Chapter 9
The flashlights make you look like a Queen
Yuzu made herself comfortable in her brother's living room.
Karin was setting up, along with her father, the new TV that they bought for Ichigo. While he didn't explain how his first TV was destroyed beyond repair he seemed to be alright without having one, but she disagreed, an apartment was not complete without a television so when she realized that she was rich she decided to buy one for him, Ichi-nii was a great brother after all.
"You seem happy Karin-chan" Yuzu observed from her spot, she had a bowl of popcorn on her lap.
"Well, I can't wait to see Ichi-nii's face when he realizes that he has a new television" Karin answered and once the TV was done she took a seat next to Yuzu "time to see how it works."
When they turned it on the first thing that appeared was a gossip channel, Karin frowned and was ready to change when she realized that there was a press conference going on.
"Is that Rukia-chan?!" Yuzu asked surprised.
"My third daughter?!" Isshin asked and joined his daughters on the couch.
Karin frowned.
"What happened to her nose?!"
"KUROSAKI!" Uryuu yelled while entering the office only to find Ichigo and Grimmjow struggling with the ropes that had them tied to the chair. He would've laughed if the situation wasn't so urgent.
"What the fuck do you want?" Grimmjow asked angrily.
"He's talking to me asshole" Ichigo said "leave him alone."
"Oh, protective aren't we? I didn't know that you were dating him too."
"Jealous?" Ichigo asked amused.
Uryuu shook his head.
"While I love to see both of you arguing like an old married couple I need you to see something." He said and proceed to turn on the TV of the office.
The press conference was taking place just outside the Kuchiki building. Ichigo's eyes widened.
"This is happening right now" Uryuu explained "the whole building is watching it."
"What happened to her nose?!" Grimmjow and Ichigo asked at the same time and Uryuu rolled his eyes.
Perhaps he should've gone to see this with someone else.
Rukia thought that the flashes and the people around her were a little bit more than what she could handle, she felt the sudden urge to go back inside and hide but her sister grabbed her hand and gave her a little squeeze. It felt reassuring to have her next to her, so sighing heavily Rukia decided to keep going with her plan.
Several reporters started to ask questions at the same time and Rukia's eyes widened.
"God, they never change" Hisana muttered upset.
"How am I supposed to answer them?" Rukia asked her "I can't even distinguish the questions."
Hisana took a deep breath, in order to make this work she would have to be the one in charge. Luckily, after being married for so many years to Byakuya this was an easy task for her.
"Okay, you" she said pointing to a random reporter, Rukia thought that he seemed like a nice and decent man.
The other reporters kept quiet.
"Yes ma'am" he said respectfully "I'll just ask one thing, I'm from Vanity Fair and I need to know, where were you before coming here?"
Rukia smiled kindly at him.
"I was in Norway" she answered, she was going to add the convent part but Hisana squeeze her hand so she supposed that it wasn't for the best. The reporter nodded confused and took another picture. More hands were raised and Hisana pointed to a female reporter.
"Thank you Ma'am" the reporter said nicely, she was blonde and was wearing a fancy suit "who are you wearing, Kuchiki Rukia?"
Rukia blinked confused, who she was wearing? What kind of question was that?
"Oh" Hisana said before she could answer "this is some basic forever 21 stuff, I'm afraid we haven't had the chance to go shopping yet."
Rukia smiled as sweetly as Hisana hoping that her confusion wouldn't be obvious.
"Thank you" the reporter said clearly satisfied with the answer but the mean glint behind her eyes didn't go unnoticed by Rukia.
"What happened to your nose?!" the next one asked and Rukia frowned.
"I woke up on the wrong side of the bed" she lied and Hisana chuckled along with some other reporters. Rukia thanked God for that, she couldn't simply say that someone inside the office hit her.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" Another reporter asked and Rukia smiled sincerely while remembering Ichigo.
"Yes, I do have a boyfriend" she answered without hesitation.
That took Hisana by surprise but she didn't let it show.
Lots of hands rose after Rukia answered that and Hisana pointed to a female reporter.
"Who's the lucky guy?" she asked.
"I'm afraid I cannot answer" Rukia said after understanding Hisana's warning glare "I wouldn't like him to be on the spotlight like this."
Hisana was really glad that Rukia was handling this so well. Until now the questions had been truly easy to answer and while the press couldn't be trusted she didn't feel like they were doing a bad job. Rukia looked at Hisana and wondered why she was so tense, after all, it wasn't as if this was the end of the world, she thought that they were doing it okay.
That was until another reporter was chosen, a male one this time, and Hisana sighed heavily.
She knew this one.
"Ma'am" the reporter said "I believe that everyone around here is wondering the same, so please let me ask, why were you in Norway and not here with your family?"
Rukia sighed.
She was going to answer about how her brother thought it was the best for her, how she was well protected and how now, that several years passed, she was ready to face the real world, but Hisana stopped her and answered before her.
"Because of the likes of you" she said and Rukia's eyes widened.
"Excuse me?" the reported asked offended.
Hisana nodded.
"Well, we didn't want her to be harassed by the press since she was a baby" she said and Rukia wondered how she could speak so freely with so much pressure "this isn't healthy, a few pictures got leaked and look at you all around the building, my husband is inside his work and here you are invading his property just to get a picture of Rukia."
"We're not trespassing" the reporter said clearly offended.
"I disagree" Hisana said "there might be a limit to the building but you're still waiting here outside like angry vultures."
The reporter blushed angrily.
"The people have the right to know" he blurted out.
"We're not celebrities" Hisana retorted "we did not build our fortune by feeding you with our family affairs or with our public appearances, my husband is a successful lawyer and CEO and the fact that you find that easy to print and to sell does not make us celebrities, we owe nothing to the public, although Byakuya-sama would make a great magazine cover." She said with a smile.
Everyone, including Rukia, chuckled at that and the reporter didn't do any more questions.
Another hand rose and Hisana pointed at what seemed to be an unexperienced young boy.
"Ma'am, is Kuchiki Rukia your daughter?"
Rukia and Hisana looked at each other.
Several things went through their heads but the main question was the same: should we lie?
Hisana knew that no matter the answer protecting Rukia legally wouldn't be a problem, if anything by saying that she was, in fact, her daughter would be easier to manage and to explain. The fact that they look so much alike was a bonus, on the other side by saying that Rukia was her sister would only arise more questions.
Who are your parents? Were you living with them back in Norway? Are you both orphan? Is Kuchiki Byakuya going to take under his wing a girl that has no blood relations to him?
Hisana could feel a headache coming.
So taking a deep breath she flashed the reporter with her brightest smile and answered.
"Yes" she said taking everyone by surprise "Kuchiki Rukia is our daughter and before someone else dare to ask, Byakuya-sama is her father, no more questions."
Ignoring the best she could the screaming reporters and the flashes of the cameras Hisana took Rukia inside the building while the security held the press.
"Ishida" Ichigo said in a frantic voice once the whole thing was over "untie me! I have to see Rukia!"
He was about to do it until Grimmjow spoke up.
"Untie me too, loser" he said with a bossy voice "I need to go to the bathroom."
Uryuu pondered his options for a second.
"You know, you haven't actually apologize for everything Kurosaki." He said pensively "perhaps staying here with your longtime rival will help you out."
Ichigo gaped.
"You can't be serious! Don't you dare to leave me here with this asshole!"
"This is not a walk in the park for me either!" Grimmjow said back angrily.
"Well" Uryuu said "you left me on the floor with papers all around me, remember?"
"That was an emergency!" Ichigo said with panic written all over his face "don't leave me here! You turned my hair pink, isn't that enough payback for you?!"
"I also had to endure a difficult meeting because you were too busy fighting with him." He said pointing at Grimmjow so ignoring Ichigo's insults he left the office.
Payback felt good.
"What were you thinking?!" Byakuya asked enraged and Rukia winced, she had never seen him this angry before.
"I was the one who…" Hisana tried to interrupt but Byakuya didn't let her.
"If you're going to excuse her for saying that she's my daughter save it, that's not what I'm upset about" he said and looked at Rukia again "I'm upset about how you exposed yourself in front of those vultures, what were you thinking?!"
Rukia gulped.
"Well… it wasn't that bad, right?" she asked nervously.
Byakuya thought right there that perhaps yelling at her wasn't the best strategy. Her stupid and reckless actions weren't a cry for attention, Rukia wasn't like that, and he could tell that while she was a little naïve she wasn't an idiot so she knew very well that he would punish her and even then she dared to do it, why?
"Answer my question directly" he ordered "why did you decide to turn the entrance of my building in a press conference out of the blue?"
Rukia blinked.
"Well, I wanted them to go away and…"
"Don't lie to me" Byakuya said "we all know that I could've made them go away without your help."
Rukia sighed heavily.
She thanked the Gods that only her sister and brother were in the office with her, more people would make her more nervous and she needed to be at ease, lying to them was hard and she didn't want to do it but she couldn't tell them the truth either, she couldn't tell them how she succeed in diverting their attention and that now the press was top priority and not trying to find whoever leaked her identity to the press. Inoue would be safe.
"Did someone made you do it?" Hisana asked suddenly.
Rukia shook her head.
"No, of course not."
"Don't lie to your sister" Byakuya said "I'm a lawyer Rukia, I can tell when someone's lying, and you should remember that."
Rukia was starting to wonder if saving Inoue was worth it but she brushed the thought aside, the poor girl had a sick mother, she needed a break and Rukia was the only one who could save her from her brother's wrath.
"I had to" Rukia said finally.
"No, you didn't have to do it." Byakuya said "why are you evading the question?"
"I'm serious" Rukia insisted "I had to do it, I mean, they left and they got what they wanted, we all win."
"You didn't win anything" Byakuya said, the frown never leaving his face "they are going to twist your answers, they'll attack you on every tabloid, they are going to write about your body, your face, your outfit and that's going to keep happening until they find another source of entertainment, you call that winning?"
Rukia started to feel anxious.
"Are humans really that bad?" she asked while looking at her sister, the panic was evident on her face "you never told me."
"Not all humans" she answered "what Byakuya-sama just described is the reporter's work and due to our family status we are victims of that."
"But I thought that we managed the press conference pretty well!" Rukia said worriedly.
"We did" Hisana said reassuringly and grabbed her hand "but that does not mean that they won't look for a single mistake to sell papers."
Rukia felt like crying.
"I'm sorry" she said while looking at her brother "I'm really sorry I thought, I mean… I don't know what I thought and I never wanted to be a burden for you and…"
Byakuya raised a hand in order to make her stop her babbling.
"You've never been and you'll never be a burden" he said "I just want to know why you did it."
Rukia shook her head.
She couldn't tell him.
"Who are you protecting?" Byakuya asked finally "why can't you talk?"
Rukia gulped.
"I just wanted them to go away" she said finally "that's all."
Byakuya sighed.
This conversation was taking him nowhere.
"Leave, go untie your boyfriend" he said finally and Rukia's eyes widened.
"Uh?"
"Didn't you hear me?" Byakuya asked "you're obviously not going to tell us the truth and now I have to deal with the press and honestly I rather handle that troublesome situation than to listen to your lies, come back when you're ready to tell us why you did it."
Rukia stood up.
"I've never lied to you…"
"Exactly" Byakuya said "that's why I'm finding quite insulting that you're doing it now, leave, I don't want to see you right now."
It hurt her to hear that coming one of the persons she loved the most, she had never been in this kind of situation, and so with watering eyes she left the office running.
"That was harsh" Hisana said sadly once Rukia closed the door behind her "you could've approached that in a different way."
"I know" he said "but she didn't do it because she wanted them to go away."
"You think someone made her do it?"
"Yes and if she's a Kuchiki she'll handle that once she realizes her mistake."
"Pushing her buttons by pretending to be mad at her? I don't know whether to be proud or angry at you."
"You can be both" he said smirking at his wife "the world is not kind and I want her to learn that while we're by her side, let's wait and see what she does."
Hisana nodded.
It was going to be interesting to see Rukia's development after this and she was going to be there for her sister the whole time.
When the door opened out of nowhere Ichigo sighed. Ishida probably regretted not untie him so he decided to come back, he was about to yell at him but he stopped when he noticed that it wasn't Ishida, it was Rukia and she was crying.
He felt the sudden urge to kill whoever hurt her.
"Rukia…" he said but she didn't answer.
Instead, she walked towards him and began to untie him, her movements were clumsy and her hands were shaking, she didn't know whether she was upset, angry or extremely sad. He exchanged a look with Grimmjow, who seemed to be just as confused as he was. Once Rukia finished untying Ichigo she did the same with Grimmjow and once both boys were free she looked at Ichigo.
"I want to go home" she said with a small voice.
He just nodded.
"Let's go then" he said and Rukia grabbed his hand.
Grimmjow stood there watching them go and wondering why the image of the Princess with tears on her face made his chest hurt.
"I must admit Ginrei-sama" a young boy said while walking next to him towards his office "your call surprised me, I didn't understand anything until I saw the news."
Ginrei nodded.
"I believe that if my granddaughter works with you we'll be able to do some damage control."
"Oh" the boy said while shaking his head "she did it great, but I have a few ideas in order to upgrade her image to the public, although I'm quite surprised, I thought that you didn't want your family on the spotlight."
Ginrei sighed.
"It's quite late for Rukia now."
It was then when Ichigo, still holding Rukia's hand approached the Kuchiki leader on the hallway.
"Ginrei-sama, I'm very sorry but I must ask for permission to leave early today." Ichigo said quickly.
Ginrei didn't look at him, instead he focused on Rukia, she had red eyes and some dried tears on her cheeks. She had obviously cried a lot, he sighed heavily.
He could already imagine what happened.
"It's okay, you can leave" he said "although I wanted to introduce you to someone first."
Ichigo's eyes widened when he noticed who was with Ginrei.
Rukia looked curiously at the weird looking boy who was standing next to her grandfather.
"So this is Kuchiki Rukia" the weird man said looking at her from head to toe. There was an uncomfortable pause that lasted a few seconds until the man smiled widely at her, flashing her with his shiny white teeth "you're perfect! Beauty is your blessing and I swear that after you hear my proposal you'll be delighted to work with me!"
Rukia blinked confused, work?
"My name is Yumichika Ayasewaga." He introduced himself while kissing her on both cheeks "it's a pleasure to meet you."
Rukia couldn't help but to smile back.
"Thank you!" she said cheering up a little.
Ichigo looked questioningly at Ginrei who simply shrugged.
A pink haired girl decided to watch, again, the press conference that happened right in front of the Kuchiki building. Hell, it was amazing how the whole thing was still on YouTube. Sighing she decided to visit her former best friend tomorrow.
There was no way she wasn't taking this chance, after all, they had a lot to discuss.
Hello there! I'm back and happy to share that this is finally my last week in college, wish me luck, okay?!
First things first, some of you were quite uncomfortable with how silly Rukia was at helping Orihime, but trust me, I did it in order to help her character development in this fanfic. Don't expect our Princess to stay like nothing happened after this.
In other news, I am still working on "Growing up with you" but it's been so hard to take that chapter out of my head, so bear with me a little more, okay?
I want to thank the ones who keep cheering me up even I take ages with my updates:
Anon2: Thank you so much for your review, Orihime will change in later chapters but I can't tell if it's for better or worse! Thanks again!
Neroscurse: Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it! Kisses!
Jobananasan: God how I love your reviews! You just wait until you see what I have in store for Orihime, what do you think about the press conference? I'll be waiting anxiously for your review! Kisses!
Break Blade: Hello there! Thank you for your review, I truly appreacite the criticism and I'll take it in consideration, what do you think about this chapter? Did you like it? Let me know, thanks again, kisses.
Cass: ¡Gracias a ti por tu review! Espero este capítulo también te haya gustado. ¡Besos!
Blackhellbutterfly: thanks a lot for your review! Let me know what you think about this chapter!
Onlyluna: The lamp is safe, for now. Thanks for your review, kisses!
Haru000: Oh there will be a punishment for Orihime I promise! Thank you for your review, let me know what you think about this chapter! Kisses!
Uin: As always I'm looking forward for your reviews! Hopefully this chapter will clear some of your doubts! And don't worry about Rukia being too innocent, that will change soon! Thanks a lot, let me know what you think! Kisses!
RukiYuki: Hi! Thank you for your review! Unfortunately there's not so much IchiRuki here but soon, I promise! Let me know what you think about this chapter! Kisses!
If I forgot to mention you let me know so I can thank you properly.
Pd. I apologize for my grammar mistakes.
