AN
There is a five episode time jump in between last chapter and now. For the next few chapters, I will be drawing from multiple scenes and there will be more exploration of Ichiruki's thoughts.
Disclaimer-I own nothing.
Summary-Rukia deals with the weight of her impending departure, causing Ichigo to worry.
What If?
Chapter 10-The Last Day of Happiness
Ichigo woke up with an odd, sinking sort of sensation in the pit of his stomach. It was too quiet. He didn't hear Kon squawking, or feel his father's latest attack. He should be relieved and enjoy it while he could. But it didn't sit right with him.
Ichigo got up from his bed slowly, looking around with a critical eye. With a start, he noticed it was late. Later than he was ever allowed to sleep in on a school day. Glancing over at the closet, he was surprised to see the door firmly shut. That could only mean that Rukia was still here, which was even stranger.
Rushing over to the door, Ichigo began pounding on it furiously. "Hey, Rukia. Time to leave for school."
He waited to hear a response, but nothing came.
He knocked a little harder. "Hey. Now! I'm serious!"
The door slid open with a crash and Rukia appeared, looking disheveled but dressed in her uniform. "I heard you!" she snapped. "I'm not deaf, you know."
She didn't mean to sound bitchy but she hadn't slept well. She kept having nightmares about Ichigo facing the Menos and dying, and it made for a very sleepless night.
Ichigo, surprised by her tone, took a step back. He took a better look at his girlfriend. Her eyes were bloodshot and slightly puffy and he could see rings around her violet ireses. A girl with puffy eyes was never a good sign. It made Ichigo feel weird. He wasn't used to seeing Rukia showing any kind of vulnerability. "Hey, is something wrong?" he asked softly, reaching out to caress her cheek.
Rukia diverted her eyes. "I'm fine," she answered curtly. Even though she was far from fine. She was no fool. She knew her time left here on Earth with Ichigo was limited. She couldn't help but chastise herself for growing so close to the human boy. It would be best for the both of them if she started pulling away now. It might hurt her, but at least it would save him some pain.
But as she saw the hurt look in his eyes from her blunt words, Rukia couldn't help but take his calloused hand between her two dainty ones. "I think I'm just a little tired after yesterday's incident, you know?"
Ichigo's face relaxed marginally, and he seemed to accept her half-truth. But he still looked confused. "So... your not upset about anything?"
Rukia's heart clenched with grief as she considered how to answer his sweet and oddly perceptive question. Yes, she was upset about something, but she couldn't bring herself to burden Ichigo with it. He wouldn't understand anyway. How could he understand the magnitude of what was about to happen. That soon, she would probably never see him again.
Rukia bowed her head as one lone tear fell from her eye. She quickly straightened up and forced herself to give Ichigo a dismissive wave. "No. See you at school."
Rukia turned away from him quickly, jumped out the window and walked away at a brisk pace, soon disappearing from sight.
Ichigo stared after her, not convinced by her poor acting skills. She was usually much better. That had to mean that something really was bothering her. But he had no idea what it could be. Did he do something wrong? She left so abruptly that he wasn't even able to get a good morning kiss. And after the day he'd endured yesterday, he thought he really deserved it.
"That's weird," he remarked to himself. Why did the bad feeling he had in his gut just get worse?
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Upon arriving to school, Ichigo spotted a cluster of girls jumping around and laughing and occasionally tossing around a ball. "Are they playing, or what?" he mused aloud as he stopped to watch them. His thoughts were inevitably drawn back to Rukia. She was so lithe and graceful compared to this gaggle of girls. Some of them were tripping over their own feet, including Orihime. Ichigo allowed himself to smirk briefly as he pictured his girlfriend hopping around with the group of silly females.
"Yo, Ichigo! Checking out the girls, huh?"
Said boy growled dangerously as Keigo practically tackled him with enthusiasm, effectively ruining his train of thought. Oblivious to his friend's rage, Keigo continued digging his grave.
"Oh, I gotcha. Staring at Orihime. Ooo-eee, she is quite the boobalicious babe!"
Keigo grunted in pain as he found himself sprawled out flat on the ground with Ichigo glaring at him from above. "Hey! I thought I told you to never do that again!" the angry teen shouted.
But Keigo was not easily daunted and sprang indignately to his feet. "Right, like you don't know it's totally normal for teenage boys to be obsessed with hot cuties!"
Speaking of hot cuties, Rukia sauntered by the two feuding boys, giving them both a little flirty wave. Ichigo felt his face flush as he stared after her and prayed that Keigo was too stupid to notice. But he had to give the idiot credit where it was do. "Okay, I admit there's nothing wrong with that."
Keigo's jaw dropped in utter astonishment. He hadn't been expecting that to come out of Ichigo's mouth. "What are you saying?"
Before Ichigo could respond, a lightbulb went off in Keigo's head and he started rambling anew. "Oh, I get it! Orihime's just not your type. But I bet Rukia-"
He was cut off by a well-placed right hook that sent him flying away. When he finally landed, Ichigo was standing over him menacingly. "Don't ever mention her name again if you want to live."
Keigo gulped nervously. "Understood."
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Ichigo watched with mixed feelings as Uryu came into the classroom all bandaged up. He couldn't help but watch like everyone else as he gave his lame excuse to the teacher before gingerly walking over to his seat. Before he could ponder Uryu any further, Rukia leaned over and tapped his shoulder.
"Don't let it bother you," she mumbled to him.
He looked at her curiously, wondering if she was a mind reader. He decided to play dumb. He should've known better. "Hmm?"
She pointed to Uryu. "His injuries aren't your fault. He brought it on himself. Besides, it would've happened anyway."
Rukia had noticed her carrot-top silently stewing over the boy and had decided to ease his mind before he managed to work himself up completely.
Ichigo scowled. Damn intuitive woman! "You've got to be kidding. I'm not the least bit worried about Uryu." He didn't know that he'd just talked himself into a trap.
Rukia smiled genuinely for the first time that day. It was the sly smile of a fox who'd just caught their pray. "Interesting. I never suggested you were worried about him. If you recall, all I said was don't let it boether you."
Ichigo felt steam rise and explode from his ears. Oh how he wanted to jump across his desk and strangle the little minx. "Why you..."
But his threatening tone fell on deaf ears as Rukia continued to grin.
And somewhere inside past his embarrassment of being outsmarted, he was glad she was happy. He wished she could stay happy. She was so beautiful when she smiled.
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Rukia managed to remain in good spirits for the rest of class, but by the time lunchtime rolled around she was once again lost in her thoughts. She gave a tiny smile of bliss as she sipped her juice and thought about all the real-world inventions she would miss when she was forced to return. After Ichigo of course, juice was at the top of her list.
Rukia suddenly snapped to attention as one of the girls turned to face her. "Hey, can I ask you something? Do you have a crush on Ichigo?"
Juice splattered the ground in front of her as Rukia gaped at the bold girl. What the hell kind of question was that? Rukia bristled. And how was it any of her business?
Rukia calmed herself down. Girls here seemed to talk about everything. Maybe that included who they liked. But she certainly wasn't telling them the truth. She didn't really even know them! And they didn't really know her, for that matter.
Rukia couldn't help but think about the question. Did she have a crush on Ichigo? Well they were apparently 'boyfriend and girlfriend' as he called it and they certainly kissed a lot in his room. She cared very much for his well-being and he was protective of her. She didn't want to leave his side and go back to where she supposedly belonged.
Rukia realized she still hadn't answered the girl, but her brain felt stupid and all she managed to utter was a confused, "Huh?"
"I'll take that as a maybe, but what exactly is your relationship with that guy?"
Damn, the girl was persistent. Rukia began to fidget nervously. "Well, h-he's my friend."
Crap, she stuttered! They were bound to notice that. But she got lucky as one of the girls stepped in and confronted the nosy girl, which started a debate that Rukia couldn't be bothered to listen to.
It was true. Ichigo was her friend. But he was so much more. Before she could further contemplate about what Ichigo meant to her, the same blunt girl's voice broke into her thoughts.
"Well? What's the story, Rukia?"
She sighed internally. If they only knew, they wouldn't believe the story. With a practiced blink of her eye, Rukia masked her inner turmoil and turned resolutely to face the nosy group. "Ichigo and I are..." Her voice trailed off. Why couldn't she just say it? It was one little phrase and it would shut the girls up. But just thinking about it felt wrong. It felt like a sort of betrayal to Ichigo.
Swallowing hard, Rukia tried again and forced a false cheeriness to her voice. "Ichigo and I are just friends. That's all there is to it."
The words felt wrong on her tongue and bile rose in her throat. She didn't know why she was freaking out? She knew it wasn't true. It must be the whole keeping it a secret thing getting to her.
The girls groaned in disappointment before the one called Mahana spoke up again. "For real?"
Rukia felt her irritation with the human brat growing. "Yes," she answered, a bit of steel creeping into her voice.
Another girl spoke up. "You mean you don't feel anything special for him? Not at all?"
Rukia fought the urge to get up and storm away. What did she ever do to these girls to deserve such torture! She forced her tone to remain lighthearted. "No, there's nothing else going on."
Rukia sighed in relief as Orihime turned the conversation in a silly direction and allowed her to zone out again.
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The final bell rang and kids leaped from their seats. Before he knew it, Ichigo was the only one left in the classroom. Not even the teacher had stayed a minute longer than she had to.
He stood from his seat and began collecting his things at a leisurely pace. He didn't see what the big rush was about. Even Rukia had left. Speaking of Rukia, he wondered where she'd gotten off to without him.
"Ichigo!"
The boy looked up and spotted the object of his affections coming toward him at a rapid pace, her heels clacking against the wooden floor. He tensed immediately. "What's up? A Hollow?"
Ichigo watched her face fall slightly. "No it's... not that."
Rukia stared at him silently, burning his image into her brain. She loved the way he looked right now. His face was relaxed for the most part with the exception of his eyebrows, which were creased in concern for her. She loved the fact that he cared so much. But she worried about him too. Who was going to worry about him when she was gone? "Ichigo? Are you... feeling okay?"
He chuckled nervously, hands jammed in his pockets. "Yeah! I... feel great, but why are you asking?" He was the one who should be asking her if she was okay. She never hesitated when she spoke or acted quite so timid and melancholic.
She smiled dazzlingly at him and Ichigo forgot how to breathe. "No reason. I'm just glad your okay."
Ichigo finally found his voice. "Is there gonna be another one like yesterday?"
Rukia laughed as her lips turned up into a quirky grin. "If a Menos Grande showed up everyday, we'd be in trouble."
Ichigo stepped closer, the weight of his arm settling around her shoulders as he drew her to him. "Rukia... you know your... uh, acting a bit strange today. Did something happen?"
"I..." She sighed. That was a pretty loaded question. It had been hard enough to lie to the girls, and now she had to lie to him. Rukia thought of telling him about the girls' interrogation. She thought of telling him why she really had been so sad lately. She thought of telling him what she'd only recently come to realize she felt about him. "Uh... it's just-"
She was cut off by Kon's screaming and a flash of disappointment ran through her. In that instant, her courage left her and she resigned herself to keeping her secrets.
Ichigo was angry. Rukia wasn't the easiest person to crack and he'd been so close. It was no suprrise. After all, she was like him and he hated having to make himself vulnerable by sharing his feelings. But he'd seen the play of emotions that had danced across her face and in that moment, she would have told him anything he wanted to know. But Kon had ruined it. And Ichigo was wise enough to know that he wasn't ever going to get that chance back.
That didn't stop him from trying though. After Kon finished rambling and started blubbering, he turned back to face her, noticing the sad look in her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?"
She blinked and the look disappeared. He knew then that he wouldn't get anything else trly sincere out of her. "Nothing, I'm fine."
Ichigo knew it was a lie, but decided to let it go.
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After getting rid of Kon, Ichigo had the brilliant idea to take Rukia to get ice cream. He knew that she very much enjoyed juice and so wanted to see her reaction to the even sweeter confection.
It was totally worth it. Ichigo was mesmerized watching her pink tongue dart out to lick at her cone. Sure it might be a bit perverted, but he could sit there and watch her keep doing that all day.
Rukia was oblivious to him watching her. Actually, she was oblivious to everything. For the first time that day, her worries and impending depression were not at the forefront of her mind. She was too busy enjoying the wonderful flavors that came with ice cream. She'd almost had a heart attack when Ichigo told her she could build her own cone. She hadn't understood what that meant at the time, but when she realized that she could put whatever she wanted on her ice cream, her face had lit up with glee.
When she finished, she insisted on trying Ichigo's cone, too, and with the look of complete happiness on her face, he couldn't deny her anything. She ended up finishing off his cone as well and Ichigo couldn't help but wonder where she kept all that dessert in her tiny form.
"That was simply wonderful, Ichigo! Thank you for sharing this, um, ice... ice..."
He smiled indulgently and kissed her cheek. "Cream, Rukia. It's called ice cream. And your very welcome."
He leaned down and claimed her lips, tasting both of their cones on her tongue. The kiss was sweet and innocent, and unknown to the two lovers it would be their last for a long time.
Ichigo pulled away and kissed her nose. "So, which one was your favorite?"
Rukia felt herself blush, but was too happy to care. "They tasted better together."
They stood up hand in hand from the bench where they had been sitting. Ichigo turned to her, looking slightly disappointed. "Sorry, but I have to go to Chad's house now. We're working on a project for school."
Rukia's face fell, and just like that, her gloom and doom thoughts returned. "Well, okay."
Ichigo expecter for her to say 'see you at home', but she didn't. Warning bells should have been going off in his head at that point, but he was deaf to them.
He picked up his backpack and slung it over one shoulder, preparing to leave. "I'll see you later. Stay out of trouble, midget."
Suddenly, Rukia launched herself into his arms, her own arms wrapped around him tightly. The force of it caused Ichigo to lurch back in surprise, dropping his bag to the concrete in the process. "Whoa! What the-"
He was cut off by the fierce press of Rukia's lips against his. She was devouring him hungrily, ravenously as if she let go, he would disappear. Little did he know, it was the other way around. Rukia released his lips and burried her face in his chest. She hugged him as tight as she could in her gigai, and Ichigo did likewise.
"Goodbye, my Ichigo," she whispered, her head still on his chest.
"What was that?" he asked, stroking her hair.
"Nothing," she replied, hopping out of his arms. "Bye." Rukia turned and hurried away, unable to keep her tears in any longer. "And stay safe."
Ichigo was once again left staring after her retreating form. He reached down and touched a wet spot on his chest, wondering what it was. If only he knew. Ichigo shook his head at his girlfriend's weird behavior and after picking up his fallen bag, turned to walk in the direction of his friend's house. He would sort everything with Rukia out later when he got home.
But she wasn't there. Suddenly, the sinking feeling he'd been carrying around all day made sense.
AN
So that should set the next chapter up pretty nicely. To those of you who did review, few of you as their were, thank you very much. I hope you guys continue to review, and for those of you who didn't, please do. The story is far from over, slow as it might be, but your reviews and favorites and follows only make me write faster. Keep that in mind. Please review!