Chapter Seven:
Confessions
Today had been so utterly exhausting that I decided to go to bed early. I had left my bag at school, so I couldn't do my homework anyway.
My room door burst open just as I was about to reach for my sheets.
"…Nii-sama?"
I hadn't heard the garage door, so he must have gone in through the front. He flicked the light on and looked all around my room instead of giving me an answer.
I took a tentative step forward. "Are you…looking for something?"
He walked past me to open my window and scanned the area outside before slowly shutting and locking it. Then he looked over at me.
His heavy gaze nearly made me crumple. Had he found out about my uniform? Did Yoshida-san not hide it well enough while she was cleaning it? No, he would have had the uniform with him, right?
"Rukia." I stood at attention. Nii-sama almost never said my name. "Have you encountered a man with orange hair recently?"
He had to have meant Ichigo. For some reason, the sharp gleam in his eyes unsettled me. He knew something about Ichigo, about all of this.
"N-No…."
It was the second lie I had told Nii-sama, and I knew that as long as I continued to be with Ichigo, it would not be the last.
He stared at me like he could sense that.
After a few seconds, he shut his eyes and turned away. "I will ask you about Sawaguchi-san tomorrow," he said in place of a goodbye.
I bowed my head even though I knew he couldn't see me. "Good night, Nii-sama."
He shut off the light and closed the door behind him, leaving me in the dark.
The next day proved interesting, to put it lightly.
Nii-sama had left early due to some emergency at his workplace, so I had breakfast alone. The constant delay of his interrogation was both a relief and a prick of anxiety I could not be rid of.
Several outlandish rumors had already circulated at school about the incident surrounding Ichigo, Ishida, and myself. Some theorized we were drug addicts, while others thought I was the boss of some new gang, with Ichigo and Ishida as my right-hand men.
It didn't help that neither of them seemed to want to come to school today. Ishida I could understand, but Ichigo had no excuse. If he really wanted to play the part of a high school student, he needed to actually go to school. Idiot….
Inoue returned my bag before the first morning bell rang. Other than a scrape on her knee, she seemed fine. In fact, she was way bubblier than usual. The only answer I could get from her as to how she fought off the Hollows was her pointing at the flower pins in her hair and a not-so-subtle wink.
She asked me a bunch of questions about Ichigo being a Shinigami that I couldn't answer. Still, this didn't seem to dull her interest in the matter, and she suggested we talk about our sides of yesterday's Hollow incident later.
Now that everything was out there, it did feel like a relief to have at least one of my friends to talk to about all this.
When I asked about how Ishida was doing, her smile became strained. "He should be okay, but I don't know why he's not coming to school," she replied.
"Hm, maybe he and Ichigo wanted to avoid having to thank each other or something. You know how boys can be," I said, crossing my arms.
"'Ichigo'?" she repeated with a puzzled tilt of her head.
I stiffened. None of my other friends knew that, as of yesterday, Ichigo and I were on a first-name basis. It was an odd jump to go from calling him Kurosaki to Ichigo in the span of a day.
"O-Oh, Kurosaki Ichigo, the new kid. I meant to call him Kurosaki." My face grew warm.
"Hey, Rukia, where the hell did you 'n Kurosaki go yesterday?" Renji cut in as he approached my desk. "People are saying some weird shit. I'm trying to shut everyone up as best as I can, but…." He slowly closed his mouth when he saw Inoue standing on the other side of my desk. The remaining words looked as if they tasted sour, but he swallowed them back for her sake.
Her weary smile didn't seem to reassure him. "I've heard most of the rumors from Tatsuki already. I told her not to, but she's tracking down whoever started the rumors and plans to beat them up."
Renji scoffed. "She doesn't need to track anyone down. The guy spreading the rumors is Mizuiro, the little, baby-faced bastard."
I sighed and rest my head on a hand. "I figured."
"Rukia." Ichigo's voice sliced through all the chatter. The noise died down as everyone stared at him. He paid them no mind.
Renji put a hand on my shoulder as soon as I stood up. "Rukia, let me go with you." The desperation in his voice made me feel guilty. The last time I ran after Ichigo, I hadn't returned. He was only worried for me. And yet….
I shook his hand off. "I'll settle this on my own, Renji."
If I told him about all of this, he'd think I was joking. Or crazy. Probably the latter.
I put on a reassuring smile for his sake. "It's alright."
He frowned as he looked me over. "Fine…" he sighed. "But if you don't come back this time, I'm going to come after you."
I had to laugh at that. "Relax. I'm only going to talk to him. Trust me."
"I trust you. It's Kurosaki I don't trust." He threw a sharp glare at Ichigo.
"Psh, Ichigo's harmless." I waved him away.
"'Ichigo'?" Renji redirected his anger to me. "What happened between you two yesterday?"
That kiss flashed in the back of my mind and my face grew warmer. "Nothing happened, okay? It was a slip-of-the-tongue."
I really shouldn't have worded it that way. The feeling of Ichigo's tongue on my mouth rushed back to me, making me feel even hotter.
Renji looked away with a scowl. "Whatever." His voice dripped acid, snapping me out of my reverie.
I felt that I should say more, but the whole class was staring at us. I bit back my pride and huffed, "Fine."
I whirled around and saw Ichigo glower at the whole class for looking at me funny. They bristled in their seats then pretended they hadn't been staring in the first place.
A short note of gratitude swelled in my chest, but I chose not to express it.
He followed me out into the hall and closed the door behind him. I cut him off before he had the chance to say anything. "Ichigo, are you even aware of the rumors circulating about us and Ishida?"
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Er…what? People are talking about us?" he asked.
"Yes," I sighed. "The whole matter is ridiculous. I'm sure they'll be cleared up soon, but Ishida not showing up today is only going to fuel this nonsense further. We need to have the same story to tell in case our class gets too nosy."
Remembering how worried Inoue was, I added, "Have you seen Ishida around, by the way?"
"Uh, no…."
"That's because I just arrived," Ishida grumbled next to us.
My eyes widened when I looked over at him. "Ishida…your arms…."
He shoved his glasses up his nose with a bandaged hand. "Yes, I know. If anyone asks, I fell down the stairs," he replied.
Ichigo and I exchanged a wary glance before he said, "…You don't get bandages from falling down the stairs."
Ishida's glasses gleamed dangerously. "Oh? And how would you know? Do you fall down stairs often?" he snapped.
"Hell no. I'm just saying this from a medical perspective."
"I thought you were a fukutaichou."
"I am a fukutaichou!" Ichigo insisted. "But my family also runs a clinic in Soul Society for injured Shinigami. I know what kind of wounds need bandages like that, and 'falling down the stairs' is not one of them!"
Before Ishida could retort something, I stepped in between the two and shoved them away from each other. "Alright already! Just thank each other and be done with it, you fools! Lunch is almost over!"
The two continued to glare at each other for a few solid seconds before Ichigo sighed in defeat. "Eat lunch with us," he invited.
Ishida made a face at this. "No thanks."
"C'mon, don't be a jerk. Your girlfriend's worried for you, you know."
Ishida shoved his glasses up his nose once more. "…Okay. For her, not for you."
"Whatever, man." Ichigo shrugged affectedly.
"Why are you inviting me? Do you feel responsible for my injuries? If so, you don't need to be. I don't want your sympathy," Ishida said as soon as he opened the door.
"Uryu!" Inoue shouted as she stood up from her desk.
The faintest of smiles tugged at his mouth, but it was soon spoiled when Ichigo said, "Shut up. I just felt like eating with you. But your company sucks. So just say 'thank you' and eat."
"Why should I thank you?" Ishida snapped. "I prefer eating alone, anyway."
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Well, so do I. Don't look at me like that."
The whole class watched their tirade with attentive surprise.
"Dude, how did Ishida get those bandages?" one boy whispered to his friend.
"Think he got in a fight with Kurosaki?"
"Then why would they be talking to each other?"
"They seem mad at each other, right?"
The class erupted in confused whispers and Kojima-san seemed delighted at the new crop of rumors the other kids were forming.
Inoue sidled up next to me and whispered, "Wow, those two are a lot alike, huh?"
"Don't sit next to me, Kurosaki," Ishida snapped as Ichigo tried to move his desk over to our group.
"What? But there's nowhere else for me to sit."
Ishida scowled. "You're such a pain."
"You're the pain," Ichigo retorted as he moved his desk next to Ishida's anyway.
I hid my laugh behind a hand. "Yeah, I guess they are."
"So they really did become good friends yesterday!" Her bright smile filled the room.
I glanced at Renji and held back a sigh. He was picking at his food with an undisguised scowl.
"I hope he and Renji can get along someday, too…" I sighed. "Renji seems to hate him for some reason."
Inoue looked from me to him then tilted her head. Her eyes lit up all of a sudden and she hit a fist against her palm. "Oh! I see!"
I frowned. "See…what?"
Her cheeks turned pink and she waved her hands frantically. "It's not for me to say! Ask Abarai-kun about it!" she shouted then ran off before I could ask what she meant.
I looked over at Renji once more. Much to my surprise, he was looking at me, too. He stiffened when he realized I had noticed his staring then averted his gaze entirely.
Ask Renji about what? I thought.
Remembering his attitude earlier, I frowned. Whatever it is, it'll have to wait. He's being too big of a baby for me to ask him about it right now.
I went back to the group and scooted my desk next to Ichigo's. He and Ishida were too wrapped up in their own petty argument to notice, but Renji and the rest of the class did.
The rest of the group was too scared off by the rumors to approach him, so I meant to show them that Ichigo wasn't someone to fear. It earned me plenty of odd stares, but, once they realized nothing was going to happen, they went back to their conversations, disappointed.
I ate my lunch and talked with him normally. Some might have seen this as a defiant stunt, but I really did enjoy talking with him. He had some interesting stories about his family and the clinic they ran, and, since no one but Inoue, Ishida, and myself dared to speak with him, he could speak freely about being a Shinigami. Of course, Ishida would butt in every now and then with his Quincy pride, but, other than that, it was just a regular lunch with good friends.
Inoue and Ishida told me their sides of the events from yesterday, I told them mine, and, while the two of them were shocked at the fact that I seemed to have some hidden Shinigami powers of my own, we all agreed to keep each others' powers a secret.
"Wow, it's like we're superheroes!" Inoue whispered, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
I couldn't help but smile at that. "Not exactly, but I do like the notion."
"Quincies more so than Shinigami, at any rate," Ishida said.
"Dude, shut up already," Ichigo snapped as he struggled with his juice box. "How do you drink this thing?"
Ishida watched him for some time before asking, "Are you an idiot or something?"
"Hey, we don't have these box-drinks in Soul Society, okay?"
I sighed and swiped the juice box from him.
"Hey!" Ichigo protested.
"Give it to me before you spill juice all over yourself, idiot," I snapped. I showed him how to poke the straw in then handed the juice box over to him so he could try for himself.
He seemed excited when he finally got to drink it and I almost wanted to laugh at how adorable he looked just then.
Ishida pushed his glasses up his nose again. "…You're such a child…" he muttered.
Inoue slapped his arm but a small giggle escaped from the confines of her courtesy for Ichigo. Ishida seemed pleased about this.
"I'm ten times older than you!" Ichigo whined as he slammed his juice box on the desk.
"Then act like it."
I sighed. "You're both acting like children."
Inoue's spilled laughter and the bell ringing signaled the end of the conversation, and the two were silenced at last.
The rest of the day went as per usual. Other than the occasional interruption from Kurosaki getting up to dispatch a nearby Hollow, classes ran smoothly together.
As soon as the final bell rang, Renji bolted out the door without so much as a goodbye to me. Asano-san went up to him, but Renji shoved him aside and practically ran out of class.
Kojima-san and Chad approached me and asked what was wrong with him, but their guesses was as good as mine. Kojima-san seemed disappointed that I couldn't give him an answer, but I wasn't inclined to be kind to him since he was the one spreading the unsavory rumors concerning Ishida, Ichigo, and myself.
With Renji gone, I was left to walk home by myself. Sawaguchi-san met me at the gate and informed me that my brother would not be coming home tonight. Apparently, his work emergency required him to go overseas to have the matter settled there. He was not told which country my brother was going to, but, being the loyal servant he was, Sawaguchi-san did not question him.
A selfish hope swelled within me then. Perhaps he would be so busy that he would forget about this small matter with Sawaguchi-san not seeing me return home the other day.
I knew this hope was a foolish one. Nii-sama was not the sort of man to forget any transgression, no matter how minor. It would only be a matter of time before he investigated further into the matter and handed out the appropriate sentence.
"I have your uniform, Kuchiki-sama," Yoshida said the next morning. She had taken extra care to hide it in the inside pocket of her apron, just in case. Surprisingly, the stain was completely gone. There was no speck of red anywhere but the required bow.
"Thank you, Yoshida. But please, call me Rukia," I said as I took my uniform with a small smile.
She looked startled for a moment before flushing pink. "Th-Then…call me Sakura, please!" she practically shouted.
I looked around in case anyone else had heard her, but no one came into the room.
"Alright…Sakura."
Relief swept over her then, and she let a tiny smile slip.
The doorbell rang and she went to open it. Sakura froze when she saw who was at the door. Renji towered over her tiny frame, and he looked down at her in surprise.
"Uh…is Rukia here?" he asked. I couldn't tell from this distance, but it almost looked as if he was blushing.
"Y-Yes! She's here! Um…but she's still having breakfast, so would you like to come in and wait?" She stepped aside to let him in, bowing low.
Renji looked startled. "You don't have to do that," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders and straightening her up.
"Oh! Yes…of course…." Sakura stared up at him with wide eyes. Was she marveling his tattoos or was she scared of him? He seemed to get either reaction when people first met him.
He plucked his hands off her shoulders after a few moments then shoved them in his pockets. "So…you work here, huh?" he asked.
"Y-Yes, I do." Sakura tugged at the hem of her apron.
"Oh. Cool."
She seemed ashamed until Renji said this. Sakura straightened up, her eyes gleaming. "You think so?" Her voice sounded oddly hopeful.
"I mean, it's not every day you get to see the inside of a mansion, right?" He gestured vaguely all around them. "I've been here a bunch of times, and I swear I haven't even seen the whole place yet."
She hid her laugh behind a pale hand, and Renji's mouth curved into a sheepish half-grin.
Their conversation seemed like it would continue well on into the morning. Though it seemed a shame to butt in, I cleared my throat to get their attention.
Renji looked past Sakura, his eyes wide. "Oh, hey, Rukia!"
Sakura glanced up at him then stepped back into the shadow of the door.
"Hey, Renji. Ready to go?"
"Yeah, sure, if you're ready." His eager smile was an odd contrast from his insufferable brooding yesterday.
I gave him a doubtful once-over, just to be sure. "Uh…okay. Could you wait for me by the gate? I forgot my bag."
His weird smile only grew. "Okay, but hurry up."
I clicked my tongue at him and waved him away.
As soon as he turned around, I looked at Sakura. She tugged at the hem of her apron and avoided my gaze.
"Is Renji-san your boyfriend?" she asked before I could say anything.
I stared at her, bewildered for a moment, before I burst out laughing. Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin. "Renji? No, he's just my friend. He's like a brother to me."
The tension left her shoulders. "Oh…."
"But he is single," I added. Sakura ducked her head to hide her pleased smile.
I grabbed my bag off a chair and shrugged it over my shoulder. "He seems interested in you, at least," I offered. "I'll bring him over so you could talk to him some more."
Her smile faded. "No, that's okay. I…." Her blue eyes flickered to me for a second and she pressed her lips together.
"I…have to go wash something. Have a good day, Rukia." She rushed off in the next instant.
"Hey, wait, Sakura! Are you okay?" I reached out to her, but she walked on without another word.
When the lunch bell rang, Renji practically scrambled over his desk to get to me.
"Renji, what in the world—"
"Rukia, I need to tell you something," he said. His eyes were bright with an odd determination.
"Uh, okay…. What is it?"
He bit his lip and looked helplessly away, like he was figuring out how to word his thoughts. "C-Can we go to the roof?" he asked.
"Sure, I guess? Look, Renji, what's this about?" I reached out for his hand, but he shrunk away.
"Er…it's really important, so…."
I stared at him for so long he began to squirm where he stood.
"Are we going or not?" he asked, sounding impatient.
I raised an eyebrow. "Okay, calm down, I'll go."
He brightened considerably after that and stopped fidgeting around.
He didn't explain himself while we went up to the roof. Instead, he blabbered on and on about insignificant things like he always did when he was nervous. Though what he was so nervous about was beyond me.
Lucky for him, there was no one else up on the roof. Not that that stopped him from checking out the place thoroughly anyway.
He even looked over the railing on the off chance someone was outside the building. It's not as if anyone would hear him unless he screamed or something, but I let him do what he wanted. Obviously, whatever this was, it was very important to him.
He gripped the railing so tightly, his knuckles went white. He then sighed and relaxed his shoulders.
"Rukia!" Renji started as he whirled around. Everything about him seemed to be glowing, from his pink cheeks to the determination in his eyes. "Do you remember…when we were kids…how we would ditch class a couple times just to run around Karakura like we owned everything? Even if, deep down, we knew we only had each other?"
I frowned a little but nodded all the same.
He continued with more enthusiasm, "Do you ever wish that we could just go back to that? Just you and me without a care in the world?"
His shoulders trembled, like he was on the verge of spilling everything he was trying to hold back.
"It wasn't just you and me, though, Renji," I said. He tensed. "Remember those other guys we used to hang out with? They were as much a part of our group as you and me."
He blinked like he hadn't thought about them at all. "Oh, right…. Those guys…." He shook his head. "I'm not talking about those guys! I'm talking about you and me, Rukia."
I frowned. "What are you trying to say, Renji?"
His face flushed pink in an instant. It became clear to me that he had been hiding whatever he was about to tell me for a long, long time. I leaned closer as an inkling of anticipation shot through me.
After taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he took a deep breath and looked me right in the eye.
"Rukia…for a long time now…I—"
The door to the roof creaked open and we both looked over in surprise.
Ichigo poked his head through the door. "Oh, there you are, Rukia," he said. "You gonna come down and eat lunch?"
Before I could reply, Renji pushed past me. "She's kind of preoccupied right now, Kurosaki. She'll come down later."
Ichigo blinked, oblivious. "Preoccupied with what?"
Renji clenched his hands into fists. "None of your damn business, new kid. Get lost."
"Renji!" I said, appalled.
Ichigo glared at him. "It is my business as long as Rukia's involved," he snapped, taking a step closer.
"The hell are you talking about?" Renji growled. "You've only been here for three days. How is Rukia any of your goddamn business? You don't even know her."
"Oh, like you do?"
I stepped in between them before their heated glares broke into a needless fight. "Ichigo, Renji, stop it!"
Renji whirled on me, but I didn't flinch. His anger radiated like an aura all around him. "What, you're calling him by first name now?" he snapped.
I held back a resigned sigh and put a hand on his arm. "Look, Renji—"
He recoiled. "No, don't touch me. Why're you calling him by first name, Rukia?"
He chuckled in humorless disbelief after a few seconds of stunned silence. "Don't tell me you and him are…." He pointed a shaking, accusing finger at both me and Ichigo.
"Renji…?" I took another cautious step towards him, but he stepped back.
"I don't fucking believe this," he wheezed, the same disbelieving grin on his face. "I don't fucking believe this."
"Renji!" I shouted. He was getting too close to the edge of the building. His back hit the railing, stopping him from falling over.
"Rukia…are you going out with him?"
The question hung heavy in the air between us.
"Are you?" he repeated, his voice cracking.
I opened my mouth but the denial just wouldn't come out.
His eyes widened. "No way…. You're not really dating him, right? There's no way…. You've only known him for three days…right?"
"Renji…."
Ichigo put a hand on my shoulder as he walked past me. "I've known Rukia since last May," he replied for me. "We started going out in February."
I stared at Ichigo's back, startled. We only started going out this year? Then, what happened in the few months since then?! My memories were wiped clean just this year?!
"Since February…?" Renji whispered.
"Sorry you had to find out like this," Ichigo offered as consolation, both to me and to Renji. He sounded sincere enough, but the fact that he had grabbed my hand when he said this didn't help matters much.
Renji dropped his gaze to the floor. After a while, he said, his voice barely audible, "Rukia…why didn't you tell me?"
Because I didn't know.
There was no way Renji would buy that. Not after hearing it from Ichigo himself.
My hand slipped out of Ichigo's. "I-I…. Renji, I…."
Renji looked up at me at last. His eyes had lost so much of their light, my heart ached for him. I wished I could answer him, wanted so badly to tell him everything. But how could I, when I couldn't even remember?
"I don't know why I never told you," I said finally. It was the best answer I could give.
He nodded, feigning acceptance. It was clear he was dissatisfied with my answer.
"Okay." His defeated posture melted as he pulled himself upright. "Let me ask you one more thing."
Uncertainty rippled through me, but I nodded anyway. "Alright."
He drew in an unsteady breath. "…What do you like about him?"
I couldn't help the rush of heat flooding my cheeks then.
Renji shook his head. "Wait, let me rephrase that." His steps to me dragged like weights had been strapped to his ankles.
He stopped once he was right in front of me. Up close, I could see the deep pain reflected in his eyes. "Do you like him…because he looks like Shiba Kaien?"
The sound of that name crushed the air out of my lungs. My breath became nothing more than wheezing gasps, and the world began to swirl around me.
"I'm right, aren't I?" An angry note broke through the despair. He grabbed my shoulders and shook me roughly.
"Hey! Let go of her!" Ichigo shouted, but Renji acted as if he hadn't heard him and only clutched my shoulders tighter.
"I get it now, Rukia." Renji's face twisted into a sickening, enraged glee. "You only like him because he reminds you of Shiba Kaien! Did you think that he had come back? Did you think you got a second chance? Did you think that you would be forgiven? You, the person who murdered him?"
I slapped him across the face with all my might. A dozen angry words burned in my throat, but I could not speak them. Hot tears threatened to destroy what shambles remained of my composure.
Renji put a hand to his cheek and looked away. The weight of his words sank into his skin, and shame bubbled up in their stead.
I stomped to the door without another word.
"Rukia?" Ichigo put a tentative hand on my shoulder, but I shook him off.
Just as I opened the door, Renji muttered, "I'm sorry, Rukia…."
I slammed the door behind me.
I refused to speak by the day's end. Ichigo tried to talk to me several times, but I did not have the heart to respond much. It was unfair of me, I knew, but he was inching toward a conversation I was not sure I was ready to have with him.
As soon as the last school bell rang, I ran out of the classroom. I thought I had weaved through the crowded hallway enough to lose him, but Ichigo managed to catch me by the front gate.
"Rukia!" he called out.
I stopped but didn't turn around to face him.
I clenched my hands into fists, debating with myself, then let my hands go lax. "Ichigo, I—"
"You don't need to tell me about this guy if you don't want to," he cut in. "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about."
His voice was so steady, I decided to turn and face him. His hair looked as if it was glowing in the sunset, and it ruffled slightly in the breeze.
"I just wanted to say that, before you lost your memories, you liked me for me, not because I looked like somebody else." He said this with such oblivious confidence, I couldn't help but blush.
As if realizing the gravity of his words, he too turned a faint shade of pink. "Er, I mean, you seemed really bothered by what Renji said, and I know you only have a few memories back, so…I just…." Ichigo scratched the back of his head, scowling at himself.
A small smile tugged at my mouth and I dropped my gaze. "Thank you, Ichigo. That…does put my mind at ease."
The unexpected half-smile he gave me when I looked up again only made my face grow even warmer. He closed the gap between us until he stood right in front of me.
Everyone else seemed to have gone home already, leaving only me and him.
"What about you, Ichigo?" I asked. "Are you feeling okay?"
He seemed taken aback by my question. "Yeah, I feel great. Why're you asking?"
"No reason. I just wanted to know." I smiled up at him.
He blushed and looked away. "Okay. Well, I gotta go. Urahara-san might need me for something." Ichigo shifted his feet a little, as if he meant to turn around.
I adjusted my slipping bag strap back onto my shoulder. "I should be heading home, too," I admitted.
Neither of us moved from where we stood.
A fleeting flicker of his gaze to my mouth snapped the thread of pretense between us. Ichigo leaned forward, so tantalizingly, agonizingly slow, and I raised myself on my tiptoes to meet his lips with mine.
Rather than say goodbye, he placed his forehead against mine and gave me one last smile. I cupped his face in my hands and kissed him once more, a short note of affection that made his smile grow.
I laughed a little when I pulled away, and he curled my hair behind an ear.
We exchanged stupid grins then left without another word.
I was almost home when I spotted a figure stumbling along the other side of the street. Their spiky ponytail and thickly-inked tattoos marked the figure's identity easily enough. Renji hadn't shown up in class after lunch, and I wondered where he had gone, despite myself.
Before I could decide whether or not to approach him, he seemed to have noticed me. He staggered across the street, swaying as he did so.
"Rukia." His voice came out low, almost husky, as he stopped in front of me.
I took a deep breath to ready myself then dared to look up at him.
"Renji—"
I didn't have the chance to say anything more. He tugged me to him and kissed me full on the mouth. His lips moved sloppily, almost desperately, against mine.
What…What is he doing?!
He tried to slip his tongue in, but I shoved him away before he could go any further. He almost dropped the glass bottle he was holding from the force. Renji looked about ready to keel over himself.
"Renji, where the hell did you get that?" I asked, breathless.
He raised the bottle to look at it and the remaining liquid sloshed around inside. "Oh," he slurred. "'s my mom's."
"What? Your mom's? Why would you drink that? What is the matter with you?"
"Huh? I wasn' feelin' good, so I jus'…I dunno? I went home early and saw this? Thought it was a good idea at the time. I feel good right now." He stared at me with unfocused eyes. "Your lips are really soft."
I flushed despite my anger. "Renji, why the hell did you kiss me?"
He gaped at me and said, as if this should have been obvious, "Rukia…I'm in love with you."
Next chapter...
The world burned in its newfound clarity. Everything that hadn't made sense, everything that had been so unclear before, clicked into place and fell onto my shoulders all at once.
The strange way Renji would stare at me from time to time, the way Renji would get so defensive if another guy so much as talked to me the least bit nicely, why Renji refused to be friends with Ichigo, why he was so affected that I was dating someone at all, everything, everything—
