Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Haha...
Anyway, this is chapter 2 of Devil Beside You, EDITED! Read and Enjoy! Thanks to those who reviewed in the first chapter! Help me keep this up, guys! Heehee!Ü I'm planning on twisting it here and there, and everywhere! ^__________^
And REVIEW please?!
Rukia walked slowly back to the place where she dropped her letter, hoping it was still there. She knew she had to get back home soon. It was getting pretty dark. Huge clouds formed in the sky, and looked like they were about to pour any minute.
The raven-haired girl was pretty much confused. After everything that had happened, she didn't even know how she could ever get out of the embarrassment. She looked up at the sky. Sure, it was going to rain soon. She scurried down to the hallway and down into the staircase, her feet going so fast she was already running out of breath.
It was raining already, but she didn't mind. She had to find that letter...or else. She was feeling very disappointed and angry at herself at the same time. How could she confess to the wrong person??? And of all the freakin' people in the world, why did she have to accidentally confess to the Ichigo Kurosaki? She sighed and frowned. She was really, really pissed off. As soon as she reached the staircase, she looked around.
Oh no, it's not here!, she panicked, her eyes darting toward the spot where she stood earlier. She took a deep breath. What if someone found out about it? What if they read it? What if they started making rumors about her? Rukia stopped in her tracks, deeply taking a breath. She ran a hand through her raven hair as she tried to calm herself down.
Rukia, you idiot...okay, calm down, and relax. It must've flown somewhere, she thought as she slowly opened her eyes. She tried to scan around the place once more, only to find dust. No such luck.
She ran back up the stairs, her raven hair flowing messily on her face. Oh no...if anybody finds out about it...
She shook her head. Just thinking about it gave her the creeps. She just couldn't imagine herself being the laughingstock of the whole school.
She tried to look around some more. Surely the letter couldn't have gone very far. Right, she thought. Right?, said her face.
She dashed onto a nearby bench, that was under a cypress tree. It was located on the front yard of the school. She looked around once again hoping and praying that somehow, the letter flew under it or somewhere near it. She scooted down and looked everywhere. The rain was pouring and it was just making it harder for her to find the missing letter. Her clothes were soaked now. And she was more than sure that her mom would have a fit when she gets home.
She wiped at her eyes and kept looking around.
Suddenly, she heard a voice behind her. "Hey, you lookin' for something?"
Rukia didn't even bother to turn around. It was probably some old guard or something. "Yeah," she answered quickly, examining the bench in front of her.
"What is it? I'll help you look for it."
Her eyes busily darted here and there. Where could that letter have gone to, anyway? "I'm looking for a lett--"
Suddenly, she realized something and very slowly looked up. Why is that voice kinda familiar? Her violet orbs grew wide as her mouth hung open. It was...Renji. The redhead guy was dressed in hi P.E. clothes, carrying a duffel bag in his right shoulder. His other hand was holding up a green umbrella. Talk about perfect timing.
Rukia blushed and slowly stood up. There was that funny feeling again. She cleared her throat and smiled at the redhead. Renji smiled back and gave her a questioning look. Rukia lowered her head. "I mean, a four-leaf clover," she immediately answered.
Sometimes, it was much less awkward when you're not looking directly in the eyes.
"Four-leaf clover?," asked Renji. Rukia nodded and smiled. What am I saying? Could I be more idiotic?
Renji nodded in understanding and smiled back at her. "Hi. I'm Renji Abarai. We're in the same Biology class," he said, holding out his hand for her to shake. He couldn't help but find her cute. Next to him, she looked like a dog. Renji was a rather tall guy with broad shoulders and she...well, she was...small.
Rukia nodded and shook his hand. "Yes, Biology class." Don't look up, don't look up, don't look at his eyes. Tattoos. Yes, stare at his tattoos.
Renji smiled awkwardly at her. "Uhh...are you alright? You're getting pretty soaked." He leaned forward and handed her the umbrella. Rukia gently took it. So gentle that Renji thought the wind carried it away.
"Thanks," she muttered as they both scooted down and looked around.
They looked here and there. No four-leaf clover. And the harsh rain was making it harder to find. Rukia swallowed a big gulp. It was weird that she was looking for a four-leaf clover on such a weather. And she even bothered the poor guy. She mentally smacked herself. Just as she was about to speak, she felt a pair of eyes beside her.
What?
Tension. She lifted her head a little and blushed. Renji was staring at her, and she knew it. But why? Was it because of the stupid four-leaf clover? Did he think she was dumb? She looked at him, her eyes meeting his intense gaze. Rukia blinked and tried to calm down. Her heart was beating too fast, and her breathing was shallow. Why, oh why was Renji staring at her? The hairs on back of her neck stood up, as she saw him move towards her. Her face turned red as she clutched the umbrella so tight that her knuckles turned white. Oh no...what is he gonna do???
Rukia took a deep breath. It was weird, she had never felt so tense in her whole life. Renji's gaze was so piercing that she was only minutes away from melting. She lowered her head to hide the crimson blush in her cheeks. She felt her heart beat even more faster, throbbing in her ears. It was really hard. It felt like it wanted to jump out of her chest and into Renji's face at that very minute. Renji mover closer and closer to her until she felt his cold breath on her cheeks.
She blinked, not meeting his gaze. Was this it? Was he really gonna do what she thinks he's gonna do? And it was already impossible to calm her heart down. She was blushing and her face grew really hot that she already felt steam rising up to her face. All of a sudden, she felt Renji's finger brush something off at her shoulder.
Rukia stopped blinking as her heart made a flip flop at his sudden touch. Huh?
"Don't worry, you just..had a bug on your shoulder," Renji said, flashing her one of those killer smiles.
Rukia let out a big sigh of relief, still not meeting his gaze. Yeah right, pfft.
"It's getting dark. You better go home soon," said Renji. It was good that the rain had finally let up. He smiled and stood up and started to walk away. "You can keep the umbrella."
Rukia blushed as she closed her eyes and gathered enough courage to call his name. Stop being an idiot for a day, please. She cleared her throat. "Renji," she squeaked, the red tinge on her cheeks showing fiercely. She shut her eyes closed. She was being dumb, but for goodness' sake, she needed to know how she felt!
Renji immediately turned around, raising an eyebrow at her. Rukia tried to force a smile as she stammered to introduce herself. "M-my name is..."
"Rukia," Renji continued for her, smiling. Rukia. He's heard her name so many times in class.
Rukia smiled back at him, feeling all the nervousness go away. Oh well, turns out that he knew her name. She nodded. Wait. What? He KNEW her name! "Bye-bye," she called out, giving him a little wave. Renji waved back before turning around and walking away.
When the was out of sight, Rukia's face broke into a smile as she tried to contain all the excitement within her. "He knows my name...," she whispered, a blush making its way across her face. Now, she didn't really mind. She felt so insane but so happy inside. Awhile ago, her heart wanted to burst from nervousness, but now it felt like it wanted to burst from so much happiness. She clutched the umbrella tightly. Wherever that letter is, I just hope nobody finds it.
Back at the staircase, Ichigo leaned on his bike, holding the letter he found. Typical 'love' letter. With hearts all over it. Ichigo snorted. How mushy...
From there, he got a perfect view of the girl from before. He smirked to himself. He had seen the whole thing. "My, my. What a scene," he said, taking a deep breath as he put his helmet on.
The girl, whom he'd just found out to be named Rukia, was actually in the same Biology class as that basketball captain. "Interesting," he muttered to himself, stepping on his bike and driving off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.
As Rukia made her way to the old restaurant where her mom, Hisana, worked, she smiled at herself. It had finally stopped raining and she decided to fold the umbrella and place it inside her backpack. The restaurant wasn't very far from her college. It was just near Karakura Mall. The restaurant, along with its workers, was pretty unique. It had a cozy atmosphere inside that was very welcoming. The outside was decorated to look like an ordinary house, complete with a porch, pretty orchids around the sides, and a big, red rug that said:
W E L C O M E
The inside, though, had a painting of a fireplace in the middle. Pictures of the previous owners and their families lined up the wall. The counter was located at the right side of the restaurant. The cozy chairs were draped with fancy cloths, while the tables were painted with floral designs. A warm, yellowish light spread through the place, giving everyone a cozy and warm feeling.
She felt her phone ringing in her pocket and quickly took it out. "Hello," she answered happily. Her smile was so wide her face looked like it was going to break. It was Inoue.
"Hello, Rukia. Did you find the letter???," Inoue asked worriedly. The auburn-haired girl knew it wasn't like her best friend to sound this happy especially when something important is missing. Something was definitely up.
Upon hearing the auburn-haired girl's voice and analyzing the question, her face dropped. She almost heard a BONK on the floor. She mentally slapped herself. UGH! Darn.
"No, I haven't," she said grimly, letting out a huff, as she crossed her arms across her chest.
Rukia could hear her friend wince.
"No? Don't worry, we can look for it tomorrow," Inoue said, calming down. Well, that was better than anything. And with that, they both hung up.
Rukia breathed nervously and clasped her fingers together. "God, please blow the letter all the way to Argentina!," she prayed silently, her eyes closed. She knew that was pretty impossible, considering how far Japan from Argentina is. She sighed.
She let out a small smile, trying to look at the bright side again. Better, she thought. "It's okay...if I hadn't gone back, I wouldn't have talked to Renji, right?," she told herself, a blush making its way across her cheeks. Shaking her head, she rushed inside the old restaurant, pushing open the door. A soft ring of the door bell was heard as the raven-haired girl saw the boss lady approach her.
Rukia smiled. The boss lady was a very pretty woman, with jet-black, long hair tied in two beautiful braids that ran down to her waist. Her eyes seemed to sparkle every time a customer comes in. She wore a white floral blouse with a ribbon on both sleeves. Her light brown slacks complimented her slender legs.
"Boss lady," she called out to her, smiling. The boss smiled back at her, her dark eyes twinkling.
"Rukia. you're here," she said. Rukia smiled again. The boss lady's voice was so soft that she barely heard it.
"I'm here to meet my mom."
"Oh, she just went out to make a delivery. It's just around the corner," she said, raising her hand and pointing outside the building. "And please, feel free to call me Unohana."
She nodded. As she made her way outside the building, Unohana gave her a small wave and said, "And...one more thing, dear.
Your mom seems a bit distracted lately, so please be more aware of her."
Rukia nodded and thanked Unohana. It was already 7:00 p.m. She had to get her mother so they could eat dinner soon. Her stomach was growling at her like a bunch of hyenas. She sighed and continued walking. If her mom was distracted, she couldn't have gone very far. A million was swimming through the raven-haired girl's mind as she quickened her pace. What could be bothering her mother?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.
Hisana walked slowly across the bridge, her purple eyes downcast. She didn't know why, but she was feeling kind of...confused. Just then, images of chicken and rice started floating through her mind. She shook her head as if to shake them off. You're making a delivery. focus, okay?, she told herself, briefly stopping for a moment, breathing deeply, and walking again.
She walked carefully down the stairs, her high heels making clacketty sounds as she took her steps. Without warning, her foot slipped and the next thing she knew was...
THUD!
Her eyes grew wide as she saw her delivery fly up then fall down, and splatter onto the ground. "OWWWWW!," she screamed as she felt the pain on her bottom. She felt a painful sting on her hand. As she held it in front of her, she saw a rather huge gash across it.
"Mom!," a voice called. Hisana looked up to see Rukia, who was running towards her, looking worried. As the raven-haired girl approached her, she scooted down beside Hisana and examined her hand. It had a huge cut across it, but it wasn't that deep. Rukia shook her head as she made a face at her mom. Geez, how can she be so careless?
Hisana took her hand away from Rukia and started blowing on it. Rukia sweat-dropped as Hisana gave her a puppy-look. "Rukia! It hurts so much!," she wailed. Rukia let out an exasperated sigh. Oh well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!
"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"
Rukia gently wiped Hisana's cut with a cotton ball soaked in alcohol. Hisana kept on blowing on the wound. Rukia shook her head. As far as she knew, it was awfully weird for her mom to be like this. She was acting like a three-year-old, calling the cut a 'boo-boo' and endlessly wailing.
Rukia stopped wiping on the cut and said, "Okay-okay." Then she saw Hisana holding up a Hello-Kitty band-aid and smiling brightly at her.
Sheesh.
"Use this!!," she said, grinning. Rukia stared at the band-aid and then back to her mom. She took it from her hands and sighed. "Okay." Then, she began to unwrap it carefully. "Mom, why aren't you more careful?," she asked, frowning. If this happens a second time, she swore...she swore..
Hisana sighed and put her hand down as Rukia finally finished sticking the band aid. "Such a waste of chicken dinners," she murmured, shaking her head. Rukia frowned even more. Why was she ignoring the question?
"Mom, is there something that's bothering you?," she asked, giving Hisana her best don't-you-dare-escape look.
Hisana didn't answer. "No?" Hisana shook her head. Rukia narrowed her eyes and looked her mom directly in the eye. If it weren't for the height difference, one wouldv'e mistaken them for twins. Hisana was a no more than a foot taller than Rukia.
"Boss lady said you're often distracted at work," the raven-haired girl said, pouting.
"I...," Hisana began. She had an 'awwwwww' look in her face. Her daughter just looked too cute when she's worried like that. Just then, Rukia glared at her, eyes narrowed. Hisana felt a pang of guilt and hurriedly looked down. After all they both agreed before that...
"Didn't you say we'd never keep secrets? Hm? Hm? Hm?," Rukia prompted. She was right. It was Hisana who said that, so why was she keeping something from her? It's not like Rukia would tell it to the whole world or anything. She was her daughter, for goodness' sake!
Hisana lowered her head even more, her bangs almost covering her eyes. She desperately thought of what to say. Poor Rukia was worrying about her and she was trying to keep it from her!
She was surprised when a hand suddenly pulled hers. She lifted her head, only to meet Rukia's determined eyes. She looked back at her daughter questioningly. "Let's go," the raven-haired girl said, pulling Hisana by the hand.
"Huh? Where?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.
What exactly are we doing here?, Hisana thought, looking around. Karakura Park. What about it then? She looked at Rukia, who sat down a bench across from her. Something bothered her about the look on Rukia's face. She seemed so...solemn.
"Mom, don't you remember this place?," Rukia said softly. The wind blew, making her soft hair flow across her face. The park was pretty quiet now for it was already nighttime. The streetlamps were lit with a soft, yellowy light. Hisana tried to think back. What was it about this place? For some reason, it seemed quite familiar to her. She cast Rukia a questioning look.
"Mom, do you remember when dad died?," the raven-haired girl began, smiling weakly at her mother, "We were broke. We couldn't even afford my field trip. And at that time, there was a theft incident and they all blamed me. Even with no proof. They didn't believe me so they bullied me instead. They tore up my homework, and threw my bag in the trash can..."
Hisana smiled back sadly, the memory becoming clear in her mind. "But you still didn't tell me so I wouldn't worry. Instead, you skipped school to come here. When I found you, you still won't tell me."
Rukia nodded and went on. "I remember that day...when you said that there would be no more secrets between us. And that...we only have each other. You worry about me just like I worry about you," said with a shrug, her weak smile turning into a genuine one.
"From then on, whenever we had something that we couldn't say, we'd come here."
Hisana gave her a soft smile. Nobody could ever know how thankful she was to have a daughter like Rukia. Sure, she may be a bit cold at times, and is a bit in denial with how she feels, but...she was the luckiest mother to have such a daughter. She was the only family she has right now, and Rukia trusted her with everything, so why shouldn't she trust her with her everything too?
"Rukia...I'm sorry, I didn't do it on purpose," she said, lowering her head. She tried to keep herself calm. She had to tell her everything, whether her daughter accepts it or not.
"What's the matter, mom? Tell me and we'll solve it together," she said with a reassuring smile.
"I...Ivolleleuwyzmwa."
Rukia leaned closer. "Huh?" Why was she whispering anyway?
"I said Ivolleleuwyzma!"
"Mom!," Rukia wailed.
Hisana slumped forward. Oh well. "I've fallen in love with someone," she said it ever so slow Rukia thought that if those words were alive and crawling, a turtle could crawl faster than it could.
"Oh!," Rukia said, finally getting the point. She grinned. Hisana took a deep breath, smiling back at her daughter. Wow...I didn't think she'd approve that--
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?"
--fast.
Yay! End of chapter 2!!! Whew, I didn't think it'd be this hard editing a chap! UGH! Ü Anyway, please review, guys!!! Pretty, pretty please!? I'll really update as fast as I can, p.r.o.m.i.s.e.! Thank you also for reading!Ü I loooooove all of you!
Love,
RaiChia.