Bleach 4
ブリーチ

Un/Reasonable
アン・リーズナブル

oOo

It takes a brave person to admit they are wrong; unfortunately, I was neither brave, nor willing to admit I was wrong. Even when I saw him cosy up to her, their faces mere inches away, I still vehemently denied what I was seeing. It was surely a figment of my imagination, I reasoned in my rather unreasonable frame of mind.

Reasonable, yes.

When he took her hand in his and tightly gripped it, I guessed that he was merely warming it for her. It was rather chilly, to be reasonable, that winter's day, so he, being the chivalrous person he was, would see that she was without any gloves and would offer to warm her hands.

Totally reasonable.

When he gazed into her eyes with that look of pure devotion, I figured that he must simply be trying to explain something to her. Yes, that was it. His eyes have always been his most expressive feature. You can always tell exactly what he is thinking by looking into those brown eyes.

Totally and utterly reasonable.

When he bent in and took her lips for his own, a line had been crossed; an unknown threshold that no person should ever breach.

Unreasonable.

When he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight to his chest; the look of contentment on his face. It was clear for all to see: he was in love.

Totally unreasonable.

When she sighed against his chest and he stroked her hair with his palm, whispering soothing words to her. How she smiled; it lit up, brighter than the streetlight under which they were standing.

Totally and utterly unreasonable.

I strode over to them, my face contorted into a grimace of pain, hurt and loss. The surprise written in his glance as he watched me - slowly, artistically, mockingly – remove the wedding band around my finger, before I threw it into the freshly deposited snow and stamped on it.

Totally reasonable, although a bit melodramatic.

He tried to stammer out excuses; I wouldn't hear any of them. I merely let my voice reach the heavens as I shouted out to all those gathered in that busy part of town that my no-longer husband was a lying chest who would break the heart of anyone who dared to fall for him.

Totally, utterly and justifiably reasonable.

I started to cry at that point, my tears trying to freeze instantly on my face where they fell. I could hear people's voices near me, asking if I were alright, yet, to me, it seemed as though their words were drifting through an ocean current before being unceremoniously deposited in my ears.

Unreasonable. Why should I shed tears for him? How was it right that I should be the one in tatters because of his indiscretion?

I fled as swiftly as I could, heading in no particular direction other than away. I couldn't stand to see his pathetic face, nor her outraged one. Perhaps I had saved her from having to suffer a similar fate at some point; I did not know. I could hear the crunch of snow underfoot as someone raced after me; his voice came over the swelling, intermingled chorus of unknown people lamenting the sight before their eyes. I cared not; I concentrated on my own fleeing to the exclusion of near-all else.

Unreasonable; thoroughly so.

I reached his home in what seemed like mere moments. I slammed my palm against the door, pounding with what force I could muster. He came at once, took one look at me and understood. He didn't try to coddle me; he simply stepped aside and let me into his home.

When my no-longer husband came slamming on the door, a sparse while after I had collapsed to my knees in his hallway, he simply opened it, took one look at my pathetic excuse for a former man and sent him hurtling head-first to the ground. No words were exchanged; action was what was required and he fulfilled that role; admirably. He shut the door with exaggerated calm, a furious scowl on his face.

He knelt with me and gave me a cushion to rest my head on; his chest. I cried again then; long, hard and furious. He didn't mind that I was drenching his shirt with my foolish tears, nor that I had descended on him in such a state; he merely sat with me, keeping me company and letting me know, through his actions, that he was there for me.

Just as he always had been, I thought with startling realisation.

I paused in my crying to look at his face; no sign of anger could be seen. His eyes reflected the sorrow I felt, yet why should he feel sorrowful? On my behalf? Because I had to have the rotten luck in choosing quite possibly the worst person to fall in love with? No, none of these things. It was an unfathomable conundrum to me at that moment.

He wrapped his arms around my back and squeezed briefly; I responded in kind, thanking him silently for continuing to put up with me and my dramas. Honestly, if he weren't such an honest, good-hearted person, I know he would have become exasperated by my continued mistakes and would have given up on me.

"Ichigo," I breathed, looking into his face and trying to smile; it ended up being a poor example of one, but still, he smiled in response. "Thank you." I meant it.

"Always, Rukia," he said, and I believed him.

"And that was the night things changed between your father and I," I say to our children, watching the girls sigh – ever the romantics – while the boys make rude gestures until Ichigo scolds them. "Anyway, I think it's time you all trot to bed. Off you go!" I smile, giving them each a kiss goodnight while Ichigo hugs them, before, with tired feet, they traipse up the stairs. Ichigo comes to sit next to me and leans his head against my shoulder. I hum happily.

"It really is a good story," he says, leaning back so he can see my face. "Perhaps, one day, you will be able to tell our grandchildren about it."

"Not too soon, I hope," I laugh, even though I am alarmed by how quickly time flies by.

"Definitely not too soon," he agrees, grasping my hand and dragging it to his face. "Can you imagine the look on the faces of anyone who dares to ask our girls out when they see me glare at them?"

"They'd most likely be terrified," I nod, laughing at his mock outraged face.

"Hey, if they can't handle my angry face, what are they gonna be like when they have to protect our daughters? If they can't even take a little glaring here and there, there is no way I'm going to allow them to date our children." His face takes on the protective gaze I have come to know and adore about him.

"Fine, you win," I say soothingly, watching as a grin spreads across his face. "What about the boys?"

"What about them?" he asks.

"How are you going to look out for them?"

"Huh? Oh, they'll be fine. I'll just leave them to their own devises."

"Ichigo!" I exclaim, swatting his face with my palm. "You sound just like your father."

"I was joking," he laughs, even as he rubs his smarting face. "Don't worry, Rukia. I'll make sure all our children are safe."

"I know you will," I sigh contentedly.

A most reasonable turn of events.

oOo

Author's Notes: Another story for your reading pleasure. Hope you enjoyed it; my personal favourite thus far. On a side note, Skyrim is finally out today (yay!) which means that I will be absorbed with it for quite a while. Nevertheless, I still intend to try and update every day. Tomorrow morning, another story will be ready for you all. My thanks to new alerters and my most gracious thanks to Katsumi Hatake, Rukia's Reflection and bubbleboss1022 for their awesome reviews.

finaldragonquest

11/11/2011