Disclaimer: No owning Bleach. Just, y'know, one for the laundry :)

A/N: A quick break from the usual fluffiness to something more… drama-ish (??) Sorta. Hah. Enjoy reading it :)

Moving and Moonlight Meetings

Rikka Island, Chalet 015— Night Seven

"SNXXX….!"

"Ngghh…!"

"SNXXXX…!"

That is it!

Ichigo couldn't take it anymore.

Isshin snores EXTRA loud today. Must be because of the food he scarfed down at the buffet dinner or even that kayaking he did with the twins that evening. Or that cycling activity he did. Or that swimming they did from morning till noon.

So he was beat.

That does not mean he could snore like a tractor using a mike in an earthquake!

And wiggle around like jelly!

Not even three fluffy pillows pushed over his ears could block it out.

Pushing his dad's foot out of the way of his face, (How the hell did this get here? He's on the other bed for Pete's sake! Ichigo thought) he crept slowly out of bed and walked out to the beach. He didn't know why his feet dragged him there, but it was nice. Ichigo could smell the salty scent of the sea breeze. Even if it was summer, the air was still cool at night. The small waves lapped at his bare feet.

Ichigo stopped for a moment. He could see a silhouette of someone at the edge of the beach. Dim white moonlight cast on that person. He could see, not so clearly, but clear enough to let him know that the person was no other than her.

"Rukia…?"

She turned to look at him. Rukia smiled. "Ichigo. Hi."

"Whatcha doing here?"

"Can't sleep." She patted the spot beside her, gesturing for him to sit beside her. "What are you doing here? It's almost midnight."

"My dad snores."

Rukia chuckled. She can imagine that clearly. He exhaled perceptibly. "Shouldn't you be in your room or something? Won't your teacher check up on you?"

"Nah," she said, "They never did check up on us at night… they call out our names in the morning."

"Ah… So, why are you here, then?"

"My nii-sama called me a few hours ago…"

Ichigo didn't say anything just looked at her, almost intently. Somehow he knew this was the thing that bothered her a few days ago.

He was listening.

"He said we have to move again. He was sure of it. The last time he called, it was just a maybe. But now he was definitely sure of it. This time to a small town somewhere. He didn't tell the name of the city… It's frustrating, really." Rukia exhaled perceptibly. "So I came here, to the beach. It's nice here. I like it."

Ichigo nodded.

She continued, "This was the longest time I've stayed in one school. Almost five years." Her attention went to the horizon in front of them. "I'll miss them. My friends, I mean. I don't like moving. Never did, never will. When I think about it, I only have three more days to spend with them." She poked holes on the soft sand beside her. She dragged her finger in the sand, making swirls and lines.

"Yeah…"

"But nii-sama said that I have to, because of his work that needs him to transfer to a lot of places. He said, 'Life brings a bunch of stuff at us, and we can decide how to use it. We shape our lives with the choices we make. But then, sometimes we get stuff that we don't have control over. And we just have to deal with it.' Or something similar to that." Rukia frowned.

"What are you going to do?"

Rukia shrugged.

She sighed.

The sound of the waves crashing was evident in their silence. There hardly were any silence between them; they would either bicker or, well… bicker. They don't do anything much. There were very few moments where they were actually conversing not like children. The wind blew, caressing their hair slightly. Rukia tucked a lock of hair out from her face.

These were one of the very rare moments.

Rukia spoke up, "I was… adopted by him years back. I was put into a Children's Home once. Nee-san couldn't support both of us at that time. I waited and waited everyday… to see if she would come back. The waiting was excruciating."

She rarely told this to anyone. Usually if anyone asks, she would either change the topic or tell an excuse. The only other friends that know about this is Orihime and Momo, and that was also because of the fact that the two were her best friends.

But Ichigo?

She was just opening up to him. Rukia didn't know why but she trusted him to tell him about this; even though they just met only a week before.

"Later —I don't know when— Hisana nee-san married nii-sama. At that time, she wanted to find me again. After I waited for so long, so long that I thought… that she'll never come back… she did. She came back." Rukia's lips curved upwards slightly "She took me away from that horrible place and I lived with her and nii-sama for a few years. I was happy there. We were happy. I thought all my nightmares would be over. I thought my life would be okay again… before…"

And her voice cracked a bit, just a bit, and she's only holding back a little bit of her tears, just a little bit; she took a deep breath to calm herself down. Ichigo leaned over and held her hand tight. Rukia didn't pull away. Instead she accepted it.

"She got sick. Cancer. We didn't found out until it was almost too late. She had a million of chemotherapy treatment. She did get better; for just a week, before the cancer cells came back again. I thought she would get better after that. I really thought that she would… but…" Slowly, a small tear made its way out of her eye and slipped unnoticed down her cheek. "But she… died a few years later…" Her voice trailed off as she brushed her tears roughly with the back of her hand.

Ichigo was slightly surprised. "Rukia…" He knew she was the type of girl who was emotionally resilient. No matter what. Her sister must be someone important to her. He just knew she was. Ichigo leant over and wrapped his arms around her petite body gently and pulled her to a close embrace. She stifled back a startled gasp, but then placed her head on his broad shoulder. He caressed her comfortingly as she held on to his shirt, tight.

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to, Rukia," he whispered.

She nodded slightly.

They stayed in that position for a few moments before Rukia pulled away from his embrace slowly and wiped her damp eyes. "I'm sorry, putting all this to you. I mean, it's my problems anyway and—"

"S'okay, Rukia"—He gave her hand a quick squeeze— "Really. I mean, if listening can make you feel better, it's the least I can do."

She gave him a small smile at him. She muttered a quick silent thank you at him; he nodded and placed his hand on her cheek gently, wiped the tears with his thumb and tucked that lock of hair behind her ears. "Okay now?" he asked, smiling comfortingly at her. Rukia returned the smile and then nodded.

There was more silence after that, each was occupied in their own thoughts. Rukia noticed Ichigo's fingers were still laced between her own. She didn't pull away, not minding; it was comforting, really.

After a long moment, Rukia spoke up again, "I think… I should be heading back to my room now, Ichigo." Rukia stood up and smiled at him once more before looking back. Rukia gasped. She expected a brightly lit path back to her room. But all she saw was almost total darkness. At least the moonlight was there. But that couldn't light her path all the way back to her chalet, she knew. Besides, it was quite a long way to go.

"Wh-What happened to the lights?"

"Don't you know? This place dims and reduce all the outside lamps every night at around 1 am, I think. They wanna reduce their energy usage or something like that."

She turned back and looked up at him quizzically. "What? How did you know?"

"Made it up." He grinned. She narrowed her eyes at him. She was getting back to her old self, he thought. Now to annoy her. That is, until she gets thoroughly like herself.

"What? Are you afraid of the dark, Roo?"

"I… am not." But she still didn't move towards the small path. "I umm… want to stay here for a while more." She sat back on the sand and yawned.

"Yeah, right." He shrugged off his jacket and threw it at her. "And by tomorrow there'll be an Rukia-sicle on the beach. It gets cold at night by the beach, you know." He stood up moved closer to her and held out an arm to pull her up from her sitting position. "I'll walk you back, if you're scared. And just wear that; you're shaking."

"I'm not scared." She still sat there, not moving, not taking his hand or his jacket. "Or shaking," she added, just before she felt a chill run down her back and goosebumps on her skin. Only just a bit. Just a teeny bit.

"Sheesh Rukia, you could just ask. I'll walk you back." He pulled her up then he pushed her from behind. Ichigo took his jacket and placed it on her small shoulders, either she wants it or not.

"NO!"

She stood firmly on her heels and pushed back, stopping her from going any further down that dark path. "You go first." She pointed at the path, unconsciously pulling the hem of the jacket around her. He rolled his eyes and trudged on first. Rukia walked behind him and gradually was at his side. There was another silence between them.

It wasn't awkward but it wasn't so calming either.

That was the fastest way back to her chalet; through the bit of woody area. That bit where the ancient swing was. Come to think of it, the swing is really creepy looking at night. It swung by itself slowly in the passing wind; its vines a murky green hue under the black darkess. Rukia felt goosebumps rise up to her chilly skin. The full moon shone bright moonlight which strained through the leaves, leaving white spots of light on the ground. The only sound that was heard are the crickets and the crunching of leaves underneath their shoes.

I'm not scared, just don't lik— What was that?

She turned abruptly at every other sound that was heard. Ichigo noticed this and he smirked at her. "Not scared, my foot."

A loud hoot was heard and a white blur swooshed beside her. Startled and scared, Rukia yelped and grabbed Ichigo's arm and held on to it like it her life depended on it. Her eyes were shut tight and her fingernails dug in his skin. "O-oi…!" Ichigo exclaimed. He blushed at this sudden act. Hastily she let go of his arm, blushing slightly.

"S-sorry, Ichi—" Rukia did a double take at a moving thing on top of a branch. "W-what was that??"

Ichigo leaned over to her level. "Y'know, people call that an owl."

"Shut up. I knew that."

Ichigo sighed inwardly and rolled his eyes. Subconsciously he placed an arm around her waist and pulled her close. Rukia blushed at this action, but she didn't pull away. He too blushed. Ichigo didn't know why did he actually did that move, but some part of his brain told him to stay that way.

Besides, somehow, one part of him liked it.

Somehow Rukia felt safer that way, even though there was nothing to be afraid about. They walked like that till both reached her chalet. As they reached the place, the lights were slightly brighter than the beach. He let go of her when they reached her chalet.

"Umm… good night Ichigo. Thanks for walking me back." He looked into her violet orbs of eyes and she smiled. He loved to see that smile. He smiled back. Their gaze held for a few moments; Rukia's violet eyes piercing Ichigo's amber pools. Then, without a word, Ichigo leaned down and kissed her softly at the corner of her lips. And then, just as quick as it had started, it finished. Ichigo suddenly recoiled, as if realizing what they had done.

"S-sorry," He said with a tinge of embarrassment.

Why did he just suddenly make a move on her like that? What is wrong with him today? Must be the shrimp he ate during dinner. Yes, the shrimp. It was all the shrimp's fault. Ichigo will forever hold a grudge against the crustacean.

Eyes wide, her face showed total surprise. His face coloured again. Ichigo spun on his heels and turned away, unable to say anything. Rukia grabbed his forearm and turned him back around. She kissed him gently on the lips. Unintentionally, he kissed back, smiling slightly.

"Thanks… Ichigo." She smiled. She looked so cute like that, he thought. It's the jacket on her tiny figure. "For walking me back."

Ichigo forgave the shrimp.

"Um… well, good night Ichigo," she said. "Thanks again for walking me back."

"Ah… night." He was still a bit dazed from the previous scene to say anything else. He started to walk back. Just as Rukia was opening the door to her room, Ichigo turned back around. "Rukia…?"

"Yeah?"

"You still have three more days with Inoue and Hinamori. Don't worry too much 'bout it. Just spend it with them."

Rukia smiled. She waved at him before going inside.

Her roommates, Orihime, Momo, and Hikari were already sleeping soundly. Good. If they saw or knew what happened… who knows when the news will stop. Rukia slid down the door and sat on the floor. Rukia placed her fingers to her lips where Ichigo's had been. Blushing, she smiled softly to herself, wrapping the jacket around her closer.

It felt… nice. Really nice.

——————————————————————————————————————————

"That was… really unexpected," Ichigo said to no one in particular. The whole scene replayed in his mind. Those violet eyes of hers looking back at his amber ones and her cutely flushed face of hers after he… after he…

Why the hell did he do that again?

Whatever, Ichigo didn't regret it.

He grinned.

"It's been a good night," he said and smiled.

As he unlocked the door to chalet 015 and went inside…

"SNXXXX!!"

Then again, it might not be such a good night.

——————————————————————————————————————————

I've been editing Rukia's past for at least seven times… tell me what you thought about it.

Heh, it turns out fluffy up to the end. Non-fluff is not my specialty. It's a scary thought XD

Reviews, onegai?