Author's Note: It's been quite some time since my last story so my confidence isn't quite so high. It was just something that I couldn't get out of my head after falling in love with the idea of Byakuya loving someone so fully and completely. What can I say? I love love. Feel free to leave constructive criticisms or corrections. It might be hard to believe but I'm new to the Bleach world and so I may have gotten some things wrong. My younger cousin introduced me to Bleach and I have to say I love it so far. I'm still reading the manga so please no spoilers!
In case anyone missed it: this is an AU with Byakuya, Hisana, and their imaginary child. It's in the past so Byakuya is not a Captain, yet, and of course, Hisana has not passed away.
Also, this is a one-shot. Hope you enjoy it!
Now, as usual... read on and let your imagination soar!
Lark Chizin Pearie
"Byakuya-sama, when are you coming back? I thought today was your day off." Hisana spoke as she watched her husband change into his standard Shinigami shihakusho.
"It was supposed to be but there was an emergency. They have called a meeting of Captains and Vice Captains but I will be back soon. I promise." Byakuya responded, affixing his Vice Captain's badge onto his arm carefully.
"I hope you do. You haven't forgotten about today's picnic, have you? I wanted to bring Masako to our tree." Hisana informed.
Byakuya glanced briefly at the baby that was sitting on the bed, playing innocently with a stuffed toy, and shook his head, "I have not forgotten."
"Good. Because we'll be waiting for you here. And I'll prepare our lunch so come hungry." Hisana spoke with a smile.
"I will try to." Byakuya responded softly, taking one step towards Hisana to pull her into an embrace.
"Be careful, Byakuya-sama." Hisana spoke the words she did every time he left for work.
"Always." Byakuya answered, stealing a brief kiss from the woman before pulling back.
The young Vice Captain then placed one hand gently on top of Masako's head causing the baby to look up curiously. Byakuya immediately noticed the drool on the left corner of Masako's mouth and took his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped it carefully, albeit hesitantly.
"I would've taken care of that. I know how you feel about drool." Hisana commented in slight amusement, watching as Masako immediately moved to grab at the handkerchief.
Byakuya allowed her to take it since he was planning on grabbing a new one before leaving, anyways.
"Yes, but she is our child. I've read that it is normal for children her age to… leak and as I have said, I wish to be a father like my own and care for her with you and without a nanny." Byakuya responded though Hisana was again amused by his choice of words.
"Most honorable, Kuchiki-sama." Hisana teased lightly.
"I will be back soon." Byakuya responded with a small smile before disappearing just as Hisana moved to hug him leaving her feeling a little embarrassed despite the fact that the only witness was someone who couldn't speak properly and wouldn't have understood the situation, anyways.
"Ha… will you learn to do that one day, Ma-chan? I'll have to make a rule for you when you do. You will always have to announce before you do that so Mama doesn't get embarrassed." Hisana commented, heading towards the bed and the baby.
Masako had turned to look at her mother when she heard the affectionate nickname and grinned widely when Hisana walked towards her.
"Mamamamama!" Masako repeated when she heard Hisana refer to herself as she spoke.
With her own smile, Hisana encouraged, "Yes, that's me. I'm Mama. Papa just left and we have to go make lunch for our picnic today. It's better if we make it ourselves so Papa will know that we were thinking of him while he was gone."
"Papa?" Masako repeated in a questioning tone.
"Yes, Papa. Let's go make lunch for Papa." Hisana spoke, reaching down to lift the baby into her arms.
"Papa." Masako repeated once more before focusing her attention back on the handkerchief.
"You like that more than Wakame Taishi now? Papa will be sad. He made that before entering the Shino Academy when Ojii-sama forced him to go to an anger management class and they had arts and crafts time." Hisana giggled at the memory of Byakuya telling her the story of how he came to make a stuffed toy though he still sounded slightly indignant when he told the story of events that happened many years ago.
Afterwards, he said, he had refused to go back even under threat of death though it never came to that. Ginrei had simply wanted to tease his grandson and had allowed him to stop attending when he was satisfied with the entertainment though he had only informed Hisana of that fact and not Byakuya, himself. Byakuya assumed it was because he had been able to better control his emotions.
"You're lucky your Tou-sama loves you so much. I never imagined him the type to wipe drool off baby's faces although I did notice that he got a new handkerchief after only using that one once on you. Small steps, I guess." Hisana spoke more to herself than Masako as she made the trip down the hallway to the kitchen.
"Kuchiki-sama," the chef in the kitchen immediately greeted, jumping up from his chair and bowing deeply.
"Tagame-san. You don't have to get up for me. I simply want to make lunch for a picnic I'm planning today with Byakuya-sama and Masako." Hisana spoke politely.
"It's no bother, Kuchiki-sama. I can help with the picnic food." Tagame offered with a small smile.
Hisana smiled back. Tagame was one of the few in the Kuchiki manor that had been truly kind to Hisana even before her marriage to Byakuya although she had not seen him very much as he was almost always in the kitchen.
"Thank you for the help, then. I want to make something that Byakuya-sama would really enjoy since I want today to be a special day. I'm pretty sure I know what he likes to eat but since you've been cooking for him since he was a child, what do you think he would appreciate the most on a picnic?" Hisana questioned, shifting Masako to one hip.
Tagame first instructed one of his kitchen staff to go fetch the high chair for Hisana as he knew that she was already slightly frail especially after the pregnancy.
"Well, Goshujin-sama has always been fond of spicy foods and preferably nothing too messy to eat especially out on a picnic. Might I suggest grilled spicy tuna mayo onigiri and non-spicy versions for you and the baby?" Tagame supplied.
Her eyes brightening, Hisana nodded, "That sounds perfect! And I was thinking we could dye the rice pink since we are going to picnic in the cherry blossom field."
"In that case, I would also suggest some sakuramochi. Goshujin-sama has never really had a sweet tooth but he seems to enjoy those especially during the cherry blossom festival." Tagame added.
Before Hisana could respond, however, the kitchen servant returned with the high chair and set it carefully beside Hisana. With a light nod of her head in thanks, Hisana gently sat Masako in the chair, thankful that she was not a particularly loud or active child.
"Would the baby like something to snack on while she waits?" Tagame asked kindly.
Hisana quickly glanced at the clock to make sure that feeding her now wouldn't fill her until lunch then nodded.
"That would be wonderful. Thank you. I'll start on the onigiri filling." Hisana responded, heading to the refrigerator.
"We will get it for you, Kuchiki-sama. And we will start new rice for the onigiri so that it will be fresh when you make it. The one we have right now is from this morning and we will take care of it ourselves," one of the kitchen servants immediately spoke, rushing to the refrigerator to retrieve the ingredients she would need to make the spicy and non-spicy tuna mayo onigiri.
Despite having been living in the Kuchiki manor for over half a decade now, Hisana was still not quite used to having people wait on her hand and foot as it had been the complete opposite in Inuzuri where she had to fight for the basic necessities to survive.
Hisana watched as the servants set the ingredients out on the counter neatly for her while Tagame mashed some rice and sweet potatoes together to make a small snack for Masako while she watched her mother prepare the picnic lunch.
"After you, Kuchiki-sama," one of the servants bowed after they finished setting out everything she would possibly need.
"Thank you." Hisana quickly responded with a small bow of her own.
When Hisana turned to start making the filling for the onigiri, she heard Tagame finish the mashed food then open a drawer to grab a plastic spoon for Masako. The man then walked to Masako with a warm smile.
"Masako, I remember you liked sweet potatoes. Eat well and grow up well." Tagame spoke kindly, reaching over to pat her on the head.
Hisana turned to look at Tagame, thankful that the servants seemed to like her child, though Tagame took it the wrong way and immediately drew his hand back with an expression of nervousness.
"I'm sorry, Kuchiki-sama. I should not have touched her or referred to her so informally. I am deeply sorry. I promise I will not repeat my dishonorable actions." Tagame quickly apologized, folding his hands at his waist and bowing deeply.
"No, no, it's okay. It's okay, Tagame-san. She is just a child, it is normal to speak to her without honorifics. You have been with this family for so long, you even watched Byakuya-sama grow up. Of course you would treat Masako in that way." Hisana quickly reassured.
"Nonetheless, I am but a servant to the Kuchiki head family. Even Masako-sama is above me as she has Kuchiki blood running through her veins." Tagame spoke though he did smile at Hisana to reassure her just as much as she was reassuring him.
"Tagame-san, when it's just us, it's fine. I don't mind at all. In fact, it is stranger for me to hear you refer to her as Masako-sama as opposed to simply Masako-chan. Right, Ma-chan? You don't mind if Tagame ji-san calls you Ma-chan, right?" Hisana cooed at the child, watching as Masako banged her spoon against the mashed mixture a couple times with a look of concentration.
"Thank you, Kuchiki-sama, but Goshujin-sama would not appreciate it. Nor would his grandfather and the rest of the Kuchiki clan if they heard. After all, I imagine little Kuchiki-sama will be the next Clan Head." Tagame responded with a look of thanks at her kindness.
With a frown of confusion, Hisana questioned, "Are girls even allowed to become heads of the Kuchiki family?"
"It has not happened in a long time but there have been female heads of the Kuchiki clan many generations ago. It is simply due to the fact that until this generation, there has not been a generation where only females have been born into the main family so we have not had one recently. After all, how can they reject little Masako-sama for being a female when the great Shihouin family also had multiple female heads and is, in fact, famous for them? One of their most recent ones was also female despite the birth of a son afterwards. The Kuchiki elders would cause an uproar if they denied Masako-sama's birthrights, firstborn rights, in fact." Tagame explained thoughtfully.
"Is that right? Do you want to be the 29th Head of the Kuchiki family, Ma-chan?" Hisana asked, bending down to smile at the young baby.
Masako, in turn, delighted at the sudden attention and babbled while she waved the spoon around happily.
"Mm… that's right! You can be just like Tou-sama!" Hisana giggled as she gently took the spoon from Masako to help her get some of the food actually into her mouth as opposed to everywhere except her mouth.
"She is adorable, Kuchiki-sama." Tagame smiled at Masako.
Tagame had wanted to have a family, as well, but knew that being a full-time servant of the Kuchiki clan meant that it would be nearly impossible to raise a family properly. Instead, he simply imagined that the Kuchiki children were his nephews and nieces though he would treat them with the proper respect lest their parents find out.
"Thank you, Tagame-san." Hisana responded, glancing briefly at the chef, before handing the spoon back to Masako and finishing up with the onigiri filling.
Hisana made sure to make the non-spicy filling version first then add the spiciness separately to the ones that they would put in Byakuya's onigiri. Hisana also preferred to eat non-spicy onigiri.
Turning to glance around the kitchen, she saw a few servants keeping an eye on the rice, a few searching through the pantries for something, and a few that were starting on the sakuramochi.
"I would like to help make the sakuramochi." Hisana spoke hesitantly.
Looking up, one of the servants immediately smiled and bowed, "Of course, Kuchiki-sama. We are just waiting on the rice to finish and we will begin. Takahashi-san is searching for the pickled sakura leaves and they are making the anko," he then gestured towards the couple men that were standing around a boiling pot.
Hisana wandered over to the servants making the anko and noted that they were being very careful as they boiled the adzuki beans. Just as they began to move the beans towards a sieve to remove the husks, Hisana heard Masako start whining from her spot in the high chair.
Quickly turning and rushing back to the child, she noticed that Masako had overturned the bowl and dumped half the mashed mixture on the tray of the high chair and half was on the floor. She also seemed to have a decent amount on her face, arms, and even some in her hair, the light mash contrasting considerably with her jet black hair.
"Masako, look at the mess you've made." Hisana scolded lightly as the baby began kicking her legs fitfully while whining.
Hearing the tone of voice, Masako immediately moved from whining to crying while flailing her arms side to side on the high chair table causing more of the mashed food to fall to the floor.
"Kuchiki Masako…" Hisana began, her tone lecturing.
"It's okay, Kuchiki-sama. We will take care of the mess and the rest of the food. I know you must wish to bathe her." Tagame quickly interrupted before Hisana could continue.
Tagame knew that Hisana was endlessly patient especially with Masako or even Byakuya but also knew that she always insisted on cleaning up after Masako. Byakuya was never happy with them if he found out that Hisana had been cleaning around the manor and if Byakuya was unhappy, everyone within the walls that surrounded the Kuchiki estate would be unhappy save for his wife and child, of course.
"Ah, thank you, Tagame-san," Hisana quickly spoke before turning to Masako with a light tisk, "Look at you, Masako. Already giving them a hard time. I don't want you to turn out like your father's cousin and his family."
Kuchiki Mitsu and her children were almost notorious around the Kuchiki manor for causing trouble for the servants. She even tormented them occasionally for entertainment though never in front of her older cousin. Byakuya would never stand for blatant mistreatment of the servants. Mitsu had even tormented Hisana for a little until she realized that Byakuya was serious about her and intended to marry her. Then the young woman had magically become overtly kind. Both of her children had inherited her horrid personality.
Lifting the crying Masako carefully into her arms, she made a mental note to change her own clothes after getting some of the sweet potato and rice mash smeared on her while Masako fidgeted in her arms.
"No more crying, Ma-chan. Mama already came to get you when you were whining. Let's go take a bath and get clean before Papa comes back, alright? Tagame ji-san and his workers are helping to make you a delicious lunch. You should thank them later… when you can speak properly, of course." Hisana spoke, walking down the hallway to their personal bathroom.
It wasn't long before Masako quieted down and was bathed, cleaned up, and dressed in fresh clean clothing. Hisana had decided at the last minute to simply join the child in the bath and was feeling nice and refreshed.
Looking at the clothing before her, Hisana had briefly worried whether it would be too much to dress herself and the baby in matching cherry blossom outfits but decided she didn't care much of what other people thought for today. She knew it would be adorable and she, herself, would be wearing a silver kimono with pink cherry blossom tree decorations while the baby would be in pink with lighter pink petals dotting the fabric. After all, today would be a special day in the cherry blossom fields.
Briefly, Hisana wondered if Byakuya remembered the anniversary of the day they met and thus why she wanted to celebrate on this day in particular.
"My life is a dream. I'm so thankful for your papa and for you. I hope one day soon I can find your aunt so she can meet her niece and brother-in-law… and so I can see how she has grown." Hisana spoke softly, gazing down at Masako.
The baby had somehow found the seaweed ambassador stuffed toy hidden among the folds of the blankets and was chewing on his head with her few teeth contently.
"Ma-chan, I was hoping you would have different artistic tastes than your Tou-sama. But it's okay if you have similar tastes. At least that can be something you two bond over." Hisana giggled at the idea of the two bonding while Byakuya taught the child how to draw the weirdly shaped green seaweed with hands and feet that looked similar.
She knew that Wakame Taishi was something that Byakuya had learned from his father which was why he cherished the figure so much.
Without warning, two strong arms wrapped around her waist causing her to gasp in surprise but immediately relaxed when she heard the familiar deep voice speak into her ear, "Do you not worry that Masako will be confused as to what to call me?"
Turning with a smile, Hisana responded, "I figured you would be okay with both. She could just choose whichever she prefers."
"And you get to be called 'Mama' while giving her no option of Okaa-sama?" Byakuya questioned, raising an eyebrow.
Wrinkling her nose lightly at the formal title, "That sounds weird to me. I wouldn't want Masako to refer to me in that manner. My family hardly even used –san towards each other when I was growing up."
"And you believe I wish to be called so formally by my child? I have already tried for many years to convince you to refer to me in a more personal way. I ask you not make me have to repeat history with my own child. After all, history is to be learned from, not ignored." Byakuya teased lightly.
Smiling again, Hisana spoke, "Then 'Papa' it is. At least until she's old enough to make her own decision to switch to Tou-chan or Tou-san if she wants. I didn't switch until all my classmates had switched."
Byakuya opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by Masako's sudden loud babbling. Looking over Hisana's head, he saw Masako staring at him with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth, holding one arm towards him. Her other hand was clutching the stuffed toy.
"Looks like someone else missed you." Hisana commented, pulling away from Byakuya to hand Masako to him.
Quickly avoiding Hisana's arm, Masako shook her head in the negative and gave a small pout before turning to look at her father again.
"She doesn't want me to even help." Hisana laughed, stepping to the side.
"You have missed me?" Byakuya questioned, Hisana able to hear the smile in his voice despite the lack of one on his face.
"Ma-chan," Hisana called out briefly making the baby turn to her at hearing her name, "Where's Papa, Ma-chan?"
Masako then turned away from Hisana and looked back at Byakuya, holding her arms out towards him while babbling 'Papa' in his direction. This time, the left corner of Byakuya's mouth tilted upwards briefly as he reached down to lift his daughter into his arms.
Hisana couldn't help but think to herself, 'What a big ole softie'.
"As you wished, I have come back hungry." Byakuya spoke, turning to Hisana with Masako sitting on his arm, his other hand held at her back protectively.
As if she had suddenly remembered, Hisana quickly headed towards the doors to check on the food. Hopefully Tagame had followed through on his promise and had finished up the food for her. Her cheeks flushed a light pink as she realized she had forgotten to check up on the food.
Rushing through the door to the kitchen, Hisana immediately saw a beautiful basket sitting on the counter. She headed straight towards it, and lifted the cover to reveal intricately wrapped bento boxes with pink dyed rice peeking out of the transparent cover edges. They had somehow even managed to engrave the bento boxes with their names in the time she had been gone. She found 'Kuchiki Byakuya', 'Kuchiki Hisana', and even a smaller 'Kuchiki Masako' box.
"Thank you." Hisana spoke into the empty space, somewhat surprised that there was not a soul there.
Carefully grasping the basket, Hisana then headed back towards their bedroom but was met with Byakuya holding Masako while heading towards the dining hall.
"Where did you go?" Byakuya questioned curiously.
"I just went to check on the food." Hisana smiled back, holding up the basket as evidence.
"Ah, I see. Will you keep Masako while I change into more appropriate clothing? I see you two have chosen coordinating outfits." Byakuya commented, attempting to hand Masako to Hisana while taking hold of the basket to place on the table.
Almost immediately, however, Masako clutched onto her father tighter and made a whine of clear discontent.
"Papa's girl," Hisana teased before suggesting, "Why don't you just take her with you to change? I'll go retrieve some outerwear in case it gets cooler outside."
Nodding, Byakuya agreed, "Very well. I will meet you at the door?"
"Sounds perfect." Hisana smiled, leaning up on her tip-toes to give first Byakuya a kiss then Masako a kiss.
After making sure that he and Hisana had separated far enough that she wouldn't hear, Byakuya turned to look at Masako curiously making the baby turn her head to look at him, as well.
"Do you like me more than your mother, Ma-chan?" Byakuya questioned though he could feel his ears burn slightly in embarrassment despite knowing that Hisana couldn't hear him.
For some reason, he was always embarrassed to call the child by the affectionate nickname due to the nature of his status as a noble and was always slightly jealous at how easily showing affection came to Hisana. His own mother had called him Byakuya-chan or Bya-chan freely which had made him smile as a young child and even his father had occasionally used –kun with him but he knew he didn't have it in him to be as open as them and for that, he felt sorry for Hisana and Masako that he was not a good enough husband or father.
Masako continued to stare back for a moment before grinning widely and smashing the stuffed toy against his cheek then babbling incoherently as if actually trying to respond to him.
"Sorry, I do not understand what you are trying to tell me. Could you repeat it different words?" Byakuya requested teasingly, heading into the bedroom.
When he entered, he sat the babbling child carefully on the bed before deliberating.
"What should I wear, Masako-chan? Shall I match you and your mother? Ah, I know." Byakuya spoke before heading to the closet to pull out a black and silver men's kimono decorated with the Kuchiki family crest, cherry blossom tree branches woven into the border's of the crest.
"I think your mother will like it. I hope you do, as well." Byakuya murmured, holding up the kimono with the back facing Masako so she could see the pattern that he had chosen.
The baby looked curiously, as if examining the fabric, before reaching forward to touch the cherry blossom tree branch with her fingers but had misjudged the distance and suddenly tumbled off the bed. Before she could actually hit the floor, however, Byakuya had already let go of his kimono and caught her, pulling her close to his body.
"Are you alright?" Byakuya questioned, not actually expecting an answer though he did get one.
Masako began wailing at the surprise from the sudden fall catching the attention of Hisana, who had been in another room choosing some appropriate outerwear for when the day became chillier after the sun set.
"What happened? Is Masako alright?" Hisana asked, rushing into the room with an expression of worry.
"She is fine. Simply had a small tumble but I caught her." Byakuya reassured though Hisana wasn't placated until she had rushed over and taken Masako from Byakuya, holding the child closely and consoling her.
Byakuya regarded the two with a soft expression. Sometimes he truly wished that he could show his emotions more, specifically his emotions relating to how much he loved his family, but knew he couldn't risk it as the Head of the Kuchiki clan. Even at his home there were eyes watching… eyes that belonged to people that wanted to usurp him. He could show no sign of weakness or they would immediately go after him or worse, his family. Byakuya was well aware that he could easily fight off anyone that challenged him but was also aware that neither Hisana nor Masako could… yet, at least.
"I will change and we can go." Byakuya informed, picking the kimono off the ground and brushing it off briefly though he was sure there was no dust on the ground.
It wasn't long before the small family was heading towards the cherry blossom fields with Byakuya holding Masako with his left arm and the picnic basket with his right hand. He had refused to allow Hisana to carry anything though she did insist on holding the basket together. Byakuya had been about to respond truthfully and inform her that would only make it more difficult to carry but refrained when he saw the hopeful expression in her eyes. She hated feeling useless and so he relented with a small smile to reassure her.
"Ma-chan," Hisana called sweetly as they finally reached the cherry blossom tree field.
Only when they reached the fields did Byakuya finally hand the baby over to Hisana.
"This tree is Mama and Papa's very special tree. It is the largest in the entire field. Your father proposed under this tree. Your future husband might even propose under this tree." Hisana spoke, sneaking a look at Byakuya.
She couldn't help giggling to herself when, predictably, his eyebrows furrowed unhappily as he considered her words. Byakuya Kuchiki might be the head of the most prestigious Clan in all of Soul Society but being a father was universal.
"Even today is a very special day because today was the day that Mama and Papa met for the first time." Hisana then continued as she carried Masako over to the large tree.
"Mama." Masako repeated in a whisper as she reached up in an attempt to grab at the pink petals.
Byakuya easily reached up and picked a cherry blossom carefully then held it out to Masako with an open palm. The baby happily grabbed the flower roughly and was about to stuff it in her mouth but Byakuya immediately grabbed her wrist albeit gently.
"That is not for eating or sucking on. It is not clean." Byakuya informed in a light frown.
The small downturn of her lips that foretold of tears made him immediately let go and clear his face of the frown knowing that she was responding to what she believed was disapproval… which it was, essentially.
"Gentle." Hisana spoke, reaching with one hand to loosen Masako's grip on the flower to allow it to return to its original form as opposed to being somewhat crushed by the strength of the baby's hand.
Masako watched as Hisana opened her fist and attempted to smooth out the flower's petals.
"Will you take Masako for a moment, Byakuya-sama?" Hisana requested, handing Masako to Byakuya.
With one nod, Byakuya took Masako into his arms and, in turn, gave the picnic basket to Hisana. The two then watched as Hisana carefully unpacked the picnic blanket and laid it out under the cherry blossom tree. She pulled out each of the bento boxes and placed it carefully on top of the blanket. Hisana then noticed the seaweed salad and bananas also packed into the basket and smiled, amused. It must have been Tagame teasing Byakuya lightly knowing some of the jokes the other Shinigami spoke about him particularly those in the same division.
Byakuya took a seat beside Hisana, sitting Masako on his lap and accepting the bento box that Hisana offered with two hands. Masako smacked her hands against Byakuya's leg a couple times before crawling awkwardly towards her mother.
"Have I upset you? Am I not your favorite, anymore?" Byakuya questioned, the light raise of his right brow telling Hisana that he was joking.
"Mama's her favorite." Hisana giggled as she lifted Masako into her arms and cuddled her briefly.
Byakuya couldn't help the small smile at Hisana's giggle as he uncovered the bento box, "Hisana, thank you. It looks wonderful."
"Tagame-san helped me. I hope you like it." Hisana smiled as she reached down to uncover both hers and Masako's boxes.
Byakuya reached down and carefully lifted out one of the perfectly shaped onigiri. Biting into it, he was pleasantly surprised by the filling. This one was among his favorites as not many had a filling that remained delicious when spice was added.
Suddenly concerned, Byakuya turned to Hisana and Masako with slightly furrowed eyebrows, "Can Masako eat this?"
Hisana smiled at him before answering, "You are sweet for being concerned but I made a separate filling for the baby and I."
Nodding, Byakuya turned back to his food, placated though he had to use his incredible control of his body from blushing at her compliment.
"Today is such a nice day to be outside." Hisana commented as she watched Masako grab at the multiple tiny onigiri that Tagame had chosen to make for her.
The tiny onigiri seemed the perfect size for baby hands to grab and eat and Tagame had even shaped some into different shapes that went outside the typical onigiri shape. Hisana could see flowers, hearts, stars, and even what looked like shapes of animal heads. Masako seemed to be indifferent to the shapes as she grabbed each one and squished them in her fist all the same before stuffing it in her mouth. Half didn't even make it into her mouth as they were squished out of the bottom of her fist, falling onto the baby's clothing.
As if suddenly realizing her mother was watching her, Masako looked at Hisana for a moment before offering some squished onigiri to Hisana, holding her fist at her mother's mouth.
Hisana couldn't help but laugh before accepting a small bit from the child, exclaiming, "Mm! Yummy! Thank you, Ma-chan!"
Masako seemed delighted at the compliments and immediately grabbed more into the same fist and offering it to Byakuya with an excited grunt in attempt to get her father's attention.
Byakuya silently balked at the squished onigiri in the small chubby fist half covered in baby drool.
"Ask Papa nicely if he wants some." Hisana attempted to direct.
"Papa?" Masako managed in a questioning tone, sticking her fist closer to Byakuya's mouth.
Byakuya knew that Hisana was teasing him because she was quite aware of the fact that he wouldn't have wanted to eat anything offered from the baby's drool covered hands but didn't have the heart to say no if the child asked in that manner.
Swallowing hard, Byakuya leaned over and attempted to bite a small piece from an area that seemed relatively undisturbed by baby fists or baby drool then spoke softly, "Thank you, Masako. It was delicious."
Masako seemed to understand that it was a compliment because she then squealed and began stuffing the rest down her mouth. Her gaze then shifted to the half-eaten onigiri that Byakuya was holding in his hand and decided she wanted some. As she was already leaning against her mother's arm from her successful attempt to feed her father, it had only taken one quick swipe to grab at Byakuya's onigiri and squish some into her previously empty left fist.
"No!" Hisana immediately scolded, reaching to stop Masako from stuffing the spicy food into her mouth but Byakuya had beaten her to it.
The young Vice Captain had already caught Masako's arm and was quietly wiping it with the handkerchief he had grabbed this morning.
"Masako, Papa's onigiri is spicy. It's not for babies to eat." Hisana continued to scold as she used water to wet the handkerchief and took it from Byakuya to make sure there was no residual spicy oil left on the baby's hand.
To make sure they had cleaned the hand properly, Hisana had leaned down to give the fist a lick causing Byakuya to call out in bewilderment, "Hisana…"
"Just making sure." Hisana explained, sitting back up.
Nodding, Byakuya then turned back to his now deformed onigiri, simply staring for a moment. When he looked at Masako, he saw that the baby had retracted her hand the second Hisana had let go and had on a small pout from being chastised. Without warning, he leaned down to give Masako a kiss on the forehead then gave Hisana a kiss to the cheek.
"What was that for?" Hisana questioned, pleasantly surprised.
"There are no other people in this world that are more precious to me." Byakuya informed before turning back to his food and, this time with no hesitation, biting into the slightly deformed onigiri.
Eventually, the two found themselves leaning against the tree trunk, Byakuya's arm around Hisana and Masako sitting comfortably in her mother's lap as they simply watched the leaves and grass billowing in the wind.
Hisana then suddenly sat up to retrieve the sakuramochi but leaned back against Byakuya again when she found the box.
"We made sakuramochi," Hisana informed as she uncovered the box to reveal the delicate pink sweets wrapped in the picked sakura leaves then asked, "Will you have one?"
With one nod, Byakuya reached over to take one of the perfectly shaped sweets. Hisana watched as he took a bite then turned to her with a small, sweet smile.
"It is delicious, Hisana. Thank you for making this for me." Byakuya spoke.
Blushing lightly, Hisana quickly returned, "Oh, I didn't actually make this. Masako had made a mess in the kitchen so I had to give her a bath while Tagame-san and the others helped me finish up with the picnic."
"Nonetheless, thank you for thinking of me when you prepared this meal." Byakuya continued.
Right as Byakuya and Hisana were having a moment gazing into each others eyes, Masako noticed the object in her father's hand and immediately flung her arm toward it to grab at it. The baby managed to dig two fingers into the red bean portion of the sweet then pulled it back, quickly stuffing it into her mouth. Byakuya simply watched, both slightly surprised and somewhat amused.
"Masako, that's not nice to just take Papa's mochi without asking." Hisana scolded.
Hisana wasn't sure if the baby even understood her words as she grinned up at her parents with the few teeth that she possessed, the mochi half-stuffed in her mouth.
"Besides, you can't eat this, yet. You're too young and you will choke on it. And it's not very healthy for a baby your age. At least that's what the doctor said." Hisana added, reaching up to take the sticky snack from Masako.
Instantly, Masako began throwing a small fit as she attempted to take it back.
"Okay, okay, you can have a little bit. This is called 'anko'." Hisana spoke, using her pinky finger to scoop out a little bit of the red bean from the inside of the mochi then sticking her finger into Masako's mouth.
The baby calmed down as she tried to understand what kind of taste was going on in her mouth.
"I guess you don't want this back. You should have a new one, Byakuya-sama." Hisana commented, taking a bite from the sakuramochi that Masako had taken from Byakuya.
"If you do not mind… then I do not mind." Byakuya insisted, taking Hisana's wrist then eating the rest of the sakuramochi instantly drawing another blush from the smaller woman.
Hisana stared at Byakuya for a moment before quickly shaking her head to clear her mind and speaking thoughtfully, "Byakuya-sama… do you remember what happened on this day some years ago?"
Byakuya regarded her carefully, Hisana's heart starting to drop slightly in disappointment when his expression didn't change, but was surprised when he then smiled softly and nodded.
"Of course. If you had not prepared anything for today, I would have." Byakuya spoke.
"What day is today, then?" Hisana asked slyly, a teasing smirk appearing.
"Today is the anniversary of the day I went to the Rukon districts with a goal that changed when I actually arrived. Inuzuri is not as bad a place as I had expected." Byakuya responded indirectly though his words still made her smile.
"Did you like what I prepared for this day?" Hisana asked shyly.
"I did. And I have also prepared something for you and Masako." Byakuya spoke, suddenly getting to his feet.
Hisana frowned at the sudden loss of warmth while Masako paused her exploration of the picnic basket to look up at her towering father. Byakuya reached over and grabbed the long-sleeved haori Hisana had picked and laid them over the mother-daughter pair before reaching behind the tree and pulling out a familiar sheathed sword.
"When did you put that there?" Hisana asked, surprised.
"Before I returned home." Byakuya answered simply as he began to unsheathe the sword, only continuing after making sure neither Masako nor Hisana were anywhere near the blade though he would have noticed the second they got near.
Hisana smiled in anticipation. He had only shown her his Shikai release once before since he explained that he had had to request special permission from the Sotaichou before he could perform a Zanpakuto release.
"You have gotten permission?" Hisana questioned excitedly. This would be the first time Masako would see her father's abilities in action.
"I have gotten permission for something much better." Byakuya informed and this time he had a full on smile that had Hisana speechless.
"Wh-what is it?" Hisana stuttered, still surprised at seeing his real smile. It had been so long since she had last seen it.
"Hisana… do you know what 'Bankai' is?" Byakuya questioned.