Falling Petals

Please let me know how this little story is going, most particularity how well everyone is in character. Byakuya is very hard to write and I would like to know how I am doing.

Chapter 3

It had been a week and ever so slowly she fell into the routine they had set for her. In the morning she would spend at least an hour healing the damages that had occurred over the night. They would than bathe and eat before separating until early afternoon where they would meet up for another bout of healing and a meal. They would separate again until early evening where they would once again meet to share a meal and she would heal what she could.

It was all very exhausting and she was relieved to discover the meals were full of the type of food she needed to keep her strength up, even if it could use more red bean paste and maybe some mustard.

The extra time in the morning she was pulled into lessons on the family history and what it meant to be a noble. After lunch it was ceremonies she was expected to perform. After dinner but before bed she was permitted to explore her new home.

She got lost many times and each time there was always some servant willing to point her in the right direction. This evening her wandering led her back to the grove of trees. Smiling softly she meandered through them, reading random plates until she reached the sapling with her plaque.

Somehow being in the presence of the small tree was comforting. It was barely as tall as she was and seemed rather vulnerable, but at the same time you could see the potential and determination in it to grow just as big as the others around it.

“Hi.” She smiled at it and sat down before the sapling. “So you are my tree huh? Well, it’s nice to meet you without all the formality and crowds.”

The tree remained silent.

“I must admit I am still a little nervous about being here. I don’t really know anyone and I feel kind of lonely without any friends. I mean, I know Rankgiku-san and Hanatarou-san are here, and by here I mean in Soul Society, but I haven’t really had a chance to find or talk to them.

“I miss Tatsuki-chan too. I hope she got my note and isn’t too worried about me. I hope she remembers to water the garden and oh I hope she thought up something to tell my bosses. They must have been so worried when I didn’t show up for work.”

The tree didn’t even move a leaf.

“I tried to make friends with the staff, but they are all so afraid of me. Every time I try to befriend them it’s like I am some kind of monster threatening to bite their heads off. And Byakuya-san doesn’t really talk much.”

Her gaze fell over to the other tree beside her own at the thought of her husband.

The branches sort of dropped on it and there was a small collection of dead leaves at its base that the ground keepers hadn’t had a chance to get to yet.

“I see even you are already mourning his sickness.” She stood up and moved to the other tree. “Well, don’t worry.” She smiled at both tree and sapling. “I wont give up until a cure can be found.” She declared with fresh determination.

“I know what it’s like to lose an Onisan and I do not want Rukia-chan to go through that kind of pain when I have the power to prevent it. Thanks you two, you are great listeners.”

She offered the Sakura tree and sapling a small bow before returning to their shared bedroom, feeling as if an unknowing weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

She found her way to the grove the next evening, and the next. Each time growing more bold as she talked to the Sapling that had been planted in her name and told the growing tree everything and anything that bothered her.

She even nicknamed it Naegi and every time she spoke to Naegi she felt as if an unknown weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Today she was feeling a little bit more nervous than usual.

The elders had been asking how she was feeling and when she had responded fine they had seemed unhappy. How anyone could be unhappy that she was feeling alright was beyond her, and she told Naegi as much.

“I mean, why even ask? It’s like they want me to tell them I am sick or something.” She huffed. “Why on earth would you want someone to be sick? If I was sick I wouldn’t be able to care for Byakuya-san easily. I don’t get these noble families.”

The usual silence met her complaints, but it was one that was comforting instead of lonely. As if the trees themselves had souls. With a sigh she stood up and bowed to Naegi. It was time to head back to her, their, room.

She paused by Byakuya’s tree, noticing a few more leaves were on the ground again and the branches looked to be dropping a bit more.

“Don’t worry.” She told it cheerfully. “I will do everything I can until a cure can be found.”

She offered it a bow before heading out. She tried to walk the way she had been training, back straight, head high, light on her feet as if she was gliding. It wasn’t as easy as many would think, her back practically cramped trying to stand that straight, years of bad posture coming back to haunt her.

She still hadn’t heard from any of her friends, not even Rukia. She was determined to ask Byakuya to let her write a letter to her friends, to let them know what had happened. She was a little bit disappointed none of them had come breaking the doors down to find out what had happened to her yet.

When she arrived back to their shared room she frowned a bit when she noticed he was sitting up in bed, a bottle of Saké warming beside him and two cups. She could feel the four elders once more surrounding the room and unlike her wedding night where she was in mostly shock, she noticed how strange the events were this time.

“What is going on?” She asked as she permitted one of the girls to disrobe her.

It still left her feeling uncomfortable to have someone else dress and undress her, but it was what was expected and she had giving up protesting after the fourth day. It went a lot faster when she just let them do their job, and it made the staff feel so much better as well.

“The Elders believe our first attempt has failed.” He answered.

She looked at him in confusion for a moment before it clicked and suddenly she understood why the Elders had been asking after her health and the disappointment that she felt fine.

“Oh.” Was all she could say.

The girl who had undressed her left the room, leaving the two of them alone. She normally felt nervous when evening came and it was time to crawl into bed next to him, but now that nervousness was tenfold and she found herself just staring at him while biting her lower lip.

She was frozen to the spot and he just sat there staring at her. Finally he moved, breaking her out of her trance like state and with a blush she slowly approached him, her body trembling slightly in apprehension.

She kneeled beside him on the futon and he poured her a saucer of the Saké. She accepted it with a mumbled thanks and drowned it in a single shot. She sat in silence as they finished the small bottle off and the warmth it spread down her body helped to ease her anxiety.

She still flinched when he reached a hand out to rest on her shoulder. Briefly she wondered if she refused if he would force her. On one side he didn’t seem the type, but on the other he was a noble and would do whatever his clan demanded.

“Would you?” She asked in a whisper, not realizing she spoke out loud.

“Would I what?” He asked.

Her eyes widened as her gaze locked with his and she felt her chest tighten.

“If I didn’t… want this.”

His gaze neither hardened nor softened at her question.

“It is a duty.” He stated.

“I know.” She adverted her gaze. “But…” She sighed.

She could almost feel the impatience starting to work its way into the reiatsu that was building around them. She tried to get her slight trembling under control and didn’t resist too much when he started to put pressure onto her shoulder to get her to lay down.

“If I said no, would you stop?” She asked in a whisper, closing her eyes as she waited for his answer.

He paused in positioning them as if pondering his answer.

“In my current condition, I do not have the strength to force you anyhow.”

An evasive answer, and one she should have expected. Still, she just gave a short nod of her head and he continued. She focused on the pain she could feel in his reiatsu instead of the act, and in a way it tore her heart more.

How could family care so little for one of their own that they would demand such things from him instead of worrying about him getting better? They were so desperate for that heir that his own health meant little to nothing to them.

Or did it?

She frowned a bit as she recalled the pain she had felt in the one elders reiatsu, the one she had later learned was Byakuya’s grandfather. While the rest held panic his had held pain.

Despite outward appearances she knew that Ginrei did care for his grandson, and no doubt this situation was tearing him up as well.

She winched when he started to penetrate her. It was a little painful as her walls stretched to accommodate his length, but once he was settled the pain started to ebb. He didn’t move right away, but rather reached out a hand to turn her face so their eyes were locked.

She stared into orbs as grey as hers and for once she could see the pain reflecting in them. They held her in a kind of trance as he started to move. The trance was broken only when he let out a little gasp and shuddered atop her, her insides being flooded by the warmth of his release.

The trance broke and she gasped as the pain he was in washed over her. Cursing she rolled over and untangled their bodies before quickly summoning her shield. He was fighting for breath and his body was soaked in sweat.

“The degradation is happening sooner and sooner. He can’t keep doing things like this.” She thought in panic.

She didn’t even note the trickle of fluid running down her thigh. Never even noticed she was still naked when one of the elders barged into the room to see what was going on.

“Get someone to the 4th and summon Unhana-taichou or Isane-fukutaichou.” She snapped.

There were words exchanged behind her, but she ignored them in favour or focusing on the task before her.

His breathing was slowly becoming less laboured, but she could still feel the pain rolling off of him in waves. She bit her lip so hard it started to bleed and dimly realized someone had enough thought to cover her nude body with a kimono.

Unohana arrived a few minutes later, walking into the chaos calmly and with pleasant words managed to banish everyone except for Ginrei and Jousou, as she had learned the elders name was.

“Inoue-san.” Unohana greeted her warmly as she kneeled beside her.

The mere presence of the older woman brought a peace of calm to her.

“Unohana-taichou.” She greeted warmly shortly before filling the taichou in on the situation.

A soft frown marred her face as she listened to the recount. So it would seem that the rope Orihime was holding onto was slipping an inch a day, and one day she would finally lose her grip completely.

“He should not be permitted to rise.” Unohana sighed as she looked at her fellow taichou sadly. “How are you fairing?”

The question took Orihime a bit by surprise, but she forced a smile on her face and answered that she was doing well. The smile didn’t last long though and she was sure Unohana could see straight through it.

“He is stable?” Ginrei asked.

“For now.” Unohana agreed.

“Would you care to join me for a cup of tea?” He asked.

“Thank you, that would be wonderful.” She agreed, tossing a reassuring smile to Orihime before following her old friend out.

Once more she was left alone with her husband, his breathing evened out. She left him under the healing protection of her shield and returned shortly with a bucket of water and a rag.

She let the shield fall away and began to wipe the sweat off of his body before it could dry and become sticky. He remained still and made no sign that he even noticed she was there.

“Am I…?”

She wiped her eyes, looking at the water stains left behind.

“I am crying.” She realized.

She rubbed her eyes some more, but the tears kept coming.

“Stop it.” She scolded herself. “Crying isn’t going to change anything. I need to be strong. No one can save me from this. I am the only one that can do anything.”

The problem was it was starting to prove that there was nothing she could do but delay the inevitable, and the tears wouldn’t stop coming. She curled up beside him and cried, not for her, but because his last days would be in pain and there was nothing she could do about it.

Rukia would still lose her Onisan and be left trapped in a family that didn’t really care about her or for her. And she, she was also now trapped here as well. And if she did fail to conceive in the small window of time that they had what would become of her?

Would she be trapped in the family as a widow or would they disown her and let her go back to her own life and this would all just be another unfortunate memory? Or would they keep her trapped here to make profit off of her ability to heal others, knowing she would never be able to say no to those in need?

She froze when a hand latched onto hers and squeezed weakly. Her tear stained face rose to meet the unreadable one of her husband. There was still pain in his reiatsu and she could even see it in his eyes, but it was once more manageable.

She sniffed and offered him a weak smile. The future was the future and right now he needed her more than anyone had ever needed her before. It was her turn to be strong, the shoulder others leaned on.

“Gomannasai.” She smiled. “I am being weak. Feeling better?” She asked.

A very short nod of his head was all the answer she got.

Her smile widened and she crawled into their shared bed.


Unohana could read the pain in her old friends eyes, stance and even his reiatsu. Byakuya’s sickness was affecting his grandfather far more than anyone but an old friend could guess.

His duties as a Noble was conflicting with his duties as a Grandfather, and she felt for him. It has to be tearing the older man to shreds.

He led her to a private garden just off from where she knew his private quarters were. Once of the many invisible servants had already ran ahead of them and a pot of tea was waiting for them.

He served her and she thanked him with a soft smile. They sat in companionable silence as they drank their tea.

“How are you fearing?” She asked, being the first to break the silence after they had both finished their second cup.

“Well enough.” He answered.

She watched his shoulders slump in defeat as he dropped most of his noble façade. There had even been a time when the family had considered her as a potential spouse centuries ago. Her family was well enough and her reiatsu level was highly desirable.

“It is painful to watch him wither away. There is the pressing need for an heir but at the same time that pressure is sending him faster to his grave. I thank you for directing us to the young woman.”

“I never intended for you to use her like this.” Unohana frowned.

“Nor had I.” He agreed solemnly. “We do as we must.”

“Have you told her friends?”

He gave a small shake of his head.

“She left a note for them saying she was going to be here for a while. I feel they would be more of a burden to her at this point.”

“I see.” The displeasure in her voice was very clear.

“What would you have me do?” He asked wearily.

“Rukia-san at least deserves the right to know of Byakuya-sans condition. And Inoue-san’s friends deserve to know she will not be returning to them. As I am sure you have heard they can be quite resilient.” She couldn’t help but to smile.

“So I have indeed heard.” He agreed with a small smile of his own. “I would sooner this despicable business be dealt with first though.”

Unohana could only nod. How much harder for the young girl would it become if her friends started hovering over her shoulder while she concentrate on her task.

“Her adjustment has been slower than we had hopped.”

“The living world is much different from ours. Nobility doesn’t really exist there much anymore. Most of the population more or less live as equals.” Unohana pointed out.

“The times have changed much there indeed from my days of field work, when swords still ruled the land and many could still see us. Where the local Miko’s would do half of our work for us and hollows were mistaken for Youkai.” Ginrei reminisced.

“It was a different and more trying time. So many died horrible and lingered to life.”

“Indeed.”

They sat in silence again as they finished the pot off before bidding each other a polite goodnight.

It took three days before Byakuya was able to get up. Each day tore at her heart and more than ever she wished Rukia was here. Each delayed day was one more day that her friend would be denied access to her brother.

The entire three days she never left his side once, using every ounce of her energy to combat the advances the still unknown disease had made. There was just no winning. She felt like she was building a wall of sand by the ocean and each wave eroded her work. She was making progress but each breaking wave reset her work a considerable amount.

On the fifth day she rushed to the bathroom the moment breakfast was delivered to retch up the few remaining contents of last nights dinner.

Their might as well have been a full blown hollow invasion for the eruption that occurred in the household after the servants ran to report her sickness. In fact she had to block to door with her Santen Kesshun to keep everyone out while she worked on healing Byakuya while the elders hollered at her to let them in so they could test her.

“How despicable.” She couldn’t help but to think of her new family. “To so easily want to throw a life away simply because I MIGHT be pregnant.”

The thought froze her and she almost lost control of her Sōten Kisshun. A hand fell away from the golden shield to rest on her stomach.

Was it possible? Could she be with child? Was that what all the fuss the elders had been doing with their reiatsu was about?

She shook the thought away for now and focused on healing her husband.

“You should go.”

His voice took her by complete surprise.

“But…” She started to protest.

“Can you not go some distance from the shield and leave it up?” He asked.

“Well, yes, but…..”

“Than go. It is your duty.”

“I don’t care.” She shouted. “It can wait, this can’t. Whatever it is will be there tomorrow.” She finished softly.

Their eyes meet briefly before he closed his and turned slightly away.

“I see.”

Was all he said.

They sat in silence again, the only sound that of her techniques, one blocking the door, the other frantically trying to heal the damage being done to his body. Eventually the double drain became too much and she was forced to drop the Santen Kesshun in order to keep fuelling the Sōten Kisshun.

By that point most of the family had given up trying to get in. Once the barrier was down someone must have reported it for Jousou was quick to storm her way into the room, somehow still seeming to float instead of march.

“Are we done with this foolishness?” She asked impatiently.

“Byakuya-san should be stable now, thank you for asking.” Orihime answered sharply, throwing a glare at the woman.

“You should respect your elders.” Jousou sniffed.

“When they have earned it.” Orihime snapped back, and was that a very quit chuckle from Byukuya.

She looked down at him but he was completely still and apparently resting peacefully. Perhaps her imagination, but if so it didn’t explain the ever so small quirk of his lips.

“Insolent child.”

“Enough, Jousou.” Ginrei interrupted as he also entered the room.

Orihime offered him a small bow of her head as he approached them.

“How is he?” Ginrei asked.

“Stable, for now.” Orihime answered.

“Very good. Please, come with us so we might see what ailed you this morning. It would not be well to have picked up a sickness and inadvertently pass it on.” he consoled.

That was something she hadn’t thought of and with a nod of her head she rose to follow the two elders out of the room and towards another wing of the house. They passed the garden of trees and she frowned as she spotted the two belonging to her and her husband.

Hers was like a small patch of green amongst the giants and his was drooping with even more leaves laying on the ground.

“Ano. What relation does the family share with the trees?” She asked as they walked along the path.

“Since the beginning of our family our souls have been tied to them. They give us strength and when our time comes we join their roots in the soul to give back what they gave to us.” Ginrei answered.

“I see.” She frowned as she studied them until they were out of sight.

There was a physician waiting for them in the room she was lead to and she greeted him politely. Ginrei excused himself but Jousou remained. Orihime just let the man do his job while her thoughts remained on the trees.

“Ano, do the trees get sick when you do?” She asked.

“What do you mean?” Jousou asked.

“I mean, when you get a cold do the trees get sick too?” She clarified.

“Of course not! A tree can not catch a cold.” Jousou sniffed at her like she was an idiot.

The answered seemed really quick though and Orihime got the impression the woman didn’t know the actual answer and was covering.

The doctor finished up his examination and Orihime was all too happy to put her kimono back on. The gaze of Jousou had been more disturbing than the physicians physical examination of her body, and he was male.

“Well?” Jousou asked.

“It is a little too early to tell yet. I will need to bring these samples back to my office to run the tests. However, she shows no signs of sickness so I feel rather confident in ruling out sickness for the cause of her discomfort this morning.” The man answered.

“I probably just ate something bad last night.” Orihime spoke up for the first time, earning herself a glare from Jousou.

“I can assure you the food on our estate is the best in Soul Society.” Jousou sniffed.

She felt like a little girl who had just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar and she adverted her gaze.

“We are done with you. You are dismissed.” Jousou waved her away. “And send Ginrei-san in on your way out.”

She left the room feeling liked a kick puppy and passed the message on to Ginrei, who had been waiting patiently outside the room.

She started walking back to her room, chewing on her lower lip and head bowed in thought. She started when she realized her wandering brought her to stand before Naegi.

“What if I am pregnant? Will they expect me to just let Byukuya-san die now that their have their precious heir?” She wondered somewhat angrily aloud to the sapling. “No, probably not until after the child is born, if I can keep him alive that long.” She sighed, crouching down to her hunches to stare at Naegi.

“I am not so sure I want to bear a child into this family. They don’t really seem to care that much for each other. Well, Ginrei-sama seems to care for Byakuya-san a little bit but its just not the same.

“I don’t understand.” She sighed. “They have this big family but they don’t care. I mean, I guess growing up with just Onisan, and than losing him, I have a bigger desire for a warm, loving family.

“There really isn’t anything I understand about Noble Families, even with the classes they have been giving me. I wonder if I ever will, or even want to, understand them.” She sighed.

She glanced over at Byakuya’s tree, frowning at the disease she could see starting to riddle the bark.

“That wasn’t there yesterday.” She said aloud, standing up and moving over to investigate. “Maybe the trees can get sick too.” She murmured as she regarded the damage.

“Sōten Kisshun.” She declared.

“I know everyone is buried under the roots of their trees, so it wouldn’t be wise for you to die too.” She admonished.

She had never tried to heal a tree before, and it was proving rather difficult. The tree was apparently a lot sicker than she had guessed and if she was a betting woman she would say the entire core was rotten.

Of course, the difficulty could be both because she was exhausted and because it was a tree. Still, she nodded in satisfaction as the black blotches disappeared and if she didn’t know better she would say the branches were drooping a lot less.

“Much better.” She declared happily, clapping her hands together and offering them a bow before heading back to her room.

To her surprise Byakuya was actually awake, laying on his side and reading a scroll when she walked in.

“Feeling better?” She asked.

“Indeed.” he answered.

He did look healthier. The color was back to his skin and his hair looked less limp.

“How was your test?” He asked, eyes never leaving his scroll.

“It was alright. The physician said he wouldn’t know any definite results until he brought the samples back to his office, but he is pretty sure I am not sick. I suggested it might have been something I ate but Jousou-sama didn’t seem to like that suggestion very much.”

“Of course not. It would imply there was something wrong with the food.” He noted.

“Oh.” She blushed a bit and hoped she didn’t get any of the kitchen staff in trouble.

She undressed and joined him in bed, trying to catch a glimpse at the scroll he was reading without seeming like she was trying. Of course once she was in the bed his back was turned to her and she was no where near bold enough to try and look over his shoulder.

She stared up at the ceiling instead, letting her mind wander. He was definitely looking better, there was no doubt about that.

“I bet he’s starting to shake of that disease.” She thought optimistically.


For a few days he did seem to be doing a bit better, but inevitably he started to fade once more. As had quickly become tradition she was kneeling in front of Naegi and confiding in the only friend she had on this estate. The fact it was a tree made it all the more depressing.

“So we got word back today from the doctor.” She started their daily conversation. “The good new is that I was not sick and it wasn’t anything I ate so no one in the kitchen staff got in trouble.” She smiled happily before it faded.

“The other news is that it seems like I am pregnant.” She reported dejectedly, resting a hand on her stomach. “I think that was the first time I have ever seen even a glimmer of delight on Jousou-sama’s face.”

“I should be happy, really. There well definitely be a lot less stress on Byakuya-san now and it should make his recovery go better. Although……” She trailed off with a sigh. “He was getting better for a bit there, but he’s failing again. And they still haven’t found what’s wrong with him.” She felt tears threaten the corner of her eyes.

A small breeze blew through the miniature forest, and the first few blossoms waved on their branches sending their scent into the air.

She smiled softly as the scent washed over her and she wiped the tears away before they could start.

“Look at me, once again being the cry baby who needs saving.” She chuckled humorously.

“Inoue?”

The voice caused her to jump up in shock and she whirled around to see who had disturbed her alone time with Naegi, or more importantly, what they had overheard.

Her mouth dropped open in surprise, and before she even knew what she as doing she had Rukia in a death grip, sobbing. Rukia stood there surprised for a moment before bringing them both to their knees and just held onto the crying woman, rubbing her back comfortingly.




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