Coming
Sequel to Waiting! Hope you enjoy it :D
I didn't know what to begin it with when I saw an old note I made on FB, presumably the predecessor to Waiting. After I read through it, everything came in a lightning bolt. Onward to the disclaimer and story!
DISCLAIMER: Bleach is mine, na na na na na na! Yeah right. T_T
XXX
Graduation. It was just from high school, but so much fan fare was made over it. He glanced around, hoping for a face. Disappointed, he closed his eyes to focus. Nothing. 3 years [well, assuming he graduates at 18; and 3 is quite a popular number for time skips...] and his power had not returned. 3 years wondering about how she was. 3 years never getting to see a sliver of shadow.
He didn't see her since the day their shadows had touched. So many words left unsaid. Questions asked with no reply. Answers he never got to hear.
She watched. She always did. And she always thought on how she was going to reply. And always... the answer was the same.
"I love you too."
She whispered the words to herself now, and nobody heard. Least of all the person she wanted to let know.
Byakuya had mellowed so much. She was still surprised that all he had said was, while closing his eyes, "Follow your heart."
She did now, but still didn't want him to see her in a gigai. It wasn't her. Her phone beeped. She had to go. But he will always be in her mind.
He thought he felt her. When he looked around, she wasn't there. Although he'd said he'd move on, she still hovered in the recesses of his mind. She would never truly leave him.
Kon was ditched at Urahara's when his incessant wailing of "NEE-SAN!" became too much to bear, and it was really annoying since he was the only one to listen to him. He wished he'd given him to Yuzu instead, to shut him up.
His pining didn't help him in the least. Not that he wanted to forget her. It was just that... she wasn't there, and words were too poor a substitute for the woman he loved.
She found Kon at Urahara's. The shopkeeper suggested she used a gigai, an offer she declined. The group at the shop seemed to understand. Everyone seemed to.
She stood outside his house again. Her fingers traced the wall she leaned against during that fateful encounter. How far had they gone from then. Love found, friendships forged, bonds set in stone. She was lost in her thoughts... she remembered the times she was near dying, and he was the last person she thought of. Her reverie caused her to be caught off-guard.
He couldn't believe his eyes. Rukia. In front of him, his house. He hoarsely called her name. "Rukia...?"
She turned, a puzzled look on her face as though she didn't hear the first time. Then, realization dawned. "Ichigo..."
He hugged her. Tightly, as he swore he would. She was warm. She didn't crumble on his touch. She was real. She was Rukia.
"Ichigo!" she gasped, pushing him back slightly.
He stared at her stupidly, then quickly released her, turning away and trying to control his heart rate. He felt as though he could burst into fireworks, if didn't sound stupid. He would be very happy with the result, actually.
He felt her hand run down his back. "I missed you too," she teased.
When he hugged her, she felt like all the breath had left her body, leaving her gasping. The feeling was as though she got rammed in the stomach by some... bull, say. Her heart hammered against her rib cage. She felt so happy it hurt.
Ichigo suddenly turned back to her, and a smug look graced his previously permanent-scowl expression. "So."
She felt her larynx close up. She forced out a single syllable, "So?"
"I'm sure you heard me the first time," he said it slowly, as though to say, I knew you were there.
Her face betrayed her tried-and-failed composed look. "You see?"
She backed up against the wall, now her enemy. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb, Rukia. You know what I mean," the smug bastard!
She flushed to her roots. Saying it to herself was one thing, actually saying it aloud was another.
He enjoyed seeing her squirm with embarrassment. Hell, he lost all reserve upon seeing her. Let him look out of character. Nothing was going to stand in his way of hearing her answer.
"I LOVE YOU, OKAY?" she screeched, looking like she was going to just die.
"Can't you say it better?" he could feel a grin slowly forming on his face. "Don't die on me yet... and you've lived far too long to die from this, haven't you?"
She really looked like she was going to pass out from hyperventilation. He carried her, not like the way he did when he rescued her. This time, he did it far more gently, lifting her in his arms.
"Let go," she murmured, beating lightly on his chest.
"I swore I wouldn't. You'll have to cut off my arms. If you could."
He forgot one small detail though.
"RUKIA-CHAN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!" Kurosaki Isshin's voice assaulted their ears when Ichigo fumbled and managed to open the door while still holding on to her.
"Rukia-chan! You're back!" blubbered Yuzu.
Karin didn't offer anything, but smirked, much like her brother. Ichigo swung his leg wide, slamming his over-energetic father into the wall. Immediately, he sprung back up and ran towards the ubiquitous Masaki poster. "KAA-SAN! OUR THIRD DAUGHTER HAS RETURNED!" he bellowed.
The couple watched his antics; Ichigo with resignation and Rukia with wonder. Once 'safely' upstairs, he set her down on his bed and sat beside her. "What do we do now?" Rukia pondered aloud, looking at the ceiling.
Her companion had a steely look on. "This."
The kiss left them both short of breath, but asking for more.
Years later...
Everything had been bundled and tied up nicely and conveniently. Peace reigned. Ichigo became the Fifth's captain, the first one to have not been 'dead'. He was, technically, but his body was somewhat living... actually, he didn't get a thing.
Sometimes he thought, with mild irony, that he became captain at his sworn enemy's division. The division had nothing to do with the fiasco though, so he just thought then put it aside. Hinamori had begun picking up the pieces Aizen had left behind, and slowly, day by day, she recovered. Occasionally, Toushirou dropped by to see how she was doing. He wondered how they would end up.
Rangiku-san had a tough time as well. Ichimaru had disappeared without a trace, but she almost didn't seem to mind. In fact, once or twice, in a drunken stupor, she confessed that would be the right thing to do. Rukia always comforted her later.
The topic of kids had never been breached, but nevertheless, he enjoyed shunpo-ing his [so far, hint hint] only daughter around Soul Society. He worked part-time in the real world, amazed he could find time in his hectic shinigami schedule. Then again, Hinamori had helped immensely. Had Aizen not manipulated her, he could see why he chose her as his lieutenant.
He gazed fondly at his daughter, Misaki. It was a little combination of Masaki, Hisana and Rukia. Her eyes were amber, her hair jet-black with a streak of dull orange. He could see Rukia coming over with yet another gift from Byakuya. He quietly doted on the girl, sending expensive kimono after another. Not that he minded.
He looked up to the clear sky. No cloud in sight. All was well.