Why?
Why was I able to run across someone this important?
Holding on to these fingers that they almost hurt,
I see the dream that had disappeared into sadness
Farewell, solitaire
konnani daiji na hito ni doushite meguri aetano to
itai hodo tsunagu yubi de sabishi sa kienu yume wo miru no
sayonara solitia
-Sayonara Solitaire from Chrono Crusade
"What could they mean?"
Thoughts ran through Rukia's head as she flipped through an old photo album she found up in the attic when she and Tatsuki cleaned it the day before. Rukia sighed. "Aggrh! This doesn't help me at all! They could at least label these pictures! How's anybody supposed to remember these people?"
She flipped through more pages. "Is this even myfamily? They look nothing like me!" She stopped at a certain page. Birth certificates. Two copies. The names were faded, but Rukia could make one out. "Byakuya..." Rukia whispered in disbelief.
Suddenly, she heard Momo shout from downstairs. "Oi! Rukia, come on! We're goin' out to eat! Hurry up or we'll leave you here with Inoue's cooking!" Rukia could faintly hear Inoue yelling, "Hey!" She smiled slightly. "Okay. I'll..." She cast another glance at the photo album. "Be down in a minute."
She left the album wide open.
Kyoto, Japan
1:47 P.M
"Roka-sensei!" A young woman, about the age of twenty, called out. She wore a white dress and brown loafers. The standard uniform for the nurses of Kyoto Hospital. Her dark hair was pulled up into a spiky bun, and her name tag read the name, 'Senna'.
"Yes, Senna-chan?" The man known as Roka asked kindly. He was a man who looked like he was in his late forties to early fifties. He had black hair, and dark, almost purple eyes.
Senna smiled slightly at him, and asked concernedly, "Did you try to find them? Again? Sir, you know, after all these years... the chances of them still living in Kyoto... are slim. They could be anywhere. From Okinawa to New York. California to Hawaii."
Roka's eyes fell. "It's been twenty-one years. And I still remember Rukia and Hisana perfectly." He laughed suddenly, bitterly. "It's all Hikaru's fault, ya know? If she hadn't..."
"Roka-sama!" Another nurse suddenly yelled. The man turned. "What is it, Yumi?" The blond girl known as Yumi looked at her boss, brown eyes blinking happily. "We got a report from Karakura Hosptal. Ya wanna take a look at 'em?"
Roka sighed tiredly.
"Sure."
"The chances of finding them are slim."
"I know, Senna. I know."
"Hello?" Ichigo said into his cell phone.
"Hey, Kurosaki-kun!" Came Inoue's loud voice. "The girl's and I are headin' out to lunch. Wanna join?"
Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Inoue, its 2:30. Old people are already having dinner. And it depends; is it justthe girls?" Inoue laughed lightly on the other line. "Its a late lunch. Or an early dinner. Its a linner! Ooh! Or, you could call it a dunch! But that sounds weird... how about-"
"Inoue, get to the point!" Ichigo sighed tiredly. Inoue was such a ditz.
"No. No one else but us. You coming or not?" Ichigo could hear the impatience dripping from her words. "Well Inoue," He started sarcastically, "As much as I'd love to, I can't. Finals are next week and I actually study, unlike some people."
Inoue "Hmphed" on the other line. "Well, fine, then! You know, you and Rukia are exactly the same! Both wanting to study instead of doing something fun! I'll see you tomorrow, alright Ich?" Ichigo nodded, even though Inoue couldn't see it. "Bye."
Ichigo had barely gotten two minutes into studying when his phone rang again. "Hello?" He said through grit teeth. The voice on the other end laughed happily. "Is that anyway to treat your favorite cousin?" The woman chirped, and laughed some more.
Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "Senna." He growled out her name. "I don't have time for you. Bye." He was about to hang up, when... "WAIT!" Ichigo put the phone back to his ear. "What?" There was a moment of silence.
"Open your door."
Ichigo looked at his phone incredulously. "What? Why? Is a giant purple elephant gonna appear and attack me? Again?"
Senna gasped. "That isn't fair, Ichi! You know as well as I do that I didn't plan that! It was your dad! And besides, it was your thirteenth birthday, we had to make it special. Now, OPEN YOUR DOOR NOW!"
Ichigo threw his phone on the floor. "Okay, okay..." He put his hand on the door knob and grumbled, "I hate my family. My dad and cousin are psycho, Yuzu is way too nice, and Karin's way to..." He thought for a minute. "Like me."
Ichigo shrugged, and opened his door. "Ichi!" And then he was tackled to the ground, his twenty-year old cousin straddling him. "Ichi! Hi! Oh my goodness, look at you! You're so tall! Probably taller than me! We haven't seen each other since we were what, fourteen?" Ichigo pushed her off.
Senna smiled joyfully. "So, this is your place, huh? Its a dump. Then again, it is inhabited by a member of the male species." She whistled lowly. "Ya know, this drab old apartment would look so much better if you had a splash of hot pi-"
"Don't even think about it."
Senna pouted. "You're no fun." Ichigo glared harder at his cousin. "And you're annoying." She smiled gleefully. "I know. It comes from your dad's side of the family. I'm his sister's daughter, remember? Then again, I saw that family tree you made in third grade," She looked at him. "It was pitiful."
Ichigo groaned. "Sen, not that I'm not thrilled to see you, but what're you doing here?"
Senna shrugged. "I was in Kyoto, working as a nurse. And..."
"Already? You're already a nurse?" Senna nodded. "Yup! I thought I told you, I graduated last year! Ha, I geuss it just slipped my mind!" Ichigo looked at her, disbelief in his eyes. "You know, for someone smart enough to graduate med school at nineteen, you're pretty stupid."
Senna rolled her eyes. "Like I was saying, I was in Kyoto, but then your dad called my boss, Dr. Roka Kusaka, who told him to send me out to Karakura to..."
"Wait wait wait," Ichigo said suddenly, cutting Senna off. "Did you say, 'Kusaka?"
The dark-haired woman nodded.
"Yeah. Why?"
It was almost 2AM when Rukia, Inoue, Momo, and Tatsuki finally got home.
Momo and Inoue were passed out in the back seat, while Tatsuki was just drunk. Rukia was the only sober one, thus the responsible driver.
She looked at her friends and groaned, contemplating on weather to leave them in the car and have there hangovers kill them in the morning, or be a good friend and break her back hauling them into the house.
Rukia sighed. She made up her mind.
"Bye, guys."
A/N: End of ch. 6.
In case you guys are confused, here's a little family tree thingy.
Byakuya and Mitsuki:
Parents:
Mom: Tsukiko Kuchiki
Dad: Kaitou Kuchiki
Stepmom: Hikaru
Hisana and Rukia:
Parents:
Mom: Hikaru Kusaka
Dad: Roka Kusaka
Hope that helped!
And YES Senna is Ichigo's cousin.
I like her character, so I wanted to put her in the story,
just not pose her as a threat to Ichigo and Rukia's relationship.
-TMU
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