Author's Note: Hi everyone! I'm really glad to have had the time to write this chapter and be able to update. Sorry, but yeah, the next update would probably take a month and stuff because school is getting worse. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and for reading! Hope you enjoy this chapter. Not so well written, but I hope you guys bear with me! Thanks again!
Chapter 10
Rukia looked around the lobby as she waited for Renji, and spotted someone familiar. A figure with a carrot top head. She had never met anyone else who had such bright hair, so she was sure that he was someone she knew. He was waiting in front of the elevator, and Rukia walked briskly toward him before he went in.
"Ichigo!" Rukia said to the figure, and he turned around.
"Ah! Rukia! What are you doing here?!" Ichigo exclaimed, obviously looking surprised.
"I'm running errands for Byakuya-sama! This is Kuchiki Corp after all. What about you?" Rukia asked, excited to see one of her friends in one of the most unexpected places.
"I'm here for internship." he replied. " But never mind that. How are you?! How's working at the manor? Everyone misses you, you know." he added with concern in his voice.
"I'm fine. You guys don't have to worry about me! And I miss all of you too." Rukia replied, with sadness. Just then, Renji stood in front of her, blocking her from Ichigo.
"This punk bothering you, Rukia?" Renji asked her, while facing Ichigo, giving him a glare.
"No Renji! Move aside, he's my friend! His name is Ichigo." Rukia replied, trying to push Renji aside. "Sorry, Ichigo, this is Renji, he works at the manor too and he's here with me." she added.
"Oh. Is he a hitman?" Ichigo asked, obviously trying to get Renji angry for interrupting his conversation with Rukia.
A vein popped up on Renji's forehead, but before he could do anything, Rukia stepped in between them. "Ah! Anyway, Renji and I have to get some things done. Sorry Ichigo! Maybe I'll be able to see you later? Which floor do you work?" she asked him.
"The 17th." he replied. "Just ask for someone to call me out." he added, and then gave Rukia a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Hope to see you later. I'll go on ahead then." and he entered the elevator as soon as it opened.
"What a jerk." Renji said to himself, but Rukia heard him and she turned around to face him.
"You didn't have to be so overprotective you know." she told him. "Even if he was just a punk, I could have handled it myself." she added, and then smiled. Renji turned his head away, trying to hide his reddening face. 'Why is she so cute?' he asked himself, but then his thoughts got interrupted by her voice.
"Anyway, come one, we have to look for someone named Hisagi Shuuhei and pick up a file." Rukia said, while looking at the paper that Byakuya-sama gave her.
"Wait, I know that guy. Just follow me." Renji said, and they both got on the elevator.
A few minutes later, they ended up on the 22nd floor and got off there. Renji turned to the left with Rukia following him. After turning at corners a couple of times, they ended up outside a door with a label that said 'Hisagi Shuuhei' and at the bottom of that label was another one that said 'Kira Izuru'.
Rukia was about to knock on the door, but before she was able to do so, Renji just opened it. "Hey, I need a file." was what he said right after opening the door.
Two faces looked up, in response to the voice they heard. One of them had dark, spiky hair with a tattoo on his face that read '69'. The other one had blonde hair, and it was styled in a way which one of his eyes were covered.
"Jeez, you scared me, Renji." said the one with blonde hair.
"Did you forget how to knock?" said the one with a '69' on his face.
"Yeah, well, we're in a hurry." Renji replied to them, then turned to Rukia. "Rukia, tell them what you need." he said to her.
Rukia found Renji to be rude towards these people so she decided to be extra polite. She bowed to them to show them respect and then said, "Hello, I'm Rukia Kuchiki. Sorry for intruding, but we're here to ask for a file for Byakuya-sama."
The two men gave each other a look for a second then turned to Rukia. "Kuchiki?" the blonde man asked. "I'm pretty sure that he doesn't have any siblings. So, when did you guys get married?" the guy with the '69' on his face added.
Rukia turned red from this. She decided not to be so polite after all, but Renji replied for her. "They ain't married. It's just a coincidence. Anyway, will you just help us? We need a file." Renji told them.
"Fine. We'll introduce ourselves first though. I'm Hisagi Shuuhei and my co-worker here is Kira Izuru. Nice to meet you Rukia-san." said the man with the tattoo on his face. "What file do you need?" he added.
"Oh! Here, let me show you." Rukia replied, and showed him the piece of paper. He looked at it for a second and then headed over to the file cabinet at the corner of the room. He took out a folder and handed it to her.
"I think that that's all you need." he told her.
"Okay, thanks." Rukia replied, holding onto the folder, and then there was a bit of silence.
"What, you're not going to explain what your relation to Byakuya-sama is? It can't just be coincidence." Kira said, breaking the silence, wanting to find some answers just to feed his curiosity.
"Umm, it's all really just a coincidence." Rukia replied to him. "I'm his personal maid, and that's all my relation to him." she added.
"Wow, personal maid? So you're like Renji." Kira said.
"Who you calling a maid?!" Renji exclaimed, getting angry at the little joke.
"I'm just teasing Renji! Don't kill me." Kira said to him, looking a little bit nervous.
"It was just a joke, Renji. Let it go. Anyway, we're a little busy right now, and I'm pretty sure that you guys are too, so let's all get back to work." Interrupted Hisagi. "Drop by again when you're done running errands Renji. We haven't had much time to talk lately, and I'm starting to miss you." he added, sounding cool.
"Jeez! Don't make it sound like that!" Renji scolded. "Come one Rukia, we gotta finish up the job. See you guys later." he added, and then pulled Rukia by his side and exited the room.
After leaving the room, Rukia and Renji started to walk towards the elevator once again. Rukia was itching to ask Renji some questions, so she did. "So... what's your relationship with Shuuhei-san?" she asked.
"Man, you fell for that? Just ignore what he said. He's messed up. We're just friends." he replied, sounding irritated.
Rukia laughed softly. "I know it's just a joke, Renji. No need to be so angry." she said. "Anyway, now we need to find Matsumoto Rangiku. Do you know which floor she's in?" she added.
"Umm, yeah. She's actually just above this floor." he replied, and they both got on the elevator. They got off on the 23rd floor, and Renji turned right. This floor didn't have separate rooms this time. They were mostly cubicles.
"You seem to know your way around here." Rukia said to Renji as they walked along.
"Yeah, well, I pretty much work in the building too. I know that I've been staying in the manor lately, but that's just cause things around here haven't been busy. Whenever it does get hectic though, I come here with Byakuya-sama and he always gets me to pick up stuff for him whenever he's in his office. I've got the place mostly memorized." he replied to her.
After a number of turns, they ended up in a cubicle. There was a woman in there, and she had her head lying on the desk. It looked like she was asleep.
"Hey! Matsumoto! Wake up!" Renji shouted, and the woman opened her eyes.
"Just a few more minutes..." she replied groggily, and then closed her eyes again. A second later though, she sat up straight, looking surprised. "Oh my God! Was I asleep again? Sorry sorry! Don't report me!!" she exclaimed, and then looked at Renji and Rukia. "Oh, it's just you Renji. I thought it was Nanao-chan, even though you sound nothing like her. But anyway, that means I can sleep again." and she put her head down once again.
"Jeez, we need to pick up something so just stay awake for that." Renji told her, getting a little bit impatient.
"Ah, fine fine. What do you need?" she asked, and then stood up. The woman had long, wavy, strawberry-blonde hair and big uh... assets.
Rukia took out the paper and showed her the file number. "Sorry for bothering, but we need this file for Byakuya-sama. I'm Rukia by the way." Rukia said, purposely leaving out her last name. "It's nice to meet you..."
"Oh, just call me Matsumoto, and I'll call you Rukia-chan!" Matsumoto replied. "Oh, and sorry, but I don't have that file with me anymore. I handed it over to Aizen-sama. You'll find him at the second most top floor." she added, while looking at the piece of paper. "Oh, and look! You'll have to pick up a file from Ichimaru-san too, who is on the same floor, so it should be easy for you!" she said, with too much energy.
"Ah, okay! Thanks for your help." Rukia said with a smile.
"Aww! You're so adorable! How come I've never seen you around here before? Are you new?" Matsumoto asked with excitement.
"Well, I don't really work in the building. I work at the manor. I'm just here to pick up files for Byakuya-sama because he couldn't make it to work today." Rukia replied.
"Ooh! I see, I see. Well then, hope you come by to visit me next time you're in the building Rukia-chan!" Matsumoto told her. "Now it's time to continue my nap. See you later." she added. She yawned and then went to sit back down again. She lay her head down, and after just a few seconds, Rukia and Renji could hear her snore. She was already asleep.
"Jeez, she's so useless. I should report her." Renji said, sounding bitter.
"I thought she was nice." Rukia said as a reply, and they both headed back to the elevator.
After entering the elevator, Renji pressed the button '72' and then the 'Close' button, but as the elevator door was closing, someone shouted at them to hold the doors, so they did. A woman with glasses and a man with dark brown hair tied at the back entered. The man brought in the scent of sake.
"Thank for waiting!" said the woman. "Oh, Renji-san, it's you. Long time no see." she added, as she pressed the button '50'. Then the elevator doors closed and it started moving up.
"Yeah, long time." Renji replied. "What's wrong with Kyouraku-san? Is he drunk?" added Renji, noticing the strong scent of sake and the flushed look on the man's face.
"Yeah, he is. He was hanging around my cubicle again, and he was drinking there. I warned him not to take in so much. Now I have to bring him to his office just so that he doesn't fall over on the way there." she replied. She then looked beside Renji and noticed Rukia. "Is she your girlfriend?" she asked him.
"What?! Where'd you get that idea from?!" he asked in a panic.
"No need to be so loud, Renji, I was just assuming." she replied, and then turned to Rukia. "Anyway, if you're not his girlfriend, are you here to visit someone? Or are you a new employee?" she asked.
"Oh, um, I'm running errands with Renji for Byakuya-sama." Rukia replied. "I don't exactly work here, I work at the manor. I'm Rukia by the way." she added, then bowed. Deep inside, Rukia was getting tired of having to explain to people what her job was, but she couldn't help it because none of them knew her. She was glad though, that the people she'd met so far were nice.
"Nice meeting you Rukia-san. I'm Ise Nanao, and this is Kyouraku Shunsui. I just do data and statistical entry, while he's head of the shipment department." Nanao introduced.
"Nanao-chan! I'm tired! Let's hang out at your cubicle!" Kyouraku said suddenly, making Rukia jump a bit.
"You've been away from your office for a couple of hours now Kyouraku-san. People will start wondering where you've gone." Nanao replied to him, and he started to whine a bit.
"But I just want to be close to you..." he said, and then Rukia noticed Nanao blush a bit.
The elevator finally reached the 50th floor and Nanao said goodbye to Rukia and Renji before exiting with Kyouraku. She was supporting him this time, with his arm around her shoulder as they walked along.
After the elevator doors closed, Renji asked Rukia, "So, what made you want to work at the manor?"
Rukia looked at Renji after he asked his question then replied. "I want to earn money for school."
"Ooh, that's nice. Because you know, back then, we used to hire young servants but all they did was try to sneak into Byakuya-sama's room to take pictures of him. Even the guys did that. They were pretty annoying." Renji said.
"What, you think I'm like one of those girls... or guys?" Rukia asked, sounding as if she was accusing Renji for a heavy crime.
"Oh! No! No! Not at all. I was just saying... that... it's a good thing you have good intentions." he replied, then gave a nervous laugh.
"Okay..." Rukia said. "To make it even, I'll ask you the same question. What made you want to work at the manor?" she added.
"Well, uh... it's kinda hard to explain." Renji started. He looked unsure for a second, but started his story anyway. "I used to be homeless you know, and uh, one night some years ago, when Byakuya-sama was still going to school, I saw him walk down the street. Everyone knew who he was. He was some rich guy. So what I did was that I pulled him to an alley and I threatened him with a knife to give me some money. You wouldn't believe what happened after... About a few seconds later, he had me beaten up to a pulp and I was on the ground, and he was holding onto my knife. It was the only thing I owned and I told him to give it back. He knew that I was homeless, and the next words he said to me were the best words I've heard all my life. He said... 'You can make yourself a better person. Come live at the manor and work for me.' I remember crying right there and then. He trusted me whole-heartedly, he didn't even think that I could steal from his house. Since then, I've devoted my life to serving him and his family."
Rukia was shocked with the story and she looked at Renji with kind and understanding eyes. 'I never knew that Renji lived such a harsh life. And I never knew that Byakuya-sama could be so compassionate...' she said to herself. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. You must have been uncomfortable explaining what happened." she said.
"Nah, don't be sorry. I'm kinda glad to tell the story. It shows how good a person Byakuya-sama is. Most people here think he's ruthless and that gets me ticked." Renji replied. He looked up at the floor numbers. "Anyway, we're only one floor away until we get there." he added.
The elevator finally stopped and opened at the 72nd floor, and Renji and Rukia got off there...