And here is chapter 7! It was a bit difficult to write it: mainly because our dear Kuchiki is not his usual self. I tried to stick to his character traits, but there was need for ooc'ness, so i tried to make the ooc'ness as "Byakuyan" as possible... Hope you enjoy it,

please, i welcome criticism! (as long as it's productive lol) so... Review! Please

FACT: Kuchiki Soujun: for those who don't know, he's byakuya's father!

Given that we don't know whether Kuchiki Ginrei is dead or not, i decided that he would be alive in this story. If you know for a fact that he's dead, please tell me where you got the info :-)


Chapter 7

In the sixth's division barracks, the stoic captain gestured for Ayame to take a seat. She decided to remain where she was, as she was. The walk from the first division had taken ten minutes. Ten agonizing minutes during which Ayame's anxiety levels had slowly but surely gone up.

He was going to talk about his bastard of a father, she knew it. Would he find excuses, would he condemn his own father, or would he tell her how he had died? Kuchiki Byakuya had brought her here, to a place full of memories, good and bad, and it wasn't to talk about the weather. They had come here to talk about Kuchiki Shoujun. She had so many questions she wanted, no, needed answers for. Unable to withstand the silence, she decided to talk:

-Well? She started grumpily, aren't you going to talk?

Still, he said nothing.

-You have me come all the way here because you wanted to « talk » to me, « alone », there she imitated his low voice, quoting him rather well. And yet, you still don't talk to me. What? Have you lost the ability to speak on your way here?

-No, I am merely trying to breach the subject without having you loosing your temper, which, apparently, I have failed to do.

-Yeah, it's a bit too late for that, Kuchiki-sama. So, how did he die?

The question was not a surprise, nor was the way she just didn't dwadle. She was a master at getting to the point. And completely tactless.

-Kuchiki Shoujun died in the field of duty. During a mission, his group was attacked. He stood alone to give his comrades time to get away. He killed the hollow, but received fatal injuries.

The captain closed his eyes and fell silent once again. How could he continue. Thinking quickly, his emotionless eyes landed on the girl in front of him.

-As he was brought back to Seireitei, he demanded to see my grand-father. He then proceeded to tell him the truth about what happened that night with you.

Eyes wide, she stood up in a flash, her hands coming in contact with the desk and, asked in a hoarse voice:

-What?

-I will not repeat myself.

-You're saying he told the truth about what happened that bloody night and that's all?

The animosity she felt at that moment made her voice rise. Her reiatsu levels then started to fluctuate. She had to stay in control. She had to calm down. She had to keep her cool. However, everything she felt, everything her zampakuto was screaming in her mind, everything was hard to reign over. Taking a deep breath, she held it in for an instant before releasing it slowly. Yosh... Calm enough...

-And in light of this revelation, what did Kuchiki Ginrei do, may I ask?

-After the burial, he went directly to the first division to report what he had learned. He made an appeal to the chamber 46 to revoke your sentence. It was approved but you were nowhere to be found. Yamamoto-soutaicho sent search teams in Japan to locate you, but they all turned up empty.

Byakuya fell silent once more. He did not enjoy talking this much. He was a man of few words. Words were usually unnecessary for him to prove his point. Actions, as they say, speak louder than words. Yet, in this case, there was no other way. Hanawa Ayame deserved an explanation.

Ayame had listened intently, growing furious as the explanation went on. She felt overwhelmed with thoughts, questions, cries of indignation from her zampakuto. If the search teams had found her, she would have been allowed to come back... She had been somewhere else... Europe? India?

In a dark and bitter tone, she asked the question that was central and which would determine her reaction thereafter.

-When did that happen?

-Forty-five year into your exile, he answered quietly.

A burst of reiatsu flared across the room and Byakuya found himself turning toward the victim of that fateful answer, astonishment clearly written on his face. Tendrils of black and red energy were emanating from the girl in random angry spurts.

She was hurting, the flow of emotions visible in the reiatsu that leaked from her body: resentment, fury, agony, pain, physical and emotional. Whether it was directed at him, his words or herself, he had no idea. The last bits of control she seemed to have when this conversation began, abandoned her and she flew at him, her fists hitting his chest in a flurry. She did not know why she was hitting him, he was just the messenger after all, but she was lost, she knew not what or who to hurt, her body acting on instinct and finding the only outlet it could in the form of Kuchiki Byakuya.

She could no longer hold control over her voice either. She wailed, the inarticulate cry bouncing of the walls, a cry of desperation, anguish, and grief that echoed in his heart. The resounding misery of a broken heart.

After a few minutes, the tension eventually evaporated, giving the stoic dark haired man a chance to grab her wrists gently. It left Ayame weakened and shaking. It had all been over 55 years ago. All these years of getting stronger, of hurting, all that anger she'd had... It had all been for naught. The target of her vengeance was long dead. She was left with all that rage, and no focal point for it. She drew back, freeing herself from Byakuya's gentle grip and fell to her knees painfully.

Her honor had been trampled on and now she had no way of getting revenge. He was dead. Kuchiki Shoujun was long dead.

She took a strangled and shaky breath and asked:

-What about the other? The other man who attacked me?

-He has been brought to justice but died a few decades ago.

There was nothing else to say...

-Sou ka. Wakarimasu.

She stood up slowly and noiselessly, brushed off her knees and turned to look at the man whom she had once trained and almost called friend. In the state she was in, she managed to notice the pained look in his eyes. It suddenly unsettled her but she decided to ignore it. She had to cut herself off from any emotions, that of others as well as her own.

-Arigatou, Kuchiki-sama, she said in a dead tone.

For a moment there, it seemed like she was going to add something, but she sealed her lips, thus ending the thanks.

In a moment of compassion, which was rare for the Kuchiki, Byakuya decided to add something:

-My grand-father has retired. As you can see, I am now the captain of the sixth division and the head of the Kuchiki clan. Kuchiki Ginrei has retired from any social responsibility. However, I shall soon visit him and let him know of your return. He will be pleased and will undoubtedly want a word with you. Would you consider joining us for tea when that happens?

He wasn't the type to give anyone an invitation for tea at the Kuchiki manor, but it was in his power to try to make amends for what his father had done, even though he had not been himself. What was more, Ayame had been a favorite of his grand-father, and thus had frequently visited the Kuchiki grounds. For what it's worth, Byakuya thought, it may help ease the pain.

Ayame answered when she felt his eyes boring into hers.

-I will consider it. If you have nothing else to say to me, then, may I take my leave, Kuchiki-sama?

Her tone still sounded lifeless, as if she was on automatic.

-Yes, you may go.

Byakuya was not a man who comforted others, it wasn't his duty, he was not good at it either. Yet, as Ayame was leaving, he found himself, once again, saying something rather uncharacteristic for him and also quite ambiguous:

-Ayame.

Upon hearing his soft voice, she stopped dead in her tracks.

-I am sorry for your loss.

She did not reply, the only indication that she had heard and acknowledged his words was the nod she gave him.


Japanese words:

Sou ka. Wakarimasu: right, i understand

arigatou: thank you

Please, review?