Her Last Wish…
A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first attempt at writing a fanfic. My best friends encouraged me to do so. This is an AU fanfic of our favorite pairing Byaruki. I hope you like it and please review so that I know what you think of it. Enjoy!
Disclaim: I don't own bleach or any other characters. They belong to Tite Kubo.
Chapter 1
Tokyo, Japan,
S. Hospital
It was a peaceful morning. Birds were chirping a sweet melody in the distance as a beautiful picture of the sunrise could be seen in the orange colored sky. The dews on the grass shining like glittering diamonds, reflected by the sunlight, and the comforting calm indicated that the terrible storm of last night passed away. A warm glow of light entered the dark hospital room through white curtains and enlightened it, revealing a petite figure on the hospital bed. She had short, shoulder length, raven hair and a face resembling that of an angel. Her only companion was the continuous beeping of machines whose wires were attached to her. She was sleeping peacefully without a care of the outside world, as if she had not fought hard for her life in the operation theater the previous night. And yet, this was not the first time she had to endure the pain whenever she had a relapse.
The door of the room opened slowly, without creaking, letting in a tall man with long, white hair. Despite his old age, he had a muscular body and was still in form though he had frequent coughing fits. He gazed at his daughter as he approached the bed. He sat down on a chair nearest to it and took her small, fragile hand in his larger ones. He kissed her hand softly while looking at her with sad eyes.
'Rukia…' he thought as he watched her chest rising gently up and down.
As if sensing that someone called out for her, the girl's eyes slowly opened, revealing bright purple eyes and blinked twice. Those eyes once shone with happiness and spirit but now they only showed regret and sadness. Turning her face towards the voice that called her, she smiled slightly when she recognized her father and said in a throaty voice.
"So I'm alive after all, Otou-san."
"I never doubted it. You are the strongest girl I know." he said with a soft, kind smile.
Rukia chuckled a little, still feeling weak. 'Ah, how I hate this feeling of weakness.'
Looking out of the windows to view the beautiful scenery outside, she thought of all the times her father had to worry for her health. She hated making him worry. She had always wanted to be strong, to not show any hint of weakness and to be able to make him happy, not sad. And that's what he always felt whenever she was at the hospital. In that instance, she made her decision. Lowering her eyes to conceal her feelings from him, she took a deep breath and finally said,
"Father, I'm thinking of taking some time off work to rest."
Surprised was the only word to describe his expression. To put it bluntly, he, Ukitake Juushiro, would never have thought that his 24 year old stubborn daughter would ever take a leave from the work that she loved so much, that is, to organize weddings. She was very proud of being a wedding planner. It was one of the numerous works in which she obtained great satisfaction. She excelled in her profession and was popular and successful. Ever since childhood, it was her dream career. And for that, she even ignored her health most of the time.
'It's a miracle that she decided to postpone her work for her health.' He thought as he smoothed her hair away from her face with his other hand.
"But, of course. You can always complete your work some other time. Right now, your health is more important." he said happily.
"That's what I don't have-enough time to live." said Rukia regretfully.
"Rukia…," Ukitake gasped out, his face showing a pained expression, "please, don't say that."
"You know it's the truth, don't you, Father? No matter how much I wish to deny it, it's still a fact: I only have 6 months left and I want to live them at the fullest. I don't want to have any regrets afterwards." she said looking at him with glassy eyes glimmering with unshed tears.
Ukitake stared her in return silently for a long moment. Finally he said,
"I know there is still hope for you to recover. Dr Kyoraku told me that you could be cured if you have the strength and the will to fight the disease. Don't give up, Rukia. There are a lot of people for which you have to live for. And besides," he continued teasingly to cheer her up, "you still have to fall in love, right?"
Rukia laughed as she remembered the joke they shared. It was that she wanted to live the experience of falling in love at least once in her short life, just like her father who fell in love with her mother and got married only weeks after their first date. However, she could not find the right person for love. And thus, she was pretty much inexperienced in that area.
"Yes, maybe I will meet someone in this vacation trip. It should be a refreshing experience." Rukia teased in return.
"Indeed. Will you tell me where you are going for your vacation? Maybe I should pack my bags too?" Ukitake said in a serious tone.
Rukia remembered all the fussing he did every time he forced her to leave work early for them to spend the weekends together.
"No. This time I want to go alone. And you don't have to worry. I will take care of myself." she said after a moment of hesitance. She did not want to hurt her father's feelings. "And as for the location, it's a secret!"
On hearing that, Ukitake was disappointed. Nevertheless, since he only wanted her happiness, he accepted her decision.
"Okay…provided you call me from time to time. I will be very sad if you forget all about your old man while enjoying your holidays." He said teasingly.
"No, I won't forget you! I can never forget you. And yes, I will call you regularly." she replied, laughing.
He was relieved to see Rukia happy and laughing. It was quite a sight as she was very pretty. Her eyes lit up in a beautiful shade of purple, her laughter sounded like a sweet melody. She really was an angel to him.
"I hope this vacation become a memorable one, Rukia, one in which, when remembering brings you lots of happiness and a smile to your lips. Maybe you will even find the right person for you there."
"I will only know when I go there." Rukia said with a happy smile, her eyes sparking jewels as she touched his hand, which was caressing her face, and enlaced her fingers through his.
Little did she know that her words might come true…
A/N: Next chapter Byakuya's entry and his POV … Please look forward to it… and please review!