Author's Note: Alright here's the Second Chapter. As for Byakuya in this chapter, I wanted to add fear of lightning to his character so that it would make sense that he would willingly enter the house.
And yes, I can imagine that a man like him would carry his work around with him. XD

I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

-xoxox-

The thunder kept shaking the sky above your heads and the earth under your feet, always followed by several lightnings that literally lit up everything like the brightest day, even for just a few seconds. Your heart sank a little bit further down as you barely could se anything in front of you except Byakuya's light scarf that was flowing behind him as he moved. For a split second you thought that it was amazing how he could move so gracefully through this shitty weather, as if it didn't bother him at all, and cause of this you didn't even notice that you and your Captain had reached the outskirts of the town.

Byakuya once again stopped, and as you caught up to him he looked like he was in deep thought as his eyes moved from the darkened sky down to the buildings around. Pretty much all of these houses were abandoned, for reasons you didn't know. Maybe cause it was more convenient to live closer to the inner city or something.. Lazy people. You almost felt yourself shrug your shoulders at your own thoughts... Which wouldn't be the first time. People around you had often sent you strange looks as you often nodded to yourself while thinking. But hey, having serious conversations inside your head is something everyone does once in a while, right?

While you were lost in your own thoughts, a crackle was heard above and lightning struck down just a few inches away from your feet, and you could almost feel a tingling sensation running up your legs and spine. "Gyah!", you let out a little scream and jumps to the side, pressing your back against the wall of the closest house, staring at the place where the lightning had struck. "Eh, B-byakuya Captain, Sir..", you glance at him where he stood, a few feet away.

You take a shaky breath and tries to sound casual as you say "Can we maybe.. Uh, wait inside one of these houses while.. Ehm.. The storm passes..?", your voice comes out sounding weak and pleading, and you mentally slap yourself, and you didn't dare look your Captain in the eyes in case he would give you that look of disappointment he had given you so many times before. But that was not the case this time, cause he simply nodded and quickly stepped inside the house you were pressing your back against.

Well... that was weird?

With a question growing in your mind you quickly slip inside after him and shuts the door behind you, making the harsh rain and thunder sound like they're far away. Which was very comforting, you must admit.
Looking around, or trying to, in the compact darkness, you barely manage to see Byakuya moving his hands over a table. Apparently finding what he was looking for, he did a twist with his hand and soon the room was lit up by a soft candlelight. You raise one eyebrow and tries your best to resist smiling when you see your Captain putting back the matches inside a hidden pocked of his kimono.

"Well isn't this cozy!" You grin, feeling much better than a few minutes ago. If Byakuya felt the same he sure as hell didn't show it, cause he just sat down in front of a desk, sweeping the surface clean of dust with one move of his arm, and picks up a ,rolled-up bunch of papers and a pen out of his kimono, and you just stare. Paperwork?
Seriously? This guy was a work-aholic!

As silence felt thick around you, you were having an inner battle if you were gonna ask the question you've wanted to ask ever since you saw your Captain enter the house.
Letting the curious side win without much of a fight, you let out a polite cough and then says, "Captain.. Are you, possibly, afraid of lightning?"
Maybe you should've just kept quiet, cause the moment the words left your mouth a little 'crack' was heard from Byakuyas pen as the tip of it broke against the paper, leaving a nice, big mark. The man kept quiet, but you could almost hear him tensing in the chair, and with that, you knew you were right.
Still you should've kept the words to yourself cause the silence that followed was so awkward and thick you bet you could slice through it with your zanpaktou. With a quiet sigh you took a few steps to the side and somehow managed to place yourself ontop of the window sill, looking outside.

/End of flashback (yes, finally)/

So there you were. Stuck in a house with an apathetic, and now annoyed, Captain, with a raging rainstorm outside. Could life get any better? Still... Deep inside, you at least couldn't get any happier. Glancing at the man sitting with his damn paperwork, you couldn't help but smile a little bit. Your feelings towards your Captain had always been respect and loyalty, but during the last months, another feeling had snuck inside your heart. You didn't quite know if it was love, or just admiration, and of course you had never told anyone or let it show in any way. But being alone with him in an abandoned house, made you think of it even more.
Of course Kuchiki Byakuya was the interest of many women of Soul Society, and that was no surprise to anyone. He was tall, handsome (very handsome), and mysterious.

And women being women... Well, that explains itself.

But you had always convinced yourself that it wasn't cause of his looks you felt this way for him, it was cause of who he was, who he is. And even if it was in his nature to be unloving and uncaring for anyone else but himself, and of course Rukia, you would never want him to change.

"May I ask for what purpose you've been staring at me for the last three minutes?"
The sudden sound of a voice that wasn't inside your head made you twitch and blink a few times.
"What..", you start, and then you realized you actually HAD been staring at him the whole time. Oh god, what the hell should you answer on that?
"Uh.. I.. Your hair looks nice?", you mumble with another mental slap, your face turning visibly red, and your own forest green awkwardly eyes meets his. You knew he didn't believe you, but thank god he let it go anyway.

...Close one.

-xoxox-

Such a smart young lady you are, aren't you?
And no, I have NO idea if there's abandoned houses in Soul Society or not, but for the sake of the story, let's say there is.

Anyway, I already have a plan of what to write in the next chapter so it shouldn't take to long for Chapter 3 to come out.

- PaperPetal