Hello and welcome to my new fic! This is my first (published) for the bleach fandom so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.
My muse has been dragging this around my head for a while but I finally got it onto paper!
A quick thank you to my lovely beta reader reflecting!
Disclaimer: alas, no matter how often I ask, nobody will lend me the money to buy BLEACH :(
Chapter 1
The bench is made from a simple, pale wood devoid of thick dark knots, only the best was suitable when it was commissioned, the carpenter was strictly forewarned. The surface was graced by a deep engraving of five-petal flowers which, despite the abrasive nature of the engraving managed to seem silken and soft. Running your fingers over its surface was to truly experience the oxymoron of the honeyed, smooth, cool wood and the absence of anything where the pattern dove away. The bench itself is situated in a truly stunning garden, intricate in its utter simplicity. In the spring that this scene takes place it is pregnant with the promise of new life, new beginnings, hope, and a hot, sticky and pleasantly scented summer. At the time I am describing to you, on the bench resides a figure, tall, slim with straight, long dark hair, dark eyes and an impossible sense of regal poise. Like the garden he seems at first sight so simple but that simplicity is hiding millions of intricacies. And his dark eyes which at first feign detachment and arrogance hide sadness, fear and hope. He sits, impossible still as the gentle breeze washes over him, playfully worrying the ends of his midnight blue kimono and gently teasing sections of his hair. But he is not alone…
Across the garden there is a cherry tree, members of the staff who work in the household that own this garden often whisper that it was planted many hundreds of years ago, the real members of the household scoff at this ridiculous notion: who's impressed by hundreds of years, there are captains older than that! But the fact remains that the tree is well known, its beautiful blossoms were close to blooming, the servants whisper, when the late Lady Hisana died. But on the day I am telling you of, the boughs are occupied by a slender young woman, wearing a fine silk kimono, palest pink to match the sakuras with intricately detailed patterns of pure shining white butterflies and soft lace-like patterns. Her feet swinging slightly as she revels in the soft breeze tossing her wayward dark hair about her face as she bites greedily into a sweet plum she stole from the kitchen whilst she looks out through the blossoms across seretei.
Below her an extremely tall redhead walked through the gardens, admiring the views, appreciating just how far he'd come but also dwelling on how far away he was. The place this power had over him was phenomenal, it made him want to renounce everything he had, exchange every great leap he'd made, the titles he'd achieved if only it would take him beneath its wing and hold him close. Weave him into its rich and powerful tapestry of nobility, power and pride. And he hangs his head stopping bellowing the cherry tree, shifting his weight to one side and leaning, his hip balancing his lean form about the trunk.
He deigns to look upwards and his previous thoughts disappear as he spies her: childhood friend, star, nobility (by adoption), and the woman he's loved for as long as he can remember. The lines between every definition of what she means to him have blurred until the only word that can sum her up is, quite simply, 'Rukia'.
He ponders on the time he's spent trying to catch that butterfly, to hold that goddamn star close. To be with the girl who can talk like a man; swear like a trooper; kick, punch, bite, scratch and fight with the best of 'em; but who always manages to retain this untouchable air of dignity- the only thing that allowed her to transform from street urchin to trainee shinigami to a fully fledged member of the gotei 13 and Kuchiki household.
Lost in her own deep thoughts Rukia doesn't notice him below her. She remembers the events of the last few months, her involvement with Ichigo, the botched execution, the betrayal of Aizen Sosuke, the fact that her brother truly cares about her. Perhaps most importantly, the renewal of contact with her best friend from Rukongai, something brewing between her and Renji, not borne of necessity but out of something else, what she isn't quite sure yet. Memories of him holding her with suffocating tightness to his chest- close enough to feel as well as hear his heartbeat mix with the blood pounding in her ears, close enough to feel the deep ridges of his muscles, close enough to feel the conviction with which he was acting. Memories of him swearing to protect her, never to let her go, to die before he gave her up (he wasn't quite true to that, but she's not sure that it matters). And now she's here, alive after everything that's happened to her, alive after Ruknogai, alive after Kaien… She's spent a lot of time in high places (they help her think) trying to figure out what it all means, especially the Renji part. As her gaze moves slowly across the garden she notices the forlorn figure of her brother, alone, and she feels that she understands just a little of what he's feeling.
Byakuya can feel Rukia's eyes upon him, he's also very aware of his fukitaichou's presence in his and Hisana's formerly private garden (he can't bear to think of it like that since she... ) He can't be bothered to scold either of them though, something of the combination of his motives for her adoption, his admiration of how far Renji went to protect her, and a sense of warped peace that it is all out in the open (that Hisana is finally, truly at rest). Hisana's power over him knew no bounds: she made him break the rules, made him fall in love, made him care. For that he will never forgive her, nor will he forget her, breaking the promise to keep her secret from Rukia, it was wrong in a sense but right in so many others. The two of them alike in so many ways, the smile being the most noticeable similarity, the one he'd move mountains to see (easier said than done, even for him!). He's not an idiot, he knows his fukitaichou's obsessed with his sister, their shared history more than an enough of an excuse, and as for her, he knows what that smile means, and the second he saw her smile at him like that he was forced to accept it. His sister won't be a Kuchiki forever, though he may be able to marry Renji into the family, but it will take time, which thankfully is something they all have. He sighs softly, he's got work to do, Byakuya slowly stands and walks back inside leaving her alone in the Garden with Renji.