Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
A/N: I can't wait for that day.
Waiting
It seemed like an eternity, the time that she's been gone. The time where he unwillingly let her go.
"Otsukare-sama desu! Good luck on your test tomorrow Hisana-chan!" her classmate and bestfriend, Nise's parting words as they separated ways. Tomorrow would be Hisana's final exam, and after passing it, she'll be able to enter the Gotei 13 and be recruited into one of the Divisions. "Speaking of which, I wonder which division will choose me?" she speculated, "although I would prefer it if it's the 13th Division, with their very kind and sweet Captain and all." She giggled. Tomorrow is a start of a new chapter, and she's full of confidence that she'll pull it through, and she'll be an official shinigami.
She walked through the busy streets surrounding the Academy, cheerfully greeting almost everyone she knows and passing through the road lined with Sakura Trees. Like every time she passed through that lane, Hisana would always feel this deep longing for something, akin to missing something or someone badly. The first time that she passed through that place, she was so surprised by the intensity of that yearning that tears just started to fall. And until now, 4 years later, that same longing seemed to increase even further, sometimes bringing her to her knees. This phenomenon, the whole of it, is still an enigma to Hisana. What could that thing possibly be? What is she wishing for so much? What or Who is it which reminds her so much of Cherry blosoms?
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"Rukia," Abarai Renji, 6th Division's fukutaichou (as if you don't already know) called over to his longtime girlfriend who is currently busy drawing some aliens.
"Hm? What is it?"
"Kuchiki-taichou seems to be extremely busy these past few days." He relayed his observations to the said captain's sister. It's been bugging him for days already, how his captain would always work his ass off without taking any breaks or anything. That hasn't happened before, Byakuya would work on work hours and go home and rest when it is time to.
"He's always busy." Rukia replied, too busy to actually pay attention, even if it's regarding her adoptive brother.
"No, this time's different. He is EXTRA BUSY. That's why I'm wondering what's up."
"Let's just wait a bit, something might just come up, ne? OH, and Recruitment for new shinigamis is approaching right? That must have given him some extra work."
Renji just sighed. How can he say it? Byakuya has been so busy working that there was no work left for his subordinates to do. Paperworks and Fieldworks alike, their captain would handle them all like crazy and then hurry off to the next mission. If he'd known better, their captain is trying to take his mind off some things, and trying so hard not to remember those things. That's how men full of pride usually handle things that are out of their control right? When they want to forget something painful, they drown themselves into something completely different and would not remind them of the problem. Like alcohol, or in his Taichou's case, work.
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She is happily skipping along the Cherry Lane when she caught sight of him. Knowing full well that the man in front of her is a formidable shinigami, she decided to go past him unnoticed. He seemed dazed as well, so it might be easy. But Hisana could not help but admire the mysterious man's physique. Standing in the middle of the road, with cherry blossoms floating around him, he created a magical scene portraying the exact emotions that she has always felt, longing. Intense, deep longing. And as if those emotions took physical forms, she felt it coursing through her body. It shouldn't have been possible, for her to feel another soul's pain, but indeed, she was brought to knees by this man's. And although she may not have known him then, tears began to fall. The man seemed to notice her distress, being pulled out from his private world by her moan of anguish. He quickly turned to see who was it, and was shocked, no, more than shock… His face, stoic for years and years, formed something utterly new yet old. He smiled.
"Are you okay?" he knelt down beside the woman, fighting the urge to just hug her and sweep her away. He could not do that, she still haven't had her recollections of him.
Hisana looked up, her violet eyes brimming with tears, and came face to face with the man whose face was so perfect, her heart skipped a beat. "I-" she stuttered, "I'm fine." She quickly gathered herself and stood up, trying so hard not to blush under his intense gaze. She really wants to run away now, this man scares her in the best way possible. And she did, she ran away as Byakuya Kuchiki just stood there, staring dejectedly at her back. At last.
That night, neither of them fell asleep.
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Hisana wasn't the social type, so she barely knew all of the Gotei 13 Officers, and also the reason why she's forever wondering why the said officers keep on giving her weird glances. She, along with her batchmates, are lined up for the Recruitment Day. Some of the Division's captains are so busy that only representatives of the Division's were present, with the exception of Unohana-taichou and Ukitake-taichou. She would've gladly presented herself in front of those two captains, but something pushed her back. The way those two had looked at her, as if there were some flicker of recognition, then excitement, and then unexplainable happiness. She was so surprised, and excited at the same time, because she assumed that they must be pleased with her, but it wasn't what she expected. Unohana and Ukitake didn't ask for her name, nor her acceptance for the recruitment.
Another thing was the 6th Division representative who kept on staring at her it was making her uncomfortable. Finally, the red-haired shinigami approached her. "Uhm, the 6th Division would be honored to have you in our team, Hisana-dono." Wondering how he could have known her name, she dumbly nodded. 6th Division is famous for their sophistication and flawless battle plan and teamworks. And yet, she felt as if she needed to be there.
It is now Hisana's first day in the 6th Division barracks, and nervous as hell. It seemed like there is going to be a ceremony for the newcomers, where their captain would say something or something like that. They are now gathered in front of a makeshift stage where the red-haired man who recruited her is standing. It turned out that he is their fukutaichou. "This is Gotei 13's 6th Division, specializing in tactical combats and special operations, and our captain is Kuchiki Byakuya, the head of the Kuchiki clan, one of the 4 leading clans in Seireitei." She heard him say, but nothing registered in her mind, except for their captain's name. And when he emerged from somewhere, scenes from long ago surfaced in her vision. This man, her, lifetimes ago, but is still fresh in her memory. It's as if the mere mention of his name, and his presence pulled something from deep within her. Her memories.
"B-byakuya!" she cried out, running towards his now smiling form. The world seemed to vanish around them, clichéd as it may be.
They haven't noticed the shock in the faces of the new recruits, and the tears that is in every face of those who know them and went to witness how it will unfold, and the happy faces of those who had watched carefully on how this tragic love would end. "At last," Unohana-taichou's teary remark, from which Yamamoto-genryuusai responded, "Kuchiki-taichou's waiting seemed to have come to an end."