Here it is, the end of this story. I hope you enjoy this one as well. I'm not entirely convinced, final chapters have always been difficult fo me because I'm a sucker for happy endings, so your reviews about this will be helpful if I decide to write more for this fandom later on.
Thank you for the support, it encourages me to keep trying to write in English.
The most romantic thing is to just watch the sunset with you shoulder to shoulder
That's the direction my heart goes in
I want to travel to all four corners of the earth with you
To enjoy the views in all kinds of weather
I want to write the remaining chapters of life with you
Sharing the laughs and tears with you freely no matter the circumstances
Our story won't end.
A Smile is Very Alluring OST.
20. "Us."
He isn't the same man who had once defied his people to marry the woman he wanted. He's grow older, has become wiser.
She would continue doing things as she always did, but Byakuya, being a master on keeping his own heart on check, knows that his feelings aren't one-sided, and there isn't much he could have done to fight them when he was confronted by those soft, kind lavender eyes and her warm smile welcoming him every morning. Day after day, during their office hours, during training, during tea time or when they walked together to the Rukongai to eat something, she was winning battles that didn't even intend to fight.
Naturally, the first thing he did was to inform the Kuchiki elders and get the approval of the clan. They were, however, only too happy that the Head of the clan had finally decided to marry again, and it also helped to know that the girl was a shinigami with potential.
There was just a moment when he doubted. Hinata made him see that she was no longer a noble daughter since she entered the Soul Society. He, who knew the burdens that came with a name, could understand why she probably felt free the way things were. Would she be willing to enter that world again, just because he asked?
He had to ask, and he did.
"About time."
But Hinata is now his, so Byakuya for once doesn't get irritated by Senbonzakura's teasing.
If the news of the engagement of Kuchiki Rukia and Hitsugaya Toshiro surprised the Gotei 13 and broke quite a few hearts, then it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that when the news of the relationship between Kuchiki Byakuya and Hyuga Hinata spread around, the whole Seireitei is in shock.
But things between them don't change much afterwards, at least not to the curious eyes that attempt to get a glimpse at the couple. Hinata and Byakuya just continue with their routine.
They have tea together (no one dares to interrupt this sacred moment of theirs)
They train together. Hinata only lets her hair down in these moments, because he never says a word bout this, but she's come to know that Kuchiki Byakuya is quite the jealous type… (and it seems to particularly bother him when she's got her hair down and others look at her)
She stays for dinner at the manor (then it dawns on her that at some point she's going to live there, that she has just said yes to a lifetime commitment, that soon she's going to be a Kuchiki too.)
Rukia and Hinata work together in the organization of the Christmas celebrations in the Kuchiki Compound.
They celebrate Hinata's birthday and Byakuya makes Wakame Ambassador's cookies, which make Hitsugaya-taichou and Renji burst in laugh, but she finds them extremely cute. (It's such a shame that the cookies are delicious too, so she eats them all)
They celebrate Rukia's birthday.
Byakuya never celebrates his birthday, but Hinata thinks he'd be secretly happy if he did. This is another thing she's learned about the man she loves: he's always calm and composed, but he's actually one who likes to be pampered, too. After they become engaged, even Commander Captain Kyoraku has come to tell her Byakuya's childhood stories… and according to them he was quite the spoiled brat.
She prepares his favorite food and they stay until late (somehow ending with Byakuya teaching her to play shogi, but it is quite frustrating because she'll need decades before even dreaming to win)
In moments like that, when they are alone, they get used to hold each other hands. They become familiar with the other's lips (never more than that, thanks God becomes Hinata isn't sure she'd be able to take it. Just Byakuya's eyes are so intense, that she can only be grateful he is one to take certain rules and traditions very seriously…)
They go to visit Karakura town with Rukia. Kurosaki-san congratulates them for their engagement (and later tells Hinata that is a pity, Kazui will be heartbroken, but he wishes her all the luck in the world: "You're going to need it marrying the man who's got a stick up his ass permanently.")
Hinata knows there's some truth in all of her friends' words, but she started to like him knowing all of this already. She's also happy there's a side of Byakuya only she gets to know.
In February, before the Winter ends, Rukia and Hitsugaya Toshiro get married.
May brings back the cherry blossoms.
When the cherry blossoms arrive, Byakuya and Hinata also share their prayers and vows.
"I'll treasure until my last day." He tells her. "That's my promise to you."
She knows he loves her before he says it that night.
It's the way he looks at her… (and later caresses her), like she's precious. He worships her and Hinata's body trembles. But oh, she feels so adored.
She's only called him by his name once. In front of others, it's only proper she refers to him as her captain.
But right there and then, he's not Captain Kuchiki. He's not Lord Kuchiki.
He's her husband.
She's his wife.
In the intimacy of their bedroom, she calls him by his name.
(Later, Matsumoto and the other SWA members have the nerve to ask her about her husband "skills". The nerve of those perverts! Hinata of course doesn't say a word, not only because it's embarrassing, but because her husband is hers and hers alone.)
Love does not always come at first sight, not always comes in like a storm of passion. It also comes slowly, quietly, softly… like snowflakes. Like cherry blossoms.
Was it because that wasn't the first life for either of them?
Both knew love before, and both carried their past with them, just as everybody does. That's also okay. They cherish the past, but they cherish the present even more.
"Taichou, there's something I need to inform you."
He looks up to where his wife and lieutenant is standing.
"What is it?"
"I'm presenting my resignation letter." She says, handing her the document.
Confusion is written on his face.
"What does this mean, Hinata?"
"Isane-taichou just told me it would be better to not expose myself in training. It could be bad for the baby."
His eyes widen in surprise. He's…
"Congratulations. You are going to be a father, Byakuya."
Normally, and especially after they got married, when they are in the office they are just Captain and Lieutenant. But in that moment he crosses the distance between them and holds her tight in his arms, forgetting about manners.
"Thank you." He whispers, the emotion in his voice melts Hinata's heart.
Because he never really dreamt about this before, but when it actually happens, it's impossible to imagine something that could make him happier.
"I'm very happy." She says.
He cups her small face in his hands, looking at her as if she were the most precious being in the universe.
"I love you."
She smiles.
"I love you too." She says, hugging him again "I love you so, so much."
They give each other a family. A person to come back home to.
There's going to come a day when they too, will die. That day, they will be reborn as humans… all memories of this life erased.
Once Hinata suffered so much because of the memories of her first twenty years of life, so shouldn't it be a relief that when the last page of this story is over, she'll forget? However, if the day comes when Byakuya and her part ways, it would be even sadder if she doesn't remember the past 100 years of her life (or the years that are still to come)
If she'd forget the long night-walks together…
If she'd forget the times they've sat to watch the first snow of the year, or the cherry blossoms seasons, or the pouring rain in June…
There are cases of souls that meet again in every lifetime, but…
It isn't as if she's his first love. Maybe these years are all what she's got.
"Mom, are you crying?"
Looking at Ryo's worried expression, Hinata laughs. She's being really silly, isn't she?
"Don't worry, dear. It's just the weather."
"Are you cold? I'll bring you another blanket!"
Ah… how this kid resembles his father even more with each passing day.
"That's not necessary, Ryo. I'm fine."
"But as the next head of the clan, it's my job to take care of you. Father said so."
She doesn't know whether to frown or laugh at her son's words.
Really, Byakuya…
"Why don't you go and play with your cousin? Tsukiko-chan came asking for you a couple of hours ago."
"But…"
"Your little sister isn't coming until another few weeks. So go and have fun." She says, this time it's more like an order. Ryo knows that between contradicting his mother or his father, he'd rather face his father later.
"Yes, mother."
When his older son goes, still a bit reluctant, Hinata sighs.
"I fear you'll have to deal with two very overprotective Kuchiki men, Yuzuki."
She goes back to enjoy her cinnamon rolls. Lucky this time she doesn't have problems eating them, like the last time when she was pregnant with the boy.
"So you sent Ryo away."
"You really don't need to make him watch over me all day. He only trains and studies all the time, let him have fun once in a while."
Her husband sighs and goes to sit next to her. (It's no use to argue, in the end she's going to win)
"How are you feeling?"
She smiles.
"I'm fine. But I can't wait for this little girl to come out. Her brother and her cousins want to meet her, too."
He doesn't say anything. He brings another blanket for her (because it's cold, even if she insists that it isn't) and holds her hand.
Byakuya is not a person who talks much about his feelings, but when it comes to Hinata, he doesn't need to. She knows.
The love he's come to feel for her brought life here it wasn't any left. Made fertile soil of what was becoming a desert. And if he knew what she'd been thinking moments ago, he'd call her silly.
Of course, if they are reborn, they'll meet again. She's crossed dimensions and fallen from the moon to catch up with him.
It's a cold day in April, when the winter refuses to end. Snow falls on the cherry trees that have started to blossom.
In the grounds of the Kuchiki Manor, they're buried together.
Their souls fall far away from the other, to live two very different lives.
Yet one day, they meet again.
At least, that is what Yuzuki thinks.
They always were so different and yet so similar at the same time. Yuzuki has always wondered about that whenever she looked at her parents.
Aunt Rukia says that they might have started blending together since the first moment they met, but it happened in a way that nobody, probably not even her parents, realized it.
They were so in synchrony that even when they left this world, they did so together.
"It's still snowing." She says. "It's really such a strange weather."
"It's because of Mother." Her brother says. "She's saying goodbye."
"The servants and the elders have started to call me Lady Kuchiki. Can you believe that?"
That tittle that she's associated with her mother all her life.
"I know. It's the same for me." Ryo says.
The two siblings stare at the spectacle of the flowers covered by snow for another minute.
It's a beautiful day, when the snowflakes and cherry blossoms intertwine. One a symbol of winter, the other a symbol of spring, both of them conveys a short-lived beauty but, separated by time, they never really meet. This is a very rare occasion.
Kuchiki Byakuya and Kuchiki Hinata have passed away.
However, the time they shared in this life was also perfectly beautiful.
It's also a white and pink day, when they meet again.
"Excuse. I lost my phone. Could you tell me where the train station is?"
There they are with no memories of past lifetimes, with different names, different experiences. Yet their eyes meet.
She smiles and he stares.
"Of course. I was just heading to the train station, too."
Love is like snowflakes, just like cherry blossoms. It's beautiful, yet ephemeral. It inevitably comes to an end. However, just like snowflakes and cherry blossoms, love comes back again with the start of a new season.