Noble Love - Bleach (Kuchiki Byakuya x Oc x A bit of Various)

三十六

"You haven't put it on." he noted when he saw the kanzashi was still laying in her palms, with the pink furoshiki still. "Do you not like it?"

"I-"

"Do not reason with me by saying it's because of its value." he interrupted, knowing fully well why she hesitated to accept it. He needn't hear her explain further, because he had already guessed the reason just by taking note of her facial expression; and the fact that she looked down with embarrassment prove him right even more. A small smile flickered across his face before he humphed and said, "Fool." He went behind her and gathered a bunch of her long, silky black hair, tying it into a bun. Though her face flushed at the close contact, she liked how gentle he was with her. The way his hands gently brushed her hair and tied her hair up, it brought her some comfort and relaxation.

With one hand holding the bun, Byakuya's free hand took the gold kanzashi to secure the bun before letting her hair go, causing a few strands to fall and frame her face. Asa wanted to see how it looked. So she walked towards the round mirror hanging on the wall, and was astonished to see the result of his work. She wasn't used to seeing this appearance of herself because she'd always kept her hair in a low ponytail or let left it as it was; but she liked it! She liked how the gold ornament complemented her hair and matched her light grey yukata underneath the red shawl he gave earlier. She also admired how neat Byakuya tied her bun, despite having a few strands of hair in front fall out of place that she could easily solve by tucking them behind her ear.

Asa turned around to face Byakuya and smiled. "It's beautiful." she said. "Thank you, Byakuya." She then suddenly remembered something. She went to the bookshelf on the right side of the room and opened a drawer. She took out a item wrapped in a brown cloth with gold writings all over, and returned to where Byakuya was standing. "I also have something for you."

He stared at the bundle in her hands and took it, placing it on one of his hands and unwrapped it. His eyes immediately widened with shock when he saw what the gift was. It was a beautiful silver necklace with a Labradorite pendant wrapped with a small wire attached to the chain. He needn't ask her what the necklace was for, since he'd seen Michiro wore it starting on the day the day he and Asa dated. This was an important heirloom passed down to Asa from her mother; and for her to give him something of much more value than his gifts was too much for him.

"I can't take this." he said once he looked at her.

Asa gave him an assuring smile before closing his hand that had the necklace, encouraging him to accept the gift. "It is my choice to whom I give this to." she said. "I want you to have this as a reminder that no matter where you are, my prayers are with you always. I'm giving you this crystal in hopes that it will keep you safe from all harm."

"Asa..." he trailed off.

From there, a comfortable silence filled the air. The two lovers stood in the middle of the dimly lit room staring into each other's eyes, with Asa's hands still on his. Slowly, as if there was a force attracting them to each other, they slowly leaned in until their foreheads contacted, maintaining their gaze on each other. They couldn't tell how or why, but a relaxing sensation came over them like it was right for them to be in this position. They were glad that they could start this relationship after letting go a lot of guilt towards their dearly departed, because it meant that they were given a chance to turn over a new leaf. Both of them could feel it. They were healing together and overcoming their own obstacles in life, like Asa had said in the beginning. They might have been together for almost two months, but they could careless about that factor. It just felt right to be in each other's company despite the comfortable silence in the air.

Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end. A hell butterfly entered Asa's study, prompting the two to separate before the butterfly landed on her finger to relay the message sent by the Captain-Commander. Raising a brow, she announced, "The Captain-Commander has called for an immediate Captains' Meeting." Asa giggled when she heard him grunt, annoyed that he couldn't spend more time with her.

"I'll see tonight." he declared, earning a nod from her. With that, he used Flash Step to move away, leaving her to continue her work before moving on with the day.

Few hours later, it was nightfall. Asa had finished her dinner and was making her way towards the library where she planned to do some reading. Suddenly, she heard Eiichi call, prompting her to turn around to see him stopping in front of her. "Kuchiki Rukia-sama has arrived." he announced. "Shall I bring her in?"

'Rukia?' she repeated in her mind. 'Why is she visiting all of a sudden?' Not wanting to waste anyone's time, she said, "Send her to my office." Once Eiichi bowed and went over to bring the guest in, Asa quickly went to her study where she waited for her guest, who arrived after a few minutes. "Rukia, what brings you here?" But she knew something was wrong when she saw Zangetsu strapped to her back and panic was written all over her face.

"Asa-sama, Ichigo has been arrested!" began the said woman.

"What did you say?" responded Asa, who was now shocked by the news. "What happened?"

"I don't know." said Rukia sadly. "But Hitsugaya-taichou said he was under arrest as a material witness."

'Material witness?' repeated the noblewoman. 'For what?' But the answer wouldn't come to her if they just stay put. "I'll be out in five minutes." she said. "In the meantime, wait for me outside."

"Yes, ma'am." responded Rukia, who then proceeded to leave.

Asa quickly went to her bedroom and changed into her Shihakusho, strapping her Zanpakutou to her waist before leaving the manor. "We need to release Ichigo from his prison cell first." she said while unsheathing her Zanpakutou. "In the meantime, Tamako-kun can sneak around and help us find some answers to why this happened so suddenly."

At that moment, dark purple miasma emitted from the blade before it manifested into the Ghost Child. "So I just have to find out what's going on, right?" he confirmed.

"Yes." she replied.

"Okay!" he chirped. He then turned around and ran towards the dark alley where he blended into the shadows and disappeared completely.

"Let's go." said Asa.

"Yes!" responded Rukia.

The two women used Flash Step to get to prison, making sure to avoid getting caught along the way. They could've fought if that were to happen, but because they weren't sure of the situation now, especially when all of the Captains were involved in this, so they decided to back down from the fighting. After a while, they had arrived at their destination where they sneaked inside, searching for the cell where Ichigo was confined. When they found it, Asa signaled to Rukia that she would keep watch while the latter get him out.

Ruki got on all fours and crawled towards the cell, trying to be as quiet as possible. "Ichigo..." she whispered. "Ichigo..."

The said boy snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her, surprised by her presence. "Rukia..." he whispered back. His gaze then caught hold of the other Shinigami, who was leaning against the wall and keeping an eye out for guards. "Asa-san..." The two Shinigami exchanged glances and nodded at each other before getting him out of jail.