One-shot – Valentine's Day Special

Disclaimer: If Bleach was mine, why would I write fanfiction?

Chocolate for Him

Hisana peeked through the window, looking at the window decoration full of red, pink and white. Valentine's Day had hit Seireitei, and everyone was in the mood for it. Hisana had pretended not to care, but had accompanied her friend, kikyo, in support. Kikyo was worried at finding the perfect chocolate for her boyfriend, and had literally dragged Hisana to the store. While Hisana stayed in front of the store, Kikyo rushed in, trying to get a closer look at the chocolates before all the other girls got there.

Hisana knew there was someone she wanted to give chocolate to, but had been afraid to admit it. He was Byakuya-sama, the fukutaichou of the Thirteenth Squad, and devastatingly handsome. She had met him a few times before, in the Academy, and in her restaurant where she worked part time. Another time she saw him was when he went to the theatre she worked in, but he had always been accompanied with other beautiful ladies. Whenever she saw him like this, she always tended to shy away from him, trying to stop the image from hitting home. However, this didn't continue long, because, more often than not, she was the assistant to the private box that he was in, and was forced to see them together. She would look at how they conversed, how they walked, and how they sat – always dignified and calm. No one knew, but privately, Hisana practiced walking and sitting in her room, at night when others were sleeping. It wasn't that Byakuya didn't know of Hisana's existence. On the contrary, he knew her. He sometimes supervised her class' field trips, talked to her, and gave her the occasional pat on the head. Hisana knew it wasn't right, but sometimes, she thought she lived for these pats.

She silently chewed on her fingernails as she looked at the chocolates again. It was a week to go till Valentine's Day, and she was again, battling against herself. The store had many samples of chocolates which could be ordered and packaged with an icing pack to the girls, two days before Valentine's Day, for them to individually write their messages on the chocolate. She did so like the cute heart shaped ones, but the exquisitely made flower shaped chocolates wowed her. But none of them could match against the chocolate shaped like a rabbit's face. She sighed – was she even going to get one anyway? – as she squatted down. Kikyo had gone for half an hour, and her legs were getting tired. Just then, Kikyo burst out from the shop, with two catalogues in her hands, grinning.

Later that evening, Hisana poured over the magazine she had received from her friend. She was in her dormitory, on her bed, trying to find the best possible chocolate she could see. She frowned, contemplating whether to make chocolate in the shape of a heart, or a flower. She wasn't sure what he thought of her yet, and didn't want to seem like one of the fangirls who were always following him around. That definitely crossed the heart shaped chocolates out. She didn't want to seem too entranced by him. Half the time, she had convinced herself that it was a mere crush, something that would go away soon. The other half of the time – she didn't want to think about it.

Maybe I should just order a rabbit chocolate and write 'obligatory' on it? Hisana mused on the idea before tossing it away. It sounds too cruel. She flipped a few more pages, looking at the different designs and flavours. This is so hard. Was the last thing Hisana thought before sleep hit her, and drifted her off to her dream land.

Finally Valentine's Day arrived. The whole Academy was in the spirit, especially with the encouragement of Captain Shunsui, who had come looking for gifts. It was Thursday, and Hisana was unsure whether she would meet Byakuya. Fridays were his usual theatre days, there were no field trips planned, and even though it was her shift at the restaurant, she knew he rarely went there. Hisana still carried her chocolate around with her, in the vain hope that somehow, in the chance of actually meeting him, she would be able to present him with the chocolate.

She had just walked out of her first class for lunch, when she heard screams of "Byakuya-sama!!!" being made in the canteen. She rushed to see a whole crowd of girls swarming around him. Hisana broke into a smile, but it wasn't long before it wore away. There were too many girls for her to be able to push around, Byakuya didn't look very happy, and her small box seemed stupid next to the twenty or so other boxes that Byakuya was being offered. With an upside-down smile, she left the canteen, no longer hungry. She'd give it one more day, until she had to throw it away. Maybe he would come to the restaurant. She didn't know, but she wanted to try.

The noodle shop was filled with couples. She had only offered to take this night's shift as she was the only one without date. Poor Hisana, they all said, Dateless without a boyfriend. She had only smiled back when she heard that as it was only the truth. And 'poor' seemed so ironically correct – she was a commoner, with little money. All she earned went to her sister who still lived in Rukongai. Hisana was waiting until the day came, when she would be granted leave. Unfortunately, that wouldn't come until a few years later.

Hisana anxiously looked throughout the crowd, hoping desperately for Byakuya-sama to be there. But after multiple times of checking, she smiled bitterly. Probably off in the theatre with one of his many lady friends. She thought. Her shift ended near to midnight, after helping the owner close the shop down. All the couples had moved to see the fireworks, and she was all alone, walking back to the Academy, holding her box loosely. First thing she did when she went back home would be to throw it away in the rubbish pile named 'flammable'.

Hisana was crossing the bridge when she saw the first few fireworks go off in beautiful displays of red, yellow and green. Without realizing it, she gasped in wonder, as she forgot her loneliness to enjoy the display. The display had gone for a few minutes when she felt a small tap on her shoulder. She turned around, her zanpakutou at the ready to come face to… chest? Hisana gulped as she raised her head to see her opponent.

"Byakuya-sama!" she gasped.

She felt so foolish. The man she had wanted to spend a few quiet moments with was finally here, and she had nearly wielded her sword at him. The night couldn't get any worse… could it?

"What are you doing here?" he asked. Softly, gently, and dangerously. He never yelled, never got excited about anything. Whenever he spoke, everyone listened – he never needed to shout. He was, what you call, an alpha male.

"I was.. I.. uh.. watching fireworks." She stammered, wondering if she made sense.

"Alone? By yourself? At the dead of the night?" he asked again.

Had she done something wrong? She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off.

"Didn't any of your teachers teach you that it's dangerous to walk alone at night?"

"Yes! But I was going back to the Academy now though."

Byakuya didn't look convinced. Hisana helplessly continued,

"You're alone too!"

She felt so stupid. She quickly clamped her mouth shut and vowed never to speak again, mentally banging her head.

"I'll walk you back." He offered quietly. So quietly that Hisana almost missed it.

"Sorry?" she asked, daring to raise her head again. But he was already in front of her, on the path back to the Academy. Hisana ran to try and catch up with him.

The rest of the journey was quiet, silence filled with the rustling of clothes and the occasional firework. When they did finally reach the Academy dormitories, she nearly sighed out loud.

"I trust you'll be able to go back in safely, then." He said, and turned to move.

Without thinking – she seemed to do that a lot around him – she grabbed his hand and held it. Byakuya immediately became tense, but didn't pull away. Hisana quickly got her box out and pushed it into his hands.

"Uh… I.. uh.. got this for you. It's not really special or anything. I ordered it, so… um… it's not home-made or anything so you won't die of food poisoning at least." She finished off, hurriedly.

Byakuya stared at the box in his hands. Hisana bowed, whispered a good-night and ran into her room, before Byakuya had a chance to react. After a few moments, he turned and left, box in his hand. At home, he opened the box and read the message on the rabbit-shaped chocolate.

'Yours.' And in small letters on the side, 'Hisana'.

Byakuya allowed himself a small smile before biting into it. He knew his head servant would fuss about his teeth, but who cared? He got chocolate on Valentine's Day from Hisana.