Opening the door to his room, the wind hit him. "What the..." he said in low voice. The door to his garden was ajar. Interesting. Maybe he had forgotten to close it. He decided to leave it open. He enjoyed the breeze and the smell of the fully blossomed sakura and the earthy smell radiating from the soil. He inhaled the smells and exhaled slowly. A smile played on his usual rigid lips. He was almost smiling because he found it ironic that he still found comfort in the garden he loathed most of the time. After all, Hisana had lovingly set the garden for them. For them, to in bask in its natural beauty. But Byakuya knew she had built it for him more so because it gave him a chance to forget about hollows, spirits, lost souls. More importantly, it gave him a chance to forget his captain duties and feel normal. The moment he stepped into that garden, he was just Byakuya, not Captain Kuchiki.

Sadly, Hisana's death left him with no other identity. Now when he walked through the garden, he was always Captain Kuchiki of the honorable 6th division of the Gotei 13. No matter how much he wanted to forget for a moment he was a captain, to relish the garden, to feel at peace as he did when Hisana was alive, he could not bring himself to. Perhaps that part of him was…lost or dead. He sighed heavily and pushed thoughts of Hisana away. It had been a long day. He had gone to Karakura town to investigate an important discovery. He stepped onto the patio of his garden and once again inhaled deeply. The scent of the garden was absolutely mesmerizing. Byakuya let his gaze linger across the garden. It was night time, but it was not pitch dark yet. Clouds were sailing through the dark blue sky lazily as if they had all the time in the world. But it was the breeze that made him relaxed. It caressed his body like a gentle lover would. It was surprisingly soothing. He let his gaze fall on the bridge he and Hisana routinely walked on. And that is when he noticed.

Someone was in the garden. Although it was not unusual for the garden to attract visitors from the Soul Society, it was definitely unusual for someone to be here at this time of the night and not ask him for permission to enter it. He wanted to turn away, but something about this individual struck him. This someone had long hair, which dancing in the breeze. It was a she, he decided. She kept her eyes on the pond. Unconsciously, he started walking towards her. It could not be the mirage of Hisana. He made his way to the bridge and stopped short of stepping on it. He stood quietly, not wanting to attract attention. Suddenly, he recognized her. Long, auburn hair, the lithe body, the graceful stance. Orihime. Isn't this a surprise, he thought bitterly all the while slightly amused. Before his encounter with her that faithful night, he barely spoke to her, but here she was again. Uninvited and intruding somehow. It was her uncanny ability to understand grief and read pain of others that made him uneasy. Moreover, she reminded him a lot of Hisana. And the fact that she had seen him exhibit signs of an emotion he had bottled up tightly inside him, made him all the more wary of her.

"B..B..Byakya-sama. Im sorry, I didn't mean to intrude on your garden" She stammered.

Initially, Byakuya was supposed to turn around and leave without saying a word. He did not want to speak to her. He already had spoken too much at their last and intense encounter three months ago. However, he didn't turn around. Instead, he walked onto the bridge, passed her and looked out to the pond. The pond was certainly beautiful at night time. The moon was full and it shone brilliantly upon the pond. The sight touched his heart and he almost broke into a small smile.

"What is with you? Are you following me" he said quietly. After almost kissing her that night, he had avoided her at all cost. If she was with Kurosaki, he would only look at him and never her. He totally ignored her existence, but in truth he wanted to look into those eyes. He longed to feel her in his arms because she felt like Hisana and it scared him.

Her moth slightly hung open from the accusation and the fact that he actually was talking to her after what had happened. After three months of shunning her. She gulped some air. "No! Your garden is exquisite I've always heard from everyone in Soul Society. And I thought might as well visit it while I'm here. I'm sorry for not asking you first." She said shyly. He mouth felt dry and her heart beat was beating a bit faster now that he was looking straight at her. He had very cold eyes, she thought. Such cold eyes could freeze the ocean. She couldn't help but think back to the emotion she saw in them that night. The very thought of his eyes having pain, let alone any hint of emotion in them, was alien.

At last he broke the eye contact. He hung his head for a split second, looked up and proceeded to walking off the bridge. Just like that, he could acknowledge her and then act as if she was mere air and it kind of angered her, but she did not dare say anything. She did not turn to look back at him walking away. She bought her fingers to her lips and touched them softly. She could still feel Byakuya's breath on them.

Just walk away Byakuya. Do not let her have the satisfaction of seeing you as she did that night. Yet, he stopped when Orihime spoke: "Why did you almost kiss me?" There it was. It was out in the open. "'Why…Before that, you never addressed me directly. Never noticed me" Her voice was gathering strength. Minutes passed by as both of them stood back to back. Orihime was hoping for an answer, but not much to her surprise, he still did not answer. She sighed in defeat. He was so steely. So guarded and impassive. Who was she kidding? He would never answer her.

"I thought you were Hisana, but then I realized you weren't her." He said.

She couldn't believe it, he answered her. This man was full of surprises.

"Did you give some thought to what I said about grieving Byakuya-sama?"

"Maybe"

"Why do you ignore me?"

"Frankly, because, I did not appreciate you violating my privacy."

"I just wanted to help you. You were hurting so much. I couldn't stand it for some reason. I had been in the same place as you, so I thought it was appropriate for me to voice my advice. It was not my intension to intrude. My intention was to offer you a way to cope. Perhaps, even to comfort you and-"He turned her around so fast, she lost her balance. She was about to hit the ground when Byakuya caught her by her waist and held her very close to him. She was startled by his sudden reaction. He looked into her coffee brown eyes and they were filled with bemusement. He didn't know why, but he bought his lips close to her. Their lips were against one another.

"You really are like her. The way you care about others, the way you go out of your way to comfort others, they way you understand and empathize with others' pains." He murmured. She couldn't believe. He was comparing her to Hisana, his dead wife. This man is trouble. He's still drowning in her memories. Get away Orihime, before it's too late to turn back. She told herself, but something inside her heart urged her to stay in his arms.

This was it. He was really going to kiss her. It was going to happen. They both knew it and were yearning for it. He leaned forward. She closed her eyes and parted her lips; waiting for the sensation of the kiss to rock her heart. Desire rushed through Byakuya. He knew this should not happen, but it was and he didn't want to stop it. The air seemed to freeze. Inches turned into centimeters.

Boom!Boom! Boom!

They heard the sound coming from a distance. Sirens blasting, disturbing the silence of the night. They were under attack. His eyes flew open. He dropped Orihime onto the bridge. Without looking at her, he disappeared.

He was always Captain Kuchiki and duty was his honor. It was what he lived for.