Author's note: I'm not sure whether I should have been putting spoiler warnings in this story of mine as it does take a lot of information from the manga, which is ahead of the anime. So, for those who've only seen the anime, please note that there may be references here that are manga based. You can ask me about them if you would like an explanation, but just be warned that you may be spoiled when I answer your question.
Also, please don't read past the "To be continued" line in the end if you don't want me to spoil you for ep. 93 of anime.
Substitute Affections — A Bleach Fanfiction
by Akane-Rei
Part One: The Betrothal
Chapter Seven: Girl Talk
"I don't think anyone can see us anymore," she said plaintively to the girl intent on taking her far, far away. "I don't think anyone can hear us over here either," she added, more loudly this time as she tugged at her arm which happened to be in the process of being yanked out of its socket. "Kiyone!"
Kiyone stopped abruptly, forcing Rukia to run into her clumsily and painfully. "Kuchiki-san," Kiyone said her eyes fiery. "Rukia," she addressed more familiarly now that they were alone in the courtyard.
Rukia looked up to her friend, noting the clamping of her lips and the tightening of her hand against hers. "Kiyone," she said gently. "I'm alright."
"It's true then," she stated, her eyes still blazing. "What you said back there is true."
She nodded hesitantly, unsure exactly as to why her friend seemed more than upset. "I could hardly joke about Nii-sama," she said ruefully. No. Even in her wildest dreams or flights of fancy, a marriage to Nii-sama would have just been too bizarre for someone like her to even come up with. Suddenly she found herself looking up at her friend as Kiyone grabbed her shoulders once more and leaned against her.
"But why?" she cried. "Isn't this the same brother who you barely talk to in all the years you've lived with him?" At Rukia's nod, she continued. "The same brother who did absolutely nothing when you were sentenced to die by Soukyoku?" Again at Rukia's nod, she continued to list more faults and transgressions—real and imagined—that she could think of to lay upon Byakuya Kuchiki's feet.
"Ne, Kiyone," Rukia finally said after another bout of nodding. "You're not exactly making me feel better about this whole situation."
"Who's trying to make you feel better?" Kiyone almost shrieked. "Rukia-chan!" she wailed. "Why did you agree to this…this…this travesty? Captain Kuchiki is such a cold, cold man. Geez…I bet he'd freeze you faster than Sode no Shirayuki!"
Rukia smiled. "I really must object to your portrayal of Nii-sama," she said, although she couldn't help but chuckle at the comparison.
"And that's another thing!" Kiyone pounced. "He's your brother. You can't even help but call him 'Nii-sama.' Isn't that kinda weird?"
She bit her lip. Okay, so she really did need to stop the whole 'Nii-sama' way of addressing her brother. Given the circumstances, it was kind of…well as Kiyone said, it was really weird. "He's not my real brother," she relayed her usual defense. "He's more like my brother-in-law, really." Too bad she hadn't quite convinced herself fully of that. How on earth was she supposed to undo decades and decades of calling him 'Nii-sama'?
"Yeah, but you know what I mean, Rukia!" Kiyone protested.
She sighed. "Yes, I do," she conceded. "But Kiyone, at the same time, while I've always called him my brother, I can't say that I feel all that sisterly towards him."
"Eh?" Kiyone's voice rose. "What do you mean? You don't have some sort of crush on him, do you?" She looked at her with wide and panicked eyes. "Rukiaaaaa! Didn't we have this talk about unrequited love before?"
"No!" she denied, blushing. "I mean, 'no,' I don't have a crush on Nii-sama and 'yes,' we've had the talk about unrequited love before." Crush on Nii-sama? The very thought seemed alien and well…embarrassing. "What I meant was, Nii-sama and I aren't really that close!" she tried to explain as she attempted to stem the red flush that crept up her cheeks. "Not like you and Isane or…or…or Ichigo and his sisters." She took a deep breath. "Nii-sama's more like…a stranger than anything else." She licked her lips. "So really, it's as if I'm marrying a stranger instead of a brother." She smiled weakly. "That's less weird, right?"
"A stranger?" Kiyone's said suspiciously. "I thought you said things were better at home after that whole incident with your near execution?"
"They were better!" she defended herself, flushing again. So maybe, just maybe, she might have exaggerated just a little bit when she told Kiyone that Nii-sama was slightly more approachable that time after the whole debacle with Aizen. "But Kiyone, to say that things were better than before is like saying that at least one desert is not as dry as another. In the end, they're both deserts with little or no rain." She paused, gathering her thoughts. "And in the end, Nii-sama is still Nii-sama," she shrugged.
Kiyone was silent for a moment. "Why did you never tell me this?" she asked quietly. "It sounds like a very lonely home, Rukia-chan."
"Kiyone," Rukia smiled at her friend's concern. "I'm never home enough for it to make too much of a difference. And whenever I'm here at the thirteenth division headquarters, I have you and Sentarou. To be honest, I've always thought of the two of you as my older brother and sister anyway that I rarely missed the companionship even when I'm at home at the Kuchiki main house."
And with that, she suddenly found herself in the receiving end of another fierce hug from Kiyone. "Rukia-chan," she cried softly. "That's one of the nicest things anyone has ever told me," she said in tears. "And I bet that is the nicest thing anyone has ever said about Kotsubaki as well," she declared.
She smiled, returning her friend's fierce embrace. "It's true, though," she confirmed. And it was. Even back in the days of Kaien-dono as vice-captain of their division, Kiyone and Sentarou had always been there for her.
"Now, then," Kiyone said, pulling away a little. "Why don't you tell your Nee-san why exactly you let yourself be talked into this whole Kuchiki engagement fiasco."
Rukia gave her a mock glare and a slight push. "You have a one-track mind, did you know that?"
"You think so?" she asked. "Kotsubaki says just the opposite." Keeping one arm around her shoulders, Kiyone began to walk them again. "Now tell me exactly what happened. Don't spare me the details; I just want to know how you got scammed into this."
Rukia winced at her friend's choice of words. "I wasn't scammed," she declared defensively. "Nii-sama and the Kuchiki advisors presented me with this proposition late yesterday afternoon and I agreed with it."
"That's it!" she shrieked again. "One day you're a single shinigami minding her own business and enjoying the single life and the next thing you know you're going to be tied down to Soul Society's most unfeeling and emotionally stunted—"
"Kiyone!" she groaned.
"Okay, okay," she muttered. "Sheesh. I'm just saying." She closed her eyes and sighed before opening one eye and peering down at Rukia. "Well at least he's good-looking," she said slyly.
Rukia choked. Or at least she would have had she been in the process of eating or drinking or even swallowing her own saliva. "Kiyone!" she sputtered.
"What!" she asked. "Like you never thought about it?"
Rukia looked at her in surprise. "Well, no," she replied honestly. "He was supposed to be my brother."
"Well," Kiyone pondered, "what about now?"
"What about now?"
"He's now you're fiancée, stupid," Kiyone informed her. "You're allowed to think about him that way. In fact, don't you think it's important that you start thinking about him that way?"
Rukia stared at her with an mouth open. "I'm…I'm not really sure what the proper answer to that question would be," she said slowly, her mind racing at the new possibilities.
"Well, don't you think he's at least good-looking?" Kiyone asked, reminding her very much of…a manga she recently read.
"No!" she denied quickly. Thinking of Nii-sama that way was just…wrong, wasn't it?
"What!" Kiyone exclaimed in surprise. "Liar!" she accused. "If ever Byakuya Kuchiki had a good point, it's in his looks. Even Isane-nee-san has commented on it, not to mention Matsumoto when she's not talking about how healthy Kurosaki-san and Abarai-san look in their shinigami robes. Or out of it, for that matter."
"Oh for the love of—" Rukia paused, carefully trying to gauge what to say next while at the same time trying to stem the mental picture that Kiyone's words projected. "These are my brother and my friends we're talking about! I'd really rather not know if other women are fantasizing about them that way." And no, she most certainly did not want to know if Matsumoto had seen any of them out of their shinigami robes.
"Whatsa matter?" Kiyone asked playfully. "Jealous?"
And again, Rukia flushed. Damn her pale complexion! "I am not!" she answered, flustered. She wasn't! She wasn't!
"I wonder, Rukia-chan, are you jealous for Byakuya Kuchiki or Ichigo Kurosaki or Renji Abarai?" she said in a singsong voice.
"I am not jealous!" she declared hotly, all the while looking around to make sure no one overheard this very silly and quite embarrassing conversation. "What's there to be jealous of?" she demanded.
"Hmmm…"
"What?"
"You're blushing quite painfully, Rukia-chan," Kiyone observed giddily. She leaned closer, until only inches separated her mouth from Rukia's ear. "Now tell me, if it wasn't for this silly little engagement of yours…would Kotsubaki be buying me dinner or would I be the one paying for the meal?"
"Kiyone!" she protested again. How many times had she said her friend's name in exasperation? "Is that bet all you can think of?" She frowned. "First of all, Renji and Ichigo and I are just friends!" She wasn't quite sure herself how it ended up that way, but somewhere between fighting hollows, arrancars and shinigamis with god complexes, a bond had forged between her, Ichigo, and Renji. "Which really brings me to my next point," she said slowly before grabbing her third seat officer by the robes. "What the hell were you thinking betting on something like that?"
"Eh-heh-heh," Kiyone attempted to laugh it off. "Come on, Rukia! Don't you think you've led the two of them enough of a merry chase? Everyone, and I mean everyone, had expected you to choose one of them by now."
"I don't know what you're talking about," she huffed. Really? Was that really what everyone thought? Had she been oblivious to the speculation that surrounded her and her friends? Her eyes narrowed. "Have you been going through my manga again?" she asked instead. "What do you think this is, some sort of cheesy love triangle?"
"Hrm…with Byakuya Kuchiki in the equation, can we still consider this a love triangle?" Kiyone asked thoughtfully. "It's not a love square because I think that would entail at least one of your boys being interested in one another as well…" her voice drifted.
"Argh!" she was close to pulling her hair out. Where did Kiyone get these ideas? "Have you been drinking already, Kiyone?" she asked frustrated. "You've just gotten back from patrol, dammit! When did you find the time?"
"Hey!" Kiyone protested. "I haven't had a drop, I tell you." Her eyes twinkled. "Although, on the way back here, I heard that two fourth division seated officers were seen leaving Abarai-san's apartment last night. It seems that an inordinate amount of sake might have been involved."
Rukia gulped.
No. Oh no. It got out.
Of course it got out. When did this sort of thing ever stay in one room?
She was going to kill Ichigo and Renji. She couldn't believe those two morons had not one but two seated officers from the fourth division treat her!
More importantly, she was going to die. Nii-sama was going to hear about this and she's going to get another lecture on the proper behavior of a Kuchiki. She could already hear what he was going to say as well as what Sanada-san was going to say. Everyone was going to be appalled, and the Kuchikis would once more say how unfit she was to be adopted—
Wait a minute.
Okay, so let's say it did reach Nii-sama's ears as well as the rest of the Kuchikis. What would be the worst thing that could happen? Besides the lectures she was sure to be in for, what other consequence could there be? Well for one thing, they could get so disgusted with her behavior that they might…maybe break an engagement?
But, that's good, right?
It wasn't as if she wanted this engagement. Thinking back to it, didn't Sanada-san practically browbeat her into accepting this right then and there? It wasn't as if she had any desire for a marriage between her and Nii-sama. It was all done for the family. And she was sure, quite sure, that Nii-sama felt the same.
She shook her head. What was she even thinking? Would she really be willing to embarrass the Kuchiki family in order to get out of a union she had already given her word to?
She cursed.
"Ruuukia-chan!" Kiyone's voice called to her.
Startled, she opened her eyes to see Kiyone looking at her with concern while waving her hands in front of her face.
"Are you alright, Rukia-chan?"
She licked her lips. "Of course!" she replied with a smile that she would have called sickly had she seen it herself. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, you went a little spacey there for a second," Kiyone muttered, putting a hand against her forehead. "You don't seem sick," she said under her breath.
Rukia pushed her hand away. "I'm fine," she stated, suddenly feeling a bout of déjà vu. "Really," she emphasized, afraid that Kiyone might suddenly get it into her head to call for the fourth division. That was all she needed at this time—another fourth division incident. "I was just thinking what Nii-sama's going to say when he hears all this gossip," she improvised.
Kiyone snorted. "What can he say?" she asked airily. "It's partially his fault for agreeing to this sudden engagement anyway. Speaking of which, have you decided on a wedding date, yet?"
She nodded. "Funny you should ask," she stated. "We were just discussing that very this morning."
"Oh?" she commented. "I suppose that makes sense. So, when's the big day?"
"Sometime next month," she replied.
"…"
"The yui-no is in three days," she added just for good measure.
"…"
"Everything should be ready by then according to Sanada-san."
"…"
"Ne, Kiyone," Rukia began to be concerned at her friend's lack of response. "Are you alright?"
"Kuchiki-san," Kiyone's voice finally came through, startling Rukia with her use of her adoptive family name.
At that point, Rukia found herself to be the recipient of two death grips on her shoulders.
"Kuchiki-san," Kiyone said again with a forced smile on her face. "I need you to tell me…real slow this time…when the wedding is."
She bit her lip. "Next month," she replied promptly.
Kiyone gave a small laugh. "See, Kuchiki," she said patiently, "I don't think I heard you right so I'll ask again. And this time, you have to answer very slowly, so that I can understand you, okay?"
"Okay," she responded, a small smile lurking on the corner of her mouth. "Wedding…Is…Next…Month."
"Next month?"
Rukia found herself shaken by the two hands that gripped her shoulders. "Next…Month," she reiterated slowly, as ordered, despite the fact that her head was wobbling from being shaken. Strangely enough, seeing her friend's disbelieving reaction made her feel a little better about her own…surprise?...utter amazement and disbelief?...shock?...when she first heard of the timeline.
"What do you mean it's 'next month'!" Kiyone screeched.
She gave a helpless shrug. "I don't decide these things," she said as a way of explanation. "I just found out myself today if you can believe that." And she could see from her friend's expression that she couldn't. To be honest, the whole thing was happening to her and even she couldn't believe it. "They said that since Nii-sa…Byakuya-sama and I have known each other for," she hiccupped, "for…for decades that there's no reason to wait." She was getting married next month. Was it just now sinking in?
"But…but…barring the fact that it's your wedding and the fact that it's a total shock to everyone—yourself included—what about all the preparations? This is a noble wedding, for crying out loud! You can't be expected to put it all together in a month!"
"I'm not…I'm not expected to," she said quietly. "Sanada-san has said that he will arrange everything. Including my kimonos!" she added, thinking back to his nonsensical comment at the breakfast table. She still couldn't believe that they thought she was worried about what she was going to wear.
"But…but…but…"
"I don't believe this!" Rukia cried. "Are you speechless?" she teased her friend.
"But that's just wrong!" Kiyone protested vehemently, throwing her hands up in the air. "It's your wedding, your future! Don't you think you should have some sort of say in it?"
As a matter of fact, she did think she should have some sort of say in it. But for some reason, whenever confronted by the Kuchikis—
"Why do you always wimp out whenever Byakuya Kuchiki or the rest of those Kuchikis ask something from you?" Kiyone demanded, giving voice to her own question.
She didn't know. She couldn't answer a question she'd asked herself so many times before. Why couldn't she say something to Sanada-san during breakfast this morning? Or forget this morning, what about yesterday? Why did she just stand there like a dummy and agree to their proposal?
"I mean," Kiyone continued, her hands to her hips, "I've seen you stand toe-to-toe with Abarai-san and Kurosaki-san. I've seen you boss this whole division around including me and sometimes even Captain Ukitake. But dammit! When it comes to the Kuchikis, you're like putty in their hands! They say 'jump!' and you say 'how high?' They say 'let's have a wedding!' and you say…what? 'When?'" She paused for breath before pushing Rukia with a pointed finger and advancing menacingly. "It's like they have some sort of weird hold on you," she declared. She looked closely at Rukia. "Do they?"
"Huh?"
"Do they have some weird hold on you that we don't know about?" she asked suspiciously. "Did they pressure you? Are you being blackmailed?"
"No!" Why did everyone always think that? Didn't Ichigo ask her the very same question last night?
"Then why do you give in so easily?" she asked softly, turning serious all of a sudden. "Why don't you give them the same hell you give all of us?"
She looked away. "They're my family, Kiyone," she replied abruptly.
"That's right," Kiyone agreed. "They're your family." She remained silent for awhile. "Rukia-chan, do you even know what that means?"
"Of course I do!" she protested, looking back at her.
"Sometimes, Rukia, I really do wonder," she sighed. "You know—" her words trailed.
She looked up, noticing the lull in what she knew was supposed to be a lecture, and found Kiyone distracted by something behind her.
"Kotsubaki," Kiyone muttered under her breath. "Kotsubaki, you get out from behind that bush right now you eavesdropping jerk!"
Rukia looked behind her to find a sheepish Sentarou jumping out of the bushes followed by…
"Captain?" she mouthed, her eyes widening as she saw her white-haired thirteenth division captain following closely behind Sentarou with a big, innocent grin across his face.
"Didn't I call this 'girl-talk'?" Kiyone raged beside her just before jumping and placing Sentarou on a choke-hold. "What part of 'girl' and 'talk' did you not get, stupid?"
"Arrghh!" Sentarou cried out. "Get off me, monkey-girl!" he yelled out as he attempted to get some semblance of control of his body while it was jerked and pulled at by Kiyone. "Kuchiki," he gasped as he hobbled towards her, "I wanted to say that you have my full support in whatever you do," he heaved.
"Eh!" Kiyone's voice rose. "I was going to say that!" she shouted. "Eventually," she added, smiling gently at Rukia before pulling at more of Sentarou's goatie. "What do you think you're doing interrupting my moment with Kuchiki-san! I was about to say something really wise and mature!"
"You copy-cat monkey!" he growled. "Like you can ever say anything remotely wise that you didn't copy from me!"
Rukia smiled at her friends' antics. They've done this since she came to the thirteenth division, and she had a feeling they would keep doing it for as long as she remained.
"Kuchiki."
She turned her gaze to her captain.
"A yui-no in three days, is it?" he asked, his focus seemingly on the two third seat officers.
"Ah," she replied, following his lead. How long had he and Sentarou been listening to her and Kiyone?
"I will, of course, be there," he stated, giving her a sideways glance.
"Thank you for your time," she answered formally. "The Kuchikis appreciate your flexibility regarding our sched—"
"Kuchiki," he warned, giving her a supercilious look, "you start sounding like those other stuffed-shirt Kuchikis—and yes, I'm including Byakuya—and I'm going to have to demote you and send you to the eighth division where you can help Vice-Captain Ise keep track of Shunsui."
She bit her lip to hold back a smile.
"That's better," he said, before looking back at Kiyone and Sentarou. "You should know that I've asked Unohana to help you with the minute details." He glanced back at her. "Including what you would need for the yui-no."
She looked up at him.
"I knew it was going to be soon," he told her, "although not quite as soon as Sanada Kuchiki had planned. I've talked to Unohana last night and she had agreed to lend us her expertise." He turned to face her fully. "I thought perhaps you might find a woman's influence in these matters more comfortable."
She gave him a teasing grin. "Oh? It has nothing at all to do with the supposed excessive amount of shopping that a bride-to-be must do before her wedding?" She gave him a full-blown smile. "I heard your two sisters ran you ragged when they got married."
"Let's not discuss that further," he muttered, shuddering. "Be that as it may, Unohana has kindly offered her services to us so let's not waste it. I believe she said she'll be coming here to talk to you sometime today."
Rukia nodded. "I shall be sure to thank her then," Rukia said, wondering what else she could say to the fourth division captain. She winced. Besides apologizing for taking two of her seated officers' time last night.
They stood in silence for awhile, still watching Kiyone and Sentarou, before she heard him sigh beside her.
"Kuchiki," he said, his voice low.
She looked up at him.
"I'm only going to ask this once," he stated, and if possible, his voice became even lower.
She nodded, wondering what was on her captain's mind.
"Are you sure about this?" he queried softly.
She felt her heart skip a beat. If she wasn't sure, would he help her? If she wasn't sure, could he do something? Looking at his eyes, she knew that one word from her, one single word and she would find herself without a fiancé and without a wedding to worry about. She didn't know how he would do it, only that he would find a way despite all the consequences that such an action might entail.
She opened her mouth to express her doubts. She opened her mouth to confess her concerns. She opened her mouth, but neither words of doubt nor concern spilled forth. Instead, her heart felt lighter with the knowledge that her captain and her friends supported her decision no matter what. So, in response to his query, she took one of his hands with both of her own and said softly, "Thank you." And that was all she needed to say.
To be continued.
More author's notes: SPOILER. Do not read past this line if you don't want to know what I have to say about ep. 93.
Okay, maybe I'm reaching…but damn! Was that a B x R moment near the end or what? Even if it wasn't, I'm going to pretend that it was because it is the single most B X R moment I have ever seen in the anime. I'm loving it so much, that I'm willing to forgive this damn Bount arc that had Rukia being all helpless and crap in some of the previous episodes.
