It was morning, not long after sunrise on Seireitei
It was morning, not long after sunrise on Seireitei. The morning sun spread across the Kuchiki House, warming the building with its rays. Byakuya lay in bed listening to the sounds of the maids working across the house. The Kuchiki House was a busy place even though there were only two Kuchiki's living there.
Byakuya had been lying in bed for several days now, he had been told that it was a part of his recovery process but in truth Captain Kuchiki did not feel right. The man who had killed him was now a Captain of the House Guards, his own powers were nothing compared to what they used to be; everything was wrong.
The Captain rose from his bed and crossed to his wardrobe where he grabbed his kimono and Captain's jacket and getting dressed. He looked down onto a small plinth where Senbonzakura lay still and undrawn for days. As Byakuya reached out for it, he felt a pang of guilt for the weapon which had been dreadfully injured in that battle
"Is this why you don't feel the same to me anymore?" Byakuya thought. Without another hesitation Byakuya snatched up the weapon and tore out of the room; his face determined.
Rukia was sat up on her own bed, already dressed but deep in meditation. Her string of thoughts were broken by Byakuya Kuchiki as he flew past her bedroom. Immediately Rukia was on her feet, running after her adopted brother.
"Brother, wait!" she called but Byakuya did not slow down. Staff were amazed and surprised that Byakuya was up and about before suddenly remembering their place and bowing to him as he rocketed past followed by the younger Kuchiki.
Once out into the land around Kuchiki House Byakuya flash stepped a great distance, heading for the forest. Rukia managed to keep pace, this worried her as in the past Byakuya would long since be gone. They reached the trees, Byakuya vaulting high into their branches and drawing his sword as he went. Rukia saw its blade shimmer in the sunlight
"Scatter! Senbonzakura!" Byakuya spoke. The sword blade exploded into golden shards but the damage they caused to the trees around him was minimal. The blade came back together and Byakuya landed, he felt defeated, in the past his attack would have felled half the trees in the forest if he'd wished it; now he couldn't even cut down a single one. Rukia caught up with him
"Brother?" she asked
"Leave me in peace, I need to train" Byakuya ordered
"Brother, the Doctor says you are not up to this type of exercise" Rukia told him
"I am Byakuya Kuchiki, this isn't exercise" Byakuya replied "I could do this for a whole day with ease"
"That was before" Rukia said, fearful of her own words.
Byakuya looked back at her, holding out his sword, a sight that would have killed most out of fear alone.
"Brother?" Rukia gasped stepping back. Byakuya did not say another word as he shot forward, striking towards Rukia. Rukia drew her own Zanpakuto and parried the shot before dodging out of the way. Byakuya did not falter; he spun around, sword gleaming in the sunlight. This time Rukia deflected the sword and pressed the blade of her own Zanpakuto against her brothers neck. Byakuya sighed
"You see what I have become? Even my own sister can defeat me" Byakuya muttered "I know all the techniques, power is what I lack" Byakuya jumped back
"Scatter, Senbonzakura!" Byakuya said, his sword blade exploding and scattering. Rukia managed to strike each and every segment of blade that came towards her. Every segment was knocked to the ground without any difficulty. This upset Rukia; she knew that she was very good but she should never have been able to deflect even a handful of Senbonzakura's beautiful blades. Byakuya looked at her, he looked physically hurt by what had happened.
"It's a lovely morning to be out training" someone said. Rukia and Byakuya looked around to see Kenpachi walking towards them.
He had been unfazed by the encounter with Vincent Kuchiki but everyone knew that since being back he was unable to look at the Captain of the 9th squadron.
"Captain Zaraki, what brings you into our domain?" Byakuya asked, sheathing Senbonzakura; the Kuchiki residence was private property and so it was incredibly rare for anyone to come near the house, let alone walk private the forest in their domain.
"I could sense you training Byakuya, your powers have not returned either?" Kenpachi asked. Byakuya froze; did this mean that Kenpachi was experiencing a loss in spiritual pressure also?
"Since we came back, I've been feeling out of ordinary, my power isn't what it used to be" Kenpachi explained as they sat near a large fallen tree.
"I am the same, Senbonzakura is nothing compared to its former self" Byakuya revealed. Kenpachi nodded
"I have heard that the Captain of 9th Squadron has begun lessons to increase the power of his soldier's Zanpakuto, rather than an all encompassing training regime" Kenpachi revealed.
Byakuya sighed and sat down on top of a nearby boulder
"I have lost faith in our superiors, this man killed us yet they make him an officer" Byakuya said
"They were blackmailed into it" Rukia assured him "They would have killed him where he stood otherwise"
"He is still in power, the demons are destroyed and yet he is still in power" Byakuya said "I do not understand why they let him continue being in charge of a battalion of soldiers"
"If they won't do anything about it, I believe we must Byakuya" Kenpachi told him "We are the most powerful; we can take him down, all we need to do is understand how to avoid his sealing attack" Byakuya looked across at Kenpachi
"What you speak of is blasphemous; Captains killing a Captain will not be taken lightly" Byakuya told him
"I know the punishment, if you can live with seeing him in power day by day then be my guest and sit this battle out; I will not let him stand there and mock us; maybe warping the mind of his soldiers in the process" Byakuya's eyes flashed dangerously
"His soldiers, if they were to turn against Seireitei then we would have a problem; worse than any hollows are traitorous Shinigami" Byakuya said to himself. Rukia looked from Captain to Captain.
"You are seriously talking about killing a Captain of one of the House Guards?" she exclaimed "The repercussions of such an act!"
"They would be tolerable" Kenpachi told her "You don't have to be involved, just do not tell anyone about what we are going to do"
"I have not agreed" Byakuya informed him
"But in time you will come to see it" Kenpachi assured him as he walked away "Everyday he is in power makes it harder to remove him from power" in seconds Kenpachi vanished from sight, leaving Rukia and Byakuya to listen to the sounds of the forest.
As they sat there, staring through the trees towards the white valleys that lay several miles beyond the forest Rukia sat down and put her head into her hands. Byakuya looked down at his adopted sister
"What is wrong?" he asked. For a moment he was going to drop off the tree to her side but decided against it. Rukia shook her head
"It doesn't matter" she told him as she got to her feet and began to walk back towards the Kuchiki House.
Byakuya sat there and watched Rukia walk away until she disappeared through the gate into his families home. He had an idea as to what pained his adoptive sister but he had more pressing matters to deal with; Vincent Kuchiki.
-Elsewhere in Seireitei
Byakuya was not the only Shinigami weary of Vincent Kuchiki, Captain Hitsugaya did not trust him either, the grounds on which he became a Captain were shaky and completely out of order. Blackmail for Captaincy; it was amazing that Vincent was still alive let alone still a Captain.
Stood on the balcony of his Captain's quarters, Hitsugaya looked over the various buildings of Seireitei, he watched various Shinigami go about their daily business. I was a past time Hitsugaya participated in quite a bit, it helped him think as he watched other people leading more simple lives than his own.
A knock at his door drew his attention away from the population below. Stepping back into his office he drew the doors to the balcony closed.
"Enter" Hitsugaya said, sitting at his desk. The door slid open and Hisagi Shuuhei, Vice Captain of the 9th Squadron entered the room.
"Hello Captain, I was wondering if you had a few moments so that we could talk?" Hisagi asked. Hitsugaya motioned towards the chair in front of his desk
"I have all morning" Hitsugaya told him. Hisagi took a seat, he looked around him curiously; he had never been in Hitsugaya's office.
"What's on your mind?" Hitsugaya asked
"Things over at 9th Squad's Barracks have changed so much, beyond the usual Shinigami training regime, it's nice to be back somewhere more like home" Hisagi told him
"Changed so much? We have heard rumours but none of us have entered the barracks since Kuchiki took over" Hitsugaya said, Hisagi shook his head
"Things have changed so much, everyone is up at the crack of dawn, we have breakfast then it is out to the training dome to train for six hours without stopping, training with Zanpakuto only" Hisagi told him
"Training dome? I have never heard of a place" Hitsugaya questioned.
"He takes us there, opens a portal with his Zanpakuto and he brings us back" Hisagi explained "It's as though no time passes at all in Soul Society"
Hitsugaya frowned; it was not at all a good sign. If Vincent Kuchiki was able to train without anyone watching or knowing yet he had free reign around Soul Society then he was unbeatable.
"Hisagi, would you be willing to be a spy for us? I understand that he is the Captain of your house and it would feel wrong for you to move around behind his back but we need someone who can keep us informed of what he is up to" Hitsugaya asked him. Hisagi looked around for a few seconds; mulling it over.
"My duty is to Soul Society and the others in my squadron; Vincent Kuchiki shouldn't be here, I would be more than happy to report back to you" Hisagi said getting to his feet and bowing to Hitsugaya.
"You would make a good Captain, Hisagi, maybe one day" Hitsugaya praised as he got to his feet.
"What should I do?" Hisagi asked
"Take a walk around Seireitei, it will give you time to think" Hitsugaya recommended. Hisagi nodded then bowed before leaving the room.
Hitsugaya returned to the balcony, in the short time he had spent in Hisagi's company, the sky seemed darker than it had; Hitsugaya was unsure weather or not the new information had taken the shine off the day. From his placement Hitsugaya could see over to the Kuchiki house situated several miles away. The trees beyond the house, in the grounds glittered gold in the sunlight.
"Glittering? The sun is too high in the sky to create such a view" Hitsugaya thought. He looked closer at the shimmering trees and suddenly realised what he was looking at;
"Fire!!"
- Read and Review please :) Decided to get on with some writing seeing as I had some free time-
- Can't wait for the Diamond Dust Rebellion :D -