reesen555 - Yeah, up till the story to the extent I have written, that was the only scene where Rukia seemed to be having fun. XD That's an interesting theory you have there. Despite writing about the chapters, I hadn't thought about the hurt mentality that Ino might have. :3
N (Guest): Honestly, I had this feeling as well as my muse took me to unknown places because when I was writing it, I was wondering myself: Ino is looking out for Rukia but if I or the readers were to put a label on her, would Ino be considered a good friend or a bad friend? My answer originally was: Not a good friend. Therefore, I was interested to hear all of your answers. Your answers makes sense as well. :3
Guest - No spoilers on my side but I can only tell you that it's good to be optimistic. :3 You cannot expect much in a club anyway and things would be bad if he takes Rukia's virginity since she hadn't even had a boyfriend before. (Please don't count Aizen in it. XD)
Guest - Having an issue with Rukia...? That might be, but one has to consider for both who have been best friends since 13, what kind of an issue would she has with Rukia? It's really something to ponder about. :3 Rukia seemed shocked in the last chapter when Ino suggested going to the club, like she hadn't even imagined Ino bringing her there. We will have to see what Ino's intention is though. Might be just a friend who wanted to help Rukia without thinking of the consequences or jealous at the fact that Rukia is married to Ichigo and have all of these privileges. We will have to see. :3
Disclaimer: I neither own Bleach nor its characters. :3
What the fuck was she doing? Not only was Rukia ignoring the lockdown that was protecting her, she was ignoring Ichigo's text too. If it wasn't for Ichigo's acquaintance witnessing her at a club, he would still be stomping on the floor in anger. Yeah, Ichigo felt like fucking Hulk in beast-mode now. Jumping out of the car before Ikkaku could even open the door, he stormed in said club, not bothering to waste anymore time. Knowing how clubs worked, he marched up to the VIP Section, trying to squint through the darkness or even get a feel of where Rukia is. A familiar girl caught Ichigo's eyes, he had known it wasn't Rukia but he had recognized the person as one of the people in his wedding. Looking at her as she was sitting with a bunch of professional athletes, football maybe, Ichigo shrugged and proceeded on the task of finding Rukia. Letting his gaze scan through the crowd, he found her laughing with another man. It looked like Rukia hadn't learned her lessons on showing her face in a public area with a man that wasn't him. He refused to think of tomorrow's headlines if he had been a paparazzi and not her husband. "RUKIA!" Rukia turned, her face going pale as she recognized the voice, despite the fun that she was having and the slightly drunken state that she was in. "Let's go." Ichigo took the drink away from Rukia and placed it on a nearby counter.
As Ichigo pulled on her wrist, she refused to budge as she stared at Ichigo, her eyes conveying the defiance. "Hey, man." Ichigo glared at the man who was with Rukia. "The girl doesn't wanna leave yet."
A smirk formed on Ichigo's lips, Well, if he got to fight this fucking guy, it wouldn't be a waste of trip. "Get your fucking hand off me." On second thoughts, he sighed mentally and turned to Rukia. "We are going. Now."
"But..." Rukia pouted and Ichigo wanted to facepalm himself. "But I'm having fun~" Before Rukia could have said anything else that could royally piss Ichigo off, he took her hand in his, grasping it as light as he could without hurting her and leading her out of the club. "But... But..."
He swore, one more word out of her lips and he could destroy a whole town. As Ikkaku opened the door for them, Ichigo commanded. "Get. In."
Rukia shook her head, pouting. "I want to walk~"
Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that? It's November."
"I don't care." Ichigo shook his head at the defiance tone but not wanting to let Rukia make a scene in the middle of the street, Ichigo allowed Rukia to have her way.
"Fine, but I'm coming with you."
Gaining Ichigo's approval, Rukia walked down the street and Ichigo had to chase after her. Neither of them exchanged a word and what's more, Rukia's eyes were close to shutting down and it looked like she was going to fall asleep mid-step. Fishing out his phone, Ichigo texted Ikkaku his location and as soon as Rukia saw the car, she slid inside. It was a few moments of perfect silence when Rukia turned to Ichigo. "Why are you so mean to me?" Despite in a drunken state, Rukia's tone of voice had caught Ichigo off-guard for once.
"What?"
"Why are you so mean to me?" Ichigo had detected no malice in Rukia's tone of voice, she was simply genuinely curious why was Ichigo mean to her.
Looking at Rukia now, she looked nothing like a gold-digging slut that Ichigo had envisioned her but a girl with innocent eyes, as if she hadn't seen much of the world yet. Ichigo softened his eyes and if he thought about it, he had no idea what made him answer the question seriously but he did. "I don't trust people."
"Why?"
"I have in the past. And it ends up... Being a mistake."
It took a moment for Rukia to respond and as she responded, Ichigo was taken aback. "You don't deserve that."
"I would have given myself to her." Ichigo averted his gaze away from Rukia. "I would have given her the world. But... She had other ideas."
Placing her hands on top of Ichigo's and allowing it to stay there, she gazed out of the window, not moving her hand even as Ichigo flinched and stared at Rukia. It was as if Rukia knew to give Ichigo space, letting Ichigo have a moment to himself. When they arrived at Kurosaki Residence, Ichigo waved Ikkaku off and helped Rukia out of the car. Amazingly, Rukia was even more drunk than before, stumbling all over the place. Rather than waiting for her to fall, Ichigo took matters into his own hands and carried Rukia into his arms like a child. Proceeding to her bedroom, he placed her on the bed before leaving her like that and proceeding to the kitchen for a goddamned drink.
Opening her eyes, Rukia placed her hands on her forehead, massaging it. She had a fucking killer headache and almost instantly, it all came back to her. Right. She remembered the way that Ichigo had looked at her, the way that Ichigo had said about his lost love, about his inability to trust people. Gazing at the bed that she was in, she certainly knew she wasn't the one to make it back to her room in one piece. Knowing Ichigo and with her drunken state, Rukia knew Ichigo could have had sex with her if he wanted and she wouldn't have even known until the next morning. But, he didn't. Remembering Isshin's words, hope blossomed in her chest. Climbing out of bed and opening the door with every intention of thanking Ichigo for the things that he had done for her yesterday night, her words stopped in her throat as he was fuming once she stepped into his room. "... And YOU!" Rukia stared at Ichigo, not moving her feet despite Ichigo's tone of voice getting too much for her hangover. "You had me running around like your goddamn BABYSITTER last night! It is NOT my job to take care of you!"
Rukia tilted her head, reigning in her emotions before gazing at Ikkaku calmly, the recipient of Ichigo's anger, whom was looking down at his feet, before she had even stepped into the room. Despite hatred and shock evident in her eyes, a smile was seen on Rukia's lips. "I was actually on my way to thank you, actually."
"I don't need your THANK YOU! I NEED MY WIFE TO NOT RUN AROUND JAPAN EMBARRASSING ME EVERY FUCKING DAY! What is so complicated about that?!"
This time, a bitter smile was on Rukia's lips. Why had she allowed herself to have some hope? Why had she allowed herself to believe that Ichigo had some kind of heart in his fucking playboy body? She had knew who exactly Ichigo Kurosaki is, hadn't she? Her gaze hadn't moved from Ichigo's as Ichigo stepped closer, Rukia's gaze fixating on Ichigo as he did so. "Is it not enough for you to take my money and my name? You need to take my image and stomp it out, too?"
His tone was softer but filled with so much poison that Rukia had thought she would die right there and then. Given the situation, she simply smiled, a far contrast from the moment she had at the wedding photoshoot. Turning her back on him, she calmly walked towards the elevator. "I'm going out then, Husband."
Oblivious to Ichigo, a tear rolled down Rukia's cheeks as she wiped it away, all hopes for this arrangement eliminated by Ichigo's harsh words.
Finding her feet leading her to Toshiro's coffee shop, allowing her instincts to guide her as she opened the door before she even thought of how bad of an idea it was. Wondering who the customer was, Toshiro gazed up as his expression turned dark. "I thought you weren't allowed to talk to the likes of me."
Not responding to Toshiro at first, she sat down at a nearby table, taking a few moments to calm herself down from Ichigo's harsh remark. "It wasn't about you, Toshiro. Ichigo's colleague business wife saw me shopping with you and in Ichigo's circle, it was considered a scandal. It wasn't about you from the start. It was about punishing me and taking my only friend away."
"You know, when you first came into the coffee shop, I knew who you were. And I didn't care about being your friend. I just thought hanging around you would get me some... Publicity."
Rukia gazed at Toshiro and she was fucking tired of all this drama centered around her. "Would you mind saying that again? I didn't hear you. Publicity?"
Toahiro sighed. "I'm not proud of it." Rukia's gaze fixated on Toshiro. "I thought that anyone's married to Ichigo Kurosaki has got to be a prick." Rukia flinched as she was reminded of Ichigo's harsh remark. "So, what's wrong with using someone that deserves it? But..."
Ichigo's inability to trust simply because he was Ichigo Kurosaki. Was this mindset applicable to the situation between her and Toshiro? "Let me get this right. You were using me because I am a 'Kurosaki'?"
"Right at the start, yes. But, it changed!" Rukia narrowed her eyes. "Believe me, I didn't give a shit about publicity when we were hanging out. No, let me rephrase. I cared about publicity as I was hanging out with you but your friendship mattered more to me than some shitty publicity, I realized."
Rukia closed her eyes, trying to digest in all the information Toshiro was telling her before opening them once more. "You are not making any sense, Toshiro. Publicity for what?"
"My art."
"Your what?"
"I'm an artist. A struggling one, that's why I work here. I didn't want to hurt anyone, most of all you. I just thought... People wanted to know what the wife of Ichigo Kurosaki was doing. Who she's hanging out with. So... If they saw me, they would be more interested in my work."
In a harsh manner of speaking, Toshiro was using her to get fame but Rukia realized that she couldn't, wouldn't and shouldn't fault Toshiro for his mindset, really. Wasn't that what she had in mind when she signed Isshin's contract as well? To use Isshin's money for her own personal gains? "Really, Toshiro. If you would have had told me that at the beginning, I wouldn't have refused to help you."
"I know that now." He nodded his head. "But, before... I thought that you were just another money-hungry ditz. No offense."
Rukia really wanted to be offended. But, how could she when Ichigo and even herself had mirrored the same thoughts as Toshiro, even up till now? How could she, when Toshiro wasn't far from the truth, in a way? "Show me."
"Eh?"
"A piece of your art." Taking out his phone and getting to a photo of his painting that he drew, Rukia blinked. "If you promise me no more lies, I will help you."
"Really?!"
Without even giving herself time to reconsider, she nodded her head. "Really." Although, a little devil was mocking herself in her head and the question she had no answer to: What about Ichigo?
Author's Notes: As promised, this chapter is partly of Ichigo and Rukia's interactions. I had originally wanted to add a sweet scene of Ichigo kissing Rukia's forehead and kissing Goodnight because like all of you guys, I simply got so tired of them fighting. Argh. But, knowing it would be out of characters for this Ichigo Kurosaki? I deleted that particular scene. By Ichigo's confession of not trusting any people, not even Rukia, had he redeemed himself for the actions that he had done towards Rukia? It's up to you readers to decide! :3 I always have fun writing Ichigo's softening attitude towards Rukia. :3 I swear Ichigo has some hormonal issues... So sweet to Rukia the previous night and acting like Hulk the next morning... Tsk.