A/N: 15 reviews cause I need the encouragement to write, especially now that it is the exams! (131 reviews)
Read the author's note below, it is very very important! It is concerning Ichigo!
-X-
Numb
Chapter 9: Missing
First month
Real world
It was raining heavily…
Rukia sat on the roof a tall building in her Shinigami form and watched the humans below rushed to find shelter. As she watched, she contemplated about her current life. Urahara-san was a certainly kind man, however mysterious he was. He never allowed her to look straight into his eyes, as if he was hiding something from her. Ni-sama probably never knew that there were absolutely no hollows here at all. She had a perfectly relaxing time, going to new places, trying out ice-cream, which tasted oddly cold. Images of a dead Kaien-dono were popping up less in her dreams. She was sure, by the end of three months, she, like what Ni-sama had said, forgotten about him.
Rukia could not help but wonder if it was also raining in Soul Society.
She had hated the rain after Kaien-dono had died. He had, after all, died in the rain. She would never forgive herself for that. Before that, she loved the rain. Whenever it rained when she was in the Kuchiki manor, she felt happy, relaxed. It felt like home, with the fire roaring in the hearth, and the raindrops on the roof of whole manor. She loved it when she lied on her bed, listening to the wind roaring outside, and the pitter-patter of the rain on the roof of her bedroom which was located at the top of the manor. She felt warm, like she belonged. But it all stopped when the door opened, marking the arrival of yet another guest, perfectly ready to smile, to pretend to be caring. The wind would blow in, and Rukia would once again feel cold, alone.
But now, she felt perfectly at peace. Lifting her head up, and opening her lips slightly, she allowed rain to enter her mouth and drank it. She cocked her head to one side as she considered the taste of it. It certainly tasted sweet, but cold. It somehow reminded her of Ni-sama.
Amused at the connection, she thought back to the little display of affection. She remembered it all too well, how warm his was, how good he smelled. Ni-sama cared deeply for her, however subtly he showed it. Allowing herself to smile, she whispered, "Aishiteru, Byakyua-sama."
Soul Society
Kuchiki Byakuya paused in the midst of his never diminishing pile of paperwork to glare at the woman who had the nerve to enter his office without asking for permission. "Lieutenant Matsumoto."
Settling herself down comfortably on his luxurious sofa, she grinned back at him, "Yes, my dearest Taichou?"
Byakuya glared, "You know perfectly well that I am no longer your captain. That was centuries ago."
Matsumoto sighed, and for once, spoke in a serious tone. "Time passes so quickly, indeed. I watched you grow up. I remembered that you barely reached my hip when you walked into this office for the first time, with your head held high." Sniggering at a thought, she continued, "I remember your scarf back then. It was really loooong. I always wondered how you managed not to trip over it. But I guess you grew fast enough."
Byakuya kept his silence.
Matsumoto smirked, her normal personality coming back. "On the other hand, my fuzzy-head taichou never grows at all! He was at this level when he came," Matsumoto said excitedly, gesturing to her well-endowed chest, causing Byakuya to narrow his eyes in disgust, "and guess what! He is still here!"
Leaving no time for her past Taichou to reply, she continued happily, "He won't stop drinking height supplements too. It is really silly, it never works. Then, he had this sudden thought that if he drank more soup, he would grow taller. After hearing that, Isane said that she would never-"
Byakuya frowned deeply as he cut her off neatly. "I would remind you that you are not to speak of your captains, past or present in this manner." Then, looking at her, he continued, "Hitsuguya mentioned that he would be sending something to me at six, the clock plainly shows that it is midnight now. Surely you would not want your captain to hear of this tardiness?"
Upon hearing him, Matsumoto leapt up from her lazy position and saluted in front of him. Smiling nervously, she drew out a thick file and said, "You won't tell my little Taichou, would you?"
Kuchiki Byakuya smirked inwardly, accepting the file before replying. "Dismissed."
Matsumoto pouted before dragging herself out of his office.
Kuchiki Byakuya looked out of the window, into the dark stormy sky. A lone moon occupied the corner of the massive sky. He watched as rain started to pour heavily and heard the bustling of Shinigamis who were now slamming windows shut. He made no move even as the rain started to splatter in through the window, on his paper work. Allowing his well drilled façade to drop ever so slightly, he sighed as he recalled Matsumoto's words, "Time passes so quickly…"
He looked out at the far, untouchable moon, which was now half covered by clouds longingly, "Two more months…"
Second month
Rukia jumped and swiped her sword across the hollow's mask furiously. Wiping her brow on her sleeve when she landed, she frowned deeply, that was another hollow down. All of a sudden, Karakura town seemed to be swarmed in hollows. The first month had been very peaceful, not a single hollow, but suddenly, hollows kept coming, aiming for her.
Gripping her sword tightly as yet another ugly hollow came charging at her, she slammed the sword into the hollow's mask. Only nine in the morning and it was the fifth hollow she had defeated. Rukia felt afraid that she would not be able to continue any further. What was happening?
Little did she know that her every action was being watched by three men…
-X-
A shinigami stepped out of the portal that led him to the real world. He was under the orders of Ichimaru-Taichou to go to the real world to investigate the sightings of hollows. As he stepped onto the roof of a school, he observed, "Karakura town isn't really big…"
He flicked his blonde hair out of his sight as he reached for his zanpakuto and brought it down oh a hollow which leapt out, aiming for his back. As he withdrew his sword, he said, "Don't underestimate me," He then swung around to kill another hollow, "for I am the lieutenant."
-X-
"There seems to be a Shinigami sent down to the living world yesterday." Senbonzakura said.
"As I was informed by Ukitake." Byakuya replied, uninterested.
"To Karakura town." Senbonzakura continued. Byakuya, who was standing with his back to Senbonzakura, turned around and fixed Senbonzakura with a stare. "That is impossible. I have passed down orders that no one is supposed to enter Karakura."
"Rukia is currently fighting, Byakuya." Senbonzakura said. "Urahara seems to have not kept his word."
Reaching into his Shinigami uniform, he pulled out his phone and dialed Urahara. The line connected. "Welcome to Urahara shoten!"
Byakuya spoke, "Urahara, is Rukia with you?"
Urahara continued rambling. "To place an order, press one, to see our stock, press two, to ask-"
Slamming the cover of his phone down, Byakuya said in disgust as he sent a Kuchiki glare at the phone, "It was a contraption."
For a wonder, Senbonzakura did not giggle. In fact, she was anxious. "I am not sure, but I have a bad feeling about it. I just hope that it is not any one from the three squads we are concerned about."
Byakuya frowned. He was unable to enter the real world, after the elders knew that the 'animal' was in the real world. Everyone was under tight surveillance of the elders. There was no way he could send someone to the real world.
Frowning deeper, he gripped his brush tightly and forced himself to concentrate solely on his paperwork.
-X-
A hollow leapt out of nowhere, aiming for Rukia. She had no time to react, as the hollow's fangs pierced her skin. Hissing in pain, she wriggled violently, before slicing the hollows arm off. As she fell to the ground, she saw a figure standing over her. He looked very… familiar.
He frowned as he saw a female clad in Shinigami robes lying in a pool of blood. Certain that it was the Shinigami the captain wanted, he walked over, only to realize that it was his childhood friend. "Rukia…"
-X-
Rukia stirred slightly. She winced as she tried to sit up, her wound on her right arm reopening. She heard someone move across the room next door. Feeling uncertain, she called out, "Ni-sama?"
The door opened, and a man walked in, carrying a tray of food. He smiled at her. Rukia clenched the sheets tightly as he looked at the man in disbelieve, "Kira Izuri?"
-X-
Ichimaru grinned eerily as he put in his bit of the report, "Kira Izuri has already captured our little target, Aizen-sama."
His superior replied, "Well done, Gin, however, are you sure that Kira Izuri will remain loyal to us after he knows our little pet?"
Smiling even wider, Ichimaru continued, "Then Kira will be graced with Shinso."
Aizen smiled, "Now all we need is to have our Rukia get injured so badly that Urahara has no choice."
-X-
Urahara sat tensely in his private room. Yoruichi, still in her cat form, kept a careful distance from him. "Well?" she asked.
"I can't do it, my lady." Urahara said. "It would be unfair, unjust to both her and him."
"We have no choice." Yoruichi retorted. "She will be the most protected person when she gets back to the soul society. We will have to trust Byakuya to protect her, and keep her out of Aizen's way."
"She is your niece." Urahara continued. "There is only one single way to stop Aizen. It is not exactly nice."
Yoruichi looked downcast. "I know. To be fried to a crisp on the Soukyoku isn't exactly too pretty. But it is either her or the Soul Society; we have to make a choice."
Urahara said gently, "The choice is not ours to make. The attack on Soul Society will come, whether we put it in her body or not. It is just the time before Aizen strikes."
Yoruichi replied furiously, "Soul Society will not be ready. We need all thirteen squads. Have you considered that the three squads will be totally affected? Kuchiki Byakuya will surely know that too!"
Urahara pulled his hat over his eyes. "Kuchiki Byakuya does know. Perhaps that is why he sent her away for three months. He is anticipating the attack everyday. If we do that, we will be indebt for her forever."
Yoruichi said sadly, "We have no choice."
Yoruichi watched sadly as Urahara carried in Rukia's gigai. Holding up a cylinder, he gently pushed the liquid in the cylinder inside her body through the back.
In a dry voice, he said, "It will form in a few hours."
Yoruichi briefly wondered if they had aged a lot within the period they left Soul Society. For, Urahara looked so tired, so remorseful.
-X-
As Rukia entered the shoten, Urahara looked up and beamed at her. "Welcome, little Kuchiki! What would you need today?"
Rukia smiled back, "Is my gigai ready for collection?"
Urahara waved his paper fan at her as he rose, clogs making an oddly comforting sound on the wooden floor as he moved into a room and emerged holding a lifeless doll, he placed it gently on the floor. Gesturing at the doll, he said, "I added a few functions. It will allow you to be able to hide better from your enemies."
As Rukia bent down to inspect it, she wondered why Urahara suddenly looked so tired. Urahara waved his fan at her to continue. Upon entering her gigai, she felt extremely constricted. Making a face, she gripped her fist tightly as she swung her arm to test the gigai. Feeling rather satisfied, she asked, "How much will it cost?"
Urahara covered his face. "Free. Come back again when you need something."
Rukia looked slightly puzzled but thanked him nevertheless. The sky turned darker as she walked out to where Kira, was waiting for her, already in his gigai. Closing her eyes, she thought, "One more month, Ni-sama."
-X-
"Great news, Aizen-sama!" Gin said as he whizzed past the paperwork stacked around the room and came to an abrupt halt in front of Aizen's desk. "It is in her gigai already. Kira said everything on the list of symptoms. The lost of energy, coordination… We wouldn't need to launch the attack on the Soul Society anymore~~"
Aizen smiled, "It certainly would be a much more amusing way, to see Kuchiki Byakuya torn between two choices, even though we all know that the result would be the same."
Gin grinned.
-X-
Byakuya narrowed his eyes, sensing and knowing that something was wrong. Senbonzakura had lost all forms of connection with Shirayuki. Even though he would never admit it, he knew he was worried. Rukia could be injured badly, or perhaps even dead. If this continued, he would have no choice, but to go down to the real world himself.
Opening a file on his table, he scanned through the list of applicants for the post of lieutenant. A name caught his eye, Abarai Renji…
-X-
A/N: This chapter was really quite hard to write, because I received conflicting reviews and personal messages about Ichigo.
So I have decided to stick with my original storyline. Ichigo, will be included, no worries. He will play a HUGE role, along with Kuchiki Byakuya. However, his role will be more unexpected, I don't think anybody has written him in that way before. No, he won't be out of character, in case any one is worried, just that there is a twist to the story.
Next up, Chapter 10: We have the scene where Byakuya and Renji fetch Rukia back, just changed. A plotting Aizen with his two sidekicks, a lot of ByakuRuki, a thickening plot…
Exams are here! I feel so happy! :D
(Do you feel the irony?)
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