"If it were you, what would you do at a time like this? You would probably leap at Byakuya and give him a solid kick."
- Captain Ukitake
Footsteps thunder down the hallway, "Byakuya!!"
6th Captain Kuchiki Byakuya tilts his head slightly and notices Ukitake, the 13th Captain, is running up to him.
"It's an emergancy!" Ukitake shouts, "Rukia's execution has..."
"I've heard," Byakuya cuts him off. "A Hell's Butterfly came to me just now."
"I see!" Ukitake aproaches him, "So then let's talk..."
"So, what of it," Byakuya brushes him off.
Ukitake freezes in cold shock, "...What did you say?"
"The execution is tomorrow," Byakuya says. "If that is the decision, then I shall defer to that," he turns away and continues down the hallway, "Don't call me over for a dull conversation. It's rude."
Ukitake's fists clench, "...W... Why you!" He leaps forward, grabs the white scarf around Byakuya's neck and yanks the man around to yell at his expressionless face, "Quit fucking around like you usually do! How long do you intend to keep saying such things! It's tomorrow! This is serious! Tomorrow at noon, your little sister really will -" The words get caught in his throat and he doubles over in pain as his body is wracked by a severe coughing fit. He has pushed his sickly body too hard by screaming at Byakuya and now he is paying the price.
"...Don't get overexcited. Your life is chipping away, Ukitake," Byakuya looks down at his hunched form. "You're watching one of your subordinates die before your eyes once again... It seems unlikely such a thing would happen two or three times."
As his coughing fit dies down, Ukitake gasps for air as he spares a long, seething glare at Byakuya through his white bangs.
With a parting glance, Byakuya turns away again and walks off, "...In any case, that is one from my household. As such, it is not your place to know whether she'll die or be killed. Be sure to stay on your best behavior."
Ukitake stands and watches Byakuya leave as his thoughts are directed to someone else... someone from the past, If it were you, what would you do at a time like this? You would probably leap at Byakuya and give him a solid kick. A disruption from a single captain is no reason to reverse the central decision, and despite knowing that, you would probably still run around to save Kuchiki.
His gaze hardens, ...No, I'm certain you wouldn't choose any other option. That's because you always choose the path that puts yourself in the most danger. Isn't that right? Kaien...!
(Intro Page: Ukitake's turn! Yay! He's looking off to the side thoughtfully with a cup of green tea in his hand.)
Everything flashes back to several years before. Kuchiki Rukia stands anxiously in the office of the 13th Division, listening to her superior officer address her.
"...So, please wait here for now," the Shinigami tells her respectfully. "The Vice-Captain shall be here shortly..."
"...Um..." Rukia speaks up nervously.
"Yes! What is it!?" the Shinigami asks eagerly.
"I am merely a new recruit..." she says, "...Could I please be treated normally?"
"Oh! Yes!" the Shinigami clasps his hands together and backs out of the room courteously, "I'll be careful about that from now on." Behind his fake smile, the man thinks, That's stupid! I can't possibly do that!!
While Rukia stands in the room quietly, several Shinigami in the 13th Division are gathering outside, peering through the sliding doors to see what the fuss is all about.
"What's that girl?"
"That's her. The one in the Kuchiki household..."
"Hah, the new pet kitten, huh."
"I hear she got exempted from her graduation exam and her team entrance exam..."
"What's with that. The easy living of the great aristocracy, huh. Y'gotta be kidding me. We went through so much hell for..."
Rukia can hear their whispers. She bows her head sadly, ...Just as I thought... this place is no different...
A new voice breaks in loudly, "Hey, hey!! What are you guys doing sellin' oil here!?(1) This ain't a show! Get back to your posts! C'mon!!"
The new arrival slams the door open and struts in. He has dark hair, handsome features, and long eyelashes - a characteristic of the Shiba clan.(2) He salutes Rukia with two fingers, "I'm Shiba Kaien, the Vice-Captain! Nice to meet you!"
"...Aah," Rukia breathes, startled, "...Hi..."
"...Aah, hi?" Kaien mimics angrily, "What kinda greeting is that!?"
"Eep..!?" Rukia tries to back away, but Kaien already has a firm grip on the top of her head.
He gets right in her face and scolds her poor manners, "I introduced myself as the Vice-Captain! You're supposed to introduce yourself and say 'pleased to make your aquaintance'!" He then adds, "Oi, what's your name!"
"It's... Kuchiki Rukia..." Rukia says, utterly stunned by his uncanny behavior.
"Oh? ...and?" Kaien roughly scuffles her hair.
"It... it's a pleasure to make your aquaintance!!" she parrots.
"Alright!" Kaien backs off with a big, welcoming smile, "You're okay, Rukia!"
"You are welcome to Team 13!" Kaien exclaims as Rukia tries to keep her world from spinning. "Our Team Captain has a weak body, y'know! Most of the responsibility is passed onto to me!" he jabs a thumb at his chest proudly, "So it's okay if you sometimes call me 'Captain Kaien' by mistake!"
Rukia looks up at him with mussed hair and wide eyes. "...Aah, I'll keep it under consideration," she says dazedly.
~*~*~
Later on that night, Rukia sits at the doorway to her elder brother's study with her hands folded on her lap and her head bowed respectfully, "Honored Brother... I have completed my entry into the Division without a hitch."
"...I see," Byakuya sits with his back facing her, not sparing her a look. "What is your position."
"...Ah...No," Rukia glances up miserably before she bows her head again, "I deeply apologize... With my abilities... it's not possible for me to hold a position so soon after joining..."
There is a heavy silence before Byakuya responds, "...I see. Begone."
Rukia lowers her eyes, sensing the disapproval in his words.
~*~*~
"Wh~~a~~t," Kaien whines as he takes a long sip from his bamboo canteen, "You've got such a damn miserable look on your face!"
"Herk!" Rukia freezes up. She certainly didn't expect him to appear out of nowhere in the middle of the day. Kaien is so tall that he was easily able to lean right over her head and face her upside down.
"Y'know, you always say 'herk!' every time I run into you... That kinda hurts..." He offers her a bamboo container irritably, "Here. It's your share. Drink up!"
Wordlessy, she accepts the container and uncaps it. Kaien is already chugging down the rest of his drink as he sits down beside her.
Eventually, Kaien breaks the peaceful silence between them, "...Speaking of you. I wonder why you zone out and why you won't answer whenever I ask, but..." he stares into the distance as he says confidently, "Don't forget. As long as you're in this team, I'll be your mikata even if I die trying." (3)
Rukia stares at him, dumbfounded. It takes her a moment to find her voice, "...Ka..."
"THASH SHO COOOL!!" Kiyone pounces onto the scene, banging a small drum in excitement.
"THAT STINKS!!!" Sentarou holds his nose theatrically as he follows close behind Kiyone. (4)
"Sir Kaien..." Rukia groans.
"Aww, maaan!! Lord Kaien is so cool!!" Kiyone pats Rukia hard on the head. "He's taken a liking to you! C'mon!! That was a piece of cake, eh!"
"That stinks!! Man, that stinks!!" Sentarou howls with laughter. "Did you hear that!? He said mikata!! Mikata!! 'MITAKA'!!" (5)
"Kiyone! Sentarou!!" Kaien topples backward in surprise. "Did you guys get yourselves piss-drunk again!? Hey!!"
"KUCHIKII! DON'T WORRY!!" Sentarou shouts over to the girl who managed to separate herself from the chaos and sit quietly several feet away. "I'm a native of Rukongai too! Back when I joined the team, there were guys who babbled nonsense too, see..."
"Shuttup!! You guys are such annoying drunks!!" Kaien shouts.
"Just chalk it up to the snots for being snots!!" Kiyone cackles, "Snots!! GYAHAHA!!"
"Aww, mann," Kaien groans, "Break time is over! Over!! Get ready for the next mission!"
Rukia watches their antics silently. Kaien argues lively with his two drunk subordinates. Whenever he laughs in that full-hearted way of his, Rukia smiles as well. It was so comfortable to be by Sir Kaien's side.
As she observes him, her smile soon fades. Sir Kaien had a wife.
Rukia remembers a tall, graceful Shinigami woman waiting in a field. While she was a heroine among women for rising to the rank of 3rd-in-command, she was also intelligent, kind, and beautiful.
Rukia stood on top of a cliff overlooking the field, watching as Kaien ran up to meet the woman and speak with her happily. I admired her. I thought of wanting to be like that. She saw the woman's genuine smile.
It was my ideal dream.
~*~*~
Kaien stares at the scene before him with wide, horrified eyes. There in the center of the room lies the body of his wife, covered by a white cloth as if she were merely asleep. He stands there, frozen by disbelief.
His captain, Ukitake, looks at the dead woman solemnly and tells Kaien, "...It seems they were annihilated. Her entire unit."
Rukia stands not too far behind Kaien, watching the scene unfold with wide eyes. (6)
"Since they had all been wiped out before data was gathered..." Ukitake continues, "the abilities of the enemy Hollow are unknown... a punitive expedition team is being organized at the moment. Within two days, they..."
Suddenly, Kaien turns away without a word and heads for the door.
"Wait! Kaien!!" Ukitake shouts after him, "Hold it! We still don't even know the enemy's abili..."
"So, what of it!?" Kaien interrupts him. "We don't know its form... We don't know its name or abilities, either... So you're saying I stay here passively and wait!?" his voice starts to break with emotion. "You want me to leave it to the expedition team... and stay here..."
"...There are only 2 things that I know..." Ukitake closes his eyes. "The first thing is that this Hollow isn't the type to move around. Its the type of stationary Hollow that builds its nest in one place and stays there to prey upon victims," he continues. "The second thing is - the location of its hangout!"
~*~*~
Ukitake, Rukia, and Kaien stand on a large treebranch overlooking a cave. The Hollow at the mouth of the cave is an ugly four-legged hulk with numerous tentacles squirming on its back.
"...I smell... something..." the creature growls hungrily as Kaien stands high on the branch and reaches for his sword.
The Hollow looks up at the Shinigami, "I smell some food lacking in wits! Heehee!" It chuckles as its slimy tongue runs across its teeth.
Kaien draws his blade in cold determination as the Hollow's maniacal laughter continues.
"HEHEHEHEEEHEEEHAHAHA!!"
(1)Hey, that's what he says: selling oil. I assume that's his own way (or an old way) of saying "trading gossip." ^_^;
(2)He looks like a cross between Ichigo and the Cute Guy w/ a touch of the Shiba eyes. *drool* 0_0
(3)I can easily translate this word as "friend", "ally", or "supporter" - but I didn't do that because the word mikata is used as a pun in the next page. What he's saying basically means "I'll stand by your side even if it kills me." How cool is that? HOW COOL IS THAT!?
(4)In case anyone has forgotten, Kiyone and Sentarou are currently sharing the position of Ukitake's 3rd-in-command and are incredibly competitive about it.
(5)Sentarou is doing a really corny play on words. As I explained before, 'mikata' means ally. He suddenly mixed up the words with 'mitaka' - which means '3 Hawks'. It's a meaningless pun... to most readers, except me. I happened to live in Mitaka, Tokyo for half a year and I have fond memories of that place - it's where I bought my first vol of Bleach. ^_^; (Random note: The Ghibli Art Museum is right there in Mitaka - so coool! XD)
(6)This is merely my own theory... but it seems like Rukia was just caught at the wrong place at the wrong time in this situation. I get the feeling that Kaien kind of took her under his wing, so to speak, and got into the habit of dragging her around with him during work. Maybe it just so happened that Kaien thought he was going for an average meeting with Ukitake when he recieved the biggest shock of his life - and unwittingly dragged Rukia into all this.
Note:
-Whenever I find an English word I'm not familiar with, I think I'll link it to its definition on dictionary.com. That way I can flaunt my ignorance without causing others to spare such trouble. Hehehe. ^_^;