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 19: In The Springs
He felt himself relax as the warmth of the water that enveloped his body eased away the tenseness of his muscles. Ichigo let out a small contented sigh as he willingly surrendered himself to the heat of the springs and to this rare moment of peace. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander through calming thoughts and—
"Stop pushing!"
"I think they're already there!"
"No, they're not! Let go! I'm going back."
"You're not going anywhere!"
And of course, the loud quarrels coming from Keigo and Moe, with some occassional remarks from the ever unwilling Hanataro, was enough to bring Ichigo back to reality. Although, a few seconds of peace and quiet was already world record breaking as it is after realizing where exactly they are now.
The orange head opened his amber eyes and shot a glare at his three companions, which they didn't notice, as they were too busy peeking through the bamboo walls of the hot springs that separates the men's hot springs from that of the opposite gender.
He watched as Keigo and Moe clamour while they find a big enough gap between the tubes of bamboos that would somehow reward them of a lucky view of the other side. They've also managed to drag a very hesitant Hanataro with them in their idiotic charade.
Ichigo signed for the nth time. What could you possibly expect from a bunch of hormonal teenagers who were invited to soak in this relaxing manmade hot springs? Did you actually think they'd just get in and loosen up like normal people...?
He then saw Keigo tripping and quickly getting up to run towards the part of the bamboo wall which Moe claims to be the perfect spot.
... Of course, not.
Once Keigo got to the spot, the two boys began to start another argument that quickly turned into a brawl, which Hanataro tried to control, as they decide who gets to look in their newly discovered peep hole.
Before Ichigo could even mutter the words, someone already beat him to it.
"What a bunch of idiots," Kon murmured as he relaxed himself on his spot in the hot spring next to his cousin.
Surprised to see that the so-called leader of the gang wasn't part of the squabble, Ichigo raised a questioning brow at him, "Wow, I'm impressed. I was pretty sure that you'd be joining them by now."
"Psch. Please, I'm not that desperate. Besides, I'm tired," He simply replied while straightening himself up a bit.
"Really now?" Ichigo added as if trying to provoke his cousin but that only got him silence in return and the carrot top isn't having that. Something was definitely up and finding that out was better than watching Keigo and Moe pull and drop each other's towels in their stupid battle over the bamboo peep show.
"So..." He began trying to sound a bit indifferent. "Care to confess something?"
"What?" Kon replied turning to Ichigo.
"Well, it's obvious that something happened." He stated casually expecting him to just shake it off.
But then again, Kon couldn't possibly just shake it off because just then the memory of what Rukia did to Renji graced his thoughts and made him stutter a bit as he quipped back, "w-what do you mean?"
Ichigo, not missing his cousin's reaction, smirked. "Yeah, well just so you know, we live in one house so whatever it is, everyone would find out eventually." He jokingly warned.
"You mean like the secret of your virginity?" Kon retaliated as he regained his composure.
Ichigo's eye twitched but none the less tried to act unaffected, "Tsch, it's not like you're any different."
"Never said I was," Kon replied carelessly with a grin and leaning down the hot spring water to relax some more. "Plus, I'm not ashamed about it."
"I'm not ashamed," Ichigo scowled. "I just don't want to talk about it."
"I'm sorry, which convent did you say you grew up in?" Kon scoffed which made the orange head roll his eyes at the comment and the other chuckled at the small victory.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" Kon began after a quick pause. His tone all serious and different now compared to how it was a few seconds ago.
"What?" Ichigo replied while both of them look onto the others who were peeking through the bamboos.
"Why haven't you done it with Rukia?"
Surprised by the sudden question, Ichigo suddenly felt the heat of the water doubled as he answered, "W-why do you ask?"
"I don't know, I was just thinking... I mean I'm sure you find her attractive. We all do. And, she sleeps next to you at night and she's been throwing herself at you ever since she got here. Yet you've rejected her a couple of times, why is that?" Kon explained looking anywhere else but Ichigo.
"I told you, I'm not some manwhore who would just—" He didn't even finish his statement when his cousin continued.
"You ever think about what she's thinking whenever you reject her?"
"What do you..."
"Or maybe what it was like to have everyone send you here and have some stubborn idiot make things hard for you..."
This time Ichigo didn't even bother to speak as he contemplated on those words and let them all sink in.
"I think..." Kon went on. "I know what's stopping you... And it's not because you don't want her..."
There was another silent pause with Ichigo waiting for Kon to say the words...
The reason...
As though unravelling it to him...
And making him hear it.
"We..." Kon began in a low tone then he turned to Ichigo with a somewhat sad smirk as he muttered the rest of the words out. "...want her to stay too."
And that statement alone began to stir something deep within him. And the sweet smile of the raven haired girl that flashed through his head clenched his heart.
"But we can't hold her off forever... She will go..." Kon added breaking through his cousin's thoughts. Ichigo looked back at him but his cousin was merely looking at a distance. And with his voice even grimmer, Ichigo could barely make out his companion's next words, "even our memories will..."
Ichigo grew up with his cousin and it was such a rare sight to see him this serious about anything which is why it was such a surprise to him when Kon all of a sudden stood up from the hot spring after hearing Moe cry out...
"I see Rangiku!"
"And that's my cue," Kon said with so much determination on his tone and Ichigo blinked a few times as he found himself alone in the springs to ponder to himself while he watched the idiots struggle through their little bamboo fiasco.
Orihime and Rukia got in the springs together with the three other girls who were already there before them. Rukia was really excited to try this manmade "hot spring" that Orihime was telling her about. She mentioned how it was super relaxing and how the heat of the water could just burn out all your stress away.
Well, putting in together the fact that the T-cube was still broken, the mystery of what happened to Renji and Ichigo's stubbornness... yes, she had a lot to stress over so the tales of the magical hot spring was pretty damn inviting.
And as soon as they were in the water... she just couldn't help but "wow" in relief and Orihime had to giggle beside her in agreement.
Hot springs were the best. Rukia thought to herself.
"Ah... This is the best," Rangiku sighed as though agreeing with everyone else's experience.
"You said it!" Momo chirped in second.
And so, putting in motion their plan, the blonde haired leader of the girls tried to start some small talk that is aimed at the petite girl who had just arrived with their princess.
"Anyway, how are you enjoying yourself, Rukia?" She asked sweetly.
"It's hot but it feels quite nice." The girl answered with a satisfied smile.
"That's good to hear, first time in a hot spring?" Rukia simply nodded in response and the bodacious woman gave the other two girls, Nanao and Momo, some signal looks which Rukia and Orihime failed to notice as they were too busy admiring the hot water.
Momo got the cue to start, "So... You have a boyfriend Rukia?"
The girl in question looked back with her head tilting a little to the side feeling a little weird at the sudden question. "I... don't," she replied simply.
Momo's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You don't? Well that's strange." Then Rangiku decided to cut in. "How about a fling or a fuck buddy?"
"Rangiku!" Orihime warned at her friend's terminology but the woman in question simply shrugged.
"What? It's just girl talk."
"She's fifteen," The tangerine haired girl defended.
"So? I've been doing hell of a lot of stuff when I was fifteen. You can be honest with us, honey. So..." She gave Rukia a savvy look. "Have you lost your v-card yet?"
"My v-card?"
"Rangiku!" Orihime cried out in yet another warning.
"You know, has anyone popped your cherry yet? Have you ever had sex yet?" She reiterated while ignoring Orihime and leaning closer to Rukia.
The girl in question blushed for some reason as she replied honestly. "I... n-no. I haven't had sex yet."
The three girls then all looked at each other as they let out a collective "Oooh".
Nanao crossed her arms over her chest. "Well that's a bummer. I guess you don't have any hot stories to tell."
Rukia blinked at their reaction, "You mean, you've all had sex with a guy?"
Rangiku simply rolled her eyes at the girl's outburst. "Well duh? Except for Orihime there, of course."
"Because she's waiting until marriage," Nanao added with a slight chuckle.
"More like she's waiting for Ichigo!" Momo teased and it made the two other girls burst out in laughs as an embarrassed Orihime blushed madly while she cried out for them to shut up.
"Waiting for Ichigo..." Rukia murmured at realizing how similar the girl's situation was with her and she couldn't help but blurt out, "Are you from the future too?"
Orihime was taken aback by Rukia's question, "W-what?"
Rukia gave her an equally confused look as she spoke, "They said that you're waiting on Ichigo. Do you need to have sex with Ichigo?"
"I... Huh?" She let out turning even more beet red by the second. Her friends began to laugh even more and Rukia could tell the she was probably mistaken.
"Oh yes she does!" Momo added. "She's wanted to have sex with him for years now."
Orihime continued to deny all the accusations even though her red cheeks were clearly betraying her. And so, the teasing just had to go on.
"Well, it's your fault for not making a move. Now you had to wait this long to get him in bed," the girl with the glasses continued.
Rukia blinked a few times as the whole teasing charade finally dawned in on her. Now she understood.
"You... like Ichigo," the petite girl said unconsciously and before Orihime can say anything to deny it, Rangiku made the effort to affirm the statement.
"Oh yes she does!" The blonde woman teased some more. "And she's been reserving herself for him."
"Stop it, already, Rangiku!" The poor busty girl pleaded.
Rangiku rolled her eyes at her friend and turned to Rukia, "Oh come on, Ichigo and Hime look good together, right?"
Rukia, for a short moment, let the image of Ichigo and Orihime together linger in her thoughts. True enough, they did seem like a perfect pair.
"Sure." She agreed with a smile and the other girls began to cheer. What she didn't understand though was the slight clench in her heart at seeing Ichigo with another girl.
She creased her eyebrows at the thought.
Why was she being so selfish all of a sudden?
She briefly recalled his gestures towards her. The way he called her name, his smile and his soft lips against hers... she didn't like the feeling of not wanting someone else to receive those gestures from him.
No one is deserving of it... but her.
She closed her fists tightly under the burning water.
No. These thoughts are wrong.
He wasn't hers.
Suddenly, the worried voice of Orihime calling out to her cut through her thoughts.
"What did you say?" Rukia said as she looked up at the tangerine haired girl.
"I was asking if you were okay. You're spacing out. Maybe the water's too hot for you?" She explained in worry.
Rukia shook her head, hoping that her other thoughts were shaken off as well, "Oh... no, i-it's fine."
"See? We told you she's okay," Rangiku added then wrapped an arm around the raven haired girl's shoulder. "So... Rukia, you haven't answered our question yet. Any flings? Or past boyfriends that we should know about?"
"Hmm? I don't have any of those," She replied.
"Like... Ever?" Nanao questioned in disbelief.
The girl simply shook her head innocently not really understanding what the big deal was.
"Why do you ask?"
The four-eyed woman tried to wave it off."Oh nothing, guess you really are just a kid."
"Yeah, and here we thought that maybe you have some sort of relationship with one of the boys." Momo added and all three girls turned to see the petite girl's reaction.
Rukia blinked a little as she realized what Momo was implying. "I don't, but we're all really good friends though," she retaliated with a smile.
"Yeah, but you know, those boys... They can be real pervs." Momo made a disgusted look which Rukia didn't really like and was followed by another comment from Nanao about how the boys had tried to stalk them or peek at them ever since they moved in next door.
"They even tried to steal our underwear! Creepy huh?" the girl added and was agreed on by her two other friends.
Rukia scowled at the accusations, "Really?"
"Yeah, haven't they done any pervy stuff to you?" Momo asked confused by the petite girl's reaction.
"They..." Rukia tried to recall. Although the boys did have their weird antics, like that porn night, and they get crazy sometimes but truth be told, they were really sweet and protective towards her. "They're really nice to me." She ended up saying.
"Really? Now, that's odd..." This time, Rangiku had joined in the conversation.
"Odd?" Rukia repeated.
"Well, you are cute but I guess you're not as womanly enough to be taken interest in. Maybe that's why you haven't had guys going gaga over you," Momo spoke frankly.
"Don't say that!" Orihime scolded then turned to the petite girl. "You're very pretty Rukia and I'm sure the guys just really value your friendship."
Rangiku splashed a bit of water at Orihime's lame speech, "Oh please, we all know that guys don't like to waste their time on timid girls. Guys go for someone who can give them what they want." She mentioned matter-of-factly.
"What... do they want?" Rukia asked in curiosity, intrigued by the woman's next words. The bodacious girl grinned. "Oh honey, they don't want girls," she began. "They want real full-grown ass women." She looked down at Rukia and let out a mocking chuckle.
Somehow, Rukia felt belittled by the woman's gesture but then again, she shouldn't feel bad about this. After all, these are girls with experience, if anything, she should be taking notes.
Soon, Orihime's hand grab hold of Rukia's arm to pull the petite girl towards her. "Rukia doesn't need your real women speeches, Rangiku," she muttered with a glare shot at her friend but Rangiku didn't even flinch at being the receiving end of that look.
"Oh, don't be so modest Hime. Just look at your tits, even Ichigo couldn't help staring you down because of those." Rangiku's statement caught Orihime off guard.
"W-what are you saying?! H-he's not—"
"It's true. You may not notice it but we do. Every time he sees you, you can practically see that he's drooling. Right, girls?" The two girls nodded with a hum.
"You're wrong," Orihime murmured under her breath and Rangiku took that opportunity to bring her attention back to Rukia.
"You see kid, you're living with mature men. They don't play with kids. They need women who can provide them with what they need," she explained flaunting her assets to the petite girl.
"And you and your supple gifts have a long way to go." She scoffed and Rukia simply blushed as she took in everything that Rangiku said. She even looked down at her breasts and slightly glanced at the others and surely, hers was no match. Seeing the gloom in her face, the other girls rejoiced at the slight victory but Orihime gave them a disapproving look.
"What? It's only us girls here and we're just being real," Rangiku shrugged as though no harm was done.
"That's right. Men are men and I could bet you right now that they're already peeking at us from the other side through those bamboos." Nanao pointed at the bamboo walls to add to her point.
"But..." Orihime began trying to think of some way to lighten up the petite girl's mood.
"It's fine. I... guess I am still a kid," Rukia chuckled weakly then looked hopefully at the others, "Maybe I can learn from you girls, you know... How to get men." she faced them with an optimistic look but the three girls blinked in return.
"How... To get... Men?" they reiterated and then they altogether burst into laughter.
"Oh kid, there's no trick to that. If you've got these," Rangiku pointed at her chest, "Men would come eating at the palm of your hands in a snap."
And that got Rukia thinking... Were breasts really that important when it comes to seduction?
Well, the "bitch whose name shall not be mentioned in the house" had huge breasts...
Yoruichi had them too and she was really good with men...
Not to mention, even that girl in the porn video that she watched with the boys had big tits.
She bit her lip at the realization that maybe it's true. Maybe that was what was wrong with her. But... even her special abilities couldn't magically make her breasts grow. She sighed in defeat. Maybe there are higher than average guys who liked small breasted women?
Great. Now she had to worry about that too?
She sighed sinking lower into the heated water as she contemplates. The girls smirked after seeing her reaction. Orihime tried to tell Rukia some weird stories about seaweed to try and cheer her up but the petite girl just shrugged them off.
The rest of the bath had the girls talking about school, make up and more random stuff while Rukia was keeping to herself the whole time and wishing that she was with the boys again. At least with them, she never felt bad about herself.
Why are these girls so different? She sighed thinking that maybe her chances of ever making friends with them are slowly diminishing. And to think she was really looking forward to that just like how it was with Tatsuki.
She then let her mind think over all that was said with the girls.
Would Ichigo have sex with me if I had bigger breasts?
She looked up at Orihime who was having a conversation with Momo.
Maybe if I had a body like hers then maybe he wouldn't even be taking his eyes off me...
Orihime... She likes Ichigo.
Does he like her too?
She shook her head.
Why do I even care about who he likes? It doesn't matter. I just need to get him to have sex with me then I'm going to go back to my time and he could be with whoever he wants.
Whoever Ichigo wants...
The idea had yet again made her feel some sort of pain in her chest.
She delves her body deeper into the hot water as thoughts of the carrot top clouded her mind.
Who knew the hot springs could be so stressful?
In the end, Rukia was sure that hot springs... were the worst.
A/N: Okay I know, I know, I just suddenly had this urge to write, I can't even explain it myself and I've been having so many stressful days at work and I guess I've been craving for some relaxation time too. Maybe that's why the chapter turned out like this. Hmmm. Anyway, I really tried to update earlier haha I even missed ichiruki month huhu and I wanted... like really wanted to update but you know, when it's not the time, it's just not. I can't force it. Okay? Anyway, I was inspired by FangirlIssues31 who just updated her work a few weeks ago. Check it out it's My Little Genie. Super cute. Anyway, I just told myself like, maybe I could do that too? Maybe. Okay, anyway, chapter didn't turn out as great and may seem kind of rushed but the next one is going to be really adorable. I promise (if I manage to actually write it). So stay tuned for that! And so for now, I would really love to read your thoughts and some words of encouragement in a life that is super stressful. 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