Disclaimer: If I ever own Bleach or Naruto, Rukia and Ichigo will be together and Orihime wouldn't even exist LOL :D And, Aizen would be the matchmaker of Rukia and Ichigo and Naruto would have been together with Sasuke. *Shrugs* Warning: OOC-ness, angst, mystery, slight romance
A/N: This is the sixth chapter of 'Healing One's Heart'. It includes a past, or rather, a flashback from Rukia Kuchiki and the beginning of the next arc. Of course, I wouldn't exclude Rukia and Ichigo in any of these arcs :D
Aizawa Ayumu: Aw~~~ I'm so glad I have you as a reader and I'm glad to post the chapter fast enough for you to read :)
Special Thanks To:
Aizawa Ayumu: Reviewing "Healing One's Heart'
Aragaki Rey: Adding 'Healing One's Heart' to Favorite Stories' List
v: Reviewing 'Healing One's Heart'
5-year-old Rukia and 8-year-old Byakuya was eating lunch, Rukia eating at an alarming rate while Byakuya just staring at his sister in awe at how fast she's eating. "Jeez, Rukia, you will choke if you eat that fast." He ruffled Rukia's hair while putting a little bit of warning tone to his voice.
"But, if we don't eat fast enough, we won't leave the house fast enough. If we won't leave the house fast enough, we won't get to the playground in time. If we don't reach the playground in time, we won't get to see Kaien-dono!!!" Rukia squealed in her tiny voice.
"Well, I'm sure Shiba Kaien will be there in the playground. He promised to wait for you, didn't he?" Byakuya asked her sister.
"That may be true, but..." Little Rukia played with her fingers, desperately finding a reason to leave the house as fast as possible. Then, he remembered her brother's words. "Nii-san, refer to him as Kaien-dono!!!"
One of Byakuya's eyebrows twitched. "Why should I refer to him as 'Kaien-dono' when you refer to him as that already, Rukia?" Byakuya calmly asked Rukia, knowing that Rukia would give a crazed explanation.
Little Rukia who was just 5 years old put her little fingers below her chin and thought hard and thoughtfully before she answered cheerfully. "I just want you to, Nii-san!"
Sighing at her sister before reminding her again... "But, Rukia, Shiba Kaien is two years younger than me, and I..." Hesitating at her sister's stare towards him, he sighed in defeat. "... Fine, 'Kaien-dono', alright?" Byakuya nearly vomited at the name her sister forced him to give the person she had a crush on.
"Can we go now?" Rukia whined, already standing up and pulling Byakuya along with her.
Byakuya's eyebrow twitched once again before he looked at her sister's food which was full of rice and vegetables. "Rukia, although you ate fast enough, I can see you hadn't even touched your food and most importantly, vegetables."
Rukia all but whined. "Nii-san, please!!! We might miss Kaien-dono if we don't go to the playground now!!!" Byakuya sighed in defeat once again and looked towards their Mother who was leaning against the wall, folding arms and observing the two siblings and, this caused Rukia to look towards their Mother too. "Mommy!! Please, can we go now...?"
Byakuya looked at her sister who just put up the 'puppy-eyes' look and his eyebrows twitched for the third time before looking back at her Mother. "Please, Mother, don't tell me you agree to Rukia's request."
The Mother of two siblings just shrugged. "You know how she's like, Byakuya; she's your sister after all. If you don't give her what she wants, she will never sit still until you give her what she wants. And, I don't want her whining to be around the whole house."
Byakuya sighed but shot a playful glare at his sister. "You owe me one, Rukia. Now, let's go."
After 5 minutes of running and walking, Rukia and Byakuya finally reached the playground. And, indeed, the person sitting on the swings was one handsome young kid who had black spiky hair and had a grin like no other. 5-year-old Rukia sneaked up behind the said boy and squealed. "Kaien-dono!!!"
Said person, Shiba Kaien, turned to kiss Rukia on the cheek before he resumed his grin and greeted her. "Hey, Kuchiki."
Opening her eyes, Rukia soon realized it was a dream and sighed. Sitting up on the couch, she realized she was sleeping alone and beside her were Urahara and Youruichi, cuddled against each other, Urahara placing his hand on Youruichi's waist and bringing her closer to himself. Rukia smiled softly at this sight and went to collect her things once more which were placed on the table due to yesterday's outburst. As if on cue, her thoughts drifted back to one particular student of hers, Kurosaki Ichigo.
True enough, Kurosaki Ichigo had a cocky attitude and was even a little bit of bashful, yet, his personality was similar to Shiba Kaien. When Rukia first met him, it was under similar situations as how she met Ichigo, yet, when Kaien was saved by Rukia, he acted very differently from Ichigo. And, Rukia suddenly knew what had triggered Ichigo's change of attitude to her. Smiling softly, she realized Kaien wasn't so different to Ichigo. If one to state a difference no matter what, it would be the difference in their hair colours, probably. Giggling to herself, Rukia remembered the exact sentence that Rukia caught herself falling in love with Kaien.
I don't need you to rescue me!!! I can fight those people on my own!!! And, what's worst, a Kuchiki princess!!!
As she began her journey to school and leaving Urahara and Youruichi cuddling against one another, she had a bad feeling of what's going to happen due to yesterday's incidents. And, expectedly, as Rukia stepped her foot inside the school, strange whisperings immediately occurred. And, one whispering between 2 girls caught her interest.
"Hey, did you hear?"
"What?"
"It seemed that Rukia-sensei almost got into a fight with Oushima Reichi of Class 1-4."
"What...? Isn't Oushima rumoured to be the biggest bully? Rukia-sensei dared to take him on and almost got into a fight with him? That means, Rukia-sensei is something of different we know of all the Senseis', isn't she?"
Rukia smiled a little upon hearing the whispering of the other students who didn't know the full story. Of course, the full story was very different from what the 2 girls had originally thought. But, Rukia knew, as long as the two girls didn't know the full story, she was satisfied with that result. And, knowing out of all the fellow classes, there was one who still supported, she somehow felt a load had been lifted off her chest. Knowing that the 2 girls could only be students of Abarai Renji who was the only one supporting her as she went through this harsh life of hers, she proceeded to her classroom with a lighter heart.
"Eh??? Rukia-sensei protected you from Oushima once again?" Inoue shrieked, shocked from the news that Ichigo had told them.
In response, Tatsuki shrugged. "Well, from what I can see yesterday, she's just an average teacher, in fact, the same as others. She has a cocky attitude."
"Tatsuki-chan, it's not good to assume things, you know. Moreover, Tatsuki-chan, isn't the soccer tournament around the corner?" Inoue looked at Tatsuki, putting her fingers on her chin, rubbing it thoughtfully.
"Argh, don't even remind me of that, Inoue. The mention of the soccer tournament coming up the next few days irritates me." Tatsuki answered, shrugging.
"From your expression, I would guess: Not enough members?" Ichigo guessed.
"Precisely!!!" Tatsuki threw her arms in the air for dramatic efforts before she continued. "And, we are short of 2 members too!!!"
"Tatsuki, can any random guy or girl participate?" Ichigo asked Tatsuki.
Finding it weird that Ichigo, out of all people, had perked an interest in the soccer tournament and is asking her that question, she shrugged once more. "Yeah, sure, if that person is good at soccer, that would do it."
"Maybe Karin would do a cut-out point at this?" Ichigo spoke to nobody in particular, but, his voice was loud enough.
"I can't believe I didn't think of that earlier, Ichigo! You are a genius!" Tatsuki clapped her hands in excitement to the idea of Kurosaki Karin joining their teams. Those who play soccer and hears the name 'Kurosaki Karin' would be shaken there by their feet because Karin was known for her superior abilities of soccer.
Just then, Tatsuki and Ichigo were interrupted by Rukia coming into the classroom. "All right, brats, settle down! Time for the attendance!"
All of the students seemingly kept quiet and scrambled to their seats while Tatsuki kept a glare at Rukia. Glancing at Tatsuki out of the corner of her eyes, she sighed. Yesterday, it was Ichigo. Today, it was Tatsuki. Rukia silently wondered who will be giving her a glare tomorrow. "Rukia-sensei, what's the bruise on your arm? It looks serious."
Snapping out of her thoughts, Rukia looked up at the student who asked this question and noted that it was Muzuiro, who was looking at her admiringly and dreamily. Shrugging and looking at her own bruise, she mentally noted to get clothing with longer sleeves from Urahara. "I fell from the staircase, that's all."
A glance at Ichigo and Rukia could tell he couldn't believe as he was looking at her with a look that said 'Do-you-think-I'm-stupid'. Shrugging once more, knowing that she didn't care what the hell Kurosaki thinks, she began taking out the attendance file and her laptop out, preparing for lessons when she noted Tatsuki was still glaring at her and she mentally groaned. It was like the déjà vu of yesterday all over again. Jeez, what's with glaring at teachers this day? Yet, she was somehow glad that during the lesson, Ichigo was busy copying notes.
Sitting on the chair just behind the teacher's table, she switched on her laptop after giving her students the homework of today. "Now, after yesterday's hard work which everybody put in by finishing three whole pages of homework, which I'm surprised Kurosaki did it as well without any help..." She couldn't help but a grin was forming while Ichigo was glaring playfully at her. "... I will cut you brats some slack today by finishing three pages of schoolwork as well."
"School... Work...?" Ishida voiced out hesitantly.
"Yes, Uryuu. Do you not know the definition of 'Schoolwork'?" Rukia retorted.
"Ah, no." Ishida pushed his glasses up as he continued. "I do know the definition of 'Schoolwork', Sensei."
"But, aren't we going a little bit too fast?" Keigo voiced out his opinion. "I bet the others are only on Page 2 for all I know."
Rukia's eyebrow twitched as she crossed her arms in front of his chest. "You got a problem with that, Asano?"
"Uh, nope, Sensei." Keigo literally sweat dropped.
"Be grateful, Asano as I'm cutting you brats some slack here. Now, get your pens moving or you won't be able to pass it to me at the end of this lesson."
Rukia was ready to switch her laptop and get some peace and quiet when all the classmates except 5 whined. Rukia glanced at the 4 and did not felt a hint of surprise when they weren't the ones whining. Kurosaki Ichigo, Tatsuki Arisawa, Yasutora Sado and Ishida Uryuu. "What??? At the end of this lesson??? But, that's too fast!!!"
"That's why; wouldn't it be better for all of your lazy bums to start working now?" Rukia asked.
Soon after she said that, the class were in complete silence and only the scrambling of pencils could be heard as Rukia sighed in relief and sat her laptop down and switched it on, deciding to continue with her PowerPoint of teaching the students when she saw a message. Smiling as she clicked on the message, she immediately knew who it was from.
"Hey, Rukia, so, how's your class handling up?"
Rukia smiled as she began typing on her keyboard. "Not too bad. They are just doing the schoolwork that I had set up for them not too long ago. How about yours?"
The reply came a few minutes after. "Same with yours. Any student who brings you trouble?"
Out of the corner of her eyes, Rukia glanced at Tatsuki Arisawa before she sighed. Seriously, how can a person do their work while glaring at a teacher? "Yeah, a student had been glaring right at me since the starting of class though I don't really know why."
"Need me to come over there?" Was Renji's reply.
Rukia rolled her eyes. "Hold your horses, Renji. Don't forget, we are teachers now and both of us have our classes to take care of."
"You know, you do have to take care of that student sooner or later."
Rukia thought about Renji's words and realized he was right. "Good point. I will have you update me on the school updates later AFTER I settle this troublesome thing."
From all the scrambling they did, the students could hear Rukia say something which was directed to Tatsuki. "Arisawa, I hope you are doing your work."
Tatsuki never shifted her glare from Rukia as she asked too innocently. "Why do you ask that, Sensei?"
"Because that's no way you could simply do your work while you are glaring at me." Rukia simply replied as she switched her attention back to her laptop, glancing at Tatsuki out of the corner of her eyes and nobody seemed to be affected by her scolding at all.
Sighing in relief, she placed her hands on the keyboard again before resuming typing. "So, what's the latest update about Karakura High?"
"You dealt with that student already? That fast? And, what do you mean, updates about Karakura High? You have been a teacher for quite long, haven't you?"
"Ah, normally, a scolding will steer them back to the right path. So, I have no need to worry about that. Talking about updates, isn't the soccer tournament coming up in a few days?"
"Yeah, and it gives me the headache."
"Eh? Being the soccer coach of Karakura High, shouldn't you be more enthusiastic about the event?"
"Try being enthusiastic when you don't have enough members to go to the tournament when it's just a few days away."
If Rukia wasn't in her classroom at the moment, she would have laughed loudly. "Who's the team leader of the soccer coach anyway? I'm sure there's another person except you who's handling the team."
"Tatsuki Arisawa. You know her?"
Rukia stifled a gasp as she looked at the name and then glanced at the girl who was busy doing her schoolwork. She was the soccer's team Captain and now, they need members for the soccer tournament days ahead. "Yeah, she's my student and she was the one glaring at me just now."
"Wow, what a coincidence. Hey, Rukia, why don't you join the soccer team just for this tournament? There's no rule that states that teachers can't join and from what I know, since young, you were the best soccer player in our team."
This reply caused Rukia to roll her eyes. "If there's no rule that teachers can't join, why don't you join in? And, for goodness' sake, the last time I ever played soccer was more than 10 years ago, you of all people know that. My skills' must had gotten rusty anyway."
"Aw~~~ But, you were the best player~~~!"
Rukia started pondering on Renji's words. The very last experiment she had experience with soccer was with her brother and the one she loved. And, yet, after a whole 10 years, could she play another match again? Moreover, a student of hers was having difficulty. Glancing at her schedule, she realized her next schedule was Health and Fitness yet again. She was wondering what to do with the newfound information when the bell rang, signalling the start of the next lesson. Pencils stopped moving before the students looked at the teacher. Typing a quick reply to Renji that she had to go, she switched off the laptop and stood up, facing the students. "All right, time's up. Everybody got your work done?"
"Hai~~!!!" Echoed the students except one.
Rukia glanced at Tatsuki. Suddenly having a brilliant idea of what to do, she stood up and looked at her class. "If everybody's done with their work, can I ask Arisawa to collect all of the work and give them all to me?"
Tatsuki snapped her head up to glare at Rukia. "Why me?"
Hiding a smirk, Rukia simply replied. "Because you are in charge of the class, Arisawa. Therefore, it's your job to collect the works done by the students and hand it over to me, is it not?"
Tatsuki, hearing Rukia's words, grumbled under her breath and went forward to collect everybody's work. When she passed by Ichigo, Ichigo made a point to never piss Tatsuki off because her face looked like she could kill someone if she wanted to. But, looking at Rukia, he smirked. He wondered where this will go... Tatsuki walked to the teacher's table and slammed the work done by other students on the teacher's table. "Here you go, Sensei."
Rukia glanced at the work done before glancing at Tatsuki before waving her off. "Thanks." When Tatsuki looked shocked at her, Rukia didn't even spare Tatsuki a glance before facing her class. "Now, the next lesson is Health and Fitness once again." Which earned groans from every student except Tatsuki who narrowed her eyes at her so-called 'Homeroom Teacher'. "Brats, want to complain, go to Ukitake, not to your homeroom teacher."
This effectively shut them up as Rukia continue. "This time, I want all of you to go out to the field..." Seeing Ichigo narrow his eyes at her, she pointed her finger at Ichigo. "And, this includes you, Kurosaki. I want no excuses." Hearing Ichigo grumble, Rukia tried her best to keep a calm composure before speaking once again. "And, have a test of your football abilities."
Tatsuki stared at her teacher now, wondering what the hell was she thinking when she thought of this while Ichigo's eyebrow twitched. "Football... Abilities...?"
"Don't look at me like that, Kurosaki. I'm sure all of you know the soccer tournament is going to happen in a few days' time. And, I did hear from a fellow teacher of mine that the soccer team who's applying for the tournament's in need of some members. I don't wish to do it also, but, it must be done. I said stop looking at me like that, Kurosaki."
Ichigo tore his gaze away from Rukia and scoffed. "Che." But, deeply, he knew that was her way of helping Tatsuki.
Yet, Tatsuki thought nothing of it as she asked her teacher. "What ahs the football team got to do with Class 1-3, Sensei?"
Rukia sighed at Tatsuki's stubbornness, just like a certain Abarai Renji she knew long enough. "Arisawa, I said before, didn't I? A fellow teacher of mine has troubles, so, I need to offer my hand. Or, is that wrong, Arisawa?"
Liar. Tatsuki thought and turned away, walking back to her seat when she found nothing to retort. "Whatever suits you, I guess. I don't really care."
"Now, everybody, get your butts moving and scram out of the classroom! Arisawa, I have some things to tell you. Would you mind coming to the office with me and picking up some things?" Rukia asked politely.
Tatsuki shrugged in response to Rukia's question. "Not particularly."
With that response, everybody got out of the classroom, leaving Tatsuki and Rukia alone, with Tatsuki glaring at Rukia. "Do you have something to say to me, Arisawa? You have been glaring at me for some time now."
Tatsuki practically spat out the words from her mouth. "Why are you doing this? I don't need anybody, especially not you to help me out, Sensei."
Rukia simply glanced at Tatsuki and picked up her laptop. "You must be friends with Kurosaki."
"Now, I see why Ichigo hates you." Tatsuki retorted.
"You might have to ask him on that one." Rukia laughed while making her way back to her office.
"Seriously, why are you doing this?" Tatsuki asked.
Rukia knew that Tatsuki wasn't going to give up and from her tone, she could sense it was curiosity that had made her ask this question, not any ounce of mocking was detected at all. "I don't have to tell you everything, Arisawa. But, if you really want to know, I just told you the reason in the classroom."
"That's hardly a reason at all!!!" Tatsuki shouted.
"Your fault if you don't see that as a reason, not mine." Shrugging, Rukia continued her way towards her office, with Tatsuki tagging behind.
After reaching the office with a mere 5 minutes' walk, Rukia politely requested Tatsuki to wait for as she went in her office. Taking to leave by the back door, she took a shortcut route to the second floor's office as she looked around the office which currently is empty due to the teachers' having lessons. Tiptoeing, she reached to a teacher's table which labelled the name 'Uchiha Sasuke'. Looking down at the forms that were applicable for the soccer tournament, she took out one from the whole stack. Yet, she panicked as the doorknob was turned.
Shit, I will be dead if somebody found me in here! Thought Rukia and with her quick thinking, before the door was wide open, she had already disappeared from Uchiha Sasuke's table.
Walking back to the office where Tatsuki was waiting for her, Rukia handed Tatsuki a board with a few papers clipped onto it. "Arisawa, I hand over to you the task of choosing members for the soccer tournament which you find eligible."
Tatsuki looked at Rukia in confusion. "Why me...?"
"I told you, didn't I? You are in charge of the class now, so, I hand to you the task of selecting eligible members."
Although Tatsuki was suspicious of Rukia's actions, she didn't voice out her opinion and instead, settled with a nod. "I got it."
"Good. That's all, you may go now. And, take a few days before considering the most eligible players. If you need any help, you may come to me. And, I would expect this piece of board to be returned by the end of 2 days."
Tatsuki was silent, and after a few seconds, left the room, leaving Rukia to smile softly at her retreating form, wishing desperately this way would work.
Review:
Rolling her eyes, Rukia spoke into the phone. "Fine, since, now that you have reconfirmed that I am indeed Kuchiki Rukia, what is it that you want, Renji? If it's nothing important, I will hang up. I have a class to go to after all."
"Well, that changed when Tatsuki recommended Karin Kurosaki to me and, the whole team seemed to have recognized her abilities." Renji explained.
Rukia looked at Tatsuki before looking at the match again. "As expected from the soccer team's Captain, Arisawa."
"You said, just now, the right side of the football field, the members were lacking of skills. But, I say, they would win." Rukia stated while keeping her gaze at the 2 teams.
Tatsuki's eyes seemingly brightened up. "That means… You are good at soccer?"
"But, I'm sure you must be feeling excited as well for the soccer tournament, aren't you?" Urahara smirked.
A/N: So, what has Rukia Kuchiki, the homeroom teacher of Class 1-3, been hiding all this while? Are there more secrets to be revealed?