For the few times Rukia Kuchiki found herself in the middle of a meeting with the Elders of the Kuchiki Clan and her brother present, it had never bowed well for her.
When she'd been adopted. When she'd been "accepted" into the family, such as that is. When she'd been selected as a bridal candidate for consideration by some noble aristocrat who barely noticed her when no one of importance was looking and was only interested in the prestige marrying into the Kuchiki Clan will bring to his house. She was able to dodge that bullet somehow, thank the Seireitei.
It's safe to say that, at the very least, that these meetings are uncomfortable. It's not as if they needed her consent to make a decision. Even the ones concerning the course of her life. The Elders of the Kuchiki Clan see her being at these meetings as a formality. Just a little, 'well, you were here, were you not?' slap to the face.
Rukia is a soldier- she could take whatever the Elders of Clan Kuchiki have planned to serve. Before she enlisted into the Goeti 13, she was tough as nails as befitting a resident of the Rukongai District. But still, there is something about these meetings that always fills her veins with nerves. Fear of the unknown outcome is as real as the present. Who knows what these Elders wanted to discuss with the 'formality.'
Today, as she sat beside her brother, Byakuya Kuchiki; the 28th Head of the Kuchiki Clan, her hands with nervous fingers, clutching at the fabric of her uniform as she wondered why- for the hundredth time-she was summoned.
Since a servant knocked on her door this morning, telling her that her presence is requested at the assembly hall on the East Leg of the manor, Rukia's been chewing this over.
Since her adoption into the Kuchiki family some fifty years back, the Elders had made it no secret she's not welcomed.
If not for the will of her brother. Rukia stops that thought in its crazy tracks with a screech because that wasn't one hundred percent correct, was it? Though Byakuya adopted her into the family, and she was no longer in the slums of Hanging Dog, he had made it seem like a chore when he adopted her. Like she was the second-best choice on B-Team because all the A's were taken when it came his time to pick.
Their relationship was awkward. Byakuya had ignored Rukia like the pet he didn't want to own. Feeding her and providing all the necessities, but that's all she got. Like a subpar meal just enough to deal with your hunger, every bite is a milestone from true satisfaction that never comes.
At first, Rukia had thought it was something that she had done with her street-savvy persona, unrefined and callous as she's made to be- a product of her environment. So she tried to learn the ways how to conduct herself in the manner of a noble lady- a Kuchiki lady. But she knew that they knew that she was only kidding herself. Their whispers were loud enough.
The meeting began with the usual proceedings as the Elders filed in accompanied by trusted servants who knew well enough to keep their mouths shut about what was spoken in these meetings. Each Elder had that 'I am looking down my nose look of superiority about them. Some things never change. As soon as everyone was seated, Byakuya's steady baritone asked,
"Why are we having this meeting?"
It surprised Rukia that even Byakuya, the Head of the Kuchiki Clan, didn't know why he was here either. So, she wasn't the only one the Elders liked to be rude to. But still, that did leave a giant question mark in the air over the rafters, a cue her nervousness took to mean 'be more nervous.'
Byakuya's gaze is cool and steely as always. Steady as an anchor in a storm. Rukia's thoughts wandered for a brief moment how someone this gorgeous can be so monstrous? So empty. Flashes of the days leading up to her 'too-close-for-comfort execution went off like fireworks as if on cue in a room in her mind she was careless enough not to secure with lock and key and drop to the bottom of a sea somewhere.
That day! That day her soul was a single moment away from being destroyed- from ceasing to exist, for all time.
If it wasn't for Ichigo, I would've...
Rukia started to sweat. A dryness developed in her throat instantly. Not because the meeting hall is not properly ventilated.
The meeting hall is a large, open space with ceiling to floor double doors, taller than three tall men standing on each others' shoulders and just as wide, opened invitingly to the lush gardens and manicured acres of lawn of Kuchiki manor. The fresh, crispy morning air- feathered lightly with tendrils of sunshine breathing through this area. Yet the heat of the memory. The burning phoenix convinces her body of how real it still is, no matter the season. Rukia clamps down on the shudder that's bound to get noticed seating this close under such shrew and scrupulous eyes.
Byakuya's eyes caught a glimpse of something out of place about Rukia, seated next to him just as the meeting began, but he ignored it: ignored her.
"This meeting, Byakuya-Sama, is called to discuss the long-awaited topic of an heir to the Kuchiki Clan." One of the Elders said.
Years of long etiquette stopped the exasperated sigh from bubbling to his lips. Why can't they take 'no' for what it is? A rejection. How many more meetings was it going to take?
Byakuya wasn't surprised when they called a meeting; neither was he surprised about the topic of 'an heir' being the Elders' main reason for calling it, but why would they bring Rukia here?
In the past, when they wanted to pester him about his obligatory responsibility to bed and breed someone to produce an heir, he was the only one that they'd invite to meetings like these. Despite the whispers they thought he didn't hear, he wasn't against the idea of sex with a female. He was married once, wasn't he?
Why would I be intrigued by males? The eye roll that thought provokes can explore his brain in a complete orbit. When it came to testing his patience, the Elders of Clan Kuchiki had it done to art.
In previous meetings, sometimes, they'll start with insignificant things beating around the bush with the topic as if they are the ones being inconvenienced or uncomfortable with the notation of having their personal affairs on display. Then when he'd had enough of their foolishness and sternly expressed his displeasure at them wasting his time, they would get to the point, quick. Now they had Rukia...here?
His thoughts trailed off, dread settling in the pit of his stomach.
No, they wouldn't dare force her into that position. Not again!
Byakuya slanted a glance for a brief second at the small figure seated beside him. She was nervous, evident from the strangling of her uniform folds in her grip, but she hid it well otherwise. He could understand why. The Elders, on top of being intimidating, hate her.
He closes his eyes, composure just within his grasp again.
There are things he's done wrong by Rukia that he couldn't ask her forgiveness. Byakuya doesn't feel he deserves it. They were only now- slowly-picking up pieces and trying to make them fit into places that never existed in their relationship, to begin with because he'd made it so.
The problem with Byakuya Kuchiki was that he couldn't do anything half-ass. Whatever it was always done to the maximum, and that, unfortunately, went for his emotions as well.
Hisana's death left him broken.
Alone again, in a world of rules and responsibilities where he's required to hide his feelings, nullifying anything that could bring shame to his family's name. Fate is a cruel bitch indeed, and after so long, Byakuya Kuchiki was her adept student; learning too well from her lessons that it might be too much to ask for happiness; to feel warmth in his cold world.
First, it was his parents. Both of them died without seeing their son grow up. Him, loving and respecting them as any good son should. Then, he met Hisana and knew love with a woman. His heart was freely given. He never wanted to let go. Being with her felt like he had been holding his breath all the other times without knowing that he was, and with Hisana, he could breathe again after waiting so long. So he did what any drowning man would he held on to that love with all his strength. That lifeline, even after his wife died, he didn't let go.
That truth was made more emphatic after he found Rukia.