Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite. The only thing I gain from writing this is personal satisfaction that I can come up with 65 points for Ichigo and Rukia to be together.
Author's Note: Wow! I'm so grateful for the great responses so far!! And someone even suggested another point for me! Yataa! Maybe by the end, reviewers can offer me more points that I can reach 100! Wouldn't that be awesome!
Enjoy reading! If there's a point you want to add, please do so in the review. And also review even if you don't have a point, because I really love them and it really does motivate me to write more. Thanks!
Also if there are grammar mistakes, I'd love if you point it out. I'm not perfect, and I'm beta-less on this story (any volunteers?).
One more thing, I swear I wrote this chapter before the calendar cover came out! Cross my heart! And yes, they do look so good in it that it complements this chapter well!
Setting: Post-Piece by Piece – where Ichigo and Rukia are Soul Society's most famous couple. You'll probably appreciate this chapter more if you read Piece by Piece, by me.
Rating: T
I love
2. I love that Kubo made them to match each other.
-
"…After that, to match Rukia's design I changed Ichigo's character design. Like Rukia had black hair so it's best if Ichigo didn't have black hair."
http:// bleachasylum. com /showpost. php?p=164252&postcount=157
Special thanks to the translator~
-
"Remind me why we're doing this again?"
Rukia frowned at him, pulling the towel closer to her body. The sun was beginning to rise, bleeding the sky orange and pink before blending to a cool grey-blue. The water in front of them rippled as it rolled up and down the shore. The yellow sunshine kissed its surface sparingly in square blocks. Despite the beautiful landscape, it was cold and early for the two shinigami.
Rukia sighed. "Because the Shinigami Women's Association is making their yearly calendar and they want us in it." She paused and then added with a small smile, "It'd be nice to have a picture without Captain Kenpachi's hair in the shot." Rukia was referring to Vice Captain Yachiru's previous attempts, which frankly were far from successful.
Lazy eyes followed the flow of water on the sand before retreating to the body like a beast. "Yeah, but on the beach?"
Rukia shrugged. "You alone in the calendar will boost sales but you, almost naked, well… you get the idea."
Ichigo tugged on the towel around her. "You're almost naked too."
She rolled her eyes at him. "They knew I wouldn't like you…displayed like this, like eye-candy." She had paused, contemplating if she should reveal her slight possessiveness over him and his body but had decided he would be flattered by it.
His mouth curved into one of those cocky grins and smoothly he threw an arm over her shoulder. "We could have just said no to the whole thing."
"They begged and pleaded, and convinced me that it will look really, really, really good." A soft sigh left her pink lips as she bowed her head against his chest.
Then they heard a 'click' sound.
Click!
"What, you think we were wrong?!" Matsumoto's voice came from in front of them. Her golden hair glowed more angelically with the rising sun, also making her look more superior to her usual flakey personality. Three other shinigami took their places beside her. Nemu held the camera. Nanao held a clipboard. And Kiyone had the light.
"All of you guys are here?!" Ichigo pointed out, with a finger raised.
"Of course. This is the most important shoot!" Kiyone answered. It was clear that they were all on a mission.
"You guys are the most famous couple in Soul Society after all," Nanao added carefully. "And you two look great together."
"You're just saying that because you want us to this," Ichigo hotly accused.
Nanao pushed her glasses up her nose and a glint of light reflected off the left lens. "No, you two match. She's short, you're tall. She has ivory skin, you're tanned. She has blue eyes, you have brown. She has dark hair, you have bright orange hair."
Both Rukia and Ichigo blinked at her. "How is that matching? We're opposites."
Nanao glanced over at Nemu, who responded for her. "Even I can see what is appealing about the two of you. In colour theory, complementary colours are pair of colours that are opposite, like blue and orange, or purple and yellow, and they are very aesthetically pleasing. Because complementary colours contrast they activate the center versus opponent process of the retinal ganglion cells in the center of the eye."
Everyone stared at her for a long moment, trying to wrap their head around what she just said.
Kiyone cleared her throat. "See, there's even a scientific explanation why you two look good together."
Rukia and Ichigo glanced over at each other. The once shinigami substitute (because now he was a Captain!) mumbled something about how that's not how exactly the eye works, but appreciated Nemu's attempt to persuade him.
"So get those towels off!" Matsumoto suddenly exclaimed. "Up, up, up! We want the sunrise shot!" The four women scurried around them, ripping off towels, pushing them towards the water's edge and setting up the lighting appropriately.
"Wha-wait, what do you want us to do?" Ichigo rubbed the goose bumps on his arms. "You want… sexy shots, don't you?" He inhaled deeply, not sure how comfortable he or Rukia were about this.
Matsumoto grinned at them. It was obvious that this was her idea. "Of course. We'll raise even more money!"
Ichigo looked down at his wife beside him. She was frowning but she did look pretty good in her black bikini. It was plain but it contrasted against her pale skin so nicely… Oh, that's what they meant about this whole contrast and matching business. "Okay but it can't be too uh, inappropriate, because I don't want Byakuya to kill me."
Matsumoto's pretty lips smirked at them as Rukia whipped her head in his direction. He was really going along with this? "Sure thing Captain."
"Ichigo…" Rukia's eyes met his in some understanding. Then slowly, those violet eyes drifted downwards to his solid chest and sculpted abs. Oh yes, he did look good, especially with the way his green and brown trunks hung low on his waist. She swallowed too hard that he noticed. In response, Ichigo grinned at her.
Click!
Then their moment was broken.
"Do that thing you two always do," Nanao ordered, reading from her clipboard.
"What thing?" Rukia asked, glad that her eyes able to move away from her husband.
"You know, that look…" Kiyone started, "that you two always have for each other."
Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "We don't know what you're talking about."
Matsumoto face-palmed. "Nanao, I told you they wouldn't know. Just get to the next point."
Nanao nodded, scratching lines furiously on her paper. "Okay, what would you two be doing if we weren't here?"
"Uh, I guess swim?" Rukia answered. "We are at a beach."
Kiyone digressed. "No, we can't take shots of that. The water will cover their bodies."
"Next point," Matsumoto announced.
"It says, 'Matsumoto direct the two idiots'" Nanao replied.
Both Ichigo and Rukia resented that insult. "Hey! We're not idiots!" Of course, their outcry went unheeded as the four Shinigami women quickly discussed some points.
Finally, Matsumoto pointed to Ichigo. "You lie on the ground." Then her crystal eyes set on Rukia. "And you, crawl over him."
"Byakuya will kill us," Ichigo started and then corrected, "Well, he'll definitely kill me."
She waved a hand of dismissal at him. "No he wouldn't. Rukia will protect you. Just do it." The look Matsumoto made was definitely dangerous and serious enough to make Ichigo comply.
Besides, it all seemed pretty harmless… And photos can always be deleted and destroyed, he thought.
Ichigo sighed. He sat on the ground with legs stretched out before him. His muscled arms supported his weight behind him. The water lapped over his skin slowly before retreating into the ocean.
He looked like a male model alright.
"How can you just do that?" Rukia asked with her hands set on her hips.
He shrugged at her, his mouth morphing into another small grin. "You are going to be covering most of my body."
"Kurosaki-san!" Matsuomoto suddenly yelled. All four women marched up to them with a sweltering determination burning in their eyes. "On him! Now!"
"Ehh?!" Rukia panicked, only because they all looked scary staring at her like that, scary enough that she'll do what they ask for. "Okay! Calm down." She half-rolled her eyes at them before looking down at her husband. Taking in a deep breath, Rukia went down to her hands and knees and followed through to what they asked. She crawled over his legs and stopped when each knee was planted on either side of his hip. When the water rolled over her skin, she slightly jumped at the coldness. "It's kind of strange to do this…with them watching."
He nodded, his head slightly turned towards the other shinigami. "I agree."
Click!
"Oh my, that was pretty good," Kiyone exclaimed, looking over Nemu's shoulder. The image resolved on Nemu's screen almost immediately after the shot.
"Rukia, look at us and Ichigo, you look at her," Matsumoto ordered.
The famous couple complied and Kiyone, Nanao and Nemu seemed pleased. "I like the way Kurosaki-san's hair falls over her shoulder," Nanao noted.
Kiyone added, "I like the way the Kurosaki-kun smiles at her. You know… that manly kind of smile. Kind of mischievous but confident."
All four women agreed but Matsumoto wasn't completely satisfied. "Okay, we want you to turn so your back is almost completely against the sunrise. Rukia move along with him and turn your head to see us. Captain, look at us too."
When the couple changed positions, Nemu snapped away with the camera. Everyone gasped at how incredible they looked. The pink-orange sky and rolling waves were only an accent to the two figures in the shot. Ichigo's face was the epitome of masculinity as his hazel eyes smoldered of passion. Rukia perky bum was the cute end of the sexy curve her back. The look she threw at them over her shoulder spoke of mystery, ardor, and pride. Then she almost fell but Ichigo caught her in his arms.
Click!
"Stay still!" Matsumoto yelled. Her grin stretched ear to ear as Nemu kept clicking. One shot was of Rukia's body completely melded against his, arms over his neck and legs straddling onto him. Next, her mouth lingered above his, her breath teasing over his lips. Then, he stole a kiss before flipping her around onto the wet sand. Soon, they somehow ended up into a fight but Matsumoto kept smiling and Nemu kept taking pictures.
All in all, the photo shoot turned out to be a success. Rukia and Ichigo cooperated pretty well, better than expected actually. Though they did fight two separate times, the famous couple took direction well and complained little. The only problem was a lot of the pictures came out really well.
"Nemu, you're really good at this…" Matsumoto murmured.
"I'm not sure if it's all Nemu's doing."
"Well, this is harder than I thought…"
"Yeah a lot of these pictures are really good."
How could they decide on one?
"This one is my favourite." Kiyone laughed, holding the photo of Ichigo and Rukia recovering from one of their arguments. Their faces were softened incredibly as they stood facing each other. Certain parts of their limbs were dirtied with sand but with the sun in between them, Ichigo had reached a hand to cup her face, to apologize, and she smiled affectionately at him knowing that she was right.
"This is mine," Nanao said next. Ichigo sat in the sand with his back against her front. Since she was slightly above him, they knew she was on her knees, hugging him from behind. With one arm over his shoulder and one arm around his side, a hand palmed the skin over his heart. The look they wore did not tell the story of sugary, fluffy love but of passion, pride and of the heart. Even a slice of arrogance could be seen in their eyes and smiles. When Nanao cropped the shot, so it was just the two of them, the photo seemed even more powerful.
Nemu pointed to the photo beside that. This picture was interesting because they both displayed their awesome power with their zanpakutou in hand. Rukia was able to freeze a trail of ice into the ocean, and she stood at the end of the path as if waiting for Ichigo to reach her. She pointed her blade at him but upwards to the heavens, as if challenging him to a fight. Since they thought it would be strange if they were only in beach attire, the famous couple loosely wore their shinigami robes opened. This gave the possibility to show skin when the wind danced with their clothes. Ichigo stood in the middle of the path with his sword pointing down, and when he raised his reaitsu, the water began to move more forcefully. Some water rose up with a weird twist, moving around them like a monster. The most beautiful part was that light refracted through some water beads, giving the photo an extra ethereal glow.
Matsumoto sighed then and pointed to her favourite. One of Rukia's hands gripped onto her ivory sword that was stuck into the sand. The other was lost in tangerine hair. Her knees were slightly spread apart, also set in the sand, and her face tilted towards the camera. Matsumoto knew Rukia was really looking at her during that time of the shot, before getting distracted by the rolling water up her thighs. Her face and body were licked in patches of sand from fighting with her husband earlier, but that made the picture even better.
Ichigo also sat on his knees behind Rukia, one arm curved around her slim body and one hand protectively set on her lower stomach. He moved her damp hair to one side, leaving her neck exposed for his lips. On the sand beside him rested his black sword, which seem to tell the tale that he'll do anything for her – even refusing to fight.
"I like how her chest rose when he kissed her." Matsumoto smiled. The anxious look on Rukia's face seemed to suggest that this was the first time Ichigo has kissed her there, like that. Though, to be fair, this was the first time the famous couple ever displayed so much affection at once in front of any of them. "Who knew they'd be so good at this?"
Nanao nodded, her glasses reflecting light. "Well, like we said, they do match." This was a very good idea indeed but to choose one picture...
"We can make a whole calendar dedicated to them!" Matsumoto cried out, obviously excited at her next great idea.
Everyone immediately agreed. Of course certain sultry shots had to be omitted but nonetheless, sales were never better!
-
So this chapter also lends some more ideas why I love them together (ie. Him refusing to fight Ulquorria in the HM arc kekeke) but whatevs, I couldn't help it! And please review. Of course there are benefits: more chapters (I actually do write more after I read reviews!), quicker updates (didn't I start this story less than a week ago?) and of course my eternal appreciation.