Hello again everyone, I have returned! With me, I bring the second last chapter of this fic - surprising, eh? For a while, it seemed to me that Chicken Soup for a Kuchiki's Soul was destined to become a half-finished fic, going on forever without any end in sight. And yet here we are at the almost-ending. Is it wrong that I'm surprised? :P Anyways, I'll cut the nostalgia short, since I'm sure that anyone who actually reads the Author's Note is probably getting impatient.

And so, by the power vested in me, I present chapter 8! (Bleach also doesn't belong to be, but I think that after all of this you probaly all already know that ;P)


Chapter 8:

Even if she couldn't quite run straight or see clearly, Rukia somehow managed to make it the whole way to one of the local bars without running into anyone or anything; although she did have one close call with a fairly unlucky fruit vendor while trying to avoid Renji, who'd been chasing her non-stop since she'd run out of the Kuchiki Manor.

Glancing quickly behind her, Rukia leaned up against the side of the building. For a moment she stayed there, catching her breath and blinking away the spots hovering in her peripherals. Then, with a single wipe of her eyes and a steadying breath, Rukia turned and walked through the swinging doors. Out of the public eye and into the safe twilight of the bar, Rukia finally relaxed.

Sitting down on one of the stools she immediately ordered a random sake off of the menu. She didn't really care what sort it was – she just needed the alcohol. With only one strange look the waiter wrote down her order and left. Sighing, Rukia rolled her eyes. If only she didn't look so young!

"Kuchiki? What are you doing here?" glancing to her left, Rukia raised an eyebrow slightly as the startled face of the 10th Division's Fukutaichou came into view.

"Getting a sake. What does it look like?" she responded, to upset to speak civilly to someone higher ranked than herself, not to mention someone she considered a friend. Matsumoto didn't seem too impressed, as her startled look shifted into an upset frown.

"No, that's exactly what it looks like. My question is why are you getting a sake? I thought you were watching Kuchiki-Taichou. Did something happen?" Matsumoto asked, sounding concerned and more than a little hurt. Narrowing her eyes slightly, Rukia turned to face her, trying to look apologetic.

"Sorry, Matsumoto-Fukutaichou, I've just got a lot on my mind. And no, everything's fine," the petite shinigami sighed, leaning her cheek against her fist. She wished she could confide in the blonde, but Rukia couldn't imagine someone like Matsumoto understanding what had happened.

The older shinigami didn't look very convinced, but Rukia was saved having to explain by the waiter, who took that moment to arrive with her much-needed sake. Thanking the waiter, Rukia took a sip of the bottle, wincing at the way the sake burned its way down her throat.

"Rukia, as both your friend and a naturally intuitive woman, I think I have the right to say that everything is not fine," Matsumoto tried again, her brow crinkling as she frowned. Putting a hand to her temple, Rukia sighed. Lying to Matsumoto wasn't getting her anywhere.

"Did you know that I was held back from promotion to a seated officer?" she asked, feeling hesitant. She had a feeling that the Tenth Division's Fukutaichou – being a notorious gossip – would probably already know the whole story, but that didn't stop Rukia from feeling like she was divulging some dangerous secret. Eyes widening slightly, Matsumoto nodded.

"Well, yes, Renji let it slip accidentally while we were out drinking one night... how long have you known? I heard that Kuchiki-Taichou tried very hard to keep things under wraps," the blonde added thoughtfully, touching her finger to her chin. Closing her eyes, Rukia sighed as the sake began to kick in. She'd always been a bit of a lightweight where alcohol was concerned.

"This morning," Rukia said shortly, noting that she'd been running from Renji for the better part of the day. Hearing the sad, shocked sound next to her, Rukia didn't have time to brace herself before her face was pushed into Matsumoto's chest as the blonde hugged her.

"Oh Rukia, that's so terrible! Well, I'm here to help – tell me everything," pulling away, Rukia managed to hold back the urge to gasp for air. Causing a scene right then probably wouldn't be a good idea, she decided, with Renji on her trail.

Hopping back up onto her stool, Rukia took a sip of her drink before re-telling what had happened that morning. She started at Renji running through the door, since her and Byakuya's escapade felt too...private. Matsumoto listened, completely entranced, making the occasional angry huff or agreeing 'hm'.

When she was done telling her story, Rukia closed her eyes. Recounting her story had only served to upset her all over again, and not for the first time that day, Rukia wished that Renji had never barged into the room that morning. Then, things would still be alright between her and Byakuya – they'd been so close to a breakthrough, too! But no, Rukia reminded herself with a swing of sake. Byakuya had purposefully held her back. If he hadn't, she'd be able to do more to protect people. Then he might not have died...

"If you want my honest opinion, I don't think you should have run." Opening her eyes in surprise, Rukia stared up at Matsumoto in shock. That hadn't been quite the reaction she'd been expecting. Normally, the older shinigami listened to your problem, nodded accordingly, and left you feeling better but in no way helped the situation.

"W-what do you mean?" Rukia asked warily. She wasn't quite sure she wanted to hear the answer...

"Well look at it this way. Obviously, Kuchiki-Taichou held you back for a reason. As strong as you are, being a seated officer is much more dangerous than being unseated. I'm willing to bet that he was trying to keep you safe," Matsumoto replied smartly, taking a swing of her drink. Before Rukia could reply, she felt an all-too-familiar reiatsu approaching the bar.

"Renji!" Rukia gasped, and Matsumoto choked on her drink. Feeling panicked, Rukia looked around hurriedly. She couldn't let Renji find her. If he did, he'd bring her back to Byakuya faster than she could blink, and then everything that morning would catch up with her and... she had to hide now.

"Rukia, quick!" was the last thing Rukia heard, before being grabbed and forced between Matsumoto and the bar counter, her head squashed down by the blonde's annoyingly large breasts. Just as she was about to jump up indignantly Rukia heard the door slam open, and the voice she'd been avoiding ring out. Shutting her mouth, Rukia concentrated on suppressing her reiatsu and staying as still as possible.

"Oi, Matsumoto! You see Rukia around here? I could 'a sworn I felt her reiatsu here just a second ago!" Matsumoto shifted as she turned to face Renji, and Rukia couldn't help but let out a squeak. How did Hitsugaya-Taichou stand this?

"Oh Renji, hi! She was just here, but she must have left while my back was turned. Come on, sit down and talk!" she insisted, grabbing Renji by the arm and pulling him into Rukia's empty spot. Furious, Rukia almost made herself known right then and there. What was Matsumoto doing?

"Well, I guess a little break couldn't hurt. I've been chasing that damned midget around all day, and a good old bottle of sake is just what I need," Renji sounded fairly exhausted, and Rukia couldn't help but feel bad. It wasn't his fault that Byakuya was his captain.

"Oh dear, I seem to recall Rukia telling me something about that. She sounded awfully upset, you know," Matsumoto gushed, leaning forwards. Under the table, Rukia tried not to choke on the back fabric of the Fukutaichou's pants. Dying like this would be more than a little stupid, she figured.

"Yeah, she and Taichou got into a fight this morning, and she just ran. I don't think I've ever seen him so upset," Renji was saying, and from where Rukia was, she could see a shiver run through him. Frowning slightly, Rukia bit her lip. Byakuya was upset?

'Well, he should be!' Rukia tried to tell herself, but her heart wasn't in it. Even if what Byakuya had done was terrible, she still didn't like the fact that he could be as distressed as Renji was letting on.

"I don't think I've ever really seen Kuchiki-Taichou upset over anything really, so that is a little worrying. I imagine that he's out searching for her as well?" Matsumoto asked, and Rukia perked up slightly. Maybe, if she could find Byakuya, they could work this out!

Maybe.

"Yeah. The whole Fourth Division couldn't keep him in his room, and eventually Unohana-Taichou just let him go. I think he was searching the 78th District, last time I checked," Renji said offhandedly, picking up the bottle of sake Rukia had left on the table and draining it.

Rukia bit her lip, suddenly unsure. She knew that Byakuya wasn't ready to be out running around Soul Society yet. Was it wrong to let him exhaust, and potentially endanger himself on her behalf? Truthfully, Rukia wanted not to care at all; this way Byakuya could make up for everything he'd done to her – holding her back, ignoring her for forty years, not telling her the truth about Hisana...

Thinking of her late sister, the small shinigami couldn't hold back a sigh. Even if she never knew her sister, Rukia was sure that Hisana wouldn't want her and Byakuya to be fighting. Knowing what she had to do, Rukia slipped quietly out from under Matsumoto, sneaking off in the opposite direction of her two friends. From the way their loud conversation was getting more and more slurred, Rukia was sure she wouldn't be noticed or followed. Perhaps that had been Matsumoto's plan all along?

Without another glance behind her Rukia exited the bar, intent on making it to her former home before sundown.


When she found Byakuya, he was right where Rukia thought he would be. The small glade was comfortably isolated, perched on top of a large cliff that overlooked most of Rukongai, away from civilians and shinigami alike. It also happened to be the resting place of her former brothers – the children she and Renji had grown up with on the streets of Rukongai. As she drew closer to Byakuya's unmoving form, Rukia noted that the markers of their bodies still stood.

She didn't know how to feel about that.

"Rukia," Byakuya acknowledged her presence quietly, not turning from where he was sitting on the edge of the cliff, his feet dangling in the air. Not returning the greeting, Rukia busied herself with running her hands over the grave markers.

"How do you know about this place?" she asked, and the rough tone of her voice surprising her. It was strange to be speaking with Byakuya and not making a conscious effort to watch what she was saying, or trying to think up ways to draw them together. At the moment, there was only one thing she wanted to accomplish – getting the explanation she'd denied Byakuya from giving her earlier.

"Renji informed me of it while we were searching for you earlier," he replied lightly, but Rukia recognized the exhaustion in his voice. Shaking her head, Rukia drew closer, sitting down on the edge next to the head of the Kuchiki House.

"Please, Byakuya... why did you do it?" she whispered, her voice breaking slightly. Looking down, Rukia tried to ignore the lump swelling in her throat. Now was not the time to break, she needed to be strong and get her answers! Hearing a deep sigh, Rukia turned her head towards Byakuya. He wasn't looking at her – instead, his hand was pressed firmly against his forehead, shielding his eyes from view.

"When I was married to Hisana, I was the happiest I'd ever been," he began, hand not moving. Despite herself, Rukia leaned in closer, eyes widening in interest. Everything Byakuya had been keeping to himself about Hisana was finally coming forth, it seemed...

"I loved her, and even if she didn't love me back it didn't matter. She was with me, and I was complete."

"Hisana didn't love you?" Rukia asked suddenly, frowning in confusion. She'd always though that her sister had loved Byakuya as much as he had obviously loved her. It seemed now to Rukia that she'd only agreed to marry him for the spoils of belonging to the Kuchiki house. Taking his hand away from his eyes, Byakuya let out a hollow chuckle.

"I know what you must be thinking, and it is partially true. Hisana's main reason for agreeing to marry me, however, was that she would have felt terrible if she'd refused. Your sister was a kind soul," he explained, looking out across the dirty river that ran through Rukongai. Nodding, Rukia sighed. With every conversation they had, Hisana became more and more real to her, instead of just a picture in Byakuya's study.

"As I was saying, those years with her were some of the happiest of my life. When she passed away...," Byakuya trailed off, and for once Rukia didn't press for details. She understood how the death of a loved one affected you – she'd lost too many people in her life not to.

"So when I found you, I decided that wouldn't let the last living reminder I had of Hisana be hurt in any way," he finished curtly, but Rukia could hear the unspoken words. 'And then, as you became dear to me, I realized that losing you would shatter anything that was left of my heart.'

"Even so, that didn't work," Rukia cut in, suddenly frustrated. "By holding me back, you stopped me from being able to save someone I held very dear to me!" her voice sunk to a bitter hiss, as years and years of anger and heartache were suddenly pried back open. "I could have saved him!" Rukia chocked out, her voice finally giving out as she buried her face in one hand, trying to force back the angry tears. Crying wouldn't bring Kaien-Dono back – she knew that!

"Even if you had been promoted, there was nothing you could have done," the comforting words would have surprised her more, if they hadn't been followed by the light feeling of arms being pressed around her small form. The hug was stiff, awkward – Byakuya obviously didn't have much practice in the area – but Rukia leaned into it anyways, finally letting the tears fall.

"I know that, I just wish I could have done more," she hiccuped quietly, trying not to get too many tears on Byakuya's arm. Feeling something wet sliding down her forehead, Rukia closed her eyes tightly.

"So do I," Byakuya whispered, holding her closer. Letting out a quiet sob, Rukia finally buried her head in his arm, not caring much anymore if she got her Nii-Sama's clothes wet.

It occurred to her then, sitting on the cliff with her Nii-Sama and remembering the pasts they wished they could change, that they would never have a normal brother-sister relationship; there was simply too much water under the bridge between them for that to be possible. Still, as the sun went down and the two Kuchikis eventually stood up and made their way back to Seireitei, Rukia couldn't quite see how she'd been so concerned about it before.

What they had now was just fine.


And so ends the second-last chapter of Chicken Soup for a Kuchiki's Soul! It's funny, really - when I started chapter 8 way back in June, I had no idea that it would turn into this. This whole story really has morphed itself into something that at the beginning, I would never have thought possible. So is the nature of the beast, I guess :P Hopefully, the epilogue won't take too long to write itself, and then this story will officially come to an end!

Hopefully, you were all (mostly) satisfied with the (almost) ending!

StarsAndSparks44