Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

Tag	By : LilMonk Category: Bleach > Het - Male/Female Views: 11404 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Disclaimers: Bleach is the
sole property of Kubo Tite. I only own this fanfic.

A/N:Words in Italics denotes personal thoughts
(hence scenes of the past are in this font, as they are being remembered).

To make the scenes clearer:

*******

Followed by words in this font = Past

*******

*******

Followed by words mainly in this
font = Present.

*******

Previously:

�Tell me about her. She sounds very
special.�

The only sound for the next few
seconds was deep, ragged breathing becoming even. She waited.

�Hisana� was the reason why I
adopted Rukia as a sister. Fifty-four years ago, she-�

0o----------------------------o0

I hear; therefore I know

�It�s gone. That�s good,
Byakuya-sama.�

Looking down at the petite woman
who was heaping his lap with sakura blossoms, he smiled. Sunset was a moment where
dreams and reality met, a fitting description for his wife. At times like
these, he could pretend that he loved her as much as she did towards him�
almost.

Her guilt was a sister he had
never met. His guilt was a solace she would never know about. Putting such
individual factors together, it made the tormented couple feel more indebted
towards each other.

�Being with you is always a good
thing.�

A small finger was waggled in
front of his nose, as she gently chided him for trying to cover up the fact
that he had no idea what she was referring to.

�I meant that indescribable
sadness� it was lessening whenever I saw you but even on our wedding day, it
still lingered. The anguish of one who�s irrevocably lost a cherished secret.�

Her depth of perception stunned
him. Seeing her draw back fearfully, he realized he must look rather wrathful.
Drawing her back into a cuddle, long fingers smoothed stray hair off her face.

�You never cease to amaze me,
Hisana.�

Feeling her snuggle closer
within his embrace, he sighed contentedly. She was almost everything his
remaining relatives could have hoped for. They had grudgingly overlooked the
lack of noble heritage, not that it bothered him. Now she was something he had,
although he wasn�t entirely sure about the wanting part. Anyway, he could not
have ignored her plight. Neither had he expected this friendship to develop
into� Anyway, in return, she was a long-awaited balm. Demure, dreamy, good-natured
bumbling he could not take offense with� a quaint picture of modest
bashfulness. Although she was somewhat timid and prone to bouts of touchy
sensitivity, that only heightened the fragile dearness of her disposition.
Bending down, he whispered something mischievous into her ear.

For a faint moment, fading
echoes of her bubbly laughter was twisted by the wind into something huskier,
but no less sweeter in honesty. Like the ghost of fleeting mahogany
gracefulness adorned with woven shadow; romping amidst windborne plum blossoms
in a carefree dance, and revealing dual flashes of fringed sunlight�

He could look back on those
memories without hurting so much. The cherry blossoms were gradually healing
the void in him, and the future was full of gleaming optimism, even if it was
slightly frayed at the edges.

Until everything came crashing
down four years later, leaving him bereft of warmth once more. Winter returned
in all its icy desolation.

*******

Deep sorrow was evident even in his
strength. Yoruichi wished she could do something useful, but there was nothing
she could think of. Wrapping an arm about his shoulders, a sibilant whisper
reached his ears. It was too dark to see her but there was considerate kindness
in her words.

�You have people here who need you,
like your family and the sixth division. Someday� you will wake up and find
another precious person by your side once more.�

She was thankful for the lack of
visibility. It would not reveal suspicious shininess threatening to spill over her
lashes, nor the avid pain etched in every line of her smiling countenance. What
a fool she was; absence away from him had not changed a damn thing. The keen
pang of shed agony was absorbed by woolen thickness as she buried her face in
it. You�ve moved on. It�s comforting to know� you�ll be fine. Your wife
didn�t deserve to die. How I envy Hisana, that she could do what I didn�t- what
I can�t�making you happy�

He didn�t know how long he had lain there; one arm draped about a narrow
waist. Inhaling the scent of damp cold and familiar earthiness and listening to
the even, peaceful breathing, long fingers crept up to touch a cool cheek. Why
was it moist? Had she been crying? Why would you do that�She was
half-cushioned on top of his body, using his chest as a pillow.

This woman had always been regarded as distantly ruthless; lethal
unpredictability fortified through conflicting rumours by the masses. Labelled
as a calculative goddess who feared nothing and did not care about consequences...
Yet he could not ever believe a single word of such gossip, because he had
seen. And touched. And felt innocent strength that defied the cruel ravages of
time and experience to remain pure.

Intimately friendly respect that prevailed from the captains who�d truly
known her, were testimony to that.

Did you understand why I told you about her?
Why I chose her? What should be done now?

Wrapping his arms around her, it was quite some time later before
weariness overtook him into slumber.

******

So relaxed in repose� moonlight whose edges were misted by wispy fabric,
trailed across that heartbreakingly defined countenance. A slim hand rested to
experience the slight rise and fall of serene firmness with each breath, and
the steady beat of his heart beneath. How her fingers itched to outline the
sensual curve of enticingly shaped lips, before she kissed them- No. That was
history. Hisana was his present dream, even if she was dead.

Having been somewhat aware of this one, who bumbled from laughing
infancy through to an oppressed childhood, then watched his sullen youth mature
into the quietly stoic man that he was today� She could appreciate it all;
hence she could appreciate him. Never had Byakuya left a stronger impression,
while he was so trustingly unguarded. It was unfair, that such an innocuous
action was one of the strongest attacks he had� and it was too disconcertingly
appealing.

Attempting to push his arm off her waist, the action only tightened his
hold. Was that a normal reaction when sleeping? It was so convenient to stay,
to watch unveiled vulnerability but� Kisuke, I�m sorry. You�re wrong; I
don�t have the strength to honestly return what I owe him. The divide between
us is one I cannot bridge, because I lost my nerve to do so� long ago�

Shinigami were not afraid to die. It was one of the tenets they lived
by, and the reason why every fight was so important to them. Savour each
battle as if it were your last, Yama-ji had advised. Strength to convert
everything into simplicity, resulting in the utmost basic principle: Exploit
each moment to the fullest� It was the guiding light that living was based on.
Giving up Soul Society had demanded a hefty price, and the accumulative result
was exacted in the changes she had to make of her life. The last few hundred
years had forcibly reduced her courage to a reticent shadow, taking its
invisible toll on other aspects of Shihouin Yoruichi�s psyche. Anything
regarding this man was complicated, and she didn�t have the energy to simplify
matters any longer.

Afraid to speak until necessary; reluctant to act until the final
moment� Past and present had blurred into watery ink-stains. She would rather
die, than allow anyone else to see that cowardly disgrace of her former self.
Only Kisuke understood; he never questioned her comings and goings, or their
sporadically brief meetings every few years. It was imperative that this
illusion of possibility had to truly end.

Byakuya, there is nothing to admire in me. Live
by the code and die by it� you will succeed where I failed, for you never
flinched in resolution from your path. Your glory will help me endure,
especially when I probably won�t return to Seirei-tei ever again.

*******

�Nii-sama��

Being woken by the bashful tones of his sister was not what he had
expected. Slowly pulling himself into a sitting position, he massaged bleary
eyes before opening them to look at her.

�Rukia, what are you doing here?�

A shy smile graced her pallid visage.

�I came to wake you up, like you said last night. Oh, and I found this
on the cushion.�

Extending a small hand, then opening it to reveal unique familiarity
resting on a white scrap of paper.

�Nii-sama, who�s this from?�

He stared at the bold, black ink-strokes, then at jewelled hairpins.
They were as captivating as ever, beneath radiant sunlight. However, a cloud
had been cast across his day. There were only two words inscribed on blank
finality.

Thank You.

*******

Order (of sorts) had been restored. Strolling down a side street in the
southern precinct of Seirei-tei, he heard raised voices and decided to see
which uncouth louts were causing such furore to disturb the peace.

�Ayasegawa Yumichika, stop stalking me!�

That annoyed-sounding tone belonged to the vice-captain of the
treacherous Tousen Kaname. His fellow disturbance was an unknown shinigami
wearing feathers and a drawl like running water. Byakuya wished somebody would
turn off the tap.

�Eh, Shuuhei-san, that�s not nice. You don�t even know what I�m going to
ask for, not that I had planned on bumping into you for the hundredth-�

�Tenth, you dope. Quit exaggerating.�

�Even then, you walked into me. It�s the tenth time in three days. If anyone
does the stalking, it�d be you. Anyway, it�s nice to see you�re beautifully
hale and hearty-�

Such pointlessness. He�d met many officers while carrying out his daily
duties, as well as all the ryoka but not once did he see their guide. It was as
if she was avoiding him, although the second, eighth and thirteenth division
captains complained to each other about her elusiveness that only Yamamoto-dono
was immune to. Kuchiki Byakuya had better things to do than watch a piddling
argument.

About to turn and leave, the talkative man arrested his attention with
the next line.

�Let the past die? That was too cruel, Shuuhei-san. The only way to do
so� is to die as well. It�s not something we can erase.�

The doleful lament reminded the sixth division captain of something
else-However, a fuming member of the ninth division interrupted his thoughts.

�Don�t take things out of context, you-you-It was just one fight! All I
said was to let it go! Stop sounding like a crummy romance novel! What�s so
significant about that?�

There was effable gentleness on the other�s face as he replied his
battle-hardened companion (who was practically frothing at the mouth and
blushing mildly, emphasizing �69� on one cheek.).

�En, Shuuhei. That is the karmic connection binding certain individuals
to each other. Why does the bird fly to the sky? Why does the trout return to
its spawning grounds? Why else do we keep meeting without intending to? It is
painful to watch the sunflowers reach for their sun, when they will never be able
to accomplish their goal. An eternity of futile one-sided yearning is their
fate. Whereas we, who are lucky enough to be able to grasp the shared present
with our own hands... we are cowardly fools if we don�t, when there is no
surety of tomorrow. Let us make up for the wretched ones who suffer! We should
seize the opportunities that others foolishly squander! Hence��

By now, the usual aloof fierceness on Hisagi Shuuhei�s face had been
replaced with a muddled mixture of grudging admiration and amazement. He never
knew this long-winded fop could be so dramatically poetic, even if he tended to
overshoot the point by at least a mile. Come to think of it, what was his
point?

A sly smile distracted him from the fiendish gleam in dark grey eyes, as
dainty hands whipped out a concealed zanpaku-tou earlier transformed into a
wickedly curved Fujikujaku.

�Let�s fight! Allow pretty me to defeat ugly you once
more-�

The other man was running like the wind. There was no way he would duel
again with this fifth seat of the eleventh division, when there was no
substantial improvement yet in his own power. Shuuhei made a mental note to
self: when colourful sprinkles vanish and those sparkly eyes no longer twinkle
like a baby�s, it�s time to head for the hills.

�Oi, get back here! If you don�t, I�m coming after you!�

The sound of fading footsteps left a still figure alone in the shadows
once more.

The only way to do so is to die� to
hesitate, when there is no surety of a tomorrow� I won�t make the same mistake
twice!

0o----------------------o0

List of definitions

Fujikujaku(Yumichika�s Soul Slayer): Wisteria
Peacock
- 13
- 14
- 15
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Tag