Part 4
"Rukia why did he call you by Abarai?" he asked later, hiding his jealousy.
"Oh well I never knew my family name and Renji let me use his. He always watched out for me like I was his sister and we were rarely apart. I haven't used Kuchiki here because its safer not to mention a royal name. I didn't tell them my relation to you because it wouldn't sound very good to tell people I was adopted as an adult by a rich man. They might get the wrong idea because well, the wrong way would be the only way it would happen to someone in a place like this"
"Understandable. How long before the academy did you know Abarai?" he asked now thinking about what people back home must be imagining goes on in their home.
"A very long time. I met him over ten years before we came to the academy. Back then we were the same height if you can believe it but other then height and the tattoos he hasn't changed a bit." she laughed remembering fondly.
They walked a bit down a narrow street with a dirt road. The houses were all slap shod wood structures with different color window coverings. Most were two or three stories many with a business of various sorts on the ground floor and they looked like they could collapse at any moment. Makeshift shacks, some were stand alone and others shared walls, lined the river in the distance and any available land. They were walking too close to a cluster of such shacks for Byakuya' comfort.
The condition here appeared even worse then the condition of the main town. If it were possible, the people looked even poorer, even hungrier, even more ragged then the people he had just come into contact with. The smell was less pleasant and a garbage heap stood in the backdrop.
A woman carrying a baby came out of one such shack and greeted Rukia in a rush.
"Rukia oh thank goodness, I'm so glad you are here. I'm sorry I have to ask but I have to run and get some milk. A neighbor has a cow and he promised me some milk if I could be there by well now and I have so many mouths to feed It wont take long you're the best." she said handing the baby straight to Byakuya who had never held a baby in his life but put his arms out instinctively to take the child.
Rukia watched as he held the baby, he looked uncomfortable at first holding it away from him but when it gave a cry he held the child close and it quieted. Watching the baby closely, Rukia swore she almost saw Byakuya smile.
It was only a moment after the woman left that a cry came from inside the shack. They entered the flimsy structure and saw five babies lying on a mat in the corner. There wasn't much in the hut besides the children. A medium sized pot, some small bottles containing liquids and herbs, a half bag of rice with bugs crawling in it, one cushion and a few boxes of various sizes.
Rukia scooped the crying boy up. "He's hungry. Ami-san has a habit of taking in stray babies. There are always so many unwanted children in these parts we have all picked one up here and there. We did our best to find homes for them. I remember when Renji found a girl barely two months old near the river. She was just left to die. We had all managed to find jobs that month. I had the only indoor job so I took her and kept her harnessed to my back while working in the laundry. It wasn't uncommon for the women so they allowed us break time to stop and feed the kids. It was the hardest work I ever did in my life. Ami-san took her a few months later and even found her a home. I lived here with her for several years before I met Renji."
Byakuya just looked at her, speechless. He was angry she had to grow up like this and had to work so hard. He wasn't feeling so happy either about his wife abandoning her or himself for not helping her find Rukia sooner. He understood better why Hisana looked so hard for her. Hisana would never talk about her past. She didn't want to remember.
She did look so natural holding that baby in one arm and quieting another with the other. None of the women in the royal clans took care of their own children. They left that job to the servants. Not one he knew would lift a finger to quiet a crying baby much less work with one strapped to their backs. He found a growing pride and respect for her.
Ami returned and they left her to tend the children. Rukia handed her something Bayakuya assumed was money. They continued on, passing another shack Rukia stopped and peaked her head in.
"What kind of tattoo would you like." came a male voice.
"Not today Tokio"
"Rukia how's that tattoo holding up? What are you doing in these parts? Do you need a touch up? Maybe your friend would like a tattoo? Half price for a friend of Rukia'" he said very hyper.
"Oh no I just stopped by to say hello and see how you were."
"I've been good. Business has been good were eating every night now. I'm glad to see you are doing well. You even got a bit fatter although you've always been on the scrawny side. Who's your friend?" he said rubbing her on the head.
"That's good to hear. This is Byakuya-san, we work together. Yep, they take good care of me there, I'm glad I joined.." she said and then he interrupted her.
"Hey a customer, I'll have to catch up with you guys later. It was great seeing you and looking so well. Watch yourself this neighborhood has only gotten worse."
"I will, bye." answered Rukia.
They walked less then three blocks when Rukia stopped and stared at a building that appeared to be an active house of ill repute.
"Rukia when did you get a tattoo and why have we stopped at such a place. We are not going in there." He stated the last part as a command.
"This place is why I got a tattoo and no we aren't going in." her smile long gone.
"I went through three families before I was sold here. I had just turned five." she said.
"Sold?" his eyes widened and he panicked at the thoughts now crossing his mind.
"The then proprietor to this establishment thought he could use me here. You would be surprised how many men would rather pay for a five year old then an adult woman. The day he got me he branded me on my lower back ensuring I could never leave because someone would see the brand and bring me back. The next day he wanted to sample the goods before he put me to work for the first time. I had managed to get free of him before he could… touch me, then I somehow grabbed a hammer and I hit him in the head. I later found out he had died then, and no one cared who did it. There always someone to take his place. This building is full of girls not so lucky. I met Tokio not long after, who was still apprenticing at the time, he gave me a free tattoo where the brand was, covering it as best he could. You can only see a feint outline of it under the tattoo he said. Tokio does excellent work. He did all of Renji's' tattoos. I think this place is probably why I don't date. I haven't been comfortable with anyone touching me since. After that I just lived wherever I could find shelter for the night, until I met Renji."
It was shameful for a man of Byakuya' position to show any public affection but he pulled her close to her surprise and put his arms tightly around her not caring who saw.
"No one will harm you ever again. I promise I will stay by your side and protect you always." he said this to her with an emotion in his voice she had never before heard from him. It made her hold him back just as tightly. She felt safe in his arms despite all of the emotion of her memories that flooded back and attacked her.