About this Chapter: This chapter…. isn't a chapter. It's the prologue. It's mostly introducing the character's different situations. Please read and review! Enjoy XD
Disclaimer: It's funny how people assume that just because you're writing a story with certain characters that means that you own the characters. I don't own crap. Thanks XD
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"Rukia, you need to make sure that you're on your best behavior tonight" Byakuya says. "The guests at this dinner are all elite people in different lines of work. It is for the prestigious and wealthy, so you must not make a fool of yourself."
"Yes, Byakuya." I say, resisting the strong impulse to roll my eyes. He, as a very important business man, was invited to attend a large dinner party consisting of all important people in the area from all different lines of work. There will be doctors, lawyers, business men, politicians, and so many more. Along with the important people themselves, the people were invited to bring one family member. As the only family member in Kuchiki Byakuya's home, he is bringing me. I already know that it will be horribly boring, and I'm not looking forward to it even slightly, but at least it will be better than staying at home and having the creepy maids look after me every single second.
"Now, it started twenty minutes ago, and it will take about ten minutes to get there. Half an hour late seems acceptable. Just hurry up and come out when you are done putting on your shoes so that we don't end up being rudely late." Byakuya says, and he exits our home, leaving me to put on my heels.
I slip on my shoes and stand up, viewing the world from a higher point than normal because of the two inch heel. I take a step forward and look at myself in the mirror, deciding that I look professional enough to make Byakuya happy, cute enough to make myself happy, and covered up enough to not make the perverted men that will inevitably be at the dinner happy. I'm wearing a black dress with black lace sleeves that go halfway down my arm, and the skirt of the dress goes slightly above my knees.
I walk out to the car and get in the back, Byakuya up front next to the driver. We drive away to the party while I anticipate the boredom I know is to come.
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We arrive at the party without problem, and before I can open up my door a man in a suit and hat opens it for me. I smile up at him; he's an older, pleasant looking man, and I get out of the car, the driver driving off as soon as I'm out. I look over to see Byakuya already chatting politely with some important looking person. He sees me looking and introduces me to the person he's talking to. I don't really listen to his name, and end up looking around while they discuss the economy. When they're done talking, we move inside a large mansion, going into a humungous room full of men in suits with women in short dresses. There are a few important women, but they're all in black pants and a shirt, none are wearing the short dresses the men's escorts are.
I look around for someone my age, but the only people I see are older than me. There's a man of about twenty, so I move to talk to him—he's likely to be nicer to talk to than the perverted old men (who have already found me)—but as I start to move away, Byakuya grabs my shoulder and introduces me to someone else who's name I don't bother remembering. The younger man sees this, and I glance over to see him smile at me, almost mockingly.
I turn back to make small talk with the man I was just introduced to, acting like I understand the political terms he uses; I recognize them all—Byakuya makes me study things like politics and business—but I don't remember what they mean. We continue the evening just walking around, talking to everyone possible, and after a certain point I've met so many people that I start to feel very overwhelmed.
Finally some food is served, and people start to stop coming up to us as frequently. I expect it to be a formal dinner, everyone sitting around a huge table and eating dinner in courses, but instead the food is served on a large table and people go up to the table and get something then disperse around the room going to little tables scattered everywhere or just eating standing around.
After about another half an hour of standing around, neither of us eating anything, I turn to ask Byakuya if we might be able to go soon—no one's around, so it's the best time to get the idea of going home into his head—when someone else walks up to say something to us.
There are two people; one is a man with a chiseled looking face, rather boxy build but still very handsome. He looks older than Byakuya by maybe fifteen years or so, but when I look at his happy facial expression and the matching one on Byakuya's face and I know that, despite their difference in age, they know each other very well. Next to and slightly behind this man stands a moody looking teenage boy who seems about my age but practically double my height. He has the brightest hair I've ever seen—it's orange—and he's wearing suit pants with a purple t shirt and an open shirt jacket on top. He's very cute, and I fee l myself blushing when I see that he's looking at me.
I only notice after Byakuya says my name a couple of times that he's trying to introduce me to the man and the boy.
"This is Kurosaki Ishiin, and his son, Kurosaki Ichigo." Byakuya says, and I shake their hands in turn.
"Nice to meet you." I say. Kurosaki-sensei smiles brightly, but Ichigo-san just nods and says nothing.
"This is my adopted sister, Kuchiki Rukia." Byakuya says. I find out that Kurosaki-sensei is a doctor, and that he has two young daughters, but because only one family member was invited he left them at home.
After listening to stories about how Kurosaki-sensei and Byakuya met each other—something to do with a late plane and a cup if spilled coffee (surprisingly Byakuya was the one who spilled the coffee)—the two move away, leaving me to make more small talk with the people Byakuya introduce me to.
The eating frenzy is mostly over, so now we have so much more time to talk to people, and even more are arriving. I talk to at least thirty more people, answering the same questions over and over again—where do you go to school? What is your favorite class? What profession are you looking into for the future? I always answer the first one truthfully—I used to go to a private school, but I'm starting a new highschool because the old one isn't good enough in Byakuya's eyes—but the other two I lie about; I always take the person's profession and try and guess what class would have been their favorite and answer with that, and I would never tell someone the truth about what I want to be when I grow up—not even Byakuya knows. I want to teach astronomy when I grow up, but Byakuya says that teachers don't make very much money, and that there are already so many people that want to be teachers that the world doesn't need more, and also he thinks that studying the starts isn't important until it will save the world from dying. Because of this, I always tell people that I want to work under Byakuya when I get older.
After repeating myself over and over, my head starts to feel light from being in the small room full of people, so I tell Byakuya and he lets me go out onto a balcony overlooking the intricate front yard of the host. I look up at the sky and see the moon, almost completely full, looking at me. It's very beautiful, and actually, the moon is what got me interested in astronomy. There's something about it that seems so majestic that I can't help but love and want to study it.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Someone asks from behind me. I turn around to see the younger man that I saw at beginning of the party walking over to me. From where we're standing, we're completely out of view of everyone in the part because of the way the balcony's made, and for some reason I don't feel safe.
"Y-Yeah." I say, smiling. He smiles back at me, still walking forward, and something about his smile seems creepy and lustful, like a crazed animal looking at its prey. He continues to walk forward and places his hand on my shoulder, close to me neck.
I shiver from the contact and try to back away, but I'm pressed up against the railing of the balcony and can't move.
"Oh, are you cold?" He asks me, still smiling. "If you want, I know somewhere inside we could go, alone, where you could be warm. He says bending close to me and trying to press his lips against mine. I push him away with all of my force, but he's much stronger than me. Since physical strength doesn't work, I try to yell, hoping that someone will hear me even through the loud din of the party, but he presses his lips against mine to stifle me. I continue to try and push him away, my lips freezing up and not letting him deepen this kiss besides his insistence.
"Hey!" Someone shouts from the doorway, not loudly enough for anyone inside to hear, but loudly enough for the man to back away from me. I look over at my savior hopefully and see that it's the boy from earlier—Ichigo-san.
"You get away from her, you creep!" He says, walking forward and picking up the other man by the collar, moving him out of the way and standing in front of me, his back to me.
"You stay out of this. What I do is none of your concern." The man says, trying to get past Ichigo-san.
"She was obviously not enjoying that, nor doing it willingly." Ichigo-san says, not moving.
"Besides," He continues. "Though there are some guys in there that are likely to want to take part in that, there are some strong women and an older brother in there that I'm pretty sure would not be very happy with what you're doing. Also, one rumor about something like that could give your father's business some unwanted attention. I would leave if I were you." The man looks at him for a second, then, with as much dignity as he can muster under the circumstances, he turns and goes back inside.
Ichigo-san turns around to me when he's sure that the guy is inside, and he holds out a handkerchief to me, his moody teenager look slightly softened.
"I'm not crying." I say, looking at the handkerchief he's offering me, wanting to giggle, but unable to because of the thought of what that guy might've done to me.
"Yeah, I know." He says, shaking the cloth square in front of my face. "I just have a feeling that douche doesn't taste very good." He smiles at me and I smile back, finally taking the square and wiping off my mouth.
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We stand out on the balcony, looking at the moon and talking, not really saying anything meaningful, but still, better that then the boring conversations we've both been a part of tonight. I find out that he goes to the highschool that I will be starting, and that we'll be in class together. He tells me that a boy from our school, Ishida Uryuu, should have been here, but he ended up not being able to come for some family reason. After an hour of chatting on the balcony like old friends, we head back inside and realize that the crowd has thinned out a little. We find Byakuya and Kurosaki-sensei talking together with a man with silver hair and glasses who I find out is Ishida Uryuu's dad. We leave soon after, but not before Ichigo secretly asks for—and gets—my cell phone number. He's cute, but I don't see us being anything more than friends. I actually have to tell Byakuya this on the way home; he goes into protective-brother- mode every once and a while.
When we get home, I drink half a small mug of broth, not able to eat the rest**. I say goodnight to Byakuya and the maids, then head upstairs to my room, going to sleep and actually not thinking about the creepy man until my dreams make me remember.
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**This will be explained in later chapters.
I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please, review. Tell me what you think! I know, I can't tell you what to do, but I can request. Thanks!