Dance with Me
By: Crim
This One-Shot is written for Rukia's Birthday Drabble Challenge at fuckyeahichiruki on Tumblr. The prompt was masquerade. Please do not redistribute on any other site. All characters belong to Tite Kubo.
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"I... missed it." Rukia's knees almost fell to the floor if it weren't for the very long European gown she had on. Her saddened amethyst eyes saw nothing but an empty auditorium, left with only scraps of confetti and party ribbons on the ground. Unable to stand the sight of a party that went on without her, the crestfallen Cinderella needed a quick change of scenery. The school's roof seemed sufficient enough.
"I figured you'd be up here." A familiar voice called our from the shadows. "You're late." The tall figure stepped into the moonlight, revealing it was none other than Ichigo, still dressed in his masquerade attire.
"More like I missed everything, stupid." Rukia was in no mood for his sarcasm. Balancing duties in the living world and Soul Society was not an easy effort. She had to finish some work in Seireitei, causing her to miss today's school cultural festival. She thought she'd still be able to make it to the closing ceremony's Masquerade Ball, but having a little fun even seemed too much to ask for.
"No... We're still here, right?"
Rukia gave Ichigo the most judgmental stare-down. She tried to ignore him from that point on, hoping he'll leave already.
"It's not that late. We'll have our own masquerade up here." Ichigo put his white and red Venetian mask on. Rukia raised an eyebrow, seeing as how the design was remarkably similar to the mask he actually owns. Then her eyes were led to his red and black themed Elegant Gothic Aristocrat suit, complete with a military-style long coat with a white cravat, satin-lined military pants, and a pair of chunky heel buckled boots. Ichigo could read what she was thinking and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Ishida went a little crazy over designing everyone's outfits and masks. You don't look so bad yourself."
Ichigo's eyes did a complete vertical scan of Rukia's Venetian-inspired satin dress. The strapless purple corset with gold trim had matching long gloves with translucent sleeves attached. The skirt of her dress was a royal blue color layered with frills. Her Venetian mask was also a golden yellow to complement her sparkling purple eyes. He placed his hand on top of her head and with the other hand, took his phone out. "Come on, when's the next time we're actually gonna dress so ridiculously again? Just make the best of it." He thumbed through his cell phone to shuffle his music to something that sounded like ballroom music- at least to Ichigo's dense logic of this stuff. He extended his hand out to the puzzled Rukia. "Dance with me."
Rukia pouted her lips and hesitated to hold his hand because of his impudence. "You're supposed to ask, 'Would you care to have this dance, my Lady?,' asshole!"
Ichigo stood there with a callous expression as he dug his pinky into his ear while averting his eyes from her. "Oh, yeah. I'm an asshole for staying here and waiting for you... In this stupid outfit."
Rukia's eyes remained stern, but deep down she knew Ichigo was right. With her pride still accountable for, she gave Ichigo her hand. Ichigo held her hand and placed his arm around her tiny waist as they both assumed a dancing stance.
"Alright so how do we do this?"
"Idiot! You're supposed to lead!"
"Ow! Rukia, my foot!"
"Gah! Sorry. This freakishly long dress..."
"You can dance in a layered kimono, but you can't dance in a dress?"
"Hey! They're both completely different, bastard!"
Their bickering continued until their chemistry synced and their waltz was finally in rhythm. The music had long stopped playing, but the two kept going since they finally got used to it. Their tensions were soothed by the elegant and entrancing force they created together. The glide in their steps and the flowy motion of her gown made Rukia feel as if they were floating atop the clouds, considering how close the roof was to the illuminating white full moon above them. Rukia leaned her head onto Ichigo's chest and let out a peaceful sigh for she finally felt at ease.
An alarming sound interrupted her romantic trance. She reluctantly reached for the phone strapped onto her garter. "It's a damn Hollow."
Ichigo slightly sighed. "I guess the clock struck midnight. Suppose it can't be helped." Ichigo was about to take out his Shinigami Badge, but Rukia gently placed her hand on his wrist.
"I'll go. Just wait here." Her face showed no obvious sign of emotion. She looked indifferent yet frighteningly cold.
"Rukia...?" Ichigo was reasonably concerned by the immense white reiatsu exuding from his partner.
"I'm gonna make damn sure that this piece of shit regrets crashing my party."
End.