Compared to five years ago, the Kuchiki Estate had changed little. Countless buildings stood interwoven, corridors stretched in every direction like a spiderweb, and streams murmured all day long. The vast estate nestled deep within the Seireitei remained tranquil and solemn.
Yet no one swept up the cherry blossoms blanketing the courtyard.
This was where the clan head's wife had passed away. Byakuya Kuchiki had sat motionless here for a day and a night, and the servants were too afraid to disturb him.
"Byakuya-"
At the sound of his friend's voice, the noble clan head's eyes flickered, no longer utterly lifeless. "Yato, you came."
"My condolences, Byakuya. You did everything a husband could-I know you often went to Captain Unohana for medicine, and even visited the Technology Development Bureau to find a treatment for your wife's illness."
"No, Yato. Effort that achieves nothing is merely a clown's performance, a way of deceiving oneself."
Byakuya closed his eyes, pain surfacing on his handsome face. "I thought that with my clan's resources, even if I couldn't cure Hisana, I could at least give her another hundred years. But-perhaps fate was punishing me. I couldn't even fulfill her greatest wish before she passed away."
"Do you need my help with her final wish?"
"Thank you, Yato, but I want to fulfill it myself-as a husband's paltry attempt to make amends to his departed wife."
Uchiha Yato nodded. With the Kuchiki Clan's network of connections, finding Rukia would not be difficult.
He crouched beside his friend, considered his words, and said softly, "I know this is an unwelcome thing to bring up at a time like this, but Byakuya, you can't lose yourself in grief for too long. Captain Shiba's moves are growing bolder."
"I understand, Yato." Byakuya gripped Senbonzakura, his voice cold and