LC333: … So… It's been a while… (I'm so sorry). But here's the next chapter. Sorry for making you wait this long. (I don't know when I'll have the next one out, but I'm always working on it.) Enjoy.

Chapter Nine

I could feel my brother's eyes watch me walk into the car with Ichigo.

Byakuya had agreed to let me eat dinner with Ichigo's family. I had been hoping he wouldn't let me. The fact I was walking into Ichigo's family home, his resting haven from the rest of the world, was not sitting well with me.

If I was correct, Ichigo's father would be there.

And he was supposed to be faultlessly skilled at what he did.

"Rukia."

I gave my brother a small bow of acknowledgement. "Hai, Niisama?"

"Tonight you are to attend Kurosaki Ichigo's house."

My eyes went wide at his words. He was letting me go?

"Nii-sama," I scrambled to think of any excuse to not go.

"While you are there," he continued, interrupting me. "I want you to observe the Kurosaki's."

Byakuya wants me to watch them?

"They're a family of vampire hunters," he spoke clearly. "Observe them in their everyday lives. How hunters act."

He kept his eyes glued to the space above my head. He spoke no more and turned away from me.

I watched him walk down the corridor when his voice broke the silence once more.

"Learn their skills."

"Oi, how long do you plan on standing there?"

I looked up at Ichigo, his brown eyes looking down at me.

I scoffed. "I wouldn't be waiting here if you would hurry."

His face creased up slightly, annoyance on his face.

"Then you don't even have to go," he murmured.

I folded my arms. "But then you would disappoint Yuzu."

He turned to look away staring back at the car. "Whatever."

I snuck a look at him.

I heard it in his voice. Ichigo wanted to snap back at me, but he had held his tongue.

So was that brotherly love? He cared more about Yuzu than getting into an argument with me since Yuzu wanted me there.

Ichigo walked around to the driver side of the car, abandoning me at the side. I pulled the car door opened and stepped in, catching Nii-sama out of the corner of my eye.

Never have I seen eyes that cold.

Not even when I met him, were they this glacier.

!#*!#*!#*!#*!#*

"Ruki-nee."

I smiled hearing my sister's voice. She had not been home since I had arrived home school.

She didn't have to tell me where she was, I already knew.

Nee-sama was with him, her boyfriend.

"Welcome home, Nee-sama," I told her.

She patted me on my head. "How was school?"

"Fine." I smiled smugly. "How was your boyfriend?"

Nee-sama blushed. "Was it that obvious I spent time with him?"

I nodded.

She never really was good at hiding when she had spent time with Byakuya. She always arrived home happier.

"He's very charming."

That was the only detail I knew, the two of them had known each other for a few months but I had yet to meet him.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "So is he going to take you out again?"

Nee-sama's cheeks seem to increase with blush. "This Saturday."

A smile twitched my lips. "It sounds like he's very smitten with you," I murmured.

Her eyes went wide with shock, the red in her face turning snow white.

"Rukia, Kuchiki-sama is only being courteous. He's only being polite, it's how he was raised," Nee-sama protested.

"Maybe the first time when he helped you. It's months later, Nee-sama. He has to have some reason other than courtesy to continue to see you."

"Rukia," Nee-sama spoke sternly. "That is the only reason."

Her eyes were on mine, still soft as they usually were, only this time with order in them.

"It is," she insisted, seeing the look of disbelief I must have been sporting.

I sighed. "Fine. For now."

Nee-sama placed her hands on her hips, her ultimate sign of authority. "Rukia, that is the only reason he would bother to meet me. Anything else you are trying to insinuate is only in your imagination. He would choose someone of his class."

"You mean fed with a golden spoon?"

Nee-sama nodded. "He would never go for his," she motioned to the living room and my eyes followed.

A tile in the floor was cracked, the one's around it were shattered and barely considered functional. The walls were slowly starting to crumble down, the ceiling starting to slump down to the right. The lights in the ceiling were off and when they were on, the wires would short out and the electric current in the entire house would turn off. The entire house was more of a room with a bathroom in the corner.

"He should be with someone who's used to the finer things in life."

Nee-sama's face became crest-fallen.

"He should be with someone like him."

Her voice became smaller.

"He shouldn't be with someone like m-"

"When do I get to meet him?" I interrupted.

Her eyes moved back to me. I had to stop her from finishing that thought. She wasn't ready to come to that conclusion. She will eventually, but it wasn't time. She was in too deep to resurface without breaking her.

Nee-sama kept her gaze on me, not wavering in the slightest. She was swimming out of her dark pool of insecurities.

Freed from the depths, she bit her lip, thought showing in her eyes. She seemed unsure of what to say.

"Soon."

I frowned at her in frustration. "You've been telling me that for a while, Nee-sama. When is this 'soon' going to get here?"

She sighed. "Ruki-nee, Kuchiki-sama is a busy person. To find time to meet him would be very impossible."

I pressed my lips together. "When is the next time you and him are supposed to meet up?"

Nee-sama's eyes were quizzical as she tried to piece together my thought process. "This Friday."

I smiled at her slyly.

"Ruki-nee."

"Then I will accompany you on this meeting on Friday," I declared to her.

Nee-sama had a look of panic. "Ruki-nee."

"So the next time you run into him, tell him I can't wait to meet his acquaintance."

Nee-sama didn't respond, her silence telling me she agreed.

A knock on our door took my attention away from her.

With another glance I looked up at the clock, signaling it was five. I rose up from where I was sitting and inched closer to the door.

"Hello Rukia!" Kaien-dono greeted cheerfully. "Hisana-sama," he bowed to her.

Nee-sama smiled at his formality.

"Kaien-dono," she greeted back with a bow.

"Ready to go, Rukia?" Kaien asked.

"Hai, Kaien-dono," I grabbed my jacket and turned to my sister with a bow. "I'm going, Nee-sama."

"Hai," she spoke softly. "Be safe."

"I'll have her back before dark." Kaien-dono told her before I closed the door behind me.

"That sounded like a very interesting conversation the two of you were having." Kaien-dono commented.

"You heard that?" I asked him as we stepped onto the sidewalk.

He nodded.

"You must have super human hearing," I complimented.

"Sure. Something like that."

I looked up at him with curiosity.

Kaien-dono shook his head.

This was back before I knew his secret. Before the world came crashing down and everything seemed worse than it appeared. Back when the crumbling roof over our heads was the biggest of our concerns.

!#*!#*!#*!#*!#*

Kaien-dono patted the top of my head.

"Sounds like you had an eventful day."

"Eh. The floor breaks all the time." I tapped my foot on the cement ground.

Kaien-dono had suggested we have some sweets before I headed back home. I chose my favorite ice cream and Kaien-dono had chosen his usual – nothing.

"Kaien-dono, didn't pick anything."

He shrugged. "I did not feel like eating anything."

I looked at him quizzically. I don't remember him ever eating anything. I never remembered seeing him even take a bite of food. He was either sick or full.

"Kaien-dono," my voice held a serious tone.

"Yes?" he asked cheerfully.

"I have never seen you eat."

His face seemed to have frozen.

"Ever. The entire time I've known you." I dropped my spoon down beside my cup.

Still no response.

"Is everything okay, Kaien-dono?"

"Of course everything is okay!" he exclaimed back in his usual tone. "You're just looking too deep into things."

"Promise?" I asked him, still unsure if I believed his word.

"Rukia!" he hung his head low. "I'm appalled you would not take my word." The dramatics he had in his voice prevented me from hearing the truth in his words. Words that were too forced to be seen as a joke.

"Do you doubt me? Do you doubt my word?"

My eyes went wide.

"No!" I almost shouted. "I never doubt your word, Kaien-dono."

He narrowed his eyes, nodding with content.

"Good." A smile spread across his lips, content with my answer. "Otherwise I would have to come up with a suitable punishment to for doubting my honesty, my integrity"

I sighed, happy he had forgiven me. "You don't have a cruel bone in your body, Kaien-dono."

"That's true, I don't." He leaned forward.

"So there's nothing I need to worry about?" I asked him.

"Not a thing, Rukia."

I felt guilty, guilty I had a sliver of doubt in his word.

"You promise you're not hiding anything from me?" I asked him. "Any secrets?"

He frowned, reaching over and taking my cup out of my hands.

"Rukia! You have awakened my punishment! Now you shall have no ice cream!"

"Kaien-dono!" I reached over the table, stretching for the ice cream.

"You'll have to try better than that, Rukia!" He raised the cup over his head, too far for me to reach.

I jumped out of my chair to Kaien-dono's side, standing on my tip-toes to reach the cup.

Almost - there.

My hand had part of the cup when, in a last effort, Kaien twitched his hand back and the cup began to turn upside down.

"Wait! Kaien!"

"Nope. You're not getting it that easily!"

I reached with my other hand to steady it. Kaien moved again and it flew into the air over my head. My eyes followed it as it flew, hitting a man in a black suit and tie.

My eyes widened when I saw it slide down the man's hair and down the front of the person's suit where it left a chocolate smear across the entire tie, and touched the top of his dress pants until the cup dropped to the ground.

I looked up at the man it had hit. His eyes were closed, body paused in mid – step.

"I'm sorry, sir," I offered with a bow. "I should have been more careful with my actions. I take full responsibility for what I did."

Straightening up, I looked at the man. His eyes were still closed.

"S-sir?"

His eyes opened sharply, making me jump back in my skin.

He bore his gaze tightly on me before closing them and continued to walk away.

I didn't bother to move until those steps blended in with the ones of the people around me.

"That was odd, right Kaien-dono?"

Nothing.

"Kaien-dono?" I turned and looked back to the table.

Empty.

I turned around, not a trace of him in sight.

Did he just leave me here?

"Kaien-dono!"

He left me here alone.

And without ice cream.

!#*!#*!#*!#*!#*

"Are you ready meet him?" Hisana-nee asked.

I nodded, the memories of Kaien's behavior still running in my mind. He hadn't called me since. Kaien-dono hadn't shown up, and he hadn't been returning any of my calls.

I followed behind Hisana-nee, vaguely paying attention to what she had to say to me.

"So I need you to be on your best behavior, okay?"

"Okay." I responded. "I'll try my best, but I make no promises."

Hisana-nee frowned.

I smiled, letting her know I was only teasing her.

When something over my shoulder had caught her attention, I knew that she had seen him arrive.

"Byakuya-sama," Hisana-nee greeted as she stood up and bowed.

"Hisana," a deep, monotone voice rang.

"This is my little sister, Rukia," she touched my shoulder lightly with her hand.

I stood up, and bowed. "It's nice to meet you."

I received no response. Annoyed, I rose and looked at the person named Byakuya…

And was met with the same face I covered with ice cream.