5. In Odin's court

The couple walked at a leisure stride. Passed the memorial site was a dense forest. Ruby was observant of the landscape as though she wanted to memorize each pebble and leaf. This was, should have been, her home. All the experiences that she should've had were long lost.

Ichigo couldn't get a clear read on her mood. At times she appeared wistful, while at others her expression was stormy but thoughtful. He was used to a simpler girl.

At the lowest of her moods her hands nearly crushed his. Ichigo said nothing throughout this, instead he opted to be a silent companion.

A couple of hours passed before they reached civilization. A faded sign labeled the place as Patch. It was a rural village, where each of the homes had a sizable piece of land to themselves. Patch could best be described as cozy.

"Come on, we're getting close," Ichigo stated as he held his tie by the knot. His eyes were very much suspicious. Every now and again he would shake the tie like it was some sort of feral animal that required taming.

"That's good," Ruby replied. Her voice was a touch shaky and uncertain. Her mind was in another place. What confidence the walk had given her was waning by the second. She held his hand to draw strength from.

Her behavior was not lost on him, but he didn't know how to resolve it. This wasn't exactly something he could battle against. Nothing about this situation was simple. Until this moment, he didn't realize just how small she was. Sighing in frustration, not with her but himself, he pulled his arm gently around her shoulder and brought him closer to him.

He could feel the nerves rattling in her body as she shuddered against him. Ruby looked up to him and gave him a fatigued smile. A smile he had only seen when she faced a losing battle.

"We can take a break. All this walking is getting to you. There should be somewhere we can crash a while in."

Ruby shook her head slightly as she chewed her lower lip. "I'm fine. The walk wasn't that bad. Besides I... I mean we shouldn't push this back. You know, this place is pretty. I wonder how things would've been if I was raised here. It's so different from Karakura."

"I can see it now, a little bottle of sunshine running around singing and dancing in the wind. You would be an elegant woman of great stature. You'd eat with four different spoons and give out lesson in etiquette."

Ruby pouted in offense, "Hey! Are you implying I'm not an elegant woman?"

He tilted his head from side to side as though in great thought, "That's about right." His lips were in a full smirk now. "But that's fine. I like that dorky weapon enthusiast part of you. I can hardly imagine you not drooling over someone's weapon. You've made quite the name for yourself in Soul Society. Still, it's one of the many things that make you so charming, and if this birth father of yours can't understand that, then he's not worth the effort."

She returned a smile in response. It was a timid thing that couldn't match her typical radiance, but it relieved Ichigo all the same.

"Really?"

"Of course."

Ruby came to a halt as she saw that they had walked into the center of a fair number of restaurants. The aroma alone had her growing hungry. She spared a moment to take a big whiff of the mixture of decadent scents. She sent a look towards Ichigo.

He shrugged easily enough and she pulled him towards the nearest restaurant. When they entered, they were greeted with smiles and welcomes from both the staff and the customers. Ruby mumbled through greetings while Ichigo gave a relaxed nod.

They were seated and quickly chose their desired meals. Ruby ordered a burger with fries. Ichigo picked the tuna melts with coffee. When their meals were served, Ruby dug right in, tearing her burger apart. Ichigo wasn't in any such rush.

"Can you actually taste anything?"

"Yup. It's great," Ruby swallowed a chunk of the food before wiping her mouth.

Ichigo took a sip of his warm coffee as he eyed her carefully. Putting down the mug, he leaned back in his chair, "What's gotten into your head this time?"

Ruby stopping devouring her meal.

He shook his head before she could say anything, "Don't think I don't know what you're doing. You are stalling. First you say the meeting can't wait, now you're starving. This flip flopping isn't doing any good." His expression dipped into concern as he rested his hand on her own. "Look, you don't have to do this."

Ruby turned her face away, "I want to do this... I think." She broke into a sigh and dropped her head onto the table, "Why does this have to be so complicated. This must be annoying to you."

Ichigo pushed his mug towards her and she happily began drinking from it. The warmth seemed to ease her a bit.

"It isn't."

"Hmm?" Ruby questioned as she put down the mug.

He gently placed his fingers under her chin and slowly lifted her head so that they were looking each other in the eye. The usually sharp eyes of his were softer than many would ever believe they could be, "It isn't annoying. I recall a certain someone pulling me out of my funk when I lost my spiritual powers. Those first few weeks were tough, but you, Ruby Rose, were with me every step of the way. You didn't let my moods or the awkwardness deter you. You kicked my ass into gear. I was so embarrassed by my melodrama that I never brought it up, but thank you for putting up with me. So, let me return the favor. Stop the sulking and getting held up with the what ifs. You're in the present so make the most of this crappy situation. Clear?"

"Clear!" Ruby said with determination. "You're right, no more fooling around. Let's get out of here."

"Yes, yes my lady," he snickered. He pulled out a tablet he 'borrowed' from one of the White Fang idiots and paid for the meal.

Ichigo tentatively took out the tie from his pocket as they took the shortest route to wherever it was leading them to.