Moonlit Blossom

Prologue

* And thus the blossom was forgotten, laying silently in the tresses of daylight, only to be revealed at the first breath of the moon upon the world.

He often wondered just where his path of certainty had begun to falter. The cherry blossoms fell in a harmoniously fashion, as if, his unprecedented thoughts has dictated each and every airy movement of the pink petals.

It had been mere days since the departure of Ichigo Kurosaki, the Substitute Soul Reaper. With the destiny of many lives reconnecting once more, the piercing of a sword into the young man's body had opened the way for new adventures for the Gotei 13 once again. And now, he was left here to ponder on new thoughts that had intruded into his thought process.

What was probably mere innocence had begun to form like a cancer. The final exchange between his sister and that of the substitute soul reaper had shown nothing more but cold indifference from the ever-showing Kuchiki mask. However, inwardly, he had been plagued with a flame of curiosity. What was it about this young man that had always made his sister-in-law so saddened to see him depart?

The thought had prickled in his subconscious just barely, but he never allowed himself to let the thought surface entirely. It was such an absurd idea. The notion was something he had felt years ago, but that time was cut short and he had to bury those feelings and desires away. He had nothing left, nothing but a promise that had passed from soft lips before a last breath was taken.

As the young man faded and the portal closed, he could see the image of the raven-haired woman below. No tears or apparent sadness were showing physically, but that was not needed here. The two might not have spoken much, but then again, there was always a silent understanding there. It had been sharpened in the times that he had come to assist her in battle. The first appearance of this being the day he had to proclaim the words 'I'm sorry' for not having acted on his inward desires sooner.

He only saw her back still turned as she stared at the portal. It was a mere second or so later that she had turned around, a smile on her lips as she seemed content all of the sudden. Perhaps he had mentioned something to her before he had left? He imagined it to be nothing more than a usual parting phrase as 'we'll see each other soon'. It always seemed like the smallest of things could keep Rukia content and help her continue forward in her life.

Turning slowly, he decided to return to the recesses of his manor. With the day coming to an end soon, he knew the woman in his thoughts would be returning to the property soon. The manor appeared much too quickly, he must not have realized how fast he had been walking-his thoughts must have really been running far too much today.

It was almost nonsensical, how as of lately, his sister-in-law seemed to have dominated over the entirety of his day. If it wasn't in his thoughts, she had somehow managed to end up passing him far too often in the offices. He imagined to be mere coincidence, and something as simple as seeing a sibling so often should have been expected since they lived and worked together.

But then why could he not shake this feeling as if something was happening in the red string that seemed to have been dangling solely from his finger. The string that had been cut years beforehand, but as of late, seemed to have started to re-attach elsewhere.

Sliding open numerous doors, he managed to finally reach the room in which he would proclaim to be his study. Some paper work still remained on his desk, which he was quite thankful for because now more than ever he needed to have a thorough distraction.

It had been so long since she had seen her comrade. That was truly the only reason why it was so difficult to even think of a goodbye again so soon. But it was necessary, and the comforting words of them seeing one another again soon always was enough to keep a smile on her face. She turned back to the life that was waiting for her until that time came.

The sky had a splendor of blue, but now, it was starting to shift to that of orange. The sun seemed to be beginning its descent on the horizon, signaling the end of yet another day. Feeling it was probably best to return home before dark, her feet easily led her on the familiar path back to the Kuchiki manor.

Every time she had started on this path back home, her thoughts would instantly resonate around her Nii-sama. It was just a habit of hers. She would wonder how his day went, what he might possible be doing now, what his mood might be (that was always one of the more important ones). It made her wonder just how she would have to act whenever she saw him at dinner.

The vast landscape appeared before her and as she approached the manor, her shoes were easily slipped off at the entrance. A few of the housekeepers bowed to her as she entered the house just as stars began appearing in the fading daylight.

An aroma was already filling the room, signaling that dinner was almost ready. She imagined she had near enough time to go to her room and fresh up a little before dinner. Moving through the corridor, her body turned around a corner to the hallway that led to her room. It was in this brief moment that the other resident of the household appeared and without time to react properly, the two had bumped into one another.

Completely accidental, but Rukia still got flustered nonetheless. She was still unsure of his attitude and as she looked up she could see him staring down at her with his usual blank stare.

"Forgive me Nii-sama, I did not know you were wondering around here."

He simply brushed it off. It was one of his usual mannerisms.

"Dinner is in five minutes. Be ready then Rukia."

"Hai Nii-sama." She bowed before quickly walking down the hallway to her room. She hardly had any time to freshen up now since her encounter with her brother had cut her time in half.

Although the encounter seemed short, she had actually stood there for nearly five minutes. Her voice wasn't even heard for a few minutes after she had bumped into him. All she did was stare up at him and him at her. It was very unlike him to waste time so idly like that.

Maybe he's just tired or something. It was always hard to tell with her Nii-sama what he was truly feeling. He rarely lowered the façade he upheld on a daily basis. The bathroom light had flickered on slowly as she brushed her hair and then sprayed a bit of some perfume on that she had gotten from Karakura Town during her last visit.

The fragrance made her smile as the smell caused a moment or two of reminiscence, and then the remembrance of dinner caused her to scurry out of her room and back down the hallway.

The one thing she knew her Nii-sama hated was when she wasn't prompt in her arrivals. It could be something as simple as dinner in their home and it would be as if she had lost a point of respect in his books. Biting her lower lip, she managed to reach the dining area just as the cooks finished laying out the food on the table.

The man who had just been on her last, trailing thought was already sitting across the table in his usual position. She easily slid into her sitting position before bowing to him the same way she had done just mere minutes before.

Not a word was spoken between them for the first few minutes of their meal. It was almost as if both were pondering on what to say, well more like she was. To her, he always seemed to prefer eating silently. She scooped a bit of rice up and brought it to her mouth just as she dared a glance across the table at him. Her fingers faltered and she almost dropped the rice upon seeing his grey eyes looking over at her in an almost casual manner.

The odd occurrence made her heart skip a beat.

This was certainly unusual.