A/N: This is the sequel to Deeper Care, but it also has an independent plot, so feel free to read them both how you see fit if you read the any of my other stories at all!
Simmering Silence
Flitting fragrances of rich earth and fresh flora swirled through the open space like a whirlwind, almost visible but just barely sly enough to trick the eye. The mahogany strength that held the small temple aloft seemed to breathe the aromas, deepening the wisdom held in its beams with every passing breeze. The sparse grass that surrounded the steps to the airy building whispered with a papyrus crinkle that shivered through the air, the bamboo swaying with a hypnotic quietness, like icy rain upon glass.
Byakuya let the winds whisk away the weight of his duties, feeling light and bodiless in his meditation. His raven hair waved in silent swirls as he lifted his chin into the nonjudgmental winds, breathing in the crisp, clean breeze as if being granted new life. The lightening currents almost pushed a smile upon his features, but merely teased him as everything was blown away gently, leaving only a nameless consciousness for the captain to enjoy.
A whisper of breath blew across his lips, hotter than that of the young spring blossoming around him. His eyes opened, expressionless but still wary, contemplating the ghostly sensation as the breeze became starkly cold. He watched the air dance about him like pixies fiddling with the voiceless trees, the sleeping hills beyond Seireitei. The frigid wind rounded, plaguing his ears once again with passionate pleas, whispers of lovers beyond his realm of reality. His senses sharpened, listening intently to what he was meant to hear.
Rukia… Despite his meditative calm, Byakuya's jaw tightened with slow realization. Ichigo's voice had found him in his deepest contemplation. Her name dripped from his voice like an ache, a tense desire permeating his raw voice. The captain listened to the wind carry away the loose thought as if it had never been. It was a secret between them that the breeze was almost afraid to let slip from the clouds.
As the wind slithered away in an fearful slink, Byakuya's eyes hardened, his hands dropping from their upturned, receiving gesture into tightly balled fists. Though his face mirrored none of his anger as he eased himself off his meditative cushion, he felt urgency in his own step, something he rarely felt. A sense of dread that wasn't so familiar to him, though the few times he recognized it in the past had become scars upon his memory.
The fear that began to boil up in his stomach wasn't one of battle or reprimand. It was too familiar and warm to be either. Hisana, a vision that he often found drifting within his thoughts seemed foremost in his consciousness, a sweet, sorrowful whisper that acted like a deafening yearning for her to be flesh and blood once again. He pushed the apparition away tenderly, always sure to be careful with her memory. The captain stepped slowly from the temple, his hand on hilt.
As Byakuya walked back to his quarters, the urgency he had felt intensified with the sound of the wood beneath his feet. It was nostalgic in a leaden way, the silence around him adding to the dread of kneeling next to his love's bedding, holding her cold hand, her eyes closed with a finality that more closely resembled a doll than a living beauty. Ichigo would know this sadness someday. If his love for Rukia continued as it seemed to have been, he would share the glint of a love lost that was too easy to recognize once one possessed it themselves.
Byakuya could feel the pressure of Hisana's death upon his eyes, deepened the black of his orbs. He could feel the solemn sorrow that weighed down his face as if he could never feel extremes, never smile as long as he continued to exist in that weary husk. Despite his distaste for their unconsummated relationship, Byakuya had many reasons for not allowing his sister's love to grow any stronger. He knew that while he understood love and its bitter sorrows, its wrathful compromises and sacrifices, he had to uphold his duties first. It was up to Rukia to find ways to obey her family and shinigami honour, and his duty to make sure she never strayed.
A/N: I know, short, but I've had a very rough couple of days and parts of the original chapter were lost when power went out last night. In any case, it will be better in chapters to come!