Hey everyone! I'm CCP, and this is actually my first Bleach fanfic. XP I usually write Naruto fics. So yah. Go easy on me, and review lots, 'kay?
This fanfic is based loosely on the Taiwanese Drama The Silence, in terms of the romantic set-up. I don't plan on making this story a tragedy. It also takes place after the conflicts are solved…so I guess in a way it's AU…only it's not. I hope that makes sense. XP
Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to me. I use it to wash my white colored clothes. I own many jugs of bleach at home. BUT! Ichigo, Rukia, Toshirou, and company belong to Tite Kubo-sama.
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If you watched The Silence, then I'll tell you one thing so you'll have an idea of where I'm taking the story. The following characters are based loosely on their The Silence character counter-parts:
Vic Zhou: Ichigo
Park Eun Hye: Rukia
Megan Lai: Orihime
Andy Hui: Renji…only I'll make Renji and Orihime less insane because that would make then incredibly OOC if I made then carbon copies of their character counter-parts…which would result in an angry mob chasing me around with pitchforks and flaming torches.
Time Stands Still
It was over. All of it was over. To Ichigo Kurosaki, his first year of high school will most definitely be the most memorable year of his life…
…….
"We're…nakama, right?"
"…yeah…"
……..
He'll never forget the time when they first met. She walked in, and he mistook her for a burglar. Many things happened that night, and Ichigo experienced many firsts. It was his first time meeting a shinigami. It was his first time seeing such ridiculous looking drawings. It was his first encounter with a hollow…and it was also his first time protecting his family as a shinigami himself.
She stopped the rain, she changed his life, she gave him a purpose. She unlocked the door to the greatest adventure of his life that sent him from one world to another. She jump-started Ichigo's transformation from a high school punk who could see ghosts to one of the most powerful shinigami to have ever existed. So powerful, in fact, that he, along with some help from his comrades, managed to defeat Aizen. He owed it all to her. He owed her his life. She made it possible for him to fulfill his dream of protecting those around him…and yet, here she was, about to leave him. Again.
They were gathered in the park, and she had already finished saying her farewells to their friends. Orihime and Kon were sobbing in a corner (Nee-chan!!!), Chad smiled at her appreciatively, Ishida had just finished handing her a custom-designed dress (which was eerily reminiscent of his own quincy costume), and Urahara and company shouted their goodbyes. Ichigo purposely stayed behind and waited patiently for her to finish.
"So…you're really leaving…?"
His voice fell to a barely audible whisper, but she heard him.
"I can't help it. Soul Society is where I belong…"
Her voice was impassive, as if nothing happened at all.
But it was always hard for Ichigo to say goodbye. It was especially difficult whenever Rukia was the one he had to say goodbye to. There's a Japanese saying that Ichigo heard his friends saying on several occasions at school. "Shikata Ga Nai" It cannot be helped. "Shikata Ga Nai" It must be done. The orange-haired boy felt the corners of his lips tug into a sad, distant smile.
"Shikata Ga Nai…" he whispered. "Goodbye…"
Rukia's face, which was expressionless only moments ago, had twisted into one of disgust. Within the blink of an eye, Ichigo felt his chin being met with one of Rukia's small, but undoubtedly powerful fists.
"I've had just about enough of this emo act of yours! Don't tell me you've gone soft over the course of twenty-four Earth hours! Besides, it's not like I'll be gone forever! I'll be around—don't think you could get rid of me that easily!!!"
It's just like her to get upset like this…
"Whad'dya mean emo!!! Is this what I get after I try to say goodbye to you??? Do you USUALLY return kind gestures with a PUNCH!?"
"Kind, my BUTT!!! I don't want you to say goodbye to me unless you sound like yourself you PANSIE!!!"
He watched her as she stood before him panting and trying to cool off after her explosive outburst. Ichigo's scowl softened into a smile. She hasn't changed a bit…
"Thanks, Rukia."
The bunny-lover's face now bore question marks all over, but he continued speaking.
"…You know, for everything."
Rukia look of confusion was soon replaced with one of smugness.
"Fool. There's nothing to thank me for."
They stood there in silence, each trying to avoid the inevitable.
"Look…" Ichigo started, "I'm just…" He paused and scratched his head as he searched for the right words. "I'm glad I met you." The tall boy felt a weight lifted off his chest and ignored the slight warmth on his cheeks.
The shorter girl decided against poking fun at the boy standing in front of her, and instead, nodded silently in agreement.
"Likewise…Look, I have to go. Take care of yourself…and…I'm really gonna miss…" she stopped herself and paused. She had her pride on the line. But Ichigo just stood there and smiled.
"It's okay, I know." He said understandingly. Rukia felt her face crumple.
"I meant to say that I was going to miss drinking from juiceboxes!" she shouted. Ichigo responded with an equally loud shout.
"W-Well DUH! What did you think I meant?"
The two of them sighed simultaneously. They were dragging this out longer than they should, and Rukia really needed to go back to her home. In Soul Society. Where she belongs. Rukia held out her pinky in front of Ichigo.
"What's this?" he asked, clearly confused. The girl, however was clearly running low on patience.
"It's something that you humans do when you're making promises." She stated matter-of-factly "Yuzu and Karin showed me...if I recall correctly, it's called 'the promise of pinkies' or something of the sort." She added.
"You mean a 'pinky promise'" Ichigo groaned. He was barely able to hide the tone of amusement in his voice.
"Yeah, whatever. Look. Promise you'll never forget the events of this year…and also…promise me, on behalf of all of Soul Society that you will never mention any of this to anyone…" she whispered urgently "…I already warned your friends there…"She nodded in the general direction where everyone else was standing. "Kuchiki Rukia never existed in this world. It's a secret because humans are not supposed to know about me or anything that has to do with Soul Society...if you EVER, EVER utter a word about me, I'll personally whup your butt. Got it?"
Ichigo sighed and wrapped his pinky around her smaller one.
"Promise. Happy now?"
"…."
"Look, you'd better get going already. You need to go back before sunset, right?"
Rukia looked at the orange speck that was slowly sinking and nodded.
"One more thing…" She whispered as she pointed to the table and bench nearby. "Remember that bench?"
How could I forget…?
"That was the bench where I sat while I trained you to become a better shinigami." She stated. More like it was the bench where you sat reading comic books while I trained my butt off… Ichigo silently corrected.
She held out both of her hands in front of his face, wiggling her fingers. "Ten years." She said. "We'll meet back here in ten years. During that time when people set fire on trees and when the bearded fatso performs an amazing shunpo all over this…planet…"
Ichigo paused for a moment, trying to make sense of Rukia's crazy-sounding suggestion. Fire…trees…bearded fatso…
"You mean Chistmas, 2007?"
"What is this Christmas 2007 of which you speak? I thought I made myself perfectly clear when I said—"
"—Yeah, I know what you mean. I get it already." Ichigo interrupted rudely.
Rukia growled and help up her pinky. Ichigo groaned loudly and wrapped his pinky around hers once more.
"There, happy?"
Rukia ignored him and walked away. If she didn't go soon, she'd be in trouble with her superiors back at soul society. Byakuya was waiting quietly to escort Rukia back home. It was time. She walked through the gates and turned back once more.
"Take care, everyone…Ichigo…"
The gates shut, and just like that she was gone. Her existence, once again erased from the planet.
……………………
Ichigo went home that night in a daze. He wasn't depressed, but he wasn't exactly elated, either. He just felt…nothing. Kon went home earlier with his sisters, so thankfully he wouldn't have to spend the night in the same room as the stuffed…bear…thing. What Ichigo really needed was to be alone. When he got back to his room, he half expected to find Rukia in his closet, and for the sake of old times, he opened the closet door to find it empty…only it was not. Just as he was about to close the door again, something white and rectangular caught his eye. Ichigo reopened the closet door and bent over to pick up a white envelope with a picture of a deformed-looking bunny on it. He didn't even have to read the small print on the bottom to find out who it was from.
The fifteen-year-old closed the closet door quietly and made his way over to his bed, where he collapsed, exhausted from the day's events. There, lying down on his bed, he opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.
Ichigo:
We should keep in touch through the telephone. Who knows if you can handle your human life by yourself? (I'd be surprised if you could.) I have my cell phone, so you can call me whenever hollows show up in your bedroom. (That doesn't mean I'd come, though. Ha!) See if you can figure out what my phone number is. (Look down, idiot.)
To be real honest, Ichigo wasnt so sure if he wanted to look down, but he did, and saw what at first looked like a pathetic drawing. But upon closer inspection, he noticed that it was a bunch of "numbers" with bunny heads…drawn pathetically. The orange-haired teenager let out a sigh. She's the idiot. It figures she'd waste her time drawing rather than writing a normal letter like a normal person…But then again, she was never really normal to begin with. Ichigo tried to make sense of all the loops and bunny heads, but no matter how hard he banged his head on the wall trying to figure things out, the harder it became to discern all of the scribbles and markings. The ones look like twos, the threes look like fours, the fives look like sixes, and the sevens look like eights…I can't even tell the difference between the numbers and the rabbit…things…The boy opened his nightstand drawer and stuffed Rukia's letter in it. I'll try to figure it out after I get some shut-eye he thought to himself. He never figured out Rukia's phone number.
Ichigo rolled over on his bed and tried to sleep. But after rolling around for ten more minutes, Ichigo still couldn't seem to fall asleep. He grabbed his clock. 1:57 AM it read. He had to be awake to get ready for school in about five hours. RING! RING! RING! Ichigo sighed and sat up. He couldn't sleep and he had nothing better to do anyway. Might as well pick it up.
Ichigo was greeted by a familiar voice on the other end of the line.
"Kurosaki-kun…?" There was a hint of doubt in the girl's voice.
"Yeah Inoue, it's me."
Ichigo heard his classmate let out a sigh of relief on the other side of the phone.
"Oh good, I'm glad it's you, Kurosaki-kun! You never gave me your phone number, so I asked Tatsuki-chan for it. For a second there I thought I had the wrong number!" Ichigo laughed softly to himself.
"Don't worry, it's me."
"Oh..."
The chestnut-haired beauty paused for a moment as her mind began to fully register who she was talking to and what time it was.
"Oh! Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry, Kurosaki-kun! I didn't realize…I mean…I know what time it is, but…"
"Relax," Ichigo said, "I couldn't sleep anyways."
Orihime's voice grew quiet.
"Actually, that's why I'm calling…. It's just so…weird now that Kuchiki-san is gone…"
…If you EVER, EVER utter a word about me, I'll personally whup your butt. Got it?
Ichigo's face fell. It wasn't like he was talking to a total stranger…it was just Orihime…Besides, wasnt her existence supposed to be wiped off from the face of the Earth ANYWAYS? Although he really wasn't in much of a mood to talk about Rukia at all…
"I know…" he started. "I'm still trying to get used to an empty closet…" But that's old news…she was staying in my sisters' room before she left, not my closet…
In an innocent and naive voice, Orihime asked,"That's weird, Kurosaki-kun. Don't you have clothes in your closet?" She had no idea about Rukia and Ichigo's former living arrangement.
Orihime paused for a moment, then blushed.
"I-I mean, not that I would know, Kurosaki-kun! I-I'm really not like that!"
Orihime was thankful that Ichigo couldn't see her blushing. He'd have thought she looked silly!
"L-Look, Kurosaki-kun…I'm sorry I woke you up. We still have school tomorrow!"
School…Ichigo thought, as he glanced towards his empty closet. Right…I'm going to school tomorrow…and I won't have to worry about bringing extra food up here.
"Hey Inoue…?"
"Yes, Kurosaki-kun?"
Ichigo rolled over once more and stared at his ceiling.
"We have a test tomorrow, right?"
"…Mmmm….Right! It's on Japanese Classics."
Ichigo smiled. "Right. Thanks, Inoue."
"You're welcome, Kurosaki-kun! Bye!"
"Later."
Ichigo hung up his phone and rolled over once more. Within minutes, he went to sleep.
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Life went on like normal after Rukia left. Ichigo kept going to school, Ishida kept sewing, and Kon kept chasing after girls with large gazongas. Life was as it should be…Well, stuffed animals shouldn't be chasing buxom girls, but Kon is Kon…!
One year passed…then three…eventually, Ichigo graduated from Katakura High school and moved on to Tokyo University (or Toudai…whatever. XP). He never managed to figure out Rukia's cellphone number, but he always kept her letter with him—even after moving out of his house and getting into Toudai. Every once in a while, Ichigo would go shinigami and fight hollows whenever they showed up, but other than that his life as a shinigami was a thing of the past. Despite that, however, his memories, and Rukia's letter remained close to him. As odd as it may have seemed, Ichigo's days as a full-time shinigami were some of the happiest days of his life. But ever since Urahara had taught him how to cover up his enourmous spiritual pressure, not many hollows showed up. Ichigo was pretty much just an average person...who could see and talk to ghosts...
Of all the members of the original Hollow-fighting, rescue-mission group, Ichigo, Orihime and Ishida ended up going to Toudai together. Chad chose to not attend university. Instead, he entered the law-force as a police officer. Given Sado's incredible sense of justice, (not to mention his incredible strength), the job suited him well. Urahara continued to run his shop, and decided to also start selling pizza, among his other goods, in an effort to earn enough money for the rent.
Ichigo never really heard much from Rukia ever since the day they parted ways. There were times when he'd catch a glimpse of her chasing after a Hollow, but he'd never chased after her. Was it because he was a coward? Was it because he was too stupid? He honestly didn't know. It was just the way things were. There was also this one time during Ichigo's third year of high school that he was dropping by Ishida's hospital to visit Ishida (he had accidentally slammed a taxi cab's car door on his 'sewing hand'). It was there that he saw a man with tattoos and red hair carrying a bleeding girl with black hair. Ichigo wasn't even sure if it was Rukia and Renji, but when he followed them into the separate hallway, he was stopped by hospital personnel. "Only authorized employees are allowed past this point." The man had said.
He and Inoue started going out during their freshman year at Toudai. She had confessed her feelings (again) to him, after making sure that he wasn't sleeping. Ichigo was okay with the girl, and enjoyed hanging out with her. Plus it didn't hurt that Orihime was the most desirable female on the entire campus. He agreed to go out with her after thinking it over for about a week. Eventually, after graduating from Toudai, they became engaged.
Ichigo decided not to take over the family clinic. He had considered a job in the law-force before finally deciding on becoming a lawyer. Being a lawyer suited Ichigo just fine.
He thought about the petite shinigami several times, but it had all happened so long ago. He may have remembered her after all the years, but did she?
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Fast forward ten years after Rukia said goodbye to Ichigo. Ichigo is now 25 years old, and he runs a successful law firm in Tokyo. (Believe it or not.) --just ignore the fact that it takes a lot more time for one to become a successful lawyer. Work with me here!
Ichigo is taller now, and his facial features are more refined. His hair is slightly longer than it was when he was fifteen. He has traded his t-shirts and jeans for crisp business suits. His hair has turned slightly darker than its original shade of orange. He's also loaded...with money!
……………
"Kuchiki?"
"Yes, sir?"
Ten years had passed, and Rukia had been promoted to Lieutenant of the thirteenth company. (Lieutenant is the same and Assistant Captain, right?) Captain Ukitake finally had a Lieutenant. All was well, and things were about to get a whole lot better.
It was a bright and sunny day in Soul Society, much to Rukia's delight. She had been summoned by her captain five minutes ago, and was now in his office waiting for him to explain why he had summoned her.
"I understand that you have been to the human world several times in the past…"
Rukia nodded respectfully. "Yes sir."
Ukitake rubbed his chin in thought.
"Kamiya-san from the eighth company had been monitoring the Hollows in the place humans call 'Tokyo'. However, he is being reassigned to a different task, and he lacks the knowledge that you possess on humans. And on top of that…" The white-haired one paused, "There are quite a bit of hollows that show up in this area. I feel that someone of at least your caliber should be sent for the job…"
"Yes, sir."
"Oh, and one more thing, Kuchiki."
"Sir?"
Ukitake smiled.
"I wouldn't want my lieutenant to be in a hollow-infested area all by her lonesome," he chuckled. "Lieutenant Abarai will be joining you."
"B-but captain! I'm sure that I could handle this on my own—"
"—Who do you think you're trying to fool?"
Rukia whipped her head around only to be met face to face with her longtime friend Renji. Rukia snorted.
"I'm not trying to fool anyone! I for one know that I am perfectly capable of handling a bunch of Hollows. That's sissy-stuff. I should be asking you who you're trying to fool. As if you could help me. You'd only get in my way!"
"Just because you were lucky and got promoted doesn't mean squat you hear me you midget!"
"Who're you calling a—"
EHEM.
The two lieutenants stopped their bickering and bowed in apology to the captain. The good-natured Ukitake couldn't help but smile.
"Run along now. Those Hollows aren't going to get rid of themselves, you know."
"Yes Sir!"
………………
Contrary to popular belief, Shinigamis did age—the thing is, they age slower. Over the course of ten years, Rukia grew taller and looked less like a twelve-year-old, and more like an eighteen-year-old. Her hair was pulled back into a short ponytail—it had grown a little longer over the years and did nothing but get in her way. Rukia never found the time to get a decent haircut, so she resorted to pulling it back. Her signature bangs had grown as well, and now framed her sharper, and more mature-looking face. (they're still side-swept, though.) Her body had developed from one of a preteen to that of a mature teenager. In short, Rukia had gone from cute to kinda hot over the course of ten years.
Renji had changed less than Rukia over the years. He had kept his same, original hairstyle. His eyebrows, however, looked funkier than they were before, and his body had gotten more buff, but other than that, Renji still looked like Renji. XP
………………..
It was a matter of minutes before Renji and Rukia had arrived in Tokyo. They had gotten a call from Kamiya-san, who gave them the directions to his apartment. When they finally arrived, (they had bickered and fought for half an hour after getting lost), they were pleasantly surprised. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, one kitchen, and one living room. It was modest, but it was perfect.
"Here's some human money that I earned. It should be enough to pay for this month's and next month's rent. But after that, you guys are on your own." The shinigami said.
Kamiya was (only) 200 years old—young-looking enough to pass as a 20-year old. He had light brown hair and green eyes.
"I'd suggest that you guys find yourselves some jobs so you can keep on living here. Who knows how long you'll be assigned to work here?"
Jobs…? No Comprende Senor.
"What do you mean jobs?" Rukia asked, "Isn't our job supposed to be to eliminate Hollows?"
Kamiya leaned against the wall and took a sip of some sake that he had swiped from some drunk guys the night before.
"Yah, but unless you guys want to be living out in the streets, you're gonna have to find some human jobs so you can keep living here and have food to eat."
Renji groaned. "Can't we just steal some food and water from the markets? That's how Rukia and I used to get by—"
"This is different." Kamiya snapped. He was running low on patience and it showed. "Here in the human world, the humans have rules, you know, kind of like in Soul Society?" Kamiya spoke slowly as if he were speaking to a five year old. "You can't steal to make a living. You have to find a job."
Kamiya then paused and gave Renji a once-over.
"…And if you want to get a decent job, I'd suggest you remove your tattoos and cut your hair. No person here in this place would hire you after taking a good look at you. They'd think you were a yakuza or something."
Renji paused and ran his fingers through his ponytail.
"Cut…my hair…?"
Rukia chuckled. "I don't know, maybe you should listen to Kamiya-san, Renji. Besides, nothing you do could possibly make you look weirder than you do now!"
"But—"I like my hair! And my tattoos!!!
"Later."
Before Renji could finish asking his question, Kamiya had disappeared and left, leaving him and Rukia alone to fend for themselves.
"I was gonna ask how we're supposed to find a job…" he muttered.
"It's too bad you can't stay at Urahara's…freeloader…" Rukia joked.
Renji rolled his eyes. "…And it's too bad you can't sleep in ol'strawberry's closet."
Rukia grew silent and walked around the small living room in the apartment. Renji, mindful of the fact that he had touched a sore subject spoke quietly to Rukia.
"He never called, did he...?"
Rukia ignored Renji's question and changed the subject.
"…At least Captain Ukitake had the sense to give us a gigai before sending us to this world. That would at least save us the problem of finding a shop that sells gigai."
Renji amiled, then nodded. "Hey Rukia," he spoke, "I'm gonna go ahead and try to find one of those jobs. When I come back, I expect you to be looking for one too."
Rukia rolled her eyes. "When you come back, I expect you to have your hair cut and tattoos removed." she retorted.
"That costs money, idiot."
The two shinigami stuck their tongues out at each other and parted. Renji left to find a job and the nearest hair-salon, and Rukia stayed behind for a little while to be alone.
She walked around the living room some more and stared out the window. She had studied a map of Tokyo prior to leaving with Renji in an attempt to familiarize herself with the city where she would be staying the next few months. Katakura Town wasn't far from Tokyo…
She studied the human calendar that Kamiya had left behind. According to the calendar, it was March 25, 2007. Rukia smiled as she remembered what she had said ten years ago back by the park bench. She made the orange-haired hotshot promise her that they'd meet there again Christmas 2007. After asking Ukitake when Christmas was, she had learned that it was the twenty-fifth of December. Exactly nine months from now…Silently, the (slightly) petite shinigami (she grew but she's still kinda short) wondered if her former comrade remembered his promise. It had been so long ago, and he never called her…Suddenly, as if on cue, her cell phone began to buzz. Rukia whipped out the cell phone, only to let out a long, disappointed sigh. It was a Hollow warning, plus or Minus fifteen minutes from noon near Shibuya Train Station. Thankful that she wasn't in her gigai at the moment, Rukia stepped through the glass window and made her way towards the crowded train station. On her way, she silently reprimanded herself for selfishly thinking of herself and forgetting about her duty. She had a job to do. That's why she was there.
……………….
Thankfully, the Hollow that appeared was child's play, and Rukia made quick work of it. Now to find me one of those jobs…Remembering that her gigai was still in her and Renji's apartment, Rukia dashed off in that direction.
…………..
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ComeComeParadise Corner:
Hey everyone! As of now my Naruto fanfic My Promise to You is on hiatus. (dodges the millions of kunai thrown at her) Honestly speaking, though…I think I've sorta lost interest in Naruto. Seriously. (Runs away from angry mob of readers)
Hmmm…people that know me know that I usually stick my author's notes in the middle of the story in order to make sure that everyone reads what I have to say…but I'm not sure if I'll have to do that to, so I'm gonna test all the people reading my fic. So to everyone reading my author's note right now—please be sure to include the words "Toshirou Hitsugaya-kun is the smex" XD
Hmmm…that was a pretty long first chapter…but it wasn't the best, I'll be the first to admit that. XP Please go easy on me everyone! REVIEW! NO FLAMES!!!