Aloof Compassion
To Eris

The Kuchiki family head walked silently through the corridors of the manse that covered a good acre of the interior of the city in which it lay in. Each turn leading into a few more rooms and more hallways, he always thought to himself how he felt like a mouse in a large maze looking for an unseen prize. But that was never the case, for the hundreds of years he lived here, he had memorized each and every room and their function. He simply passed the rooms that greeted him and proceeded to leave through a large wooden door at the end of the hall.

Unstopping, Byakuya made his way through the front gate of his estate and worked his way into the infinitely large and confusing corridors of the soul society. Several soul reapers he passed gave him a curt bow of respect, some saying 'good day captain Byakuya' or some saying nothing at all; Each of their pleasantries met with only silence. The long road stretched on and on, as if he was going in circles, sometimes he met a dead-end, he found himself hopping over the wall onto the other side.

Finally, he reached his destination, an area free of buildings, but only lay home to a broken stake and a large un-used gate. He stared at the door for a while before a gentle breeze caught his attention, "Unohana Retsu. How long have you been following me?" he addressed the wind.

A soft gentle voice filled the same wind, "I have only just arrived Captain of the sixth division." The voice grew slightly louder as the strong spiritual energy moved its way to the Sixth division captain's left. "You still can handle her being away, can you?" She asked gently, careful not to tear open any wounds that were still open in his heart.

He met her question with silence.

"I see. She reminds you of her, doesn't she?" She asked again, with a bit more force behind her voice.

Again, silence.

She bowed her head softly, and kneeled down onto the ground, cupped some of the dirt in her hand and let it go into the wind.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" He asked emotionlessly.

The women's head perked up softly, standing up she looked at her fellow captain, "That's a surprise." She said barely above a soft whisper, "You actually care for where I am."

Byakuya closed his eyes and gave her no response.

Unohana unbraid her hair that was around her neck, letting it loose into the wind, allowing it to dance in the soft breeze. "Admittedly or not, you have changed Captain Byakuya." She commented.

He nodded, "So what if I have? What business of it is yours?"

Smiling, Unohana tilted her head gently, "Absolutely none."

Silence filled the empty air once again, as she turned back and looked at the gate, no words came to mind, no one else really knew it at the time, nor did anyone ever really try to find out. But deep down, Byakuya always had this deep aloof compassion for his fellow captain. Maybe not love, but a deep unbreakable friendship wove between both of them.