OH MY GOODNESS I CANT BELIEVE ITS BEEN 2 WEEKS ALREADY WHERE IS THE TIME GOING? A massive thank you to the Guest and Diah77 for leaving reviews on the last chapter!
Little warning for this chapter, there's a kiss!
There's plot in here too somewhere if you look for it! You also get a MASSIVE cookie if you find the Grease 2 reference!
Guest to answer your question; the characters of Bleach could honestly fit into any of the houses, they're so versatile :D but because Toshiro is fairly ambitious and driven in this fic, he's in Slytherin. Ichigo is in Hufflepuff because even though he's brave, he wouldn't do half of what he did if he wasn't loyal to his family and friends! Honestly though... all the main Bleach characters are Brave, Loyal, Smart and Ambitious so they can go anywhere :D
Since the Hogsmeade weekend, the month of October seemed to streak by in a blur. Outside the castle, the trees had begun their yearly transformation. The vivid greens and yellows had turned into magnificent autumn colours. Hues of gold, red and brown now greeted them each day they walked outside.
Rukia had forgotten that Karin would still have a full school schedule. Unlike the older students who had free periods dotted around their weeks for study. It meant that all their Quidditch practices had to take place very early morning, before nine in the morning, or after five in the evening, or on the weekends. Karin was deeply apologetic for it and offered to try and get out of class early one day to get extra practice in.
'We don't need you getting detention too,' Rukia laughed, but she was pleased by the girl's enthusiasm.
'I still feel bad,' Karin sighed, watching Renji yawn widely and lean against Ikkaku to snooze. They were in the North side changing room of the Quidditch pitch, getting ready for practice.
'It's not your fault,' Yachiru chirped cheerfully, her little legs swinging backwards and forwards from where they could barely reach the ground on the bench. 'Rukia was the one that demanded we get up at six this morning, not you.'
'And I'm not sorry.' Rukia shrugged, 'Karin and our- BEATERS!' she shouted the word to wakeup Ikkaku and Renji who had begun falling asleep.
Renji gave a grunt as he started awake and glared at her.
'- will be our most important team members for this first match. I have every faith that our team of Chasers will keep Slytherin's at bay that Tatsuki won't even have to do anything.'
'Sounds good to me,' the Keeper said stretching her arms and then folding them behind her head.
'Toshiro is by far our biggest threat, so I want Ikkaku and Chad to focus on knocking him off his broom.'
'That's ruthless,' Karin smirked, 'isn't he your friend?'
'This is how she treats her friends,' Renji murmured rolling his eyes, 'you should see how she treats her boyfriends.'
The only thing that stopped Rukia from punching Renji square in the face at the comment was the fact she needed him conscious for practice. She did give him a very obvious glare though and hoped that Karin wouldn't pass that particular message along to Ichigo.
'I love Toshiro,' she said firmly, 'but if he's a threat to my team winning, then he's in my way.'
'Ouch,' Ikkaku said.
'Cold,' Renji shook his head.
'Don't worry, I'm sure we can dispose of him,' Tatsuki chuckled.
'This is why men and women shouldn't play sports together,' Renji sighed, 'because ya'll just wanna murder us.'
'You make it too easy,' Tatsuki said flicking his ear.
Chad remained silent, as he always did, and Rukia called for attention before things could get too chaotic.
'I have some team plans,' she said pointing to the board. Rukia had spent a lot of time revising her strategies and while most of them involved her Seeker and Beaters detering Toshiro from catching the Snitch, she also had a few plays for the Chasers to score as many goals as they could in a short amount of time.
Following her half an hour long lecture the team made their way out onto the Quidditch pitch for practice. The conditions were kind to them. There was almost no wind and the early autumn sun provided just enough warmth that their fingers weren't too cold to play properly. Karin managed to catch the Snitch four times within the hour, not her best performance but she was hindered by the Beaters who Rukia had instructed to focus on her as much as possible during the match. If Slytherin were smart, they'd station their beaters against Karin, to allow Toshiro the best chance to catch the Snitch as early as possible.
They managed to practice a few of their strategies and before they finished up Rukia had sent them for a jog around the pitch, mostly to annoy Renji.
She continued to drill her team as the end of October approached, getting them up at six in the morning for early practices and late in the evenings through the week. This first match would be crucial for them to gain an early lead against Hufflepuff in the overall standings.
It left her very little time to do her school work and next to spending time with her brother Byakuya, she found she wasn't getting to bed until past midnight most evenings.
'You're going to burn yourself out,' Yukio scolded as she started to doze off during their Muggle Studies class. Thankfully Professor Kuna was very easily distracted and didn't notice when Rukia took the occasional nap at the back of the classroom. It wasn't like Muggle Studies was a difficult subject and having two of her best friends come from muggle backgrounds was incredibly helpful when it came to homework.
'I'm fine,' she murmured and listened to her blond friend sigh. Yukio lifted his book up and propped it so that it shielded her from the view of their Professor.
Rukia woke early on the eve of Halloween and cursed at herself. Constantly getting up at six in the morning meant her body clock simply refused to give her a lie in. She strained her ears to the sound of the castle. There was a shuffle of bedcovers from one of the other girls. Outside the open Gryffindor window she could hear the constant hoots of the wood pigeons and distant laughter that she couldn't be sure came from another room inside the castle or outside. Rukia lay in bed, trying to get as much rest as she could before she finally gave up and got dressed.
The large clock that hung on the Gryffindor Common room wall told her it was just before breakfast. She climbed through the portrait hole and made her way toward the Great Hall.
The Halloween decorations of Hogwarts never disappointed and though she'd seen a few slowly popping up around the school over the last week, the House Elves really outdid themselves through the night. The occasional suit of armour tried to attack her on the way to the hall, making her jump with fright. Large fat pumpkins hung in the Great Hall suspended by nothing as they floated around the air, their faces not yet carved until Halloween day.
She helped herself to eggs and toast and ate as she caught up on the news. According to the Daily Prophet, the wizard who had gone missing in Selfoss had been found dead and another three had gone missing. Rukia frowned as she read. A number of Auror's had been dispatched to the remote town to try and figure out what was going on. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably when she read that one of the Auror's was the esteemed Kenpatchi, Yachiru's adopted father.
If anyone could figure out what was happening, it was him. He was Head of the Auror department and had been promoted after helping to bring down The Dark Lord.
Rukia folded the paper and put it back down on the table, finishing up her breakfast just as a few other students began to trickle in. Rukia watched as Orihime sat chatting to Yuzu, Ichigo's little sister. The older woman was leaning over her as Yuzu pointed to something on the table as Orihime clearly helped her with whatever homework was causing her trouble.
'Good morning,' Tatsuki said, making Rukia jump.
'Jesus,' Rukia grumbled, 'I've been scared enough by the suits of armour today, I don't need you doing it to me as well.'
Tatsuki smirked and slid into the seat beside her, pulling eggs and bacon onto her plate, she nodded at the paper. 'Did you see that they've sent Kenpatchi?'
'Yeah, how's Yachiru?' Rukia asked.
'She's fine. She was heading for a shower when I woke up. She actually laughed and said that whoever was doing it was "screwed now".'
'That's a relief,' Rukia sighed, her eyes straying back to the paper. It was a tiny bit selfish of her, but she wanted Yachiru's full attention on the matches they had that year and it would be difficult if she was too busy worrying for her adopted father.
'This is your fault,' Renji snarled sliding into the bench with Ikkaku and Chad as they appeared in the Great Hall, 'thanks to you I cannot sleep past eight in the morning.'
'You're welcome,' Rukia smirked, 'now you get all the best food for breakfast.'
Renji looked torn. He was clearly still annoyed at waking up early, but it was undeniable that they were sitting with the best food. He shrugged and pulled his favourites toward him and began to tuck in.
'Fancy a walk around the grounds?' Rukia asked Tatsuki when she noticed the other girl had finished eating.
'I would but I have a mountain of Astronomy homework and said I'd meet Yumichika at half eight in the library,' she replied.
'That sucks,' Rukia sighed, 'I'll probably meet you there later. I just want a bit of fresh air before I shut myself away for a night of studying.'
'Enjoy yourself,' Tatsuki replied as Rukia stood up from the table and made her way toward the Entrance Hall. Her peaceful morning was interrupted when she was chased out into the sunshine by Wonderweiss the poltergeist who had a target on her back ever since her first day at the castle.
'Do you have a crush on me or something?' she snapped at the ghost. He made an inappropriate hand gesture but flew off into a wall to dodge the question.
There was no such thing as a quiet morning at Hogwarts.
Rukia took a deep breath of the fresh morning air as she walked around the school grounds. Her feet automatically moved in the direction of the Quidditch pitch as she followed the sunshine. It wasn't until she could see the pitch ahead that a shape caught the corner of her eye. She glanced over at the forest where she'd seen it. Her eyes slid to the top of the trees, where she was sure she'd seen the shape move. Perhaps it was another Halloween joke the school was playing.
Then she saw it again. A flash of pure black against the brilliantly blue sky, it was fleeting and then it was gone, dipping back down into the forest. It looked fluid, whatever it had been. It didn't look like a winged creature, so she was sure it wasn't a Thestral. Rukia stood, torn. She wanted to go and investigate what she'd seen because she'd never seen it before. With a second of hesitation, her legs changed direction and toward the forest when she saw someone flying above the Quidditch pitch.
It was Ichigo. Rukia could tell it was him even from this far away because of his bright yellow Quidditch robes and the brilliant orange of his hair. She paused, her eyes sliding back to the forest. It was off limits to students and she might get a detention just before the upcoming Quidditch match if she were caught in it.
Making her decision, Rukia turned and made her way toward the pitch instead, watching Ichigo fly as she approached.
Ichigo was a sensational flyer. He could have taken a position of a Chaser on his team, but Keepers were always the hardest players to find. He wove in and out of the stands, diving toward the ground and pulling out of his dives and turns just before he hit any object in his path. He made it look so effortless, despite the speed at which he streaked across the pitch. It was both exhilarating and terrifying to watch.
He looped effortlessly and dove for the ground gaining speed as he went. Just before he collided with the earth he brought himself up out of the dive. Rukia had now reached the pitch entrance and was walking along its green towards the broom cupboard when Ichigo charged at her. She threw herself out of his way as he streaked past her laughing.
Rukia glared up at him, pushing herself up from the muddy earth and watching him fly up toward the sun. She cupped her hand over her eyes to follow his figure as he flew out of reach. Scrambling to her feet she darted to the broom cupboard and wrenched it open, grabbing the first broom her fingers closed in around. Then she kicked off from the ground, feeling the air press down around her and the familiar whooping sensation in her stomach.
'Alright then,' Rukia smirked to herself, 'let's see what you got.'
She sped after him and Ichigo looked back at her, his smirk dazzling even from a distance. At first they did little more than fly around the pitch, him out in front and Rukia in hot pursuit. It was clear Ichigo enjoyed the warm morning air as much as Rukia did, given the way he kept flying toward the sun. When she flew, it was an excuse to leave all her concerns on the ground, any worries about exams or her brother's expectations, any expectations she had of herself or her friends had of her, any homework or other commitments. Rukia could take to the sky and leave them all behind. The visualisation technique meant she could keep her mind focused fully on a match. Except this wasn't a match, this was flying for fun, flying to be free. Rukia kept her eyes on the blinding yellow robes, smiling at the way they caught the light as Ichigo wove in and out the stands. She followed the ripple of his clock and the tail end of his broom, staying as close to him as she dared and smirking as he'd pull off a complicated manoeuvre to try and out-speed her.
'You're going to have to work harder to keep up with me, Kuchiki,' he called, Rukia was barely able to hear him over the rushing of the wind in her ears. She narrowed her eyes, challenge accepted.
Rukia Kuchiki was the best Quidditch players the school had and she'd prove that. Flattening herself to her broom she urged the stick forward with as much willpower as she could muster, but Ichigo wasn't going to be caught that easily. Just as she drew level with him, he swerved to the left, putting one of the stands between them with a burst of laughter. Now immensely pissed off, Rukia looped and sped off in the direction of the other side of the pitch, her eyes on Ichigo. The strawberry blond boy was flying on autopilot, knowing the stadium so well he could manoeuvre it while still glancing over his shoulder. He was looking for her behind the stand he'd used to divide them. Rukia sped directly at him, cutting across his path and causing him to change direction.
'Jesus fucking Christ,' he cursed and Rukia laughed as she flew toward the North side goalposts. She didn't need to look behind her to know that Ichigo was now hot on her tail, she could feel his gaze boring into the back of her head. With a smirk, and unable to herself from showing off just a little, she continued toward the goalposts at full speed.
Clutching her broom with two fingers and slowing just enough to pull the stunt off, her feet found the wood of the broom and she jumped into the air, letting the broom go through the top goal post on its own. Suspended only for a second and judging the speed as accurately as she could have she landed back on it once it had gone through.
'You're fucking mental,' Ichigo called and Rukia glanced back to see him. He'd stopped just a couple of metres from the posts, his lips parted in shock and his expression torn between impressed and concerned. 'You could have fallen.'
'I know the Arresto Momentum charm,' she said rolling her eyes, 'I'd have been fine.' She pulled her broom around and was now floating just in front of him, fixing her gloves.
'Would you have had enough time to pull your wand out and complete the spell before you hit the ground?' Ichigo asked raising a brow at her.
'First you insult me as a flyer,' Rukia sighed with a dramatic eye roll, 'and now you insult me as a witch.'
'What are you going to do about it?' Ichigo smiled.
Rukia fixed him with a levelling stare. 'Get the balls out.'
His eyes fluttered in confusion, then his brows pulled together and his mouth fell open. Rukia gave a theatrical sigh at his ludicrous expression.
'I mean the Quidditch balls.'
'Right!' Ichigo was flustered as he turned around and sped toward the ground where the broom cupboard was. He really was an idiot, Rukia thought as she chuckled to herself, but idiots could still be attractive.
Ichigo only took a few moments before he was back out in the pitch, the large red Quaffle clutched under his arm as he mounted his broom and flew back up to meet her. Rukia was leaning back on her broom casually, one hand clutching the front, the other behind her propping her up.
'Think fast!' Ichigo called tossing the ball at her with very little warning. Rukia's hand flew up to protect her face and she barely caught the ball as it bounced off the skin of her palm and started tumbling to the ground. She glared at him and he smirked back, flying over her head and toward the goalposts where he proceeded to fix the protective gloves and wrist guards around his arms.
'Idiot,' Rukia muttered under her breath, but the Quaffle found its usual holding spot under her arm as she flew away from the goals. Ichigo was at the advantage here. In a normal Quidditch match, Rukia would have two other Chasers that she could pass between to try and confuse the Keeper. Though penalties were usually just one Chaser and one Keeper, when that Keeper was Ichigo, the outcome was usually set.
Ichigo had leaned forward on his broom, his game face now in place. Rukia could tell from his stance, the way she'd observed him multiple times during matches and any practices she'd been fortunate enough to spectate. His shoulders were raised, his eyes trained in on her and one hand was gripping the front of his broom, ready at a moment's notice to kick it into gear.
'Alright,' Rukia murmured. This was more than her just flirting with him now. She was being allowed the privilege of a free practice session with him.
She circled the pitch once, her eyes following him, watching his head as he turned to glance up at her. He left no gaps in his defence. While some Keepers would start to drift and leave rings open, Ichigo could watch her and stay in place between the three hoops.
Having stalled enough, she dove. Ichigo's two hands came to the front of his broom, ready, his expression smoothed into that sexily impassive face he wore when concentrating. Rukia charged him, aiming for a very obvious shot against his left side hoop. He didn't move to counter her until the last possible second and nearly let the goal in.
'What was that?' Rukia laughed, catching the Quaffle as it fell toward the ground. When she rose to look at him his face was turning a very beautiful shade of pink.
'I thought that was too obvious that you were going to do something else last second,' he huffed.
'I know it was obvious,' Rukia chuckled, 'that's why I did it. Wanted to warm you up first, you know?'
Ichigo glared playfully at her, 'would you just shoot the ball?'
'I must say your face suits that shade of pink,' she teased, unable to help herself, 'clashes with your hair and robes.'
'Shoot the damn ball, Rukia.'
Rukia bit her lip to stop herself laughing at him again. She skirted the edges of the pitch as she geared up for her second attempt. He'd clearly over thought her first attempt, but would he fall for the same trick twice in a row?
The answer was yes.
The Quaffle sailed right past his right ear and into the right side hoop and Rukia buckled laughing as he cursed and dove for the ball.
'Where is Hufflepuff's great Keeper gone?' she called as Ichigo scooped the Quaffle just before it hit the ground and flew back up into the air around the hoops.
'Shut up,' he tossed her the ball, 'where are your great Chaser techniques? I know you've got better game than this.'
'I don't think I need to try too hard, if you're going to let my direct shots in,' Rukia pointed out. Whatever retort he had was lost on the wind as Rukia sped away and then circled back. This time she wasn't going for the obvious but hoped he'd be expecting it. She gave the top hoop her full focus, flying toward it, her eyes trained on his and only at the last second did her hand and eyes shoot for the right side hoop again. Ichigo blocked it with his arm and she had to dive for the ball while he called after her.
'Nice try, Rookie.'
The aerial flirting continued, with Ichigo managing to block more goals than Rukia could score. She refused to pull off some of her best moves, preferring to save them for the eventual Hufflepuff vs Gryffindor match, which would be one of the last games of the season. Instead, she took the time to study him. This little air battle was not being put to waste. Ichigo had idiosyncrasies just like the very best players. Eventually Rukia could pick a pattern in how he moved around the hoops, how he'd anticipate her attempts to score and how he'd taunt her after she'd failed.
'Aren't you meant to be one of the best?' he teased after he blocked her fifth shot in a row. The jab would have gotten to her if she was actually trying to score goals by him and not simply using the time to study his technique.
'Maybe I'm not,' Rukia shrugged and she watched the grin slip and fall from his face. His brows pulled together and his eyes narrowed. She flashed him a grin and sped toward the ground where the Quaffle had plummeted after Ichigo knocked it away from his left side ring. Ichigo followed her down and Rukia landed gracefully on the grassy pitch. The sun had moved across the sky and it was well past lunchtime.
'God I'm starving,' Rukia said, hearing Ichigo land on the grass behind her. She picked up the Quaffle and tucked it under her arm then turned back to Ichigo.
'You know I was only kidding about the whole "you being the best" thing,' he clarified. Ichigo stood with his broom over his shoulder the same concerned look on his face and his sunshine-robes blinding her. Rukia snorted at his concern and rolled her eyes.
'You think I can't take being teased?' she shook her head, 'I know I am one of the best, I don't need to prove it to anyone.'
Ichigo visibly relaxed at her comment and then a grin was spreading back across his face. He looked stupidly handsome, as always. Rukia glanced across the pitch and moved in the direction of the broom cupboard. After they deposited their brooms and the Quaffle they set off back to the castle at a leisurely pace. Rukia was indeed hungry, but she'd take every extra moment in Ichigo's company as she could get.
'That was fun,' Ichigo stretched his long arms out in front of him, his robes catching the light.
'It was,' she agreed, 'but you need to work on your patter. Your flirting is terrible.'
Ichigo was quiet for a second and then burst out laughing. The sound was low and throaty and she couldn't help but grin as she listened to him.
'Are you always so gallus?' he asked.
'Usually,' she shrugged, 'but my friends just call me Rukia.'
He shoved her playfully and given that she was so small she had to correct her footing before she actually fell over.
'That was awful,' it was his turn to roll his eyes but the grin was still in place on his face.
'Like I said, you need to work on your patter,' Rukia shrugged, 'it's not my fault you don't know a good Isshin joke when you hear one.'
They were silent for a moment after that. Rukia casually snuck glances at him from the corner of her eyes. He had a contemplative expression on his face as he looked out across the grounds and off in the direction of the forest. The sight of the forest reminded Rukia of what she'd seen before he'd distracted her with an impromptu aerial date.
'Oh!'
'What?' Ichigo started.
'Before you distracted me,' Rukia said, her eyes glancing toward the top trees of the forbidden forest, 'I saw these black shapes moving out of the forest trees.' She pointed in the direction she'd seen them and Ichigo turned to follow her finger.
'The Dementors?' Ichigo asked.
'Is that what they were?' Rukia asked, her mouth falling open. Ichigo took a deep breath and sighed.
'Yeah they've been making my dad's job difficult. They started appearing about two or three years ago and they've been growing in numbers ever since. My dad has to go into the forest with his patronus every time he wants to visit the creatures in there.' Ichigo looked pissed off, it was probably the first time Rukia had ever seen him look angry. 'They're chasing away a lot of the magical creatures that live in the forest.'
Rukia let out a low whistle. The patronus charm wasn't as uncommon a spell as it used to be. The Dark Lord's favourite followers had been the Dementors and most witches and wizards started training for the spell from a very young age.
'Noted,' she said, 'I'll stay out the forest.'
Ichigo shot her a stern look, 'please do.'
'Not that I have any reason to go in there anyway,' Rukia shrugged. 'I'd only go in if your dad was taking us.'
'You took Care of Magical Creatures?' Ichigo asked, his smile turning unbelievably tender. Rukia cleared her throat under his soft gaze and attempted to act like it was no big deal. It wasn't like she'd taken the class in the hopes of seeing Ichigo occasionally. She took it because it was one of the few classes she could have with both Toshiro and Yukio.
'Your dad is one of few professors I like,' she finally replied.
'What about your brother?' Ichigo asked.
'He's okay but he's a pain in my ass,' Rukia sighed, 'he just constantly expects me to know more because we're related. Like his knowledge transfers to me via osmosis or something.'
Ichigo laughed again, 'will you be spending the Halloween feast with him then?'
'No, he usually ventures out to the Great Hall for the Halloween and Christmas feasts, so I'll probably be sitting with Yukio and Toshiro,' she said.
'I was going to ask if you wanted to sit with me?'
Rukia's brain took a lot more processing power than she'd care to admit to comprehend what he'd just asked her. When she did she stopped walking and frowned up at him. He blinked innocently back down at her.
'Won't you be sitting with Orihime?' she asked.
Ichigo tilted his head, 'we broke up.'
He grinned at the dumbfounded expression that must have appeared on her face at these words. 'Wait, when? Why?'
Her heart was hammering in her chest now. Ichigo had always been an impossible to reach dream. He was a year older than her, Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, a prefect and on his way to being Head Boy and also dating one of the prettiest girls in the entire school. It had never crossed Rukia's mind that she would actually find herself being asked to sit with him for Halloween when he was single.
'Look Orihime and I were made for each other,' Ichigo said with a fond eye roll. 'The whole school thought so, my friends thought so, we thought so, and even my family, everyone except Karin, thought so too.' He inclined his head and they continued walking back toward the castle as he spoke.
He didn't reply again for a while and Rukia wondered if he was collecting his thoughts to explain the situation in an amicable way.
'We were good together, but not right for each other,' Ichigo eventually concluded. 'I grew up on the stories of how my mum and dad met. They described this feeling… it's probably similar to the feeling we get when we fly. I never had that for Orihime. I care deeply for her as a friend, but she doesn't make me feel excited. Perhaps we got together when we were too young, I'm not sure. My dad wanted us to stay together because he loves Orihime. Who wouldn't? She's kind and she dotes on Yuzu.'
'But not on Karin?' Rukia asked, curious as to why Karin was the only family member who didn't seem to appreciate his relationship with Orihime.
The corner of Ichigo's mouth ticked as if he were remembering something funny, 'Karin thinks she's too boring. She says I need someone with more personality to stop me becoming a stick-up-the-butt.'
Rukia chuckled because she could see Karin saying something like that to him.
'I spoke to my mum about how I was feeling, she told me to follow my heart. So I spoke to Orihime and we ended things.'
'Wait, I thought your mum died in the war?' Rukia blinked in confusion. She'd heard Professor Shiba talking about his dead wife before and Rukia had never seen Ichigo's mother.
'She did,' Ichigo replied.
Roughly confused, Rukia opened her mouth to question him, but the sad look on his face stopped her. As nosy a person as she was, she wanted Ichigo to like her and challenging him over how he was able to commune with his dead mother maybe wasn't the best way of getting him to consider dating her. They walked in silence into the Entrance Hall. The space was busy with students going into the Great Hall for lunch and their privacy was gone.
'Lunch?' he asked, sheepishly grinning down at her. Rukia nodded and followed him into the hall.
Lunch with Ichigo felt awkward. His bright yellow robes shone out like a beacon across the whole hall and even though they sat at the Hufflepuff table, he still drew looks from those around him. They ate mostly in silence, only talking occasionally about the competitive world of Quidditch.
'Maybe I should have gotten changed,' Ichigo grinned as they left the hall, turning heads and drawing stares as the sunlight from outside the Entrance Hall door hit his robes.
'Probably,' Rukia smiled.
'You never answered my question,' he said and Rukia raised a questioning eyebrow at him. 'Do you want to sit with me for the Halloween feast tomorrow?'
'Assuming you're not wearing those robes,' Rukia pointed at them as they dazzled in the sunlight, much like the grin that now lit up his face. 'We can sit at the Slytherin table, if you're going to be spending time with me, you'll need to meet my friends eventually.'
'I guess that makes sense. I don't need to introduce you to many of mine since they're on your Quidditch team,' he smirked. Rukia smiled and rolled her eyes.
They parted ways after that, Ichigo going off to meet Chad and Tatsuki for a study session in the Library, while Rukia went back to the common room.
Halloween was always an eventful day in the castle. Many students saved their Zonko's Joke Shop tricks for Halloween and April Fool's day. It had become second nature to Rukia to not trust anyone on either of these days so when Yukio offered her a sweet late in the afternoon on Halloween, Rukia refused.
The entire castle was gearing up to the feast and the poor prefects and teachers were working double time trying to catch a group of fifth years who seemed to have employed the help of Wonderweiss the poltergeist to scare as many of the first and second year students as they could. While Orihime was leading the charge, Gin was nowhere to be seen.
'I don't even know why he was made Head Boy,' Ninny complained. Ninny and Noel had joined their impromptu study group in the Slytherin common room.
'Ninny, keep your voice down,' Toshiro said, putting his book down on the round black table where her feet were and tapping her boot to silently ask her to remove them. Ninny stopped swinging on her chair, fixing Toshiro with a pointed look as she removed her feet. Rukia chuckled as she flicked through a page of her book she wasn't reading.
'He must be driving you mad too? We were both up early this morning helping the teachers out. Where the fuck was he?'
'There are first years around,' Noel reminded, nodding her head in the direction of a few first years that tossed Ninny a scandalised look at her language.
'They've fucking heard swear words before,' Ninny scowled, 'they can fuck off.'
The first years scampered after that and Toshiro sighed.
'Why don't you two report him?' Yukio asked.
'Exactly what I was going to say,' Rukia glanced up at the group. Yukio was pretending to study, but Rukia could see the computer magazine hidden between the pages of his Potions book and Noel looked like she'd had enough and had closed her books over.
'Because he's in Slytherin and I don't want to start something,' Ninny grumbled.
'So if you're not doing something to change it, stop complaining,' Noel said.
Ninny gave a dramatic sigh, but did stop talking about it.
'Maybe he was off investigating those Dementors,' Rukia said, playing with the corner of one of the pages of her book.
'What Dementors?' Toshiro asked. Rukia looked up and saw everyone looking at her, their faces ranging from confusion to concern to Yukio's shock.
'The ones out in the forest,' Rukia gestured behind her in a vague direction of where the forest was.
'There's Dementors in the forest?' Yukio asked. He challenged her in a way that almost made Rukia doubt she'd even seen them but she straightened up and narrowed her eyes at him.
'Yes I did. Yesterday when I went out for a walk I saw a few black shapes moving above the trees-'
'And you're sure they were Dementors?' Yukio asked.
'Yes! Ichigo told me his dad has had to put up with them. They're causing issues for the animals in the forbidden forest,' Rukia rolled her eyes, 'honestly Yukio it's not that hard to believe.'
'Wasn't sure if it was a twisted scare prank,' he shrugged, then his face turned a little whiter as he contemplated, 'I don't like Dementors.'
'Neither do I,' Ninny frowned, 'why are they so close to the school though? And why haven't they been moved if they're getting in the way of Professor Shiba?'
'Beats me,' Rukia shrugged.
'And how did you get this information about Professor Shiba?' Yukio asked, raising a blond eyebrow in her direction.
Rukia felt the heat creeping up her face before she even answered.
'Ohhh,' Ninny leaned forward with a grin, 'I heard you two were sitting together at lunch yesterday, something going on between you?'
'I thought Ichigo was dating Orihime?' Noel asked.
'He was, they broke up,' Toshiro said.
'How did you know?' Rukia asked him accusingly.
'Because you'd not sit with a guy who was dating another girl,' Toshiro shrugged and Rukia deflated. She thought maybe he'd been withholding vital information from her.
'That's true,' Rukia said, 'alone at least.'
'So is he sitting with you for the Halloween feast?' Ninny asked.
'He did ask, he's coming to sit at the Slytherin table with us,' Rukia said throwing Toshiro an apologetic look.
'That's fine,' Toshiro shrugged but he did look a little sad. Hyorinmaru leaned into his cheek from his perch on his shoulder.
'He needs to meet the helpless charity cases if he's going to date you,' Yukio said with an eye roll.
'Exactly,' Rukia smirked, 'and I think he wants to see what our dynamic is like just before the upcoming Slytherin vs Gryffindor match.'
'Very excited for that one,' Noel said finally perking up and pushing her head up off the table where she'd been cradling it in her hands. 'Ravenclaw have all taken bets.'
'What did you bet?' Ninny asked, eyeing her girlfriend sideways.
'That Gryffindor would win but Toshiro would catch the Snitch,' she shrugged.
'If I give you some money later will you put me down for the same bet?' Ninny asked.
'You're betting against your own team?' Yukio asked scandalised.
'We fucking stink and you know it, Gryffindor is the second best team at the school,' Ninny scowled. Rukia bristled at that and Toshiro shot her a grin, knowing fine well how that would rile her up. She kept her mouth shut because she had no evidence to disprove this claim. Gryffindor had lost to Hufflepuff so many times it was embarrassing.
Not this year.
After a bit of time the common room started to empty as people made their way to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. There was a buzz of excitement as they entered the hall. Head Master Yamamoto had outdone himself. Live bats flew around the staff table and in the corner of the hall was a live band of skeletons playing various instruments. The pumpkins were finally carved and lit, their light cast eerily glows against the walls and despite the lack of lightning outside the darkened internal sky of the Great Hall occasionally flashed with it. The rumble of fake thunder could barely be heard over the excited chatter of the students as they all took different seats around various tables. Ninny, Noel, Toshiro, Yukio and Rukia sat down at the Slytherin table and were joined by Ichigo, Chad, Tatsuki and Karin. The plates were filled with pumpkin pastries, pumpkin pies, candied apples, toffee apples and ghostly looking cupcakes.
At first Ichigo and Rukia barely spoke, instead he listened as the Slytherin's and the Gryffindor's sassed each other about the upcoming Quidditch match.
'You don't think that I can keep you off the Snitch?' Karin scoffed at Toshiro, 'how do you know I won't catch it before you?'
Toshiro fixed her with a serious look, 'don't do that to yourself.'
'What?' she asked.
'Put unrealistic expectations on your shoulders,' he replied. She scowled and Yukio and Ninny laughed out loud.
'Who's to say Toshiro won't catch the Snitch in the first few minutes of the match?' Ichigo questioned casually raising his goblet to his lips.
'Ichigo are you trying to insult us?' Tatsuki glared at him, 'you do realise that everyone you came to this table with are on the Gryffindor team?'
'I'm just saying,' he was smiling down into his goblet and pointedly not looking at Rukia.
Rukia had sat opposite Ichigo and she continued to glare at him but he still refused to look up from his goblet. Karin elbowed him hard in the side and he hissed and glared down at her.
'I won't let Toshiro get the Snitch that easily,' she scowled.
'And I've got the school record for the most goals scored in the least amount of time,' Rukia snorted. Ichigo's warm chocolate eyes finally rose to look at her. They were shining as a soft smile etched its way onto his face.
'That's true,' he replied. Rukia kept his gaze for as long as she felt comfortable. He refused to look away too and they only broke eye contact when Hyorinmaru flew off. The beautiful little phoenix flapped his way down onto the arm of Rangiku as she approached their table.
'Got room for two more?' she asked with a grin.
A few shocked faces stared up at her and then everyone at the table began to move so Rangiku and Nanao could slot themselves in beside Karin and Tatsuki and opposite Toshiro and Yukio. Rukia quickly cast her eyes down to her friend, Toshiro's cheeks had gone a light shade of pink as he put his fork down on his plate.
'What brings you to this side of the hall?' Yukio asked conversationally, while glancing pointedly between Rangiku and Toshiro.
'Thought I'd come and see what all the Quidditch banter was like before the match,' she smirked at Toshiro who wasn't looking at her. Rukia cast a glance at Ichigo who was watching Rangiku with his mouth slightly open, his eyes flicking between Rangiku and Toshiro.
'We were just talking about how Rukia is going to score fifty goals in under five minutes and Karin will capture the Snitch right out from under Toshiro's nose, actually,' Tatsuki said.
'Were we fuck,' Ninny scowled.
'I doubt that will happen,' Rangiku said rolling her eyes, 'I put money on Toshiro catching the Snitch. No offence Karin, but given that it's your first match and Toshiro has been playing for years…' Rangiku smiled warmly at the raven haired girl who deflated under the gaze.
Hyorinmaru was rubbing his little face off Rangiku's nails as she scratched under his chin. Toshiro watched him and still refused to look at Rangiku.
'What the heck?' Ichigo whispered urgently to Rukia from across the table as everyone around them spoke on.
'I know,' Rukia replied, rather intrigued by the turn of events. She finished her pumpkin pie and kept her eyes on Rangiku.
'You won't let me lose money will you?' she asked leaning across the table and into Toshiro's personal space, forcing him to look at her.
'N-no,' Toshiro replied, 'of course not.'
'Good,' Rangiku winked and leaned back.
Rukia could feel Ichigo vibrating from across the table and she had to purse her lips at the ridiculous expression he wore when she glanced back at him.
'You don't fancy Rangiku do you?' Rukia asked him. That snapped him out of it. He promptly shook his head turning back to her.
'No, of course not,' he smiled, 'she's not my type.'
'Oh? What's your type?' Rukia asked, 'if not tall, blonde and beautiful with sizeable assets?'
Ichigo gave a nervous laugh at that, 'I guess I like them cheekier.'
'How cheeky?' Rukia was enjoying this.
'Maybe as cheeky as the nippy Gryffindor Quidditch Captain?' he replied. Rukia did her best to fight off any embarrassment but wasn't sure she did a good job as she felt hot around the neck.
'You've got good taste then.'
'I think so,' Ichigo chuckled, 'what's your type?'
'Beside tall guys with obnoxious attitudes?' she challenged, then shrugged. 'Kind guys with beautiful smiles.'
'Should I be flattered?' Ichigo asked, flashing her a stunning grin, 'or offended?'
'Who said I was even talking about you?' Rukia asked.
'What's more obnoxious than wearing bright yellow Quidditch robes to lunch?'
'Good point,' she chuckled at him.
'Ya'll going to make me lose my lunch,' Karin snorted standing up, 'I knew it was a mistake to try and sit with my cool Quidditch team for this, you're all just a bunch of horny teenagers.'
Karin moved away from the table while Ichigo's scolding fell on deaf ears and Rukia laughed. She could kind of see what Karin meant. Next to her and Ichigo's blatant flirting, Ninny and Noel feeding each other food, Yukio drooling over Rangiku and whatever was going on with Rangiku and Toshiro, it was a wonder the young girl had lasted so long.
Rukia spent the remainder of her time at the table picking at her leftovers, eyeing Ichigo from the side of her eyes and trying to work out if Rangiku was flirting with Toshiro or if it was just her imagination. Slowly, one by one, people started filling away from the table, starting with Ninny and Noel.
'I think I'm going to head to bed too,' Rukia said as Rangiku and Nanao finally left the table but not without a cute goodbye wave to Toshiro.
'I'll walk you back,' Ichigo said standing up. Rukia wasn't the kind of girl who needed to be chaperoned by a man, but she wasn't going to say no to some more private time in Ichigo's company. She rather enjoyed having the Hufflepuff Captain all to herself.
'I'm really surprised at Rangiku,' Ichigo said the moment they were free of any overhearing ears, 'I've seen her flirt a lot with Gin in our classes over the years but she was laying it on pretty thick for Toshiro.'
'Really?' Rukia asked excitedly and skipped out in front of Ichigo to glance up at him. He smirked at her and nodded his head.
'Yeah, he's in with a chance,' Ichigo said.
'He won't go for it though,' Rukia made a strangling motion in the air with her hands and sighed, 'he doesn't seem to think he's worth anyone's time. He's such a pain in the ass.'
'Maybe when he catches the Snitch right out from under you all in the first two minutes he'll think differently?' Ichigo chuckled as Rukia attempted to shove him.
'Oh shut up,' she rolled her eyes.
'I've always had a lot of respect for Rangiku and always thought she could do better than Gin,' Ichigo said, 'it would be good to see her with someone who understands how amazing she is.'
'You think she's amazing?' Rukia narrowed her eyes at him and he rolled his shoulders.
'She's an incredibly hard working person, I value that given that I'm a Hufflepuff and all,' he pointed out.
'And that's all you value?' she asked.
'Of course,' he chuckled, 'what did you think? I valued her "assets"?'
'You never know,' Rukia shrugged as they rounded the corner and the portrait of the fat lady came in to view.
'I never got to tell you all the things I value in you,' Ichigo caught her hand and Rukia felt her stomach jolt. His cool fingers linked with hers and he tugged her around to face him. His deep chocolate eyes were alight with mischief and his smile was stupid and beautiful.
'What?' Rukia asked, having forgotten what he'd just said.
He smirked and moved a little closer to her, boxing her in against the wall, 'I think you're an incredible Quidditch player.'
His other hand moved to the stone wall just above her head, his chin tilted down so that his face drew closer.
'You're loyal to your friends and stand up for what you think is right.'
'Huh?' Rukia wasn't even listening to him. She was too busy looking at his lips, the way they jutted ever so slightly, the way the corner of his mouth tugged into a half smirk as he spoke.
'I adore the way you toss a Quaffle. I love the way you do this little hand flick when you signal to your team to pass you it.'
Ichigo was very close to her now. Rukia could smell the sweet of his breath and the apples he'd been eating at dinner. He didn't say anything else, but his eyes fluttered close and his lips hovered close to hers, granting her permission to make the final move. She did.
She had to stand on the tips of her toes to reach his lips, even though he had ducked down. They were soft and warm and moistened by his tongue and the moment they made contact one of Ichigo's arms secured itself around her waist, keeping her locked in place. As much as she didn't like being manhandled, she melted in his arms, her hands fisting his uniform to stop her head from spinning. The tender press of lips deepened and they began to move together. Rukia was contemplating slipping her tongue into his mouth when someone wolf whistled behind him and they broke apart.
'So that's why you two snuck off together,' Tatsuki smirked, Chad looked stoic as always.
'Get stuffed, Tatsuki,' Ichigo said rolling his eyes but he slowly unwound his arm from around Rukia's waist. Tatsuki laughed and she and Chad made their way into the common room.
'Did you want to come in?' Rukia asked, quirking a brow up at him and tried to make the offer as inviting as she could by biting her lower lip. Ichigo's eyes followed her lip and she was sure his gaze darkened ever so slightly but he shook his head.
'As a prefect, I don't think that would be a good idea,' he smiled.
'As the year's resident troublemaker, I don't care,' she challenged and he laughed heartily at her.
'Another time, I promise,' Ichigo winked.
'I'll hold you to that,' she grinned.
'Please do,' he smiled and stepped away from her, 'goodnight, Rukia.'
'Goodnight, Ichigo,' she smiled back at him as he turned and walked back down the hall, his uniform swishing impressively behind him.
So the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team Captain had just kissed the Gryffindor Quidditch Team Captain?
The school year just got a lot more interesting.
Okay so NEXT chapter is Slytherin vs Gryffindor! I know a few folk are excited for it!
The link to my Trello (so you can see updates and what I am working on) is on my profile! Also consider joining our Bleach fan fiction discord group! We have 200+ members and would love more readers to join :D you may find a LOT of your favourite Bleach authors already there, and can get snippets for their stories early ;)