Disclaimer: I don't own them.
Pairings: Ichigo/Rukia…and some more as the story progresses.
Raitings: T for language
Genre: Romance/Angst
Chapter 2
A rough start
A tear-stricken face with the greatest disbelief, "y-you…?!" she croaked.
She could not force her body to stop shivering as she gawked at the man in front of her. "Kaien…?"
"lady, I don't give a damn on what your problem is but could you get a life and stay out of the road? I could've been ripped off a thousand bucks to get you to a hospital and fix my dented car if I hadn't stepped on the brakes any sooner!" The carrot top harshly snapped, his hands crossing on his chest while looking down at her. "and I'm no Kaien…" he added disdained.
Rukia remained immobilized, not breaking her gaze away from the young man. "this…cant be possible…" her voice trembled with unclear realization, his orange hair was different but his face, his face did not change the slightest.
He only frowned deeper in irritation. "tsk, can you even understand me? Geez, I'm wasting time for an invalid." He turned his back to leave her alone on the road. It was probably one or two a.m. and he seriously needed to be home.
"matte…!" she pulled the hem of his coat to stop him. Her amethyst eyes willfully searched his amber ones, as if suddenly all life returning to them.
He examined her for a moment, she was dressed in a designer gown, he could tell, despite of her being drenched and all; she looked kinda well-off even. So now why? Why was she sitting in the middle of the highway, quivering in the cold? "I think you should go home now. You're in no condition to be out in this weather." He stated more gently than his callous tone earlier perhaps because of the fact that a woman like her, vulnerable and shaking heaved on his conscience.
A shiver, and she tried with all her strength to stand up. "is it really you, Kaien?" she tugged his arm while gravely questioning him.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He pushed her back, "look, if you're trying to kill yourself so badly then count me out of it, I'm going home and if you die after I leave, I have nothing to do with it." he brushed off snow form his coat and motioned back to his car.
She could no longer reply, all strength drained away from her and she only collapsed on the whitened ground. He turned to glance at what had transpired.
"oi, oi…wake up." He came to aid her, his warm palms merging with her deathly freezing skin. "…how long has she been out here?" he whispered softly to himself, judging by how cold she felt, it was probably more than half an hour. She would possibly die if she stayed in the snow any longer.
He took off his coat and wrapped it around her then carried her to the car. "troublesome…" he sighed.
"Kuchiki-dono we have searched the whole vicinity but Rukia-sama was nowhere to be found, there were even no traces left in the mansion." The black suited men bowed lowly as one of them reported.
"That can't be possible! It's a hailstorm out there she couldn't have gone too far." Renji retorted already heatedly then turned to his superior, "Kuchiki-sama,"
The black haired noble held on to the locket firmly then buried it in his pocket. "find my sister and don't even try to come back with out her." Byakuya hissed dangerously and the men in black dispersed.
"Sir, what are we going to do? We couldn't possibly tell the guests she's missing." The crimson haired asked the aristocrat.
"that's for you to fix, Renji." He simply stated and walked away.
"you heard that? eh, stick-boy?" Renji glanced at Hanataro and he could only whimper.
Whoever was responsible for this will certainly pay.
the door unbolted, "ara? What's this?" an old man questioned as he saw the carrot top carrying a girl in the doorstep. "my son, you brought a cute girl home? Is she pregnant?" he grinned and opened the door wider for them to enter.
He could pummel him now given the chance. "Shut up old man, we ain't related. She collapsed on the road so I carried her." the boy scowled shaking snow off him. Just when he thought they were all sleeping.
"woah, I never knew you had a soft spot for petite girls." The old man who seemed to be his father nudged him.
"Urusai!" Ichigo barked.
"yare-yare, what's with all the ruckus you're making again, dad?" a tired voice asked as two girls emerged from the stairs.
The twins glanced at their father then at their brother, "tsk…Ichi-nii, I always thought you'd go for a well-endowed type of woman." The girl with black shoulder length hair sighed looking fed up.
"would you give it a rest?" he said exasperatedly.
"dad, Karin-chan…we should tend to her first." An innocent looking schoolgirl with light brow hair came between them. "oni-chan was nice enough to bring her here."
"now that you said it…" the old man glanced at the unconscious girl.
"she's been out for a long time, this idiot might even be experiencing hypothermia now." He held her closer to him, insulating warmth from his own body.
She was a complete stranger. He had no idea where she was from or even her name, but there was just something about the way she looked at him that told him, he couldn't leave her alone.
The silence was infinite in the four walls of a modest room. A girl lay on the bed covered in thick blankets. He only watched how her chest would rise and fall in a rhythmic movement for a while now. 'this girl…who is she?'
She stirred the slightest to regain consciousness. Her eyes slowly opened to reveal violet orbs glistening from the light. She gently rose to find the orange-haired boy locking gazes with her.
"daijobou desuka?" he said not too warmly, shifting his gaze to an empty space and returning it to her direction.
She nodded, dawning back to her senses and realizing she had just confused him with someone else. It was a moment of weakness hence she had acted as such earlier, and she only longed for a sole person that very moment. But now was different, it was as clear as glass to her that he can never come back though he really did resemble him too closely, perhaps it was a pure twist of fate.
She remained voiceless despite his inquiring gaze. Out of the biting cold, she was most probably, by now, in the right mind.
"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, o-namae?" he said in monotone, thinking that it would be fairly civil to introduce himself initially.
She thought of it first for a few moments before answering, "Rukia." her own name came out softly, as if hesitantly even. "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you." She apologized recalling their first encounter on the highway and she felt slightly embarrassed of her previous actions. There was no hint of relief in her voice not even for the fact that she was alive, there was only emptiness in her tone, the kind of emptiness that swallowed everything else.
It took a second or so before the reply registered in his head, probably because the coldness made his brain cells work slower than normal. "Thank my conscience for prying." he simply stated while scratching his head and recollecting his frown. The distant expression on her face made him wonder, was she not pleased to be saved by him at all?
"with the look on your face, you'd be happier if I left you to freeze." It slipped out of his mouth bitterly if not biting. He didn't mean any harm, seriously. It was just that his mouth functioned quite faster than his brain these days.
She turned to his direction, "if you say so, then why let me live?" Her words were aloof and caustic that they were almost rid of all emotions. Her tone of voice surprised him genuinely. Somehow, she was growing too tired of conversations even if gratitude was in the line.
An anger vein formed on his head as an eyebrow rose higher, completely irked of her actions just now. "you're an ungrateful bitch, aren't you?" he bit back at her. How could she say that? He would confess that even a punk like him knew the word gratitude.
She only gave him a cool level stare; perhaps it runs in the family. "I've said my apologies to you, I think that's enough." She pushed the covers away from her, preparing herself to stand up.
"you're not going anywhere, dope." He ceased her, holding her by the wrist. "at least not without a decent explanation." His face grew harder with a glare.
"eh?" She smirked and he probably thought it was out of character mainly because she was the small girl shivering in the snow earlier. "I don't remember any obligations of telling you." Her tone shifted to a conceited one. "or are you just too prying to involve yourself in other's affairs?"
"perhaps being polite to the person who saved you would be enough." He released her harshly, sending her back to the bed. "if my field won't be medicine, I'd rather have you dead." He almost swore to kick her out the room, if only his manliness didn't tell him to be nice.
Rukia lowered her gaze to stare at the wooden floor of his room, possibly moved if not defeated. "I'm better off dead than rotting." Her hands curled on the white sheets of the bed, wrinkling them. "but it's no different anyway…" she added almost inaudibly.
He found too much misery in her eyes, too much pain reflected in them and he told himself to hold back for the sake of understanding, "look, I don't know who you are or what your deal is, but dying ain't the solution." he could only afford to say that; what did he know, after all? "Don't throw your life away."
She lifted her gaze to meet his, "what do you know about death?" she questioned, her emotions triggered.
"I've seen it take away," He spoke carefully, "…those I love." Now it was his turn to grow sullen and she could feel that same pain.
She was surprised on how much she could empathize with him, "so you've lost someone important as well…" a very familiar kind of anguish enveloped her intently.
"I guess you could say that, lady. Though, I have moved on, after all it's been 10 years." He responded while snapping back to his usual self and scratching his head, the atmosphere seemed to lighten around them. "but you know, it's not about forgetting the pain and the emptiness, it's claiming it so you'd grow stronger." He didn't understand why he was saying words of encouragement to a stranger but nevertheless, it felt right.
"honto…desuka…?" Maybe familiarity was a coincidence, she locked gazes with him as if too naturally. "furthermore, it's not 'lady'….I told you, my name is Rukia." She repeated, feeling more comfortable now that she knew a fragment of him fit perfectly in her. Perhaps they had some things in common and perhaps it's still not too late for a second greeting.
"ah…" and strangely, as if by the hands of fate, he felt the same.
Kurosaki Isshin was leaning on the door, ears almost glued to it. He smirked to suppress a chuckle, "looks like you reeled in a good catch this time, my son…" he snickered.
"you think oni-chan likes her?" Yuzu was beside him, listening as well.
"it's dawn. I don't think he'd be happy to find out you've been sticking your ears where it shouldn't be." Karin merely sighed.
"why don't you come beside us to know what we're talking about." The old man grinned too deviously for anyone to handle.
"I'll pass." She walked out.
Kuchiki Byakuya sat on his soft bed made for the luxury of royalty; his vast room was empty despite the numerous rosewood furniture and accessories of sorts. His hand reached inside his pocket and took out the jewelry then placed it on a dark wooden drawer beside him. He closed his eyes for some mere moments before breathing calmly, he glanced at a shadowed picture which only showed a black silhouette of a woman.
Winter is at its crest, the chastity of the blizzard held not solace for those who seek refuge from the tempest of emotions.
"Yuki no Yume…"
The icy whispers continued to sing a chilling symphony.
"kusso, where are you?" Renji questioned softly to himself while driving his car painstakingly on the snow-covered road, disregarding any hindrance just to find her. It didn't matter if it was already daybreak, he'd been searching for her for hours now and there was no such thing as defeat, at least not in his context.
"I'll bring you back, Rukia." He swore to find her or else he'd be facing epitomes of death through various people, mainly Kuchiki Byakuya and perhaps some suicidal attempts by himself even.
An antique styled mansion with elaborate tapestries hanged on every wall, towering columns supporting arches and daises, the subtle light from the flames of the fireplace provided them luminance; the cozy feeling of the dim illumination and fur carpets added a classic sensation to the whole place.
"the pieces are moving perfectly. Don't you think so Yoroichi-san?" Kisuke Uruhara grinned while lifting his chess piece, the knight. "It's nice to amuse yourself once in a while."
"Honto?" the golden-eyed woman raised a brow while scrutinizing his move. Offense or Defense? "Don't think that tyrant's dogs would let you pass without casualties." She seized the black rook with her slender fingers, she disposed off a bishop standing in her way. "that is, if you don't want to regret anything, Kisuke."
The woman sneered, "checkmate."
Uruhara did not even look the least stirred, "hmm…is that so? Seems like I have to find another stratagem." he reached for the king and suspended it before placing it down a black tile. Eluded defeat yet again, "the game continues on…."
The archaic grandfather clock started to chime.
Thus far, only the crackling of the flames could be heard as they both contemplated on their conquering game.
This ominous day has ended yet again with a multitude of tears….
Author's notes: yes, that's chapter two…thank you for your feedbacks and gomen for the late update…the real world's a hassle as always…..this was kinda delayed because I was thinking if I should continue on writing…but oh well….hmm….i wonder, what would happen next? It seems I still have no concrete ideas…thanks for reading!
Japanese Terms:
Matte- wait
Urusai!- shut up
Yare-yare –oh my, oh my
Daijobou desuka?- are you alright?
Kusso- damn/ darn…some kind of cursing
Honto desuka?/ honto?- really?
O-namae- your name?
Yuki no Yume- dream of snow/winter
I hope to hear from you, please tell me what you think soon….
Take care
Love,
Amerie