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Chapter Five: A lapse of Judgement

Sunday morning and Rukia had just finished getting ready for the meeting with the Kurosaki's. She wasn't sure whether she was supposed to dress casually as Isshin had seen her before, or dress up so that she looked like an appropriate bride for his son. In the end, she went with the outfit that Inoue picked out for her—happy to not have to make a choice of her own in the end.

It was a sleeveless, eggshell-pink shift dress cinched at the waist with a thin, dark pink leather belt and she paired it up with nude, high-heeled pumps made comfortable by two-inch platforms. She let her hair hang loose around her shoulders. As for her face, she simply dabbed on some blush, flicked on some mascara and swiped a strawberry lip-balm across her mouth.

Rukia looked like a perfect lady and decided that it wasn't right because it didn't look like her at all.

For fun, she layered on a string of pearls and her old, long necklace with a dainty butterfly -shaped pendant. Satisfied, she headed out of the bedroom, grabbing her new, cropped denim jacket along the way.

Ichigo had already arrived, dressed in dark jeans, a navy blue sweater and a cognac-colored leather bomber jacket. He was talking with Ikkaku in the kitchen and the two men's conversation halted when they saw her.

"I'll get the car ready," Ikkaku said with a small nod before turning to go and leaving Ichigo alone by the kitchen island.

"Where's your driver?" she asked, looking around the house. "I didn't get to meet him."

"He just dropped me off and will meet me back at Dad's house," Ichigo answered distractedly as he walked towards her.

He kept staring at her, saying nothing, that her patience snapped. She was still testy from their conversation last night and if he had plans to send her back to her room and change, she'd tell him he and his brunch could go to hell.

"What?" Rukia demanded.

"I'm pretty sure Inoue knew better than to get you butterfly accessories," he commented, his expression giving nothing away as he took a step back, his finger lightly brushing the pendant that rested on the swell of her breasts.

The warmth of his touch seeped through the thin fabric of her dress and gave her a dizzying rush but she shook her head, determined not to let his fleeting intimacies succeed in disarming her. "It's mine and it's staying on," Rukia said stubbornly, moving away from him as if it were the only way to stand her ground. "I didn't get a choice in what you got me for clothes so if I choose to play it up, I'll do it and you're not changing my mind."

She refused to let her gaze waver from him, refusing to stand down, but he caught her off guard when he just grinned and tugged at a lock of her hair playfully.

"Okay," was all he said before he grasped her gently by the elbow and ushered her to the door.

Rukia was still reeling from his reaction as they sat together in the backseat of the car on the way to Isshin's house. She couldn't muster any kind of conversation. She watched absently as Ichigo pushed a button that raised the panel separating us from Ikkaku up front, giving them some privacy.

"You look pretty," he finally said.

Rukia felt flustered. She wasn't used hearing compliments from him. "You too."

Amusement flickered in his eyes as she groaned after realizing what she said. "I mean, you look handsome but you probably hear that all the time so just forget about it, okay?"

His thigh brushed hers. "Why the hell would I? For one, it's a compliment coming from my fiancee, which I've never gotten before since I've never been engaged and two, it's a small victory to hear you admit it."

"As if you need more victories," She muttered, sagging against the seat. "I hardly need any more intimidation considering I'm about ten minutes away from facing your father. He's going to take one look at me and figure it all out."

"Hey, don't think like that," he said, grabbing her hand and lacing his fingers through hers.

Pushing her chin up with another hand, he urged her to meet his eyes—his infernally beautiful, gold-flecked eyes. "Listen to me. I know that Dad won't expect us to be crazy in love with each other. He knows I've never met you before he handed down this condition and he knows how much of a fight I'd put up. He's not going to look for hearts and roses but he'll know if we're faking the attraction. The only way we can convince him that this isn't a total ploy—is to act like we're attracted to each other."

"But we're not," Rukia murmured, her gaze lowering to his lips which were suddenly too near. "Attracted, I mean. We're not attracted to each other."

He laughed softly. "I would've said that earlier this week. I'm not really sure anymore."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not going to put up another kissing performance in front of your father because when I slap you hard, he won't have a doubt in the world that this is a total hoax."

His thumb on the hand entwined with hers rubbed lazy circles on her palm as his eyes lowered to her mouth. "Then don't slap me. Let me kiss you. Enjoy it. Respond to it."

Rukia bit her lip, still stubborn. "I don't just let random guys kiss me."

His mouth quirked on one corner. "I'm not some random guy. I'm your future husband."

"You're my future husband in name only," she corrected. "Which is probably worse."

He sighed but his arm somehow made its way around her waist and he dragged her closer to him with it. "Fine. Then think of me as some guy you're attracted to. Some guy you like spending time with. Some guy you won't mind if he slowly leans in close and tells you you're beautiful. Some guy who draws you into an intimate moment. Some guy you want to be close to. Some guy you're curious to kiss. Some guy whose lips you want to feel on yours."

The moment was hypnotic that her eyes simply fluttered close when Ichigo's lips brushed hers.

"Some guy whose arms you want to hold you."

Rukia sank deeper into his embrace as his arms tightened around her, gathering her over his lap.

"Some guy who's going to earn every kiss you give him back."

His tongue teased at the seam of her lips, coaxing for entrance and gaining it with barely any resistance from her. Her hand found its way to the nape of his neck, her fingers raking through his hair as their kiss fused into shared gasps and moans.

"Who's going to make every conscious thought vanish," he said as they pulled away for a fraction of a second to drag in more air. "Who's going to make you senseless with want, boneless with desire."

Rukia shivered as his hot, demanding mouth reclaimed hers, his hand sliding down to cup her breast, his thumb kneading intently on the hardened tip straining against the confines of her bra.

Tormented by a sudden ache that tightened her every nerve ending, She gasped out his name and let her head roll back, arching to his touch as he leaned close and anchored his mouth on her neck.

"Well, I guess that tells me everything I need to know."

The amused statement cut through the thick fog of Rukia's lust and snapped her back to reality with the effectiveness of an ice-cold bath. Her eyes widened as it focused on the open door of the car that revealed them to an awaiting audience of four people—Isshin Kurosaki and his other three children.

"Close your eyes, Yuzu!" the shrill voice of the eldest sister, Nelliel - the adopted one, broke through Rukia's shock and horror as she watched her wrap a hand over the eyes of the youngest Kurosaki sibling.

"Nel-chan, I'm eighteen already I'm not a baby anymore." Yuzu said while taking Nel's hand that was covering her eyes.

"I can't believe you brought her here, Ichigo" Nelliel continued on acidly, glaring at her older brother who was still straddled under Rukia, his hands resting on her hips.

She glanced down at him in stupefied speechlessness and found him smiling up at her, his hazel eyes bright with good humor and his kiss-swollen lips curved into a lazy smile. Realizing their position, Rukia jumped off his lap and scrambled into a corner of the backseat behind Ichigo as if to protect herself from his family.

"Of course, I brought her here, Nel," Ichigo said as he straightened up and grabbed Rukia by the wrist. "She's your future sister-in-law. There's no better time for you to get to know her than today."

- He has no idea. Absolutely none! -

"I know her, Ichigo She went to high school with me."

Ichigo didn't seem surprised as he slid out of the car and held the car door open for her. "Yes, same school but I doubt that your class mingled with the working students, Nel, which is why you probably don't know Rukia very well."

"If she did, I'd have fewer problems," Isshin muttered under his breath as he stepped forward and extended a hand to Rukia, smiling broadly. "Hello, Rukia-chan. Missed me?"

The old man's eyes were kind and her initial horror quickly disappeared.

"Hi, Isshin-san. Good to see you again," Rukia said shyly as she took his hand and eased out of the car, trying as subtly as she could to straighten her dress as Ichigo reached out to brush her hair down and tuck a stray lock behind her ear. The intimate gesture alarmed her that she swatted his hand before she could think better of it and he retaliated with a grin and a pinch of her nose.

Isshin, having seen the exchange, laughed out loud and pulled her in for a quick hug. "It is good to see you, Rukia-chan, especially here with my son and his ring on your finger."

Rukia's heart plummeted into her stomach but Ichigo smoothly wrapped an arm behind her waist and pulled her to his side, the gesture oddly reassuring when it was simply another embellishment to their act.

"I couldn't let her get away. She didn't make it easy on me but I quickly convinced her."

He gave her a meaningful but teasing look and she flushed. "Yes, well. When Ichigo has his mind set on something, nothing can stop him. It was a little overwhelming at first but I like a decisive guy."

Isshin beamed at them. "I'm glad to hear that. You know I welcome you to my family like one of my own, Rukia-chan, but in case you haven't had any proper introductions to them, these are my daughters, Nelliel, my eldest. Karin, and Yuzu my twins. Children, this is Rukia Kuchiki—a good friend of mine and your brother's fiancee."

"Hi, Rukia-chan nice meeting you." Karin smiled offering up her hand.

Yuzu, widely smiled at her and did the same. "I'm very excited about meeting you and curious as well. I never thought Ichi-nii would get married anytime soon. You'll be part of our family and -

"She won't."

Rukia felt Nelliel's glare burn a hole through her.

Rukia had known that she was going to eventually run into Nelliel when she married Ichigo but it didn't concern her so much until she was face to face with her today. She and Nelliel never had any quarrel between them but Rukia failed to remember just how Nelliel were above reproach in the entire time she knew of her.

Nelliel Kurosaki was Sereitei Academy's queen bee during high school. She was beautiful and statuesque with long, greenish blue hair and mesmerizing eyes. With her wealth and social status added on top of her natural beauty and grace, she was easily the most popular girl that all the boys wanted to date and all the girls wanted to copy.

She was smart and confident and often played nice with everyone but her friends were an entirely different story. Her pals often poked fun at the other kids—the unpopular, the awkward, the misfits and the poor.

Rukia stayed out of their radar for the first couple of years but one time, Senna, one of her bitchiest friends, decided she wasn't happy with the her talking to one of the school jocks she was helping find a book in the library. Senna started talking about her out loud around a group of people who were snickering and cheering her on. Rukia was provoked but did her best to ignore the woman until she started talking about her family. Rukia quickly decided she had enough.

Rukia grabbed a hulking hardbound dicitionary, spread it open to the page where the word 'bitch' was defined and laid it flat on the table in front of Senna and her captive audience, saying, "It says it's a female dog. Since I don't see you on four legs and paws, I'm assuming it's either your face or the other meaning which isn't in this dictionary. If you're not, then stop acting like one."

Rukia walked out with her head high but inside she was kicking herself mentally for letting Senna take her down to her level and potentially risking her scholarship. To her surprise, nothing ever came of it except for Senna never messing with her again although she still gave Rukia the usual evil eye and the other kids in school giving her wide berth whenever she was around.

Rukia and Nelliel never clashed but with her friendship to Senna and all the nasty possibilities for her motives in marrying her brother, Rukia understood her reaction.

"Alright kids, now let's head inside and start brunch," Isshin announced as he led the troop of Kurosaki's inside the palatial house.

With Ichigo's clasp on Rukia's waist, they lagged behind the rest of them.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Ichigo murmured to her. "Dad looks convinced.

She grimaced. "Your sister don't. I shouldn't have taken for granted the fact that she knew where I came from. In most people's minds, nothing changes after high school."

"I know Nelliel, she'll come around," he said nonchalantly.

"Or she could go digging into our whirlwind courtship and find out the truth," She retorted with a small groan as they walked up the large, airy hallway. "They won't buy the whole Cinderella-story crap. They know you even better. They won't understand why you would marry me."

He glanced down at her with a smirk, his eyes dark with meaning. "I think after seeing us earlier in the backseat like that, they can figure out one or two reasons why we're rushing to get married."

"Ichigo! That was a lapse of judgement on my part and a cheap trick on yours," Rukia hissed at him under her breath, elbowing him on the side as her face flamed in embarrassment at the reminder of their steamy make-out session in the back of his car.

She struggled not to remember the feel and taste of his mouth, of his relentless hands all over her, of the fire that replaced the blood in her veins—and failed utterly when he leaned close and laughed softly against her ear, his lips brushing the sensitive skin on it. "You can have a lapse of judgement with me anytime, babe."

"Not in this lifetime," She ground out, hoping that he was getting the full impact of her glare. "I didn't even like it."

Thorougly amused, he suddenly hooked his arm around her waist and lifted her up against his chest which was vibrating with laughter as she let out a shriek before she could think better of it.

"Everything okay?" Isshin's statement sounded puzzled but amused.

Ichigo swung her to the side to grin at his father and siblings who'd halted in the long march to wherever the breakfast nook was and nodded in reassurance. "Yeah, yeah. I'm just settling an argument with my fiancee. Go on ahead of us."

"Ichigo, put me down," Rukia murmured against his neck where she'd buried her face in mortification. "This is a bit excessive, don't you think?"

His face turned to her, a mere inch or two away from hers, their conversation hidden behind the curtain of Rukia's hair. "I'll put you down if you admit that you liked it. You're not a very good liar, Rukia."

She glowered at him. "Really? After all that practice you've given me?"

He ignored that comment. "Admit it. You enjoyed every bit of that kiss."

She bit her lip. "I will admit to nothing. Why do you care anyway? You need an ego boost that badly?"

"No. I just want to know that you're not unaffected by it," he said with a smug smile. "Because if it didn't move you, I could always kiss you again."

The look on his face told her that he meant it.

"Damn you, Kurosaki," Rukia muttered, pummeling his shoulder weakly with her fist. "Alright, I admit it. I liked it. Happy now?"

"Good enough," he said before suddenly pulling her down for a quick but passionate kiss and promptly releasing her back on her feet right after.

She was oddly annoyed and thrilled at the same time and she didn't really wish to explain it to anyone. Good thing that when she turned back around to face Ichigo's family, the hallway was empty except for the two of them.

As Ichigo took her hand and led her forward to continue their journey to wherever in this enormous mansion the brunch was taking place, Rukia briefly wondered that if his family hadn't been there as their audience, for whose benefit was that last kiss intended?

.

.

Brunch was actually a pretty fun affair if Rukia didn't count the number of snide remarks Nelliel threw her way before Ichigo finally gave her a stern, iron-clad warning to shove it.

Rukia surprised herself by not flinging any cheeky response back at her but she was in a good mood, having a good meal and a semblance of a family she haven't experienced in years. She just couldn't be bothered to even worry about Nelliel.

Karin was more civil than her sister but too quiet to even really voice out anything. Isshin was full of stories and jokes and Yuzu was witty and adorable. Even Ichigo was relaxed, his expression open, and his smiles easy and plenty that she almost forgot the whole ploy they were running here.

Isshin asked general questions about their meeting and nearly-instantaneous decision to marry. Ichigo mostly started the answers and she added on to them a bit. Isshin was mildly surprised that the wedding was less than two weeks away but Ichigo just smiled smugly and put an arm around her shoulders, saying, "I found what I want and I'm keeping it. Waiting is pointless."

Isshin just smiled and grunted some kind of agreement with his son.

After the meal, the sisters insisted that Ichigo sit out on the covered patio with them to catch up while Isshin wanted to talk to her.

Rukia cast Ichigo a nervous glance but he just smiled at her and gave her a tight nod before following his sisters to the patio.

"I hope that Ichigo didn't push you too hard on this," Isshin said without preliminaries as soon as they were out of earshot. "I would've liked to have seen a long enough engagement but if this is what you both want, I have no problem with it."

Isshin must've been hoping for some time for her and Ichigo to naturally come to the conclusion he wanted. Rukia couldn't tell him that Ichigo just wanted this whole marriage to be done and over with as quickly as possible because the sooner they married, the sooner they could divorce.

Her heart squeezed with guilt.

"It's hard to explain how this all went so fast but it's happening and I'm going to let it,"

Isshin glanced at her with a warm smile, his eyes glinting with a knowing light. "Ichigo has always had a way with women so I'm not surprised at how quickly he got you to agree to this. Knowing you though, I'm certain you're not leaving him completely in charge which is a good thing."

"Oh, trust me," She told him with a laugh. "The constant battle for the upper-hand definitely keeps things interesting."

The old man chuckled. "I'm glad. He needs someone who can stand up to him and turn his world on its ear every now and then."

"Aren't you worried about him turning my world on its ear?"

He grinned. "I'm sure he's going to give it as good as he gets. Ichigo will be a handful for a husband but he'll be generous and good to you. It's about time you enjoy life a little, Rukia-chan, and let someone take care of you this time around."

Her heart swelled with affection for the old man as she realized that maybe he formulated this idea in an attempt to help both her and his son at the same time—together.

She wasn't sure why he'd go as far as blackmailing Ichigo to accomplish it but whatever the details of his reason were, she couldn't resent him for it. If this made him happy, then it would be worth it, with or without the money.

"I don't have very much left in this life, Rukia-chan," he said as if somehow sensing the train of her thoughts. "I would like to see the people I love and care about happy and settled before I go."

Rukia's hand tightened its grip on his arm. "Isshin-san, don't talk like that. You're not dying."

He sighed, his smile wistful. "We're all dying. It's just a matter of when we do. They key is to live as much as we can and love as hard as we're able to before the time comes. It's something I want my children to know and keep in mind when I'm no longer here to remind them of it."

She felt the sting of tears but quickly blinked them back and forced a smile out for him. "You're a good Dad, Isshin-san. Your children are lucky to have you."

He patted her hand on his arm. "Well, you're to be counted among them pretty soon. I'm really happy you're marrying my son, Rukia-chan. And from now on, I want you to call me Dad."

Rukia blushes but smiled warmly at the old man. "I will. Dad."

Isshin kissed her cheek and called his youngest daughter. "Let's go and get Cook to pack up some food for Ichigo and Rukia-chan, Yuzu. These two should probably head out soon if they want to spend the rest of Sunday together. Come on."

They were silent as they watched father and daughter leave the room.

"I can't believe you're marrying someone like her !" Nelliel burst out, pointing an accusing finger at Rukia. "She's got you and Dad poisoned. Don't you see that?"

Ichigo gave her a withering stare as he stood and offered a hand to help Rukia up. "What I see is you acting like a brat, Nelliel."

Her eyes widened angrily. "A brat? A brat—"

"I understand your concern, Nelliel, and I admire the fact that you're protective of your family," Rukia interjected softly although her gaze never wavered. "You don't have to like me. You don't have to get along with me. You don't even have to be nice to me. But don't antagonize your father or brother because of me because you'll always lose when you jeopardize your relationship with your family trying to pick a fight with someone who has no interest in having one with you. All you'll manage to accomplish is wasting precious time and energy, sabotaging yourself and hurting people you care about along the way. I don't imagine my suffering is worth much more than all that."

Her mouth opened in an automatic response to dish something back but just closed it back.

"We're leaving," Ichigo announced before either of his sisters could say anything else.

He grabbed her hand and started pulling her toward the door.

Once out in the hallway, Rukia sighed out loud. "I'm sorry I'm causing trouble between you and Nel but I felt that I needed to say that. I don't have illusions that she's going to just love me all of a sudden so it's probably better that we just all agreed to disagree peacefully and move on."

"If that was how you stood up to her in high school, I can see why she would find you intimidating."

She glanced up at to see if he was upset but he was smiling in amusement at her.

"I don't remember Nelliel hurting anyone before. Besides I wasn't going out of my way to provoke people like your sister,"

"You probably didn't but when they provoked you, you made no bones about exactly what you thought of their actions and called them out for it," he said with a shrug as if he perfectly understood her reasons.

She groaned and ran a hand down her face. "If I'm going to wing this whole marriage thing with you for a year, I can't afford enemies. The less people I have interested in me and our unusually quick engagement, the better I'm able to pull this off."

His hand, the one she didn't realize was still holding hers until he tightened his grip, seized her in place, halting their walk and causing her to look up at him.

"I agree but I would never want you to stand back down when you can do what's right," he said in a firm voice.

Rukia smiled mischievously at him, her brows arching. "You do know that you just told me to persist on my opinion when you're in the wrong, don't you?"

He barked out a laugh and she grinned.

Their morals were skewed, their inconvenient attraction was complicating matters and their lives were about to become one big combined chaos but at that moment, standing in the sunny hallway, holding hands and laughing, Rukia decided that she and Ichigo were going to be alright.

me: Okay, about Nelliel. Just to be clear she's not the bad guy here. You guys might think she's ooc, maybe a bit but in Bleach adult Nel was far more mature, intelligent, confident, strong etc than her child form. Remember her lecturing noitra? That's why we used Nelliel and not the cute little Nel.

But in this fic, Nelliel is one of the main character and she has a good reason for why she's acting that way and that's when Grimmjow comes in.

Ninya loves GrimmNel too much hehehe, how about you readers, which one of you likes GrimmNel romance? What do you think about this chapter too?

.-.-.-.

Thank you so much for the amazing reviews last chapter guys. Your support in this story is very overwhelming. Ninya and I appreciate it bigtime!

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And to all of my guest reviewers. I really hope you guys put a name so I'd know which one of you to reply. :)

And again, because of my laptop's keyboard not working, I won't be able to reply again. Sorry guys.

I wanna say, thank you shirayukideathberry for your warm welcome and for enjoying the story. And anonymous 2234 , I hope I could keep your interest until the end.