oh wow. i just realised that i'm posting 4 chapters in a go. anyway, i think my standard is going down.
Review and tell ok. And i think that i'm really mutating bya and rei's character.
Disclaimer: i don't own bleach. never did, never will.
Rei couldn't recall the last time she had felt so safe. Flashes of laughter, and being swung around and carried in her nii-san's strong and protective arms shot through her mind, and she smiled contentedly, before the images turned into more morbid scenes of blood and pain. She frowned. No, she would stop thinking about it, and enjoy the safety and warmth that she was feeling. With that thought in mind, she nuzzled deeper into the warmth embracing her.
Kuchiki Byakuya looked down at the small form he was holding at her small movement. He couldn't help feeling secretly amused as he watched her smile contentedly, burying her head deeper against his chest. His left arm rested comfortably around her small waist, wrapping round it with ease. "Do you always do that to anybody in whose arms you wake up in?" he asked in a way that could almost be described as mischievous. Except that he was Kuchiki Byakuya, who was always stone cold-Right?
Rei forced herself to wake up upon hearing a somewhat familiar voice. Forcing open sleepy blue eyes, she removed a hand that had been resting on his chest to knead at them before blinking a few times to clear her vision. As her gaze trailed up a muscular chest and a white captain's hakama, she felt a sinking feeling of dread. As she had expected, her blue eyes locked with calm gray ones.
"Ku-Kuchiki sensei," she greeted weakly, her cheeks flaming.
"Nice to see that you're so alert to the advances of the people around you," he stated dryly, removing his hand from her waist, and getting to his feet. His remark only further strengthened the blush that was spreading to her cheeks.
"Eto… sensei, what uh, happened last night?" she asked uncertainly, avoiding his gaze. He raised an eyebrow at the flushing girl in front of him.
"You came to my room and dragged me here, saying you were having a nightmare." The words were out of his lips before he realized. But instead of correcting himself, he watched as she silently turned an interesting shade of scarlet.
"I-I did what?" she mumbled in disbelief, staring at the striking figure in front of her. He eyed her impassively for a moment before striding out of the room. A loud muffled scream could be heard the moment he shut the door behind him, as Rei buried her head in her pillow, kicking and thumping the bed.
5 minutes later found a still somewhat embarrassed Rei descending down the stairs in her gigai, which was dressed in a white skirt, and a shoulder baring pink top. "Ah, I see you're awake, Kusaka-san," Urahara's voice greeted cheerfully, waking Rei from her recollection of this morning's embarrassment.
"Ohayo, Urahara-san," she greeted, replacing her surprised expression with a cheerful smile.
"I hope your gigai's okay?" he asked politely, watching with dark eyes as she descended.
"It's great! Thank you so much! Ne, Urahara san, you've been living in Kakura for quite some time already right?" she asked hopefully, sitting down on the lowest step of the staircase, and resting her chin in her palm,
"I guess you could say that. Why?" he asked curiously, a hint of suspicion in his tone.
"Well, I was hoping that since I would be spending the whole day here, whether you could recommend any places that I have to go," she said with a shrug. "But don't let my sensei know. I don't think he would approve," she whispered seriously in a soft conspiratorial tone. Urahara couldn't help smiling at how child-like she was.
"You're definitely not going to go alone," a chilly tone interrupted so suddenly, that Rei gave a small yelp, and turned to face her impassive sensei that was standing behind her, his gigai dressed in an impeccably clean suit.
"Sensei," she greeted sheepishly, before wrinkling her nose, as she examined his attire.
"Why can't I go alone? I'm not a child. I'm already 250," she protested, her hands on her hip.
"Because, I'm not going to waste time running about and looking for you if they manage to get the portal up early," he stated matter-of-factly.
"Well, Urahara-san can just call my communicator. Besides, I promise that I'll be back early," she bargained, putting on a pleading expression.
"I didn't say that you couldn't go. I just said you're not going alone," he repeated patiently. Rei frowned, considering the implications of his sentence.
"Does that mean that if Urahara-san goes I can go?" she asked hopefully.
"No, it means that your sensei is going along," Urahara explained, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Really?" Rei asked, turning back to face him, her eyes widening. He gave an ambiguous shrug.
"Yatta!" Rei cheered, before eyeing him critically. "Demo, we're going to have to do something about your attire. It looks so formal, and it makes you look old," she mused critically.
"I highly doubt you even know my exact age. And besides, how exactly does my attire matter?" he asked, feeling somewhat insulted. She however, ignored his question, dashing down to the basement, only to return with a pair of jeans and a blue and white long sleeved shirt.
"There. It's not as formal as what you're wearing now, but it's not punk either. Go put it on!" she insisted, tossing both clothes at him. The Kuchiki eyed the two articles of clothing somewhat distastefully.
"I don't see what's wrong with my current attire," he stated stubbornly. Rei rolled her eyes, exasperated.
"Just put it on or…" she paused, attempting to come up with a suitable punishment. "Or I'll strip you and force it on myself," she finished, before cursing, and gesturing in a way that showed she clearly hadn't meant to say that.
"I'll like to see you do that," he replied cynically. Rei's cheeks turned somewhat pink, but her mind stubbornly insisted that it would be amusing, and good revenge, to see how he would react if she really did. Besides, she honestly wouldn't mind seeing him stripped down to his boxers (According to Yura who had read this in the Shinigami women's association magazine, the Kuchiki captain indeed wore boxers) only. Rei swore inwardly. Spending too much time with Frans was having a bad effect on her. Pushing away all embarrassment, Rei made her way up the stairs, closing the difference between the two of them, and tiptoeing such that they were almost nose to nose.
"I wouldn't mind, that is-if you're ok with it," she remarked throatily, a flirtatiously innocent expression on her face as she winked at him. The Kuchiki shifted uncomfortably, taken aback by her sudden boldness, wondering how someone like her could look so innocent while flirting.
"If you don't mind, I'm capable of doing it myself, thank you," he choked out before turning and striding back up the stairs, his face slightly flushed. Behind him, Rei burst into hysterics, while Urahara grinned.
"Hurry up! The parade's starting!" Rei's voice floated to him over the crowd, as for the tenth time that morning, he found himself threading through the crowd with quick strides, in an attempt to catch up with his hyperactive student. Yet surprisingly, he felt no irritation as he stood behind her, watching as she joined the crowd in laughing, waving and smiling at the colorfully dressed performers that passed by.
"Sensei, did you see the flip that that young girl just did? Isn't it amazing?" she asked excitedly, not really needing a reply as she turned back to watch the parade. He shrugged, standing behind her in a way that could almost be described as protective. Yet he wasn't watching the parade. Instead, his grey eyes were fixed on her smiling exterior. How was it possible for someone to derive so much happiness just from watching something as mundane as a parade? And how could it be possible for someone to wear their heart on their sleeve so openly, without fear of being hurt? He watched her expressions silently for a moment.
"Bye elephant!" she shouted, still waving happily as she watched the last of the performers leave their view before turning, and realizing that he was watching her.
"Is anything wrong sensei?" she asked curiously, purple eyes dancing with excitement meeting his grey ones. His eyes widened in surprise slightly, but he said nothing, simply turned away and strode off ahead of her.
"Ne, wait up sensei! Let's go get ice-cream at the store that Urahara-san recommended!" she said cheerfully, running past him into a nearby store.
"One chocolate fudge sundae!" she ordered cheerfully to the lady who seemed unable to tear themselves from the impassive captain.
"Anything for you sir?" she asked, putting on the most charming smile she could muster.
"No, I'm fine thank you," he replied coldly. The waitress' face fell a little, but she forced a smile as she headed to the kitchen with their orders. Propping her chin in her palm, Rei watched her sensei, as he stared out the window, in a world of his own.
"How do you do it sensei?" she asked quietly, breaking the silence between them. He raised a brow slightly in a questioning manner.
"Suppress your emotions. I know you probably don't like me saying this, but I have to say it anyway. It's as if every time I watch you, you're calm on the surface, like you're wearing a mask. Yet, it seems as if under your undisturbed surface, there are a whole lot of emotions trying to break through. I don't know how you can stand not giving in, and why you don't want to just let them go," she mused wistfully, seemingly apprehensive about his reaction.
For the first time in many years, the Kuchiki found himself not knowing what he should do. Yet amidst the small turmoil inside him, her sentence seemed to lighten some part of him. He could just turn her away, or for once, let some one in-one of the few who had bothered to try looking behind his mask of emotionless. One who was not put off by his coldness, but instead tried to understand it.
"I'm a Kuchiki. I always am, and always will be." He stated simply, hoping that it would confuse her enough to stop her questioning, yet somewhere deep inside of him was wishing that she understood. She looked rather surprised to have gotten an answer and she toyed with the hem of her skirt for a while before finally speaking up.
"The Kuchiki's aren't a noble family in this world. In their eyes you aren't a noble. And being a taichou means nothing in this world. They don't expect anything from you and neither do I," she stated softly, still not looking up from her skirt. He frowned slightly, unsure how to react, having never seen her so serious, quiet and subdued before.
"Your chocolate fudge sundae mam," the waitress said calmly, depositing the sugar and calorie filled glass onto the table with a clink, and breaking the tension between them. Looking up from her skirt, Rei gave a smile as she reached for her spoon.
"Forget about what I said. Let's just enjoy today," she said cheerfully, spooning a scoop of ice-cream into her mouth contentedly.
"Do you want to try some?" she asked, cocking her head to one side, and offering her spoon which contained a scoop of the ice-cream. He stared at it, deliberating and weighing the pros and cons, as if eating the harmless looking thing was a big risk. After a long while, he leaned forward, and taking the spoon in his mouth, carefully swallowed it. She watched him in surprise, a wide small on her lips.
"How do you find it?" she asked, eyeing his expression. He paused, trying to decide what to say.
"Sweet," was his one word answer, as Rei burst into giggles.
"Of course it's sweet," she said between giggles, as he frowned slightly at her reaction. "Gomen Nasai, demo, the way you were looking at it, as if it were something potentially hazardous," at this point, she burst into uncontrollable laughter again while the Kuchiki looked away, feeling decidedly awkward.
"If you're not going to finish that soon, I will," he threatened, as Rei burst into laughter again, but moved her hand to shift the cup nearer towards her and spoon another mouthful into her mouth. Yet amidst his awkwardness and embarrassment, he couldn't help letting his lips curl upwards slightly, as he watched he laugh, his heart feeling somewhat freer for some reason.
