Chapter One.
Their eyes met. They were lost in each other's gaze, as if their soul was being sucked into the other's mind. No one dared blink. No one dared move. No one dared breathe. They feared that if they did, they would never see this captivating view again. And they knew, that this, would be when the eternal bond shrouded for a thousand years surface.
Kurosaki Ichigo could see ghosts. Spirits, souls, the undead... Whatever you call it. It was not as if he wanted to anyway, he didn't even know how he could see. No one in his family could see, or knew that he could see. Well, he'd rather keep it that way anyway. He was about 9, when this supernatural thing started.
Ichigo and Tatsuki were walking home from Judo practise. Suddenly a young girl, around the age of Karin and Yuzu, tripped over in front of them. "Ah!" He yelped, before bursting into a short sprint, only to be pulled back by Tatsuki.
"What happened?" She asked, clasping his elbow with such a force that it didn't seem to have come from a girl her age.
"That girl fell. I need to help her," Ichigo explained, pointing at her.
Tatsuki stretched out her neck, scanning the place, "What girl?"
"That girl right in front of you!" Ichigo waved frantically. Tatsuki couldn't miss her, she was right under their noses!
Tatsuki stepped forward - and to Ichigo's horror, past the girl. "There's no one here, Ichigo," She reasoned, waving to emphasize her point. "Are you alright?"
Ichigo could only stare wide-eyed at the girl. He'd caught a clearer glimpse of the girl's face - her face was crushed and bloodied. And so was her pink dress - it was torn and stained with dry blood.
And it was then that Ichigo learnt the harsh truth of life. Since then he figured the only good that came out of his ability was that he could help guide the lost souls back to... whereever they are supposed to go. He didn't know how either, he just had to make them realise they were dead and poof, they dissappeared.
Well, almost everyone, or ghosts, returned to their Happy Place. There's this one girl Ichigo couldn't quite get. She was always behind him for some reason, trailing him, but not stalking. She was dressed in an ancient looking kimono-like thing. Ichigo didn't pay enough attention in History lessons to know what it was called. Whenever Ichigo turned around, she would immediately jump behind whatever she could find to camouflage herself with. He attempted to talk to her, coax her and even bribe her out, but she stuck to her shelter like a suction cup on a wall. It had been like this for around half a year already, and obviously Ichigo gave up on her. As much as he'd like to help, it wouldn't be his fault if she refused to co-coperate, right? Plus, she is kinda cute...
Ichigo dragged open the door wearily. It had been a long day at school, and finally the weekend is here. His aching body had been itching for the comfort of his soft, relaxing bed. But it seemed like it wasn't meant to be. He was greeted by the sight of heaps of luggage piled on top of another. Karin had just finish tossing another bag to the pile. "Okairi, Ichi-nii!" Yuzu smiled, noticing her brother's return.
"What the heck are you guys doing?" Ichigo gave a puzzled face before slamming the door shut in exasperation.
Isshin pounced at Ichigo, delivering his high jump kick. Ichigo, too exhausted to retort, side-stepped and let his old man fly into the door. Isshin flipped back to life in a second, rubbing his swollen nose. "Ichigo you useless son! We're going for a family vacation! Why haven't you start packing?!" He yelled.
"Vacation?!" Ichigo exclaimed. "Where too? And why the heck is it so sudden??!!"
Karin crossed her hands, "Dad says he wants us to go to the hot spring at the mountain. Said he was guilty he was too hooked up on his work."
Ichigo's shoulders slumped. "Actually I'd be more than happy if he neglects us," He muttered.
"Ah!" Yuzu let out a yelp, checking her watch. "If we don't go there now the place would close! And we'll miss the 2-day promotion!"
Ichigo eyed Isshin. "So that's what it's all about..."
Isshin ignored Ichigo, whether on purpose or not was beyond Ichigo. "No time!" He shouted. "Let's go now!" He dashed forward and scooped up the mountain of luggages on his back, and sped out of the door faster than you can say "Retarded old man."
And so there Ichigo was, trapped with his family in the mountains. Well, he wouldn't be one to complain though. Soaking his energy-zapped muscles in the warm, soothing water was definitely a much better idea than lying in bed. His family were asleep, so he could safely sneak out into the bath without fear of being disturbed, particularly by his father. He felt that he could just stay there forever, letting his limp body sway with the gentle currents in the tranquilising waters. His eyelids were getting heavier, and his vision started to fog...
"Ah!" A cry jolted him awake. Ichigo whipped his head around at once. And he saw the girl, lying flat on the floor, her long sleeves spread out gracefully in front of her.
"Hey, you all right?" Ichigo leapt up from the bath, and went over to pull her up. Water dripped from every part of his body. And don't scream Ichigo-fans, he's wearing a towel around his hips.
The girl raised her head, only to be sucked into his hazel brown eyes. Her mouth was open, but she forgot what she wanted to say. She forgot how to move when she saw his elegantly chiseled jawline that was lightly brushed on by the pale moonlight. His soft orange hair was dimly illuminated by the moon as well, screaming for Rukia to reach out her hands and sink her hands into them. The sillouette of his biceps and chest muscles gave off a very bland glow in the dark, but just enough for her to marvel at.
Ichigo, too, couldn't pry his eyes off her captivating ones. Come to think of it he had never look her straight in her eyes, or rather she didn't let him. But now he was grateful she did. It was as if none of the other sceneries in the world could match up to this. Her face was clearer than his was to her as she was facing the moon. He had trouble restraining himself from running his hands over her smooth, flawless face, over her cherry blossom lips and against her black, velvety hair. Something rang in his head, as though he had met her, seen her, known her before. But yet there was no such recollections in his present memory. Either way, he just wanted to continue admiring this work of beauty.
"Ah!" The girl snapped out of her trance. "Shiba-sama! Please forgive me for my audacity!" She quickly pulled away, rather reluctantly, standing straight up. Her head hung low, face flushing red hot.
Her voice tinkled like chimes in a church. Ichigo, feeling a mix of disappointment and abashment, stood up too. He scratched his head at her words. "Shiba-sama?"
"Y...Yes! Do you require any service, Shiba-sama?" Her head was still bowed, hair covering her face.
Ichigo scratched his head somemore. "I am not... This Shiba guy. My name is Kurosaki Ichigo," He stuck out his hand. "Yoroshiku."
The girl did not utter a sound, body still arched.
He licked his lips, retracting his hand awkwardly. This was going to be a problem. "Ok... What's your name?" He probed.
"Shiba-sama, my name is Kuchiki Rukia," She kowtowed again.
"Kuchiki Rukia..." He replayed her name in his mind. Where is it... that he heard this name before?
"So... What are you doing here?" He asked once more, trying to squeeze every information he could from her.
"I... I was trying to give you a massage. B... But I tripped and fell over my Suikan. P... Please forgive me for my clumsiness, Shiba-sama!" She blabbered.
"A massage?" Ichigo's face reddened at the word. He gulped to calm down. He was sort of getting the situation. Apparently she was a servant from God-Knows-What Period and seemed to have taken Ichigo for her master. So that explained why she had been following him.
"Why do you hide everytime I turn around?" He wondered.
"Be... Be... Because I... I was afraid Shiba-sama would punish me for not serving him for so long," Her voice trembled with worry.
"How long?"
"I... I'm not sure. Ever since the day Shiba-sama left for the Hogen Rebellion," She muttered, not daring to look up, as if ready, and yet not ready, for her punishment.
This Hogen Rebellion thing was definitely not something from the present time. Ichigo ruffled his hair as he fumbled for a suitable way to break the cruel truth to her. "Thing is, Kuchiki-san..." He started.
"Please, call me Rukia! I am not worthy of that title, Shiba-sama!" She interrupted again.
Ichigo smirked. He could not help being amused by her cute antics. But what needs to be done, needs to be done. "Ok, Rukia," He corrected, although a little bashful at the thought of calling her that. "Thing is, you're... Well, it is the 21st century right now. Do you know what year it is? 2009."
Rukia didn't move an inch, but he could tell she was listening.
"So, I suppose you're from way back in time. Like maybe the Edo Period or something. So if that were true, there could only be two possibilities," Ichigo continued, hoping to break the news slowly to her, so that she could take it better. "First, you're hundreds-of-years old. Or number two, you've passed away a long time ago, but you didn't realise it."
Ok, poof, disappear.
But Rukia remained where she was, still as a statue. This was to Ichigo's disappointment - or relief. Didn't this girl get it?
"Do you understand, Rukia?" He queried, making sure she did.
"Yes, Shiba-sama. I will work on my comprehension so I can serve you better," she answered.
Ichigo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He just couldn't get through to her. Maybe it's the generation gap, the wide generation gap. He just needs to find a way to express it in a way ancient people talk with. A yawn escaped from between his lips. That's right, it's almost 2 in the morning already. She should be tired as well. They may be ghosts, but they still get sleepy like humans do. Anyway he could always try again tomorrow.
"It's late already, let's get back to sleep. Where do you sleep, Rukia?" He yawned once more as he put on his bathrobe.
"O... On the floor, Shiba-sama."
"On the floor?!" Ichigo exclaimed. "You mean you've been sleeping on the floor everyday?"
"Yes, Shiba-sama," Rukia answered, with a hint of puzzlement in her voice. Isn't she as a servant supposed to do that when there are no Futon? Maybe Shiba-sama was testing her.
Ichigo shook his head, "That's it, you're sleeping in a decent place tonight." He signalled for Rukia to follow him as he walked out of the place. "Is that how noble people treat their servants last time?"
Rukia remained silent as she didn't know the answer.
"Either way, you're going to sleep in my sisters' room. I think they've got extra mattresses and pillows, so you can sleep on something decent," Ichigo told Rukia as they strolled down the hallway and turned left. He pulled open the door to his sisters' room. They were fast asleep, one of them, probably Karin, mildly snoring. He tiptoed quietly so as not to wake them up. He slid open the storage door and heaved out a mattress and a rather thick blanket. Then he proceeded to pull out another pillow.
"Please, Shiba-sama, allow me!" Rukia stepped in. But Ichigo merely nudged Rukia aside, whispering gently that he could handle this. He unfolded the blanket and mattresses and set up everything accordingly beside Yuzu, who was nearest to them.
"There," Ichigo said in a hushed voice. "You are going to sleep there for tonight."
Ichigo finally managed to convince her that he could retreat into his room without any of her service. The moment the lights went off and his body made contact with the comfy mattress, he lost consciousness.
It seemed like hours later when he felt something hover in front of him like a ghost, pun not intended. He drowsily lifted his eyelids, only to see Rukia, kneeled down in front of him. He jolted straight up, almost screaming. "Wha... Wha... Didn't I tell you to stay there and sleep?" He blurted.
"It is a servant's duty to look after her master till he's asleep, only then can she sleep," Rukia explained, although her rushed words made it quite unclear, understanding that an aristocrat like Shiba-sama wouldn't know of the rules of the lowly servants.
Ichigo slapped his forehead in defeat. "Ok, it's ok now, Rukia. You don't have to wait till I'm asleep now. You can go sleep," He reasoned. "It's an order."
Rukia, taken aback by his order, kowtowed and obliged.
"Wait," Ichigo said, before striding over to the storage and once again pull out the mattress, blanket and pillow. "It's too late for you to walk back alone. You sleep here with me."
Rukia flustered. "Ah! No, no, Shiba-sama I am absolutely unworthy of sleeping in your room! It is unthinkable!" She blabbered, face lobster-red.
Ichigo, a little irritated by the traditional customs of the past, smiled and assured her that it was perfectly acceptable, and that he wouldn't do anything to her. He couldn't bear to touch her fragile frame, for fear of shattering her like a porcelein doll. That Shiba guy must have abused her. Domestic violence kind of guy, he must be. Brushing aside these worrying thoughts, Ichigo drifted back to sleep.
The crickets sang their ancient melodies on the aged tree trunk. The arched moon bridged, shining bright, but yet subtle, against the brilliant dark sky. The backdrop was adorned with stars, glimmering like the eyes of bright, curious children. And underneath it all, two crossed paths lay. Amongst the lullaby of the crickets, the faint breathing of the two faintly played, performing the harmony of the junction where the paths merged.
A/N: Whew! Finally! I really am supposed to be sleeping right now! My mom will so kill me for this. XD
So, this is my first, experimental long fanfic. I hoped you have enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. (Although I guess the plot was kinda predictable, I'll try to change it when the Ichigo and Rukia in my head decide to scold me for that. XD) A few things to clarify though.
I have set Rukia to be someone from the Heian Period (794 - 1185). And so if you do some simple math calculations, Rukia would be about a thousand years old. (Well, 'A Thousand Years Of Remembrance' rings a better bell than 'A Hundred Years Of Remembrance' doesn't it?) There would be some references to that period although some of them were purely fictional because my researching skill were as bad as Shuusuke's drinking skills. XD A little pointers to note.
1. Rukia's Suikan. An actual piece of clothing that existed in that period but descriptions as to who wore it were so conflicting. So being the lazy person that I am, I used it straightaway.
2. Hogen Rebellion. Yet again another actual event in that period. This was when the Samurais in that period stood up against the higher order... and stuff happened.
3. The rest of the 'rules of the lowly servants'. Completely, entirely, purely fictional. Period.
Yup, I think that's about all. If anything else I would edit it immediately. So thank you for reading and please give your reviews and criticisms!
Yoroshiku, onegaishimasu!
