Raven woke up before Ichigo did and decided to have a bath by herself, he looked to cute to be woken up. Once she finished her bath she quickly got changed into the clothing she came to the soul society in and kissed Ichigo's cheek.
As she was sliding the door open she heard a tired voice from her bed "Leaving already" Raven smiled and turned back to her lover
"I have a meeting with the elders if you remember" She headed back over to Ichigo and sat at the edge of the bed
"I was too busy eating the delicious food to listen to Misa" he mumbled into the pillow
"You were too busy to hear what Misa said but not busy enough to know it was Misa who said it" She teased
"I knew it was her by her voice, it high pitched and doesn't suit her at all" He pushed himself into a seating position and leant over to kiss Raven's cheek "So how long do you think the meeting will take"
Raven sighed and brushed her fringe out of her face "Hopefully not very long, what will you do in the meantime"
"Oh I dunno, walk around and explore this large mansion, its huge" Raven giggled and kissed him on the lips, she stood from the bed and headed to the door "Have fun Ichigo"
"You two" He called out to her as she closed the door, she walked silently through the halls and to the room where the elders waited for her. When she entered she headed for her seat and waited for the elders to speak, she did not like the way they were smiling and looking at her with some sort of victory.
"What is it you wanted to speak to me about" Raven spoke with a hint of annoyance
"We were looking at a letter that your grandfather wrote to us that declares that the elders are to take care of the next head of the clan if she or he is not over the age of eighteen, this means that you are to listen to what we say" Raven knew that she wasn't going to look forward to this meeting
"If that is the case then why have you told me this now rather than before"
"Because we thought you would make the right choice and marry a noble but since you are so adamant on marry the substitute soul reaper we had to enforce this onto you" a smile etched itself on Elder Falitna's face "And because of this rule you are to meet every available noble man and decide from them who you are to marry" Raven's eyes widened for a fraction before returning to a stony expression, not wanting to give these elders anymore satisfaction
"I see…very well then but you must remember that I am leaving at the end of the week so no more after that"
"You are to be staying here" Falitna snapped back
"Me returning to the world of the living is ordered by head captain Yamamoto which overrides any order done by you or my grandfather now is that all you wish to speak to me about" The elders nodded "Then I shall take my leave" She stood from her chair and left the room without another word. When she was well enough away she allowed her tears to run freely down her cheeks and ran as fast as she could so she could get away from this place.
Ichigo was talking to Misa when he saw Raven tear streaked face run past him "Raven!" He yelled after her but she didn't listen, he took off after without another word. Misa stared after Ichigo with a harsh glare "Mine" She mumbled and left to do her chores.
Ichigo raced after Raven whose flash steps where faster than his own, the moment he lost sight of her he growled and relied on the connection they had to find her. He found her curled up into a ball and leaning against a tree "Raven?" He spoke softly so he wouldn't startle her, she brought her bloodshot eyes to meet his but said nothing "Raven what happened" He slowly walked over to her and sat beside her "Please tell me" He pleaded with her, he hated seeing her cry
She looked into his eyes and the damn broke, she flung herself into his arms and sobbed hysterically "The elders are forcing me to marry a noble!" she said between her cries
"What?" Ichigo was both angered and shocked, he tightened his hold on her and stroked her blonde hair "how can they do this?"
"I am not the true head until I am 18, I don't know what to do Ichigo" Ichigo grabbed her shoulders and gently pushed her back so he could look into her eyes
"We are leaving at the end of the week, deal with the men if you can and when we leave you don't have to return"
"B-but I don't want to deal with them" She looked away and sniffled
Ichigo grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him "Then I will be alongside you so you can deal with them, if it gets too much then I will chase them away or kick their heads in your elders don't control me" Raven giggled softly and wiped the tears off her face "Are you feeling better now" She nodded and gave him her sweetest smile that he always loved to see "Their she is, there's my Raven" he leant in and kissed her on the lips with all the passion and love he could give her, she sighed and kissed him back.
She needed to be kissed, she needed him to distract her and to remind her who she truly loved…him. When they parted they stared into each other's eyes, neither saying a word to each other but with their eyes. Their eyes told each other volumes, the love they had for each other and only each other were clearly shown in their brown and blue orbs. "Come on we should go do something, let's get this off your mind and have some fun, whadya say?" Raven smiled and nodded to her beloved. Ichigo gave her the largest smile he could and jumped to his feet, Raven followed shortly after and followed him. "So what do you want to do?"
"Hmmm?" Raven brought her finger to her lips and turned around to face the Orangette, she raised her hand and smirked in his direction.
"What are you doing?" he gasped when something flew by his face and into Raven's hand, her Zanpakuto
"I wanna spar" she replied
"Spar?" Ichigo tilted his head to the side and looked at her strangely
"I've never fought you before and this is the perfect place, that's only if you're willing to fight your girlfriend" she never took her eyes away from his and her lips stayed smirking
Ichigo narrowed his eyes and pulled out his Zanpakuto "Fine then, let's spar" with a roar he ran towards Raven with Zangetsu held high, as he swung down she blocked him with her own sword and jumped back
"Nice"
"Thanks"
"Why don't I spicen things up a little" She grabbed her Zanpakuto with both hands and raised it high above her head "Ken supuritto!" Her sword split in two, one was black and red and the other was black like Ichigo's
"Didn't know you could do that" Ichigo said with wide eyes
"Just some of the many tricks up my sleeves" she took up a different stance and charged at him with full force.
Ichigo kept up with her attacks and attacked her with his own, when she went to slice his shoulder he leant to the side and kicked her in the stomach. She went sliding back and knelt down, her hair covering her face and small whimpers came out. Ichigo panicked and ran to her side, he knelt down beside her and grasped her shoulder "Raven are you ok?" He asked frantically
She shook her head and used Ichigo's arm to push herself up, when she stood she grasped onto his arm tightly. "Silly…" she mumbled, before Ichigo could asked why he was tripped over and a sword was placed at his neck. "Don't understate your opponent even if I am a woman" She brought her sword back together and with her other hand helped Ichigo up "Do you honestly think that someone who has had 156 years of training to be taking down so easily"
"No I guess not"
"I am mostly about speed so you need to be vigilant around me, I am faster than Byakuya and Yoruichi when I use my Rose step"
"Rose step?"
"Yes its like flash step but roses appear, if the roses touch you it will be deadly" Ichigo nodded and got into a battle stance "Oh you want to try again?"
"I'm not being beaten by my girlfriend" Raven smiled and got ready to attack
By the time it hit sunset the two love birds were finished sparring and were entering the manor "My lady and Lord" A maid stopped them at the door
"Yes?" Raven replied politely
"The elders wish for you to clean up and be ready for dinner, a lord Dimitry will be joining you tonight" raven inwardly groaned but nodded, she grabbed Ichigo's hand and raved to the bathroom
"God dammit" She grumbled and went behind a curtain to undress
"Who is this Lord Dimitry?" Ichigo asked as he too undress but on the other side
"Dimitry Shirogu is the elders son of the Shirogu clan"
"So he is a suitor then" he hissed out between his teeth "And after a good day of sparring" He sighed and walked into the bath with a towel wrapped around his waist
"Nothing to worry about, the other have probably been informed so they will be at dinner too along with you nothing could go wrong" She stepped out from the curtain in nothing but a towel and stepped into the bath, Ichigo blushed lightly at seeing her body in nothing but a towel, he's seen her undress before him before but he could never forget how beautiful she was.
"I'm not going to like this am I?" Ichigo grumbled and looked away
Raven sighed and slid from her spot over to him, she rested a hand on his thigh and her head on his shoulder "All that he will really do is give me a present and act really nice but I know he is a jerk" she moved her body so her legs where across his lap "There is only one man that I love and would chose if I were to marry" Ichigo gave her a sideway glance and cocked an eyebrow
"Oh and who is this man"
"Well he is tall, handsome with the brightest hair and the most gorgeous eyes" She leaned in close so that their lips were inches apart "And his name is…Renji" she jumped away from him and tried to get out of the bath but Ichigo was too quick and pulled her into his lap, she giggled at his mock hurt look and poked his cheek "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" she took a deep breath and looked back into his eyes "You should know its you Ichigo, why in the world would I want to marry Renji he he"
"So…you actually want to marry me?" Ichigo spoke softly
Raven blushed and turned around so she could look at him properly "Only if you want to" She said shyly, Ichigo smiled and kissed her on the lips
"Of course I do, someday after all this war and mayhem is over I want to marry you and start a family of our own" She smiled back and gave him a sweet smile
"I would love that too" She rested into his shoulder and snuggled as close to him as she could "I think our children would have orange hair though"
"Is it because I have orange hair"
"Yes but my grandmother had orange hair too so we are defiantly going to have at least one orange haired child"
"I think our child would have your blue streak too" he chuckled and held her tightly "hey it might even have our eyes too"
"Maybe, but I want a baby boy"
"I want a boy and a girl"
"We might have twins you never know" They spent the rest of their bath cleaning and talking about the future they could have together.
Dinner came around fast and so had the sort of date between Raven and Dimitry, and Ichigo's worst nightmare. Raven asked him to be her bodyguard in case Dimitry tried something funny, and she wanted him with her. "Ahh Ravella it is a pleasure to see you again, how long has it been since we had last met?"
"I have lost track of time Lord Dimitry but it is a pleasure to see you again, this is my friend and bodyguard Ichigo Kurosaki and he shall be accompanying us along with a couple of other friends at dinner" She motioned towards Ichigo who was standing beside her with a scowl on his face
Dimitry huffed at Ichigo and turned back to Raven "I have brought you a gift my lady" Dimitry clicked his fingers and one of his servants gave her a blue egg (Think of Saphera from Eragon) Raven looked at it in surprise wondering why he gave her an egg so he looked back up at Dimitry "It is a Dragon egg my lady, it is very rare and so I thought to give it to you" Raven smiled and thanked him, she asked if Ichigo could hold whilst she walked with Dimitry "Shall we then" Raven nodded and reluctantly linked arms with the obnoxious nobleman. When they arrived at dinner Raven and Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise when their eyes landed on a tall tanned man with his curly brown hair covering his eyes
"C-Chad?" Chad looked up at Raven and Ichigo and smiled
"Hey Raven and Ichigo" at that moment Raven wanted to run up to that tall man and give him the greatest hug he could, he hadn't left his room since they arrived and was asleep most of the time.
"Is this a friend of yours" Dimitry asked
"Ah yes, he was gravely injured in the battle so we have not seen him since we arrived at the manor" Raven took Dimitry to the seat where he would be sitting on Raven's right and Ichigo on her left, the others were already seated and looking at Dimitry cautiously "Shall we start dinner" with a click of her fingers dinner was served and everyone dug in.
"So my lady may I ask why you infiltrated the soul society even though you are welcome here?"
"I had no memory of me living here so that is why, plus everyone thought I was dead so I could not just show up out of the blue" She took a bite out of her meal and continued "We had to save Rukia Kuchiki and that was the only thought that crossed our minds"
"Ah yes and I heard that you had lost one of your friends aswell when Captain Aizen betrayed the soul society" Everyone visibly tensed but Dimitry did not noticed and continued "And by someone who was once close to you I had heard, such a shame" Ichigo looked down and saw Ravens nails sharpened to claws and where digging into the table, he grabbed her wrist to calm her down "But I suppose that was the risk you all took when you came her so it is really her fault for not being careful enough" That made Axel snap, he jumped from the table and punched Dimitry right in the face
"Don't you ever fucking talk about Mimi like that or I will kill you!" Chad and Uryuu came over and held Axel back, they were surprised that he was so strong
"How dare you lay a hand on me you filthy peasant!" Dimitry yelled and stood from the floor, he turned back to Raven with a disgusted look "You should teach your friends to never lay a hand on someone who is worth more than his entire life!" He spat out
The moment those words left his mouth it was Raven's turn to snap, a loud and beastly growl left her mouth and her eyes turned bright red. "How about I teach you to have respect by ripping out your throat" Her voice was deep and dark, it sent shivers down everyone's spine. Her hair began to turn black as her anger took over, she stalked forward and tried to take a swipe at him but Orihime put up a shield to block it and Ichigo held her back.
"Y-You are a monster!" Dimitry screamed and ran out the door, Ichigo pulled Raven back to his chest and struggled to keep a hold on her
"LET ME GO!" she screamed
"Calm down Raven" Ichigo tried to reason with her until she calmed down, when her hair returned to normal and her claws retracted did he let her go. Raven shook her head and walked out of the manor and to where Dimitry was hiding, when he saw her he backed up into a tree and looked at her fearfully
"You are to never set foot anywhere near this manor or anywhere near my friends and I or you will have more than fear to deal with" Dimitry nodded to the angered soul reaper and ran off. Raven sighed and rubbed her eyes, when she opened them she shook her head and walked back inside. The others followed her in quietly, Orihime headed back to the dining room where Uryuu and Chad were taking care of Axel and Ichigo followed Raven to wherever she was heading to. She entered their bedroom and headed out to the terrace, the moment the cold breeze and the sun touched her skin she collapsed onto her knees and panted heavily.
"Raven? Are you ok?" she answered by shaking her head vigorously "Come one Raven the guy is long gone so you have nothing to worry abo-" He paused when his head touched her shoulder, she jerked her head around and slammed him into the wall with her hand around his throat and her fangs bared. Her red eyes blazed with fury and hunger, her fangs dripped with saliva and her blood from when she bit her tongue trying to control her anger. Ichigo stood still and kept a calm composure, trying to breath in the little air he had. "Its me Raven" His voice was calm and even, no hint of the nervousness he was feeling on the inside, her grip on his throat tightened and she snarled at his face. "Its Ichigo"
Raven looked into his eyes and loosened the grip she had on his throat, her growls and hisses disappeared along with her beastly appearance. Her face turned from anger and rage to shock and fear, she immediately took her hand off his throat and backed away as quickly as she could. Her hand went straight to her mouth and her eyes peered at his hand marked throat. "I-Ichigo I…I" She couldn't say the right words, her only thoughts were how she could allow herself to hurt someone she loved, how could she let her anger get the best of her.
"Its ok Raven" Ichigo walked over to her and wrapped his arms tightly around her body, she struggled to get away but he was stronger and held her there until she stood still "I understand and I'm not afraid or angry so please don't leave me right now" Raven let out a small whimper and leant her head on his chest, tears flowed freely down her pale cheeks and her heart ached and the memory of how she lost her closest friend. How her hair matched the blood that pooled around her, how her bright green eyes faded along with the light she carried. How that feeling of happiness and hope she sent out to people disappeared like it was never there to begin with, a forgotten feeling that went along with the memories of Mimi that would long be forgotten.
"I can't Ichigo…I can't keep hiding my tears anymore" her tears soaked into Ichigo's clothes but he didn't mind, the only thing he cared about was holding his beloved in his arms and hoping to ease her pain of losing Mimi. He didn't know Mimi but even her death brought him sadness, she was a bright light that never dulled or saddened. "I miss her so much" her words moulded into loud cries. Her legs became jelly and she could no longer stand, soon enough her legs gave way and so Ichigo had to tightened his hold on her and he swooped her into a bridal style hold. He carried her inside and placed her gently onto her side of the bed, knowing full well that she would not want to leave this room for the rest of the night. When Ichigo laid down beside her he wrapped his arms around her once again and brought her to his chest, her cries had died down into small whimpers and soon enough they were gone.
"Its ok Raven, close your eyes and I will talk to you in the morning" she nodded silently and closed her eyes, her anger and sadness had worn her out so much that she had fall asleep shortly after closing her eyes and laying her head on Ichigo's shoulder. The Orange haired soul reaper however did not fall asleep right away, he continued to stare at Raven's tear streaked face with determined and angry eyes. He swore to himself that he would take revenge on Aizen and especially Jay for taking Mimi's life away. He wanted to make sure that Raven never had to cry or frown as much as she has been, he wanted to take her home and life the life they wanted and he would fight to make that dream happen. "I promise" he kissed her forehead softly and closed his eyes, he drifted off to sleep and allowed his dreams to intertwine with Raven's.