2011 EDIT: Just editing some stuff here, not the actual story. I just read this chapter and I cringed through the entire time. I will definitely rewrite this guys. My pride can't take it, haha.

Original:

Hey guys! Had to delete and re-upload since my new Beta Reader (yes, finally got one) Chocoholic Kris helped me fixed the few mistakes in it. Big thanks toChocoholic Kris!

Disclaimer: Tite Kubo still refused. Edith Pattou owns all the rights to East. I live in the West anyway

Chapter Two: Déjà-Vu

"Wow, today seems kinda busy," Rukia remarked as she stood on her tip-toes, trying to see how long the line for the vegetable stall stretched. She saw that many people than usual had come to the market today. All of them were women, since the men usually did work around the house along with their sons and the daughters would tag along with the mother or did it by themselves. However, she saw a few mothers, aunts, and older sisters with a little boy accompanying them, using their tiny fingers to point to the amazing sights and items around them. They were so innocent, unaware of the whole world.

The crowd she was in earlier wasn't quite big, but this line sure as heck was. Rukia sighed once realizing that the shopping would take longer than she thought it would, so she began to quietly hum a soft song to distract herself. She could always remember this particular tune because as a child her mother always sang it to her to try to help her fall asleep when she was having trouble sleeping or when she just woke up from a nightmare. It was rare to hear her mother sing, so she'd sometimes pretend that she was having trouble just to hear her songs. Her mother always sang it so beautifully with all of her heart that Rukia thought her mother had the purest voice she ever heard.

The song must have not been so quiet for a little boy had heard her and began pulling on the sleeve of her dress, trying to gain her attention.

"You sing really prettily, Nee-san," The boy gave Rukia his biggest smile.

"Thank you. What's your name, little one?" Rukia smiled back in return for his compliment. She was surprised that he had heard her, for she thought that no one could since she was trying to be as quiet as possible, but still be able to hear it herself.

"My name is Kuoka," The boy replied, offering his tiny hand to shake.

"Kuoka? What a unique name it is. My name is Rukia,' Rukia gently grasped the little boy's hand and shook.

Kuoka tilted his head to side, causing his dark brown hair to fall to the side, thinking about Rukia's name.

"Ru…kia?" He tested out the sound on his lips and grinned, deciding that Rukia was a good name with a nice sound.

Rukia nodded. "Yep, that's it. Kuoka, maybe you should go back to your parents; they could be really worried about you."

Kuoka frowned, thinking about something before giving his reply.

"I'm not with my parents…My brother came with me today. He's really nice."

"Oh," Rukia said, surprised. She never saw men do the shopping; that would be very odd. "Well, your brother could be worried about you too. Why don't you go back to him? It was really nice meeting you today, Kuoka."

Kuoka smiled. "Uh-huh. I hope we'll meet again, Rukia nee-san. You're nice too, like my big brother."

Rukia ruffled his hair, thinking about her own siblings. She remembered how Momo was like this once, when they were both younger. Momo used to follow her everywhere, which kinda reminded her of how she herself was with Kaien, her older brother. When Momo wasn't born yet, Rukia would literally tag along wherever Kaien went. He was very kind to her; slightly rough at times, but those moments were very rare. He was always gentle with her, never too loud and harsh. When they grew older, Kaien was still kind, but they'd often play rough with each other and their parents always had to stop them from killing each other. They sometimes did it just to entertain Momo, since she always laughed while they fought, but never joined in. She was never the type to fight anyone, unless it was for a good reason. Momo was the peaceful one in the family; quiet, shy. Secretly, both Rukia and Kaien were planning to change that. Only they didn't; Toshirou did.

Kuoka sprinted off in another direction after waving good-bye to Rukia, leaving her still with a smile.

"Well, today wasn't so bad," Rukia said to herself, recalling her encounter with the young boy. I wonder who his brother is…I've never heard of Kuoka or seen him anywhere, after all.

Once Rukia had finished her grocery shopping for all the food her mother told her to buy, she went straight home, not wanting to be later than she already was. The sun's position in the sky was about the middle, showing that it was noon already.

Upon arriving on her doorstep, she found it strange that she didn't see Kaien or Momo hanging around outside, since the two usually would. Both Momo and Kaien weren't the type to stick in a house all day. Just like her, they needed to be outdoors and free.

Rukia gently slid open the door, listening for any sounds. Frowning when she heard none, Rukia stepped aside and kicked her boots off, leaving them beside the door.

"I'm home," She called, expecting a reply, but no one said anything.

"Huh. That's odd…" Rukia muttered as she placed the basket of groceries onto the kitchen table.

She looked around the house, but no one was there.

"Anyone home?"

Silence.

Rukia began to walk upstairs; maybe her brother and sister were hiding somewhere. Yeah, that's probably it. Maybe they planned to scare the hell out of her when she came home and somehow, her parents were involved. Rukia smirked. How typical of Kaien it was to be planning this. She had no idea how he managed to get their too serious father to be involved in this though, but she gave him props for managing to do so.

"Isn't he making this too obvious?" Rukia whispered to herself. With pranks, Kaien was never too obvious, if he was obvious at all. He was extremely sneaky, managing to fool everyone except their father. Kaien once told her that it would be his goal and challenge to fool him, since their father was so sharp and quick witted.

She stopped outside the room that she and her siblings shared and tapped her foot lightly, signalling to her siblings that she had already caught on.

"Alright guys, joke's over. You can't fool me," Rukia laughed, knocking onto their bedroom door.

No sounds greeted her back. Rukia raised an eyebrow.

"I already know what you're trying to do but too bad you're caught. It was a good idea anyway!"

Yet nobody replied back.

"O-okay, now that's creepy," Rukia said as she stepped away from the door. Maybe they all went out somewhere…?

Rukia shrugged and walked downstairs. They couldn't be gone for too long, so she thought she could just wander around while she could. After all, her mother would barely let her out of her sight. Shopping was the only exception, so when Rukia could, she'd often sneak outside and wander off, discovering new sights everywhere. Hisana would always be seen panicking by the time Rukia came back and would then tell her that she'd wander off for too long and that it wasn't safe to do this. Then she'd list all the "horrible and terrifying" things that could have happened to her while Rukia would be secretly rolling her eyes. She never completely understood why Hisana never allowed her to go to places by herself and explore. There were so many things to do in the world, so many sights she wouldn't be able to see if her mother always tried to block her from the rest of the world. What was so wrong about exploring?

Hisana sometimes said that Rukia was more wild than Kaien and Momo, which was all too true. Kaien and Momo were always the obedient ones, leaving Rukia by herself. Sure Momo and Kaien loved to be outside; they just didn't enjoy the idea of exploring the world as much as she did, which was one of the things that separated her and them. Hisana always tried her hardest to keep Rukia as close as possible, which at times Rukia felt as though she was being held onto too much. She wasn't one who could stay still for long; "too many things to do than to sit still" is what Rukia would frequently say.

Rukia slipped her boots back on and slid open the door, breathing in the fresh air all around her. The wind carried away all her thoughts, freeing her. She twirled in circles on the trial leading out of her house and after awhile, she went off the peach coloured trial, interested by a small berry bush.

Rukia plucked a red berry from the bush and wiped it onto the fabric of her dress before gulping it down. The berry tasted sweet and refreshing, so she picked up one more before skipping away, going further into a forest.

A few minutes of walking into the unknown, there was a small clearing with a tiny brick wall beside a frozen river. Light poured in from an opening in the forest above, which shone on the wall, as if it were inviting her to come in. Rukia accepted the invitation by walking into the clearing, amazed by the scene around her. Petite flowers in a variety of colours bloomed on some areas on the patches of grass and a cherry tress stood on the other side of the river. Though it was winter, Rukia could still some of the tiny pink petals hung delicately on the tree, as though they themselves were afraid to fall off any moment. The frozen river glittered as the ice reflected off the sunlight from the sky.

"Wow," Rukia breathed, placing her hand on the frost covered brick wall. She didn't mind the cold, enjoying the chilling sensation on her fingertips. Rukia brushed off some of the frost and stared at the few that sat on the tip of a finger, admiring it. It wasn't snow, but it was close anyway.

Then a sudden odd feeling of familiarity overcame her.

"Have I been here before..?" Rukia asked herself, looking around the place once again. She scanned the place quickly, but didn't recognize the area. Yet, she had this strong feeling that she had been here before but couldn't remember if she had. She was sure that she would remember a place like this.

Rukia brushed the feeling off aside for now and decided to climb on top of the brick wall. She placed her hands on the edges and held on tight while she pushed herself up. She successfully did it and landed on top, coldness greeting her. She stretched her arms out, trying to balance herself as she walked along the wall.

Suddenly, Rukia lost her balance, and her foot slipped from underneath, surprising her.

"Ahh!" Rukia cried out as she waited for the impact of the ground to hit her back.

But she didn't. Instead, she felt a pair of strong arms catch prevent her from falling to the ground. Rukia slowly opened her eyes and gasped as she gazed into a pair of warm amber eyes there to greet her, startling her.

The young man had bright orange coloured hair and, she didn't like to admit it, had a handsome face.

He gently placed her down on the grass and stared at her.

"T-thank you," Rukia quietly said to the teenager who looked about to be the same age as her.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Rukia nodded, mesmerized by the colour and emotions in his eyes. They held worry, fear, care, and the last one…She couldn't quite figure it out.

He averted his eyes from hers, which made Rukia feel embarrassed. Shit. Why would I just stare into his eyes like that? What's wrong with you?

"What's your name?" Rukia asked. The feeling of familiarity hit her once again after she met this person, like she knew him from somewhere. The thing is, she'd never seen him ever before in her entire life. At least, she thought she hadn't.

He seemed surprised from the question, unsure of what he should say but settled on telling her the answer.

"Ichi-"

"Rukia!"

Rukia turned her head towards the way where she had entered this place, recognizing the voice as her brother's.

Kaien came running in soon after with a serious but worried expression on his face.

"God dammit, where were you?"

"I, uh, just wanted to go for a walk…"

Kaien raised an eyebrow. "Alone?"

Rukia shook her head. "No, I was with-" Rukia stopped her sentence after she noticed that the boy earlier had disappeared. "Huh? He was here a minute ago…"

Kaien walked up to his sister and shook her arm. "Who was?"

Rukia nervously laughed, deciding that it wasn't best to tell him.

"Oh uh, no one. Just talking to myself again, haha." She didn't know why she didn't tell Kaien about her meeting with the strange boy; perhaps she was worried about his safety?

Safety from what?

Thanks for reading!