3: Looking Into Your Eyes
The kimono-clad girl dashed out into the waiting hall shouting for her brother, and saw him sitting on a stone bench in the Japanese rock garden, flipping through a leather bound tome. Behind her followed her flustered Sensei, her face harried with worry.
"Lady Kuchiki! Please don't make such a ruckus, it's not lady-like!"
She was ignored.
"Byakuya nii-samaaaaaa! Nii-sama, nii-sama, nii-sama, nii-sama! Kitte, kiite! Oh, put away your stuffy old, grandfather book."
"Rukia, cease your barbarism at once and I'll listen to you." Byakuya barely glimpsed at her, his slightly tilted head was the only sign that he had acknowledged her presence. "Also, this grandfather book happens to be one of the earliest collections of acceptable etiquette behaviour. I highly suggest you read it."
"Nii-sama." She stated, her voice earnest.
"What is it?"
"Nii-sama." She said again, her tone this time firm and slightly demanding.
Sighing, Byakuya turned to face his sister.
"Sensei has suggested a lesson that would teach us how to behave in real-life simulations. But, it requires a week-long trip into the 1st and 2nd districts."
At the sight of the growing skeptical expression on her brother's face, she tried selling her point again, desperation creeping into her tone.
"Wouldn't it be so much faster for me to learn about etiquette during formal events instead of reading book after book? I would surely come back a changed person, Nii-sama!"
She did have a point. Byakuya turned towards the Sensei standing by the rock pool, and she gave him a tiny nod as an affirmation. Looking back at Rukia, he studied her eyes, so full of earnest, and exhaled softly. It was hard to say no to that face, one that bore so much resemblance to her sister's.
Calling for someone to come collect the thick tomes, he spoke a single word before turning away with a flourish of his Captain's cloak, the pale emerald kenseiken gleaming bright under the sunlight.
It was a single word, uttered with a tart tone, but it was enough to cause Rukia to leap up into the air with joy, before dashing off to get ready to leave the next day.
It wasn't all that hard, but it had taken some scheming, and she was quickly discovering that she had much aptitude for that. Procuring a camouflage spell from Nemu, she didn't dare approach Kurotsuchi-Taichou himself, she had easily disguised a fake soul with her own image. While Shadow Rukia would tag along with the class to boring lesson after boring lesson, she would have long disappeared to the human realm, catching up with an old acquaintance.
She had packed extra tubes of Chappy (Finally! Stock had come in) Soul Candy, Yuzu's old dress and nighties into a simple small pouch hidden in the larger one she had packed from the trip. The disguised soul was tucked away safely in a container in her pocket.
After a quick and faux emotional goodbye to her brother and her friends, she strode out the Society's gates, her grand plan already in motion. Rukia planned to activate the soul only after she had managed to sneak away from the group. The switcheroo would then occur at an isolated spot before S. Rukia rejoined the group.
Ten minutes into the journey and she was already fretting.
"Come on, come one! Where's my opportune moment? Ichigo awaited, her Bankai awaited!" A few more minutes passed and there seemed to be no sign of any change. Damn it, she cursed inwardly. If there wasn't one, she'd create it!
"Sensei!"
"Yes, Lady Kuchiki?"
"I saw a really beautiful flower back there in the woods! May I go have a closer look at it? I'll just be a minute!"
Without waiting for a reply, Rukia dashed off into the cluster of trees. When she was confident that she was no longer in sight, she activated the Soul, giving clear and detailed instructions on how to maintain absolute secrecy about her disappearance.
Rukia watched her shadow approach the group, her gait confident and so very similar to her own, she doubted anyone in the group would be able to tell the difference. When the troupe had finally disappeared from view, she dashed off on her own way, a route that she had planned out the night before, one that led her straight to an unsecured area of Rukongai where she could open up the portal without anyone seeing.
It was easy as 1-2-3. Sure, she wasn't supposed to open gateways without prior permission, but right now, her honour was at stake. And if she had learned one thing from Byakuya Nii-sama, it was that honour mattered above all else. He'd understand, eventually. The Kuchikis would never turn away in defeat, with their tails tucked between. No, they'd fight back, and that was just what she was going to do.
One thing she hadn't encountered for upon arriving in Karakura Town was her lack of cash. She had long polished off her onigiri, and now her stomach was aching painfully. Damn it. Ignoring the growls, she dashed along the familiar streets along a route she knew so well, stopping to hide only whenever she felt a hint of Reiatsu in the air.
Sneaking in through his unlocked (just as she had remembered) window, she plopped comfortably on his bed, the soft cotton feeling nothing like the hard platform she had to sleep on in Soul Society. A loud sigh of bliss escaped her lips. She couldn't remember ever feeling so ...
Hungry. Oh yeah.
Slinging her pouch onto the bed, she nimbly hopped off the bed and darted downstairs. Nothing in the fridge, nothing in the pantry ... Were the Kurosakis on a frickin' diet? And that's when she saw the white note taped onto the upper cabinet's door, with lines chicken scratched out with a pen, as if someone had vented out frustration there.
"To my dearly beloved son, the decayed fruit of my loins, the rotten apple of my eye. While you were gone, Yuzu, Karin and I have decided to disappear on a wonderful family trip to the Bahamas for a week, we'll be back on Tuesday. I left money on the table. Remember to eat healthy to stay healthy. If I found out that you've only been having Insta-Ramen everyday, you'll be in for it when I get back!
Ps. The pantry has ants. Keep your food in here.
XOXOXOXO, dad."
Yes! Who knew what delights the cabinet held?
Rukia flipped open the double doors, anticipating and saw...
She eyed the contents blandly. Wow, Ichigo. The shelves were lined with nothing but cup ramen, chilli crab ramen, beef ramen, pork ramen. .. And wait ... what's that?
5 minutes later, Rukia was staring at the television screen, the channel tuned to the Animal Planet, slurping from her steaming cup of noodles. Every now and then, she would hold the cup up in front of her, juxtaposing it against the lit screen and grin weirdly.
Usagi brand noodles and usagis hopping about the screen. Life couldn't get any better than this.
"Ugh! I'm so tired," Ichigo moaned as he flipped the lock on the door, dragging his weary body along with him into the house, his school bag trailing heavily at his feet.
As he slipped his shoes off, he heard an odd screeching noise coming from the living room, a bright light flashing in the dusky glow of the evening sun. "What the ... "
The tv was on, playing a scene of an eagle swooping down to snare its prey, but there was no one sitting there. Shit, did he leave it on throughout the day? Cursing, he looked about for the remote. Stupid thing had disappeared. Again. Walking all the way to the screen was a hassle, so he simply flipped the main electrical switch, and trudged up the stairs. He took a quick shower and slipped into a pair of comfortable, worn jeans.
He tugged the curtains shut, and the room was thrown into utter darkness, but its layout had already long been imprinted deep into his subconscious memory. Pulling the sheets roughly off the bed, he groaned when a jumble of items clattered loudly onto the floor. Damn it, any more times and he could just throw the battered alarm clock away.
Making wild grasps at the floor, he was surprised when his hand came into contact with something plastic, but soft. Grabbing for his phone on the desk, his jaw dropped in utter shock as a small light illuminated the object. It had been a long while since he last saw it, but he definitely recognized this bag as Yuzu's. One that had gone "missing" for months now. A stolen item, just like her bunny print PJ's and green cotton dress.
But ... It couldn't be. It had to still be in Soul Society, just like how shewas. And it was impossible that she could even be he...
The door flung open with a deafening bang.
"Ichigo! Why did you turn off th... Damn it, why is so dark in here? Ichi... Ouch! Stupid thing!"
His eyes already accustomed to the dark, he stared as a small form reach down, pick something up and fling it hard against the wall. A loud ringing emanated from the corner of the room. Ah. So the clock had fallen too.
"Ichigo, where are you? I know you're here."
Was it really that dark? He should turn on the lights, even his phone would do the trick, but somehow his hand refused to budge. He saw her reach out blindly ahead of her, her hands swinging about wildly near his chest as she edged forward slowly. The sudden fear of her backhand slap snapped his senses awake and he reached back to flip the light switch of his table lamp.
All of a sudden, the room was lit with a tiny, but far-reaching gleam, and he was staring down into her face, one of her hands nearly at his cheek.
He saw her recoil on instinct, as the light had blinded her. Her face was scrunched up in an adorable frown and her large black eyes half-lidded. He studied her, oddly curious. She still sported the same hairstyle, except that now her hair was longer, falling past her shoulder. Her height hadn't changed though, not even an inch. Her head still barely cleared his shoulder. He watched as her face cleared up, her smiling eyes gazing into his and a quirk of her lips at the corner of her mouth.
"Long time no see, Ichigo."
Unlike the first two, this chapter took me 3 days. Work's really draining me out. Hope you guys enjoy it.
Ps: Check out Lying Loves too, the style of writing is different for the first few chapters cause they were penned in 2008. The fic was dropped, but I've just restarted it. Guaranteed an engaging plot and lots of delicious AthrunxCagalli sweetness.
When I have time, maybe after L. L, I'll be starting on the prequels to That Autumn Day. Planning's already commenced.
Thanx for all your support!
Faie.