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Description
4) Title: The Ties That Bind
Anime/Manga: Bleach
Characters: Byakuya, Rukia, mentions of others
Description: When Byakuya wakes from a nightmare, Rukia’s there for him.
Warnings: Spoilers
Rating: K

-

Byakuya raised Senbonzakura and shouted over his shoulder, “Rukia!  Get to Kurosaki!  Tell him I said to keep you safe!”  He then turned all of his attention to the Menos before him.  “You will die,” he growled, his crystal-gray eyes locking with Aizen’s reddish-brown ones.

“Onii-sama!” came the choked scream of his sister.  “Help!”

Byakuya whirled to watch, wide-eyed, as another Menos crushed his sibling.

“Rukia!” the Kuchiki heir screamed, sitting straight up in bed.

“I’m right here, ‘Nii-sama,” she murmured.

He looked over to see that she was sitting on the edge of the bed, half turned to him, a concerned look on her face.  He reached up and brushed a few strands of hair away from her mouth, letting out a sigh of relief.  “It was just a nightmare,” he murmured, dropping his arm.

“Tell me about it,” she coaxed, smiling slightly.  “I’m here.”

He sighed.  “It’s nothing to be concerned about.  It was just a dream.”

“Please?  I’d like to help.  If you tell me about it, you won’t have the same dream ever again,” she fibbed.

He quirked an amused brow.  “I may yet.  I wouldn’t be able to live through something like that, Rukia.”  He watched her mournfully as she turned completely around and sat on her legs, facing him.  “Now what?”

“I’m going to give you a bedtime story, then!” she announced, grinning.

He blinked.  “A… bedtime story?  I am not a child.”  He frowned at her.

She giggled.  “So what?  Who cares?  Bedtime stories aren’t just for children!  They are told to help someone sleep without bad dreams.”

He was awed by her foresight.  Had she always been like this?  He honestly wouldn’t know.  He didn’t know her and he never had.  “Alright.  What are you going to tell me?” he agreed.

“Great!  I heard this American story while I was at Ichigo’s school!  I learned it in Foreign Languages class!”  She shifted so that both her legs were off to the right and she was tilted slightly over his blanket-covered legs, bracing herself with one arm.  The other arm was resting in her lap.  “It’s called Cinderella!”

Byakuya only half-listened as his younger sister droned on and on about a princess, a glass slipper, and finally a prince.  The details in which she described half the things made it seem as if she had actually been there, in the story.  The glass slipper had an engraved flower design around the edge and the prince sounded suspiciously like a mix between Ukitake, Ichigo, and Shiba Kaien.  She then went on to tell a story about ‘Sleeping Beauty’.  The girl in the story was a beautiful blonde that pricked her finger on…

“A sewing machine?” he asked with a frown.

She sighed.  “It’s the new and improved version.  Now, listen!” she scolded.

“Very well,” he agreed with a sigh.

“Now, where was I?”  She frowned, obviously lost.

“She pricked her finger on a sewing machine,” Byakuya pointed out with no little amount of amusement.

“Oh!  Yes!  So, Aurora fell into a deep sleep.  Now the third fairy’s gift would come into play…”  And so she went on.

Byakuya listened as this time, the witch sounded suspiciously like a female Mayuri and the prince was undoubtedly Shunsui.  Without the drinking or flirting, which would just make him a brown-haired Ukitake.  His sister must have a crush on her captain.  The story wound down with the usual ‘happily ever after’ and she started a new one.  This was titled ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ and was really about an abusive woman that was jealous of her stepdaughter’s looks.  The princess could have been a black-haired Isane and the stepmother was another female Mayuri.  Byakuya found himself thinking that she must not like the twelfth division captain very much.

The Kuchiki heir was very confused when the dwarfs came out sounding like people he knew.  Grumpy was definitely Renji, Dopey was Ikkaku, Sleepy was Shunsui, Sneezy was Tetsuzaemon, Happy was Yachiru, Doc was a male Unohana, and Bashful was definitely a male Isane.  This really was the improved version.  This all came to a halt when the stepmother, disguised as an old woman (even though it was a female Mayuri), gave the princess a poisoned apple.

“She should have tested it for poison before she bit it.  Or had one of those useless dwarves taste-test it for her.  She is royalty, she has that power,” he said with a huff.

Rukia burst out laughing, clutching her stomach as tears made their way down her cheeks.

“What?” he asked with a frown.

“No!  It’s just, you’re so silly, ‘Nii-sama!  That’s not how the story goes and everything works out in the end!”  She smiled at him through her watery eyes.

“I still think she should have tested it,” he grumbled.

“Yeah, well…  Where was I?”  She was lost again.

“She was about to bite into a poisoned apple,” he said with a sigh, a bit annoyed at his sister’s forgetfulness.

“Oh, yeah!  So, the stepmother gave Snow White the apple and watched eagerly as she took a bite.  And Snow White…”  She eventually finished the story, let out a yawn and shifted her position.  “So, what story should I start now?”

“You should go to bed, Rukia,” he informed her.

“But-“

“No ‘but’s.  Go on.  You’re tired and you have to be off to South Rukongai tomorrow.  Go.”  He folded his hands in his lap and looked at her pointedly.

“Okay.  You’re right, ‘Nii-sama.”  She stood and stretched, then quickly covered another yawn.  “I’ll see you in the morning, ‘Nii-sama.”  She headed to the door.

“Good night, Rukia,” he called softly.

“If you need me, I’m just down the hall.  I’ll always be here,” she said over her shoulder and vanished out the door.

He listened as her soft footfalls gradually moved down the hall and the quiet, almost unheard, creaking of her bed as she crawled onto it.  He sighed a few minutes after all noise ceased from her room.  “I know, ‘Nee-chan.  I know,” he whispered.

-

Yay!  A slightly serious story!  Isn’t that a change!  Review!

Description
4) Title: The Ties That Bind
Anime/Manga: Bleach
Characters: Byakuya, Rukia, mentions of others
Description: When Byakuya wakes from a nightmare, Rukia’s there for him.
Warnings: Spoilers
Rating: K

-

Byakuya raised Senbonzakura and shouted over his shoulder, “Rukia!  Get to Kurosaki!  Tell him I said to keep you safe!”  He then turned all of his attention to the Menos before him.  “You will die,” he growled, his crystal-gray eyes locking with Aizen’s reddish-brown ones.

“Onii-sama!” came the choked scream of his sister.  “Help!”

Byakuya whirled to watch, wide-eyed, as another Menos crushed his sibling.

“Rukia!” the Kuchiki heir screamed, sitting straight up in bed.

“I’m right here, ‘Nii-sama,” she murmured.

He looked over to see that she was sitting on the edge of the bed, half turned to him, a concerned look on her face.  He reached up and brushed a few strands of hair away from her mouth, letting out a sigh of relief.  “It was just a nightmare,” he murmured, dropping his arm.

“Tell me about it,” she coaxed, smiling slightly.  “I’m here.”

He sighed.  “It’s nothing to be concerned about.  It was just a dream.”

“Please?  I’d like to help.  If you tell me about it, you won’t have the same dream ever again,” she fibbed.

He quirked an amused brow.  “I may yet.  I wouldn’t be able to live through something like that, Rukia.”  He watched her mournfully as she turned completely around and sat on her legs, facing him.  “Now what?”

“I’m going to give you a bedtime story, then!” she announced, grinning.

He blinked.  “A… bedtime story?  I am not a child.”  He frowned at her.

She giggled.  “So what?  Who cares?  Bedtime stories aren’t just for children!  They are told to help someone sleep without bad dreams.”

He was awed by her foresight.  Had she always been like this?  He honestly wouldn’t know.  He didn’t know her and he never had.  “Alright.  What are you going to tell me?” he agreed.

“Great!  I heard this American story while I was at Ichigo’s school!  I learned it in Foreign Languages class!”  She shifted so that both her legs were off to the right and she was tilted slightly over his blanket-covered legs, bracing herself with one arm.  The other arm was resting in her lap.  “It’s called Cinderella!”

Byakuya only half-listened as his younger sister droned on and on about a princess, a glass slipper, and finally a prince.  The details in which she described half the things made it seem as if she had actually been there, in the story.  The glass slipper had an engraved flower design around the edge and the prince sounded suspiciously like a mix between Ukitake, Ichigo, and Shiba Kaien.  She then went on to tell a story about ‘Sleeping Beauty’.  The girl in the story was a beautiful blonde that pricked her finger on…

“A sewing machine?” he asked with a frown.

She sighed.  “It’s the new and improved version.  Now, listen!” she scolded.

“Very well,” he agreed with a sigh.

“Now, where was I?”  She frowned, obviously lost.

“She pricked her finger on a sewing machine,” Byakuya pointed out with no little amount of amusement.

“Oh!  Yes!  So, Aurora fell into a deep sleep.  Now the third fairy’s gift would come into play…”  And so she went on.

Byakuya listened as this time, the witch sounded suspiciously like a female Mayuri and the prince was undoubtedly Shunsui.  Without the drinking or flirting, which would just make him a brown-haired Ukitake.  His sister must have a crush on her captain.  The story wound down with the usual ‘happily ever after’ and she started a new one.  This was titled ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ and was really about an abusive woman that was jealous of her stepdaughter’s looks.  The princess could have been a black-haired Isane and the stepmother was another female Mayuri.  Byakuya found himself thinking that she must not like the twelfth division captain very much.

The Kuchiki heir was very confused when the dwarfs came out sounding like people he knew.  Grumpy was definitely Renji, Dopey was Ikkaku, Sleepy was Shunsui, Sneezy was Tetsuzaemon, Happy was Yachiru, Doc was a male Unohana, and Bashful was definitely a male Isane.  This really was the improved version.  This all came to a halt when the stepmother, disguised as an old woman (even though it was a female Mayuri), gave the princess a poisoned apple.

“She should have tested it for poison before she bit it.  Or had one of those useless dwarves taste-test it for her.  She is royalty, she has that power,” he said with a huff.

Rukia burst out laughing, clutching her stomach as tears made their way down her cheeks.

“What?” he asked with a frown.

“No!  It’s just, you’re so silly, ‘Nii-sama!  That’s not how the story goes and everything works out in the end!”  She smiled at him through her watery eyes.

“I still think she should have tested it,” he grumbled.

“Yeah, well…  Where was I?”  She was lost again.

“She was about to bite into a poisoned apple,” he said with a sigh, a bit annoyed at his sister’s forgetfulness.

“Oh, yeah!  So, the stepmother gave Snow White the apple and watched eagerly as she took a bite.  And Snow White…”  She eventually finished the story, let out a yawn and shifted her position.  “So, what story should I start now?”

“You should go to bed, Rukia,” he informed her.

“But-“

“No ‘but’s.  Go on.  You’re tired and you have to be off to South Rukongai tomorrow.  Go.”  He folded his hands in his lap and looked at her pointedly.

“Okay.  You’re right, ‘Nii-sama.”  She stood and stretched, then quickly covered another yawn.  “I’ll see you in the morning, ‘Nii-sama.”  She headed to the door.

“Good night, Rukia,” he called softly.

“If you need me, I’m just down the hall.  I’ll always be here,” she said over her shoulder and vanished out the door.

He listened as her soft footfalls gradually moved down the hall and the quiet, almost unheard, creaking of her bed as she crawled onto it.  He sighed a few minutes after all noise ceased from her room.  “I know, ‘Nee-chan.  I know,” he whispered.

-

Yay!  A slightly serious story!  Isn’t that a change!  Review!