Ugh, I can't believe it! I finally finish this chapter and then tells me that they are experiencing ERRORS!?! UGH!! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!! DAMMITDAMMITDAMMITDAMMIT!!!!!! Ok, here's the original author's note I wrote BEFORE this happened, lol:
Happy Late Halloween!!! Yay! I was going to dress up as a Japanese School Girl, but my costume never came in. I ordered that damned thing a month ago. :( It would have looked so cute, too! Oh well.
It's National Hug Week in my world! *HUGS* Teehee, I gave everyone a hug except for my own boyfriend because I was too shy :D Oh noes.
Summary: Rukia stopped believing in love after a traumatic accident killed her lover, Kaien. But after years of avoiding human contact, a certain orange headed kid comes into her life and changes her view on this thing called love.
Warnings: FLASHBACKS!!! THERE WILL BE FLASHBACKS!!!
Disclaimer: I wonder what happens if you put that you own Bleach. Do they take down the site and sue you or something? Well, of course I'd be the one to get taken down!
THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO glon morski !!! THANK YOU!!!
She was doing it again; avoiding him, that is. She had promised him that they would talk about Kaien in the morning, but it wasn't like she thought he would remember. He asked her about him again once she had emerged from the shower, only wrapped in a thin towel. She used the excuse that she was basically naked and would like to be dressed before he started asking her questions. It was kind of true anyways. Unfortunately, she had forgotten that she wasn't at her house and didn't have her own clothes. Panic had settled upon her before Ichigo quickly calmed her down before she could break down in tears. He suggested asking Yuzu for some clothes, due to her tiny and slim form.
Luckily, they happened to be the same size. Although, it did make Rukia slightly self-conscious to be the same size as someone who was almost entirely three years younger than her. Nevertheless, she put on the blue knee length sundress with gratitude.
But Ichigo's stubbornness didn't stop there. His dad had to take the car to make a stop at the town hospital, so Ichigo and Rukia had no choice but to walk to school. He decided to take that free time he had with Rukia and use it to ask her about this Kaien person. I mean, she couldn't blame it. She would be curious too if he just suddenly screamed out a person's name in which she knew nothing of. It was human nature to get curious and ask questions.
But at the moment, she really didn't give a flying fuck about human nature.
Kaien equaled the past, and it was supposed to stay that way; the past. As much as she wanted to know everything there was to know about his mother, she was much more concerned about Ichigo knowing everything there was to know about Kaien. There was no telling what could happen. She could want to say one thing, and end up blurting out another. It was bound to happen.
So, just to steer clear of any slipups, she simply avoided him. If she didn't make human contact with him, she wouldn't need to discuss her past. It was easier than she thought. Of course, she still saw him –he was hard to miss with that obnoxious hair- but she quickly retreated in the opposite direction or hid behind a larger student or teacher.
Lunch period was already approaching and she was still proving successful at avoiding Ichigo. 'This must be my lucky day.' Rukia thought with a small smirk. The school bell rang loudly, alerting the students of Karakura High that lunch had began. She waited for everyone to exit the classroom before slowly slipping past them to head for the roof. The cafeteria filled as the halls cleared.
Pushing open the doors to the roof exit, Rukia was welcomed with the cold winter air whipping at her face and the hot summer sun beating down on her pale skin. 'Winter air and summer suns?' Rukia thought skeptically but ignored herself. She sat atop of the air vent with the bento Yuzu all too kindly packed for her.
She managed to let herself smile once the taste of teriyaki sauce touched her tongue. The petite girl silently thanked Yuzu for the lunch.
It was a silent lunch, but she liked it. She was far away from the noise of intolerable children, and loud cars. It was a peaceful place and to make it better, it was high. It wasn't the same as climbing to the top of her favourite cherry blossom tree, but it was just as good. She could see everything from high places like these. It was like looking down on the world from a new perspective.
Rukia twirled her chopsticks in between her fingers as she chewed on a piece of sushi contently. 'What a good day.' Rukia smiled before a large hand pressed to her shoulder, startling her and making her whip around in fright. 'Shit, did a teacher catch me!?' But her question was soon answered when she saw a pair of ocher eyes staring at her questionably. 'Dammit.'
"What's with that stupid look on your face?" Ichigo cocked an eyebrow at her.
"W-what are you doing here?" Rukia scowled.
"I'm eating lunch. What are you doing up here?"
"I already told you why I can't eat lunch with everybody else, idiot. But you can, so go back down to the cafeteria before you get caught with me." Rukia ordered as she glared at the intruder. She turned back around to finish her lunch, expecting Ichigo to leave. But she could see from her peripheral vision Ichigo sit beside her on the air vent.
"What are you talking about, midget?" Ichigo unwrapped his bento, revealing the prepared lunch Yuzu had made along with Rukia's. "What do you mean caught?"
"I'm surprised you haven't already been caught. You must have good excuses for sneaking away. Let me guess, you had to use the bathroom?" Rukia grumbled, reminiscing on old memories and scolding herself for bringing it up around Ichigo.
"What, Rukia? You're not making sense."
"Never mind," Rukia murmured underneath her breath. She scowled at the ground in irritation. She slipped up.
"Oh, come on Rukia. Don't do this again." Ichigo whined in annoyance. He scooted closer to her as he reluctantly put down his bento box. She scooted further away from him and averted her eyes from his approaching shadow.
"What are you talking about?" She pulled the strand piece of hair in between her eyes behind her ear, as it was beginning to annoy her.
"Will you stop that!?" Ichigo scowled angrily. Rukia opened her mouth to argue but he began to talk again, interrupting her. "You keep closing me off! You won't tell me anything, Rukia!" Ichigo frowned, placing his large hand on Rukia's shoulder and making her flinch. "You promised you'd tell me about this Kaien guy…"
Rukia looked away from his undeniably beautiful eyes as he tried to read her expressions and translate what her eyes were whispering. She sighed heavily, scowling. She should have seen this coming. It couldn't be avoided anyways, what was she thinking? She was practically living with him for the entire week. How could she possibly avoid him any longer? Besides, she was nowhere close to healing up. It wasn't like she could just go home and forget about it.
This was something she just had to do, rather she liked it or not. She believed that Ichigo would run; freak out, something that would hurt her more than she wished. But she also trusted him. She trusted him with so much, it was unbearable. If he ran, if he freaked out… what's the worst that could happen?
She would break.
She didn't want to take that risk, but she promised Ichigo. A promise is a promise.
She wasn't the type to break her's.
She turned towards Ichigo, sighing as she mentally gave in. Their eyes locked and something went off in the pit of her stomach. His eyes were warm with something she could not recognize, but it made her heart swell nevertheless.
Her own eyes managed to soften.
"Will you tell me about your mother afterwards?" Rukia breathed slowly. A sad smile came to his face as he nodded his head.
"Yes,"
"Fine,"
"Ok, when I call your name, please stand up and then sit back down after I say "ok". Got it?" The middle aged woman spoke to the class, twiddling a pen in one hand and holding a clip board in the other.
The class of 3-1 nodded as they each waited impatiently for the sensei to call their name and have a chance to show themselves off. It was a new school year at a new school and they were finally leaving primary school to enter the mysterious and puzzling world of middle school.
One by one students were called and they stood with grins on their no longer baby faces. For some odd reason it was an honour to be called. They were smiling as if they were being called for graduation. It was ridiculous.
"Honda, Rukia." Hearing her name slip past the middle aged woman's thin lips, she stood quickly, only to abruptly sit back down. The sensei eyed her skeptically, giving her a look that said to stand back up. Rukia sighed heavily as she placed the palms of her hands against the surface of the desk to push herself up. Her school uniform skirt swayed as she stood, causing whistling to float around the room. She stood with her arms crossed over her petite chest and a scowl on her heart shaped face. Her gray jacket wrinkled as she tensed from having so many eyes on her. Some eyes were from envious girls who knew they could never be as pretty as she was. Some were from perverted little boys going through puberty a bit early. But, out of all of those eyes, there was one pair that was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable. She didn't know who the pair of eyes belonged to, but it was making her heart beat faster than it had ever before. She didn't understand it, but her cheeks were beginning to heat.
Rukia breathed a sigh of relief once the old woman finally said ok and gave her permission to sit back down. She slumped down in her seat with her arms still crossed over her chest. She could already tell this school year was going to be hell.
The other names of unimportant students slipped past her ears in ease. But for some reason a certain name seemed to catch her attention and spark her interest. She didn't know why, it just did.
"Shiba, Kaien"
She turned her head towards the screeching noise of a chair being scraped against the tile beneath them. Standing up was an averaged height boy with spiky black hair pointing out in every direction possible. He had his hands stuffed deep in his pockets as he hunched his shoulders back slightly. The grin on his face traveled to his sky blue eyes, but it wasn't from the feeling of being called. No, it was for a completely different reason.
He was looking at her.
In his peripheral vision; he was looking at her in the corner of his beautiful eyes… and grinning.
Her heart was starting to race as she felt that uncomfortable feeling again. It wasn't long until it clicked that those pair of eyes from before belonged to this boy. Her face began to heat up again and she had to catch her breath. His cocky grin grew wider as he caught the dark blush presenting itself on her cheeks. He turned his entire head towards her before winking at her and making the butterflies in her stomach fly around.
She gasped, turning her head away from his eyes. What was this feeling!? What was happening to her dignity!? Where was her pride!?
Where ever the hell it went, it was replaced with something new. She didn't know what it was, but it was strong and coursing through her entire body like a lightning bolt.
Yep. This school year was definitely going to be hell.
"Ah, Rukia-chan! Wait up!" a familiar voice called from behind. Rukia turned around with a small smile as her elementary friend approached with a large grin. Her black hair was pulled back into her signature bun. Her bangs swayed above her right eye as she ran towards Rukia happily.
"Hey, Momo," Rukia yawned, stopping for a few seconds to let her long time best friend catch up with her.
"So, how's your first day going so far, Rukia-chan?" Momo smiled as he walked with her arms behind her back and her hands clasped together. She walked with Rukia's fast pace in an attempt to keep up with her best friend.
Rukia groaned as she rolled her eyes. Her best friend was way too cheery for the morning.
"I take that it didn't go well?" Momo chuckled nervously. She and Rukia had been best friends for at least four years now. They met in 3rd grade and instantly bonded. Back then, Rukia was much more cherry and happy. She laughed a lot, so Momo immediately liked her. Even if she began to sulk the more she grew up, they were still best friends.
"Ugh, my homeroom teacher is such a pain." Rukia complained with irritation laced in her voice. Momo chuckled beside her.
"Oh, really?" Momo raised a thick eyebrow at Rukia as she smirked.
"Yes, really! She embarrassed me and then made everyone look at me!" Rukia scowled, crossing her arms as they approached their next class. Thoughts of that boy came running through her mind and she suddenly felt her face heat up.
"Cool! We have second period together! Oh, why are you blushing, Rukia-chan?" Momo tilted her head to the side, suddenly noticing the dark colour appearing on her best friend's face. Rukia shook her head with a nervous chuckle.
"Oh, it's n-nothing. Come on, we'll be late."
-------------------
Shit.
Shit!
Shit!!
He was in her second period class too! It was like he was following her! And to make matters worse, he sat right behind her!
Rukia scowled as the boy behind her continued to make small circles on her back with the tip of his finger. It's not that it didn't feel good… it was just weird. They were in the 6th grade for crying out loud and this boy was touching her in a way that was only permitted to high schoolers. Who taught him how to make her face turn scarlet and her knees wobbly!?
"Will you stop that!?" Rukia yelled in a hushed voice. She only heard him chuckle behind her. He continued with a smirk on his beautiful face, but this time he let his finger travel up to her neck and back down to the center of her back.
Rukia groaned in annoyance as she dropped her chin into her hands.
"Something wrong Ms. Honda?" the sensei of her second period class questioned, impatiently tapping his foot. Rukia whipped her head around towards Kaien to warn him to stop, but he only continued as he hummed softly.
"Ah… no, no sir," she grumbled. Kaien chuckled again, making her scowl and silently growl at him.
She could see in the corner of her eye, Momo looking at her questionably. She looked back and forth between the two of them in confusion. She saw Momo take out a small sheet of paper before scribbling incredibly fast on it with her pink, Chappy pen.
The small little note hit the side of her head unexpectedly. She looked down at the floor where the sheet of paper had fallen when bouncing off of her head. Her long, yet short arms outstretched to retrieve the note, Momo not to subtly threw at her. She grabbed it, annoyed at all the effort it took to get the damned piece of paper.
But her eyes soon went from irritated to disgust as she read the note in her hands. She scowled.
'R U guys datin or sometin?'
She took out her own blue, Chappy pen and began writing her argument on the tiny piece of paper known as a note.
She threw it back at Momo, thrusting it hard. It hit her arm lightly, only to bounce right back and onto the floor. Momo groaned but tried reaching for the note regardless. Only this time, it wasn't as hard for her as it was Rukia.
'Are you kidding!? I can't stand this perve and I've only known him for three hours so far! He won't leave me alone, dammit!'
Momo chuckled to herself, noticing that Rukia still wrote her notes the same; like she was writing a letter, and not a simple note. She never abbreviated her words, and never missed a single punctuation mark. If Rukia didn't become an English teacher, she didn't know what else her small friend would do with her life.
She scribbled down her answer, giggling as she did so. Rukia raised a short eyebrow at her, skeptical.
'Liar.'
She growled as her teeth clenched. She was in no way lying about despising the annoying boy behind her.
She quickly wrote another argument down onto the paper, but when she threw it at Momo, it bounced off again. It landed on the floor and when the two girls looked to see where it had fallen, they gasped in unison.
Right there, the small little note with their small little conversation, on the floor, and right next to Kaien's dirty and smudged shoe. Rukia went to reach for the note but so did Momo. They bumped heads and retreated in pain. 'What the fuck!? Was that skin or metal I just bumped into!?'
But before either girl could recover and attempt to get the note again, Kaien was holding the note in his hands, reading it with slight interest. His eyebrows scrunched up in dissatisfaction as he continued to read. He looked up at Rukia, his eyes soft and warm, and yet strained; like he was trying to read her instead of the note but was having some difficulties.
His hard gaze caused her body to freeze. The goose bumps hiding underneath her skin suddenly presented themselves to the world. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink and she had to catch her breath once again. 'What's wrong with me?'
"Ms. Honda?" She heard her name called, but made no move to turn around. "Ahem! Ms. Honda?" Her last name rang around in her head but nothing seemed to want to register. "Excuse me Ms. Honda, but if you insist on ignoring me, why don't you do it in the principal's office instead?"
That got her attention, but she slowly turned, unwillingly breaking her eyes from his.
"Ms. Honda, would you like to tell me what's so interesting about Mr. Shiba?"
She stared at the man addressing her, his words suddenly not making sense.
"I- I'm sorry?" She stuttered, breathing in deeply.
"Ms. Honda, if you want an 'F in this class on your first day then you can just ask. Otherwise, please turn completely around, pay attention, and if I have to call your name once more I will take you down to the office myself. Got it?" Rukia nodded her head, gulping nervously. This wasn't going as she planned her first day to go.
He stared at her in annoyance for a good five seconds before turning back around to finish the lesson he was trying to teach.
Rukia dropped her head, embarrassed. She was so humiliated. And it was this entire boy's fault!
But those eyes; those beautiful, icy blue eyes. They stared into her with an intensity she would never be able to illustrate in words or on paper. That feeling they gave her, it was amazing. It was like he was holding her down with the weight of his eyes and then gripping her tightly in a hold she would never be able to free herself from. But, it wasn't like she would ever want to be free either. Her heart was racing and her cheeks were flushed.
She had never felt this way before and it was scaring her. But thrilling her all the same.
She was in the 6th grade and had never felt this way before. It was like she was missing out on something this whole time and was just now experiencing it. At such a young age, and already feeling such an adrenaline.
'What's wrong with me!?'
She was wrong.
She was terribly wrong.
Oh, how horribly wrong she was.
She did not despise the boy behind her.
She did not hate him with every fiber in her body.
She did not wish death upon him.
No.
She liked the boy behind her.
She wanted him with every fiber in her body.
She wanted to live with him forever.
Yes.
She loved him.
"Whoa, you had just met this Kaien guy three hours ago and already established that you loved him!?" Ichigo's eyes widened in disbelief as Rukia scowled. "And what's with all this talk about being a Honda? You were Honda Rukia before you were Kuchiki Rukia?"
"Yes, you asshole, I loved him and my name was Honda before Byakuya came into the picture. And I was in the 6th grade. We all fell in love with everybody!" Rukia tried, her cheeks suddenly turning a light shade of red. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "Didn't you ever fall in love with someone the day you met them?"
But he never answered her, and instead he turned his head to hide the dark blush apparent on his face. She raised her eyebrow at him. He had been acting strange the entire time she was explaining how she met Kaien. He looked almost jealous. It was obvious that he was trying but failing to put on his poker face. She knew him long enough to read him like a book. His face was the usual scowl, and frown but it was his eyes that immediately gave him away. They softened, but yet still held a fiery look to them.
She could read him like a book, but that didn't mean she knew the meaning behind the words on the page. It was like trying to read Shakespeare to a primary child.
It just wouldn't make sense.
"Hey, Strawberry, you ok?" Rukia laid her tiny hand on his broad shoulder, squeezing it lightly to get his attention. He coughed and snorted before turning back around and smirking.
"Oh yeah, go ahead with your flashback thingy," he joked.
"Oh just shut up and listen. This is harder to talk about then you think," Rukia rolled her eyes, sighing heavily.
"Why?"
She looked him in the eyes, her eyebrows going up in a sad expression. His own eyes softened before the sad and understanding smile came to his God like face. She smiled back and looked away, towards the trees in front of them.
"You'll see."
Second period had ended and lunch had begun. She and Momo sat by each other once they had finally found themselves seats at an unoccupied table. She wondered why this table of all tables was free and opened but her question was soon answered when the smell of the garbage can right behind them assaulted her nose. She pleaded with Momo to move somewhere else, until she came up with a good reason why they should stay; there was nowhere else to sit. Unless you considered the floor, but the short little skirts they had to wear were not meant to be worn when sitting on dirty cafeteria floors.
"Well gosh, Rukia-chan, you didn't even pack anything! Aren't you hungry?" Momo pointed out, directing her noodle covered fork at Rukia's bento box. Momo scowled at the lonely juice box and the small bag of crackers.
Rukia sighed heavily, looking at the crackers in her bento box with no interest what so ever.
"I don't know. I was in a hurry because Nee-san needed to go to a doctor's appointment and she forgot to pack my lunch. I just grabbed something and ran out with her." Rukia explained, dropping her chin into her hand that was propped up with her elbow.
"Why don't you just start walking to school like the rest of us?" Momo raised an eyebrow at her friend, the plastic fork hanging straight out of her mouth.
"You know how my sister is Momo. She won't let me out of her sight. Ever since our parents died, I'm all she has." Rukia snorted with a sad smile. Momo laid her hand on top of Rukia's already outstretched hand. She shared with her best friend the sad smile.
"I'm sorry, Rukia-chan. I shouldn't have said anything," Momo apologized.
"Ah, no Momo, it's okay. Really. I barely knew my parents. If there's someone to feel sorry for it's my sister. From what she's told me, she got along with them really well," Rukia played with the wrapper of the crackers, crumbling the corners of the hardened bread.
"You know, Rukia-chan," Momo began, retreating her hand and pointing her manicured finger in the air. "Your sister should get her a hubby to fill in that whole in her heart." Momo giggled, her creative mind running wild with the kind of men that Hisana would consider her type.
Rukia chuckled, rolling her eyes.
"Please, Hisana would never tie herself down like that. She's way too much of a happy person to get caught up in the drama of dating."
"What are you talking about, Rukia-chan!? Dating is supposed to be a happy time for everyone! I'm sure if Hisana found herself someone, she would become very happy! No, happier!" Momo exclaimed excitedly. She grinned and laughed as Rukia rolled her amethyst eyes for the third time that hour. It wasn't long until Rukia began to laugh along with her best friend.
Their continuous laughter trailed off slowly but came to an abrupt stop when Momo noticed and pointed out the approaching young boy. He strode over to their table confidently, a smirk and a glint in his bright blue eyes. Rukia turned around to see who Momo was pointing at and her smile dropped. She groaned, dropping her head onto the table.
"Rukia-chan, that thing is dirty."
"Why, hello ladies. How are you doing on this fine day?" He placed both his hands on the back of Rukia's chair, putting all of his weight onto the poor plastic sitting device.
"It's raining you ass, now go away," Rukia grumbled into the germ infested table.
"Rukia-chan!" Momo gasped at the fowl word that left her best friend's thin but somehow still plump lips. "How could you say such a thing?"
"I've said worse."
"Yeah, Rukia-chan," Her name slipped past his lips like a sweet molasses. It made her want to gag at how sickly sweet he sounded, and yet her heart was still racing. "How could you say such a thing to the one you love oh so much?"
Her head shot up from the table and so did she. The chair Kaien was leaning against was scooted back and thrust into his lower abdomen. He cringed in pain, tightening his hold on the chair to keep in his agony.
"I do not and I mean do not love you! Do you understand me, Shiba-kun!? I do not in anyway love you! In fact, I can't stand you! You've made the first three hours of school miserable for me! Just leave me alone, will you!?" Rukia growled loud enough for his ears but not enough to cause attention to herself. She bit her bottom lip angrily as tears welded up in her indigo eyes. She turned and ran out of the cafeteria in a quick manner, leaving her lunch and best friend behind.
She didn't know where she was going due to her first day at the unknown school. But it was the ray of light that caught her attention. She ran towards the door with the small window that let in that bright light. Pushing it open, she stumbled outside.
She was surprised to see that she was on the roof.
'I didn't know this was here…'
She walked forward slowly, looking around in amazement. Even at this young age, she loved heights and climbing up to towering places. To find that there was a roof access at her school, it was like discovering gold.
The rain poured down on the roof and the bright light became covered by dark clouds but it still remained beautiful in her eyes. The rain cascaded down her body like a soaked blanket. It felt good, no matter if her school uniform was now ruined. She smiled, looking up at the dark sky.
But her happiness soon faded when she felt the hand of an unknown person land on her shoulder. She whipped around in fright but was greeted with the eyes of the boy she claimed she did not love.
She yanked her shoulder back and took two steps away from him.
"What do you want?" She growled viciously. He chuckled nervously.
"I want to apologize." He whispered sincerely. His eyes matched his words but she was still having trouble believing him.
"Liar."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are. You're a boy. You naturally lie." Rukia snapped, scowling at him angrily.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kaien stepped forward, making Rukia step away from him the closer he got. "Don't tell me you're one of those girls who thinks we're all the same."
"I'm not one of those girls as you put it. I'm just a smart girl." Rukia argued, taking another step back as Kaien stepped forward.
"If you were such a smart girl, you would know that you are about to step right off of this roof to your tragic death." Rukia squealed and scurried into Kaien's chest, clutching onto his uniform shirt in horrific fright. She bit her lip and turned her head around to see that there was at least three more feet behind her, and even if she had continued walking, the large fence would have prevented her from falling.
She heard the boy above her chuckle and she could feel his chest vibrating in laughter. His smile was gorgeous. The rain flatted his naturally spiked hair and made his bangs stick to his forehead. The wet liquids that fell from the sky landed on his face and made it glisten beautifully. She had to catch her breath.
"Oh my God…"
Kaien looked down at her, still smiling.
"You're really funny Honda." He chuckled again, making the vibrations in his chest rumble against her small frame. "You may be smart, but you're still a fretful little one." He laughed, running his fingers through her hair. "But you need to know something, Honda. And it's important you listen and listen carefully." He whispered quite enough for the rain to drown out his words, but he was close enough to Rukia for her ears to catch what he was saying.
"If I were lying, I would not be out here in the pouring rain with you. I'm apologizing to you, Honda Rukia." He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. She gasped at the contact, but made no movement to back away. There was such a long pause, she had no choice but to give in and close her own eyes. Her heart was racing at speeds she never knew the human body was capable of. Her cheeks were flushed and her body was trembling. What was happening? She didn't understand this. She was in middle school for Christ sakes! She wasn't supposed to feel this kind of thing until High School or even college! But here she was, feeling like she was on top of the world in the 6th grade and only 12 years old. She would say she was quite mature for her age, but she wasn't prepared for anything like this.
Whatever these feelings were, it was all because of him.
And she hated him for it.
And loved him all the same.
"I'm sorry"
It was like hearing "I love you" through the lips of an angel. It was wonderful, horrible, and her world was crumbling as a new one came. She couldn't describe this feeling, but she loved it. When would she ever feel this way again? She didn't know, but she wanted to feel it again and again. And somewhere deep down in the deep depths of her heart, she knew she would and that each time would be different.
She smiled at the thought and looked up at Kaien's solemn yet still beautiful face.
"It's okay."
Rukia looked down at her hands, resisting the urge to bite her lip. Tears welded in her eyes as she reminisced over her past to Ichigo. The thought of Kaien made her heart swell. He was even a sweet heart back then in middle school. He was perfect.
She breathed in slowly, before blowing out a shuddery breath. She looked up at Ichigo, her face still in that sad expression. He had scooted closer to her trembling form the moment she began to talk about being on the roof with her past love. He could tell it was difficult for her, and he even offered for her to stop if it was hurting her. But she continued on, keeping strong and putting on a fake smile.
And as she approached the end of her story, he wrapped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer. She leaned into his chest as he laid his cheek atop her head. She felt comfortable and safe.
"You must have really loved him," Ichigo whispered quietly.
"Yeah," she replied back even quieter.
"Do you want to talk about it any further?"
Rukia looked up at his face, seeing a true and honest pair of eyes. Whatever that meant, it was good. He for some reason wanted nothing but the best for her and he tried to understand her. He took the time to hear her out and was patient with her.
He made her happy.
"Sure."
What happened next was pretty much a blur to Rukia. She was still getting over the excitement and adrenaline that was coursing through her body. All she remembered was the rest of the day passing by before hey eyes and Momo waving goodbye as she walked home and Rukia climbed into her sister's old pick up truck.
"How was your first day, Ruke?" Hisana smiled, using the nick name Rukia had begged her not to. She smiled at her little sister as she buckled her seat belt and tossed her backpack into the back seat.
"You don't wanna know," Rukia mumbled. She dropped her head into the seat and let the soft cushion absorb her.
Hisana frowned as she turned a corner and peered at Rukia through the corner of her eye.
"Oh, come on Rukia. It couldn't have been that bad."
'Actually, it was great! I just can't tell you…' Rukia thought to herself as she stared out the car window with her arms crossed.
"I guess so. It was kind of boring. They were teaching us stuff on our first day, which is just stupid because how are we supposed to learn that and we just got back from summer vacation!? And then Momo and I couldn't even find a good table at lunch and had to sit next to freaking garbage can! And let me tell you, it did not smell nice at all!" Rukia complained, waving her finger in front of her face to emphasize her important point. The thought of Kaien rushed through her mind at the topic of lunch but luckily the voice of her sister broke through her thoughts.
"Oh, speaking of lunch, what did you eat dear? I'm so sorry; I didn't even realize that I forgot to pack your lunch until I had gotten back from my appointment." Hisana apologized, pulling into their driveway.
Rukia opened the car door and jumped out, her converse making a thud noise.
"Momo shared some of her ramen, so it's okay," she lied, waiting for her sister to catch up and unlock the front door.
"Oh, how nice of Hinamori-kun! What a good friend she is!" Hisana giggled, taking out her keys and unlocking the door. Rukia waited for her sister to walk inside before following after her and closing the door behind them.
"Yeah,"
"Well, if you don't mind Rukia, I've had a long day, so I think I'll just go to sleep now." Hisana smiled before coughing slightly and lazily walking over to the couch to lay down.
"Ok, Hisana. I'll wake you up when I get hungry or something." Rukia yawned, ready to call it a day herself.
"Ok!" Hisana called happily from the couch as she waved her sister off. Rukia chuckled to herself as she watched her sister's hand drop and little snores escaped her throat.
When she had woken up, to her surprise it was already two hours before she had to get ready for school. She yawned and stretched tiredly underneath the tangle of covers wrapping around and between her body. She stared at the numbers on the clock.
3:09am
Two entire hours until she had to get up and get ready. It was two entire hours until she would have to go to school. It was two entire hours before she could see Kaien again.
She smiled at the thought of seeing him again. Just the mere thought of his beautiful face brought joy to her heart and it showed it's excitement through thumping against her chest.
Was this what it was like to have a crush? She had never had one before! It was kind of exciting.
But sleep weighed down on her eyes and she was having trouble keeping them open. She snuggled into the soft and plush pillow beneath her head and smiled once she was warm enough underneath the thick covers. She quickly fell into another slumber.
"Oh! Ichigo, lunch is over! Can we finish this when we get home?" Rukia stood from the air vent before running over to the roof entrance door. Her hand gripped the handle to open it, but she felt the warmth of another behind her. "Oi… is something wrong…?"
He kept quiet but he kept his eyes locked with hers. A sad, sincere smile pulled at his lips. Her heart swelled as she realized the similarity in their smiles.
He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. He placed his lips by her ear and whispered softly; his hot breath running down her skin along with the goose bumps.
"Thank you for opening up to me, Rukia." He smiled against her skin before pecking her cheek. "Thank you,"
Her cheeks flushed red and she felt like she was going back into time. His lips were so soft and his breath was so warm against her paled skin. She could feel him against her and his warmth radiated off of him and right back onto her. He smelled like snow and cherry blossoms mixed together. It was cold but warm and sweet but rough.
But he unwound his arms from around her waist once the sound of the second warning bell rang. He smiled at her and she smiled back, hypnotized by his hypnotic eyes.
"We should go," he whispered, opening the door and stepping out into the halls. She touched her hand to her cheek and couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips.
"Yeah…"
OMG!! Did this take me forever or what!? I'm so sorry! I should really stop making promises to people. Oh geez, I'm really sorry. Ok, here's what I will TRY to do. Since homework has decided to take over my life, I will TRY to update at least once a month. ONCE A MONTH!! NOT ONCE A WEEK BECAUSE THAT IS PROVING TO BE DIFFICULT!!
Ok, anyways, moving on!
I just saw that movie 2012. GO SEE IT, IT WAS ASUM!!! Haha. Ok…
And yes, Rukia's name before Kuchiki was Honda. I was trying to use something from another anime and Fruits Basket popped into my head so yeah… lol And yes, Rukia had friends back then and one of them was her best friend Momo.
I kind of like this chapter. It will be continued so don't fret. Oh, and I know they seem way to mature for middle schoolers... but hey… look at me:P
Ok, I'm rambling now so I'm gonna wrap this up because I'm tired as hell and it is 6:00 in the morning and I'm stopping here so that you can wait another month before you get to see the rest of Rukia's mysterious past! And THEN you will have to wait a whole another month for ICHIGO'S past!! Mwhahahah! Lol, I know. I'm evil.
Shoot, I'm rambling again. Anyways, sorry for ANY MISTAKES!! T.T AND THANKS FOR THE ASUM ENCOURAGING REVIEWS!!!!
THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO glon morski!! I just wanted to thank this person because their review was so kind and it made me so happy. It made me want to write even more that day and I ended up finishing up about 2,000 words in one sitting! So, thank you!!
REVIEW! Flames or Iceflakes!
XOXO~ Matthew-Is-Mine