Disclaimer: Bleach is Tite Kubo's, not mine… I wish he would make Ichiruki a formal couple soon ;).
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We've began being strangers with each other. I remember seeing her sometimes by the town square together with friends and entering shops which I myself would never dare to enter. I never really thought of her, remembering her as someone familiar when we pass by each other in town.
We became enemies at some point…
" Hurry up Kurosaki or we'll miss the game!" Ishida yelled at me as we hastened our pace in the crowded train station, pushing our way to get through and make it in time for an event.
" Whatever! Just-" I was answering when…
A girl gasped as a cold wet feeling caught my attention, making me halt on my tracks and losing Ishida among the crowd. I looked down on my white shirt and found it soaking with something pink, smelled like strawberry. I was dumbfounded. I could only stare down at my shirt.
" I'm really sorry!" A remorseful voice spoke. It was the same voice as earlier. I looked at the owner and saw a petite raven haired woman looking at the stain on my shirt as she held a now empty cup in her right hand.
It took a while before everything registered to me. I was in a hurry not to be late. Now I'm really late and I look like trash because of my now stained shirt. " WHAT THE HELL!" I yelled in exasperation, not caring if it gets everyone's attention. I felt really frustrated.
However, the girl in front of me which had caused all this took my venting out the wrong way. " I SAID I'M SORRY! YOU DON'T HAVE TO SHOUT AT ME!" Now, she was yelling.
That pissed me off. I'm not the type to yet at a girl but this is an exemption. She was the culprit and she yelled at me? The nerve of her! " I WASN'T YELLING AT YOU! AND THE HECK OF YOU TO YELL AT ME. THIS IS YOUR FAULT IN THE FIRST PLACE!" I shouted, towering over her.
She gave me a challenging glare before retorting. " Well orange-freak, if you were just looking we're you're going then the whole situation will be avoided!"
My scowl even deepened. No more mister nice guy, I decided. " Well midget, if you were careful with your drink this will never happened!"
A crowd started to gather around us as we glared at each other, clearly waiting for each other to make the first move or back down.
" What the hell are you doing Kurosaki?" Ishida decided to show up, finally noticing that I wasn't trailing behind him anymore. Without a word, he sighed and pulled me behind him. He then went forward and bowed at the girl. " I'm really sorry for what this idiot did." He did it regally the straightened his back. " I hope he hasn't done any damage."
" No…nothing really." The girl looked perplexed with Ishida's stunt.
" Hey, it wasn't my-" I growled behind him.
" We really have to go. Please excuse his primitive behavior." Ishida told the girl and pulled me away towards the train platform. The statement however made a vein pop on my forehead.
" Who the hell is primitive?! It wasn't my fault! It was hers." I defended myself. My companion only fixed his glasses and hopped in the newly arrived train as I follow behind him. " and look at what she did to my shirt."
" Shut up Kurosaki. That may be isn't your fault but us being late is yours, so just close your mouth, it's annoying already."
That was only the beginning of our un'fateful encounters'…
" Iiii…chiii…gooooooo!" My friend Keigo cried as he came to me bag greeted him cordially, hitting square on his face.
" 'morning, Keigo." I said unenthusiastically as I went ahead inside the classroom, leaving him lying on the floor.
" Ichigo!" Tatsuki greeted me. I waved a hand at her.
" Good morning Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue happily yelled.
" 'morning Inoue." I told her as I came to my seat. Some more greetings came from the girls. Aside from that, nothing unsual happened until…
The door slid open and came in our teacher, Ochi-sensei, who was beaming happily more than usual. I should have been just shrugging it off but-
" Morning guys! I'm glad everyone managed to stay alive through the winter vacation." She began. " I would like to introduce to you two new students. From today on, they will be your new classmates." She looked at the open door and said. " Please come inside, you two."
First, a man with red-hair and weird tribal tattoos came in. He looked menacing with his sharp eyes. But girls squealed at him. "~kyaah"
" Introduce yourself." Ochi-sensei told him.
" Abarai Renji. Yoh!" He grinned and the girls went wild. I only rolled my eyes.
Then the next turn of events wasn't pleasant at all as a familiar petite midget entered the room. She walked gracefully towards Abarai's side.
" You!" I stood up and pointed at her in surprise.
She turned her head towards my direction. Her eyes widened as she saw me. " You!" She mimicked as she pointed back to me. We glared at each other.
" Kurosaki, it's not good to point at somebody." Ochi-sensei told me which reminded me that I was presently inside the classroom. I immediately took my seat and heard Ishida murmurs 'idiot'. My actions created buzz of conversation around the room. I kept my glaring at her discreetly.
" Rukia, you know him?" The Abarai guy asked the midget.
" Not really. It's nothing important." She replied. " Good morning everyone. I'm Kuchiki Rukia. Please take care of me." She introduced as she smiled sweetly. I found it disgusting, giving me goose bumps.
" Hmmm, since Kuchiki seems familiar with Kurosaki, you seat there beside him." Ochi-sensie pointed at the vacant desk beside me. We looked at each other and glared. She was about to protest to our teacher but decided otherwise when Ochi-sensei appointed Abarai's seat and went on with the lecture. Gloomily, she went to her seat beside me.
" Hey freak." She whispered.
A vein popped on my forehead. " What do you want midget?" I barked at her. The next thing that happened surprised me. She kicked me on the shin, hard. " OUCH!" I yelped in pain.
" What is wrong Kurosaki?" Ochi-sensei paused from the lecture.
" I…"
" Sensei, Kurosaki-san said that his stomach was aching." The Kuchiki girl covered, acting so horribly concerned for me. " Why don't I bring him to the infirmary?"
" How nice of you Kuchiki. Please do." Ochi-sensei affirmed without a second thought. Did she not notice that I was nursing my shin and not my tummy?
The girl placed an iron grip on my arm and pulled me. " Come now, Kurosaki-san. We better get you medicine for that pain." She said as she glared at me, clearly giving me warning of what would happen if I didn't play along.
I didn't know what she was planning but I went along with her. She let go of me as soon as we got out of the classroom. " Where's the infirmary?" She asked coldly, not indicating any emotion.
I pointed at the east wing. She walked towards the direction without a word.
" What are you gonna do there" I asked but she didn't respond. I followed her. She knocked at the door which had a sign 'INFIRMARY' on it. Nobody answered. She opened it and entered, leaving the door ajar, clearly inviting me to come in. " What are you gonna do here?" I asked again but she never responded and went on opening cabinets as if looking for something. I was getting annoyed. " Hey! I'm talking to you!"
" Shut up idiot." She finally said as she pulled out and ice pack. She turned around and tossed it to me. " Put it on your shin so that it won't bruise."
I was taken aback. I wasn't expecting this from her. I only held the ice pack in my hands and looked at her dumbly.
"What?" she was clearly annoyed that I was looking at her.
" No…nothing really. Thanks for this." I said as I broke the pack. I rolled my pants and applied it on my shin, the part where she kicked me.
" I'm sorry." It was no more than a whisper but I heard it.
I looked at her but she was looking out of the window. " I'm sorry too. I was being a jerk." I confessed.
This time, she looked at me and smirked. " It's good that you know."
" You!" I pouted at her. She laughed. " I don't find anything funny."
" Nothing. You look cute with that pout." She told me. I blushed. " Ho. You're blushing." She teased.
" Am not!" I retorted at her but she wasn't looking at me anymore. She was looking outside the window again.
A moment of silence reigned before she spoke again. " We haven't been introduced properly yet. I'm Kuchiki Rukia." She held out a hand.
" Kurosaki Ichigo." I shook it.
Then, we became good friends…
" Ichigo, let me borrow your assignment." Rukia clung on me as we entered the classroom.
" No way midget!" I refused her outrightly.
" Hmmp!" She left me and stormed her way to Renji and ranted about me and stuffs.
I only chuckled and went to my seat. It has been a few months since we've become friends. I've learned a lot about her like Renji was her childhood friend and she was Kuchiki Byakuya's sister, my father's business associate. I felt happy that I found a good friend.
She stumped as she walked towards her desk, clearly disheartened and problematic. She was a pitiful sight. I resigned a sigh as I toss my notebook on her desk. Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at me. I acted nonchalant about the situation. In my peripheral vision, I can see her smile as she opened the book and began copying.
' This girl will be the death of me.' I decided.
But what I wasn't expecting was this…
I began to notice that she was avoiding me. I didn't know why but she stopped walking home with me. When I invite her to the cafeteria, she refused and pulled Renji instead. She makes sure that we are never alone together. I was bewildered of our current situation and was feeling devastated, at loss.
We were currently alone inside the classroom; she didn't want to but didn't have a choice. Rukia was completing some requirement and Renji was to stay with her but he was called home for something important. I insisted to stay with her instead. She gave in but we never spoke at each other. She clearly disliked the situation.
I mused silently on a desk opposite hers. These past few days, I felt surges of jealousy towards Renji. I find the feeling vague but can't help myself. Whenever Rukia smiles at someone else aside from me, whenever she accompanies some other guy, may it be a classmate or a friend, I feel angry. I don't understand myself. I feel like something mine is taken whenever someone else makes her smile or thankful even. Then I realized how selfish I was starting to be…selfish of her.
I gazed at her sitting form, the sunset contrasting her silky raven hair. I find it mystical-as if a spell had enchanted me. I stood up from my seat and went towards her, standing beside her. She looked up at me when she felt my presence, her eyes questioning.
I kneeled and looked at her. " Why do you hate me?" I asked her.
Her eyes widened in surprise. She clearly wasn't expecting it. She averted her gaze before enswering. " I don't hate you. What made you think like that?"
" Then, why aren't you looking at me?" my voice was full of hurt, which made her look back at me instantly. " I love you." I confessed. I wasn't planning to but I was feeling desperate. She was distancing herself from me and I don't know why. She gasped. I lowered my head and waited for the axe to fall. I waited for her rejection. It never came, instead I felt something wet drop on my hand. I looked up at her. She was crying. I didn't know what to do. I panicked. " R-Rukia. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to confuse you. Please don't cry…I didn't say it to make you cry, dammit." I said remorsefully hoping to bring back time.
" Idiot." She told me. " Just be sure you really mean what you said or you're a dead man Ichigo." She managed to laugh in her tears.
She hugged me. It was my turn to be surprised. " Rukia?"
" I love you too, strawberry." With that, I hugged her.
"But why did you avoid me?" I asked as I let go of her and began wiping her tears.
" You really know how to break the moment." She sarcastically said. " I was unsure of how to deal with my feelings Ichigo. I wasn't sure of how you'll react if you know how I feel about you. I was afraid that it might create a misunderstanding between us."
" Still it did, didn't it?" I asked her.
" Yeah. But it's all good now." She stuck out her pinky. I looked at her with questioning eyes. She looked at me and gestured for me to do the same. We did a pinky swear. " Connection…established." She said as she gently smiled at me.
I hugged her again.
After that, everything was so perfect. We were known as a perfect couple. Others told us that we were meant to be. We still bicker but it was our own way of endearment. Fluffy cuddles and whatever? Not our thing. I thought nothing can ever go wrong as things between us came with ease. That was my biggest mistake.
I don't even remember what we fought about. It was probably something too trivial for others but me being me and Rukia being her, simple things can get complicated.
" What is wrong with you?" she asked me. We were talking on the phone, fighting over something . She was aboard a ship going to Hiroshima for important matters or so she told me.
" What's wrong with me? Why don't you ask that to yourself?" I spat bitterly, my patience at its end. I gripped my phone really hard over my ear.
She sighed exasperatingly. " You know what, this is going nowhere at all."
" So, now you dismiss it like it's nothing important?" I didn't like how she dismissed it so easily.
" Cause it is nothing important Ichigo. Be reasonable." She was pleading, clearly tired.
I was supposed to agree with her. I didn't know what overcame me I became more irritated. Maybe it was the fact that we haven't spent much time with each other these days because she was so busy with everything else but me.
" You're always like this! You think you're always right, that everything you say is important." Maybe the stress over the week's major exams pent up without me being aware and I vented it on her…of all people.
She gasped over the phone, clearly wasn't expecting me to say such a thing. I was not being myself. " I am always right Ichigo. It is because of your foolishness that we always bicker and quarrel…OVER TRIVIAL THINGS for that matter. Can you believe that?" She told me sarcastically. I can almost feel her anger over the phone.
" And now I'm the fool. Yes, I guess you're right if I managed to last long with you in that bitchy attitude of yours!" I blurted. I was enraged at the moment.
" If that's what you think of me, then why are we even together?! Let's end this then so you won't have to suffer with my BITCHY ATTITUDE!" She yelled at me over the phone. She sounded like she was about to break down.
It was only in that moment when I realized that I was being a jerk. " Ru..." I was gonna apologize but she hang up on me already. I succumbed myself in contemplating how we even started fighting. I sighed and decided to give her time to cool her head and mine as well. I'll call her later. I laid down my bed and closed my eyes. I felt so drained. I drifted to sleep.
I wish I never woke up. I opened my eyes and it was already morning. I found it peculiar that my idiotic father didn't come jumping on me in my sleep. I glanced at my phone hoping she had called even just once…I will be the first to step down and plead for her forgiveness. No calls, no messages…she was really angry at me.
I grabbed my phone and immediately dialed her number. " The number you are calling is out of reach." The operator told me. I sighed and tried again. Still it was the same operator with the same statement. I gave up on the fifteenth time. My ears were getting hot. " What is wrong with her? Did she turn off her phone on purpose?"
When my stomach growled, I decided to come down for breakfast. " Good morning Ichigo-samma." A servant greeted me on my way down the hall towards the kitchen.
" Yes, thank you for the update." I heard my father's voice on the living room. I peeked and saw not only my old man but Karin and Yuzu as well. Gloomy aura filled the room. The twins were sitting on the sofa while my father stood idly by the phone, everyone's head was hung low. ' Did something happened?'
I walked into the living room. The twins refused to look at me as my father looked pitiful enough. " What's wrong?" I asked as sat down across my sisters.
" Ichigo, son." It was my father walking towards my seat. " I have something to tell you." He sat beside me. Yuzu immediately wailed and run out of the room. Karin followed her. Now that I looked at them, their eyes were puffy red.
I was beginning to feel anxious and troubled. My father who usually had a goofy face on was looking at me with great seriousness. I was feeling scared when my dad placed a hand on my shoulders. He looked at me in the eyes. " Ichigo…Rukia is dead."
I did not react immediately. I must have been hearing things. Yes, because I'm hungry I'm beginning to mishear things. " Pardon? I must have heard you wrong." I told him, my confidence beginning to fade.
" It's alright son. We know how you feel." Dad told me with calmness.
I chuckled nervously. " This isn't a good joke you know. How can she be dead?"
Dad heaved a heavy sigh before speaking at me again. " The ship she was aboard had an accident this morning and exploded. There were gravely survivors found."
I froze, any sound drowned in my thoughts. I was feeling numbed and dizzy at the moment. Flashbacks of Rukia flooded me. I was pulsating, breathing heavily and feeling really heavy. There was a shrieking sound, and then everything became pitch black.