#mentioned sojun kuchiki

[irlkisukeurahara]

"Are you here to make fun of me now that you're a Shinigami and I'm not?"

"Now why would I do that?"

"Because-- They all do that! Every day, I just hear, oh why can't you be like Kaien Shiba, he became a Shinigami at your age, what are you doing?!"

"Oh?"

"And now I just know they're gonna start comparing me to you soon! Even a kid from the Rukon district like that Gin Ichimaru could become a Shinigami at your age! But you're so bad you make your dad look like the buffest guy on the planet, you angry little worm!"

"Ahhhh, so that's why I've never seen you in the Seireitei.."

"..."

"You run off here to be away from your parents, huh?"

"Not my parents. My mom's dead. And my dad's amazing. It's... It's just my grandfather. A- and that no good cat demon."

"Cat demon, you say?"

"That other noble girl. Yoruichi. She can turn into a cat. She follows me here sometimes when I run away."

"I see."

"..."

"..."

"...So you're not going to make fun of me?"

"I have no reason to."

"Then what's with that stupid grin on your face?"

"You've never seen me without it, have you? It's practically permanent, like that scowl or sad looking pout on your face."

"Oh shut up, you slimy little bitch!"

(I had this doodle idea but I've literally never drawn or written Gin ever so it's probably cringe but meh)

[sunflowersandcherryblossoms]

Me: *Mentions an idea previously discussed on Tumblr about the connection between the Shiba Clan and Squad Zero*

My older son: *"Yes And..." my dumb shit...*

Because I was talking about how the transportation used by Squad Zero is the exact same as Kukaku's Flower Crane Cannon.

There was this headcanon that I really like that the Shiba Clan became one of the Great Noble Houses because of that specific contribution to the Royal Realm and Squad Zero way before the Reio's mutilation. (He was already the Soul King before Ichibei — And the Tsunayashiro Head — gave the idea to mutilate the Reio because they were afraid to lose their own power to him, I guess...)

So my son goes like:

"What if they'd started as the original Royal Guards?"

You know... Before Squad Zero starts being formed to the way we know them now...?

It makes sense that the Head of the Shiba Clan was the only one to oppose the mutilation and try to offer another way to keep the Worlds separated.

It also starts making sense that it was so easy to banish and pretty much destroy the Shiba Clan if, as another theory put it, the Shiba Clan was the only ones who tried to repeatedly try to find one amongst them worthy to become the vessel for the Reio's powers and therefore release him from that "existence"...

Let's say Ichibei held a grudge and took the opportunity to influence the outcome of events and take out the Shiba Clan almost completely...

But still, they need them. They need Kukaku and, even though the she keeps moving her house, apparently Squad Zero knows exactly where to find them to send the Tenchūren back to the Royal Realm.

Of course, because we always cannot stay on one topic... Or one aspect of the topic, I then was like:

"Hey! By the way... Have you seen Senjumaru's face?"

At first he was like:

"Her hair style kind of looks like Shinji's..."

Me: "No... Look at the face and the eyes..."

And that's when he arrived at the same conclusion I had...

Senjumaru kind of has the Kuchiki Resting Bitch Face™...

So,of course, I presented my dumb idea:

"What if she was a member of the Kuchiki Clan?"

My son: "Is that why she was the one who didn't kill herself? Because the Historian amongst the Squad Zero needs to survive to tell the story?"

Me:

I mean... Sure... It's really grasping at straws, but...

Putting it in the context of my Sunflowers And Cherry Blossoms series, it becomes even funnier...

Senjumaru was in the 12th squad — Maybe a Kuchiki...

Hikifune was in the 12th squad — The creator of the Ginkon and (in my series) the one who helped Sojun and Kaori create Byakuya through the Reishi Input Pod. A kind of Godmother figure for him.

And Byakuya fucking hates the 12th squad, mainly because of the complete lack of morals from Mayuri...

It's hilarious, actually.

There was also that thing about the Squad Zero's crest in one of the cour 2 scenes, which showed symbols for each element, and Senjumaru's needle and thread heavily evoked the Kuchiki Clan's figures of the cranes they have on their crest.

(I cannot find the picture of that Squad Zero crest... Anyways...)

I just find it interesting that there could be a possibility of Squad Zero, in its inception, having personal connections to the Great Noble Houses.

Ichibei could even be a part of that mysterious, elusive Other House we know nothing about.

My son also mentioned the hands Kukaku used to have "adorning" her house.

"Oh, like the chopped off arms of the Reio?"

And it reminded me that the Shihoin Clan became a kind of Guards Of The Heavens and the "arms" of the Reio.

Imagine if they'd taken over said responsibility directly from the Shiba Clan after their initial falling out with Ichibei?

Just you know... Random thoughts...

[bleachintothemultiverse]

[ Aaaa I didn't know Muramasa had gotten a mention in CFYOW! That's sO cool!! ]

//Yeah! Muramasa was rewritten as the ancestral blade for the Kuchiki clan in CFYOW . "However, Suì-Fēng remembers that Shunsui warned her about Kuten-kyōkoku, as he doubts that repelling attacks is all the ancestral Zanpakutō can do. Such as how the Kuchiki clan Zanpakutō, Muramasa, has the power to dominate other Zanpakutō" (wiki summary of CFYOW 2) So he is mention as Kuchiki's ancestral blade! so au where Sojun has him as his zanpakuto is what i written for him xD //

[zarinthelwrites]

Blooming from the Mud Pt. 10 (Bleach/ DGM)

“Captain Unohana told me that I’m not allowed back into the 4th Division until I reign in my reiatsu,” says Kanda slowly, a bit of information to distract Sojun from the more interesting question of where the energy he’s been absorbing is going.

“Truly?” says Sojun, puzzled. “But Captain Unohana’s always so nice...”

Kanda ignores that, and pulls out more food to chew on.

“You’re distracting me,” says Sojun. “Even though you’re bait, that shouldn’t have triggered a Kumon to open like that. I’ll have to report this to my father once we return. You should do the same for your Captain.”

“Kenpachi won’t care,” says Kanda. He can hear the creak of wagon wheels in the distance and wants to leave before he has to deal with civilians on top of everything else.

“Then who do his subordinates report to...” Sojun trails off.

“Ikkaku,” says Kanda, decisively erasing the pile of paperwork from his mind. “Fishbone, Lizard, get over here. It’s time to--”

“Excuse me, Shinigami-san?”

It was a little kid. Blond, blue eyed, frail, sad-- the whole kit and kaboodle, right there.

Kanda swallows down a curse.

“Your name...” Sojun chose that time to speak up. “It’s Izuru Kira, correct?”

The kid’s eyes lock onto Sojun and widen in complete shock.

“Lord Kuchiki!” He cries, dropping into a low bow.

“I’m simply the heir, young Kira,” says Sojun. “Please, straighten up. I don’t think I’ve seen you since the hour of your birth. Tell me, where are your parents? These woods are dangerous.”

The kid swallows.

“I know, Kuchiki-sama,” he says, eyes wet. “They come behind me.” Behind him was the wagon, pulled by a two horses and escorted by four guards. Beyond the driver, there was nothing living in that wagon.

“I hope I will return in time for the funeral proceedings,” says Sojun, numbly. “You need not fear the path ahead. Between me and Kanda, this has become... quite the thorough sweep through the Hollows of the area.”

“I thank you, Kuchiki-sama, Shinigami-san,” the kid says, bowing to Sojun then Kanda. The procession passed through the clearing quickly.

“Who was that?” Kanda asks Sojun, not sure that he wants to know.

“That was...the new Lord Kira,” says Sojun, tired worry crossing his face. “Heading to the Seireitei to cremate and bury his parents among the noble’s graveyard. The Kiras... they are low in status, but their noble blood is as strong as any. It was not sickness that ended the former Lord and Lady, or they would have gone to the Seireitei for aid.”

“Hollow attack, then,” says Kanda.

“...Quite,” says Sojun, bitterly. “It seems we were days late.”

“We’re over a decade late,” corrects Kanda, mildly. He cracks his knuckles, then his neck. “Twenty-three districts to go,” he says, finally. “Stop burning daylight, Sojun.”

“You’re the one who slept the day away,” Sojun points out as they continue their journey.

“Shut up, Sojun.”

The days past quickly, and their travel time shortens more and more as Kanda picks up the basics of Shunpo from Sojun.

“It’s just taking less steps between one place and another?” Kanda repeats, baffled. “That’s it?”

“It’s using speed to take less steps,” Sojun disagrees, demonstrating the method again. “Don’t overthink it.”

Kanda tries again, blurring forward only to barely misjudge his distance and trip on a protruding tree root, sending him straight towards the ground. He can feel how badly Sojun’s urge to laugh at him is conflicting with his upbringing, and if the urge to laugh ever wins Kanda is going to cut out his tongue.

It’s not til they arrive at the 56th District that Sojun asks Kanda about his own zanpakuto. Not about what the zanpakuto did, exactly, but--

“That blue fire you used,” says Sojun. “Before you triggered your shikai. Is that teachable? A silent Kido?”

Kanda considers. He has no idea what a Kido is, so probably not.

“The sword is our soul, right?” He says finally. “Or a mirror of our soul. It's something that brings what’s inside, outside.”

“That’s...one way of putting it,” says Sojun. His voice seems a bit strangled.

“So you just... light yourself on fire, but yourself is the sword,” Kanda tries to explain. Explaining things is horrible, actually. He regrets it immediately.

“Doesn’t that...hurt?” asks Sojun, eyeing Kanda worriedly.

“No?” I doesn’t, surprisingly enough. When he was wielding Mugen, it was more a side effect than anything. Not that Mugen hasn’t given him plenty of painful side effects.

Sojun sighs.

“Forgive me my curiosity, it was an ill thought question.”

Kanda tilted his head up to look at Sojun.

“You don’t actually want to wield the blue fire,” Kanda says, turning the question over in his head. “You just want a step between nothing and using your shikai.”

Sojun winces slightly.

“A non reiatsu intensive step,” he specifies. “I do know some Kido, even if my control is not the finest.”

A step before shikai... Kanda scrapes through his memory. He knows he’s heard a piece of this puzzle somewhere before.” Who had first mentioned shikai's to him.... Hmmm... ah. Kanda drops his fist onto his open palm.

“Yumichika!” He says, triumphantly. “That’s who it was.”

“The 5th seat?”

“You need a fake shikai,” says Kanda. Like he had been using before he figured out Kurayami’s name.

“Excuse me?”

“A fake shikai. Use the wrong name to call your sword, or the wrong instruction. Your sword...probably won’t like it, though. Kurayami... it will release some power when I call it by a different name but then it backlashes.” Kanda shrugs. He doesn’t like being misnamed either, so it’s a completely understandable reaction.

“I will have to negotiate with Rakkazakura, then,” Sojun says, hope and determination lighting his eyes. He pauses, then bows to Kanda.

Kanda freezes.

“I thank you for your help, and for your kindness,” says Sojun, and his smile flashes across his face as a falling star, more beautiful for its fading.

Allen had once compared Kanda to the fae of legend, who had spurned all thanks and gratitude as horrible traps that bound them to servitude. He was delirious with fever at the time, of course, but with Allen that never meant very much.

“You’re mad,” Kanda tells Sojun, much more sincere than he meant to be.

“Then you must be very fond of madmen,” says Sojun, the last hint of his smile still lingering as he straightens.

And... how can Kanda deny that?

Compared with the conversation that came before it, clearing out the Hollow nest that has taken up residence in the 56th District is a piece of cake.

“We need to return to sending expeditions beyond the first 40 Districts more often,” says Sojun, horrified the the number of Hollows that they had destroyed. “This level of nesting truly cannot be allowed to go on.”

“Return?” Kanda asks.

“A little more than a decade ago... the Soul Society faced an unprecedented loss in power,” Sojun says, eyes darkening. “It was...a tragedy, to lose so many powerful pillars of the Seireitei to the schemes of one man.”

“Oh?”

“Urahara Kisuke....” Sojun states. “The former Captain of the 12th Division. He was exiled to the Living World for his crimes. He should have been stripped of his powers also, but. The former Shihouin Clan Head and Captain of the 2nd Division accepted his crimes as her own and followed him into exile. The Shihouin Clan... would not let any punishment that had her be stripped of her powers allowed to proceed.”

That sounded... incredibly suspicious.

“The shockwaves from these terrible losses still run through Soul Society,” continues Sojun, regretfully. “The manpower shortage resulted in many missions being delayed or overlooked, and the farther districts are always the first to fall by the wayside. It is unconscionable, truly. I will alert the other lieutenants of the need to increase the number of expeditions before the problem continues to grow. I cannot imagine the difficulties the highest Districts are facing.”

“It’s not that bad to the south,” says Kanda, vaguely. “The children tend to know which parts of the forest to avoid.”

Sojun stumbles.

“Kanda, I--” he says. “I mean, I ah....” He drew in a deep breath. “I hate to ask, but how far south were you, precisely?”

“78th District South,” says Kanda, not quite amused. “I imagine I cleared most of the local Hollow population all the way through the 51st District on my way up, so that should help the patrols.”

“I imagine it will,” says Sojun, looking at Kanda thoughtfully. “I would say thank you for your aide, but I imagine you won’t appreciate it,”

“No,” says Kanda.

“But I would like to--”

“No.”

“I’ll think of something,” Sojun promises.

“Don’t.”

In the end, the entire mission takes less than three weeks, but Kanda winds up teaching Sojun how to fish anyway.

“I wonder how much paperwork has piled up in my absence,” says Sojun as they part ways.

“The next person who hands me paperwork will lose their hand,” says Kanda darkly as he heads towards the 11th Division.

[irlkisukeurahara]

happy birthday renji abarai I suppose here's an edit of captain renji in my bleach au cuz why not

After Byakuya Kuchiki was permanently paralyzed in battle, Renji took his place as Captain. Byakuya withered and grew I'll as his brother-in-law and his son took control of the 6th division

[irlkisukeurahara]

Most Byakuya simps when making OCs: Oh imma give him the hot wife he DESERVES so he can move on from Hisana and feel WHOLE 🤭🤭 And their beautiful children that they will have to continue the Kuchiki bloodline so it DOESN'T end with Byakuya 🥺🥺

Me, on the other hand: Byakuya, you will now have two sons, one with Hisana and one from s/a that you will single parent until the day you die in front of them 😈😈😈

[irlkisukeurahara]

Haven’t touched BLEACH in a long time. Just haven’t been hyperfixated on it like I used to be. That will probably change when TYBW season 3 comes out. But, recently, I’ve been fixated on this really old self indulgent human AU that I came up with a bunch of lore for like 2 years ago and never got to write. So, I’ve started writing it out myself. Here are some miscellaneous happenings that have transpired so far in no particular order:

Ichigo and Jinta both called Kisuke a drag queen

Akon threatened someone with a screwdriver

A page long back and fourth teasing Shuuhei about how having a 69 tattooed on your face is very unfortunate.

Toshiro came out as a trans girl, and Ichigo offered her an old skirt from the school uniform that he owns. Toshiro is stunned and is genuinely grateful, that is until Ichigo ruins it by mentioning that she’ll have to pin it in the back, quote, “since you’re so small.”

Shunsui went to grab a bottle of beer from the fridge first thing in the morning and Nanao gave him such an intense stink eye that he just walked away and went back to bed

Shuuhei punched a mirror and then immediately regretted it. Kensei’s way of giving emotional support was to immediately call him a dumbass.

(Kensei then proceeded to drive Shuuhei to school on his motorcycle because he could tell he wasn’t doing well mentally)

Byakuya gets his son ice cream and tries to pretend it was just a one time indulgence for a job well done (In reality, Sojun-ko just asked for it and Byakuya cannot say no to kids for the life of him)

Rukia suggested throwing a party in the Kuchiki manor. Byakuya was fully caught off guard and said quote, “This is a noble manor, not some frat house.”

Rukia tells Yoruichi that she hesitated around her because Byakuya has a restraining order against her. Yoruichi tells her that it doesn’t matter because the restraining order is from Byakuya, not Rukia.

Shunsui almost cut his finger off trying to cut apple and banana slices. Then him and Jushiro’s sons Sogyono and Kotowari throw the banana slices at Jushiro’s face.

Akon was scolded twice for smoking indoors. Both times he slowly and deliberately stubbed out the cigarette on the furniture to annoy them.

[sunflowersandcherryblossoms]

What constitutes SEVERAL?

It's not 200. It would be described as A COUPLE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

MANY CENTURIES AGO would be from, probably, 400 on, methinks...

So, SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS AGO, might be 300 years ago...

Which where I'm putting it in my headcanon, unless someone tells me that the Kanji was mistranslated.

Ojiisan is here!

So, I'm fast forwarding the whole "The Soul Society wasn't an united front and, apparently, the Sixth Squad was dealing with the insurrection." thingie.

I didn't take screenshots, because I didn't really feel like it...

Anyways.

Enter Kuchiki Kōga. Third seat in the Sixth. Married to Ginrei's daughter, whose face we don't see and whose name we don't know.

(I called her Shinju in my fanfiction.)

We have no idea where Sojun even is at this point since he's not even mentioned... I'd take it he was his father's lieutenant and might have been bedridden in one of his sickness bouts.

But the main point is, Ginrei was much more strict and Kōga was set up.

We're supposed to feel some empathy for him here and, honestly, I thought he was kind of right in some points.

But the arrogance was already there.

And that's how we get to the scene where he's been imprisoned...

@mondengel2

Here's my take on a timeline for the events surrounding Kōga Kuchiki...

[irlkisukeurahara]

Because I have brainrot I have been making a crossover thing of my BLEACH AU (HATY) with One Piece (even though I'm not even 100 episodes in yet lol) and no surprise I've made a big bit of Kuchiki lore. Why not post it just if anyone is entertained hearing other people's AUs lol.

Byakuya, Sen, and Muramasa are the triplet sons of Sojun and Aratani Kuchiki. Sojun's sister, Nanami, married a man named Koga. Little did they know, Koga was a pirate captain after Kuchiki riches. He manipulated the youngest of the triplets, Muramasa, to join him. When the triplets were ten years old, Koga and Muramasa made a plan to steal billions of berries from the Kuchikis, but Sen and Byakuya caught wind of it. As such, Koga kidnapped the two boys as well. He made off with the Kuchikis in the middle of the night, taking them all to his ship. Koga demanded the two work on his ship, but Byakuya vehemently refused. As such, Koga threatened to send him overboard with no hesitation. Byakuya and Sen both begged for his life, before the middle triplet hesitantly conceited. They now became members of the Zanpakuto Pirates. The boys learned a lot. Sen learned to cook, Byakuya learned navigation and better leadership skills, etc. Fourteen years later, the Marines spotted the Kuchikis on the boat. Muramasa refused to come in favor of staying with Koga. Sen tried to plead for him to leave, but he couldn't convince him, and Sen and Byakuya were rescued and taken back to their kingdom. Despite being older, Sen rescinded his opportunity for the throne in favor of letting Byakuya become king. They agreed Byakuya had better leadership qualities. A year later, Byakuya was married with a child.

That was thirty years ago. In the modern day, Byakuya had fallen extremely ill. The kingdom was in shambles. Byakuya's sons, Sojun-ko and Yoshi, tried to maintain order. But Sojun-ko's mind was fractured from the potential of losing his father, struggling to take his place to lead. Coming back from the sea one day was Sojun-ko's uncle, Renji Abarai, who married Rukia Kuchiki. They spent a year on the sea as pirates, despite the metaphorical spitting in the face they received from the rest of the family. Sojun-ko, despite caring a lot for Renji, was angry at his return. Sojun-ko mentioned that Byakuya was deathly ill, and Renji suggested that he take them on the sea with him. He could take Byakuya to see Seinosuke Yamada across the ocean, that man's healing is known to be magical. After many arguments, they agreed to this idea.

The Kuchiki family stepped foot on Renji's ship. The main members of his crew were him, his wife, their daughter, their son, a man named Sentaro, and a father and a daughter named Yumichika and Akari respectively. (Mixing HATY's squad 6, 11, and 13 into one boat) The immobile Byakuya was hauled to his own separate quarters. Byakuya passed his navigation skills and history knowledge onto Sojun-ko, who helped him in this endeavor, much to Sojun-ko's annoyance. ("How did you survive a whole year on the sea without a fucking navigator?") As they travelled on the sea, Rukia and Renji's son, Kaien, abandoned the ship in favor of another group of pirates. They left so quickly and mysteriously that nobody knew who they were. But Sen seemed to recognize their Jolly Rodger...

They finally made it to Seinosuke Yamada. Byakuya was taken in, and after several weeks, was miraculously healed. His mind was still fractured, with a struggle to form new memories, and he still suffered joint pain, but he could walk. He could talk without crying. He could cough without there being blood. He could act for himself. The family cried with joy that Byakuya was alright. When they went to go back on the sea, Byakuya shoved Renji a little, figuratively and literally. They got into an argument. Renji demanded to know what makes Byakuya think he'll lead the ship better, to which Byakuya answers that he has fourteen years of experience as a pirate, when Renji only has one. When he drops the name "Zanpakuto Pirates," Renji is shocked. That crew was known for being ruthless and dangerous. And Byakuya of all men, apart of a filthy blood soaked pirate crew? For fourteen whole years? Renji didn't let Byakuya entirely take the reins, but he did listen more to his demands input. They started taking the trip back to the kingdom, when one day...

They were attacked by another boat. The boat Kaien left them for. And as they finally saw the crew, it became obvious who they were. The Zanpakuto Pirates. A colorful crew, consisting of the now elderly Koga, Muramasa, Kaien, two boys his age named Kikuo and Jushiro, older members of the Zanpakuto Pirates, such as Nozarashi Zaraki, Katen and Kyokotsu Kyoraku, Jizō Kurotsuchi, and dozens of others. As fighting progressed between the crews, Koga dumped Muramasa for suddenly hesitating against his brothers. Sen jumped in the water to rescue his brother, while Byakuya fought and defeated Koga. Sojun-ko found himself having to kill Kaien. As the Zanpakuto Pirates wrecked their boat and left them to die, filled with a sudden grief and rage at Sojun-ko for killing his son, he, without thinking, pushed Sojun-ko into the water. He expected the boy to swim up to the surface, but did no such thing. Byakuya shoved him to the deck, screaming at him for being an idiot as he went after his son. The injured boat barely made it to dry land. Once they were safe, Renji initiated a conversation.

Renji and Rukia were both angry as Sojun-ko for killing their son, and Byakuya shut them down. ("Trying to kill my son won't bring back yours!") Byakuya explains that Sojun-ko has Devil Fruit Powers, and thus couldn't swim, something Renji was also unaware of. He watched Sojun-ko using his Chi Chi no Mi to heal everyone's slash wounds, including the Abarais and Muramasa. As he did that, Sen forced the conversation to change to his aforementioned brother. When Renji questioned Sen and Byakuya's motivations for wanting to keep Muramasa safe, the two simultaneously replied "Because he's my brother." Muramasa started to realize just how awful Koga has been to him. Koga was family too, and he treated him like an object when he was useful, and dirt when he wasn't. Has he made an awful mistake these past thirty years? He thinks to himself. Sen asks him to stay to make things right between them all as brothers, and Muramasa agrees. He apologizes for everything he put Sen and Byakuya through. Byakuya replies "It's all Koga's fault." as a dismissal and roundabout way of saying he forgave him. Now, with high tensions still in the air, they have to find their way home.

[irlkisukeurahara]

omg byahisa t4t....pls tell me more (if you want)

oh no, now you've done it..

You've activated Miles' inability to shut the fuck up...

BYAHISA T4T 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌

*cough*

Okay--

I don't normally give characters deadnames. I only have one for Byakuya here because I've made transphobia relevant in this, plus it's for ease of reference. I also kinda threw in stuff about the ByaHisa OC at the end because it goes in tandem with the headcanons, so cw for a brief mention of seahorse dad Byakuya I guess (google it)

Here we are, back in the 18th century, to the birth of a one Kuroishi Kuchiki. Initially planned to just be the first born child of Sojun, upon realizing how poor his and his wife's health are, they settled for just one.

The little girl never behaved in a way they deemed standard. Rambunctious and wild, playing in the mud, eating things she shouldn't, cussing at Ginrei etc etc...

And here's something else they realized, this child never taking any interest in men. Ever. While Sojun was more or less happy to have a surviving child at all, Ginrei wasn't so complacent. How is the Kuchiki line going to continue if the granddaughter doesn't like boys?

Homophobia and transphobia aren't exactly as standard in the Soul Society as you'd expect, they're mostly tolerant of it due to Shunsui and Jushiro being as openly queer as they are. But let's just say that the Kuchiki family was a bit more, let's say old fashioned. Didn't quite move on with the times as much as others did.

Thoughts maybe spread of just getting little Kuro a husband and telling her to fake it until she makes it. But Kuro herself told her father something they didn't expect, something that threw a wrench in their ideas even more.

That "she" hated being called Kuroishi, or just Kuro, or the Kuchiki Clan Daughter, that being a boy fit better. That Byakuya fit better. Sojun accepted his boy with open arms, again not nearly as concerned with grandkids. Considering how much struggle it took to have Byakuya, and how he'd never have any other kids, Byakuya's happiness was top priority to him. But the pride of the Kuchiki family seemed to matter more to Ginrei.

At first, their decision was to completely ignore Byakuya's gender expression. To disregard it, make him pretend to be Kuro his entire life, marry a man, and continue the line. The child was finally happy with who he was, after 150 or so years! Who were they to try and take that away from him?!

So he ran, ran off into a certain Rukongai district you might remember. A little district called Inuzuri.

He'd have to face them again eventually, and he'd be in deep shit when he did, but maybe he thought to himself that he was prolonging the inevitable. He'd started considering rash measures, and even almost took a plummet.

But then, a local girl saved him. Kept him away talking things through with him. They sat down together, trying to understand what was going on.

"They're considering pretending I'm a girl. I mean, I was born one. But I'm not a girl. But they're going to make me be a girl so that I could be a good Kuchiki like I'm supposed to. Auntie couldn't have kids and I'm my father's only son, so I'm really their only hope." The girl managed to make Byakuya admit, after talking him off a ledge. It's the first time he verbalized his thoughts, it was kind of cathartic. Listening, she gave him a pat on the back.

"I know what it feels like. Kind of. I mean, I was never a noble or anything, but... I get the feeling of parents trying to make you pretend to be your born gender to look good, when that's never how you've felt."

A friend, a friend who could understand him. That's what Byakuya needed. He was far detached from people, how could anyone understand the life of Byakuya Kuchiki? There was no one. Everyone in the other three clans were a bunch of shabby grownups he assumed were cis who were fine with their position, but Byakuya was a child. A child who was confused, told by his father to live his life by his own rules and for himself, yet told by his grandfather to live life for the clan. As a kid, he just couldn't choose! He couldn't understand himself, how could anyone understand him?

But this girl, she got him. They understood each other, even if they lived in different worlds!

Byakuya started sneaking off to see this girl, the girl by the name of Hisana. If he wasn't training, at a meeting, or talking to his dad, he was sneaking out to meet Hisana. So many times, in fact, that it made Ginrei angry. He was beginning to demand that Byakuya be wed by someone who will keep him down. And Byakuya ran away again, but this time, with slightly different intentions.

"Hisana, I know we're not dating, but will you please marry me?"

Huh? Hisana was taken aback by his asking. Where did this come from? He went on, saying that she deserved better and he could provide her with luxury. That she didn't deserve to suffer, cold and alone.

One condition, she said.

He asked, what condition? Oh, I'll do anything!

She said that she'll marry him if the Kuchiki family swears to find and adopt her baby sibling (brother or sister depends on whether it coexists with t4t RenRuki or not lol) Of course, Byakuya agreed.

How to convince the Kuchiki family? She was but a scruffy 17-20 year old that'd been dead for a few years at this point. Byakuya was Byakuya. For years, Ginrei was not budging, up until Hisana revealed to them that she was trans. Then, his attitude began to change.

Their marriage would be allowed! There was one condition. They'd have to have a kid. Then Byakuya's gender identity would be respected, and history would be rewritten. Rewritten to believe that Byakuya was always a male, and that Kuro never existed. Telling the world that Hisana was pregnant with the child of the Kuchiki family after the fact, hiding all truth from the Soul Society. Byakuya was scared at first, but this was better. The best case scenario, even if it was already terrifying.

Once they were both considered "adults," they were married.

A year into the marriage, off in his study Byakuya spent his days, writing and doing calligraphy. Out in the Rukongai Hisana continued to spend her days, looking and searching for the missing child, joining the search parties made up by Kuchiki servants. A year they spent majorly apart, as Byakuya wasn't permitted to go anywhere for some time. One day, she's frantically ordered back to the manor. She left the search party, being escorted home. There she was, entering the manor, assuming the worst. But instead, there Byakuya was, sat there with their baby son.

Instantly, Hisana loved him. While she was concerned at first that he'd just feel like a tool to make them learn to respect Byakuya, she instantly was drawn to the bubbly little baby. Ginrei stayed true to his word. History was rewritten, and they even faked a maternity picture with Hisana. The Kuchiki family was satisfied, and Byakuya and Hisana were happy! The only thing that would make it all better would be if the child that Hisana left behind was with them too.

While Byakuya took on a primary caring role for their son, Hisana helped of course. She still joined searches all the time, but started to do so every other day instead. She had two priorities in life, and she tried her best to balance them.

But then, Hisana fell ill. She couldn't go anywhere, helping search or helping raise her son. A few years following, she'd be bedridden. Byakuya would visit her at every opportunity, talking to her about anything to make her feel better. Though usually, it was about their son's development. He showed her when their son could walk, made him repeat things when he started to talk. That, and anything to make her smile. She slowly lost her ability to sit up, and he'd still visit her every day with their son. But one day, her energy was gone. She could hardly even look at them, but he still came by. He held her hand, with their son in his other arm. As he swore once more on his promise to find her baby sibling, she passed away. And from then on forward, Byakuya took after his grandfather more and more, without the influence of his father or his wife, his humanity couldn't cling on. It became repressed into the deepest recesses of his mind. His smile died with his wife.

[zarinthelwrites]

Blooming from the Mud Pt. 9 (Bleach/DGM)

“We’re still in District 23,” he points out. “That’s why I said we still have a long way to-- Hollow!”

Sojun whirls, blurring away as the Hollow’s inky claws gash the mud where he was standing. Kanda draws Kurayami from its sheathe, dropping into a one handed stance and then darting forward to slash through the Hollow’s writhing abdomen. A blade whistles over his head as Sojun slices through a second Hollow that had dropped from the trees overhead, chittering and waving its thousands of tiny legs. Black bugs rain down from within the wounded Hollow and Kanda curses as tries to roll away before the bugs land on him.

Feeling a bug crawling through his hair, he gives up on that approach, instead slashing directly upwards at the keening Hollow. This time it splits completely in half, letting out an ear piercing scream as more bugs pour outward from its mouth.

“It’s a whole nest!” Sojun calls from behind him.  

Fuck.

The bug that had landed in Kanda’s hair crawls down his neck and explodes, leaving a mild burning sensation to slide down his back. Just one will barely hurt him, but there are a lot of bugs still looking for a soft place to land. Thankfully, many of the bugs seem to be unable to approach him, probably because of his... reiatsu, wasn’t it called? Small mercies.

Kanda runs his finger down the length of his blade, lighting it with blue fire. He’s not a huge fan of using Kurayami as a flyswatter, but needs must that the devil drives, or however Allen said it.

The bugs dissolve as he burns away the Hollow’s clicking bone mandibles and kicks the dissolving creature into the horns of the Hollow behind it.

“Can you hold?” Kanda demands of Sojun as he dodges in between the Hollow’s antlers to avoid a dark mist creeping behind him.

“For now,” says Sojun. “These Hollows...it's strange. They’re too powerful to have all formed a nest together. Unless...” He trails off and Kanda hears the powerful crunch of bone. “Kanda. Can you spare a second to look at the sky?”

Can he spare a moment to look away from the twenty or so Hollows he’s fighting and stare at the sky. Kanda glances around, checking relative heights. Turtle boned Hollow, three horns, long neck. Perfect.

He dashes forward and drives his sword straight into the turtle Hollows skull, letting his momentum carry him up and over so for a second his body lines up as if he’s doing a handstand with this hands still firm on the hilt of his sword. As the skull dissolves he finishes the flip landing on the narrow ridge of the Hollow behind it. Once again he darts forward, but this time forward is up as he runs along the elongated neck where he clings to the protruding bones as she shifts his gaze to the horrible, abyssal opening in the formerly blue sky.

Fuck.

“There is a crack in the sky,” says Kanda.

“Sacred stars above,” Sojun cursed.

“No,” says Kanda. “Just something trying to come through the crack, actually.” White clawed hands, huge and dreadful had emerged from the other side of the rend in the sky and were slowly pulling it wider and wider to reveal its bony face which itself was larger than the Hollow that was trying to shake Kanda off of its neck.

“That would be a Gillian class Hollow,” says Sojun, voice growing calmer and calmer as he spoke. “It’s been centuries since I’ve last seen one, as they rarely venture out from their own world of Hueco Mundo. We must defeat it quickly before the Kumon opens wide enough to let its entire body through, Kanda. Gillian like to hunt in packs.”

“Of course they do,” sighs Kanda, finishing off his temporary perch. “If you unleash your shikai, will you be able to take care of all the Hollows on the ground?”

“...Ah,” says Sojun. “Um.” The pause stretches long enough that Kanda begins to hear the edges of the sky shattering above him.

“Sojun!” Shouts Kanda, “Unleash your shikai!”

“It won’t help,” admits Sojun, stiffly. “My shikai....isn’t suited to fighting Hollows.”

Naturally.

Kanda can’t help but poke fun at Allen’s luck, but when it comes down to it, Kanda can roll snake eyes with the best of them. He’d been conserving energy by holding off his own shikai release, trying to make his starved reserves last longer, but. Fuck it, right?

“Breathe easily, Kurayami,” he whispers. The words come to him, twisted and familiar. “Second Dream; Opening the Gates of the Netherworld.” He slashes forward and the flames of his sword erupt, gaining form as monstrous, winged creatures that rampage forward, devouring all the Hollows in their path.

Kanda’s knees give out and he plants his hands in the mud to prevent splashing head first. It’s been less than a week since he left the 4th Division hospital, after all. If he comes back so soon Urahara really will kill him.

“You got enough,” Kanda flaps his hand in a vague gesture. “Juice to take the big one?”

“I can do no less,” says Sojun.

“Good,” says Kanda, but Sojun is already gone.

Kanda sits down in the mud, and digs around for his rations pack. The inside should be waterproof, hopefully. Or at least mud proof. He whistles for the dogs, absentmindedly listening to the battle going on in the sky above him. The Kuchiki lieutenant isn’t weak, by any means. He’ll be fine.

Eventually, the sky closes up and Sojun drops back to earth. Aside from some muddy and singed clothing, he looks remarkably untouched by the whole battle.

Kanda tosses him some food.

“So....” he starts. “You’re shikai doesn’t work on Hollows.”

“We’re starting with that, hm?” sighs Sojun.

Kanda stares at him expectantly. Fishbone sticks his cold, muddy nose in the bend of Sojun’s knee.

“I’d appreciate this not being widely known,” says Sojun, resignedly. “Mind if I use you as a demonstration? It’s not permanent...ah. Unless I let it be.”

Kanda knows that he should not agree to this, but... it probably won’t be worse than accidentally drinking Komui’s coffee...

He shrugs.

“You asked,” says Sojun. He holds his sword horizontally towards Kanda, as if offering it to him. “Yearn, Rakkazakura.”

The blade completely dissolves, leaving nothing but the handle. The moment stretches on...but nothing happens. Then, Kanda feels an itch at the back of his throat. He reaches up to cover his mouth as he coughs, then looks back at Sojun.

“Nothing happened,” he says.

“Look at your hand, Kanda,” says Sojun, softly. Kanda looks down, expecting to see blood. Instead, a single cherry blossom petal rests there.

Kanda coughs, and coughs again. More and more petals fall from his mouth as Kanda tries to gasp for air.

“Rakkazakura converts the reiatsu that makes up a soul into sakura petals, starting from the inside,” Sojun explains, voice hushed. “If I let it go long enough, there would be nothing left of the soul but...fallen petals, scattered in the wind. But..” His eyes widen, and he hastily sheaths his sword, “You were affected at a far more rapid rate than most.”

Kanda blinks woozily. That had, quite literally, taken a lot out of him.

“To work,” says Sojun slowly. “Rakkazakura uses the soul's purest emotion. Despair, hope, hatred...love. I... am truly sorry, Kanda of the 11th Division. Even the barest glimpse of your devotion... I have wounded you much, this day.”

“You would love the lotus fields,” Kanda tells him, giving in to the tunneling rush of unconsciousness.

He wakes up to muddy water being splashed in his face, courtesy of Lizard drying himself off.

“Stupid dog,” Kanda grumbles, and shoves himself up to sitting. Sojun is leaning against a nearby birch tree, which does a great job of making his black robe stand out against the pure white of the bark. “How long was I out?”

“Just a couple of hours,” Sojun reassures him. “On a different note, I’ve been thinking about why so many Hollows attacked us, but none of my answers fully explain the situation.”

“I have shit luck,” says Kanda.

“I...also have quite the unlucky streak when it comes to Hollow encounters, but I don’t think that was the only reason,” says Sojun. “You’re reiatsu...I mentioned it seemed hungry, when we first met.”

Sojun seemed to have high expectations for Kanda’s memory of his words.

“Right.” Come to think of it, hadn’t Captain Unohana also said something like that?

“I stopped noticing after being in your company for a while, as it blended into the background, but.... You seem to be absorbing a little bit of the energy of everything around you. I’m not sure where it's going once you absorb it, but that’s not the issue. To put it more bluntly.... You, Kanda, are walking Hollow bait.”

Ah.

Shit.