"The Eve Project"
Ichigo is just your average, smart, healthy, young, virile male college student. Besides having a part-time job and three horny friends who're always after their hot and sexy neighbours, all seems normal. Until the fateful night he decided to help a girl he found naked on a dumpster who insists that she was sent from the future to search for a healthy human male and save the human race.
Disclaimer: I don't own bleach :P (but I want to haha)
Chapter 15: Feelings and Other Tribulations II
"Which way!?" His voice clearly filled with determination as he ran ahead of the others.
"Just straight ahead at the last door!" He hardly even heard Moe's answer.
Ichigo felt his feet barely touching the ground, with every step crucial, each leading him to where she is.
Where she will be... hopefully...
As soon as the call ended, they couldn't even contact the phone again. After the guys grouped together, dropping whatever it was that they were doing, they knew that they have to do everything they can to rescue their little friend from the future. And why? Well, that's just what they do.
The five young men stopped by the door that has the sign "606".
They looked at each other with resolve as though speaking in agreement without really saying anything then Hanataro began ringing the doorbell. All of them could feel their sweat trickle down their bodies as they held their breath waiting for someone to open the door or for any kind of response from the other side.
"Are you sure this is the place!?" Kon yelled out turning to Moe.
"Yeah! Kira said so himself and he lives right next door."
Ichigo growled inwardly in frustration with his patience running thin. He then banged at the door over and over with all that he had, so much so that he could feel it cracking between hits. The other four had to hold him back before he could even draw too much attention to himself or break the door, whichever one comes first. Besides, though the apartment building may be lacking in security... and residence... it's a given fact that there were also others in the building who might think badly of what they were doing.
Well, who, in the first place, would even think that this was a rescue mission!? They weren't even sure if this was the place, their only source was a gloomy guy named Kira who looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Heck, he didn't even want to admit that he lived next to Renji but of course with a little persuading, A. K. A. a lot of threats and death glares from Ichigo, he finally admitted where the place was. When they arrived there, the building itself looked haunted... and it was BROAD DAYLIGHT. They had to suffer going through some crooked stairs, cracked flooring and a whining Keigo who won't shut up about how the place was giving him the chills but nonetheless, it didn't stop them from finally getting to where they are now.
Keigo then snapped his fingers, "I got it! What if we used a pin to pick the lock like in movies or something!"
"But that will never work. None of us know how to do that. Even if we have the tools for that, it'll take hours to—"
"Well, I don't see you coming up with any brilliant plans Hanataro!" Keigo then grabbed the door knob and tried turning it again and again in annoyance. "Our goddess needs us in there and we are stuck here all because of a stupid—"
And pop goes the doorknob leaving a gawking Keigo holding onto the now detached piece of the door on his hand.
Everyone had to blink a couple of times in disbelief of what just happened but all it took was a little push from Hanataro and the door slowly creeks open. It was followed by the sound of the knob from the other side of the door landing on the floor as well, leaving a hole on the piece of wood where the doorknobs should be.
Ichigo gulped for a moment but decided to lead the way. There was no turning back. He was quickly followed by Kon, who gave Keigo a pat on the back for what he did, with Hanataro and Moe walking behind. Poor old Keigo had to panic for a bit on where he should place the broken piece he had in hand before he decided to just leave it on the floor and immediately run after the others.
They haven't even entered all the way when the sight of a body lying on the floor had them all frozen.
Keigo had to cover his mouth to stop himself from screaming, "I-isn't t-that—"
He didn't even finish the question. They all knew who it was.
It was Renji.
He was lying face down on the floor like a vegetable next to a shattered tea cup. So many questions now...
Is he dead? Was he zapped to unconsciousness?
But then again, putting two and two together, if Renji was here, then surely, Rukia is inside the house. Leaving Hanataro to check on the fallen redhead and the others still frozen over the scene, Ichigo felt himself moving on his own accord. He needs to find her.
Moving quickly, he roves through the apartment not even caring if there was still any danger lurking.
She's here. She has to be here. His mind was chanting the words over and over until he opens the last unopened door of the apartment.
This time, he didn't even have time to feel frozen, to feel relieved, or to panic. Hell there isn't even enough time to feel anything or to process anything else because there she was.
He found her.
Lying curled on the bathroom floor...
Writhing in pain...
She was not okay...
Shit.
He swiftly got down to where she was and gently, oh so gently examined her. She was breathing heavily, sweat drenched her whole body. Clearly she's been suffering for a while now. Ichigo even noticed Kon's phone, dead and screen lightly cracked, on the tiled floor.
He carefully scooped her up and sat her down, letting her rest her body against his.
"Rukia... hey... We're here... It's gonna be okay... Hey..." His voice was soft but he could certainly hear it cracking. The frustration and panic lessened when she slowly moved to look up at him. She blinked her glowing eyes open but failed in holding it steady. "You... found me..." she huffed in between pants, clearly exhausted with her eyes closed.
He called out to her again but she didn't answer, instead he felt her grab onto his shirt hard then she began to tremble and curl closer to him. She let out a loud groan of pain which was a sound that Ichigo swore he wouldn't want to hear ever again. His heart raced in horror.
"W-what's wrong!? Rukia! Hey!"
"Everything... hurts..." she cried out feeling the pain spread across her body once again while Ichigo spat out curses through his breath. All of a sudden, her grip loosened and she fell limp on his arms.
No. No. No. No. No.
He tried to shake her awake while calling her name over and over but unlike before there was no response at all.
Fuck.
He held her tight and carried her up. He was about to get out of the bathroom when he came face to face with Kon.
"You found her!" Kon yelped in relief when he saw Rukia in his cousin's arms.
"Yeah, but something's wrong, where's Hanataro?" The carrot top simply walked passed him.
"He's checking on Ren—"
"We need him. Now."
The two then split paths with Kon running to where the others are and Ichigo going to the living room and placing the petite girl on the sofa. Kon and Hanataro were at the living room in no time with the latter quickly examining the girl with great focus and expertise. Moe decided to run out and get some help while a whining Keigo was ordered to watch over an unconscious Renji sleeping in one of the rooms.
Ichigo was explaining what happened awhile ago hoping to aid Hanataro in figuring out what to do in this situation. Kon, on the other hand, noticing how little resource they have, especially when they're in someone else's house, suggested that they should just take Rukia to the hospital now but Hanataro shook his head in response. "We can't do that."
"Why the fuck not!? We can't just let her die here!" He countered back.
"But you see... her eyes are glowing."
"What?" Both Kon and Ichigo let out in confusion. The young man moved one of the girl's eyelids to show them what he meant. And true enough, he was right.
What will happen if other people see this abnormality?
This girl. The girl from the future. Is the world even ready for that!?
Ichigo, for the nth time this day, cursed through his teeth.
Fuck. This can't be the dead end.
What happens now if Rukia doesn't make it!?
Will the entire world be next!?
"There has to be a way..." Ichigo spoke thinking aloud with the deepest scowl gracing his features.
He stared at the petite girl, whose breath was still ragged, while he rattled his head for a solution. After a few moments of silence the idea finally hit him.
There was only one other person who knows Rukia's true identity and he prays to all the gods out there that Mr. Maintenance isn't on his day-off right now or Ichigo's going to make sure that he gets a permanent day-off on a hospital bed.
"She's going to be alright." Were the words that everyone's been dying to hear come out of Kisuke Urahara's mouth and as soon as it does, they released the breaths they were holding all together. What they didn't expect though, was his next statement.
"Actually, I don't really know," the pale blonde man stated in all honesty and that got everyone's mouths hanging.
"What!?" They all asked in chorus.
The man in question fixed his green hat then looked at the sleeping girl on the bed then back at the boys in puzzlement. "Yes, what exactly do you want me to do to her?"
"Fix her!" Kon blurted out as though it should have been the most obvious thing in the world.
Is he freakin' serious!? They had to go look for him for hours around the campus because he wasn't in his creepy janitor's lair and after finding him and dragging him all the way to the boys' house, where Rukia was sleeping on Ichigo's bed while Hanataro looks after her, Mr. Maintenance claims that he can't even help!?
You have got to be fucking kidding!
"We already told you—" Ichigo was about to explain the situation again when Urahara cut him off.
"Yes, yes but none of you know what caused whatever it was that happened. Right?" He eyed them one by one before turning back to the unconscious girl. "Besides, she seems fine. Her eyes are normal, her breathing is okay—"
"But what about the—" Before Hanataro could even add anything, Mr. Maintenance beat him to it.
"She doesn't look like she's in pain. Has she been in pain in the last couple of hours?"
Everyone was silent. Kisuke took that reaction as a "no" so he sighed.
"Then I better be off." He fixed his hat and got off the bed. "Forgive me if I'm not much of a help as what you may have expected. As per my future self's instructions I'm not allowed to get involved unless it is of drastic measure or unless there was a clear cause for me to work on, in which there isn't in this case. We wouldn't want her to worsen with me doing something unnecessary now, do we?" Moe led him towards the door but was stopped by a sudden outburst from one of the boys.
"Will she... will she wake up?" Hanataro asks before Kisuke even stepped out of the room.
He paused for a slight moment as though carefully formulating the proper answer.
"She will, she just needs rest," he finally assured the evidently worried boy.
They let that news sink in and for awhile, it was enough to keep their hearts at bay.
Kisuke noticed their reaction and couldn't help but speak his mind, "You all care about that girl too much..."
"She's our friend," Hanataro answered matter-of-factly, feeling insulted by the statement.
"Of course, but don't you forget that she is not from this time. You should be careful with those feelings." He glanced at the girl then back at them with a grim expression as he continued. "Actually, I don't really recommend you getting too involved with her."
"She needs our help," it was Kon who spoke this time and it made the older man smirk at boy's words.
"Do you really think that the little eve was sent here from the future expecting to get some help from five teenage boys? If I were you, I'd be afraid of getting too close to her if everything she claims to be is who she is."
Ichigo scowled, not really liking what the other person was implying. "Why are you saying that? Didn't you promise to help her?"
"I did and I'm keeping it professional by simply aiding her in her mission. She may be close to my future self, but to this present me, she's just a girl. I know it sounds harsh but what I see right now," he eyed all of them once again until his gaze stopped at Ichigo. "... is you people trying to be involved in something you shouldn't even be messing with. She shouldn't have even told you of her origins but it seems you've already sunk your feet in the situation so I'm just going to give you a fair warning..." He tried to hide his expression under the shade of his green hat as he let out the last words. "...before you all start drowning."
He slightly bowed his head and reminded them of the status of the still broken T-cube that he's still somehow trying to figure out. He mentioned that he's trying to make alternative parts but there's still a big chance that it won't work. After that, he just left.
Leaving everyone to reflect on his words with regards to their relationship with the little eve.
"Do you think... what he said was true?" Hanataro posed not asking anyone in particular.
"You mean that Rukia might be playing us?" Moe added.
"No way, dude. This is Rukia that we're talking about!" Keigo, as crazy as he might be, couldn't even dare think badly of his goddess.
And yet his friend was clearly open for other possibilities. "But do we really know Rukia? What if she was the alien? Misleading us or something."
"You know what, who cares! So what if she's an alien!? Big deal. If she wanted us dead, she would have killed us in our sleep a long time ago or poisoned us with the food that she cooks!" Kon snapped at the others. "That Urahara guy is crazy as fuck, we shouldn't let him get to our heads like that. Right Ichigo?" He turned to his cousin for support. "Oi, Ichigo!"
"Huh? Yeah. Right." Ichigo plainly agreed, unsure of what he was agreeing to. Fact is, he was in deep thought. Too busy recounting every single thing Rukia's told him from the beginning. Although, it didn't really do anything but get his mind cluttered. Confused as hell, not by all the aliens and time travel shit but for the fact that despite his logical thinking screaming at him that this girl is trouble and a big nope, all he can think about was whether she's okay and when she'll wake up.
The girl lying on the bed then let out a small groan and fluttered her eyelids open, and just like that whatever thoughts were bothering everyone's heads, were gone. They watched quietly as she sat up and stretched her arms like she just had a good nap.
"What's everyone looking at?" She asked innocently blinking at them and they simply blinked back at her. Each one had something in mind to say but no one dared speak. Suddenly, her hand came to her stomach and her eyebrows furrowed. The boys panicked at seeing her do that and they all quickly ran to her side.
"I'm... hungry," she muttered.
Everyone had to process what she said for a moment.
Rukia turned to Ichigo, "Is the curry ready?"
"It's... uh... I'll go make it now..." he replied not even remembering the curry that he promised her this morning.
"Okay, can't wait to try it." She smiled like today was just another day.
Five pairs of eyes ended up observing the only person on the table eating and enjoying the taste of the served up curry for dinner. The scene was too familiar, much like Rukia's first night at the house.
"Is there something wrong?" She had to ask.
"Rukia... what happened?" and much like before, Hanataro was asking the questions.
"To what?"
The boys looked at each other then back at Rukia. "You know... You and Renji."
She gasped and stood up at the mention of his name. Her face suddenly filled with worry, "Renji! That's right, where is he!? What happened to him!? Is he alright!?"
"H-he's fine. He's at the hospital," Hanataro cleared out which he hoped would calm Rukia. It did get her to sit back down but it didn't erase the worry on the girl's face.
"So... are you going to tell us what happened?" Ichigo asked this time with his scowl intact. "You got us worried sick, with that phone call and all, you know."
"Actually," she stared at the bowl of unfinished rice with curry as she spoke. "I don't know."
Ichigo felt himself wanting to punch something now. He was getting sick of everyone not knowing anything, including him. Heck, he wants answers and he wants them now but he couldn't possibly force them out of anyone so he just rubbed his temple and kept his frustrations to himself while Rukia went on with her tale.
"I mean, I remember going back to his place, drinking tea... then..." She gasped again and she covered her mouth with her hand in realization of what happened next.
The suspense was killing them.
"So did you two... you know?" Keigo, in desperation, motioned as though she would know what he meant even if he doesn't say it. She did understand which was why she lowered her face to hide her embarrassment and she slowly shook her head to indicate her answer.
No. Mission failed.
"Oh thank god," Keigo let out in relief and was quickly followed by a hit on the head from Kon.
"Ouch! What!? It's not like I'm the only one thinking it! I'm sure you guys are relieved too!" He cried out while soothing the pained area on his head.
As stupid as Keigo sounded, he was right. They were all relieved. But the look on Rukia's face stopped them from even showing a tiny bit of that feeling.
"I pushed him..." She voiced out in horror. "He hit the wall and he fell on the ground..." She looked at her hands like she was remembering every single second of that moment.
"That should explain the bruise on his back." Hanataro mentioned recalling his diagnosis of the redheaded victim. "I'm guessing that the blood on his forehead was a result of him colliding head first on the floor. But... there was something else... his neck. Do you know what happened to his neck?"
"What do you mean?" Ichigo's attention turned to their youngest companion.
"Well, I noticed that his neck was bruised... like he was strangled maybe...?"
The young man explained also remembering checking under Renji's neck covered by the turtleneck sweater and Rukia began to tremble.
"N-no... I... it wasn't me... I didn't... did I?" She spoke her voice filled with panic and fear.
"But... what else do you remember?"
"I... he was on the ground and everything hurts... like the after-effects of N-21," She spoke to no one in particular. "I walked until I fell on the floor... somewhere. It wasn't me... I didn't... I couldn't..."
Then she felt a hand on her shaking shoulder.
"It's not you." Ichigo told her in assurance and she nodded although still not completely convinced.
"What's N-21?" Moe asked catching onto that one significant detail.
Rukia thought for a moment on how to explain the substance for them to understand. "It's... um... a dark liquid composed of foreign elements. As I was growing up, I needed to be constantly injected by it. And when I do, it feels like every vein in my body is being pricked by thousands of needles..."
The story had everyone gaping at the details. Surely she was not joking which made them realize how much this girl had to go through so much, just to be here. Their thoughts were simply a mix of horror and pity.
"But why?" the question that's been hanging was voiced out by Keigo.
"Because... it will help me survive your timeline..." Another pregnant pause. "But it's fine, I got used to it though... sort of." She told them while trying to let out the best possible smile she could muster but Ichigo wouldn't buy it. He saw how much she was in pain back then, it was horrible. How could someone possibly get used to that!? And to think she said that she had to suffer through that growing up.
To feel that pain...
Over and over...
He didn't know who to blame but he sure as hell wanted someone to pay for it. He couldn't erase the mental image of a young Rukia suffering such pain. It was too heart wrenching to even imagine.
"But thank you... all of you... for saving me. I've owed a lot to you guys since I got here. All you've done is be nice to me when I'm just this crazy stranger that you could have just thrown out easily," she smiled sadly to herself but before she could even drown in self pity, two arms wrapped around her in comfort.
"You're not a stranger. You're our friend and we're glad that you're okay." Hanataro spoke as he embraced Rukia and the other three stand up to follow in the small man's footstep.
"Oh yeah! Group hug!" Keigo called out as they comfort the petite girl by playfully cuddling together, with the three clearly struggling to get a tad more of Rukia close to them as possible and enjoying this brief moment of heaven.
Rukia, on the other hand, didn't mind but what got her attention was the orangehead who remained on his seat watching his friends crush her in their embrace.
Soon enough, all of them were looking at him and he simply raised an eyebrow in return.
"There's still space over here," she indicated waving a hand on the mentioned space.
"Pass," he replied blankly.
"Aww... forget you," Kon spoke while he shooed him with his hand.
"Yeah, Ichigo just wants Rukia to himself that's why he wouldn't join us," teased Keigo.
Ichigo glowered at the idiot after hearing that statement. "Fuck you."
Rukia then started to chuckle, "You know, honestly, I didn't really know what to expect when I get here. I was scared and prepared for the worst but if I knew back then that I'd be meeting every single one of you," she all looked at them and smiled, "I would have looked forward to it."
"Which calls for an even bigger celebration!" Keigo yelled out and they lifted her up all together.
"Here's to Rukia and saving the world!"
"Yeah!" Everyone was laughing even the carrot top who ended up standing when they suddenly lifted Rukia up. Now she was sitting on Kon and Moe's combined shoulders, laughing as they cheered her up.
Then her gaze met Ichigo's. He didn't even need to say anything to know what the soft smile he was giving her meant.
I told you... you're not in this alone.
Ichigo was preparing to go to bed, and god he needed some rest... bad. With all that running and worrying and pretty much hell that they had to go through today, he told himself that he deserved rest, at least as a consolation for actually surviving this day. He was halfway done fixing his stuff for tomorrow when Rukia spoke sitting from the other side of the bed.
"So..." she began. "Still no hug?"
He let out an exasperated sigh at hearing that. He closed his bag then walked to stand at the edge of the bed, arms crossed over his chest.
"No. You don't get one. You didn't even apologize for what happened! I told you to be careful and yet..." He ran his hands over his wild orange hair in exasperation. "Do you have any idea how fucking worried I was when I saw you." He glared at her, much like a parent scolding a child. Then his eyes softened together with his tone. "I thought... I thought you were gonna..." He didn't even finish his statement.
I thought we were going to lose you. Were the words he kept at the back of his throat. He didn't dare say them.
He closed his eyes, eyebrows furrowed trying to shake away the thought. He wasn't going to go there. No. But despite his obviously angry state, the girl's body flew crashing against his. Her arms wrapped around his neck in a tight embrace and he couldn't see her face. She was standing on the bed which made her just as tall as he was, making it easier for her to relax on this position.
His still frame softened when he heard her whisper to his ear, "I knew you'd find me. I knew."
Now, he just stood motionless unsure of what to do next. He was itching to hold her close but...
You forget that she is not from this time.
You should be careful with those feelings.
The words hit him like ice cold water and he was about to pull away when she tightened her hold on him.
"I'm not going to move unless you hug me back," she spoke playfully. Hearing that had him breathe out a sigh of defeat then he lightly wrapped his arms around her, feeling every inch of her small frame in his arms. His actions were careful as though if he tried to embrace her tighter, she might break.
"See Ichigo? You just wanted to have me for yourself." She teased and that alone had his eyebrow twitching in annoyance.
"Shut up." He retorted clearly irritated.
She pulled back to look at him directly, her hands placed on his shoulders and their height difference gone because of her leverage courtesy of the bed.
"I'm fine. I'm strong," she assured him with a slight tilt of her head.
"I already know that," he shook his head as though he's known the fact for so long then he placed a hand on top of her head like he was lecturing an innocent little kid. "Just... just stop doing stuff to justify it, midget from the future."
She pouted at the nickname, "Fine. Fool from the past."
He raised an eyebrow at that and smirked, "You do know that this is the present, right?"
"Doesn't change the fact that you're a fool," she countered.
They glared at each other for a brief moment until both of them ended up trying to stifle their laughter. And that was it. They just laughed in defeat, unsure of what they were laughing at, their situation? Relief of the situation? What they just said? Or maybe because of just being together? Either way, it just felt natural... free. Something only the two of them would understand and do.
And when the laughter died down turning into just sweet knowing smiles, Rukia placed her forehead on Ichigo's. His smile disappeared and he felt every ounce of oxygen leave the room. She looked directly at him with eyes seeming to read his soul and every secret he's ever hidden in his heart.
"I'm sorry for making you worry."
Then as though putting the last piece in completing that perfect scene, she smiled. The smile that would make the coldest of hearts melt.
If Urahara thought that Ichigo had his feet sinking in the situation, he was wrong... because Ichigo... well Ichigo had half himself sinking and there was no sign of it stopping.
Because looking at her face... those eyes... and that smile was probably the warning signal that says there was no going back.
He felt his heart thumping hard in his chest and why was that again?
Well, they say that there are moments in a person's life that lets your eyes see back and beyond the present.
It just flashes before your eyes—like magic. When you're about to die, your whole life plays in fast forward in your mind's eye.
Ichigo believed in that shit.
What he didn't believe in though, was seeing beyond what was laid out for you.
Your future...
But fuck that...
Because at that moment... he saw his... straight from the purple eyes of a petite raven haired girl...
It was her.
The last thing Ichigo heard was Rukia calling his name to snap him out of his thoughts but her voice was silenced when his lips silenced hers in a gentle kiss... a kiss so brief that he pulled away as soon as he realized what he's done and of course it was accompanied by his buzzing phone.
KRIIIIING! KRIIIIIING!
The damn thing went on as though pulling him back to reality.
And he was faced with a surprised looking petite girl who was blinking at him in confusion and shock. Hell, he was probably displaying the same expression on his own face.
KRIIIIIIIING! KRIIIIIIIIIIING!
"I..." He began to try, and really try, to find the words to say. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.
Nothing. Say something. Anything. His mind yelped and his heart felt like bursting.
"... should..."He took out the phone and saw the number calling.
Orihime calling...
"Get this..." He quickly added, "um... outside."
Rukia simply watched him as he panicked on what to do. The shock was gone and confusion was clearly written on her face. He stumbles towards the door and faced her for one last time before exiting. "Y-you should rest."
It felt like he still had something to say but just like that, he was gone.
The petite girl blinked twice trying to process what just happened. She ended up sitting down on the bed and touching her lips, her eyes locked at the door.
What just happened? She asked herself definitely unsure if that was the right question she should be asking because right now her heart was racing and her face was warm but what confused her most was the small smile that graced her face.
When Ichigo returned to his room, Rukia was already lying down on her side of the bed facing away from him. He couldn't help but feel a bit relieved. He didn't want to talk about what just happened back there, in fact, he himself didn't know how to explain it. Heck, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He just needed his rest for now, and he'll figure out everything else, including Orihime's call, tomorrow.
As soon as he lied down on the bed, the little midget turned to face him, "so what was that all about?"
Ichigo literally fell off the bed in shock. "Y-y-you're still awake!?"
"Yup. So? Who called?" She questioned as though she was asking about the weather.
"It's... uh..." the boy frantically tried to sit up on the floor, "...nothing, I'll talk about it tomorrow."
There was a pause after his answer and they ended up just staring at each other until she let out a playful smile that made his entire face go red.
She was about to say something but decided not to and just shook her head.
"Well, okay then, good night," she shrugged then turned her back on him to continue her slumber. Ichigo eyed her suspiciously for awhile until he felt safe to get back on the bed. He lied down facing away from her and let out a sigh of relief, but relief was too brief when Rukia moved to whisper to his ear.
"You can do it again if you want to, Ichigo. I don't mind," She teased and just like that, it was as though all the blood was drained out of Ichigo.
"I...! Look!" He sat up and turned to look straight at her in frustration. "I didn't mean to do that, it was an accident."
"Okay," She answered but her tone seems to suggest disbelief.
"Stop that!" He growled in warning.
"Stop what?"
"That! Whatever you're doing!"
She blinked at him innocently. "I'm not doing anything. I'm just saying I don't mind. I mean, I do it all the time when you sleep."
And if Ichigo thought his body was drained out of blood, this time his soul probably leapt out of his body after hearing what she said. "Y-you what!?"
There was a slight pause that felt like a million seconds in hell until she finally answered.
"Relax, I'm kidding." She couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips after seeing Ichigo's reaction.
He's probably thinking about it now. She figured.
"It's just a kiss—" He quickly cut her off.
"It's not just a kiss... okay? It's... you just don't go kissing people!" He explained trying hard not to sound like a teenage girl who's been stripped off of her virginity.
"And what you did back there was...?" She asked still unsure where he was going with that kind of statement.
"An accident..." He corrected. "A... thank-god-you're-okay..." his voice suddenly barely a whisper, "kiss..."
"Oh... duly noted," she scoffed.
"Which will never happen again... just so you know!"
He gave her a serious look but she retaliated with a devious grin, "but you know I would have preferred a thank-god-you're-okay sex, but... I guess a kiss is also acceptable."
He groaned in frustration, "God! I knew! I just knew you weren't going to let this go!"
This time she laughed at his embarrassment of the situation and feeling bad about it she actually decided to let it go... for now.
On the other end, Ichigo was fighting the urge to just sleep on the sofa or anywhere else besides here. And speaking of urges, he really needed to work on those... who knows what could have happened if his phone didn't ring. For once, he was thankful for Orihime and yet a little angry at himself for being disappointed at stopping as soon as it started... or barely started rather.
This was really dangerous waters now and Rukia doesn't even seem affected by it! The bitch even had the nerve to laugh at him.
You forget that she is not from this time.
You should be careful with those feelings.
Those phrases were back again and he could feel every word sting his chest so he quickly shake the thoughts away. Assessing his situation now, he's half way through a pit of insanity known as the little midget from the future... and guess what? It's the fucking pit of no return! But what was bothering him more than hoping to god for a way back to safety was the fact that he didn't want to go back. Was he really going to let himself drown in this one? In this girl?
He was torn between two answers and one of those clearly outweighs the other. He wasn't sure if likes that answer though. But among these, the sad reality was, and Ichigo was completely aware of, the fact that there was no way of winning in either of those choices.
Sleeping soundlessly, he felt himself being shaken awake but he doesn't let it get to him because sleep is too good to pass up just because of a measly disturbance but then again, the force wouldn't have that so he was slowly pulled out of bed until he fell on the floor with a loud thump.
"WHAT THE F—" A hand quickly covered his mouth before it could even wake the entire house.
"Sshh!" She silenced him. Kon blinked his eyes enough times to make sure that his eyes weren't deceiving him. When she was sure that he wouldn't make any ruckus, she lets him go.
"R-Rukia? What's wrong?" He asked eyes wide as plates.
"I need your help."
He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the electronic clock by the side table that said 2:30 am.
"With what?" He gulped when Rukia's face turned serious. He knew that whatever it was, it can't be good. He just hopes that he doesn't end up having the same fate as Renji's.
A/N: Surprise! Oh this was one long chapter. I can't believe I actually finished it. Sorry guys, but it ends here! Haha. Anyway, first, I would just like to really apologize for not being able to update for months. There was so much going on since february, my birthday, valentines, then vacation, then lots and lots of work (somewhere in between were books and TV series). And when I got back to the story, wherein I've written pretty much 1/3 of this chapter, I wasn't really satisfied with it so I rewrote the whole bitch from scratch. Now here it is! I know there's no excuse and this wasn't much but shockingly, I enjoyed writing this one (especially the last bits *winks*). Took an entire day of writing (even during work hours), I sure hope it was worth the wait. I'll try to clear stuff out in the latter chapters. Please still love me and review D: Thanks for the support! I hope that you're all still there because I'm still here... alive. ILY guys and God bless :P
For those who Read and Review: Thank you!
For those who Read and Don't Review: Review!
For those who Don't Read but Review: How could you live with that?
For those who Don't Read and Don't Review: That's your choice :P