Story: Eternal Connection

Summary: Byakuya doesn't understand. Ichigo is getting ticked off. Why are Rukia and Ishida sneaking around, not telling him anything, or are they? He's determined find the truth, no matter what the costs. Will a certain 'Nii-sama' finally receive the gift he deserves as a brother?

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, or this WOULD be in the anime.

He didn't understand. She'd been sneaking around, avoiding him at all costs. He wouldn't say it, but it hurt. Every time he saw her, she was speaking with someone else. Every time he came over, she jumped, seemingly startled. She bowed and left. Without a word. Was she afraid of him?

Byakuya sighed, for the hundredth time that week. Rukia was now talking to Captain Ukitake. Rukia briefly glanced at him, and once again excused herself.

They'd always kept a distance, but this was different. She'd been much more evasive than normal lately. Her silence was eating him away making it hard to concentrate on anything.

Lost in thought, he found himself, standing at the exact place where he'd first met Hisana. The Cherry Blossoms would soon be blooming, but he remained oblivious to that fact. The questions in his mind kept distracting him. Had he broken his promise to her? Had he failed to be the brother he'd promised to be? Did Rukia hate him?

'Hisana-san,' he whispered. 'what does her silence mean...?'

Two weeks later...

Ichigo was pissed. Even a blind person could see it. For several weeks now, Rukia had been running off, sneaking around with Uryu, doing God-knows-what. She gave no explanation, and just left. Kon's continuous whining only made things worse.

There were whispers that Rukia and Uryu were dating, but he wouldn't buy it. There was something different going on between the two, and he was determined to get the truth, even if he had pry it out of them.

They'd just sat on a bench, under the shade of a tree, when he called out to them. She looked up.

"Ichigo-"

"Why do you keep avoiding me?!" he demanded, cutting her off. "If you two are going out or something, why are you hiding it from me? It's none of my business who you like, or what you do, but I'd appreciate it you'd stop sneaking around like this! It's really starting to get on my nerves."

Ishida and Rukia stared at him like he was crazy or something, before Rukia bursted out laughing, and Uryu continued staring. Ichigo glared impatiently.

"What's so funny about that?"

"Ichigo, it's not like that." Rukia told him, glancing over at her Uyru. "We're only friends. Right, Ishida?"

He nodded, looking away proudly. "That's right, Ichigo. I guarantee that Rukia and I could never see each other like that, as I am a Quincy, and she is a Shinigami. Love between two, such as ourselves, could never be."

"See, Ichigo..." she paused, putting the tip of her finger to her chin. "Wait, now that I think about it, what he said is true, unless, of course, you take the places of Romeo and Juliet into consideration. With that in mind, even forbidden love is possible."

The corner of Ishida's mouth twitched. "I don't like you."

"Okay, so then, if you aren't dating, and there's nothing between you two," Ichigo studied them questionably. "what are you doing? Why are you spending so much time together? What are you hiding?"

"We're not hiding anything." she said. "He's been teaching me how to sew."

Rukia thought for a moment. "I want to make something special for Nii-sama."

"You mean Byakuya? I don't understand how you can still call that jerk your brother." he sneered.

"and you never probably never will." agreed Rukia. "Even if I were to try and explain all the details, there are not very many who could understand. Nii-sama appears cold and apathetic on the outside, but he's actually very sad. I don't know if I should tell you this, but, when the order for my execution was given back then, he was forced to choose between two promises in which he'd made. One promise was made at his parents' graves to always follow the law. The other was to respect his wife's last wish to find and protect her younger sister, me. Ichigo, somehow, you convinced him to save me at the last moment. You probably don't even realize it, but there's something about you that can even change a person like Nii-sama. Even so, there is still a lot of distance between us, as neither of us fully understand what being an older brother, or younger sister is like. So I've been asking around in Soul Society, getting information about him from people who might know more about him. Not very many of them were any help, and obviously, Nii-sama would not appreciate a drinking party, as Matsumoto-san suggested."

She looked up at him studying him. "Ichigo, what do you think I should make?"

"I don't know! Why are you asking me?!" Ichigo demanded. "He's your brother, after all! You should know what he likes! I'm the last person you should ask that!"

"Well, I don't know!" Rukia retorted, looking away.

There was now an eerie silence, in which Uryu pushed up his glasses. "Well, based off what I've analyzed, by listening to Yoruichi and Kukaku Shiba, your brother seems to have some sort of connection to Cherry Blossoms. I vaguely recall the name, 'Hisana' being mentioned. Whoever that is, they may have something to do with it. I...Kuchiki-san?"

He took notice of the expression on her face. She was staring at him, her eyes wide. "Hisana...is my sister. Ishida-san, you're a genius!"

His face grew slightly pink when she unexpectedly hugged him. "A genius? Well I suppose...if you-"

His unnoticed mumbles were cut off, as she let go, smiling happily. "I never knew how observant you were, Ishida-san. I can't believe I would forget something like that of all things. Now I got just the idea. Nii-sama will love it, I'm sure. Thanks a lot, and good luck with Inoue-san!"

With that, she ran off, leaving a red faced Quincy to hide his embarrassment. He could feel Ichigo's eyes on him, so he got up, beginning to walk off. "I have to go."

Ichigo wasn't fooled. "'che... There's nothing wrong with loving someone, but if you don't tell Inoue-san how you feel, then you'll be even more guilty."

Ishida stopped for a moment, but said nothing, before leaving. Ichigo turned back in the direction of which Rukia had went off. He grunted to himself. 'Man, forget her. I'm going home...'

Now, three weeks later...

"Nii-sama,"

"Rukia, it is late. You should rest." Byakuya glanced over at his sister, taking notice of the hesitation in his sister's voice. She suddenly held up a medium size box, taking him by surprise.

"This is for you, Nii-sama. Please open it." she looked up at him, smiling. It was a tender smile, filled with such happiness, and warmth. That smile reminded him of Hisana's, though, at the same time, it was slightly different, and brought a feeling into his chest, which he'd never felt before. Her eyes pleaded for him to open it, what ever it was.

So he did just that. Upon pulling out the item, his eyes slightly widened.

"I was thinking that since the Cherry Blossoms only bloom one time of the year, that's the only time that you can connect with Nee-san." Rukia said. "Ishida-san showed me how to sew, and I decided that if I were to put both you and Nee-san together in front of Cherry Blossoms that never wilt, you can stay connected all year long. I'm sorry if I only made it hurt worse."

Byakuya smiled, as he studied the scene in the picture frame, and Rukia's attempt at drawing a Cherry Blossom tree. Two fabric dolls stood in front of it, their hands forever linked together, as they shared their love for the other.

He turned around. "You should rest."

"H-hai, Nii-sama..." she replied, before returning to her room, fully satisfied. She didn't need him to say 'thank you', to know that he was happy. His smile told her everything. It was all she needed to see.

~ End of Story ~

A/N: What did you think? I could kind of see this happening with Byakuya and Rukia. Please review.