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He had made a promise to his wife. He did not take such promises lightly. A promise to anyone was something that should be upheld. A promise made to a loved one as she was dying...he never believed he would break that promise. He had never intended to, at any rate. He had his honor to uphold, his personal honor and the Kuchiki honor. After all, she had done something dishonorable, and he had been more than willing to let her die, for honor's sake.
What Hisana would have done to him if she had known. She was loving and kind, and she was the perfect woman in spite of her situation, or perfect enough for him. But when she truly wanted something, she did not demand it. She did not give hints or try and make him guess. She simply asked. And, most times, he would get it for her. He assumed that she would have asked him to find a way to spare her sister's life, should she have been alive to see Rukia imprisoned and sentenced to death. And he would have obliged.
In his mind now, though, he saw his sister's personality imposed on Hisana's. If he had upheld honor over his wife's wishes, she would have deferred. He imagined they may have stopped talking for a while over it, but if he had pressed hard enough she would have let it go. And perhaps that was the greatest difference between the sisters. Where Hisana would have, eventually, given in to him on the rare occasions when he wouldn't indulge her, Rukia would have fought him tooth and nail now that she knew the truth.
The truth...it was a double-edged sword. While knowing that she was not merely adopted for her appearance, Rukia now had to grapple with an immeasurable loss. He had known Hisana, known her intimately, and not just in a physical way. She had never known her sister, never would, and all she was left with was him. A man who had treated her coldly since she was found, kept her at arms length for reasons she did not understand.
She had all of Hisana's beauty, but Hisana had none of her strength. Rukia had put up with disdain from the moment she became a Kuchiki, and yet she thrived. Hisana...she had not. He went through the myriad reasons why his beloved wife died, and he believed there were many, but one of them was that she had no real inner strength. It was easier to succumb to the sickness than to stay with him, to stay alive, to live a full and meaningful life with him. Rukia would not fold. She would bend, surely, but she would not break. If Rukia had been his wife and Hisana had been the missing sister, he would have a complete family now, with a wife and a sister and perhaps children by now.
But that was not to be, and he had a sister who was still trying to get to know him, whom he was still trying to get to know. It would be a long road, but he did not doubt that Rukia would endure, and flower, and be a source of immense pride not just for him but for the Kuchiki name. And so, she and he were working on small things first, like training. Little steps, little accomplishments...they continued to break down the wall he had erected around his heart to keep Rukia at bay.
“Your technique needs improvement,” he said, but his voice sounded warmer than before, and he felt the ghost of a smile on his lips. She looked at him, blinked once, and then nodded, going back to the lesson. He watched in satisfaction as she did it better this time. Indeed, she would become a jewel to the Kuchiki household, be a woman he could be proud of, and a woman that her sister could have been proud of as well. And that, he realized, was well worth a broken promise.