Itachi Rebirth: A Shinigami Tale

'Uchiha Itachi...' Ukitake thought to himself before returning to the 13th division barracks.

-----

Itachi concluded the meeting and the members of the detention unit began to leave and return to the Maggot's Nest. Itachi felt Omaeda's jealous gaze but as he turned to face him, he quickly looked away and quickly crammed down a bag of rice crackers. Itachi gave him a light smile before leaving the room.

Itachi walked down the long hallway leading outside of the barracks. During this time, he thought about his training and developing new ways to use kido. 'So far I've been trying to develop techniques that were either just Bakudo or just Hado...but what if I were to combine two using a dual incantation…' Itachi's thoughts are interrupted as he sees a hell's buŧŧerfly flying towards him. Itachi reaches his hand out and it lands on his finger. 'So the Captain wants to see me urgently. I wonder what for.' Itachi thinks as he turns back around to head to the Captain's office.

Itachi walked into the center office, and could see Soi Fon sitting behind a desk while shuffling through a large stack of papers in her hands. She was looking through a list of profiles from her squad.

"Who would be a good fit….." she mumbled to herself. She sensed someone's arrival and looked up to see Itachi standing at the entrance. She gestured to him to come in.

"Captain, you wanted to see me?" Itachi asked as he walked up to her desk.

"Yes, I have some news." Soi Fon replied.

Itachi remained silent and waited for the captain to finish.

"There was an incident very recently that was also the reason that the captains were called to a meeting today. It was because of the death of Lieutenant-Captain Shiba of the 13th Division."

Itachi was surprised. The death of Lieutenant was indeed surprising as they were generally the second strongest in their squads and the death of one was a great loss of strength.

"Was a hollow involved with his death?" Itachi asked.

"Yes, and a hollow that powerful rarely appears in Soul Society." Soi Fon answered.

"This probably isn't the reason you called me here with the instructions to report immediately." Itachi commented, questioning the Captain's intentions of summoning him only to talk about a lieutenant's death.

"Of course not. The reason I called was because I recommended you to the Thirteenth Division Captain to be their new Lieutenant." Soi Fon replied.

"What lead to you recommending me?" Itachi asked as he maintained his stoic demeanor but on the inside, he was surprised as he had not had any thoughts about increasing his rank at the moment. The only thing he was focused on at the moment was increasing his strength and gathering information. Although he would have more access to information, he did not want to bring too much attention to himself on his suspicion of Captain Aizen whom he still hasn't found concrete evidence in relation to the hollows from the field exercise.

"I won't beat around the bush Uchiha. Although your strength is great, your ideologies conflict with the way of the Onmitsukido. This was also the reason that I made you the warden of the Maggots Nest, but I am sure you already realized this." Soi Fon replied.

"Yes." Itachi already figured out why he had been promoted to third seat. He also had a verbal clash with the captain due to this reason in one of his earlier missions years ago.

"It would be a shame to see your abilities wasted for this position, so I recommended you to the thirteenth division. Of course, this is just an option, I won't force this upon you. So the choice is with you. I will allow you until the end of the day to make your decision. You are dismissed. Soi Foi said before signaling Itachi to leave.

Itachi walked out the room and made his way towards his room. 'A lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division…'

------

The day passes and Itachi heads to the main hall, he walks into the main office to see Soi Fon seated behind her desk. She looked up towards Itachi.

"So, you've made your decision?"

Itachi nodded with a determined gaze.

"I accept."

"Good, then I will inform Captain Ukitake about your arrival. In the meantime, take a seat. I need you to fill out these forms before you are processed into the Thirteenth Division. It's a hassle but it's part of the procedure especially because you are switching divisions. Soi Fon said as she pushed a stack of paperwork towards Itachi. Itachi sat down and began signing papers for the next half an hour. As he finished his last signature, he stood back up.

Itachi made a quick bow to Soi Fon. "Thank you for everything."

Soi Fon's cold gaze lightened slightly as she nodded.

"Now get out of my office Lieutenant Uchiha."

Itachi turned and left the building. As he walked back he ran into Taro and Daiyu. He conversed with them for a few moments. He informed them about his transfer to the thirteenth division as the Lieutenant . They both congratulated him and wished him the best. He bid them farewell and made his way back to his room. He lied down and stared at the ceiling. He thought about many things during his time at the second division. He thought about the future. And finally he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

-----

The next morning, Itachi stood at the front of the Division Thirteen barracks. As he walked through the courtyard, he felt the eyes of various shinigami looking at him. He paid it no heed and walked into the main hall. When he entered the room, he saw a tall man standing near a bonsai tree. He had white hair with black eyebrows and a somewhat emaciated appearance.

"Ah, you must Uchiha. Captain Soi Fon informed me of your arrival." Ukitake says upon seeing Itachi walk in.

"Yes, Captain Ukitake. Uchiha Itachi reporting." Itachi says as he bows. Ukitake looks at him for a moment.

"Ah, you don't have to be that formal with me, Uchiha. You won't have to be as formal as you were in the 2nd division." Ukitake says as he walks towards Itachi. He reaches his hand out to Itachi. Itachi looks back up and shakes his hand.

"Come with me, I'll introduce you to some of the squad members who are currently here." Ukitake says as he gestures to Itachi to follow him. Itachi nods and he follows. The two of them walk down a long hallway leading to a door. Ukitake opens the doors and gestures for Itachi to go first. Itachi walks through and sees a large group of people in front of him talking among themselves. The door closes behind him and Ukitake stands in front of them. He quiets them down before speaking.

"Everyone, I would like you all to meet the newest member of our squad. He transferred over from the Second Division. Come forward and introduce yourself." Ukitake looks at Itachi who was standing behind him and Itachi steps forward in front of the group of people.

"Hello, I am Uchiha Itachi. I've been ȧssigned as the Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division starting from today. I look forward to working with all of you.��� Itachi says to the group of shinigami in front of him who were giving him awkward stares. There was an awkward silence and tension in the room. Itachi realizes it must be because their previous lieutenant just died and they haven't acknowledged an outsider from a different division as their lieutenant.

"Okay everyone, how about we all disperse for a moment. I need to show Uchiha around the division." Ukitake says with a smile on his face. The shinigami acknowledge their captain and slowly trickle out from the room.

"This was my mistake, Uchiha. I was hoping there would be a slightly warmer reception. Please forgive them. Ukitake said apologetically.

"That's okay captain, I can see in their eyes how much they admired the previous lieutenant." Itachi replied.

"Thank you for understanding, I was going to have someone show you around, but she is still rather dispirited, so if you don't mind, I will show you around for now. Ukitake said.

"Thank you," Itachi replied before following behind the captain.

------

In the span of half an hour, Ukitake introduced Itachi to the facilities and duties he would be performing as the lieutenant.

"Alright Uchiha, you will be responsible for day to day operations of the division. There may be times when you would be required to go on missions too dangerous for normal shinigami. You haven't met them yet as they weren't at the reception earlier, but the two third seats Kiyone and Sentaro will also ȧssist with the general day to day things."

"Alright if--" Before he could finish, Ukitake suddenly keeled over and started coughing.

"Captain!" Itachi quickly appeared by his side. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Ah.. yes" Ukitake weakly replied. "I will just need to rest for a bit."

"Please allow me to ȧssist you back." Itachi replied before helping the captain up and ȧssisting him to his room.

As he was approaching the room, he saw two shinigami walking towards the room as well. One was a female with short, dark blonde hair. She was wearing a collared shirt under her shihakusho and white gloves. The other was a tall man with black hair and a short goatee, he was wearing a thin headband and two white straps around his shoulders.

The two looked towards Itachi and their captain who was coughing. They immediately rushed over towards Ukitake.

"Captain, are you alright?!" The two said at the same time as they approached.

"Ah.. you two. Don't worry, I am alright…" Ukitake replied.

"Sir.. This is?" Kiyone questioned.

"Yes.. this is the new lieutenant of the thirteenth division, Uchiha, Itachi" Ukitake replied.

"I see. Nice to meet you, we will take it from here" Kiyone replied

"Ah.. Uchiha, before I go, I forgot to give you your lieutenant badge. It should be on my desk in the main office, feel free to pick it." Ukitake said before the two shinigami ȧssisted him back to his room.

-------

Itachi began walking back towards the main office. He noticed a short shinigami with short black hair standing by the entrance of the room. He hadn't seen this shinigami in the welcome reception. He tried his best to memorize each individual as he would be responsible for their activities in the division.

Itachi approached the young woman.

"Hello, can I ȧssist you?" Itachi asked.

The young woman was startled at Itachi's question. She was completely inattentive to his arrival. She was waiting outside the captain's office so she could speak to Captain Ukitake..

"I am sorry, I don't think we have met. I am Kuchiki, Rukia."