A/N: Byakuya and Hisana Kuchiki are characters created by Kubo Tite.
WEDDING NIGHT:
The coldness of early dawn was slowly gnawing away at the shoji doors to one of the many rooms of the Kuchiki Manor. The gardens were still and only the soft humming of the early morning insects and birds could be distinctly heard. White hazy mist was carelessly nestled between the flora and herbs while the koi ponds rippled ever so slightly because of the lone dancing carps hidden within the shallow waters.
The sun's rays were tentatively peeking from beyond the horizon; tender, frail rays growing much more intense with every passing minute. The golden wash of colours born from the sun began to light a world that was now blossoming to the touch of the blessed spring morning; it was a peaceful beginning.
The small frame of a woman was swathed in mounds of thick snowy sheets as she lay peacefully upon her futon. Her fingers gently held onto the folds of the fabrics just beneath her neck and her feet were curled comfortably against the warmth of the futon. Only her dark hair and tapered fingers were visible beneath the sheets, her entire body being completely shielded by the exquisite softness of a full cover. Her black tresses fell softly into her closed lids however, their silken spray partially concealing her creamy white cheeks.
Hisana lay cuddled beneath her covers in that state between dream and consciousness, barely away of her environs. Her mind was hazy from slumber and she was reluctant to yield to the tugging beams of the sun, if only for a moment. She would wait a little longer she decided in that semi-conscience limbo where she presently existed.
After a few lengthy minutes had passed, she could feel her mind becoming sharper, more sensitive to her environment. She could hear the soft trickling of the stream and the dulcet chirping of the young birds as they greeted the new day. The crisp coldness of the dawn still lingered in the room for she could feel it lightly caressing her skin, yoking her into awareness. She finally gave into the tugging stimuli after a moment and opened her eyes, blinking a few times in an effort to adjust her vision. The vista before her was slightly blurry but it began to focus after a few seconds.
She remained still for a few moments before luxuriously stretching onto the futon and allowing a soft pleasurable moan to escape her lips. The smooth feel of silken sheets against her naked skin added to the ambience and she was drunkenly reminded of a somewhat erotic theme…
It was just that she had never actually woken up with such a decadent cover of sheets around her tiny frame; never felt such softness envelope her; it was too grand to actually become a reality for her, for her of all souls…
She lazily turned onto her other side then as the sheets ruffled at her movement, her eyes sleepily focusing onto the emptiness of the futon before her. Her lethargy was too much to evoke any kind of coherent thought so she stretched her presently languorous limbs against the soft sheets as she once again attempted to blink away the stupor of her indolence. At the moment she could only revel in the strange emotion of physical satisfaction crawling through her veins, rendering her almost helpless to any other activity or thought. She was tired, she knew that much, but it was a strange concept of tiredness…one perhaps a little complicated to describe… She was slightly confused by it, a little bemused actually as to why she should feel that way. One often associated fatigue with some form of physical exertion… not pleasure…
She wasn't sure quite sure as to what to make of the sensation, but it didn't matter. It couldn't have mattered. She was comfortably at peace at the moment and as such no inane thought of any kind should even be allowed to exercise confusion in her mind. One should at least be allowed to indulge in such soothing feelings on mornings; these feelings had never been hers to experience in the past in any case. She could indulge in the sensation…if only a little.
Her eyes suddenly caught sight of another futon that was laid out right next to hers, its sheets untidily arranged and strewn across the floor. There was a slight depression gracing its softness, as if someone had recently been lying there. But that couldn't be right…
Hisana's mind instantly halted. The previously caged memory that was incessantly tugging behind her mind instantly began clawing away at the gates that had somehow been locked. But to prevent its escape was useless; it had finally unlatched itself to reveal the flow of secrets she had by some means bypassed.
But!-No…impossible!
She blinked in open confusion for a moment, all the former sensations of calm and serenity slowly beginning to drain away from her consciousness.
She hastily shot up into a sitting position then the sheets falling away from her chest and pooling around her slender hips in a soft swish. Upon glancing lower down however, she felt her cheeks instantaneously heat with embarrassment at the unbecoming sight of love bites against her pale, completely unclothed skin.
She almost fainted.
She immediately began to grasp for a yukata, wasting no time to conceal the proof of her nocturnal acts of physical intimacy. Feeling one not far from her futon she quickly slipped it through her arms and hurriedly tied the sash before her in a furious zeal. But her heart was pounding, madly pounding as the memories of the night gone by teasingly played in her mind.
So it hadn't been a dream! It had never been a dream!
Oh Dear…
She hastily began to scan the unfamiliar room, her fingers curled against her chest in tentative fright and uncertainty. There was very little light, but the newly born rays of sunshine were slowly beginning to creep into the room, illuminating her surroundings ever so slightly. There was a vanity pressed against the corner of the room, its surface and the floor around it, carelessly littered and strewn with several golden kanzashis. As her gaze continued to rove, she helplessly noticed that lying before the vanity was a thick colourful mound of fabric carelessly pooled and discarded on the floor.
Hisana pressed her fingers against her lips as realisation dawned and her eyes instinctively widened when the obvious became apparent. Memories that had been properly withheld before began to inundate her mind as the soft tugs of sashes from the night gone filled her ears and the soft whispers of another's lips against her skin began to fill her mind. Each memory brought with it the distinct feeling she had experienced at her husband's touch.
But oh dear…she had not been dreaming?
Byakuya?
Her cheeks began to burn once more as the night played before her in a passionate haze of colour and swirls. Had she? Had he? She felt herself unconsciously swaying as the memories swarm together, too much for her to digest.
But if it had not been a dream…if none of it had been a dream, then it was a reality! But that was impossible! How could such a thing be real? It was impossible for such things to become a reality for her! Such fanciful things should have never been hers to cherish.
Beautiful things like marriage, dreamlike things like love… could actually be hers? Impossible!
But- it…it had never been a dream…he had always been real, even from the start…always…
So why? Why was it so much like a dream?
Was it possible that dreams could have materialised into realities…for her?
Byakuya…
A small shy smile lengthened her lips, her cheeks heating in a wave of crimson. She pressed her hand against her fluttering heart and whispered almost inaudibly as she closed her eyes, "Lord Byakuya…"
(Yesterday Night)
A small, slender woman uncertainly sat before a dark vanity, absently eyeing herself in the mirror, silently attempting and struggling to come to terms with her present situation.
Her glowing cheeks were coloured a thick creamy white and her lavender eyes were darkly, almost heavily lined. Even her brows seemed darker than usual, but she knew well enough to associate it all with the facial paints that adorned her skin.
She raised her hand then, hesitating for a moment before beginning to lightly trail her fingers against her cheeks. She felt so…soft. Her lips were a startling scarlet, painted a vivid red against her whiteness and her large violet eyes looked unsure. She looked nothing like the Hisana she knew, she looked nothing like the woman who had once roamed the destitute streets of Inuzuri…
She had never known she could look so…beautiful…
The very thought itself was… unsettling.
Soft strands of black hair elegantly fell between her eyes, gently kissing her lashes and the tip of her nose whilst uncontainable wisps demurely fell onto her shoulders. Not even a comb could have kept her hair fully in check. She sighed at the thought and wondered for a moment if anyone had even been able to recognize her. She was certain she couldn't even recognize herself.
She ran her fingers against her lips then and next upwards to her cheek and hair. It was almost surreal that she should find herself in this situation…so utterly unbelievable. Was this truly her destiny? She heaved a breathy sigh and lowered her gaze to the tatami.
Her shoulders were wrapped in the red fabric of a bride, its patterns and designs intimately woven into the fabric of the kimono. Hesitantly she allowed her index to trail against the material, her breath stilling in wonder at the suggestive richness that clothed her...
Surely she did not deserve such luxury as a bride…but she was now a Kuchiki, she should have expected no less…
She wondered for a brief moment then if she would be able to fulfil her duty; execute her role as wife. She felt a slight whimper escape her lips at the thought and she uncertainly lowered her eyes. Had she made the right decision?
Byakuya…
The sadness weighed heavily upon her, the sorrow bleeding through her façade; she could vividly see it. Duty and love…she had been torn between the two and so too she knew had he, but…
Thoughts of her sister were never far, they all but haunted her and still, still she couldn't have resisted the lure to become his wife. He had been so kind to her, he had been so human to her and she in all her innocent grandeur had returned no less to him. How could she have anticipated the unexpected bloom of emotion that had blossomed between them? How could she have foreseen that their unexpected encounter would have led to so much more…
And after everything he had probably underwent for their marriage to happen, after everything he had borne on his shoulders how could she not harbour love for him? How could she not hold him close to her heart? She trusted him and still, still she felt the sorrowful guilt consuming her.
As soon as they had arrived from the ceremony, he had handed her down from the carriage before the overwhelming manor doors. She had been too nervous to glimpse his expression as he held her fingers in his. She had been too afraid. But she could feel the reassurance through his firm grip and she knew he was quietly asking her to be strong…for him, for them.
So she would…for his sake she would have done anything.
He immediately bestowed her to one of the hand maidens then and walked several paces ahead to greet an old man who had come down the path that led deeper into the manor. As she stood there, she silently observed him. She silently digested the way he stood with all the grace in the world and she silently observed the touch of noble defiance in his features. He really had done everything in his power to make her his…just as he had promised… His features at that moment were however unreadable. He was expressionless as he stood there; that impassive mask that he wore so well, giving him an air of blatant indifference, almost arrogance. But regardless of that fact there was one thing that was inescapable to her.
He was exhausted.
She was positive she could detect the look of fatigue written across his features, it was so evident.
But the thought itself worked to rile a small flutter of worry in her heart and she wondered, not for the first time, why a man such as himself had done so much for a plebeian like her. He had fought, she knew to bring her into his family, for the mixing of blood between a commoner from Rukongai and a noble was against the Kuchiki Family rules. So then why? Why had he done all this for her?
Love…her mind slyly answered.
The elderly man had by now engaged her husband in silent conversation, his wrinkled skin accentuated by the slight frown gracing his thin lips. He seemed uncomfortable, almost displeased, but that…that was understandable she supposed; it was expected from the main family.
As the conversation finally terminated, Byakuya curtly nodded to the old man and then silently approached his newly wedded wife. Hisana immediately lowered her eyes upon his advancement.
"Forgive me Hisana, but there is something that I urgently need to address."
Her expression instantly froze into impassivity, her eyes subserviently lowered to shield her gaze of disappointment from his perceptive eyes. She knew her heart had become heavy with his words and she unconsciously tightened her fists. Much to her surprise though, she felt the soft heat of his hand against her chin and she glanced up in astonishment as her husband tenderly brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I will return." He cast a small smile after those softly uttered words and tilted her face closer to his own. They both locked their gazes for a small moment before Hisana nodded in confusion and blushingly averted her eyes from his probing ones.
"Yes my Lord…" she whispered.
With that he slowly let his fingers slide away before turning his back and accompanying the old man into the manor.
Hisana had then been deposited in the very room where she now sat, her mind at ease and her heart patiently awaiting his return. The hand maiden had kindly offered to help her undress but she had declined the offer as humbly as she could.
"I-I will wait until Lord Byakuya…returns…"
The hand maiden's eyes softened upon hearing those words and she wordlessly bowed in acknowledgment as she exited the room thereafter.
Hisana's mind returned to the present moment and a soft sigh escaped her lips. Her wait was indeed lengthy but how could she falter? She unconsciously raised her hand to brush her hair away from her cheek when the unanticipated moisture of tears touched her fingertips. A gasp of surprise escaped her lips and she breathed in confusion as she eyed her hands in horror.
Tears! Impossible! Had she been silently drowning her guilt in the unconscious agony that had poured forth from her soul? The young woman exhaled in further alarm and hastily made to conceal the evidence of her silent turmoil.
Just as she was about to rise however she felt a light hand upon her shoulder and her awareness jolted… her heart could not reduce its intense hammering in her chest.
Byakuya…
"Where are you going?" His voice was still, almost emotionless. Hisana's eyes widened as she attempted to muffle to faint gasp that was fighting to betray her, her hands glistening with the beads of tears she had hastened to wipe from her cheeks. She swiftly collected her emotions and meekly lowered her gaze before quietly responding,
"I-I was going to prepare for bed..." He could not see the tears that had stained her cheeks and she did not wish that he see her like this. It was unfair to him. She was thankful then that her back was towards him…
"I see." He paused for a bit and then queried "How are you feeling?" Hisana gave a small lugubrious smile and brushed aside the strand of hair that had fallen into her eyes.
"Better—I-I'm actually quite glad that you're here now…"
She heard the soft sigh of defeat as it escaped his lips and she knew that he was indeed weary.
"I am sorry Hisana." He finally muttered after a few seconds, "I am sorry for leaving you like this, but I needed to speak to my grandfather, urgently." His deep voice had softened considerably and he sounded almost… humble.
"Of course, it is your duty to do so."
"Duty?" he tiredly queried.
"You will be head of the Kuchiki Family soon. Many responsibilities will then be yours to bear."
"I wish-" He unexpectedly paused.
Hisana felt her brows narrow in confusion at his silence and she worriedly murmured his name "B-Byakuya-sama? Are you-are you al-"
"Hisana,"
She froze at his sudden call of her name. The next words he uttered though caught her quite by surprise.
"I wish…I wish you were the only duty I had to fulfil."
She felt her voice catch in her throat and her eyes instinctively widen. What was he saying? Her breathing immediately became shallow. She slowly gave him a sidelong glance and chastely smiled, her fingers trembling in her lap as she lowered her gaze. It was too much.
"I-I too wish you were the… only thing…the only duty that was mine to bear."
As she had turned, the soft glow of the candle in the room caught at her features and Byakuya's eyes immediately widened in astonishment.
"You were crying" His seemed alarmed by the prospect. "Why Hisana?"
She quickly raised her sleeve to wipe away the evidence of her silent turmoil, a lugubrious smile delicately painting her lips. She had momentarily forgotten she had been shedding tears.
"Everything…it's all so…unbelievable." Her voice was almost a frail whisper, "I-I am speechless I think…"
"Hisana…" He gently muttered. He watched her with softened eyes, their grey depths gleaming in the flickering candle light. "Why does it all seem unbelievable to you?" he quietly asked as he finally turned her around to face him, "Why does it make you speechless?"
"Because you have taken me as your wife."
Byakuya's eyes narrowed in confusion, silently asking her to elaborate.
"Despite what both of us have had to face you were unwavering and I-I cannot help but marvel at it all."
Byakuya cupped her cheek then and leaned forward as he rested his lips on her forehead. "I would do it a thousand times over for you…" he whispered then as he drew a deep breath laden with her scent. "I would do it in every lifetime…Hisana." Hisana felt her heart quaver at that spoken sentence and her pulse increased its activity. Rear it was indeed that her husband would utter words such as those. He had only been that verbally romantic in their letters.
"Stay…" she suddenly whispered as she became lost in his chaste kiss branded in her hair. "Stay with me tonight..."
The young Lord wordlessly eyed his wife in surprise before closing his eyes and smiling an imperceptible smile.
"We are husband and wife…" he quietly commented "Where would you have me stay if not with you Hisana?"
The young maiden shyly blushed at her faux pas and averted her gaze all the while still holding onto her husband's hand.
"I-I..."
"Forget it." he softly commanded as he traced her lips with his index, "It is a trivial matter."
Byakuya quietly observed his wife for a minute longer before slowly shaking his head and raising her to her feet. He tilted her face closer to his own then and kissed her forehead before firmly embracing her in his arms.
"Oh Hisana…"
He inhaled her scent as she pressed her face into his robes and he quietly stroked her shoulders as she leaned even closer into him.
And as the silence fell around them, Hisana felt herself relaxing against him… breathing him in, falling into him…; it was too beautiful to comprehend, too enthralling to describe. The moment was a strange one, a strange but oddly alluring and peaceful one. She had never been this at ease in her life before…
And she was certain she could have stayed like this forever; she was positive she wanted to stay like this with him forever, shielded against all that was spiteful and nefarious and all that was painful. She wanted to be with him forever…
Slowly becoming drugged by the spell that was being cast around her, Hisana felt her fingers beginning to wander. She could suppress her emotions no more, for they were surely seeping through her person to express themselves through the instinctive touches that were shyly pattering up Byakuya's thick sleeves like petal soft brushes. She gripped his shoulders then and without thinking she tiptoed on her sock clad feet and planted a chaste kiss to relay her appreciation on her husband's left cheek.
"Make me your wife, Byakuya-sama," she softly whispered as she planted another lighter kiss upon his chin this time, "Make me your wife, for I truly desire to be yours; heart, body and soul…"
She heard his voice as it hitched in his throat and she closed her eyes as she felt his heart pounding beneath her hands. His reaction had been…surprisingly arousing.
"Hisana…" He thickly groaned, closing his eyes as she boldly trailed kisses along his throat.
"Yes…?" she answered her cheeks simultaneously flaming at her audacity.
Byakuya smiled as he secured her in his embrace, his pulse accelerating with every second that drummed by. "You have never been this forward…"
She blushed at his words. It really did amaze her; his reaction and the words coming from her lips. Byakuya had always seemed so emotionally untouchable, so emotionally detached; she would have never believed she had the power to stir him and she would have never believed she even had the courage to.
And before she could make another whisper, before she could frame the beauty of the moment within the depths of her heart she was silenced by the searing heat of his mouth as it slowly descended upon her own. And without hesitation and without reserve he lingeringly captured her lower lip before possessing her entire mouth.
It was almost…heart wrenching.
His kiss was at first slow, tantalizing and sensuous, momentarily lingering as he teased and stroked. But then his urgency began to increase as she responded to his love making, his desire rapidly escalating with every intimate exchange that was made.
His kisses deepened as his hands laced around her waist to draw her in and Hisana unwittingly found her digits fisting his thick hair as he drew her closer. Her own fingers were roving, gripping and wounding their way into his dark tresses as the tension wore on, her slender fingers instinctively holding onto him as his massive frame slowly began to devour her. He was slowly enveloping her into a vortex of pleasure…
Needing to feel her against him, Byakuya gently lifted his wife into his arms, cradling her tiny frame against him as he carefully escorted her onto the futon between kisses and tugs of clothing.
"Scared…?" he thickly muttered against her neck as he kneeled before the futon.
"N-no…" she breathlessly mumbled as she snaked her hands around his neck, "No my Lord…"
And slowly the noble Lord disrobed her, layer by layer, discarding the elaborate wedding kimono into a heap onto the ground. Hisana too was shyly tugging at her husband's hakama and robes, her fingers clumsily fumbling at the obi, her bare skin already electrified by Byakuya's gentle touches…
And not long after, the ruffle of the sheets flittered through the room, accompanied by the ecstatic sighs of pleasure as they pierced the heady darkness of their chamber as bare skin met bare skin and the flame burned steadily brighter…
Hisana was certain she was dying a slow and beautiful death beneath her husband's hands for the sensations tainting her skin were all too indescribable. She moaned into him as he worshipped her and she arched against him as he gripped her hips and thighs. She had never anticipated this level of intimacy and she knew she would never regret a moment of it with him…he had already done so much for her… this was at least one way she was sure she could please him, one way she could show him…how much he meant to her.
"B-Byakuya…" she thickly moaned as she tipsily threw back her head in pleasure, her tiny hands still gripping his tresses between her fingers. She closed her eyes as he continued to kiss her and she unconsciously found herself straddling his hips as he moulded her tiny frame into him…
And the soft tugs of the sheets danced in and around their feet as they moved against each other and the heat from their bodies clung to their skin as they neared coital bliss and the sweet, breathless cries of passion held them down as they finally closed their eyes from the rapturous and overwhelming pleasure that tangled their souls in a tiny piece of heaven…
And as they both lay heaving in each other's arms later that night Hisana rested her head upon his chest and listened to the sound of his throbbing heart within.
"I am sorry…" she whispered "can you forgive me…?"
"For what…?" he throatily murmured against her hair.
"For everything…your family-"
"There is nothing to forgive Hisana." His thick voice firmly pierced the darkness and he protectively tightened his grip around Hisana's waist.
She blinked at his words and lovingly nuzzled his shoulder before lugubriously whispering;
"You will always say that…"
And the young lord silently captured her lips once again, effectively silencing her with renewed passion as they both fell into a silent battle of wills and pleasure…
Sitting upon the futon, Hisana felt herself slightly blushing as the memories replayed in her mind. Byakuya had done so much already; accepting her into his family, making her his wife, making her feel loved. Who would have wanted to marry her? Even after what she had done… He was such a good person…
The slight rolling of the shoji door instantly startled her at that moment, dispersing her thoughts into the faint recesses of her mind. As she looked up, her eyes widened in surprise and a small smile subsequently lengthened her lips. She lowered her head in acknowledgment.
"Byakuya-sama."
The young Lord quietly stood as he observed her, his form lazily wrapped in a white yukata at the waist. He nodded his response to her bow and closed his eyes as he began to approach. His soft footfalls were the only sounds fluttering throughout the room and Hisana carefully listened as she spied his approach beneath hooded lashes.
"It seems morning treats you well…Lady Hisana…"
Hisana smiled at his words before averting her eyes and absently training her gaze towards the tatami. "I would say the same for you… my Lord"
An imperceptible smile parted the Lord's lips as he stilled just before his wife. "Mornings are always meant to be complimented with something as graceful as the dancing coldness."
Hisana kept her gaze lowered for she knew his eyes were still upon her.
"Would you favour some tea…?"
She glanced up then and noticed the mug carefully cradled between his fingers. She smiled a small smile and duly nodded her acquiescence. "That would be…nice…I think."
Kneeling onto his knees, he planted a feather light kiss upon her forehead before resting the mug quietly at her side. He then settled onto the futon and much to her surprise gently placed his head on her lap.
Hisana stared at him in wonder. Not even during their courtship had he acted as such and she blinked in surprise at his mode of action. "Are you weary this morning?" she softly asked.
The young Lord impassively locked his gaze with her own and without answering brushed a stray wisp of hair away from her eyes. "Are you?" he evasively questioned.
Hisana lightly chuckled at his query and rolled her eyes in thought. "A falsehood I would weave if I said no…"
Byakuya continued to expressionlessly gaze up at her.
"I am tired…yes…"
He smiled at her words and closed his eyes thereafter. "Then stay with me this morning Hisana…" he quietly murmured, "No, stay with me forever…I will gladly nurture you…for life…"
A small smile flittered across her features and she simultaneously bent her head down as she lovingly pressed her lips against his own. "Then thank you for that my Lord…" she whispered against him. "I have a place to call home…now…"
After their intimate exchange Hisana softly watched as he peacefully closed his eyes upon her lap and she easily continued to rake his hair between her tiny digits. There was a mark of contentment lingering on his features and she smiled a small smile as his breathing eventually began to slow.
He had fallen asleep.
She silently revelled in the image before her.
He was at peace. If he was at peace, then she was at peace too, even if it was just a fleeting thing. She pushed all the negative and painful thoughts behind her and hungrily burnt his image into her memory. She hoped their time together would not be ephemeral, but alas all good things seemed to escape her. This catch however, she could not let slip so easily. There was still some goodness in the world; he at least was proof of that…