A/N: Yep, first Bleach fanfic! I got the title while reading an episode summary for the current Zanpactou filler arc. If you can guess who I'm going to pair dear Byakkun with before Chapter Two is published, you might get a prize! Here's a hint: It's not a crack pairing. It makes perfect sense, and I'm pretty sure it's fairly popular. Also, it's not Hisana.

Disclaimer 1: I don't own Bleach. I only own this idea and The Flower and the Honey-Bee (which is not a book, but it's mine). All other Bleachyness is copyrighted to Tite Kubo, you genius you.

Disclaimer 2: K-Ske Hasegawa is the author of Ballad of a Shinigami, published by Seven Seas Publishing, and Natsuki Takaya is the author of Fruits Basket, published by Tokyopop. I had just put K-Ske Hasegawa down as the author because of the style of writing of the poem (which is pretty close to completion itself) but then I thought, 'Oh, it would be so funny if I put down the author of a fighting manga!' So I decided to use Yoshihiro Togashi (YuYu Hakusho, Shonen Jump) but the book under my elbow was not a YYH volume but a Fruits Basket volume. Since Furuba is a shoujo, I just combined those authors. Tah-da!

A/N 2: Reviews are LOVED. I need feedback on this badly. I've only showed it to two friends. One, who knows absolutely NOTHING about manga, thinks it's really good, and the other (Hyugahealer3) likes it. "The Flower and the Honey-Bee" the poem is being obsessed upon. This scares me. Especially since the poem isn't even done yet. SO: Read the story! When you're done, write a review telling me what you think about it and if there is any way my writing could improve, PLEASE TELL ME!!! My goal is to please the readers, nothing more. Thank you. Now read the damn fanfic.

~Hoshi-Zuuri

The Flower and the Honey-Bee

A Bleach Fanfiction

Chapter One: Memories of the Spring

Kuchiki Byakuya stood in the garden with his wife, Hisana. She was taking in her surroundings with an angelic smile on her face. Byakuya smiled in response to her smile. His love for her filled him up; kept him strong.

Hisana turned to him. "I love this garden," she told her husband. "I love the flowers and how all the plants grow when I care for them. I love it!"

Byakuya chuckled softly. Then, on an impulse, he pulled Hisana into a soft embrace. "I love that you love the garden. I love making you happy, because I love you."

Hisana smiled up at him for a moment, then teasingly pulled out of his arms. "Catch me if you can!" Hisana laughed as she skipped down the path. Byakuya soon caught up with her, and they sat down, laughing about nothing for a while.

"Ne, Byakkun?"

"Hm?"

"Want to know what I like best about the garden?"

"What is it?"

"The honey-bees. I love the way the flowers and the honey-bees are in love with each other.

……..

"Byakuya-aniki!"

……..

Byakuya laughed. "I thought you were scared of bees."

Hisana pouted. "That just goes to show how smart you are." Then she kissed him, her lips soft against his own. Byakuya was overwhelmed with emotion. Hisana was his one and only, his precious thing.

……..

"Byakuya-aniki!"

……..

"Hisana…"

……..

"Byakuya-aniki!"

……..

"Hisana…! No… Don't…! You can't…! D-don't leave me…!"

"I-I'm sorry, Byakkun. I… I'm afraid this is goodbye…"

"No! Hisana! Don't leave me all alone!"

A smile, an aching smile. A hand, puppet strings cut, life-warmth fading, slipping out of a frantic grasp.

"…….."

"HISANAAAA!!!!!"

……..

"Byakuya-aniki!"

……..

Kuchiki Byakuya opened his eyes.

"…….."

A familiar face was over his. In those deep blue eyes, a worried look.

"Good morning, Hisana." He smiled.

The young woman closed her eyes, sadness, a halo around her.

"I'm Rukia, Byakuya-aniki."

Byakuya's smile slowly faded, the sun slipping behind a cloud. He sat up in bed, gently touching his cheeks with his fingertips. They were wet. Tears still clung to his eyelashes. A swipe of a hand obliterated them, drove her memory out of his aching heart.

"…Forgive me. Good morning, Rukia."

"Good morning, Byakuya-aniki. You have a captain's meeting in two hours. The messenger just came."

Byakuya sat up in bed. "Thank you, Rukia."

Rukia smiled. "You're welcome, Byakuya-aniki. I'll get your breakfast ready while you take your shower."

Byakuya swung his legs out of bed. His feet found his slippers; he slipped them inside. Standing, Byakuya walked toward the shower. He reached the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He took the precaution of locking it, just in case another Kuchiki family member wanted to speak with him. This done, Byakuya turned on the water. He slipped out of his robe and stepped into the torrent of hot water.

Steam soon filled the small room. A clouded mirror matched a clouded mind. His head felt light and fuzzy, and Byakuya fancied he could see her shape dancing in the shadows. The steam he inhaled smoothed his mind, liberated his thoughts, made it easier for the ideas to flow.

Why had he dreamed of her? Granted, it was springtime, but there was still some time before that day came to pass.

…And the garden. That garden no longer existed; it had been annexed and turned into more rooms when Byakuya had been about 65 years old. He dimly remembered feeling sad because he had liked to wander through the flowers, but he had certainly not known her then. That would have been ridiculous. Besides this fact, he knew that Hisana was terrified of anything with six or more legs, except for butterflies. She would never have said that she loved honey-bees. She tolerated bees, nothing more.

Byakuya's head throbbed in pain. Suddenly the white steam surrounding him was full of ghostly colors and shapes, whirling and dancing to the tempo set by Byakuya's heartbeat. The colors and shapes danced faster and faster, melding and shifting into other different colors. His head gave one more throb of horrific pain, and then everything was still.

Shaken, Byakuya turned off the hot water and wrapped himself in a huge fluffy towel. He leaned against the wall of the bathroom and tried to reassemble his scattered thoughts. Mildly, Byakuya realized that he was trembling.

After a few minutes, Byakuya stopped trembling and got himself calmed down. 'It was just a bad headache. I'm fine. I'm not hurt; there is no blood. I am fine.' With these words, he forced himself back into action. After he dried off and hung up his towel, he put on his bathrobe and exited the bathroom.

When he went into the kitchen, Rukia was waiting for him. She had set out a plate of still-warm food, complete with a glass of orange juice. As he entered the room, she turned and smiled at him. He nodded back to her in way of greeting, and then sat down to eat his food.

"Ittadakimasu." Byakuya picked up a piece of toast and bit down. He had soon finished his plate and drunken all the juice in the glass. He wiped his mouth on the napkin Rukia had thoughtfully provided for him.

"Are you full, Byakuya-aniki?"

"Thank you, Rukia. Yes, I am full."

Byakuya stood up and took his dishes to the sink. Then, with a farewell nod to Rukia, he made his way out of the door of the Kuchiki manor. He set off, setting a fast pace as he strode along the path that would take him to the Captain's meeting room. He passed various people as he walked, who all greeted him and who all received a nod of greeting in return.

"Ku—Kuchiki-taichou!"

Byakuya inwardly groaned. His vice-captain couldn't have picked a worse time to talk to him.

"Yes, Abarai-kun?"

"I… I know you… you're on your way… your way to a… a Captain's meeting—"

"Abarai-kun, perhaps you would speak better once you have caught your breath. I find it hard to understand you when you are gasping like a landed fish."

Renji flushed in embarrassment before taking two deep, steadying breaths. "Kuchiki-taichou, I know you are on your way to a Captain's meeting, but there are two people in your office who very much want to see you. They came all the way from the world of the living."

Byakuya's curiosity was piqued. "Who are these people?"

Renji colored again. "Th-they wished to remain anonymous until you saw them."

Byakuya threw several profane curses at whoever had the tenacity to do this. "Very well. I will see them."

Renji looked massively relieved. "They're waiting for you in your office, Kuchiki-taichou," he informed him. Byakuya nodded.

Byakuya entered his office slightly cautiously. The first thing he noticed was that there was only one person. The next thing he noticed was that the person appeared to have a green-and-white striped bucket on his head.

Bucket-head, Byakuya remembered someone calling the man. Who had it been?

Kisuke Urahara turned around to see who had entered the office. With some trepidation, Byakuya noted he was giggling.

"A hah hah haah!!! How are you doing, Byakko? How's live in the wonder-ific Seretei? Been having fuuun?"

Byakuya kept himself calm by imagining kicking Urahara in a lower region. Hard. He heard what sounded like a toilet flushing in the distance before Bucket-head (as Byakuya now thought of him) started talking to him again.

"Ah! So tell me, my friend, how is your love life coming along? Got any kiddies yet? I always thought Hisana was a looker, but that's what you get for waiting around!"

Byakuya had the impression that Urahara had ripped his heart out of chest and was squeezing it.

"But enough of my ramblings! How's family life, m'man? Tell me, tell me! Don't spare any details! I'm dying to know if you've been with Hisana, I mean, as in slept wi---"

"Uraharaaaaaah, SHUT YOUR YAP!!!"

The man went flying across the room and landed with a crash on the opposite wall. He landed with a dull thud on his neck. Byakuya winced inwardly; that would put him in a neck brace for six months if nothing else would.

"Ohayou gonzaimasu, Byakuya," Yoruichi greeted him. "I apologize for my companion being an asshole. He somehow managed to get drunk this early in the day. Don't look at me like that; I'm not making excuses for his behavior. I'm just explaining it. Are you all right? You're looking a little pale. I know you've always had fair skin, I'm not dumb. I mean peaky. Paler than usual. Happy?"

Byakuya took a moment to process the long train of question-answers before speaking. "Ohayou gonzaimasu, Yoruichi. Your apology is accepted. And as for your inquiry to my health, I am fine."

Yoruichi snorted. "Your manner hasn't changed at all, that's for sure. Your Vice Captain would probably thing you were an imposter if you so much as smiled. I know what it's like to lose someone close, but you need to lighten up. Just one smile, ne?"

Byakuya made a noncommittal grunting noise. "What brings you to the 'wonder-ific' Seretei, Yoruichi?"

Yoruichi sighed dramatically. "Ah well, it was worth a try. We're here because we have intel on Aizen-buttface and his lot, which we planned to share during the Captain's meeting. But when we got there, we were informed that we had to be 'escorted by a Captain' to enter the meeting room. As if we weren't once Captains ourselves!"

Byakuya nodded, letting a quick smile slip at Yoruichi's use of "buttface" instead of a proper name suffix.

"Aha! You smiled! This is a momentous occasion! We should party! HEY EVERYBODY! GUESS WHAT? BYAKUYA SMILED!!!"

Byakuya glowered. "Do you want to go to the Captain's meeting or not?"

Yoruichi grunted and slung Urahara over her shoulder, fireman-style. A giggle issued from the vicinity of Yoruichi's backside. "Nice butt, Yoru-chan," Urahara commented.

Yoruichi turned bright red and threw Urahara at the wall. He went through it with an enormous crash. Byakuya sighed. "Yoruichi, I fully support your actions, but can you try to break only his bones and not my office?"

"Gomen, Byakuya. Normally it's his store I'm breaking and he's the one who has to pay for it." Yoruichi hopped through the hole in the wall to retrieve Urahara. She made sure that he was unconscious before once again slinging him over her shoulder.

"Ready?"

"Mm."

"Then let's go."

Byakuya strode briskly out of his office, followed by Yoruichi. They headed for the meeting room, Yoruichi practically dragging Urahara behind her. That man would have one major headache when he woke up.

"So tell me, Yoruichi. Why me? I'm sure Ukitake would have been a lot more tolerable of unexpected visitors. And Soi Fon would have been ecstatic to see you, I'm sure."

Yoruichi sighed. "That's exactly why I wanted to avoid her. That girl has an unhealthy obsession with me. I swear, it's like she's in love with me or something."

As soon as Yoruichi said "love," Byakuya's head throbbed. The colors and swirls from the shower appeared again, brighter and more urgent than before. Byakuya gritted his teeth against the pain; it felt as if his head was splitting in two. Through a haze of pain and color, he dimly heard Yoruichi urgently calling his name.

"…Hisana…"

Everything went black.

Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring, and because it has fresh peaches in it.

-Alice Walker

Byakuya opened his eyes for the second time that morning.

Standing over him was Retsu Unohana, Captain of the 4th Division.

Byakuya dimly wondered what she was doing in his room before memory came rushing back with a rather painful throb of his head. He sat up –or tried to sit up– but he was pushed back down by the kindly Captain.

"Now, now, Kuchiki-san," Unohana chided. "You're in no condition to go running around anywhere. You just stay put for a couple of days until you're better, okay?"

Byakuya lay back down, sinking into the soft mattress. "What happened…?"

Unohana gave him a gentle smile. "You have a cold, Kuchiki-san," she informed him. "Also, fatigue and stress from overworking yourself were also factors."

Byakuya sighed. "The Captain's meeting?"

"Yamamoto-sou-taichou is having a transcript sent over soon."

"And the paperwork for my division?"

Unohana sighed. "You really should focus on resting, Kuchiki-san," she insisted. "Abarai-kun will do as much as he is allowed, and the rest will be brought over to you when I have made sure that you are fully rested. Until then, you are not allowed to do anything but eat or sleep. Doctor's orders."

Byakuya nodded sullenly. He didn't like being cooped up like this, but he remembered the first (and last) time he had tried to defy Unohana's orders. That was not a pleasant memory.

Surrendering to Unohana's demands as well as his body's, Byakuya closed his eyes and slept.

And as he slept, he dreamed.

……..

Hisana was sitting next to him, placing a cool washcloth on his forehead. Byakuya felt the ache in his chest keenly. He missed her so much; without her his life meant nothing to him. He longed to tell her this, but instead, the words were simpler, more grateful.

"Thank you, Hisa-chan."

Hisana scowled at him. "Kuchiki Byakuya, you've overworked yourself again. How many times have I told you to take it easy? One day, you're going to be so exhausted that you'll trip over your own feet and impale yourself on your Zanpactou. I don't want Byakuya-kebab for a husband, I want you." With that, Hisana leaned over and gently kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm sorry, Hisana," Byakuya apologized demurely.

Hisana gave an unladylike snort. "Don't apologize to me, you peabrain, apologize to your body by getting some rest and not overworking it." Hisana's expression softened, and she gently brushed a stray lock of hair out of Byakuya's eyes. "I know your work as a Shinigami is important to you, but you are also important to me. I'm a jealous person. I want you all to myself with no obligations for either of us. But I know how much you love your work, so as long as work doesn't take over your life, I'll reluctantly share you."

Byakuya chuckled softly. "Well, if you put it that way, I suppose I could step down on the work a little…"

Hisana swatted him playfully.

Byakuya laughed, and Hisana soon joined in on the merriment as well. When the laughter had finally died down, Hisana gave Byakuya's hand a gentle squeeze. "Byakkun, it's too soon for you to join me. You still have plenty of your life left. I made a mistake. You can learn from it. Don't make my mistake again. I left the one I love too soon."

Byakuya frowned. "Hisana, what do you mean?"

Hisana didn't answer him. Instead, she said something even more cryptic: "The flower and the honey-bee, Byakkun. You cannot forget the flower and the honey-bee. Promise me!"

Byakuya looked into Hisana's eyes. They were serious. She was serious. Her words were serious, but Byakuya didn't understand.

"Promise me!"

"If you want me to-"

"Promise me!"

"I promise…."

……..

It had been three weeks since the second dream of Hisana. The anniversary of her death had come and one without much incident, although Byakuya had felt strange and lightheaded the entire time. Despite that it had been a dream, and that he had been sick while he dreamt it, and that three weeks had gone by, Byakuya still remembered his promise to Hisana. He was no closer to understanding it than he was when he had promised in the dream, but every day, he went outside and sat and observed flowers getting pollinated by bees. After the first week of strange looks, Byakuya decided that this was not what Hisana had meant, but since it was the closest he could make of it, he didn't complain. Unohana was also overjoyed that he was resting peacefully for an hour each day as well.

Especially since Byakuya was now residing in the human world, courtesy of the misdemeanors of one Kurosaki Ichigo. One day Byakuya was going to throttle that little berry-brained upstart. People like him didn't deserve to become Shinigamis at all. (Especially since he had hurt Rukia, albeit in a roundabout way.) Yamamoto had apparently come to a similar decision, but since there was nothing they could do about it, Byakuya had been sent to the human world to keep Ichigo in line until a more permanent (and more effective) solution could be found.

Byakuya sighed thinking about this. He was returning to the vacant house he had claimed as his own after his regular flower-watching duty. He strolled along the streets absent-mindedly, totally unaware of the human women casting glances his way and, in some cases, even following him as he walked.

As he was rounding a corner, something in a store window caught his eye. Looking closer, he saw that it was a small pink book written in kana, the simple characters learned before kanji. 'A children's book, then,' Byakuya thought, and was about to continue walking when he saw the title.

The Flower and the Honey-Bee

K-Ske Hasegawa and Natsuki Takaya

Byakuya stared. This had to be what Hisana had meant. The book. He had to read the book. But a children's book? How in the Seretei was he going to walk into a bookstore, purchase a pink children's book, and walk out looking sane? Within a few moments, he had the answer.

The bell on the door tinkled slightly as Byakuya walked inside. He pretended to browse for a few minutes before picking up the book and taking it to the cashier, who raised a fluffy eyebrow.

"It's for my wife," Byakuya informed the man. "She likes these kinds of books."

The cashier seemed to be more at ease as he rang up the book. Byakuya paid for it and left the shop, heading for home as fast as he possibly could without running. The human woman soon fell behind his brisk pace.

As soon as he got home, Byakuya tripped and fell over the rug on the floor, doing a face-plant into the hard oak boards. The book skittered out of his hand and flew under a piece of furniture. Try as he might, Byakuya couldn't reach the small pink book. He nearly sobbed with frustration. Why did everything have to go wrong now, of all times? He was so close to decoding Hisana's cryptic messages. Finally, all the pent up sadness, frustration, stress, and anger drove Byakuya over the edge. Tears poured down his face at the injustice of it all. Shudders wracked his body as he struggled to get his desperate sobbing under control. Even that fool Ichigo could probably hear his wailing.

Byakuya cried for the first time in a long time. The soft warm tears caressed his cheeks as they slid down to gently fall onto his legs or the floor. Byakuya curled up into a ball and pressed his hands against his face, muffling his cries. The tears seemed to wash away every emotion he had.

After what seemed like hours, Byakuya no longer had any tears left to cry. His sobbing turned into faint whimpering that soon died away. He felt strangely empty, as if he had cried out his soul along with his tears. Exhausted and emotionally drained, Byakuya soon fell into a deep slumber.

But that didn't stop him from dreaming.

……..

Hisana was hugging him so tightly Byakuya was having a hard time breathing. "I am the ivy, Byakkun. Remember that. I am the ivy. I am the ivy, and you, Kuchiki Byakuya, are my rose."

........

Byakuya woke, terribly confused. What had Hisana meant when she had told him she was the ivy? And why ivy, of all things?

"Hello, Byakkun! It's good to see you all nice and wimplike. Taking a break from your Mr. Macho man-ness is good."

"!!!"

The man grinned. "Heh heh. Surprised? It takes some doing for us Zanpactous to materialize in human form without a command, but I managed."

Byakuya was stunned. "S-senbonzakura?!"

"In the flesh—er, in the spirit, anyhow. I came to tell you something. We Zanpactous are the key to the problem you are dealing. We lead you to the answer. Remember that for me, ne?"

With those words, Senbonzakura vanished. In his place was the book. Eagerly Byakuya picked it up and began to read.

Awareness is prerequisite to change.
-Joan Borysenko

Byakuya was stunned. The book slid from his hands and fell to the floor.

"A quiet bloom of pedigree…"

"…Kuchiki Byakuya, you are my rose."

"The ivy vine…"

"I am the ivy, Byakkun. Remember that."

"…had fallen for the ivy vine…"

"…I love you, Hisana."

"Now ivy is a jealous plant…"

"I'm a jealous person."

"…began to choke the rose."

The colors and swirls from that day. The fuzzy lightheadedness.

"…began to choke the rose."

"Promise me you'll remember the flower and the honey-bee."

"…began to choke the rose."

"Promise me you'll remember."

"…began to choke the rose."

"Promise me."

"…began to choke the rose."

"Promise."

"…began to choke the rose."

"Promise."

"…began to choke the rose."

"Promise."

"…began to choke the rose."

"Promise."

"…began to choke the rose."

"Promise."

"……..Promise…….."

Byakuya gasped as he finally grasped the meaning behind Hisana's messages. In the book, a rose had fallen in love with an ivy vine, but the ivy had died. The rose was pining for its lost love and was comforted by a bee who, coincidentally, loved the rose. The ivy became jealous and choked the rose. In the end, the rose ended up dying.

He was the rose. Hisana was the ivy.

Hisana's spirit was somehow subconsciously trying to drag him down, to kill him. Those dreams, those cryptic messages, they had all been warnings. The strange swirling colors and headaches had been the effects of Hisana's soul pulling at his own; that would also explain the lightheadedness he had felt on the anniversary of Hisana's death.

In the book, the rose had died because it didn't accept the feelings of the bee in time to save it. Byakuya was the flower. He needed a honey-bee. But who…?

Just thinking about loving another person, let alone searching for her, made Byakuya's chest ache in misery.

You don't have to search for her. She'll find you.

Byakuya started at the voice in his head. 'Senbonzakura? Is that you?'

Yup!

'That's a relief. Oh—but how will I know this girl?'

Because.

'Gee, thanks. That helps me so much. Because…?'

Because she's the honey-bee.

'But how will I know she's the honey-bee?'

You'll know.

'Are you going to say anything more, perhaps something helpful?'

I can't.

'Can't? Why not?'

I just can't. It's against our rules.

'"Our?"'

The Zanpactou rules. No meddling in the affairs of the Shinigami.

'And you don't call this meddling?'

As long as you figure it out for yourself, it's fine. Remember what I told you.

'About how you Zanpactous were the key to my problem?'

Yes. Oh—I have to go now, Tobiume's yelling at me.

'What did you do?'

Nothing, I swear! OW—! Tobiume, stop that! It huuuurts!

Byakuya sighed as the voice in his head went away. Senbonzakura hadn't really helped; he'd simply added fuel to the fire and piled on more riddles. This was getting frustrating. The one solace Byakuya took in all of this was that Hisana wasn't doing this voluntarily. After all, she had even tried to warn him the best she could.

Now what to do? Byakuya frowned. Pulling out a piece of paper, he wrote down what he knew.

Byakuya's Analysis of the Situation

Hisana's Dream # 1: Flower and honey-bee intro

Hisana's Dream # 2: Reminder of mortality

Hisana's Dream # 3: Ivy and Rose concept intro

Solved by The Flower and the Honey-Bee

Senbonzakura's Visit: Zanpactou Key intro

Senbonzakura's Talk: Find honey-bee, reminder of Zanpactou key

Yet to be solved

Hisana's spirit trying to drag my spirit down. I must find my "honey-bee" and accept that I love them before Hisana's spirit wins. The Zanpactous are the key to the problem of finding the "honey-bee" somehow.

Byakuya sighed. Nothing new there. Glancing gown at his feet, he saw that the book had fallen open to a certain page. Byakuya read the page with a growing sense of horror.

The ivy sneered, "You've tried hard, but you have tried in vain,
For when the snows fall on the ground the rose will be mine again."

The realization hit him. He would die sometime during winter if he couldn't find the "honey-bee" before then. Byakuya raced to the calendar on the wall and flipped to today's date. What he saw made him sick with fear.

It was the first day of summer.

Fin

Chapter Info

Name: Memories of the Spring
Number: 1
Song: Eileen by The Hush Sound, album So Sudden
Pairing: Byakuya-Hinsana

The Captain's meeting went off without a hitch, despite Byakuya not being there. Urahara was unconscious for the whole thing. He was later given medical treatment by Unohana. His diagnosis was a fractured skull, several cracked ribs, a broken leg, and a few fractured neck vertebrae. He was in the hospital for over a month. Yoruichi was very happy and Urahara Shoten enjoyed its most prosperous month ever.