Guest - That is going to be a problem in future, I am sure of it. Because the status quo remains that while Rukia is a virgin, Ichigo is a man in need and now that they are getting closer, Rukia will see more of that part coming out within Ichigo. *Sighs* Rukia is too innocent in that sense. I wonder that as well, how is fucking Ginjo still running around? But, it looks like things are going full circle with this Chapter. :3
reesen555 - Oh my god! You cannot believe how much I missed you! I thought you left me to die~ T_T Wait, that sounds wrong... *Thinks* Let's go with 'I missed you' then~ :3 You missed a lot and I will wait for you to catch up with the Chapters, inclusive of this one. :3
Disclaimer: I own neither Bleach nor its characters. :3
Fingers shaking, Rukia stood at the head table, waiting for the guests to cease their talking. As the maid of honor, Rukia was obligated to make a speech. Honestly, it was an honour for Rukia to be able to give her blessing to both Shuuhei and Ino. That hadn't meant that she wasn't nervous though, especially since the only experience that she have had on love was anything but romantic. Taking a deep breath and ignoring the weight of hundreds of gazes upon her, she began. "My name is Rukia and I have known Nii-San and Ino my whole life. Nii-San has just been there in my life, being there for me without fail whereas I met Ino in school and have chosen everyday since to keep her in my life." A chorus of 'Awws' echoed through the crowd, giving Rukia the courage to continue. "It's this choice and friendship I want you to focus on as I offer you a word of advice as you take your first step on this journey as man and wife. I have been married for less than a year but the lessons I have learned from being friends with Ino have helped me every step of the way." Rukia's eyes drifted then, catching Ichigo's gaze as she continued. "Friendship is a lot like marriage in it's own way. There are turns and hills you have to navigate around, it isn't always easy and smooth-sailing. The most important thing that I have learned is that you always have a chance to redo everything each morning. Each day, you can choose again, whether it be a new path, a good friend, a partner or love. My advice to you, Nii-San and Ino, is to keep making that choice. If you do, you will conquer every obstacle you encounter, no matter what path you choose to take." Raising her glass of wine, Rukia smiled. "To Ino and Nii-San, may you always choose love."
Sliding her way through dancers and looking for a familiar pair of amber eyes, Rukia had decided tonight was the night that she was going to tell Ichigo how she felt. Making that speech had reminded her of the fact that she should choose love. Now, all it took was simply finding Ichigo. Yet, the longer it had taken to find Ichigo, the more nervous Rukia was slowly becoming. There were so many people in the venue and anyone could easily become... Rukia shook her thoughts out of her head mentally. "Dance with me?" Rukia had literally jumped as a strong pair of arms circled her waist.
A smile was seen on Rukia's face, her heart feeling more at ease already. "It would be my pleasure."
Leading Rukia to the center of the dance floor, they swayed among the other couples. Rukia laid her head on his lapel, breathing in his scent of leather and bergamot as they twirled. Dinner was completed, the speeches over and the cake cut, all that was left was to simply dance. "How was your meal?" Rukia asked, worried. "I apologize that I couldn't sit with you."
Ichigo hadn't been allowed to sit with Rukia since she was seated at the head table. Hearing Rukia's question, Ichigo snorted in response. "I sat beside some middle-aged prick who owns an AirBNB. I'm sure you can imagine what he wanted to speak about." Rukia giggled as Ichigo dipped her, earning a few glances from nearby dancers. "Your speech was beautiful."
Red lighted up Rukia's cheeks as the 3 words blossomed in her heart once more. Swallowing it down, she smiled. "Thank You."
Bending his head low, Ichigo whispered against Rukia's ear. "When do we get to go home? I have been thinking about peeling this dress off of you the whole goddamned night."
With this, Ichigo slid his hands down Rukia's back to her butt, causing Rukia to gasp and swat his hand away playfully. "Behave, Kurosaki. We are at a wedding."
"Rukia! Oh God, Rukia!" Ino suddenly cried, successfully squeezing between them and throwing her arms around Rukia. "Thank You so much!" Throwing an apologetic glance at Ichigo, Rukia knew Ino have had a little too much to drink. "I couldn't have done all this without you!" Ino squealed and cried at the same time. "Your speech~ It was so nice as well!"
"It was my pleasure." Rukia patted Ino's back as she smiled. "You deserved your perfect day, Ino."
There's an emergency, Ichigo-sama.
My old man's on call tonight.
I tried to call him and he's not answering.
Probably because we are at a wedding, duh. Can it wait?
Afraid not. Someone has ripped the security alarms and our security team is on it. They need your approval to involve the police.
The police? What happened?
It's hard to explain. It would be best of you come check put things for yourself, Ichigo-sama.
On my way.
Seriously, fuck him. This was the last thing Ichigo had needed right now. Emergencies were why Ichigo had hired security but now, he had to personally go back to his office to show those fuckwads how to do their job. Gazing up from his phone, Ichigo caught Rukia's gaze. Moving behind Rukia and sliding her hair from her shoulder, Ichigo whispered. "I need to go back to the office for a minute."
Rukia whispered back in response. "You promised me there would be no work."
Ino continued rattling about her wedding, oblivious to the conversation that they were having. Ichigo ran his hand down Rukia's side in a silent apology. "It's an emergency and the office is just down the street, I will be back before you can miss me."
Rukia nodded and Ichigo placed a kiss on her bare shoulder as Thanks before slipping into the crowd. He had made it clear he wasn't available tonight, his assistant had better have a fucking good reason.
As Rukia watched Ichigo disappear through the crowd, the familiar pins and needles of anxiety had begun crawling back towards Rukia. As much as she had convinced herself that everything was fine throughout the wedding and that it had all been an illusion that she had seen Ginjo, it hadn't felt like that at all and the sinking feeling that had been following her the entire day was starting to feel like it could have swallowed her whole. Ino continued talking and Rukia was happy that Ino was so distracted that she hadn't realized that Rukia had stopped contributing to the conversation. Maybe she just needed some fresh air since it had been a long day after all. "I'm going to step outside for a minute."
Ino stopped talking. "Should I come with you?"
Rukia shook her head. "Stay with your guests, I won't be a minute."
"Fine." Ino huffed. "Don't forget that you still owe me a dance."
A member of the security team met Ichigo at the door as he arrived. "What the hell happened?" Ichigo demanded.
"There's been a break-in on the top floor, Kurosaki-San. The director is up there, waiting for you."
Ichigo headed for the elevator instantly, not waiting for the member to catch up. Ichigo figured some caretaker had probably tripped the alarm by accident or some overworked intent being caught stealing office supplies. As the elevator opened, his assistant stood in the hall, awaiting his arrival. "Good to see you, Ichigo-sama."
"This better not be a false alarm." He gritted out.
"I'm afraid not, Ichigo-sama."
"Kurosaki-San." A tall man stood at the far end of the hall, just in front of his office door. "My name is Zaraki Kenpachi and I'm the head of your security."
"You pulled me out of a wonderful evening with my wife, Zaraki." Ichigo had said. "This better be good."
Zaraki pushed open Ichigo's office door in response. "Have a look for yourself, Kurosaki-San."
Ichigo hadn't found anything out of place at first glance. His office was the same as he had left it and as it always was. There were no shattered glass, no fire and no dead body. As expected, everything was in its goddamned place. He had noticed something right then and stepped closer, frowning. The photograph of the skyline that had normally hung above his desk was gone and in its place, was a painting as tall as Ichigo was. He could tell that it had been beautiful once but the canvas was destroyed. On one side, a beautiful black-haired angel stood, untouched. Another figure, who had once knelt at her feet had now remained only partially. The better part of his body had been scratched away, his face in actuality ripped off. The longer Ichigo stared at the painting, the worse the sinking feeling in his tummy had became. The angel was the splitting image of Rukia, there was no doubt about that which could only mean that... Ichigo Kurosaki was the ripped-out knight. The message was clear, it was meant as a threat. But, who was the artist responsible? "Someone get me Hitsugaya Toshiro on the phone now."
Cool night air brushed against Rukia's cheeks and bare arms as she stepped into the hotel gardens. She took a deep breath in, allowing the stillness of the spring night to calm her down. Was she thinking too much once again? The day had been perfect and Ino was over the moon. Soon, they could return to their apartment, cuddle in bed and Rukia could tell him those 3 little words that she had been dying to tell him. Crossing the stone patio and sitting on a bench in front of a little pond, Rukia couldn't help but wonder what could have pulled Ichigo away from the wedding. He had said it was an emergency. Yet, what kind of emergency would happen at 10pm on a Saturday? Shivering as another breeze rustled through the trees, Rukia crossed her arms against her chest. "Can I interest you in a drink, mademoiselle?"
She widened her eyes, willing her heart to stop beating fast, displaying that she had known who it was that had spoken. "What are you doing here?"
Ginjo smiled and stepped towards Rukia. "I saw you leave and you looked so... So sad that I thought I would come and make sure you were feeling okay."
They were in the hotel gardens, there were hundred of people just on the other side of the doors. Would Ginjo dare to touch her despite knowing that? "Ichigo is here. If I scream, he will come running."
Subconsciously, Rukia took a step back, her eyes desperately darting for an exit. Ginjo laughed and approached Rukia step by step. "I'm afraid, mademoiselle, that your husband is rather occupied at the moment."
Rukia stood up. "Please stop."
Ginjo took another step closer. "Stop what?"
Rukia opened her lips and began screaming but she wasn't fast enough. Ginjo jumped and knocked Rukia backwards, causing a sharp pain to blossom in her temple. Her vision swam and all she saw was black.
"Pick up your phone." Ichigo hissed. "Pick up your goddamned phone." Toshiro wasn't answering, he was probably having too much fun at the wedding, Ichgo figured. The line dropped and Ichigo hit the dial button once again. "We need to get around this."
The first time Toshiro hadn't picked up, Ichigo had decided to track Toshiro down and hopped in his car. Well, it had seemed a great idea at that time until they were stuck in traffic 4 blocks away from the hotel, that is. "It's Japan."
Ichigo glared at Ikkaku. He knew that but this wasn't the time to be making jokes. He wasn't late for a polo match or a meeting at the yacht club, Rukia was in fucking danger. "Forget it."
Snapping in response and throwing open the car door, Ichigo pocketed his phone and stepped out into the streets.
"Kurosaki-sama!" Ikkaku called after Ichigo, attempting to catch up to him but it was too late seeing that he was already halfway down the block.
Rukia had been right, Ginjo was currently still in Japan and he hadn't believed her, causing her to be in danger. He jogged past a couple and accidentally knocked onto a man's shoulder but Ichigo was gone before the man could flip him off. He had tried to convince himself that Rukia was at a wedding and currently in a ballroom full of people. Therefore, she was untouchable. Still, Ichigo ran faster. If Ichigo lost Rukia because of his carelessness... He skidded to a stop outside the front doors of the hotel, his shoes sliding on the cement of the sidewalk. As the doorman pulled open the door, Ichigo stepped in the lobby and saw Isshin already waiting for him. "Ichigo!" Isshin called out before frowning. "What happened, son?"
"Ginjo." Ichigo panted. "He's here and he's after Rukia. We have to find her."
"The police?"
"I have already called them. Old man..." Ichigo begged.
Isshin narrowed his eyes. "Go check the ballroom and I will have the staff sweep the hotel. We will find her, Ichigo."
"Thank You." Ichigo sprinted for the stairs, not needing any further prompting.
Inside the ballroom, the wedding was still in full swing. His gaze sweeping the crowd frantically, trying to find a sign of Rukia before realizing that every bridesmaid was impossible to distinguish from the next. "No, no, no..." It was a mantra that Ichigo was muttering, he had refused to believe Rukia was gone, he had promised Rukia he would be back, he promised... He had then spotted a familiar midget within the crowd, pushing through them and grabbing his arm. "Why aren't you answering your phone?"
"Ichigo!" Toshiro cried, throwing an arm over his shoulders. Why was he so happy? Hearing his happy tone gave Ichigo a headache. "How are you? What can I do for you?"
Of course he had to have been fucking drinking for him to be this happy. Ichigo pushed the bridge of his nose, trying his best not to yell at Rukia's friend. "I have a question about one of your paintings."
"Ichigo Kurosaki is interested in one of my paintings?" Toshiro had asked a little too loudly for Ichigo's taste.
"One of an angel."
"The one I made for Rukia and you?" Ichigo closed his eyes and seemingly remembered Rukia talking about such a painting. "Didn't she tell you?" Toshiro had asked and lowered his tone to a whisper such that only Ichigo could have heard. "It was stolen."
"By who?"
"The police are looking into it."
It was a painting that Toshiro had made especially for Rukia. Would Toshiro have let the matter go just like that? The police are looking into it? Wouldn't Tohiro be curious as to whom jad stolen the painting from him? Was Toshiro lying to him? Ichigo narrowed his eyes as he spoke. "Toshiro, don't you dare lie to me or I will end your painting career faster than you can say cappuccino."
Toshiro looked guilty for a moment before sighing. "Look, I will tell you the truth but you have to promise not to tell Rukia."
"Fine."
"I sold it but I hadn't wanted to. I was offered a ridiculous amount of money for it and -- "
"Who did you sell it to?"
"I don't remember his name."
"What did he look like?"
Toshiro laughed right then. "I can tell you one thing. I would definitely eat his baguette, if you know what I mean."
Ichigo could feel his heart stopping. "He was French?"
"Oh yes! You must know who I am talking about. He came into the cafe the other day with some girl on his arm. Rukia had seemed to know them. He -- "
Ichigo had heard enough, his fears were confirmed. He took a step back, not wanting to hear anything anymore. How could he have been so careless? Ginjo was behind this, he was loose in Japan, he was the one that had taken the painting and Ichigo had fucking left Rukia alone. He needed to find her at all costs. "Ichigo!" A voice called out and Ichigo turned to find Ino heading towards him. He had left Rukia with Ino. Was there a possibility that -- "Have you seen Rukia? She owes me a dance."
So much for that. "I left her with you." Ichigo replied, his tone a little harsh.
Ino frowned. "She had said she needed some air." Ichigo narrowed his eyes. If Rukia had stayed in the ballroom, she would have been safe. But, if she went outside... "Is something wrong, Ichigo?" Ino asked.
"I'm not sure, I just need to find her."
Rukia hadn't been out in front of the hotel so there was only one other place she could have gone to get some air and that was the garden. Ichigo turned and headed for the other side of the room. Doors opened up onto an enclosed courtyard. If it had been a warmer night, wedding guests would have been sipping their champagne under the twinkling lights. Instead, the garden was empty. Ichigo was running out of options time. Ichigo's only hope was that they had found her somewhere else in the hotel. Heading for the lobby, Ichigo located Isshin. "How is it?" Isshin asked.
He had known from Isshin's hopeful tone that the hotel staff hadn't found her. "She's gone." Ichigo said in a helpless tone. "The bastard got her -- "
Isshin cleared his throat. "Ichigo."
"Kurosaki-San?" Turning to find Ukitake behind him along with Ino, Shuuhei, Yumichika and Toshiro. "Ino said Rukia is missing, Kurosaki-San. Is that true?"
Their eyes were on Ichigo, as if waiting for Ichigo to console them and to tell them that it wasn't true. "She's right."
Ino broke into tears and then was pulled into a hug by Shuuhei. "We are doing everything we can to track her down." Isshin said and placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder as though he had known that Ichigo was unable to speak at that current moment, that his chest had ached too much to breathe. "We will find her."
"Let me go." Like every other time Rukia had demanded, Ginjo had ignored her and her voice was hoarse. Hissing as she was jolted to the side, her head banged against the cold metal panelling behind her. She had known they were in a vehicle for she could hear the engine below her and felt the braking and turns as they wound through traffic. When she had regained consciousness, she was lying on her back, blindfolded. Ginjo had placed something dark over her head and she could feel the rough material move and dampen with very breath she took. Her hands were laced behind her back, the ties so tight such that she was beginning to lose feeling in her fingertips. She knew that no one had known she was missing, no one had known where she was going and who she was with. "Let me go and you can have whatever you want. If it's money you are after..."
A dark laugh echoed throughout the vehicle. "I'm not after money." Ginjo informed Rukia.
"Then what?"
"Revenge."
The truck slowing to a stop, Rukia heard the doors open and close, the crunch of shoes in gravel as Ginjo walked around to the back. The panel doors slid open and Rukia released a blood-curdling scream as a hand wrapped around her ankle, pulling her from the truck.
They were sitting in the bridal suite, all 7 of them, waiting for news. As the police arrived, Ichigo had given them his statement. The police had said that his hotel room was empty, there were no charges on his credit card and they were on the case. But, Ichigo had known it wasn't fucking good enough. "I can't just sit here."
There had to be something that he was missing, a vital and important clue. "You have done everything you can, son." Isshin tried to reassure Ichigo as he watched him pace back an forth along the lengths of the bed.
"I don't believe it. Somebody must have seen something or somebody must have known where Rukia is."
"Son." Isshin tried once more, his tone one of impatience, gazing from Ichigo to each and every one of Rukia's family members and Ichigo had instantly gotten the message that he was scaring them. Sighing mentally, Ichigo racked his brain. What was he miss -- Setsuna. Fumbling in his pocket for his phone, Ichigo pressed Setsuna's number with his thumb. With the call instantly dropping, Ichigo sat back on the couch, defeated.
You need something?
I need to speak to you. Answer your phone.
I'm in a lecture right now. What's up?
Where is Ginjo?
Don't even get me started on him. You were right, I never should have given that creep the time of day again.
Setsuna, Rukia is missing and I think Ginjo might be behind this.
Oh no...
When was the last time you saw him?
A few days ago.
Does he have a place somewhere in town that he might take her?
Let me think.
Hurry, please. Setsuna???
He owns a warehouse. It's usually empty, he likes to throw parties there sometimes.
Thank You.
Suddenly, the fabric was ripped off Rukia's head and Rukia blinked as her eyes adjusted to bright and synthetic light. Head pounding, Rukia knew she needed to say focused and indtantly recognized that she was located in the entranceway of some kind of warehouse with crates stacking in tall rows, stretching out and in front behind her. She blinked once more as Ginjo came to focus. "Such a pretty thing." He purred, running a finger down her jaw as he did so.
"Why are you doing this?" Rukia jerked back, causing Ginjo to laugh in response.
Ginjo's expression darkened. "You shouldn't have rejected me back in Paris. If you had allowed me to have what I wanted then, we would have been even. Now, he has taken everything from me. So, I will take everything from him in return." Pulling a knife from his belt, a smile was seen on his face.
