Ch. #5

Byakuya found himself locked in a tight space, his knees hunched up against his chest. He struggled to stand, his body not used to the effects of a gigai, but found himself hitting his head against the ceiling. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness of his little room, he noticed a mop, a bucket and some Lysol scattered on random shelves that were clumsily attached to the back wall. I must be in some sort of storage room. He glanced around, noticing some cobwebs as well. An abandoned one too.

He searched the walls, grasping for anything that might resemble a doorknob. Once his hand found the shiny brass, he gave it a twist, putting pressure against what he assumed to be the door. It gave easily, and Byakuya somehow managed to gracefully regain his footing. He glanced around, taking in his surroundings.

There wasn't much to look at. He appeared to have been transported into an abandoned school, debris littering the hallways. Lockers hung bent and destroyed, desks were overturned and chairs where broken. Byakuya was glad he didn't have to go through one of these "filthy excuses for a learning environment."

He decided he had wasted enough time already, and shunpoed down the corridors, in the direction he hoped was the exit. Time was wasting, and he needed to find Rukia, fast.

--elsewhere--

"Look at who tried to run away!" Matsumoto exclaimed happily, trying to lighten the already decreasing mood. Rukia gave a halfhearted wave, the music already giving her a throbbing headache.

Now she understood why her Nii-sama despised these sort of situations.

Ichigo grinned mischievously, winking at Rukia. "Man, I thought your brother was uptight but damn! Look at you!"

Rukia snorted. Obviously he didn't feel uncomfortable drinking a few. "I know how to have fun! Just because I don't drink doesn't mean I'm boring! Besides," she snickered, "don't they teach you kids to 'just say no' anyways? This just means I'm more mature." She crossed her arms, feeling slightly proud of her little speech. What could he say to that?

"Rukia!! I guess the bathroom got to boring for ya, eh?" Renji merrily danced his way over (saving Ichigo from trying to think up a come back), sloshing his drink around the floor around him. His face was a bit flushed on his cheeks, but Rukia couldn't tell if it was just from dancing or not.

Renji glanced around, taking in the atmosphere. He frowned slightly, displeased at the failure in his plan so far. "C'mon, don't be so boring! Look." he paused, pointing over to where Kira was being forced into conversation by two cute college girls. He tried to act like he just wanted to be sitting down in a corner somewhere, brooding over his taicho's betrayal, but you could tell he was enjoying some of the attention. "Kira, even Kira, is having fun!"

Rukia started to apologize, but Renji cut her off with his hand. "Just tell me when your ready to loosen up."

He stalked off, pulling Ichigo with him, leaving Rukia sitting by herself. They did kind of look like they were having fun...

--elsewhere--

Once Byakuya finally found the main doors to the building, he stepped out into a overgrown courtyard, the night settling over the land. He took a few steps, wandering without any real purpose, his face turned up onto the sky.

Hisana, what would you do in a situation like this? Is.. is this what it feels like to be a parent?

He opened his eyes, taking in a deep breath as a realization hit him. It didn't matter if Rukia was not blood related to him. All he knew, was he just had save her. There was something, something strong pulling him towards her, something that always made him on time to rescue her, something that always made him aware of her feelings.

He just wasn't able to place a word on it, something so alien to him. Byakuya wasn't able to understand the feeling of brotherly love.

But with Rukia, he could learn.