There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. The course of true love never did run smooth.

-Shakespeare

Walking down a cobblestone path as she had done so many times before, she came across a large silver gate. Pausing for a moment, she pushed open the gate, marveling at the beauty of the garden before her. Ancient cherry trees framed a large stream which ended in a koi pond, the focal point of the garden. The pale pink blooms danced as the wind blew by, sending its petals across the sky. The girl stopped for a moment at the edge of the pond and pulled a hair pin with pale, almost mint colored, flowers out of her hair, releasing her bun. She sighed and gazed at the koi swimming lazily around the pond, almost jealous of how simple their life was. Distracted, the girl did not notice the figure standing by a large cherry tree staring at her. The man began to walk toward her, his sandals lightly tapping on the cobblestone path. Upon hearing the noise, the girl turned to look at the man, her hair blowing in the wind, the pale pink strands blending in perfectly with the petals dancing about.

The man reached out to smooth the strands of hair that were blowing into her face and tuck them behind her ear before caressing her cheek. She leaned her cheek into his hand, and brought her hand up to lightly touch his, silently asking him to keep his hand there, for at least the moment. She felt her heart beat rapidly as she looked up at his face.

"Byakuya.." She muttered quietly, not wanting to ruin the moment.

She looked up into the man's slate grey eyes and was momentarily lost in the swimming pools. The man moved his hand from her cheek and down to her waist, drawing her closer to him. For a moment, the wind stilled and the cherry blossom petals drifted slightly to the ground. WIth a soft kiss, the man uttered the four words that would change everything.

"I love you _.."

The last words were replaced by a loud ringing as white noise filled her ears and the world faded to black.

Slowly the white noise subsided and was replaced by an eerie silence and darkness.

The darkness that I had grown accustomed to was roughly shaken from my grasp. Instead replaced with the growing roar, muffled by my arms cradling my head. Soon enough, whatever was causing that unnerving sounds stopped. But sadly, right as I was drifting back to sleep, I was yanked back into reality by my so called best friend.

"Akari!" yelled Ichigo, slamming his hands down onto my desk. "I swear, every damn time school starts you pass out!"

Releasing a small whine, I sat up and stretched my back. Facing him I began to whine, "It's not my fault, sleep is so alluring, no matter how hard I try, something keeps calling me back." Grabbing his arm, I dragged him down too my seated height and examined him closely, "Kojima-kun has been yapping all morning about a huge hole in the side of your house. What Happened?" A streak of panic immediately crossed his face, looking away he shrugged absentmindedly.

"Don't worry," he blurted, "a... uh… truck hit the side of my house. Anyway no one was injured so it doesn't really matter." He turned away and found his seat next to mine. But, before he could get comfortable, a short girl with dark shoulder length hair walked up to him.

"You're… Are you Kurosaki-san?" she chirped looking down at him. Standing up, Ichigo scanned the room in confusion, before settling back onto her.

Kojima seemed to notice this look in his before interrupting. "Oh, this is Kuchiki-san. She transferred in today. It's a weird time, but her family was in a situation where they had to move suddenly"

"Y... you...why!?" Ichigo exclaimed, furrowing my brows I stared up at him in confusion.

"That's rather rude, don't you think?" I stood up and pushed him behind me and bowed toward the slightly shorter girl. "I am sorry for his behavior Kuchiki-san", reaching my hand out I offered a handshake, which she gratefully returned. "My name is Ishida Akari, it is a pleasure to meet you" I said with a smile.

Politely smiling at me, she then turned to face Ichigo, who was still towering behind me. Sticking her hand out to him she asked him, "Kurosaki-kun, I don't have the textbooks yet. Let me… May I… look at yours?". Looking down onto her Ichigo seemed scared, but before he could say anything else our teacher walked in, causing all of us to take our seats and begin the lessons.

By the end of the lesson, I was exhausted. Retrieving my belongings, I placed them back into my bag and waited for Ichigo to finish packing up. Realizing I was waiting for him, he took a quick glance between Rukia and me, as if deciding who to go with. Eventually, he stood and faced me, "Don't wait up for me today, I have to go show Kuchiki around the school for a bit."

Thinking back to his previous strange behavior, I smiled suspiciously at him. "That's so nice of you. If you want, I can come with you?".

Eyes widening, he quickly shook his head, "NO! no... no. It's fine. I don't want to take up your time."

"Are you sure I can…" I began but was quickly interrupted with more of Ichigo's stammering.

"No, it's fine, you should get home anyway. We, uh, you said your brother was pretty strict. So, you should...go." Feeling a bit hurt, I just nodded in reply. Grabbing my bag, I stood up and left the classroom without saying another word.

Traveling a few classes down I peeked into the classroom and saw Uryu immersed in his handicrafts club. Not wanting to bother him, I quietly shut the door and made my way out of school. Exiting the school's doors, I noticed Tatsuki and Orihime walking out of the school, gripping my bag a bit tighter, I quickly caught up to them.

"Hello Akari-chan, what are you doing out here alone?" Orihime questioned tilting her head.

"Ichigo ditched you, didn't he?" Tatsuki growled, "that idiot."

Smiling at her I shook my head, "It's fine, he's just being nice and showing the new girl around." Hooking my arms with the pair, I gently pulled them along and inquired what they were planning to do today.

"Oh, nothing much. But tomorrow I am planning on going to go grocery shopping if you would like to come." Orihime replied smiling brightly, yet it caused Tatsuki to scrunch her face.

"I would love to come; I'll meet you at your house then!" I replied skipping ahead of them. "Well, this is where we part, so I'll see you two tomorrow?"

"I'll pass on that" Tatsuki muttered. Laughing at her reaction, I waved to them once before turning into a slightly busy street. Passing various stores, I peeked into each one curious to see if anything would catch my eye, and politely greeting the store owners. Eventually, I arrived at my home, only to be greeted by the sounds of an empty house. Walking to my room, I placed my bag onto my desk and laid on my bed. Laying on my bed in silence for a few minutes, I gathered the strength to sit up and finally decide to make dinner for myself and my brother when he arrives home. Releasing my hair from its bun, I gently placed my hair pin on my night stand, and left my room to cook dinner.

Halfway through preparing dinner, I heard the front door open. Knowing it was Uryu, I yelled a quick welcome home, and resumed making dinner after hearing his reply. A few minutes passed of quietly preparing fish for the oven, before I heard footsteps heading toward the kitchen. Looking up, I saw Uryu standing there looking quite tired. Amused, I let out a small chuckle.

"How was your club?" I mused, before finally putting the fish in the oven. He gave me a stern look, but I knew better. "What, too many girls fawned over you today?" I asked. "Anyway, I'm almost done with dinner, so could you set the table?"

"Of course," he replied, "did you go to your flower club today?". Shaking my head, I began to place rice in two bowls before replying.

"There was no club today, but I did meet up with Orihime and Tatsuki after school. Also, Do you mind if I go out with Orihime tomorrow?". He stopped for a second and I felt his stern eyes focus on me, exactly like our father's. But, none the less his gaze always seemed far kinder. Looking away he smiled just a bit before making his way over to the oven and examing the fish inside.

"Why not? Just please remember to be careful" He mused taking the fish out and placing it onto the table. Nodding in acknowledgement of his answer, I gave him a bowl of rice and placed a larger bowl of vegetables between us. Then we both began to eat in silence. Though to some this silence may seem unnerving, to us it was comforting. A silent agreement on familial love.