A Little Thing Called Fate 13

Byakuya finished off the afternoon by training alone with Senbonzakura in the squad 6 training area.  When he was done, he made his way back to his private area in the barracks so he could clean himself up before making his way home.  

He walked slowly, thinking about what had happened in his inner world earlier...

There are only a few possibilities here.  Orbs could be for friends and family.  I do not believe that else there would have been many more over time to represent the others I loved.  Could it be that there is someone I am in love with that I am not cognizant of? He laughed to himself.  Now there's a stretch of the imagination…being in love with someone I don't even think about nor realize.  The only explanation that makes sense is…

He couldn't even bring himself to think the actual words.

That's just ridiculous!  She is my sister!

But did you really ever see her as a sister?

She was adopted into the clan as my sister because Hisana wanted me to be a brother to her.

Yet it was too painful for you to get close to her.  She reminded you of your wife.

Yes.  That's true.  I did not treat her kindly.  I cared for her from afar.  I did not provide her with much of what she needed.

Love?  Support?  Hope?

Yes.

She was a stranger in your own house.  Not a sister.  Now that you are making amends, are you doing so as a brother?

I do not feel like her brother.  She calls me "nii-sama", but since we have grown close, we are more like friends…confidants.  I feel I can tell her anything.  I haven't felt like that since…

<GASP!>

I think that I may have feelings….for…Impossible!  It is simply not acceptable.  

The honest, questioning voice in his head shrunk back as the denial took hold of him once again.  She is my sister -  and a good friend.

He then thought back to the last intimate conversation the two of them had, when she encouraged him to move on from Hisana.  She had wanted him to be happy after seeing him pine for his late wife, her sister.  

I cannot put this off any longer, he thought to himself as he called for a hell butterfly.

OlOlOlOlOlOlO

Rukia and Byakuya sat in the dining room of the Kuchiki manor finishing up their evening meal.  

The conversation stopped short when they heard voices coming from the hallway.  Then an older man appeared in the doorway.

"Byakuya-sama, I am here as you requested," said the man.  "I received the butterfly just a few hours ago."

"Wasaki, I'm glad you had the time to come," said Byakuya.  "Please come in and close the door behind you.  I don't need unwanted ears listening to us."

"Nii-sama, should I go?" asked Rukia, trying to respect her brother's obvious wish for privacy.

"No Rukia, stay.  I would not be having this meeting if it weren't for your encouragement," answered Byakuya.

"What do you need, Byakuya-sama?" asked Wasaki.  

"I have decided that it is time to once again seek companionship," said Byakuya.  

"Byakuya-sama….really?  I have been waiting so long to hear you say that again after the passing of your wife," said Wasaki.  "You know there is still no heir and at some point you would need to marry once again."

Rukia smiled knowing that it was her encouragement that put him on this path.  Although he was such a strong man in most aspects, he would need a lot of courage to move on from Hisana.

"Wasaki, I am telling you this in confidence," explained Byakuya.  "I do not want word to get out that I am dating again.  I am not blind to what most families – noble or not – would do to be connected to the Kuchiki clan.  I want to start slow…and discretely.  And, I warn you, do not push.  This is more of a trial than anything else."  

"Of course," said Wasaki.

"Let's begin with a list and profile of the women who might meet the requirements," said Byakuya.

Rukia listened with interest.  She felt a little bad that finding another companion wouldn't necessarily be easy for Byakuya.  He could, of course, bump into another love of his life.  But since he was a captain, it wasn't likely.  He was far too busy for such occurrences to just happen.  Then there was the fact that he was now the head of the family.  He may as well start with the ladies who were noble and would be considered acceptable by the family so that he didn't have to battle the elders as he had done with Hisana.  

"You will have the information you need by tomorrow evening when you arrive home," said Wasaki.  

"Again, Wasaki.  I want discretion," said Byakuya.

Wasaki bowed and exited the room.

"Nii-sama, you are going through with it!" said Rukia.  "I'm so proud of you!"

"Rukia, just the thought of this process takes my energy away.  I hope it is all worth it in the end.  I'm not looking forward to this," said Byakuya.

"Oh it will be, nii-sama.  I promise you," replied Rukia.  She was only hoping for his happiness.

OlOlOlOlOlOlO

The next evening, instead of going for a walk as he normally did, Byakuya went to his study after dinner to go through the papers Wasaki had dropped off.  He sat there at his desk turning page after page, not feeling satisfied whatsoever.  He found himself reading the same sentence over and over as his mind wandered back to the white orb and what it meant.

Rukia knew what Byakuya's plans for the evening were and decided to check in on him after a while.  She knocked on his door.  "Nii-sama?"

"Enter, Rukia," he said.

"How goes the search?" she asked.  

"Not very well, I'm afraid.  Perhaps I was hasty…," he admitted.  

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"None of these women are even remotely interesting to me," said Byakuya.  "They are either husband-hunting, fortune-hunting, boring, high-maintenance, inactive…"  He sighed.

"Let me see," she said, taking the profiles out of his hand and flipping through them.  Then she made a face in jest.

Byakuya saw the face and let himself grin at her.  He knew she was just kidding around.  It was so nice to have someone he could be with who was there for him…no titles, no formality, no having to watch what he said, no spying…he could truly just be himself with her.  I wish one of these profiles was like her, he thought to himself.  As soon as he thought it, he found himself a bit defensive.  I so enjoy being with Rukia.  Is there a way…  No, stop thinking that way, it's impossible.  He wasn't even willing to entertain it.  If he even dared to think it, he stopped himself.

"Here's one that isn't so bad, nii-sama," said Rukia holding up one piece of paper.  "What don't you try a date with her?"

Byakuya grabbed the paper and looked at it.  "Yuka Saito," he said.  Byakuya stared at the paper for a while.  "Rukia, she is from a lesser noble house.  You don't think she would just be looking for marriage to a nobler clan?"

"Nii-sama, frankly I can't see much of a difference between most of these women.  I can't really weed out the ones who might be genuine vs. the ones who might be golddiggers.  You have to start somewhere, so start with her," said Rukia.

"Ok, Rukia.  I will set something up for tomorrow then," said Byakuya.

"Good for you," said Rukia.  

OlOlOlOlOlOlO

Rukia received a message from Byakuya the next day while she worked at squad 13.  Instead of their usual dinner together, Byakuya would be inviting Miss Saito to dine with him instead.  Rukia had expected this and had already decided to dine with 3rd seat Kotetsu after work that evening.

Rukia returned to the manor pretty late and went straight to her room to take a nice hot bath and relax.  She changed into a light sleeping yukata and relaxed on the bed for a while.  But she wasn't tired and decided to take a walk in the garden to pass some time.  

As she wandered the garden, she noted that the sakura trees had started to bloom.  She took in the sweet smell and noted that it really smelled like her brother - Byakuya always had the air of sakura about him. It's probably because of his zanpakto, she thought to herself.  After all, a zanpakto is a part of his or her Shinigami and his is essentially sakura petals.  It's no wonder that is what he smells like.

Since she was thinking about Byakuya anyway, she wondered how dinner went earlier this evening.  Was this woman going to work out for Byakuya?  On one hand, Rukia was dedicated to his happiness - he had done so much for her.  He had, in a way, become her project.  She wanted to see him move on.  He had cried over Hisana for entirely too long.  But she also recognized a twinge of jealously as well.  She had enjoyed the newfound closeness with her brother and loved being able to spend time with him.  A new woman in his life would change all that.  

Stop worrying, Rukia.  You have no idea what happened earlier this evening.

"Rukia?" said a voice from the dark in front of her.

"Nii-sama, what are you doing up so late?" asked Rukia.  "And you are sitting in the dark."

"I am just thinking," he replied.  "And I am enjoying the garden."

"I think if you were not in the Gotei 13, you would spend all day in this garden," Rukia replied.

She walked up to where he was and sat down next to him on a bench.  "How was your dinner?"

"Tolerable," was his reply.  

"That doesn't sound good," she observed.

"I'm afraid the company I shared did not have its usual charm."

Rukia blushed slightly knowing he was now comparing his date to her.  

"I guess a second date will not be happening then?" asked Rukia.

"She had the personality of a doorknob," answered Byakuya flatly.  Rukia giggled at his analogy.  "Every time I asked her about herself, she turned the conversation back to me.  She was as shallow as a puddle – there was nothing to her at all.  Even the most basic questions were never answered…so much for having a meaningful conversation."

"It was just bad luck, nii-sama," said Rukia.

"I told you many of the women will be like this," said Byakuya.  "They are trained by their families to find husbands who are nobler than they are.  So they do everything to please the man.  I find women with no interests and no personalities tiresome."

"Well, it's over now," she comforted him.  "I'm glad you tried.  You never know where happiness may lie."

"I don't know, Rukia.  I don't want to waste my time.  Perhaps….," Byakuya said as he was interrupted.

"Nii-sama, please try one more time.  You and I can pick the next candidate together tomorrow and set something up the evening after," said Rukia.

"Very well.  For you, Rukia.  I will try once more," he agreed.

OlOlOlOlOlO

Rukia and Byakuya went through the profiles once again and picked a new woman for Byakuya to dine with.  Her name was Akiko Mikasa and her family was of a better status than Yuko Saito.  Rukia noted that her profile actually provided some of her hobbies and interests, so she thought that perhaps she would be more open to discussing herself rather than always turning her attention to her brother.  Rukia also banked on Miss Mikasa's status being high enough that her strategy would not be solely about marrying into the Kuchiki clan.  

As they had planned, Miss Mikasa came to dinner two nights after Miss Saito had.  Rukia, in turn, went out to dinner with Rangiku.  

As had happened two nights before, Rukia returned home at a relatively late time.  However, this time she walked straight to the garden.  If Byakuya was once again moping there, chances are the dinner did not go well.  

She wandered for a few minutes before she found Byakuya sitting in her favorite spot under the sakura tree near the bridge and the koi pond.  When she saw him, she just bowed her head, defeated.

"Nii-sama, what happened this time?" she asked.

"Miss Mikasa did have several of the qualities that Miss Saito lacked.  She definitely speaks more about herself.  There was only one problem," said Byakuya.  

"Oh?  What?" asked Rukia.

"I couldn't get a word in edgewise," said Byakuya.  "She was quite the opposite of Miss Saito.  All she did was talk about herself – her plans, her family, what she liked to do.  Rukia, I don't think that a woman who grates me this much just by sitting at my dining table talking is going to work out."

"I guess not," said Rukia.  "So let's go back tot the study and…."

"No," said Byakuya.  "I didn't care for any of those women.  They all seem wrong for me."

"But nii-sama, isn't it better to have an imperfect woman by your side rather than to have no one?" asked Rukia.

"I do not have no one.  I have you," stated Byakuya hastily.

Rukia drew back at that last statement.  

"Rukia, you know what I'm referring to.  You are my sister and one of my best friends.  I enjoy the time we have spent together after the war.  I am no longer lonely or sad and you had quite a lot to do with it," Byakuya explained.

Now that Rukia understood a bit better, she approached her brother and hugged his waistline.  "Nii-sama, I feel the same way.  I'm glad that I can be there for you."  

"Rukia, I promise not to pine for Hisana any longer," said Byakuya.  "Can I please stop dating based on those profiles?"

Rukia giggled.  "Hai, nii-sama.  If it is that much of a burden on you, you should stop.  I just thought finding a companion would make you happy."

"Rukia, I am happier now than I have been in 50 years," said Byakuya.  "If I happen to fall in love like normal people do, so be it.  But I consider myself lucky just to have you by my side for now."