Disclaimer: ………………………………

-yawn-

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…Oh. Oh, yeah. Uhm. Not mine. Mhm.

-continues staring contest with opposing lawyer-

So, uh…got any coffee on ya?

(Officially the most random disclaimer I've conceived yet. O.o)

"You need not…be perfect…here."

The words flit into being and flicker out as quickly, eaten by the soft whisper of a passing breeze almost as soon as they had been created, so that for all the world it could have merely been a patter of leaves, a plink of water. Yet still, he knew they had been there; that, for the shortest of times, they had been real, and had held meaning.

This place was empty of any visible form of human life.

But he wasn't alone.

No…he was among an entire throng of other individuals.

Their voices rose and fell like a faraway tide; soft, quiet, distant, almost nonexistent. But there all the same. Whispers, thousands upon thousands of whispers…each one a different voice, a different individual, but at the same time speaking the same words, each one meaning the exact same thing. As one, living being with one, multi-chorded voice. It was like standing in the midst of a massive, invisible choir, feeling the passing of each softly sung note as it fluttered by, always straining for the melody, always never quite catching it in time before it was gone forever, swallowed by reality.

And yet, if he stood just a bit stiller, and breathed just a bit lighter, and stopped trying quite so hard, the voices washed over him, and he could snag and understand the words that drifted by.

Reflecting over the matter later, Byakuya Kuchiki found that, ironically, catching the words Senbonzakura spoke was almost like trying to snag a sakura petal floating on a gentle, quickening breeze, always attempting to dance and flit just out of the reach of his straining, eager fingers. Rest assured, the euphoria of actually obtaining one was certainly the same here. As was the difficulty.

Thus he stands, stock still, in the heart of his inner world, and he picks out those six words out of the thick tide that surges over him. And, at the same time, puzzlement follows the defining of the statement.

"Perfect?"

Whispers.

"…No man is perfect. Much less myself. You are mistaken, Senbonzakura."

Another sighing breath of wind, a cool twilight breeze that ruffles the distant leaves far, far above.

"And yet…you try to be…perfect. You try…you try very hard…"

Byakuya frowns.

"To be a noble is not to achieve perfection. It is a matter of etiquette. A requirement."

"So be it, then…" The voices rise again, a distant chant. Possibly amused. Possibly condescending. Possibly mournful. He finds himself unable to tell. The murmur of the leaves blends in the air too well. "But still…noble's etiquette…holds no root. Not here."

His frown deepens.

"I do not understand."

"…You do not need…to stand so straight…or frown so much. It is…safe…here."

"Safe?"

"Yes…safe…to do what you wish…"

"What more would I possibly wish to do?"

"…To show…feeling…perhaps. You…need no façades here…we know your thoughts well…you need not hide them…"

This world is a place of twilit shadows, a realm where the sun rarely rises, the sky frozen in a suspended state of night on the verge of day, and the velvety navy celestial expanse speckled with soft stars always just about to fade into the blush of a morning that will seemingly never come. Thus the world that spreads out beneath this sky is a place of stillness and silence, a huge expanse of silver water predominantly shadowed by the towering profiles of trees…trees that seem old beyond years, unimaginably tall, their dark, gnarled trunks spanning the width of many men standing shoulder to shoulder. Their roots reach down deep, deep into the still silver water, invisible to the world above the surface, while their crowns span high, as high as the highest tower, silver-pink clouds of blooming flower shifting in the soft light of the stars. And it is from these high crowns that that the petals come, each one as delicate and luminous as a dewdrop on a leaf. The petals fall, ever so softly, fluttering gently down through the air, until one's breath is thick with the tears of cherry blossoms. And where the still water is not shadowed by the trees or clouded by fallen petals, one can see the predawn heavens, each swirl and cloud and star reflected perfectly, a mirror image of the expanse above.

The undeniable sensation of being alone here was almost overwhelming. And yet the whispers were still there, blending and drifting among the spiraling petals. It would seem that, indeed, a person could do whatever he wanted here.

But Byakuya Kuchiki did not want to do anything in particular. He was holding no façade. He was hiding no feeling.

"…You are mistaken, Senbonzakura. I have nothing to hide. This is what I am."

"Is…that so?" The chorus seems to grow louder for a moment, almost real. "But there was a time…when the sun was always in the sky. There was a time…when noble's etiquette did not matter. There was a time…when you were happy. And you were not even here…"

Hurt? Loss? Or a simple, weary telling-off? The voices had grown stronger, ever so briefly, but even then he could not read the emotion in them. There were too many…as many emotions as there were sakura petals…

"We are your emotions…Byakuya Kuchiki…we are scattered…we are waiting…for you to pick us up anew…"

He could see himself, reflected in the mirror-like surface of the water stood upon. He could see the pale, stolid, unreadable face that gazed back with empty, coal-black eyes.

He was holding no façade…

This is simply how he is…

"I was a fool when I was young. If that is what you mean."

"…You were a…happy fool." Reproach? "And then they put the world…on your shoulders…a world you did not want…a world you never wanted…"

"It is my duty. It remains my duty. I have no regrets."

"But we do…"

For a moment, he bowed his head.

And then he sighed.

"We have much to learn about each other…Senbonzakura…"

"Perhaps…you need only to learn…about yourself…for you seem to have forgotten…"

"I know who I am."

"And so did we…once…"

"…It has been a pleasure meeting you, Senbonzakura." At length, he finally stirred. Turned. Began to walk away. "I must depart now. I feel my time for meditation is almost gone. I have things to attend."

"…Pick us up…and we will fight for you…remember…"

For a split second he paused - the slightest hitch in an otherwise eloquent step.

A soft, almost indistinguishable ripple ghosted across the silver surface of the water.

Then he continued on, not looking back.

And the whispers rustled, and flitted, and then faded into a soft wind in passing.

They did not arise anew.

Senbonzakura is patient.

And that is all that is needed in the end, really, when dealing in the mind of Byakuya Kuchiki.

Patience.

For, rest besides, what does one really expect a caged bird to do, when the cage is opened, and the path to freedom is suddenly and abruptly opened and free for the taking? If the bird has been caged recently, then of course it will immediately fly out, and fly away, because it still remembers how to traverse the sky, and find its way home, and live its life again. But a bird that has been caged for a long while will hesitate, for it has been many years since it has spread its wings, its home is nothing more than a distant memory, and its life without its caretakers seems difficult and terrifying now.

But in time…eventually…the bird will fly free. Perhaps hesitantly, perhaps with trepidation and fear, but at the same time with a resolve to try it one more time, to give it a chance…to take back that joy that had been lost before.

Senbonzakura knows that they alone cannot free Byakuya Kuchiki from the shackles of a noble family. But they also know that, if they cannot provide a door for the cage, they can at least put a little reminder of home, a little taste of the sky, within the dungeon.

And, in the end, it will be down to Byakuya to decide whether to take it or not.

But, of course, he will, the salvation-starved bird that he is. Perhaps with a tight mouth and slightly flushed cheeks, and denial every step of the way.

But he will.

…Eventually.

And Senbonzakura will do all they can to protect him until that time comes.

A/N: Yes! Finally, a chapter I feel somewhat content about. :D

As has been shown, I'm one of those who believe that Senbonzakura is not one entity, but many, multiple entities with the same mind and purpose - during his battle with Ichigo in the Soul Society arc, Byakuya refers to Senbonzakura as a 'they'. Not a 'he'. Or a 'she'. So, being the tenacious writer I am, I latched onto that hint like a rabid plot bunny…and thus the chapter was born. Of course, I could still be wrong, but hey. -shrugs- Then again, the multiple reference makes some of this sound a bit awkward, such as the last section of this chapter, but I'm still happy. :) So there! Bwahaha!!

Ehm…feeling kinda sleepy today. -.- Pardon any…weirdness in this chapter, if there was any. A woozy brain makes for precarious typing. If I'm mistaken about anything, people are free to let me know. I'm honestly too happy to care at the moment.

Anyway, on to the thank-you's!

Cymru na Alethaira, wisdom-jewel, rldragon, St. Kitsune, D R A G O N L I L I E S, Moonrise31, crap-lordess, hu3long2, and Alliriyan (three times over 8D) are all thus bestowed with tokens of thanks! And thus the body of bold is slowly growing…