"Why is it that the Uchiha clan is known by all, and feared by all?" — Itachi Uchiha.
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The meeting lasted a few days, a bit too stretched out than what Itachi expected, but understandable as the essence of time was a little bit different to souls than it was for living beings.
It was actually on the second day that the Head of the Shiba Clan, Kūkaku Shiba, arrived. It wasn't hard to tell that she was a very free-spirited woman from the way she was dressed and the way she addressed the other Clan Heads.
Shaggy black hair, green eyes, prosthetic arm, tattoos, a white skirt and a revealing low-cut red dress: she was the perfect picture of a delinquent and that was exactly how she was.
A quick glance at her and how the other Clan Heads reacted to her arrival made it clear to Itachi that she was the proverbial odd one out.
Unlike Yoruichi who could don any mask according to the occasion like the assassin she was, Kūkaku was raw.
Apart from the Shihōin, Shiba and Kuchiki Families, the other two Noble Families were the Tsunayashiro and the Kasumiōji Families.
The Head of the Tsunayashiro Family was a hunched old man that looked like a peer of the Shinigami Head Captain, even sporting a variation of the same old long beard.
On the other hand, the Head of the Kasumiōji Family was a rather middle-aged man sporting an equal ratio of black and grey hair; standing at the figurative middle between the younger looking Clan Heads(Shihōin and Shiba) and the older looking ones(Tsunayashiro and Kuchiki).
From what he could silently get from Soi Fon, Itachi realized that maybe it was a lot more serious than he thought it was as Soi Fon told him it was very rare for all Clan Heads to gather like this – something she had only witnessed twice.
The next few days rolled past quite stationary for Itachi who only moved a few times when the Clan Heads changed location.
"Damn fuckers. Couldn't they have said shit faster?!" Yoruichi yawned as she stretched her stiff muscles as they prepared to leave.
She took a subtle glance at Itachi and rolled her eyes as she saw the curiosity in his eyes. There was no way she'd tell him what went on in these private meetings and for his sake she hoped he didn't go snooping around.
She knew ninjas and how inherently curious they were, especially those like Itachi.
"I need to meet a few people befor-" She dodged the blur that tried tackling her from behind. "I could practically feel your excitement from a hundred meters." She told the blur who happened to be a young boy.
Yūshirō Shihōin had the physical look of an eleven year old boy, short dark purple hair and was the male carbon copy of Yoruichi.
"Big Sister!" He exclaimed and jumped to hug her and this time she didn't dodge him.
"Yūshirō, seriously? You see me every other month." She said with a deadpan, making her brother chuckle more.
"Byakuya-boyo, not going to attack me this time?" She turned to the corner her brother came out of and saw Byakuya Kuchiki, heir of the Kuchiki Clan, standing behind with a polite smile.
"Yūshirō wanted to surprise you so I had to let him." He gestured at the young boy smilingly hugging her. "And besides, I don't need such an underhanded method to face you."
Itachi silently watched the two young heirs of their respective families, Yūshirō being an exuberant child and Byakuya being a bit haughty. Itachi could see the tiny hits of arrogance and pride in the young man's eyes and words.
"Hoh! You've grown quite spunk since our last play session, Byakuya-boyo." She said with a tempting grin, as she goaded him. "How about it? This time I might even close my eyes."
Byakuya's brows twitched and his annoyance grew upon seeing Yoruichi's mocking grin. "As much as I'd love to, my grandfather is still waiting for me."
"Oh pulling the grandfather card this soon? Looks like somebody is nervous. I'll guess I'll have to wait until you grow up to grow the right pair of balls to challenge me again."
Itachi and Soi Fon watched as Byakuya's face exploded in red of equal parts embarrassment and anger.
"That's it, you crazy woman!" The boy skillfully moved with Shunpo towards Yoruichi, who didn't bother separating herself from her brother, who lazily dodged him before taking off down the hall, with Byakuya hot on her figurative tail.
"Young Master Byakuya often challenges Lady Yoruichi any chance he gets. He sees himself as her rival for some reason." Even without Soi Fon explaining herself, Itachi could understand why the boy was pissed off at Yoruichi – she teased him every time they came across each other.
"Let's go. Lady Yoruichi likes running rounds around him before disappearing and leaving him in anger." She said with a certain sympathy towards the poor Kuchiki heir.
Itachi said nothing, only simply disappearing before Soi Fon and arriving on one of the rooftops surrounding an open yard where Yoruichi was currently playing tag at the fuming Byakuya.
In one of the buildings, he saw the old Kuchiki Head and 5th Division Captain, Ginrei Kuchiki, watching the play below before he turned towards Itachi. The two stared for a second before nodding to each other simultaneously, and going back to watch Yoruichi frustrate his grandson.
The tag had turned into a duel at some point but it didn't matter as Yoruichi was clearly having fun with the deeply frustrated heir.
"How about we end it here?" Yoruichi said upon tripping Byakuya's legs, pointing in the direction of his grandfather.
"Grr, this isn't over, woman!" He gritted his teeth as he stood up. When he looked up again, he saw Soi Fon and another man beside Yoruichi. He wasn't surprised at seeing Soi Fon, but he was surprised as he didn't feel when the other man arrived. He could only feel Soi Fon and Yoruichi's presence before looking up.
They watched as he turned around and walked away grumbling before applying Shunpo to disappear from the yard.
"See you later, Yūshirō." She waved in the direction of the sulking lad before leaving with her two guards.
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On the other side away from the Shihōin Clan, Ginrei and his grandson traveled back to Kuchiki Clan via Shunpo when Byakuya asked curiously after remembering something.
"Did Lady Yoruichi get another retainer?" He was back to wearing the calm of a noble in front of his dear grandfather, different from how crass he was with Yoruichi.
"Yes. Itachi Uchiha, he is called." Ginrei informed Byakuya who frowned slightly.
"Is he from any of the lower noble families?" He asked, but his grandfather shook his head and explained Itachi's presence beside Yoruichi, before asking in turn.
"Why do you ask?"
Byakuya shook his head to disperse any other thoughts about the retainer. "Nothing. I just didn't realize when he arrived."
Ginrei nodded at Byakuya's observation. "He's a highly skilled Shinigami." Was all he said and they both left it at that.
…..
[A few weeks later]
Itachi flitted around trees as he made his way back to the Soul Society after spending a few days in the closer Rukongai districts.
He remembered that he didn't feel Junpei's Reiatsu lingering around any of the spots he passed and surmised that that boy was either successful in getting in or moved away from the area.
He didn't realize why he helped the boy but he nodded to himself as he was certain that the boy passed.
His mind went back to a message he got from Yoruichi telling him to come back as he had a mission with some of the other members of the Division – cleansing souls in the World of the Living and purifying some Hollows.
This was a standard Shinigami duty and one he was eager to do for a bunch of various reasons.
He passed the gates and arrived at a guarded area near the Kidō Corps Division, which was also the first time he was seeing members of this Division.
The moment he arrived, he identified the person from his Division leading him and two others on this mission.
"You're right on time, Itachi." Their team leader said to him. While he wasn't that known in the 2nd Division, anyone with a keen eye would easily notice that he is mostly around the Captain and her bodyguard than anyone else. "I think the Captain said that this is your first time purifying souls so be sure to watch closely."
Itachi silently nodded. Though he remained calm on the outside, his mind was in a turmoil of anxiousness and desperate hope.
The members of the Kidō Corps working the Senkaimon, the gate used to travel between worlds, powered the gate up after a few minutes of Itachi's arrival and gave them the okay to go through.
As Itachi stepped through, he noticed they appeared in a white room with another door that opened and when they stepped through, Itachi quickly noticed two things.
First was that a seal was placed on his Reiatsu. Though he could easily break it, he didn't as this was something he had read and Yoruichi had told him about. How Lieutenants and Captains, or any Shinigami in general with those levels of Reiatsu had their Reiatsu sealed to limit the potential destruction they would cause to the World of the Living without it.
Another thing Itachi noticed was just how different everything looked.
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