Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. If I did, this fullbring arc would go faster!
Sorry about not updating sooner. It has been hectic. Anyways, here is another chapter!
Alive For The First Time
Ichigo told Rukia to lead the way and he walked a few steps behind her.
"I don't want people to know that I have to do this ok." He had told her. She just shrugged and walked on.
They were almost out of school grounds when Grimmjow, Renji and Chad came towards Ichigo.
"Dude, leaving already? Let's go to our usual place." They started walking away, expecting Ichigo to walk behind them.
Ichigo was stuck figuring out how to get out of this. He saw the retreating figures of the three boys and then turned towards Rukia. She was waiting for him a few feet ahead. She looked back at him before she grinned playfully and started walking away. Shit. I don't know where she lives. Ichigo called out to the blue haired leader.
"Hey Grimmjow. Ukitake has me in detention again. I will catch up with you guys later k?" He smiled inwardly as he thought that should work as a good enough excuse. He was always in detention anyways so they were bound to believe it.
"Then why are you leaving? Last I checked, detention is inside right?" The red head spoke this time, calling him out on his bluff. Chad gave him a quizzical look.
"Oh…right. I guess I just forgot." Ichigo mentally cursed Renji for thinking about it. He turned towards the school and looked back at Division. They just stood there watching him as he went in. It took them a few minutes before they decided to leave. He quickly looked back to where Rukia was. She had left the school several minutes before and now he had no idea what he was supposed to do. Once he made sure the three boys were out of sight, he quickly ran to the gate. Rukia was nowhere to be found. Damn that midget. Where did she go?
"Kurosaki-kun!" He heard a high pitched voice call his name. He knew it was Orihime without turning towards her.
"Ohayo Kurosaki-kun! Heading home?" She attempted conversation with him.
He hadn't really spoken to his friends very much since his mother died. They had tried before but he would clam up and say nothing. When the rest of Division was around, he looked down on them just as the rest of his group did. When they weren't, he simply acknowledged them if they tried to talk to him. But he never actually had a conversation with them anymore. He just grunted a response giving her an affirmation.
Behind her, the rest of his former friends were coming together. They all said their hellos to Ichigo. He just nodded at each one. Maybe I should go back home and look up where the Kuchiki household is. I'm sure it would be on the internet.
"You are actually going home on time today?" Tatsuki asked him with a slight edge to her voice. "I am surprised you aren't in detention again." Ichigo just scowled at her.
"Tatsuki-chan! Why would he be? Kurosaki-kun isn't a bad person!" Orihime defended the orange haired boy, which he hardly even acknowledged. He was still thinking of what would be the quickest way to figure out how to get to Rukia's home. He certainly didn't want one bad evaluation to get him suspended.
He didn't notice Orihime was chattering away to him when he abruptly said bye and left the school, deciding that going home would be his safest bet.
Orihime's heart broke a little when he left that way.
They had been really close friends for 4 years before she realized she had feelings for him. It was the same year Masaki Kurosaki lost her life. She had also loved his mother and her death hurt her a lot. Orihime didn't have parents, and the only caretaker she had when she was younger was her brother Sora. When she transferred to the same school as Ichigo, Chad and Tatsuki as a kid, Tatsuki befriended her immediately and introduced her to the boys. They became a really close group.
The first time Ichigo had invited them all to his home, they had been welcomed with open arms by Masaki. She gave them fantastic meals and even made extra just for Orihime to take back to Sora. She had welcomed Sora and Orihime to their home several times as she felt that once in a while they needed a mother's cooking. All four of them had decided to join the same high school and were inseparable even with the addition of others to their group. Her brother died soon after she joined high school and Ichigo's mother had been like a mother to her after that, constantly sending over food and letting her sleep in their guest room.
She realized, at the start of junior year that Ichigo was a little more to her than just a friend. Being a klutz, she spilled some of her juice on herself and splashed a little on her face. Ichigo had taken a napkin and carefully wiped her face. He then took off his jacket and gave it to her to cover the wet spot on her shirt. She had blushed furiously. She kept thinking about his kindness and everything about him that entire day before she realized that she didn't really see him as just a friend. She told Tatsuki about it and the girl told her to confess her feeling to Ichigo. She kept waiting for the right time, but it never came. Then Ichigo's mother died and his world ended. She knew she had lost her opportunity to tell him how she felt. She knew Ichigo would never belong to her anymore because she would probably only remind him of his mother more.
Orihime's eyes moistened a bit before she blinked the tears away and plastered her usual smile on her face. She turned back to her friends and asked if they were ready to leave and they all just started walking out of the school.
Ichigo ran towards his home, cursing the midget under his breath. When I get to her, she is so going to regret leaving without me. As he was running he saw a tiny girl staring through the window of a toy store only a few blocks away from school. He ran past the girl but then suddenly stopped in his tracks and ran towards her.
"There you are!" He yelled angrily.
She didn't turn towards him. She just kept staring at the big Chappy the bunny in the window. She was so fascinated with the bunny she hadn't even heard Ichigo behind her. She had already looked in her wallet and found that her emergency money was a few bucks short of what she needed for the bunny. I should ask Nii-sama for more money for Chappy. She thought quietly.
Chappy the bunny was the only thing Rukia could count on as an orphan. As she kept moving from one foster home to another, she would always get to watch the bunny on TV and that gave her a sense of peace and safety. When she was captured, she had kept her chappy keychain with her. Now, as she saw this life size doll, she knew she wanted…no needed it.
Ichigo couldn't understand what was keeping her gaze transfixed so he shook her shoulder a little, breaking her concentration on the rabbit. She glared at him before recognizing who it was. Then she quickly conjured a new plan.
"Listen Strawberry, I won't report you for being late today if you will let me borrow $10. I will give it back to you as soon as we reach my home." She looked up at him with hopeful eyes.
"Wha…No way! I am technically not late and besides you are loaded anyways. Why are you asking me for money midget?"
"Ichigo…" She pronounced each syllable in his name. "Just $10. I will return it to you. I NEED to buy this now!" Her voice sounded more angry than desperate.
Ichigo knew he was getting two things in return: A good evaluation and no actual loss of money. He figured he wasn't losing anything anyway so he slowly took out his wallet and fished for a $10 bill. The moment it was in his hand, she snatched it and ran into the store. He just stared at the spot that was previously occupied by the midget. He hardly saw her move at all but she had managed to snatch the money and go into the store within a blink of an eye.
Ichigo waited for a few minutes outside the toy store in order to save his dignity. He kept looking at the entrance of the toy store waiting for Rukia. What the hell is this girl up to? This was not part of my job description. He thought bitterly. He was planning on yelling at her when she came out when he saw the strangest sight. A lifesize bunny was emerging from the store by itself! He was concerned that he was going a little crazy before he saw Rukia behind the bunny, fusing with it as it was bigger than her. She saw Ichigo staring at her in disbelief. She grinned at him.
"Chappy was on sale!" She said, hugging the bunny closer.
"You do know that Chappy is for like 3 year olds right?" He teased.
"Nah-uh! Chappy is for anyone!" She childishly argued her point and blushed a little for letting herself seem immature.
He chuckled at her. "Fine. So how exactly do you plan to walk while lugging that thing?" He asked her curiously.
Rukia opened her mouth and then shut it quickly. She hadn't thought this through. She just stood there with the enormous rabbit in her arms. Then she had an idea.
"Simple! I will just give him a piggy-back!" With that, she placed the rabbit on a shopping cart and positioned it so that she could carry it on her back. She removed her backpack and wore it on her front and then carried the rabbit on her back, stumbling a little due to the weight. She grinned at Ichigo and then started walking away.
Ichigo realized that he wasn't going to get a special invitation to follow her so he just walked behind her. His long strides eventually allowed him to catch up to her. They walked back in silence, except for the few snickers Ichigo threw at her as she struggled with the rabbit. He knew the gentlemanly thing to do would be to take the bunny from her but, he had given up being a gentleman a while ago. The last person he did something gentlemanly for was his mother and since then he just gave up on those little gestures. Besides, he was having too much fun ridiculing the struggling girl.
"So how come you don't you have a limo or something picking you up from school?" Ichigo asked her.
"I wanted to walk back for the first few days. Try to figure my way back."
She had asked for this when she was being driven to school. The house wasn't too far from the school so she felt that she could handle it. She had thought about how the last time she had decided to walk back home alone, she had ended up in trouble that lasted two years.
However, this time, she had been paying attention to the directions and the whole way she had seen other students walking towards the school, so she knew she just needed to leave with them.
Thinking back to her reasoning for walking back, she mentally cursed herself. She had just left by herself and could've put herself in danger again. She decided that one day of exploring was enough and that she would just ask to be driven from tomorrow. She told herself she probably just got lucky that nothing happened that day.
The rest of the trip to the Kuchiki manor was quiet. When they arrived, she rang the bell at the gate and told the maid who it was. As the gate opened, she saw Ichigo's jaw drop a little as he took in the size of the house. It was a house that looked even bigger than the school from the front. Holy shit! She lives HERE? He thought to himself in awe.
They entered the house and he was still in shock at the house. Rukia was about to drop the bunny at the doorstep when several housemaids came to her aid and started taking her things. She kept her backpack with her. One came to Ichigo and asked for his backpack to which he silently shook his head and clutched it closer.
"The study is that way. Follow me." This time, Ichigo didn't try to stay behind. He stuck close, feeling foreign in the mansion. They reached a large room with oak doors and a large table in the middle. There were bookcases filled with books of all sorts all around the table.
"Madam, Byakuya-sama is on the phone, he wants to speak with you." One of the maids told her as she took the phone.
"Thank you so much…Hello? Hai Nii-sama. It was a good day. Hai, the boy is here. Hai, I will see you when you get home." She hung up quickly and then looked back at the astonished boy.
"Are you going to keep staring or shall we start today's lesson Strawberry?" She mocked him a little causing his reverie to be broken.
"I am not staring! Lets just start." He pulled on of the chairs out and sat in it, rummaging through his backpack to figure out which books he had with him.
Rukia pulled out a chair two seats away and sat down. Ichigo looked up and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Um…I am over here. How do you expect me to teach if you sit that far away?"
"My tutor and I sat this far before. What's wrong with the distance?" She questioned him.
"Well, for one, I can't read what you are doing from all the way over here. And two, I am not your tutor, so I don't have to do everything he did ok?" He spoke with annoyance evident in his voice. What's wrong with this girl!
Rukia frowned a little. "It was a she." She correctly quietly. She willed herself to move to the seat near him. She just stared at the spot for a little bit before she heard him sigh. He moved to the seat and started relocating his things. "I don't have all day you know!" He said rudely. She tensed up a little bit at the proximity.
"What do you want to go over today?" He asked placing all his books in front of him.
"Math?" She asked quietly, still trying to get used to someone being close to her for a long period of time.
"Alright." With that, he took his math book and they started working through problems.
He eventually asked her the question that had been puzzling him since she mentioned it.
"If you already had a tutor, why do you need me to do this?"
Rukia, who was intently figuring out the problem looked up with her big eyes.
"I don't know. Ukitake-sama decided this would be better since you know exactly how the teachers teach and what they expect. He felt that the tutor might not really know what would be best for me to learn." She went back to doing the problem.
Ichigo growled a little at the thought that Ukitake had decided this punishment even before his "crime". That man is so annoying!
xxxx
Byakuya came back early that day to make sure everything was going well with Rukia on her first day. He entered his home to find a giant bunny on the bottom step. He eyed the rabbit curiously before he walked into the study. He found Rukia and the Kurosaki boy working on what seemed to be math problems. He was intently listening to Rukia explain what she did before he dismissed it as correct and asked her to continue.
"Is everything here in order?" He asked sternly.
Rukia jumped in her seat and Ichigo simply turned to look at Byakuya.
"Hai Nii-sama. We are almost done. Ichigo is about to leave." Rukia got up in a hurry and bowed her head a little.
Byakuya simply shook his head. "Good. Rukia, I told you to stop doing that every time I enter a room." With that he left.
Rukia sat back down and let out a sigh.
"Scared much?" Ichigo teased her.
"I am not scared of my brother. I am just very respectful towards him." She went back to her problems after dismissing him with her comment.
When they finished the last few, Ichigo decided that she knew the material well enough and figured he could probably still catch the guys at the sub shop they frequented.
"Alright well, I think that's enough for today right? I am going to leave." Ichigo said as he packed up.
"Ichigo. Arigatou." Rukia was looking down at her books. Her dark bangs covered her eyes. "I know you didn't want to be here and I am probably embarrassing you but arigatou."
Ichigo was a little taken back by her sudden niceness. They had started out their relationship by insulting each other and he was already getting used to it. This was just out of place in their newfound relationship.
"Um… no problem I guess." He placed a hand on the back of his neck and scratched an imaginary itch. "Well see you tomorrow." He left the room but he looked back at the girl who didn't move even a little after her 'thank you'. Odd girl. He thought before leaving.
xxxx
Rukia had been bickering with Ichigo all through the lesson, as they finished each problem. The bickering had brought a smile to her face. When they finished, a sudden sense of loss shook her core. She knew she was starting to feel the pain of losing Kaien as Ichigo said his goodbye.
She and Kaien had had a playful relationship and they always argued and bickered for fun. It had reminded her of that. When he left, she felt the weight of Kaien's death crushing her again. Tears glistened on her cheeks as she tried to remember what it felt like to be in Kaien's arms again. He would hug her whenever he got the chance, telling her it helped him since Miyako wasn't there. She couldn't remember how it felt and that made her break down completely. She started sobbing uncontrollably for a few minutes before telling herself that she needed to let go. She had consciously tried to stop thinking about Kaien but with Ichigo now in her life, she was finding this to be a hard task.
She wiped her tears and tidied herself up before throwing all her books back into her backpack. She left the study and started towards her room when she saw the humongous rabbit at the foot of the stairs. She cracked a small smile before dragging it upstairs with her. At least you won't ever leave Chappy.
Ichigo jogged back to Urahara's sub shop to find Grimmjow, Renji and Chad still sitting there. Ichigo and his family had known Urahara for a long time. They frequented the shop a lot before his mother had died. After her death, his family stopped coming to the shop. When Urahara had seen him with his new group of friends, he told Ichigo that his new group should come hang out at his shop. He enticed them by promising them a discount on their food. He missed the Kurosaki's and he felt that at least this way he could keep one of them in his life every once in a while.
Ichigo nodded towards Urahara behind the counter. He then walked up to the table, pulled up a chair and sat down.
"What's up guys?" He asked, hoping no one would ask much about his "detention".
"How was detention? Ran a little late today eh?" Renji asked him suspiciously.
Ichigo tried to come up with a reason for being late. Detention always let out promptly at 4:30pm and it was almost 6pm. He was only a little late, but Renji had noticed.
"I decided to grab a bite to eat before coming here." His excuse however had only caused him to realize that he hadn't eaten anything yet. He remembered his lunch, still left uneaten but knew it might be weird if he ate that now just after he had "eaten".
"You ate something … before coming to a sub shop? Seems kinda stupid if you ask me." Renji quipped.
Ichigo just growled at him before focusing his attention on Grimmjow.
"Whats the matter with you? You see awfully quiet today."
Grimmjow was usually the loudest, and to other people, the most obnoxious of the group. Today however, he seemed like he was the quietest. His mind seemed to be miles away.
"It's nothing." He looked at the clock hanging above Ichigo. "Hey, I have somewhere I need to be in a couple of minutes. I will see you guys tomorrow ok?" Grimmjow got up and left the place quietly.
They were all used to Grimmjow's mood swings. He had random days once in a while where he would be quiet and standoffish to everyone. They always felt like he was hiding something but none of them asked him what it was. He would stay silent that entire day and the next day he would be tired, slightly battered sometimes. They all thought the same thing about the situation. If he needed us to know, he would tell us. Until then, they just weren't going to pry.
After Grimmjow left, Renji decided to start a topic which secretly interested Ichigo.
"So that new girl…she is kinda hot. You know in a super rich and more pretty than smoking hot kinda way. Right Ichi? That's why you were checking her out right?"
"I was doing nothing like that. She is just like any other girl in school. I'm not really interested." He said coolly to the tattooed boy.
"Oh ok good. I was worried that you might be. That means I can ask her out or whatever right?"
"Since when do you ask a girl out Renji?" Chad joined the conversation, accusing Renji of never being in a relationship.
"I don't. But come on, she is a Kuchiki. She is obviously not going to put out unless I legitimately date her. Right?" As Renji said this, Ichigo felt his blood boil a little.
He had heard Renji speak like this about other girls before and he never really cared. He had always just thought he was crude, but he had never gotten angry. Hearing Renji talk about Rukia that way pissed Ichigo off and he wasn't sure why.
"I don't think she will go for a guy like you anyway." Ichigo said with a dangerously low voice.
"Is that a challenge Ichi?"
"No. It is a fact. Just leave her alone. It is probably hard enough being new without the added problem of a tattooed weirdo asking you out." Ichigo calmed himself down telling himself that he probably just felt sorry for her.
Subconsciously, he pictured her as he last saw her: with her head down, her hair covering her eyes. He thought she looked so vulnerable and innocent in that moment.
"Ichigo is right. You should probably leave her alone. At least let her get settled in first. Then you can probably bother her." Chad added in. Ichigo just looked at him, silently acknowledging the fact that he had stood up for him.
"Ok…you both need to calm down. I won't do anything ok." Renji had an irritated tone. In his mind, he simply said today. I won't do anything today.
"Well, I should probably get back." Ichigo offered no explanation for wanting to leave. He rose from his seat and waved with one simple hand flick and left.
He walked a few blocks away from the shop before opening his backpack and grabbing the bento box Yuzu had made for him. He ate it all while sitting on a walkway in front of a store. He thought about how he had felt completely different today in an indescribable way. Sure he had been pissed at Ukitake, and spent his whole day yelling at the midget but he felt different. At least that's what he concluded having no other explanation to suffice.
When he was done, he rose and tidied everything up before turning to see he had just eaten in front of the same toy store as before. The giant Chappy display still there. He just chuckled a little at seeing the oversized bunny.
He started wondering to himself. When was the last time I bought something for Yuzu or Karin from this store? He suddenly remembered that he had hardly spoken to his sisters in a while, let alone bought them something. However, today he felt like hugging his sisters and just seeing them smile. He felt himself slighty revert back to the person he used to be. One that loved being with his family, loved talking to his old friends and one that used to find the Renji and Grimmjow obnoxious. He just figured it was part of the strange different attitude he was sporting today.
He pulled out his wallet to see how much money he had so that he could buy something for his sisters only to realize he had $5 left. That midget never paid me back! He thought about going back to the Kuchiki manor to reclaim his money but decided he would just start with a hug for his sisters and then buy them something later.
SPACER
Rukia joined Byakuya for dinner after making sure her face looked presentable. She tried to cover up the fact that she had been crying with some makeup. Byakuya, who had been reading some reports from his company looked up at her just once before placing the reports on the table.
"You have been crying. What did that incompetent fool do?" He asked her sternly, referring to Ichigo
"I wasn't crying Nii-sama!" She barely squeaked out.
Byakuya looked at her suspiciously before getting to his dinner. They ate in silence. Suddenly Rukia remembered something.
"I never paid him back!" She saw her brother give her another curious glance.
She smiled at her brother, brushing off her comment. The rest of the dinner proceeded in silence as usual. At the end, Byakuya took out his wallet and walked over to Rukia. He placed the same amount of money he had given her previously. He then retreated to the lounge as he always did after his dinner.
Rukia felt so grateful that her brother had not bothered her by asking her questions or prodding unnecessarily. She realized that at some point she would owe him the details. She walked up to the lounge where he was reading a book and sat on the couch next to him.
"I will tell you what happened to me one day. I promise Nii-sama. But for now I just wanted to thank you for everything you have done for me." She looked at her shoes as she quietly thanked him.
He looked up at her, his expression softening a little and patted her head. She quickly lifted her head to see something very unusual on his face. She saw the smallest smile on his face that only stayed on his face for a fraction of a second. He then retracted his hand and continued reading again. She smiled at him and then left. I wish you had lived Kaien. You would've liked Nii-sama.
A/N: Kinda long chapter again. Again, I want to mention that I love all these characters on Bleach as they are so if they seem a little OOC, sorry. They probably just fit the character I am trying to portray.
I also wanted some possible feedback if possible. Are these chapters too long or should I keep it at this length? I can probably post chapters like this as like 2 or 3 chapters if this is too long. Please let me know either way! Arigatou!
Thank you for all the reviews and favorites and subscriptions! Thank you LeftHRyder, Mari Kia Resha Aishiteru, xwhitemoonx, NORA, Kurosaki Anne, and blissbeat for the reviews and thanks to all those who added this story as a favorite and subscribed to it.
Again...Read and Review! Reviews make Grimmjow flash a sexy smile :D