[[[ Disclaimer: Kubo Tite owns Bleach. I don’t. If I did, I’d probably ruin it. Heehee ;)

(((Psst… this chapter is a prologue type of thing… virtually no dialogue. ::sweatdrop:: Please give it a chance! Happy reading!)))

Exhausted, Rukia Kuchiki fell backward onto the bottom bunk bed that felt both foreign and stiff beneath her. Her new comforter, a deep plum color with simple white flower designs, shifted from the sudden impact. Sighing loudly, she stared up at the coiled springs of the bed above her; the bed where her new roommate will sleep. That is, if she actually shows up. Freshman move-in was from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM and it was now 11:32 AM.

Her whole body seemed to ache, as she lay there perfectly still; content with the silence within the solace of her own room. Outside, hundreds of people were moving about in a cloud of chaos. Most of the other kids (or rather, young adults - fresh out of high school) had the help of their families to carry their bulging suitcases, stereos, mini-refrigerators, and the rest of their world possessions into the various dormitories. Most of them seemed to practically glow with eagerness at the promise of freedom. However, this was usually short-lived as most of them gave in to tearfully waving at the back of vans driving away slowly containing sobbing parents. “Lucky,” was the single word that entered her mind

Rukia had moved all of her belongings slowly, but surely, up the eight floors into her dorm room by herself. Fortunately, there were two working elevators in the building. She had eyed the third elevator earlier while waiting for one of the operational elevators to return. Glancing briefly at the duct taped sign that read, ‘OUT OF ORDER”, she had wondered what kind of place she was going to be living in that was incapable of keeping everything in order before school even started.

She hadn’t moved herself in by some act of rebellion or bold act of independence, but rather out of necessity. Rukia had been orphaned as an infant, yet that wasn’t the reason why she now found herself alone. She had been adopted as a child by a very well-off and prominent family. From then on she had lived with her stoic older brother, Byakuya Kuchiki, in the Kuchiki estate. They had not been completely on their own, however. There had been servants, of course.

Not that the addition of servants made the house any livelier. They went about their duties in the utmost professional fashion, almost mechanically executing the tasks of the estate. Byakuya kept himself locked away in his quarters maintaining the family business: The Kuchiki Investment Firm. They held securities for nearly every company within a sixty mile radius and were expanding more and more each year. Yes, business was certainly good for the Kuchiki family. Unfortunately, what they had in success… they lacked in happiness. The only time that Rukia even saw her older brother was at breakfast and dinner. The meals they shared were cold and impersonal. Rarely, he would ask how she was doing in school in a business-like manner; hardly registering her reply before excusing himself from the table.

She had tried to find favor from him as a child; bringing him messy crayon-drawn pictures and fistfuls of dandelions. However, he was quite older than Rukia and found it very trying to deal with her childish pleas for attention. He would barely acknowledge her gifts before beckoning one of the servants to take her to another part of the estate, so that he could concentrate on more important matters. That’s how it always went. Rukia was constantly being dismissed. Usually, she was sent off to private instructors and taught how to act as a proper lady from a respectable family; refined and molded until she was acceptable by Byakuya’s standards. Yet, she never did meet his standards. She even had straight A’s from the academy, but he never gave her any praise or showed up to any of her banquets. Sure, he would often send Hitoshi, his chief of staff, in his place… but it just wasn’t the same.

A month before she graduated from high school, Byakuya had informed her that she would be attending Kenseikan University in the fall, the same college that he had attended years ago. He had made some rather large grants to the school in the past and they were more than willing to accept a Kuchiki. Following that, she would be working for the firm and that was the end of the matter. Rukia had nodded obediently and hastily whispered an empty, “Arigatou gozaimasu, nii-sama…” before quickly leaving the room.

Conflicted, she had found herself running down the dimly lit hallways until she escaped into the comfort of her room and shut the door. She leaned heavily against the back of the door and slid down in a similar fashion. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she sat on the soft carpet of her bedroom floor and for the first time in many years, allowed herself to cry softly. She could, and by all means should, continue to act as she was expected to in hopes that some day Byakuya might acknowledge her, but deep down she knew that the hope seemed futile.

What she really wanted to do was paint. From the day she had picked up her first brush, she had fallen in love with the silent form of self expression. Initially, she had learned to paint at the academy. Apparently, learning about art was a part of being a well cultured lady. However, they were instructed as to what exactly to portray and the proper technique for doing so. While this was good practice, Rukia wanted to try her hand at painting other things.

It was almost like a gift descended from heaven when she stumbled upon the small studio in the east wing of the Kuchiki estate. Having lived there for the decade or so of her eighteen years, she still hadn’t explored all the rooms and crevices of the large house. She was kept on such a tight schedule, that she hardly found time for anything else. Yet, on a rainy day months prior, she had accidentally found it while searching for the library near Byakuya’s quarters. She had been given a report to do for school and Hitoshi had suggested that she utilize Byakuya’s personal library while he was away on business. Wandering the hallways, decorated in what could only be called a minimalist style, she had came across a door near the farthest end of the east wing and found the studio. At first, she had been flustered by entering the wrong room as if she would get scolded for such a simple mistake. But, upon registering the contents of the dusty room, she had found it hard to contain a squeal of delight.

While she was positive that Byakuya himself had never been interested in anything that had nothing to do with his duties as the C.E.O of the company, especially art, she was equally sure that he would be very displeased to find her there. So, she waited until he went on business trips to use the studio. Being deceitful was very out of character for Rukia, but she couldn’t help but feel drawn to the cramped room. Nearly two weekends every month she found herself lost in painting everything she couldn’t find the courage to voice aloud. Then, on the day that Byakuya was expected to return, she would put everything back exactly as she found it and carry the various pieces she had created back to her room to dry. During one of her painting sessions, she had noticed some scratched markings on the side of the easel that she so frequently used; she wondered why she hadn’t noticed them before. Upon closer inspection, the markings spelled out ‘Hisana’. This had caused Rukia much confusion, as she had never heard of anyone in the Kuchiki family named Hisana and she was sure that none of the servants were permitted in that area, explaining all of the initial dust. So, she opted to corner Hitoshi to ask who Hisana was. He had look startled, to put it mildly, and said that Byakuya-sama’s affairs were not his to discuss. This had sparked Rukia’s curiosity like a quickly spreading wildfire. She was, in her mind, determined to solve this little mystery eventually.

It had taken nearly a month to find the right words and the courage to tell Byakuya that she wouldn’t be attending Kenseikan in the fall. The night after she graduated, she had walked into his office with practiced confidence and told him that she held no intentions of going to the college he had so generously paid for. The brief glimpse of hatred that she witnessed in his eyes was instantaneously burned forever into her memory. Byakuya was a very intimidating man, and Rukia wasn’t ashamed to admit that she had always been a bit afraid of him. After a pause that seemed like ages, he stood up to his full height, turned on his heel, and briskly left the room without another word. Bewildered, Rukia had stood in the same spot for quite some time before finally coming to the conclusion that she had better iron out the details before their next encounter..

Rukia knew that without Byakuya’s approval, she would need to think of a less expensive alternative. The next day, she drove two hours to visit Seireitei University and meet with Dean Ukitake. He was a tall man with nearly white hair, although he didn’t seem old enough for his hair to have lightened so dramatically with age. He had been friendly enough, smiling broadly and shaking her hand as she entered. He had explained that even though the deadlines to apply for the school had passed, there were always a few they admitted during the summer. After reviewing her excellent academic records, he had offered her the paperwork to apply to the school. Pausing briefly to cough a few times, he turned back to face her and assured her that all of the paperwork was merely a formality and that she would be informed of the decision within a week. She quickly filled out the forms and left feeling strangely relieved by the man’s genuine kindness in contrast to the knot she had felt in her stomach the entire drive there.

When she arrived home, after rehearsing her speech numerous times in the car, she strode back into Byakuya’s office. This time, she stood in front of the door with wobbly knees in a bold, albeit shaky, gesture that said she would not accept his departure this time. Taking in a deep breath, she announced that she had applied to Seireitei University and that if he wasn’t going to allow it, then she would simply get loans as many other college students do. He had been quite impressed by her courage as of late, but his face didn’t betray his feelings. When he had calmly inquired as to what she would major in at that school (his voice having lowered as if the mention of that school were a filthy thing), he had barely concealed the slight shock that passed through him when she proclaimed Fine Arts. ‘So similar…’ With that passing thought, he had curtly nodded and pulled out his check book.

Rukia had been shocked, to say the least, when Byakuya had asked her how much to make the check out for. Her eyes widened and she, being caught up in the moment, flung herself at her brother in a hastily thought out hug. He had stiffened in her embrace and nodded curtly as she proclaimed her gratitude repeatedly.

Within a week, Rukia had received her acceptance letter and housing assignment. The summer had gone by in a blur after that. She had bought many of the necessities typical of a college dorm room and she was finally able to purchase a painting set of her own. Even though Byakuya hadn’t questioned her choice of major, she sensed that he had to have known about her use of the studio. Thankfully, he had not brought it up or she might have lost all of the nerve she had gathered up in the first place.

When ‘Move-In Weekend’ finally rolled around, Byakuya had a convenient business trip to attend to. Hitoshi had offered to accompany her and bring the estate staff along to move her things in, but Rukia had politely declined. She felt that this new school was a fresh start for her… somewhere that she wouldn’t be treated differently because of her family status. She did, however, allow the staff to help pack her small red car up before she gave Hitoshi a quick one-armed hug and hit the road; her window down as she waved goodbye to childhood.

The noise of a key twisting in a lock accompanied by the twist of the doorknob snapped Rukia out of her stupor. Suddenly, the door burst open. “Hi! You must be Rukia!”

[Author’s Note: Sooo… this is the first time I have tried to write a fanfiction since I was into DBZ about five or six years ago. Sad, yes, I know. Oo Anyway, please be easy on me! I know this chapter was very slow with no dialogue, but I had to set it up some way! Don’t worry, Ichigo and the others will be introduced soon.  If you have read the chapter, please review and let me know if you like it and if you would like me to continue or not. I welcome any criticism as long as it’s constructive and not random flames. Have a nice day and thank you!