MISC: Written for Arihdni at LJ with the prompt of Renji seeing a picture of Hisana. Beta'd by Lilmisfits8811.
He was terrified at first, because he thought it was Rukia.
He thought that after all those years, and all of the fighting he'd done...it would be reduced to ashes because of that framed photograph in front of him.
But Renji began to notice things – a little belatedly, yes, but he never claimed to be a genius. He noticed slight physical differences, and an attitude that came from the person in the picture that didn't match up to Rukia at all.
And then – dummy, he thought – he noticed the candles and the flowers. And the two gold rings...wedding rings?
He'd stumbled onto a shrine.
He'd gone on walkabouts at Kuchiki Manor and the first thing he'd done was open the doors to and find a private, unmarked shrine.
Renji bowed to it, feeling guilty and ashamed. He'd just flung open the doors expecting some sort of random closet (which would have been bad enough of him, but his curiosity was always at its peak around his Captain and his Captain's home). But as Renji rose from the bow, he stared at the picture. At the wedding bands.
"Renji!"
Rukia hurried up to him and slapped his arm. "I told you to stay close! Brother won't like having to wait – "
"Rukia...what's this?"
He'd heard that his Captain had had a wife. That she had been below the Captain's station. That she hadn't been the Captain's wife for very long. But everything about his Captain – even well-known facts – was always cast into doubt and intrigue, no matter how long the information had been circling. It was just the way the 6th Division Captain affected people.
It was a lovingly constructed shrine. The sheer sense of presence at it made Renji want to bow again. The doors to it were black-painted wood covered in an amazing lacquer that made them almost glass-like in sheen. Cherry blossom trees had been carved into the doors in wonderful detail – probably what had made Renji want to peep inside in the first place. The shrine itself had a rose-like scent to it, and it was arranged so that the picture itself caught the attention and held it.
"Brother's...wife," Rukia swallowed. She'd never seen the shrine, but how could it be anyone else? "My sister, Hisana."
"Sister?!" Renji stared at Rukia, wide-eyed. He wanted to have a little petulant moment of demanding why she hadn't told him this before and how long she'd known, but he found himself feeling oddly calm. It explained...a lot. Somehow, as he pieced possibilities together, it made Rukia's adoption and their time apart make sense.
Made it more bearable, too. The taste in his mouth whenever he thought about that period of time suddenly didn't seem as bitter.
"I see." He gave an awkward laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "For a second there, I thought..."
"It was me?" Rukia arched her elegant brows. "Idiot."
"Hey! She looks just like ya – " He gestured at the photograph, and the action seemed so flippant and disrespectful that both of them quickly bowed to the shrine. Renji cleared his throat. "So, uh...it's because of her that...?"
"Yes." Rukia held onto Renji's arm and looked at the picture. She seemed a little uncomfortable and Renji clasped her hand. "She was very sick. She asked brother to look for me and take me in before she died."
Renji bit his lower lip. "Hey..."
"Hmm?"
"D'ya think...if your sister hadn't asked Captain to do that..." He flushed. "...would we be married by now?"
Rukia smiled, looking at the wedding bands on the shrine. "I don't know. We were always going to need a lot of time and work, Renji. It's just the way we are."
He chuckled. "Yeah. I see what ya mean. For us the long way round is the best way round. And hopefully...we'll be married soon."
"If brother agrees," Rukia nodded, and Renji winced. "But I'm sure he will." Renji kissed the top of her head and she smiled.
"Hey...think it was ever tough for Captain? Because you look like...?"
Rukia stared at him. There was something uncertain on Renji's face. She wasn't sure she'd ever understand the way he thought, but the sad way he regarded the picture of Hisana was telling.
"I was always different from her," Rukia said – and stuck her tongue out. "Because Hisana didn't have to grow up with you!"
"Bitch," Renji snickered, reaching to tug a lock of her dark hair.
"Come on," Rukia grinned. She closed the doors to the shrine. "Brother's waiting and I'd like to get married sometime this year."
As Rukia dragged him off, Renji glanced over his shoulder at the shrine and smiled.