Disclaimer: BLEACH and all their characters belong to Kubo Tite.
Hidden in the Heart
By Amanda Catarina
Prologue
Sitting on the veranda of her ostentatious mansion with a shamisen in her lap, Shihouin Suzumi lifted her face to the sky and closed her eyes, letting her mind be filled with memories of what happened at the party hours ago.
"My heart has been locked away from passions since Hisana died and took away the key."
Those were the words that Kuchiki Byakuya said in response to her flirting, which culminated in a marriage of convenient proposal.
"What an arrogant fool!" she accused in a soft tone.
There was no trace of sadness in her beautiful face. She was surprised that she was not suffering from the disillusion of unrequited love. Usually, she was not so cold; however, it happened that at that moment she felt more inclined to avenge the man than to conquer him.
"Of course, I've never been the kind that runs after men, especially ones who are not in love with me," she told herself. "However, that one Kuchiki Byakuya actually managed to awaken my anger with such disregard."
Straightening her face, Suzumi stared at nothing.
"To make him be scorned by the noble families will not be enough. I want him to suffer bitterly and feel in his mouth the same sour taste that he made me feel, the taste of rejection."
After a long sigh, she began playing the shamisen skillfully. While the sound that she loved so much filled the garden bathed in moonlight, Suzumi thought about the young Kuchiki.
"He was married, but the marriage did not last five years. It's been fifty years since the poor Hisana died. And it's possible that he has not made love to her, not even once. Yes, that would explain why he did not have an heir."
Shaking the head slightly, the noble lady curved her lips in a half smirk.
"Naturally, a man could not bear so many years of abstinence if he had already experienced the pleasures that a woman can provide," she said and snorted with disdain. "That fool, I could have satisfied him very well in that."
Putting her fingers away from the strings of the instrument, she remained silent for a moment.
"His career as a captain of the Gotei 13 is what he values most and the most important person in his life is the sister, Kuchiki Rukia."
Suzumi pondered for a moment.
"The sister," she repeated, paused and narrowed her eyes. "Three years ago it was learned that this sister is not actually his, but the miserable deceased wife's. And I heard many people say that the two were very much alike."
She paused briefly, as her perverse mind envisioned a terrible ruse.
"So maybe that Rukia might be attractive enough to awaken his instincts. Yes, and how much would he dishonor the memory of the beloved Hisana if he ended up deflowering the dear little sister?"
Placing her fingers above her mouth, Suzumi smiled wickedly.
"What a great misfortune for you, Kuchiki Byakuya, that our paths have crossed."
Chapter 1
It was the beginning of a rainy night. Seated on his knees on a zabuton in front of one of the elders of the Kuchiki clan, Byakuya reported to him some details of the last social event of the noble families which he had participated twelve days ago.
"It was then that Miss Shihouin Suzumi made me a marriage proposal."
"Suzumi," repeated the elder thoughtfully, "I remember her, a pretty young woman, yes." There was a long pause before the man continued, "My very dear Byakuya-sama, surely you understand that a marriage with a woman of the prestigious Shihouin family would be fully supported by our clan."
"Yes, I do. And I believe that it was for the benefit of both families that this woman came to the boldness, or rather, to the inconvenience of making such a proposal."
"Certainly, my lord," the elder concurred, rejoiced at the news.
"Nevertheless, I refused."
After having stared at the younger man for a long moment, the old man nodded.
"I absolutely respect your decision, my lord, but I must still say that it would give the clan immense satisfaction if you, our leader, should decide to remarry soon."
"Yes, I'm aware of that," he returned sharply. "Mitsunori-san, there is one more reason why I called you here. I would like you to send a gift to Miss Shihouin, as privately as possible, to apologize for my refusal because I sense that she may try to defame our clan out of spite."
"Yes, my lord. All precautions will be taken so that it won't happen."
After an appropriate reverence and a brief farewell the old man withdrew. Somewhat later, the young lord also walked to his bedroom.
Sitting on the wooden floor, leaning against the wall, Byakuya began to think about his life's delicate situation.
"How can I fulfill my desires without betraying the clan's interests?" he wondered.
He knew it was impossible, since the family was pressuring him to provide an heir even though he did not wish to marry any woman. He might have gotten away with Suzumi's proposal, but sooner or later, he would have to take a wife, preferably a noble one.
"Hisana, your death clouded my life."
Rukia woke up earlier than usual. After thinking for a moment, she decided to get up and enjoy the extra time of nearly an hour to take a hike. And she also thought maybe she could visit her brother and even have breakfast with him.
She walked the perimeter of her division, quietly observing the people who were beginning their activities in that early day, which from its appearance, could be sunny. She came to the square, outside the boundaries of the 13th Division, when she saw some familiar faces of Madarame Ikkaku and Abarai Renji.
Madarame, always fussy, spoke so loudly that even from a distance, Rukia could hear him perfectly:
"At that time, Ichigo beat me easily, but if I fought him today, things would be different!"
"Sure, sure," Renji shrugged. "As if you had gotten any stronger since then. Oh yeah, before he needed one minute to defeat you. Now, how long will he need? One second?"
"What?" snapped the bald. "Say that again, you pineapple head!"
Rukia nodded to the two, earning herself a large smile from the red-haired man, which she returned the same way and then moved forward. Naturally, the conversation she heard made her think of Ichigo.
Aizen Sousuke's plan to create the King's Key in Karakura Town had been foiled, but there was no undisputed evidence that the terrible enemy, former captain of 5th Division, was dead. Even so, both the Soul Society and the human world enjoyed the relative peace. For this reason, it had been a while since Rukia last saw Ichigo. After all, there was no excuse for them to meet.
"How is he doing now?" she murmured to herself and couldn't stop an image of him smiling at her from appearing in her mind. Trying not to think about the past, she sighed wistfully.
The war with Aizen always kept them in a state of alert, but on the rare lulls, she came to want to belong to the human world so that she could live a whole other life next to Ichigo. She would live in the clinic with his family, would actually be his classmate. After school, they would go to fun places such as gambling houses, pastry shops, parks, stores... Rukia laughed at herself and quicken her pace as she brushed the thought aside. Even so, she was forced to acknowledge that she really missed Ichigo.
After some time, she arrived to the Kuchiki mansion.
"I can imagine what he would say if I was there: 'Have you shrunk or I've grown even taller?'", she fantasized, lowering her head with fists clenched and her eyes looking down, which was why she bumped into a portly man who was one of the servants of the mansion.
"Oh, my apologies!" she said immediately.
"Rukia-san!" the man exclaimed. "Oh, don't worry about me. It was my fault that I was distracted. Good to see you here!" He said friendlily.
After a simple smile, she announced:
"I came to see Byakuya-nii-sama. Is he still here?"
"Yes, he is. He is by the lake."
"Oh, thank you."
Two girls who were walking slowly toward a college stopped next to a medical clinic's wall, when they caught a sight of a shirtless, muscular young man stretching by the upstairs window.
"Hello, gorgeous!" quipped one of the girls.
"Are you the nurse? Because I got sick!" joked the other.
Ichigo just gave them a laugh before he stepped away from the window.
"If I had a body like yours, I would wake up early everyday to show it off," Kon commented.
Without responding, Ichigo searched for his uniform. Then, with the change of clothes on his shoulder, he approached the cabinet drawers and opened one of them, looking for a pair of socks. It was then that he saw, there lost among his things, a bottle of gikongan whose lid was a bunny head.
"How did it get here?" he wondered and laughed, looking at the object.
"What's this?" Kon asked.
In response, the young man shook the bottle in front of the stuffed lion.
"That thing can only belong to Nee-san."
"I know, but why was it there?"
Kon shrugged.
Ichigo left the object on the desk and then he left the bedroom, heading for the bathroom.
"It's been so long since I last saw her," Ichigo thought, now under the shower. "Can I use that bottle as an excuse to appear in Soul Society? It would be nice if they could let me go there just to pay a visit. Why can't they just let me?"
While he rinsed the shampoo, he chided himself for those questions, but soon he admitted that the effort of trying not to think about Rukia was in vain. He was surprised that sometimes he wished that Aizen would come back just so he could see her.
Although he wanted to see Rukia, he could no longer treat her as before. Three years ago, he was not troubled by the fact that he had to share his bedroom with her for a month. He did not care that his classmates assumed they were together nor did he mind when she rode on his backs. Of course, then he was just a kid.
But now he was eighteen. Most of his friends were already dating, while he remained single despite all the declarations of love he received through letters or in person, or through chocolates and gifts or all the flirtations he got from all the college girls. Although his mind stayed indifferent to all those flirting; it was not easy to keep his body from reacting to them.
Even so, what actually cause Ichigo to lose sleep was not knowing if Rukia realized he was looking at her in a different way now. Did she really not notice or simply just pretend not to know the way he looked at each of her gestures, the way he looked at her body, her lips...
Leaning the head on the tile, he took a deep breath, trying to normalize the heartbeat that was already beginning to accelerate.
"Pervert!" he cursed himself, turning off the shower then.
"Rukia?" she heard Byakuya suddenly call her name, so she looked to his direction. "Your face looks sad to me", he continued in his usual impassive tone.
Disconcerted, for a split second, she thought she would never get used to that cold way of his.
"Perhaps it's only an impression, nii-sama."
"Is there anything troubling you?" he pressed on.
"Absolutely not."
"Very well, then tell me about your progress in the 13th Division," he asked without modify his tone, changing the subject totally.
"Since the battle against Aizen, I got promoted to a third seat and this is where I stand so far."
"A good improvement. Your captain is missing a lot for not promoting you to a lieutenant."
"That's true, I know," she nodded with a nostalgic air, because the mention the office of lieutenant brought her mind to the late Shiba Kaien, who was the last lieutenant of her division.
"Keep striving," advised Byakuya.
"Yes, nii-sama."
Looking at him from the corner, Rukia tried to find a trace of emotion on his face, but he looked like a marble statue. But even so, she enjoyed being in the presence of Byakuya. Inexplicably he transmitted to her a unique sense of comfort and security.
"It's time for me to go already," she said, rising from the low table.
"It was good of you to come."
"It's a pleasure to spend time with you, nii-sama," she returned sincerely and smiled at him, who gave to her a slight nod of his head.
Rukia was walking toward the door, but she turned around when she heard him say:
"I need an officer just below the level of lieutenant go to the real world for investigation and possible data collection."
At first, she was surprised by the comment, but then she was appalled at the thought that he had discovered, just looking at her, that she was missing Ichigo.
"Coincidentally," continued Byakuya, "my third seat will leave today with the lieutenant Renji in another mission."
If she were not in his presence, she would have jumped in joy. It was the opportunity she had been waiting for, so she would not miss it for anything.
"I think that Capitan Ukitake will not object if I go."
"Well, so be it. Just come back later for me to pass you all the information."
"Yes, nii-sama!" she exclaimed, excited.
Byakuya almost smiled at the sight of satisfaction on her face, but soon he stood up too and then he left the room even before his visitor.
So soon, Rukia left the Kuchiki mansion, happy and undecided if her brother was very sensitive or if he was only trying to help her in her career as a shinigami. Extremely happy, she returned to her division, trying to keep the mind focused on the mission without thinking of the possibility of seeing Ichigo very soon.
But Rukia would never know the details of that mission because at the moment her feet reached to the road leading to the square, her eyes were overshadowed by a huge shadow and afterward she saw nothing.
To be continued...
N/A: Hello, everybody! This chapter is only the beginning of a project for translating my Bleach fanfic, posted here on Fanfiction Net website, in Portuguese, since January 2010 until December 2011, under the title "Escondida no Coração." This job is being done with the help of ficwriter Amaratta, who has very kindly agreed to do the beta-reading. Once again, Amaratta, I just can't thank you enough for all your help!
And I must warn you guys that by making this work I hope to improve my (poor) English, while getting an opportunity to share my fanfics with people from other countries, which is my main goal.
Other Notes.
Suzumi Shihouin is a OC character.
Japanese Terms:
Shamisen: It is a three-stringed musical instrument, similar to a banjo.
Zabuton: It is a Japanese cushion to sit on.
Gikongan: That means "Artificial Soul Pill" and also called Soul Candy. The pill forces the soul out of the body and allows the Artificial Soul, Gikon in Japanese, to take control of it, operating in a pre-programmed manner until removed by the Shinigami. The Soul Candy is contained in toy dispensers, which have the heads of cartoon characters on them. (Source: Bleach Wiki)