Kuchiki's Two Lieutenants (PRIVATE - Kaihime and Byakuya Only)

Haku sat in his cell with the reiatsu-dampening handcuffs binding his hands. His long pinkish white hair was very messy and a little curly and he stared out through the bars of his cell with his two eyes, his good right, pinkish white eye and his blind left eye with his scar going through it. The upper half of his kimono was tied around his waist, revealing to the world his small yet athletic and flexible body and an assortment of scars, most noticeably bullet wounds on his chest and stomach he got at the time of his death. His black angel wings were curled around his body, as if to shield him from any prying eyes. Luckily, he managed to convince his jailer to allow him to keep the silver locket he wore around his neck. The 12 year old looking former 6th Division Lieutenant sighed to himself as he stared through the cells, thinking about when he turned himself in. "Are you happy for me doing the right thing and turning myself in, my dearly departed sister? Are you smiling down at me in pride as you look down at me from the clouds in that peaceful haven? I hope so because I don't want you to feel as if I failed you again when I turned my back on the promise I made on your grave when I left the Soul Society" he mumbled to himself in his deep, low and slightly raspy voice as he clutched the locket around his neck tightly.

((OOC: italics mean her thoughts))



Lightning had received word that a man named Haku had turned himself into the seretei jail, she would not have cared in the slightest if it hadn't been for two important facts;
1. She was in the 6th division and it was her duty to deal with traitors and runaways
2. This man was supposedly her captain, Byakuya Kuchiki's former lieutenant.

Duty bound and rather curious Lightning made her way from the 6th division barracks to the jail. Her captain was currently too busy to visit his former lieutenant so Lightning decided she would instead. It was a hot day in the soul society, the sun was out and there was not a cloud in the sky. Lightning sighed with relief as she approached the shelter and shade of the jail. She was not stopped by the officer outside the jail doors her status as 6th division lieutenant allowing her access. She entered the jail and approached the cell containing the former 6th division lieutenant Haku. Hearing him talking to himself Lightning closed her eyes scoffed to herself pathetic Her light blue eyes cold and her face emotionless she stared at the rather pathetic looking sight before her before speaking in her usual cold tone "speaking to yourself is well known to be the first sign of madness"

Haku calmly looked up at her and let go of his locket, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. He nodded in complete agreement with Lightning nonchalantly and opened his mouth to respond. "Indeed. Perhaps I am insane, slowly having been driven into madness due to guilt, regret and my fear of failure. If I am, it wouldn't surprise me one bit, really" he said as he stood up, his angel wings moving around to give a better view of him as he stepped into the slightly dim light of the cell, revealing his rather young features excluding the hideous scar on his face. The color of his hair, albeit being a lighter shade, could have caused some people to think that he was related to Yachiru.

A reply came from the jailed traitor as he stepped into the light of the cell "Indeed. Perhaps I am insane, slowly having been driven into madness due to guilt, regret and my fear of failure. If I am, it wouldn't surprise me one bit, really" Lightning knew not why this man had left his position as a lieutenant to become a traitor but frankly nothing made betraying soul scoiety o.k. Lightning noted the colour of the man's hair as he stepped into the light, her own hair was a much lighter shade of Yachiru's but this man's was even lighter than hers.

"nonsense, utter nonsense. Noone does not suffer from guilt, regret and a fear of failure, it is merely the weak that allow it to overcome them" Sure Lightning's words were harsh, however that was her way. She did not mince words nor did she sugar coat things, she was a straightforward person. Her light blue and icy eyes stared the former lieutenant down, she felt no sympathy for this man. "I suppose you have a pointless excuse for doing what you did?"

He chuckled slightly at her reply, seemingly unconcerned by her words. He didn't seem all that affected by her response to his comment about his questionable mental state, besides being amused. "Excuse? No. As I told Captain Kuchiki that one time we met again after so long, your family and the promises and vows you make to them are usually far more important then any loyalties you may have...and surprisingly he agreed with me on that. I swore on my sister's grave, I made a promise that I intended to keep but as I got to thinking, she wouldn't have wanted me to turn my back on a place that me gave me a life after death, that prevented my soul from turning into a Hollow so after visiting her grave, I told her that the new promise I made was to redeem myself in the eyes of the Soul Society and in order for me to do that, I had to turn myself in. My loyalty to the Soul Society has never diminished in my years but my loyalty and my promise to my deceased sister was far important. Before I could redeem myself in the Soul Society, I had to redeem myself in her eyes" he said to Lightning calmly as he brushed a strand of hair behind his ear clenched and unclenched his right fist in a way that made it seem as if he testing to see if he had Arthritis or something.

"Excuse? No. As I told Captain Kuchiki that one time we met again after so long, your family and the promises and vows you make to them are usually far more important then any loyalties you may have...and surprisingly he agreed with me on that. I swore on my sister's grave, I made a promise that I intended to keep but as I got to thinking, she wouldn't have wanted me to turn my back on a place that me gave me a life after death, that prevented my soul from turning into a Hollow so after visiting her grave, I told her that the new promise I made was to redeem myself in the eyes of the Soul Society and in order for me to do that, I had to turn myself in. My loyalty to the Soul Society has never diminished in my years but my loyalty and my promise to my deceased sister was far important. Before I could redeem myself in the Soul Society, I had to redeem myself in her eyes"

In Lightning's eyes the man's reply was no more than a long-winded speech that went on far too long. "you seem to forget that she is no longer your only family....when you became a lieutenant you welcomed many more into your family. The soul Society is also your family now, you should have acted in a manner that let none down. Not indulged in favouritism" Lightning was slightly annoyed that he had the nerve to try and explain himself by using her taicho's words as an excuse, although he did not seem to realise he was giving excuses.

He raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head slowly, his long hair waving and moving around with every slow shake of his head. "Family? How can I call them family when I knew no one but Captain Kuchiki and even that, our....relationship was barely above that of friendly acquaintanceship. My sister meant more to me then you could imagine. You might not know how I felt but my relationship with her was much deeper then that of siblings. She told me when I was 7 and she was 5, fighting to survive on the streets, only having each to trust and look out after, that I was not only her brother, but also I was like her father and even her God. Do you know what it's like to hear that from someone you care for deeply and then, when you promise that she'll never come to harm...she is killed because you didn't react fast enough? I failed her in life and I wanted to make it up to her...in death" he said to her calmly. The guilt and self-blame he placed upon himself was obvious but Lightning could see he wasn't expecting any pity or sympathy and it was most likely known to him that she wasn't going to give any either.

((OOC: sorry tragic short post but i have to go to bed and i thought that i would leave it open for Byakuya to enter the thread ))))


Before Lightning could reply to Haku she heard footsteps coming towards the cell and sensed a familiar reiatsu to go with them. "It would seem kuchiki-taicho has decided to grace you with his presence. You should be grateful" light from the sun entered the cell as the door opened illuminating the two shinigami's currently occupying the room.

Byakuya had been standing outside the jail for some time, thinking. Why in the world would Haku turn himself in? Of course, it was a good thing, but pretty much unheard of in the Soul Society. Since his ex-lieutenant came willingly, Byakuya wasn't quite sure what the punishment would be for him. It would be better of course than if he was forced to come here, but Haku was still a criminal. After a few more minutes of standing there, he opened to door and entered. "Kaihime." He nodded to her, but said nothing to Haku.

Haku stared in the direction where he heard his ex-Captain's voice and stared up at the man as he came into view. "Hello Captain Kuchiki. It's nice to see you again, though it is rather unfortunate that our meeting couldn't be under more...pleasant circumstances" he said with a grin as he closed his left eye and traced the scar on it with his finger, softly caressing the scar that reminded him painfully of the day both his and his sister's lives were brought to an end.

If Byakuya hadn't been her taicho Lightning would have glared or perhaps even have said something rather bitter at the mention of her birth name. It had been so long since she had heard that name, since she had been called that name. She couldn't really be angry at anyone for calling her that, it was after all her name. The name simply came as a shock to her ears as it rolled from her taichou's tongue. She tirned to face Byakuya and bowed her head gently in respect as she spoke. "taicho" Lightning turned back to face the cell that held the former lieutenant. In truth she didn't know what to say nor if she should say anything at the moment.

(-_- so short, but I've written so much today I just can't write much more.)

Byakuya was quiet for a few seconds as he walked back and forth across the cell. He wasn't nervous of course, just a bit restless. He didn't necessarily like being in a jail cell. Finally though, he turned to Haku, looking at him with no expression on his face. "Yes, it seems pleasant experiences while inside a jail do not exist," he said coolly. "May I ask why you turned yourself in?"

He looked up at the extremely powerful Shinigami and shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose you could say that it was the constant reminder of my little sister and the burden I carry concerning the events related to her that I turned myself in. She would not have wanted me to run from my duties, she would have wanted me to set things right rather then continue to run like a coward. That and I did not want you to have to deal with any burdens or grievances concerning my actions nor did I want any of the higher ups to assume that you were involved in my abandonment or that you were an unfit leader" he said and it was the complete truth. He always had respect for his former Captain and he did not want the Captain of the 6th division to have to be punished for something he had no hand in.

((OOC: i completely understand sarah don't worry about it ^^ i get that too unfortunately...that or writers block...or like in this case just nothing to write xD))

Lightning remained silent as she watched her captain pace the jail cell, he seemed restless in her opinion...either that or bothered by the situation before him. She couldn't blame him, it must have been awkward to have your former lieutenant in a jail cell before you and your current lieutenant in the same room as you watching on. Lightning could have scoffed at the answer given to her taicho by the imprisoned man before her...cliche but still she remained silent. She would not speak unless spoken too nor would she leave unless ordered. Right now she remained to support her taicho.

Well, it seemed his ex-lieutenant actually had some sense in him... not much since he had of course left the Soul Society in the first place, but he did come back, with was extremely rare. Or actually, perhaps it was foolish to come back. Byakuya couldn't decide which Haku was; sensible or foolish. But now really wasn't the time to debate such things. "Well, in coming back you've put yourself in a rather bad position," Byakuya told Haku, his tone somewhat lecturing. The 6th division captain paused in his pacing and stepped in front of Haku, looking down at him. "You know, that because you have returned, you still have to face a punishment for leaving in the first place. And that punishment may be death."