Lost (Byakuya Kuchiki)

Chapter 6

"Thank you," I said earnestly. Suddenly, I just felt tired, drained. My eyelids drooped heavily and I leaned into her. Rukia chuckled.

"You should sleep. You've earned it."

"I don't feel like I have earned anything. I've only gotten drunk and-" I gasped.

She sat up straight. "And?"

"I think I kissed Rangiku tonight," I whispered. Her eyes widened, lips parting as if to say something only to close again.

"Sleep," she finally muttered. "We can deal with that tomorrow."

"Will it be bad?"

"Well, I don't know yet. Nii-sama..." She trailed off. In all honesty, I hadn't even thought of him. And even though I shouldn't care, the thought of him being mad at me or hurt because of me crushed me inside.

"It was for a good reason," I tried sadly.

"What do you mean?"

"We were walking back to her barracks and some random idiot grabbed her and asked her for a kiss. She looked uncomfortable so I decided to help." Rukia looked shocked.

"W-well, that's good, I suppose. It could have been under worse circumstances for you."

Worse for me? Meaning what? I was too tired to ask at this point, so I just nodded.

"You can talk to him tomorrow. It'll be fine, I'm sure." She didn't sound very confident, but it was all I had at the moment.

We both yawned then, deciding it was time to go to sleep, and laid down.

"Goodnight, Rukia," I murmured. "Thank you." She was already asleep.

***

When I awoke the next morning, there was a slight pounding in my head, the sun was just barely shining in the sky, and Rukia was still beside me but beginning to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and she stretched her arms above her head before turning and letting a smile grace her features.

"Good morning, Nee-san," she chirped.

"Good morning," I returned her smile. She moved to sit up, rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands. She stood, stretching one last time and walked to one of the two piles of clothes sitting on the small table in the corner of her room.

"We should get ready to meet Nii-sama for breakfast." My blood ran cold as the night's memories ran through my head. I wasn't sure if I was ready to face him yet.

It's now or never.

"Okay. I need to shower first," I choked out. She must have also remembered what I had to her, because her eyes widened for a minebt, but she only nodded. She handed me the second bundle and nudged me towards the bathroom.

"Take your time." I laughed nervously.

I walked in, not rushing in the slightest.  I turned in the water and undressed slowly, not paying much attention, distracted by my thoughts.

Will he care about what happened? Should he care? Why do I want him to care?

I let the warm water wash over me, carefully washing out my hair. This was somewhat calming to my mind, but not enough to erase the thoughts.