Hey my wonderful readers, next chapter done and ready to be read. In this chapter, I'm gonna dedicate a small part of it to what's going on in Suna. I miss Gaara being here. So... I'll shut up now so you can continue. But first... I noticed on the last chapter there was an anonymous review commenting on the whole Hachibi deal. In case anyone else is confused as well, in the first chapter I noted that I did that because I wanted to, not for lack of information. I know Hachibi is actually an octopus in the manga/anime, but not here. She's a wolf, hence the word FanFiction :)
Reviews (big surprise...):
XxKyuubiRoxX:
Thanks for reviewing as always, your reviews and botskey's give me motivation to continue. I agree with you on what you said about the last chapter, but I'm gonna go back a little later in a future chapter and round that off.
botskey:
Well thank you, I try XD
Okay, so it's been 2 weeks and 4 days since Temari left the sand village (I think that's how long it's been now).
Chapter 14: What's Going On?
Back in Suna, things were boring as ever. If one were to sneak up to the master office of the Kazekage's mansion, they would find a very annoyed Gaara, fighting both sleep and paperwork. But Gaara was much too experienced to let someone find him in such a condition. He could hear steps approaching, large, out-of-rhythm steps. Those could only belong to his older brother and advisor (when Temari was absent). Gaara quickly straightened up and smoothed out his features, pretending to calmly do his work as Kankuro barged in.
"Don't you ever knock?" Gaara calmly asked.
"Nope, you know who I am Gaara. When is Temari getting back?" Kankuro demanded.
"Calm down. The answer to your question, I can't answer. I don't know when Temari will return, but it will be when she is ready. Whether it be a day, a month, or a year or more. Have faith in her. She is our sister and the strongest kunoichi in our entire land."
"Gaara I know that already. I just... I miss her, okay?"Kankuro halfway whined. No matter how much he acted up around her, Kankuro truly loved and needed his sister. It was boring without her always hitting him with her fan, but it was pure torture to have to go without her cooking. Temari wasn't the best cook, but she certainly cooked better than most people in the village and Kankuro tired of having to cook himself, which mostly resulted in a half-burnt meal (hell, he even burned oatmeal!)
"I sent Temari on this mission for a very important reason."
"Wait, you told me you sent her to the Soul Society to gather information right? But... don't we have all that information?" Kankuro suddenly yelled, causing Gaara to cover his mouth with sand.
"Keep quiet." Gaara said, lowering his weapon. "I may have... bent the truth a little?" he whispered, cracking the tiniest of smiles.
"But why would you-"
"If you don't see it, I won't tell you. Just consider it a secret. But I will tell you one thing. I have a feeling something big is about to happen."
"... Well is it good or bad Gaara?"
"You really are clueless. I'll leave you to figure that out brother." and with that, Kankuro stomped out of the office, twice as confused. When the door closed, Gaara smiled.
'Oh Temari, the sand speaks to me, no matter where it is. You of all people should know that.'
Meanwhile, it was a bright and sunny morning in the seireitei. Byakuya and Temari were already up and out for the day. They'd rested well and were in good moods, so they decided to get an early start so they could visit a couple of divisions and come back home. They ate breakfast, which consisted of tea and a rice ball for Byakuya, and strawberries, crepes and tea for Temari. She even put extra powdered sugar on the crepes, causing Byakuya to look at her curiously. But he passed it off as a female thing after seeing she was her usual self.
"So, of course you know I am the captain of the sixth division, so we'll skip my division and go straight to the fifth division. The fifth division has no captain, as I've stated before. The lieutenant, Momo Hinamori leads the division. She is a kido master. That is, converting our spirit energy into an attack and firing it." Byakuya trailed off, trying to find a way to explain it better.
"Oh, I understand. It would be like what we ninja do. We convert our chakra into attacks like what I do with my wind." Temari answered for him, making the wind around them pick up momentarily.
"Yes, it is a lot like that. I could demonstrate it." Byakuya said, stopping. He wrapped his left arm around Temari's waist and pulled her tightly against him. He stretched out his right arm, his index finger also outstretched. "Hado #4: byakurai." Byakuya whispered. Brilliant lightning shot out of Byakuya's finger and raced into the air before disappearing. The two stayed like that for a minute, during which that mysterious clicking noise was heard again.
"Y-yeah, that's a lot like ninjutsu." Temari breathed, moving to stand beside him again. It wasn't even that powerful, Temari could deflect that in her sleep, in the hospital, with casts on her arms and legs, but something about the way he presented it took her breath away. "U-um, the fifth division?" Temari squeaked, immediately berating herself for such a weakness.
"Oh yes. The fifth division under Hinamori is a very kind and caring division, and they don't fight unless provoked or ordered to. But when they do fight they are fearsome in their own right." he finished explaining. Thankfully, Temari was able to regain herself before Byakuya could notice her state of awe, and the couple walked on.
When they finally reached the fifth division barracks there was a small party of shinigami already waiting for them.
"Welcome captain Kuchiki, it's an honor to have you and your guest here. Lieutenant Hinamori is in her office with lieutenant Hisagi." one officer greeted them.
"Oh really? That can knock out two birds with one stone. I didn't get to meet him the other day." Temari said happily.
"Yes, and they are waiting for you. Go on in."
Without another word Byakuya walked past the shinigami, Temari following closely behind.
"What's going on Bya-kun?" Temari somewhat demanded.
"I have no idea. But I have a feeling it's connected to that mysterious clicking noise." Byakuya sighed. When they reached the lieutenant's office door Byakuya immediately knocked and stood back. The door was quickly opened by an officer that happened to be in the room. In fact, there were a good number of officers in the plain office, crowded around one thing. As if on some invisible cue they all looked at the two who just entered with huge smiles on their faces.
"Um Bya-kun, all these officers are kinda making me nervous. What are they smiling about?" Temari whispered. Byakuya replied with a "hn", then cleared his throat.
"Where is Lieutenant Hinamori?" he demanded. Immediately the group of shinigami divided down the middle, revealing Hinamori and who Temari guessed to be Hisagi. Byakuya walked over to Hinamori's desk while Temari walked closely behind to see why they were the center of attention.
"Lieutenant Hinamori, just why are all these officers here and not working? And you Lieutenant Hisagi, why aren't you leading your division? Give me one reason why I shouldn't..." Byakuya trailed off, too busy staring wide-eyed at the picture in his face. Even though Temari was standing a little behind Byakuya she could tell he was blushing, judging by the redness of his ears.
"What is it Byakuya?" Temari asked, leaning over to see what it was, only to blush madly herself and fall silent. She was looking at a picture from yesterday when she and Byakuya left the seventh division. She had her arms wrapped around Byakuya's neck, his around her waist, as they were locked in a passionate kiss. Someone had even changed the background so that a brilliant ocean wave was displayed perfectly behind them, making it mushier than it needed to be. To add to it, there was even a short paragraph on the matter. Temari snatched the paper from Hisagi's hands and began to read to herself.
Seireitei News Exclusive!
We all know Captain Byakuya Kuchiki right? And anyone who knows him knows that he isn't the most... sociable or happy person around, and that's because of a tragic incident that happened a long time ago. But get ready to have your minds blown out of the water. Yesterday we received a picture, seen above, showing the sixth division captain clearly embracing the woman who is the center of interest in the seireitei. Further research shows that she is a ninja from the world of the living, Temari of the desert. I must say, she is quite a sight to behold, but there are many beautiful women here in soul society. So why would captain Kuchiki take interest in a girl from a different world? Just what makes her special? This and more in the next issue.
Seireitei News: for all your Seireitei happenings.
Temari read the article, anger flaring up in her. She clenched the paper in her hands and shoved it back to Hisagi, knocking the wind out of him. Byakuya caught her fist as she was about to hit him and pulled her to him.
"Temari, there is no need to get so worked up over this. They know, so what?" Byakuya kindly pointed out. Temari relaxed and took his hand.
"So I take it this is true. Well okay, we have confirmation. It will be in the seireitei news tomorrow. Look for this special scoop: Byakuya Kuchiki: Back in Love." Hisagi concluded happily. "Unless... you want to let me have the rest of the day off..."
"You would dare try to blackmail a captain, especially one of such high status as me? I could ruin your life lieutenant Hisagi, I suggest you remember that. And go ahead and post that picture in that magazine of yours. It's about time everyone knew about us. Let's go Temari." he said, wrapping an arm around his lover's waist and starting to lead her out.
"Wait captain Kuchiki! I apologize, I meant you no disrespect. I wanted to know just how real this is, so I had to push a few buttons to make you angry enough to tell. It's just... no one has seen you this happy and calm in such a long time, it's kind of strange." Hisagi hurriedly explained. Byakuya did stop, but did not turn around. Temari however, did.
"And you didn't think to ask him yourselves first? Or even me?"
"Well you see... we were trying to keep this news to ourselves, not even lieutenant Abarai knows, and most of us are afraid to talk about this type of thing with captain Kuchiki because we didn't want to either bring back painful memories, or get hurt in the process." Hinamori cut in.
"I see..." Byakuya whispered.
"Bya-kun..." Temari sighed, going over to him.
'You know she didn't mean it that way, you know how she meant it.'
'But it's how she said it regardless. Was I really that horrible?'
'No way, I wouldn't believe it for a second.'
'...'
"You know what? I'm tired of all this talk and speculation about me and Byakuya. Lieutenant Hisagi, put this in your magazine. The stoic and unapproachable Captain Kuchiki is no more." Temari snapped, bringing Byakuya's face down for a passionate, but gentle, kiss. There was a simultaneous gasp around the room and all was quiet as they separated. An eruption of claps and cheers caused the couple's faces to flush a light shade of pink.
"Captain Kuchiki, I apologize for everything I said earlier. It was stupid and immature, so I shouldn't have said it." Hisagi said, bowing lowly.
"Don't worry about it. It was nice to meet you Lieutenant Hisagi, but I actually came here to meet Lieutenant Hinamori." Temari answered for Byakuya.
"Oh, okay then. Well this is my office so you can have a seat wherever you'd like. Everyone else, you are dismissed. Get back to work, and not a word of what happened today is to escape these walls."
"Yes ma'am!" the officers shouted as one, going off to perform their duties.
"Hisagi, I'll talk to you later. Maybe come over for some tea."
"Yeah, that sounds good Momo. Okay, I'll see you later. You too captain Kuchiki and Temari. Oh, and thank you Temari for whipping my boys into shape. I've never seen them work so hard before and be afraid to stop."
"Anytime, I'd love to come back down there and whip them into shape if they get out of hand." soon the room was empty, save Temari, Byakuya and Momo. The couple took their seats in front of Momo's desk as she settled down.
"I apologize again for earlier. But as you know, I am the lieutenant and leader of the fifth division, Momo Hinamori." she said politely, holding out a hand. Temari took it and shook it.
"I am Temari of the desert, from the world of the living. It's nice to meet you."
"The pleasure's all mine. So what do you need to know?"
"Hm, fighting style and general information I guess." Temari said, ignoring the small wave of nausea that came over her.
"Okay, easy enough. I fight with my zanpakuto, Tobiume. Her command is "snap" and she is a fire-based zanpakuto. Besides that, I am a kido specialist. I'm not as good as many,"
"She's being humble. She is quite skilled." Byakuya cut in.
"Captain Kuchiki!" Momo yelped, blushing lightly. She cleared her throat before continuing. "I can do many high level kido, but only for fighting. No one is as skilled as Captain Unohana when it comes to healing kido. But general information... I was raised with captain Hitsugaya by his grandmother and I eventually came to be where I am now. We had a captain, Aizen, but he left us. I was sad, because I loved him dearly, but now I'm resigned to stopping him no matter what."
"That's good. Because we all know he's coming back. We have Gin in our captivity." Byakuya stated. Momo's eyes widened, before she nodded.
"Then we will be ready." she said, standing. "Is that all you needed?"
"Yes, that should be enough." Temari said, standing with Byakuya. She felt that nausea again, only it was stronger. She forced it away, sighing heavily.
"Well then I'm glad I could be of help to you. If you will excuse me, I must start preparing my officers. Have a good day you two, and please visit again." Momo said, running out of the room.
"I can tell that this division will probably be training harder than any other." Temari said in sympathy.
"You're right. They were devastated when Aizen left. They all respected him and would follow him no matter what, as long as it was for the good of soul society. We should head back, you don't seem to be feeling well." Byakuya said, leading Temari out of the building.
"Yeah, you're right on that one. I don't know what's wrong though. I just feel really nauseous." Temari sighed. They continued walking, Byakuya constantly glancing at her.
"Are you okay?" he asked once they were about halfway there.
"Yeah, the wind has a certain coolness, so it's soothing."
"Winter is approaching, that's why. But I'm glad it helps you feel better."
'Hey flower boy. Can you pipe it down a bit? Your thoughts are all over the damn place and they don't want to stay in your head.' Hachibi growled.
'I apologize Hachibi. But you and Temari both know that winter isn't the best time of the year for me, and she feels nauseous. What if she's getting sick? If I lose her, insanity may engulf my being.'
'Oh, so you haven't guessed yet? You humans and your dull instincts. But I wouldn't worry about Temari if I were you. She isn't sick.'
'What do you mean? Then why is she nauseous?' Byakuya demanded, frustrated.
'If you don't know, I'll leave you to figure it out. I hate explaining simple things, and this has got to be the simplest of them all. Oh, you might want to hurry.' Hachibi snickered, suddenly fading away. Byakuya regained awareness of his surroundings in time to see Temari dash to a nearby trashcan, where she proceeded to empty the contents of her stomach. Byakuya placed one hand on her back and his other held tissue that Byakuya produced from his pocket so that she could wipe her mouth when she finished.
"Tema, are you okay now?" Byakuya worriedly asked. Temari nodded and took a few deep breaths. She rose up after seeing she had no more to expel and took the tissue. She wiped her mouth and threw the soiled paper away.
"I'm fine now. Kami what's wrong with me?"
'Really? Are all humans this dumb? Oh Tema...' Hachibi sighed.
'Hachibi I don't have time for your damn jokes. What the hell is going on?' she growled furiously. Hachibi only laughed.
'I suggest you get to the fourth division if you can't figure it out.'
'What the hell? I don't know what's going on... wait. I've seen this back in Suna, and they all turned out to be...'
'Bingo.'
Temari's eyes widened impossibly at the sudden realization and looked Byakuya straight in the eyes.
"Um, Bya-kun?" Temari croaked.
"Yes?"
"Can we go to the fourth division? I need to talk to Captain Unohana."
"Sure, no problem." They quickly made their way to said division in silence, each lost in thought. They arrived to see Unohana talking to a female shinigami/nurse and went up to her.
"Oh, it's good to see the two of you again. What can I help with?" Unohana cheerfully asked. Temari looked at Byakuya, then at Unohana again. She sneakily pointed to her stomach and luckily Unohana noticed because her face lit up with excitement.
"I see. Captain Kuchiki, I must see Temari alone to ask her a few questions. If you would, wait here. Please follow me Temari." Unohana instructed. Byakuya hesitated but gave in and sat in the small waiting room. Unohana quickly led Temari to a room toward the back of the hospital.
"So, what makes you think you are?"
"Well I threw up before coming here, and I felt perfectly fine before, and I admit I have been craving sweet foods lately. But that's why I came here. To see for sure."
"Okay then. I must ask a few questions. When was your last period?"
"About a week ago."
"When was the last time you had sexual intercourse?" Temari blushed a bit at the question.
"Um, three days ago. And I should add it is the first, and only, time I've done that in three years."
"Yes, that is helpful. And if you are, the father would be-"
"Byakuya."
"I see. That should be enough for now. I might think of a couple of follow-up questions, but for now let's get started. If you would, please sit in the chair behind you." Temari did so, and Unohana came to stand beside her. The chair was raised into the air and then reclined so that Temari lay completely vertical at Unohana's waist height. The older woman breathed slowly, preparing herself. She gently placed her hands on Temari's flat stomach and squeezed the tiniest bit. Temari could feel the little bits of spiritual energy entering her body, searching. Unohana closed her eyes in concentration and said nothing for a few minutes. When she finished Temari knew, judging by the tiny smile on her face.
"Congratulations, your suspicions were right." Unohana happily reported. Temari was beyond happy, she didn't even know what to say. She stood up and thanked the older woman, and walked out of the room. Needless to say Byakuya was standing right there, waiting for her.
"Temari, what happened?" Byakuya demanded worriedly, noticing the look on her face. She immediately composed herself and smiled brightly.
"Oh nothing bad, don't worry. But we have some things to discuss. Let's go." They walked in silence, Temari trying to find a way to explain it, Byakuya wondering what Temari wanted to talk about. Upon arriving at the manor, Temari led Byakuya to his room and shut the door. She sat down on the bed and patted the space beside her. Byakuya slowly sat down like a kid who'd done something bad and waited for her to speak.
"Okay, first of all stop worrying and relax. You're as stiff as a board Bya-kun." Temari laughed. "And what I wanted to say is this. I've been really nauseous lately, and I've been craving sweet foods. I can't believe I was that dumb to not figure it out sooner. Byakuya, I'm pregnant." Temari announced. Byakuya gaped at her for a long moment at the news, then grabbed her and pulled her into a bear hug. She sighed heavily and laid her head on his shoulder as he held her.
"So I'm-"
"Yup, you're gonna be a father."
"And we're-"
"Gonna be a family."
Byakuya was at a loss for words. He had never known what this excitement felt like, and the feeling now overwhelmed him. He pulled back so he could look Temari in the eye. They both moved closer and closed the gap in a sweet kiss. But nothing good, especially peace, lasts long. An explosion went off in the distance, causing the lovers to separate.
"What the hell was that?"
"I don't know..." Byakuya said, getting up and going over to the window. He threw open the curtains and stood there, perplexed by what was before him. Temari went to stand by him after he hadn't moved for awhile and saw what had him frozen. A scene of destruction now lay before him. Upon further observance they were able to see a rough circle of destruction, and its center was...
"The twelfth division." They both breathed.
Okay, so I know it takes a lot longer than that for the symptoms of pregnancy to show, but just bear with me for now. There's a reason for all of this. And yes, Hisagi was very OOC, I know... Anywho, don't forget, review, review, review :)