First one-shot ever, please be gentle. And yes, I am a closet ByakuXHisa-fan!
Blossom
Cherry blossoms had been littering the ground when they first met.
Frail and careless—so much like Hisana—they had flown through the Spring breeze, enchanting everyone with their fragile scent, just as they did now.
Byakuya breathed in deeply, capturing the scent of the fragile flowers deep in his nostrils, and the smallest of smiles appeared on his lips—a smile only Hisana had ever seen adorn his stoic face.
He looked down at the cup of herbal tea sitting beside him on an ornate tray.
"Hisana," he muttered, lighting a candle before the memorial in the Kuchiki Manor, "I kept my promise, I found Rukia."
The gentle face of Hisana looked back at him with that sweet and somber smile of hers, feeding the fire that raged and ached deeply inside his heart, trapped forever in time, almost as if she said, "Well then? What now, Byakuya-sama?"
She'd always smile like that if he had done something she had found amusing.
This place was his haven—his sanctuary—and not even Rukia had been allowed further in than the doorway. Always, always, Byakuya had been sitting in front of the picture, avoiding an unnecessary confrontation with his younger, adoptive sister.
"Byakuya-sama… promise me," she had whispered the day where the very first plum blossom had bloomed, "Promise me that you will continue searching."
And he had promised just that as the plum tree continued steadily blooming, almost as if it had been stealing Hisana's life-force to fuel its own life.
From that day, Byakuya had hated, despised, plum trees.
All as one they had been removed from the compound, all as one they had been replaced by cherry trees.
The very same flower blossoms that had floated through the air the very day they had met.
Her tender smile had warmed his stoic heart, her heart had shown him kindness and love, her love had shown his warmth.
Byakuya breathed in the gentle scent of cherry blossoms, the same little smile twitching on his lips as he lifted the cup of tea to them.
"Thank you… Hisana."
And the blossoms continued to fall, never stopping their graceful dance through the air.