To tell the truth, he did consider sending little Bya-kun back to the Kuchiki estates. Considered. But only considered for a split second. The possibility was immediately ruled out. The weird shits at the Kuchiki manor were no child-rearing people. Who knew what they would do to him. The next possibility was the Eight Division office, but with the loud noises coming from outside, as well as the rather messy state of affairs ruled out this possibility. Thirteenth was automatically out. Kotetsu and Kotsubaki were loud enough to wake the dead.
That left their personal chambers, and as much as Shunsui did not want to have to be quiet in his own quarters, he was even more reluctant to leave Bya-kun in the sole care of Jyuu. Not that he did not trust Jyuu. It was just that he would feel better if the little boy was near him. Oh goodness. He was really becoming a parent. Sighing slightly, he changed course a little, heading towards his place. The Kyouraku manor, or house, rather, was significantly smaller than the Kuchiki one, partly because Shunsui was the second son (while little Bya-kun was the sole heir), and partly also because frankly, he did not have a need for such a large manor.
He set Bya-kun down in a spare futon which Nanao-chan had dug out from the cabinet. How she knew where everything was placed surprised him a little. However, it was only a little, because knowing her, well… yeah. He just sort of expected it. Tucking the blanket around his little shoulders, the three shinigami quietly exited the room and out onto the porch, where Shunsui gleefully set out a sake bottle and three cups, only to have two of them turned down in favor of tea. Oh well.
It was still early in the day really. The evening was just beginning to come around, the sun slowly setting, reds and yellows slowly swirling in the sky. Clouds gathered in the distance, but otherwise, it was rather still, the very light breeze only slightly ruffling the leaves, such that the normal rustling was not heard. They sat there, sipping at their drinks, laughing, chatting and just relaxing. To tell the truth, Shunsui was relaxed as usual, Ukitake was being his normal genial self, and Nanao supposed that she was tense enough for all three of them. Goodness. She could just imagine the heap of paperwork waiting for her, and she sighed softly.
"Aye, Nanao-chan." He lifted his cup for a sip, casting his glance over to her.
She blinked, surprised out of her reverie, turning towards the two taichos. "Pardon, Kyouraku-taicho, but what did you just say?"
"Jyuuuuu! My Nanao-chan was not listening to me! Oh what am I going to…" He wailed dramatically, hands and sake cup flailing wildly as he sought his friend's attention, only to have his mouth rapidly clamped shut by a frowning Ukitake.
"He's sleeping, Shun. Use some common sense, will you?" Rolling his eyes, Ukitake smiled slightly, picking up his own teacup and taking a sip. It was a rather cool evening, and dinnertime was approaching. He was already hungry though. Damn illness. Then again, he was one of the lucky ones who got to eat as much as they wanted and still not grow horizontally.
Said taicho pouted, face softening slightly as he sneaked a look towards the door when he thought that no one was looking. However, Nanao had not been his fukutaicho and neither had Jyuushiro been his best friend for nothing. They exchanged a small smile at the comical actions of their mutual friend. For claiming that the kid would not like him, Shunsui was making a pretty good parent. They sat there for a moment or so, silently sipping at their drinks, each thinking of different things as they stared at the setting sun, the gradually darkening sky.
A rumble disturbed the silence, and a shocked look appeared on Nanao's face as she turned to glare at Kyouraku-taicho who held up his two hands in a sign of surrender. "Wasn't me, Nanao-chan!" A sly grin came to his face as he pointedly ignored the reddening visage of a certain white-haired man who coughed politely. Nanao looked over in concern, but Shunsui was not at all concerned. He had been around Jyuu for long enough to know when the coughs were fake and when they were not. "Was it you?" He smirked in the direction of Nanao, purposefully ignoring the source of the noise.
Eyes widening slightly, for she had not noticed Ukitake-taicho's obvious distress, she shook her head. "Shut it, Shun. It was me." There was a pause as Ukitake glowered at his counterpart. "And I'm hungry," he added with a smug grin, getting up from his place at the porch, dusting lightly at his haori as he placed his teacup down. Nanao watched half in amusement and half in mortification at the exchange between the two captains. Despite having been Kyouraku-taicho's lieutenant for quite some time already, she was still a little awkward amongst the two who knew each other so well.
Thirteenth was livelier than usual. After all, it was not often that Ukitake-taicho was both well enough and not too busy to be able to join the division. And it was even rarer that Kyouraku-taicho as well as Ise-fukutaicho dropped by for dinner. Adding that to the fact that the competitive third seats had been sent out on a mission, Thirteenth was at an all-time high. (Well, not really an all-time high. Things had been better when Shiba-fukutaicho had been around, but still, this was rather good.)
It was nice and friendly, interspersed with the occasional rude joke and the raucous laughter. Nanao found herself smiling along to the silly jokes, which for once, did not revolve around sake and its after effects like those her captain loved to spout. And the food was not bad too. Much better than all those takeouts and boxed meals that she normally ate. Nanao was enjoying herself, and paperwork was the furthest thing from her mind.
He could see the slow procession, felt himself holding onto the gloved hands of someone else. The clothes were scratchy, they were uncomfortable. He frowned when he noticed the mournful tone of the proceedings. It was then that he saw something. Something very familiar. A splay of black hair. Running up to the front, he stood there stunned.
Byakuya shifted slightly, whimpering as he bolted upright, eyes widened in fear. No. No. Okaa-san was not dead. She was alive, and she was in the next room and he was going to go over and talk to her right now. Small fingers curled around the futon, feeling the material beneath him as he kicked off the blankets and got up. Heart pounding, he looked around him. This was not his house. The patterns of the mats were different. The rafters were arranged differently, and the room was slightly larger than the one he had. He whimpered as he ran to the doorway, roughly wrenching the shoji door open.
The garden outside was completely unfamiliar, and he looked around him in confusion. He did not recognize this place. He had no idea where he was. That frightened him more than he would admit. Dashing off into the garden, he just ran, not knowing where he was going, just knowing that he had to find Okaa-san, and soon. She couldn't be dead. She just couldn't. He ran on through the garden, small sock-clad feet pattering on the grass and flagstones. He did not feel the light drops of rain on his shoulders until it was a little too late, and he found himself standing in what seemed to be a forest as the raindrops pelted down at him.
Whimpering, he stopped running, shuffling slowly around in search of shelter. He was getting wet and he did not like it. He could not find a place, just crouching down in a bush and curling up. He sniffed slightly, rubbing at his eyes with a damp hand, and shivered as he hid in the bush. He did not like this at all. Was Okaa-san okay? Where was she? Normally she would be the first one to notice something wrong and would be there when he woke up. He sniffled again, shivering. It was cold, it was dark, and he was wet. And scared. Closing his eyes to shut out the shadows of the trees around him, he sneezed, and his tired body slowly lapsed back into a dangerous sleep.
This chapter is a little short and perhaps a little angsty, but bear with me... The humor and comic relief should be arriving soon.
