Miscellaneous Stuff
On Work: Perhaps I am in the honeymoon phase so far in terms of my new job; however, I have to say that I am so enjoying it at the moment. I love the systems that work that are in place already. No more wearing too many hats! Right now, everything seems to be just right. Yes, I know I'm being vague, but I think the particulars of my work are incidental to what I want to convey. Plus, there's the whole confidentiality agreement stuff ^_^ Anyway, I just wanted to...hrm...what's the opposite of rant? Whatever it is, that's what I wanted to do about my new job :-)
On Writing: Sub Aff is still a priority. It's turning out to be a slightly longer chapter than I had anticipated but I blame that entirely on Byakuya and Rukia. If they didn't have such a difficult time communicating with each other, it would definitely make my job easier ;-) The really nice thing about this month is that I was able to finish Heart's Reasons (something I've started way too long ago) and a one shot Byakuruki (thanks Mano and Renata angelic_arrow). Granted it distracted me a little from Sub Aff, but I feel quite accomplished. I'm actually thinking of doing more one shots (I have a couple more in the works) , but I believe that Sub Aff will still be a priority as I want to get to part two and three soon. For those who actually just really want a glimpse of what I have written so far, here is a small teaser of chapter 12:
It was late by the time Byakuya arrived at the main house. He could have arrived earlier, but he had decided to take his time after encountering Yoruichi. Besides, there had been no need to hurry. The main house was not expecting him as he had informed them that he would be staying at the sixth division headquarters that night. Once his plans had changed, he had not bothered to send word. The way he felt, tolerating the company of the Kuchiki servants that night as they waited on him would have grated on his nerves. In fact, there were times when being with other Kuchikis was more of a…burden than anything else. Being alone suited him well tonight. Most of the time, he quite preferred it that way. And tonight was like most nights.
Except, he was not alone.
Maybe it was because his mind had been preoccupied by the events of the day that he failed to notice her presence until he was almost upon her. It wasn’t often that he was caught unawares so many times in a row. From Retsu Unohana to the Commander-General and from Ichigo Kurosaki to Yoruichi Shihouin, he should have expected that the topic of all his discussions would in some way come to surprise him as well before the end of the day. And so while he walked through the gardens of the Kuchiki main grounds, his eyes widened in surprise when he felt her unexpected presence. With a quick glance above, he caught sight of the small figure currently gazing up to the stars as she sat casually atop one of the branches of a cherry blossom tree.
“Rukia,” he mouthed unconsciously, the word escaping his lips before he thought better of it. He said her name softly, in a low enough voice that he had not expected her to hear it.
Except somehow she did, and it reminded him of that long ago morning when he first laid eyes upon the girl who was Hisana’s sister. He had called out Hisana’s name that time, only to have the girl look up as if she heard him-which, of course, had been more than impossible.
He could see the look of shock that etched her features as she scrambled to regain the balance that she had almost lost upon hearing her name called out. She jumped down awkwardly from the branch she was perched upon and looked up at him with embarrassment in her eyes. “Byakuya-sama!” she said, her words sounding carefully deliberate even to his ears. She looked around her and beyond him before meeting his eyes once more. “The servants told me that…I had thought that you would not be coming home tonight,” she said almost accusingly. As if she noted the tone of her voice, she winced apologetically and said in a hesitating voice, “Welcome home, Byakuya-sama.”
Welcome home.
Strange how a few words spoken under the moonlight had a way of lingering in the air like an echo in one’s mind.
It will be Hisana’s as well.
Whether he wanted them to or not.
“Rukia,” he said once again, noting the bowed head of his now betrothed. She always seemed to find something fascinating to stare at in the ground whenever he was around.
“Yes, Nii-Byakuya-sama?” she asked, finally giving him a sideways glance.
He could see her biting her lip in consternation for some reason or another. He could have inquired about that look she had at the moment. But he had a feeling that it was inconsequential. He could have asked her then how her day was. That was what typical families normally did, after all. But something else came to his mind when the wind blew a familiar metallic scent under his nose and Rukia stepped forward more into the moonlight.
“You are injured,” he stated abruptly, his eyes zeroing on the splatter against the white fabric underneath her black shinigami robes.
“Huh?” was her seemingly dumbfounded reply before giving him a perplexed look.
With only the moonlight to help his eyes, he could hardly make out the color of the stain. But the scent of blood was unmistakable.
And quite unexplainable given that he knew perfectly well that Rukia was supposed to have been finishing up paperwork at the thirteenth division headquarters instead of traipsing around and getting herself injured. At least, that was what Ukitake had laughingly told him was in store for his vice-captain last night.
“Injured?” she repeated, looking up at him curiously.
Instead of replying, his eyes stared at the spot of dried blood on her clothes again. It was splattered just at the vee of robes.
Please don't kill me.
On Writing: Sub Aff is still a priority. It's turning out to be a slightly longer chapter than I had anticipated but I blame that entirely on Byakuya and Rukia. If they didn't have such a difficult time communicating with each other, it would definitely make my job easier ;-) The really nice thing about this month is that I was able to finish Heart's Reasons (something I've started way too long ago) and a one shot Byakuruki (thanks Mano and Renata angelic_arrow). Granted it distracted me a little from Sub Aff, but I feel quite accomplished. I'm actually thinking of doing more one shots (I have a couple more in the works) , but I believe that Sub Aff will still be a priority as I want to get to part two and three soon. For those who actually just really want a glimpse of what I have written so far, here is a small teaser of chapter 12:
It was late by the time Byakuya arrived at the main house. He could have arrived earlier, but he had decided to take his time after encountering Yoruichi. Besides, there had been no need to hurry. The main house was not expecting him as he had informed them that he would be staying at the sixth division headquarters that night. Once his plans had changed, he had not bothered to send word. The way he felt, tolerating the company of the Kuchiki servants that night as they waited on him would have grated on his nerves. In fact, there were times when being with other Kuchikis was more of a…burden than anything else. Being alone suited him well tonight. Most of the time, he quite preferred it that way. And tonight was like most nights.
Except, he was not alone.
Maybe it was because his mind had been preoccupied by the events of the day that he failed to notice her presence until he was almost upon her. It wasn’t often that he was caught unawares so many times in a row. From Retsu Unohana to the Commander-General and from Ichigo Kurosaki to Yoruichi Shihouin, he should have expected that the topic of all his discussions would in some way come to surprise him as well before the end of the day. And so while he walked through the gardens of the Kuchiki main grounds, his eyes widened in surprise when he felt her unexpected presence. With a quick glance above, he caught sight of the small figure currently gazing up to the stars as she sat casually atop one of the branches of a cherry blossom tree.
“Rukia,” he mouthed unconsciously, the word escaping his lips before he thought better of it. He said her name softly, in a low enough voice that he had not expected her to hear it.
Except somehow she did, and it reminded him of that long ago morning when he first laid eyes upon the girl who was Hisana’s sister. He had called out Hisana’s name that time, only to have the girl look up as if she heard him-which, of course, had been more than impossible.
He could see the look of shock that etched her features as she scrambled to regain the balance that she had almost lost upon hearing her name called out. She jumped down awkwardly from the branch she was perched upon and looked up at him with embarrassment in her eyes. “Byakuya-sama!” she said, her words sounding carefully deliberate even to his ears. She looked around her and beyond him before meeting his eyes once more. “The servants told me that…I had thought that you would not be coming home tonight,” she said almost accusingly. As if she noted the tone of her voice, she winced apologetically and said in a hesitating voice, “Welcome home, Byakuya-sama.”
Welcome home.
Strange how a few words spoken under the moonlight had a way of lingering in the air like an echo in one’s mind.
It will be Hisana’s as well.
Whether he wanted them to or not.
“Rukia,” he said once again, noting the bowed head of his now betrothed. She always seemed to find something fascinating to stare at in the ground whenever he was around.
“Yes, Nii-Byakuya-sama?” she asked, finally giving him a sideways glance.
He could see her biting her lip in consternation for some reason or another. He could have inquired about that look she had at the moment. But he had a feeling that it was inconsequential. He could have asked her then how her day was. That was what typical families normally did, after all. But something else came to his mind when the wind blew a familiar metallic scent under his nose and Rukia stepped forward more into the moonlight.
“You are injured,” he stated abruptly, his eyes zeroing on the splatter against the white fabric underneath her black shinigami robes.
“Huh?” was her seemingly dumbfounded reply before giving him a perplexed look.
With only the moonlight to help his eyes, he could hardly make out the color of the stain. But the scent of blood was unmistakable.
And quite unexplainable given that he knew perfectly well that Rukia was supposed to have been finishing up paperwork at the thirteenth division headquarters instead of traipsing around and getting herself injured. At least, that was what Ukitake had laughingly told him was in store for his vice-captain last night.
“Injured?” she repeated, looking up at him curiously.
Instead of replying, his eyes stared at the spot of dried blood on her clothes again. It was splattered just at the vee of robes.
Please don't kill me.