The Dragon's Queen
by Jo Terry
A/N: I do not own Bleach and its characters.
Chapter 26
It's been over eight months since Rukia started working and studying in the World of the Living. An unexpected phone call came for her last Friday from Sugino Nami, the wife of Shibuya University Hospital's director.
"Kuchiki-san, I would like to see you for a cup of tea to discuss an offer with you," Sugino says after they've exchanged pleasantries.
"May I know what the offer is about?" Rukia stammers. It takes time for her introvert self to warm up to strangers, especially with people like Lady Sugino who's full of glamour and personality.
"I need fresh ideas from young people like you for my boutique. Now, I understand you're still studying and not able to work full time for me here in Shibuya. But if you would consider my offer, I'd make an exception for you to work from home."
Rukia swallowed nervously. No doubt it sounds exciting to her because she has — much to her own surprise — come to love her field of study even though she hadn't a clue about it when she first started. But she hardly has the time for anything else now that her second semester has begun. As it is, she is already having a difficult time juggling classes, assignments, work, and patrolling.
Sometimes she doesn't see Uryuu for days because their schedules would clash so badly. To top it off, she and Karin have to double their patrolling time and be constantly on the alert for that damned stray reiatsu that no one seems to be able to catch for the past three months.
"Kuchiki-san, are you still there?"
"Yes. Sorry, Sugino-san. Where and when shall we meet to discuss this?" Rukia asks, figuring she might as well hear the lady out before she makes any decision.
That is why she has taken two train rides to Shibuya, and is currently sitting opposite Sugino Nami at this quaint dessert shop. Apparently, the lady has a keen interest in expensive vintage places such as these.
In the past hour, she has explained to Rukia the scope of work and what her boutique is offering the young fashion design major, boasting about how they only cater to niche clients who appreciate limited editions and tailor-made products.
To Rukia, the offer is certainly attractive, with more time at home and the pay is many times higher than what she's getting at Nichibotsu's Bar. However, taking it up would mean quitting her job as a bartender, something she's come to see as stress-free and relaxing after a long day of wracking her brain over coursework. It also means there's no break from fashion design. She'll be studying and working in the same field.
"Could you give me a bit of time to consider this, Sugino-san?" she asks when she manages to speak between Sugino Nami's excited chatter.
"Of course, Rukia-san," the lady says. "Will two weeks be enough for you to think about it and get back to me?"
Rukia nods, glad that as urgent as she is to fill this post, Sugino isn't pressuring her too much. "Thank you, Sugino-san. I'll definitely contact you within the next two weeks to let you know of my decision."
"I'll be looking forward to your call, Rukia-san. If you should agree to work with us, we'll showcase your work at the end of June, which means, your designs will have to come in by the 15th. You will have your own mini clothing line in my boutique. In my opinion, it's a great start to your career even before you've graduated."
"It certainly is. And I really appreciate that Sugino-san has thought of me."
Sugino sighs in reply. "In this day and age, there aren't many young people like you with great passion and determination. Your face has been etched into my mind," she tells Rukia, tapping her own temple. "since that gala dinner when I first met you. I could never forget how you were wearing the dress you made yourself with pride. You're a rare gem."
Rukia feels her cheeks colour at the compliments given to her. Passion and determination are two very important core values instilled in her by the Kuchiki clan. She supposes, as little as she is being accepted in that noble family, there are merits to take from being in the clan.
"I won't keep you, Rukia-san," Sugino continues with a snicker. "Lest Dr Ishida wonders where I've hijacked his girlfriend."
The blush on Rukia's face deepens. She and Ishida were not even together yet during the time of the gala dinner. This lady reminds her of Matsumoto Rangiku, always extra chatty and liberal with her teasing comments.
"Thank you again, Sugino-san. Also for the treat," Rukia says as they leave the shop.
Sugino offers to give her a ride to the train station but Rukia declines, saying she wants to drop by a shop on her way there. As they part ways, Rukia has a feeling she will be making plenty of trips to Shibuya in the future even though Sugino is letting her work from her home… if she decides to take up the offer, that is. While it had taken her 40 minutes on two trains to get to Shibuya, going back to Karakura will be a one-hour train ride with exchanges between three commuter lines.
Before coming over to Shibuya, she's done her research on the city. Might as well get something she can't find back in Karakura since she's travelled so far from home, right?
Her phone rings just as she arrives at the shop full of Chappy merchandise. Unsurprisingly, it's Uryuu. "Hey, Dragon," she greets.
"Hey… are you back in Karakura?"
"Not for another hour. Why? Are you missing me already?"
There is a pause at the other end of the line before he replies, "Is the meeting still going on?"
"We just finished. I'm at the Chappy store. Will be making my way to the station after getting the beanie I've been looking all over for," she says. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah… I realised it's almost sunset. Are you going to be okay travelling back here on your own?"
"I'll be fine, Uryuu. Don't worry about me. I'll even be home in time to cook dinner."
Rukia can't really tell from the tone of his voice on the phone, but lately, he's been calling her more often to check up on her. He doesn't really text anymore and she's starting to miss the playful banter in their chats.
"I should be getting off work by then as well. I'll see you then. Be careful."
"I will be. See you, Dragon."
It could be because they've been so busy in the past months with her preparing for her finals and starting a new semester, and of course, the bloody hunt for the stray reiatsu, that he has resorted to calling more instead of texting. She isn't sure herself. Thinking about it now makes her want to give her answer to Sugino immediately about that offer. Sure, there will be deadlines and coming up with new designs every month will put her under extra pressure on top of all her assignments, but at least she'll be at home most of the time and that would certainly give her and Uryuu more time together.
After making her purchase at the store, she rushes to the station to make sure she catches the earliest ride she could. All around her, people are walking in a hurry to get home after work. It dawns on her how easily she blends in with humans after being in the World of Living for almost a year. This has been the longest she's been away from Soul Society. Does she miss her life as a full-time shinigami? She'd be lying if she said 'no'. But being here feels like home now and she wonders if she will be able to adjust back to her shinigami life if the soutaichou should summon her back anytime soon.
Her conversation with her brother months ago crosses her mind as she steadies herself in the packed car, sandwiched between a high school student and a man in a business suit.
"Believe me when I say I know how you feel about getting into a relationship that you already know will be short-lived. Over the five years that we had, we lived every day as if it were the last, treasuring every moment to the best of our abilities."
She wonders how her brother could possibly 'live every day as if it were the last' with her sister when he was such a busy man. He was already the head of the Kuchiki clan by then and now that she is a captain of the Gotei 13 herself, she knows how much time a captain has to set aside for paperwork and training every day. Unlike the World of the Living, there is no such thing as a weekend in Soul Society. You get one day off for every six days you're at work. And if it so happens that a shinigami is assigned to one of the districts of Rukongai for more days than that, they don't get to replace the day off. How her Nii-sama managed to spend time with Hisana, is beyond her.
Now that she thinks about it, relationships really are time-consuming. And emotionally draining as well. Even more so for humans who waste so much of their time travelling from one place to another. Here she is, taking such a long journey home when she can hardly wait to see Uryuu after that phone call she had with him. If she were in her shinigami form, she would've flash-stepped all the way without making any stops. A relationship is a lot of work and she's exhausted by how much non-physical energy she has to put into it.
But having the shared affection is worth everything. She thinks of the support and care she gets from Uryuu, who's always one step ahead of her to make sure she's okay. She thinks of the joy of doing things for and with him whenever they are together. She thinks of how he makes her feel appreciated and like she's on top of the world, something that feeds the height junkie in her. She'd never imagined she would ever encounter this in her life.
She doesn't know how much time she has in the World of the Living. Her main purpose here is to be the Soul Society representative from the Gotei 13. Everything else - getting that degree, working, and having a relationship - is secondary. She could pick any one of these as her priority after her duty as a shinigami. In the grand scheme of things, she doesn't need the degree or the money. Those are only human opportunities her brother decided to gift her with because he could see how much she has always been drawn to the human world.
And while it is not in her to half-arse anything she commits herself to, she could maintain her grades as it is and invest more on her relationship with Uryuu instead, if she wants to. Because what they have together will remain something precious to her for a long time; long after she has to leave the World of the Living and long after his human life is over. Maybe for many centuries to come.
Can this train go any faster?
It's his first time seeing Ulquiorra Cifer after the Espada has come back to life. He looks very different… more menacing, in Ishida's opinion. Ishida wonders how he could pass as a human looking like that, even without the strips of green tears down his face. Sure, he doesn't have any active spiritual pressure. But one only needs to be aware of the existence of the spiritual world and be accessible to reiatsu-generating training before they can wield their spiritual powers. The Fullbringers were proof of that.
"How is Kuchiki-san?" Inoue asks after Ishida hands the x-ray report and films to the police escort by the door of the consultation room.
"She's fine," he replies with a clipped tone. He wants to maintain a strictly professional relationship with these two people. Any personal conversations should be avoided as they are not his friends. Ulquiorra definitely isn't. They fought in Hueco Mundo as mortal enemies. And Inoue… she never saw him as anything but a classmate and another person who would up the world to rescue her when she fucked up. The way she has been hurting Rukia certainly does not merit any friendly treatment from him.
"I understand how this must look to you, Ishida-kun." She probably realises how scandalous it is for her to accompany a man who's not her husband to a consultation room like that. It's not as if he's an employee of hers and this is not even an emergency.
Ishida vaguely recalls his own suspicions of there being something going on between these two during that war in Hueco Mundo. They held hands before Ulquiorra's body disintegrated into the air. That must've meant something. Inoue was bawling her eyes out over his death and she was never the same after they returned to the World of the Living.
"But I was the one who found Ulquiorra-kun…"
"I don't think this information is of much use to me as your medical consultant, Inoue-san. I was only asked to fill in for Dr Shimezu."
"You must know the people of the spirit world have been probing him to find out…"
"I'm sorry, Inoue-san but I no longer deal with that world."
"You live with a shinigami, don't you? Dating her, even."
"That isn't any of your business," Ishida snaps.
And the moment he does, Ulquiorra is on his feet, ready to defend the woman beside him… from what? Ishida's spit?
The doctor steals a glance at the police officer by the door who so happens to be having a serious conversation on his phone with his back towards them.
Inoue takes her time to rise from her chair, her facial expression scant of any evidence of a discord going on in the room. "You should be careful of these people who keep robbing us off our human life, sending humans who are barely of age to drive a car into their world to fight their battles. Have you forgotten how they've used us, Ishida-kun?"
"Inoue-san…"
"What is their purpose of sending Kuchiki Rukia here, if not to revive my husband's shinigami powers and take him away from the family? There's probably another war coming that needs his hero complex to save them. And Kuchiki Rukia has always been the one to put those powers back into him. She's his soulmate, isn't she? And reviving Kurosaki Ichigo has always been her only purpose. She's not that great of a shinigami and yet she became a vice-captain after they shared their reiatsu. Probably also the reason why she was recently promoted as a captain despite there being so many better candidates in the Gotei 13. Think about it, Ishida-kun. Nothing is coincidental in the spirit world."
Making his way home from the hospital today, that unsolicited conversation he had with Inoue came to his mind again. It has been bugging him for months. The way she belittled Rukia's strength and capability enrages him to no end. But as much as her words cannot be given credence to, they bear some thought-provoking truths to a certain extent, like how Rukia has always been the agent to bring back Kurosaki's powers.
He hates this. Sometimes it nudges at his fear of losing Rukia too soon… and to the person none other than Kurosaki, no less. But he trusts Rukia would tell him everything if that was really her purpose for being back in the World of the Living. She wouldn't keep something like that from him, would she?
He wants to ask her. He's been meaning to do that all these while but they've been so busy lately. And he has never been a fan of texting until he met her. The lack of brevity and expressions in texting can cause misunderstandings, and that's the last thing he wants to happen between him and Rukia. He has tried a few times to bring it up during a phone call but every time he does, it feels cowardly. This should be something they talked about face-to-face. But when they are together, he doesn't want to waste the little time they have talking about things that could potentially ruin their moments together.
Her life in the World of the Living is limited. And with all the studying, work, and patrolling which are her priorities, there's hardly enough time for them to be together. There are moments when he's finally had her in his arms that he refuses to let her go for fear that it would be their last… that she would be taken from him forever once he lets his guard down. The uncertainty is eating into him. Sometimes he thinks he'll probably die prematurely of this quandary instead of an old age or a disease. This brings a whole new meaning to 'flirting with death'.
Ishida chuckles bitterly in his head for the lame puns he probably won't be able to share with the only person he cares to share them with. Share everything with. He loves Rukia so much that sometimes he's willing to overlook the fact that she's not human to imagine a whole future with her. Occasionally, he allows himself to fantasise having a family with her. But he knows his thoughts are better off spent on the reality of their relationship rather than his wishes that can never come to life.
Standing outside his door, he takes a few deep breaths to centre himself, cast away all of the negative feelings within him, and focus on the perfect woman on the other side of this door that's apparently making his favourite mackerel miso stew for dinner tonight. I truly don't deserve her if I'm having even an ounce of doubt about us, he chides himself before unlocking the door.
"Uryuu?" He hears her calling from the kitchen and he tries to ignore the shiver down his spine that still happens after months of hearing her say his first name.
Chucking his things down on the dinner table, he sneaks up to her where she is in front of the stove. "Tadaima," he murmurs into her ear as he slips his arms around her waist from behind.
Rukia stops stirring the stew and turns around briefly to kiss him on the lips. "Okaeri!" she snickers with a twinkle in her eyes and a broad smile on her face.
How to not fall in love with her over and over again?
"I'm almost done with this. Rice is ready in the cooker. Go settle down before dinner," she says, gesturing to his backpack and coat that were thrown haphazardly - a truly uncharacteristic behaviour coming from him - on the dining table.
Ishida cradles her head and gives her a peck between her brows. "I'll be back. I've already showered at the hospital. Tell me about that meeting with Mrs Sugino, later?"
"Of course. I'm quite excited about it. Now, go!"
Pinching her hip, he reluctantly removes himself from her with a chuckle.
It's crazy and stupid at the same time how far gone he is for this shinigami. He knows there's a danger for him to devote too much into this relationship. But he can't help it. He thought he had full control over his own emotions but that is evidently far from true. She reels him in by simply… existing. How does one fight a force like that?
"Otou-san?"
Ichigo looks up from where he is hunched over the dining table, staring blankly at the large envelope with his name on it. "Yes, son?" he responds when he's found his voice.
"Are you okay?" the boy comes over to his father and reaches up to tug at the hem of his t-shirt.
Ichigo bends down to pick him up, securing him over his hip. "I'm fine. Do you want to go for ice-cream?"
"Yes!" Kazui nods before he cautiously asks, "Is kaa-chan coming with us?"
"Sorry, kid. But she's…"
"Busy again," Kazui sighs. "It's okay. Let's go get ice-cream, tou-san. I want strawberry flavour."
Despite himself, Ichigo laughs at his son's innocent delight. Deep down inside, he is pained by how Kazui tries to act all grown-up and all accepting of his mother's absence. He shouldn't have to go through this. He's only a child.
"Alright, you go put on your shoes while I get my wallet."
The boy nods again as he wiggles himself out of his father's hold to get to the genkan.
Ichigo thumps down the ache in his chest and mentally prepares himself for that talk with Kazui which he has been putting off for a while now.
"She's fucking stupid, that's what she is!"
"Karin-chan…"
"What? Are you going to defend her 'mental instability', Yuzu?"
"I'm not saying that excuses her from..."
"Yuzu, Ichi-nii has been taking care of her since that bloody accident. He could've just given her child support. He didn't need to take her in at all. She's a bloody grown woman. But he did it anyway and this is how she's repaying him for all he's done for her? And what about Kazui? She's going to leave him just like that? What sort of devil would do such a thing? And you all wonder why I prefer Rukia-nee. Rukia-nee was the only one who could..."
"Karin, stop! This divorce is between Onii-chan and Orihime. You need to calm down. Even I can feel your reiatsu spiking from here."
"Good. I hope that bitch can feel it, too."
We all need to calm down, actually. Lol!