A/N: Welcome to the sequel of the IchiRuki side story series!
Mire- Yo! If you haven't read Love Destiny, please read that first.
LVT- Yes, that's highly recommended. Heck, I suggest going back to December Love Song if you haven't read that yet. Also, there's a time jump…of a little less than two years…about a year and a half to be closer.
Also, this is rated T. There is some underage drinking (legal age in Japan is twenty), and some minor questionable content near the end…kinda…oh, and Ichigo swears, a little harshly for a K+ in my opinion.
Notes: The song is in center and italics. The lyrics are from Gendou's Anime Music, although I revised their placement…
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or "Brand New Map" by K.
Brand New Map
Summer break was approaching in a couple of weeks, and the students of Karakura University couldn't wait much longer for those few weeks. The group had graduated from high school together, and was planning on spending their break together as well; perhaps at their "second home", perhaps in Soul Society.
Kurosaki Ichigo gave a yawn. His nineteenth birthday was coming up; a sign that break was coming quickly. However, there were still a few more mornings that he had to get through before his birthday.
If he didn't hurry, he was going to miss his morning classes. He got ready, and ran out of the house.
"Kurosaki-kun, why were you so late? Were you being chased by a panda bear that wanted to eat ramen in the curry restaurant?"
The orange-haired Shinigami looked up, and saw the Princess looking at him, a concerned expression on her face.
"Orihime…despite your wild imagination, how is it always that it never ceases to amaze me?" The dark-haired Quincy walked over to his girlfriend.
"Morning Inoue, Ishida." Ichigo said.
"Good morning, Kurosaki. If you would be so kind to tell us why you were late…"
"I was busy last night. My job was so close to being a third shift, but ended before that, and then I still had school work…If I fall asleep, just put a book in front of me to make it look like I'm reading."
"Okay! Leave it to me!" Orihime said, striking a pose.
"Um…Orihime…"
"Hey, morning!" Another voice came over.
"Tatsuki-chan! Good morning!" Orihime smiled at her friend.
"Hey, Ichigo, are we doing anything for your birthday?" Tatsuki asked as she kicked the orange-haired shinigami from under his chair. "July fifteenth?"
"Yeah. There's going to be a party at my house. Non-alcoholic, save for if my friends from out of town show up," Ichigo replied.
Of course, he was referring to the shinigami.
"Cool. I'll be there, along with everyone else. Should I pass it around?"
"If you want…" Ichigo zoned out, finally falling asleep. Orihime, keeping true to her word, placed the book up as if he was reading it.
July fifteenth arrived quickly, and along with it, summer break. At the Kurosaki Clinic, preparations for tonight's party were underway. Yuzu was making a full-blown feast, consisting of favorite foods and traditional choices. Karin put up decorations in the living room and dining area. Isshin, on the other hand, was trying to conduct where things go, and got "panic-stricken" when Karin tried to cover Masaki's picture with the decorations.
Ichigo, however, was waiting in the underground training zone at the Urahara Shouten. His Soul Society friends would be coming, along with a few others that were just coming for the party (as well as providing their own alcohol).
The orange-haired shinigami sighed. Although the shinigami were probably going to be staying over at other people's houses, it was going to be a long party that would go through the night. When it would end, who knew, but he at least hoped to spend some time with her.
"Oi, Ichigo!" A rough voice shouted as the shinigami came through the gate. Unmistakably, the voice belonged to the redheaded Sixth Division lieutenant. Behind him came the rest of the Hitsugaya Primary Expeditionary Force from when the arrancar first arrived at Karakura years ago. The rest of the Eleventh Division came through, including their large captain and tiny lieutenant. Hesitantly behind them was the seventh seat of the Fourth Division. A few other stray shinigami, such as the lieutenant of the Ninth leaked through the portal, and Ichigo wasn't sure is he even knew half of them.
Ichigo blinked. He expected some of them to show up, but not the entirety of the Eleventh…! 'Kenpachi's gonna be looking for a fight…' Ichigo thought to himself nervously.
As the shinigami went by, they gave their congratulations to Ichigo, and began to get into gigais. However, Ichigo stopped Renji. "Where's Rukia?"
Renji looked over to his orange-haired friend, "She didn't tell ya? Taichou didn't want her leavin' for yer place unless there was a problem here." Renji went into his gigai.
"What?!" shouted Ichigo. The other shinigami, now inside their gigais, looked over at the deputy.
"Kuchiki name carries a lot of power. It's not impossible for Kuchiki-taichou to prevent Rukia from comin' here," Renji said as he stretched in the faux body.
"Bastard…" Ichigo muttered under his breath. As the line of shinigami left the underground cavern, they were interrupted by a squeal at the top of the stairs. By the time Ichigo left, he was surprised to see Chad, Uryuu, and Orihime in the Shouten. Matsumoto had her arms wrapped tightly around Orihime, and she returned the hug, all while laughing nervously.
"It's nice to see you too, Rangiku-san…but we need to leave for the party," the Princess said as she tried to push the Tenth Division lieutenant away, concluding the hug greeting.
"Okay, you all need to leave for Kurosaki-san's party!" Urahara said as he made shooing motions with his hands, a fan in one.
"Yeah, sorry, Urahara-san," Ichigo bowed in apology. "Will you and Yoruichi-san be able to come later?"
"Maybe later, but you never know!"
With that, the large group began towards the Kurosaki Clinic.
Late into the night, the party was still going on. Ichigo was surprised that it hadn't turned into a drunken farce, complete with poor dancing, even worst singing, and couples making out on the ground (Considering that the Quincy and the Princess were the only certified couple…at least he knew that they wouldn't act like that).
Keigo and Mizuiro were on DJ duty, Keigo more so since Mizuiro was constantly texting his latest older girlfriend. They would take requests, but, so far, most of the requests came from those in the living world. Currently, a peppy song with synthesized polka-like clarinets was playing, and everyone was in the living room, just dancing or moving in some way.
The only one that wasn't dancing in the group was Hitsugaya, choosing to stand on the sidelines and just smile. If someone had to be the responsible one, it might as well have been him.
Problems began when members of the Eleventh and Matsumoto got the idea to spike the beverages with some kind of alcohol. No one really suspected it, except for a few people. When Yuzu caught word of it, she instantly removed all of the drinks and replaced them with non-alcoholic counterparts.
Since the party was still going on way past midnight, the twins were a little tired, and decided to go to bed. The alcohol came out again, and, while Toushirou tried to prevent it, everyone who was on the way to getting drunk (i.e.: the Eleventh) told him that little children should go to bed. It was all he could do not to leave his gigai and go bankai on the drunken masses.
No one was entirely certain when the ex-shinigami showed up, but they were present, also drinking. Their consumption was nothing compared to the others present that partook in the drinking. Considering the bottles and containers that were placed in a corner, some were surprised that no one had passed out yet.
"Okay, everyone," Keigo spoke through the microphone, "this is a request from one of our 'late-arrivers' to Ichigo's party. Along with the song choice, there's a message that goes with it: 'Sorry about my tardiness'," Keigo paused as he read the rest of the message, "'but Niisama's going to get me for this later. Let's dance, Kurosaki Ichigo, and happy nineteenth birthday.' This is more of a slow dancer, although a bit upbeat, so get a partner to dance with and enjoy yourselves."
Ichigo watched as some people left the room to drink some more and maybe eat, but he wasn't alone of the floor. Uryuu and Orihime remained, but had already started swaying to the song. To his surprise, Kisuke and Yoruichi stayed on the floor, and joined in the swaying. The drunks laughed as Yumichika, who was pretty much wasted, grabbed Hanatarou and started dancing with him, much to the sober seventh seat's dismay. A few other members of the Eleventh danced with each other, making an utter ruckus. However, the cutest couple on the floor was when the even smaller Yachiru, who was buzzed, dragged Toushirou onto the floor. Rangiku laughed as she saw her captain holding hands with the tiny lieutenant, wishing that she had a camera. As she made the request, Isshin, camera in hand, took a picture. To make matters worse, Shuuhei asked if he could have a copy. Hitsugaya glared at the three, but continued dancing with her.
As the music began to start with some English words, Ichigo looked for the owner of the request. As the lyrics began, Ichigo knew where to look. All he had to look was for another brightly colored head.
The map in my hand is getting old
There is a road behind me, so I
Say goodbye to younger days…and I say hello the real world, the real life!
Until the day I can say that I won't be going back home
When he finally found Renji, the lieutenant looked over to the deputy. "Wonderin' what was takin' ya so long. I was gonna ask her myself if ya didn't hurry," said the redheaded shinigami. Next to him, almost being dwarfed by his height, was the black-haired shinigami.
"Happy birthday, Ichigo," Rukia said. "Sorry that I'm late, Niisama was hesitant on letting me come. That's why Urahara came late, because he was waiting for me. I told Renji to tell him that I would be late, so don't close the gate. Anyways," the petite shinigami smiled mischievously, "let's dance!"
Ichigo thought that his arm was going to be pulled out of its socket as Rukia grabbed his hand and went to the middle of the dance floor.
Pain can change into gentleness
I want to gaze upon the miracle of us meeting one another
Hand-in-hand, one hand on the shoulder, another around the waist; it should have been the other way around, but the height difference between the two made it easier for Ichigo to rest his free hand on Rukia's shoulder, while her free hand rested on his waist. They began to sway side-to-side, turning in a small circle.
As the song began to enter the refrain, they began to move a little differently, a little more bounce, a little more freely.
It's as though I've begun to understand
The things that I can do for you
I am me
That's the bond that connects us
A spin was thrown in, much to Rukia's surprise. She was surprised to know that Ichigo could dance and perform silly flourishes like twirls. She secretly hoped that he wouldn't dip her.
"Did you like that?" Ichigo asked. Rukia looked up with him, a mock scowl on her face. The orange-haired shinigami took that as a yes, and they continued dancing in a more casual way.
Time has shown me the weakness of lies
You have shown me the power of love
Listening to the lyrics, Ichigo could see why Rukia had chosen the song. They had been through so much together, and, although it took them both time to understand it, they knew how they felt towards each other. The secret meetings that happened back in late January years ago certified that fact, and their other meetings during the past years meant everything. However, they hadn't come clean yet…maybe tonight would be the night.
On nights where it seems like I'm going to lose to loneliness
I just gather up my memories
Rukia blinked at those words. She remembered back in January, years ago, where she tried to live on memories, the earliest times that she wasn't allowed to leave Soul Society because Byakuya wouldn't permit her to even leave the ground of the Kuchiki mansion…! However, she had always found ways out, as well as with help from her friends in the Gotei 13. Tonight was no different, but the end result just might be.
The things that I can do for you
Seem to be crushing me under their weight
But I've got no reason to pretend to be lonely
I just want to be blown on by the wind
The things that I can do right now
Are not that many
I just want to make you smile
You who is on the verge of saying goodbye
"What was that about saying goodbye?"
Blue-violet eyes looked up at brown. "We're always forced to say goodbye to each other. Whether it be from Soul Society or Niisama, we have to separate."
"Not anymore."
"Wha-" was all Rukia could get out before Ichigo brought her into an embrace.
"We're not going to be separated anymore. We might need to part because of our duties; you, a shinigami in the Gotei 13; me, only a substitute, as well as a college student who has a career before him. We'll balance this out so that we won't need to be apart."
Rukia could not help but smile, and almost cried…
There is pain, and there is happiness
Teardrops make smiles
So this is enough
You don't need to be scared of anything
…or so she thought. The tears started to flow. Ichigo, in response, bent down, hands on her shoulders and, ever so gently, kissed the tears away.
On the sidelines, Orihime watched the two. "I never thought that Kurosaki-kun could be so…affectionate."
"What do you mean, Orihime?" her boyfriend asked from behind her. The Quincy had his arms wrapped across her stomach area. The two were standing on the side, watching the other couple in the center. The others that were dancing had also stopped, either passed out from drinking or letting the two dance alone, although they didn't seem to notice.
"Have you ever seen Kurosaki-kun with his Hollow mask? It's a truly frightening thing. I've encountered it a few times, and the sight of it makes me…scared. However, looking at him now, you wouldn't know that this was the same person who fought in that war we had years ago." The Princess's eyes looked beyond the two, as if she was looking into the past.
"Don't think about it. Kurosaki has everything under control with his Hollow. Hueco Mundo and the battles are a thing of the past. We won, and were able to save Karakura from potential destruction. Everyone's safe now, and we don't have to worry about the Hollow." Blue eyes looked at the couple in the center. "Or is there another reason why you're worried?"
The reddish-blonde Princess turned to Uryuu. "Okay, so I still like him. However," a blush crossed her face as she turned in towards him, "I love you more." She gently pecked him on the lips. As she turned so her back was against his chest, the Quincy took a second to identify the taste that remained on his lips. 'Did Orihime…drink some of the beverage? Oh, dear…who knows what was in there…'
It's as though I've begun to understand
The things that I can do for you
The power to not let dreams end as just dreams
I want to ascertain myself of it
Before the present becomes the past
There is a place that I want to arrive at
I am me
That's the bond that connects us
"I'm…I'm sorry, Ichigo. I promised myself that I wouldn't cry, but--"
"It's okay. I understand." With the same gentleness he used to remove the tears, he gently placed his lips on hers.
The petite shinigami opened her eyes wide for a second, but then gently began to close them, her arms placing themselves around his neck. They remained that way for about a minute, and parted as the song came down to its final seconds.
Ichigo looked around. "Aw, crap! You guys all left the floor during the song!?"
"Ya looked like ya were havin' so much fun, everyone decided to let the two lovebirds alone!" Renji barked from the sidelines. The drink in his hand explained everything.
The next song started, something with questionable lyrics and a sultry beat.
Most of the crowd had been drinking, and it was common knowledge that the drinks were spiked. What worried him the fact that Orihime had a drink in her hand, graciously given to her by her former roommate before she left for Hueco Mundo. The Quincy tried to take it away, but, instead, she directed the cup to his mouth, resulting in him drinking.
"What's this, concerned about Inoue?" Rukia looked over.
"No, more about Ishida. If Inoue's not careful, he'll end up drinking more than her."
"What? Alcohol?"
"You missed that? The Eleventh Division decided to spike the drinks. If we're not careful, we'll end up like the rest of them. Wanna go upstairs? It'll be quieter up there," Ichigo offered. Rukia blushed for a second, but hesitantly took the orange-haired shinigami's hand.
As they proceeded towards the staircase, many of the people who hadn't passed out yet began their catcalls and hoots as they saw their location. The song became louder and faster with the words, "Let's get these teen hearts beating".
"Shaddup, you drunks!" Ichigo shouted at the top of the stairs, "You all are a bunch of perverts!"
When he entered his room, Rukia was already sitting on the edge of the bed, still flustered from what was going on downstairs.
"Don't listen to them, Rukia. They're drunk."
"It's not that, Ichigo!" The blush across her face had yet faded. "What you did on the floor…what you said; did you mean it all?"
A blush matching hers crossed his face as well. The orange-haired shinigami sat next to the black-haired one next to him. Ichigo thought about his words, choosing them carefully. When he came to his conclusion:
"Do you want something to drink? I can get something non-alcoholic from the fridge if you don't want what they're having."
"Water," Rukia stated quickly. She then looked up to the male's brown eyes, "Please."
"Sure," a rare smile came across his face, "I'll be right back."
When Ichigo got downstairs, almost all of the shinigami were passed out on the floor, probably on their way to alcohol poisoning. Hitsugaya was placing blankets on them. Those that weren't were on their way, still drinking. Fortunately, they came to the right place to get fixed up in the morning, the Kurosaki Clinic.
…That is, as long as his dad wasn't in the same state.
"Hope you don't mind us staying the night," the white-haired captain told the orange-haired substitute.
"No, it's no problem." He looked around, "Where's the rest of the school gang and the Shouten guys?"
"They already left. Now, if you don't mind, I would also like to get some sleep."
"Yeah, okay. Good night, Toushirou."
The Tenth Division captain grumbled something about being called by his first name, but incomprehensible nevertheless as he went to lie down on the floor.
When Ichigo went into the kitchen area to get some water, one of the awake shinigami shouted something along the lines of "What the hell ya doin' down 'ere? She's upstairs, waitin' fer ya!", while others said more questionable things. He filled the cups with water at the sink, but then paused, placing them on the counter, and kicked the drunks. He then went back to the two cups, untouched, and continued back upstairs.
"Hey, Romeo!" one of the shinigami shouted, "Don't forget this!" Something hit Ichigo on the back of the head. He turned to see what it was:
A foil wrapper…'Brilliant.'
"Where the hell did you get this?" Ichigo snapped, a furious blush across his face.
"Where do you think we got it?" the shinigami started laughing, along with some of his friends who were sitting around him.
Still embarrassed, he placed one of the cups on the ground, and picked the wrapper up. He shoved it into his pocket, grabbed the cup, and continued upstairs.
When he got back, Rukia was still sitting in the same place, but a blush was still on her face. "I heard what they were saying downstairs."
"Ignore them. They're just a bunch of pricks. Here," he handed her one of the cups. She brought the cup to her lips, and took a sip of the beverage.
Following suit, Ichigo also took a sip, sitting down in the process. It tasted like water…but there was something underlining the taste. 'Hmm…must be something in the tap water…' he thought to himself.
"So, about what happened downstairs…"
"Huh? Oh yeah…I meant it," he said quietly.
The black-haired shinigami looked over to the male next to her. There was no waver in his eyes, keeping the brown eyes on her. She started to look away, but a hand on her cheek brought her face back towards him.
"I don't know when this started. I could have been when we first met, or some time after that," the orange-haired shinigami began. "However, and call me dense, I couldn't figure it out for the longest time. It wasn't until after the fight that I knew what it was. When I asked you to hang out, I guess that I meant it to be a date between us."
"Ichigo…" Rukia could only gaze back, "what do you mean?"
"I thought that you would have had it figured out first." He leaned in, their foreheads touching. "I'm in love with you, Rukia."
Blushing furiously, the petite shinigami took another sip. "I guess that makes two of us."
Ichigo chucked slightly, "I knew that much. I just never knew…that Byakuya's so over-protective of you."
"It's the promise he made to my sister. He knew long before us that we had some sort of connection to each other. Despite the fact that I'm only adopted, I'm a Kuchiki, and, therefore, have to act accordingly. He shouldn't have a problem with it, because you are the one who helped us win, and you defeated him as well a long time ago. However," she sighed in frustration, "it has to be the name. I'm truly grateful to Niisama for what he's done, but keeping us apart is too much."
Silence passed between the two, the only sounds being the water in the cups and laughter between the drunks from downstairs. Ichigo put his cup down on the ground. Something in there was making him a little woozy, but it wasn't going to stop him. He looked over to Rukia; she was in the same state he was.
"Niisama's stupid. He can say whatever he wants later, but I'm not dealing with it now." Rukia muttered. Despite her current state, her words could be understood perfectly.
"Yeah…prick," Ichigo said. He turned back to Rukia, "I really love ya, ya know."
"Yeah, I know," she said with a smile on her face.
The orange-haired deputy leaned in towards her, and kissed her on the lips again. This time, however, it was a little more passionate.
When they parted, Rukia was lying down on the bed, with Ichigo on top of her. Mere inches separated them. They kissed once again, and a rustling of clothes was heard.
Whatever was in the drink might have been the cause of what happened between them, and, hopefully, they wouldn't regret what passed.
When Ichigo awoke hours later, the petite shinigami was already gone. He went to sit up, but, as he did so, his head pounded with a sharp, indescribable pain. Lying down was probably the best thing to do right now.
He placed his arm on his forehead, and tried to figure out what happened. He knew what had happened immediately before, but the details of how were a bit more…undetermined.
'How many times did I put the cups down? I put both down once, but I placed one of the cups down for a second time. Could it have been…?' he thought to himself. He then remembered that the cup he set down a second time went to him.
"I really hate you guys. You drugged those drinks, didn't you?" he spoke aloud, but only to himself. 'The next time I see them, I'm gonna kick their sorry asses.
'However, at least we finally know how we feel towards each other. Although…the outcome's a bit more different than I would have wanted it to go,' Ichigo looked into his garbage can, 'and I at least remembered to do that. So, there shouldn't be nothing to worry about.' He got up, put some stay-at-home clothes on, grabbed some casual clothes, and went to the bathroom.
When he finally got to the table, he was surprised that none of the shinigami were still in the house. 'Damn…they get drunk, on the verge of alcohol poisoning, and then get up the next morning, able to return to their world. Bunch of alcoholics, I swear. Oh, geez…this is a killer headache.' The deputy clutched his head in pain,'Where did Yuzu leave the aspirin?'
"Rukia, where were you last night?" the cool voice of the current Kuchiki head asked his petite sister-in-law. He was seated in his office, Rukia sitting on a cushion upon the tatami floor.
"I went out with some friends at the barracks. Please, excuse my absence from the house last night." Rukia bowed before her brother in apology. The massive headache she had, even before returning back to Soul Society, had yet to subside. She was going to need to seriously sleep this off, and, hopefully, that would work.
Byakuya hesitated before signaling her to leave. She heeded the motion, bowing as she left the room. The Sixth Division captain turned away and looked out at the garden. Like clockwork, his personal secretary walked in, and left him a cup of tea.
"Excuse me for saying this, Kuchiki-sama, but-"
"Please, Amiko-san, Byakuya will be fine," he interrupted the maid for a second. She blushed, but corrected herself, "Forgive me, Byakuya-san, but…I could sense a foreign reiatsu coming from her." Amiko sat down behind him, a concerned expression on her face, as well as a similar tone in her voice.
"Ah, that's right. You were a shinigami up until a few years ago, so you'd be able to sense reiatsu. Yes, I know that reiatsu all too well. Amiko-san, could you leave me alone for a while? Please, return later with my noon meal."
Amiko rose, bowed with a "As you wish, Kuchiki-sama", and left the room, bowing again as she closed the door.
Byakuya covered his face with one hand, and whispered to himself:
"Hisana, what has your sister done with that shinigami boy?"
A/N: Oh, the drama! We'll see what going to happen to what happened in Part four of the IshiHime series, Antoinette Blue, coming out July 24!
Mire: Dude…wha?
LVT: Do I really have to spell it out for you, Mire?
Mire: -pause- Oh…
LVT: I've been considering, after the next three chapters, collecting the entire series into an omnibus. What do you think? I might start it on Christmas Eve…but what do you, the readers think? I'd hate to say it, but you'd have to re-review it. Also, there's a prequel in the works right now…Ugh, my brain hurts!
The first song that was mentioned was "Orange" by Lil'B. It's the fifteenth ending, and probably has the most incorrect animation (Orihime…with a cell phone…). The song that came on after the main song was supposed to be "Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Hive Without Taking Her Clothes Off" by Panic! At The Disco. I'd have to assume that someone requested it, but who?...no clue…
Also, I haven't written, like, HALF these characters before. If they feel OOC, I'm sorry, but I tried my best. Not to mention, most of them got drunk anyways, so I guess it didn't really matter.
Shout out to Osaka Amiko-chan!! -grins- I just gave you a cameo! For those who don't know, Amiko-chan started out as the Maid in Love Destiny. I gave the rights to the maid and some story details to Kuchiki Mel, who named the maid "Osaka Amiko". Since she'd still be around during this story, of course she had to make a cameo. Oh, and she and Byakuya are this casual around each other. -wink-
LVT (and Mire) out!