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Chapter 1

Those Golden Eyes

The afternoon sun was starting to set in the distance over the Seireitei, painting the sky with vibrant hues of orange and yellow. The door slid open and shut behind a feminine figure who proceeded to walk towards her wooden desk, her long straight hair swaying from side to side.

Miyako sighed as she dumped her pile of books and mail onto said desk, draped her zanpakuto's sash over her chair and flopped onto her bed. She yawned and wiped a tear away from her eye. Today was another long day at the Shinou Reijutsu In, the academy where aspiring shinigami flocked to in order to achieve their dreams. Miyako was a second year student and performed well in all of the academy's main courses; zanjutsu, hakuda, hohou and kidou, but out of all four, hohou was her greatest skill. She had been harnessing that skill from a very young age, thanks to her support circle.

Although the typical shinigami school courses was stretched over five years, Miyako was set to graduate in her second year. Graduation was a stressful time for all of the upcoming graduates; passing final exams was almost a matter of life or death for most. It was the last chance for students to prove their skills not only to the academy, but to the Gotei 13 Captains. With graduation a little over three months away, she wasn't too pressed on impressing a particular captain. Her destiny was already set for her, regardless of what she thought and wanted to do with her life.

Not wanting to think much more about it, Miyako tilted her head over to see the few pieces of mail to sort through. She yawned again and stretched before getting up and grabbing her mail.

'Junk, junk, a letter about SWA from Yachiru…' she couldn't help but laugh. She saw Yachiru as the little sister she never had. The young lieutenant was full of life and hijinks; she saw a little bit of her younger self in Yachiru. Between classes or after classes and training, Yachiru would use her uncanny ability to sniff Miyako out of Seireitei's population, even when she kept her reiatsu to the absolute minimum. She would find her and try to do what Miyako coined "volun-force" her into one of her pranks she was trying to pull against her next unsuspecting victim. Miyako usually stayed out of executing the pranks, but watched from a distance. If she felt that Yachiru was going too far, she'd intervene and save the poor soul from Yachiru's shenanigans.

Miyako moved on to the next letter, which boasted the seal of the second squad. 'Soifon?' she thought. She opened the letter and read it.

Miya,

Your graduation is coming up soon, congratulations! I've been watching you grow since you were young and I'm very proud of you. I'm sure that your family is very proud of you, too; you have a great destiny ahead of you. Like we discussed before, I'm awaiting the time when you'll enter my division! Your skills would be an asset and I'm sure it'll be beneficial in our battle for the Winter War. Please contact me if you need anything. I'll see you soon.

Soifon

Miyako stuffed the letter back into the envelope. She walked to the mirror and sighed. She longed for the day that she would be able to switch her red hakama and white kisode for a shinigami shihakusho. One day, she even hoped to become a strong and skillful captain and be just like Yoruichi and Soifon before her. She smiled as she imagined herself wearing her captain's white haori. Her smile turned into a corny smile as she cheesed at the thought of strolling around the Seireitei with her long blue hair flowing in the wind and the sun kissing her tan skin. She would be a well respected member of the Gotei 13.

While it was nice to dream, she knew that it would be a long and hard road ahead to becoming a captain and she had no choice but to take that role seriously. Miyako knew that it wasn't all rainbows and sunshine. Although she was subjected to heavy covert training courtesy of Soifon, sometimes she felt like it wasn't enough. She would have to train harder than that if she wanted to lay a hand on Aizen. Her eyes narrowed when she thought about the former captain and all of the trouble he caused.

'You'll pay Aizen...I'll make sure of it!'

An intense fire burned within her. Miyako turned to her zanpakuto that she left hanging from the side of her desk chair. She grabbed her sword and looked out of her window. The evening sunshine flooded her room, giving it a golden haze.

'I can get some training in before dinner. Kimura wouldn't be expecting me for another couple of hours.'

With that, she locked her dorm room door and dashed away towards her home.

Miyako arrived a few miles away from her home. There was a forest with a clearing that had a sizable river flowing through it. It had always been her favorite spot to relax and unwind at after a long day. No one tended to come in the area often, which was perfectly fine with her. After being entwined in the hustle and bustle of her academic and family affairs, she was grateful there were no souls nearby. It was also a great area to train at. Miyako took a deep breath and smiled before tying her hair up into a high ponytail.

'Time to get to work.'

Miyako then placed her hand on zanpakuto's guard, which was shaped like rolling waves, and unsheathed her zanpakuto.

"Drag them under, Unabara." she commanded.

Her zanpakuto glowed a brilliant blue hue and changed its form. The blade turned into water, growing like an infinite, flowing ribbon. After stretching for a moment, she started her practice with controlling the sly movements and attack power of the ribbon.

Hours later, the crescent moon had replaced the evening sun, its light enveloping the Seireitei. Byakuya Kuchiki had finally left his division after finishing a sizable amount of paperwork. He opted to walk home instead of shunpo his way back. He wanted to enjoy the peace while it was still available, as well as enjoy the cool summer night air. As he walked up the dirt path to the manor, he felt several faint waves of a calm, yet intense wave of reiatsu nearby. He stopped as his eyes narrowed as he wondered who was giving off that particular reiatsu signature.

'Who does that reiatsu belong to? Is it Rukia? Did she return already?'

After a few moments more of feeling another wave of reiatsu, he came to the conclusion that the reiatsu didn't belong to Rukia. His curiosity was officially piqued. He decided to make his way towards his new focus.

Minutes later, Byakuya found himself standing between the border of the forest and the clearing. He watched Miyako as she danced diligently above the river's surface, her back facing him. The water ribbon from her zanpakuto moved diligently with her, her movements at times quick and sharp, then sly and sharp. Watching her perform with poise, refinement, power and grace, he found himself mesmerized with her dance; he found it on par in beauty as Rukia's Sode no Shirayuki—he had to find out who she was. Byakuya found himself stepping closer to the clearing. He inadvertently stepped on a lone branch, its snap ringing in their ears.

"Hado #4: Byakurai!"

The kido spell missed Byakuya by a hair due to him jumping away from the attack just in time. Shock had drained his grey eyes to a pale grey, the assault was clearly unexpected. Miyako still had her finger pointed towards the sixth division captain, her eyes glaring fierce and sharp at her intended target. Once she saw who was standing in the brush, her heart dropped and the color instantly drained from her face. She let out a gasp; quickly calling her zanpakuto to revert back into its sealed form.

'Shit!'

In a blink of an eye, Miyako was gone. Although her body was physically gone, her face was present in Byakuya's mind, more specifically her eyes. There was no mistake in who he knew who she was, even with the dim light of the crescent moon.

'Those golden eyes…'

Irritation ensued as he narrowed his eyes; many memories started coming back to him. They plagued him too often for his liking; he could never forget them.

"You…" he grumbled.