Undertones
By: WhisperedSilvers
X
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—
Met you at the edge of my mind
Hanging by a threatened life line
Just when you had asked for closure
That is when the signs got closer
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leave me high and dry
"You forgot about me," Ashido accused Rukia, his eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened in anger. He doesn't lose his air of sadness, of despair, instead, the anger built to unimaginable heights. Koga was like a snake, heavy in the bushes, threading through leaves and poised to cut even in the stillness of the air.
Rukia couldn't say anything. The lump her throat only tightened, rising higher in the muscle of her neck until the pain pricked at her eyes and the guilt churned in her stomach. The truth was, is, that Rukia had forgotten about him. He helped her, gotten her out of the forest—truthfully, he saved her life, her friends, and she promised she would find him.
His zanpakuto hung around his waist, digging into his waist as he rested his weight to the left of his body. His coat – she realized with some morbid horror – was missing. The death of his best friend had caused a weight to droop around his shoulders, the gazelle skull was nowhere to be seen. He held himself differently, the edges of sorrow still clung to him, but there was something bitter and prickly at his edges.
"Ashido," Ichigo growled, all scowl-y, his anger was bright against his betrayal, "What the hell are you doing?"
"What does it look like?" he replied simply.
"It looks like," Renji began with irritation, "You're siding with this idiot."
"Did you forget that it was a hollow that killed your friends?" Rukia pointed out, Hitsugaya's fingers grasped the edge of her sleeve and tugged her more firmly against him – she wasn't sure if it was for her benefit or his – until her back slotted against the grooves of his ribs.
"But it was a Soul Reaper who left me in Hueco Mundo again," Ashido countered with narrowed brows and his hand moved to hold the handle of his zanpakuto, "Even after they promised to come back for me."
"Ashido-kun was very sad when you left him, Rukia," Koga interjected, he walked closer to his subordinate, "But I found him and saved him."
"You are a disgrace to the Soul Society," Byakuya asserted bluntly, unsheathing his zanpakuto and holding it downwards he continued, "You soil your comrades and the shinigami's reputation with your misguided resentment. You will pay for your insolence."
And with that Byakuya released his shikai.
"Captain Kuchiki!" Rangiku called out, she threw her arms up in the air dramatically, "We have to wait for Rukia to give the order—her exam remember?"
Byakuya considered Rangiku's request for a moment and then turned to look at his sister. He asked patiently, "Rukia?"
Rukia blinked rapidly at the sudden change in direction in conversation, turning her head to face her brother, she stared at him for a moment before replying, "Nii-sama, it would be most prudent for you to take care of…our uncle."
"Very well," he nodded at her, narrowed his eyes, and then said, "My first duty is to preserve my clan's honor. Scatter: Sebonzakura."
A flurry of pink rode the wind in waves, in bent, flipped and swirled until it nearly reached Koga and then—
"—release!" Koga commanded, his arms thrust outwards, cutting the air with his palm and then the crackle of the earth shook the treetops.
The zenpo came from different directions.
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I got my eyes on you
You're everything that I see
I want your hot love and emotion endlessly
I can't get over you
You left your mark on me
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"Nii-sama's fight is with Koga," Rukia jumped onto a nearby branch to avoid a cero and yelled from the tree, "We need to eliminate the zenpo, but Ashido is the main objective!"
Rukia's orders were short, concise, and to the point.
Ichigo slammed his zanpakuto onto the red mask of the zenpo, the blade cutting the hollow in half, and his spiritual pressure aiding in the force of the blow. He used his elbow to curl into his stomach, that way it gave him enough traction to yank Zangetsu out without burning himself out. He growled and dodged another blow that came from above.
"Growl: Haineko!" Rangiku used Flash Steps to reach the top of the zenpo, a cero forming in the pit of its mouth and flashing all the while the Lieutenant used it's lag to send ash around the base of the mask to crack the dome.
"Another army?" Renji hissed and dodged another cero, "We need to push this outwards, we need more ground!"
"And how do you propose we do that, Abarai?" Hitsugaya snapped from the corner, his shinsei sainou poured in waves, it grasped onto the ground and trailed upwards until it covered a zenpo in teal-colored ice.
"A blast?" Renji countered and then slammed Zabimaru through a zenpo, "A force strong enough to annihilate the ground and smother these friggin hollows!"
"A blast?" Rukia repeated, she seemed startled for a moment, glanced at the angle of the forest, the jut of the rock, and then considered the mechanics of how she could do this. The calculations, they work, at least in her head, but they hadn't exactly put it to the test.
But then a zenpo burned one half of Rangiku's sleeve off.
Rukia gritted her teeth.
They were, slowly becoming overrun with zenpo. The menos just kept sprouting from the ground and Ashido – she was becoming very distracted if she couldn't seem to sense him – kept disappearing and re-appearing with shunpo. They needed to gain ground, and find it fast.
"Toushiro!" Rukia called out, she used kido to bind a zenpo and used shunpo to reach him halfway. Ice curled around her wrist and she used it to pierce the zenpo that nearly snuck up on Ichigo.
"Thanks!" he called out with a grin.
She almost smiled, but Toushiro had his hands on her. Fingernails dug into her biceps, his chest brushed her shoulder bone and teal orbs flickered over her form, "Are you alright?"
Rukia shook her head, "Yes, but that's not important right now," she pointed over to a clearing before he could argue, "We need to—"
They pulled back when a cero was thrown in between them.
Hitsugaya scowled and threw his hand up, "Ryōjin Hyōheki!"
A wall of ice, surrounded them, over them, under them, and for a brief moment, it separated them from the rest of the world. It sparkled like sapphires and opals, Rukia was almost taken aback by its beauty. He leaned into her, gave her a quick kiss, and quirked his lips upwards, "Now tell me," he blinked once, glanced towards his left, and then back at her, "Quickly."
Rukia was somewhere in between a smile and a scowl. The seriousness of the situation fumbled with the almost boyish smile that graced his lips. She shook her head again; later.
Much later.
"The black ice," Rukia said swiftly, "If we pull out a banner or a rope, big enough, wide enough, we can round up the zenpo and—
"—and cover it," Hitsugaya finished for her, following her line of thought immediately, his eyebrows furrowed in thought, "I don't think we'll be able to get the surface value of that considering our control."
"But the rope," she pressed, "We can materialize a rope. It's easier to control because once the ice touches the zenpo…"
Teal orbs widened in surprise, "It will spread."
"All we have to do is make a rope out of black ice," Rukia explained, "Round up the zenpo and the ice will take over the rest."
"Black ice cannot melt," Hitsugaya said slowly and then nodded, "We'll have to move fast."
Rukia interlaced her fingers with his, he pulled her closer and whispered against her mouth, "I'm tired of these interruptions."
"Is this considered cheating on my exam?" she chuckled against his lips.
"I won't tell if you won't," Hitsugaya grinned, "Ready?"
Rukia nodded.
And the ice melted.
Rukia threaded the black ice into a coil, Hitsugaya tugged, reiatsu pouring in streams, and solidified into smoking black ice. The coil twisted, using shunpo, the ice-users flickered in dizzying patterns, the coil roped around the zenpo and they pulled.
The zenpo groaned, rooted from the earth, they dragged in groves. Hitsugaya and Rukia pulled them otherwise, black ice covering their bodies like lace and they obliterated the forest with its bodies. It brought them outside the forest, the zenpo piling up as Rukia and Hitsugaya released the chord. They screamed, in terror, as the black ice covered them and swallowed them whole. Black glittering into snow, crystal drops, and opal tears.
"Wow," Ichigo gaped at the destruction of ice, the black ice smoothened out the playing field until they were outside the forest and back to the desert, "You've got to show how me how to do that."
Hitsugaya snorted, "Unlikely. Only Rukia and I can do it."
"It's not kido?"
"You're terrible at kido," Rukia chuckled, but kept her eyes locked on the scowl that was plastered on Ashido, "I don't think you would even know how to use a simple binding spell."
"That was disrespectful," he huffed, "I can so—"
—and another army of zenpo raised from the dead.
—
Byakuya heard the faint yell from Hitsugaya, who called out his bankai and almost missed the blade of his uncle's zanpakuto. He bit the inside of his cheek, he had to believe in Rukia's judgment and separate his emotions from the fight—it was the only way to ensure his little sister's survival.
A blade sliced the side of his face and then—
"Bya-bya!" A baby babbled, a baby with ash gray hair, violet orbs – Rukia's eyes – raised her hands up towards him, her smile resembled Rukia, with the same dimple underneath her chin.
Byakuya picked her up, rested an arm underneath her bottom, and didn't even blink when sticky fingers tangled in his hair, "Yuki, what are you doing in the tea-room? You were supposed to be sleeping."
Yuki babbled, her long dark hair curled in ringlets at the end of her shoulders, and she whined.
"Hungry, I see," Byakuya humored her, "Your mother has left food for you in the kitchen. You shall take your meal there."
She whimpered.
"Your father is at the office, we can visit later," he answered, and then another boy slammed into his leg.
"Kaa-chan!" Yuki yanked on his hair.
Byakuya winced at the pull, fingers grasped onto small palms and tucked them underneath his chest and then he blinked in surprise, "You should refrain from speaking your first word in front of I or your mother will be very cross."
"Bya-Bya!"
"We'll keep this a secret, won't we Yuki?" Byakuya stared at her with patient eyes, she leaned her head against his chest, and he looked down, "Kei, fetch your sister's lunch and then we can visit your mother. She was to teach a class at the academy this morning."
"Then can we go to the lake, Bya-oji?" Kei looked at him.
He sighed, "Yes."
Yuki yanked on his hair again.
"Your sister's lunch first."
Byakuya's eyes widened at the flash. This was what Rukia had meant, the flashes, the mere glimpses of what has yet to come, but what was even more profound, was that Byakuya had received these flashes even without the zenpo attacking him. If Koga had managed to somehow absorb the zenpo's powers, then use it against him—wouldn't that make him, his uncle, a zenpo?
A hollow?
Had he somehow mutated into a zenpo, on purpose?
Byakuya's eyes narrowed at that thought. If so, then that meant that this thing, had no place in this world; living or the dead.
"Bankai," Byakuya uttered the words and then, "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."
Petals scattered, thousands of blades glittered, the air saturated with the scent of metal and sakura.
If what he saw were true, then there was no place in this universe for a man much like Koga or any hollow for that matter, that will and can, cause harm to his future niece and nephew.
It was just unacceptable.
And Byakuya slit his throat.
—
Rukia was getting tired of fighting the zenpo. Ashido kept hiding in between hollows, that was until Ichigo used his bankai to push him forward.
That was when things started to get ugly.
Because, in front of her very own eyes, she watched Ashido morph into a zenpo.
"Fuck," Renji hissed as he avoided another cero, his bankai already activated, his dragon curling around them in a protective manner, "Will this ever end?"
Hitsugaya snarled, "This is ridiculous."
"Nii-sama already defeated Koga," Rukia panted and slammed another wave of Hakuren towards Ashido, "Why isn't it—"
Sode no Shirayuki whispered into her ear, "Rukia, you are ready."
Rukia blinked startled at that.
"Can you feel it? Your reiatsu, overflowing?" Sode no Shirayuki giggled with glee, elation, and pride.
Rukia stared at her zanpakuto, her eyes glittered like starlight and she swallowed in the midst of chaos, "You mean—?"
"You're ready, Lady Rukia," Sode no Shirayuki wrapped around her, salt and ice, snow and wind, it curled into her soul until it dripped out from the edges, "Remember these words..."
Her reiatsu bounced.
"Bankai," Rukia's voice dropped and the air crackled with energy, sparkling with white flames.
"Rukia," Ichigo's eyes widened and he jumped backward.
Hitsugaya snapped his head to look at her, bankai curling at his fingers and—
"—Hakka no Togame," Rukia called out and then ice, white and pure, eviscerated the field. It came in a cold blast, colder than snow, to the point where skin started to peel and blood burned. With lavender in her hair, snow on her lashes, and pastels in her eyes, Rukia breathed and lived in ice.
The zenpo evaporated as if they were never truly there and the only thing that remained from Ashido's remains was the hogyoku.
"Woah," Renji whispered in awe of his childhood best friend's true power.
A hand grabbed her fist that closed over her zanpakuto – she flickered her eyes over – Byakuya, held her fist and skin began to crack, he said, "Slowly, Rukia. Melt the ice. Slowly."
Rukia inhaled sharply and closed her eyes.
"Your bankai is beautiful, Rukia," Byakuya said after a long moment and his hand squeezed hers, "I am proud of you."
Tears burned the corner of her eyes and it's all she ever wanted. The warmth, the approval, the affection—of her brother, the pride he held for is nothing but overwhelming. Her heart had shaken in the cavity of her chest – that's where it was right? – and it was swallowed in ice.
Then another hand grabbed her hand, the free one, fingers tangling with hers and she snapped her eyes open.
Hitsugaya couldn't say a word, his eyes swallowed her form; her beauty unspeakable, her power unimaginable and her eyes unthinkable.
Ethereal, groundless, and eternal.
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You're the girl
You're the one
Gave you everything I loved
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"I can't believe you single-handedly took down Koga and the zenpo army," Renji snorted into his drink, he clinked his glass with her's in celebration.
"I did not," Rukia rolled her violet-colored orbs and took a sip of her sake, "I just put it together."
Ichigo scoffed, "You achieved bankai, Rukia. Bankai. And you're bankai fu-er, freaking eviscerated the field, even though Byakuya was the one who killed Koga, you were the one who destroyed the hogyoku and the army," he sipped his sake and winced at the aftertaste, "That's poetic justice."
"You're reading a little too much Shakespeare," she chuckled and then looked over at the lobby of the main building.
After taking a few days to rest and recuperate from the strenuous battle – all the while taking her Lieutenant's exam – she decided for a short and sweet Lieutenant's ceremony, curtsey of the Head-Captain. It was tradition, she mused, this ceremony. There was booze, food – from Imperial – and the occasional swarm of unseated officers that just wanted her to put in a good word for them.
"In my opinion, you're overqualified for the Lieutenant's role," Ichigo grumbled unhappily as Renji stole his bao, "Seriously."
"Ichigo is right," Hitsugaya made his way towards her, his fingers brushed the sides of her cheek gently and continued, "That much reiatsu and spiritual pressure is captain level." He shrugged, "Head-Captain Yamamoto knows that, but you lack experience. In a few more years you'll probably take over Captain Ukitake."
Rukia shook her head, "I don't want to Captain Ukitake to leave his post," she frowned, "He's my captain."
Rangiku giggled and knocked her into her Captain's chest – whether it's on purpose or not, Rukia doesn't know – but Hitsugaya doesn't let go of her even as he steadied her.
But Renji knew and he gave her a look as she sauntered by.
Even as the Lieutenant ceremony goes on, even when Head-Captain Yamamoto awarded Captain Ukitake the arm-sash, even when her Captain tied the sash in commencement of her Lieutenant status, Rukia's eyes never leave Hitsugaya's small grin and that, somehow, made Byakuya even more confident in her decision.
As Rukia is Byakuya's heir, it was a custom and a tradition, in the Kuchiki clan to hold a function – an uptight, rigid, and boring party – in promotion of a clan member's new position in the Thirteen Court Guard Squad. According to her Nii-sama, it was to appease the elders and councilmen of the clan.
"I will never understand clan politics," Ichigo shook his head but accepted the invitation nonetheless.
And Rukia hated to be the center of attention.
It just highlighted her flaws, her background and it just reminded her that she wasn't her Nii-sama's blood sister. She knew, somewhere, deep down that her brother did not care for frivolous things such as that, blood and birthright. That last time someone had verbally insulted her – within in her Nii-sama's hearing – her brother nearly banished him from the clan. She winced at that thought, her Nii-sama could be quite dramatic when push came to shove.
Later that night, Rukia stared at herself in the mirror, crescent-moon pins and star-shaped nebulas pinned her hair into a high bun. Her black dress kimono was formal as it was heavy, embraided with silk plum blossoms, and snowy vines, she shifted uncomfortably. Her aunts and nieces had helped her with her makeup, giving her the full Kuchiki heir experience – Renji has snickered when the face powder went up her nose – but she used her shinsei sainou to throw some ice shards at his red mop.
She didn't appreciate being laughed at.
"Rukia, are you ready yet?" Hitsugaya's sigh sounded both affectionate and exasperated. He waited behind the shoji door patiently, his eyes closed and head back against the wall.
"This kimono is very heavy, Toushiro," Rukia rolled amethyst orbs and walked slowly to her bedroom door, "If I walk too fast I'm going to fall."
"You're Cap—Byakuya's sister," he corrected himself swiftly, the new change in relationship, although strange, was not unwelcomed, "Clumsy is not in your personality."
"You give me too much credit," she snorted and slid the door open, "I remember dropping my glass at that human club."
Hitsugaya huffed a laugh, "On purpose. It's not like—"
Teal orbs widened as he took in her sudden change in appearance.
Rukia blinked at his silence, "Toushiro?"
He shook his head, a small smiled curled against his lips and his ears flushed at the suddenness in snow, "Nothing. It's nothing, you just—"
She chuckled nervously, "I know it's a bit formal, but it's—"
His thumb smoothened over the skin of her cheek down to the jawbone, he held her gaze there. Aquamarine and crystal drops, his thumb brushed her lower lip, the tingles sent electric shocks up her spine and into her brain.
"You're beautiful," Hitsugaya declared gently, pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth, and then inhaled deeply, "Ready?"
Rukia not knowing what to say after that powerful declaration, nodded quietly, the air in her throat has apparently vanished and her fingers tucked into the space between his forearm and chest. They slid out of the dimly-lit hallway and walked out of the main building. It was night now and the moon reflected like off like beams of starlight from the indigo of Rukia's hair.
"Is Nii-sama alright with you escorting me to the function?" Rukia asked suddenly, once they passed the tea-room they made straight for the garden.
"Your brother is ecstatic," Hitsugaya grumbled and helped her down the stone stairway by the fountain.
"Nii-sama does not get ecstatic," she countered with mild amusement and wobbled when her slipper glided over a pebble, "But he is quite strict when it comes to manners and protocol."
"Don't worry," Hitsugaya assured her, his fingers running over the pulse in her wrist, "I know what I'm doing."
Rukia sniffed, "You sound like a Kuchiki alright,"
"Well, I am courting one," he laughed and they entered the fray, "I would like to think you rubbed off on me."
Rukia stared at him for a moment – and she swore to this day – Hitsugaya winked at her salaciously before leaving her to get some refreshments.
Her face flushed; the pervert.
"Why are you blushing?" Renji appeared in front of her with a cocked brow.
"Toushiro is a pervert," she grumbled moodily. She wasn't sure what to feel, but she would rather shove an icicle into her eye than admit that she liked his new sense of playfulness – he was always playful but not to the degree of well, this – and bit the inside of her cheek.
Renji blanched at that, "Do I want to know?"
"For my sanity, the answer is no," Rukia rubbed her neck and made way to her table – the high table in her honor – as much as she hated these type of functions, she really did love the food.
"Here," Hitsugaya came back with a glass of nigori – strawberry-flavored she noticed with some irony – and a plate of gyoza.
"Lemongrass dumplings, hm?" Rukia smiled cheekily at the pale blue of the skin of the gyoza, she picked up a pair of chopsticks from her tableware and took a bite.
"Kyoko's is catering?" Renji's eyes widened at the snack, "I better grab some before Ikkaku and Yumichika decide to raid the tables."
Hitsugaya wrinkled his nose and took a seat next to her, "Is Kyoko's that popular?"
Rukia rolled her eyes, "Obviously. They have the best dishes."
"Then why have I never heard of it before?"
"Because you go to restaurants like Imperial," she pointed out with a chuckle and grabbed another dumpling, "And while it's flashy and expensive, not everyone can get in. So how can a place that's so exclusive, be inclusive?"
"They could lower their prices," Hitsugaya tilted his head in consideration and grabbed a gyoza, "But that would take away from the appeal."
Rukia nodded in agreement, "It's obtaining the unimaginable, it makes it so much more satisfying. Don't you think?"
He smiled at that and took a sip of his drink, "I don't know if I agree with that. I like what we have here."
She didn't grasp the double entendre as of yet and picked up another dumpling, "But don't you want more? To know?"
"The future is inevitable," Hitsugaya conceded that, "The path to get there is what we can determine, right?"
Rukia blinked and the pieces clicked, "We aren't talking about food anymore, are we?"
"Are we?" he asked innocently.
She narrowed her eyes with irritation, "You've been hanging around with Ichigo too much."
Hitsugaya scoffed, "I am nothing like that substitute."
"Sure," Rukia shrugged nonchalantly and sipped her drink with with-eyed innocence, "If you say so."
"It's taking all my will-power to not kiss you right now," he said almost too casually.
She coughed when the alcohol burned the wrong pipe. Her hand went to grab her napkin, she pressed it against her mouth as she wheezed and glared at him with stinging eyes. She retorted roughly, "You did that on purpose."
"Did what?" Hitsugaya copied her innocuous look and small pout.
Rukia knew those lips and they were everything but innocent.
The party, in a way, was very formal. It had lanterns, candlelight, tablecloths, and waiters. Her clan members sat alongside the fence in banquet tables and round eight-inch circles. Nii-sama hadn't done anything very dramatic – it was his garden after all – but the splash in color from Ichigo's hair and her comrades from the capital made up much of the commotion. Captain Zaraki had already knocked down a plate of yakitori sticks and Yachiru made a dent in the custard pies.
"Hey," Hitsugaya's fingers brushed her hand, he interlocked them and pulled her closer. Just until her shoulder brushed his, "Are you okay with this?"
Rukia shrugged, "I'm not one for big parties—functions really. It's okay, but I don't like being the center of attention."
He nodded at that, "I get that. Sometimes it's necessary and all that. When you become Captain, speeches and addressing groups of people will be one of your duties," he placed their intertwined fingers on the table, "But that isn't what I meant."
She looked at him with a frown, "What did you mean then? It's not like—" she glanced downwards when his fingers gave her hand a soft squeeze. She resisted the urge to flush, instead, she looked at him dead in the eye and said, "Why wouldn't I be okay with it?"
Rukia wasn't ashamed of him, she would never be ashamed of a man of his caliber. The dedication, determination, preservation, and affection that he held for his squad is unparalleled. He is honorable, kind, and dedicated. How could she ever be ashamed of a man like this?
"Oh? I can't say I didn't see this coming," Hideki, from Kyoko's pub, interjected with a wry grin, "I should've placed a bet with Shin-chan."
"Hideki-san!" Rukia exclaimed with minute surprise, her hand didn't leave the snow-captain, instead she tightened her hold instinctively.
"Rukia-chan," Hideki leaned in and pinched her cheeks, "Congratulations on your promotion! You look lovely, doesn't she, Captain Hitsugaya."
Hitsugaya rolled his eyes, "Yes, she's beautiful," he looked at her with a quirk in the brow, "I told you as much earlier."
Rukia's ears pinkened, she chose to ignore his comment and turned to face the owner with a small smile, "Thank you, Hideki-san. I haven't seen Shin-san, though. Is he here?"
"He's talking to one of your cousins," he shrugged, "She's no you, but I'll have to make do."
Hitsugaya chuckled at that, "No one is quite like you, Rukia."
She huffed, "Can you stop speaking like I'm not here?"
"Isn't she adorable when she's angry," Hideki teased her good-naturedly and then sobered up, "You'll have to thank your brother for employing our workers. I haven't seen this much business in years!"
"You'll have to thank your peppered yakitori," Hitsugaya said with a crinkle in his eyes, "Byakuya happens to like them."
Hideki narrowed his eyes at the lack of honorific, "Byakuya, hm?"
"Yes, Nii-sama does have a strange affection for them," Rukia pointed out slowly, she didn't understand the look he was giving the snow-captain.
The owner of Kyoko's Pub nodded in comprehension and then clapped his hands jovially, "Well, I won't take too much of your time, Rukia-chan, Captain Hitsugaya. I'll have the waiters come with your meals."
And with that, he left.
"That was nice," Rukia paused and then grabbed another gyoza, "I think. I didn't get that look he gave you."
Hitsugaya shrugged mysteriously.
"Is Rangiku here?" she asked suspiciously, looking down at her empty plate and frowned, "I haven't seen her since the exams."
"Matsumoto has been giving in her reports based on your performance during the exam," Hitsugaya pressed a kiss to her hand and held it next to her face as his knees brushed hers, "That and she's been with Renji."
"Renji?" Rukia sipped her drink, "Doing what?"
He raised a brow and cocked his head to the left.
Rukia followed his direction until he saw Rangiku leaning against the tree and Renji's hand pressed next to her head. They were much closer than usual and then her hand brushed his cheek affectionately. Gray-blue eyes almost like steel in the firelight.
"Really?" she breathed a laugh of disbelief and smiled at his grin, "I can't believe I missed that."
"I did too," Hitsugaya snorted and revealed, "Until I caught them in the supply closet."
Rukia laughed at the curl of disgust in his tone and then she scowled, "And Renji didn't tell me! I was just talking to him, the baboon."
"Revenge seems like a nice thought," Hitsugaya's lips brushed her wrist in an intimate matter and she had to force a sigh when the waiters came out to give out their food to hide her purr, "Doesn't it?"
"Again," Rukia snorted and picked up her chopsticks, "Too much time with Ichigo."
Hitsugaya snatched her piece of gyoza from her plate before she had time to process it. She stared at her plate for a moment before turning her glare at the snowy-haired captain. She slowly, deliberately, took her chopsticks, grabbed a dumpling from his plate, and ate it.
"Rukia," he clucked his tongue and she almost wants to strangle him. Hitsugaya dropped her hand to cup her face, and Rukia could only stare at him in pure, unadulterated shock. She knew he wasn't afraid of Nii-sama, but they were still in public and the clan was watching.
Even though personally, she didn't care, but as Nii-sama's sister, there were some things that she shouldn't do—at all.
"Captain—Toushiro," Byakuya's voice paused, his mouth twisted briefly before smoothening out into a mask of serenity, "Are you prepared for your speech?"
"Speech?" Rukia blinked and turned her head when Hitsugaya released his grip, "What speech, Nii-sama?"
"I've made a speech earlier this night on your promotion," Byakuya explained and then his eyes softened briefly, "And your achievement of reaching bankai. I have asked Hitsugaya to make a speech as well, considering."
"Considering what?" Rukia felt like no one was giving the answers that she wanted, needed.
"Soon," Byakuya said and nodded when Hitsugaya gave his answer.
"What is Nii-sama talking about?" Rukia scowled at him and her fingers dug into his skin, "You're hiding something."
"All in due time," Hitsugaya attempted to placate her, "Good things happen to people who wait."
"I knew I shouldn't have let you borrow my human textbooks," she sighed with exasperation.
Hitsugaya rolled his eyes.
Ichigo had come and given his congratulations – a new Chappy doll sat in the corner of her room now – and Rangiku had given her a new set of hairpins. But once ten o'clock rolled around, Byakuya used his shikai to quiet the crowd, cherry blossoms were a tradition. He announced, "Captain Hitsugaya has prepared a speech."
Captain Hitsugaya stood up and all eyes fell on him.
"First off, I would like to congratulate Rukia on passing her Lieutenant's exam. I've known her for quite some time, but, it was only recently until perhaps our souls or spiritual pressure started to meld into one being did I have the pleasure of learning the person behind the mask," Hitsugaya started off, he stood tall and proud, "There was something about her that I needed to understand because I have never met anyone, like Rukia, before."
Rukia's eyes softened at that.
"There was ice and snow in her, but steel too. Our zanpakutos are mirrors of each other and I believe that we are more than just two souls who share the same element," he continued with a strong voice, "I am here to formally declare my intentions to the Kuchiki clan. According to the Kuchiki laws, I will abide by the clan rules and regulations when courting the heir of the clan."
Renji gaped at him.
"I was ordered by Byakuya Kuchiki to give this speech, but quite frankly, if you do not accept my suit," Hitsugaya's teal orbs narrowed and he declared, "I will be with Rukia, damn the consequences."
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You act so different around me
Cause you're a good girl and you know it
I know exactly who you could be
Just hold on we're going home
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note1: yes, hold on, cause we're getting to the end of this fic. LOL.
note2: last chap + epilogue and we're finally out.
note3: next part is just smut so.
note4: songs used – Jhene Aiko: surrender + Drake ft Majid: hold on we're going home.
As always, please review!