Gazing out across the Seireitei, he might be forgiven for finding the sight calm. From the comfort of his sickbed, he saw neither the destruction that the Ryoka โ Kurosaki and his companions โ wrought, nor the turmoil of betrayal. Only clear blue skies, and the white splash of clouds. Byakuya turned his eyes away from it all.ย
In the days since, heโd sat alone with his thoughts, a swirling conflict of regret and relief. No matter how he weighed them, he couldnโt decide which emotion tipped the scales further: his guilt in honoring the wrong vow, in bringing his own blade to bear toward his sisterโs demise, or the solace of feeling her hand, warm, alive, in his own. Forbidden by Captain Unohana herself to leave the room, he had no tasks to occupy his mind, nothing to do except stew at the center of his own inner storm. So consuming were his thoughts, for a moment he almost didnโt notice the presence hovering outside his door.ย
Heโd grown attuned to her reiatsu in their brief days working alongside each other. A subtle thing, restrained and unassuming โ like a modest candle, compared to the raging inferno of the Captain Commanderโs presence. Nevertheless, it drew his gaze to the door only moments before that delicate knock sounded. He bade her enter, and was met with a smile that didnโt quite reach her eyes.ย He answered her with a soft sigh.ย
โWell enough.โ Truly, his pride suffered the greatest injury. To be bested by a child. A human child, at that. And yet, he couldnโt bring himself to resent the boy; not when his actions saw Rukia delivered safely from Aizenโs plot. Byakuya closed his eyes, banishing all thoughts of the former Captain before he turned his attention toward Eri in full.ย
Aside from the look of concern in her eyes, she looked no different than the last time he saw her, only minutes before those fateful events unfolded. He might have expected her to join Kyouraku and Ukitake in their efforts to forestall the Sลkyoku. In some ways, he was thankful she did not. The Captain Commander was not the kind of man to spare his kin. He supposed they had that in common.ย
โ...I am glad to see you unharmed, Yamamoto-san,โ he said, in the wake of a small silence. That was one Lieutenant, at least. By now, the Sixth Division ought to have returned to Renjiโs care, until such a time he was fit to return to duty. Provided there were no issues. A faint concern of his own tugged his lips downwards into the beginning of a frown. โIs all wellโฆ?โ
