Chapter 12: Of Paint, Water and Cold

Sitting on a stool before the medium sized canvas, Rukia scowled darkly. It was a Friday now, and she wasn't looking forward to the weekend, let alone the rest of the day. Why? She wasn't certain, but it might've been due to the nightmare she'd had the night before.

Staring at the picture slowly taking shape before her, under the direct strokes of her brush, Rukia sighed harshly and then she glanced up at Ichigo, who was sitting as still as possible where he'd been ordered to. She didn't know if it was okay for him to miss a whole week of school bar the single day in which he hadn't come over to the Estate, but she didn't complain.

'It's no good,' she snapped finally, not sure who she was more annoyed at, him, for doing nothing, not that he was supposed to, or at herself for being unable to instantly slide back into her old supposedly artistic ways, 'Let's stop for the day, alright? I'm so tired of this right now,' putting down her brush, she glared hard at the palette splashed with various colours.

'Can I see it?' not sure what exactly was bothering her, Ichigo stood up slowly and stretched, wandering over hesitantly, 'Rukia?'

'No!' pulling a sheet out of nowhere, she easily sent it cascading over the easel, hiding the canvas but not touching the still damp paint, 'Just . . . let's just go. For a walk or something,'

There's something really wrong with it, as they left the room, she couldn't help the dark thought from drifting through her mind, I'm not happy at all. It doesn't feel right.

'Let's go down to the lake again,' Ichigo made the suggestion as they exited the house, 'It's peaceful there, and I think it's a great place to calm down and relax,'

Not waiting for her answer, he set off purposefully, hoping that she'd follow because he'd look a fool if she didn't.

As she swung her legs over the edge of the pier, Rukia sighed, peering into the water and watching the slow, lazy ripples distort her reflection, 'I was just thinking-,'

'Well, whatever you were thinking,' Ichigo cut her off without a care in the world, 'I think it's funny that you actually want to talk to me at all now. I mean, you never did before,'

'Well, like I thought we'd already established, you weren't very nice to me,' she replied without much venom, but still a slim amount of irritation, 'Practically everything you said was mean or just baiting,'

'Yeah, I know,' he sighed deeply, shoulders sagging as he also leaned forwards to look into the lake, not that surprised to find it much lighter in colour than one might expect for such a large body of water, 'But I couldn't help it. I was told to stay away from you, so I had to make sure we wouldn't get into any open conversations or anything like that,'

'Who told you to keep away?' Rukia suspected it was Byakuya, because the only other person was Ukitake, and he wasn't like that at all, 'Ichigo?'

The orange haired teenager was silent for a while, before straightening and saying, 'Did you know, Karin and Yuzu, well, Yuzu especially . . . anyway, they want to go on a holiday soon,'

'Maybe you should go this weekend,' Rukia considered the proposition and nodded.

'Sounds like a good idea,' he smirked, 'Are you going to miss me?'

Rukia hit him lightly, 'Hey! It's not like I'm just going to immediately go back to being your girlfriend after completely forgetting about you! Or at all, for that matter!'

'I'm hurt,' surprised that she'd been so easily distracted from the original topic, because usually it was relatively impossible to change the subject so obviously with Rukia, 'You're a cruel girl, Rukia, real mean,'

She glared, indigo eyes flashing, and then she hit him again, 'You know what? You're being irrational! You should want to spend more time with your family! You should treasure the times you have with them all, even you're crazy dad!' she didn't realise that she'd so casually mentioned his father, 'And me? I'm just someone who knows you! Don't put me before your family, even if you apparently think I'm still your girlfriend or something like that!'

Ichigo flinched, 'Well did you spend lots of time with your family?' he said 'family' as in Byakuya, Ukitake and Kaien, 'It seems to me like you spend a lot of time with me, so you can't talk about spending time with family!'

Not thinking, he shoved her away from where she sat beside him. There was a moment where time seemed to slow as Rukia lurched forwards, losing her balance and beginning to fall off the pier, towards the glittering water.

As her body hit the icy cold liquid, Rukia's eyes closed for the briefest of moments, and then she was underwater, looking up through the shimmering layer and into the cloud filled sky. She wondered when the sunny weathered had turned so dark, and she thought that it might rain soon. Then her thoughts turned to what she'd said, and how Ichigo had replied.

Should I spend more time with Ukitake? And Nii-sama too? Am I a hypocrite for saying that Ichigo should treasure his family more? Is it really me at fault here? Because I'm the one who keeps inviting him away . . . from his family, from school, from his friends . . . ?

As she sank deeper and deeper, the light slowly withdrawing from around her, Rukia felt a slight ache beginning in her chest.

I should take time to talk to Nii-sama more, even if he's busy most of the hours of the day . . . I'm sure there'll be some sort of opportunity for us to spend time together. And Ukitake . . . I live in the same house as him, so it shouldn't be too much to ask just to engage in some conversations that aren't absolutely necessary. I know I don't usually like idle chit-chat, but still . . .

The ache intensified and bubbles slid from her lips, disappearing up, up, up.

And I should try harder to get in contact with Kaien. Renji too. Maybe I really should plan a trip to Tokyo, so I can see them both . . .

Peering into the water, Ichigo searched for Rukia's form, beginning to get worried, and hoping she wasn't just tricking him. He knew she was a capable swimmer, despite her small size, and that she should've come up by now. It had already been a lot longer than he'd expected.

The terrible thought that she might have blacked out crossed his mind, before he violently pushed it away. There was no way something like that could happen, this wasn't a real life horror movie!

'I should go in and try to find her,' not realising he was speaking aloud, Ichigo prepared himself for the shock of the cold water.

Beneath the surface of the lake, Rukia could see the sky and the light, and she began to move upwards. The lake was very deep, exactly how deep though, she didn't know, but it would be easy to drown if you weren't careful.

Looking again at the clouds up above, she pondered Ichigo, knowing in a flash that he really hated the rain. There were memories pressing at her mind, ones showing herself calming him as storms raged in the sky, and vicious droplets pounded into the ground below. It was an odd thought, that he should be so vulnerable whenever the clouds opened and released their heavy loads. The reason for that hatred was unclear to her, however, as he'd never told her.

'You say you hate the rain . . . but I love walking in the rain . . . because then no one knows I'm crying,'

As the thought flowed through her head, she realised it wasn't one from the present, but instead . . . a phrase from the past. The realisation was strangely nostalgic and suddenly she felt tears slipping from her eyes, also disappearing upwards, and she realised she was crying, even though the water was caressing her form, holding her tightly.

There was a sudden splash and she watched as Ichigo appeared in the water. He must've jumped in too, which meant he was worried. Pushing upwards, she realised just how pained her lungs had become, and that her head felt faint from lack of oxygen.

The natural will to survive sparked fear in her mind, the instinctive terror of drowning taking control and forcing her to rise up through the water, back towards the light.

As she reached out, Rukia felt a strong hand grasp her own, and then, as her last reserves of strength finally gave out, she was pulled up by someone else, head breaking through the water as she gasped for air. A few moments later, she was hauled onto the pier, and then they both lay there, panting and drenched to the skin.

An icy wind whipped across the water and they both shivered involuntarily, still breathless.

'Why didn't you come up?' Ichigo was slightly worried she'd resigned herself to dying, perhaps even wished for the end, although why, he didn't want to imagine, 'I'm cold,' the second part was just a random and obvious observation that had popped into his head.

Rukia was silent for quite some time, her chest rising and falling raggedly, and then she spoke, her voice barely a whisper, 'I think I can finally understand why you hate the rain,'

Ichigo's brown eyes widened in shock, and he was unable to reply for a moment, 'Really? I never told you . . . how could you know?'

'I'm not sure,' she exhaled slowly, 'But it's because your mother died on a dark and rainy day, isn't it?'

Ichigo heard something in her tone that made him instantly wary, and he sat up, reaching out and grabbing her arm, the sudden contact bringing her back to reality. No matter what, he couldn't let her dwell on such depressing thoughts.

'She did,' his tone was sad, but he forced the majority of the pain away, just for her, 'I guess it wasn't so hard to work out, since you knew she wasn't alive, and you could see I hated the rain,' he ignored her as she tried to shake him off, pulling both of them to their feet, 'Rukia-,'

Before the raven haired teenager could say anything, she found herself being hugged tightly. The action surprised her so much, as she could tell, even after such a long period of not knowing him, that Kurosaki Ichigo wasn't a touchy-feely person. Still, she wasn't sure if the experience was pleasant or not, and soon her usual defence mechanisms kicked in.

Not literally, this time, but she did punch him.

'You seriously always run!' as he began to chase her, both of them heading towards the house again, Ichigo couldn't help the wry grin that appeared on his usually scowling face.

Even when the clouds released the first shower of rain, and the cutting memory of his mother's death surfaced in his mind, Ichigo didn't stop smiling, because he knew that Kurosaki Masaki would have wanted him to smile. And to help in protecting the things he held closest to his heart.

As she ran into her room, locked the door, and then changed out of her wet clothes, Rukia couldn't help but think about how she mightn't be making the most of the people she had around her, even when they were so kind or, in her Nii-sama's case, financially providing. She probably should do her best to spend more time with all of them, and she should let Ichigo spend days with his family too. That was a good thing to do, she thought, and so, opening her door again and leaving to find the orange haired teenager, she resolved to do her best. To try harder with everyone.

Rukia stared out her window, watching the light rays of the sun skimming along the sill, causing shadowy patterns to fall on her carpeted floor. She knew Ukitake was with his unfortunate bonsai, and that her Nii-sama was in one of his offices managing something that had come up the night before. For the first day of the weekend it was awfully not exciting.

On impulse, she left her bedroom and wandered back to the studio she'd been in the day before with Ichigo, who she assumed was currently preparing for his holiday with his family. They were going to the beach the next day, and she knew his sisters were both terribly excited, although she had the odd suspicion that Karin would never admit to it.

It was strange how, after completely forgetting everything, she could make such assumptions, as if she was basing them off things she actually knew about these people she couldn't really recall anything about.

Picking up a palette, before replacing it just as fast, Rukia moved over to the blank canvases leaning against one of the walls. Without really thinking, she hauled the largest one, which was both taller than her, and wider than her entire arm span, over to the easel. Still acting before processing what she was doing, the teenager opened seemingly random tubes and tubs of paint, taking out what she needed before replacing the lids.

Taking a deep breath, and feeling her mood blackening, Rukia made the first line on the white, the paint a dark and gloomy shade of grey, a stark contrast. As her hands moved through the muscle memory that was never really forgotten, although in some cases it just became impossible to perform, she felt like she was fighting the brush, trying to direct it to her own will. As it was, the strong mental image searing through her mind was dominant, and she had no choice but to map out what only she could ever see.

Even hearing the noise of someone's approach didn't remove Rukia's attention from her work, and it wasn't until Ukitake spoke that she even registered his presence.

'What are you doing, Kuchiki?' from the doorway, the white haired man was unable to see what she was painting, but the stormy but strangely blank expression on her face gave him enough reason to suspect something wasn't entirely right, 'Is everything okay?'

'Go away,' her tone wasn't angry, instead, it was very level and expressionless. She seemed to almost be in a daze, and she didn't look that well at all.

'Alright then,' worrying over the petite girl, Jūshirō decided that it would be best to respect her wishes and leave. As he turned away, he hoped that the harsh white colour of her skin wasn't an indication that she was getting sick, because he stressed when she was ill.

A few hours later, as she spun aimlessly around on her chair, Rukia pondered the painting she'd been able to complete in just that short amount of time. It had been like she was possessed, or something, although she knew it had been her and her alone creating that image. Deciding that she wanted to talk to someone, she picked up her phone, and dialled Renji's number without so much as a second thought.

When he didn't pick up, she ignored the message bank, and hung up, rather annoyed with her old friend. It was unusual, to say the least, because he usually had his phone turned on, and somewhere close by to his person.

So, consequently, the next person she tried was Ichigo, and Kaien was next if the orange haired teenager didn't pick up. Still, since the number she had for Kaien was old, she didn't even know if it would work at all.

'Hello?'

The voice was slightly familiar, as if she'd heard it recently, but it definitely wasn't Ichigo's because, apart from the fact that it was female, the speaker sounded younger and more . . . cynical. Which meant only one thing . . . Karin. It made sense that it would be a voice she recognised, because she'd recently relived the memory of meeting Ichigo for the first time, and Karin had spoken in that recollection.

'Hello,' she made herself sound very stoic and neutral, although she was wondering why Ichigo's younger sister had his phone.

'Who is this?' Karin was questioning in her tone, but still very blunt.

'A trained assassin who wants to speak to the owner of this phone, whom I assume is Kurosaki Ichigo,' stifling a smirk and a chuckle, Rukia continued speaking very monotonously.

There was a pause, and then, 'You're weird. Ichi-nii's friends are weird. Are you his weird girlfriend?' the girl didn't seem to have any problem with calling someone she couldn't identify 'weird'.

Wondering if that last part was true or not, Rukia replied in a sweet tone this time, 'No, I'm his guardian angel,'

'Sounds like a girlfriend to me,' there as a sound as if someone was moving around, 'I'll just get him, wait a moment will you?'

About a minute later, Ichigo's voice sounded, 'Rukia? What did you say to Karin? Because she looked really suspicious,'

Rukia laughed innocently, 'I didn't say anything, you're just being paranoid. Anyway, I just called because I want someone to talk to. And before you ask, Ukitake and my Nii-sama are busy, and Renji isn't picking up his damn phone,' she paused, 'And why did Karin answer your phone?'

'I don't know, honestly,' Ichigo sounded very sincere, 'And are you okay? You sound a little odd. Are you sick or something?'

Rukia suddenly realised that she did have a tickling throat, and she coughed loudly in way of response, not at all faking, 'Oh, I didn't realise, but it seems I have a cold,' she sniffed.

'I'll come over, it sounds bad,' he certainly seemed worried, 'Is it because I pushed you into the lake yesterday? I'm sorry, Rukia,'

'Don't worry, I'm fine,' she sneezed, unintentionally contradicting herself, 'You shouldn't-,'

'I'm coming over anyway, we're nearly done here so it shouldn't matter,' he must've been moving around because there were odd sounds travelling through the phone, 'Just wait for me and rest,'

'No, really . . . your family-,' she tried again only to have the line go dead as he hung up, 'Why you-,'

Suddenly feeling very faint, not to mention angry, Rukia moved over to the door, barely making it two steps before sneezing. She couldn't work out why she'd seemed alright earlier in the day, because now she was certainly quite sick.

'Ukitake,' she interrupted herself by coughing, 'I think I've got a cold,'

Due to the fact that, yes, she did have a cold, her words came out sounding more like, 'Ukidake, I tink I'b got a cowld,'

The white haired man blinked in surprise, 'Well I think you've got one too!' standing up in a hurry, he bustled her into a room that wasn't her own, and ordered her to get in bed, 'I'll go get some medicine! You rest here in bed,'

Since he sounded overly paranoid, and she viewed the medicine part as a bit of a threat, Rukia shook her head and tried to escape, 'No, I don't want to,'

'Kuchiki,' it looked like he was partly focusing on her, and partly trying to remember where in the huge house the nearest medical kit was. There were a lot, because Ukitake himself was often ill, and the larger ones resembled hospital storerooms, but still . . . when flustered, basic directional information can sometimes be lost.

'Yes?' she didn't think she was going to be able to escape this one, he looked too . . . earnest.

'Just stay there, I'll be back,' and with that, Jūshirō turned and hurried from the room.

Curse her fondness for the man, because Rukia decided she really couldn't do anything but stay and wait. The only really bad part of her predicament was the medicine, and the room she was in. The whitewashed walls and clean white bed linen reminded her rather uncomfortably of . . . a hospital.

'I hate being sick,'

Author's Note:

Poor Rukia, and not just because she's sick with the threat of medicine looming behind her . . .

About the walking in the rain phrase, I heard someone say it recently, and I thought it was appropriate for Kuchiki to think, or have thought at some point. Anyway, since I don't know who's responsible for its creation, I'm sorry for not acknowledging anything.

And, as usual, I hope you enjoyed!