Chapter 27. Hurt and Comfort
"Ichigo?!" Rukia screamed at the top of her lungs.
"What the hell just happened?!" Karin demanded yet again as she shunpoed to her sister-in-law's side in an instant.
The rest of the Nakama rushed to their side as well, their eyes fixed straight on the spot where the black hole had been, the hole Ichigo had just disappeared through.
Some of the teenagers began suggesting possibilities. Karin remembered the hole was called a Garganta, and while she couldn't be sure, she assumed that one lead to Hueco Mundo, which meant her brother was pretty much lost somewhere in the world of hollows. That thought was enough to send Rukia off the edge, she blacked out.
"Rukia-san!" Orihime cried out in panic.
Uryuu was fast enough to catch her before she reached the ground, and everyone else conveyed around them.
"I think the whole thing was too great a shock for her." Uryuu commented as he held the unconscious shinigami.
What he didn't say, and Karin noticed, was the way Rukia's reiatsu had seemed to be reaching for something desperately right before she'd lost consciousness…
"I think we all should get some rest." Tatsuki declared, putting her sealed zanpakutou back inside the sleeve of her yukata. "We've all been fighting since before dawn…"
And around them the sky was bright blue already, the sun shining…
Everyone agreed and made their way to their homes. Uryuu following the twins to the Kurosaki clinic and laying Rukia on the bed that still held her empty gigai and Ichigo's body.
They had all left…and it wasn't like they didn't worry about Ichigo, they did; but they trusted him to be strong enough to survive whatever was happening; meanwhile, they would research for ways of getting him back, and make sure Rukia and the twins would be okay.
xXx
Three days later they still had no answer, and the tension just kept building. Rukia hadn't gone to school at all, though Ririn and Kon had been sent in Rukia's gigai and Ichigo's body respectively to keep rumors to a minimum. And it was just that Rukia couldn't handle it, the thought of having to act with Kon like she would with Ichigo…everyone knew they were dating, after their eventful summer the two had refused to hide their relationship; of course, as far as most were concerned, the two were just dating, only the Nakama knew about the 'first marriage', or that they had plans of getting married (again) the following summer.
The rest of the Nakama, twins included, kept going to class as well, though they spent all their free time combing Karakura Town from top to bottom and side to side, trying to find a way to get to Ichigo. They let Isshin deal with Urahara, as none of them liked the guy, and they weren't desperate enough to try and get his help, yet. Same with the Visored…whom they actually weren't sure they could even find.
On the morning of the fourth day Karin finally decided that enough was enough, giving no explanation whatsoever she opened a Senkaimon and went to Seireitei, returning less than an hour later, followed by none other than Kuchiki Byakuya.
The Senkaimon had opened in the sky (since Karin didn't have the precision required to open one on ground level always). When they stepped in they saw an orange-haired head peek from the clinic before disappearing again behind the door.
Byakuya just blinked once before turning to Karin, waiting for an explanation for what exactly that was, and what it was supposed to mean.
"That was Kon, in nii-san's body." Karin explained, knowing what he wanted to know.
"Kon?" Byakuya wasn't familiar with that name.
"One of the Gikongan, nii-san's to be precise." Karin elaborated. "We each have specialized gikon, it helps when we have to leave abruptly, particularly when we're in class or in another environment where the use of the generic Gikongan would complicate matters."
Byakuya knew exactly what she meant, generic gikongan had all kinds of strange quirks, and most were quite crazy.
"Anyway, it would complicate matters for Ichigo to be absent for days with no explanation, especially since Rukia is refusing to attend school as well." Karin sighed. "We've been sending Ririn, her Gikon, in her place too. Rukia refused to go with Kon, as they are known to be dating, she refusing to act in any way romantically with him. In any case, the Gikon stay in the clinic, Rukia cannot stand Kon, not with Ichigo missing."
The noble nodded. The humans around them who didn't know the truth wouldn't understand if Rukia changed the way she acted towards Ichigo, and since his sister knew the one in that body wasn't really Ichigo…however, that didn't explain another thing Karin had just said…
"Dating?" He inquired, brows furrowed, confused. "I thought the marriage wasn't legally binding in this world."
"It isn't." Karin didn't elaborate, stopping finally at a door.
Byakuya realizing the girl wasn't going to say anything else knocked twice on the door. There was no answer, but he'd been told already not to expect one, so he simply opened the door and stepped in. He certainly wasn't expecting what he found when he entered the bedroom his sister shared with her husband. He knew they hadn't been intimate yet, it would be obvious in their reiatsu if they had, and yet they still shared a room and a bed, as was expected from a married couple…despite the fact that no one in the human world but the Nakama knew them to be married, and it wasn't really legal in the human world.
The bedroom looked small, at least compared to what the noble was used to. A Queen sized western-style bed occupied most of the space, a sky-blue comforter covering it. On a side a half-opened closet, on the opposite corner a desk with two chairs and over it a couple of shelves with schoolbooks as well as some poetry and literature, particularly Shakespeare. The bedside table held a couple of pictures: one of Ichigo and Rukia in a park, sharing some ice-cream, it looked like a candid one; the other seemed to be an old one of the Kurosaki family, both parents were there, holding each other, and Ichigo didn't seem to be even ten. Byakuya could only watch in silence, the smiling form of Kurosaki Ichigo, he looked so young, so innocent, so different from the young man that had stood up to the most powerful Shinigami to defend his (Byakuya's) sister. He could remember what had been revealed in that first meeting between the most powerful Nakama and the leaders of the Gotei, when the orange-haired had explained about his mother's murder; the picture obviously was from before that.
Rukia, for her part, was dressed in a simple house yukata, lavender with white cherry blossoms, with a light gray blanket over her; most of her body laid in what was obviously her side of the bed, except her head was buried in the opposite pillow, Ichigo's pillow.
Seeing her, Byakuya could see she was hurting, his little sister was hurting, and he had no idea what to do to help. He knew that was what Karin had gone get him for, and yet he had no idea what he could do. Rukia had been his sister for five decades, and until a few months before he hadn't cared enough to get to really know her, to connect him her; and even now, he just didn't know enough to be able to help her.
"Rukia?" Byakuya called softly.
Violet eyes opened briefly, registering Byakuya's presence by the bed, before closing again.
Byakuya had to stop himself from flinching, there had been such emptiness in his sister's eyes, it reminded him painfully of the day he'd stood before her, as she stood behind the bars of the 6th Division holding cell, as he informed her she would be executed and that they wouldn't see each other again until that day. Her eyes had been completely empty that day as well. It was also the only day he saw her like that, the next day had been the meeting which the Nakama interrupted to make their intentions known, a message that had reached Rukia too; according to Renji, Rukia's eyes had shone again that day, and never stopped shining since, her belief in her nakama so strong…she never doubted they would save her.
It hadn't occurred to Byakuya before, but in that moment it was so clear, what if, even back then, Rukia's eyes hadn't been empty because of her upcoming execution, because of the fact that she would lose her life…but because of what she believed to have lost already, her nakama…Kurosaki Ichigo? Just how much about his own sister did he not know?
"Imouto…" Byakuya whispered softly.
He sat down on the bed, below where his sister reached, extending a hand to touch her leg softly, hoping to call her attention.
"Forgive me Nii-sama…" She whispered in a low, broken voice. "I should be receiving you better, I just…I just have no energy for anything…"
Byakuya's eyes furrowed, he could sense there was something wrong with Rukia's reiatsu, like it kept leaking somehow, the level was also pretty low, explaining her lack of energy.
"Were you hurt, Rukia?" He asked, suddenly very worried.
"No Nii-sama." Rukia answered honestly. "I just…I feel so tired…"
"What happened three days ago, Rukia?" Byakuya got the feeling he was missing something, that they all were. "The 12th detected an influx of hollows, over a hundred, shortly before dawn, and the battle that followed lasted for hours. However, we never received a request for backup, or anything like that. The battle eventually ended, and we got a report from the Nakama lieutenant, the Quincy: Ishida Uryuu that the battle had been won, the hollows were gone and Kurosaki Ichigo was missing…"
"He fell into a Garganta." Rukia answered softly. "I'm not sure what went wrong exactly. The battle was almost over, I saw a last opponent behind him, yelled at him to warn him, he moved to attack, and then…something happened, I don't know what, the hollow was destroyed, but the black hole he'd called was still there, and Ichigo somehow fell in. I blacked out shortly afterwards, Uryuu brought me back."
Byakuya nodded, he'd been told that part.
"And you haven't left this room since." Byakuya added pointedly.
Rukia just closed her eyes tightly, she knew she was being a bother, and that she was making everyone worry, but she just couldn't help it, couldn't help the pain, the emptiness that gnawed inside her.
"When I woke up…" She whispered softly. "I had no idea what had happened, or that anything had at first, but I knew, I could sense instinctively, that something was very wrong. Even before they told me what that black hole Ichigo fell into was, I knew it was bad, I knew he wasn't here, that he hadn't come back yet…" she sobbed, her hands fisting around her blanket. "My soul, my spirit, keeps reaching to him, unable to find him, and it just hurts so much…like a part of me is missing…like I'm falling apart little by little…it hurts so much!"
With that declaration Rukia curled upon herself, forming as small a ball as she could, holding herself in the way she wished to be able to hold someone else, or more like, the way she wished to be held by that someone else. It was the first time she admitted the real reason why she refused to leave the room, why she seemed to be so badly sick; but it was Byakuya there, her brother, and regardless for how short a time he'd actually acted like a brother should, he still was family, and if anyone deserved to know what was really wrong with her, it was him.
Byakuya couldn't believe what he'd just heard, what his sister had just described, it was part of a soul-bond…he'd heard about those of course, but always in couples whose members were both spirits, very powerful, and who'd already been together for a very long time…Could it really be possible that a soul bond was forming between Ichigo and his sister? They had only been married for a handful of months, hadn't known each other for even a year, and yet…and yet it was the only explanation for the way Rukia was acting, her low reiatsu, and the emptiness in her eyes. She was reacted like one would expected a soul-bonded individual to react when his or her other half died, with their soul constantly trying to reach for someone who no longer existed…except Ichigo wasn't dead, and Rukia knew that, and that was maybe the only reason she hadn't begun to fade yet…
Byakuya realized something in that very moment: he'd been married once, to Hisana, but even if she'd not been his illegitimate sister, he could have never loved her, not like a man ought to love a woman, not like Rukia seemed to love Ichigo; that kind of love…Byakuya had never known, not many ever did…
"I'm sorry, Nii-sama…" Rukia sobbed softly.
"You have nothing to apologize for, imouto." Byakuya told her softly as he scooted over and held her against his body.
The reaction was instantaneous, as Rukia shifted slightly to be better held by her brother, in a way he'd never held her before.
"I know he's alive, I just…I can feel it." Rukia admitted brokenly. "And yet…that's not enough…it still hurts!"
"I cannot say I understand what you're going through." Byakuya admitted softly as he touched her hair slightly. "My relationship with Hisana…you know it wasn't what a real marriage should have been. But you need to keep believing that Ku…that Ichigo is alive, and that he's coming back; that he won't leave you…"
"I know he won't." There was a sudden confidence in her words that surprised even Byakuya.
With some effort, Rukia untangled her left arm from the embrace and the blanket before showing her hand to her brother, or more precisely, the ring on the third finger of said hand:
"We're getting married." She informed Byakuya with a small smile.
"Married…?" That threw him for a loop. "But you two are already…"
"Yes, we're already married in Soul Society, but that's not legally binding here." Rukia explained. "We're getting married here, in the Living World, next summer. Ichigo proposed to me a while ago, after his fight against Grand Fisher. And apparently he'd been planning it since before that, he designed the ring himself."
Byakuya had to admit the ring was quite something, not just the fact that it was obviously worth a lot of money, since it was completely made of diamonds, but it was obvious the design, the mix of colors and such, meant something. So Rukia explained it to him.
When the explanation was over Byakuya understood something else: it wasn't only the fact that his sister truly loved Ichigo, but he obviously loved her just as much. It didn't matter if their union had begun out of convenience, they truly loved each other, and they were going as far as 'dating', being engaged, and would be getting married in the World of the Living as well. He couldn't help but be very happy for his sister, for the happiness she had found, and at the same time, a part of him couldn't help the sadness, for it was a kind of happiness he didn't think he would ever find for himself…
xXx
When Rukia's revelations were shared with the rest of the Nakama, and everyone realized the implications the way Byakuya had, shock has the main response. Along with that, the group of teenagers put even more effort in finding a way of getting Ichigo back, and stopped trying to get Rukia to do anything.
No one knew yet how it was possible for a soul-bond to be forming already between Ichigo and Rukia, even if they loved each other as much as they seemed to, but still. The focus was on getting Ichigo back, though they hadn't found anything yet.
For three days Byakuya focused on being there for his sister, he had breakfast, lunch and dinner with her in the bedroom, and coaxed her to share with him stories about her time in Karakura, both before and after the ryoka disaster in Seireitei. It allowed him to, finally, truly see Rukia as her own person, see how wonderful she was. Those same stories also allowed him to get to know Ichigo somewhat, understand more why he'd done everything he'd done, the same could be said about the rest of the Nakama.
After all those stories Byakuya couldn't help but marvel about the teens: the strength, not just physical or spiritual, but their will, their faith, the trust they had in each other, the loyalty; he could finally see what Ukitake Juushirou and Kyouraku Shunsui, two of the oldest, most powerful and most respected captains on the Gotei had seen in the teens during that small lunch three days before the almost-execution.
That Saturday evening, the day before they would reach the week-mark since Ichigo's disappearance, Karin insisted that Byakuya took some time off. He'd stood vigil by his sister's side for most of the day, for the last three days, it would do him good to get some fresh air, she promised that she and Yuzu would stay with Rukia.
It took some effort, but eventually Byakuya agreed and decided to go for a walk. He had no gigai, hadn't deemed it necessary when first arriving to Karakura; though Karin warned him that there was a chance of people other than the Nakama being spiritually aware and noticing him even without a gigai. Byakuya had nodded and gone out anyway.
He walked through the streets for a while, since it was still technically dinner time they were mostly empty, and what few people rushed by didn't seem to notice him. Eventually he reached an empty park and he sat on a bench beneath a tree, it had no flowers or leaves, it couldn't have since it was already one of the first days of December, it hadn't snowed yet, but it was just a matter of time.
Some time passed, Byakuya had no way of knowing how long since he wasn't carrying a watch; some people had walked by the limits of the park, probably on their way to their homes after a long day, none seemed to notice him; even those who looked around, it was like he didn't exist. He was beginning to think that Karin had exaggerated when suggesting that more people than just the Nakama were spiritually aware, until he noticed a woman in a long skirt, blouse and whose face he couldn't make out for some unknown reason, who was also walking by the limits of the park…only to stop unexpectedly when turning in his direction. For a few seconds she seemed to be hesitating, as she turned to look at her own bag a couple of times; but eventually, unexpectedly, she turned and instead of continuing her way, walked into the park, where she went to sit beside Byakuya.
For a minute, not a word was said, she didn't even turn to look at him, Byakuya was beginning to think that maybe she hadn't really seen him and just happened to choose to sit there at the same time he was there; but then the situation changed.
"Are you alright?" A soft, strangely concerned voice asked in a low voice.
"Wha…?" Byakuya was caught totally off-guard, something that never happened, it was quite an odd experience for him.
"Yes, I am talking to you." The woman said, just as softly, still not turning to look at him. "And if you're wondering, I know you're not alive…not technically anyway."
"You…" Byakuya really didn't know how to handle the situation, despite Karin's warning, he hadn't expected something like that.
"You're a spirit, and I'm spiritually aware, have always been." She qualified. "Now, will you tell me what's wrong?"
"What makes you think anything is?" He asked, still feeling quite off-put by everything.
"My first question was a way to start the talk." The woman informed him simply. "I know something is wrong, I can sense it."
"Sense it?" Byakuya didn't understand how that could be possible. "How?"
"Just a talent I have." The woman replied simply.
And despite not being able to see her face still, either because of the darkness (the closest streetlamp didn't quite illuminate the bench were they sat) or something else; Byakuya somehow knew she was smiling as she said that.
"You know how I feel?" Byakuya finally understood what was being said, but didn't know how it was possible.
"Yes." The answer was simple, no further explanations offered.
"Why are you even interested in what I feel and why?" He inquired, confused by that.
Silence reigned for a few seconds, and he was almost sure he heard her sigh; for a moment he though no answer would be given, but he was wrong.
"I suppose I just don't like feeling the pain of others…" she took a deep breath before adding. "I have enough feeling my own."
Yet again something Byakuya hadn't expected, though he was quickly realizing he should have no expectations, it was easier that way.
"Why would I share my feelings with a stranger when…" Byakuya began.
"When you don't even do it with those close to you?" She finished for him, yet again with the same inflexion in her voice that showed she was smiling. "It might even be better this way. After all, if I don't know you, I cannot judge you, right?"
Byakuya wasn't sure why, but somehow her words seemed to be ringing with truth, seemed to be almost inciting him to do as she wished; to tell her what was on his mind, and his heart, to unburden himself for the first time in probably forever.
"I wouldn't even know where to begin…" Byakuya admitted as he contemplated things.
"Well, one would usually say the beginning is the best place…but to be honest, I think the best place is what you are the most comfortable with. Even if you don't tell me everything, even if I do not understand everything, or if I cannot do or say anything to help; at least I will listen, and my listening will allow you to let go of whatever burden you're carrying, and you'll feel better. Trust me, I know. Even if I cannot help you, I can be a tool for you to help yourself."
It was more or less what Byakuya had been thinking already. What was truly strange was that, until that very moment, he would have never considered telling his thoughts, his feelings, his weaknesses…to a total stranger; why should he if he didn't share such things even with those closest to him? And yet…there was something about her, he would think he was being somehow bewitched if it weren't for the fact that he couldn't feel any reiatsu coming from her at all. Even if she obviously could see him, and she claimed to have some kind of talent that allowed her to know what he felt, she didn't seem to be capable of much more…
"My sister is in love." Byakuya blurted out. "Not just like when young ones usually say they're in love one day, and the next they're after someone else. She truly loves him…and he loves her too, I think. And even though right now she's hurting, because he's missing, she still loves him with all she has, all she is. She believes he'll come back to her, and he better because if not I'm going to be really angry…" He quieted, as if he didn't know what else to say, how to continue.
"The one your sister loves, is his disappearance related to the Corrupted Ones that swarmed this town last week?" She inquired.
"Corrupted Ones?" Byakuya was unfamiliar with that term.
"Yes, corrupted souls, I believe your people call them Hollows…" She pondered on that. "I know there were over a hundred of those last week…" she shook her head. "So much negativity, so much grief, and pain and despair…"
Her words caught Byakuya's attention yet again as he began to wonder what exactly her power was, and how she even had any power at all.
Silence reigned again, it wasn't a heavy silence, just an expectant one; Byakuya kept trying to think of a way to continue, while at the same time wondering why he was even telling her anything; while she simply waited for him to speak.
"My name is Kuchiki Byakuya." He decided to explain things a bit more. "I'm…well, my age isn't important, not really; suffice it to say that I've lived for a very long time…" he took a deep breath before going on. "I was married once, many years ago and yet…" he shook his head. "It would be wrong to say it ended badly, it began badly…? Or maybe the real problem is that it never really began." another sigh. "I married a woman I was never in love with. I was married to her for five years and when it was over…I felt sad, because she was gone, so young and she was gone, and yet…I was also relieved, because I didn't have to pretend anymore…"
The sound that followed that declaration was like that of air rushing out…he was breathless, totally breathless, and at the same time he felt so light. For the first time ever he'd admitted to that, and it made him happy in a way, even if the woman beside him had no way of knowing, of understanding anything; at least he'd gotten it out.
There was silence still, like she was waiting for something more, and suddenly words were coming to him, and there was no more hesitance, no more doubt, he just talked:
"For the longest time I thought it was alright." He went on, unthinkingly. "Even if that marriage didn't work, it wasn't like I actually needed someone by my side to be happy. I thought it didn't matter. I was perfectly fine for more than a century before I ever met Hisana, why shouldn't I be just as well after she was gone? But I wasn't alright, not at all, and I didn't notice…or maybe I just didn't want to admit it, until now…When I saw my younger sister, when I talked to her, when I realized how much she loved Ichigo, and that she was loved just as much in return… suddenly it did matter, suddenly it wasn't alright. My sister has found a love so great, a love I don't think I'll ever find."
This time the silence only lasted a few seconds, until Byakuya let out a sigh, deciding he'd said enough, and wondering if the woman beside him would really be able to say or do anything at all to help, maybe she would rather remain silent; maybe he was insane thinking he would achieve anything revealing so much to a total stranger…
"Love is a fickle thing, you know?" The woman said after what seemed like forever. "And it's also a very complicated thing. Ancient philosophers, or something like that, even came up with a classification, for the different kinds of love: that of family, of friends, of lovers…but in the end, in the end it's all love, and it's all complicated, and crazy and, if you ask me, simply impossible to really explain." She stopped her rant a bit and took a deep breath. "Love isn't good or bad, it's the best and the worst, it's perfect and terrible, beautiful and horrible, all at the same time. And that's the point." She sighed again. "You say you were married to a woman you were never in love with, but I think the real problem you have is looking at the whole situation that way. I don't believe you married someone you didn't love, you don't seem to me like the kind of person who would do that. You did love her, maybe not like a husband ought to love his wife, like lovers ought to, but you did love her. That marriage, it wasn't wrong, if you chose it, if you were happy, even if just a little, it could never be wrong. It might not be what you dreamt of, it might not be what you would choose now if given a choice, but that doesn't make it a mistake."
It was like her words were a balm, healing something deep inside him, a wound that had long since stopped bleeding, yet had never really closed. Like he was forgiven, by a power stronger than him, stronger than anything he knew, just because she said so; or maybe, maybe it wasn't being forgiven, it was feeling for the first time that there was nothing he needed to be forgiven for, because he hadn't done anything wrong…
"Love is such a fickle thing…" The woman said yet again. "You may see a person one day, for the first time, and know he or she's the one for you; you may see and spend time with people every day for years, or even decades, and one day suddenly realize one among them is the one meant for you; you may be with one, or two, or many different people before finding the one that is Right, or the right one may be the first person you're ever with; or you may go through a whole lifetime without ever finding that Right person…You may be wrong, or you may be right…"
Byakuya heard her chuckle suddenly, a sound that completely surprised him, and yet he couldn't help but like it, her laugh, it sounded like bells, and something else to him, something else he couldn't place, but he liked it.
Then the laughter stopped almost abruptly, in an almost breathless note, as if the woman had been as surprised by the sound as he himself had been.
"Anyway," she went on, ignoring her own laughter. "A lot of mays, I know, but that's not what really matters, or what I meant to say in any way. What I meant to say is that, in the end, regardless of how hard things may be, how complicated, how good or bad, I don't think it's ever a mistake to love…no matter what comes out of it, no matter how it ends. Love is such a wonderful thing…it can never be wrong."
After another long lapse of rather comfortable silence, Byakuya decided to talk again.
"What about you?" He asked the woman.
He wasn't sure why, but even when asking her a question he wouldn't turn to look at her, instead choosing to continue looking into the shadows and the pond several feet away, content with just feeling her soft, quiet presence beside him on the bench.
"Me…I'm not meant to find love." The woman answered in a suddenly empty tone.
Her voice, so different from how it had sounded as she talked to him about love before, as she helped him so much to heal from a wound that had existed for a little more than half a century… in that moment it was like she didn't feel a thing, or like she was blocking any emotion that could possibly exist…
"Doesn't that contradict everything you just told me about love?" Byakuya asked her. "And about all its possibilities?"
"No." She denied. "Love is still there, it's still just as terrible and wonderful, ugly and beautiful. Love still exists, I just am not meant to find it."
"Why?" Byakuya asked.
Silence. But this time Byakuya wasn't willing to allow it to stand. He didn't even know why, but there was something about that particular silence, about her refusal to answer his question, especially after he'd revealed so much to her, that he didn't like.
"Why?" He insisted, more strongly this time.
She didn't want to answer, she really didn't, but there was something about his tone of voice, about the power and will behind it, that wouldn't allow her to refuse…it wasn't the noble arrogance she might have expected, it was something else, something she couldn't name.
"I just…" It took all her effort to keep her voice and eyes completely blank, just in case he turned in her direction. "I do not have the time…"
It looked like Byakuya was about to insist she elaborate on that, when suddenly they both felt a ripple of power, incredible power they both recognized, one more than the other.
"Ichigo…" Byakuya whispered, getting on his feet and turning around before realizing he was even moving.
Beside him the woman got on her feet as well, stepping back to put some distance between them. She said nothing, just watching his expression, the mix of confusion, relief, surprise and something else that flashed in his eyes, so fast she would have missed the whole thing had she just blinked. It was dazzling.
"Go." She told him after several seconds.
"What?" He turned to her for the first time, surprised, having almost forgotten she was there at all. "I…"
"That's him, isn't it?" she inquired. "The one your sister loves, the one who has been missing since last week." She didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "You should go. Your sister is probably on her way already, and probably others. You should be there as well."
"I'm not sure they would want me in such an emotional reunion…" Byakuya commented lowly.
"You're family, of course they'll want you there." She insisted with confidence, after a few seconds adding. "Go Byakuya…"
It took him a few more seconds to realize that she'd had said his name, his first name at that, with no suffixes. Surprised, he turned back to look at her, only she was no longer there. She barely managed to catch sight of a departing figure as she stepped through the small area illuminated by a distant street-lamp, long skirt and long-sleeves flowing in the chilly night air; and he finally realized why he hadn't been able to actually see her hair, or face: she was wearing a white cloth that covered her from her head to below her shoulders.
Byakuya briefly considered following her, finding out more about her, but then another ripple of power reminded him that, somehow, Kurosaki Ichigo was back in the World of the Living; and not only that, from what he could sense Rukia was rushing in his direction at great speed, and other presences too seemed to be converging there as well.
He turned one last time, to see just an edge of white and mauve as the woman turned a corner and disappeared behind an apartment building located in the next block. He shook his head, sending a prayer to the heavens that he might find her, someday, again; then went into shunpo, following his sister's suddenly relit reiatsu presence.
xXx
In the Kurosaki Home, Rukia was pretty much dozing while Karin sat on the floor, reading some book and Yuzu hummed as she folded and put away the clothes from both Rukia and Ichigo that had just come out of the drier. They were doing as they'd promised Byakuya, and staying with Rukia, while at the same time keeping themselves busy.
Suddenly, Rukia's eyes snapped open, she straightened up in bed and instantly turned to look out the window; the whole move so fast and so totally unexpected, the twins could only look at her in silent shock.
"He's coming…" They heard Rukia gasp with some unknown emotion.
Then, before the twins could do or say anything at all, Rukia threw the blanket aside, revealing the jogging pants she was wearing along with one of Ichigo's shirts, she jumped onto her feet while still on the bed, spun, and then jumped out of the room, and the house, going straight to the window, as if it weren't even there (and since she was a spirit, it might as well haven't).
"What the hell just happened?!" Karin demanded.
There was no answer, but she wasn't waiting for or expecting one either. Instead she and Yuzu used their own ways to get out of their respective bodies, went through the window and rushed after Rukia. What they heard from her as they passed the first block from their house, and which was followed by a ripple of energy was enough to clear any doubts and make them all push even more reiatsu into their shunpo.
"Ichigo!"
In just a handful of minutes Rukia landed on the Karasu bridge, right over the river, not far from 'The Spot', the place where so much had happened: where Kurosaki Masaki had died to save her son from a hollow when her boy was nine; where Ichigo had nearly lost his own life to the same hollow at fourteen after making sure to get the monster away from his sisters and father; where Ichigo had finally confronted that very monster and vanquished him, for good, just a few months before; and most importantly, it was the place where, that very same day, he had asked Rukia to marry him, and had offered her the beautiful diamond ring she wore proudly on her left hand. Though during school hours she twisted it around so the blue, red and purple diamonds faced inwards, preventing others from realizing it wasn't any band but actually an engagement ring; the plan was to reveal the truth publicly sometime before they began College, the next spring, enough time to prepare for the wedding in the summer.
Rukia had been shunpoing so fast, faster than ever before, so much that she actually stumbled slightly when trying to stop, being forced to step off the bridge and straight to the river; she barely managed to catch up herself and solidify the reishi beneath her feet about an inch before actually touching the water. After stabilizing, she actually began walking like that the few yards still separating her from Ichigo…and how different she felt with him in the same world as her… her soul and heart were practically singing with joy at his return, at the way his reiatsu seemed to be already reaching to her, enveloping her in a gentle embrace, even before she actually reached the young man.
Karin and Yuzu too arrived to the bridge, managing to control themselves enough to not stumble. Just seconds later Uryuu was there, he'd used hirenkyaku to move as fast as possible. Orihime followed, getting off her Santen Kesshun, which she'd actually used to defy gravity and fly at top speed. Tatsuki followed, also in soul-form, which allowed her to use shunpo, which Renji had taught her the basic of, she still wasn't very good at it, but was getting better with practice. Chad was the last of the core of the Nakama to make his arrival, as his own speed technique was rather erratic, since he almost never used it, speed had never really been his thing, he was more one for brute force.
"Ichigo!" They all heard Rukia scream again in that very time.
xXx
Just seconds before Ichigo had felt extremely dizzy, almost nauseous, one moment Shiro had been fighting that freaking Espada, the seventh according to his own introduction. Ichigo was doing his best to help Zangetsu control Shiro's own reiatsu, use it as efficiently as possible, make sure the hollow version of the teen wouldn't run out of it before the battle was over. A moment later the orange-haired noticed the opponent's intention of calling on Resurreccion; he had no way of knowing what his transformation might mean, but he instinctively knew it wasn't something good.
At Ichigo's warning of danger, Shiro had reacted instinctively, all he was thinking about was self-preservation; and not just himself, but his 'brother' as well. This had brought him to creating, for the first time ever, a Garganta.
The small clearing by the riverside, a place where so much, most bad but even some good, had happened, was one of the places clearest in Shiro's mind, and also the first one to pop into his mind when he was calling on the inter-dimensional tunnel. These facts together automatically made it so the opposite end of the Garganta opened up in that very place, dropping Shiro unceremoniously on grass long since darkened and dried by the blood and power used in several high-powered battles.
The feeling of free-falling the trip through the Garganta had caused Shiro, somehow echoed in Ichigo himself, making him feel as though he were falling too, even though he rationally knew he was standing on a rooftop, right beside Zangetsu.
The moment Shiro hit the ground he jumped back onto his feet, all his senses still on battle-mode. The moment he noticed where exactly he was, he also realized how dangerous it was for Him to be the one there so, with no warning whatsoever he stepped back (figuratively) at the same time he mentally took hold of Ichigo and threw him into control.
"Hey!" Ichigo called, shocked by the sudden change.
He fell to his knees right then, in part because of the sudden change of control, in part because of the pain he felt as the mask fragment and bone-like armor on his body broke off, piece by piece, before turning to reishi particles and dissipating; the tail seemed to almost dissolve; his hair changed too, going back from the bleached-like white to the usual orange, and his eyes seemed to almost bleed-away the black and yellow, returning to his more normal white sclera and brown irises. In the end, the hole on his chest finished closing, and he could once more feel his heart beating, fast and hard with the exertion of the recent battle, the sudden trip through dimensions and the shift from hollow back to shinigami.
"Ichigo!" He heard a female voice scream loudly.
That scream got him into action instantly, he recognized his name, and a fraction of a second later he identified the voice calling him again. He jumped onto his feet and spun around just in time to see an amethyst-eyed obsidian-haired human-shaped missile that seemed to be almost gliding over the river surface, just for a second before it/she shot straight at him, holding onto him for dear life.
"Rukia!" He cried out, barely managing to hold her up and not fall down himself.
She held onto him tightly, her legs around his waist and both arms around his neck, as he proceeded to kiss him in the mouth with all the strength her recovered form was capable of. It was so much passion Ichigo couldn't help but reciprocate in kind.
Eventually they had to break for air, but Rukia still refused to let go off him, so she kept her legs and arms around him, burying her face in his neck.
"Rukia…" He practically gasped as he took some deep breaths.
It was in that moment that both she and Ichigo became aware of several things: he was naked from the waist up, and it was actually cold! One of the legs of his hakama was pretty torn up as well, and he had no sandals. There was also a lot of sand on his hair and his body, some scratches already half-healed thanks to Shiro and bruises that would finish disappearing any moment, also thanks to his 'hollow twin'.
"Oh Ichigo…" Rukia muttered, still against his neck. "I missed you, I missed you so much…" she placed several open-mouthed kisses on his neck before settling her cheek against his pulse with a sigh. "I love you…"
"Rukia…" Ichigo couldn't help it, he smiled, holding her even more tightly against his own body. "I missed you as well…" he buried his nose in her own hair before adding into her ear. "And I love you too…"
She knew he meant those words for her ears only. Ichigo wasn't the most demonstrative guy, he would never be, and she had known that from the very beginning. She knew he loved her, and yet she didn't imagine he would be using the actual words too often. She understood why he wouldn't want others to hear him say such words, they were meant just for her; and in a way, that made her happy too.
It was to that scene that Byakuya arrived, stopping on the sidewalk a few feet over the level of the riverbank where Ichigo and Rukia were, still holding tightly onto each other, at the very same time the rest of the Nakama who had a way of getting there fast enough rushed down the bridge and then the grassy slope to the riverbank.
There was so much love in the reiatsu of the two teenaged-looking individuals. Rukia had told him Ichigo was a very private guy, not the demonstrative kind at all, and yet in that moment he didn't need to say a word, his reiatsu revealed it all…
There was just so much love…that for the briefest moment he felt a pang of jealousy, just an instant, before he remembered the park, a woman with her face covered, her soft, sweet voice and her words about love:
"Love is such a wonderful thing…it can never be wrong."
xXx
On the other side of town, an apartment door opened in such a rush it banged against the wall and was enough to call the attention of the one inhabitant of the apartment, who immediately turned in surprise, confused at what may be happening, or have happened. She wasn't expecting the woman in a skirt, blouse and veil who barely stopped to close the door again before walking quite briskly through the sitting room and down the hall, in the direction of the main bedroom, completely ignoring the girl watching her with wide eyes.
The woman had already vanished down the hallway when the girl finally managed to move, still, she jumped off the couch, tripping over her own feet as she went after the newly arrived woman. She'd just reached the end of the hallway when the sound of the door closing, followed by the strangely loud click of the lock.
"Lady Serenity!" She called loudly.
And yet, she knew it was useless, once the lock had been used there was no way to get in, and it also meant the woman wasn't coming out for a while, a long while…and while the girl, Keeva, most likely had the power to break the door open, that was something she would never so much as consider doing, she respected the woman inside that room far too much, not just for the power she held, but for what she had done for Keeva herself.
She had always felt so lonely. For as long as she could remember she'd been around, from family to family, foster home to foster home, never staying in the same place for too long. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever had an actual family…
At first she'd been given flimsy excuses: that her parents were having problems with money and couldn't support her anymore, that they were moving, that there was some other kind of trouble with them…and she'd believed them, for so long, until eventually it became too much. She stopped believing, she no longer cared for excuses, didn't make questions, just allowed them to move her, to the next city, the next family, the next failure…
But the worst, the worst wasn't the change, of place or people, not even the fact that nobody seemed to want her as part of their family. It was the whispers behind her back, which sometimes weren't whispers, or even behind her back, they called her all sort of things: 'sick', 'loony', 'crazy', 'psycho'. Some of the families she was with even tried to help her. They sent her to doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists; she was given so many different diagnostics, so many different treatments, some called her schizophrenic, gave her pills which made her feel dizzy and not fully connected with the world, she hated feeling like that. She was even interned once, until she ran away; she lived on the streets for some time, before social services found her and took her away, the family she'd been fostered with no longer wanting her.
The time came when she was forced to defend herself, and then she realized she could not only see and hear things other couldn't, she could also touch them, fight them. So she did exactly that; she fought to survive.
Only one time she'd trusted others, the foster-mother she'd had at the time, an old, gentle woman; Keeva had told her about the things, the creatures she could see, that no one else could, and about how she could also touched them. The woman had panicked, sent her to an old Church, where she'd been 'treated', exorcised…It had achieved nothing except bring her pain. That was the last time Keeva ever trusted anyone…well, no, not the last, she trusted another, but that wasn't for a long, long time.
She was twelve, almost thirteen, when she had all but given up on ever finding a family, she met her: her savior, her friend, her lady…
She'd been living in the United States for a few years, since running away from the so-called exorcist in Mexico. She'd crossed the border illegally and been found eventually by Child Services. There was no registry of her anywhere, and eventually they sent her to yet another orphanage. And it was the neverending story yet again…
Eventually she'd been sent to a small town, south of Los Angeles, there was one of very few orphanages left, and even then they mostly served as temporary homes from foreign children who were to be adopted by families in the United States. Most orphans in the States lived in Group Homes, or were part of the Foster Care system, however, Child Services had given up on Keeva ever being able to stay with a family more than a few weeks, or months at the most, so they had sent her to the orphanage to help take care of the infants who went through there.
What the young, disillusioned girl hadn't been expecting was when she met her: light-gray eyes, ashen-black long locks of hair covered by a long white scarf, dressed in a long white skirt and a lavender blouse, sixteen-years-old; she was a volunteer in the orphanage, and soon became Keeva's one and only friend.
It was a Sunday, and there were no children in the orphanage to take care of, so the older girl, who everyone called Serenity for her perpetually serene attitude (and because she didn't seem interested in giving her actual name), had convinced the nurses in charge of the place of allowing Keeva to go out with her.
They had a wonderful time, having hamburgers and soda for lunch and then some ice-cream as dessert while walking through a nice park. Eventually they sat down on a stump, by a lake, in the deepest part of the park, full of trees. They began talking about the last infant to have gone through the orphanage, a little Korean baby with the cutest face either girl had ever seen. Then, their chat was interrupted by a howl.
Both girls quieted instantly, though neither moved or so much as looked at anywhere but where they were looking already.
Then the howl came again. Serenity could see how Keeva grimaced slightly before taking a deep breath, and that seemed to be like some sort of signal she was waiting for.
"You heard that, didn't you?" Serenity asked straight out.
"N-No…I…I don't…" Keeva stuttered, seemingly not knowing what to answer.
"It's okay…" Serenity assured her, touching the back of the younger girl's hand softly. "I can hear them too… I can see them too." Her voice became deeper, stronger, as she added. "You're not crazy Keeva, you're just…special."
Right in that instant the hollow entered the small meadow where they sat, Keeva reacted instinctively, as she jumped onto her feet, rushed to the hollow, jumped, spun around and delivered a double kick to the creature's head, breaking the mask completely. After that, the dark being seemed to dissolve into thin air.
"You can see them too?" Keeva asked as she turned to look back at Serenity. "I'm not crazy, or sick or…?"
"Yes, I can see them." Serenity assured her, then suddenly turned defensive. "I promise you you're not crazy, or sick, or anything like that. And you're not alone Keeva, not now, not ever again. You're special…"
She was interrupted by yet another howl, and a new Corrupted Spirit entered the same meadow. Keeva immediately got on her guard, ready to act again. This time, however, Serenity didn't wait for the younger girl to act; instead, she turned to face the creature herself, extended both hands, and then twisted them in the air, as if she'd just snapped something. The creature seemed to react to this, the mask tearing and breaking as well.
"How…?" Keeva couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"I told you." Serenity said with a soft, calm voice, despite recent events. "You're special, we both are. We're the same."
"The same?" Keeva was still in shock. "What are we?"
"Part of an almost extinct race." The older girl explained. "We're Réalta."
And so Keeva trusted her, trusted Serenity with all she was. They were the best of friends for a few months…until the day they became more:
The summer was over, and Keeva was sad, her friend would be leaving soon. Serenity actually lived in Pasadena, not in the small town where the orphanage was located, which meant she wouldn't be able to continue her volunteer work, not with school, homework, and everything else, not when she wouldn't actually be living there. So Keeva wouldn't get the chance to see her again, she was losing her only friend…
"Come with me." Serenity said quietly near the end of the day.
Her comment was so sudden, so completely unexpected, Keeva couldn't help but wonder if she'd imagined it.
"You heard right, I'm telling you to come with me." The older girl insisted. "I'm asking you to come be part of my family…"
"Sere…" She sighed sadly. "You know I cannot do that. Years ago I promised myself there would be no more foster homes, I've had more than enough of those."
"Not through fostering." Serenity corrected, as she handed the younger girl some papers. "I know what you promised and I would never try to make you go back on your word. What I am offering is something else…"
"A…Adoption?" Keeva almost dropped the papers in shock.
"Yes." The older girl nodded with a smile. "I already convinced my parents to sign the papers…well, technically mom convinced my dad to sign them. But the point is, you'll be my sister, if you agree that is."
"Yes!" Keeva practically screamed her answer. "Yes! Yes! And a thousand times yes!"
With a bright smile Serenity handed the younger girl a pen, who immediately took it and signed her name in all the necessary pages, in the proper places.
"I have a family!" She yelled joyfully as soon as she signed the last one. "I have a family!"
She was delighted, happy in a way she hadn't been in her whole life…she had a family, people who wanted her. Granted, she didn't actually know the rest of the family yet, but she knew Serenity, loved her already…and now they were sisters.
"It's done now." Serenity declared as she put the papers away to hand them to the courts in Pasadena. "We're sisters now."
Joyful, Keeva embraced the older girl tightly, her new sister…
"From today on." Serenity announced, without letting go of her. "You're Keeva Castelo."
Keeva Castelo, or Castelo Keeva, as the Japanese said, that's who she'd been since that day.
The now sixteen-year-old réalta felt she owed so much to the older girl. Everything she had, everything she was, she felt she owed to her. Keeva would do anything for Serenity…if the older réalta would just allow her to do something. She didn't, it had been a long time since she'd allowed Keeva to do anything for her, since she'd truly allowed the younger girl in…
xXx
On the other side of the door, the nineteen-year-old girl in the long skirt, blouse and veil was holding herself against the locked door; for the first time not because she needed help to stand, she wasn't in pain, instead, she was berating herself.
"Stupid…idiotic…naïve little girl!" She insulted herself derisively, then sighed and covered her veiled face with her hands. "I cannot believe what I did…all I said…and to him! To Kuchiki Byakuya! To a Shinigami!" she was nearly hyperventilating with a panic attack. "Oh Holy Spirits…what have I done?"
She slid down the door, till she was sitting on the floor, legs to the sides and her long skirt tangled in them. She was trying to focus once again, to stop feeling, to go back to her usual detachment, her blankness, and yet, somehow, she found herself unable to do it. Instead of that, a memory pushed its way to the forefront of her mind:
A just-turned fifteen Serenity was sitting on her bed, with her legs curled up beneath her, as she looked at her older sister, her 'Deirfiúr' with expectation and joy.
"What did you see?" She asked in an almost childish tone. "Did you see me? What was I? Was I beautiful? Was I like you? Tell me Deirfiúr!"
"You know there's a limit to how much I can tell you." The older girl, known by some as the Oracle, reminded her softly. "The last thing I want is to become another Cassandra."
"That curse will never fall upon you, you're too wise for that, Deirfiúr." Serenity replied. "I know you cannot tell me what to do, you cannot tell me about changes, but I'm not asking you about that. You can tell me if you see me, even if you don't tell me how I got there."
The older girl knew the younger was right. As long as what she revealed didn't change the future directly, she would be alright. Even then, she had the right to interfere with the future up to three times though, obviously, there would be a price. She hadn't used any of those chances yet, saving them for when she truly needed them, she knew the time would come.
"I saw you." The older girl finally declared. "In a beautiful garden, flowers fully in bloom, standing before a very handsome man dressed in midnight blue, his hair is the darkest black, like onyx, his eyes a perfect blend of blue and gray. He's a gentleman, a protector, a warrior… you will learn all this, and more, with time…"
For so long she had been waiting for that moment, dreaming about that man with hair like onyx and eyes like a stormy night-sky. Back then she'd been innocent, full of life and dreams, wishing that time would pass faster, that she would find him…now, now things were so absolutely different. Innocence was long gone, life was a matter of perspective, the dreams had long since vanished. And time…time was something she did not have.
It was truly ironic, after so long, when she'd finally found him, finally seen him with his own eyes, finally learnt his name…it was too late already.
"I'm sorry Deirfiúr…" Serenity whispered painfully as she looked at her hands. "I'm afraid this time you'll have to be wrong. What you saw…it will never come to pass."
Her sleeves had slipped with the motion, allowing her hands to be seen, her pale, dry, ashen-white hands…