Duty: Chapter 1

#04: Bleach (Byakuya & Rukia)
...xXx...

Byakuya's gaze fixed onto those big, innocent purple-grey eyes for a long while. The owner of those eyes had been his to care for and protect for twelve months now. Every time he looked at that innocent face, he sometimes thought he was still dreaming. However, those beautiful eyes, musical laughter and smiles always reminded him that this was real. A pair of hands patted his, bringing him back to reality. A small smile lit on his lips as he held those hands gently.
"Tou!"
His smile widened and earned another excited "Tou!"
The one-year-old little boy before him was his first born son. If it was not for the purple-grey eyes, he might as well have been looking into a mirror because his son looked exactly like him when he was young. His son lifted both of his little arms, and Byakuya complied with the young boy's unspoken request, holding him up on his wobbly legs. He didn't doubt that soon, Kazuya would be able to walk by himself. After all, the boy moved quite fast when it came to crawling.
As soon as they were on the same eye level, Byakuya let his son grab a handful of his hair. Thankfully, he already removed his kenseikan. His wife was away doing her own paperwork, so he would look after their son for the time being. As much as he disliked the amount of work she had to do, he knew this was one thing he couldn't take away from his wife. After securing an heir for the Kuchiki Family, his wife returned to her Shinigami duties. However, she only worked for a few hours since she was also the lady of the house.
Light footsteps could be heard along the hallway, and he knew his wife had returned.
The door of their chamber opened, and a voice sounded through the air. "Byakuya!"
He glanced at his wife's approaching figure. "Rukia."
"Kaa!"
Rukia grinned as she sat by her former adoptive brother. Tapping her son's small nose, she gently asked, "Did you behave while I was away, Kazuya?"
"It seems I'm not the only one who likes your hair, Byakuya," she commented offhandedly when she saw their son's hand.
Kazuya released his father's hair and wanted to go to his mother. "Kaa!"
Smiling, Rukia took their son and cuddled him in her arms before cooing at him.
Byakuya watched Rukia and Kazuya with a smile on his face. Five years after the fight with Aizen, he and Rukia grew closer. But, of course, it was nothing like being best friends where one would share secrets with the other. No, it was nothing like that. Most of the time, Rukia was the one who would try to engage him in whatever topic she could find. He could respond nonchalantly, like what he had been doing since she became his sister, but he couldn't find himself to do that again. So much had happened within the last few years since the orange-haired Shinigami joined them. Thus, occasionally, they would talk about everything and nothing at all. As Rukia became more comfortable with him, she would become herself, not the princess of the Kuchiki Family. And that pleased him the most.
Yet, everything changed when he kissed her for the first time. He might have lost his mind when he did it. But, he just couldn't control himself when Rukia looked so beautiful in her kimono. They had an annual gathering for the Nobles that night. For the first time since he adopted her into the family, he asked her to go with him.
Dressed in his dark blue formal kimono, he waited for Rukia outside her chamber. The moment she slid the door open, he lost his breath momentarily. This was the first time he saw her in a furisode. Her kimono was light pink in colour with Sakura petals embroidered on each hem of the sleeve and the lower part of the kimono. The black obi matched the attire completely. Her hair was pinned up with a simple Sakura clip. If he didn't know any better, he would think she was dressed like that to tell the world that she was his. After all, Sakura was his Zanpakutō's element.
"Thank you for waiting, Byakuya-nii." A soft blush decorated her cheeks.
Both had agreed that when they were alone, she would stop calling him 'Byakuya-nii-sama' as he thought it was too formal. Looking at her flustered face, he was tempted to touch and hold her. Instead of answering her, he offered his hand. He couldn't be more pleased when her blush heightened as he clasped her small hand. Much to his displeasure, it would last only for a few moments as he had to let her go once they were in public.
As soon as they reached the gathering place, an intense jealousy surged through his being, something he never knew existed even after he married Hisana. Young noble men tried to grab Rukia's attention as soon as he left her alone. What he couldn't stand was her occasional blushes. It was no doubt from the compliments they gave, and he hated that. He didn't want any other male to see her blush so beautifully. It vexed him most when it was not he who caused it, too. How he wished Rukia would act normally around them, but he knew that she wouldn't do that as she was the princess of the Kuchiki Family. She had to set a good example. Thus, by the end of the gathering, he was in a foul mood.
Rukia seemed to notice this. During all of the conversations they had, she had learned to read him, and quite well if he might add.
Upon arriving home, she hesitantly inquired, "Byakuya-nii… did I do something to displease you?"
He did not answer as he silently walked her back to her chamber. Once they reached her room, he stood still before leaving again. "Good night, Rukia."
However, she caught his wrist. "Byakuya-nii… If I somehow offended you in anyway, I apologise. I didn't mean to—"
"It's not your fault," he interjected quickly.
She frowned. "But you are clearly upset, Byakuya!"
Shocked, she clamped her mouth and blushed crimson. Realising her mistake, she hastily apologized, "I'm so so—"
His finger touched her lips, stopping her from continuing. "I don't mind."
Her blush intensified as they stared into each other's eyes. He felt someone push him forward, and the next thing he knew, his lips were pressed to hers. It was just a peck, but the contact seemed to last longer than a light kiss. Before pulling away completely, he caressed her cheek and whispered, "You're so beautiful, Rukia."
The sudden kiss had thrown her off guard. Rukia went missing the next day. He desperately wanted to look for her, but he didn't know what to say if he found her. Saying he was sorry would be cruel as that meant he didn't intend to kiss her at all. In the end, he didn't look for her as he was not sorry for what he did. A year after Hisana's death, he found new love in Rukia. He had thought that it might be because of their resemblances, but when he looked at her closely for over 50 years, Rukia was nothing like Hisana. Despite growing up in the worst Rukongai, Rukia was always cheerful. Unlike his late wife, Rukia only became serious when a situation demanded such an attitude.
On the third day since she went missing, Renji asked him about her whereabouts.
"Taichou, do you know where Rukia might be?"
His facial expression revealed nothing as he replied, "Mind your own business, Abarai."
"Rukia is my childhood friend, Taichou. Knowing her, she won't talk about her troubles until the last minute. She could be—"
"Abarai, if you have time to think about Rukia, I shall give you more work to do." His voice was as cold as an iceberg.
That shut Renji up for the rest of the day, and the red-headed Fukutaichou never mentioned Rukia's name again. If only Renji knew, he, too, was worried since Rukia had never left for this long without telling anyone. Even Ukitake Taichou had come and asked if he had any idea what happened to Rukia. From the white-haired Taichou, he found it was true that Rukia had a lot of friends, but she rarely shared her thoughts about her life with the others. As her adoptive brother, he knew how hard she had struggled when she accepted his offer to be his sister and even more so when she joined Gotei 13 without years of training as a true Shinigami.
A week later, he received a letter from one of the elders Kumiko, who was also his aunt. He fought the urge to rub his temple because of the slowly raising headache. She had requested another meeting. He had no doubt that they were trying to press him to marry again. For years, they had been pointing out that their family needed an heir. He knew this, but he didn't have the heart to marry anyone but Rukia, which was not possible. True, they were not related by blood, but he highly doubted the elders would accept his outrageous request to marry his own adopted sister.
"It is time for you to marry again, Byakuya." Only Kumiko was allowed to call him without honorifics since she was the only sister of his late father. She, too, was a second mother to him after his mother left the world when he was barely three years old.
He remained calm and collected as he replied, "I have no desire to marry again, Kumiko-sama."
As he saw her mischievous eyes, he withheld the urge to shift nervously like a child. He didn't like what he saw, but he kept his cool.
"Are you sure about that, Byakuya?" There was a hint of teasing in her voice. "Please forget about the rules and tell us whom you want to marry."
His eyebrow slightly twitched, but no one caught the slight movement. Apprehension settled in his gut. The elders, especially his aunt, seemed determined to make him marry again, regardless of the rules. It was really impossible for them to allow him to break another rule. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. Should he tell them the truth that he wanted to marry Rukia? He shook his head mentally. No, he would not drag her into this. Besides, Rukia was still missing, and this might be a good opportunity to accept whatever plan the elders had.
"Come on, Byakuya, I'm sure there's someone you like at the moment."
"There is no one whom I want to marry."
Kumiko smiled. "Then you will have no objection to marry this one noble girl we have arranged for you on this night, right?"
If he was someone else, his jaw would have dropped. The only sign that showed how he was shocked was his slightly widened eyes. Tonight! Were they insane? He didn't even know who this noble girl was. Though he doubted he would like the girl, shouldn't they make an arrangement to let them know each other first? He closed his eyes to calm his nerves. This was too much, but he had no choice. Sometimes, when Rukia was around, he often forgot about his duty as the head family. How foolish of him. With an inaudible sigh, he opened his eyes. "Very well. I shall have no objection to fulfill my duty."
Kumiko's smile broadened as all of the elders sighed in relief. Turning to the door where their head servant was seated, Kumiko nodded. "Bring the lady in."
Think of him as a coward, but he never raised his gaze as the noble girl joined them and sat beside him. It was only when he was about to sign his name that he noticed his soon-to-be wife's name: Rukia Kuchiki. His eyes grew larger as he turned to the girl beside him in shock. Countless questions flooded into his mind, but he couldn't find his voice to ask. He was too shocked. After a moment of silence, his lips formed a thin line as he glared at his aunt coldly. "What's the meaning of this, Kumiko-sama?"
"What are you talking about?" she asked back with a smile, feigning innocence.
"Did you force her into—"
Rukia's hand on his clenched fist stopped him from continuing. For once in the many years he had taken up the role as the head family of Kuchiki, he let his cold and emotionless façade slip. He sighed audibly as he gazed at the woman he loved. "Rukia, you don't have—"
"I want to do this, Byakuya," Rukia interrupted softly.
The way she uttered his name that night was enough to tell him that Rukia was not forced to marry him by anyone. It was after they signed their papers that he found out that Rukia had been staying at Kumiko's place. Apparently, his aunt had caught his careless but honest act that night with Rukia. Rukia was then brought to Kumiko's place to train as the new lady of the house. The next day, the entire Seireitei knew they were husband and wife. He was not surprised when Renji didn't turn in for three days because of the news. What surprised him was that everyone didn't find their relationship strange, or should he say that they expected them to tie the knot sooner or later.
Although they were married, he had never forced Rukia to do anything. Their duty to provide an heir was not in the forefront of his mind, so the heir only came three years after their marriage. If he could be honest with himself, he was not pleased with how the elders had played a role in their union. Not that he was complaining, but he would prefer to pursue Rukia himself. Still, in some twisted way, duty had brought them together. Looking at his wife and son now, he, for once in his life, did not hate his duty as the head of this family.

Chapter 1—Duty Chapter 2—Outing Next