[LOG] Byakuya and Temari
[No warnings, just excessive arguing~]
Byakuya took a quick shower-out of habit and ritual-and blew his hair dry, tying it back in a ponytail at his nape. It was a blustery day, to quote a children’s movie, and he did not want it in his eyes, though his bangs still slipped out of the band. Dressing casually in black slacks, a crisp, white buttoned-down shirt and a black fitted blazer, he grabbed his wallet, cell phone, keys, beeper and handheld and stuffed them in his messenger bang along with a textbook and notebook full of long, extensive notes from college classes that he decided to study either while he waited for his companion, or after she left, if she should arrive first. He had roughly four minutes, and the closest Starbucks was two minutes’ walk away from the Kuchiki district, so he had time, and positively strolled, hands in his pockets.
As predicted, he arrived first, and ordered himself a black coffee, no additives, and sat down at a little round table in a corner to wait. There was a chessboard painted onto the wooden surface, and pieces in a box at his elbow, so he set it up and played by himself while he waited.
Unfortunately Temari hadn't counted on spending the night at her brothers and as she logged offline, she found herself with absolutely nothing to wear. If it was anyone else, she would have just borrowed a shirt from Kankurou, but Byakuya gave her the impression of being a person heavy on first appearances and formalities. She scribbled a quick note explaining her disappearance if her brother was to wake up and find her gone, quickly dressed, and ran back to her apartment to change. Luckily she had showered right after waking up so she wasn't too concerned about her cleanliness, but she still wanted to wear a fresh outfit.
Picking out a simple green peasant top and light blue jeans, she made haste and hauled ass as she pulled on simple sneakers and grabbed a few necessities before heading out the door. Cash, keys, and she was all set. She ran to the Starbucks, knowing full-well she was late but still not wanting to be too late. Arriving in record time, Temari walked into the Coffee Shop and ordered herself a mug of Green Tea before she finally scanned the crowd, looking for a face matching the online avatar. He wasn't difficult to pinpoint and she walked over to the table, making her arrival known with a simple "Oi."
Interrupted from his mini-battle in the form of chess, Byakuya looked up at her with a pessimist’s eye, scrutinizing every detail. Her clothing was neat, and tidy, and she appeared to be well-kept. Except that she was late, a capital offense in his book-for anyone else but Rangiku; yes he was biased. However, Rangiku was his closest friend, and, thus, allowed certain privileges.
Moving a pawn closer to the opposite side of the board, he said, rather sternly, “You are late, madam. Was the allotted time not enough?” Sitting straight like a pencil in the metal, curved chair, he gave the impression of a royal seated upon a throne-except that he gave off a weak aura of stress; matters with Rukia, and Gin were wearing him down.
While he took in her appearance, she certainly took in his. There was no mistakening him for the arrogant and stiff man she talked to online; and, questioning her sanity, actually considered replying to his stern observation with a sarcastic remark. "It was enough," she flashed him a smile. "But life happened. Unexpected things required my attention for a few seconds and you know how time can build up." Observing the chess match he was playing against himself, she idly wondered if he had any friends to play with while another part of conscience argued that the best way to learn was to play against yourself.
"I'm sorry if you had to wait long, I didn't realize I was that late," she knew she wasn't late enough for her tardiness to be a big deal. "Do you mind if I sit down or is this other seat reserved?"
He captured the recently moved pawn with a rook. “Forgive me. I cannot comprehend the acts of tardiness.” He gave her a brief, narrow-eyed frown. “It is rare that I allow ‘life’ to get in the way of a previous engagement.” Ah, here it goes; the debate had begun. Every man-and woman-for themselves.
“On the contrary, please sit.” Byakuya gestured to the chair with one hand, the other picking up his mug of coffee and sipping it. The caffeine revived him a little. He was never one to ever miss out on sleep if possible, but he had been losing at least an hour a night, which was quite a lot in the long run.
Smirking, she took a seat - maybe she didn't sit as though she had a stick up her ass, but she was confident and proud and her casual yet alert posture seemed to challenge his. "You don't need to comprehend anything. It's healthier for a person if that person is able to accept, forgive, and forget," she gave a small bow in her chair after setting down her mug. "I don't think we're been properly introduced - I'm Temari. And you're the infamous Byakuya-san?"
She crossed her legs comfortably, her hands resting easily on her knees and hoping she wasn't giving off any aggressive or intimidating vibes. For a formal guy, he sure was weak with introductions.
“My name,” he said sternly, “is Kuchiki Byakuya, and as you are younger than me you will refer to me as senpai.” Kuchiki-Byakuya-who-insisted-on-being-called-senpai inclined his head nonetheless. “Temari-san.” He paused to move another piece; he didn’t ask her to join him-he had a battle tactic planned and did not want interference.
“As to your comment… when someone goes out of their way to meet meat a predestined area and I am given time, I make a point to be on time so as not to be a waste of their time.” Exceptions were made at times; however, he did not disclose this information.
"Kuchiki-senpai it is then," she gave a small chuckle. Watching him continue has match against himself, she took a cautious sip at her drink and mentally sighed with pleasure. Perfect strength, perfect temperature. Not too many people knew how picky she was about her hot beverages.
"Did we meet to discuss time? Who knows, maybe I was meant to be a few minutes late. Maybe you were meant to be a few minutes early." He made his point a few times already, if he was waiting for an apology in order to move off the topic then he was sorely mistaken - she apologized once and that was good enough.
Byakuya lifted his eyes off the board to peer at her through his black bangs at her, head still inclined toward the chess match. “Are you suggesting there is serendipity in this meeting?” His voice dripped with scorn at the word. Serendipity-fate, destiny, luck, fortune; such an improvable thing was not something he supported or upheld. It was the same as his belief in imaginary worlds. Everything came to being by one’s own efforts, not by a predestined practice.
"Not at all," she said. "I'm just saying things are the way they are. I'm late. We've established that. We've also established your inability to comprehend lateness. I apologized for my tardiness, but I know I tried my hardest to get here in time and if you can't accept that - then tough luck. I didn't come here to hear you gripe."
Swirling the the contents of her mug, she wondered about the leaves that had gathered at the bottom of her tea. She was also curious to know if changing the subject was a wise move... only one way to find out. "How's your drink?"
Byakuya frowned, lifting his head fully. “Excuse me-‘gripe’? Are you from a country where it is perfectly alright to blatantly insult your elders?” He set the black queen in a crucial point on the board, endangering the white king. “Check,” he mumbled to himself before scanning the board again.
Having been raised in a household where manners and respect were as important as breathing, to encounter someone like her-a woman, at that, a creature who, in his eyes, should be polite at all costs-was like a slap on his pride. Of course, he reminded himself, she was most likely raised differently. Much differently. “What an asinine question.”
She found his reaction highly amusing. "No, but I do believe that someone has to earn my respect. So far you've done nothing but insult me and been quite persistant in voicing your inability to see anything from a simple perspective," she raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't a stupid question. It was a simple question. I'm trying to level with you as a fellow human being. I know I was griping about not labelling people, but you seem like quite the analytical guy that thinks too much and thinkers are burdened by the most stress." Not that she cared about his health or anything.
Honestly wondering why the hell he had wanted to meet up with her in the first place if he was going to be so anti-social. Not that she minded, it was a nice change from lounging around the house and the company was bearable.
Byakuya’s eyes narrowed almost dangerously, only briefly-then the mask of formal respect was up again and all expression was absent. “I do not label anyone. I have not labeled you, as of yet.” He captured the white king, and set his cup down, going about resetting the board, long fingers sweeping across the board, re-erecting captured pieces, rearranging the remaining, until the board was set yet again.
“In your later years, Temari-san, perhaps you will learn that not everything is as simple as you would like it to be. Things grow complicated. Not everything can be tossed about in such a carefree nature.”
Shrugging with her shoulders with indifference, she watched him re-set the board. "How does that cliche go... I do believe it was something along the lines of 'labels are for soup cans' - Do I honestly look like a person that cares what other people think?" She wondered what had happened in his life to make him so bitter, but it was none of her business and she certainly wasn't one to pry.
"Things may grow complicated, but then I'll worry about it when the time comes. It's not healthy to dwell on things. Going back to our earlier discussion for a brief moment, one might argue that it's almost better for a person to indulge in alcohol than to make oneself sick by psychoanalysing every little thing."
“You speak as one who has everything she would so desire, though you gain nothing by such thoughts. Pessimism, to a certain degree, is healthy. It prepares us for later disappointments.” Carefully, he moved a piece on the opposite side of the board, the white side. A new board was set; a new argument was raging. To himself, he gauged their silent verbal victories by how he moved the pieces, to keep himself up to par. It was a helpful system and let him know when he should be more vicious with his words and comebacks, though done in a subtle way that he didn’t suppose she would notice.
"Who says there has to be disappointments?" She raised an eyebrow in question. "People have a choice of seeing obstacles as a stumbling block, a disappointment, or as an opportunity to grow and learn. Although, I do agree that some pessimisim is healthy, but there are some people that take it to the extreme." Like himself.
Drinking the last of her tea, she set the mug aside and made herself more comfortable by crossing her legs the otherway and folding her hands on the edge of the table.
“…Bah. Humbug.” It was slightly comical for him to say such a thing, but it was an embodiment of lesser evils. Though this was not well-known to the general public, he had in fact been selected to play Ebenezer Scrooge in his Sophomore year of high school, and Hisana, his girlfriend at the time, had played Belle. He almost smiled faintly, at the memories of rehearsals, performances, practices and learning lines, but he stopped himself and frowned at her when he saw how she was sitting.
“Do not cross your legs while being seated on a hard surface, you will have bad knees when you are older,” he ordered, tapping her knee with his sharply; the table was small in circumference so he managed this easily.
She laughed easily, truly not expecting him to say that. "Hai, Kuchiki-senpai," and immediately brought her leg down, crossing them at the ankles instead. Maybe it was her imagination, but she thought she detected some human-life in his eyes before he went Miss Manners on her. She wisely chose not to say anything.
Also not wanting to tempt his recent change of attitude, she remained silent and decided to enjoy their moment of peace, wondering what he would talk about next if anything at all.
He was silent for a time, moving one of ‘his’ pieces, the black, closer to the other side of the board to mark his own subtle victory. Then he sat back, sipping his coffee and waiting for her to make the next move. His face he kept blank; the moment of light in his eyes was a fluke, she should not expect it to happen again, now that he was on his own guard.
He was back to cyborg-mode, she noted. Even though he was almost freakishly emotionless, she had this feeling that she was being studied - not that she minded, she had nothing to hide. Obviously leaving the conversation up to her to start, Temari raked her brain for topic starters. She didn't want to inquire about his personal life, and everything she said could be used against her anyways...
"Are you hungry, Senpai?" She gave him a sly wink. "I'm out of tea and I wouldn't mind getting something from the counter. My treat of course."
Byakuya raised a brow delicately, silently considering moving a piece, but deciding that this was not an upper hand that she had gained. “No. Even if I was, they only barter sweets and such at Starbucks. I do not care at all for sweets.” By sweets, he meant of course anything with over one gram of sugar in it, and yes, he jolly well as able to tell how much sugar was in something by how it tasting. He and sugar were long-time enemies, ever since his boyhood
At the same time, however, he left out the fact that Starbucks ‘bartered’ perfectly decent, sugar free bagels, as well, but hell would freeze over before he let a woman-lt alone this woman-buy something for him as a ‘treat’.
"Che, you're a hard man to please." As much as she was enjoying his company, his attitude was getting old pretty fast and she wished she was at home with her brother. Or ... on that date she was supposed to be going on, she looked at her watch, sometime eventually today. She hated making plans, and hanging out with Kuchiki-senpai was nice but... If he wasn't willing to meet her half way then she was going to go. Not that she suspected he cared.
"As much fun as this has been, it seems that you would rather study your chess than socialize. I apologize for wasting your time," standing up, she gave a slight - but genuine - bow. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Kuchiki-senpai." And she meant that. He was interesting and sparked her interest, but...
He looked rather relieved when she said she would be going; she was almost exhausting to keep up with. And she was a teenager… he could only hope Rukia would not be this much trouble. The thought almost gave him a headache; Temari he could rationalize-Rukia would be daily.
“Yes.” He stood up and gave a short, polite bow, moving one of his pieces forward to capture the white king; he classed this as a victory on his own part. “Perhaps we will meet again. Yes? Good bye.” And he sat back down again, resetting the chess board properly.
Byakuya took a quick shower-out of habit and ritual-and blew his hair dry, tying it back in a ponytail at his nape. It was a blustery day, to quote a children’s movie, and he did not want it in his eyes, though his bangs still slipped out of the band. Dressing casually in black slacks, a crisp, white buttoned-down shirt and a black fitted blazer, he grabbed his wallet, cell phone, keys, beeper and handheld and stuffed them in his messenger bang along with a textbook and notebook full of long, extensive notes from college classes that he decided to study either while he waited for his companion, or after she left, if she should arrive first. He had roughly four minutes, and the closest Starbucks was two minutes’ walk away from the Kuchiki district, so he had time, and positively strolled, hands in his pockets.
As predicted, he arrived first, and ordered himself a black coffee, no additives, and sat down at a little round table in a corner to wait. There was a chessboard painted onto the wooden surface, and pieces in a box at his elbow, so he set it up and played by himself while he waited.
Unfortunately Temari hadn't counted on spending the night at her brothers and as she logged offline, she found herself with absolutely nothing to wear. If it was anyone else, she would have just borrowed a shirt from Kankurou, but Byakuya gave her the impression of being a person heavy on first appearances and formalities. She scribbled a quick note explaining her disappearance if her brother was to wake up and find her gone, quickly dressed, and ran back to her apartment to change. Luckily she had showered right after waking up so she wasn't too concerned about her cleanliness, but she still wanted to wear a fresh outfit.
Picking out a simple green peasant top and light blue jeans, she made haste and hauled ass as she pulled on simple sneakers and grabbed a few necessities before heading out the door. Cash, keys, and she was all set. She ran to the Starbucks, knowing full-well she was late but still not wanting to be too late. Arriving in record time, Temari walked into the Coffee Shop and ordered herself a mug of Green Tea before she finally scanned the crowd, looking for a face matching the online avatar. He wasn't difficult to pinpoint and she walked over to the table, making her arrival known with a simple "Oi."
Interrupted from his mini-battle in the form of chess, Byakuya looked up at her with a pessimist’s eye, scrutinizing every detail. Her clothing was neat, and tidy, and she appeared to be well-kept. Except that she was late, a capital offense in his book-for anyone else but Rangiku; yes he was biased. However, Rangiku was his closest friend, and, thus, allowed certain privileges.
Moving a pawn closer to the opposite side of the board, he said, rather sternly, “You are late, madam. Was the allotted time not enough?” Sitting straight like a pencil in the metal, curved chair, he gave the impression of a royal seated upon a throne-except that he gave off a weak aura of stress; matters with Rukia, and Gin were wearing him down.
While he took in her appearance, she certainly took in his. There was no mistakening him for the arrogant and stiff man she talked to online; and, questioning her sanity, actually considered replying to his stern observation with a sarcastic remark. "It was enough," she flashed him a smile. "But life happened. Unexpected things required my attention for a few seconds and you know how time can build up." Observing the chess match he was playing against himself, she idly wondered if he had any friends to play with while another part of conscience argued that the best way to learn was to play against yourself.
"I'm sorry if you had to wait long, I didn't realize I was that late," she knew she wasn't late enough for her tardiness to be a big deal. "Do you mind if I sit down or is this other seat reserved?"
He captured the recently moved pawn with a rook. “Forgive me. I cannot comprehend the acts of tardiness.” He gave her a brief, narrow-eyed frown. “It is rare that I allow ‘life’ to get in the way of a previous engagement.” Ah, here it goes; the debate had begun. Every man-and woman-for themselves.
“On the contrary, please sit.” Byakuya gestured to the chair with one hand, the other picking up his mug of coffee and sipping it. The caffeine revived him a little. He was never one to ever miss out on sleep if possible, but he had been losing at least an hour a night, which was quite a lot in the long run.
Smirking, she took a seat - maybe she didn't sit as though she had a stick up her ass, but she was confident and proud and her casual yet alert posture seemed to challenge his. "You don't need to comprehend anything. It's healthier for a person if that person is able to accept, forgive, and forget," she gave a small bow in her chair after setting down her mug. "I don't think we're been properly introduced - I'm Temari. And you're the infamous Byakuya-san?"
She crossed her legs comfortably, her hands resting easily on her knees and hoping she wasn't giving off any aggressive or intimidating vibes. For a formal guy, he sure was weak with introductions.
“My name,” he said sternly, “is Kuchiki Byakuya, and as you are younger than me you will refer to me as senpai.” Kuchiki-Byakuya-who-insisted-on-being-called-senpai inclined his head nonetheless. “Temari-san.” He paused to move another piece; he didn’t ask her to join him-he had a battle tactic planned and did not want interference.
“As to your comment… when someone goes out of their way to meet meat a predestined area and I am given time, I make a point to be on time so as not to be a waste of their time.” Exceptions were made at times; however, he did not disclose this information.
"Kuchiki-senpai it is then," she gave a small chuckle. Watching him continue has match against himself, she took a cautious sip at her drink and mentally sighed with pleasure. Perfect strength, perfect temperature. Not too many people knew how picky she was about her hot beverages.
"Did we meet to discuss time? Who knows, maybe I was meant to be a few minutes late. Maybe you were meant to be a few minutes early." He made his point a few times already, if he was waiting for an apology in order to move off the topic then he was sorely mistaken - she apologized once and that was good enough.
Byakuya lifted his eyes off the board to peer at her through his black bangs at her, head still inclined toward the chess match. “Are you suggesting there is serendipity in this meeting?” His voice dripped with scorn at the word. Serendipity-fate, destiny, luck, fortune; such an improvable thing was not something he supported or upheld. It was the same as his belief in imaginary worlds. Everything came to being by one’s own efforts, not by a predestined practice.
"Not at all," she said. "I'm just saying things are the way they are. I'm late. We've established that. We've also established your inability to comprehend lateness. I apologized for my tardiness, but I know I tried my hardest to get here in time and if you can't accept that - then tough luck. I didn't come here to hear you gripe."
Swirling the the contents of her mug, she wondered about the leaves that had gathered at the bottom of her tea. She was also curious to know if changing the subject was a wise move... only one way to find out. "How's your drink?"
Byakuya frowned, lifting his head fully. “Excuse me-‘gripe’? Are you from a country where it is perfectly alright to blatantly insult your elders?” He set the black queen in a crucial point on the board, endangering the white king. “Check,” he mumbled to himself before scanning the board again.
Having been raised in a household where manners and respect were as important as breathing, to encounter someone like her-a woman, at that, a creature who, in his eyes, should be polite at all costs-was like a slap on his pride. Of course, he reminded himself, she was most likely raised differently. Much differently. “What an asinine question.”
She found his reaction highly amusing. "No, but I do believe that someone has to earn my respect. So far you've done nothing but insult me and been quite persistant in voicing your inability to see anything from a simple perspective," she raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't a stupid question. It was a simple question. I'm trying to level with you as a fellow human being. I know I was griping about not labelling people, but you seem like quite the analytical guy that thinks too much and thinkers are burdened by the most stress." Not that she cared about his health or anything.
Honestly wondering why the hell he had wanted to meet up with her in the first place if he was going to be so anti-social. Not that she minded, it was a nice change from lounging around the house and the company was bearable.
Byakuya’s eyes narrowed almost dangerously, only briefly-then the mask of formal respect was up again and all expression was absent. “I do not label anyone. I have not labeled you, as of yet.” He captured the white king, and set his cup down, going about resetting the board, long fingers sweeping across the board, re-erecting captured pieces, rearranging the remaining, until the board was set yet again.
“In your later years, Temari-san, perhaps you will learn that not everything is as simple as you would like it to be. Things grow complicated. Not everything can be tossed about in such a carefree nature.”
Shrugging with her shoulders with indifference, she watched him re-set the board. "How does that cliche go... I do believe it was something along the lines of 'labels are for soup cans' - Do I honestly look like a person that cares what other people think?" She wondered what had happened in his life to make him so bitter, but it was none of her business and she certainly wasn't one to pry.
"Things may grow complicated, but then I'll worry about it when the time comes. It's not healthy to dwell on things. Going back to our earlier discussion for a brief moment, one might argue that it's almost better for a person to indulge in alcohol than to make oneself sick by psychoanalysing every little thing."
“You speak as one who has everything she would so desire, though you gain nothing by such thoughts. Pessimism, to a certain degree, is healthy. It prepares us for later disappointments.” Carefully, he moved a piece on the opposite side of the board, the white side. A new board was set; a new argument was raging. To himself, he gauged their silent verbal victories by how he moved the pieces, to keep himself up to par. It was a helpful system and let him know when he should be more vicious with his words and comebacks, though done in a subtle way that he didn’t suppose she would notice.
"Who says there has to be disappointments?" She raised an eyebrow in question. "People have a choice of seeing obstacles as a stumbling block, a disappointment, or as an opportunity to grow and learn. Although, I do agree that some pessimisim is healthy, but there are some people that take it to the extreme." Like himself.
Drinking the last of her tea, she set the mug aside and made herself more comfortable by crossing her legs the otherway and folding her hands on the edge of the table.
“…Bah. Humbug.” It was slightly comical for him to say such a thing, but it was an embodiment of lesser evils. Though this was not well-known to the general public, he had in fact been selected to play Ebenezer Scrooge in his Sophomore year of high school, and Hisana, his girlfriend at the time, had played Belle. He almost smiled faintly, at the memories of rehearsals, performances, practices and learning lines, but he stopped himself and frowned at her when he saw how she was sitting.
“Do not cross your legs while being seated on a hard surface, you will have bad knees when you are older,” he ordered, tapping her knee with his sharply; the table was small in circumference so he managed this easily.
She laughed easily, truly not expecting him to say that. "Hai, Kuchiki-senpai," and immediately brought her leg down, crossing them at the ankles instead. Maybe it was her imagination, but she thought she detected some human-life in his eyes before he went Miss Manners on her. She wisely chose not to say anything.
Also not wanting to tempt his recent change of attitude, she remained silent and decided to enjoy their moment of peace, wondering what he would talk about next if anything at all.
He was silent for a time, moving one of ‘his’ pieces, the black, closer to the other side of the board to mark his own subtle victory. Then he sat back, sipping his coffee and waiting for her to make the next move. His face he kept blank; the moment of light in his eyes was a fluke, she should not expect it to happen again, now that he was on his own guard.
He was back to cyborg-mode, she noted. Even though he was almost freakishly emotionless, she had this feeling that she was being studied - not that she minded, she had nothing to hide. Obviously leaving the conversation up to her to start, Temari raked her brain for topic starters. She didn't want to inquire about his personal life, and everything she said could be used against her anyways...
"Are you hungry, Senpai?" She gave him a sly wink. "I'm out of tea and I wouldn't mind getting something from the counter. My treat of course."
Byakuya raised a brow delicately, silently considering moving a piece, but deciding that this was not an upper hand that she had gained. “No. Even if I was, they only barter sweets and such at Starbucks. I do not care at all for sweets.” By sweets, he meant of course anything with over one gram of sugar in it, and yes, he jolly well as able to tell how much sugar was in something by how it tasting. He and sugar were long-time enemies, ever since his boyhood
At the same time, however, he left out the fact that Starbucks ‘bartered’ perfectly decent, sugar free bagels, as well, but hell would freeze over before he let a woman-lt alone this woman-buy something for him as a ‘treat’.
"Che, you're a hard man to please." As much as she was enjoying his company, his attitude was getting old pretty fast and she wished she was at home with her brother. Or ... on that date she was supposed to be going on, she looked at her watch, sometime eventually today. She hated making plans, and hanging out with Kuchiki-senpai was nice but... If he wasn't willing to meet her half way then she was going to go. Not that she suspected he cared.
"As much fun as this has been, it seems that you would rather study your chess than socialize. I apologize for wasting your time," standing up, she gave a slight - but genuine - bow. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Kuchiki-senpai." And she meant that. He was interesting and sparked her interest, but...
He looked rather relieved when she said she would be going; she was almost exhausting to keep up with. And she was a teenager… he could only hope Rukia would not be this much trouble. The thought almost gave him a headache; Temari he could rationalize-Rukia would be daily.
“Yes.” He stood up and gave a short, polite bow, moving one of his pieces forward to capture the white king; he classed this as a victory on his own part. “Perhaps we will meet again. Yes? Good bye.” And he sat back down again, resetting the chess board properly.