A/N: Welcome to my story, Petals of the Past! Thank you all so much for reading! This fic is focused on Byakuya Kuchiki's relationship with an original character. It takes place two months after Ichigo rescues Rukia from being executed. It is canon-compliant in that it will follow the events of Bleach with tweaks of my own to put more focus on this pairing. It is also canon noncompliant as there will be semi-heavy inclusion of Ichigo and Rukia here and there, and the two are involved in a romantic relationship.

My long-term goal is to take this fic through every arc until Bleach's end.

Tite Kubo, Shōnen Jump, VIZ, etc. lay claim to Bleach in some legal form or another. Not I.

I will employ the original language here and there. For ex.: reiatsu - spiritual pressure, shunpo - flash-step, Senbonzakura - Byakuya's zanpakutō or soul cutter, etc. These words will be italicized. I may add original concepts in Japanese here and there but they will be explained in-text.

There is honor in burdens.

Fifty years was a long time to miss someone. Byakuya sometimes envied the humans. Their lives slipped away like sand meaning their time to mourn also had a sure and expected end. His virtually interminable existence almost ensured that the pain would linger on, tempting him to madness, but he'd keep cool. With much work, he reined in his temper during his youth. He wouldn't stain the Kuchiki name by unraveling, but sometimes he wondered if he could bear it. He ached from memories of the past; the weighty responsibility predestined to rest on his shoulders, broken promises made to his dear parents and beloved grandfather, and the recurring recollection of broken promises made to her.

Sometimes it was all too much to be distracted by and it seemed like only a matter of time before the impenetrable coldness he wrapped himself in shattered like glass. Calling grief, the relentless companion that threatened to overtake him, a distraction was too polite honestly. It was more like a pool of thick black ink, and the clock steadily ticked loudly, urging him to just be done with it and drown. Nothing was going to change. They were all gone and though many things in life could be righted or overturned, death was not one of them.

And so he occupied himself with almost too much to do. When the busyness of life reached a calm, the consumption began. It never failed. At first, there was just a flash zipping across his mind in an instant; the face of someone long gone. Sometimes it was his father, his grandfather. Other times it was an open plum blossom, then a frail hand, a spitting image, and a line of gravestones.

Death was just as painful in the Soul Society as it was in the World of the Living.

But it had been fifty years. Surely, grief would loosen its grip but it only became worse. He sighed as he realized he had spilled ink onto his Intake reports. Sixth Company was getting new members soon and the training season would begin. Such a hectic time required him to be at his best. He would never admit he feared that the best had come and left. He was relieved of such thoughts by a boisterous outburst outside the door of his office.

"I told you he's busy! Can't you hear, you idiot?"

His tatted fukutaicho was as loud as ever. How did the powers that be think he could work with such a man? Nevertheless, he appreciated Renji for his loyalty. He just didn't always know where the man's head was. He wondered who Renji was trying to keep at bay outside his door. He placed a hand, cramped from writing, on his forehead and closed his eyes. The noise didn't stop. The noise still didn't stop.

"Young man, you'd do well to mind your tone and know your place." Byakuya heard another voice say clearly.

His frustration was sapped when he realized who it was. His heartrate quickened but he maintained his calm and started for the door. Intake and now this. At least he'd be busy enough soon to hopefully forget the conversation he dreaded every few months. He opened the door to see Renji on bended knee, face flushed with embarrassment and nervousness from the potential consequences of his actions.

"Captain, I-I apologize. I did not know who this man was. He just – He walked right past the front office so I—"

Byakuya closed his eyes and waited for Renji to realize he needed to be quiet. When there was silence, he sighed audibly.

"I'm sorry, Captain. I'll take my leave."

Renji eased out of the room without a sound and as soon as he was back in the main office, he bolted for the door, and flash-stepped to Tenth Company's barracks. He needed Rangiku's carefree attitude and a stiff drink to forget about looking like a complete dumbass in front of his Captain again.

Byakuya looked at the older man standing with him outside of his office and noticed his other on-looking subordinates. He cleared his throat.

"All of you, I assume, are well aware of what time of year it is. With that being said, I am curious as to why you are all standing around here. Certainly, there is work to be done."

In an instant, papers were shuffling and chairs were sliding against the wooden floor and the office completely cleared out.

"Now then, Mamuda-san, please come in."

The man followed Byakuya into his office and took a seat in front of his desk. Byakuya poured himself and Mamuda a cup of tea and sat down. The man had a look of amusement on his face. It wasn't often that he was privy to such a display of buffoonery.

"My, my these are the people the Soul Society has entrusted our peace and safety to? A bunch of idiots they are if you ask me." Mamuda smiled into his cup.

Byakuya was in no mood for his mischievousness and small talk. There was only one reason the head of the Kuchiki clan's Advisory Board would pay him a visit. He usually just doled out orders masked as suggestions from his lavish estate located on the clan's grounds, and wasn't seen. He had served the family for more than a millennium and was well aware of all of Byakuya's shortcomings.

"Jirimi Mamuda, state your business and be gone. You've authored enough discord amongst my squad today with barely a word."

Mamuda still smiled. The head of the Kuchikis was still young. Though Byakuya had traded his adolescent outrage for the semblance of serenity, that's all it was; a mere front that Mamuda would always see through.

"Come now, my Lord. You know why I'm here. Please fulfill your duty to this clan and produce an heir as soon as possible. Though my Lord is still young and obviously virile in battle and in commanding Sixth Company, it's time we used that virility for things that actually matter. Wouldn't you agree?"

Byakuya narrowed his eyes. It was true that he needed an heir. The Kuchiki name would die with him and that wasn't an option nor did he want it to be. He believed that he and Hisana would have many children. He glanced at the picture of her on his desk. Her eyes were gentle and her countenance was sickly. Even before her illness proved life-threatening, she'd already been robbed of her ability to conceive. Mamuda took the picture frame and grimaced. Byakuya felt heat flushing his face. Rage he thought he'd long forgotten twisted his features.

"Kindly place that back where—"

"'Still hung up on this street rat, huh, my Lord? It's disgraceful," Mamuda spat.

"You will hold your tongue unless—"

"Unless what? You'll further disgrace your ancestors by threatening me? Your behavior is despicable. May his soul rest, but I wonder what on earth Sir Ginrei was thinking being so lax with Sōjun. If your father had another son, I might not have to deal with you and your insolence. You are weak and growing weaker every fifty years it seems. Marrying that woman, adopting her sister, carrying on with that orange-haired ryoka. What is wrong with you? Have you lost your pride?"

Have I lost my pride?

Shamed pierced Byakuya's heart. His grandfather never had an unkind word of admonition to say to him, but he could see the worry in Ginrei's eyes. After his father, Sōjun, was killed in battle, Ginrei believed it best to intensify Byakuya's grooming so that he'd one day assume the place as head of the clan. He recognized and heavily lauded Byakuya's abilities early on, but he was worried. He loved his grandson but he feared that he wouldn't quite be up to the task of such responsibility.

What did I do to assuage his concerns?

"A disappointment is all you have been, Byakuya. Wouldn't you like to make amends for the damage you've caused this clan?"

As much as he loathed Mamuda, he was right. For a lifetime, he'd ignored the advisor's nagging about remarrying and having children. He thought eventually, Mamuda would just die. It wasn't like he could be forced to do anything anyway as the Kuchiki head, but still, advisors were just as respected in the nobility, and the other clans were already abuzz about his unwillingness to observe reason and remarry. At the very least, it was time he truly faced the way he had gone outside of custom, and the current state of his family's legacy. There was no heir to carry on his pride and his grandfather's precious vision. It was time to move forward and put off regret. Could he? He bowed his head solemnly, sighing, accepting his position in the grand scheme of fate. Mamuda smiled, lips nearly curling up to his ears.

"Good. I will reach out to the other clans and find you a bride."