A/N- hey, this is my first Bleach story so give me your input if I get anything wrong. Please enjoy and review when you finish reading.
Chapter 1
Rukia awoke with a start.
The cool air in the room caused her to shiver as she threw the warmth of her comforter off her body and onto the floor. It was a cold night for autumn and despite that fact, she had broken into a sweat, no doubt from nerves rather than temperature.
She brought her small hands to her face in an effort to calm her anxiety and the wild beating of her heart. Her breathing came in short pants and deep gasps as she attempted to catch her breath.
The dream, it had seemed so real, and that meant only one thing…
It was a premonition.
"Damn it!" Rukia snapped aloud her fist slamming into her mattress as she released some of her pent up anger.
She hated this, all of it; clairvoyance was a curse in more ways that anyone could possibly imagine. Life was supposed to be free, made up of choices made by the person living, not a predetermined occurrence that you have no power over.
Rukia ground her teeth together in anger. Her premonitions never showed things that she wanted and it made her even more frustrated.
She climbed out of bed knowing that she wouldn't be able to sleep anymore tonight.
Stepping outside onto her porch, she breathed in the cool night air. Lightning bugs danced together outside and a chorus of crickets chirped in harmony. It was nearing morning, she could tell, the eastern horizon was a lighter hue and the stars were not as brilliant. It would be a foggy morning, Rukia concurred by the cold night temperature and the humid heat that the sun would bring by daybreak. Living in a subtropical climate was not all it was cracked up to be.
She brought her slender fingers to her temples to soothe her aching head. For some reason her clairvoyance always caused her to have a god-awful migraine but she had yet to discover if it was from the visions themselves or the impending anxiety that they never failed to bring.
Her mind wandered back to her vision as she tried to decipher its meaning…
She felt warm… strong arms held her close…
The person holding her spoke but she could not make out what they said… a deep masculine voice…
She felt him nuzzle her hair affectionately… warm, she felt so warm…
He moved his face to her neck were he planted several feather soft kisses under her jaw… he whispered in her ear but she couldn't understand him again… his breath was warm and tickled her sensitive skin…she couldn't make out his face yet…
His hand moved to her cheek, turning her face toward his… first she saw his hair… bright orange and unruly…
Her eyes closed… his lips touched hers… soft and tender…
He pulled back slowly… her eyes opened… the vivid orange hair framed his face in a wild halo… high cheekbones and slightly furrowed eyebrows… his eyes were still closed… a small smiled pulled at the corners of his mouth but refused to completely surface…
He dipped his face in for another kiss but she stopped him, placing her hand against his chest… she felt so small, her hand seemed tiny against the broad expanse of his chest…
His eyes opened slowly in question… deep brown… they held an intensity she had never seen before… so beautiful...
It ended there. Not the longest of premonitions but Rukia had seen more than she had wanted to.
Her hands were clenched tightly into fists and shaking from her pent up anger. She hated seeing things like this; it was almost like being told what to do.
Rukia hated being told what to do.
Well, there was only one thing that she could do, one thing to keep any semblance of freedom and choice… Fight it until the bitter end.
The next morning was as foggy as Rukia had expected. The sun could barely through the hazy mist, which created a murky atmosphere that could only be described as gloomy. This did little to brighten her downed spirit.
She straightened the wrinkled pleats in her school uniform skirt and dusted of some stray cat hair that had found its way onto her jacket. It was almost time to leave for school.
She was nervous though she did a very good job of hiding it. Starting at a new school was nerve-racking enough without the added stress of a premonition. She might meet the orange haired boy today. It was very possible that he was a student, maybe even a classmate.
She caught herself before she groaned aloud. Fate could be fought, and she would prove it.
She glanced at her watch before picking her schoolbag off the couch, dusting off more cat hairs which had adhered themselves onto the fabric. She glanced around the house, making sure all windows were closed and electronics were turned off. Being responsible was not something she was used to but now that she lived by herself, she was making a conscious effort to be more so.
Her cat was lying on top of her bookshelf, completely ignoring the cat towers she had bought for him to climb, staring down at her with his ruby red eyes and swishing his orange tail back and forth.
"Bye Kyo," she said to the orange feline before she headed toward the door. Putting on her shoes and swinging her bag over her shoulder, she left, locking the door behind her.
The walk to school was uneventful and the scenery was shadowed by the heavy fog. The grass and plants were wet with morning dew and the sidewalk was darkened with moisture. Few people were out except for fellow commuters heading to either school or work. She passed by a man as he walked outside to retrieve the newspaper, a cup of coffee in his hand and a bathrobe wrapped around what she guessed were his pajamas. His eyes were half-lidded and tired but he still managed to groan out a sleepy "good morning" which Rukia returned politely.
The school was a good size, not the largest she had ever seen but big enough. Students were filing in to the building and calling out to their friends. It was a typical high school complete with several pairs of shoes tied together and hanging from the power line, no doubt they belonged to the freshmen.
Rukia walked through the front doors, keeping her eyes peeled all the while for orange hair. She had visited the school earlier and had learned where her classroom would be so she could avoid the hectic crowds in the administration building.
"102B" she said aloud as she arrived at the right classroom.
She was the first one there and she allowed a small ghost of a smile to appear on her face. She headed for the seat in the back closest to the window, the most inconspicuous seat as well as the most entertaining.
As she settled into the seat, a group of people walked in but Rukia paid little attention to them, preferring instead to stare out the window at the masses of late students trying desperately to make it to school on time. She let out a small giggle when she saw a boy trip over something and take out three other students as he fell.
"Is this seat taken?" she heard a feminine voice ask her. She turned to address the speaker but froze.
Orange hair.
She felt her heartbeat quicken instinctively but brushed away her nerves when she noticed the person was female. She let out a small breath and forced a small smile onto her face.
"No it's not," Rukia replied.
The girl smiled brightly and took a seat next to her, heaving her oversized bag onto the desk.
"I'm Inoue Orihime, it's nice to meet you," the orange haired girl said.
"Kuchiki Rukia," she replied trying not to laugh at the girl's perky personality.
"Are you new here Kuchiki-san?" Orihime asked as she pulled out a large and brightly colored notebook.
"Rukia is fine, and yes, I just moved here a week ago," she replied. The other girl had opened the bright notebook and scribbled something inside before she ripped the paper out and handed it to Rukia.
"That's great Kuchiki-san, here this is my phone number," she said gesturing to the paper, "I'll show you around the school and introduce you to everyone, and you can eat lunch with us too."
Rukia was a little taking back by her friendliness but accepted it nonetheless. It was much nicer than being all alone on the first day. She let a genuine smile form on her face.
"Thank you Inoue-san," she replied graciously.
"No problem Kuchiki-san, and if you didn't bring any lunch don't worry because I always bring extra for everyone," Inoue stated helpfully.
Rukia only smiled in return, her eyes darting toward the shorthaired girl who sat down beside Orihime.
"Good morning Tatsuki, how are you today?" she said cheerfully.
"Fine, I guess," she replied nonchalantly, "It's the first day of school so it's not the best day in the world."
Rukia silently agreed with her.
"Oh, right, this is my new friend Kuchiki Rukia," Orihime said gesturing to Rukia, "Rukia, this is Arisawa Tatsuki."
"Nice to meet you," Tatsuki uttered civilly her eyes focused on Rukia.
"Likewise," she replied.
More and more students were arriving and the seats in the classroom were beginning to fill. She had been introduced to another girl, Chizuru, who seemed to have a strange obsession with Orihime, and two guys. A tall and bulky guy named Chad and a smaller, more reserved guy named Uuryu.
"There are two more people in our little group," Orihime began, "Kiego is always late, but I don't know where Ichigo could be," she finished in a thoughtful tone.
"There was an emergency at the clinic," Tatsuki piped up, everyone turned their attention toward her and she continued, "I passed by there on the way to school and Ichigo stopped me, said he was going to be late. He told me he'll try to be here before lunch."
"Oh no," Orihime pouted, "I hope everything turns out alright," she turned her attention to Rukia, "You'll love Ichigo, I have no doubt about that, but watch out for Kiego," her voice lowered to a whisper and she leaned in close, "If you're not careful around him he'll try to make a pass at you." Rukia's eyes widened slightly.
"Thanks for the warning," she said back with a nod.
The teacher walked in moments later and the blaring roar of the classroom banter quieted. The class was more of an introduction of everyone and learning names rather than actual education so there was an easygoing atmosphere throughout the period. Fifteen minutes into class, the one called 'Kiego' strolled in. He fed the teacher a fanciful excuse about his lateness and took a seat next to Chizuru.
She was walking next to Orihime, following her to the special tree where they always ate lunch. The others had gone on ahead while the orange-haired girl had offered to give Rukia a small tour of the campus.
It was much smaller than Rukia's old school but it was also better taken care of. The rooms were clean; the floors shined with expensive tile and flower gardens littered every corner outside. It was a beautiful school and now that the morning fog had cleared, Rukia could see how amazing it was.
She was amazed at how friendly the people were too. Rukia had never made friends easily and most of her fear of coming to his school rested on that fact.
She let out a contented sigh. She had already meet loads of people, the school was beautiful and the only person with orange hair was Orihime. She turned to look at the girl next to her as they turned a corner.
CRASH!
She heard Orihime gasp but that was the last thing on her mind. She had hit something hard as they turned the corner. She was dazed, stars where shooting across her eyes and her center of gravity was disturbed. She felt wobbly and disoriented. What had she ran into?
Strong hands landed on her shoulders to hold her steady. She heard a deep voice ask her something but she only caught the word 'okay'.
"Hey," it came again, "can you hear me… are you okay?"
She looked up to the speaker and froze.
Unruly orange hair.
Deep brown eyes.
Same face.
Same everything.
Her mouth dried and her heart pounded in her chest.
It was him.
End of chapter one. Please review, I really need encouragement to write this story so much so that you have no idea.
Here, I'll make it easy for you…
Cut and paste
1. Cool story, please update.
2. Your have a few mistakes, please edit.
3. This story sucks.
4. OMG! Please update soon. I love it!!
There you go. You can remain anonymous and write some random name in the name box and simply cut and paste the review note. LOL. You don't even have to think up anything to write. Hehe.