Chapter Two

Previously…

Before she knew it, Rukia was already in her room, in her clothes, and sitting on her bed. All that thinking must have kept her busy daydreaming while her feet took her away on their own pace. She spread out her arms and fell backwards, letting out a big sigh. She was anticipating to land on her soft cushiony pillows, but instead, hit her head on something unexpected. Startled, Rukia quickly got up and spun around.

On her bed was the same man who had bursted into the bathing room earlier. His eyes were closed and he laid unmoving, fingers entwined, and arms crossed neatly across his muscular chest—a rather attractive part of him which Rukia couldn't help but notice.

"Nii-sama?" she gave a gentle shake to his shoulder. No words or even a reaction was returned. She looked at his perfectly still body.

He even slept in a perfect manner.

Rukia couldn't help but reach over and touch his angelic face. Her thumb ran over the faint violet circles under his eyes.

Poor Nii-sama. Being a captain must be tiring. Damn that Renji. He should be taking some of the responsibilities as well. Rukia decided not to wake him up, seeing the expression of exhaustion worn on his face. For a moment, all Rukia did was stare. But a knock on the door pulledher out of her daze.

"Yes?" she called out quietly, as an attempt to let her brother have some undisturbed rest.

"Have you any idea of Kuchiki Byakuya-sama's whereabouts?" Rukia panicked.

"No… Why? Is it something important?"

"It is of no importance. It can wait until tomorrow."

"Okay, because I don't think you'll be able to find him today." her voice confident, but her stomach did a flip-flop.

"Thank you for you assistance, Kuchiki Rukia-sama." Faint footsteps trailed after the servant's reply.

Why did Byakuya have to do this to her? It's not like she doesn't spend enough time thinking about him as it is. But spending a whole night with him within the same four walls? That would be quite torturous to her imagination.

Her emotional state was still murky to herself, but the physical signs weren't something she would easily mix up. She knew for a fact that his mere presence made her nervous. Her usual easygoing personality evolves—for only the moments she's around him—into a shy, private figure. Every time she turns a corner and sees her Nii-sama's perfectly emotionless face, her heart starts to beat twice as fast, every cell in her body starts vibrating nervously, and her stomach starts to turn as toss around inside. Her anxiety takes over her body and mind, causing her whole stance to change. She once read that all these feelings were caused by an emotion called love, but how could she possibly fall in love with her brother? She was sure she loved him, but was she in love with him?

Before she had time to consepulate on any further, Byakuya stirred. Rukia froze. On a quick decision, Rukia decided to pretend she was already asleep. She gently put her head in her crossed arms upon the bed, praying he didn't sense her unsleeping state before. As her brother slowly got up, she pretended to awaken as well.

"Rukia? I was waiting for you." he spoke while she was pretending to rub her eyes.

"Huh?" she demanded impolitely, "I mean—what for, Nii-sama?" Rukia raised her head to look at her brother curiously.

"I have come to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have ran in like that. I'm truly sorry. I realize that you need your privacy as well." Rukia was stunned speechless for a second, for this was the first time she had ever heard her brother apologizing with such sincerity.

"Uh— Um— Yeah, it's alright. I've… just had a bad day. And I want to apologize for not replying when the servant asked if I was alright."

"I understand," Byakuya stood up from the edge of the bed where he had been sitting, "Good-night, Rukia."

"Thank you Nii-sama for your forgiveness," Rukia bowed her head down, hands in her lap, "rest well."

"No Rukia, it's me who has to thank you." Byakuya put his hand on top of Rukia's hair and gently pat her head before leaving the room.

As Byakuya paced back to his private quarters, his head filled with something rare—confusion. There was something about what happened that day that was confusing him. It began when he realized he was so worried, hearing of Rukia no responding while she was in the bathing room. Byakuya didn't understand what caused his over anxiety. He could have told a servant to deal with it, but he didn't. And Rukia wouldn't have been in any real danger anyway. After all, she wasn't a child anymore. She can take a bath by herself. But to be completely honest, this wasn't the first time Byakuya was so worried about Rukia. Although, every time he is, the emotion only gets deeper. Every time, he recognizes it as more a more clear and common. The memory of every single stab of pain as if it were knives being thrown at him of every passing second he doesn't have knowledge of her safety is unbearably crystalline—too clear for him to handle. When the sting became strong enough, his instincts overruled him, filtering everything out of his mind, and making it blank with nothingness except for the thought of Rukia being in some kind of danger.

Besides the emotions he forbids himself to show…

When he rushed into the bathing room, his face was plastered with anguish and he knew just as clear as Rukia witnesses the improbable sight. And when he realized how the screenshot scene must have looked, he felt blood rush to his face—and not from anger, but embarrassment.

Such a childish, uneventful incident had caused Kuchiki Byakuya to move the muscles on his face to constuct something too close to a sentiment. The man who had never bothered with anything or anyone's emotionless record was defeated by one small happening. A happening that apparently involved his sister—even if it wasn't his blood sister. Was it right to feel this way? But knowing Byakuya, he would never allow and feelings to get out of hand enough to the point where they would affect his outwards appearance.

But why did he go apologize to Rukia? Why did he admit fault to something that could have been easily said to be his right doing? Byakuya had done too much thinking that day—enough, for all he knew of—and he was tired. Along with tiredness came guilt… and avoidance.

But along his way back to his quarters, Byakuya felt heart change a bit. Maybe it was for the better.

My sincerest apologies…
…Hisana.