Happy new year!
So a big thank you to asnah699, an unE1 st8, cm, and also to the three unnamed guest reviewers! I am so grateful for your support!
Rukia pushed the front door closed behind her and wiped her black boots on the doormat just as a friendly aroma of roast, seasoned chicken greeted her nose.
Allowing herself a small, confused smile, she headed off into the kitchen to see her brother standing rigidly at the counter with her Chappy the rabbit apron tied fashionably (or not) around his waist.
Cooking.
Was he... sick? He never cooked.
Ever.
"How did the interview go? When do you find out if you have the job?" He asked, immediately sensing her presence and leaning over the gas to appraise the saucepan of vegetables.
Nodding her head – even though he could not see her – Rukia replied, a little unenthusiastically, "Well... I got the job. I start tomorrow... But what's the special occasion? You never cook... and when you do... it's never like a roast dinner. You usually just throw some rice in the microwave or something."
"First things first... congratulations. Though I never had any real doubts you wouldn't succeed. I'm making dinner because I didn't think you'd have time to what with your interview... and I didn't want to keep him waiting. So, I took the liberty of cooking something original." He responded, a little offhandedly.
Okay... what?
"'Him'? Keep who waiting, exactly?"
She had the gut feeling she knew exactly who 'he' was.
Sighing lightly, he stopped wiping the wine glass he was holding and turned to face his sister, a little gravely, "Mr Shiba called me. He's coming over for dinner."
"Why on Earth did you invite him?" Rukia asked, taken aback as to what could have possibly possessed her brother's mind to do such an irrational thing as to invite Mr Shiba to dinner!
Then, he proceeded to face the counter once more, picking up the perfectly polished glass and continued on with his needless chore, "I didn't."
Dammit.
"To what do we owe the pleasure?" She did not feel like entertaining anybody at that moment... especially Kaien. A whole night of 'Mrs Shiba this' and 'Mrs Shiba that' was something she really could live without.
Her interview with darling Mr Kurosaki had led her into a foul mood.
No matter.
She would be doing this for her brother.
She would not fall in love with him and she would not let him take her on a second date.
Kaien, that was.
She wouldn't have a clue how she'd react if her new boss asked her on a date.
Expecting to feel some kind of repulsion at this, Rukia screwed up her face, but no such emotion arose and her adopted expression seemed a little pointless.
Instead, she felt a little intrigued.
She wondered again if he did ever ask a girl on a date. He didn't seem like the 'asking type'...
"Well..." Byakuya deliberated for a moment before relaxing his shoulders in an attempt to appear comfortable, though Rukia could see he was far from it, "...He's got a... oh, what would you call it? He's got a bit of a... 'thing'... for you, Rukia."
What? Oh, Kaien. That's right.
"Hence why he kept referring to me as Mrs Shiba." She offered, moving towards the drawers, "I'll set the table."
Although she could tell he was trying to sound nonchalant, the strained tension leaked into his tones as he replied, "It sort of goes a bit further than that, I think. He has read your work. He likes it. He likes your passion... He also suggested you dedicate a piece to him."
Forcing herself to laugh, she shook her head, slowly, "His idea of a joke, I'm sure."
Byakuya had stopped pretending to clean glasses by this point and was merely standing tersely by the counter instead, "No. That's the problem… He wasn't. I had never seen him look so serious. I think he wants there to be more than just a date or two with you. I think – well... I know he's got more than just a thing for you. He seems to idolise you. Of course, he told me all this after I'd already accepted his idea of coming over for dinner. Just be on your guard, Rukia. That man is haywire."
"He's certainly dynamic." She agreed, expressionlessly, straightening up the table cloth, "So, when is your future brother-in-law arriving?"
Her brother pushed back from the counter and stared at her, "Please tell me you aren't being serious with that title."
She shrugged, "I hope I'm not being serious."
"Good – because I'm not sure I can even cope with him as a boss, never mind a brother-in... oh, I can't even say it..." He trailed away, a little disgusted, "Well, he should be here any moment." Whipping off the apron, Byakuya placed the expertly polished wineglasses on the table along with a bottle of the best, "Do you need to change attire?"
Rukia quirked an eyebrow and sighed, placing down the cutlery, "Maybe. Perhaps I'll wear something vile so he'll never want to see me again." She mused to herself, grabbing her bag on her way up the stairs.
She was only half-joking.
…Or maybe it wasn't a joke at all…
…
"So, I'm not so sure I'm familiar with this side of town..." Mr Kaien Shiba himself leaned back in his chair, placing down his napkin, a content smirk placed on his lips. After pushing his empty plate away, he turned to face Rukia, only for the… millionth time that evening, "Mrs Shiba... care to take me on a little – or a big – tour?"
Not in the slightest.
Inclining his head to the side, Byakuya surveyed his sister, just as interested in her response as Kaien was.
She pushed back a lock of raven hair and her eyes flickered subtly to her brother's, "Why, of course."
Standing up, Rukia brushed down her dress and moved towards the coat pegs to fetch her handbag and phone – she may need it...
The unmistakable grin widened on Kaien's lips as he followed suit and went to fetch their coats, "Excellent."
Sparing one final, fleeting glance at her brother, Rukia civilly gestured for Kaien to leave the house first. In doing so, his arm brushed hers and he smirked, evidently proud of himself for such a sneaky motion... Rolling her eyes and sweeping from the premises, the young Kuchiki closed the door behind them.
Conversationally, she asked, "So, this company you want me to work for... do you know a lot about it?"
Kaien offered her his arm, and deciding to appeal to his better nature, she hesitantly took it, awaiting his reply. He laughed, loudly, "Oh, I know plenty about it and the people who work there. You sure you want to talk business right now, though?"
She nodded, desperately hoping to keep his mouth busy with conversation that wasn't focusing on her, "Absolutely. I'm starting there tomorrow." There was nothing better to talk about, after all… and heaven forbid he should start calling her his 'wife' in public.
A smile landed on his lips and he nudged her side with his, "Brilliant. Well, the workers are all wonderfully efficient – have great character to them. I know a couple of them personally, although they don't know it's me who's trying to take over the company, I assume. I look forwards to having them work for me. I'll offer them to keep their jobs, of course..."
She began to switch off, finding herself completely uninterested in the workers. Why she'd ever brought it up, she didn't know...
"...love it there. It's a fantastic little office – but it'll do far better when I'm in charge."
"What about their boss?" Rukia asked, internally scolding herself on bringing him up in conversation.
"What? Do you mean the manager? Yoruichi Shihōin?" He asked, glancing down to look at her as they strolled down the dimly-lit roads.
Shaking her head, she corrected him, "No, the boss of the office you're planning to take over."
He chuckled, lightly, "Kurosaki? Ha. I'm not going to lie... he's not easy to overthrow. But with your help, he'll be no problem."
Rukia frowned, "He's not the manager of the company?"
"Well, there are several offices within the company – his office produces of all kinds of magazines, newspapers and other written articles in the media. However, as of lately, their items haven't been as popular since my own company clamped down and stepped ahead of the game. It's all very complicated." He told her, unable to keep the patronising tones from his explanation, "If we take down Kurosaki's office – which is the most successful out of all the offices in that company – then gaining ownership of the Shihōin company won't be an issue at all."
Nodding, a look of concentration clear upon her features, Rukia sighed to herself. She almost felt sorry for her new boss. But, she reminded herself he was an ass and probably had it coming to him, "Do you know him well?" Why was she still talking about him again?
"Who? Kurosaki?"
She inclined her head, fixing her eyes on the stretch of damp pavement beneath their feet.
Releasing a bitter laugh, Kaien replied, "Oh, yes. I know him very well. It is for that reason why I cannot wait to kick him off his high horse and onto his fucking ass."
Rukia blinked, mildly shocked. This was the first time she had seen Kaien show a hint of anger. The way his jaw set and emerald eyes darkened was a little unnerving. It didn't take long for him to regain his original demeanour, and he smiled, "I tell you what, Mrs Shiba – I've got something for you." He dug his hand into his pocket and stopped them both from walking, "You need to close your eyes though, or it won't be a surprise."
Unimpressed, she just stared at him, blankly.
"Go on," he smirked, inclining his head forwards, "Close them."
Deliberating for a moment, she finally decided to close her eyes, just to humour him. However, she waited for him to tell her to open her eyes, but instead, all she felt was something slightly cold and firm press against her lips. In surprise, she opened her eyes, taking in the sight of his closed eyelids only millimetres away from her. He urged her lips to part, but she pulled away, hurriedly, "What are you...?"
Kaien just smirked again and took a step back, placing his hands confidently into his trouser pockets, "Oh, come now; don't look so shocked. You've had that coming to you all evening."
All that left her lips was a quiet stutter of confusion. Kaien had just... kissed her?
But why?
"Look, I saw you pretend not to check me out when really you couldn't keep your pretty little eyes off me." He laughed, evidently more amused at the situation than Rukia was, "Anyway, I'd best get you back – or you'd best get me back. After all, you're supposed to be the one taking me on the tour..."
A little dazed, she just nodded and turned on her heel, not bothering to wait for him to catch up.
She could hardly stand to hear him talk any longer, so she began to block him out, and it was successful up until the point when he brought up her boss' name again. Why was it she seemed to suddenly tune in every time he was mentioned?
Though, she noticed it was only a name spoken in passing, she found her thoughts wandering back to his private office where she had sat, almost too furious for words.
What was it about him that got her so riled up? He could have said anything and it still would have angered her.
Maybe it was that smug little smirk he wore every time he caught her reacting; or perhaps it was the fact he didn't even bother to look at her.
Why was that?
He was a man surrounded by mystery.
"Hey, isn't it this one, Mrs Shiba?"
She swore if he called her Mrs Shiba one more time, she would personally see to it that his balls would be kicked so far up inside himself that he'd spit them out his big mouth.
That big mouth that had kissed her lips...!
"Rukia?" He had stopped walking and was currently pointing to her house, which she seemed to have sailed past, totally lost in thought about...
The asshole – and not the one looking at her right then, either...
"Oh, I must have forgotten." She dead-panned, changing direction and heading back inside the house where she found her brother standing tersely by the sink, washing up the pots.
"Well, it's been a wonderful evening, Mr K. Thank you for the excellent meal, entertainment and company. I hope I'll see you soon. Of course, I'll be seeing you on Friday, darling wife, will I not?"
She nodded, mutely.
Providing, of course, she hadn't jumped off a bridge prior to that...
Placing down his rubber gloves, Byakuya turned to face Kaien, a polite smile fixed onto his lips. Clearly he couldn't take much more of his company, either.
"Anytime." He forced, bowing his head, discreetly, in the direction of the door, "Allow me to see you out. Rukia, if you would just finish the pots here, I'd be grateful."
Thankful for the opportunity to get out of Kaien's sight, Rukia responded, perhaps a little too brightly, "Of course!"
She busied herself at the counter and barely even heard Kaien's farewell over the sloshing of the soapy water.
It was only when she put away the final couple of dishes that she noticed Byakuya standing behind her, his arms folded.
Leaning back against the counter, she raised her eyebrows, "What did he say?"
"He said... a lot of things... naturally..." Exhaling, softly, Byakuya massaged his temples, "Well, apparently, thanks to you, Rukia, I will finally be out of debt soon... Of course... Kaien has his eye set on you. But... I don't want to put this pressure on you."
Rukia stared at her brother.
She could see he was torn between getting them both out of debt, and trying to protect her virtue. By the looks of things, Kaien had made it clear Rukia held his utmost interest.
"It's not a pressure." She shrugged, easily. She looked at everything her brother had done for her and decided he needed this. Maybe she'd just play along with Kaien's little game until all the money had been paid back.
"So... you like him?" Byakuya asked, uncertainly.
Rukia hung the tea towel onto the peg and just smiled, softly, "Not yet. But... who knows? Maybe he's a good guy under it all."
"No." He shook his head, firmly, "I'm not having you bend to his will if you do not even like him, Rukia."
Well, maybe they didn't have a choice.
"Well, it's late and I'm very tired. I have an early start tomorrow. I'd better get some rest." She feigned a yawn – which then, of course, turned into a real yawn – and moved towards the door.
"Don't put yourself into anything you're not comfortable with." Byakuya told her, his voice a little strained.
She knew this all depended on her.
"Goodnight." She replied, heading up the stairs to bed.
Maybe Kaien was agreeable under his half-mental façade.
Or... maybe he wasn't.
Either way, she had to do something to help her brother out, right?
After all, he'd done so much for her. The least she could do was put up with Kaien until the debt had been paid off – then perhaps they could find an excuse to leave the city.
Again.
…
His fingers drummed agitatedly against his desk.
Where the hell was she?
07:56.
Glaring at his watch beneath the fringe of neon orange, Mr Kurosaki pushed back in his seat, kicking his feet up onto the hard wood. It was time for his coffee.
How did anybody expect him to get through the morning without caffeine?
07:57.
The second his watch changed, a purposeful knock rapped upon his office door.
Replying with a low grunt, he watched the door open and his personal assistant crept in, that familiarly unnatural beam plastered on her lips, "Sir, can I get you your coffee?"
Why did she even have to ask that? She knew he always wanted a coffee at this time!
He did not react straight away.
Yes, he wanted his coffee and bagel... but he also wanted to see his new recruit.
"And Kuchiki. Get me my coffee, bagel and Kuchiki." He instructed, lowly, much to the surprise of Orihime.
Her brow creased, but her smile widened – if that was at all possible, "Sir? Um, don't you usually prefer me to go over procedures with new employees?"
"Coffee, bagel and Kuchiki." He repeated, his tone hardening, "Don't make me reiterate myself again."
Orihime didn't need telling another time. Almost bowing until her nose brushed the floor, she swept from the room, worry gnawing away at her insides.
She had upset him, she had upset him! Oh, she had let not only him down, but herself – of course he was the most important individual out of them both... She busied herself fetching his coffee and bagel when Miss Rukia Kuchiki herself arrived, her cheeks a little pinched from the chilled morning air.
"Rukia, um, Mr Kurosaki needs to see you." She told her, obviously a little flustered – as per usual... apparently if you weren't flustered, you weren't working hard enough.
Rukia could feel every eye in the block on her in that moment and she fixed her gaze on his bronze nameplate nailed to the door, obediently following Orihime to his private office.
As the door opened, she could see him spinning his pen around his fingertips again, his feet resting comfortably on the desk.
Orihime hovered close by for a moment, before Mr Kurosaki raised his little finger and she nodded, bowed and left.
It was a ridiculous routine, Rukia thought to herself, refraining from rolling her eyes as she stood before her boss' desk.
Lazily, he lowered his feet to the floor and pushed his head forwards, pointedly keeping his eyes concealed like he had the previous day. Inclining his head to the vacant seat opposite his desk, he watched Rukia perch herself on the edge of the chair, attempting to remain utterly focussed.
"You're not smiling today." He commented, twisting his damned pen around his fingers.
"Well, you didn't seem to appreciate my smiles yesterday."
He sniffed and rested one hand on his chair arm, "Because they were fake. No matter, I suppose I'll get a real one from you soon enough."
Seriously... what was this guy's deal?! Deciding that it was best not to reply, the raven-haired girl just placed her hands daintily in her lap.
Continuing on, Mr Kurosaki pulled out a small manual and dropped it in front of her, "Before I unleash my personal assistant on you to run through all the shit, I need you to have a quick flick through that."
His concealed eyes landed on her delicate frame as she reached forwards, taking the manual in her slender fingers and carefully opening it to view the contents.
He didn't move his eyes from hers for a second, but his scowl loosened as he noticed her gaze flicker to his just for the fraction of a second.
She couldn't help it.
He was so direct and intense even when his eyes were covered. She half dreaded to think how red her face must have been painted if she could see his gaze, and not only feel it.
That was something she seemed to have noticed.
Every time his eyes stared at her, she began to feel hot and bothered.
Not just a… pleasantly warm sensation, but an uncomfortable feeling of being suffocated.
Desperately trying to ignore this fact, she attempted to study the notes recorded in her manual about quality of work, editing, and all the rest of the crap she already knew.
He seemed to sense the second she had started pretending to read and he held out his hand, expectantly, "Number."
Tilting her head to one side, she placed the manual back on the table, "Excuse me?"
Letting loose a soft sigh, he expanded, a little louder than usual, "Your number. Now."
Smirking, she pulled out a pen from her bag, "Well, that didn't take long."
He remained silent.
This man really needed to lighten up.
Allowing her own mask to slide over her features again as he handed her a small slip of paper, she pursed her lips. Scribbling down her number, she noted to herself that Orihime wasn't kidding when she said the boss didn't say very much...
Personally she found this a little odd considering he was in charge of one of the biggest sects of a major writing company in Japan. Gently pushing the paper back across the desk towards him with two, slim fingers, Rukia crossed her legs, wondering just what this man's deal was.
There was a reason he was the way he was... surely.
An incident when he was younger?
A traumatic accident recently?
There had to be some reason.
"You're easier to read than you think you are, Miss Kuchiki." His voice was so soft, she wasn't sure he'd even spoken.
"I beg your pardon?" She asked, angling her head forwards, ever so slightly.
The only muscles he appeared to move were in his mouth – and he'd even stopped spinning the pen – as he replied, his tones still subdued, "You heard me perfectly well."
"Allow me to rephrase..." She rested her fingertips primly beneath her chin, "... What do you mean by that?"
"Seeing as though my statement was relatively self-explanatory, I think you may need to rephrase one more time."
Was he... mocking her?
Of course not. He had a similar level of humour in him as a prune...
Remaining utterly straight-faced, Rukia decided to test his limits... He was certainly testing hers.
But if only she could just get a glimpse of his eyes, she felt she would surely be able to know the full extent of his 'humour'… and everything else he concealed.
Right now, her opinion of him was a cold-hearted, stuck up idiot. Just the same as every other boss... only... a little more openly rude than the others.
"Seeing as though you're the boss, I assume you aren't too academically challenged to read between the lines and extract my real question without me seeming too direct and confrontational." She answered, coolly.
Barely even skipping a beat, he responded, just as easily, "On the contrary, Miss Kuchiki, I was rather hoping you would be willing to prove to me that you aren't academically challenged and find it within yourself to rearrange your own question. You see, I don't approve of laziness. I formed a direct statement. The least you can do is return it with a direct question."
A little shocked at his response, Rukia considered her possible reaction. She could have continued on with this possible mock or possible serious banter – or she could have just appealed to his better nature and bowed down to his quick wit.
Like hell she'd ever do the latter.
Rukia was never one to come across as submissive. Tapping her fingers lightly against her jaw, she tilted her head to the side, "Perhaps you only think you can read me."
Finally, he shrugged his shoulders and folded his arms, "No... I know without a shadow of a doubt that I can read you. For example, from having only one brief conversation with you, I already counted on you not being one to give up that easily to somebody you particularly despise. I also knew you would skirt around doing what I asked of you because you're proud." Picking his pen back up to resume his favourite pastime, he continued, "The little I know of your brother is that he too comes across as being arrogant. Not that I've met him, but I doubt there is anybody in the publishing industry that doesn't know who he is."
Bristling a little, Rukia narrowed her violet eyes, "You have no idea about my brother."
Scoffing at her reaction, Mr Kurosaki shook his head, "Of course I don't, fool. Let me finish. Although he portrays himself to be arrogant and uncaring, I know he has a story. The exact same applies to you. Though I'm not entirely sure what this story is, I'm determined to find it out one way or another. But your writing… that is entirely different. I see passion in every word."
Rukia wasn't entirely sure what to say, but instead of replying, she just glared furiously at her boss.
A small smirk played at the corners of his lips and he spoke, shattering the silence, "See, I knew saying that would break your mask. Anyway, get up off your rear and do some work." He pushed a sheet of paper towards her, "Here's a mock article question for you to answer so I can see your strengths and weaknesses for myself. So, go on. Get to it."
There went his little finger.
Setting her jaw, she snatched up the paper and span around to stride out his office. The second she left, she could feel her body temperature decrease rapidly as she knew his eyes were no longer on her. Orihime was standing apprehensively outside the door and upon seeing the new employee, she pointed quickly towards a vacant seat, "Okay, so you'll be sitting next to Rangiku Matsumoto. Don't mind her; she just gets easily distracted…" Leading her to her designated chair, Orihime bowed her head, "If you need anything, just let me know, Rukia."
In a (slightly failed) attempt to smile warmly at the personal assistant, Rukia nodded her head, "Thank you, Orihime, I will."
As Miss Inoue bustled away to attend to the needs of her beloved boss, Rukia glanced to her left and took in the appearance of Rangiku Matsumoto.
She had long, blonde-auburn hair curling down her back, and oh – it was definitely something about this town – she had the largest breasts Rukia had ever seen.
Good heavens...
And she was about to discover the manner of which Rangiku got distracted…
Rukia watched her lean back in her chair and stick the end of her pen into her mouth. Locking gazes with one of the men across the room, she began to twirl the pen a little suggestively around her tongue, before suddenly recognising a new, unfamiliar presence beside her. Breaking away from her little... eye conversation... Rangiku turned to face Rukia, the pen still sticking comically out of her mouth, "Oh, hey, newbie!" She made a valiant effort to speak around the item of stationary before a hand reached around her from the other side and plucked it out of her mouth.
"Yumichika!" She scolded, turning to glare at a... man(?) with shoulder length black hair, and obscure feathers protruding from one eyebrow. Of course, she assumed it was a male, as he returned his attention back to the computer in front of him.
"It's rude to talk with your mouth full." He told her, haughtily, tapping away at his keyboard.
"Look, I'm sure your mouth has been just as full as mine before..." She rolled her grey eyes at him and turned back around to Rukia, her expression softening, "Sorry about him. He's... an idiot."
"I am not!" He interjected with that same air of superiority, and not moving his eyes from the screen.
Not entirely sure how to react, Miss Kuchiki just smiled, "Well, it's nice to meet you both... I think."
"Well, it's certainly nice to meet me." Rangiku extended her hand and Rukia shook it politely before releasing it again, "Though..." Rangiku leaned forwards and placed a hand confidentially around her mouth, practically shoving Rukia off her chair with her sizeable bosom, whispering, "...it's not such a pleasure to meet Yumichika over here..."
"I'm not deaf..." He shoved Rangiku's arm, annoyed, "Besides, I'm sure she doesn't appreciate being smothered by those two ridiculous lumps on your chest."
"You mean boobs, Yumichika! Most males would adore me for these babies! At least, most normal ones!"
"Both of you, button it." A shiny, bald head revealed itself on the other side of Yumichika and a pair of angry eyes landed on the squabbling pair.
"Oh, look who decided to join in the conversation the second he heard the word 'boobs'!" Rangiku exclaimed, rolling her eyes, "There's a big surprise."
The bald headed man narrowed his eyes, "Rangiku, shut your mouth."
"He started it." She pointed to Yumichika who twitched his lip irritably.
"Liar. You started it. Who are you really going to believe, Ikkaku?"
"I don't care who started it, but I'm going to finish it unless you both shut the hell up!"
Rangiku huffed and turned back to Rukia, "Don't mind baldy; he's just a little highly-strung..."
The latter could feel a small smile grace her lips and she shrugged, "I think everybody can be at times. Especially in this place."
A hand pointed over the heads of Rangiku and Yumichika to Rukia and the voice of the bald one spoke, "I like her already."
"Well, I got to her first." Matsumoto replied, indignantly, "Anyway, so, I see you finally met the slave-driver."
Rukia creased her eyebrows, "I assume you're referring to Mr Kurosaki?"
Tossing her ringlets over her shoulder, Rangiku rolled her eyes, dramatically, "Who else? You looked pretty pissed when you first arrived here…"
Good point.
"Is he always like that?" Rukia asked, raising her eyebrows.
Rangiku laughed, "What, do you mean difficult to approach and very silently demanding? Yes. You'll get used to it."
Difficult to approach? Yes. Demanding? Yes. Silent? No... "Well, mostly, but he talked quite a lot. Doesn't he usually?" Though she knew he didn't speak much to Orihime, she assumed he would to the rest of his workers.
Yumichika laughed, loudly, "The words 'Kurosaki' and 'talk' do not fit into the same sentence. His favourite words are: 'Get' and 'out'. But even then, he doesn't usually say that, he just does this with his finger." Yumichika imitated Kurosaki's trademark little-finger-twitch and laughed before turning back to his screen.
"Yes, I had noticed that…" Rukia admitted, deciding it was probably time to get on with her work. She faced the screen and raised her eyebrows, "How do I log onto this?"
"Hm?" Rangiku tore her eyes away from another male she happened to be silently conversing with and creased her brow, "Isn't it in your manual?"
"Manual?" She repeated, her confusion increasing.
"Yeah, the slave-driver did give it to you, didn't he?"
Frowning, Rukia recalled the manual he had given her, but she had returned it, believing it was just another pointless piece of crap, "I… forgot to bring it with me."
Rangiku gave a reassuring smile, which funnily enough wasn't very reassuring, and gestured her head towards his office, "You'd better go get it. I think Orihime's gone downstairs."
"Right." She nodded, confidently standing up and making her way towards his office, regaining her straight-backed posture again. Knocking lightly on the door, she awaited a response.
"Kuchiki, is it?" The quiet, yet firm voice of her boss spoke from behind the door and she sighed. How did he know?
"Yes, Sir." She replied, much calmer than she'd expected. However, when he didn't speak again, she exhaled, attempting to remain patient, "May I come in, Sir?"
A slight grunt of consent sounded in reply and she refrained from rolling her eyes as she pushed down on the door handle, stepping through into his office.
"Forget something?" He asked, a small hint of a smirk playing at his lips as he leaned back in his black, leather chair, spinning that ridiculous pencil round his fingertips.
Nodding curtly as her eyes pinpointed the manual sitting just beside his hand on the desk, she made her way towards it, determined not to look at him at all.
She could feel his intense stare on her skin as she reached out to pick it up, half expecting him to leap from his seat and grab her or something totally unpredictable like that. But… if she predicted it, then immediately, it would become predictable.
Oh, he made her head hurt…
But, of course, he did do the unpredictable. He just sat silently, watching her take the manual up in her fingers, deciding she'd find out where her username and password was when she was safely out of this man's gaze.
"I knew you didn't read it properly." He interrupted the silence, unexpectedly, and continued, "For a start... you need to take the manual with you... and at the front it has your username and password... Get your head in the game, Kuchiki. Get your mock article done and bring it me by the end of the day. Is that clear?"
"Crystal." She replied, coolly.
Tilting his head to one side, he opened his mouth to speak, softly, "I wouldn't call it a tip, but rather a rule: don't use cliché phrases. Especially crystal clear. It irritates me." He sighed and sat up straight, his perfectly defined jaw set, "Clear?"
"As clear as your window." She bowed her head so respectfully that she could have given even Miss Orihime Inoue a run for her money, before turning on her heel to exit the office, smoothly.
He could only assume that of course, the more polite she acted, the more pissed she was.
Smirking, he turned to stare out the window – or rather stare at the dust and bird crap coating the dull glass.
Oh.
Kudos, Kuchiki… Kudos.
…
Why was it that Rangiku had a job in the office, again?
All she seemed to be doing for the whole day was lazily glancing about the room, making eye contact with random men and mouthing words that Rukia didn't think such an accomplished woman should be using – especially in public.
"Hey, Rukia…" She was currently twirling a pen between her straight, white teeth as she dipped her head around to face the new employee.
Finishing typing up her final sentence, Rukia tore her violet eyes away from the screen and leaned one elbow lightly on the chair arm, "Mm?"
"Do you ever take a break?" She asked, curiously, to which Rukia laughed, softly.
"Well, I'm here to work. I'm sure I will get a break when I've finished."
"Maybe you should take a leaf out of her book and get some work done, Rangiku, instead of flashing your tits around the whole office – we all know you have them. There's no need to show off!"
"Guys, be quiet." Ikkaku interrupted.
"There he goes again - joining in our conversation as soon as breasts are brought up!"
A male from somewhere across the room yelled, a little too passionately, "Of course she should show off if she wants to! You can show them off to me whenever you want to, Rangiku!"
Peeping over her monitor at the man who had interjected, she stared at him for a prolonged moment before shaking her head, slowly, "Another time... maybe…"
"Not your style?" Rukia asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Oh, he was once, but he wasn't what I was hoping him to be in bed. I was quite disappointed. I didn't even hit climax!" She exclaimed, clearly offended at the traumatic memory.
"Oh, how… awful." Her response may have sounded slightly forced, but she wasn't particularly familiar with hearing people speak so openly about their sex life. Especially people who had known you for only five and a half hours…
But this Karakura town seemed to be totally different to all other cities she'd been in. In a way, she liked the openness.
"So, what's your favourite position?"
Okay, no, she lied.
She didn't like the openness, after all.
Turning away from Rangiku, Rukia tried to focus her eyes back on her work, pretending she didn't hear what the woman had just asked her.
"What's the matter? Don't play coy, girl!" She nudged Rukia's elbow, playfully, "It's totally handcuffed missionary, isn't it?"
"How did you guess?" She muttered, sarcastically, to which Rangiku burst out laughing.
"I was right? Oh, I knew I was good, but not that good! But, something about you screams out bondage, somehow." She mused, thoughtfully, "But, admittedly, bondage can be quite fun at times."
Staring at Rangiku through incredulous eyes, Rukia uttered a quiet laugh, "I see."
Yumichika glanced over at the two girls, his expression stating clearly that he did not want to hear the conversation progress any further, "Please… Some of us are trying to work here."
"Sorry, Yumi."
"Don't call me Yumi. Only people I like can call me Yumi." He returned, moodily.
"Does that mean Rukia gets to call you Yumi?" She asked, creasing her eyebrows, "Because that's totally not fair. I've known you longer."
"So what? I like her better than you – and yes, she can call me Yumi whenever she likes." He sent Rangiku a smug grin and turned his attention to Rukia, "Because I don't get on well with sluts, you see." He explained, matter-of-factly followed by a snort from Rangiku.
"That would explain why you don't get along with yourself, then, wouldn't it?" She rolled her eyes dramatically and Yumichika sat up considerably straighter.
"I beg your pardon! Who was it who got caught by Orihime fucking the life out of the editor from floor 3 on her office desk?!" He hissed, passionately, "Because it certainly was not me!"
Rangiku didn't even bother looking ashamed; instead, she just laughed merrily, "You're just jealous because I go to him first!"
Yumichika glared furiously at her and clenched his fist, "You're impossible, Rangiku! He isn't even my type!"
"Just in case you didn't notice," Rangiku turned to Rukia and murmured, "Yummy Yumi is gay if you didn't already notice and he doesn't like me because all the sexy guys choose me and not him."
Rukia wasn't too sure that Yumichika could have looked any more livid as his cheeks were burning bright and the strange feathers fluttering madly above his narrowed eyes, "Do not call me Yummy Yumi!" He spat, "And that is not why I don't like you! I don't like you because you're a cow!"
"Oh, I'm a cow?! How dare you?"
This was getting a little too intense for Rukia and she sat back from the two, "Okay, well, I think we'd best just get on with some work before somebody gets hurt…"
"Couldn't agree more!"
"Excellent idea!"
Rukia laughed quietly to herself as her two new colleagues both fixed their attention on their computer screens, still silently fuming.
Okay, maybe this job wasn't turning out to be such a bad idea after all…
…
On her way home, Rukia decided she'd take a small detour trip to town. For one, she could do with the walk and for two, she also wanted to familiarise herself with the possible sort of areas she may be visiting with Kaien that Friday.
And also where the nearest police station may be… just in case.
As she strode purposefully through the square, her violet eyes pinpointed a small, cute looking store bathed in pale pink. But what really stood out to her the most was the fact that an adorable image of a rabbit printed on the window was staring right at her.
Chappy!
Oh, there is a God!
It was a pity she didn't have much money on her, but she would memorise the exact location of that shop so she knew in future where to visit. Whether Kaien liked it or not, he would be taking her there. She moved brusquely towards the store and leaned closer to the window, an absent smile on her lips.
"Rukia? Is that… you?"
Who could possibly know her in this town?
Tearing her eyes away from the window, she turned and saw a petite woman, such as herself, with soft brown hair pulled elegantly up into a bun.
"Momo?" Rukia tilted her head to one side, in shock, "What are… what are you doing here?" She asked, incredulously, "I haven't seen you in four years!"
"I know!" Momo laughed and shook her head, "Trust me to find you loitering around outside the Chappy store… Hey, are you busy? We could go get a coffee if you're not?" She suggested, to which Rukia nodded, smiling.
Fortunately, the closest coffee shop was about ten yards away, and once they'd ordered and sat down in a corner on two wonderfully squishy chairs, Rukia looked over in interest at her friend, "So, what are you doing here? Last time I saw you, you were moving to Europe."
She shrugged and nodded, "That was the original plan. But… you know… Kaito went into one of his moods and cancelled the whole thing! I suppose it was a good job really, because then he got offered a job in Karakura. So, he took it and we're actually doing pretty well."
Rukia nodded, giving an appropriate roll of her eyes, "I guess it's not too bad then."
"No. But hey, remember Toshiro? Toshiro Hitsugaya?"
Rukia nodded.
Yes, she remembered Momo's ex-boyfriend very well… He was hard to forget with his bright white hair and electric blue eyes.
"Well, he's living in Karakura too. He has a daughter and is now settled down with some girl." Momo informed her, raising her eyebrows.
"Really?" Rukia asked, "Wow. Which reminds me… How's your Hikaru doing?"
"He's doing great! He's six now! Except, I've had to get a baby-sitter because both me and Kaito have to work and we're out all the time, but the baby-sitter is terrible! She's nice enough, but I don't think 'Karu likes her very much. See, we both only have Sundays off." Momo explained, "And so we get the baby-sitter to take him to this music club on Saturdays and I think he's really quite enjoying it. When I got home last Saturday, the first thing he said to me was: My girlfriend gave me a kiss today, Mummy!"
Rukia laughed, lightly, "It certainly sounds like he has your charm. But listen, if you wanted me to help out in any way, I am free on Saturdays and on some afternoons depending on when I get my work finished – it'd be no problem for me to pick him up on some days."
Momo's expression softened and she smiled, "Really? You would do that? Because… the baby-sitter… she's always late picking him up from school, and she charges a lot of money."
"Like I said, it'd be no problem."
"You are a star, Rukia. Anyway, how have you been? What's been going on in your life? Any guys? Drama? Work?"
Rukia glanced into her cup and laughed inwardly, "All of the above…" She briefly explained, skipping out minor details, about Kaien and that he was taking her on a date this Friday, to which Momo became very interested.
"Oh, really? Is he hot?"
She shrugged, in reply, "He's…" …Nothing compared to Mr Kurosaki…
Not that she had compared them of course…
But, moving on…
"He's what?" Momo prompted, sipping at her hot drink, surveying Rukia, attentively.
"He's not bad. Green eyes, black hair, tall… Very… confident."
"Yeah? Oh, tell me about it… Is he good in bed?"
"Momo!" Rukia rolled her eyes and let loose a laugh, "Something I don't want to think about right now…"
As the two young ladies swapped stories back and forth until their coffees had gone cold, Rukia felt her phone buzz in her pocket.
Pulling it out, she saw Byakuya's caller ID pop up on the screen, "Hello? She quickly answered and held her phone to her ear.
"Rukia, when are you coming home? Kaien's just called round. He wanted to see you."
"What? Is he still there? If so, I'm unavailable and will be until Friday." She replied, closing her eyes, briefly.
"No, he's gone now. But, yes, the thing is, he said he wants to see you on Thursday as well."
"I'm unavailable." She repeated, beginning to stand up.
Byakuya exhaled, "Yes, I thought that might be the case, so I told him the two of us were going shopping."
"You told him what?" This was getting worse and worse.
"…And he wanted to come along."
Closing her eyes in aggravation, Rukia glanced at Momo and mouthed, "Want me to babysit this Thursday afternoon and evening?"
She nodded, her eyebrows creasing, "That would be great."
"Well, the thing is, Byakuya," She returned her attention back to her phone, "I'm actually babysitting this Thursday, so I can't make it. I'm sorry. I really am unavailable."
"How fortunate that you can make last second plans and leave me to go on a shopping trip with him alone."
"I would apologise, but I don't feel particularly sorry." She replied, evenly.
"I didn't think you would be…" Byakuya sighed, "Well, I suppose I'll have to tell him."
"Yes, that's right, because there's no way I'm going shopping with you both. Where did that even come from?" She was a little shocked at her brother's uncharacteristic lack of tact.
"I panicked." He replied, simply.
Oh, good heavens… If Byakuya panicked, it must have been serious…
"Right. Well, I'll be home soon anyway. See you soon." She hung up and passed her phone onto Momo, "Put your number in there so we can sort everything out, alright?"
She complied and handed Rukia's phone back to her, "Sounds intense. Well, I'm really glad you can babysit actually."
Rukia nodded, and gave a small smile, "Well, it'll be nice to see him again. Anyway, I'd better be off. I'll call you on Wednesday night, or something, okay?"
"Yeah, that's great." They wandered towards the exit and Momo pulled Rukia into a hug before releasing her, "Take care."
"Yeah… yeah, you too." Rukia smiled and turned to head home, sighing inwardly.
Though, if she'd have seen the work load that her… wonderful new boss was going to be giving her the day after she babysat for little Hikaru… that sigh would have been amplified… by about one hundred and twenty decibels.
And as irritating as his mannerisms were, they were also impossible to refuse.
Consequently, on Thursday evening (or more accurately, early Friday morning…) she found herself grinding her teeth furiously at the computer screen. She had rather hoped to have a week to complete this assignment, but unfortunately, he had other ideas.
"A week?" He had said to her, "What are you? In school? Get this done by tomorrow."
"Oh, Kurosaki," She hissed, tapping her fingers angrily on the keyboard, "you will be the death of me…"