Then and Now [P | Odd]

KUCHIKI BYAKUYA . Sixth division TAICHOU . HEAD OF THE NOBLE KUCHIKI CLAN YOU THINK YOURSELF MY EQUAL WHEN IN TRUTH YOU AREN'T EVEN CLOSE TO MY LEVEL [keepkeep]

Today, like most days in the Seireitei lately, was a day without rest for the Captain of the Sixth Division, busily doing his paperwork and running errands that required his immediate attention. For some it might seem far too much for a single person to handle, but Byakuya was well acclimated to this kind of thing. So when his Substitute Shinigami Representative had first approached him he made sure to do so in a timely manner, and though she was very well versed in politics and mannerisms she lacked battle experience and the knowledge required to do her job properly. Captain Kurotsuchi might've been skilled but even so conditioning the body to respond to certain queues was harder than some might think, as Byakuya's own combat expertise would state. One had to be able to both think on the fly as well as make calculated precise decisions in a fractions of a fraction of a second if they wished to survive on the battlefield, sure her Reiatsu was impressive but without proper training it would simply flop when push came to shove. His goal, when sending her to meet Ichigo Kurosaki, was to try and teach her that just because she had power didn't mean she was ready for field combat and that simply being too up-tight would end up hindering you more than helping. Lessons that Byakuya himself learned from Ichigo what felt like an eternity ago.

A very different Byakuya now sat in the chair as he allowed Kaori entrance, entrance that he granted before she spoke who she was, a Byakuya that at one point wouldn't of even been a possibility if it hadn't been for Ichigo. But now as she entered and he directed her to sit down he said nothing, instead he had a very familiar set of papers inside of a folder sitting on his desk. Once she was seated he carefully slid the folder over to the girl without a single word, if she took it and opened it she would see the same files from before staring back at her, the same pictures the same everything. That is... with the exception of the very final piece of paper. On it were two very delicate and carefully sentences.



Such was the first sentence, one that Byakuya had written himself after monitoring Kaori's progress with Ichigo... However the second sentence was far less kind and very obviously meant for Kaori's eyes.

Once she was finished reading Byakuya would finally speak "That is my report after monitoring your progress with Kurosaki Ichigo. I have yet to submit it however, Your potential for greatness rivals even the lieutenants and that is not something I say lightly. From here on I shall be personally looking after your combat training, your mannerisms are good however your demeanor needs adjustment. Kurosaki Ichigo is the reason I sit here as I am today, more importantly he is the reason you are here before me. You owe much to him and you would be remiss to forget it. Before I say anymore however, Tell me in your own words. What did you learn from your encounter with Kurosaki Ichigo?"

This was her true test, this would determine just how apt she was at learning on the fly. He had given her everything she needed, told her exactly where she needed to improve in... But at the same time, would she realize exactly what these words meant? Could she interpret what Byakuya was trying to teach her? To find the answer... She needed to look no further than the man who now sat before her. As she was she was much like how Byakuya was before meeting Ichigo, what she needed to learn was to become less like him and more like the man she sat before now. However not exactly alike, such a thing would simply not be what Byakuya was trying to instill, but rather she needed to find a balancing point between who she is now and who she could become.