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Chapter two is out, yay :D I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach
“Oh,” the strange man replied, “You blocked it. Too bad.”
He was dressed in a sort of white uniform, dark unruly hair, and gave off the energy of a Hallow. Byakuya turned to Ukitake, “Alert the others.” and then was gone.
Byakuya appeared in front of the intruder as the sirens went off. Ukitake-taicho had never been the one to question common sense, despite the fact that Byakuya did not have the authority to give a Division captain orders.
“Who are you? Speak.” Byakuya demanded.
“So freakin' loud, all of you Shinigami always are.” he scratched his head, “Stark. I guess if you want to call me something, call me that.”
“What is the meaning of your attack?”
Stark smirked, “You see, Shinigami, its like this,” he tilted his head to the side. The gesture gave Byakuya a bad feeling, like there was something more to this strange man then he figured, “Hueco Mundo wishes to declare war on the Seireitei.”
“Hueco Mundo.” Byakuya suddenly realized what was happening, “You are an Arrancar.”
Hueco Mundo was the world of Hallows. Arrancar were rare, although the Academy made sure to teach all the research it was able to find to all the Shinigami.. If one was to meet an Arrancar, depending on their number it was wise to try to eliminate them right away. As the higher evolved form of a Hallow, the Arrancar were many hundreds of times stronger than a basic Hallow. It was also known that any Arrancar with a number below eleven would create many problems for the Soul Society.
Espada. A handful of Espada were all that were needed to level the Seireitei. But Byakuya knew of no one that had actually proved the existence of such a creature. Was this Arrancar one the Espada himself?
“Got it in one.” Stark replied, “Although, to my regret, I am only the messenger. I'm not here to fight you Shinigami.”
Byakuya's fingers bit into his sword's grip as the rush of reiatsu hit his senses. Stark raised his hand in the air as if to brush away an imaginary fly, and snapped his fingers. At that moment, Dagai portholes cracked through the sky over the Seireitei and a mass of Hallows poured through from Hueco Mundo.
He now stood with Ukitake ready to battle a wave of Hallows. Smirking, Kyoraku turned to his old friend and said, “This is more of my kind of party, huh, Jyuushiro?”
Ukitake only smiled back, and stood ready. Shunsui found himself worrying over the condition of his friend, but decided to keep it to himself. Jyuushiro was still very touchy about people 'coddling' him since the diagnosis. When the time came, if Ukitake chose to die in battle, Shunsui would have no guilt allowing his friend an honorable death.
As Kyoraku fought off the mass of Hallows, he lost himself in the battle. He ran through the streets, keeping his eye on Ukitake at the same time. Stepping backwards, he found himself bumped up against someone.
“Pardon!” he called, finding himself back-to-back with another Shinigami, “A little distracted.”
She turned and looked at him.
His breath caught.
The young woman had blocky glasses, and her hair was tied back severely tight, but she was beautiful. Pale skin that was almost white, dark eyes, and there was a slight pink tint in her cheeks from the exertion in the battle.
“No apologies, sir.” she briskly replied to him, and rushed back into the fight. She had a graceful movement about her, and Kyoraku found himself distracted more by the woman then the battle.
Who was she?
He watched her run into a circle of Hallows, and he turned to follow her.
A crack in the sky pulled Stark back into Hueco Mundo, Byakuya stared grimly at the spot where the Arrancar once stood, and then turned to survey the scene before him. There were easily a hundred Hallows within the immediate area. Sweeping Senbonzakura in front of him, he watched as the blade of his sword began to vaporize into the sakura petals.
“Senbonzakura, Shire.”
He watched the next crack in the sky grow. A Menos was coming through.
Byakuya turned and watched the massive Hallow walk through into the Seireitei. It would be difficult to destroy it himself without Bankai, but hopefully he would be able to do enough damage to get it out of the territory. Moving his hands forward, the petals swarmed around the Menos. With his attention elsewhere, he failed to see the attacker behind him.
A blast hit him in the back, forcing through his lower left side.
No.
Disappearing from view as his reiatsu bottomed out, the petals materialized back into his zanpkauto. Byakuya found himself plummeting through the air, his uniform was soaked in blood. The canopy of trees over the walls of the Seireitei came into view, and Byakuya tried his best to brace himself as he crashed threw the branches.
The momentum from the blast pushed him through the trees, and a bad feeling crept through the edge of his mind. Finally realizing what it was, Byakuya braced himself as he emerged from the tree line.
Not again.
He found himself over the edge of the ravine that circle around a large portion of the Seireitei. In another situation, Byakuya might have laughed at the irony of the situation. Seeing the river below him, he sheathed Senbonzakura and tied it more securely to his waist. Then, the world was lost to him as he plunged into the icy river.
Hisana had lived in places like Inuzuri even before she died, she was used to it. She was used to the cold night, the dirty and tattered clothes, the millet soup for dinner every night, and the shack that leaked in the rain. Frankly, she tried to keep an upbeat tone about life, and generally expected life to stay the way it was. So she spent her days like the rest of the citizens living in the dirt-hovels of Inuzuri; looking for food, finding something to occupy herself, and looking for her sister.
It was her one shame in life. Leaving Rukia on the streets of Inuzuri was something that she always regretted, and she worried every day about her little sister's well-being. Hisana prayed that Rukia was safe, and hoped that one day Rukia would have a better life then her elder sister did.
Picking up the bucket from her house, she head towards the riverbank to collect water. Hisana was fine with what life was. She was old enough to remember the life she had back in the living world, and to her, living in a broken-down wood shed was better than back then.
Humming to herself, Hisana stood next to the river and dipped the bucket into the water. She had a scarf wrapped around her neck to protect her neck from the cold. It was almost winter, but the weather was warm enough to melt any snow that fell. The river was fast, and higher than normal.
The bottom of the bucket clunked against something on the bank. Hisana made a face,another rock? She might as well move it so no one bangs a foot on it. Reaching a hand into the river, her annoyance turned into confusion as she pulled out a katana.
A zanpakuto.
Hisana set the bucket down on the ground and grasped the sword. It was very heavy, and when she drew the blade, it was obvious that the owner took very meticulous care of it. It was sharpened and cleaned so she could see her reflection in it.
Looking around, she frowned to herself. No one was around, and she really could not feel a reiatsu anywhere near. She tied the sword to her back, picked up the bucket, and wandered along the side of the river. Whoever the sword belonged to would want it back, and hopefully she would be able to find them and return the zanpakuto soon. It was a long sword, so long that if she tied it at her waist it was too long for her, but it was still beautiful.
The snow had come recently, and there were still a few flurries falling as she glanced across the river at the mountains. There was only one thing she liked about Inuzuri, and that was the peace, quiet, and the view. The mountains looked picturesque in the snow, and one of her favorite pastimes was going a long walk just to look around outside. It calmed her nerves and her stress during the day.
With the sound of a crow, her attention was pulled towards the walk ahead of her, and that was when she saw him.
He was half in the river, and have outside, like he had used the last of his strength to pull himself out of the water. The snow last night had left a thin layer over him, but it was not enough to cover the large blood stain in on his uniform.
Hisana gasped, and ran towards the man. He was covered in snow, leaves, dirt, and blood. She ran to him, set the bucket down, and dropped to her knees. His skin was ice cold to the touch as she braced herself and pulled him out of the river. Gripping his wet clothes, Hisana tugging him onto his back, moving forward to clear the dirt and wet hair from his face.
His was deathly pale, with jet black hair that created a harsh contrast in his skin.
“Hello?” she touched his face, “Sir, can you hear me?”
Nothing. Was he dead?
Hisana leaned forward and touched her head to his chest, there was a weak heartbeat, and his was still breathing, but barely. The wound in his side and the weather would kill him for sure if he was left unattended for another night.
She sighed, staring back at him. His face was calm, as if he was only sleeping. Hisana found herself wondering what kind of person he was, and what sort of stories he had. Would it be wise to take him back and help him, or was he someone that could she should be wary of? Harsh life had taught Hisana to be cautious of everyone, it was a valuable survival skill to have.
But he was wounded, and she could not just leave him there alone to die.
Hisana stood up, and rubbed her hands together. She was not far from the hut, but he was more than a foot taller than her, and she could already tell that it would be difficult by herself. Leaning over, she pulled his arm up, and hauled it across her shoulder.
“Alright, lets do this.”
“With all my luck, its mine.” Kyoraku murmured, and scratched his head. He had lost the mystery woman that he had tried to run after, but that was life. Things came and went, he would live with it, “Yo, Hingashi.”
Hingashi Takashi was the 10th Division Captain, and was a frequent joiner of lunch between him and Ukitake. The three of them had graduated from the Academy together.
“This was not an accident, something has happened here.” he replied, “It is not in Hueco Mundo's character to make a move against the Seireitei unless they have an advantage or a cause.”
“Oh, they have a cause.” Shunsui sighed, “The advantage?”
Both men exchanged glances, clearly neither of them could think of a possibility known to them.
“Taicho!”
Matsumoto Rangiku had recently been appoint out of the Academy to the 10th Division. She had a clipboard with her.
“I have the updates here from Ukitake-taicho back at the headquarters.”
Hingashi stared grimly at the report, and Shunsui waited patiently for a response.
“Not good, huh?” Kyoraku asked.
“Minato Moriyama-taicho of the 3rd Division is dead, your vice-captain is severely injured and unable to return to service...”
Shunsui sighed, and made a note to visit the young man later.
“...Mirai-taicho has reported that his own Vice-Captain, Kuchiki Byakuya, is missing. An emergency captain's meeting is called for tomorrow morning...”
Kyoraku Shunsui zoned out on the report, and then left the two Shinigami to head back to the 8th office. Finding that a stray blast has completely destroyed half of the office, he rummaged through the debris to pull out a sake jug. He uncapped it, took a long gulp, and then returned to trying to piece the Seireitei back together.
He still had not woken up, and she was beginning to worry that something was truly wrong with him.
Laying in the futon next to the fire pit in the middle of the hut, was the Shinigami that she rescued from the river. She had pulled his ruined clothes from him, cleaned and wrapped his wounds, and left him to sleep. The heat from the fire was enough to keep him warm, and she put enough blankets on him to protect him from the wind. At night would lay at his side to keep him even warmer after the fire died out.
“You should wake up soon, or I'm going to really worry.” she told him as she pealed a carrot. The stew would go nicely tonight, and it was rare that she ever got to make such a thing.
After the rest and gaining back his body heat, he had gained a little color back in his face. He had an authoritative look about him, like he was regal without actually having to try. Part of it seemed intimidating, but there was also a calming sense about him.
Hisana turned and put the carrots in the stew, and then turned back towards the potatoes. She began to wash and clean the potatoes, humming quietly to herself as she worked. It had been her luck that the neighbors had moved, and given her the extra food that could not take with. They had always been so nice to her, and she remembered going to their home frequently to simply talk. She would miss them.
But people came and went, that was what happened in life. Hisana smiled sadly to herself, and returned to her potatoes and singing.
Cotton?
He was dressed in a cotton yukata that was slightly big for him, and he wounds were cleaned and wrapped. His head was ringing, and his surroundings were defiantly not that of the Kuchiki House. The building was a shack, with wood floors, a fire pit, and a few shelves attached to the walls. There was a distinct smoky smell from the fire, the scent of something cooking, and a soft humming that floated threw his ears.
His dark eyes moved in the direction of the singing, and they fell on a petite woman sitting next to the fire pit. She was cutting potatoes, leaning over occasionally to drop of piece of pealed potato into the pot. Her white yukata was gray in some parts, and patches were sewn on in other places, but it seemed like she did the best she could to take care of her clothes. There was a blanket wrapped around her legs to protect herself from the winter chill, and it was then that Byakuya also took note of the snow outside.
She glanced in his direction, and froze as she realized he was awake.
There was a silence in the hut, as she put the last piece of potato into the pot. She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders as she slowly moved to his side. A soft smile spread across her face,
“Hi there, you were starting to worry me. You've been out for four days.”
Four days?
“Can you understand me?” she asked as he felt her hand brush over his forehead, “Your fever went down. How do you feel?”
Byakuya stared at her, and then closed his eyes painfully for a moment. Where was he? It was disorienting to wake up in a place he had never been, with a strange person who had apparently saved his life. Her fingers moved from his forehead to lay on his cheek. The gesture was comforting, and it had been so long since someone had made a move to comfort him.
“It's okay.” she smiled, “You're alright here. I don't know what happened to you, but you can stay here and rest as long as you need. I'm Hisana, what's your name?”
His dark eyes opened once more. Her voice was soothing. What could he tell her? It was never wise to blurt out who he was if he was in unfamiliar surroundings.
"Byakuya.” he murmured. It was the first time he had ever told some to specifically address him by first name, and no one other than his parents had ever seriously addressed him in such a manner.
“Byakuya-sama,” she repeated, the name suited him, “Nice name. Are you thirsty? I have some tea made and the stew will be done soon.”
He managed to nod his head, but he did not know how. Hisana stood and fetched him some tea, propping his head on her shoulder as she held the teacup for him. It was unsettling to have someone take care of him in such a way, but it could not be helped.
Another thought suddenly leaped into his mind.
“My zanpakuto-”
“Oh, you mean the sword really is yours?” she pointed. His gaze drifted over to Senbonzakura that rest next to the wall. Byakuya let out a relieved sigh, at least one thing was going right for him, “I kind of had a feeling it was, so I hung onto it.”
He nodded once more as she let his head rest back on the pillows.
“How are you feeling? Are you in a lot of pain?”
Byakuya was exhausted, he closed his eyes once more, “I am fine.”
Hisana's eyebrows shot in the air. He was not fine. There was a hole in his side, and a mix of other injuries on his person.
“With all due respect, Byakuya-sama, you are not fine.”
He was asleep again. Hisana smiled to herself, the man was stubborn, she learned that as much. Pulling the covers back up over him, she let him sleep.
Arigato,
Lilith
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