Happy Birthday Tuli-chan~! ;D

Meeting of Hearts, Worlds, and Friends

Before the wedding, before all the games, and even before the meeting of family, there was a request made. In the hopes of understanding one another even better, Tomoyo asked Byakuya to take her to Soul Society. In order to meet his friends and coworkers.

Until this point, they had spent all their time together in the World of the Living. Helping to manage all of the other colliding worlds, and the inhabitants who found their way to this place. Yet as the weeks turned into months, they couldn't help but feel restricted. This lead for the young woman to finally ask the raven-haired noble her request, though said man was hesitant. Many of his friends and acquaintances had been bothering and questioning him of where he had been spending all his free time lately. Rukia in particular was becoming increasingly worried for him, and had even entertained the idea of following/spying on her brother.

With only a small bit of reluctance however, Byakuya decided to move forward with this idea and agreed to Tomoyo's appeal. The pair approaching Kisuke the same day, despite the mysterious shop owner just looking silently between the two for a few long moments. His expression was mildly torn before it was swiftly covered by his fan, to which he let out a soft breath. "I don't see an issue with going through with this, but..." he began whilst his shadowed eyes narrowed slightly.

"...are you sure?" the blond continued on, keeping the lower half of his face hidden from view.

"There is no telling the effect this could have on the worlds, even with the balance you've both managed to establish." he added as an almost suspiciousness arose from his gaze.

Though Byakuya was ready to give an immediate response, he turned toward Tomoyo with a curious glance. He wanted her to have the final say, as this was going to be quite the step for them. Upon which, Tomoyo looked to him with a soft smile and just nodded her head. "Yes." she claimed, turning back to Kisuke without any delay.

"I wanna know more about Soul Society and the people there." the young woman declared as a spark of determination and excitement was visible in her expression.

Realizing that there would be no stopping them, Kisuke let out another soft breath and nodded in response. "Alright...I'll see if I can recreate the circumstances that allowed you to appear in Soul Society to begin with." he said with a slow shrug.

"I can't promise anything...but I will still try my best." Kisuke added, looking between the pair once more to show that even he wasn't sure if it would work.

Both of them however, merely gave him a nod in return. They had faith that the man would succeed, as he always seemed to do so, regardless of circumstance. The pair then turned to one another with soft smiles, unable to keep the happiness from showing on their features. "I'm really excited." Tomoyo all but sang out as she was practically bouncing in her seat.

"As am I." Byakuya spoke silently, though there was extra energy in his tone and mannerisms that wasn't normally present.

Though it would take several days, Kisuke did manage to create a specialized Senkaimon for Tomoyo. Because she was from another world, the normal Reishi Henkan-Ki he created wouldn't work for her. So he altered the device in order to convert her particular 'kishi', or physical matter, into 'reishi', or spiritual matter. Once finished, Tomoyo stood beside Byakuya as they both gazed at the shimmering portal within the large stone square generating it.

"Are you ready?" the raven-haired man asked softly, turning to the woman and even offering one of his hands for her to take.

Tomoyo turned to him a little sheepishly, finally feeling the nervousness that proceeded the excitement. But she quickly grasped his offered hand and breathed in deeply. "Yes...I'm ready." she stated in confidence, leading Byakuya to smile as a result.

With a shared nod between them, they moved through the portal as Kisuke watched from behind. His hat shadowed his eyes, yet there was a clear sense of pride and intrigue as to how all this would go.

Reaching the other side of the portal, the two arrived in Soul Society. Specifically, in the grounds of the Sixth Division, as Kisuke seemed to have directed the exit point to said Division's Senkaimon. Byakuya's eyes narrowed briefly upon realizing this, knowing that the blond man must know the secret 'coding' for the Sixth's Senkaimon. But he decided to inquire about this another time, for now, he had to show Tomoy-...wait, where did she go? She was no longer holding his hand.

As Byakuya glanced around the wide open courtyard, he swiftly saw Tomoyo rushing forward. Her eyes sparkled with wonder as she looked at everything within view. Despite having a similar appearance a her own home, that being like feudal Japan, she couldn't help but gleefully examine all of what she saw. She turned to look back to Byakuya in excitement, smiling widely as she did. The man himself approached slowly and waved away a few guards whom were coming forward. Them not being sure whom this young woman was, nor why she was with their Captain.

"There's so much spiritual energy in this place~." Tomoyo hummed out with a wide smile, waving a hand through the air as if physically feeling it.

"I didn't notice it the last time, but it's definitely strong." she continued as Byakuya came up to her side.

"All of Soul Society is made up of reishi." he explained while offering his arm, wanting to make sure she didn't wander too far from him.

Once she placed an arm around his, the two began to move together and through the Sixth Division. Though, they very quickly noticed someone watching them from the side. "T-T-T-Taicho..." Renji uttered out in shock as he hid poorly around a corner.

He just stared with disbelief, not even realizing that the pair had easily spotted him and were now approaching. While his stun finally wore off, it was already too late, as Tomoyo stepped in front of him with a soft smile. "You must be Abarai Renji. Byakuya has told me a lot about you." she hummed out with a wide and kind smile.

"Y-Yeah..." was all the red-haired man could respond, as he gazed down at the small woman with a nervous smile of his own.

"It's an honor to meet you at last. I'm Tomoyo, Daidoji Tomoyo. But you can simply call me 'Tomoyo'." the woman introduced with a soft bow and curtsy.

Renji could only look at her silently, as an overwhelming urge to kneel washed through him. Possibly even more so than when he saw Byakuya for the first time, he felt as though he was staring at true royalty. Even when he towered over her with his height, she seemed so much bigger than him to the point of almost being intimidating. But the sheer genteelness of her demeanor and smile, led for the lieutenant to simply return her smile.

"I-It's an honor to meet you as well." he responded, practically hypnotized by the petite woman as Byakuya led her on so they could continue the trek around the Sixth.

"I'll come back to talk more once we've finished the tour~." Tomoyo called out, offering the man a wave.

Whom returned this gesture without even thinking, as her 'spell' didn't diminish until she was finally out of sight. Upon which, Renji shook his head and blinked both eyes rapidly. "T-Taicho...has a girlfriend..." he uttered out in shock, jumping to a technically correct assumption.

As the two continued their walk through the Division, it didn't take long for rumors to spread and reach just the right people. For, the moment the true gossipers of Seireitei caught wind that Byakuya was with a woman, it swiftly became all the rage. In less than fifteen minutes after Tomoyo's arrival in Soul Society, people began heading toward the Sixth Division in droves. The first to approach however, was a familiar raven-haired shinigami from the Thirteenth. Her rushing up behind her brother, and this woman he was walking with.

But before she could call out to the man, her voice instantly caught in her throat as the two turned to face her. Both having sensed her approach, as she wasn't even trying to be stealthy. Yet as Rukia laid eyes on Tomoyo, the sheer elegance, grace, and beauty she exuded made the younger Kuchiki instinctively want to refer to her as 'Onee-sama'. She was perfect. Not only on her own, but also standing beside Byakuya. As much as Rukia wanted to feel jealous that her brother had someone, she couldn't deny the sense of pride of seeing the two together. "Amazing..." she uttered out aloud, without even realizing.

"Oh!" Tomoyo hummed happily, moving to close the distance with Rukia as the shinigami stopped in her tracks.

"You are definitely Kuchiki Rukia, right? Byakuya has told me so much about his Imouto, and how proud of you he is." she stated with a wide smile that could melt ice just from proximity.

"Y-Yes..." Rukia spoke, feeling similarly to when she wasn't sure how to speak to her brother.

She had been scared to even look in his general direction, but right now, she almost felt unworthy of gazing at this beacon of light in front of her. At the same time though, she also believed it was worth whatever punishment that came with it. "I am." she added silently as unconscious smile curling her lips, as if Tomoyo's own smile was infectious.

"I'm honored and very happy to meet you, I'm Daidoji Tomoyo. But please, just call me 'Tomoyo'." she responded softly while looking to Rukia happily.

Whom gasped briefly, like the Soul King himself insisted on her calling him by whatever his name might be. "I...but you...you're..." was all Rukia could squeak out at first while shaking her head swiftly.

"I-I couldn't possibly, Onee-sama!" she called out suddenly, not even realizing what she said or insinuated until a few seconds later.

"N-No...I mean...sorry...I didn't..." the raven-haired shinigami continued, but wasn't able to finish as her face immediately became red from embarrassment.

Though Byakuya had a stoic expression, he too was taken aback by this. He expected his sister to be a little flustered, but this was certainly beyond what he had envisioned. Turning toward Tomoyo though, he worried that she would be extremely embarrassed by Rukia's words. However, outside of the faint flush on her cheeks, Tomoyo appeared entirely calm and collected. Her even taking one of Rukia's hands into her own and offering a warm smile.

"No need to apologize, I'm nervous too. I hope that we get to know one another better from today onward." she said in a gentle and kind tone that almost immediately calmed the other girl's heart.

"Hai." was all Rukia could answer with as she merely nodded slowly.

After this exchange, many more began to flood through. Introducing themselves to this strange, yet impossibly kind woman who greeted everyone with a smile. Even mighty Head Captain Yamamoto himself was brought low by her charms, almost treating her as though she was his own granddaughter. His elderly smile making so many just stare in shock as he seemed so gentle with Tomoyo. That is until he yelled out for everyone to return to their duties, for which nearly everyone was forced to scatter.

Yet it left behind a select few whom lingered, particularly a couple captains and lieutenants.

Toshiro was simply giving the pair a glance over before nodding slowly, obviously accepting this situation. "Good for them." he whispered while taking his leave.

"Aw~, Taicho~...you're just gonna leave~?" Rangiku called out with a pout, clearly wanting to investigate all of this further as she was one of the biggest gossipers.

Shuhei stood off to the side taking pictures and writing down notes in a pad; "This is the scoop of the century." he claimed in excitement before rushing off to have this story published as soon as possible.

Soifon held a distrustful expression as she glaring at Tomoyo, despite said woman just smiling softly with a strangely nostalgic gaze directed toward her. "I think they would get along." Tomoyo whispered silently, offering a wave to Soifon as the woman swiftly vanished in a shunpo.

"Who?" Byakuya asked curiously, arching a brow briefly.

"Never mind." she answered with a quick shake of her head before turning toward Retsu, Shunsui, and Jushiro approaching.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise." Shunsui hummed out while gaining a small grin, glancing between the two.

"You three must be...ano..." Tomoyo started thoughtfully, tapping her chin a few times and looking from one to the next.

"Unohana-san...Kyoraku-san...and Ukitake-san...right?" she continued, slowly pointing to each correct shinigami after each guess.

"Exactly right." Jushiro claimed in a proud tone, smiling softly as he did.

"It's a pleasure to meet each of you, I'm Daidoji Tomoyo." she introduced, still sounding as upbeat as the first time she said this.

"We are very honored to meet you as well, Daidoji Tomoyo-san." Retsu said softly, giving a slow nod of her head.

Though, the group was very swiftly interrupted from speaking any further as a scream was heard from the side. Which was instantly followed by a nearby wall exploding outward, and the form of Ichigo flying by with a yell. "Come on! Don't tell me that's all you've got?!" the voice of Kenpachi yelled out.

The man's massive form swiftly moving through the cloud of rubble as he moved forward. "Why did you attack me all of a sudden anyway?! I just came by because I heard Byakuya-san was-" Ichigo demanded back in a huff, but was cut short as Kenpachi interrupted.

"Why wouldn't I? You've avoided fighting me so many times before already!" he declared, yet slowly turned toward the others.

"Huh~? What's all this about?" he questioned, placing his sword upon his shoulder before gradually noticing Tomoyo behind a clearly defensive Byakuya.

"Hmm? Who's that?" the towering man asked, raising a brow while practically casting his shadow over the small woman.

"I'm Daidoji Tomoyo, it's nice to meet you." she responded, not showing any fear toward him.

This swiftly caught Kenpachi's attention, to which he gained a small grin while taking a step toward her. Though Byakuya attempted to stand in his path, Tomoyo simply moved up to meet the Eleventh Captain head on. The two staring one another down without saying a word, as if acknowledging one another's strength. After several long moments of tension, Kenpachi eventually just nodded his head slowly. "Nice to meet ya too." he uttered out before turning and heading back the way he came.

"I guess I'll be seeing you around." the man continued, offering a wave from over his shoulder.

"Hai~! I look forward to it~." Tomoyo called out with a wave of her own, leaving everyone utterly dumbfounded by what they witnessed.

"Oh!" the black-haired woman squeaked out as she turned to Ichigo with a sheepish smile.

"You must be Kurosaki Ichigo, I've heard a...few things about you. So it's a pleasure to meet you." she continued, though it seemed likely that what she did hear wasn't very flattering, as it came from Byakuya's point of view.

"Uh...yeah...likewise." the strawberry teen uttered out with a sweat drop, giving Byakuya a huff and suspicious glance.

The raven-haired man himself was looking to the side, pretending like he was making sure Kenpachi was in fact leave. But soon let out a sigh when a familiar, yet childish voice was heard. "Don't forget about me~!"

Yachiru immediately leapt out from behind the destroyed wall with a wide smile, looking directly at Tomoyo. "I'm Kusajishi Yachiru~! Nice to meet you~." she continued while rushing up and jumping gleefully around the small woman.

Whom just smiled brightly and scooped the child-like shinigami into her arms; "Kawaii~! It's wonderful to meet you as well, Yachiru-chan~!" she called out happily as the combination of cuteness between these two was almost too much for those watching.

"Yatta~, I'm friends with Tomo-Tomo~!" the pink-haired girl sang out with a wide grin.

It was many hours later before most of the people had their chance to meet Tomoyo. Nightfall seeming to arrive almost too quickly as she and Byakuya never even finished the tour. However, there was still a large 'farewell' gathering for the woman, despite her claiming that she would be coming over everyday she could. But as Byakuya readied to walk Tomoyo back through the Senkaimon, the woman looked up to him with a soft smile. "You have so many wonderful friends." she whispered softly.

The man arched a brow briefly, glancing around to the many people whom had given him a great deal of trouble throughout the day. Yet while it was invisible to anyone who wasn't looking for it, there was an ever so faint smile curling his lips. His silent response making Tomoyo smile even wider as they stepped through the portal.

"Indeed, I do."