Another Step Forward Chapter 29

Rukia took in a deep breath as she stared at the grand mansion she hadn't seen in over ten years. And she never imagined she'd be this nervous to walk inside again.

After several minutes of stalling, Rukia finally mustered up the courage to ring the bell.

Ding Dong.

"Who is it?" asked a voice through the intercom.

Rukia cleared her voice, "It's me… Rukia."

BUZZ!

One of the gates automatically opened, showing the grand front yard of the mansion. Rukia was hesitant about walking through here but knew she couldn't push this off any longer. After several minutes of slowly walking, she finally made it to the front door, where an elderly maid had already opened it and was waiting for her.

"Hello, Rukia-sama," the maid bowed, "It's good to see you again after all these years."

Rukia bowed back. "Yes, it's great to see you too, Yohana-san."

The maid stepped to the side and gestured with her hand to come in. "Kuchiki-sama is waiting for you in his office."

Rukia nodded as she walked in, automatically noticing that nothing changed even after ten years.

I guess niisama still wants it to seem like Hisana-neesan had never left... Rukia thought to herself. She walked down the long hall, passing by the living room, dining room, library, etc. Finally she stopped in front of a grand, double door that led to Byakuya's office. She hesitantly lifted her arm and knocked.

"…Come in."

Taking one last breath Rukia turned the doorknob and walked in.

And in front of her was the same image of her brother she had seen since she was adopted into his house: Byakuya sitting straight in his chair, looking through the paperwork in front of him.

"Niisama," she bowed, "I came upon your request to see me."

Byakuya, who still hadn't looked up, nodded. "Sit down, Rukia."

"…Hai," she said softly, barely making it to Byakuya's ears.

The two sat in silence with only the rustling of paper and the noises from the pen preventing it from becoming too eerie.

"Rukia."

The said woman slightly jumped in her seat. "H-hai, niisama," she stuttered.

The older brother stopped what he was doing and set the pen down.

Another silence surrounded the two for a few more seconds before he looked up, straight into her violet eyes.

"Rukia," Byakuya continued, "Why haven't you informed me of your children?"

Rukia looked at her fidgeting hands, unable to look straight at his face. "I knew you wouldn't approve of them—"

"Of course not!" he suddenly shouted, displaying way more emotion than Rukia has ever seen. "Do you even realize how disgraceful it is to have children out of wedlock?"

"Thus I did not tell you."

Byakuya sighed and leaned back in his chair. "If this information gets out, the marriage proposal from the other noble will get retracted—"

"And I don't mind it at all. I love my children and I will just raise them myself with Ichigo. Besides, I did not come here to talk about them but to discuss about Aizen—"

"Since when did you learn to talk BACK TO ME?"

Rukia winced from the shock of her brother's outburst. He barely raised his voice when he talked, but when he did, it was mostly because something wasn't going the way he planned and he was very irritated about it.

"Niisama—"

"You shall leave the children behind and marry Aizen in less than two months from now. Everything has already been arranged with the other party," he announced.

Rukia looked up with wide eyes. "Wha—what do you mean… marry that stranger? And leave…" she gulped, "…my children?"

Byakuya calmed down and looked at her with cold eyes. "Exactly; leave them with their relatives and disown them."

"NEVER!"

"OR ELSE!" he yelled back, "They shall be in grave danger."

Rukia slowly stood up with a horrid expression. "What are you planning on doing to my children?"

Her brother shook his head. "Though I might disapprove of them, I shall not harm my nephew or my niece."

She still felt insecure and took a step back. "Then what are you talking about?"

With a sigh, Byakuya stood up and walked towards the window. "They," he emphasized, "Will not let them be."

"They—who are they?" Rukia asked.

He turned around and looked into his sister's eyes, "The elders of our clan."

Rukia gasped. "They wouldn't dare—"

"They did it to Hisana," Byakuya continued, "They can surely do it to two little children."

Rukia couldn't listen anymore. No. She didn't want to listen anymore. She turned around and ran out the door.

Byakuya watched his sister's silhouette disappear down the hall. He closed his eyes and sat down on his chair. When he opened his eyes he looked intently at the picture in front of him. It was a picture of him, when he was younger, with his fiancée, Hisana, who was the biological sister of Rukia. They were set to marry but the clan elders didn't approve of her so they got 'rid' of her. He never found out what really happened to Hisana, but she was gone and it seemed like she never existed. Rukia found out about this truth not long before she moved to Karakura. To be honest, this was one of the main reasons why she went back to Yume-san. She could no longer deal with the nobles and their laws.

And now, Rukia's children were in trouble. She ran down the hallway as fast as she could. She just wanted to go back to Karakura where her children were waiting for her along with Isshin, Karin and Yuzu, and… Ichigo. She wanted to see him. She wanted him to hold her and never let her go. Rukia needed to go home.

As soon as she saw the front door, Rukia grasped the handle trying hard to open it but it was locked. She cringed as tears threatened to spill. "Please! Open up!" she shouted, desperately trying to open the door with both hands. Suddenly a large hand grabbed hers, yanking her away from the door. With teary eyes Rukia looked up to see her brother looking at her apologetically.

"Niisama…," her voice sounding weak as heavy tears fell.

Byakuya further pulled his sister away from the door. "Rukia… I'm sorry."



A/N: If you read my note at the top of the page, you'll agree with what I said about this chapter. I wanted Byakuya to seem strict but still caring for Rukia, although it seems like he's just an ass here. But I still like him!

Now... how will Ichigo feel about this? Read the next chapter and find out, NOW!

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