DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bleach or any of the characters associated with it. They belong to their respective owners. This storyline and original characters, however, do belong to me.

Conterra-san: Hehe, glad you liked it. :D... There's definitely more where that came from, I assure you. Just not... right now. Soon though! And cousin character is an interesting one, as you'll soon come to see... ;x...

WiNdGoDdEsS688: I hope you have fun on your vacation, though! There will be lots of updates for you to catch up on when you get back. :D Thanks for the sugar. :DD

Juud: You like Arisu, huh? Haha, yeah, she's gonna be an interesting one. :x I have her personality and whatnot all planned carefully in my mind. Mehehehe.

thelovablechelsea: I'm happy to be back; I missed everyoneee. Aaaand! I was just about to get to Byakuya calling Hisana 'Hisana', gosh. XD And I have to admit, I'm growing attached to my friendly Byakuya myself. But he's only nice to her, unfortunately (or is it fortunately...?). Otherwise, his usual noble cold-ness reigns supreme. D:

The House of Kuchiki

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Hisana spent the rest of the day at the Kuchiki manor. That evening, the two of them, during their usual nightly game, made a promise to call each other by less formal names. Byakuya would call her 'Hisana', and Hisana would call him 'Byakuya-sama'. Try as he might, Byakuya wasn't able to make her budge from that to simply 'Byakuya', and instead insisted she spent the night at the manor. After much resistance from Hisana and smooth persuasion from Byakuya, Hisana finally agreed and was shown her room.

The guest room she was given to stay at was larger than her entire house, she felt, and the futon she got to sleep in was more comfortable than she could imagine. Although...

Byakuya's shoulder was definitely more comfortable, she decided.

She awoke in the morning to the smell of breakfast and looked over at the door to see her school uniform hanging there. Sitting up suddenly, she looked around. She was still...

A knock at the door. "Hisana-san. It's time for breakfast."

"A-alright, Kanaye-san. I'll be right out." She got out of the bed slowly, almost reluctantly, and slipped on the long-sleeved haori left by her bed. Looking at herself in the mirror, she ruffled her hair quickly and patted it down, combed it through with her fingers and readjusted the sash of the nightgown she was given, then paused and ran her fingers across the embroidered designs. Everything here is so fancy... even the night clothes...

She looked down at the flower he had placed on the table before she went to bed and picked it up gently before opening the bedroom door to leave. I can't believe I have classes today...

She turned the corner and looked around. ... or how big this place is... She walked ahead and turned another corner and blinked in confusion. ... or the fact that I'm lost...

It seemed so simple when Byakuya-sama took me to the dining room... She turned another corner and entered a familiar hallway. She looked to her left, saw a closed door, then looked to her right and saw a hallway. As she stepped towards the hallway, the door next to her slid open.

"Ah, Hisana-san! I see you're awake." It was Kanaye. "Are you trying to find the dining room?"

Hisana nodded slowly and glanced down at the bandages in Kanaye's hand. "This way then, Hisana-san."

Following Kanaye down the hallway, she glanced back to see the door still shut and frowned. "Is Kuchiki-sama still injured, Kanaye-san?"

Kanaye nodded. "It's getting better now, Hisana-san. No need to worry. And I believe Byakuya-sama requested you to call him something friendlier, did he not?"

Hisana blushed but nodded.

"You needn't worry about me telling the elders. I dislike most of them." Turning into the dining room, he let Hisana enter first. "Byakuya-sama will be here shortly. He asked me to seat you where you were previously."

Arisu glanced over to see Hisana enter and waved at her from her chair with a semi-friendly smile. When Kanaye left after Hisana sat down next to her, she raised an eyebrow. "Still here, I see? Goodness you played your cards right."

"What do you mean...?" Hisana frowned. Arisu's tone was different today... almost... resentful.

"Oh, please. You don't think you and Byakuya were 'meant to be', do you? You happened to be at the right place at the right time, that's all, Hisana-san."

"What are you saying, Arisu-san?"

"What does it sound like I'm saying? You're certainly not deserving of my cousin." Arisu crossed her arms and the room suddenly went silent.

"I think you should let deciding if she deserves me or not to me, Arisu." Byakuya was standing by Arisu's seat, glaring down at her. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Slowly walking away from his cousin's chair and sitting in his own chair, he forced a smile at Hisana as the table broke out into quiet conversation. "Good morning, Hisana. I trust you had a good night's rest?"

Hisana nodded slowly. "Thank you for allowing me to spend the night, Byakuya-sama."

Again, silence; a couple murmurs... Had she seriously just...? It wasn't possible.

Byakuya shook his head and slowly lifted the flower that Hisana had absentmindedly put down on the table, reaching over to put it in her hair gently. "Stay as long as you'd like, Hisana."

An elder cleared his throat to interrupt, causing Byakuya's glance to wander coldly towards him.

Arisu flinched slightly at the look in his eyes. "There's the Byakuya we all know and love... We were worried you were lost forever."

Byakuya narrowed his eyes slightly and then signaled the servants with the food forward. As the food was set on each plate and everyone began to eat, Byakuya and Hisana ate in silence as everyone else conversed.

"Have you found a wife yet, then, Byakuya?" An elder looked over at Byakuya with a cloaked smirk.

Byakuya felt his muscle tense and he stopped eating his food. Hisana looked at Byakuya with worry in her eyes. Not this again...

"You know..." Byakuya lowered his chopsticks slowly. "It's a definite possibility."

Hisana, along with Arisu and several other people at the table, dropped their chopsticks suddenly and looked at Byakuya in shock.

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So Arisu is totally a mean person now, or at least... for now. But yeah. :D... Byakuya's apparently 'possibly' found his wife, and Hisana has no idea what's going on! GASP! Next update up tomorrow. :3