Happy Valentine's Day to all of you reading my story. I hope you have a super romantic day with your significant other. Or, if you're like me, grab some wine (chocolate if you're under-aged) an sing soppy Adele songs to your cat. Or go watch Deadpool.
This is just something I wrote for the occasion and has nothing to do with Who Needs Enemies. Rukia and Ichigo fluff of course. I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter | 10.5: Valentine's Day Special
Rukia groaned as she threw yet another dress back into her closet. At this point, she really didn't care whether it wasn't neat or that the material would crumble. She'd been trying on clothes for the last half an hour and nothing seemed to be good enough.
Facing defeat, Rukia threw herself onto her bed in only her underwear.
I'm sure he wouldn't complain if I showed up like this, Rukia thought as she looked down at her plain cotton bra. Even it didn't satisfy her.
Maybe she should just cancel the date. It's not like she knew the guy all that well, he was just someone she met one night at a bar. Though attractive, Rukia didn't feel that spark with him. But still, he called her a few days later and asked whether she was free on Valentine's Day. She didn't know what bruised her ego more- that she had to admit she was single on that day, like all the other twenty she had had in her life, or that she was willing to go out with some random guy just so that it wouldn't become twenty-one.
At least the guy promised it would be a double date. He probably didn't want to make her think he was trying too hard, even if it was only to get in her pants. Men were so predictable.
She wondered if it was the friend that was with him that night. She didn't say much to him, but he was always there, catching her eye at the most inopportune moments. Without knowing why, she felt her heart squeeze. What was it about the friend that drew her to him?
She pushed the thoughts from her head. She would never sink as low as to go on a date just so she could see the friend again. Instead she focused all her energy back at her clothes. She only had an hour left and she still needed to do pretty much everything else.
When she finally managed to deduce her pile of clothing to two outfits, she simply closed her eyes and eeney-meeney-miney-moed for the one. Her hand hovered over a red dress she had bought a while back. It was very plain, with a think material. It clung to her curves, covering her entire chest up to her collar bones, but the plunging back revealed the toned muscles she spent five times a week in the gym for.
Since she really wasn't any good at make-up, Rukia only applied the basics. And somehow she managed to pulled her short hair into something resembling a style she had seen in a magazine. All in all, she was pretty pleased as she slipped into her black heels, fastening the band that ran around her ankles.
Grabbing her clutch, Rukia rummaged around until she found her favourite nude lipstick. It really seemed to pull everything together.
A knock on the door made her jump.
"Coming!" Rukia called as she shoved the last of her things into her clutch and gave herself a once-over in the mirror.
Rukia unlocked the door and stepped out, the brisk air automatically causing her to reach for the jacket draped over her arm.
"You looking stunning," Ran Moriyama said, his eyes roaming her from head to toe.
"You clean up pretty good yourself," I countered. His suit was neat and fitted, and with his hair brushed out of his face, Rukia could definitely remember why she had given him her number.
"Shall we get going?" he suggested, extending and arm for her.
The restaurant was ten minutes by car. The moment she set eyes on the place, she was very happy that she had put on something nice. It really was a fancy restaurant.
"Are your friends meeting us here?" Rukia asked as they climbed the steps to the entrance.
"Ichigo and Tatsuki should be inside by now," Ran said, checking his watch for the time.
As they entered the restaurant, Rukia couldn't help but search the room for Ran's friend. He wasn't that hard to spot considering the mess of orange hair on his head. And spot him she did, only to find his eyes were already on her.
She swallowed as she followed Ran to their table across the room. Ichigo's eyes remained on her, despite the beautiful girl sitting next to him.
Ran pulled her seat out for her and she gladly took it. Ichigo's steady gaze was making her a little unsteady on her heels.
"Rukia, meet Tatsuki and Ichigo," Ran introduced them as he sat down. Tatsuki smiled pleasantly at Rukia. Something just told her that she would like her.
"Nice to meet you," Ichigo said and she was forced to meet his eyes. Something about the way they were alight made Rukia squirm.
A waiter arrived with their menus and a comfortable, yet tense, silence settled as everyone mulled over the food choices. Rukia instantly knew what she wanted, but the others did seem so sure.
"So, how do all of you know each other?" Rukia asked once everyone had decided.
"Ichigo and I study together at Tokyo University," Ran pointed out. "We met in our first year and after he kicked my ass for reasons that won't be mentioned, we became friends."
Rukia smiled, her mind conjuring up too many scenarios.
"And the two of us have been friends since I kicked his ass when we were still small.' Tatsuki punched Ichigo playfully on the arm.
Ichigo grumbled something about her having an unfair advantage.
"And you, Rukia?" Ichigo asked.
"What about me?" Rukia tried to keep her voice normal.
"Tell us something about yourself." He was playing with her, and Rukia knew that.
"Well, I moved here from the country side to study illustration at the Tokyo School of Design. I have a brother who runs a dojo-" Rukia was interrupted.
"Which dojo?" Tatsuki asked.
"You know the Gotei 13 School of Martial Arts? My brother is one of the leaders." Rukia took a sip from the glass of wine Ran had ordered earlier.
"No way!" Tatsuki and Ichigo exclaimed at the same time.
"The Gotei 13? It's like the most famous martial arts school in Japan," Tatsuki continued.
"What's your last name?" Ichigo asked.
"Kuchiki," Rukia said.
"Byakuya Kuchiki is your brother?" A flash of nervousness passed over Ichigo's features.
"You know my brother?" Rukia asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Well," Ichigo scratched awkwardly at his chin, "We might have met once."
"And by met, Ichigo means he pissed Byakuya Kuchiki off," Tatsuki pointed out.
"When was this?" Rukia laughed. Ran also seemed to be enjoying the conversation.
"I think it was about a year ago at one of the national championships. One of his underlings picked a fight with Ichigo before the tournament. Things go heavy and when the infamous Byakuya Kuchiki warned them to break it up, Ichigo accidentally took a swing at him." Tatsuki finished explaining what happened.
Rukia couldn't believe Ichigo was the guy from that time. Renji had been even more upset than Byakuya about some random guy who he started a fight with at the tournament.
"I can't believe you're that guy." Rukia tried to keep her laughter in, but it wasn't working. Ichigo narrowed his eyes at her. "Renji was going on about it for almost two weeks. Damn, I wish I had seen it, but I was busy with my match at that time."
"You also participated?" Tatsuki asked.
"Yeah, I won my division." Rukia wasn't boasting, she was just telling it as it was.
"What a small world," Tatsuki said and Rukia agreed. It truly was. Once again she found her eyes drifting towards Ichigo.
The rest of their meal was filled with idle chitchat, but this time they spoke about thigs that Ran could join in on.
"So, what's next?" Tatsuki asked as Ran and Ichigo sorted out the bill. She and Rukia had both insisted to pay their parts, but the two men were stubborn about it.
"How about we go watch the fireworks?" Ran proposed. "They're only a few blocks down and start in about an hour."
"Sounds good to me," Rukia said.
She was a bit worried about walking around in her heels all night- she preferred sneakers- but the fireworks sounded like a lot of fun. Plus, Tatsuki seemed just as excited about it.
The cold hit them like an iceberg as they stepped out of the restaurant. They restaurant's heating system must have been set to hell, because none of them had noticed the drop in temperature.
"It's freezing out here," Ichigo said as he rubbed his hands up and down is arms.
"You know; they usually have a stall that has winter kimonos up for hire. They should be much warmer." Ran didn't even need to explain any further. Anything warmer would be perfect.
Walking as close together as possible, they managed to locate the kimono stand among all the others. The festival truly looked great; lanterns that lit up the entire street, families and couples having a blast.
"Thank you very much, you can go through here to get change," the owner of the stall said as she handed each of them a kimono in their size. Rukia took one in purple, while Tatsuki took hers in a baby blue. The boys came out wearing ones that were almost identical. Ichigo's was black, but Ran's was such a dark blue that the difference couldn't be seen if they weren't standing under direct light.
"Well, don't you look dashing," Rukia mocked a clearly uncomfortable Ichigo.
"Oi, at least I don't have to roll up my sleeves." Ichigo pointed to Rukia's hands. It's true, she was too short for her kimono.
"You can be glad they had something as plain as black, or else it might have clashed with your hair," Rukia retorted.
"Midget."
"Moron."
"Shrimp."
"Carrot-top."
They bickered like this until Tatsuki and Ran re-joined them.
"Hey, masks!" Tatsuki exclaimed, hoping to draw their attention away from each other.
Everyone except Tatsuki pulled a face. None of them were really happy about wearing masks.
"It'll keep your face warm," Tatsuki added.
Five minutes later they were all sporting new masks. Rukia, of course, bought a bunny mask. Ran had a No-Face mask with a black netting that covered his head. Tatsuki grabbed the nearest fox mask and Ichigo managed to get a scary-looking white mask with red marks on it.
As they joined the crowd of people waiting for the fireworks near the water's edge, Ran grasped Rukia's hand and pulled her away from Tatsuki and Ichigo.
"What's wrong?" Rukia asked, slipping her mask onto the side of her head.
The first of the fireworks started to go off, drawing Rukia's attention away for a second. Ran put his hand under her chin, directing her eyes back at his.
"Rukia, I really had a great time tonight," he said, taking a step closer.
"Me too," Rukia agreed. But she didn't mean it the way he did.
Ran slipped his own mask off his head, tucking it into the folds of his kimono. "I hope I can see you again soon." And with that he started to lean in.
Rukia's heart leaped in her chest, but not for the right reason. Ichigo's face popped into her head. She slipped her mask over her face again, putting both hands on Ran's chest to keep him at bay.
"I'm sorry," she muttered. Turning her back on him, Rukia disappeared into the crowd. She knew it was cowardly, but she couldn't think of any words that could make her decision clearer.
Leaving the crowd behind, Rukia managed to find a secluded spot. The fireworks still illuminated everything around her, lighting it in an array of colours.
She felt stupid. Here was a super nice guy, definitely not hard to look at, and not just interest in her body. But he wasn't the guy she wanted. No, she wanted to short-tempered, bad-mouthed, mocking, fierce friend. The one she knew would treat her as if she were his world.
Lost in thought, Rukia didn't hear the sound of approaching footprints. It wasn't until she looked up to see Ran's No-Face masked above her.
"Ran…" Rukia started. Standing up, she decided to make her intentions clear.
"I apologise that I ran away from you. It's not that I don't like your feelings towards me, but I can't return them. You see, there's someone else who seems to be… Well, it's probably just me feeling this way, but for that reason alone I can't agree to be more than friends." Rukia knew she was babbling, but she didn't exactly have experience in telling nice guys off.
Ran took a step forward.
"I'm sorry if I hurt you," Rukia tried again.
Another step.
"But, please understand."
One more step and they were flush together.
"I can't get him out of my head."
Ran lowered his head. "Good," he whispered, but the voice didn't belong to him.
Lifting his hand, the mask uncovered his head and dropped to the ground. Orange hair seemed to glow in the moonlight.
"I-Ichigo?" Rukia stuttered, the realisation that Ichigo knew exactly how she felt slamming into her.
She tried to turn away, but Ichigo grabbed her wrist and spun her forward again. Using the other hand to grip her waist, Ichigo pulled her in even closer, lowering his head until it dangled inches away from her own. Even if she wanted to look away, there was no way she could.
Ichigo didn't ask for her approval before he kissed her. Then again, there was no doubt that she would have given it.
His lips moved playfully over hers; nipping at her lower lip and pressing his tongue softly against her lips.
Rukia's head spun with ecstasy. For the first time, she wanted someone to never stop kissing her. It was like she had read in her books, and not like the one or two make-out sessions she had had with random guys. There she just hoped they would get tired and leave.
But with Ichigo, a simple kiss was amazing.
Her hands wove into his hair, their softness taking her by surprised. She expected it to be a bit spikier. Then again, his hair was nothing compared to his lips.
All too soon, Ichigo pulled away. Leaning his forehead against hers, he whispered, "I can't get you out of my head either. Luckily you're so small that it shouldn't be a problem if you stay there."
Rukia dug her knuckle into his ribs.
"Sorry, sorry," Ichigo muttered as he stepped away.
Rukia already missed his warmth.
"So, how about we watch the fireworks for a bit?" Ichigo asked as the second bout of fireworks filled the night sky.
"Yeah, sounds perfect," Rukia agreed.
Grabbing hold over her hand, Ichigo led them to railing next to the river. Once there, he let go, but only so that he could reach down and lift her up.
Folding her kimono beneath her, Ichigo placed her onto the railing before moving to stand behind her. His hands snaked underneath her arms and pulled her into his chest.
"There, now I don't have to bend down." Ichigo chuckled.
Rukia let the comment slide, but only because of how happy she was.
She couldn't help but admit that it was her best Valentine's Day ever. Hopefully she would spend many more with Ichigo by her side.
Thank you for all the AMAZING review on the previous chapter. It made me super happy to read all of them... like a thousand times.
Please review
xx