Miracles – IV
The next week proved to be one of the strangest in Ichigo's life. Now, being eighteen, Ichigo had experienced all kinds of different weeks. The worst probably being right after his mother died. The best being the week his little sisters were born; he'd been thrilled to be a big brother. But the category of strangest was still open. Until Kuchiki Rukia came into his life, anyway.
On the outside, the strange girl appeared to be, well...strange. But she was quiet, polite, kept her head down in class...that was what the teachers said anyway.
If only the teachers knew how freaking wrong they were. Once one dug into the deeper layers of Kuchiki Rukia, there was no going back. In the last week, Ichigo learned that Rukia was loud and proud about everything. She had a strong – extremely strong – passion for rabbits, zero patience for anything that annoyed her (which could be everything, depending on her mood), and – despite the fact that she was incredibly short – she was strong. Ichigo learned that when he started in on her height – she had slapped him. Hard.
But once one dug deeper, past the layer of Kuchiki Rukia that was almost intimidating, there was more still. Ichigo also discovered – not that Rukia willingly allowed it – that she was really a sensitive, caring, maybe even shy girl. But it wasn't a side that was easily found.
"Ow! Jeez, what was that for?" Ichigo grumbled angrily as he rubbed his head, "All I said was that you're short, it's no big – ow, quit it!"
But Rukia continued hitting him with her bag. "I am not short!" she said angrily, "I'm...I'm..."
"Vertically challenged?" Ichigo supplied the words, and took another hit to the shoulder, "Ow! You crazy bitch, quit hitting me!"
Rukia laughed cruelly as she rushed forward. Ichigo scrambled after her, school bag swinging wildly. "Get back here!" he shouted, hoping he sounded threatening; on the inside though, he really just wanted to laugh.
"Make me!" she called over her shoulder. Ichigo barreled forward, not really paying attention to where he was going. It was because of this that he didn't notice Rukia suddenly skid to a halt, and he ran into her. Both of them were sent crashing to the ground.
"Sorry," Ichigo said, straightening up, "I didn't mean to do that, I didn't notice you stopped," he braced himself for another hit, but nothing. Confused, he looked up at Rukia, and was surprised to see that she was on all fours, breathing hard. "H-Hey," Ichigo said hesitantly, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she pushed herself shakily into a standing position, stooping down to grab her bag at the same time, "Yeah, no problem, just fine"
"You sure?" he rested a hand on her shoulder, unnerved by how pale and vulnerable she suddenly looked. That all stopped a second later though, when she slapped his hand away.
"I wish people would just stop worrying about me all the time," Rukia broke in, "It's so annoying, I can take care of myself-"
"All right, all right, sorry," Ichigo cut in, "I wasn't trying to say you're weak, not at all, just wanted to make sure you're okay"
"I don't need you to worry about me," she sounded icy now, "Talk to you later Ichigo"
She stormed away without another word. Ichigo looked after her, confused. "Jeez...mood-swings much?"
Rukia wasn't even a street away when her anger towards Ichigo evaporated. He didn't know, of course. He didn't know about...her problem. He was just naturally worried, it didn't have anything to do with her leukemia. He worried for her...not for what was wrong with her. She should have appreciated the worry. But it annoyed her. People worried for her twenty-four/seven, she wanted a day where no one worried.
"I'm home," Rukia called listlessly as she walked through the door.
"Hi Rukia," Hisana called back, "How was school?"
"You know, big building, classrooms, desks, the usual," Rukia walked into the kitchen and grabbed a soda from the fridge, "It's one of those cycles. I think"
"Right," Hisana, who had been standing in the sink, set a glass of water down on the counter, "Pills, Rukia"
"Yeah, it's a cycle all right," Rukia dropped her soda onto the counter next to the glass, then grabbed the glass and her pills.
"Very funny," Hisana said with a smile. She was used to her daughter's sarcasm, "Just take your pills for my peace of my mind, all right?"
Rukia complied, though she felt a little annoyed. "I never asked for this, you know," the words came out of nowhere.
"Asked for what?" Hisana looked truly confused now.
"For...for any of this," Rukia struggled with the words, "I didn't ask to be sick, I don't want it-"
"Of course you don't Rukia"
"Then why does everyone treat me like this?"
"Like what?"
"Like...I dunno. You, Dad, you worry too much, and at school, all the kids treat me weird-"
Rukia probably could have gone on four hours. She had a lot of anger in her, after all. But Hisana stopped the younger girl, simply by laying a hand on her shoulder. It was a similar action to what Ichigo had done earlier. But unlike with Ichigo, Rukia didn't slap the hand away. "Mom-"
"Rukia," Hisana's voice was firm yet soft, "Your father and I both know perfectly well you don't want to be treated differently. But it's hard for us, you have to understand that. We try so hard to treat like a normal teenage girl...but we're always worried. Sometimes it just shows"
"Sometimes?" Rukia muttered, "More like all the time"
Hisana laughed at that. "Sorry. We'll try harder, all right? But Rukia, you have to try as well. Try and understand that we just want what's best with you. Okay?"
Rukia nodded and Hisana drew the girl into a hug. "Thanks Mom," she wasn't really sure why she was saying that, it just sounded right. Hisana understood though. "I'm going up to my room, okay? I don't feel very good"
"What's wrong?" Hisana's worried voice came back into play.
"Just a little wiped out," Rukia said with a smile, "I got into a race on the way home – don't ask, long story – I'm just tired. I just wanna sleep a little before supper"
"Well...all right," Hisana was obviously struggling not to sound too concerned. She was half-way succeeding too. "If you're still asleep for supper, I'll wake you up, all right?"
"Sounds good," and with that, Rukia walked up to her room. She was hadn't been exactly lying. She was tired, but not because she had run half-way home. She'd felt sick for awhile now. It was just a cold, she was sure, but she wasn't giving her mother something else to worry about. As soon as she got upstairs she dropped onto her bed, then rolled over onto her back, staring blankly at the ceiling. She had a feeling she'd just had one of those "mother-daughter" moments people were always talking about. Not that she wasn't normally close to her mother, of course; they were usually just on different pages. It felt nice that they were agreeing about something. For once
Ichigo was relishing in the silence. Keigo wasn't in school. It was the absolute best thing in the world. Class-time was quiet without Asano constantly poking Ichigo in the back of the head, whispering, "Psst, Ichigo!"
Lunchtime started out more or less quietly as well. Ichigo took up his regular spot on the roof, munching boredly on his sandwich, watching everyone on the ground below. They looked like little ants.
It didn't take Ichigo long to pick out the shortest ant of all, with raven hair and violet eyes. She was leaning against a tree. Unlike everyone else, she wasn't eating anything. She was engrossed in a book. Apparently she wasn't hungry. But she did look kind of lonely, just sitting against that tree...
Ichigo wasn't sure how or when it happened, but before long he was standing next to Rukia, looking down at her. "Hey. You wanna come up and eat with me?"
Where the hell did that come from? Apparently Rukia was surprised as well. She looked up, violet eyes wide. "What?"
"You. Eat lunch. With me"
"I heard you the first time," she scowled, "You don't need to treat me like a Neanderthal"
"Then don't act like one," he shot back. She scowled, but surprisingly didn't make to hit him, "Look, do you want to come up with me or not?"
After a minute of contemplating, she stood up, grabbing her bag, and followed him up to the roof. They got a few knowing looks from the kids around them, but they ignored them.
They had a good – well, an okay lunch. Everything was good, except for the fact that Rukia did, on occasion, slap Ichigo over the head. Though he probably deserved it, he would never admit it. All and all, it was good. Except for the fact that he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with the short girl, he couldn't prove it. Well...he couldn't prove it yet anyway.
"Dad," Kurosaki Isshin looked up. He was sitting at his desk in the clinic, doing some paperwork.
"What's up, Ichigo?" Isshin's face split into a goofy grin, "Need advice about girls?"
"I'll take advice from you when hell freezes over," Ichigo grumbled, "Look, Dad...you're pretty friendly with the local hospitals, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Do you think you could get information a patient that's been there recently?" Now Isshin looked confused.
"I suppose...I mean, patient records are usually kept confidential...but I can probably persuade someone...why?"
"I need information," Ichigo said firmly, "There's a girl-"
"A girl?!"
"Shut up!" Ichigo kicked Isshin in the face, "Look, it's a girl from school, there's a lot of rumors going around about her-"
"I'll see what I can do," Isshin cut his son off, "Who am I looking for?"
"Kuchiki Rukia," Isshin nodded and scribbled down the name on a notepad.
"It might take awhile, there are a lot of hospitals in the area"
"I've got time"
"Rukia, get up," Rukia groaned as she rolled over
"I'm going, I'm going," she really wasn't. Her entire body felt stiff, as if someone had replaced her bones with metal rods. And her head? Forget that. It was pounding. Hisana's voice rang through Rukia's head. "I'm going..."
"Come on Rukia, you're going to be late," Hisana prodded Rukia gently, "Up"
"I'm going"
"You've been saying that for five minutes," Hisana rested a hand on Rukia's forehead, "Rukia, do you feel okay?"
"Never better," Rukia had never said a worse lie in her life. Hisana certainly didn't buy it.
"How long have you felt like this for?"
"I dunno..." it had been a steady progress over the last two weeks. But Rukia would never say that.
"Well you're staying home for the day," Hisana said firmly, "I'll call the school..."
Rukia wouldn't admit it, but it was a really a relief.
Ichigo looked around as he entered class. No Rukia. Weird. "All right, everyone take their seats," the teacher walked in. Everyone but a few kids scrambled for their seats. The ones who didn't got chalk thrown at their heads. They went to their seats scowling. "Has anyone seen Kuchiki-san?" the teacher asked as she looked around. Everyone exchanged looks. No one seemed to know though. "Well is anyone going to see her today?"
Ichigo contemplated for a second, then raised his hand. "Good, Kurosaki-kun, you can give her the work she misses"
The day passed uneventfully. Ichigo barely noticed though. He was too busy wondering what had happened to Rukia. At the end of the day, he received a folder with work from the teacher, and headed home. The house was empty. Ichigo dug out the phone book, trying to remember Rukia's parents' names. Keigo had said them once...
"Aha!" he smirked triumphantly has his finger, which had been running down the list of K's, came to a halt on "Kuchiki Byakuya, Hisana". He copied the address down and quickly rushed out of the house.
Ding-Dong
Ichigo shuffled from foot to foot, nervous, as he waited for the door to open, the folder from the teacher clutched tightly in his hands. Why the hell was he so nervous?
The door opened, and Ichigo straightened up quickly. "Hello," a woman that looked remarkably like an older version of Rukia had answered the door, "Can I help you?"
"Uh...is Rukia around?" Ichigo held up the folder, "I uh...got her work from school"
"Oh!" the woman looked pleasantly surprised, "Yes, she's upstairs, she felt a little under the weather today. Come in, come in..."
And he was ushered inside. The living room had a very white theme going for it. The walls, the carpet, the couch, everything was white. But at the same time...it felt almost cozy, welcoming, loving even. This was obviously a family of caring people. "So what's your name?" Rukia's mother asked as they started upstairs.
"Oh...Kurosaki Ichigo"
"Kurosaki? You aren't related to Kurosaki Isshin, are you?"
Ichigo blinked, surprised, "How'd you know?"
The older lady smiled, "My husband and I went to school with your father. He was really a pleasant person, we haven't been in touch in years though, I knew he had a son about Rukia's age..."
They stopped right at the beginning of the landing. Rukia's mother tapped lightly on the first door on the left. "Rukia? Are you awake?" no response. Slowly she opened the door. Ichigo was surprised by what he saw; Rukia was laying in bed, fast asleep, her face paler then ever. It was startling sight. "Oh, I think she's sleeping-"
But at that moment the girl stirred, and her violet eyes opened slowly. "Mmm...Mom?" she blinked and looked around her mother. "Ichigo!" she was awake now, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh," he held up the folder, "Work"
Smiling, Rukia's mother left them alone. Ichigo didn't stay for long though, Rukia still looked tired. Before he left though, she assured him she'd be back in school tomorrow. Ichigo was actually smiling when he left the Kuchiki house. His good mood didn't last long though.
"Ichigo," the orange-haired teen looked up as he walked into his house. His dad was standing just inside the door, a deadly serious look on his face.
"What's up?"
"I found out some stuff about your friend," Ichigo blinked. Oh. Right. Rukia.
"All right. What've you got?"
The look on Isshin's face was grim. "Dad, what is it?" now Ichigo was concerned. Isshin hardly ever looked this serious about something.
A handful of moments passed in silence, then Isshin said, "Ichigo, this girl, Rukia-chan. She's really your friend right? And nothing will change that?"
"Of course it won't"
There was another pause. Ichigo waited without even realizing he was holding his breath. Finally...
"Ichigo...Rukia-chan has leukemia"
Author's Note: Ah...well, seemed like the best way to end it at the time /looks around worriedly for flying objects/ anyways, hoping this chapter can bring my review count up to a hundred. Can it? You guys decide/pokes reader/ oh, and if anyone has any advice at all about how to improve my writing, I'm all ears. So if you have a suggestion...yeah. Review! - Sam