Disclaimer: I'm way too young to own Bleach.

Chapter 6

Four days after Christmas...

Blood splattered on the floor in the form of small but several drops. Ichigo's mother covered her bloodstained hand as she coughed up some more, and nothing could ease it.

Good thing is that Isshin is a doctor, so they didn't have to rush to the hospital or call for a doctor and wait for minutes. Ichigo held her sisters on her lap, both twins cringing from worry as their mother is being examined.

"What's happening to her?" Yuzu whispered. "I don't know. We'll see." her elder sister answered calmly, even though she's not feeling calm. They're all nervous... and a little afraid.

No matter how long it has been, they patiently waited and lost track of the time out of the anxiety they're feeling. The orange head had to watch her mother, one of the few people close to the center of her heart, suffer and choke when blood seemed to be drowning her from the inside because of how much red flowed out her mouth.

It hurt to see one of her family in pain. And even though it rarely happens, she doesn't want to see it, not now and not ever.

She couldn't help it anymore so she gently lifted her sisters down on the floor and assisted Isshin in tending to her mother who's sweating and spurting more blood. He turned to them with a grim look on his face. His hand gestured for them to come closer, and Ichigo walked forward with her sisters holding her hands.

"What is it?" she hoped that it wouldn't be anything fatal, so that she wouldn't have to see her sisters cry which she hate. She looked at his face to see what he's thinking, but he's like a half-open book that she could only get a little.

She knows that what he says next, is more on the bad side than on the good side. "Would you think it's a joke if I say that your mother has consumption?"

Now that was a deep shock and her knees wobbled slightly, the weight on her legs suddenly turning a thousand times heavier. Her five year-old sisters wouldn't understand what consumption exactly meant, but they knew it was an entirely bad thing.

But... nobody cried. They just looked at Masaki, sleeping with pain all over her face that they wanted to look away but they couldn't.

At the final day of December

Byakuya almost found it funny at the nonstop giggling of his young sister when she finally got a disc of some songs sung by Ichigo, and she played it in her room while singing along. Thanks to the advice Ichigo gave she got better and better in singing.

At least she didn't have to embarrass herself anymore and he listened in harmony.

He read while she sang, and both of them sat beside each other in the living room just right in front of the fireplace that beamed with yellow-orange light. "It's like you have a musical coming soon." he complimented and joked at the same time, but with his calm tone.

"Well, we will be celebrating mass next week and there will be volunteers for the choir. I want to give myself a shot, for once."

"I'll look forward to that." He wasn't being sarcastic, and he really wanted her to finally express herself to the public. "I'm a little nervous, though." she blushed, her finger lightly scratching her cheek in a bashful manner.

He almost said something to assure her that it would be alright but he noticed something dangling down her neck, and he didn't see it earlier. "What's that?" He looked closer and it looked pretty similar to the charm he received from Ichigo.

"It's Ichigo's gift. Remember? Yours is similar to mine, but I made it a necklace. It's small and I can hold it with my hand closed, that I just wanted to make this an accessory I can wear." she stated and she noticed his bookmark with the small charm embedded on the thick and special paper.

"Yours is neat. You made it a bookmark." Byakuya slightly shrugged his shoulders and flipped to the next page. "I can't help it, Nii-sama." He paused reading and looked at her, as she started to confess something while fiddling with the charm.

"Ichigo is someone that really caught my attention. Isn't it the same for you?" That was merely a question of curiosity but his pause caused her to become a little suspicious. "Nii-sama?"

How could he tell her that she changed his view in music, and that he always feels sated when he would hear her voice making a sweet melody? That would be strange. "All I can say for sure is that... I'm impressed that a girl her age can have such talent." he said instead.

Suddenly, their beloved butler and friend was behind them after the sounds of fast footsteps. "Ashido, what's the matter?" Rukia asked, turning around and kneeling on the couch. He looked a little uneasy and that wasn't a good sign for he would not show that kind of face before.

"What happened to him?" Their uncle was on the bed, with a glass of wine on the floor and the content staining the priceless rug which the man's bed is resting on. "I'm not sure." his voice was lower than usual but they could hear him for there's no other noise in the room.

"He asked for some wine and I poured him a glass but while waiting for him to finish his glass he immediately started to act like he's having a heart attack and then... I couldn't think of anything but tell you."

They looked at their uncle who panted heavily. Rukia tried to help him to no avail, and Byakuya picked up the glass with a little wine left in it. He sniffed the content and immediately pulled the glass away from him. "This wine is poisoned."

Both the siblings looked at the redheaded butler, and he got worried. "I didn't poison him. I didn't even know that the wine had poison in it. And moreover, I don't have any intention to kill him." He was always the defensive one, and Byakuya placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"We know that. We just wanted to ask if anyone else drank from the same wine that he drank?"

Ashido shook his head. "I'm not sure, but you know I'm not the only one with access to the wine cellar. You all have." The answer sinks in them, and they realize that a relative of theirs is most likely held accountable for what happened. But right now they should keep him alive while they still can.

TBC . . .

A/N: This is a twist, alright. But of course there has to be a side plot in the story and not just the fall-in-love plot. Though I get only very few reviews, thanks to those who like this story but I would like some of your opinions for inspiration.