Hey, everyone! Sorry for the very long wait. I've been extremely busy.

Thank you for all the reviews, the faves, and alerts. :D

Here's the first chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Tite Kubo does.

Wines, Silverwares, and Irresistible Charms

Chapter 1- Knight in Shining... Orange?

The sun was a blazing ball above the skies. Rukia felt a trickle of sweat dribbled down her forehead as she forced herself to focus on the human being blabbering in front of her. However, the said human was not making any sense. So Rukia ought to whip her attention away and averted it to her seatmate, Orihime Inoue, who was busily scribbling doodles on her notebook. She took a little moment to study her classmate's friendly façade before approaching her. She was tall, well-endowed, and had a personality anybody could fall for. She had brownish orange hair that reached down her waist and two hair clips kept her bangs in place.

"Hey, Inoue."

The citrus haired girl squeaked in surprise and turned to face her.

Rukia smiled and pointed to the doodles Orihime had lazily drawn on her notes. "They look cute. Can you draw Chappy for me?" At this, the voluptuous girl blushed but nodded nonetheless. Rukia offered her own notebook and Orihime took it with slightly shaking hands.

"Uh, Kuchiki-san? How do you want me to draw Chappy? Would you like a remake or the original version?"

Rukia contemplated for a moment before a light bulb appeared atop her head. "Can you make both? I want to see the revisions you make and compare it with my own versions."

Orihime gaped at the raven haired girl. "O-Oh! Of course, Kuchiki-san!" She hurriedly started scribbling again and glanced at Rukia from her peripheral vision. She blinked twice when she noticed violet orbs staring intently at her. Blushing, she looked away and continued her task.

Rukia, on the other hand, was more intent on watching the way Orihime expertly stroked lines. Her eyes twinkled brightly as she leaned even closer to the unsuspecting girl.

"Miss Kuchiki!"

An angry voice yelled jolting Rukia from her thoughts. She almost lost her balance and would have fallen from her seat if not for her expert stability skills. She remained rooted on her place as their Math teacher sauntered her way toward her. By this time, everyone in the class was looking at her. Some were gasping from astonishment and some had their eyes almost bulging out from their sockets.

"Explain to me this non-sense now, Miss Kuchiki! What were you doing leaning so close to Miss Inoue? You were supposed to be listening to my lecture!"

Rukia gulped. "Um… Ah… I was… I was just…"

The terror teacher pushed the rim of her glasses up to the bridge of her nose and crossed her arms under her chest. With a seething glare, she said, "For your inability to explain yourself, I give you a one week detention! See me at the office after class hours, Miss Kuchiki!"

Rukia's eyes widened like plates. She could only stare at her teacher's retreating figure as she walked back to her previous spot in front of the class. She felt so small and disoriented. Gulping down the bile in her throat, she glimpsed at Orihime with a weary look on her face.

Orihime looked back at her with the same expression and mouthed the words "I'm sorry, Kuchiki-san" as quietly as she could.

God, she just wanted to see a new version of Chappy and look what she had gotten herself into! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Rukia slumped dejectedly on her chair and pouted. Turning to the window beside her, she placed her cheek on her open palm and stared outside. Sighing, she closed her eyes and opened them just as quick only to see blurs of orange and blue come into her view.

What the hell?

~xXoOoXx~

Standing on top of the Administration Building was an orange haired man holding a telescope. One of his honey amber eyes was looking through the eyepiece of the apparatus deliberately. Beside him, a muscular man with aqua blue hair was setting up a tiny speaker set in his hands.

"Really, I don't see the need why you have to bring all these stuffs with you, Kurosaki," the blue haired man said irritated as his piercing cobalt green eyes swept through the entirety of the campus. "You look stupid stalking the princess with these!"

The orange head, whose name is Ichigo Kurosaki, turned around to meet the glare of his companion with matching intensity. His face, already set into a frown, scrunched even further as he took the earpiece away and placed it on his ear. "It is not 'you', but us, Grimmjow. It is our duty to protect the princess with all we have."

Grimmjow stuffed his hands inside his jeans' pockets and haughtily stuck his tongue out at Ichigo. "Doesn't mean we have to stalk her wherever she goes, though. You're a butler, not a babysitter."

Ichigo raised an orange eyebrow while adjusting his coat. He usually wore a black suit with matching coat and pants when he was in duty. Right now, he was getting ticked off by what his driver of a companion was trying to imply. He was thankful he had been taught for years how to be a reserved and calm person or else he would have found himself strangling Grimmjow's neck until he was satisfied.

"Oi. Are you even listening to me?"

The butler heard Grimmjow snapped angrily at him. Pulling himself from his thoughts, he adjusted the telescope in his hands and started to zoom it in. He ignored the driver's outrage and focused the telescope on a raven haired girl with petite stature and violet eyes.

"Hmm… not good. She's talking to her seatmate in the middle of lecture," Ichigo whispered solemnly as he darted the focus from the princess to her bubbly seatmate. From what he could remember, the girl's name was Orihime and she was one of the princess' closest friends. Fairly enough, the girl seemed really kind and friendly.

Grimmjow stepped beside him and tried to see through the telescope as well.

Ichigo hissed at him and scowled. "What the hell's your problem, Grimmjow?"

"Hmp." The driver crossed his arms and threw daggers at him. "Just trying to see if you are stalking some other chick." He sat on the ground Indian style and ran a hand through his messy hair. "Ya know, if you are that obsessed, you can just hire a spy or a detective."

Ichigo felt his fists clench. He fought the urge to castrate a certain someone's face by taking deep breaths and staring at Rukia's doll-like face. He felt himself relax when she saw her eyes shine and her lips tug into a smile after the Orihime girl handed her a notebook. He adjusted the earpiece to try to listen to their conversation and frowned when the tiny gadget wouldn't budge.

"Dammit, Grimmjow!" He hastily tugged the earpiece away and threw it to the unsuspecting driver. "It's not working! I can't hear a word they're saying!"

"I'm not a fucking electrician, Kurosaki! I don't know how to set up that thing!" Grimmjow retorted just as angry with gritted teeth. He threw the earpiece back and stood up, fuming. "And goddammit! It's scorching hot in here! I'm burning!"

"Stop complaining!" Ichigo grounded out as he placed the earpiece back inside his pocket. Without turning away, he concentrated on the telescope and watched resolutely as the scary-looking teacher trudged her way toward the princess. "What's going on?" When he realized the old hag was orating something akin to punishment and detention—her looks were not deceiving, really. He could tell just by one glance—a bright idea popped into his head.

Grimmjow wasn't even paying attention. He was busy trying to wipe the sticky perspiration from his body. He was wearing a light t-shirt and faded jeans, thus, urging his pores to produce more sweat than necessary. Unlike him, the bastard butler had thick coat and pants, making him wonder why the heck the man could still stand without so much as wiping his damn fluids.

"Grimmjow," Ichigo called out, a smirk forming on his face.

Acknowledging the butler with an irritated glare, Grimmjow reluctantly walked beside him and snatched the telescope from his grasp.

Ichigo paid no heed to his rude gesture and just spoke out, "We're getting into action."

Grimmjow leaned away slightly from the long gadget and stared at Ichigo like he had just grown three horns on his head. "Huh?"

"We need to do some charming," Ichigo replied huskily with a sexy grin.

Grimmjow could only shudder and pray to god the butler wasn't planning anything stupid. Again.

~xXoOoXx~

This was not good.

Not at all.

Because of chappy, she had to undergo detention!

Ugh. Though because of the lovely creature she had to suffer, she'd never hate it!

Rukia stomped irritably as she exited the classroom. The class had finally ended, signaling the start of her own personal incarceration. With an angry huff, she jogged toward the door and readied herself for hell. Outside, Orihime was leaning silently against the wall, her face loomed down into an obvious sorrow.

"Inoue." Rukia tried to lighten up the mood by smiling.

The usually cheerful girl stepped in front of her and bowed her head in grief. "I'm really sorry, Kuchiki-san." Her eyes were wide and teary.

Rukia felt the sincerity in Orihime's voice as she looked into the gray shades of her doe-like eyes. She felt herself smile from the inside, comprehending she had found a true friend in the guise of Orihime. She was one of the few closest friends she had in this school. Um, actually, she only had two.

"It's OK, Inoue. It's not your fault," she said genuinely happy as she patted the girl's back.

Orihime crooked a smile, a hint of tears in her eyes. "T-Thank you." She wiped the salty liquid from her face and beamed like a child. "I'd like to help you with your detention, Kuchiki-san."

Rukia waved a hand dismissively and laughed lady-like. "It's fine. I'm sure it won't hurt a lot to pay Kasaki-sensei a visit every afternoon in a span of 1 week."

Orihime's face turned from delighted into one of horror. She grabbed Rukia's shoulders and shook her horrendously. "Are you serious, Kuchiki-san? She's like the devil incarnate! You don't know how hideous she can be besides her unsolvable mathematical equations! I have heard of stories of her inflicting pain upon students compelled for detention!"

"Uh." Rukia sweatdropped. "I-I'm sure I can manage." Hell! She wasn't even sure if she could! That monster was the scariest entity she had ever seen in the face of the planet! Whenever Rukia looked at her, she felt like gravity was pulling her down into the deepest depths of the Earth. She had this eerie aura around her—imagine the evil octopus in the Little Mermaid—that always made her want to run away like crazy.

Oh god. After hearing Orihime's little outburst, she didn't know if she could still step inside Kasaki-sensei's room without panicking.

"Um," Rukia started, her nerves going hay-wired. "I think I have to go now. I can't afford to get late after everything you had said just now, Inoue-san."

Orihime nodded vigorously and hugged the tiny girl for reassurance. "Take care of yourself, Kuchiki-san. I'll be waiting for the details of your detention tomorrow morning." She smiled comfortingly, encouraging her friend with gestures and words. It was her way to convince herself that the petite girl was going to be fine.

With a final wave, Rukia smiled one last time and jogged toward Kasaki-sensei's office.

~xXoOoXx~

"What the heck are you doing here, carrot-top?"

Those were the words that immediately left Rukia's lips after seeing the orange haired butler standing proudly against the door of Kasaki-sensei's office. Furrowing her eyebrows, she walked to where he was standing and stood confidently in front of him.

"I'm here to fetch you, your highness." The butler just gave off a sexy smirk as a response and leaned away from the doorframe to completely face her.

Rukia groaned in annoyance. "How did you get inside the school again? This is the 3rd time this week." She looked him up and down with suspicious eyes. Noticing she had been caught staring, red tint started to shade her porcelain cheeks.

"Heh." He grinned deviously and peered her down through his honey-amber eyes. She felt herself shrink from the vividness of his gaze. "Like what you see, princess?"

Regaining her stance, she glared at him and stomped on his foot with all the strength she could muster. "You're a perverted butler! Just tell me why you are here!"

Ichigo chuckled throatily from her cute reaction and ruffled her hair a bit. She swatted his hand away and growled lowly at him.

"I already told you. I am here, together with Grimmjow, to fetch you," he said, amused.

Rukia was about to counterattack his smart remark when she remembered something. Her mouth gaped open when she realized that the streak of orange she had seen on the rooftop could be him. Her nostrils flared like volcanoes craving to blow out and hot air started to radiate off from her ears. "Were you spying on me?"

Ichigo appeared taken aback at first, but quickly recovered his composure by letting a tiny hint of smile to play on his lips. He replied, "What makes you think that?"

Rukia looked like she was going to explode any minute. "You were that orange I saw on top of the Admin Building! And… And… I swear! I saw blue and I was sure as hell it was Grimmjow!" She shook with rage and continued, "You guys were stalking me! Admit it!"

Ichigo sighed. "Think whatever you want." He shrugged. "It doesn't matter anyway." He made a beeline for the exit but stopped himself midway to tell her something. "And oh, Kasaki-sensei has left already. She has forgiven you and went home straight." He smiled a true smile that caught Rukia off-guard. "Said something about back pain and migraine."

"H-Huh?" Rukia stuttered, unable to believe the butler's words. "How about my detention? I thought I have to do it one week?" She knocked on the door and reached for the knob only to find it locked. She stared at Ichigo with confused eyes and shook her head. "I don't understand. Were you able to talk to her?"

Ichigo just ignored her and continued walking toward the exit. Rukia strolled after him but kept a safe distance from behind. She was still confused and could barely get any facts straight. Why couldn't Ichigo just answer her without being sarcastic?

The streak of blue and orange on the rooftop—she was sure it was the two of them. She could never be wrong. She could always identify the unique colors of their hair wherever she'd see them.

The sudden departure of Kasaki-sensei—hadn't Inoue just informed her of how terror their teacher could be?

And, most importantly, Ichigo kept appearing inside the campus out of the blue ever since she transferred here last two weeks ago!

She sighed and raked the thoughts away from her brain. Somehow, she knew she'd get the answers sooner or later.

She just hoped it'd be the former.

~xXoOoXx~

Ichigo stared ahead of him with an apparent frown. Growling, he pulled out his mobile phone and started composing a text message.

To: Grimmjow

Damn you, bastard. I thought I made it clear it'd be YOU who'd lure that old hag? But you… you ran away! Do you know how much I have to endure? She looked like she just came from a freshly buried coffin that she almost scared me! I'll kill you!

P.S.: Make sure you remind Nelliel to turn on the mouthpiece before putting it inside Rukia's blouse. I'm gonna strangle you both!

Sparing the petite girl behind him a single glance, he closed his eyes briefly and turned away just in time before the said girl was able to see him.

The rest of what Ichigo did to lure Kasaki-sensei with his irresistible charms is up to your imagination! HAHA!

And… I can't resist bringing the GrimmxIchi tandem back again! :D

Once more, thank you for reading and please don't forget to review!

~Rui ^^