"We're getting a wave coming in ahead, we also got two strays zoning in on the left side!" Ichigo yelled as he crouched down next to Rukia behind the shelter they have found in the back of the arena.
Rukia looked to the left and aimed her gun at one of the kids and nearly yelped in excitement when she heard the sound of his vest go off, indicating he had been hit.
"We just have one on our left flank now" She yelled as she started to aim for the second one.
"Im trying to take care of the horde in front but there is to many of them!" He replied.
"Where is our back up!" Rukia yelled looking for others wearing the same color vests, with no luck. She stood up to get a better look. Just as she stood up she saw a bright red light hover over her vest. Before she heard the beep that indicated her getting hit she felt a strong fist drag her back down.
"I think they have a sniper up top be careful!" Ichigo yelled as he started to look higher up trying to find their assailant. Rukia let a blush creep on her cheeks as her face was lightly brushed into his chest, his arms loosely hugged around her face, covering her as he looked around.
"Looks like were all thats left Rukia" he pulled back and looked into her eyes.
"We are out numbered, there is no way out" he said in a defeated tone, wiping the sweat from his forehead before closing his eyes, backing away from Rukia.
"This is the end" He said in serious tone pretending to choke back fake tears.
He closed his eyes for dramatic effect and was surprised when he felt a small hand grab his collar and pull him in.
"Dammit soldier, get it together!" She yelled in his face pulling him closer to her.
"If we are going down, lets at least take some of these bastards with us!" She yelled as she waited for his reply. Her eyebrows knot together in a frown showing how serious she was.
He smiled at her as he pushed her hand away from his collar and placed a strong hand on her shoulder.
"Your right, I'm sorry I let my emotions get the better of me" He apologized as he moved next to her both of them with their backs pressed against their cover getting ready to face the horde.
"It's been nice knowing you Rukia, I'll see you on the other side" She nodded in acknowledgment before taking a deep breathe.
"Our sacrifice will go down in history, It will not be in vain" She let him know before both of them stood up from there shelter and faced the army.
...
"I can't believe we took down all those little bastards! It was incredible!" Ichigo yelled as they exited the building.
"They were all 10 years old, I can kinda believe it" Rukia said as she held in her smile, he was very cute when he was excited.
"You were incredible in there, I thought we were goners!" He added as he put his hands in his pocket.
"Well this victor is hungry, how about some dinner?" She asked as she started looking around to see if there was anything to eat.
"Yeah, theres this little bistro around the corner we can grab a bite" He casually said as he pointed to the location they needed to go.
"Perfect, I'm starving" she remarked as they began heading to the bistro. She went to tuck some hair behind her ear and Ichigo noticed the ring wasn't any where to be seen.
"So I forgot to mention this deal of ours came with a sub-circumstance"
"Are you making shit up?" she asked, wondering what else she had to do on this date.
He just laughed at her remark, she really had no filter. He has never been on a date with a girl that said exactly what they were thinking.
"No, you neglected to read the fine print on our agreement, it clearly stated that I would be permitted to ask some pretty personal questions and you would have to answer to the best of your knowledge."
She opened her mouth to object when he put his finger up to silence her.
"I won't feed you tonight if these demands aren't met" he added.
She went to open her mouth and her stomach growled at the notion that it would not be fed.
"Fine, I'll answer these personal questions at dinner." she agreed, letting her hunger seal her fate.
..
"Thank you so much" Rukia said as the waitress placed their food down. Rukia pulled out her fork ready to eat her pasta when Ichigo spoke.
"You have the food now I get to ask my questions"
She let out a deep sigh before shaking her head in agreement.
"The ring" He said as he pointed to her naked hand.
"What about it?" She asked as she took a bite of her pasta.
"Are you engaged?"
It was a hard question to answer.
"No, I'm not" was all she could say. Relief seemed to spread across his face. He felt that was one less obstacle in his way.
"Well that makes this much easier" he said before taking a bite of his panini.
"What easier?"
"Me stealing your heart" She let out an unattractive chuckle.
"Don't flatter yourself, you still don't have a chance"
"I find that very hard to believe, some might call me charming" He smirked, trying to throw her one of his irresistible looks.
"And the remanning majority would call you arrogant" He laughed. He loved that she was a challenge. No matter how hard he tried to get her to at least admit she didn't detest him, she never gave in.
Before he could reply with a witty remark she interjected.
"Now its my turn"
"Well, I wasn't finished with the first one" He reminded her, she started to shake her head 'no' with a smile.
"I answered it, thats the best your going to get."
"Fine, go ahead" He grunted as he took a sip of his beer.
"That night that we stayed late to pick up your confetti mess, you sang a song. It sounded like it was very important to you. I've been wanting to know what you experienced that made you sing it the way you did" She asked.
Ichigo was stunned. Music was something so important to him and to have a person ask him about it was anything short of amazing. She didn't hear the song she listened to it. The words, the tone, the emotion, she listened to all of it.
He looked into her big curious eyes. Her violet eyes were larger than normal, she was anticipating what he was going to say.
He wasn't sure how he wanted to answer this, he doesn't even talk about Senna to his friends why would he share this with a stranger.
"Its about a girl, one that I thought I knew" He let out a really sad smile thinking about Senna.
Rukia saw his face change and it intrigued her. She had never seen him look so serious before. He almost looked handsome wearing anything but his goofy smile.
"What did she do?" Rukia ask. Her tone was so genuine and concerned. It felt nice having someone who wanted to listen.
"Its what she didn't do." He started seeing her confused face made him continue.
"Falling in love with someone is as easy as breathing. Its probably the worlds easiest thing to do. Staying in love, takes a lot of work, patience, energy, and more love. As soon as one person stops trying the relationship is doomed and before you know it-"
"They fall in love with someone else, because it's easier" Rukia finished.
Ichigo smiled a sad smile in response. It seemed like she understood the point.
It made sense to her, why Kaien did what he did. The relationship was doomed the second he stop trying. And she was too stubborn to let him go, if she just let him go when she saw the signs none of this would have happened. Their ship hit an iceberg and she tried holding the sinking ship together instead of jumping.
"Makes you wonder why people fall in love at all these days. Theres always a chance one person stops trying" She finished, she didn't mean to say it out loud it was more a comment to herself.
"Theres always a chance they won't" She put her food down before taking a bite and looked up at him. His eyes seemed to genuine, a look she hasn't seen from him before.
"Well, I think its my turn again" He let her know as he thought for a moment.
"The tattoo, I tried asking you about it and you said you would have to kill me if you told me" She laughed remembering all of the first encounters they had.
"How do you know I still don't mean it?" She raised an eyebrow smiling.
"Call it intuition" he commented, taking a drink lifting his beer in her direction letting her know to continue.
She thought about it. Wondering how she wanted to tell him, and decided to answer his question with a question.
"What do you think sparrows are?" she asked.
"Um, some kind of bird like creature?" He answered in a questionable tone. Feeling like it was too easy of an answer. She smiled.
"Someone very special to me once told me that sparrows are the only creatures on earth that live in both the human and spirt world. And when souls get lost heading to the after life, sparrows are able to guide them home."
She stood still for a moment. Not sure wether to tell him the truth or to lie to him. She appreciated his honesty but she was still scared.
"I could use a little of their guidance" She smiled as she took a sip of he iced tea.
"Oh? and what makes you say that?" He asked.
"I ended up here didn't I?" She asked raising her eyebrow smirking. Of all the people in this town she ended up on a date with the one person she detested, well at least that she thought she detested.
He gave her a very sincere smile before taking a deep breath and leaning in.
"Or perhaps this is exactly were you are supposed to be, Rukia" he said in a tone she had never heard. She couldn't hide the smile she gave him. Maybe he was right. Maybe all of her mistakes, all of her choices were never really choices at all. Maybe they were pre determined and she was always meant to end up here.
A warmth spread across her chest at that thought.
"I think its my turn to ask a personal question now" She asked, breaking their silence
"It seems it is" He said, not changing his romantic gaze.
"Please, explain the hair" He could not control his face. His scowl was activated in seconds as he pulled back.
"You cant be serious" was all he was able to mumble.
"I mean, did you just enjoy getting your ass kicked as a kid or what?"
He could help but laugh. A huge grin spread across her face watching him laugh so genuinely. Before she knew it, she was joining in on the laughter. At they sat there for a while. Not even really remembering what made them start to laugh, but not being able to stop.
...
"Well this is me" Rukia said as they stopped in front of Grimmjow's door. She stood there for a moment grabbing her keys from her satchel when she felt eyes glued to her. She turned around and was surprised to see Ichigo had taken a small step towards her. Leaving only a small gap in between them.
Had he always been so tall? She wondered as her eyes only met his collarbone. How has she never noticed this before?
"So.." Was all he mumbled as her eyes went from his collarbone to his face. And what a handsome face it was. Maybe it was the way the moonlight was kissing his cheeks, or the way the small breeze was brushing what orange hair he had sticking out from his beanie. But something was making him look..different.
"It was my turn to ask a personal question" he reminded her.
"Be my guest" she replied
He took a step into her and brought a hand up to her cheek. He let the back of his knuckles softly, and gently make contact with the side of her face. His eyes never met hers, instead it focused on the silk like skin it was making contact with.
She on the other hand was taken off guard. He had not made a single move all night, she never thought it would come. She prepared to deny any advancement he made tonight and here she was, welcoming it. She started into his eyes hoping they would find hers.
"Do you truly hate me, as much as you say you do?" Finally his eyes found hers. His eyes, they seemed almost hurt by asking the question. Like he was truly afraid of the answer she might give.
For a moment she felt guilty, for ever time she called him a bad name. Which was on more than a few occasions. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.
He noticed her lips slightly parted but with no words he took action. He started to slowly lean into her. He noticed her eyes watched his lips.
His lips looked so soft, they looked as if they could be gentle. She almost closed her eyes as his lips drew closer to her. The hand that was caressing her face now lightly gripped the back of her neck pulling her into him.
She gave in, she closed her eyes and awaited the moment that his lips graced hers. For the first time in a long time. Her heart began to race uncontrollably. Her face flushed, and she felt...wanted.
"What the fuck is going on"
Was all it took to take away this beautiful moment.
