#rivals!au

[cooliogirl101]

Hi, I really love your rivals!au and I was wondering how you think the idea Byakuya having to get a job would have gone down and what sort of job he got?

The bell over the door rang, signaling a new customer, and Byakuya fervently hoped it wasn't anyone he knew. No such luck.

"Kuchiki?" Yukimura Hisana, the bane of his existence, asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like? I'm working," he ground out. God, this was humiliating. He still had no idea why Grandfather had suddenly insisted that he find a job and 'learn what it's like to support yourself.'

Hisana blinked.

"You work here," she said slowly. "You work here."

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?" He asked defensively.

"Not at all." Hisana shook her head and Byakuya felt his shoulders untense slightly. "Just...never thought I'd see the day."

She glanced up at him, a faint smile on her lips. Byakuya swallowed, feeling his heart thump oddly in his chest-- must have had too much caffeine today, he thought.

"Jokes aside though, I know you're probably the last person who needs to work, so for you to get a job? That's...I mean, good for you, Kuchiki," Hisana said, eyes warm.

Byakuya shifted uncomfortably, wondering if he should correct her. It wasn't like he was here by choice, after all-- he was only here because Grandfather had insisted on it, but Hisana was actually being pleasant to him for once (even smiling at him! He hadn't thought the girl could smile), and didn't Grandfather and Yoruichi always urge him to stop arguing so much and make nice with her? And she seemed to be in a rare good mood, it seemed a shame to do anything that could ruin it.

"Were you going to order anything?" He asked, tone coming out more brusque than he intended. But then, it was her fault for making him feel all conflicted, he thought to himself with a scowl.

At that, she straightened up, suddenly all business.

"Right, sorry. I'll take a package of the Red Heaven oolong tea, please," she said.

Byakuya stiffened, startled. That was Grandfather's favorite tea.

"Are you sure you can afford that?" He blurted out. He immediately regretted it when Hisana's face went blank, the warmth in her eyes replaced by something brittle and tired.

"That's none of your concern, Kuchiki," Hisana said stiffly, before pausing.

"Besides, it's for a friend," she said quietly, voice almost inaudible. "I can splurge a little for a friend."

Something of what he was feeling must have shown on his face because her eyes narrowed.

"Don't you dare pity me, Kuchiki," she said, voice ice-cold, sliding a bag of kan across the counter. Byakuya had no doubt it would contain the exact amount of money to pay for the tea, no more, no less. "Congratulations on the new job. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

(General comments and reviews of Byakuya’s social/flirting skills are appreciated)

[blushing-starker]

@yumichiibi requested SIM!Tony and Rebel!Peter. I went crazy on Pinterest.

[sinisterchristmastree]

A: *points at C* why is he still here?

B: *pissed off af* Because he's so damn stupid he forgot to die when I killed him!

[cooliogirl101]

rip Byakuya's social/flirting skills. How old was he mentally, 12-15? Yoruichi and his grandpa would be sighing in despair non-stop had they seen this and went "where did I go wrong with this boy". He was all like "she's in a rare good mood, don't ruin it!" and then did precisely that. Not once, but twice!

He’s like 14 in that AU and yeah, he’s got a loooooong way to go.

And yup, you summed up Yoruichi and Ginrei’s reactions pretty well.

(“Quite a charmer you’re raising there, Ginrei-san,” Shunsui stated, wryly amused.

“I don’t understand,” Ginrei murmured, resting his forehead in his palm. “Sojun was never this bad.”

“…maybe we should do something?” Juushiro suggested. “For Hisana-chan’s sake, if nothing else.”

“Seriously,” Yoruichi muttered under her breath. She had her head buried in her arms. “This is getting painful to watch.”)

[cooliogirl101]

I think Yoruichi is definitely the worst, which is ironic because I thought she would've been the best (since she had a little brother and seemed pretty good with him until she abandoned him? Not a baby, but it should count for something, right?). How do you think Urahara would do? I will laugh if he's actually the best, just by virtue of not being more terrible than the others.

Urahara:

“You locked my sister in a cage?!” Hisana shrieked, looking surprisingly intimidating for someone a solid 2 feet shorter than he was.

“A very nice cage,” he protested meekly. “It’s quite roomy, actually. I even added some lab coats for padding.”

“I. Don’t. Care,” Hisana fumed, enunciating each syllable with rage. “It’s still a goddamn cage!”

“Language,” Kisuke said automatically, then immediately regretted it at Hisana’s answering expression.

“I mean, what else was I supposed to do?” He defended himself. “She was crawling all over the place! At least this way, I could make sure she stayed in one place!”

“I suppose,” Hisana answered slowly. To Kisuke’s relief, she appeared to be calming down. “Fine. I guess your intentions were good, even if your methods left something to be desired. Still, don’t do it again!”

As she stormed off, Kisuke caught her muttering to herself,

“Well. At least he didn’t cause her to throw up.”

(Also I find it hilarious that everyone has different opinions on who’s the worst babysitter. So far I’ve gotten Yoruichi, Rose, and Kyouraku lol)

[cooliogirl101]

will there be betting pools in rivals!au regarding Byakuya and Hisana's relationship like in WTL, or it takes so fricking long for Byakuya to stop swimming in the sea of denial and for Hisana to realize her feelings that those people either gives up on their bets or forget about it?

I think the bets would have less to do about their relationship, more to do about what exactly the fuck is going on with Yukimura Hisana. Like from the average person’s perspective, she went from penniless Rukongai nobody to somehow being friends with like half the captains overnight???? And she has the Kuchiki heir pining after her??? (Byakuya stopped denying his feelings shortly after she saved his dad). It’s literally the most meteoric rise in social status the Seireitei has ever seen and the worst part is, she doesn’t seem to get what the big deal is.

Some random classmate: How did you do it? How did you, of all people, manage to gain the favor of half the Gotei 13’s elite?

Hisana, shrugging: idk I just…talked to them? You should try it sometime, they’re very nice. Make terrible babysitters though, 0/10 would not recommend.

[cooliogirl101]

For Hisana, my favourite AU is the one where she and Rukia go to Seireitei first thing, and you have single mother Hisana raising Rukia while attending the Academy and having three part-time jobs. Meanwhile, on the background, Hisana has stealth befriended several Captains/nobles who all want to help her but are frustrated by Hisana insistence on self-sufficiency.

Ah, the rivals AU. Yeah, Hisana really does have a knack for driving really powerful/influential people up the wall.

Hisana: Wait, your birthday’s coming up?Congratulations! What do you want? I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try my best to get it for you!

Yoruichi: For you to let me pay off your bills for the next thousand years or so.

Hisana: Haha very funny, you and your jokes :) Now what do you really want?

Yoruichi: To shake you until you get some sense knocked into you, you impossible little—

Kyouraku, covering Yoruichi’s mouth with one hand: She wants tea. Some nice, relaxing, calming tea.

~one week later~

Hisana, anxiously: Do you like it? I don’t drink tea much so I wasn’t sure what kind to get, but this is the brand one of my friends drinks, and he’s got really good taste in everything so I figured I couldn’t go wrong with it—

Yoruichi, instantly recognizing the tea in her hands as the same ridiculously expensive kind that Kuchiki Ginrei drinks, and knowing that Hisana probably spent at least 3 months’ salary on it: I’ve felt less guilt murdering entire families than I do at this moment.

Also Yoruichi: So what if I’ve tortured dozens of people for information? So what if I’ve killed more people than I can count? Does that mean I deserve to be haunted by guilt in the form of a tiny, impossibly generous, ridiculously compassionate orphan girl for the rest of my life? I think not.

[cooliogirl101]

Did Hisana ever forgive the captains for not telling her they were captains in the rival!AU?

Well yes, because she’s Hisana. She’s always been really, really bad at holding a grudge against the people she cares about. So after her initial freak-out, she locks herself away for a few hours and tries to think about the whole thing rationally.

(Hisana: Okay, so they didn’t tell me they were captains. It’s not like I ever asked. Okay, so I’ve been friends with (multiple) captains this entire time. So what? Lots of people are friends with captains. Granted, most of them are captains or otherwise high-ranked officers themselves, but there’s a first time for everything. Okay, so they’re strong enough to kill me in less time than it takes to blink.They haven’t yet.)

“Nothing has to change, right?” Hisana asked in a small voice. “I mean, things can stay the same way they are now?”

“Absolutely,” Shunsui says, offering her a warm smile tinged with more than a hint of relief. “Nothing has to change. Not if you don’t want it to, sweetheart.” 

“Does this mean you forgive us?” Yoruichi asked.

“I mean…don’t get me wrong. I’m still mad,” Hisana said after a pause. And she felt more than a little stupid. “But I decided that ultimately, I’m not mad enough to want to lose you. 

“Let us make it up to you, then?” Juushiro asked, a little too eagerly.

“I second that. It’s only proper,” Ginrei added. 

“No, no, that’s not necessary. I just need some time to process all of this, that’s all,” Hisana waved him off, not noticing the way the shoulders of all four captains in front of her slumped in disappointment. “This is so strange, that all of my closest friends ended up being captains.” She laughed a little. “Next you’ll be telling me that the weird blond man who wanders down the streets playing the violin at 3 am is also a captain.”

There was an awkward pause.

“Weird blond man, you say?” Yoruichi asked, a strange look on her face. 

“Yeah. He’s pretty good, actually. I mean, not as good as he seems to think, but…not bad.” A wistful look crossed her face. “He let me play his violin once. Nice man. Tried to give me a violin of my own, even. I refused, of course,” Hisana added hastily, seeing the suddenly stony expression on Ginrei’s face. “If he’s resorted to playing on street corners in the middle of the night for money, he should hardly be buying gifts for me. Tried telling him he could stay with me for the time being– I know my place isn’t much, but at least it’s got a bed and a roof, you know?– but he wouldn’t hear of it. Some people and their pride, I’m telling you.”

“Yes, I’m quite aware of how…frustrating it can be when a person’s pride prevents them from accepting any help,” Ginrei said, voice tight. “Excuse me. There’s someone I need to speak to.”