Disclaimer: Kubo Tite owns Bleach. The Kuchiki family owns half of Soul Society (the posh half.)
Sulky Girl
by Laurie Bunter
"Look at me, damn you," the waitress said, exasperated. "You forgot your change again."
"I said you could keep it," the noble said over his shoulder, shrugging the woman off at the soba shop. The shabby place was now his favorite lunch spot -- for reasons he could not tell anyone.
His condescension for her poverty was too much for her pride to bear. She would have not of that today, especially when it made her feel worse about herself now that she had no one to care for. Not today, on the anniversary of the night she abandoned her baby sister.
"I don't need your pity!" Hisana hollered. Without thinking, she threw the loose change at him, clouting the stately Shinigami soundly on the head.
The shower of coins clattered to the floor.
The restaurant, usually alive with noise at this lunchtime hour, grew deadly quiet.
"You stupid bitch!" The owner berated Hisana. The old man shoved her from behind. She fell, her knees scraping against the uneven tiles. "You're fired for that. I apologize, esteemed sir..." The man began to babble and grovel at the same time. "Please, Captain, don't..."
Byakuya turned around slowly, an impenetrable look in his deep eyes. "Sorry? That word is inadequate for that offense."
Hisana froze, her toes curling in fear. Now she's done it. The man was going to kill her for her insolence. It was going to be an easy death. He was a Shinigami.
Byakuya faced the girl. It's been a month since he started eating here surreptitiously, dodging both curious underlings and colleagues in order to savor a few fleeting moments of her profile and study her graceful hands and spine. She had taken no more notice of him than any other customer who wandered into this greasy spoon. He felt like a guilty child, caught with his fingers grasping for a precious toy that belonged to another world.
He finally took the courage to look into her luminous face.
The cherry blossoms in the courtyard of his soul fell down in one swoop, made by the wind stirred by her single raised eyebrow.
Byakuya knew then what he had to do. He held out his half-trembling hand and helped her to her feet. "This place is no good for you," he declared icily. His murderous tone was not lost on the owner, who shrank and stepped back, staring warily at the Shinigami's sheathed zanpakutou.
"You're coming with me," Byakuya said to her in a low tone.
Mesmerized by his lack of self-control, Hisana began to remove the soiled apron she was wearing. She did not realize she had just given her consent without a word.
- finis -
Author's Notes:
The title is borrowed from an old Elvis Costello song. :)
April 25, 2009.
While I was tempted to merge this vignette with the Byakuya Kuchiki vignette series I recently started, I really don't want to mess with existing story stats and reviews. So if you liked this, you might feel like checking out "Wrong Heaven." Thanks!
