Chapter 5
Hisana was slowly walking down the corridor, on her way to her home. She had a blank look on her face. She had bad news for Rukia, and she didn't know how to break it to her gently. The visit to the doctor went fine, but the results weren't. She prayed that this wouldn't happen.
"I guess luck's not on my side," she whispered as she stopped in front of her door. She checked her watch; it read 8 o'clock in the morning. Hisana fished for her keys in her bag and noticed the day's newspaper on the floor. 'Weird, Rukia usually get's the paper by seven…' she thought. She shrugged it off and unlocked the door.
She closed the door behind her and threw her bag onto the couch. She sat down and sighed as she raised her feet and rested them on the coffee table. She started reading the front page of the paper. The headline was very surprising.
"Hitsugaya's… dead?" she whispered to herself. She quickly stood up and ran towards Rukia's room, hoping to find her there. When she wasn't there, Hisana started to panic. She rushed to her room and breathed easily when she saw her sister soundly on the carpet, but her panic renewed when she saw her sister's swollen eyes as she kneeled down. 'Maybe I shouldn't tell her right now…'
Rukia shifted from her position and opened her eyes wide. She quickly sat up and tears filled her eyes when she saw her sister's worried face. "Hisana!" she wailed as she wrapped her arms around her sister.
"Oh Rukia…." she whispered. "I know it's hard to believe, but he's gone. If it makes you feel better, you can come with me to the funeral," she offered. Rukia stared at her sister for a moment, but she started to cry again.
"It's all my fault Hisana! I killed him!" she confessed as she covered her face with her hands.
Hisana looked at Rukia's sobbing face. She couldn't believe what she just heard. "You killed… Hitsugaya-kun? It was… an assignment?" Rukia removed her hands and nodded slowly. Hisana's face hardened. "I see… Then there's no use in crying."
"Wha-What?" her sister mumbled.
"You heard me, there's no use in crying. You dealt the blow yourself, so you shouldn't be complaining…" Hisana coldly said.
"But Hisana… you KNEW him… and I… LOVED him."
"Yeah, but when I asked you if you really wanted to become like me, you said you were ready for ANYTHING." Hisana slowly stood up and headed towards the door. "I also heard 'bout Momo and Aizen. Rukia, in this line of work, emotions are kept inside a box and the key is thrown away, or else…" she said before closing the door behind her, leaving Rukia to stare into open space where Hisana once was.
Rukia shook her head and wiped away her tears. She shakily stood up and went towards her room. There, she took a good look at herself. She was still wearing the suit she wore yesterday. A messy, dirty version of it. Her hair was all over her face and her eyes were red and swollen. She sighed and went straight to the bathroom. When she went out she was nice, fresh and clean.
"Hisana, how was the check-up?" Rukia casually asked as she saw her sister cooking up some breakfast.
Hisana froze. "It was… alright. The tests were inconclusive, so…. We don't know…"
"Oh…" Rukia sat down on one of the chairs near the countertops and rested her cheek on one of her hands. "Thanks for knocking some sense into me earlier. I promise it won't happen again," she said as she watched her sister.
Hisana faced her sister with a warm smile. "It's okay. We get a lil' confused sometimes. You okay with pancakes?" Rukia smiled and nodded. "Okay, this'd be ready in a sec."
"Alright," Rukia replied. The girls then heard a ring.
"Ah, Rukia, can you please get my phone? It's in my bag. Thanks," the older sister said as she flipped one of the pancakes. Rukia went over to the couch and grabbed her sister's cellphone.
"It's from Ukitake!"
"What's it say?"
"He says that you're going to go undercover this time!"
It took a while before the siblings were able to comprehend the text. When they did, Hisana burned a side of the pancake and Rukia almost crushed the phone.
"WHAT?" they both screamed.
"What is the meaning of this?" Hisana demanded, looking pissed as she asked the frightened Ukitake.
"Now, now Hisana, relax…. Let me explain-"
"RELAX? You ask her to be someone's maid and you want us to relax? We're assassins for the love of god!" Rukia pointed out, eyes filled with rage.
"Hisana, Rukia, I know what this is about, but you're the best we've got. Also, after you get the info you can kill the man…" Ukitake explained.
The siblings thought about the offer again. They had never tried to go undercover, but the thought of actually killing the man together was quite tempting for them. They eventually agreed, making Ukitake let out a sigh of relief.
"Alright Hisana, you would start tomorrow. The man's name is Kuchiki Byakuya, owner of the Kuchiki Corporations. All you need to do is steal the corporation's plans and kill him after. Just as simple as that."
"How long do I have to stay there?"
"As soon as you get used to the place, you can go for it."
"Fine."
"What! Just like that?" Rukia protested.
"Thanks Ukitake," Hisana said, completely ignoring her sister. She grabbed the folder on his desk and started to head back. She stopped for a moment and turned back.
"Return the fruggin' mission!" Rukia wailed. To her surprise, her sister grabbed her by the ear and started to drag her back to the car. "Wha-What the hell? Hisana!" she said as she flailed her arms childishly.
"Come on Rukia, time to go home." Rukia continued to flail her arms and shout at her sister to let go. "Bye Ukitake," Hisana said sweetly as she waved, leaving a chuckling Ukitake.
Rukia crossed her arms over her chest, pouted and slumped into the passenger's seat of the car. Her sister was driving, again.
"Oh come on Rukia," Hisana said as she rolled her eyes. "Are you still upset about the mission?"
"No! I'm upset because you get to drive!"
If she wasn't driving, Hisana would have face-palmed herself. Instead, she sighed out of frustration. "Rukia, grow up will ya!"
Rukia's eyebrow twitched. "Was that supposed to refer to my height?"
Hisana smiled. That wasn't what she meant, but hell, it annoyed her sister. "Maybe," she slyly said.
"That's it!" Rukia was about to tackle her but she crashed forward as her sister hit the brakes.
"Here we are!" the older of the siblings said in a cheery voice. Rukia rubbed her head and looked around, it was the parking lot. "Come on, I still have to get ready for the assignment!" Rukia rolled her eyes and followed after her sister. They went up to their home and quickly reviewed the papers.
"Kuchiki Byakuya… I've heard of him before. He's some bug shot in the industry," Hisana said.
"Yeah… It says here that he's also one of the most sought after males in the city," Rukia mentioned, earning a hit on the head. "What?"
"Focus?"
"Hmpf!" Rukia's gaze drifted from the papers to the picture of the man. "So that's why he's sought after…" She got another hit on the head. "Well, look for yourself!" Rukia said rubbing her head with one hand and holding out the pic with the other.
Hisana took hold of the picture and widened her eyes. 'Oh my god… He IS good looking.'
Rukia caught her sister's reaction and smiled. "Your type huh?"
The older sister blushed and crumpled the picture. "Of course not!" she said.
"Then why're you blushin' sis?"
"I am so not blushing!"
"Right," she said sarcastically. "Just remember what you said this morning, okay? In this line of work, emotions are kept inside a box and the key is thrown away, or else… "
"Yeah, yeah, don't preach…" Hisana muttered.
The following day, Rukia dropped of her sister at the Kuchiki estate. Hisana widened her eyes at the sight of the place. She quickly made her way to the door and pressed the door bell. The door immediately opened to reveal a tall woman with silver-ish purple hair in a maid's uniform.
The woman smiled and let her come in. "You must be the new girl.. Welcome to the Kuchiki Estate. Mr. Kuchiki is inside his study, waiting for you. Follow me," the woman said as she led her through the house's corridors. "By the way, my name is Kotetsu Isane." They stopped in front of a large ornate wooden door. "Here it is. I'll be waiting here alright? I'll be the one to tour you around the house after you talk to Mr. Kuchiki." Isane knocked on the door. They heard a muffled 'come in' and pushed the door open. Isane gestured Hisana to go in, so she did and closed the door after her.
Hisana's eyes widened at the sight of huge shelves filled with books and antiques. In the middle of it all sat Kuchiki Byakuya behind a wooden desk, eyeing the new comer. "You must be Sasaki Hisana."
"Yes sir." 'Shit! He looks better in person!'
"Please take a seat," he said, pointing to a chair. Hisana obeyed. "You have already been accepted to do the job, but I wanted to ask you this. Why would you want to work here?"
"Because I want to provide a better future for my sister," she calmly said, slightly smiling. The lie was partly true though. The same question was thrown at her when she applied to be an assassin, so she gave the same answer.
Byakuya nodded. "Alright, that's all. Isane!" Immediately, Isane went pass through the doors and bowed down before approaching the desk. "Please escort Ms. Sasaki to her quarters." Isane nodded and beckoned for Hisana to follow.
When they were outside, Isane smiled. "Your type huh?"
Hisana shook her head vigorously. "Of course not!"
"Then why're you blushin'?"
"I am so not blushing!"
"Right," Isane said sarcastically. "By the way, what's your name?"
"Sasaki Hisana."
"Well Hisana, pleased to meet you. The others are doing their tasks so you won't be able to meet them right away, but later you will. Oh yeah, your job is to be Mr. Kuchiki's personal assistant."
Hisana looked at her in confusion. "Personal assistant?"
Isane nodded. "Yup. You're gonna be the one who brings him what he needs, like coffee and meals if he refuses to go to the dining room."
"Great," she said sarcastically. "So, when do I start?"
"Actually, you start this evening. Now, I'll just be touring you around the house, just like I said, after you fix up your room." Isane pointed to a small building in the house's garden. "That's where we all stay. We get our own rooms in there. Come on."
The two of them crossed the huge yard. It was so huge that Hisana was almost out of breath when they reached the building. "This your room," Isane said as she opened a door and pushed Hisana in. "Be ready by 4 so I can show you aroundokay?" Hisana nodded and Isane shut the door after her, leaving Hisana.
Hisana looked around. Someone had brought her things already. The room was small but it was overall nice. There was a bathroom connected to it and there was a cabinet in one corner. She took her bag and started unpacking. She opened the cabinet and saw seven sets of maid uniforms hanging in it. Hisana sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Oh great, ruffles and skirts… my favorite" she sarcastically said.
The revelation of the HitsuRuki part might not be what you expected but… well… nope, can't think of an excuse. Well, you forget your first and only love and bestfriend and killed him/her wouldn't you be sad?
Someone side with me here…