Lost and Found: The Blue Crescent
Wah! I just realized that I didn't put a disclaimer for the first chapter! Well, here it is: I DO NOT OWN BLEACH, AND I NEVER WILL, unfortunately. THAT GOES FOR ALL OF MY CHAPTERS!!!
Thank you so much, Red Princess and Lillix Vail!
This chapter's word: Friends.
Chapter Two
Previously:
She looked back at him over her shoulder. "It's not girl. It's Kuchiki Rukia."
"Aa. Nice to meet you, Rukia."
"What's your name, boy?"
He smirked.
"Kurosaki Ichigo."
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After wandering about and talking a bit about themselves, Ichigo had realized how lonely Rukia really was. He wished he could go to her…royal…school…place. But he didn't want to ditch all his friends and everything, even though he could already tell that Rukia would be one hell of a good friend. Perhaps even a best friend.
He'd also realized that she was a complete scaredy-cat, which was the reason he was holding her hand at the moment, and also the reason why she was practically clinging onto his left arm. He just grinned and went along with it.
"Ichigo…you're so brave! I dunno how you can stand looking at all those horrid pictures and other gross stuff."
"Heh, you sure you're grade one? You act like you're still in preschool or something." That got him a whack on the head. It was the third one that day. Even though it didn't really hurt, it was still a hit. He glared at her, and she gave him a sweet smile in return. He huffed, and looked away.
"Stupid…midget…get her back…"
Rukia turned to him, as if she heard him talking about her.
"Whatcha mumbling about, Ichigo?" He sighed.
"Nothing, Rukia, nothing." He couldn't stop a smile from forming. She was just such a cute little thing. His only friends that were girls were Tatsuki and Inoue. Tatsuki was too much of a tomboy, and Inoue was just plain nervous and quiet.
Rukia was something in the middle, but which leaned more towards Tatsuki. The only time he'd heard her being shy or embarrassed, or even sad was when she'd told him her short-but-worth-crying-over past, and when she'd crashed into him.
Suddenly, they heard voices. Extremely loud voices.
"Oi, Kuchiki! Where are you?! For goodness sake, we've been looking for an hour!"
"Kuchiki! Come out, wherever you are!"
"Rukia-chan!" That was the teacher. She sounded worried. Rukia rolled her eyes.
"Tch, she's probably just afraid she'd lose her job," she whispered to Ichigo. He snorted.
Surprisingly, the pair found themselves back at the Zangetsu case. The display case was against the wall, and Rukia knew that if she walked along the wall, then turned to the left, she'd find her classmates.
The small dark-haired midget finally let go of Ichigo's now-numbing arm. She turned to him and sighed. He looked at her, surprised.
"Those your classmates?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.
"Well, duh. I don't think there's anyone else called Kuchiki in this museum." He rolled his eyes right back at her.
"Is this…goodbye?" she asked, fidgeting with her fingers once again.
"Geez, what the heck are ya sayin', Rukia? Yes, it's goodbye, for now. It's not farewell. We'll meet again, I promise. Now stop being so girly and sad and everything else that girls do when they say goodbye." He grinned. She gave him an evil smile, makeshift fangs and all. He shuddered, then she sighed and stopped twisting her mouth into the mutated grin.
"You're the first friend I ever had, Ichigo. The best friend I'm ever going to have, I think. I'm gonna miss you, and thank you so much." She glomped him, and he hugged her back.
"See ya, Kuchiki." She let go of him and started to walk away, before turning back.
"What school do you go to, Ichigo? Just so I know if your school meets up with mine."
"Karakura Elementary."
She smiled, and walked away. Ichigo turned his back and started walking too. In the distance, he could hear the teacher screaming.
"Kuchiki Rukia! You are never to run away like that again, you hear?!"
"Yes, sensei." She sounded bored. Ichigo laughed to himself and went looking for his own class.
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Two weeks later:
As much as Ichigo hated being clingy and clung onto, he just couldn't deny it: he missed the short little Kuchiki. He sighed and looked around his first grade classroom. He'd always been deemed a genius by his teachers. He knew what "extensive" meant. Heck, he could even count to 1000. However, Ichigo knew that the real reason he was so "smart" was because of his mother. His mother was very thorough with her teachings, not wanting her cute son to be ignorant. He personally thought she was going a little overboard, but whatever.
The teacher walked into the classroom just as the bell rang. "My students, we have a new student today!" Ichigo groaned and his head hit the desk.
"Not another one," he mumbled. That Ishida dude had already gotten the title as "worst new student ever."
"Kurosaki, not glad to see me?" Ichigo's head snapped up and stared. His mouth fell open.
"R-Rukia?" She smiled and waved giddily. Ichigo waved back hesitantly and grinned.
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It was recess time. Rukia and Ichigo were standing in a secluded part of the school, near the washrooms and just meters away from the playground, if there hadn't been a wall blocking the way. Tatsuki, Orihime, Keigo, Mizuiro, a bunch of gossip girls, and even Ishida were there.
The midget and her orange-haired friend stared at each other.
Then Rukia smacked him lightly on the head and said, "Don't be such a moron, you Strawberry." Ichigo's expression didn't change. A…blank…stare…
Rukia rolled her eyes. "I'm here to stay, Ichigo! Until further notice! Gosh, can I make it any clearer?"
"…You're staying?"
"Uh huh."
"Why?"
Rukia fumed. "What do you mean why? I wanted to come to your school, Ichigo. You're my friend! I'm sorry to say that I tried to forget about you for the last 2 weeks--"
"What the heck?! Rukia!"
"—because I hate depending on someone, and also because I figured we wouldn't be seeing each other again…until my Nii-sama allowed me to come here. Nii-sama is so kind to me."
"Your brother let you come here?"
"That's what I said."
"So you're staying here. Forever."
"Uh huh, unless you get me mad and I feel like ditching you."
Ichigo gave a slow smile. He took a step closer to her. She looked at him curiously, wondering what he was going to do. Ichigo slowly reached out and wound his arms around Rukia's waist. He pulled her closer, until her head was against his shoulder.
"I missed you," he stated simply and sincerely. Rukia felt tears come up to her eyes, and hugged him back, discreetly wiping her tears on his shirt. He chuckled, noticing. A warmth from her little heart slowly spread to the rest of her body. No one had ever spoken to her with a tone like that before, let alone use those words on her.
"I missed you too, Ichigo."
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Meanwhile, the spying…group…people were trying to pick up their jaws from the ground. Tatsuki, however, was smirking. This was going to be good blackmail material.
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Rukia sat next to Ichigo at the tables, her legs swinging back and forth under the table, leaning on her elbows and her face propped up onto her hands. Ichigo just sat in his seat, his arms crossed. They were both smiling happily, while the gossip girls were currently spreading rumors.
"And-and-and he just grabbed her and, like, kissed her!" Gasps rang out.
"Oh my gosh you have got to be kidding me!"
"I've never seen him be 'friendly' with a girl before!"
"For goodness sake, Mahana, are you sure you're not just making the story more exciting?"
"Ryo! Don't wreck my fun!"
Glares were directed to Mahana.
She sighed.
"Fine, all he did was hug her, alright? Geez."
Michiru sighed. "It's just a hug, Mahana, no need to go crazy over it."
Mahana mumbled to herself. "You guys are no fun…"
Ryo smirked, and Chizuru sighed. "Can we go play with Barbies now?"
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Over the rest of the school year, Ichigo and Rukia had a grand time. The Kuchiki was introduced to Ichigo's big group of friends. She was easily accepted and loved. She is a hard person to dislike, after all.
However, as close as Rukia was to Chad, Orihime, and Tatsuki, Ichigo was always number one on her list, even though she'd never admit it if anyone asked her so. Even Ishida had been introduced to their little group. His fast retorts and sarcastic remarks had her on the ground sometimes, rolling around in laughter. His expressions were hilarious too, although they didn't even compare to Ichigo's, in her opinion.
Boy, was Ichigo a fun person to manipulate and tease.
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Ichigo had an awesome year. His years were always awesome when Rukia was there, and fortunately, Rukia was always there. He even took her for granted sometimes.
Which is why he was surprised when, 6 years later, in Grade 7, she told him that she was moving. She was moving from Karakura, all the way to some faraway place called Soul Society, some place he'd never heard of before. Apparently, it was some rich folk's city, which is probably why he'd never heard of it before.
She came to him one day, nearly in tears. He was surprised, since she almost never cried. After all, they were already in the sixth grade. He'd grown much, much taller, practically twice the size he'd been in first grade. She grew too, actually.
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Rukia closed the door to her brother's office and ran to her room. She closed the door shut as quietly as she could in the state of confusion she was currently in. Sliding down the door with her tank-top-covered-back scraping on the door hurt, but she didn't care. School had just ended two days ago, and she'd been planning to go camping with the Kurosaki family for the summer.
Now, she couldn't.
Before her eyes could start watering, she stumbled to her open window and jumped out, landing on the ground only a story down. As she ran as fast as her legs could possibly go, the warm summer breeze curled around her and enveloped her. Normally, she'd think that this was a symbol of love from Mother Nature herself, but she really just didn't care that day.
As she ran, flashes of the past appeared before her mind's eye.
Flashback:
In Grade 2…
"Ichigo!" Rukia squealed. Ichigo laughed and pushed the swing harder. "Higher!" He complied. They always spent afternoons on the playground. Rukia's brother was too busy; he always came to pick her up around an hour or so after school ended. So, Ichigo found himself telling his mother to pick him up an hour after school too. Just yesterday, they'd discovered the miracle called a swing set
Rukia gasped as her hold suddenly slipped. Clenching her eyes closed, she fell to the ground, having a 4 feet drop. She immediately started rolling when she hit the ground to lessen the impact, like her sister had taught her. However, she twisted her ankle in the process, and cried out.
"Rukia!" Ichigo scrambled over to her. "Oh my gosh, Rukia, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have pushed so hard! Oh, god…" he looked at her ankle. It was already starting to swell.
"I-Ichigo…y-your mom's h-here…" she managed to force out between sobs. Quickly picking her up in a piggyback ride, he ran to his mother, yelling for help.
Half an hour later, Rukia was grinning with a tiny cast on her ankle, hands on hips and foot sticking out, demanding Ichigo to sign it. He'd felt guilty, but after smacking him around for a bit, he felt better.
In Grade 4…
Ichigo growled, pushing Rukia behind him. They were cornered in a dark alley, with 3 sixth-graders advancing on them.
"Give me your money, little children!" One of them was a shouter.
"I'll beat you to death if you don't!" The second one merely made threats.
The third one cracked his knuckles. Well, it didn't take a genius to figure out that this one was the real deal. "After 'em, boys."
Idiot #1 and Idiot #2 charged. Luckily, Ichigo had always been an exceptional fighter.
15 minutes later, Ichigo slumped down against the alley wall, his right arm around Rukia's shoulder as she supported him. He held his throbbing head and squinted with his black eye.
"Ichigo…oh, the things you do," Rukia smiled.
"Yeah, yeah, shut up and just appreciate whatever I do," he smiled crookedly, before falling asleep on her shoulder.
On January 14th, Grade 6…
Rukia sighed as she sat down like a prim little princess at a prim little chair that seemed to be designed for prim little princesses. She was wearing a bright red dress with white gloves that made her feel like Cinderella. Except, she didn't want to feel like Cinderella. She wanted to feel wild and free, running from rooftop to rooftop with Ichigo, running from dirt path to dirt path with Ichigo. She wanted to wear a t-shirt and shorts, racing from one place to another. She didn't want to spend her birthday at a formal party with a bunch of her stuffy relatives.
Her brother approached her. "Might I suggest opening your presents now, Rukia?"
Rukia smiled wistfully, glancing at the large stack of presents that nearly reached the ceiling. "Hai, Nii-sama."
After all the presents were on flat ground so she could reach, she grabbed a tiny one wrapped in shiny white wrapping paper and opened it as carefully as she could.
A beautiful bracelet for a beautiful girl, the card read. From: your Aunt Aiko.
The next present was a vanity set, from her Aunt Chikako.
Next, a set of hair accessories, from Uncle Hachirou.
The list went on and on, but there wasn't one thing in the pile that wasn't girly. Accessories, jewelry, and even, god forbid, make-up! There was one thing that she did love though, even though her other relatives looked on in disdain at the present:
A t-shirt with a set of washable markers, from Hisana. Her sister really understood her, unlike all her other relatives. On the card from Hisana, she'd said that she could wash the shirt many, many, many times before anything bad happened to it. It was durable material. Rukia could draw whatever the hell she wanted on the shirt that fit her mood, throw it in the washing machine, and redraw it all just for fun.
Needless to say, she loved it.
By the time all the guests left, Rukia was exhausted. It was already 10pm, but the doorbell rang. She groaned and dragged her sore body to the door, scowling and glaring at whoever was at her door.
However, her mood brightened remarkably when she saw Ichigo.
"Hey Rukia. I wanted to remind you about the no school day tomorrow…and I also have something for you." He shoved a messily-wrapped present at her and waved goodbye. "I gotta go; my sisters need my help with math homework." He stalked off before she could say a word. She wasn't surprised he'd walked here. He only lived a block away anyway.
Rukia closed the door and prudently opened the huge package. She gasped when she saw her present: a Chappy doll that was three quarters her size. She squealed and bounced around the living room, clutching at the soft plushie. Then she remembered the card that had been wrapped with Chappy. She ran back to the pile on the pale, carpeted floor and searched the package. She picked up the card and read:
Happy 12th Birthday, midget. Hope you didn't miss me too much during your stuffy party. (Rukia snorted at this, muttering about feeding his ego too much.) Hope you like the retarded bunny too, cost me a fortune.
See you next school day. Your (unfortunately) friend, Ichigo.
Rukia grinned and rolled her eyes, neatly folded and tucked the wrapping paper into her dress pocket, then picked up the card and Chappy. She ran upstairs to her room, put the card in a safe-keeping box, complete with lock and key, and then put her adorable Chappy on her big bed.
She had a task to do.
The next school day, Rukia went to school wearing the t-shirt Hisana had given her. Printed on it in big, bold, and colourful words were:
ICHIGO IS THE BEST FRIEND EVER
Then there was a picture of a bear with orange hair, with rainbows and other stuff all over the t-shirt.
The shirt had left him with a red face for the rest of the day, hiding his huge, inward grin behind an outward frown. Rukia had walked proudly around the school with the shirt, flaunting her shirt at everyone she knew. Strangers stared, while friends gave Cheshire-cat grins.
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Reaching Ichigo's house faster than she'd thought she would, she climbed up his gutter and into his room's window. Her sandal-covered-foot slipped on the window sill and she tumbled to his bedroom floor. Noticing that he wasn't there after a quick glance, she slammed open his door and ran downstairs.
"Where's Ichigo?!"
Yuzu looked up. "Rukia-nee-chan! Ichigo's still out at soccer practice! He should be coming back any mi--"
Rukia was already out the door.
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Ichigo rolled his eyes as his perverted friend, Keigo, made another lewd comment about Orihime.
"Geez Keigo, you'd think that you'd have figured out that Inoue doesn't have feelings like that for you," the Strawberry shifted his soccer ball to his other arm, and twitched when his sweat-soaked soccer uniform clung to his skin. He'd always been teased by his friends how the navy and white uniform contrasted with his hair.
They also teased him that, ironically, the number on his back was a big and bold 15.
"I know, seriously, man, you're so disgusting," Mizuiro added.
"Get a grip, guys! I'm just teasing around!" Keigo continued wailing, but Ichigo and Mizuiro weren't paying attention. They stared as Rukia ran up to Ichigo, panting and huffing, hands on knees. Ichigo was afraid her lungs would burst if she struggled any more for breath.
"I-Ichigo!" she her voice was hoarse. She looked up. The three boys' eyes widened as they saw that her eyes were filled with tears. Mizuiro gave Keigo a glance before he said:
"Ichigo, Keigo and I are leaving now…we have to go." They then ran off in the opposite direction, and were gone within moments.
Ichigo continued staring at Rukia with concern.
"Rukia, did something happen? Why are you crying?" He vaguely noticed that the sun was going down, and the orange sky was eerily turning into a murky blue.
His best friend looked at him tearfully, and suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, burying her head into his shoulder. He instinctively dropped the soccer ball and put his own arms around her waist, pulling her closer.
"What's wrong?" He whispered. At his tone, Rukia lost it and sobbed loudly into his shoulder. Her body wracked and she pressed herself closer to him, seeking comfort. He buried his face in her hair, trying to will himself not to cry. His mother had told him just the day before that he was becoming a man, but that crying was good sometimes. But he couldn't cry yet, without even knowing what was happening!
Rukia's sobs subsided, and she gave a loud, shuddering, sigh.
"Ichigo…I'm moving."