DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bleach or any of the characters associated with it. They belong to their respective owners. This storyline, however, does belong to me.
I'm still alive! I'm sososososo sorry that I haven't been able to update more; things have been massively hectic and with pointless stress being bounced around, writer's block had attacked me massively. But I've conquered it, and the result was this chapter! Huzzah!
The House of Kuchiki
CHAPTER THIRTY
After thinking for the majority of the day, Hisana finally decided that a trip to Rukongai holding hands would be more than enough to make it up to her. Matsumoto, who had managed to force her way into staying another night, and Arisu were both extremely unhappy with her choice since they knew Byakuya was going to go out with her to Rukongai even if she hadn't asked; they went every night without missing anyways.
Thus the married couple went to Rukongai again and searched Inuzuri once more for Hisana's missing sister, only to return to their home tired and unsuccessful. Needless to say, they both went straight to sleep shortly after arriving back at the manor, much to Arisu's dismay.
The elders, who were still unhappy with the situation of the Kuchiki household, were convinced that the magic of this relationship would die down after a week of having to deal with sleeping in the same bed and spending all their free time together. Much like with their other ideas and scenarios, they had approached their clan leader with their warning only to be banished from his sight and ignored for the rest of the day.
In all such cases, the elders were proven wrong. One time, for example, they had said the relationship wouldn't even last long enough to see Hisana graduate from the Academy. It obviously had. Another time, they told Byakuya that while he was set on marrying her now, that wouldn't always the be case and before he decided to finally propose to her, he would have already moved on. Another obvious mistake; the two were now happily married.
And so a week passed at the manor, and the two seemed to be generally inseparable. Except, of course, when Byakuya had work to attend to. The elders, who had been waiting patiently for something to go wrong, were silent at breakfast the day that marked a full week of marriage. Not one of them bothered to speak up, nor did Byakuya bother to point out they were wrong.
Matsumoto had been invited to spend the day at the manor with Hisana and Arisu while Byakuya was off at the office, an invitation she happily and quickly accepted. Byakuya had left the manor for the day after breakfast, Matsumoto arriving shortly afterwards. The three of them went into the master bedroom again, after forcing permission out of Hisana, and sat on the bed in a triangular formation.
Hisana still hadn't budged regarding what she and her husband did in their private time, her blushes giving away more than she wanted to reveal. Eventually, Arisu gave up in pestering things out of her cousin-in-law and resorted to just plain conversation, most of which still remaining centered around their relationship. However, Hisana didn't seem to mind. On the contrary, Hisana loved reliving the cute things Byakuya had said to her, and the smile he gave her every time they made eye contact. It seemed he smiled with his eyes more, and she was quick to point out to her two closest friends that she enjoyed seeing him happy much more than they could imagine.
Arisu had noticed the complete change in her cousin's mood lately, and Matsumoto had noticed the constant joy in her best friend's eyes.
"You really love the ice cube, don't you?" Matsumoto inquired teasingly. Hisana hated when she called him an ice cube, which she instantly showed.
"He's not an ice cube if he gets to know you better, Rangiku-chan!" Hisana crossed her arms across her chest. "And as a matter of fact, I do."
Arisu couldn't help but smile at their exchange, looking back on exchanges she had with her cousin that were similar when they were children. "Have you told him so?"
Hisana nodded. "Many times. All the time. Whenever I can, I mean."
Matsumoto pursed her lips, contemplating if she should ask the next question or not. Arisu, however, ended up asking for her. "Has he ever said it back?"
Hisana went to nod but then faltered and furrowed her brow. "I... You know... I don't think he has..." She frowned slightly. "But I know he feels the same way. I can feel it."
"Feel it?"
"Yeah, you know... when we hold hands and hug... I can feel it." Hisana smiled once more. "That's enough for me."
Matsumoto brought her hand up to her chin thoughtfully. "I dunno, Hisana-chan. I'd wanna hear him say it if I were you. You should ask him why he hasn't."
Hisana shook her head. "I don't need him to say it. I really don't."
"But you have to admit... it would be wonderful if he did."
---
A single voice rang out angrily in a generally dark room of men sitting in a circular formation, the door to the room shut.
"Well, how do you propose we get rid of her then?"
Another voice, not as loud, replied calmly in explanation, "Killing her would be far too obvious, Byakuya would know it was us instantly. He's not stupid."
"We could send her sent on a mission. She graduated, did she not? What division did she register with?" Another voice asked, a trace of hatred in his voice.
"None. Byakuya made sure she would be safe from danger in missions," replied another.
"Ah, he plans ahead... not stupid, indeed..." The voices halted briefly, all the men in th room sitting in silence to think.
"I believe we should leave things as they are." A serene, yet strong, voice from near the center of the room suddenly spoke up.
"Why is that?" the second voice asked, with a trace of demand in his tone.
"I believe you can recall that I was never fully against this wedding in the first place; if Byakuya has found happiness with this girl, then that's fine. She isn't doing anything disgraceful. On the contrary, she has adapted to being a noble quite well and is doing much to HELP our name, not hurt it."
"What is this nonsense? Has the foolish boy gotten to you too?" The first voice rang out once more.
"I'm afraid if the boy is foolish, it would be my fault by genetics." The man's eyes were an ice cold blue-gray and his face had similarities to the 'boy' they were discussing. "He is my grandson, after all."
---
After Arisu and Matsumoto had left, Hisana considered what the two of them had said to her just minutes before. It WOULD be nice if I heard him say it... Hisana stood slowly and left the master bedroom, heading towards the entrance of the manor, patiently awaiting her husband, who was to return soon enough.
After only a few minutes, the door slid open to reveal the sixth division captain and the servant who was bowing after the door had opened. Byakuya, who looked extremely tired initially, instantly smiled when he saw Hisana approach him. "What I pleasant thing to come home to..."
He pulled her close to embrace her and kissed the top of her head gently before looking down at her. "What have I done to receive the honor of being personally greeted by the mistress of the house?"
Hisana blushed, but only slightly, before responding, "Who said anything about being honored? I was simply going out for a walk." She looked away with a mock-coldness, before smiling and looking back at him. "Would you care to join me in a walk around the grounds?"
"I would love to," he replied. "But..." Byakuya looked down at his outfit before looking back at his wife. "May I get changed first?"
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A lot of people have been wondering how much longer this fic is going to be, and quite honestly, I have no idea. I haven't exactly completely plotted out my battle plan, but I have sketched things out. So, yeah. I'll have a more definite answer soon enough. And as far as how often I can update; I'll try to manage at least a chapter a week. Chapter 31 up by 7/21. (Edit! The Harry Potter 7 release momentarily escaped my memory. Seeing as how I'm going to be reading it nonstop until I get to the back cover, I won't be able to be writing. So. Chapter 31 up ON 7/23, even if I have to put the book down to do so.)