Very little could surprise Byakuya.

He'd been raised from birth to be prepared for all manner of situations. His tutors and elders taught him to never let his emotions surface. lest the enemy uses them to manipulate you on the battlefield.

He knelt down outside on the deck, settled down on a tatami mat in seiza. An elegant sword sat in front of him, sheathed in an elegant scabbard engraved with Kuchiki crest near the top. It was no surprise when Kyoraku and Ukitake came to take their own seats beside him, kneeling down on either side.

"How long until they arrive?" Kyoraku asked, taking a swig out of his flask.

"Minutes i'm guessing," Ukitake said.

"Argh, it'll be hard for the girl to make the transition. She doesn't know what's gonna hit her."

Ukitake shook his head. "She'll make it. From what i've learnt from all these years is that Rukia is stubborn as hell, and won't back down from a challenge, no matter how weird or drastic. Besides, look at her sister. Look at her clan. They've been pressured and coerced throughout history, and all her ancestors were put to death. yet here we are, with the living descendants today. That ought to show those that target her bloodline that they are certainly favoured by fate."

Byakuya inhaled deeply, opening his eyes. The backyard was bathed in pale moonlight. "Rukia has risen to the challenge countless times in the past, proving time and time again that she can defeat whatever obstacle lies before. She has a wide range of skills to use, and many allies that shall come to her aid."

A breeze came over the three men, chilling them to the bone unexpectedly. Kyoraku looked up at the yard. "It appears that our guests have arrived already."

Byakuya nodded. He could sense the many pairs of eyes within the dark honing in on the the men. He kept his face blank, betraying no hints of any kind to the enemy. Shadows were pushed out from the darkness cast by the trees and building, advancing towards them.

"You want us to go in Kuchiki?" Kyoraku asked, stretching out his back.

Byakuya shook his head. "Hisana has been waiting all week."

One of the shadows split apart from the dark and spoke up in a rasp. "Finally decided to stop hiding out like a coward, eh Kuchiki? Honestly could you have picked an even more pathetic realm than the one you've been living in this past decade?"

The owner of the voice was a man, looking no older than thirty. Long greasy hair framed a pale face and reached his shoulders; a pure-white eyepatch covered the left socket. His smile was cruel and haughty, bearing sharp serrated teeth. The hunter had a tall gangly build adorned in a pale grey suite. The only thing out of place was the giant scythe he had in one-hand, a thick black chain dangling from the blade.

Byakuya merel stared at the intruders, taking note of every move. "Nnoitra Gilga, head hunter of Aizen's militia and self-proclaiming fool. They say you are the best when it comes to hunting down tricky criminals and targets. If you were truly the man it says you are on paper then you would have found me earlier, rather than wait for my sister to come of age."

Nnoitra snarled, brandishing the scythe in an arc. "Shut your trap you noble brat. We've merely let you wander about freely these years because priority wise, you're not worth. You're just insignificant pests that need to be extinguished. You're wife and sister on the other hand," he smirked as he looked up at the building behind byakuya, "well, we just needed to wait for the right time when those Shirayuki sluts were at their most vulnerable."

Byakuya's eyes narrowed to slits and he stood up, gripping the scabbard tightly in one hand. Nnoitra smirked and swung the chain around in the air. "I definitely hope you last long enough to hear their cries. It will be a beautiful thing to see; the noble Kuchiki, helpless to save his own family."

Ukitake came up by Byakuya and folded his arms. "Don't make threats that you can't deliver on, boy. Empty threats are just a sign of cowardice."

Nnoitra laughed haughtily. "Old man, you and the drunk will be the first to die tonight."

All at once the men moved out of the darkness, revealing themselves to be a team of skilled mercenaries dressed in black, and wearing a half broken silver skull mask to disguise their faces.

Byakuya smirked inwardly. These men were unworthy to battle him, far outmatched by the superior skills which he possessed. A man came up on his right, raising a broadsword down towards his shoulder. In one swift motion - so fast that the man never had time to blink, the attacker dropped to his knees. Blood spurted out from the diagonal slash across his chest whilst byakuya flicked off the blood droplets in the same swift motion. A second assailant moved in low to perform a sweeper kick and knock him down, and screamed out as he lost his right leg. Another man snuck up behind him and uttered a war cry as he aimed for the nobleman's unprotected back; his cry was spoilt by the gurgle of blood as Byakuya stabbed his sword through the gap of his protective gear, right through his lung.

Byakuya barely flinched as he took down the lives of these men who called themselves assassins. He'd already seen enough spilt blood to last him a lifetime. One by one these men fell by his sword and those of his comrades around him, obliterating their lifesparks from this world. He was beyond feeling as he took down a second man, this time slashing the man's throat and issuing a fountain of blood. How dare these men seek to destroy those that he cherished the most. He crippled another assailant and snapped his arm out of it's socket, and ended his screams by digging his sword through his-

CRASH!

Byakuya's head snapped back to the entry of the house, and watched as masked men ran through the shattered windows and splintered wooden door into his home. More noises of crashes and war cry's erupted from the house.

Byakuya hurried back to his house, ending the lives of those who attempted to stop him in his path back to the house. He took down another opponent, his blood adding to the mess on the carpet. He scanned around the corner, and barely dodged the blade of a katana that was aiming for his head. He looked back and connected his blade with his assailant, discovering that it was no other than his wife, her eyes widened in a blood-crazed frenzy.

"Byakuya!" she gasped, lowering her weapon. "Sweetie don't scare me like that," she hissed, kicking an immobile body out of her way. Her sleeping yukata was ripped and splattered with red, with a rip along her right shoulder. His eyes zeroed in as he saw the cut along it.

"Who did-"

"Let's save the machoness for later my dear," she interrupted, wheeling around the corner. Rukia had appeared with three backpacks and her katana strapped across her back, an expression of intense fear on her face. Blood was smeared across her white cheeks and the nobleman saw that a silver mark had appeared on the inside of her wrist.

Hisana looked meaningfully at Rukia. "We'll explain later Ru-ru. Right now we need to leave."

She looked back at her husband and kissed him tenderly on the lips. Byakuya enjoyed the warmth of her soft lips, and cupped her cheek in his hand. "If you're not at the Shiba's within ten minutes of our arrival, i will come back and drag you home."

Byakuya allowed the corners of his mouth to lift at her words. He looked down at Rukia and grasped her by the shoulder. "You follow your sister." he commanded. "You stay by her until you get to the Shiba's no matter what happens."

Rukia nodded with tearful eyes. "Hai, ni-sama."

No sooner did his wife and sister-in-law leave the room when Nnoitra appeared, flanked by three of his minions. He raised the scythe off his shoulder and lowered the point till it was facing Byakuya's direction - a sign of one's challenge to his opponent. Byakuya recognised said gesture and merely shook his head. This man underestimated his opponent.

"I'm going to take great pleasure in watching you die by my hand," the mercenary said spitefully.

Byakuya scoffed and balanced his sword until it was angled out towards the man. Then, with as much venom as he could possibly muster, he spoke uttered his reply.

"We shall see, dog."

The elder sister was no stranger to running, having spent her whole childhood running away from enemies that had been after her bloodline long before she was born. Therefore she knew it was better to be in top shape and to know your exit routes, rather than wait for the enemy to pounce upon you.

The Kuchiki girls ran down the track, rising and falling with the terrain of the land. The waning moon provided just enough light for them to avoid collision with any of the lumbering branches that hung overhead. No matter how much they stumbled, they stayed strong and carried on towards their destination. Surprisingly Hisana managed to keep a level-head about what had transpired this evening, refusing to lose faith in both her husband and her nakama's abilities. The trees gave way to the orchard and Hisana traded rough dirt track for soft grassy terrain.

She came up to a familiar landmark, a set of twin trees entwined about a metre off the ground, where the branches above were crowned with cherry blossoms and peaches. She gestured Rukia to stand back for a moment as she walked up to the trunks. She traced out three triangles with a crescent crowning the trio into the bark of the tree, watching with never-ending fascination as the shapes she made pulsed with a pale blue light. The gap between the trunks shimmered like water, accompanied by muffled noises on the other side.

"Hisana? Wh-what is that?" Rukia stuttered behind her.

Hisana took a step back to appraise her work, motioning for Rukia to come towards her. "It's a portal. We'll be safe on the other side." She'd taken one step towards it, feeling a thrill rush through her as she began to pass through.

"Move quickly Rukia, before someone else follows."

'Wait, Hisana-"

She was almost through, her eyes closed as she waited for the new scenery to open up before her. Her heart swelled with thought of returning to her home realm, back to where it all began-

Thwick!

"HISANA!"