Hi to all readers out there! Constructive criticism is very much welcome, this is my first story, so yeah, please review and tell me how I did. Thanks!
Chapter 1: Memories
"Byakuya-nii!"
A little redheaded boy about eight years of age was running toward a figure that is gazing out of the window of their home.
"Byakuya-nii…what's wrong?" the red-haired boy asked his brother again, but the other still remained silent. He reached out to hold the older male's hand, but just when their skins touched, the boy pulled away.
"Nii-san, why're you so cold?"
The boy began to panic when the room and his brother seem to fade and go further away. He reached out and yelled, tears pricking at the coner of his eyes.
"NO! DON'T GO! DON'T LEAVE US!"
Then everything went black…
"NII-SAN!"
Renji screamed awake, startling the black-haired girl that was sleeping at the top bunk of the double-deck.
"Renji-nii, are you alright?" Rukia asked, peeking from above.
"I…I'm okay… just a dream… a nightmare…" he said, just above a whisper.
"Was it about Mom and Dad?" Rukia inquired further while she watched her brother calm down. Whether she noticed him discreetly wiping at his eyes is anyone's guess.
"No, about him." Renji answered while getting out of bed.
"Where are you going?"
"The kitchen. I'll just wash up a bit, maybe get some water. You should go back to sleep. We have to get up early to visit them tomorrow before you go to school remember?" he reminded while looking at his sister.
"Yeah, and before you go to work too." Rukia replied, smiling cheekily.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll just take a minute." he glanced at the clock on the study table. "It's a little before midnight, you go catch some sleep." And with about two strides, he was out of the room and into the hallway. He headed toward the kitchen and stopped at the sink, opened the faucet and kept the water running. He first wet his hands, then cupped some water to wet his face. Leaning in with his hands on the edge of the sink, he glared at his reflection on the mirror.
"Fuck this! He's long gone! You don't need him!" he growled indignantly, then with an almost defeated look, whispered, "He's dead, but… we're still alive… that's all that matters…"
Renji turned off the running water, and with a final glare at his own reflection, turned on his heel and went to bed, face still dripping wet. However, when he got there, all he turned up with was a fitful sleep. Even when Rukia turned off their alarm clock, he was still asleep.
"Renji-nii, we're gonna be late if you don't get up!" Rukia practically yelled at her brother's ear.
Renji woke with a start and sat up immediately, not fully awake yet, he hurriedly stood up and banged his toes at the foot of the bedpost.
"OW! RUKIA! I told you not to EVER startle me awake! Why'd you do that?!" he yelled at his sister while holding his poor foot up. Rukia, who was trying hard to suppress her laughter, failed miserably but when she saw her older brother's serious glare, she stopped laughing and pointed at the clock with a smile on her face. Renji turned his head and deadpanned at the clock, before remembering what they were supposed to be doing that morning.
"Oh right! We we're going to visit them!" he said, the ache in his toes forgotten as he hurriedly went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the both of them, while Rukia took a quick shower and dressed in her school uniform. By the time she arrived at the table, Renji has just finished setting it up and he turned toward the bathroom to take a shower himself. When the redhead finished and appeared at the table dressed in his work clothes, the siblings ate quietly but quickly, and in no time, they were out of the apartment and were walking down the street to the bus stop.
"I can't believe it's already been ten whole years." The petite girl mused aloud while they were waiting for the bus. Her brother only nodded in acquiesce. They fell in a somber silence, even when the bus arrived, and they got in. Even when they watched buildings go by the windows and then got up from their seats to drop off to their destination, not a word was uttered between the two, but they were content with it all the same. The siblings lingered for a time like that, all the while walking past grave markers, until they came to the two that they sought, and knelt before them. They prayed, just like every time they visited their parents' graves. But this is not just any other time, it is their parents' 10th death anniversary. And even when all wounds heal, some leave scars that just keep on reminding you that some things are never going to be the same again. After wishing their parents peace, they cleaned the area around the grave markers and placed the white roses, that Renji brought, in the vases that they keep in front and center of each grave marker. Each saying their goodbyes, the siblings left the cemetery. Renji dropped Rukia at her school, a fifteen minute walk away, then headed for work.
While walking, his mind wandered in the past.
Renji was hugging Rukia while the little girl cried with him, everyone was wearing black, some were crying too, others only had their head bowed, their solemn expressions engraved into his memory and his heart.
Their parents were loved, not just by their children and friends, by anyone who knew them. They were just that kind of people, helping
any soul that may just need help. He looked up to his brother, who was standing beside them while holding their umbrella as the rain and tears kept on pouring down. He was standing still and staring at the flower covered coffins with a blank expression.
"Nii-san," he called, voice hoarse, while tugging at his brother's arm. Byakuya looked down, and saw Renji and Rukia's tear-stained faces without saying a word, he knelt and engulfed them in his arms, then made a promise.
"Renji, Rukia, know that I will always be with you even if you cannot see me, I will be there always, to protect you."
Renji stopped walking, he was so deep in his thoughts that he did not realize his feet had already brought him right in front of the warehouse he works at.
He gritted his teeth.
"Why can't I just stop living in the past?"