A/N: Well, here is 'CH 2' Hopefully it is enjoyable XD. As before POV shows perspective change, and page breaks show a time/scence change.
Hana stared at the clock at the front of the room; he had nearly forgotten how tedious school could be. No matter where, Soul Society or human realm, sitting in a desk for hours on end, listening to some monotone old man try to explain some simple principle or another was vastly unpleasant.. He was already slinging his bag over his shoulder when the bell rang. Thank goodness, the last class was finally over. He hurried out into the crowded hallway, trying desperately to make it outside without incident.
He was already having second thoughts about the enthusiasm he had shown the night before. While he may have escaped some of the more terrible brands of abuse in Soul Society, he was still subject to more than his share here. Despite his being older than the kids at the high school several times over, he was still smaller than a great deal of them. Hana winced as he was shoved against a wall, thinking of how there would most likely be a bruise there later. Already some 'older' kids had targeted him as the loser new kid. His shoulder still ached from having his arm twisted behind his back; part of the show that was supposed to demonstrate to him he had better learn his place quickly. Hana fell forward suddenly as someone caught his ankle with their foot. He stumbled a few feet before managing to catch himself against the wall. This was going to be a long mission…
Hana shuffled through the door of the apartment, barely kicking it closed before falling back against it. He leaned against the door for a few minutes before dragging himself into the living room area. There he found Byakuya, who appeared to be doing some kind of paper work or another. Hana almost gasped upon seeing the captain. He had traded his captain's uniform for some faded jeans and a long sleeve shirt, the top buttons undone. Most surprising however, was the absence of his kenseikan. His hair was pulled back in a loose pony, held at the nape of his neck with a thin band; his bangs hanging freely, casting a shadow over his eyes. Some shorter strands of hair had escaped the band, falling forward to frame his face. Hana had never quite noticed just how beautiful the 6th division captain was. That's right beautiful, there was no other way to describe it.
"Did your day go well Hanatarou?" Hana snapped out of the daze he had fallen into at the sound of Byakuya's voice. Surprised yet again, by how relaxed he seemed compared to his usual rigid and cold demeanor.
"Y-yes, Captain Kuchiki." Hana replied shakily, though it was only a half truth. He doubted Byakuya was interested in hearing how he had been shoved around all day. He frowned slightly as he yet again wondered how he had ended up on this mission in the first place, or what its real purpose was for that matter.
"Captain?" Hana was hesitant to ask his question.
"Yes, Hanatarou?" Byakuya looked up at the younger shinigami.
"W-why-- Why am I here? I mean why did you choose me for this mission, what are we even doing here?" Hana's curiosity won out, causing him to speak in a rush.
"I chose you - because you are reliable and strong, and we are here simply to keep watch over any possible hollow activity." Byakuya's slight hesitation was not overlooked.
"But, Captain, there haven't been any problems here that Ichigo can't handle on his own. Even if there were, there are plenty of others from my squad who are a lot stronger than me..." Hana's voice quieted as he finished, in part from fear of having questioned his superior, and in part from feeling ashamed that what he said was true.
POV
Byakuya frowned slightly; he had hoped Hana wouldn't realize how ridiculous this 'mission' was. He could also see that he felt he was useless being here. In truth, Byakuya knew there was no real need for Hana to be here, but he also knew that if he had really needed a healer with him that Hana would be more than able to help him. He paused to think of what to say to Hana, but before he could the younger spoke again.
"N-never mind sir, it's not my place to question your decisions." With that, Hana turned and headed to his room. Byakuya considered following him and admitting that there was no mission, but decided it was too soon. He still wasn't sure how to approach the subject of what he'd seen, afraid of upsetting Hana. Better to let him rest, he looked tired when he was standing there, and Byakuya was sure he'd heard Hana fall back against the door when he came in. Yes, he'd wait for a few days, let him settle more and get used to being around him before he tried to question him.
POV
Hana fell back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. Byakuya wasn't telling him something, but he didn't know why. If something was going to happen that was that big, then Hana knew he definitely wouldn't have been picked for the job. This was something else, but what? What reason could the Captain have for bringing him here with nothing to do? Hana shuddered, what if Byakuya was just like some of the other soul reapers? Maybe he was here so he could be abused without any interruptions. No, if that was the case then he would've done something already, wouldn't he? He was gonna' go crazy if he didn't figure things out soon.
Several days later found Hana half asleep in his last class for the day, he could hardly keep his eyes open. After that first night in the human realm he hadn't slept well at all, nightmares plagued his sleep the second his eyes closed. He wasn't surprised he often had nightmares right after his less than pleasant sexual encounters, but expecting them didn't stop them from making him toss and turn all night.
The bell rang and Hana slowly drug himself out of the classroom, unable to muster the enthusiasm to try and beat the crowd. He let himself be buffeted down the hall before cutting out of a side door. His mind wandered over the past few days. He and Byakuya seemed to have formed the base of a passing friendship. They usually managed a decent conversation during dinner, and sometimes the conversations would continue 'til the food had been long gone. Byakuya had even asked him to use his first name, claiming he didn't feel it necessary for Hana to address him so formally all the time. He was surprised at how easygoing Byakuya was outside of Soul Society. He seemed more relaxed than Hana had ever seen him.
Despite the thin bond they had formed, Hana still had no answers as to what Byakuya wanted from him. He was fairly sure Byakuya didn't have any ill intentions towards him, he had never really believed him to be that type to begin with. But Hana had also decided that there was almost definitely no official reason for them to be in the human realm.
Hana kicked the front door closed behind him, and headed to the living room. He dropped down on one edge of the couch at the center of the room and sighed, letting his head fall against the back. He cracked his eyes half open and turned his head to where Byakuya sat at the opposite end of the couch.
"Long day?" Byakuya asked him, a small smile turning up the corners of his mouth. Hana couldn't help but return the smile, if nothing else came from this trip, he was glad for having gotten to see the captain smile as much as he had.
"I haven't been sleeping very well." Hana replied, stifling a yawn.
"Why is that?" Concern shone in the elder's eyes.
"It's nothing really, I just- haven't been sleeping well…" Hana let his eyes drift closed once more. "At least I can sleep later tomorrow…unless you have work for me?" He opened one eye to glance at Byakuya.
"No, you are obviously in need of sleep." Byakuya replied, allowing Hana to relax further into the cushions of the couch.
Hana sighed heavily, "I'm gonna' go change out of this uniform." He said rising slowly from his seat and trudging down the hall, his bag trailing behind him.
POV
Byakuya watched as Hana moved down the hall, smiling slightly at his lazy movements. Though he was concerned as to why he wasn't sleeping well. It made him glad that there was no real mission or he might have worried over how that would affect Hana's focus.
Hana had really grown on him since their arrival, even though it had only been a few days, he found that he really cared about the smaller shinigami. It almost scared him, it'd been so long since he had really cared for someone aside from Rukia, but even that was a different feeling.
He looked up when he heard Hana making his way back down the hall. He had a pair of thin, black pajama pants on, they were a little big, so they hung loosely around his narrow waist; and a plain white shirt. He smiled again, he liked the way Hana looked; but the dark shadows under his eyes shrank his smile as concern was renewed. He watched Hana drop onto the couch next to him and lean back, in much the way he had earlier.
"Why don't you just go to bed?" He questioned.
"I would but I'd rather wait a bit longer." His head tipped to the side to look at Byakuya.
"Hmmmm, alright then."
Byakuya watched Hana's eyes drift closed before turning his attention to the book he'd been reading when Hana had gotten home. After no more than five minutes, Hana's unconscious form slipped sideways across his lap. He sighed, as he looked down at the sleeping boy. He should've just gone to bed; he absently ran his fingers through Hana's soft black hair. He watched Hana sleep for a few minutes before shifting his wait and pulling him into his arms. He stood with Hana cradled against his chest, and carried him down the hall. He carefully put Hana down on his small bed and pulled the comforter over him.
A/N: Hopefully this chapter hasn't been a complete disappointment...I've noticed that I kind of sped through things. I kind of want to get more into it, but at the same time I don't want to spend too much time in making this because I have another writing project I'm working on that needs attention. Anyway, I hope to have chapter 3 up tomorrow, oor maybe tonight depends on how much I type in the next hour or so.
As always feedback is appreciated!