Fetish-y
by Uchiha Xairylle
If she was going to be asked, "How long have you not seen Ichigo?", Rukia would say, "Ever since he lost his powers!" But that would be a lie. In fact, she was in Karakura a few days ago and she had seen him play that sport with a bouncing ball you throw into a netted hoop. Not that she watched. She just happened to have "passed by". And it wasn't that she was there to "check up on him". It just happened to be "along the way". So back to the question thing, a more challenging question to bring up would be, "How long has Ichigo not seen you?" The normal response would be, "Well, d-uh! Ever since he lost his powers!" Rukia never dared say anything or open conversation regarding this "how-long-since" with Ichigo because she did not want to realize that she actually counted the days. It would be a very awkward situation to explain. Why was she counting the days? She wasn't. She was just "aware of it". Not that she "remembered". She just "didn't forget".
Did she think about him?
Oh, of course she did! Who wouldn't? He was so stupid and reckless maybe the Commander-General would think of him, too... From time-to-time. Yes, it was normal to think of Kurosa— anyone, really — from time-to-time. Yes, especially when they're careless, reckless and lost their powers recently. You'd realize the abnormal absence of an orange spiky head when you've already been used to seeing it on a regular basis.
And of course she had to focus on other things as well. After all, being a fukutaichou was not humdrum since the previous fukutaichou left a hell lot of work. That and the two other fukutaichou substitutes most probably doubled it by the errors in the wake of their competition.
Rukia stopped, half of her awareness still clinging to her thoughts as she slid open the door to her room. On one side of the table, she noticed a white stack of something that used to be "not there".
Oh.
Paperwork.
She had almost totally forgotten for a minute. Rukia stepped in her room and slid the fusuma closed. This fukutaichou thing was not that easy to take in all in one swallow. Especially now that she had something important to do.
Rukia looked at the sword in her hand.
Rukia bit her lip. She was going to take this sword to the Urahara shop where she and the other Shinigami feed their reiatsu to it. And she was going to be the one to deliver the transfer of powers. It was going to be so déjà vu for her that the moment of her first meeting with Ichigo kept on replaying in her head over and over again.
Ichigo. His powers were going to return. His Shinigami powers. All that carelessness was going to have monstrous strength to back it up again. But aside from that...
He was going to be able to see her again.
And that's why she was here in her room.
For change.
Change.
Yes, change. In a few minutes, there... would... be... change...
...or not.
A few minutes later, there was change... Change she rather had not happened. Rukia had regretted everything after what she had done. She had no idea what crossed her mind that she sheared off her already short locks. It was too late when she realized she shouldn't have. She only wanted to look new or different but not so much as she would look like a horrible overused broomstick. She got the length all wrong. She got the shape all wrong. She got the ends all wrong. Now he was going to tease her as soon as he would see her and she would most probably turn red in utter defeat or kick him then turn red in utter defeat. He must not see her like this not that she cared what his impression of her would be but because her pride was at stake.
So now Rukia had no idea how to fix her hair. There was no way she could tie it up. At least not anymore. And there was no way she could muster the courage to come out of her room looking like a harassed imp. Rukia was sitting in defeat at the far end of her room away from the mirror as a trail of hair strands led towards her feet. Her forehead met her knees and the ends of her hair spiked angrily in chaos. In one hand she held her phone with its light still on and a pair of scissors in the other.
"Kuchiki-san?" said a voice from the opening window.
Rukia shuddered a while before looking up to see Isane Kotetsu entering from the bedroom window.
"I was—Oh dear me! What happened to your hair!" Isane exclaimed, which made Rukia bite her lip to force herself not to wail in help. The tears of "what-have-I-done" welled in her eyes, cheeks red and puffed and fingers gripping her phone as if it could give her any strength to ask for "hair crisis help". It was at this point that Isane regained composure and in older sister mode. She walked towards the small nobility and took the shears from her hand and helped her sit up properly.
Isane took one good look at her for a short moment that to Rukia felt like forever being doused in Byakuya's criticizing stare. With a sigh, the older Shinigami picked up a comb on the floor and started to work.
"I was wondering what happened that you'd call me..." Isane said as she combed Rukia's hair , "... And to ask me to come through your bedroom window even..."
Rukia did not answer.
"But I understand this is a crisis." Isane said again, "And I'm not being sarcastic."
Isane was the best choice Rukia could think of. Matsumoto Rangiku would probably be so noisy even the Commander-General would realize that the sword got delayed because of a hair crisis. Nemu would probably turn her hair into snakes through science. Isane's younger sister would've been overeager and take them so long, Ichigo would've regained his powers on her own. And Ise Nanao was much too busy with her Captain alone to bother.
And it wasn't like she could run to Inoue for help on this one either.
And her childhood friend Renji? She'd rather have her hair in this crisis than risk having a hairline like his.
"I am sorry for troubling you..." Rukia began as Isane started cutting, "C-Can you... Can you fix it...?"
"Won't say I'm a genius." Isane said with a smile trailing in her voice, "But I'm not that bad, I think."
Rukia stopped upon realizing that the sound of the shears cutting her hair had ceased. She blinked and turned her head to look at Isane who was smiling. The fourth-squad Vice-Captain nodded at her and Rukia gulped before slowly getting up to walk towards her mirror. She was pretty hesitant because her previous look was all she had gotten used to in the past few hundred years so now...
How different would she look like?
"Oh..."
Rukia blinked at her reflection in front of her. Her hair had indeed gotten shorter. She seemed to have matured but gotten younger. Her hand came up to feel the ends of her hair. The fly-away ends were no more. This short hair felt so... refreshing.
And relieving.
This was good. Right. She might not have Hinamori Momo's cuteness or Rangiku Matsumoto's hotness but she could now afford to let him see her like this.
Not that it mattered if he thought she looked good. Because if she looked any better than she was now, he probably wouldn't be able to hold himself back and eventually give in to his musings of wanting to kiss her and make out with her without letting her ask why. He would throw all thoughts to the wind and—
"HEY!"
Ichigo snapped to attention and looked around. Renji was sitting beside him. Where were they? Oh, right... Resting in Urahara's place and regrouping after that long battle earlier.
"What is wrong with you?" Renji asked with a raised eyebrow. It was amazing for Ichigo to think how Renji could manage to raise his eyebrows.
"Sorry, what?"
"I'm asking you... Why do you think Rukia cut her hair?"
"Cut her hair..." Ichigo slowly got up and said, "The hell would I care?"
"Where are you going?" Renji followed Ichigo with his eyes.
"I'm going to rest upstairs for a while." The orange-haired Shinigami representative stepped out of the room and headed for the stairs.
Stupid Renji ruining the moment. Now where was I... Right... She would think "He would throw all thoughts to the wind and—"
Ichigo shook his head, permitting himself a small grin.
- END -
AN : Okay, how long has it been since I last uploaded anything? This story just whizzed through my mind earlier today and I just had to, you know. I had fun writing this spur-of-the-moment thing. So, please review!
Cheerios, cookies and a whole lot of Bankai love!