Disclaimer: The only kind of bleach I own keeps my underwear nice and white.
Summary: At a masquerade ball held for the company she works for, Rukia meets her prince charming, who she soon discovers is her boss from hell. When she begins to learn more about him, she quickly falls for the orange haired jerk. (IchiRuki).
WOW, aren't I a nice person for updating TWO days early when I have ACT coming up… But you guys are worth it because I love you!
Ok, so I have a really bad tendency to rush things, and I'm glad someone already pointed it out that I kind of am, because since it's so early on, I can go back and edit/add stuff. I've done an outline for this, and I'm thinking approximately 24-25 chapters, maybe more, maybe less, depending on how things go. This is going to be my longest story yet, and I hope to make the chapters (most chapters) lengthy too.
Hierarchy
Ch.3 Deeper Attraction
"Rukia-san, are you alright?" She could hear someone asking. Rukia slowly opened her eyes, and found a bunch of eyes on her. "Oh thank heavens!" Hinamori's voice cried.
"What happened?" Rukia asked weakly. "You fainted." Renji stated.
"Renji, why are you here?" Rukia asked. "Do you not remember?" Renji asked. Rukia looked around the room, and wanted to faint again.
Everyone in the office was staring at her.
"Are you alright Kuchiki-san?" Came the sweet voice of Aizen. Hinamori and Renji slowly helped her up. "Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't eat anything this morning, so I just got a little light headed." Rukia lied.
"How long have I been out?" Rukia asked Hinamori. "About seven minutes."
"Seven minutes?" Forget fainting, Rukia completely passed out. But why?
"I guess we don't need to call the ambulance anymore then." Renji muttered, rubbing his head.
And then it hit her, much harder than she wanted. Her hand instinctively went to her pocket, where she had found the ring.
Kurosaki Ichigo's ring.
She felt the heated feeling all over again, and leaned against the wall for support.
"It's impossible, just impossible." Rukia whispered to herself.
"What's impossible Rukia-san?" Hinamori asked.
Rukia looked up, smiled, and took a seat somebody offered her.
The meeting soon followed, and people eventually stopped staring at Rukia. None of the information she was given processed into her head, because her mind was else where.
"The ring could just be a look alike." She said to herself. Rukia really wanted to pull it out and look at it, but if someone saw her, then that would look extremely suspicious.
"Alright, this meeting is over." Aizen stated. Everyone grabbed their things and began to walk out. Rukia felt a hand fall onto her shoulder, and she quickly turned around.
"Really, are you sure you're alright?" Aizen asked her, smiling. Rukia nodded. "Yes, I'm sorry this happened. I really should have eaten something this morning." Rukia replied.
Aizen chuckled. "Nonsense. But really, if you do have any health issues, please notify me at once." Rukia nodded at his words, and left the room.
"I need to get to my office. I need to get to my office." She repeated in her head as she made her way through the small hallways.
"Rukia, where are you going in such a hurry?" Renji asked. Rukia for once completely ignored him.
She had way too much on her mind.
"It couldn't be, no, it just couldn't. It's impossible. I must have been seeing things." Rukia thought to herself.
She finally reached her office and pulled the ring out of her pocket. "It looks just like the ring at the party." She whispered.
The letters, which she finally noticed, said the word hierarchy. "What kind of ring has the word hierarchy written on it?" She whispered. Rukia sat down on a chair before she fainted again.
"I can't believe I fainted." She groaned. How pathetic was she exactly?
"I mean, surely it hadn't been Kurosaki Ichigo. That's ludicrous. He doesn't have a personality. Maybe someone borrowed the ring from him, or maybe the man I met at the party just had on a similar ring."
All of the thinking was causing the worst headache possible to form, and she quickly pulled some Advil from her purse.
"I need to give him his ring back." Rukia muttered. She hoped and prayed that he wasn't the person she thought he was, because that would be a horrible awakening.
Maybe Hisana was right. Maybe she shouldn't pry and figure out who her real Prince Charming was.
"I don't even see how he could have hidden his hair. It would probably shine through even from the mask he wore." Rukia said coldly. Just thinking of the possibility of her kissing him.
There was just no way.
How could someone so emotionless, who scowled all the time, who even walked dully, possibly be the same person that she met at the ball?
There was soon a knock on her door, and she shoved the ring back into her pocket. "Hey is it ok if I come in?" Hinamori asked, popping her head into the doorway.
Rukia smiled and nodded, standing up to greet Hinamori. "Oh you don't have to stand up if you're still feeling dizzy." Hinamori stated.
"I feel much better now." Rukia replied. Hinamori looked questionable about something.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Hinamori asked.
"I'm just fine. Why? Does it look like something is bothering me?" Rukia asked. Oh yes, something was definitely bothering her.
"You can talk to me you know, if you want to." Hinamori told Rukia smiling. Rukia smiled back, sighed, and opened her mouth to talk.
Rukia couldn't take it anymore, and busted. She told Hinamori everything, from the Masquerade ball, up to that morning, when she had fainted.
"And that's when I came to my office, and took some Advil from all the thinking." Rukia finally finished.
Hinamori was speechless.
"Well? Say something!" Rukia nearly shouted. She needed some advice, girl advice.
"I-I don't know what to say. That's crazy! I mean, it could easily be a different ring." Rukia shook her head at Hinamori's words.
"Yes, but Aizen-san said the ring was rare. I remember the ring I saw him wearing that night, and it's identical to this one. Besides, I've never seen a ring like it before." Rukia pulled the ring out to show to Hinamori.
"Wow, you're right, it is extremely rare looking." Hinamori said, staring into the ring. "I wonder why Kurosaki-san would wear something like this. It doesn't seem like him at all."
Rukia felt nauseous again.
"So what do I do? How do I find out for sure if it's him or not?" Rukia asked. Hinamori thought for a moment.
"Could you maybe ask him?" Hinamori asked. Rukia laughed.
"Hinamori-san, this is Kurosaki Ichigo we're talking about. Do you know how extremely weird that would be to say "Oh hi, I was just wondering something. Did you happen to make out with me at the masquerade ball a few weeks ago?" Right, he would really like that question."
Rukia quickly remembered something important.
"I gave him one of my earrings that night! So that he would remember me!" Rukia exclaimed. Hinamori smiled oddly.
"That's nice of you I guess…to give him one of your earrings…" Hinamori said, looking oddly at the other girl. Rukia rolled her eyes.
"Look, if I can find out if he has my earring, then I will know for sure if it's him or not, and I hope that it isn't." Rukia felt goose bumps again.
"Well I don't think Kurosaki-san's that bad looking. I kind of like his hair." Hinamori replied, grinning. Rukia looked disgusted.
"I don't think I could ever even look at him in an attractive way. He's always so rude and cold, I can't stand it." Rukia muttered.
"Well, if what you told me is true, and if that ring is the same ring you saw that night, then yes Rukia-san, you are indeed attracted to him."
Rukia shook her head. "No, because even if it is him, I didn't see his face that night. So therefore I am not."
Hinamori smiled. "You know, I think sometimes attraction is more than just appearance, but also about how comfortable you are around the person. Kind of like a deeper attraction or something."
"We're getting off subject here. If we can find my earring, located around him, then I will know for sure." Rukia said bravely.
"We can start by looking in his office." Hinamori said. Rukia wanted to cry.
"How are we going to get into his office?"
"I don't know, but how about we not worry about it right now, and get back to our jobs?" Hinamori asked. Rukia groaned a little, realizing that about fifteen minutes had passed, and she had accomplished absolutely nothing.
"Well I better get going, but for now, just give him his ring back." Hinamori told her as she said her goodbye.
When the door closed, Rukia slumped into her chair and turned her computer on. The past few weeks had been really good, but now, they were starting to get dark and gloomy, just like before.
The day dragged on rather slowly, and when Rukia finally got a break, she walked to Kurosaki Ichigo's office, nearly afraid for her life.
Even the hallway just outside his room seemed darker than usual; she even heard a little thunder coming from outside.
Rukia took a deep breath, and knocked on his office door.
"Come in." His cold voice replied. Rukia closed her eyes one last time, and entered the room.
Kurosaki Ichigo was scanning over some report, looking a little goaded. "Yes?" He asked dully, glancing at Rukia for a mere second.
"Um, well, about your ring…" Rukia was never this nervous around him. Maybe it was due to the possibility of knowing that her lips might have actually touched his.
Her eyes moved away from his eyes, to his lips. "No, it's just impossible." She thought to herself. How could someone that scowled as much as him kiss anyways?
"What about it?" He asked with a smudge more of enthusiasm. "I found it on the ground a few minutes ago." She lied. It had actually been several hours ago.
Ichigo eyed her suspiciously.
"I searched the halls all day today, and I never saw it." He muttered to her.
Rukia's breath caught in her throat. Was he accusing her of trying to steal his ring or something?
"Hmm, that's strange. I don't know, I just remembered what you said this morning, and I saw it on the floor. Maybe somebody else had it and dropped it or something." She replied to him, not holding back so much on the whole stay calm thing.
Rukia pulled the ring out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Thank you." He replied quickly, still watching her every move suspiciously. She watched him put it on.
"Do you always wear it on that finger?" Rukia asked. Ichigo looked up at her strangely.
"Yah why?" It was located on his right hand index finger, just like she had seen at the masquerade ball.
"Oh, well I do too, how neat right?" Rukia was mentally screaming. What was she saying anyhow?
"Alright, well I'm extremely busy, so if you would leave, that would be great." Ichigo muttered. Rukia faked a smile, and left his hell of an office.
The walk back to her room took longer than before, and when she reached her office, she really wanted to punch something.
"He's such a jerk! It's impossible, it has to be. There's no way I made out with Kurosaki Ichigo at the masquerade ball!" He was always so rude, and he even looked at her so disbelievingly.
"I'm shocked he even thanked me!" She nearly screamed.
But that didn't explain the ring.
She needed to go home and lye down. The headache she had wasn't going away. Rukia signed out, and went home. It was about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and she felt like poop.
When she finally reached her apartment, she unlocked the door slowly. "First, I'm going to take a bath, and then, I'm going to sleep." She muttered to herself as she closed the door behind her.
Rukia walked into her bedroom and leaned over her dresser, removing her jewelry. She started her bathwater, and sat on the toilet, thinking about her day.
"The whole incident already seems like so long ago." She thought to herself. Rukia needed to stop thinking about it, because she was only getting more nauseous.
"I need to not be so reckless." Rukia murmured, and turned away to her medicine cabinet.
She opened the small mirrored door, and froze.
"My depression pills." Rukia whispered. She didn't know why her eyes suddenly stumbled upon the pills, but they were there, staring straight back at her.
Rukia never did use them, not once, but seeing that her doctor wouldn't have it if Rukia didn't buy the stupid things, she did, just in case.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before pictures of her ex-boyfriend, Grimmjow, could float into her already clouded mind.
"It's over; he can't get to me again." She reassured herself.
Forgetting what ever Rukia originally needed, she closed the cabinet behind her, and went to retrieve a towel.
Rukia was an extremely cautious girl, even to her own self. Unlike in her sleep, when she couldn't control what she saw, she could now, and refused to think about seeing his face again. She didn't need to.
And Rukia wasn't going to risk it, not even for a second.
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A/N: Ok, I really didn't like how that chapter turned out, so I apologize. There really wasn't anything great about it. And yes, I decided to add some Grimmjow drama into the story, just to make things more appealing. Next chapter will be interesting, and Rukia might realize the answer to Ichigo being her Prince Charming.
Review! And don't flame me for this chapter, please. I already had a bad enough time with writing it!! LOVE YOU ALL!!
P.S Sorry it was so short! Next chapter will be much longer and way more exciting!!!