Waiting
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS AND FAVS! *cough* So this is a Rukia-centric chapter... and I hope it's alright with you guys. I'll do my best not to go OOC and I hope it's not so bad [because I'm writing off the bat without any plan v_v;;;]. Enjoy~
DISCLAIMER: Bleach. Do not own Bleach. Bleach bleach bleach
XXX
Sometimes she got a glimpse of him. Always, he looked a wreck. The word was ideal to describe her as well, but at least she had the occasional life-threatening attack to keep her mind away.
"Kurosaki-kun..." Inoue Orihime hesitated as she began to heal her once again. "He misses you a lot."
She turned away, looking out of the window. "The fool can live without me."
"He can live without you, Kuchiki-san," the buxom girl agreed, but added with uncharacteristic fieriness, "But he can't function fully without you."
"Tch. He has to live with it then," her voice was bitter. "He made the sacrifice, so now suffer the consequences," the last word was almost spat out with much venom.
"Kuchiki-san –!"
"Thanks, Inoue," she said abruptly and escaped.
A good distance away, she stopped and mentally hit herself. Stupid! Inoue didn't do anything wrong! Don't get caught up in your feelings!
She looked around and realized with a start she had unconsciously returned to the place... the place where everything began. She saw him at the window, looking at a point behind her. She followed his gaze to the moon.
She clutched her heart, wondering what this turmoil inside her meant. Shinigami aren't supposed to have feelings... right?
Wrong. If that was the case, then Byakuya wouldn't have married her sister Hisana. Kaien wouldn't have loved Miyako so much until he wanted to take revenge for her, which ultimately cost his life, and also broke something in her.
"ICHIGO! TAWAKE! BAKA! AHO!" she wanted to yell, but he wouldn't hear her. Instead, she said to herself, "Why did I hit you and scold you all those times? Do you think I'll be happy to see you like this...?"
She felt tears rolling down her cheeks. She smiled, despite herself. "You really are a fool. Do I have to cry for you now?"
She saw him sway, and unthinkingly, she caught him, like that day in the rain. She lay him down on his bedroom floor and took his blanket, pulling it over him. She glanced at the cupboard where she used to stay. In the end, she didn't really use the trinkets she brought with her. Was it just a month or two ago? It felt like aeons.
She didn't look at the cupboard for only nostalgic reasons. Kon... where is he? He usually would've jumped out and screamed something; then waking Ichigo and... what? What would he say when Kon tells him she was here? That gikongan was – is – mainly insensitive to others.
But all was quiet. She lectured him, softly, about how stupid he was being. "You're not the only one suffering..." she clenched her fists tightly, then muffled her crying using a corner of the blanket.
She didn't cry long. She still had work to do. She stood, wiping any stray tear with her sleeve. She thought of kicking him for good measure, but she thought, Let him rest.
She opened her eyes again to see his room's ceiling. CRAP! I... OVERSLEPT! She glanced at Ichigo. He didn't seem awake. And Kon's loud presence still missing. Well, thank God for that. She didn't want to face that overly loud toy.
She carefully opened the window and prepared to step out when she heard him say, "… I love you."
She stared at him open-mouthed. He smirked at the ceiling, not seeing her, but somehow confident she heard him. She wanted to scream obscenities, and yes, half kill him, but her throat seized up and she found her face hot and her heart racing. She left the window ajar and shunpo-ed as far away as she could. She fought to control herself, but her heart was singing at his 'confession'.
Those in the vicinity of the school could hear a girl screaming in utter frustration. Most of them knew who that was.
"FINE! YOU BETTER WAIT FOR MY REPLY, YOU IDIOT!"