"I hate that man." Ichigo muttered as she took the sake cup that he'd refilled for her and tossed it back with an ease that was unexpected to him.
Mostly because he hadn't pegged her for much of a drinker. Though he supposed that the stress of their situation could just be getting to her.
He smiled at her indulgently as she filled his own sake glass for him and then waited for him to drink it. But he tended to sip his drink since alcohol affected him differently. Besides, he wasn't much of a drinker when it came to booze. He preferred tea to the terrible burn of liquor.
The only reason that he was drinking now was because he was worried about what would happen to Miss Kurosaki if she managed to drink all four bottles of sake on her own. Especially on what he assumed to be an empty stomach since they hadn't ordered their food just yet since being left alone.
Instead, they had been drinking and making idle chit-chat.
Or in his case, information gathering.
"I can't imagine that the two of you get along very well." He said, half agreeing with her despite the fact that Byakuya Kuchiki seemed like a little bit of an enigma to him. The man seemed standoffish, but genuinely caring to him.
In all honesty Byakuya Kuchiki sort of reminded him a bit of Hiei. Personality wise, anyways.
He still had no idea why the man would involve himself in another family's affairs like he had. But the fact that he had done so made Kurama incredibly curious.
Especially given the fact that he wasn't entirely sure that even Miss Kurosaki knew why the man was involved in this fiasco. So, Kurama wasn't sure if he should even bother to ask her.
She perked up a little bit at his words. Or maybe it wasn't a perk so much as it was, he got an odd look from her before she waved her hand and said, "Normally you'd be right. Byakuya's been a pain in my ass since we first met when I was a kid. But we buried the hatchet ages ago. So, we do get along."
His lips twitched a little bit before he asked half teasingly, "Like oil and water?"
"More like cats and dogs actually." She said as she sighed and rested her chin in her hand. "He's gotten less...stern and settled own a little bit since back then. But he still likes sticking his nose into my business every chance he gets."
"I can't imagine why that is." He was merely being honest. He really couldn't fathom why the man would bother to go out of his way.
"Huh? Oh, it's cause I'm his younger sister's friend." He blinked at that and raised a brow at her, surprised to know that she was friends with Kuchiki's sister, as she went on to say. "He's really protective of her and those that she considers extended family. He's got a weird way of showing it. But his heart is usually in the right place. Ya know?"
He did know. The way that she described him explained a lot about why he'd decided to help push her into the omiai. Though he was simply making an educated guess.
"So, because you're his sister's friend...he's decided to help your family marry you off?"
He simply asked for clarification. After all, if he decided to actually marry the woman, he needed to know what her family was like. And her answer would tell him a lot about them and what he could expect of their behavior.
She gave him a goofy smile as she started to tell him about her family a bit. Apparently, her father was a bit of a comedian and had been against her marrying anyone until he decided that he was old enough for her to give him grandchildren.
Which was understandable since she fondly referred to her father as suffering from something called 'empty nest' syndrome now that both of her little sisters were in college, and he was alone. From the way that she explained the syndrome to him- his mother and stepfather were both suffering from it too.
God help us. He thought worriedly as he listened to her continue to explain about the others.
It went something like this.
Up until she hit her twenty third birthday, everyone had simply been looking for someone for her to settle down with. But her father, Aunt, and two uncles had vetoed every choice made. The second that she turned twenty-three, everyone had suddenly begun to agree on things.
One, was that she was the right age.
Two, was that she only had so many childbearing years.
Three, she never had any interest in dating anyone. So why not help nature along a bit by mettling?
Partially because many of her friends had settled down and were marrying and stuff themselves. Which led to the rest of them getting some bizarre notion in their heads that she was probably very lonely attending weddings and stuff on her own. So, they had started to plot in earnest and recruited more people to help them.
And thus, the council of 'matchmakers' was born.
He all but laughed and clapped his hands at the very dramatic name that she had for everyone involved. Council, indeed. He mused with a grin.
"You would get along famously with my friend Botan," He said after a moment or so before explaining, "She has quite a flair for the dramatic herself. Perhaps the two of you could join forces and find a way to defeat the Council before every single person on the planet suffers from their meddling."
"We'd need minions to help us pull it off." She said half-jokingly. Obviously picking up on his joke and deciding to run with it.
"I can get you some. Literally." And then he paused for a moment for dramatic effect before saying. "I have some other friends that are so easy to con that it's ridiculous. I think they'd be good henchmen for you."
"And what will you do while I attempt to overthrow the Council?" She asked curiously. Tilting her head to the side a little bit as she regarded him with amused eyes as he said.
"Who? Me? I will be bowing to the whims of my fearless leader, of course. And keeping bail money on standby to bail each of you out of jail."
She giggled, and he had to cover his mouth to smother his own laugh.
The two of them were finally beginning to relax now thanks to the sudden humorous flow of conversation. So now that they had gotten that out of the way...
"I like it." She finally said once she stopped laughing before asking, "What did you do to get caught up in this mess?"
"I'm the only biological son of a very loving mother who married a man that likes to mettle in my life as well."
"You're single too, huh?" She asked, catching on rather fast.
"Yes." He said with a small, tight lipped, smile as he poured them both some more sake before saying, "But I'm not the least bit disappointed by the fact that I came here today." The words, 'I got to see you again,' hung unsaid between them as he watched Miss Kurosaki blush prettily and start to fidget.
"I'm not disappointed either. Rocky beginning aside, I'm actually having fun." She finally admitted after a few seconds.
"I'm having fun too." He said as he reached out and picked up their menu's and then handed one to her as he carefully tacked on. "And I think we should both order something to eat before we drink anymore sake. I'm not sure about you- but I'm not fond of hangovers."
She gave him a devious looking grin but didn't comment or argue any. Instead, she buried her face in her menu and tried to find something appealing to her.
They were at a traditional sushi and grill restaurant. And the menu tended to have a wide variety of things ranging from seafood dishes of all kinds. To steak, pasta, and vegetable dishes and soups.
So, they had quite a bit to look over before coming to any sort of decision on what they wanted.
He decided to have a steak dinner with some cooked vegetables as a side, and an extra drink since he wasn't sure how much more sake either of them would be drinking. Whereas Miss Kurosaki decided on a sushi variety platter. She ordered no extra drink for herself. So, he did it for her while giving her a slightly stern look.
She didn't even have the good sense to look abashed at his stern expression. She merely smiled sweetly at him in reaction to his ordering another drink for her. Eliciting a small snort from him as he shook his head.
Silly girl. He thought in amusement as they both sat there and tried to begin another vein of conversation. It took a little bit of doing, but eventually they both managed to delve into some of their likes, dislikes, and hopes for the future.
She was oddly like himself.
She liked reading, music- though she didn't specify what kind- she liked playing games, playing with puzzles, her hobbies, quiet days at home, ect. She didn't really dislike anything in particular. Except for evil people.
Whatever definition she used for that term left him wondering exactly how she defined 'evil'.
He, himself had a very loose definition of what was considered to be evil. Because he'd lived a very, very long time and had sinned quite a bit. So, while her possible definition of what was 'evil' kind of bothered him a little bit- he had to remind himself that she was a human woman.
She was young and had likely not seen or experienced much evil in her sheltered life. Unlike himself whom had been around long enough to see more horrors than he could immediately recall.
He told her his likes and dislikes while they were eating and even told her that he would like a family of his own. He often felt lonely despite how much he liked his self-imposed solitude. And thoughts of having a wife and child or two to fill his home with life, laughter, and joy occasionally offered a small respite from those oppressive feelings.
Miss Kurosaki mentioned liking the idea of having a husband and kids. But she also seemed worried about the possibility to him. Though he couldn't figure out why. She seemed to him as if she would be a lovely mother and wife.
In that moment, as he glanced across the table at her, and saw her smile, a realization suddenly hit him. And he could very easily picture a life together with her.
His heart skipped a few beats, his stomach got a funny fluttering sensation, and his palms started to sweat a little bit. And oh, but he knew he was in trouble here.
He knew without a shadow of a doubt that Miss Kurosaki would be an easy woman to love.
They stayed in that booth well after their dinner had been devoured, just talking, joking and teasing. Kurama found out that she wasn't exactly sure how to flirt. But that was okay, he liked that oblivious innocence of hers. Besides, he had enough experience with flirting to more than make up for any knowledge that she lacked.
He also finally figured out that she had a very mischievous and devious mind. Of course, by the time they were finally kicked out of the restaurant he was totally sold on the idea of marrying her. It simply appealed to him on several levels. And god knew that she would keep him on his toes and well entertained into his twilight years.
Miss Kurosaki must have liked him enough to be sold on the idea of marrying him too. She agreed easily enough. And after that, he kissed her on the cheek and then walked her home while she tried to persuade him to go with her to Byakuya Kuchiki's home to raise a little hell before they called it a night.
It didn't work since he decided to be a veto her suggestion. But the woman somehow managed to wrangle the promise to go with her some other time and raise hell, from him.