Author's Notes: Any offense or discrimination implied in this fic is completely unintentional.
Whiteout.
Candy.
Part I
He was short, gangly and inconspicuous. Well, inconspicuous if he had a hood on to cover his shockingly silver hair. His friends wouldn't believe that he was born like that – everyone dyed and bleached their hair nowadays. Besides that, he was also underaged, and a minor. And all that meant he was perfect for drug trafficking.
Hitsugaya Toushirou was very aware of this fact, and he abused it often. Within the underworld, he was much sought after despite the ridiculously high prices he asked for. Sure, there were other more ordinary kids hanging around and could be hired at low costs, but most of the time, they were so high on drugs themselves that they couldn't even remember their own names, much less handle a drug transaction. But he was something else. He'd grown up in the underworld, raised by different gangs until he could look after himself and earn his own living. He'd taken drugs before, gone out of his mind, and killed all the people within a circumference of one meter before. But that was just once, and some wonder if he actually did it on purpose, to gain a name for himself. After that particularly serious incident, Hitsugaya always maintained a clear mind, quick reflexes, and wits that saved his ass uncountable times.
---
And that was probably why he was strolling down the unlit streets of Rukongai, whistling to himself casually, with a hell lot of Bleach hidden within his windbreaker. Never trust bags, someone had told him a long time ago. This drug was relatively new, just out of the factories. It looked exactly like household bleach, tasted like bitter medicine, but worked twice as well as any other drug, and was currently still unrecognized by the government as a Dangerous Substance. Which meant that it was still technically legal to sell this damned powder for as high a price it could fetch.
Any other kid would feel really honored to be handling this huge "project", but Hitsugaya was indifferent. He found drugs boring and useless after a while, and felt that those who took drugs just to prove a point were the dumbest of the lot. At the moment, he was feeling rather irritated because the plastic bags containing Bleach were poking into his waist. After passing by the bar Wijnruit, he spotted a suspicious-looking character lurking around one of the dark alleys. Keeping his head hooded, he jogged over to the person with ease.
The receiver's eyes darted from side to side, and he was constantly sticking his head out of the alley to keep watch. Hitsugaya scoffed at the pathetic guy and was about to empty his jacket of the drug when he noticed the shiny, new gun wedged in the pocket of his companion.
The gun wasn't such a big deal – almost everyone above ten years old had a gun kept in some part of their bodies. It was the fact that this particular gun was shiny and clean. In the underworld, no one ever got clean and new weapons. Turquoise eyes gleamed as the imposter receiver was hit on the neck by an iron rod before he could snatch up his shotgun. He fainted on the spot and Hitsugaya ran like the wind. He knew that other policemen would be hot on his heels in no time. Passing by Wjinruit (the bar) again, he nearly crashed into an orange-haired guy. Pulling his hood back on, Hitsugaya Toushirou ran into the dark of the night, holding onto the Bleach packets within his windbreaker with all his might.
---
Part II
Pop. He twitched in his sleep.
Scrunch. The rustle of a sweet wrapper. Probably cellophane.
Crack, then silence for a while. He turned over on his bed, covering his head with a pillow. Why on earth did she have to crack the sweet before eating it? Sucking would have done the same job with much less noise.
Scrunch, crackle, plonk. More sweet wrappers, rolled into a tight ball, dunked into the bin. She'd always had a great aim. Pissed off, Ichigo sat up in bed, his orange hair more ruffled than usual and his frown deeper than usual. She sat on the only chair in the apartment, with her feet on the table, amidst a scatter of sweets. An assortment of candies, spilling out of a crumpled white bag with blue bunny prints on it.
"Stop it," he found himself croaking, instead of the string of curses his brain was willing him to say.
Crack, "Stop what?" Rukia asked, without bothering to look at him. He was positive she knew exactly what he was talking about.
"Stop making so much noise with those sweets of yours." Damn it, the curses weren't coming out the way they should have. She must have spiked his drink with something that was numbing the vulgar part of his brain.
"You've just got over-sensitive ears or something," the black-haired female replied. Her voice was funny because of the sweet she was currently sucking. More rustling; she was unwrapping another piece of candy.
"Why the hell is there a candy shop just across the street and why the hell is there a bitch in my fucking apartment sucking god-damned sweets?" Ah, that was better. He felt more clear-headed; the drug was wearing off. Or maybe it was just the fact that Rukia had an annoyingly smug smile on her face that he wanted to wipe off.
"Asshole," she announced rather cheerily, for someone with bandages wrapping half her head in a crude manner and band aids plastered randomly on different parts of her body. He didn't know what had happened; didn't want to know what had happened. All he knew was that his temporary room-mate hadn't come home last night.
---
The night had been peaceful, without her presence. But then again, he'd been the one who poked his nose into her business and brought her battered body back to his apartment. He couldn't blame her for coming back. An awkward silence hung between them. Well, at least for him. She was too busy popping candies into her mouth and constructing a sweet-wrapper snowman. Perhaps it was an alien. He couldn't tell – she'd never had much artistic sense.
"One of these days, you're going to get yourself killed by these unknown people you're running from, or from consuming too much sugar," he muttered, dragging himself out of bed. It was no use trying to get back to sleep; she wasn't about to stop eating her sweets anytime soon. She glanced at him as he trudged his way into the bathroom, knocking himself on some random furniture in the cluttered space.
She called out to him, "Most people don't die from sugar overload. But some may die from tripping over old furniture." There was no reply, just the furious sound of blasting water from the shower.
---
As Ichigo was showering, Rukia reflected about the events that happened yesterday, late at night, in the dark alleys of Rukongai. The usual men in black suits running in their weird clicking shoes and brandishing sleek black guns. A black limo watching from afar, always in the background. They'd come so close last night. Gunshots grazing her limbs, something hitting her on the head. Thank goodness it didn't knock her out cold; she wouldn't have managed to dash into the short-cut that led to Ichigo's apartment. For God's sake, she'd just gone downstairs to purchase a medium-sized goodie bag of sweets from Urahara's Candy Shop! Those irritating "penguin-men", as she liked to call them because of their black and white suits, had been a little more intense yesterday. Her brother was probably getting anxious. She was picturing his expressionless face staring out of the car window when the sudden slam of the bathroom door snapped her out of her thoughts.
---
In shock, her feet dropped from the table and slammed down onto the ground painfully. She winced as her whole body felt a shudder run through and her head began to throb again. Her bandaging skills were very much inferior to Ichigo's – he was sound asleep by the time she'd managed to drag herself into his apartment. AS the pain numbed her mind and sent her into a state of semi-oblivion, she remembered rather fuzzily being lifted onto something soft (the bed?) by a pair of strong arms and a voice telling her gruffly to stay still while he bandaged her wounds properly. A click of a first aid kit, more surging pain as antiseptic was applied onto her open wounds, and this time she was knocked out cold.
---
His hair was red and tied into a tight, spiky, ponytail. Hers was still black, and still parted at the back like a swallow's tail. They weren't the best of friends, but they stuck up for each other if an older kid bullied them in the orphanage. She remembers that he liked candy too.
---
Rukia awoke with a jolt. Strange dream she had. It was rare that her childhood had crept into her dreams. Her orange-haired "room-mate" was nowhere to be seen. But he had cleared up her sweet wrapper alien (yes, it was an alien) and hidden the rest of her blue bunny candies. In place, he had left two riceballs on a plate and a note.
Eat this instead of your freaking annoying sweets. They make your teeth rot and make you fat, he'd written in his surprisingly neat handwriting.
Rolling her eyes, Rukia reached for a riceball. It was good. Much better than candy.
To be continued.
---
To readers: Part II of this chapter was actually written before all the previous chapters. I hope Rukia's obsession with candies is not overly-emphasized. It's all part of creating a "new character" for her. Notice my deliberate references to the word Bleach? I find it funny that household bleach can pass off as a drug. Oh, and Wijnruit as the name of the bar was just a spur of the moment. (For those who aren't part of the bleach lj comm, Rukia's name is thought to mean Wijnruit, or Rue.)
kurenoharu: I'm not really following the whole storyline of Bleach, but there will be similarities between my world and canon!Bleach world. And yes, I won't forget my other fics. XDDD
Nadare-chan: Yes, Shiro-chan. Hope you like this chapter too! ((:
darkspryte: Haha, Kubotite stated that Ichigo likes to wear tight clothing. No other meaning implied. XD
boopkit: Actually, I have been thinking about how Ishida would fit into the storyline, but sadly, the plotbunnies just refuse to come. However, if I ever get an idea about Ishida!Whiteout, I will definitely put him in. (:
disillusiond: Boo, here's the next chappie. Hope you liked Shiro-chan here. Oh, and about Byakuya being a bad guy? You'll just have to wait and see. XD
Higarashi: Ichigo probably took Rukia in because he felt a weird attraction to her. That, and because Rukia probably forced him to, with her fully loaded gun. XD
SxStrngSamurai13: You've got many things correct! The candy shop will reveal its "true colors" and as for Ichigo being special, I'll have to think of something, since canon!Ichigo is very special indeed.
immortalrin: Apologies about not having Byakuya in this chapter. He will appear next chapter, I hope. :)
Starr: Yes, I know many people don't favor AUs. I'm actually one of them, but once in a while, there are some really good ones out there (especially in this fandom).
jia xi: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like the relation to canon!Bleach.
Black Mistress: An oddly suspicious candy shop it is. XD Here's your more! I hope you're not disappointed with this chapter. ;)
Shikani: Thank you for reviewing and for your encouragement!
bianca s: This chapter is even longer than the previous one, I think. Oh no, I will have to update faster then. XDDD
Ori: Glad you think so!
golden shadow: This fic is supposed to be angst, but I keep producing a weird kind of humorous tone. Action will be present, but I guess the focus will be romance and angst. And the weird fluff. XD
Cookies for reviewers!