THE TIES THAT BIND: ACT II

By Ayame 213

"In two days, Byakuya will be engaged to be married…"

Hisana felt a strange stabbing pain in her chest. For some reason, the pain seemed to grow more intense as the details casually rolled off of Akira's lips:

"…the girl in question is the daughter of the current leader of the Miyamoto clan. This is one of the oldest clans in Soul Society, you know. Anyway, I must say she is quite striking…the most unusual golden blond hair and pale grey eyes. She's also an excellent swordswoman…quite impressive really…I believe she even finished at the top of the Special Advanced class at the Academy. She should be a good match for Byakuya"

Hisana again struggled to regain her composure "Y-yes…she sounds lovely" she finally managed.

Akira paused to flick the ash off the tip of his cigarette. He chuckled softly, "My poor Hisana-san, you've been quite a good sport haven't you...? But I know you must be wondering why I've kept you here this long and why I've been telling you all these things"

He then leaned over and gently took her hand, "Hisana-san…I think it will be in your best interest to leave the mansion as soon as possible. You see, you are the only person in the household who is neither a death god nor a member of the nobility. This would merely seem unusual under normal circumstances but as I have just explained to you, we are in the middle of negotiating a very important alliance…"

Akira watched her intently. His eyes were kind but his words cut like a rusty knife,

"…I'm afraid your continued presence in our midst may raise too many eyebrows and turn into an unwanted distraction. Your intention was to remain until you had repaid your debt to Byakuya, am I right? I applaud your sense of duty but I think that in this case, the sentiment will only result in more harm than good".

The color drained from Hisana's cheeks as she silently wrestled with the implications of all that had just been said.

"I'm so stupid. I should have known. I've been in the way all this time…all this time I've just been causing trouble for Byakuya-sama" she thought miserably

Akira insisted, "Do you understand Hisana-san?"

She nodded slowly in response.

"Good girl" He gently squeezed her hand before slowly reaching into his breast pocket. This time however, he pulled out a thick brown envelope and placed it carefully on the table in front of her.

"Please accept this small token of my appreciation. It is not much but it should help you live comfortably even after you hand in your resignation to Tachibana-san. I wish you well Hisana-san and I truly believe that this is for the best. I also hope I can still count on you to keep this conversation solely between the two of us"

Hisana barely remembered how she returned to her room that night. Unable to sleep, she gazed numbly at the blackened sky outside her bedroom window…before long the sun was rising, signaling the start of yet another day.

Karin happily strolled along the staff corridors with a bag of freshly made melon pan in one hand and a small bottle of sake hidden under her uniform.

Her destination: Hisa-chan's room

Her mission: cheer up her friend who had looked truly awful all day but would not tell her what was wrong.

Her weapons: sweets, alcohol, and the delicious news that Tachibana-san apparently reads smutty novels in her spare time and hides the evidence in the sleeves of the leather notebook she carries everywhere with her.

Karin was therefore filled with anticipation as she knocked loudly on the familiar doorframe. To her dismay, Hisana failed to answer.

"Don't tell me she's already asleep? It's only six o'clock! Or maybe she went somewhere?..." Karin wondered

She tentatively tried the door handle and to her surprise it gave way.

"How strange…Hisana would never leave her room door unlocked if she was out"

"Hisa-chan?" Karin called out as she pushed the door wider and stepped into the room.

"Hisa-chan…?" she trailed off as her eyes widened in shock.

Hisana's room was completely stripped of her personal belongings. It was never much, but the fresh flowers she always kept in the vase on her desk, the tiny jewelry box in her drawer, the colorful quilt she had stitched all on her own…her clothes! Everything was gone.

Karin felt terribly guilty searching around like this but it was hard to fight this growing sense of alarm. Slowly, she backed away from the closet and turned to face the empty room.

"No…no way…"

An object on the bed suddenly caught her eye. It was a brown envelope. Without a second thought, Karin tore it open…inside was more money than she had ever seen in her life.

Sick with worry, Karin burst out of the room and ran as fast as she could to the only place she could think of. However, just as she about to cross the threshold of the residence, a guard suddenly appeared from out of nowhere to block her path.

"I am sorry but my Lord is not available at the moment. I cannot let you pass"

"Gorou, you idiot! This isn't time for you to swing your weight around, let me through, I have to speak with him!"

Gorou instantly turned bright red at Karin's undiplomatic choice of words.

"When are you going to take me seriously dammit?! I'm in my last year at the Academy and I'll soon be joining the Gotei 13 so the least you can do is show some respect! There's no way I'm letting you through"

"Oh, get over yourself! How can I respect a boy who wet the bed until he was 14 years old? Now get out of the way!" Karin yelled, trying to push him aside.

"Why you...! Oi…!!"

Struggle ensued.

However, just when it seemed like Karin was about to get the upper hand (after a strategic kick in a highly vulnerable area), a stern voice interrupted their pointless bickering:

"What do you think you are doing"

The warring parties immediately flew apart. Karin hastily bowed her head down low while Gorou dropped down to one knee,

"My deepest apologies Byakuya-sama. Welcome back" They each whispered, shamefaced.

Byakuya was not in the mood. It had been a long day and he was looking forward to some much needed rest. He walked passed them and made his way to the door when Karin suddenly cried out,

"Byakuya-sama! It's Hisa-chan…all her things…she…I don't know where she is! Hisana's gone!"

After a moment of excruciating silence, Byakuya finally replied,

"Is that a good enough reason for you to cause a ruckus in front of my home?"

His words were like a slap in the face. Karin took a step back, confused. She had come here with such confidence – almost purely on instinct. For some reason, she had been so sure that he would help her…but there was no mistaking now the sharp edge in his voice.

Karin knew better than to talk back.

"…no. No it isn't" she whispered. "Please forgive my rudeness. It will never happen again"

The door slammed firmly shut behind the Lord of the House. To Karin's utter frustration, two hot teardrops silently rolled down her face.

A/N: Hi! Ayame here. As always, many thanks for your encouraging reviews! Well, this is turning out to be quite the bittersweet love story, ne? I know that the last few chapters have leaned more towards the bitter side (hopefully in a good way) but please wipe your tears for now and keep reading cuz starting next time, it's going to get oh so much sweeter XD Please look forward to it!