Okay, this update wasn't planned, but I felt the need to give you guys something—anything, really—because this fic is moving annoyingly slow, and I hate myself for making you wait so long for updates. As some of you might know by now, I have started actively looking for a job, so writing fanfiction took a backseat.
I'm warning you now that this isn't my best chapter. While I was writing this, I felt a certain shift in the tone/atmosphere of the story. I don't know if it's just me, but if anyone else notices anything different with my writing, please feel free to point it out. Anyhoo, short chap. Basically just a setting-up of more major plot points that will continue to unravel in the next few chaps. I originally planned this story to be long, but seeing as I can hardly find time as it is to update, I revised the outline to fit a 15-chap story, give or take a few chapters. So that means we're almost there, ne? You'll probably be glad to know that I scrapped the original dramatic ending for a happier one. But I guess we'll have to wait and see which one I'll use when we get there, no? :)
Thanks so much for the reviews!
Voidy! I haven't talked to you in forever! I haven't been on BA in months! I have no other means of contacting you but here. Thank you for the continued support!
I'd like to thank Kuchiki-4-Kurosaki for reminding me that I haven't updated in such a long time. I tend to lose track of time, I really do.
Sad to say the drama isn't over, my dears. And speaking of drama, someone told me this fic has won second place in a poll for best IchiRuki Drama fic. It's over on ichirukilove (dot) wordpress (dot)com. Well thank you to everyone who participated in it! :D
Important note: If you haven't, I suggest listening to Sunset Swish's Sakurabito. It's one of those achingly beautiful Bleach EDs that accurately define IchiRuki. It will be one of Ichigo's songs in this . com /watch?v=3WkRxoecMLQ
If it helps, Kaien's Japanese voice actor sings it for the Bleach Concept Covers, so you can listen to that version if you like. :) I'm frustrated that I can't make Rukia sing in this story (hmmm or can I? haha), else I would have made her sing Aimer's Re:Pray. It so fits Ichigo and Rukia, don't you think?
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Rainingis a song by the Korean rock band, FT Island.
Rukia's eyes darted around wildly as she scanned the area, her heart beating rapidly as she was forcefully pushed toward a vacant room. Her first thought was, did anyone see her being dragged away? Her nerves were rapidly fraying, and before she even knew it, her back met the wall and the distinct click of the door's lock reverberated inside the dimly-lit room. She wasn't given a chance to utter one word of protest as a pair of lips descended upon hers, meeting her in a surprisingly passionate kiss.
Instinctively, her hand went to the man's well-built chest, fisting on his shirt as she tried to push him away; a few moments into the kiss and she found herself melting and pulling the man closer instead. Rukia felt hands gently caressing her facial features, fingers burying themselves in her soft raven hair to keep her close, an arm wrapping itself tightly around her waist. Her own tiny hands reached for the man's jaw, finally being allowed to pull away from the searing kiss in order to catch her breath, her forehead attached to his. She closed her eyes as she panted heavily, hearing the man holding her chuckle in amusement as he showered her face with gentle pecks. The man's lips landed on her cheeks, her brow, her neck, her ears—his nose inhaling the scent of her hair as he pulled her closer to his body, his other hand entwining with one of hers.
"Baka," Rukia whispered affectionately, afraid that any louder and the moment would be ruined. "What if someone saw us?"
Ichigo smiled warmly as his brown eyes stared into the depths of her violets. "It's your fault, you know. I can't think straight knowing you're a few feet away, watching as I try to make a fool of myself by pretending to be someone I'm not—in front of a billion cameras at that."
Rukia smiled back, combing her fingers through his orange locks as he leaned his head on her shoulder, despite the height difference. "You were so great out there. I'm so glad to be able to see you do your job in person."
That statement sent a twinge in Ichigo's chest as he cradled his wife's head closer to his chest, nuzzling the crown of her hair. It was the second week of shooting for his new movie, and Kanō Ashido being both the film's producer and screenplay writer had been very actively keeping tabs on its progress. It was a double-edged sword. The up-side to this was that Kanō would always -ALWAYS- bring Rukia with him. The down-side was that Ichigo always had to see and deal with Kanō, whom he steadily grew to dislike by the second. But if it meant being in close proximity to his wife, then Ichigo convinced himself that he could somehow live with it.
It was increasingly hard though, trying to tolerate the man who fancied himself as Rukia's knight of some sort, especially during meal time. Kanō Ashdio also seemed to delude himself into believing that Kurosaki Ichigo wanted to become his best friend. The maroon-haired writer would always -ALWAYS- invite Ichigo, Inoue Orihime and the director to eat lunch, or dinner, or breakfast, or whatever meal of the day they could get when the day's shoot was over.
"Think of it as a team-building activity of some sort," Kanō had once explained.
The director was much too happy to oblige, wanting to be on the famous writer's good graces. Who could say if this might result to another collaboration? And Ichigo thought it was all good, actually—speaking with intellectual people in the same industry he was in, being able to pitch in ideas for his own movie. What irked Ichigo in these outings was how he was always -ALWAYS- forced to sit right in front of his own wife and watch as her bastard of a boss doted on her, asking her what she'd like to order, suggesting the restaurant's bestsellers, talking about what she enjoyed most when she watched the shoot—like they were lovers who didn't have company on the same table.
Correct him if Ichigo was wrong, but wasn't this the same guy he spoke with over Rukia's phone some time ago, and whom Ichigo explicitly told that Rukia already had a boyfriend (imagine how shocked that bastard would be if he found out Ichigo was actually the husband)?
After a few days of silently enduring this torture, the proverbial linchpin finally came loose that morning, while the two writers quietly watched Ichigo do a scene. It was a picturesque scene, to be honest—Kanō and Rukia stood beneath a tree, seeking shade from the sun's mighty glare, when all of a sudden, a very strong gust of wind came without warning. His wife, being of small stature, was easily knocked off her feet, skidding a couple of feet until she stumbled into the muscular wall that was Kanō's chest. The maroon-haired opportunist had the gall to wrap an arm around the oblivious woman who was busy trying to keep her hair and skirt down as the wind continued to relentlessly blow. As it eventually died down, the show-off plucked a flower that flew by and turned to the raven-haired woman who was trying to pat her hair back into place, sliding the blossom into the hair by her ear as if in a cheesy movie.
Hold on, wasn't Ichigo supposed to be the actor in here? Then why were they—actually, just Kanō; thank goodness for Rukia's naiveté—acting like they were in some sappy romance flick?
His malevolent thoughts must have been so palpable that it prompted some Divine power to act. The director suddenly called for a 15-minute break to rearrange the ruined set, and Kanō had to take an important call. Which meant he was free to do whatever he wanted for about a quarter of an hour. And so was Rukia.
And that was how they found themselves confined inside his dressing room.
Ichigo chuckled once more into Rukia's hair. "No one saw us, trust me. And if anyone did, they'd just assume I'm doing fan-service, you know? Or that you were trying to seduce Rain. Everyone seems to know how big of a fan you are."
Rukia stood quietly still in his arms. While she knew Ichigo meant that remark as a light-hearted joke, she couldn't deny that it hit a sensitive spot. Everyone did believe that she was but a big fan of Rain. The staff had been congratulating her for being so lucky and privileged as to get some sort of VIP backstage pass to meet and greet her favorite star on the set of his own movie.
The worst of them all being the girl called Inoue Orihime.
Inoue was such a sweetheart to everyone. She would smile and greet everyone on the set with a jovial smile—even those she didn't really know. She would chat up fans that would drop by the set asking for pictures or her autograph. And Rukia could tell the woman was not faking it. The petite writer would always watch how Inoue would interact with people, and deduced that the caramel-haired woman was genuinely friendly and good-natured. Rukia almost found it hard to find any flaw in the actress.
Almost.
Because you see, Inoue seemed to enjoy talking with "Rukia-san" in between takes. And guess what her favourite subject was? Why, the great Kurosaki Ichigo, of course! From her perspective, who better to talk with about Rain than Rain's devoted fan? Rukia would always find herself trapped in a conversation about how great Ichigo dressed, or how enticing his voice was, or how romantic his new single was, or how good of a person he truly was. And Rukia would like nothing more than to be able to say, I should know, I married him! And all these conversation led Rukia to one last major conclusion.
Inoue Orihime was in love with Ichigo.
And this thought brought her back to the night of his birthday party, where this same woman dedicated a heartfelt performance for the orange-haired star. And how, totally oblivious to this—or perhaps too burdened with thoughts of his own—Ichigo didn't take much notice of the performance, instead stealing the spotlight himself to sing a song that only one other person in that entire room—Rukia—knew exactly whom it was for.
Rukia could still feel goosebumps on her arms whenever she remembered how the whole room became dead silent as Ichigo settled on the seat by the piano, his fingers gliding over the opening keys of his song.
yorokobi ga mau haru o omou namida no hane
The wings of my tears, yearning for a spring where happiness flutters about
chiriyuku hanabira tonari anata no moto e to
Become scattering flower petals, headed for you
kaze ga naru tabi soba ni iru yo tadori tsukeru
Whenever you hear the wind, I will be by your side
kanashimi yori samishi sayori mamorubeki wa ima o ikiru anata
Protecting you as you live here and now is more important than an inconsolable sadness or loneliness
The raven-haired woman could hear faint "aww's" and feel the suppressed excitement as the crowd became fully entranced with Ichigo's performance. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see a few female guests nudging each other and whispering, pointing their fingers and giggling happily at a certain caramel-haired woman who was smiling widely as she stood there, wonderstruck.
umare kawattara sakura no shita de mata ai mashou
kitto sono toki ni wa waratte eien o chikaou
If we can be born again, let's meet underneath the cherry tree
I swear that when that time comes, we'll laugh forever
aishi aisarete kono inochi wa nemuri de saite
iroasenai manazashi o mune ni maichiru negai
A life where I love and am loved is budding and blooming
That view will never fade, a wish dances in my heart
anata ni anata ni anata ni tada aitai
For you, for you, for you and I to just be able to meet again
Rukia tried to block out her surroundings, instead focusing on the man who was pouring his heart into the song.
Unfortunately, Rukia wasn't the only woman in the room who believed that the song was especially for her.
The raven-haired writer hadn't been able to find an opportunity to speak to Ichigo about this issue. But for the moment, her soul could rest having finally been given some stolen time alone with her husband.
Ichimaru Gin was typing a very important business letter on his computer when a buzz from his telephone caught his attention.
"What is it?" he asked his secretary.
"Kira Izuru-san wishes to speak with you," the voice replied.
The silver-haired man sighed deeply in annoyance as he closed his laptop, setting it aside as he laced his fingers together. "Let him in."
His large oak doors soon opened, revealing a blonde-haired man in an all-black business attire.
"What brings you to my office today, Izuru-kun?"
Izuru Kira kept a solemn face as the only eye not covered by his hair tried to make contact with Ichimaru's, but the silver-haired man remained squinting.
"She's been found. My talent."
Ichimaru merely raised a brow, silently asking him to continue.
"They found her tied and gagged, and bruised all over. She's dead Ichimaru-sama. Hinamori Momo is dead."
Kuchiki Byakuya scanned the data on the documents in front of him one more time. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He had his suspicions with just that one glance, but without proof those suspicions were just baseless guesses. Still, amidst the darkness of the room that night, he had a good look at the woman he had bumped into. And that woman looked exactly like her.
Her.
Kuchiki Hisana.
His mother.
His fingers ghosted over the paper, as if the information would travel directly from the paper to his fingertips, and then to his brain where it would be saved probably for the rest of his life.
January 14, 1991.
144 cm.
Blood type A.
Kurosaki Rukia.
Ukitake Rukia.
He just had to confirm it one last time. His finger pressed a button on his phone, summoning his secretary into his office.
A tall red-haired man came in, bowing respectfully as he awaited his orders.
"Renji," Kuchiki Byakuya started, focusing on the picture on one of the documents his special agents had procured for him.
"Get me Ukitake Jūshiro. Immediately."
Okay, so I'm not a big fan of ByakuyaxHisana, actually I'm not a big fan of Hisana, period. And that will become more apparent in the next chapter. I hope no one takes offense that I made her Byakuya's mom instead of his wife.
If there are any inconsistencies in the story, please point them out. I have kind of forgotten some of the smaller details, so I might be unintentionally changing them. I hope not.
Short chapter. Not yet sure when the next one's coming. Keep your fingers crossed that it's soon. Thanks for reading everyone! Have an awesome day, and Happy Valentine's!
ADDITIONAL A/N: So as some of you already know by now, I have just gotten a job. I started training for a managerial position for a large restaurant chain in my country last Monday, and since this is my first job, I'm trying to dedicate all my time and effort into it. Actually, if I'm honest, I sincerely just do not have enough time to write anymore. I work 6 days a week, 9 hours per day, and my travel time to and from the store accumulates to about 3-4 hours daily. It breaks my heart to say this, but I just may have to put this story on an indefinite hiatus for now. I do hope you guys will continue to stick around in case an update comes. I have a day off for each week, although it changes every now and then so it's hard not having a fixed schedule to get used to. I will probably have a lot more free time after my month and a half of intensive training, during which I'll have to handle my own store. We'll see how this'll go around mid-April.
Thank you to everyone who has read the story! The amount of reviews have been steadily decreasing, although I continue to get new alerts. And while I deeply appreciate people simply reading the story, it would really help me become a better writer if you tell me which part of the chapter I did wrong, so I can correct it in the next, instead of just simply subscribing and waiting for an update that may or may not come. I actually want to become a writer in the far, faaaaar future (although to be honest, I'm aiming for a magazine column lol), and I would really appreciate some form of feedback on my writing. I hope you guys understand this.
So I shall end this here. I'm keeping my own fingers crossed for an update. Let's hope inspiration strikes hard enough that I can't just shake it off. :)
Have an awesome weekend people!