By the time Asa recovered her reiatsu in the Urahara Shop, Ichigo had defeated Muramasa and the Zanpakutou Spirits returned to their respective Masters; which meant that it was time for her to return to Soul Society. Tadashi was reluctant to let her go because he was worried about the side effects she had the last time. But when Byakuya stepped in to assure that she would be fine as long as she's under his care, the young Soul gave in, knowing that it would be pointless to try and convince the Captain otherwise.
After bidding Tadashi and Urahara farewell, she returned to Soul Society with the other Shinigami. She thought that she could finally go back to the Sasaki Manor and relax by having her alone time, but Byakuya wasn't kidding when he said that she was going to be under his care. He began visiting her at her home, bringing gifts such as a box of wagashi, kanzashi, and silk obi for her kimonos. Sometimes he would bring in extravagant traditional medicine to help her recover after using so much of reiatsu during the battle with Muramasa and the brainwashed Zanpakutou Spirits. Though she appreciated them, she thought that it wasn't necessary for him to give her something each time he visited her. She tried convincing him that he needn't continue this, but he did; and the gifts were becoming more expensive and luxurious.
Eiichi was hesitant at first to allow him to enter the Sasaki Manor due to the incident in the 6th Division where Senbonzakura "killed" her, even though it was merely an illusion. But after some convincing, he allowed the Captain to enter the manor.
"Excuse me!" called the butler from behind the shoji before sliding it to the side to reveal himself. "Kuchiki-sama has arrived."
At that time, Asa, adorned in a light blue kimono, was doing calligraphy in the middle of the room, with the other door opened to give her the night view of the patio. She looked at him before her gaze landed on the 6th Captain, who began entering the living room with another gift wrapped in a green furoshiki, prompting the former to take his leave. "Byakuya-san." she greeted while putting the brush down, making sure that the ink didn't contact the table. "I didn't think you would visit again."
"How absurd of you to say that." he remarked, placing the gift on the table before taking a seat across her.
While Hikari entered the room and served him tea, Asa stared at the gift for a moment before heaving a soft sigh. Taking a bow, the maid left the living room, allowing Asa to say, "Byakuya-san, I've told you before that you can stop bringing gifts. You've already done so much for me."
The said man didn't say anything. He had his arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed. "I have already brought the gift." he said instead. "I believe it is more meaningful that you open what I've brought for you."
A sweat drop formed on the back of Asa's head. "There's really no point in trying to change your mind, huh?" she mumbled. Heaving a mushroom sigh, she reached out for the gift and began unwrapping the cloth. Once she had opened it, she was shocked to see what the gift was. There laid a beautiful ivory kimono with long sleeves, both printed with some purple and white flowers to add some details, and a large hem that had a design of pink, light purple and white flowers, creating a beautiful gradient. Besides the kimono robe, he included a matching haneri, a grey obi with the same, but bigger, white flower patterns, a dark purple obijime, and a light pink obiage.
Asa couldn't believe it as she stared at the clothes with a flabbergasted look. She knew how much it cost for a kimono set, especially silk, and it wasn't cheap. So for Byakuya to give her something as extravagant as this, she felt like she couldn't just take it. Yes, he may be able to afford it with the amount of fortune he had. But she felt that he could've gotten her things like the trinkets and snacks he had gotten her before.
However, she realised something. Why was Byakuya giving her gifts all of a sudden? He wasn't the type of person who would give his friends and family gifts. Even when Michiro was still alive, the Captain didn't bring anything with him. It was usually the other way round, especially when Michiro was known to bring a bottle of exquisite sake every time he visited Byakuya despite that the latter didn't drink. Besides that, Asa noticed the same expression held in his eyes - guilt. Was he still guilty about what Senbonzakura did to her, even though it was an illusion conjured by Kage Odoriko? No, that can't be it. There's something else, and she could tell that it was bothering him a lot.
"What's the matter?" he asked suddenly, interrupting her chain of thoughts. "Do you not like it? I can get the merchant to change it if you'd like."
"N-No, it's not that." she quickly corrected. Her gaze then went back to the kimono, and she murmured, "It's just..."
"What?" he pushed when she wasn't giving him an explanation.
Asa closed her eyes for a mere second before opening them to look at him, standing up and walking towards the patio. Just before she stepped out, she glanced over her shoulders to look at him and said, "Come with me." He looked back at her and didn't say anything, but soon got up to follow her to the patio.
It felt like yesterday the last time they spent a peaceful, quiet time with each other in the Sasaki Manor's patio. This time, there were no cherry blossoms, nor a full moon hanging in the night sky. Instead, there were countless stars in the sky, and trees with green leaves. Some of them fell to the ground when the wind blew. The two Shinigami repeated what they'd done on that night; walking along the river, eventually stopping at the clear lake where koi fish were swimming inside. The five ducks had returned to their nest as well, but they could hear them quacking from far. That night was a peaceful and comfortable one, but Asa wasn't sure if it'd be the same for this night.
"Why do you still fear something that has happened in the past?" she suddenly asked after turning to face him, interrupting the silence. Byakuya may have not shown any response, but the faint grunt of surprise coming from him was more than enough for her to continue. "You have been giving me gifts when we came back from the Human World, but all this while, I can't help but think you are obliged to do so, as if you want to settle your guilty conscience. And I know it's just about what Senbonzakura did to me."
Byakuya would've responded with "It's none of your business", or something else to avoid the topic. But Asa was too smart for her own good. She could read him like an open book, even though he was known to be stoic and rarely expressed his emotions; and she was right about his intention of giving her those gifts.
Before Michiro left Soul Society for his mission with his teammates, Byakuya promised to protect Asa and make sure no harm comes to her. Ironically enough, the latter had to carry out his promise from Day One itself; but things didn't really turn out the way he expected. He was starting to fall in love with her, the widow of his best friend, and no matter how hard he tried to remind himself of that fact, his heart gave in. One would think that it was fine for him to move on after Hisana's death, but that wasn't the case. The problem was he felt like he was betraying Michiro by loving his wife. And when Senbonzakura slashed across her back, the little guilt inside of him grew. Byakuya thought his world had ended there and then, for he thought that he had killed the woman he loved and swore to protect. So now, even though she had assured him that she had forgiven him, he still felt guilty, because of his feelings towards her and for what he had Senbonzakura done to her. He felt he had to do something to pay back for what he had done, and hence, he thought that showering her with gifts and luxuries that he knew she wouldn't splurge on would help him, like Asa said, settle his guilty conscience.
"You're not wrong." he began suddenly. Though he was facing her, he was looking at somewhere else, not making eye contact with her. "I was starting to have feelings for you, and by doing so, I was betraying Michiro, whom I promised that I would protect you." After mustering the courage to look at her in the eyes, he continued, "I couldn't hold my feelings back, and then I've hurt you. That's why I thought I could properly have you to forgive me if I give you those gifts."
It was then Asa's turn to go silent and stare ahead. Tadashi, Eiichi and Hikari were right about Byakuya's behaviour towards her, but she shrugged it off because, truth to be told, she was also developing some feelings for him. No, it was definitely not because of the gifts he spoiled her with. He had been there for her since Michiro's death, helping her with the funeral and her well-being. He was the one to give her a reality check when she returned from the twenty-year mission and still wasn't able to move on, which gave her a push to continue what she enjoyed doing. She saw him as a good friend whom she could go to when she needed help, but when he placed the cherry blossom in her hair, she became flustered at the close contact, and she didn't know why she was feeling that way. She, too, had the same thought as him, that she felt like she was betraying Hisana, who was a good friend of hers. She knew Michiro would've wanted her to move on, but she wasn't sure if Hisana would be happy about her loving Byakuya. As a result, she would often choose not to talk about it and bring up other possibilities of the reasons behind his actions.
"I had the same concern as you." she said softly, which he managed to pick up, causing his eyes to widen with surprise. "Hisana and I were friends, which is why I didn't want to betray her with my feelings towards you."
Byakuya was relieved in both ways; one was that she had mutual feelings for him, and the other was she understood where he was coming from. Both of them were recovering from the death of their loved ones, but along the way, life decided to test them to see if they'd really moved on by having them to fall in love with each other. By default, they hesitated, simply because they still had thoughts about their dearly departed. But if they were so selfish to even not let themselves love each other and start over, then how can they say that they've moved on?
Taking a step forward he reached out to her and placed a finger under her chin, gently tilting her head upwards to make her look at him in the eyes. "But both of them would want us to move on and not suffer in the past anymore." he murmured. "Hisana would want me to be happy, and I'm willing to move on in my life; if you would join me."
Asa let out a soft gasp before swallowing a lump in her throat. "Do you mean you want to give this relationship a try?" she clarified carefully, to which Byakuya responded with a subtle nod. "Byakuya-san..."
"You can leave out the honorifics, Asa." he suggested. He then moved his hand to cup her cheek, using his thumb to stroke her cheek as he stared into her eyes. Love - that was what she saw, and she had never seen him expressing this much of emotions before.
Giving him a small smile, she placed her hand on his and leaned into it. "We'll heal together." she said tenderly. "And at the same time, we'll become better Souls."
Byakuya didn't respond to that. Instead, he called her name and asked, "Will you let me kiss your forehead?"
One would think it was silly for him to ask such a question, but Asa understood why he felt it was necessary do so. He didn't want to rush things, especially when it took them some time to be able to accept each other's feelings and start a relationship. Still smiling, she replied with a nod, and that was all he needed to lean forward and give her a tender kiss on her forehead.
When she thought about it, Asa found it interesting that they'd become closer after the chaos with the Zanpakutou Spirits, where they were able to overcome the confusion they had towards their own feelings. Few weeks passed since that night, and even though it was still too early to tell, she felt like they were progressing in some way. Sure, he may not openly express his emotions to her, but she didn't need him to do that. She thought the message he wanted to convey was clear enough in his eyes so whenever she wanted to know what he was thinking, she just had to look into his eyes and read his body language; from there, she was able to understand him. She couldn't tell how he felt about this relationship, but so far, it'd been going strong.
"What's the matter?" came a voice, interrupting her flashbacks.
She snapped her head towards the source and smiled, shaking her head. "It's nothing." she assured. "I was just remembering how our relationship started."
Byakuya stared at her for a moment before letting out a low humph. "How silly." he commented. "Rukia has left to join Kurosaki Ichigo, and here you are thinking about the past."
Asa gave him a nervous chuckle. "I'm sorry." she said.
At that note, his stoic gaze softened, and he said, "Don't be." Giving him a nod, he looked back ahead to where Rukia had went off and said, "Let's go."
"Okay." was Asa's response before both of them used Flash Step to move.