Bum bum buuuuuuuum it's flashback time! Let's see what Rukia was up to before Ichigo arrived ;) Btw the flashback is in Rukia's POV if you didn't already know XD
Tite Kubo seems the only one who owns Bleach... But not for long ;)
Chapter 8-Falling Down the Rabbit Hole
~Flashback~
I just can't wait! Ichigo's going to be sooooo surprised! I have to get home before he does so I can set up for his surprise party. Ishiin already agreed that him and the girls would keep Ichigo busy for me. Now all that has to be done is to decorate and make the food, but thankfully the gang's coming over to help out. Ichigo better enjoy this party instead of doing one of his 'I'm just gonna stand in the corner with my hands in my pockets with a scowl on my face' thing. I worked too damn hard for that and I'll make sure he has fun even if it kills me... or him. I could see the Kurosaki Clinic from here. Geez, the walk from school felt so much longer without Ichigo's sarcastic remarks and constant teasing to keep it entertaining. But it'll all be worth it when he gets totally surprised and has a blast and thanks me again and again for the amazing party and then he'll finally see that I'm the only one for hi- wow I'm getting carried away with this train of thought. Better stop now before I hurt myself. I mean seriously ME and ICHIGO being TOGETHER... I guess all this excitement has me thinking up weird things. I started to open up the door to my home away from home when I heard a large crash. I quickly unlocked the door and burst into the living room only to find Ishiin caught up in a net hanging from the ceiling.
"Oh Rukia it's just you. I thought my son was trying to come and ruin his own surprise party so I set up this trap to capture him when he gets home but I ended up getting trapped myself." He was smiling cheesily and scratching the back of his head, looking absolutely ridiculous as he was still tangled in his own contraption.
"I wonder how this happened..." I heard Ishiin mumble under his breath and just as I was making my way passed him I saw a black ponytail disappear down the hall. Classic Karin pulling the trigger on her old man. It's never boring in the Kurosaki household to say the least. I went upstairs and got to Ichigo's room opening the door and throwing myself face down on his bed. I sighed. ...All right, time to get to work. I got up slowly, using up lots of energy. Sheesh, I work too hard for this orange numb skull. I opened up my little closet and rustled around underneath my futon till I found my check list for Ichigo's party. I read it over making sure I had everything I needed. Food. Check. Drinks. Check. Cake. Check. Partygoers. Check. Distraction for Ichigo. Check. Ichigo's present. Che- Holy chocolate-covered rabbits! I forgot to get him a freaking gift! I ran out of the room, flinging myself down the stairs, blindly running passed the stunned looking Kurosakis, frantically running towards the front door, throwing it open and sprinting down the street. I didn't look back to see all three Kurosakis with their mouths ajar, standing in shock in the open doorway. I wasn't one to freak out like this. It must have been shocking to see me in such a frazzled state. Oh well they'll get over it. Right now I need to focus on getting Ichigo a present. I slowed my pace down as I strolled along the sidewalk. I went back the way I came from school, hoping I wouldn't run into Ichigo. Think, think, think... What the heck would Ichigo want anyway? Now that I think about what does he even like? Aw geez, he's always gotta be so difficult. I made it to the crosswalk that leads to the mall and just as I was about to cross it something small, white, and fluffy caught my eye. I turned to look and saw a little bunny tail hopping off towards the park right by the playground. It was just too cute~! I had to chase after it. So that's what I did. I forgot all about Ichigo's present and high tailed it after the rabbit. It seemed as if the rabbit was going somewhere important, like it had some better place to be. No matter how hard I ran it was just out of my reach. I poured on the speed as my curiosity peaked. This white rabbit was going after the playground with a passion. What in the world could be over there that was so important? The rabbit was just about to leap into the sand of the playground when it darted to the right. I skid to a stop before I smashed into the swings and spun on my heel to follow it once again. But when I turned it was gone and a massive hole was in its place. What the heck?! Is this some sort of construction project? I took small, slow steps toward the hole. When I reached the edge of the abyss I peaked over the edge and saw pitch black. How deep did the freaking thing go!? I knelt down trying to take out my hollow scanner from my pocket but when I reached for it I felt a whoosh from behind me and I found myself falling face first into the unknown. Damn bastard! Who pushes somebody into a hole?! If I get out of here there's gonna be some hell to pay. I was falling pretty fast as I could only get glimpses of dirt and roots whirring passed me. Well this is gonna hurt like hell. Stupid gigai! I waited for the landing but it didn't come... What the?! This hole must have been deeper than I thought cause seriously how long can this possibly take? Another round of minutes flew by and I was about ready to get pissed when my butt met the ground in an unceremonious end to my long fall. I looked up to see a tiny twinkling light in a void of pitch black. Great. I stood up and dusted myself off, knowing I wouldn't be getting out of here anytime soon. I reached for my hollow sensor and pager to find them reduced to dust in my back pocket from the landing. This day can't get any worse. Spoke to soon. As I started to walk forward I found myself face to face with a tiny door. I know Ichigo thinks I'm a midget but there is no way I'm gonna be able to fit through there. I turn back around to see if there's any other way out of here but instead I find a small table with a key and a bottle on it. I walk over to it look at the key and the bottle then at the door as all the pieces began to fit together. I grabbed the key than drank the liquid in the bottle and shrunk down immediately to the size of the door. Well that was convenient. Key in hand, I went back to the door unlocked it and opened it, the small piece of wood swinging wide. Am I dreaming? This can't be real... And yet it is as I step through the threshold of the door to find myself in...
"Wonderland...?" I whispered aloud. Alice in Wonderland. That was my favorite movie growing up in the Kuchiki household because I used to wish I was Alice and that I'd fall into a rabbit hole to end up in a totally new world, so I could escape reality. It's actually why I love rabbits so much because the White Rabbit is what led Alice to Wonderland. It's childish I know, but old habits die hard. I slowly did a three sixty as I took in my surroundings. It was exactly like the movie. I knew I needed to find some cake or a mushroom so I can go back to normal and since I was outside and it seemed highly unlikely that there was gonna be any cake I began to search for a mushroom. I looked down and when I did I realized I was wearing black pants and shoes with a red vest. That's weird... To top it off I had white bunny ears on and a tail. I started laughing as I realized I was my favorite character in the movie. The White Rabbit. Irony can have its good moments. Getting over the fact that I'm a rabbit, I started to look around for a mushroom again. Scanning the area a few times I finally found a small orange one with yellow polka dots. Looks about right. I climbed on top of it and ripped a piece off of the side. Here goes nothing. I took a bite of it and found the world around me get a lot smaller. I looked down making sure I was the right size and indeed I was. I was about to wander off in a seemingly random direction to try and find my way out of here but I stopped. I thought about the movie and how it went. Hmmmm... Let's see... Alice follows the White Rabbit down the hole, then there's the door thing, then there's a whole bunch of random crap with Tweedle-Dee, Tweedle- Dum, Mad Hatter, a White Queen, Cheshire Cat, then she makes the Red Queen angry and then she wakes up. Well, that's helpful. I took a deep breath and looked around. I guess I should go to the White Queen's castle since I'm the White Rabbit but... Where the heck is that?! I scanned the area one more time slower and more scrutinizing and I spotted a castle in the distance. I sighed. Might as well get started. I started off towards the castle, head up, arms swinging by my sides. I kicked some pebbles to pass the time and by the time I looked up to see how far I'd gone the castle was significantly bigger. It was huge and slightly menacing but it was covered in large red hearts. I figured it was the Red Queen's castle but I had to start somewhere. So I shrugged and raised my fist to knock on the tall red wooden doors but something stopped me.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A quiet, but clear voice purred. I turned to see who had spoken but I didn't see anybody. Well, that was weird. I raised my fist once again to knock on the door and again the voice interrupted.
"Stupid rabbit, didn't you hear me?" It said it with such condescending malice that a vein popped in my forehead.
"Alright, if I'm so stupid why shouldn't I knock on the door, oh great and mysterious voice?" I asked laying the sarcasm on thick. I heard a faint 'tch' and the before me appeared a black cat, narrowing it's yellows eyes at me.
"Yoruichi?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows with disbelief.
"My name is the Cheshire Cat, stupid rabbit, and the reason why you should not knock on the door is because the Red Queen will eat you alive." She stated matter-of-factly, her words sounding as if that didn't sound half bad.
"What did I ever do to the Red Queen to make her want to eat me alive?" I asked, liking this Yoruichi look-alike less and less. But she was giving me information that could be worth something so I decided not to punt her across this barren field and to instead stick around. The Cheshire Cat sighed.
"It's obvious, stupid rabbit. It is because you hold the key to the chosen one's heart." She sighed, irritated at my apparent ignorance.
"Key? Heart? Chosen? You must have me mistaken for some other stupid rabbit because I have no idea what you're talking about." I looked down at her with a sneering face although I was really baffled and interested in what she was saying. But I couldn't let her know that. So I went on acting like a small child having a tantrum because they didn't get their way.
"Sadly, you're it because you are the only stupid rabbit." She sighed, obviously wishing it wasn't true.
"So, who is this Chosen One anyway? And what does it mean that I hold the key to their heart?" I asked nonchalantly, even though I knew another degrading answer was coming my way.
"Come with me. I'll take you to the Mad Hatter and there you ask him all your insolent questions." She turned round then disappeared. At least she didn't call me a stupid rabbit again, but where the heck did she go? I looked around trying to spot her in the direction she was facing when she disappeared. Crap! She probably never meant for me to follow her, she's just messing with me because she doesn't like me for some unknown reason. Ugh, I'm never going to get anywhere in this topsy-turvy hole in the ground. I sighed and slumped my shoulders. Contemplating on whether anything she said was true and if it was I wanted to knock on the Red Queen's door just out of spite.
"Stupid rabbit, I told you she'll have your backside on a platter. And the reason why I hate you isn't unknown, it's because I want the key to his heart and you have it. Now, are you coming?" She reappeared about twenty feet in front of me, lounging on a high tree branch. Either, she could read minds or I was unconsciously saying that all out loud. I shivered at the thought of the latter. She looked down at me this time, with eyes of disgust, but this time she didn't disappear. She simply leapt down from the branch and made her way through the forest we were entering. Time worked differently here, I could yell because a journey that should have taken at least hours took only 15 minutes. Strange place indeed. I wish my hollow tracker wasn't broken otherwise I could have scanned the-
My train of though was interrupted by a loud yowl coming from the thing under my foot. I had spaced out that I didn't notice when CC(Rukia's nickname/abbreviation for the Cheshire Cat) stopped.
"Insignificant rabbit." She muttered as I took my foot off of her tail.
"Sorry, I didn't-"I was cut off once again when she butt in.
"No need for your useless apologies. We're here." She gestured towards the extravagant and randomly placed tea party that's in the middle of the forest.
"Hey there, little rabbit. Now what brings you to my table?" Said a voice I knew too well and didn't want to hear. I tore my eyes away from all the different kinds of tea sets spread across the table to be met face-to-face with-
~Flashback to the Present~
Rukia's POV
I was interrupted in my storytelling by a snore. I turned to look at Ichigo who was fast asleep. Since we were sitting on the floor with our backs against the wall, he had his head tilted up so his mouth drooped open letting out soft snores. I smiled as he mumbled something like 'Alice in Wonderland... That makes sense... No wonder it seems so familiar...' I watched his peaceful face for a little while more before I leaned back against the wall next to him, albeit a little closer this time. Feeling a presence beside him, Ichigo let his head fall onto my shoulder. My eyebrows shot up surprised for only a moment before I smiled and tilted my head onto his. I took in the moment of just us being here like this before I too closed my eyes and slipped into unconsciousness. It felt like only seconds before I heard many footsteps coming down the hall towards us. My eyes creaked open and I tried to rub the sleep out of them so I could see who was coming towards us at an alarming rate. I finally blinked the bleariness from my eyes and saw Orihime sprinting down the hall. I went to get up but was weighed down by the head on my shoulder. I graced my lips with a small smile, then looked up to see who the other footsteps belonged to and I was greeted without the sight of Renji and Nii-Sama.
"You had me so worried. We've been looking for you two all night. Is Ichigo okay?" Orihime scolded me as she fretted over Ichigo.
"Ichigo it's time to wake up." Orihime said softly to him. She placed her hand delicately on his shoulder and shook him gently. I rolled my eyes.
"You'll never get him up that way." I said. I moved Ichigo's head off my shoulder and held it in my hands.
"Ichigo! Get up! Food's waiting for us!" I yelled in his face. He groaned then started to rub his hands over his face to start the long process of waking up. I let go of his head letting it drop back into the wall. He groaned again.
"What a lovely way to be woken up." He stated sarcastically. He glared up at me as I stood. He was rubbing the back of his head that hit the solid drywall behind him, while he got up now glaring down at me.
"You were taking too long, Sleeping Beauty, so I decided to speed up the process a bit." I said nonchalantly, shrugging my shoulders.
"Did that process have to include banging my head into a wall?" He asked doubtfully, raising his eyebrow at me.
"That was for falling asleep while I was telling you my story." I scolded.
"Oh, that makes sense. Well then, of course I deserved it." He rolled his eyes at me. He continued on with his little rant.
"Excuse me for being human and falling asleep from exhaustion and hunger." He dramatically stated.
"You're excused." I said cheekily. We both grinned. We both were just exhausted and hungry which causes delirium and random happiness. Maybe, that's why my heart was melting at his grinning face looking down at me. That's got to be it.
"If you're hungry, follow me." Orihime turned around to follow Renji and Nii-Sama who obviously had enough of our witty banter and left after Orihime knew we were okay. An arm wrapped around my tiny shoulders as Ichigo leaned down and whispered in my ear.
"You still have to finish your story. I promise I won't fall asleep this time." He gave me a half-cocked smile as he began to stand up straight again. My grub grew into a full-blown smile.
"What are you smiling about?" Ichigo asked, obviously curious. I just shook my head as I tried to stop the smile from spreading. I really must be hungry.
That's the end! Finally I finished! I am so sorry for updating this late DX life has been keeping me busier than I should be but I promise to update sooner than last time. Enjoy and review pleeeease!:) Even though I don't deserve it for updating this late, I do appreciate it! So do it!;D ...Please^^