AN: Hi, everyone! Thank you for your reviews! I have to say, this is personally one of my favourite chapters. It's weird liking your own stuff. I really don't, usually. Anyway – theme number thirteen! Enjoy!

13. Excessive Chain

It began with a letter.

Byakuya Kuchiki stood on the bridge he was accustomed to meeting Hisana at and found a letter addressed to him. It was from Hisana explaining that she couldn't let him keep coming out at night to talk to her, that she was angering his house and didn't want him to get into trouble because she was a resident of Rukongai.

He observed the letter with his usual unaffected manner before placing the letter in his robes and using shun-po to leave. Hisana peered from her hiding spot up on a roof a few buildings away and felt her heart grow heavy. She sat back and looked up at the moon. It was so large and milky white. It made the night beautiful, even though Hisana couldn't bear to look at any of it.

'It was for the best. He was suffering unnecessarily because of me. And… I'm not even sure what we were anyway. And it wouldn't have become anything; we were from two different worlds. It would never have been allowed,' her thoughts deluged through her head. Her rationalisation made her sigh heavily.

"Time to let things go," she whispered, getting up.

She turned and stopped short. Directly behind her was a letter. Hisana began to feel sick with fear and excitement.

'Had he really…?'

Hisana picked the letter up and carefully unfolded it, looking around for any sign of Byakuya. She was sure no-one else could have done it.

Hisana,

Your letter was thoughtful, but ultimately a lie. If you truly held to your words, why would you watch me from that roof?

Her face contorted with cursing herself. She should have known better, but she couldn't help herself. Hisana stopped scrunching her eyes from berating herself and returned to the letter.

Shall this become a game we play? I don't think I will find it particularly interesting if I spend my nights searching Rukongai for your hiding place.

Tomorrow,

Byakuya Kuchiki

Hisana sighed. Even in letters he couldn't admit how he felt about her. If he really wanted to see her again, he should have put it in this letter. But he was too proud for that, which she was well aware of. Too aware. She also noted the cheek of putting his full name, as if she didn't know who he was! He was the one who had pointed out she still spoke to him as if he was her master, indirectly hinting he wished she would address him more informally. It was probably because she referred to him by surname in the letter she had left.

"Well, if I have to hide in Rukongai to get you to give up and live the peaceful life you were meant to, Kuchiki-sama, then I'll play," she muttered, climbing down from the roof.

She was sure he'd underestimated her skills to hide in the sprawling mass that was Rukongai. Planning for tomorrow night, she disappeared into the dark.

Byakuya returned the next night to once again find the bridge deserted with a letter. He forced a sigh away and opened it up.

Kuchiki-sama,

Your letter was a surprise, but don't think that's put me off my intentions. Find me if you want to, but don't think it's easy. Live a peaceful life and forget about me – it'll save you so much trouble in the long run.

Hisana.

Certain he was alone, he sighed. Hisana was troublesome. When would she realise how he felt? He didn't hold long nightly conversations with just anyone, nor did he pursue people he didn't care about, unless they harmed him or someone he cared about in some manner. He couldn't understand what her problem was, as any effect the house had on him would not affect her at all. She had nothing to worry about, and he was the head of the house. The house could complain all they liked, but if Byakuya had set his mind on something, it could not be changed by anything but himself.

He put the letter in his robes and focused on the reiatsu in the air. Though she had lied in her first letter, so had he, Byakuya admitted. The game they had started would be exceedingly interesting. He had spent so much time with her he knew what her reiatsu felt like, regardless of how weak it was.

Byakuya could tell she had decided to run far, but shun-po made travelling around Rukongai child's play. It only took him an hour to pick three spots to sense reiatsu in order to triangulate her location. Then he silently approached.

Sure enough, she was on someone's balcony, clearly on high alert. She couldn't see him, and he knew she was incapable of sensing his reiatsu when he wanted to conceal it. He stood serenely on the roof he spied her from and took out a letter he had already written. With ease he used shun-po to appear behind her, put down the letter and disappear. He waited for her to notice the letter, apparently panic, then settle down and read the letter, before returning to Seireitei.

And so it went on. Hisana couldn't believe how quickly he found her, or how he could place his letters so close to her without her noticing. It was the fourth night and the letters had become increasingly more angry and candid on her end, while his retained his composure. This only served to make her even angrier. She ranted about how he would never say what he really meant and that if he would just explain how he stood with her, then it would make the whole situation easier. Hisana told herself she said that so she could hear that he considered her a friend and then she could leave him and rest in peace. She tried to ignore the part of her that hoped that he would tell her he wanted her as something more.

His letters only restated that he was bored by her game and would see her at the bridge the next night. And nothing more; never anything more. Hisana was sure this was a sign he just wanted the person he spoke to back to continue on as before, even when she wanted something different.

She finally decided that writing a letter had been a mistake and that she should have told him in person. So that night she waited at the bridge. She readied herself to explain why she had to leave him alone and for him to respect her wishes before walking away. And that would be that.

The night was cloudy and dull. It was difficult to see, and it put her on edge. The incident that occurred at the bridge never left her. The fear and pain wrenched at her heart when she let herself think about it for even a moment. She turned her mind back on to what she would say to Byakuya.

"You finally decided that the game was up." Hisana spun around and found Byakuya at the edge of the bridge.

"Kuchiki-sama! I…" but her words had completely left her.

He approached and Hisana panicked over what she should do.

"I found your letters rather… informative," he told her, and she cringed. It was so easy for her to vent her feelings when he wasn't there talking to her.

"So you wish me to 'say what I mean, dammit'?" he smoothly quoted, now only inches away from Hisana. She opened her mouth, despite not having anything come to her mind to say. Should she apologise, or say that she would go – she couldn't think. He was looming over her, his blue-grey eyes focused on her own eyes. It was slightly scary. She couldn't look away.

Byakuya appeared to note her inability to speak or react and decided to continue.

"I am afraid I'm not very good at 'just telling the plain truth', though I was surprised that my 'fancy truth' makes you uncertain what I mean. However…"

He stepped forward and Hisana stepped back. He gave her a blank look before relaxing and stepping forward again. Without preamble, he drew her into his arms and kissed her. Hisana wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted, nor did she care. She was too lost in it, and too lost wondering what was happening.

'Where… did this come from?' she vaguely thought before his lips drew away. His hands absently slid to her waist before he finally let her go.

"Did you ever consider that actions speak louder than words?"