15: Apology
Sakura strode into the fifth division purposefully, her pale green yukata highly conspicuous in the sea of black Shihakusho. Walking into the main building, she marched over to where the offices were located, heading not toward Sousuke's office, but the captain's. Coming to a stop outside the door, she took a deep breath and knocked softly, uncertain of how she would be received.
"Come in," Shinji drawled, his voice slightly muffled by the door. Sakura heard a quiet rustling as she opened the door, revealing a drowsy-looking Shinji Hirako shuffling a few papers around to look as if he was busy at work. Looking up at her, the noble girl saw a flash of recognition in his eyes before he breathed a sigh of relief and set down his papers. "Oh. It's just ya."
"Hello, Hirako-taichou," she murmured softly, hiding a smile as he relaxed back into his chair. Apparently he no longer felt the need to pretend he was working.
"What brings ya here to my office? Aren't ya usually looking for Sousuke?"
Sakura shook her head. "Actually, Hirako-taichou, I was looking for you. I wanted to apologize for my behavior the other day." She blushed, lowering her head. "I was out of line, and I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have walked away from you like that. It was very rude of me." Finally gaining the courage to meet the blond captain's eyes, she was surprised to see him grinning toothily at her.
"Come on, you're still dwelling on that? Don't be like that, Kuchiki-san. It doesn't matter that much." Shinji grinned at her cheekily. "Besides, I couldn't stay mad at a cute girl like ya…"
Sakura felt a smile tugging at her lips. "Hirako-taichou, you're being silly."
His grin widened. "So?"
She laughed at the nonchalant response and shrugged. "I was just letting you know."
"Eh," he grunted. "So what ya been up to lately?"
"Nothing really," she replied thoughtfully. "I've been training with Aizen-sensei, and my father is going on a mission soon. That isn't out of the ordinary though."
"Ah, right. Sojun's going off to the World of the Living again huh? Those Hollows have been acting up lately." He nodded knowledgeably, blond hair bobbing. "Hey, Sousuke's going too, ya know," he added as an afterthought, as if just remembering about his lieutenant's trip.
"Oh really?" Sakura was surprised. "He didn't tell me that. I guess we'll need to take another break from training then."
"Yep!" Shinji said with a pleased grin.
A/N: Okay, so just some clarification. Sojun Kuchiki is Byakuya's and Sakura's father. I don't know what their mother's name is, unfortunately. And Bleach Wiki doesn't know either, so I just refer to her as 'Unnamed Wife' in my head. But Sojun is the dad. And he'll show up later on.