You had only seen Byakuya once since the night episode. He and Renji were walking by, while you and Shuhei were going over your squad's statistics. Shuhei waved to Renji and gave his respects to Byakuya. His silver eyes met yours, and in that moment you wanted to apologize for everything you had said to him. Instead though, you nodded respectively and continued on your work.

For the next two days, you busied yourself with paperwork and any other meaningless chore you could find.


~The Ball~

You arrived hand-in-hand with Shuhei. For a while you mingled with everyone else, not saying much. Worried, Rangiku pulls you aside, "Hey, you okay?"

You nod, "Of course."

"You haven't been like yourself lately."

"I'm fine, honest."

Rangiku gives you a concerned look. "Well since you don't seem to want to party you can help me greet the others."

You give another silent nod.

Over the next few minutes, people begin to swarm in like ants toward candy. You saw:

Kenpachi and Retsu

Nemu and Ikkaku

Shunsui and Nanao

Izuru and Momo

Just as you were about to close the door, you hear Yachiru shout, "Yuki! Don't forget about me!"

You turn around to see the little girl scrambling toward the door.

You smile warmly at her, "So who's your date?"

"Bya-kun!" she replies happily. A few seconds later Byakuya appears behind Yachiru. Byakuya nods a greeting, "Hitsugaya-taichou."

"Kuchiki-taichou," you reply, but must have held his gaze a second long since Yachiru suddenly asks, "Are you jealous Yuki?"

You look at her confused, "Of what?"

"That I went with Bya-kun." You see Byakuya shift uncomfortably.

You pause for a second before replying, "Of course." Your reply was more directed to Byakuya than Yachiru, but the little girl didn't catch the hint. You give a small smile to Byakuya, before returning to Christmas celebration.

"Yuki, are you alright?" Shuhei asks during one of the dances.

"Why does everyone keep asking me this? I'm fine!" you reply, but purposely avert your gaze from his.

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"Then look me in the eyes and tell me that everything's fine."

You can feel Shuhei's eyes burning on the side of your face. "I-I can't."

Shuhei suddenly stops dancing and drags you off to a corner. "You haven't smiled once since you stopped seeing Kuchiki-taichou."

"What are you talking about? I smile every day."

"I mean a true smile, not those fake ones you force yourself to do."

There was a moment of silence. "Am I that easy to read?"

"Like an open book," he replies chuckling. And for the first time, over the past few days, you too begin laugh. "If, if it'll make you smile again, I'll go get Kuchiki-taichou for you."

You shake your head, "I'm your date, not his." You grab his hand and start to walk back to the dance floor. Shuhei hesitates, but follows you.

As the last song comes to an end, Matsumoto comes running up to you. "Yuki-san, have you seen Yachiru-chan? She seems to be missing, and Zaraki-taichou's going to kill someone if we lost her."

"We haven't seen her all night." Shuhei replies, "I'll help Matsumoto in here. Can you look outside Yuki?"

You give a quick nod before walking out onto the balcony.


~Shuhei POV~

"So you noticed too?" you ask Rangiku as soon as Yuki's out of sight. She nods, "Are you sure you want to do this? You're practically hooking her and Kuchiki back together."

You nod. "Her happiness is worth more than my selfishness."

"You're a good guy, Hisagi. One day you'll find that special girl," Rangiku says while slapping you on the back.

As she's about to leave you ask, "Where did you hid Kusajishi-fukutaichou?"

She replies, "In a closet full of candy."


~You're POV~

You wander around the balcony, searching for the little vice-captain. As you turn the next corner, you spot Byakuya.

"What're you doing out here?" you ask him.

"Waiting for you," he replied calmly. You give him a confused look. "Matsumoto-fukutaichou said you needed to talk to me."

"Rangiku!" you growled in your head. "Well there's nothing on my mind at the moment," you say to him. The atmosphere suddenly becomes very tense.

"Are you really going tomorrow?" he questions while taking a step toward you.

"Yes. I've thought it over and over, and realized the only thing I have left is Toshirou. I'm going and that's final."

"What about your friends here? What will they think about your betrayal? Most have already suffered enough from Aizen's betrayal."

"They managed didn't they?"

By now, Byakuya was inches in front of you. "Well then…what about me?"

His question shocked you. You never expected Byakuya to say something so "un-noble." It was like taking the shell away from a crab, and seeing it's raw flesh. Byakuya's regal image suddenly disappeared and instead you saw a normal person.

"You had your chance," you whisper.

"Do you believe in second chances?" he murmers back. Why was he doing this to you? Why now of all times!

"Maybe if it wasn't now," you try to walk past him. He blocks your path. "Move please."

"Is there anything I can do to make you stay?"

"No," you say sternly, trying to find a path around him. He just mimics your every move.

"Yuki," he murmurs. You start to brush past him, when you notice he's not trying to stop you anymore.

"All I want to know is why it was so hard to say 'you.'"

He doesn't reply.

"I know it sounds cheesy and a stupid thing to fight over, but I've had my heart stomped on right in front of me. I just didn't want to go through the same thing again." You wait for an answer, but as minutes go by, you realize he's not going to give one. Just as you begin to walk away again, you hear Byakuya murmer, "I didn't know if I could go through the same thing again." You knew what he was talking about. His heart was still brittle from when Hisana died, and yours from when Sosuke betrayed you.

You walk back so you're facing Byakuya. "That's all I needed to hear." You go up on tiptoes to kiss Byakuya; and he bends down to oblige. The kiss was long and sweet. And in that kiss you felt sorrow and grief as each person remembered their past. But at the same time, you felt a new beginning. Now you really didn't know what you were going to do tomorrow. "Please stop me tomorrow," you plead.