Chapter 22
On Saturday morning Ichigo scratched the back of his head as he read the documents on his desk over and over and over again, apparently the Kuchikis were ready to create a new business alliance with someone named Aizen, a successful young man who hadn't had much luck when it came to money, but Soujun and Byakuya had recognized some talent so they were discussing the possibilities of joining him, and all of that sounded wonderful, really, but Ichigo was not feeling comfortable about it.
First of all, the Aizen guy gave Ichigo the creeps.
Ichigo wasn't sure what part of the guy he disliked the most; was it the dork glasses? The fake smile? Or was it the careless pose that no respectable man would use on an offer for a business alliance with the Kuchikis? It didn't matter, Ichigo thought that it was a terrible idea.
Sighing heavily he decided to take a break and flopped down on his bed, he looked at the sky through his window and wondered what Rukia was up to, was she close to her bastard father? Was she going to be okay? She had promised to come back so the only thing he could do was to wait for her.
"Bring her back," Ichigo muttered "she keeps praying to you even outside the convent, doesn't she? Just bring her back, please."
He was not religious but if there was a God out there, Ichigo was pretty sure that He had heard the prayer.
Riruka took Rukia's hand, they were both on the back of Yoruichi's car and Rukia was praying quietly.
"It'll be okay," Riruka assured her once she was done "they will not catch us."
Rukia nodded.
"Stick to the plan," Yoruichi advised from the passenger's seat, Urahara was driving "we're just a few blocks away, you both have everything you need?" she asked.
"We're ready," Rukia assured her "daddy won't know what hit him."
Yoruichi smirked as Urahara chuckled, both girls were obviously wearing disguises; Riruka was wearing a blonde wig to cover up her pink hair while Rukia was wearing a brunette long wig, they were both wearing jeans and tennis, in case they needed to run for their lives at some point, and their t-shirts had random Chappy designs to match with the convention, they were completely sure that the rest of the girls would be wearing similar outfits so they wouldn't stand out.
The only problem were Rukia's eyes, she was allergic to contacts so they couldn't hide the unique violet orbs, and wearing sunglasses inside a building would look too suspicious, so the only option was to avoid eye contact with every single male that would look her way, they weren't sure how many members of the security team would blend with the crowd so they had to be careful. Rukia assured Yoruichi that they wouldn't notice her and the dark-skinned woman took her word from it.
"Give them hell, kiddo" Yoruichi, in full godmother mode, requested "make them suffer on my behalf as well."
"Yes, ma'am!" Rukia nodded.
Yoruichi took one last look at the tiny backpacks that each girl was carrying and smiled.
They were ready.
"We're ready," Soujun announced to the security team "in ten minutes we'll open the doors," he sighed heavily as he heard the horde of teenage girls screaming and cheering outside the building "remember that this is our only chance to capture Rukia, keep an eye open to the details and to any suspicious behavior," he smirked confidently "Rukia is not an idiot, she does not have the upper hand in here so she'll be extremely cautious."
The whole team nodded.
"Don't forget about the pink haired girl as well," Soujun reminded them "there must be a handful of those in here today so let's be careful when approaching them," he scoffed "the last thing we need are screaming teenagers accusing you of being predators."
Byakuya cleared his throat as he looked at the team, he was standing next to his father.
"Don't underestimate Rukia," he advised them sternly "she might be here just to win the ticket, and she'll do anything to get it, but she's also extremely resentful towards the clan so expect more than mere resistance from her;" he crossed his arms as the team tensed "no matter what happens, or what she does, once you catch her do not let her go."
The team nodded again.
"Of course," Ginrei added while clearing his throat "that does not mean you can hurt her, so…" he smiled at the team "good luck to you all."
Soujun, Byakuya and Ginrei dismissed the team so they could take their positions and the doors were opened.
"Let the show begin" Soujun muttered as a crowd of girls ran inside the building.
Rukia and Riruka stepped into the building while holding hands in the middle of the crowd, and while they were both nervous as hell, they couldn't help but admired the scenery.
"This is madness!" Riruka exclaimed excitedly as they walked around the whole place.
Rukia was smiling from ear to ear as they browsed through the different sections of the convention, just as they advertised it there were plushies, purses, toys, posters and even makeup, they didn't spare expenses when it came to the convention, the whole first floor have been reserved while the stairs towards the second floor were blocked. Not even Kuchiki Byakuya was that generous as to give the whole building to Chappy the rabbit but there was no need, the first floor was more than enough.
"If you ever go back to your mansion," Riruka said as she passed one free sample of candy towards Rukia "you should convince them to throw a party like this only for you."
Rukia rolled her eyes as she accepted the candy.
"I have to survive daddy first," she said and then looked around "no signs of my family yet?"
"No," Riruka shook her head "but I am guessing that they are not going to show themselves to a bunch of random girls."
Rukia agreed with that, they were probably monitoring everything through the security cameras for the time being so she decided to relax a little bit before facing her family.
"She's probably wearing a disguise," Soujun mentioned as he kept his eyes on the monitors "and there are too many girls with pink hair to track them all, where are these girls' parents? Who lets their child have pink hair?"
Byakuya frowned, he was pacing around the office while clenching and unclenching his fists, they had just one chance to catch Rukia and he couldn't believe how anxious he was feeling over the whole thing.
"Anything yet?" Ginrei asked while stepping into the office, he was smiling from ear to ear and Byakuya didn't fail to notice.
"Nothing yet," Soujun answered without removing his eyes from the screens "our best shot will be once we hand out the ticket, but the competition for that will begin in a couple of hours."
Ginrei nodded.
"In that case I'll blend in with the crowd," he informed, the smile was not leaving his face "I'll call you if I spot our..." he chuckled "target."
Byakuya frowned as his grandfather left the room, he didn't want to think how Ginrei seemed to be enjoying the whole thing more than anyone, why? How could he be so calm? What brought the sudden change? Ginrei adored Rukia more than anyone, he even opened another savings account when she was born so she wouldn't have to need anything in case she decided not to pursue a career, he literally named her, and Hisana, his main heiresses in order to protect them because he loved them that much so, why suddenly Ginrei was no longer worried about Rukia?
Byakuya didn't want to doubt him but there was no other explanation so, making sure that his father was still focused on the monitors, he left the room and called Robert.
"Sir?" the blonde American asked while bowing respectfully once Byakuya stood in front of him.
"I need you to keep an eye on grandfather," Byakuya ordered him "if he approaches any girl you must inform me immediately, follow him discreetly and pay attention to every single detail."
Robert nodded, he had been working for Byakuya for several years, even before he met Hisana, so he understood what was going on through his boss's mind.
"Do you really believe that Ginrei-sama is helping lady Rukia?" Robert asked.
"It's just a theory," Byakuya scoffed "but only Hisana and Rukia were capable of soften grandfather and he's way too calm for someone whose only granddaughter is missing."
Robert had to agree with that.
"I'll report anything peculiar, Sir" he promised as he left to blend into the crowd as well.
Byakuya crossed his arms as he looked down to the first floor.
"I know you're here," he muttered "and you're not escaping."
Rukia shuddered awkwardly as she looked up and she paled considerably, her father was looking down at the whole convention from the second floor, he was wearing the usual Armani suit and he looked enraged. Rukia's heart skipped a beat as she smiled despite the circumstances, her father hadn't changed at all! She was glad to see him, and while she knew that his current anger was her fault she couldn't help but feel happy at being so close to him, she didn't stop looking at him until he walked to an office on the second floor and closed the door behind him.
"Earth to Rukia!" Riruka whispered on her ear "look who's coming down the stairs!"
Rukia turned to look at the staircase leading to the second floor and gasped when she noticed her granddaddy stepping into the convention and looking a little bit lost. Rukia chuckled, did he really think he could just walk between hundreds of girls without being seen? The smile on her face got wider, she still loved her family and the erratic beating of her heart was proof of that.
"Should we say hi?" Rukia asked Riruka.
"Well," Riruka smirked while noticing Rukia's happiness "we did promise to the powerful Kuchiki Ginrei that we would be here, didn't we?"
Both girls laughed as they walked towards the bathrooms.
Ginrei regretted his decision of stepping into the crow almost immediately.
He had decided to take a look around, perhaps to buy a couple of things for Rukia while he was at it, but he didn't expect teenage girls to be so… violent. Ginrei had only being in the middle of the crowd for a few minutes but a couple of girls were already struggling to get a hold of the same limited edition plushie, while another was sobbing happily over her new purse, what was this madness? Ginrei scoffed as he avoided a girl screeching about something, all that Ginrei was able to hear was: "I've seen the seven seasons hundreds of times! Do you think you know better than me?! The ticket is going to be mine!"
Ginrei shuddered as he decided that he had seen enough, he thought that perhaps Rukia hadn't arrived yet, so sighing heavily he decided to walk back to the staircase but before he could reach it someone grabbed his arm and pulled him into the girls' bathroom.
"Hello, granddaddy!" a blonde girl with a mean smile greeted him while locking the door behind her and trapping him in the bathroom "nice to finally meet you!"
Ginrei took a deep breath, this had happened to him more than once, especially when he was younger, but he had rejected every single girl because he was not that type of man, as far as he was concerned the only woman he had ever loved died a long time ago.
"I'm sorry, child" Ginrei said quickly "but I will not sponsor you, you are young and deserve better and-"
"Holy fuck," the girl exclaimed disgusted interrupting him "do you think that I trapped you so you could become my sugar daddy?!"
Ginrei blinked twice.
"Didn't you?" he questioned.
"Oh my God!" the girl groaned while putting some distance between her and Ginrei "loser, come out! Your grandfather thinks I want his money!"
Ginrei turned to look confused as a bathroom stall opened and, before he could even process what was happening, Rukia came out while carrying a wig on her arms, she was laughing and once Ginrei gaped at the sight of her she threw herself at Ginrei and hugged him with all her might.
Ginrei hugged her back immediately as he fought against the lump on his throat.
"You lost him?" Byakuya asked confused, Robert would never make that kind of mistake.
"My apologies, Sir!" Robert bowed respectfully "I was following from a discreet distance but a couple of girls started to pull each other's hair over a purse and the commotion made me lose sight of Ginrei-sama."
"You don't need to apologize," Byakuya assured him calmly "let it be for now, let's put our focus on finding Rukia again."
Robert nodded as he walked back towards the first floor.
Byakuya tried not to dwell on his doubts but he was almost certain now that his grandfather was in touch, or was helping, Rukia; why else would he disappear in the middle of a Chappy event? Why else would he be at ease without Rukia next to him? Byakuya decided then that if he wasn't able to catch Rukia today, he wouldn't hesitate to use his grandfather to get to her.
He only hoped he didn't have to take that course of action.
"Child," Ginrei breathed out as he hugged Rukia "you're okay, you're smiling! I've never been more relieved in my whole life!"
Rukia laughed as she looked at her grandfather's eyes; she wanted to cry and to tell him everything she had been doing the past few weeks but they didn't have much time, so she needed to keep it simple.
"I missed you, granddaddy" she said "I'm sorry for grabbing you like that, but we couldn't greet you out there."
"It's like a jungle," Riruka muttered and then smiled towards Ginrei and extended her hand "I'm the pink haired girl, granddaddy, Rukia's best friend and your family's headache for the rest of the convention."
Ginrei nodded as he broke the hug with Rukia and shook Riruka's hand, the fact that someone with such a strong personality had Rukia's back put him at ease, he already liked her.
"Is it safe to assume that you will not reveal your name to me, am I correct?" Ginrei asked.
"Correct" Riruka and Rukia answered at the same time, if the Kuchikis were to know Riruka's name they would track her in a matter of hours, they couldn't risk it.
"Granddaddy," Rukia said while holding Ginrei's hand "I'm fine, I'm going to a wonderful school and everyone's been nice to me, okay? Don't worry about me too much," she smiled fondly at him "I'm happy."
Ginrei sighed.
"I wish you could be this happy back at the mansion, Rukia" he cupped her cheek and she leaned at the touch "but just as I promised I'll give you some time," he looked at Riruka then "make sure she remains a novice until I get to meet the boy who's hiding her, okay?"
Rukia blushed and Riruka laughed.
"Oh, granddaddy!" Riruka exclaimed "II'll do my best, don't worry, with your blessing I'll be punching every single boy that approaches her."
Ginrei chuckled.
"That's enough for me," he said and then looked at Rukia again "I don't have much time, Soujun and Byakuya must be wondering where I am, once you win the ticket leave the building as fast as you can otherwise they'll block the exits."
"Don't worry, granddaddy" Rukia said as she put on the wig again "we are more than ready."
Ginrei nodded and then kissed Rukia on the cheek, Riruka noticed how her eyes watered slightly at that gesture.
"You're truly your mother's daughter, child" Ginrei said before hugging her again and after that he just patted Riruka on the head before leaving the bathroom.
"I like him," Riruka said while pretending not to notice the couple of tears Rukia shed after seeing her granddaddy "I'll keep my promise and keep you a virgin until he approves Ichigo."
"Shut up!" Rukia scoffed blushing at the mention of the orange haired teenager.
Riruka laughed.
"Where were you, father?" Soujun asked when Ginrei stepped back into the office.
Ginrei smiled at his son.
"You would be surprised at how easy is to get lost in a sea of teenage girls, son" he answered.
"Oh, I'm pretty sure he's aware," Byakuya mentioned dryly "his years as the most desirable divorcee are still fresh in everyone's memory."
Soujun scoffed.
"I never dated underage girls," he excused himself "and I was younger then, besides I stopped!"
"Only because I started to date Hisana and you realized how awkward was to introduce her to your dates who happened to be around her age," Byakuya reminded him "your excuses are no longer valid."
Soujun waved a hand dismissively.
"The past is the past," he dropped the topic and then looked at his father "any signs of Rukia?"
Ginrei shook his head.
"None," he lied as smooth as he could "I'm not even sure she's here."
Byakuya frowned, that was impossible.
"Nonsense," Soujun chuckled "but even if that's the case we'll find out, the competition for the ticket is about to start."
"She'll show up," Byakuya said "and she'll win."
"The office on the fifth floor is ready," Soujun mentioned "let's watch the show."
"Gather around, girls!" the host of the Chappy event called over the speakers "we've prepared the center of the stage for you to participate to win the Chappyland ticket! Gather around and take your places!"
Rukia and Riruka exchanged a quiet glance as they stood next to the stage on the center of the building and the host, who happened to be a teenage boy that looked as if he had been tortured the whole day, started to explain the instructions. The contestants would step on the stage and a round of questions would start, one wrong answer and you would be disqualified and the ones with no mistakes would keep advancing round by round. In order to win you just had to get to the last question and answer before the other contestant, it was quite simple.
"You'll go on the stage," Rukia said to Riruka "we have the earphones on place so in case you don't know one of the answers, I'll help you."
Riruka nodded as she tapped her ear once, Yoruichi gave them special earrings so they wouldn't lose each other during the event, they would communicate through there.
"I'm confident about my knowledge," Riruka smirked "don't underestimate me."
Rukia chuckled, she trusted Riruka but she was sure that there would be one trick on the questions, her family was clever like that and they had to make sure that Rukia would win the ticket.
Once the contestants were on the stage the questions started and Rukia had to admit that Riruka was awesome; Riruka was the fastest at pushing the buttons and all of her answers were correct, her mean smirk also managed to get some of the other contestants nervous so they were disqualified, Rukia was extremely proud. The questions were not that simple either, "In which episode did Chappy earn his cape?" or "Why was the last chapter cancelled before it's release?" "In which year was Chappy created and with what purpose?"
It was clear as day than an amateur wouldn't be able to answer and by the time the competition was at it's best, only Riruka and another girl were on the stage, the tension was thick.
"And as for the last question…" the host said as he took out the last envelope "how many houses does Chappy have?"
A deafening silence fell over the place; how many houses does Chappy have? Riruka blinked confused several times, she tried to remember everything regarding the animated series, the fan guide, the comic books but nothing came to mind, what was this? Chappy had a secret hideout, he helped other bunnies to get safe and sound to their own burrows but… where did Chappy live? Riruka was about to panic until Rukia's voice through the earrings brought her back to the competition.
"Two houses!" Rukia said "one for winter and another one for summer!"
Riruka gulped, she didn't doubt Rukia's knowledge but… how did she know? What if it was a trap? Well, it didn't matter, they came here for the ticket so they were not going to miss this chance, before the other girl could react Riruka pushed the button and answer loud and clear.
"Two houses!" Riruka exclaimed "one for winter and another one for summer!"
"Correct!" the host cheered "ladies, we have our winner!"
Most of the public cheered as the losers begin to cry; Riruka smiled triumphal as balloons fell from the ceiling to the first floor, the host announced that the convention was still going so everyone could still enjoy the free merchandise and the food while Riruka had to go to the fifth floor to receive the prize.
"Good luck" Rukia whispered discreetly as Riruka passed her in the middle of the crowd.
Riruka kept on walking and once she reached the staircase she realized that it was Robert the one who was waiting for her.
"Congratulations," Robert bowed respectfully "the creators of this event will give you the ticket in one of the top floors, please, follow me."
Riruka nodded and smirked as Robert guided her to the secluded and fancy office on the fifth floor; the head of the security team opened the door for her and she tried not to gulp nervously as she stepped inside and once she looked at the center of the office the men of the Kuchiki clan glanced at her from head to toe and Riruka tensed.
Fuck, loser, she thought anxiously your family is really something, uh?
The door closed behind her and then Soujun smiled at her.
"Congratulations on winning the ticket to Chappyland!" Soujun clapped "do you mind if we ask you some questions before we give you your prize?"
Riruka smiled with difficulty and nodded.
"Go ahead!"
Byakuya didn't smile at the girl but he knew that she had some of the answers he was looking for and he was not going to let her go that easily.
Is anyone still reading? I know it's been ages but I promised that I wouldn't abandon my stories, the last few month were rough on my mental health but I'm still here, the next chapter will have quite the encounter with our favorite noble family, let me know if you're still around! Thanks for reading!
Pd. I apologize for my grammar mistakes.
