A few months have passed since the start of the semester at Shinigami Academy and the students are ready to enjoy their winter break. Students can spend two weeks away from school with their families or stay in their dorms if desired.
"Will you be heading back to see your family, Sakura?" Hajime asked as she was observing Sakura pack her belongings.
"I'll be staying with Kisume and his family for the holiday. What about you?"
"Ah, I don't have any family here, so I'll just be staying at the dorms. Rukia invited me over to Squad Six's Barracks to hang out with her and Renji but otherwise, I'll probably spend the break studying."
"I see, well, I'll see you in two weeks!"
. . .
Making her way to Squad Six's Barracks, Hajime was feeling disheartened. The holidays were always Hajime's favorite times of the year, even if she was rarely permitted to celebrate them as a child. Today, she's missing her mother more than usual.
As Hajime was lost in thought, she wandered to an unknown part of the Squad Barracks. She tried finding her way back but ultimately got lost.
"Kisumoto-San?" Byakuya questioned as he was making his way to the outdoor terrace.
"Ah, Kuchiki-Sama," She greeted softly as she gave a bow.
"Are you looking for Renji? He's still out on a mission. And Rukia just informed me that she would be working late tonight."
"Ah, I see…."
Looking at her saddened expression, Byakuya invited Hajime to have tea with him on the terrace. As winter was approaching, the air surrounding the barracks grew cold, but Byakuya always enjoyed the cold air.
The two sat in silence as they sipped tea. While Hajime has gotten more acquainted with Byakuya since she visits Squad Six's Barracks often, she's never been alone with him before and so she's unsure of what to talk about with a man of such high standing. Also, she was freezing! She was still in her Academy uniform and the material is so light, she was practically shivering. She went for another cup of tea to warm herself up.
"How has the Academy been treating you? I trust Rukia and Renji are training you well?"
Hajime gave a smile, "With the free time they have, they make my decision worth it. The Academy has been very eye-opening. Though, it wouldn't be wrong of me to say that I do miss the Rukongai sometimes… or rather, the family I had there."
"Renji told me of the circumstances under which you agreed to become a Shinigami, I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you," Hajime smiled, "You have a wonderful family here, Kuchiki-Sama, I hope you all are able to spend some time together for the holidays."
"At Kuchiki Manor, it is custom for us to hold a holiday banquet each year. If it's no inconvenience to you, you are welcome to come. I'm sure Rukia would be delighted."
"I wouldn't want to impose… And, I'm pretty sure your wife hates me, ha-ha"
"Don't worry too much about Akane, during the holidays, she goes back to her hometown to visit her mother."
"Well, if you insist, I'll happily accept your invitation," From the corner of her eyes, Hajime saw something sparkle and her face immediately lit up. "It's snowing, how beautiful." She lifted out her hand to catch a falling snowflake and Byakuya couldn't help but admire the scene before him. Even if it was for just a moment longer, he wanted to stay like this. Noticing her shaking hands, he walked behind her and placed his Captain's haori over her shoulders, catching her by surprise.
"I didn't realize how cold it has gotten, forgive me." When she turned to face him, he was mere inches away from her face. Even if it was cold outside, she could feel the warmth of his breath and it reminded her of the time he healed her cheek. Quickly turning her blushing face away, she tried to regain her composure. "We should head inside; it would be bad for your studies if you were to catch a cold."
As the two made their way back inside, Hajime quickly returned Byakuya's haori and thanked him for his company.
"I apologize if I intruded on you, but I did appreciate your company tonight. Thank you, Kuchiki-Sama."
"Ah, Hajime!" Rukia's voice shouted from the end of the hall, "There you are! I finished my work early, Renji's meeting us at the bar, let's go!"
"It was my pleasure, Kisumoto-San."
"Ah, Hajime. Please, call me Hajime." She gave a gentle smile as ran to catch up with Rukia.
. . .
One Week Later
It's the day of the holiday banquet and Hajime decided to drop by early to help with any preparations. Having never been to Kuchiki manor and following a poorly drawn map by Rukia, Hajime had some trouble finding it. After backtracking twice, she reached what she hopes was Kuchiki Manor and saw a familiar figure outside dressed in noble attire.
"Sakura?"
"Ah, Hajime… what-what are you doing here?"
"Sakura, who are you talking to?" A familiar voice butted in, "You. What on earth are you doing here? You dare show your face to me after what you pulled in the Rukongai?"
Ah great, Akane. Guess I came too early. I shouldn't tell her I was invited to the banquet; she might actually stay.
"I'm here to visit Rukia-"
"I don't understand how Byakuya-Sama allows his little sister to be friends with someone so disrespectful like you," Akane spoke, cutting her off.
"Right, well, Sakura, what are you doing here? I thought you were headed to Kisume's for the winter break."
Not liking the fact that she was talked over, Akane stepped in once again. "Now you listen here. Sakura has an important meeting today with her arranged suitor so if you would be so inclined to move, we don't have time to waste." Akane shoved Hajime out of her way and dragged Sakura alongside her.
Hajime chased after them and grabbed onto Sakura's arm, "Wait, Sakura-"
"How dare you talk to my sister so casually," Akane pulled apart Hajime's arm and shoved Sakura into the carriage, "She is of Toujiro blood and will soon be married to a nobleman of high ranking. If you don't leave now, so help me-"
"Aka-nee," Sakura finally spoke, "we're going to be late."
Akane gave a scoff and made her way into the carriage. As the carriage was leaving, Sakura looked back at Hajime.
"Is she making you do this? What about the Academy? You wanted to join the Kido Corps!"
"My duties caught up to me faster than I thought they would. And I was actually starting to like you," Sakura gave a scoff as she laughed, "take care, Hajime."
"You too…"
"Oi, Hajime!" Rukia called out, "Looks like you found the place… what's wrong?"
"Sakura… They just took her. I-I don't understand."
Rukia explained to Hajime that Sakura was Akane's half-sister. Not being of noble blood, and sharing the same mother as Akane, fewer responsibilities were delegated to Sakura as members of the clan did not recognize her status as nobility. In a last-ditch effort to free herself from her family's ties, she joined the Shinigami Academy in hopes of joining the Kido Corps. However, Sakura's mother refused to let Sakura continue to live her life free of consequence and found a potential suitor who agreed to marry Sakura and give her the noble title her mother has always wanted for her.
"I see. How unfortunate. She seemed happy at the Academy."
"I'm thankful Nii-Sama keeps me out of the Clan affairs, but it is unfair sometimes… We should head inside," Rukia spoke as she looked at the dark clouds forming above, "I think there's a storm coming."
As the two made their way inside, Hajime was in awe of how big and beautiful Kuchiki Manor truly was. Garlands lined the hallways, sparkling lights were hanging everywhere the eye can see and in the main foyer, a tree almost 10 feet tall was decorated in beautiful white and silver décor. Embracing the festive ambiance of the Manor, Hajime grew excited for the holidays.
"Welcome to Kuchiki Manor," Rukia stated as she noticed Hajime's look of awe.
"It's absolutely beautiful," Hajime said with a smile, "Thank you for having me."
"I didn't think you would come so early; I would have told you to come later to avoid Akane Nee-Sama."
"The dorms were empty today so I thought I would drop by early to help with any preparations. Though…" Hajime turned her attention back outside to the dark stirring clouds above, "The weather does not look ideal today."
"I'll have to let Nii-Sama know, we'll have to keep an eye on the weather and cancel tonight's banquet if things take a turn. Let me take you to the kitchen, I'll head over to help after I go see Nii-Sama."
Making their way to the kitchen, Hajime was introduced to the head lady's maid, Mikasa. Mikasa and her husband, Tanaka, are the lead retainers at Kuchiki Manor and overlook everything that occurs here.
"All right, I'll be back!" Rukia yelled as she ran off to find Byakuya.
"Welcome to our Manor, Kisumoto Hajime." Mikasa and Tanaka gave her a slight bow, "It is our honor to have such an esteemed guest at our Manor."
"Ah, no, please…" Hajime grew flustered, helping the couple get back to an upright position, "I'm no one important, I just wanted to help."
"Well then, are you able to peel and cut potatoes?" Mikasa asked with a gentle smile.
"Absolutely!"
. . .
Just as Rukia feared, the weather took a turn for the worse. Torrential downpours and extreme winds were rocking Kuchiki Manor as if it was being attacked. Windows had to be reinforced as they continue to shake and open numerous times. The rain was so heavy, it was starting to leak through the roof.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Hajime asked as the house staff were all frantic in trying to fortify the Manor for the severe storm.
"Oh, if you could grab some more buckets in one of the storage rooms in the cellar, that would be great," One of the maidservants called out, "The stairs are to the right of the pantry!"
"Of course!" Making her way downstairs, the cellar was just as big as the main floor of the manor. Opening each door one by one, she finally found a room where there were some wooden buckets on top of a storage shelf. Stacking some boxes, she thought were sturdy, she climbed up and barely reached the buckets. Standing on her tippytoes she finally was about to grab one until she heard a loud 'boom' from the thunder and the power went out.
Fear took over her body and losing her balance, she fell off the stack of boxes. Ever since Hajime was a child, she's had an extreme fear of thunderstorms. It also didn't help that when she would cry during a thunderstorm, her father would force her into the latch box in the closet. Sometimes, he would even push the box next to an open window to torment her even further. As a result of her father's torment, not only did her fear of thunderstorms worsen, but she was also just as fearful of the dark and being locked inside small spaces.
When Hajime fell off the stack of boxes, the shelving unit behind her toppled over with all the items falling off, barricading the door, and trapping her inside. As she tried to get up, she felt a sharp pain coursing through her body; she twisted her ankle. Feeling the rush of panic swelling up inside her, she quickly limped over to the door and tried to clear the rubble.
"Oh please, please…" She whispered to herself as just another 'boom' from outside shook the Manor. She closed her eyes and covered her ears as tears began to blur her vision. She continued to clear the rubble until a narrow pathway to the door was revealed. However, the falling debris knocked against the doorknob, leaving it unopenable.
"Oh no, no, no, no, no! Please! Please open!" Hajime was trying with all her might to open the door, even banging on it to try and get someone's attention but there was too much commotion for anyone to hear her. Then, another 'boom' followed, causing her to cover her ears and drop to the floor. "Please… someone… help me…" She begged as she crouched against the wall, crying in fear.
"Let's make sure we get candles lit throughout the Manor," Mikasa, the head retainer, ordered a maidservant as the power went out.
"Mikasa!" Rukia called out, followed by Byakuya.
"Rukia-Sama, Byakuya-Sama, thank goodness you both are all right. The storm is so severe, even our backup generators are failing to power up."
"It seems it was wise for us to cancel the banquet when we did. Luckily, none of the guests made their way here yet." Byakuya spoke.
"Hajime did," Rukia panicked, "Mikasa, have you seen Hajime? The Manor's so big and she doesn't know her way around, she could be lost!"
"I'm sorry, I haven't seen Kisumoto-San recently. I can fetch some of the maidservants to look for her."
"Focus on getting the Manor prepared, Rukia and I will search for her," Byakuya ordered.
Room by room the two searched and they found no signs of Hajime. None of the maidservants saw where she went either as they were too preoccupied with fortifying the Manor.
"Any luck, Nii-Sama?" Rukia asked as the two met up at the main foyer.
"Where was she last seen?"
"I told her a room was being prepared for her on the second level, I'll check there again, you search the kitchen!"
Upon reaching the kitchen, Byakuya called out to the staff, "Has any of you seen Kisumoto Hajime?"
One of the retainers spoke up, "I remember she was asked to go to the cellar to grab buckets!"
Already on his way, Byakuya quickly made his way to the cellar. It was pitch black down there but luckily, there were some wall candles lining the hallway. Byakuya aimed his finger against the row of candles and fired Hadou #4: Byakurai, lighting them all instantaneously.
Resuming his search, Byakuya opened every door in the cellar until he found one, he couldn't open. Trying to pry it open with force, it wouldn't budge. Using Byakurai again to shoot the doorknob off, he finally opened the door to a pitiful Hajime.
With the creaking of the door and the glimmer of light shining through from the candles, she looked up at her savior with eyes full of tears, "Kuchiki…Sama…"
Examining the broken-down Hajime, he noticed that her ankle was twisted, and he swiftly carried her in his arms to her guest room.
"Hajime!" Rukia called out worriedly as she saw Byakuya carrying her, "Nii-Sama, is she ok?"
"She's twisted her ankle; I'll treat it in her room. Why don't you make some tea to calm her nerves?"
"Right, I'll get right on that!"
Upon reaching the guest room that was dimly lit by candles, Byakuya gently placed the shaking Hajime on the bed.
Was it the thunder? He thought to himself as he used what little healing Kido he knew to at least ease the discomfort in Hajime's ankle.
Another loud 'boom' (this time far louder since she was in the cellar and the thunderstorms were muffled), jolted Hajime and she immediately curled up on the bed, hysterically crying with her eyes closed tightly.
"No, Papa, please!" Flashing back to her time as a child, when her father would lock her in the box, "I'll be good, I promise, please!" She covered her ears following another loud 'boom.' "Please don't lock me up, I'll be quiet, I promise!" Her breathing hastened, and panic was welling up inside her again as she relived her childhood nightmares and begged her father not to punish her.
Byakuya, unaware of her fear, knelt beside her and gently held onto her hand to try and calm her down. With a soft tone he spoke, "Hajime, wherever you are, come back. Come back to me. No one's going to hurt you."
Slowly, her breathing returned to normal, and she opened her eyes to see Byakuya's dimly lit face. "I'm scared," she admitted, "I'm scared, Kuchiki-Sama."
"Let me get you some tea to calm your nerves."
As he got up, Hajime quickly grabbed onto his haori stopping him in his tracks, "Please…" she begged, "Please don't go…"
Byakuya sat at the edge of her bed and reassured her, "I'm here."
Softly knocking on the door, Rukia arrived with a fresh pot of tea only to find both Hajime and Byakuya fast asleep. Byakuya remained at the foot of the bed with his head resting on the bed frame while Hajime fell asleep at the head of the bed, still with tears in her eyes. Their hands were just inches apart from one another, as the warmth and reassurance calmed Hajime down. Rukia gave a soft smile and went to turn in for the night.