Epilogue

The party was in full swing. The lights danced against the starlit sky, with the blackness only broken by the silver light of the moon. The music, that was actually quite good, had been playing for hours and in between the band's sets, a DJ played music that was fit for the Soul-City Lounge. The food was devoured and the drink was guzzled and ever since the party had officially started, two of its attendees had been held up in the master bedroom.

With the party raging on outside their door, Byakuya and Nyruki laid in the large bed with smiles across their faces. They had just spent the last couple hours intertwined, enthralled with passion and moans of pleasure that had been drowned out by the music outside and gave them an air of privacy that Byakuya was relishing in.

He plucked one of the hors d'oeuvres from the silver platter, being a perfectly cut piece of yellowtail over rice, and delicately placed it on Nyruki's naked belly, cradled in the small crevasse of her naval. He looked up at her through his lashes as he lowered himself down, slipping his long tongue into the small divot to lap up the morsel before placing a lingering kiss to her goose-pimpled flesh.

Byakuya hummed his delight as he chewed, smiling up at her as he ran his fingers over her stomach, following the ultra fine lines of her abs.

Nyruki softly giggled as she bit her fingernail, watching him admire her the entire time and how his thin open robe fell over his body and hung off his shoulders.

"I don't think you realize just how sexy you are." Nyruki hummed as he bowed his head and placed another kiss to the scar just between her breasts.

"So I have heard from many potential suiters." Byakuya said as his eyes flicked up to meet hers while his tongue flicked a pert nipple.

"Upon which I will proceed to beat with sticks should they ever try." She said with a wink, just as a shiver racked through her.

Byakuya softly smiled as he reached up and clutched the thin robe she wore that hung off one shoulder, pulling it up to keep the cooler air from making her chilly. He draped his other arm over her chest and rested his chin on it as he reached over to his nightstand and grabbed the open bottle of half gone wine.

"Care for a sip, My Love?" He offered her the bottle that she took and sipped from.

"This wine is very good." She said, smiling with the barest of pinks coloring her cheeks.

"It better be. It's a $1,000 bottle of wine." He said with a chuckle at her reaction.

Nyruki choked on her mouthful and managed to keep it from spraying out of her mouth by covering her lips with her hand.

"And here we are just drinking it straight from the bottle." She chuckled after swallowing the expensive wine.

"One of the many perks of being my lover." Byakuya said, huffing a smile as he trapped his bottom lip between his teeth once more.

Nyruki hummed, "I love the way that sounds." She smiled as she slipped her fingers back through his hair to keep it out of his eyes.

"As do I. It's even better that it's you whom I refer to." He said as picked up another morsel of food and brought it to her lips.

Nyruki's smile briefly widened before she opened her mouth to accept the food, rolling her eyes into the back of her head at the buttery and earth flavor of the yellowtail on rice. She let her tongue run over his fingers before she closed her lips around them, gently sucking to add the salty flavor of his skin to the mix. It was perfect.

Once his fingers popped free of her mouth, Byakuya settled down against her with his chin resting against his interlocked hands on her ribs. They regarded each other for a few moments as she offered him the bottle. He took it with a smile and brought the bottleneck to his lips, sucking down a sip that left a drop against his lips.

Instead of licking away that drop, he crawled up to her and pressed his lips to hers, where her tongue ran a slow, hot line over the drop to claim it for herself.

"Tastes even better when off of you." She whispered, threading both hands into his hair.

Byakuya's throat lowly rumbled with a laugh as he smiled at her with their noses touching.

"What did your clan elders want?" Nyruki asked, enjoying just being alone with him.

"Ah... I haven't told you yet." He said, rapping a finger against the end of her nose.

"In your defense, you've been a bit busy." Nyruki said with a crinkle in her nose.

"Very," He growled, stealing another kiss before settling back down against her, "They wanted to push the issue about me taking another wife." He said after he had gotten comfortable.

Nyruki's smile faded, "O-Oh."

Byakuya smiled up at her to alleviate her worry, "Do not worry, My Love. I told them to stay out of my personal life and then I dismissed them. They are no longer a problem."

"Did they say anything about me?" She asked, her smile returning to her lips.

Byakuya nodded, "Yes. They wanted to know if you were nobility, or another peasant woman. I proudly told them you are a Shinigami and the woman I love."

Nyruki's smile widened, "How'd they take that?"

"They tried to tell me I was wrong and frankly, I don't care. I love whom I love and I will not be governed by rules I don't believe in. I once told Ichigo Kurosaki that if we, as Shinigami, do not follow the rules, then who will, but what I failed to realize, was those rules I was fighting for, for so long, were outdated and archaic." He said lowly, admiring her face as she looked down at him.

"First rule of whom we are is to adapt on the battlefield. We did." She said, brushing a lock of his hair behind his ear.

"In grand fashion." He lowly chuckled.

The music outside shifted from the club mix to the rock of Hisagi and the 69ers as they returned to the stage. Cheers erupted outside as the band began to play and the shadows of the jumping guests bounced over the door.

"You know, they aren't bad." Nyruki chuckled as she wrapped her arms around him to hold him.

"I won't admit it to them." He said, kissing her chest.

"Oh, yes you will." Nyruki sighed as she smiled.

Byakuya rolled his eyes, but smiled at her as he sat up, "Care to get cleaned up and join the party?"

"Shower?" Nyruki asked, sitting up herself as the robe fell off her shoulder again.

"Yes. We... reek of our love making." He started to laugh as their foreheads touched.

"Lead on." Nyruki chuckled.

They slipped off the bed and headed for the bathroom, but not before Nyruki snagged his robe and tore it off with a mischievous grin across her face. He chased her briefly as she slipped passed him and made it to the shower, where she shed her robe and turned it on.

Instead of climbing in after her, he decided to allow him a few minutes to stand back and admire how the water ran over her skin, how it highlighted her modest curves and slicked her hair to her back. She made a show of it by swaying her hips from side to side, but that only served to reignite the fire in his gut.

Their shower had ended up lasting a bit longer than usual, as they embraced for the third time since holding up in his bedroom. He was relishing in the attention and getting to experience new things with her, new positions and new sensations, namely the feeling of her teeth lightly scraping over his member that had made him climax faster than anything he had ever experienced. He was on the fence whether he liked it, or not, as he wasn't a fan of the subjugation of his lover before him, but gods it felt amazing and she had willingly done it just to see how he would react.

Once they were finally cleaned and dressed, the pair emerged out of the master bedroom. None noticed them as he shut the door, as they were all too focused on the band on stage, cheering and dancing to the music they were playing. It was fun for them to watch from the sidelines at how everyone there was having such a great time, and they were content with it, until several guests took notice that they had finally come out.

"Yo! Byakuya!" Called Ichigo over the music as he, Orihime, Uyrū and Chad walked up, all with food and drink in hand.

Byakuya wanted to be grumpy, but there was just absolutely no way he could be with his elated mood.

"Good evening, Ichigo Kurosaki. I see my Lieutenant invited you to this gathering as well." He said as Nyruki threaded her around around his.

"Kinda. We were all already here for that big battle." Ichigo grinned as he popped an hors d'oeuvre into his mouth.

"I see. All of you?" Byakuya asked.

Ichigo nodded to buy him time to finish chewing, "Yup. Grimmjow and Nel are on the dance floor. Hisagi isn't bad. They're good." He said, eating another morsel.

"Not my usual, but it is pleasant enough." He said, which earned him a playful smack to his chest by the woman next to him.

"Hey, Nyruki. That battle was amazing. You did really well." Orihime said, just loud enough to be heard over the music.

"Thanks. The whole objective was for the captains to stop me by breaking free of my power. It was a super close call." Nyruki said with a mild cringe at the thought.

"We heard. Captain Kuchiki was able to break free at the last moment." Uryū said, pushing up his glasses.

Nyruki nodded, "I could have cried when he said that I lost from behind me. I was so happy."

"I -et." Ichigo said through a mouthful of food.

Byakuya glared, "Can't you be a bit more... civilized, Ichigo Kurosaki?"

Ichigo finished chewing and swallowed, "Civilized at a party like this? You're kidding right?"

"Not particularly." Byakuya said flatly.

"I am inclined to agree with Captain Kuchiki on this, Kurosaki. Despite this being a rock party, this is still expensive sushi and I imagine that wine is as well." Uryū said.

"It's good sushi." Ichigo smiled after popping another roll into his mouth.

"He does this on purpose, simply to get under my skin." Byakuya sighed and rolled his eyes.

Ichigo just nodded and smiled with puffy cheeks.

The band finished their current song to be met with a horde of cheers that Hisagi was playing up, throwing his arms up in the air to keep the crowd energized. He allowed the cheers to fill the space before turning to his band and issuing their next song, upon which they easily began to play to the excitement of the crowd.

"Hey, Pretty Boy!" Came Grimmjow's voice from somewhere nearby, but was unseen.

Byakuya scanned the crowd until the mass on the dance floor parted, allowing Grimmjow and Neliel to emerge before closing up behind them as if they stepped out from a Senkaimon.

"Hell of a party, Pretty Boy. Won't lie... This is better then Maddock's club." Grimmjow grinned as he stole an hors d'oeuvre from Chad's small plate.

Chad glared.

Grimmjow froze just shy of popping the stolen morsel into his mouth and decided it best not to piss off someone whom stood nearly four inches taller than he did. He put the roll back down and stole one from someone he was much more likely to handle; Orihime.

"Grimmy!" Neliel chided him, snatching the sushi from his fingers before he could eat it.

Grimmjow's teeth mashed down together without sushi between them, "Oi! I stole that fair and square!"

"Do you want a plate?" Neliel asked, returning the morsel to its rightful plate.

"Yeah." Grimmjow said with a wide toothy grin.

Neliel smiled sweetly and placed a kiss to Grimmjow's left cheek before heading for the long line of tables that was still heavy with food, but she didn't get away without receiving a quick smack to her backside that made her squeak.

"Hell of a fight, Nyruki. Watchin' you own those guys was awesome." Grimmjow said, crossing his arms as he grinned at her.

"You guys went too?" Nyruki asked.

"Hell ya we did! We showed up with Ichigo and his gang earlier this mornin' just to see this thing. Glad we did too because that was a hell of a show." Grimmjow said.

Nyruki glanced up at Byakuya, "I guess people liked it." She shrugged.

"It would appear so." Byakuya softly smirked.

The group began to talk amongst themselves, enjoying the food and drink and the music as it raged on to a crowd that was soaking up every note. Byakuya had to offer the sight its due, as his manor had never been so alive with activity before. At first, he had been annoyed with the idea, but now, after seeing so many enjoying themselves and coming together to have a good time, he couldn't be the reason why they didn't. He understood.

He was so transfixed in watching the spectacle, that he missed when Rukia and Renji walked up with fresh drinks in hand and arm in arm, just as he and Nyruki stood. They began to talk with the group that Nyruki was conversing with and it wasn't until he finally turned his head to acknowledge his adoptive sister that he saw the top portion of a hickey peaking out from the hem of her top at the base of her neck.

His eye began to twitch.

With a light clearing of his throat, Byakuya focused in on the conversation just as Rukia began to discuss the eagerly anticipated, upcoming edition of the Seireitei Communication.

"The Women's Association has the article just about written, and we just got the green light from the editor that we've got the cover. All we're after is the perfect cover photo." Rukia said, smiling as she took a piece of food from Renji's plate.

"What's the article about?" Orihime asked sweetly.

"Nii-Sama and Nyruki!" Rukia beamed.

"Really? That's wonderful! Oh gosh... There's got to be something... Why not a picture of them on the bridge over the pond?" Orihime asked as Ichigo took her plate without her protest to eat her food.

"Naw... Too plain. The Women's Association President wants something... spontaneous, wild almost, but that's gonna be hard where Nii-Sama is concerned." Rukia said with a saddened look in her violet eyes.

"Oh... Hmm... I don't know then." Orihime said.

"I know!" Ichigo began to grin.

That caught Byakuya's attention.

"You do? What?" Rukia asked.

"Wait here. I'll be back." Ichigo said, taking off before anyone could ask another question.

Byakuya's brows furrowed, "I don't like it when he grins like that." He said, resting a hand on Nyruki's against the crook of his elbow.

"I'd figured you'd be used to it by now, Captain." Renji said, snickering right long with Rukia.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it." Byakuya said evenly.

It helped to ease the nervousness as Nyruki smiled up at him, interlacing her fingers with his on his arm. As far as he was concerned, anything could happen in that moment and he would let it go, simply because he was with her. She had so easily claimed her spot in his heart, right next to where Hisana would always be. He would always miss her, but Nyruki never wanted him to cast her memory aside, only that he love as he always could, but had forgotten. She accepted him for all that he was and he would do the same with her.

Having gotten lost in the sea of gold that was her eyes, both he and the woman he loved got caught in Ichigo's trap.

Out of nowhere, Ichigo leapt onto Byakuya's back and ground his knuckles into his hair, where everyone, including Grimmjow and Neliel, surrounded them with massive smiles on all their faces.

That's when Rukia snapped the picture.

"Rukia!"

Seireitei Communication

The Sakura and the New Bloom

Author's Note: AAAAAAAND CREDITS! That's it. That's the story of Silver and Gold. I hope everyone liked it. But hey! I've got an announcement... There's another story coming Tuesday after Labor Day weekend! Keep on the lookout for The Hunt for the Wild Strawberry!

The scummy apartment was dark, barely lit by the light from an old TV that played late night shows that no one cared about. The volume was low, only being loud enough to break the quiet ringing in his ears as he stared at the objects on his rundown coffee table.

The faded photo's corners were torn, smudged with ink and scratched from near constantly being handled in grubby hands. The orange haired boy in that photo only served to fuel his hatred, his pure, unmitigated disdain for the embarrassment the boy had caused him. Somehow, that orange haired boy had managed to fend off not only himself, but his friends as well and had even called for an ambulance for them. He was more than embarrassed, he was humiliated and because of it, he would make sure that the orange haired boy would pay.

With a shaky hand, the thug picked up the small caliber gun from the coffee table, all while staring at the picture with the heavy red X crossed over the orange haired boy's face.

The Hunt for the Wild Strawberry

Coming Tuesday, September 8th, 2015!