II; A Date for Death
The way to any man's heart is to cook him a glorious and hearty breakfast.
Of course, the only other person in my home was currently sleeping, which left me to do the cooking by myself. While I'm not the next the Iron Chef, I know enough to keep me and my sister alive with some decent food.
Just as I was finishing setting the table, the sound of a heavy thump reached my ears. Anybody else would be worried if you heard your sister crashing to the floor, but when this happened every day, you got used to her clumsiness.
A second passed, and then a groggy voice called out, "I'm alright!"
"Good, now hurry up and eat your breakfast!"
Moments later, my sister stumbled into the kitchen, her hair still a mess and bags under her eyes. "Good morning, Bya-nii," she said sleepily, punctuating her sentence with a yawn.
"Morning, Rukia. Eat up," I said while she dragged her feet to the table and plopped in one of the chairs. Setting a plate complete with eggs, bacon, and toast in front of her, I then poured myself a cup of coffee and grabbed my own plate of food, settling into the chair across from her.
Although I referred to Rukia as my sister, we were in no way related by blood. Our first meeting was eight years ago, when I was introduced to her by my girlfriend, who would later become my wife.
We had only been married for five short years before she died.
Those days are now just a precious memory – a dream that I so desperately do not want to forget. But as of right now, that is not possible. Because every time I look at Rukia, I always see Hisana – my wife - in her. Not just physical appearance - although they were remarkably similar in their beauty - but in the way her eyes shined when she was happy and the beautiful noise that was her laughter. And how Rukia could be so amazingly gentle with others – watching her take care of somebody was like watching a mother care for her child. All these and things and more still brought forth the image of Hisana in my mind.
But of course, Rukia was different. She was fiery, headstrong, and passionate about life. Her sense of justice often led to her getting into fights that didn't originally even concern her – she would see some poor individual getting tormented by a pack of bullies, and she couldn't help herself but to rush in to help. Although Hisana and I had always lectured her about getting into fights, we were always proud of her, that there were still some good people in the world. Being around her was never boring.
That is, unless you're with her in the morning. The daylight hours were never Rukia's strong suit, as made evident by the fact that she always stumbled and fell over every single morning. But this Rukia was usually never seen by the light of day, because by the time she left for school she'd be back to her normal, energetic self.
"Hey Bya-nii, so what time did you get home last night? Sorry I wasn't awake to welcome you home."
"Nah, it's fine, you need your sleep. I got home pretty late after all," I said casually, waving her apology away.
A worried looked crossed her face. "Work has been pretty tough on you lately, huh? Are you getting enough rest?" My eye twitched in annoyance – it seems like all the females in my life were convinced that my work had me slaving away into the night. Without waiting for my response, Rukia quickly continued, "If you got home as late as you did and you were up early enough to make breakfast, there's no way you're getting enough sleep."
Well, she had me there. I couldn't exactly tell her that most nights when I'm 'at the office,' I'm actually at a hotel with a woman by my side. I tried to give her a reassuring smile. "Honestly Rukia, you don't need to worry about me, I'm feeling great."
Her face was still grim, and she gave me a disapproving look.
"Will it make you feel better if I promise to try and come home earlier?"
This seemed to calm her as she nodded in relief, but then she suddenly pouted and crossed her arms. "I'm going to be calling Uncle Renji too! He's obviously not helping you enough with work!"
We then both burst into a fit of laughter, as the image of Renji getting harassed by a high school girl entered our minds. The funniest part was that we could easily imagine it, as it had happened plenty of times in the past. Oh, Renji.
Breakfast was finished a few minutes later, and I began to tuck the dishes into the dishwasher for later while Rukia went about with the rest of her morning ritual. Since I've been so damn busy lately, eating breakfast together has been one of our few opportunities to spend time with each other, even if it's only for a few minutes. While I do have off time, lately I've been spending more of that time with my ladies, or when I was free Rukia herself would be busy… which for some reason, extremely irked me. I know, I know. I, of all people shouldn't be talking. But hey, she's my 'lil sis. What can you do about it?
A couple minutes later, I was ready to go. I looked at the time – 7:20. Good, that meant if I walked, I could be at the office by 7:45. Rukia was still in the bathroom, so on my way out I shouted, "I'm going now! Don't do drugs, stay in school, you know the drill!"
Faintly, I heard her reply back. "Sure, but I can't make any promises! Stay safe Bya-nii, and you better come home early tonight! I'll make dinner!"
Satisfied and with a renewed motivation to actually get home at a normal hour (Rukia was a better cook than I was), I was ready to begin my day.
The cherry blossoms were beautiful this time of year.
Well, they would be beautiful if it wasn't for the fact that it was suddenly pouring outside. Me, being the absolute genius that I am, concluded that a beautiful and sunny morning would lead to a beautiful and sunny afternoon. I was horribly wrong. Thunder shook the air as the rain felt like bullets against my body as I dashed toward the street where I might find some cover, sticking close under the trees as much as possible.
I had been taking a stroll in one of my favorite yet secluded parks during my break. It was actually located on a large stretch of Kuchiki property, and with traditional Japanese blood running strong through most of the elders, they had taken up the project of planting cherry blossoms throughout the place. While the elders of the Kuchiki clan and I didn't always see eye-to-eye, this was one decision of theirs that I was grateful for.
There's nothing more relaxing than letting cherry blossoms fall all around you, the only sound being the trickling of the nearby stream and the chirping of the birds, the racket and chatter of normal city life unable to penetrate through the trees.
What wasn't relaxing was soggy petals sticking to your suit while your whole outfit got ruined by the downpour, no shelter in sight.
I finally got out of the trees and onto the sidewalk, the inside of a store just across the street suddenly very appealing to me. The clouds had obscured the sun and the rain made it near impossible to see too far, so it wasn't my fault when I sprinted across the street and almost got splattered by a car.
It barely managed to stop in time, and if I hadn't skittered backward at the last second, well… that wouldn't be a pretty sight right there. Considering that I was soaked to the core I wasn't in a very good mood right then and there, and nearly getting run over wasn't helping anything.
I slammed my fist down on the hood of the car, ignoring the pain that followed. "Hey, asshole, watch we're you're going!" I screamed in the typical New York fashion. The driver replied with an angry honk when it suddenly cut itself short, and the driver side window rolled down. A red headed man stuck his head out and gave me an astonished look.
"Oh shit, Byakuya, is that you?"
I stared down the driver, fury beginning to melt into surprise. But don't get me wrong, fury was still there.
"Goddamit Renji! You almost ran me over!" For emphasis, I slammed down on the hood of his car once more.
"Stop that! And it's not my fault, you came out of nowhere! Hop in already, I'll give you a ride back as an apology."
Without hesitation, I got into the passenger side and happily plopped into the seat, dripping water from everywhere onto everything. Renji gave a look of sorrow at his soon-to-be-ruined seats, but the glare I gave him shut him up in an instant. Just for added measure, I shook my arms a few times, sprinkling water onto the rest of the car and onto Renji himself. Satisfied with my work, I sat back and relaxed, enjoying the wonderful invention called seat heaters.
At Renji's questions, I explained to him that I was enjoying my break at the Kuchiki Gardens, completely unaware that the weather was going to take a turn for the worse. Renji himself had been on his way to take his lunch break when he nearly ended my life in what would have been a violent clash of metal upon flesh.
"By the way Byakuya, do you wanna have lunch together? It would be a pain to drop you off at the law firm and then head back."
I gave him a dry smile. "Well, when you put it so delightfully, I think I'll just have to join you."
It seemed my sarcasm was lost on him, because instead he just gave a happy yell and began to blabber about how amazing and awesome this café that we were going to was. When we finally arrived at said café, the rain had let up some and my hair had finally stopped dripping onto the seats, to Renji's delight.
We made a quick dash from the car to the interior of the café, which actually didn't look half bad. It looked like your standard New York coffeehouse – quaint, comfortable, but still modern. We took our places on the line as I scanned the menu with interest. I was hungry as hell.
After receiving a hearty sandwich loaded with various toppings along with a water bottle to wash it down and then making Renji pay for all of it, we settled at a table near the corner of the room.
At first, we ate in silence. I recognized this part of the city; we were near the high school that Rukia attended. A quick look at my (thankfully waterproof) watch told me that she'd be getting out in about 30 minutes. She usually walked to school, and while she probably brought an umbrella, she was still likely to get wet in this weather. Did she have a ride home?
"Byakuya!"
My head snapped back to attention as I shot Renji an annoyed look.
"What?" I growled at him.
"You were really spacing out there. You alright?" He looked genuinely concerned, so I bit back a snappy retort and nodded. I sensed the need to change the conversation.
"How's the investigation going?"
Renji brightened immediately, determination showing in the gleam in his eyes. "We're finally closing in on that Kariya bastard. All we need is just one little mistake on his part, and then we'll be on him in a second. He's not slipping through our fingers a second time. And with the evidence that we have piled up and half of his subordinates already locked up, it's not long before we just get rid of those damned Bounts once and for all. "
While I may have mentioned before that Renji is a detective, what I failed to add was that he worked in the homicide department. Lately, a group called the Bounts had showed up, and they were pretty much a freaky as hell cult that believed the blood of humans would give them strength and eternal life. They were basically your modern-day vampires, leaving trails of blood-drained corpses in their wake.
They were disgusting, and I was looking forward to personally making sure that they spent the rest of their lives behind bars.
"Kariya Jin is a sly bastard, isn't he?" I practically hissed. We knew Kariya to be the head of the Bounts, and capturing him would likely spell the downfall for the rest of those blood-sucking bastards.
Renji nodded in agreement, a disgusted look on his face. "But his followers aren't as sly – we'll have them talking in no time."
We discussed further details about the case as we finished up the rest of our meal, and although I had hoped the rain would die down enough so that I could walk back to the office, I wasn't in luck. The thunder and lightning had stopped, but it was still pouring buckets outside.
"I think it's about time we head back," I said.
Renji glanced at his watch and I watched in amusement as his eyes widened in shock. "Oh shit, I took a damn long lunch break. And I guess you're expecting me to take you back to the office, huh?" I nodded in agreement. Although I had enough cash for a taxi, I was having fun watching him sweat. "Alright then, I'll make up for my lateness by having Kariya Jin in cuffs by the end of the day!" he loudly announced.
Several people around us turned to look, either a curious, amused, or disgusted expression on their faces. I couldn't help chuckling as Renji finally realized the unfortunate wording of his sentence. A red flush crept along his cheeks as he attempted to explain things, but people only turned away, muttering under their breaths.
"How about you stop embarrassing yourself already so we can leave?"
He nodded furiously as he quickly led the way through the café while I smoothly followed. Again, we sprinted from the entrance to his car, and this time it was both of us soaking wet on his car seats. As he turned onto the road, I couldn't help noticing the time. 2:50 P.M.
Rukia would be out of school in a matter of minutes, and she would have to walk home in this storm.
"Renji, do you know where Shino High School is?"
He considered this for a few moments before nodding in affirmation. "That's where Rukia goes, right?"
"Correct. Would you mind stopping by there and seeing if Rukia needs a ride home?"
Renji opened his mouth – most likely to protest – but I quickly cut him off. "And although that was a question, you know full well that you don't really have any other options."
It was clear that he considered another argument, but I was enough of a superior to him that he just simply sighed in defeat and turned the car around. He was silent for the next few minutes and pouting as well, although I had no idea what good that would do him.
We arrived in front of Shino High School just as students were streaming out from the exits. Some had the foresight to bring umbrellas while others were simply forced to using their hoodies or not even make an attempt to stay dry.
Renji had parked the car across the street where there was a clear view of the main entrance, and although I did feel a bit like a pedophile, I closely scanned the body of students, searching for my little sister. Finally, I spotted her taking cover underneath an overhang near one of the exits.
"There she is," I told Renji, pointing her out.
"Oh, I see her! Is she waiting for somebody?"
On the possibility that she had made a request for me to pick her up, I checked my cell phone to see if she had left me a message.
Nothing.
So who was she waiting for? She certainly just wasn't going to wait out the storm – it was likely to last all day.
"Alright, screw it, let me call her so I can tell her we'll give her a ride."
Entering her number into my phone, I ignored Renji's angry mumble of, "You mean that I'll give her a ride," and was just about to dial it when somebody approached her. I hesitated, not calling her just yet.
A tall, orange-haired boy was talking to her, and judging from their happy faces and easy laughter, it was clear that they already knew each other.
"Ooh, Byakuya, you think that guy is her boyfriend?" Renji cooed.
I turned around in my seat and scoffed at him. "Oh please, I doubt that Rukia's interested in him. They're probably just friends and besides, she would have told me about him."
"Oh really? So is that what 'friends' do to each other nowadays? 'Cause damn, I wish my lady friends did that to me in high school."
Immediately, I spun around in my seat. The sight that beheld me made me want to pulverize somebody. All the students had cleared out from the entrance of the school, so nobody else was there to witness Rukia and the orange-haired boy engage in a passionate kiss. Her arms were wrapped around his neck with her hands buried in his hair. Suddenly, his kisses began to progress down the side of her neck and one of his hands was on Rukia's chest.
This filthy boy was fondling my sister.
"Oh hell no," I snarled, fury and anger rising through my body until I felt like I was going to burst from my rage. There was no way I was going to let this, this… orange-haired freak touch my sister. Rukia was mine.
I cracked my knuckles in eager anticipation of what was to come.
Somebody was going to die today.