"A Flower in the Attic"
Chapter Twelve: A View of the Past
Disclaimer: I neither own Bleach nor Flowers in the Attic.
This was frustrating.
How did I end up going back to that hell of a room? One minute I was at the lake and then the next one I was sneaking back into the Mansion.
Oh, yeah... I was running away.
"So, where are your parents?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Ichigo took a bite from the apple he was holding, when, out of nowhere, that question popped out from his lips.
I was having a great time with him being there. Sitting and chatting with the orange haired boy. We were discussing nothing in particular, having the best time of my life in two years and seven months. I was even having a decent meal for the day, since I haven't eaten anything yet. So why did Ichigo need to be intriguing, like father, and asked me a question that was so far from the list that I wanted to answer?
"Rukia I said, where are your parents? You don't talk about your family that much. Aside from your brother I don't hear anything else about your family."
And just like what I have done in the past, I ran away.
My family... How should I answer that forbidden question? A question I was not afraid to respond to two years and seven months ago. A question I dreaded to answer ever since meeting him.
Should I lie in order to hide the horrible truth? I made up too many lies already. I couldn't bear the feeling of lying to Ichigo when he was nothing but an understanding person. Should I tell him how my life was two years and seven months ago? When we were living in Las Noches. When we were still the perfect family that everyone envied. When we didn't bother thinking of where we were supposed to find food for the day or how we would survive such life. And when the twins didn't look like owls in a roof. And most importantly when Momma was still a caring and loving mother to us.
It seemed so distant. Did those things really happen to my family? Was that my family? I can't remember. Slowly, I am forgetting everything. Perhaps I should open the window of the past that I locked up deep in my heart. It was the only solution I came up in order to heal my wounds.
For today, I would look back at everything that happened. I would open the window and glance at the past.
"What are you doing?"
Rukia was looking at her back through a large mirror when her great grandmother called her attention. It was a simple act but a very sinful one. It has been a week since they started living in Karakura with their grandparents. To anyone, it would have been great. Grandparents were supposed to be unusually over flowing with joy when it came to their grandchildren. But this particular old people were exactly the opposite.
They hated their son's daughters and sons.
They were ashamed of their own grandchildren.
They never liked them.
At first, the small children wondered why their grandmother never bothered looking at them with the same passion and love they got from their father's gaze. It never occurred to them how much the old woman disliked them. She called them with the worst names ever written in a book and still wasn't satisfied with them. She would sneak in behind them and would try catching them in their most vulnerable state. Having innocent minds liked a baby, they never once thought that perhaps their grandmother didn't want them.
Their grandmother gave them a set of "rules" they needed to abide or suffer the consequences. They were rules none of them could comprehend.
Sunlight was prohibited inside the room. The curtains were not to be opened. They were not to make any noise all the time and should be discreet with their movements. No talking to anyone. The kids weren't allowed to ask questions regarding their situation, family and most importantly their mother. And a lot more idiotic rules set to ruin the lives of the four children.
At first they laughed at how the old woman came up with her moronic rules but, they learned their lesson fast, just after a week.
The most confusing and irritating "law" was to never ever be without clothes and parading their bodies shamelessly. A very stupid rule which the old witch added on her list one particular day, in a hard way.
"What are you doing?"
A cold voice rang inside the room abruptly, stopping everyone inside and turning their eyes wide like big circles.
The twins were playing with their toys, enjoying their little moment of fun. While Renji was reading a book he found interesting and answering the questions at the back of it. And Rukia, she was turning around facing a big mirror wearing nothing.
"Didn't you learn in school you're supposed to answer when someone asks you a question?" The woman's voice was laced with venom accompanied with a horrible sound. Her eyes were glaring at the petite girl in front of the mirror piercing Rukia with her deadly stare.
"I said what are you doing?"
Rukia fidgeted in her spot. Her body became numbed and lost all its senses. She tried covering her small body with her thin arms and curled down into a ball.
"I-I I'm n-not do-doing an-any-anything! I swear! I'm not! My back was hurt when I fell from the bed and I'm just checking for bruises! Honest! I'm not doing anything." Rukia's body began trembling with fear. The woman's eyes was right at her. Looking at her with nothing but disgust. She wondered why the Kuchiki woman was agitated when she was not doing any crimes, or in this woman's vocabulary, breaking the rules.
"Are you having fun looking at that frail, disgusting, and ugly body of yours? Did your mother teach you to flaunt yourself and use your body as a weapon to seduce men? Richer and older men such as your father? Did your mother tell you what to do in front of a young lover? Are you planning to live in luxury with others' hard works? Other people's money? Tell me you're good for nothing woman!"
The old woman raised her hand high above her head and aimed her palm at Rukia's cheek with such force that the small girl screamed and faced the wooden floor.
"Get away from my sister!"
Renji ran to protect his sister. He fell in front of Rukia and gathered her clothes. He saw the long white dress on the floor and took it to put on her. While doing all of those, he didn't notice the old woman unlocking a wooden trunk in the corner. She took out a big black whip still rolled and unleashed it on the floor.
With great big steps she went closer to the siblings. Renji was busy dressing Rukia when a fierce hand grabbed his shirt. She dragged Renji and with such force she pushed him on the bed. Then, the old woman quickly strode back to where Rukia was lying. She pulled hard the small girl's hair and harshly dragged her to bathroom. Rukia couldn't do anything but scream with all her heart. She was being dragged by her hair, half dressed, and it felt like her hair was ripping out from her head. She had very long hair and was easier to touch and be pulled.
Her screams were muffled once they were in the bathroom.
After recovering from the shock of how strong the bony woman was, he banged the bathroom door as hard as he could and continued shouting to free his poor sister. He heard no response aside from the screaming for help his sister was giving. No one answered the door. He was completely ignored. All he could hear was Rukia's voice shouting his name. And for the first time since their father died, Renji was helpless.
That night, the twins learned to cry silently in fear of getting caught and irritating their grandmother. Renji treated Rukia's wounds and cuts with shaky hands and Rukia, she learned to be tough and at the same time, to lose hope. She threw away her childish act and became a strong person but, with hate and wounds in her heart.
It wasn't the first time it happened nor the second and the third. Whenever their grandmother would catch them, she will punish them in one hundred and one, different ways. She cut the girl's hair, whipping the boys, and most of the time wouldn't bring food for them. They have gone for one week without food and was the cause of becoming weak and unhealthy. Even the twins weren't saved from the woman's wrath. They were also tortured in horrible ways. Traumatizing them with everything their grandmother could think of. It was so horrible and unsettling. She ripped of all of Momo's doll's head, burned in front of them all of Shiro's toys, and even gave them milk with flies swimming in the glasses. It was the most horrifying thing they've ever seen. While drinking a glass of chocolate milk, a group of flies were unnoticed until they've finished the disgusting liquid. An unpleasant sight.
Their grandmother was probably the wife of a demon summoned to earth to give them hell.
The worst person they've met.
All the punishment bestowed upon them was kept a secret from their mother. They were too frightened to tell her anything. Could Nemu save them? Or rather would she save them?
Their grandfather, Ginrei Kuchiki, was a forbidden topic. They never saw him nor even heard his voice. Their mother told them he was very sick and would be dying anytime soon. They frequently asked Nemu about him whenever their grandmother wasn't around. She didn't like gossiping about her husband.
After weeks of living in the room, they constantly asked their mother about the great Kuchiki. Nemu never said anything about him aside from being sick. She told the poor children how their grandfather would soon die and all his wealth would be given to them since they're his legitimate grandchildren. She promised them how all his fortune would be theirs once the oldest Kuchiki would die. And when that inevitable fate happens, they would be free.
So, they waited. The unfortunate Kuchiki children waited for their own grandfather to die. Four little children eager to see their own family to die. Such a miserable thought for young children who were forced to be matured fast.
The days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years and still no miracle has happened. The closer they got into getting out was going on the roof.
Renji and Rukia gave up their hope of being rescued. They accepted their fate and lived the best of it. Even if not for them, but for their younger siblings. They followed the ogres's rules and lived by them. Everyday they gave false hope to Shiro and Momo and told them they would be out soon. They became the twins' mother and father, replacing the originals. Taught them how to read, write and more. Renji made toys for them out of old wood and took care of them. Rukia bathed them and she began acting like their real mother.
One day the twins got bored with the room and they demanded to open the door and go to the garden. This was their biggest problem. The twins wouldn't stop crying. They were bawling and stomping their little feet on the floor. Rukia got scared of making the Kuchiki angry because of the noise and tried stopping her brother and sister but it was too late. They saw their grandmother standing by the door with a Satan stick.
Because of the incident, a brilliant idea popped into Renji's head.
While Rukia and Renji were cleaning the haunted room, they noticed how odd the huge wardrobe was connected on the wall. There was a small space in the middle and they saw a black, dusty, and old lock. They took out everything from the wardrobe-clothes, shoes, coats-and tried pushing it away from the wall. And that's when they saw a door big enough to fit a person if he/she will crawl down.
An attic was connected to their room.
When they entered it, they saw nothing but dirt. Still it had space, enough to play around and they turned it into the twins' haven. Renji cleaned the attic and put up a swing big enough for the twins. It was the best they could have.
The attic might be a good replacement for the garden, but it wasn't what they really needed.
The four Kuchiki children were abandoned. Left behind by their own family. Unloved and uncared for. They needed their father who treated them with nothing but happiness. They longed for their mother who was always the first one they ran to when injured. They craved for someone to care for them.
Where was their mother? When was the last time they saw her? Was she ever going to come back?
Their only hope to be saved was their mother.
Nemu, at first, frequently visited them in their room. She brought them toys to play with, clothes, books and treats. But her visits became less and less as time went by. Twice a week became twice a month. The twice became once and then once after three months. She never told them where she went. But base on what she brought for them they could guess. All the gifts from their mother were from different countries. Books toys and everything. Whenever she came to the room she would have a new outfit that matches her shoes. They weren't just from another country, they were also very expensive.
Where did she get all of the money? She stated before how poor and helpless they were that they needed to ask help to their grandfather. But she spent more money on shoes and clothes than she has ever spent before Byakuya died. Everything was a mystery. She never answered all the children's questions. She became a totally different person.
Was this the kind of family I had? Was this what I would tell Ichigo? Would he even understand her pain and sufferings? What would he do if he would ever find out about her true identity? Would he help her? Or just like her mother, chose to abandon her?
I didn't notice I was near the room already. I focused on my thoughts and Ichigo so much that I wasn't aware of my surroundings. When I was near enough, I knocked three times and waited for Renji to open. I ran away from him and avoided his stare after the incident. I needed to get away from him and clear my mind. We might be fighting or arguing but I know he wouldn't let me all night outside. We care for each other so much. After all, we only have each other.
When the door opened I saw Renji looking as grim as ever. He took of his jacket and put it on me. He hugged me and whispered my name and muttered an apology. I was too exhausted to think about the cause of our argument so I let him pull me back inside our hell.
Outside the room, a pair of amber eyes was wide opened as it looked at the petite girl entering the farthest room in the end of the dark corridor.
A/N: This part is much like in the book. some parts were changed a bit and I added things to spice it up.
I hope you liked it and if you think it's worth your time do review! I'll appreciate so much! ^_^
Thank you for reading!