Another birthday present for my amazing friend Tuli-chan. I think this one should have been the third chapter now that I think about it, but...better late than never. I hope you enjoy. ^^
Meeting of Hearts, Worlds...and Family
Deep silence filled the room. Tension hanging heavily in the air. But as Byakuya's serious gaze remained fixed, Tomoyo's expression appeared to be one of panic. The pair sitting side-by-side, yet also directly across the latter's elder sister. There being a small wooden table separating them, which almost felt like a shield at this point.
Though, despite the siblings appearing rather similar to one another, the older of the pair had a sternness that gave Byakuya's own a challenge. Her also having a more defined facial structure, along with being almost a foot taller than her sister. However, it was her 'battle-ready' eyes that truly showed how different they were. Tomoyo's own eyes were gentle and full of light. But this woman's seemed very similar to that of the Head Captain from the Gotei 13. Eyes that had seen many dark things, yet continue to move forward for the greater good of everyone else.
This was Amaterasu, Empress of Nihon. She ruled over the lands together with her sister Tomoyo, though, it was obvious that she held the true authority over the land and its people.
"So..." she suddenly spoke up, her voice commanding respect; "...it has come to my attention that the two of you have started seeing one another more regularly over the past month."
Tomoyo fidgeted briefly with her fingers as she nodded her head slowly; "H-Hai...Onee-sama." she said in an almost overly soft voice.
Despite Byakuya remaining silent, he gave a nod of his head in response. Amaterasu glanced between them for a moment before slowly closing her eyes. "And despite the fact that you're supposed to be helping to make sure everyone from the other worlds are safe, you've both apparently been going on dates more often than not." she stated in an even more firm manner.
"H-Hai...Onee-sama." Tomoyo repeated silently, tilting her head down as if embarrassed or possibly ashamed.
Byakuya looked to her for a moment before placing a hand over the younger girl's hand. Said woman looking to him with a blinking gaze as he offered a small smile and turned to Amaterasu. "We understand our duties and the roles we must play, but they were never vacated. There were always others to fill the gap we left." he explained silently, yet in a 'matter-a-fact'-type tone.
The elder sister looked to him with a raised brow in response, yet it also caused Tomoyo herself to become rather nervous. Her being worried that Amaterasu might think Byakuya isn't suitable for her, or worse...a bad influence. Though, as she inwardly seemed to panic about this, the raven-haired man glanced from her to her sister once more. "I do not know your opinion about me, nor whatever sort of influence over Tomoyo I've had." he started while locking eyes with the older woman.
"But I hope that you will not judge, or make a decision about our future without seeing our compatibility for yourself. I'm sure if given the chance to show you, you will see that Tomoyo and I are very good for one another." Byakuya finished, both his and the woman's eyes narrowing slowly at each other.
All of this making Tomoyo internally, and somewhat externally, panic even more. Her gulping down and glancing from one to the other. However, Amaterasu slowly let out a breath and closed both eyes. "That's the exact purpose for why I requested for you both to come here today." she began in a somewhat more silent tone, but it was still firm nonetheless.
"Oh yes..." Tomoyo spoke up once more, looking at Amaterasu with a curious tilt of her head.
"...you made mention of wanting Byakuya to stay with us for the week, right?" she continued with a soft smile slowly developing on her features.
It being evident that despite the situation with her sister, she was still looking forward to spending a full week together with the raven-haired man beside her. Whom raised a brow to these words as it's the first he's heard of such a plan; "I would have to speak to the Head Captain before I would be able to accept such an offe-" yet he was quickly cut off as a woman instantly came into the room.
Her having tan skin and short black hair, yet her dark eyes were very briefly fixed on Byakuya. However, she just moved passed him with seemingly little regard while going up to Amaterasu. The woman taking a knee and bowing down in front of her ruler; "Permission has been granted." was all she said, but remained unmoving until Amaterasu gave a wave.
At which point the tan skinned woman stood up and left the room, though...not without sending another brief glance toward Byakuya. Something of which he noticed right away as he originally thought it was unintentional, yet now knew it was the opposite. Upon turning back to Amaterasu, the woman just gave a small hint of a smirk on her features while returning his gaze. "It seems that your Head Captain has accepted my terms and will allow you to remain here for next seven days." she more of stated than simply said, to which the woman slowly stood up.
"I hope you enjoy your time here." Amaterasu finished as Tomoyo and Byakuya slowly stood up soon after.
"I expect I will." the man responded with a respectful nod of his head, for which the elder sibling returned this gesture before leaving the room.
Once she had, Tomoyo let out a heavy sigh and smiled to Byakuya in a sheepish manner. "I hope you didn't think she was trying to be mean or anything. She just takes her role as an Empress very seriously...and since I'm her sister, she's probably being extra stern." she explained while sweat dropping lightly.
Byakuya simply shook his head in response, giving a brief glance toward where Amaterasu had left. "It's quite alright, I understand her position and reasoning very well. In fact...she and I have quite a bit in common." he mused silently before turning to Tomoyo.
"So I'm sure she doesn't think poorly of me right now." the man finished, to which the shorter woman blinked a few times and gained a hopeful smile.
Her almost appearing angelic as the pair simply gazed into one another's eyes. Them slowly but surely inching ever closer to each other as if to kiss. But right at the last second, the tan skinned woman came into the room once more. "Excuse me Tomoyo-Hime." she spoke up almost blankly, yet it was obviously intentional.
"S-S-S-Souma-san?!" the younger woman squeaked out in a rather adorable manner.
"Amaterasu-sama would like to speak to you privately." Souma said calmly, keeping her gaze almost deliberately off of Byakuya.
"H-Hai!" Tomoyo said quickly, to which she gave the raven-haired man another sheepish smile and nod.
She then followed along with Souma as said tan-skinned woman turned to Byakuya for a brief moment. "Kurogane will be coming by soon to show you where you'll be staying. Excuse us." she said while ushering Tomoyo out of the room and leaving Byakuya by himself.
As he stood there however, the man tilted his head down in deep thought. 'It seems that some people don't quite agree to our relationship. But that's to be expected since she is their Princess and therefore should only have the very best.' he mused to himself, yet his slow nod afterward showed that he also agreed to these words.
Though, he didn't have any further time to contemplate as a tall man came into the room. Him having black spiky hair and piercing red eyes that appeared to glare daggers toward Byakuya the moment he entered. "So you're him...huh?" he muttered silently while looking the other man over for a few seconds.
"Kurogane-dono, I presume?" Byakuya spoke up softly as he turned to the man fully.
"You presume correctly. Which makes you Kuchiki Byakuya." Kurogane said as if it was more of an afterthought than anything else.
"Follow me." he continued on, to which the man turned around and started walking without even glancing back to make sure Byakuya was actually coming with him.
As they went however, the longer-haired man looked around the area as if to memorize the landscape for an internal map. Though, they soon arrived in front of a door that Kurogane actually opened for the man. "Here is where you'll be staying." was all he said while letting Byakuya inside.
Despite being somewhat small in size, its luxurious appearance gave a clear indication of how nice it truly was. "Thank you." Byakuya said quietly, him turning toward Kurogane with a nod to further his words.
"Sure." was all the spiky-haired man responded with as he simply closed the door and walked away.
Byakuya raised a brow to this before looking around the room once more. But while doing so, he noticed what appeared to be a large book resting on the desk beside the bed. As he walked toward it, Byakuya noticed that it was in fact a photo album. Though, when reaching out to pick it up, Kurogane suddenly opened the door once more and spoke out in an almost bored tone. "Oh yeah...I'll be coming by again in about an hour to show you to the dinning hall. So don't get too comfy."
Immediately following this, the spiky-haired man closed the door yet again and left Byakuya standing there with a sweat drop. "Yare yare..." he hummed out silently, him just sitting down on the edge of the bed and looked to the photo album once more on the desk.
'Curious...perhaps that was a warning to not look inside? Could it be a test of some sort?' the man thought to himself, yet didn't even pick the album up just in case.
Him just looking through his entire room as if to make sure he knew where everything was by the time Kurogane had returned. At which point, Byakuya was led into a large hall with a long dinning table in the center. Amaterasu and Tomoyo were already sitting down, the former being at one end, while the latter was just to her right.
"Have fun." Kurogane whispered in an almost cocky tone, as if he was suggesting something was going to happen during this dinner.
Byakuya glanced to him with a raised brow, yet he moved to sit down next to Tomoyo. However, one of the servants pulled out the chair directly across from the Princess and to Amaterasu's left. "Please...sit." the elder sibling said with a gesture to this seat.
The man simply nodded his head and obliged by sitting down in this chair. A heavy silence fell over them just like before as their dinner was brought out, to which Byakuya turned his gaze toward Tomoyo. Whom had her head hung down slightly, her appearing to be in such deep thought that nothing and no one could break her out of it.
Even while they ate, none of the three spoke a single word to one another. However, it all changed once they had finished eating. At which point, Amaterasu spoke up once more as she looked to Byakuya. "So then, I trust your room accommodations are sufficient?" she almost seemed to demand, rather than ask.
"I find them comfortable and pleasant, if that's what you're wondering." he responded, as the pair just staring at one another almost like they were in the middle of a challenge.
Amaterasu gave a simple nod to this before looking to the side, where of which Souma was seen standing in a doorway. "Well then..." the Empress began as she stood up from her seat.
"...I have some business to attend, so I shall wish you a good night." she finished before leaving the room together with Souma.
Yet before they were gone completely, Amaterasu turned to her sister and made a gesture for her to follow. Tomoyo blinked to this, but nodded slowly in response while going after her sister. Though, not before going up to Byakuya and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "G-Goodnight, Byakuya." she said almost voicelessly, a deep flush spreading on her face.
All the while, the raven-haired man blinked a few times to this while watching her leave with the other two. Once Byakuya was left alone, he raised a brow to this and slowly made his way back into the room he was staying in. 'Curious...very very curious.' he thought to himself while going to the bed once more.
The photo album still resting on the table beside him, yet once again, he didn't attempt to look through it. 'I get the feeling that everything they're doing is a way to test me and how worthy I am to be with Tomoyo. Which means that I should pass every test they send at me.' Byakuya stated to himself firmly within his own mind.
However, this would prove difficult as the very next day, Amaterasu had him joining her for some tea. And while it should have been relaxing, the tea itself was terrible. Yet the Empress herself drank it completely unfazed, leading for Byakuya to do the same. Afterwards, Byakuya then met with Souma so she could show him around the whole castle. But midway through, a servant came by with some snacks and refreshments. The former of which looked like they had been completely burned in some fashion or another, while the latter was the same awful tea as before.
Despite this, Souma just ate and drank this without looking fazed in the slightest. Byakuya did the same as he quickly caught on that these poorly made treats had to be part of the test, just like the tea. Though, it didn't end there. When Byakuya met with Kurogane and started discussing sword styles the next day, a sudden door opening hit the former square in the face. Of which nearly knocked the man out as he never even got to see the person whom opened said door.
'It seems that they've decided to use a bit more brutal methods to chase me off. But now that I'm more alert, I should be able to avoid any further violence.' he mused later that night as he readied to face the next day.
Yet even with two days gone by, Byakuya still hadn't looked at the photo album at the bedside. Yet, more than that, he noticed that Tomoyo appeared more and more tired each time they met for lunch. Strangely enough however, she never drew attention to it as she seemed to be completely ignorant of it. Even as the next day came, more 'high-jinks' ensued. Which took the form of a very bad tasting breakfast, one that Tomoyo herself wasn't there for. As well as more bad-tasting tea with Amaterasu, and even a few of the servants almost dropping flour on Byakuya as he went to see Tomoyo. Whom was apparently in the kitchen speaking to them about something.
Though, said girl wasn't even there upon arriving. So once again, Byakuya just returned to his room to wait for dinner. Afterwards, he let out a heavy breath as he was feeling rather exhausted from these last three days. It feeling a great deal longer than normal with how much everyone was attempting to scare him off. But as he sat on the edge of the bed, he turned to look at the scrapbook yet again. Byakuya starting to think of what it could possibly contain that would make it part of his test.
However, as he gaze to the book, he finally began noticing how old it was. The red coloration was rather faded, and even the edges seemed to bow outward from age. After a few moments, Byakuya finally picked the photo album up and opened it. Upon doing so, his eyes widened a great deal and he closed it after a quick few seconds. "So that's it..." he whispered to himself before heading to the dinning area once it was time.
Upon arriving, Byakuya looked between the sisters as they appeared the same as usual. Though, the younger of the pair seemed all the more exhausted for some reason. As he sat down in his usual seat, he looked to Amaterasu with a nod in greeting as per usual. When turning to Tomoyo, his gaze narrowed slightly. "I'm sorry...but this cannot go on." he spoke, gaining the girl's attention, as well as her sister's.
"H-Huh?" the younger sibling spoke up, her tone a bit panicked.
"W-What do you mean?" she continued nervously as if she knew what he was about to say.
"All of the things that have been happening these last few days. I cannot accept them anymore." Byakuya claimed in a firm manner, making Tomoyo look down in a dejected manner.
"I...I see." she whispered out hopelessly while closing her eyes in order to hold back the inevitable tears.
"You don't have to try so hard, Tomoyo." he said softly as he looked to her.
"I'll make sure that you'll be sent back to-" yet Tomoyo stopped short and blinked as she realized what he just said, to which she looked to him once more. "Huh?"
"You're the one whom has been making the tea, the snacks and causing all of those small accidents. But your intention is to try and get me to bond better with everyone, right?" Byakuya stated, rather than asked.
The younger sister blinked man more times as her sister just chuckled softly at this. "Finally looked at that photo album I had put in your room, huh?" Amaterasu asked, a small smile curling her lips.
"Yes. I was hesitant about opening it because I was under the wrong impression, but when I saw the pictures it had...it all made sense." the raven-haired man answered as a faint smile slowly developed on his features.
"H-Huh? What pictures?" Tomoyo asked quickly while looking between them.
"The photos of you learning to cook, in particular...that time you made that 'friendship cake' you wanted all of us to eat when you thought we didn't like Kurogane anymore." the Empress claimed, her smile widening slightly as her tone became a somewhat teasing one.
This caused her sister to blush a great deal and even hide her face; "O-Onee-sama~! You weren't supposed to show those to anyone~!" she cried out in a whine, making said sibling chuckle once more.
"Well...how else was he supposed to realize that you were causing all this mischief out of worry for what we thought of him?" Amaterasu questioned with a shrug, her aura feeling less like a ruler...and more like a sister.
"Granted...I would have hoped he would have noticed sooner, but I guess it wouldn't have stopped you from worrying all that much." she continued, letting out a heavy sigh.
Tomoyo blinked a few times to this as she uncovered her face and gazed toward her sister. "Onee-sama..."
"You shouldn't worry so much Tomoyo. We all trust your judgment and have seen firsthand of what sort of man he is. So while we all feel like no person in existence deserves you...he is the most worthy. He's the one whom you've given your love to after all, and that's more than enough for us." Amaterasu explained, her giving Tomoyo a reassuring smile.
"Onee-sama..." said girl whispered while wiping away a few happy tears; "...thank you." she continued softly before turning to Byakuya.
Whom still held his soft smile, to which he leaned across the table slightly with his hand outstretched. Tomoyo smiled back and took his offered hand as they were only a meter apart. "Lets enjoy these next four days together before we get back to work, ne?" Byakuya said in a gentle voice and tone.
This made Tomoyo nod her head in response while smiling happily; "Hai~!"