Untitled

Beta'd by Panther


Chapter 3


Kasumi began to snicker again as she moved, instead of using strictly Sundavar Freohr, she also used several of the spells Renji had taken the time to teach her to render them unconscious. There was obviously a reason they had left the Soul Society without permission and she'd be damned if she didn't find out why. After she knocked the last one out, she hit one knee using Sundavar Freohr to keep from collapsing, her chest was heaving as she tried to muster back some of her expended energy.

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"You cannot beat me. On what realm of existence did you believe you could actually drop me to my knees?", taunted the blonde haired man.

Byakuya watched as the one they called Esio, sluggishly made it back to his feet. His body clearly weakened by the sound blow that had wrecked havoc through out his body.

"Your just like the rest of them back there."

Coughing loudly, Esio turned to face his attacker. The head of the noble Kuchiki clan..Byakuya.

"You nobles are all alike. Look at you, wearing that scarf like you deserve to be higher then everyone else. You don't give a damn about anything but what you do. No one cares for the peones like us, who slave for you day in and day out so you can continue on with the very lives that deny our fucking existence.."

Cracking a faint smirk at this little tirade, Byakuya sheathed his zampakato, returning Senbonzakura back to its dwelling slumber.

"I wont ask the same question again.", was spoken by Kasumi as the four slammed into the ground and heaved breath after breath.

Ari, the second in command fell only a few feet behind the young girl, who too was in a bit of a bind with the waste of energy. "Binding Spell 1.." Ari muttered, his vision quickly returning to normal from the use of over expended energy. "Restrain!" He shot his arm out towards the young girl, with this spell. It would bind her arms behind her back, and unable her to move. They could finally have their way, and end this fight.
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Kasumi snarled as she felt the binding spell. "'Well fuck. I think this qualifies as embarrassing myself."

She reached inwardly searching vainly for some form of energy to try and break the spell on her. Using what she found, she forced herself to her feet.

"I... will not... fail my.... captain....."

Kasumi used her force of will to remain upright, even with her arms useless behind her back.

"Now get her!" , one yelled as they forced their way back to their feet.

The four shinigami once again preceeded their assault, this time looking to finish the job. If Byakuya wasn't here, they would have taken turns with this one, with her arms safely bound behind her back , she wouldn't have been able to fight back.

However, they could no longer go through with that plan, they were gonna put all their fate into this. Plus, when they finished her off..they could help their captain in fighting Byakuya. They knew all five of them would be required to compete with the captain.

"Scatter...Senbonzakura.."

Byakuya held the still shimmering blade upright in front his chest, and briefly closed his eyes. This allowed bits and pieces of the once intact zampakato to scatter into hundreds of tiny blades and litter they air. Such tiny of blades, so small they were invisible to the naked eye. Only seen if the blades picked up the light source around them.

Byakuya directed the shikai form of his zampakato around the weakened member of his squad, carefully encasing her in a pinkish barrier to protect her from the strikes of her enemies.

"NO DONT!"

Esio stood helpless, watching in horror as and the tiny blades shot out in all directions. Easily slicing countless times through the body of his comrades until they were lying on the floor in pools of their own blood.


"You BASTARD!" Esio yelled, turning to swing his own zampakato at Byakuya. The blonde then stopped in mid slice as blade after blade shifted into flesh, and ripping him to shreds. ***************************************************************************


Kasumi hit one knee, her head bowed in shame. She had failed and managed to make a fool of herself in front of her captain. She should have been stronger then this. She'd been trained better then this. Her energy was at it's limit and she wasn't going to be able to catch herself when she humiliated herself further by falling completely because of the bind on her arms.

Byakuya caught her before she fell to the ground, and turned his gaze onto the girl laying into his right arm. He hadn't known her very long, but the fact she was able to release the shikai form of her zampakato was nothing short of superb to him. Most shinigami go years without having that power.

He found himself thinking that she could be of use to him.

"Engaging them by yourself was a foolish move. Yes, they were weak, but they outnumbered you. Kasumi, you couldn't dream of keeping up with them."

Being painfully blunt with her, Byakuya slowly helped her rise to her feet. His arm was still supporting much of her body weight due to her extreme exhaustion.

"Never the less..Renji has taught you well."

Kasumi still had her head bowed the shame. She'd been sure they wouldn't have been an issue, especially with him coming not far behind her but she'd been wrong. That mistake had almost cost her more then she was willing to pay. Her anger with herself, closed her throat making it impossible to even say a word.

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Byakuya watched as he recieved no answer to his slight praise. Silence was her answer to him.

"Hmm.."

He acknowledged her silence with only a nod of his own. He removed his arm from her body to see if she could stand on her own two feet, and make it back home.

His job was done, with the deaths of these five. This meant there was no longer any reason for him to draw out his stay here in the living world. However, if she couldn't find the strength to get home on her own, he was going to have to escort to her home, and make sure she was safe there. After all, that was what a Captain was for. To protect and make sure the followers under him were safe. Unlike the dillusioned mind of one blond haired man called Esio.

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Kasumi forced herself to balance and move, though she was slow and a bit wobbly she managed to keep upright. She'd embarrassed herself enough this night without having to subject her captain to her living arrangement.
She headed back across town towards her small apartment, it wasn't that it was disgusting in anyway but it was plain and certainly not what a noble would be used to. The style was an older traditional one but also minimal, her human body wasn't in the best of clothing considering the sports bra and short gym shorts she'd been working out in, trying to increase her physical power and stamina to increase her spiritual power.

While standing on the roof of the building adjacent to the apartment of his subordinate, Byakuya watched ever so carefully through the windows of the building waiting for the slightest bit of movement. He wanted to make sure she at least got home safely, and didn't collapse along the way.

Byakuya let out a soft sigh, the peering dark gaze of the Kuchiki clan leader drifted up to the silvery moon above. He adored the night time, and the moon itself. There was nothing more enjoyable then basking in its rays of light. Catching a bit of the chilling breeze, the dark stands of his hair and loose clothing fluttered, dancing in the flowing wind.

True, sometimes he disliked being here, but on occasion it was really nice to get away for a bit. Catching glimpse of a light flickering on in one of the windows adjacent to him. Byakuya returned his gaze back to the apartment complex, waiting to catch a glimpse and see if she actually had made it inside without much of a problem.

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Kasumi stumbled into the living area, falling to her hands and knees. She felt a grimace of self loathing crawling into her body but found herself leaning against the couch, unable to even climb up onto it to return into her body.

Her head was bowed as she sat there forcing back tears that wanted to fall.

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Watching as the young girl collapsed around her apartment, the wavering image of Byakuya slowly disappeared in the night sky. Disappearing from the rooftop of the building adjacent apartment, and off to his destination. She made it home alright, despite her weakened and disheveled appearance due to the exhausting battle with those four shinigami. Safety of his subordinates was all that mattered, cause whether he liked to admit it or not.

Esio's words struck a sound mental blow, when he expressed the Kuchiki clan leader as someone only out for his own personal gain, and held no emotional attachment to his allies and the men and women serving under him.

"Go ahead.", the dark haired noble spoke, standing over the kneeling girl with tears in her eyes. "You can cry all you like." He knew that shedding tears wouldn't benefit her skills at all, but it would ease her tensions.

Kasumi couldn't, she refused, she was embarrassed. Captain Kuchiki was seeing her less then perfect home. She was still fighting it as a single tear fell.

She shivered as she wills the others back, the one that had escaped splattered against the back of her hand as she tries again to stand, but her limbs are too weak. She simply collapsed on the floor, her hair hiding her face.

"When you refuse to accept your limitations you limit yourself to those limitations."

Crouched next to the young crying girl, Byakuya let out a slight sigh at the entire predicament. He wasn't really good with this whole cheering people up thing. Renji or Rukia would be a great help right now, but not him. He was never really any help in these situations.

"If I lift you back to your body will you stop crying?" The Kuchiki clan leader asked, his hands waiting idly on his knees, waiting to see if he was gonna have to lift her up.

"I'm not." her voice is somewhat strained, she was very much in a state that she was mortified.

Kasumi wished she'd thought to cover her body with a blanket so no one could see her lack of real clothing.

Rolling his eyes slightly, Byakuya decided to take matters into his own hands and solve all the problems in one fell swoop. "Alright, come on."

Sliding his hands underneath her arms, the dark haired captain slowly stood up, and began dragging the obviously teary eyed girl back to her feet. By the way she was acting she was avoiding everything he asked. Almost like she was completely shunned by his very appearance here in her home. Well if that was the way she felt, he'd leave as soon as she got back into her body safely.

Her head remained bowed, she was more then embarrassed. He'd allowed her into his squad and she had failed him in loosing a fight against people of a lower power level then herself. She forced her feet to move so to get to her body so her captain could leave before her home tainted him. She didn't want him to see where she lived because it wasn't suitable for him to be within.

Byakuya slowly took a step backwards so she could retreat back into her human body, and out of harms way. She would be exhausted no doubt from the gradual pull it strained on her body, and on top of that the exhaustion from fighting, and all that fighting against him she did to refuse his assistance. For some reason unknown to him, she was awful hostile to him as of late. Almost as if he was the enemy. It was confusing, sure, but he had a good idea as to why.

She failed him in battle, thats what she felt. She let him down because she couldn't hold them off. It was a sad way to look at things when everything had turned out to be a success. Either way, he was no longer needed, or wanted here by his underling. It was time for him to leave.***************************************************************************

As she returned into her body, she cleared her mind of the emotions plaguing her, and shuddered, trying to get used to being in her skin again. She awkwardly gets her flesh and bones back in working order and moves towards the kitchen, tired and wanting nothing more then to soak in her tub but needing some kind of nourishment.

Her mind focused on mundane things makes her miss his presence. She got a bag of baby carrots and stumbled towards the bathroom, her bounty in hand to fill the tub. She would hurt in the morning if she didn't do some kind of relaxation before surrendering to slumber.

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She filled the tub and dropped in a few dollops of her favorite scented oil, Chinese bellflower. Kasumi placed down the carrots and quickly remove her shorts. Sinking into the tub with an audible groan , she reached out and opened the bag, munching on the carrots to try and reground herself.
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Moving off into the hall, his head hung low and his dark gaze on the floor below. Byakuya slowly began his retreat out of the apartment complex when a faint, heavenly lifting aroma caught his nose.

Slowly he turned his gaze back into the apartment. His lips slowly parted, and nostrils whiffling for the cause of that scent. Chinese Bellflowers, one of his favorite flowers. How strange and complex, to think he would have a single thing in common with her outside of the realm of being shinigami.

It was almost laughable that they enjoyed nearly the same thing as strange as flowers. Deciding to venture a little deeper for the source of such an aroma, he walked back to her apartment.

He was in his shinigami form, he wouldn't catch her attention very easily. Part of him told him to stop and leave.

He was torn between two conundrums as he turned his attention into the apartment in front of him.

Kasumi sank lower in the water then with a thought she picked up another bottle and poured it into the water, a layer of bubbles forming also layering the scent.

Her body dipped low again as she closed her eyes. The scent was comforting so that on top of the hot water was beginning to work miracles on her sore muscles. She leaned her head back against the tub enjoying the peace and quiet.
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Following the scent of wild Chinese Bellflowers and now other flowering scents laced over it. Byakuya was led throughout the apartment in a aimless search before reaching the bedroom area, and the adjacent bathroom now heavily steamed over.

"Bubble bath?" , the dark haired shinigami questioned with a raised brow. Did they really have that here in the human realm now? This was interesting. He would have to look into this.

If it was true, he was definitely going look for a way to bring some back with him. He caught himself taking a few steps forward, Byakuya paused in mid stride.

What the hell was he doing? This was hardly becoming of someone of such heritage and rank as himself. Byakuya Kuchiki, spying on bathing woman? What was he thinking? This was wrong, all wrong, yet his mind kept trying to push him forward.


He turned on his heel and ignored such plight, the dark haired captain took a step away, before casually gazing over his shoulder back towards the steamed room.

She was resting with her eyes closed, in fact it looks like she'd nearly asleep if he looked at her face. Speaking of her face it was entirely unguarded revealing a soft almost vernacle young woman.

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Her hand was draped over the edge of the tub the bottle of bubble bath, held loosely in her fingers. Her breathing was deep and even, with each exhale it sent a ripple through the water.

Watching ever so curiously, the dark wandering eyes of the black haired shinigami pulled throughout the room till befalling onto the young sleeping woman. Her mind and body looking to be almost at ease with the situation she was in. It was serene, and a nice re-assurance to his mind that she was no longer feeling the effects of battle and was well enough to find comfort in such a small joy of taking a bubble bath. Nodding his head slightly, his breathing slightly elevated with the scent he adored drifting throughout the air. He slowly turned to leave the misty room. She shifts in the water resettling as the bottle begins to slip from her fingers slowly.

Her facial muscles twitch some in response to her busy mind, her voice soft as she says something that makes it clear she's very asleep, "Captain... please... forgive my failure...." it's clear because of the whimper in her voice the near pleading quality that she would never reveal awake.

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Stopping in mid stride, Byakuya's ears perked to the whimpering voice of his female subordinate. His mind a slightly surprised by the girls plead of forgiveness because of her failure in the mission. He was sure that was the case by her strange actions towards him, but he was even more surprised that she had seen him, and wasn't upset with his presence there. Turning back around, the Captain of the Sixth Division of the Gotei 13, trailed back into the room to answer the bathing woman's question.

He arrived in time to see the bottle of bubble bath slowly slipping from her sub-conscience hands and plummet to the ground below, slamming with a large thump. She stirred to the thump, having startled her and then her eyes begin to slowly open confused what had disturbed her.

The warm water worked it's spell upon her and her eyes, which had only half opened, begin to droop closed again her arm now tucked into the water and her head slumped forward.

Slowly he shut his eyes, thankful that the bottle didn't wake up the now sleeping beauty. It was just a cry of forgiveness out of her sub-conscience, which meant he was still unwanted there.

Letting the scent of fresh bell flowers fill his nose, Byakuya slowly reached down and picked up the dropped bottle of bubble bath before it spilt and caused a slippery puddle to form. That was all he needed, for her to get home safely and then be hurt from slipping on a puddle of bath bubbles.

Reading the label, Byakuya committed the delightfully smelling bubble bath to memory for a later date, and then carefully set the container opposite the bathtub on the counter readying to take his leave from this place and return back home.
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Kasumi's head turned to the side, her hair now partially covering her face. The water was slowly beginning to cool but she was unaware of it.

Hours later she woke in frigid water and got out quickly wrapping her bath towel around her body, letting out the water. Great now she was all pruney. She shrugged it off with a yawn and heads to bed only making a minor effort to dry off before sinking into her bed ,with the last thought to train harder with Renji from now on.
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The following morning she woke and then reached for the wooden badge to remove herself out of her body. She headed to the Soul Society after making sure she was covered appropriately.

Once there, she drug Renji out of bed this time and badgers him into training her some more. During the exchange, their voices had gotten somewhat elevated and the noise was starting fairly early that morning, between Renji's displeasure at being flipped out of bed and Kasumi's stubborn refusal to take no as an answer.


Eventually he gave in and they begin, Kasumi beginning to fight against him like a demon. She wanted to become stronger, so her beautiful captain would never have cause to become ashamed of her with her lacking abilities.
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"Wave become my shield. Thunder become my blade."

"Scatter..Senbonzakura"

It was a clash of powers. Heavenly shining pink flower "petal's" vs the blades of Pisces.


Standing countless feet apart from each other, the dark gaze between the two men locked and the sparring match begun. On days of slow progress, training was a more then acceptable practice in passing time, and keeping ones skills sharp. Ukitake had been asking for awhile.

"Are you sure you should be pushing yourself?" Byakuya asked with a sense of curiosity, knowing full well the knowledge if the silver locked shinigami's illness.

"Ill be fine..don't you worry.."

Pausing for a split second, the battle began once again. No Bankai would be activated per their rules, and no kido spells either. Just shikai and their swords.

Naturally..it didn't take very long after that for Ukitake to break down into a bloody cough.

"You shouldn't push yourself so hard.", the sixth division captain informed, his dark worrisome eyes drifting onto the silver haired man.

Despite the short period they fought, he was greatly surprised by the prowess of Ukitake. He didn't even know had the man been completely healthy if he could have even kept up long enough to win. An amazing talent..despite being so ill.

"Im hungry, lets go get something to eat Captain Byakuya."

With that said..the two departed for a chance to get something to eat.

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And there's Chapter 3 done. Constructive critism is welcome, flames will be used to roast marshmallows before being put out.