I hope y'all had an awesome Valentine's Day! Here's some semi-fluff for you!

Enjoy~


Chapter 14 (Shizuko)

Jirou knelt beside me, hand squeezing my thigh tightly. I held a cloth over his mouth, wiping away the blood and mucus that he had spluttered.

"I'm sorry you have to see me like this," He muttered.

"Stop that," I set the cloth aside and fixed the shawl he was wearing, "I'm your wife. If you can't be sick around me then who?"

He only smiled at me, reaching up to touch my cheek. Love and adoration was all I saw in his glazed eyes, and it made me sad. This man, who had fallen in love with me, was now dying and I had not returned that same love. I had come to adore Jirou—any two people who were forced to be in each other's company for as we had were bound to—but what I felt wasn't love for a man. It was more love for a dear friend. I felt guilty.

"How was work?" He asked as he attempted to stand. I stopped him and called for the maid to bring us some tea, "I heard the maids talking about squad requests. What did they mean?"

No one in the Tsunayashiro Family had been in the Gotei for quite some time, and so not many of them understood the inner working of the Court Guard Squads. Having grown up with a seasoned warrior and a family who ran one of the squads, I was short of being an expert and more than willing to explain. It had been the only thing we could talk about when we were first married—a neutral topic that I could talk anyone's ear off about.

"I still need to be assigned to a Squad. Some Squads have requested me to join theirs because they like my skillset—and my connections," He chuckled as I added the last part in. The maid set the tea aside and I poured him and I both a cup, "I get to choose which one."

"Which Squads have asked for you? Which ones are you interested in?"

I sipped at my tea while I thought about the best way to answer. Jirou was very fond of Byakuya, and although he understood that I wasn't, he didn't know exactly why. I would never tell him that my marriage to him was the straw that broke the camel's back. And I was worried that he might ask me to join Squad Six to strengthen the ties between our families further.

"I'm joining my mother's squad," I grinned, "Squad Eleven."

He looked at me with wide eyes, "Isn't that the violent one?"

"Only for the ones who get in their way," I poured him some more tea, "Drink this. You're coughing because your chest is getting cold, Jirou."

I stood up and fetched one of my shawls. He needed another one and I had the perfect one to warm him up quickly. I draped it on his shoulders and was about to walk away when he grabbed my wrist. I yelped as he pulled me down into his lap.

"Jirou!" I chided him but grew quiet as he cupped my face again.

His fingers moved to my obi, untying the knot and pulling the collar open. I shivered against his fingers as he whispered, "Say my name again, Shizuko."

I stared at him for a moment before I leant down. His skin was like honey-colored silk against my lips. One of my favorite kimonos to wear in the fall was the color of his skin, speckled with red, Japanese maple leaves. And just like the fine material of that kimono, I ran my fingers along the smoothness of his skin, quietly opening up his collar to reveal the expanse of his chest.

The doctors had declared him infertile due to his illness, and the one time I had become pregnant it had only been for a month. Still, it never stopped him from trying. And I wouldn't deny him that chance—not just because I was his wife and it was expected of me, but because he was a sick man who wanted a legacy; something in this world that would remind people of him.

I grasped his chin in my fingers and brushed my lips against his, "Jirou…"

I undressed him quietly and pulled him on top of me. The floor was cold and hard against my back, pressing into my shoulder blades. As he explored my body, I pushed the teapot further away and shut my eyes.

"Jirou."


He was fast asleep when I rose and dressed for work. Before I left for the Seireitei, I made sure one of the maids made him another pot of tea and to slip his medicine into it. He had stopped taking it months ago, after he found out that he was going to die regardless, but I had been making him take it without his knowledge.

In many ways, I would miss him when he passed on. He had become sick early into our marriage and I had been there for him throughout its brutal course. It had made us grow closer than most arranged marriages, and although I respected his wishes, this one I could not. There was a very large question mark as to what would become of me once he passed away, and I needed to align my cards before that time came.

The Kuchiki Elders had already tried to stop me from joining the Gotei, but the Tsunayashiro Family had supported my decision. Still, I wasn't belonging to a squad yet. My future was a proverbial see-saw until I had solidified a position in a squad.

Which meant it would be one where the Kuchiki's had no influence.

As I reached Squad Eleven, I came across Captain Zaraki. Although he had known me since I was born, he had never bothered to remember my name. Instead, I was called by the ridiculous nickname his lieutenant had given me—

"Missus Brownie!"

"Lieutenant," I bowed, "Captain."

She jumped on my shoulder as Zaraki nodded at me, "You headed to your mother, Brownie?"

I nodded, "Yes, sir. I'm here to check the status of my squad request."

"It's been approved. I signed it this morning," He grunted, "Your mother made sure of it."

"Missus Brownie is not nearly as scary as The Hollow," Yachiru giggled.

She had thought her nicknames were very clever. Zaraki had loved my mother because she had always been rough and aggressive—empty, as he liked to call it—and so Yachiru had come to the conclusion that she was more akin to a Hollow than anything else. As for me, my hair apparently reminded Yachiru of a blond brownie. It was a candy I had yet to try, so I chose to take her word that it was tasty.

Just then, Yumichika appeared by my side. Normally, I would be thrilled to see him but his face was quite serious, "You have orders."

"Me?" I pointed at myself and he nodded, "Orders for what—"

"Orders to fix whatever the hell you've got going on with your hair!" He screamed, waving his hands at my hair like it was a travesty, "Honestly, Shizuko, I thought I had raised you better than this! It's all loose and boring—did you not have time to do anything with it this morning?"

As a matter of fact, I hadn't. I had woken up later than usual because Jirou had kept me up quite late the night before. And the blush that had spread across my cheeks must have told him just that, because his face shifted from disappointed anger to a Cheshire grin at a breakneck pace.

"Ah, I see," He slung his arm around my shoulder and pulled me towards his office, "I was going to offer you to join Ikkaku and I at the training grounds. But it seems that you've already got your workout in."

Even though I couldn't have been more embarrassed, I couldn't help but add, "If that's the case then I don't think I need to train for the rest of the week."

He was howling and clapping me on the back hard. To only add to my utter mortification, he told some version of this to every squad member we passed. And they all cheered and clapped me on the back too—as though these weren't the men and women who had seen me grow from a little girl holding her mother's hand around these squad grounds to who I was now.

By the time we had reached his office, half the squad had been informed of my marital duties. Yumi poured me a cup of sake and winked at me, "You're a good sport, Shizuko."

"Thanks, asshole," I muttered as I took a sip. Not even noon and I was having a drink. I was definitely in Squad Eleven.

He smiled at me fondly and said something that made me grin from ear to ear, "You're going to do just fine here, kid."

For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was looking up to the sunlight breaking through the clouds.


Several months later…


"Excuse me?"

"Ma'am—Squad Six has requested that you join them on an arrest in the World of the Living," The Shinigami from the Kuchiki Squad repeated himself, "More details will be provided to you upon acceptance."

"I've only been a Shinigami for eight months," I was quite sure he had the wrong person. Perhaps he was looking for my mother?

"Your tracking abilities are required."

I nodded slowly and looked over at Jirou. He was just as surprised as I was. Nevertheless, I took the orders from the Shinigami and thanked him for making the journey out to our estate.

Jirou peered over my shoulder as I sat down beside him, "What does it say?"

I opened it up and saw that it was indeed meant for me. A request from Byakuya to accompany him and his lieutenant to the World of the Living to track an individual. They didn't want to involve the Squad Two Trackers because the warrant was issued to—

I folded the request and slipped it into my beside drawer. Jirou stared at me with wide eyes as I stood up and paced the room.

"Who was it?" He asked but I was too shocked to give him an answer, "Shizuko."

"It—It's nothing…" I lied, settling back into the bed beside him. I looked over at him and added, "Byakuya has asked me to go with him to the World of the Living."

"Oh!" He beamed and then remembered my feelings towards Byakuya and adjusted his expression, "Oh. Will this be a problem?"

I looked forward and shrugged, "No…it won't be comfortable but he'll most likely ignore me like I will him. It's just that…what about you?"

His health had drastically declined in the past months since I had joined Squad Eleven. Not even the medicine was working anymore, and he had been bedridden for weeks. I usually took him out into the gardens to get fresh air after work, but I would be gone for at least a week. I didn't want to be too far away from him when he was on Death's doorway.

As if on cue, he began a fit of coughs. I held a handkerchief over his mouth and rubbed his back. After a couple minutes, he finally was able to catch his breath again. I could feel his pulse racing as his heart struggled to keep going.

"Shizuko…you've been such a faithful wife. I've never known a woman to be as strong as you," He patted my hand and smiled, "When you were a geisha, I admired how independent you were. It's why I wanted to become your patron—to give you the ability to be everything you could be without being tied down."

"Jirou…" I whispered, feeling my nose prickle with the urge to cry. I wrapped my arms around him and drew him close.

"When I found out that your Elders wanted to take that away…I couldn't bare it. The thought of such a beautiful bird such as yourself being clipped of its wings—it broke my heart," He cleared his throat and coughed into his handkerchief, "So when I found out I was the one they wanted you to marry, I knew that I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I wanted you to be as independent as you had been as a geisha—which I feel that I have."

"You have," I nodded, "You've been a wonderful husband. You let me become a Shinigami even when there were reservations—"

"Which is why I don't mind you going," He wiped the tears that fell from my cheeks, "I haven't held you back before, Shizuko, and I refuse to do so now."

"But…" My face began to crumple, "What if you…"

"If I die then I die. I have made peace with my fate—though I do appreciate you slipping my meds into the tea," He glanced at me with a smirk, "You cheeky girl."

I began laughing and he did too. He fell asleep shortly after but I stayed wide awake. I was torn between staying by his side and going on the mission like he wanted. My mind raced with all the possible outcomes all while the night bled away. And as the sun rose, I knew that I had to go to the World of the Living. Jirou was right—his dice had been cast—but the one whose name was on that report hadn't been.

Rukia Kuchiki.


A/N: Shit is gonna be getting so spicyyyyyy