A/N: Wow. I was so surprised to see that amount of reviews for the first chapter. I honestly didn't think ppl would be into this story, I myself like it a lot, but I didn't think it'd be so popular. But of course, the surprise is a good one, thank you for reading!
BTW, as someone already pointed out, the song Rukia sang in the last chapter is This Place Is Haunted by Devotchka, lovely song I recommend listening to it. Oh, and next time I will reveal my playlist, I have a playlist for every story I write, and this one also has one, so that should be fun.
There was a typo in the last CH. Rukia isn't Ukitake's lieutenant, she is Byakuya's; I've already fixed that.
Anyway, Enjoy and I can;t wait to hear from you!
"I heard Urahara say today that when we grown up I'm going to be your husband, that we're getting married…"
"Really?"
"Yep."
"Schiff."
"What?"
"What's marriage? Father told Mayuri that he's getting married to Masaki next year, and Mayuri was very upset about it."
"I'm not sure…I think it's when two people live together forever."
"Well that's not so bad, then we could play all the time and no one would tell us anything."
"Yeah."
"Schiff."
"What?"
"I want to marry you right now, so I won't have to go back over there another year."
"I know, me too."
…
Rukia opened her eyes and stretched as she yawned. She got up and walked towards the window, the sun was high and the sky was a rich blue, it would be a beautiful day at Sereitei. She sighed and walked over to her closet. She felt so at ease today, so peaceful. Perhaps it was the dream? This time, the little boy and the little girl were sitting by a lake. There were a lot of trees, grass, flowers, and the sun was giving off a pleasant warmth.
Rukia stopped what she was doing suddenly, when she remembered the dream in more detail. There were names this time, the boy's name was Schiff, and he mentioned Urahara and Mayuri…but it couldn't be, perhaps it was her own mind playing games with her, it had to be. It could have been because of her strange encounter with Mayuri three weeks ago, and she had just seen Urahara last week to purchase a couple of gigais for some shinigami in her squad.
Rukia shook off the strange feeling and proceeded to dress herself. She had agreed to meet the rest of the women from the Shinigami Women's Association for breakfast at restaurant in Sereitei. Not wanting to overdress, she decided to wear a casual kimono. As an early wedding present, Byakuya decided to give her this week off, to finish arranging what she needed to before the wedding.
Upon arriving to the restaurant, Rukia regret not dressing up. It was a first class place, and everyone in there was dressed exceptionally well, even the shinigami women waiting or her there. The looked at her perplexed as she entered, perhaps wondering why she was dressed so casual. She stood up a bit more straight and took a seat next to Matsumoto.
"Morning Ruki-chan!" Screamed Yachiru running so quickly towards her so quickly that all Rukia saw was a pink blur. A second later she was on the floor with Yachiru sitting on her stomach, "Ruki-chan, congrats on your wedding to Ashido-kun!"
"Thank you Yachiru," said Rukia standing back up again and sitting on the chair.
"Two weeks from now…are you nervous?" Asked Momo looking very giddy
"A little bit," admitted Rukia.
"Not after tonight you won't be!" Said Matsumoto with an evil glint in her eyes.
"Why? What are all of you planning?"
"It is tradition in certain countries of the world of the living, that when a male or female is about to be married, members of the same sex show them a night of enjoyable yet questionable behavior. Being the experimental group that we are, we decided to practice this tradition," said Nemu.
"Where do you want to go?" Asked Rukia.
"I've done some research on interesting places to visit in the world of the living, and, I have the list with me, we can choose as a group," said Nanao taking out a list, "there is, Disney World, Las Vegas, Six Flags, Universal Studios, Sea World, Paris, and Chucky Cheese's."
"That's it?" Asked Matsumoto disappointed.
"Yes, well, captain Kyoraku kept on looking over my shoulder, so I didn't have time to find anything else," said Nanao pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"Fine, I guess Las Vegas sounds interesting, what is it anyway?" Asked Matsumoto.
"Chucky Cheese's sounds cute!" Exclaimed Yachiru but Nanao stuffed a cookie in her mouth and Yachiru concentrated on eating the treat instead.
"According to this…brochure, it is a city of dancing, drinking, gambling, and cheap sexual intercourse, their motto is 'what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas'," said Nanao reading the brochure.
"Sounds like my kind of place," said Matsumoto.
"What about Universal Studios?" Asked Nemu.
"Let's see…Universal Orlando…it's an amusement park with rides, games…apparently there are also places to dance, dine, and the resort has hotels. It is themed after the production company and it's like being inside their movies."
"Well that sounds like fun, we could even dress up!" Said Momo excited.
"We're not the ones to dress up, the people that work there do…but we could always be creative with our attire," pondered Nanao.
"So what do you think Kuchiki-san, since you're the celebrated one, you get to decide," said Momo.
"Hmm…let's see, Universal studios, that way Yachiru can play all she wants and Matsumoto can drink and party all night."
"I believe you have made a wise decision," said Nemu.
"So, when are we leaving?"
"At five, we'll be there instantly; we'll call Urahara right now to place the gigais where we tell him, and we'll spend the night at their hotel, I'll make the reservations right away," said Matsumoto.
"Okay."
"What a cute place Rukia-chan!" Said Yachiru happily jumping up and down. The six women were standing in front of the theme park and were looking at it with glee.
"I wanna go on a ride!"
"Lieutenant Ise, since you are the vice president and the closest to president Yachiru, it is logical that you are the one to assist her during the day," said Nemu.
"Yes, you're right. where would you like to go Madame President?" Asked Nanao sighing.
"Over there!" Said Yachiru pulling Nanao away from the others.
"Where should we go?" wondered Momo.
"Hey look, over there, a haunted house, ha! Like there is anything left that can actually scare us, come on bring it on!" Said Matsumoto dashing towards the haunted house as she pulled a frightened Momo along. After they left, Rukia and Nemu turned to look at each other.
"You wanna start with a ride?" Asked Rukia sheepishly, being around Nemu always made her uncomfortable since she was so stoic, she reminded her of her brother Byakuya.
"Yes, that seems fit, since it is an amusement park one must be amused."
"Yeah, that makes sense." Rukia and Nemu got in line for a ride called the Jurassic Park River Adventure, and lasted in line for twenty minutes before getting on the ride. Rukia thought the time spent waiting was ridiculous…but it was worth it, the thrill they got made up for it, it didn't even matter that they got wet.
"That was…that was fun!" laughed Rukia.
"Yes, it certainly was," said Nemu; there was a ghost of a smile on her face. After that one the went on one called Jaws, and another one called revenge of the mummy, before going inside a gift shop.
"Kuchiki-san, do you know what captain Kurotsuchi would like for me to take him?" Asked Nemu holding a doll a bit awkwardly from the leg.
"I'm not sure, but I don't think he would want toys, maybe clothing, like a shirt, a sweater…on second thought no, maybe a mug or something decorative," said Rukia; she was the last person to ask about Mayuri Kurotsuchi's preferences.
"I think I will get him this mug," said Nemu finally deciding, "it is thick and would keep his tea warm."
"Hey, Nemu."
"Yes?"
"There's something I want to ask you."
"Go on."
"Has Captain Kurotsuchi ever…mentioned anything you…about me?"
"Yes, but I do not think it is something that you would be pleased to hear," said Nemu looking through the stacks of bracelets to find one with her name on it.
"Please, tell me. I feel that there's something he's hiding from me, something that's about me and I need to know."
"If you insist, but I warned you that it will not please you," said Nemu still concentrating on finding the bracelet, "he said, that you are a pathetic excuse of a shinigami, and that you have done nothing but disgrace the Kuchiki clan. He does not believe you deserve half of the attention you are given, and that if it weren't for Ichigo Kurosaki, no one would even know your name."
"Oh, he really thinks that about me?" Asked Rukia, now worried about something else entirely.
"Yes, but do not worry Kuchiki-san, I do not share his opinion. One of the abilities that Mayuri-sama programmed into me, was the ability to sense hidden power and hidden potential. You do not have great power, but you could. You are ticking time bomb, and when the time comes, few will be able to compare to you," said Nemu turning to look at her.
"You really believe that? If anything captain Kurotsuchi is right, I'm very average, there's nothing unique about my abilities, I'm not strong."
"I know. But you will be one day, of that I am certain."
"Are you?"
"There is a ninety percent chance that within a year Kuchiki-san will become more powerful than even captain Yamamoto," said Nemu very seriously.
"That's a good one Nemu," said Rukia laughing.
"Choose to believe what you will, I only state what my radar tells me."
"So any luck finding your name?"
"No, and I must obtain it, would you mind if we go look for it at another shop?"
"You go ahead, I found some interesting snow globes I'd like to buy," said Rukia; Nemu nodded and left the shop.
Once Nemu left, Rukia walked over to shelves of snow globes and looked at each one of them individually, they were different sizes and there were different landscapes inside of them. Then she found one in particular that intrigued her. Inside of it was a mansion, just like the one in her dream, with horses and in the country; when she shook it, tiny leaves swirled all over it and it almost looked like there were rays of sunshine coming down upon it.
She smiled and decided to take this one. She examined it carefully, and almost dropped it at what she saw. There at a window, although small, was an image of a boy with black hair and green eyes looking out the window; it almost appeared like he was waiting for someone. Something about that boy seemed very familiar, had she seen him somewhere? She couldn't say it was the one from her dreams, because she never did get to see what that boy looked like, the images were always so blurry.
Rukia looked back up thoughtfully, and when she did, she almost screamed, there in front of her was a frightening man in white. She recognized him as the Espada that killed Ichigo, and then almost killed him again once Orihime revived him. There was no mistaking him, that pitch black hair, those soulless green eyes, that ghostly pale skin. Since the first time she saw him, she feared him. Since the first time she saw him, he engraved himself in her mind, and there was hardly a dream she didn't see him in...or perhaps not dreams, but nightmares. It was just recently that she stopped dreaming of him, she began to forget about him because of the constant dreams about the little boy and girl.
Just thinking back to those old dreams, she shuddered, dreams in which he stuck his hand inside her chest, and ripped out her heart, his cold eyes looking into her panicked violet ones as he killed her. She never did know what exactly about him she found so unnerving. The only thing clear was that when he was around, the air grew colder, the skies darkened, and an overwhelming sense of loneliness overcame her, she felt empty…hollow, it was like looking at misery itself.
Rukia closed her eyes and shook her head quickly, and when she opened her eyes again, he was gone, had it been her imagination?
"Rukia!"
"AH!" Screamed Rukia jumping back startled; she almost stumbled back on one of the shelves of snow globes.
"What's up with you Ruki-chan?" Asked Yachiru smiling at her; Rukia sighed relieved.
"Nothing, I was just imagining things."
"See, thinking is bad for you, that's why my Kenny is the bestess Shinigami in the world!" Said Yachiru jumping up and down excitedly.
"Sorry if we scared you Kuchiki-san, it was Yachiru's idea to sneak up on you," said Nanao.
"It's okay, are the others with you?"
"No, but Rangiku-san called, she said to meet up with them for dinner. Is Nemu with you?"
"She went to look for a bracelet at another shop she should be back any-"
"I have arrived," said Nemu holding up a bracelet with her name on it.
After they finished shopping, they met the others at a restaurant called Emeril's. they ate quickly because Rangiku wanted to get back to the hotel and change for a nightclub she'd heard about called the Groove.
"Are you sure I should wear this?" Rukia asked Nemu, they were both in their suite at the Bay Hotel.
"It is very appropriate and alluring Kuchiki-san," said Nemu; Rukia looked at herself in the mirror doubtfully.
She was wearing a beige cocktail dress; it had thin straps and bow of the same color beneath her chest that mad her breasts seem larger and gave her a nice cleavage. The dress went halfway down her thighs, and was ruffled at the bottom edges. Overall the dress was beautiful, but she wasn't used to being so exposed.
"But it shows too much."
"Kuchiki-san, it is not half as exposing as mine, and I am not troubled over it," said Nemu; it was true, Nemu's dress was much more revealing.
She was wearing a black halter dress that exposed her back all the way down to her hips, and also exposed the front all the way down to her navel; the bottom of the dress clung to her hips and was the same length as a miniskirt.
"I suppose you're right," said Rukia; they left their suite to meet the others.
"You have no idea how glad I am that Yachiru went to sleep before we came here, they wouldn't have let her in, and she would have caused a ruckus!" Said Nanao to Momo half-yelling.
"How about we hit the dance floor?" Said Rangiku to the group of girls. Rukia and Momo didn't look to sure, but they dragged them out anyway.
Rukia felt comfortable at first, they were dancing in a circle which didn't involve anyone else. But little by little the women started disappearing, the first one to go was Rangiku who was pulled out by a muscular man. Next was Nemu, who was taken out by three men. Nanao wasn't very easily taken, but she was taken nonetheless by a handsome lawyer; the only ones left were Rukia and Momo.
"Well they're sure popular with the guys!" Screamed Momo in Rukia's ear so she could hear her; Rukia nodded in response, "don't worry Kuchiki-san, I won't leave you!"
"May I cut it?" It was a very handsome guy about their age; he had wavy blonde hair and hypnotizing blue eyes; he was looking at Momo from head to toe.
"Sorry, but I'm with my friend, she's getting married soon, so we thought we'd take her out," said Momo apologizing.
"It's all right, I'll just call my friends over here then so we can all dance together," said the guy; he called over three other guys, who oddly enough were also blonde; soon, another brunette joined them and the all danced in a group.
Rukia was a little bit stiff at first, but a couple of drinks later and she was a pro. She was now so comfortable that she would turn to random people and danced with them; none of them seemed to mind. She was currently dancing with one of the blonde guys, it was a rave song so she did her best to move to the beat. She was aware that there was a guy beside her and another behind her, but unlike earlier she didn't mind it, it was after all, just dancing.
From the corner of her eye she saw Rangiku dancing with a different man, and she saw her backing up against him as she danced, rubbing up on him. Rukia looked around and saw that it was normal, many other people were doing it too. As she danced, the guy behind her wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her closer to him. Rukia responded by backing up against him and grinding herself on him, she wrapped one arm around his neck, and he wrapped both arms around her waist as they danced together.
She found the dance very stimulating, soon, her fingers were threading through his hair, his lips were on her neck, and his hands running down her hips and stomach. He bit her neck, and she gave a slight moan, delighting even more as she felt his tongue sliding from the end of her shoulder, up her neck, and to her ear, where he breather hotly before sucking on her earlobe.
She pulled on his hair, and his hands became more insistent on her body, roaming to places she knew she wouldn't have allowed had she not been wrapped up in this odd trance. Suddenly she had the urge to taste him, to make him feel what he was making her feel, and look at her dance partner's face. She closed her eyes, tilted her head back and bit his chin before sucking on his neck. Her lips were soft at first, gentle, but then she started nipping and biting…yet he made no sound; this disappointed her.
She opened her eyes to look up at him, and her heart stopped. It was him, the Espada, he was looking down at her coldly. She immediately pulled herself away from him and scanned the room for her shinigami companions, she found them, then turned to look back at the Espada, but he was gone, disappeared into thin air.
"Hey Rukia, Matsumoto sent me to tell you to go easy on the dancing, you're getting married in two weeks!" Said Momo, she was very drunk, but Rukia wasn't paying much attention to her.
"I think I'll call it a night, tell the others I'm going back to the hotel."
"Okay," said Momo.
Rukia was inside her suite, already wearing her nightgown. She stood leaning on the balcony as she looked down at the garden. What was that all about? Had she really seen him all those times or was it only her imagination? But…she even had the mark that proved it. Rukia's hand went to her neck, where she placed it over a red blotch. What exactly was happening?
She went back inside her room, then outside to the garden. She took a seat and dipped her feet in the hot tub. The place was empty, everyone else was probably still dancing. At feeling a familiar presence, she immediately stood up.
"What do you want?!" She asked turning to a pale Espada, but he didn't say anything, "why won't you leave me alone?!"
Wordlessly, he walked over to her and looked down at her neck. She gasped frightened when he put his finger on it.
"It is part of my orders, to retrieve you, Kuchiki Rukia," he said coldly; she backed away from him, "but that will be in another occasion, at the moment, I am here to protect you."
"Protect me from what?!"
"That information is not to be disclosed," he said simply, then quickly vanished, leaving Rukia dumbstruck. She took out her cell phone and looked at her neck, the mark, the only proof that he was ever there, was also gone.
