Is it true? Yes it is! An update!

Sighing softly she sat down next to him.

"You have been staring at the garden since Yoruichi left. And it's been hours."

Her companion only closed his eyes and stayed silent. She knew exactly what he was thinking about. They had been married for so long she couldn't even remember her life without him. She could read his expressions like an open book and he knew that there was no way for him to hide it. He had given that up years ago.

A servant came up with a tray of tea and set it down besides them. With a smile Amaya dismissed him and he left with a bow, closing the door silently so as not to disturb his masters.

Picking up one of the teacups, she handed it to him.

He looked down at his wife and rolled his eyes as he saw her knowing smile. He pointedly looked in the other direction and started to sip from his tea. The hot fluid warmed his insides and he realized how cold it was outside. Suddenly he felt a warm hand touch his arm and he looked back at his wife. Without saying a word she leaned against him and laid down her head on his shoulder.

Seconds passed and he listened to the wind pass through the leaves of the trees nearby. It had been a wonderful day, but now that the sun was gone it started to get chilly outside.

A few hours ago Yoruichi had stopped by. They had expected her to show up at some point and they had been overjoyed by her appearance. And after the tearful greeting of her mother, he had swept his daughter up in his arms, glad to see her so healthy and well.

What came afterwards was a major surprise though. He had nearly chocked on his food as she told them about her son - his grandson - at breakfast. Staring at her in disbelief he had been too shocked to say or feel anything. What had shocked him the most though was the name of her son's father. Byakuya Kuchiki. Byakuya Kuchiki! He still couldn't wrap his mind around that. The young, bad tempered noble she had played with when she was young. He had never thought there was any kind of attraction between those two over all those years, not even for a second.

And years later he finds himself having a grandson, whose father happens to be the fragile boy he had seen back then.

She had left very quickly since she had a trip planed with those two. A family trip...

Beforehand they had agreed to a visit to the Kuchiki house for the next day. A part of him couldn't wait for it. He wanted to see this newest and surprising addition to their family. He wanted to see if he was anything like a Shihoin at all. She had told them that he looked a lot like his father. He had secretly always wished for a grandson. The only thing that bothered him was that his grandchild would have to have a father as well.

He remembered telling her that she would find a nice man someday and that she would be happy, but that seemed such a long way to go back then. She had been a little girl and it had been easy for him to be generous while her head was still full with games and childish things, when attraction and love were concepts that were too hard for her to understand. And now...he had to face Byakuya Kuchiki tomorrow. He was not ready yet. There had been no warning, no time to get used to the thought. He didn't have anything against the young man but he couldn't stop that uneasy feeling either. He had tried to sort out his feelings and thoughts over the last few hours but he didn't seem to make any progress. In the end he decided to stay as tolerant as he could. Things would probably look different tomorrow anyway.

"Are we going to talk about it?"

A little startled, he looked down at his wife, who raised one of her eyebrows, urging him to answer.

Smiling softly he wrapped his left arm around her and pulled her closer to him, rubbing her arm as he noticed how cold they were.

"Do I really need to say anything?"

Standing up, she reached for his hand and made him stand up with her.

"We should go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day."

The smile that lightened up her face made him respond with one of his own. That was typical for his wife. He could already see her spoil that boy with a fervor only grandmothers could muster.

"Maybe I should go alone tomorrow. Yoruichi is not going to be happy when she finds out that her son got crushed to death by his grandmother."

Slapping his shoulder, Amaya went inside and shut the door before he could step inside. "Hey!"

He stood in front of the massive building, hesitating at the grand entrance door. The sun illuminated the white walls and made them look unnatural, absolutely flawless.

What caught his eyes the most was the symbol emblazoned right above him though, the blinding light making it glow as if it shone with the pride of the ancient family it represented.

He could imagine that various servants hesitated in front of the gates, caught in a strange state of admiration and fear, before they stepped forward, uncomfortable as if they expected to be chastised at any second.

But he was unimpressed.

He hesitated for a different reason...the only reason that changed lots of things, especially his own free will: His wife.

Crossing his arms in front of his chest it was all he could do to prevent himself from tapping his foot impatiently.

His wife was walking leisurely along the path he had come from as well, smiling sweetly at him as she saw his annoyed expression.

"Could you hurry up? I'm getting old over here."

But she wouldn't walk faster no matter what he said, so he had to wait till she finally reached him.

"You're already old, honey."

His expression didn't change in the least and even though she had promised herself not to laugh at his antics, she couldn't hold back.

Of course being laughed at didn't help his mood at all and the look he gave his wife made her stop laughing. Her lips curved into a loving smile as she raised a hand to stroke his cheek softly. And like every other time he was defenseless against his wife's disarming affection. Something her daughter had inherited as well. His frown slowly vanished and transformed into a weary look. He knew he was being silly and as if to apologize he took her hand and squeezed it softly.

"You're thinking too much. Just let it happen for once."

Just as he was about to answer a voice stopped both of them.

"Welcome."

Surprised they turned around to see none other than Byakuya Kuchiki standing on the threshold of the grand entrance door. Even though Hiroshi knew who was standing there, he doubted that the man standing before him was the teenager he had once known. The changes were hard to overlook. Besides the obvious changes in appearance, which he had expected, this man was calm and reserved. And even though his words had been friendly they still felt cold to him, without any feeling.

And Hiroshi found himself...disliking him.

Amaya saw the look in her husband's eyes and almost sighed. Smiling encouragingly at the young man in front of her, she hoped that this day wouldn't end in disaster.

Several seconds passed and the atmosphere grew awkward as nobody of them moved an inch.

Knowing that she would have to end this quickly or they would never get out of this situation, Amaya stepped forward and extended her hand towards the dark haired noble.

"It's been a while we saw each other. We're happy to be here today. Thank you so much for your generous invitation." Of course she knew that the invitation came from Yoruichi's side entirely and he had no choice but to go along with it, but that little fact could be swept under the carpet to ease this situation. She could have sworn she saw relief flash through his eyes as he took her hand softly, doing his best to look as welcoming as he could.

"There is nothing you need to thank me for, Lady Shihoin." Placing her other hand on top of their joined hands she gave him another smile, before she slid her arm through his and pulled him inside. "Now lets skip this whole greeting and get to the more important things..."

Hiroshi still stood outside staring at his wife's back as she dragged Byakuya further inside. Shaking his head, he hurried after them knowing full well that he would never find his way through the mansion with no guide at his side.

When he reached the other two he could hear his wife bombarding the young man with questions of his well being, his work and of course his son. She never let him fall silent even though they were going quite a long way through the mansion and even though he didn't really like him, he couldn't help but pity the young man. Just when Byakuya assured Amaya that Katsuo was excited to meet them, they heard Yoruichi's voice in the room next to them, which happened to be the kitchen.

The whole party stopped and judging from Byakuya's expression he hadn't expected her to be in there.

"We should have known she'd be in there." Smiling slightly at his thought, he opened the door a few inches so they could look through.

Yoruichi was standing with her back to them, obviously speaking to someone. Stepping to the side to see who he was talking to, Hiroshi's eyes widened when he saw the person standing across from her. Hiroshi and Amaya both instantly recognized him. They had expected him to look like his father, Yoruichi had said so after all, but they hadn't expected the similarity to be quite this profound.

Katsuo was currently going through the pages of the book he was holding while his mother examined something in her hand. Looking up at her son she held the object out for him to see. Recognizing the object as a pudding, Hiroshi pushed the door open to step through and greet them. "Do you think I can eat that?" Just when Byakuya was about to announce their presence, his son looked up and mustered his mother. All of them wondered at the strange expression that crossed Katsuo's face as he pointedly looked at his mother from head to toe. Raising his eyebrow, he turned around slightly, focusing once again on his book while a mischievous smirk appeared on his lips and Byakuya found himself comparing it to Yoruichi's, knowing that he was up to something.

His tone was dead serious when he closed his book and headed for the back door that lead to the garden. "I would rethink that if I were you."* Katsuo could see his mother's shocked face as realization hit her, and deciding it was better to leave, he sprinted the last steps out of the door.

With a sharp intake of breath, Yoruichi dropped the pudding and her lips curled up in a grin.

"You think you can escape me?" She was already at the kitchen door before she even finished the sentence, her eyes trained on her victim. "You're going to pay for this." Her muscles kicked into action before she even consciously decided for it, and she nearly flew across the distance that separated herself and her son. Hitting him in the side she knocked him off balance and they both went falling through the door, which Katsuo had opened to escape into the garden.

Hiroshi's booming laughter filled the air. Gripping the wooden frame of the kitchen door he tried to hold himself upright while his body shook with laughter.

Amaya stood beside him, laughing as well, which made him laugh only harder. Even Byakuya was tempted to laugh when he heard the sounds Amaya made. To say that Amaya's laughter was hilarious was clearly an understatement...Byakuya had never heard sounds quite like this before. Wiping the tears out of his eyes Hiroshi tried to catch his breath. "Looks like he really is a Shihoin after all."

Catching the hint of a smile on the other man's lips, he turned his head to look at him fully, but as he finally had a clear view of his face he found no trace of it.

He had no time to think about it though as Amaya took his arm, still chuckling slightly, and they all went to the garden, where they could hear Yoruichi torturing her son.

When they reached the garden they could see Yoruichi kneeling over him, pushing him to the ground while she tickled his sides. Every attempt on escape was futile and as Katsuo tried to throw his mother off balance she simply took his arm and twisted it on his back, effectively pinning him to the ground. Panting heavily he could barely speak while still trying to get out of his mother's grip. "You're hurting me!"

Laughing loudly she pushed him into the ground one last time before standing up. "You should have thought about this before ."

Katsuo got onto his feet sluggishly, examining his dirty appearance. "Mom! Look at this! You ripped my shirt!" And sure enough his white shirt had a large gap on one side, leaving his chest almost entirely exposed. His mother only chuckled and whistled appreciatively causing her son's cheeks to flame red.

"What kind of mother are you? Is that the way you raise your kids? You should be arrested for child abuse." He gathered the ripped shreds of clothes in his arms and tried to walk past her but he was restrained once more by Yoruichi's arms around him.

"My poor child!" With fake worry she squeezed him closer to her chest, wiping black strands of hair out of his face while kissing his pink cheeks. Amaya's strange laughter filled the air and only the appearance of a young maid, who announced that dinner had been prepared, seemed to calm her down enough to walk inside.

As expected dinner was a grand experience. The cooks and maids had left nothing to chance. The table all but bend under the weight of all kinds of delicacies. Neither Amaya nor Hiroshi had to look to know that Yoruichi was seeing stars by now. If they could count on anything it was their daughter's appetite. There had been a time where Amaya had worried about that but seeing as Yoruichi's waist stayed as slim as ever she had given up on worrying a long time ago.

Without further ado they sat down and even Hiroshi had to admit that the sight was mouthwatering. Amaya sat down right next to Katsuo and proceeded to hog all his attention for the rest of dinner. It went along pretty smoothly even though Byakuya said little but to his relief Amaya was chatty enough for everyone. And besides making Katsuo promise to visit the Shihoin manor in the near future she amused him with little stories of Yoruichi's youth. In fact she told him so many that Yoruichi started to chastise her for corrupting her son's image of her.

And after telling him the story of how she ran naked through the mansion and a good part of the neighborhood with her dress waving behind her like a flag since she had decided that it was way too restraining to actually wear it, Yoruichi glared at her mother so hard she bit her lip with a smile. But she only stayed silent after whispering one last sentence to her grandson. "You should have seen the faces of the elders when they saw her prancing around in her birthday suit. Not like decency was ever one of her strong points." Both laughed conspiratorial and Yoruichi just threw her father a pleading look, but he only shrugged his shoulders. To her embarrassment Byakuya looked at her out of the corner of his eyes while trying to hide a smile of his own.

"What? With a body like this I don't need to hide anything. I was probably doing them a favor."

He only rolled his eyes in response.

They spent a good two hours like this. Even Amaya had given up on making Byakuya talk on his own accord but she kept on asking his opinion at the necessary times and urged him with such good-natured softness that he couldn't help but try to give her as much as he could.

Of course Yoruichi had already caught up on her mother's plan and after she had interrogated Byakuya on the absolutely ravishing flowers in front of the window, she threw her mother a knowing look. Amaya only avoided her eyes and smirked.

That left Yoruichi no option but to wait for her mother to make her move and she didn't need to wait long as after a few more minutes Amaya announced that she would like to get some fresh air.

"Yoruichi, wouldn't you like to accompany me?" The smile on her mother's face told her that she had no other option.

"Of course. I would love to." The sarcasm in her voice earned her a short glare.

Both stood up and when Hiroshi leaned forward as if to accompany them, Amaya quickly waved her hand. "Oh no. We will be just fine on our own. This will be too boring for you guys anyway. With all the girl talk and so on..." She smiled at them in the sweetest manner possible and they couldn't refuse. Byakuya wondered what was going on with the Shihoin women that you couldn't say no to them no matter what. Hiroshi fell back into his seat.

"I promised Hana I would let her show me something today. So if nobody minds I'm going to go find her now." Nobody objected Katsuo's request and before they knew it Byakuya was left alone with Yoruichi's father after both women left the room in the highest mood humanly possible.

To say that the silence that followed turned out to be awkward would have been an understatement. Hiroshi was furious at his wife for leaving him in this situation. He didn't really know what to say to the young man in front of him, who was clearly not comfortable with being alone with him either. He tried to take a good look at the man over the rim of his tea cup while remaining as inconspicuous as he could. Byakuya had his eyes closed and looked bored out of his wits. Somehow this rubbed him the wrong way. Ok...He never actually spoke to him before but that man could at least make some effort!

Little did he know that Byakuya tried his hardest to think of a way to get out of this situation as smoothly as possible. He didn't know anything about Yoruichi's father besides his military accomplishments and those were not really a fitting topic. He was his son's grandfather after all so he would have to try to get along with him as good as possible. But he had no idea how! Everyone knew he wasn't really the chatty type and would usually let him of the hook when alone with him, but the older man in front of him seemed to expect him to say something. Of course he respected the man. He was a living legend after all but being alone with him, and this on their first day of meeting was not really easy for him, especially since, as embarrassing as it was, the only thing he could think about was the fact that he got his daughter pregnant. And as at ease as the man in front of him seemed, Byakuya was sure if he started a conversation along those lines, he could say a few parts of his body goodbye that he'd rather keep.

Normally Hiroshi would have just left, but Amaya had thrown him one of her special looks before she took of with Yoruichi. One of those looks that meant something like: You better do what I want or I'll make the rest of your life a living hell. Of course she would never really be angry with him for this long, but he wasn't going to risk finding this out first hand. This meant all in all he was screwed. What was he supposed to say to this man? To this vile, evil man that got his little girl pregnant? He had to keep himself from glaring at the man by now. His thoughts were really running wild and he had to keep himself from mentally abusing the young man so as not to grow angrier than he already was.

Byakuya felt the tension in the room grew thicker as he watched a strange shadow pass over Hiroshi's face, while said man looked out the window. He got the feeling the old man was trying to avoid looking at him. Not really encouraging...

And so they kept silent. On a normal day under normal circumstances they might have found a rather agreeable companion in the other, since they both preferred the quiet over unnecessary chatter. The only sound in the big room came from the occasional sip out of the still steaming tea cups. And soon Hiroshi found himself thinking of the moment he became a father. The moment he had held his child for the first time. And while he reminisced his eyes wandered to the dark haired man across from him who happened to look up at him at the same moment. In the brief moment their eyes met a small thought suddenly began to form in Hiroshi's head. That man is a father now too.

It was enough to make him feel a little guilty about hating him without reason. A small part of him still stubbornly insisted that he had every reason to hate him. But Hiroshi was an honest man and he knew he was being unfair. If he just wasn't so...arrogant and uptight. If he could just see what Yoruichi saw in that man.

He started running his finger along the rim of his tea cup and Byakuya eyed him curiously. If he was anything like Yoruichi he was probably bored by his silence by now. Byakuya knew that and yet...

The loud sigh that escaped Hiroshi's lips startled him out of his thoughts. The older man looked him dead in the eye now and Byakuya found this a lot more uncomfortable than he thought it would be. He was used to other man of power, he was one of them after all but somehow this man made him nervous. Usually Byakuya couldn't care less about what other people thought of him but this was an important meeting. Theoretically they were family now after all.

"Lets be honest." Hiroshi folded his hands in front of him and straightened his back. Byakuya straightened up as well in response to this sudden change and the older man almost found himself smiling at the almost flustered edge in Byakuya's posture. "Finally! Some sort of emotion." It made it easier. It made him more human and Hiroshi really needed to remind himself of this fact now.

"Be nice. He's still young after all. ...And I'll be dead when Amaya finds out I was anything but perfectly lovable." He almost snorted at his own thoughts. "Lovable...yeah, fat chance..."

"I'm not really used to the thought of being a grandfather just yet. And you..." He briefly hesitated, wondering how to put it. "I guess I still have to get used to you too." That was as polite as he could put it without lying.

Byakuya was surprised at the older Shihoin's words. But after his initial worry he was almost relieved now. Hiroshi had set the rules for their conversation and decided to do away with all pretenses and get right to the point. Something Byakuya welcomed. He wasn't one to beat around the bush either. It was tiring and unnecessary.

The dark skinned man watched something akin of a smile cross the Kuchiki's lips in front of him while he set down his cup with a soft clatter.

"I have to get used to being a father as well so I have no expectations."

As much as he hated to admit it, Hiroshi started to like the young man. Just a little...

He still remembered the awkward way he held Yoruichi for the first time in his life, half afraid of crushing her in his grip and he could only sympathize with the young man.

When he saw the slightly conflicted look on Byakuya's face he simply leaned back and waited for him to speak. He had never seen such an expression on this man and had thought him incapable of emotions like this, which made this even more intriguing.

Byakuya caught Hiroshi's questioning look and was taken aback by how familiar it was. And without really wanting to his question had already made it's way across his tongue.

"Is it hard?"

"Huh?" Hiroshi wanted to kick his own butt for such an undignified answer but he was just too surprised by this question. And the embarrassed hesitation on Byakuya's part...somehow amused him.

"Is it hard...to be a good father?"

The question hung in the air for a few seconds. He had tried to make it sound as nonchalantly as he could and yet no matter how leveled his voice had sounded it couldn't hide the ingenuous curiosity that rang in every syllable.

Hiroshi just continued to look at the young man, but the probing edge from before had disappeared. After a while he closed his eyes as if in deep thought, one of his hands at his lips and nodded to himself as if confirming something. One of Yoruichi's special smiles appeared on his lips and he opened his eyes to look at the young man again. Taking his cup, he took a sip of cold tea.

"No." His voice a gentle half-smile. "Not for a good hearted man."

Byakuya frowned.

"And how do I know if I am a good father?"

"A good father is the only one who asks himself that question."

Silence answered but the uncomfortable tension had disappeared. Byakuya was obviously thinking about other things by now and Hiroshi continued to watch him.

Damn it! He had planned on coming here and finding a despicable man who only thought of himself. He was prepared for hating every fiber of his being. And he had to go and ruin everything with one simple question. But who was he kidding? I should have known from the start. Somehow Yoruichi had ended up choosing him after all. If he had any faith in his upbringing he should have known he was at least a decent man.

The worst thing was that he even started to like him. What a pity! Hating him was so much easier...

"Maybe you're going at this the wrong way, you know."

Surprised Yoruichi turned around to look at her mother, who had a sly smile on her face. They were currently wandering the woods behind the Kuchiki manor to get some privacy and fresh air.

Yoruichi didn't bother pretending not to know what she was talking about. Her mother had always had a peculiar talent for knowing what others were thinking, especially when it came to her own daughter. And Yoruichi had given up on trying to hide anything from her a long time ago. Her mother had been one of her confidants since she could remember and she valued her insights, so she was curious as to what she had to say now.

"Oh really? Why don't you enlighten me then?"

"Did I ever tell you the story of how I got your father to put on some moves?"

Yoruichi shivered slightly in response.

"More than once..." And she wasn't particularly looking forward to hearing it again. Amaya had to chuckle slightly at her daughter's reluctance.

Her mother remained silent after that and continued along the path. The wind grew stronger and carried the scent of pine wood along. It really was a beautiful day and the sun shone brightly through the treetops and reflected off of her mother's pink kimono. But all this was lost on Yoruichi as she tried to figure out what her mother meant to say.

"Ok. I give up. Just give it to me straight." She knew her mother had been waiting for her to ask this when she saw the big grin on her face.

"Quit...waiting!"

Yoruichi only answered with a blank face.

"Oh come on, honey. You know what I mean. If you keep waiting for him to make any sort of move you'll be as old and wrinkly as I am! With this sort of man you will have to do something about your situation. Force him if you must."

"Are you serious? This must be the least motherly advice you have ever given me. Is a mother even allowed to say something like this?" She couldn't help but laugh at her mother's words.

"You know me, honey. I'm a practical women. If it works, it's good. No need for any fancy pseudo romantic stuff. You know better than I do which buttons to push." She put one of her hands on her daughter's shoulder and squeezed her lightly. "So stop wasting time and push them."

A tender smile crossed Yoruichi's lips and she gave her mother a crushing hug. She always knew just what to say.

After a few seconds she could hear her mother's voice slightly muffled through her hair.

"But don't tell your father I said that or I'll never hear the end of it."

Their joined laughter resounded through the woods just like it had many years ago.

They had walked for a few more minutes before Yoruichi noticed the big grin on her mother's face.

"Oh come on! What now?"

"So..." Amaya deliberately made the word as long as she could.

With a school girlish grin she danced in front of her daughter who had to stop in the middle of her path.

She couldn't help the answering grin that broke across her face when she saw her mother act like that.

And when Amaya wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and said: "So is he the one?", Yoruichi laughed loudly.

"Geez, mother shut up!"

Amaya squeezed her grandson one more time. "Mom! This is quite enough. You're going to smother him half to death." Yoruichi could only shake her head at her mother's antics. They were standing in front of the gate to the Kuchiki manor now. They had spent the rest of the day together in the garden talking and playing games but all too soon the sun had begun to set and it was getting late. But what should have been a short goodbye turned into a minute long ordeal as her mother continued to hug Katsuo for what seemed like eternity and even her father started to look annoyed. Katsuo meanwhile took everything in a remarkably patient manner but even his smiles started to look slightly forced when he said his goodbyes for the tenth time.

"Okay okay. I get it! But you have to promise me to stay over soon so I can show you around the Shihoin manor." Another hug. Another promise from Katsuo. And Yoruichi's parents finally left.

All three of them stayed for a few more seconds after they watched them leave. "Don't take this the wrong way, Mom...but I'm exhausted!" Yoruichi breathed a sigh of relief when her parents vanished from sight. "Believe me so am I."

Byakuya just turned around to walk back inside.

He knew what she was going to say the moment he saw the happy grin on her face.

"I knew you'd like him."

"Shut up."

And despite being told to shut her mouth for almost the entire day, Amaya went home highly amused and in the greatest spirit.

She found him sitting at a table with paperwork scattered around him.

"Surprise. Surprise. Seriously, this man can't even relax for one day."

Sitting down in front of him she put both of her elbows on the table and let her head rest on her joined hands. Her grin only got bigger while she waited for him to look at her. He meanwhile tried his best to ignore her, but it was hard to concentrate when he could feel her stare at him without wavering once.

Closing his eyes, he finally sighed loudly. He was way too exhausted to keep this up for long, so he gave in and looked up at her.

"Is there something you need?"

"I'm here to challenge you."

His face showed no change, even though her words had surprised him profoundly. It took him a few moments to remember that her declaration would request an answer from his side.

Clearing his throat, he put the sheet of paper he had been working on back onto his "unfinished" pile.

"I am way too exhausted to participate in any sort of physical exertion."

Yoruichi almost smirked at his words and it took all her strength not to suggest what she had in mind when he spoke of physical exertion.

But she thought it wiser not to mention any of this since it would be contradictory to her goal.

With a prominent pause she let a set of card fall onto the table, all the while making sure that it made as much sound as possible.

It had the desired effect. Byakuya's eyes snapped towards the set of cards now lying on top of his work with a look of utter confusion.

Smiling devilishly she again picked up the cards and turned them around so that he could see them. He instantly recognized them as Hanafuda cards. His father had always had a fondness for them and they had played whenever they got the chance. Those times had been the best of his childhood even though those were simple and calm hours. Just spending time with his father had been enough to make them cherished memories. He blamed his momentary sentimentality, caused by those memories, for what happened next.

When Yoruichi asked whether he would care for a game he accepted after a brief moment of hesitation.

Usually he would have said no, especially since he couldn't help but notice the mischievous glint in her eyes once he said yes.

"Great!" Yoruichi started to shuffle the cards in her hands but stopped shortly after as if she was contemplating something. Obviously an act and she wasn't even trying to hide it. Byakuya simply leaned back and waited for what was to come.

"Lets make this a little more interesting."

He had expected that.

And he didn't even bother to point out how cliché her words were before asking, "And what do you have in mind?"

"Nothing good obviously."

"The winner gets one wish. And the other has to comply." Her grin was as self-confident as if she had already won and her expression showed him that she in no way thought she would lose. Maybe that was the reason he agreed to those lunatic conditions but he wanted to wipe that smile of her face. He had to admit that she had awoken his competitive side, which left him no choice but to crush her.

"You do realize that this means I can ask you to stay out of my bed, don't you?"

Her answering smile was dazzling and he started to wonder if she ever stopped smiling.

"Don't worry...you won't dislike my presence in your bed for long."

She decided for the more diplomatic: "I'll take the risk." After shuffling the cards for a few more seconds she held them out to him. He took them from her hands and after a moments thought, shuffled them again just to annoy her a little.

This only fired her up more and when he held out the stash towards her she casually took one of the cards making sure to lightly brush his wrist with her fingertips. To her disappointment she didn't see any goosebumps. "Looks like Byakuya-bo is serious...All the better when I claim my prize."

Turning her card around to look at it she rejoiced slightly. February.** Very nice. It would be hard for him to beat that. She watched him take the next card from the set and after a brief glance turned it around so that she could look at it. January. Their eyes locked briefly and she made an appreciative noise when she handed her card back to him.

He shuffled the cards again and gave her 8 cards face down before giving himself the same amount and then eight more onto the table between them face up.

Yoruichi was already busy comparing her cards to the ones on the table and considering which combo she would most likely be able to achieve. She still had to keep in mind that she had to let Byakuya choose first, but seeing the sake cup card open on the table made her sure he was going to choose this one. To her surprise Byakuya set down his cards for her to see. She was about to open her mouth and ask him whether he had forgotten how to play this game when he selected four of his cards and shoved them closer to her.

"Four of a kind." And sure enough he had four cards of the same month. A pretty rare occasion and ironically it was January. She threw her cards down onto the table so that he could collect them. The smug expression on his face as he shuffled the cards made her chuckle. "And here I thought you would go easy on a woman."

A slight smile showed on his lips. He was enjoying himself immensely at the moment, no matter how hard he tried to subdue his feelings.

"Maybe I would. But this is you we're talking about." He had finished dealing out the cards and picked his up to take a look at them.

Yoruichi meanwhile busied herself with contemplating her cards. To her disappointment they were pretty bad.

Looking back up she saw a surprised and hesitant look on Byakuya's face. Catching her look his hand shot up to his lips and her jaw almost dropped when she saw him hiding an uncharacteristic smirk. He cleared his throat for the second time this night and once again picked four out of his cards and set them down. Yoruichi didn't even look at them.

"You can't be serious!" She leaned forward to take a good look at his cards. "At least it's not January this time." They were all of the October cards. Which meant once again 6 points for him. The game hadn't even really started yet and she had already lost 12 points.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea..." Throwing down her cards with a little more emphasis this time she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You're cheating! I have never seen two "Four of a Kind" in a row!"

He simply shuffled the cards nonchalantly. "Remember who you're talking to. I don't need to resort to such means." After he dealt out the required number of cards he added, "I can beat you just fine without it."

This time Yoruichi didn't touch her cards and watched Byakuya expectantly. When he raised his eyes from his cards she raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Byakuya just threw her an annoyed look and took one of the cards on the table while showing her that he had the required card. "Don't be ridiculous."

With a loud laugh she picked up her cards. "Well you never know."

This time she had a pretty decent hand and the rest of the rounds continued without any further interruptions. Luckily she had had good cards which enabled her to erase the advantage Byakuya had had, but he didn't make it easy for her. He was a smart man so they ended up fighting over every point. They didn't give each other anything and in the final round their score was back to 50/50, which meant that whoever won this round would end up the winner. Over the course of the game both had stopped smiling and by this point they were dead serious.

Yoruichi dealt the cards since she was lucky enough to win dealership in the previous round. Her heart beat faster than ever before when she picked up her cards. She just had to win this!

She couldn't believe her luck when she found that she had exactly the card she needed to pick up the moon card in the middle of the table and the sake cup card on her hand. Easy points. Easy points.

Casually she took the moon card of the table. And looked back at Byakuya to see his move. Inside she was already celebrating her victory. There was no way he would be able to collect a combo with just one move. He hesitated briefly and looked into her eyes as if he was trying to see her cards reflected there. With deliberate slowness he took one of his card and took...exactly the one she needed to swap in her sake cup card.

He leaned back and looked at her expectantly, trying to decipher whether his precautions had affected her. She only smiled back.

"I wouldn't have expected anything less from you." And this move might have spoiled her chances of winning, but Byakuya couldn't do anything against Yoruichi's huge luck. With a sickly sweet casualty she laid down her sake cup card onto the table. Byakuya almost groaned out loud. Nobody was insane or bold enough to lay down such a valuable card if they didn't have the only remaining card which could secure it.

It was Byakuya's move now and he was tempted to simply throw down his cards since there was no way he could win now, but with a sullen dignity he picked up one of the other cards, which was of course completely useless.

Usually she would savor her victory by drawing out the moment but she quickly took the sake cup card and turned her combo around. She needed him in as good a mood as she could get him after loosing, which was in itself already hard enough.

"Tsukimi-zake.***" Five points. Their score: 55 for her and 45 for him.

She collected all the cards and set them down onto the table in a neat pile to give him a little time to let her victory sink in.

When she finished he only gave her a defeated sigh and looked at her expectantly.

"Fine. I'll keep my word. What do you want?" He was seething. Why did he agree to this crazy idea? Her parents' visit must have worn him out. He didn't have much time to dwell on such thoughts though as Yoruichi voiced her wish. And it was enough to make him actually fall over slightly.

"A kiss."

He blinked at her, eyes wide.

"Excuse me?" He must have been mistaken. It must have been his imagination. His stupid imagination... He couldn't have heard correctly when she requested a kiss from him.

But Yoruichi's expression didn't change, in fact he could almost say that the look in her eyes became almost seductive as she leaned forward to rest her face in her hands, as she had done when she first entered the room. He swallowed heavily as his mouth had suddenly gone dry. No way he would agree to that. Despite that he could feel his heart beat pick up speed. His body once again betraying his mind. And what was worse: he was coming to terms with it.

It had only been a few days since she had come back in his life...with a freaking bulldozer apparently since it took her almost no effort to break him.

"I said: I want a kiss." She emphasized every word and there was no doubt she had actually said that.

He was about to protest but she simply raised a finger to silence him. She almost burst out laughing at the way he stared at her finger as if she had done something absolutely scandalous.

"No, no. You agreed to this, remember? Or is the word of the Byakuya Kuchiki worth nothing?"

He had to admit that she had him right where she wanted him and he would die before breaking his word. Especially now that she had teased him so openly. So he tried a different tactic.

"Are you sure you want to waste the one wish I am unable to refuse on something like that?" He thought this would convince her to reconsider. He thought this would save him. Oh how wrong he was. She simply took that bulldozer of hers and ran him right over.

"What makes you think I'd consider it a waste?"

This was it. How could he refute that? He couldn't even get over the shock of her words or the way his body all but burned his mind to cinder.

And as if this wasn't enough she said the only words which could make it worse.

"Are you that reluctant?" Worse, because in fact he wasn't that reluctant. He wished he was. There was no way he could just walk away now. She was going to get this kiss.

And when she looked him in the eyes she saw that. Silently thanking her mother she leaned forward across the table. She had to move her arms away from her chest since her heart had started beating so frantically she was afraid she would squash it in her chest if she put too much pressure on it. All the while she didn't take her eyes away from his even once, evaluating his every move. There was not much to assess though since he barely moved a muscle.

There was currently a war of fire and ice going on in his body. Icy shock trying to freeze him into place and his heart cruelly pumping fire through his veins. And in the end as it always does fire won and he leaned forward stiffly. Yoruichi was halfway across the table, in fact she had to prop herself up on her hands to keep from falling over while he had barely moved an inch. But it was enough for her. He had moved. And not away from her but towards her and in the next second he moved even closer slightly dipping his head down towards her. The slight doubt she never knew existed evaporated and was replaced by a glowing ember in her stomach.

With a sudden movement she lifted one of her legs across the table not caring for any of the paperwork she was currently crushing under her and she was right in front of him, one of her hands resting at the side of his neck. He twitched slightly at the contact but her ego could take that. She didn't know but this was the last bit of reluctance he had had left and as he felt her warm breath against his lips a small part of his mind wondered at the silence in his chest. He didn't have time to contemplate any of this as Yoruichi's fingers suddenly all but forced him down towards her and their lips met.

She was warm silk. The flames he had felt inside his chest cavity just moments ago where nothing compared to her. She wasn't burning and yet she was burning him. And when her lips moved against his in a familiar and at the same time excitingly foreign manner she won the war, which he had started the moment he saw her in his house for the first time in years. Of course he didn't know that yet but it was obvious by the way his eyes closed to savor every second. When he finally responded to her kiss she had long stopped thinking. The soft and wet friction of his lips, slightly colder than hers, against her own made her stomach clench so hard she could barely breathe enough to sustain consciousness. She found herself addicted to his taste and her mind raced to try to compare it to something familiar, but she found none. And when she felt his hand at her back slightly pressing her towards him, she realized what he hadn't. Victory was hers. Smiling into the kiss she briefly wondered how he could ever have doubted this.

Finally with a breath of hot air they separated. He opened his eyes, still slightly dazed and his cheeks flushed. Without letting him time to think or breathe she pulled him down again and with a burst of happiness realized, that she didn't have to use as much force as she did before. When their lips met this time he immediately responded. She threw herself closer into his arms as she felt him putting more pressure into their kiss than before. His lips almost harsh against hers. The muscles of his arms tensed around her and she could feel them jump at her touch.

Before she could really enjoy any of this though, he pulled away, turning his head away from her. Cheeks even more flaming than before, he stood up with a shaky breath, supporting his weight with one hand at the wall. His sudden fervor had startled him profoundly. Of course she wanted to continue this but she let him go. This was more than what she had hoped for and she knew that she wouldn't have to wait long. Not anymore. Not with the look he threw her just before leaving the room. His eyes had told her everything she needed to know. And he couldn't help himself, not when he saw her sprawled over his paperwork like this, with her dark skin glowing, purple locks falling across her back and her eyes inviting him back. She slowly traced her still wet lips with her thumb, equally dazed as he was.

While he tried to pull himself together when he walked through the corridor of his home, so as not to attract any attention from wandering maids, he decided that she was the one cheating.

* Katsuo is implying that she is already too fat and shouldn't eat the pudding. Of course he knows that she's not fat, he's simply teasing his mother.

** If you're not familiar with this game, google Koi-koi.

Here is a brief explanation anyway: The set consists of 48 cards in which 4 cards represent each month. So there are 4 cards for January, February etc. Some of those cards are considered light cards as well. There is a moon and a sake cup card which is especially good for creating a combo with a high value.

In the beginning the one who draws the card with the earliest month becomes the dealer and is allowed to be the first to swap cards. He gives each player 8 cards and there is a pool of cards in the middle from which you can take a card if you have a card of the same month. You are not allowed to take a card if you don't have a card with the same month on your hand. The goal is to collect a specific combo of cards, which gives you points depending on their value. Some combos are valued higher than others. Once you have collected a combo of cards you're allowed to call quit which means you get your points and the round is over. The game consists of 12 rounds. Or you could call Koi-koi which means you continue the round to collect more combos, but when another player gets a combo before you do the round is over and the one who beat you gets double points. If you happen to have all cards of one month on your hand before the game even started the round ends automatically and you get 6 points. Each player starts with 50 points. The winner gets points. The loser loses the amount of points the other won.

You don't need to get the rules but I hope you got the idea.

*** The moon and sake cup combo

Amaya - grandmother (Night Rain), her laughter is based on that of a very good friend of mine...when she laughs you cannot not laugh. It's hilarious!

Hiroshi - grandfather (generous)

A great many thanks to all those who reviewed! I would write all your names down here but I appreciate every review so much it would take too much time to write them all down. But be assured that they're all very dear to me and they are one of the reasons why I have never given up on this story. I just couldn't bring myself to leave it unfinished with so many sweet people out there that like to read it. I'd like to apologize for the delay as well...but in the words of Rick Astley: Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down...

A separate thanks and greeting to my dear friend Peace in Chaos, the biggest ByaYoru fan I have ever met besides myself. Hugs to you 3

As always reviews are love. And they keep me going xD Cookies to all of you.