Hello everyone!

Thank you to Midnitstar, pavithraprenisha, ashrose92, Lady Leather, and AelitaOfTheWolves for following/favoring the story!

Also, thank you Meijosui for reviewing! I really appreciate it! :)

I will most likely not update again until next year. Until then, Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year! Happy reading and please review!

Chapter 3

Golden Eyed Memories

After Miyako had fled from the forest, Byakuya still remained in his hiding spot. Emotions hit the stoic captain all at once; confusion and anger, anger being the strongest one. That kido spell missed him by a hair. It bothered him that someone was actually that close to hitting him. He scolded himself for being caught off guard.

'Her aim was almost impeccable, I'll admit…'

What bothered him even more was that he didn't expect such a violent reaction. He didn't even have the chance to think much about dodging her lightning charged attack.

'Not to mention that she's very agile…'

Questions flooded his head: did she know he was there and was feigning ignorance? Was she intending to cause bodily harm or death?

The captain narrowed his eyes for a moment and clenched his fists. He turned his back to the clearing and proceeded to return home as quickly as possible.

Byakuya finally reached his manor moments later. With his attitude ruined, he no longer felt like walking home at a snail's pace. He had already had a long day and he was hoping to rest peacefully for the night. He had planned to bathe, eat dinner and have one more cup of green tea before bed, but low and behold Miyako ruined his plans.

Usually Byakuya was the calm, cool and collected head of the Kuchiki clan—but not tonight. As much as he tried to hide it from the manor staff, his irritation seeped from his body like a slow burning flame. His staff didn't know how to react once he entered the manor. The only natural thing to do was to cower in fear.

"...Welcome home, Master Kuchiki." a servant said.

Byakuya returned the welcome with a cold and empty glare, scaring the poor manservant. Another servant approached him, this time a woman, also frightened by his demeanor.

"...would you like dinner first, Master Kuchiki?"

Byakuya glanced at the maidservant and tried to prevent himself from displaying a more intense scowl. The poor woman had tried her best to meet him eye to eye. The problem was that the color of her eyes had almost sent him back into a mental rage; luckily her eyes were a beautiful shade of honey brown, not gold like his supposed assailant. Byakuya forced himself to once again come off of Rage Mountain once he saw the difference in the hues of their eyes. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"I would like to request that my dinner and a cup of green tea to be brought to my room in thirty minutes." he said sharply.

The maidservant nodded slowly. "Y-yes, Master Byakuya…" she said before she spun on her heel and darted off to the kitchen. Byakuya gave everyone who remained a stone cold glare, causing them to also make themselves scarce. He let out a deep breath and made his way to his room. A hot bath was definitely in order.

Byakuya slid his bedroom door open and was greeted with the pale golden luminescence of the light from various lanterns. He slipped in quietly and proceeded to strip his body of his captain's haori, which he set out to be laundered by the staff for the next day. Next, Senbonzakura was placed neatly on a display stand near his luxurious king-sized bed.

To his left was his private bathroom, which he made a quick, elegant beeline towards. The room was filled with a thin veil of steam that carried the delicate fragrance of cherry blossoms and lavender. He started to loosen up a bit once the floral aroma entered his nose, prompting him to shed his shinigami robes and keisaikan and discarding them into a nearby straw basket. He slipped his slender, yet toned body into the bath salts and oil infused bath and soaked his dilemma and aches away for a while.

After bathing and wrapping himself in a white robe, Byakuya strolled to his in-room office, which was located in the room behind his bed. A beautiful plate of assorted sashimi paired with fresh seasonal vegetables and hot miso soup was waiting for him on top of his desk, along with his cup of green tea. After filling his stomach, he helped himself to a small amount of his green tea.

He took the cup with him and headed out to the elaborate garden that lay outside of his room. The large garden was his favorite place in the manor. It was filled with a variety of shrubbery, from plain bushes to various patches of flowers, a sizable man-made pond filled with exotic and expensive koi fish and of course, his beloved cherry blossom trees. The garden was quiet aside from a gentle breeze that rustled the foliage. The golden light from the garden lanterns illuminated the entire garden, complementing the celestial body above his raven head.

Seeing the crescent moon quickly reminded him about his encounter with Miyako. Her curvy silhouette briefly flashed in his memory.

'How long has it been since I've last seen her?'

From what he remembered, she was a lot less curvy; almost a complete opposite to Yoruichi, who had always been curvy. But he had to remember that was due to her being much younger, maybe while she was in her prepubescent years. Her younger form had come back to him: a slightly tall and lanky girl pre-teen girl with long blue hair and of course, big golden eyes. His mind traveled back to when he first met the girl.

Byakuya had woken up early once again and had a smile plastered onto his face. It was another beautiful day at the manor; the sun shone warmly in the clear blue sky. The wind was calm, welcoming another warm spring day. He almost ripped himself out of his bed and jumped out. He freshened up before running to his closet. Before he could set his eyes on his clothes, a voice had interrupted him.

When he exited his walk-in closet, Byakuya was met with one of his servants, who was ready to attend to the young heir. She bowed slightly before addressing him.

"Master Byakuya," the maid servant called out, "would you like your breakfast now? The chef is ready to serve you."

The young heir waved his hand and declined. "Thank you, but I don't desire to have a meal right now. I need to continue my training as soon as possible."

Training and becoming stronger was at the forefront of his mind. He knew that the day would come when he'd become the new head of the Kuchiki clan. He was also determined to become the captain of Sixth Division, just like his grandfather Ginrei, the current captain. He admired him greatly and wanted to grow into a man of his caliber.

"Yes, Master Byakuya." the maid servant replied before she had quietly left the room, prompting him to get dressed.

A couple of hours later, Byakuya had been training alone outside in the garden with a wooden sword. He focused heavily on making power precise and swift strikes as sweat traveled down his brow. He ignored the hunger pains that begged him to halt his training and fill his stomach. His focus had blocked out everyone and everything from his world until he heard the sound of heavy clapping. His eyes quickly cut over to his right.

"Good job, good job." an elderly voice said.

Ginrei had stepped out from the shadows of the shaded walkway and entered the garden. Byakuya's face lit up when he saw his grandfather.

"Grandfather!"

Ginrei nodded. "Hello, Byakuya."

"What a surprise to see you! What are you doing here? Are you staying here instead of at the barracks?"

"I came to see you train, my dear grandson. I'm impressed by your swordsmanship. I can tell that you've been training quite often. You've improved since the last time I saw you."

Byakuya wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled. "Thank you!"

"But you have to improve on your awareness. I've been standing here for ten minutes and you didn't notice me until I started clapping."

Byakuya felt the sting of Ginrei's words. "Yes sir, I understand. I'll do my best to improve! But like I had said earlier, it's a surprise to see you. Besides observing me during my training, what else do you have planned? I hope that you have some free time! I haven't been able to talk with you in so long! I enjoy our conversations."

Ginrei gave him a small grin. "I came here to inform you that I brought someone over to visit you…"

Byakuya blinked in curiosity. "Who might that be, grandfather?"

His question was answered when something warm and squishy had hit him in his face, taking him by surprise. A familiar fragrance crept up his nose; one made of lavender and neroli and a hint of lemon. It instantly threw him into a puddle of irritation. He quickly swung his sword at his target, but they evaded his attack easily. He growled and flashed his pearly white teeth while he kept his grip tight on his sword.

"Why are you here again, Shihouin?!"

Yoruichi chuckled at this attitude. Her golden eyes looked down on him mischievously; they mocked him. "Is that anyway to treat a guest? All I wanted to do was drop by for a visit...I came all this way just for you, Byakuya-bo!"

"Anytime that you 'drop by' results in a dreadful time! When did I ever say that I wanted you to visit me?!" he replied while pointing his sword at her. "As the next head of the Kuchiki clan, I don't have time for you and your shenanigans! And don't call me that name!"

Yoruichi ignored him and raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? I think that you'll have time for this!"

Yoruichi snapped her fingers and instantly, Byakuya's red hair tie was snatched out of his hair. He quickly swung his sword again expecting to hit Yoruichi, but someone else had caught his attention, not to mention its scent; he was hit with a swift essence of water lily, bergamot with a hint of lemon. Standing on the ledge of the stone garden wall, a skinnier and younger version of Yoruichi who was dressed in an ocean themed spring yukata looked down on him with her golden eyes as she held his red hair tie in between her slender fingers. Her back length blue hair swayed a bit before finally resting on her back.

"Wow...this was pretty effortless to snatch out of your hair…it's pretty sad, really..." she said in a high pitched voice. "Your grandfather is right! You really do need to train harder in your focus!"

Byakuya's eyes widened, his mouth open wide enough for a few flies to enter. He looked back and forth between the two to make sure that he wasn't going insane. "W-who are you?! Tell me now!"

All the girl did back was smile at him. "Byakuya, this is Miyako. She's my sister." Yoruichi said.

"S-sister?" he questioned.

The two nodded at him. Miyako giggled as she played with the hair tie. "Shall we play now, sister? Just like you said earlier?"

"Yes! Let's play tag with Byakuya-bo! I'm sure that he won't mind!" she said with a wink.

"Oh no you two don't!" Byakuya protested. "I don't have time for this! Now return my hair tie at once!"

Yoruichi shook her head in disappointment. "I feel sorry for the Kuchiki clan if its next heir can't catch two girls...especially one that's wearing a yukata!" she said before flashing stepping away. Byakuya quickly turned to Miyako, who simply waved and also flash stepped away. Byakuya wanted to scream, but he gnashed his teeth instead.

"Just you two watch! You'll see exactly what I can do!"

The young heir quickly raced after them, leaving Ginrei by himself.

'And from that point on, those two kept pestering me whenever they could…but it's been at least a hundred years since I've really interacted with her…'

A lot of things had happened since their adolescent years. In between dealing with Shihouin sisters, Byakuya had continued his training. He matured over the years and had met Hisana, a beautiful, delicate flower of a woman from the poverty-stricken 78th district of Rukongai, Inuzuri. For the first time in his life, love had invaded his heart. Byakuya couldn't help his feelings towards her and had always grown up with the strict rules of the Kuchiki Clan. He was conflicted, but his love for Hisana had grown into something bigger than duty and rules. After a short time, Byakuya broke the rules and married the commoner woman.

Byakuya, a man whose face seldomly held a cheerful expression, couldn't help but smile. He remembered their wedding day like it was yesterday; Hisana was by his side, dressed in an elegant white robe. A crown of white roses were a striking contrast against her short, silky raven hair. After one kiss, they were married and he was content in their happiness.

Byakuya's small smile quickly collapsed into a frown. Five years later, his beloved Hisana had fallen ill and succumbed to death's unavoidable grip. Byakuya's heart was nevertheless shattered. Their marriage was short and they didn't have any children, which was something he longed for with his late wife; a family to love and to carry on the Kuchiki empire. They had tried several times to conceive, but their efforts were in vain. He remembered the disappointment that came with it, but he knew that his was nothing compared to the disappointment that Hisana felt. He knew that the elders gossiped about them behind closed doors about her inability to conceive, but that didn't stop him from loving her or putting people in their place when they disrespected her. He never wanted her to feel like any less of the amazing woman that he thought of her to be.

After Hisana died, he fulfilled her dying wish, once again breaking the rules of the Kuchiki clan. He found and adopted Hisana's long lost sister, Rukia, who bore a striking resemblance to his beloved. He thought that Hisana had been reincarnated, but he knew that his wishful thinking was nothing more than mere fiction. Rukia contrasted greatly from her sister; strong-willed and fierce, especially in battle. The two sisters were truly day and night and he grew to love her like the sibling he never had. Although he didn't admit it, he was proud of the powerful shinigami that she was growing into.

When Hisana died, his heart died with her. He swore to never love again and threw himself heavily into his clan and captain duties. Women had approached him several times over the years and he never acknowledged their advances. To him, he couldn't love another woman that wasn't Hisana. No other woman could make his heart skip a beat like she once did.

Miyako was just another woman, an irritating one at that. His mind couldn't help but think back to earlier that evening; those golden eyes standing at the forefront of his mind. Byakuya pushed her to the back of his mind and drank the rest of his tea before he proceeded to make his way to his bed. Before crawling into the opulent covers, he looked at the crescent moon one last time. Her voice and especially her golden eyes replayed in his mind once again. His irritation started to manifest again, his frown deep.

Seconds later, his mind was made up: just like the others, he wouldn't waste his time on Miyako Shihouin.