Chapter 3:
"Hey." I turned around to see Renji running after me.
"What?" I asked.
"So..." He said and then gave me a look that I didn't quite like. "What do you think about Rukia?"
"What?" I asked shocked. Where had he gotten that idea?
"Don't play stupid, you know you have the hots for her." He says teasingly as he elbows me in the chest.
"Where the hell did you get that idea?" I yell at him.
"He's right." I hear a voice behind me and literally freeze.
"Aw, c'mon Rukia. Y'know I was just teasing." Renji says as he walks off.
"I apologize about Renji." Rukia says as she walks up right next to me. "I hope he didn't embarass you."
'Why's she talking so polite like a Mother apologizing for her son's behaivior?' I think to myself as I tell her it's no problem.
She smiles and we walk to school together. Of course I make sure to put space between us so no one else will ask annoying questions. She doesn't seem to mind, or rather she seems to know my motives and doesn't object.
In homeroom, it seems that I'm the only one who's still tense is me. Which kind of makes me angry, although I'm not quite sure why. I'm so fogged up with my own thoughts that I don't hear Urahara-sensei talking to me.
"Huh?" I blink and look up at him; he looks very mad.
"I'm sorry Kuraosaku-kun, but since you weren't paying attention I guess you'll have to stay afterschool." He says. "Now as I was saying..." He continues his speech.
I groan and my classmates snicker at me. Rukia giggles a little too, and this makes me a little ashamed.
After school, I'm sitting at the class room waiting for the teacher to come back when Rukia pokes her head in the room.
"...Rukia?" I asked as I stare at her in disbelief. She should've been long gone by now.
"Shhh." She orders as she comes into the room. "I've talked to Urahara-sensei." She whispers.
"What?" I ask.
"He'll let you get away with it once, so let's get out before you cause any trouble or attract any attention." She smiles mischeviously as she grabs my hand and pulls me out of the classroom.
"Wait! But how did you...?"
"No explanations!" Rukia orders as she pulls me to the stairs and starts skipping down.
"Okay..." I pause and make sure no one's around. "Then how about 'Why?', Rukia." I say as we get down the stairs.
"I can't go home without my escort, can I?"
"Can't Renji do it?"
"He had karate classes or something and Byakuya would flip if he found out I was walking home alone." Rukia says casually.
"Byakuya?"
"My brother." She says as we exit the gates. We stop a couple blocks away.
"...You can let go of my hand now." I finally say after a while.
"Oh! Sorry!" She quickly let go of my hand. "I forgot." She says.
"Forgot what?" I ask.
She laughs. "Well, I guess that conversation that morning is non-existent in your mind."
"...Oh, that. Yeah, that's okay." I say quickly. "A small price to pay for you getting me out of there."
"...Now, " She puts her hand up and I stare at it in confusion. "...will you escort me back home, sir?" She has a coy expression as she waits.
I'm silent and sorta glare at her, but I take her hand anyway and we walk home together.
"You still owe me." She says.
"What!? Isn't this enough?" I ask, having a heart attack thinking what she might do next.
"Your reaction was what they call, 'bona fide'." She says as they reach her house.
'What does that mean...?' I think as I let go of her hand.
"Well, thank you fine sir." She says as she types in the pin to her gate.
"Stop it with the 'sir' thing already." I say as I turn around. She smiles before running off into the mile-long garden to her 3-story mansion.
"I later found out that 'bona fide' meant genuine or authentic." He smiles. "Which might have been true afterall."
Orihime laughs remembering how 'funny' and 'genuine' Ichigo's face was and how that made her fall in love with him.
"Bona fide." She says.
"Bona fide." He repeats.
"Hey Dad, you know who 'Byakuya' is?" I ask as I put my school bag down.
"YOU IDIOT!" He shouts as he round kicks him in the face. "EVERYONE KNOWS KUCHIKI BYAKUYA!"
"TH..." I got up. "THEN TELL ME WHO THE HELL HE IS!" I yelled as I punched him to the ground.
"...Oh yeah, he's the owner of a big company. They sell health insurance for us and other hospitals. I think he has a little sister about your age." He thinks.
"Yeah, I know her." I say.
"Oh, that's nice. Are you getting friendly with her?" He asks raising his eyebrows. I slap him this time.
"She's just in my class, alright?" I say.
"That was too defensive for my liking." He says. "Karin! Yuzu! Our Ichigo's growing up!"
"SHUT IT!" I yell as I throw my Dad across the room. I can hear Yuzu and Karin in the back in their pajamas getting ready for bed. They poke their heads out to look at me.
"What's going on?" Yuzu says and yawns.
"Ichigo's getting it on, I guess." Karin says as she turns to leave.
"What?" Yuzu looks worried.
"JUST GO TO BED!" I yelled embarassed. Eventually I just go home and sleep.
"I kinda hated her that night."
"Kinda?" Orihime asks.
"Well, I couldn't truly hate her. Not then, not now, not ever." He laughed a kinda sad laugh that echoed in Orihime's ear for the longest time.
"But I hated Byakuya for a while."
Too bad this story isn't too popular right now. But I hope it will!
Maybe it's a little cliffie-ish but I dunno.
Please review people!