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Victim II - Kuchiki Byakuya

Byakkun is and will always be my favorite. ♥ I think most Byakuya fanfiction involves calligraphy, but oh well. ;w;

It's amazing how much research is done for fanfiction in comparison of my research papers.

fude - calligraphy brush; shitajiki - a black, soft mat for a smooth writing surface; hanshi - special, thin calligraphy paper; kanzashi - traditional hair ornament

kaisho - square calligraphy style

gyosho - semi cursive calligraphy style sosho - cursive calligraphy style

External link is my calligraphy knowledge source.

I did not edit yet, so excuse mistakes, if any. Actually, I'm also looking for some people who can edit my works before I post them. That would be extremely helpful. C:

I do not own anything regarding Bleach.

Bleach

2. Kuchiki Byakuya

It was unbelievably difficult.

You couldn't help but squirm and shake, sweat and sigh. You frustratingly blew the strands of hair that fell in front of your face, laying down the fude onto the ebony shitajiki. You glanced down at your hanshi, unimpressed by the uneven strokes you had made. It was anything but beautiful and appealing to the eye. Your father would be ashamed, and your mother disappointed, given that they were still alive. Ever since their deaths, you hadn't the need to continue calligraphy any longer, but you were unsatisfied at how little you've progressed with it over the years. It was as if you felt like you wouldn't be able to make your parents proud unless you proved yourself a talented writer. Being born a noble was rather pressuring.

You replaced the hanshi with a new sheet, ready to try once again. You adjusted your kanzashi, making sure it clipped your loose strands of hair up and wasn't so tight that it'd give you a headache. You took a deep breath. Practice did make perfect, after all (no matter how unrealistic perfection was in your case).

You picked the fude up once again, making sure your hand position was correct and proper, yet relaxed. You sat up, back straight, yet curved. Your shoulders loose, but firm. You gathered all of your focus and concentration and directed it to whatever skill you had, hoping for a successful stroke. You dipped the fude into ink, just only enough for the bristles to soak. The bristles of the fude then met the hanshi, staining the white sheet with a contrasting black mark.

In calligraphy, kanji had to be drawn in a specific order. You had been taught that well, so you had no problem with direction and where the fude's bristles would be next. The main problem was your control and grace. As you fortunately have already mastered the kaisho-style, you were drawn to both cursive styles. However, both were less square-shaped and more curved. You found it difficult perfecting those curved lines, as those were drawn depending on the amount of pressure you apply to the brush, and how fast it is drawn.

The first stroke is acceptable, and so you begin the next one, a much more detailed movement involved. You concentrate, beginning to feel sweat form at your forehead, from the humidity of the room and the nerve of whether you'd mess up or not. As you drew the lines, you had noticed that you had been holding your breath-- a sign that you were unwilling to make a single mistake. It did help keep you still and firm, but you weren't relaxed.

Once you made your second stroke, you took a prolonged look at the marks you had just drawn. You frowned, creasing your eyebrows at the sight. It was curved, but not nearly as exaggerated as the sosho-style. Instead, it looked more like the gyosho-style.