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

四十五

After gaining a pseudo form of his former powers, Ichigo was able to continue his fight with Yushima and defeat him, which caused his body to split back into Nozomi and Inaba. The latter's body broke down into Reishi, followed by Nozomi as she bid a tearful farewell to Kon and the others. With the Reigai now gone after sacrificing themselves to stop Yushima from destroying Soul Society, and the fully Captain-Commander had returned, peace returned to Soul Society once more.

The injured Captains and Lieutenants had been admitted to the General Relief Station in the where they received treatment, as well as Ichigo and his friends. And just like the day after Aizen's betrayal, Asa volunteered to help out in the 4th Division barracks by healing and cleaning wounds, cooking and serving food, tidying rooms; she'd been keeping herself busy as much as she could. She felt that she wasn't of much help during the invasion so she thought she could contribute by doing so.

One morning, she was in Byakuya's room removing his bandages. Once the last piece was taken off, she inspected his injuries before smiling at him, saying, "You're wounds have been healed. I think you will be discharged either today or tomorrow." Her gaze then caught hold of the Labradorite on the center of his chest, and a gentle smile flickered across her face as she stroked the crystal. "You're still wearing it." She was about to lower her hand when his reached up and held it, prompting her to look at their hands before shifting her gaze to him.

None of them utter a word, but that wasn't necessary, for whatever Byakuya wanted to say to her was clear in his eyes. When they were separated during the Gotei 13 invasion, there were so many times that he wondered if she was still alive, and that he hoped she was. He knew that she was strong enough to protect herself from the Reigai, but that didn't mean it'd stop worrying him. Asa lifted her other hand to caress his cheek, giving him an assuring smile that she was alright and he had nothing to worry about. He didn't say anything as he let her hand go, allowing her to get up.

Just as she was about to step out of the room, she heard her name being called from behind, prompting her to turn around to look at him questioningly. "What is it?" she responded.

"On the night when the invasion started, I promised that I would see you later for dinner." he stated. Now that he mentioned this, Asa remembered that Byakuya said he would see her later that night but it didn't work out because of Ichigo's arrest. "But after giving some thoughts to it, I realised that I haven't let you decide where you would like to have dinner."

Asa was surprised. She didn't think that he would actually be bothered by this. Maybe it was normal for her because she'd always let Michiro pick the location for their dates, considering the fact that she was pretty indecisive at that time. "It's okay, Byakuya." she assured. "We can meet up at my home for dinner if you'd like."

"Where would you like to have dinner?" he asked, completely ignoring what she'd said.

A sweat drop hung on the back of her head. 'He really doesn't listen, does he?' she wondered. Under his gaze, she glanced at the side to think of a place where she wanted to have dinner. Honestly, she didn't mind having it in either of their homes, since each of them had chefs preparing their meals almost on a daily basis. But now that he obstinately asked where she would like to have for a change, might as well she take this opportunity to explore a place she'd wanted to visit for some time when a memory was triggered inside her mind.

"I remember Tadashi told me once of a place he loves to visit in the World of the Living." she began before a gentle smile flickered across her face as she tried to imagine the place with the description the said man gave her during their late night chat. "It's a hotel where we can use the hot spring and have dinner after a nice bath. I know Soul Society has a hot spring, but I'd like to have an experience of what it's like to blend with the humans for once."