Dedicated to BlackBurningHeart.

Her Heart

...xXx...

Byakuya had never believed in love at first sight until he met Hisana. Yet, his first love did not go well even after he fought the rules to marry her. After her death, his heart was protected by walls of ice so cold that no one could melt them. That was what he had believed until he met her, the younger sister of his deceased wife. Their resemblance was undeniable.

Rukia.

The moment he uttered her name for the first time, one of his many ice walls melted. Deep down in his heart, he wanted her and her heart. He wished to have the love he couldn't have from his late wife, but he pushed away the thought. After watching her for days, he finally decided to abide by Hisana's last wish. Even though it would be painful to watch her every day after she accepted the offer, he would endure it. So, here he was, standing before her while one of his two elders explained the things to her.

Rukia tried to recall what she had dreamed of last night to have a meeting with the elders of the Kuchiki Family and Byakuya, the head of the family, today. As a normal woman, she admitted to herself that he was attractive, and to be blunt, out of all Taichous in Gotei 13, he was the best looking Taichou. Every girl, including herself, had a crush on him. However, unlike the others, she did not mindlessly worship the said man.

After awhile, she finally noticed he was avoiding her eyes whenever he spoke to her. Well, considering her origin from the worst part of Rukongkai, she never thought herself so high and mighty, but she still believed it was rude to talk to someone without even so much as looking at the other person. While half-listening to one of the elders who talked about the benefits of joining the Kuchiki Family, she ran over the idea in her head. Become a Kuchiki and join Gotei 13 immediately, huh?

It was sure going to save her many years to join Gotei 13, but the idea of becoming Kuchiki Taichou's sister was not appealing at all and even more so after knowing how stiff the said Taichou was. Though she would receive the luxury everyone could only dream of, she still remembered why she and Renji had decided to become Shinigami. It was not because of the wealth but to have a better life. True, becoming a Kuchiki would give her a much better life, but she couldn't imagine herself as the princess of the Kuchiki Family. The idea itself was too weird.

Even though she felt bad for the elder who was in the middle of speaking, she needed to stop him by giving him a small bow.

After the man stopped, she looked up at him. "I would like to know the reason why I was chosen to have this offer."

When the elder glanced at Kuchiki Taichou, she withheld the urge to look at him, too.

Out of all reasons, she had never expected the one he gave her. "It's because of your resemblance to Byakuya-sama's late wife."

If she was by herself at this moment, she would have said, 'Wow! I didn't see that coming.' Closing her eyes, she took a deep, silent breath. Honestly, the reason only made her even more resolved to refuse the offer. After a short while, she opened her eyes. Taking a big step back, she bowed low towards them. After straightening her back, she dared herself to look into the head of the family's eyes. "I feel honored to have the opportunity to become a part of the Kuchiki Family, but I will have to decline the offer."

Before she could state her reason, she was stopped by him. "Rukia-san, Hisana, my late wife is your older sister."

No words were said afterwards as Renji had come suddenly, interrupting their meeting.

"Please think about it again. We shall await your answer," the elder gave his last words before leaving her alone with Renji, who was standing behind her.

...xXx...

Byakuya, with years of training, was hiding his reiatsu at the moment so that he could watch Rukia train. A couple of decades had passed by since she refused to become his sister. Even after knowing Hisana was her older sister, she still did not accept the offer. Her reason was something he did not expect to the least.

"Hisana-sama is a stranger to me, Kuchiki Taichou. She may be my older sister, but I did not know her when I was growing up in Inuzuri. I do not disdain her for abandoning me because I know living in Inuzuri was harsh. Nevertheless, the fact still remains that she is a stranger who happened to be my older sister. The reason I refuse the offer in the first place is because I don't feel right to accept it."

Even after her refusal, he watched over her. It was because of Hisana's wish; that was what he was telling himself. Yet, he knew better. He did it because of his own heart's desire. The ice walls within his heart had melted one by one ever since he talked to Rukia. A sudden change of her reiatsu pulled him out of his reverie. As she pulled her Zanpakutō close to her, a stance that he had not seen before, he watched with anticipation. Her released Zanpakutō was something he looked forward to every single day.

"Mae, Sode no Shirayuki," she stated clearly, and the entire Zanpakutō changed into colour of the snow.

He was awed. It was the most beautiful Zanpakutō he had ever seen. Even though it was secretly, he was glad that he was the first person to have witnessed her first release.

...xXx...

Watching her from afar was not enough for him, so he wanted her to join his squad. As expected, she refused his offer and joined the 13th Squad under Ukitake Taichou. Ironically, it was her childhood friend Renji Abarai who joined his squad. Noticing how close they were, he had suspected something was happening between them, but he was proven wrong. Aside from friendship, there was nothing between them.

After a few years under the white-haired Taichou, she became Rukia Ukitake. Though the offer was different, he was slightly surprised when she accepted Ukitake's offer instead of his back then. While he offered for her to become his sister, Ukitake had offered for her to become his daughter. Admittedly, what Rukia needed the most was a father figure instead of a brother. Nevertheless, he was pleased with the change. Should he decide to pursue Rukia, he wouldn't have to worry about breaking rules. Even though Ukitake was not one of the Four Nobles, their family was quite close to his own.

If he could be honest with himself, he would say he came here because of Rukia. He wanted to see how she had been faring since Rukia didn't train on the same ground anymore. It seemed she knew someone was watching her. He didn't doubt his stealth ability, but he feared that she had found out about his presence.

"Ah, Kuchiki Taichou! I didn't expect you to come here," greeted the slightly paled Ukitake when he reached the 13th Squad barracks.

"I hope you're not pushing yourself to go outside, Ukitake Taichou," he replied with a calm expression.

Ukitake let out a small laugh. "Thanks for worrying, but I'm fine. I'm here because I want to see how my daughter and the others are doing."

"I can see that," he replied before looking over the training ground where the 13th Squad members were practicing with each other. Since it was not crowded, he could easily spot where Rukia was. He could tell she was happy through her eye-blinding smile. Currently, she was trying to break Kiyone and Sentarō apart from their constant bickering. Of course, she could not calm them down until Shiba Fukutaichou smacked them both on their heads.

Shiba must have told his subordinates about him and Ukitake as the three of them looked at them. As Rukia's eyes met his, he locked his gaze on her. To his disappointment, the eye contact did not last for long as she bowed toward their direction before continuing her training with the others. His gaze lingered on her longer than it should have, so when he turned to Ukitake, he realised he had made a big mistake. The eyes of the white-haired man told him he demanded answers to his staring at his adoptive daughter. He sighed inwardly as he knew he couldn't avoid this if he really wanted to take his relationship with Rukia further. Sooner or later, he would have to ask this man's consent about his daughter.

"Rukia is not Hisana, Byakuya," Ukitake commented after he launched his intention to Rukia.

Slightly displeased, Byakuya's eyes hardened. "I'm well aware of that, Jūshirō-san."

"Oh? You do?"

"Rukia is… Rukia. I would never look at her as Hisana."

Ukitake smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Even if Rukia is not my daughter by blood, I won't let anyone, not even you, hurt her."

Byakuya was not a fool. He knew perfectly what the older man was trying to say. "Rukia will have nothing but the best. That is what I can promise you."

A knock on his paper sliding door brought him back to reality. His heart skipped a beat when he realised just who was behind the door. It seemed Ukitake was not joking when he said he would give him a hand regarding Rukia.

"Enter," he said calmly even though his heart was beating furiously.

Rukia entered his office and gave Byakuya a bow before looking straight into his eyes. She tried her best to calm her excited heart beat. "Excuse me, Kuchiki Taichou. I have brought some papers for you to sign."

Byakuya accepted the papers and scanned them briefly. Those papers were not really important, so he could ask her to come back later. Looking back at her, he mentally contemplated how to address her. In the end, he preferred how he called her in the past. "Rukia-san, you may come back later to collect these papers."

Rukia refrained from voicing her happiness that Byakuya didn't call her 'Ukitake-san' like everyone else even though it was proper. After she heard his command, she was slightly disappointed. She wanted to stay a little bit longer so that she could see his face. Still, she complied with his request without protest. Before making her way out of the room, she bowed toward him. However, before she could slide the door open to leave, a strong, pale arm stopped it. She blinked in surprise at how fast he moved. As she felt the heat of Kuchiki Taichou's body behind her, heat crept upon her face. With his wide shoulder, she was trapped between the door and his form.

Silence fell upon them for several minutes.

"Rukia-san, I need to ask you something," he murmured near her ear, unknowingly sending shivers down her spine.

Shutting her eyes tightly, she tried her best to keep her voice from wavering. "What is it, Kuchiki Taichou?"

She groaned inwardly. Her voice sounded wrong even to her own ears. It was a kind of voice that begged him to hug her. Stupid, Rukia! What are you thinking?

"Did you know that I always watched you?" he asked after a long silence. Knowing she was intelligent, he was sure she knew what he was talking about.

Upon hearing his inquiry, the colour of her face was back to normal. Of course, she knew that. After a few days of practicing, she finally realised it was him. He didn't do anything, so she pretended she didn't know he was there, watching her. Even during the first release of her Zanpakutō, she had purposely shown it to him. She wanted to draw his attention to her as Rukia, not as her late wife's younger sister. Even before their first meeting, she already had a crush on him. Being watched by him for a while, her crush grew into something more powerful. Suddenly, she remembered why she came here, and the blush returned. She was truly glad that Byakuya couldn't see her face at this moment.

After hearing a soft 'Enter' from her Taichou and Father, she stepped inside. Shiba Fukutaichou had told her that her adoptive father requested her presence. Sitting down across from him, she gave a small bow in greeting. "Otou-sama."

Her kind-hearted father smiled. "I'm sorry for calling you here, Rukia."

Shaking her head, she replied, "It's not a matter, Otou-sama."

Before her father could take the still steaming tea pot on the table, she quickly took the tea pot and helped herself and her father. As both of them settled down, her father shocked her with an unexpected question, "What do you think of Byakuya?"

Shock was written all over her face. "W-what!"

Seeing how her father flinched because of her sudden outburst, she blushed. "My apologies, Otou-sama. I-I just didn't expect you to ask that question."

Suddenly aware that her father was still waiting for her answer, she replied with a soft blush, "Kuchiki Taichou is an honourable man. He didn't force me to become his sister even after I refused the offer twice."

Ukitake Taichou smiled. "What I want to know is your feelings for him, Rukia. Although I'm old, I'm not oblivious."

Rukia buried her red face in her hands immediately. She couldn't believe that this was happening to her. Her adoptive father saw through her, something that not even Renji could do after they joined Shinigami Academy. When they were still young, Renji was the only one who knew what was on her mind, but since they arrived here, she willed herself to change, to control her feelings better. Looking up at her father's calm face, she sighed and told her true feelings for Byakuya. She thought it would be awkward to let out her worries, but strangely, she didn't feel it once she started. Once she told him everything, her shoulder felt lighter.

Her father hummed before pushing a small stack of paperwork to her. "I guess you can help me pass this to Byakuya."

Dumbfounded at her father's reaction, she gaped. "W-what?"

He chuckled. "Don't worry about a thing, Rukia. You will find your answer once you give those to him."

"Rukia-san?" His worried voice brought her back to Earth.

Quickly, she replied, "Oh, I'm sorry, Kuchiki Taichou. About your question, yes, I knew about it…"

If Byakuya was someone else, he would have groaned. He blinked. If Rukia knew he was watching, why didn't she say anything? Could it be that Rukia also had feelings for him? Since she released her beautiful Zanpakutō, which is known as the most beautiful in Soul Society, he had admitted to himself that he loved Rukia. Of course, he didn't love her because of her Zanpakutō. He loved her for who she was. Yes, she resembled his late wife a lot, but the longer he looked at her, the faster he realised they didn't look alike, which was why he told her adoptive father he would never look at Rukia as Hisana.

Coming to a decision, he decided to ask her consent about what he was going to do now. Slowly, he asked the deadly question, "Rukia-san, will you allow me to court you?"

Rukia's eyes widened considerably and the only thing that came out from her lips with was, "What?"

With great effort, he put his hand back at his side and stepped back from her. If she decided to reject and leave him afterwards, he would let her go willingly. After all, he was an honourable man. He wouldn't force her to accept him just because of his noble position.

Realising he was not so close anymore, Rukia turned around to face him properly.

Byakuya looked into her beautiful purple-grey eyes that filled with uncertainty. Once again, he asked, "Rukia-san, will you allow me to court you?"

Rukia gazed at his emotionless face. She didn't know if she should trust his intention to court her or not until her eyes met his. Through his eyes, she could name several emotions in those usually cold eyes: fear, worry, passion, and most of all, love. Despite all of that, a question still nagged her mind. "Why me?"

He decided to be honest with her. "At first, it was because of your resemblance with Hisana. However, over the years, I found myself attracted to you for who you are."

As soon as he finished, a big smile bloomed on her face. Just like what her father said, she shouldn't have worried about Byakuya's feelings as her love was reciprocated. Even though he didn't say anything about love, she could see them in his eyes. She was sure he would tell her in time. With a soft blush, she nodded. "You have my consent, Byakuya-sama."

A rare smile appeared on his lips as he approached her. "Just Byakuya, Rukia."

Her blush intensified. "B-Byakuya…"

How she uttered his name from her lips broke every control he had. Without hesitation, he held her nape and kissed the edge of her lips. Yes, she had given her consent, but he would not do something she didn't like. Though he had the confidence it was a not one-sided feeling, he would not abuse her trust. Her heart was something he wished to attain as she already had his since the first time he laid his eyes on her.

The End

Thanks for reading.