You Were Just Here – Byakuya

The sky was clear of clouds, letting the blue really show and the sun shine through. For the most part everything was peaceful, but there was no mistaking the clang of steel that rang through the air as two Soul Reapers sparred in a courtyard.

Byakuya raised his blade, blocking the strike from Rukia as she swung at him again. Stepping to the left, he raised his hand and said softly, "Hado #4: Byakuri."

A second later the reishi sprang from his palm and raced toward Rukia; he knew it wouldn't hurt her severely, he intentionally made it weak by not reciting the incantation and Rukia was bound to already have a counter going on. Even still, Byakuya noticed the fact that he was tense with anticipation and fear. If he'd somehow hurt Rukia he'd never forgive him, it was only when he saw her dodge to the left and fire off her own kido spell in retaliation that he felt better.

Flash stepping out of the way, Byakuya watched blandly as the kido struck a tree, punching a hole in it. Staring at it blandly, he remarked, "Sokatsui?" He sheathed Senbonzakura as he moved closer to inspect the damage done to the poor, defenseless plum tree that had been attacked.

He didn't have to look to know Rukia had rolled her eyes at the question. Hado 33 was her favorite to use in a fight. Byakuya knew it; and everyone else knew it too. Sensing a spike in reishi, he turned back to face Rukia; both to see if she was okay and to see if she sensed it too. Seeing that the answer was yes to both, he nodded wordlessly and unsheathed Senbonzakura again before he flash stepped in the direction of the spike.

Reaching the location, his eyes saw the child that was curled up on the ground. Yes, his curiosity was climbing as to how the child made it on the grounds without being noticed before now; but Byakuya noticed the quick surge of fear before he stomped it down. He refused to give it any quarter in his heart until he knew for sure that it was necessary, and even then he wasn't likely to.

Motioning for Rukia to stand back, Byakuya walked over and crouched down to the ground. Reaching out a hand, he placed it on the child's shoulder and shook him gently, "Are you okay?"

Getting no response Byakuya did it again, trying to get the child to stir. He performed a quick visual once over to see if there were any injuries. He didn't see anything wrong with the child; so why wasn't he waking up? "Brother, are you sure you should be so close?" Rukia asked, her fear giving more power to the words and hardening Byakuya's resolve to be the one to stay in close proximity to the child.

"No. I probably shouldn't be this close to someone we know nothing about, but someone should check on this boy." Byakuya answered coolly, trying to remain as calm as possible to help Rukia. Even then, he wasn't afraid; he was just more intrigued by the boy.

Shaking his shoulder once more, Byakuya smiled a little when the boy stirred and cracked open an eye to see who was bothering him. It took only a moment for the boy's mind to process that there was someone near him, and Byakuya had to admit, his freak-out was a little unnerving. Watching as the boy scrambled away from him, Byakuya was about to say something when his mind registered the boy's eyes.

Tensing at the color, he also finally registered that the boy's soul felt vaguely familiar. Sucking a deep breath in through clenched teeth, Byakuya rose to his feet and carefully approached the child, trying to shove the feeling of a familiar stranger out of his mind. After all, there is no possible, or logical way, on Rukia and Hisana having a younger brother; especially one this young. But if so, why did the boy look like Hisana? Calmly approaching him, Byakuya crouched down again so he was at eye level and asked coolly, "Hey kid, are you okay?"

He mentally cursed himself for letting his uncertainty show, and maybe Kurosaki and Abarai had finally caused him to lose some of his formal speaking patterns. He heard the stammered reply, and he couldn't quite hide his confusion. So the kid thought he was supposed to be dead for some reason huh? Did this kid hit his head or was he just delusional?

Sighing in mild exasperation, Byakuya answered coolly, "No, I'm not young one. Now, who are you and, if you happen to have some, where are your parents?" He looked the boy up and down, trying to judge based on his appearance. And for that matter, why do you look like Hisana? Byakuya asked mentally, but kept from doing it out-loud since he figured the child wouldn't appreciate that question.

"They're gone, and my name is Kaien."

The pain in the boy's face and voice nearly broke Byakuya's heart. After all he knew too much about the pain of losing one's parents. Granted he wasn't as young as Kaien, but he did believe that no matter how old someone was, they were never ready for the act of burying their parents. Closing his eyes for a brief moment to will the pain away, Byakuya opened them again and looked at the boy. He wasn't sure, but he thought that in times like this there was something about physical contact helped. Also, he didn't like the idea of this familiar stranger, for whatever reason that is, being upset.

Hesitantly, Byakuya reached out and gave him a quick hug, and it didn't escape him on the way Kaien tensed. Releasing the boy after a moment, Byakuya returned to his feet and turned back towards Rukia and saw the questioning look on her face. Raising an eyebrow, he quickly walked over and asked, "What is it Rukia? Do you have something to say?"

"Why did you give him a hug? You're normally not so warm towards strangers." Rukia retorted, concern in her eyes at the gesture.

Looking away for a moment to check on the boy, he returned his gaze to Rukia and answered truthfully, "I don't know, he seems familiar to me somehow and he just looked like he really needed the hug. Can you look after him for a while?"

He only waited until he got a nod from Rukia before he left. It was not too much of a surprise his mind took him straight to his parents' graves. Looking at the two slabs of marble, he found himself telling his parents about his encounter with the boy and his intent to take the boy in since he didn't want him to grow up alone.

"I'm sorry; I know I said I wouldn't break the rules again. It's just I think this boy could use a home; it sounds like he's gone through a lot recently. I promise that after this, unless it jeopardizes my family, I won't break the rules again. I hope you can support this decision to adopt someone else into the family." Byakuya said, before he stood up and headed straight back to get the manor ready for the newest maybe of the family.

And maybe from the constant contact Byakuya would be able to figure out why Kaien seemed so familiar to him.