Chapter One

Life isn't fair. Why does Rukia's Nii-sama always have to act so inhibited? Why couldn't their family be like Ichigo's carefree one? Rukia would rather have Nii-sama beat her up like Ichigo's dad instead of living in their current state of polite silence. How could they even be called a family? What element did they possess that could possibly put them under the category of family? What part of the life that they were currently living in had even the slightest resemblance with a family? Well, sure, they shared the same last name, lived under the same roof, and under the legal documents signed by the noble Kuchiki, she was legally, well, his sister. They were siblings. That word often confused Rukia though. Siblings. What did it really mean—if it even had a precise meaning to begin with? But back to all the comparing and contrasting… sure, she found some similarities, but they weren't enough to convince her that they were a real family. They were just the surface stuff, the things that everyone knew of. But nothing was underneath all that to support it. What happened to all the things that really mattered? Like spending quality time together, and laughing together at the dinner table? She often wonders why she was even brought into this painfully intimidating environment. Kuchiki was only a representation of what she was, but it said nothing of who she was.

Every family has obstacles and problems to overcome—whether its financial ones, mental ones, or physical ones. But how was Rukia supposed to fix this one? She couldn't just go up to Kuchiki Byakuya, smack him in the head and say "What is wrong with you?! Can't you give your sister some love? You've made her quite a poor little lonely girl…" now, could she? No, she couldn't. Well, at least she wouldn't, anyway. But it's not completely true that he's offered her completely no love at all… All those time that he'd come to her rescue and save her life at the very last minute, doesn't that show that he loves her very much? Or is it only because of the promise he had made to her older sister, Hisana, before her death?

Hisana, Hisana, Hisana. That's all he cares about, eh? But what about Rukia? Is a little bit of a family-like atmosphere too much to ask for? She's always heard of the phrase "When in doubt, just have a heart to heart talk." Yeah right, like he would even bother to listen to her rant about what she wants him to offer to her. He would never. That was one thing she was sure of, if she was sure of anything for that matter.She wondered how her sister and Nii-sama's marriage was like. Well, Rukia decided, it must have been awkward as hell for Sister, based on what she knew of Nii-sama—not that she knew much about him anyway… Of many of those lonely nights spent in the Kuchiki household, she couldn't help but ask herself this question over and over again in her head:

Does he even love her?

It was on constant replay—the one and only song in her head as if it were an mp3 player. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat… And each time she'd try to think about something else, her thoughts always drifted back to this question. All the time. Rukia wondered if it was even healthy to think about someone this much? And to stress over every little detail that concerned him? Nevertheless, the person be… her brother? Thank goodness Byakuya wasn't her blood-related brother, or she'd have the added perplexity of trying to figure out a way to cure herself from some kind of weird sibling complex disease.

"Kuchiki Rukia-sama?" A voice calling out from outside the closed doors of the bathing room followed three loud knocks on the door, "Are you alright in there? You've been in the bath for quite a long time now."

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you for your concern." Rukia tried to hide the annoyance in her voice, speaking softly. "Geez, can't I get some time to myself around here…" she muttered to herself as she started to get up from the big wooden tub. As she steadied her feet on the cold wooden planks, she realized her head felt a little dizzy. I guess I have been in here for a while now, neh?

Just when Rukia was wrapping her towel around her body, the door flung open, and the man who stood at the door was the same man who never had the slightest hint of emotion. It was the same man who was trying very hard at that moment to hide his worried face, which had later turned into a flush of embarrassment.

"Nii-sama! What are you doing here?!" Rukia screamed at the man, scrambling to get her towel over anything she didn't want her brother to see.

Her brother completely ignored her questioning. "Rukia! Why— What?—" Kuchiki Byakuya closed his eyes for a moment and let out a deep breath. "Rukia," he tried again, this time, his voice controlled, "when asked for your well-being, you should at least give a reply."

"Nii-sama! You can't just bust the door down and come in here when I'm taking a bath!" She continued with her yelling, then gasped, as she realized this was first time she had ever spoken back to her brother. Her fear of punishment quickly went away. According to her judgement, this kind of behaviour was appropriate for the moment, considering the shock and anger that was running through her veins.

"Rukia, please stop being so childish. You are a mature adult now, and you are expected the act like one." Byakuya turned and walked out of the room, his captain's coat flapping behind him, leaving her in his dust, like he always did.

"That's exactly why I'm mad right now! If I was a child, I don't think I would be so worried! But I'm a mature woman and that's why you can't just come in here!!" She shrieked after him.

Why does he always have to act like he's the superior one, like I'm the one that's always wrong? Geez. I shouldn't be blamed! I just spoke a bit quietly. But if I spoke any louder, I would have yelled at that pesty servant. And then I would have been accused of rudeness. Can't I do anything around this house without being watched by hawks? It's not like I would have been in any real danger anyway, like what can even happen in the washroom anyway? I'll drown in the bathtub? Rukia bursted out laughing at the thought—drowning in the bathtub… Hilarious! How the heck can a vice-captain-levelled shinigami like her possibly drown in the bathtub?

But did this mean that Byakuya cared for Rukia? Didn't he burst in the bathing room because he was worried that something might have happened to her? And she had screamed and yelled at him, and accused him of being wrong when she herself was at fault as well, no, it just plain was her fault. Guilt washed over Rukia as she replayed the scene in her head.

Crap, this really was my fault… Oh! What an embarrassment! He must think I'm very disrespecful—yelling back at her older brother. I completely disobeyed the rules of the noble Kuchiki household.

But what was that stammering back there... What happened to his perfect disclosure?

-Flashback-

"Rukia! Why— What?—" Kuchiki Byakuya closed his eyes for a moment and let out a deep breath.

--

Before she knew it, Rukia was already in her room, in her clothes, and sitting on her bed. All that thinking must have kept her busy daydreaming while her feet took her away on their own pace. She spread out her arms and fell backwards, letting out a big sigh. She was anticipating to land on her soft cushiony pillows, but instead, hit her head on something unexpected. Startled, Rukia quickly got up and spun around.

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