Chapter 4
Loved Ones Lost
"I'm not very close to my brother, even though we were closer when we were kids." Rukia admits, since she has spent the last half hour explaining telling him a bit about her past and why she was looking for a home in Karakura Town rather than going back to her brother's mansion.
"That's too bad, so you only got further apart after you lost your parents?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia nods her head sadly.
Ichigo stares at her, since he finally understands what had her acting so strangely yesterday.
"It's not like we hate each other, we just don't really get along." Rukia explains, but Ichigo looks like he's ready to go back to an earlier subject.
"And you say I resemble a friend you lost when you were a kid?" He asks gently, because he could tell by her expression how much it had hurt her to admit that part.
"The resemblance is uncanny." Rukia admits sadly, and they both are silent for a moment.
"Ichigo!" Tatsuki's voice cuts through the silence and Ichigo looks at the doorway to see his childhood friend has arrived with her best friend.
"Ah, Tatsuki, hi." Ichigo looks back at Rukia. "If anything, you remind me a little bit of her, but only in your fearlessness." Ichigo says with a grin before he looks back at his friend.
"We came to visit you." Tatsuki says, and then she looks Rukia dead in the eye. "Would you mind leaving us alone for a few minutes?" Tatsuki asks, and Ichigo immediately grabs Rukia's wrist.
"You don't have to." He says quickly, but Rukia puts her free hand on top of his which effectively quiets him.
"I'm going to go buy a drink. I'll be back in a few minutes." She tells him, wanting to respect the fact that his friend wants some privacy with him.
Ichigo watches Rukia until she's no longer in his sight, and he wishes she hadn't left.
"Why did you ask her to leave?" Ichigo asks Tatsuki, but she backs up a bit to peer out in the hall, to see if Rukia is still nearby. When she sees that Rukia is turning the corner out of her view, she turns back around, and nods her head at her best friend.
"Orihime had something she wanted to say to you privately. I'll stand guard at the door so nobody interrupts." Tatsuki says, and Ichigo guffaws at her answer while Inoue turns pink.
Ichigo turns to look at the other young woman in the room. He doesn't know her well, but he does know her and she looks very nervous to be alone with him. It's nothing new to him, so he sighs before speaking.
"Inoue, right?" He asks, wondering why in the hell he has to be alone in this room with anybody other than Rukia at the moment.
"Yes, Kurosaki-kun." Inoue says, with her voice shaking a bit at what she has to say next.
Ichigo eyes her as she takes a deep breath, uncertain of what all of this is about.
"You had something to say to me?" Ichigo asks pointedly, and Inoue nods her head yes at him.
"Kurosaki-kun, for many years now, I have had feelings for you. I'm here today to confess to you…" Inoue trails off, because when she looks at his eyes, he doesn't look happy or excited by her words.
"Huh?" Ichigo asks dumbly, even though her words compute perfectly in his head.
"I've always been in love with you." Inoue manages in a whisper, and then she starts to shake from her nerves.
Ichigo feels a bit sorry for her, since before today, he might have been more willing to listen to her confession, but the only girl he wants to hear confessing now, is Rukia.
"Well…" Ichigo starts to say, but Inoue cuts him off in the middle of his hesitating sentence.
"I don't expect you to answer me right now. I know I've probably shocked you." She says quickly, sensing that his answer won't be positive, but he holds up his hand.
"I think it's better not to lead you on. I'm interested in Rukia." Ichigo says plainly, and he doesn't expect her to start crying, but the tears start to flow anyways.
Tatsuki walks back in the room, and sees her best friend with her face in her hands before she glares over at Ichigo.
"You made her cry!?" Tatsuki asks with her fists clenched, and Ichigo holds up his hands.
"Not on purpose!" He says defensively, but Inoue turns around and grabs Tatsuki's hand.
"Come on, we should leave." Inoue's voice cracks, and Tatsuki seethes before she looks back at her old friend.
"Orihime, wait for me outside for a second." Tatsuki says, and Inoue frowns, but listens to her friend. Tatsuki waits until Inoue's out of the room before she advances to Ichigo's bedside and gives him a death glare.
"Why are you so mad?" Ichigo asks, even though he's sure it's because he turned Inoue down.
"For at least five years now, I've had to listen practically everyday, about how she felt about you and how wonderful you are. Do you have any idea how much you're quick dismissal has hurt her? Do you?" Tatsuki asks in a low voice, sounding very strained.
"Sorry, Tatsuki. I just don't like her like that." Ichigo says honestly, and Tatsuki appears to be visibly holding herself back.
"Be glad that you're in a hospital bed Ichigo, or else I'd have to be the one putting you in one." Tatsuki says angrily, and Ichigo's eyes widen.
"What!? Did you want me to lie to her because she's your friend? Isn't it better that I'm honest? Does it matter to you at all if I'm interested or not? Aren't I your friend too?" Ichigo asks, but Tatsuki turns on her heel. She looks back at him one last time before intending on walking out the door.
"I thought you'd realize you were damned lucky that a sweet and pretty girl like Orihime actually liked you! In case you hadn't noticed, you're not exactly popular with girls!" Tatsuki says, but that's the instant that Karin comes back to her brother's room.
"And whose fault is that?" Karin asks snidely, causing Tatsuki to gasp and spin around to confront Ichigo's sister.
"What are you saying, Karin?" Ichigo asks, but his sister just shakes her head at him.
"I'm leaving." Tatsuki says, suddenly feeling stupid for all the times she'd threatened girls in the past to keep them away from him. "I don't think you deserve Orihime anyways." Tatsuki says before walking out, and Yuzu walks in timidly.
"Are you and Tatsuki-chan fighting?" Yuzu asks, and Karin realizes Rukia isn't in the room.
"What happened to Rukia-chan?" Karin asks nervously, and Ichigo sighs with annoyance.
"She went to get a drink when Tatsuki asked her to give us a bit of privacy." Ichigo explains, and Karin is out of the room within an instant of hearing that.
"Karin-chan?!" Yuzu calls out, but then her brother answers her question.
"Tatsuki is just mad at me, I don't think we're fighting. If we are, I'm sure she'll get over it. We've been friends too long for it to last." He explains calmly, and Yuzu nods at him, but she still doesn't feel reassured.
Karin hurries towards the vending area, wishing she and Yuzu hadn't stopped at the bathroom, otherwise they might have crossed paths with Rukia.
"I hope she doesn't run into them…" Karin mumbles as she hurries in the direction of the vending area.
She stops quickly when she sees Rukia standing in front of the vending machines, simply staring.
"Rukia-chan?" Karin asks, and Rukia spins around.
"Ah, Karin-chan, I was trying to figure out what kind of juice Ichigo might like, any ideas?" Rukia asks, and Karin lets out a large sigh of relief.
"He likes this one." Karin says, pointing at a tangerine fruit juice, and Rukia presses the button.
"Thanks. You want one too?" Rukia asks, and Karin shakes her head no.
"I already got something to drink with Yuzu. You can go back to see Ichi-ni now, Tatsuki-chan and Orihime-chan just left." Karin tells her, and Rukia smiles.
"That's good, want to walk back with me?" Rukia asks, and Karin nods.
The two walk back to the room in silence, and once there, Yuzu grabs her sister's hand.
"Karin-chan, we should leave, because I have to go shopping for dinner tonight, I want to make something special in honor of Rukia-chan." Yuzu says hurriedly.
Karin's eyebrow raises a bit, since her sister is usually a very calm person, but she nods her head in acquiescence.
"See you later, Ichi-ni." Karin says before she allows her sister to drag them out of the room, with Rukia staring after them.
"Did you say something to her?" Rukia asks curiously, and Ichigo looks away from Rukia.
"I just told her that I couldn't wait for you to come back since we were in the middle of a deep conversation when we were interrupted." Ichigo explains, and Rukia nods.
"I haven't told you everything about myself, but I think I'd like you to learn the rest as you get to know me." Rukia tells him and Ichigo smiles.
"I guess it's my turn, huh?" He asks and Rukia looks very interested as she sits down and hands him the drink Karin suggested.
"I got this for you. I have to admit, I'm curious about you too." Rukia says, and Ichigo grins just before his face gets very serious. The happy look on his face disappears in an instant.
"My mother was a victim of the terrorist attack in England eleven years ago." Ichigo says, deciding to start with the most obvious explanation for why he lives with his father and two sisters, without his mother.
"That's terrible." Rukia breathes, feeling overwhelmed on the inside.
"She used to travel to disaster areas to help clean up and hand out supplies to people who have nothing left. A hurricane wrecked three cities, so my mom went to help." Ichigo explains, and Rukia sucks in her breath in horror.
Maybe it's better that I haven't shared my life philosophy with him yet…
"But she was killed? By terrorists, no less…" Rukia's heart aches for his loss.
"It was a suicide bomber…it was outside of the American Embassy, where my mother was meeting with other people, mostly Americans, before they headed to the disaster area…I don't know all the details, I was pretty young." Ichigo explains, but Rukia can understand the pain of losing one's mother.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Rukia whispers, but Ichigo gives her a small smile.
"Well, you explained how your friend's death affected you, and I understand how that can happen." Ichigo explains quietly, as her eyes seem to search his own.
"I see." Rukia's response is very quiet, and he takes a deep breath before admitting the rest.
"Not only that, besides my mother's death, being singled out for having different hair, and not having a whole lot of experience, there's nothing noteworthy to talk about." Ichigo says it in a hurry, and Rukia looks confused.
"Experience?" She inquires, and she's tickled pink by the fact that he actually blushes after acting so confident earlier.
"You know…with women." Ichigo mumbles, but judging by her wide eyes, he's sure she heard him correctly.
"We can talk about that." Rukia says with an enthusiastic smile, and Ichigo reaches for the pillow behind his head before he swings it around and whacks her over the head with it. He pays for it by feeling pain in the area where they performed surgery though.
"We don't have to talk about that!" He says with dread very evident in his voice, which makes Rukia giggle uncontrollably for damn near a minute.
"Okay, then what is your job?" Rukia asks, when she's finally calm enough to ask.
"I'm going to be a teacher. I have two more years of school." Ichigo admits, and Rukia's eyes get very wide at that.
"That's worth talking about, that is a noble endeavor." Rukia breathes, and Ichigo nods.
"I always got good grades. I guess you could say in the way my hair color motivated other people to pick on me, it made me more aware of the fact that I had to put extra effort into my schoolwork, and I graduated from school in the top five of my class. Two girls were above me, and two guys." Ichigo explains, but Rukia's very impressed, since her grades had been below average. He doesn't tell her that Inoue Orihime was one of the girls that beat him though.
"Wow…" Rukia says, because the only things she'd ever excelled at didn't include schoolwork or good grades.
I only had three good subjects…English, Language, and Physical Education.
"I guess I just have to keep pushing myself." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia smiles at him, amazed at his strength, to turn the bad vibes associated with his hair into a good thing.
"Can I ask…why you haven't dyed your hair?" Rukia says, thinking it logically through to its natural conclusion, that it would be safer for him to do so.
"For more than one reason. I'm not the type to just give in to bullying, I'm stubborn, and my mom always used to say she liked my hair." Ichigo says, and Rukia finds herself grinning a little bit.
"I like it too."
Ichigo is taken aback by her admission, but makes him feel inordinately happy to hear her say that.
"I also have a really good friend that has always had my back whenever someone attacked me, except for yesterday. He was going out of town with his band to participate in some contest." Ichigo says, and Rukia finds that she's very eager to learn more.
"Really?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo nods.
"Sado. I met him about six years ago, he saved my ass, and then I saved his about a week later. We've been friends ever since." Ichigo explains, and Rukia is happy to hear that.
"It's good when friends can save friends." Rukia says, and Ichigo reaches out to her, with his hand open.
Rukia takes his hand in hers without even thinking about it, and their eyes meet.
"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to make you think more about that. I like sitting here and talking to you." Ichigo says, and Rukia squeezes his hand.
"I didn't take it that way…and I like being here with you." Rukia tells him, and she gets a devilish little smirk in response.
"Does that mean you're considering staying in my room, even after I come back home?" He asks hopefully, and Rukia squeezes his hand more tightly, but not in so much a comforting manner as much as it's a punishing manner. He sucks in his breath from her death grip.
"What would your family think of me if I did that?" She demands to know and he winces from the strength her little hand possesses.
"Nobody in my family could think badly of you." He gets out quickly, and then she lightens her hold on him, but he pulls his hand away to keep her from doing that again, and he rubs it with his uninjured hand. "In fact my dad would probably cheer loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear."
She's freaking strong!
"Oh, okay. Then sure. I'll stay in your room with you, if nobody will think badly of me for it." Rukia says breezily with a straight face, forgetting for a moment that Ichigo's father may not look at things the way she's imagining he might.
"Really?" Ichigo looks so excited that Rukia is forced to rethink how they might look at it if she did such a thing.
Is he thinking they wouldn't protest it if I wanted to stay in his room with him!? They'd probably demand we get married…I keep forgetting that just because Ichigo doesn't seem to care whether or not I'm a Kuchiki, doesn't mean anyone else is the same as him…
"Nah, I was just messing with you. I may stay at your house, but I won't stay in your room." Rukia says, and Ichigo frowns.
"That's too bad, and here I was thinking you're petite enough to fit in my closet." He says it so seriously that Rukia doesn't react to it instantly.
When she does, he pulls his hands away from grabbing distance, while smirking at her.
"I was just messing with you, Rukia!" Ichigo says, and Rukia laughs at him, amazed at how nice it is just being with him.
"I hope so, because I'm pretty sure my brother would insist on us getting married if I did something like that." Rukia says, and Ichigo's mouth drops open. He's quiet a minute, but then he smirks at her.
"I'm sorry, is that supposed to be a downside to it?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia gawks at him.
"Isn't it?" Rukia squeaks out, and Ichigo shakes his head at her.
"Normally yes…" Ichigo trails off, wondering if he's going too far.
"Right? Shouldn't a person usually take their time when considering marriage?" Rukia asks him next, and Ichigo gives her a mischievous smile.
"True…but in your case I'd be willing to make an exception." Ichigo says, making Rukia's eyes widen in shock.
She looks away from him, before she can smile like she wants to. She isn't able to respond immediately. When she's able to wipe the shit grin off her face, she turns back to him.
Why'd that idiot have to go and say that!?
"You think you have what it takes to be my husband?" Rukia finally asks him in a sassy tone, when she's finally able to speak, and Ichigo crosses his arms over his chest looking ultra sexy, which makes it difficult to debate the issue…
"That's not the question. The question is, could you handle being my wife?" Ichigo says, and he says it suggestively, which makes Rukia turn bright red.
Is he saying he's some kind of nymphomaniac?!
"This discussion is beyond my comprehension…" Rukia says, looking a bit overwhelmed, and Ichigo laughs.
It already feels like we've known each other forever…