Given Choice [Byakuya x OC]

15

"Captain, you mustn't leave the barracks alone!" Lieutenant Shuhei adviced with a concerned frown on his face. "It's a trap to capture you!"

"Lieutenant Hisagi," Ora started with a small smile. "I must go, but they didn't write that I should go alone." She approached her lieutenant. 

"Captain Kuchiki, I shall protect you!" He said. "I'm going with y-" Shuhei felt something thin and sharp piercing his neck. He felt drowsy right away and fell on the ground, only being able to look at his captain, who had a small needle in her hands. "C-Captain Kuchiki, why?"

"I'm sorry Shuhei, but you must stay here to protect the headquarters in my place." She smiled kindly at him. She walked towards a chest and grabbed her zanpakuto. 

"Time to work, Sesshoumaru." Ora clenched her hand around the sword.

'As you wish, my lady.'

The moon was full that night. The view of Rukongai  was slowly fading behind Ora as she made her way to her destination. Not only that, she felt her blood boiling of excitement as she got closer to the North Hill, the hill used to dispose the bodies of the slaughtered Hollows that were able to get closer to Seireitei, or at least, the ones that didn't make it to Twelfth Squad's laboratories. It was common for children to be scared of that place because they believed it was haunted. Ora heard that story a long time ago with the other children at Rukongai when she visited it with her grandfather - she used to sneak up to Rukongai sometimes and every time she was caught by the First Squad's Lieutenant. A small smile charmed Ora's face with the silly memory of her grandfather sloppily scolding her - and feeling bad for it afterwards, he would come up with a training session where they would just sit around and talk about what Ora has seen in town.

However, the Hill that was in front of her looked nothing more than a hill. A place that would be the stage of a meaningless fight. As she stepped further, she sensed the reiatsu  of multiple soul reapers. She knew that she wasn't accepted at the quarters by a small amount of retainers, but somehow she felt that they wouldn't go this far just to make sure she was able to lead them. It just didn't sound right.

So there she was, in the middle of a small meadow, surrounded by six, no, seven, soul reapers hiding in the shadows. She felt that it was pointless, but since they were so serious about this, she had to play her part too.
"Come along now," she said loudly, "what kind of warriors hide from their own captain?"

Slowly, their reiatsu moved closer, enlightening the seven silhouettes through the moonlight. Ora knew that something was odd about their ambush, like it wasn't totally organized or even structured to be considered an actual ambush. She took a quick look at her retainers, all walking towards her with swords in hand. "You're not our Captain", one of them had said, "You're merely a replacement while Captain Tosen is missing."

Ora chuckled. "Fool, do you still think he's coming back? He's with Aizen now, that makes him a traitor."

One of them dashed towards Ora, but she effortlessly dodged him and smashed the hilt of her sword in his head, knocking him out instantly. "You should be ashamed of yourselves, lurking around your captain and trying to do something disloyal to Seireitei. What do you think it's going to happen now?", she flash-stepped before two of her retainers and knocked them out with a swift movement of her palm.
"I suppose you already know. By law, the lot of you will be punished according to my terms."

"That's only if you get out alive," one of them burst out, "And we won't let you get away from us!". He ran towards Ora with sword pointing towards her, his eyes were oddly apatic and hollow, as if he wasn't the one fighting.