"I am really a tramp down to my bones. I hate myself. I bark at the moon, but I don't have the courage to jump and grab it." —Renji Abarai.
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[Kuchiki Estate]
Two weeks have passed since Rukia found herself suddenly uprooted from the Rukongai and deposited to the Kuchiki Clan by the no-longer-a-stranger stranger, Byakuya Kuchiki, Clan Head of said clan.
The last two weeks passed very slowly for her as she was unsure of what kind of place she had in the place she suddenly found herself in, she still remained unsure, and the only silver lining was the presence of her sister, Hisana.
Undoubtedly Rukia loved her sister like no other, and that didn't change even after finding out the truth about what had happened, so for the past two weeks she tried as much as she could to stick closer to her sick sister's side.
She was in the presence of nobles, even the maids had more, erh, nobility than her, if that even makes sense. As far as she was concerned, she was a Rukongai beggar thief child who was suddenly adopted by the Clan Head. She had no business being here.
"Rukia, come with me." Byakuya's cold voice snapped her out of her self-loathing and dragged her out of Hisana's room following behind Byakuya.
She was still greatly nervous about being in his presence. There was just this weight around him, cold and dangerous, that frankly scared her more than anything.
He led her to the garden of the building, her second most frequented place after Hisana's room.
"Sit." He probably said it with a casual intent but all she heard was the commanding tone it carried.
She sat across from him, fidgeting despite herself as she found herself under his eyes.
"Rukia."
"Yes, Lord Byakuya." She tittered a little too quickly, and maybe a tad bit too loud.
He gave her a pointed look that made her gulp. 'Right, remain calm. Center yourself.'
She managed to pull up a semblance of calmness and almost sighed in relief when she saw him give a small approving nod.
"Rukia, you have been here for two weeks and I excuse myself for my lack of presence since I brought you here but I've been taken all this time by my duty."
She frantically waved her hands in front of her. "It's alright, my lord. You don't have to explain to me. You were busy, I understand."
"You don't, but the sentiment is noted," Byakuya said calmly. "Since I finally have the time away from my duties, especially since I brought you here, it's time I made clear your position and duties as a member of my Kuchiki Clan."
Rukia gulped. Her hands felt clammy and her throat suddenly went dry.
Those words, coming from him of all people, sounded ominous that her mind couldn't help but go to the worst ends.
She sat still in front of him, eyes open but her vision dark, as she waited for the sentence to fall on her like a guillotine.
"Firstly and foremost, when I married Hisana and welcomed her into my family, though I remained unaware, that also entails that her family is just as mine as mine is hers. In that vein, you are just as much as a Kuchiki as Hisana is. Rukia Kuchiki, that is your name."
Rukia was stunned. 'What is this?' He was basically adopting her into noble blood. Could they do that?
"Being Hisana's sister and my sister-in-law, then just as much as you call her elder sister, you may address me as elder brother rather than Lord Byakuya. As far as anyone is concerned, you are equally Hisana's sister as you are mine."
Their eyes met and she could tell that he wasn't joking in any way. He was completely serious.
"That is your status as far as the Kuchiki Clan is concerned, and as such there are duties and obligations required of you by the Clan and by me. Am I understood?"
"Y-yes, lor— elder brother." She harshly corrected herself. He nodded, seemingly pleased with her.
"Good." He remarked. "The second thing is that you'll be starting your education tomorrow and it'll do you good to listen to everything your tutors teach you; from courtesy to history – they'll teach you what you need to know."
She remained silent but gave him a nod. She supposed that it made sense. She was now a noble(that felt a lot more weird than it should have) so she'd have to learn things about nobles, if not for her then at least so that she wouldn't embarrass either him or her sister.
"Do you want to become a Shinigami, Rukia?"
"Yes, elder brother." The word sounded… less awkward than it did the first time she said. It'll take some time getting used to saying it, she was sure.
"Know this Rukia, I will not coddle you, nor will I tolerate anything of average from you. I will not accept your 'best', I require the best from you. You will not fail when others do, and you will be exceptional where others merely succeed."
"Y-yes, elder brother." That cold indifference of his was one of the things about him that terrified her. But it was also subverted a small bit by how blunt he was.
She was yet to understand what it was that she was getting into but she promised herself to give it her best.
'I will not accept your 'best'…'
The words came to her immediately and so did a small thread of dread. What if all she could give was not enough?
'It's going to be fine, Rukia. Give your all and then give more. You're not a stranger to hard work.' She told herself.
"Do you have any questions?" he asked her.
She wanted to shake her head but remembered something very important. "Is Hisana going to be okay? Is she getting better?"
More than anything else, that had been her main concern for the past two weeks. Her sister had been deathly sick by the time of her arrival and she couldn't help but worry greatly for her health.
"She's getting better." Byakuya's words made her sigh in relief. "A fellow Captain is looking after her health and she's gotten better. If it keeps up then we'll see her full recovery very soon."
Byakuya stood up to leave after that, wanting to get back to his duties, but not before he left her his parting words.
"Be at ease, Rukia. Although not as much as Hisana, I appreciate your presence here." He said and left, leaving her speechless.
What was she supposed to make out of that?
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[78th District, Inuzuri, Rukongai]
Renji's breath came out heavy and hard as if his lungs were about to explode, because that was exactly what it felt like.
And it wasn't just his breath.
His legs hardly worked anymore. His arms were more wood than flesh right now. His eyes were spinning, turning the world into moving colors and shaky lines. They felt like they were melting.
Nothing felt they should be, and that should have terrified him, but he was currently dying to care about something that casual.
"Eh, that's it? C'mon now, kid, you can still push yourself, can't ya?" The damned voice came back again. It always appeared to mock him whenever he was reduced to similarly pathetic states.
"What's that, kid? Can't hear ya clearly if you're still kissing the ground." Black's voice stalked Renji's ears, making him shudder from where he lay in the ground.
"Pweash…. Can't…" Renji's voice came out garbled between dirt and tiredness.
"You know you've barely improved, right? At this rate, yes you might get in, but forget about being strong. Continue like this and you'll definitely die in the next 15 years, maximum."
The way Black said it, with the right edge of seriousness and lighthearted mocking made Renji feel stronger about it.
Summoning the last dregs of his strength, he tried pushing himself up but couldn't muster the strength to even wobble above it before meeting the ground once again.
"Alright, take a rest, will ya? Wouldn't want to kill yourself this soon. I'll be back maybe sometime later or not." And with that Black left him again.
He had swung his stick day and night, slept, woken up, and swung it again. Simple motions; up, down, left, right, sideways – but repeating it a couple hundred times was nothing but torture.
According to Black, all he had to do at this stage was agitate his Reiatsu as much as he could so that he could sense it better. As for why, Black didn't say. All he did say was that nothing related to combat would happen until the next month or two, depending on if Renji managed to do something. What that something was, he wouldn't say.
"Rukia, wherever you are, I hope you're going through double this torture." The bitterness in his heart wasn't something he wanted to carry alone. Sharing is caring as they say.
His muscles cried at the slightest movement he made so he could do nothing but lay there until he could gain a bit back of his strength.
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