Disclaimer: Basic and simple, nothing too harsh, not even entertaining. The fact hurts, but i prefer it that way. He still owns it and its better off that way.

Chapter 7

Make Me Understand & Dance for Me

"That was only once!" Renji flared in rage as he defended himself. His voice was barely audible from the earsplitting music.

"Aha! So it's true!" Rukia pointed her index finger at the said defendant whose face was redder than his hair.

"So you didn't think it was true Rukia?" Rangiku queried, to some extent intoxicated and flushed.

"Well, Rangiku, there are times when somebody can't tell whether you're telling the truth or not." Both ladies laughed it off while Renji wished he would just dissolve right on the spot.

Renji wasn't the only one feeling the torment. Some orange haired bastard can feel it as well. The music annoyed him (Kaien was the DJ), he annoys him, she is clearly infuriating him, this whole party is irritating him; heck he thinks that the whole world is out to aggravate the crap out of him!

The music flared up a little more when Kaien and Shuuhei decided it would be more fun to have a face-off. The horde produced a massive shriek of anticipation. As the prosperous woman Yoruichi is, she allowed the competition to emerge because she has some err… clandestine business to attend to with her guy companion who goes by the name Urahara Kisuke.

Ichigo grumbled by the mention of the name Kaien followed by the ever so annoying Shuuhei. Ichigo grunted more when he saw how Rukia got thrilled by the idea.

Rukia abruptly stopped giggling by the mention of a showdown. Her eyes exposed excitement and enthusiasm for a moment then it was abruptly replaced by a naughty, naughty smirk. She then stood up and walked towards her kingdom, the place where she was crowned as the Queen, it was the empire called, the dance floor.

It was that smile that means she is up to something sinister. She has always done that back at Karakura. It was a gorgeous, sexy, enticing, sinister smile that she'll always possess when she is about to do something badass. It was the same smile she wore in that bathroom incident. He just watched her walk with such aversion and desire. Amazing how that could happen. It almost seemed impossible.

She walked and flaunted. Her cute little dress-like doll shirt was so cute on her and it surely pleased her diminutive figure. She wore short shorts that revealed her long slender legs. Until now it is still unspecified of how someone so short can have such long snow white legs. She allowed the beat of the music to lead her. Her body slowly moved along as she was picking up the tempo.

Her body swayed, slid, moved, flaunted oh, so, gracefully as it attracted most of the male population at the building. Kaien and Shuuhei smirked as they took turns in playing the music from the opposite poles of the house from the second floor. Ichigo scowled at the commotion Rukia was creating. Senna made a gloomy smile as she looked from Rukia and back to Ichigo.

"Come on everyone! Let's hit the dance floor before Rukia burns the whole thing!" Rangiku urged as she pulled Senna up and motioned for the others to tag along with her.

"Let's go Uryu!" Orihime chirped at her lover and tried to drag him up.

"Actually Orihime, I'm fine here." Uryu tried to haul away from his girlfriend.

"Oh come on! It's gonna be fun!" Senna faked her happiness, what an actress.

Uryu somewhat adjusted the collar of his shirt and looked behind Orihime and saw the sphere of bastards gawking at Rukia. So on second thought…

"Alright, I'm going with you guys." Uryu felt helpless, well, he undoubtedly didn't fancy these guys anywhere in the vicinity of Orihime.

"Tatsuki! Ichigo! Aren't u guys coming?" Senna queried with her usual self while trying to yank Ichigo up.

Ichigo just grunted in retort but nonetheless tried to smile at the girl, and Tatsuki remained soundless, spacing out.

"Nah, I think I'll keep Tatsuki some company." Ichigo made the spacing out Tatsuki as an excuse, which kinda worked for Senna.

Apparently Senna knew unerringly what they meant. Ichigo has always been like that, while Tatsuki… she's just been acting kinda weird lately. With all her spacing out into her own little dream world, sometimes she wonders what's going on within her head, what she's thinking about, or rather, who she's thinking about. Senna beamed for the umpteenth time and strolled off mentally scratching her head who to dance with.

Rukia contained by her scowl into the middle of the crowd that she obviously created, but since she always did create them, it didn't bother her anymore. She saw Senna stand up following their other friends and held Ichigo's hand. Her anger flared more and she stopped dancing when she saw Ichigo smile at Senna. Yes, Ichigo Kurosaki smiled. As peculiar as it seems he did. It caused vehement turmoil in Rukia's existence while baffling all her groupies by her unexpected change of mood. She then felt relief wash over her whole self when she saw Senna walked to the dance floor with a defeated and confused face. She kinda felt guilty for what she did last night with Ichigo. Well, it's not that bad. They just danced, it doesn't matter right? She smirked at the sudden memory and resorted back to dancing with a more upbeat demeanor.

Tatsuki's thoughts were disrupted by a really disturbing scene occurring right in front of her. Renji, dance, Senna, now, What?! Her eyes grew wide at the realization and obliviously stormed off to get her man. Huh? What? Her man? When did that happen? She paused on her tracks as if a battery powered doll that ran out of batteries. She took a moment to process her thoughts and shrugged. Maybe it was that punch. Did she even drink punch? She looked back at the table to check and shook her head in disbelief. Yes, thank God, it was just the punch and nothing else. She noticed more though, a sullen Ichigo, and not just any Ichigo with a frown, it was a scowling, mad, furious, and most probably jealous Ichigo. She looked at the direction of his fiery stare which moved back from the fanatic mobs of Rukia, to the grinning and oblivious Kaien. Is he oblivious or he just don't really give a damn? She shook her head again for the second time and sighed; she just wished she could read people's minds, which would really come in handy especially with that red-headed moron. Why would she even get interested in reading Renji's mind? Disregard that one, it didn't matter. Right?

60 minutes ago, she was dancing with a mob of drooling guys around her, now she is dancing with him! Why would she dance with him?! He is not even a good dancer! At least on Ichigo's point of view. It's too evident, Ichigo is a better dancer than Kaien, and again, it was from his point of view. He scowled more and found out that they were maybe tired since he could see them retiring back to their table. He scowled more and Tatsuki did that same exact thing, it was as if a spontaneous effect.

--Flashback—

"Tell me why are we here again?" Ichigo scowled, who the heck would want to sit all day long waiting for girls to come out of the dressing room with different clothes on every time? Sometimes even only changing their tops or putting on another top on top of another. What is wrong with them?!

"Ichigo, we can go to the men's section while the girls are in their section, the whole mall is not only made for them." Uryu stated as-a-matter-of-factly. Ichigo 'hmped' and crossed his arms across his chest. He noticed something that trapped his interest though, Kaien with another woman in a coffee shop! The bastard is cheating on Rukia! His eyes grew ample and sparked a cell in his brain.

"What is that bastard doing here?" Ichigo queried to Ishida who looked at the direction of Ichigo's stare to find a beautiful woman with long black hair sitting unaccompanied on a coffee shop. He looked around for a much more familiar face around the shop and found none.

"What are you talking about Ichigo?" Ichigo scowled. That idiot saw him and hid quickly before anyone else could catch him. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

--End of Flashback--

Kaien noticed Ichigo's scowling façade and smirked, he really knew how to get under his skin. He should get an award for that, he deserved it.

"Dude, that was like so awesome!" Rukia beamed into Kaien slightly panting with all the heat they gave off in the dance floor.

"Yeah, lucky Shuuhei is still playing by now," he half laughed and half panted "I bet he's tired as hell." Kaien drew his concentration back to Rukia.

"I know, didn't Yoruichi hire some DJ?"

"She did, apparently the DJ got drunk." He said while pointing at some dude in punk like outfit, part asleep, part laughing, and part drinking.

"Speaking of Yoruichi, where is she?"

"My best bet would be that she's in her room with her slave, most probably getting naked and drunk." Soi Fon appeared out of nowhere with a distinguished scowl on her face.

Everyone nodded excluding the scowling Ichigo and once again, the Tatsuki who is staring in a blank devoid of nothingness. Perverted Keigo and Michuiro had this evil glint in their eyes and beaming faces which was immediately obliterated by a fuming Soi Fon and Rukia who gracefully planted their well skilled foot in their faces.

Rukia's Chappy covered phone started ringing with a well famed Chappy ring tone that made Orihime look over Rukia's purse.

"Rukia-san, you're phone is ringing!" Orihime sang out as she raised the phone in front of her as if it was a trophy. Rukia looked over their table and hurriedly answered the phone while trying to obstruct her other ear of all the noise.

"Hello?"

"Nee-san! I can't find you!"

"Oh, hey Sis! Where are you?"

"In the front door, will you please do it faster? Shiro-kun is getting kinda pissed." Momo said the last remark with a sort of worried manner and Rukia understood the point.

"Got it, wait for me; I'll be there in a sec." She closed her phone and went to the front door to search for her sister. She found them with no difficulty, courtesy of course of Toushiro's white hair that stands out of the crowd.

Momo shyly introduced her boyfriend that tried to give a smile in responce, only to face his demise. Rukia smiled at him and silently chuckled at his futile attempts and led them back to the table, ignorant of the upheaval on going.

"Why don't you just settle this in a dance showdown?" Uryu being the smart-ass that he is, commented in the background, and made everyone look at him.

"What? There's no other way settling this right? They both acclaim that they are better dancers with each other, which is pathetically childish," Ichigo and Kaien snarled at Uryu who didn't seem in any kind of rate intimidated and just pushed up his ever-falling glasses and with poise, he continued, "then we will ask the actual people here in this party to judge them. Anyone has a better idea?"

"How about a strip poker?!" Keigo enthusiastically recommended and earned himself a high-heeled stiletto shoe on his head courtesy of the ever-so modest Soi Fon. They watched him fall down to the floor unconsciously.

"Can I have my shoe back?" Matsumoto asked as if nothing ever really happened and Mizuiro willingly took it out of Keigo's head (A/N: his head isn't damaged, or more likely his head couldn't get anymore damaged, it was just hit, don't worry, he's not dying) and he handed Matsumoto her red shoe.

"Thanks." Not so surprisingly nobody asked if he's dead or not.

"So what's going on?" Rukia not knowing what in the world is going on asked them, and as if she was too small to see, she was ignored by the two guys who were sending imaginary electric currents through each other's eyes.

"I'm in." Ichigo accepted the challenge.

"Bring it." Kaien declared and they both walked to the dance floor never losing their glare at each other causing others to be really scared and move out of their way.

After a heated 6 minutes of face-off Ichigo blew up and wasn't able to supress his rage from taking over him. A blow was swiftly delivered in Kaien's jaw and Rukia gasped for all sake's mercy.

"Damn you Urahara! I'm going to run out of underwear if we keep on playing this game!" Yoruichi grumbled as she handed another one of her underwear to a grinning Urahara.

"Oh come now my love, I keep them preciously beside my heart!" Urahara fanned himself and laughed.

"In your heart, my ass, if I know, you keep it under your pillows." Urahara grinned but was soon bothered by a knock on the door and the cheering of the outside crowd.

"Yoruichi-san! Urahara-san! Ichigo and Kaien are fighting, you got to stop them!" A wheezing Mizuiro called out to the couple and scratched his imprudent head when he realized Yoruichi scarcely had anything on. Yoruichi and Urahara looked back at each other and nodded in accord. They both promptly stood up, Urahara to the door, and Yoruichi to her closet.

-----------

People tried to stop the two but were easily shaken off by their vigor. Rukia, who was deprived with the right to know the motive of the commotion, tried to get in between them.

"Will you idiots stop?!" Her attempts to suppress the men who looked alike were futile. She was disregarded as if she wasn't there in the first place. She was taken aback when she saw Ichigo's fiery glare was aimed at her. They stayed that way for a moment and his glare never ceased.

"Do you know what this man is doing behind your back?" Ichigo articulated, bit by bit, lucid and confident with every word that he is saying. Rukia's expression changed from shocked to uncertain.

"What?" She spoken in confusion and Kaien who was now on his feet, thanks for the help of Renji, raised one of his eyebrows in curiosity.

"Him," Ichigo pointed his index finger to Kaien accusingly and Rukia followed suit with her deep pool of violet "your boyfriend. I saw him at the mall with another woman." Kaien almost laughed if it wasn't for Rukia's hasty change of mood. He could feel the alteration of aura that was surrounding Rukia.

"What do you mean 'my boyfriend'?" Rukia retorted still confused.

"You," Ichigo pointed at her, "him," He pointed his finger to Kaien, "together!"

"What?!" Kaien and Rukia yelled in unison.

"We are not together!" Kaien defended.

"You're an ass Ichigo." Renji joined in.

"Stay away from this redhead, you're an ass yourself." Ichigo glared and Tatsuki blushed for some rather concealed reason.

"Why would you care if I was with Kaien, Ichigo?" Rukia queried, her voice was starting to break-off.

"I don't." He lied. A pretty big lie. Liar. His subconscious hissed. He crossed his arms across his chest and looked in another direction. As soon as those words escaped his lips Rukia's stomach clenched, her heart ached, and she somehow forgot how to breathe. She stood there dumbfounded for a second or two, but soon enough dropped her gaze and pushed everyone away from her and started to pick up a pace.

"What happened here?" Urahara Kisuke arrived just after Rukia started running.

"Rukia! Wait!" Kaien tried to catch up with the petite woman, and with those words Ichigo's head turned to the same direction and by reflex, his legs followed suit.

She felt the icy rain drops on her face just after 5 minutes or so of running. She can't see where she was going or why was she running. All she knows is that she wanted to run. Just run. She wasn't thinking at all. No, she didn't want to think. His words keep going on and on in her head as if a broken CD that won't stop playing. She shook her head in effort to eradicate the hideous reminiscence. He didn't care. That's about it. The reason for his actions the other days didn't matter. The reason why they were fighting didn't matter, all that matters is that he didn't care. She kept running, thinking that if she would discontinue, her whole world would crumble even though it already did. She still continued running even though she could feel her hair sticking on her face, she could feel her clothes drenched wet and clutching on to her body like a glued tissue paper. Her shoes made it painful for her to run so she took them off in a flash and felt the cold asphalt against her feet. It was raining again. She hated the rain, but somehow it made it look like she wasn't crying at all. She made no sound of a cry but tears somehow continued to fall, mixing along with the rain. She could almost taste her tears in the rain water coming through her mouth, she didn't care. She heard somebody call her name, it was Kaien, and she ran faster.

Kaien saw her take her shoes off and made a note to himself to watch it and not stagger on it like an idiot. He called her name, forgetting that if he does it, Rukia would simply run more rapidly. And just as anticipated she did. He grunted at his own foolishness and continued to run against the rain that was starting to hurt his skin.

The rain drops were starting to sting Ichigo's skin and it was starting to penetrate his own sight. The things in front of him went blurry already. He silently cursed the rain and continued running, following just behind Kaien. "Fuck." He cursed himself. He felt his clothes stick to his body and his hair stick to his face. He cursed more when he realized Rukia going faster. How could she run so fast with short legs will probably remain anonymous to anybody who would ask.

She didn't look back. She didn't want to. She doesn't want to know that Ichigo didn't follow her. Why would she want Ichigo to follow her? Why would Ichigo want to follow her in the first place? She loves him. God, she fucking loves him! She got more frustrated about herself. Why can't the world just leave her alone? Why won't her heart shut the hell up?! Her feet were starting to get sore. She said a muffled curse but nonetheless continued running.

How can she run this long?! Both men thought in unison still running and muttering random curse words under their breath. Kaien's eyes went as wide as it possibly can when he saw a car going near Rukia on the crossing.

She ran and cried. She was a broken hearted girl, it was raining, she was crying and running with her bare feet, how cliché. She didn't know what she was doing or where she was going. She didn't care where she was until she heard a frantic scream of her name from her well-recognized voice of Kaien and stopped dead on her tracks. Her mind didn't work, as if all her brain cells went numb. And before she knew it, a black car was coming down her way and it was going to hit her. Oh God, she was going to die! She tried to make her legs stir but she just stood there motionless and appalled. She raised her right arm to somehow shield her eyes from the light of the car and bam!

"Rukia!!!"

Author's Note: This is un-beta'd version, and will soon be replaced by the edited one as soon as my beta sends the file to me. If you're wondering what took me so long to actually get this out of my system, it's because i've been so preoccupied with school... you know the stuff Presidents and Editors do... I hope you can understand. I'm new to those positions so yeah... and btw, i decided putting the ending all together right now in this chapter is too much. I don't like reading long chapters myself. I'm so sorry for the delay, for those who are confused, i'm sorry, it's sort of a bad habit, like changing the scene really fast and the reader would get really confused about the story,,, i'm so sorry. I'll try to figure out how to clear that one. What do you think of the book Twilight? I'm currently possessed by the book right now so it's one of the things that's keeping me away from doing my story... the next chapter would probably be out in a matter of weeks... so i'll stop my babbling and ask for your kind comments and constructive criticism. thanks for reading, and i'll see you on the next chapter. -wow, i wonder how much lamer i could get.-