Chapter 22: A Night To Remember
-Byakuya's POV-
I arrived at this welcome home party for Shinkiro at the address she gave me. To my surprise, I saw a club that was already pretty noisy from the sounds of it. I was wondering if I had misheard the address she told me, that is until I saw Matsumoto-fuku-taicho from the tenth squad who quickly approached me.
"Ah! Kuchiki-taicho, I'm so glad you could make it!" she said in her typically irritatingly hyper voice. I merely looked at her and walked into the club. At least it was fairly high class. I didn't want to go into a low quality place with my favorite gray suit and pink tie. I had decided to leave my kenseikan (his hair clip things) at home for today. It was not about my nobility. Tonight was about welcoming home one of the most beautiful woman I had ever met.
The party had started, and the club had become increasingly noisier. Yet, there was still know sign of Shinkiro. Was she hurt? Why wasn't she here? She was always early. In the middle of my train of thought, I was alarmed to notice that the club had went almost dead silent. I looked up, and I tried my best to contain my composure. However, the figure in the door way had the ability to make any person's jaw drop.
Shinkiro looked absolutely stunning in her short, coal gray kimono, and were those sakura petals on the bottom? She wore the colors beautifully. I felt a surge of annoyance as I looked around and saw multiple guys drooling over her. That was enough. She is beautiful, but I would not accept these men that looked ready to hit on her at that exact moment. Then, I looked back at her to see her ice blue eyes meeting mine. She was coming towards me with Ukitake-taicho with her. I tried my best to steady myself and appear unaffected as she stopped in front of me.
"Konbonwa, Byakuya," she said in that beautifully soft voice before looking up at me and smiling. Ukitake-taicho nodded at me with an encouraging smile. Had she already talked to him about our conversation earlier? She sure didn't waste any time, which I appreciated. Time was not guaranteed. A lesson I learned in much too hard of a way. Hisana, I'm so sorry, but I truly do care for this girl. She cares for Rukia, and I believe she cares for me as well.
"Konbonwa, Shinkiro," I responded formally, but in a slightly louder tone than necessary. I wanted the men nearby to realize that we were close enough to understand that there was something here. I looked at Shinkiro to see a blush on her cheeks. Wow. She was breathtaking. A slow song came on. This is my chance. I have to ask before-.
"Excuse me, Ukitake-san," a man said coming over to us and looking nervously at Shinkiro, "May I have this dance?" If looks could kill, this man would not even exist at this point. My glare didn't even phase him though as Shinkiro nodded with a friendly smile. I could feel my temper rising. They walked off, and I noticed Ukitake-taicho near me. Maybe I should talk to him as well.
"Ukitake-taicho," I said greeted formally. He turned to me and smiled kindly. "Konbanwa, Byakuya! How are you?" he responded in his typical friendly way. "I've been better. I wanted to talk to you about, Shinkiro," I said straight forwardly. As I said, I hate wasting time. He looked at me, his face becoming more serious, "What about her?"
"Since she is your daughter, I wanted to make clear my intentions to you. I hope to enter a relationship with her, where I can get to know her and protect her," I told him, looking him in the eye to further prove my point. He sighed, and I became slightly nervous, though I didn't show it. "How do you plan to deal with the Kuchiki elders? Especially since your last relationship with a peasant ended so poorly," he asked me, and I glared, "Don't give me that look. Shinkiro has been through enough with her past without worrying about what a group of over critical nobles have to think about her." I sighed. He did have a point, but I was not giving up. I never regretted my time with Hisana, and I've yet to regret time spent with Shinkiro.
"I will take care of the elders. Rukia can teach her what she needs to know. They do not dictate who I am allowed to care for," I said with a slight tone of anger in my voice, "Also, the Ukitake clan is a noble clan as well, so things are different here." Ukitake-taicho shook his head. "You know that they will not see it that way. She is indeed my daughter, but she does not have the blood of my family. The elders will be quick to point that out," he responded, "I know I'm being difficult Byakuya, but she is my daughter. I will not stand for any half-committed relationship for her." I looked at him and understood, but he had to understand to.
"Ukitake-taicho, I want to protect her and make her feel safe, safer than she ever was in the world of the living. She is all I focus on most days, which isn't something that I am used to dealing with," I said honestly, "I am fully committed to her, and if any of the elders has a problem with it, then I will confront them all and let them know just how I feel about her. My feelings are not going away." This was not like me, but I wanted Ukitake-taicho to understand. If he didn't, she wouldn't be able to go through with it either. We had to have his support. I looked to see Ukitake-taicho smiling and nodded. "Good. Now go tell her that," he said, motioning to Shinkiro who was moving towards us. Another slow song had come on, and I was not going to miss this chance again.
-Shinkiro's POV-
After finishing a rather awkward dance with the man who asked me to earlier, I made a beeline straight for Oto-san and Byakuya. To my surprise, another slow song came on and suddenly, Byakuya was right in front of me. He surprised me so much that I almost fell, that is until his arm snaked around my waist and caught me.
"May I have this dance?" he asked, his coal gray eyes staring into my ice blue ones. I blushed and nodded. Then, he wrapped an arm around my waist and grabbed my right hand with his left. From there, he began to lead me in a simple slow dance. Wow. He's a good dancer. I looked at him and decided to point out something I had noticed earlier.
"Byakuya, we match," I said with a small smile. He looked at me and merely nodded, "You look very beautiful, Shinkiro." I felt my face turn beet red and then I looked down nervously, "Even with all my scars showing?" He grabbed my chin in his hand and pulled my face up to look at him. "I promise you no one has even noticed your scars," he said softly, his normal stoic tone gone. I looked him in the eyes and gave him a very rare large smile.
"Shinkiro, I need to talk to you about something. About what I mentioned earlier," he started, but I shook my head. "I told you I would talk to Oto-san about it," I said evenly, and then smiled at him shyly, "And I did." "Well so did I. I want to say something first," he said quickly, "I want to protect you and help you learn to better protect yourself. Please know that I'm serious about pursuing you, and I will not give up easily." Was Byakuya Kuchiki pleading with me? Did Toshiro-taicho freeze hell over again? I saw the look in his eyes that said he was not at all joking.
"Byakuya," I started shyly, "If you can accept me as I am and accept that I am not a noble. I don't know how to be one. I may never learn correctly, and that I have problems with my self-confidence, then I would love to be yours. But only if you're serious." I looked at him nervously, expecting rejection, but to my surprise, as the song was ending, Byakuya pulled my face up and placed his lips firmly on mine. I swear my heart just stopped, but then I realized what was going on and kissed him back.
Suddenly, I heard many oooohhhsss and oh my goshes and we pulled away to see the entire club staring at us with a spot light on us thanks to none other than the dearest lieutenant to the tenth division, Rangiku Matsumoto.
"Let's give it up for the woman of the hour and the reunification of two lonely souls!" She announced happily, "Sorry guys, but she is most certainly not single anymore!" I almost died right then and there. I was going to kill her if I didn't die of embarrassment first. Byakuya tightened his arm around my waist, and I bravely turned to the crowd and waved and smiled. Next thing I know, Rangiku-chan is handing me the microphone. I glared at her before making myself say something.
"A-ano… Arigato gozaimasu, Minna-san(everyone) for coming tonight, and a special thanks to Rangiku Matsumoto-chan for throwing this party for my return. I hope you all enjoy your night. Thank you again," I said becoming more comfortable as I talked. After finishing that, I handed the microphone back to Rangiku-chan and everyone clapped. I smiled kindly, and after the spotlight was gone, and I had greeted everyone, I headed out the door. Byakuya stayed by my side all night and followed me as left. Oto-san had left much earlier because of his health, so it was just Byakuya and I.
"Shinkiro," Byakuya said his voice sounding almost nervous, "Rukia brought this back with me from the world of the living, and I wanted to use it tonight to help keep this memory." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a disposable camera. I smiled sweetly and nodded excitedly. He reached his arm out, and snapped a picture. "Our first picture together," I said happily.
He smirked slightly before kissing my forehead, "Let me take you home. Ukitake-taicho is probably very worried about you." I looked at him kind of disappointed. "When do you think I can see you again, Byakuya?" I mean know we live in the same city, but our work places and homes were on opposite sides of the Seireitei. Plus he was super important and busy. "I have dinner with Rukia every night when she is not out with her friends. Also, your old room is still empty. You are always welcome to come stay a night or so with us," he suggested. I smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Could we do training sessions on Saturdays or in the mornings again?" I asked sheepishly. He looked at me shocked, but then nodded in approval. "That would be beneficial for your squad and for allowing us to learn more about each other," he noted, obviously interested in the idea. After agreeing to the resumed training sessions, we walked comfortably in silence to the Ukitake manor hand in hand. We did not shunpo as we were in no hurry to leave each other's side.
Finally, we arrived at my home. We stood on the doorstep, and Byakuya planted a chaste kiss on my lips. "Good night, Shinkiro. Sleep well," he said stoically before flash stepping away. I sighed happily. This night could not have gone better, well minus Rangiku-chan bringing all the attention onto us after we kissed. I walked into the house quietly and went straight to take a shower and clean off all of my makeup. As I stepped out of the bathroom in my pajamas, I jumped when I saw Oto-san waiting for me.
"So, did you enjoy the party?" he asked me with a knowing smile. I just grinned and hugged him tightly. "Arigato, Oto-san," I whispered happily before letting go. We said good night, and I went straight to bed still in awe of the amazing night I had had. This truly had been a night to remember.