Rukia came in through the front door as quietly as she could, almost tip toeing through her home so she didn't attract any attention. Her brother, as overprotective as he was, told her to not go out alone during the day. Ever. But the last time Rukia had listened to that advice had been when she was very young. As she got older, she learned to be more careful, more restrained. It didn't stop Byakuya from hovering over her though and chastising her any time that she went out on her own. But today, Rukia didn't care. She was only moving quietly to try and save time, she had to meet Ichigo soon, and one of her brother's speeches usually lasted … well, longer than she had.
So, Rukia tried to creep her way through her own home and up the stairs to her room, only to hit a loose floorboard, the creaking sound echoing through the house like an elephant trying to be stealthy. And just like that, Rukia gave up on all hope of avoiding her brother.
"Rukia, where have you been?"
Speak of the devil.
"I went out." Rukia slowly turned from her spot on the stairs, doing her best to become stoic and impassive, just like her brother had told her to be at all times. It would do no good to show emotion in front of him. Byakuya had become so cold ever since Hisana passed that now, Rukia wasn't even sure if the man even felt anything anymore.
"Alone?"
"Yes."
"You know better than to go out alone." Rukia could have sworn that she had seen her brother's eyes narrow, and his face try to contort into a frown. But it could have just been a trick of the light. "It's not safe."
"I made sure to keep out of sight, brother." Rukia said evenly, her hand curling around the railing ever so slightly. She was really hoping to skip the speech right now. She needed to get changed. But when Byakuya lifted his eyebrow at her, she knew that she wasn't getting off the hook that easily.
"You kept out of sight, and yet your dress is ruined?" Byakuya took a step forward, coming closer to the stairs. "What happened?"
"It was nothing, brother. I tripped leaving the coffee shop." Rukia really hoped her voice was even enough to deceive him. It wouldn't do to have him find out that she got into a shouting match in the middle of a very crowded sidewalk. Then they'd have to leave. Again. And she liked Karakura.
"You tripped?"
"Yes brother, I tripped." There was silence between them for a few long moments before Byakuya nodded and took a step back, a sign that he was going to stop pestering her.
"Very well, I'll let you return to your business. Your drink is in your room waiting for you."
"Thank you, brother." With that, Rukia slowly turned and walked up the stairs to her room. She had to get changed, she had a date tonight. The thought sent a shiver down her spine. She had a date. An actual date. How long had it been?
Too long.
Rukia closed the door to her room to see a glass on her nightstand by her bed. Frowning a bit, Rukia walked over to it and lifted the glass from it's coaster. She hated this. She hated her 'drink', but she had to do it. She needed to live. And to make sure that she could ever go out in public. Immediately her thoughts turned to Ichigo and what would happen if she didn't drink this right now. Her grip on the glass tightened and she lifted it to her lips, downing the liquid in a few gulps before wiping her lips on the back of her jacket sleeve.
Now, time to dress for my date.
XXxxxXXXxxxXX
Byakuya Kuchiki sat in a chair in his study, looking through a book he had read perhaps a thousand times, his long fingers slowly turning a page when he heard a knock on the door. Lifting his head, he turned towards the source of the sound and allowed himself a soft frown.
"Come."
The door opened and in stepped a young man with red hair done up in a spiked ponytail. Tattoos covered his face, and a bandana around his forehead. The man was shirtless, showing off the rest of his tattoos along his chest. But Byakuya did not care for the markings. He just needed the man to do something for him.
"You asked for me?"
"Rukia has been sneaking out again," Byakuya said softly, setting his book down on his lap. His eyes narrowed a bit into a glare, his tone turning even more icy than it usually was. "I believe she intends to do so again tonight."
"Sometimes we need to get out." The redhaired man said with a shrug. "You keep us cooped up here all the time and refuse to let us leave. Sometimes, we just need to go."
"I understand this." Byakuya said evenly. Oh he knew that the people in his home snuck out from time to time, in fact, he let them get away with it most of the time. Rukia was a special case though. He had to keep an eye on her. He had to watch her. Or his life was on the line. "But when one of you lies to me about what happened when you were out, that is when things get complicated."
"You think Rukia lied to you?"
"I do. And I want you to follow her tonight. I want you to tell me where she goes, and what she does." Slowly, Byakuya stood and walked over to the young man in front of him, staring down at him. "Understood?"
"Yeah, I can do that for you." Sighing, the red haired man turned and walked out of the room, waving over his shoulder. "But if she catches me, don't be surprised if my head winds up on your desk."
The door closed behind the young man as he left, and Byakuya turned around and walked back to his seat, sinking down into the chair and opening up his book again to return to his reading. Would he be surprised to find a head on his desk for spying on her? No. Byakuya knew his younger sister very well. In fact, he was counting on her losing her temper.
XXxxxXXXxxxXX
Ichigo pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at the time again, just to make sure he wasn't too early. After his shift had ended, Ichigo rushed back to his apartment to get changed into a bit more appropriate clothing for his 'date' tonight. Now he was wearing a black jacket with a white t-shirt underneath, and a pair of blue jeans that were a bit loose around the waist. His orange hair was messy and spiked up, but there wasn't much he could have done about it. Ever since he was a kid, his hair's default state was messy. It used to cause his mom a lot of headaches.
Bad route Ichigo. Don't go there.
Ichigo grit his teeth a bit and shook his head to clear his thoughts, looking down at his phone once again to check the time. It was almost five. She should be here any minute. He looked around again to make sure he was where he was supposed to be. She said in the square, and he was perfectly in the center of it by the fountain. Ichigo turned to look at the carving of an angel, it's arms stretched up to the sky and it's wings spread, water pouring out of the base where it's feet were. Absently, he wondered why every town had a fountain in a major location.
A voice shook him from his thoughts, shouting at him from behind. It was a voice he had heard a few times today, and it caused every muscle in his body to tense up. The voice of the Midget Lady from Hell, as he had dubbed her. It was probably a bit cruel to think of her that way, but honestly, he would rather be home right now, resting.
Stupid short woman. Making me go outside and live my life.
It didn't really occur to him until after he had the thought just how stupid it was to have. Why would he be angry at someone making him live his life? Was being at home, stretched out on the couch, reading a book with the TV on in the background any better than this?
Depends on how the night goes.
Turning around to face the voice, Ichigo's scowl slowly disappeared when he saw her, his eyes raking over her body slowly to take in her appearance. She was wearing a deep blue sleeveless blouse and a black skirt. Even Ichigo had to admit, she looked damn good for a midget. She walked up to him, her knee high black boots slapping against the pavement loudly with each step. Okay, she didn't just look damn good, she looked amazing. But he'd never tell her that.
"Good to see you're punctual." Rukia said, a smirk on her face as she ran her eyes over him, taking in his clothes. "And you look acceptable too."
"Yeah well, I wasn't going to dress up for a punishment."
"Oh where's your sense of adventure?" Rukia smirked even wider and stepped past him, turning on the ball of her foot to look at him. "It's only a punishment if you don't let yourself have fun."
"What kind of line of thinking is that?!" Ichigo shouted at her as she walked off through the crowd to the nearest store. Ichigo cursed under his breath and took off after her, finally catching up to her side and putting his hands in his pockets, settling into an easy pace beside her.
"So, bike delivery." Rukia said after a few moments, looking up at the tall man by her side. Ichigo glanced down at her for a moment before returning his gaze straight ahead. "What made you get into it?"
"Well, Kisuke is a family friend." Ichigo raised a hand out of his jacket pocket and rubbed the back of his neck slowly, looking down at Rukia. "Him and my dad grew up together. So when I told my old man I needed to get out, he called up Kisuke and next thing I knew, I had an apartment in the city and a good paying job."
"Must be nice to have a job where you can go wherever you want."
"It's not bad. Since working there I've found out about places in the city I never knew were there before."
"How long have you lived here?" Rukia asked, turning to walk into the first store of the night. The inside was a bit dark and heavy music pumped from the speakers. A few of the people working at the store looked up to see the two people enter and gave a greeting, to which Rukia waved back with a smile and made her way over to the collection of dresses. All of them were pretty much the same, black with little images placed along the favorite. A few were had a skull and crossbones on them, some had animal faces from bunnies to dogs, and Rukia spent her time looking through each one.
"Well, I've only lived in the city proper from about two years." Ichigo answered while he watched her look through the dresses, leaning against a rack. "But I've lived in the area all my life. How about you?"
"Me?" Rukia looked up at Ichigo and shrugged before returning her attention to a dress with some bunnies plastered all over the fabric, her fingers running along the waistline. "Well, my family and I just got into town a months ago. We move around a lot."
"Your family?"
"Yeah. It's just me, my brother and a couple of others. But we travel all over the place." Rukia looked up at Ichigo and for the first time, she let down her guard. It was just a moment, but he knew the smile well enough to know what it was. He had worn it more than a few times himself. Her eyes were closed and she smiled up at him, but it wasn't a smile of happiness. It was one of sadness. "I like it though, it's nice to say I've been almost everywhere in the world."
"I can imagine." Ichigo looked down at her for a long time, before she turned away and pulled the dress she was looking at off the rack, turning around to make her way to the counter. Ichigo grinned and walked along behind her, reaching into his pocket to pull out his wallet. "I thought you said you like to take your time shopping."
"Oh this isn't the one you're buying for me." And just like that, all of those little guards were back up and Rukia grinned up at Ichigo with a sort of sadistic glee. "I just like this one a lot. We are far, far from done."
XXxxxXXXxxxXX
Fourteen stores. She had been in fourteen stores, and from all the bags that Ichigo had in his hands, you would have thought that she had bought up every single one of them. The first store had been a breeze, one dress and she was out. One bag. Easy as that. The next six? Not so easy. She lingered. On every dress. More than a few times she had to try one or two on and model them for him, asking how they looked. She had to check the mirrors before she shook her head and wandered back into the dressing room. Nothing she picked was good enough to replace the one he ruined. Oh that didn't mean she didn't buy them, no, it just meant that they weren't good enough for HIM to buy for her.
By the time they reached the tenth store, Ichigo was beginning to think this was a plot by Kisuke to set him up with a girl. It was Kisuke after all, the man wasn't ashamed to go to any lengths to get what he wanted, and it wasn't like it was beyond him to put a short girl in the middle of the sidewalk on his route one day for Ichigo to run over. And then have said girl con Ichigo into a date using a complaint as a reason. By the twelfth store, Ichigo had the whole thing worked out in his head how Kisuke had set this up, and in the last two, he was working out a way to beat his boss to death and make it look like an accident.
She didn't find a single dress she wanted him to replace for her in any of the stores. And at the end of the fourteenth store, she had bought everything herself, and Ichigo was beginning to feel bad. He had pleaded with her to let him buy this round of dresses, practically begged to get out of this. But she just sighed and looked up at him all dramatic, trying to hold a smirk off of her face. Her words cut him. Deep.
"No, none of these are good enough. Guess that means you need to take me on a second date."
Ichigo groaned for what felt like the thousandth time that day, his head tossed back and his eyes closed as he walked beside an overly happy Rukia, the short girl skipping with each step and humming to herself.
It's not that the date had been bad, by any means. Even if she had bought all the clothes herself and he was hoping that he could just buy her one dress, he had fun. And he didn't even have to trick himself into believing that either. Rukia was easy to talk to, and her laugh was infectious. They shared a very similar sense of humor, and Ichigo felt like he could talk to her about anything. It was just so easy to slip into conversation with her. They had started at five, and now, when he looked down at his phone, it was almost ten o'clock and all the stores were closing up. The street lights were coming on and the party crowds were starting to come out to head to the newest club down the street.
It had been fun. And it had been a long time since Ichigo Kurosaki had fun on a date. Rukia looked up at him with a smile before turning her attention down to a restaurant at the square that was overlooking the fountain before looking back up at her date.
"Are you hungry."
"Are you going to pay for my meal?" Ichigo shot back without thinking before looking down at her. She had a sly grin on her face at the comment and Ichigo almost regretted saying what he had.
"I don't know, I might let you pay for it. After all, the deal was you need to buy me a dress. Not dinner." Ichigo groaned again and let his head fall back once more while Rukia laughed. He had to admit, the sound of her laughter was wonderful. It brought a smile to his lips and he no longer felt frustrated. How the hell did she do that to him?
"Yeah, I'm hungry." Ichigo said after a moment, turning to look down at Rukia, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. "At least it'll give me a chance to pay for something tonight."
"Well then let's go eat." Rukia reached up and wrapped her arms around one of Ichigo's, dragging him off towards the restaurant. He didn't really complain, he just followed her lead, trying to keep a hold of all the bags from the stores they had visited through the night.
Once they got in through the doors, Ichigo looked up at the hostess and asked to be sat at a table for two. The woman gave them both a knowing smirk before leading them off to the back for a private booth. Ichigo didn't really realize where they were going until the menus had been put down and it was already too late. He looked around and saw that the two of them had been sat in the 'romantic' section. The lighting was dimmed, and all the people that were dining there were couples.
"It's nice in here." Rukia said, unfolding a napkin and placing it on her lap. Ichigo nodded, looking around them at all the people. That's when he saw her, and just like that, Ichigo knew he was being set up. She was sitting across the table from her date, a playful grin on her face while her date was pushing her food around on her plate. The dark skinned woman was leaning on one hand, a catty grin on her face, her hips shifting from side to side every so often. Her date jumped suddenly and looked across the table with wide eyes before looking around to see if anyone had noticed.
"I'll be right back." Ichigo said as he got up and wandered over to the table Yoruichi was sitting at. It looked like Soi Fon could use the break from the teasing anyway. Rukia just nodded and watched as he got up to walk away before slipping away herself, and wandering into the bathroom.
"So, Soi Fon, how's the meal?" Ichigo heard Yoruichi ask as he got closer, rolling his eyes and grabbing an empty seat from a nearby table, sliding it up to his friend's table.
"Stop teasing the poor girl, Yoruichi. You know she can't take it." Ichigo said with a smirk, nodding to Soi Fon who shot a glare at him before looking away. She may be shy when it came to Yoruichi, but when it came to everyone else, Soi Fon hated everyone equally.
"Aw, she can take it." Yoruichi smirked and turned to face Ichigo, reaching out to ruffle his hair like she did when he was a kid. "And don't you know it's rude to interrupt people on a date?"
"Well I saw you and I just had to come over and say hello." Ichigo smirked back, leaning back in his seat. "Well, and I had to ask you a question."
"Oh a question? Well what is so important it couldn't have waited for a phone call?"
"Kisuke." Ichigo only had to say the name to get Yoruichi's attention peaked. Her eyes lit up and the grin on her face got even wider. Soi Fon made a noticeable sound of disgust before looking down at her food, though she didn't say anything.
"And what has my good friend done this time?"
"Well, he set me up. Or, I think he did." Ichigo looked back to his table, frowning when he noticed Rukia was gone, but turned his attention back to Yoruichi. "I'm here on a date myself. But it's 'company sponsored'." Ichigo raised up his hands and made quotations marks in the air for the last two words. Yoruichi couldn't help but laugh at that.
"Oh yeah? And how does that work?"
"Ran over a girl on the sidewalk with my bike. She showed up to complain, demanded I take her out to buy a new dress for her, and then we wound up here." Ichigo leaned his head forward towards the dark skinned woman. "Same place you take your dates."
Yoruichi laughed and slapped the table a bit before shaking her head. "And why is this the first I'm hearing about it?!"
"So you have no idea what's going on?"
"Nope. Not a clue." The dark skinned woman grinned wide and leaned forward a bit towards Ichigo. "Trust me, if Kisuke was setting you up, I'd tell you. But this … either he's decided to keep secrets from me, or it's genuine. Ask yourself which is the most likely."
Ichigo paused for a moment in thought, leaning back in his seat and reaching up to rub the back of his neck. Yoruichi made a point. Kisuke did nothing without telling his best friend. So it really wasn't a set up. Rukia was genuinely enjoying his company and really wanted to go out with him again. Ichigo felt a little bit of hope well up in him before he slapped it back down. Something was still off about this, and he was going to find out what.
"Looks like your date's coming back." Yoruichi nodded to where he had come from and Ichigo turned to look. Rukia was coming back from the bathroom, brushing her skirt off and sliding down into her seat. He could hear the whistle coming from behind him. "She's pretty. You ran over the right girl there, Strawberry."
"Don't call me that." Ichigo said as he stood up from his seat. "Thanks Yoruichi." Turning, Ichigo slid his stolen seat back into the table he had taken it from and made his way to his date. As he slid back into the chair, he looked up at Rukia who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Who was that?"
"Just a friend. I had to ask her something." Ichigo glanced over to Yoruichi and Soi Fon again, who were right back where they had left off.
"Did you get your answer?" Rukia asked, tilting her head to the side a bit. Ichigo turned to look at her, his eyes meeting hers, and for the first time he had really noticed how beautiful they were. Violet, and with a bit of fire in them. Ichigo found himself getting lost in that gaze for a long moment before he shook himself out of him.
"Oh, uh, yeah. I did," he said as he slipped his napkin off of the table and onto his lap. Looking up at her, he raised an eyebrow in question. "And where did you disappear to?"
"Hmm? Oh, I just went to the bathroom." Rukia smiled over to him and pulled over a menu, opening it up to look through it slowly. "Now, what shall we eat?"
XXxxxXXXxxxXX
When Ichigo slipped away, Rukia saw her chance to confront their little stalker. She had noticed him following the pair since leaving their second store. He wasn't exactly hard to miss with that hair. Ichigo probably didn't see anything, he didn't know what to look for like she did. Making her way towards the bathroom, Rukia wandered found a side exit to the building and opened it, hoping to not trigger any alarms. When nothing went off, she slid out into the alley and went to find her target.
It wasn't hard to spot, not with him lurking against the side of a building across from where she was supposed to be having a peaceful dinner. She had to be quick, and quiet.
Taking some of the back alleys, running at a quick pace, Rukia managed to sneak up behind the redhead. He didn't notice until she had tapped him on the shoulder, and by the time he turned around, Rukia had him pushed against the wall, one arm across his chest and the other pinning one of his arms to the wall. He just grinned down at her with a smirk.
"If I had known you were into pinning me down, I'd be a lot more willing about things in the future."
"What the fuck are you doing here Renji?" Rukia growled out, glaring up at the man. He acted like he wasn't scared, but they both knew that he could act all he wanted, she terrified the man. It was best to be honest with her when she had that look on her face.
"I was told to follow you and report back your whereabouts to your brother." He shrugged a bit and tried to look as nonchalant as possible. "He got all kinds of concerned about you when you lied to him today. Not smart there, Rukia."
"Shut up." She shoved up against the wall a bit harder, making him wince. "How long have you been watching?"
"Since you left the house." Renji looked back at the restaurant with a frown before turning his gaze back down to the short woman pinning him to the wall. "So what, you're going to date HIM but not-"
"If you finish that sentence I will rip your teeth out one by fucking one." Rukia's voice got cold. Her family was known for that tone of voice, that icy cold speech, and Renji wondered if Byakuya knew that his sister could be far more terrifying than even he could be. "I refuse to live under my brother's laws. He knows this. YOU know this. I'll live my life how I want. If neither of you like it, then deal with it."
"Rukia, you know why he's doing it."
"That does not mean I'll ever be with you." Rukia's eyes narrowed and Renji shivered, recoiling a bit against the wall. "You abandoned me when I needed you most. Don't ever think I will forgive you for that."
"I don't know how many times I have to apologize!" Renji started, staring down at her, his eyes sad. "I've done everything I could to make up for it!"
"It will never be enough." Rukia slowly stepped back from Renji, letting him out of her hold before nodding off down the alley. "Go home, Renji. Tell my brother everything that happened if you must. I don't care. I have a date to get back to."
Rukia turned and walked away quickly, making her way back to the side entrance of the restaurant and sliding back to her seat before Ichigo noticed she was gone. Or at least she had hoped so.
XXxxxXXXxxxXX
Dinner went surprisingly well. Ichigo found himself sliding back into a really easy conversation with Rukia. He didn't really believe that she had slipped off to the bathroom when he wasn't looking, but he wasn't going to grill her just yet. He didn't want to try and force the truth out of her. After all, she seemed to be just as comfortable around him as he was with her. They talked all through the meal, laughing easily, and plenty. Ichigo's sides hurt by the time the check came around. What was it about this woman that just made it so easily to be around?
They talked about everything. From Ichigo's family, telling her all about his dad and his sister, to his time at school and his friend Chad, the true stoic giant. Rukia talked a bit about her brother, that he wasn't really her brother by blood but marriage. She didn't talk about her sister much, she tried to steer the conversation away from that as much as possible. But Ichigo couldn't blame her, every time his mom came up, he did the same thing.
When the waiter came to take the check, Ichigo had already put his wallet away and was gathering up the bags when Rukia stopped him, reaching a hand across the table and resting it on his wrist.
"You've been a good sport through all of this. I don't want you carrying those all the way back to my place."
"I don't mind it, really." Ichigo tried to protest, but she got this look in her eye that said 'don't question me' and Ichigo just went with it. As they were leaving, Rukia was walking with all the bags in her hands, looking through them from time to time to check on her dresses. The two walked out of the downtown area to the nearest bus stop where Rukia turned to face Ichigo, a smile on her face.
"I'm going to take the bus back. You're probably tired, and I don't want you walking me all the way back. My brother might just assault you." She said it in a joking manner, but Ichigo caught a hint of truth behind her words.
"Yeah." He paused for a second before looking down at her. "So, uh … I had fun."
"I did too." Rukia said with a smirk, reaching out and punching him in the gut. "See, I'm not so bad am I?
"Nah, for a midget you're actually pretty cool." Ichigo grinned down at her. Rukia fumed for a moment before punching him in the stomach again, a bit harder this time. "Hey, watch it. I don't want to throw up my food!"
"Don't call me a midget then, Strawberry." Rukia huffed up at him. Ichigo stared down at her for a moment before grinning at her. Normally, he hated being called that. But there was something about the way it sounded coming off of her lips. It was like music to his ears.
"Alright then Short Cake." He smirked down at her. Rukia blushed a bit before looking up at him, the same smirk on her face.
"So, Strawberry and Short Cake, huh?" She said, teasing him a bit. Ichigo laughed and nodded, his hands moving into his pockets.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Well, we could be called worse I guess." Rukia laughed softly before looking off to the side to see the bus start to pull up. "This is me."
"When do I get to see you again?" Ichigo asked, a bit of hope in his voice. Rukia looked up at him in shock, her eyes a little wide.
"You want to see me again?"
"Well yeah, I still owe you a dress, don't I?" Rukia blushed again before looking off the side and nodding, smiling softly.
"Yeah, I guess you do."
"So, when?"
"How about next week? Thursday?" Rukia looked up at him, her eyes filled with the same bit of hope that Ichigo had in his voice.
"Thursday sounds nice." Ichigo nodded. The bus pulled up and stopped, the air from the brakes squealing out loudly. Rukia turned to look at the bus and then back at her date with a smile.
"Thursday it is then. I'll see you then, Strawberry."
"Yeah, you will Short Cake." Ichigo called after her as she got onto the bus. The doors closed behind her and he watched as the public transport drove off. Ichigo stood there for a while until the bus was out of sight, making sure that she got away before he turned and started the long walk back to his apartment, planning out in his head what they could do for their second date.