Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ 30Kisses ❯ The Haunting ( Chapter 14 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

He first notices on their wedding night.

"I'll . . . distract Baker. Renji . . . three of you steal water . . . " Hisana tosses her head back, a sheen of sweat over her features.

Is she dreaming of the past? The names are unfamiliar, but there were so many things about his bride that he doesn't know.

It doesn't matter. They have forever to share these things.



"Did you know you talk in your sleep?"

Hisana looks up, then blushes prettily. "I do?"

He nods. "Last night, I believe you were talking about your past. You and . . . Renji, I think the name was, were planning to rob a storekeeper of his water." He tilts his head to look her in the eye. "Who's Renji?"

But she simply looks confused. "Renji? I don't know anyone by that name."



Byakuya grows used to his wife's nocturnal habits, listening as she describes a world he has never known. These figments begin to take a life of their own, more vivid than the slow, contemplative pace dictated by the Kuchiki elders. Sometimes, he wonders if these dreams are a subconscious plea for freedom on Hisana's part, an escape from the stiff, formal home he has caged her in. Yet, she seems so happy during the day, he feels too ashamed to ever bring up his doubts.



Time passes. Something is not right with Hisana; she is prone to debilitating headaches and migraines. Hysteria hiss the elders, always ready to find fault with his proletariat wife. Exhaustion dismisses Captain Unohana, telling him to make sure she isn't trying to hard. He bows silently to both, then returns to his smiling wife, never letting her know of the controversy that surrounds her.

Still, they are happy. They ignore the insolent rumors that follow their marriage. Instead, they share moonlit walks, meals and beds, shielded by their love. And when Hisana, with pride, announces that she is carrying the next Kuchiki heir, Byakuya thinks that life could not be more perfect.



The fever isn't going down.

He mops her brow with a new cloth, hoping to provide her with some relief. A servant has already been sent for Captain Unohana; he can only hope she will last till then. What had started as a simple cold has blossomed into a ravaging infection that now threatens the life of both his wife and his unborn child.

She begins to murmur in her delirium. "Hisana?" he bends closer to hear her words.

Her eyes snap open and her voice is suddenly quite strong. "We're from Inuzuri. We're here to become Shinigami."

"What?"

"His name's Renji. I'm Rukia." She suddenly curls around her stomach and screams. Only after he grabs her shoulders does he notice the blood between her legs.



"I'm sorry," says his wife.

"It's not your fault," he tells her.



"I'm sorry," says Captain Unohana, washing her blood-caked hands. "But it would be dangerous for her to conceive again."

"I understand," he replies and arranges for his possessions to be moved out from her room.



Life goes on and as much as he wants to stay, his duty as 3rd Seat to the 6th Division calls him away from her. It is because of that duty that he meets Her.

He's doing a demonstration on kidou for a class at the Academy. She is seated near the back with some ruffians, and is loud, rude and more vital than his wife even on her best days. When he calls Her up to partner him in the demonstration, Her skills are impressive. After the demonstration, he spends the rest of the day drifting, feeling as though he has seen a ghost.

Years later, he will be mildly offended to learn that She doesn't even remember this first encounter.



"If you would step this way, sempai." He leads Captain Ukitate to the garden. Byakuya's fairly certain that the other has come with the documents for his promotion and he would like his wife to hear it with him. He has already ascertained her location from the servants, and the inner courtyard garden of the Kuchikis, with it's overhanging sakura, would be the perfect place to receive the good news.

She is standing in the middle of the courtyard, with her back to them. As they watch she begins to move, raising her arms and waving her hands in patterns that become increasingly, frighteningly familiar as Byakuya continues to watch. Then she turns and smiles at them.

That is not Hisana's smile.

"Byakuya-kun, isn't that-"

"Ukitate-sempai, would you please fetch Captain Unohana."



"It's simply exhaustion from the recent tragedy. She needs another week of bed rest. And I mean it this time; don't let her out of bed." Captain Unohana is serene as ever, but Byakuya can't help wonder if she's a little annoyed at being constantly called to the Kuchiki residence.

"So she's not . . . "

"She's not mad, Byakuya-san. You might want to consider taking a vacation, however. Being cooped up in this house might not be the best thing for her. I believe it might be setting her nerves on edge."

"Thank you for your time, Captain Unohana."

"Your welcome."

Behind his back, Hypochondria becomes the new catch word among the servants.



"Do you have any relatives?"

She stares up from the bed. "Here? Or do you mean-"

"Here."

She hesitates and tries to hide it by taking a sip of ginger tea. "Yes . . . and no."

His eyes widen in surprise. "It's either one or the other."

"It's complicated," she grimaces. "I came-in Rukon-I had a relative. My younger sister."

"What was her name? What happened to her?"

For the first time, she doesn't let her eyes meet his. "Her name was Rukia. She died in Rukongai."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring you pain."

"It's my own fault." Then softer. "I abandoned her."



The next day he finds her in the garden again, practicing kenjutsu with a stick.



She never does recover. As time went on she loses more and more of herself, either slipping into a daze or acting out a life that never was hers. Byakuya finds it difficult to remember what she had been like when he had married her. A stranger is living in his house and he cannot even mourn the loss.

"Hisana," he says, holding her hand gently. "There's something I've been keeping from you."

"What is it?" she gasps.

"Your sister . . . she's alive. She's here in Seireitai, training to be a Shinigami."

A moment of stunned silence passes, and for an instant he thinks she might rise from the bed and strike him down in fury. Then the life fadedfrom her eyes again.

"Byakuya-sama . . . " Her fingers tighten for a moment, then release. "Please find my sister."



The next day he adopts Rukia into the Kuchiki family.