Hear me Hisana I beseech you give me a sign of what I should do please Hisana
He lit the incense, met his hands before him, and prayed. For hours. Imploring Hisana's image in the family shrine for guidance. Anything that would prove what she wanted. Hisana's voice had brought Tsukiko back to him, and it could only be her voice that told him what to do next.
Our daughter is back Hisana how may I help her how may I help our child please tell me
Would Tsukiko even want anything to do with him? After all, she had lived most of her life without either of her parents. Perhaps she had found a new family in Hokutan, was adopted by parents who gave her everything she needed to be happy. Who knew what had happened after he'd let her go?
I promise I will make this right please Hisana I beg of you tell me what I must do
When Hisana didn't respond, he lit incense for his father. He too had lost his father at a young age, though the circumstances were certainly different than Tsukiko's. But he was desperate for anything, no matter the slim chance of receiving paternal advice.
Tou-san your grandchild has returned after I let her go I must do better by Tsukiko help me Tou-san
Nothing. He lit incense for his mother.
Kaa-san the granddaughter you never met is again with her father but I don't know what I must do
Nothing. Not from his grandmother, his uncles, his aunts, or any other of his ancestors.
He circled back to Hisana.
My dear Hisana I am her father but I am not her father I did so much wrong but I will make this right what would you have me do for Tsukiko in your name Hisana
He had no right to call himself her father. What parent places themself before their child? He was selfish, having dissolved any relationship he'd had with his daughter before it could properly begin. Now what was he?
You're her captain, too
His eyes flew open.
As he left the shrine, the sun began to bloom on the horizon.
Senbonzakura was, to put it lightly, very upset. Does addressing the Tsukiko situation really forgive offering your recruits a subpar first impression? Senbonzakura said furiously. Here's a hint: NO.
Byakuya outwardly blinked, but internally he let out the deepest of sighs. I'm well aware of the consequences, but I need to do this today, he responded.
You can't wait until tomorrow? What is twenty-four hours to a Shinigami?
Byakuya rolled his eyes, ignoring the strain to his tired eye sockets. You act as though my new recruits will never come to know me. Maybe this is me showing them what a normal day in Squad Six looks like, one where their captain, their superior, comes and goes without fanfare.
Utter nonsense. You have a reputation, and you're letting it crumble over something you're not even certain of.
Byakuya scoffed. Wasn't it you who wanted me to contact Tsukiko?
I wanted a solution, not the shirking of duty or whatever it is you're up to.
This is a solution, Senbonzakura. Hisana spoke to me and I need to listen. This is out of my hands—
Then snatch it back, you imbecile!
Senbonzakura quieted only when Byakuya made it to Squad Six headquarters. He quickly scanned the courtyard and training field, but there was no one else in sight. Thankful for the solitude—never mind the ranting spirit in his head—Byakuya marched to the lieutenant's quarters and, despite the fatigue in his arms, rapped hard on Renji's door. "Renji, get up," Byakuya said, projecting his voice through the wood.
A barely responsive grumble met Byakuya's ears.
"I said get up, you baboon." Byakuya's attempts to quell a yawn were in vain.
"You're a baboon…."
In seconds the yawn was gone. "Get up this instant, Abarai."
Muffled expletives suddenly littered the air, quieting only when Renji threw open the door in a haze of sleep-frizzed hair and morning breath.
"Captain—oof, you look like hell—I am so sorry," Renji began, hastily pulling his robe closed. "It's just so early—"
"Save it," Byakuya said. "You are leading drills this morning."
Renji raised a tattooed eyebrow. "Captain, it's the newbies' first day," he said. "You always make a speech—"
"You are giving the speech today. I have other things to attend to."
Renji's eyebrow didn't shift down in the least as he glanced behind him at his clock. "Captain, it's half past six." He turned back to Byakuya. "You can't hold off until after—?"
"Take over this morning and I might forgive you calling me a baboon," Byakuya said, turning away from his lieutenant and marching down the hall.
"I only said it because you called me a baboon!" Renji said, though it immediately became apparent he was only talking to the back of Byakuya's head. "Oh, fine, but I'm not giving a stupid speech!"
Having saddled Renji with welcoming the new recruits, Byakuya took his time going over to the Squad Thirteen headquarters. As with most of his walks, his speed was casual and betrayed nothing of his thoughts or exhaustion, one of the reasons he frequently chose long walks over intensive personal training to vent his emotions. He placed so much effort in keeping himself serene and nonchalant that the effect inevitably traveled to his mind.
He was also really, really tired.
Despite his leisurely pace, Byakuya's senses went on high alert when he reached Squad Thirteen headquarters. His heart began to race, the blood pounding in his ears as though he were about to enter battle. He would've chastised himself for getting this worked up over a conversation, but this was territory that stretched beyond just him. Byakuya was reaching into the very depths of the past, where his actions lay buried under layers and layers of earth. At long last the full truth of the matter was to come out, but getting there…getting there….
"Well, if it ain't the man himself."
Byakuya's anxiety abated just enough for pure irritation to take over. Its trigger was sauntering over, black shihakusho contrasting with a shock of bright orange hair in a figure the Seireitei respectfully called "Kurosaki-sensei" but Byakuya thought of as "Kurosaki-brat." Byakuya had no reason to be surprised to see him—this was Rukia's husband—but all the same, a chance meeting with Kurosaki Ichigo was the very last thing he needed.
Clearing his throat and allowing an air of noble reasoning to consume him, Byakuya responded steadily enough. "And if it isn't the boy himself."
Ichigo laughed light-heartedly, though he was sure to fire an irritated smirk at his brother-in-law. "I told Rukia becoming family wouldn't change a thing. But if you're here for Rukia, she's a little tied up at the moment."
"My business with Rukia does not concern you, Kurosaki. Now, if you will excuse me, I must meet with her."
"No, Byakuya, she's seriously tied up."
"Pardon?"
Ichigo offered Byakuya a very deliberate look of patience, as if he were explaining multiplication to a four-year-old. "Rukia is wrapped up in a bunch of rope. The squad grabbed her, which really isn't that surprising, they have been looking a little mutinous lately…."
Byakuya's sleep-deprived mind only registered a threat to his sister. "Rukia is tied up and you left her?"
Ichigo shrugged. "Well, yeah, they're underlings. It can't be that hard to—"
"I take back my blessing." And with that, Byakuya and the bags under his eyes raced off to Rukia's office, mentally cursing Ichigo's blatant inconsideration the entire way.
"Byakuya, that's like the four millionth time you've unblessed my marriage—Hey, where are you going? Byakuya, I was messing with you!"
As if it mattered.
Seconds later, Rukia's door was thrown open as the seething Byakuya let himself in, only to find a very surprised Rukia calmly sitting at her desk with a cup of tea raised nearly to her lips. They were otherwise quite alone.
"Um…good morning, Nii-sama...?" Rukia said after a very awkward beat.
Blinking but once, Byakuya closed the door and made the decision to sit. "Good morning to you as well," he said.
Rukia continued to eye Byakuya carefully. "Is everything okay? You rushed in like you thought I was…." She trailed off as something like wisdom prevented her from digging any further. "Well, never mind." She quickly set her tea down. "What brings you here this morning? Not that I ever don't want to see you! B-because you're still my brother and I…I…."
Byakuya couldn't help but feel he'd had better conversations with a cactus. "Right," he said, carrying on quickly. "I came to you this morning because I…nedurdviss..."
"What was that?" Rukia asked, her brother's mumbling churning his words left and right.
A quiet sigh. "I need…your advice."
Shock didn't even begin to cover the look that crossed Rukia's face. This was simply annihilating the natural order of things, Byakuya asking her for advice. And about what? Drawing, perhaps? Oh, but what to say! He had always been such a better artist than her, absolutely nothing could compare to the might of the Seaweed Ambassador—
"I would like to ask if it would be foolish of me to personally train one of my subordinates."
…There were three possible answers to Byakuya's question, Rukia felt. The first would be to inquire about his health, all things considered; however, because she respected her brother and a majority of his decisions, Rukia dropped that idea. The second option was to ask for clarification on whether it was all right for any captain to personally train a subordinate, or just Byakuya, the latter situation perhaps leading back to Rukia's initial answer, considering Captain Kuchiki Byakuya simply didn't care about his squad members enough to personally train them willy-nilly. The third answer seemed far more logical, then: respond truthfully, regardless of specifics.
Clearing her throat, Rukia said, "It is a bit different from your usual approach, but I don't think it would be foolish at all. If you really think one of your squad members has that much potential, it would do them a lot of good to have one-on-one training." She smiled delicately. "That, and it would certainly make you a bit more approachable—n-not that you aren't already or anything, it's just...um..."
"You needn't fret over the details, Rukia," Byakuya said, "though you are mostly correct about my reasoning."
"Oh?" Rukia leaned closer to her brother. "Is it an older squad member? Someone close to achieving Bankai? That would certainly be exciting."
Byakuya made it a point to avoid all eye contact with his sister. "Not quite: this squad member is a new recruit. I wish to train her due to a fair amount of potential I believe she has."
It slowly became clear to Rukia why Byakuya asked if his intentions may be foolish. In any squad, most members showed potential; it was just the way of things, not even specific to Shinigami or the Soul Society. However, unless a squad member demonstrated prowess well beyond their years, generally personal training with a captain was considered wasted time, unnecessary, and mildly suspect. For Byakuya as a captain to take an interest in one of his newest rookies based on skill she might have was strange. For Byakuya as a person to take an interest in one of his latest recruits was exceptionally strange.
Phrasing her next question carefully, Rukia asked, "Nii-sama, what has this recruit done that makes you want to hone her potential?"
Byakuya closed his eyes. "I understand how odd the situation may seem, but..." There was no excuse or lie he was willing to fabricate and feed his sister. "Rukia, I know over the years I have made it clear there are no more secrets between you and I. I have been honest with any questions you have had about your sister, the Kuchiki name, what have you. But I ask you one last time to forgive me, for I am guilty once more of withholding information from you."
Rukia tried not to let her disappointment show. Byakuya was of course entitled to keeping things to himself, but what was she to learn about herself or her adopted family now?
She leaned back in her chair. "Nii-sama, I will let you speak, but...do I have another sister?"
Byakuya shook his head, keeping his eyes closed. "No, but there is another family member you should know about." His eyes opened then, staring intently at the opposing wall.
"You are an aunt, Rukia."
"No." Rukia gasped at her instant response and quickly covered her mouth. "No, Nii-sama, that's not what I meant!"
Byakuya's hard gaze shifted downward. "You weren't expecting it. I never gave you any reason to suspect this. Your reaction is perfectly acceptable."
"No, it's not, it's—" She stopped herself short, looking at Byakuya with new eyes as the news truly settled in. "I'm an aunt? Are you sure? When did—? With whom—?"
Byakuya raised his hand for her silence. "Yes, Rukia, you are an aunt through Hisana and I. Not even were, are. Your niece is alive, though she knows nothing of her true family. You may ask why."
Because she didn't know when else she'd get the chance, and because Byakuya clearly wanted to get it over with, Rukia asked.
"She was born Kuchiki Tsukiko the autumn before Hisana's death. Hisana's health was already failing when she initially became pregnant, but she knew she wanted to be with her child as long as she could." He did not once look away from the wall. "Regrettably, that was but a handful of months, and soon I was Tsukiko's only parent. However, between mourning Hisana as I did and preparing for my captaincy as I was, I could not provide for her as a true parent. Her mother was already gone, and I wasn't there either. Thus, I sent Tsukiko and her nursemaid to live in Rukongai."
Byakuya carefully brought his gaze to Rukia's face, watching her expression waver from one emotion to the next. He continued. "I don't have formal proof it's her, but yesterday I met a new squad member who could very well be her. She…." He shook his head, not quite ashamed but not fully comfortable. "She looks like me."
Rukia closed her eyes. Details and speculations were coming in far too quickly, but there was no reason to feel Byakuya was not telling the truth. And as much information as her brother had kept from her over the years, she knew he was the farthest thing from a liar.
She dared to meet his eyes. "Nii-sama," she began, "as much as I understand why you feel obligated to personally train Tsukiko, what do you mean to accomplish by it? Will you eventually tell her who she is?"
Byakuya turned his gaze away once more. His honest answer? He didn't have one. It just seemed the proper thing to do, training Tsukiko himself, especially after receiving Hisana's guidance. What that would lead to was not something he had yet considered, or at least not openly.
"Nii-sama?"
He gently shook his head. "Rukia, I don't believe I will be following through with this after all," Byakuya said. He stood up and made for the door.
"Nii-sama, no, that's not what I meant," Rukia said as she too stood.
"I know that, but your words have given me something to consider." The answer was obvious now: Drawing Tsukiko closer would utterly annihilate all he had done to make sure she was given a better alternative than what he could have provided her. For him to train her would be a selfish move, something that would only end up with her hurt. He could still be Tsukiko's captain without bringing her close. Didn't Rukia see that now?
Except she didn't, and Byakuya felt her hand grasp his sleeve just as he opened the door—
—revealing a startled and bewildered Kurosaki.
"…So," Ichigo said, "does this make me an uncle?"
A/N: Btw if you haven't already, imma do a self-plug and recommend you read my other story, "The Knot Unravels." It explains a couple things that will come up in the next chapter, as well as things in the existing chapters (warning: I'm still salty that IchiRuki didn't make the canon no I can't be convinced otherwise yes I know I'm petty).