The next morning, Mari awoke to Akio's shaking her and he pressed, "Mari, it's time to wake up. The elders are expecting you soon."
Mari sat up before shooing him from her room, quickly changing her clothes and washing up, fixing her hair for the day and she followed Akio outside to where she would meet the elders. She crossed her arms when they arrived and he stopped by the entrance, leaving her to enter by herself and she took a seat on a pillow facing the elders.
"What did you want to meet with us for?" one of them asked.
"About this whole arranged marriage business. I don't want that."
They exchanged a glance before gazing at her. "It's already been decided and the one you'll marry has already been notified. They're already preparing for your wedding. It's time you settled down, Mari. You're already the head and you need to just settle down and have children."
Mari fought back tears, glaring at them. "Don't I have a say in this? I don't want to be married like this."
"If you had come the last time we had a meeting, when we had decided this, you would have had a choice but we assumed that you would agree with it."
She pouted, her gaze dropping to her hands in her lap. "Can I at least know who I'm marrying?"
"It's a man about your age in the Kuchiki clan. His name is Haruki. He's not the head, of course, but he'll be a very suitable husband for you. Besides, he was the one who asked for your hand."
Mari nodded, getting to her feet. "Excuse me." They nodded and she approached Akio, her hands clenched to fists and she led him back to the main house. "Akio," she demanded once they arrived, "While I'm gone, I need you to get all the information you can about Haruki Kuchiki."
His eyes widened. "You're marrying into the Kuchiki clan?"
"No, I'm not. I don't care what the elders say, I refuse to get married. But just in case... I need you to find out what you can about him. He's supposedly about my age." She got her zanpakuto from her room, tucking it under her belt before rushing outside. "I'll be going now. I'm so late."
Mari rushed passed the gate and was dismayed to find that Yumichika wasn't standing outside by the gate like he did the day before so she ran as quickly as she could towards the clearing where they normally met. It was empty, much to her disappointment. She felt an ache in her heart as she gazed at the empty clearing before she dashed off towards where he had led her before, into the part of the seireitei where the soul reapers were and she ran and ran, easily becoming lost but luckily nobody had noticed her.
Mari only stopped running when she fell to the floor, running roughly into someone and she rubbed her head, squeezing her eyes closed. "I'm very sorry." She got to her feet and blinked the blur from her eyes to find herself standing before a man with a captain's coat over his shoulders and she instantly felt intimidated standing before him.
"Mari Suzuki," he greeted, curiously, "what are you doing so far away from your home?"
"I-I was looking for someone," she stammered, disregarding the fact that she had no idea who he was, yet he knew her name, "Do you, by chance, have any idea where the squad eleven barracks is?"
His brow furrowed and he pointed to his left. "It's that way."
"Thank you," she said quickly before rushing back the way she'd come and she took a different route this time, glancing back and forth and she felt ecstatic when her gaze fell upon Ikkaku talking with some other squad members just down the path. She slowed when she was near him, panting to catch her breath. "Oh, Ikkaku, am I happy to see you!"
"Who's this, Ikkaku? Is this your girlfriend?" one of the squad members he was talking with teased.
"S-she's nobody," Ikkaku quickly informed before taking Mari by the shoulder and leading her out of earshot from the others. "Mari, what are you doing all the way out here dressed like that? Anyone could easily tell you're not a soul reaper. And where were you? Yumichika was looking all over for you."
"Where is he?" she panted, "I had something to take care of but now I need to talk to him. I got completely lost. I don't know where I ended up but I ran into a captain who told me how to get here."
"A captain?" Ikkaku curiously asked before gesturing her to follow him, "What did the captain look like?"
"He was good looking but intimidating at the same time and he had jet black hair with clips in it and he was wearing a scarf. Does that sound familiar or am I being too vague?"
"That was captain Kuchiki. I'm surprised he told you how to get here, considering he's not the nicest guy."
Mari's eyes widened, gazing up at him. "Captain Kuchiki? You aren't, by chance, referring to the head of the Kuchiki clan, are you?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he is. Anyway, you shouldn't mess with him anymore because he's merciless without exaggeration." He stopped in front of Yumichika's house. "He's inside."
Mari nodded. "Thank you so much." She knocked before opening the front door and her heartbeat began accelerating when her gaze fell upon Yumichika, standing as if he was going to answer the door and she grinned, rushing towards him and throwing herself in his arms. "Oh, Yumichika! I'm so, so sorry! I had to meet with the elders of my clan this morning."
"She ran around the whole seireitei because she got lost," Ikkaku chuckled behind her, "She somehow ended up all the way in the squad six barracks. She ran into captain Kuchiki."
"Squad six?" Yumichika gasped, warmly returning Mari's hug, "Captain Kuchiki? He didn't hurt you, did he? Was he mean to you?"
"Hurt me?" Mari chuckled, "He can't hurt me, I'm a noble clan head. He was the one who told me how to get here and then I ran into Ikkaku."
"Speaking of which, I'll leave you two alone," Ikkaku interrupted, "I'll see you guys later."
Mari couldn't bring herself to lift even a hand from Yumichika but she felt him wave behind her just before the door closed and he returned his hand to her back, holding her tightly. She tilted her head back, pressing her lips firmly to his, her heart pounding in her chest and when their lips parted she leaned her forehead against his chest, closing her eyes when she heard him chuckle. "How did I get so lucky?" She smiled, although, at his words, she could feel tears dripping from her chin and she sniffled as he cupped her cheek in his palm, lifting her face towards him, a concerned expression on his face as he wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "What's wrong?" he murmured.
Mari gave him a genuine smile although her tears wouldn't stop. "It's nothing... I'm just... I'm so happy with you. I don't want this to change... ever."
He wiped away her tears again before leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers again, kissing her passionately until she lost her breath. "It doesn't ever have to change, Mari."
She sniffled and held him until she calmed down. The reason why she was crying had only partly been because she was so happy; it was mostly because everything was so perfect with him and she didn't want her clan to take this away from her.
That night when Mari arrived at home, Akio was sitting at the table again, some papers in front of him and she sat down beside him, gazing at him curiously. "Mari, I found out what I could about Haruki Kuchiki. He's not a soul reaper but he's very rich. He's your age and according to everywhere I searched, he's perfect and doesn't have a criminal record at all. He's not bad looking either."
"Thanks, Akio," she smiled before continuing, "I met Byakuya Kuchiki today."
Akio's eyes widened and he gazed at her. "What happened?"
"Nothing, because I didn't know it was him. I ran into him and asked him where squad eleven's barracks are and he told me. I thought it was kinda weird that he knew my name though. I didn't know it was him until I told Ikkaku about it and he told me who it was." She got to her feet and began approaching her bedroom. "Anyway, I'm going to bed. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."