'When you're in my company like this, you may call me Byakuya.'

The words hadn't fully sunk in.

Hisana stared at him, and he stared resolutely back.

He couldn't be serious?

Then again, in all the time she'd spent in his company, she'd never known him to joke either.

He'd asked her, as if asking for a favour. Yet a Captain asking you for a favour was as good as an order, especially when that Captain was head of one of the four noble families. Hisana wanted to ask him why, but she was sure that questioning his motive was considered just as rude as refusing to do it. His steely-slate gaze continued to bore into her until she bowed respectfully.

Taking that as confirmation of her request, Captain Kuchiki moved toward her, 'shall we get started?'

The truth was, Hisana had no intention of ever speaking to him so casually. She'd avoid ever having to use his name by never addressing him, she'd lapse into a similar amount of silence and mirror him in that regard.

'I'm scared I'll destroy your garden,' her head flew up and she felt her cheeks redden under his intense gaze when he raised an eyebrow at her.

'We will not be practicing Kido today,' he said calmly.

Hisana blinked owlishly at him, she wanted to question him, but didn't want to call him Captain in the process. The white scarf billowing round the vast expanse of his pale throat, he tucked his sharp chin closer to the fabric as he looked down at her. His eyes were soft, and Hisana was entranced by them. She stared at him and started when she felt his cool finger curling under her chin, tilting her head back. Her face moved willingly, pliant to his touch and where her skin met his, heat blossomed.

'You've not been sleeping.'

It should have shocked her, how he knew, but Byakuya Kuchiki was an astute man. The darkening of the skin under her eyes had clearly not gone unnoticed. The most surprising thing about this exchange, was how soft his gaze was as he considered her face. Taking prime opportunity, Hisana examined him in return. His cheeks were smooth even as he spoke. They held no roundness that might be expected of one who ate more than their due, nor the hollowness of a man who'd known hunger. The cheeks paved way to high, slanted cheekbones which guarded his eyes, framed by thick black lashes which fanned over his cheeks as he blinked.

His voice alone already made her knees weak, but being in such close proximity to him, made her mouth dry. Why did Hisana find it so hard to be close to him? It felt like the power he held over her had nothing to do with his rank or title, there was something deeper going on.

'When did the dreams start?' he asked.

He already knew about the dreams, of course he did. There was no point in lying to him, he'd only grow frustrated if she tried to cover them up. With a defeated sigh, Hisana closed her eyes.

'They started before I joined the academy, but they've been getting worse the past few months since we started our lessons.'

Hisana held her breath, her eyes still closed and relished the feeling of his curled finger under her chin, holding her in place.

'I see.'

He removed his finger and she opened her eyes to watch him taking a step back. There was a hard edge to his gaze again, and he was surveying her thoughtfully.

'Tell me about them,' he gestured to the engawa that was close to one of the open shoji doors at the back of the manor.

'I- I don't wish to bother you, Captain,' Hisana sighed lamely.

Captain Kuchiki shot her a look and she straightened, remembering that he'd asked her to call him by his first name. She categorically refused.

He considered her for a while then turned his back on her and made his way toward the engawa, sitting gracefully down on it and folding his hands on his lap before looking expectantly back at her. Hisana's squared shoulders sagged and she sighed in defeat. She had to pick her battles with him and this was one she wouldn't win. With a defeated air, she made her way over to sit down, trying her best to be graceful.

Byakuya waited patiently for her, and eventually Hisana told him of her dreams. She knew it was dreams of when she'd died and for the most part, the nightmares had been the same. The fire, the child slowly dying in her arms, her own fear for the life she was fighting to save, the man who appeared just moments before she lost consciousness.

'But the dreams have been getting stronger,' Hisana finally said, 'the fire seems more real, like its following me out of the dream and into reality. There's something behind the man that keeps calling out to me, something small, but I can never hear it.'

Captain Kuchiki regarded her, he'd called one of his servants for tea and he poured her a cup that now sat perched in her lap. The green liquid reflected the dark beams of the column close to the door. When Hisana glanced at him, he looked incredibly thoughtful, as if he were considering his next words carefully.

'May I see your zanpakuto?' he asked.

Hisana needed to stop being surprised by the things that came out of his mouth. She glanced nervously at him, but unsheathed her sword all the same. The Asauchi was passed over and Captain Kuchiki took it into his fingers, examining it closely. It looked the same as every other Asauchi that everyone at the Academy was loaned, she'd been told it would officially be given to her when she choose a division and graduated.

Hisana watched his long fingers stroke up the side of the blade gently, and his other hand move down toward the hilt. Each brush of his fingers against her sword sent a shiver down her spine, as if the zanpakuto was sharing his touches with her.

'Perhaps it is time,' he finally said, 'for you to ask your zanpakuto its name.'

'How do I do that?' she asked. They'd been taught of zanpakuto names and release forms at the Academy, even had a few demonstrated by their teachers, but she'd always assumed it was something she'd achieve way into the future, when she'd graduated and joined a squad. Captain Kuchiki turned and handed her back the sword, she watched with rapt attention as he stood and pulled his own blade from the sheath on his side. His blade was beautiful, elegant like him, with a pale lavender-blue hilt and a simple square cross-guard. Hisana felt her heart leap into her throat, was he about to spar with her?

Byakuya walked out onto the grass they'd been standing on earlier and lowered himself onto it with his zanpakuto out in front of him.

He straightened his back and looked back at her. Hisana scrambled clumsily to copy him, sitting cross legged in the grass opposite him with her blade set before her. Captain Kuchiki eyed her for a moment, then slowly closed his eyes and his body relaxed. Hisana glanced down at the blade in the grass, it was clear what she was expected to do, she had to meditate. It couldn't be too hard? She'd tried it a few times at the academy but it was always difficult due to the unruly classmates who liked to turn everything into a joke and could be heard giggling behind her.

Here there was no such distraction, so she closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind.

The only sounds that acted like an anchor were in his garden. Distant hiyodori squeaked their loud calls, each one trying to be heard over the other, only to be drowned out by the beautiful sounds of a bush warbler. The sound of water bubbled, and Hisana realised it must be from a smaller stream hidden somewhere in this private part of his garden. The sound was so faint that Hisana had to strain her ears for it.

'Relax, Hisana.'

The cool baritone voice was closer than Hisana had expected, and her thoughts rushed back, her eyes flitted open in shock. She turned her head to find Byakuya sitting much closer to her, his body at a ninety degree angle to where she sat. How on Earth was Hisana meant to relax when he was practically whispering in her ear? His voice like melted butter over a hot roll and Hisana should not be thinking of her Captain in that way.

'Relax,' he repeated, his voice softer, aware he'd distracted her. His hand reached up and he gently touched her shoulder which Hisana realised she'd tensed and hunched while trying to focus. She took a deep breath, raised her shoulders fully, then let them slump, she closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. It bothered her that she couldn't sense his presence at all, even as he sat so close, she could catch no smell from him, no trace of his spiritual pressure and no noise of him breathing.

Eventually everything began to fizzle away, and around her a horrible charred smell tickled her nose. In shock, her eyes flew open and she scampered to her feet. Hisana was no longer in the pristine gardens of Captain Kuchiki's garden. Her heart hammered in her chest, like the tiny wingbeats of a trapped bird in a cage. The room was blackened with ash, the old beams creaking under the weight of supporting the ravaged building. Hisana continued to look around. This couldn't be her inner world? Could it? She could imagine nothing worse than trying to communicate with her zanpakuto here.

What made things worse, she recognised the room she stood in. The wooden beam that lay across the floor, she knew was the same beam that had trapped her and the small life during the raging inferno. Hisana stood looking at the very spot, when she heard a creak of floorboards behind her and turned around. In the hallway, just beyond the charred, half-chopped door, was a black figure. It scampered out of view.

'Wait!' Hisana called after it and she took several steps forward toward the door, then hesitated, and turned back to the spot where she'd died.

She had a choice to make. Stay here trapped, forever in her nightmare of what might have happened to that child, looking for clues to learn if she'd survived or not, or to follow that shadow and wherever it was trying to lead her. The seconds ticked by, and Hisana was torn, her priority was to know what happened to the girl, but maybe the shadow could help? She turned back and ran after it. The door was tricky to get through, the black wood crumbled under her finger tips as she tried to slip through and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the charred remains of a mask just outside the room. The shadow, which had been waiting on the stair landing below, moved. With a hurried gasp, Hisana ran after it, throwing herself down staircase after staircase. Whatever it was, it was small and incredibly fast. Its lithe frame finally found an open window in one of the buildings lower levels and it jumped up and through the small space with ease. Hisana looked around, she was in one of the cleaning closets, the area had been marred by fire but not as badly as the upper floors. She pulled a large plastic bin toward the window and turned it upside down so she could safely climb on top of it. The window pushed open with ease, and the tight space meant she had to pass through on her belly, holding the window with one arm so it didn't shut back down on her face.

The temperature difference shocked her. Hisana pushed herself outside, expecting to find the heat of a sunny day and a dirty cement path below her, but it was thick with a blanket of snow. She shuddered, pushing herself through it and stood up, brushing the snow from her shihakusho as she went. The landscape was bleak, snow covered everything in a thick cover of white powder that Hisana had to wade through. The fire scorched building behind her, was the only evidence of life for miles, and the shadowy figure she'd been following had left no footprints anywhere for her to track.

'Hello!?' she called. The only thing she could see in the blackness of the skies above was a vast array of stars, which illuminated some of the evergreen trees in the distance.

'Perhaps you can hear me now,' the voice was masculine but with a pitch higher than that of Captain Kuchiki or her Academy teachers. Hisana whipped around, and found a red fox sitting on a mound of snow behind her. She watched in wonder, the way its tail blazed light embers, which flickered off toward the sky above.

'Who are you?' Hisana asked. Its bright eyes swirled, reds and oranges danced across its vision as if it's very eyes were on fire too, the only indication that it was looking at her were the two black slit pupils that peered up at her.

'You will learn my name soon. You're not ready yet, but you've taken the first steps away from your past and into your future and for that I commemorate you,' he dipped his red head, folding the white patch under his muzzle before he glanced back up at her.

'And this is my future?' Hisana asked, nodding to the barren landscape beyond the building.

'Does it displease you?' he asked.

Hisana considered it for a moment, looking across the snowy landscape. It beat being trapped in a wooden building that was on fire. She glanced back at the building, and how its charred top seemed to melt into the dark sky above. Despite the stars, the sky didn't seem to illuminate the world around her, it was incredibly dark, save for the glow of the snow.

'I wish it was a bit brighter,' she said with a sigh.

'Well now,' the fox was smiling at her, his eyes twinkling with the same fire that scorched his tail, 'that may be arranged.'

Hisana watched, transfixed as the fire on his tail began to spread, the embers burning up into the air, he stood and turned around, darting toward a nearby tree. Hisana scrambled after him, but she had to plough through the snow which he didn't sink into, and was quickly left behind. The fox reached the first tree and as he ran past it, it ignited, catching fire faster than Hisana had ever seen.

'No,' she felt her palms sweat, watching as he ran to the next tree, catching that on fire too, then its neighbour, 'NO!'

She glanced back at the building behind her. What if that little girl was in the forest somewhere, what if she was lost? Where could she have gone if not into the forest to seek shelter from both the blaze and the cold?

'Stop!' Hisana cried out, rushing forward, as tree after tree were set alight, 'STOP!'

She slipped and fell face first into the snow, the cold penetrated her chest, her lips, her neck and she gasped awake. Two strong arms had encircled her and she blinked up into the face of Captain Kuchiki, who's slate grey eyes were full of concern. Scrambling up from his embrace, Hisana choked on the warm air of his garden, she could feel the dew of her sweat sticking her hair to her face and her shitagi sticking to her back. Captain Kuchiki said nothing and Hisana greedily drunk the air as if starved for it. When she turned back, she could see him waiting patiently, his face smoothed into an impassive and blank expression.

'What was that?' Hisana asked, her hands clasping into the fabric of her shihakusho to stop them from shaking.

Captain Kuchiki regarded her before he spoke, 'it was your inner world, a place where you can go to speak with your zanpakuto's spirit. It will manifest itself into a physical form. Did you learn its name?'

Hisana took a few more calming breaths, her heart was still pounding, 'no,' she said. 'He never told me his name.'

Captain Kuchiki inclined his head as if he were interested but he didn't press the matter. They sat in silence for a while, though the silence wasn't awkward like it had been before. It felt comfortable, as if the silent invitation for her to continue hung in the air without pressure. Hisana was tempted to tell him more, but the truth was, she was ashamed.

It had been Hisana's job to save that girl, and she was scared that she'd failed.

Perhaps in this life, she could do better.

'I should head back,' Hisana said, taking a few steps toward where Yua had brought her earlier. Her legs shook violently but she was determined not to look weak in front of the Captain.

He didn't look convinced, standing to his full height he sheathed his own blade and picked hers up from the grass in a fluid motion and handed it back to her. Hisana took it, but it was much harder to hide the tremor in her hand when it held a blade. The zanpakuto rattled unsettlingly as she tried to steady it.

'You should stay here and rest,' he said.

'I don't wish to be a burden,' Hisana replied, bowing low. When she looked at him, she was sure she caught a flash of deep sadness etched into his young face, then it was gone.

'Stay with me, Hisana,' he said.

There was such longing in his voice, so much emotion that Hisana thought she might have drowned in it. There was no hint of a command, no authoritative manner in which he spoke to her, he spoke the words as if one may speak to a dying lover.

Her heart tightened in her chest, its pace slowing to a steady, comfortable rhythm. What reason could he possibly have for wanting a rat off the streets? Did he really mean those words? If he didn't, why did they sound so full of yearning?

'I-' Hisana hesitated. She felt that familiar pull toward him and once more, like she knew him.

Byakuya's eyes were quietly pleading with her, the steely-grey imploring under the delicate strands of silken black hair.

'Okay,' she relented, her shoulders slumping in defeat. Captain Kuchiki's features smoothed back into their usual impassive and unreadable expression. He nodded his head once, then stepped up onto the engawa and toward the room whose door had been open the entire time. Hisana followed, her legs shaking violently as she went. She felt like something had zapped her of all her reiatsu, even taking a few short steps left her with barely any strength. Shielding her eyes against the light as she stepped inside, her face blanched as she realised that this was his sleeping quarters. A futon was rolled out on the floor and a distant table held a barrage of paperwork and folders. The room smelled like ancient wood, leather bound books and ink, it smelled like him.

'Captain Kuchiki!' Hisana squeaked, feeling the heat climb up her face, but she couldn't stop herself as her eyes drunk in the sight of where his clothes had been hung up on hooks in a wall opposite. Spare Captain's haori's and obi sashes hung from racks that were only covered by a shoji door as Captain Kuchiki closed it.

'Hisana,' he said sternly and she glanced at him in fright, wondering if he had not intended to invite her inside.

Then she remembered that she'd been asked to call him by his first name.

She swallowed, her heart picking up pace in hr chest once more.

'Forgive me,' she said with a low bow.

There was a beats silence, where she held her pose, then she felt the familiar feel of his finger hook under her chin and lift her face up. She was met with those intense slate irises, the smooth marble of his perfect porcelain face.

'Say my name,' he ordered.

Hisana's heart was hammering faster now. She knew if she said his name out loud, into this private space, she was crossing a line. What right did she, a girl from the streets have, to call a noble clan leader by his first name? A Captain of the Gotei 13!

Yet the rebellious side of her was screaming it, something deep in her soul longed to say his name out loud in his private quarters, wanted to scream it to the world.

She wanted to be intimate with him in every way someone could.

'Byakuya,' she whispered, his name felt like a prayer as it left her lips.

And then he kissed her.