Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. If I did, there would be more Rukia :D
Spoilers for Hisana and Kaien.
Falling
---- Saihatsu
He watched her now as he did then, when she was still in her academy uniform, when she still smiled with the innocence she no longer possessed.
When he first saw her chatting with the one who would later become his vice-captain, he resisted the urge to walk up to her and just hug her, then and there, if only to make sure she was real, that she was exactly as he remembered her.
"Wait up, Rukia!"
His illusion shattered. She wasn't Hisana, and she probably only knew him as a head of the infamous Kuchiki household, and she was probably scared of him because of it. So Byakuya did the only thing he could do at the time, he watched her.
It was only when the watching turned into wanting, and when he realized that she would be graduating in a few years, that he reluctantly asked for her adoption under the Kuchiki name. After all, she did get the highest marks in demon arts. He ignored the joy in his heart when she accepted.
- - - - -
The first night she spoke to him directly was when she came to report her status. Thirteenth division, she said. Unranked, she continued. And Byakuya had stilled his heart, stopping the slight happiness of being able to talk to her from surfacing. He turned her away with disapproval evident in his tone, but not disapproval of her, it was of himself. It was because he couldn't stop thinking about Hisana, and could barely repress the urges to kiss her, to drive his own nightmares away. But he continued to stare forward, his back turned to her. He thought it was better that she didn't know.
- - - - -
The next time they spoke was a week later when he caught her talking to the servants. She was on the ground on all floors, as was the servant, and her white clothing was dirty with mud from the morning's drizzle. Calmly, he strode out to where they kneeled and stoically asked what the hell they were doing.
He remembered Rukia springing up in surprise, and the servant quickly standing up to bow his apologies. He recalled trying to remember the servant's name, but his mind and eyes were drawn to Rukia, and soon gave up. Instead, he looked to Rukia for an answer.
"Byakuya nii-sama, I…"
He walked away before she could finish, but not before he saw the sakura tree they were trying to plant in the lonely yard. He turned before they could see him smile.
- - - - -
In the following weeks, he noticed that she came home later than usual. He would wonder about the change and about the blush on her cheeks when she returned home, but he would never ask, because he wasn't willing to show that maybe, he cared. So he continued to watch and wonder, and when he became irritated with it all, he decided to pay Captain Jyuushirou Ukitake of the 13th Division a visit, but his true intention was to find an answer to his questions.
He barely managed to hide his jealousy when he saw her with Shiba Kaien, resident vice-captain, liked and loved by all, including her. He ended the meeting quickly and politely declined when Ukitake asked him if he wanted to see Rukia. He walked away with one last glance over his shoulder. For now, he would continue to watch.
- - - - -
One night, while he sat in front of Hisana's picture as he did every night, he heard her walk by the door. It was very late, he realized. In fact, one could even say that it was morning. He had been waiting for her to come home to show his disapproval. He tried to tone down the voice in his heart when it told him that he was worried about her. Kuchiki Byakuya wasn't one to worry over petty things like coming home late, after all.
Standing up slowly, he quietly made his way out to the hall to confront Rukia. What he saw was the last thing he expected, but he refused to let his surprise and shock show. Trying to keep his voice as calm as he could, he told her that he disapproved, and asked her to send a message to one of the servants if she was going to be late again. No one liked it when food was wasted.
As he expected, she apologized, bowed, and quickly took her leave. Byakuya went back to his room with the image of a young girl covered in blood, and eyes that no longer held any emotion, ingrained into his mind. It would not be until later in the afternoon that he would learn of Shiba Kaien's death and the circumstances of it.
He remembered thinking that Rukia was still too young to kill a man by her own two hands, much less someone she had feelings for. And then he reminded himself that she was at least a hundred years old.
He didn't see her again for a long while after that. He was too busy and Rukia had been sent to patrol in the mortal realm to get her mind off Kaien. Ukitake was an understanding man, which was why he made such a great captain even with his chronic illness.
- - - - -
Once, he heard someone say "out of sight, out of mind", but Byakuya soon learned that it was not the case. Every night, he would sit by the door, waiting, hoping, for her to come back late again so that he could reprimand her and remind her that she was a Kuchiki. He would act as the heartless son of a bitch everyone believed him to be if it meant that he would get to see her.
It was no wonder the rage in his heart grew to barely suppressible levels when he heard that she had transferred her powers to a measly mortal and that she had hid in the mortal world for two months after the incident. When a request was sent to the 13th Division for them to send someone to retrieve her, he quickly offered his help. After all, she was his adopted sister. Never mind the fact that he wanted to make the fool who had taken Rukia's powers wish he had never been born.
When he learned that she would most likely be executed upon her return, it was too late to pull out, and he became the one who would lead her to her death. Byakuya thought that some things in life were never fair, so he only told Renji that she would be punished.
- - - - -
The change in her was noticeable, even in the short span of two months. Her eyes had regained their ability to show emotions, and through them, he could see the fear and the guilt as Renji quickly dealt with the Quincy. Later, he would discover that the depths of the emotions he just witnessed were nothing compared to those that she displayed when Renji managed to injure the boy who took her powers, Ichigo. He saw the faint glimmer of hope disappear, and then reappear again when Ichigo stood back up, displaying a magnitude of power Byakuya had never expected.
Just before Ichigo could finish off Renji, and just as Byakuya saw a small glint of love in her eyes, Byakuya decided that it was time for him to intervene. The boy didn't stand a chance. Byakuya struck before the boy could blink; he probably didn't even know what hit him. As he watched Ichigo fall, he turned to look at Rukia once again. He saw the pain in her eyes, the sense of betrayal. This time, he didn't turn away from her gaze when he stuck his zanpakutou through the boy's torso.
He heard her call the boy's name, heard her unconsciously compare him to Kaien, voice laced with guilt. In seconds, he understood. A bond between them had been formed, one that would be unbreakable, he knew. Rukia would try to break it, but he knew the boy would cling onto it; noble, yet ridiculously stubborn.
It did not come as a surprise when Rukia kicked away Ichigo's hand to save him. It did not come as a surprise when Rukia asked Byakuya to let him lay there in his pool of blood. But her eyes had become emotionless again, and Byakuya couldn't help but wish that they hadn't. And then he saw her eyes display pure sadness again for a moment, only for Ichigo, always for Ichigo. When she turned to him again, the emotions were gone. He decided to grant her wish and took her away, leaving the boy on the cold asphalt. After all, he didn't expect the boy to live.
- - - - -
She was imprisoned in the 6th Division's cell where Byakuya could visit her any time he wanted, but he didn't. To visit would be too much of a risk; he wasn't sure if he would be able to stop himself from breaking the bars and taking her away. He settled for being the messenger.
"Your execution will be in 25 days."
He wished he could change the words, but he knew that to prolong her execution would only cause her more pain. Even then, past her look of surprise, he saw the flames of hope begin to diminish. To wait for one's death was already painful enough, but to die with no hope, it was something Byakuya didn't want her to experience. He didn't want her to die Hisana's death.
When he walked out of the 6th Division's headquarters, he resisted the urge to bash Zaraki's head inside out when he asked if Byakuya wanted him to kill his sister for him. It was probably meant as a joke, but even so, it angered Byakuya to no end. Rukia was his sister, his Hisana, his love, and his obsession all combined into one. He allowed himself to admit that he cared for the first time.
- - - - -
Later on, when Byakuya went to stop the ones who had attempted to free Rukia, he was shocked to see Ichigo very much alive. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he had expected it. What he didn't expect was Shihouin Yoruichi. She took Ichigo away with a promise that he would reach bankai in three days, and it would not be until then that they would have their battle. Byakuya turned and walked away. He could wait three days.
- - - - -
Byakuya stood, blood seeping through the cuts on his uniform. He acknowledged that the boy was brave, yes, but he was also very foolish. There was no way the boy could win him. In the end though, he did. He was bruised, battered, and bleeding profusely, but he managed to win.
Byakuya had wanted to kill him because he reminded Byakuya of how weak he was, how powerless and cowardly he was in the face of his own sister's execution, but most of all, it was because he represented the hope that Byakuya had given up on long ago. When he lost, Byakuya decided that maybe, it wasn't too bad to hope after all.
- - - - -
Usually, he was not one to take impulsive action, but when he heard that Aizen was still alive and that he was after Rukia, Byakuya didn't stop to think; he ran, even with his injuries. He arrived there just in time to stop the blade from penetrating her small, frail body.
Slowly, he turned to the boy, saw the gashes on his torso, and acknowledged that miraculously, the boy was still conscious. The others would be there in a moment, and he trusted that the boy would protect Rukia, despite his injuries. With one last glance towards the boy, he allowed himself to fall.
A/N: I wrote this quite a long time ago, but I didn't bother posting it up anywhere until now. I haven't edited it or anything, but I hope that my characterization of Byakuya is okay regardless :D
Reviews are appreciated!