Chapter 20: Getting to Know You

"Look at me, Shinkiro-chan," he said firmly but softly. The way he said my name made my heart stop before looking up at him. What I saw in his eyes made me freeze. How could I have not seen it before? What I saw in those usually cold eyes was something much different. Was it worry? Had he not been mad at me after all this time after all?

"Gomen nasai. I brought you here with no explanation," he said calmly, "There is no one here because I wanted to spend time here with you alone." I froze, remembering what happened last time we spent time alone together, the day I left. He seemed to notice my hesitation.

"Shinkiro-chan, there are people nearby, and I promise I have no intention of doing like that again," he said in a very calming voice and then pointed to the center of the garden that was surrounded by sakura trees. In the center of the clearing was a table cloth with a picnic basket on it. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I thought we were starting over and getting to know each other, Kuchiki-taicho," I said matter-o-factly. His eyes narrowed at me for a moment before sighing and grabbing my hand gently and leading me to the picnic.

"This is a chance for us to do just that, Ogawa-san," he said in a more standoffish tone. I glared at him. He knew that name was taboo with me.

"My last name is Ukitake, Kuchiki-taicho. For someone who wants to get to know me better, you sure are getting off on the wrong foot," I snapped angrily. He merely sat down on the table cloth and waited for me to do the same. Figuring if I tried to leave, he could easily catch me and not wanting to make him super mad, I plopped down with my arms crossed and glaring at him.

"You also know my name is Byakuya, which I have asked you to call me multiple times," he retorted obviously annoyed as well, "Now that we have learned what to call each other, maybe we can get to know each other more. I'll start. Where exactly have you been for 6 months without thinking to contact anyone? There were many people here worried sick about you." That hurt. My mind automatically went to Oto-san. I was horrible daughter to him so shortly after he adopted me. I blinked back tears.

"Well excuse me for being scared after I committed a crime that could get me killed," I said bitterly, "I was living in a Rukongai district with a kind old woman who allowed me to work with her at the flower shop she owned. I did this until my wounds were healed, and I realized I didn't belong there. I also hadn't told her the truth about me being a soul reaper, so I felt bad living with her for so long. I didn't even tell her my real name till I was ready to leave." I remembered the woman fondly. I would have to repay her somehow, some day. I looked up at Byakuya-taicho who had a look of understanding in his eyes.

"I wasn't mad, Shinkiro-chan. You could have stayed. We could have talked about it," Byakuya-taicho said flatly, "What you did was foolish. You could have gotten killed out there." Okay, message received. I made him worry. I overreacted. Time to turn this interrogation into me getting to know him too.

"It is what it is. I did what I did, and I cannot change it. Now, if your interrogation is over, it's my turn to ask a question," I said obviously hurt, "Byakuya-taicho-" "I told you it's just Byakuya." "Fine, Byakuya, if you weren't mad, why didn't you follow me? Was it beneath you to go searching for a peasant like myself?" Two can play at this blame game. I looked up to see him with an incredibly stoic look on his face. Great… I pissed him off. Oops.

"Shinkiro," he started calmly, "I have regretted not searching for you that day every day since you left. It had nothing to do with your social status. I was in shock and thought since you were mad enough to fire a cero at me, that maybe I wasn't the person you would want to find you. By the time I decided to go look for you, I couldn't sense your spiritual pressure. You were too far away. I wanted to look for you, but in order to do that, I would have to have had reported it to the Head Captain, which would have made things harder for you." I looked at him, shocked. "Told you he cared the whole time," I heard Aisuhime say in my head. Shut up. We're having a moment I told her back in my head.

At this point, I just couldn't help it, a tear rolled down my cheek, and then another and another, until I was silently crying, looking at the ground. I could no longer look Byakuya in the face. There had been a group of people who cared about me, and I left them like the coward I always had been.

After what felt like forever, I felt a warm hand grip my chin and tilt my face up. I refused to look up though. I didn't want to see the pain I caused anyone anymore. I wasn't worth that.

"Shinkiro," he said softly, "Please, look at me." His tone took me off guard, and I looked up to see his face inches from my own. I felt my heart stop. His eyes weren't pained. They were worried and kind, as though looking at me too harshly would cause me to break. At this point, that wouldn't entirely be inaccurate in all honestly. "It's my turn to ask a question," he said calmly, his warm breath hitting my face, "Can I kiss you? I know we agreed to take time to get to know each other, but I think we still can while-"

I interrupted his nervous ramble by placing my lips firmly on his. I applied more pressure after I realized he wasn't pushing me away. After a second, he kissed me back, sweetly and more passionate than he had in the past. I responded with just as much passion. At this point, we were still sitting at the picnic, and he snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me to his lap. My arms went around his neck, and we continued to kiss for another couple of minutes until we were both out of breath.

The kiss broke, and I pulled back and looked at him to gauge his reaction. To my entertainment, he seemed to be doing the same. We were still in each other's arms and neither of us seemed particularly interested in leaving anytime soon. He pulled me in to his arms tighter and rested his chin on my head.

"Do not leave again," Byakuya ordered, "Or I will personally see to it that everyone in the Seireitei is looking for you." I shivered, overprotective much? I smiled though and chuckled lightly. "Is that a threat, Byakuya-taicho?" I said jokingly as I looked up at him with a small smile on my lips. "No," he said stoically, "That is a promise. Also, it's-" "It's Byakuya-kun, I know I know," I finished his sentence for him. "No. It's just Byakuya," he corrected me with a small smile of his own. My heart stopped I swear. His smile was breathtaking.

"As I was saying though, I think we can get to know each other while being in a relationship. As I understand, that is the point of the relationship, is it not?" Byakuya said calmly. He had a point. I nodded with a smile. "Just to clarify, this means that you're mine officially, and you can't run away again just because something bad happens," he said seriously. I looked at him nervously.

"B-Byakuya…" I started nervously, "I want this. You know I do, but I want to talk to my father about it first. I just got back. I don't want to rush into anything. I-I'm scared." He looked at me confused, but sighed and looked at me with understanding.

"You're right. I should not be pressuring you like this when you're still getting used to being back," he said rather reserved in his tone, "Here, I didn't bring lunch for nothing. Let's eat before you go." I smiled, happy that he was understanding about this. I gladly took the bento he handed me and began to eat.

For the next hour or so, we spent the time getting to know each other. I asked him about his favorite things, and he asked me about my preferred fighting styles, which was just like him. I learned that Rukia-chan really was his world, and that if anything happened to her, he wouldn't forgive himself. He told me about his promise to Hisana-san to keep Rukia-chan safe, and the promise he made his parents to not break the rules. I sighed inwardly. Being interested in me was against the rules he swore not to break. I also invited him to the party tonight which he accepted.

From what I could tell, Rangiku-chan was making this whole thing way more of a big deal than I was even remotely comfortable with. She sent me a hell butterfly telling me all the people she invited, which was a lot, and that she had rented out a club in order to celebrate. She also requested that I meet her at 3pm to go shopping and get ready before the party. I looked at the time. It was 2:45pm. Crap. I didn't want to leave.

"Byakuya, I'm so sorry, but Rangiku-chan wants me to meet with her to go shopping and get ready for tonight," I said dejectedly. He looked at me in understanding.

"That's fine," he said calmly getting up and walking me to the entrance of the manner. I gave him a big smile.

"Arigato, Byakuya! I'll see you tonight!" I said enthusiastically as I ran to my division to meet Rangiku-chan. I was nervous, but I also couldn't wait!