March 14th was fast approaching, and he had to figure out what he was going to do for her. So far he'd already commissioned a white gold heart shaped locket, the circumference of the locket was decorated with pink diamonds while at the center was a white diamond. He also had the back of it engraved with a message for her. Was it expensive? Yes, to most it would be, but his father had granted him enough funds from their house to have the necklace crafted for her. While the scarf his grandfather wore, a symbol of being head of the Kuchiki clan, was valuable enough to be exchanged for seven mansions, the necklace was only a fraction of that. He had told his father of the secret room in the event he ever needed to locate them while they were there. He had not informed his grandfather.

He also was planning to spend a day with her in Jurinan, a picninc under their favourite cherry blossom tree, and an overnight stay at one of the inns there. Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihouin had agreed to chaperone for the inn, given that they were both her superior officers. Tama was their new fourth seat, sure it was a slightly lower rank than the one that his grandfather had offered her. He had soon learned that wasn't why she turned Ginrei's offer down. She had wanted to join the second squad because she wanted to help others who had been victims of crimes committed by Shinigami, and felt the best way to do that was through the Second Squad. It would be lying if he tried to claim he didn't admire her strength and courage to face that possibility every day. It made his affection towards her even stronger. He'd originally thought of the picnic and the stay at the Inn, but it didn't end there.

He also had a kimono commissioned for her. He'd noticed from when she first began living at the manor that she seemed to love the night sky. He'd advised to use that as inspiration for the design of the kimono. Still despite the planning and the money spent, it seemed to pale in comparison to her Valentine 's Day gift to him. He planned to save the necklace for last. The other thing he'd gotten her was for White Day was currently in his hands, he'd noticed that one book in particular seemed to be missing from the family collection than the others, but there was a published sequel that wasn't in their library. A copy of which he was currently staring at, it was opened to a blank page at the front of the book before the title page. He hesitated, brush in hand, contemplating on what to write to her.

He didn't have long to consider it however as he soon sensed her nearby and snatched the book up from his desk. He flash stepped over to his tatami mat and placed the book under his pillow. He almost laughed at the idea of still having his own room. In reality he had been sleeping in her room for several months now, almost a year in fact. If he really thought about it he could count on one hand the number of weeks he'd spent in his own room. Yes, he did mean weeks. Starting roughly four months ago she began insisting on sleeping alone for about four days, consecutively, and then would return to their usual arrangement. By the fourth night he would be sleeping with his back pressed up against the door that divided their rooms, and he could sense that she was doing something similar. He had a rough idea of why that had been occurring, but he kept his suspicions to himself. Based upon the pattern he'd noticed, the four days of her sleeping alone was about to begin again and would reoccur roughly two weeks after White Day. He wasn't certain why she kept away from him during these times. Granted they weren't fully grown adults, as such they weren't married, but it wouldn't matter to him. He wished she'd talk with him about what she went through during those four days. Was she nauseated? Or was she worried about something embarrassing happening? Was it because she felt unclean, or was she pain?

Being unclean wasn't a big deal in his eyes, he'd be more than happy to guard outside of the washroom while she bathed. The only thing embarrassing he could think of would be if she got blood on the sheets, which again, not a big deal. Blood wasn't the easiest thing to wash but it did wash. He almost laughed at the irony if nausea was why she wasn't wanting to share sleeping space during those days because of how she'd puked down his back when he first met her. As for pain, he could massage her back or try to ease her discomfort. He'd be more than willing to let her press her back against his knees if it would help ease things, or even her stomach. He wasn't too sure, and he didn't know much about what girls went through. From what Unohana had described when he asked her about it, the experience did seem fairly unpleasant. He'd imagine there was indeed some pain associated with it.

He laid down on the tatami mat, pulling the white yogi, decorated with sakura blossoms up to his chin. He sighed heavily as he turned on his side so his back was facing the door that divided their rooms. His forehead pressing into his thumb and index finger, he closed his eyes for a few moments then soon opened them again and shifted onto his back. He stared up at the ceiling, his hand resting on the back of his neck. As he contemplated whether or not he should try to enter her room, he wasn't going to deny it: he missed falling asleep and waking up next to her during this four day period.

What's more he could barely sleep without her by him, and he knew she felt the same. He could hear her shifting around in her room. Tossing and turning, then getting up to pace. After a while she'd try to sleep again and the pattern continued on throughout the night.

This night however he was surprised to feel two short bursts of her reiatsu, their no sound version of a knock. He sat up on the tatami mat as he responded a with a single short burst of his own, a way to signal for her to enter. The door slid open and he was surprised to find her in front of him, the look made his heart ache. Her eyes were almost as fearful as he'd seen her after that nightmare she'd had the first night at the manor. He wordlessly extended his hand to her and she almost ran to him on her knees, wrapping her arms around his torso, and her head resting in the nook of his neck. He readily wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes as he gently turned his head into her face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be sorry. I'm sure you have you have your reasons. I just wish I knew them," he answered in the same hushed tone. She bit her lip a little as she admitted, "I don't want to get any on you."

He almost laughed at the idea and gently stroked her hair as he assured her, "that would wash out."

"But Ginrei would know," she objected.

"Would he? I'm not above causing a little pain to keep our secret," he offered.

She shook her head 'no', "don't even joke about that."

"Alright," he agreed. It was a foolish thought anyhow, he knew she'd never forgive him if he'd done such a thing to cover for her. He thought for a moment before suggesting, "there's one maid I'm certain wouldn't breathe a word to him if I asked her to keep quiet. Should that happen, I will ask her to do my washing and not mention it."

Tama hesitated before slowly nodding her head, "okay."

He gently kissed her forehead, then shifted his head so his forehead was resting against hers. She cupped his cheek with her hand. He placed his hand over hers, gently rubbing his thumb against the back of it while he asked, "will you stay with me tonight?"

She nodded as she confessed, "I sleep better near you anyway."

He smiled and admitted, "I've noticed that. I'm the same."

"Why didn't you ask me why I was staying away?"

He gave a small shrug of his shoulders as he admitted, "I'd read a few books about changes girls go through, and admittedly I did speak with Unohana. I was worried, but I also never want to push you into doing or speaking of anything. I'll always wait for you to involve me when you're ready."

She blinked a little as a tear ran down her cheek. He softly brushed his thumb over her tear as he revealed, "you went through so much before we met. The last thing I want to be is a source of more pain. I know there will be things that bother you that I can't ask of without causing pain, so I leave it to you to decide when you're ready to speak of them. However long it takes, I will wait, and listen when you're ready."

Tama smiled as she cuddled into him. He gently laid back with her cradled in his arms, her head resided on his chest. He closed his eyes as he felt her breathing evening out, her ear over his heart, listening to it beat in rhythm. "You're incredibly brave," he uttered the admittence.

"Brave?"

The single word was indeed a question, he easily picked up on that by the influx of her voice. He nodded as he replied, "you chose your squad to help others going through things that you've been through. I know what those things did to you, and how it impacted you. I don't think I'd be brave enough to face that every day."

"You fool," she almost laughed as she raised her head to look at his steel grey eyes and reveal, "it's because of you that I feel strong enough to face those things. No matter what happens, I know I'll have one person I can be vulnerable with, even fall apart if I can't keep it together anymore. I never felt safe before, and if I didn't have that now, I couldn't be as 'brave' as you think I am."

He smiled as he squeezed her tightly for a moment while assuring her, "No matter what the future brings; I will be there when you have need of me, until my final breath."