Uruhara gave her the next two days off. Byakuya was to return to pick up any information on Saturday after all. This would give her time to catch up all her class work. At least with her being at University things were a lot more flexible than they had been for Ichigo. High school was not as forgiving of absences and if it hadn't been for some particularly creative ideas on the parts of Isshin and Uruhara, Ichigo and his friends likely would have been expelled. Eri-chan wouldn't have to worry about that.
In the meantime, Uruhara would be spending the next two days analyzing the data he'd collected from the series of tests he'd run to make certain the readings had not been merely a one time incident. Thankfully, Eri-chan had consistent results. He was still curious about the panther that refused to let him in on what could prove to be key information, but he did not have a choice in the matter and had to deal with it.
Erisia was nervous but also a little excited. She did not fully understand what all of this meant. However, she did know one thing for certain - her savior would be returning. She had thought long and hard about things since that fateful day. She had worried that what she was feeling was merely the result of him having saved her... And yet, she knew so little about that aspect of things as she'd been unconscious not long after he'd arrived on the scene so truly that could not be the reason.
She just felt drawn to him. Despite how intimidating he could be, she wasn't afraid of him. She was more fearful of Tessai... She had somewhat overcome her fear of men. So long as the men in question were sober and there was no alcohol present, she was fine and almost seemed completely normal. Add alcohol into the equation much less let the man in question be drunk and you would see what she tried so hard to hide. She did not drink and tended to stay far away from people who made it a habit to drink. Some wounds never quite heal right and for her, that was one of them. Thanks to her father she would always be even more wary of people under the influence of alcohol.
Since she had never seen him in a situation to suggest he was the sort, she preferred to think he was above that kind of behavior. It made it easier to deal with things, for her at least. It let her let go of that nearly instinctual fear. Considering how he seemed to draw her in, it was probably a very good thing that she'd managed to explain away such things to herself... Hopefully they would hold out and she would not find her internal world broken again.
Regardless of such weighty thoughts she could not help but look forward to seeing him again. He was completely unlike any man she knew around here. Here they were all... very typical. She avoided the young men on campus as though they were a plague. In some cases that seemed to be a most accurate representation.
She did not go for the overly exuberant personalities. Being something of a wallflower, such men were intimidating to her. She liked strength but she didn't want to be beat over the head with it. While most of the young men who had attempted to approach her were smart she would not call them intelligent. Most were little more than pretty faces with only the subtlest of depth.
In her mind she envisioned a man of integrity. Not just intelligence but more a complete picture of a person. Someone with depth and meaning and just more... These boys had no substance to them. While they might outgrow that, her experiences already in her young life left her with a distinct aversion to having to deal with what came with what they did not have. These boys were still prone to fits of immaturity and grand displays of ineptitude. She would not allow herself to be cut by such carelessness.
Perhaps that was another reason she felt almost pulled towards Byakuya. The air of refinement and nobility was not just an act he put on. Just looking at him she could tell that it was a solid part of his foundation. He was intelligent. Though they had not conversed long or about anything particularly engaging, the way he answered - the measured tone of his words bespoke of a great deal of intelligence. He was strong and while he was an imposing figure there was something else about him. Something that cut off that innate fear of that kind of man and left her merely in awe.
She did not know how realistic allowing herself to indulge in any notions or feelings in regard to him truly were, but she could not stop herself either. She was impressed and it hadn't been because he had consciously tried to achieve that response. She was impressed because he existed in the manner in which he did. There was a great weight upon his shoulders and it added to his presence but there had been moments where some action or some referral to the incident had given her just the briefest, flickering glimpse past the stoic mask he wore. In that fleeting second, she thought she felt a familiar sadness...
Loss. A loss which cut deeply and left marks through to the soul. She knew it from losing her mother. Since then she hadn't really let herself get close enough to another person to experience a loss like that again. She was quite certain that she had not been meant to see that flicker, and had she not known it personally she very likely would have missed it. There was so much about the man, Byakuya Kuchiki that she did not understand... and yet there was a great part of her that wished for the opportunity to learn.
She sighed and mentally shook herself. She could not afford such feelings and such thoughts if ever given voice would be laughed at. A man such as he did not need some silly girl tagging along behind him. He was important in that place called Soul Society... and she was no one... She forced herself to refocus on her work. She intended to get all of the assignments done before Saturday just in case there would be training or something that needed her attention.
Still every now and then her thoughts wandered.