This is another birthday gift to my wonderful friend Tuli-chan, I hope you enjoy this sequel to my previous gift. ;) And I wish you a very happy birthday. ^^
Another Meeting of Hearts and Worlds
It was early morning in Karakura town, when Captain Kuchiki Byakuya arrived in the world of the living. He slowly drew in a breath of the cool spring air as he glanced from side to side. The raven-haired man was currently near the stream that separated Karakura town from the city directly beside it. Though as he started on his way toward the Urahara shop, in order to get his gigai, he drifted off into thought.
'I understand that the Head Captain wishes for me to provide assistance to Kurosaki Ichigo, but there are plenty of others here that are fully capable of doing so. I suppose it's another incident of trying to appease Central 46, in light of the increase of Hollow attacks.' he mused to himself while continuing on his way.
However, before he turned the final corner that led to the shop, Byakuya suddenly felt a strange presence within the area. This lead him to quickly glance around with scanning eyes, yet he couldn't seem to pinpoint where the source was. But while he remained in one place, the presence itself was coming closer and closer by the second.
Despite the fact that there were many people walking through the streets, the captain quickly shifted his gaze toward one specific person. Him being able to tell, that considering all the other humans nearby, this one was the most different. 'Who is that?' he thought quickly to himself.
The person in question was a young woman, whom appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties. She also had long raven-colored hair, red eyes and a very buxom figure. Though more interesting still was her very fashionable outfit that consisted of a long purple dress, that had no sleeves and held openings on the sides to reveal her long legs. Across the bottom half of this garment, many white flower designs could be seen upon it, which were also on her purple heels.
Although, it was the mere aura this woman gave off that made her almost intimidating. even to Byakuya. But whilst staring at her, he quickly noticed that she too was walking toward the Urahara shop. This quickly snapped him out of his brief daze and allowed him to follow after her. It being clear from his determined expression that he wanted to know who this woman was and why she was there.
Upon entering the grounds of the shop, the woman suddenly stopped and glanced to Byakuya behind her. She then just smiled softly, yet mysteriously as there was no doubt that she could see him just fine. "Stalking is a terrible habit, but I guess I couldn't blame you." she chuckled out in amusement.
Byakuya didn't even blink from this as his eyes just narrowed; "Who are you?" was all he asked, his voice sounding very firm.
"Oh~, now that would be telling." the woman responded with a slightly wider smile.
"But for the sake of names other than 'you', you may call me 'Ichihara Yuuko'. Or just 'Yuuko'." she continued with a very elegant wave of her hand.
"Very well then...what are you doing here?" Byakuya asked, his tone remaining the same despite getting his previous question answered.
"Now aren't you the rude one." Yuuko started while placing her hands to her sides.
"Normally when someone gives you their name, you should return the favor." she finished, yet her own tone took on a much firmer side near the end.
This actually making a shiver run up Byakuya's spine as he felt like this woman was not someone to be taken lightly. "Kuchiki Byakuya." was his silent response to her.
Yuuko immediately blinked her eyes to him while she tilted her head to the side. "You mean...you're 'The Kuchiki Byakuya'?" she asked, her actually sounding rather surprised from this.
"You know of me?" the captain question back as he wasn't sure of how this woman could have even heard his name.
However, before Yuuko could answer, Kisuke's voice was suddenly heard from the door of his shop. "Ah~! Yuuko my old friend, decided to finally visit me again~? How long has it been? Twenty..thirty years?" he laughed out while walking toward the woman.
"Thirty-five actually. But I'm sure you recall me telling you how difficult it is to get to such a far away world, even for someone me?" Yuuko said with a small smirk curling her lips.
"Oh...Captain Kuchiki, I didn't know that you were here too. I assume you got acquainted with Yuuko here?" Kisuke asked before gesturing for the the pair to follow him inside the shop.
"I suppose you could say that, but who exactly is she? And what did she mean by this being a 'far away world'?" Byakuya questioned as his gaze narrowed on the blond man.
"Well..." Kisuke started with a sheepish smile.
"Allow me." Yuuko interjected with a raised hand once they were all sitting down.
"You see...many years ago, when even I was young, I was practicing my magic in order to develop it. However, during an experimental transportation spell which allows people to travel between worlds, I used too much power and ended up in this one. Or more specifically...Soul Society." she began, to which Byakuya blinked in a bit of shock.
"But while it was a short visit, the feeling of the world interested me. So while I made it back to my own world, I decided to try going there again many years later. During of which, was when I met Kisuke here...as well as Tessai..." she continued, her saying the last name just as said man came into the room with tea for each of them.
"...and also Yoruichi." the woman finished, though she soon glanced around as if expecting the purple haired woman to be somewhere nearby.
"She's not here just yet, but I'm sure if you stick around...she'll make it on time before you return back to your world." Kisuke added just before sipping his tea and letting out a breath.
"We'll see." Yuuko muttered, yet soon looked to Byakuya once more as he seemed to have even more questions than before.
"Anyway...long story short, I befriended them and I decided to visit them whenever I get the chance. Of course...this has been the longest wait yet since there has been a lot going on recently." she continued with a heavy sigh, her almost appearing tired.
"I suppose I have no choice but to believe you. So are they the ones who told you about me?" Byakuya asked with a glance toward Kisuke and Tessai.
"Oh no...not at all. It was Tomoyo-hime, she seemed to be quite smitten from the way she kept talking about you." Yuuko explained with a small grin and wink, which lead for an ever so rare blush to spread on Byakuya's features.
"She was a bit sad from the fact that she couldn't seem to figure out a way to get here again. Though, now that I know it's 'this' world you come from, I suppose I could possibly work something out with her." she continued as an even wider grin curled her lips.
"Tomoyo?" Byakuya echoed out as he recalled the night said girl had appeared before him many months ago.
Yet while Yuuko looked at him, she slowly raised an elegant brow and smiled softly. "I see it went both ways." she whispered before waving a hand.
"I would normally have you or her ask me to grant this as a wish, but I think just for this one time...I'll let it slide." the woman continued with a wink as her body began to glow brightly.
However, it was the glowing within the next room that drew more attention. Despite not being able to see what was happening, the sudden 'Kyaa!' from the other room was all they needed in order to realize what Yuuko had done. This led for Byakuya slowly stand up and walk over to the room's door, him wanting to confirm if what he suspected was true.
"Are you sure about this? You used up quite a bit of magic just coming here, and now you've used up even more by doing the same for her." Kisuke whispered to Yuuko while bringing up his fan to the side of his face.
"Don't worry...I think it'll be worth it." she started with a soft smile as she turned to watch Byakuya open the door and reveal Tomoyo sitting on the floor.
Said girl was pouting lightly while rubbing the back of her head, yet upon seeing the raven-haired man, she blushed deeply. "B-B-B-Byakuya?!" she stuttered out while trying to adjust her purple kimono as it had become slightly offset from her fall.
"Tomoyo..." the captain whispered silently before coming over and offering her his hand to take.
Despite her blush remaining, Tomoyo slowly smiled softly and took his hand. This allowed him to help the girl to her feet, to which she smiled a bit wider to Byakuya. "We finally meet again, ne?" she said silently, yet in a very happy tone.
"Ah, who knew our worlds have already crossed paths before." he said with a nod, to which he then stepped to the side so that Tomoyo could see the occupants in the other room.
"Yuuko-san?" she said in surprise while blinking many times at the sight of this woman.
"Hello again Tomoyo-hime, I hope you appreciate this gift. I will be expecting equal payment for each 'wish' after this point." the raven-haired woman stated as she offered a small smile to the girl.
Whom looked at her with blinking eyes for a moment, yet she soon smiled in response and nodded. "Hai." she began before bowing her head; "Thank you."
"No need to thank me...just make sure that your time together is spent wisely. My powers will have returned by nightfall, so..." Yuuko started, yet never continued as she just waved of her hand slightly.
Tomoyo nodded once more to her, to which she looked up to Byakuya, who in turn, gazed back to her. Yet they soon blinked a few times and glanced away from one another since they both seemed to realize what Yuuko was insinuating about their relationship. But despite being embarrassed, neither one of them denied that were was indeed something between the two of them.
"Would you like me to show you around the town?" Byakuya asked silently with a clearing of his throat.
"Ah...I'd like that." Tomoyo responded as she smiled a bit wider, to which they soon looked to their hands as they had yet to let go.
This making them both look down shyly, but their hands remained clasped around each others. Though the captain had to place his spiritual body within a gigai, the pair soon made their way out into Karakura town. Even with Byakuya knowing so little about so many things, the pair truly enjoyed themselves just by talking to one another.
With both of them already knowing about each other's past, they didn't ever feel the need to ask questions relating to such. They just had fun walking through the streets, talking and even having lunch. During of which they discovered even more things about one another, such as Tomoyo liking Soba and Sushi, yet hating green peppers. Or even the fact that Byakuya created an imaginary character named; Wakame Ambassador, of which Tomoyo thought was truly adorable.
However, after the evening had passed and they were on their way back to the Urahara shop, a wave of glee washed over both of them. The pair knowing that today was the first of many that they would be able to spend time with one another. Which brought them directly outside the shop's door as the two shared a long moment of just gazing into each other's eyes.
All the while, Yuuko and Kisuke were watching from one of the windows and grinned widely. "Oh~, I betcha they're gonna do it." the blond whispered as he brought his fan up in front of his mouth.
"Not a chance...Tomoyo is too pure to kiss on the first date, and from what I can tell of Byakuya...he's too respectful." Yuuko stated, yet she kept her voice very hushed.
Though, while Kisuke slowly nodded in agreement to this, they both blinked a few times as the pair outside seemed to be unconsciously moving closer to one another. This making the two inside, blink many times and even press their cheeks against the window as if to get a better look. But just when it seemed like Byakuya's and Tomoyo's might connect, Yoruichi suddenly came up to them with a tired sigh.
"Aw man...I'm exhausted." the golden-eyed woman muttered while stretching her arms.
However, she immediately blinked many times to the pair right in front of her, to which she slowly took on a devious grin. "Oh~? You've finally gotten yourself a new girlfriend I see." she said with an approving nod.
"She looks like a lovely young woman, you're quite lucky to find someone like her." Yoruichi continued, her adding a wink to Tomoyo as the girl blushed lightly.
"I-I think I'm the lucky one." the girl whispered, yet quickly cleared her throat and turned away.
"I-I mean...um..." was all she could manage out before Yoruichi just smiled and placed a hand to the girl's shoulder.
"It's alright, you can be honest." she whispered with another wink to Tomoyo; "Anyway, I'm heading inside. Play nice you two~!"
After Yoruichi's last comment, the two just looked from each other before away in a bit of embarrassment. This made the golden-eyed woman giggle in response as she went inside the shop, yet she left the door open. Which made it so that they pair could hear her and Yuuko greeting one another, as well as exchanging farewells. Though as Byakuya and Tomoyo made eye contact once more, the pair shared a soft gaze since they knew Yuuko would be leaving soon.
"I enjoyed today." Tomoyo started as she slowly developed a smile on her features.
"As did I. I hope we can do this much more often in the future." Byakuya said, him nodding his head in agreement to the girl's words.
"And I'm sure we will." the young princess said, to which both she and the raven-haired captain turned to Yuuko as she came walking up to the open door.
"It's time." was all the woman said as Tomoyo gave a nod.
Though before moving, Byakuya and the purple-haired girl shared another long gaze. This one look all but radiating something that neither of them could admit just yet, but everyone else could tell what it was. After finally separating, Tomoyo and Yuuko made their way into the yard of the shop, the former of whom looked to Byakuya and smiled again. "Until next time, Byakuya."
"Ah...I look forward to it, Tomoyo." he responded as they waved to one another just before Yuuko created a magic circle and vanished with the princess.
'Perhaps I should thank the Head Captain for sending me here when he did.' Byakuya thought silently as he held a smile on his features, him not even realizing that he had this expression for much of the day.
"Another meeting of hearts and worlds, I suppose." he whispered silently.