Her wooden-sandaled feet shuffled along the stone-paved walkway, leading to the gate of the Twelfth Division where she could see worrying puffs of smoke coming from the back of the building.
It seemed that cherry blossoms were in bloom this time of year, they smelled and looked wonderful. She had always been hypnotized by the aroma of them, along with the Sakuras' unique blends of pink and white.
Cherry blossoms had never meant as much to her as they did now – She had felt a connection to them since she met her Captain, Byakuya Kuchiki – Sure, he was different from her. Stoic, noble, without many expressions and a little on the quiet side, but she thought they worked well together in the kind of, 'I'll-fill-where-you-lack-if-you-do-the-same' way.
Her mind sometimes wondered to dreams of him, he was such a magnificent creature; there was no doubt that many girls before her had noticed it. Though, he seemed to dissuade his attention from the female's glances, choosing a rational and logical lifestyle, over that crazed by emotions, such as affection – To this, Yuzu let out a disheveled sigh.
She would admit it only to herself that feelings for him had wormed their way into her waking thoughts. She was a level-headed young woman, she wasn't so naïve as to think that someone who had made an inner sanctum of his own within his calculating mind had ever wondered to the possibility of 'trying' his Lieutenant.
She had a clear picture of him in her mind though, the perfect man; orderly, yet relaxed, jet-black, short hair with tips that jutted out in different directions, the back adorned by white-as-snow clips, visibly showing his thoughts of how others perceived him – He simply did not care, and this looked great on him. A face of perfect symmetry wore what one would call a bored or disinterested mask at all times, grey eyes half-lidded (unless the matter concerned a bickering Ichigo Kurosaki), though it did not hide the abundant intelligence and perceptive nature behind them. A well-sculpted nose, religiously following a straight line down his leveled face, curving at the end and his thin, pampered lips of light pink.
His shihakusho had never one piece out of place, precisely ironed and sized to fit his lean, yet toned body perfectly, obi sash tied tightly and kept pressed down to avoid inconvenience – The flicked up collar of his Captain's haori, embroidered with expensive gold thread, creating a pattern of noble standard, which made him truly look akin to a prince, albeit a cold and unromantic one at that.
As she continued on in her daze, hoping in the back of her mind that there wouldn't be any surprise turns that would cause her to humiliate herself and run off to finish her mission, instead of leisurely strolling to her destination. Her Taicho had made it clear to her that the giant stack of documents had to be delivered to the Twelfth Division – "As much as I hate associating myself with that mad fiend, this must be done," he had said afterwards, shooing her away nonchalantly.
She didn't encounter any problems with bends or the curbs on her trip, but she did run into something hard – like a person? She gasped at her face firmly planting itself into something that was distinctly a male's chest and she felt the files slip from her hold.
She looked up; surprised to see a handsome Shinigami's face maybe two inches above her own, just a little shorter than her Captain. He was looking down at her and he had an almost intoxicating smile on his face, it was charming.
"Excuse me, but are you okay?" he asked her, he had feigned concern, since it wasn't everyday a beautiful fukutaicho walked right into him.
Yuzu blushed. Oh no! she thought to herself urgently. She took a big step back and bowed in apology, "Gome'nasai, I should've been watching where I was going," she blurted out, flustered, before gasping at the pieces of IMPORTANT paper that was about to board the wind away from her. She got down onto the ground, looking like she was groveling at the man's feet, but really, she was frantically trying to secure the paperwork.. And my job, she added, woefully.
"Let me help you," he said quickly, snapping out of his daze. He kneeled next to her and began collecting the papers surprisingly swiftly and efficiently, his arms moved almost like lightning, flashing here and there, and everywhere in order to help Yuzu.
"Thank you so much," she said, as she gathered up the unkempt collection of slightly crumpled paper into her arms, securing them back into their respective folders, or where she thought they went anyway, "I'm sorry, I caused you trouble.. twice now," she looked saddened, she really hated to be a bother.
"It's fine," he said, before taking more than half of her workload and shifting it in his arm until it found itself a comfortable position in their new carrier, "I'll help you – Where are you going?" he gave her that charming smile again, luminescent and pearly teeth shone, seeming to reflect the sun into her eyes.
She stared at him for a while, entranced, before laughing nervously, "The T-Twelfth Division," she stated, although she stuttered the tiniest bit while doing so.
"Alright then, let's go," he said, tugging at her unoccupied wrist, causing them to walk side-by-side at a brisk pace, "I'm Hakeno, by the way, Hakeno Kenshi, but my friends call me Ha-kun," he explained, giving a thin, yet polite smile.
She beamed up at him in return, making his heart flutter, "I'm Yuzu Kurosaki, my friends call me Yuzu-chan," she replied properly, nodding in greeting.
"You're from Squad Six, right?" he asked, though he obviously already knew the answer, "You're the Lieutenant under Byakuya Kuchiki,"
She nodded in affirmative, her smile wavering a bit, "What about you?" she asked in return.
"I'm not in any squad," he said relaxed, as if being a full-fledged Shinigami without a Division was normal.
"I see.." she said skeptically, giving him a quick side-glance. From looks, there seemed to literally be nothing wrong with him – Shining silver hair that fell over one, gleaming emerald eye. Nonchalant and relaxed posture, taken care of uniform, average sealed Katana Zanpakuto type, well-built.
She had some suspicion about him, but there was some kind of aura around him that comforted and calmed her senses – He sent a trustworthy vibe out to her and she couldn't help but comply with its wish to be believed.
"Looks like we're here," he said slightly saddened, slowly sliding the folders stacked on his pressured forearm on top of her own collection of the held documents, when she nodded, showing that she was ready to be handed them again.
"I guess this is goodbye," she said, beaming at him with a full teeth-bearing smile and waving a small goodbye, though it was more directed at the ground than him, since she was having trouble bringing it up without a repeat of the earlier incident.
"Farewell, my beautiful Yu-chan~!" he sang out to her in a sweet voice, his demeanor becoming frivolous and romantic, unlike the collected and somewhat chivalrous one he had shown only moments before – In return, he was awarded with a confused look – He quickly coughed and took a deep breath in, as if trying to retract the words from the atmosphere, "See you then, Yuzu-fukutaicho," he corrected promptly before turning away quickly.
His beautiful Yu-chan?! Thought a spying, raven-haired Captain angrily. If anyone were to walk past him at this moment, they might be amazed to have seen the fleck of emotion burn intensely in his usually-cold, grey eyes.
Byakuya was spying on Yuzu ;o And who's this Hakeno guy anyway, stealing his girl? ;) As always, I hope that you liked it - Review or don't, I don't mind c: Be nice to me though, I'm so fragile QQ..