Author's Note: My laptop is still for sale, but imma still use it till then. If I miss an update, one of two things happened; I sold my laptop, or I forgot lol. Until then, I will continue to post on time. Anyways, here's chapter 8! Enjoy!
Chapter 8
Byakuya opened his eyes into the darkness of the training room that had lightened into a dull yellow as the beams of sunlight warmed the doors on the afternoon side of his estate. He hadn't moved an inch during his slumber and it had resulted in a stiff crick on one side of his neck. He still felt heavy, dreary, but with the sun high and the air in the room becoming stuffy to his lungs, he began the process of getting up with limbs that felt weighted down.
He rubbed his neck as he pushed himself up to sit with his remaining arm. It was then that he noticed the still sleeping woman at his hip, whose arm was draped over his lap and whose face was buried in the fabric of his captain's haori. It was clear that she hadn't moved an inch either.
Rolling out his neck, he glanced around the room to see if anyone else had awoken, but he had been the first. He carefully removed Nyruki's arm from across his lap and stood, taking a moment to steady himself on wobbly feet before scuffing over to the small table that was still burdened with forgotten tea and snacks. He sat down and gulped whatever remained in his tea cup without a care that it was ice cold and left an old taste in his mouth. He simply needed something to drink to wet his tongue and throat from feeling as if they were sun dried.
The quietness of the room left him alone with his thoughts, which briefly touched on the previous night's events before blanking out to his sighed relief. The stale taste of his own breath made him desperate for fresh air, so he stood and went to the door.
The outside heat was like the warm embrace of a lover and it did wonders to help clear his stuffy head. His hair, which felt dirty and was still dreaded from dried sweat, rustled in the warm breeze as it blew through the garden, ripping cherry blossoms from his trees to color the garden in dots of soft pink. He just stood there in the middle of his garden with his eyes closed, breathing in ambrosia like breaths of the fresh air and not even moving when his Lieutenant arrived.
"Captain! There you are!" Renji called out as he walked up, disbelieving the Captain's disheveled appearance which he didn't think the man was capable of doing.
"What time is it, Renji?" Byakuya asked, dropping his face into his hand to rub his achey eyes with his thumb and forefinger.
"It's after lunch, Captain." Renji said as he studied the man whom he usually saw as a picture of nobility with mildly furrowed brows.
Sighing, Byakuya lifted his head and dared to look over to his taller lieutenant, "What day?"
Renji softly gasped, but answered.
"Wednesday." He said, trying to hide his disbelief.
"Good. I'm not missing any days." Byakuya said as he reached up and began to fiddle with the silver hair piece that rested at the crown of his head, as it had dug into his scalp while he slept.
"What happened, Captain? I've never seen you like this before." Renji dared to ask.
"These words do not leave this estate. Am I clear?" Byakuya warned sternly as he carefully pulled the silver hair piece so not to snap strands of his hair.
Renjy simply nodded.
"The Captains had our first training session with Nyruki Sawada yesterday evening." Byakuya said, breathing in deep breaths of fresh air that helped to regain some of his lost energy.
"What? Why?" Renji tried not to gasp, but it came out anyways.
"To learn to resist her Zanpakutō's abilities." Byakuya said in his typical monotone manner.
"Oh." Renji said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Byakuya nodded, but remained silent as he examined the silver hair piece with four bars connected at one end by loops and followed the arc of his head.
"T-The squad was worried about you, Captain. That's why I'm here. I was looking for you... Though I kinda blew by your attendant. He's probably mad." Renji said, not wanting the silence to take its hold of them for too long.
"It's fine, Renji. The squad is yours until I return. I'd recommend informing all the squad lieutenants that the captains will be unavailable for the foreseeable future." Byakuya said, taking the chance to stand up straight into his normal posture.
However, the energy wasn't quite there as his shoulders slumped almost immediately, spurring Renji to reach for him out of the fear that he was about to collapse to the ground.
"Captain!" Renji yelped, having grabbed Byakuya's shoulders to help support him.
"I'm alright. Just exhausted from our ordeal. Could you go to Squad 4 and have some medical supplies brought?" Byakuya asked, holding his forehead from of a developing dull ache.
"Are you hurt?" Renji asked, immediately looking his Captain over for any obvious sign of injury.
"No, but we do have a couple injured. Nothing life threatening, but they need attention." Byakuya said, holding his breath as he tried again to stand on his own, this time with success.
"Of course. Do you need anything else?" Renji asked.
"If you happen to see my attendant as you leave, could you have him bring some food and fresh tea as well? I apologize for saddling you with all of this, but it appears this training is going to take more effort than I thought." Byakuya said.
"It's not a problem, Captain. I'll take care of it."
Renji flash stepped away, returning Byakuya to the serenity of his garden until the low wooden groan of the training room door blanketed the soft wisp of the breeze. He turned to see whom it was, being Jūshirō Ukitake, Shunsui Kyōraku and Tōshirō Hitsugaya, all with dreary looks on their faces as if they hadn't slept in days.
"Figures you'd already be awake." Kyōraku said, rubbing the back of his neck that had also developed a kink during the night.
"I only just awoke a few minutes ago." Byakuya said, drawing in a breath as he clasped his hands behind his back, which revealed the stiffness seated in both his shoulder blades.
"Do you feel like you got ran over by a herd of stampeding Hollow?" Ukitake asked, wincing from the brightness of the sun overhead.
Byakuya sighed, but nodded, "Yes, I do. How are you fairing?"
"I need tea." Ukitake said as he tried to swallow, but his throat was uncomfortably dry, making the act more akin to swallowing a mouthful of sand.
"I have my Lieutenant taking care of a few things for us. Hopefully it will not take long." Byakuya said.
"What the hell happened last night?" Hitsugaya groaned as he cupped his hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun.
"We were caught off guard by a great deal." Ukitake said, resting a tired hand on the small Captain's shoulder that he made no attempt to shrug off. That would have required energy.
"How're we supposed to learn to break through that? There was no weakness in those illusions. I should have known that something was wrong, but I didn't have the awareness to resist what I was seeing." Hitsugaya said, rubbing his face with both hands quite vigorously with the hope of wiping away the tired.
"Neither of us did. I saw Hisana, and I was surrounded by my children and Rukia. There was plenty to tell me that it wasn't real, like Rukia being only a small child, but I couldn't do anything about it. I just accepted it as truth." Byakuya said, slowly shaking his head.
"It was the same for me." Ukitake groaned.
"What did you see?" Hitsugaya asked, looking up at him.
"I was laying in my deathbed. I was moments away from succumbing to my illness, but I was surrounded by everyone I have ever loved; My children, my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren... a woman I assume was my wife. Despite being near death, I was happy that I had gotten to live such a fruitful life before slipping into oblivion." Ukitake said, resting his other hand on his aching chest.
"I assume that's when you had your attack?" Kyōraku asked, helping to support his friend on his unstable feet.
"No. It was the shock of the illusions that caused it. I had no idea I was having an attack until Nyruki pulled me out." Ukitake said, rubbing his throat.
"So what happens now? When do we try again?" Hitsugaya asked, crossing his arms.
"Tonight. We can spend what's left of the day to recover and clean ourselves, but we do not have time to skip a day. This is going to be very difficult, even for us." Byakuya said, drawing in a breath that succeeded in riding his lungs of the last of the staleness from inside.
"We'll need to make preparations then." Kyōraku said.
"I've already tasked my Lieutenant with informing the other squads. All of them should be able to maintain order in our absence." Byakuya said.
"Good idea." Ukitake nodded.
Again, the door to the training room slid open as Nyruki stepped out into the light, bathing her in its warmth. However, with the newfound light, all of them could clearly see the reddened gash across her chest that had yet to weep a single drop of blood.
"Nyruki? No!" Ukitake gasped, ignoring his own discomfort as he rushed to her side.
"I'm alright, Captain... Really." She said, wincing at the pain each step caused in her chest.
"No, you're not! What happened?" Ukitake asked, leading her by the shoulders to the group out in the garden.
"So long as her Zanpakutō is in control when we are under her influence, if we are injured, Nyruki is as well. You'll see that Kenpachi Zaraki has an identical wound." Byakuya said, having to silently admit to himself that it was an ugly wound and unbecoming to her features.
"That's unacceptable! We can't do this anymore! Not at the risk of her suffering from our desires!" Ukitake said, his hands never moving from Nyruki's shoulders.
"It was only Kenpachi's desires that resulted in that. I'll bet a bottle of sake he was in a fight." Kyōraku said.
"The evidence of that is clear, Captain Kyōraku. However, we have to continue under the Head-Captain's orders." Byakuya said a matter-of-factly.
"I want to continue. I don't wanna lose everything I've worked so hard for." Nyruki said, breathing through the spiking pain that was now being caused by the breeze blowing through the garden and against her chest.
"But if your life is at risk-" Ukitake began, but closed his mouth when Nyruki looked up at him.
"I mean it. I want to continue." She said, her golden eyes sparkling with that infallible determination that all the Captains had seen in her.
"You won't be able to sway her, Jūshirō. She's made up her mind." Kyōraku said as he produced a crooked grin.
Ukitake's brows furrowed, "I know, but I don't like the fact that whatever happens to us, happens to her."
"Once she gains control during Shikai and Bankai, it will not be that way any longer." Byakuya said.
"I hope you're right, Byakuya." Ukitake said, releasing Nyruki's shoulders.
The silence that befell them only lasted a moment as once again, the wooden door of the training room slid open. The rest of the Captains; Kenpachi, Unohana, Soi-Fon and Komamura, stepped out into the blinding light of the sun, just as exhausted as the rest of them.
"Well that was fun." Kenpachi groaned, holding his head with a hand as he shielded his eyes from the sun with the other.
"So who were you fighting?" Kyōraku asked, taking note of the dried slash across his chest that had bled quite a bit.
"Kuchiki... It was awesome." Kenpachi grinned.
"We can see that." Ukitake said flatly with furrowed brows.
Retsu Unohana, as tired as she looked, still managed to smile softly as she inspected the wound, "My my, Kenpachi. Lets get this taken care of."
"Her as well, Retsu." Ukitake said as he again rested a hand on Nyruki's shoulder.
"Oh? Oh dear. You're right, Jūshirō. Come now, the both of you." Unohana managed to beam as she lead the pair back into the training room.
It didn't take long for Byakuya's attendant to arrive with a small team of servants from around the estate. They had brought food, drink, a table to sit out in the sun and were followed by a few members from Squad 4, all of whom carried medical supplies. The medics vanished into the training room as the rest sat at the table and satisfied their exhaustion with the food and drink that instantly returned much of their energy.
"I apologize for imposing like this, Byakuya. It seems as if we're taking advantage of you." Said Ukitake as he savored the fresh tea that worked wonders to calm his aching chest.
"It only made sense in order to provide the necessary facilities, as well as suitable after care. Nyruki's concerns were valid it seems." Byakuya said, sipping his tea before he had even swallowed the rice he had eaten. He was starving, but he would never admit it out loud.
"At least here, the food's good, the drink's good and if any emergency pops up, we're more likely to get care sooner, rather than later." Kyōraku said as he poured himself some sake that he instantly downed without a flinch.
"I am thrilled you approve." Byakuya deadpanned.
As more food was brought to feed the group, Byakuya, Ukitake, Kyōraku and Komamura had all begun to stare as the youngest of them, Hitsugaya, stuffed mouthful after mouthful without even giving himself a chance to breathe between each bite.
"Careful, Tōshirō. You're liable to double your weight if you keep eating like that." Ukitake softly laughed as he took a rather large bite of food himself.
"Look who's talking." Hitsugaya glared as he continued stuffing his face.
"Be nice to him, Jūshirō. We're all starving." Kyōraku said, downing another shot of sake before helping himself to a rice ball.
It was almost as if their stomachs had been tied to that very statement, as all of theirs snarled with a deep growl, begging for more food. What caught them off guard however, was that Byakuya's had growled the loudest, sounding like a deep roll of thunder from a nearby storm.
To his horror, the sound drew their attention and his eyes twitched up to widen from the embarrassment of it. Instead of trying to hide it, he opted to ignore it as he took a sip of tea.
"I don't think I've ever heard his stomach growl like that before. It sounded like me." Sajin Komamura said, helping himself to five more rice balls.
"No, it sounded like you when you're angry." Kyōraku said, tipping his hat in the direction of the sun to keep the rays from assaulting his eyes.
"Hmm... I would agree." Komamura said with a shrug before continuing to eat.
The small group reserved themselves to eat and sate their growling stomachs, stuffing rice balls and sushi, as well as whatever the kitchen managed to cook up down their throats. They had never been that hungry before, and they figured it had something to do with what they had all gone through the previous night.
It didn't take long for the rest to join them, taking their seats and immediately helping themselves to the hoard of food that Byakuya's servants had brought them. By the time all the food had been consumed, they had already gone through an entire day's worth, for the entire estate, in one sitting.
"You eat like a king, Kuchiki." Kyōraku smiled with a subtle pink hue coloring his cheeks from the sake he had consumed during their meal.
"If the amount was any indication, it will be my last meal for quite some time." Byakuya said without a flinch in his expression.
"Ha! Kuchiki cracked a joke! How often does that happen?" Kyōraku laughed, this time drinking some water to counteract the power of the sake.
"Not since he was a kid and even then, they were rare." Ukitake mumbled, which earned him a glare from the 28th head.
Nyruki's throat cracked with a barely contained laugh, "I shouldn't be hearing this." she drank some water.
Byakuya sighed, "You're fine, Nyruki. I suppose it was inevitable that this side would be seen due to the nature of this training." He sipped his tea.
"How about the fighting side?" Kenpachi grinned.
"I would gladly accept the honor of teaching a barbarian like you what a true warrior is capable of, but not within the immediate vicinity of my home." Byakuya deadpanned, again.
"Thank you for the much needed meal, Captain Kuchiki, but I should get going and get cleaned up before this evening. A long bath will probably help clear my head." Said Hitsugaya as he rose from his chair and swallowed down the belch that filled his throat.
"That is a good idea. That and a nap." Kenpachi said, rising to his feet as well to tower over the youngest Captain.
"The over twelve hours wasn't enough?" Kyōraku asked, arcing a dark brow over its partnered eye.
Kenpachi shrugged, "I like my naps."
"Fair enough." Kyōraku said with one last shot of sake.
With that, the group went their separate ways with the plan to meet back at the Kuchiki estate later that evening. All that remained was the Captain of the 6th Division and his new subordinate, whom had stayed behind to help clean up the devastation from their meal.
"You don't have to help, Ms. Sawada. It is our pleasure to serve Lord Byakuya and his guests." Said the attendant with a pleased smile across his older face.
"I ate, I help." Nyruki said simply as she helped pile the dishes onto a cart a servant had brought.
"Your actions are admirable, Nyruki. However, I was hoping you would walk with me through the gardens so we can discuss some things." Byakuya interrupted, standing at the end of the table with hands clasped behind his back, ready to walk.
"Oh. Um, of course." Nyruki said as she dusted off her hands on her clothes.
Nyruki walked around the table to join her Captain as they started off down the stone path that wrapped around the large koi pond. The sun had crested in the sky some time ago, and was sliding down towards the horizon, making long shadows along the ground.
Now that she was walking, she finally realized just how tired and achey she felt, as her muscles hummed and her stomach was bloated from all the food she had eaten. Despite that however, she felt like they had taken the first hard step forward and it helped to give her a glimmer of hope that they might be able to make their one month deadline.
"I hope tonight goes better." Nyruki said with a sigh, deciding to break the silence first.
"That is actually what I wanted to discuss." Byakuya said, slowing the walk to barely a shuffle along the path.
Nyruki rubbed the back of her neck, "Oh."
"It is clear you're still fearful of taking control during your Zanpakutō's release. Why do you back down when you have proved your determination to all of us captains while you were training?" Byakuya asked, shooting a sidelong glance in her direction.
"I had nothing before four years ago. I barely had a roof over my head and I had lived alone for so long that I'd forgotten what it was like to have others nearby. To go from that, from nothing, to having a power that can control anything and anyone is a lot to accept, Captain." Nyruki said, flipping her long ponytail back behind her back from having gotten blown in front of her by the breeze.
"I see. You have shown great promise in regards to combating Hollow and have displayed a determination that could prove fruitful should you decide to follow that path. Yet, you shy away from it and Captain Ukitake has even told me that even when faced with the possibility of needing to release your Zanpakutō, you would refuse to, which typically resulted in someone needing to come to your aid during combat situations." Byakuya said, this time, turning his head to fully look at her as they continued their walk.
"It all boils down to that I'm scared of the power and how others will see it." Nyruki admitted with a sigh.
Byakuya drew in a long breath, only to release it the moment his lungs were full, "Nyruki, fear will always be present, but it takes the kind of determination that you have displayed in the past to overcome it. We all have fear and reservations, but those of us who can rise above it, are capable of doing great things with our power."
Hearing his words, Nyruki stopped walking and managed to look up into his silver eyes that were actually softer than what she had come to expect from him. He was being sincere.
"I suppose." Nyruki said, starting to walk again.
"Our Zanpakutōs are extensions of ourselves, Nyruki. They are apart of our very souls. Kibōyūwaku has always been apart of you. You just have to accept that she is an extension of yourself and embrace the power she has given you." Byakuya said, turning the corner along the path to head deeper into the garden.
"If I can ask, Captain, did you ever have trouble with Senbonzakura?" Nyruki asked.
"At first, yes. Senbonzakura is a blade that takes a great deal of concentration to control, be it mentally, or physically. At first, whenever I would practice with Senbonzakura, I would cut my hands and arms because I hadn't grasped what it took to control such power." Byakuya said, briefly glancing down at her.
"That couldn't have felt good." Nyruki cringed at the mere thought of having a thousand blades slicing at her flesh.
"It most certainly did not. I had to learn how to control Senbonzakura's abilities sooner rather than later, because if I hadn't, I wouldn't be standing here now." Byakuya said.
"I'd imagine not. One slip up with Senbonzakura could result in devastating damage." Nyruki said, reaching her hand up to grasp a falling flower from a nearby tree.
"Exactly. It is no different than with Kibōyūwaku. Do not fear its power. Embrace its power." Byakuya said.
Nyruki couldn't stop herself from softly smiling, not just from the silken petals in her palm, but from his words which somehow had managed to calm her fear. They weren't words that she had expected to come from him. They seemed that they would be more at home coming from her previous Captain, Jūshirō Ukitake, but that didn't change the fact that they had come from Byakuya Kuchiki.
"You're right, Captain." Nyruki smiled.
"I know. You're dismissed for the remainder of the day. Be back here this evening at the same time." Byakuya said, having guided them to the front of his estate without her noticing.
Nyruki, only then noticing that they stood at the foot of the massive wooden gate of the estate, bowed for a moment before taking her leave. She felt oddly light, like someone had helped her carry the weight that had laden itself upon her shoulders. Her Captain's words rang so true, that just the thought of them was enough to make her smile. She found comfort, and a renewed determination that she felt had aimed her in the right direction.
Without even knowing it, she had begun to skip through the streets of the Seireitei, smiling, and ignoring the odd looks she was getting from the other Shinigami she passed by. She was happy and had found herself entering the Squad 6 barracks, still beaming, to get cleaned up for the next training session that was quickly approaching.
"Hey! Nyruki!" Someone called as she trotted up the hallway towards her room.
She stopped her skip and turned around to see Renji jogging up to her with his hair swishing back and forth with each stride.
"Hey, Lieutenant." Nyruki said, relaxing her smile.
"Renji's fine." He said as he slowed to a walk.
"Alright. Is there something I can help you with?" She asked, having to look up in order to make eye contact.
"Hey look... There's a couple guys from Squad 11 who wanna meet you because they don't believe your spiritual power is higher than their Captain's." Renji said, grinning with a crooked smirk as he ran a hand back through his bright red hair.
"Oh? Who?" Nyruki asked, furrowing her brow.
"Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayesegawa. They're a couple of tools, but they're good guys." Renji said, dropping his arm to his side.
"Oh... Um, when?" Nyruki asked, trying not to cringe.
"We're all going to one of the restaurants for drinks and supper tonight. We're supposed to meet up with a couple others too. Izuru Kira from Squad 3 and Rangiku Matsumoto from Squad 10. Did you wanna go?" He asked, still with a crooked grin, but a softer one.
"Oh... That sounds great, but I've gotta head back to... um... the Kuchiki estate for training tonight." She said, having lowered her voice to just above a whisper so it didn't carry down the hall.
"Oh damn... That's right. Oh! Rukia's supposed to be there too. You know her a bit don't you?" Renji asked.
"A little bit. I didn't get much time to get to know her because she was always in the World of the Living. Captain Ukitake speaks highly of her though." Nyruki said, leaning back against the wall and crossing her arms.
"Yeah... It's kind of her assignment. Hey, next time you're free, why don't we go to the World of the Living? I'm due to drop in on Ichigo anyways and see Rukia. He needs a good slapping around by someone with just as much spiritual pressure as him, if not more." Renji said, his grin widening to become sheepish, clearly giving his mischievous intent away.
"Ichigo?" Nyruki's eyebrow popped up.
"Oh! Shit! That's right! You've never met him! I'm sure you've heard of him, haven't you?" Renji asked a bit loudly for the hallway.
"Sort of... Captain Ukitake didn't talk too much about him. Only mentioned him every now and again when we trained." Nyruki shrugged.
"Damn... Ichigo's a massive retard, but he helps us out more than we'd like to admit. He drives Captain Kuchiki nuts, so much so that the Captain refuses to call him anything other than Ichigo Kurosaki. Man, you should see the looks he can get the Captain to make." Renji laughed.
"Sounds like crazy to me." Nyruki smiled.
"He is, but he's good people." Renji's smile finally relaxed.
"Good. Hey, I wish I could go tonight, but I've really gotta concentrate on this training. Last night didn't go so well." Nyruki's smile completely faded.
Seeing that, Renji finally took notice of the bandages wrapping her chest, partially covering up the black bandages she usually wore beneath her top. The sight of it wiped his smile from his face in an instant.
"Wow... What the hell happened?" Renji asked.
Nyruki waved her hand, "Too much to explain. Tell everyone that I'm sorry and maybe next time for me alright?"
"Yeah. Will do." Renji said, then sighed.
Shooting the taller man a short smile, Nyruki headed for her room which was only a few more doors down. It was a small room, only big enough for one person and maybe a few personal items, and with a small window that at least provided a good view of the barracks square that they used for training. The only thing she had was a small bedroll that butted up against the window, as she hadn't even had a chance yet to make it her own.
She leaned her Zanpakutō against the wall, pulled off her footwear so she was barefoot and removed the bands from around her bicep before heading for the bathhouse to get cleaned up, all the while thinking about how the fast approaching evening would go.