Ideology
Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to that genius known as Tite Kubo.
Author's Notes: Spoilers for manga chapters in the late 280s or 290s, I think. This is an old idea finally taking shape. Comments greatly appreciated!
He sneaks through the barrier with barely a thought, barely a stir. There will likely be consequences afterwards but he doubts the punishment will be anything severe; besides which, the conditions of his exile had been considerably relaxed since Aizen's betrayal. Soul Society wanted as many allies as it could get, although he had no doubt that the Captain Commander was more than slightly irked to have to tolerate him again.
Western Rukongai, in his century of absence, appeared to be exactly as he left it. To the casual eye he looks like a new soul wandering the streets aimlessly, trying to grasp direction in the world he has been reborn in. In actuality his curious mind meanders from one thing to the next, noting the differences he hadn't seen before. A few scrubby old women eye him suspiciously, but he removes his hat and inclines his head as courteously to them as any gentleman would for a lady. There is no pity in any gaze; they know as much as anyone how much a soul changed in the dirtier districts of the town.
His shunpo is rusty after decades of disuse but he manages to shorten his journey by a fair amount of time. The mansion looms over its nearest neighbours, the extensive grounds buying privacy and heightening the air of grandiose. He considers knocking but doesn't want to allow an opportunity to be denied. He moves gracefully over the iron-styled gate and lands noiselessly on the grass.
Kuchiki Byakuya looks up from his calligraphy, but decides to do nothing.
-----
He's never officially been invited to the house, but Yoruichi has described it to him plenty of times. It is with ease that he navigates the indistinguishable hallways with the familiarity of an inhabitant. This time when he gets to the door he wants, he taps on the wooden doorframe three times.
"Come in."
He has always found her voice unnaturally deep for such a small and frail-looking girl, but puts these thoughts out of his mind as he slides the door open.
"Urahara-san." The lilt in her tone shows her surprise. "What are you doing in Soul Society?"
"Actually, Rukia-san, I came to talk to you." He takes it as a good sign that there is no hint of anger in her tone.
"To me?" Her eyebrows crinkle together. "Is there something the matter in the real world? Are Ichigo and the others--?"
"Ah, no, no," he waves his hands sheepishly in his distinctive fashion. "Nothing of the sort, there's no need for you to worry."
"Oh." Her expression, relaxed at the news, turns serious again.
"Actually, Rukia-san…" He hasn't been quite this nervous about anything for a long, long time. "…I came to apologize."
At his words her face smoothens itself over into a façade of stone and he thinks at that moment that she has never resembled her brother more. "I see."
She rose from her position on the floor and paced to the far side of the room. When she turned to face him again, there was a gentle smile on her face. "You know, when I went to apologize to the Shibas, I didn't think Kuukaku-san would ever forgive me. How could she? I just couldn't understand it."
She lets out a shuddering sigh. "But she had known… she had known the circumstances all along and I was just too afraid to face the truth. And when I finally apologize to her it was like we were both relieved to move on."
"I'm not angry, Urahara-san. I think, even if I had lost my shinigami powers, I wouldn't be able to hate you. You're just not that kind of person."
Her hand clutches her heart, where the Hougyoku had been. "Thank you for not doing what I did."
He took off his hat and bowed as deeply to her as he had to anyone.
Rukia's smile is radiant. "Tell the gang I say hello."
It's the least he can do.
-----
"You haven't changed at all."
She slides the door shut behind her and sidles confidently into the room. He meets her eyes without much emotion before returning his gaze back to his book.
"You still haven't learned how to knock."
"It must be because you haven't been there to remind me," Yoruichi says playfully, moving to sit opposite him at the table. The light from the candle barely flickers as she moves. "Kisuke told me he came here a few days ago."
"That man?" Byakuya doesn't attempt to hide his disdain. "He puts my sister in singular danger and then presumes to enter my house without permission."
"You didn't stop him," Yoruichi says knowingly, and Byakuya returns to stormy silence. "He's made his amends."
"It's not enough," he says quietly. "Not enough."
When he had first become head of the Kuchiki household, he was as green as grass. His skills were still developing and he had had no idea how to shoulder the immense responsibilities of such a noble name. His world was suddenly a small place. The only solace he found was in the child of another noble house, the woman who became sister and mentor in his fortified existence.
"I'm sorry I didn't get to meet your wife," she says solemnly. "I wanted to come back for your wedding. And then when you adopted Rukia…"
"You made your own choices."
"That doesn't mean I didn't regret their consequences some of the time."
They look at each other in silence, and suddenly Byakuya is almost like the little boy she used to love again.
"You gave up everything to go after him," he says with a touch of resentment. "And what was it for?"
Yoruichi looks into his stoic face, trying to catch his eyes. "It doesn't mean I cared about him best," she says quietly. "It wasn't a ranking of affection."
"If you're here to apologize for him, it's useless," Byakuya says finally, evading the heart of the matter. "He can never make his amends to me."
He can't react before she is behind him with those infamous flash steps of hers. She drops pride and pretence as she hugs him to her like she did when they were so much younger than they are now.
"I'm sorry," she says, a hundred years late.
He doesn't move and doesn't breathe and in the next heartbeat she is gone.
When they assemble to invade Hueco Mundo – he, Unohana, and all the rest – he meets Urahara Kisuke for the first time since the incident. The man tries hard not to catch his gaze. The gateway opens up before them, the mouth of the monster, and Byakuya stares into its abyss with a mixture of apprehension and excitement.
"Not a bad job, stabilizing it in one month," he says before stepping over the threshold. The dimension closes as Hanatarou barely manages to clamber in.
Urahara Kisuke throws his cane over his shoulder and inclines his head with a smile.
"I'll have to let Yoruichi know that he's forgiven her."
End
Edit: Thanks CJ for pointing out all the horrible name mistakes I made. That's what I get for writing at 2 in the morning.