A/N: Forgive me! I know I promised this chapter would be out nearly a month ago, but writer's block hates me ;_; Without further ado~
Rolling over in her bed, Rukia was surprised to feel the warmth of sunlight spreading over her face. Allowing one of her eyes to open a small sliver, she realized that sunlight was pouring through the window and spilling onto her bed. Looking out of the window, she saw that the sun was high in the sky, which meant that it must have been nearly noon already. What surprised her even more was the fact that no one had come in to wake her, which is what usually happened when she overslept. Byakuya made it clear that he didn't like it when Rukia slept through the morning. Living on her own for so many years, she wasn't accustomed to living on a schedule when she was first adopted into the Kuchiki family. She remembered waking up one morning when the sun had already risen halfway into the sky. Byakuya lectured her at breakfast about having wasted half the day already.
She stepped out of her room and made her way down the vast hall of the Kuchiki manor. Despite the fact that it was the middle of the day, everything seemed quieter than usual. She disregarded this and made her way to the front door, which she slid open and allowed the warmth of the sun to fill her body. Rukia decided that Ren was right. Today would be a good day.
No sooner had the petite shinigami stepped out of the manor than she pummeled into another person who was, presumably, awaiting entrance to the house.
Rukia was about to scold whomever it was who had the stupidity to stand like a brick wall in front of the entrance to her house when a familiar scent hit her. With her short height, her eyes stared straight into the chest of the person. She didn't dare look up just yet. This person wasn't dressed in shinigami robes like she expected but was dressed instead in an elaborate royal blue kimono. Rukia felt her eye twitch as her gaze traveled towards the face of the guest and confirmed her speculation. There was no mistaking the vivid red of that hair.
"R-Renji…?"
The man replied with a wide grin. "Yo, Rukia."
"Wh-What are you doing here? Why are you wearing that? Does Captain Unohana know that you're out? I thought that you--"
The taller man cupped his hand around the smaller woman's mouth to silence her. "You always ask too many questions. Can't you just be happy that I'm here?"
Rukia shoved the hand away. "Well, don't you think I have a right to ask them?!"
The only reply Renji could give was an obnoxious laugh, which was met with a deadly violet-eyed glare. He quickly composed himself and apologized.
"Captain Unohana gave the okay for my release last night," he explained.
"Okay, that answers one of my questions." Rukia crossed her arms, waiting for the red-headed man to continue.
"Well… your other questions can pretty much be answered with one reply." Renji hesitated. Rukia could see his expression become slightly flustered.
"Well?" she finally said when nothing else came.
The Sixth Division lieutenant took a deep breath before making his statement. "Captain Kuchiki invited me over for dinner tonight and this is awkward enough as it is and I thought that I should at least dress up a bit and not show up in my regular robes so I wanted to see if this was alright because this is really the only nice piece of clothing I have and that's why I'm here." He blurted everything out at once and let Rukia process everything herself.
"Nii-sama… what?"
"I'm just as surprised as you are," Renji continued, "He came by last night and told me to come to dinner tonight if I was feeling up to it."
Rukia looked skeptical.
"At least, I think that's what he meant. You know how he is with his words. And honestly, you think that I would put myself through this hell if I didn't think he was serious?" he sputtered.
Rukia cracked a small smile. "I suppose not." She slipped an arm through Renji's and led him through the courtyard. "You look great, and I'm sure you'll be fine. I'll be right next to you." She slid her arm down and linked her fingers with his.
The red-head had to admit that he was grateful for that.
---
The head cook stared intensely at the counter filled with various ingredients for the dinner she was to prepare that night. The younger chefs stood around her in an awkward silence as the observed her contemplation.
"Ren-san?" one of them finally asked. "Is something the matter?"
The elderly woman hummed deeply. "We are preparing a meal in which Byakuya-sama and Abarai-san will be eating."
The others looked confusedly at each other. "Yes…" another chef said. "We were aware of this since Ren-san told us of her plan a few days ago."
"But what didn't occur to me," Ren continued, ignoring the comments that she received in between her rambling, "was the fact that Byakuya-sama enjoys spicy food and dislikes sweet food while Abarai-san is the complete opposite."
Everyone in the kitchen began to see her dilemma.
"Isn't it more important to satisfy Byakuya-sama's tastes?" one cook inquired.
"But Abarai-san will be a guest of the Kuchiki household. We have to meet his requests as well," argued another.
"Or they can both just suck it up and deal with whatever we feed them," a lazy voice came from the back of the kitchen.
A chatter of agreement followed the last statement.
Ren sighed. Somehow she knew this wouldn't be easy.
---
"Renji, have you ever thought about what it would be like to live in the real world?"
The red-head's eyes flicked open and stared at the violet-eyed face above him. "You mean with Ichigo and the others?"
Rukia decided it would be best to take their minds off of what was to come later that day. She had led Renji through the courtyard until she came upon the one cherry blossom tree that she had always gone to in order to clear her mind when she first moved into the Kuchiki manor. The ebony-haired shinigami slipped her arm out of her escort's and leaned her back against the tree before sliding herself down and plopping herself in a comfortable position. She beckoned the still-standing man to join her, but instead of sitting next to her, he laid down and placed his head in her lap. Her small hands untied the ribbon that kept his unruly hair in place and let the red locks cascade onto her legs.
"Well not necessarily with them," she said as she ran her fingers through his crimson locks. "Just the idea of living there instead of here in Soul Society."
Renji closed his eyes in thought, being calmed by the soothing touch of Rukia's hands. "I don't know. The real world is filled with so many things that we don't know. I have a feeling that we'd actually be more miserable there, don't you think?"
Rukia was about to answer, but Renji kept talking. "Anyway, I kinda like it here in Soul Society. Things aren't half-bad." He opened one eye and peered up at the girl. "It's where I met you, isn't it?"
Rukia froze for a split second and then gave a soft laugh. "I suppose that is a perk of this place."
The petite shinigami followed her partner's lead and closed her eyes as she leaned back against the trunk of the tree while she still lazily drew her fingers through Renji's hair. The couple sat in silence for a few moments, only letting the occasional gentle breeze disturb them.
---
"Rukia-sama! Rukia-sama!"
Rukia stirred and opened her eyes. As her vision began to clear, she saw one of the servants from the mansion panting in front of her. "What's the matter, Aoi?"
"What are you doing out here? Ren-san has been looking for you for hours!" The young servant's face was flushed like she really had been running for hours.
By this time, Renji had pushed himself off of Rukia's lap and sat next to her, extending his legs out in front of him. He had forgotten how troublesome it was to sit in a kimono.
"Hours? We've only been out here--"
"For too long! Let's go!" Aoi grabbed Rukia's hand and hoisted her up. "You know how Ren-san gets when we have guests."
"But it's just--"
"She goes ballistic and wants everything to be absolutely perfect," the girl continued, ignoring Rukia's attempted interjections. "She must have been scolded by Byakuya-sama in the past or something."
Aoi continued to rant while Rukia waved a quick goodbye to Renji, who was still sitting on the ground with an amused expression on his face.
"Oh, where are my manners." Aoi quickly bowed towards Renji. "Please excuse us, Abarai-san."
The red-head gave a chuckle and nodded his head. The servant grabbed Rukia by the arm and began dragging her into the manor.
"Aoi, you're taking me in like I'm a prisoner," the ebony-haired shinigami joked.
"I'm sorry, Rukia-sama. I'm just following what Ren-san told me to do."
Before she knew it, Rukia found herself before a very distressed Ren. Aoi wasn't kidding.
"Rukia-sama, where have you been?!" Ren beckoned the young girl into her room where an elaborate purple kimono was laid out on the bed. "Thank you, Aoi." The servant quickly bowed and disappeared. "It's almost time, Rukia-sama. This is no time for you to be daydreaming."
It wasn't until now that Rukia had realized she and Renji had actually fallen asleep underneath the tree.
"S-Sorry, Ren." The shinigami didn't know what else she could say while the elderly woman bustled about, removing the usual black uniform and replacing it with the kimono that had been on the bed just minutes ago. "Um, I don't mean to sound rude, but… shouldn't you be in the kitchen?"
Ren dismissed Rukia's question with a wave of her hand. "The others know what they're doing. I've been waiting for the chance to do this for Rukia-sama."
Rukia immediately felt the heavier weight of the kimono fall onto her shoulders. She had only worn this garment once before – when she was first introduced to the Kuchiki elders. Needless to say, it didn't bear a lot of good memories, but Rukia hoped tonight would change that. She had to admit that she did enjoy wearing the elegant garment, with the gold embroidery winding down her left side and wrapping around the base of the kimono. The young girl was just beginning to recollect her admiration for the clothing, and before she knew it, Ren was nearly finished dressing her. Rukia felt her give one final tug on the gold-colored, purple-trimmed obi that accented the rest of the kimono. Ren was definitely not an amateur. With a flick of her wrist, the woman bound Rukia's ebony hair with a clip and attached it to the back of her head, making the usual untidy locks look almost elegant.
"You're all set, Rukia-sama." Ren's voice finally seemed to relax a bit as she gave a sigh of relief and stepped back to observe her work. "And just in time, too. I don't smell anything burning yet, but I should check in any case." The elderly woman trotted out the door and stopped in the hallway. "You look beautiful, Rukia-sama," she said with a warm smile before she disappeared.
Sometimes Rukia didn't have to wonder what it would have been like to have a mother. Ren was more than enough.
---
Saying that Renji was nervous would be an understatement. He could feel the sweat collecting in his palms as he sat in silence at the dinner table with Byakuya, and only Byakuya.
'Where the hell is Rukia?' He always was impatient. The thought of striking a conversation with his captain had crossed his mind, but for some reason, he felt that discussing Sixth Division business wasn't exactly appropriate in the Kuchiki manor. It didn't help that Byakuya wasn't doing anything to kill the silence either. He merely sat there, a stoic statue dressed in a simple deep green kimono that made Renji feel a bit overdressed. Byakuya sat with his eyes closed in thought as he awaited the presence of his little sister and the meal.
Renji cleared his throat, a little more loudly than he had intended, which drew the Kuchiki heir's attention.
Rather than saying anything, Byakuya simply looked toward one of the servants standing nearby. In an instant, he brought out a tray that held a small kettle of hot tea and two cups. After the servant had set the items onto the table, Byakuya leaned forward and filled each cup with the steaming green tea and pushed one towards his lieutenant. Renji merely blinked and uttered a rather nervous and choked, "Thank you." Byakuya returned to his former position.
The cup merely gave Renji something new to fidget with. He took one sip out of politeness, but he wasn't really parched at all. He just wanted Rukia to hurry up and get the hell out there already.
"How is your injury, Renji?"
The question caught the red-headed shinigami off-guard. "It's healing just fine, Captain." He was grateful that his voice didn't give away his nervousness.
"How long have you been with Rukia?"
If Renji had been drinking tea at that precise moment, he was sure he would have spit it out. He wasn't sure if the eerie calmness of Byakuya's voice as he asked the question was a good or bad sign.
Right on cue, the door to the dining room slid open and Renji had to keep his mouth from falling open.
"I apologize for the wait, Nii-sama." Rukia stepped into the room and bowed towards Byakuya before taking her seat next to him and opposite Renji. The red-head's eyes were still gawking at her, and she immediate shot a glare that told him to stop. Only then did he snap out of his trance and remember where he was. He had to admit she looked damn good, but this wasn't exactly the place to tell her that.
Ren had quietly snuck in behind Rukia and followed her actions, bowing towards her master. "Dinner shall be served shortly." Rukia saw the faintest of smirks on the corners of the head cook's lips as she slipped away once again towards the kitchen.
"Is Nii-sama well this evening?" Rukia began talking with her older brother, and to Renji's surprise, he actually gave responses that proved he was actually human. Nevertheless, he couldn't bring himself to stop staring at Rukia as she immersed herself in conversation. The kimono she wore was perfect, in his opinion. The deep purple shade of the garment brought out the shining violet of her eyes, which Renji had always found to be her most beautiful feature. It was no wonder that he didn't even hear when Rukia asked him a question and had to repeat his name several times with each succession growing louder in order to catch his attention.
"Wh-What?" Renji probably should have felt embarrassed, but he didn't care too much at the moment. Rukia felt otherwise.
"I was asking if you would mind telling Nii-sama that amusing story about the toad and the fish that you used to tell me all the time when we were kids." It was kind of scary how the tone of Rukia's voice almost matched her elder brother's. Even if Rukia didn't like the idea of being a noble, she couldn't deny that some of the habits were rubbing off on her.
"Oh, uh, yes…" As Renji told his story, he couldn't help but notice that Byakuya wasn't paying the least bit of attention to him. Rather, he seemed fixated on the small giggles and smiles that would be emitted from Rukia from time to time. If Renji didn't know better, he'd almost think that the Sixth Division Captain had the faintest trace of a smile dancing upon his lips as he watched his little sister enjoy this childhood story.
When he finished his story, Rukia couldn't hide her laughter and she burst into a fit of giggles. Renji smiled proudly. After all these years, it still made Rukia smile and laugh like that. Byakuya seemed pleased as well, in his cool and stoic way as always. At that moment, the food began to arrive. Renji had to admit that he wasn't too excited when he saw that the food had a slight red tint to it, which meant only one thing to him. It would be spicy.
'Suck it up, Renji. It's for Rukia.' He sucked in a deep breath. "Itadakimasu!"
"Itadakimasu!" chorused the two Kuchikis.
Renji tried to pick a piece off of the fish in front of him that didn't seem to be tinged with a lighter shade of red than the rest. Even so, it was difficult for him to swallow and he nearly gagged but quickly downed it with some green tea. Renji wasn't sure what was worse – the burning of the spicy food or the burning of the hot tea – but he was sure that the color of his face nearly matched the color of his hair now.
"Renji?" Rukia perked as she swallowed a mouthful of rice. "Are you alright?"
Renji gave a small cough and tried to pass it off as clearing his throat. Very loudly. "I-I'm fine." He forced a smile and shoveled in some rice, hoping that the neutral taste of it would balance out whatever it was that was happening in his mouth. He stole a glance at his captain sitting next to him, calmly and neatly eating his meal without so much as a cough or sniffle from the spices. Renji sometimes wondered if Byakuya Kuchiki was really human. But of course, he could never say that out loud.
---
Renji wasn't quite sure how he survived the meal without passing out, but he decided it was best to not complain and to not think about the agony his throat was in right now. He looked across the table at Rukia, who gave him an apologetic look. As Ren and the other servants came by to clear the dishes, she whispered in his ear, "I'm very sorry, Abarai-san, but I will make it up to you."
He saw what the elderly woman meant when she brought out slices of strawberry cake for the three of them. Rukia smiled as she saw Renji's expression brighten. She always remembered what a sweet tooth he had. When they still lived in Rukongai, Renji would be the one who would swipe candy from the sweets vendors while the other four of them went and got real food. They never complained. If it made Renji happy, then they let him do as he pleased. Besides, he always got enough for the five of them to share.
Byakuya, on the other hand, crinkled his nose ever so slightly at the sight of the sweet cake. Dessert was so rarely served at the Kuchiki household, but he figured if his lieutenant could suck it up and get through the meal with no actual complaints, then he, Byakuya Kuchiki, could surely get through dessert in the same manner.
A/N: Hope everyone enjoyed that! Sorry again for the delay. I'm thinking about wrapping this fic up in the next chapter =]