A sequel to the previous chapter as promised. I hope you enjoy~! ^^ And happy birthday Tuli-chan~!
Game of Hearts and Worlds II
Byakuya and Tomoyo stood side-by-side as they stared at the competing couple. This duo being; Uchiha Itachi and Nico Robin. Both of whom simply stared back at the other two, as a mixture of different tensions hung in the air. But while the young ninja stared with a serious expression that even competed with Byakuya's, the pirate woman held a small smile that reflected a great deal of confidence.
Something of which, Tomoyo tried to do as well. Her mimicking as much of her elder sister as she could, but atop of appearing confident, she looked quite adorable as well. This just made Robin reach out and pat Tomoyo gently on the head; "I look forward to this competition." she said softly and elegantly.
"Me too." Tomoyo responded with a smile, not even seeming phased at the fact that the woman was still patting her head.
All the while, Byakuya and Itachi kept staring at one another in complete silence. The tension around them being extremely heavy, as their eyes slowly narrowed on one another. Yet after a few moments, the pressure surrounding the two suddenly lifted, and they simply gave a slow nod. The men seeming to have come to some kind of understanding, to which they then turned to their respective partners. "Ready?" Robin questioned as she just smiled lightly.
"Ah." Itachi responded while offering her quick nod as well; "We're set." he added silently.
Byakuya gazed to Tomoyo with a knowing expression, at which, she smiled happily. Though, they all turned to the side as Kon quickly hopped up onto a table near of the four. "Yosh~! Now that they've gotten to know one another, it's time for the next series of events~!" the lion plushie called out into the similarly sized microphone in his paw.
"We're seen obstacle courses~! We've seen fun games~! And even had a questionnaire~!" Kon continued in an enthusiastic tone, obviously attempting the hype up the audience watching.
While it was the day after the initial games, there were even more people viewing all this spectacle than before. The news of yesterday's events having made even more people eager to see what the next events would be. "And now~...we'll see our competitors going head to head in timed challenges~! Such as~..." he started, immediately gesturing over to a large screen to the side.
As it flickered on, it revealed what seemed to be two large rooms with no windows and very little inside them. "Escape the locked room~!" Kon called out, receiving some cheers from the crowd.
"Karaoke~!" he announced, pointing toward a large stage set up to the side, there being a pair of microphones and a teleprompter on it.
"And last...but certainly not least~!" Kon began, pausing for a moment in order to build tension, before spinning around briefly and waving his free paw out toward everyone.
"Another questionnaire~!" he declared, earning a few mutterings and questions from the viewers.
Kon then raised one of his small 'triangle-claws' and moved it from side to side; "But not just any questionnaire. This time, they'll be asked questions by our judges, in order to find out just how much they know about their significant other~!" he stated enthusiastically, making the crowd gasp and murmur to one another in excitement.
"And with those announcements out of the way~!" Kon all but sang while spinning around once more.
"Lets go to our contestants currently standing by in the first challenge~!" he claimed, as during all of his talking, both couples were escorted into the rooms they'll need to escape from.
The large number of Shinigami gathered, began calling out and cheering in response. Them able to see what was happening, thanks to the large screen. All the while, Byakuya looked around the room with narrowed eyes, scanning every inch of it to find any possible clues. The area was mostly empty however, with dull grey walls, and low lighting. This being a deliberate choice in order to make it harder to find the things they needed to escape.
Though, of the things he could see, there was a table at one end with a single drawer in the middle. While on the other side of the room, a cabinet and a work desk were placed with all manner of small knick-knacks on it. On the other two walls, there was the actual door to escape through. And on the other side, there was a simple painting of a pale moon light shining down through a single sakura tree.
During this investigation, Tomoyo was smiling widely and even humming to herself, as she was ready to begin. "I've never actually done something like this, but I've heard it can be a lot of fun." she started, glancing over to her soon-to-be husband.
Whom didn't even look at her as he offered his response; "I also have not partaken in such a thing." he said in an almost deadpan manner.
Though, as he turned his gaze to Tomoyo and her slightly pouting expression, he cleared his throat quickly. "But I also assume it will be 'fun'." he said calmly while nodding briefly to give more emphasis to these words.
The young woman smiled widely once more as she then glanced to the side together with Byakuya, there being a screen that suddenly flickered on. Meanwhile, in the other room, Itachi and Robin simply glanced to one another with a nod of understanding. They then began examining every bit of the area around them, noticing just about any and all oddities visible to their eyes. It being a complete mirror of the one Byakuya and Tomoyo were in. Though, they also turned to the screen in their room as it lit up.
For both pairs, the image of Kon showed up as he seemed to waved toward them. Though, he now had a pair of sunglasses on his face, despite the fact that they were a bit too big on him. "I hope you're all ready to go~! Cause this challenge will put your problem solving, and cooperation skills to the ultimate test~!" he called out with a confident smile.
The image then split into three sections, one still with Kon, while the other two seemed to show the inside of the rooms. But rather than the current contestants, it showed Ichigo and Renji in one room, while Kenpachi and Yachiru were in the other. "First you'll need to find the key~!" Kon explained as he held up a small silver key in his free paw.
After a few moments, Ichigo appeared to have found the key in the room. However, Renji immediately started claiming that he must have cheated, since he had previously looked in the same spot. All the while, Kenpachi just laid down and seemed to settle for taking a nap, commenting that he didn't care about finding a dumb key. Yachiru on the other hand, was hopping around the room laughing as she searched for the key. Yet she too seemed to get bored and took a nap atop of Kenpachi's chest, curling up like a cat as she did.
"A-And then...you need to find and unlock the trap door." Kon said quickly, stuttering briefly as he tried to keep things going, despite the 'hiccups'.
However, both Ichigo and Renji were still arguing at one another and eventually started fighting. In sensing the sudden spike in reiatsu though, both Kenpachi and Yachiru woke up. Nervously, Kon cleared his throat and continued on, knowing exactly where this was going. "I-Inside you'll find a box, which will have a series of keys. One of which will fit the first lock on the door. But you'll need to-AH!" he started, yet was cut off as Kenpachi's reiatsu flared and destroyed both buildings as he came charging after Ichigo with a howl of laughter.
The screen then went dark, to which the two pairs simply looked between their partner for a moment. "Looks like they were having fun." Tomoyo hummed out innocently, a smile being ever present on her features.
"It seems that way." Byakuya responded in a silent tone, though he hid a slight sweat drop while turning to the side.
At which point, a small green light came on in each room. These having the kanji for 'Go' on them, making it obvious that they were supposed to start. In seeing this, Tomoyo immediately began searching through the room. Byakuya doing the same, to which he started with the cabinet in one of the corners, where there were many files. Some of which made his eyes narrow a bit, as they were looking strangely familiar to paperwork that went missing in his office.
"Well...here's the trap door." Tomoyo suddenly commented while glancing over to Byakuya, pointing to the small keyhole in the floor.
Turning to face her, the man nodded his head slowly before closing the cabinet and moving toward the desk. Which also seemed oddly similar to the one in his own office, making him almost seem to frown even more. "Oh~! I think I found the key~!" Tomoyo called out happily, making Byakuya turn toward her with a blinking gaze.
"It was tucked away behind the drawer." she continued, puffing her chest out in pride of herself for figuring this out.
The raven-haired man blinked a few more times before he slowly nodded; "Very impressive." he said silently as a faint smile tugged at his lips.
"Fufufu, you can praise me more." Tomoyo hummed out teasingly as she came over to her soon-to-be husband and hugged him briefly.
"Did you find anything yet?" she asks curiously, tilting her head cutely to the side.
"Outside of my missing paperwork and possibly my office desk...no." he responded in a matter-of-fact manner.
The young woman blinked many times before tilting her head up in thought; "Hmm...do you think there might be clues hidden inside them?" she asked with great excitement, a wide smile spreading on her features.
Byakuya raised a brow briefly before slowly nodding his head; "It's possible." he responded softly.
It was then however, that an unlocking sound was heard from near the wall that held the locked door. This making them blink a few times before quickly realizing that Itachi and Robin must have already figured out how to undo the first lock. And from the looks of the door itself, there were only three locks on it. "We should hurry." Tomoyo said quickly, a competitive flame having been ignited in her eyes.
Recognizing this, Byakuya nodded once more in response, to which they immediately restarted their search around the room. Them managing to find several clues within the files that were taken, along with a few spare kenseikan in the drawers of the office desk. Something of which the raven-haired man tried not to call attention to, yet Tomoyo just smiled and even tried a few on in a similar placement as Byakuya.
Seeing this caused the man's heart to actually skip a beat, while everyone watching nearly passed out from the sheer cuteness and beauty of her appearance. However, even with the delays, they still worked together to find everything they needed. From lifting Tomoyo up to unlock a trap door on the ceiling, to holding one another's hands as they had to turn a key on both sides of the room at the same time. But in this time together, they were simply having fun. Neither of them even noticing the sound of the last two locks being undone in the next room over, even before they reached the second one.
By the time they finally undid the final lock, Byakuya and Tomoyo were hand-in-hand as they exited the small room and onto the stage. Immediately after seeing the two, the crowd erupted into cheers as though they were the ones to win. Even Itachi and Robin stood the side clapping, both of them knowing that the two basically won this round no matter what. "We'll get them in the next challenge." the latter of the two said silently, to which the former smirked lightly with a nod in agreement.
All the while, a replay was showing each pair in their attempts to escape. Revealing just how effective and efficient Byakuya and Tomoyo were as a team. Each of them always having the right means to help with one another's strengths and shortcomings. Though, these two were locked onto their competing pair's replay, as they could only blink in shock. "Whoa..." Tomoyo whispered silently.
Itachi and Robin moved fluidly and without hesitation as they each somehow knew exactly what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and even at what point to have the other person handle something They didn't seem to speak to one another, as they just knew what the other needed without a single word. "Very impressive." Byakuya muttered while giving a nod to his soon-to-be wife's comment.
"Well..." the young woman started while giving her soon-to-be husband's hand a quick squeeze.
"...we'll get the in the next challenge." she finished confidently, to which Byakuya gave another quick nod in agreement.
Although, said next challenge proved to be a bit difficult for both Byakuya and Tomoyo. As one didn't have any experience with singing karaoke, while the other was too embarrassed to sing in front of such a large crowd. But it did smooth over slightly when Byakuya suggested that they simply look at one another while singing. Making it as though they were singing to each other, instead of in front of a large crowd watching them.
Meanwhile, Itachi proved to have a surprisingly good, deep singing voice, something that Robin's own naturally soothing tone complimented perfectly. And despite 'technically' winning again with the points they gained, it was clear from the crowd's reactions that Byakuya and Tomoyo had won once again. This just made Robin smile lightly and giggle; "Looks like they're on a winning streak, huh?" she commented while glancing over to Itachi.
Whom smiled back and nodded his head slowly; "So it seems, but I think these challenges are more for drawing us closer than anything to 'win'." he said in a somewhat soft manner.
Robin blinked briefly to him before sharing another smile, to which they took one another's hands. Yet this went mostly unnoticed thanks to so much attention being placed on the other pair. With this though, the two couples made their way to the opposite ends of the stage as there were a series of seats set up. In one of the chairs at one end, sat Ichihara Yuuko. Her wearing a long black dress with white trim and similarly colored designs across it in the shape of a crescent moon.
All the while, seated on the other side, was Urahara Kisuke in his usual attire as he kept his eyes mostly hidden with his hat. Itachi and Robin sitting near of the man as they both faced him, while still remaining almost half a meter apart. The same setup was visible with Byakuya and Tomoyo, as they took their seats across from Yuuko. Said woman having a soft, yet mysterious smile as she glanced between the two. "Well well...here once again." she hummed out with a quick wink.
"Please treat us kindly, Yuuko-dono." Tomoyo said while offering a bow of her head in respect.
Yuuko herself smiled a bit more to this, before bringing out a small clipboard and a small pen she twirled in her fingers. However, she then turned toward Kon, as he hopped onto stage and waved a paw to the excited crowd. "Yosh~! Two challenges down~, one to go~!" he started with a wide grin.
"We've seem both couples test their skills in cooperative problem solving~! We've seen how they manage to sing together and overcome their fears of stage fright~!" Kon continued, making Tomoyo flush briefly and hide her face behind both sleeves.
"But now, we're going to put them to the ultimate test to see just how much they know about one another~!" the lion plushie declared, earning a cheer from the spectators.
"Using a survey of one-hundred questions, we selected the toughest five to be asked to their significant other~! And whichever couple gets the most correct answers...is the winner~!" he called out, leading for the crowd to clap and holler out their approval.
Kon grinning a bit wider as he glanced to both sides to make sure everyone was situated, to which he lifted his free paw up. "And~...begin!"
After this Yuuko clicked the end of the pen to make sure the tip was ready to write, all while smiling a bit more to the pair. "Well then...lets start with you." she hummed out as her gazed focused fully on Byakuya.
"What does Tomoyo have a habit of ending phrases with?" Yuuko asked calmly, tilting her head slightly to the side.
Byakuya raised a brow for a moment, this seeming like an entirely random question that most people likely wouldn't really pay much attention to. He then tilted his head down in thought for a few moments before looking to the woman; "Wa." was all he responded with a firm and confident tone.
Yuuko stared back at him as her smile curled a bit more, to which she nodded slowly. "Correct." she muttered in a satisfied manner.
"Tomoyo..." she continued, turning to said young woman as she seemed to be mentally preparing herself.
"...what is the nickname given to Byakuya by Shihoin Yoruichi?" Yuuko questioned after making a check next to the question made toward Byakuya.
Tomoyo blinked a few times before looking up and tapping her chin; "Hmm...I believe it was something like 'Byakuyago'." she answered, blinking innocently a few times.
"I just remember finding it really cute." the young woman added with a soft smile, making it impossible for Byakuya to be even mildly annoyed that such a nickname was now public.
"That is...correct." Yuuko said while nodding slowly, making a brief pause in order to build a bit of tension.
As the two continued answering questions, neither of them got a single one wrong. However, the same was said for both Itachi and Robin as they actually got through all of their questions with no difficulty. Them even finishing just as Byakuya and Tomoyo reached their own last questions. Of which made Yuuko take on a small smile a she looked between the two in almost unnerving silence. "Well then...the last two." she hummed out softly after a few moments.
"You know about one another's eating habits, secret techniques, and even blood types." Yuuko continued, her seeming to be leading up to these next two questions even more so than the rest.
"But for this one...as it's the same question...I'll simply let whichever one of you go first." she added, her mysterious smile returning as a very knowing gaze was seen in her eyes.
"Who was their first crush or love?" the woman finished, making both Byakuya and Tomoyo blink a few times.
The two always keeping such things close to their heart, though, Byakuya's was a bit more open since it was mostly common knowledge to everyone in the Kuchiki family. However, it was quite a mystery if Tomoyo ever actually told her soon-to-be husband, or if she ever actually had one. But the young woman silently spoke up while lifting a hand up slightly to show she would answer first. "I-I don't want to answer."
Yuuko looked to her with a raised brow, yet slowly nodded her head in understanding of her unspoken reasoning. However, her gaze quickly shifted toward Byakuya with a curious expression. Wondering just what his answer might be as it seems as though she wrote an 'X' next to the question for Tomoyo. The raven-haired man tilted his head down and closed both eyes, seeming to contemplate this for a few long moments. All the while, Tomoyo was looking down, almost uncomfortably so.
But everyone's eyes widened when Byakuya finally gave a response. "I also will not answer." he claimed firmly.
"Oh~?" Yuuko hummed out with a tilt of her head to the side; "And why is that?"
"Because I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone." Byakuya said in a simple manner, as if it should have been obvious.
This lead for Yuuko to smile a bit, as though she was actually proud of the man for such an answer. "Very well...that is the correct answer for you both." she said silently while revealing her clipboard, showing that there was a check next to all of the questions.
Where of which, there was no answer for either of these questions. However, Yuuko could foresee the reasoning behind why they refused to answer, and decided to put the questions in as a final test. "You might not have technically won the game...but I'd say you've both received the greatest prize regardless." Yuuko said softly with a glance between the two.
Both of whom turned to one another with a soft smile before leaning forward and kissing in a loving manner. Yet even as the crowd erupted into cheers and claps, everything just seemed to fade away as there was only each other. "Byakuya..." "Tomoyo..." they whispered to each other.
All the while, Itachi and Robin watched all this with a soft smile. Even though they technically won the game, they knew that they stood no chance against the power-couple that was their competitors. "Maybe next time." the woman hummed out in a giggle.
"Maybe..." Itachi uttered back, to which they both shared a glance.
And much like before in holding hands, their own loving kiss went completely unseen, despite the thousands of people gathered.
There you have it, true love is always the winner for everyone. ;) I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, the next one will be the proposal and possible wedding. So stay tuned~! :D