A/N: Hello, everyone! Just a reminder that it's flashback and normal. I did put labels to make it less confusing but let me know if there's a better way. Hope you enjoy!
Rukia… Kurosaki?
Chapter 15
-Rukia-
*Flashback*
"Ichigo— mmph!" My protests were cut off as warm lips captured mine in a heated kiss; strong hands roaming over my figure. As he paused to take a breath, I managed to utter out, "I have to leave soon."
Small kisses traveled from my ear to my neck and down to my collarbone, almost trailing to the swell of my— "Rrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!"
Hazel eyes glared at the interruption but their owner does not stop his ministrations. I reach over to grab my phone and see the caller ID. Immediately, I pushed off my husband, ignoring the offended 'Hey!' that he yelled out.
"Nii-sama!" At this, the pout on Ichigo's face deepened and I rolled my eyes at him. "How are you doing?"
"Rukia, I am well. How are you and Takeshi?" My brother's deep voice echoed with just a hint of softness but I rolled my eyes for the second time.
"We're good. Ichigo is not doing bad either if you were wondering." My beloved strawberry took this as his queue to leave the room.
"Hn, I was not." He said flatly, though only one who has spent more than 50 years living with him can tell the difference in tone. "I called to confirm that you are still heading to Seireitei tonight for our meeting with the head captain."
"Yes, Nii-sama. I will be heading there in two hours which should make me an hour early for the meeting." I made sure to include that, knowing that my brother will approve of my punctuality. Though he miraculously allowed me to take Kurosaki as my last name, I still represented the Kuchiki name as I'm not only the head of the clan's younger sister, but also the mother of the Kuchiki heir.
"You have good judgment, Rukia. However, I wanted to speak to you about an important matter before the meeting. It will be beneficial for you to leave right now."
But we have an hour to talk before the meeting? Instead, I said, "I will be there as soon as I can, Nii-sama."
We hung up and I went to the kitchen where Ichigo was starting dinner, wearing a frilly purple apron that I got as a gift from Yuzu. Of course, since I don't do any of the cooking, Ichigo wore it more than I did and he threatened no sex for a week if I ever disclosed this information to anyone. We both knew it was an empty threat since someone can't keep their hands to themselves but I let it slide.
He didn't jump when I went on my tippy toes behind him and said in his hear, "Is that spaghetti I smell?"
He turned around to give me a peck on the forehead before rolling his eyes and answering, "I literally just started sauteing the garlic and onions. If you want spaghetti, just say so."
"I don't appreciate your tone, Kurosaki-kun," I said extra politely to spite him for calling me out and to see the cute scowl on his face.
He smirks at my attempt to annoy him and points his finger at me as if talking to a child, "Well, I don't appreciate your nosiness and your fake high-pitched voice, Midget-san."
I glared at him but maintained my polite tone, "How original of you to point out my height, Strawberry-kun."
This time, he does scowl which made me replace my glare with a smirk of my own.
"Hey, you know that's not what my name means!"
"And you know my name isn't midget!"
"You started it by calling me Kurosaki-kun!"
"You're mad I'm calling you by your name?"
"You were saying it sarcastically! And it's your name too!"
"Never said it wasn't—"
There was a pause. My nose twitched.
"Baka! The food is burning!"
"Oh shit!"
"Remind me how you two have a kid again?" Both Ichigo and I turned our heads to the intruder's voice. Ichigo had turned off the stove and started cleaning up the pan while I was waving a kitchen towel in the air to get rid of some of the smoke before the alarm goes off.
"You guys get so wrapped up in your little world when you argue like that, you didn't even notice me come in."
"Renji! What are you doing here?" I said confusedly but not unhappily, the same time Ichigo yells, "Oy, pineapple head! How many times have I told you to come through the front door and not the window!"
Said pineapple head snorted as he jumped down to our kitchen floor, "And how many times have I told you both that bantering like that is NOT the proper way to do foreplay? Also, I'm here to pick Rukia up."
My husband's brows furrowed, "I thought the captain's meeting isn't till three hours later?"
"Nii-sama wanted me to go there early. I was about to tell you. He said it's important." I turned to Renji, "I don't know why you're picking me up though. You do know we have a personal senkaimon that leads both to the Seireitei gate and the Kuchiki mansion?"
"Oh yeah, we have to stop by Urahara's first. He needs to talk to you before you leave the world of the living."
"But I just spoke with Nii-sama and he said to meet him right away!"
"Rukia, trust me on this."
I looked at my childhood friend who was staring at me intently. Then, I turned my gaze towards my husband who shrugged. I looked back at Renji and sighed.
"Okay, but we better get going. If we're late, I'm telling Nii-sama it was your fault."
"Wait, don't I get a say in this?" Ichigo looked at Renji and I incredulously. "We were supposed to eat together first and then pick Takeshi up from the old man's house before you head out."
"I'm sorry, Ichigo. You know I will always put Takeshi first but it will just be a few hours and you'll be here to spend time with him. I'll be back later today plus we have our anniversary plans coming up and you'll have me all to myself."
I went on my tippy toes to ruffle his hair and give him a quick peck as we were not normally big on public displays of affection. He relaxed into it and started pulling me closer until Renji coughed to remind us that he was still in the room.
"Sorry to interrupt, love birds, but we're really on a tight schedule here."
"Fine. I'll be here waiting for you so you better not get into any trouble, midget." (I love you and be safe)
"Baka, if anyone's getting into trouble it will be you. Don't cry too much while I'm gone." (I love you too and I'll miss you)
Renji raised his eyebrows at the teasing, not catching on to the hidden messages, but as Ichigo and I looked into each other's eyes, I knew we had read each other's minds.
We arrived at the Urahara shoten where said shopkeeper of the same name was waiting for us. After going into one of the rooms and being served tea, Urahara ushered everyone out of the room except for Renji and I.
Once we were alone, he pulled out what looked like a zanpakuto with the blade shaped like a key, making it the size of a dagger. The hilt was black and gold with red diamonds in the middle and the 'blade' was as dark as the hilt. It reminded me of Ichigo's bankai.
"What is that?" The sixth division vice captain beat me to the question we both wanted to ask.
"Why, I'm glad you asked, Abarai-san!" The ex-captain fanned himself, leaving only his eyes to our view, making it hard for me to read his expression. "Before I explain what this is, I want to first address the lovely Kuchiki-san!"
Knowing he's not going to listen anyway, I don't bother to correct the name. I urge him to continue with a glare.
"I'm sure that you're aware of the captain's meeting that is going to be held later. Now, I am not going to tell you how I know this or how I know any of the information I'm about to tell you but I need you to listen carefully. One of the things Yamamoto will discuss is the growing presence of an arrancar in Hueco Mundo. The arrancar is at Espada-level so he will be assigning this mission to you and have you bring a seated officer for back up. I need you to ensure that you go alone or your seated officed will die on this mission. Of course, you can't tell them that but you need to make a believable excuse because for this to work, you must be by yourself."
As Renji and I processed this information, neither of us could say a word.
"Expectedly, your brother will have some protests about you going by yourself so someone will have to provide a distraction to take him out of the equation. Exactly five minutes after the meeting starts, Abarai-kun will barge through the door saying that there is an emergency and insist that Byakuya leaves the assembly, making him miss the details of Kuchiki-san's mission. By the time he receives a report to back-brief him on the meeting, which should be a few days unless it concerns him directly, your 'mission' should be over."
This time, Renji interrupts before Urahara could continue. "How the hell am I going to get Kuchiki-taicho to leave the meeting!? Even if there was an emergency, he'll definitely berate me for barging in the captains' assembly instead of handling it myself."
"I'm afraid you'll have to figure that part out yourself, Abarai-kun. As a vice captain, I'm sure you're smart enough to think of something." He quipped at Renji with a hint of condescension then turns to me.
"Right after the meeting, when you return to the world of the living, come back here by yourself and I'll tell you all about this little device right here."
He waved the key-like zanpakuto in front of our faces but all I could think about was 'go alone or your seated officed will die on this mission.'
Just what kind of trouble has Urahara dragged me into this time?
*end of flashback*
-Ichigo-
"Time travel, huh?" I turned to my raven-haired best friend, still surprised. "I never would have guessed it was possible but then again, there was a time that I didn't think shinigami were real."
After I confronted 'Rukia,' we went to Urahara's shop as he requested where he explained to me what was going on based on the information he got from his future self. Rukia had remained silent while I listened to the hat-and-clogs go on about The Dreamer, how the Rukia next to me is from eight years in the future and traveled time to switch with my Rukia, and that the arrancar has to be defeated for her to go back to her timeline.
Though she didn't say anything, she did magically produce a sketchbook with Chappy doodles to "help me understand." Of course, when I said her ugly drawings were just making me more confused, I got a kick in the stomach that I took as a queue to shut up. I'm not a coward but I'm also not suicidal.
Inwardly, I felt a wave of relief inside due to the familiarity of the scene. I guess some things don't change in an eight-year gap. Wow, that sentence feels so foreign in my head.
Even though I had felt that something was different, I certainly did not expect this to be the truth behind it. I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around this whole thing but the strongest emotion I had was worry.
I hope she's okay.
"What I don't understand is why you just didn't ask me to defeat this arrancar in the first place? Why are you telling me now after you've already switched them?"
"Why, Kurosaki-kun, I'm afraid that's a question you have to ask my future counterpart. I am nothing but a humble shopkeeper relaying the message for you!"
Rukia finally broke her silence, "No, Ichigo's right. This doesn't make sense. Urahara clearly stated that Ichigo can't know anything so that the future is not affected by these events. Why would he suddenly change his mind?"
Her brows were furrowed and I could see the wheels in her pretty head turning, looking for a possible explanation that will explain the actions of her timeline's Urahara.
"One more thing," I suddenly remembered why we were here in the first place, "you said over the phone that you had a task for me. What is it?
"Ah, all in due time. For now, the next step is for Kuchiki-san to re-enact your first meeting for the third time!"
"You don't mean—"
"Yes! I'm afraid she's going to have to stab you again. Ah, how funny destiny works!"
-to be continued-
A/N: Hi, thank you for reading till the end! IF you haven't noticed by now, I love ending in the middle of scenes lol. Let me know your thoughts in the reviews! :)
