HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Thanks for the reviews, favoriting, and alerts. (: Eeeeek! Can't wait for the 4th Bleach movie to come out! The way Rukia screams Ichigo's name in the trailer… I LIKE THAT. ^_^ And for any OC's I make, I MIGHT draw them and post their pictures so you guys can see what they look like… So yeah. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
I don't own Bleach—only Kubo-san does. Hopefully Ichiruki will be canon… ;)
AND I DON'T OWN ANYTHING ELSE TYVM.
Third Person POV
CRASH!
A glass bowl shattered against the floor of the kitchen, catching the attention of the six teens in the living room. They turned to see a nervous, sweating Renji holding a batter-covered whisk and a flour-coated Shuuhei at the oven. Rukia got up and headed towards the mess the two boneheads created in her kitchen, sighing as she bent over to pick up several shards of glass. Grimmjow smirked and wolf-whistled, Ichigo and Kaien immediately glaring at him while the short girl rolled her eyes.
"He did it!" accused both boneheads pointing to each other.
"I swear, you two'll always be idiots. You're lucky Byakuya isn't home or he'd mount your asses over the fireplace," their hostess chuckled. "At least you have the cake pans in the oven. While I clean this up, you guys can make the island sparkle. Deal?"
They nodded in response, Shuuhei first shaking out the flour in his hair and Renji sliding any trash on the island into a dirty bowl. Rukia had already picked up the fragments and disposed of them. She walked back to the living room and sat in her original spot as the gang continued their round of SSBB.
"Get over here after you're done," she called over her shoulder, "then we'll get started."
It didn't take the buffoons long to finish wiping the kitchen island clean. Soon they made their way to the living room, Shuuhei sitting on the floor by Kaien while Renji took Tatsuki's spot and lifted her into his lap.
"So," the blue-haired man started, "I'll ask the first question. Can I have your number?" Even though he stereotyped members of the noble houses as stuck-up snobs, he never passed up an opportunity to pick up a hot girl—and after today's little show at lunch, his eyes widened and saw a smokin' hot Rukia. The strawberry glared at Grimmjow, his facial expression asking, "How the hell am I supposed to win the bet if you're going to hit on her?" That wasn't the only reason—his heart beat composed a rhythm that sounded like, "Don't. Say. Yes. Don't. Say. Yes. Don't. Say. Yes."
Rukia folded her arms across her chest. "You're the last person I'd want to call," she joked. "How 'bout I give you all my number? I have unlimited minutes and texting, so feel free to hit me up whenever." She read the number aloud and soon they had each other's numbers. She clapped her hands together and sighed, bringing her index finger to her lower lip, eyes gazing at nothing. Where do I start?
"Okay, well…" she coughed. "My brother—maybe you've heard of him, Byakuya Kuchiki—had to move in order to maintain the position as head of the Kuchiki Corporation. I'm his sister-in-law, so he had to bring me along. I would have stayed back home in Seireitei City, but my grandfather-in-law had moved to New York City a couple years ago and I had no one else to stay with." Her guests leaned in, interested in hearing more.
Orihime's eyes gleamed. "Oh my gosh, Kuchiki-san! Your eyes are gorgeous," the busty girl admired.
Rukia's cheeks grew hot and Tatsuki sweat-dropped. "Hime… that's really random… But it's kinda true," the tomboy scrutinized the blushing girl's eyes.
"See! I told you!" mused Orihime. "I've never seen such pretty, violet-blue eyes! Whose side did you get it from?" the princess wondered.
The hostess gave her a dumbfounded expression. "Pardon?"
Orihime blinked a couple times. "You know! Did you get it from your mother or father?"
Renji and Shuuhei worriedly glanced at their best friend knowing the orange-headed girl had asked the wrong question. It took a couple seconds for Rukia to register in her mind what her new friend had asked. "I… I honestly don't know," she finally admitted.
Orihime gasped, "You don't know whose side you inherited it from? But there are so many pictures of your family…" She pointed at a photo of Hisana, Rukia, Byakuya and Ginrei taken on Christmas a couple years back. Grimmjow glanced at the picture and scoffed. "It's pretty obvious that she got the color from her mom. Use your eyes and head a bit, Air-head."
Rukia smiled sadly into her lap, her bangs shadowing her violet orbs. "That's my sister," she explained awkwardly.
"Your sister?" Orihime half-cheered. "She looks just like you! Is she home?" the bubbly girl eagerly asked. Tatsuki agreed with a nod, adding, "Yeah, we'd love to meet her." They were greeted with silence. Rukia finally mustered up the strength to whisper.
"…She's dead."
At that moment, everyone felt their heart twist in their chests, even Ulquiorra and Grimmjow. Orihime's eyes grew bigger as she realized her mistake, guilt clumping together like a rock in her throat, unable to say a word. She had accidentally hit her new friend's soft spot, regretting she'd ever asked those questions. Shuuhei placed his hand on his best friend's shoulder, but she shook her head.
"I'm fine," she half-lied. She put on a fake smile and continued. "I only live with my brother. I don't know where my parents are." The gang caught on to what she was implying. "But don't worry about me. I'm doing okay," she assured them with the same artificial smile.
Ichigo's brows curved upward. "So the pictures were of her brother and sister…" How could she act as if everything was okay? Her best friends moved, her sister passed away, her grandfather was in New York, and her parents had abandoned her. That left her with her brother, who was the big-shot head of the Kuchiki Corporation. He probably worked from early in the morning to late at night, leaving the poor girl alone for most of the day in a large, empty house. He knew what it felt like to lose someone dear to him, but he couldn't imagine the pain and solitude Rukia must've endured all these years. She had to come home to an empty house every day while he had a crazy, loving family eagerly waiting for him to come home just so they could share with each other how their day was. She had to eat dinner alone while he ate with his talkative family. He knew the feeling of fatherly advice and the touch of a loving mother, the concern and admiration of his two younger sisters and he always had his friends by his side. Part of him wanted to wrap his arms around her and comfort her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it; he barely knew her.. It takes a whole heap of courage to go through what she went through, and she didn't want anyone worrying about her. She tried her best to keep her smile on, focus on school, and act like everything was okay when it wasn't. He had to give her credit for that.
Orihime was on the verge of tears. She wanted so badly to apologize, but that knot in her throat just wouldn't let her. Her lower lip quivered, fists trembling in her lap. Just say sorry… Her eyes narrowed and she bit on her lip to keep from releasing a hitch. Salty, clear liquid leaked out of her nose as a tear rolled down her cheek. Soon she started sniffling, her eyes glossed with tears. Rukia smiled softly, grabbed a tissue and handed it to the crying princess.
"It's okay Inoue. You didn't know."
The indigo-eyed girl was overwhelmed with guilt and surprise. How can Kuchiki-san possibly forgive her? Though she tried her best to maintain her composure, you could tell the short girl was upset by the look in her eyes. Orihime thought she'd been the one at fault for reintroducing sad memories to Rukia, even if it was accidental.
"B-But… Ku-chiki-s-san..!" her voice hitched violently as if she were coughing up water. Her shoulders bobbed up and down and she breathed heavily. When Orihime Inoue cried, her quivering lip and tears were like Niagara Falls during an earthquake.
Rukia gave her an expression that greatly resembled Hisana's—soft, sweet, and forgiving. "It's been this way for 7 years. Believe me, I'll be fine. I always will be. Please don't cry."
Orihime gave her a shaky nod. Tatsuki wrapped her arms around her best friend and started patting her head as she soaked her shirt with tears.
The short girl shifted her position on the couch. She now faced Ichigo, the left side of her small body against the back cushions of the couch. She hugged her knees to her chest, closed her eyes and continued, "I've been friends with Renji since I was 3. We both lived in Inuzuri, one of the poorest districts in Seireitei City. Renji had an unhealthy obsession with baboons, so he hopped on my back and started picking imaginary fleas out of my hair… It was totally creepy. I was thinking, 'Why is this kid picking at my hair for?' so I turned around and shoved him off. That's how we met." She chuckled and everyone gave the redhead a weirded-out look.
"Even though my sister, Hisana, had already gotten married to Byakuya Kuchiki, I'd spend nearly every day in that district with Renji. Hisana and his mother would plan play dates for us, and when were too old for that, we played in the river with some of our friends and tried catching fish. We met Shu—actually, why don't you tell them how we met?" She gave Shuuhei a suggesting look.
The raven-haired teen cleared his throat and smirked. "We three met when I was the new kid in their first grade class. Fortunately for me, Renji had gotten over his freaky obsession and didn't hop on my back," he laughed. "It was actually Rukia who caught my eye—it was lunch time and Ms. Tanaka had handed out a handful of candy to each of the students in our class, which rarely happened. I was with another first grader when this huge third grader came and took the candy right out of his hands. The kid was begging him to give back the candy and tried to jump for it, but instead the candy scattered all over the grass. The bigger kid yelled at the smaller kid to stop crying and told him that if he had juice he wouldn't get hungry, and that's when Rukia walked up to him. 'Hey. Not get hungry? We're all the same!' she said. The kid was like, 'What did you say? You're just a first grader!' then he swung his arm at her, but she ducked and tripped him. He landed on his back and before he could get up, Rukia sat on his chest and held his head against the ground. 'We may not be hungry, but we can taste! We can smell! Happiness is to be shared among everyone! Don't act like those dirty adults! Got that?' she yelled that in his face and he nodded, then she got off him, gave her handful of candy to the crying kid, and walked off. I remember it like it was just yesterday…"
Grimmjow grinned. "I'm startin' to like ya, Kuchiki. Gettin' better and better as we go," he commented. Rukia's eyes were closed; she was about to fall asleep, but she smiled to let them know she was still listening.
Shuuhei continued, "She was tough for a first grader. After that incident, I followed Renji and with him found Rukia sitting in a tree. When she saw him, she climbed down and suggested they go fishing. She asked me if I wanted to tag along, and I just stared at her. I wondered, 'How can she not be fazed after what happened?' but then I agreed to go and since then, we three were inseparable. We ran around Inuzuri, played with the other kids, and learned how to play instruments."
"And then Shuuhei and I had to move," the redhead interrupted. "Our fathers were offered jobs here, and even though it meant a better life, we didn't want to leave our best friend behind. In the end, we had no choice but to go, and we hadn't seen Rukia since—until today. We were really caught off guard!"
Rukia kept the smile on her face, remembering her reunion with the two. "After you two left in sixth grade, all I did was go to school and go straight home; there wasn't really any point in going back to Inuzuri anymore—it just brought back nostalgia every time. Hisanee and Ginrei-jii were the only adults I ever really talked to—before the accident and before he moved to New York. Byaku-nii never once looked at me, so we've been on the same boat ever since he met Hisanee. He hasn't once acknowledged my presence in the 11 years we've known each other."
Ichigo's brows knit together in frustration. It didn't matter if they were in-laws—Byakuya was still her brother! How could he live with himself knowing Rukia had no one to go home to? Knowing that she came from one of the poorest districts in Seireitei City? Knowing that she'd lost connections to the people she loved the most? Knowing that she'd been abandoned not even a month after her birth? He was her older brother and the head of Kuchiki Corp. but he still had the guts to leave her? The carrot-top would risk his life to protect his younger sisters! At least he knew he was right about one thing—the man in the photographs was definitely a douchebag.
A thought popped into the raven-haired artist's head. "What's the deal with tattoos? Is it a new trend or something?" She was referring to the markings on Renji, Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, and Shuuhei.
"Grimmjow and I attended Hueco Mundo High School before transferring to Karakura. It was a HMHS requirement to show school spirit. If you were from around here, you'd know which high school we came from," Ulquiorra explained quietly.
"My tattoos are part of a family tradition. You've seen my dad's," Renji reminded.
"The guy who saved my life a while back had a '69' tattooed on his chest, so I was inspired to get mine under my eye," Shuuhei said.
Rukia gave them a straight face. "That's weird. Seems like lots of people—"
"Kuchiki! Show me what else you got! My sister wants me home soon," Kaien interrupted. He started off confident, "I'll record it on my phone—to send to Sh-Shihoin-sensei, that i-is! It's not like I'm trying to get f-footage of you on my ph-phone! No, that's n-not it!" He broke into nervousness halfway through his sentence and started waving his hands frantically in front of his face. Ichigo rolled his eyes but was actually a bit jealous that Kaien got to save and record Rukia on his phone.
The girl sighed and got up from the couch. "Sure. Just let me grab my guitar."
She quickly retrieved her black guitar from her bedroom and sat down in her original spot. Both Ichigo and Kaien were eager to watch and listen to her play, but they wouldn't let it show easily. The carrot-top disguised it with his usual scowl while the dancer got his phone camera ready.
Rukia got her guitar ready. "This song's called Saviour. You ready, Kaien?"
"Yeah. Start playin'."
Everyone leaned in and waited for her to play.
She smiled and played some chords, making sure the pegs were tuned correctly. Holding her pick between her thumb and index finger, she began the song.
"The night is deafening when the silence is listening and I'm down on my knees and I know that something is missing…."Rukia glanced between everyone, then into the camera. Ichigo bit back a smile while everyone had huge ones plastered on their faces—except Ulquiorra. Though he seemed uninterested, he actually somewhat enjoyed it. He thought she played well and was an exceptional singer. She continued to sing her heart out.
"I just wanna run to you and break off the chains and throw them away; I just wanna be so much, and shake off the dust that turned me to rust. Sooner than later, I'll need a savior… I'll need a savior…."Somehow as she glanced back and forth between her new friends, her eyes always found their way back to Ichigo. She couldn't shake them off! She even tried to concentrate her stare on the camera, but the carrot-top somehow attracted her violet orbs like a magnet. She had to admit she was a little attracted to him, but nothing more! They were just friends and they were going to stay that way… So why can't she take her eyes off him?
"Stand me up and maybe I won't be so small… Free my hands and feet and maybe I won't always fall, save me…" Her eyes locked onto Ichigo's warm, amber irises. She mindlessly played the chords to the song, unaware that her mouth was half-open. It was like she was staring into nothing but space, but she was actually losing herself in his eyes: "His eyes are beautiful… I've never seen any other like—wait, what am I thinking? I haven't even known him for a day… He's just some stupid, scowly nuisance with unusually cute orange hair… and he's muscu—my god, what's wrong with me?"
SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!
Rukia shook her head, breaking out of her thoughts. Tatsuki had snapped her fingers to get the guitar player out of La-La Land, which worked. She was still playing the chords, but she stopped singing. Blush crept onto her features.
"Sorry! I got a bit… distracted. By a sudden memory," she lied. She blinked a couple times then smiled into the camera, resuming her previous activity.
"I just wanna run to you and break off the chains and throw them away; I just wanna be so much, and shake off the dust that turned me to rust. Sooner than later, I'll need a savior… I'll need a savior…" Ichigo could've sworn she was looking directly in his eyes. He didn't know why, but he couldn't break away from her gaze. Her voice was light, soft, and amazing, and the way she played her guitar was smooth, but the only thing he could focus on was her. It continued to intrigue him how she could play so beautifully and sound so calm and peaceful when she was actually hurting inside. He decided that he didn't like her in that way—it wasn't possible. They'd only known each other for not even a whole day, but he strangely felt really attracted to her. He was disappointed when Tatsuki brought her back to Earth.
With that, Rukia ended the song. Clapping followed after, and Grimmjow whistled again. By then, all of Orihime's tears had dried.
"That was really good, Kuchiki-san!" the busty girl complimented. "Wow, you're really talented! I wish I could sing as well as you can!"
"Still haven't lost your touch eh, Rukes?" Shuuhei punched her shoulder lightly as she offered him a smirk. "I don't slack off like you and Renji," she joked. "Do you guys still play electric guitar and drums?"
The redhead nodded. "Yeah, Shuu' practices electric guitar every week and I barely play the drums anymore, but I still do. Sometimes we play in one of the performing arts club's shows."
"That was great, Kuchiki! I'll send it to Shihoin-sensei now. I'll text you her review of it in the morning. I guess I'll skip the cake today. Right now I gotta run—Kuukaku's counting on me to keep Ganju out of trouble while she makes fireworks. See you guys tomorrow!" Kaien hastily explained. He shoulder hugged Rukia before dashing out the door, which made Ichigo's chest feel tight. "I am most definitely not jealous. I will never be jealous of Kaien Shiba."
Grimmjow smirked at his close friend. "Looks like Ichigo's gettin' pretty jealous of Shiba…" He shot the carrot-top a look that said, 'Make a move before it's too late'. The orange-headed male glared at the blue-headed one, 'Shut up. I know'.
The timer went off, releasing an annoying 'chirp' sound, startling the teens in the living room. Renji's mouth watered. "The cake's done! C'mon, dude," he commanded Shuuhei as he gently lifted Tatsuki off his lap and onto the couch before kissing her on the cheek. He followed him into the kitchen.
The man with the '69' tattooed on his cheek moved the cake from the oven onto the kitchen island. The redhead got the vanilla ice cream ready and soon they filled the strawberry cake with it. They grabbed the freshly cut strawberries and frosting from the fridge and decorated the cake all over, then set it on the big kitchen table. The top of the cake read, "Welcome home, Rukia!" with two small hearts near the end. When they were forced to move from Seireitei City away from Rukia, they knew her home was taken away from her. Her sister had already passed and her grandfather had already moved by the time they had to go to Karakura, leaving the poor girl all alone. The least they could do was make her feel at home again—even if it wasn't her actual home.
Soon everyone crowded around the kitchen table. "Before we cut the cake, let's welcome the short-stack home," declared Shuuhei. Orihime squealed and took her camera out. She placed her camera on the kitchen island far enough to get everyone in the picture. "On three, everyone!" she chirped.
"One… two… three!" they counted as the busty girl ran to take her place next to Tatsuki before hitting the 5-second timer button.
"Welcome home, Rukia!" they cheered as the flash filled the room for a second. Orihime ran to get the camera and got ready to take a picture of Rukia cutting the cake.
"Man, you guys act like it's my birthday or something!" the short girl joked. "But you know, I get really nervous when someone's taking a picture of me… I'm not really sure you guys can trust me cutting the cake without demolishing it."
"Are you kidding me?" Ichigo jokingly rolled his chocolate-brown eyes, then towered over Rukia from behind and held the hand she had the knife in. "I'll help you cut it," he offered. Rukia nodded as they got ready for the picture.
"Ready, Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san?" Orihime asked. "One… two… three!" Another flash filled the room. The busty girl handed her camera to the two that cut the cake so they could see the picture. At first, Ichigo thought the picture looked good since they were both smiling into the camera, but the more he looked at it the more he realized what position they were in. To draw attention away from his pink cheeks, he handed the camera to Rukia who had almost the same reaction as he did.
"Aw! You and Kurosaki-kun are so kawaii!" the orange-haired girl giggled. Grimmjow gave his friend a thumbs up. Ichigo sighed and changed the subject. "Let's just eat the cake already!"
Ichigo's POV
It's 7:12 right now. Everyone left a while ago after telling Rukia about themselves, the school, and the separate groups and cliques of KHS over cake—I was the only one who stayed with her because I didn't like how she had to be home alone until her ass of a brother came home, we needed to do homework, and I kinda like—wait, what? I don't like her! I'm pretty sure I don't! I've been telling myself that the whole time we were here, but somehow I can't drop it… What the hell?
I'm in her room—which I expected to be hella girly, but it was actually pretty cool and really brought out her personality… plus, she didn't wear makeup, which was really weird 'cause all the girls I knew wore makeup. Even Tatsuki had some eyeliner lying somewhere around her house— with her and we're doing Trig homework, and because of the stupid argument I had earlier today with that Shiba-ass, she's teaching me how to do the problems. I already know how to do the problems, but I guess I kind of enjoyed it when she was teaching me. She's pretty… WAIT. I MEAN, SHE'S PRETTY SMART. Yup. She's pretty smart… Geez, what's wrong with me? I started sweating a bit from freaking out.
"Ichigo? Are you sick or something? You're sweating." Rukia looked at me all confused, then she grabbed a small towel and started dabbing my face.
"No, I'm fine," I said. I quickly composed myself and thanked her before pushing her hand away gently. We just finished all our homework and I realized it was almost dinner time. I started texting my old man.
'7:15 PM-You: cant make it 2 dinner, goatface. staying with friend until her brother comes home. tell yuzu im sry.
7:16 PM-Old Man: ok rmb 2 wear condom'
I felt my cheeks getting a bit hot and scowled. The old man never leaves me alone about girls and getting the right protection! I texted him back with, 'shut up u perv'. He texted back saying something about wanting grandchildren. When will he get it through his thick skull that I'm only 16 and don't have a girlfriend?
I watched Rukia put our things away and remembered what Shuuhei and Renji told me before they left…
Flashback, Ichigo's POV
Tatsuki was at the door. Ulquiorra and Grimmjow offered to walk Orihime since her brother Sora made dinner at home for her. "Come on, idiot!" she yelled at Renji with flames in her eyes. "I'm going to kick your ass if you don't hurry up!" Man, I sure felt bad for him.
Renji and Shuuhei soon started walking towards the door, but stopped at me. Shuuhei had his hand on my right shoulder and Renji had his hand on my left.
"Rukia hasn't shed a tear in 7 years," Renji started. Shuuhei continued, "We know you and Kaien are starting to have the hots for her, but just so you know, we'll be ready to kick your ass if you hurt her."
"We may be tight, but Rukes is like our little sister. Just wanted to warn you, man," Renji finished. I scoffed and told them I could probably kick both their asses if that happened, but I couldn't help but feel guilty. It was only a bet, right? After I win it, all I had to do was call things off with Rukia, right? No.. it wouldn't be that easy. I didn't have the heart to do that to her… Ugh, how did I get myself into this mess?
Renji, Tatsuki, and Shuuhei left, which left me with Rukia. I suggested that we do homework, so she led me upstairs to her room incase her brother walked through the living room door.
Present, Ichigo's POV
I was kind of mad about my poor choice. How could I be so stupid accepting Grimmjow's stupid bet? If I called it off now, everyone would know I chickened out by tomorrow. I don't fucking know what to do. I don't like her… but don't I? If I didn't, why would I be—I hate to admit this—jealous of that son-of-a-bitch Shiba? It's not like me and Rukia were going out or anything… She's not like any girl I've ever met, though. She's not cocky like the rest of the nobles, she's not mean like that Nakamura-bitch, and she's not a total push-over. She was strong enough to hold in tears for 7 years, stood up for herself, and taught people a lesson even when she was a little kid. Plus, she's talented and smart… andcute… GEEZ. THERE I GO AGAIN.
You gotta admit ya like her, King.
Hichigo, my stupid, evil conscience started talking. I told him I didn't like her!
Quit denying it. If you don't make a move on her, Shiba will. And if Shiba tries, I'll have to take her.
He started laughing, but I just shook it off. I turned to Rukia, "Hey, wanna order a pizza? My old man said I could stay here 'til your brother comes."
"Sure. I'll pay," she offered. I felt my brows furrow. "No. I'm paying," I insisted. She put her hands on her hips—typical female stance—and glared at me. "I'm paying." She sounded assertive, but I wasn't going to give up. "I'm paying!" I yelled.
"I'M PAYING!"
"NO, I'M PAYING!"
"I'M THE HOST! MY HOUSE, MY RULES: I'M PAYING!"
I pointed at her and growled. "YOUR OPINIONS DON'T MATTER! I'M—" I felt my hand slip off the bed and fell backwards. I flipped over on the wooden floor and started rubbing my head. I could hear Rukia laugh her ass off. She started wiping her tears while holding her stomach and kicking her feet. I had to admit, she looked pretty cute..
"F-Fine! We'll p-pay half, hahaha!" she tried to stop laughing, but it only made her laugh even more. I couldn't help but smile a little.
"Fine, Midget," I agreed. She lightly punched my thigh. "Shut up, Strawberry."
I ordered a pepperoni and pineapple pizza—surprisingly, both our favorite—and it came in half an hour. I sat next to her on her bed and she turned on the TV; George Lopez was on.
She squealed, "I love this show! It's one of my favorites. It's hilarious—I love Benny!" I laughed. Benny was one of my favorite characters too.
"And most of all, I'm thankful for finally having a father like Lalo," George finished saying grace.
"I guess working that head through my pelvis dudn't (That's how she says 'doesn't') mean jack," Benny complained. She and George glared at each other.
Rukia and I both laughed and I felt her head rest on my shoulder. I didn't mind though—she was my friend, and for some reason, I liked it. We continued to eat pizza, drink soda and share laughs as we watched TV. It was the most fun I've had in a while—the kind of fun that isn't wild and out of control. Just innocent, sweet fun with a new friend—who you like, King. I told Hichigo to shut up again. I wanted to enjoy my time with her before her brother came home. I wanted to rub it in Kaien's face. I sort of wanted to hold her hand. I have no idea how it happened, but I had a small crush on Rukia Kuchiki in less than a day.
It was really dark outside when we heard a car pull up in the driveway. Rukia started freaking out and grabbed something from her closet. It looked like a plastic rope, and I was confused.
"What's that?" I asked. "A rope ladder," she said. I was still confused. Did she want to surprise her brother outside or something? My thoughts were broken when she suddenly pushed me to her balcony.
"What're you—" she cut me off and threw the rope ladder over the balcony rail. We heard the front door close and she turned to me with a worried look. "If Byakuya sees you in my room, he'll kill us both! You can't take the front door out without running into him, so climb down the ladder! Hurry!" she explained frantically. I guess I had no choice but to climb down. I started climbing down, backpack on my shoulders, but stopped halfway and loudly whispered to her, "I'll text you later, Midget!" She smiled, blew a kiss to me, and waved before closing the balcony doors. I blushed a little, kept my scowl onand wondered if she was teasing me. She probably was, but I didn't care—I liked it. I continued down the ladder and once my feet touched the ground, I ran across the street to my house, hoping her brother didn't suspect anything.
I caught my breath at the front door before pulling out my house key, but as I dug through my pockets my old man delivered a flying kick, swinging the door open and hitting my face. "I-CHI-GO! " I doubled over in pain and rubbed my face, then I glared at him. I can never come home in peace!
Oyaji crossed his arms and started boasting, 'cause he's a friggin' conceited goatface. "HOH! YOU ARE LOSING YOUR TOUCH! YOU ARE NOT MY SON! MASAKI, WE TOOK HOME THE WRONG CHI—" I kicked his face mid-sentence and it was his turn to double over. "OW! ICHIGO! WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN TO DADDY!" The old man started crying and pointed an accusing finger at me. I scoffed and walked past him only to be kicked on the back—hard. "OI! QUIT BEING A DOUCHE, OLD MAN!" I yelled. We started fighting like we usually do and I was kicking his ass, if I do say so myself.
"SO WHEN AM I GOING TO MEET YOUR WOMAN, ICHIGO?" my dad yelled enthusiastically. How he keeps all that energy bottled up in him I will never know.
"FOR THE LAST TIME: I DON'T HAVE A WOMAN. I SWEAR, EVERYTHING I SAY TO YOU GOES IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER!" I complained. It was the same routine everyday—he'd attack me and ask me about a girl.
"WHAT WERE YOU DOING UNTIL—" he checked his watch "—9 O'CLOCK, MY BOY? THE ONLY LOGICAL EXPLANATION WOULD BE A WOMAN!"
I knew he wouldn't let it drop, so I tried to make something up. "..I WAS AT GRIMMJOW'S WORKING ON A PROJECT!" I growled. I didn't wanna deal with his childish crap.
"LIAR! YOU SAID 'HER' ON THE TEXT! SEE? SEE? SEE?" he pushed his phone into my face and showed me the text. Shit. I slapped his hand away and yelled, "LEAVE ME ALONE, DAMN IT!" To make sure this conversation was over, I stomped upstairs. I heard Karin say, "Ichi-nii's mad now. Nice job, goatface," and the sound of Dad getting punched in the stomach. I smirked. Thanks, kid. I walked by the twins' room and opened the door to find Yuzu sleeping soundly. I smiled a little—I liked to make sure my sisters were okay.
I walked to my room and threw on my sleeping attire, which consisted of a wife beater—I didn't like the name of the shirt, but I preferred it over 'man tank top'—and my navy-blue boxers. I tossed my dirty clothes into the hamper across my room and turned on my laptop. I logged in and the weird little welcome sound played, then while the icons and settings loaded I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth.
After brushing my teeth, I logged onto Facebook to find a notification. It was a friend request from… Rukia Kuchiki. I smirked and clicked the accept button, then I went on her page and skimmed through her photos. There were pictures that she took of herself for her display picture, the length of her hair getting a bit longer each time I clicked. A little notification rectangle appeared on the bottom left of the screen: "Rukia Kuchiki tagged a photo of you. 9:34 PM" I clicked it and it took me to the pictures we took today. I realized how close we were in the group pictures and blushed a little. Just a little. Then, I came across the one where I helped her cut the cake. I felt the corners of my mouth pull and saved the picture as 'Me and the Midget'.
I scrolled down to read the comments: "Orihime Inoue Kawaii~ ^_^" "Tatsuki Arisawa Ichigo's becoming a man." "Keigo Asano Ichigo can't be a man if he has no dick!" I glared at that one. I continued to read the rest of them. "Kaien Shiba I don't see why this is considered cute. I mean, Kuchiki is, but I don't know about Kurosaki." Wow. Leave it to that ass to say something like that. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez Yo, Shiba. Lay off." I smirked and clicked the 'like' link on his comment, then clicked the 'like' link below the picture. Another notification popped up in the corner: "Rukia Kuchiki commented on a photo of you. 9:45 PM" I clicked it and it refreshed the picture, then I scrolled down to see her comment. "Rukia Kuchiki Lol, Kaien, gtfo! I think it's cute =)" I snickered, 'cause she just told Shiba off. I clicked the 'like' link on her comment, then commented the picture myself. "Ichigo Kurosaki My pro cake cutting skills. Jealous?" Rukia liked my comment and commented back. "Rukia Kuchiki You wish! :o" I smirked and yawned, then went back to browsing her pictures. I saw a bunch of them with her and her grandfather, and old ones with her sister that weren't on the wall in her living room. I 'like'd the picture of her, Shuuhei, and Renji in sixth grade. She was smiling like a goofball while they had each other's arms draped across their shoulders. There were a bunch of other pictures of her playing her guitar or piano, and some where she was at different fancy restaurants or something with her brother. Her brother looked like someone I did not want to meet or mess with.
I sighed, then checked the weather before turning my laptop off. Light snow was to fall tomorrow morning, and that reminded me that I had until December 8th to get her to fall for me. I was still pissed at myself for making the dumbest decision ever, but then an idea popped up in my head. ..I could get her to fall for me—not because of the bet, but because no way in hell would I let Shiba have her.. and I kind of liked her..—and make sure she doesn't know about the bet… I'll secretly get the Lakers tickets from Grimmjow and invite her to go with me after all this is over with. Yeah. That'll work!
I whipped out my phone and searched up and down my contacts list until I found who I was looking for: "Midget Call – Send Text – Send Video Msg" I touched the Send Text button and started texting her. '10:06 PM-You: Sup, Midgy?' I lay on my side on my bed and waited for her to reply. My phone vibrated and for some reason, I could feel my heart beat faster as I touched the Read Msg button.
'10:10 PM-Midget: Nothing, Strawberry :-)' I smirked. '10:13 PM-You: how'd it go with your bro?' I waited again for her response.
'10:15 PM-Midget: alright. he asked me how i ate a whole box of pizza and drank a bottle of soda by myself. my excuse was lameee! i told him i was really hungry—even though he knows i don't eat a lot. but he believed it cuz he told me to make sure i cleaned my room.' I felt relieved that her brother didn't suspect a thing.
'10:19 PM-You: that's good. i was afraid he found out. so whatcha up to, Cutie?' I can't believe I just called her a cutie. I've never called anyone that before—it felt weird, but she was indeed cute in my eyes.
'10:25 PM-Midget: lol, you sound like Kaien! he calls me that on text. im just textin you & him' I scowled so hard my lips were frozen. Ew. Shiba's texting her. What a dick. I felt my phone vibrate in my hands: '10:26 PM-Midget: nvm he just ditched me for sleep x)' I felt relief wash over me again. Ha, he's so weak he can't stay up past 11:00. What a loser. I really hate that guy. '10:30 PM-You: dont worry, ill stay up with you. let me walk you to school tmrw. ill buy u coffee' I offered. She replied again. '10:33 PM-Midget: haha okaaayz~ thanks, Berry! =) Kaien can go fall in a hole for ditching me! hehe' I chuckled at her joke, but I half-wished it was true. We continued to text until she stopped replying around 12 AM. I figured she fell asleep, so I plugged my phone charger in and left it on my bedside table. Soon, I fell asleep—and strange enough, I was pretty sure I didn't have my scowl on.
YAY. I have finished another chapter. ;) I cut down the song lyrics to "Saviour" by LIGHTS. For some reason, the title is spelled Saviour instead of Savior.. But yeah. Here's the video, if you want to watch it, to see how Rukia played it for the gang:
Qjg72ib-pFA Replace that with the stuff after 'watch?v=' on a youtube link.
Or just search up "Saviour by LIGHTS Acoustic".
Skip to 00:29. That's where she starts it.
& when Shuuhei describes how he met Rukia and Renji, it's based off the episode where Renji has a flashback to when they were kids. I think episode 32? Don't really remember.
Sorry if you came across any mistakes. Man, break's almost over =( Shit, I got homework to do! T_T
I'll get started on the next chapter ASAP.
Until next time..
CutieTea(= !