EDIT: 28-May-2011 and 30-August-2011. Removed author's notes. Fixed grammar and spelling errors.
This, I believe, is the longest ATRM chapter (so please forgive me for any errors I overlooked). It's my favorite because it's the only chapter that's not actually a part of the book from where the whole story came from, and because I'm a sucker for such stories (you guys should see that Thai film, A Crazy Little Thing Called Love!).
Anyhoo, I told some of you guys I'll see you in August, and voila! Here I am (it still is August, you know ^^)! Although I fear the next update will come in September, because I have a reaaaaallly important paper due in two weeks. Next chap will probably be on Sept 10. Next one is on the 11th, and so on. :) If I don't get it up by then, can someone please send me a message to remind me? I tend to forget lots of stuff.
Anyhoo, let's move on to more important things!
Warning: Extreme OOC-ness, although since you've been reading til this point, you probably are already expecting that.
All The Right Moves
Chapter 7
All His Right Moves
IT was Hitsugaya Tōshirō's first day in Karakura High. Today, he was starting his freshman year in high school, the year where he was almost-but-not-quite free from his childhood years. He slowly walked towards the high school building of the large campus, but in order to get there, he needed to pass through the middle school department since it was on the way. And as he was walking by the said department, middle school girls flocked on the sidelines just to have a glimpse of the rumored transferee—the soccer prodigy who earned his fame at a really young age.
Tōshirō should have been used to all the attention he was getting, because to be honest, he had been swooned over since he was a little kid. But he wasn't. And don't get him wrong, he was thankful for the appreciation, but sometimes, it was disturbing when grown women would ogle him when he was merely a child. The attention never failed to overwhelm him, giving him random urges to go bury himself six feet below the ground just to escape the people's scrutinizing gazes.
It was in the middle of this train of thought that he saw her.
In the middle of the noisy, giggling crowd, a pair of stunning amethyst orbs caught Tōshirō's attention. A petite girl with silky raven hair was looking at him shyly with her big, curious amethyst pools, and Tōshirō couldn't help but stop dead in his tracks and let himself get captivated by those beautiful eyes. A few seconds and more giggling later, he realized he had been staring a tiny bit too much, so he tore his gaze away and proceeded towards the high school building.
Since then, Tōshirō would always see the petite girl with her two friends in the field watching the soccer team practice. He had developed this weird type of comfort in the girl's gaze, so it didn't really bother him that she was staring at him.
In fact, he was…flattered.
And through the years, Hitsugaya Tōshirō had seen this shy, petite girl evolve into the radiant woman she was today.
What started out as a weird fondness for the girl with the beautiful amethyst orbs started to develop into something deeper. Tōshirō often found himself slightly worrying where the petite girl was when he failed to spot her during the soccer team's practice games. His increasing worry even came to a point when he started wondering if she had lost all interest in soccer (he wasn't so full of himself—of course he assumed that the girl watched them because she liked soccer!), only to sigh in relief when she showed up in the next practice session. Throughout these two years of silent observation, Tōshirō never made a move to try to know her. She had always been the shy girl with the beautiful eyes. The shy girl with the beautiful eyes who liked soccer. And staring at him. And so he finally decided, in his junior year, that it was time he did something to get to know the woman who had been haunting his thoughts for the past two years.
It was on the first day of his junior year when Tōshirō anxiously awaited for any sign of the petite girl. He wanted—no, needed—to know if she was still in their school. What made him think otherwise, Tōshirō didn't know, but he just felt like he needed some form of assurance. Although if he was honest to himself, Tōshirō really just wanted a glimpse of her after the long school break with no sign of her. There was only 15 minutes left before classes officially started, yet there was no sign of the girl with the beautiful eyes yet. Tōshirō sighed to himself. It may sound a little desperate for his taste, but he needed to do it for the sake of his own peace of mind.
And so, he ventured into the sophomore corridor, pretending to be lost while looking at the room numbers and discreetly throwing glances at the occupants of the classrooms in hope of finding a certain raven-haired girl. After about 5 minutes or so, he finally spotted her—walking with her strawberry blonde friend.
What she and her friend—Matsumoto, if he remembered correctly—thought was the realization of being lost dawning on him was actually an expression of relief after finding out that she was still in the same school. He was able to breathe a huge sigh of relief after that, and so school went on without a hitch for him.
Contrary to what other people think, Hitsugaya Tōshirō was not only interested in sports and academics, but in literature and in civic service as well. Upon hearing the school's announcement of its first activities, he was torn apart in either joining the outreach program or getting into the Drama Club.
a. Should I do something noble—something I have always wanted to do—and join the outreach?
or
b. Should I do something fun—something I have always wanted to do—and join the Drama Club?
The latter would definitely ruin his schedule, because practice sessions with the soccer team had been hogging up all his free time. He could barely imagine himself being able to fulfill his responsibilities with the Drama club, so he chose to join the outreach instead.
..
..
..
..
It was the first general assembly for the outreach program volunteers, and Tōshirō just came off practice. He tried pleading with Coach Ukitake to release him early, but the kind coach sadly said that he couldn't, since Tōshirō was so adamant in joining the outreach that the soccer prodigy couldn't afford to miss any more practice sessions before his two-week absence. So there he was, running through the hallways towards the auditorium, his large soccer bag in tow. He entered through the side door, and found the auditorium empty. Well, almost. In the middle of the empty audi, a certain raven-haired woman was standing, well, leaning forward to be more exact. Tōshirō hesitated a bit, but finally walked towards her and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, uhm, what did I miss? I had practice, sorry..." What made him automatically assume that she was also joining the outreach was beyond him. But whether or not she was, he just wanted to grab the golden opportunity to talk to her. Without prying eyes and gossiping lips. He closely watched as the woman fumbled for a moment and stared at him with those bright amethyst eyes. Upon realizing that she was trying to reach something before he came in, Tōshirō leaned forward slightly and caught sight of a pen on the floor. Bingo.
"Oh, let me help you," he offered, and then reached over to pick the pen up. He handed it to her, and the momentary touching of their skins gave Tōshirō a weird, fluttering warmth in his chest. He continued to watch as she said nothing, fearing for a moment that his earlier assumption—that she was going to join the outreach as well—had been wrong. He decided to ask again, just to be sure. He hold on to his hopes tightly.
"So...uhm, what was discussed during the assembly? I couldn't get out of practice. I'm sorry." This time, the raven-haired girl answered his query, and yes! She indeed was going to the outreach as well.
They talked for a good two minutes before a booming, irritated voice interrupted them.
"Oi, Rukia!"
He glanced at the direction of the audi door and found the popular senior, Shiba Kaien, standing there, looking very much pissed off. Tōshirō wondered if the famous womanizer was her boyfriend... No, probably not. He hoped not. He was shaken out of his deep thought when the petite girl hastily handed him some papers that looked like the outreach kit, wrote something on it—her number, he noted happily in his mind—and asked him to call her. And for the first time in two years, her name confidently rolled off his tongue.
Tōshirō was pacing inside his room—back and forth, forth and back... He had been walking aimlessly around the four walls of his bedroom for quite some time already, and during that period, he had been contemplating about one thing. In fact, he had been contemplating on this particular thing for the past three days...
a. Should I call her?
or
b. Should I not call her?
At 10:30 pm on the third night, he finally gathered his nerves and just decided to go for it. He was quite anxious, and he silently prayed that either she picks up or no one picks up at all. It wasn't his lucky night, though, as a stern male voice spoke on the other end of the line.
"Kuchiki residence."
With all the confidence he could muster, the soccer player calmly and politely answered, "Good evening, sir. May I please speak with Rukia?"
There was a stretch of silence that made Tōshirō more than a bit uncomfortable, and more than once did he think that the line might have been disconnected.
"She's already asleep. Call tomorrow before 9 pm if you want to talk to her."
That did it for his confidence. "Th-thank you, sir."
And Tōshirō heard him hang up.
Was that her dad? He sure sounded strict and…intimidating. Tōshirō sighed heavily and shrugged the thoughts away as he went to sleep. He would just talk to her tomorrow.
..
..
..
..
He checked the field. He already looked at the stairways, the library, the several classrooms lining up the sophomore corridor...but she was nowhere in sight. The final building filled him with doubt—could she be in there? In the Home Economics building? At this point, he really didn't have a choice. So he searched through the HE building, glancing at the labs and the lecture rooms; still, there was no raven-haired woman. Sighing, he made his way out when bingo! There she was, walking in deep thought that she didn't even notice passing by him. He shrugged and called out to her.
"Hey, I tried calling you." The raven-haired woman turned around and looked at him in surprise.
"Your dad sounds really strict. Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you."
Okaaaay... He didn't really mean for that to come out of his treacherous mouth. Seeing that she seemed to be pondering on what he said, he inwardly panicked. "Are you still going to the outreach, Rukia?" He asked, trying to divert her attention away from what he said. He smiled at her shyly, ashamed of almost being caught. She didn't say anything for a while, and Tōshirō began to worry.
"Hey, are you feeling okay?"
The woman in question blinked and replied, "Y-Yes, why?"
"You seem a little pale..." She's sick, maybe that's why she seems a little out of it... He watched the petite woman take a deep breath and compose herself.
"I-I'm actually not yet sure if I would go…" She sighed. "I-It's just that…I might be busy with school by then."
Tōshirō was surprised for a moment, before his face fell in clear disappointment he didn't even bother hiding. "Oh, that's too bad. The outreach sounds like it's going to be really worthwhile, you know?" He tried to persuade her, crossing his fingers inside his pants' pockets.
They stood in silence for a moment as the petite girl seemed to contemplate on what he said. Then she finally replied, "Y-You know what, I…I'm going for sure."
Tōshirō's heart leaped. He smiled happily. "Wow, that's great! I'm really excited!"
"Are your friends going?"
"Nah. They're all on the soccer team and practice will be heavy around that time." He couldn't wipe the smile off his face. He was overjoyed.
"And what about you, won't you be practicing?"
That dampened his spirit a little, thinking of the conversation .he had with his coach about this subject. "Coach allowed me to take two weeks off because I really insisted." He sighed, already imagining the hectic schedule he'd be facing for the next couple of weeks. "But that means I can't miss practice before then. Plus, the championship is almost right after the outreach, so I guess I'll hardly be seeing anyone before the outreach."
For the second time that day, his face fell. But the raven-haired girl seemed to be too preoccupied with her own thoughts to notice.
"What does that mean?"
"I'll be studying, practicing." He sighed tiredly. "But I'm sure this outreach is gonna be worth it." As he thought of the promising two-week outreach program after his hectic ones, his face brightened with a smile again. "It's good to know you're going, too. I hardly know anyone there."
The raven-haired girl started huffing air, and Tōshirō was deeply worried.
"You really okay? You know, I can walk you to the clinic if—"
And the bell rang. The petite girl rushed off with a "Sorry, I have to go!"
He called out to her a final time. "See you at the outreach!"
As soon as the girl was out of sight, Tōshirō resumed walking, now with a bounce in his steps, grinning excitedly at the prospect of the two of them at the outreach together.
He had been busy in the past weeks, and he was so thankful when the day of the outreach finally came. He arrived early, eagerly scanning the crowd for a familiar face. Nope, not there yet. He was silently hoping to board the same bus as her. He was passing his waiver form to Shihōin-sensei when the raven-haired girl finally arrived. Tōshirō searched for her when the early-birds were asked to board the first bus, but she was still talking to someone on the phone. He tried to wait for her, but Shihōin-sensei had stared at him in the eye, silently telling him to board the bus, "no" clearly not being an option. So Tōshirō reluctantly followed the silent order, praying that the petite girl would finish her call soon so she could be in Bus A as well. He sat beside the window and told everyone who asked to sit beside him that the seat was reserved for someone. He frowned lightly when the door of the bus closed, signalling their departure. She didn't make it to Bus A.
Tōshirō slept throughout the trip.
After Shihōin-sensei announced that they would be paired up for the duration of the outreach, Tōshirō immediately thought of being with the petite woman. He planned on asking her after he finished setting up his tent, when this junior girl he didn't even know the name of approached him and bluntly asked him to be her partner. He politely apologized to her and told her he already had a partner. When the junior girl left with a huff, Tōshirō went over to where the raven-haired girl was standing and tapped her on the shoulder. He only then realized that during the time he was setting up his tent, she could have been asked by someone else. Losing some of the nerve he gathered, he asked if she could be his partner. He even unwittingly blurted out "Could you be mine?" at the end of his statement. Oh, if only he could say that and mean it in a different, more romantic way!
Good thing she didn't make a fuss out of it. Damn you treacherous mouth!
They went to Shihōin-sensei and asked her the name of the family they were assigned to help. Upon seeing the two of them,Shihōin-sensei grinned mischievously, a grin that Tōshirō didn't quite get, then replied, "Zaraki family." They soon met the said family and immediately knew why the teacher grinned at them. This had to be the weirdest family ever—an eerily calm and kind woman for a mother, a fight-thirsty large man for a father, and a bouncing bubbly girl as a daughter. When the parents left, the couple was entrusted with the walking pink package of energy and enthusiasm they affectionately called Pinky-chan.
After a hard half-day's work, they found themselves worn out. Somehow, Tōshirō was able to lead the amethyst-eyed woman to the nearby creek without the said woman noticing it. The heavens were sooo on his side that day. They were alone. He discreetly scanned the area from side to side, just to make sure. Yep, ALONE. He quietly searched his head for the right things to say.
"That was tiresome...but it was fun." He smiled shyly at her. Somehow, whenever she was around, he just couldn't help but smile more often even when there was no reason.
"Yeah, Yachiru is one restless kid." And she smiled back. He was entranced by her smile that he wasn't paying too much attention to what he said next. "Right...But the whole experience was fun. I don't think it would have been the same if I were with a stranger."
"Yeah, me-" Their conversation was cut short when her cell phone went off. Tōshirō sighed inwardly, disappointed. Why now? Why not earlier? Or later? He watched her excuse herself and walk away before answering her call. One of their co-volunteers approached him and told Tōshirō that the guys were called by Yoruichi-sensei for an assembly. He nodded as the other volunteer left. He contemplated on whether or not to tell the petite woman that he needed to leave.
a. Should I be rude and interrupt her call?
or
b. Should I be rude and just leave?
Tōshirō frowned slightly at his two options. Either way, he would appear rude to her, so he might as well just explain afterwards. He was about to call her attention when he heard her ask the caller, "You with Rangiku and Momo?" Ah, if it isn't one of those girls, only one other person was associated with her that was also associated with those two. There would be no doubt that the person on the other end of the line was the senior, Shiba Kaien.
Note to self: Know if anything is really going on between them...
Tōshirō wanted so badly to cut in, but he himself didn't trust his mouth at the moment and feared that he might say something stupid like bluntly ask if they were going out or something. He would definitely sound jealous, or possessive, depending on how he would word his thoughts. He couldn't risk scaring the petite woman off that early (early refers to the first few stages of their…uhmmm relationship of some sort). So he chose to just leave and tell her later why.
He arrived at the assembly area where an irate Yoruichi-sensei was standing in the middle, waiting for the others, namely him, so she could start the meeting. She discussed the work they will be doing for the next few days which included carpentry and working their asses off. From the corner of his eye, Tōshirō saw the petite woman walk towards the assembly area, looking for something, or rather someone. And he knew it was him she was looking for. When emerald met amethyst, he slightly raised his hand and waved at her, which was rewarded with a smile. Ah, they were truly getting closer...
Tōshirō woke up early the next day, and found almost everyone else awake except a certain raven-haired woman. The first thing that came to his mind was that she was probably with the Zaraki's, so he rushed to the place where the said family were temporarily taking shelter in. To his disappointment, no amethyst-eyed woman was there. What's worse, the head of the family, Kenpachi, was grinning rather evilly at him, muttering something like "So, you're excited to start, huh?", grabbed him and dragged him towards the construction site with Retsu, before telling his daughter, "Go find his-" he jerked a thumb at Tōshirō, "-wife, and don't leave her side until we come back." Tōshirō watched as Yachiru bounced off quite literally to go find his wife.
Upon arrival at the construction site, Tōshirō knew he would be spending the whole day there, and though it felt good to know that he would be of help to them, he couldn't stop himself from being a little disappointed at the thought of not seeing the petite woman until much, much later...
Finally, it was his most awaited time of the day. Here he was, tired—exhausted—but couldn't stop himself from smiling as he thought of his wife and their child waiting for his return. He chuckled inwardly as he thought of their current situation—how they could actually be compared to a real family. He made his way to where the raven-haired woman and Yachiru were sitting down. They soon started eating, and he was really happy to find out she prepared a really delicious dinner for them. He was mulling over these thoughts when he felt a soft piece of fabric touch his brows, then his cheeks, then the corner of his lips... He looked up and smiled shyly at his wife. Oh, how caring she was...just like a real wife...and mother. Upon remembering their set-up, he quickly turned to their child and asked he how her day went. It was going to be a really interesting two-week stay at the volunteer camp.
The couple followed this routine for the next few days. It became Tōshirō's favorite part of the day—the time he was always looking forward to even as he woke up. On the night of the 4th day, however, he felt a little...out of it. He had been working his ass off for the past three days, and truth be told, Kenpachi wasn't going easy on him. He felt a fever coming, but he successfully masked it with a smile as he made his way to the raven-haired woman and Yachiru, waiting for him as usual in their picnic setting. She didn't seem to notice anything, and he really wasn't planning on telling her either. Tōshirō was hoping that a good night's rest was all he needed.
Late that night, when the others were already sound asleep, Tōshirō was awakened with a violent shake. He opened his emerald orbs and found himself staring at yellow cat-like eyes. Yoruichi-sensei felt his forehead, then shook her head.
"Your tentmates called me. They said you were shivering real badly. How are you feeling?"
Tōshirō couldn't form coherent words, and Yoruichi-sensei saw this. "You have a high fever. You should have told me you weren't feeling well." She sighed heavily. "Well, that makes 6 of you. You'll be sent home tomorrow morning. Could you pack your things?" Tōshirō wanted to say no...he wanted to stay. He couldn't afford leaving the people...the Zaraki's...the raven-haired woman...but seeing that he couldn't even voice out his protest, he knew he had no choice.
They were guided to the van very early the next morning. He heard Yoruichi-sensei announcing the names of those who have gotten sick and needed to be sent home, and then asked for volunteer nurses. Half of his mind pleaded that the raven-haired woman would go with them and be his nurse, but the other half of him 'entrusted' the Zaraki's to her. Either way, he would feel happy about her decision.
The van left, and he gazed, through the tinted window, at the raven-haired woman he was leaving alone at the volunteer camp...
Tōshirō's fever subsided about 3 days after he arrived home. He started attending classes, but was forbidden to do anything strenuous until he fully recovered. It was on the Wednesday of the 2nd week of the outreach when he could no longer stop himself from checking the volunteer camp, or rather, the raven-haired woman.
He arrived there early morning, and was surprised to see everyone but the raven-haired woman huddled in the assembly area. Yoruichi-sensei soon dismissed the volunteers, telling them to go do their assigned tasks. Yoruichi-sensei grinned mischievously at him—the same grin she gave him and the raven-haired woman when they were asking for their assigned family. Before Tōshirō could utter a word, she said, "She's at the large tent, resting. Tried to play superhero, rescued a little boy by crossing the creek. Go check on her." Was he that obvious? Or was this woman just perceptive? Maybe the latter. After all, she was known to have cat-like senses... His train of thoughts was cut short as Yoruichi-sensei's words sank in.
She's sick.
He walked away without a word, and as he approached the large tent, he called out her name, checking if she was awake. The last thing he wanted to do was disturb her. He saw a few kids with Yachiru giggling outside the tent. At that moment, he knew she was awake. He smiled as he poked his head in.
"Hi, heard you were sick, supergirl."
As soon as the question, "What are you doing here?" left her mouth, Tōshirō frantically searched his head for a reason—any reason. Though he was acting cool on the outside, his mind was in panic. What could he say? It was only because he couldn't help it anymore that he went to check on her. But of course, he couldn't say that! He tried to delay having to give an answer by saying other things until bingo!
"I wanted to ask you to watch the soccer championships." Nice, Tōshirō! He gave himself a mental pat on the back.
After she said, "Yeah, sure", Tōshirō saw how she visibly reddened. He touched her forehead and felt her burn with fever. He gently persuaded her to get some more rest, and as soon as he was sure the woman was unconscious, he stopped restraining himself from caressing the woman. He tucked several strands of her hair behind her ear and said, "I'm pretty impressed, supergirl."
He stayed by her side until Yoruichi-sensei came and took care of her personally.
He didn't see the raven-haired woman for the next few days, even after the outreach...
The soccer team was given a one-hour break by Coach Ukitake. They were practicing all day, getting ready for the championships for the next day. It was still quite early, so after the break, they would have one last practice session. The boys talked about what to do during the break, and one of them oh-so-smartly suggested, "Let's go watch the Drama Club practice. It's gonna be a good way to pass the time."
(Just then, a cheerful Rangiku passed by and heard the conversation.)
"Yeah, I heard of that, too!" Another member of the team replied. "Let's see Shiba Kaien score a kiss with that sophomore girl."
(Rangiku dashed away from the scene madly. Her destination: the auditorium.)
"Which sophomore girl?" Another asked.
"Kuchiki." A member supplied.
Two heads, one of red and one of white, shot up. One was thinking, 'They're in the kissing part already?', while the other, smarter one, thought, 'What the hell?'
Tōshirō suddenly stood up, and the other guys looked at him in surprise. "Let's go if we're going."
The boys looked at each other. That was an unexpected reaction from the soccer star. Usually, he passed on things like that. The red-head, Abarai Renji, stood up as well, "Let's go then."
The guys soon reached the auditorium, but to their dismay, there was no kissing scene to cheer for. Only Urahara-sensei, the director, and Shiba Kaien, the lead actor, were there, standing in the middle of the stage. Where's Rukia? Tōshirō glared at the back of Kaien's head. Fortunately for him, no one seemed to have noticed. The guys waited...and waited...and waited. Nothing happened. The lead actress hadn't returned yet from what was supposed to be a really short break. And the one-hour resting period was over for the guys. So with disappointed sighs they left the audi and returned to the field.
It was the soccer championships. Tōshirō looked around the jam-packed stadium to search for a particular face—and it wasn't there. She wasn't there. Tōshirō sighed heavily. The game would start in 5 minutes.
..
..
..
..
In the middle of the game, something caught his eye. Rather, someone. Actually, two someones to be more accurate. Those someones were making their way to the players' bench, and then sat down...beside each other. In this short moment of distraction, Tōshirō made the mistake of kicking the ball without aiming it at the right direction...and it hit—out of all the people in the bench (Why not Shiba? He was just inches away!)—the raven-haired woman. Tōshirō's eyes widened as he immediately ran towards the bench, only to be blocked by the other players and the coaching staff, looming worriedly over the fallen figure. He saw Coach Ukitake snap his fingers repeatedly in front of the woman's face when she finally came to.
"Whose ball was it?" someone asked.
"Mine." Tōshirō desperately made his way to the center of the commotion. "Coach, can I take her to the clinic?"
Coach Ukitake nodded and Tōshirō wasted no time pulling the woman up. He wanted to carry her bridal style, but the darn woman just had to wear a skirt that day! He gently lifted her up and led her to the clinic, apologizing for his current state—he was sweaty and dirty...and he hit her! Oh heavens, he hit her. With a soccer ball! The raven-haired woman didn't seem to mind though; still, Tōshirō felt so embarrassed. His momentary loss of temper and focus resulted to this. He apologized for the incident again, feeling like he wanted to bury himself in shame. When he was sure she would be okay at the school clinic, he left, promising himself to win the game for her...
Thanks for waiting oh so patiently for this! I'm glad to know there are still people reading (and re-reading) this! Have an awesome day everyone! :)