Hello dear readers! I'm extremely sorry I didn't uptade for months O.O ... I'm horrible. Too much has been going on and, well, time and will was missing. Anyway, thank you for keeping following this story and I hope you'll like this brand new and fresh chapter!
Together Alone
Chapter 7: Of burning eggs and Shinigamis
"Goodmorning to all, it is now the 9th of July and heat sure is at its best! Though we are expecting rain in the weeks to come, enjoy another sunny day in New York City, and stay tuned!"
A very sleepy and orange head man woke up from his peace when the voice on the radio made its way from the living room and into the male's ears.
Ichigo Kurosaki let out a deep groan, hating to be woke up by that damn 'Mike Cravost', the official morning announcer of this noisy city. It was now the second morning in a row his small female partner was turning the machine on, and carrot-top didn't think he could take another of these wake up call.
"Rukia..." the boy whined against his pillow, "turn off this damn thing!"
But of course, that wasn't going to make it. Ichigo decided to close his eyes and try to ignore the crappy music when an extremely loud and shrill noise invaded the apartment.
"Ahhhh!"
Not thinking for a second, the winter war hero immediately jumped from his bed and ran to the kitchen, right where Rukia's scream came from.
He was prepared for the worst, adrenaline burning in his veins until his hazel eyes analyzed the situation completely.
Ichigo took the stole on the oven and, as fast as lightning, turned on the cold water and threw the burning object under the fountain. A deloge of smoke went strait all around the place as Ichigo quickly took a rag and flipped in the the air, right under the fire alarm.
He moved it non stop until the damn strident machine stopped screaming and making the boy's ears bleeding from pain.
Ichigo finally brought his arm down and breathed a few deep times, resting against the counter. His eyes were seeing some dark spots while Rukia kept coughing next to him.
Once his vision and heart got better, Ichigo turned to the girl.
"What the hell were you doing?!"
Rukia narrowed her tiny dark eyebrows, looking away in...shame, maybe.
"Well, I was hungry and you weren't up, as always, you lazy ass!" Ichigo was almost burning in fury but Rukia continued nonetheless "So I decided to make myself an egg, I saw Yuzu do it and it seemed pretty easy!"
Ichigo had to take a deep breath to control his anger. Being waking up in extrem panic sure as hell wasn't doing it for him.
"Couldn't you wait? If you're trying to be more patient then, it's certainly not a success!" yelled the young Kurosaki.
Rukia's face turned red, shame all gone and replaced by a new madness. "What the hell are you talking about! And no, I couldn't wait much longer or I would actually have DIED FROM HUNGER! You jerk sleep until 12 and I wasn't going to eat breakfast at LUNCH! Plus, it's not my fault the damn thing caught on fire!"
Ichigo chuckled, "Yeah, of course, because it's the eggs fault for cooking too much?!" he screamed sarcastically.
"The hell I know?!" shot back Rukia "Your sister let it 20 minutes on, just like I did!"
Ichigo hit his forehead in total discouragement. "It's because she made MORE THAN ONE DAMN EGG! One egg alone is 5 minutes maximum!"
"..." Rukia kept quiet for about one second. "Well whatever! It's still your fault for staying in your bed all morning!"
"Damn it Rukia! It's only 8 o'clock!"
Suddenly, a loud knock on the door interrupted the animated argument, and the two heroes turned their heads to the door as a worried voice was heard on the other side: "Hum... Are you okay here? We heard a lot of noise downstairs..?"
Ichigo and Rukia looked at each other and realized their bodies were almost touching, just like everytime they were 'fighting'. Rukia immediately stepped back and almost ran to the bedroom, slamming the door loudly.
Ichigo stood there for a moment, then sighed angrily and walked to the door.
"Mm, yeah, everything is alright. Sorry Mr..." Once again, the substitute shinigami had a hard time remembering someone's name.
"Mavena." answered Pedro, a small and unsure smile forming on his tan face.
"Yes, Mr. Mavena. I'm sorry for the noise, my...friend forgot something on the fire, and the alarm went off."
Pedro's brown eyes and mouth all formed an 'O' shape, showing his new understanding. "Oh! I see, well then I won't disturb you any longer, you can always tell me if there's something you need, I'm downstairs most of the time."
Ichigo forced a smile and nodded. "Thank you."
Once the man was gone and the door locked again, Ichigo got to the small window right above the sink, and opened it so the smoke will go. He then walked to the bedroom's door and knocked on the wooded surface.
"Rukia? Is it okay if I come in?"
The only answer he got was silence. Ichigo did his best not to get mad again, and waited a bit.
It had been three days now. Three days since the 'murderer' showed up at the club. Three days without any new activity. Three days since they got...beuh, drunk.
And, one thing Ichigo had noticed was that Rukia was obviously annoying as always, but she surely wasn't acting normally.
Her behaviour was just...weird, since that night. She would constantly wear a thoughtful face, she almost wasn't talking to him and, it seemed like she was trying to...avoid him.
Ichigo sighed as he knocked again, this time less hard. "Rukia? I'm coming in."
A few seconds later, Ichigo turned the doorknob and pushed the door, peeking a look inside the room.
The black-haired lady was sitting on her bed, her back facing Ichigo. "Rukia...?" the boy called way nicer than before.
Rukia turned her head and stared at Ichigo for a small moment. Her eyes seemed to burn his soul down with worry. It was so strange...
"What do you want Ichigo?"
Ichigo entered the room completely and sat on his bed, facing Rukia enterely. He sighed "Look, I don't know what is bothering you lately, but you haven't been yourself." He didin't see Rukia jumping slightly at his statement. "So, just tell me what's wrong... Maybe I can help you."
'So he noticed I've been...distant?' thought Rukia. She sure as hell couldn't talk to him about it. She wouldn't even admit to herself why she was acting like that, so to say it out loud? Impossible. Plus, she was on a mission. She had to take hold of herself, she wasn't a fragile little girl, she was strong. A strong Kuchiki. It was time to show it, and devote her thoughts and energy in this mission. They had made enough mistakes already, and Rukia wouldn't let any other crap and useless stuff get in the way of her duty anymore.
"Hm, I apologize for my rude behaviour. I was just worried about our fault, you know, that night. I shouldn't let that happen and I felt...bad about it. It's surely an error Soul Society wouldn't approve of," Rukia told Ichigo, ignoring the fact that she was half lying to him and to herself.
Ichigo blinked a couple of times. He was surprised at the hardness in Rukia's tone and words... That... It wasn't her either.
Kurosaki sighed. Maybe if he'd let her some time, Rukia would come back to her normal self... The Rukia he lo... 'Wait, what...?' The Rukia he knew. Yes.
"Well, anyway," said Ichigo, scratching the back of his head and looking outside the window. "What do you say if I get dressed and then we go eat breakfast?"
Rukia looked at him with shining eyes. Her mouth was about to cruve in a giant smile, but she got it before loosing. A simple and reserved smile appeared on her face. "Alright," she accepted and nodded her head slowly.
I I I I
Time passed by very quickly. It was now around 5 pm, and Ichigo and Rukia were calmly walking in a small park, discovering more and more of New York City every hour they spend out.
Rukia had her pager, both their Abusoba (specially made by Urahara Kisuke himself) sticked on their hips... They were all prepared.
But nothing was happening.
Ichigo didn't know if he should be happy or mad about it, if it was a good thing or not. At the present time, the only objective on his mind was from a whole other level: make Rukia Kuchiki laugh again.
Now that he had think about it, she hasn't laugh since that damn night. Where of course, they were drunk. Which, in Ichigo's mind, didn't count. So, basically, he didn't remembered the last time she laughed. A true laugh.
There he was, walking by the female Kuchiki's side, thinking his head out to come up with something that would make her laugh.
"Hey, Rukia," spoke the berry. "You remember when we first met, how you draw a moustache on my face with a permanent black pen, right after you tied me up with your kido?"
Rukia raised her look from her feet to stare at him, interrogation in her eyes. "You still remember that?" she asked him.
Ichigo smiled slightly at her. "Of course I do."
Rukia soon let a smile appear on her own lips, her eyes getting back to the ground. "Seems like a thousand years ago..." she said almost with nostalgia.
Ichigo staired at her thoughtful face. Well, she didn't laugh but a smile was better than nothing... The boy sighed. His goal would be more complex than he thought it would be.
Even if it was the evening, it was still incredibly hot outside. Ichigo saw an ice cream little shop on his right and immediately reacted.
"Hey you want some ice cream?" he asked Rukia, picking his wallet.
"Hum, yeah, sure," she responded, though less happily than Ichigo thought she'd be. Damn.
He got to the tiny blue counter and ordered: "Hello, we'll take one big chocolate flavored ice cream, and a medium vanilla and strawberry one, please."
Rukia secretly looked up at her partner. 'How can he have the hardest time remembering people's names, but he never forget little useless details like that?'
Rukia was in her thoughts as Ichigo paid the 10 dollars, and got back to reality when he handed her her favorite ice cream.
"Thanks..."
They continued walking along a rocky road, silently licking their own ice creams.
'Mmm, finally some cold,' thought Ichigo in deep satisfaction.
Just then, Rukia's left foot collided with a giant rock on the ground, which she hadn't see because she was far too busy devouring her ice cream.
The young woman widened her eyes but it was too late, she would certainly fall on the ground. She just had time to close her amethyst pools tightly, and waited for the impact. Though it came not as hard as she thought it would. She didn't felt any pain. After a couple of seconds, Rukia opened her eyes again, only to see she was on the ground, just not directly on it. Effectively, something, or someone, was under her, and it, or he, had his arms around Rukia's perfect frame, like she was made of porcelain or something. Rukia turned her head to see Ichigo, his face showing the pain he got from falling on the hard surface.
Still, his first words were: "Are you alright?"
A blush made its way pretty easily on Rukia's cheeks, and she was about to shove his hands away when she noticed something. Their ice creams had fall off their hands, but it wasn't on the floor. The freezed food had gone precisely...right on Ichigo's face and shirt.
Rukia, blinking a few times as Ichigo noticed the substence on his chest, then started to laugh. A real laugh. An uncotrollable laugh. A laugh that makes you laugh so hard your stomach starts to hurt and you're just clapping your hands together, or on your mouth to stop it. But it never stops. It's just too damn funny.
Ichigo narrowed his eyebrows at the cold treat staining his face and his t-shirt. But as he heard Rukia's laugh, so perfect and unique, he couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.
Rukia was now at the point of wiping tears. She hasn't laugh this hard since...well, in a very very long time. And she had to say, it was...nice.
"HAHAHAHA! YOU... YOU- HAHAHAHA!" It couldn't be help. The woman couldn't even talk for Christ sakes! Rukia continued to laugh like crazy at Ichigo's now pink, white and brown stained shirt, while he was trying to clean his chin the best he could.
People were starting to look at them, probably because of the noises coming out of Rukia's mouth. So, still slightly smiling, Ichigo proposed they walk back home, where he could clean up properly. Rukia nodded, still loudly laughing at her friend.
On their way back to the apartment, Rukia's laugh decreased a little (luckily) but that huge smile wouldn't go away now. That smile showed joy, and seeing her happy made Ichigo happy himself.
They got back in the small place now called 'home', and Ichigo immediately headed for a good shower while Rukia decided to watch some TV.
A couple of minutes passed until Ichigo got out of the bathroom, looking for new clothes to wear.
Rukia was about yell at him that he was missing a Chappy show playing right now when her pager rang loudly. The girl tensed for a second, thinking it was the 'murderer' alarm, but then she realized the noise wasn't the same. That, was someone calling her.
She put on a serious face before answering her 'phone'. "Yes?"
Her muscles relaxed all at the same time when she heard that too-fake-happy voice on the line.
"Well helloooo Rukia-chan!"
Rukia rolled her eyes and yelled, keeping the phone away, "Ichigo! Come here Urahara is on the phone!"
"Really? What does he want?"
Rukia got her phone back to her ear and spoke, "What do you want Urahara?"
"Oh my, was I disturbing some love session with you two? You don't seem so happy by my call..."
Rukia had to fight a blush again. 'Damn it, what is it with me always blushing now? I never been like that!'
"What?! Not at all! Ichigo's just asking," responded the Kuchiki, not so sure with her answer.
A weird laugh came to her ear. "I see... Well to answer Ichigo's question my dear, I'm calling for Soul Society. People up there want to know where you two are at so far."
Rukia gulped as Ichigo came out of the room, his hair still a bit wet. "So, what does he want?" he repeated.
"Just...calling for Soul Society. They want to know where we are at this point," Rukia told her friend.
"Oh..."
Rukia put the phone between her ear and Ichigo's before responding to Urahara.
"Hum, well, it's doing...fine, I guess. Our target showed up two times," she took a more serious voice, "and we were able to save his targets both times."
"Mhm... Well good job kiddos! And you are sure he didn't suspect you or anything?"
"No, I think your invention, the Abusoba, worked."
"Pfft, what a strange thing to say, of course it works!"
Ichigo rolled his eyes when Urahara spoke again, "Anything else to report?"
Both partners looked at each other with widened eyes, just as Ichigo shook his head in disapproval. Rukia bit her bottom lip.
"Hum, no nothing else important to report."
Ichigo let out an inaudible sigh of relief. If something sure wouldn't help at all, it would be telling Soul Society they got drunk during the mission. Though it was to save an innocent, Ichigo was pretty sure it would only cause problems. Not only to him, but to Rukia also.
"Alrighty! Well then I'll be calling you two in a few days for the same purpose. Good luck!"
With those final words, Urahara hung up his phone, leaving Ichigo and Rukia silent.
Neither wanted to talk, not knowing exactly what to say, or how to say it... So they both sat on the couch as Rukia simply turned her Chappy show on, making Ichigo growl.
"Stop whining and just shut up!" retorted Rukia, her mind totally stick to Chappy's words.
Ichigo looked at her, her beautiful shining violet orbs and her delicate (though devilish) smile... She seemed normal. He got her laughing... Even if he ridiculed himself in public, her joy was the only thing that mattered right now...
Ichigo turned back to the TV, and even if he had to watch that ridiculous Chappy show, it was all worth it in the end.
I I I I
The man pushed the door of the bar and got out, in the dark streets of New York. Maybe he had too much to drink, but eh, whatever. His life sucked anyways.
Jenkins slowly walked to his building, searching for the apartment keys in his right pocket. Now in a hallway, he continued his way until he saw it. 1033. His apartment.
Turning the key in the lock, he opened the door and walked in. The place was a mess, as always. It was so dark and filled with dust... New York at night certainly was more lighted than this hole. Jenkins got to his fridge, and after staring at a beer for a few seconds, he finally took it.
Once he got the bottle open, he took a sip. Then two. Next was his usual sitting on the couch while drinking. Jenkins was making his way to the old furniture when something stopped him. The bathroom door was open. It was never open. He didn't even remember the last time he took a shower... Something was wrong.
It took him some time to understand because of the alcohol in his system, but he knew. He just sensed it. He, was here.
Like the other man had read his mind, he slowly got out of his hiding spot and faced Jenkins, a powerful smile on his face, his dark eyes throwing arrows.
"A bit early to be drinking, don't you think?" said the man, glancing at the clock displaying 3:58 am.
"What are you doing here, I thought I made myself pretty clear when we talked at that club the other night," retorted Jenkins.
The man took a step foward, his smile widening as he took off his black hood.
"Now Benjamin... Is that a proper way to welcome your beloved brother?"
I I I I
7th chapter... DONE! I'm so getting back into it, and I gotta say, pretty excited about the story! I hope you guys liked it and please review! I could really use some good words right now...
