A/N: Hi again, it's me. No more 3 year wait for the next update. Lol.
Big thanks to everyone who has reviewed so this fast update is for you all. I'm sorry I didn't have time to reply everyone's reviews but rest assured, I read them all. I was busy working on the upcoming chapters on top of my busy schedule. Some of you who had requested links for my other stories, thank you, you guys are the sweetest. I really appreciate the support but I am a little shy to reveal my other works and it has no relation to Bleach in any way so you guys aren't missing out much at all. Really appreciate the support though. You guys are the best!
Below is a recap of chapters 1-17. The gist of what has happened so far in this story right until Rukia was locked up in Aizen's place (which happened last chapter) just in case some of you had forgotten what happened. If you remembered everything (lol, a few of you told me that you practically had the whole story memorised by reading through so many times), then it's okay to skip the recap and continue with the story.
XXX RECAP XXX
Recap from Chapter 1-17:
Rukia was only a kid when she came home one day to see her parents murdered. Her kind neighbour found her at home and informed her that people from the Yakuza had killed her parents. Her father was a well known police chief in town who had messed with the Yakuza. Rukia was told to fled and to lay low by her neighbour and was instructed to go to Tokyo and seek refuge with her neighbour's son who lives there.
During the train ride to Tokyo, Rukia gave her jacket to a sick boy in the train and also learned that Yakuza was not an individual but actually the Japanese mafia. When Rukia reached her stop, she realised that the address of her neighbour's son on the paper was in the jacket that she had offered the boy. He had probably alighted before her.
With no paper, Rukia was lost and alone at the train station when she met Ichigo and his family. They took her in.
Rukia entered the police force to follow her father's footsteps and also hoping that she can find out more about her parents' murder. She almost lost her job but in a turn of events, she was assigned an undercover job to spy on one of the Yakuza leaders, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. She took the job and the identity of Hitoshi Rukia, a waitress working at Grimmjow's club.
Her first meeting with Byakuya was when an injured Byakuya was running and hiding from several Yakuza members in an alley and in order to keep her quiet, he had pointed a gun at her, threatening her to be quiet if not he would shoot her. They got out of the situation unscathed.
While working at Grimmjow's club, Byakuya had saved her several times from Grimmjow and somehow they ended up in Hong Kong where in order to clinch a business deal, Rukia had to pose as Byakuya's fiancee. The media caught wind of this and soon, the public knew of her "engagement" to Byakuya.
Soi Fon instructed Rukia to continue with the mission but instead her new target would be Byakuya and to keep the this mission a secret even from her friends. Ichigo and the rest of her friends were not pleased when they learned that Rukia was engaged to Byakuya. She had to lie and tell them that she and Byakuya were really in love but he has no idea that she was a policewoman.
Byakuya continued to protect Rukia from Grimmjow and paid for her release from him. Ichigo confessed his love for Rukia sometime later with Byakuya witnessing the conversation. Rukia rejected Ichigo conveniently using Byakuya as a shield saying that she was engaged to him and always thought of Ichigo as a friend. The conversation led Byakuya to realise that he had feelings for Rukia. When Rukia met an actress who had slept with Byakuya, it had also led her to realise her own feelings for Byakuya.
Byakuya decided to let his past fiancee, Sakuya go. Sakuya mysteriously disappeared on Byakuya's birthday 6 years ago not long after they have decided to get married. The last he heard from her was from a note she had left him saying that she was going to get the ring fixed as he got the size wrongly. For the last 2 years on his birthday, Byakuya had received copies of Sakuya's note. He couldn't find out who was the sender and the notes had deeply affected him. Rukia promised to help Byakuya find Sakuya as he had helped her out many times before.
After confronting their feelings and being together, Rukia constantly felt guilty for deceiving Byakuya. When she heard news that Byakuya may be killed in one of his meetings with another Yakuza leader, Aizen, Rukia pleaded Byakuya not to go but she couldn't tell him the real reason. He went anyway and Rukia had no choice but to follow him in secret as she was worried for him. She was then caught spying on Aizen and Byakuya and then brought into the same room with them, she learned that Byakuya had intentions of negotiating a deal with Aizen in exchange for information about Sakuya. The deal fell through and Aizen was about to shoot Byakuya when Aizen said that Byakuya could have Sakuya's information in exchange for Rukia. Byakuya declined and when Aizen was about to shoot Byakuya, Rukia offered herself, accepting Aizen's deal.
XXX END OF RECAP XXX
Rukia stared out of the window of Soi Fon Taichou's office as she watched the cherry blossom tree outside in full bloom. Even at night with only the soft glow from a street lamp, the tree looked incredibly pretty. It somehow reminded her of the cherry blossoms in Byakuya's mansion.
It had been a week since Byakuya had burnt the envelope that contained information about Sakuya. The day after, Byakuya had to fly to Shanghai for some meetings and had asked Rukia if she would like to join him for a week there but she had declined stating that she needed to clean up her apartment.
Byakuya had offered to have his housekeepers and butlers help with the cleaning so Rukia could spend a whole week in Shanghai with him but again she declined, stating that she wasn't comfortable with people touching her belongings. She knew Byakuya was concerned since her outburst the other day in his room and she didn't blame him as she remembered how hysterical she had behaved. After assuring Byakuya that she was really fine, he had told her to call Renji if she ever needed anything.
He wouldn't be around for one week after all and Rukia appreciated his concern. Truthfully, Rukia wasn't planning to clean her apartment at all. She just thought that it would be nice to have one week to herself. To sort out her thoughts and feelings by herself.
For the past six days, Rukia was holed up in her apartment as she drowned in her sorrowful thoughts. She love Byakuya and how she hated the situation she was in right now. She was in despair and there wasn't anyone she could talk to. Ichigo and the rest of her friends didn't know that she was still spying on Byakuya in secret and was never actually fired by Soi Fon Taichou. And as for Soi Fon Taichou, Rukia couldn't possibly tell her police chief that she had fallen in love with the man she was supposed to apprehend.
She was alone and there wasn't a single person she could turn to. That thought depressed her further. Throughout the week, Byakuya had called every single day. Some days she would not pick up and simply send him a text hours later and tell him that she had a great day but was too exhausted and was going to bed. The other times when she answered the call, she could hear Byakuya's worry over the line.
"Rukia, are you sure you are fine?" Byakuya asked.
"Yes, don't worry. Why won't I be fine?" Rukia let out a hollow laugh.
"You do not sound fine." Byakuya had replied. "Should I get Renji to check in on you? Or perhaps I can fly back to Tokyo. My next meeting is in 16 hours hours anyway. I have some time to spare."
Again, Rukia forced a laugh, "Don't be silly. I'm really fine. I was just busy cleaning up, that's all. I've been keeping myself busy. Just rest, Byakuya. You don't have to fly back."
Byakuya was skeptical but since Rukia was so insistent, he stopped questioning her. The calls with Byakuya were always brief. Rukia was always the one who would make an excuse to hang up. Her excuse would range from 'I'm going for a jog now. We'll talk again soon, okay?' to 'Someone's at the door. I think it's a delivery man. Got to go!'
Rukia missed Byakuya terribly but she felt even guiltier that she had been deceiving him all this while. She needed to stay away from Byakuya to remain rational. She needed to come up with some plan. She have decided that she should put a stop to this and finally on the seventh day, Rukia had called Soi Fon Taichou at 11 pm, informing her that she needed to speak to her.
When Rukia arrived at the station a little after midnight like how Soi Fon Taichou instructed, she noticed that the station was empty and figured that Soi Fon Taichou must have purposely sent the police that were on duty on some errand.
She slipped into Soi Fon's office quietly noticing that her Taichou wasn't in and her mind began to wander as her eyes stared out of the window at the cherry blossom tree. Everything reminded her of Byakuya right now. She had missed him so much and it pained her every time she had to keep their phone call short.
"Rukia, is everything okay?"
Rukia snapped out of her thoughts to see Soi Fon Taichou entering the room. Once her Taichou had sat down, Rukia's palms began to sweat.
"Rukia, what's the matter? Did something happen?" Soi Fon asked again, this time a little worriedly.
Rukia cleared her throat, "Soi F-Fon Taichou... I don't know who I can talk to right now and..." Rukia's voice started wobbling. "And I don't even know if this is the right move b-but-
"Hold on," Soi Fon stopped her. "Rukia, what are you talking about? Are you alright? Are you hurt or in danger?"
Rukia shook her head as the tears started falling, "I'm not hurt nor in danger but... I don't think I can do this anymore... I don't think I can keep this up. What should I do?"
"Rukia," Soi Fon got up from her seat and walked towards the sobbing girl. "You have to calm down and tell me what is going on. I don't understand anything you have just said. Is it about the mission?"
Rukia took a deep breath and then she replied, "I'm here to resign from my position, Soi Fon Taichou. I can't... I can't do this anymore."
Soi Fon's eyes widened in shock as she stared at Rukia, "Have you been found out, Rukia? Did Kuchiki threaten to kill you? Why would you quit?"
"No, no..." Rukia shook her head. "I'm still safe. Nobody has found out but... I can't take this anymore... I can't keep lying to him when all he ever did was save me and protect me countless of times! How can I do this to him? How can I do this when he trusts me so much? I can't do this to him, Taichou. I just... can't..."
Soi Fon stared at Rukia and then asked softly, "Have you fallen in love with him, Rukia?"
Rukia looked up at the chief and very slowly, she nodded.
Soi Fon closed her eyes for a second in disbelief as she exhaled, "Rukia... How could you? He's the enemy."
"I know, I know..." Rukia sobbed. "I never wanted to but... it just happened. Believe me, Soi Fon Taichou, I never wanted to fall in love with him!"
For a split second, Rukia thought she saw a flash of pity in the chief's eyes as she handed Rukia a tissue.
"So, you plan to quit?" Soi Fon asked slowly. "And what do you intend to do? Live with Kuchiki happily ever after?"
Rukia sniffled, "I don't know. I really don't know... But I just know that I don't want to hurt him anymore. I can't spy on him anymore."
Soi Fon sighed and then to Rukia's surprise, the older woman placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Rukia, you have to think this through. Is Kuchiki Byakuya worth all of this? Is it worth to throw away the job that you love so much? I wasn't going to tell you at first but I had convinced the captain commander to promote you."
"What?" Rukia's eyes widened.
Soi Fon continued, "I can see your dedication to this job, Rukia, and the passion you have. And so far, you have been doing okay with the Kuchiki case... or so I thought... that's why I thought you could be promoted after the Kuchiki case is over. You can join Ichigo, Shuuhei and Kira in solving cases. I never realised you had fallen in love with Kuchiki Byakuya."
"I'm sorry..." Rukia muttered.
"Rukia," Soi Fon said seriously. "The promotion still stands if you can promise me that you will get over Kuchiki Byakuya and continue with this case."
"Thank you for believing in me, Taichou..." Rukia said slowly. "As much as I want the promotion, I c-can't... I can't do this to Byakuya."
"And you think quitting will be the solution?" Soi Fon questioned. "I'm not pressurising you to make a decision but honestly, Rukia, do you see a future with Kuchiki? Do you see a future with a Yakuza leader? Can you stand by and watch him extort, threaten and murder people for the rest of your life? We're not brought up this way, Rukia. We're different from people like Kuchiki Byakuya."
"But he-
"He loves you?" Soi Fon asked. "I'm not sure if he does or not but let's say he's in love with you. How long can that last, Rukia? What if the relationship turns sour a few years later and you decide to break up with him? What will you have left then? You quitted your job for him, Rukia."
Rukia swallowed as she tried to ingest everything.
Soi Fon continued in a gentler tone, "You probably know him more than I do, Rukia. Maybe he really isn't that bad of a man but he is still a Yakuza leader after all and Yakuza leaders they have to maintain a certain image."
"What are you talking about?" Rukia asked.
"What do you think will happen when he finds out the truth about you? So what if you have quitted your job for him? So what if you marry him and have his kids? Do you think Kuchiki Byakuya will let this slide?"
"He w-wouldn't kill me." Rukia stammered. "He said he wouldn't."
"Perhaps he doesn't want to but what would the other Yakuza members say? That Kuchiki had gone all soft for a woman who had stepped all over him? He will kill you, Rukia because he still have a reputation to maintain." Soi Fon replied.
Rukia knew Soi Fon Taichou was right. Everything she said made perfect sense but somewhere in her heart she was still hoping that maybe Byakuya would never find out and maybe they would just live happily ever after.
With a sigh, Soi Fon said, "Don't quit just yet. Think over what I said. And if you still decide to quit and be with him... I will accept that."
Rukia looked up at Soi Fon Taichou, "O-Okay... I will."
"I care about you, Rukia and I just hope that whatever you decide, you will not regret the decision you have made."
When Rukia walked out of the station with a heavy heart, she started walking as she thought about what Soi Fon Taichou had said. In her mind, her own voice was screaming for her to listen to her chief as it would be the most logical thing to do.
Do not quit. Fall out of love with Byakuya. Spy on him. Gather enough evidence and apprehend him. Get promoted. Fall in love with a normal man and start a healthy, normal relationship.
This seemed like the most logical choice. She wouldn't be letting Soi Fon Taichou down. Her friends would be happy. The Kurosaki family will be happy as well.
But... but... will she be happy? Maybe she might. Maybe not.
Rukia wasn't even sure but just the thought of putting Byakuya behind bars, the pain and betrayal he will be feeling and the mere thought of marrying some guy who wasn't even Byakuya brought a painful tug to her chest.
She couldn't even imagine dating someone after Byakuya. Will she be able to love the person like how she love Byakuya? How long would it even take for her to get over Byakuya?
The chirping of the cicadas broke Rukia out of her thoughts and when she looked up, she realised that she had wandered to one of the safest place she could ever be in. Home. Home where the Kurosaki family will love her and accept her despite whatever choices she choose to make.
It was almost two in the morning and Rukia stood in front of the residence. Most of the lights were out but one light remained on. The one person that Rukia wanted to talk to the most. Ichigo.
Rukia swallowed her tears as she continued to stand there, unsure of her next move. It was almost ten minutes later when she was about to leave when she saw Ichigo's shadow at the window. The window rolled open suddenly and her eyes widened as she watched Ichigo stretched and stared out into the night.
Ichigo's eyes roamed around and then when it finally landed on Rukia, his eyes widened in surprise and she heard him say, "Rukia? What are you- Wait, don't go! I'm coming!"
Rukia waited and when Ichigo flung his front door open, she almost broke down at the sight of him. Sweet Ichigo who stumbled upon her at the train station and brought her into his family and had protected her ever since.
"Rukia... What are you doing here? Are you okay?" Ichigo panicked.
"I-I'm fine." Rukia replied thickly.
"What are you doing here? It's almost two." Ichigo fretted as he reached out for her hands. "Why are your hands so cold? Have you been walking around? I know it's Spring but it's still chilly tonight."
"I'm really fine, Ichigo." Rukia let out a small smile.
"Come in," Ichigo pulled her into the warm house. "Dad, Karin and Yuzu are asleep. Did you come over to visit them? Do you even know that it's two in the morning?"
Ichigo chuckled as the both of them walked up the stairs.
Rukia finally let out a small laugh for the first time in many days, "Of course I know the time, idiot. Do you think I'm daft like you?"
Her comment earned her a glare from Ichigo as they entered his room.
"So why are you here at this time?" Ichigo asked, taking a seat at his desk. "Everything okay?"
Rukia smiled as she sat at the foot of Ichigo's bed, "I'm fine, really. I just... I just miss here, that's all."
Ichigo smiled softly, "I miss the days when you're here too. Everything's different with you gone."
"Things were much simpler back then, isn't it?" Rukia wondered wistfully.
Ichigo chuckled, "Yeah, Ramen Wednesday with the gang, remember?"
Rukia laughed, "Of course I remember! The last time I joined for Ramen Wednesday was several months ago."
"I know... But it felt longer than that." Ichigo said softly.
Rukia silently agreed and then asked, "Do you guys still do Ramen Wednesdays?"
"Yeah, we do. But of course, it's not the same without you." Ichigo smiled.
"I wish I could go but I can't..." Rukia replied.
"I know... You're different now." Ichigo said.
"What?" Rukia stared at him, surprised.
"I mean-" Ichigo faltered and then cleared his throat. "I mean, you're engaged to Kuchiki now. Everything's different. You can't hang out with us anymore. Heck, you've probably had better food than the Ramen place we always go to. Kuchiki is loaded so I'm sure he always brings you to nice places."
Rukia narrowed her eyes angrily as she stood up from the bed, "I'm still the same! Being with Byakuya doesn't change that!"
Ichigo sighed, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
They lapsed into silence for a moment and Rukia sat back down.
Ichigo broke the silence and said, "Let's not talk about Kuchiki anymore, Rukia. I'm just glad that you're here."
Rukia nodded, "Me too. I really missed you, Ichigo."
A pained look flitted past Ichigo's face as he murmured, "Me too, Rukia. You have no idea how much."
"Ichigo..." Rukia said softly. "I want to go somewhere. Will you come with me? Just for a few hours?"
"Anywhere, Rukia. I'd go anywhere with you." Ichigo replied seriously.
A few hours later, the two friends arrived at the countryside with the sun slowly peeking out from the mountains.
"Why are we here, Rukia?" Ichigo asked, puzzled.
Rukia's eyes grew misty as she walked down the familiar street. Nothing much has changed. The town's elementary school was still at the same place... That bridge over the river was still the same. Most of the houses even looked the same.
"This is where I grew up." Rukia said softly.
Ichigo's eyes widened, "Rukia, why are we here? You never like to talk about your past. I mean, I'm glad you're letting me into your past now... But is something wrong?"
Rukia mumbled, "Nothing's wrong. I just haven't been here since I went to Tokyo. I don't know why but maybe talking to you earlier made me miss my family so much."
"Oh right, your parents died in a boating accident." Ichigo said sympathetically.
Rukia blinked, suddenly remembering that that was the story she had told Ichigo and his family when they first met. She was supposed to lay low and not talk about the Yakuza as instructed by her elderly neighbour hence, the lie.
Rukia looked up at Ichigo, the man who always had her back ever since they met and Rukia felt that she needed to tell Ichigo the truth about her parents.
"Ichigo..."
Ichigo turned to her, noticing the seriousness in her voice.
"Actually, my parents were not killed in a boating accident," said Rukia. "They were killed by people from the Yakuza."
Ichigo's eyes widened, "W-What?! You've kept this secret all alone? No, wait. Why was your family involved with the Yakuza?"
Rukia swallowed the tears that were threatening to fall, "My father was a police chief and I heard that he offended someone from the Yakuza and these people took their revenge. I wasn't home when they were murdered and I was told they will be coming for me next. My elderly neighbour told me to run to Tokyo and find her son who will help me there. I lost the paper with the address and then I met you."
Ichigo ran his hand through his orange hair as he exhaled, "I'm sorry, Rukia... I never knew that. H-How did you even go through this yourself?"
Rukia smiled thinly, "It wasn't that hard after being welcomed into your family. I have owed you all alot."
"Don't say that. We love you, Rukia. None of us regretted welcoming you into the family." Ichigo replied.
They continued walking until they stopped in front of a house. Rukia's tears started falling as she brought her hand over her mouth to muffle her sobs.
"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked worriedly.
"This used to be where I live. This house... with my parents before they were murdered." Rukia cried.
Ichigo looked up at the two storey house, very similar to his own house.
"I think someone is living here now." Ichigo said as he observed the mailbox and the freshly painted house.
Rukia nodded as she calmed down and wiped away her tears.
"Rukia," Ichigo said gently. "Do you know who killed your parents? Which Yakuza group was that?"
Rukia shook her head, "I don't know. I was too young at that time and I lost the address of the man who could help me."
"Was that why you joined the police force?" Ichigo asked.
Nodding, Rukia replied, "Yes, and also the fact that I have always wanted to follow in my father's footsteps."
"Thank you for telling me all these, Rukia." Ichigo said. "I will see what I can do to find out who killed your parents. Leave it to me, Rukia. You don't have to carry this burden anymore."
Rukia let out a small grateful smile, "It's okay. I don't intend to pursue this anymore. I want to move on from this, Ichigo. It has been so many years and there isn't any way of finding out. The case has been closed long ago. I've given up. It's time to move on."
"Are you sure?" Ichigo asked. "If you want, I will request for the case to be re-opened and-
"I'm sure, Ichigo. Thank you but you shouldn't be burdened from my past too. Re-opening the case will not bring us any good."
Ichigo nodded, "Okay, if that's what you want, Rukia. As long as you're happy."
Rukia's mood improved an hour later after she and Ichigo stopped for breakfast. She had told Ichigo that she wanted to visit her parents' grave before heading back to Tokyo and Ichigo offered to go with her. She had declined saying that she was grateful for his offer but she wanted some time alone with her parents. Ichigo understood and told her he will be waiting around the town district for her as she headed to the deserted graveyard alone.
There was only one graveyard in this small sleepy town up on a hill and it didn't take Rukia long to find her parents' graves. After offering incense to her deceased parents, Rukia allowed herself to weep for a moment. Her peace was interrupted suddenly when a voice called out to her.
"Excuse me, may I ask who are you?"
Through her tears, Rukia spotted an unfamiliar figure approaching her. It was a man in his late fifties.
"May I ask how you are related to the late police chief and his family?" The man asked curiously.
Rukia blinked, "I'm their daughter."
Realisation dawned on the man's face as he gaped at Rukia.
"You're Rukia, right? Oh my god, it's you!" The man cried out in relief. "Where have you been? I waited for you in Tokyo but you never arrived. My mother and I were so worried about you!"
Rukia stared at the man, "W-Wait, Fumiko Oba-san is your mother?"
The man nodded, "Yes! She sent you in a train to Tokyo but you never came to me. I waited for you and my mother even called to check on you but you never arrived! Oh Rukia, what happened?"
"I lost your address on my way to Tokyo." Rukia replied. "Is Fumiko oba-san here? I would like to thank the both of you properly. She has helped me so much."
The man blinked and then pointed into the distance, "My mother passed away a few years ago. She was buried there."
Rukia's eyes widened and then realising her train of thoughts, the man quickly said, "She died of old age. Don't worry, she didn't get into trouble helping you."
Rukia's shoulder sagged with relief as she said, "I would like to offer her some incense if that is okay with you? I do owe her for saving my life."
"Of course, Rukia. My mother would have been pleased to know that you're alive." The man said as he led her to the grave. "When you didn't arrive a week later, my mother and I thought that you had been captured by your parent's murderers. We thought you were dead."
After offering Fumiko Oba-san incense, the two of them walked down the hill, heading back to town.
"Rukia, would you like to head over to my late mother's house? We never sold the house as I come back frequently. We can talk more if you would like." The man offered kindly.
Rukia nodded, "Yes, that would be nice."
When they reached the house that was a few houses away from her old home, the man offered Rukia some tea as they sat in his kitchen.
"How have you been, Rukia? Is everything well?" The man asked.
Rukia nodded, "I've resided in Tokyo and things are going okay."
"Good," the man sighed with relief. "I tried searching for you for months but I didn't dare to raise too much awareness in fear of luring the Yakuza people over. I'm sorry I failed to find you."
Rukia smiled, "It's okay. You and your mother have helped me so much."
The man stood up suddenly with a sad expression, "Hold on, Rukia. Let me get something."
Rukia watched him head to the living room and then his footsteps thudding up the stairs. She looked around the familiar kitchen and realised that Fumiko oba-san's house remained the same. Before her parents were killed, Rukia had been here several times before as the kind old lady often watched her when her parents were busy.
"Rukia, here, this is for you." Fumiko's son came back into the kitchen and handed Rukia a slip of folded paper.
"What's this?" Rukia asked, accepting the paper but did not unfold it.
"I was told to hand this to you when you meet up with me and instruct you to open it only when you're older but you never came and I never got the chance to hand this to you." The man said.
Rukia gazed at him and he continued, "This is the man who was responsible for killing your parents. This is a report from the police but they were not able to arrest this man. He is too powerful and had bribed several high ranking officers to dismiss and close the case."
Rukia's eyes widened, "W-What?"
"The paper contains information about your parents' murderer, Rukia. If you want to know, open it. If not, I can destroy it for you." The man said.
Rukia trembled as her eyes drifted to the paper in her hands. For so long she have wanted to know who killed her parents and just when she was about to put everything behind her, the information was now in her hands. Should she open it? Will it make any difference knowing who killed her parents now?
Rukia sat in the silent kitchen with her thoughts for almost fifteen minutes when she finally decided to unfold the piece of paper. She deserves to know who killed her parents. It doesn't matter, she can decide what she should do after knowing this bit of information, right?
When Rukia unfolded the paper and her eyes scanned through the report, she almost threw up when she saw the name inside. The piece of paper fell from her hands as she covered her mouth to stop herself from gagging.
"Rukia, you okay?" The man said worriedly. "I know it's a lot to take but this man is dead."
Pushing the chair back, Rukia ran to the bathroom and started gagging as she hunched over the toilet.
"Rukia, are you okay?" The man asked outside the bathroom. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't have shown you if I had known you would have reacted like this. I just thought you have the right to know."
When Rukia finally emerged, pale and shaking, the man set her down on the chair and said, "This man is dead, Rukia. You don't have to do anything if you don't want to."
When Rukia said nothing as she appeared dazed, the man said softly, "But if you want to do something, Rukia, I would advise you not to. I heard his grandson runs the organization now. He's ten times as ruthless as his grandfather, I heard, and if I'm not wrong, I think his name is Kuchiki Byakuya."
A/N: Please review as it spurs me on to write faster! Tell me your thoughts on this chapter. I would like to hear them.
Did anyone expect that the person who murdered Rukia's parents was actually Kuchiki Ginrei? :)
Pardon any grammatical/typing errors! I'll go through and edit again when I am free.