author's note: many thanks to Haritori for her speedy beta.
Substitute Affections — A Bleach Fanfiction
by Akane-Rei
Part One: The Betrothal
Chapter Eleven: Repeating History
It had been well past dusk when he departed the office of Sanada Kuchiki. He had left the sixth division headquarters early for the sole purpose of conferring with the Kuchiki advisor. Why he even bothered to ask the obvious questions regarding the Shiba matter was beyond him. He knew the answers to the queries he sought. However, more important than the questions he had posed, he had wanted to confront the advisor on his deliberate subterfuge. Byakuya did not appreciate being manipulated or being kept in the dark over certain matters, especially when it pertained to his own life and that of the clan's well-being.
His eyes swept past his fellow clan members as he strode away from the advisors' office headquarters. He barely gave any of them a passing glance except to note their bowed heads and respectfully downcast eyes whenever they were in his presence. In the many years that he had been the head of the house, he had gotten used to the imposed distance between him and the rest of his people. He was and had always been, after all, the Kuchiki heir. As such, he had always been treated differently, even by his own family.
From whence he could remember, the Kuchikis had always held him in reverence and no small amount of awe. As a child, he had rarely mingled with children his own age, whether they be Kuchikis or from the other noble families. For one thing, his parents had been very careful to separate him from what they considered 'unnecessary' elements. And for another, the one time that had snuck out as a child and joined the other children from his clan, the result had left quite a bitter taste in his mouth.
Whether it had been out of fear of him or out of fear of his parents, the children had shrunk away from him when he had attempted to join their games. And, when he had eventually been able to convince them all to play their games with him, he had noticed their hesitation at participating to their fullest capabilities. Even the bigger and elder children had held back and allowed him to win all the time. While he had fully expected to win through his own merits, it was quite bothersome to win all of them knowing that he had done so due to the half-hearted attempts of his clan members. No matter how much he had implored, they had treated him with what they thought of as respect at that time. Except, instead of feeling respected, he had felt insulted that they would think he needed such a handicap.
At the end of that day, he remembered thinking what a waste of energy it had been to sneak off from his parents for such a dull event. That was the last time he had ever attempted to try and intermingle with his people in their day-to-day lives.
Of course, the Shinigami Academy had been no different. Especially among his so-called peers. He had been bored. At least, he had been, until that one afternoon when he had walked home using a little-known path through the woods near the Kuchiki grounds. The same little-known path he walked through now. On that afternoon, long ago, he had felt a strange prickling at the back of his neck and had drawn his blade instinctively—
The way he did now, just before he heard the clang of his sword against a wakizashi that glinted against what little light was left in the horizon. Lifting his gaze, from the clashing blades, he met the cat-like eyes of the same woman who had snuck up on him centuries ago.
"Getting slow in your old age, Byakuya-bo?" she taunted. "I remember when your reaction time was much faster."
His eyes narrowed at the familiarity she afforded his name. "With such sluggish flash step, there is no need to go any faster," he returned. "Perhaps it is your old age that is showing, Yoruichi Shihouin."
She grinned before jumping away. "You always were a little brat," she declared. "I don't know why I even bothered with you."
Instead of deigning to respond to her jibe, he stood still and watched her fluid movements. One never knew with Yoruichi. The goddess of flash always had a way of keeping everyone around her on their toes. He'd thought so when he first met her and nothing of their encounters since then had led him to change his mind.
"Nothing to say, Byakuya-bo?" she asked airily. "Not even to your old playmate?"
He winced. How like her to bring up memories of the few moments in his life where defeat became his constant companion.
He had first met Yoruichi Shihouin on those rare occasions when he and his family had mingled with the other nobles of Soul Society. By then, she had already become the first female head of the Shihouin family and she had been nothing like he had expected. Prior to meeting her, he had remembered his parents whisper disapprovingly about the eccentric Shihouin heir. She was too familiar with her subjects, they had said. Too casual and too playful. At that time, he had paid little attention to their discussions.
Until he met her.
She was one of the few adults besides his trainers who fought him as an equal.
And it all began with a game of tag.
"Given your presence here in these particular woods in Soul Society, it would seem to be more the case that you have something to say to me instead of the other way around," he finally said, looking closely at the former captain.
She sighed. "You were much more fun in the old days," she reminisced. "I remembered a time when we would still be in combat instead of talking casually like this. Do you remember the last time I did this?" she asked in a mock mournful voice. "It was back when you first started at the Shinigami Academy. Despite being such a serious young shinigami then, you still had quite a competitive spirit. You never could forget the fact that you could never beat me at shunpo tag." She smirked. "Whatever happened to the Byakuya-bo I used to know?"
"Is there a point to this trip down memory lane?" he questioned evenly. Surely there was a reason for this special visit. Yoruichi did nothing and went nowhere without a purpose. Her agenda could be hidden, but there was always, always, a reason behind her actions.
"Hmmm?" she commented as she remained perfectly still in one spot. "Don't you think trips down memory lane are important?" she asked. "I have found them to be invaluable."
He said nothing, watching her toss her long hair to the side as she walked deliberately closer until she stood in front of him.
She stopped, only to glare at him from beneath her lashes. "What do you think you're doing, Byakuya-bo?" she hissed under her breath, looking up at him with quietly fiery eyes.
"I assume that you are not referring to my present situation of attempting to get back to the main house through these woods," he said dryly, unmoved by the fire simmering just beneath the surface of her exterior. "And if that is the case, then I'm afraid you have me at a loss."
"Stop being obtuse," she muttered scathingly, pointing a finger against his chest. "What do you think you're doing, taking Rukia Kuchiki as your betrothed?" she demanded.
"Given your tone, am I to understand that you have some sort of objection towards this union?" he inquired, still at a loss, although somewhat amused. What interest could the former second division captain, as well as the former twenty-second generational head of the Shihouin family, have in regards to his family affairs?
"One would think that you would have learned your lesson by now," she reproached.
"You talk in riddles," he replied, looking past her. "I have neither the time nor the desire to decipher your purpose for this…encounter. If you would excuse me—"
"Not so fast," she said, blocking his path even as he tried to step away from her. "I'll have my say in this matter whether you like it or not," she asserted.
He reined in his impatience along with his curiosity. "I fail to see what vested interest you might have regarding my betrothal to Rukia," he stated coldly. Which was true. Out of that group of shinigamis that came from, or are currently living in Karakura Town, Yoruichi Shihouin was not among those that Rukia would consider to be a close friend. Yoruichi's encounters with Rukia were few and far in between. She had never helped train his adopted sister the way she did the healer from the fourth division or the newly transferred shinigami in the eighth division, both of whom had more interactions with Rukia during her days on patrol of Karakura Town. Of course, Yoruichi did train Kurosaki…his eyes narrowed into slits as a list of possibilities ran through his mind.
"Consider it a personal matter," she threw at him.
"It would have to be," he remarked, "as I see no connection in your…professional concerns. Rukia had never been a student of yours."
"Are you so sure about that?"
"I would have known," he stated matter-of-factly. "Furthermore, all of your encounters with Rukia have never really been about her. She just happened to be there at the time that you sought your previous or current students, or even Urahara and Kukaku Shiba. You never really sought out just her."
"Oh?" she raised her brow speculatively.
He could see her surprise over his knowledge of her association with his betrothed. "I make it my business to know about the people that Rukia surrounds herself with," he revealed offhandedly.
"Then what makes you think that this is about Rukia?" she asked slyly. "Unlike Rukia, you and I have a history. Perhaps my objections have more to do with you."
"Doubtful," he returned, "as you very well know."
She grinned. "That's what I like about you, Byakuya-bo," she said sardonically. "No room for sentimentality." She brushed imaginary lint off her shoulders before continuing. "As I've said before, I'd like to know what you think you're doing marrying someone not from a noble family." She paused. "Again," she emphasized.
He clenched his teeth and made sure that no outward signs of…irritation showed on his face. "You are mistaken," he informed her coldly. "Rukia is part of a noble family—she is a Kuchiki."
"But only by adoption," she returned, giving him a knowing look, "as you very well know," she finished, throwing his words back. "You know what I meant, just as you know there's a difference."
"Rukia is a Kuchiki," he reiterated, biting back the scathing comment that threatened to burst forth his lips. "And you are the last person I would have expected to object to this union based on class distinctions. A bit hypocritical, don't you think, given your history?"
"Don't be an idiot," she snapped, her eyes intense. "I'm hardly one to object to anything based on class distinctions. But you and I both know the consequences of bringing into our circle someone from Rukongai, someone our families deem inferior, someone who would never be really accepted." A superior smirk played across her lips. "I thought that Hisana would have taught you that already."
His mouth tightened before he could control the reaction.
"I may no longer have been in Soul Society by the time you married her, but I've always kept myself informed," she stated. "I knew when you married her and I knew when she died. What's more, I also knew that your family never did accept her. They may have mouthed those very correct and ingratiating words in your presence, but in the end—"
"I know exactly how it ended," he interrupted. "Do not presume—"
"I'm not presuming anything, Byakuya," she interrupted as well. She gave an impatient sigh. "I wasn't there, so of course there are things that I don't know. But, credit me with enough intelligence-gathering skills to know what I'm talking about when I say that the people of our so-called noble houses only tolerated Hisana out of respect for you. She was an outsider with not a whit of noble blood running through her veins."
"You are revealing nothing that I did not already know," he told her quietly. "Was there a reason for bringing this subject up in regards to my current betrothal?"
She gave another impatient sigh, but this time, she held herself in check before glaring at him. "Now tell me again why you intend to repeat your past mistake by subjecting someone you purportedly want to protect into a situation which will no doubt put her directly within firing range?"
If he had any less discipline, he would have let out a snort. "You exaggerate," he stated calmly. "For what purpose, I do not know as of yet; however, I have better things to do with my time than to entertain the whims of a woman whose notion of familial duty extend no farther than her own interests."
Her eyes narrowed in response. "Byakuya-bo," she said lowly, "do you really believe that it's better to be a slave to familial duty and the people that impose them?" She raised her chin up. "The man who married Hisana and adopted Rukia would beg to differ."
"It is the same man who is now betrothed to Rukia Kuchiki," he returned. "Only this time, no rules are broken. If anything, it was the family's wish for this marriage to take place rather than any personal reasons of my own or Rukia's."
She laughed bitterly. "In a way, that's almost sadder," she observed, "because you know that despite this being Sanada Kuchiki's brainchild, Rukia will receive the same treatment from your family as Hisana did as your wife. It won't matter to all those so-called nobles that this was arranged by your uncle. It won't matter that Rukia is a vice-captain in her own right and a strong shinigami to boot. All they'll see is her Rukongai roots."
"Rukia," he gritted, "for all her roots, is far more suited to the title of being a noble than most in my family or yours."
She laughed. A genuine laugh this time. "At least you realize that," she gave him credit as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. After a long look, she gave another frustrated grunt. "Give her up, Byakuya-bo. Give her up to someone who can make her happier than Hisana had ever been. Give her up to someone whom she can make happy as well. If you really don't care who you're marrying, then saddle yourself with another noble. There's plenty to choose from that your family would accept. Don't condemn her to the life Hisana had."
"Hisana—" he began almost impulsively, defensively, before pausing and completely stopping the rest of his words from bursting forth. Was happy with me, he had wanted to say. Wasn't that what she had said all those years ago?
These last five years with you were the happiest I've been.
"Was most likely happy with you," Yoruichi knowingly finished for him. "But then, she wasn't always with you, was she?" she asked. "You had your own duties to the Gotei 13 which took up most of your time and energy, vice-captain that you were."
"This conversation is over," he told her. And it was. He could see no benefit in rehashing the past for Yoruichi Shihouin to pick and prod over. He turned away and stared at the path that would lead him home. The sun had already set and only the moonlight showed the way. He really should head back to the main house.
"Byakuya," she called out, grabbing his sleeve gently, as if she knew he wouldn't resist.
He looked down at her bowed head and the fingers that clenched involuntarily, he was sure, on his sleeve.
"You're right," she finally said. "I am not a close friend of Rukia, but—"
"But you've always had a soft spot for Ichigo Kurosaki," he finished for her this time, although he was quite sure that wasn't what she had intended to say. "And you must think that this marriage would have a detrimental effect on him," he observed. "Isn't that why you're here right now, Yoruichi?"
A slow smile curved her lips. "You always were a quick study, Byakuya-bo."
He gave her a sideways glance. "I wonder…if you had objected this much when the arranged marriage was for Rukia…and Ganju Shiba," he said thoughtfully.
The swift intake of breath coming from his companion confirmed his suspicions. Perhaps it was what one would consider a wild guess, but he had a strong feeling that Yoruichi knew about the General's plans with the Shibas even before he did. She was, after all, a good friend of Kukaku Shiba.
"That was different," she stated calmly.
"Oh?" he raised a brow skeptically. "How so? If your concern is for Ichigo Kurosaki, then you would have also objected to Kukaku Shiba regarding that particular match as well." He paused. "Except, I don't believe you did. Now why is that, do you think?"
"I'm sure you'll let me know," she replied wryly.
"I suppose it could be because Kukaku Shiba is your friend," he hypothesized, "and you sided with her in this conflict of interest instead of your concern for Kurosaki." He gave her a pensive look. "But I don't think so."
"Hmmm…" she tilted her head to one side, looking at him warily.
"I think," he began slowly, "that you never believed that the marriage between Rukia and Ganju Shiba had any chance of ever happening. You believed that Ichigo would have somehow found a way to convince Rukia against it or, barring that, you must have counted on his friendship with the youngest Shiba to settle the matter."
She shrugged nonchalantly.
"Of course," he continued, "there is one other possibility." He turned away from her and began to walk towards the main house again. He paused. "But I believe that would credit you with too much sentimentality that I dare not even mention it," he told her with a slight look back before continuing on his way. "Now as I've said before, there truly is nothing more to discuss."
"Byakuya," she called out to him.
He paused again out of respect for her as his old trainer more than any sort of curiosity regarding what she had to say.
"Do you think you can protect her?" she asked lowly this time. "This isn't about a battle to protect her life against all the hollows in the world. Goodness knows you've done your utmost to hold her back from the most dangerous of situations. But, do you think you can protect her from the little things your family will put her through? If you marry her, the sharp little digs that your people will no doubt make regarding her inferiority will only double. If I know your family, and believe me when I say that I do, their comments will get nastier now that Rukia has come between you and their other hopefuls." She gave a mirthless laugh. "Or didn't you think that many in your clan would have preferred that you marry an actual Kuchiki by blood?"
"Sanada—" he began.
"Including your dear old uncle," she interrupted. "You can't be as blind as not to see that this move of his was a last resort to prevent any alliance between the heirs of the Kuchiki house with the heirs of the Shiba house." She snorted. "Believe me, in the short amount of time that old man was no doubt given, if he could have devised another way to prevent both you and Rukia from ever being the target of an alliance with the Shiba clan, he would have done so in a heartbeat." She took a deep breath before continuing. "How long do you think before Rukia withers away like Hisana did?"
And there she had said it. The source of that slight trepidation he'd had ever since he'd observed the mental browbeating and manipulation that Sanada Kuchiki had skillfully executed against Rukia.
"Rukia is…stronger than Hisana," he stated quietly, letting none of his uncertainty show. It pained him to have to voice that thought. He could remember the exact day he realized that he had lost the laughing and vibrant woman he had married. He could remember the exact moment when she had crumbled under the family pressure and had given up. Hisana had given up in life and in finding her sister. And he knew, knew, that he was partially to blame. "She," he began, bringing his attention back to the matter at hand, "does not need my protection against my family."
"Maybe not," agreed Yoruichi. "But how long do you think before the little insults pile up? How long did it take before Hisana succumbed?"
He turned to face her fully and almost smiled. "I'm afraid that it is you who do not know Rukia," he declared softly, despite the slight niggling of doubt that persisted in his mind. "She will prevail against whatever slights you believe my clan will inflict upon her." After all, hadn't she prevailed against him already? The fact that she was a vice-captain in her own right showed him more than anything that her will was strong enough to go against his wishes. And if her will was that strong…
"You're going to be stubborn about this, aren't you?" she asked rhetorically.
At his impassive glance, she shook her head. "I guess we'll just have to see then," Yoruichi stated, her eyes unconvinced.
"Yes," he nodded. "We will."
"Rukia…" she hesitated, "Rukia is not my close friend. But…but I hope for her sake, for everyone's sake, I hope that you're right. Because if you're not…if you're not, then it won't be only be me, or Ichigo, or anyone of Rukia's friends whose judgment you'll have to face." This time, it was she who turned her back to him. "It will be Hisana's as well," she shot back at him, before walking away and disappearing altogether.
He looked at the empty space she had occupied for what seemed like hours before he shook himself.
It will be Hisana's as well.
He started to walk back towards the path he had been following before he was so rudely interrupted. He needed to think on his own and Kuchiki main house was just beyond the horizon.
It will be Hisana's as well.
Despite Yoruichi's voice ringing in his ears, nothing had changed.
It will be Hisana's as well.
He had known that all along.
Night had fallen by the time Rukia had left Rukongai and entered Seireitei once more. There was a whip-like sound to the wind against her hair as she flash-stepped her way over the many rooftops that would eventually lead to the main house. Tempted as she was to return to the thirteenth division headquarters, she had a feeling that Captain Unohana would no doubt find out about it and gently reprimand her tomorrow morning.
She gritted her teeth remembering how that particular captain had already caught her sleeping on the job. Despite Captain Unohana's kind words, Rukia wasn't about to give her any more cause for concern. She could only imagine what her brother—she stopped the train of thought.
She was going to have to stop referring to him as her brother. Given the circumstances, it was a little unnerving—
"Try creepy," she could almost hear Renji's voice.
"How about stupid?" Ichigo's voice chimed in.
She shook her head. Even without her friends around her, she could always count on the voices in her head to supply her with their more than colorful editorials. What would she do without those two idiots?
"Hey!"
"Hey!"
She snorted. "That's right," she said loudly. "Idiots!" she repeated.
She sighed. She really should refrain from talking to herself.
As for the problem at hand, it really needed to be dealt with. She saw the strange look Kukaku had been throwing her whenever she mentioned her "Nii-sama." She knew that it would only get worse the more people she talked to.
"You can't even bring yourself to say his actual name without wincing!" her imaginary Ichigo's voice exclaimed.
"Yeah!" added the pseudo-Renji. "You look like you expect him to scold you for even daring to say his name!"
"Oh shut up!" she told both voices, all the while reprimanding herself for her foolishness. "I can say his name fine!" She really had to stop imagining her friends' voices whenever she had the urge to talk to herself.
"Oh yeah?"
"Go ahead then. Do it."
She stopped moving and perched on top of one rooftop. "Nii—" she stopped herself. She could almost hear Renji and Ichigo laughing their heads off. She groaned. One would think that her imagination would have at least made her friends to be somewhat sympathetic to her plight! But nooo…they had to be in-character even then.
If there had been a wall beside her handy, she just might have knocked her head against it.
She steeled herself and thought of her bro—her betrothed. Her fiancée. Byakuya Kuchiki. Head of the Kuchiki clan and captain of the sixth division.
"Byakuya," she said loudly, "—sama," she added with a guilty look. "Byakuya-sama," she said in one go this time. There. It's not that bad. She just needed to instinctively think and say it now whenever she thought of Nii—
She cursed.
More imaginary laughing in her head from her very unsympathetic friends.
"Byakuya-sama," she said again. "Byakuya-sama, Byakuya-sama."
Damn. Now that was just a mouthful.
"Now say it fast three times."
"Byakuya-sama, Byakuya-sama, Byakuya—oh this is just stupid!" she cried out, frustrated. She stomped her foot against the roof beneath her before moving through the air once more. She should just go home at this point. After all, she had a month to get used to it, right? And if she slipped up as she had been doing when talking about Nii-sama—damn!—Byakuya-sama to her friends and colleagues, then what was the big deal?
Despite her reasoning, she forced herself to keep saying his name as she passed over more rooftops. It couldn't hurt, right? "Byakuya-sama," she whispered. Byakuya, Byakuya, Byakuya, Byakuya. Not Nii-sama. Byakuya-sama.
So intent was she on her thoughts that she didn't notice her pursuer.
Until she felt a pair of slender arms wrap around her frame midway through one of her leaps, causing her to lose her focus not just on her practice-saying-"Byakuya" session, but on the fact that she was still airborne as well. At least, that was her rationalization for landing somewhat awkwardly on top of one of the walls in the streets of Seireitei.
"What are you doing, Rukia-nee?" she heard the husky voice close to her ear as the pair of arms around her held her steady.
"Karin-chan!" she exclaimed, turning to look back at Ichigo's sister. A big smile found its way to her mouth. "Or should I say Vice-Captain Kurosaki?" she teased.
"Che!" the woman in front of her muttered with a frown. "That only makes me think of my brother."
Rukia grinned before jumping up and giving the taller woman a hug. "Congratulations!" she said happily. "I heard about the promotion a week ago but I hadn't had a chance to stop over." Looking up at her friend, she asked, "So, how does it feel? Are you and Captain Soifon getting along alright?"
"Of course," she replied matter-of-factly. "I'm a damn sight better than her last vice-captain so it only makes sense."
She laughed. Trust Karin to get to the heart of the matter. Except for the fact that she was almost as tall as Ichigo now, Karin would always be the same practical and down-to-earth girl she had shared a room with during her time in Karakura Town.
"I was about to go home when I noticed your reiatsu," Karin informed her. "I thought I'd catch up with you before I went off for another mission tomorrow." She gave her a sly look. "How do you like my shunpo?"
Rukia frowned. "Yeah, let's talk about that," she said, a little irritated. "Do you make it a habit to sneak up on your friends?"
"Sneak up?" she repeated, one brow raised in question. "Rukia-nee, a whole subway system could have slammed into you and you would have still thought they'd snuck up on you, so deep in thought you were." She gave her an inquiring look. "I called out to you a few miles back, but I guess you didn't hear me. What were you thinking about that you didn't even notice me following you or calling your name?" She tilted her head to one side. "Or should I even ask?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.
"I meant that I thought perhaps your mind was somewhat preoccupied by the very disturbing, and apparently, highly substantiated news I heard this morning," she clarified. "But you know what? No matter how good my intel is for this particular news, I thought I'd get it straight from you anyway." Karin leaned down until her forehead touched hers. "Rukia-nee, are you really going to marry your brother?"
Rukia tried to shrug her off. "He's not my real brother," came her automatic response for that day. "Byakuya-sama," she said in slow deliberateness, quite proud of the fact that she was able to refer to him by his given name, "is only technically my brother-in-law or adopted brother."
"Yeah," Karin agreed deceptively before looking at her doubtfully. "For the last century or so," she added emphatically. "That's almost like me marrying Ichi-nii."
"Actually," Rukia replied, thinking back to her conversation with Kiyone, "not really." She wasn't really sure how to explain. "If I think about it," she said thoughtfully, "it would be more like you marrying someone like…Sado-san!" she finished brightly.
To her surprise, the younger shinigami flushed and glared at her.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Karin demanded this time, almost losing her balance on the wall they both stood on top of.
Rukia looked at her perplexedly. "You know, someone you've known almost all of your life, but then…not really." She looked at her friend closely. "What do you think I meant?"
"Nothing!" she answered hurriedly, looking away and seemingly embarrassed.
Noting her friend's red-stained cheeks, an idea began to form in her mind. "Karin-chan," she said in a sing-song voice, "do you…like Sado-san?" Her mouth curved in an almost unholy smile of glee.
"I do not!" cried the normally stoic vice-captain.
"Do you have…a crush on Sado-san?" she continued mercilessly, using the high-pitched voice that she knew annoyed not only this particular Kurosaki but her orange-haired brother as well.
"No, I do not!" Karin replied, flustered. Giving her a fulminating glare, she added, "And we are NOT discussing this ever again."
Rukia almost laughed out loud. Really, there were plenty of times when she envied Ichigo for having little sisters. It was just so much fun to tease them! No wonder Kukaku-dono loved torturing her. "If you say so, Karin-chan," she nodded agreeably, lying through her teeth.
Karin threw her a suspicious look.
She threw her hands up in mock surrender. "I swear not to discuss it ever again," she promised. "Tonight," she clarified with a sweet smile.
The second division vice-captain rolled her eyes before staring at the heavens and muttered to herself. "I suppose that's the best I could hope for from you," she stated resignedly.
She nodded sympathetically. "As your Rukia-nee, it is my solemn duty to put forward painfully embarrassing questions so that you may become a better shinigami—"
"Oh you can just quit it," Karin interjected.
If Karin had been any shorter, Rukia would have placed a comforting arm around her shoulder instead of the reassuring grip she placed on her arm when she said, "Don't worry. You can take comfort in the fact that I won't be mentioning this little conversation to your brother."
Karin closed her eyes.
"Yup!" Rukia said cheerfully. "I very much understand that little sisters often have to hide things from their big brothers to keep them from worrying." She gave Karin a sideways glance. "Or trying to beat up Sado-san," she added.
Karin groaned.
"Because we both know that if Ichigo had any inkling that his little sister might be slightly interested in a shinigami—"
"I am NOT interested in my brother's friend," she declared hotly, "and I could have sworn you said that we weren't going to be talking about this anymore tonight."
"Ooops!" Rukia mouthed. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "That was very bad of me and I apologize."
"Hmph!"
For the first time since she'd known her, Karin Kurosaki understood why her brother always seemed torn between strangling and…well…doing other things to the shinigami before her. Not that he ever acted on either impulse, nor would he have even admitted to the latter feeling.
"I solemnly promise," the diminutive shinigami said with her hand over her heart. "No more teasing tonight."
How did Rukia-nee do it? How was she able to distract her from her goal this evening?
When Karin first felt the familiar reiatsu close by, she had stopped what she was doing and followed the trail instinctively. She had fully intended to question her former "roommate" on the news she had heard about that morning. It had almost felt like a relief to finally detect the reiatsu within the walls of Seireitei. Hadn't she been waiting for it all day? She had been patient. Instead of searching for her in Rukongai, she had waited here for her to return.
And now, Rukia was doing an excellent job flustering her over some idiotic crush which she most certainly did not have!
She let out a deep breath and attempted to bring back the subject she wanted at hand. "Rukia-nee," she said quietly. "It's true, isn't it? You are marrying Captain Kuchiki."
"Yes," her friend replied steadily.
From the look in Rukia's eyes, Karin could only imagine what she thought.
"It has been decided quite recently," Rukia continued, "but the news seems to have traveled quite…far."
"Why?" Karin asked bluntly. Why, why, why?
"Why?" she repeated, her brows furrowing.
"Yeah," Karin responded. "Why. Why did you agree to this? You have no great love for your brother. He's more like a stranger to you these days. As for the rest of the Kuchikis, I know they haven't exactly endeared themselves to you. So, yeah, I'd like to know. Why are you doing this?"
She seemed taken aback by her questions and Karin wondered whether she should have tempered them. Or asked more diplomatically. Anything to get that lost look off Rukia-nee's face.
"Why," she repeated again, staring past her to some unknown place. "Your brother asked me the same thing last night."
Well good for Ichigo, Karin thought, surprised at the news. "You've spoken to Ichi-nii?"
"I told him and Renji about it last night," Rukia told her. "Nii-sa—" she stopped.
Karin saw her bite her lip and clench her hands.
"Byakuya-sama had warned me that the news might spread quickly and that it would be better if my friends heard it from me first," she continued. She shook her head wearily.
And for the first time that night, Karin noticed the little things.
Like how Rukia-nee's eyes seemed to have shadows behind them. Like the less-than-neat way her blood-stained shinigami robes seemed to overwhelm her body. Karin's eyes looked more closely. The blood was Rukia's but there was no sign of injury. Just what had she been doing in Rukongai, anyway?
But mostly, Karin noticed how Rukia's slight frame seemed fragile and breakable.
Strangely enough, as small as Rukia was, Karin had never thought of her as fragile or breakable before. She had always seemed to be in charge. When she had first lived with her family, she remembered watching in amazement at the way the tiny woman seemed to order her brother around like a trained soldier.
Of course, at that time, she hadn't known that that was exactly what Rukia had been doing.
"I see," she responded quietly. "And what did you tell my brother? Why did you decide to marry Captain Kuchiki?"
Rukia gave her a rueful smile. "The Kuchiki advisors had said that it would benefit the family if Byakuya-sama and I were married," she answered. "Byakuya-sama had no objections and—"
"I didn't ask why your family decided on this thing," Karin interrupted, rolling her eyes. Who care about those stuffed shirts? "I wanted to know why you did."
"And that is exactly what your brother said as well," she said with a mirthless laugh. "There are times when you remind me so much of your brother, it's a little scary."
"Well?" Karin demanded, ignoring her last statement. She'd heard that before.
Rukia looked up in the sky. "I don't know," she replied.
"You don't know," Karin said flatly.
"I don't know," she confirmed, looking at her this time. She shrugged. "I didn't know last night and I still really don't know tonight."
Karin gritted her teeth. "Let me get this straight," she began. "You agreed to marry Captain Kuchiki, but you don't know why?"
"When you put it that way, it makes me sound silly, doesn't it?" Rukia ventured. "Believe me when I say that it feels even sillier than it sounds. The past twenty-four hours have felt like a dream…a very silly dream, but still a dream." She looked back to the stars in the sky. "I keep expecting to wake up some time. Any time. Any time now."
Karin wondered whether it was against Seireitei laws to shake the hell out of her fellow vice-captain. As she placed both hands on the shoulders of the tiny shinigami before her, she wondered if doing so would prove too much of a temptation for her. "Rukia-nee," she said slowly, inhaling and exhaling deliberately. "You do know that most people know why they're getting married, right?" she asked. "It is often a conscious decision based on reasons and emotions."
"Of course I know that!" she said indignantly, looking away. "I'm not a complete idiot!"
She refrained from making a scathing reply to that declaration and let go of her friend's shoulders.
"What about my brother?" she asked instead. After all, that was the reason she had sought out Rukia tonight, wasn't it? "What are you going to do about Ichigo?"
"What about him?" Rukia returned, clearly confused.
She clenched her jaw. Was Rukia-nee playing stupid?
"In a way you're leaving him again, aren't you?" she asked carefully. "The way you did back then. You left him for Soul Society. And now that he's here, after he's waited all that time to follow you here, you're leaving him again. For the Kuchikis."
Rukia whipped her head around and face her. "What are you talking about?"
For the love of—
"Do I need to draw you a picture?" Karin asked impatiently.
Rukia gave her a weak grin. "If you mean to imply that—"
"I'm not implying anything!" she declared.
Rukia almost fell off the wall ledge. "Ichigo doesn't feel that way about me—" she faltered, her eyes widening at the realization that Karin was, in fact, quite serious.
"Cut the crap!" Karin hissed. Was Rukia blind? Everyone in Soul Society knew—
"He never—"
"You weren't there," she bit out. "In the human world," she clarified. "You weren't there to see what happened to him when he finally realized you weren't coming back."
Rukia shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said plaintively. "Ichigo was…I didn't…"
"Why do you think he never married, huh?" Karin blurted out. And she was pretty sure her brother was going to kill her for this if he ever found out. "He could have married Inoue who was in love with him. He could have married Tatsuki who was his friend from childhood. Instead he dedicated his life to his work as a doctor. He waited out his life until he could go to Soul Society and live in your world."
"That's not true," she denied vehemently. "What you're saying about him and his feelings, it's not true! I don't know why they didn't get married but it had nothing to do with me. Ichigo was never…he was never…" She threw her hands up in the air. "At least not with me."
"Are you stupid or what?" she asked. This time, she didn't resist the urge to grab Rukia and gently shake her. "How can you deny—"
"Karin-chan," Rukia said calmly, drawing the hands away from her shoulders. "You are mistaken," she stated. "Ichigo has never indicated to me the kind of feelings you refer to. He was, and is, a very good friend of mine. I'm sure that he won't appreciate—"
"I've always liked you, Rukia-nee," she told her friend, looking at the blind eyes before her. "Even back in the real world when you lived with us, all the while keeping the secret of being a shinigami. Even when it was your world that put my brother's life in danger time and again. And even after you left for good and my brother was heartbroken. I liked you even then because I know you did it for his own good."
"Karin-chan," Rukia implored.
"But now," she continued, "now, I don't think I can even look at you." She turned away only to feel the clasp of hands on her elbow.
"Karin-chan," Rukia said again.
"It's bad enough that you're marrying someone other than my brother," she told her, "but to marry that someone for reasons you don't even know!"
Rukia held on tightly to the trembling arm she held beneath her fingertips. The girl was confused and hurting for her brother when there was no reason for it.
"Karin-chan, you're wrong about this," Rukia informed her gently. "I know Ichigo. If he had felt that way about me, I would have known already. He would have told me long before now." She looked directly into the eyes of the distraught girl. "You know your brother. Don't you think he would have let me know by now, too? If he felt that way, wouldn't he have already said something before now?"
"Well, yes, I had thought that he would have by now too, but—"
"There you see!" Rukia exclaimed, telling herself that she was relieved at Karin's acquiescence.
"I don't know why he hasn't said anything, but I know I'm right about this," Karin insisted.
"No, you're not," she declared flatly. Because Karin couldn't, just couldn't, be right. Not now. "But I can see that we won't be coming to an agreement anytime soon." Because if Karin was right, if Ichigo had had feelings for her…
She shied away from the thought.
"We'll just have to agree to disagree then," Karin responded stiltedly, looking at her with eyes full of…betrayal?
"Yes," Rukia agreed slowly, unsure what else she could say to reassure Ichigo's sister.
"I guess we'll just wait and see," she looked away from her and towards the horizon. "I'll just say one more thing, though."
Rukia looked at the woman that stood so still before her.
"I won't forgive you," she declared. "If you hurt him again the way you did back then, I won't forgive you."
And with that she left quickly, leaving Rukia alone in the night, perched on a wall in the streets of Seireitei.
She had no idea how long she stood there, watching the horizon where Karin's retreating figure disappeared to. Her mind whirled with all the possibilities.
Karin couldn't be right. She couldn't.
Shaking her head vigorously, she jumped from the wall and to the streets before her. She had to think away from here and the Kuchiki main house wasn't much farther.
To be continued
More author's note: well, after a month's long hiatus, here is another installment of this story. As you may have already guessed, updates will no longer be as fast as they were back in August due to a couple of factors: a) real life activities that kicked in on September; b) new episodes of TV shows that begin in the fall! Both factors take time away from any fun writing However, the good news is, September was just horrible so hopefully, the next installment wouldn't take as long to post now that i'm in October. I'm very excited to write the next chapter since (you may have guessed based on the above) it will actually have B and R in the same place at the same time :-)
I haven't been able to reply to any of the concerns /questions /etc. in the previous round of reviews. Sorry about that. I will do so as soon as I can