A/N: This is the sequel to my other story.
Warning: characters may be OOC.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach!
The Beautiful Moon In A Night Of Winter~~~
It was a quiet and peaceful night in the Sereti. The tall trees are all over the garden, it is surrounded with beautiful Bermuda grass and a wooden bench is at the center of it all. On the said bench, a woman sat still. She wears an elegant green yukata with a white obi and it has beautiful violet sparkling butterfly pattern for its design.
Her long black wavy hair is dancing with the wind. She has porcelain white skin, Safire blue eyes, rosy red lips and she is sitting on the bench unmoving while her slender hands are perfectly on her lap.
Her write hand is over her left hand. There she was, like a true princess.
The woman closed her eyes and there she was back in her cell. The beautiful garden is replaced with a white room with no windows, a small bed and iron bars on her locked door. She doesn't know how or why she is in here; all that she knows is that she'd been betrayed… Betrayed by him!
He didn't even bother to visit her, not even once! She hopes that he would visit her; he would get her out, that somehow… somehow he cared! But until now, it has been a month and still not a single word from him!
She doesn't know what to think; maybe he had disposed of her? Or he doesn't know what happened to her? Or something bad happened to him while in a mission? Or the worst, maybe he doesn't love her anymore!
She can remember it all, after the proposal he took her to the sutaicho and the next thing she knew is that she's in this cell. They didn't even tell her why… She had been knocked out and when she woke up, she's already here.
'The irony of it all, one moment she's in cloud nine and she's in despair the next.'
A single tear escaped her eyes. 'If they thought they can put me in this cell forever, well they're wrong! I will get out of here and when I do, you're going to explain. It. All. To me. Byakuya Kuchiki.' She thought anger coursing through her veins.
After carefully thinking of a plan Mizuki decided to put it in to action. Masamune is out of her reach as of the moment but she can manage. She was the great master of kido after all… Then, she started. "Bakudo number63 Soren Sokatsui." She hist.
After that, the door of her cell was destroyed. Then, she grabbed her zanpakuto and started to shunpo out of the prison.
The Beautiful Moon In A Night Of Winter~~~
Momo and Orihime are walking around the Seretei but suddenly they saw a lot of smoke coming from the prison so they check what was happening. When they got there, they saw a beautiful woman shunpoing out.
"She must be the one who caused all of this." Momo said.
"We need to stop her!" Orihime said.
So the two girls stood in front of the prisoner and the fukutaicho glared at her.
"I am fukutaicho Momo Hinamori and I arrest you for breaking out of prison!" The girl said to Mizuki.
"Get out of my way, I do not wish to hurt you." She said simply.
"No, you are a prisoner and you should go back! If you will not surrender, I will have to use force!" The fukutaicho answered back.
"You leave me no choice then. Bakudo number79 Kuyo Shibari." She bound Momo with a kido but Orihime tried to attack her from behind so she kicked her on the head and bound her with the same spell that she used against Momo.
'Sorry Orihime, I don't have the time to explain.' The princess thought.
"I told you I don't have time for this. You're all talk." She told the fukutaicho while smirking. Then, she continued her way to the squad one's office.
~~~The others~~~
The news of Mizuki's escape quickly got out in the Seretei. They alerted every squad there is.
~~~With the taichos~~~
"I suppose that you know why you are all being summoned." The sutaicho started with an annoyed sigh.
"Well, I have better things to do than to catch a prisoner." Said Mayuri.
"We all know that she would do this, I'm just surprised she didn't do it sooner." Shonsui commented lazily.
"I suppose Shonsui's write, we know her abilities. I'm guessing that she is even on her way here as we speak." Joshiro said with a matter of fact tone.
"But what will we do, milady is not supposed to be here." There's worry in Soifon's voice.
"All we can do is to hope that he will comeback before she destroys the place." The sutaicho, Yamamoto sighed again.
"Warn every low ranking officer not to fight her! If she's to be seen, clear her path immediately. Her strength is equal of a taicho's; we would have a lot of injured men if we let her fight them!" The sutaicho ordered.
"Sir, sir! We found fukutaicho Momo Hinamori and Orihime Inuwe badly beaten and bound near the prison!" Someone reported.
"Oh dear." Sighed Joshiro.
"Looks like she's done it again." Shonsui chirped.
Head taicho Yamamoto held his head. "Shonsui Kyoraku! Stop that young lady's rant and bring her here!" He then shouted.
"But old man Yama, she's on her way here. Why bother." He protested and yawned.
"I said now!" The sutaicho shot back.
"That is no longer needed, I am here." They heard a sweet voice said.
"Himeko!" Shonsui exclaimed.
"Sutaicho I want answers." She looked straight in to the head taicho's eyes.
"Why did you put me in prison?" She started angrily.
"Where is Byakuya?" Mizuki questioned once more.
"Why me?!" She asked teary eyed.
"Young lady we have no choice…" The old man tried to say.
"What do you mean you had no choice? You could always tell me and not put me in a sell!" She's really in rage now.
"Is that all you can do? Sit there and look at me with pitying eyes?!" Her emotions are out of control and she continued screaming.
"Well, I'll have you know that I do not need pity from anyone!" She said to them all.
Then to their surprise, the door of the first squad's office broke down and she saw him… she saw Byakuya!
Her blood ran cold, her vision got red and she marched quickly in front of him. She's going to give him a piece of her mind! But before she could do anything to him, he looked her straight in the eyes and Asher met Safire once more.
His gray eyes were full of many emotions on that time. She saw worry, loneliness, regret and happiness all jumbled in his tired eyes.
And then, he spoke to her. "Mizuki… are... you... all. Right?" Then he collapsed straight in her arms.
"Byakuya? Byakuya!" She shook him panicking.
"What happened to him? Unohana-taicho please help me!" She's frantic, Byakuya collapsed in her arms and it is only then that she took notice of his appearance.
His shiakusho is torn, his kensaikan are in a mess and his scarf is missing. He is bruised all over andhe has a stab wound on his back.
"H-how did he get all of this?" She's worried to death even though Unohana-taicho already took Byakuya in the operating room.
The Beautiful Moon In A Night Of Winter~~~
She's standing in front of the room when someone touched her on her shoulders in a comforting gesture.
"Don't worry too much, Byakuya is a strong man." She heard someone said trying to calm her down.
"He will never hurt you, you're his princess remember?" Shonsui told her and smiled.
"Sensei! What happened to him?" She asked him worriedly, showing him her puffy eyes.
"How did he got hurt?!" She's in hysterics now.
"Himeko please calm down. I will tell you everything." The man said, trying to ease her worry for her fiancé.
"After his elaborate proposal Hiro, Kota's assistant tried to assassinate you." Her mentor explained to her.
"He almost killed you, if it isn't because of lady Yoruwichi, he have gotten you already. So Byakuya brought you to the sutaicho to insure your safety and he pursued Hiro on his own." Shonsui continued as if pained.
"He told us to keep you safe; we didn't mean to do this to you… We can't risk your life, we can't lose you again. Now that you're with us." The normally lazy taicho told her honestly.
"I will give my life to protect you. And Byakuya will gladly do that for sure. For he loves you more than his own." He whispered the last part of his sentence.
"Please, please, try to understand us..." He finished with a sad expression on his normally laid-back face.
"But I can't lose him either! What will I do without him! He's the only one that keeps me going! Sensei! What will I do?" She cried more, the princess's tears are running down through her beautiful face.
"Hush, he will wake up… If there is one person that needs to be strong, it is you. You're his reason to live, you're his happiness so you need to be strong and wait for him understood?" He tried to silence the crying princess.
"That is the job of a wife, to believe in her husband no matter what... Always remember that himeku." Shonsui tried again.
"But… I'm not his wife…" She protested weakly.
"No buts, you will do as you're told. Or maybe you want me to give her fangirls a call? They'll come running at once!" He teased the girl but she cut him off immediately.
Mizuki let-out a dark scowl "Don't even bother! Not even all of them can rival my outstanding beauty, so don't waste your time for such tedious acts sensei!" And she marched in Byakuya's room after her beautiful speech.
"That girl…" Shonsui sighed amused.
"But, she's right you know?" Said Yoruwichi.
"Yeah, I couldn't agree more." He replied resignedly.
The Beautiful Moon In A Night Of Winter~~~
A month had passed and there's still no improvement. There are still different machines attached in to Byakuya's body and for her, this is the worst shape that she saw him in. Mizuki opened the curtains in the room and she let the moonlight shine on Byakuya's sleeping face.
She's taking care of him without fail; she almost never leaves his side except for the much needed things. She put a bed of cherry blossoms on the table and she placed her chair near his bed like what she always does.
It has been her routine for a month now and she will do it again. She will hold his hand, lovingly stroke his black hair and speak softly to him.
"Hey Bya-kun. Did you know that Rukia comes to visit you every day? Oh, and your fukutaicho as well Renji." She told him.
"Why, even lady Yurowichi came here. There are many people who are worried about you, you know? So, why don't you do as all a favor and wake up…" Then, her unshed tears finally came down.
"Byakuya I miss you… Why did you have to do that foolish deed anyway? I don't want this life if it cost your own! Didn't you think about that?" Mizuki cried. She doesn't care now if she's being like a child, she just wants him to wake up.
"I need you… I love you Byakuya okay? And I'll wait until you wake up my love." Then she kissed his forehead sweetly.
She can't stop crying, it has been the first time that she cried after her outburst with her sensei and she can't hold it in anymore so she just bit her lip and let her river of tears fall silently.
Mizuki had been like that for some time now, hands shaking and sobbing as quietly as she can. But then, her prayers had been answered. For a warm hand suddenly wiped her tears away.
"You know that it saddens me when you cry Mizuki-chan..." She heard a weak voice say. It is a low and gentle tone.
And Mizuki saw Byakuya is looking at her with that loving expression in his eyes. That eyes that she knows that's only for her. So she let-out her stream of tears and she rap around her arms on his neck. It was then that she continued to cry her eyes out.
"You're back, you're awake! Byakuya, Byakuya!" Mizuki cried nonstop.
Now, he's stroking her hair to soothe her and it was in that position that Unohana-taicho and the others found them.
"Umm… Mizuki? You might want to let him go, he… still… need to breath you know." Shonsui said while holding back his laughter.
"Oh, r-right! I-I'm s-sorry! I didn't m-mean to…" She said after she pulled away while blushing heavily the whole time.
"It is okay, we understand." Said Unohana-taicho.
After that, everything was a blur to her. There were many things that had happened. Byakuya healed, she became the taicho of the third squad and now… She got pulled out of her thoughts when her servant called.
"My lady, Kyoraku-taicho is here to see you."
'I really hope my voice does not falter.' Mizuki thought.
"Send him in." She ordered.
Her hands and knees are shaking and she is feeling uneasy. She almost jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Relax; I'm not going to kill you." Shonsui said to her with a grin.
"Look at you, you're-"He tried to tell her with amazement but she cut him off.
"What?! I-Is there something that's need to be changed?!" She asked him franticly.
"Easy, calm down. I was going to say you look beautiful. Well, except…" Shonsui trailed off with a smirk.
"W-What?!" She asked again, looking every way and shaking all the while.
"You can't talk properly. Just calm down okay? And stop shaking!" Her mentor tried to tell her.
"R-Right!" She answered him.
"..." Shonsui just let-out a sigh.
The Kuchiki garden is very beautiful. The lanterns are well lit, the flowers are arrange on the walk way and the guest are already anticipating.
"Whoa, it really helps if you're this rich!" Ichigo exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't shout, taicho hates noisy people." The fukutaicho told the teenager.
"Whatever Renji, I know that he doesn't like me anyway." Ichigo shot back.
"Aaahh, finally! They're going to be married! I've waited for so long!" A girl with green eyes squealed.
"Hey do you know anything Aono?" Rangiku ask.
"Yeah, do you know something about my taicho?" Followed Kira.
"uhh… Umm…" The small girl bit her lip and shuffled her feet nervously.
"Speak Aono!" The fukutaichos pressed.
"No, I will not do so! My loyalty remains with my princess Mizuki!" The girl stood her ground.
"It's okay Yumiko, I'm sure she won't mind." A voice said.
"Ah, head master Isshin. Are you sure? But what about Lord Kuchiki?" Aono still asked unsure.
"Well, that kid will understand. Besides, it's their wedding!" Isshin exclaimed happily.
"So dad, you know something about this too?" Ask Ichigo confused.
"We are the servants of the princess of the Hyga clan. The Hyga clan was one of the five noble clans in the soul society." The former taicho explained.
"Was? What do you mean was?" Ichigo asked.
"Shut up Ichigo!" Rukia wacked him on the head.
"Lady Mizuki was Lord Byakuya's fiancé. They were a perfect couple until… until…" He trailed off.
"What?!" The group asked anxiously.
"The groom has arrived." They heard someone said and when they turned, they saw him.
Byakuya is wearing the traditional black kimono of the Kuchiki family. He walks swiftly to the altar and there he stood tall and proud waiting for his bride to be. He is the picture of a true nobleman.
"The Hyga clan was massacred." Isshin told them almost a whisper.
"We all thought that milady died, it was so hard on lord Kuchiki. They looked everywhere but we didn't find my princess's body. Then, his father forced him to marry some lady from another noble clan, so Lord Byakuya chose lady Hisana to be his wife instead. She never left him, she was the best friend of milady and losing the same person can bring people together, you know?" Aono added.
"Why do you know so much about this?" Rukia ask curious.
"It is because I've lost the same people, and I'm going to do anything just to make my princess happy. I'm going to serve and protect her just like what she did to us and Yoshito-sama." A tear fell and Yumiko quickly wiped it away and she smiled.
"Oh come on now, let as not dwell on the past, the bride is almost here and the wedding is about to commends." She tried to brighten up the mood.
'The wedding that should have been…' Isshin, Yurowichi, Soifon, Joshiro and Kisuke thought in unison with smiles on their faces.
Mizuki is gracefully walking towards the altar while Shonsui-taicho is escorting her. She's wearing a beautiful white kimono, it has glittering butterfly designs on it and her obi is full of sparkling blue stones. She has a white Vaile and her hair is braided with cherry blossoms on top.
All eyes are on the beaming bride, everyone can see that she's very happy. Ukitake-taicho is already crying and so is her student Yumiko.
Her knees are still shaking, she knows that the way to the altar is not long but to her, it is like a million steps away! She's doing everything that she can to keep her tears from falling but today her tears are different. It is not sad or bitter tears but now, its tears of joy!
She closed her eyes and every moment that she spend with Byakuya flashed back before her eyes. Happy and sad.
Her hands grew colder and she was just stunned when she felt warm hands squeezed her own.
"Mizuki? Are you alright?" Byakuya asked her worriedly.
"H-Huh? I-I'm f-fine!" She told him, her pitch higher than usual and eyes still closed.
When she opened her eyes, she saw that his face is just an inch away from hers and that made her blush a thousand shades of red.
"Attention everyone, we will now start the wedding." Said the Sutaicho.
They exchanged their vows and drink the sake to cement their union.
"Mizuki, I am Byakuya Kuchiki and I promise to take care of you, to make you happy and to love you forever. So, take this ring as a sign of my love and loyalty. After everything that we've been through, I will still go through all that just to have you here with me now. The moment that I thought that will never come… I love you Mizuki, and I'm happy and proud to be your husband." Byakuya told her with such conviction in his tender voice; it's hard not to believe him.
And really, his words made her cry. She wants to avoid crying as much as possible but she just can't help it! This is it; she's marrying the first and only man that she loved! She's finally his and he's finally hers! After all these years, finally... Everything is over, she's safe and she's with the love of her life Byakuya Kuchiki!
"Byakuya, I am Mizuki Hyga and I promise that I will stay by your side forever. Nothing or no one can ever break that! Yes, we've been through a lot, and I've also thought that this day will never come. And that is why, I am so honored, proud and most of all happy to be your wife! I love you Byakuya... Take this ring as a sign of my love and loyalty." She was crying during the whole ceremony, the only time that she stopped is when she declared her promise to him.
"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride." Old man Yamamoto finished.
Then, Byakuya lifted up her Vaile and he held her face in both of his hands. Then, he slowly closed the distance between them. He gave her a deep, sweet and passionate kiss. A perfect wedding kiss indeed. They kissed under the light of the beautiful moon.
"It is too late for a lady to be outside in this hour, is it not? Not to mention it is a chilling evening as well." A familiar voice scolded her lightly and she smiled.
As she gazed on the moon, she answered. "I was just looking at the moon, and I'll have you know, I am not waiting for a certain someone." She quipped.
Byakuya then sighed and he slowly rap his scarf around Mizuki to prevent the cold to get to his beloved wife. He sat beside her and enjoyed the comfortable company of his lady.
When the minutes tick by, the nobleman decided to break their silence. "You are right; the moon is indeed beautiful tonight." He told her quietly.
She leaned on his broad shoulders and rap her arm around his. "Tell me again why you love to gaze on the moon so much Bya-kun…" She said in a sweet voice.
He took a deep breath and he looked at the moon. "I love to stare on the moon because it reminds me of someone…" He indulged her.
"And who might that be?" She asked him feigning innocence.
Then, he lifted her face from his shoulders and lowered his until they're only an inch apart.
"It is because the name of my lovely wife means beautiful moon. She was, and always will be my beautiful moon forever." Byakuya told her, his eyes full of love.
"I love you my Mizuki-chan. And this is my way of saying thank you…" Then, he kissed her again.
"Every good thing that has happened to us are the same is it not Bya-kun?" She told him randomly.
"Hmm, what do you mean my love?" He asked his wife razing an elegant eyebrow at her.
She laughed then; she looked him straight in the eyes and said. "The first time that we met, our first kiss, the night you proposed to me, the night that you woke up and our wedding…" Mizuki stopped, remembering those precious moments in her mind.
"Also the night that you sang me a song, the night that you taught me rikojukoro and the night that I saw you again…" Byakuya added.
"Hmmm, it seems that you have forgotten something Bya-kun." She said.
"Huh? And what might that be Mizuki-chan?" He asked curiously.
She put his free hand on her belly and smiled. "I'm pregnant Byakuya."
Byakuya's world stopped, his hand froze and he looked his wife with questioning eyes. She nodded and tears flow out of her Safire eyes. "Yes, I am carrying our child…"
"I'm going to be a father…" Was all he said and he kissed her once more.
Seeing him like this, happy with her makes everything that she'd been through worthwhile! Mizuki really love this man and now, their unborn child.
"See? I told you… Every wonderful thing that has happened to us has something in common." Mizuki told his husband.
"I believe that I did not disagree with you my Mizuki-chan… I even added some things to your list remember?" He reminded his wife.
"Oh, I know but… Are you teasing me?!" She asked him. A little irritation seeping in her voice.
"No, but I'm still waiting for another event. And you know what? I have a feeling when it will happen." He told her knowingly.
"Huh? And what is that?" Mizuki asked confusedly.
"You're going to give birth when there is a beautiful moon in a night of winter." He answered her.
She chuckled softly when she realized something. And she immediately told this to the wonderful man beside her. "Look, it has our names. The beautiful moon/Mizuki. And A night of winter/Byakuya."
The both of them smiled at this fact. 'This is really for us then.' They both thought.
A few months later, they were right. Mizuki indeed gave birth when the moon is beautiful in one night of winter.
The couple shared a kiss once again but the difference is that now they have their children with them. Both of them were happy, for they know that this is not the last special moment that they will share… Because they believe that whenever there is a beautiful moon in a night of winter, it is a night for the two of them.
"Bya-kun?" She whispered.
"Hmmm?" He made a sound of acknowledgement.
They're lying on their bed, she's lying on Byakuya's chest and his arm is around her waist. Their children are fast asleep now.
"The moon, it is…" Mizuki started.
"Then you know that it is for us again." Byakuya finished.
Then, he let-out one of his rare smiles. The smile that not even Hisana had seen. She laughed sweetly and she whispered. "I couldn't agree more... I love you my Byakuya-kun."
"I love you too my Mizuki-chan." He told her lovingly. Then, another kiss was shared in the light of the beautiful moon one night of winter.
~~~The end~~~
A/N: This story is really finished now. I don't know much about weddings so I made it up. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.