Hey friends, this is short but sweet and I believe Byakuya needed to hear it. Thank you for your comments, your likes and follows. We hit 104 pages with this! I have never written so much in my life but I'm glad I decided to share this fanfic with you all. Thanks again and enjoy :)

Chapter Fourteen

Hisao's office was minimalistic; large walnut bookcases stretching from the floor to the ceiling to the left, a masterpiece of a forest of deigo trees decorated the wall serving as a backdrop as his desk sat in the middle of the room. To the right was a large sideboard that Byakuya could only guess held his private documents, next to that was two doors, one leading back to the corridors of the manor and the other to the chamber pot.

What made Byakuya stop was an ornate painting of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Porcelain skin, ruby red lips, her hair decorated with exquisite pins and combs; she wore layers upon layers of fine silk, her delicate hands holding a simple red fan.

But it was her eyes that haunted him; fear, anguish and awe filled his being as he gazed upon the portrait.

The familiar grey - green eyes of the Okinawa woman would forever haunt his dreams.

Her eyes.

"That was drawn on Etsu's debut to court," Hisao said, answering Byakuya's unanswered question with a smile.

"She fought with her mother from the time she woke up, all through getting ready to the actual sitting, the two of them are exactly the same, two rivers meeting in the middle and clashing as they make their way to sea, thing is, even though they do not mix, they are both going in the same direction."

"Eloquently put, Lord Okinawa." Byakuya said, lowering his head.

"Oh come now Kuchiki Sama, no need to be so formal." Hisao said, deftly sitting down in front of his desk.

He may have looked ancient but he moved quicker than many of the young recruits in Squad 6, Byakuya sat opposite him in perfect seiza.

Hisao studied Byakuya for a while, he had heard how reclusive he had made himself after Hisana's death, he could relate, he himself very nearly pushed the whole family away when Naomi, Etsu's grandmother had died. He locked himself away and refused to see anyone until he remembered that he was still clan head and had to lead the family.

"Our families have not spoken for decades, I find as I grow older that this has played on my mind for some time," He said, linking his fingers.

"When Etsu came home with the news that she had been accepted into Squad 6, I saw it as opportunity for our two families to reconnect."

"What did you have in mind?" Byakuya asked, his interest piqued.

The Kuchiki's and the Okinawa's lived prosperously, did we not?" Hisao stated, ringing the servants bell.

"We did," Byakuya replied, nodding once.

"I never did find out why we decided to go separate ways."

Hisao chuckled as the side door opened, Kimiko bowed low, "My lord? How may I serve you?"

"Ah Kimiko!" Hisao smiled, turning toward her.

"How is your mother? Has she recovered?"

"Yes, my lord, the doctor said she should recover from her chest infection in a few weeks," She smiled back.

"I cannot thank you enough for paying for her medical bills, I will forever be in your debt."

Hisao flapped his hand again, his wrinkled cheeks blushing slightly, "Nonsense! Your family served this house for generations, we take care of our own."

"Thank you all the same, my lord," She said, bowing again.

"Would you like me to bring some tea?" Kimiko said, sitting back up.

"You read my mind." He beamed.

Kimiko closed the door and Hisao turned back to the stunned Byakuya, laughing hard at his expression.

"My dear boy, you look like you have just seen me turn into fish and start dancing."

"Apologies, Okinawa Sama, but I have never experienced nobility being kind to the help." Byakuya said, trying to mask the blush on his face.

Hisao studied him again, his eyelids lowering slightly as he huffed through his white moustache.

"The help, my dear boy, have single handedly raised us and our children with no compliant or argument, there are far more of them, than there are of us," He started.

"Just because you know Bankai does not mean they can't still destroy you, they know our secrets, console us and bend to our every whim. Remember Byakuya Sama, a tyrant breeds an army, a good leader raises a family."

Well. That was him told.

Byakuya had realised that his face had slackened as Hisao taught him a lesson. He felt he couldn't plaster his stone face back on in the presence of this powerful man. You simply couldn't be fake around him, he had this aura that made you want to tell him your deepest secrets.

Senbonzakura had purposefully kept quiet, the sheer power of Fuyuki was suffocating, and she wasn't even in the room.

"Now, you know your grandfather more than anyone, so you understand of difficult of a man he was." Hisao said, finally smiling again.

"Yes, he was very...adamant that strong noble families stick together." Byakuya said, pausing.

"Yes...and yet, here we are our families no longer talking." Hisao chuckled.

Byakuya stayed silent, it was Hisao's turn to pause as he thought back to the argument he had had with Ginrei and sighed, shaking his head.

"He was very black and white when it came to justice and the law, if it clashed with his precious balance, well, that was it."

Kimiko came in with tea and poured Byakuya's first then Hisao's before bowing out.

Hisao took a long sip of the peach blossom tea, sighing again and smiling, "Perfect, anyway, I believe you know that Ginrei and I grew up together?"

"Yes, father would often speak about how you and grandfather shaped the Seireitei into what it is now." Byakuya replied, savouring the tea that so much reminded him of Etsu.

Not now.

Not here.

Hisao hid a smile as he watched Byakuya's face change from a wistful blush to a look of horror and embarrassment, he struggled to build the wall again.

He wasn't stupid, when Etsu came skipping home on leave one evening made him suspect that someone had turned her head. He knew it couldn't have been Renji because they fought like brother and sister. The night Byakuya had arrived without sending word of his visit made him think that the Captain's methods had swayed his stubborn granddaughter. Remembering her mortified face as he asked her to show their unexpected guest around the grounds never ceased to make him laugh.

"Your grandfather was the one to cut the ties," Hisao said, sipping his bowl.

"He couldn't get his around the fact that I did not want to be Captain Commander, he thought my efforts to groom Yamamoto into the role were wasted."

"Grandfather didn't approve of Yamamoto?" Byakuya exclaimed.

"But he was his left hand man in keeping the peace!"

"True, but to start with he thought him to be too reckless and inexperienced," Hisao answered.

"I never wanted the title, I had served the Seireitei for as long as I can remember, my victories were unprecedented; but my clan needed me, with my constant absences our rivals tried on several occasions to overthrow me and take over the house."

"Why didn't Grandfather help you?" Byakuya asked.

"He didn't see it as a crime, no one had died or gotten hurt, so he didn't see the point in getting his clan involved," Hisao sighed, shaking his head.

"'If your house falls so easily to the takeover of another house, then your house should be dissolved, the Seireitei needs no weakness.' Final last words as he cut all ties with us."

Byakuya sat stunned as Hisao poured them both more tea, he knew his grandfather could be cruel, but to leave his oldest and dearest friend high and dry like that… it made him think completely differently about his family. Where they in on this? Did they know why his Grandfather has severed ties with the Okinawa's? From what he could glean from the gossip was that not many of them were happy with his decision as the Okinawa's soon prospered into being world renowned tea makers, their grounds had no rivals. Not to mention the revenue the house gained from every festival.

A shiver ran through Byakuya's soul as Fuyuki, Hisao's zanpakuto sang to Hisao, soothing him, Senbonzakura tensed, he too was powerful, but if a simple song made him feel this...helpless...he shuddered at the thought of facing such an opponent.

"Don't you regret not staying?" He asked after collecting himself.

"Not anymore, the first few years were hard, but it got easier when my daughter was born. I suppose Ginrei thought that responsibility and keeping the peace were the main objectives. But I had a responsibility; to my clan."

Byakuya nodded slowly, he could relate, the family had seen him as weak and untrustworthy when he married Hisana, not that he cared, after she had died they circled like sharks throwing marriage proposals at him, he had banished an aunt after she visited with a suitor and insisted that they wed that day.

He threw himself in his work and became the leader he was today, the family quietened down, seemingly happy with how famous the clan was now, but he still heard questions as to why he didn't have an heir yet. He didn't want to be like his grandfather.

Not in the family sense, but he had began to resent Ginrei and at one stage had blamed him for the death of his parents, it was no one's fault but the fact that he got no paternal love from him made him bitter.

He envied Etsu's relationship with her family, she had a sister that saw her as a paragon, a mother who cared a little too much and a grandfather who would move the heavens for her. Byakuya then began to think if he really was what Etsu needed.

It's all well and good wanting each other, but did they need each other?

Byakuya knew in his heart that he needed Etsu, she alone had cracked through his marble fortress, he was seeing the world in a much more positive light; but what was she gaining from him? So far, heartache, humiliation and sexual frustration. Was he really good for her when she was drowning his demons for good?