Given Choice [Byakuya x OC]

12

What does he want to talk about?" Ora mumbled. She had returned to her plain room at the fourth squad moments after being with Byakuya. He escorted her to her room, let her support her body against his. It was beyond imagination for that to have happened, he was always so cold towards her, insulted her, made her cry. But that morning, he was different.
"Something is wrong." She said. "He must be planning something."

"Lieutenant Kuchiki, we are going to transfer you to the twelfth squad now." Captain Unohana announced. "We have found a way to deal with your issue."

"Thank you, Captain Unohana." Ora smiled.

Δ

It was like she was an experiment in Captain Kurotsuchi's hands. He put her in a cylindric case made of glass, engulfed in a purple liquid that smelled unusual. She had tubes connected to her chest, hands, and feet. Her eyes were covered by a metal blindfold.

"Will this work, Captain Kurotsuchi?" Captain Ukitake asked, concerned about his lieutenant's health.

"Don't offend me, if this wasn't supposed to work, I wouldn't even state it." The captain of the twelfth squad scoffed. "She's going to be healthy."

"Do what you need to do." The Captain-General said.

"Certainly, Nemu, bring over the thing." Captain Kurotsuchi told his lieutenant.

As she came back, the present people looked at what she had in her hands. It was a sphere, similar to the Hōgyoku, however, it was completely empty, at the eyes of someone, it looked like a simple glass ball. Captain Kurotsuchi walked towards the tube which Ora was placed and deactivated the connections of the tubes around her, making the purple liquid slip away from her figure. She was placed on a mattress, with the upper part of her white kimono opened slightly - after all, she was a married woman.

"This sphere will work as a replacement of the Hōgyoku, it will store around only forty percent of her spiritual pressure inside of it, unlike the other sphere did." Captain Kurotsuchi explained. "Plus, I gave it the ability for her to use the stored reiatsu in cases of emergency."

"That's is a good idea, although Ora is strong, there might be opponents that she might need more strength to defeat." Captain Kyoraku said. "And now that Aizen betrayed us, we will surely face some problems."

"For how long is she going to stay here?" Captain Ukitake asked.

"Until her body adapts itself to the new sphere." Captain Kurotsuchi looked at the blonde girl. "I'm sure I could do some research regarding her reproductive ability in the meantime."

"You're forbidden to touch Lieutenant Kuchiki's body!" Captain General Yamamoto said. "Have control over yourself, her husband is present."

Byakuya nothing said, he kept on looking at the blonde woman in the mattress, sleeping peacefully. She must have been tired from all that ache, he heard from Renji that she faced a lot of pain while she was being healed. He was concerned about her, genuinely concerned. His eyes never left her, the whole process of implanting the sphere inside her chest, the sealing spells, the black marks that appeared on her pale skin and slowly faded as the enchantment ended.

"She'll need someone to stay overnight on watch." Captain Ukitake said. "I'm a little worried about letting her alone."

"I'll stay." Byakuya gained shocked expressions from the present people.

"T-Then we'll leave it to you, Captain Kuchiki." Captain Ukitake was taken aback by Byakuya's decision. He never showed interest in Ora's matters, not even when she was around. According to what some close people said, Byakuya only treated her with coldness and indifference. So why? Was he feeling regret from treating her like that?

As the captains left, Byakuya walked towards Ora. He admired her peaceful face as she slept. He had never contemplated her in the past because he had sworn not to do it - it would be a dishonor towards Hisana as well. But at that moment, alone in that giant room with Ora, he couldn't stop himself to properly look at her in a way he never did. Indeed, she was a beauty. What fascinated him the most about her figure was that blonde wavy hair she had, it looked so soft and pretty, he wanted to touch it and see for himself. Gently, he grabbed a lock of her hair and felt its softness through his fingers.

Ora moved a little and Byakuya let the lock go instantly, truth to be told, his own action startled him since he had never touched Hisana's hair like that.

Ora's eyes opened slightly. She woke up due to the pain she was feeling on her side, perhaps it was from the position she was in. Her eyes soon spotted Byakuya's hands a few inches apart from her face, she was confused about his presence there.

"Lord Byakuya?" Ora reluctantly tried to get up. "What are you doing here?"

"Someone was needed to watch over you for the night, I've volunteered for that task." He closed his eyes.

"There was no need, I would have been okay." She averted her gaze elsewhere. "You probably have more important things to do instead of staying here."

"Indeed, I have plenty of other issues that require my presence, but that can wait until you recover." He said. "After this, you'll be moved to your room at the mansion."

"I'm not going." Ora's statement made Byakuya open his eyes in shock.

"Pardon?" He asked.

"I'm not going back to that mansion," She repeated. "I hate that place." He saw her fist clench.

He couldn't blame her, after all, he was the one who made her hate being a Kuchiki member. There was no doubt that she was still hurt about their wedding. And Byakuya regretted his actions, due to his argument with his clan, Byakuya felt so angry with himself.

"I wanted to apologize for what I've made you go through." Ora's eyes widened. "I was revolted with my clan for making me remarry. I had no opinion or whatsoever in the matter and that infuriated me so much that I've ordered myself to despise you and make you want to divorce." Byakuya kneeled down next to her mattress. "I pledged my love for Hisana when she was still alive and I will always love her."

"I didn't want your love from the start." She lied to him. "I just wanted a friend, I knew about the previous Lady from the servants, I know you loved her very much." She smiled sadly. 

Seeing her sad smile, Byakuya felt his heart squint for a slight second. The reason was unknown, however, he would not try to figure it out. When the source of those unknown feelings was the woman before him, the best option was to shove the thoughts aside.

There was nothing wrong with being friends with her, Byakuya knew that from the start. The things he did in the past were awful, he would not forgive himself for that. However, if his friendship was what she wanted, then he would accept it.

"Very well, from now on, we are no longer husband and wife," Byakuya stated. "We are friends."