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Disclaimer: Bleach characters and environment belong to Tite Kubo.

Rated: T

Chapter 8

The Day After

Ichigo leaned down and kissed her on the lips. His eyes closed as he felt Rukia's lips against his. Teasing warmth spread down his body. They were so soft, just as he'd remembered. And yet, he was kissing her without her knowledge, as she slept. Even though his heart ached for a response from her, he couldn't bring himself to stop. This was his only chance to be with her like this, touching her, kissing her, for they very last time.

He eased his lips off hers, unwillingly, his hands on either side of her head. His hands scrunched up the silk covers of the pillow on which her head rested. Still, he couldn't manage to conjure up the necessary strength to get up off her bed and walk out the door.

Lightly, he rested his forehead on hers, feeling defeated. She just lay there in her slumber not knowing that she had him completely at her mercy, incredibly vulnerable. He sighed as he watched her peaceful face. He'd give anything just to exchange one last kiss with her; one where she was awake and where she wanted to kiss him back.

That's never going to happen.

Please, one last time ...

It seemed as though Rukia had heard his thoughts, for she stirred in her sleep – and whispered, "Ichigo" again.

It should have thrilled him, it didn't. It only made him feel more miserable than he already was. He wanted her; that was evident from the way his heart and body still responded to hers. But he couldn't have her; that was also evident from the way she'd looked at him with loathing in her purple eyes.

Then why does she whisper his name? Why did she call out to him? Why? Did she still love him? Would she forgive him and take him back?

The honest answer was "no". It didn't matter whether or not she would take him back; what he had done to her was unforgiveable, just as what she did to him was unforgiveable.

One last time, he thought.

Emboldened by her calling out to him, he traced feathery light kisses all over her forehead, eyelids, nose, cheeks, chin, and finally, he took her faintly alcohol-tasting lips between his own. For a few seconds he struggled with an internal battle. One part of him wanted to wake her up and kiss her senseless, the other part fought against that desire to find the strength to get up and leave.

The latter part won. Once again, he eased his lips off hers, and it felt twice as hard as before.

"Goodbye" he whispered into her sleeping face.

He didn't look back as he silently walked out the door.

After driving her inebriated friends to their respective homes, Orihime finally made it to Tatsuki's place. Tatsuki lived in a small two bedroom apartment which was well furnished and was always neat.

Tatsuki could hold her drink, unlike her red-haired boyfriend, Renji. For the amount of drinks she'd had tonight, she should have passed out a long time ago. But she was standing firm on her feet, albeit with very little awareness as to what was going on around her.

Even so, it was Orihime who pulled the keys from Tatsuki's pocket and opened the door to the apartment. Tatsuki sauntered inside, tossing her purse onto the couch and collapsing into it. She kicked off her shoes and closed her eyes, resting.

Orihime gave a huge sigh. She wanted to talk to Tatsuki but her friend didn't seem in any position to listen. So, she decided to make some coffee. Walking into the small kitchen, she put on a kettle and poured some water into it to boil. While she waited, she thought about how best broach to the subject without sounding completely insane.

She had been worrying lately. Surprisingly, she wasn't worrying about Ichigo. He was distant but caring to her needs; just as he'd always been. Perhaps that was the problem, she thought. He was the same as he'd always been, from seven years ago. He hadn't changed at all. Circumstances had changed around him, but he was still the same, still the boy who was forced to grow up and take responsibility for his actions. Still … stuck in a place he didn't want to get out of.

Orihime found herself confronting feelings she pretended she didn't feel. How was her relationship with Ichigo different from his relationship with any of his other friends? Was the answer only supposed to be that they occasionally slept together? Is that all she could expect from her relationship, from him? She felt for him; she loved him more than anything or anyone else in the world. She fell more and more in love with him with each passing day. But, she had always felt something lacking from his side. She never achieved a sense of fulfilment in her relationship. She managed to ignore it, believing that she was imagining things.

For the past few days, however, that … gap … seemed to increase between them. She could no longer pretend it didn't exist. And the worst part was, she felt it was something lacking in her that seemed to leave Ichigo so – unsatisfied. Even though he was with her as a boyfriend, lover, friend, he wasn't completely with her either. There was something missing in her, she felt it and it was that which Ichigo was searching for; that elusive something.

Neither of them, however, seemed to know what that something was.

The kettle came to a boil. A few minutes later, Orihime carried two steaming mugs of coffee over to Tatsuki, taking a seat on the couch.

Tatsuki came around after a lot of shaking. She accepted the coffee and drank slowly, her eyes looking bleary and exhausted. The coffee seemed to be helping because she smiled after she took a sip. It cleared her head a little.

Tatsuki saw Orihime drink her coffee and at the same time, finger her cell phone with her other hand.

"What's wrong, Orihime?" she asked, in a low voice.

"I wanted to talk to you," said Orihime sounding extremely hesitant.

This surprised Tatsuki. "You know you can talk to me about anything," she said.

Orihime seemed to relax a little at the reassurance offered by Tatsuki. "Just give me a sec, okay?" she said and placed the mug on the coffee table. She used both hands to handle her phone for a couple of seconds, and then put the phone to her ears. Obviously, she was calling someone.

"Ichigo?" she said, talking into the phone as Tatsuki watched.

"I think I'll stay here at Tatsuki-chan's place tonight," she said. "So, you can go back home, okay? I'll see you in the morning."

Orihime listened for a few seconds and said, "Okay, bye" and cut the call.

She put the phone away and faced her best friend.

"What was all that about?" Tatsuki asked. She was a little anxious at Orihime's secretive behaviour.

Orihime was silent for a while before she said, "Tatsuki-chan, I was wondering … what's going on with Ishida-kun?"

She said the last part of the sentence in a rush.

Tatsuki was even more surprised. She had expected something very serious concerning Ichigo.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"He seems to be very upset lately and he barely talks to us now-a-days and … well … he and Rukia-chan seemed to being having a deep conversation at the club and I couldn't help but to wonder … if, you know, everything is okay with him …"

Tatsuki's eyebrows went up higher and higher the more Orihime talked. "What's going on, Orihime? Uryu never talks about his troubles to any of us, remember? He was always the silent type, you know that."

Orihime avoided her eyes and instead took a sip of coffee.

Tatsuki continued, "Well, yeah, he barely talks about himself to us but I'll admit he's been looking a bit down lately. You don't have to worry about him, Orihime, maybe after Rukia talked to him, he might be feeling better. All he's ever needed were just a few words of comfort, just like Renji," she said, smiling widely at the last part.

Orihime saw that look; a look of deep love and longing that she seemed to have for Renji and which he returned. It was that which made her smile like she just did.

It fuelled her frustration. "Tatsuki-chan, have you ever felt like something was … missing in your relationship?"

Tatsuki's head felt like it was going to explode. What was wrong with Orihime? She was barely making any sense and she was talking around in riddles.

"Missing how?" she asked deciding to humour her. She may find out what was on her mind if she kept Orihime talking.

"I-I don't know," Orihime said, her head bowed low. "I - just forget what I said, okay? I'm tired. I think I'll turn in. Good night, Tatsuki-chan." And saying so, she got up off the couch and went to the spare bedroom. She had slept there one too many times in the past so she was quite familiar with it.

Tatsuki looked more confused than ever. She shook her head, and finishing her coffee, put both mugs in the sink and went into her own room.

Orihime closed the door behind her and switched on the light. It looked the same as ever; a bed, a dresser; a small desk and cupboard were the only furniture in the small but cosy room.

She took off her ash coloured dress and laid it neatly on the side of the bed. She got under the covers in her underwear, feeling anything but relaxed.

I couldn't do it.

She chickened out in the end. She had, more than anything else, wanted to voice out her problem to Tatsuki. She didn't, wondering why she didn't. Maybe because she feared Tatsuki's reaction, she thought.

She wondered how her friend would have reacted if she confessed that she had felt jealous of Rukia when she was talking so intimately with Ishida Uryu?

He was definitely acting strange for some time now. He talked less and kept to himself more so than he usually would. Worried, she had asked him about it but he remained evasive as ever. She felt hurt because most times, he was very forthcoming with her. What was it that he could tell Rukia and find reassurance from her when he couldn't talk to her about it? She had felt so irritated when she saw him like that. And she knew for a fact that he was never a "one-night-stand" kind of guy but he had proven her wrong when he went home with a woman he'd met at the bar. He seemed to be turning into a completely different person.

With her relationship with Ichigo feeling "on the rocks", Ishida was the one who was a source of comfort to her. He seemed to understand her feelings and had encouraged her to keep faith in her relationship. Now, what exactly were her feelings towards him? She knew she loved Ichigo but what did she feel for Ishida?

He was Ishida-kun, she thought. He was her friend, he was her good friend "Ishida-kun", he was - what?

She could only wonder.

Rukia woke up feeling a pounding against her head. With what felt like Herculean effort, she opened her eyes. She immediately regretted it; because it only made the pounding in her head more real and unbearable.

It was a few seconds before she realised that the pounding she was hearing was in fact someone knocking relentlessly on the door.

"Come in" she tried to yell, but only a dry rasp came out of her mouth. Her throat seared as though she'd spent the night swallowing sand. The knocking stopped and the door opened to reveal Shuuhei who looked, in Rukia's opinion, like shit.

His hair was a mess, his eyes were a little blood-shot and his face looked dry, as though someone had sucked the juices out of it. He walked in, slowly, and collapsed onto the bed. It was a large bed so there was enough room for him to lie down, with his feet hanging off the side one side.

"How do you feel?" he asked smirking as though their condition was something to celebrate about.

"I think I'm dying," she said, sagging down to her pillows.

He got up with an air of someone who's been in this spot before and knew how to handle it. He sat down next to her and gazed down into her face.

Bleary and half-dead that she was, Rukia couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia with the current scene. She felt – no, she knew - that she'd been in this situation before. Her thoughts were hazy, befuddled, yes; it just felt so familiar to her.

She frowned.

Was it a dream? Or did that really happen?

And there was one thing that she was certain about; it wasn't Shuuhei who was sitting on her bed, looking down into her face. It was someone with vivid orange hair, Ichigo.

She felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Did she dream about Ichigo? And it was a, there was no other word to describe it, pleasant dream? That had never happened to her for seven long years.

Looking away from Shuuhei's gaze, she unconsciously raised a hand to her lips. She felt them under her fingers and had the strangest feeling that she had been – kissed. Her eyes nearly bulged out of sockets in shock.

Did she kiss Shuuhei believing him to be Ichigo?

"Shuuhei," she asked in a small voice that hid her panic, "What happened last night?"

She saw Shuuhei scrunch up his eyebrows as he tried to remember. He didn't have any more success than Rukia.

"I remember … laughing … a lot!" he said looking as though he was solving calculus problems in his head. A part of the night came back to Rukia all of a sudden. She felt a little excited at that.

"What else?" she asked still sounding raspy.

Shuuhei started thinking again. Then, looking uncertain, he asked, "Did we see a show last night?"

"A show?"

"Yeah, I mean I remember singing. Someone was singing," he said.

Rukia didn't reply. "How did we get back to the hotel?"

"No clue," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"You don't remember anything else?" Rukia asked, crossing her fingers under the covers.

"I think Kurosaki brought us home," he said sounding quite certain. Rukia paled.

Shuuhei didn't notice and continued, "Yeah, I think he put us in a cab and brought us here."

"Oh…"

That was all Rukia could manage to say. So, it wasn't a dream. It had been real. But she couldn't help but wonder: Did they kiss last night?

That bastard! How dare he?

She was drunk for crying out loud! How could he kiss her at such a time? She was boiling with rage at the thought of him kissing her. The soft lips that she hadn't kissed in such a long time, and he was such a good kisser as well … the only boy she had ever kissed.

The anger boiled down to pity. And before she knew it, she felt longing for those lips again. Oh, if only she'd been awake and sober, she could have done something rational like knock him unconscious if he tried anything with her.

I feel so used…

She had no doubts that she had enjoyed the kiss she had shared with him. How would he look at her now? Suddenly, another part of the night came back to her. She calling out for Ichigo and Ichigo whispering things to her that she couldn't recall.

"Come on," Shuuhei said, getting up and breaking her train of thought, "we have that luncheon to get to, remember?"

Rukia groaned. Momo and Izuru, instead of having a rehearsal dinner, opted for a small luncheon with their closest family and friends.

"I won't live long enough to go to the luncheon," she said, pulling up the covers over her head.

Shuuhei pulled them back and peered into her face. "Get out of bed – slowly – and take a cold shower. I'll ask room service to bring you some aspirins and some hot coffee. Drink the coffee hot and take the aspirins later on. Do that and you'll probably live."

Rukia felt like crying.

An hour later, Rukia felt better. Not good, Rukia thought, but better.

The luncheon was to take place at the hotel, The Park, where Momo and Izuru were getting married. They were expected to arrive at noon. When it was time to get dressed, she opted for a wine coloured chiffon dress with a skirt that billowed enticingly around her knees. It had thin spaghetti straps and a straight neck line. The dress brought out her rich white skin and gave her a soft glow. She put on minimal make-up and wore high heels of a deep maroon colour that matched the dress and carried a small black clutch.

Shuuhei met her at the door, looking effortlessly handsome in a neat black suit with open-collared white shirt, which brought out his broad shoulders, and shiny black shoes.

"You look – nice," he said in what Rukia thought was an awkward voice. She frowned as she put on a thick woollen overcoat because it was snowing quite heavily outside and she was freezing in her flimsy dress. But she had survived worse winters in Tokyo so she felt could handle it.

"Thanks?" she said uncertainly. Did he have to sound so surprised? What she didn't realise was Shuuhei was for a moment rendered speechless as he laid eyes on her. He thought Rukia looked beautiful in anything but since it was the very first time he'd actually seen her in a dress, he didn't know how to respond.

He turned away blushing, looking anywhere but at her.

They walked out to the hotel's entrance. The concierge gave them a very curious look as he signalled the valet.

A minute later, a sleek black BMW Z4 convertible cruised over to them. Rukia's jaw dropped when the valet got out of the car and handed the keys to Shuuhei.

"I told you I drove here, didn't I?" he said, in response to her dumbfounded expression.

Sure, Rukia knew that but she didn't really expect him to come in a BMW.

Rukia got in to the passenger seat and Shuuhei turned on the heat in the car. Rukia sighed, relieved. She was anything but relieved on the inside. She would come face to face with Ichigo in a few short minutes. She felt butterflies in her stomach. A wave of nausea that had nothing to do with the hangover washed over her. She gazed out the window, feeling restless and unsettled.

Fuck!

They seemed to reach the hotel in a matter of minutes and Rukia got out of the car, more agitated than she'd ever been. How was she supposed to face him?

The Park was a huge five star hotel and was one of the more famous hotels in Japan. The interiors had soft dim lights and beautiful expensive furniture decorated with crystal chandeliers. Rukia had been in here with Momo that she knew her way around quite well. Shuuhei followed her, taking in the huge ceilings and marble walls.

They got into an elevator and got out at the third floor. There was a ballroom there which were the luncheon would take place. An attendant opened the double-oak doors and let them in. Rukia and Shuuhei walked inside to find Momo and Izuru, Uryu, Chad and Ichigo seated on a large table which could seat twenty. Everyone except Ichigo got up and came to greet them.

"Where's everyone else?" asked Rukia.

"My parents are stuck in traffic because of the weather," said Izuru. "So are Momo's; and Orihime-chan stayed at Tatsuki-chan's place last night so Renji's picking them both up. His car's at Tatsuki-chan's place anyway."

"Oh…" said Rukia as she removed her coat with some help from Shuuhei and handed it to the attendant. It was much warmer inside. When she did, she caught Momo's eyes who mouthed, "Oh my God" indicating Shuuhei, who was looking very handsome indeed. There was no hint of a hangover on his face.

It was then that she noticed how close together they were standing and the way he'd helped her out of the coat made them look like a young couple.

Oh! No! No! No!

Rukia shook her head discreetly but frantically at Momo, denying her assumption. But Momo only smiled in way that said, "Yeah, right!"

Almost out of her will, she chanced a glance at Ichigo. As she had expected, he had his eyes fixed on her and Shuuhei. Rukia locked eyes with his and he jolted, being caught staring at her. He fought down a blush as he remembered how he'd been with the beautiful girl just last night. He'd kissed her, all over her face, and had spent a sleepless night thinking about it over and over again.

However, he didn't break eye contact with her. For a second it seemed to him like she wanted to speak to him.

As it happened, everyone noticed them staring at each other.

"What?" he asked for he was starting to get nervous under her steady gaze.

There was a pristine silence in the room now that the former lovers were actually talking to each other. The friends expected nothing good to come out of it and inevitably panicked; a "volcano is about to explode" kind of panic.

"Nothing," she said quickly. A little too quickly.

Ichigo got off the chair and marched toward her. She stood her ground and narrowed her purple orbs at him.

"If you have something to say to me spit it out," he said stopping just a few feet from her.

Rukia, who was regretting looking at him at all, seemed to be failing in putting up her defences against him. As long as she could hate him with all of her being, she felt she could stand her ground and face him. But she could no longer do that. He seemed to have doubled in height as he towered over her.

But she wasn't Kuchiki Rukia for nothing.

It was the tone of his voice that brought out the anger in her. It gave off the same animosity that she harboured for him.

"What happened last night?" she asked folding her arms, her eyes not leaving his face. There was a small gasp from the people who were watching the scene nervously like a ticking bomb. She ignored it.

He blushed, furiously. He averted his gaze from her. Rukia was stunned. They had kissed last night. He knew now that she wanted him, even after all the intimations of hate that she'd given him.

And right now, she started to loath him.

Before she could say anything, Momo spoke, "Maybe we should step outside and give them some space – ", to her fiance and the others.

"It's nothing. You guys can stay," Rukia said anger bubbling in her voice. It was an indirect hit at Ichigo. She was indirectly telling him whatever happened between them meant nothing to her.

"No, you guys should talk. And we don't want to intrude," said Momo again, in a small voice and there was a murmur of agreement from the others.

"No, you guys can stay. Believe you me, it's absolutely nothing," she said trying to keep from screaming and putting extra emphasis on the "nothing".

Ichigo looked angrier than she'd ever seen him. God, it felt so good to verbally abuse him, she thought. She should have done this years ago.

Ichigo was left speechless. His mind was such a mess that he couldn't string a coherent sentence together. She'd called his name so lovingly last night and now, none of it mattered? It was nothing?

Not only did the bystanders not understand what their friends were talking about but they knew they didn't want to stand there and listen.

Rukia, in her fury, saw out of the corner of her eye, the small group inching slowly towards the door.

"I said don't go!" she yelled, making them all jump. They stayed put, not daring to make a move.

Rukia turned her full attention to Ichigo, who stood like a broken statue before her. "Stay away from me."

It was very clear and laced with warning.

Ichigo flinched. "It didn't sound like "nothing" to me when you were calling my name in your sleep last night!" He was yelling and it was Shuuhei's hand on Rukia's shoulder trying to pull her back that made him snap back to his senses.

Rukia gave a very audible gasp. So did the rest of his friends.

"I was drunk," she said in a shaky sort of voice.

"You didn't sound drunk to me," he countered, remembering how softly she had uttered his name.

"You took advantage of that, you bastard!" she said, her voice rising with every word.

Ichigo blanched. She had him there. He had kissed her in her vulnerable state.

"Nothing to say now?" she asked, blushing furiously as she felt the round-eyed gazes of all her friends fixed on her. "You know what, you have Orihime. You shouldn't be trying to kiss me! And by the way, tell me, when was it that you started going behind my back? Tell me, I'd really like to know. When was it you realised that you were in love with Orihime? And what, you didn't have the guts to break up with me before you decided to get back with her, the beautiful girl who wanted you before I did?"

The words just falling out of her like "word vomit". She could stop herself and Shuuhei's grip on her shoulder seemed to get tighter and tighter.

"And now what, are you done with her too? And you thought she'd dump you if she caught wind of this? Answer me!" she cried.

All the things she wanted to tell him, yell at him, burst out of her.

"Tell me!" she cried again. "When did you start going behind my back?"

Ichigo's mind hardly registered her words. He was so stunned by them for it made no sense to him at all.

Rukia watched him open his mouth to speak but no words came out. After all this time, he has nothing to say to her at all?

"Ah –" he started to speak but the next second, the doors flew open and a large party comprising of Momo's and Izuru's parents, and some of their cousins and other relatives barged in, with Renji, Tatsuki and Orihime bringing up the rear.

Still blinded by her fury and angered even more by the interruption, she turned away from Ichigo without a second look at him. The crowd didn't seem to notice the tense atmosphere and a loud babble had broken out, with friends and family greeting each other.

Shuuhei had nothing to say in comfort and Rukia walked past him. She mumbled a small, "I'm sorry" to Momo as she walked out of the little ballroom. She was close to tears, hurt angry tears that threatened to spill any second. There was a bathroom close by.

She hurried into in and shut the door.

My longest chapter yet. Hope you like it.

Please review.

Happy Holidays everyone!