I know its been a while, however I feel like I've grown as a writer since my last post and am more than willing to improve the quality of this story from this chapter forward. For those of you who are still reading, I really appreciate your interest.

Enjoy.

Muttering. For the first time in a very long time, Hisana heard the soft, friendly, emotional, human sound of various voices around her. She moaned lowly as she blinked, trying to adjust to the brightness of- what was that? Was that the sun? She squirmed a bit, against the plush softness of the bed she was apparently lying on and rolled before completely sitting up. She had a lose, cotton robe wrapped around her and her hair was much longer than she had remembered as it fell to her waist, with the ends split and frayed with age.

The voices would drift from calming softness to endearing screaming matches. Hisana found herself listening to these people, entranced, as after such a long silence these voices were nearly musical to her. As soon as she felt some energy, she pushed herself to her feet and walked, with a bit of difficulty toward the door. She was distracted, however, by a shadow that loomed in the threshold of the door.

The deepest of the voices admonished his companions to not argue so loudly. The door opened slowly, and she looked squarely into her husband's cool grey eyes. He carried and tray of food with him, but swiftly set it down on the vanity in the room and gently, or shyly, took her into his arms. Hisana immediately felt at ease and wrapped her arms around his waist. They did not speak for a long while and silently, he led her back to the bed and held her she nuzzled her face on his chest.

When Byakuya finally broke the silence, his voice was strained and low. "Hisana, I have a lot to tell you." She looked up at him, her eyes full of wonder, though her mood darkened when she noted his grim frown. "It has been a long time, I'm sure," she replied hesitantly. He gave her a curt nod, his gaze fixed on the ceiling above. "What do you have to tell me?" she asked, hoping that he'd look at her. He didn't.

"I betrayed you, my love."

Hisana blinked, a bit confused and unable to feel angry or hurt. "Tell me."

"I found Rukia," he murmured and finally looked at her intently. "You found my-" Her voice broke before she could continue and she felt the beginning of tears form in her throat. She didn't notice that he had continued speaking to her.

"She was arrested and I... I chose to do nothing. I knew that she was going to be put to death, but I had promised my father and mother that I would be true and obedient, less wanton, so that I would not disgrace them. At the time, I did not know what to do; betray my parents or betray you. If I hadn't been humbled by the man that risked his life to save Rukia, I would've been guilty of destroying the last piece of you I had. She has since forgiven me, and I only hope you can grant me the same mercy."

Hisana sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. She felt his eyes on her, silently begging for her to strip away his guilt. Her heart was heavy, however, and she could simply not fathom what she could possibly say to him. "Byakuya, I... I want to see my sister." He rose from the bed dutifully and swept out of the room.

When he was gone, Hisana immediately rose and started to pace nervously. She was no better than Byakuya. They had both abandoned this girl and left her to die, so she'd be a hypocrite, if she hated him for doing what she could easily be hated for.

The door slid open once again and Hisana glanced up to see her sister. Her eyes widened, as looking at Rukia was like looking at a reflection. They were both rather short and thin, with ink black hair and eyes so dark that blues and purples danced through around piercing black irises. There was one thing though that Hisana noted instantly; despite Rukia's appearance of a rather sweet nature, she knew that her sister was strong. Much stronger than her, and even her husband. This girl survived in circumstances where others would have surely perished.

Hisana opened her mouth in an attempt to say something, but was instead crushed by a loving hug.

"Ever since my brother told me that you didn't think you deserved to be called my sister, I wanted to just hug you and tell you that no matter what decisions you make, I love you and you were always going to be my sister," Rukia cried.

Hisana could no longer stifle her blunt tears and she mumbled incoherent apologies to Rukia, who kept telling her that everything was alright, and that none of those past mistakes mattered.

The fact that this girl never truly met Hisana, but could say all this with such conviction and truth, brought a fresh wave of tears to her. After a long while, they pulled apart and started to giggle.

"Well, Hisana, we have a lot to talk about," Rukia laughed. Hisana smiled and sat on the bed while beckoning Rukia to sit next to her. "Yes, you'll have to tell me about this hero that nearly gave hiss life to save you."

Despite never sharing a word together before this day, Hisana found speaking to Rukia very simple, as if they had known each other their entire lives. They joked and gossiped with ease, while also discussing their lives long ago.

Rukia was eventually called from the room because of a disturbance in the town, which happened to be in the World of the Living. They were allowed to stay in the home of a former soul reaper that had taken residence here, for many convoluted reasons that would be explained to Hisana later. She, Rukia, Byakuya and a few others were to return to the Soul Society in a few days time.

As the sun was setting, Byakuya tentatively entered the room. Hisana stood and impulsively offered him a sheepish smile. "When you told me about Rukia earlier, I wasn't sure how to react. You and I are equally foolish when it comes to duty." She nearly laughed cynically, but stopped herself. "You have shown a great love for my sister, despite what happened and I... I can forgive you for your decision. I hope that you have forgiven me as well, for being such a burden on you."

Byakuya walked slowly to her and took her face in his hands. "If you think that I ever minded doing all I could for you, you're mad, Hisana." She started to shake her head, but he continued. "I vowed to protect you. You could never be a burden to me."

"But-"

He leaned down and kissed her softly, then pulled away to look at her deeply. "You were ill, Hisana. You have nothing to be forgiven for. I know how much you wanted to help Rukia and I know how much you loved me. You don't need to apologize for anyhting." Hisana took a step toward him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Byakuya, you are impossibly good to me." He captured her lips once more and she leaned into the kiss eagerly.

She felt that familiar fluttering in her heart when he was simply in her presence. Her life was cut off right at the height of her love for him, and this opportunity to be together once more was like a dream.

"You're a brave woman to let Rukia come around you with scissors," Ichigo had said one afternoon. Hisana's hair was much too long, and Rukia offered to cut it for her. She had grown to like Ichigo and Renji as they're assertive attitudes were very appealing to her. In a way, they each reminded her of Kaien.

Rukia glared at Ichigo fiercely. "Oh, shut up! I maintain my own hair!" Ichigo scoffed. "Yeah, I know you do," he murmured meanly. The scissors were thrown across the room like a shiv, but Renji grabbed them before they impaled the wall and Ichigo. "You two are children," he scolded, before returning the scissors to Rukia.

"So, how long do you want you hair, Hisana?" Hisana looked at Rukia's own hair for a moment then said, "At my shoulders. I think that will me long enough." Rukia nodded and took her hair before cutting it. Ichigo feigned horror as Rukia continued and turned red with agitation. Hisana let out a small laugh. "Don't let him get to you, Rukia."

She simply rolled her eyes in response and continued to cut. "What do you think?" Rukia asked a short time later. Hisana looked at herself a sighed. She finally looked normal again. "It's perfect, Rukia. Thank you."

They were all to return to the Soul Society in an hour or so, and they were all anxious to return home. The night before, Hisana told Byakuya that she was a bit nervous about returning to her responsibilities as lady of the house, but he assured her that she would have as long as she needed to re-learn her duties. She them jokingly lamented that she envied Rukia for never becoming a "lady" and that she'd rather fight hallows than host tea parties any day.

Byakuya chuckled. "Hopefully, you'll have more important things to worry about than tea parties and gossip. I'm sure once we have a child, you'll be so busy, that you'll start to miss the other ladies." Hisana let out a laugh of her own. "I don't think so. I could have twelve children and not miss some of those girls."

"Twelve children?" He looked at her baffled. "I was just saying that for emphasis, my dear," she sighed, snuggling into a comfortable sleeping position.

"I trust that you'll be wanting to have children as soon as we get home," he said impulsively. Hisana looked at him and smiled, holding him to a silent promise. In response, he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and kissed her deeply. She tasted his need and melted against him. His kissed traveled from her lips down her jaw and to her neck, where he sucked the sensitive skin gently.

After some time, he ended up above her, kissing along her collarbone as she moaned under him. "Byakuya." Her moan seemed to encourage him more. He moved to tug at the belt of her robe and leave her exposed to him. "Byakuya, my love, stop." He looked up at her sharply and caressed her cheek. "What is it?" Hisana let out a breathy laugh. "I don't think that we'll want an audience for this. Our room in the manor is much more private."

He seemed to realize this as the words escaped her. He rolled to his side and stared up at the ceiling. Hisana rested her head on his chest and sighed. "It won't be long now. I promise."

Alright, this was really fun and difficult to write.

I'll be happy once they're back home too LOL

Please Review!