--+--+--+--
THE WATER IS DEEPER THAN YOU THINK
--+--+--+--
"Ichigo?" she called out in surprise.
Kuchiki Rukia closed the front door as quietly as she could before she tiptoed to the couch, where an orange-haired teen lay sprawled with half a limb hanging.
She called out his name again to be sure. She was only answered with a light snore.
She'd never before seen him asleep, and she was curious as to what kind of expression he'd be wearing, so she crouched down to his level and moved her face as close as she dared.
While the creases on his forehead had smoothened, there was still a somewhat worried look on him that she could not comprehend. Was he perhaps having a troubling dream? She instinctively reached out her hand, but then caught herself. She glanced at him and saw his brow lower to a mild frown. Reassuring herself that he won't be waking up soon, she decided. She softly stroked the top of his head.
His hair was softer than what she expected. Oddly enough, she felt like she was stroking the fur of one of her stuffed bear collections. The sensation brought a half-smile to her lips - that, and the thought of 'cute and cuddly' somehow being associated with Ichigo. Soon, his expression relaxed, and she felt a sort of relief flow through her too.
Now that she'd examined him closer, she thought that the grouch could be considered cute. He had long lashes, for a guy, but it didn't lessen his manliness. Her eyes swept his closed lids down to his strong jaw. If only he smiled more often, he'd have the girls at school falling for him. But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she found it unsettling and immediately shook it off. No, Ichigo without the perpetual scowl would just be too weird. He'd be like… someone like Mizuiro. Well, that would be just troublesome. She'd choose the Ichigo she knew, any time.
She fought off the urge to yawn. A quick look to the wall clock showed it was close to eleven. She hadn't expected to come home later than she'd promised, but it couldn't be helped. Shiba Kaien had come back to Japan, and she couldn't miss the opportunity to talk to him. But now she had a problem: how could she explain why she had broken her promise to Ichigo?
She sighed. Well, there's not much to worry, anyway. She'd only stayed out for an hour more, and besides, nothing bad had happened to her. Ichigo would understand.
She got up and went upstairs to change. But then she came back down again with a fresh blanket she got from the supply cabinet at the hall between the two rooms, and she placed the said blanket to cover Ichigo's sleeping form.
Feeling somewhat like a concerned mother, she ruffled his hair one last time and whispered a quick 'goodnight' before finally going to her room to sleep.
--+--+--+--
Rukia!
Ichigo shot up from the couch and looked around. It was still dark outside, but he knew it must be close to dawn already. He stretched out his arms and felt a slight fatigue to them. Well, that's what you get for trying to fit a man his size to sleep in the living room couch.
Then he remembered the reason why he'd fallen asleep on the couch in the first place. He frowned. Did she come home alright? Seriously, she could have called or something. He dropped his arms back to his lap, and that's when he felt the blanket that had pooled down to his waist. Now, when did this get here? He thought it might have been his dad, so he left it at there. He got up with the blanket and trudged up the stairs. When he got to the landing, he immediately checked the girls' room. Seeing the huddled form on the middle bed, his frown vanished. Ah, good, she got back fine.
He hesitated for a moment, but went in anyway. Careful to keep his steps light, he got over to Rukia's side and stood near the bed. Only Rukia's face poked out from the sheets, but the stray lock of hair that always managed to fall in the middle of her brow now covered her left eye, so he bent down and lightly tucked it behind her ear. The action made her stir a little, and that in turn made him freeze. When her light, even breathing confirmed that she was still asleep, he breathed a soft sigh of relief.
He glanced around at the room and saw through the dim light from outside that Rukia had at least placed some of her own knickknacks on the long desk near the window. He'd been afraid that she might have not felt at ease enough to show more of herself to the rest of his family, but seeing the little bunny figures eased his mind.
Smirking one last time to the sleeping girl, he crossed the small distance to the hall and softly pulled the door close. Soon, he was in his own room, and slept for what remained of the early morning hours until his alarm would wake him up again to get ready for school.
--+--+--+--
Understand, my foot, she thought in annoyance.
He was okay when she greeted him a good morning. But when she told him what had happened last night during breakfast, he'd somehow gotten angry at her. And that irked her to no end. Why did she expect him to be understanding, anyway? This was the idiot we are talking about here. She should have known he'd react that way.
She turned her face and pretended to look outside the window, but she was actually sneaking a glance at his direction. He was facing the front of the class like a good student listening to the lecture, but she could see the slightly glazed look in his eye that indicated his mind was elsewhere. She also noticed that his scowl was even worse than normal. She straightened back up in her seat and huffed out a breath. Ugh. How long is he going to hold the matter against her? How childish.
She knew thinking more about the orange-head was just going to annoy the hell out of her, so she focused her attention on the teacher instead.
There's nothing quite like a boring lecture to calm and soothe irritated nerves.
--+--+--+--
Shiba Kaien had to duck his head so he won't be seen by the guard as he entered the school gates. He had actually been standing outside for quite some time before he finally spotted the students start to flow out of the main school building at lunchtime. He used that opportunity to stroll as casually as possible towards the school and just vanish in the crowd so he could get inside.
When he had crossed quite a distance from the gate, he breathed a sigh of relief. His trademark grin showed on his face and he had to keep himself from bursting into full-blown laughter. He didn't want to be discovered now that he'd actually gotten in just because he couldn't contain a loud burst of emotion.
He looked up and glanced at the building. Really, what was Byakuya thinking?He actually couldn't believe that the man had allowed his only sister to enroll in a public school, much less leave the safety of his side. The official version, coming from both Rukia and Byakuya's lips, was that Rukia had merely been given the opportunity to live like a normal teen, and to be able to experience more of the world outside of the luxurious and rich life she'd been used to. While that might have been one of the reasons, he didn't believe for a second that there was nothing else to it.
Now, to surprise that little brat…
He chuckled in glee and started up the stairs.
--+--+--+--
Something was happening to Inoue Orihime, but for the life of her, she didn't know exactly what it was.
Lately, she had been asking Tatsuki a lot of questions, and just last week, her best friend had finally snapped and questioned her about it. When confronted, she found that she had nothing that could qualify as an explanation, and now she was stuck with an awful feeling of not knowing. Did she really not understand herself enough?
She was so out of it that she didn't even see the man that was coming up the stairs. She suddenly found herself colliding with a hard chest and she had to grip the metal rails to keep from falling.
"Ah, sorry, I wasn't looking," the man apologized in a slightly embarrassed tone.
She rubbed the back of her neck as she bowed her head. "No, it was my fault too. I wasn't paying attention," she murmured. When she looked up, she had to swallow a gasp. This man… he looked exactly like Kurosaki-kun!
The almost doppelganger scratched his unruly dark hair and grinned at her. Nope, this man couldn't be Kurosaki-kun. He never grinned mischievously like that.
"Ah, this is sudden, but could I ask you something?" he asked.
She was still a bit dazed, but she somehow managed to answer, "Sure... What is it?"
"I'm actually looking for someone, around this height," he gestured near his chest, "with dark hair, and big dark purple eyes. Her name is Kuchiki Rukia. Do you know her?"
She blinked. He's looking for Kuchiki-san? Wow, she even knew this person who looked like Kurosaki-kun! So it must be true… that they were relatives. This man must be a cousin of theirs or something.
He was still looking at her, and it took her a few more seconds to realize that he was waiting for her to reply.
"Oh my, I'm sorry! Yes, I know Kuchiki-san!" she answered quickly.
His features brightened. "Well, that's great! Could you tell me where she might be?"
She almost answered 'the rooftop' before she remembered that she had gone downstairs. It looked like she was heading to the cafeteria. So she told him that instead.
He again flashed a toothy grin and thanked her before heading back down the stairs.
She shook her head and took the usual trip up to the rooftop.
--+--+--+--
Ichigo frowned at the wall before taking the steps down two at a time. That Rukia… why did she have to be as stubborn as him? Now he had to find her in the cafeteria and make up to her. It was annoying, but he couldn't let it continue like this between them. Well, it had been his fault - kind of – that the situation grew out of proportion.
It was lucky he ran into Inoue just as she entered, or he would have wasted time on searching where the heck that woman was. And when he said 'ran into', he meant it literally. While he held her on both arms to keep her from falling, she had sputtered out to him what had happened. He'd thanked her with a brief grateful smile, but what Inoue had said bothered him. And she was even a little flustered when she told him. He'd immediately excused himself.
He had a cousin that looked a lot like him? He shook his head. That was impossible, as both his parents did not have any siblings. He didn't bother to correct her though.
When he got to the doorway, he quickly scanned the crowd for Rukia. He found her sitting near the corner.
As he drew near, he saw what must be the back of the man Inoue had mistakenly labeled as a relative of his. And Rukia was talking to the dark-haired man like nothing was wrong with the world. In fact, she was so engrossed that she didn't even notice him standing near their table.
The dark-haired man did, however, and he looked up at him. As soon as he did, both men sported identical looks of surprise on their faces.
"Who-who the heck are you?!" Ichigo screeched.
Rukia blinked at his voice and turned to him with a glare. "Fool, keep your voice down, will you?" She gestured at the seat near her. "Sit down," she said in a commanding voice.
He immediately sat down, still staring at the other man. Rukia propped her chin on one hand and examined them.
"Wow, I didn't even notice, but you sure look a lot like the other," she commented in a light-hearted manner.
He turned to her. "Who is he?" he asked, pointing at his direction.
She slapped his hand back. "It's rude to point, Ichigo. Didn't any one tell you that?" She bowed her head to the other man, and smiled apologetically. "Forgive his lack of manners, Kaien-dono."
Ichigo glared at him.
"Ah, don't worry about it. I'm not in the least offended," he said easily. He held out a hand. "I'm Shiba Kaien. It's nice to finally meet you, my doppelgänger."
"Kurosaki Ichigo," he replied, but refused to take the proffered hand.
Kaien looked a bit shaken by his reply, and the hand that he'd raised had dropped back down to his lap. Now what the heck was happening? He looked at Kaien in confusion.
Kaien lowered his head, and the other two missed the hard glint that showed in his eyes. He didn't move for quite some time, and Ichigo thought it was because he couldn't get over their likeness in appearance. Heck, even he was shaken by it.
"Kurosaki Ichigo, huh…" Kaien mused out loud, looking up. He suddenly patted Ichigo roughly on the arm. "Nice to meet you, cousin," he said in a bright voice.
He couldn't immediately answer, but when he did, he could only ask stupidly, "What?
--+--+--+--
Shiba Kaien left the school in a darker mood. He didn't expect for this development to happen. He quickly got into his parked car and drove around town for a bit to calm himself.
When he got the call, he honestly did not know what to do. It had been years since her death, but he hadn't stopped grieving. And then he learned that he was related to that man. It felt like the world had told him a very bad joke. The urge to take revenge was there, but he did not want to lose himself to that. So he decided to face his demons and came back, even though being in Japan made the ghosts of the past return to haunt him. But he didn't realize how hard it would be. He even got drunk the night he came back. And that was when he met up with Rukia and her childhood friend. The Abarai kid had looked at him curiously, like he wanted to ask him what's wrong. He knew he wasn't the same man he'd been years ago, after her death. He still smiled to the rest of the world, but his heart had long since frozen. He was thankful the question never came. And he managed to leave their company an hour later without his mask slipping.
He stopped the car near a boulevard and got out.
He took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and stuck it to his mouth. He couldn't remember exactly when he had started to smoke, but it had now become a habit. He leaned back on his car and stared up at a tree. It was near that time already, huh? A wind blew, and couple of brown leaves fell.
When he met that kid, though, he almost could not stop himself from trembling. He even looked a lot like him. And he was painfully reminded of the child he'll never have. He knew it was wrong to take it out on Ichigo, though. And even more, Rukia was there. He was reluctant to let her see that side of him. He smirked. That brat had idolized him before, and he couldn't just let her down like that. Miyako would not forgive him.
He closed his eyes and sighed. Man, this feeling sucks.
--+--+--+--
"I could not believe you told him that!" he complained yet again.
Rukia let out an expletive under her breath. "Ichigo," she slowly said, "I could not possibly keep a secret from that man. I owe him my life."
He growled at her. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But still... a private matter like that, it's not like he was privy even to the most intimate details of your life. And I could not believe that same man was the reason you broke your promise!"
"I just don't find anything wrong with telling him. He's even your relative; and practically my relative too. So the rule 'no one else should find out about the marriage outside of family' was not technically broken," she pointed out smartly.
"A relative I didn't even know existed until now," he said flatly.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Irrelevant. Besides, he almost pieced everything on his own even without me telling him."
Irrelevant?! How could she treat something like that as irrelevant? "But you confirmed it for him."
She waved her hand dismissively. "Anyway, you heard what he said. He wants you to visit the Katsuragi estate as soon as you can."
He was quiet for a long time.
She stopped in front of him and peered at him. "I know you're apprehensive about the inheritance thing, that's why I think it would be better to meet your other relatives before your family does. It would be better to test the water first before you dive deep into its depths."
He looked back at her with a still undecided look in his eyes.
She grinned at him. "C'mon, don't tell me you are not even the least bit interested in what they're like?"
"Not particularly," he muttered, looking away.
She followed him so that he had no choice but to face her again. "I've met Kaien-dono's siblings, and they're not half-bad." She frowned a little. "Though, Kuukaku has a terrible disposition, not unlike yours, sometimes."
He raised a brow at her. "What do you mean by that?" But then, he shook his head. "Whatever. I guess what you're saying does make sense. I should meet them first so I'd know what I'm up against."
It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. "You sound like you're going to fight them, instead of just meeting them."
He smirked. "Oh, you just wait and see. People are not as innocent and easy-going as you may seem to think. And there are always a lot of people who'd do anything for money."
They continued to walk the remaining distance to his house.
--+--+--+--
She looked at them from a distance, a tight knot of feelings in her stomach.
She hadn't noticed before, but the two of them had been walking home in the same direction. And now she understood. They lived in the same house.
She knew they said that they were relatives, but she couldn't help the unease creep up her gut.
Her earlier question had been answered. She liked Kurosaki Ichigo.
But now, she was left with even more questions.
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to be continued...
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A/N: Left with even more questions? *grin* Hehe..
So, here's the new chapter! I hope the suspense and the drama's built up enough for you... Oh, and thanks a lot to those who reviewed! I admit your reviews (especially those with only the words 'Update soon' on them) push me to write as soon as I can. A weekly update is enough, I hope? -_-
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[reirathroiben. blackbutterfly .dethangeLx]
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