Spoiler Warning – This fan fiction may contain mild Bleach spoilers for those readers who have not reached episode 62 or volume 21 (chapter 182).
Disclaimer – Bleach and all related characters used in this fanfic are property of Tite Kubo-sama. Katsuro is an original character property of the authors of this fan fiction. However, he is based on character relations in Bleach.
Chapter 2
"Late! Late! Late!" Rukia called to herself as she hurriedly brushed her hair. She tossed the brush onto her bed and rushed out the door down to breakfast. As she approached the dining hall she slowed down and caught her breath. When she walked in she immediately saw Byakuya already at the table. When the word "Onii-sama" popped into her head unannounced, she felt her heart jump again and her eyes dropped to the floor as she took her seat.
"Good morning Rukia," Byakuya greeted, "Sleep well?" he inquired. Katsuro sent her a venomous glare.
"Yes, Nii-sama," she replied quietly, smiling at the table.
"Good." Katsuro stood and moved over to Rukia, a sickeningly sweet smile on his face.
"Rukia, can I have a word with you?" he inquired. Byakuya eyed him warily.
Confused and suspicious of Katsuro's obviously exaggerated kind tone, Rukia nodded at him. "Yes, Katsuro-sama." She bowed slightly at the people at the table, most specifically at Byakuya, "If you'll excuse me."
Katsuro drew her aside.
"So… I'm not sure you know," he said, watching her closely.
"Know what, sir?" she asked calmly, staring back at him with what she hoped were confident eyes.
"About Byakuya-sama's deceased wife," Katsuro said, "You look exactly like her."
"Yes, sir. One of the elders mentioned it when I was brought here," she answered, unsure of how this was relevant to anything.
"So you have heard… Well, I think that Byakuya-sama has something else in mind for you. You realize that he's been getting closer with you right?" Katsuro prompted.
Rukia's brow furrowed slightly and she continued to stare Katsuro in the eye, but she did not respond.
"Perhaps he thinks that you can replace his wife. He'll get closer… and wait until you're more comfortable with him," Katsuro purred.
At first, she was shocked and her heart skipped a beat. Then she caught herself and she stared coldly at her cousin, again without responding.
"He's a noble; no one cares what he does behind the scenes," Katsuro went on, "He can shut them up by paying them a few yen… So. What makes you think he won't try?"
Her heart continued to race, out of fear or anger she couldn't tell. Her eyes began to burn and she bit her tongue to keep from crying out. "If you'll excuse me, Katsuro-sama," she said in a shaky but defiant voice. She pushed him away, walked back to the breakfast table, and sat down without a word. She clenched her hands in her lap and sat stiffly, glaring at the table in front of her.
Byakuya was alarmed at this and looked up at Katsuro who returned to his seat and started to eat without pausing. The older man glanced worriedly at Rukia but didn't address the problem. He would later.
Rukia no longer had any desire to eat. She quietly excused herself early and slipped out into the gardens.
Katsuro smirked when Rukia left. Byakuya looked startled and moved to get up. Katsuro then quickly engaged him in a conversation that had the older man staring at Katsuro in shock and even horror.
Following the path that she had a few days prior, Rukia found the bench underneath the cherry blossom tree and collapsed into it. She shut her eyes tightly to try to prevent tears from coming. Then she bolted upright and vomited behind the seat. Coughing and choking on half sobs, she draped herself over the back of the bench and attempted to catch her breath. She couldn't help but fell that she had been betrayed as soon as she had begun to feel that she was finally being accepted. This time she couldn't hold back the tears and she cried weakly into her arms.
()o()o()o()
Later, Rukia stumbled into her room and slunk to her bathroom where she washed her face. Her eyes were red and her face blotchy from crying and the cool water felt good against her hot skin. She lightly dried herself and returned to her bedroom where she lightly sat down beside the window and stared, dazed, out at the sky.
"Rukia…" Byakuya said softly from where he stood in the doorway.
Knowing that she should have been shocked and wondering vaguely why she wasn't, Rukia turned to face him with a blank expression.
"Tell me what Katsuro told you," Byakuya said quietly, not moving.
"Sir?" she asked without thinking before quickly trying to cover it, "Um, Nii…sama?"
"When he spoke to you at breakfast. What did he say?" he asked again, his voice gentle, not demanding.
She continued to stare at him blankly. She couldn't say it. How could she? "He didn't say anything in particular," she lied, knowing full well that it was a horrible excuse for a fib.
Byakuya didn't buy the lie.
"Rukia…" His voice was pleading, gentle and concerned. Uncharacteristically so.
His tone made Rukia's heart twist painfully and her eyes drifted away from him. "He didn't say anything, Nii-sama," she persisted quietly.
Byakuya watched her before exhaling softly.
"You're my sister, Rukia. I don't want anything to happen to you. Katsuro will be leaving in three days."
The warm, comforting feeling that the word "sister" had brought the previous day did not come. Instead, Rukia felt a bitter sort of emptiness. But when she heard Katsuro would be leaving, she couldn't help but look up again. "Where is he going?"
"He's going to stay at my cousin's house. He's caused too much trouble here." Byakuya's eyes had gone cold as he glanced to the side.
"I see." Rukia turned back to the window. She felt relived and somewhat comforted but unlike the warm accepted comfort, it was the sort of comfort felt after being frightened suddenly; a numb feeling that something horrible had finally left.
"Rukia… If you ever need to talk… please don't hesitate to." Byakuya then silently left the room.
As he left, Rukia continued to stare out the window. "You're my sister," the words echoed in her head. Was she really? Or was what Katsuro said true? Was she just another woman to be shown off? It certainly made sense. Why else would she have been adopted into the family? By being his "sister" first, Byakuya could marry her as nobility without a second thought. She did not have to be in the advanced classes of the shinigami academy to become a noble's wife. She did not have to be worthy of nobility; she simply had to look like one. She suddenly felt useless, like a doll behind a glass case, sitting there as everyone else walked by living their lives. She curled up beside the window and hugged her knees and allowed tears to drop silently into her shihakushou.
()o()o()o()
Byakuya saw Rukia off to her shinigami training, his countenance sadder than normal. Katsuro looked unbelievably smug and triumphant though.
"Byaaaaaa-kun! Kuchiki-chan!" Kaien grinned and waved as he saw them coming. Rukia could only nod at her vice captain.
"Kaien," Byakuya greeted quietly with a slight nod.
Kaien looked them over with wide, worried eyes. "Everythin' alright?"
"I'll leave you two to your training," Byakuya said stiffly before using shunnpo to get away.
Rukia didn't look up when he left and Kaien stared at her. After a while he sighed. "Y'know, brooding over something never helps." Rukia looked up at him and he smiled. "Don' worry about it. What ever it is. Now, get out that zanpakutou and let's start practicing, kay?"
She looked up at him and she felt her eyes water slightly. She hastily blinked them back and smiled gratefully. "Yes, sir!"
()o()o()o()
When their time was up, Byakuya came to get Rukia, his eyes dark and troubled. He seemed distracted almost and was startled when Kaien approached.
"Don' run into anything, Bya-kun! Ya' look a little spaced out there," he teased.
During her training, Rukia had become a lot less tense. Being around Kaien had gotten her mind off of the things Katsuro had said and she had actually found herself smiling while she was working. But when she saw Byakuya, her heart sank. Katsuro's words grew louder in her head and she suddenly felt very slow and weighed down by his presence. She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye now.
"A little..." Byakuya said stiffly. He glanced at Rukia uneasily before turning back to Kaien. "How was today?"
"How nice of you to ask, Bya-kun!" Kaien grinned, "I actually slept in today and was late to Ukitake-taichou's meeting! Apparently there's a bit of a hollow infestation up near the edge of northern Rukongai. Anyway, then some idiot had to go and blow up the dorms with some false Kido and I had to go inspect the damage. And after that, can you believe, Yamamoto-soutaichou had me…"
"I meant your training with Rukia," Byakuya interrupted calmly.
"Well ya' could have said so earlier," he pouted before sparing a glance toward Rukia who was looking pained. He pulled her close and put his arm around her shoulder, which surprised her, "this little Kuchiki did really well today. She learned a few more basic sword attacks and got the hang of a simple kido. You should be proud of her. She's a quick learner." He grinned and ruffled her hair with his free hand before looking back to Byakuya with a sort of understanding look in his eyes.
Byakuya relaxed.
"Thank you for teaching her, Kaien," he said softly. Even though he didn't say he was proud of her, his heart and chest swelled with just that emotion.
"No problem, no problem," the vice captain responded, smiling and waving a hand.
Byakuya nodded and paused to allow Rukia to say goodbye to Kaien before they left.
Rukia forced herself to stay beside her brother as they walked. She could feel herself trembling slightly and she prayed that it wasn't noticeable. Katsuro's voice rang in her ears so clearly that he could have been standing beside her, whispering secrets about lustful desires and secret marriages. Biting her tongue, she stared at the ground, fighting the violent urge to run on ahead.
"Rukia. Katsuro confessed to me what he had told you."
Her heart skipped a beat and she suddenly found it rather hard to breath as a highly uncomfortable pressure enveloped her. She could barely find the strength to walk, much less look up or reply.
"Though I cannot make you believe me, I will tell you this: You are my little sister. The bond will not go further than that. Katsuro has lied to you and to me as well. That, I will not forgive him for. Nor will I have any reason to trust him. Rukia, look at me."
Betrayed by her eyes, she faced him, her breath quickening.
"Do you believe that I would purposefully harm you in that way?" Byakuya asked her quietly, looking at her in the eyes.
"I… I…" Rukia heard her voice crack and forced back a sob. His eyes hurt her. They were pained and created a horrible sensation that she had betrayed him. She couldn't tell him that she had believed Katsuro, but at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to lie to his eyes. "I…" she clutched her arms and tore her eyes away and mouthed, "I'm sorry…"
Byakuya felt as if he'd been stabbed. She had believed Katsuro…? A strange coldness entered his body and he found he was unable to speak. "You… must be tired… I'll have dinner brought in to your room when it's ready. Rest…" Byakuya finally said after a moment. He sounded weary himself. With that, he kept moving to their home.
But Rukia didn't continue walking. She stood clutching herself with a pained expression on her face as she stared at the ground. When Rukia didn't follow, Byakuya closed his eyes tightly. He knew what was coming next. She dashed forward and ran ahead, eyes squeezed shut in a feeble attempt to keep tears from coming. As she ran, she shook her head violently and called out to Byakuya in her head, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Byakuya didn't try to stop her. He let her run ahead. When he arrived at his home, he stayed in the gardens, thinking.
Rukia locked herself in her room and sat dazed against the door, tears falling down her face as she stared up at the ceiling. Her emotions were drowning her. She was immensely relieved to find that Katsuro had been telling her was a lie. But then she felt an unbearable guilt at the fact that she had believed him and that it hurt Byakuya so.
"Then why doesn't he tell me why I was adopted?" she asked herself. Sudden anger filled her, now. At least Katsuro's explanation had provided some answer as to her purpose here. Now she was just as confused as before. What reason could there be that Byakuya could say she was his sister, but not tell her why. She knew she hadn't ever asked him, but she glared into space thinking that she shouldn't have to ask. Dizziness overcame her and she lightly put a hand to her head as she let herself lay flat on the floor.
Byakuya came in for dinner, but found he couldn't stand to be around Katsuro anymore. He excused himself early and holed himself up in his room. Katsuro ground his teeth. His plan had backfired. And it was his fault it had. Anger flared up and he slammed his fist on the table. Annoyance came next then anger again.
()o()o()o()
When the overall noise of the household heading to bed had subsided, Rukia slid open her door. After checking the dark hallway to make sure nobody was there, she quietly stepped out of her room and made her way toward the gardens.
Katsuro was still awake and had heard someone left. Curious, he went out to see who it was. When he saw it was Rukia, he didn't show himself but followed her at a safe distance.
She strode through the garden, gazing at the flowers that were blanketed in moonlight. A small plant caught her eye. It didn't shimmer in the soft light and created a dark spot among the flowers that surrounded it. Stooping down, Rukia saw that it was the start of a small weed: a young vine that was slowly creeping up from the ground. She glared at it for a moment before reaching out and pulling it out, ripping its roots from the soil. Standing, she continued to walk and carried the plant to the garden gate where she paused before opening it and slipping outside the manor grounds.
Intrigued, Katsuro followed after her. Where would she be going at this time of night?
When they were well away from the noble's houses, Rukia suddenly veered off the path. She walked out into the grass, knelt down, and placed the plant neatly on the ground. "You belong out here," she whispered to it, "You can't damage any of the flowers now and you can grow freely." Sighing, she stood up again. After a while she turned away and continued to walk aimlessly down the path.
Katsuro raised an eyebrow. What a freak. He went over to the weed and crushed it with his foot.
"Stupid thing shouldn't be living at all," he hissed once he knew Rukia couldn't hear him.
After a long while of nothing but walking, Katsuro decided that Rukia wasn't doing anything particularly interesting, but just before he turned to head back home, he saw a group of men coming toward them on the road. Soon the sound of their drunken voices reached his ears.
Rukia saw them and kept walking though she was thinking of how to avoid them. One of the men jabbed another in the side and motioned toward her. She cursed under her breath and slowed down when the men approached her.
"Hey pretty lady," said a particularly ugly one as he stooped down to her eye level. The smell of his sake-saturated breath reminded Rukia of the men from the Rukongai.
"She's pretty cute," another purred, smirking as he caught her chin to look at her better. Katsuro paused and watched to see what would happen.
Rukia knocked the hand away and stepped back, glaring at them. She had left her zanpakutou back in her room and was now wishing that she had thought to bring it.
"Ooooo feisty," jeered another, swaggering over to the first two. "I like 'em feisty," he purred before grabbing her wrist.
"Leave me alone," she barked. She threw her arm up, knocking him hard in the face and then kicked hard between his legs.
The man yelled in pain and crumpled to the ground, writhing. The other two blinked stupidly at him, then looked at her.
"-The hell you think you are, bitch?" drawled yet another man in the back, "Ya' can't jus' come up an' kick a guy and 'spect to get away wit' it." He stumbled toward her and drew a short knife from the inside of his kimono. He swung out at her, missing greatly and nearly slicing the faces of the two men who first approached her.
"Idiots," Rukia muttered. As he swung again, she dropped to the ground and spun on the spot, kicking his legs out from under him. She stood quickly and stomped on the hand holding the knife. The man yelled and released the blade and she swiftly kicked it away. Another man came forward and attempted to hit Rukia over the head with a sake bottle. Katsuro smirked, coming up with an idea.
Rukia easily dodged the bottle and spun around to kick the man in the back, throwing him forward onto his face.
Katsuro grabbed the abandoned knife and ran forward to beat up the last man. He slammed the handle into back of the man's head and let him crumple in a heap.
"Rukia, are you hurt?" he demanded, coming towards Rukia with wide, concerned eyes.
"K…Katsuro…sama?" the last part she added with a decent amount of effort, "What are you…?"
"Look… I feel really bad about lying to you… I was going to your room to talk to you. Obviously, you weren't there. So I went into the gardens and saw you slip out," Katsuro said, looking at the ground, "I'm really sorry… It was wrong; I shouldn't have done that…"
Rukia could only stare at him, dumbfounded.
"So… I understand if you can't forgive me right here, but I promise not to do anything like that again," Katsuro said, looking at her.
"Um… well… Okay… Thank you, sir." Utterly confused at his sudden apology, she continued to stare at him oddly. When she became aware of herself, she quickly tore her eyes away and glanced at the men sprawled out on the ground and realized that she felt better than she had earlier. She couldn't help but wonder if it was because she had taken her anger out on the men, or if it was because protecting herself from drunkards had sparked memories of Rukongai and her life with Renji. Pushing these thoughts away, she looked back at her cousin. "Well, we should probably head back, Katsuro-sama."
"Right. Let's go." Katsuro paused to stay and walk beside Rukia so they wouldn't run into anymore trouble. When they got back, Katsuro mumbled a goodnight to her before heading into his room to sleep.
Rukia decided to bathe in the morning before breakfast so as not to wake anyone. She quickly changed, slid into bed, and wondered about Katsuro's apology. "I wonder if Nii-sama put him up to it," she thought to herself. When she realized that she had addressed Byakuya as "nii-sama" unconsciously, she was surprised. She considered it a moment and realized that it no longer felt like a false name, and smiled.
()o()o()o()
The next morning, Katsuro told Byakuya what had happened last night. The older man was surprised at this sudden act of kindness and was suspicious about the reasoning. But if it turned into anything worse, he promised himself that Katsuro would live on the streets.
Rukia's stomach growled as she stepped out of the bath. Having gone without breakfast and dinner had finally started to take its toll. She guessed that the stress of he previous day had distracted her mind from the hunger. As she dressed, she tried to force her thoughts away from the matter and concentrated heavily on tying her obi. Her stomach complained again as she stepped out of her room and she pressed a hand to it, willing it to be silent until she ate breakfast.
Byakuya was just passing when he noticed Rukia. "Good morning…" he said quietly, "Breakfast is already on the table, I'll be there shortly."
"Ah, yes," she replied awkwardly and she nodded curtly before walking away stiffly toward the dining hall. She had become tense when he approached. The events of the evening came to her mind: running away from him tearful, confessing to believing Katsuro's lies, seeing her brother's pained eyes... She grimaced at the memory and shuddered at the fresh feelings it dredged up. Upon sliding through the doors to the hall, she scanned the table for Katsuro.
The boy was eating happily, but when he saw Rukia, his smile became a bit strange.
"Good morning Rukia," he said, a little too cheerfully.
"Good morning, Katsuro-sama." Taking a seat a few spaces down from him, Rukia set about satisfying her obnoxious stomach with as much poise as she could muster, which was turning out to be slightly more difficult than she had planned as her hunger seemed to grow exponentially upon tasting the food.
"When do you go and train with Kaien-sama?" Katsuro asked conversationally.
"I will most likely return this afternoon as usual. Is there any particular reason for your question, Katsuro-sama?" she replied, in an equally casual tone.
"No, I'm only wondering." Katsuro started to say something else when Byakuya's presence filled the room. After that, breakfast was a quiet affair.
Katsuro made casual conversation, making small, harmless comments about Rukia's training with Kaien.
"I don't think that Rukia will be training… I thought I heard someone say something about him being absent," Katsuro said thoughtfully.
"No, he's there," Byakuya replied wearily.
"Isn't he going to be busy with the northern part with the Hollows?" Katsuro pressed. He clamped his mouth shut when Byakuya glanced at him with a hard gaze.
However, Katsuro's comments had caught Rukia's attention.
"What hollows in the north? And what does Kaien-dono have to do with it?"
"Don't worry about it Rukia," Byakuya replied. His tone of voice made it known that it was the end of the conversation.
()o()o()o()
Rukia found that her strolls through the garden were becoming a routine measure after breakfast. The flowers, while intimidating, held a captivating beauty that drew her to the little area. Instead of taking her usual path to the bench beneath the sakura tree, she wandered in the other direction. She had been gazing across a small pond when she saw him.
Byakuya was in the garden as well, but his back was to her as he walked. His proud figure seemed almost wilted, sad yet his path was certain and he didn't look like he was merely wandering.
Something about the way he carried himself made Rukia stop. She watched him as he strode amongst the plants. When he turned around a corner her curiosity got the better of her. Trying her hardest to suppress her already weak reiatsu, she sped a long the path to catch up to him.
In only a moment's time, they reached a strange house-looking building. It was well-kept and very modest, rather pretty too. However, Byakuya only seemed to grow sadder as he approached it. Rukia watched from a short distance as he opened the doors. Fortunately, Byakuya left the door slightly open as he went inside the building.
When she fairly certain that he wasn't right inside of the door, Rukia crept up to the entrance and peer inside, taking care not to make any noise.
Byakuya's low voice could be heard inside.
"… What to do, Hisana… Nothing seems to be working. Perhaps when Katsuro is gone things will get better," he was saying, very softly.
Rukia could barely hear him and she strained her ears to catch even a few words. "Hisana," she thought, "Hisana-sama?" She leaned in just slightly further and craned her neck as if it would help her to hear him better.
"She just doesn't trust me anymore. I promised you I would take care of her… perhaps I'm not meant to be an older brother…" Byakuya's voice was barely above a whisper now. It was completely impossible for Rukia to hear anything more than the soft sound of his breath as he spoke.
"I wish you were here Hisana." His voice became a bit louder, but not any stronger, "You would know how to help me with this…"
A powerful sense of intrusion flooded over Rukia. She was sure that she was not meant to hear any of this. But this was a side of her brother that she hadn't seen. Of course she had heard of his love for his wife - Katsuro had taken special liberty to emphasize it more than the others – but she hadn't ever seen Byakuya's affection for her.
There was silence before Byakuya inhaled heavily, a bit raggedly. "It must be strange… to see me act like this… Forgive me." Another pause, "I miss you… I wish I could have united you and your sister before you…" his voice broke and he didn't try to pick it back up.
At this, Rukia's calmness faltered drastically. Not a single word that Byakuya had said had registered in her mind. Just his voice. Just his voice that sounded so helpless. During the weeks since she had first met him, she had been lucky to get much of a conversation on a few occasions. And during these weeks, his only sign of weakness had been his pained eyes from last evening. But now, even they seemed insignificant to the anguish that saturated his voice as he spoke to the room. Rukia gasped. A small, quiet reaction to the sharp pressure that had overtaken her chest. As soon as she did, her eyes widened and she cursed herself.
Byakuya's breathing stilled and his aura grew. In a moment, he was at the door. His eyes went wide at seeing Rukia "What are you doing here?" he hissed, his voice panicked.
His reiatsu pressing down on her in addition to the panic and guilt of being caught made it hard for Rukia to breathe. "I… I…" she stammered as she stumbled back, "I just… you… in the garden… I…"
"Leave. Don't come back here," Byakuya ordered, his voice rising slightly in pitch, "Forget this place."
"Nii-sama, I…"
In other times, the man would've listened to her, but this was not the right place, not the right time. He was truly frightened.
"Leave, now!" he finally snapped, his reiatsu becoming threatening as he raised a hand to hit her.
The extreme force of the reiatsu made Rukia stumble greatly and she cried out instinctively. Terrified - of what, she didn't quite know - she turn and ran as fast as she could, trying desperately to reach an area where it would be easier to breathe.
When Rukia fled, Byakuya stood frozen in his place. His hand, now trembling, lowered. What had he done…? "Rukia…" he whispered, his voice cracking again as the force of what just happened crushed down on him.
Author's Comments:
Chapter 2! Much more sibling drama.
Translation Notes:
shihakushou - the Bleach shinigami outfit
-sama - a highly respectful name suffix. "Katsuro-sama" would be similar to "Lord Katsuro."
-kun - a friendly name suffix used primarily for young men.
-dono - a respectful name suffix.
Onii-chan - a very friendly and childish pet name for an older brother. Similar to "big bro."
Onii-sama - a mix between "Onii-chan" and the suffix "-sama." Used by Rukia in the series when addressing Byakuya.
taichou - Captain
obi - kimono "belt"
Regarding pairings: Technically, there are NO pairings in this fan fiction. We aren't writing this with the intention of writing ByaRuki fics. We are writing because the Kuchiki siblings are the most adorable siblings on the face of the planet. If the readers wish to see it as ByaRuki, so be it. If they wish to see it as Kuchiki siblings, so be it.
Regarding the nickname "Bya-kun."It's an allusion to a dropped fanfic of ours, "Those Younger Days." You can find it on my account.
PLEASE RxR. Thanks!
