Nobility Kills
By Uchiha Xairylle
Fourth Drop : Burning Snow
The angry downpour was slowly beginning to come to an end except for small droplets from time-to-time but the sun had not completely shone yet. Maybe it was making sure the rain clouds had gone away completely. Hisana looked up thoughtfully. A single drop fell on her cheek and she blinked before wiping it off with her palm. She looked down at Rukia who was suckling at her thumb.
"Is the princess awake noooooow?" Hisana giggled at her sister who smiled and her small arm stretched out to reach for her sister's face. Hisana giggled again and neared her face towards Rukia's hand.
Her giggling stopped.
The baby's hand was so cold.
She pulled away, looking at her sister. The baby looked fine. Her cheeks were even pinkish as she made that baby-ish laugh. There was still something cold on Hisana's cheek where Rukia's hand touched. The older sister slowly wiped it off. And now her hand was cold with something strange on her skin.
Hisana looked.
Her eyes widened upon seeing what she had wiped off. It was white. And it was cold.
Snow!
Hisana gasped and shook the snow off her hand. She looked around in panic if anyone had seen it before running away aimlessly like her mind in alarm. Could she have been wrong? No, she couldn't. The cold feeling was still on her skin and it send shivers down her spine. How could that be? She could hear Rukia's baby giggling as if enjoying the running Hisana had been doing. Hisana seemingly could not feel her soles touching the pavement even as she stepped on the small pools of water that remained after the rain.
Maybe it wasn't Rukia. Maybe it was snowing. That could be, right?
Right?
Hisana looked up while running.
"Hey, look out, you!"
No.
"HEY!"
It wasn't snowing.
"AH!"
BADGSH!!
Hisana crashed into a something. The cart fell over to one side and the tomatoes started rolling on the ground. The girl was mindful enough to cover her sister as she sprung back from the impact. She felt her body hit the street. She was going to have scratches. As her violent recoil came to a halt, Hisana sat up and scampered back untl her back hit the wall, holding her hands above her to shield her and her sister from the owner of the tomato cart's wrath.
"I-I-I-I'm sorry, sir! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
She was expecting a beating but there was none.
"What is this!?"
The people seemed to be bothered by something else to care about her offense. Hisana opened her eyes and she probably wished she didn't because what she saw made her panic so bad that she didn't realize she was crying.
"The tomato cart..." Hisana trembled and covered her mouth.
For some insane reason, the tomato cart was on fire!
How did that happen!?
Hisana's knees and legs were still trembling and she did not know if it was the panic, the fear, the confusion or the adrenaline that told her to get up and make a run for it before anyone noticed her. She made an escape through the narrow alley behind her. Hisana's tears were flowing yet she wasn't in any state to wipe it off. She was losing balance here and there but she still did not stop even though she already felt her feet and legs getting scratches and wounds.
She could hear her sister giggling.
"This is no laughing matter, Rukia!" Hisana said as if her sister understood what she was saying, "You're lucky not to even realize everything that's happening up to now! Especially now!"
Hisana's feet were getting tangled for some reason. Her legs won't follow what her brain was telling them to do. Perhaps it was because her brain was too confused to send normal messages to her body.
Hisana fumbled forward but managed not to fall. She kept on running.
Running.
Running.
Until she came to a dead end. It was a high wooden wall that Hisana scaled with her vision as she huffed, tears still streaming from her eyes.
Hisana looked at Rukia and leaned forward until her forehead touched the wooden wall.
What is going on?
The beggar girl continued to cry when Rukia's hand touched the wall. Slowly, snow started to form where her little hand was. Hisana gasped but had no strength to violently shove her sister's tiny hand away. Her fingers slowly wrapped around her sister's hand and drew it away from the wall. Hisana's trembling fingers slowly touched the snow on the wood.
But something happened.
As soon as her fingers touched the snow, it started melting. Hisana's eyes widened.
Her hand...
My hand is on fire!!
Hisana shrieked, drawing her hand away hurriedly as the fire from it died down. It was a bit too late. The dark spot that formed on the wood was no longer a dark spot. Instinctively, Hisana's heart pounded and she started to panic as she backed. And from panic, her feeling evolved into horror.
First the water turned to snow. Then the cart burned all of a sudden.
And now the wooden wall was on fire!
If this was a nightmare, Hisana wanted to wake up now!
---
"HIYAH! HIYAH! HUOOH!! UOOOH!! YAAAH!! HAAAAAH!!"
"Byakuya-kun, how long do you plan on swinging violently like that?"
The sweaty young boy with shiny black hair tied behind his back looked annoyingly at the raven-haired man lying on his side and scratching his ear with his pinky. His eyes were closed and his eyebrows were furrowed and Byakuya pouted without changing his stance.
"I wonder how your eyelids saw my swinging." Byakuya said, "You've been lying around since you got here, Shiba Kaien."
Shiba Kaien opened his eyes, eyebrows still furrowed and looking a bit nastily at Byakuya.
"...Senpai." Byakuya added lowly, looking away and adding a bit of a grunt.
"You were swinging so violently that my ears would be enough." Kaien replied and stretched. Byakuya snorted and resumed his swings. Stupid person from Shiba clan. Why was he supposed to supervise his training today? Byakuya saw his person as too happy-go-lucky and very cumbersome to become a noble let alone his "senpai". He despised it whenever that older Shiba person would look at him like that. Not that it was scary to make him obey but it was really annoying.
Much like that horrible, stupid, traitorous demon cat woman witch slob...
"Look, I know you're pissed off but perhaps you shouldn't think much about what happened to Shihouin—"
"I AM NOT!!" Byakuya hollered, pointing a finger angrily at Kaien, "Stop assuming that you know what I'm thinking!"
"Your angry face shows a lot, you know." Kaien shrugged and sat up as if Byakuya was not angry, "Maybe you should learn how to hide those feelings a bit now?"
"Shut up!"
And Byakuya threw his bamboo sword at Kaien. The older Shinigami frowned, caught the sword and in one shunpo, he was gone. Byakuya was about to disappear to flee when all of a sudden there was a large hand gripping his wrist and in front of him was the face of Shiba Kaien.
"There is one thing you should learn aside from not swinging your sword aimlessly and violently." Kaien said lowly, "You must not and never treat your sword with reckless abandon."
There was some heavy pressure looming over his face. At least that was how the young Kuchiki felt. He swallowed and inched a bit back just in case Kaien thought of doing something stupid or violent to him.
"Besides..." Kaien said lightly and put the bamboo sword in Byakuya's hand, "You're holding a sword, not a javelin or a spear so throwing it like that was very unsightly especially for the 28th head-to-be of the Kuchiki clan so put a little elegance in it, yes?"
Byakuya remained pouting.
You're one to talk, you non-elegant, ear-scratching, pompous Shiba clan person!
The young Kuchiki looked at the sword on his hand and wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead. It was then that a servant came with a tray with green tea and Sakura mochi.
"Food!" Kaien laughed and called for Byakuya, "Hey, Byakuya-kun, why don't we have something to eat first? I'm sure you're tired."
"I'm not."
And the boy resumed swinging until his stomach churned rather loudly.
Kaien turned around to stop himself from chuckling but made sounds to give him away nonetheless. Byakuya frowned, pouting awkwardly as a very red hue covered his face.
"Fine! I'm eating!"
Kaien broke into boisterous laughter as Byakuya snatched one of the mochi and took a giant bite off it.
"See!? Even nobility and heirs have stomachs that get hungry!"
"Shoudduph!" Byakuya replied with his mouth full and cheeks puffed. Kaien broke into more laughter and Byakuya turned redder. Perhaps he should stuff a mochi into that very large ugly laughing mouth of his and see how he'd like that. When he gets to be clan leader he was going to use his influence to have Kaien tied to a pole and tickled to death.
"GINREI-SAMA! GINREI-SAMA!"
The approaching shouting servant made Byakuya swallow the mochi before he could chew on it properly. He immediately grabbed the ceramic glass and started drinking the tea hurriedly and unceremoniously.
"GINREI-SAMA!"
The servant in a dark blue kimono came to a stop and bowed to a choking Byakuya and his sempai. Kaien raised an eyebrow.
"Kuchiki-taichou is not here." Kaien said, "What seems to be the matter?"
"One of the Kuchiki properties is on fire."
"What!?" Byakuya exclaimed, "Which one!?"
"The small feeding center in the Inuzuri district of Rukongai!"
"I'm going to give the word to Ginr—"
"I'm going." Byakuya got up.
"What?" Kaien raised an eyebrow again.
"You go tell grandfather." Byakuya told Kaien seriously as he got up, "I'm going to see matters in Rukongai."
"But—!"
"If I can not handle something like this then I don't think I'm fit to be leader of the clan."
- Fourth Drop Dries -
AN: Finally, Byakuya makes an appearance! And Kaien, too! It's my first time using Kaien in a fic so please be gentle if you think I didn't do much justice! I had to do some researching for some stuff so I was late. Sorry!
Will Hisana and Byakuya finally meet and be together? Maaaaaaaaybe. Haha. I talk too much. I would've typed something longer if I wasn't hungry. Anyway, I hope you likes!
R&R! Cheerios, cookies and a whole lot of Bankai love!
