"Get up. Now." Kaitou said icily.
Byakuya watched in horror as Rukia tried desperately to get up, coughing up blood.
"Didn't you hear me the first time? Get up!" Kaitou said, colder, if possible.
He kicked Rukia and she fell over, blood dripping out of her mouth.
"Bastard..." Rukia said, smirking as she saw Kaitou's reaction.
"What'd you say you worthless little bitch?" The man shouted, lifting his foot up for another kick.
Rukia yelped as the foot connected with her head.
Byakuya couldn't take it anymore. "Stop!" He said, moving to Rukia.
The seventeen-year old, although he wouldn't admit it, felt guilty. He had made a promise, and broken it. It had been broken for the past five years.
FLASHBACK
"Hisana, you can't do this! Think about me and Rukia! Byakuya said as he watched his sister wipe away the last of her tears.
"I'm sorry Byakuya. I can't take it anymore!" Hisana cried, fingering the poison-filled vile in her hands.
Byakuya looked down. "There's no stopping you... is there?"
Hisana smiled sadly. "No," She put a comforting hand on Byakuya's shoulder. "Just do me this one favor... Promise me..."
"What?" Byakuya asked, still looking down, wondering if he was still a baby in his crib, dreaming about the past twelve years.
Hisana sighed deeply. "Promise me, you'll always protect Rukia. The only reason that bastard hated us was because we looked like mom! Once I'm gone you know he'll focus on her!" Hisana said.
It was true, Hikaru Kuchiki, Hisana, Rukia, and Byakuya's mother, had died from an illness. And Rukia and Hisana were her sheer images, only younger.
Hisana stood, looking at Byakuya silently. Then, she started humming.
Soon, she was singing.
"A statue stands in a shaded place... an angel girl with an upturned face... her name is written on a polished rock... a broken heart that the world forgot..." Hisana cleared her throat.
"Goodbye, Byakuya." She cast a glance at the sleeping Rukia.
"Bye, Ru-chan." Hisana whispered, and then dumped the poisonous contents from her hand, into her mouth.
And right before she died, Hisana whispered one more thing.
"Y-You won't f-forget, will y-you? Ne, Bya...ku...ya...?
FLASHBACK
"Bya...ku...ya..." Rukia whispered, passing out.
Kaitou looked down at the two teenagers.
"You wanna help her?"
Byakuya nodded slowly, knowing what was coming.
The seventeen year old yelped as Kaitou held his head down with his foot.
Byakuya's eyes' widened as he saw Kaitou pick up a kitchen kinife.
Then, he smiled. With all the commotion his death would cause, Kaitou would temporarily forget Rukia.
Byakuya closed his eyes almost peacfully, waiting for the sharp pain. Very soon he would see Hisana and Hikaru.
And the next morning, Rukia awoke in the hospital...alone.
After class that day, Tatsuki and Momo talked quietly outside of class.
"...And she's also in the hospital. Burglary my ass. What kind of burglur steals nothing but beats up a fifteen-year old girl within an inch of her life, and stabs their brother? Makes no sense." Tatsuki said, putting her hands on her hips.
Momo nodded. "Yeah... and what's with th-" Momo stopped as a certain aburn girl and strawberry blonde girl walked up.
"Ohayou!" Rangiku said cheerfully.
"What's going on?" Orihime asked Tatsuki.
"You didn't hear? It's all over school! Apperantly someone broke into Kuchiki's place but nothing got stolen," Momo said. "But Rukia's in the hospital, and her brother Byakuya's dead. Got stabbed. Eight times." The peach-girl finished.
"WHAT?" Rangiku screeched. She and Byakuya had dated for a short time, and were good friends even after the break-up.
Rangiku had always been worried about Byakuya's injuries, and asked him about it frequently.
But he would just brush her off and stoically say, like he always did, "It's nothing of your concern, Rangiku." She knew something was going on, but stayed out of it.
Now this happend?
Rangiku willed herself not to cry; Byakuya would hate that.
She remembered that stupid grin... the first and last she ever saw. It was the day they met.
"Ha Ha! Ran-chan's a crybaby!" Byakuya laughed, the seven-year old pointing a finger at the young girl.
Rangiku wiped mud and tears from her eyes. "I'm not crying! Jerk!"
He and his friends had been coursing through the playground.
He "accidentally" pushed Rangiku in a puddle of mud.
She was so mad. So, like all seven year olds do, got him back.
"Who's the crybaby now? Eh, Byakuya-kun?" Rangiku asked, pushing Byakuya into the same mud puddle Rangiku fell in the day before.
He had started to cry,{I know very un-Byakuya ish. But he's seven. What'd you expect?} and Rangiku, unlike Byakuya had been the previous day, felt guilty.
"Hey...you alright?" Rangiku asked, concerned.
Suddenly the sobbing stopped, and Byakuya looked up, grinning stupidly.
"Gotch'a!"
Rangiku smiled sadly.
She knew it would be the last one for a while.
Rukia awoke to the beeping of heart moniters.
Hospital...again? What'd that bastard do now? Rukia thought bitterly.
Although the hospital was the only place besides school where Rukia wasn't really afraid, she still didn't like it.
"Oh, good, you're up!" A nurse said as she walked in.
"Unohana-san?" Rukia remembered the nurse from her last visit at Karakura Hospital, when she broke her leg "skateboarding".
It wasn't a total lie, Kaitou did try to smash Rukia's head in with a skateboard. And, it gave her an excuse for the bruises.
"W-where's nii-sama?" Rukia asked, suddenly fearing the answer.
Unohana frowned. "You probably passed out before it happened... but... Byakuya-kun is... he's dead, Rukia."
The words played in Rukia's head for what seemed like forever. Dead. Never coming back. Gone forever. Byakuya was dead.
"Byakuya...is...dead...?" Rukia said. It was more of a statement then question.
Unohana nodded. "Yeah. But... none of your stuff was stolen. I geuss those robbers bailed after they killed Byakuya."
"Anyway, Rukia-chan, you have to stay here for another two weeks, just to heal a little more. After you leave though, I suggest another few days off from school." Unohana said, smiling warmly.
"I'll go get the doctor. He'll do a checkup." Unohana finished.
"Miyako-dono?" Rukia asked hopefully. Miyako was like the mother Rukia never had.
Unohana shook her head. "Nope. She's out sick. And I said he, didn't I? There's another doctor who came in because of our shortage of staff. He runs a clinic a few blocks away. His name's Isshin Kurosaki. I think you'll like him. H-!"
Unohana was cut off as the front door jerked open, revealing a man, about forty, with somewhat spiky brown hair.
"Ohayou, Kurosaki-san." Unohana said, sweatdropping.
"Ohayou, Unohana-san! Is this the lovley Kuchiki-san?" Isshin asked, looking Rukia over.
"H-hai." The Kuchiki girl stuttered out. "You can call me Rukia."
"Alright Rukia-chan! The checkup'll start in a few minutes, Unohana-san, can you help me?"
Unohana once again smiled that warm smile Rukia had grown so accustomed to. "Sure."
"Why are you so late?"
Isshin froze as he walked in his livingroom.
12:00 AM. Oh crap.
"Ichigo. I think the question is why are you still up!" Isshin said, turning on his son.
Ichigo looked at his father, a scowl on his face.
"Alright. The hospital was pretty busy alright? And there was this one girl I wanted to..."
"Can you stop thinking of women for three minutes, idiot!"
Isshin narrowed his eyes. "Not what I meant! I wanted to do a background check. She had these bruises... and her father claimed their house was broken into. There are bruises and cuts much older than just two days ago. Not only that, but there was no sign of forced entry. House was a mess, but that's it."
"Wait, two days ago?" Ichigo asked.
"Yeah. What of it?" Isshin asked.
Ichigo then remembered something Tatsuki told him.
"Oi, Tatsuki."
The black-haired girl turned.
"What?"
Ichigo looked at the empty chair in front of him.
"Where's Kuchiki?"
Tatsuki's eye's widened. "You didn't hear? Her house was broken into! Her brother's dead, and she's in the hospital, but nothing was stolen. Weird, huh?"
Ichigo looked back to the desk. He hadn't really talked to Rukia before, but he knew her, and they were somewhat friends.
"Yeah...sure."
Rukia sighed deeply and fingered one of the white roses out of a boquet Momo and Tatsuki gave her.
They were beautiful, but roses withered fast. She had to save at least one for Byakuya's grave.
She looked at the vase of lillies from Orihime, and the daisies from Rangiku.
She had such thoughtful friends.
No one else, though.
Hisana. Dead.
Okaasan. Dead.
Byakuya. Dead.
Rukia sighed.
His blood was shed.
Shed for her.
To protect her.
All for her.
A/N: Now, I'm sorry for killing Byakuya, but it was necissary.
Don't kill me, because he comes back. No, not back to life, but his death plays a big role in this story.
And maybe... just maybe... I'll do a special chapter at the end for Byakuya lovers (like myself)!
Review.
...Please?
-T.M.U
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