Chapter 10 - Water Waves
It's been two weeks. Two silent, awkward and blood-boiling weeks.
Byakuya waited for his parents to come, but they didn't. It made him want to shoot something, but he didn't.
He wondered if Koga was fooling around, but after a call he learned that they got caught up in business matters that they couldn't delay. So he continued to wait, but now that Rukia was free and well again, he had to be discreet and settle things with them without Rukia ever knowing.
Ichigo didn't talk to Byakuya once throughout that fortnight, just like the last time that she tried to avoid him. And within one of those two weeks her sisters were fine already, thanks to her blood and to their strong will.
Toshiro recovered at the end of those strangest fourteen days she had. And yet, that man never left her thought for one second. She couldn't get rid of the warmth that his hands and lips left. And there were the clips that he gave to her, then she tried to give it to him but was told to keep it.
Though she knew wearing hair clips was feminine, even if those clips belonged to a man, she couldn't help but wear it everyday at the back of her hair exactly where Byakuya clipped it.
And like when she changed her hair color, people once again made a big deal about it. She was completely annoyed but acted silent around them, and made it official that she really hates them even if her life was different, she would still dislike their persistent, stubborn and selfish guts.
They were partly to blame for why this happened, why both he and her are troubled and conflicted over the strange relationship formed between them.
"Kurosaki! What is the answer to this problem?" Her math teacher called pretty loudly that it snapped her out of her deep-in-thought state. She sighed and stood up, answering the question.
Within all those two weeks, one of her main thoughts was Byakuya, even in her dreams he was there. That was when she fully believed in the saying that the smallest things can give the greatest of impacts, along with the saying that love is more complicated than it looks.
And this 'love', she's not even sure if it's love, is completely complicated that her head was spinning whenever she'd think of what happened at the prom.
Ichigo didn't expect that there would be no one at home, not even her sisters, especially with a note that said that the keys are with her dad and that she can stay at her neighbor's for the night.
She was sure that they would let her spend the night in their home, but she is extremely not willing to be under the same roof with the man who kissed her and who she is having very complex feelings for.
Without any homework to do and with a few leftover snacks she walked away from the house and strolled through random paths but making sure that the streets around her are not dangerous.
Her eyes were momentarily shining darkly with dread when she saw the exact river where her mother died, and also where she first met Byakuya. She walked across this river countless times, and each time she did she always had the same thought: swim in the water. But she never did.
She always imagined that if she went in the water, the killer could appear and kill her with the same jagged knife that took her mother's life. In the same dilemma for the past few years, she sat at the edge and looked at the river.
Then she finally made up her mind. She will swim.
If she could last for long enough, or even go to the deepest part of the still water, then maybe a slight part of the burden would get off her back, no matter how small it may be. If she had to choose to do this crazy act or stay in her teacher's house, she would choose the former.
After taking off her footwear, she dived in with a deep breath. Her firm arms and legs moved about to propel her body deeper, and as her eyes continued to search for the bottom, she could feel something grab her wrist all of a sudden.
Seeing ominous eyes and a bloodthirsty smile, her mouth gasped and water went in, clogging her airways with water. She tried to get up, but another hand grabbed her free wrist and tried plunging her down.
Everything else went hazy, but she could remember somebody swimming towards her and carrying her back up to the surface. She was unsure if it was a dream, or real, but she couldn't make an answer in her head as she passed out from the shock and the sharp water intake.
Seeing light in her eyes, he backed off as she sat up to cough all the water out. A hand rubbed her back for comfort, and she was surprised to see Byakuya, completely wet like her, reminding her of the time when they met under the rain.
She immediately looked back on the grass. "I didn't need help." She said, trying to keep her barrier intact towards Byakuya. "You say you don't need help, and yet you looked so helpless and scared when I saved you." In that blunt and cold voice, Ichigo felt intimidated but she refused to back down towards him.
She was about to protest again but was it immediately vanished when something warm covered her body like a blanket. It was his coat, and she could smell the fresh cherry blossom flowers from the cotton.
"You'll get a cold being soaked like that."
She tightened the coat around her, for the warmth that it gave slowly melted away the coldness seeping in her body.
"Won't you get a cold as well?" She replied, her face turning to him. He said nothing and her eyes narrowed in irritation from getting no reply, but she let it slip aside.
He sat beside her, and the silence made her feel as if they were sitting there for several centuries. The silence was broken when she said one word which she really meant.
"Thanks."
Her cheeks flared up from saying that, but she hid her face in her knees to prevent him from seeing it. "It's no problem. I'm not going to let a student drown." He joked, which is extremely rare though he said it with a completely straight and calm face. But this annoyed her and she put her head back up, with a glare.
"So if I wasn't a student, you'd let me drown?" She asked quietly but the annoyance was in her voice. Ichigo wasn't aware that she was still blushing, and he saw the pink-red color all over her face. But to not embarrass her, he said nothing about it.
As if in a snowstorm she wrapped the coat around her even tighter than before and looked at the same view, both of them ignoring the setting sun to give way to darkness. When her eyes saw her bag nearby she reached out for it and grabbed her snacks and finished the last of it while Byakuya continued to look at the water.
"I never thought that you would continue to wear those clips." He commented when his eyes turned to the white, unique hair pieces. She looked at him, and her hands touched the clips keeping her hair in place.
"...I don't know. When it comes to you, I do things that are completely not likely of me to do." She replied. "The same goes for me." He said in understanding, and when they noticed the sky turning indigo, they both stood up. Ichigo gave him his coat, put her shoes back on and grabbed her bag, then turned around to take her leave but was stopped.
"Your family's not home."
"I know that. I'm planning to stay with one of my friends. Tomorrow's Saturday anyway." She answered as an excuse and he said no more, as they went through opposite paths.
Despite that awkward yet pretty much normal conversation, she is still not willing to stay in his house. Walking far enough, she sighed and rubbed her head, knowing that she has no choice but to stay with Byakuya. Though Toshiro's house is near, it's not as if they have extra room since there are other three people living with him in the house.
"Dad says that even all the windows are locked. Looks like I really have to spend the night in their house, whether I like it or not."
But just before she could turn around, a car stopped in front of her, the car lights glaring at her eyes as if they wanted to blind her. Then it drove past her, and she caught strange glares from the people inside despite it being dark already. She wondered who were they, but she shrugged it away with the thought that it was just an aggressive driver.
She constantly hesitated whenever she tried to ring the doorbell, but after a deep breath she pressed the button as it made a buzzing sound. Tapping her foot on the flat wood she was about to leave when the door opened halfway, and she saw Rukia.
"Hi, Ichigo! I didn't expect you to be here. I thought you'd be in your room. So... why the visit?"
The taller girl answered while her mind yelled at her that she wished she didn't, "My old man and my sisters are not home and won't be back till tomorrow, and they have the keys so..."
"Okay. I was just finished making dinner so you can come in and eat with us." Without a word, she went in after dropping her now dry shoes at the doorstep. "Sorry, but we don't have a guest room so..." Ichigo shook her head.
"I'll just sleep at the couch then."
The whole night passed with a quiet atmosphere. Rukia continued to be unaware of the tension forming between her brother and her friend, and the next day Ichigo left after taking a shower in their house.
As she walked out, her family came back and she was a little relieved. At least she won't spend half the day outside the house. She already wanted to be in her room and take a long rest.
A/N: I edited all the chapters, and of course reviews and constructive criticism are accepted but no flames. I'll say this again: this story is not as happy and fluffy like the original, guys. The first chapters may not have much angst and it's more of conflict and drama, but soon enough the dark, sad and angst of this story will come to the surface.
I didn't like to rush the story or anything, so that is why the progress is kind of slow. By the way, Happy New Year guys! Let's look forward to a new year! :D