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Chapter 3
You stand in silence with the captain, until the chirps of the crickets and the lights of the fireflies fade away. retreating to soft sunlight filtering through the windows. The next day had begun, but you felt reluctant in leaving.
Finally, Byakuya opened his eyes, breaking from his meditation, and stares at you expectantly. "You will have to go. The others will wonder about you." You watch calmly as he replaces the incense sticks with a new pair, and begins walking to the door. You rush to catch up, trying not to trip over your night robe like last time. Once again, you are sent through the dizzying maze of rooms, one after the other, the same sliding door being pulled away, until you finally reach the hallway.
Captain Kuchiki immediately begins walking away from you to the direction of his bedroom, obviously not wanting you seen with him going through the door.
"Wait."
You call out the word faintly, but he still hears you and turns around. "What is it? I must get ready for the day, third-seat."
"Well..." You twirl a strand of baby hair that had come loose, dangling at the side of your glasses. "I just wanted to thank you. You didn't have to tell me about the room or discuss your past, but you did it anyway." You smile softly, and then look away. "It must have been hard to tell me after concealing the fact..."
He stares at you for a few long seconds, as if trying to choose the right word. Then, the captain states, "It was the right thing," as his dull, gray eyes lock with yours. Then, he nods at you, as if thanking you, and then left without another word. You watch him go in silence, your thoughts still whirling.
"He is a strange man!" you joke quietly to yourself, a smile curling across your face, as you head back to your dorm to get ready for the day.
After a peaceful breakfast of omelet, you head out for another walk, seeing if you could meet any other people you hadn't met yet. You decide not to go to the Department of Research and Development, based on the rumors you had heard about Captain Kurotsuchi and his supposedly crazy experiments. After a while of walking among green trees and violet flowers, you decide to head to the other side of town to the Squad 10 barracks.
As soon as you knock on the door, a woman with long, orange hair enters the door, with sparkling gray-blue eyes. "Oh, hello. I haven't seen you around before..."
You smile. "I'm the new third-in-command of Division 6."
She nods. "So, did you come here to learn some new fashion styles? Because I, Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, is the right person for the job!" Her eyes glow with excitement as she literally shoves you inside.
"W-what?"
"Come on. Don't be so shy. I'm gonna style up your hair and everything, and no one will pass by you without taking a look at you! You'll look dazzling." She forcefully pushes you into a chair and starts organizing make-up, eyeliner, nail polish, and other frivolous fashion tools. She straightens your hair and collects half of it into a bun, pushing a fake, pink flower in the middle of the bun, while the other half of your hair was left straight.
"Here's a mirror. How do you think you look?"
You stare at the mirror, and say slowly, "It's okay, I guess, but I didn't come here to style my hair, Rangiku." You stand up, making the lieutenant protest.
"Hey, stay here for a little more! I'll apply eyeliner, and blush, and then I might even put a pink tiara crown, and then you'll look like a little queen! Oh, and don't forget the earrings. I think I might even buy some pretty new pairs of glasses for you, and-"
"MATSUMOTO!"
A short, white haired boy enters, his ice blue eyes filled with so much anger that it made you think he was going to blow at any given moment. You realize that he is wearing a Captain's coat. He must have been the child prodigy that people were talking about.
"Why are you taking off your duties, Matsumoto? You think you can relax all day while I have to do all of the paperwork? Get back here at this instant!"
"Aw...but Captain!"
"This is not how you treat your guests!" The boy gave Rangiku one last hard glare, before she sulked out of the room, muttering under her breath. The only words you could pick out were, "This isn't over!"
After Rangiku had left, the white-haired boy turns to you. "Sorry about that. I'm Captain Hitsugaya. You must be the third-seat of Division 6."
"Yes," you respond, feeling awkward that you had to look down to talk to a captain. He was unbelievably short, yet strong and determined enough to be a captain. The idea was a bit confusing.
You and Captain Hitsugaya talk a little bit about the other captains and the rules that you were expected to follow. He never went off topic once. You know that he must be a very serious person, even for his age, and it wouldn't do good to give him a temper.
After a while, you thank him and leave again, deciding to not meet anyone else for the rest of the day. Even with your casual meeting with Captain Hitsugaya, you still couldn't take your mind off of what had occurred between you and Byakuya that night. He had revealed one of his deepest secrets, yet his heart was still locked away in ice, only his mind doing the work.
You sigh, your finger tracing the rough outline of the bark of a tree. You do this for a little bit, until one of your fingers accidentally gets splintered. You end up sucking that finger for the rest of the trip, still thinking pensively. You can't take your thoughts off of the captain for some reason. You couldn't just ignore the captain like he hadn't told nothing. You groan in frustration to yourself.
One day, I'll break that iced heart of his.
You know on your heart that you would keep that promise. You wouldn't stand there and do nothing, letting his heart chip away until there was nothing left. You wanted to give him something, but you didn't even know what you would do. All that you knew for a fact was that you wouldn't break that promise.
When you got home, you did some of the paperwork Captain Kuchiki had assigned you, but your mind was still off the task. You found yourself glancing at Byakuya when you passed him in the halls, your eyes trying to read his emotion, his passions, his hatred...everything. But everything was sealed away in a locked box with absolutely no key whatsoever.
After a while, in the middle of your work, you dropped your brush, made sure the ink was capped, and slammed your fist down on the table in anger and confusion, not knowing what to do. You couldn't sit around doing paperwork. You had to do something.
At lunch, you absent-mindedly picked on your food, your eyes dull and emotionless. To cover it all up, you would attempt at a few sentences of casual conversation, forcing the smiles that pained your heart. You never knew that Byakuya would impact the way you saw things, but it did.
"May I have the third-seat and lieutenant aside for a moment? I wish to speak to them."
Byakuya Kuchiki entered the room, requesting for you and Renji. Tilting your head, you stare at the captain for a split second, puzzled at what information Byakuya was going to bring. Then, you stand up, swallowing your last bite of rice, and place your chopsticks neatly next to your plate, and hurried alongside the lieutenant, until you pass the door threshold.
"You both will be going to the world of the living with me to patrol Karakura Town, in order to help fight off the recent Hollow attacks. Unfortunately, the number has risen." He stares solemnly at you and Renji, and then clears his throat and continues, "It'll be four of us on the mission. Us three and Rukia Kuchiki. We'll leave by tomorrow."
You perk up, excited at the fact that you would finally be able to meet Byakuya's sister. Hopefully, you would be able to be friends with her. Besides, it made you one step closer in understanding your squad. The captain was already cold, as it was, making it hard for you to truly understand him out of the whole squad, but it only puzzled you more in exactly why he had brought you there that night to talk about Hisana. You sigh, shaking the thought off. There was no use in thinking about it right now. You had to keep your mind to the task. Besides, it wasn't a common thing to visit the world of the living.
"Yes, captain," you and Renji say in unison, as the captain tilts his head to bid goodbye, and leaves without another word. You are about to retreat back to your lunch, your thoughts buzzing at the idea of finally showing your squad what you can do, until Renji politely pokes you on the back.
"Er...by the way, why is your hair styled like that?" he asks.
You jump a little, realizing that Rangiku's hairstyle that she had made was still there. You blush a little, and sheepishly smile at him. "Oh...it's a long story."
Your eyes open very early in the morning. Rubbing your eyes, you force yourself to sit up in bed, staring at the window. The sun was barely up, with the top of the mango-colored circle peeking out from the horizon and filtering through the trees. You put on your glasses and admire the view of dawn for a minute, and then quickly smoothed your hair. It was earlier than usual, but you knew why.
Today, you were leaving for the world of the living. You felt like jumping up and down as excitement filled your soul, but you knew you couldn't act childish in front of everyone, when they thought you were going to slay Hollows! You open your closet and take your Zanpakuto with its sheath safely secured around it. You ran over its smooth surface, and then latched it in the belt of your Soul Reaper uniform.
Your Zanpakuto looks like a normal sword while sheathed, but its shikai form was a thin, silvery-white color. When unleashed, it splits from one to two sharp-tipped blades. At the command, "Spin, Dansuburedo!", shurikens emerge from the two tips, spinning around and cutting the desired opponent at a rapid, repeating speed until the Hollow was defeated. This was why your Zanpakuto's name meant "dancing blades". You admired your Zanpakuto a lot, and loved when you fought with it.
You took one last look in the mirror, and then pushed the door opened. You walked in silence, and the only sound was your shoes clattering on the floor, due to the early morning hours. No one else would be up yet, and even the socializing room was empty. You walk outside, to find a hell butterfly heading towards you. The black wings of the silent creature flap up and down slowly, and then settles upon your finger.
The hell butterfly sits there for a second, with both antennas twitching slightly, and then you hear the message say, "You are to report to the Senkaimon immediately to enter the world of the living." Then, the butterfly begins soaring away at a fast pace, leading you the way, as you flash-step after it, inhaling and exhaling. You begin climbing a green hill with sunny skies. When you reach the top, you suddenly feel marble under your shoes as you enter the courtyard of the Senkaimon. You slow down when you hear the clatter of the smooth floor under you, gasping for air as the butterfly finally slows down.
You let out a small gasp as you look up to find the towering gates of the Senkaimon. You have only been out of the Soul Society once before, for your supervised training in defeating Hollows. It was an interesting city, and the humans had unbelievable advancements in technology, but it always baffled you for how they never knew about the secret of the afterlife.
Squinting in the distance, you see three figures waiting for you. The tall figure was most likely the captain, with his piercing gray eyes, white captain coat, and white hairpieces on his black hair. Standing next to him was Renji, which you could decipher by his red, spiky hair. The third figure had short, black hair that curved at the ends, and violet-blue eyes. You stare at her in amazement for a second, not believing at how similar Hisana's photo was to her. It had to be Rukia.
Finally, you reach them, your hell butterfly at your side. Rukia turns to you.
"Hi there. I'm Rukia Kuchiki, lieutenant of Squad 13," she says, smiling. Her smile seemed so similar to Hisana's photograph that you were lost in your thoughts for a second, feeling a little shaken. You stare at the ground as uneasiness settles in your mind.
"Hey, is anything wrong?"
Rukia's voice barges into your thoughts, making you jump a little. You shake your head to clear those thoughts, and force a small smile. "No, I'm fine."
She stares at you, her eyes slightly narrowed. Your heart thuds against your chest as she looks at you. Did she suspect anything? However, she didn't say a word, and just smiled back.
"So, what is your name, anyway?"
You quickly introduce yourself to her as the new third-seat of Division 6, with a small bow.
"That's great! I'll assure you that you'll make many new friends there. At least, I did when I was part of their squad. I hope you do well," Rukia said, while straightening the strand of black hair that lingered in front of her face. Then, she grinned, and added in a low, teasing voice, "Try not to get pushed around, though. Byakuya isn't going to cut you some slack, and Renji is kind of rash, so don't follow his stupid ideas."
You and her laugh at the remark, until both of your voices fade away in the talking and rush of officers, preparing the Senkaimon.
As you watch your captain talking to someone, a question arises in your mind. You turn to Rukia and inquire, "So, you used to be in Division 6 as an unseated officer?" You pause for a second, and then continue, "But you had the experience to be in line in becoming a captain long before. Couldn't you have become a lieutenant a little while sooner, instead of moving to another squad?"
Rukia glanced uneasily at you, and then takes a quick look at Byakuya, who is still occupied with speaking to one of the officers who would open the Senkaimon. After Rukia seemed assured that the captain wasn't listening, she turns back to you.
With a whisper, she states slowly, "Actually...Byakuya didn't want me to be a seated officer in any of the squads. Despite my experience and power, I was part of the squad, but not placed into a higher rank." Her gaze wavered, and she looked away. "Let's just say that Nii-sama didn't understand me back then. He didn't understand the extent of my power, and he didn't even trust me. Whenever he looked at my face, he would see Hisana..." Rukia's voice faltered. "Captain Ukitake told you about the story, right?"
You shake your head slowly. "Yes, I did..." You begin thinking about Byakuya again. Was he really that different back then?
Rukia sights the worried look on your face, and then grins. "No need to worry. Things are different now. Let's get this mission done, shall we?" She adjusts her Zanpakuto swiftly, and then gestures for you to follow her. You and her run towards Byakuya and Renji's direction.
When you reach them, you suddenly hear a strange, eerie sound. You turn back to find the source of the sound, which were four hell butterflies, required in order to go through the Senkaimon. One butterfly would go to each of them.
You feel the butterfly's thin legs tickle your shoulder as it brushes past you, and then hovers over your head. A voice sounds loud and clear through the talking of people, declaring, "Open the Senkaimon!"
The officers nearby the door concentrate their spiritual energy into the doors, and they slowly begin to open. You watch as blue light begins filtering through the doors that towered over your head. You attempt to look past the brightness of the light, but it is impossible to see anything past it. The light is nearly blinding when it is finally opened all the way. You squint in the brightness as it glares over your glasses.
Rukia side-glances at you. "Ready to go?"
"Of course," you reply, as you stare ahead. This was your first real mission. Exhilaration and pride flowed through you, but you knew that this wasn't for fun. They would be vanquishing Hollows, and you had to stay on task.
As the officers made their last adjustments to the Senkaimon, you realize that a small, clip-on bunny is hanging from Rukia's belt. Confusion flows through you, as you wonder why the lieutenant would bring such a thing on a mission.
"Um, Lieutenant Kuchiki, could I ask a quick question?" you pipe up, as you adjust your glasses.
"Call me Rukia, and sure."
"Why do you have a...stuffed bunny attached to your belt?"
Rukia jolts in place, and she turns her face away, but you could tell she was blushing. "Well...I like bunnies. W-what's wrong with that?" She smiles to herself. "Byakuya-sama had gifted it to me." She covers the small bunny with her hands, suddenly self-conscious of bringing a toy bunny to the mission. You just watch her, laughing secretly to yourself. You had to admit that it was humorous to see a lieutenant that loved bunnies.
Then, you realize that Byakuya, out of all people, had gifted that small bunny to her. You grin to yourself, looking away to make sure no one saw it.
No matter how much he tries to hide it, Byakuya is a very caring person...you think, as you look up at the billowing clouds in the blue sky.
Then, you, Rukia, Renji, and Byakuya all headed through the Senkaimon, the light showering over your sight until you could see nothing but bright white in your vision.