A/N: Hi everyone! I'm sorry that I have not been able to update in awhile, I have had a lot going on at school and I will likely not update again until next month. I will try to update in a couple of weeks but I am making no promises. I apologize that it will take me so long but I have a couple of very important school projects that require my attention, so my writing is going to have to go on the back burner for about a month, but I should be able to jump right back into writing this story after my semester is over. I promise that I will finish and post the complete story eventually, it just won't be as soon as I had hoped.
For those of you who are panicking about Ichigo and Rukia not being married yet, I promise that it will happen! This story is going to be quite long, and the pacing of the story is a lot slower than my previous stories. Please be patient as a lot has to happen before they get married.
Also, thank you to everyone who has been giving such kind and thoughtful reviews, you have no idea how much I love reading them! So if you have time, please review this chapter!
Warnings: This story is rated M for good reason. If you are not old enough to be reading M-rated material or simply don't like mature content, then please don't read this story. This chapter is rated T for safety.
Disclaimers: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.
Chapter 4: Ichigo's Point of View
I sighed at the letter that had just arrived for me. It was another invitation to the Masumoto household, urging me to pay them a visit, and of course reiterating that I had promised to visit them again a month before today. If I was being perfectly honest with myself, the only reason that I was willing to go was to hopefully see Miss Kuchiki again before she had to leave the tyranny that were her aunt and cousin.
I hadn't been able to stop thinking about her over the past four weeks. My long hours of traveling for business gave my mind time to wander and daydream about her lovely eyes or her pretty hair. I had even considered cutting my business trip short so that I could call upon that household to be sure to see her just one more time before she left.
I constantly wondered where she planned to go. I wondered if she had friends nearby who could help her until she could make her own way. I even thought about offering her a place to stay at my own household if I had the chance to talk to her alone. The beauty was dominating my thoughts and even my dreams at night. I decided to write back to the Masumotos and say that I would call upon them in two day's time. I could only hope that Miss Kuchiki would be there as well.
Two days later I began the ten mile journey to the Masumoto residence. I took the same carriage as I had the last time I went to visit, the one that had been my mother's favorite. It was usually an uneventful ride, although it was always pleasant to ride through town. It had begun to rain soon after I started my journey, and I was thankful that I had chosen a carriage with a roof to keep me dry.
As my carriage passed through town, I watched as people hurriedly tried to finish their errands and scurry inside to keep dry and warm. At least they would be warm; I would simply have to stay in this cold carriage until I was received at the Masumoto house.
About two miles away from my destination, I noticed a young girl trudging through the mud in the now heavy rain in the distance on the opposite side of the road. She was carrying a small linen bag and was looking down at her feet deep in thought. As the carriage got closer, I realized that it was none other than Miss Kuchiki herself! Words could not have expressed how I felt at that moment. I immediately decided that the least I could do for her was offer a ride to wherever she was going. I would write my apologies to the Masumotos that the weather kept me from visiting and add in a few pleasantries, and hopefully I would never have to visit them ever again.
I had the carriage stop when we reached Miss Kuchiki.
"Excuse me, ma'am? Where are you going unescorted in this terrible weather? Please come inside of the carriage, I will take you to wherever you need to be." I offered to her. She nodded her head and I stepped out of the carriage to help her inside. I could instantly see on her face that she recognized me from our last encounter. I also noticed that she looked much thinner than she had the last time we had seen each other.
"Ah, Miss Kuchiki, it is nice to see you again," I said bowing. She curtsied back at me and I helped her to get seated in the carriage.
"Where were you walking to Miss Kuchiki?"
"I am walking to town sir, to seek employment for myself."
"Why? I thought that you were employed under your aunt and cousin?"
"I was sir, but they have turned me out and now I have to make my own way."
"If you don't mind me asking, why aren't you there anymore?" I asked her. I did not want her to know that I was already somewhat aware of her situation.
"I am no longer under their legal guardianship, and so they no longer have to take care of me if they wish not to."
"Do you have family to stay with until you find your way?"
"No sir, that is why I am heading to town to seek employment," she said back to me rather curtly. I sat there formulating the plan in my head; I would offer her a place to stay at my residence, which would allow me the chance to get to know more about her.
"Miss Kuchiki, this may sound odd, but how would you feel about living in my household?"
"Ex…excuse me?" she sputtered.
"I know that it seems a bit unconventional, but I would be more than willing for you to live in my household, at least for the time being until you can get on your own feet. You are welcome to use anything on the property as you like, consider it your home." I wasn't surprised at her obvious shock at such an unconventional request.
"Well, I'm flattered and humbled at your offer Lord Kurosaki, but I don't understand why you are being so generous to me. We have never even formally met prior to this, why would you invite me into your home like this?"
"Firstly, I feel that there is no reason for you to wander around with no place to go as you try to find work for yourself; everyone should have a warm and dry place to call home, and you can consider my home as yours. And ever since my father passed the house has been terribly empty and quiet; it would be nice to have company around for awhile," I said quietly, turning away to hide my grief and utter embarrassment at saying such a thing.
After a few moments she replied, "Thank you, I will accept your offer, but only until I find my own way."
"Wonderful!" I said, "And please call me Ichigo." I wanted to be on a more casual basis with her, especially if we were going to be residing under the same roof.
We had a silent carriage ride back to my home. I was overcome with joy that she was at least willing to stay with my sisters and myself for awhile. I only hoped that Miss Kuchiki would enjoy herself and decide to stay for as long as possible.
After what felt like no time at all, we arrived at the front of the house. I stepped out of the carriage first so that I could help Miss Kuchiki out of the carriage. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Yuzu and Karin had come outside to greet me, with Yuzu running towards me as always.
"Ichi-nii!" Yuzu exclaimed as she came over to embrace me. I twirled her around in our usual routine and set her back upon the ground.
"Rukia, these are my sisters, Yuzu and Karin," I said to introduce them to each other. "Girls, this is Miss Kuchiki; she will be residing with us for awhile. I hope that you will treat her with respect while she is here with us, and I hope that you will all get along well."
"That's lovely," Karin spat as she promptly turned around and stomped into the house. I was appalled at her behavior, and she would not get away with disrespecting our guest like that. I would have a talk with her later.
"Don't mind her, she has been very unladylike lately; I apologize," I whispered to Miss Kuchiki. I hoped that she would forgive my sister for her rash behavior.
"Hello Miss Kuchiki! I do hope that we can become close friends," Yuzu exclaimed to her. I sincerely hoped that would be the case, it would be lovely for Yuzu to have a close friend to confide in since her sister wasn't a good listener.
I ushered my sister and Miss Kuchiki into the house, hoping that it would be to Rukia's tastes. I had it redecorated to be more fitting to my personal tastes since my father passed away. Simply put he had an… interesting way of decorating the household.
I noticed that Miss Kuchiki kept glancing behind her as I was showing her through the house; it seemed that she was upset at the dirt she was leaving behind on the floor.
"Don't worry about the mud Miss Kuchiki," I said, trying to console her. I had already dismissed most of the servants for the afternoon, so I would simply clean it up myself after leaving her to get ready for dinner. It was no trouble for me.
"Oh, but I am leaving a terrible mess, please let me clean it up."
"Absolutely not, you need not worry about it."
I soon showed Miss Kuchiki to her new room. It was across from Yuzu's room in case they wanted to visit and just down the hall from my own bedchamber in the case that she needed anything. I left her in the room to acquaint herself with it and to get ready to have dinner in the dining room downstairs. I went to go clean up the small amount of dirt on the floor that Miss Kuchiki unwillingly tracked in, and then I went to go and talk to Karin about her rude behavior towards Miss Kuchiki.
I knocked softly on the door to her bedroom.
"Come in," I heard Karin respond from inside. I entered the room with a scowl on my face; I was by no means pleased with her behavior.
"Karin, why were you so rude to Miss Kuchiki?"
"Who?" she remarked snidely.
"You know who. I am terribly embarrassed by your behavior Karin! I can't believe that you would be so unkind to a stranger that we are letting into our home."
"I didn't decide to let her stay here."
"That doesn't excuse your childish behavior. What has gotten into you lately? You have been acting so oddly since our father died. What is wrong?" I asked in a softer tone while going over to sit on her bed next to her.
"I don't want to talk about it," she said turning away from me, clearly embarrassed that I had so deftly gotten to the root of her behavior.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I know that it has been hard since he passed away; it's been hard for all of us. You don't have to talk to Miss Kuchiki, but please, at the very least don't be so rude to her. She is going through a rough time in her life as well," I said as I stood up again. I could tell that Karin was holding in her tears, and so I briefly embraced her and left her alone again. I knew that she wasn't going to talk to Miss Kuchiki for awhile; it always took her time to warm up to new people.
I went down the hallway into my bedchamber to change out of my still damp clothing. I then went back down the stairs, passing by Miss Kuchiki's new room to hear the rustling of clothing as she changed. I sat down at the table to talk to Yuzu, who was already sitting there waiting for everyone to come to dinner.
"Hello Ichi-nii!" she greeted. "I hope that you don't mind brother, but I offered our guest some of my dresses to wear. Could we get her some new dresses to wear?"
"Of course Yuzu, she does need some new clothing to wear. And thank you for offering some of yours to her; that was very kind of you."
"It wasn't a burden brother. She must feel so dirty in that muddy dress, I thought that she would feel better if she had some clean clothing to wear, and she looks to be about my size," she said smiling. "She is so polite and kind brother, I hope that we can become friends."
"I hope so too Yuzu, I am glad that you are already enjoying her company."
At that moment Miss Kuchiki entered the room in one of Yuzu's plainer dresses; she must like her dresses to be simpler. I pushed that observation to the back of my mind as I rose to help seat Miss Kuchiki into her chair at the table. She came over in silence and sat down in the chair. I slid the chair in for her and returned to my seat to wait for Karin.
When Karin entered the room, I noticed that her eyes and face were still tinged pink, likely from crying after our conversation. I didn't make any mention of it as we all sat around the table to eat our meal.
"Miss Kuchiki, I hope that the room that you will be staying in suits you?" I asked her to try and start a conversation. I didn't know just how long she would stay here for, and I hoped that I would get to know her well before she left.
"Yes, it is a lovely room, thank you," she responded politely, nodding her head towards me in politeness.
"Rukia, do the dresses I gave to you fit alright?" Yuzu asked hopefully.
"I have only tried on this one, but it fits quite well. Thank you very much for allowing me to borrow it Yuzu."
Did they just call each other by their first names? I was quite jealous of Yuzu in that moment; Miss Kuchiki had not yet given me permission to use her first name although I had given her permission to use mine.
"It's not a problem at all! If you would like, I can walk with you to town tomorrow to go to the tailor to have some new dresses made for you."
"That's quite alright; once I wash the dress I was wearing earlier I won't need to borrow your dresses. Thank you for the offer though," she said smiling at Yuzu.
We finished the rest of our dinner in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence by any means, but a comfortable one.
After Miss Kuchiki finished her dinner, she said, "May I excuse myself? I'm afraid that I am feeling quite tired from today's events and need to go to bed."
"Of course you may, have a good night Miss Kuchiki," I replied as I looked into her violet eyes.
"Thank you Ichigo," she responded. My stomach leapt inside of me when she said my name. She curtsied and took her leave.
Karin excused herself as well, leaving Yuzu and I to talk alone for a little while. We moved into the parlor so that we could sit on the more comfortable furniture.
"Ichi-nii?"
"Yes, Yuzu?"
"How long is Rukia going to be staying with us?"
"I don't know, but I hope that she stays here for awhile."
"I hope so as well. I know that I have only known of her for a few hours; but I really like her. Everything feels more alive with her around. I had forgotten how quiet it's been since father passed away. I feel as though Rukia could bring back energy into our family, happiness."
"I agree with you Yuzu. We can only hope that Miss Kuchiki will be staying with us for an extended period of time. Now, I think that it's about time to go to sleep; don't you?"
"Yes, I am becoming tired. Goodnight Ichi-nii!" she said as she rose and walked towards the staircase that led up to her bedchamber.
I remained in the parlor for awhile after Yuzu left. I pondered over Rukia's future here in the household. I agreed that Miss Kuchiki in her short time here has already brought something to the household that was missing. I sat there trying to figure out exactly what it was, but I failed in doing so. It began to become late, and so I slowly climbed up the staircase to my own bedchamber to retire for the night, peeking in on each of my sister's rooms and even Miss Kuchiki's room to make sure that they were safely asleep.
I quietly walked down to my own bedchamber at the end of the hallway and softly closed the door behind me so that I would not awaken anyone. I began to prepare myself to get into my bed by getting undressed when I heard the door slam open behind me.
Bwahaha cliffhanger! Please review! -Kin'iro No Tenshi