AN: Hey everyone! Yes, another fic while I am still working on my other fics xD
This is part of the August Writing Challenge in the Bleach Discord The Seireitei! If you have not joined yet, and love Bleach, please join!
Prompt: Escape Through the Snow (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Theme)
I havent had any experience with VR games tbh, so if you see anything that seems off or weird, I am sorry xD
It is HitsuRuki with a dash of ByaIchi~
Hope you enjoy!~
Eirwen means blessed snow or white snow~
Rukia was staring at captain Hitsugaya with a bewildered look, slack-jawed. She was so shocked that she did not even notice that she had dropped her brush which was now dripping ink all over her rapports and desk.
Of all the things she had expected, this was not it. Not even in her wildest dreams would this scenario have played out.
Her wide purple eyes were focused on the white haired captain of the 10th division, wondering if she had heard it right. His deep voice was still echoing in her ears.
He was in the office of the 13th division, visiting. She had assumed that he had some business with captain Ukitake, so she had basically tuned both captain Hitsugaya and captain Ukitake out once they started to talk.
How wrong she had been. How she wished that she had paid attention now.
After she had tuned them out, she started to think about what she should do to relax while filling out paperwork on autopilot.
Everyone was basically ordered to rest and relax. The captain's meeting of today was to brief them in on the timetable of when the squads would be expected to take some time off to relax. And it was an order, meaning that they had no choice but to relax.
The 6th, 10th and 13th divisions were supposed to take some time off in the same week.
Rotation between the division members was needed. It fell onto the lieutenants and captains to figure that out and to give everyone at least a day off without leaving the squad unsupervised.
But since they had an entire week, it would not be a problem. And the head captain had hinted at more weeks to come.
What was surprising was the fact that they were even allowed to go to the world of the living. No one really expected that, but they didn't mind the sudden freedom. The only valid reason for a soul reaper to go to the world of the living was to patrol the area or to investigate something. If they were ever caught in the world of the living without a reason, they would be monitored.
Rukia had hated that since she wanted to visit Ichigo and the gang. She could not however because there were no missions for her there. She had discovered that she was practically chained to the desk since she became a lieutenant.
Not that she minded really, but she missed her missions to the world of the living.
If ever something was up in the world of the living however, she would be the one to accompany whoever was sent on the mission. Since she was the one with the most experience.
Everything had been quiet lately though, which was a good sign.
So she had simply assumed that captain Hitsugaya came to her captain to ask for advice maybe. She simply assumed that they were talking about the order to take some time off and to relax.
God knew that captain Hitsugaya was a workaholic.
Everyone had seen the order coming though, because every soul reaper had been training hard, trying to get stronger in case a new threat would appear.
If Aizen had shown them one thing, it was that they were not strong enough. He had defeated them so easily, made it so difficult for all of them. Everyone knew that they had to get stronger.
On top of that, the stress levels had been high in all the squads. New captains and lieutenants were being appointed, vacant seats were being filled and there was just so much paperwork. Everyone was stressed. So yes, it was no surprise.
Since it was allowed though, Rukia was toying with the idea of visiting her friends in the world of the living. It would be nice since she was allowed to visit them for once without needing to ask for permission.
She was snapped out of her thoughts when she suddenly heard captain Hitsugaya calling out her name.
She looked up and everything went blank after he asked her… well, that. She had not been prepared at all. Her poor heart was beating wildly.
Captain Hitsugaya's request was surprising. Since they did not exactly move in the same circle of friends, she never spoke to him about personal things. Actually, now that she thought of it, it was surprising that he was talking to her at all. They were just a captain and a lieutenant from different divisions.
Of course, if she had to be honest, she had wanted to know more about him for a while. Wanted to talk to him about more personal things for a while too. She hated to admit it, but she had had a tiny crush on him for quite a while. Although, if anyone ever asked her, she would deny it.
Alright, maybe it was not that tiny, but no one would find out anyway.
Besides, it was not as if she would have a chance anyway. She knew that the captain was very protective of Hinamori and rumours were that he would ask her out soon.
Maybe that is why she had been lowkey avoiding him when she knew that they would be together in one room. She might get her heart broken, so it would be safer to stay out of his way. It was safer to not know any personal things about him.
She knew she was being a coward since she based everything on rumours. Was she ever going to admit it that though? Hell no.
She snapped out of her thoughts when she realised that he was still waiting for an answer.
"Ah, I am sorry," she started and stopped when she saw that his eye twitched a bit. She saw him gulp and almost felt sorry for him once she realised that he was nervous. "Could you please repeat the question, captain Hitsugaya?"
There was no way that she had heard that right. It almost sounded like… no, there was absolutely no way.
She saw how he licked his lips and closed his eyes for a second. Her eyes did not leave his face, because even if she would not admit it to anyone, he was really handsome. She felt embarrassed when she heard Shirayuki's giggle in her head.
She really wished Shirayuki would not giggle every time she thought about captain Hitsugaya.
She refocused on the captain just when he opened his eyes again. He met her gaze head on. God, his turquoise eyes were so gorgeous, Rukia thought while trying to calm down her racing heart.
Hitsugaya repeated the question that had left her flabbergasted in the first place. "Please accompany me to the world of the living."
She saw how he was blushing slightly, probably embarrassed and completely out of his comfort zone.
Rukia felt her heart skip a beat. God, he was a danger to her heart. It should be illegal to be this cute.
She narrowed her eyes a bit, wondering if she was just over thinking all of this. There was no way that he was asking her out on a date, even if she might have wondered how it would be to be his date. She wanted to smack her thoughts for going down that lane again. God, and how she wished she could tune Shirayuki's chime like giggles out.
No, there must be something else, clearly. There was no way that he was asking her out on a date. They didn't even know each other all that well. She must be very dense for missing the point, entirely. God, how she wished she had not tuned both captains out earlier now.
"And what is the purpose of the trip?" Her voice and demeanor was calm and collected, as was expected from a Kuchiki, but her heart and mind were in the most chaotic state ever.
She saw how Hitsugaya basically avoided eye contact suddenly, his eyes trained in the ground. "Investigation." He muttered just loud enough for her to hear.
Rukia shook her head at that. He really was too cute. "Investigation?" She repeated, only realising what he had said. What? "I need more details than that I am afraid." Her mind was spinning. Did something happen in the world of the living? There were no concerning or urgent reports coming in if she had remembered correctly.
She exchanged a look with captain Ukitake, who simply shrugged but had a huge smile on his face anyway. She was pretty sure that her captain knew what was going on.
Rukia's gaze returned to captain Hitsugaya. She saw how he basically wanted to tell her what it was, yet he was hesitating. Was he too embarrassed to do so? She shook her head at that. What was he doing? He wasn't really trying to ask her out on a date right, in front of captain Ukitake? She almost felt guilty for putting him on the spot.
Luckily, her captain was really the best captain. He got up, effectively grabbing their attention. He smiled while picking up some papers. Then he turned to them and said, "Rukia, Shiro-chan, I have something that I need to discuss with captain Kyoraku, please look over the squad for me while I am gone."
Rukia got up and bowed to him. "Of course captain Ukitake."
Hitsugaya just nodded and stayed where he was. Ukitake walked to him and patted his head. "Here, have some candy!" He suddenly said brightly while shoving candy into his arms. Where he got them from was a mystery.
She had seen her captain showering captain Hitsugaya with toys and candy. And it either confused or ticked the young captain off, usually both even. She had grown accustomed to seeing it and, honestly, the reaction was great.
She had a hunch that her captain did it just to see that face appear. It was quite hilarious. And really cute, but that was beside the point.
Today, however, he just accepted it without much fuss.
Rukia exchanged a worried look with her captain. She saw his worried expression and realised that maybe her captain did not know what was going on.
She shook her head. Everything would be alright. "No worries captain, I will make sure everything will run smoothly." She said, distracting him. Her eyes moved to the other captain in the room for one short moment, telling her captain that she would make sure that he would be alright as well.
Captain Ukitake smiled warmly and nodded. "I will be back before you know it." He turned to captain Hitsugaya and patted his head again. "See you next time Shiro-chan!"
It remained quiet for a while, even after captain Ukitake had left. Rukia was still standing, waiting for captain Hitsugaya to tell her what was on his mind. However, she had not been ready for his question at all.
He looked up, met her gaze head on and asked seriously, "Kuchiki, what are video games?"
Rukia remained quiet for a moment, completely shocked, before repeating his question dumbfounded. "What are...video games?"
"Yes, what are video games?" He repeated while waiting patiently for the answer.
Rukia was flabbergasted, but told him what she knew from when Ichigo used to play games with Chad.
They had played some games at Chad's place back then. Some old school consoles called the Nintendo 64. She had no idea what that meant, but that was what Ichigo had told her when she asked him about it.
Of course, she lost horribly. She had no idea how to use the console and no idea how the game worked. But Ichigo and Chad seemed to have loads of fun so she enjoyed herself too, seeing them all getting worked up over a game.
It was a fighting game in which they basically fought against another enemy or each other. She had no clue to be honest. The only thing she remembered was smashing the keys, hoping that she would hit a good combination. It was no surprise that she had not figured out the good combinations in the end. She lost before she could even discover one.
She looked over at captain Hitsugaya and saw him frowning. It did not seem the thing he had been looking for.
The only other experience she had was the one time Ichigo had dragged her to a VR gaming hall, together with Urahara and Yoruichi, saying that he wanted to see how they would do in such a game.
She had not known why she had to put up a helmet with tinted glass which covered their face. But once the game started, she was surprised that they seemed to have entered a completely different world.
Their objective was to basically slay as many enemies as possible while finding the exit. They had a counter that displayed how many enemies everyone had slain. The one who had slayed the most enemies in the end once they found the exit would automatically win the game. They had to find the exit together.
If you lost a life, the counter would be reset. Everyone had three lives.
And it had been fun, because she had completely beaten Ichigo. Slain a hundred enemies more than he did. Urahara had too much fun running around and investigating how the game worked instead of slaying enemies and trying to find the exit. And Yoruichi, well, she was trying to kill enemies with her hands and kicks and ended up dying and respawning like every few minutes. She was not in the competition anymore, but still liked to try to beat the enemies up.
All in all, they had loads of fun. Ichigo was very amused by Urahara and Yoruichi's antics while he and Rukia had a fierce competition going on.
She relayed her experience with the VR hall to the captain while staring at everything but him basically. She knew she would stutter the moment she looked at him and found his focus on her.
When she looked up after she was done relaying her experience, she was surprised to see anticipation in his eyes as well as hesitation. She saw how he seemed quietly excited, wanting to try it out for himself. She smiled at the childlike behaviour he was showing. So unlike captain Hitsugaya. She could not help but wonder where the interest suddenly came from, but she remembered his request, and it all suddenly made sense.
It is obvious that he would come to her because she had more experience of the world of the living. And he was nervous because he had no idea how to ask her.
She smiled and shook her head. God, for one crazy moment she really thought that he was asking her out. What a fool she had been.
Although, the thought of spending a day with the captain of the 10th division did not seem so bad.
"Let me see if I can reserve a room in the week we are supposed to take some time off and then I will let you know alright?" Rukia said, hoping that this was what he had wanted. If not, she was not sure if she could show her face to him for the next few weeks. She would feel incredibly embarrassed.
She felt her heart beat faster when he stood there, time seemingly standing still. She released a breath she had not known she had been holding when she saw him nod and smile. "Thanks Kuchiki."
She returned the smile and felt her cheeks grow hot. "No problem sir."
Soon after, he left the office.
When he was gone, Rukia sank down on her chair. Her heart was beating hard. She sighed and shook her head. Her heart would surely be the death of her one day. She put a hand over her heart, willing it to calm down.
"Video games?" Rukia repeated to herself, wondering where this all came from. She had never thought that Hitsugaya Toshiro would be a person that was interested in video games.
When she was calm again, she looked at her desk and felt a vein pop on her head. She had been so distracted that she had not realised that her brush had fallen on her stack of paperwork.
She hated herself for being that distracted because of him. At the same time, she wanted to cry in frustration. She had to redo all of it.
She shook her head and went to clean her desk and to get new paper. This was going to be a long day.
•❅──────✼❅҉ ──────❅•
Rukia had managed to book a room in the end, and so, two weeks later, they went to the world of the living. Once they arrived, they both felt the rush of warm air hitting them. They exchanged a glance and were glad that they were in this together. God, they both hated the warmth.
They quickly went to Urahara's to get their gigais before they set off to the VR hall Rukia had been in before. She was glad that she had managed to reserve a room since she had heard Ichigo complain about how long it took for him to book a room back then.
They were walking side by side, an awkward silence hanging over them. She had no idea what she should do, no idea what to talk about.
He was so close though, closer than she had expected him to be. She glanced over and suddenly she realised that he had grown and even had a few inches over her.
She can't believe how good he looked in just black denim jeans and a light blue shirt. She found it funny that his shirt was the same shade of blue as her floral dress.
She discreetly pinched herself, wondering if she was dreaming or not. She almost yelped because she had pinched harder than she had expected. Nope, not a dream alright.
She shook her head at this. This was a surreal situation, never did she think she would be in a situation like this.
Rukia could feel herself speeding up when she saw the VR hall coming into view. Soon they were in the building and cold air washed over them. She heard Toshiro sigh in relief. She thanked the gods that it had not been far from Urahara's at all and that the VR hall had air conditioning. It was hot outside and she already felt sticky and gross even though they had not even been outside for ten minutes.
"Welcome to the VR arcade!" She heard a friendly male voice call out. She looked over and smiled at that person. She had not seen him the last time she was here. He was as tall as Ichigo and had brown shoulder length hair. His eyes were baby blue and he had an award winning smile. "Did you have a reservation miss?"
"Yes, under the name Kuchiki please." Rukia answered sweetly while glancing quickly at his name tag. Alex was written rather sloppily onto it. She was aware of the eyes that were boring holes in her back. It made her super aware of the sweet voice she usually put up in her interactions with humans.
God, reality was sinking in right now. Rukia had never thought that she would find herself in a virtual reality hall with Hitsugaya Toshiro of all people. Never in her wildest dreams. And well, here they were.
"Ah, yes, the room is ready for use. This way please." Alex said and turned around to lead the way to the respective room.
They walked past several halls before they turned right and walked till the end of the corridor. There, he opened a door on the left and motioned for them to enter first.
Once they entered the hall, they only saw bare walls. There was literally nothing. No furniture, no posters, not even a splash of colour. Everything was gray and there were only a few high windows that let some sunlight filter through. It almost seemed like an abandoned warehouse, but in a much better condition.
She remembered the first time she had been here. She thought the place was lame as fuck. How were they supposed to be gaming in a virtual reality hall if the walls and everything was bare.
Well, she soon discovered that her assumption had been very wrong.
Alex came to them with two helmets. "Here, you need to put these on. You need to secure it like this and make sure they are secured tightly, but not uncomfortably."
Rukia put hers on and did as was told. When she looked over at Toshiro though, she saw that he was struggling with his. It was cute to be honest. She did not laugh though, unlike a certain someone.
Ichigo literally was rolling over the floor because she had no idea how to secure hers the first time around.
She walked over and helped Toshiro secure his. She could see his eyes through the tinted classes, and she smiled at him briefly before stepping out of his comfort zone again.
She heard him clear his throat. "Thank you, Kuchiki."
"You are welcome." She said, stopping herself in time before she accidentally said captain. She saw him smirk and realised that he had caught that.
Alex walked over again. "Here are the consoles," he said while pressing them into their hands. "When you press this button here, it will activate the special skills depending on how many times you press."
Once the instructions were done, he made his way to the back of the room where the VR gaming PC was. "Okay, you guys ready?"
Rukia and Toshiro looked at each other and nodded. Then they both replied, "Yes!"
He then pushed the start button.
Once the game started and the screen loaded and she heard Toshiro gasp beside her. She smiled, remembering her own reaction after the first time the screen loaded.
They suddenly heard Alex talk again, which was a bit disorientating since they could not see him anymore. "I will be at the front desk again. If there is something wrong, you can pause the game by clicking the right upper corner. If you have any questions or anything else, you can go to the left upper corner. There should be a bell icon there, click that and someone will come help you out. Whenever you are ready, just press for the game to start. You both have to press."
Rukia and Toshiro exchanged a glance, seeing if they had any "Understood, thank you so much Alex!" Rukia replied.
"No problem at all, enjoy and have fun on your date!" After the cheerful reply they heard the door open and close.
It was quiet for a moment before she heard Hitsugaya splutter the word date beside her. She felt her heart beat faster but ignored it. She looked beside her and smiled when she saw that he was flustered.
She mentally kicked herself, she had to concentrate on the game first. She could analyse her thoughts later tonight, in the safety of her room and her bed.
She proceeded to look around. She was surprised when she realised that they were all surrounded by ice. This was not what she had played last time with Ichigo. Although, she was pretty sure that the games were the same, just different elements.
Rukia was excited by it though, since the both of them would be literally in their element. "Ooo, ice, I am digging this." Rukia muttered to herself.
It seemed like they were in a cave completely covered in ice. Different shades of blue and white covering everything, the walls, the ceiling and even the floor. In some places, the ice was smooth. While in other places, the ice almost seemed like jagged rocks. There were ice stalactites and stalagmites. Some were connected to each other, forming thick and thin columns.
She then looked over to captain Hitsugaya and was surprised by what she saw. He was wearing a light blue amour and had a sword strapped on his back, actually the way he usually wore it. His face and hair was the same as in real life, which was comforting in a way.
She saw him looking around curiously. She smiled at that. She remembered her first time here. Yes, that had been her exact reaction. She could not believe that a video game could be this detailed.
She then looked down at her body and saw that she was wearing light purple armour. Her sword strapped at her side, also at the usual spot. She was excited to see the special move of their swords. Would it be similar to their own or something else completely?
"You ready captain?" She called out and saw him look over startled.
"Kuchiki." His turquoise eyes were wide.
When he kept staring, Rukia felt herself shrink a bit under his intense stare. "What? Is something wrong?"
He shook his head. "No, just…" He trailed off, seemingly unsure of what he should say.
"Surprised that I look like myself?" She said and she could not stop her cheeky tone and smile from appearing.
She saw him narrowing his eyes and she laughed. "No worries, I was surprised too. When I was here with Ichigo, we had to choose a character." She remembered what kind of big hassle that had been. Especially when Uraraha came up to them and wanted to touch their faces to see if it would feel different. That had been… an experience.
She shook her head and refocused on Toshiro. "You ready?"
He nodded and they both pressed on the button. They jumped a bit when a bright, bubbly, female voice was suddenly heard while they didn't see anyone. "Welcome to the Ice Cavern! Your objective is to retrieve the Crystal of Eirwen and to find the exit while destroying the enemies around you and facing off against the guardian of the Ice Cavern. Good luck! Press the buttons simultaneously when you are ready to start."
Rukia felt excitement bubble up in her. She looked over and saw how Toshiro's eyes lit up in excitement too. She felt herself grin at that. Yes, this was going to be easy. They were going to beat this game.
"Ready?"
She saw him nod and they both pushed the button.
They saw a big red 3 appear in front of them. Then a countdown, the number changing with it. "3...2...1, start!"
They heard things land next to them with a loud thud. They both drew their swords and sliced through their enemies on instinct.
The first few hits were off and shaky for the both of them, but it was effective enough to kill their enemies. However, soon enough, they got the hang of it. They sliced clean and precisely through their enemies.
There were different kinds of monsters. Ice elementals in the form golems, small dragons and even skeletons covered in ice.
Dodging flying icicles and spheres of ice was easy for the both of them. They literally breezed through all the enemies in the room.
They advanced from room to room, the light and tinkling background music soothing their nerves. It kind of reminded Rukia of Shirayuki's giggling. It was very serene though.
They simply went through all the motions on auto pilot. They really had no need for their special skill yet.
It was funny, because they didn't really need to talk either. They just needed to exchange glances so now and then, and they knew what the other was thinking or planning to do. It was nice and kind of exhilarating.
If they ever came close to being overwhelmed, they basically fought back to back. They worked really well as a team Rukia realised then. She did not know why she was so surprised by this. He was captain Hitsugaya after all.
She was able to block hits he did not see coming and the other way around.
They had been in countless caverns , walked through multiple corridors that connected the caverns too. They had a map in their right bottom corner. They could track the rooms they had been in and guess where the next room was. However, the rooms did not seem to be placed strategically. Sometimes two rooms were almost next to each other, while other times it took like several corridors before they saw a new room.
They were surprised when they suddenly saw a big door made out of broken glass. Or more like broken ice? Honestly, it could have been an entire wall, it was a very big door.
Rukia and Toshiro exchanged a glance.
They both cut the door at the same time and were surprised to enter a gorgeous and enormous cavern. There were two other places where there was broken ice. The walls were completely covered in a thick layer of ice, almost seeming black.
In the middle of the room, there was a pure, white pedestal, On the pedestal was an enormous egg with black scales. The scales would have a dark bluish glow when light shone on the scales.
They looked at each other and waited for a moment, wondering if something would happen. The music they heard was gone too, only silence enveloped them. They could feel their heart beating rapidly.
"You go get the egg Kuchiki, I have your back." Rukia could have swooned if she did not have the feeling that there was some kind of ambush.
She was startled when he suddenly said. "There must be an ambush."
She dearly hoped that he could not read minds, because that would be disastrous. She heard Shirayuki giggle again and shook her head at that. Shirayuki must have remembered some of her thoughts about the white haired captain beside her.
She focused and nodded her head. "Understood."
They cautiously moved closer to the egg. Hitsugaya was close by, with every movement she could feel his back pressed to hers. He had his sword raised and his eyes were scanning the area for potential danger.
Once they were in front of the pedestal, they paused for a second, wondering if some kind of trap would be set off. When nothing happened, they both took a deep breath, steadying their nerves.
"I am grabbing it now." Rukia said quietly, yet it seemed so loud for the both of them. Her voice seemed to echo through the enormous cave.
"Go for it." He replied, equally quiet. It soothed her nerves like nothing else. God, she had it bad.
The moment she lifted the egg off the pedestal, the music came back louder than before. They both jumped at that since it was unexpected.
The drums were loud and fast. The chime linke tinkles could still be heard in the background. Fast play of violins and strings were added. Together, it sounded pretty epic, but there was enough to indicate danger.
The item then disappeared and Rukia assumed it was in her inventory.
They both felt the danger all around them suddenly, surrounding them. They both raised their swords and were surprised when monsters suddenly appeared around them, basically shimmering into existence. They immediately slashed their way through the first row. Multiple monsters came charging at them.
How they managed or how it happened, they had no idea. But they somehow slashed their way out of the room. They were surprised when the monster could actually follow them out of the room.
The background music was still loud and actually picked up in speed. They felt adrenaline running through their veins.
How they had noticed while still slashing monsters, they both couldn't recall. But they had been surprised when they noticed a red trail. She knew that they had to follow that to the exit. It was nice of them to at least include that this time. She remembered how long it took the previous time to find the exit.
"Kuchiki, stop daydreaming." She suddenly heard Hitsugaya. She was startled when he slayed something next to her.
"Right." She said and started to slay her way through the enemies again. The once empty corridors and cleared rooms were now filled with enemies. They were everywhere.
They managed to follow the trail for quite a while before she realised that they were pushed off the trail. It was still doable, because they both realised it.
However, once she realised that they were almost pushed back into a cavern, she called out to him. "Captain Hitsugaya!"
Before he could respond, a monster suddenly jumped between them. She sighed in annoyance and automatically cut the monster without looking at what it was.
However, she realised this monster was different the moment it did not disappear.
She looked at the monster properly and was surprised to see that it was a pure white ice dragon with the most amazing shade of bright blue. However, what made her feel dread was the description that was next to it. Red glaring letters, Dangerous, level 100. And most of all, the name of the monster. Eirwen.
"Captain Hitsugaya, watch out!" She yelled while activating her special skill.
She was surprised when the field suddenly paused. Even more when her sword dissolved and a thousand butterflies appeared instead. The field was soon enough covered with her butterflies. They shattered and the weaker monsters all froze for a second. The ice broke then and the monsters with them, leaving piles of ice on the ground.
The others who were still alive were frozen in place. She was glad it worked on the dangerous one in front of her as well.
"Captain, are you alright?" She asked. She still had no idea where he was because the dragon was big enough to obscure her view.
"I am here." She heard him say on her right and she jumped, not knowing when he had appeared beside her. "Let's go. I think that attack was not effective enough on him, he is starting to move again." She saw him eyeing the dragon suspiciously.
Rukia looked and sure enough, the dragon was stirring again. She agreed. "Let's go. We need to follow the red trail."
"Gotcha, let's go." He said while grabbing her arm.
She was surprised by that, but let him drag her along for a while anyway. Feeling the warmth of his hand on her arm, sending shocks through her body. She shivered and wondered why she felt sparks.
When they were half way through the corridor, they could hear a loud roar behind them. They could feel their hearts beating wildly. They knew they would get chased in a few seconds. And it was going to be a wild ride.
They ran as hard as they could, glad that a lot of monsters had been slain after Rukia had activated the special skill of her sword.
She glared at the right bottom of her screen though. It would take a long while for her skill to recharge. She would not be able to use it again probably because it would take too long.
However, once they got into a cavern they had not cleared before, all the monsters turned to them at once instead of appearing in bunches.
She hated that she felt the loss of warmth on her arm the moment Toshiro retracted his hand. She shook her head and focused on defending an incoming attack.
They fought their way through it, slaying as much as they could without losing too much time.
After sprinting through several caverns and corridors, they finally saw a light appear. The exit.
They almost reached it when the dragon suddenly landed in front of them with a loud roar, startling the both of them. "Shit." She heard Hitsugaya curse beside her and she would have laughed if she had not been pumped with adrenaline.
She looked at the right bottom of her screen and saw that her skill still needed some time before it could get activated.
She gritted her teeth and started to slash at the dragon, hoping that she could reduce the hp at least. However, it was no help because the dragon used its wings and scales as a protection shield. Sometimes even blowing the shards of ice at them which was even further powered by shards of ice that were left on the ground by slain enemies.
She was surprised when she suddenly saw snow appear in her vision. She jumped back so she could see what was happening.
She almost laughed when she realised that Toshiro had activated his special skill. It somehow seemed disappointing since it was only swirling snow. However, he was able to redirect it though.
He held his hand in front of him and all the snow literally headed for the dragon. She saw how rapidly the hp plummeted closer to zero. However, it was not quite enough.
After the special skill was deactivated, they realised that the dragon was frozen once again. They both immediately jumped closer, trying to slay him.
They both felt panic well up when the dragon came to life and blew more blizzards their way. They could hear a heart beating in the background now, red appearing on the edges of their vision.
They had been doing well with their HP bar up until now. Seeing their HP bar drop and turn red was quite frightening.
When the dragon started to fly, Rukia somehow got hit by an icicle. She dodged and landed on her side. She felt pain spreading through her body and was not able to get up. She saw how Toshiro jumped in front of her, deflecting an attack. Then he aimed for the stomach of the dragon when the dragon wanted to fly over them. Somehow managing to cut it more easily on its stomach. She was surprised when the bar of the dragon hit zero immediately and heard him drop down with a hard thud.
She was scared for a moment that the dragon would drop on top of her. He dragged her out of the way just in time.
After the dragon fell with a loud thud, an ice cloud appeared where the dragon fell. When the cloud was gone, she saw Toshiro on top of her, shielding her from danger.
It was suddenly all quiet around them, only the heartbeats still loud in the background.
She looked up, realising that he was suddenly very close. And she became very aware of the fact that he was actually on top of her. She blushed and wanted to look away when she saw a worried look cross Toshiro's face. "You alright Kuchiki?"
Rukia nodded, but groaned when she felt pain. She moved a bit and tried to get up, but decided to stay on the ground for a few more seconds because it hurt. "I guess?" She said helplessly.
He shook his head, but amusement could be seen in his eyes. He got up, careful not to hurt her in any way and held his hand out. He helped her up and supported her. They made their way to the exit together like that.
They had to shield their eyes for a moment because it was so bright. But once they could see, they could see vast hills and mountains of snow stretched before them.
They both were startled again when they heard the NPC talk again. "Congratulations on making it out of Eirwen's ice cavern. You took 1 hour, 4 minutes and 10 seconds. This is a new record, congratulations!"
Rukia was surprised at how fast they had actually cleared the dungeon. Well, at least in comparison to her last time this had been fast. More than an hour had flown by like that.
They saw confetti being popped around them and some kind of victory music with a lot of trumpets that made both of them cringe.
After that, their screen turned black. They blinked a few times and could see the bare room and each other again.
When they took off their VR gear for a moment, they both just stood there while they tried to take in their surroundings. They were not used to the dark grey that was surrounding them while they had seen white for such a long time.
Alex was there to take over the gear immediately, which surprised them. They had not heard him enter the room. He took a moment to check up everything and make everything ready for a new game.
Toshiro helped Rukia sit down gently. He made sure she could lean against the wall before he went to grab a bottle of water for the both of them. Then he returned and sat down on the ground to rest up for a bit next to her.
"That was amazing." Toshiro said while handing her a bottle of water, his eyes still shining brightly in wonder.
Rukia smiled at that. "Thank you. And right? It is so amazing."
They sat next to each other in comfortable silence for a moment, watching Alex tinker on the VR PC on the other side of the room.
They had another hour to go, since Rukia had reserved the room for two hours. She wondered if they had to play the same thing again. They probably would be able to get a new high score if they played it strategically.
"How is your side doing, Rukia?" She suddenly heard Toshiro ask.
She turned her gaze to him and was about to answer when she realised something. She paused and was surprised that he had used her name. When she saw his concerned expression, she immediately said, "It is okay."
He shook his head, not believing her. "You should be more careful."
She blushed a bit and muttered embarrassed, "I forgot that we were in a virtual reality game for a moment."
He laughed at that. "It is as if we had entered a different world. I forgot too to be honest."
Rukia smiled, because really, it was so well done. And the fact that they looked like themselves didn't help either. "It was amazing."
"Yes it was."
She saw him practically grow restless and found him way too adorable. "Ready for another round captain?" Rukia asked him teasingly, not noticing that Alex was already approaching them.
Toshiro smiled and shook his head in amusement. "You know you can call me Toshiro right."
Rukia froze for a moment, wondering if she had heard that right. "Toshiro?" The name felt foreign on her tongue, but she did like it very much.
She saw his cheeks turn pink, but he gave her a smile and said, "Yes, Toshiro."
Alex was near enough then. "Oh, I was wondering what was up with you calling him captain. It is very cute, I think." They both stared at him and Alex started to laugh awkwardly. "Don't mind me ahahah."
Rukia shook her head at that. God, he really thought they were dating. Before she could feel even more flustered, she saw a hand in front of her. She looked up and saw captain Hitsugaya, Toshiro holding his hand in front of her.
She grabbed his hand and he pulled her up. She winced, feeling the pain throb a bit at her side. She saw his eyes narrow, but he did not say anything else. She was grateful for that.
Alex handed them their helmets. "Both of you are so good at it. Still so elegant with your movements while clearing the cavern so fast!"
Rukia smiled sweetly. "Thank you Alex." She could not believe how excited he was.
After they put their helmets on, Alex spoke up again. "Are you guys interested in trying out another mode?"
Rukia heard Toshiro ask, confused, "Another mode?"
"Yes!" Alex nodded enthusiastically. "You guys can fight against each other. Either who will get the egg out first or who slays the most enemies."
Rukia saw how Toshiro contemplated the words. He seemed to get excited at the aspect of a competition. She felt herself smile at his excitement. It was really endearing.
"You can choose,I don't mind." She said when she saw Toshiro turning to her.
She saw him contemplate for a second before saying. "Let's see who can slay the most monsters."
Rukia laughed and nodded. She couldn't help but say, "I will beat you up so badly you will regret even choosing that mode."
Toshiro grinned. "We will see about that."
Alex walked to the spell computer to start the mode. Once the screen was loaded they heard him yell out, "Have fun!"
They both pressed and they saw the red 3 appear before them again. Before the game truly started, Rukia giggled a bit, drawing Toshiro's attention. "What is so funny Rukia?"
She turned to him and replied cheekily. "The fact that you will get beaten."
"What are you talking about, you will get beaten." He replied immediately.
Rukia thought and grinned when an idea suddenly popped up. She knew that she might regret it, but she wanted to see if he would go along with her crazy idea. "Wanna bet on it?"
"Bet?" He asked. She looked over and saw he had knitted his eyebrows together in confusion.
"Yes, a bet! Let's see, what should we bet on?" Rukia pretended to think, tapping a finger against her chin. "I know, let's say the loser will treat the winner to dinner? How about it?"
She saw him think and was actually afraid that he would say that it was a stupid idea. She was surprised when he said, "Deal."
He grinned at her and she felt her heart beat as loud as when they were facing Eirwen. God, she needed help.
"Ready, Rukia?" She heard him ask in a challenging tone, a smirk on his face.
She narrowed her eyes at him, pretty sure that her playfulness was reflected in them. "Bring it on and be prepared to lose!"
They both pressed and charged in once the start signal was given, slaying enemies as they tried to find a way out of the cavern again.
•❅──────✼❅҉ ──────❅•
She was giggling when she saw Toshiro still sulking when they were eating dinner. She had won and was allowed to choose what she wanted to eat, so they ended up in a restaurant that served popular Japanese food. She chose Kare raisu while he chose Yaki udon.
"I told you I would beat you." Rukia said with a grin on her face.
She saw him glare at her, but she knew it was playful in a way. "Shut it." He literally grumbled it and it caused Rukia to giggle some more.
She paused for a moment before smiling and staring at him. He had healed her up after they got out of the VR hall. He had dragged her off to a secluded area. Her mind going wild on her with all kinds of thoughts. She was embarrassed to say that none of them involved healing. Kissing was involved in most of them.
She waited until he looked up and said sincerely, "Really, thank you captain Hitsugaya."
Toshiro shook his head and looked away, a slight blush on his face still, "Toshiro, I told you to call me Toshiro."
Rukia froze suddenly and stared at him with wide eyes. Did he really just…? He didn't say it because it was an in the moment thing?
She saw the mirth in his eyes and she shook her head, feeling a blush rise on her cheek as well.
He smirked at her then. "I will beat you next time Rukia, you just wait."
She huffed, hiding the fact that she wanted to squeal at how hot and cute he was. "You lost even when I had pain in my side."
He glared at her playfully. "You had an unfair advantage over me. You got more practice with VR."
She shook her head. "We got a lot of practice even before we started that mode."
"Doesn't matter, you played before." He said while leaning a bit over the table, trying to intimidate her.
She laughed at that, unconsciously leaning closer as well. "I will only believe it when I see it."
He suddenly grinned at her, an almost predatory look on his face. "Let's go again next time we get time off."
Rukia was flabbergasted yet again. She had not expected to be close enough to feel his breath on her face. She felt her face even heat up more when she realised that just one of them had to lean in a bit more, and their faces would be touching. Why was he not pulling back anyway? What was up with captain Hitsugaya today.
"What?" That was the only thing she could ask since she forgot what he said, oops?
He grinned at her. "Let's go again, I will beat you this time around."
Rukia laughed at that, not minding that one bit. She was sure that he would beat her next time. She would be grateful for any time she could spend with him in informal settings. "Fine, let's go and be prepared to lose."
Dinner after that was filled with talking and bantering.
Halfway through, Rukia suddenly remembered something and shook her head. "By the way, where did the sudden interest in video games come from?"
He paused and actually choked on his food. Rukia rushed over to the other side so she could thump him on his back. Luckily, there weren't many customers in the restaurant that night.
When he recovered, he took a sip of his water and shook his head. "Why did I take a sudden interest in video games?" He said slowly, repeating the question.
Rukia nodded, all her attention focused on him.
"You remember Vorarlberna?" He asked while running a hand through his hair.
Rukia frowned a bit, name familiar but not enough. It was obvious enough from her face.
Toshiro smiled. "Vorarlberna Yukio, fullbringer who has the ability to plug anyone in his game dimension."
And suddenly Rukia remembered. "Oh, he is the reason?" She had not expected that. Who knew that Hitsugaya Toshiro had the ability to surprise her so.
He was not who she had expected him to be. It made her like him more and more actually, which she actually did not mind at all.
He nodded and Rukia shook her head a bit. "Care to tell me what happened exactly though?"
He launched into a detailed description of what happened and Rukia listened attentively. How she wished they could stay like this forever.
•❅──────✼❅҉ ──────❅•
Once they got back to the Seireitei, it was close to midnight. She was surprised that she still wanted to spend more time with Toshiro, even though they had spent so much time together already.
When she was making her way to the Kuchiki manor, she was wondering what she should say to her brother exactly. He knew she had been accompanying Toshiro to the world of the living because he wanted to know more about video games. He also knew how she had a room booked for two hours.
Two hours did not equal to half a day.
She sighed and shook her head. Better to be upfront about it and hope he would not see through her. There was no way she could hide her feelings after today.
However, she had not expected to feel her brother's presence, along with another very familiar one, in the gardens.
"Welcome back Rukia-sama." She heard a maid say. She turned around and greeted her. "Do you want me to inform Kuchiki-sama of your return?"
Rukia shook her head. If she was not mistaken, Ichigo was there with her brother right now. "No need, thank you. I will go greet my brother now."
The maid nodded. "Of course Rukia-sama. I wish you a good night, please retire soon because it is late."
"I will, thank you." She said with a smile. Once the might was out of sight, she frowned. What was Ichigo doing here?
She took off and walked through the garden, approaching the spot in which she knew her brother's most favourite sakura tree was located.
Once Rukia got closer, she could hear their voices. Ichigo was laughing and making a fool out of himself as usual while her brother was… chuckling?
She got even closer, surprised that neither one of them had realised that she was there.
She was about to greet them when Ichigo pulled Byakuya down for a kiss.
Rukia stood there wide eyed, frozen. She had not expected this. Before they could break apart, Rukia used Shunpo to retreat to her room. That was a surprise too many for today, she would deal with it tomorrow.
•❅──────✼❅҉ ──────❅•
Byakuya broke the kiss and frowned, looking at the spot where Rukia had been just seconds ago.
"What's wrong Byakuya?" Ichigo asked while burrowing his face into the crook of Byakuya's neck.
He only received a thoughtful hum, wondering if he had felt that right. "Nothing."
It was only much later that evening, when he asked a maid if she had seen Rukia because he grew concerned, that his suspicions had been confirmed.
And since Ichigo stayed overnight in one of the guest rooms, breakfast the next morning was... really something.
He had never seen Rukia eat her breakfast so quickly and leave the Kuchiki manor even before he could leave at his usual time. She did not even wait up for Ichigo.
He sighed and rubbed his temples. This was not how he had imagined Rukia finding out about his relationship with Ichigo.
He made sure to wait up for Ichigo and to visit Rukia during lunch.
He calmly sipped his tea while waiting for Ichigo to wake up, wondering what his reaction would be. He shook his head, predicting that the orange-head would roll over the ground, laughing his ass off.
A soft endearing smile appeared on his face. An idiot, but his idiot. He was glad that he could spend some time with him because of this new order.
•❅──────✼❅҉ ──────❅•
A month later…
Rukia and Toshiro had somehow managed to book a room again. And by chance, Alex had been working that day too.
This time around, they had fire elemental swords and to be honest, it made them both kind of uncomfortable. But, they were able to complete the normal dungeon run in an hour as well. A phoenix was their end boss and they almost got killed because they found the bird gorgeous. They had spent too much time staring. And also the fact that it was a phoenix. They had not thought that it would grow that quickly after its rebirth.
After that, they tried the other mode. They did the individual run, trying to retrieve the ruby as soon as possible.
At the end of the run, Rukia was on the floor laughing at Toshiro for losing to her again.
Toshiro grumbled but smiled nonetheless. She was way too cute. "Stop laughing."
She got up and got closer to him, leaning against him for support. "God, can't believe you really lost again to me." He inhaled her sweet light sakura scent which she got from staying at the Kuchiki manor. However, she had an undertone of light lavender and mint as well. He liked it.
She was wearing the same dress as their first visit here. A light blue dress with a floral motif. She wore no make up, but damn she was gorgeous.
Toshiro shook his head. "You have an unfair advantage."
"Only one game!" She protested while pulling back a bit.
He saw the playfulness in her eyes and felt his heart beat even faster, heat rising on his cheeks again. He then shifted his gaze to her lips, wondering how they would taste. Rukia was saying something which he did not catch at all.
When he heard her stop talking, he looked up and saw her wide pretty eyes staring up at him. A slight blush on her face.
"Fuck this." He muttered. He leaned in and pressed his lips on hers.
Rukia froze, but soon enough, he felt her push back. Before they knew it, they were kissing each other quite desperately.
They did not realise they were still in the gaming hall at all and didn't hear Alex in the background rooting for them.
When they finally broke the kiss, Toshiro leaned his head on hers. "Let me take you out on a real date. Dinner, you, me, tomorrow."
Rukia smiled and pecked him on his lips. "Yes please."
They jumped apart when Alex let a helmet fall on the ground. "You guys… aren't dating?
Toshiro shook his head. "We weren't, but we are dating now?"
He looked over at Rukia who grabbed his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Yes we are."
AN: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment to let me know what you think~
Criticism is always welcome as well, but please be kind :)
Hope you are all doing well and staying safe!