Spring Madness

Part 1

The sounds of wind chimes from the window floated through the Kuchiki mansion, passing through neatly trimmed shrubs and tall, lean bamboo trees growing elegantly around the compound. The warm breezes of spring mixing with sharp scents of bonsai trees enveloped the entire manor in its sweet melody. Spring has come. Byakura thought as he looked out of the window in his study. The sky was so blue, clear of all the clouds and surprisingly things were really quiet and in peaceful silence considering the fact that the entire soul society was under reconstruction from the damages that Kurosaki Ichigo and his group had created in their last visit. Byakura drew his brows with annoyance at that name. It was not because he lost to him in their fight but because of that orange haired human's particular lack of manner and respect to elders. Discarding the annoying matter out of his mind, he turned his attention back to the opened book in front of him. Ukitaki senpai's novel series, Sogyo no Okonowari, "Rejection of twin fishes". Even though he didn't usually enjoy reading fiction novels, it would be rude of him to reject senpai's gift. He was about to turn the page when a knock came on his door.

"Come in," he replied looking up from his book. Rukia was at the door, sitting on her knees. "Nii sama." She said quietly, not shifting her gaze up from her hands. It had been several years since he adopted this girl into his family on behalf of Hisana's last wish. Seeing her there in front of him reminded him so much of Hisana. Even though he put his defenses high to cover up his emotions, every time he saw Rukia, all those locked emotions rose up from his chest like tides, choking him, making him breathless and pained him. "Captain Ukitaki asked me to join the team investigating the hollow activities on outskirt of Seireitei." He shifted his gaze back to the book and replied, "Good. Tell him I thank him for his gift." Rukia bowed her head and pulled the door but stopped in half way. He looked up from his book, wondering what she wanted to talk with him. "Nii sama, are...are the wounds healed? I heard from captain Unohana that they are serious." Byakura slowly shifted his bandaged hand away from the table and said, "They are healing well. Captain Unohana's treatments are really helpful."

She looked up, her face full of worry and guilt the kind of face that Hisana used to made every time he got injured in missions. Even though he didn't really concern himself with what other people think or feel about him, somehow he couldn't ignore Rukia who resembled her sister in so many ways. "Nii sama..." she said looking down at her knuckles turning white from griping too tight onto her hakana. "Don't worry about it. My wounds are not that serious and after all, it is my duty as a brother to protect you. I did what I should have done. You should just take care of yourself and stop worrying about these little things." He interrupted her and looked intently at her. Rukia's body shook a little from holding back the sobs rising out of her chest. "You should head out. It is not a good thing for a noble to be late for their duties." He said and flipped through the book, although he wasn't really paying attention to it. "Hai, Nii sama." She said and closed the door.

Byakura stared at the door, thinking maybe he had been too harsh on her. He sighed and closed the book and pushed it aside. He had never been good at soothing people or comforting them. His one big flaw that he could never seem to get a handle on it, no matter how hard he tried. How would you handle this kind of thing, Hisana if you were here? How would you deal with this? He wasn't the kind of person who got stuck up in the past and whined over the lost ones. He had a clear idea on how life is, we born, we live and when the time comes, we die. But ever year when the spring came, a part of him secretly wished that Hisana didn't have to leave so early. The wind blew into the room, filling up with the essence of spring, making him daze back into the memories that he thought he had forgotten years ago. Abruptly, he stood up, trying to knock off the tiresome feelings creeping up on him. "What a waste of time..." he muttered to himself and headed out of the room. The fresh scents of breezes rushed onto him as he walked out of the room. Everything looked so peaceful under the warm sunlight. The entire courtyard was as empty as always but he wasn't the kind of person that liked to be surrounded by others. He walked into the garden, where several bonsai trees were growing gracefully around the lake that seated in the middle.