Chapter 2
Here is the second chapter. Please do tell me whether you like it or not. Your opinion is really important. ^^
"Where can she go on such a night? She doesn't even have anywhere else to go." Ichigo got up after an hour of uneasiness on bed.
"I have to go find that idiotic girl. After all she is my…my responsibility." Ichigo was still not ready to admit that he really loved her.
He cast a quick look at the room and walked towards the door.
With each step, it was getting hard for Rukia to walk. It was dark and there was little traffic on the road. She was walking on the sidewalk. There was moisture in the air and the glow of the full moon was shadowed by the enraged clouds whose thunder made Rukia's wounded heart tremble.
Suddenly, raindrops began to wet Rukia's face.
Rukia had no idea where she was going. She just knew that she had to go far away…for the sake of the man who was supposed to be her shelter against rain.
In no time, the mild drizzling turned into wild storm. Rukia couldn't go further, so she stood under the shade of a huge oak tree. It was the tree in the shade of which, Ichigo and Rukia used to eat ice cream after school everyday.
"I never thought I would ever stand here without you." Rukia said sadly.
Suddenly, the ribbon Rukia had used to tie up hair unknotted by itself due to the force of the wind and fell in the center of the road. Rukia rushed towards it.
Just then, a car came almost flying from nowhere.
The headlights dazzled Rukia's eyes and she crossed her hands in the front of her face as shield. It was just about to hit Rukia when the driver applied the brakes.
"Are you crazy?" A tomboyish girl snarled as she got out of the car. "You could have been dead."
Rukia lowered her hands. She couldn't believe that she did not get hit.
"Rukia…it's you? What the hell are you doing here on such a night? And where's Ichigo?" Tatsuki bombarded her with many questions.
"I was…." Rukia looked at the spot where the ribbon was but it was not there anymore.
Perhaps the wind had carried it away to somewhere else.
"It's gone. No, it can't be." Rukia said in a low voice.
"What's gone? What are you talking about?" Tatsuki said looking confused.
"The ribbon that Ichigo gave to me on my 16th birthday….." Rukia said as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Rukia, it was just a ribbon. You can simply ask Ichigo to buy you a new one on your next birthday." Tatsuki said. Tatsuki used to be her class fellow in high school.
"Perhaps I can't…." Rukia mumbled.
"Something is seriously wrong with you. Come on, get into the car." Tatsuki said.
"But…" Rukia wanted to say something but Tatsuki had already opened the car door for her.
Ichigo had no idea where he might find her. He was walking aimlessly on the empty road.
The raindrops dripped from the umbrella and even the raincoat could not make him escape from the rain.
Just then, a ribbon came flying with wind. Ichigo caught it. Other than the child that was not born yet, It was the only thing connected to Ichigo that Rukia had taken with her.
"So she even threw it away, huh? It means that she really has decided to close the chapter in which we were together…" Ichigo mumbled looking at the ribbon in his hand.
Ichigo's heart ached even at the thought of this.
"If she thinks I can't live without her, I bet she is wrong. And she knows that she loses every bet to me." Ichigo tried to deceive himself.
-I can live my whole life with your memories but can't spend a day without you.
Ichigo put off the raincoat, walked towards the room of his sisters, slowly opened the door and looked inside.
The girls were sleeping soundly.
"This means they don't know anything." Ichigo thought.
He closed the door and silently went towards his room. A few hours ago, it was not his room. It was their room.
Rukia had decorated it herself. Everything in that room was of her own choice.
As Ichigo was about to turn off the light, he caught the sight of a picture on the side table of the bed. He instinctively picked it up.
"How could you walk out of my life so easily?" Ichigo said holding the picture in his hands in which he had his arms around Rukia.
"Why did you let me hold you when you had to go away?" he said in a trembling voice.
That picture was one of the sweetest memories he had of her. He even could remember the most minor of the details of that day…
He could clearly remember that day. There was convocation and a small concert at the high school and their mid term result was also announced. Back then, they used to be best of the best friends.
He was sitting in a lonely corner of school when Rukia came.
"You are sitting here and I have been looking for you in the whole school." She said.
Ichigo kept quiet.
"You got a D again?" Rukia said looking at him.
"Who told you?" Ichigo said looking down at his feet.
"Do I need anyone to tell me? Just tell me how long have we been together." Rukia said.
"It's almost been 8 years or so?" Ichigo said.
"Exactly and don't you think that 8 years are enough for me to read my best friend's face?" Rukia said.
"I don't know…You must have gotten straight A's, right?" Ichigo said in a low voice.
"Err... Well yes but do the grades even matter? Be thankful to God that you have not failed." Rukia said scratching her forehead.
"Why does this always happen to me? I worked so hard this time and you know it! Even then the result is the same." Ichigo was furious.
"It's just that we don't always get what we want in life. You should not take it upon your heart." Rukia said soothingly.
"It's easy for you to say. You can't understand what I'm going through right now! That's because you don't have the burden of the expectations of your parents on your shoulders." Ichigo yelled.
"And that's because I have no parents, right?" Rukia said. She probably felt hurt at what Ichigo said.
"I...I didn't mean that." Ichigo tried to justify himself.
"It's okay but you know that sometimes when I see your parents scolding you, I just wish my parents were there to scold me like that too….. Anyways you are afraid to show your result card to your parents, aren't you?" Rukia said.
"Yeah, kind of." Ichigo said after a moment of hesitation.
"You can show my result card to them. Is it okay now?" Rukia said handing her result card over to him.
"But …but how is it possible?" Ichigo was surprised.
"Our names have not been mentioned on the result cards. There are just our roll numbers and I don't think so that mom and dad remember your roll number." Rukia said.
"But I don't want to lie to them." Ichigo said.
"You should temporarily show it to them and then I'll tell them the truth myself in appropriate way on appropriate time." Rukia said cheerily.
"That's my best friend." Ichigo said taking the result card from her.
"I don't know what would have become of me by now if you were not there." Ichigo said.
"You have flattered me enough. All the seats for the concert must have been occupied by now, you idiot." Rukia said.
"Let's hurry up then." Ichigo said.
"Wait a minute. Let me do this first." Rukia said taking out a camera from her bag. "Fortunately, I brought it today."
"Oh great." Ichigo mumbled.
"Don't you know how to pose for a photo? Do not stand like a statue. Do something." Rukia said.
"Like what?" Ichigo asked.
"My best friend is an idiot. Just put an arm around my waist if you can't do anything else." Rukia said angrily.
"That sounds weird. I mean I'm your friend, not your boy friend." Ichigo said blushing.
"Come on, Ichigo. It's just a pose." Rukia said.
"Alright. I'll do it." Ichigo said as he put his arms around her.
"Best friends forever!" Rukia said as she took the picture holding the camera in one hand at a particular distance and making a victory sign with the other.
Ichigo's eyes ached as if they desperately wanted to shed tears.
He moved his hand gently over the picture and then turned it down on the side table.
"I think I'm losing the bet already." Ichigo said softly.
"Get up!" Someone shook Ichigo by arm.
"Let me sleep, Rukia." Ichigo said without opening his eyes as he pulled the blanket that has almost fallen on the carpet below the bed.
"It is me….Yuzu, Ichi nii." Yuzu said in a low voice.
"What do you want?" Ichigo said with his eyes still shut. He was half-asleep.
"Where is Rukia nee san?" Yuzu asked.
This made Ichigo open his eyes at once.
"So it was not just a horrible dream after all." Ichigo mumbled.
"She has left us, hasn't she?" Yuzu said. "Please don't try to lie to me as I have already read the letter she left."
"Then what do you want from me?" Ichigo said flatly.
"Please bring back nee san, Ichi nii. How'll we live without…?" Yuzu couldn't hold back her tears.
"It's our personal matter, Yuzu and you are too young to interfere." Ichigo suddenly became loud.
"I think she did the right thing….You don't deserve her anyway." Yuzu sobbed.
"You are talking to your elder brother, Yuzu!" Ichigo was furious.
Yuzu rushed out of the room without saying anything else but her words had their effect on Ichigo.
It was already morning. Ichigo got out of bed, as he had to get ready for college.
A smile appeared on his face as he opened the closet. Rukia had pressed and hung his clothes in the closet before going.
"Why did you make me so dependant on you when I had to live the rest of my life without you? Why?" Ichigo thought.
That day at the college was a total mess because Rukia was not there. Ichigo missed her every moment he spent there. His ears were so used to her lovely chatter that the whole world seemed to be haunted without her….
-Sometimes, I prefer walking silently with your shadow to every joy in the world.
"No girl can ever take your place, not even Orihime…I give up, Rukia. I admit that I can't live without you." Ichigo said looking at Rukia's photo placed at the side table.
It was 7 p.m. and Ichigo had not gone to the job. Orihime called her almost a hundred times but he did not receive even a single call. He did not want to talk to anyone.
His phone began to ring once more. He kept staring at it for a while and then finally picked it up.
"Kurosaki kun! Where the hell are you? I have been calling you for almost 2 hours. Why weren't you picking up the phone?" Orihime seemed to be really pissed.
"Inoue, calm down." Ichigo said.
"You are asking me to calm down? You have not come to the shop and you didn't even call me to tell the reason. Moreover, when I called, you didn't pick up the phone. What's wrong with you? Why are you avoiding me like this?" Inoue went on.
"Rukia had to bear this kind of behavior for so long but she didn't complain even once." Ichigo thought.
"Say something." Orihime said.
"I'll tell you if you let me speak. Rukia is not at home and my little sisters can't cook. I have to help them cook!" Ichigo said.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Okay, then I'm coming after getting permission from boss. I'll cook for you, right?" Orihime said finally calming down.
"Okay, I wanted to speak to you about something, too." Ichigo said as he ended the call.
"So you left your home just because of this?" Tatsuki said angrily as she took a sip of coffee as Rukia finished telling her the whole thing.
"Isn't this reason enough for a woman to leave her home?" Rukia said.
"At least the Rukia I know would never have done such a thing. You were such a strong girl." Tatsuki said placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Love makes us all weak….and besides, what should have I done?" Rukia said in a low voice.
"You should have kicked him as you used to do in high school days and set him right." Tatsuki said raising her fist. "Those were wonderful days."
Rukia smiled.
"Things are different now, Tatsuki. He is my husband now." Rukia said.
"That's even better, don't you think? You'll have to go back, Rukia." Tatsuki said.
"I can't. It's too late." Rukia said in a low voice.
"It's never too late. Ichigo would have learnt his lesson by now. He wouldn't say a word. I bet that dunce can't even spend a night without you." Tatsuki said. "At least do it for your child's sake. Do you want him or her to grow up without a father like you?"
"No….I would never want that." Rukia said.
"Then, hurry up. I'll drop you home." Tatsuki said getting up.
"La-lala-lala. Kurosaki kun, dinner is ready!" Orihime yelled in her high-pitched voice from the kitchen as she removed the gloves.
"I just wish for her cooking not to be as unbearable as she is!" Karin whispered in Yuzu's ear.
Yuzu giggled.
"Okay, now it will be really kind of you two if you let us eat on the dining table….alone, I mean." Orihime said.
"It's okay; we'll eat in our room." Karin said.
"Our whole family used to eat together when nee san was here." Yuzu whispered to Karin in a sad voice.
"Did you like the food?" Orihime said gazing at the candle that she had lit between them.
Ichigo seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.
"Kurosaki Kun, what is it?" Orihime said.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." Ichigo said getting out of the trance.
"It seems that your mind is somewhere else." Orihime said grumpily.
"Orihime, I want to say something." Ichigo said.
Orihime said nothing.
"I… I wanted to tell you that I can't date you anymore." Ichigo said after a moment of hesitation.
"What? Do you have any idea about what are you saying? I just left my ex- boyfriend because of you." Orihime suddenly flared up.
"I'm extremely sorry, Inoue but you know that I am married and I have a wife. Our relationship is ruining my matrimonial life." Ichigo said.
"Oh great! Didn't you care about your wife when you dated me so many times? Why don't you simply say that you want to dump me?" Orihime said.
"It's not like that. You are such a great girl. You'll find many guys better than me but…It's just that you are not the one for me. A day without Rukia had made me realize how special she was to me. I love my wife and I hope you understand." Ichigo said.
"I'm sorry, Inoue." Ichigo said as he accompanied Orihime to her car.
"At least give me a good bye hug." Orihime said.
Ichigo hesitated for a moment and then went for it.
Just then, a car stopped at some distance that Ichigo didn't notice.
"It seems that he doesn't need me….He is quite happy with Inoue." Rukia said faking a smile.
"I'm sorry, Rukia. It's my entire fault. If I had known that he was such a heartless person, I would never have recommended you to go back." Tatsuki said as she turned the car back.
After 9 months…
-seconds change into minutes, minutes change into hours, hours change into days and days change into months, everything changes except the fact that I still love you…
It was a May morning. Ichigo stood by the window as he looked outside. He was feeling very uneasy that day.
"Another day without you I guess…but I'll wait for you till my last breath." He sighed.
Tatsuki was walking uneasily outside the labor room in the hospital.
"Where is Kurosaki Rukia's husband?" the doctor asked.
"He isn't here. I'm with her. Tell me what you want to." Tatsuki said.
"Congratulations, a beautiful baby girl is born but I am afraid the mother is not in good condition." The doctor said.
"Can I see her?" Tatsuki asked impatiently.
"I'm afraid that I can't let you." The doctor apologized.
"The patient wants to have a few words with someone named Tatsuki." Suddenly a nurse came out.
"I'm… I'm Tatsuki." Tatsuki said.
"Okay, I can let you have 5 minutes." The doctor said.
"Rukia…" Tatsuki said holding Rukia's hand as her eyes welled up with tears.
"Tatsuki…I want you to do a last favor to me." Rukia said in weak voice that alarmed Tatsuki.
"Please take my daughter to his father. You don't have to explain anything to him…Just leave her on his door step with this note." Rukia said handing over a note to her.
"You still want to trust him after all what you saw that day?" Tatsuki said.
"Don't say that. He is a good person I know. He'll take good care of her…Please do it for me. I…I don't want my daughter to live a miserable life without parents like me." Rukia said.
Tatsuki nodded slowly.
"Do you promise?" Rukia said softly.
"Yes, I promise." Tatsuki said.
Rukia closed her eyes. For the first time in her life, she felt so peaceful.
"I wish I could see you one more time before leaving this world. Ichigo, I wish that the last thing I could hear was that you loved me…" Rukia mumbled as she took the last breath.
"Rukia! Please open your eyes…. Rukia!" Tatsuki shook her as she cried.
It was the end of her miseries; it was the end of all the pain because it was the end of her life….
-I know that my wish to have you by my side when I breathe my last will not be granted because if it is, I'll wish for another chance to live."
"I love you Rukia. You're the only one for me." Ichigo said as he closed the window….
It was 10 p.m. Ichigo had just returned home from job. It was a tiring day and he wanted to sleep as soon as possible.
He opened the drawer and took out sleeping pills. He had to depend on them to sleep ever since Rukia left.
Suddenly, someone knocked at the main door.
"Who is it?" Ichigo said as he went towards the door.
"Who can it be at such a time?" he mumbled as he opened the door.
He looked here and there but there was no one there. Just then, he looked down on the doorstep.
There was something wrapped in a blanket in the basket and it was moving.
Ichigo intriguingly picked it up. To his surprise, it was a baby.
"Who would leave such an angelic child on someone else's door step?" Ichigo said. Suddenly he caught sight of the note tied to the basket.
Take good care of our daughter.
-Rukia.
Ichigo didn't know how to react. He looked here and there in hope to see Rukia but couldn't see anyone. He kissed her daughter on her cheek and took her inside.
-26th December 2017.
Place: Karakura town.
Location: The Kurosaki mansion.
"How did you first day at school go?" Ichigo said to his little daughter.
"It was boring. I don't want to go there again." The little girl said.
"Hikari, you should not be saying such things." Ichigo said.
"Everyone at school had his mom! Why don't I have a mother?" Hikari yelled.
Ichigo felt as if someone stabbed his heart.
"Hikari, your mom will definitely come back this time on your birthday. You know that she is abroad for her job." Ichigo told the same lie that he had been telling for years.
"You always lie to me. I know she will never come!" Hikari yelled as she went running towards her room.
At the same time, high above in the sky…
Place: Seretei
Location: Sixth squad barracks.
"Did you call me nii sama?" Rukia said as she entered a room where a man with an elegant personality was sitting on the chair.
"Yes, I have summoned you because I had to tell you something." The man said.
"Kuchiki Rukia, as the third seat of sixth squad, you are ordered to take Abarai Renji's position on earth who was injured yesterday."
"On which area would I have to focus?" Rukia asked.
"Karakura town." He replied.
"Right!" Rukia said as she bowed slightly and went out.