It was a cool summer night in the Sereitei. After the unbearable drought Soul Society had to endure, the land seemed to sigh in relief as a storm rumbled over head, ready to unleash itself. Everyone would sleep well that night. It'd been ages since they'd been able to get comfortable because of the heat. There was one person that was awake, however.
Byakuya was awoken by a tug at his sleeve. He opened his eyes, blinking the sleep out of them until he could see the person standing beside the bed. It was a little girl. She had shoulder length black hair that curled a little at the ends. It was ruffled from sleep. She was wearing a pink kimono with pretty little flowers on it. She clutched a soft, white bear to her chest. She was looking at him with familiar blue grey eyes.
"Oto-chan?" She whispered when she saw him open his eyes.
The noble Captain groggily propped himself up on one elbow. He was careful not to disturb his wife, Asaje Rin. He didn't need to worry. Even though she was a fairly light sleeper, that night she slept like the dead. She was exhausted from lack of sleep and, most likely, from the mission she had returned from the morning of that day.
"Is something wrong, Maea?" Byakuya asked his daughter.
She rarely came to their room, even when she had the occasional nightmare. She was well aware that, usually, her parents' room was off limits. She usually waited until morning to tell them. Maea definitely had the patience that neither of her parents had possessed at her age. It made him wonder where she got it from.
She most likely got it from Daisuke, though. Since she was young, Maea had practically worshipped the tall man. She wasn't the type of child who liked playing outside like her brother and sister, but whenever Rin's old friend stopped by she was more than willing to let him drag her out to visit and play. Though the man wouldn't admit it out loud, Byakuya was sure that Maea was his favourite of the three Kuchiki children.
Rin had told him not to give her special treatment, since Daisuke would often take just Maea out on short expeditions into Rukongai. However, whenever he asked Maea's older siblings, Shizuku and Kaiyin, they refused unless he promised them swimming or ice cream. They never seemed jealous of little Maea, either, so Rin and Byakuya had decided not to worry too much.
"Can you check under my bed for monsters?" Maea murmured.
He sighed. The girl slept on a simple futon. He and Rin had agreed that she would get a proper bed next year, when she turned five. Byakuya wondered where she could have possible gotten the idea of monsters, but he had his suspicions. He carefully got up and grasped the little girl's hand, leading her out of the room.
"Who told you about monsters under your bed?" He asked. He had taken her out of the room so they didn't wake up Rin, who would have been less than pleased.
"Kaiyin said that they were there, ready to eat me when I fall asleep," she replied.
Of course. Kaiyin, their oldest child, took after her mother. He wasn't surprised that she had decided to scare her little sister with stories of monsters.
"Maea, you sleep on a futon. The monsters wouldn't be able to fit beneath it," he said in a gentle voice as he opened the door to her room and led her inside. He carefully picked his way around the various toys on the floor, reminding himself to have Maea clean her room.
"But what about really flat monsters? They can fit. You'll check for me, right? They might eat me if I do it," Maea pleaded.
"All right," he agreed.
Byakuya knelt beside the futon, while Maea hid behind him. Even if it was Kaiyin who started most of these midnight missions, it was Maea's overactive imagination that always blew it way out of proportion. He lifted the edge of the bed and made a point of looking under it.
"Nothing. You are safe," he told her, setting it by down again. She hugged him.
"Thanks, Oto-chan." He smiled at her before tucking her under the light blanket. He was about leave, but she grabbed his hand. "Oto-chan? Can you stay with me? The monsters might be invisible, but you're really strong. If you're here, then the monsters will never be able to get me."
"Of course, Maea," he gave in. "I won't let the monsters get you." The little girl always knew how to get him to agree, though he didn't let her win as much as Rin did.
He lay down beside his daughter, letting her snuggle up to him. Their breathing soon deepened as they fell asleep.