WHEN THE SNOW FALLS
by Yih

Chapter Twenty-six
Resolve and Resolution

She wanted to be strong for him, but it was unnerving to face these many Elders from a great noble clan like the Kuchiki's. Byakuya looked down at her and squeezed the hand he held as he walked with her down the center toward his seat as the Head of Kuchiki Clan. Rukia found it hard to walk with the straight back and proper carriage that she had been taught by one of the old wise woman in the family when she had first been adopted, yet she somehow managed.

"It will be okay. It will be okay," Rukia repeated like a mantra the words Byakuya had said to her before they had entered into the grand hall. It has to be, she thought, glancing up at him.

"Kuchiki-sama," Takahiro began, "has agreed to marry a bride and provide an heir so long that Kuchiki Rukia's pending betrothal is voided. Do we the elders agree to such a proposition?"

"We agree!" the elders exclaimed.

"Now, Kuchiki-sama," Takahiro said, directing it to Byakuya, "you have the terms of agreement, it is only fair for us to ask whom your intended bride shall be."

"You may ask," Byakuya stated.

Rukia felt her chest tighten. She didn't like at all how formal everything was. The elders here, they couldn't possibly accept her as Byakuya's chosen bride. She was from the 78th district of Rukongai. They would remember this. Moreover, she was his sister. They wouldn't forget that.

"Which clan is your intended bride from?" Takahiro inquired.

Rukia closed her eyes, wondering why the Head Elder hadn't just come out straight and asked who Byakuya wished to marry. Why did he have to drag this out by asking which family she was from? Why not just ask her name? And then she could hear the elders deny their request and then she would steel herself or the inevitable confrontation and she would… she could fight against it with Byakuya.

"One of the four great noble clans," Byakuya responded.

"Which one?"

Byakuya looked at Rukia the same moment she looked at him. "I have asked and she has consented."

"Who is she?" Takahiro demanded, narrowing his eyes and looking at them with scrutinizing eyes.

"She stands beside me as she will stand beside for the rest of my life and hers, Kuchiki Rukia."

The hall was quiet, silent of all noise as all the elders stared at them. Rukia felt even more unnerved and yet she was resolved. Byakuya had asked her against last night if she was still certain and she was…

"There is still time to change your mind," he murmured as he held her in his arms.

She looked up into his solemn, serious and yet so beautiful gray eyes. "Ask me."

He bent his head down until their foreheads were touching. "Will you, Kuchiki Rukia, marry me?"

"Yes," she said with all the love and determination she had in her voice. "Yes today and yes tomorrow, whatever it holds."

"Absolutely not," Takahiro was the first to recover and to speak. "You are brother and sister, regardless of the fact Rukia was adopted into the Kuchiki clan. It is against the Laws, Kuchiki-sama, or have you forgotten that?"

"No," Rukia spoke, looking at Byakuya as she said this, "we have not, but as you said we are not true siblings. I am adopted."

"You are riffraff from the 78th district of Rukongai," Takahiro said coldly, "even if you were not adopted into the Kuchiki clan, do you think we would allow Kuchiki-sama to make the mistake of marrying below his station in life again?"

"It is my decision to make," Byakuya responded in an equally chilly voice. "We never put a stipulation as to who I could marry."

"I would have thought you would have made a suitable choice for the future heir of the Kuchiki clan!" Takahiro exclaimed fiercely. "You push the elders too far Kuchiki Byakuya. We allowed you to marry for love for once with your first wife. We allow you to adopt her sister from Rukongai into our noble clan to fulfill your obligations to her. Why would we allow you to marry your adopted sister and your late wife's sister? It is time you remembered your duty."

Rukia could only stare out into the space, unseeing. She heard what the Head elder had said, but she couldn't process it. She felt like she couldn't breath. She knew the situation was going to be bad, but she didn't think it was going to be shocking as well. Her sister was Byakuya's late wife?

How could that be possible? How could she even have a sister? She was an orphan in Rukongai… she had been alone on her own for as long as she could remember – until Renji.

Byakuya held onto her hand tightly and it hurt. If she hadn't wanted to make a scene, she would have shook her arm and told him to let go.

"Rukia has been part of the Kuchiki family for a number of years and yet you still do not see the merits she has brought to the clan, you only see where she comes from. Is being from a noble clan all that is important? Do you say it is insignificant that she is a talented shinigami from the 13th squad? Does it not matter that she has achieved a shikai release that is as powerful as it is beautiful? Do any of the things she has accomplished as Kuchiki Rukia mean anything?"

The man she loved had never told her that his late wife was her sister and yet she found that her love would not waver, especially when she heard how proud he was of her. It was a betrayal of sorts, she supposed, that he had never told her about her sister, but in a way it made everything make sense. Why else would she be adopted into such a noble clan for no significant reason?

"And though she may be the sister of my late wife, I am not marrying her because of that. I am not marrying her to save her from a betrothal to a man she may not know. I am marrying her…" his voice trailed off as he lowered his eyes to her. "I am marrying her because she is the most important person in my world and I love her."

It was the first time she had ever heard him say that he loved her and as she looked up into his eyes, she knew that he had a great deal of explaining to do to her, but as long as he loved her as much as she loved him – everything would be okay.

Takahiro sighed. "Duty and responsibility," he said, "has always been the most important things to us, but I will concede that love too is important." He looked at Rukia. "Forgive me my harsh words, I did not mean to imply that we are not proud of you. You may have once come from Rukongai, but you are through and through a Kuchiki and therein lies the problem. And that is why I cannot give my approval. By Law, you are siblings now and such a marriage is forbidden."

"Siblings have married before," Byakuya spoke. "They received a dispensation because one of the siblings was adopted. Should I attain such a dispensation and be exempt from the Law, will you allow the marriage?"

"Should you attain such a dispensation," Takahiro murmured, "it would not be against the Law."

"Then we can be together?" Rukia said softly. "With your approval?"

"When you provide an heir," Takahiro said, glancing back at the other elders, whom were all nodding in agreement, "then we shall approve."

-

A/N: Well I finally finished this chapter, which I did in one sitting. I don't know what I think about it, but what do you guys think? Thanks for those who did review, I really do appreciate it. I'm going to start an AU bleach story that for now will be without pairings, but I hope you read and enjoy it anyway when it comes out! I may also be starting a story about Rukia/Byakuya based in our world, just to do something different. Thanks for reading and hope you have a great weekend!

Released: 1/31/2009