The verbal invitations had been 'delivered' and the plans for a good luck dinner went into motion. Each person that had been able to spend time with Erisia, and to get to know the young woman was glad to be able to do something other than help her train. Of course Yachiru was also excited to actually be invited to something at Byakuya's estate.
While life in the Seireitei went on as usual, there were a few people who were also quietly bustling about for other reasons. Yachiru came upon her fifth seat wrapping something and she found herself confused. It wasn't anyone's birthday that they cared to celebrate, that she knew of, so what was he up to? "Whatcha doin' Feathers?" Yachiru asked as she hopped down from her perch and moved closer to inspect what was going on.
"I am wrapping a gift for Eri-chan." Yumi said in a simple tone as though it should be obvious.
"We're supposed to give gifts?" Yachiru asked as she tried to discern what it was he'd been wrapping but all she could see was a long box…
"It is something of a custom to in parties of this nature. For the luck of the one going away." He explains.
Yachiru pondered those words. Eri was nice… she wasn't a violent person but she was still… nice… She'd given her candy after all… Eri had specifically chosen treats she herself enjoyed to share them with Yachiru. Most people never put much thought into the sweets they gave her… "Oh… Well then… What should I get her?" She asks.
Yumi blinked in surprise at his little lieutenant. That she actually wanted to give Erisia something… there were after all only a very small number of people that Yachiru would actually give anything to. "Well, whatever you would like really. Just a small gift to wish her luck and to remind her of the friend she has gained in you. I did not realize that you were so fond of her." He says with a smile.
Yachiru just shrugs. "Well yeah. I mean she's nice. She ain't really a fighter but she gave me candy… Candy she liked and wanted to share with me… And she even played hide and seek with me - willingly. Besides, Byakushi actually seems to really like her. And if HE really likes someone, they've gotta be good to be friends with - right?" She asks, watching Yumi carefully.
Yumi chuckled at her logic but he supposed he had to agree with it. It was exceptionally rare for the Captain of the 6th squad to take interest in anyone even in the most vague of ways. "I suppose you are right, Lieutenant. Come on then, let's find something for you to give Eri-chan." He says as he finishes wrapping his present and carefully puts it in a drawer in his room so nothing would happen to it.
Yachiru's first idea was to get Eri some candy. Candy that she liked and could share back with Eri. It was very thoughtful, but Yumi suggested that just in case she found the temptation of the konpeito to be too strong she should perhaps also get something that was not edible. Yachiru looked offended at first, considered his words and decided that maybe it would be best just in case… but it was only just in case.
"So what other thing would you like to get for Erisia?" He asks as they pass a variety of shops… Yachiru thought deeply about that…
"Well she's not much of a fighter spirit… so maybe something to help her protect herself. I know she'll have a zanpakuto soon enough but maybe she should have something smaller, something she could hide under her pillow that way if someone tries something she doesn't like she can just pull it out…" Yachiru muses, bouncing along, sucking on a lollipop that Yumi had allowed her to buy for herself.
He couldn't help but chuckle… Leave it to his lieutenant to think that a weapon would be a good gift. Well it would certainly be a reminder of Yachiru - that was certain. He led her to a shop that sold weapons of all sort and with a very discerning eye Yachiru perused every last sword, tanto and other weapon in the place.
She paced back towards where the tanto were kept and eyed them. "I think this size would be good… don't you? Small enough to hide better." She comments and Yumi only nods. It was so odd seeing this side of Yachiru that he couldn't help but be held transfixed by it. The proprietor of the shop had looked at them suspiciously until he spied the Lieutenant's badge on Yachiru's arm.
She was looking and looking, picking them up and inspecting them all closely. Then she found one that was in a simple wooden sheath that had been stained to look like rosewood. It was simple but the color was beautiful… Still it was so plain… and Eri wasn't really plain…
"Is there something wrong, Miss?" The proprietor asks.
"Huh? Oh no, not really. This is a pretty color but it's so plain…" She muses…
"When do you need it?" He asks.
"Well the person it is for is leaving in a few days… we're having a going away party… in three days time. So that's how long." Yachiru says.
"Well I could add some carving on the sheath if you like… to be done in the time allotted it would have to be kept fairly simple…"
Yachiru perked up at this. "Hey Feathers, what do you think would be good to carve on it?" She asks… He thinks about it… "Well there is a symbol she painted in the corner of the painting she made for me that is by where she signed her name. I believe she mentioned it was something dear to her family… and she did mark herself with it… Sakura blossoms with something near like kanji in it - it's a seal of sort… But maybe just a few sakura blossoms and perhaps the kanji for her name and maybe almost hidden on it, the kanji for your own, Lieutenant?" Yumi asked.
Yachiru tapped her chin as she pondered his idea. "Well she does live with Byakushi too and well there's lots of sakura around there… So yeah that sounds good a few sakura just a few nothing that would be silly… but still something pretty… and I like that… Hiding the kanji for my name on it so she doesn't forget who gave it to her… and maybe amid the blossoms then the kanji for her name. You're calligraphy is soooo much prettier than mine Feather's why don't you write it all out for the man." She says with a big smile.
Yumi preened at the flattery. Leave it to Yachiru to know best how to wind everyone around her, around her little fingers. He wrote out the kanji in elegant script for the man. "What color would you like the carving stained?" the man asks.
"Hmmm would blood red be bad with the rosewood?" Yachiru asked…
"I can mix a color that is far more red that should work with it, yes." The man explains.
"Good use that and can you make it shiny?"
"I can add some lacquer to it, to seal the wood more and make it shiny."
"Perfect." She giggles as she hops up on the counter and they haggle over price. Yachiru was absolutely ruthless when it came to it. She was smarter than her peers gave her credit for. She had a pretty good eye for what she liked and a damned good head for what seemed more fair. The shop keeper never had a chance. As they walked away, Yumi couldn't help but comment. "You never cease to disturb me with how well you do that, Lieutenant." He chuckles only to receive an outrageous grin in reply.
Everyone who had been invited was currently going through a similar process of finding some small token to give to the girl who had touched their lives each in some small way. She might not think much of how she had interacted with them but they thought a great deal about how she comported herself and how she interacted with the people and world around herself. She had made quite the impact on the people that she had met and spoken with at length. They liked that it wasn't some conscious ploy on her part but that it was rather just part of who she was. It was a beautiful thing.
All of this was going on around her with Erisia having no inkling as to any of it. She had busied herself sketching and things of that nature. She filled one of the sketchbooks she brought with her with things that she would like to remember fondly while she was at the Academy… Of course if anyone ever saw any of the sketches there, she might have to answer some very odd questions, but hopefully her roommate would respect her privacy…
She paused in her sketching and decided to take a walk to stretch her legs and clear her mind. The Estate was quite large and its grounds quite sprawling. She took a walk among the flowering trees. She thought of her mother and wondered if the woman's spirit was here in soul society somewhere. Her mother wouldn't remember her, but she hoped that her mother was not having a hard time… that she was finding a peace in this life that she hadn't known when she had been in the living world.
She made her way out to a rock that was right in front of one of the trees, it made for a nice place to sit. She sat upon it, leaning her back against the trunk of the tree. She closed her eyes and turned her face up toward the warmth of the sun. Many things flitted through her head. She missed her mother terribly. She wondered also what her mother would think if she could see her daughter now. Here in this world, setting herself down a path to become a guardian of a sort. She was going to learn how to fight and use spirit magic to protect people. She thought her mother would probably be proud.
She wasn't really napping but she was gently dozing there against the tree. She had on a simple yukata that was a darker purple. Her hair was down, spilling about her shoulders. It was long enough to need pulled back now. She looked almost peaceful… her mind shifting through memories of her mother and also filling in with dreams of conversations that had never been able to take place..
In her dream, they were at a park her mother had taken her to… Erisia was sitting on one of the swings and her mother another.
"I miss you so much okaasan." Erisia says with a small sigh.
"I know my dear one… but you have grown up so well. I am always with you, you know."
"I know. It is just that these last several months have been quite difficult… So much has happened."
"Yet here you are… Stronger for the experiences. I am proud of you Eri-chan." Her mother says in a warm tone.
"I admit I am very nervous about what is coming. I have grown accustomed to living in Soul Society… I will miss the people I have come to know… And I worry about what will happen at the Academy. So many secrets and so many worries."
"You will be fine Erisia. I know this… Just have faith in yourself , do your best and I know that you will succeed. " Her mother coaxes.
Erisia smiled. "Still it is going to be another adjustment… and I will miss not seeing them every day."
"You mean you will miss not seeing Him everyday." Her mother chuckles.
Erisia couldn't help but blush at that. "I know it is probably silly of me… But there is just something so drawing about him. Did you know that I had dreams of his family crest before I ever met him? I have heard other people say that he is like and Ice Prince… but I do not find him that way. He is reserved and often stoic but there is so very much more to him than that. Perhaps it is a good thing I must leave soon for the Academy…" She sighs.
"I do not think that it is as one sided as you seem to believe. Just give it time, Erisia. Let it happen in its own time. It will be much sweeter that way."
The conversation continued in her dream, addressing all of the worries and concerns Erisia had been hiding…. But it was bittersweet enough that in the waking world, a single tear slid down her cheek. Since she had drifted off she was unaware of the world outside her dreamscape. She was still leaning there against the tree, one hand in her lap, the other had fallen to her side.
Byakuya found her like this… She looked so delicate just then. Like a china doll propped up there. He stayed back, watching her for a time… Things came unbidden to his mind. She looked so lovely, even in that simple purple yukata. Of course if he had to admit it to himself, she had looked quite lovely in simple Living World jeans and a t-shirt as well. So far, he would have to judge that she had looked the loveliest in the black kimono that looked like it was a piece of the night sky.
He shook himself from his inner thoughts. It was inappropriate to think in such a manner. Yet he had began to like having her in the house. It made it seem warmer somehow… It was then that he noticed the shimmer on her cheek and drew closer. He realized it was a tear and wondered what had caused it. Her face did not seem overly sad… Yet there was a slightly bitter note to her reiatsu. He almost felt ashamed of himself for standing her watching her like this… Yet he couldn't resist the temptation of the opportunity either.
Soon she would be at the Academy… and he would once more be virtually alone in the Estate… Why did that thought bother him at all? It would soon be dinner time so he resolved to put an end to his moment of weakness and to awaken her. "Erisia-san…" He calls out gently.
Dark lashes flutter against her cheeks… and a light blush creeps across her skin as she realizes she'd fallen asleep. She hadn't meant to… Of course she had pushed herself a great deal to get all of those paintings done so perhaps it was catching up to her. "I am sorry… I had not realized I was so tired. I came out for a walk and decided to sit and enjoy the scenery for a bit." She says quietly.
His eyes smiled at her though it did not touch his lips… "You are not the only one that has found the serenity here strong enough to pull one into its embrace." He says with something almost amused in his tone. "Dinner will be ready soon." He informs her.
"I am going to miss this place… when I go to the Academy." She says softly…looking down.
It was amusing that she had come to get so comfortable here considering how uncomfortable she had been at first. "There are breaks usually after the major tests.. You will be allowed to return here unless you'd rather stay at the academy."
"I will miss not having breakfast with you in the morning… and bringing you and Renji lunch." She chuckles.
"And we will miss you as well. But when you graduate from the Academy, Erisia you will be a Shinigami. You will be a formal part of a squad… You will be able to protect people… And you will be able to rejoin us for lunch again." He says in a strange tone. He hadn't really meant to admit that he would miss her as well… but it was in there. Everyone she had met and become acquainted with had been speaking of the fact that it was going to be strange not seeing her around while she was at the Academy.
An odd thought struck Erisia just then… She looks away… before cautiously looking back to him as she gathered the courage to speak the words… "Will I be allowed to return here after I graduate from the Academy?" She asks carefully.
Byakuya was actually a little caught off guard by the question. "If it is your wish, Erisia you will always be welcome here." He affirms. She might want to stay with whatever squad she was assigned, but if she really wished to return to the Estate… he would not stop her. And if a small part of him desperately hoped that she did return… Well that was a thought better left not acknowledge. He quickly shoved it away into a deep, dark corner of his mind…
"Thank you, Byakuya." She says with a small smile on her lips… Remembering that so long as they were alone she could call him by his given name.
Why did his chest feel ever so slightly tight when she spoke his name? He forced himself to not think of such a topic… It was just not his way. He was not this person. He might have been once upon a time but he could not be now… It would be for the best if this was left alone… But a small part of him, long since buried and reduced to but mere embers tried to keep that small desire alive.