Disclaimer: BLEACH belongs to Kubo Tite.

Hime Monogatari

Chapter 6: On the Run!

Rukia yawned as she closed the hotel room's door behind her. She approached her bed lazily and plopped herself on it. Today was a tiring day, indeed.

As she stared at the white ceiling above her, she began musing over so many things that had happened today. And Rukia found that the most irritating one was the interrogation by the police; it took almost four hours, for the love of Chappy! Frankly, Rukia was still pissed about it. Oh, how she wanted to smack the police's head against the wall back then, just so he would stop questioning her. 'Why do those men want to kidnap you?'; 'Do you have any idea who they are?'; 'Do you think you have enemies out there who want to kill you?' Those were what the police had asked her. Really, how the heck could she answer them?! Wasn't it the police's job to investigate it?!

And the looks she got from her classmates weren't helping either; they kept casting strange looks to her. They even gossiped about her father being a Yakuza and that the men who wanted to kidnap her were from another gang lead by her father's enemy. Oh, God, were they insane? Her father, Kuchiki Byakuya, was a good, noble man! No crime record! How could he be a yakuza?!

Oh, and there was other gossip… about her and Ulquiorra…

Groaning, Rukia shut her eyes tightly. That Walking Ice Cube Dude… Why, of all boys she knew, it had to be him who was gossiped being her BOYFRIEND?! Just because he had saved her today didn't mean he was her boyfriend!

Wait… come to think of it, Rukia hadn't thanked him for saving her beloved life, had she? But then again, she didn't really sure whether she should thank him or not. She still remembered Izuru's words about that green-eyed boy. It made her wonder: what if Ulquiorra was one of those bad guys' comrades who was disguised as her classmate and was trying to gain her trust so that he would get a perfect chance to kidnap her—or worse, kill her?

"Ulquiorra Schiffer…" the raven-haired girl mumbled. "Just who the heck are you? A friend? Or an enemy?"

And Rukia's mind began to replay the bus hijacking that just happened today…

--###--

"Yeah, you're right, Brat. So, what if I use YOUR life as an exchange instead?" D-Roy grinned as he pressed his gun against Ulquiorra's temple.

Still unbelievably calm, Ulquiorra just stared blankly at D-Roy. "You'll regret it," he said.

"Huh?" D-Roy raised an eyebrow.

But before the fake tour guide could give another response, Ulquiorra's left hand had grabbed his wrist, shoving the gun away from his temple. And in a blink of eye, Ulquiorra had got up from his seat, spun his body and landed a good strike right on D-Roy's nose using his right elbow.

Cursing in pain, D-Roy stumbled backward at the impact and his grip on the gun loosened.

Ulquiorra used this opportunity to snatch the gun from D-Roy's hand. Then, wasting no time to give his enemy a chance to fight back, Ulquiorra stepped forward and jabbed D-Roy's stomach before hitting him on the back of his neck, sending the fake tour guide unconscious on the floor.

At the sudden fight in front of them, the students—including Rukia—gaped, half surprised and half confused as to what had just happened. Ulquiorra Schiffer, the emo, antisocial guy, beat the insane-looking hijacker just in a few seconds?! Seriously?!

Before their seemingly frozen minds could take in what had just happened, another wave of surprise had came over them; the brake squealed, and their bus abruptly—and ungracefully—stopped, sending all the passengers forward, hitting anything that stood in front of them—or, in Rukia's case, landed flatly on the bus' floor.

Apparently the other hijacker, the one who took the position as the driver, Shawlong, had prepared for a situation like this; when his partner got beaten, then he would handle the mission by himself. Shawlong was known among his comrades for his reputation as the one who always succeeded in every single mission he had. Like hell he would let this one failed just because a single brat beat out his partner.

Taking the gun from behind his shirt, Shawlong quickly got up from the driver's seat in an attempt to aim his gun at whichever brat had caused this mess in his mission and shoot him as a warning for the others. But as soon as he got up from his seat, Shawlong froze. His eyes widened upon seeing the green-eyed brat who had knocked D-Roy out of consciousness stood in front of him, holding the gun he snatched from D-Roy firmly and pointing it right in front of Shawlong's left eye.

The hell? This damn boy sure was fast.

"Freeze," Ulquiorra said with bored tone, as if dealing with bus hijackers like this was just some daily routine. "Now, drop your gun," he ordered the Chinese man in front of him as he jerked his head toward Shawlong's gun, "or else, I might accidentally shot you," he added, copying D-Roy's words.

"You won't dare to do so," Shawlong said coolly, trying to intimidating his opponent using his cold glare and calmness.

"Really?" Ulquiorra asked—still in bored tone. "Try me," he said, narrowing his emerald-like eyes and cocked the gun in his hand.

Fuck.

Shawlong realized that this boy wasn't just spouting an empty threat; this boy had been used to this kind of situation—he had been used to guns and vice versa, and he definitely wouldn't hesitate to shoot his head if the situation forced him to do so. Shawlong could see it in the boy's green eyes; he wasn't just an ordinary high school student. So, that only meant that this boy was…

"Who the hell are you?" Shawlong hissed to Ulquiorra as he dropped his gun; he asked it to make sure that his assumption was right.

For a moment, Ulquiorra just stayed silent, boring his icy glare to the lanky man in front of him, as if he was contemplating whether to answer the question or not. "You already know who I really am, I suppose. So, there's no point in questioning it," Ulquiorra finally said.

Shawlong's eyes narrowed. So, it was true; that man had made a move, he already sensed the danger was coming after him and his family. That was why this green-eyed boy was here. Oh, his boss wouldn't be happy if he knew it.

"Kirisaki-san," still holding the gun firmly on place, Ulquiorra called a nerd-looking boy who had freckles over his small nose stood not so far from him.

The said boy jumped in surprise. Well, couldn't be helped though, just like the other students in the bus, Kirisaki Atsushi, the class' president, was still shocked. Bus hijacking wasn't something they would experience everyday, after all.

"Y-yes?" Kirisaki asked.

"Would you please call the other teachers and inform them our current location? And please call the police as well," Ulquiorra calmly said or, more precisely, ordered.

"Oh! H-hai!" Kirisaki stuttered. He quickly pulled his mobile from his pocket and dialed one of teachers' numbers.

"Now, Kurosaki-san, Abarai-san, rather than to stand there and do nothing, would you help me instead? Please hold that unconscious 'trash' over there." Ulquiorra asked the two boys who were still dumbfounded at their emo classmate's stunt.

Regaining his composure, Ichigo cleared his throat and nodded. "Sure," he said, approaching the unconscious figure of none other than D-Roy Linker. Frankly, he didn't like the way Ulquiorra ordered him like that, but he still did the favor, though. "Help me, will 'ya, Renji?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Sure," and the red head, though he was still confused and a bit shocked, quickly helped his friend to take care of the fake tour guide.

And while the others—besides Ulquiorra, Ichigo, Renji, and Kirisaki—were busy commenting and murmuring at what life-threatening event that just happened to them, Rukia merely sat on the bus' floor and stared wide-eyed at Ulquiorra's back.

Beating two bus hijackers in such a short time? Ulquiorra was definitely not an ordinary student, she found out. Though Rukia wasn't sure whether that was a good or a bad thing… And her petite figure shuddered unpleasantly as she remembered Izuru's words,

"I think he's a bit… suspicious. I mean he looks like… let's say, not a nice guy."

NOT a nice guy.

--###--

Thus, that was why Rukia had been interrogated for almost four hours today by the police officers that arrived immediately after Kirisaki called them; that was why her father was gossiped as a yakuza; and that was why she was gossiped with Ulquiorra. Rukia remembered clearly when her classmates said that she must meant something more than just a mere classmate for Ulquiorra since he had bravely save her from that D-Roy's gun back then.

Rukia' cheeks heated up. Ulquiorra… had feelings for her… No way!! That sounded as strange as 'your father is a girl' in Rukia's ears. That boy was as cold as an iceberg! How come he held feelings for her?! Wait! And what the heck was she blushing for?!

Groaning once more, Rukia buried her face in her palms. Right now, what she wanted the most was sleep. She really wanted to sleep and get up tomorrow morning with full-blown amnesia.

--###--

CRACK.

'Huh?'

CRACK.

ZRRRRT….

'What's that?' Rukia thought. She snapped her still-sleepy eyes open. And the first sight she caught was the glowing numbers of the digital clock on the nightstand next to her bed. It was 1.45 a.m. What could make that noise at this ungodly hour?

Grudgingly, she woke up to a sitting position and shifted her gaze to the door leading to the balcony, which was near her bed and apparently was where the noise came from. And then, as Rukia caught the sight of the said glassy door—wide open now—and felt the cold night wind blowing through her room, her eyes widened. Seemed that the cold wind had awakened her sleepy brain, and she proceeded to realize that a lean figure of a man dressed in white jacket and black trousers was standing beside her bed. Oh, Rukia surely would have been screaming on the top of her lungs when if only a firm palm hadn't clamped her mouth shut.

"Shhhh!" Ulquiorra hissed to her. "Be quiet!" he said with barely audible voice and moved his hand off her mouth.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HE-"

Rukia's words were cut off as Ulquiorra placed his hand over her mouth again, silencing her.

"Didn't I say quiet?" the green-eyed boy whispered to her, narrowing his emerald eyes dangerously. Then, he glanced at the balcony where he had came through and at the door across the bed with cautious look.

Pushing his hand away, Rukia glared at Ulquiorra. "So, what are you doing here?!" she hissed—well, at least this time, she wasn't screaming. "How did you manage to get into my room through that door?! I'm sure I had that one locked! And what do you want?!"

Heh… surely, she was suspicious to Ulquiorra, who was standing in front of her with both hands in his pants' pocket. The green-eyed boy could see the mixture of anger, suspicion, caution and anxiety in her large, purple eyes. Well, then again, who wouldn't be suspicious of someone who had just broke into their room in the middle of the night and intruded your sleep?

Sighing, Ulquiorra stared straight into her purple eyes. "Just be quiet, and listen well," he began, "It doesn't really matter how I could get into your room. What matters now is that I have no bad intentions toward you, Kuchiki Rukia, because I'm here to protect you."

"Say what?" Rukia's eyes widened.

"Should I repeat myself?" Ulquiorra quirked one of his brows. "And in order to save your life, you need to come with me."

Rukia blinked. Did he just say that he was here to protect her life? Did he just ask her to come with him? Was this boy insane or stupid? Did he think that, after some men had tried to kidnap her today, Rukia would stupidly and easily believe him? Did he really think that she would come with him?

So many questions ran through Rukia's mind all at once that Rukia herself wondered how she could think of them in a split second.

As if Ulquiorra could read her mind, he spoke. "I understand that it's hard to believe me and there are so many questions you want to ask, but for the time being, would you just listen to m-"

CRACK.

Ulquiorra abruptly went silent, so did Rukia. They whipped their head in the direction of the noise: the door. What now?

They stayed silent like that for a moment, listening intently to the soft cracking from the door. It sounded like someone was trying to break into Rukia's room. After a moment of deathly silence that made Rukia's heart bump wildly in fear and cold sweat began to run down her temple, it was Ulquiorra who broke the unnerving silence.

"We're running out of time here. They are coming after you, Kuchiki Rukia," Ulquiorra whispered. "Get your things so we can leave. NOW."

"But—I—that…" Rukia stuttered; she was confused as to what she should do now. Should she believe Ulquiorra and come with him? Or should she stay in her room and face whatever that would happen to her next?

As his patience got thinner, Ulquiorra just approached a white bag—Rukia's bag—resting on an armchair near the nightstand. He took it and quickly turned back to Rukia.

"Just come," Ulquiorra said as he grabbed Rukia's left arm, forcing her to get off the bed and stand on her feet, much to Rukia's dismay.

"Hey!!" the petite Kuchiki hissed angrily.

Ignoring her annoyance, Ulquiorra grabbed Rukia's slender waist and lifted her petite figure before swinging her over his shoulder, as if she was a sack of potatoes. And, without wasting any time, Ulquiorra walked out onto the balcony.

"Put. Me. Down. NOW!" Rukia demanded, punching and kicking like a madman in order to make the boy release her.

"Only if you agree to come with me," the green-eyed boy said calmly as he approached the fire escape at the balcony.

But, before Rukia could say anything to Ulquiorra, she heard two whistles of bullets coming from the room's door, and there was smoke rising from the doorknob—or the place where the doorknob used to be, since right now, it was just a hole (the poor knob and the key chain had been shattered into some burning pieces of metal on the floor). Oh dear, someone lacked patience and had taken the quickest way to break into her room by shooting the door.

"I think I'll just come with you, Ulquiorra," said Rukia.

"Good."

--###--

Outside the room, a huge man dressed in all black was holding his revolver with a smug grin on his face. The man, Edrad Liones, turned his head and grinned at his partner.

"See? It's a way quicker than your stupid, troublesome method," Edrad said.

The partner, a man with long, blond hair and rather effeminate looking who also dressed in all black clothes, sighed in slight annoyance and rolled his eyes. "For God's sake, you've just woken up our prey and warned the guards, Brother. We'd better make it quickly before the guards catch us," Ilfort Granz, for that was the blond man's name, said.

"Stop calling me Brother!"

"Whatever," Ilfort said again as he pushed the door open and stepped in.

As soon as Ilfort took a look at the empty room, his eyes widened. Where the hell was the girl they were supposed to take? Then he caught the site of the wide-opened door leading to the balcony and nimbly approached it.

And it hit him: that Kuchiki Rukia had run away through the fire escape. Damn that little brat. Damn stupid Edrad and his stupid method of breaking into someone's room.

Quickly, Ilfort stormed out of the room, taking out his gun. "Come on, Brother!" he yelled to Edrad.

"Shit!" Edrad muttered as he realized what had happened to their prey. And the huge man quickly followed his blonde partner, thinking to punch that Kuchiki girl once he catch her and to kick that damn Ilfort for still calling him 'Brother'—they were not siblings!

--###--

Rukia shivered when the cold night wind touched her petite figure—which was covered only by her chappy-patterned pajamas. Her hands ached, and her legs were tired. She had lost count of how many rungs she had gone through. Really, why didn't they just take the lift? Oh, wait, they couldn't—the kidnaper was in front of her room anyway, that's why. But, then again, why had the school had to chose the tenth floor for the students to stay? Couldn't they choose the first—or the second—floor instead so that it would be much easier for her to get away from whoever was chasing her?

"Stupid school, stupid way of escaping, stupid kidnaper… stupid Ulquiorra," Rukia muttered under her breath between her ragged breaths.

But apparently, besides his sharp skills at martial arts, Ulquiorra also had sharp ears. "What?" he asked the raven-haired girl who was trying to climb down the fire escape as fast as she could to catch up with him.

"Nothing," Rukia said plainly, not in the mood for any argument that might come if she voiced her protest.

"Then you'd better get faster."

'You'd better go to hell,' she thought.

When the two teens finally reached the ground, Ulquiorra quickly led the petite girl across the parking lot in front of the tall building of the hotel. He was leading Rukia towards the hotel's gate, saying that his friend was waiting not so far from the hotel with a motorcycle for them.

And even though Rukia didn't really like the idea of going to only-God-knows-where with a motorcycle in the middle of the night only in her pajamas, she was grateful enough that, at least, she could ran away from her goddamn chaser.

But it seemed that heaven wasn't on her side. Because, when she and Ulquiorra were about to pass the gate, she heard a whistle of a bullet and saw it hit the gate, which was only five centimeters away from her.

Shocked, Rukia's purple eyes widened. "What the-"

The petite Kuchiki couldn't finish her words since Ulquiorra had grabbed her wrist, snapping one simple word yet so hard to do with Rukia's aching legs, "Run as fast as you can."

And just like that, Ulquiorra pushed her to run like there was no tomorrow—well, there wouldn't be any 'tomorrow' for Rukia if she got hit by those bullets hot on their heels, indeed. Ulquiorra had led her out of the hotel area, and now, they were running down an empty, dim alley across the hotel. Exactly where they were heading, Rukia didn't know and didn't really care right then.

As she ran for her dear life with her hand still attached to Ulquiorra's, Rukia managed to glance over her shoulder and saw their pursuers: a huge, scary-looking man and a lanky, blond… erm… man. (Rukia wasn't really sure if the blond one was a man as well, since his hair was long and it was way too difficult to stay focused in her current circumstance)

'Am I really gonna die at fifteen? And not to mention by some random guys who want to kidnap me for God-knows-what with the Ice Cube Dude drags me like a rag doll? Pity…'

--TO BE CONTINUED--

A/N: Hello there! Took me long enough to update. Sorry, exams just got in the way. Anyways, I want to thank all the readers and the reviewers who had gave a read on Hime Monogatari, and special thanks goes to Cat Alex who beta-ed this chap! :D

Oh, in case you wanna know, Hime Monogatari means 'Princess' Tale'.

Review and constructive criticism would make my day! ;)