Hime Monogatari

Chapter 3: Suspicious Men

A black limousine entered the front garden of a big, European-styled house, the Ichimaru Household. The garden was really beautiful and very well groomed. It was filled by many kinds of beautiful flowers and trees. In the middle of the garden, stood a big fountain, which was circled by the pavement leading to the house.

Soon, the car stopped right in front of the main door of the house. The driver climbed out and opened the passenger's door. Then, a girl dressed in a white, knee-length dress stepped out of the car. She straightened her dress and examined her surrounding with her purple eyes. Kuchiki Rukia, for the first time in her life, was attending a ball held in the Ichimaru Household. Hn, this house was just as luxurious as Kuchiki Manor, she found out, though the Kuchiki's was Japanese-styled.

Feeling a bit nervous, Rukia inhaled the cool night air deeply.

"Are you ready, Rukia-sama?" someone spoke to her.

Turning around, she found a blond man in gray suit stood beside her. Rukia smiled to the said man, Izuru Kira, who had came to the ball with her.

"Yes, Izuru-san."

Izuru smiled back to her as he offered his arm, which she took gladly.

"Let's go then," Izuru said and led Rukia towards the big, white door in front of them.

A butler who stood right beside the door opened it nimbly. He bowed deeply to Rukia and Izuru, while the two just nodded to him and got in.

Right after they stepped their foot on the soft, red carpet inside the luxurious house, another butler greeted them. The butler, like the one before him, bowed deeply to them. Then, he spoke in a very polite manner, "Welcome to Ichimaru Household. Please, follow me to the dance hall."

Then, the butler led the two walked along the cozy corridor, climbed a big staircase—which was covered by another red carpet, and through another big corridor again. On the end of the corridor, the butler opened a dark brown door, revealing a big dance hall.

Quickly, Izuru led Rukia to step inside. Rukia looked around the hall; she saw many popular faces there; many businessmen, some actors and actresses, and even politicians.

Oh, boy…. Now, Rukia was really nervous. She didn't really like a party like this, especially when the party held by someone she hated the most: Ichimaru Gin. Really, party and Ichimaru was the worst combination Rukia had ever hoped.

Silently, Rukia regretted her decision to represent her father attending this ball. But then again, it wasn't like she had another choice except to come….

--###--

Earlier that day, her father summoned Rukia to the garden. He said he wanted to talk to her while having a tea there.

Knowing better than to make her father wait, Rukia quickly went to garden right after she got back from school. There, near the 'small' pond, she spotted her father sat with a man. When she was near enough, she found out that the man was Izuru Kira, the right-hand man of his father who had worked for him for about three years now.

She smiled to the blond man as she took a seat beside him, across her father.

"Dad, do you want to talk to me?" asked Rukia.

Byakuya nodded. "Yes, I do," he said, "You know Ichimaru Gin, my colleague, don't you?"

Ichimaru? Ergh… this couldn't be good. After all, everything about Ichimaru couldn't be good for Rukia because she hated that fox-faced man so damn much; he always managed to creep her out with that fox-smile of his. Though Rukia just hid her dislike to the said man and just nodded solemnly as an answer for her father's question.

"Tonight, he's going to hold a ball on his house for celebrating the twenty fifth anniversary of Ichimaru Ship-owners Firm. And he has invited me to come," Byakuya started to explain.

Uh-oh… Rukia got a bad feeling for this….

"But you know, tonight I have to accompany your Mom for her routine check up in the hospital, therefore, I can't attend the ball. That's why I want you to attend it as a representative of Kuchiki Company along with Izuru," Byakuya said again, eyeing the said man beside Rukia.

Rukia groaned mentally. She was fully aware that her mother wasn't as healthy as other thirty-six year old women; her mother easily got sick. The doctor said it was her inborn state, her weak immune system. That was why her mother needed to have a routine health check. And Rukia knew as well that her father, being a good and loving husband, would always accompany her mother to the hospital.

"Rukia," Byakuya called his daughter upon seeing the light twitch on her eyebrow, "I know you don't like any kind of party, but please understand that this ball is really important for our business relationship with Ichimaru Ship-owners Firm."

"I'm aware of that, Dad," Rukia said.

Byakuya closed his eyes and nodded. "Good. And you don't have to be worry, Izuru will help you there," Byakuya said.

As Rukia inhaled deeply, Izuru just smiled apologetically to her.

--###--

And that was why Rukia ended up in the ball at this very moment, greeting and smiling to some businessmen whom she didn't really know (she did so just because Izuru dragged her to them and said that they were her father's business partners), and feeling like a fool herself. Sometime, she wondered how the heck her father managed to attend a troublesome party like this just for the sake of their company.

"Tired?" Izuru asked the raven-haired girl after they finished their small talk with a tall man named Komamura Sajin, one of Byakuya's colleagues.

Rukia just nodded lightly. She felt really tired; smiling and acting as 'the princess of the Kuchiki Clan' was indeed tiring.

Smiling an understanding smile to her, Izuru patted the petite girl's shoulder. "I know you've never liked a party, but please be patient, Rukia-sama, for your father," said Izuru.

Rukia frowned, "I know, Izuru-san, I'll be patient no matter how bad I want to go home right now."

Izuru chuckled to her. But after receiving a glare from Rukia, he quickly stopped and cleared his throat. "I'll go get a drink for you, Rukia-sama, to ease your… bad mood…."

"Fine," Rukia answered simply, still in a bad mood—thanks to the ball.

A second later, Rukia found that Izuru had headed to get a drink for her. Heh… he sure was fast and efficient. No wonder Rukia's father trusted him so much.

The petite Kuchiki sighed and leaned on the wall behind her, closing her purple eyes and waiting for Izuru to come back with a drink—a juice, she hoped since she absolutely wouldn't drink any alcohol.

"Hi, Rukia-chan!" suddenly, a voice broke the little peaceful moment she had, and the worst was she knew this annoying voice too well….

Snapping her eyes open, Rukia found none other than the fox-faced with silver hair, Ichimaru Gin, stood in front of her. He was wearing a white suit with his infamous, creepy smile plastered on his face.

Rukia's purple eyes narrowed upon seeing the said man. She knew that she would meet this man in this ball since it was his ball, but she didn't expect it to be this soon.

"Ichimaru-san," she answered coldly, bowing a little to him (for the sake of Kuchiki's pride, she needed to be polite, even towards someone she hated).

"It's been a long time, eh? How're ya doin'?" Ichimaru asked casually.

Rukia could feel a sweat ran down her temple, this man really crept her out! But, of course, as a Kuchiki, Rukia didn't want to look weak, she tried her best to stand straight with her chin held high. No, she wouldn't let this fox-face see her fear.

"I'm fine," the raven-haired girl said, "What about you, Ichimaru-san?"

Ichimaru's smile grew even wider. "Ah, fine, as ya see," he said, moving closer to Rukia.

The said girl gulped nervously. What the heck did he want with her?! Why he always tried to frighten her?! Did he enjoy the fear held in her eyes? Was he a maniac? Or a lolicon…?

But seemed that heaven was still on Rukia's side as someone called Ichimaru, causing the said man stopped his 'let's make a girl (or a Kuchiki girl to be precise) cry' ritual.

"Hello, Ichimaru-san!" a melodic voice greeted the silver-haired man.

The voice belonged to a beautiful, green-haired woman with a melancholic expression. The said woman walked gracefully, approaching Ichimaru and Rukia. She smiled to them.

Rukia, upon seeing this woman came, gaped in awe and shock. She knew this woman! This green-haired woman was Neliel Tu Oderschvank, the famous model and actress! And the most important, she was Rukia's favorite actress!

Ichimaru greeted back to the woman, "Hello, Nel!" He then turned his head to Rukia and spoke to her, "Rukia-chan, meet Neliel, the famous model, the current icon of my owner-ships firm."

A bit flushed, Rukia hastily bowed to the beautiful woman before her, "Nice to meet you, I'm Kuchiki Rukia!"

Neliel bowed gracefully to the petite Kuchiki, "Nice to meet you too, Kuchiki-san."

"Da 'ya come here alone, Nel?" asked Ichimaru.

Neliel shook her head lightly, "No, I come here with my friend—" she said as she turned her head, looking straight to someone stood behind her, "—Ulquiorra Schiffer."

WHAT?! Rukia's eyes widened at the sight of her certain walking-ice-cube classmate. Ulquiorra was a friend of this famous model?! And he came to this ball with her?! How could this be?!

Ulquiorra moved closer to the three. The said boy bowed a little to Ichimaru. "Nice to meet you, Ichimaru-san," he said with his usual monotone voice, and then he moved his gaze to Rukia, "And good evening, Kuchiki Rukia."

"Good evening, Ulquiorra Schiffer," the raven-haired girl greeted back with mutual coldness in her voice. Heck, she hated the way Ulquiorra always addressed her with her full name.

"Ya both know each other?" Ichimaru asked the two teens.

"Yes," Rukia nodded, "We are classmates," she said, staring straight to Ulquiorra's eyes. And just like that, Rukia's mind voluntarily began to replay the certain event involving the green-eyed boy and his 'friends' in her head—like an automatic movie player, much to Rukia's dismay.

"We won't discuss it here."

And, of course, the certain words said with by Ulquiorra began to replay in Rukia's ears as well, causing the petite girl groaned mentally. It irritated her very much. What was 'it' they were talking about anyway? She couldn't catch or guess it.

"Something wrong?" Ichimaru asked to Rukia when he noted the irritated look flashed on her face.

"Nothing," Rukia answered solemnly.

Though he was still a bit curious about it, Ichimaru just shrugged it off. "Well then," he said to three guests, "I think I need 'ta see the other guests now, if 'ya excuse me."

And with that, the silver-haired man left the three to greet his other guests, saying hello and smiling to them (he was ALWAYS smiling anyway…).

Upon Ichimaru's depature, Izuru came back to Rukia with a glass of wine on his left hand, while his right hand held a glass of orange juice. He handed the juice to Rukia and smiled to Neliel and Ulquiorra.

"Hello, Neliel-san, it's a surprise to meet you here. And I see you have a friend with you," Izuru said to the green-haired lady, smiling kindly to her and Ulquiorra.

Neliel smiled back to him and nodded. "Yes, Izuru-san. Nice to meet you here. If I'm right, last time we meet was in Ichimaru-san's office, eh?" she spoke. "And yes, I come here with my friend, Ulquiorra—this is Izuru Kira," she said again, glancing to the boy stood beside her and motioning him to greet the blond man.

Ulquiorra nodded to Izuru, just like what he had done to Ichimaru, and greeted him plainly. But, Rukia, being the classmate who got too used to his blank look, caught a glimpse of something unusual in his green eyes. What was that? … Suspicion? Rukia couldn't put a finger on what was that flashed in his eyes since it was gone right the moment it appeared.

"Ah… nice to meet you too, Schiffer-kun," Izuru greeted back to Ulquiorra with the same smile still on his face.

After that, the four chatted for a while before Neliel made an excuse that she needed to greet her other acquaintances as well. Then, the green-haired lady walked away with Ulquiorra on her side and disappeaed in the crowd of the guests.

"So, he's your classmate?" suddenly Izuru asked to Rukia when Neliel and Ulquiorra had gone from their sight.

"Huh?" Rukia raised one of her delicate eyebrows. Why did he ask that so suddenly? Rukia was curious. And that look Ulquiorra gave to Izuru a moment ago…. What was it between the two?

"Is he?" Izuru asked again, looking straight to Rukia with a kind of worried—and a bit suspicious too—expression on his face.

Having no idea about why he was asking, Rukia reluctantly nodded. "Yes, he is."

"Hmm…" Izuru threw his gaze back to the crowd in front of him, though he was staring to nothing in particular. "I just think, Rukia-sama, that you'd better don't get too close to him," he said, "I think he's a bit… suspicious. I mean ho looks like… let's say, not a nice guy."

Surprised with Izuru's comment, Rukia merely blinked in confusion to the blond. Well, it wasn't like she had never felt that way about Ulquiorra… especially after her encounter with his 'friends'. But to have it spoken out loud by someone else was rather odd—particularly when someone who said it was someone who had just met the certain boy for the first time. Though Rukia still nodded in agreement nonetheless.

--###--

"So?" Neliel asked to the green-eyed boy after they were far enough from Rukia and Izuru.

"What?" Ulquiorra gave the said lady a questioning look.

Neliel chuckled a little before she spoke again, "Please, Ulquiorra. I know you too well, I know you have observed the two men we met a while ago," she pointed her well-manicured finger to him teasingly. "So, what do you think about them?"

Sighing, Ulquiorra closed his eyes, somewhat annoyed. "Fine. I found that they are both suspicious," he said.

Neliel smiled in interest at Ulquiorra's remark. "Suspicious?" she asked, "How so?"

The pale-skinned boy opened his eyes, saying nothing for a moment as he searched for the right words to describe the two men, Ichimaru and Izuru. "Well, Ichimaru Gin doesn't look like a reliable man. The way he acts, the way he speaks; he definitely always has something planned for everything he does. I bet he has done some dirty plays on his business too," Ulquiorra explained.

Neliel nodded in agreement. "Hm… I must say that I agree with you. I myself never trust him," she said. "And about Izuru Kira?"

Ulquoirra stared at his green-haired friend for a moment before throwing away his stare to the dance floor not so far from him. "He has something up his sleeve," he finally said.

A bit confused, Neliel merely raised a brow to him, asking for a further explanation.

"I could see it in his eyes," Ulquiorra spoke, seeing Neliel's gesture to expalain more. "The glint in his eyes said that he's masking something, something that's definitely not a good thing," Ulquiorra said, "And somehow, he felt familiar to me."

Neliel blinked in surprise. "Familiar? Have you ever met him on one of your jobs?"

Shaking his head a little, Ulquiorra retorted plainly, "No. Besides, it's not his appearance that felt familiar, it's his name."

"What's with 'Izuru Kira'?"

"I don't know. I just felt that I have heard that name before… somewhere…" Ulquiorra said as he stared blankly as some couples danced along the music's rhythm.

Neliel looked at him for a moment, observing him. Though his appearance gave no clues about what he was thinking, Nel knew that inside Ulquiorra's head, there were wheels turning and turning, trying to remember where he had heard that name.

"Do you think they'll get on our way?" Neliel decided to ask him.

Ulquiorra turned his gaze from the floor dance to his friend, "One of them, yes."

"I see…" Nel said solemnly. "That means we have to prepare more for the coming events…."

Ulquiorra just nodded firmly at Neliel's statement. This time, his job definitely would be a tough one.

--TO BE CONTINUED--

A/N: so, here's the third chapter! :) Sorry if it looks like a filler. But, no, it is not. This chapter is important to introduce Izuru and Ichimaru since one of them would play a very important role that would change Rukia's life. ;)

Anyways, thank you so much for all the reviews I got from the last chapter, guys! And special thanks to Cat Alex for beta-ing this chapter! :D

Disclaimer: as you all know, BLEACH belongs to Kubo Tite.

Review would be nice! n_n