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

五十六

Gatonden was comprised from a number of adjoining, pillared rotundas. While the exterior of these structures were largely open, they had walls constructed from several, gigantic noren. Within was a large dining hall that contained a single, enormous dining table that was surrounded by chairs and lit from above by several lanterns suspended from the ceiling. The table had huge amount of food enough to feed more than ten people. But as scrumptious as they looked, Ichigo and Renji gazed at them with much suspicion, while Asa merely blinked.

"What's this?" muttered the orange-haired boy. "I thought she said "entertain" as in she was going to work us hard, but she's actually treating us to a meal."

"So it seems." was Renji's response.

"Wow!" shouted Kon, who drooled at the sight of the food. "This is great! Let's eat! Wah, I'm so hungry right now!"

"Idiot!" yelled Ichigo, grabbing the stuffed-lion before he would dig in. "There's no way they'd give us something like this for free! It's probably an excuse to train us hard! Don't let your guard down!"

"Oh, I see Urahara Kisuke made you quite suspicious." noted Kirio, who was at the kitchen doorway and overheard him. "Don't be worried! Gaton Palace is the Palace of Food! My job is to fill your bellies. And your job is to fill your bellies! Come on. Eat as much as you like. I'm sure you're incredibly hungry." As if on cue, their stomachs growled loudly.

"O-Oh?!" said Ichigo excitedly. "Now that she said it, I feel hella hungry!"

"O-Okay!" agreed Renji. "Let's eat, Ichigo!"

"Yeah!" cheered Kon.

Thanking her, the three of them began to gobble down their food while Asa took some dishes and put them on her plate. When she was about to eat, someone placed a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look up and see Kirio standing behind her. "After you've eaten, come to my kitchen." she instructed quietly, not wanting the others to hear her conversation. "I need to talk to you."

"Okay." responded Asa with a nod. Giving her a firm grip and a smile, Kirio went back to continue cooking. Once she had enough, she wiped her mouth with a napkin and went inside the kitchen, leaving the three hungry Souls to devour their food. "Kirio-san, what is it you wanted to talk to me about-" She abruptly stopped her sentence when she saw a slender woman with big breasts and long hair let down. Asa blinked owlishly at her before hesitantly asked, "A-Are you Kirio-san?"

Upon hearing her name, she stopped decorating the three tier cake and looked behind her, smiling. "Oh, you're done!" she noted chirpily before quickly returning to the task at hand. "Just give me a few minutes, then we can talk." Asa patiently waited for a few minutes until Kirio connected the last bit of icing on the cake, putting the bag down and turned back around. "Okay, I'm done! Now we can talk."

"Um, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" asked Asa.

Kirio's cheerful smile turned into a frown, and she looked serious. "I need to talk to you about your parents." she began. "Or rather, who your family really was." A quiet gasp was elicited from Asa's lips, and she was too stunned to even say a word. So Kirio decided that she would have to start off. "Let's begin with your paternal side. The late Captain-Commander was your grandfather, and your grandmother was the late Yamamoto Emiko, who died shortly after your grandfather took the position of the Captain-Commander. Your father's name was Yamamoto Tetsuo, and I know him back in the days when he used to work with me in the 12th Division. A very handsome man, I would say." She then had an emotionless expression on her face as blue lines appeared on top of her head. "And he was the laziest Shinigami I've ever known. It's not that he was weak or anything; his powers were as superior as a Captain's. But he just preferred sitting inside the lab and do research instead of going out to patrol. It would take us almost an hour to convince him to get out of the lab and go for a mission." Asa could only sheepishly laugh at this, picturing Kirio having to drag her lazy father out of his comfort zone and send him on a mission.