Chapter 9: First Meeting, My Recollection

Ukitake sat on a chair beside Rukia's bed, watching as she blinked slowly, eyes losing focus before clearing again. Her delicate fingers were curling slowly, as if they rejected the orders of movement she gave them, and she still seemed so lethargic. The drug was a powerful one . . . well, it had to be in order to stop a mental breakdown and then force someone into unconsciousness. The sleep was necessary, for some reason that the white haired man only half understood, but it didn't mean he liked giving those shots any more than he normally would. It was so hard for him, and he could only hope that, if Rukia remembered what had happened this time, she wouldn't hate him. After all, the last needle he'd given her had been half a year ago, and she hadn't remembered later . . . those were darker times, though.

'Kuchiki? Can you hear me? It's Ukitake here,' he spoke in the least abrasive way possible, just in case he caused her further discomfort.

'Don't talk like that, it makes me feel stupid,' due to her cloudy mind, Rukia entirely forgot to be polite, and the white haired man knew that later she'd bash herself up about it, 'Yes, I can hear you,' she turned her head to look at him, suddenly coming into a full state of awareness and realising exactly who she was talking to, 'Oh Ukitake! I'm so sorry! That was so rude of me! Forgive me please,'

'Don't worry, I know you'll still be feeling a little out of it for a while,' he smiled kindly, glad that she still didn't seem to hate him, 'Can you remember what happened?' he held his breath in apprehension.

'I went into your private study, which I apologise for, as I intruded on your space . . . and the walls had paintings on them. Of me, Kaien and . . . Kurosaki. You said I'd painted them and . . .' she frowned as she searched through her dim recollections of that time, 'And then you brought me back here and I was being disagreeable, and then you gave me an injection,' she winced in a mixture of fear and hatred.

'I'm glad you hate the needles and not me,' Jushiro spoke without thinking and then he jumped when she blinked at him in surprise, 'Oh no, I never doubted you Kuchiki!'

Rukia looked at him, so flustered as he thought she'd stop respecting him and treating him as a friend and a family member, and she began to laugh softly, 'You're too kind, Ukitake,'

The white haired man smiled back at her and then he went all serious, 'Now Kuchiki, I'm going to explain something important to you, so please listen careful,' once she'd nodded, he continued, 'Alright, well . . . the thing is, you have amnesia. Retrograde, not anterograde,' he paused, and then, after taking a deep breath, he continued, 'You've met Kurosaki Ichigo before, about a year and a half ago, but you forgot all about him. Do you understand? You two were friends, if you'll believe that. Kuchiki? Are you alright? Do you get what I'm saying?'

'I get that I have amnesia,' Rukia was in a state of shock, although she'd expected something like that as soon as Ukitake had started speaking, 'But I can't believe I was his friend,' she glared at her hands, 'I must've been an idiot,'

'Er,' hearing her very grumpy and withering tone, Ukitake wondered if he should have said that bit about Kurosaki so soon after she'd woken up. He'd hate for her to decide that she'd rather be asleep than be that 'orange haired jerk'-s friend. Or former friend . . . the white haired man wasn't sure how things would pan out, but he hoped everything would be alright.

'I can't believe that,' she sat bolt upright, not unsteady at all, 'That idiot! I'm an idiot! Why,' she omitted a few choice words and then continued, 'Would I have been his friend?'

'How about you talk to him,' holding out his hand, Ukitake passed her a square of paper with a phone number on it, 'It's better to discuss your problems, just like-,'

'Kaien used to say,' Rukia smiled wryly, 'His first impression speech,'

'That's right,' shaking his head, Jushiro stood and left the room, waving, 'I'll see you later, I want to go for a walk in the gardens,' he'd noticed the cherry blossom trees before, and he felt like wandering around beneath the first falling petals, 'Goodbye,'

'Later,' not thinking about politeness again, Rukia grabbed her phone from her dresser and dialled the number while she got dressed quickly, 'Hurry up and pick up,' she was trying to calm down. She'd do Kaien proud even if she had to hit herself to stop herself from killing Ichigo. Even if she died valiantly in an attempt to get over her first impression . . . actually no way, she was not dying because of that jerk. That was the last thing she was going to do. She would never, ever, in a million years, no matter what happened, give up her life for him. He was a useless jerk who didn't deserve what he had. And so what if she'd been his friend, he hadn't been so friendly when they met again, so there! Fuming, but still trying to stay calm, Rukia tapped her fingernails on the back of the phone, still waiting for Ichigo to pick up.

'Hello?' an infuriatingly familiar voice sounded, and then there was silence.

'Kurosaki?' Rukia was worried that he'd hung up, because she was not going to ring again, 'Are you there?'

'Kuchiki Rukia,' there was something akin to disbelief in his tone, 'I'm not going to ask where you got my number from, but-,'

'Ukitake gave it to me, and stop being a lying bastard because I know you know that I have amnesia and we knew each other before. Cut the crap and get over here. You know where I live too, I'm assuming,' she was practically hissing the words, almost forgetting her resolution, but picturing Kaien's disappointed face to keep herself from completely losing it.

'Well then,' now his tone was different, serious and with a hint of amusement, 'It's a good thing he told you, cause I'm already here,'

As the line went dead, Rukia scowled ferociously at the cheek of that guy, before schooling her features into a mask of nonchalance, 'Alright then, let's play a game, shall we? I'll be Nii-sama, and you can be the village idiot, sounds perfect . . . let's go,'

'Kurosaki,' Rukia walked down the stairs and over to where Ichigo was sitting in one of the chairs, placed so conveniently in the entrance hall, 'I have some questions,'

The orange haired teenager noted her stiff, proud demeanour and he almost sighed, 'Okay, ask away,' he hid his smirk before adding, 'Kuchiki-sama,'

Rukia hid her death glare and smiled slightly instead, 'Firstly, how do we know each other?' she sat down opposite him, still graceful and dignified.

'We met when you were wandering around the middle of town. It was about a year and a half ago,' he paused, remembering, 'It was just after Kaien left,' he didn't notice her stiffen, 'And Ukitake said it was unusual for you to be out since you usually stayed on the Estate,'

Rukia was about to ask her next question when the room seemed to dissolve and she was in her own mind, reliving a memory.

Kaien was gone, Ukitake was sleeping, Byakuya was working and she had nothing to do. It was no good, in her opinion, because now there were long periods of time where staring out the window was the most interesting thing of all. Rukia sighed in annoyance and looked about. It wasn't her first time in the middle of Karakura Town, maybe it was her third, but still, she didn't know her way around at all. It didn't bother her, all she needed was something to occupy her mind.

Sighing, the petite teenager turned to glance across the road, when something flew at her. Muscles reacting automatically, a simple reflex action, Rukia reached up and caught the object, staring at it while her brain caught up with what had happened.

'Someone's hat,' she murmured the words to herself as she gazed at it, noting the pale pink flowers to one side, 'I wonder who owns it,'

'Hurry! Onii-chan! Karin!' it was a girl's voice, quite high and sweet sounding, 'It's getting away,'

Seconds later, the owner of the voice appeared around a corner, having been running along the street perpendicular to the one Rukia was currently on. She had pale brown hair, quite short, and a big smile, although she looked worried about losing her hat.

'Oh,' seeing the object of her concern in someone's pale hands, the girl looked up, 'Thank you for catching my hat,' she sounded uncertain as if the astonished teenager might be about to run off with her possession, 'Could . . . could I please have it back?'

'Sure,' Rukia walked over and gave her the hat without hesitation, 'Sorry,'

'Don't be!' the girl smiled wider, her eyes almost closing completely, 'I'm thankful,' leaning forwards, she added in a softer tone, 'Although I'd say you're welcome after this,'

'I would have, but thanks and, you're welcome,' wondering how the girl had such confidence when talking to strangers, and thinking that maybe she was able to sense that the teenager she'd met didn't mean her any harm, Rukia let herself smile slightly.

'Yuzu! Don't just run off like that, what if you got run over by a car, or mugged, or kidnapped, or stolen?'

The girl, Yuzu, blinked in surprise, and turned around, peering about as if she expected to see something . . . or someone, 'Hmm, that's my Onii-chan,' she frowned slightly, 'But I can't see him, Karin either,'

'Yuzu,' a black haired girl, perhaps the same age as Rukia's new acquaintance, ran up suddenly, 'For once Ichi-nii's probably right! Anyhow, we've got to get to the park or else our crazy dad will be doing handstands and freaking everyone else out!' not even glancing at Rukia, Karin grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her off.

Rukia watched them go in mild bemusement and then she turned to look back the way the black haired girl had come from, expecting to see this brother they were both mentioning rather frequently. He was presumably also the one who'd spoken about being kidnapped in approximately three different ways. She blinked as something orange appeared in her line of sight. It was a very bright and noticeable orange too.

'Er,' seeing that the colour was actually someone's hair, Rukia thought she'd point out where the two girls had gone, if this was there brother, that was, 'Are you related to a Yuzu and Karin?' she paused, waiting patiently for an answer, as the other teenager approached.

'Yeah,' seeming rather flustered, having lost both his sisters and almost one hat as well, he wasn't fully focusing on whoever had just spoken to him, 'Did you see them?'

'I saw them and spoke to them too,' Rukia pointed in the direction they'd vanished in, 'They went that way, if you're wondering,'

It was interesting, she thought, that she was able to speak with relative ease to this stranger. Normally she'd never exchange words in a situation like this. Looking closer at the teenager, she realised that maybe her confidence came from the fact that he looked so similar to Kaien.

This is really strange, I can't believe they look so similar, she thought to herself as she watched whoever this boy was, taking deep breaths and trying to calm down.

'Sorry,' the sudden apology startled Rukia, 'I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, thanks for helping me,'

'Right,' now exactly sure how to react, the teenager bowed slightly, 'Kuchiki Rukia,'

'Rukia,' the complete lack of any formality, despite the fact that they'd only just met, as well as the fact that it sounded as if he was trying out her name, made her feel strange.

Consequently, she did what she always seemed to whenever a situation got confusing, 'You better hurry, they ran off pretty fast,' once again, she gestured in the right direction, 'Go that way,'

'True, they are fast when they want to be. Thanks again, Rukia. I'll see you around,' without another word, Kurosaki Ichigo turned and raced off, calling out loudly and seemingly oblivious to the stares he received from the people he passed.

'How exactly do you figure?' muttering to herself and wondering what he meant by the last part, Rukia began wandering on again, still puzzling over what had just happened.

Sitting opposite Rukia, Ichigo watched as she stared straight through his head, and probably straight through the wall as well. It seemed like she was in deep thought, and he assumed that meant she was reliving some memory that had final broken free from the cold grip of the amnesia. He recalled their very first meeting himself, and he almost chuckled. It never ceased to amuse him, although at the time he hadn't noticed, that she'd purposely tried to get rid of him. And it had worked, because he'd left, but still . . . it was funny.

As he continued to think about how shocked her face had appeared when he'd so casually said her first name, the urge to laugh just kept getting stronger. It wasn't his fault that he didn't always remember to be polite, or recall the traditional ways of respect. Covering his mouth, and not surprised she didn't notice him move, Ichigo tried to stifle his chuckles by suffocating himself.

Unfortunately, it all became too much and, because he was still covering his mouth, he ended up snorting so loudly that Rukia jumped about an inch into the air, looking about like a bomb had just gone off.

'S-s-sorry,' he couldn't speak straight and he knew he'd fall off his chair soon as he was jerking around like he was having seizures, 'Go back to remembering, I'll be alright,' roaring with laughter now and sounding positively agonised, Ichigo did slide from the edge of the plush armchair. As he rolled around on the ground trying to stop laughing because this wasn't exactly the best way to change Rukia's opinion about his for the better, Ichigo decided that it was impossible. She'd probably change his status from 'jerk' to 'insane moron', or something nice like that. But really, with such a memory replaying over and over again in his head, there was nothing to do except let the manic laughter out.

'You're pathetic, you know that,' having finally come back to her senses, Rukia let the memory move from the centre of her thoughts and then she stared down at Ichigo who was gasping as he lay on his back, sprawled on the smooth white marble floor, 'I can't believe you can laugh at a time like this,'

'What's this time like?' Ichigo blinked, staring at her upside down from his surprisingly comfortable position, 'Rukia . . . don't you have more memories to get back to? I mean, one meeting doesn't mean your friends with someone. Don't tell me you're giving up and accepting everything without question,' he was taunting her.

Answering his first question, Rukia sighed, maintaining her composure with ease, 'This time is one where you're supposed to be quiet so that I can remember in peace. If you want me to recall the time when we were supposedly,' she stressed the word, muscles tensing slightly, 'Friends, then shut up,' smiling sweetly and dropping some of her Nii-sama act, just so she could show some facial expression, she continued, 'And then, once you're quiet, I can continue recalling. If that was our first meeting,' she almost gagged on the word 'our', 'Then I can't imagine how stupid you'll be in the next one,'

Ichigo paused for a moment longer, unwilling to move, but then he sighed and stood up, resuming his position on his chair, 'Okay, I'll be quiet,' seeing her pointed look, he added, 'Or at least I'll try,' then, unable to resist, he quickly stuck a, 'Kuchiki-sama,' on the end, with emphasis on the 'sama'. Knowing Rukia, which he did, he knew she disliked being referred to in, considering the situation, such an overly polite way. However, when she spoke to Byakuya, she used the suffix 'sama', but that was because she looked up to him so much. It had been the source of many mock arguments in the past, arguments which usually entailed him calling her 'Kuchiki-sama' and her calling him 'Ichigo-chan' in the most condescending way possible. Which was, unsurprisingly, extremely condescending.

Schooling her glare, and wondering what he was thinking about to have actually gone quiet, Rukia took a slow, deep breath. There were at least two more memories directly linked with her meeting with Ichigo, and she wanted them to become clear. Somehow, the thought that they'd become friends didn't seem so impossible now that she'd relived their first meeting, so perhaps there was actually a side to Kurosaki Ichigo that wasn't a complete idiot.

Twitching, and earning herself a curious glance from the orange haired teenager himself, she spoke aloud, 'But I doubt it,'

Author's Note:

Rukia and Ichigo's first meeting, thanks to Yuzu, I suppose . . . and, in the present, they seem to be remaining at least a semblance of maturity and calm . . . civility.

So, more of Rukia's past coming up, and probably something on her art too . . .