Next chapter up! Thanks to Toushi, Kuchiki Rukia-taichou, Kannabisu, LyxTears, glon morski, ImmortalPhantom22, erning and OnigiriKami for reviewing the last chapter. You all please me!

Special thanks to JJDarklink for the nice criticism. I will try to improve my detail throughout this story.

DISCLAIMER: Again, Bleach is not mine.

"I… want to tell you how my brother died." Ichigo's mouth fell open slightly.

"You-," His words failed him momentarily, "You sure, Rukia? I don't want to pressure you."

She shook her head. "No," her voice cracked. "I've held it off long enough. You told me your story; it's only fair for me to tell you mine to return the favor."

"I don't want you to feel obligated to do so, Rukia," he repeated.

"And what if I simply just wish to tell you?" she lightly snapped at him. "I want to get this off my chest."

Ichigo sighed and held her gaze. "I won't stop you then."

Chapter 4: The Scars on the Moon

"My brother was younger than me by ten years. His name was Kuchiki Kaemon and he was the sweetest little kid you'd have ever met. He had these large green eyes and a short mop of black hair that was always ruffled," Rukia started her tale, a faint smile on her lips as she recalled the memory of her brother. "I was basically his older sister and his mother."

She caught Ichigo's look from the corner of her eye. She swallowed a knot in her throat before continuing.

"My mother… died shortly after giving birth to Kaemon. It infuriated my father. He had wanted two boys, but I was born first. He had despised me from the first day of my life, but with my mother around, I was safe. He couldn't get to me when she was around unless he went through her first. It's strange," she let out a bitter chuckle, "he loved her so much, and then looked upon me—a mirror image of her—and shunned me like I was the plague."

She swallowed again.

"He did manage to get a few beatings on me when my mom wasn't around, but he was always able to come up with some sort of excuse for my mother when she questioned why I was covered in scratches or bruises.

"But once my mother died, I wasn't safe anymore. I didn't have anyone to hide behind, anyone to run to anymore."

She heaved in a shaky breath and held it for a moment. Ichigo slowly put his hand on her shoulder and, after a moment's hesitation, gave it a slight squeeze.

"Take your time," he told her.

Rukia nodded and let out the breath she had been holding; a sob escaped her as well.

"Not only did I have to protect myself from my father, I had to protect Kaemon as well. My father blamed Kaemon for our mother's death. While she had been pregnant with him, she had fallen ill. The birth literally killed her."

Ichigo noticed Rukia's fists clenching shut, trapping the bed sheets in her grasp. Her small fists soon turned white from the tightness of her hold. His hand moved from her shoulder to her hand, grasping it in his larger one. He methodically stroked his fingers across her knuckles in his best attempt to soothe her.

"My father wanted two sons," she repeated. "He got one, but it killed his wife. Because of that, he thought it was right to hate us. To take his grief out on his children.

"I would take Kaemon's beatings. He was so young those punches would've killed him!" A tear trailed down her cheek. "We were never fed. We were so poor we couldn't afford much and even when we had food, my father would eat it all himself. I had to steal from the markets in our village in order to feed myself and Kaemon. He was just a baby! I would go without food for weeks just to make sure Kaemon was provided for. He was my first priority.

"As he got older, he began to argue with me when I tried to give him all the food we had stolen that day. He wouldn't eat any of it unless I took half. Some days we went to bed satisfied, some days we starved, but it was always together. And somehow, that made it not seem that bad."

By now, Ichigo had lost all feeling in his hand. He looked down at their joined hands and noticed Rukia had wrapped her hand around his to the best of her ability during her story. Her knuckles were now white from holding onto Ichigo's hand so tight.

"Do you want to stop?" Ichigo asked her after noticing more tears pooling at her eyelids.

Rukia quickly shook her head no, causing several tears to fall. Ichigo was hesitant on brushing them away and instead chose to simply watch them with a forlorn expression as they traveled down her cheeks.

"I… I want to tell you, Ichigo," she whispered. "I need to get this off my chest. If I want to stop, I will." She gave him her best smile to try and reassure him.

Ichigo nodded, but wasn't happy about letting her continue. Yes, he wanted her to tell him what happened, but if it was causing her this much pain, they could take it one step at a time. Hell, Ichigo was ecstatic just because he got her brother's name from her.

"I'm still listening."

Rukia rubbed at her eyes with her free hand before she carried on.

"We experienced everything together," she picked up. "We starved together, we were beaten together, and we lived through that tortuous hell together."

Rukia paused for a moment and shut her eyes. Ichigo simply carried on rubbing her knuckles.

"Then… he was killed. Just like that," her voice seemed to float on the air. "My father killed my brother. Shot him in the back. Just like that!" her voice rose in volume. "That bastard murdered the only thing I still loved in life! The one thing that kept me alive!"

Then she started screaming. Ichigo immediately jumped on the bed with her and pulled her into his chest. His arms stayed locked around her as she thrashed about in his arms screaming to the heavens and beating her tiny fists on Ichigo's chest. Ichigo felt her tears soak through his shirt and her hot breath on his neck. His eyes were wide as he tried to think of how to calm her. He figured there was nothing he could say and it was best just to let her let it all out. She would calm down eventually.

So he simply just held onto her form tightly, protecting her from anything she needed protection from at that moment, reassuring her he was still there for her, and making sure she knew he wasn't leaving until she wanted him to.

"He was murdered in cold blood! He hadn't done anything to deserve death. He was just a six year old kid! He was so innocent! But he killed him! Right in front of me and I just lied there on the floor and watched! That fucking bastard murdered him! Damn him! Damn him!"

Sure enough, her rant quieted down until it was a shaken voice wracked with sobs and raw with pain.

"Damn him… damn him… damn… him…"

Her fists stopped their barrage against Ichigo's chest and clinched his shirt up in her hands. Soon she was just crying openly into his chest. Crying for the loss of her brother; the loss of her will to live.

Just like Ichigo had fourteen years ago.

He felt a tear tickle its way down his face, but didn't wipe it away; just kept his hold on Rukia. It was okay to cry now, he realized. It had been okay to cry all this time. It was okay to let his feelings show themselves once in a while. He was only human after all.

His pride had just gotten in his way and had clouded his judgment. It was okay to have weaknesses. Strength cannot exist without weakness and we aren't human if we don't have any weaknesses. Ichigo realized this now. All it had taken was the story of a troubled girl to put two and two together.

Ichigo heard his father enter the room. He must have come running once he heard Rukia's screams. Once he saw his son sitting there with his arms around the young girl, he breathed out a sigh and smiled warmly at the pair.

Ichigo looked over Rukia's shaking shoulder and mouthed to his dad 'I got it'. Isshin nodded, smiled, mouthed 'good luck' back, and exited just as quietly as he had entered.

Rukia sniffed and clutched at Ichigo's shirt tighter as cries continued to escape her. Ichigo shut his eyes, turned his face into her neck, and gently stroked her hair. He didn't say anything; he knew nothing he said right now would have any effect on her. He just needed to wait this one out. He had seen this before in himself and therefore knew exactly how to handle the situation.

---

Ichigo had no idea how long they sat there together; him holding her and telling her everything would be alright. For all he knew, it could have been well into the next day. He didn't care, however. He needed to know Rukia would be alright before he left her alone for the night. He waited patiently as she slowly calmed down enough to where she eventually fell asleep against Ichigo's chest.

He would've left her then had he not heard her softly crying in her sleep. He didn't sigh in annoyance at this, nor did he judge her. He just laid her back against the pillows and climbed back into the chair beside her. He covered her up to her chin before taking hold of her hand again. Again, his fingers began their subconscious method of soothing by riding her knuckles up and down across her hand.

Ichigo's mouth twitched upwards briefly as her cries subsided and her body relaxed. After she went fifteen minutes without any sign of distress, Ichigo figured it was safe to leave. He stood up and stretched his tight limbs before walking to the door. He glanced back at the slumbering girl as he always did, confirming she was fast asleep and shouldn't wake the rest of the night.

Then, he turned the lights out and left, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Isshin was waiting for him when he walked into the kitchen. Ichigo figured he must have been waiting ever since he had left the room who knows how many hours ago upon hearing Rukia's cries.

"What happened in there?"

"She told me the story of her brother and kind of lost it at the end," Ichigo responded with a yawn.

Isshin pulled a chair back from the table. Ichigo took the hint and sat down. He wasn't exactly in the mood to discuss what had taken place back there right now—he just wanted to fall asleep himself—but he knew his dad had been waiting all this time and Ichigo knew he shouldn't keep him waiting until morning.

"So you figured out what happened to her?"

Ichigo shrugged. "For the most part," he said. "She said her father shot her brother one night—the night she ran away. She was abused by her father because he didn't want a girl, and her brother being born killed her mom. That traumatized their father which gave him what he used as a reason to hate his children. She was put in charge of taking care of her little brother, which meant taking his beatings and going without food in order to feed him. Apparently her dad lost it one night and shot her brother. She probably would've been killed too had she not run away."

Ichigo looked up at his father. He wasn't sure if his sentences had made any sense, him being in the tired state he was, but he knew his father would be able to understand it.

"It was horrible, dad," he said in a quiet voice laden down with feelings. "You should've seen how upset she was. I know you heard, but you didn't see her face. That look of betrayal in her eyes; that look of pain and confusion…"

Isshin put his hand on his son's back and gave it a light pat.

"I know it was hard to watch, son, but trust me, it's good she finally got that out. Now she doesn't have to continue to bottle up all her feelings inside. She has someone she can confide in, and I think she realizes it. She'll become more stable in time," his dad explained.

He cast a knowing smirk down at Ichigo.

"Sounds awfully familiar doesn't it?"

Ichigo smirked. "Yeah. She's just like me after mom."

"And though you may not be completely over it now—you may never be for all we know—you're still living the life of a normal teen for the most part, right?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Then she will too," Isshin said.

"Yeah," Ichigo sighed. He looked up at his dad and smiled. "Thanks dad."

Isshin simply smiled. "Not a problem, my boy."

Ichigo gave his father a hug before heading up to his room. He changed into his pajamas and then headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

On his way back, he stopped by his sisters' room. He peeked inside and smiled at their slumbering forms. He knew his dad was right. Rukia would eventually learn to start to put the past behind her and move on. Though she may never fully heal like Ichigo, she now had him, his dad and his sisters to help pull her through. She may have not met his sisters yet, but Ichigo was sure they would get along well once they were acquainted. His sisters (especially Yuzu) seemed to like everyone.

Crawling into bed, Ichigo lay on his back and put his hands behind his head. He stared up at the ceiling recounting Rukia's story. It really made him want to strangle the bastard who had the right to call himself Rukia's father. What gave him the right—the idea—that beating his kids was right? What gave any parent that idea?

Knowing if he didn't stop thinking, he would never fall asleep, Ichigo dismissed the thought with a few choice words under his breath before turning on his side and succumbing to the darkness pulling at his mind.

He'd help Rukia pull through this, he promised himself. He'd help her and then protect her afterwards. Nothing like this would happen to her again. Ever.

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