DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BLEACH
I apologize for any spellings or grammatical errors
After few attempts of escaping, finally life has given Rukia the chance to run away. It was such a fortune that Momo didn't have art class, because Rukia can finally get away from her friend who demanded way too many details about the casual life of Kurosaki Ichigo that even Rukia would feel uncomfortable to provide the answer to.
After an exhausting day, Rukia decided to rest by herself alone around the university's park. Talking with Momo drained almost all of her energy. Sighing wearily, she opened her book and decided to study a bit while getting some fresh air.
"Well, what do we have here?"
Turning her head upwards, her eyes were met with a guy who has light blue hair and light blue pair of eyes with thin green lines that shows mischievousness. He was smirking, towering the much smaller woman as if shading her from the rays.
"Do I know you?" Rukia asked, incredulous written all over her face as she recalled the facial feature of the man. Surely, she didn't owe him any money.
"You don't, but I know you."
This man was getting ridiculous, Rukia concluded.
"Alright…" She trailed off, eyes darting towards him as she tried to comprehend what he was saying. "And how do you know me?"
The man smirks, leaning closer to the raven haired, "I heard you're Ichigo's woman."
What the…
Rukia laughs, "I don't know where you got this preposterous impression from, but you definitely have mistaken me with some other person."
"I don't know," Grimmjow mused, "There aren't many Kuchiki Rukia that ate lunch and is acquaintances with infamous Kurosaki Ichigo now, isn't it?"
Rukia scoffs, "So eating lunch together means that we are fucking each other now? I wonder about the present language these days…" She mumbled the last sentence, disgusts painted her countenance. "And what's it for you if I do have something going on with Kurosaki anyway, you're his confidential lover or something?"
The man doesn't seem pleased with the allegation, "That smart mouth of yours, darling," he hissed, "is going to ruin you someday. So you better watch it."
Rukia scanned his reaction. From the looks of it, he wasn't here for friendly introduction. She tried to find a small opening to slip out of the cornered bench and escape, but Grimmjow quickly registered what she had in mind.
"Oh no," Grimmjow quickly gripped her arm, "I wouldn't try if I were you." He warned, smiling wickedly.
Rukia snorted, tempted to dare the man. Seeing his big ego, the only way out was with violence, a method which she didn't mind to use anyway. As she was about to act with her plan, Grimmjow's hand was halted by another hand, pulling the grip away with much force. She arched an eyebrow in confusion along with the other party.
"Drop it, Grimmjow. She has nothing to do with it."
Flashes of oranges filled her eyesight as a bigger figure guarded her front. Before she could comprehend what was happening, her arm was pulled strongly by a man, trying to pull her closer towards his side.
"Kurosaki." Rukia frowned, pondering the idea he might want to save her as the least possibility. "What are you doing here?"
"Yo, Ichigo." Grimmjow greeted him casually, "Finally here to save your girl?"
Ichigo scrunches his face at the assumption, "That's the reason you're cornering her? Then she's not the one you're searching for." Ichigo clarified, "And drop the act already, you're attracting attentions."
And it was true. Rukia just realized when she was looking towards them, lots of people whispering and trying to follow the situation. She was too distracted that she didn't ponder the possibility.
If I recognized this sooner, I would've gotten out far easier before… Inwardly, Rukia chastised herself so that she should be more aware of her surroundings- not that she will admit her blunder out loud though.
Grimmjow growled at the remark, knowing fully well the other part get more advantages this time. "This isn't over yet, Kuchiki." Grimmjow warned, before turning his body around and walked the other way.
"… Well, that was easy to do." Rukia blinked at the unexpected turn of event.
Ichigo scoffs, "What? Do you expect me and him to get into full fight mode or something?"
"Well, considering you turn into a compulsive jerk on most times, yeah, that would be more expected."
Ichigo was about to retort when a voice cut his action off abruptly, "Well, well, isn't this the girl everyone is talking about for a whole day!"
Rukia blinked as she felt her hands being pulled by a woman who's giving the raven haired a friendly grin, "You're Kuchiki Rukia, right? Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you too…" Rukia said tentatively. Discreetly, she narrowed her eyes towards a certain orange haired, giving a look that was inquiring for more explanation about the sudden barge. Last thing Rukia wanted was for the man to think she was doing anything that's invading his privacy anymore.
Upon understanding her face, Ichigo sighs. "Just call her Tatsuki, she's a childhood friend of mine and she knows about our condition." Rukia nodded in understanding.
After few conversations, Rukia decided that Ichigo's friend wasn't an ass like he was. Tatsuki was polite and friendly, not being too intrusive but has a good sense of humour. And before Rukia could clear up the misunderstanding between her relationships with Ichigo, Tatsuki abruptly laughed it off.
"Oh no, you don't need to explain anything to me. Ichigo and I are not like that." Tatsuki grins, "He's more like a little brother to me. We've known each other since we were kids."
After that, Rukia concludes that although Ichigo was told to have a popular circle, not everyone was as much of a snobbism as he was. And Rukia finds herself could easily befriended the other female.
For the past two weeks, Rukia and Ichigo consistently tried to keep each other out of their visions. It was hardly difficult considering their class schedules are out of sync and even if both of them are in the dorm, either Ichigo or Rukia is inside their own room studying when another is in the living room or the kitchen.
But then in one certain midnight, it was raining hard. The rumbling sound of thunders could be heard frequently, putting Ichigo into a bad mood. He had never been fond with the rain. When Ichigo was nearly finished with his assignment, the lights went out and everything turned pitch black.
The orange haired scowls, "A power outrage, at this hour?" He muttered under his breath.
He planned to just wait and play with his phone until the rain settled down, but then he felt his throat going dry. Too many hours concentrating on his studies lead him to forget about his dehydration, so he decided to go to the kitchen.
With his phone's flashlights, he scanned towards his surroundings and walked outside leisurely. He successfully reached the fridge upon arriving to the kitchen. As he opened the fridge, the cool air could still be felt and Ichigo wasted no time on taking one of his water bottles. He opened the cap and quickly chucked down the drink, relieving his throat from thirst.
As he was about to went back to the bedroom, the lights turned on again. Ichigo was about to head back to his room when he could see a certain raven haired curled into a ball under the dining table, both her hands covering her ears as her back facing Ichigo's current position.
"Oi, midget." Ichigo called, his eyebrows furrowing.
The said midget jumped upon being called, turning herself around and looking up towards the man, glaring as she recognized her roommate. "Kurosaki." She growled, "I am not a midget." Rukia countered as she glared at the man.
"Yeah, yeah. Never mind that, what are you doing there?"
Rukia stood still at the question, "Nothing in particular." She answered, "It's just… Comfortably homey here."
"Under the dining table?"
"Yes."
Ichigo gave a look to her, clearly not buying her reason.
He was about to counter her back with another insult when suddenly another storms can be heard, causing the petite woman to jolt in surprise while both hands reflexively covering her ears. Her whole figure trembled, her ears anticipating few more rumbling strikes.
Ichigo raised an eyebrow at her reaction, and Rukia avoided any eye contact with the man.
Upon knowing her cover was being blown and worse, Kurosaki Ichigo being the one that sees through her weakness, Rukia was in a pinch. She didn't even know what to do in her current situation except feigning ignorance and hoping the man wouldn't taunt her with this.
But oh, who is she to hope. It's Kurosaki freaking Ichigo we're talking about here. Of course, he would smile knowingly upon seeing her reaction to his newfound discovery of her fear.
"So," He began, "you're scared of the thunders?" Rukia flinched at the amusement and the evil glint coating his words.
Rukia laughs, "I-I don't know what are you talking about." Great, she just had to stutter.
"You totally know what I am talking about." Ichigo smirked..
Rukia scoffs at the man's ego, "Fine, you already know. So what you're going to do, using it against me to my friends?"
"Oh no, I still know pity." Ichigo quickly denied, "I'm just asking you for one bit favour."
Rukia raised an eyebrow over that.
"Kurosaki-kun, would you look at that! The fish looked so cute!"
Ichigo scratches his head at the exclamation, "Yeah, Inoue. The fish looks…" He trailed off, "Appealing."
Inoue pouts, "Jeez, you're thinking of eating it, don't you." She stated, eyes darting towards the man suspiciously.
"Not really." Ichigo replied nonchalantly before looking towards his wristwatch, eyes scanning towards the crowd anticipating a disruption to come.
Flashbacks
Rukia gapes, "You want me to what?!"
"I want you to interrupt my date with Inoue."
"And… Why should I do that?!" Rukia eyed the man in disbelief, "Why would you go on a date if you expect me to ruin it anyway?"
"It's not like I agreed with it! Tatsuki kinda pulled some strings to set me up with her." Ichigo reasoned, raising his hands in surrender. "Apparently Inoue had liked me since back in high school."
Rukia snorts, "Can't you just reject her like a normal person does?"
"Hey, you're not in the position to criticize me." Ichigo warned, "It's either crashing my date or broadcasting your fear of thunderstorms. One which I'm pretty sure Momo would be escastic to find out."
Damn it, he knows she doesn't have a say in this.
End of Flashbacks
Ichigo scowls as he pulled out his phone from his pocket, typing few texts before putting it back again.
Oi midget, what's taking you so long?!
Besides him was Inoue Orihime, talking about her day out with Tatsuki few days ago as Ichigo only gave curt responses and pretended to be listening. Inwardly, he was cursing the name of a certain petite raven haired girl who was running late.
"Oh my, is that really you, Kurosaki-kun? What a coincidence it is!"
Both Ichigo and Orihime stopped at their tracks upon hearing a female voice. Ichigo smirks, mouthing "You're late" towards the woman and he was sure she would've scoffed back if she didn't have to put up with her act.
"Kurosaki-kun, is she someone you know?" Inoue asked, finger tentatively pointing towards Rukia as Ichigo nodded in response.
"Uh, yeah, she's my friend."
"Nice to meet you, my name is Kuchiki Rukia!" Rukia greeted with a sugary sweet voice as she offered her hand, causing Ichigo to flinch slightly at the exaggerated act. She doesn't usually talk this high pitched.
"Oh, nice to meet you too, Kuchiki-san. I'm Inoue Orihime." Orihime said, accepting Rukia's hand in full courtesy. "It's always nice to meet more of Kurosaki-kun's friends!"
Rukia gives a painted smile as she opened her mouth to asks, "Where are you two heading right now?"
"We're actually planning to go to the whale section." Ichigo answered, "And you?"
"Oh my, what a coincidence! I am going there as well!"
"Really? You should totally join us, Kuchiki-san!" Orihime offers, "The more the merrier, right?"
"Well if you both wouldn't mind, I'd love to take up on that offer, Inoue-san!" Rukia answered with a fake cheery voice.
"That's great!"
As the three of them walked along together, Orihime decided to chat with Rukia and get to know her better. "So how did you and Ichigo meet?"
Ichigo looked absolutely shocked, shaking his head towards the petite woman as if giving a signal.
She doesn't know.
"We met just a few weeks ago." Rukia replied, still smiling. "I'm from Karakura University too."
"Oh really?" Orihime looked surprised, "I wonder why I never know about you then."
"What major are you in, Inoue-san?"
Orihime smiles sheepishly, "Me? I'm in Medical, just like Kurosaki-kun."
Rukia reminisced what Ichigo told her few days back.
"Apparently, Inoue had liked me since back in high school."
That ignorant bastard. The clues were everywhere. And the way Orihime looked towards the man was so palpable, even Rukia who was just getting to knowthe endearing woman could see it as clear as day. The woman looked at him as if he's the hero of this universe. Now Rukia felt even worse for ruining their date. The day must've meant so much for the girl.
"Kuchiki-san?"
Rukia drags herself back from her thoughts, "Oh, I'm sorry, what was it again?"
"Oh, it's okay." Orihime laughed absent-mindedly, "I was just asking if you're free for the whole day."
Of course Inoue would wonder about that. Although the girl was beautiful, she took her time to pretty herself up even more today. She wore light makeup and heels, clearly looking forward for this date so much.
"Actually, I'm free this whole day." Rukia smiles, "I was planning to meet up with my friend today, but the person cancelled on the last minute."
"I see." If Orihime was disappointed, she didn't show it on her face or her tone.
"I can curse you for that."
Ichigo blinked before gulping down his potato chips, looking towards the woman in front of him as if to tell her to continue, which she did. "When you said you had absolutely no interest in going out with the chick, I thought she was a bitchy blonde bimbo who does nothing but bats eyelashes on you. Not a smart, considerate girl who probably spent half of her life just to get some attention out of you."
"You never asked," Ichigo shrugged, "so I didn't mind much of the details."
"As a person and fellow woman, I feel like shit now for ruining the date." Rukia states, "Now I feel sympathy to Inoue for liking somebody like you, who would ruin a date by his own accord."
"You could've ditched me," Ichigo counters, "but you didn't."
He was right, Rukia thought. She could've excused herself to the restroom and left, parting a message to the orange haired man saying she couldn't continue with the plan, but she didn't. All because Kurosaki Ichigo knew she had fear of thunderstorms and she was in no position to bargain, which the man himself knows.
"You're an asshole." Rukia spat out, giving a dirty glower before reaching out for the remote on the coffee table and changing the channel.
Ichigo raises his hands, "Look, you don't see it in my point of view, so you don't get it." Ichigo said, "And yes, I'm a person who gives no shits to girls even after they say they like me."
"Sounds like an asshole to me." Rukia responded, and before Ichigo could open his mouth to speak, she added. "Look, you don't see it in my point of view either, so you don't get it."
Ichigo growls, "Fair trade," he replied, "but just remember that this asshole was the person who saved you when you got cornered by Grimmjow, sweetheart."
"For your information, that man wouldn't had even known me if I weren't assumed as your lover." Rukia opposed.
"You-"
Ring! Ring!
The sound of a cell phone ringing halted Ichigo's counterattack, but didn't stop his glare. Rukia decided to just ignore the man's glower and answered the dial. "Hello, Renji?"
Ichigo's glare vanished upon hearing the name.
Renji?
"Oh, Rukia, what's up? I heard you've moved from your flat already? That place was hell."
Rukia nods to nobody present, "Yeah, I'm moving inside the dormitory now. The place's better."
"That's good, it's about damned time."
"Never mind that Renji, why did you call?" Rukia brought back the topic, which earned a chuckle from the other side of the dial.
"Uh, yeah, about that. Remember when I told you about my recent girlfriend?"
"The one that you met in a bar? Yeah, I remember." Rukia answered, "Why?"
"So about that, I want to introduce you to her, if you don't mind." Renji explained, "I'm going with her to that bar again this weekend. She's bringing her friends along, so she told me to bring some of mine along as well. You can bring Momo too with you, how does that sound?"
"This weekend? Sure, I don't mind. I'll call Momo too just in case." Though she's free most of the time. Rukia silently added by herself.
"Great! I'll text you the time. See you this weekend!"
"See you too."
As Rukia hang up the phone, Ichigo eyed the woman warily. Rukia was about to ignore his moronic stare and went inside her room to avoid any more conversations, just like how they were these past weeks, before Ichigo called her. "Oi, Midget."
"Can you stop calling me that?!" Rukia hissed, although she stopped her steps and turned to him anyway.
"I can, but I won't." Ichigo smirked, "Is that guy named Renji your friend?"
"No, he's a stranger who apparently knows my identity and my life." Rukia answered in monotone, face flat as she shrugs at his question.
Ichigo scoffs, "Touché."
"Whatever." Rukia mumbled, before turning her heels again towards her bedroom. "Is that all you're asking? If yes, then I'm going ahead."
Ichigo didn't call her name again this time even after she closed the door behind her.
"I think he's interested in you."
Rukia rolls her eyes at the assumption, "Remember, Momo. This is real life, no more rambling about your imaginations."
As Rukia was about to have a quality time for herself, Momo just had to text her asking to meet up, saying stuffs like how she needed more details and Rukia's updates about her experiences talking with Kurosaki Ichigo. She only planned to give a brief call, making sure her friend had time this weekend to go to the bar, and turns out Momo used this as her advantage to make Rukia to talk.
"I'm serious!" Momo defended her beliefs, "I mean, why else would he ask you to ruin his date out of all the friends he had? And the way he asked about Renji because a guy was calling you? The clues are everywhere."
"If you were listening, Momo," Rukia complemented, "the whole fiasco of me ruining his date for him was because he threatened me. He knows I had no choice but oblige."
"Yeah, but about the Renji part?"
"Well maybe the strawberry knows Renji or something? Anyway, Ichigo liking me in romantically way is the least possible thing you can ever expect."
Momo huffs, folding her arms, "That stubbornness of you caused Renji's unrequited love for five years, just saying."
"Renji's case was different from this, okay! Ichigo and I hate each other's guts." Rukia justified, "Besides, he's moved on already. We're even meeting with his girlfriend this weekend."
"Yeah, yeah, we're not talking about that anymore." Momo pouted.
Author's Note: I'm so sorry it took me a while to update this. Or like, MONTHS. I didn't exactly plan too ahead when I made this story, truthfully. I thought the fandom was dead already, so I planned to make this short but I see the supports this story got from mere one chapter so I scrambled some more plots and voila! I'm here now! And I'm going to give you guys good news that I'm NOT going to give up on this story. Kubo has taken so much from us, it would be cruel of me to not continue this story. So please do look forward to the next chapter! I had already plan the story ahead from this, so you guys should expect faster updates after this.
Please do reviews if you have more ideas or theories on how the next chapter will be, or just tell your thoughts on the box below. It means so much to me to see the supports you guys gave, and it motivates me to do this too! Also favorites and follows if you haven't, obviously
See you guys in next chapter!