Byakuya leaned heavily against the pillars of stone that surrounded the worn mausoleum

A/N: So I've finally completed all my obligations to school at the beginning of this summer (except of course for the crazy theater class I'm in online right now roll eyes). So now I'm providing you with a little summer respite! The newest chappies of SOW are on the way as well, plus the finale for Gin and Rangiku, which I have revised due to up and coming changes in the manga 

P.S. – I'm going to post a new story with Ichigo as the main character for those of you who want to see some Ichi/Ruki action, and someone asked for a Rukia/Renji – so I will be providing a one-shot or short story for them sometime soon as well. Plus another, younger Byakuya fanfiction – since (SPOILER) it's been discovered that he was a crazy, temperamental little dude when he was 13ish. LOL

Suggested listening: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", Roberta Flack, or Celine Dion cover of the song – Leona Lewis has one too!

Chapter 9: Close your Eyes

Byakuya leaned heavily against the pillars of stone that surrounded the worn mausoleum. His fingers gently caressed the pattern of flowers and roses intertwined amongst the plethora of wildflowers that grew next to the eternal flame that roared at the foot of the grave, the massive cherry tree above him wafting in the early spring breeze.

Her body was gone.

He had noticed many years ago that her perfectly preserved form had begun to wane, fade like the edges of a water color left out in the sun too long. Her hair had turned brassy, her skin translucent. Unfortunately, he was not privy to the decomposition methods that a body made up of pure spiritual energy went through.

He had tried to never study them.

It had begun twenty years ago, when on a sojourn into the living world, he had felt her reiatsu twinge. He had followed that shrieking beam of light to a tiny hospital window. He had stared at a tiny girl, a teenage mother, holding a black haired babe in her arms.

He had watched as she was given away, handed to the nurse, the tearful mother disgraced and turned from her home, a derelict on the streets. She was lucky to have been claimed by a Soul Reaper later that day, when her broken spirit left the living world.

Lucky that Byakuya was that Soul Reaper.

He had followed the babe, from foster home to foster home. Her hair grew longer, her eyes bright. She could see him when she was small, a sign of her spiritual strength. Like many babies, she was full of happiness and charm, her laughter brightening small spaces. She was adopted by a charming elderly couple. They had lost all of their children in a car crash.

He had been beside her at their funeral. They died when she was seventeen years old.

She continued her life, using her limited estate funding to remain in their tiny home in Karakura Town. She had met that…boy. And every year she grew more beautiful.

And every year Hisana faded.

Now, standing beside her empty tomb, he felt her presence all around him. The new Hisana possessed the same enveloping warmth that had caressed and walked hand in hand with him for five years of bliss many years ago.

And he was thankful.

Soon he would show her this relic. This culmination, a monument to a long lost love, and now recovered. She was everything that his Hisana had been and more. She was a newer version, but still the same soul.

And she still reached for him.

That morning he had awoken with her head on his arms, her soft hands wrapped around his bicep, her hair strewn like midnight across his silken sheets.

His nightmare had ended. His future was bright.

He turned back towards his home, the sun now high in the sky. He had departed early that morning, before breakfast. He knew that his servants would be placing steaming bowls of cherry blossom water in his suites for his early morning bath.

And he knew that she would be at home, waiting for his return.

And this time, he wouldn't let her leave.

Lyrics:

The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and stars were the gifts you gave
To the dark and the empty skies, my love,
To the dark and the empty skies.

The first time ever I kissed your mouth
And felt your heart beat close to mine
Like the trembling heart of a captive bird
That was there at my command, my love
That was there at my command.

And the first time ever I lay with you
I felt your heart so close to mine
And I knew our joy would fill the earth
And last till the end of time my love
It would last till the end of time my love

The first time ever I saw your face, your face,
your face, your face