A/N: A midnight release! (at least in my region) ^^! This chapter is where Rukia comes in :)
A random suggestion: try listening to Glow - the duet, especially the piano version, while reading this ;) I listened to it while writing that particular scene...
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach...it all belongs to Tite Kubo...etc.
Chapter 2
The funeral is held in New York, as the Kurosakis cannot transport the body back to Karakura Town. Isshin, Ichigo's father, and Karin and Yuzu, Ichigo's two younger twin sisters, all fly to New York as soon as possible.
It is a short and small funeral, as not all relatives could attend from overseas. Those who come are the ones who have deep ties to Masaki and who had immigrated to North America previously.
On the day the funeral is held, Ichigo, Karin, Yuzu, and Isshin all wait as Masaki's body is cremated. The black smoke trails toward the sky, as though liberating Masaki's soul from her body. The ashes left behind are the only remnants of Masaki's existence in the living world.
Isshin books a flight back with Karin and Yuzu. Since the flight is booked differently from Masaki and Ichigo's original vacation plans, Ichigo will have to fly back to Karakura Town alone.
The tiny Ichigo sits alone next to the window, a pillow sitting on his lap. No one sits beside him, as the seat was originally Masaki's. He stared at the dark cloudy sky with his blood-shot eyes as he murmurs, "That's why I told her that the night is depressing…"
An air hostess suddenly appears next to him and says, "Hello there. Is everything alright? My name is Rukia, nice to meet you." Ichigo looks up. The flight attendant is a petite young woman with black, short hair. A stand of hair lies between her amethyst-coloured, round eyes, something different from other flight attendants, who have neatly tied hair.
"Ni-nice to meet you, too, I'm…" Tears wells up in Ichigo's eyes again, but he stubbornly blinks them away, "I'm alright."
"See this tag that you're wearing? It means that onee-san is going help you if you have any troubles during the flight."
"My father gave me this tag before he left…"
Ichigo gulps slightly at the memory of his mother on the plane with him, and remains silent. Rukia notices that the boy looks very pale, as though he has cried for a very long time. Rukia very gently asks, "If you don't mind, would you like to tell nee-san what's wrong? Maybe I can help."
Ichigo looks into at the amethyst orbs and sees nothing but concern. Ichigo lowers his head and says, "I…" Ichigo stops; the memory of Masaki is too painful. Rukia notes his hesitation and says instead, "It's okay if you don't tell me, if you feel uncomfortable talking about it. Just remember that if you need me, I'll be right here."
Ichigo feels slightly better after that.
Rukia brings some snacks, crayons and coloring pages to Ichigo. Ichigo nibbles on some of the nuts but does not touch the crayons. Rukia sits beside Ichigo. "You don't like to draw, Ichigo-kun?"
"…I like it okay. It's just that…I don't really feel like coloring stuff right now."
"Well, I'll tell you a bit of myself then. I may not look it, but I'm actually the youngest flight attendant on the plane. Can you guess how old nee-san is?"
"Um…19?"
"Darn, I wish you'd said I'm younger," Rukia fakes an annoyed expression, "I'm 17 years old. This is only the second time I'm working on the plane – the return flight."
"Really?" Ichigo questions.
"It's true." Rukia takes the crayons and draws absent-mindedly on the paper. Ichigo peers at the paper and sees something resembling a rabbit head on top of an airplane. Although Ichigo is no artist, he cannot help but to think that Rukia's drawings…let's just say, have room for improvement, though Ichigo is in no mood to tell her so. Instead, Ichigo hesitates, then asks shyly, "How do you like working on the plane?"
"I like this job so far. I mean, I get to travel to different places in the world without going broke! Well, I mostly just stay in the airport, but when I get old I can say that I've traveled around the world," Rukia says enthusiastically, "Though I don't really get to stay at home that much," Rukia added as an afterthought.
Home, Ichigo thinks, what will it be like without oka-chan? Fighting back tears again, Ichigo glances outside of the window. He hugged his pillow tightly as he says slowly, "…My mother…she was hit by a car and died while we were in New York."
Rukia is shocked, and immediately feels pity for the young child who is barely nine years old. The tears that Ichigo had held back before rolls down his cheek freely, "It was all my fault. If I didn't freeze there…if I pushed oka-chan away instead…"
"Then your oka-chan would have been really sad, Ichigo," Rukia interrupts gently, "What happened back there was an accident.
"Your mom was a person who didn't mind sacrificing her life to save her son…for that, I'm sure that she wouldn't want to see her son crying either."
Ichigo sniffles and seems to calm down slightly. Rukia hands him a tissue and strokes Ichigo's conspicuous orange hair. Ichigo remains silent for a while. Then, he says quietly, "I hope she's happy on the other side."
After Ichigo is calm enough, Rukia leaves for awhile to take care of other passengers. Time and time again Rukia has to attend to other people, but Rukia always returns to Ichigo to make sure he is alright.
Though full of grief, Ichigo begins to feel a little bit better by talking to Rukia. Somehow, Rukia puts him at ease, calms the storm that was brewing inside his head. He looks outside to the night and sees a full moon glowing softly. "Maybe the night isn't so bad after all," Ichigo mutters, "Oka-chan."
When Rukia returns this time, she finds the little Ichigo huddled to sleep. She is glad to see that the puffy-eyed child is feeling better, if only slightly. She grabs a blanket that Ichigo had tucked into the seat pocket and pulls it over him gently. Ichigo shuffles slightly but did not wake up. Rukia leans over, turnes off the light, and pulls down the blind beside Ichigo.
The plane finally reaches the air of Japan; the long flight coming to an end. Rukia is about to return to the flight attendants' seats when she feels a tug at her uniform. Rukia turns around to see a small hand clutching the edge of her shirt.
"Is it…okay if you stay with me during the landing?" Ichigo asks timidly.
Rukia peers toward her fellow hostesses. Surely they would understand the situation.
"Of course."
Ichigo smiles slightly, "Thank you so much!"
Rukia is happy to see that the child was finally smiling.
The plane lands on Karakura Town's airport safely. Rukia helps Ichigo to get his luggage from the top compartment. Then, walking out together, Rukia accompanies Ichigo to the exit. Ichigo can see his father and sisters waiting for him behind the doors. Ichigo turns toward Rukia. "Thank you for everything," Ichigo says hesitantly, "Will I ever see you again?"
"Probably not, Ichigo-kun. But I will always remember you."
"Me too."
Rukia waves as Ichigo runs towards his dad, smiling sadly.
While taking the taxi back home, Ichigo thinks that, in spite of all that has happened, he still loved being on a plane. He is glad that Rukia was there with him. Though he is young, he understands that they are very unlikely to see each other again. Nevertheless, he vows that one day he will find Rukia up in the skies again.
A/N: Thanks a ton for reading, hope you guys enjoyed! And please review!
The third (and last) chapter will be out on June 12th!
