*BUMP* Oh? Do you still know me?
Senbonzakura messed up with our connection cables. ¬.¬ I guess he didn't like how his master acted last chapter. XD
Chapter Nine: The Heart
If only Kuchiki Rukia's confusion can be materialized in the air, people would see huge question marks around her. Even after living for around a hundred years, she still has more to learn and to understand. She has encountered sensations that made her uneasy and even prompted her to act impulsively. She knows that she has closed her heart to certain things that has been there all along. She just didn't want to admit it. After all, this selfless Kuchiki Rukia is not perfect.
But… first, what is the heart? And, what are these things that must be involved with the heart—her heart, especially?
Rukia's mentor, the 13th Squad Vice-Captain—Shiba Kaien, taught her what the heart is. He told her where the heart is, and to whom should we leave the heart in our departure. Indeed, he has taught her well with many things, things that helped her through the years of being a Shinigami, and being an individual. However, it seems that her beloved mentor forgot to tell her the other things where the heart is concerned. In this instance, Kuchiki Rukia doesn't know what to do with the beating organ inside of her. Lately, it has been giving off odd feelings whenever she is around a certain orange head. She didn't like the feeling. Maybe, it's because it was her first time experiencing it. It's the fear of the unknown.
Rukia closed her eyes. The tranquility of the Kuchiki Mansion helps in sorting things out. The sound of the falling water from the garden, the chirping of the wandering birds around Seireitei, the footsteps of the servants of the Clan, and sound of the falling leaves; these are the things Kuchiki Rukia loved about the place. She opened her eyes and watched as the scene unfolded in front of her. There is only one word to describe her favorite spot: beautiful.
However, there's a nagging feeling whenever she looks at the beautiful place. It's as if she's looking for something—yearning for it, even. The place feels lacking. Empty. It is nothing when compared to the completeness she feels whenever she's in the Living World with Ichigo… and of course, her other nakama, which leads back to her problem.
What made her act that way towards Kurosaki Ichigo? He wasn't that special… was he?
"It's because I'm different, right? It's because you only see me as a Shinigami." Rukia clenched her fists. "It's because you can't possibly see me as a woman who has feelings. It's because it is Inoue you—!"
It's because it's Inoue that he… what? What was she going to say if Kurosaki Isshin didn't interfere? What would be Ichigo's reaction? A lot of questions were unanswered because Ichigo's father always barges in. She would love to clear the confusions already. But, deep inside, she knows that Isshin's timing is perfect. She wouldn't know what to do if she heard Ichigo's response to her questions. What would Ichigo's answer be…?
"No. Your son is right, Kurosaki-san. It's impossible."
Why did she feel disappointed when she said those words? Why did those words seem to be lies? She was stating the obvious, wasn't she?
"Geez… Rukia-chan, that's the tenth sigh…"
Rukia snapped out of her reverie. She looked around. Six pairs of Shinigami eyes were staring at her. She focused at the ginger-head in front of her. "Y-yes?" She can't believe she was spacing out while in the middle of a meeting of the Shinigami Women's Association. "S-sorry…"
"Do you have a problem, Kuchiki-san?" A soothing voice asked.
"It is nothing, Unohana -taicho," she replied. "I'm just probably tired because of the latest mission assigned to me."
"I see," the captain said. She stood up, and the other members of the Association followed suit. "I guess that's it for today. The next meeting would be dedicated for the group's next mission." She turned. "Did you get that, Ise-san?"
Ise Nanao nodded. Then, a certain pink-haired fukutaicho jumped around the room shouting, "Yay!" and something about stealing the belongings of Captains to serve as merchandise. "That's not going to work, Yachiru -fukutaicho," the 4th Squad Captain said, which made the bubbly Vice-Captain slump on the floor and whine.
"Well then, Kuchiki-san, we're taking our leave…"
"Ah, please wait…" Rukia called just before Kusajishi Yachiru open the door.
"What?" Yachiru asked.
"Nii-sama might see you if you use that door," Rukia said. "I heard that he asked people to patrol around the secret passages. I guess he found out most of our secret doors already."
"Then, I guess I have to construct new passages," the 12th Squad Vice-Captain said as a-matter-of-factly, while another whimper from the pink-haired Shinigami was heard. "Geez… Byakushi always gets in our ways." She pouted.
"Well, we can't help it since we're always using his mansion as our headquarters, ne?" Matsumoto Rangiku sighed.
"It's really unavoidable," Unohana Retsu said. She turned around and went to the other side of the room. She, then, lifted the wallpaper and another door appeared. The other members of the Association looked in awe at their leader. "We'll have to use the newest channel that Kuchiki-san made for us beforehand."
"Thank you, Rukia-san!" The 5th Squad Vice-Captain said. Even after the Winter War, Gotei 13 still lacks the capable captains to replace the traitors of Soul Society. In the meantime, the Vice-Captains are to look over their squad while they are still finding replacements.
The petite Shinigami blushed. She actually just forced Renji to make this new channel for the Shinigami Women's Association a month ago. She blackmailed him about telling nii-sama about the kenseikan that he took from his office before. Also, she knew that her nii-sama would find out about their passages soon. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
"Y-you welcome, Hinamori-fukutaicho."
"Please remove the fukutaicho part, Kuchiki-san," she said. "Just Hinamori is fine with me."
"Well, if you insist… Hinamori-san."
"Let's go," Unohana-taicho said. One by one, the members of the Association went out through their new channel. But, Matsumoto Rangiku preferred to stay for a while.
"Rangiku-san, why aren't you still leaving?" Rukia asked.
"My, my… Don't you want me to stay?" she teased.
"No, no. Of course not," Rukia said. "But… why? Do you have a problem?"
Rangiku laughed. "Problem? I don't have any problems." But, of course, we know that she has yet to recover about what happened to her childhood friend, Ichimaru Gin. "We're going to talk about you." She sat in front of Kuchiki Rukia. "Seat with me."
"About me?" Rukia asked as she seated in front of Matsumoto Rangiku.
"Yes, about you."
"What about me?"
"Well, it's not really just about you…"
"About me and… who?"
"I don't know," she said. "Why don't you tell me?"
"I… don't know what you're talking about, Rangiku-san."
"You're spacing out earlier, right?"
Ah, it's about Ichigo. "I was tired."
"Tired of thinking of him, eh?" Rukia just watched. "Come on, Rukia-chan, tell it to me. It's just the two of us inside this room. It's not like Byakuya-taicho would overhear our conversation."
"It's not about nii-sama overhearing us."
"Then, what is it? Come on, I'm here to help." She smiled.
"Thank you, Rangiku-san but… even I don't know."
Rangiku snickered. "Ahh… Ahh… I think I know what it is."
"Eh, really?"
"It's about Ich—… ah, no… It's about a guy, right?"
Matsumoto Rangiku knows it's about Kurosaki Ichigo, the Substitute Shinigami that Kuchiki Byakuya obviously dislikes. It's really hard to have an overprotective brother, isn't it? It would be better if the two of them find it out themselves. Rangiku smiled to herself. Playing Miss Matchmaker is a good pastime, after all. Let's see what she can do.
"W-well, you can say it like that," Rukia answered. She was clutching her hakama; obvious that she's a little bit tense about the topic. Rangiku let her stay silent for a while, giving her space to think about it and open up willingly.
"It's… It's that lately, somehow… I've been acting weird towards him," Rukia continued.
"You?" Rangiku asked.
"Yes. But, it's because of him," Rukia said. "He's very weird and unpredictable that it's making me weird too." she complained.
Yes, it's because Ichigo is annoyed with her smile—her sing-song voice was not a problem; she intends to use that to irritate him, after all—and the usage of his bedroom window—he knows she likes to use it to enter their house.
"When did he start to act weird?" Rangiku asked. This is getting interesting.
"When?" Rukia thought. When did it start, anyways? She thought back a week ago… "Ah."
"Well?"
"I think it's when Byakuya-nii-sama went to his house at the Living World," she said. "They talked inside his room and I was told to stay outside. I don't know what they talked about, but, after that, Ichigo started acting weird. At first, he didn't want me to go back to Soul Society. And then, when I got back, he was overly angry at me for leaving. And then, he started being annoyed with almost everything that I do. He didn't even let me pass through his window!"
Rangiku waited. She didn't dare ask about the window thing. It's just probably the couple's routine or something. That might ruin the momentum right now—she even confirmed it was Kurosaki Ichigo. Interesting, indeed. She wondered what Kuchiki-taicho would do when he finds out about this.
"And then… the other day, he started acting all emo! I had to stay away from him because I know he was having a hard time. And then, all of a sudden, he's irritated with what I do!" Rukia looked at the surprised Vice-Captain in front of her. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to shout like that."
Rangiku laughed. "It's okay, it's okay," she said. "You have to release all that's burdening you after all. Anything else?"
"Well…" Rukia paused. She's happy that she is having this kind of conversation with Rangiku-san. But, this is the part where she doesn't understand herself at all. Because of how Ichigo was acting, she started acting weird. "I don't know anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it's that I said some things that I didn't intend to say. The words just slipped out. It's… weird."
"What did he tell you that made you say those things?"
"Nothing special." Rukia scowled. "He's just treating me differently from the others."
Rangiku raised her brow. "Isn't that a good thing?" she asked. "It means that you're special for him."
Rukia shrugged. "It's impossible," she said. "He treats me worse than Asano Keigo."
Rangiku sighed. If it's worse than that kid, it means that it really is bad. Poor Kuchiki. She is stuck with a brat that doesn't know how to express his feelings. "Well, I think I can't really give you a good advice about that. It's not something most of the people from Soul Society know."
"What do you mean, Rangiku-san?"
"I mean, I think it's a problem that concerns people from the Living World," she said. "Kurosaki Ichigo grew up there, after all."
Rukia seemed like she stopped breathing. How did Rangiku-san know that it was Ichigo? Was it so obvious? Was it written all over her reiatsu? "I still don't get it…"
"I don't get it either," she said. This isn't what the modern people call puppy love, which means… not fun. "I'm guessing it's something called 'identity crisis', usually experienced by teenage humans."
Rukia nodded smugly. I thought so.
Rangiku felt like she has to, at least, something that sounds… well, an advice since she hasn't really done anything for her. "Why don't you make the first move?"
"First move?"
Rangiku shrugged the idea off. They are still too young to know about 'moves' and 'bases'. "Scrap that. Why don't you just tell him what you feel?"
"I… don't know what to tell him."
"Well then, just show him. Actions are louder than words, after all."
Rukia's face lit up.
Maybe Kaien-dono didn't teach her this part of the heart is because it's something that she needs to learn from other people. It's safe to think that way, isn't it? Maybe, Kaien-dono didn't experience this kind of feeling with his wife. She was someone she envied before, after all. She was a nice person. She was unlike the Ichigo brat, who was bad-mouthed, impatient, grumpy, moody, and wears a forever-etched scowl on his face.
That's right. She just has to show him what she really thinks and feels.
"Thank you, Rangiku-san!" she said. "I didn't know you know something about the Living World!"
Rangiku smiled. She knows Rukia intended it to be a compliment, although it sounded like an insult. Another person who can't say compliments in a good way. She inwardly sighed. At least, she's better than the other one. "Hey, anytime, Rukia-chan!"
Now, she has something to brag about to her Captain. Haha. He can't call her a slacker anymore. She laughed. See that, taicho? I just helped someone. Hahaha.
"What is it, Rangiku-san?"
"It's nothing," she said. "I'm just happy that I helped someone!"
Rukia chuckled. "Thank you once again, Rangiku-san. It really helped me a lot."
"Don't mention it!" Rangiku patted Rukia's head and headed out of their meeting place. "Just come and ask me if you have a problem with the…" Rangiku lowered her voice and looked back with panic at Rukia. "…uhm, strawberry and the peach, okay?"
Ichigo and Hinamori-san? Since when did we…?
Rukia looked in front of them and found her nii-sama watching them.
Uh-oh.
"Ni-Nii-sama!"
She tried to close the new channel secretly but Senbonzakura was faster than them. A few seconds later, their new secret passage and even their meeting place—Rukia's favorite spot in the estate—looked like Rangiku's Haineko.
That was long. Whew.
That was my first time to write about Rangiku. That was also my first time to write a girl talk. O_o I hope that was not too OOC. *prays*
Oh well, thanks as always for reading this chapter! :D
And, if you have time, please visit my profile. :D I put up a poll about the next IR fic that I want to write. Plus, an advertisement... somewhere in my profile! *heehee*