Flaming orange hair.
Stunning brown eyes.
Tall in stance, broad shoulders.
She was thinking about him again. It never failed. Every year, around this time, she couldn't help but to let her mind linger and wonder about him. About all they had went through together.
She heard something break in the living room.
"Reizo, what are you doing in there?" Rukia rounded the corner to see her four year old son sitting in the middle of the floor with a huge smile on his face.
"Nothing," he said. Rukia saw that to his left was her favorite plant scattered on the floor.
"Reizo, how many times do I have to tell you to not play in here? Now you have to clean this mess up." Reizo ran at the word 'clean'. But Rukia was one step ahead of him and caught him before he could make it to his room and lock the door.
"Good try kid," she said, handing him a broom. "Clean it up before your father gets home. Or else."
With a look worthy of his father, Reizo said, "Or else what?"
"Or else I'm gonna have to do something about it."
Reizo straightened up with the new, familiar voice. "Ahh, Reizo isn't so tough now, isn't he?" Rukia asked.
Renji walks to Rukia and kisses her on the forehead. "No, he just recognizes the real authority of the house," Renji states as he takes off his tie. Rukia elbows him and he laughs.
"Ha. Very funny. It's easy to tell where your son gets it from." Rukia looks down at Reizo, who by now was cleaning up the mess he had made. He was the spitting image of Renji, with that same cocky smirk. His hair was naturally a blood red color, deeper in hue than Renji's, but he held her wide, violet eyes.
"Well I'm about to go wash up. It's been a LONG day at the office." Renji begins taking off his tie and walks off toward the bathroom.
"Okay, well dinner will done soon," Rukia said, turning to look at Reizo's progress. When he was finished she walked with him to the kitchen to dump the trash in the trashcan. She looked down at the counter and saw an orange in the fruit bowl.
Oh, Carrot Top, I miss you.
-D-
It was almost that time of the year.
Ichigo walked his usual path from work towards home. He still preferred walking after all these years. It reminded him of better times. Things were good now. But they could never be like it was.
Rukia.
She was something he could never shake out of his memories. Especially now. Especially with it being so close that day.
He was told so many times to forget about her. Orihime was a wonderful wife to him and gave him his precious daughter, Yoi. He ran several successful dojos in the city and even sponsors a few hospitals owned by his father. Life was great.
Yeah right.
But it was always missing something. Someone. Her.
"Do you always look this gloom when you're walking down the street? No wonder you're so unapproachable," the person finished with a small chuckle.
He knew that voice. It was all too familiar.
He turned around to confirm his thoughts.
"What are you doing here?" Ichigo shouted. Rukia just stood there with a smile on her face.