Chapter 19
Rukia was feeling pure bliss as she rode with Ichigo towards the beach.
She was at the back of his motorcycle again and the sun was barely raising, they left the house early so they could get to Kaien's beach house before anyone else, apparently it was a request from Kukaku. Kaien claimed that his sister wanted to see Ichigo, because he hadn't visited in so long, and she also wanted to meet Rukia because Yoruichi had told Kukaku about her.
"I don't get it," Ichigo said while driving slowly, he had promised Rukia to let her enjoy the ride and to go slow so she could admire the view "you appear out of nowhere and suddenly every female in my life takes a liking to you, is it witchcraft?" he asked with a smirk.
Rukia shrugged as she hugged him tighter.
"Or grace," she said smiling slightly "God really blessed me with you."
Ichigo kept quiet at that, after being with her for so many days he no longer felt awkward with her religious side but sometimes it drove him off balance, what was he supposed to answer? And why did his face feel hot after hearing her saying that? She was really going to be the death of him.
"Okay," Ichigo said "we're almost there."
Rukia nodded as she kept enjoying the view, they left the city almost an hour ago and the sun rising behind the trees on both sides of the highway gave an ethereal glow to the whole ride. She could barely contain her excitement as she realized that they were now near the cliffs and how she could see the ocean at the distance. Her eyes widened as a smile crept on her face.
"We're near the place where I first saw you," Ichigo informed her "you fell from the cliffs behind this highway."
Rukia blinked, that meant that the convent was just a few miles away.
"You know," Rukia commented casually "I don't think we're close to the convent, it doesn't feel that way to me."
Ichigo smirked.
"I'm glad," he said sincerely "now hold on tight, I'm going to speed up."
Rukia obeyed as she hugged him tighter from behind and she let herself enjoy Ichigo's closeness and the wind on her face.
Mom, she thought I think that this is what freedom really feels like.
Kukaku observed as her idiot cousin parked just in front of her beach house and she smirked. Judging by his face Ichigo was definitely enjoying the company of the Kuchiki heiress, and as far as she could tell it was completely mutual. She observed amused as Ichigo took off his helmet and got down of his motorcycle to help Rukia to get down too, he was so careful and gentlemanly around the girl that Kukaku fought the urge to praise him, or to tease him, that could wait because it wasn't as if she was going to let the weekend go without throwing one or two jokes, it would be impossible not to.
"Yo, Ichigo!" Kukaku greeted as she approached both teenagers "glad to see that you're still very punctual."
"Yo!" Ichigo greeted back "let me introduce you to…"
He never got to finish that sentence because in that moment Kukaku kicked him on the shin. The orange haired teenager doubled in pain as he cursed under his breath, he silently wondered what drove every single female on his life to make him suffer?! Why couldn't he have normal girls around him?!
"Idiot!" Kukaku yelled indignantly "what makes you think that you can neglect this side of the family?! You don't even call! All you do is to hang around my stupid brother! What about me?! Uh?!"
"Sorry…" Ichigo muttered awkwardly as he tried not to wince at the pain he was feeling.
Rukia blinked confused, she thought that perhaps all of Ichigo's family liked to show affection by kicking each other around, Yuzu was the only exception apparently, she believed that it was half funny half worrisome. Didn't Ichigo need his shins?
"Oh," Kukaku said with her eyes glinting "what do we have here?" she asked as she approached Rukia "you must be Rukia."
Rukia smiled at the dark haired woman in front of her, she was extremely pretty, and sort of busty, exactly what she was expecting of Yoruichi's best friend.
"Yes, nice to meet you" Rukia greeted back while extending her hand "thank you for having me."
Kukaku chuckled as she grabbed Rukia's hand and pulled her towards her to hug her.
"There's no need to be so uptight!" Kukaku said and then looked at Ichigo "go inside and help my useless brother to get the place ready for the party," she ordered "we'll be with you in a while."
"Uh?" Ichigo questioned and then shook his head "sure, I'll show Rukia around and…"
"No," Kukaku said sternly "I'll show her around and you'll do the manly work, go ahead, shoo."
"But…" Ichigo frowned.
"It's okay, carrot top" Rukia assured him while trying to breathe under Kukaku's hug "go ahead!"
Ichigo sighed.
"Fine, see you around" he said while rolling his eyes, he took out of the motorcycle's saddlebag his and Rukia's backpacks and got inside in search of Kaien.
Once Kukaku made sure that he was out of earshot she stopped hugging Rukia, who took a deep breath as Kukaku put her hands on her shoulders to look properly at her. Kuchiki Byakuya's daughter was definitely gorgeous, her features were delicate and she looked like a porcelain doll, the uncommon color of her eyes was enough to attract anyone's attention and it was beyond Kukaku's understanding how the girl had been sent to a convent at such a young age, after seeing her innocent smile all she wanted to do was to take her under her wing, what was Byakuya's deal?
"No wonder why you have Yoruichi acting all maternal, child" Kukaku said amused "you certainly look like Hisana's daughter."
Rukia chuckled.
"Were you close to my mom too?" she asked.
"Not like Yoruichi," Kukaku explained "but we shared a lot of experiences together, we went to the same school for a while, I was one of her bridesmaids and she managed to get me sign up a business alliance with your family, Soujun almost kisses her after that."
Rukia laughed.
"Grandpa always said that she had a better eye for business than daddy," she exclaimed "Yoruichi also told me that she was the responsible for the alliance between the Shihouin clan and the Kuchikis."
"Indeed she was," Kukaku confirmed "I wonder if you inherited her eye for the business."
"I hope I did," Rukia said and then whispered "I cannot leave the enterprise to the men of the clan, can I?"
Kukaku laughed.
"Hell no!" she said as she put an arm around her shoulders "I like you, girl! Come with me, I'll show you around my property, I'll show you what I have planned so all of you, silly teenagers, can have a blast."
Rukia nodded happily.
"I thought that Kaien was the one planning the whole thing" she said.
"No way," Kukaku said "I cannot leave my gorgeous beach house to be destroyed by some silly boy, can I?"
Rukia laughed.
"I guess not," she said as she walked inside the property along with Kukaku.
"Okay!" Riruka said excitedly from Rangiku's backseat "the game is on, Senna has been tweeting empty threats and Rukia posted a selfie with Ichigo on his motorcycle pretty early" she showed her cellphone to Hinamori who was on the passenger's seat "if these two don't end up dating within six months I'm locking them up in a closet!"
Hinamori chuckled.
"I think that they are doing amazing on their own," she said as she passed the cellphone to Rangiku "don't you think, Rangiku-san?"
Matsumoto looked at the picture, it was obvious how Ichigo had taken it, Rukia was hugging him from behind and they were both smiling. Behind them was an amazing view of the ocean at the distance and, judging by Rukia's red cheeks and huge smile, the ride was amazing. Rukia had captioned the picture:
Ruk14: Bunnies and carrots get along just fine, trust me.
And Ichigo had answered:
Ikurosaki15: It's more likely that the carrots feel constantly threatened by the violent tendencies of the bunnies…
"Oh my," Rangiku said happily "I seriously need to get these two a room!" she joked as she passed the cellphone to Riruka again "so, what's the plan?"
"Avoid the other school at all costs!" Riruka said "enjoy the party, get Rukia tipsy enough so she can kiss Ichigo and avoid boys at all costs!"
"Agreed!" Rangiku said while clapping once and then smirked "but our dear Momo-chan won't be able to avoid men…" she pouted as she hugged the brown haired girl "since Hitsugaya Toshiro will be there!"
Riruka laughed as Hinamori blushed.
"Stop being mean, Rangiku-san!" she said.
"Hey," Riruka said "no one is judging, I read somewhere that having a friend with benefits it's quite healthy."
Momo looked aside.
"It is," she muttered shyly "I cannot complain."
Riruka and Rangiku laughed.
"Great!" Riruka exclaimed "now if you could convince Rukia to try that kind of friendship with Ichigo…"
Momo laughed.
"Don't joke like that," she said "she was blushing like mad when I told her."
"What did you expect from a novice?" Riruka asked "I teased her like mad after that."
Rangiku smiled fondly as she started the car to drive towards the beach party, the day they went shopping after classes the four girls had quite the moment when they started to reveal their secrets, under a strict oath of secrecy. Rukia confessed to both, Momo and Rangiku, her true identity, the fact that she was a novice and the reason why she was escaping from her father's authority while living with Ichigo.
Momo on her side revealed to both, Riruka and Rukia, that she was also rich but her parents were living overseas while managing the American branch of the enterprise. Apparently she had one or two things in common with Rukia, since she was living with Hitsugaya Toshiro and no one at school knew, the reason behind this arrangement was the fact that the Hitsugaya's owned the Japanese branch of the Hinamori's company, and Momo and Toshiro had been friends ever since they could remember.
That's why when they both reached puberty they became friends with benefits. Since Hinamori was studying at a school packed with boys she ran to the only girl she knew for advice and ever since then Matsumoto had become her best friend and confident and now, with Rukia's arrival, their little group had grown a little.
Matsumoto was happy about the whole development.
"So," she said "I promised Kaien that we would keep the alcohol consumption at a minimum, because last year Keigo almost drowns and since everyone was drunk no one even noticed, I'll try to save the best drinks for you, okay?"
"Cool," Riruka said "but don't expect much from me, I don't like alcohol."
"Same here," Hinamori agreed "besides something tells me that if Riruka-chan sees a boy drowning she'll cheer instead of getting worried."
Riruka sighed happily.
"See? This is the kind of friendship I love" she exclaimed "no one is judging my hate for boys."
The three of them laughed as Rangiku drove towards the beach.
"What do you think?" Kaien asked Ichigo.
"You seriously outdid yourself this time," Ichigo praised "honestly."
Kaien beamed as he observed his masterpiece, he felt as if he was watching his firstborn but that was a common occurrence whenever he decided to throw a party, he always went over the top. The fact that Kukaku's beach property was amazing was another point at their favor, it was a gorgeous, custom-built which had a direct oceanfront location and expansive views of ocean. It had seven bedrooms plus a private study with queen sleeper sofa, and at least twenty five guests could stay to sleep, the best part were the exceptional amenities, such as private pool, spa, open-air "Pool House," outdoor living areas, patios and balconies with sunrise-to-sunset views over the ocean.
Ichigo couldn't wait to show Rukia the beach.
"Where's Rukia-chan?" Kaien asked once he was done admiring his masterpiece.
"Kukaku wanted to show her the place," Ichigo explained "she'll join us soon, I think."
"Cool," Kaien said "everyone is already on their way here so the party should start soon."
"Everyone?" Ichigo questioned "how many people did you invite exactly?"
Kaien simply smirked at him.
"Okay," Nel said annoyed while driving towards the beach "you either stop tweeting nonsense or I swear I'm crashing against the first wall I find, that's a promise."
"I'm not tweeting nonsense!" Senna complained "besides Twitter helps me to let go of my frustrations, it's therapeutic, you should try it because you look tense."
"What did you expect?!" Nel asked "we're going to the beach for a whole weekend and we don't even have a place to stay! And don't even suggest to share the room with the boys because Ashido, Ginjo, Yammy and Tsukishima don't look like good roommates for me."
"Relax," Menoly said from the backseat "we'll find some nice place to stay so you can stop panicking."
"Yes," Loly agreed "and if we don't find anything we can always sleep in this car…"
"Like, poor people?" Nel asked aghast "I'm going to pretend that you didn't say that" she said while scrunching her nose "okay, what's your plan, Senna? Which boy will give this Rukia girl a nightmarish night?"
Senna pouted.
"Every single boy refused so I'll be the one who'll give her, and Riruka, a run for their money" she declared angrily.
Nel blinked several times confused.
"Uh? Why would they refuse?" she asked "we even managed to plan everything so she could leave the property and…"
"Some crazy rumors about her were spread," Senna explained interrupting Nel "every single boy of her school believes that she's the only daughter of some important mafia boss and, since Ginjo and Ashido got beaten to a pulp, no one dares to go near her."
"Damn," Loly exclaimed "but she's not, right? We cannot mess with someone like that and… wait! Wait!" she gasped "perhaps it's true and Ichigo works for her father!"
"What do you mean?" Menoly asked.
"Well," Loly reasoned "you know how Ichigo has been working for a while, right? No one knows where or for who, but he always drives his boss's expensive car and stuff like that, and now this girl appears out of nowhere but they get along as if they met each other before and…" she paused for dramatic effect "even Doctor Kurosaki has been taking care of her! Ichigo works for some mafia boss and perhaps Rukia fell in love with her daddy's servant so she decided to join his school so she could be near him! Oh, it's like a romantic movie plot!"
Senna scowled as she turned around slightly to glare at Loly.
"Shut up," she scoffed "there's no way Ichigo is working for the mafia, and besides that would imply that this girl is some kind of millionaire heiress, she cannot be."
Nel chuckled.
"Who knows? Life if full of surprises," she said annoying Senna even more "Ichigo looks like a criminal, perhaps she took a liking to him because she's used to see gangsters around her mansion."
"Right?!" Loly agreed excitedly, she was a sucker for ridiculous love stories "and that theory would totally explain why she's hiding her last name! Her father must be so damn intimidating and powerful and she's his little princess and…"
"If you suggest one more time that she's a princess," Senna warned her "I'm stabbing you in the boob as you sleep."
"Oh, you're just upset because now you have even less chances," Menoly laughed "if this theory is correct all Rukia has to do is to snap her fingers so daddy dearest orders the boy to be with her."
Nel, Loly and Menoly laughed at Senna's jealous face.
"That won't happen," Senna declared while trying to control her blushing, angry expression "I'll make sure to get at least one boy to mess with her and once Ichigo sees her the morning after he won't want to have anything to do with her," she smirked "that'll teach her a lesson."
"You're playing with fire," Nel warned her "we'll support you but if Ichigo finds out you're behind this we won't save you."
"You won't have to," Senna promised "I'll talk to him and apologize for the incident with his sisters, everything will turn out okay."
Nel doubted it but refrained from saying anything.
"We're almost there," she told them "let's enjoy the weekend."
All of them cheered.
"Where were you?" Ichigo asked Rukia as she approached him, he was standing next to the pool wondering if Keigo would avoid it or if he would just jump like last year when Ichigo had to save him from drowning.
"This place is amazing!" Rukia exclaimed happily "Kukaku was showing me everything, I cannot wait until the girls arrive and…" she looked at the pool "oh, hello."
Kaien was floating on the pool with his eyes closed, he looked as if he was reaching enlightenment of some sort, and he was holding a glass of soda on his right hand. He seemed to be enjoying the party already and Rukia tilted her head confused, perhaps he was on drugs.
"Ignore him," Ichigo advised her as he took her hand "come with me, I want to show you the beach before the others arrive."
Rukia beamed as she walked with him towards the beach.
"You got it bad, dear cousin of mine" Kaien muttered before taking a sip of his soda.
"Are you sure that this is the place?" Nel asked as she looked around herself, she was standing in the middle of a hostel and she was wondering how Senna managed to find a place so quickly. It was a run-down hostel but it was better than sleeping in the car.
"Yeah," Senna answered while dropping her bag on the floor "it's cheap, we get a room and access to the beach" she explained "we're a few meters away from the private residences so once everyone at Shiba's party go outside for the bonfire we'll discreetly join."
"I already sent the location to Yammy and the others," Menoly assured them "we'll start our own party in a while."
"We should check the beach!" Loly said.
Everyone agreed.
Rukia closed her eyes as she enjoyed the breeze and the sun on her face, her feet on the sand and the sound of the waves, she couldn't believe where she was and it felt as if the ocean could wash the weight of her problems off her. There was no convent, no bullies, no overprotective father and grandparents, there was just the sea and the prospect of an amazing party in a few hours.
"That good, uh?" Ichigo asked next to her.
"Amazing," she answered without opening her eyes "I never expected to be this free."
"Well," Ichigo said casually "enjoy the peacefulness for a while, once the party starts you'll be wishing for a little bit of silence."
Rukia opened her eyes and looked at him amused.
"Will I be seeing your wild side? Will you get drunk and then hug your cousin and friends while signing at the top of your lungs?" she asked as she poked him playfully.
"No," Ichigo assured her "I don't sing and, thanks to my year as an outlaw, I developed an amazing resistance to alcohol, I don't get drunk easily."
Rukia's mouth formed a perfect "o" as she took in that last fact.
"Well," she said while standing in front of Ichigo and putting her arms around him "Oji-san told me not to even go close to the drinks table but, what if I do?"
Ichigo frowned as he looked down at her.
"You seriously shouldn't," he told her "you've never been drunk and trust me it's not fun, it would ruin the party for you" he sighed "if you really want to try that experience we can arrange it for later."
Rukia smiled.
"Really?" she asked "you promise?"
"I shouldn't be promising a novice to teach her to drink," he muttered "but yeah, I promise."
Rukia laughed and then surprised him by putting her arms around his neck to kiss him. ichigo's eyes widened at first but after a few seconds he relaxed and allowed himself to enjoy the kiss, Rukia was happy and that was enough for him besides, what sane young boy would complain about having a cute girl kissing him out of nowhere on a daily basis? Certainly not him. He deepened the kiss as he put his hands on her waist, she was amazing and he found himself wondering if they could do a little bit more of kissing once everyone was too drunk to notice them.
"Loser!" someone yelled from Kukaku's house and Rukia broke the kiss "leave the romantic walk on the beach for later, I want to introduce you to someone!"
Rukia smiled as she recognized Riruka.
"Come, carrot top" Rukia said while taking his hand "we can continue later."
"You better keep that promise," he said and then scoffed, that kiss made him dizzy "fuck you're crazy."
She blushed happily as she let go of his hand to race him towards the beach house.
"Did we just see that?" Loly asked.
"Yes," Nel confirmed "Ichigo and Rukia were exchanging saliva."
Menoly nodded as they turned to look at Senna who was, for a lack of a better word, enraged. Her cheeks were red, her breathing was erratic and her fists were clenched on her sides as if she was waiting to jump on the first person that would dare to speak to her, or the next girl who would dare to kiss Ichigo, either would work for her.
"So," Nel said once she was sure that Senna wouldn't combust all of sudden "should we get some drinks?"
Senna covered her face with her hands and screamed bloody murder at the top of her lungs.
"I'll take that as a yes," Nel said smirking.
"Took you long enough," Riruka said to Rukia once she stepped back into the beach house "having fun?"
"Don't start," Rukia warned her "I mean it."
Riruka rolled her eyes as she put an arm around her best friend's shoulders.
"Seriously," the pink haired girl said "if you want some time alone with him all you have to do is ask him to take you to a closet, no one will notice and I'm pretty sure he won't be able to say no."
Rukia blushed.
"I'm not losing my virtue in a closet," she hissed "and certainly not while I'm a guest."
"But you do want to lose your virtue with him," Riruka teased and laughed once Rukia blushed even deeper at the thought "anyway, here let me introduce you to the only good thing about the girly school" they stopped right in front of an orange haired girl and a black haired one, they were both smiling at them "loser, this is Inoue Orihime and Arisawa Tatsuki, they study at the same shithole Senna does" she explained "Inoue, Tatsuki, this is Rukia."
"Oh," Tatsuki smirked "I heard something about you, nice to meet you."
Rukia smiled at the black haired girl.
"Nice to meet you too," she said and then added "what did you hear about me?"
Much to Rukia's surprise the orange haired one answered.
"Silly rumors, Rukia-san" she assured her "the boys have all been talking about how your father is a Mafia boss and how you already took down Ashido and Ginjo for messing with you," she explained and then smiled widely "I'm Inoue Orihime! Nice to meet you!"
Rukia chuckled as she smiled back at her.
"If daddy finds out about his reputation he is going to be mad," she laughed "perhaps I should keep the act up."
"You totally should," Riruka told her "it'll keep the cowardly boys away."
"So, no Mafia boss is going to raid the property?" Tatsuki asked half joking half serious "should we be expecting something like that?"
Rukia laughed again.
"No," she assured them "they'll try to catch me and send me back to the main mansion next week in the middle of a convention, we're safe for now!"
Tatsuki gaped and Inoue clapped once happily.
"I'm so glad!" Inoue said while jumping slightly, Rukia noticed then how busty she was "you'll be able to enjoy the party with us!"
"Or with Tatsuki," Riruka said "you ditched us last year because you locked yourself with your boyfriend in a room, remember?"
Orihime blushed madly as Rukia's eyes widened.
"Oh," Rukia exclaimed "who's your boyfriend?!"
"Ishida Uryuu," Riruka answered before Orihime could "remember?"
Rukia nodded.
"Well," Tatsuki said "we should probably grab some chips and drinks before the boys start with the "all you can eat" contest," she scoffed "I seriously don't want to be near them by then."
Rukia walked with them towards the table and they talked about several things. She found out how Tatsuki was a childhood friend of Ichigo and a national champion, she found out how Inoue was the best of her class and how much she liked to eat exotic foods, apparently she wanted to become a chef and Rukia promised to try her recipes at some point. Hinamori and Rangiku joined them then and, before anyone noticed, the six girls promised to have a pajama party of their own soon.
Rukia couldn't stop smiling as she realized how she finally had the thing that she longed the most while she was inside the convent.
An incredible group of friends.
Grimmjow was annoyed beyond reason, he was pretty sure that he was still paying for harassing a novice but there was nothing he could do about it.
"Try to cheer up, idiot!" Ulquiorra hissed next to him "it's a party."
Grimmjow rolled his eyes.
"Is that really coming from the one who does not smile?" he questioned "if it wasn't for the fact they went extinct I would believe that you are an emo or something…"
Ulquiorra frowned.
"Emos didn't go extinct," he scoffed "where would you get that from?"
Grimmjow snorted as he took another sip of his cheap beer, it was ridiculous to an untold degree how he allowed himself to be dragged to the beach and by the same guys he had threatened and terrorized the whole week. Ashido and Ginjo didn't look happy at being next to him but they refrained from saying anything, apparently the only one doing the talking was Yammy, he was bragging about inviting some girls to party with.
Grimmjow smirked at that to avoid suspicious looks because no one knew that he was not particularly interested in girls.
Not that it was anyone's business.
"Hey, idiot" Ginjo said as he looked at Yammy "you found a place to stay, a nice spot on the beach and some girls…"
"I don't believe the girls are coming," Grimmjow said "who the fuck would accept an invitation from you?" he asked Yammy "what kind of girl is that desperate?"
"You just wait," Yammy boasted.
"The thing is…" Ginjo continued while ignoring the interruption "couldn't you find better drinks?"
Yammy rolled his eyes as he noticed how Tsukishima could barely swallow his beer.
"If you want fancy alcohol why don't you crash Shiba's party?" Yammy suggested "surely there's something for you there."
Ah, that's where he is Grimmjow thought as a sudden memory of Ichigo's orange hair and permanent scowl crossed his mind. He grimaced as he took another large sip of his beer, he wanted to stop thinking but the words were stumbling on his brain before he could stop them.
"Grimmjow?" Ulquiorra called him.
He's probably kissing the novice Grimmjow kept thinking I can only hope I don't cross paths with any of them tonight.
"Great, the beer killed him" Yammy lamented.
"I can hear you, imbeciles" Grimmjow complained "what do you want?"
"I was just letting you guys know that the girls are coming," Yammy explained with a smile "see?"
Grimmjow looked at the side of the beach Yammy was pointing and his grip tightened on the beer can. Senna, Menoly, Loly and Nel were approaching them and Grimmjow regretted, with every fiber of his being, to be trapped into the lame reunion. He didn't like those girls, especially Senna, he could still remember how much she liked to follow Kurosaki and Grimmjow still remembered how much that annoyed him.
"Who's the poor victim this time?" Grimmjow asked before the girls could get closer and listen to their conversation "those girls are never happy unless they find someone to torture."
"The Rukia girl," Yammy answered "Senna hates her for some reason and I don't know the details but she planned something for her tonight."
Grimmjow put up a poker face, he could feel Ginjo and Ashido's eyes on him and it wouldn't be wise to let them know how much the thought of someone messing with the novice enraged him, he needed to keep the façade up.
"Uh?" he asked finally "poor thing."
He didn't say anything after that, but he noticed Senna's mean eyes twinkling and he knew that she had already set her plan on motion.
You better keep an eye on that novice of yours, Kurosaki Grimmjow thought angrily otherwise I'm killing you.
He took another large sip of his beer and refused another one after Ulquiorra offered.
Something was telling him that he needed to be sober tonight.
Rukia didn't exactly understand what to do in the middle of a party, everyone was dancing and cheering and the music was so loud that she could barely listen to her own thoughts. Everything was out of control in a matter of minutes so she kept herself next to the drinks' table, Riruka was trying to drown Keigo who apparently was ogling at Matsumoto who seemed to have no problems at being seen with a bikini. Hinamori had disappeared a while ago with Hitsugaya, a short, white haired boy with unique eyes, and Orihime was taking a romantic stroll on the beach with Ishida Uryuu. More than one boy had come towards Rukia to ask her if she wanted to dance, and she rejected all of them, others were looking at her from a safe distance and she felt kind of awkward under their stares. The mafia boss's daughter reputation had some negative effects but she couldn't deny that it was funny.
"Too much?" someone asked putting an arm around her shoulders and interrupting her thoughts, she tensed for a second but she leaned comfortable against the intruder's side when she realized that it was Ichigo.
"A little," she admitted "but I like it, I've never seen anything like this, it's entertaining."
"I don't know," Ichigo commented "I could live peacefully without the memory of Renji singing on his speedo."
Rukia laughed as she looked at the red haired boy singing while standing on the springboard, it was quite a sight. Unlike Ichigo, Renji couldn't handle alcohol very well and it was amusing on its own way. She had been observing Ichigo and she was surprised that, even after several beers and one tequila shot, he wasn't even tipsy, she wanted to ask how did he develop such tolerance to alcoholic beverages, did Grimmjow teach him? Did they go out constantly and smashed themselves until they became experts? She was awfully curious.
"Okay," Ichigo said "I personally believe that I'll feel guilty for this but, here" he handed Rukia a plastic cup "just one tiny sip, midget."
Rukia blinked as she accepted the plastic cup reluctantly.
"I thought that we would leave this for later?" she questioned.
"We will," Ichigo agreed while nodding "but you need to relax a little, the point is to enjoy the party and you're thinking too much."
Rukia looked at the unknown liquid inside the plastic cup.
"It tastes like cherry," Ichigo promised "just a sip, I'll keep my eyes on you in case you go wild."
Rukia chuckled as she raised the plastic cup to toast for Ichigo and after she was done she took a large sip.
It tasted like cherry, just like Ichigo said it would.
"How do you feel?" Ichigo asked after a few seconds.
Rukia was about to answer that she didn't feel anything, really, it was just a sip, but then she noticed how her face felt hot and she felt a little tingly sensation at the bottom of her stomach. She smiled at the funny, new feeling and she fanned herself with her hand.
"Hot," she answered finally "it's tasty, I liked it."
"Great," Ichigo smiled "we should do something about the heat you're feeling, don't you think?"
Rukia blinked.
"Do you have ice or something?" she asked while turning around at the drinks table.
"I was thinking about something a little more effective," Ichigo muttered behind her and, before Rukia could process what was happening, Ichigo picked her up and threw her over her shoulder as the people around them started to cheer, even Riruka started to yell at her happily.
Rukia gasped as she started to punch Ichigo on the back.
"What are you doing, idiot?!" she asked "put me down! Who the fuck do you think you are?!"
Ichigo simply rolled his eyes.
"Okay, midget" he warned "this is a beach party so close your eyes because we are going to swim."
Rukia gasped and she found herself smiling despite the fact that she wanted to kill Ichigo.
"Don't you dare!" she threatened but Ichigo ran and she yelped as the orange haired idiot jumped at the pool without letting go off her.
They both fell inside the cold water as the crowd cheered around them but they didn't get to hear it since they were underwater, but once Ichigo swam to the surface with Rukia's arms around his neck the cheering began all over again and Ichigo smiled as Rukia took a deep breath before laughing hysterically.
"You're paying for that," Rukia promised "you didn't give me the chance to take off my dress!"
Ichigo shrugged as he smiled at her.
As if I'm letting the assholes look at you wearing a swimsuit he thought.
"Lovebirds! Heads up!" someone yelled and in a second Renji jumped into the pool splashing water all over them.
Rukia laughed again as Ichigo started to swim towards Renji to make him pay for ruining the moment.
"Are you sure?" Nel asked Senna as they stepped into the hostel.
"They boy I paid is already inside the party," Senna explained "now we just wait."
Rukia knew that she was officially tipsy, she was giggling at everything and she had been dancing with Riruka for the last fifteen minutes. She had been careful about the cherry drink but it was too good, so now that she was finally comfortable around the sea of people she decided to drink a little bit more. Ichigo had left her for a while to race his cousin at the pool as the rest of the boys cheered for them.
"Okay," Riruka said as they both stopped dancing to take a seat "that's enough for tonight, you're not drinking anymore, right?"
Rukia shook her head.
"I think that for my first time tipsy is good enough," she said "I don't need a headache tomorrow."
Riruka nodded agreeing and then grimaced.
"What is it?" Rukia asked her after noticing her expression.
"Bathroom," Riruka muttered before running inside the house leaving a confused Rukia behind.
After a few seconds Rukia decided that she needed to go to the bathroom too, she wanted to see herself in the mirror to make sure that she didn't look like a complete mess, and to make sure that Riruka was not feeling sick, so she walked as steadily as she could towards the house and frowned when she realized that she couldn't remember quite well where the bathroom was. She scoffed annoyed at herself, she could remember important and delicate information about her family even after three years of being locked out but she couldn't remember where the bathroom was after a few drinks?
"I'm never drinking again," she declared mostly to herself.
"That's wise," and unknown deep voice agreed behind her "God knows is not a healthy habit."
Rukia was about to turn around to face whoever was talking to her but she never got the chance, everything went black before she could even process what was happening.
It took Ichigo ten minutes to realize that he had lost Rukia from his sight, she was not at the drinks table, not dancing and obviously not swimming. He thought that she had gone to the beach shore with Riruka but something was telling him he was wrong, he was pretty damn sure that she would've asked him to join her if that was the case. He went inside the property and found Riruka coming out of the bathroom.
"Where's Rukia?" Ichigo asked her without missing a beat.
Riruka blinked twice.
"I left her in the middle of the party," she answered frowning "why?" she questioned worriedly.
"She's not inside the property," Ichigo explained and Riruka paled "I need to find her."
"I'll go with you," Riruka said "I…"
"No," Ichigo said "stay here and make sure to make everyone believe that I went with her to the beach shore or anything, she doesn't need another scandal around her."
Riruka looked at him skeptical.
"Do you realize what people will think if I do that, right?" she asked.
Ichigo blushed slightly.
"They already think that there's something between us," he excused himself "and that's better than them realizing that she went missing out of the blue."
Riruka nodded.
"Yeah," she agreed "otherwise people will believe that a rival Yakuza gang took a hold of her or something."
Ichigo rolled his eyes.
"I'll leave the rest to you," he told her "we'll come back before anyone notices."
Riruka nodded seriously and Ichigo ran outside the property.
When Rukia opened her eyes she realized she was tied to an uncomfortable chair and that she had a terrible headache but before she could panic about being kidnapped by a stranger she came face to face with her captor and, somehow, she suddenly felt like beating the shit out of someone.
Senna, and some other girls she didn't know, were smiling at her.
"Uh," Rukia thought bitterly "the nuns were not lying about how girls who drink at parties end up in terrible situations."
"Hello," Senna greeted while smirking "we have a pending conversation, don't we?"
Rukia glared at her furiously, she was going to make Senna regret ruining the first party of her life even if she had to commit one or two sins on the process.
Decorum could be dammed.
Okay, this one took a while, seriously I'm ashamed of how long it took. Guys, I'm sorry I just have a job now (thank God) and I'm sort of putting my life together and I'm trying to fit the time to write fanfics between all of that so… if you're still reading, I thank your from the bottom of my heart.
andy cma: Thank you for your review! The chapter is here, sorry for taking so long, I hope you like it!
diah77: Thank you so much for your review! It makes me extremely happy to know that you're enjoying my other stories too! Don't worry, I'm not planning on abandoning them anytime soon! Let me know if you liked this chapter, kisses!
FicsXd: Millones de gracias por tu review, me encanta leer reviews en español, dejame saber si te gustó este cap. Besos.
Bleach power: As always your reviews make me smile a lot, thank you for always Reading my silly stories, and yes! Don't worry, I have amazing scenes planned for this fanfic, I cannot wait to write about the Chappy convention! Let me know if you enjoyed this chapter, take care, kisses!
Natsumivat: Tus reviews hacen mis días, lo prometo, y espero que estes disfrutando este cap y me hagas saber qué te parece. La cosa apenas se va encendiendo, espero que el próximo quede mucho mejor. Espero que sigas leyendo y que no te aburra tener que esperar tanto, muchos saludos y cuídate mucho. Millones de gracias por tus reviews.
Jobananasan: God, I missed Reading your reviews so much! I love them! Seriously, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I cannot wait to read your reaction. Are you still reading? I'm sorry for taking so long with the updates! Let me know if you still enjoy the story! Thanks again for your reviews! Kisses!
CarBarrier: Thank you so much! I hope you liked this chapter! Kisses!
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RukiYuki: I missed you too! But I'm still updating! Are you still reading?! Let me know if you liked this chapter, take care, kisses!
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Maria Espinoza: Thank you! It means a lot! Let me know if you liked this chapter, kisses!
Scarease: Thank you for your review! Senna is in trouble indeed, let me know if you liked this chapter if you're still reading! Take care!
Ichirukitrash4ever: Oh my God, I'm sorry for taking so long with the updates! Are you still reading? If you are let me know what you think about the beach party so far, thank you for reviewing! Take care! Kisses!
Brunna Aprigio d: Thanks a lot! Your reviews are always wonderful! Did you like this chapter? I hope you did! Take care! Kisses!
Let me know if I didn't mention you so I can thank you properly, thanks again.
Pd. I apologize for my grammar mistakes.
