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Ok, so here goes... my first fanfic. I've been thinking of writing for a while, and finally, here it is. Enjoy, and don't flame. If you don't like it, try constructive criticism.

They came again. Wave after wave of hollows, varying from huge to adjuchas menos. Kuchiki Byakuya stoically directed the full force of his Ban Kai, tearing through the ranks of hollows with ease. Almost the entire 6th division, along with elements of the 4th and 7th, had been deployed on this beachhead in Hueco Mundo. There were three positions that the Gotei 13 had decided should be held, and this one was his responsibility. He found himself remembering the captains meeting when they had been informed of the soutaicho's decision to invade Hueco Mundo.

"As you all know", Yamamoto said, "we recently defeated Aizen Sosuke and his band of arrancar. His lieutenants were put to death, over half of his espada were slain in battle along with the majority of his normal arrancar. This cost us dearly. But the fact that an army of hollows could besiege the soul society, our very home, is unacceptable. Therefore, it is my decision as general commander to carry out a purge into the very heart of Hueco Mundo"
"A purge?" It was the 10th scuad captain who spoke up.
"Surely you can't mean..." came the voice of Kyoraku Shunsui, 8th division captain.
"Yes!" said Yamamoto. "We will lead an army into Hueco Mundo, kill thousands of hollows, and mop up the remaining arrancar. Exterminating all hollows is impossible, but it is time they are taught their place"
"Sounds like fun." said one Zaraki Kenpachi. "When do we start?

They had started two weeks later, the 11th, 6th and 1st divisions leading the charge, all of them supported by the other divisions. And here he was, killing menos-level hollows, holding the line. He could see the massive form of Renji's Hihio Zabimaru swing about, reaping a bloody tally among the neverending masses of hollows. (or it would have, but hollows don't bleed)

Then it happened. The kido-powered combat communications radio in his ear flickered to life, as he heard her cry out for help.

"This is Kuchiki Rukia of the 13th divisions support squad. My squadmates have been ambushed, and are all dead or worse. I am outnumbered and alone some twenty kilometres from battle position three. If anyone hears, this I'm in need of immediate- aargh!" Her voice was silenced by the roars of multiple hollows, and the radio went silent. Byakuya quickly thougt of his otions. He could quickly reach Rukia, but if he did so, his position would surely be overrunned- the force of his and Renji's Ban Kai were the only thing that held the line.

"I hate my life." Byakuya thought. "Why must it once again come down to my duty to Hisana or my duty to the seiretei?" With a frustrated grunt, Byakuya turned to his fukutaicho. "Renji. I must ask you to take care of things yourself. I have pressing matters to attend to"
"Wait, taich-"
But Byakuya was already gone, speeding towards Rukias position.

Rukia struggled to remain upright, and sode no shirayuki felt heavy to wield. She was facing a short, female arrancar, who had taken her time torturing her. Rukia had no doubt that if she had faced her when rested and healed, she could easily have taken her- she had defeated the nuveno espada, after all- but she was weak after hours of fighting, and she bled from what felt like a hundred cuts.
Finally, the arrancar took a death-grip on her throat, obviously meaning to finish her.

"Look at you now, shingami." she taunted. "So weak. I think I'll take my time killing you. First I'll claw your face to a bloody mess, then I'll rip your arms to pieces, and to finish off, I think I will carve a message into your body with your own zanpakuto." She laughed evilly, filled with glee and anticipation. But just as she raised her hand Rukia heard the faintest of sounds. She was sure she imagined it, but it sounded like "Chire, zenbonsakura".

Suddenly, the female arrancars face exploded in a shower of blood, and she let go of Rukia. Rukia saw that the arrancar had lost an eye, and all of her face looked raw. Then, a flurry of pink, and the right arm went useless, cut to pieces, followed quickly by the demise of her left arm.

"I hope you don't mind, but I borrowed your ideas, arrancar." a cold voice called out. Rukia felt nothing but relief. Only her nii-sama spoke with such authoritarian calm.
"I don't think i shall carve your body, however. I won't stoop to torture." Byakuuya spoke as he became visible, walking over a sand dune.
"Damn you!" the arrancar cried. "I'll..." What she meant to do, we'll never know, for the next moment zenbonsakura took her head off.

"N-nii-sama..." Rukia stuttered.
"Don't talk. We need to get you some medical attention, quickly." Byakuya said, calm as ever.
And in a flash, he was gone, carrying Rukia to safety.

As Byakuya approached the 6th divisions battle position, his fears were made whole. The ground had become littered with the bodies of dead shinigami in the time he was gone. Currently, there were no hollows to be seen, but he knew that before long, they would return.

"Taicho, where the hell have you been!" Renji's angry voice called out. "We are fighting a losing battle cuz' you left! What... oh." His voice went quiet as he saw the limp form of Rukia in his arms.
"Get a seated officer from 4th, now!" Byakuya commanded. "Hai!" Renji responded.
Once that had been taken care of, Byakuya turned to Renji.
"Abarai. Damage report"
"We have lost at least half of our forces, all of them seated officers. Right now, the hollows have pulled back, but they'll be back soon"
"When can we expect reinforcements?"
"Not soon enough."
"I see. It is lost then. Have any unijured, high-ranking officer evacute our forces through the gateway. We will hold them back until everyone is safe"
"But, taicho... that would mean accepting defeat. We could still fight."
"Renji, we are beat. If we stay, our defeat is not a matter of how, but when. What is the status of battle positions one and two?"
"Last update says that 1st and 11th are succesfully holding position."
"Good." activating his combat communications radio, Byakuya spoke out: "This is battle station three's captain, Kuchiki Byakuya. Battle position three is falling. Evacutaing all surviving soldiers. Kuchiki out."

Three days later, Byakuya found himself staring back at the Kuchiki elder council. His actions had been deemed "shameful", and Byakuya could only agree.
"Kuchiki Byakuya" the elder spokesman began. "Do you realize how much your actions have shamed the honorable house of Kuchiki, the foremost of all nouble houses, most prestigous of all?" At this, several angry elders spoke their mind, most unpleased with him.
"I am aware. There is no need to lecture me on honour. I knew what I was doing, and I would do it again."
"I see. Why did you fail to uphold the honor of your house? Why did you abandon your post in the heat of battle?" At this, several elders let their discontent be heard once more.
"I was torn between my oath to my late wife and my oath to the Kuchiki clan and the seiretei. I chose one of them."
"I see. If this was a first, then we could overlook it, but you have betrayed the rules before. We must take disciplinary action, I'm afraid."
"What are you talking about?" Byakuya sneered. "Like it or not, I'm the clan head. You have no power over me!"
"Not quite, Byakuya-sama. The clan laws state that if the elder council agrees completely, a clan head can be de-throned."
Here, Byakuya felt, he stood at a crossroads. He could kill an elder, crush his oppositon and rule his clan with the iron hand of a tyrant. Or, he could accept being demoted. The first sounded tempting, but he knew he was no murderer. He would no longer be clan head.
"Furthermore", the elder continued, "You may consider yourself suspended from nobility. You may keep your name for now, and there is a fund containing all the money you've earned as a captain. That is all. And, oh, the soutaicho has summoned you."

Byakuya felt as if he was falling into an abyss. He was no longer clan head. In actuality, he was not even noble anymore. Slowly, he made his way to the soutaichos office.

"You wished to see me, Yamamoto-sama"
The ancient soutaicho turned to face him. "This is about your actions in Hueco Mundo. You abandoned your post and caused us to lose an important position, and the lives of many shinigami. Normally this would cause some form of disciplinary action, but but your record is almost flawless. But for some reason, the Kuchiki are using every ounce of their political power to put pressure on me. I regret to inform you that I have no choice but to strip you of your rank as captain"
"Wha...?" was all Byakuya could get out.
"I would guess someone is out to seize your power as head, and that someone wants you out of the way. This was most convenient, don't you think? Worry not, Byakuya. I shall try to reinstate you as soon as possible"
"Wha..." said a still dumbstruck Byakuya.

He did not know how he got out of Yamamotos office he couldn't remember. He never did, really. Suddenly he just stood there, in the street.

"I'm not the Kuchiki clan head. I'm not a captain." he thought to himself. "Who am I, really?"

A/N: End chapter one. Read and review. New chapter soon.