Ichigo froze, stunned at the words that came out of Orihime's mouth. She looked up at him very uncomfortably with her very cute brown eyes waiting for his answer. Ichigo didn't expect a twist like this. His plan was to ask Rukia out and squeeze out as much money off from her as possible. But he never expected her friend to ask him out instead.
'Great… How should I answer her?' he thought to himself. He looked down at Orihime who was blushing slightly. Her sad, innocent looking face made it very hard for him to reject her.
"Umm… go out with me?" he mumbled out. Orihime nodded her head
"Kuroya-kun. I fell for you at Kuchiki-san's party" Orihime admitted very awkwardly. Her eyes were now looking down at the ground. Ichigo felt his tongue twisting in a knot.
"I'll… think about it" Ichigo said. He knew it was best to reject her harmlessly before she gets any idea but he felt too guilty to.
"Umm, can I give you my number so you can contact me?"
After giving him her number Ichigo said his good-bye and walked away from her. His heart was beating like a drum and his head was spinning really fast. This was his first time a girl ever asked him out. He was supposed to feel happy about it but guilt struck him for some odd reason. He did feel terrible about leaving Orihime as soon as she asked him out but what else was he suppose to do?
Walking down the street he suddenly started humming the tune Rukia taught him earlier in the day. Spending time with her was quite fun. She can get annoying by yelling at him, but besides that, she was okay.
"Hey wait, why am I humming?" Ichigo asked himself realising how pathetic he must have looked. For some reason spending time with Rukia made him in a good mood.
xoxox
"Stupid cold weather" Rukia muttered to herself, wrapping her soft purple scarf around her neck more tightly. The clouds above her were dull grey, and it was a very dismal looking sky. A vision of Kuroya's face floated in her mind. His lips were so close to her lips she almost wondered what would have happened if Orihime didn't show up. But at the same time she doubted a guy like Kuroya would kiss a girl who he just met so soon. Even though he slightly had a ' Bad Boy' image Rukia couldn't imagine him being a player. But then again, she doesn't know him that well. Plus he said "Oh, I thought Rukia had a dust in her eye so I was just checking".
Beep BeepRukia checked her phone to see who it was. She slid her phone open only to see Kaien's name on the screen. Her heart stopped for a moment. It was too sudden and she didn't know what to say to her crush. Even though her mind told her not to, her finger pushed the button so she could talk to him. She was blushing mad but luckily no one was around to see her red face
"Hello Kaien?" Rukia answered
"Yo Rukia! What's up?" Kaien replied back on the other side of the phone "I'm sorry I didn't hang out with you that much at the party. Your song was awesome though"
A smile grew on Rukia's face as her crush complimented her. Kaien always teased her by calling her a "Midget" or "Shortie" so it was really nice to hear him say something nice about her for a change
"Thanks Kaien. So why did you ring me so sudden?" she asked
"You free on Sunday?"
"Yeah, why?" Rukia answered
"Then let's go out to the movies or something. Just you and me. It's a date!"
Rukia wondered if her ears were playing tricks on her.
Did he say "Date"? Rukia wondered to herself. A long silence built up between them as Rukia didn't know what to say. Happiness over flowed her but at the same time she felt very nervous
"Rukia, you alive?" Kaien asked
"Yea, I'll see you on Sunday then" Rukia chocked out very quickly
"Okay, I'll be at your place by 4 o'clock. We can walk to the cinemas. See ya!"
The phone disconnected and Rukia was too surprised to even move an inch. Even though this doesn't mean Kaien loves her back, she was still happy about the date tomorrow. It was like a dream
"Excuse me" a voice called out from behind. Rukia turned around to see a teenage boy walking up to her. He had a very muscular body and a dark spiky hair that looked similar to Kaien's, except a bit shorter. He was so tall she needed to bend her neck to look up at him
"Do you know where Karakura Private High is?" he asked
"Oh, that's my school. Only a few minutes walk from here. Just turn right on the second street, walk straight up until you see a bus sigh, then…"
"Daa!!! Too confusing! Can you please take me?"
Rukia hesitated a little. A guy seemed like he was checking her out while talking to her at the same time. He is a little handsome, she'll admit that, but is he flirting with her?
"Umm…" she was about to refuse his offer but instead he was giving her the most adorable look ever
"Sure, why not." She said
"Aww, thanks. By the way, the names Shuuhei" the guy introduced. Rukia smiled in return
"Follow Me," she said without bothering to mention her name. She knew she wasn't going to see this guy again so she knew it was no use to introduce herself
"So why do you want to go to my school at a time like this?" Rukia asked trying to make a conversation
"Oh, I'm going to meet up with my mate Kurosaki there" he replied back
Halfway through their walk Ichigo came out of the corner of the street, his hands inside his jacket. Both Shuuhei and Rukia looked up at him and called out his name at the same time
"Kurosaki!" Shuuhei called out
"Kazuki!" Rukia shouted
Ichigo turned his head around as Rukia and Shuuhei gazed at each other with a very confused look on their face. Immediately, Ichigo's heart stopped pumping. He couldn't believe his sight. Rukia and Shuuhei, walking together. How was this even possible?
"Huh, Kurosaki?" Rukia mumbled out rather confused
"Wait, your name doesn't happen to be Kuchiki Rukia?" Shuuhei asked
"How do you know my name?"
"Umm. No comment!"
Rukia spun her head to look at Ichigo, who was starring down at his feet. He didn't know what to say or what to do. Rukia probably figured out by now Kuroya Kazuki isn't his real name and she is probably wondering why he lied to her.
"Kazuki, what's going on?"
Ichigo observed up into Rukia's eyes, which were so fierce he thought it was like a strong fire burning. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out from it. It was as though he just stuffed a whole bucket of cotton into his mouth. Seeing Rukia pained him right now. He could see the anger and confusion inside her eyes and he felt his heart turning very painfully
"Rukia, umm…" he muttered out
"Kurosaki, is this your real name?" Rukia said. Shuuhei slapped himself on his head for ruining Ichigo's plan
"I'm sorry Rukia" he sighed
"Why did you lie to me?" she questioned. Ichigo didn't know how to answer her question.
"I… don't know," he whispered
"What's your real name?"
"Kurosaki…" he paused for a few moment. He hated saying his real name "Ichigo"
"Stop lying! What kind of a guy is called Ichigo? It means strawberry!" Rukia bellowed out. Ichigo didn't know how to react. Ichigo was his real name, and now Rukia still thinks he's not telling the truth. Shuuhei wanted to laugh but he knew it wasn't an appropriate time.
"Honest! My name is Kurosaki Ichigo!"
"Just shut up!" Rukia roared out walking away from him
"Hey! I know it's hard to imagine a guy called strawberry but I'm telling the truth!"
"Jerk! Moron! Idiot!" Rukia shouted out before leaving a dumbstruck Ichigo standing on the street. He couldn't believe this. Was his relationship with Rukia over just like that?
"Hahaha! Ichigo! I mean, who would believe that's your real name!" Shuuhei laughed uncontrollably after Rukia disappeared into the distance
"Shut up!" Ichigo cried out with frustration. He didn't know what it was but inside he could feel his heart breaking into millions on pieces
"This is such a crack up!" Shuuhei bursted out
"Shut up! First I have to put up with you and Renji, then a random chick who I hardly know asks me out, then you meet Rukia and…"
"Wait, go back to the chick bit" Shuuhei said, who stopped laughing immediately
"This chick who is Rukia's friend asked me out" Ichigo replied back. Shuuhei thought for a moment and suddenly came up with an idea
"Go out with her" he demanded
"WHAT?"
"I said go out with her"
"WHY?"
"To make Rukia jealous"
Ichigo wanted to protest back but he had no idea what to say. Something inside him told himself he wanted Rukia back, and that he wanted to make her really jealous by letting her know he's going out with her friend. He wanted to see the jealous look on her face imagining how cute it would be
Wait… cute? He asked himself. Before Shuuhei could say another word Ichigo flipped his phone open and dialled the number Orihime gave him. He could just imagine it. The angry look on her face
Ring Ring"Hello?" Orihime's squeaky voice answered on the other side of the phone
"Hey it's me Ichi… Kazuki" Ichigo said
"Ku…Ku…Kuroya-kun?" Orihime chocked out
"Umm, about what you said" Ichigo said, getting straight to the point
"Yes…"
Before telling Rukia he's dating her friend he wanted to ease up to the girl
"Want to go watch a movie tomorrow, after school?" he asked
xoxox
After arriving home Rukia had no idea what got her so mad at Ichigo. But something inside her was shocked to know he was lying to her this whole time. But after cooling her head down she knew it wasn't much of a big deal. Plus him joking, saying his real name is 'Ichigo' is quite a funny joke.
"If this farewell is the beginning of a journey" she started to sing while walking upstairs. She really enjoyed teaching guitar to Ichigo. He was a really good leaner, and he had some talent inside him. If she met him again she'll probably apologise to him
"I'll smile as much as I can for you…"
"Rukia-sama! I have news for you!" Soi Fong delightfully greeted as soon as she saw Rukia
"What is it?" Rukia asked
"I got you a gig, at a bar on Saturday night!" Soi Fong announced
Rukia was shocked for a moment. She couldn't believe it. This was going to be her first gig ever, and when she applied her name to sing at a bar she didn't think she'd actually get it
"Wow, that's… awesome" Rukia chocked out very excited
"I know!" Soi Fong said "Now Rukia-sama! You must go to your room and practise even more!"
"Maybe you can invite Kaien to listen to your music" Soi Fong suggested. Rukia flustered, wondering when Soi Fong knew her feelings towards Kaien
"Soi Fong! I…"
"Now, come on. Practise makes perfect" Soi Fong claimed, playfully shoving Rukia in her room.
xoxox
Ichigo checked his watch to see what the time was. It was 10 o'clock in the night and he had no idea why Renji invited him to hang out at a place like this. He observed around the area. It was a deserted, lonely street and he wasn't surprised if a ghost comes out of nowhere.
"Yo!" Renji came out in the dark. Ichigo turned around to see Renji walking towards him
"Renji, why did you want me at a place like this?" Ichigo asked. A smirk grew on Renji's face as he took out a softball bat behind him. Ichigo started to wonder what he was going to do with that.
"You're going to help me" Renji replied back. Ichigo blinked, not getting the situation
"Huh?"
"Remember when I said I always wanted a expensive car?" Renji whispered out. His emotionless face almost scared Ichigo. Renji slowly walked towards a car that was parked in the middle of the road. This action surprised Ichigo.
Wait, is he… he thought to himself
"Renji, what are…"
SMASHWith his softball bat Renji broke the car window, which caused the alarm on it to beep very loudly. Ichigo couldn't believe what sort of situation he was in. His friend was going to steal a car and he was dragged into it.
"Hurry up! Get in the car!" Renji roared out. The sound of the alarm was killing Ichigo's ears very painfully as though he just stuck a needle in them.
"Are you mad?" Ichigo cried out. But unfortunately Renji was serious. He already climbed himself on the drivers seat and with the wire in his hands he magically turned the engine on
"WHY DID YOU INVITE ME TO JOIN YOU?" Ichigo bellowed out
"Can't afford for you to miss out the fun!" Renji claimed. The lights inside the buildings started to flick on, as everybody opened their window to see what was going on outside the street. Ichigo had no time to think. Making sure no one saw his face, or his hair that stood out, he hastily covered his head with his hoodie and jumped inside the car. The pieces of smashed window made the seat uncomfortable to sit on, but he had no time to complain about it. It was like torture for his butt, even if he was wearing jeans.
Renji started driving the car, hitting the road with full speed ahead. Through the window, Ichigo could see a lot of people starring at them from the building. Some even looked like they were ringing the police. This wasn't good.
"Renji! Turn the alarm off!" Ichigo yelled out. But before anyone could do anything they heard a siren of the police car in the distance.
Ichigo could feel his heart racing. He couldn't let the police get him no matter what. He looked at Renji, who was focusing on his driving. He could hear the wheels screeching very loudly on the ground as the car just kept going faster and faster. Having no time to put his seat belt on Ichigo grabbed his seat very firmly. I car was moving side-to-side it was almost like drunk driving.
Wait… drunk driving? Ichigo thought to himself.
"Renji, are you drunk?" he asked very nervously
"What?" Renji shouted, not hearing a thing thanks to the alarm
"I SAID, RENJI, ARE YOU DRUNK?" Ichigo roared out
"Yea, so what?" Renji grunted out stirring the wheels
"Renji!" Ichigo cried out. Before he could stop Renji from driving it was too late. Everything happened so suddenly. The first thing he remembers, he and Renji were heading straight towards another driving car. The next thing he knew, they crashed into it, causing the windows to smash and their bodies to fly up into the air, knocking them outside the car. And the last thing he remembered, the rain poured down onto him as his head hit the concrete ground. Soon after that, everything looked black.