As The Pendulum Swings

Disclaimer: I, in no way, shape or form, own any part of Bleach or the characters used in the story except for Hisashi Kumiko. All rights reserved to Tite Kubo.

Note: Please take note that the story takes place a century before the start of the Bleach storyline. It is set a thousand years (give or take) before hand during the "Turn Back the Pendulum" mini-series. For the plot's sake, I have fast forwarded some of characters' rise in ranks (i.e. Byakuya/Matsumoto/Komamaru/Tosen) to fit the story. I will also be writing in some characters, such as Hisana, earlier than normal. Please enjoy!

Chapter One
Kusajishi's Harlot

Kumiko's legs dangled off of the edge of the floor she currently sat on. Peering over the side of the gaping hole through the three stories of the warehouse, she watched Kensei's attempts to silence a difficult Mashiro who had launched into another one of her trademark fits. She swung her legs back and forth, blue and green high cut sneakers shifting a milimeter forwards then backwards with the gravity behind each swing. She ran a hand through her purple shoulder length hair and sighed, rolling her shoulder in an exaggerated circle to alleviate some of the muscle tension. It had been nearly a decade since Urahara Kisuke had first supplied her with her gigai and she was, until now, unable to move as comfortably in the body as the rest of her companions were.

There was a soft thud next to her, a small cloud of dust flying about as the person took their seat. She looked up to meet a pair of gray eyes fringed by blonde hair. Shinji adjusted his brown hat atop his head after he set his zanpakuto down next to him. He placed a light kiss on Kumiko's forehead. The girl's, or woman's rather, eyes fluttered shut when he did so, seeing and hearing nothing, reveling in the comfort that the warmth of his lips on her skin could give.

Shinji pulled away, "Hiyori's just about done cookin' dinner."

"That's ominous," Kumiko replied, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips as she swung her legs back onto the concrete and falling backwards into Shinji's lap. "I didn't know everyone had some sort of death wish."

Shinji looked down at her, staring at the lime green pools that were directed at some other object, "Well, I suppose we could stay here for a while longer and prolong an untimely death."

Kumiko raised her hands over her head, arching her back in effort to will away the pain from a rather brutal hit that she took from Lisa earlier that day. They were all able to maintain their hollow masks for several hours at a time now, but it didn't hurt to keep going at it and reach new heights. The hem of the white v-neck shirt that Kumiko wore slipped up past the waist of her blue shorts as she stretched her body, a hundred year old tattoo on the left side of her pelvis. Shinji eyed the tattoo before his eyes trailed up a few inches, settling on a scar just a few inches from her belly button. He touched his hands to it as Kumiko relaxed her body, tracing the three inch blemish lightly. The purple haired woman sighed softly, resting her hand on top of his.

"How much longer do you think this is going to take?" Kumiko asked, content to be near Shinji.

"I have a feeling that it won't be much longer till I can make my move," Shinji replied, eying the clear blue sky of Karakura town through the window. "I can feel the instability in the kid's reiatsu but I want to be completely sure before I do anything."

"I can feel it too," Kumiko agreed, "But I have to say that I honestly don't see much of a point behind any of it. The nine of us have spent hundreds of years training ourselves and we're only growing stronger. Even with the presence of the arrancar, we can take them. Why can't we strike now?"

"We'll take our revenge when winter comes to assure our victory," Shinji stated.

"Alongside the assholes that threw us out when we needed them the most?" Kumiko asked bitterly.

Shinji grimaced. Out of all of the vizards, Kumiko was the one who was most unable to let go of her anger. Truth be told, it was sadness masked by anger. The things Kumiko wore were enough of an indication to show just how little she had been able to let go. First there was the shortened blue haori that she wore over her shirt, reminiscent of the captain's haori that she used to wear and a tribute to her memories as a taicho. Her captaincy meant the world to her; the product of an oath that she took many years ago before flames and rubble. The second was the sash that she used to strap her zanpakuto to her back. Shinji found it to be an unconscious statement made by Kumiko as the sash would run over the left portion of her chest, above her heart. It was given to her by someone special, someone who probably thought Kumiko to be a traitor or dead at best.

"A little more patience is required," Shinji said. "We will make our move when the time is right. For now, that kid needs our help. He might even make a valuable addition to our ranks."

"I still think it'll be a waste of time," Kumiko said, standing up and tying her zanpakuto to her back with a long green sash, a complement to her eyes. "His reiatsu seems too unstable at times. He may end up destroying himself despite any effort we exert."

The blonde took the hand that Kumiko extended out to him, looking down at the woman who stood a little more than a head shorter than him. Her haori flurried a little in the rare breeze that came through their make shift home. It's easy to pick yourself back up from the ground and battle with the hollow within you in a decade. Piecing a shattered heart back together? Not so much.

"I'll just have to make sure that he proves you wrong then," Shinji grinned, patting the dust off of the back of his pants.

"Kumiko!" a disgruntled Hiyori yelled from below them, "Get yer ass down here! I'm losin' my patience with this piece of crap you idiots call a stove."

The pair peered over the edge of the second floor and saw Hiyori looking ready to throttle the inanimate object of her fury in the far corner of the bare space they had been living in. It was a far cry from the luxuries that they used to enjoy, but they had made due with the little blessings they had been given. Kumiko pushed herself up on the tip of her toes, grabbing a hold of Shinji's shirt, to kiss the man's lips quickly.

"I'm going to go save our lives," Kumiko said, in reference to the steaming gas stove, waving to Shinji who had remained in his spot as Kumiko stepped over the edge. She landed without trouble on the first floor, walking over to Hiyori with her hands in her pocket.

Shinji brought his foot down on the hilt of his zanpakuto, sending it spinning into the air before he grabbed it with a quick snap of his arm. He shoved his free hand into a pocket, taking Kumiko's lead and stepping uncaringly off of the second floor to rejoin the rest of his kind.

The pendulum slows to a halt, suspended in mid air. Around it, all movements seize. It falls, slowly but surely, in the opposite direction, turning back time to revisit events that took place a thousand years prior to the turbulence of today. Back to its humble beginnings.

"Oy, Kumiko! Quit slackin'!"

A clenched fist shot up into the air as a very long blonde haired head bent down. There was a small crunch as Kumiko tiredly raised her head from the sizable stack of papers she had made her pillow, prying her eyelids apart to survey the damage that she was sure she had caused. Sprawled out on the floor, with the indentation of a fist in the center of his face, the gobantai taicho, Hirako Shinji, held a trembling hand to his face, peering down his nose at the ache that Kumiko had gifted him with.

"What'd ya do that for?!" Shinji bellowed, scrambling to his feet quickly, waving an accusatory finger in his friend's fatigued face.

"That's what you get for startling me!" Kumiko retorted, rising from her seat a little and slamming a fist on her desk.

The force of her fist shook the dozens of towering paperwork on her table and they wobbled slightly, threatening to topple over as all the sleep from Kumiko's face melted away only to be replaced by sheer terror. Both people remained glued to their spots, afraid that even the slightest of movements on their parts would encourage a waterfall of tediously organized reports to tumble down on them. The papers steadied and Shinji, who was standing in front of Kumiko's desk by this time, breathed a long sigh of relief with Kumiko.

"Super kick!"

Shinji's eyes widened suddenly and Kumiko was barely able to yell when Shinji flew forward, his body barrelling through the reports and into the girl that had painstakingly sorted them. They both fell, sorely lacking the finesse and grace of a captain, into a heap on the floor, papers littering the previously spotless tenth division office floors. Hiyori grinned triumphantly from the top of the desk, her hands resting on her hips as she peered at both her intended and accidental victim.

"Sorry 'bout that Kumiko," Hiyori shrugged, a hand scratching at the back of her head. "But you already know that there are casualties to every war, ne?"

The addressed girl groaned a little, deciding that this was one of the worst wake up calls that she had ever gotten, squirming under the weight of Shinji's body as she tried to get up. His unmoving form, however, had done a good job at prohibiting her any movement.

"Get off of me, pervert," Kumiko whined.

"Nah," came a muffled reply as Shinji nuzzled his face into the crook of Kumiko's neck, "I'm starting to like it here."

"Get off of her, pervert."

Shinji rolled himself off of his former lieutenant and sat up, grinning at the jyu-san division taicho who had chosen this particular moment to arrive. Ukitake Juushiro raised an eyebrow before a smile broke over his face, observing the destruction within the office doors.

"Finally feeling better, huh?" Shinji greeted his friend as he stood up. It was only yesterday that Shinji was helping the soon to be fukutaicho, Shiba Kaien, finish up his divisions paperwork as the sickly captain lay in bed.

"Yes, thank you," Juushiro said, crossing his arms as he turned to Kumiko. "I knew you never had an affinity for paper work, Kumiko-san, but I wasn't expecting it to be at this extent."

It was Kumiko's turn to scramble to her feet quickly, "It's not my fault! If Shinji hadn't disturbed me and dragged a wave of blonde destruction along with him, I would have been close to finishing by now!"

"If I hadn't come here, you'd still be drooling all over your paperwork, baka!"

"Better for a few reports to be a little wet than being completely strewn all over my office!"

"So yer admittin' that you drool in yer sleep!"

"Shut yer traps!" Hiyori joined in. "The both of ya!"

Juushiro sighed a little as he watched the interaction between his fellow captains and an amusingly disrespectful lieutenant. Normally, he would find these bouts of bickering to be amusing, this one was no exception. The look of indignation of Kumiko's face along with the rebellious and mocking expression on Hiyori and Shinji's faces were enough to keep him entertained for a good portion of his day. After all it was nice to see the young Shinigami –young by their standards at least- so spirited. It had been nearly ten years since he had first taught Kumiko and seven years since her promotion to taicho by Shinji's and his recommendation.

She was still the same girl that had come to the Sereitei from one of the poorest districts of the Rukongai, determined to become a Shinigami despite the prejudices against her, the same girl who breezed through the Shinigami Academy. The same girl that, being a driven spirit that had survived her fair share of tragedy, now managed to rival Shinji in strength; A fact that she loved to remind Shinji of over and over again.

"You wouldn't be in this situation if you'd found yourself a lieutenant several years ago like you should've!"

"Says the man who took six years to replace me," Kumiko snorted at Shinji, re-tying her long purple hair into a high ponytail, pushing the bangs that constantly fell into her face to the side.

"I still did it before you even began to look for a subordinate," Shinji countered.

"If I remember correctly," Hiyori pointed out, "Kumiko wanted Aizen but you took her pick from her before she even had the chance to tell Yamamoto-sotaicho."

"Who's side are ya on!?"

"I seem to remember that as well," Kumiko said as she set about picking up the reports that littered the floor.

"Well that settles it then," Shinji said, "Yer both bakas."

"I ain't on either of your sides," Hiyori said, spinning on her heel to walk out of the office. "Shinji's an idiot and you, Kumiko, are the pushover that let Shinji get away with it."

"Haven't you ever heard of respecting your superiors?" Kumiko yelled exasperatedly after Hiyori, a vain popping up and throbbing at her temple.

"Like that'll ever happen! Sayanora ya stinkin' baldies."

Shinji and Juushiro assisted in the gathering of reports, handing each of their handfuls to Kumiko as she set about re-organizing everything on her desk. Shinji watched her carefully, her hands working quickly but meticulously as she sorted each piece of paper work into several different piles. He hadn't failed to notice the sweat that lined her brow when he walked into her office earlier. Her purple hair had clumped together against her forehead while her fists clenched and unclenched themselves.

The things that Kumiko had done and been through prior to her acceptance into the Shinigami Academy were no secret to both Juushiro and him. They were both there at the pub, along with Shunsui, Kensei and Hiyori, the one and only time that Kumiko ever shared her story. Like everyone, she had her share of losses, but she was bouncing back from that era in her life, achieving the ultimate success of becoming a captain in the coveted Gotei 13. That, however, didn't mean that the dreams would go away as quickly as they had all hoped they would.

"You alright, Kumiko?" Shinji finally asked. "You were havin' a pretty nasty dream when I walked in."

Juushiro glanced questioningly at Shinji before a gaze of realization fell on Kumiko. He knew exactly what Shinji was talking about. Kumiko's movements halted so briefly that neither of the two men knew whether it had really happened. She resumed her tasks, straightening out a handful of reports as she smiled reassuringly at both of her friends.

"I'm fine, Shinji, Juushiro-senpai," Kumiko said, "They're hardly as bad as they used to be. Nothing I can't deal with, ne?"

"Are you sure?" Juushiro asked.

"I'm sure," Kumiko replied. "Now, how's the lieutenant you stole from me Shinji? And Jushiro-senpai, has Kaien-san accepted your offer yet?"

Shinji sat on the only free spot on Kumiko's desk, an air of carelessness in the way he spoke, "I still think there's somethin' a little off about him. S'why I didn't want him under ya, so that I could keep a good eye on him."

"Baka-nii," Kumiko laughed, "I'm more perceptive than you are."

"Whatever ya wanna think."

"And you, Juushiro-senpai?"

Juushiro walked over to Kumiko's bookshelves, his earlier concern ebbing away. Kumiko's a big girl. She can take of herself. "He's still a little apprehensive about taking the position but I have come to the conclusion that he has already subconsciously accepted it. He's certainly acting the part, bossing everyone around, including me when he can get away with it."

"He always was a little on the pushy side," Kumiko laughed, remembering her past classmate. Regardless of his higher status, Kaien had always treated Kumiko as an equal, a fact that she treasured.

Shinji stared out the office's window, his boredom growing as the impending doom of yet another highly uneventful meeting at the first division closed in on them.

"I know you don't have a lieutenant yet, Hisashi, but you are aware that you have subordinates, right?"

"He's right, Kumiko," Juushiro concurred, "Why don't you have someone else take care of those, ne? It'll give us some time to pass by Shunsui before we have to go to the commemoration ceremony."

Kumiko craned her neck to take a peek out of her office's doors, searching for some poor soul to pass the burden of paper work on to. She almost laughed when she saw her sixth seat, Kaname Soujiro, creeping by, hoping not be seen by his taicho.

"Soujiro."

The sixth seat's figure froze mid step, his face turning a slight shade of blue before turning his head to his captain. He had heard his captain arguing with Hirako-taicho and Sarugaki-fukutaicho earlier and was eager to pass by unnoticed rather than become the proverbial chew toy to his superior's often unstable temper. Soujiro took a big step into the office, body stiff, arms glued to his sides as he bowed.

"H-hai, Hisashi-taicho-dono-sama-senpai," he stuttered, stumbling over the many honorifics that he let slip from his mouth.

"I need to be on my way to the first division," she said, straightening her short-sleeved kosode and her equally altered haori as Shinji and Juushiro watched the exchange with masked amusement and pity respectively. "The ninth division has been persistent in their attempts to collect paper work early for their news magazine so I'll be needing you to organize these."

A singular drop of sweat formed and fell from the shinigami's brow as he bowed even lower, "Hai, taicho!"

"And don't even think of letting Matsumoto anywhere near these," Kumiko added as an afterthought, her busty and boisterous tenth seat suddenly coming to mind.

"H-hai!"

"Ya sure know how to terrorize your squad," Shinji commented as the trio made their way out of the tenth division and towards Shunshui's home. They highly doubted that he would be anywhere near his office as the hachibantai taicho had taken to leaving paperwork to his lieutenant, who had grown fairly skilled at foraging the captain's signature, while he enjoyed copious amounts of sake.

"I haven't mastered it nearly as well as you have," Kumiko laughed. "It makes me wonder how you can keep your subordinates in order, Juushiro-senpai."

"I've been a captain far longer than either of you two," Juushiro pointed out. "It comes naturally."

Kumiko skipped ahead of the two a little, pivoting to face them as she continued her walk backwards. She smiled at the two people she had grown most fond of in the past few years, thanking the heavens for blessing her with a proxy family.

"Yamamoto-sama is assigning a new captain today, isn't he?" she questioned, still walking backwards.

"To the twelfth division, I believe," Juushiro answered, "Hence the ceremony later today."

"Hikifune's done well for herself," Shinji commented, "Zero division's as high as you can get."

Kumiko grimaced, an awkward laugh falling from her lips, "I feel bad for the new taicho already. Being stuck with Hiyo-ORO!"

Kumiko's first mistake was thinking she could walk backwards without eventually falling over. Her track record in the field of grace wasn't exactly impressive and she added to her failure when her heel caught a rock protruding out of the ground. She flailed her hands rapidly about her as she attempted, and failed, to regain lost balance. She fell backwards, when her arms had proven unable to produce enough air to keep her afloat, and shut her eyes tight for the bruising to her rear and ego that sure to come.

Like most things Kumiko thought herself to be sure of, she was proven wrong when the bump never came, falling, instead, back first into a muscular chest, strong hands steadying her by the arms. Juushiro and Shinji chuckled at their accident prone friend as she tilted her head backwards to look up at the face of her catcher. Her eyes trailed up the typical black kosode of the Shinigami uniform, up a neck, onto a defined jaw line, past a few strands of black hair and into a slight purple tinted, dark blue eyes. He was remarkable. He was beautiful.

Kuchiki Byakuya looked down at the girl that had landed unexpectedly in his arms, his eyes growing just a bit wider when he realized just who it was that he had caught. Slightly ahead to his left, he heard his grandfather give a deliberate cough that didn't go unnoticed by either of them. Kumiko quickly regained her balance and bowed slightly to the sixth division taicho, Kuchiki Genrei.

"Kuchiki-taicho," Kumiko squeaked, rising from her bow to greet her elder.

"Hisashi-taicho," he replied with a small and curt nod of his head, a small smile forcing wrinkles onto his aged face. "Hikaro, always a pleasure. Juushiro, it's nice to see you up and about. I assume that you both know my lieutenant and grandson, Byakuya."

"Good afternoon, Hirako-taicho, Ukitake-taicho, Hisashi-taicho," Byakuya said with a small but slightly forced bow, the hair bound by his high ponytail brushing at his cheeks as he did so.

The three captains returned the fukutaicho's greeting with nods and Kumiko laughed slightly as she addressed Byakuya, "Thank you for saving me what's left of my ego, Byakuya-fukutaicho."

Juushiro noted the tension between the two of his former students. It had been a while since they had last seen each other, save the few occurrences that they had ran into each other in passing. It was, Juushiro believed, about seven years since they had actually spent any meaningful time with each other. The last being a few days before Kumiko learned she was going to be a captain. Since then, there had been nothing more than a few glances at each other and a courteous greeting. Even more so after Byakuya was appointed lieutenant of the sixth division.

Kumiko stood with a bit of unease as Byakuya eyed her somewhat coldly. Kumiko had last seen Byakuya in passing at the celebration that Genrei had organized in lieu of his promotion. With the tenth and ninth squads being those usually sent out to deal with any hollow appearances, she had little time to stand about idly. She hadn't even been able to congratulate Byakuya when a hell butterfly appeared to inform her that her squad was being dispatched to deal with an unusual appearance of a Menos. If her squad wasn't patrolling, she was buried under paperwork, having yet to figure out how to get her work done and still have some down time after. Despite the circumstances though, she couldn't shake the feeling that Byakuya was also going out of his way to avoid her.

They had been friends in the past as Genrei had taken a liking to Kumiko in her earlier years as a student, introducing her to both Juushiro and Byakuya. The pair of youngsters then had helped each other grow stronger during large amount of time they had spent together in the academy and the lessons that Juushiro would give them. Byakuya had changed a lot since then, Kumiko noticed. He used to be so hot headed and quick to act on his irritations and anger. It looked he had matured a lot, his face calm and impassive, regarding her with what most would call cold indifference.

"It was no trouble, Hisashi-taicho," Byakuya replied stiffly.

A frown sprouted on Kumiko's face at the realization that Byakuya had refused to speak her name. Kuchiki Genrei's eyes twinkled lightly. It was a shame that Byakuya had chosen to dissolve the relationship they used to have. Then again, with Hisashi's quick rise in rank and the increase in her responsibilities, there was little that either could have done to change the course their lives had taken. Byakuya had his own responsibilities as Genrei's future successor. Genrei cleared his throat; It didn't help that a majority of the Kuchiki clan had made it clear to them both how badly they thought of Kumiko both for necessary actions she took in her past and the mere fact that she was a commoner from the dirtiest parts of the Rukongai. It was as if her rank in the Gotei 13 meant nothing to them. A part of the old man tried to abide by the rules of his noble house as the clan leader should, but the other half hoped that Byakuya would not be as close minded as the rest.

"If you'll excuse us," Genrei said, deciding it best to put an end to the tension. "I trust we will see you all at the commemoration ceremony later. Let's go, Byakuya."

Byakuya took one last look at Kumiko before he followed his grandfather away from the three captains. When Byakuya had first met her, he knew that she was nothing special. She was nowhere near as strong or as pretty and well-mannered as the other girls that he had met through his grandfather or at the Academy. The only thing that she had more of than anyone else was persistence which had obviously done her well. He could feel that her reiatsu had grown considerably and she proved herself at her examinations, Byakuya hiding behind a few pillars as he watched her back then.

Their friendship had long since diminished. He reminded himself of this fact as he continued to follow his grandfather towards Unohana-taicho's office. They were separated by rank now, as well as the fact that Byakuya found it to be problematic to even attempt to go back to the way things used to be. Back when he didn't know that she lived a dirty life and somehow managed to end up in the Sereitei. Back when he didn't care about the uptight rules of aristocracy.

As he and his grandfather neared the fourth division, Byakuya noted something. Her eyes are still as bright and green as I can remember.

[Chapter Two Preview]

"I'm far worse than you are."

"Quiet. There's nothing anyone could possibly say to make me change my mind. Like it or not, you're stuck with me."

"Who says I'll have you?"

They glared at each other for a few moments before their laughter broke the silence and flew about with the wind, petals of falling Sakura blossoms tickling at their cheeks.

[End]

Hope this chapter was satisfactory. A big thank you to my wonderful beta, Rukia23, who coincidentally, has two Bleach stories of her own. If you haven't read them yet, you're missing out. Seriously.

Please let me know what you think.

Jia-ne!