Division's X training field. [Ask before entering, thread mostly for Hasegawa and Byakuya. ]

((OOC: This thread has a storyline that happened about 3 months before Captain Byakuya went to the real world, when Ulquiorra kidnapped Yuki.))

She felt bored, it was as simple as that. After graduating from the academy, Hasegawa had been eager to join the squad of Captain Hitsugaya but to her dismay then she had barely even managed to catch a glimpse of her captain ever since she had started here. Certainly he had talked a little with her the first day, but she had to remember that he was a captain after all and didn't have much time for low ranks like Tsubaki was. So now she found herself in the situation of almost always training alone. It wasn't though as if she was alone in this division... the problem was that she couldn't really get along with anyone here. No matter how much time passed, she never seemed to fit in anywhere in Soul Society. But what was bothering her the most though, was not remembering her first days in this world. She had woken up at a hospital with no memory at all of what had happened to her, not even remembering her own death. So was it any wonder that she felt a little lonely and angry even every day as she struggled to remember just how long she had been here and just how she had gotten here? It was frustrating to say the least to have to deal with the blow of someone telling her that she was but mere -ghost- in some Soul Society place. At first she had simply refused to believe, but then again... why would all the people she encountered here lie to her? Plus then there was this thing about those shinigamis.

So the blue haired girl had wandered around aimlessly for a few weeks, always felt though drawn towards that place where the captains and shinigamis lived and trained. It was as if perhaps it could help her memory if she would go there, and so she did. She hadn't forgotten anything about her previous fighting skills, although being surprised as she realized that she had become more skillful than in her previous life. I must have trained here also .. And she was glad for that, since her skills helped her make it into the academy and then to graduate. She had always had her eyes set on the X division. Perhaps because she liked that cold and short captain that was over it. He never seemed to smile, but she had seen his softer side a few times and was certain she could be happy in his squad. It might be worth mentioning also that when joining the life of a shinigami, a wealthy and noble family had adopted her in acknowledgment of her skills. But to that story later on.

Ever since she had learned the name of her Zanpakuto and ever since she had been accepted into the X division, something had started to haunt her. She had nightmares where a shadow stood over her with his sword drawn, a male's voice spoke to her that she didn't recognize. Sometimes that shadow's face almost came to view but all she could see were brown, mesmerizing eyes that had looked coldly and judgmentally at her. It was starting to happen more frequently now, making the young shinigami pale with dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep.

And so, this day she found herself yet again at the training field. She had been trying to practice kidou use but the lack of sleep and concentration were not helping the blue haired shinigami as she cursed silently after failing yet again. "Hadou 31, Shakkahou!" Crying out the words, she braced herself. Digging her feet into the ground, holding her arm stretched out and concentrating on shooting at a rock that stood in front of her. She bit her teeth together as the energy started gathering from her body and into her hand, and to her dismay she felt the dizziness take over her mind again. The red light that was starting to gather perfectly into a ball at the palm of her hand started to become bigger and bigger until with a loud blast it exploded in the hand of Hasegawa, making her fly backwards with a yell and fall on her back on the ground.

"Damn it damn it DAMN IT!" Tears of frustration and pain started gathering in her blue eyes as Hasegawa pounded her fist on the ground. She was aching all over, her head felt like it was splitting in two and this was already her 6th try with the kidou. At first she hadn't managed to even make the energy take the form of a ball before it faded, but the next 5 times had all ended the same, causing her to fly in all directions. She sat up, groaning out as her body protested. Why must I be haunted like this.. why can't I just get my memories back and find out who that man is that tortures me every night in my sleep? She hugged her knees to herself, clenching her fists so hard that her nails pierced the skin in her palms. Never had she felt so utterly defeated. She had always held her head high, never loosing, never needed anyone to help her. But now... now she felt as if she couldn't even breathe anymore.

Straightening her back, wiping angrily the tears away from her eyes, Hasegawa stood once again. Her legs shook slightly as she examined her once black shinigami robes that had turned almost brown from dirt on the ground and small holes were here and there. She tried to brush most of the dirt away, flinching as her hand brushed over a cut on her right arm. Ugh this is just great.. She paused, lifting her face up to the sky and closed her eyes. The sunlight warmed her face, shimmering through her blue hair as she stood still, trying to gather the physical and mental strength to keep going.

Spoiler:

It is said that this place was a place to maintain law and order...A place that took responsibility into it's own hands regarding the safety of humans...A place where the word "Hollow" was replied to it only by sharp edges of Zanpaktous..This was Soul Society.......That was what Byakuya's grand father once told him when he was a kid.It was indeed true as it seemed Soul society purpose of existence was only to assure the safety of humans from hollows.Although Almost all hollows say the same word to byakuya before he delivers the final blow.."WHY?!!",That word which at byakuya's early ages as captain used to cause him alot of confussion..he used to think that what soul society was doing was interfering with the cycle of life..He used to think that hollows feeding on human was part of how life goes..But after a while of thinking he finally found the answer to that..He knew that those hollows were at first actually humans..and there fear and thirst for power made them in what Shinigami call "A Hollow"

This was what was going through byakuya's mind as he was standing at his office window looking outside at the 6th division..as all the shinigami were starting to head to there dorms and some were getting ready for watch outs..Byakuya tunred his eyes to look up at the sky as the sun was starting to decend..The view was truly a beautiful one..He then decided to take a little walk around soul society and check how things were going...He wore his haori and fixed his scarf around his neck and started walking outside the 6th divison randomly around the paths..

There wasn't much of a noise to be heard as it seemed everybody was already either in there dorms or heading for lunch..so it was quite peaceful until byakuya came across the 10th division...He could hear a sound of someone training from inside..A familiar sound even,He made a short flash step to the top of the division and looked down with his calm eyes..to see Hitsugaya's favourite shinigami sitting in a rather disappointed way..close to be said about to explode and from the looks of the place she was training on a hadou but it seemed it wasn't going well with her.

He made another short flash step..which made him appear behind him giving her his back as he started to speak in a low calm tone.... "Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt...When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt...Doubt yourself and you doubt everything you see. Judge yourself and you see judges everywhere. But if you listen to the sound of your own voice, you can rise above doubt and judgment. And you can see forever.”..

Having finished his words he started to turn his head slightly backward towards her..he knew that hasegawa was a talented shinigami but with a rather mysterious past..He had looked through her papers when she was in academy and found alot of suspecious things about her in her biography which gave the sign of "!" without any other info..But he knew his words would get through her..So he waited to see her reaction with a calm look on his face

She hadn't even noticed him coming, so deep was she in her thoughts. Or perhaps he had just been too skilled for her to notice his presence, either way Hasegawa jumped slightly out of surprise as a male's voice made itself to her. While listening, she didn't turn but thought over what he had said. To be frank she was almost scared of turning around and finding who was standing there. Coward! What are you afraid of? It couldn't be that this was the man from her dreams, his voice was different as it didn't make her feel like a snake of fear was crawling up her body. However, his words did mean a lot and they soothed her already angered and confused mood. Lowering her head, a few strands of her long hair falling to her face, Hasegawa nodded. She couldn't help but smile at the irony... here she had been struggling day after day in training and trying to fight her mental instability, and yet it took but few words from a stranger to make her acknowledge her troubles and to soothe her. “You speak true words of wisdom… I only wish I wasn’t so weak to not realize this myself. But how can one really stop doubting oneself when he doesn't know of his origins in this strange place we call Soul Society?”

Brushing her hair behind her ear, she turned and faced whomever it was that had approached her. The smile she had ready on her face died out, her clear blue eyes turned round with surprise and a blush colored her cheeks. Black hair, tall figure, white scarf and then those gray eyes that now were looking at her... Can this be? Kuchiki Byakuya? The captain of division 6? Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she remembered her place and bowed deeply for him, her face turning even redder in embarrassment. I can't believe I just called Soul Society a strange place in front of one of the respected captains!

She had never spoken to him, only seen him a few times from distance. He was just as handsome this close up as she had thought, and it was no wonder that so many of the shinigami girls had a crush on this particular captain. But why was he here? And why was he speaking to someone as low as herself? If her information’s were correct, then he was a rather quite person and serious most of the time. “This humble shinigami thanks you for those kind words, Kuchiki-taichou.” She kept her head lowered, wondering if she should say something else. And then she remembered that she had taken food and some of the particularly good tea that the vice-captain Matsumoto had given her from the last trip she had made to the human world. Even though the vice-captain didn’t always seem like it, then she was actually very kind and had a good eye for those that were troubled. Will he get offended if I ask him to join me in drinking tea here? She worried over the thoughts, but finally came to the conclusion that she should at least ask, he would simply decline if he would not want to.

“E-excuse me Kuchiki-taichou but would you perhaps be interested in having tea with this low rank shinigami?” She bit her lower lip, waiting for his answer both hope and fear pulling at her from different directions.

It wasn't quite clear for byakuya why he had come to check this female shinigami to start with..it was extremely not like him to do such a thing..But what he was sure of that this girl needed someone to talk with her to try and solve her problems..or at least grab her from the maze of confusion she had placed herself in.Her soft voice starting ringing in byakuya's ears as the girl had not yet noticed that she was speaking with byakuya..*Origin*..What she was saying had something to do with being homeless..or without a past or feeling lonely.Those kind of feelings were burdens that seemed like hills on the back of a person..Byakuya took a deep breath and still looking with his head slightly towards her.. "The Origin of a person is where his heart leads him..It's the place you feel most comfortable..As long as there are others who care about you..your never without a home..Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect"

As he said these words he started to remember the psat of Rukia how she suffered the life of poverty and coldness and if it wasn't for her friends who cared about her..She wouldn't have survived,Her case was somehow similar to Hasegawa...By now the girl was already looking straight at him..She had a shy and surprised look on her face to notice that byakuya was the source of the sound behind her...The cold blooded shinigami maintained his calm face looking straight at her blue eyes..which for a second appeared to byakuya as it was eyes filled with doubt and confusion ..Eyes that could grab a person into an everlasting illusion.

The prideful shinigami nodded to her as she bowed in respect..and continued his conversation while then sun had already descended and night was starting slowly to spread through out all soul society...Then something unexpected to byakuya happened..A request was asked from her that byakuya never tought it might be asked..It appeared that she was starting to feel relaxed to have found someone to talk to..and there was more to say..The word "NO" was at the tip of byakuya's tongue..as that request was always asked to him from Shunsui..and byakuya would always reply by a simple.."No,I am busy"..but this was actually the first time a lower shinigami asked him a request like that..Byakuya for a minute stood there puzzled..He didn't want to hurt her feelings and let her leave disappointed like that..at the same time it wasn't like him to agree.

He turned his eyes to the sky above for a moment then returned to those blue eyes once again..In this brief moment he had made a decision.. "..Very well"..the words came with diffculty..But it was worth the sit,He felt curious to know more about her problems by now..The gaze she had in her eyes when he was talking to her..explained and showed alot of mysterious things locked...And with that he ended his words, while observing her reaction.

Her sky-blue eyes darkened for but a second as he spoke again, making Hasegawa look away as the words pierced her. Heart? Friends? None of that mattered to her now, although once she had known and loved the words. It was painful to trust, somehow she just knew that as if she had been taught that lesson the harder way. Just what had happened that was so horrible it made her mind blank each time she tried to remember? It was impossible to smile to others in the division, impossible to talk with ease to them and impossible for them to understand her thoughts. It had happened too often that her patience had snapped, making her hurt a sparring partner as they seemed to move too slowly for her. This had resulted in her lack of being able to train with the others and also the lack of friends. They found her arrogant, frightening even. Clenching her fists and biting her teeth together, she tried not to show the hurricane of feelings that was fighting inside her. "It's ... not easy for this shinigami to get to know people here Kuchiki-taichou." She now waited for his answer to her question, half expecting him to refuse her.

But as he just seemed to be about to deny the request, then surprisingly he said yes. Light lit her eyes and a small smile crawled upon her lips again. She whipped about and ran to gather her things, her hair flowing through the air while at it. With hands trembling, eyes shining, Hasegawa grabbed her backpack and hurried back to where Byakuya stood and waited for her. Kneeling gracefully, lowering her head shyly as if asking him to do the same, she started gathering things from her backpack. She had fortunately packed 2 tea cups, for some strange reason and for that she was thankful now. Picking up the bag with the tea leaves, she recognized it to be Sencha Fukamushi, a strong and good quality tea that had a mellow taste to it. Sprinkling the tea leaves into the canister lid and measuring the amount by eye, Hasegawa worked fast and with confidence in her actions. She was very good at brewing tea, and it came naturally to her to let it taste extraordinary good. Although she had never been the most feminine girl out there, her mother had at least insisted on her daughter knowing the fine art of properly presenting and brewing tea. Hasegawa hadn't really minded that, as if she had been trying to make it up to her mother just how different she had been from her. Finishing what needed to be done, she put the pot down and waited for the tea to be ready. Not sure if she should say anything or simply keep the silence, Hasegawa held her gaze to the tea pot and waited patiently as the minutes passed.

She had been avoiding Byakuya’s gaze for a few minutes now, still feeling a little bit shy and alert and very aware of his position. People talked a lot when nothing was going on in Soul Society, and although Hasegawa preferred not to listen to gossiping she hadn't been able to fully close her ears when people were talking about the captains. And naturally then Byakuya had often been the topic of conversations. She had heard that he had been married once and he had a sister which he had adopted. He couldn't really be that bad of a person was what she had thought, but people seemed to have slight fear mixed with respect when dealing with him. As if it was quite impossible to know where one had him.

Finally she could lean forward and lift the tea pot, pouring the cloudy green colored tea into both their cups. Taking her cup up with her right hand, placing her left one under the cup, Hasegawa took a small sip of the tea, enjoying the warmth that ran down her body and made her relax her stiff muscles. Her eyes found the captain’s face again, many questions in her gaze. Questions she didn't dare ask, and others that were quite normal. “Might this lower shinigami ask why Kuchiki-taichou is out here?” It was very still around them, the atmosphere calm and comfortable.

By the time he had answered the question he found that her expressions had changed in a rather sad way..The word sorrow and pain was drawn all over her face...as if she was trying to forget..or maybe trying to remember,either way she was in a condition that made the worst creatures pity her...It looked like byakuya's words were like swords penetrating her rather than healing her and that was something byakuya never intended to do,It also seemed that byakuya was right her physical actions started to show how worried and unrelaxed she was..Maybe it was time for byakuya to try and cool her down a bit..However,her reply didn't surprise byakuya as he started to get grip of the whole idea..He had once seen her face to face with a medium level hollow..and saw how her character changes when she enters a battle..The calm angel standing in front of him..changes to a bloodlust Demon when it comes to fighting and that probably was one of the main reasons of having her lonely.

Byakuya didn't show what was on his mind..He just gave what could look like a small sigh and turned his eyes to look at a nearby tree... "If i remember correctly..The female shinigami Tamaki has a strong bond with you..Also if i remember Shiro...Not to mention your place at Hitsugaya.So from all this we can come to say that the problem isn't *Not so good at knowing others* But there is something with your character that needs to be changed...And to begin with i need to know all the information regarding your Zanpaktou Spirit?!!"

He then found a surprise look on her face as he agreed to sit down with her..And with the smile that crawled to her lips seemed that she was beginning to cool down...Byakuya observed her as she rushed to get her stuff and came back holding a backpack and sat down starting to empty what was inside..He kneed down slowly and sat in a noble way and looked over at hasegawa who seemed to be preparing two cups of tea although it looked like she was trying to avoid his gaze and that was something natural..as the girl thought that the answer would be NO so she must be a little shy after byakuya had agreed...The air was starting to become more calm and the wind was blowing in byakuya's face with a slight cold breeze,He then held up the cup of tea and took a small sip on it then placed it down again....

It wasn't long after that when she started to speak once again and asked a simple question about him being here..Byakuya fixed his scarf and looked towards her face once again and replied in a calm tone.. "Well..It happened that i was taking a walk close by when i heard some noise coming from the 10th division..and For a captain like myself..I can say it's quite normal for me to come and see what's going on?!...Don't you agree?!"

((OOC; SOOOOOOOOOOO Sorry about the late reply e.e ))


Her face lit slightly up as he mentioned the name of Tamaki, it was true she was pretty close to her but they rarely had time to meet up lately. And Hasegawa was also scared sometimes to look Tamaki in the eyes, scared that her friend would find out what was going on inside Hasegawa's mind. And Shiro yes, he was a good man although they didn't speak that much then they had an understanding between them. Her eyes glanced at the captain as he spoke, he was indeed as smart and observant as everybody had said. That's Kuchiki Byakuya for you.. However as the talk came to her Zanpakuto spirit, Hasegawa lowered her tea cup and stared at the captain. Does he want to speak about Ranmyaku? That was not something she'd want to do. Her Zanpakuto spirit was unstable, destructive, too smart for anyone's good. And even though she was bound to it with strong bonds he scared her sometimes. It was probably one of the problems with still not being alright with this whole Soul Society world, sometimes things got too .... intense and weird for Hasegawa's taste.

"Ah... ummm well I'm not sure what could interest Kuchiki-taichou about this lower shinigami's Zanpakuto Spirit." Did he hear the nervousness in her voice? No she thought she had managed to cover it up. She was glad when he seemed to start thinking about her other question, and she took another sip of the warm tea. While watching him speak, her eyes ran over his features and down to his delicate yet strong hands. She had never imagined there would ever be a male that looked this ....beautiful! Yes that was the correct word over him. He was so graceful it made one hold his breath as Byakuya walked by.

"You are right about that. A captain does of course not need any reason to be walking about the divisions and keep an eye on the lower ones" She smiled again and her eyes got a slightly lighter blue color to them as the smile lit up her normally serious face. For the last days, no weeks, she hadn't been able to smile easily and she wondered how she was able to relax when sitting against this respectful captain. Maybe I feel like he can help me? But how can he help me when I'm not even sure myself what's really bothering me since I can't get my memory back? She sighed and lowered her gaze to the ground again while she sipped quietly on the tea and waited for his response, scared he might get impatient and leave or keep pressing her on talking about her Zanpakuto Spirit. I'm not sure what to say really ... I feel like such a failure to be afraid of my own powers and yet always be craving for more. The thing that probably scared her the most was how blissful it felt when she got the power boost from her Zanpakuto, how easy it was for her to kill the hollows. Sometimes she felt like she was walking on a very thin line and she could fall off anytime, how or where she would land would then probably change her forever.

He kept sipping on his cup of tea as she stared at him in a way which actually made byakuya become certain that there was something odd about her zanpaktou..the way she took time to reply to his question made it positive that the reason behind her depressed mood was that zanpaktou spirit of hers..Byakuya placed down the cup of tea and fixed his hair as the wind blow in his face...then with his gray calm eyes looked directly into her sky blue eyes..He knew what he had to do..it was best to take the situation in a calm matter and with her own free will..and to do soo he had to make her notice the danger that might come afterwards from her carelessness towards the situation..

"Interest..you say,Well i am positive there must be an interesting story behind that zanpaktou spirit of yours...Or am i wrong?!!" ...he said with a confident tone....he then stood up and started to walk passed her as he gave her his back looking at a tree.. "Hasegawa..you must have realized it yourself by now..without having me to talk about it,.....That Zanpaktou spirit of yours is slowly taking over..not to mention the blood thrust feeling you get when ur in a battle..!!!" ...his voice had started to turn to a serious but friendly one

Hitsugaya had always praised hasegawa for being a talented shinigami..and how her skills increased quickly..adding to that her loyalty to her shinigami kind and captain..not to forget the respect she gives to all higher ranks..so it seemed that it would be a loss to have one like her getting dragged into the darkness without grabbing her back...And it looked like byakuya's words were able to reach her mind.. "The only way to get to know your origin..is to face your past fears starting by taking control over your zanpaktou spirit..Otherwise,....you might end up in a massacre and finish off what remains of the word *friends* to you...,That decision is yours..and yours alone..!!" ..

Byakuya finished his speech and looked back at hasegawa who was sitting down on the ground...was it enough..he thought to himself,it was just a matter of time now before..hasegawa would decide on what path she'll take..