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

五十八

Kage Odoriko often heard stories about his grandmother from his own mother, how the former was the complete opposite of her own brother, especially their appearances. She was described to be a pale-skinned woman with delicate facial features. Instead of black hair and reddish-brown eyes, she had extremely long, silky white hair, and gentle blue eyes with thin eyebrows. From the beginning of history of Soul Society, she was often seen wearing a high-collared black hime-kimono with a white undergarment underneath. And unlike him, she could see, hear, speak and move. Probably that was why she was took great care of him, making sure that he was healthy and safe, even though he was not afraid of what would happen to him, until his body began to gain function and took the name of "Yhwach" after hearing many people calling him that. As for his sister, he often heard her being called "Elisabeth", but she decided to use the name "Liesa" merely because it was a nickname he often used.

Although she was born with more advantages than him, there was one vast difference between the siblings - Liesa didn't possess the power to share out her own soul like her brother. She wasn't blessed with powers like her prodigious brother; but that didn't stop her from training hard to be strong enough to protect herself. Eventually, the many years of hard work led to the birth of the Reiryoku. When she parted ways with Yhwach, she traveled around the Soul Society and shared her Reiryoku to everyone, spreading her ideals on maintaining the balance of souls and establishing peace across different worlds, as well as teaching them how to nourish their own Reiryoku. From there, they created the Reiatsu when they mastered.

Not long, her disciples decided to use her teachings to be the guardians of Souls who went through transmigration, calling themselves Balancers and adapting their Master's outfit as their uniforms, which eventually became what was soon to be known as the Shihakusho. Soon, Seireitei and Rukongai were developed, creating a place called Soul Society, which was also where Liesa changed her name to Matsushima Risa after marrying a fellow Balancer named Matsushima Yoshio, who shared the same dream as her. It was her love for Yoshio that made her create the Soul Necklace, in hopes that it would grant him protection from danger. Many years later, she gave birth to a beautiful girl named Kazumi, who would inherit the necklace from her parents. She learned to love and be loved by her little family, and she couldn't be happier.

However, there was a price to pay for her happiness. She was immortal, and her husband was a mortal. In her foresight, he would age with time until he came to death. It ached her to realise that she would continue living alone, watching her other loved ones age and her surroundings change while she resisted time. Many would want immortality, but Risa would rather die with her husband than living in loneliness. She forsake her immortality, deciding to age with Yoshio until death took him. Risa spent the rest of her life in grieve before she died of a broken heart, reuniting with him in the afterlife.

"She really loved him, didn't she?" said Asa after listening to Kage Odoriko telling her about their grandmother.

The latter had a small smile plastered on his face, nodding. "Yeah, she did." he agreed.

"What about our mother?" she asked, who was now more excited to know about her.

"Wait, I'm about to get there." he chuckled.

Now, what about Kazumi? Just like her mother, she was a woman who was well-known for her beauty. She was a slender, fair-skinned woman who inherited her father's pale green eyes and black hair, which reached her waist with shoulder-length strands framing both sides of her face; though she looked exactly like Risa. When she wasn't in her standard Shinigami uniform, she was often seen to be wearing an elaborate, high-collared white kimono with a dark green undergarment underneath, and a black obi tied around her waist. Wherever she went, the Labradorite necklace was always around her necklace, hidden inside her kimono, before it was the Captain-Commander's son turn to wear the necklace since their engagement.