AN: Chapter 4 is here! In case you are all wondering why in the world I'm not taking this story day by day...well, I'm determined to finish this story by the end of the day. It's probably suicide, I know, and seeing as I'm not getting that many reviews for it you probably think I shouldn't continue. I'm doing it whether you like it or not and not even Kenpachi Zaraki can stop me! Oh and just a side note, I forgot to put on the flyer where the SWA will be selling their treats; it's in Captain Unohana's office and the drop-box for the cards are on her desk as well. ^_^ Read and leave a review, my beautiful people!
Byakuya wondered if it was possible to unleash Senbonzakura on Senbonzakura himself. But no matter. The nobleman continued on with his paperwork as though the zanpakutou did not say anything. Renji looked over to his captain and asked, "Taicho, is everything okay?"
"Yes. " He finished signing a form and his damned eyes looked back at the red flyer once again. He had to get rid of it. It was driving him crazy, something which he seldom felt. What he felt for Rukia, however, was feeding fire to a growing flame. He inwardly groaned and picked up a stack of his paperwork and exited the room. He had to deliver them to Yamamoto-soutaicho and a breath of fresh air would clear his mind.
When opened the door of his office and turned right the corner of his eyes was assailed with red and white. The whole wall to his right was nearly covered with red, white and pink flyers that advertised for the SWA fundraiser; it was as though Valentine's Day had raped the wall. He closed his eyes in sheer irritation and walked straight for Yamamoto's office.
After a few seconds of walking he opened his eyes to see that there were more of the flyers on the walls of the barracks. A few of his squad members were looking at them and talking about them. Byakuya briskly passed by them, asking himself if there was any place in the Gotei 13 that the SWA didn't cover with the brightly colored paper.
He got to Yamamoto's office and found that the general himself was looking at a flyer. Byakuya cleared his throat when we walked up to the old man's desk to dispose of the paperwork in his hands. "I see that the Shinigami Women's Association got to you to, Yamamoto-soutaicho," Byakuya said, wearily.
"Will you participate in this, Byakuya?" the old man said, holding up the paper.
Byakuya needed a moment to think about that. "I am undecided, soutaicho. If you excuse me..." He left the room without another word and made for the peace of his office where there weren't that many reds and pinks and whites to blind his eyes. When he got inside he found that the flyers had attacked Renji's desk.
"Th-they got me, Taicho," Renji said apologetically. "Yachiru-fukutaicho, Rangiku...ALL of them came in here to cover my desk with these."
"And you were not able to fend off even them, Renji?" Byakuya said.
Renji sniffed. "No!" Byakuya rolled his eyes.
"With that aside, Renji, are you participating in the fundraising event?" Renji stopped his sniffing to blink at his captain.
"Perhaps. Why?"
Byakuya didn't answer the question and instead asked another. "And when you said that all of them came here, was Rukia with them?"
"Yeah. A-are you participating in this?"
"..." Byakuya was silent, again thinking about whether to do so or not.
"Er-Taicho?"
"Byakuya-sama, I urge that you do it. For Rukia...and for youself," Senbonzakura said on a last ditch opportunity to finally get Byakuya together with Rukia.
Byakuya sighed and sat down in his seat. "I shall."
XOXO
"I have an announcement to make," Unohana said. It was almost five o'clock in the afternoon and the members of the SWA regrouped back inside Rangiku's office. "On Valentine's Day evening, we will host a party in the banquet hall of the main Gotei 13 building. I already have the permission of Yamamoto-soutaicho. We'll have to make flyers for that as well."
"Don't you think we're going a little too overboard, Unohana-taicho?" Kiyone asked sheepishly. "I thought soutaicho himself would have by now started scolding one of us."
"Nonsense," Nanao said. "This is fine. Now, all we have to do is wait. Everyone knows where Unohana-taicho's office is. I'd expect by tomorrow that there will be a lot of people coming over to purchase them. They now have a week to do so and also write the cards."
"And speaking of the cards…Oh my goodness!" cried Unohana. "We put out the flyers and we have not even made the cards yet! By tomorrow, we will have no cards to sell!"
"What do we do now?" Momo asked.
"We can deal with that later," Soi Fon said, crossing her arms. "Rukia Kuchiki is not here." Everyone looked around the office and sure enough she was nowhere in sight.
"With Byakun!" Yachiru said smiling.
"Really?" the women chorused.
"I don't know for sure," Yachiru said, giggling. "But it would be nice to know!"
"Whatever the case, we will need to start making the cards as soon as possible tomorrow," Unohana said. "Please be here at five o'clock the next morning so that we may start." The other members groaned.
XOXO
Rukia posted the last two flyers on front of her office door. She sighed, feeling exhausted. She was posting flyers since this morning and there were so much ground and building walls to cover. Add that to the fact she had to lug around more than 20 pounds of white chocolate and you could say she deserved a filling dinner and a good night's rest. Her spiritual energy was drained so she wasn't able to shun-po all the way back to Rangiku's office without collapsing. She just settled with walking.
She was once again alone with her thoughts; this time she was thinking about how she would handle having dinner with him tonight. After that incident, she didn't think she would be able to look at him for a while since she was afraid to know what his stares may be conveying. She thought about The Look again and she felt her heart melt a bit. "Augh!" she said out load. (Thankfully no one was around at the time.) "I've gotta stop doing this to myself!"
"Don't deny your feelings, Rukia-sama," Sode no Shirayuki said. "Like what Ichigo Kurosaki said, it's okay if you feel so."
"It's not okay!" Rukia said, once again out loud. "I'm in for a world of pain. He's a nobleman and I'm not even seated in my squad. He's my adoptive brother and I'm the younger sister of his dead wife. Besides, how can he stand a girl like me. I'm really rough around the edges."
"That did not stop him from not drawing away quickly when your hands touched," Sode no Shirayuki reasoned quietly. Rukia gulped; the zanpakutou spirit was right. Another thing that Sode no Shirayuki forgot to point out was that he didn't hesitate to lock eye contact with her. The Look would be burned in her retinas for a while.
"He loves you, Rukia," Sode no Shirayuki said, a sad tone in her voice. "I wish you can see it."
Rukia gulped and walked onwards to Rangiku's office. The sun was going down and she sighed at the beauty of the sunset. She looked ahead of her and groaned. She was nowhere near close to her destination. Maybe the members already left. At this point, she didn't know what to do next. Should she continue walking in the same direction or should she just give up and go home? He gritted her teeth and continued for the office. No way was Rukia Kuchiki giving up.
When she finally got there it was already nightfall and she saw a hell butterfly flying towards her. Rukia held out a finger to it and it landed. "You have got to be kidding me," she said incredulously. "They're already done. They could have sent it earlier and they're just informing me that I have to be at the office again at five in the morning tomorrow to make the cards. Now I have to go home...bearing that type of news." She groaned and shun-po'ed as fast as she could back to Kuchiki manor.
She knocked on the paper double-door of the dining room and before she could say anything Byakuya said, "Enter, Rukia." She felt a sense of dread in her heart; she was in trouble for being extremely late to dinner, add that to the fact that she probably worried Byakuya and the fact that she didn't tell him that she would be late…she was waiting for an impending put-down by him, the subject of her thoughts that whole day.
She cringed as she entered and made her way to her place at the table. Byakuya could see the pained and scared look in her face. When she sat down, she bowed her head and began apologizing, "I'm so sorry, Nii-sama. I should have warned you about my being late, and if I made you worry about me I'm sorry as well. Whatever words you say to me, I deserve."
Byakuya looked at her bowed head and said, "Look at me, Rukia." Rukia slowly raised her head but had a hard time looking at him in the eye. Again, she didn't know what his look was going to convey and whatever it would she was scared of.
"I will allow your mistakes to pass," he said. "As long as you're safe and you're home, it is fine."
Rukia quietly let out a breath of air. Apparently, she had stopped breathing when she was told to look at him. He began serving himself with the food on the table. Rukia looked down and her own empty bowl and then her eyes slowly looked up shyly at Byakuya. She blinked and let herself gaze at him for a while.
After about five seconds, Byakuya, who was concentrating on finishing his bowl rice, looked up to find Rukia looking at him. Rukia saw this and finally started serving herself her own dinner. It was silent afterwards; no small talk occurred between the two this time.
'Why was she looking at me with such shy eyes?' he asked himself.
'Dammit. He caught me looking at him.'
"I'm tell you, Byakuya-sama," came Senbonzakura's voice.
'You told me nothing, Senbonzakura,' snapped back Byakuya.
"She likes you," he said. Byakuya was about to retort but thought better of it. Instead he looked down, yet away from his food.
'You will never grant me any peace until I admit that I'm harboring feelings for her, will you, Senbonzakura…' Byakuya quietly asked the zanpakutou spirit.
"Not at all, Byakuya-sama!" Senbonzakura replied happily. If the spirit didn't have a mask on, Byakuya could swear he see a grin on his face.
AN: Ahhh, if any of you haven't caught it by now, Senbonzakura is playing Cupid. I chuckle at myself for subjecting Byakuya to these kinds of things. The next few chapters is when I really want to speed things up a bit with the story…with what adding how the fundraising event is doing, who is giving whom a chocolate rose and card, and the dance. Now ONWARD! Because I WILL finish before the end of tonight! Please review and a heart-shaped pizza will appear in front of you. If you're wondering how I answer, "Because I can. ^_^"
