thought of Koji. Her elder brother and the family heir. He was her protector long before she met Akon. He went with her everywhere and was her personal guardian. She loved him with all her heart. He was sweet, gentle, and kind. Though one day something happened and he vanished during the night. Hitomi had been devastated. Not long after her best friend departed for the seireitei to become a soul reaper. He left without a goodbye, just like her brother.
She sighed and laid back on the bed. She turned over on her side and closed her eyes. There was only a few hours left until sunrise. She hoped she wouldn't have another dream like that. She wasn't ready to face the past just yet. She sighed and soon fell into a deep sleep once again.
Hitomi woke up a couple hours later at her usual time. She got up, made her bed and changed into her soul reaper uniform. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and fixed her hair, being careful of her horns. She smiled at her reflection and left her room to report to Captain Ukitake for her duties.
She found the man outside the barracks on the porch, enjoying the morning sun. He sat quietly on his knees, sipping a cup of tea. She could always find the man relaxing somewhere. Especially early in the morning. She smiled at her captain and took a hesitant step forward, hoping she wasn't disturbing him.
"Ah, Miss Miyamoto. Please, have a seat." Captain Ukitake greeted, happily. Hitomi smiled and shyly stepped forward, sitting in front of her captain. She kept her head down in respect, lifting it only to accept a cup of tea and say a small thanks.
"I see you've been visiting the 12th division quite frequently. Is there something I should know about?" Captain Ukitake asked, calmly. He took another sip of his tea and kept his gaze on Hitomi. He had practically taken her in as his own daughter when she came to his division.
Hitomi adverted her gaze, trying to will away the blush. "Well, you see. I was simply wandering and getting to know everything and I happened upon that division. I heard about what they did there and wanted to see if for myself. So I took a peak inside and was pulled in by one of the members. They treated me nicely and I made a couple friends. That's all." She explained, quietly. Ukitake simply nodded, knowing there may be something she's not telling him, but letting it go.
"Very well, as long as Captain Kurotsuchi doesn't mind you being there and you get your work done. I have no problems with it." He replied, simply. Hitomi gave him a soft smile and nodded. "Of course, Captain. You know me, my work comes before everything else." Hitomi replied, confidently. Captain Ukitake simply laughed and ruffled his fifth seat's hair.
The pair sat quietly, conversing now and then and sipping at their tea. Hitomi couldn't help but let her mind wander back to her dream. What could it mean? She hadn't seen her family in years, could something have been wrong? Her family had faded in reputation and their rank had dropped after her elder brother vanished. Could he have returned, were they in trouble?
She shook the questions away and finished her tea. She decided not to worry about it. She enjoyed the silence as she sat with her captain. The other members had awoken and the stand-in lieutenants, Kiyone and Sentaro, joined the pair. Hitomi smiled up at them and chatted with Kiyone. She had made friends with them, Kiyone treating her like a sister.
Sentaro had stood in as her guardian since the captain was fond of her. Captain Ukitake was almost like an adoptive father. He looked after her and treated her like his own kin. She didn't mind it, it was nice to have a place.
She laughed softly as the lieutenants began to argue over something. She shook her head and looked away, her thoughts trailing back to the other day. She had found her childhood best friend and they confessed. They were now together, but she wasn't sure if it should be secret or not. She figured it would be between them and a few others until everything was straightened out.
She heaved a soft sigh of content, closing her eyes and only partially listening to the murmurs of other squad members. Little did she know that soon soul society would be receiving visitors. Visitors she wasn't sure she was ready to meet.
AN: Yeah, yeah. I know what I said. But I just couldn't resist. I had to continue it. I guess I couldn't leave it alone. I came up with a plot to make it a full story. It won't be long though, maybe 6-7 chapters. Don't quote me on that. Reviews make me happy ^^
Also as I keep forgetting to mention in the other chapters, I do not own anything. The only thing I own is Hitomi and her family. The rest belongs to Tite Kubo.