I'm finally doing it! Finally the Shadowed Heart rewrite is here. This is something I've been wanting to write for years now, and Camp NaNo helped me get working on it. I was a little nervous to start posting it, but got to rip that plaster off at some point.

This is intended to be a longer, more in-depth version of the original story with quite a lot of changes to how I wrote Shadowed Heart. It wouldn't be fun to just write the same thing again anyway! I do intend for it to go further in than Shadowed Heart had done, since my attempts at writing a sequel kept falling apart. And maybe there'll be a cheeky TYBW in the future.

I hope you like it!

Chapter 1: Lieutenant Yamada of Squad 2

Frustration, for Kirara, was like a boiling pot.

And it was about to spill over.

"Give it up, bitch, you can't take us all," the leader of the group of five men and women that had surrounded her spoke. Each one wore the standard uniform of the Shinigami they were supposed to represent, but a week of being on the run left them looking ragged.

Kirara, on the other hand, wore a sleeveless kosode and a skirt, showing off toned muscles. With long black hair tied in a messy ponytail and big blue eyes, Kirara might have been considered pretty if not for the scar across her nose, and the one by her chin.

Wrapped around Kirara's left arm was her Lieutenant's armband depicting both her Squad and the flower insignia, and her fingertips were drumming against it as she kept her arms folded.

"What's the matter?" one large man snickered. "Scared? If you surrender now, we might let you live...for a while," he smirked, and a quiet round of laughter echoed around the group. Kirara just sighed heavily, unimpressed.

"Yeah, I think we could have some fun with you," another agreed, his eyes roaming across Kirara's figure and lingering on her long legs.

"You're disgusting," a woman muttered. He just shrugged.

"Just as long as you don't let her live for too long. These lapdogs need to be put down," the leader, a bulky man with tattoos across his face dismissed, looking bored.

Finally, Kirara's frustration and impatience boiled over, and she gave a loud groan. She dropped her head back to glare at the sky with her blue eyes.

"Okay, that's enough time listening to you idiots blab on. I figure I've given my team enough time to get here," she decided, straightening to look at the leader. Her piercing gaze caused a shiver to run down his spine, but to his credit, he held her gaze.

"Finally surrendering?" he asked. Instead of replying, Kirara gave him a small smirk.

The next thing any of them knew, her knee was smashing into the man's face. There was a loud, sickening crunch as his nose broke. Stunned, the rest could only stare as the man fell backwards and landed with a quiet thud in the grass. Kirara flipped, landing on bare feet, and straightened up.

"This is the only time I'm going to say it. Surrender, or end up like this jackass," Kirara addressed the rest of the crowd who stood around her, jabbing her thumb at the unconscious man on the ground.

"You bitch!" the one who had been leering at her launched himself forwards. Kirara rolled her eyes and sidestepped, letting him crash to the ground.

"Well, I gave you a chance," with a shrug, Kirara flickered from view again.

"She's too fast!" one man yelped as they drew their swords. Kirara reappeared behind him, and her leg slammed into his lower back. He choked as he was flung forward, colliding into two others, and she vanished again.

"Dammit!" one of the women slashed her Zanpakuto wildly in hopes of hitting her, and Kirara landed on the grass, crouched low. The woman cried out, stumbling backwards, before Kirara's fist sank into her stomach.

It wasn't long before the group were on the ground, either knocked out or too injured to move. Kirara sighed, shaking her head.

"Honestly," she muttered, using her foot to push over one of the men on the ground. He glared weakly at her; blood pouring from his nose. "If you're going to ditch your house arrest and leave the Gotei 13, at least make sure you have some level of strength to fight for your ideals," she told him, and he spat at her. A glob of blood landed in the grass.

"Eat shit," he snarled as she just looked at him blankly. "You lapdogs are all the same. Pathetic," he sneered, before her foot slammed into his stomach and he groaned, before slumping and lying still.

"Take a long look at yourself before you go calling someone else pathetic," Kirara said quietly, before looking around as she heard more footsteps.

"Commander!" a grey haired man called as he emerged from the trees that surrounded them. He and the three others who wore masks to hide their faces accompanying him stopped, staring at the sight.

Kirara was the sole person standing in the forest clearing, with the people who'd attacked her all scattered around. She turned to them, and sighed, smiling at them with exasperation.

"Honestly, what took you lot so long?" she asked.

Golden eyes were filled with amusement as the quiet of the room was broken by the loud crunching. Reading over the report that had been dropped in front of her, Captain Yoruichi Shihouin didn't seem at all bothered by Kirara eating cookies near her. The Lieutenant was lying on her side on the ground beside her, lifting cookies from the plate that had been left by the Captain's seat, and was reading over some paperwork.

"How long did it take you to go on the offence?" Yoruichi asked, grinning as she finally set the report down. "Without backup?" she added. Kirara sat up, her legs moving to cross in front of her.

"I gave my team time to catch up. I followed all the protocols about letting them know my position after finding the deserters," she gave a shrug, and reached for another cookie. Nearby, Soi-Fon glowered at her, but she didn't seem to notice.

"How long?" Yoruichi repeated. Kirara shot her a cheeky smile.

"About a minute?" she guessed, and Yoruichi hit her lightly over the head with the file.

"Next time give it two," she instructed, but was smiling affectionately at her. Kirara touched her fingers to her forehead in a salute, not losing her cheeky look.

"Yes ma'am," she agreed, and was hit over the head again. "Hey! I worked hard on that report," Kirara laughed, moving away from her Captain. "Besides, I would have waited longer, but one of them was looking at me like I was a piece of meat," she complained, using her foot to pull the plate over to her.

"Well, you're the one insisting on wearing that uniform," Yoruichi's cat-like eyes moved to study Kirara's uniform, which wasn't modest in the slightest. "If you don't like being stared at, maybe wear something a little longer than that skirt," she suggested.

"But then how will I fluster half the Gotei 13?" Kirara looked outraged by the suggestion. Yoruichi laughed, leaning back in her seat.

"Heavens forbid," she finally signed the report and handed it back to the Lieutenant. "Save some of those for me," Yoruichi scolded when she saw her reaching for another cookie.

"But they're so good," Kirara laughed, pulling the plate out of her reach.

"Do not make me put you back on desk duty," Yoruichi warned her second in command. She then hummed to herself. "Or better yet, don't make me keep you here," she whispered suddenly, a devious look coming across her face. Kirara's smile dropped. Nothing good ever came from that look.

"Alright Shihouin, what do you want now?" Kirara went rigid at the voice that echoed into the room, the cookie halfway to her mouth. Yoruichi's grin widened.

"Captain Hirako, what a pleasure," she greeted Shinji as he walked in, looking irritated. After throwing the cookie at Yoruichi - who caught it easily - Kirara stood, brushing the crumbs off her skirt, and lifted the report.

"If you'll excuse me, I have some slackers to train in response times," she dismissed herself, walking past Shinji without looking at him. His eyes narrowed as she passed, though he didn't look at her either.

"What?" Yoruichi sounded shocked. "Not even a hello for a visiting Captain?" she called.

"Nope!" Kirara called back without looking around, walking down the large hall and disappearing outside. Yoruichi snorted.

"You really are a pain in the ass, aren't you?" Shinji asked her, his irritation only growing. Yoruichi's head tilted in a cat-like motion.

"What do you mean?" she asked, and he sighed, already regretting giving into her whims.

Kirara grumbled under her breath as she left the main hall of the Squad 2 barracks, sending a Hell Butterfly off. It didn't take long for her to reach the training grounds, where the four who'd been on the mission with her already stood.

"Commander," they bowed respectfully to her.

"Don't worry," Kirara waved a hand lightly. "This is just to make us all look good. And for me to work out some frustrations," she cracked her knuckles as she stood opposite them.

"Fr-frustrations?" the grey-haired man Satoru, whom Kirara trusted immensely, gulped. The other three looked just as concerned. When Kirara said she needed to work out "frustrations", it usually went one of two ways; a trip to the Squad 4 medical rooms, or a trip to the bar.

"Come on now, this is to make you all faster to respond. Maybe next time I'll even give you two minutes to respond to my flare," Kirara smiled pleasantly at them despite the bubbling irritation that had returned.

"There's nothing we can do to change your mind, is there?" Satoru sighed, but moved as he spoke.

"Nope! Not when Captain Shihouin is causing trouble again," with that Kirara moved, using Shunpo to move around the four. Satoru moved without looking around, well used to training with the light-footed Lieutenant, while Tetsuo turned and jumped backwards. Unfortunately for Kenzaki and Michi, however, they were too slow, and ended up sprawled on the ground as Kirara swept their legs out from under them.

"When isn't Captain Shihouin causing trouble for you?" Tetsuo grumbled.

"Let me guess, you had another encounter with your least favourite person in the entire Seireitei?" Satoru guessed, already turned around to face Kirara. Her expression had already gone blank, giving nothing away, which only made his small smile grow.

"You know better than to bring that up," Kirara knocked Tetsuo aside and rushed Satoru.

"If your opponent is better than you, there's no shame in playing dirty," he replied lightly, and saw the corner of Kirara's mouth twitch upwards. He raised his arms, crossing them in front of him as Kirara's leg came down. Refusing to wince from her kick, Satoru jumped backwards. The goal of the exercise was to dodge her as long as possible and work on their reflexes. They'd done it multiple times since they'd been drafted into a team together, and Kirara was forever pushing them to improve.

"You are the one who told us that," Michi nodded, grinning in amusement as he and Kenzaki sat on the ground, already out.

"Yes, but remember," Kirara started using Shunpo repeatedly, creating after-images of herself. "You have to make sure you can back it up," she appeared in front of Satoru, grabbing his arm. He gave a cry as she threw him over her shoulder, straight into Tetsuo.

"You just had to goad her," Tetsuo groaned as Kirara smirked victoriously.

"Homework time!" she called, and the four groaned. "100 continuous Shunpo steps a day, for a week," she instructed the four as she walked away, leaving them to recover.

"You really had to bring up Captain Hirako, huh?" Kenzaki glowered at Satoru as they all got back to their feet. He just shrugged.

"At least I lasted longer than two seconds against her," he smiled pleasantly at the other man.

"Do not make me make it 200," Kirara warned, still within earshot, and Kenzaki yelped when the other three punched him. Kirara chuckled at their behaviour, her irritation gone as she left them to it.

Finally the sun was starting to set in the Seireitei, meaning that a lot of the Shinigami began to start heading home for the evening. Kirara, however, had one last task for the day before she could officially slack off; taking some paperwork over to the Squad 3 barracks to be signed off after a mission that had wrapped up the week before.

As she walked through the streets between the barracks, Kirara hummed to herself, in good form as she considered her plans for the evening. Of course, she already knew what she was going to do. The same thing she always did after a successful mission.

Go to the bar and get absolutely hammered.

Turning to walk into the Squad 3 barracks, Kirara was looking forward to a chat with Rose before starting what was going to be a late night. However, as she turned the corner, she was suddenly hit by a flash of black and white, and stumbled back after walking into someone.

"Oh…" she caught herself. "Sor-" Kirara stopped mid-apology, looking up at Shinji as he looked mildly surprised at her sudden appearance. Instantly the apology was lost, and her jaw set in a stubborn look. "Watch it, idiot," she snapped, and his brow furrowed.

"How do you not get whiplash, with mood swings like that?" he asked, scowling back at her. "You were the one who walked into me, Princess, so why don't you watch it?" Shinji challenged, watching as her expression darkened even more. Kirara's normally bubbly Reiatsu that she emitted naturally was now stormy, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, which only irritated him more.

"Don't call me that," she hissed, fists clenched.

"Or what?" he goaded, only making her more annoyed. "Your spacial awareness sucks, Princess, doubt you could hit water falling out of a boat," Shinji taunted, and moved his head to let her fist sail past. "Told you," he couldn't resist as Kirara hesitated to try again. She was all too aware that while she could get away with throwing a punch or two, anything more could be considered an attack. While she doubted he would bother to report her, there were plenty of others who might.

"Whatever," hugging the papers to her chest, she shot him another glare. "Just stay the hell out of my way, dumbass," Kirara snapped as she moved around him.

"Swearing ain't cute, y'know," he called over his shoulder as she stormed into the Squad 3 barracks and down towards the Captain's office.

"Lucky for me then, that I'm not trying to be cute for a creep like you!" Kirara shouted, stomping away from him.

"Then why are you wearing that skirt?" Shinji insisted on getting the last word in, and was rewarded by a furious flash of Reiatu that slipped free.

"Ah, Kirara," when there was a brief knock at the door, Rose didn't look up from his guitar. "I thought I felt your presence," he said, strumming a few notes. There was a thump a moment later, as Kirara threw herself face-first onto his sofa. "And I imagine you arrived just in time to see Shinji depart," Rose guessed, and Kirara responded with a muffled yell. Rose just continued to play a soft melody, and after a few minutes Kirara rolled over and sat up. As Rose played the guitar he'd smuggled in from the World of the Living, Kirara relaxed, letting out a long breath.

"Excuse me, for that outburst," she bowed her head respectfully, and when she peeked up, she saw the corners of his mouth twitch up. "Here, the last of the papers from the mission last week. Yoruichi already signed them so they just need your seal of approval," she set down the files she'd been holding close to her chest.

"Ah, thank you," Rose smiled, finally looking up from what he was doing. He tilted his head a little, studying her face. "How are you, my dear? You seem tired," he commented, and Kirara gave a small smile back as she took a seat on the sofa again.

"I'm fine, just been a long day," she said, leaning back as Rose went back to playing music.

"Let me guess, a long day that will end with drinks?" he asked with a knowing smile as Kirara settled down.

"How else do you end the day?" she asked, looking so innocent he couldn't help but laugh. "You want to join? There's a few of us going," Kirara invited, but Rose shook his head.

"Alas, I have meetings all morning tomorrow," he declined. "Perhaps next time," he added as Kirara shrugged.

"Your loss. But there's always next time," she nodded, and he smiled softly at her. It hadn't been long after he'd become a Captain that he and Kirara started to talk, usually when she was dropping things off for Yoruichi. She was always fascinated by his music, and he didn't seem to mind in the slightest that she was the Corps Commander for the Patrol Corps, where other high-ranking officers still viewed her warily. And in the few years since then, they had become good friends.

"Perhaps then, you may be inclined to indulge me with the story of why you and Shinji can't stand even the mention of one another," Rose considered. Kirara rolled her eyes.

"Good luck with that. I'm not going to talk about that idiot," she dismissed the idea immediately, and Rose shrugged.

"There's always next time," he repeated as she stood. Kirara rolled her eyes, smiling good-naturedly at him.

"Yeah yeah. Have a good night Rose," with that, she gave a wave without looking back, slipping out the open door.

"You too, Kirara," he called over his shoulder, returning his attention to his guitar.

By the time Kirara arrived at the bar, night had fallen, and the bar was getting full.

"Kirara!" a woman with blonde hair tied back in a braid called out as she spotted her weaving through the crowd. She waved as Kirara approached, raising an eyebrow.

"Who let Natsuki drink so much already?" she asked as she took a seat beside the Squad 11 Lieutenant.

"Let her?" the black-haired Lieutenant of Squad 8 repeated, arching a delicate eyebrow. "You say that like we can stop her," Lisa pointed out, pushing a glass over to Kirara.

"Why are you guys so mean?" Natsuki pouted, before hiccuping. Kirara sighed, shaking her head as she poured sake into her cup.

"You're a lightweight and drink like you could take Captain Kyoraku in a drinking competition," Kirara replied, unaffected by the look. Defeated, Natsuki grumbled to herself and took another drink of sake. "Lighten up, we're in for a long night," Kirara bumped her shoulder to her friend's, and immediately she perked up. Despite her teasing, Kirara was fond of the 11th Squad's Lieutenant, who was her childhood friend, and one of her closest friends since before she'd attended the Academy.

Lieutenant Natsuki Hamasaki was taller than Kirara, and her usually pale face was flushed and warm from drinking. With her dark brown brown eyes and a face that was, somehow, unmarked even after years as a member of Squad 11, she was unusually pretty for someone who was part of the Squad of Barbarians. At first glance, many were confused to see her there, until they heard her talk. She was as vicious and eager for a fight as the rest.

Before long the three were joined by other high-ranking Shinigami who frequented the bar, which was close enough to the sector where many of their homes were built. While there was still a level of respect towards the few Captains who had gathered, there was a cheery, relaxed air around the group.

"Natsuki, go easy on the sake," Jinemon tried to calm her down as she finished another bottle. "We have that demonstration between our Squads in the morning," he reminded, and she shrugged.

"Guess I'll just not sleep!" she declared. Kirara snorted.

"A week's wages say that she's asleep within the hour," she said to Lisa and Jinemon.

"I'll get in on that," overhearing, Kyoraku leaned over with a grin.

"Don't eavesdrop," Lisa glowered at him, and he pouted as Kirara laughed. "Two hours," the taller of the Lieutenants then told Kirara, who grinned and shook her hand.

"You're on," she said as they watched Natsuki pour another drink, completely oblivious. The moment Lisa turned away, Kirara lightly nudged Kyoraku, accepting his wager too. Within half an hour, the young woman was slumped against Kirara, breathing quietly. Lisa grumbled, handing over a wad of cash to Kirara, who snickered as she slipped it under her kosode. "Okay, guess I better get this goof home," she then stood, hauling Natsuki to her feet.

"No...am okay…" she groaned, but fell into Kirara.

"Uhuh, I know. I just need you to help me get home," Kirara told her, slinging her arm over her shoulders.

"Oh...okay," Natsuki mumbled, her eyes barely open. Kirara gave a light wave to the others, helping her out of the bar.

"Honestly Natsuki, you really need to tone down on the sake," she sighed as they made their way back towards the Squad 11 barracks. Despite having the option of her own place, Natsuki, like Kirara, opted to live in the apartments of the barracks.

"That's weak talk," Natsuki mumbled, barely able to walk on her own. "I'm no-" she was interrupted with a hiccup that made Kirara giggle. "Quitter," Natsuki joined in with the giggles, which only made her stumble more.

"Careful," Kirara warned, not entirely sober either, and both continued to giggle as they reached the Squad 11 barracks. Once they reached the apartments and Natsuki staggered in with a slurred thanks and goodnight, Kirara waited, listening to her stagger around. Once she was sure that Natsuki wasn't either about to fall over, or sleep in the hall - again - Kirara shook her head and turned to make her way back.

It was quiet in the Seireitei as Kirara made her way through the familiar streets, looking up at the starry sky. With it being mid-summer, the air was warm and humid, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Even now, years after leaving the Rukon behind, the quiet of the night was odd, missing sounds of wildlife.

Rather than heading back to her own home, Kirara was soon perched on the roof of the Squad 2 main office, the tallest in their barracks, hands behind her head as a makeshift pillow as she looked up at the stars.

'You are unsettled,' a deep, quiet voice whispered in the depths of Kirara's mind, not her own words, but yet part of her. 'Peace is so rare for the Soul Society; so infrequent, that the quiet often feels like the calm before the storm,' the voice considered.

"Something lingers in the air," with no-one else around, Kirara found no problem in responding aloud. She preferred to answer the voice in such a way usually. "I'm not sure if I'm imagining it or not, but I doubt it's going to go away any time soon," she considered, and earned a hum of agreement in response.

Closing her eyes, Kirara felt a light breeze that made her hair flutter, tickling her cheeks, and when she opened her eyes again, she was standing upright surrounded by trees. The sky overhead was black, but illuminated by the stars twinkling brightly, and all around her were tall trees working to block out the sky from view.

'Have care, Kirara,' she turned as the voice spoke again, this time out loud, rather than just in her mind. Peering out from behind a tree was a figure cloaked in shadows that were constantly moving and disappearing into wisps, with eyes glowing gold. 'The air of peace is often deceptive and is the perfect hiding place for true chaos,' he warned. Kirara snorted at the warning from her Zanpakuto spirit.

"Trust you to only give ominous warnings when I'm drunk," she muttered.

Let me know what you think of that introduction!

Please review!