"It is not wise to judge others based on your own perceptions and by their appearances." — Itachi Uchiha.
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It was almost time for Itachi to depart for Hueco Mundo but before he could, a slight issue came up. Members of the Hoinu clan, a part of the rebels that Itachi's Division had captured and had handed over to the Kuchiki Clan at Byakuya's behest, had escaped from their confinement with aid from an outside source.
Normally this would have fallen completely under the Kuchiki Clan's jurisdiction due to their pride and nothing else but it was also the 2nd Division's duty to oversee such things. Had it been any other Captain, Yoruichi even, they would have let the Kuchiki Clan resolve this themselves.
The reason why Itachi didn't acquiesce with Byakuya's subtle warning was simply he knew how most of the clans work. They would prefer if they could just find and bury the issue instead of completely annihilating it at its root.
At this point, it was almost inevitable that he would end up butting heads with Byakuya.
"Well someone's not going to like this." Soi Fon said as she trailed behind him. "I don't know, maybe you should actually sit this one out, what do you think? It would be bad if he saw you here."
She didn't think it would come to blades but she also didn't want them to devolve their already rocky relationship into a silent war.
Then again she knew why Itachi was like this. Although she knew some things about his life when he was alive, not much or personal, the little she knew let her know that Itachi had a personal distaste towards rebels or traitors or any kind.
"I know. That's why I didn't bring anyone else." He said.
"Right." Her face was entirely covered in her usual stealth garb and even the eye part that was open was obscured by a black shroud, a nifty trick Itachi taught her. Her eyes were closed as she tried sensing around her but she still couldn't pick him up.
'Even if he's average in every other area, he quite excelled in this one. Unexpectedly.'
"We're coming up to where the crows picked them up." She was almost startled when she heard him speak and even without him looking at her, she knew he could tell.
Unlike the Tengu somewhere behind them, his presence didn't necessarily disappear but instead became so faint and natural that it not only made someone think that he wasn't there but also made them feel so.
They arrived at an inconspicuous clearing that looked completely natural.
"There's some kind of defensive barrier here." Soi Fon stated.
"Let's go in."
Saying nothing more, she saw him walk through the spell, completely disregarding them, and simply followed after him.
Soi Fon didn't know which was easier; getting through the barrier or rounding up the rebels after killing the stubborn ones.
"Get ready, we have incoming." Itachi gave her a heads up as she dealt with the last of the more violent extremists.
"Right behind you, Captain." As soon as they came out of the hideout, Soi Fon picked up the incoming Reiatsu. "Large hostile Reiatsu up ahead-"
CLANG!
Those words had barely left her mouth when the Reiatsu overwhelmed her and the owner of it was right in her face, forcing her to block in an instant. She hardly got a good glimpse of her attacker before Itachi kicked him away and pulled her behind him to block another attacker.
"Captain Kuchiki." She heard Itachi say.
"Captain Uchiha." She heard the other reply. "What is the meaning of this?"
Byakuya frowned as he gazed upon both of them. Because of how obscure their Reiatsu had been from afar (due to them purposefully suppressing it) he had been unable to identify them and had thought they were part of the rebel group so he attacked the stronger one right off the bat. Not once did he expect the weaker one to be the one to not only sense his presence but also position herself between him and his target and successfully stop him in his tracks.
Even his subordinate was stopped.
His eyes narrowed further when he identified a number of Reiatsu, way less than the number of people they were tracking. Two-thirds less.
"I thought I made this clear not quite long ago that this was an issue of the Kuchiki Clan?"
"You did, and that statement was considered fulfilled when I handed over the rebels to your Kuchiki Clan, but not only did you fail in punishing them but they also escaped your confinement, regrouped and were in the process of planning a preemptive strike against the other Noble Clans."
"That said, this all stems from their errs and being vassals to the Kuchiki Clan, falls under my jurisdiction to see them punished as fit the law." Byakuya said not backing down from Itachi's cold glare.
"And my answer remains the same, Captain Kuchiki; no."
Everyone could see that Itachi was serious with his words which left only one reaction; looking to Byakuya to see how he would react.
The Noble Young Lord didn't look as if he took it well.
"I ask you for the last time to reconsider your words, Captain Uchiha." He warned but Itachi simply turned to Soi Fon and gave her a simple order.
"When the others arrive, I want them transported directly to the Maggots Nests."
The complete disregard from Itachi angered his pride that he ended up attacking Itachi with a simple sword slash but Itachi fluidly stepped aside his sword's path and once again sent a kick to his stomach, making him skid backwards a few good steps.
"And might I ask; what is the meaning of that?" Itachi looked at him with apathetic indifference. His eyes judging the uselessness of Byakuya's actions just now.
"My Lord…" A servant came to Byakuya and whispered in his ears, something sensible given how hesitant he looked before relenting.
"Let's go." Byakuya said and turned around to leave. "I'll be seeing you soon, Captain Uchiha."
Itachi didn't deign his words with any sort of reply and just ordered Soi Fon and the new arrivals from his Division on how to transport the rebels back to base.
"And where are you going, my dear Captain?"
"To the Kuchiki Clan. To ensure they don't do anything to get on my bad side when I'm gone." He said only that and disappeared.
"Whoa, pretty serious huh? That's the first time I've heard him so blatantly threaten someone." She turned around and said to no one in particular. "Make sure he doesn't go alone."
Even if he was in no danger as a Captain, it was traditional at this point that Itachi always had shadows trailing him wherever he went, unless he expressly says so.
…..
Itachi walked calmly through the halls of the Kuchiki Clan, straight to where Byakuya and his grandfather were waiting for him. Even though it was his first time here, he could clearly pick apart their Reiatsu from the otherwise unimpressive ones.
On his way however, he met someone that made his normally impassive brows raise a bit.
The woman who introduced herself as Hisana and offered to take him to Byakuya's office when she saw that no servant was with him to lead the way.
She seemed to have some sort of standing in the Kuchiki Clan given that some of the guards gave her slight bows as they passed.
There was a frailness about her that Itachi chalked up to her being very timid.
When they got nearer to Byakuya's office, Hisana gathered up the courage to look at the Captain she was leading and finally spoke another word to him after the initial greeting.
"If I may be so bold to ask, My Lord, if there is any bad blood between you and Lord Byakuya?"
The calm look he gave her was grossly misinterpreted if the way she soon started apologizing was any giveaway. He reckoned it would have gotten worse if he didn't break his nonchalance and give an answer to her question.
It wouldn't speak any good of him if the situation was misinterpreted by Byakuya or his grandfather that he threatened the woman, Hisana, in any way if they were to witness the current scene.
"Sight differences. Nothing worth worrying about, I assure you." He replied.
She was the type of woman that was easily hated by her peers when they found nothing worth hating about.
"Thank you for your guidance." He said after she brought him to the door of Byakuya's office.
"Captain Uchiha, I'm glad to see you again." Byakuya's father and the former Captain of the 6th Division, Ginrei Kuchiki, greeted him as he made himself known.
The greetings exchanged were purely perfunctory so neither of them wastes any time on why they were here.
"So you are saying that you won't let us punish our own vassals?" Ginrei asked with his eyes squinted hard at Itachi, his Reiatsu bubbling just underneath his skin.
"I am saying that I am not passing over the responsibility of punishing treasonous rebels to you when you clearly failed to do so the first time." Itachi reiterated.
"The first time was a show of trust and cooperation, not of responsibility. You will do well to remember that though they may be your vassals, it falls under my authority and that of my Division to dole out sentences as we see fit to any offender. I don't know what you're trying to hide, but I'll warn you not to overstep the bounds of my authority when doing so."
He was never one to unnecessarily threaten people but whenever he did, he always meant it. The Sharingan that reflected off his eyes told them so.
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