Just visiting (C)

Ichigo had been in soul society for a couple of days now. He didn't want to go back to the human world, being prefectly happy with staying here, skipping school. He would never graduate at this rate, but who cares? None of the other shinigami here graduated from high school. He was wandering around the dark streets, letting his feet carry him along. The moon lit the dirt pathways with a pale glow, and the gravel crunched under ichigo's sandals with every step.

During his midnight stroll, his mind had wondered off, thinking about... well, nothing really. He was just day dreaming. His feet had carried him to the outside of the 6th division. Suddenly, he was pulled out of his daydream, having bumped into someone. Propelled backwards, Ichigo stumbled back, losing his balance and falling down onto the ground. He looked up angrily. Who in the hell would just be standing there in the middle of the night!?

Finally, almost done with the paperwork! Byakuya wrote quickly but carefully, his pen sliding gracefully along the page, his writing as beautiful as a form of art. Byakuya took great pride in his writing, and always made sure it was neat and carefully done. With a final flourish, his finished his sentence and set his pen down. Leaving the paper on his desk to dry, the 6th division captain stood up and walked out the office door, locking it after him. It was a cool night, well, actually a cool morning. Byakuya hadn't realized how late it was. After 12 am at least. Byakuya always got lost in his paperwork, and sometimes ended up staying the whole night in his office. Of course he didn't have to; the paperwork was never due until a few days later, but Byakuya was known for turning his in at least a day earlier, thinking that nothing could happen to it this way.

Byakuya stood next to his office for a minute, just staring up at the stars twinkling in the sky. Despite the time, he wasn't a bit tired, and didn't want to go back to his manor quite yet. The captain moved away from the office, and started walking south, enjoying the quietness that came with late hours. It really was a beautiful night, he observed absentmindedly, as he walked slowly, his eyes on the sky. It wasn't like he was going to run into anyone this late, right? Wrong.

Something large and person shaped crashed into Byakuya. The captain stepped away with a start, squinting to see who it was in the darkness. He looked coldly down at the form on the ground, making no move to help him up. "Exactly what do you think you're doing out here at this hour?" Byakuya asked coldly, slightly suspicious. It wasn't normal for people to walk around this late. But then again, he was out....

Anger filled Ichigo's expression at he looked up at the dark figure that loomed above him. He couldn't make out the other's face, but as soon as the cold voice hit his ears, the anger flooded from his features. Scrambling to his feet, he looked into Byakuya's eyes. Standing tall, he was now able to look down at the captain, having grown quite a bit since Aizen's fall.

"I'm just out for a stroll." He stated simply. If it were anyone else, his retort would have been less formal, but Ichigo usually held out on his boisterous behavior around Rukia's brother. Ichigo wasn't one to change himself to impress others, but Byakuya was different. He hated the way that those cold eyes used to stare down at him, barring through his soul, he could see that he thought he was childish.

But alas, he had changed from his old, immature ways. Not having seen Byakuya in a while, maybe this encounter would turn out different from all their previous ones.

Oh, it was him. Kurosaki Ichigo. What in the world was he doing in the Soul Society? And why at this time? Byakuya shook his head, wondering how in the world the boy's mind worked. He noticed he now had to look up at Ichigo instead of down, and wondered absentmindedly when the other had grown so tall. He wasn't so much of a child now, Byakuya thought, frowning slightly. After the war with Aizen, Ichigo had matured greatly. Byakuya however hadn't got to see this since he was never really around Ichigo since then. And even when he was, he couldn't get over how he used to feel about Ichigo; that he was foolish and did things without thinking.

"You're just out for a stroll in the Soul Society very late at night," Byakuya stated, resisting the urge to shake his head. "And may I ask why you're in the Soul Society? And why now when you could have come in the day time?" Byakuya looked up at him and held his gaze, not blinking.

Ichigo stared back into Byakuya's eyes, not wanting to break the eye contact. Skipping the non-chalant shrug he would normally give with reponses, shifted a little under the other's interrigation. "Well, I was here for a meeting with the captain commander..." he said, brushing his bang from his eyes. "I've just been here for a couple of days, visiting old friends.." saying it outloud made his little mini vacation sound stupid, now that he thought of it. The captain would surely not be pleased with this response, and would probably ask him why he's ducking his ditues back home.

"Why are you out this late?" he retorted back to the shorter male.

He had been here for a few days? Byakuya frowned, wondering why he had not felt Ichigo's spiritual presence before. Oh well. It wasn't although he was looking for it. "I decided to go for a walk," Byakuya replied simply, not feeling he owed Ichigo any more of an explanation. He wondered absentmindedly what Ichigo was seeing the captain commander for, but decided not to press the issue.

(Sorry so short, couldn't think of anything to write >.<)

((lol tis ok, everyone has their days ^_^))

Ichigo couldn't help but grin at his simple response. It was so similar to the response Ichigo had given, one which Byakuya had so obviously deemed unworthy. But, alas, he was a captain, and could probably do whatever the hell he wanted. The thought of how much authority the captains had scared him sometimes. He was glad that there were no more corrupted Captains in the ranks anymore, none that he knew of anyways. The thought of something happening like what happened with Aizen scared him.

There was an awkwar silence for a moment, and Ichigo shifted his weight from one foot to another, getting restless from standing in one spot for too long. The tension also wasn't helping. "So." He said, breaking the silence. "We're both out for a walk, wanna walk together?" He didn't know if his question was out of line or not, but what was the harm in asking?

"Do as you wish, if you can keep up," Byakuya replied simply when Ichigo asked if he could walk with him. The captain really didn't care one way or the other as long as Ichigo was pretty quiet and didn't annoy him. But this was a different Ichigo than he had last seen, a more mature, grown up Ichigo, so Byakuya was more confident that the other would act like an adult instead of an annoying child. Without waiting for Ichigo, Byakuya started walking again, not too fast but not too slow; a perfect pace. The wind blew gently, making Byakuya's hair ruffle slightly, and the captain sighed, reaching a hand up to smooth it down. That though was unnecessary. It just got riffled again when he took his hand away. Oh well. It wasn't really a reason to worry. After all, no one was around to see him except Ichigo. And why would Byakuya care if he looked a bit unkempt in front of Ichigo?