Chapter Seven: When the Clock Strikes Twelve
Ichigo had never felt such fear in his life as he stared at the sight before him. He had stood his ground against an entire Gotei Thirteen, almost single-handedly. He had faced off with the espada in the Winter War and even battled the villain of all villains, Aizen Sousuke. And yet, nothing, NOTHING could compare to this. Closing his eyes, he shook his head experimentally, wondering if it could do the trick of dispersing the scene like a mirage. With palms sweating, he took the courage to peek through one eye.
Nope, it's not working. It is still THERE.
"Rukia?"
Steady your voice, steady your voice, you idiot!
"Mmmn?" Came Rukia's dreamy voice and Ichigo felt his stomach sank further down into the pits of fear.
"Are you… are you sure?"
"Yes!" Rukia beamed as her eyes glazed over. Ichigo was positive that he was trembling uncontrollably now.
"But… I can't- no WE can't do this. We can't-"
"We've come this far!" Hissed Rukia and Ichigo jumped slightly upon the viciousness of her voice. "Be a man about it! There is no way you are backing out of this now!"
Ichigo closed his eyes as he tried to steady his breathing. He had heard about it, he had seen it; he knew the frightening tales about it. But it was just one of the crucial phrases in every guy's life. Every guy had to go through this in order to become a real man. It was a terrifying but important transition and he, Kurosaki Ichigo was upon its doorstep.
C'mon! Think Espada! Think Gotei Thirteen! If you can beat those, you can beat this!
"Ichigo…" Rukia whined.
Ichigo could take it no longer. He turned away from her, shut his eyes and took a long, deep breath.
This would be the breath before the plunge.
Turning back, he placed two firm hands upon Rukia's shoulders, his eyes locking with hers. Taking another deep breath, he said, slowly and clearly.
"Rukia. We. Are. Not. Going. To. Disneyland."
There. He said it. He blinked, absorbed in that surreal moment. He said it! He had rejected one of the fearful experiences that guys had to go through at least once in their lives; lingerie shopping with a girl, having coffee with her in a café filled with pink frilly cushions and lacey curtains, and of course, THIS. Walking into a goddamned cutesy, rodent infested (what? Wearing clothes does not make Mickey Mouse less a rodent!) lala land!
There was silence. His fingers twitched.
So… What is she going to do now?
"Um…" He started hesitantly as he slowly released his grip. Her eyes seemed distant and… HOLY SHIT! Are those TEARS shimmering in her eyes? "Ooi! Rukia? Ruk-"
"CHAPPY!!" She screamed suddenly as she pushed past Ichigo and made a mad dash forward.
"Chappy!?" Ichigo blinked. "Chap- OH SHIT!" He spun around quickly in an attempt to restrain her but realized that she already made an Olympic worthy leap across the gantry. A muffled scream could be heard from a distant as Rukia attacked and tackled a bewildered man-size Chappy to the ground.
"Ooi!" Shouted Ichigo as he started to run after her but a hand stayed him. He looked down at the woman clad in the Disney turquoise jumper and lifted a brow quizzically.
"That'll be 10,000 yen sir." Smiled the woman as she placed two tickets into his outstretched hand.
"WHAT!?"
She lifted a finger at Rukia and her smile broadened ominously. "She is already over the gantry, Sir."
Ichigo followed her finger and groaned at the sight. Quite a crowd was already gathering around the said subject and obscuring her from his sight. But he was positive that someone shouted, "Chappy looked ill, Mummy!"
"I am going to kill her!" Hissed Ichigo as he fished angrily in his pocket for his wallet.
"Your girlfriend is very adorable. It's very nice of you to bring her here."
Ichigo scoffed, "Adorable, you say? You don't-" Then it hit home. His eyes bulged and he waved his hands frantically, "NO! No no! She is not my girlfriend!"
The woman gave a knowing smile. "Oh is it? That's what they always say."
"No! Really! She-"
"Oh no need to explain, you silly boy!" The woman laughed as she handed the park's map over to Ichigo. "Have a great day at Disneyland! Don't forget to get some souvenirs from our souvenir shop!"
"Listen lady! She-"
"CHAPPY! CHAPPY!!" Squealed an excited Rukia. A child began to cry.
Ichigo heaved a huge sigh. "I'd better go rescue that blasted rabbit of yours before someone dies."
The woman nodded.
"And for one last time, she is not-"
"There are some Chappy merchandise in our stores, Mister. You may want to get some for your girlfriend. She seems incredibly fond of them."
Ichigo had never felt this defeated in his entire life.
Disneyland is a horror park. Thought Ichigo bitterly as he crashed, utterly exhausted upon a bench. As if being a total mockery of his pain, Rukia bounced happily to his side, her rabbit ears flapping as she held a Chappy lollipop in one hand and a huge Chappy soft toy in the other.
"Rukia," Groaned Ichigo. "Tell me again. Why are we here?"
"Because you promised to bring me here."
"I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
"I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
Ichigo sighed loudly. He did not. His goddamned father did. His conspiring sisters did. His entire family tricked and coerced him into this.
"Rukia-chan, Daddy is so glad that you are back!" Cooed Kurosaki Isshin while staring adoringly at the petite girl who was chewing her food daintily. "So, is Ichigo taking you out for the weekend?"
"Oh no, Kurosaki-san! I wouldn't want to trouble him." Replied Rukia sweetly as she gave a sniggering Ichigo a swift kick under the dining table.
"Not Kurosaki-san! Rukia-chan!" Wailed the old man as he lunged across the table to give his self-proclaimed third daughter a hug of love. "Please call me daddy, daaaaadddy!"
"Leave her alone, pervert." Said Ichigo as he coolly held back a struggling Isshin by the collar.
"You!" Shouted Isshin, pointing an accusing finger at his son. "Have I thought you nothing about being a man!?"
"You said it pops."
"Rukia is finally back with us after such a long time! And you are not bringing her out!?"
"Why should I?"
Scandalized, Isshin dashed towards his late wife's life sized picture, wailing. "Oh Masaki! Our son is not a man! He knows not how to treat a woman well! I have failed! Our son is not a maaaaaan!!"
A vein pulsated ominously upon Ichigo's head, " You idiot, I am warning you-"
"You're not gay, are you?" Asked Isshin as he gave Ichigo an odd look.
"THAT'S IT! YOU ARE DEAD!"
"Onii-chan, how about Disneyland? It is kinda nice." Yuzu suggested suddenly.
Ichigo froze, "Wha-?"
"Disneyland?" Rukia blinked. Now that is a strange word... "What is that?"
"A theme park, Rukia nee-chan. With balloons, toys, rides, sweets…"
"You can see Chappy there." Karin added.
Rukia's eyes widened, "Chappy!"
"NO! THERE IS NO CHAPPY IN DISNEYLAND!" Cried Ichigo desperately when he saw the look upon Rukia's face. "Karin! It is DISNEYLAND for god's sake!"
"There is Chappy."
"How would do you know! You've never been there!"
"Neither have you, Ichi-nii."
"You-!"
"I want to go to this Disneyland!" Rukia announced loudly, all bright-eyed and excited. "Let's go together this Sunday!"
Almost on cue, Isshin shook his head dramatically, "Oh nonono, Rukia-chan. You know that daddy would love to bring you! But I can't leave the clinic alone."
"Oh… that's a shame. How about Karin? Yuzu?"
Karin waved her chopsticks, "Uhuh. I have soccer practice."
"Yuzu?" Rukia asked hopefully.
"Um… um… Rukia neechan… you see…" Yuzu fidgeted while throwing covert looks at her twin sister.
"Yuzu has a test on Monday. She can't go."
"Yes! I have a test on Monday!" Cried Yuzu in relief as she thanked her younger twin silently. She turned her gaze towards Ichigo and gave a little apologetic smile while Isshin and Karin looked on, sniggering. "Nii-chan, can you bring Rukia-neechan?"
Ichigo eyes widened. He couldn't believe that he hadn't seen it coming in the first place. This! This-
"This is a conspiracy!! You guys have been planning this!"
"Too late Ichi-nii," Karin smirked as she pointed at an ecstatic Rukia. "She's hooked, and so are you."
And so he was, miles away from home, in Chiba's Disneyland.
Rukia peered at his face. "You don't look happy."
"Oh really? Let me see…" Ichigo pursed his lips in mock contemplation. "I was tricked into coming to Disneyland, burnt a hole in my wallet because somebody forced me to get her Chappy ears, Chappy lollipop and Chappy soft toy. And to top it off, I endured two hours of humiliation sitting in a rabbit themed café. Mmmn… I really wonder why?"
"You looked pretty happy when we were riding the Princesses' Teacups."
"NO I WASN'T!"
"Yes you were! You couldn't stop smiling!" Laughed Rukia as she sat next to him.
"I didn't know I am your mirror, midget."
They sat in the silence with Chappy seated between them, watching the dying bustle of Disneyland at night. From a distance, darkness approached as the bright lights of the theme park went off one by one. A woman's voice announced politely over the PA system that the park would be closing in thirty minutes. A carousel came to a halt as a CLOSED sign was put up.
"All right! Time to go!" Announced Ichigo as he leapt to his feet. Rukia sat unmoving, her eyes unreadable as she watched a man pulled down the shutters of the candy store.
"Rukia?"
"Ichigo… We still have thirty minutes right?"
Ichigo scratched his head, "Er, yeah kinda."
"Let's go to the Ferris wheel!" Rukia suggested suddenly.
"What!?"
Fifteen minutes later, a bewildered Ichigo found himself seated in an unmoving Ferris wheel, hundreds of feet above the ground, upon the very peak.
"Er Rukia, I think the Ferris wheel stopped?"
"Oh yeah," Rukia nodded, her face barely leaving the window as she gazed in wonder at the tiny lights below. "The guy said something about giving us an extra five minutes at the top."
"Why?"
"Cos I told him I'll be proposing to you at the top."
"Oh I- WHAT!? Was that the reason he let us in!?" Ichigo gasped, his face burning up. "No wonder he was giving me weird looks!
Rukia snorted, "Oh stop being a prude. How else can I get us up here? It was already closed when we got here, idiot. Should I tell him instead that you are terminally ill and your last wish is to see the night sights of Disneyland from a Ferris wheel? That's original."
Ichigo rolled his eyes, "And you think the proposal thing is original?"
"Yes." Said Rukia flatly. "I could have said it's you doing the proposing. Besides, you look too healthy to be terminally ill."
Ichigo made a face. "Ha. Very funny."
Rukia said nothing, her gaze returning to the glittering lights afar and heavy silence came again, hanging precariously in the air.
Here it comes again. Thought Ichigo as he sneaked covert looks at Rukia. The strange silence that Rukia lapses into every now and then throughout this entire week…
"Oi, Ichigo." Called Rukia softly and Ichigo jumped slightly. Her eyes were still upon the distant horizon, twinkling like purple jewels in the dark.
"Yeah?"
"… Thank, thank you for everything."
"HUH!?" Ichigo stared at her incredulously. "What the hell for?"
"Nothing." Rukia sighed, her eyes flashing to meet Ichigo's for a brief moment before returning her gaze to the night-lights. For everything…
Ichigo folded his arms and raised a suspicious brow, "You're… not dying, are you?"
"What?" Rukia spluttered.
Ichigo shrugged, "I mean, you have been spouting weird nonsense all week. As if you're going to die or something. Are you ill? But you souls don't die right? By sickness and all… Do you guys even get sick?"
"No." Huffed Rukia angrily. "We don't get ill. Nor do we die, in your sense of the word. We just dispersed into soul particles."
"That's all?"
"Well… it seems that some soul particles recollect into original form and reincarnate."
"How do you know?"
"Some of us see familiar faces at times when we patrol the living world. It could be a relative, a loved one, an ex-captain and so…" Rukia's voice fell. "I thought you were Kaien-dono when I first saw you."
"Oh." Ichigo knew about this Kaien guy, but hearing this somehow pissed him off.
"You're not… you're not Kaien-dono, of course." Rukia said as she thought about Aaroniero Arruruerie.
Ichigo grunted, "Of course I'm not."
"Yeah… how silly am I, right? " Rukia whispered, her eyes downcast in thought. "Ichigo… do you- um, do ever regret meeting me?"
Ichigo laughed nervously, "What is wrong with you today? You're really weird!"
Rukia's eyes flashed to meet his and he swallowed. In the darkness, her violet eyes were strangely alluring as she edged towards him.
"Do you blame me for changing your world?"
"Of course not, stupid!" Ichigo cried angrily as he smacked Rukia right upon the head. "We've been through this before! Stop blaming yourself because there is nothing to blame for!"
Rukia winced and cradled her head, and Ichigo braced himself for her revenge. But she sat back in defeat and smiled sadly.
"I was always worried about that… I've always wondered if it would have been better if I've left you alone then." Her eyes caught his and she held them there, searching. "But a selfish part of me was always glad that we met."
Ichigo's heart was palpitating as he felt Rukia's earnest gaze upon him. Resisting the strange urge to hold her face, he scolded softly. "Don't say weird things, idiot!"
Rukia chuckled softly.
A loud boom resounded and a flash of light burst across the dark sky. A golden blossom bloomed before their eyes and sparkled before a red one followed. More came hissing and whistling into the sky, bursting into a rainbow of colours and splashing wildly across the black canvas. Ichigo and Rukia stared; their words and thoughts forgotten as they sat transfixed upon the night sky that now glowed brighter with each flaming blossom.
"Fireworks!" Breathed Rukia in wonder.
Ichigo nodded and smiled, "It's been a while since I last saw one."
"They are so beautiful…" Rukia sighed wistfully as she watched another blossomed and withered across the night sky. "Do you know why fireworks are beautiful, Ichigo?"
"Is that a trick question?"
Rukia chuckled, "No."
"Well… There is no reason for beautiful things to be beautiful, I guess." Ichigo shrugged, watching the fireworks reflected deep in Rukia's amethyst eyes. "They just simply are…"
"Fireworks are beautiful because they are short-lived, Ichigo." Rukia said, watching a purple and gold blossom blossomed and burned passionately in the air. "They bloomed brightly in the sky for that beautiful moment and die before you can imprint that image into your mind. Before you know it, it's all over and you realize that you cannot remember how each firework looks like. But all you know is, they were all beautiful. Sadly beautiful…"
"Never knew you to be the poetic type." Ichigo grinned.
"As if you're to speak, Mr I-Speak-In-Sonnets."
Ichigo laughed, "Rukia. As much as I hate to admit it, but I think I had fun today"
"I knew you loved the Princesses' Teacups!" Cried Rukia triumphantly.
"Shut up."
"I had fun too." Rukia said and added, regretfully. "But it's coming to an end…"
"Well… We can come back again, if you want." Ichigo said, blushing as he scratched his nose. "With Pops and the girls next time. The girls haven't been here. It can be a family outing."
"A family outing?" Rukia repeated, pensively.
"Yeah, we'll come back again." Ichigo nodded. "For sure. I promise."
"Yeah… we'll do that." Rukia murmured, her lips trembling as she watched the fireworks reached its frenzied climax. "We'll… we'll come back again."
The explosion of wild colours faded slowly from her eyes as the last blossom withered in the sky, showering a rain of fairy dusts in its wake.
Rukia stared at the sky, now silent and dark. The ferris wheel began to move.
And she knew.
The magic is over. The clock had struck twelve.
Alas! The chapter is complete! (Sweeney Todd's music playing in the background as writer held up her laptop in crazed triumphant!)
This chapter killed me, I don't know why. But, well it is done, so I have no more complaints. ) Chapter Eight is already in progress, that's the good news. The bad news is, I don't know when I can complete it. (
But I'm really excited for the next chapter cos I finally get to write about Byakuya Nii-sama!! So brace yourself (it can get a little angsty!)
Please Read and Review! Thank you to all you reviewers, you always make a writer's day!
