**IMPORTANT things you might want to know before reading:
Masaki is NOT dead, Kaien is not either, and Hisana certainly is not. This is a happy story [at times or when I feel generous].
PAIRINGS: IchiRuki, Slight-IchiHime, Slight-KaiRuki, RenTat, Slight UlquiHimeIshi. Don't worry, there isn't going to be too much of the non-IchiRuki pairings [as in IchiHime]. They're solely for drama purposes, but the drama is not going to be a heaping like in Korean dramas. So if you like minor drama, you will like this.
THIS IS A SLICE OF LIFE, so it's not going to have build up until the climax. Also, this story is set up piece- by-piece, like a mystery almost, yet not. So there will be some unanswered questions.
Well, enough the chit-chatter! Please tell me what you think!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach sadly. If I did Ichigo and Rukia would be in bed "living it up." If you get what I'm saying... *hint hint, nudge nudge*
Chapter 1: We Meet Again
10 years back…
"Ichi, why are you cwying?" asked a young seven year old girl with a look of concern written on her face. She was bent over, watching as a small orange haired boy wept.
Ichigo brought his tear-stained face up to look at her and let out several hiccups before muttering, "K-k-kon's all wipped up." Ichigo pointed over to the poor stuffed lion laying helplessly torn on the ground. Rukia followed her gaze to where he was pointing, at "Kon," and frowned.
She never liked it when he cried; it made her feel sad and helpless. They were friends, and friends helped each other. So she did the only thing she could think of, "Ichi, why don't I takes Kon and fix sh'him so hes be brands new!
"I'll gives 'im back after I mades 'im better. Will that makes you happy? So you'll stop cwying?" Ichigo sniffled and nodded to Rukia happily with a big grin on his face. "Then it's a pwomise!"
Unfortunately though, Rukia had never gotten the chance to finish sewing up Kon before she had to leave for Paris. In the end, she ended up taking Kon with her.
Despite that, she swore that someday she would return back to Japan to fulfill her promise to her best friend.
Present day…
There was a cacophony of sounds as flocks of people fawned over the new arrivals who happened to exit the loading dock just mere seconds before.
Inevitably, today was going to be one hectic day.
Rukia sighed in relief as she was finally able to escape the large crowd. She inhaled deeply and stretched her arms, enjoying the feeling of being able to move. It had been so long since she had been in Japan, even though it was her home country, which probably would have sounded ironic to others. She was ecstatic to be back. She would get to see all her old friends again, including her "bestest" friend.
"Rukia!" She was snapped out of her thoughts when her sister, Hisana, called out from behind her, "Bya-kun and I have to get going to Tokyo. Our appointment is soon!
"Remember, there's an apartment ready for you if you decide to stay there instead of the clinic. And there's some money for you in your account," said Hisana as she smiled delightfully at her younger sister.
"Are you sure you'll be okay in Karakura alone?" added Byakuya, Hisana's beloved husband and father-like figure to Rukia. His tone of voice hinted with concern, while his facial expression stayed cold and stoic. He looked mean on the outside, but on the inside, he was just another cuddly stuffed teddy bear.
The younger raven-haired girl smiled assuringly at both, "I'll be fine, I've told you guys plenty of times already." She rolled her eyes as she couldn't help but notice that her sister was starting to show her sensitive side.
"I can't help but worry!" whined her sister, running over to her and giving her a large bear hug, one that left Rukia heaving for breath. "You are my wittle shister! How can I not worry?" Byakuya sighed, closing his eyes for a moment to relax himself. Hisana was always like this whenever Rukia would leave her side -even for a second. A question that bothered Byakuya in more ways than one was how she would act when Rukia left for college, or even to start a family. Not that Byakuya would let her leave to start a family, anyways.
"Hisana, we have to leave-" Her brother-in-law was stopped mid sentence when his wife sucked him into her giant bear hug.
"I don't want to leave Bya-kun!" He sighed at his wife, at points like this, it was time to play the trump card; bribery.
Byakuya cleared his throat and hesitated before saying, "Sana-chan, if we leave I'll get you the new Chappy kitchen set. Including the new five foot tall Chappy plushy you wanted." Hisana stopped her waterworks shortly after hearing his proposal, and sniffled, most likely considering her options.
Rukia chuckled and watched her sister's reaction. Hisana always loved it when Byakuya called her, "Sana-chan." Apparently she thought it was adorable, and oddly enough, she only listened to him when he called her by that pet name –which wasn't often. He on the other hand found it embarrassing, but if it made her listen to him, he would do it.
Rukia classified him as a whipped, whipped man.
Hisana let go of Rukia and grabbed onto Byakuya's hand before running off towards the exit. She turned her head back and waved, "Take care, Rukia! Remember, we'll be in Tokyo if you need us!"
Before she could even blink, her sister and brother-in-law had vanished into the unknowns, leaving her solo in the middle of the airport. She chuckled and then sighed as she looked around. "Well, now I'm finally on my own," she said, taking in the first whiff of freedom. She had to remember to thank Byakuya later for dealing with clingy-overprotective Hisana. She didn't mind her sister's worry for her, but sometimes it could really suffocate a girl -physically and mentally. She just didn't like the fact that Hisana got all the nice Chappy merchandise just by whining. Now, that was unfair, but could she really blame Byakuya for being wrapped around her sister's finger? Not really.
Rukia shook off all her unnecessary thoughts, and concentrated on her mission at hand: taking the train to her desired destination; Karakura town.
Later on that day…
Rukia smiled and inhaled the fresh air of her home town, "Ah, it feels just like home," she said, closing her eyes as the wind blew through the loose strands of her messy French bun.
She stood atop a hill that had a breath-taking view of the town, and admired the beauty and how alive it was. The hill she was currently on was popular among the older couples for romantic evening walks as it had a vintage feeling to it. The place surrounding the hill wasn't that great, but it held a soothing and romantic atmosphere. While there was a great view of the town, a perfect spot to watch the sunset, flower beds and a small stone bench that was only fit for two, it wasn't much fun when one was alone.
She exhaled and looked up at the sky, "Well, isn't this kind of depressing? I am sitting here in this romantic scenery alone," she said humorously to herself. "Eh, it's not like I need romance anyways, it's nothing but trouble," she said, checking the time on her phone.
"Damn, I better get going," she muttered, picking up her suit case and bag. She got up off the bench and began walking away, leaving the lonely thoughts lingering behind.
From here, her destination was no more than a ten minute walk after going down a fleet of stairs. It wasn't much trouble at all, but if Byakuya were here, he would have gotten a limo or some other fancy car. He had always preferred any other type of transportation other than having to walk. Others would called it, "Enjoying your wealth" while she preferred to call it, "being lazy." Well, it wasn't that he was lazy. He just thought it was bothersome to take ten whole minutes when it could be lowered down to two.
Personally for her, she liked walking better. She liked looking around and smelling the fresh air rather than the luxury of cushioned seats and air conditioning. Besides, she was back in her hometown again and she wanted to explore!
She still remembered a lot of things about Karakura, like where the shops and restaurant locations were or where her old friend's houses were. However, it's been more than eight years, and she was sure things had changed. Hopefully though, there weren't too many changes or she wouldn't be able to make her way around.
As Rukia walked down the street, she was oblivious to all the looks the passing people gave her. Guys gave her a who's-that-chic kind of look and the girls sent her one of envy. It wasn't everyday that you saw a girl with a very French atmosphere wearing refined clothing walking down an average every day neighborhood, especially in a small town such as Karakura. After all, the town wasn't much of a hotspot.
Rukia observed her surroundings as she walked casually with her suitcase logging behind. The neighborhood hadn't changed extravagantly since she had left, which was to be expected.
As she walked along, something caught her eye from her peripheral vision. "Yoru-chan!" Rukia said, accidentally waking the napping black cat, causing it to almost fall off the wall it was on. She ran up, ecstatic to see the kitten –cat- she used to play with as a child. "You've grown sho big since the last time I saw you!" She picked up the feline and hugged it close to her chest, knowing that the cat was immune to most actions that would kill a normal cat –considering its owners.
"We could say the same for you," said a feminine voice from behind her.
Rukia turned around swiftly, surprised by the familiar voice. Both the owners of 'Yoru-chan,' Urahara Kisuke and Shihouin [Urahara] Yoruichi, stood behind her smirking with their eyes filled with the usual mischief. They were known as Karakura's crazy couple... and she was sure they still held the title, and would most likely hold it forever.
It wasn't that they were literally crazy, they were just not normal. Yoruichi had a thing for pissing people off, stripping randomly, being perverted, loving felines, acting like a cat and going ninja on someone if she felt like it. Despite that, she was considered the normal one of the pair. Her husband on the other hand was a whole new level of strange. He was down-right perverted –even to the male gender-, wore strange green and white clothing, had clogs and a fan that magically appeared randomly, he had an adored hat and he was a stalker sometimes.
Yoruichi smirked widely as she walked up to Rukia, "You look really grown up now. It kinda makes me feel like an old hag," she said, grinning. She padded Rukia on the head and ruffled her hair like she would a puppy.
"So pretty too, I'm sure any guy would die to take you out on a date, Kuchiki-chan. Or maybe take you straight to the bed...," added Kisuke, mumbling the second part and smiling perversely behind his fan. "Once Kuro-" before he could finish, he was abruptly interrupted by Yoruichi.
"Kisuke, I think we should talk about this later. We have things to do, right?" she said, eying him with a mischievous glint, which he returned.
"Ah, indeed, we do have things to attend to," he said, turning to Rukia. "We're sorry for wasting your time, Kuchiki-chan. Now scurry along."
Rukia lifted one of her midnight brows, but didn't question them about their activities since she didn't want to particularly know. Whatever it was, she was sure it wouldn't have benefited her to know in the least. She smiled politely and bowed to both, "Well, I suppose I'll see you later! Au revoir!" Not wanting to stall them of their activities, she picked up her suitcase and walked off, waving behind her to the couple, "Oh, and have fun, doing things!"
"Au revoir? What does that mean? Is this some new way to say bye?" Kisuke mumbled to himself, hiding his confused face behind his fan. Yoruichi shrugged and watched Rukia's shadow fade away.
"I have a feeling things aren't going to go well with her," said Yoruichi, crossing her arms and looking over at her husband. "Now, how about those things we need to?"
Why were they looking at her oddly? Maybe she had a pimple or something, but that probably wasn't possible due to the face cleansing treatment she used everyday.
She stopped her train of thought when she saw a flash of bright orange from the corner of her eye, several meters away. She scrunched her eyebrows, trying to make out the whole image of the person as they were pretty far away. She noticed bright orange spiky hair, and that instantly told her who it was. Tall slender body, manly figure, and a head full of spiky bright orange hair.
She knew it was him. Who else would have bright orange hair like his?
"It's Ichigo," she said partially grinning. Her pace fastened as she got closer, after all these years, they would meet again. "Oi, Ichigo!"
From hearing his name, the orange haired teen turned around only to be tackled to the ground in a lung-crushing bear hug.
"Ichigo, you've changed so much! You don't look like a wimp anymore!" Rukia grinned and looked down at her childhood friend, who currently was beneath her.
Ichigo blinked several times, beyond confused. He looked at the tiny figure on top of him, bewildered. Immediately, his dark amber eyes met up with the dark violet irises of the girl who was currently on top of him. Now that he looked at her, he was sure he didn't even know her!
"Wait, who are you? How do you know my name?"
A/N: I hope you guys liked it ^ ^! I was a bit distracted and tired when I wrote this, so please excuse the mistakes.
Anyways, please tell me what you think [that's not about my bad grammar]! It's highly appreciated!
Revised: 4 fevrier deux mil onze [February 4th, 2011], 15 juin deux mil onze