InuYasha Fan Fiction / Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Kagome's Laundry ❯ Second Chances ( Chapter 10 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: BoxingBunny 
Kagome/Byakuya
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Bleach Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Hentai / Drama / Comedy / Romance / Angst | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 07.11.2010 | Updated On: 07.11.2010 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 675 | Status: Work In Progress
Kagome/Byakuya
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Bleach Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Hentai / Drama / Comedy / Romance / Angst | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 07.11.2010 | Updated On: 07.11.2010 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 675 | Status: Work In Progress
AN: Guess what? I finally moved! I'm not done, but I'm at least sleeping in my new house. Anyway, not much else to say so on with the story! Oh, one last thing that I forgot. My updates are going to be few and far between until the os for my phone updates. Where I'm living now the only internet access I have is through my phone. Once Android 2.2 is released I'll be able to use my phone as a hotspot. But until then, since I live out in the country now (no high-speed, but the stars sure are pretty!), I have to take my laptop into town to my dad or boyfriend's house.
Disclaimer: I don't own, please don't sue!
=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=
Chapter 10: Second Chances
Pairing: Kagome/Byakuya
Rating: T
For: XxHaku-Spirited-Away-RoseXxXx, Kenjo, Kamichama12
=.=.=.==.=.=.=
A small boy appearing to be around the age of four ran through the hallways of his family's estate. His destination had been the courtyard in search of his favorite ball, but he became distracted when he heard voices coming from his father's study. Peeking inside through the slightly parted doors, the boy could see his father talking with another man and woman.
“Byakuya,” his father called causing his to stiffen at being caught. “Come here for a moment.”
Byakuya did as he was told and entered the room quietly while taking in the appearance of the other man and woman. Large grey eyes positioned on a rounded porcelain face blinked as the young boy looked up and said, “Yes Father?”
“I would like you to meet someone.” His father gestured to the couple sitting across from him. “This is the head of another clan belonging to Soul Society's aristocracy, Lord and Lady Ukitake.”
Byakuya bowed respectfully in greeting to the couple as he had been taught to do. When he stood again his eyes landed on a small bundle within the woman's arms.
Seeing his son's curiosity, Byakuya's father smiled. “And that is their newest daughter.”
Byakuya tried to see over the woman's arm by angling his face upwards and standing on his tip-toes. When his feet started inching forward unconsciously, the Lady Ukitake smiled gently and asked, “Would you like to see her, Byakuya?” At the child's eager and silent nod, she bent forward slightly and said, “Come closer. It's alright.”
Byakuya stepped closer until he was directly in front of the woman. Curious eyes looked over the small being. He'd never seen a baby this closely before and took his time to study the girl. Chubby cheeks rounded her face that he found himself wanting to touch. Small pink lips were slightly parted as she slept. Wisps of black hair thinly covered the top of her head, but Byakuya's attention returned to a small, slightly pink nose as it twitched and the baby made a face before slowly blinking open sapphire eyes. When grey met blue, the two children simply stared at each other. Byakuya found himself leaning in closer for a better view causing some of his own black hair to fall past his shoulder.
He smiled when the baby girl broke into her own toothless grin. But as she gurgled happily, he was brought back to reality by the sharp pain is his scalp as the baby tugged at the fistful of hair she'd managed to grab.
Byakuya quickly freed himself before glaring slightly at the infant and deciding that he did not like babies. He made a quick retreat from the room in search of his ball once more as he heard the adults in the room chuckle lightly at their children's first interaction.
=.=.=.=
The years passed and the two children saw each other on occasion, but Byakuya never liked Kagome much after the initial hair-pulling incident. Byakuya began his training to one day enter one of the thirteen court guard squads and take over as the head of the Kuchiki clan, but that was a long way off yet. Kagome, now appearing to be about six, was learning how to be a lady.
Juushiro was leading Kagome around the Kuchiki grounds as their parents met with the Kuchiki head once again. The young girl who loved her brother dearly had been ecstatic to see him awaiting them outside the Kuchiki household in his academy uniform. Now they were walking through the gardens together.
When they came to an open space they stopped to watch the young Kuchiki heir practice his forms. “You're doing very well, Byakuya,” Juushiro complimented.
Stopping for the moment, Byakuya addressed their guests. “Thank you,” he said acknowledging the older boy with a small bow. “What happened to your hair?” Byakuya observed.
Juushiro took a lock of his white hair between his fingers and was about to answer when a small voice piped up from behind his leg. “Brother is sick,” Kagome said while gripping her brother's blue hakamas tighter. She glared at the boy who only appeared to be four years older than herself and he glared back.
A sigh escaped Juushiro's throat. The two children may have been betrothed to one another—not that the duo knew about that just yet—but if they didn't move past whatever problem they seemed to have with one another they would likely kill each other within the first year.
=.=.=.=
Kagome ran into the Kuchiki gardens where she knew Byakuya to be practicing. As she entered into adolescence, she found her annoyance with the young man lessening. But he only seemed more annoyed with her than ever. She bent over to look into the water of a small pond and frowned as she thought that she couldn't really blame him. Who would want to hang around with someone who looked like she did?
She looked impossibly thin, the result of a growth spurt as she lost her baby fat. Her arms and legs were like rails and her torso possessed no curves at all. Her parents, brother, and sisters treated her as though she would break if the wind blew too hard. But she was what her sisters called a “tomboy.” She much preferred hakamas and a haori to the yukatas that her mother bought her. She reached up to touch her wild hair that she was never quite able to tame before sighing. “Will I ever be pretty?” She asked the fish swimming lazily in the pond.
Not receiving an answer, Kagome straightened and back to her search for her betrothed. She finally spied him as she stepped from some bushes. Byakuya was as handsome as ever now appearing to be about sixteen. His smooth black hair was pulled into a ponytail as he trained with his sleeves rolled up exposing smooth skin over lean muscle. His shoulders were broad and his chest and stomach were flat. He was several inches taller than she was and that height difference would probably continue to grow for several more years.
“What do you want, Kagome?” Byakuya called to her tensely.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Kagome stepped further from the bushes. “How did you know I was there?” She asked.
Byakuya rolled his eyes and looked at her as if the answer was obvious. “It's part of my training. Of course I knew that you were behind me. Just like I know you stopped by the pond before coming here.”
Kagome was about to respond when a laugh caught the teen and pre-teen's attention. “Now that's no way to treat your future bride, little Byakuya.”
Byakuya clenched his teeth as she ground out, “Yoruichi.” The flick of his ponytail was all the warning he received before his long hair fell around his shoulders. “Give that back!” He yelled as he made a grab for the blue ribbon dangling in front of his face only to have it disappear at the last second.
“You should be nicer to little Kagome, Byakuya,” Yoruichi scolded mockingly as she reappeared behind the girl. “Besides,” she added as she pulled Kagome's hair up into a ponytail. “I think this blue ribbon looks much better on her than you. It brings out her eyes.”
“What do you know?” Byakuya asked rhetorically as he glared at the older girl.
“I know that if you aren't nicer to your betrothed I'll have to come steal her away from you one day,” the Shihoin princess teased before kissing Kagome lightly on the cheek.
Yoruichi laughed loudly as she watched to younger boy and girl blush lightly.
=.=.=.=
Kagome sat in one of the tea rooms within the Kuchiki mansion worrying her lip between her teeth. A gentle hand reached up to pull the slightly swollen flesh from its abuse. “Stop that,” a deep voice reassured. “You have nothing to worry about.”
Kagome knew that her brother was right; he was always right. Now the human equivalent of eighteen years old, Kagome had come back to the Kuchiki house with her older brother to discuss the wedding arrangements for her wedding to Byakuya. But she was nervous because of the time that had passed since the last time they'd seen each other. With her parents passing away and her brother's absence from their home, things had been busy for her. But in that time Byakuya had also lost his parents, become a Captain, and taken his seat as head of the Kuchiki household; which gave him all the more reason for him to take a wife now.
“I know I know that I shouldn't be this nervous, but I can't help it. It's been so long, Juushiro…” Kagome exhaled a sigh as she closed her eyes. She had grown up, but she was still self-conscious about the way she looked. Growing up with older sisters had given her something of a complex about beauty. And she was far from comfortable in what her sisters had dressed her in for this particular meeting. Several layers of color kimonos made her body feel heavy and her face felt suffocated by the makeup that they had applied. Then there was the matter of her hair which was pulled up so tightly that it was giving her a headache.
“Well you won't have to worry much longer. I can hear him coming now,” Juushiro stated.
Kagome listened to two sets of footsteps before they stopped in front of the doors to the room without opening them. Puzzled, Kagome listened intently to what was being said.
“Master Byakuya, you must have this meeting,” the voice of the Kuchiki family's head advisor stated. “Your father met with the Ukitake family for many years to prepare for your marriage to their youngest daughter. She is here with her brother—now head of the family—and you cannot refuse them audience.”
“I've already told you,” a deep, smooth voice answered. “My father may have made the arrangements, but I never agreed to such a thing. I have fallen in love with another and I will bring Hisana into this family as my wife. There is nothing else to say on the subject. Now I must meet with my bride about our wedding. You will dismiss the Ukitake girl and apologize for taking up their time while I tend to other matters that demand my attention.” With that Byakuya continued down the hallway alone as his advisor sighed and prepared himself for the task assigned to him.
Kagome sat shell-shocked from what she had heard. She knew that they hadn't agreed with one another as children, but she couldn't believe that he wouldn't even see her. And what's more, he had found another woman and turned his nose up at their marriage contract!
Tears of humiliation and heartbreak stung her eyes as she attempted to keep her composure before she was pulled into her brother's strong arms.
=.=.=.=
After Byakuya had married Hisana, Kagome decided to move into the country to live on her own. She had not other plans for her life and thought it would be best to be away from the socializing of the aristocrats for a while. She started gardening and growing her own food and medicinal herbs and she was truly happy. But even that life was taken from her after several years passed.
She had not expected to come home from her stroll through the forest to see her brother waiting for her. It would have been an exciting sight under normal circumstances, but when she noticed the solemn look on his face she knew that something was wrong.
“Kagome,” Juushiro began, “I need you to come back to the court with me.” His eyes were heavy with conflicting emotions and Kagome picked up on it.
“What happened?” She asked flatly.
Taking a deep breath and preparing himself for what he had to say, Juushiro cut straight to the matter at hand. “Hisana Kuchiki took ill and died several years after she and Byakuya were wed. He never remarried or expressed any desire to do so, but the family's elders have been pressuring him to remarry and produce an heir since he and Hisana never had any children.” He stopped when Kagome's eyes widened with the realization of what he was going to ask of her. “The Kuchiki elders have brought up the point that your marriage contract with Byakuya still stood and have asked that you return to fulfill it.”
“You can't ask me to do that…” Kagome felt her breath becoming short.
“I'm not the one asking you to. If it were up to me, you wouldn't be going back. But Mother and Father wished for you to marry into the Kuchiki clan and be well taken care of. Byakuya has consented to the marriage and it is to take place within the week. I'm sure you'll be able to find happiness if you give him another chance, Kagome.”
“Fine,” Kagome said tersely. “Give me a moment to pack what I will need and I'll send for the rest of my things later.”
And with that, Kagome prepared herself for the inevitable.
=.=.=.=
It had been four months since Kagome had become Lady of the Kuchiki household. But she had still not found the happiness that she held in the country.
She had Byakuya had consummated their marriage on their wedding night, but it had been awkward and seemed much more like the completion of a business deal than an intimate act between newlywed lovers. Kagome briefly wondered if he'd held more passion for his late wife. Surely he had. He had broken clan law to be with her, after all. `It must be nice to have someone care for you that much,' Kagome thought as she looked up at the moon.
Placing a hand on her lower stomach, Kagome rubbed a small circle and smiled. Their wedding night had yielded more than the binding of a contract. The Kuchiki elders had been thrilled to hear that she'd become pregnant so soon. Perhaps her happiness would come with the baby.
Kagome thought that the most annoying part of the entire arrangement was the fact that she had actually cared for the Kuchiki lord and still did. She'd developed a little girl's crush when she was a teenager and gradually fell more and more in love as she learned of him; his strength, his intelligence, his grace, his beauty, his loyalty. And it appeared that those feelings hadn't died even after he turned his back on her. Now the question was whether or not he would ever come to love her.
Byakuya started out at his wife currently strolling through the gardens at night. Kagome, the girl he'd known all through his childhood, was his wife. It was still odd to think about. But he soon realized that she was far from the girl that he'd once known. No longer was she lanky and awkward or temperamental and loud. That girl had long been replaced by someone who had found a peace and calmness in the world around them. She was at her most beautiful surrounded by nature, he thought. She simply seemed to glow as she basked in the moonlight.
He'd found out on their wedding night that she'd filled out in several places since he'd last seen her. Her curves were soft and her skin was smooth. Her lips were the same rosy color that he remembered them being when he first saw her as an infant. Her hair had smoothed into an obsidian silk curtain that hung down her back and swayed when she walked.
But since she'd moved into his mansion she had seemed coy and withdrawn, and this concerned him. Was she not happy? He hadn't been thrilled at the mention of marrying again and even less so when he'd heard that he was to marry the annoying girl from his childhood. But that girl was gone and a beautiful woman had taken her place. Maybe she would open up to him more after he presented her with his gift.
“Kagome,” Byakuya called gently as he approached her in the moonlight. “What are you doing out so late?”
Kagome turned to look at her husband and answered, “I miss going on strolls at night. But it is getting late. I suppose I'll go inside.”
Byakuya grasped her hand as she turned to leave and met her gaze when she looked up at him with a question in her eyes. “I wish to speak with you.”
“Alright,” she consented as she turned to face him more directly.
“I am sorry if I haven't made you feel as at home as I should have. This is going to take some adjusting on both of our parts, I believe.” He paused as she nodded once softly. “But maybe this will be a first step towards making you feel more like a Kuchiki,” Byakuya explained as he unwrapped a piece of cloth from what he was holding. “This was my mother's favorite hair comb. She once told me that it was a gift from her mother on her wedding day to my father. I remembered the jeweled blue flowers and thought that it would suit you much better than the box that it's been in all of these years.”
Kagome looked at the beautiful comb adorned with sapphires and pearls, but she bit her bottom lip as she shook her head and said, “I'm sorry, but I can't accept this.”
“Why?” Byakuya asked thoroughly confused and slightly hurt.
“That is something that you should give to someone that you love, not to someone who happened to become your wife out of necessity.”
“Then will you allow me a second chance to get to know the woman you have become. I've realized that you are very different from the little girl I once knew. Maybe when we come to know each other, you will wear this to show a love that was never really given a chance.”
Kagome smiled as she looked into Byakuya's handsome face. “That sounds like a very nice plan to me, Byakuya Kuchiki.”
=.=.=.=
Many years later a little girl with black hair and grey eyes ran into her mother and father's room to find her mother getting ready for her day as she did every morning.
“Mommy, can I as a question?” The girl asked.
“I don't know, can you?” Her mother teased.
The girl frowned before she corrected herself. “Mommy, may I ask a question?”
“You may, my love. What do you wish to know?” Kagome asked as she gave her undivided attention to her daughter.
“Why do you wear that hair comb every day? You have others, but you always wear the blue one.”
Kagome smiled as she saw Byakuya pass by their bedroom with one of the family's advisors on their way to his office no doubt. “I wear this because your father and I love each other very much,” she answered as she picked up the small girl and placed her in her lap to play with her hair.
When Kagome noticed the odd look that she was receiving from her daughter, she merely laughed and said, “You'll understand one day when you're older.” She then kissed her daughter on top of the head and placed her back on the ground before saying, “Now let's get you ready. We're paying a visit to your Uncle Juushiro today, remember?”
The small girl smiled brightly at the mention of her uncle and ran back to her room to get dressed in what her mother had laid out for her the night before.
Kagome glanced back at the mirror once more, ghosting her fingers over the hair comb Byakuya had gifted her with, before smiling and standing to go help their daughter.
=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=
AN: Awwww ^_^ I'm happy with that! Well it's getting late and I'm going to try to finish a couple of other things that I'm working on so that I can get several things posted at once tomorrow! Goodnight all and I hope you enjoyed! Oh, and up next is Ulquiorra! I think he's probably the most requested pairing so far!
Disclaimer: I don't own, please don't sue!
=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=
Chapter 10: Second Chances
Pairing: Kagome/Byakuya
Rating: T
For: XxHaku-Spirited-Away-RoseXxXx, Kenjo, Kamichama12
=.=.=.==.=.=.=
A small boy appearing to be around the age of four ran through the hallways of his family's estate. His destination had been the courtyard in search of his favorite ball, but he became distracted when he heard voices coming from his father's study. Peeking inside through the slightly parted doors, the boy could see his father talking with another man and woman.
“Byakuya,” his father called causing his to stiffen at being caught. “Come here for a moment.”
Byakuya did as he was told and entered the room quietly while taking in the appearance of the other man and woman. Large grey eyes positioned on a rounded porcelain face blinked as the young boy looked up and said, “Yes Father?”
“I would like you to meet someone.” His father gestured to the couple sitting across from him. “This is the head of another clan belonging to Soul Society's aristocracy, Lord and Lady Ukitake.”
Byakuya bowed respectfully in greeting to the couple as he had been taught to do. When he stood again his eyes landed on a small bundle within the woman's arms.
Seeing his son's curiosity, Byakuya's father smiled. “And that is their newest daughter.”
Byakuya tried to see over the woman's arm by angling his face upwards and standing on his tip-toes. When his feet started inching forward unconsciously, the Lady Ukitake smiled gently and asked, “Would you like to see her, Byakuya?” At the child's eager and silent nod, she bent forward slightly and said, “Come closer. It's alright.”
Byakuya stepped closer until he was directly in front of the woman. Curious eyes looked over the small being. He'd never seen a baby this closely before and took his time to study the girl. Chubby cheeks rounded her face that he found himself wanting to touch. Small pink lips were slightly parted as she slept. Wisps of black hair thinly covered the top of her head, but Byakuya's attention returned to a small, slightly pink nose as it twitched and the baby made a face before slowly blinking open sapphire eyes. When grey met blue, the two children simply stared at each other. Byakuya found himself leaning in closer for a better view causing some of his own black hair to fall past his shoulder.
He smiled when the baby girl broke into her own toothless grin. But as she gurgled happily, he was brought back to reality by the sharp pain is his scalp as the baby tugged at the fistful of hair she'd managed to grab.
Byakuya quickly freed himself before glaring slightly at the infant and deciding that he did not like babies. He made a quick retreat from the room in search of his ball once more as he heard the adults in the room chuckle lightly at their children's first interaction.
=.=.=.=
The years passed and the two children saw each other on occasion, but Byakuya never liked Kagome much after the initial hair-pulling incident. Byakuya began his training to one day enter one of the thirteen court guard squads and take over as the head of the Kuchiki clan, but that was a long way off yet. Kagome, now appearing to be about six, was learning how to be a lady.
Juushiro was leading Kagome around the Kuchiki grounds as their parents met with the Kuchiki head once again. The young girl who loved her brother dearly had been ecstatic to see him awaiting them outside the Kuchiki household in his academy uniform. Now they were walking through the gardens together.
When they came to an open space they stopped to watch the young Kuchiki heir practice his forms. “You're doing very well, Byakuya,” Juushiro complimented.
Stopping for the moment, Byakuya addressed their guests. “Thank you,” he said acknowledging the older boy with a small bow. “What happened to your hair?” Byakuya observed.
Juushiro took a lock of his white hair between his fingers and was about to answer when a small voice piped up from behind his leg. “Brother is sick,” Kagome said while gripping her brother's blue hakamas tighter. She glared at the boy who only appeared to be four years older than herself and he glared back.
A sigh escaped Juushiro's throat. The two children may have been betrothed to one another—not that the duo knew about that just yet—but if they didn't move past whatever problem they seemed to have with one another they would likely kill each other within the first year.
=.=.=.=
Kagome ran into the Kuchiki gardens where she knew Byakuya to be practicing. As she entered into adolescence, she found her annoyance with the young man lessening. But he only seemed more annoyed with her than ever. She bent over to look into the water of a small pond and frowned as she thought that she couldn't really blame him. Who would want to hang around with someone who looked like she did?
She looked impossibly thin, the result of a growth spurt as she lost her baby fat. Her arms and legs were like rails and her torso possessed no curves at all. Her parents, brother, and sisters treated her as though she would break if the wind blew too hard. But she was what her sisters called a “tomboy.” She much preferred hakamas and a haori to the yukatas that her mother bought her. She reached up to touch her wild hair that she was never quite able to tame before sighing. “Will I ever be pretty?” She asked the fish swimming lazily in the pond.
Not receiving an answer, Kagome straightened and back to her search for her betrothed. She finally spied him as she stepped from some bushes. Byakuya was as handsome as ever now appearing to be about sixteen. His smooth black hair was pulled into a ponytail as he trained with his sleeves rolled up exposing smooth skin over lean muscle. His shoulders were broad and his chest and stomach were flat. He was several inches taller than she was and that height difference would probably continue to grow for several more years.
“What do you want, Kagome?” Byakuya called to her tensely.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Kagome stepped further from the bushes. “How did you know I was there?” She asked.
Byakuya rolled his eyes and looked at her as if the answer was obvious. “It's part of my training. Of course I knew that you were behind me. Just like I know you stopped by the pond before coming here.”
Kagome was about to respond when a laugh caught the teen and pre-teen's attention. “Now that's no way to treat your future bride, little Byakuya.”
Byakuya clenched his teeth as she ground out, “Yoruichi.” The flick of his ponytail was all the warning he received before his long hair fell around his shoulders. “Give that back!” He yelled as he made a grab for the blue ribbon dangling in front of his face only to have it disappear at the last second.
“You should be nicer to little Kagome, Byakuya,” Yoruichi scolded mockingly as she reappeared behind the girl. “Besides,” she added as she pulled Kagome's hair up into a ponytail. “I think this blue ribbon looks much better on her than you. It brings out her eyes.”
“What do you know?” Byakuya asked rhetorically as he glared at the older girl.
“I know that if you aren't nicer to your betrothed I'll have to come steal her away from you one day,” the Shihoin princess teased before kissing Kagome lightly on the cheek.
Yoruichi laughed loudly as she watched to younger boy and girl blush lightly.
=.=.=.=
Kagome sat in one of the tea rooms within the Kuchiki mansion worrying her lip between her teeth. A gentle hand reached up to pull the slightly swollen flesh from its abuse. “Stop that,” a deep voice reassured. “You have nothing to worry about.”
Kagome knew that her brother was right; he was always right. Now the human equivalent of eighteen years old, Kagome had come back to the Kuchiki house with her older brother to discuss the wedding arrangements for her wedding to Byakuya. But she was nervous because of the time that had passed since the last time they'd seen each other. With her parents passing away and her brother's absence from their home, things had been busy for her. But in that time Byakuya had also lost his parents, become a Captain, and taken his seat as head of the Kuchiki household; which gave him all the more reason for him to take a wife now.
“I know I know that I shouldn't be this nervous, but I can't help it. It's been so long, Juushiro…” Kagome exhaled a sigh as she closed her eyes. She had grown up, but she was still self-conscious about the way she looked. Growing up with older sisters had given her something of a complex about beauty. And she was far from comfortable in what her sisters had dressed her in for this particular meeting. Several layers of color kimonos made her body feel heavy and her face felt suffocated by the makeup that they had applied. Then there was the matter of her hair which was pulled up so tightly that it was giving her a headache.
“Well you won't have to worry much longer. I can hear him coming now,” Juushiro stated.
Kagome listened to two sets of footsteps before they stopped in front of the doors to the room without opening them. Puzzled, Kagome listened intently to what was being said.
“Master Byakuya, you must have this meeting,” the voice of the Kuchiki family's head advisor stated. “Your father met with the Ukitake family for many years to prepare for your marriage to their youngest daughter. She is here with her brother—now head of the family—and you cannot refuse them audience.”
“I've already told you,” a deep, smooth voice answered. “My father may have made the arrangements, but I never agreed to such a thing. I have fallen in love with another and I will bring Hisana into this family as my wife. There is nothing else to say on the subject. Now I must meet with my bride about our wedding. You will dismiss the Ukitake girl and apologize for taking up their time while I tend to other matters that demand my attention.” With that Byakuya continued down the hallway alone as his advisor sighed and prepared himself for the task assigned to him.
Kagome sat shell-shocked from what she had heard. She knew that they hadn't agreed with one another as children, but she couldn't believe that he wouldn't even see her. And what's more, he had found another woman and turned his nose up at their marriage contract!
Tears of humiliation and heartbreak stung her eyes as she attempted to keep her composure before she was pulled into her brother's strong arms.
=.=.=.=
After Byakuya had married Hisana, Kagome decided to move into the country to live on her own. She had not other plans for her life and thought it would be best to be away from the socializing of the aristocrats for a while. She started gardening and growing her own food and medicinal herbs and she was truly happy. But even that life was taken from her after several years passed.
She had not expected to come home from her stroll through the forest to see her brother waiting for her. It would have been an exciting sight under normal circumstances, but when she noticed the solemn look on his face she knew that something was wrong.
“Kagome,” Juushiro began, “I need you to come back to the court with me.” His eyes were heavy with conflicting emotions and Kagome picked up on it.
“What happened?” She asked flatly.
Taking a deep breath and preparing himself for what he had to say, Juushiro cut straight to the matter at hand. “Hisana Kuchiki took ill and died several years after she and Byakuya were wed. He never remarried or expressed any desire to do so, but the family's elders have been pressuring him to remarry and produce an heir since he and Hisana never had any children.” He stopped when Kagome's eyes widened with the realization of what he was going to ask of her. “The Kuchiki elders have brought up the point that your marriage contract with Byakuya still stood and have asked that you return to fulfill it.”
“You can't ask me to do that…” Kagome felt her breath becoming short.
“I'm not the one asking you to. If it were up to me, you wouldn't be going back. But Mother and Father wished for you to marry into the Kuchiki clan and be well taken care of. Byakuya has consented to the marriage and it is to take place within the week. I'm sure you'll be able to find happiness if you give him another chance, Kagome.”
“Fine,” Kagome said tersely. “Give me a moment to pack what I will need and I'll send for the rest of my things later.”
And with that, Kagome prepared herself for the inevitable.
=.=.=.=
It had been four months since Kagome had become Lady of the Kuchiki household. But she had still not found the happiness that she held in the country.
She had Byakuya had consummated their marriage on their wedding night, but it had been awkward and seemed much more like the completion of a business deal than an intimate act between newlywed lovers. Kagome briefly wondered if he'd held more passion for his late wife. Surely he had. He had broken clan law to be with her, after all. `It must be nice to have someone care for you that much,' Kagome thought as she looked up at the moon.
Placing a hand on her lower stomach, Kagome rubbed a small circle and smiled. Their wedding night had yielded more than the binding of a contract. The Kuchiki elders had been thrilled to hear that she'd become pregnant so soon. Perhaps her happiness would come with the baby.
Kagome thought that the most annoying part of the entire arrangement was the fact that she had actually cared for the Kuchiki lord and still did. She'd developed a little girl's crush when she was a teenager and gradually fell more and more in love as she learned of him; his strength, his intelligence, his grace, his beauty, his loyalty. And it appeared that those feelings hadn't died even after he turned his back on her. Now the question was whether or not he would ever come to love her.
Byakuya started out at his wife currently strolling through the gardens at night. Kagome, the girl he'd known all through his childhood, was his wife. It was still odd to think about. But he soon realized that she was far from the girl that he'd once known. No longer was she lanky and awkward or temperamental and loud. That girl had long been replaced by someone who had found a peace and calmness in the world around them. She was at her most beautiful surrounded by nature, he thought. She simply seemed to glow as she basked in the moonlight.
He'd found out on their wedding night that she'd filled out in several places since he'd last seen her. Her curves were soft and her skin was smooth. Her lips were the same rosy color that he remembered them being when he first saw her as an infant. Her hair had smoothed into an obsidian silk curtain that hung down her back and swayed when she walked.
But since she'd moved into his mansion she had seemed coy and withdrawn, and this concerned him. Was she not happy? He hadn't been thrilled at the mention of marrying again and even less so when he'd heard that he was to marry the annoying girl from his childhood. But that girl was gone and a beautiful woman had taken her place. Maybe she would open up to him more after he presented her with his gift.
“Kagome,” Byakuya called gently as he approached her in the moonlight. “What are you doing out so late?”
Kagome turned to look at her husband and answered, “I miss going on strolls at night. But it is getting late. I suppose I'll go inside.”
Byakuya grasped her hand as she turned to leave and met her gaze when she looked up at him with a question in her eyes. “I wish to speak with you.”
“Alright,” she consented as she turned to face him more directly.
“I am sorry if I haven't made you feel as at home as I should have. This is going to take some adjusting on both of our parts, I believe.” He paused as she nodded once softly. “But maybe this will be a first step towards making you feel more like a Kuchiki,” Byakuya explained as he unwrapped a piece of cloth from what he was holding. “This was my mother's favorite hair comb. She once told me that it was a gift from her mother on her wedding day to my father. I remembered the jeweled blue flowers and thought that it would suit you much better than the box that it's been in all of these years.”
Kagome looked at the beautiful comb adorned with sapphires and pearls, but she bit her bottom lip as she shook her head and said, “I'm sorry, but I can't accept this.”
“Why?” Byakuya asked thoroughly confused and slightly hurt.
“That is something that you should give to someone that you love, not to someone who happened to become your wife out of necessity.”
“Then will you allow me a second chance to get to know the woman you have become. I've realized that you are very different from the little girl I once knew. Maybe when we come to know each other, you will wear this to show a love that was never really given a chance.”
Kagome smiled as she looked into Byakuya's handsome face. “That sounds like a very nice plan to me, Byakuya Kuchiki.”
=.=.=.=
Many years later a little girl with black hair and grey eyes ran into her mother and father's room to find her mother getting ready for her day as she did every morning.
“Mommy, can I as a question?” The girl asked.
“I don't know, can you?” Her mother teased.
The girl frowned before she corrected herself. “Mommy, may I ask a question?”
“You may, my love. What do you wish to know?” Kagome asked as she gave her undivided attention to her daughter.
“Why do you wear that hair comb every day? You have others, but you always wear the blue one.”
Kagome smiled as she saw Byakuya pass by their bedroom with one of the family's advisors on their way to his office no doubt. “I wear this because your father and I love each other very much,” she answered as she picked up the small girl and placed her in her lap to play with her hair.
When Kagome noticed the odd look that she was receiving from her daughter, she merely laughed and said, “You'll understand one day when you're older.” She then kissed her daughter on top of the head and placed her back on the ground before saying, “Now let's get you ready. We're paying a visit to your Uncle Juushiro today, remember?”
The small girl smiled brightly at the mention of her uncle and ran back to her room to get dressed in what her mother had laid out for her the night before.
Kagome glanced back at the mirror once more, ghosting her fingers over the hair comb Byakuya had gifted her with, before smiling and standing to go help their daughter.
=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=
AN: Awwww ^_^ I'm happy with that! Well it's getting late and I'm going to try to finish a couple of other things that I'm working on so that I can get several things posted at once tomorrow! Goodnight all and I hope you enjoyed! Oh, and up next is Ulquiorra! I think he's probably the most requested pairing so far!