Chapter 4

The basement on the Kuchiki grounds was dark, cold, and moldy. There were several cells along a huge hallway and only one small window at the end of it, it allowed just enough sunlight for the prisoners to tell the difference between day and night.

Between every cell there were lit torches. The small fire from those torches allowed the guards to see the gloomy and desperate faces of the prisoners and, right now, there were two of them.

One of them was the human Byakuya caught while spying on his land, and the other one was the sole survivor of the previous attack on the Kuchiki estate. They were on cells opposite to each other, and they were both trembling from fear.

"So," Byakuya greeted as he stood in the middle of the hallway "are you comrades? Who has been sending spies to my province?" he looked at the human "surely you don't work for the likes of us."

"The likes of you?" the human questioned.

"Superior beings," Byakuya explained with a smirk "surely you don't believe you stand a chance around here?"

"Go to hell!" the human spat angrily "I'm not saying anything!"

"If you talk," Byakuya said "I might get you medical aid, being wounded and tied up in a place like this cannot be that comfortable."

Both prisoners were sporting painful looking cuts and bruises. Byakuya wanted to kill them, but he needed answers. The attacks couldn't be some random occurrence, and they weren't orchestrated by humans.

Was someone in Soul Society after Byakuya? Or was someone trying to erase him so they could seize his province?

"I will not talk" the human insisted fearfully.

Byakuya raised an eyebrow at that but let him be. There would be time for him eventually, his guards were eager to torture someone, and Byakuya was eager to hear his screams.

He turned to the other intruder and sighed.

"Hello," Byakuya greeted with cold politeness "you seem to be well, I should correct that" he unsheathed his sword and pointed at him through the cell bars "who sent you?"

The man had brown eyes and blonde hair. He was muscly but he was hurt, there were several cuts on his face and one of his arms was broken. Byakuya didn't consider that enough punishment for attacking his home.

Robert, who had been behind Byakuya the whole time, tensed.

He could tell the Kuchiki heir was beyond enraged.

"No one sent me," the prisoner lied "I just wanted your shiny little toys, your lovely maids, and to drink your wine."

"What's your name?" Robert questioned. They needed to get at least a name before Byakuya, whose hold had tightened on his sword, were to cut his head.

The prisoner blinked confused at that but smirked.

"Whatever my lord wishes it to be" he answered.

"Vermin it is then" Byakuya decided with a hiss.

The prisoner chuckled.

"The weapon you used to break the barrier came from Soul Society," Robert pointed out "you are human, but you seemed to be acquainted with the Seireitei."

"No wonder why you keep that one with you," Vermin taunted "between both of you he seems to have the brains."

"However I cannot say the same about your comrades," Byakuya retorted "considering how all of them died by my sword."

"We weren't comrades," Vermin scoffed "we simply shared mutual hatred towards you."

Robert glared at Vermin but Byakuya decided to ask.

"The woman on the battlefield," Byakuya said "she was not working with you, was she?"

"If I say she was," Vermin smirked "will she share the cell with me?"

It happed so fast that Robert almost didn't catch it.

With a swift swing of the sword between the cell bars Byakuya cut off Vermin's right arm. The prisoner started to scream in agony as blood poured out at an alarming speed.

Vermin crawled around his dirty cell floor screaming, but Byakuya didn't care.

"We'll send someone to tend to you once you have no strength to keep screaming," Byakuya said and then looked coldly at the other prisoner "by the time I'm back I hope you're ready to talk, unless you want to share his fate."

The other prisoner didn't utter a single word, but Byakuya assumed that if his pale, sweaty face and widened fearful eyes were an indicator, he would talk sooner than later.

The Kuchiki heir then turned around and left the basement as Vermin's screams faded at his back.

"Is the barrier on place again?" Byakuya asked Robert as they walked towards the upper grounds of the property.

"Yes," Robert nodded "the weapon that they used it's being studied as we speak, apparently it strong enough to destabilize reiatsu for a limited amount of time."

Byakuya paused at that.

"What happens if it hits someone?" he questioned.

Robert frowned.

"Well, if it has the same effects on people" he reasoned "it would probably leave them without reiatsu for a while, but I cannot be sure."

"That would explain why the transformation was gone the moment she was hit" Byakuya thought.

"My lord?" Robert asked.

"I still have someone to interrogate," Byakuya decided "help the others with the reparations of the front yard, I'll inform our next actions after that."

Robert gulped.

"Regarding the lady, my lord, I…!"

"If anyone asks," Byakuya interrupted while looking over his shoulder at Robert "you let them know that she's with me and nothing else."

Robert nodded and decided not to ask further. He only wondered what actions would his boss take regarding their unique guest.

Hisana woke up but decided not to move.

She didn't know where she was, but judging by what she could feel she was in the middle of a huge tatami bed, and she was naked. So she took a deep breath and tried to think rationally. Luckily she was covered by several blankets, the last thing she remembered was seeing Kuchiki Byakuya safe and sound and then... what did she say?!

Hisana opened her eyes slowly and sat down.

She took in the room around her and her heart started to race frantically when she realized who was with her.

Kuchiki Byakuya was on a chair next to the bed. He was nonchalantly reading a book, or at least pretending to, and he didn't seem to be bothered at having an unknown woman on his room.

"I believe an introduction is due," Kuchiki Byakuya greeted her without taking his eyes off the book "don't you agree?"

Hisana gaped as she cling to the covers around her. She could feel her cheeks burning and she wanted to demand an explanation, was he the one who brought her to this room?

"No one touched you," Byakuya assured her before she could ask, his voice was like silk and his expression was unreadable "you fell unconscious and, after wrapping you in my cloak, I brought you to my room."

"Why?!" she asked.

Byakuya left the book aside and looked straight at her. Her blue eyes were mesmerizing, who was this woman?

"The first time I brought you here my housekeeper and the maids dressed you and treated you," Byakuya explained "this time I decided to lock you myself, we need to talk."

"Talk about what?" Hisana questioned while sitting straight, she held the covers tightly "we don't even know each other!"

"I beg to differ," Byakuya frowned "I'm pretty sure that you know enough after flying around my property for three days straight."

Hisana shook her head.

"That was not on purpose," she excused herself "after you brought me here all I wanted to do was to go back home but your barrier..."

"Oh," Byakuya stood up "so, instead of waking up and thanking the household for helping you, you decided to escape," he stopped right next to the bed "isn't that rude?"

Hisana held the covers tighter around herself. She didn't know what to say to that, perhaps if she were to admit that she was scared of him, because of his reputation, he would be offended.

Although she didn't have time to think what to answer, Kuchiki Byakuya grabbed her chin and locked his eyes with hers.

"What's your name?" he hissed.

Hisana pursed her lips. His cold grey eyes were fascinating, how could he be so handsome? Was he real? It didn't matter anyway, he was probably going to kill her.

"Is this an official interrogation?" she asked.

Byakuya raised an eyebrow at her. He was slightly surprised at the audacity of this woman.

"Excuse me?"

"I will gladly answer your questions but," Hisana gulped "if I'm being questioned for my crime of trespassing into your territory I would like to be informed about what to expect," she closed her eyes tightly "what punishment should I wait for?"

Byakuya's eyes widened.

Punishment? She was expecting him to punish her? He wanted to feel offended, but he had to admit that the current situation, and his attitude, would obviously led everyone to believe that he was out for blood. He needed to correct that, having her afraid of him was not acceptable.

Byakuya let go of her chin and took a step back.

"I'm not unreasonable," Byakuya frowned "I know that you're not trespassing on your own accord," he sighed "I was the one who brought you here, even when you demanded to go back to Yoruichi."

Hisana's eyes snapped open.

"What?" she breathed out as she stared at him.

Byakuya noticed right there how breathtaking her eyes were, he wanted to stare at that unique shade of blue forever.

"You fell from the cliffs," Byakuya reminded her "that does not count as trespassing and since you're a Shihouin I will not consider you an enemy."

Hisana gaped.

"How did you know that I am a Shihouin?!"

Byakuya smirked.

"I didn't" he informed her.

Hisana blushed. Her little slip gave him plenty of information about her, now he had confirmation that she belonged to Yoruichi's clan.

"I'm confused" Byakuya admitted as he kept staring at her, the covers she was holding so tightly had slipped from her shoulders a little, her skin looked smooth and Byakuya found himself wondering how would it feel to touch her.

Not that he would try.

"About what?" Hisana asked.

"I thought that Yoruichi and I were in good terms," he pointed out "however the moment you escaped with her my estate gets attacked, that's quite convenient, isn't it?"

"We didn't know about the attack!" Hisana swore quickly.

She surprised Byakuya as she jumped out of the bed and took a couple of decisive steps towards him. He was a head taller than her, but her attitude gave away how ready she was to confront him for her clan's sake.

"Yoruichi didn't know!" Hisana insisted "we wouldn't have left if that had been the case!"

"It is quite the coincidence," Byakuya scoffed "just a moment after she leaves, my estate gets attacked and she" he frowned "as the queen of speed didn't get here before the attackers to at least warn me!"

"We tried!" Hisana explained "but I hindered her, she was carrying me! That's why I decided to transform and...!"

Byakuya shut her up by holding her chin and staring right at her eyes. He made sure she wouldn't walk away from him, and he knew she wouldn't push him because if she were to try the covers would fall to the floor leaving her naked body exposed to him.

He had already seen it, but he wouldn't complain about looking again.

"What's your name?" Byakuya asked.

Hisana's legs were shaking but she didn't want to tell him.

"Promise me that you won't hurt Yoruichi," she begged "swear to me that the Shihouin province will be safe from your wrath and I'll tell you anything!"

"Bargaining?" Byakuya questioned with a chuckle "do you think that you're in the position to negotiate?"

"Please," Hisana insisted with a whisper "please, my lord!"

Hisana noticed something flashing through his eyes the moment she called him that. Although she couldn't be sure, did she upset him? Was she supposed to say something else?

"I don't have a single reason to threaten the Shihouin province," Byakuya said "but you're here, under my care and forced to negotiate with me, tell me your name."

Hisana blinked as he carefully let go of her chin and put his hands on her shoulders. Was he trying to keep his distance? Did he find her closeness distasteful? She wasn't sure, but she noticed how he took another step back.

Hisana sighed.

"My name is Hisana Shihouin" she said finally.

"How are you related to Yoruichi?" Byakuya questioned.

"I..." Hisana gulped "I was adopted by her clan after I lost mine in the war" she pursed her lips "we've always been friends so she saved me and took me in as her sister when we were still children."

Byakuya shook his head.

"I would appreciate if you didn't lie to me" he said.

Hisana tilted her head, she didn't understand.

"I'm not lying" she assured him.

"I've known Yoruichi my entire life," Byakuya informed her "how come I never saw you if you've been with her since the war was over? That was centuries ago."

Hisana shifted on her feet uncomfortably.

"I was not..." she sighed "I joined her clan as a child but I stayed away from public sight."

"Why?" Byakuya asked.

"I'm the last one of my bloodline," Hisana explained "I didn't want anyone to bother Granny with arranged marriages, and Yoruichi didn't want to risk giving me away" she bit her lower lip, where was Yoruichi? Was she okay? "we promised to be together forever."

Byakuya scoffed at that.

He knew she was not lying, although she wasn't telling everything either.

"And what was your clan's name?"

Hisana shook her head, she wouldn't tell. Several clans were lost at war, but hers was kind of… special.

"Fine," Byakuya conceded "I will eventually find out either way."

"Do you know where Yoruichi is?" Hisana asked "I should go back to her."

"I'm pretty sure that Yoruichi can survive without her lady in waiting, you shouldn't worry" Byakuya said dismissing her.

Hisana blushed angrily.

"I am her sister!" she hissed offended "we're family."

Byakuya's eyes widened as that information sunk in.

The woman in front of him was a Shihouin. The powerful, stunning, unique, and annoying woman in front of him had almost the same status as Yoruichi. Byakuya stared at her and realized that the vague idea he had when he found her on the river could actually work.

"What is it?" Hisana asked as she took a step back.

She was the answer to all of his problems.

"You won't be going back to Yoruichi" Byakuya informed her seriously as he took a step forward.

Hisana took another step back.

"Are you going to take me prisoner?" she asked with her voice shaking.

"No," Byakuya answered as he noticed how pale she was, her recovery would take a while "you will not be a prisoner."

"Are you…" Hisana gulped "are you going to kill me?"

Byakuya smirked.

"That would be a waste," he pointed out "why would I kill you?"

Hisana's legs hit the bed and fell back on it. She was seated at the edge while looking up at Kuchiki Byakuya, and she suddenly felt dizzy. What was he going to do to her? If he didn't want her as a prisoner what the hell did he want?

Hisana's vision started to get blurry.

"You'll be staying here, at the Kuchiki estate" Byakuya said.

"Whatever for?" Hisana asked.

"You'll become my wife," Byakuya said casually "we'll get married and you will be the lady of the Kuchiki province."

It took Hisana three seconds to process his words.

"What?!" she screeched "what the fuck are you talking about?!" she demanded to know "have you lost your fucking mind?!"

"Language!" Byakuya hissed "I can see Yoruichi's influence in you."

"Oh no," Hisana scoffed as she stood up, she stumbled a little but she managed to push him slightly "what you're seeing is a natural reaction at being kidnapped and then being informed about her unplanned, and unwanted, marriage!"

"For someone who has lost quite the amount of reiatsu you sure know how to talk back," Byakuya frowned as he finally grabbed her wrists "perhaps this will get you back to your shy self."

Hisana gasped as the covers she had been holding fell at her feet. There was nothing covering her now, she blushed madly as she looked aside.

Byakuya knew it was a cheap move, but he needed her to shut up and that worked. He kept his eyes on her face and spoke as calmly as he could.

"You will pass out in a few seconds," Byakuya told her "you were hit by some sort of weapon that neutralizes reiatsu."

Hisana kept looking aside while trying, unsuccessfully, to hide her blush. She didn't want to pass out naked on his arms, she seriously didn't want to.

"I have selected two maids to take care of you during your recovery," Byakuya told her "you have my word that no one will touch you while you're unconscious."

Hisana then looked at him surprised.

"I am not that kind of man," Byakuya swore "and no one will touch the future lady of the clan."

"You're crazy," Hisana breathed out "I will not marry you, I will not give my entire life to you."

"Yes, you will" Byakuya sighed "but we'll discuss it later."

He let go of her wrists.

Hisana crossed her arms trying to cover her breasts. To her relief Byakuya didn't look at her, instead he took a step back and picked up the covers, he covered her again and grabbed her chin.

"By the time you wake up my whole staff will be informed about who you are," Byakuya said seriously "and by that I mean that I will let them know that you are my betrothed."

"I-!"

"You will agree and let them know that we're engaged," Byakuya ordered "if you don't, then I let Yoruichi know that you're a prisoner, and I'm guessing war will ensue."

Hisana paled.

She was seeing blurry.

"Don't!" she gasped "Yoruichi is not-!"

Her eyes were unfocused and Byakuya could see her struggling.

"She's…" Hisana tried again but it was useless.

The last thing she saw was Kuchiki's Byakuya's emotionless face.

Byakuya sighed heavily as she placed Hisana carefully on the bed again. He knew it was not his most gentlemanly move, far from it, however this was a chance that he was not going to let go.

Making up his mind he decided to make the announcement, and to lie a little while at it, to make sure no one would question Hisana's presence at the Kuchiki estate.

The whole staff was busy cleaning the front garden. Most of them didn't notice him when he stepped outside, he decided to listen for a few seconds what the staff was discussing, had they noticed Hisana in the middle of the battlefield?

Lucy and Stella were the loudest.

"It was amazing," she said while looking at Lucy "she was so fast, I never saw her coming."

"Right?" Lucy nodded with a smile "I think she never left the estate, but Lord Byakuya seemed happy to see her."

Happy? That's how he looked? If anything he was shocked, but those kind of comments would work in his favor.

"Who is she?" another maid chipped in "Lord Byakuya said she was his guest but, what kind of guest is she?"

"They met at the woods," one of the guards interjected "I saw her when the lord brought her here, she was hurt, remember?"

"So, they are probably acquaintances" Lucy reasoned "they were probably meeting and they were attacked by the prisoner Lord Byakuya brought earlier."

"Perfect," Byakuya thought with a smirk "that will work."

He stepped into the sunlight and the staff stopped everything they were doing. Byakuya faced them and they all bowed slightly while awaiting for him to speak.

He kept it light and simple.

He praised them for courageously defending the Kuchiki estate, he expressed his relief at the fact that there were no casualties on his side, and he informed them that they were expecting for the prisoners to confess who was behind the attacks sooner or later.

Most of the staff cheered while other simply nodded seemed satisfied.

Now came the complicated part.

"Some of you might be wondering about my guest," Byakuya said once the cheering subsided "the current events have forced me to keep her here, to keep her safe."

Robert frowned at that. That was an unexpected choice of words, to keep her safe?

"She belongs to an important clan that I deeply respect," Byakuya said "her name is Hisana and yes, she is one of the reasons why I've been leaving the estate for certain periods of time."

Byakuya sighed.

"With all of the current attacks I wanted to make sure that she was protected," he shook his head "I never imagined that my visits would endanger her."

Iburo and Kevin exchanged a confused look. They had been accompanying Byakuya on his surveillance trips, they had never seen that woman, who was she?

"The day I brought her here we were attacked while I was visiting her, and just as you witnessed she has a tendency to get in the middle of the battlefield," Byakuya clenched his fists "while I recognize that thanks to that we got the upper-hand in today's battle, I cannot ignore how much enrages me to see her hurt."

Robert fought the urge to gap like a fish out of water. Iburo and Kevin were shocked, most of the guards were confused, several maids were fanning themselves while seeing how passionately Byakuya wanted to protect the mysterious guest and Lucy, the youngest maid, was giggling with excitement.

Stella was keeping Lucy from jumping but she had to admit that it was not every day that Lord Byakuya would share his personal feelings, especially his personal feelings regarding a woman.

Stella always believed that his interests laid on the opposite side, apparently she was wrong.

"She is important to me," Byakuya informed them "her name is Hisana and she is my betrothed."

Several gasps were heard. Robert's eyes widened while Kevin and Iburo looked incredulously at Byakuya, the maids started to murmur between them and, once the initial shocked passed, Byakuya raised a hand for them to keep quiet.

"She will rest in my chambers until she has recovered," Byakuya said "I will decide whether to send her to her home or to keep her here permanently, we will get married soon after all."

Robert gulped.

He started to believe that Byakuya had hit his head during the previous attack, that could be the only logical explanation.

"That is all for now," Byakuya concluded "I expect nothing but the highest hospitality towards the future lady of the house while she remains here, is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" the staff said and Byakuya nodded gratefully.

"Lucy and Stella," she called them "come with me."

Both maids followed him suit.

Yoruichi had been just outside the Kuchiki estate, waiting for an opportunity to step inside and talk to Byakuya and, obviously, retrieve Hisana in the process.

She had been hidden because Byakuya was a freaking paranoid and she didn't want to cause a misunderstanding in which he could believe that she was on the invaders' side, but apparently Hisana had handled that pretty well and now they had another bigger problem on their plate.

Yoruichi heard the dramatic speech, and she knew how half of it were lies.

Not only Byakuya had never visited or known Hisana before, but they had never reach such a ridiculous agreement.

"Fuck…" Yoruichi cursed lowly "what is he thinking?"

Yoruichi wasn't an idiot. The bastard had probably seen how gorgeous and unique Hisana was, and he wanted to use her to avoid marrying Yoruichi but… did Hisana reveal how she was a Shihouin?

Yoruichi scoffed.

"Careless idiot" she hissed.

No matter the circumstances Yoruichi needed to go back to her estate. She would have to wait for things to calm down, judging by Byakuya's orders Hisana would be okay and Byakuya was right, it was better for her to recover before going back to the Shihouin estate.

Taking a deep breath, and feeling as if she was leaving her other half behind, Yoruichi started to walk towards her home.

"Well," she reasoned mostly to herself "guess he probably lost it after seeing her eyes, but is this because of her luck?"

Yoruichi wasn't sure what brought all of this but she was certain that she would never allow a marriage between those two.

The Shihouin heiress was not afraid of war anyway.

The news around the Kuchiki estate made most of the staff happy.

If the Kuchiki heir had an arrangement with a noble lady that meant that the bloodline was secured, and with a woman inside the estate the maids would have their hands full while tending to her and, later on, helping with wedding preparations.

It was good news for those who had devoted several years serving the Kuchikis. It meant the clan was getting stronger, all that was left was to find out which clan they would be joining in marriage, it had to be a powerful one for the Kuchikis to have chosen it.

There was only one person around the Kuchiki estate who was not contempt with the news: Akie.

She had tended to the injured girl, she had spoken to her, and she knew that she didn't know Kuchiki Byakuya. Sighing she decided that she needed accurate information about their guest, and she knew where to find it.