A/N: Let me be honest with you all. I wasn't purposely neglecting the story but I was just feeling uninspired. I'm in my final year of uni, whether I'd graduate to become a doctor or not, the jury is still out there on that one. So in conclusion, medic school is driving me up the wall. But your reviews, PMs, unadulterated ceaseless supports left me in awe, and I can't help but continue writing. I know I owe it to you guys for still following the story. Thank you to you lots out there, I wish I could send a personal thank you card to each one of you, but you know I'm too lazy for my own good. ) Please, keep the reviews and constructive criticisms coming. With that, I heart you guys and enjoy! (Hope it doesn't suck much?)
Standard Disclaimers Apply
P.S – This chapter is inspired by the latest episode of OTH. Naley loves! And oh pleasepleaseplease don't separate, Naley!!
XXXXX
Times Online
12th June, 2007
One Red For Slamming The Red.
Manchester United 1 Arsenal 1
Joe Lovejoy at Old Trafford
The Gunners' coach, Arsene Wenger was seen giving the bird to the Red Devil's main man, Sir Alex after his 'golden boy' Kurosaki Ichigo was flashed the red card for sidling Christiano Ronaldo.
The game which took place in Old Trafford last Sunday witnessed the fallacy of defeat-less season for Arsenal. The Holloway-based club was cruising smoothly for the title championship for the whole season, courtesy of their star Japanese striker, Kurosaki. The Gunners did not show signs of slowing down until the draw with the Manchester United, last Sunday.
Henry, who was shipped to Barcelona late last month was replaced with Da Silva in the main eleven. The bond which Kurosaki forged with the French leading man proved not to be resurrected with younger Croatian lad. Three failed attempts at passing were enough to leave the Gunners fans howling innovative series of profanities.
The Red Devils, on the other hand, enjoyed the return of Rooney, who was out for three games due to an ACL injury. On the 26th minute, he made a wonderful left shot to Ronaldo, who finished the roll with a starting goal.
By the 44th minute, Arsenal was gaining as Kurosaki, with the pass from Fabregas, made it to the penalty box and earned one for the Gunners.
The second half of the game witnessed the energetic show-off as the two teams tried to break the tie. Saha tried his luck by breaking through Eboue and Gallases' fort with a high kick, which was unfortunately misangled and hit the post at the 67th minute. Kurosaki once again made a lucky shot from the left corner of the penalty box after receiving from Silva at the 72nd minute, which made it beyond the goalpost, but unfortunately declared as offside.
Tension revved up between Kurosaki and Ronaldo as the former tackled the latter's right foot, resulting in double yellow cards. The warning however was insufficient as both continued shoving, forcing the referee to issue a red card to the Gunners' Forward.
The rest of the game did not pick up as fans started to stage violence towards the referee's decision. End result: Manchester United 1, Arsenal 1.
XXXXX
He pulled out the milk carton, grabbed a glass from the dishwasher and poured the white liquid into the crystal cylinder. A few drops spilled onto the ceramic counter.
"Fuck."
The red light of the answering machine glowed in the darkness. He downed a few gulp, contemplating his action. He was tempted to press the 'erase' button. He didn't have to listen to them to find out: a couple of frantic calls from his siblings, maybe even a solemn one from his dad. Countless ones from Izuru to report damage control. Maybe one from Chad to tell him to grow up.
Maybe he hadn't really thought about this before, but thank God for private number. Heaven forbid if The Sun started calling him up for feedback. Not like having them camped out in front of his penthouse wasn't bad enough.
He groaned. And slammed a palm on the 'play' button.
You have nine messages.
He knew he should have skipped town. Bloody hell.
A cackle could be heard, before a moment of static. He knew it was a long-distant. "Ichi-nii? Are you up? How are you?" He heard a background voice, and Yuzu whining. Apparently Karin was wrestling for the phone. "Ichi-nii? How's it going? Call us back as soon as you get this, ok? Bye!"
Next message.
"Kurosaki, Izuru here. ADIDAS photo shoot 8 tomorrow. And you have that meeting with Wenger at noon regarding your suspension. I suggest you round up a list bearing apologies by tonight." Silence. "I talked to Daily Mirror and The Sun. They would lay it off for awhile."
Ichigo snorted. Only laying it off meant setting up camp in front of his house.
"Anyway, call her."
Nah.
Next message.
"Chad here. Your freaking dry-cleaned stuff is still here. Pick 'em up before I toss the likes of your Armani and Versace into the fireplace. Don't take the Aprillia out for a ride. I haven't assembled the GPRS system on that yet. I'd offer dinner but yeah, if you need more time to wallow in self pity, by all means be my guest." A slow chuckle. "Anyway, call her."
Izuru and Yasutaro sharing a dictionary had to be a scary day in hell.
Next message.
"You know what, I waited for half an hour for you to call back."
Ichigo laughed, despite the situation. Leave it to Karin to make half an hour sound like forever.
"I know you're home, why don't you just pick up the phone? You even switched off your cell! Do you know how worried Yuzu and Daddy were?"
"Ichi-nii? Come on, snap up! Do you really think Rukia-nee would do such thing to you? Despite the fact the Shiba Kaien is ridiculously hot," He rolled his eyes at the mention of the SOB, but Karin digressed. "Rukia-nee loves you! You can't blow up every time they put up rubbish on the tabloids!"
He could practically hear the creaking sound of Karin's eyeballs as she rolled her eyes. Great, his siblings were practically on her bandwagon.
"Well, digest that while you're on breakfast. Sheesh. Call us back soon, kay?"
Next message.
"Son, it's dad. Just checking how you are doing."
He raised an eyebrow. A civil greeting from his crazy dad? The end must be near.
"I heard the girls talking in my study on the phone before. Let's just say, Karin was right. Don't jump to conclusion, Ichigo. You should refrain from making snap judgment. Give the girl the chance to justify herself." A pause. "Do visit sometime. Take care, son."
Don't jump to conclusion. Right.
Next message.
"Hi, urm, it's me."
He looked up from his bagel.
"I tried your cells like, gazillion times." Stumble. "Did you throw that thing out or something?"
He didn't, but he was tempted too. He just chose to disconnect the battery. Simple money-saving solution.
"We need to talk, you know that. Um, call me back, ok?"
Next message.
"It's me again. I didn't notice how dull your message was the first time. 'Hi, Kurosaki here and you have reached me at an unfortunate time. Please leave a message and I will get back to you'," she mimicked.
He would have laughed at her attempt to impersonate him but all that came out was a strangled chortle.
"You're still not back, huh?" A sigh. "I miss you."
He thought he would be elated to hear any sort of declaration from her, but it only served to heighten his anger.
Next message.
"I'm officially spazzing out. Are you even actually alive there? Nanao got the idea that I had gone and lost it, with this one-sided conversation." She chuckled.
He could detect a hint of a sob too.
"Make sure you take your dinner, okay? And call me back. Please."
Always the concern one, he thought bitterly.
Next message.
"It's breakfast time in London now. You haven't called in 72 hours. I… I couldn't sleep. I watched your game with Man U. Ronaldo whooped your ass big time." Chuckles. "He's an ass, I can't believe you fell for his trick." Silence. "You looked so riled up, I… I felt scared. Your face wasn't supposed to turn that deep of red."
"You broke your promise. I hate it when you break promises. Like last time in February. Funny how time flies. I didn't throw the fucking phone this time, Ichigo." Silence. "Excuse my French. I… I need to hear your voice."
"I need to see you."
End of messages.
XXXXX
Her silhouette was outlined by the morning sun.
He found it was hard to swallow. The sight of her was doing things to his lungs; he couldn't breathe.
"What are you doing here?" he asked thickly.
Rukia licked her lips. She closed her eyes momentarily, heaving a sigh, willing for everything in her body to calm the hell down. Her heart was beating erratically, her lungs were near hyperventilating, her blood was pulsing in her ears. She could even feel what was left of her late supper crawling up her esophagus, fighting to be free. Nervous was an understatement.
"You heard me in your answering machine," she replied, trying to be nonchalant, but to no avail.
Ichigo drew a breath, and turned his head sideways. It hurt to look at her.
"Gee, you don't have to trouble yourself, Rukia," he replied sarcastically, pulling himself off the stool to leave the kitchen.
"Ichigo."
He stopped dead in his track. He contemplating on turning around, but he really didn't think it was a swell idea to look into her eyes. The violet orbs were tempting him to crumble and no, he wasn't crumbling, goddammit.
"Rukia, it's been nice and everything, but why don't you go back to Jersey? There's nothing much left for you here."
It wasn't harsh, in fact, it was almost amiable. His shoulders were hung low, and she knew he was giving up.
She told herself she was not going to cry. Crying is for the weak.
"Not even you?"
He let out a strangled chuckle. "You had me. In fact, you still have me." He whirled around, his eyes unreadable amber. "But you don't have to humor me and stick around. It's a free country, after all," he tossed out, averting his glance.
She felt her hands clenching, irked by his nonchalance. Gathering her wits, she took a step closer. She looked up, trying to capture his gaze. "But what if I want to? Like you said, it's a free country," she challenged.
She heard he let out an almost inaudible grunt. "Fine. Whatever. Stay. I'll go." All in one breath before he turned on his heels again and proceeded for the door.
"Why was it okay with you but not with me?" Rukia started, closing nearer to him, her eyes burning holes on the shirt off his back. "Why did you allow it to affect you so much when you were so adamant to convince me not to be that last time??"
Like being on a VCR remote control, Ichigo paused in his tracks again. He hung his head low, suddenly feeling overwhelmingly tired. "What do you want, Rukia?"
She inhaled deeply. Another step and they would be back to chest. She could smell the scent of musk and sandalwood radiating from him. All male, all him. "I want you to turn around and tell me that you're okay. That we're okay," she whispered, almost begging.
"Why are you doing this?" he grunted bitterly, tempted to turn around, but found his shoes scraping the floor for the nearest escape.
"I don't want you to give up," she said back, boldly, pushing all the limits to make him turn around.
Which he did. So fast she could almost feel the wind whipping her cheeks as he swung around to face her. The handsome chiseled face was contorted in such a livid expression. "Is this what it is to you?" he demanded, all sorts of aloofness flew out the window and he countered back to her.
She swallowed. It was a hefty price to pay, but she was desperate not to let him leave through that door.
Instead of leaving, he closed the gap that stood between them. His amber eyes were darker, flaming with intense emotion. "Is this what it is to you?" he repeated. "A game?" he shot again, drawing closer. "To see whether I'd be as riled up and let it settled as the perfect revenge. To see how far I'd go to claim a single ounce of affection out of you. To see how low I'd stoop to redeem your attention for me. To see that, that despite everything you do, I would still be fucking in love with you. Is that it??"
"Ichigo -."
He shook his head and let out a choked laugh. It came off more like a sob. "You don't play a fair game, Kuchiki," he concluded, running a hand through his already-tousled hair.
Rukia bit her lower lip, her heart breaking at the mention of her maiden name. Were they back to that? Were they back to zero again?
She felt tempted to touch him, to feel the heat off his skin on hers, just to make sure that he was there, her Ichigo, the one who never looked at her short of nothing but with his warm comforting smile. The man in front of her now, so angry, so distant, so similarly passionate like her Ichigo, yet so strikingly different.
"It is not a game, Ichigo."
He lifted his eyes to hers again, his expression of bitter mocking. "Oh yeah? Then what is it? Another one of your real-life case studies?" he spat, not even bothering to sugarcoat his sarcasm. He shook his head again, pacing back and forth within the parameter of his kitchen. Finally, he stood straighter abruptly. "Fuck this. I'm leaving," he muttered, spinning on his heels again for the door. "Lock the door on your way out," he added as a sinister afterthought.
Tears sprang to Rukia's eyes. Never in the short four months of their marriage had she imagined that Ichigo would one day be walking away from her. She watched his back as he climbed up the steps, past the living room to the front hallway.
He never turned back.
She really did mess up.
She staggered to her feet, before making a dash for the door. His hand on the knob, when he felt hers wrapped tightly around his waist, desperate to have him indoor. He felt moisture at the back of his shirt and she buried her face there, her tears staining the white cotton.
"Don't go," she choked, tightening her grip on him.
The kisses were hot, searing. Her hair which was done in a messy ponytail came undone after a hard tug on the thin band. Mass of raven silk tumbled into his palms, so soft, smelled like vanilla and lavender.
"Ichigo…"
Her nimble fingers shakily traced the outline of his jaw, reveling at the sensation on his two-day stubble on her soft skin. He groaned at the contact, and responded by deeper, and more urgent kisses. It was like his tongue possessed a mind of its own; he massaged his way with her lips, pried them open, to clash with her teeth. He tasted coffee, and he knew how much she hated plain coffee. He remembered her irking at the bitter taste, only resorting to its caffeine effect whenever the going gets too tough. The past couple of days had been tough, alright, and judging by the faint dark circles around her eyes, he knew caffeine was the culprit.
The coffee tasted bitter. But on his tongue, it never tasted sweeter.
She kissed back with as much fervor, her hands finding their way into his hair. Soft, just like how she remembered it. She stood on her tiptoe, tilting her head back, urging, begging for him to continue his assault on her lips. When the velvet of his tongue left her hot cavern, she almost whined. But when within seconds it settled on that spot behind her ear, she thought her legs had turned to jelly.
"Did he kiss you like this, Rukia?" he taunted, pulling back a hair breadth away from her lips. His eyes flickered down to there, the effect of his bruising kiss evident on her swollen lips. He hated to think the other guy had probably tasted her there, too. He hated to think the other guy even managed to lay a single finger on her. He hated so much, so much he felt like combusting.
Gasping for air, she watched the turmoil of emotions displayed in his amber eyes. It was like a boulder was in between them; he was only a kiss away but he wasn't hers. Not anymore. She could tell. His eyes had told her everything.
He dropped his gaze and pulled back. She kept on watching as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He was deliberating. After a moment, their eyes met again. This time, it was less hostile, but more or less estranged. She realized, at the sound of her heart breaking, she was indeed, losing him.
He bent down and planted a chaste kiss on her temple. She closed her eyes, savoring, memorizing. "Take care, Rukia," he whispered.
The next moment she opened her eyes, he was gone.
XXXXX
"You doing okay back there, Rukia?"
"Uh-huh."
"You're scared."
"Uh, having a nylon strap constricting your trachea while joyriding on a sorry excuse of an automobile at 150mph kind of have that effect on some people, you know!"
"It's an Aprilia, baby. It's not 'a sorry excuse of an automobile'. And we're doing 170."
"There you go. I stand corrected."
"So again I'm asking, are you scared?"
"Not as much as you think!"
"Then why are you squeezing my kidneys out?"
"Ugh, I hate you!"
"Hey, don't let go! You'd fly off!"
"Oh my God! No!"
"I love you, baby. You know that, right?"
"Don't sweettalk me when my life is at stake here!"
"Rukia, I'm not going to hurt you!"
"You're not going to let me fall, are you?"
"I won't, Rukia. I'd catch you, anytime you fall."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
She woke up in a sweat. Her heart was pounding heavily in her ears; blood was rushing through her veins. The light was already peeking through the thin slits between the curtains. Morning has arrived.
She took in his still made side of the bed. His pillow was currently resting in her clutch, bearing the sandalwood scene of his aftershave as she held it close to her heart. Her heart was still pounding; adrenaline was on high from being on a carefree joyride with Ichigo in her dream. Even when he was AWOL, he was still vivid in her mind.
He didn't come back yesterday morning. He didn't even call by lunch time. She had cooked dinner for two, no matter how her common sense was protesting he wouldn't make it home, as long as she was there. So she sat in the kitchen counter, twirling her spaghetti around her fork mindlessly, as she stared at his own plate of pasta. It was his favorite, she remembered from her visit last spring.
Tossing the comforter aside, she stepped out of the bed, his flannel button-down shirt which she had worn to bed riding up to her waist. She ran a finger through her messy bed hair, trying to entangle the knots that formed. The digital clock blinked 9.04 back to her. Plenty of time to whip breakfast up. He always liked hash brown and bacon.
As she passed the front door on her way to the massive kitchen, she made out a beige envelope poking under the door slit. Intrigued, she bent down to fetch it. It was heavy, filled with about an inch thick of paper, with her name printed on the front.
As she unsealed it, a thin piece of CD slid down onto her lap. Again, her name was printed on it. She bit her lip, uncertain of her next move. Grabbing the CD, she made her way to his entertainment complex, and pop the CD in.
It was him. Still in his yesterday's clothes.
For a moment, she panicked. He wasn't held hostage, was he?
"Rukia."
He was sitting on a sofa, his back bent as he rested his elbows on his knees. He looked worn out, but she guessed it made the both of us. The background was a row of bookshelves, filled with volumes of hardcover to the brim.
"Rukia."
Her attention snapped back to his features on the screen. His jaw was set, it was the look he had every time he was trying to find the right angle for a free kick. She felt nausea kicking in. Suddenly, she knew where all of this were going. Where they were going.
"It is a difficult time for the both of us," he started, his brown eyes unwavering. "I'm sorry for putting you in such predicament. Therefore, I am now doing what I think the best, for the both of us. In the envelope are your choices. And whatever you choose to do, I just want to let you know, I won't hold any grudge towards you. Please be noted that my action is done with your best intention in mind, and I have never wanted to hurt you in any way."
His lips pursed, he paused before continuing.
"I'm sorry again, and thank you, Kuchiki Rukia."
Swallowing a sob, her shaking fingers pulled out the stash of paper from the envelope. Two sets of document each held together with a binder.
Petition For Declaration of Invalidity of Marriage.
The other stack held the header of Separation Agreement.
She recalled his voice. "In the envelope are your choices."
Her newly-found world was crumbling. And finally she broke.