Disclaimer: Bleach isn't my property. (*_+)\m/
Un-birthday thoughts: This is my first ever Bleach fanfic and I'm so glad it's a ByaRuki fic!!! XD (Which is, matter of fact, NOT incest. C'mon...they're not even blood-related...)
It could've been another of those cold, lazy afternoons in the Kuchiki manor. It could've been the same stifling atmosphere that dawned upon Rukia, the adoptive daughter of the well-renowned clan in Soul Society. It could've been that same mysterious silence that Byakuya, the 28th head of the Kuchiki family, chose to cloud over him as he gracefully took occasional sips from his cup of tea.
It was the same sky, the same panoramic view, the same mansion and the same room were the two always had tea together in the afternoons or when the stress from all the work load as part of belonging to the Gotei 13 had seem to die down.
This was what Rukia had observed for quite some time now. Everything remained as it had been, so what could alter this stillness that she had painstakingly reserved out of her own respect for her Nii-sama?
Her knees and her legs badly ached. It had been over 30 minutes since she sat down on the futon. Soon, she thought, her lower limbs would suffer from such irritating numbness. Again.
Byakuya glanced and quickly noticed her agonizing state.
"Rukia", he took another sip, "You may leave that spot and proceed outside as you might wish to."
"I wouldn't mind."
The autumn leaves began to descend on the damp ground.
"Please, Nii-sama. I'm fine this way."
She was unsure whether or not she should let that pang of guilt get the better of her. Byakuya was being so calm and silent she could not read him at all. Discreetly, Rukia's eyes scanned over her beloved Nii-sama. Without her noticing it, she let her mind drift away into her deepest thoughts. Her mind was dominated by images of Byakuya. Rukia flinched. "What on earth…?" she inhaled slowly, clutching her chest. She tried her best to escape her brother's very keen senses.
In her effort to do so, Rukia shifted her gaze to the two dishes that were served earlier along with White Tea by the servants. Today they were having a feast over sweets. What caught her attention the most was the fact that her Nii-sama's own share of dango and manjyu hadn't been touched or moved even by just an inch. On the other hand, she was half-way through with her manjyu and she had gobbled up all her dangos greedily 30 minutes ago.
Byakuya remained silent, as-if he were lost in his own dimension.
Rukia inwardly sighed. She absent-mindedly mixed her tea with her small limited edition Chappy pen that was given to her by her captain, Ukitake Jushiro.
There were times, she recalled, when she was only able to understand him better through remarks made by the servants who worked in the Kuchiki household. Lately, she had learned that Byakuya's hardly touched any of his meals these past weeks. It may be due to stress and fatigue, but she knew that Byakuya was much much more than that. He was a man of tranquility and steel. No matter how tense or vexing things might turn out to be, he was always level-headed- always acted out of his pride and wit.
But she couldn't help it. She could not stop herself from looking out for him.....Byakuya....her Nii-sama.
"…kia."
Nii-sama.
"…Rukia. RUKIA." This time his voice had a sharp echo that resounded in the room.
It bothered him that his dear little Rukia had been dazed out for over a minute now.
Rukia jumped from her seat and the expensive little pen first bounced down to the table before it dropped to the floor.
"Hai, Nii-sama!"
"Rukia, I shall be heading to 6th Division Headquarters in an hour. There are still some unfinished documents and reports that I need to attend to."
The little shinigami tried to stop him, but only ended up choking up her words.
"You may use this room as you see fit."
"N......N....Nii-sama!" the table moved abruptly as she stood with force.
"What is it, Rukia? It better be important."
Rukia knew that there was no way out of this. If she answered "Nothing", then that would leave her defeated. Or so she thinks. Anyway, her goal was to point out to her Nii-sama that skipping meals won't give him any benefits if he wishes to finish twice the number of work load he accomplishes each day.
Moreover, she wanted to make him feel that she cares, and that she, too, would gladly look after him just like how he always watches over her.
After what seemed like a century, she blurted, "Why don't you eat?"
He was expecting it. He knew that there was something behind that monitoring gaze of hers.
'Why don't you eat?'
"Why should my eating habits matter to you?"
"Because", she begins, "period." and then ends it with such lacking reason.
But she was so cute being persistent and all.
"I have no dire need for it. Whether I eat or not, it does not make any difference."
"Of course it does!" Rukia pouts, while crawling nearer to him. She moved closer, diminishing the gap between them.
Secretly, Byakuya expected her to......no, he expected too much. The blue-eyed shinigami from the 13th squad paused before long, and decided to sit and stop beside him. They were now side by side. She hugged her knees to her chest, and moved her head to the side so she could have a full view of the Kuchiki clan's 28th head. The room basked under the orange tinge of the sunset. His eyes glistened under that tangerine light. It made her stare in awe. But her obstinacy...and her masked concern got the better of her. She then rested her cheek on her knee, and stared at him with a still puzzled look on her face. There were no words....but she was asking him. She was bothering him. He was worrying her. Byakuya cleared his throat after what seemed like an eternity of eye-to-eye marathons. Hearing this, Rukia raised her head slightly and tucked some strands of stray hair behind her ear.
"I still can't get her out of my mind."
She swallowed. 'Her? Hisana-sama?'
"My past."
The winds blew stronger outside. In the blink of an eye, Rukia found herself enveloped by the warmth of her Nii-sama's cloak. Strangely, her cheeks felt warmer than her whole body did.
Rukia stammered, "D-Did Hisana-sama use to cook meals for you?"
She remembered that in two months time, Byakuya would be commemorating Hisana's death anniversary.
There was tension that choked them with every passing moment. Rukia pulled Byakuya's cloak tighter around her small frame.
He closed his eyes. "Did you think I would allow my wife to do the household work in this abode?"
"Then what? Why, Nii-sama?" He simply remained silent. The urge to apologize took over her. When the raven-haired shinigami was about to let a heavy sigh escape from her parted lips, she was stopped by something unexpected. "I'm sorry, Nii-sa-"
He smiled. It was faint but it was visible enough for Rukia to notice.
Rukia swore that his smile was a reassuring one. And she could tell that there was more to it. But what would he reassure her for?
"Hisana and I used to enjoy our meals together. All the foods that the maids served were her favorites." He recalled with eyes closed. His composure had a small opening, revealing shades of unhappiness and yearning.
Discomfort surged in Rukia's chest. She didn't want to see her Nii-sama in that state. "Who am I fooling? I've never really done anything good for Nii-sama. I'm a walking invitation for his headaches and stress." But more importantly, it dispirited her to witness someone else weep for a deceased close relative of hers more than she did. Who could blame her though? She never had the chance to meet her biological sister. It's not like she didn't care. She just couldn't bring herself to yearn for a memory that never existed in her past.
"She would often insist on cooking our meals….but I just couldn't get myself to make her work. I didn't want her condition to worsen."
"But why would you grimace over that, Nii-sama? You were just trying your best to protect her." Rukia pointed out.
He stared at the ceiling, "I can't help but wonder, maybe if I did not fail to fulfill that simple wish of hers….then I might've made her happier."
"Nii-sama…."
"Right after Hisana and I got married, I swore to myself that I would do everything I could to bring her happiness that cannot be matched by anything or anyone else. I worked so hard to give her a wonderful life."
"And you did."
A hand was placed over his shoulder. It was filled with gentleness….one that Byakuya had long forgotten…and abandoned. And now it was taking him back to where he had left, but with a new realm of hope…..and affection.
"Nii-sama, I believe that you have made Hisana-sama the happiest woman in the world when you married her and took her into the Kuchiki family as your wife. She was able to live a very wonderful life, and it was all thanks to you."
Slowly, his melancholy was replaced by a more serene expression.
He hid a warm smile underneath his scarf. "Rukia. Don't let go."
"Eh?" she blinked twice and wondered. His head moved slightly, motioning to her hand resting on his shoulder.
Byakuya did not give Rukia time to react.
"Now let me ask you." Byakuya shifted to his left side. Now he was facing fully the exquisite beauty that had been musing at him for quite some time now.
"Why don't you sleep?"
It was her turn to sigh.
She knew he would find out.
No, he did not ask her this countless times before like what she did to him. Instead, Byakuya kept dropping hints of her must to sleep early or get adequate amount of sleep.
All those battles Soul Society had fought together with the substitute shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki had left all of them restless and exhausted by each passing day. It was from those series of sleepless nights that Rukia came to develop a reversed biological clock within her.
She was oblivious to those pair of vigilant eyes that scanned her room each night. While she was busy drawing images of her friends and of Chappy, she was also unknowingly encouraging Byakuya to become like her- an insomniac.
And, when she finally surrenders herself to sleep, Byakuya would carefully enter her room, carry her to bed, push away strands of her hair away from her face and wrap her with her Chappy-designed blanket.
"Are you a vampire?" he took a sip from his cup of tea. It had turned less than lukewarm from being left unattended in the open air for a while.
"I can't forget him either." she answered quickly, but not meeting his gaze.
'Him? A man?'
"But I'm trying." she continued. He raised his eyebrows. "I really am."
In the back of her mind, Rukia could not erase the faint image of the man who taught her about the importance of the "heart". Shiba Kaien.
Byakuya had heard countless stories about this man, Kaien Shiba. He was Ukitake Jushiro's lieutenant. He also knew of his closeness with his sister, and somehow, even without the aid of the Kuchiki spies, he came to discern that Shiba Kaien was more than just a mentor to Rukia. He sensed it through the shift in the tone of her voice each time she would share stories about her missions….and her experiences in the 13th division. Of course, all these involved Kaien. Each time she mentioned Kaien, Rukia would shine. She would smile brightly. She would light up the room with so much glee. She would coil his body with only"shared warmth"- warmth not intended for him to own, but only for him to recognize.
He was very much aware that at that time, Rukia was trying to reach him through her stories.
"Protecting", he contemplated, "But I couldn't even bring myself to 'be there' for her when it mattered to her the most."
Somewhere deep inside him, an unpleasant feeling formed a crease in between his brows.
That infrequent smile faded in the light that has now turned light purple.
"Are you?" she fired back a question at him.
The crickets chirped an evening's melody in the Kuchiki garden. The evening was crisp. From where they sat, they could hear an audible "Taaiiiiiichhhooooo~~ I wanna drink summmooooorrreeee~~" and a reply that went, "Get a hold of yourself, Matsumoto!" It was then followed by a protest about not being able to take anymore alcohol and then a series of "Accchoooos!" and vomiting noises. The Kuchikis recognized this miserable voice as Izuku Kira's.
Rukia anticipated what her Nii-sama would give as a reply. The long pause was starting to make her anxious.
"..........I used to." "Huh?" and she was slightly puzzled yet again.
"Because you see, I've long forgotten her memory, but not her face."
'What kind of answer is that! It doesn't have any logic at all!' she kvetched through her gritted teeth.
"As long as I don't let my mind drift into that image, I'll get by. I'll be better. I'll probably even manage to eat more."
"The face and the memory....that doesn't make any difference, you know." Rukia spat back.
"Are you sure?" now it was he who rid off the remaining distance between them. "Like an image sketched using a pencil on paper......it can be erased. And thus her image....shall be erased. Completely....in time."
"By who?" she was starting to see through him more than ever. The pink stains across her cheeks alone were proof of their growing connection. He smirked at her. Byakuya moved his head lower for his lips to meet hers, but he thought it'd be too hasty. So he opted for that creamy white flesh crowning at the top of her glazed orbs.
"My present." he whispers softly, yet clear enough for his endearment to reach her. He plants a kiss on Rukia's brow. He took her hand, the one that had been comfortably resting on his broad shoulder. Byakuya pulled her gently, replacing her hand with her small head. He wrapped his free arm around her slim waist.
For now, he chose to enjoy this simple happiness…..this delightful peace between them.
"It's almost time for dinner. Shall we go eat?" he invited as he stood up. "It would be foolish of me to disregard your concern." He was sure that he saw hints of red across Rukia's cheeks when he shot a glance at her.
"And you, all the more, have no right to act otherwise."
Then she felt his big, warm hand entrap hers.
Her heart fluttered at the clash of their skin. "Hai, Nii-sama."
There was a touch of endearment in the way she addressed him. It was music to Byakuya's ears.
"What are we having for dinner?", excitement was overflowing from the tone of her voice. "What would you like to have?"
"Sukiyaki!" she raised a fist in the air. "And Strawberry Daifuku! What about you, Nii-sama? What would you like to have?"
He smirked, "I'll have whatever my Rukia is having."
From then on, it was clear that they can never have the same afternoons, and the same old routines. They were each other's new habit.
//Owari//