"What's wrong, little Byakuya?"
It was a beautiful day. The warmth of the sun was welcome after the harsh cold of the winter. The cherry blossoms had just bloomed, and the petals fell softly to the ground when a gentle breeze blew across them. It was a perfect day to lie under the trees and peer up at the blue sky through the pink flowers.
But who had time for that?
"Come on, don't tell me you can't even catch a girl!" Yoruichi taunted as she looked at the boy trailing behind her.
Byakuya clenched his teeth and didn't respond to the obnoxious girl in front of him. 'Why did Grandfather make me train with her?'
'Her shunpo surpasses yours, Byakuya. Maybe you could learn a thing or two. She isn't the captain of the Second Division for nothing. If your shunpo skills can't improve, then maybe you can adopt her sense of humor. You're much too serious, Byakuya.'
Byakuya scoffed and increased his speed. 'If this girl can move with such incredible speed, then so can I!' The form of Yoruichi's body became closer and clearer. "I got you, Yoruichi!" But before Byakuya could even reach his hand out, she had vanished once again. "Damnit!" Byakuya panted and came to a stop on a rooftop. He didn't have the energy to keep up.
Yoruichi glanced back and noticed that her partner was no longer following. Instead, he was bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for air.
"This is depressing, little Byakuya," she smirked as she appeared by his side. "Your grandfather wanted me to train you and here you are taking a break."
"Shut… up…" Byakuya panted. "I will surpass you one day!"
"Not with that kind of speed," Yoruichi mused. She sighed and sat down, dangling her legs over the edge of the roof.
"What are you doing? Get up, this is training!" Byakuya spat.
Yoruichi laughed. "And who is the master and who is the student?"
Byakuya was silent for a few seconds. "How shameful of me to be a student to the likes of you."
"Lighten up, little Byakuya. It's not very becoming to scowl like that all the time. Your face might freeze like that, you know."
The young boy took a deep breath and sat down next to Yoruichi. "Look at the cherry blossoms, Byakuya. Aren't they beautiful?"
"What's the point in asking a question like that at this time?" he said defensively. 'They really are quite beautiful, though…'
"I'm just trying to make conversation. So shoot me."
They passed the next few minutes in silence, Byakuya not knowing what to say and Yoruichi not even bothering to say anymore. It was Byakuya who eventually ended up breaking it.
"So, are we gonna keep at this or what?" He stood up.
Yoruichi grinned and followed suit. "Anxious to get beaten, aren't we, little Byakuya?"
Byakuya felt his eye twitch. 'This girl is impossible! How can someone like her be nobility?'
"You look like you want to kill me," she stated, "but that's a good thing here. Catch me if you can!" Without giving Byakuya a chance to retort, she disappeared.
He blinked a few times before it registered in his head that Yoruichi was gone. "What the… oh, forget it. I'm going home," he pouted. "Who needs to train with such an annoying girl anyway."
He slowly trekked back to the Kuchiki household, where he saw his grandfather sitting on the steps observing the cherry blossoms in the yard.
"Good afternoon, Grandfather," Byakuya bowed.
"Done training already, Byakuya?"
"Erm…" He hesitated, not knowing what would be worse – telling Ginrei the truth that he just gave up or lying to him and having him find out later from the Shihouin family. The latter was probably worse. "I… gave up, Grandfather."
Ginrei's eyes darted to his grandson's face. "You what?"
"She moved too fast for me, and she was so obnoxious. I grew tired. I don't need her to train. I can get better by myself, and when I do--"
Ginrei sighed. "Byakuya… come here and sit."
Byakuya shuffled his feet in place, afraid of his grandfather's wrath, but he did as he was told.
"Byakuya… you are a part of the Kuchiki clan. I understand that holds a lot of pride for you, but sometimes you have to put that aside and look at the bigger picture. I want to make sure you are properly taken care of and trained. I won't be around forever, and soon, you will be the head of the Kuchiki clan. Do you understand?"
Byakuya nodded his head solemnly.
"So do you now understand why I asked Yoruichi to assist in your training? As much as you despise her, she is truly a skilled fighter, and her shunpo abilities are greater than your own. Can't you please put aside whatever grudge you have against her?"
Byakuya nodded again.
Ginrei smiled warmly and placed a hand on Byakuya's head. "Well, I promised your grandmother that I would finish up some paperwork today. I may be the head of a noble clan, but that doesn't mean I can disregard what my wife says," he chuckled. "Think about what I said, Byakuya, and I hope that you'll continue your training with Yoruichi." He turned to walk into the house and stopped. "You know, you'd could make a woman very happy if that stubborn and proud attitude of yours would let up a bit."
Byakuya's face flushed with embarrassment. It was true. He was a member of a noble family and he was acting like a brat. He stood up defiantly and took a deep breath before going back to find Yoruichi. 'Hopefully she hasn't noticed…' It was wishful thinking.
Byakuya sensed Yoruichi in the outskirts of the forest. 'She's gotten THAT far already?!' He increased the speed of his own shunpo, hoping that she would stay put so he wouldn't have to chase her the entire afternoon. By the time he reached the forest, he was running low on energy. Leaning against the trunk of a tree, he breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath. "Damn, where is she?"
"You're awfully slow today, little Byakuya."
For once, Byakuya was happy to hear Yoruichi's voice. He turned and saw her sitting on a tree branch gazing down at him.
"Yeah, well, I…" Byakuya couldn't think of any excuses.
"I'm not stupid, Byakuya. I know you weren't behind me the entire time. You wouldn't be sweating and panting so much with just a few steps of shunpo, anyway. You've obviously come from somewhere further." Yoruichi waited for him to explain. When he remained silent, she asked in a serious voice. "Where did you go, Byakuya?"
"Home," was all he said.
"And what made you come back?"
"My grandfather."
"I see."
The wind rustled the leaves in the trees as the two of them contemplated in the silence. Yoruichi continued to stare at Byakuya, who had his back turned to her and was looking down the forest's path.
"Look, Byakuya," Yoruichi began as she jumped down from the tree, "I don't know what you have against me, but I know this. We are both children of noble families. We are both proud. We've been raised that way. But can't we put that aside for a while and just train and be… normal?"
"You can't be normal if you're nobility." Byakuya turned to face Yoruichi, but his gaze remained fixated elsewhere. "If we were, then our families wouldn't be in the strong position that they're in."
"You have to admit, though, that all of this –dono and –sama and 'Your highness' crap gets overdone, doesn't it?" she inquired.
Byakuya shrugged. "It's never bothered me. I have always honored respect."
Yoruichi gave an exasperated sigh. "Well then, your highness, shall we continue where we left off?"
"Whenever you're ready, master."
"Just answer me one question."
Byakuya finally looked at Yoruichi's face.
"Why do you want to become stronger, Byakuya?"
"So I can uphold and protect the Kuchiki name."
"Is there someone you love and want to protect?"
"My family."
"Anyone not related to you?"
Byakuya thought for a moment. "No."
"I see. Then let's continue." And Yoruichi disappeared again.
Byakuya, taken aback by the sudden seriousness of Yoruichi, lingered for a few seconds after his partner had vanished. It was rare for him to see her like this. Most of the time she seemed to be loud and obnoxious, totally unfitting for a princess of nobility. It was difficult to have a conversation with her and get straight answers. She always had a tendency to dance around your statements and questions until even you forget your original intentions for speaking with her in the first place. "Heh, I guess even a person like her can have some decency," he smirked as he chased after Yoruichi.
"You have to relax or you'll never be able to get better!" Yoruichi called behind her.
"Relax? How can I relax when I'm pushing the limits of my body right now?"
"That's exactly my point." Yoruichi stopped suddenly. Byakuya had to forcefully prevent himself from taking another step. The abrupt stop was not clean enough, and he ended up a few feet in front of Yoruichi.
"What's the big idea?"
"You'll never get better like this. Your body is too rigid. You need to relax."
"I heard you the first time," Byakuya scoffed.
"Can you just try listening to me for once?" Yoruichi demanded.
"Of course--" Byakuya recalled the words of his grandfather. He had to improve his fighting skills, even if it meant that he would have to submit to her. His tense body slumped. "Of course," he said more calmly.
"So just take a deep breath and relax. You see that tree over there?" Yoruichi pointed at a tree that sat at the fork of the forest path. Both of us will try to reach that tree on one step. Just one. Got it?"
Byakuya nodded his head.
"Just let your feet do the work and don't think too much. You're making it harder than it needs to be." Yoruichi gave him a reassuring smile.
Byakuya felt a bit of blood rush to his face.
"Ready? On the count of three. One. Two. Three!"
The figures of Yoruichi and Byakuya vanished, and both reappeared at the base of the tree.
"Well, well, well," Yoruichi grinned. "You're not such a stiff after all, little Byakuya."