Finally chapter 4! This is getting longer than I anticipated… at first I was wondering if I should include this chapter on the fic and it turned out I had a lot of fun writing it. I hope you enjoy reading it too. :)

Also, a warning to my dear readers:

I don't like to see random Japanese words in fanfics, as you are not supposed to know them. However, as previously mentioned, I will make exceptions when there is no proper translation to English (i.e the honorifics nii-san/sama). In this chapter (and in the future), I will be mentioning Japanese traditions, costumes, clothes, etc, so in this case I will use a small glossary in the beginning of the chapter. I hope it doesn't bother you too much. Btw, I'm not committing to follow all traditions perfectly, I might excuse myself with "artistic license" if needed, to make it more interesting for us! ;)

Enough with the talking!


Japanese words mentioned:

Iromuji - kimono with light colors, mainly worn to tea ceremonies.

nagajuban and a hadajuban - underwear garments to be used under the kimono

Furisode - the most formal kimono for unmarried women. Usually very colorful, with colorful patterns that cover the entire garment, and characterized by very long sleeves.

Omiai - Japanese custom whereby unattached individuals are introduced to each other to consider the possibility of marriage, usually with the help of a host and in the presence of the family.

Kaiseki - Traditional multi-course Japanese dinner analogous to Western haute cuisine, a highly formal banquet. Originally, it was the light meal that accompanied the tea ceremony.

Kanzashi - hair ornament


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The ghastly dinner would happen in a few hours, and Rukia decided to take a long bath, in a hopeless final attempt to relax. She wasn't fond of social meetings in the first place; social meetings where she had to interact with noble ladies and a possible fiancée were definitely a punishment from the gods. She was also probably expected to be host and serve the tea, so she had to recall the teachings she received after she joined the family, as she did not have the opportunity to practice it much in the past years.

She wondered what kind of kimono she should wear. Would a iromuji be enough? She remembered the trouble she'd had when learning about noble etiquette just after she joined the nobility; clothing had only been a small part of it. The first time she had been shown her chambers, she found in her wardrobe many types of wonderful kimonos she'd had no idea where to wear, or even how to try them on, being used only to the practical academy clothes or her poor Rukongai ones, which consisted basically of a short-sleeved kimono that had been discarded immediately.

Now she owned many types of kimonos that were still hardly used, as she preferred to wear her Shinigami uniform, a more comfortable and appropriate attire for battle. Her brother had also presented her with beautiful hair ornaments and jewelry that, now that she thought about it, she had probably inherited from Hisana or Byakuya's mother, and were equally barely used, as she still avoided the occasions to wear them.

"Excuse me, Kuchiki Rukia-sama, I am here to help you get dressed," a female voice called outside her door.

"Please come in," Rukia responded. The door opened and a young girl entered the room. She was wearing a simple short-sleeved kimono, and Rukia recognized her as the girl who had woken her up two days before. It seemed like she had been designated to be her maid some time ago, even though Rukia rarely had need for one.

The girl seemed pleased to have such an opportunity as she carefully went to Rukia's wardrobe and pulled a nagajuban, a hadajuban and the other smaller garments from inside. She approached Rukia, who simply nodded, letting the girl do her job. She started with the socks and proceeded with her work dutifully, putting on piece by piece. She went back to the wardrobe and pulled a beautiful purple furisode from inside.

"Am I supposed to wear a furisode?" Rukia asked, wondering how formal the dinner would be.

"Yes, Kuchiki Rukia-sama. I was told to dress you up with this one," the maid explained simply.

Rukia merely nodded, wondering who had given her this order.

"Will this be more of an omiai than a dinner?" she murmured, more to herself than to the girl. The thought was mortifying.

The girl finished dressing her up, and started working on her hair, pulling and twisting the thick strands in an elegant bun.

"I was only told about an important Kaiseki tonight, Rukia-sama" the girl answered, after a moment where she contemplated if she was supposed to answer at all.

The girl went to the dresser and came back with an expensive set of purple sapphire jewelry, which was put on Rukia with delicacy. She carefully adjusted a beautiful kanzashi of white gold and amethyst on Rukia's hair. After that, she gave a step back, probably wondering if she had forgotten anything. The girl seemed to be pleased with the result.

"Kuchiki Byakuya-sama asked you to be on the main dining room in ten minutes to receive the guests" the girl finished, applying a sweet smelling perfume on Rukia as a finishing touch .

Rukia nodded and sat on her bed, waiting patiently for those dreadful 10 minutes to pass.

*****

By the look on his face, Rukia concluded that her brother appreciated her being on time as she walked elegantly towards him, stopping by his side to receive the guests. One-by-one, they entered the main halls and bowed lightly in front of their hosts, being greeted with a similar short bow. Rukia recognized most of the guests. Five of them were elders and arrived before the others, coming from different wings of the mansion.

This first one to arrive was Fujiwara-sama, Byakuya's grandfather's brother and the oldest elder alive. Rukia looked at his almost completely white hair and his face, so strong and masculine, far from delicate as Byakuya's was and noticed how different they were. His features were too pronounced for her to believe that he had ever been handsome, even in his younger years. The elder also seemed to have held a scowl so many times in his life that now in his old age it had been permanently imprinted on his features, giving him an expression of neverending displeasure or grumpiness. To think that her elder brother, with his almost delicate features, his elegance and the graceful air that seemed to cling to him naturally, could be related to this man... Rukia smirked inwardly. She could pass off as his real sister before this man could claim to have the same blood as Byakuya.

Yasumoto-sama and Michiko-sama were Byakuya's father's siblings and entered just after their uncle. Michiko-sama was wearing a beautiful black and cobalt blue kimono that suited her orange hair, and blue sapphire jewelry. Rukia also greeted two elders that she was barely acquainted with, which she believed were Byakuya's father cousin and his mother's brother, but she wasn't sure which was which.

After those, they were approached by a handsome man with dark blond hair, about the same age as her brother, wearing a dark blue kimono and which she easily recognized as Eisei-dono.

He bowed lightly to Byakuya then turned to her. Bowing, he said:

"Rukia-dono, please accept this gift for your kindness as a hostess." He handed her a small box.

She looked at her brother lightly and took the box, bowing. "Thank you very much," was her only answer.

The four other guests were all ladies, escorted by retainers that were not supposed to attend the dinner, but patiently wait for them to be finished with the visit. Rukia observed that, even if it was not declared, they all seemed to know the reason they were invited. After all, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.** And her brother, with his looks, wealth and power was considered the best option for a husband in the whole Seireitei.

One of them was a blonde woman, introduced as a member of the Kasumiōji clan. She was wearing a light pink kimono that matched her delicate features. The second one was her cousin, or so Rukia understood, from the same family. She had light green eyes, black hair and aristocratic features. She was wearing a light green kimono and a gorgeous jade set of jewelry. The third young lady belonged to the Kannooji family. She had brown hair and wore a yellow kimono with golden ornaments and seemed frail and a little shy. Finally the forth one belonged to the Shihōin family. She was dark skinned, with light blue eyes and light cerulean hair. She had sly movements and a charming posture and for a moment, she reminded Rukia of a cat.

They all moved to the dinner table and took their seats. As expected, due to their position as hosts, Byakuya and Rukia were seated at opposite sides of the table; her brother surrounded by the ladies on each side of him, the elders in the center and Eisei to her right. As the servants bustled about, starting to serve their meals, he tried to initiate a conversation:

"Rukia-dono," she turned to him at hearing her name. "What a shame that in so many years in the family we were never able to have a proper conversation. You've always seemed like such an interesting lady." She remembered when they had been first introduced some years ago and felt the urge to snort at his comment, since he had never made any effort to talk to or paid any attention to her whatsoever. Instead, she contended herself with smiling and nodding.

"How long has it been? Twenty years?"

"Thirty, actually," She corrected him politely.

"Ah, you must be used to being a Kuchiki then." He asked in a pleasant tone, with a charming smile, looking around a bit.

"I would say so." She answered.

"Time enough to get used to having an older brother, a close family, I assume," he observed. Was he inquiring about her 'sibling' relationship with Byakuya? Was he trying to get any hints on her choice?

"Yes, nii-sama is an excellent man, whom I admire and respect" She avoided giving him any indications. Her eyes shifted towards Byakuya, who was looking back at her.

Eisei decided to change the subject. "I've heard you got a seated position on your squad lately. Congratulations." He said with a smile.

"Thank you." She had always wondered if that had only happened due to the passing of Kaien-dono, and tried to hide her discomfort at this. He had no way of knowing that.

The dinner proceeded accordingly. Eisei kept working on a trivial yet pleasant conversation which she tried to follow and answer, and Yasumoto-sama would offer his help eventually, asking them both questions once in a while. While Eisei's words seemed exceedingly kind and attentive towards her, which brought her some discomfort, Rukia noticed something off about his ways. His gaze would occasionally stray away, a small gesture that Rukia identified as a difficulty in concentrating on their conversation. Looking closely, his body language seemed to denounce a fake curiosity, instead of an honest interest in her, or so was her impression.

She looked at her brother again and noticed that his attention was still on her; he seemed not at all interested in the suitors that were trying to get into his good graces. She could not figure out a reason for that, but then again, her brother had always been a mystery to her. Was he worried about Eisei-dono's exceeding attention? Was there any reason to worry? Was there anything wrong with her? Or was he only bored? If the latter was true, Rukia couldn't blame him… Unable to decipher his motivations, she dismissed any further thoughts on the subject and concentrated on her dinner.

At the end of it, tea was brought and, as a host, she knew she was expected to serve the men. She stood up and ritually did so, starting with Fujiwara-sama and the other elders. She then moved to Eisen-dono and finally she approached her brother, bowing slowly before graciously serving him. Only after she sat back, did she allow herself to breathe and relax a little, knowing she hadn't done anything wrong.

After a while, the guests started to leave, congratulating them for the pleasant gathering. The ladies were definitely well-impressed and hoping for a chance to be the next Lady Kuchiki. The elders also started to leave for their wing of the castle. Rukia excused herself and she too left to the main wing where her bedroom was situated.

Before following the others, Yasumoto approached Byakuya and commented:

"What a nice evening, Byakuya-sama. I believe the dinner was a success, wouldn't you say so?" He asked rhetorically. Without waiting for a reply, he added: "Have a good night." Byakuya nodded, bowed as custom asked, and each left to their respective chambers.

Looking at his uncle's retreating figure, he narrowed his eyes. It was crystal clear that other interests were involved in this whole succession situation. Yet, he could not mention it to Rukia – he would leave the decision in her hands.

'A success?' Byakuya asked himself dryly, as he glided through empty halls. He remembered a faint sweet scent and a glimpse of a perfect neck and collarbone that had been the best impression he had gotten the entire night. A dinner to find a fiancée could hardly be considered a success when the only lady that captured one's attention was one's own sister...

*****

At her bedroom, Rukia opened the small box she had been given and found inside a beautiful hair ornament, a flower made of amethysts and a purple sapphire in the center, which would have suited perfectly the outfit she was wearing that night. It was something rich and showed good taste, but she didn't expect any less from a Kuchiki. She changed into her nightclothes, trying not to panic over the decision she would have to communicate in the morning, but thankfully, the dinner made her tired and she quickly fell asleep.


** Quote from the wonderful writer Jane Austen, this is the first phrase of her work "Pride and Prejudice" I was about to write something similar when I noticed the phrase would suit perfectly. Sorry, I'm a fan!

I'm working on chapter 5 now, but I can't promise to do it as fast. Please let me know what you think of this one, it means a lot to me. :)

xoxo

Wynn