I'm sorry this is late! I uploaded it as soon as I finished so it's not very well edited. My excuse is that I hate this chapter.
Chapter 18: Mistakes and Corrections
-Rukia-
It was a late morning for Rukia Kuchiki. Her head hurt and her eyes were red from her tears the night before. She felt terrible but, after much debate, decided that she could not stay in bed all day under the covers with the lights turned off.
Ichigo's door was open and she peeked in as she walked down the hall. Churaumi Aquarium Chappy was sitting in the corner. Rukia was relieved that the poor stuffed animal hadn't been outside all night but a new sadness washed over her: Ichigo had taken his present back.
She slowly made her way downstairs and was greeted by four curious faces; Ichigo was noticeably absent. Empty plates were on the table in front of them and Rukia gathered that they had already eaten.
The thought of food made her stomach turn.
"So, as we will be leaving tomorrow morning, I think we should do most of our packing and cleaning up today, if that's all right with you." She spoke clearly and smiled but felt hollow inside.
What on earth am I going to say to Ichigo?
The other teens all nodded in agreement and Orihime got up to begin clearing away dishes from the table.
"What about one last morning on the beach before we start packing?" Tatsuki watched her friend's face, trying to phrase the question as a gentle suggestion.
Rukia nodded politely. "That's fine. You guys should do whatever you want before we leave."
Uryuu adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "You should join us," he said.
Orihime chimed in, "Ichigo went for a run so we need an extra person to play volleyball!"
Rukia almost laughed. Orihime's suggestion would actually make for uneven teams and Uryuu was being abnormally nice.
Well… It couldn't hurt.
"Sure," she tried to smile sincerely, "just let me change."
.
.
The group walked out to the beach and set up their towels and the volleyball net. The group automatically took the same positions as the first time and Rukia looked hesitantly at Chad.
"Just stay in front and try to spike it when I pass to you," he said encouragingly. Then, he showed her how to hit the ball so it would go higher over the net, or in her case, just barely over the net.
Chad served first and the ball landed forcefully on the other side in front of Uryuu. Tatsuki groaned and the lanky boy shrugged, blushing when Orihime gave him a supportive hug.
Rukia grinned at her friend's antics. Maybe volleyball had been a good idea after all.
-Ichigo-
Ichigo's leg muscles burned in protest under him and beads of sweat slid down his back but he didn't stop. His watch told him that he had been running for 30 minutes and Ichigo decided he wasn't even halfway done with his run.
Why didn't she come get that stupid rabbit? She was in love with the dumb thing yesterday…
He had waited before going to breakfast, figuring she might stop by since she always got up so early in the morning.
But she never came.
And even after breakfast, he checked and the toy was still there, sitting on his suitcase and mocking him for being foolish enough for thinking that this girl really cared about him.
His foot slipped, sinking into the hot sand. Ichigo cursed and pushed himself to run harder.
Damn it, Ichigo, quit feeling sorry for yourself and focus!
He continued running down the beach, ignoring the pain shooting through his body and the depressing memories of the night before.
-Rukia-
Everyone stopped playing at the same moment. Rukia looked around and Chad informed her that they had lost.
Still completely unaware of how the scoring worked, Rukia just nodded and apologized for playing so poorly. Chad smiled kindly before looking past her and becoming thoughtful again.
Ichigo was running towards them.
Rukia's breath caught in her chest; Ichigo looked good.
His eyes were hard when he came close enough to look at her and Rukia pulled her attention away from his incredibly toned bare chest glistening with sweat.
"Well, then, I guess we should start packing up now." Tatsuki suggested, sensing the tension in the air. She pulled Orihime along with her and Uryuu followed, along with Chad.
Rukia tried to fall in behind them before Ichigo caught up but when he spoke to her she found she couldn't ignore him.
"So, are you going to get that dumb rabbit out of my room or should I give it to my sister?" His voice was harsh and Rukia looked at him in surprise.
"You mean… I can keep him?" Excitement filled her voice.
"Why the hell would I want it?" He snapped as they entered the house.
"I just thought-" Rukia paused. There, in the kitchen, was Orihime standing between Uryuu and the counter, the bridge of her nose nuzzled into his neck.
Uryuu blushed and stepped back but his arms stayed around the redhead. She smiled and giggled when she saw the pair staring.
"Sorry! We'll get out of your way." Orihime looked conspiratorially at the dark haired boy as they left the kitchen and head down the hall.
"Oh my…" Rukia smiled and put a hand to her mouth.
"They started dating yesterday." Ichigo shrugged. "But I guess you wouldn't know since you were too busy talking with Renji when they announced it."
His comment stung slightly and Rukia bristled.
"I can't help who I am, you know. You didn't seem to mind when you were able to go on your stupid vacation for free because I paid for everything."
Ichigo turned to face her, looking genuinely shocked. "What the- That's not even what I'm talking about!"
Rukia crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow as if to challenge him.
"No one asked you to do this! You could've kicked us out at any time but no, you wanted us to stay so you could pretend you had real friends for once in your life," Ichigo continued.
"I don't have to buy my friends! I have plenty of friends, you arrogant jerk!" Rukia spat, her eyes shining.
"I find that awfully hard to believe after you just said you can't have any real friends because you have to do what your brother tells you. Is it really that important, Rukia?" Ichigo threw his arms in the air in exasperation. "Is it that important to you to be your brother's puppet?"
"You have no idea what you're talking about; I never said that! And you're an ignorant fool if you think I mean nothing to Byakuya! He cares about me and I care about him and-"
"And that's why you're letting him run your life? Because if he really cared about you, he'd want you to have friends and… relationships with…. people." Ichigo finished awkwardly, waiting for Rukia to respond.
"This is what Byakuya wants me to do; this is what my parents wanted; this is what I want, Ichigo. Everything's already been decided for me; I'm going to Tokyo and that's it." Rukia swallowed hard to keep the tears from overflowing. "I can't do anything about it."
Ichigo breathed in deeply. "Fine. Go." He stalked past her and walked up the stairs.
Rukia's fists clenched at her sides. In another world, she might have thought it was funny the way he stomped around like a petulant child, naked except for his running shorts.
In another world, she might run after him, wrapping her arms around him and begging him to come with her in secret.
But instead, she slowly trudged up the same steps and into her room to zip up her full suitcase and do some last minute tidying to the room.
-Ichigo-
Ichigo smacked the stuffed animal off his suitcase and into the corner, before violently throwing his clothes inside.
He heard a car horn outside and pulled the curtains away to see Renji's bright hair through the windshield of a black Lexus. He watched Rukia leave the house, pulling a suitcase and carrying a few bags.
She's leaving now?
She waved, Ichigo assumed to four teenagers looking through the doorway waving back at her.
She didn't even say anything…
Ichigo saw her head towards her own car and he quickly exited his room, almost sliding down the stairs.
His friends had already closed the door and were dispersing when he got there.
"She's gone?" He asked dumbly.
Tatsuki and Orihime shared a look but Chad spoke first.
"She was upset." His tone was not accusatory, simply honest.
"You didn't have to be such a jerk about it. It's not really her fault," Tatsuki added.
"Maybe you should apologize, Ichigo. I think you really hurt Rukia's feelings." Orihime suggested tentatively.
"I hurt her feelings?" Ichigo scoffed. "Whatever. She was going to cut ties with all of us at the end of this week anyway. It's not like it matters."
Uryuu looked at him disappointedly and sighed before walking away. Orihime followed him and Tatsuki just shrugged.
"She liked you too." Chad clapped him on the shoulder as he walked by, beginning to load things into the two remaining cars.
What the hell is he talking about?
Ichigo decided ignore his friend's comments and focused on carrying the heaviest bags and suitcases to the cars.
.
.
After everything was loaded and packed away, Ichigo remembered that his own suitcase was still upstairs in his room.
"Sorry, guys. I'll just be a second." He ran back into the house and upstairs.
The suitcase was just as he had left it. He closed it and noticed something out of the corner of his eye.
There was that goddamn rabbit lying on the floor in the back of the room.
Somewhere, in the depth of his heart, he found that he couldn't simply leave the toy abandoned and forgotten in the empty house so he grabbed it by the ears and carried it along with his suitcase back outside.
Neither of the boys said anything about the stuffed animal Ichigo had set in his lap and studied for long lengths during the trip and Ichigo was grateful.
He thought about the way the crazy midget's eyes lit up and voice sounded surprised when he offered it back, as if she hadn't expected him to return it.
Maybe it was just a misunderstanding…
Maybe this whole thing was a mistake.
Ichigo looked out the window and then back at the dark, beady eyes of Chappy the rabbit.
He sighed. He would have to talk to Tatsuki about using her car tomorrow but he knew she wouldn't mind.
Hell, she'll probably even want to drive.
Uryuu pushed an Eyeshine CD into the CD player and Ichigo closed his eyes to rest. Surprisingly, he felt much better now that he had made a decision.
Ichigo Kurosaki had a plan.
Yay for suspense! :) Haha I'm sorry this chapter was so bad-definitely my least favorite. I hope you all can forgive me.
I'd love to reach 200 reviews by the end of this story!