When the doorbell rang and Ichigo opened the door just a crack, the chain lock still on it, he was a bit surprised to see the petite raven haired girl standing there, a smug look on her face.
"Hello, sir." Rukia's voice was suave and flirty, but held a business-like tone, "I'm here in regards to your relationship with Seireitei's Rukia. Please open the door, sir~"
Ichigo rolled his eyes at her, closed the door and took the chain off, and then opened it. "Where have you been?"
"Store." Rukia was beaming now, a plastic bag hanging off her wrist.
"What did you get?"
She looked over her shoulder at him, her face sly, "Do you really want to know?"
He bit his lip. Yes, he wanted to know. But... "...No."
"Then don't ask me!" her voice was too excited to be good as she raced up the stairs calling for Yuzu.
Ichigo sighed.
...
Later that day, Ichigo climbed up the steps to his bedroom, where he found Yuzu and Rukia pinning up a large poster on the wall inside his closet.
"What are you doing?"
"Ichigo, doesn't it look great!" Rukia hopped out of the closet, smiling an accomplished smile as Yuzu crawled out as well.
"What is it?"
"Trapnest!" Yuzu squealed excitedly, eyes shining as she looked at Rukia, who automatically squealed back.
Ichigo was appalled, "Trapnest?"
"Yes, you dolt." Rukia sighed happily, "They're a band. Their songs are so good-"
"Especially Trust!"
"I went to the store today so I could get my own CD- I was borrowing Mahana-san's until now- and when I got it, the guy gave me a free poster with it!" Rukia's eyes sparkled, "So I was going to put it up in your room, but I realized you would probably take it down, so I put it in the closet!"
Ichigo stared, "You really think it's ok to put it in the closet?"
Rukia did not skip a beat, "Yes. I already asked Outo-san and he said I could put it wherever I want."
"So? This is MY room-"
"Well, this is MY closet."
"It's not! You're just sleeping in there-"
"Fine," Rukia turned towards the door, "I'll sleep in Yuzu's room and put the poster there."
Ichigo stared at her.
Rukia stare back, expression innocent.
"...Idiot."
...
A few months later, it was Rukia's birthday. In the human world, she was turning 18, but in Seireitei, she was about 157.
Of course, Isshin and the girls held her a party, inviting over Uryu, Chad, Orihime and Tatsuki. It went well. Uryu had sewn her a new dress, this one in a pretty shade of navy blue that made the color of her eyes stand out. Orihime and Tatsuki had gotten her a bunch of girly things, Sado got her a gift card from the Chappy store. Karin and Yuzu had pitched in together and gotten her some other clothing that was actually her size, and Ichigo, too, got her something from the Chappy store- a very expensive, very pretty charm bracelet with several charms on it. A pink rabbit, of course, an R for her name, a crescent moon, a snowflake, and a heart. Each charm had been 5 dollars, and the bracelet itself held at about 20, because it was silver.
Ichigo found himself unable to regret all the money drained from his wallet when he saw the look on Rukia's face.
Near the end of the party, it was about 10:00. Everyone went home; Ichigo and Rukia curled up on the sofa with hot chocolate, preparing to watch a movie when Isshin came into the living room with a surprisingly serious expression on his face, a white envelope in his hand.
"Rukia-chan," his voice was low, expression serious as he held out the envelope, "This came in the mail for you."
"Me?" Rukia had never really received mail before, eyebrows raising in slight surprise as she took the envelope from him, looking at it. She glanced at Ichigo, who was watching squinting at his father, "Is this some sort of a prank? Because if it is, I'm gonna-"
"It's not a prank." Isshin said seriously, "That really came today for Rukia-chan. It looks serious."
Rukia looked back at Ichigo, who was regarding her with a curious expression, "Well, go on, Rukia..."
She opened it, sliding two rectangle-shape papers out; she paused, silently reading them-
Rukia gasped right out loud, violet eyes buggy and wide as she stared a hole into the papers in her hand. Ichigo's heart jolted at this, jerking away from her for a moment, "What the hell-?"
"Tickets!" Rukia cried, holding the little papers out in front of her, "To the Trapnest concert!" her voice faded as she looked back at the papers in her hands, before looking at Ichigo, her eyes looking damp and watery, her voice breathless, "Seats in the first row..."
Isshin was grinning. "Happy birthday, Rukia-chan."
...
The Trapnest concert, entitled Trigger, was held in Naruki City on February 28th. Since Rukia had two tickets, she had wondered who was supposed to go with her. Isshin stated that Ichigo should take her, since he knew about Naruki City and didn't want her to get lost.
The day of the concert, Ichigo and Rukia took the bus to Naruki Stadium, which is where the concert was held. The stadium was quite crowded; their seats were A11 and A12, and it was quite dark, so Ichigo lead Rukia by the hand as they walked down the stairs to their seats in the front row, on the left side of the place. The stadium was noisy, echoing with the screams and cries of the many fans in the place, and although there were seats, nobody was using them. Ichigo himself had plopped down in the chair, but looking around and seeing that absolutely everybody was standing, Rukia included, he reluctantly rose from his chair.
It was then that he turned on the video camera- Yuzu had handed it to him before he left and made him promise to tape the concert for her. It was a small camera, so Ichigo held it up in his left hand with ease, pointing it to the stadium.
The giant, circle-shaped t screen in the front showed the band players- Takumi, who played bass, Ren, the lead guitarist, and Naoki, the drummer.
Then the image of a tall woman in a gorgeous dress appeared, her back to the crowd.
"Reira!" Rukia, along with the hundreds of other fangirls in the stadium, screamed the singer's name all at once. On the screen, Reira turned to the crowd and fired a gun with a loud bang! Ichigo stared at the blue-lit stadium, Rukia's shrieks of excitement ringing in his ears as music played; he could make out the bassist on the left and the guitarist on the right, the drummer in the middle further back.
Above the drummer, on a suspended high ledge, was the black outline of a woman standing in front of the large, circular blue-light wall, a microphone in front of her. Ichigo assumed she was the revered Reira.
Ichigo looked to the right, down at Rukia, who stood staring up at the stadium, eyes wide.
It was then he noticed her small hand gripping his fingers. He paused on this thought for a moment, before dismissing it. His eyes fell back on the guitarist- Ren, Rukia said his name was?- and then the bassist. The gigantic stadium bursting with screaming girls and certainly some guys, 80% dark except for the blue glow of the lights and the spotlight on the vocalist.
Still, the only thing he acknowledged was the charm bracelet hanging on Rukia's wrist.
"Travel to the moon
Kimi wa nemuri, yume wo toku
Dare mo inai, hoshi no hikari
Ayatsuri nagara
Tsuyoku naru tame,
Wasureta egao
Kitto futari nara, torimodosu
Kidzuite
I'm here waiting for you
Ima to wa chigau mirai ga atte mo
I'm here waiting for you
Sakebi tsudzukete
Kitto kokoro wa,
Tsunagu ito wo tagutteru..."
Ichigo broke his chain of thought, casually glancing over from the stage at Rukia, double-taking when he saw the tears running down her face.
Held in thought, he very carefully turned the camera to catch her breathtaking face, knowing how Yuzu would feel when she saw Rukia's face in the footage.
He then turned the camera back to the stadium, looking up at band in wonder of what Rukia was thinking right now.
"Ano koro no watashi,
Me wo samasu you ni
No need
To cry..."
The loud music from the guitars and the drums filled the huge stadium, Reira's voice faded.
Rukia eyes did not falter from the stage, staring up with the tears running in a line down her face.
Because, when Rukia was looking up there, she was not seeing Reira and Trapnest, blue lights or a large stadium. She was seeing Ichigo standing in front of her, vulnerable in sweats and a hoodie, watching her fade away, the most bittersweet look on his face. She was thinking of her being able to return here, of Ichigo being able to accept her so easily, of him and his family accepting her, taking her in and loving her like their own; of these uncountable blessings and this man who's hand she held, whom she was able to call hers. The beautiful words that flowed smoothly from Reira's lips seemed to tell a story of a raven-haired shinigami and an orange haired half-human.
And just that- that solid, perfect feeling of belonging, owning and being owned- pushed tears out of violet eyes and Rukia's right hand- the one that did not hold Ichigo's- brought up over her nose and her mouth as she sniffled.
She did not notice the tightening grip of the hand she held.
No need to cry...
...
The concert was over. The lights were back on, and Ichigo lead Rukia down by the hand towards the exit. He slowed down slightly when he felt Rukia's tug on his hand, looking over his shoulder at her...
She was looking backstage, where the band members stood. The guitarist, Ren, who was speaking to someone, paused and seemed to glance over.
Rukia froze when his eyes seemed to fall on her, his voice casual, "Hey."
Rukia's eyes widened so much they looked like they would pop out of her head. She was about to say something when Ichigo, frustrated with Rukia's apparent fondness of the lead guitarist, dragged her away.
When they got home, Rukia went and took as shower before bedtime- it was around 10 when they got home. Yuzu, who had fallen asleep on the couch in wait, woke up to Ichigo shuffling around in the kitchen dressed in his sweats and a t-shirt.
When Rukia came downstairs in shorts and a t-shirt, her short hair still damp, Yuzu squealed on seeing her, and suddenly, it was as if Rukia's normally calm demeanor never existed
"Ren saw me! He looked at me! He looked me in the face, and he said-" Rukia's voice suddenly deepened and she said in a smooth, casual tone while making a flirty face, " 'Hey,' "And I almost. Peed. My pants!"
"He said hey? He said hey! Oh my god!"
She and Yuzu jump up and down, screaming in each other's faces, hair flying everywhere, faces alight with pure joy.
"Ren said hello to me! The greatest guitar player Trapnest ever saw said hey to me! Me!"
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Rukia flopped over on the ground childishly with a tired, content sigh, cheeks pink, violet eyes alive and sparkling, the hem of her t-shirt raising slightly to show off her belly button almost childishly.
Ichigo rolled his eyes from the kitchen. He was torn between feelings of happiness on seeing her happy, or feelings of pure annoyance on seeing her apparent fascination with Honjo Ren.
He had to think of some sort of plan.
...
A few days later, Ichigo had come downstairs from his bedroom to the kitchen in search for something. He wandered into the kitchen, pausing when he noticed Rukia, who was washing dishes-
and singing loudly. Of course. Ichigo placed a hand over his face with a sigh.
Still, he stood there for a moment more, listening to her smooth voice over the sound of running water. Rukia did have a really nice voice, singing Trapnest's song...
Ichigo struck an idea. He quickly shuffled upstairs, returning with a very large and a very unused item that he had had since he was 14.
The electric guitar was a deep black and red and resonated a gorgeous sound as he strummed it.
Immediately, Rukia looked over her shoulder in slight surprise, "Ichigo-?"
"Good evening," Ichigo said in a smooth tone, "I'm Kurosaki Ichigo. Sing now, shinigami."
Rukia blinked at him, a soapy plate still in her hands. Ichigo strummed again, closing his eyes easily.
Rukia smiled.
"It's not shinigami. It's Kuchiki Rukia."
She turned back to the sink, rinsing off the plate.
"Please enjoy the show."
And then, Rukia's voice and Ichigo's guitar were the only sounds heard echoing in the Kurosaki house.
And, Ichigo thought, Rukia's voice, even without the bass or the drums, sounded better then Trapnest would ever sound.
And he, as his mind decided, was the only one able to create music good enough to match the sound of Rukia's voice.
"Kitto kokoro wa,
Tsunagu ito wo tagutteru
Ano koro no watashi,
Me wo samasu you ni...
No need to cry..."
...
AN
Anybody wanna see the concert Ichigo and Rukia attended? :D
http: / .com/ video/ x1hvv0_ nana-trapnest-concert-a-little-pain _music
without the spaces. ;)