Disclaimer: All Bleach characters belong to Kubo Tite.
Rukia: My Life As A Rabbit
Chapter Nine –Claiming Ownership
Rukia: I swear I will bite Asano's fingers off if he tries to make me eat his homework again. The moron better not make another attempt to force-feed me his incomplete assignment just so he can give sensei some lame alibi.
Ochi-sensei looked up from the class register as someone coughed in the manner that served more to announce a presence than any wish to clear a throat. Kurosaki Ichigo had a sheepish look on his face. The class teacher immediately saw what he had in his arms.
"Oh… not again, Kurosaki-kun. I thought we resolved this issue already."
"Sensei, I promise you she'll behave. You won't even notice-"
She thought that she'd only hear of such a case in the primary school. Now here stands a boy who couldn't leave his pet bunny at home, exactly like the younger pupils who dragged their ragged soft toys all over the place. Ochi-sensei sighed. "I'm sorry. But, you understand I can't accept your vouch for the good conduct of your pet. There's no possible way you can control…"
Rukia had been watching the exchange quietly from Ichigo's arms. Now, she wriggled free and hopped neatly onto the teacher's table.
Move aside, Ichigo! And let the expert handle this.
Rukia did what she did best as a fluffy rabbit. She gazed up at the surprised teacher with her dark purplish-blue eyes, woffled her nose softly, and tilted her head so her long-ears flopped endearingly to the side. In short, Rukia looked cute.
"…But, I guess it can be our class secret." Ochi-sensei said at last. "So long as it doesn't distract the class."
Then, the teacher reached over to give the irresistible bunny a light pat on the head. "I have to say… she is very adorable."
Ichigo stared. Ochi-sensei must have a weak spot for bunnies. Because rabbits weren't capable of being… manipulative. Were they?
oooOooo
Asano Keigo grabbed the orange haired boy by his collar, and lamented wretchedly. "Ichigooo… how could you betray me this way? You and Mizuiro just leaving me behind –you have to tell your ol' friend how you became so popular with the girls!"
Ichigo rolled his eyes and tried to pry Asano's hands away. It's not like he had intended to set the bunny up as female-bait, but a whole flock of them had descended on his desk the moment the rabbit was in sight.
"Kurosaki-san, is she really yours?" asked one of his smitten classmates, waiting for her turn to cradle the bunny.
Keigo cried out dramatically, "Ichigoo… I feel so looonelyy!"
Ichigo ignored him, and replied, "Aa. She's mine. Just a stray I picked up."
Rukia sniffed haughtily –not that anyone noticed since they thought the bunny had just woffled its nose. They squealed in delight and Rukia was given a squeezing-hug.
What nonsense! A Kuchiki belongs to no one. Beholden to none –our free spirits…
Suddenly, Rukia's attentions to her adoring fan girls wavered. Her eyes narrowed as a girl at the classroom doorway peeked in and waved at Ichigo, smiling brightly.
It's that nuisance again. Can't she stay in her own class –why does she have to come here?
Mikimoto Shinju from the class next door flipped her hair, and let it slide like a silky waterfall across her shoulders before Ichigo. Rukia thought she didn't need anyone to answer her last question after all.
As Ichigo returned her greeting, Rukia thought sourly, Doesn't the teacher realize there's a student who's not supposed to be in here?
Then Rukia watched indignantly as Mikimoto reached over and took the empty chair next to the spiky haired youth. That's my seat! Just because I'm absent in school, you think you can start moving in on my territory?
The object of Rukia's aggravation gave a tinkling laugh at something Ichigo said. Rukia fumed. Men! You can't leave them alone for a day.
"Oh, whatever happened to your hands?" Mikimoto exclaimed when she spotted the band aids on Ichigo.
She picked Ichigo's bandaged fingers up, and suddenly found herself face to face with a seething rabbit. Startled, she dropped his hand immediately.
Hands off, Mikimoto! He's mine.
To make sure she got her point across, Rukia put one dainty foot on Ichigo's hand lying on the desk.
Ichigo's classmates watched the scene, highly amused by it all.
"Aww… isn't that sweet?"
"Whoo… I've heard of possessive pets. But, I didn't think rabbits were like that!"
"Hey, isn't this like the case where the pet ownsthe master"
Ichigo scowled and refrained from replying to that last comment. He quickly scooped the rabbit up and edged it further away from Mikimoto.
A precaution taken just incase it decided to lunge forward and give the girl's well-manicured fingers a few nips.
oooOooo
After school, Ichigo stopped by at Urahara's store. The entrance was shut, and the tenants of the shop were still 'away on vacation'. Ichigo had given up banging on the metal folding-gate after a passer-by had stopped and helpfully offered to read the huge message spray-painted across the gate.
Yes, he knew what it said. He wasn't blind. He wasn't illiterate either.
He just had to confirm this sneaking suspicion he had that the lot of them weren't hiding away in there, maybe in that huge underground training space, pretending to be deaf every time he came calling –for reasons unknown.
Finally, he tore of a sheet of paper and wrote a message. Then, note in hand, the boy paused and stared long at the graffiti splashed boldly across the gate. Wryly, he wondered what on earth the neighbours thought of the shopkeepers' unusual style of informing customers about his holiday.
Ichigo was most definitely not going to pin his message up on that. The police might come to the wrong conclusion and think he had something to do with the sudden disappearance of the tenants.
The boy slipped the note under the gate and walked on home.
oooOooo
Rukia could feel the source of her reiatsu again. Before facing the Hollow and her abrupt release of the Demon Arts, she hadn't been able to grasp even a hint of it.
Shinigami's were more conscious of their soul's framework –they had a better impression of the subtle composites that gave form to a soul. Consuming Urahara's unidentified pill made her feel as if she had been thrown into a blender and stepped out again all mismatched.
Now, she could pinpoint the source she reached for every time she used her Demon Arts. Alright, she didn't have to admit to anyone that it was embarrassingly drained just from one Hadou spell. But, she thought if she had something to focus on, it was possible… just possible that she could pull the entire jumbled puzzle together again.
She was going to hazard that her attempt wouldn't leave her scrambled beyond salvation. It's really not that she wanted to be stuck in this rabbit form forever. But, please, do take a look at Komamura taichou of the Seventh Division!
Rukia thought of her own body with a larger than life rabbit head perched on top.
She shuddered. She could understand why the captain had first chosen to walk around with a wooden bucket over his head.
No personal offence to Komamura taichou, but I'd rather be a rabbit than that any day!
oooOooo
When Rukia guessed that the Kurosaki's were fast asleep for the night, she moved quietly to the landing just outside Ichigo's room.
Well, if I mutate beyond Rabbit…beyond Rukia, at least I won't give Ichigo a vision of a living nightmare. However tempting that sounds.
The rabbit took a breath and plunged into the very foundations of her soul. She traced her path to the source of her reiatsu.
Rukia reached out for it.
Author's Note: Will Rukia finally walk back into Ichigo's room in her human form? Small cliffhanger is just there for fun –humor me. Since there may or may not be any more chances for me to throw one in. ;)
Oh, the evilness of me. Have a good weekend!
grandmaster p –Haha! Feel free to swear. I think the 'fiction police' won't close in on you. I was doing plenty of it this week. The net was down since last week Saturday. No Bleach fix until this moment.
Syneiam –Yes, Rukia may be in denial. But, she's not the sort to sit on her bunny-ass and do nothing about her little situation either.
LadieAnimeFreek –I'm sorry for 'toying' with you. ;) But, you probably saw this chapter coming after a comment like that.
SHiNiGAMiLENNE –The Hollow-Ichigo probably jumped in the chapter because I was writing my new fic. ;) And Darth Vader was there because… my older sibling never let me play 'Luke Skywalker'.
Sousui/Seaplue –Sorry about the sad chapter. Hope this one makes you laugh again.
inugrlluvsanime –I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Was nervous about the flashback part dropping out of the blue.
Chen0412 –Aah! You liked the fight-scene? I'm so happy. Can you believe I read the whole section on lizards in the encyclopedia? Then I realized that Ichigo was fighting a Hollow not a glorified Iguana and stopped trying to incorporate 'lizard biological facts' into the poor chapter.
chibi-kyuubi –Hope you will continue reading this fic too!
Umi Kanshisha –Entertaining mental images indeed! Did you just call Urahara's walking stick a pimp cane? OMG. Haha!
Zero-Vision –Rukia in rabbit form. She must be one of the few characters that can actually be easily written into a bunny.
flOofymikO –His increased attachment. Rabbit Rukia knows it too. We'll see more on that in the next chapter. ;)
lady milktea –I hear and obey your 'onegai' to update!
kittyblah –If you've thought of that awkward moment.. maybe you'll see it soon, hmm?
Procrastinator-starting2moro –I don't consider your reviews spam at all. Each one is much adored and read (more like pored over…) with ridiculously happy smiles. And kitten in the hood –you can try it. But, make sure it isn't afraid of heights before you plop it on your shoulder. ;) You can imagine the damage..
