Chapter 2.
Ichigo stepped into his house at midnight.
He couldn't believe the predicament he was in, still he knew what he had to do. Without turning on the lights he walked towards his room as quietly as he could, he was glad that his dad didn't wait for him otherwise he would've noticed Ichigo's worried expression. He gulped, he didn't know how he was going to hide what he was doing, but hopefully no one would notice.
Once he stepped into his room he turned on the light and ran to open the window. Rukia stepped then into the room, with difficulty because of the garments she was wearing, and smiled at him.
"Carrot top" she said while looking around his room with curiosity "this looks way better than Renji's room."
Ichigo frowned.
"Keep it down" he told her "my sisters are sleeping in the other room."
Her eyes widened.
"Oh" she said "how many sisters do you have?"
Ichigo shook his head.
"I think I underestimated you" he said "you literally let a stranger bring you to his home, are you crazy?"
Rukia chuckled.
"Well, you helped me" she reasoned "if you wanted to kill me you would've done it on the way here."
Ichigo sighed.
"Fine" he said "since we'll be spending a few days together I think we need to get to know each other, stay here, I'll bring you some clothes."
Rukia nodded happily.
"Repeat that" Kuchiki Ginrei ordered and Byakuya fought the urge to groan.
"Rukia escaped from the convent a few hours ago." He said and he noticed how his grandfather's expression changed from anger towards distress in a matter of seconds.
"How did she do it?" Ginrei asked quietly while closing his eyes.
Soujun and Byakuya exchanged a quiet glance. After threatening the Principal and leaving the convent they decided to wait to break the news on Ginrei, he had just recovered from an illness and that was one of the reasons why they wanted Rukia back, Ginrei wanted to spend his retirement in the company of his only granddaughter, unfortunately luck wasn't on their side because once they stepped into the mansion again Ginrei was waiting for them and Rukia.
"No one knows" Soujun answered "all she left was her novice uniform, there were no notes, her bed was neatly made and no one saw anything."
Ginrei sighed heavily.
"I see" he said.
"She was informed that we would pick her up today" Byakuya said "she's obviously avoiding us."
"Oh no" Ginrei said while looking angrily at his grandson "she's avoiding you, she's probably afraid that you'll keep the ridiculous promise that you made her the night you left her in that dreadful place."
"That was a lie" Byakuya excused himself "she's not an idiot…"
"She was a twelve year old girl!" Ginrei said, his anger getting worse by every second "you're her father! I tried to stop you but you never listen! Now look what your silly decision brought! Rukia, our fifteen year old Rukia, alone in the city! The situation is bad enough for common girls, is not like Karakura is the safest city on earth after all, but can you imagine if someone were to discover who she is?!"
Byakuya looked aside.
He didn't like to see his grandfather upset over his mistakes.
"No one knows Rukia" Soujun said calmly "as far as everyone's concerned, Byakuya's daughter is studying overseas, the rival companies and the press none of them knows who Rukia is."
Ginrei nodded.
"That's true" he said "but anyone who knew Hisana-san will recognize Rukia immediately, so we have to find her before anyone else does."
Byakuya nodded.
"She's clever and reckless" Ginrei said smiling fondly "hopefully she'll be okay until we find her."
Soujun smiled at that.
"She will be" he said "who knows? Perhaps she's scared right now, she might look for a way to call us."
Byakuya doubted it but he refrained from speaking.
"So, tell me your story" Ichigo said while handing Rukia some pajamas and a sundress "a nun does not fall from a cliff very often."
Rukia shrugged and took the clothes.
"I'll tell you" she said "but you should tell me yours first, is polite to do so."
Ichigo took a seat on his desk chair and nodded.
"Well, my name is Kurosaki Ichigo" he said while closing his eyes, he supposed that she took that moment to change because he could hear her taking off her clothes "I'm sixteen years old, my father is a doctor and I have two younger sisters, they are fraternal twins by the way, I study at Seireitei High School and Renji is my best friend."
"You mentioned something about work, where do you work?" she asked.
Ichigo could still hear her moving her clothes so he didn't open his eyes.
"Well, one of my father's friends is the CEO of an important enterprise" he explained "I've always admired him so when I turned fifteen I asked him to teach me about his work, he's a lawyer but his family has lots of other business, either way he took me under his wing and I've been working for him for a year now."
"He sounds like someone important." She pointed out.
"He is" Ichigo assured her "he's also a stuck up bastard but he gets along quite well with my dad, so he's not that bad."
"You can open your eyes now." She told him and he did so.
His eyes widened when he saw her wearing Yuzu's pajamas.
Now that she wasn't wearing the veil he could admire her pointy raven hair, it accentuated her unique eyes quite well, he also noticed how skinny she was. He supposed that the nun garments made her look bigger because now she looked like a midget to him.
He blinked.
He thought she was really pretty.
"Well" he said when he was done staring at her "that's my story, what's yours?"
She took a seat on his bed. She wanted to ask him about some things he didn't say, like her boss's name and why he didn't mention his mother when talking about his family but she supposed that for now it was okay.
"My name is Rukia" she said "I'm fifteen years old."
Ichigo crossed his arms.
"What's your last name?" he asked.
She shrugged.
"It's not important." She said dodging his question.
He let it aside, he could always ask her later.
"How long were you inside the convent?"
"My father left me there when I was twelve and before that I was home schooled so I, unlike you, don't know how normal schools work."
Ichigo was starting to feel a little bad for her, he couldn't imagine not having friends and then been locked up in some depressing old place.
"Why would your father do that?"
"He told me, and I swear to you I'm not lying, that it was the best for me and that he would come back for me once he had found a nice husband that would take care of me."
Ichigo's eyes widened.
"What the fuck?" he asked offended "what kind of sick asshole does that?"
She nodded.
"I know" she said "that's why I escaped, he sent me a letter a month ago saying that it was time for me to go back and live with the family, I panicked so I planned the whole escape thing."
Ichigo blinked.
"Falling off the cliff was not in the whole plan though." She added with a smile "I'm an only child, I love animals, I hated every second inside the convent and now that I'm finally free I'm ready to learn to live like a normal girl."
Well, it makes sense he thought.
"So, what are we going to do?" she asked him "where do we start?"
Ichigo sighed.
"Wait a minute" he said "I need more information, is there any way your father might track you here? Should I be worried about that?"
"Not at all" he assured him "I didn't have friends inside the convent so I didn't tell anyone and hopefully he won't find time inside his tight schedule to look for me."
"Okay" he said cautiously "what about your mom?"
"She died when I was little" she said.
"I'm…"
"Don't be sorry" she interrupted him "I barely remember her."
"Okay" he said "now midget, we should get some sleep, tomorrow is Saturday so we'll figure out how to get you a life once the sun is out."
She smiled at him thankfully.
Ichigo looked aside, he didn't know why he liked her smile so much.
Kurosaki Isshin decided that it was time to wake his only son once the first rays of sun sneaked through his window. Smiling he went upstairs and without knocking on the door he stepped into the room.
"ICHIGO!" he yelled and jumped on the bed, only to find it empty.
His eyes widened. He was sure that Ichigo had come back yesterday, he heard him parking outside and he heard him moving some things around his room at midnight. So where was he? He looked at the empty bed and found a note, frowning he read it.
"Old man, don't destroy my neatly made bed. I went to deliver the car to Byakuya along with my reports from yesterday, I'll be outside most of the day, Renji needs my help with something. Don't wait for me."
Isshin blinked.
That was odd.
Rukia sank into the leather seat comfortably.
She was wearing a blue sundress and white sandals, it was so different from the novice uniform that she found herself smiling and enjoying the freedom the dress gave her. She looked at the city passing by from the car window, Ichigo had told her how he needed to give something to his boss so they woke up early, way too early for her liking. Still, she thought that it was for the best because it gave them more time to look around the city and she would be able to learn more things.
Ichigo looked from the corner of his eye to the weird girl.
He couldn't sleep thinking about what sort of problems she would bring him, he woke her up before sunrise so she could take a bath and get ready. He didn't want to imagine what his father would say if he were to see her, leaving a note was the safest route and besides he didn't lie, he needed to see Byakuya before he started to ask where his precious car was.
Ichigo huffed.
The Kuchikis had more cars but Byakuya liked this one for some stupid reason, the fact that he had hit a young novice with it made Ichigo believed that God hated him. He looked at the girl again and noticed how she was frowning.
"Ichigo" she said "I'm hungry."
Ichigo stopped at a red light.
"Well, sorry" he said "but if I don't deliver the reports on time, By-"
"Yeah, your boss will fire you" she said "stop talking about him, can't we go to a fast food restaurant? I cannot remember the last time I had a hamburger."
"You're not having hamburger for breakfast" Ichigo said and checked the clock "okay, I think we can grab breakfast on the way, we still have some time."
Rukia smiled.
"Great!"
Byakuya looked at the clock and frowned.
Every second, every hour counted and up until today there were no news. No one had seen anyone around the area, the cliffs were not an option, it wasn't as if Rukia would jump or fall from there, she wasn't an idiot after all. The woods were empty and not even pieces of clothes were found. Byakuya sighed, the fact that they had to keep the investigation a secret was a point against them, he just couldn't send Rukia's picture to the news channel, no one had to know.
"Stop overthinking, Byakuya" Ginrei advised him while stepping into the studio.
"I'm not overthinking" he said "I'm just wondering if Kurosaki Ichigo will make it on time."
Ginrei looked at the clock on the wall.
"He's on time" he said "besides, the reports can wait, have you heard anything about Rukia?"
"I thought you told me not to overthink" he said "and no, no one saw anything, there are no cameras on the area either."
Ginrei took a seat in front of Byakuya's desk.
"Have you called him?"
"The mad hatter?" Byakuya asked "no, and I don't plan to. The last thing we need is to explain to an eccentric freak about Rukia's existence." The Kuchiki heir grabbed his cellphone.
"Who are you calling?" Ginrei asked.
"Kurosaki Ichigo" he said "I never told him that he could take my car over the weekend."
"I never understood why you liked the Audi so much." Ginrei pointed out.
"It's mine and that's enough reason" he said "besides, why would the boy need my car? He has a motorcycle for the weekends, who knows what kind of things he could do on my car seats over the weekend?"
Ginrei chuckled.
"Stop talking like that, you know he's a good boy" he said smiling fondly at the mention of Ichigo "besides, it's not as if he's using it to drive crazy girls around."
"He better not" Byakuya said and dialed the orange haired boy's number.
Ichigo observed the crazy girl in front of him and started to wonder several things, who was she? Somehow, while he didn't doubt the convent story, he couldn't help but wonder if that was all there was to it, which brought him to the next question, who was her crazy as fuck father? It had to be some fucking asshole, because no one deserved to be called father after leaving his daughter in a convent and then try to get her a husband, it didn't make sense.
And his last question was, how come she could eat so much while having such amazing table manners?
Ichigo noticed instantly how well behaved she was, they sat in one of the tables at the back of the restaurant, Ichigo ordered a traditional Japanese breakfast and Rukia sat down with her back straight and once the food was served she started to eat with impeccable manners. That surprised him, he didn't know a lot about convents and nuns be he didn't suppose that they would teach etiquette, did they?
The breakfast consisted of mixed rice with either ikura, eggs with furikake, pickled vegetable salad, grilled fish, miso Soup and natto, somehow the skinny girl in front of him managed to eat everything and even asked for seconds.
He tilted his head while looking at her.
Perhaps the nuns were starving her or something.
"Is there something on my face, carrot top?" she asked smiling.
He looked aside and frowned.
"Stop calling me that, midget."
She smirked at him and was about to tell him something else when his cellphone went off. He answered without checking who was calling.
"Yo" he said uninterested and Rukia noticed how he paled in a matter of seconds.
She blinked.
"Who…?" she wanted to ask but he stood up.
"I'm on my way, I'm still on time! No, I'm not messing around with your car! Would you listen to me? Bya…" he hung up the phone defeated and Rukia looked at him worriedly.
"Is everything okay?" Rukia asked him.
"Yes, my boss is just being an ass" Ichigo said "I have to go, are you done?"
"No" she said while looking at the rest of her breakfast "why don't you go? I'll wait for you here."
Ichigo paused for a second. Something about leaving her behind didn't settle well with him but he knew he didn't have much time, besides he chose the restaurant because it was just a few blocks away from Byakuya's residential area. He was going to come back walking but he could do it fast, right?
"Promise me you won't move from here." He told her and she nodded while focusing on her breakfast again.
"Sure" she told him and Ichigo left the restaurant running.
It wasn't until he was a few blocks away when he noticed that he didn't leave her his phone number nor money.
Well he thought she's not going to leave the restaurant, right?
Soujun observed how the boy parked perfectly on the usual spot and frowned.
Kurosaki Ichigo was a really interesting boy. He had perfect grades, he was responsible and his family was his top priority, well at least that's what he had noticed in the short time the boy had been working for Byakuya. He liked him well enough but still thought that he needed to learn some manners, he needed to learn how to use honorifics and, for heaven's sake, couldn't the boy dye his hair? He looked like a criminal.
A maid ran to open the door once the boy rang the doorbell.
"Good morning" he greeted politely "Byakuya called me."
The maid nodded and told him he would announce him shortly, Soujun took that chance to talk to the boy so he stepped into the living room.
"Good morning, Soujun-sama" he said respectfully and noticed how he looked nervous.
"Morning" he said "what brings you here so early? You're half an hour early."
The boy shrugged.
"Byakuya called me" he said "I guess he missed the car."
Soujun smiled at that, his son had a soft spot for that car.
"You can bet on that" he said "so, everything went well yesterday?"
Ichigo tensed at the question and he could tell that Byakuya's father noticed. He never got the chance to answer because in that moment Ginrei stepped into the room along with Byakuya, Ichigo greeted them as usual and Byakuya nodded at him while Ginrei smiled warmly. Of all the Kuchikis, Ginrei was the one Ichigo liked the most. He was the oldest but he always smiled kindly at him and he could tell that he appreciated him, which was a relief.
"Son" Ginrei said "I'm so glad to see you, did something interesting happened to you yesterday?"
Oh yes Ichigo thought I hit a girl with Byakuya's favorite car.
"Nothing at all" Ichigo answered, ignoring his own thoughts "I went and delivered the documents, I have the reports here."
He handed the envelope to Byakuya who grabbed it absentmindly.
"I was kind of worried" Ginrei said while walking Ichigo towards the studio, Byakuya and Soujun followed them closely "the roads outside the city can be quite dangerous sometimes, I'm glad nothing bad happened."
"Thank you for worrying, Sir" Ichigo said and noticed how everyone was taking their usual seats inside the studio, he took a deep breath, he couldn't stay to chat today.
"Well" Byakuya said while eyeing Ichigo "sit down, we'll talk about your report and there are a few other things you'll do this week at work."
"I don't mean to be rude" Ichigo said nervously "but I need to go."
Everyone looked at him questioningly.
"Do you have something to do?" Byakuya asked "that's unusual."
Ichigo gulped.
"Well" he said scratching the back of his head "I have a friend visiting the city and I promised her that I would show her around, she's waiting for me."
Byakuya and Soujun frowned.
"Show her around?" Soujun asked "so, you're leaving work aside for a girl?"
Ichigo sighed.
"Oh come on" Ginrei said smiling "is a good thing that Ichigo is finally going on dates."
Ichigo blushed slightly.
"It's not like that" he tried to say but Ginrei just smiled at him.
"It's okay, I still remember my youngster days and I understand" Ginrei said "what's this girl's name?"
"Ru-"
"Her name does not matter" Soujun said interrupting Ichigo "is not as if we know her, just stay for a few minutes boy, then you can leave to your date."
Ichigo obeyed and took a seat.
"Listen" Soujun started "there's a family matter that we must solve this week, therefore we'll leave in your charge some important documents, you can take them to your house if you wish to work there, but we won't be available until the next Friday."
Ichigo nodded
"I don't mean to pry" he said "but is everything okay? Can I help with anything?"
He noticed how the three men in front of him exchanged careful looks, and Ichigo thought that that was weird. The Kuchikis had a tendency to keep all of their worries hidden or at bait, they didn't become one of the most powerful families of Tokyo for nothing, but for them to actually tell Ichigo that they had problems it was quite the event.
Ginrei sighed.
"Hopefully we'll be able to explain this situation soon" he said finally "for now, we need your trustworthy silence and your efficiency at work, is that okay?"
Ichigo nodded.
"Yes, Sir."
"Magnificent" Byakuya said, his face was no betraying any emotion "then we'll begin with your reports from yesterday."
Ichigo looked at the clock and decided to stop thinking about Rukia for a while, she promised she wouldn't leave the restaurant.
After half an hour Rukia got bored.
She had finished her breakfast and she had nothing to do, besides the waiter kept directing glances her way and she felt uncomfortable. She knew that Ichigo wouldn't abandon her, he didn't look like that type of guy, but she wouldn't be able to wait for him much longer. So, making a quick choice she called the weird waiter and asked for the bill.
Once he got back to the restaurant he realized that Rukia wasn't at the table in fact, instead of Rukia, a group of teenage girls was at the table, all of them looked at him with sly smiles and he felt the sudden urge to escape the establishment.
"Uhm, sorry" he said awkwardly "there was a girl here, just a while ago and..."
A blonde one sighed.
"Sorry, we're the only ones here and we just arrived." She explained.
"But" a brunette said "if you're looking for a girl's company you can join us."
Ichigo mumbled his thanks and left them, he was starting to believe that every single girl on earth was crazy. He approached the waiter and asked him about Rukia, surely he knew if she was in the bathroom or something.
"The cutie? Raven hair and amazing legs?" He asked Ichigo after he asked him.
"Yeah" Ichigo answered while holding back from punching the guy.
He had noticed, of course, that Rukia's legs were amazing but he wasn't a pervert to comment on them so shamelessly.
"She left a while ago."
Ichigo frowned confused.
"Just like that? How did she pay?"
The boy frowned confused.
"With money" he answered "she had quite a lot, but she didn't leave a nice tip."
Ichigo thanked him and left the restaurant, where did Rukia got money? Shaking his head he started to look for her, he would have to ask her once he found her, she had to be close. Frowning he looked around the street and then at the sky, it was starting to get cloudy. He cursed inwardly, he didn't want to be under the rain while looking for Rukia.
Rukia looked around the street and noticed the amount of shops and people that were around the place. She smiled, she would look around and then she would stroll around the park, Ichigo would find her, she wasn't going to go too far after all. Looking up she realized that it was going to rain, without hesitating she looked for a shop with umbrellas, which would be her first stop.
Ichigo had searched around all of the street stores and he didn't find her, desperate he texted Renji.
To: Pineapple head.
"How do you find a lost novice in the middle of the city? Asking for a friend"
Renji read Ichigo's message and chuckled.
To: Orange haired asshole.
"Sounds like you're having the weekend of your life. Sorry dude, I don't know how to find girls in the city, otherwise I wouldn't be single as fuck. Let me know if you need help, meanwhile I'm going back to sleep, is Saturday after all."
He sent the message and sighed.
Ichigo groaned at Renji's text.
The first droplets of water started to fall and he felt as if he was running out of time. He started to think, where did she go? He thought about thousands of places only to realize that he didn't know a single thing about her. He didn't know what she was interested in, or where she wanted to go or to do. He felt the need to punch himself, he had promised her to get her a life and he failed to ask her the bare minimum, glaring at the gray sky he promised himself that once he found her he was going to dedicate himself to get to know her.
Without hesitating he started to run.
Rukia paid for her hat and thanked the dark skinned woman on the counter. After stepping into the shop she couldn't help but fall in love with the hat so, instead of being logical and getting an umbrella, she chose the hat which combined nicely with her dress.
"Have I seen you somewhere?" the woman asked her with a cat-like grin.
"I don't think so" Rukia answered "I'm new around here."
The woman smiled.
"Then, welcome to Karakura" she said kindly "my name is Yoruichi and this is my store, feel free to come as much as you want."
"Thank you" Rukia said "my name is Rukia, by the way, do you know where the nearest animal shop is?"
Yoruichi nodded and gave the young girl the directions.
Ichigo thought about going to the police but he discarded the idea, what would he say?
"Officer, somehow I ended up taking care of a novice, she looks like a midget but I do not have pictures or anything, can you help me find her?"
Ichigo shook his head, he couldn't do that. They would probably send him to jail accusing him of being drunk. He groaned and looked up at the cloudy sky, he hated the fucking rain and it was starting to pour harder, he thought about Rukia, would she be scared? Did some fucking pervert found her and she didn't know how to defend herself? Would she be able to remember the way back home? And then another, more scary thought invaded him, did her father found her somehow?
He tried to tell himself that he shouldn't be worrying so much, he didn't even know the girl that much! But her smile and her big unique eyes came to mind and he couldn't help but think about how much he wanted to find her and take her home, with him. He walked towards the animal shop and smiled melancholy, looking at the bunnies from the window shop he remembered how Rukia told him she loved animals.
He groaned.
It had been just a few hours and he had already lost the girl, he was a useless case.
Rukia looked from outside the window shop and noticed his orange hair and sighed with relief. She knew he would remember! She thanked the owner for giving her the chance to protect herself from the rain and said goodbye. She wanted to keep looking at the bunnies but Ichigo was wet so she left the shop, she needed to stop him for looking like a drenched fool.
He was about to leave the street when someone kicked him on the back. He fell painfully on the street and was about to turn around and punched whoever was interrupting his depressive moment when he noticed who the person was.
"Rukia?!" he asked shocked.
He thought he was seeing things, she was wearing the blue sundress, the sandals and a blue straw hat with a ribbon. Where did she get the hat?
"I knew you would remember that I love animals!" she said smiling "I didn't wait for you because you were taking too long, so I visited a few shops, I walked through the park and I decided to wait for you here!"
She extended her hand and he took it, once he was on his feet again he looked at her.
"I was worried" she kept explaining "I thought that your boss was giving you a hard time because we decided to have breakfast instead of delivering the reports, did he fire you?"
Ichigo shook his head in negative.
She smiled.
"That's cool" she said and then looked for something inside the pockets of her dress "I bought you this."
She handed him a key chain, it had a black bunny.
"It'll bring you luck" she said "at least that's what the owner of the shop told me, I think that you work with an asshole so I guess you'll need that from now on."
He looked at the bunny on his hand and thought that it was so Rukia.
"Are you even listening?" she asked him "we look like fools standing here, carrot top! We're fucking wet and…!"
She couldn't keep talking because Ichigo took that chance to hug her.
Her eyes widened, she had never been hugged by a guy but it felt nice. Ichigo smelled nice and while the hug wasn't really comfortable, because of their wet clothes, she couldn't help but think that Ichigo's arms were really toned, she blushed slightly at that last thought.
"I thought I would never find you." Ichigo said and his breath on her ear gave her goosebumps.
"Well" she said a little unsure "you did, can we keep looking at the city? It looks like the rain will end soon."
Ichigo chuckled and let go off her.
"Sure, midget." He told her and looked at the sky.
The rain was really stopping.
Hello! I'm back with a second chapter because I was having fun with this idea, thank you to the ones who reviewed the last chapter:
Just Shipping: I'm glad I made you laugh! Hopefully you liked this chapter as well, let me know! Kisses and thanks for reading!
Jobananasan: As always your reviews light up my days! Thank you so much for your support in this story as well, let me know what you think about this chapter! By the way, I'm planning to update "My little genie" next. Kisses!
Haru000: Thank you for your review! I know I mention convents quite often, I'll explain why in the next chapter ;) let me know if you liked this chapter! Kisses!
Vick Greystark: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! Let me know what you think about this chapter, kisses!
Emman214: Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you enjoy the concept, tell me what you think about this chapter, okay? Kisses!
Thank you again and see you on the next chapter!
Pd. I apologize for my grammar mistakes.
