Author's Note: Takes place shortly after Chapter 21
"What are you looking at, Byakuya-bou?" Byakuya startled slightly at the sound of Yoruichi's voice but didn't turn around.
"Hisana is telling Ganju-kun a story. It's a new one this time," he said softly, taking in the scene of Hisana delving into the tale of how Hercules—what a strange name—had defeated the multi-headed hydra, animatedly motioning with her hands and changing her voice to suit each character as her captivated audience drank in every word.
"Ah. She is good at those, isn't she?" Yoruichi mused, pausing to stand beside Byakuya in the doorway. "She'll be a wonderful mother someday."
Byakuya swallowed, throat suddenly feeling dry as something like yearning left an ache in his chest. "Yes she will."
What would her children look like? Byakuya wondered. Would they inherit her eyes? That would be nice. And she was so beautiful; the more they inherited from her, the better. He could almost picture it, if he closed his eyes. Having a bunch of mini-Hisanas with wide violet eyes and bright smiles that ran up to him and called him—
"Byakuya? Shihouin-taicho? What are you two doing, standing in the doorway?" Hisana asked curiously, interrupting his thoughts.
"We didn't want to disturb you," Yoruichi explained smoothly. "And Ganju-kun seemed so absorbed in the story that we didn't want to risk interrupting it."
"Oh, don't worry about that. I love a bigger audience," she laughed, reaching out to ruffle Ganju's hair as the boy blushed bright red. "Come in, there's plenty of room here. We were just getting started on another story anyway."
"Might want to stop by the kitchen first. I think Kukaku wanted your help on something," Yoruichi said. Hisana's eyes widened in alarm.
"Oh dear. I should probably go before she manages to burn down the house, or poison us all," she muttered. "The cookies and muffins should be almost done anyway. Ganju-kun, run ahead and get Kukaku away from anything even vaguely explosive, okay?"
"Had experience with Kukaku's cooking, I see," Yoruichi grinned.
"The most painful kind," she grimaced slightly. "Did you want me to get you anything, Shihouin-taicho?"
"A bit of everything, if you will," Yoruichi yawned, walking over to sit down on a sofa.
"Byakuya? What about you?" Hisana asked, glancing up at him.
"A cup of tea and a muffin, please. A-"
"—banana nut one. I know," she grinned teasingly, bumping into his shoulder lightly as she walked by. "Your favorite, right? Although granted, I almost couldn't make them because someone nearly ate all the bananas earlier."
"I was hungry! And bananas are the noblest of fruits-"
"—not cherries? I'm surprised."
"Of course not. Cherry trees are meant for flowers, not fruit," he sniffed.
"My mistake. I should have known," Hisana said, biting down on her lip to hide a smile. She didn't succeed.
The sound of a throat clearing made both of them look up in surprise. A faint dusting of red formed on Hisana's cheeks and she stepped away hurriedly. Byakuya hadn't even realized how close they were standing.
"I believe you had somewhere to go, Hisana-chan?" Yoruichi asked pointedly. Her face promptly reddened a few more shades.
"Ah, yes. The kitchen. Right," she said awkwardly. "I'll be back in just a moment."
Yoruichi waited until Hisana was out of earshot before turning to face Byakuya. "You know, I've tried to be patient, but this is getting ridiculous. I can't even be in the same room with the two of you anymore without choking on ridiculous amounts of sexual tension," she said flatly. "Don't even bother denying it, kiddo. You can't keep your eyes off her for more than two seconds, and hell, she knows your favorite fruit and muffin flavor. That is not 'friendship behavior.'"
"Don't you think I know that?" Byakuya asked in frustration. "What do you want me to do? Initiate a courtship?" His voice was harsh, bitter. "She has no lineage, no money. My family would never accept her. Do you have any idea what people would say? What they would call her behind her back?"
"Rukongai trash, gold-digger, seducer, liar." Yoruichi listed off unapologetically, before raising an eyebrow. "But the thing is, they're already calling her that and worse. You think she hasn't been dealing with this since she got into the Seireitei, and people found out she was friends with two lieutenants? Any Rukongai student is going to get called a few names—the successful ones more than most. There's always going to be idiots who'll accuse her of doing 'favors' to get such a high class ranking…although granted, ever since she 'accidentally' paralyzed that one kid for seven hours in her hakuda class and set her Academy teacher on fire, no one's dared say anything to her face. Still, people are always going to talk." She paused for a moment.
"I know better than anyone how unforgiving our world can be. The backstabbing, the gossip, the insults hidden behind a polite face…it can break a person if they're not careful. But I wouldn't be talking with you about this if I didn't think she could handle it. You should know—if nothing else, the girl's got thick skin. I mean, she's been dealing with Ichimaru Gin for months and she hasn't had a mental breakdown yet."
Byakuya scowled at the reminder. "I don't suppose the Omnitsukido accepts private contracts for assassination," he muttered.
Yoruichi ignored him. "You also mentioned that she has no respectable family name to back her up. But she's not without allies. In the Gotei 13, she has the support of both the Third and the Fourth Division captains; Ukitake's as well, I suspect. And when it comes to the nobility, the Murakami clan heir, for one, would back her up in a heartbeat. And then there's Kaien and me—a girl who has the approval of two of the great noble families?" Golden eyes glinted. "Even the most unyielding member of your clan would be hard pressed to find a way to insult Yukimura Hisana without insulting us as well."
"You would…you would publicly support her?" Byakuya asked quietly. You would stake the Shihouin clan's reputation on her?
Yoruichi's eyes softened. "Of course, Byakuya. Even if I didn't like her myself—which I do—she's the only person I know who can get you to laugh without even trying." She was silent for a moment. "I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but…you're not alone in this."
"Still…my oath to my parents," Byakuya said quietly, looking down. "I swore to them that I would uphold the laws of the Kuchiki clan. To do what's best for the clan."
"That's the thing about happiness, Byakuya. It always comes at a cost," Yoruichi said gently. "The way I see it, there are a couple ways this could play out. One, you could decide not to initiate anything with her. You could distance yourself from her—make it clear that nothing will happen between you. Hisana would understand and I have no doubt you two could remain friends. Eventually, either you yourself will choose a noble woman to be your wife, or one will be chosen for you by your clan in order to carry on the Kuchiki line. You'll have your family's approval and you could stay true to the promise you made to your parents."
Byakuya nodded, feeling oddly hollow inside. That was the logical path, wasn't it? The expected path. He thought. For the vast majority of his life, that had been how he'd believed his life would play out. It had always been drilled into him that while marriage could lead to love, as his parents' had, it would be selfish to marry because of love. Marriage was a contract, after all. A business proposition made to improve the family's situation.
"Two, if you don't think you and Hisana could remain strictly friends for long, well, open relationships are not uncommon among nobles. And your family may be more amenable to you taking a lover on the s-"
"No," Byakuya cut in, voice hard. "I will not reduce Hisana to some…to some dirty little secret. And frankly, she would never accept it either." Yoruichi raised her hands in surrender.
"Just putting that out there. Well then, your final option would be to break about half a dozen of your clan laws, scandalize every last one of your ancestors and risk everything—your reputation, your clan's reputation, your pride—for the sake of a relationship that may not even succeed. The Kuchiki heir, courting a commoner; no matter how things turn out, people would talk about it for decades." Byakuya flinched, turning to look away. Yoruichi stopped him, placing a hand on his arm. "But that's the thing about this final option," she said softly. "You risk losing everything, but you also have a chance to gain something precious beyond measure."
"And what's that?" Byakuya asked roughly. Yoruichi smiled, expression gentle.
"A girl who loves you. And who you love in return. Do you have any idea how valuable that is?" She squeezed his arm before stepping away. "I can't tell you which option to choose—that's up to you—but I'll support you either way. I have no doubt Hisana will too. I suppose what it comes down to is…what are you willing to give up? And what are you willing to fight for?"
Byakuya closed his eyes for a moment and thought about his mother's soft eyes (be happy, Byakuya) and his father's quiet love (make me proud, son). Then he thought about returning to Inuzuri again and again, just to see a girl with warm eyes and a welcoming smile. About the delight he hadn't been able to suppress after realizing that Hisana would be staying in the Seireitei (with him). About the helpless terror he'd felt after hearing that Hisana's mission had gone wrong and his utter relief when he'd found out that he hadn't lost her (it would have destroyed him, he knew that). About the sheer fury that had consumed him at seeing Ichimaru Gin's hands on her—his lips on her—and the way his taunting words had haunted Byakuya for the past week. About Hisana, her kindness and spirit and creativity, about how she'd never treated him as anyone but just Byakuya.
Something must have shown on his face because Yoruichi's smile widened.
"Well," she breathed softly. "There's your answer now, isn't it?"