The wildflowers by the roadside are bright and beautiful, but even the most beautiful wildflowers are only suitable for the roadside.
When roadside wildflowers are forcibly cultivated into greenhouses, they lose their former resilience.
Without the wind and sun, and only with careful nurturing day by day, the wildflower grew more and more beautiful, but its inner self withered more and more. Finally, one day, the wildflower could not hold on any longer and collapsed in the greenhouse.
The Shin'ō Medicinal Relief Institute is a pharmacy located in the heart of the noble district, dedicated to the safety and treatment of nobles.
A man named Kiyōnosuke Yamada looked at the woman on the hospital bed and sighed repeatedly.
Outside the ward, two figures faced each other.
" Kiyonosuke- kun, what's wrong with Hisana?"
Byakuya Kuchiki looked anxiously at Kiyōnosuke Yamada Byakuya Kuchiki. Although he had foreseen this day since he defied all opposition and chose to marry Hisana Kuchiki, when the day actually came, Byakuya found that he was not as strong as he had imagined. His heart was still as weak as when Byakuya was a child. All these years of growth were just to respond to the pretense of those who had expectations of him.
"..."
Kiyōnosuke Yamada just stared quietly at Byakuya Kuchiki, unsure how to respond to Byakuya's words. He could only offer a response to Byakuya's expectations of him.
As a doctor, Kiyōnosuke Yamada believed he could cure all diseases in the world and save the lives of all those who sought his help, but even he could not cure one disease!
The name of that disease is weakness!
Yes, Hisana Kuchiki is not actually sick. The reason she is in this state is because she is Hisana Kuchiki weak, too weak to withstand the concentration of Reishi accumulated over millions of years in the Kuchiki Clan, and to withstand the Spiritual Pressure unintentionally released by the countless powerful Soul Reaper in the Seireitei.
In fact, Hisana Kuchiki's spirit wouldn't have collapsed so quickly, but after becoming a member of the Kuchiki Clan, Hisana Kuchiki didn't cherish herself. Instead, she spent every day wandering around in search of someone.
So Hisana Kuchiki has a weak constitution, an illness caused by overwork...
Therefore, while roadside wildflowers may be beautiful, it is best to simply stop and admire them quietly. Planting them in the wrong place is painful for both the wildflowers and the owner who has been carefully tending to them.
Excessive water caused the flower roots to rot... No matter how vibrant the petals are, they will eventually wither.
"..."
Byakuya Kuchiki looked at Kiyōnosuke Yamada was speaking not far away, and seemed to understand something. He raised his head and looked at the snow-white ceiling of the medicine house, sighing silently.
"I see."
Byakuya Kuchiki stared at the ceiling for a long time, and finally gave Kiyōnosuke Yamada a resigned smile, a smile full of bitterness.
"Feel sorry."
Kiyōnosuke Yamada gave Byakuya Kuchiki a deep look, and finally apologized to Byakuya in a hoarse voice before leaving without looking back, leaving Byakuya and Hisana, the star-crossed lovers, alone.
"Call..."
Byakuya Kuchiki clenched his fists as he looked at the beautiful woman sitting on the hospital bed in the room, letting his fingernails dig into his palms and drip blood. However, the pain in Byakuya Kuchiki's hands could not alleviate the pain in Byakuya's heart. He wanted to roar to the sky or cry out loud, but he could not do so. His woman in the room was stronger than him.
" Hisana..."
Byakuya mustered his courage, pushed open the door to the ward, and walked inside. He intended to greet Hisana with a smile, but no matter what he did, he couldn't manage to smile.
" Byakuya."
On the contrary, it Hisana, this incredibly strong woman, this woman whose days were numbered, who smiled at Byakuya, as beautiful and captivating as ever.
" Hisana... I'm useless."
Byakuya sat beside Hisana Kuchiki, his eyes red. Hisana's smile reminded Byakuya of his past with Hisana, and a constant pang of sorrow and bitterness overwhelmed him. The last vestige of pretense he had built for himself had crumbled.
" Byakuya, just cry if you want to~"
Hisana grabbed Byakuya's cheek and pulled him into her arms, gently patting the back of Byakuya's head.
" Byakuya, don't hold back anymore. I know you're the one suffering the most right now."
Hisana looked at Byakuya in her arms with a smile on her face. She knew that when two people in love have to separate, the one who suffers the most is often not the one who leaves this world, but the one who is still alive.
" Hisana is not strong, I'm not strong at all. Without you... I can no longer maintain my old facade, Hisana..."
Byakuya cried, he cried in anguish. He wanted to stay by Hisana's side forever, to grow old with Hisana, and finally... either to dissipate into Reishi and vanish from the world, or to go to Hell together... to suffer endless torment together.
" Byakuya can't be weak! My Byakuya is the strongest! My Little Byakuya challenged the entire Soul Society's noble system for my sake alone. How could my Byakuya not be strong?"
Hisana Kuchiki. Even now, she was proud of the boy who had mustered the courage to take her hand and say, "Let's get married!" As the sole heir of the Kuchiki Clan, the head of the Five Great Noble Clans and a paragon of nobility, how much pressure and courage did he have to bear to tell his family and the other nobles that he wanted to marry that commoner girl from Rukongai! And despite the ridicule of thousands, he held a grand wedding for her, and because she was afraid of the crowd, disregarding the dignity of a head of nobility, he kicked out all those who wanted to use the opportunity to ride on the Kuchiki Clan's coattails...
Hisana Kuchiki was proud of her son Byakuya Kuchiki! Having such a husband in this lifetime was enough for her; she would be content even if she were free for a hundred lifetimes.
" Byakuya... your Hisana may leave before you, but my Byakuya, you must live on..."
Hisana held Byakuya's hand, leaned down, pressed her cheek against Byakuya Kuchiki's, and whispered her story.
" Hisana!"
After hearing Hisana's words, Byakuya's expression changed, and he tried to break free from Hisana's embrace.
" Byakuya, listen to Hisana Kuchiki. My greatest pride in this life is being able to marry you and become a member of the Kuchiki Clan. I have basically no regrets in my life, but... there is one person, one person who has always been a pain in my heart. Her name is Rukia, she is my sister, and she is the greatest pain in my life. So Byakuya, can I ask you a favor? Can I ask you to help me find her? I have already done everything I could to make up for the harm I caused her, so I hope that you, Byakuya, can take care of her and raise her to adulthood as her brother!"
With her last strength, Hisana held Byakuya in her arms and began to speak.
"As the older brother?"
After hearing Hisana's words, Byakuya fell silent.
" Byakuya, I know my words were a bit willful. If it's truly impossible, please stay and protect her silently from the sidelines! It's the last thing this unworthy older sister can do for Rukia."
Hisana looked at the silent Byakuya, her body trembling slightly. She knew how outrageous and willful her words had been. Asking Byakuya to take care of Rukia as her older brother was, in effect, asking Byakuya to bring Rukia into the Kuchiki Clan! What an outrageous statement! And what kind of pressure would Byakuya have to bear for her excessive request? Just thinking about it made her heart ache. But she was a useless older sister. If she still couldn't do anything for Rukia in the end, she wouldn't be able to rest in peace even if she fell into Hell.
"No, I'm really happy. Being Hisana 'Hisana brother is the greatest honor of my life."
Byakuya gently stroked Hisana's hand, sat up, and smiled at his woman. Hisana his wife, Hisana's sister was naturally his sister. Even if there were many opinions from those around them, so what?! This was the decision of Byakuya Kuchiki, the next head of the Kuchiki Clan and the next captain of the Sixth Division, and no one else could interfere.
" Byakuya..."
Hisana gently stroked Byakuya's cheek, her expression finally breaking down, and tears streamed down her face.
" Hisana..."
Looking at his beloved woman, who was weeping bitterly, Byakuya shed tears. Each tear that Hisana shed felt like a knife being planted in Byakuya's heart, causing Byakuya unbearable pain.
Byakuya and Hisana embraced each other, cried, and finally kissed.
When Byakuya cried out his last tear, the crybaby Byakuya left this world along with Hisana.
Byakuya Kuchiki is no longer Hisana Byakuya. Byakuya Kuchiki is the pride of the Kuchiki Clan, the current head of the Kuchiki Clan, the captain of the Sixth Division of the Gotei 13, and Byakuya of the Kuchiki Clan.
Hisana Kuchiki's passing seems unexpected, yet it is also understandable.
Byakuya Kuchiki watched expressionlessly as his wife was slowly laid to rest and buried in the dust.
"Hey! Kid, are you sure you're okay?"
Sōgo, dressed in black, stood beside Byakuya Kuchiki and asked with a hint of worry.
The kid who used to be so impatient and loved excitement suddenly became like an adult, which made Sōgo a little uncomfortable.
"Um... I'm sorry to have worried you, but it's alright, because I am Byakuya Kuchiki."
Byakuya Kuchiki smiled slightly, looking at Sōgo with indifferent eyes, as if Hisana's departure did not cause him the slightest pain.
My heart is dead.
Sōgo felt Byakuya Kuchiki's heartbroken gaze, opened his mouth slightly, but ultimately said nothing. He didn't know how to bring someone whose heart was dead back to life, much less revive the already deceased Hisana Kuchiki. Sōgo did possess terrifying power that was beyond the reach of others, but even so, he was not the Almighty Sōgo.
"Excuse me, I must leave."
Byakuya Kuchiki bowed slightly to Sōgo, then turned and left. He didn't stay until the end of Hisana's funeral, believing that the final moments were meaningless. He needed to do something more meaningful now. Hisana had entrusted him with an important task while she was alive: to find Hisana's sister Rukia.
Byakuya Kuchiki never knew what Hisana's sister looked like, nor how old she was. He was too embarrassed to ask his family for help in finding her because of his own personal matters. So he wandered aimlessly through Rukongai, from wearing a Hisana Shihakusho to wearing a haori. Byakuya didn't know how many years he had been searching. Whenever he had time, he would come to Rukongai to look for Rukia's traces.
Having found nothing, Byakuya had done his best, but unfortunately, one person's strength has its limits, and Rukongai is ridiculously large. Byakuya only found some traces of Rukia's existence, but he never saw Rukia herself. Byakuya believed that as soon as he saw Rukia, he would recognize her, simply because Rukia is Hisana's sister.
Byakuya continued his stroll through the streets of Rukongai that day, constantly searching for Rukia while dealing with the unfinished business of the Sixth Division. Before he knew it, Byakuya had arrived at the registration office of the Shin'ō Academy.
How did I get here?
Byakuya looked at the long, crowded queue in front of him and smiled helplessly.
Looks like today's another fruitless day... Let's go back!
Byakuya muttered to himself, turned around, and prepared to leave.
Just as Byakuya turned around, a head with Byakuya haircut flashed past his eyes.
"That is..."
" Hisana!?"
Byakuya stared at the figure, his pupils suddenly dilating.
"No! It's not Hisana... That's... Hahaha, I've found Hisana, your sister."
Byakuya Kuchiki knew he had won the lottery. He couldn't be wrong. Even though he had never met Hisana's sister, he knew that the onion-headed girl was Hisana's sister, and would also be his sister, named Rukia Kuchiki.
Byakuya stood still, quietly watching Rukia chatting and laughing with her companions. He knew that this lively girl was the keepsake that Hisana Kuchiki had entrusted to him, and he would treat the Hisana left him with care.
Byakuya didn't disturb Rukia, who was with her companions. Now that he had discovered Rukia's location, he didn't need to rush. Especially considering the current situation, it seemed that she was planning to apply to the Shin'ō Academy. If that was the case, he had many more opportunities to manipulate things secretly.
When the time is right, I'll find a suitable opportunity to let Rukia know about me and accept my existence as her older brother... and have her join the Kuchiki Clan, officially becoming a member of their Kuchiki Clan... That will be enough.
Shortly after Rukia and the others participated in the assessment, while everyone was overjoyed to receive their acceptance letters, Rukia was summoned by the Dean of the Shin'ō Academy.
Rukia stood nervously outside the headmaster's office. She couldn't understand why the high and mighty headmaster would summon someone as insignificant as her from Rukongai.
"Call!"
Rukia took a deep breath and mustered her courage to push open the door in front of her. When she opened the door, the person sitting in front of her was not the Dean of the Shin'ō Academy that she remembered, but an unbelievably young man with an odd posture.
Welcome, my dear sister.
The man, whose elegant demeanor and noble bearing were evident even while seated, declared with an unquestionable and domineering attitude the moment he saw Rukia.
"What?!"
Rukia was stunned by the man's words, looking completely bewildered.
"Hmph~"
The man smiled as he looked at the adorable Rukia. At the same time, his stagnant eyes were once again stirred, as if his long-dead heart had finally come back to life.
Rukia probably never imagined that after seeing her companions being bullied and realizing their insignificance, she impulsively chose to become Soul Reaper. What awaited her was being given the name Kuchiki, rising to the top of the Soul Society's power structure, becoming a member who was both well-off and in control of power.
Rukia ultimately became the very thing they used to hate the most...
Thank you to the reader "A Shameless White" for the 1500-coin reward!
(End of this chapter)