~The Blossom of Lost Desire~
By - ByaRukifan
Timeline:Zanpakutou Filler Arc (Episodes 230-)
Pairing(s): Byakuya/Rukia, Senbonzakura/Sode no Shirayuki
~Chapter Nine~
Senbonzakura and Sode no Shirayuki stood in the Kuchiki Manor's gardens after having attacked the building only moments ago. They stood side by side as they watched Byakuya, who had sensed the attack as he and Rukia were leaving, land on his feet after dodging the attack. He had grabbed Rukia at the last second before the attack had hit them, he had his arms wrapped securely around her waist while Rukia's arms were wrapped tightly around his neck.
When Byakuya noticed Senbonzakura and Sode no Shirayuki his grip on Rukia instinctively tightened before taking a step back. He wasn't going to allow them to cause her any harm. Rukia looked up at Byakuya, who wore an angered expression. She could tell he was ready to fight if he had to, and she knew that was probably what would happen. Rukia looked ahead at Sode no Shirayuki and Senbonzakura, wondering if Byakuya would allow her to fight too. She didn't want him to worry about defeating the both of them while constantly worrying about her safety, even though she also knew he'd worry about that regardless.
Senbonzakura formed his blade, prepared for battle; Sode no Shirayuki stayed put beside him.
"Kuchiki Byakuya, draw your sword." Senbonzakura said.
Byakuya glared at Senbonzakura for a moment before he took on of his arms from around Rukia to draw his sword.
Rukia looked up at him, "Byakuya, I'll fight too. We'll have a better chance that way."
She felt his hand clutch her robes tightly before she felt him lift her up with his arm to plant a soft kiss on her head.
"Remember to stay in my sight and please...be careful." Byakuya whispered. He then loosened his grip before setting her back on her feet; reluctantly letting her go.
Rukia drew her sword as well, letting them know she was ready to fight too. Senbonzakura then vanished, but soon reappeared in front of Byakuya and tried to strike him with his sword but Byakuya quickly blocked his attack. Rukia moved out of their way before looking to Sode no Shirayuki, who was making no moves to attack but simply watching Rukia.
"Why aren't you attacking?" Rukia asked.
"We have no reason to fight. Our battle has already been fought." Sode no Shirayuki responded.
Rukia's eyes widened slightly before she turned to look back to see how Byakuya was doing.
Senbonzakura dodged another quick strike from Byakuya before making a swift turn in attempt to slash Byakuya, but Byakuya countered it and then jumped back when Senbonzakura tried to attack him again. Senbonzakura thrust his sword forward at once Byakuya had landed; Byakuya couldn't move too far away in time and the right side of his face was cut.
Senbonzakura then made another attack but Byakuya blocked it. They clashed blades multiple times before Byakuya jumped back. When he landed he used shun po to get behind Senbonzakura.
"Hadou number four, Byakurai." Byakuya chanted, pointing his finger at Senbonzakura to fire his attack.
Byakuya's kido had caused an explosion, spreading dust and dirt everywhere. Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki had to shut their eyes and hold their stance to keep from getting blown back or getting dirt in their eyes.
"Byakuya!" Rukia shouted, wondering if he was alright.
When the dust cleared Rukia could see Senbonzakura, who now had a large crack running up his mask and Byakuya, who had blood running down his head.
"Scatter!" Senbonzakura commanded and his blade immediately started to scatter into it's thousands of blades.
Byakuya used shun po to dodge the blades, his right arm getting cut in the process. The blades came at Byakuya once more and he quickly took off his haori and threw it out in front of himself to slow the approaching blades, buying himself enough time to get away unharmed.
Rukia could only watch in horror as Byakuya, who could do nothing but dodge the blades. It was bringing back too many memories of the last incident not too many days ago. She didn't want to interrupt his fight to go help him, but she knew if things started to look like they were getting bad she would jump in and help him.
Byakuya could see Rukia watching him worriedly. For a moment he wondered why Sode no Shirayuki wasn't trying to fight her, but his thoughts were interrupted by Senbonzakura's attack.
"Hadou number four, Byakurai." Byakuya chanted again, after dodging Senbonzakura's last attack.
Senbonzakura dodged, and Byakuya's eyes widened when he realized Senbonzakura had been standing in front of Rukia and the attack would be a direct hit if she stayed put. Luckily, Rukia used shun po to get out of the way of the blast.
Sode no Shirayuki had moved too, appearing beside Rukia. Rukia quickly moved back and took a defensive stance, thinking Sode no Shirayuki had decided to fight. She quickly turned around though when she heard another one of Byakuya's kido blasts. Sode no Shirayuki turned towards the blast as well, her eyes widened. Rukia saw that this attack had been much stronger. 'He must have taken the time to chant the incantation to strengthen his attack.' Rukia guessed silently.
As the dust cleared, it was clear that Byakuya had caught himself in his own attack, as he was bleeding a little heavily now, and was obviously becoming exhausted; looking as if he would fall over at any moment. Senbonzakura stood a couple feet in front of him, breathing heavily. His mask cracked once more before falling off, breaking in half the moment it hit the ground.
Rukia rushed over to Byakuya, to allow him to use her as a support to keep him standing. Byakuya saw Rukia quickly approaching him and he wanted to tell her to stay back, but when he tried to speak she was already putting his arm around her shoulders and her arm around his waist to hold him up.
When they both looked up to face Senbonzakura, Sode no Shirayuki stood at his side, holding the broken halves of his mask. They both noticed Senbonzakura greatly resembled Byakuya in a way. The main differences being his longer and different colored hair and the color of his eyes. He had a small streak of blood dripping from his face from where Byakuya had attacked him.
Rukia's hold on Byakuya tightened protectively around him even though she knew she wouldn't stand a chance against Senbonzakura, but she would fight him to keep Byakuya safe if she had to. Byakuya tried to take a step in front of Rukia, but Senbonzakura held up his hand; motioning for Byakuya to stop before he put away his sword.
"Our battle is over, go take care of your injuries." Senbonzakura stated calmly.
Byakuya and Rukia now both held confused expressions, Sode no Shirayuki then started speaking.
"Once your wounds are healed, we will assist you both in defeating Muramasa."
Both Rukia and Byakuya's eyes widened slightly, "What?" Rukia asked, unsure that Sode no Shirayuki had just said what she had.
"I said that we will help you against Muramasa." Sode no Shirayuki simply repeated.
"Wh-"
"Muramasa's ways of actions are wrong. We've come to our senses and want this rebellion to end." Sode no Shirayuki continued.
"None of the other zanpakutou know we've left, including Muramasa." Senbonzakura added, in the same calm tone.
Sode no Shirayuki nodded before saying to Rukia, "We'll explain more later, but first you need to take care of him."
Rukia looked at Byakuya worriedly, she couldn't carry him to the Fourth Division on her own and even with help from Sode no Shirayuki or Senbonzakura, it would still take too long to get there. 'I'll take him back inside.' Rukia decided silently.
–
Rukia carefully helped Byakuya back inside the mansion and into his bedroom so he could lie down. Sode no Shirayuki and Senbonzakura followed them inside.
Once Byakuya had gotten himself comfortable with Rukia's help, He had helped her undo the top of his shihakusho, leaving his torso exposed, so Rukia could help clean and heal his wounds.
Rukia turned to Sode no Shirayuki, "Can you please bring me a wet and dry towel to clean some of this blood?"
Sode no Shirayuki nodded and walked into the bathroom to get what Rukia had asked for. She returned a moment later with the towels Rukia had asked for.
After Rukia had cleaned the blood away and healed Byakuya's wounds, she helped him back into his shihakusho. When it was back on Byakuya gave her a warm smile. "Thank you, Rukia."
Rukia blushed slightly before smiling back and kindly saying, "It was no problem."
Byakuya reached over and took her hand gently in his own, making Rukia's smile grow.
"So what ne-huh?" Rukia look up towards the door when she started hearing voices from down the hallway. Byakuya, Senbonzakura, and Sode no Shirayuki heard them too and looked towards the door.
--
"Did that explosion really come from here?" One voice asked.
"I'm positive it did, there's no way it would have come from anywhere else." The second voice replied.
"Maybe you heard Chimpette when she ran into the door? That was pretty lou-Ow!" A third voice cut in.
"I only ran into the door because you tried to play a prank and run away after wards, you should of known I'd chase you!" A fourth voice yelled angrily.
--
Rukia looked at Byakuya in confusion as they listened to the conversation of the approaching voices. Byakuya looked back at her with equal confusion. Senbonzakura just blinked while Sode no Shirayuki sighed and shook her head slowly.
–
"Hey look an open door!" The first voice said.
"Let's go check it out." The second voice replied.
The footsteps then became faster, signaling they were running.
"Hey, wait up!" The third voice yelled before it's footsteps increased too.
"Snakey, Don't run start running so suddenly!" The fourth voice exclaimed before running too.
–
When the voices were only a few steps from the door Byakuya let his expression fix into his usual emotionless and icy one, but he didn't let go of Rukia's hand.
Ichigo and Renji then ran into the room, closely followed by Zabimaru. Ichigo and Renji quickly noticed Byakuya and Rukia.
"B-Byakuya!? Rukia!?" Ichigo exclaimed.
"Taicho?! Rukia! You're both here!" Renji said in surprise.
"What business do you have here? Barging into my room unannounced like you did..." Byakuya asked, using his normal tone. "Even if the mansion is partly destroyed it still gives you no right."
Rukia suppressed a smirk, knowing Byakuya was only being partially serious; he was mainly just messing with them.
"Ah, um...well...we were t-told to come check out the explosion and stuff-" Renji nervously tired to explain, but Ichigo interrupted.
"Where the hell have you guys been all this time?" Ichigo asked, but he then noticed Senbonzakura and Sode no Shirayuki. "And what are those two doing here?"
"We've been recovering from our injuries that would've made it difficult to get to the Fourth Division." Rukia replied, answering Ichigo's first question.
"And Senbonzakura and I are here to help defeat Muramasa. We've broken his control over us on on our own will." Sode no Shirayuki added.
"Yes, and Byakuya and I just recently arrived back, but we decided to stop here first. Then a few hours later Sode no Shirayuki and Senbonzakura appeared." Rukia explained.
"You should head back to the Fourth Division. Rukia and I will be there later on." Byakuya said.
"Bu-..." Renji stopped himself. He could tell Byakuya was serious and that it wasn't a request; it was an order. "Are you sure?"
Byakuya replied with a single nod.
"Yes sir." Renji nodded before turning to Ichigo, "Come on, we're leaving."
"Aww, that was boring!" Snakey complained as he and Chimpette followed Renji and Ichigo out of the room.
–
Once Renji, Ichigo, and Zabimaru were gone and out of the mansion, Rukia looked over at Byakuya.
"When are we going to leave for the Fourth Division?" Rukia asked.
Byakuya pulled Rukia down to sit next to him on the bed before looking back at her, "We'll leave whenever you're ready."
Rukia couldn't help but give a small smile, "I think it would be best if you rested a little more."
"Alright." Byakuya replied, giving a small smile.
"Sode no Shirayuki and I will go scout the area around the manor until you leave." Senbonzakura said.
Byakuya's expression turned serious for a moment to give Senbonzakura a single nod to let him know he understood and had heard him before turning back to Rukia and letting his expression soften again.
Senbonzakura then motioned to Sode no Shirayuki that they were leaving. Sode no Shirayuki gave a nod before she followed him out of the room and then the manor so they could scout the area for any signs of danger or other shinigami.
After a moment of silence had passed, Sode no Shirayuki turned to Senbonzakura, "When do you think Muramasa will strike?" She asked.
"It won't be long...Muramasa has been unable to fight for long periods of time before becoming weak and looks as if he'll start fading away. He won't be able to go on much longer if that continues to occur. It's possible that the reason for that is because is wielder is dead." Senbonzakura explained.
Sode no Shirayuki nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, I've noticed that as well."
–
Back inside the manor Rukia was sitting up on the bed, resting her back against some pillows and the headboard. Byakuya was lying down with his arms wrapped around Rukia's waist in an embrace while his head rested on her side, his eyes were closed and his soft breathing meant he was asleep. Rukia was treading her fingers gently and slowly treading her fingers through his hair, a warm smile on her face.
'I wish moments like these would happen more often...they're just so peaceful and it's feels great just to relax.' Rukia thought happily. She knew Byakuya probably felt the same way, he worked so hard every day and she knew he had to enjoy getting moments to relax when they came.
Rukia then sighed quietly, ' I wonder how Byakuya plans on telling the elders about us once the rebellions over...' To be completely honest, Rukia felt a little frightened by the thought, but she wouldn't let him be alone when he faced them. She hoped the others would understand and come to accept Byakuya and her being together and would remembered that they weren't truly related.
–
Byakuya didn't sleep long, only for about twenty minutes before he slowly started to wake up. He slid up from his laying position to kiss Rukia on the neck. He smiled when he heard her giggle slightly at the sudden contact between his lips and her neck. He then continued, kissing her neck again before making a slow trail up.
"We should get ready to head out soon." Byakuya said between kisses. He then looked up at her; waiting for an answer.
Rukia nodded, "Okay."
Byakuya slowly and reluctantly got off the bed, Rukia getting up a moment later. Once she was on her feet she made her way over to Byakuya, who was standing next to the door, waiting on her, before leaving the manor with him.
–
When they were outside, Senbonzakura appeared ahead of them. He approached them before he spoke.
"Muramasa still doesn't know that I've joined forces with the shinigami. It would be best if I head back so I can gather any information that may come to be of use. I'll report back if I hear anything of importance." Senbonzakura explained. "Sode no Shirayuki will stay here with you, she is not entirely trusted by Muramasa anymore and doesn't get informed of anything important." Senbonzakura added when Sode no Shirayuki appeared beside him.
Senbonzakura glanced at her before turning his attention back to Byakuya and Rukia. "I should get going before I'm spotted. I hope you both trust that I will come back and not betray you." He then turned his back, ready to walk away. "My return should be guaranteed though, since I'm leaving Sode no Shirayuki in your hands." He added before disappearing, already on his way back.
To be continued...
Let's get the apology over with, I'm SO SO SO sorry I couldn't get this up last week. If you don't read my journals on Deviantart or talk to me on Club Bleach or Bleach Asylum I'll explain now. I've been having a lot of problems lately. Mainly with school and I've been arguing with my mother a lot. I've also been having drama practice after school for an upcoming competition. I had it today too and I would've had it up earlier if I hadn't of had to go. Though I can't help but go since competition is Friday.
Which reminds me, I'm going to get Chapter Ten up earlier...or at least try to since I won't be home on Friday until like...nine at night. So I'm going to try to have it up Thursday or have most of it typed up. Though I can't make any promises it will actually be up on Thursday.
Now what you've all been waiting for. Poll results! I'll bet that's one of the main things that was being anticipated. Well wait no longer! The results are in:
Lemon: Nineteen Votes
No Lemon: Two Votes
Wow, we LOVE our lemons~
I'll work hard to meet everyones expectations, so no worries.
Remember to Read And Review!
Just Remember, NO FLAMING!
