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Disclaimer: Kubo owns Bleach. Credits to Ninya.
Chapter Two: "Money can make hell seem like heaven.''
Rukia groaned as she kept refreshing the browser page and got the same message over and over again saying that she have no internet connection. It was her day off the next day and after sleeping in a little, she got up, ate a chocolate bar she grabbed from Urahara's snack room yesterday, and sat down in front of her laptop to check on some job listings. She needed a second job or something better-paying than her current one.
After her connections and power-cycling her wireless modem, Rukia grabbed her cellphone and called the cable company. She didn't have cable or phone but she kept the internet service, the cheapest and slowest she could possibly get.
"Hi, I'm just wondering why you guys cut my internet off," Rukia said nicely when a girl picked up twenty minutes later. She asked for all her information and reluctantly, Rukia gave them to her. She didn't even know why she was calling. She knew the answer.
"Ms. Kuchiki, the reason you were disconnected is because we haven't received a payment from you last month and what had been current had just rolled over to a past due today. If you can pay us the overdue, we will be able to reconnect your service for you," The woman said and Rukia sighed out loud.
After she hung up, she went into her web-banking account and grimaced at the negative balance. Rukia was in overdraft on her checking account and her small line of credit was already maxed out. Even with her paycheck from the diner's coming in a week, she wouldn't have enough to rise above the water. The internet bill was only one of the many unpaid ones Rukia had stacked up on the kitchen table.
- I can have a million if I just put up with Ichigo Kurosaki for a year. -
It wasn't the first time she recalled it since yesterday. In fact, his outrageous offer kept popping up in her head every fifteen minutes.
A million would definitely get her out of debt and set her up comfortably. It could put her through art school and still leave her with enough to start her own small Gallery. All Rukia had to give up was a year of her life.
- That plus my principles, my sanity and possibly my virtue. -
Despite his awful behavior yesterday, Rukia highly doubted that she would be able to fight her attraction to the man while living with him for a year. There was no mention about the more intimate parts of the marriage he proposed but recalling how enthralled he was with her, she didn't think he'd want to exercise his husbandly rights. She didn't want to go there either because so many things about it will just be so wrong—They didn't love each other, he's paying her to marry him and everything will just be a pretense.
- It's like being an exclusive, high-class prostitute who gets a ring on my finger as temporary as my last name. -
The thought immediately doused any interest Rukia had in the money. Sure, the money would make everything easier but she wasn't too far gone yet.
Rukia dialed a number on her phone again. "Hey, Kisuke. Do you need any shifts picked up today?"
An hour later, Rukia was waiting on tables at the diner. It was lunch time—a busy couple of hours—and the tips were good. The bustle also took her mind off two of the biggest things that kept bothering her—Ichigo and Bills. Her good mood soured a little when she saw a man walk into the diner and stand by the elevated entrance, scanning the crowd. His face lit up when his eyes fell on her and she inwardly cringed.
Di-roy Rinker was a junior partner in one of the top law firms in the city. He was young and vile. He was always a little too over-friendly with the waitresses at Urahara's but he especially held a disconcerting interest in Rukia. He'd asked her out many times. He'd pay the other waitresses extra tips if they agree to always give her whichever table he was at. She never complained because he would always leave anywhere from fifty to a hundred for a tip which no person in his right mind would do if he didn't want some 'extra service'.
He smiled at her, his eyes raking down her body and Rukia fought the urge to shudder and take off. She returned his smile and spotted the table he pointed to.
- Just endure it. If you play nice with him today, he might just give you enough to pay your internet bill. -
Rukia felt a little nauseous. Despite her protestations about striking a deal with Kurosaki to play his wife in exchange for a million, she was pushing close to the line by sucking it up and letting men ogle her and flirt with her for larger tips. So much for her principles.
"Hello, Mr. Rinker," Rukia greeted as she came over to his table with her notepad. "How are you doing?"
His eyes strained on her breasts which were molded by her tight shirt before looking up and smiling at her. "Better now that you're here. You're looking good, Ruks. You've really filled out that cute, little uniform perfectly."
Rukia's feet tickled with the urge to flee but she just shifted her weight between them and gave him a tight smile. "Thanks. Now, you want the usual or something different today?"
"Something different, Maybe give me that pulled pork sandwich with fries and some hot peppers. I'm in the mood to indulge in something a little decadent and hot."
Rukia nearly rolled her eyes as she wrote down the order and finally stepped back. "Alright. I'll be back with your usual Coke in a minute."
She did her best to ignore Di-roy throughout his lunch but he wasn't an easy customer. He kept calling her over for the littlest things, taking advantage of every opportunity to openly leer at her. He was gone when she came by his table to do a final check and a hundred bill was tucked in receipt book.
Rukia kept telling herself it was worth it, no matter how sick it made her feel.
Wanting a breath of fresh air now that the diner had mostly cleared out, She stepped out to the back alley, grabbing one of the trash bins on her way to empty into the dumpster. She had just set it down and was stretching her arms over her head when a noise startled her.
"Mr. Rinker, What are you doing here?" Rukia asked nervously as the man stepped through the back door and walked toward her. The alley was usually pretty empty except for the occasional employee who would step out for a smoke.
"I was in the washroom when you came by to clear my table," he answered casually. "I didn't think I should just leave without saying goodbye."
Rukia tried not to back away as he closed the distance between them. Even if she did, there wasn't a lot of room because the dumpster was a foot away behind her.
"Well, you've seen me. Thanks for stopping by today," She said with a forced laugh, starting to back up a step. She glanced at the closed door. "I should probably get back to work anyway."
"Now, come on, Ruks," he cajoled, smiling suggestively, taking another step closer to her. "What's a few minutes? You have time for me, don't you? I'm your best-paying customer."
Rukia frowned at him, her hand slipping into her pocket. "If you want your money back, I'm happy to give it to you. Just... Just back off!"
Her control was completely gone now.
She didn't like the lecherous gleam in his eyes and the way he kept stalking her as she backed up. When she felt the cold, hard steel of the dumpster on her back, Rukia snapped. 5
"Here you go," She said, slapping the bill on his chest. He made no move to catch it so it fluttered to the ground, her gaze following it.
He chuckled. "If it's more money you want, Ruks, I can arrange that. I'm willing to spend a lot on you if it means I can f-ck your brains out."
Her cheeks burned and she shoved him on the chest. "Get lost, Di-roy! Sorry to disappoint you but I'm not that kind of girl."
Unfortunately, he was a little bigger than an average-sized guy that her shove did little to get him off her.
He just laughed and grabbed her shoulder. "You could be at the right price, Ruks. And don't worry, I'm going to make sure we enjoy it both."
"I'll enjoy bashing your head, you asshole!" Rukia yelled at him as she swung her knee forward to catch him in the groin but his hand shot out and intercepted it, pushing it back down as he pinned her against the dumpster, his mouth mashing against her.
Rukia screamed but little of it carried because he swallowed most of the sound. She twisted to get away but he leaned his weight against her, his one hand keeping her in place by the shoulder.
- No! I'm not going down like this! -
Suddenly, his weight was thrown off her and she blinked her eyes open to the scuffle that was playing out in front of her.
"You should keep your hands off unwilling ladies, Di-roy," Ichigo ground out as he slugged the other man on the face, sending him sprawling on the ground.
"Kurosaki!" Di-roy hollered as he struggled to his feet but Ichigo pinned him down on the chest with his knee. "This is none of your f-cking business! She and I have an understanding."
"It didn't appear as if you were understanding each other very well," Ichigo hissed as he grabbed D-roy by the collar and pelted his face with a few more knuckle-cracking punches. "Consider this your last warning, D-roy. Stay away from women who don't want you—especially Rukia."
Her already rapidly beating heart picked up its cadence not from the violent exchange between the two men but from the way Ichigo said her name.
- Don't be pathetic, Kuchiki. It's like trading one neanderthal for another. -
Di-roy laughed, spitting out some blood in the process. "Don't tell me she's got you too, Kurosaki. She's a hot piece but I didn't think she was your type."
Ichigo slammed him back down on the ground and D-roy groaned out loud in pain. "She's going to be my wife, , and if I hear you utter one negative word about her or come within a meter of her, I will destroy you, and you know that I can."
Rukia gasped at Ichigo's pronouncement. "Hey! I'm not—"
He looked up and glared at her. "Be quiet, babe. I'm not quite done here with your friend yet."
"You're not supposed to ignore the victim!"
"Yeah, and what kind of victim complains about being saved? Just shut up and let me do my job sweetheart, I'm your fiancee after all."
As much as she'd like to take Ichigo by the ear and rant at him for making that presumptuous declaration, she was secretly thrilled to watch the fear register on Di-roy's face as he glanced between her and Ichigo.
"Alright," Rukia said with a sigh. "Toss him on his ass so he can get out of here before I decide to call the cops down the block. I doubt Mr. Rinker here would like being the weekend special with all those hoodlums down there."
A smile twitched at Ichigo's mouth before he turned a cold, deadly gaze at D-roy. "Are we clear on this, D-roy, or would you like further enlightenment?"
The man blinked rapidly, stuttering in his reply. "I... I d-didn't know... okay? I'm sorry. I... Just let me go, Ichigo. I..."
"Get out of here," he barked out at the trembling man, pointing to the back door. "Now!"
Without pause, Di-roy bolted for the door, leaving the two of them in pregnant silence for a long time, blood still rushing to her ears, her shoulders still shaking slightly.
"Do you need medical help?" he finally asked, glancing at her up and down as if checking for obvious injuries.
Rukia shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Just a little... rattled."
His expression darkened as he took out a perfectly pressed handkerchief from his pocket. "The next time something like this happens, there may be no one to help you. You gamble with your life every time you dally with a man like D-roy. He's sexually harrased a number of women and paid them all off to keep them quiet. He wouldn't have stopped at a kiss. If I didn't walk in on you, you could've been the newest addition to that list."
"How did you know where to find me?" Rukia asked, a quiver in her voice.
"I just came in to talk to you again," he answered with a shrug, dusting his hands clean. "One of the waitresses told me where you were. I thought we could have a less public setting to talk again but when I got here, D-roy already had his tongue down your throat."
Rukia opened her mouth to speak but gasped when he suddenly pressed the handkerchief to her jaw. Rukia winced as she felt a slight sting. "What the hell?" she muttered, grabbing his hand with the handkerchief, and saw the blood specked on the snowy white linen. "Why am I bleeding?"
He pulled his hand back and pressed the handkerchief to her face again. "It's a small scratch. He probably grazed you with his teeth or something. He looked like he was going to eat you alive earlier."
Rukia flushed and shuddered at the memory of Di-roy's mouth and hands all over her. "I don't know why he followed me out. He normally flirts with me a lot but he's never gone this far."
Ichigo leaned down and picked up the hundred bill which he handed to her. "The man clearly wants what he paid for."
Rukia turned my head away so he wouldn't touch her anymore and she snatched the bill angrily from him. "Right. Because that's how I get by. Well, I might as well keep the money since I've already suffered for it."
The expression of dismay was clear in his eyes. "I'm not here to judge you, Ms. Kuchiki. That was my mistake yesterday. I apologize for that. I don't care how you make your money. All I want is your cooperation in a simple and lucrative business arrangement that will offer you a safe and comfortable life for the duration of it and the financial support for you to continue living so afterwards."
Her hands clenched into fists. "Despite what you think you know, Mr. Kurosaki, I won't prostitute myself to you."
"If your concern is your marital obligations to me in bed, set your mind at ease," he said slowly in a low, voice. "I have no interest in sleeping with you whatsoever. But since I'll be paying you, I require absolute fidelity from you."
"And I suppose you require the exact opposite for yourself," she scoffed.
"Of course," he said without hesitation. "I will, however, be very discreet. I will not humiliate you publicly in that regard. Besides, it will scandalize my father and I don't want to jeopardize changing his mind because of that."
"How very selective you are with your morals," Rukia muttered snidely, shaking her head. "But then that's not my problem because I'm not going to marry you, Mr. Kurosaki. You and your money can go to hell."
She started to walk away.
"Money can make hell seem like heaven, Ms. Kuchiki," he said and she halted in her steps. "When you're truly burning in it with no way out, maybe you'll appreciate the offer I'm making you."
He walked around her and took a folded sheaf of papers from inside his jacket. "This is the contract. It's designed to protect both our interests. If you wish to consult your own lawyer, contact mine on the number listed so that you can procure the services of one at no charge and with a non-disclosure agreement that will protect me in case he decides to open his mouth."
Despite herself, she took the papers but without glancing at them.
"You have until Friday to decide," he said. "I'll meet you here at ten."
"You're wasting time, you know," Rukia said through gritted teeth. "You might fancy yourself persuasive but it's not going to work.''
He suddenly grinned and for a moment, the sight of a smile stretching across his face and changing his stony but handsome profile caught her completely off guard. "You haven't seen me persuasive yet, Ms Kuchiki," he said as he started walking backwards to to the door. "And let me warn you, I play dirty."
And with that, he turned and walked back inside.
Rukia muttered a colorful string of curses under her breath before glancing at the sheaf of papers in her hand.
- I should just shred this and make a point that way. -
- And what? Work yourself to death for ten years and possibly run into a sleazeball like D-roy again who won't settle for some harmless flirting? -
Rukia sighed and picked up the empty trash bin.
If there was a quick way out of this, it was Ichigo's offer.
Her only worry was that in escaping this life, she might just imprison herself in a completely different one where she may not get so lucky a second time.
Ninya: I liked writing this chapter because it showed Rukia's moral struggle and hinted at a side of Ichigo that might just give his character some hope for not being a complete jerk.
Me: Hello everyone! How are you liking the story so far? Please follow and review so I know where you're at with this.
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