Moonlit Blossom
-Chapter 1-
* The blossom greeted the sunlight, shadowed in uncertainty and curiosity.
Dinner had ended almost completely normal aside from the one dared glance at her Nii-sama. It was unusual for him to even partake in something of the sort, not to mention that he seemed to be focusing on her a lot more that evening. Maybe he was just really out of it somehow.
It's not as if I was getting his attention.
As she tried to reason with herself on the many possible excuses or reasons for that one moment of odd behavior, her eyes caught sight of her room once again and she shut her door for the full privacy of her thoughts. Her hands moved to begin undoing her shinigami robes just as she wandered back into the bathroom. The smallest hint of an after-scent from her perfume that she had sprayed caught her senses and she had a small realization.
Did I actually put perfume on just to go to dinner..?
She hadn't really thought about it beforehand since she had been in such a rush to get to the dining room, but that was not a normal occurrence for her. Brushing her hair was once thing, but putting on perfume was entirely another seeing as Rukia had always been a bit of a tomboy since she was younger. She usually only reserved the perfume wearing for when she was in Karakura Town and that was seen as normalcy or was almost expected for a young woman.
Her lithe body shrugged off her shinigami robes, picking them up and laying them on a small shelf in the bathroom. With her frame being so petite, there was no need for her to wear a bra so she stood in nothing but her rabbit designed bikini-style panties. Her hands moved to start running the water for her bath just as she could hear the sound of soft footsteps move past her room and then further down the hallway.
Nii-sama…?
It was when his thoughts were plaguing him the most that he always felt it best to escape from the large manor for it only made him feel trapped in his inner thoughts. His keen senses picked up the sound of water as he passed the room of the young woman with whom he lived. Imagining she was now taking her evening bath, he shifted his thoughts back to what they had been incessantly mulling over all afternoon.
His form gracefully exited out onto the porch before he took a few steps down to make his way into the vast garden that occupied most of the surroundings of the manor. It was not common for him to be wandering the garden at night. But tonight he had to make an exception.
The fact that he couldn't shake this notion of not understanding the reasoning behind the raven-haired woman's behavior made him feel thrown off from everything he ever thought of her. It was becoming apparent that perhaps he really didn't know her as well as an older brother should have, or perhaps even just a friend or acquaintance should have.
The moon shone just barely through the partly cloudy sky, but it was still enough to allow him to see the swaying of the sakura trees in time with the passing of the wind. This atmosphere was soothing to his soul.
Perhaps I am not fulfilling my promise entirely yet.
The promise from his late wife-it had been something he held dearly to his heart. But then again, that promise had also caused him to change as well, to grow as a person. He had allowed himself to break the rules-break tradition, for the young woman residing inside the manor at that very moment. To not actually know that woman in every way a person should then that was almost tarnishing that promise.
To say he knew how he would go about this would've been a lie. A challenge was something Byakuya Kuchiki never faltered from and always conquered over.
The following morning, Rukia had awakened a bit earlier than usual. Perhaps it had been her odd behavior the night before that had made her sleep an uneasy one. She had proceeded going through her morning routine of getting dressed, eating, and then heading out to the main offices of the Gotei 13.
It was as she reached the office for Squad 13, she saw a familiar face walking towards her in that very moment.
"N-Nii-sama. Good morning." Caught somewhat off-guard, she bowed before him while saying her general greeting. For a moment, he said nothing. His grey eyes were staring down at her as she then stood upright again.
"Rukia, I'm only here to request an appropriate time to see you."
It was an odd request. Nothing like this had ever occurred before. In his eyes it was proper to ask in this way, but anyone else probably would've just asked her in simpler terms such as-can I meet up with you later? But this wasn't just anyone.
"Oh well yes, of course. I should finish my duties by late afternoon." With a slight nod she had replied in the best manner she could. She knew she couldn't say no, not to her Nii-sama.
"I see. Come by my office whenever you are finished."
And with a swift reply, his robes were bellowing in his exit as Rukia was left with nothing but a surprised look on her face as her thoughts ran off to that of confusion.
* Author: That was a bit shorter than I usually write. I am still lacking on a proper plot line due to the fact that I am more concentrated on finishing my RikuxSora fic as of late. I will try to sit down and write out a plot soon enough, but for now, this was a mini-start at least.