Chapter 12: Now or Never
After the head captain announced my official position, I smiled and greeted each of the captains and got my orders from Hitsugaya-taicho. Jushiro-oto-san gave me a huge hug and told me how proud he was of me. I was happy, but I had a mission to do before I lost my nerve. I had to go pack my things from the Kuchiki manor, and while I was there, I was gonna do it.
I was gonna tell Byakuya-taicho how I felt. As soon as I was released from the diplomatic stuff, I flash stepped fast as I could to the Kuchiki manor to where I figured Byakuya-taicho would be, the garden where we first trained. He was there as I expected. He seemed to be lost in thought. Gosh, he's handsome. Okay, Shinkiro. You can do this. Don't chicken out now.
"B-Byakuya-taicho," I said, cursing myself for stuttering as I approached him. I got about a foot away from him and looked up at him.
"What is it, Shinkiro-san?" he asked, more stoic than usual. This is not a good sign. Sigh. Well here goes nothing.
"I wanted to explain why I didn't choose to come to the 6th division-," I started but was interrupted by him. "You don't owe me an explanation," he said curtly. I glared at him. He was acting childish.
"Well too bad, Clippy-taicho! Because you're gonna stand there and listen to what I have to say anyways," I snapped irritated. This took him aback, and he looked at me rather impatiently. I sighed. He was not making this any easier, but whatever.
"The reason I did not choose to join the 6th division was because you were the captain," I started and realized by the look on his face that that was a really bad way to start, "Wait! That's not what I meant! Ugh! I'm so bad at words. This is exactly why I don't talk a whole lot. Okay. What I'm trying to say is that I didn't want to be distracted from training, and that would have been the case if I worked under you. And I know this probably completely inappropriate because I was your student and stuff, but Byakuya-taicho, I have feelings for you… You have become very special to me, and I honestly thought you would consider that a weakness because I know I would get distracted from time to time if I worked under you."
I finished and looked him in the eyes. He was shocked, and for once, it was not hidden on his face. "I know that you don't feel the same way, but I promised myself that when I became a member of the 13 Court Guard Companies, I would tell you how I felt," I said calmly with a small sad smile. Here comes the rejection. Brace yourself, Shinkiro.
Byakuya-taicho's face became very serious. He grabbed my arm and began to flash step away from the manor. I was having trouble keeping up with him, and him not talking was making this worse. He let go of my arm and let me flash step beside him. We did so in silence for about 5 minutes until he stopped and grabbed my arm. I stopped as well and noticed we were at someone's grave.
"This is her grave, isn't it?" I asked sadly. I knew his wife died, which was another reason I didn't want to tell him, but Rukia said she always knew that Hisana would want Byakuya-taicho to move on. I'm pretty sure Byakuya-taicho didn't agree with her. Suddenly, Byakuya-taicho grabbed my hand and walked me over to the tombstone. I kneeled down and paid my respects.
"Hisana-san, I'm sorry if what I've said tonight has offended you. Rukia-chan talks very highly of you, and I know Byakuya-taicho misses you a lot. I hold these two very dear to me, and I hope wherever you are, you can see how amazing they have become. I wish I could have met you. Rest in peace, Hisana-san," I said with a sad smile on my face. Byakuya-taicho grabbed my hand again and pulled me up.
This time though he pulled me into his arms, and I felt my face turn beet red. He released me and then laced his fingers with mine. Okay. What the heck is going on? He turned to Hisana-san's grave.
"Hisana," I heard him say with a low voice, "I thought after you, I could never care about anyone like this again. But I want to tell you that I have found someone who I care about more than anything else and want to protect more than anything else. I love you, Hisana, and that will never change. I want you to see the one who has begun to show me that good hearts still continue beating even after yours stopped. I pray that you will bless how I feel about this girl. Her name is Shinkiro, and she has softened my heart."
I felt the tears falling down my face. I had never heard more beautiful words. They weren't super eloquent honestly, but they were sincere. The wind blew around us and cherry blossoms from the trees swirled around us. Byakuya-taicho pulled me close to him and grabbed my chin in one hand with his arm around my waist.
"Byakuya-taicho," I said still crying slightly. I never wanted him to hurt like this, and yet, I was so happy.
"Byakuya. Just call me Byakuya, Shinkiro," he said before pulling my face to his, kissing me on the lips softly. I was so shocked that I didn't even kiss him back. After a second, he pulled back, obviously confused and a little hurt. Whoops. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked worriedly.
I didn't let him think that again. Getting on my tip toes, I pressed my lips against his with some slight aggressiveness. He kissed me back sweetly before pulling back and giving me a small smile. Not a smirk, a SMILE. I'm pretty sure my heart just leaped out of my chest. He is so freaking handsome! My face got redder than a lobster, and he chuckled and kissed my cheek.
"The reason I stood up to have you join my squad was so I could protect you," Byakuya admitted seriously, "But you don't wish to be protected do you?" He gave me a knowing look. I shook my head.
"That's why I didn't pick Jushiro-oto-san or Shunsui-oji-san (uncle) either. I wanted to be in a squad where I could grow and be independent. I didn't want a squad where the captain would try to protect me instead of focusing on the mission," I responded with a small smile.
Suddenly, I heard a sneeze coming from the bushes. Byakuya and I both drew our swords just in time for Jushiro-oto-san to come out of the bushes. I sweatdropped, and I'm pretty freaking sure Byakuya did too. Then, I noticed he was carrying a stack of folded papers in his hand. Byakuya and I sheathed our swords.
"How long have you been there, Jushiro-oto-san?" I asked, my face probably the color of a lobster yet again. He chuckled nervously.
"Long enough to see the beginning of what is sure to be the most talked about couple in the Seireitei," he said happily. I looked over to see Byakuya looking a little stressed at this comment. "Don't worry. I will leave it to you two to tell people as you both see fit. I'm here for another reason," Jushiro-oto-san said with a kind smile before walking over to me and holding out the papers.
"What are these?" I asked cautiously, taking the papers and beginning to unfold them. The top of the first paper shocked me. "Permission to Adopt" is what it said. On the bottom of the form, it was signed under prospective parent, Jushiro Ukitake. I looked up at him shocked.
"A-are you serious about this?" I said softly, my voice cracking. Jushiro-oto-san grinned at me with his sincere smile and nodded. Byakuya was confused, so I slowly handed him the papers.
"You said you never had a real family. I may not be a full family, but honestly, I already see you as a daughter. Plus, I figured you'd be in a hurry to get rid of that last name, and I didn't want you to rush into marriage to do that," Jushiro-oto-san responded with a bit of a joking manner at the end. I couldn't help it. My grin was ear to ear. I was crying, and I ran and hugged my new dad.
"Oto-san!" I cried as I hugged his haori. He returned my hug and kissed me on the top of my head. We stood there for about 5 minutes, and then we pulled back.
"We need to get your things from Kuchiki manor. I will leave that to you and Byakuya. Here," Oto-san said giving me a key, "See you at home. And Byakuya, take care of my daughter." Then he flash stepped away. I looked at Byakuya who grabbed my hand.
"I'm very happy for you both. Though I want to clarify some things," Byakuya said seriously, "I want to be you to be mine. I want there to be no confusion. Also, being with me will not be easy. The Kuchiki elders will not be happy about me being with another girl who is not a noble." He seemed upset about the last part, but determined. I squeezed his hand and smiled at him.
"Byakuya, I'm not scared of them, and neither should you be," I stated plainly, "They are not you. Your life is not theirs. Let's just take this one thing at a time." I smiled sheepishly, "I'm honestly more scared of telling, Rukia-chan." He chuckled.
"I'm leaving that job to you by the way," he says seriously, "She will question me later anyway, and I will have to take on the Kuchiki elders too." I smiled at him before jokingly punching his arm. Then, we walked hand in hand to the Kuchiki manor.