Byakuya had yet again been summonsed by the Kuchiki Elders to a meeting. He despised these meetings more than anything else, only one question escaped their lips and it was one that was becoming increasingly harder to avoid answering. They insisted that he was to have a bride when he succeeds his grandfather as the head of the Kuchiki house. Their meddling has caused Byakuya some bother in past occasions; his many introductions to noble women had become somewhat of an embarrassment to the Kuchiki Elders as Byakuya just dismissed them without even a word.

Slowly walking along the corridor to the meeting, Byakuya found himself lost in thought, stopping for a moment to look at the trees that overlooked the garden. Winter was nearly upon them and all of the sakura trees had ceased to bloom. Snowflakes had begun to fall on the grounds and Byakuya couldn't help feel mesmerised by their beauty. It seemed that just like the sakura blossoms they reminded him of Hisana.

Byakuya brought his gaze away from the window and continued to walk down the corridor. He opened the doors of the hall to see the Elders sitting in their usual position and attire. He let out a small sigh to himself for these meetings were never pleasant. Amongst the small group of Elders, he immediately noticed that his grandfather was not present. His thoughts seemed to be seen to the Elders when one of the elder of the group interjected those thoughts.

"Your grandfather has sent his apologies for not being able to be present at this meeting. He had urgent business with the Sixth Division." Naoki Kuchiki was one of the eldest members of the Kuchiki clan; he was also one of several Kuchiki members against Byakuya becoming the Head of the Kuchiki family.

Byakuya scoffed inwardly at this comment, he knew that his grandfather would never miss a meeting, no matter how important matters were in the Sixth Division. Ginrei Kuchiki put matters of the Kuchiki clan above those of anything else, even if he did not agree with the reasons behind such matters. Byakuya however did not feel he should push the Elders by bringing that up.

"As you know Byakuya, you are to become the Head of the Kuchiki clan once your grandfather feels that you are ready to take over." Byakuya's uncle, Shichirou started speaking. "You need to take a woman as your bride before this can happen, Byakuya. A Kuchiki cannot become Head of the Clan without one."

"I have not yet found a woman you have shown me that has caught my attention." Byakuya brushed a loose hair out of his face; his Kenseikan had not been put on that morning. "I have however found someone that has my attention without your interference."

There were mutters amongst the Elders. All turned their attention to him.

"What Noble family is she from?" Shichirou enquired

"She is not from nobility." Byakuya answered simply

The Kuchiki Elders muttered and grumbled angrily at this, various comments could be heard about Byakuya staining the Kuchiki name if he did this.

"Such audacity, Byakuya." Another of the more senior Elders, Ayumu spoke up, "If she is not from a Noble family then were did she grow up? First District?"

"She is from the 78th District." Byakuya remained stoic throughout "Inuzuri."

Cries of outrage burst across the room, Byakuya however did not seem phased by this. He knew exactly what to expect from the Kuchiki Elders but he also knew it would be some time before he asked Hisana to become his wife, he wanted to protect her from the Kuchiki family for as long as he could. It was not yet a year since he had first met her and he did not wish to rush into something such as marriage. To him Hisana was perfect, no matter where she was from or what her spiritual power was. He was not as condemning as the rest of his family, with the exception of his grandfather and his deceased parents. His parents had been understanding of others, putting up a front to the Elders. His father had originally been quite like them but his mother had softened his heart, just like his grandmother had done to his grandfather.

"Byakuya, you cannot be serious." Shichirou looked almost speechless, "You cannot possibly marry a commoner. Think of the Kuchiki name and how it will be stained if you were to marry such filth."

"I did not say that I was marrying her, I simply said that she had caught my attention." Byakuya was still as composed as he had been when he had entered, "She will be moving into the Kuchiki Mansion later this evening and I hope you will treat her with the same respect that you would show both myself and my grandfather."

Byakuya's composure faltered slightly after his last few words

"However judging by the fact he is not present at this meeting, I sense that your respect for him has lapsed slightly by not even informing him of the meeting." Byakuya turned to the door and clutched the handle, "I bid you goodbye. This meeting is over."

He slid open the doors and walked out, not bothering to take into account any muttering or even to acknowledge his name being called.

*

Byakuya was standing by the gates awaiting Hisana's imminent arrival. He had been thrilled that she had accepted his offer for her to live in the Kuchiki Mansion, part of him thought her pride would reject him. Hisana had told him before that she felt like a burden to him, his constant visits to Rukongai to see her made her feel guilty that he spent so much of his time with a mere peasant that did not warrant his attention. Byakuya had been quick to dispel those thoughts from her head, he had never thought of his time spent with her as anything but joyful and something he had always looked forward to and most of all, he loved her.

He watched as she walked to him, a pang of guilt hitting him. Hisana had no belongings that bring with her and her only clothes were the ones she was wearing. He couldn't help but feel anything but guilt in that moment, there he was in his shinigami robes and Kenseikan with all the wealth others could only imagine and Hisana had nothing.

"Byakuya-sama."

Her face was full of happiness as she greeted him, however he could not help but to notice the cold shivers from her body. He quickly took off his robes and wrapped them around her tiny frame. He swooped down and placed a kiss on her lips, they felt almost frozen to touch. Byakuya wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm, he wanted to stay like that for as long as possible but he knew they had to get out of the cold. Hisana did not even have time to react before Byakuya had shunpoed them halfway through Seiretei, she still had not got used to Byakuya doing it.

Once they had reached the Kuchiki Manor, Byakuya was quick to get her into her room to keep her out of sight of the Elders; he did not want to cause Hisana any unnecessary grief that would come if the Elders saw her. First he needed to make sure that the situation could be calmed down.

Hisana looked around the room in awe, never had she seen anything this fancy. Byakuya could not help but smile slightly, she never saw but he found some amusement in her excitement and wonder.

"Is this really my room?" Hisana enquired, "It seems too fancy for me to sleep in. I do not deserve this Byakuya-sama."

"No, you're right." Byakuya said, "You deserve so much more than this."

He pulled her into an embrace and kissed her chastely, Byakuya felt he was the one that did not deserve her. She was something that was so pure and innocent, Byakuya felt like he was the one not worthy of her presence.

"You should get some sleep." Byakuya whispered, "I hope you will find everything to your liking."

Hisana smiled, never had she been treated with such kindness. She knew in her heart that she loved Byakuya; she just did not know how to show him.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" Hisana asked, her voice almost child-like.

Byakuya gave her an enquiring look.

"I feel that I may get lonely in such a big and unfamiliar place." She spoke quietly as if she dared not have asked such a question.

"How could I refuse such a request?" Byakuya took her hand and led her to the bed. The king-size bed was more than enough room for the two of them, Byakuya however was a gentleman and would not even think of doing anything to Hisana at such a time. He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist as pulled her into him. Byakuya watched as she fell asleep, stroking her hair and planting a small kiss on her forehead. He waited until he knew that she had fallen asleep before he chose to do so himself.