Chapter 3: Attacking Cherry Blossoms

A.N.: This is a request by BlueShard20.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Back to where we left off….
Soul Society

Hikaru gulped as the man who would one day become her future uncle drew his sword, menace in his dark eyes. "Look! I…I don't want to fight you!" she backed away but Byakuya stalked forward, forcing her back further until she was on the edge of the roof. 'Crap! What do I do?!'

"If you're so insistent on avoiding a fight, tell me why you're trying so hard to put my sister with Ichigo Kurosaki," Byakuya demanded. He had made up his mind. After he finished getting some answers from this girl, he'd hand her over to Captain Soi-Fon and let the Punishment Force loosen her tongue some more while he went to Ichigo and made it clear that he was never to come near Rukia ever again. While he respected the boy highly, there were certain lines Byakuya refused to cross and letting Ichigo court his sister was one of them.

Knowing that her future depended on this, Hikaru flashstepped away, hoping to lose the captain. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, she hopped in between buildings and ducked into an alley, hiding behind some crates. "What do I do? He's not going to stop, is he?"

"No, I'm not," Byakuya said coldly, standing directly behind her. "While I don't know who taught you the Flashstep, as impressive as it is, you're not going to outrun me." Hikaru felt her blood grow cold when his sword was suddenly at her face, the tip cutting into her cheek. "Now then…talk. Who are you?"

As Hikaru stood there in sheer terror, her mind reeled backward to her childhood, when she was being taught the Flashstep by, of all people, her uncle Byakuya….

"Wow! I'm just as fast as Mama now!" Hikaru squealed as she jumped up and down. She'd been practicing the Flashstep under Byakuya's tutelage for the past few days and had finally achieved her first step. She turned to her uncle, who was giving her a rare smile of approval. "So does this mean I can outrun anything?"

"No," Byakuya said bluntly. "But this is a highly-skilled technique. Once you've mastered the basics, if you're ever in danger you'll be able to escape from harm."

Little Hikaru stared up at her uncle with curious eyes. "But what'll I do if I meet someone I can't outrun, Uncle?"

"If the time comes, you must defend yourself," Byakuya instructed, putting a hand on Senbonzakura's hilt. "When you cannot run, you must fight."

The future-Byakuya's words rang clear in her mind as she stared at his younger self. "When you cannot run, you must fight.'

And fight was what she had to do.

Byakuya's eyes widened by a hair as jumped back, drawing her zanpakuto. Glaring at the young girl, he went on the attack. It was clear to him that this girl would not surrender quietly, so he would do this the hard way.

Hikaru saw her uncle disappear from her sight and immeditatly spun around, well familiar with his attack pattern. She pushed the sword aimed at her Soul Chain away and slashed at Byakuya, who jumped back. Steeling her nerve, Hikaru flashstepped onto a nearby rooftop, Byakuya joining her there.

If Byakuya wasn't suspicious before he was now more than ever. 'She countered my Senka as if she knew exactly what I was about to do….' His eyes narrowed as he assessed the young girl. 'Only someone who is familiar with my fighting style would know I attack first with Senka, like Renji or Ichigo. So how did she know?'

Deciding that the matter was pointless as he'd be forcing answers out of the girl soon enough, Byakuya held his sword out in front of him in a mock salute. "Scatter: Senbonzakura."

Byakuya's sword disintegrated into a thousand deadly shards, all aimed at Hikaru. Knowing full well that there were few defenses against Byakuya's powerful Shikai, Hikaru opted to dodge, flashstepping away from the torrent of blades. She flanked Byakuya and swung her sword at his back. However, Hikaru was forced back when a stream of blades went around Byakuya's shoulder and attacked her. 'What? I thought no blades could come close to him?!' she thought, remembering her uncle's No-Damage Zone.

Turning around, Byakuya held out the hilt and summoned his blades to it, reforming his katana. "So you're aware of Senbonzakura's weakpoints. It would appear that you've not only been spying on Rukia but myself as well. I'll ask you one more time…." His showed menace once more at the thought of this girl spying on him. "Who are you?"

Shivers ran down Hikaru's spine as she stood there under Byakuya's scrutiny. She knew her uncle well enough that when it came down to it, he would use excessive force for any problem too stubborn. But she knew that her future, as well as those of her parents were on the line and she wasn't about to let them down here. "I'm sorry…but it's better if you don't know. But…" she held out her sword in a very familiar gesture that made Byakuya's eyes widen. "I won't let you turn me in or kill me."

"Eclipse: Tsumegetsu!"

Byakuya stared in shock as her sword curved and turned white, the hilt of her sword turning into a very familiar symbol. The girl charged at Byakuya and the first thing he notice was how cold the air suddenly got. Suddenly he was starting to get a clear picture of who this girl really was….

Hikaru spun around and stabbed her sword into the ground. Trails of ice spread out from the point, spreading out until they had encompassed most of the roof and formed a snowflake. "Shingetsu: Shiro Uzumaki!"

The girl disappeared from sight while Byakuya's feet were encased in ice, a snowflake pattern appearing above him and freezing him from above. Soon Byakuya was encased in a prison of ice in the shape of a snowflake. "Gotta move before he gets out!" Hikaru said frantically before running away.

A large cracking sound told her that she'd underestimated her uncle's powers. Turning around, she saw her prison destroyed by a flurry of pink, Byakuya in the middle of it. He held out his hand and opened his mouth to speak a kido spell but Hikaru beat him to the punch….

Byakuya's eyes widened in complete bafflement when the mystery girl put her sword over her head and spoke two very familiar words:

"Getsuga Tensho!

Hikaru used Ichigo's signature mo ve, sending a white crescent moon-fang attack at him. Byakuya blocked with his storm of blades but the attack did its damage. When Byakuya emerged from the smoke, Hikaru saw a deep gash running down his arm to his hand. "Huh…" Hikaru muttered. "So that's how you got that scar…" she said, remembering something she asked her uncle when she was a little girl….

Hikaru giggled as she held her uncle's hand, Byakuya leading her home after a day of Flashstep lessons. As she looked up, her eyes turned to the scar on his left hand, an imperfection on his otherwise flawless skin. "Uncle Byakuya?"

"Yes, Hikaru?"

"What happened to your left hand?" she asked, looking up at him with curious eyes.

Byakuya looked down at the girl before smiling. "I got it from a worthy opponent…."

Hikaru's head turned. "Really? Who?"

Continuing to smile, Byakuya merely patted her head. "Let's just say she was somebody who was a very well-trained warrior…."

Hikaru blushed when she realized who her uncle had been referring to, only to realize that the Byakuya Kuchiki in front of her was sealing his zanpakuto. And then she realized with a gasp that she said her previous comment a little too loud. 'Oh crap….'

The look in Byakuya's eyes told her everything. "I see. So that's how it is…" he said while sheathing his sword. "There were way too many coincidences; your striking resemblance to Rukia. Your familiarity to my fighting style and your zanpakuto's abilities matching Ichigo Kurosaki's as well as your refusal to tell me who you are. The answer is obvious: you're Rukia and Ichigo's daughter from the future."

The girl's face turned white when she realized her uncle had figured it out. "What are you going to do?" she asked, fearful for her life and her parents.

Crossing his arms, Byakuya reassessed the situation. He remembered during the last captians meeting that Kurotsuchi had told them of a mysterious anomaly that occurred several weeks ago. He'd been unable to determine the cause but now Byakuya figured this girl caused it when coming back in time. Obviously she was here to set in motion the chain of events leading to her birth. So now Byakuya was faced with a dilemma.

Did he have the right to stop her from existing?

As much as he thought of Ichigo with disdain, he couldn't help but admit that he did respect the boy and that he had made Rukia much happier. Sighing, Byakuya knew that for the sake of this girl, he had to relent; he didn't have the right to deny her existence. "Girl. What's your name?" he asked. "Your real one. There's no need to hide it anymore. I've already figured out your little secret."

Sheathing her sword, Hikaru smiled when she sensed Byakuya's killer intent fade away. "It's Hikaru. Hikaru Kurosaki."

Byakuya raised an eyebrow. "Not Hikaru Kuchiki? I'll have to speak with your father when the time comes." When Hikaru gasped, Byakuya nodded. "Yes, I will not hinder you from bringing your parents together. You have my word."

Hikaru's face lit up. "Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" She ran over and hugged her uncle. "Thanks, Uncle Byakuya…." She smiled up at her uncle when suddenly her face twisted in pain. "Gah!"

She dropped to her knees as every fiber in her being ached in pain. When Byakuya kneeled down to see if she was alright, both of them noticed her hand turning transparent. "Oh no! Something must've happened to my mom or dad that's not in the natural timeline!"

Byakuya's eyes widened. He could sense Ichigo over in Squad Thirteen but he remembered something critical. "Rukia is out in the Rukon forests searching for hollows. She must've encountered one."

"We…we have to hurry and save her!" Hikaru struggled to her feet. "If we don't, Mama will die and I'll fade away!" She stumbled as more pain hit her but Byakuya caught her and picked her up. "Uncle?"

"Shush, Hikaru," Byakuya said, trying to soothe his future niece. "We'll find her. Let's go."

Byakuya took off with Hikaru in tow, hoping they weren't too late to save Rukia….

To be continued….

A.N.: In case you were wondering, the name of Hikaru's zanpakuto roughly translates to "Cold Moon" and her attack translates to "New Moon: White Whirl".