Okay. You can do this. It's the same Rukia, you've known her for years, and she hasn't changed. Even if she says no, you can still talk to her, let her know that we can still be friends, even if she doesn't want to be with me, in that sense. Breathe deeply, in and out.
He hovered outside of the door to the 13th Barracks, hand floating over the handle, trying to get enough courage to turn it and enter. Goddamnit, just do it! You weren't this scared of Aizen!
He took a few steps back, pulling a hand through his hair. Stopping, closing his eyes and balling hands, he gathered his courage. Trying to walk with purpose, he strode towards the door, hand out for the handle.
And he walked straight into Rukia. The sight was comical - the Spirit King barrelled into the single person he was afraid of at this moment, knocked her sprawling backwards, him tripping up and following her, and Rukia landing on the floor, only to get winded when Ichigo's head hit her stomach.
"Shit!"
"Oof!"
The two scrambled to their feet, one wheezing slightly. "Jeez, Rukia, I'm sorry. You alright?"
"Yeah I am. Idiot." She smacked Ichigo's stomach. "Watch where you're going next time, eh?"
Ichigo raised his eyebrows. "Oh, I'm sorry. I did look, it's just that a midget is below my cone of vision."
"Midget? Oh, you bastard. Who're you to be throwing names around anyway Ichigo? Or should I say," sarcasm dripped thickly from her tongue, "my Liege?"
"Ha. See? I laughed, good job. Always knew you'd be good as a clown."
The two went back and forth for a few minutes before stopping. Sensing the lull in their conversation, Ichigo tried to remember why he had come in the first place.
"Oh yeah! Um, Rukia, I was gonna be going to the Human world for a few days tonight, to say bye to my family, Orihime, Chad, Uryu, and all my friends over there. So, uh. I wanted to know if you would come round to Yamamoto's office tonight? And we could sit, and talk. And eat. And stuff."
She sent Ichigo a long look. "And eat and stuff. For the most noble noble of all the nobles, you really don't have such an expanded lexis."
Ichigo tried to wrap his head around what Rukia had said about the nobles that he almost missed the insult.
"And, uh, yes. I would." Now, Rukia looked nervous too. "So. Tonight then?"
"Yeah. Tonight."
Ichigo waved bye, and left, thinking God, she must think I'm an absolute idiot. I made that so awkward.
Rukia waved back, retreating back into her office, thinking God, he must think I'm so conceited. I made that so awkward.
Yamamoto sat across from Yachiru, who was currently into her fifth hour on the importance of sweets in training at the Shinigami Academy. Yamamoto wanted to cry.
"Go fish."
"Fuck."
"Got any Queens?"
"How? How do you always know?"
"Ha, skill."
"Got any threes?"
"Only one buddy."
"Mm, better than nothing."
Akio scratched his chin, pulling the scarred skin around. "Katsuo, got any fours?"
"Go fish." The older man sat across from him, nursing a cup of sake, making sure that all of his reiatsu was tightly bound and not going to leak. The King had told them to take the night off - ordered, to be truthful - and so the two were embroiled in cards, and booze. And they'd found two other people who liked those same things.
"Rangiku, pass me that six you've got hidden there." The flowery captain smirked softly as the aforementioned woman grumbled, sliding the card over to him. "Got a set." He laid down the four sixes. The other three groaned. "So," his tone was curious, "what did you say you guys do again?"
The two Royal Guardsmen exchanged looks, unseen by the other occupants of the table. "We're unseated shinigami, for Division Thirteen. We basically just handle the mail." Katsuo drank. "It's a shit job, but hey. Better than being the one to clean out the eleventh division training grounds."
Akio played along. "They actually clean those?" The three chuckled softly. "Oh, and got any Aces?"
"Go fish."
"Tch. Crap."
Rangiku spoke next, eyes blinking leisurely thanks to the amount of sake she had drunk. "So, boyo, how'd you get that nasty lookin' scar?"
The only sign of Akio's tensing was a curling of his toes. "Ah, got into a nasty fight with a hollow. Damn thing had poisonous claws - I was under healing kido for a week, and it left me this nasty ass scar." He drank. "Only bright side to it is that I look like a nasty motherfucker, so sometimes Squad Eleven leave me alone."
"Got any twos?"
"Prick."
"So," Katsuo's tone was casual, but Akio noticed the undercurrent of interrogation. Luckily, the other two didn't. "What's this I've heard about some girl that our new Spirit King knows, Otuhime?"
Rangiku was quickest. "Orihime. The girl was a miracle. During the war, she healed so many shinigami, even the captains a couple of times each, so quickly that even Unohana was stunned. They called her, 'The Miracle of Karakura.' She'd make a fatal wound disappear before anyone else would realize that the wound was there. If Kurosaki won the war, Inoue made sure that there were still people to come back."
Katsuo caught Akio's eye. "Jesus. She sounds incredible. Is she a shinigami?"
Kyoraku this time. "No, a human - we think. The thing is, she doesn't feel like a hollow, quincy, or a shinigami. She feels different."
"Like?" The two leaned in, almost involuntarily. Kyoraku fell silent, searching for the words.
"Like the Royal Guards Ichigo was with. Won't mean anything to you two, but it felt like that."
The room was silent for a few moments.
"Got any Kings, Akio?"
"Just the one."
"Thanks for this old man." Ichigo smiled warmly at the old shinigami. "I owe you one."
"No, no, my boy. I'm glad to help." Yamamoto smiled. "I will always do whatever I can to help a budding love spring."
Ichigo blushed. The old man chuckled, and left the room.
Ichigo looked at the room, bathed as it was in an orange glow from the softly crackling fireplace, and waited.
A few bowel-shittingly terrifying minutes later, there was a knock at the door.
"Captain Commander? Sorry for the intrusion sir, Ichigo told me - oh, hey." She walked in, nerves shining through her violet eyes, which widened at the sight of the small table on the balcony. "That's, uh, for us?"
"Er, y-yeah, it is. Old man Yama was all too happy to help. And since I don't know any restaurants in Seireitei, I just thought that - well, we could eat here?"
"Yeah! Yeah, this is, um. This is nice." The two stood awkwardly, before making their way over to the table.
"The food's probably not as good as at the Kuchiki Manor, but I couldn't find anyone that made good food at such short notice, so Yamamoto got Sasakibe to make the food."
The two sat, and began to eat, and talk. "So, how're you holding up? With this whole about the Spirit King, you have to be busy."
"Ah, well, not too bad I suppose. To be honest, these two weeks are going to be the easiest I've got. When I go into the King's Realm - well, Chiyoko's-"
"Chiyoko?"
"Chiyoko Fujioka, Commander of the Tengoku Gādo-tai." Rukia's looked stunned.
"So, she's here? Now? The Royal Guard are here?"
"No, no. Not the entire thing. See, that's the problem. Not many people know this, but Chiyoko's been telling me that we are basically going to be going to war. I'll need to rally troops, siege the King's Palace, and sit on the throne before everything goes to shit."
Her eyes widened to the size of dishes, and her jaw dropped, mouth forming a perfect 'o'. "But, but why? I thought you were going to the King's Realm and that it would take eight weeks to repair the damage done?"
"You don't know?" She shook her head. "They told me, when they first came, that there is a Usurper to the throne, who's claiming dominion over the King's Realm, and making the realms collapse even faster. His power, they said, is roughly close to mine now, so a fight between us, now, could go either way." He paused, looking deep into Rukia's eyes again, and stunned to find that, once again, she was unaffected. "The worst part of it is that the half of the Royal Guard have betrayed me, and joined him."
Silence stretched between them. "But, I'll fight this. I'll do everything I can to get on that throne, and beat the asshole making things worse for everyone."
The conversation turned to more pleasant things.
"Thanks Rukia, for coming tonight. It was good."
"Yeah." She smirked. "It was."
They were quiet, stood outside of the Kuchiki Manor as the moon peered down on them from above.
"Uh, yeah. I'll see you when I get back?"
"Yeah, I'll see you then." He watched as her violet eyes seemed to dance with joy, knowing that his probably were too.
Neither of them said it, but it was a silent agreement.
They both leaned in, no confusion this time, and kissed again.
A.N - Well, holy shit. I posted the last chapter last night with seven reviews. I am now looking at 18. Well, that is incredible. You guys are the shit, thank all of you so much, if seeing 7 reviews made my day, seeing it almost triple made my month. I have read them, and all I can say is that Ichigo's inner spirits will come more into play once he faces the trials in the King's Realm, and Central 46...well, Byakuya isn't the only one who had reservations surrounding Ichigo's claim. I'll leave it at that.
Yup, it's official. They figured out that they liked each other. It's cute. I like them.
If the updates get a little less often, don't worry, I'm not giving up on this story, it just means that I'm trying to write the best I can for all of y'all, and not publish crap. Also, if I do publish crap, don't be afraid to slam me in the reviews - I'd much rather get some scathing, but helpful reviews than write a sub-par story.
Review, favorite and follow this story if you like it - with each new favorite, with every new follow, I get a little giddy. With every review, I get very giddy.
Also, my story at time of writing has 42 followers. It also has 38 views. FanFiction do can problem of maths.