A/N: Last chapter! ^-^ Enjoy~
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach
Chapter 3
Ichigo is determined to get into aviation. When he told his father Isshin, his father worried that Ichigo might be burdened with what had happened to Masaki the first time he was on a flight (not to mention the expensive tuition fees). However, Isshin sees the burning passion in Ichigo's eyes, and so says, "Do what it is that your heart tells you." Ichigo nearly cries with joy. Isshin adds, "When you fail and give up, your father would be right here."
Ichigo immediately kicks Isshin in the head and runs toward his room.
Isshin lies on the ground, mumbling, "Masaki, your son is as violent to his father as always…"
Ichigo works hard for the next few years to get the grades he needs to get into the program in university - as Ichigo aims to become a captain, he needs a college degree. He becomes fluent in English while he is attending high school. He excels so much at school that he enrolls in university one year early.
To Ichigo, the aviation program is almost as a dream – he enjoys every last bit of it. Ichigo flies whenever he is free from class. He even soaks up the boring theoretical and technical lectures. He is really glad that he chose a career that he would forever like.
In the back of Ichigo's mind, he always wondered whether he would meet Rukia again. Though the hope diminishes as the years pass, he never gives up.
Eventually, Ichigo passes all exams with ease. Ichigo obtains the Commercial Pilot License and university diploma at the age of 21.
Through his perseverance and determination, Ichigo becomes one of the youngest commercial pilots ever in Japan.
He is hired by the Japanese Airlines almost immediately after his graduation. After all these years of hard work, Ichigo finally steps into his very first job. He meets up with the captain of the flight. The captain is a kind-looking man, about the age of 50 (Ichigo could never tell). He has soft wrinkles lining his eyes and cheeks. Despite his age, his gray eyes still twinkles. His greying short hair is neatly gelled. Ichigo shakes hands with the captain, glad to be working with such an experienced pilot. Ichigo feels more and more excited about this flight (even though it is a midnight, local flight) as they step into the plane. Somehow, he has a feeling that something good is going to happen.
They are chatting amiably, preparing for the flight, when the cabin door suddenly opens, "Good evening, Captain. Could you turn on the passenger's screens? Some of the passengers are complaining," a distant, but somewhat familiar voice says. Ichigo's heart skips a few beats before turning around. A short, black-haired woman with amethyst eyes is standing at the entrance.
No way, thinks Ichigo, could this be…Rukia?
She looks thinner, paler and a lot shorter than he remembers, but the kindness that shines in her amethyst eyes is the same.
Rukia peers at the new pilot, whose shocking orange hair hides underneath his hat. His heart-shaped face and vibrant brown eyes remind her of something, but she cannot remember quite clearly. She stares into his eyes and frowns slightly.
"If you don't mind me saying, you look strangely familiar…" Rukia says slowly. She looks at the name tag on the pilot's chest that said, "Kurosaki Ichigo," Her memories come back piece by piece.
"Yo." Ichigo grins broadly at Rukia's shocked expression. "We haven't seen each other for a long time. It's nice to see you here. Do you still remember me?"
"I…Ichigo-kun?" says Rukia incredulously, "You're THE Kurosaki Ichigo? The little kid…Ichigo…from my second-ever flight?"
Ichigo frowns, "It wasn't that long ago, and I'm clearly not a kid now."
"No way…" Rukia is still stunned, "I never thought that you would become a pilot…and so young too."
"I would've thought you've noticed it was me in the papers…"
Rukia raises her eyebrows. The helpless child she used to know seems to have grown – more obnoxious that is.
"Well excuse me if I don't remember you from reading the newspaper, Strawberry. The name is so girly that I assumed it was a girl, and that's why they made such a big fuss over it."
"What did you say, midget?" This was definitely not turning out the way Ichigo thought it was.
"Who are you calling midget?"
The captain looks on, unsure what to do with these two.
"Well if you read on, maybe you would've noticed that they used a MALE pronoun. 'He' not 'she'," Ichigo says indignantly. He adds in an undertone, "So much for working hard so that someone would notice that I wanted to see her again."
Rukia hears his mumble and blushes. "I only read the headlines because I'm so busy, unlike someone who turned narcissistic. Your head is so blown up that you probably can't even see what's right in front of your nose, let alone flying this plane. I hope we're all going to survive this flight." Rukia says as she storms out of the cabin. Ichigo rolls his eyes.
After Rukia left for a while, the captain glances at Ichigo sideways to make sure he is calm enough to fly. He is surprised to see Ichigo grinning. The captain sighs lightly, thinking, "Kids these days."
The plane lands safely. When Ichigo leaves the plane, he immediately catches up with Rukia. Rukia turns toward him, "That was a good flight," says Rukia sincerely, a sudden change in attitude.
Both of them walk out of the gate. They decide to get a cup of coffee together, so they head towards the Coffee Bureau. Ichigo pays for both his and Rukia's latte. They look around for seats and decide to sit at the huge, leathery, maroon coloured sofas right next to an electrical fireplace. Some soft jazz music is playing in the background. Ichigo hands Rukia her latte, his hand brushing hers for a moment, surprised at how cold her hand is. "Thank you," said Rukia. She blows on her latte gently to cool it down.
They talk about a lot of things – the news, their lives, and the weather. They find talking to each other is easy. Ichigo is particularly happy to be able to talk to Rukia again.
"I guess I get to see you more often from now on, then." Ichigo grins.
Rukia looks suddenly very uncomfortable for a moment. She lowers her head slightly, avoiding his gaze as she says slowly, "Actually, Ichigo…I don't know how to say this."
A sudden, forceful dread of what Rukia is about to say filled Ichigo. Somehow, he feels that someone important to him was, once again, leaving him.
"This…was my last flight."
Ichigo can only stare. Rukia gathered her courage.
"This was my last flight, because…I have leukemia." Shock ripples Ichigo. How could he have not noticed?
Rukia took a deep breath and continued, "My doctor says that I can't continue to work like this. There aren't any suitable donors, especially since my blood type is so rare. Although the disease hasn't taken a heavy toll on me yet, I…don't have much longer to live.
"Despite that, my boyfriend wants to marry me," Rukia has tears in her eyes, "I'm so happy that he is willing to marry a dying person, and at the same time I feel so guilty for causing him so much pain. But he insisted…" Rukia finally looks up, staring into Ichigo, searching for something, "I hope you'll forgive me for leaving so soon."
Silence ensues. Ichigo stares at Rukia for a moment. Ichigo has to blink several times before giving Rukia a pained smile
"Of course I'll forgive you," says Ichigo gently, "There's nothing else you could do. You're making this decision so that you'll stay with your one important person forever, and there's nothing wrong with that." Ichigo's hands tenses for a moment, but then relax. He smiles and continues, "But I won't forgive you if we don't keep in touch and you get better."
Rukia looks half relieved, half regretful. She silently thinks that the child had certainly grown as she smiles at Ichigo, "Of course we'll keep in touch. And I'll definitely get better."
A year has passed since his reunion with Rukia. Rukia passed away ten months after their reunion, but not before marrying her fiancé months before that. Ichigo was happy that she was able to spend her last moments in life happily, something that not everyone is able to do. Ichigo thinks how his mother passed away protecting her son. Even though Ichigo still feels slightly guilty, Ichigo knows he would hate to see his mother grieving. It was, as Rukia said, inevitable, and so he let go. It was almost the same with letting Rukia go.
Ichigo snaps back to his present surroundings from his wandering thoughts. He and another pilot are sitting in the flight deck, getting ready for a long, over-sea flight. It is still quite early, as the sun has only begun to rise; the sky is dark blue and dotted with some crisp clouds. While the passengers and luggage board onto the plane, Ichigo makes sure everything is in order. Suddenly, the cabin's door opens and an energetic voice boomed,
"Good morning! My name is Inoue Orihime! I'm a new air hostess and this is my first flight. I thought it would be nice to introduce myself to the captain and pilot of the flight. Nice to meet you!"
Ichigo turns around. The girl is very young, with auburn long hair (tied back as the company strictly directs. Sometimes Ichigo wonders how Rukia got away with her conspicuous bang). Her gray round eyes sparkles with enthusiasm and anticipation. Ichigo glances at the lively girl, some memories of Rukia resurfacing. The sun has risen almost fully now, the brilliant sunlight brightening up the cabin. He smiles and said to Orihime, "Welcome aboard."
Fin
A/N: Sorry about no warnings for character death, but it would have been…well…ruined since I covered so little characters.
Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed! Thanks a ton for reading! R&R please?
And here's some little omake:
Omake:
Rukia takes a sip from her latte, savoring the rich flavor. They are talking about Rukia's career when Ichigo abruptly asks, "By the way, are your drawings still as bad as they were before?"
A vein pops on her forehead, Rukia resists the urge to splash her latte over him. Instead, she put on her best acting skills and says, deceptively and sweetly, "Why, Ichigo-san, of course I've improved throughout the years."
"Really..." Ichigo sounds unconvinced.
Rukia continues to smile, "Want me to show you?"
"Nah, I'm fine," Ichigo stood up, "I'm going to the washroom for a bit. Can you watch over my stuff?"
Rukia's eyes flashes for a moment. "No problem at all, Ichigo-san~"
Ichigo glances somewhat uncomfortably behind him as he heads to the washroom.
When Ichigo comes back, he is surprised to see that all his belongings are still intact. Huh, Ichigo thinks, I guess she's less sensitive about her drawings than I thought.
He never notices the bunny that is drawn onto the insides of his hat until much, much later.
