Chapter 2: The stalking
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Bleach is not mine. Neither is Byakuya Kuchiki, however much I may wish that that were the case. Ah well, at least I get to play with them a bit.
It had been about two hours since Yachiru had decided that Byakuya Kuchiki would be her ideal match.
The next time that Yuchiru saw him was during a fukutaicho meeting. She wasn't sure why he was present at a fukutaicho meeting instead of Renji, but she wasn't going to complain. She was happy to see him.
"Byakushi!" She greeted him with enthusiasm. "I'm so happy see you here! After the meeting, you should come with me to get something to eat! Byakkun, come with me and we can—"
Byakushi interrupted her mid-rant by shoving a pastry in her mouth. The pastry wasn't bad, but Yachiru couldn't help being mildly offending that Byakushi had avoided replying. Not even his usual one-word answer for everything, no.
She would have to be more devious next time she tried to ask him out.
The next day, Yachiru went to Byakushi's house on her new scooter. It had been a recent birthday present from Ikkaku and she couldn't wait to try it out in the long corridors at Kuchiki manor. And of course, she wanted to attract Byakushi's attention.
After a few minutes, she did indeed manage to attract Byakushi's attention. Even if it was just to ask her what she was doing and why she was doing it in his house, he had at least deigned her with a verbal reply today. This was progress.
After Yachiru had sufficiently entertained herself with her new scooter and taken full advantage of the long hallways, she went in search of Byakushi.
Yachiru was quite familiar with Kuchiki manor. It had been her, after all, who had discovered a handful of secret passages around the estate and inside the manor. It had also been her who had created numerous other secret passages all over the inside and outside of the house. These allowed her free access to any part of the manor at any time without been seen. How else would she be able to continue her nighttime adventures with the koi in Byakushi's koi pond?
Yachiru sought out Byakushi. She found him in a room having a conversation with Ichigo. Ichigo seemed rather uncomfortable with the conversation, fidgeting slightly under Byakushi's haughty gaze. Yachiru decided it would be the most worthwhile to save Ichigo. And it would be the perfect opportunity to annoy Byakushi; she couldn't pass that up.
Yes, for the moment, Yachiru would save Ichigo from the imposing presence of Byakushi. She could always come back later to annoy him some more.
The next time she saw him was later that day in another fukutaicho meeting. Apparently Renji was still missing: Byakushi was attending, much to Yachiru's delight. She hoped she could get him to talk to her today.
When Yachiru spoke of her proposition to give a banana as the reward for anyone willing to do some of the eleventh division's paperwork, Byakushi surprised her by voicing his opinion:
"The banana is a nutrient-rich fruit. It is certainly a worthy choice as a prize."
"Yay! Byakushi can talk today!" cried Yachiru.
Or maybe his verbal response was only due to the fact that he was sitting too far away from Yachiru to shut her up via pastry today.
The meeting dragged on and Yachiru grew bored with the proceedings. She amused herself instead by imagining how she could succeed with Byakushi. She plotted and she dreamed. She recalled the look on his face as he spoke, defending her choice of a banana. His long, black, luxurious eyelashes that framed his clear grey eyes, burning with a silent dispassionate fury…
Yes, there was absolutely no question about it. Yachiru had picked the right guy.
Byakuya Kuchiki was sitting at his desk engrossed in paperwork when Yachiru came to visit him.
"Byakushi!" She explained, approaching his desk. "I wanted to ask you if—"
She was cut off suddenly by a small strawberry tart, expertly shoved into her mouth mid-phrase. How rude! She was going to ask him a question and yet again, he interrupted her with a pastry without even looking up from his paperwork. Once Yachiru had swallowed her tart, Yachiru replied reproachfully.
"That wasn't very nice Byakkun, I was going to ask you something!"
Byakushi raised his gaze ever so slowly from his paperwork to fix her with his burning, imperious gaze. He did not deign to reply. Unfazed, Yachiru continued.
"Byakushi, I was going to ask you out," Yachiru stated. "It's lunch time and so we should go get something to eat together. Let's go get something to eat together!"
"No." This was the classic Byakushi response, thought Yachiru. She walked around behind his desk and pulled on his sleeve.
"Please? We can even skip the meal and just get dessert if you'd like."
"Kusajishi Fukutaicho. It is not my intention to honor your request."
"If you refuse," remarked Yachiru, "I will just have to convince you."
Yachiru suddenly launched herself at Byakushi, reaching up and seizing the kenseikan from his hair. Before he had time to react, both pieces of the kenseikan had been thrown out of the open window into the garden below.
Thinking that she had probably annoyed him enough for the time being, Yachiru was rapidly retreating from his office when he caught up to her. Before she could leave, Byakushi seized her by the front of her robes, lifting her up and pressing her against the wall so that they were nearly on eye level.
"You will go and get that, Kusajishi Fukutaicho," he intoned threateningly, "Right now."
"But Byakkun," replied Yachiru, eyes wide with feigned innocence, "you look so much prettier without it."
"If you do not comply with my request," he breathed, leaning in to whisper menacingly in her ear, "I will make you regret it."
Maybe it was his eyes shining with furious passion that did it. Or maybe it was his beautiful hair falling around his face unencumbered by the kenseikan. Or his soft voice that whispered seductively albeit menacingly in her ear. Or maybe it was the fact that he had her pressed up against his office wall suspended by the front of her robes and she was running short on oxygen. Overwhelmed by his presence, Yachiru acted without thinking.
She leaned forward and placed her lips on the side of his face, on his jaw line just below his ear. He must have been too surprised to react immediately. Yachiru was able to keep her slightly-parted lips on his jaw, sucking forcefully, for at least three full seconds before he reacted, releasing his hold on her robes and letting her slide to the floor as he rapidly pulled away from her.
"Get out of my office!" He yelled, two bright spots of color appearing on his cheeks, his hand flying to the small already-bruising area on his jaw line.
"Don't worry, I'll be back later!" Yachiru called, blowing him a kiss over her shoulder, fleeing from his office as he reached for Senbonzakura.
Once she was safely outside, Yachiru smiled. Even if she hadn't exactly been successful with her original plan, what had happened had exceeded her expectations. She had managed to break through Byakushi's calm and collected exterior. She had had him furious and yelling. She had even managed to make him blush.
Looking around for the kenseikan that had to have landed somewhere in this general area, Yachiru thought about her most recent encounter with Byakushi. She was happy that she had had the chance to bite his cheek. That mark would be difficult to cover up and would probably not fade for days. And his hair had smelled nice too, like cherry blossoms. Yachiru decided that she liked being that close to him. It excited her in strange ways. She couldn't wait to try something like that again.
Picking up the discarded kenseikan and pocketing it, Yachiru dreamed and she plotted. Next time, she told herself, she would not run away so easily. She would play with him and when she won, she would hold him down and maybe bite him again. And she would force him to start enjoying her company. Maybe if she played with him roughly enough, she would even be able to convince him to go out with her.
One day, Yachiru resolved, smiling, he would be hers.
A/N: …What? The French speakers among you actually expected this to end the same way that the French version did? I told you last chapter that that wouldn't happen. Also, since this is more than just a oneshot and there are more chapters to come, I couldn't just have it end that easily. Besides, this ending is more fun. Or more frustrating, depending on how you look at it. This way, there will be fallout.
A good portion of the scenes in this chapter were taken directly from the Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book, the series of short skits at the end of certain Bleach episodes. I mean, even if a bit of the dialogue is copied almost word-for-word, I added some back story, modified the order, and gave them context within my story. I'm calling it taking artistic liberty. I drew heavily on two of the ones taking place during fukutaicho meetings, one with Yachiru rampaging around Kuchiki mansion, one of Ichigo and Byakuya having a conversation, and another one of Yachiru wreaking havoc on Byakuya's koi pond. If anyone is interested in watching the originals without sorting through all of the episodes to find them, just search Byakuya and Yachiru on youtube and you'll find them, no problem. My Yachiru's personality is based heavily on her actions in these skits, although in my story, she is older than she looks, quite cunning, can hold her alcohol, and is actually older than Hitsugaya.
Also, many thanks to Erin Kamikaze and Roussette (vf) for reviewing!
Next chapter: Rumors, paperwork, feathers, koi, and things really heat up. I'm also thinking about including a HitsuMatsu cameo, what do you think?
Until next time,
-Kitakana
