*Yawn* Yea...i've been having sleepless nights recently so i've had so much time to write this
I hope this chapter lives up to expectations ^^ START READING! ^^
Disclaimer : I do not own bleach, bleach owns me
Ichigo stayed behind Rukia as they walked along the road
He was still thinking about what Hichigo had said
The hollow's crazy actions had been to forget about the past and get used to his new life
Ichigo finally understood his hollow's feelings and sad ending, yet he couldn't help but be jealous
He had a wife for crying out loud! And she resembled Rukia? What a lucky guy…
He sighed out loud and Rukia heard him
"Something on your mind?"
"Nahs… its no biggie, how 'bout you? Anything on your mind?"
"I was just thinking of Hichigo's story… the sad ending… what would you do if I died?"
He stopped in his tracks
The question had totally caught him off guard
"You can't die"
He flushed and turned away after blurting it out
"Why not?"
"Because I can't live without you! Anyw-"
He stopped midway and blood rushed to his face as he turned away
He had said too much, as usual
Rukia giggled and quickly planted a quick kiss on his cheek before turning around and skipping back home
He didn't know how to react and absent-mindedly placed his hand on the spot where she had kissed him
It felt warm
His lips curved up a little and he followed after her
Maybe I'm not that unlucky after all…
They reached home together and Ichigo opened the door
"ICHIGO!"
Ichigo tilted his head to the left and his dad went flying past his shoulder
"Ichi-nii! Welcome home!"
Yuzu came running out and gave him a hug, while Karin just waved her hand at him, her eyes still focused on the television
Ichigo just went up to his room and changed up, before heading out again
Rukia was standing outside the door, waiting for him
"Took you long enough"
She was pouting and that just made her look adorable
He couldn't help but grin
"Well, we have half a day, Byakuya is writing that report to the old geezer, so what do you want to do?"
"How 'bout we go to the mall?"
"Sounds good to me"
He hugged her from behind, sniffing her hair
"You smell good"
She blushed and buried her face in his giant palms
"Baka…"
He let go after a while and they walked awkwardly towards the mall, both too shy to take the other's hand
Ichigo couldn't remember when was the last time he had this much fun
Sure, the midget had annoyed the hell out of him by entering every store to check out its Chappy goods, but they also went for countless rounds of games at the arcade
Now they were watching a movie
He grinned and shook his head
They were always fighting hollows or on adventures, they rarely had time to spend with each other, not as shinigami comrades, but as friends
Or more…
Ichigo grinned at the thought as he inched his hand closer to hers, just as the movie was playing an intimate scene
When his hand finally rested over hers, he could see her blushing, even in the dark cinema
He decided to push his luck by pretending to stretch his arm… and wrapping them around her
She scowled slightly at the distraction but obliged, leaning on his shoulder
After that, no matter how he tried, he couldn't concentrate on the movie
He couldn't take his eyes off her, looking at the details of her body, as though it was his first time looking at her
Her small body, which was half the size of his own
Her skin, which was slightly pale, always making her look sickly and fragile
Her raven black hair, darker than the night sky
Rosy cheeks, which made her look so cute
A small button nose, which he felt like pinching
Her violet eyes, which shined, brightening up his day
She realized he was staring and turned away, blushing once more
"Watch the movie you idiot…"
"I'm watching something better than that…"
She elbowed his chest playfully, but his compliments were like music to her ears
They couldn't remember anything about the movie after that
Both kept stealing glances at each other and when they saw the other looking, they would turn away and blush, embarrassed again
The movie ended too soon for their liking
As they walked out of the cinema, they bumped into a familiar face
Renji and Matsumoto had just came out from another movie and seemed to be laughing
Upon noticing Ichigo, both stopped and Mastumoto moved behind Renji while the latter narrowed his eyes at Ichigo
Ichigo looked meaningfully at Rukia
He smirked and pulled her to his side, pointing up his longest finger to Renji
Matsumoto grabbed his arm as he tried to advance to hit the orange-haired guy
Ichigo, on he other hand, chose to walk away, pleased that he had probably spoiled Renji's day with those gestures
Rukia was grabbing on to his hand happily
Ichigo had annoyed Renji and he had done so for her
He looked so hot doing that!
She blushed at the thoughts
What's with me today! My face has been so red ever since he said he couldn't live without me…
Ichigo noticed she was burying her face in his hard and it felt warm
He checked his watch and grinned
"Follow me, don't say anything yet"
He pressed a finger to her lips just as she opened her mouth to say something
"Just follow me, 'cos you know I can just carry you anywhere I want to"
He gave her one of those evil "just-try-running" grins, as he pulled her along
Ichigo led her to the park, just outside the mall
He started going up a hill, still pulling a puzzled Rukia along with him
Many people were already at the top, leaving not much room
Tch. Damn… oh well… lucky she wore jeans today…
Ichigo started climbing the nearest tree and extended his hand out to her
"C'mon, its almost time"
Time for what?
She was still puzzled as she grabbed on to his hand and climbed up
He pointed out a direction and her eyes turned to face his "surprise"
Across the horizon, the sun was setting, creating a beautiful scenery
The clouds were a crimson red, with the shadows of the trees in the distance
She had never really seen a sunset. In Sereitei, she was usually kept so busy that she just didn't have the time
Ichigo saw the awed expression on her face and smiled
He took out his phone and snapped a photo of her, with the sunset as a background
"Ichigo…you brought me out here for this?... I missed my Chappy store to see this!"
Seriously?... I don't know what goes through to her-
His thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly walked over and hugged him
"Thanks… Ichi…"
She closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment, a couple of tears falling
No one had ever done anything like this for her before and she was glad the first one had been Ichigo
Good news, she was happy and hugged him
Bad news, she had hugged him while they were standing on the edge of a branch
Snap
"Owww…"
Rukia rubbed her head
"Baka! You fell on top of me"
He tapped her forehead gently before smiling, in spite of the pain from landing on his rear
Whew… lucky I chose a low branch… but why does my…
He looked down and his nose almost bled
Her hands… on… my… OH MY GOD!
He sat up abruptly, shifting his position
She looked at him suspiciously
"Is something wrong Ichigo?"
"Your hand… just now… it was… on my…"
It was her turn to blush a deep shade of red
They were behind a couple of bushes, which gave Ichigo some weird thoughts
AHH! Heck no!
He pushed the thoughts aside and looked at her
"Rukia… sorry… I didn't mean it in 'that' way… it just so happened… that…"
Her face was drawing closer as he was apologizing
"I me-mean… I just s-so… happened to b-be there…when you f-fell…"
He was stammering and his whole body was shaking as he leaned forward too
He could feel the warmth of her breath on his lips
C'mon Ichigo!
He was trying to move forward little by little without startling her, but was lacking the confidence
Rukia felt herself shaking with nervousness
Move! Just kiss me already you idiot!
She was mentally scolding Ichigo for not taking the initiative
After all, she had never kissed anyone or let anyone kiss her, aside from the time Renji forced one on her
Their faces were only centimeters apart
They could hear each other's heavy breathing and Rukia felt his warm breath as he hyperventilated
Both closed their eyes and moved forward one last time
Hollow alert~ hollow alert~
If there is a god out there, he hates me…
They both thought the same thing as they checked their respective hollow detectors
I'm gonna kill that hollow! Why now of all times!
Ichigo was severely pissed off by the hollow's bad timing
He was mentally cursing his bad luck as he pressed the representative badge against his chest and headed towards the source of reiatsu
Rukia was no exception
She was still recuperating from Dieu's attacks, which left her powerless, so hollow attacks wouldn't affect her for now
Or so she thought
Of all the days, of all the times!
She sighed, looking at his immobile body
If only the hollows had came a second later… we might have…
Her fingers brushed against her lips, where she had felt Ichigo's breath just moments before
She carried his body back home, still cursing the hollows for their untimely arrival
Ichigo returned home after taking out the Gillians which had appeared
What a waste of time! If they didn't come…
He sighed for the umpteenth time before re-entering his body
He could hear Rukia in the shower and thoughts flooded his mind as he resisted the temptation to barge in the toilet and kiss her
Instead, he decided to read some literature books, which lay on his bed, using them to take his mind off the matter
The door opened and Ichigo looked up
Rukia was wearing nothing, only a pink towel wrapped around her body and another around her head
Ichigo felt something leaking out of his nose
Rukia's face was redder than the sunset they had just seen
WHAT IS HE DOING HERE! HE SHOULDN'T BE BACK SO SOON! I'M BARELY WEARING ANYTHING!
She had accidentally left her clothes on his table, thus having to come out to get them
"Ichigo! Your nose is bleeding!"
She grabbed a piece of tissue and ran over to him, helping him clean it up
He suddenly grabbed her hand
"Rukia… let's continue where we left off"
He used his other hand to tilt her head up
Their eyes met and he moved closer to her
They closed their eyes
If Byakuya saw me now… I'd be so dead…
"Kozo… you have three seconds to remove your fingers from her, or I will remove them by force"
Even his voice sounded realistic…
"Three"
Wait a minute…
"Two"
They both opened their eyes and saw the Kuchiki clan leader standing next to them
"One"
Oh-…
"Scatter, Senbonzakura"
- Shit…
"It would appear there was a misunderstanding"
Oh gee, you think?...
Ichigo was on his bed, a now fully clothed Rukia applying some cream to his newly-created wounds
"But I am not sorry about my actions"
No surprises there…
"Under no circumstances will you do that again, are we clear?"
"We won't-…" he added in an undertone to Rukia, "…- let him see"
She resisted the urge to giggle, choosing to give him a small smile instead
"Good. Now on a different note, I came here today to pass you this"
A package and a hell butterfly… wow… I am sooo grateful…
"Er… okay… who is it from?"
"Captain-commander Yamamoto, of course. The report came back, and he has a message for you"
The hell butterfly rested on Ichigo's finger and Yamamoto's message was conveyed to him
"Kurosaki Ichigo, taking into account all your previous contributions to Soul Society, it is my opinion, and of many others, that you should be recognized for your efforts. After receiving the reports of Captain Kuchiki and Captain Hitsugaya, I have made my decision.
As Captain-commander of the newly formed Gotei 14, I hereby promote you, to the captain of the 15th squad. Welcome to the Gotei 15, Captain Kurosaki. You will find the captain's haori inside the package, along with a Lieutenant's armband. Captain Ukitake has recommended Kuchiki Rukia to be your Lieutenant and I have approved. Should you choose to make a change, reply using this hell butterfly"
The carefree little butterfly flew off his arm
Sure enough, when Ichigo opened the package, a white haori was in it, with the number fifteen on its back
He took it out placed it on his bed
He found the armband at the bottom and took it out
Below the number fifteen, the symbol of his squad was a Juniper flower
"Kozo, just because you have become captain, does not give you the rights to talk to me. I am still of a higher status then you"
Byakuya acting high and mighty as usual
Ichigo said nothing, turning his attention to Rukia instead
"Congrats Ichigo!"
She almost gave him a hug, but Byakuya's gaze was not too friendly, which really ticked Ichigo off
"Hey Byakuya, I forgot to congratulate you too"
Silence
"And what for? May I ask?"
"Oh nothing big… just Rukia becoming the new squad's Lieutenant"
More silence
"Why do you say that?" Byakuya had a strained smile on his face
"Oh no reason… just that-…"
Ichigo pulled her to himself
"…- She's about to transfer to become my Lieutenant"
Rukia couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a small giggle
He looked her in the eye and smiled
Captain Kurosaki… man it was going to be tough getting used to that…
Ichigo looked at his haori
15th squad, the Juniper, the one that protects
Byakuya's reaction? Well… If looks could kill…
^^"? I just realised im dead cos i wrote this instead of my testimonial, which is due this weekend D=
So i have 4 points again (pls bear with me )
1. I hope the flower i chose was correct, (google said it was Juniper, but im pretty sure there are others too) if not, feel free to correct me
2. More then one person has told me that my english seems a little "forced", that is pretty true, mostly cos i speak singlish alot (mixing english with chinese and other dialects) so im sorry if my english isnt too good
3. I decided to add my friend's comments down here too (these are non-edited so they may not be fully in english). so there are 3 of them, (names secret) im going to use their nicknames, which also gives an idea of their personalities ;x
SickMinded : Walao... no lemon... alamak mai tease readers lei. wan kiss den kiss. dun beat bush
Player : AISEH I LIKE! romantic the max. add music make mood.
KempachiNo.2 : No fight not fun leh. lo-mantic ok lurhs but abit boring lor.
4. if and ONLY IF the situation seems appropriate, i will try adding songs into the story (Player : YES!) the song titles will be given at the bottom of the story
OKAY GUYS! TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! REVIEWS PLS!
Quote : Without a fan, what is the point of being a star? Without an Audience, what is the point of putting on a play? Without students, what is the point of being a teacher? Without readers, what is the point of being an author? We are only successful because of those around us