The Sun and the Moon
Chapter 4
Ichigo had never had such a – for want of a better word – uptight dinner before.
Although there were only three people including himself gathered around the low but spacious oak table in the middle of the even more spacious Kuchiki dinner hall, the abundance and variety of the dishes sprawled in front of them seemed as though there was enough to feed the whole of Soul Society for a week.
A thought which Ichigo had absent-mindedly verbalized to his dinner companions, thus earning him a good kick on the shin underneath the table from the raven-haired shinigami sitting cross-legged adjacent to his right. He gave a loud yelp of pain, but the said female shinigami threw to his direction a glare so murderous, Ichigo had to restrain himself.
Across the massive table, behind the sizzling hotpots of stewed beef, the Kuchiki clan leader gave no indication of acknowledging his comment, and continued to eat the sukiyaki in a stoic and impassive manner. Ichigo remarked to himself that there could be a war at the doorstep and Kuchiki Byakuya would still not be doing things differently.
This time, he had enough sense not to repeat his mistake, considering that Rukia had spent the past five minutes casting admonishing glances at him, in response to his obvious displeasure at the situation. The rest of the dinner passed in silence and with lack of any significant events, except for the occasional interruption by the servants bringing in more dishes and a certain orange-haired shinigami trying to pass off his disbelief as random coughs.
Which was why, as soon as Kuchiki Byakuya had announced the end of his dinner and departed from the room, Ichigo immediately let out the pent-up breath he had not realized he was holding in throughout the whole dinner, and exclaimed, "God, Rukia, I owe my life to your brother, but seriously he is one big—"
Rukia threw him another one of those patented Kuchiki deathglares, cutting off his description of what exactly Kuchiki Byakuya was. "Shut up, idiot, he might hear you!"
"I mean look at this!" Ichigo retorted incredulously, pointing in disbelief at the plates of almost untouched dishes of food, "Is dinner in this household always this extravagant?"
Strangely enough, Rukia's cheeks flushed bright red, but she answered, "Don't be stupid, Ichigo. We have a huge crew of servants in the Manor. What do you think we feed them with?"
A moment of silence passed between them while Rukia placed a spoonful of green powder into a small bowl and another army of servants came forth to start clearing the table. A light zephyr of evening breeze entered through the open door through which they entered, and from the dying rays of the sun Ichigo could tell it was near dusk soon. Watching her swirl the moist green tea powder into a paste with a small brush in such a graceful way he'd never associate with Rukia, Ichigo realized that his twenty-four hours were fast running out.
Rukia was rambling on something along the lines of "I don't know how Nii-sama did it" and "it just doesn't make sense". He did not really hear the words clearly; he was too busy observing her every feature – the way her small lips moved as she spoke animatedly, the way the ends of her jet-black hair seem to curl up like a stroke of calligraphy and rest on her petite shoulders, the way a certain wide-eyed sparkle danced across the deep violet orbs of her eyes.
That precise moment was when his heart seemed to whisper to him with much certainty and conviction the realization which hit him like a brick wall.
He was madly in love with Kuchiki Rukia.
"… must be due to all your past contributions to Soul Society, it's about time they acknowledged that…"
Ichigo observed her with a rather curious expression replacing the usual scowl on his face, as Rukia obliviously continued her monologue to him. The servants had almost finished clearing up all the dishes in front of them. Outside, the sun had almost but disappeared from the sky, which had now turned dark orange. Soon, the last of the servants had departed, leaving the two of them alone in the large dinner hall.
Kuchiki Byakuya was all too cruel to leave him with this painful task.
"… I'm glad they spared your life, of course, but I don't get why they let you off scot-free—"
Rukia upset the teacups in surprise as Ichigo's right hand clasped the hand which steadied the small china into which she was pouring tea. She stared at the rivers of the spilt warm green liquid which quickly crept towards their linked hands. She had become aware that for the past few minutes the man beside her had not uttered a single word. A moment passed before Ichigo, who was now looking out into the dark sky, such that Rukia could not read the expression on his face, finally spoke a single word softly.
"Exiled."
Ichigo turned to face Rukia, her short noble eyebrows knit in confusion and her eyes scrutinizing his face as though they could find the answers to her unspoken questions there.
"Banished into the real world, fate upon natural death to be decided upon by the Central 46…" His free hand put the upset teacups back to their upright position. "… high treason for any shinigami to make contact…" The hand was reunited with the other, such that both his hands now clasped Rukia's child-like one.
Glancing upon the shiny irises of her eyes, meeting them with an equally intense stare, he finally concluded, "… And that is the reason why, Rukia, I have escaped the punishment I so deserve."
For a long time their eyes were locked in each other's gaze as if in silent confrontation. Slowly but surely, realization dawned on deep violet eyes, just as glistening tears seemed to gather around the edges, threatening to fall down her astounded face.
But they did not. Rukia simply bowed her head, the shadows of the evening's light falling on her face, obscured by her dark long fringe.
"Sou ka?"
The strangled voice with which that small question was asked made Ichigo's heart constrict in agony, but his hands tightened their grip on her cold fingers.
"Aa."
The female shinigami let out a small forceful chuckle, the edge of her lips contorting into a lopsided smile. "That's… that's great, then."
The scowl on Ichigo's face deepened.
"You've been given a great opportunity, Ichigo. An opportunity to live the life of a normal human… Yes, the Central 46 had been gracious…"
This enraged Ichigo, his hands abandoning hers and grabbing the petite shinigami by the shoulders, shaking her in disbelieving anger. "Can you hear yourself, Rukia? Did you just not hear what I said?"
Looking up, Rukia gave him a deadpan stare through listless eyes. "… You should study again, Ichigo, your grades have been so bad lately…"
She had a big, rather stupid-looking grin now, but she avoided his gaze entirely, and on her face tears were streaming down in ironic contradiction. "… Have a great career…" she continued, ignoring the way Ichigo was shaking her roughly.
"… Marry a nice girl, start a family…"
Ichigo stopped and looked at the woman he loved straight in the eyes. The grin had disappeared, but quiet tears continued to stain her cheeks, as Rukia finally met his gaze and said so softly, "Live your life, Ichigo, as you were destined to live it before I changed everything."
With that, she looked away, unable to endure seeing the hurt that flashed across cold brown eyes.
"Ano… Rukia-sama…"
The servant-maid's voice cut the tension in the air, behind her stood Abarai Renji accompanied by five other armed shinigami. The girl left the room after the red-haired lieutenant had thanked her. Ichigo stared at Rukia as if he had not noticed the intruders arriving, his hands still grasping her arms tightly.
"Ichigo. It is time."
Ichigo searched Rukia's face for a reaction – anything – anything besides this resigned response she was giving him, but the girl was still determined to avoid his gaze. This was not what he wanted from the Rukia he knew, the Rukia he loved. The girl who would fight alongside him at any battle. When he got nothing else, he stood up and closed his eyes shut, hands clenching into fists at his sides.
"Aa."
Opening his eyes, Ichigo saw Renji glance at the Rukia with a similar resigned expression. He walked towards the door, meeting the six other men waiting to ensure his passage through the Senkaimon. Glancing back slightly, Ichigo's last sight of Rukia was her sitting like a statue by the table, the hand which he had held moments ago resting peacefully on the polished surface, the other hand clutching the sleeves of her yukata, her face hidden as she looked away at the other side of the room.
"Let's go, Renji."
And so Kurosaki Ichigo passed through the gates of Senkaimon to live his new life, without ever saying goodbye to the only person who mattered.