All right then...I got the opportunity to update sooner than expected, but that's fine by me, and fine by you, too, I guess, if you've followed the story this far. Anyway...

Please enjoy Chapter 5.

He never came.

Rukia had fallen asleep, curled up in a ball, squeezing herself in that corner of her bedroom as far as she could. And when she woke up, she was surprised to find herself whole and hale, although she wasn't quite sure why she should feel surprise.

Her body was stiff and sore from being in one position for so long. She heard birds. Sunlight was streaming in through the window.

She walked over to it, massaging a stiff shoulder, and looked out into the garden. The bellflowers, so violently ripped out of the earth, still lay in the grass, wilted and dead.

She bathed and changed into fresh clothes. She brushed her purple hair, staring at her own reflection in the mirror. Slowly, she took out all of the piercings except for two sets in her ears and the nose stud. Satisfied, she decided to go for a walk. She was homebound. It wasn't like she really had anything better to do, anyway.

She couldn't explain it, but she felt a little strange. She had felt such overwhelming terror the night before…terror of the man who was supposed to be her brother. Why? She had been certain he was going to let her have it, but he done nothing. Why was that? Wasn't he supposed to be a Captain, an almost godlike figure, untouchable and incomparable, someone to be feared? But, instead he had just…done nothing.

And that struck her more intensely than any punishment he had dealt out up to this point.

She had done something terrible. But he had done nothing. What did that mean? Did it mean…what if…

What if he had given up?

Was it even possible that she had defeated Byakuya Kuchiki in a battle of wills? But…if that was the case…then there was no point anymore…if he had given up on her…then nothing she did would matter anymore. Whether she acted spiteful towards him, or kind…it wouldn't matter anymore. He'd given up on her. He'd decided not to care anymore…!

But…if he could stop caring…then that meant he must have cared in the first place…had she miscalculated entirely? Had she made a mistake? Perhaps…he wasn't disregarding her…perhaps…

She stopped. No. It couldn't be that. There was no way she could have been so far off the mark. That couldn't be the way he felt. After all…he didn't feel anything. Not that she could see.

She looked around. Where had she gotten to, anyway?! It was still in the house…

It took her a few minutes, but then she recognized where she was. The door she was standing in front of…it was the door to Byakuya's bedroom…

The Forbidden Zone.

Why should this room be off-limits to her, anyway? They were family.

Yes, but it was also Byakuya's personal space.

He had no problem coming in her personal space.

Yes, but he was much bigger and stronger, and therefore he could do what he liked.

But if he could come in her room, she should be allowed to go in his.

Maybe so, but he'd already told her before that she wasn't allowed inside.

But he wasn't home! So how was he going to enforce it?

This was his house. Even if he wasn't physically present, he'd know. He always knew. He was Byakuya Kuchiki!

So what? He wouldn't find out.

Her hand wavered before opening the door. She almost expected some sort of alarm or a bunch of booby traps to go off, but nothing happened. Nothing happened at all.

Rukia stood in the hall, looking into his room. Well, she'd made it this far, hadn't she? There was no turning back now!

She put one foot inside, on guard. Well, that counted, right? She could now say she'd stepped foot in Byakuya's room.

No booby traps.

She stepped all the way inside.

Still nothing.

There…there wasn't anything special about his room at all! It was just a room!

No. That couldn't be right. That couldn't possibly be the case. Byakuya Kuchiki didn't sleep in "just a bedroom". Byakuya Kuchiki slept in Byakuya Kuchiki's room! So therefore there had to be something cool, mysterious, and potentially life-threatening in here.

There seemed to be nothing special, though! His closet had clothes, and she couldn't unlock any secret passageways by moving books on the bookcase. There was nothing special at all. Nothing special, except for a framed picture…

Hey, wait. Why hadn't she noticed that from the start?

She picked up the picture and sat down near where Byakuya slept.

It showed Byakuya with a woman, wearing wedding garb.

This woman, she…she could only be Hisana, whom Rukia was supposed to look so much like! She gently touched the woman's face with her fingers. This woman was Byakuya's dead wife. She was the reason Rukia had been adopted into the Kuchiki family. She was the reason Rukia was in this situation!

Her knuckles were beginning to turn white, she was gripping the picture so hard. Hisana…it was all because of her that any of this had happened! If she hadn't gone off and died, then Byakuya would never have had any desire to adopt her then, right? If she hadn't died, Byakuya might be…happy.

Her eyes went to Byakuya. He looked so…contented. It was an expression she'd never seen on his face since she'd known him. He was actually…smiling. A small smile, but it spoke more than any number of words ever could.

He must have loved her quite a lot. She must have made him very happy. He was always so cold to Rukia, the very image of this woman who had brought him so much joy! Hisana was a source of happiness. She was Byakuya's happiness. So…if she destroyed Hisana…she would destroy his happiness!

She had had no problem destroying the bellflowers. So she wasn't sure why this picture was different. She was holding it over her head as though to throw it to the ground and shatter it, but something stayed her.

Was she losing it? Why was she getting angry? It was just a picture. Hisana was dead. If she was still reaching out from beyond the grave, it was though no fault of hers. She was dead. Didn't she deserve to rest in peace?

Rukia gently went to set the picture back down where she'd found it. Yes. After all, it wasn't Hisana's fault that she and Rukia looked alike. How could she begrudge this woman for something that couldn't be helped? Hisana deserved, like anyone, to be left at peace in death.

Quietly, Rukia left the room, closing the door behind her. Byakuya and Hisana were left intact, undisturbed in their happiness, frozen in time.

I'm really sorry if that seemed anti-climactic, but the way I see it...this is told entirely from Rukia's POV, so the way she interprets Byakuya might not be the way he actually feels. She can't read him well...

Anyway...Byakuya didn't show up at all in this chapter, but that couldn't really be helped. He'll be back in the next chapter, though...

But thank you all for your reviews and for following this story! It's made me so happy!