I start by thanking my beta for having efficiency of speed of a lightning.

*=An Echo from The Past=*

5 years later…

The scarlet cosmic disc met exquisitely with the blue ocean on the horizon. It was an intimate scene of the evening sea that she would never grow bored of viewing, because where she came from- the Soul Society- there was no sea. There were souls, there was a system of order; but here by the shore, life was as free as those soapy waves crawling up the coastline twenty-four hours a day. Yet there was an echo of emptiness in the blue vastness. Everyday this vista reminded her of things that were missing, things that could have been made better, if not perfect.

If I were those waves, I could reach afar

Sighing softly at the cherry-colored sky with its blend of warm hues, Rukia sat down by the windowsill where flecks of golden light painted an alluring effect. She let the sound of the distant waves overwhelm her mind while her dark bangs danced in the breeze, occasionally intruding on her weary gaze. This had been her residence for the last few years, a small bungalow on a cliff at the northern bank. It was all courtesy of Kisuke. Her eyes followed the rhythm of current on the sea's surface, before searching for a familiar figure on the sandy shore like she did every evening. Observing that the sun had almost set and the breeze was getting cooler, she realized it was time to perform her little daily activity of bringing Miki home.

The lady guardian collected a flashlight from beside her desk. She then moved to the balcony at the front and began to shine a bright light to attract Miki's attention. 'It is time tocomehome'. It took no more than three flashes to send the message. Off in the distance, a girl with the same shade of silky night hair as her own turned towards their dwelling and waved in response. She would come soon.

Laying dinner on the table, Rukia waited for Miki to join her. The white netted curtains on the entrance were billowing in the night breeze. The darkening sky seemed grimmer than usual, and there was an eerie silence to the atmosphere. It was as if sudden mayhem were about to shatter the peaceful harmony of this tranquil scene. She feared a storm; or worse, a cyclone, because there was nothing quite so terrifying as those spiral-shaped killers. A dense cloud overshadowed the usually silky night sky with its mass of depressing grey. All the young woman hoped was that it would soon be over.

Whilst she was pondering the possibility of a sea storm, Miki had already joined her at the opposite side of the table.

"Will it come tonight?" The little girl asked.

She had noticed Rukia's concern, too. Handing over the rice balls, the girl's caregiver smiled reassuringly, "I am here, am I not?" In response to this, Miki smiled and nodded. She knew whether it be a storm or a hurricane, she was safe here in their house by the shore. Rukia understood every child had a fear of thunder or storms, so she tried to offer the tiny soul some comfort with her presence, "If you are worried, you may sleep with me tonight."

"Thank you." A wide grin flashed over the little face, and she hurried to eat so that she could get to sleep with Rukia, cozy in a blanket whilst shutting her eyelids whenever lightning flashed by or the wind came whistling past the windows. It was not a rare occurrence in their daily lives, especially during summer.

Looking at the evening sky, Byakuya realized it was going to rain that night. Probably the first rain of the year.

His division's corridors were deserted and most of the lights were switched off. The moon was obscured by a blanket of clouds while the flicker of a distant lamppost shed a block of light on his tired slate-grey eyes. He stayed in division quarters most of the time now because home did not feel like home anymore. The nobleman began to walk beneath an awning sheltering the veranda throughout the entire building. A breeze sent gentle shivers down his shoulder. It was getting slightly colder. Perhaps he ought to pay a visit to his house to ensure that all hell did not break loose.

Upon reaching his home, Byakuya gathered his head servants and ordered them to lock up the side and main gates to not allow anyone in, even if they requested shelter. He did not want a repeat of last time when an old lady had fainted in front of their main entrance and later on begged for place to spend the night, only to turn out to be a spy from a rival clan. Although last time he had been alarmed by such unexpected action, now the lord of the manor was not nearly so concerned, seeing as he had no one's safety to look out for.

No one that he cared for greatly, at least.

"Kuchiki-sama, all the locks have been put in place and I have lit the side lights on the western wall by the alleyway." The servant panted as he informed his master.

"You may go." Simple and curt as always, without a shred of acknowledgement. His tone resembled that serene atmosphere just before a storm. Byakuya then began to walk towards his chamber. But before doing so, he decided to step foot in a room that had been barren for the last few years.

The shoji door slid open with a slight creak from not being used on a daily basis for so long. He strode along to the empty futon while his eyes roamed over towards a small desk at the far corner of the room. What caught his attention was an empty glass which none of the servants seemed to have bothered to collect, but as he approached, the view of a thin piece of paper sticking out from under a small pile of old reports drew his eye. Deciding to place it neatly under the stack and possibly have one of the servants send them off to the local recycling camp, the regal figure extended his hands and took the slip out gently so as not to topple the rest of the pile. He unfolded the paper, stained yellow from age, in order to verify which report it might have belonged to.

Upon seeing the very first sentence, Byakuya's heart skipped a beat. It was addressed to him. He checked the date and realized it was from that most fateful day, five years ago.

His mood fell further after reading and re-reading the contents of said letter. Was he that impenetrable, for her to not be able to voice any thoughts or feelings? What was truly strange was that she thanked him in that letter, after all that she had been forced to go through. She thanked him. Even though he could not change the course of what was inevitable, only being left to debate mentally that what he did was the best possible outcome of that situation. She said she would…

It struck the lord like a frozen bullet, shattering his very soul with disbelief and merciless honesty. He was so preoccupied with thinking about himself that he never even considered that possibility on her part. 'Selfish' would be an understatement, with 'ignorant' being a much better possibility. It almost wounded him physically. It definitely hurt his pride.

If I were the time, I would stand still

Byakuya took the letter and gently placed it inside the opening of his shihakusho. He went to his room after silently shutting the door behind him. Although he visited his chamber less frequently of late, it remained a place of solace, because now there were two other silent presences in his solitary confinement. His gaze roamed over Hisana's portrait, and a melancholic smile managed to make its way up his mouth. He then opened the drawer underneath where her image lay. Another replica with those same night blue eyes also registered. This time he frowned and closed his eyes for a second in an attempt to recall the real thing. It had been so long ago now that she was nothing but a blur. He had never looked at her enough for him to reconstruct every little detail from memory. After being done with his silent ritual, the weary nobleman took off his scarf and headpieces, then looked at the night sky for one last time before drawing the curtains. Soon his head hit the bed, and he decided that he would try again tomorrow.

He would pay the stubborn Kisuke another visit.

Slumber began to overtake him, and those words became more and more like distant echoes. As those silent, unspoken letters dissolved under a thousand lashings of the night rain, a crucial part of it became engraved with a frozen quill in the isolated region of Byakuya's body known as- heart.

"I will miss you, Nii-sama."

If I were the fate, I would try again

I would try again

For You

Thank You

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