Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Your Memory is My Revenge ❯ The Site ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any Bleach affiliates.

 

 

Chapter 6

 

“The 12th Squad Captain was here today at Byakuya's bidding. The two attempted to speak so I could not hear them, but I heard… I seem to hear everything these days.

 

I am dying and there is no cure.

 

I am not sad, dear reader… no, not sad at all. I truly believe that my time in the Soul Society has been spent to the fullest extent. I worked as a peasant, I was chosen by a prince, and I have spent my last years trying to find my little sister.

 

Well, perhaps I am a little sad. Sad that I could not find her, sad that I will not live to see her face, sad to think that she will never know me.

 

I have spoken to Byakuya. I told him how important she is to me, and if she is alive, I would wish for her to be able to call him “brother” as I have no right to call her “sister.”

 

My dear Rukia, my last days seemed to be consumed with thoughts of you. I am forever shamed at abandoning you as I did in Rukongai, it is a weight I shall never get off of my chest no matter how many lives I live. I remember your sweet face, your cherry red cheeks, your bubbling giggle, and your little fingers.

 

I remember how you cried when I set you down and walked away.

 

Sadly, it is all I can remember of you, as you are not with me and I have not gotten a chance to know the wonderful woman you have become.

 

And it is my fault.”

 

Rukia had to take a train to reach Aomori Port, then she had to take a bus to reach the villages outside of it, then she had to find a tourist office to tell her where she was, then she had to ask locals if there were any small villages with fragrant trees and small streams nearby.

 

The journey to the village she was looking for took her nearly an entire day, by its end she was highly exhausted, her feet were burning from the walking she had done and her stomach was growling at its lack of substantial food.

 

She would, however, rather be stuck in a desert, have her eyes gouged out and have buzzards feeding on her innards rather than have these people stare at her the way they were.

 

It gave Rukia chills. As she walked down the streets of a dusty but charming little town, hundreds of pairs of eyes were fastened on her, following her, whispering behind her.

 

Rukia swallowed uncomfortably and she quickened her pace, eager to get to the nearest hotel she could find, away from all the strange activities of the village people. The whispers grew louder and louder as she passed more and more people, some of them had even gone so far as to begin to follow her.

 

After a few more moments Rukia spotted a little inn near the outskirts of the village. She ran towards it without abandon. It was a quaint little spot, named The Two Sisters. Rukia clenched her jaw as the presumed affiliation but pushed it to the side.

 

The inn itself was delightful—despite the negative connotations of the name—and was surrounded and shaded by trees blossoming with new flowers. A small fountain in the form of Fukurokuju, the god of luck, wisdom and longevity, stood in front of the lovely building and spouted crystal clear water that sparkled in the sun. The building was only two floors and did not look very large, but the obvious charm far outweighed its fragile size. In only a moment Rukia breathed a sigh of relief and dove into its cooled depths.

 

The inside was just as cute as the outside. The reception area was artfully cluttered; little trinkets, glass bottles, flowers, paintings, candles, and embroidered tapestries covered the walls. Leafy green plants were placed in the window, allowing the small amounts of sun that escaped the trees outside to filter through the leaves and tint the entire room green.

 

Rukia smiled softly as little flakes of dust floated into the sun and sparkled. She pulled a strand of hair behind her ear and breathed in the slightly musty—but homey—scent.

 

A sound of a bell dinged and a door opened near the back. “Hello, welcome to The Two Sisters, can I… can I… help… you?”

 

An old woman had come through a door near the back; she was dressed in a formal kimono and had her hair pulled back into a tight bun.

 

Rukia smiled sweetly at the woman and said, “I'd like to rent a room for a night or two,” she paused and frowned, “Well, I don't know how long I'll be staying, is it alright if I can rent as I go?”

 

The woman nodded, her eyes widened in surprise. She turned slightly, never taking her eyes off of Rukia's face; her frail fingers grabbed a key attached to a large tab with a number three on it. Rukia smiled at the woman and took the key, after a moment she muttered `thank you' and hoisted her backpack onto her shoulders and began her short trip up the stairs.

 

She entered her room and smiled at the comfy feeling she received from the space. It was nothing like the Kuchiki House, which was just so large and empty. This room contained incense, charms, plants, and instead of a futon—which she expected—she saw a large, western style bed covered with squishy pillows and a huge blanket. Rukia poked it with her finger and watched as the indentation sprang back.

 

Raising her eyebrows in appreciation, Rukia sat on the edge for a moment and attempted to draw a breath, as she was still uncertain of what exactly she was doing here in the first place.

 

Was it because of Hisana? Was she trying to get a better feel for her long lost sister in the place where she—they—had died? What was she planning to do here anyway? She was completely out of her jurisdiction as far as the Soul Society was concerned, she could even get a suspended sentence for leaving the city.

 

Although, oddly enough, Rukia could care less what her captain (or her brother) could do to her if they found her gone. She was old enough to make her own decisions, and this was one of them.

 

And then there was the issue with a certain substitute Soul Reaper…

 

There was a slight knock on her door and Rukia looked up, desperate to get her mind off of anything that had to do with him, “Come in.” She said clearly.

 

The door creaked open and the old woman who had given her a room popped her head inside. “Miss? Are your accommodations to your liking?”

 

“Oh yes,” Rukia said, getting up from the bed. “It's quite comfortable, I like the western style bedding, I've never slept in one so it should be interesting.”

 

“Yes, I find that most people think they are very comfortable.” The old lady murmured.

 

Silence hardened the space in between them. The older woman was simply standing there, watching Rukia's face—as she shifted uncomfortably beneath her gaze.

 

“Ma'am,” Rukia said after a moment, “Do you happen to know if there are any streams nearby?”

 

The woman's eyes widened suddenly and she nodded emphatically. “Yes, yes! There is a stream about two miles away, it is quite a beautiful spot, and it has quite a tragic history behind it.”

 

Rukia's smile tensed and she felt her teeth clench, her heart raced a bit faster and her fingers tightened in the front of her dress. “Yes, I've… I've heard that, but I would like to see it anyway.”

 

The woman's smile brightened even more, “Yes! Yes! And after you visit, you can eat and I can tell you the story of the stream! If you would like me to, that is…”

 

Rukia nodded quietly “Yes, I would like that.” She bowed, “Thank you.”

 

The woman bowed as well and stepped back to allow the young girl to exit the room. She watched as the young woman left the room, a leather bound book clutched in her hands.

 

Rukia hurried down the steps and rushed out the door, trying to avoid all of the stares she was receiving from the people congregated around the small inn.

 

Springing to life, Rukia bound forward, breaking into a sprint and running in the direction of the stream.

 

In the village, a mother clutched onto her small daughter, propped in her arms. She looked down at the tiny girls face and nodded towards the woman running towards the stream.

 

“You see, Hiromi?” She murmured, “I told you… they said Hisana would come back to the village, and she did, the legend came true. She came back.”

 

“Hai, mama.” Hiromi said, smiling beatifically. “She came back. No more dying people.”

 

 

It took Rukia a mere fifteen minutes to get to the stream. She should have walked, given the unsteady path ahead of her, but she didn't. She needed to get there. She needed to see it.

 

The sweat on her back was making her dress stick to her skin and her chest was heaving in exhaustion. The sun was hot and beating down on her back although she could see an ominous amount of clouds sweeping in from the North. There was no wind yet the trees seemed to sway before her.

 

Rukia stood, unsure of what to do next. She could hear the stream in front of her, she could see the bright white, yellow, pink, and purple colors that tainted the thick green grass beneath her. She felt the stillness in the air and realized there was no life around her. There were no crickets, there were no birds, there were no flies, she could not even see any gnats.

 

Rukia swallowed with difficulty and unsteadily shuffled forward. Her arms were clutching the diary, which seemed to vibrate in her arms with an unseen power, even tighter.

 

Her feet never left the ground as she crept forward. Her pupils dilated as she felt the unmistakable force of evil radiating from the ground.

 

The diary flew from her white-fisted grip and was slammed onto the ground. Rukia's unseeing gaze stared up at the sky, her knees buckled and she slumped to the ground.

 

For the first time in a long time, Kuchiki Rukia bent her head and cried.

 

 

“Hey, have you seen this girl?” The boy asked as he thrust a picture of a young girl into the ticket attendant's face.

 

The ticket attendant scrunched his eyes and looked at the picture, and then at the boy holding it. He looked quite scary, bright orange hair, an unwavering scowl, and a body so tense he looked like he could snap an iron bar in half.

 

The ticket attendant sighed and squinted at the picture again, yeah… today was a great day to wear his glasses instead of his contacts.

 

“Hey! I'm talkin' to you. Have you seen this girl or not?” The boy pressed the photo closer to the window and his scowl deepened.

 

The attendant rolled his eyes and looked at the picture once more, his mind clicked back to the morning and the strange girl he had sold a ticket to. Where had she been going? Aomori? Was that it?

 

“Hey!” The boy shouted again, this time he slammed his palm against the picture, and the picture against the pane of glass, the attendant watched in amazement as the pane cracked and threatened to shatter. Now there was no mistaking the aura of anger seeping from the guy in front of him.

 

“Okay, okay!” He cried, holding his hands up in defense, even though there was a pane of (what was supposed to be unbreakable) glass in between the two of them. “Yeah, she was here this morning.” He shrugged and rolled his eyes. “I remember thinking she was hot.”

 

The orange-haired kid's aura increased dramatically, the attendant could practically see the tendrils of black surrounding him.

 

“Where. Did. She. Go?” He growled.

 

“I think I sold her a ticket to Aomori… I think. I'm not sure dude, okay?” He muttered.

 

The kid took the picture away and thrust a wad of cash under the small booth window. “Give me a ticket… to Aomori. Now.”

 

The ticket attendant swallowed swiftly and nodded, his fingers fumbling as he gave the boy a ticket.

 

The kid glowered at the attendant, grabbed the ticket, and left without so much as muttering a `thank you.'

 

The ticket attendant watched as his hair and his blackened aura faded into the crowd.

 

“You're welcome,” he sneered before picking up the phone, it rang twice before the office picked up. “Yeah, what do I do about a cracked window?”

 

 

There were footsteps behind her but Rukia didn't look up, she didn't want to.

 

A shadow formed above her head and stood. Rukia was gasping for air, her eyes were flooded with tears, and her face was an unhealthy shade of burgundy.

 

“Come dear, come,” it was the voice of the woman who owned the inn, she bent down and grasped Rukia by the elbow, as she tugged the girl upwards she noticed the diary on the ground and gave a small, sad, smile. “Come with me, I will make you some tea.”

 

Rukia moved upward as though she were a ghost. The wrinkled woman gave her a tiny smile as Rukia looked hollowly at her.

 

“Dear, get the diary.” She said softly, pointing to the leather book resting on the earth.

 

The young woman turned her head slowly towards it and blinked. As if she were a puppet, with the gods controlling the strings, she moved slowly down and brushed her fingers over the binding, swiping them back and forth until she firmly gripped the book. She came back up and placed her hand in the old woman's, grasping for support.

 

After a moment, she spoke.

 

“I—I thought I could---I thought I could do it, I thought I was strong. But I'm not—I—I'm not strong enough. I can feel her, feel her here, I can feel—feel the evil around us, it k-killed her. It killed me and I wasn't strong enough… not strong… not enough.”

 

“Hush, hush, hush,” the old woman muttered. “Now is not the time.”

 

“No time…” Rukia muttered, “No time…”

 

Arm in arm, the old woman walked the young woman back to the inn. Unlike her arrival, Rukia was not surrounded by villagers as she walked through the town; everything was empty, gone.

 

A bell on the door tinkled as the two entered; the older woman took Rukia to the back of the small inn and allowed her to sit at a small table. Rukia was placed in the cool shadows, while the old woman sat in the fading sun and began to serve the tea.

 

Rukia's face was now pale, her hands were still but clenching the diary, and her eyes were wide but unseeing.

 

The two sat for what seemed like hours in silence. The sun—already low in the sky—lowered even further until the dusk became night and the stars began to shine though the ebony sky.

 

The tea grew cold before Rukia, but she did not move, her eyes did not see, and her hands never released.

 

The old woman had watched the strange young girl from the moment she had sat down. The contours of her face, the style of her hair, and the color of her eyes… they were all so familiar, yet completely different from the ones the village knew so well.

 

It was when the stars began to peek out from the sky that the innkeeper spoke.

 

“I do not pretend to know who you are, in fact, I know nothing about you.” She paused and took a sip of her cold tea before continuing. “I do, however, know that you are of some relation to the girls who died here over one hundred and fifty years ago. Your resemblance is so striking there is no mistake.

 

“The older one's name was Hisana. She died when she was sixteen years old with her infant sister in her arms. That stream was the place where they died, the aura is so great that no breathing creature can stand there. If you choose to go there again, you must be firm in your resolve to attain the closure I believe you have been searching for.

 

“You have the strength, I see it. You have been burdened with time, with heartache, with hardness, with pain, with distress, and… most recently, with love. You have survived everything that has been put before you… and you will survive this as long as you are steady and unwavering.”

 

The old woman sighed and rose from the table, she quickly doused any candles that remained and gathered the tea cups.

 

“We have a shrine,” she murmured as she stood in the doorway. “It is dedicated to those who died in the same fashion as Hisana and her baby sister, it might give you the strength you need to fight whatever beast lies deep within you.”

 

Rukia was silent, her eyes blinking slowly.

 

“My name is Sadae, if you need anything, please, do not hesitate to ask.”

 

Nothing.

 

Sadae gave a grim smile and nodded, turning, she began to leave the room.

 

“Rukia…” came the barely distinguished whisper. Sadae turned around and frowned, the wrinkles in her face growing deeper.

 

“What was that, dear?”

 

“Rukia…” the girl said again, turning her liquid black and violet eyes onto the innkeeper. “My name… is Rukia.”

 

Sadae was able to maintain her small gasp but could not keep her eyes from widening. She nodded in comprehension and left the room, her heart beating a bit faster than she ever thought it could. Thinking deeply, she went to her room and attempted to sleep.

 

Hours later, Rukia stiffly rose from her chair and went to her room, where she lay down on top of the western style bed and blankets, staring blankly at the ceiling until she could fall asleep.