Byakuya Kuchiki was having a bad day. And he fully blamed it on his lieutenant. Some time during the night, Renji had the bright idea of going out drinking with Rangiku Matsumoto of squad ten, Shuhei Hisagi from squad nine, and Ikkaku Madarame from squad eleven.
The destruction the four caused while dead drunk caused massive amounts of paperwork to pile up on their respective captain's desks. Matsumoto and Hisagi were hit hard, since they had to fill out the paperwork by themselves.
(Rangiku because Toshiro was furious at her, and Hisagi because his captain had turned traitor and they had yet to replace him.)
Zaraki honestly could care less about the destruction, so Ikkaku was the only one to get away without any punishment.
Renji, on the other hand, was hit harder than the others. Byakuya had not been pleased to be awoken in the middle of the night to find out his lieutenant had gotten drunk and done something stupid.
Which was why the red haired man was currently completing all the backlog of Squads three, five and six as well as the paperwork for the destruction. To top it all off, Byakuya had docked his salary to pay for the damages.
So his day was shot, and possibly his weekend as well. It would take Renji a week to finish the paperwork.
So it was with great surprise that Byakuya felt something with claws attach itself to his left arm, and then vanished in a ball of flame before his younger sister and two others.
Byakuya blinked, and wondered where the hell he was. He was clearly in the world of the living, but it wasn't Karakura or anyplace he recognized. The house was filthy, the air itself was smoggy, and he had been kidnapped for reasons he didn't understand.
A man who looked as ancient as Yamamoto-taicho from squad one came in, and his frown deepened.
He glared. Somehow, he got the distinct feeling this man was responsible for his weekend being shot to hell. Renji's mistake was bad enough, but this topped the cake. The old man frowned.
Clearly he was expecting something else.
"Harry?"
Byakuya said nothing, but his hand was firmly on Senbonzakura. He wasn't allowed to kill the living, but there wasn't any laws against property damage(just a ton of paperwork and a paycheck deduction). That little tidbit was going to help him work out his frustration for the next week, even if he did have to pay for the damages later.
Sometimes, the only solution was to act as though you were from the Eleventh, and damn all the consequences.
"I don't know who you are, and frankly I could care less. But if you intend to keep me here, you will have another thing coming," Byakuya said in accented English.
Soul Reapers could speak any language, but they only used it when visiting the other soul societies. There was one on every continent.
"Harry, my boy..."
"I am not your anything. And my name is certainly not Harry. I am Byakuya Kuchiki, 28th head of the Kuchiki clan and the head of Squad Six of the Seireitei."
The old man frowned. This was clearly his missing student, but in the same sense it wasn't.
Harry Potter had fallen through the Veil of Death nearly five months ago in place of his godfather. They had tried everything to find where he had gone, since the prophecy clearly stated that only the one marked as his equal would be able to deal with Voldemort once and for all.
In a last ditch effort, Dumbledore had ordered his phoenix to find Harry.
He honestly expected the boy to return as a ghost of sorts.
He wasn't expected a clearly solid, adult Japanese nobleman to be standing before him with a sword that seemed well used and radiated power.
Harry's two best friends came in, fully expecting to see a ghost. Their jaws dropped when they saw Byakuya, who looked like the Japanese equivalent of James Potter.
Byakuya had had enough of the staring. He had never liked this kind of attention, but he had been well trained to ignore it with a noble disdain.
He began to walk towards the door, only to discover to his annoyance that the old man had used some sort of strange kido on it to keep him in the room. His glare went up a notch.
It was time to leave, and he wasn't going to let some jumped up human with special powers hold him back.
"Scatter, Senbonzakura."
He could honestly care less about the bill. He could tell that he wouldn't be able to open a gate unless he left the house.
So that was exactly what he was going to do.
The red head's mouth gaped at the sight of the pink petals that shredded the door, spell and all. The locking charm only dealt with the lock...there wasn't anything to keep the door together under such an attack.
Hearing the destruction, Sirius Black raced in to see...his godson leaving the house.
Byakuya's eyes met with the former convict, and memories of his past life threatened to take control. He shoved it aside with practiced ease.
Byakuya, when he was younger, suffered horrible nightmares that had nothing to do with hollows. It was only when he gained Senbonzakura that he found a way to seal those away long enough to get any sleep.
He was still a night owl. Unohana wasn't too happy about his sleeping habits. But no one would dare complain about the fact that the Kuchiki leader barely slept more than six hours a night.
Byakuya opened the gate, and went home. He wouldn't be getting much sleep that night.
"SIRIUS!"
A pale boy with bright emerald green eyes stepped hard on the werewolf's foot, and raced to the veil. He pushed the man away from the red light and fell headfirst into the shadowy curtain. The last thing he remembered was hearing the one person who actually cared about his well being crying out his name.
Byakuya shot up. It had been years since he had that nightmare. He pinched the bridge of his nose and went into his inner world.
It was a field of cherry blossoms that greeted him. Senbonzakura was waiting.
"Again? I thought we took care of those dreams years ago," he said.
"So did I. Something is going on, and I have a feeling this isn't the end of it," replied Byakuya.
"Shall we fallback to our usual standby to keep them at bay?"
"What other options do we have?" he answered.
The Seireitei was hit with a rash of pranks for the next week. Many believed it to be the fault of Ichigo's hollow Shirosaki...until the substitute told them that Shirosaki had been released in Hueco Mundo for the past month and was currently terrorizing it with Grimmjow and Gin.
When that came out, people realized the mysterious Senkuya had returned. Captains booby-trapped their offices, soul reapers walked with caution, and everyone was afraid they would be hit next.
It was Ichigo who accidentally discovered who Senkuya was...and to say he was shocked was an understatement.
Senkuya was in fact the cranky and rather stiff Byakuya Kuchiki himself. Ichigo had run across the man doing something strange, and had followed him accordingly.
He watched, gaping as Byakuya used a special kido on squad eleven. Byakuya deftly avoided the patrols, and returned to the Kuchiki estate...only to discover Ichigo behind him in shock.
"I don't believe it..." he finally got out.
Byakuya raised an elegant eyebrow.
"Congratulations Kurosaki, you've discovered one of the most well kept secrets of the soul society," he said dryly.
"What, that you actually have a sense of humor?" said Ichigo.
"No, that I know how to prank people. I don't do it often, but when I do they run in fear."
"Oh this I have to see!"
Ichigo waited with Byakuya in Squad Six, claiming some random errand so he could see the captain's work.
He wasn't disappointed. Hell butterflies raced into the barracks with news of Senkuya's strike on the Eleventh. Anyone who went near their barracks came out wearing their least favorite colors and wearing nothing but their underwear.
Ichigo was howling while Renji looked pale. He had been planning to visit Ikkaku later, but now that idea was shot.
Ichigo couldn't help his laughter, as he went to see the prank first hand from a safe distance. Byakuya went with him, amused.
Zaraki had been hit worse than his squad, as Byakuya had laid a trap specific to the man.
He was now a giant, pink bunny...and to his immense amusement Rukia absolutely loved it. So, apparently, did Yachiru who had also been given rabbit ears.
Not to be dissuaded by his new costume, Zaraki challenged Ichigo...Ichigo took one look and forfeited, laughing his ass off.
Until Byakuya kicked him into the barracks.
Ichigo came out spitting dirt...and was now sporting an orange bunny costume. Rukia was holding her sides laughing.
Byakuya wasn't that oblivious to the fact Ichigo had seen him. Which is why he altered the prank so that anyone over the usual amount of spirit energy would come out looking like a rabbit.
He knew his sister would make an appearance when she got wind, which is why he also had a trap waiting for her. When she went to leave, she turned into a tiny black rabbit.
Ichigo grinned as he scooped up the surprised girl. Byakuya had tried to get rid of his sister's obsession with rabbits before, but for some odd reason he only made it worse.
He had finally given it up as a bad job.
As Ichigo passed him with an annoyed Rukia, Byakuya smirked.
"You won't be able to get out of that for two days. Have fun," he said in a low voice so only the orange haired boy could hear him. Ichigo had his usual scowl, but no one realized it was because of Byakuya.
Over the past month, a suspicious group of characters started to file into Karakura. Ichigo, after two years of dealing with random events that lead to him dealing with a massive fight at the end, had long since decided to take initiative, so he investigated them.
Only to try and hold back his laughter when he realized who they were looking for.
It seemed that Byakuya had made an impression during the time he was kidnapped for no apparent reason.
Among those looking for the captain were two teens roughly his age, a pair of identical twins (who unfortunately had already had a run in with Urahara, and had clicked upon meeting) and an old man with the fashion sense to rival Orihime's sense of taste.
All of them seemed to be under the impression that Byakuya was their missing friend Hari. Which made absolutely no sense, because Byakuya had to be ten times older than this Hari Potter. Ichigo knew for a fact that Byakuya was alive when Urahara was declared traitor and forced to leave.
But when he saw the picture of the boy in question, he saw how they could be confused. Hari Potter looked like a green eyed, younger version of Byakuya with messier hair.
But what the newcomers didn't know was that Ichigo lived in a small clinic...and he saw signs they had denied for years.
He saw the clear indicators of abuse. The boy was far too small for his age, the eyes were haunted, and he looked like he was ready to bolt.
All tiny indicators that this Hari Potta was abused, and from a young age.
And they expected him to hand over someone he considered a close friend to people who obviously refused to see child abuse. Not going to happen.
Instead, Ichigo sent Shirosaki to the Soul Society to warn Byakuya about the intruders.
Byakuya listened to the hollow, and decided to take care of this problem directly. He had made a very strong impression when he made his escape.
And they were determined to prove he was in fact their missing friend Harry.
Byakuya wore his usual gigai, and this time he wouldn't be facing these people alone.
Rukia, Renji, and pretty much anyone who had close contact with him and considered him a friend had come with him.
This pretty much included a few captains and the like. He might have had more friends if anyone had figured out he was also Senkuya.
Frankly he didn't want to deal with the paperwork that always came from his pranks.
Byakuya sat at the small cafe with Rukia, Renji, and the ryoka sitting at nearby tables. Ichigo had helped the soul reapers to properly blend in this time, so they wouldn't cause a scene like they used to.
(Ichigo, after nearly a year of dealing with their bad outfits and awkward behavior, had finally put his foot down and held a mandatory class for anyone in the seated ranks. After that they finally blended in with the modern society. To his surprise, Byakuya was the only one to pass that class on the first try.)
Byakuya could pass as a bored executive, as he wore a loose sleeve shirt, black pants, and comfortable shoes. He was reading a newspaper, but Ichigo was the only one who noticed he was more interested in the funnies than the current news.
They didn't have to wait long.
The first to arrive were the teens. Only the girl was dressed sensibly, while the red haired boy looked as out of place as Renji used to.
Next came the old man. He had as much taste in clothes as Orihime had in acceptable recipes. And a color sense to match.
Finally came the man that haunted Byakuya. He was tall, had lanky black hair, and deep blue eyes. He was somewhat tired looking, but his eyes were clearly mischievous in nature.
"Can I help you?" he asked calmly.
The blue eyed man stared at him in shock. His godson appeared to have suddenly grown up...and turned Japanese.
It was the blue eyed man who explained the situation. Byakuya raised a single elegant eyebrow in disbelief.
"I find it rather hard to believe I am this Hari Potter. Particularly since the boy you are describing is fifteen, and I am nearly ten times that age," he said dryly.
"You look almost exactly like him!" said the gangly red head. Byakuya gave him a look. The red head didn't appear that bright at all.
The brunette beside him, however, seemed to be a self righteous bookworm.
"I have been alive long enough to be your great-great grandfather."
The old man didn't believe him for a second. He barely looked to be the same age as Sirius.
Byakuya glared at the old man. He looked like the first captain, but he felt like Aizen.
"Why, exactly, are you people looking for an abused fifteen year old boy who likely doesn't want to be found in the first place?" he asked.
That was definitely the wrong thing to say, because it only convinced them further that he was this Hari Potter.
The old man's eyes were twinkling in a way that made Byakuya twitch. He was actually contemplating blinding the old man by gouging his eyes out.
"How do you know he was abused?" asked the brunette girl. She sounded sensible, but uptight.
Byakuya looked at Ichigo. He was the one who mentioned it.
"If you people think everyone is blind, then you're idiots. I know abuse when I see it, even if it isn't first hand," said Ichigo flatly.
Sirius (the blue eyed man) glared at the old man with definite venom. The message in his eyes was clear as to who was responsible for the abuse.
"You expect us to hand over an abused child to someone who clearly has no intent on keeping him safe?" said Ichigo incredulous.
"He belongs in our world," said the old man.
"I will enunciate this clearly. Even if this...Hari Potter was here, we wouldn't hand him over to you without his consent. It is blatantly clear that you intend to use him as a weapon with no intention of protecting him."
Byakuya was having flashes of memories that weren't his own. He was starting to suspect he was this Hari Potter reborn, though how that was possible he had no idea.
The only person who didn't anger him on sight was Sirius Black, and that was because the memories he had of the man showed he was one of the few who did try to help the boy.
The only other people who tried were the identical twins who were currently helping Urahara terrorize Hueco Mundo. He really pitied those Espada, he really did.
Just as the old man was going to try his best weapon to convince them, the sound of hollows approaching had the group get out of their seats. Ichigo was the first out of his body, using his gikongan.
(He had replaced Kon after an incident with a busty female police officer. It was only because of Rukia's memory replacement device that had kept him out of jail. Kon still lived with him, but he was no longer allowed to use Ichigo's body.)
Byakuya was next, using his own soul candy. It was specially tailored for him by Kurotsuchi. (He had left a note to the man with specific instructions as to what he wanted in his gikongan. In exchange he had a sign that kept Senkuya from pranking his experiments.)
The fake soul glared at everyone. And refused to even speak to the outsiders.
They watched in horror as Byakuya and the others destroyed the monsters with their swords. Out of the wizards, only Sirius wasn't horrified by the sight of the soul reapers taking out two Menos Grandes.
Dumbledore was horrified that his pawn had a power that could kill massive amount of people with ease. The small pink blades shredded the monster with such disturbing ease.
Ron was disgusted by the color of the blades. He fully believed Harry had turned gay during his trip through the veil.
Ron was extremely homophobic.