Married life
~ Chapter 1 : Reunion ~
Ichigo was sitting on porch sipping from his gin glass. His thoughts were lost somewhere farther away than the horizon. He was just enable to comprehend how his father has managed to make himself involved in yet another disaster.
*3 hours ago*
"Why the hell did you wanted to see me at lunch time?" Ichigo asks nervous his father as soon as he enters his study.
"Oh, this place seems to go colder and colder with each of my visits." Ishin dashes past his son, then he sits comfortable at the office's desk. "Do you want it simple or double?" The older man grabs one bottle from the table.
"Tsh... There is no good when you start with the drink. Make it double." Ichigo sits in front of his dad. "Why did you not come along with mom?" The dark haired man grins hearing his son comment.
"Masaki is quite busy at the moment. She and Yuzu are trying to teach Karin some etiquette for their debutante ball. I would really not involve myself in their women stuff, but it's really impossible to not tease Karin when she tries on dresses."
"The time surely passes fast." The orange haired man smiles reminiscent. "I cannot believe they are turning 16 this year."
"Hahaha... You're starting to sound like an old man" Ishin teases his son.
"Tsh... I'm getting already sick of your nonsenses. Cut the crap now and tell me your visit reason." The older man stops his laugh sensing that a punch from Ichigo is imminent.
"Say... Do you know SÅsuke Aizen?" Ichigo's expression changed from annoyed to extremely annoyed.
"You know I despise him. You know too well what he did to Momo." His son fist clinched, his nails almost breaking his palms skin.
"Well... He's getting married soon." Ichigo jumped from his chair and he grabbed his father by his collar.
"Don't tell me that you promised Yuzu or Karin to that psycho." If he would have to die today, Isshin was more than sure that his family would be in safe hands with Ichigo.
"It has never even crossed my mind." The orange haired release him.
"Then why would you say that to me? You know too well that I'm not up for gossips." Ichigo empties his glass to calm down his nerves.
"It's about Orihime." The glass fell from the younger's man hand hearing that name.
"What about her?" He forces the words to came out from his mouth.
"She's going to became his wife." Ichigo's punch broke the surface of the wall hearing the statement.
"What does that have to do with me?" The orange haired man asks without turning to face his father.
"Considering how well your marriage with Rukia is going, Yamamoto has proposed you to show to her about our 'living'." Ichigo's body was trembling with rage.
"You say to me..." he turns around "that Aizen can marry a mortal, but for the others is impossible?" Isshin looked blank at his son, he opened and closed his mouth several times, but no response. "I see. Good for him. 5 years ago when I have asked this question before the assembly it was no change, but for him it works. Great!" Ichigo's fist meets again the wall.
"Ichigo... You know that even with my status there are quite few things that I cannot do and this is one of them."
*coming back to present*
Ichigo felt useless. How could he hand over the women he admires to that son of a bitch. Just the thought of Aizen touching her makes him mad.
"Oh my god, Kurosaki-kun, are you alright ? You are bleeding !" The voice that he has missed in the past 5 years... "It will take a while, but I will need to remove the pieces of the glass, please bear with me for a moment." She was hear, Orihime was kneeling right in front of him trying to cure him again. "Hehe, it's been so long, I thought I would not recognize you anymore." His heart was beating so fast that he thought she might hear it.
"You have not changed a bit also, Inoue." His eyes meet for a moment and they remained so for a while.
"Daddy, daddy you would not believe what mommy bought me today." An young dark haired boy jumped in front of Ichigo showing to him a small plane. "Wow... who is she daddy? She is beautiful." Ichigo jaw dropped for a few inches, he was shocked.
"Ichika, how many times did I tell you to not disturb your father while he's talking with another person. It's very impolite." Rukia teaches her son, till she sees who it was. "Orihime, it's been such a long time!" The brunette hugs the orange haired woman from behind being excited of her presence.
"Air.." The beauty manage to utter right before she was on the point to pass out.
"I'm so sorry, Orihime. I was so happy to meet you again" Rukia releases her, after what she helps her to get some air.
"I'm really happy to meet you again, Rukia. I was so out of touch with all of you that I did not know about your marriage or your kid. Congratulation, I'm really happy for you two. I hope you have a long lasting happy marriage." Orihime's last sentence was sending small daggers to Ichigo's heart. The brunette has passed her glance at both of them and she could see the hidden pain. Anyhow, Rukia could not make any statement in front of Ichika.
"Shall we go inside ? It's freezing cold already." Rukia is trying to relieve the atmosphere.
"Ok." The beauty agreed gracious removing her palms from his palm.
"So what is the reason for your visit ?" Rukia asks while taking her coat.
"I'm getting married." Orihime smiled showing her engagement ring.
"Daddy, you are bleeding." Ichika says looking at his father palm.
"Kami, I think I have forgotten to remove some of the pieces." The girl rushes to have a look at the wound. "Or do you want to remove them ?" The orange haired beauty stops thinking that she might overdo her new boundaries.
"Neah... You can heal him, I would not bother. He's usually overdoing himself all of the time so you can take your time. Anyhow, I think we have interrupted your talk. Come Ichika, let them 2 to talk." Rukia winks at them, before she leaves with her son.
There is a moment of silence after her departure. Ichigo does not know where to bring her, usually, he would invite her to his office, but right now the walls were not 'ok' due to his rage.
"Would you want me to remove everything here or do you want somewhere where you can sit ?" Orihime asks concerned of him.
"Tsh... I'm fine to go, no worry."
"Ok." Then there was silence again. She was curing him with the greatest care, like the smallest movement would upset him. "You have such a nice little family. How old is Ichika?" By reflex he clenched his fists catching her right palm in his left wounded one.
"He will be 5 at the end of this year." He did not see happy, which was really odd to her.
"Oh you two have married about the time I have last seen you." Again the clinching, again the sadness in his eyes.
"7 months, 12 days since your departure" She blushed. She did not know he counted the days without her.
"Who would have believed 5 years ago, that you would be married now and I'm about to be married in a month." He left his forehead to drop on her shoulder. "Kurosaki-kun!" She blushed really hard.
"From any person from this world why Aizen?" His voice was low and horse, as he wanted to say more, but he couldn't.
"I have met Sousuke-san during my practice in the hospital. He was really kind with the children. He proposed to me since 3 years ago, but I guess for some reasons I was expecting something else or maybe someone." Ichigo raised his head, their faces being inches away. Sensing the distance between their lips going almost nonexistent she moves her head. "Anyhow last week I have accepted and I was invited here to get accustomed with the life. Hehe... I was really glad to met your father when I have first arrived, I knew from then on that I would not be lonely."
Ichigo realizes in that moment another promise that he has broken, to not make her ever be lonely.
"Come with me." Ichigo says dragging her to his study.
"What are we doing here?" She asks facing a wall.
"I know what you will see next it will seem crazy, but, I hope you will understand a little about me and about what you will be facing from now on." She was puzzled, she did not understand him. He clicked on brick from the wall and brightness started to fill the room. It was so powerful that she needed to cover her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, everything was changed.
He was wearing a black yukata with captain written on the shoulder together with a division number. She was now wearing a white yukata and a chain was coming from her heart to the nothingness. They were surrounded by a field with beautiful flowers and a small lake. It was a cottage not so far from them, but it did not seem to be habitable.
"Where are we, Kurosaki-kun?" She asks after her emotions became bearable.
"Would you believe me if I would say to you that we are in the afterlife?" She thought that he was joking, but he did not act so. Being able to walk from and in afterlife doesn't seem to be in the human nature.
"What are you, Kurosaki-kun?" She was not scared of him, not a bit. This really was relieving him a lot.
"I'm a Shinigami." Orihime chuckles. "I'm serious, Inoue." She would have given the world to take a picture of him, of his expression in this moment. It was a mix of I'm dead serious please believe me combined with a puppy face. But in the same time, she would not want to take the picture, because in this case this moment with Ichigo will remain forever hers.
"I trust you, Kurosaki-kun. It's just that I have always knew it was something special in you and now, I think I do really understand some of the moments from the past, for example when I have met you that night wearing this outfit at my window, I thought I was dreaming, but now I understand." He tried to hid his blush with his other hand. The moment that she recalled was prior to her departure, he wanted to confess to her, he wanted to even leave with her if possible, but his father dragged him out of it right before he would speak to her, because his admission to a human about his status would mean that her memory would be erased if was found, or even she would be killed. "Is Sosuke-san also a Shinigami?"
"Yeah." He wanted her to never speak that guy's name with her lips, like it was tainting her. But how can he ask so as a married man.
"Would you have told me about you being a Shinigami if not about this request?" She wanted to hid herself after she asked this question. Why would she have any expectation now that he was taken?
"That night... I wanted to, but probably I would have never." He clinched his fists again making her understand that he is uncomfortable.
"What is this chain coming from my chest?" She tries to change the conversation direction.
"That is the chain of life, usually humans have it connecting their souls to their human body. When there is a life ending situation, like coma, the soul and body can be separated and they can have a look at their physical body in real time without having the normal people seeing them. The other reason it would be mainly that the life is ended, so the chain is broken and your soul is needed to be guided by a Shinigami in 'heaven'. This is the basics; I will explain more starting tomorrow."
"Oh, I see, so this is where I will live after the marriage is completed?" He did dream of her asking this, but not in this situation.
"Tsh... I do not know; I do not have any idea at all. The truth is a Shinigami cannot marry a mortal till that mortal is not in the afterlife. A mortal after she dies will have no memory of her past life. I was believing that it might be possible to live in the human world and do the duties here, but this is not possible. Maybe if you have high enough spiritual power you can also be a semi-Shinigami kind of what I am so you can travel freely and keep your memory." She is curious about the Shinigami's world and if there might be a school to teach you those, but her question for now is...
"But how about now? I think I'm not dead, but I could come here with you. "How could he say to her that he has built this passage just for his confession from 5 years ago and because of this she can see this. "Kurosaki-kun?"
"Please don't make me say it." No one knew about this, then him and his father because he needed his approval. If only him or her touch the rock they will be here, otherwise for anyone else it would be just a rock. This very place is the proof of his love and that only her is capable of entering his world, his secret place. She knew she should not insist, but she could sense something tingling in her chest to ask further.
"Please. "Her plead was his last trigger. His arms hugged her lower back, while his lips and tongue were finally tasting her. The tingling sensation was now going up and down in both bodies and the feeling of fusion was craving for both of them.
"I love you. You're my desire, my sin, my limit. I wanted to say this to you 5 years ago, but I was stopped by the Shinigami's rules. As I said a marriage between a human-Shinigami is not accepted till now. I do not know why now is legal for him. I'm sorry for my sudden confession. After so many..." He wanted to not impose his feelings on her, but here she was kissing him back more passionately.
"I love you too, Kurosaki-kun." There she was, the woman of his dreams right before his eyes and she was loving him back. But was it too late right now?
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" He wanted to punch something. He wanted to free somehow this frustration what was bottling now.
"Kurosaki-kun?" She does not know what to do, was it wrong was did she said?
"I'm sorry, Inoue. I'm really am. It's just... the life is really a bitch, you know that?" In that moment she understood a bit of his frustration, now that he has a family, it's not so easy for them as it was 5 years ago to be together.
"Oh, I think I understand. I'm sorry for being so pushy." Some tears formed in the corner of her eyes, but she lowered her head before she thought she might see them. But what she did not know is that now that they have met again his eyes cannot part her.
"Inoue..." He grabbed her head and kissed her tears. "It's a lot more complicated that you think. It's not depending on me on us..." She felt in his arms really sobbing this time. His heart was hurting for her every tear. "For the moment I cannot tell you everything, but I will soon."
After she has calmed down, they have come back in the real world. Ichigo have showed her where she could take a bath, then they have parted to their rooms. Rukia is startled by Ichigo's load entrance.
"What did happen this time?" Rukia asks, removing her glasses and closing the book she was reading.
"I confessed." Ichigo says nervous while undressing.
"Wouldn't it be a happy moment?" The brunette asks confused.
"She loves me back, Rukia." His slender figure in the light of the evening seemed to be a ghost of the man she loved.
"Baka..." She said while she hit him with her slipper. "You love her, she loves you. Why the hell are you with me here than with her?"
Ichigo removes his slipper from the forehead then he comes next to her.
"Because you are my wife!" He raised his voice so hard, that it was audible from far away. Ichika has heard the sound of his father voice and he came to check.
"Are you fine?" A sleepy boy opens the room to see his father just in boxer shorts leaning up his mother. "Ups... Aunt Ran told me that this is how baby are being made. I would like a baby brother. Good night." The boy closes the door and runs to his room happily.
"Have you let our son to spend time with that freak again?" Ichigo is wondering what did Rangiku tell to Ichika about how babies are being made.
"We have met in the city and I let her spend time with him while I was doing the groceries. But it's your fault that you are not fully dressed, but do not change the subject. Have you not told here that we are not acting like husband and wife alone?" He rolls his eyes.
"Do you really think that this do really make a big difference in the picture? Afterall we are legally husband and wife!" He drops in bed next to Rukia.
"We can divorce at any time. You have my blessing." Ichigo used his slipper to hit her on the forehead.
"Baka, you think that Kuchiki family would let you marry and divorce as you please?" The slipper fell from her forehead when the realization hit her.
"But what are you going to do now that you are back together?"
"Rukia, seriously..." He covered his face with the pillow. She removed it.
"This change does not come always. You need to take this opportunity and live your love story as you deserve." He pinched her forehead. "Ouch"
"Sometimes I really believe that there are just a bunch of potatoes." She kicks him on the floor.
"Maybe the cold floor would make you understand how stupid you are acting. If Reiji would come back, I would go to him without any though." He raised himself at the edge of the bed.
"Do you know what is the big difference between Reiji and Inoue?"
"What?" She demands angry.
"If Orihime was a Shinigami I would have married her back then, but since she is not and there being so many stupid rules, I cannot run with her and forget everything, because the entire Soul Society will come after us and who might not, they might even kill her. So yeah, excuse me because there are so much stuff going on. Good night!" He took his pillow and exited the room.
Rukia did not want to hurt him, she just wanted to give him the impulse to fix everything. But who know there might not be anything left to be fixed. She slapped herself. Fixed or unfixed Orihime needs to decide by herself also after she hears the truth about their relationship and Ichika.
Going down the stairs Ichigo verify Ichika. He was now sleeping peacefully. Even if he is not his flash and bones, he had developed a liking for the little fellow. He does not know that Ichigo is not his real father so this would affect him greatly too. He closes the door then he goes to check Orihime.
He creeps very slowly the door. As he was thinking she was sitting by the window lost in her thoughts. Probably it would have been easier for her to search for someone else to spend the rest of her days and to continue to think badly about Ichigo year by year. But now that they have reencountered and that they have confessed he has broken her life again. He closes the door as it was never opened, then he goes to his study.
'I guess there is another night for us, hollow ' Ichigo is talking with his inside hollow.
'It seems so since you will not take the queen to satisfy you.'
Next chapter : A glimpse in the future
Next update : 27-28 April
A.N. Hello, my darlings. How are you, how have you been ?
I have heard a funny thing these days. Do you know about new year resolution ? I have heard there is an Easter resolution also :))
I have not had anything specific in mind, but today it hit me the idea of the story :)) So I decided that in the following days I want to complete it. I think it would be a 6 chapter story, frequency : 1-2 days
If you have managed to read till now, thank you for your time reading, I hope it was on your linking.
If you have any idea, suggestions, opinion or even an adverb :)) (good, bad) I would be happy to read it in the review section.
Love you all,
XOXO Justme210 : )
