I'm such a dweeb. Most of the time I'm so eager to post the next chapter that I forget to add in comments and have to add them in later. But I'm getting better about it.

Anyway, thank you so much for your reviews, and for staying with me! I present to you...Chapter 6. I typed my ass off this afternoon so I could get it posted today. :-)

What was it about Hisana? What sort of woman had she been to win the unwinnable Byakuya Kuchiki? In life, what had she been like?

Rukia wasn't sure why she cared. Why should she care? But...this Hisana had looked just like her. Looking at that picture had been like looking at herself, through a slightly distorted mirror. Those features, smiling and happy, had not been Rukia Kuchiki's, exactly...they had been just different enough to be a completely new face altogether.

Hisana had been Byakuya's love. And Rukia was Byakuya's sister. But Rukia and Hisana looked eerily alike. So when Byakuya saw Rukia, did he see Hisana...? Did just being around Rukia remind him of the wife he had lost...?

What had Hisana done to win his heart? Was she really that extraordinary of a woman? What was so special about her?

Would that get Byakuya's attention...if Rukia acted like Hisana?

After all...wasn't that why she'd been adopted in the first place? Out of all the girls in the Soul Society...because she looked like a noble's recently deceased wife. She hadn't been dead very long, right? Byakuya, at the time he adopted Rukia, must still have been mourning Hisana. He must have missed her terribly. But then he'd found Hisana...well, almost. He'd found someone who looked exactly like her, and that must have eased his suffering. So he'd adopted her into his family. So they would always be around each other...and he would always be reminded of Hisana...

Could...could that really have been Byakuya's motive? But that was so...twisted...

Was that really...was Rukia really intended to be...

...a replacement?

Hisana had won his heart...she'd died...then Byakuya had adopted Rukia, who looked just like Hisana...he must have thought she'd be like Hisana...but she hadn't been, obviously...so that was why he was so cold to her...because she wasn't a good little Hisana replacement like she was supposed to be...now she had it all figured out.

Obviously, even though she was dead, Hisana was still in Byakuya's thoughts. How could Rukia have overlooked that? From the very start, when she was told that she was being adopted because she looked like Hisana, she should have thought of this.

Well. Throwing Hisana into the equation, making a connection with Byakuya would require a...different approach.

...

Byakuya knew something strange was going on when he found Rukia waiting for him in the garden.

"Nii-sama!" she said, coming over to him, "How was your day?"

"...nothing new."

"Oh. I see. Just the usual, huh?"

"...yes."

Well. That told her a lot.

"So...um...what are you hungry for tonight?"

"...I hadn't thought about it."

Was he thinking of telling her anything?!

"...okay...so...let's go inside."

...

The silence at dinner stretched on...

Rukia thought she'd be respectful of him and give him a chance to talk, but he didn't say anything. At all. And she wasn't quite sure how to go about starting a pleasant conversation with him. He seemed to have no interest in talking. Not to her, anyway.

Being in a room with him, directly across a table from him...with neither one of them talking...why did the air feel so stifling? Why did she keep shifting all the time? Why did she want to get out of that room as quickly as possible?

Why did he have to be so...so...so unapproachable?! Here she was, eating dinner with him, living in the same house as him, seeing him every single day...but...why did she want to hit him?

In the vain hope that he might express some sort of emotion? That he might acknowledge that she was sitting right in front of him?

She wasn't like Hisana, so she wasn't worthy of his recognition? Was that it?

She had to know. She'd been planning this out, going over the scenario in her head, waiting for this moment. Hisana was the Forbidden Subject. Byakuya's room had been the Forbidden Zone. And Byakuya himself was the Forbidden Person. All three were meant to be left alone, but...she'd already violated one. Now she was determined that the other two would no longer be shrouded in mystery. A bond with Byakuya was the primary objective. But Hisana still walked with him. Rukia couldn't deny that. Maybe...if Rukia could find out about Hisana...then she could understand Byakuya better. But the only way to know was to ask, and the best person to ask was the person sitting across from her...

But how should she approach it? It was likely still a sensitive subject. How was she to go about bringing it up? If she was too tactless, he might get angry, and withdraw even further...though she wasn't sure how he could become more distant from her than he already was...but then, this was Byakuya, so there was no limit to how far away he could drift...

Why was she worrying about that now?! It was a risk she had to take! What kind of coward was she, that she was afraid to talk to her own brother? That was how you "bonded", right? By sharing painful things and then supporting each other? By talking to each other? Sharing your hearts with each other? Learning to understand the other person?

Well. She was going to close the gap between them. Here and now. On the count of three...

One...

Her hands clenched into fists...

Two...

Byakuya got done eating and got up from the table...

Thr--

Wait! Byakuya had to be present for Rukia to ask her bold question to! And yet here he was leaving...how rude! He was going to be here to tell her about Hisana...while she still had the nerve to ask...!

"WAIT, BYAKU...ya..." She trailed off. The name had been partway out her mouth when she suddenly realized what she'd just uttered...

He...he was actually looking at her!

She felt a heat creeping across her face. So blatantly...she'd just...addressed him by his first name...! She'd...never even come close to that level of disrespect...!

Well, she'd certainly gotten his attention. She could see him standing there...but she didn't look up, so she didn't know exactly what sort of look he was giving her...she was afraid to find out!

Dammit...she'd tried to be nice and hide her frustrations in the hopes that he'd let his guard down, even a little, so then she could exploit it and try to get information about Hisana...so much for that! She'd be lucky if she could get out of the room and not get killed by the daggers he was probably sending her!

An uncomfortable and awkward silence filled the room. Byakuya wasn't saying anything...but then, there was nothing unusual about that.

Rukia got to her feet.

She left the dinner table.

She walked towards the door, not looking at him, drawn up to her full height (which, admittedly, wasn't very formidable), determined to maintain some dignity.

She was walking by Byakuya...

"Rukia."

"I'm sorry, nii-sama!! It just slipped out!!" Then she made a quick getaway.

Oh. Yes. That had been such a dignified exit.

She was doing it again. Just like before. Everything she planned, nice or not so much, always got screwed up.

Byakuya...why did he have to be so difficult?! Why couldn't he just let her in already?! Was he even capable of feeling anything other than annoyance or anger?!

Wait...why was she wondering? She knew the answer...

She stopped in her hurried retreat.

She was surprised that Byakuya had pushed her this far. She had no choice at this point...she had to use...

Her last resort!

Wow. That's weird. These little squares appeared in the middle of this and my other current story...