A/N: Summer's over and you guys know what that means, right? Bingo. It's back to school for yours truly. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, it seems I cannot determine. Anyways, my schedule's a bit shaky since the added 7 hour school day and that's promptly the reason this update came in just now. I managed to work on it through the weekend while at the same time juggling the homework. Here's the new chap, please review, ok? Appreciate it.
Chapter 21
Curiosity Killer
Ichigo and Rukia arrived at the Kurosaki Private Clinic, the dusk of the night sky blanketing the streets that surround them. With nothing but the glowing light posts running down hill into the city, the darkness was accompanied by the silence of the deserted neighborhood.
The two proceeded inside the humble home although it was the usual trip home from school; somehow it felt more troublesome than it normally does. Maybe it's because of Ichigo and Rukia's sudden encounter with Renji.
The red-head's words fluttered about on both their ears like a black butterfly amidst in the blink of the full moon. As they took steps inside the house, their minds only rewind the same scenery over and over again. They were grateful that meek Renji Abarai aided them in their endeavors but somehow they felt that the assist came at a large cost.
More importantly Rukia, still shaken up to finally see the young man she grew up with walk out of her life. She's come to respect him like a brother, even more of a brother than her own. They maybe not bound by blood…but by trust.
For the first time Ichigo felt like he couldn't lend a helping hand to his raven-haired friend. All this time he spent with her, he always seem to be the hero of the story, now, all he could do is sit, watch and hope for the best.
The high school students continued inside, the silence alongside with them. Rukia had her head down, her fair dark hair sliding down to cover her saddened face. Ichigo's eyes expressed nothing but concern, his scowl overshadowed by his care.
Rukia remembered that she didn't close the door when they came in. Walking back, she sluggishly pushed the door from its side with enough force to make it swing from its hinges. Ichigo suddenly stopped the moving door, his hand planting against it mid-motion.
The raven-haired girl looked up to her tall friend in question even though her eyes told differently. The orange-head remarked the thin smoke emerging from the kitchen; it meant that Yuzu was without a doubt busy in the kitchen.
The slamming noise from the door would've immediately caused a stir for attention and Ichigo couldn't let Rukia be exposed just yet…or never even. Gesturing to be quieter, the two proceeded towards the stairs leading to the second floor.
On tipped toes, they hastily ascended on the wooden steps which eventually led to the safety of the 15-year olds room. "Don't be so reckless like that. Slamming the door could've gotten us caught." Ichigo explained as he trailed behind her petite friend.
"Sorry, I was…a bit out of myself at the time." Rukia replied, taking a seat at the edge of her closet bed as soon as they were inside the room. Quietly closing the door, Ichigo rested down a seat as well, taking his usual spot by his desk.
He glanced over to Rukia, backing against the inside walls of her closet, hugging her knees close to her while her school uniform only crumpled in uneven folds. Her face seemed like it was drifting far out, daydreaming wasn't even enough to describe it.
"You miss him already?" Ichigo asked with a hint of concern hidden in his voice.
"I guess so…" Rukia replied uneasily, not even shifting her attention.
Meanwhile downstairs, Isshin along with the Kurosaki sisters are busy with their usual choirs, trying their best to keep not only the humble home but the depended clinic working. "Has Ichigo come home yet?" the goofy doctor asked, rubbing his rugged chin to think.
"I don't know. I didn't see him come in." Karin answered, sitting on the dinning table patiently with a book in hand waiting for dinner to set.
"I thought I heard the door close upstairs." Yuzu remarked, busily cooking. "You know, Ichigo's been spending quite a lot of time alone in his room."
"Yeah, and sometimes I think he's talking to himself up there." Karin added. The twin sisters gave each other a confused expression, trying to put together the pieces that'd explain their dear old brother's rather strange behavior.
"ALONE IN HIS ROOM?! TALKING TO HIMSELF?!" Isshin suddenly babbled with his eyes wide open in panic.
"What are you saying?" Karin asked their estranged father, setting down the book she was reading earlier.
"Yeah dad, do you know what's wrong with Ichigo?" Yuzu asked the same question, concerning like she normally does.
"It can only mean one…thing…" the father started, his expression suddenly darkening into a more serious outlook. Yuzu and Karin's faces only peered closer in eagerness of what their doctor of a dad has to say.
"ICHIGO CAN SEE GHOSTS!!!" Isshin exclaimed.
"Huh?!"
"What?!" the sisters both responded in unison.
"CAN'T YOU TWO SEE?! HE CAN SENSE THE SPIRITS THAT ALLUDE TO OUR VISION!" Isshin continued as if he was crazily preaching about the apocalypse on public streets.
Yuzu and Karin simply sighed to disappointment of how another irrational theory escaped their father's lips. They couldn't blame him let alone blaming themselves for setting high expectations.
Back upstairs, Ichigo was still felt useless as he could be. He can't help seeing Rukia down like a wet blanket in her closet. Rukia let out another depressing breath, her legs still curled up. The emotions on her eyes were still the same as the time they got back home.
Ichigo tried to switch his attention to something else but his focus kept returning back to the raven-haired girl's silent motif. He couldn't think of anything to help out for once in his life.
Once again he tried to redirect his attention to something else. He turned the opposite way, facing his bed and the wide open window. Looking down on his bed, he caught a glimpse of his clear white pillow, a bit dimpled from use the previous night. An idea suddenly crossed the orange-head's mind, and a devious smile formed on his lips.
Rukia was still dead quiet. She released her binding hold on her knees and stretched her legs forward, still in her school uniform; her movements unfolded the crumples from her earlier pose while leaving a series of creases.
She let out another sigh, her feeling not doing any better, when…
POW!!!
All of the sudden a pillow was flung across the room and hit Rukia straight at the side of her head. The feathers fluttered about while the impact caused the petite girl to literally rattle insider her small closet.
Shaking her head to recover from the unforeseen attack, the raven-haired girl immediately marched over to her orange-haired friend. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" she protested with a large nerve pulsing.
"What are you talking about, Rukia?" Ichigo asked casually while humming a tone to himself, making it sound like he didn't have a clue of what she meant.
"Stop playing Ichigo, I know it was you who threw that pillow!" Rukia said with an annoyed tone as if she was about to kill the next guy she sees.
"What pillow?" Ichigo continued to act dumb to all her questions.
"THIS PILLOW!" Rukia exclaimed before picking up the pillow from the floor and flailing it around the orange-head. The white fabric bounced about as she repeatedly swinging it against his bleached hair.
Ichigo let out a playful grin as he back away from his friend. "Oh no you don't, get back here!" The raven-haired girl declared, starting to get a bit entertained of their little cat and mouse. She then gave chase to the 15 year old as she followed him around the room while hitting him playfully on the head with the pillow.
"Ok, no more Mr. Nice Guy!" Ichigo remarked with a smile after earning a couple of hits from Rukia. He then wrapped his fingers around Rukia's wrists, trying to wrestling her out of her weapon.
She tried to struggle while at the same time trying to hold her laughter from escaping. Soon, Ichigo was able to disarm his friendly adversary. Rukia was so caught up in all the excitement that she lost her balance, making her fall forward.
(Oh God! Not another crash from the clumsy Rukia! Can't Drew think of better fluff ideas?!)
Luckily Ichigo was able to catch the petite raven-haired girl, falling forward into his arms comfortably. The two were broken down and laughing as their eyes met each other's glances, not even bothered by the fact that they were incredibly close.
(Nah, I was just messing with you guys!)
Ichigo's strong hands were wrapped around her waist and were lifting her off her feet while Rukia's arms dangled around his neck as they just shared each other simple smiles.
"Not trying to kill me anymore?" Ichigo joked, a rarely seen grin on his face.
"Don't think this is over." Rukia replied happily. She couldn't even remember all her weighed down grief from earlier, like it just melted away in Ichigo's arms.
The orange-haired high school student put his petite friend down, letting her stand on her own two feet. A bit proud of himself of a job well done, he checked to see that his room is a bit in shambles after their little game.
"I think we made quite a mess…" Rukia pointed out.
"Don't worry about it, nothing I can't fix." Ichigo replied. "Anyways, don't be so depressed all the time, Rukia."
The raven-haired girl simply smiled in return, now realizing what her dear friend has done for her yet again. "Thanks…" she said humbly.
"The depressing look is my thing. Don't go stealing it without permission." Ichigo said sarcastically, earning another giggle from Rukia. Afterwards, the two turned both their attention to the stormed room and started cleaning up all the mess they made.
Picking up the pillow they battered around with and organizing all the furniture they bumped in and/or ran right through awhile ago. It wasn't long until the room was eventually spick, span and brand new like before they caused all that chaos.
Ichigo and Rukia both sat peacefully by the wall of the window after all the hard work, both their backs against the wall apart from the wind gustling window over their heads. "Well, I guess that'll do." Ichigo remarked as he wiped some sweat of his forehead. Meanwhile, Rukia was being all quiet again right next to him. It didn't take much for Ichigo to notice.
"Don't tell me after all my work from earlier, you're sad again." The orange-head said, glancing over at her.
"No, it's just..." The petite raven-haired girl replied uneasily.
"Well, what's the problem then?"
"Ichigo, I don't know where to start. It's just that, you've done so much for me…" Rukia started. "...and all I'm doing is causing you more trouble." She explained with a bit of a guilty tone, as her eyes erupted with nothing but concern.
"If you're talking about the room..." Ichigo said with a sigh.
"Look, it's not that!" Rukia interrupted him. "We can't hide from my brother forever, he's going to find me, and when he does…I just…I JUST DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU GET HURT!" her voice suddenly raised, the look on her face seem like she was fighting herself from shedding a tear right there next to him.
The fight didn't last very long and her eyes watered with sadness. It was the first time he ever saw her cry, she always made herself look like the type of girl that can handle everything and anything that comes her way, but now in her moment of weakness, Ichigo knew that he was the only person there for her to turn to.
As long as I'm here...I won't allow a single tear to drop from your eyes...
Rukia felt her head against something soft. She looked up to see non other than Ichigo, slowly tilting her face to his shoulder. She felt the warmth of his body's heat comfort her tearing eyes. Her droplets soaking up against the sleeve of his shirt. "I don't care what happens to me, I'll protect you no matter what the cost." She heard him whisper to her.
No matter what the cost…
His words made Rukia's heart skip a beat more and more. As she sat there with him, her head rested on his broad shoulders. Her skin tingled once again, the feeling that kept brightening her senses every single time she spent an unforgettable moment like this with the man she's come to know as Ichigo Kurosaki.
The door suddenly swung wide open…
"ICHIGO I HAVE TO TALK TO YOU!" Isshin cried out as he scrambled into the high school student's room.
"Dad, wait!" Ichigo and Rukia were both caught off-guard. With all the commotion from earlier, an intrusion was all but unexpected.
"No time, Ichigo and…wait…Rukia, what are you doing here?!" Isshin questioned after finally spotting a certain raven-haired girl in the room.
"Well, dad…uh…you see…" Ichigo tried to make up an excuse on the spot but the words seem to not come out of his mouth while Rukia was speechless as well. Isshin's goofy expression from earlier shifted into a more serious one as he benignly awaited a reply from his 15 year old son.
To Be Continued…
A/N: Long chapter, eh? I hope you guys like this because I really took my time on this one. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll have to do my homework now because it's due the next day. Before I forget, please leave a review, ok? Please.