I woke up the next morning in my bed, rolled over and groaned. I covered my eyes with my arm.
It was all a weird dream… I thought. Then I pulled myself back to reality. I would imagine that the captain of sixth had protested as well, in the same fashion as me. Of course it would be embarrassing for a captain to be forced into an arranged marriage by his parents. Especially for a captain like Kuchiki, being the head of his house and all. I supposed Kuchiki Ginrei still had power over him.
Maybe I could depend on Kuchiki Byakuya to get out of the arrangement for both of us. I was fairly sure he didn't want to get married to anyone either. Especially not someone he had never really met.
Of course we had met each other, we were both captains. But I didn't know him.
I remember the first time we had really formally met, when I was made a captain.
"Fujiwara Mayumi, lieutenant of the thirteenth Court Guard company, daughter of the Noble house Fujiwara, we have called upon you in our time of need. The threat of the Arrancars is looming nearer and we are lacking three captains. It has been revealed to me that you have mastered your bankai. Am I correct?" the Captain-General asked me.
I nodded meekly. "Hai, yes sir, I have, sir," I said.
"I will take your word that you have, and not ask you to expose your powers to us," he said. I nodded my head at him. "You have been taught to serve to your fullest abilities, have you not?"
I nodded again, starting to shake a little bit.
"I am promoting you to the rank of captain."
My eyes grew wide. There had been rumors (mainly Kyouraku-taichou gossiping with my captain) about me being promoted, but I hadn't believed them. Even after I had been summoned to a Captain's only meeting, I refused to believe that someone like me would be promoted to Captain.
"It's… it's an honor, Captain-General, sir. With all due respect, are you sure that I'll be suited to this position?" I asked nervously.
"Are you questioning me? And the other captains who petitioned for you to be promoted?" he asked me. I was shaking now for real.
"No, sir, not at all, sir," I said, trying to stop my voice from quavering.
"Good. You are now the Captain of the fifth Court Guard company," he said. Two servants walked forward with a brand new, pure white cloak, the insignia of fifth company stitched on the back. They put it on me.
"Now, introduce yourself to your comrades," the Captain-General said to me. I nervously walked to my former captain Ukitake Jyuushiro.
"Thank you," I whispered, bowing deeply to him. He bowed back and clasped my hand in his.
"You deserve the honor," he said, smiling kindly.
I introduced myself to the other captains, going down the numerically ordered line. When I got to Six, I bowed deeply again, for the seventh time, and then made eye contact with him. I was struck by the cold indifference in his eyes. Then, I realized that he was also extremely handsome. I tried to stop myself from blushing as he held my gaze steadily.
"Hajime mashite, watashino namaewa Fujiwara Mayumi desu. Douzo yoroshiku," I whispered, nodding my head again. "Nice to meet you, my name is Fujiwara Mayumi. Please treat me well."
"Hajime mashite, bokuwa Kuchiki Byakuya desu. Douzo yoroshiku," he echoed, nodding at me. He looked over my face, scrutinizing every detail.
"Sumimasen," I said. "Excuse me." I continued on to the next captain, Unohana Retsu, who smiled at me kindly.
"He's scary!" I said to myself. I rolled around in my bed wallowing in self-pity for about another half an hour, then forced myself up. I slowly got dressed and walked to my office.
"Ohayou gozaimasu, Fujiwara-taichou!" Hinamori said cheerfully.
"Yeah, ohayou gozaimasu, Hinamori-fukutaichou," I said, forcing a smile. She cocked her head to the side. "Gomen, I'm a little bit tired," I said reassuringly. She smiled and I went into my office. I walked around the couch and coffee table and plopped myself at my desk. I crossed my arms and rested my head on them.
"Ah, Fujiwara-fukutaichou, you have a visitor!" I heard Momo call. I lifted my head.
"Please come in!" I called back. Momo opened the door and Hisagi Shuhei walked in, grinning. I smiled at him and stood up. "Thank you, Hinamori-fukutaichou," I said. She nodded and walked out of my office, closing the door behind her. He looked me up and down.
"Konnichiwa, Shuhei-kun!" I said, smiling widely.
"You look tired," he observed. I crossed my arms.
"That's because I am!" I said indignantly. "Why are you here, anyway?" I joked. He pulled a bouquet of flowers from behind his back.
"Surprise," he said, smirking. I gasped.
"Doumo arigatou," I said. I took the flowers and hugged him. "So how's my best friend from the good old days?" I asked, looking for something to put the flowers in.
"I'm doing well," he said. "Just came to catch up with you." He plopped down on my couch and helped himself to some candy from a little candy dish.
"Oh, wow. You will not believe what happened to me yesterday," I sighed, jumping over the back of the couch to join Shuhei.
"Try me," he said, popping another candy into his mouth. I sighed and started my story.
By the time I had finished, all of the candies were gone and my fingers were sticky. I got up and went to wash my hands. When I got back, Shuhei had his hands behind his head and was leaned back, with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"So… what's gonna happen? Aren't you supposed to go back there today?" he asked slowly.
"Yes," I muttered. "I'm going back this evening." Shuhei nodded.
"And what're you gonna do about it? It doesn't sound like you're happy about getting married, so aren't you gonna do something to stop it?" he asked me expectantly.
I shook my head. "I can't," I whispered.
"Why?"
"I have to obey my parents always. Noble girls have to obey their parents unconditionally. I've already pushed the limits by going to the Court Guard Academy. My father allowed me to be a seated officer, then to become a lieutenant. The only reason I didn't have to ask for permission to become a captain was because the Captain-General promoted me, and his word is law, especially since my father used to be a captain." I put my head in my hands. "There's no way I can go against this."
"What about Captain Kuchiki? Isn't he the head of his family? And one of the four Noble families, right? So—no offense—but he has more power than you or your father, right?" Shuhei thought out loud.
"Well, it would make sense if he had more influence than my father, but I'm a captain like him so we're at the same level. But I believe Kuchiki Ginrei was the one who renewed the proposal, and I guess Kuchiki Byakuya can't defy him…" I said. "UGH! He's so…"
"Weird? Scary? Creepy?" Shuhei finished for me, grinning.
"Shuhei-chan, that's rude!" I cried. "And you're not making me feel any better," I moped. He smiled and wrapped his arms around me.
"There, there. It'll all turn out fine," he reassured. "And you know that's what you were thinking of him."
"You don't sound so sure," I said, hugging him back, ignoring his little remark. I pulled away. He shrugged. I groaned and fell back onto the arm of the couch.
He shrugged again. I looked up at the wall clock.
"Argh, we better go," I said. We stood up. I smoothed out my shihakushou and Shuhei enveloped me in a hug.
"Good luck," he said, grinning. I stuck my tongue out at him. We left my office and parted ways, looking professional.
It wasn't very smart, being so close with Shuhei. Me, being a women captain, and him, being a male lieutenant. People probably talked, but not to my face.
If someone was brave enough to accuse me of anything nasty, they would face my lightning zanpakutou, my Okamidenkou. I smiled to myself, then remember where I was headed. I sighed inwardly.
I made my way to my parents' house and walked up the familiar path to the front doors. The same male attendant let me in and led me to a different room then last time.
My mother was standing with a tiny old lady. Three of the walls were mirrors and there was a little platform along the wall directly in front of me. I stopped myself just in time before I let out a huge groan.
"Konnichiwa, Mayumi-chan!" my mother said. "This is the seamstress, and today you are getting fitted for your oironaoshi's kimono and the shiro-maku." So, basically, I was getting fit for several different kimono for the traditional wedding wardrobe and the white silk kimono that I would wear throughout the way.
"First we'll fit you for the shiro-maku!" the seamstress said. I undressed and my mother fussed over the clothes, folding them and placing them on a chair. I stepped up on the platform and the seamstress started to pin and arrange the white silk around me. After standing, rotating, being pricked for a little over an hour, the shiro-maku was fitted perfectly.
"Wonderful!" my mother gushed over my reflections in the mirror. The seamstress slipped it off of me.
"Now for the kimono for during the religious ceremony," the seamstress announced and started to work with the many cloths and complicated designs of the kimono.
"And after this we're going to go with the Kuchiki heads to file for your marriage!" my mother said, clasping and unclasping her hands while I was being fitted. "And your uchikake [the intricate kimono worn by the bride during the reception] is going to be so beautiful! We're having it embroidered by many talented embroiderers!" I forced a smile. My mother was so excited about the wedding. I hated the idea of being married to someone I barely knew, but, obviously, I had to obey my parents, and my mother was so happy I didn't have the heart to tell her how much I really hated it.
Another hour passed until my ceremonial kimono was done being fitted and the seamstress started on the uchikake with the deep red fabric. We passed the time making slightly awkward small talk.
Finally, the uchikake was done, and I stepped out of that awful room. My mother was practically bouncing with joy—except she wasn't, because noblewoman don't bounce—as we picked up my father from his tea room and made our way to the office to meet the Kuchiki heads of family. I was wearing a plain sky-blue kimono and my hair was pinned up, three sakura pins stuck in by my fussy mother.
"I heard that Kuchiki Byakuya is fond of cherry blossoms," she said gleefully. I nodded and forced yet another smile.
We met up with them in front of the office. My parents bowed and exchanged compliments with Kuchiki Ginrei and Byakuya. Byakuya's eyes were emotionless and the only thing that moved was his mouth, which curbed into tight-lipped, fake smiles. I stayed quiet behind my parents, like a properly shy lady. I avoided eye contact with Kuchiki Byakuya.
We went inside the building and my mother pushed me forward to stand next to Byakuya. I awkwardly looked away from him. He stood straight and aloof, not by my side, but merely in my presence. His aura just made me feel terrible.
The person working in the office took one look at us and got the papers out.
"Names?" he asked, filling them in as we recited them. He looked up again and then murmured, "Miai," (arranged marriage) and checked something on the paper. He asked for our birth parents' names and filled it in. Then he pushed the papers towards Byakuya and I and gave us a pen. Byakuya made no move to sign the paper, so I picked up the pen and, hand trembling, signed the marriage document.
A/N: So chapter 3 is done :T So I'm not sure whether or not to do the next chapter about the wedding and go into detail, or if that would be too boring and just sayy that the wedding happened. Please review and let me know what you think! (L