DISCLAIMER: Don't own Bleach. But I own my imagination.

NINE HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE PAPER CRANES

"A thousand paper cranes will make your wish come true. But actually it's time that heals you."

ONE

There were nine hundred and ninety nine colorful paper cranes inside her closet. She counted and recounted them for almost three hours, forgetting she was supposed the change into house clothes that's why she entered her closet. The paper cranes were in her room, and that means it was hers, she made them. A thousandth one will make her wish, any wish come true. Or atleast that's what legends say. But there were only nine hundred and ninety nine of those origami. Meaning, she was very close to getting her wish. But what was she supposed to wish for? Surely, to have the perseverance to make that many paper cranes, she already had something in mind. But she can't remember. Or maybe, just maybe, she forgot.

–

Rukia Kuchiki had just come home from the hospital, after spending almost a month there. Her brother told her she and her cousin Renji had an accident, and she got the worse part. Renji only had minor injuries and was released from the hospital after three days, while she was in comatose for a week. The accident gave her selective amnesia and she couldn't remember anything about that night, except for the vague memory that she and Renji went out to watch a movie.

"You sneaked out and I didn't know anything about it until the police called and told me about a car crash," said Byakuya icily, when she asked about the accident again on her first dinner back home. Obviously, he still hasn't forgiven her, much less Renji, who drove the car that night.

"Sorry, sorry," muttered Renji lazily. It was nth time he apologized, although he didn't really meant it. For him, one apology is enough and that Byakuya ought to have forgiven them by now.

Rukia chewed her food thoughtlessly. She really can't remember, even though she tries to recount the events that night. The effort sometimes made her head ache, but she keeps it to herself. Her brother already had a lot on his mind. "Do you know why I have paper cranes in my room?" she asked suddenly.

Eyebrows shot up. "Paper cranes?" asked Renji.

"We don't enter you room, Rukia," answered Byakuya.

"Oh."

"You suppose she forgot about those too, along with the accident?" Renji asked Byakuya, who was a doctor.

It wasn't her area of expertise, though. Byakuya was a cardiologist. "I am positive, although I shall still confirm it with my colleagues. I shall add though, that I am under the theory that you forgot only unimportant things which are therefore not worth remembering."

"Thank you, Nii-sama."

"Do you have anything else bothering you?" asked Byakuya.

"No, I think I remember everything else," answered Rukia, and it was true. Nothing else gave her the odd empty feeling that the paper cranes gave her that afternoon.

After dinner, she went directly to her room and examined everything.

There were pictures in her dresser and they showed the faces of her friends and family and herself: her best friends, Momo and Rangiku; other friends, Kira, Shuuhei, and Chad; several showed pictures of herself in various occassions and one showed a grinning Renji with an arm around a flustered Byakuya's shoulder.

And then there were rabbits of all forms and sizes, and she remembered who gave each of them or where she bought them. She remembered the contents of her books that they have already discussed and the ones that she didn't understand. Rukia remembered that she loves art and Literature and she despises and sucks at Algebra.

She remembered everything but the paper cranes.

"Hey, you okay?" asked Renji, leaning against her doorway.

"Yeah, sure," said Rukia, still looking around for stuff she might have forgotten.

Renji sat on her bed, looking worried.

"What is it?" asked Rukia.

"You know, I still haven't apologized," started Renji. "I'm sorry I was a careless driver and I'm sorry you forgot things because of the accident." He blushed, a rare occurrence.

Rukia forgot to suppress her smile. "It's not your fault, Renji, it was an accident and nobody wanted it. If anyone is to blame, it's me. I convinced you to sneak out even though we were both grounded."

"But--"

"It's over, alright?" said Rukia, pulling Renji out of her bood and to the door. "One more apology and I will really blame you for what happened."

"Rukia--"

"Shut up, Renji," said Rukia sternly, and it shut him up. "Good night."

She closed the door and collapsed in her bed, wishing for a good night's sleep. The doctor allowed her to return to school the next day and that was what she was going to do. And therefore she needed to rest.

With a sigh, Rukia closed her amethyst eyes and drifted off to dreamland.

"Rukia-chan!" Momo greeted cheerfully as they saw each other the next day. Rangiku was right behind her and they embraced each other.

"Good morning, Momo, Rangiku," greeted Rukia, feeling refreshed and as cheerful as her two best friends.

"So," said Rangiku quietly. "Now that you're back, can we go shopping later after school?" She winked.

"Rangiku-san!" Momo exclaimed. "She still needs her rest, you know."

Rangiku pouted. "Sure, sure. Tomorrow then."

Rukia smiled as Momo stubbornly explained to Rangiku how Rukia is still in recovery, and unfortunately, Rangiku stubbornly refused to listen. The two continued like that until they reach their first class, which is Gym. Rukia was excused, but she was welcomed warmly by the enigmatic Kisuke-sensei.

"Ahh, Kuchiki-san, you may sit on the bleachers while waiting. And you're excused so this won't affect your grade, so don't worry," said Kisuke-sensei.

"Thank you very much, sir," said Rukia brightly, relieved.

"But you will need to catch up when you're well enough to play basketball, alright?"

Rukia smiled. "Thank you, sir." But the inner Rukia frowned. She wasn't good at Gym and her petite figure did not help in basketball either. Of all the games they could play, Kisuke-sensei chose the one she couldn't actually excel in, unless she grows at least another foot, and that was almost impossible.

So she took a seat in the third row, glad that at least she can still use the accident as an excuse to not joing Gym class. Skipping class wasn't her, but Gym was an exception. And of course, Algebra too. She'd get into every accident possible if only it would rid her of her two least favorite subjects forever.

She was lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice when somebody shouted, "Duck!"

A ball hit her on the head. And damn hard too.

Momo and Rangiku were at her side instantly, along with a scowling orange-haired teen, scratching the back of his head. "I told you to duck, you just didn't hear me," he said as soon as he was within earshot. "Are you hurt?"

Rukia felt her temper rise immediately. "Well, no, I'm actually having the time of my life." She scowled. "Of course, I'm hurt. What did you think you threw at me, a marshmallow?"

"I was asking properly, you," said the carrot-top. "If --"

"Young people by the bleachers," called Kisuke-sensei, not sounding worried at all. "You might want to decided what to do with Kuchiki-san now, because time is gold, you know."

Rukia waved at their teacher. "I'm alright, Kisuke-sensei! Nothing bleeding and nothing broken!"

"That's good to hear!" shouted Kisuke-sensei, waving back with his infamous fan. "Now Hinamori-san, Matsumoto-san and Kurosaki-san, kindly return to your drills."

The carrot-top was the first to make his way down.

"He didn't even apologize," muttered Rukia darkly. "What a humongous idiot."

"He's just frustrated, Rukia-chan" said Momo.

"Frustrated?"

Rangiku was already pulling Momo back to the court. "It's nothing, Rukia, just rest there!" And they went back to their drills, leaving Rukia with a headache and in a state of confusion.

The whole day, people she knew who knew her welcomed her back to the school and encouraged her and it made her feel warm and tingly inside. It was nice to know that people actually liked her, people not counting her brother, her cousin and her two best friends. She considered herself very lucky.

First period after lunch was literature, taught by Ukitake-sensei, the nicest teacher you could find.

"Welcome back, Kuchiki-san," he greeted as he entered the room and placed his books on the table. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, Ukitake-sensei, thank you very much."

Being the great teacher that he is, he dedicated the next two hours to Rukia by reviewing their Romeo and Juliet to see if there's anything she has forgotten. Fortunately, she remembered everything.

"Well, class," said Ukitake-sensei as the bell rang for second period, "that was very cooperative, even unexpectedly so. And Kuchiki-san, I'm glad to know you haven't lost your head at all."

And with a nonchalant wave and a cheerful smile, the kind teacher went out ahead of them. Their next class was Home Economics, located in another room.

"The guy sitting on my left," started Rukia as they left the room. "Kisuke-sensei and Ukitake-sensei called him Kurogane--"

"He's Kurosaki, not Kurogane," chided Rangiku. "Although the name makes him sound yummier."

Momo frowned. "Rangiku-san!"

"Is he a transferee?"

Momo and Rangiku exchanged puzzled glances. "No, he's our classmate since freshman year," said Rangiku, suddenly serious.

"You don't remember him?" asked Momo worriedly.

"No, I don't think so," answered Rukia truthfully.

"But-- no way!"

Rukia shook her head. "He looks weird to me. If Nii-sama saw him, he'd probably see him as a delinquent."

"Well, he is cute, admit it," said Rangiku, tossing her hair to the side, making the boys turn and whistle as they passed. "And he's a lot better than most of the dudes here."

"That's not true," said Momo, and Rukia was about to ask which part of it wasn't true, but Momo already asked something. "What about him, Rukia-chan?"

Rukia tried to look indifferent, although thinking of that Kurosaki made her feel a little nervous.. weird. "I noticed at him staring at me, so I looked back, thinking it would embarrass him and make him look away, but he didn't."

"What did he do instead?"

"He looked back at me," said Rukia, remembering how Kurosaki's amber eyes made her feel bare. "I was almost thinking he was trying to speak to me through mind telepathy, but then Ukitake-san asked him a question."

"Oh."

"And mind you, he knows Shakespeare very much."

"Typical Ichigo," muttered Rangiku as they reached the H.E. Classroom.

"He likes Shakespeare?"

"Like?" said Rangiku, and both she and Momo giggled. "Honey, he's in love with Shakespeare."

"Oh," but then Rukia remembered the way he stared at her. "Do you know why he stared at me like that?"

Momo's expression turned instantly from amusement to terror. "No, why would he do that, right?" Her voice shook a little.

Rangiku, on the other hand, seemed to be suddenly interested with lessons, something that rarely happens. "Do you know what we'll be baking today? Or maybe we'll cook something? Oh, I do wish it's something sweet."

Rukia tried hard to ignore her best friends' sudden change of attitude, because just then, the controversial Kurosaki entered the room with Chad and settled on the table behind them. Rukia found it very strange. Chad was a very quiet person and quite a loner. She didn't remember him hanging out with this Kurosaki.

She has forgotten about him, she was now certain of it. But why him, and only him, of all people?

A/N: Well, what do you think? Could you please, pretty please, let me know?

Commonly Renji is included in love triangles, but I think he needs a break and deserves a chance to be some kind of big brother to Rukia. That's my justification for his role. I may edit this again, depending on your reviews, so type away! Suggestions will be warmly welcomed, just spare me from flames. My heart is very delicate :)

QUOTE FOR THIS CHAPTER:

"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose." - Kevin Arnold

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