Chapter 17
Thoughts On The Dead
Ichigo looks around the club that Rukia managed to have reserved for their party alone. They had already done the rehearsal dinner early in the day, and now everybody in the bridal party, along with several others are at one of the flashiest clubs in Tokyo having their own private party.
Once again, Rukia has had too much to drink, but Ichigo doesn't let that bother him. He's having too much fun to feel concern, since this is a time in their life for celebrating anyways. He takes another sip of the drink Rukia had brought to him, and he feels like he's getting a bit drunk too.
It seems everyone is in the same predicament, except of course that Rukia's friend Rangiku has to go overboard. (A usual occurrence, Ichigo's learned) She only has two buttons on her shirt that are done, and it flies open fairly often, revealing all of what she has to offer on top anyways. Ichigo has a hard time keeping himself from peeking whenever the woman is near him, even though he has no desire to sleep with her.
Why this curiosity? Rukia will get pissed if she sees me looking…
"What's wrong, Ichigo? Why aren't you dancing?" Rangiku is suddenly purring at him, standing far too close, with her mammoth breasts just hanging out in full view. Ichigo struggles to keep his eyes on hers, even though he peeks for barely a second anyways, which Rangiku notices even in her drunken state.
"Nothing. No reason." Ichigo mumbles, and Rangiku inches closer to him, which makes him feel very nervous.
"Then dance with me." Rangiku says next, and Ichigo immediately shakes his head no, not that the obtuse woman gets his point at all, because she grabs his arm with a vice grip and begins dragging him out to the floor.
"I don't want to dance with you!" Ichigo says much louder, even though she's yanking him against his will onto the floor anyways.
I get dragged places I don't want to go by women in my life way too often!
Rangiku winks at him, which makes him blush involuntarily, and then she shakes her head at him with a smirk that makes him believe she's truly nothing but trouble.
"I won't take no for an answer, in case you hadn't noticed. Rukia-chan is one of my best friends, and she's the one who told me to come dance with you!" Rangiku finishes up smoothly, and Ichigo is speechless…
Why would Rukia do that when Rangiku-san is practically topless?
The moment Rangiku stops pulling Ichigo, the song changes…and Rangiku yanks him right up against her, which has Ichigo immediately struggling until she reaches around and grabs his butt like Rukia would, and then giggles at him when he freezes in shock.
"Why are you doing this?" Ichigo hisses, since everyone can see.
They're not blind…
"Rukia-chan was telling me how guilty she felt about how things went for her bachelorette party, and then she told me how dull yours was…and it was her idea that I dance provocatively with you to make up for it." Rangiku says right up against his ear, and Ichigo finally quits struggling.
"What's with her ideas when she's drunk? She's going to be the death of me." That's all he says in response to her, and Rangiku laughs in amusement at him.
"She's lucky, I'm glad you two are getting married. Your butt is as nice as she claimed too." She says, and she squeezes his rear again, which has Ichigo shaking his head in disbelief.
I refuse to grab her ass! Why does Rukia do this shit to me?
He's so busy wondering about that, he only notices belatedly that Rangiku has removed her hands from his rear, and is grabbing his hands. She brings them up her front and near to her breasts, which freaks Ichigo out and he yanks his hands away forcefully while giving Rukia's friend a wide eyed look.
"Stop it!" Ichigo snaps, and Rangiku laughs at him.
"Apparently you haven't had enough to drink yet," she says, giving him an amused look, and Ichigo rolls his eyes at her, while staying wary of her since she's too unpredictable for him to let his guard down in her presence.
"No amount of alcohol would make me react differently to you." Ichigo tells her briskly and Rangiku pouts.
"But look at these!" She says, putting her hands on her humongous breasts, and Ichigo immediately turns his back on her.
"What kind of scandal are you trying to create just before my wedding?" Ichigo asks, his eyes wide, and Rangiku laughs at him.
"Alright, I've had enough of teasing you." She tells him, and Ichigo sighs in relief.
"I'll cut in then." Rukia's voice makes Ichigo jump in surprise.
"Rukia!"
"You're the first man I've seen resist her charms so thoroughly," Rukia says with open admiration, and Ichigo snorts at her.
"Stop trying to kill me with heart attacks Rukia." Ichigo orders her, and Rukia laughs merrily.
"I'm not trying to kill you," Rukia tells him, just before she grabs his ass. "Ah, I needed my fix," she says, and Ichigo tries his best to remain calm since they're not alone…
"I need a strong drink so I can catch up to you." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia nods emphatically.
"Damn straight you do!" Rukia says, and then Ichigo notices that Rangiku is pulling Sado out onto the dance floor now, and his friend is blushing as bad as anybody with any shame would be.
"That woman reminds me of a damned succubus." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia turns back to look at him.
"What Ichigo?" She asks, and he shakes his head.
"Nothing."
Ichigo can't sleep. After spending all day with a hangover, and having Rukia tease him before she passed out without them having done anything more than kiss. She left his house today too. She is spending the night at the hotel, near where the wedding will be held outside, since that's what she wanted.
He worries something will happen to ruin his happiness, like a thunderbolt striking one of them dead, or a car crashing into the park. She also had a hall just in case the bad weather scheduled a few days down the road decided to greet them early.
He had called Tatsuki to invite her to the reception only, and had told her she could bring anybody besides Inoue.
I can't have anything ruining Rukia's and my big day!
He thinks of all the presents they received from rich people who couldn't attend, just sitting in the downstairs hall as he lays in bed, just waiting to fall asleep. She'd promised him she wouldn't drink tonight, since she didn't want to have a hangover on her wedding day, plus he'd had Sado, Mizuiro, and Keigo over earlier to hang out, since they'd already done all of their rehearsal. Now all that was needed was the wedding.
His father has been over the moon with happiness, knowing that the wedding would in fact proceed and that Ichigo hadn't done anything to screw up being with the wonderful Kuchiki Rukia.
It's funny…when those gang of guys attacked me I was sure it was going to be one of the worst days of my life. In fact it brought Rukia into my life, so it was the best thing that could have happened that day. If they hadn't attacked me, would I have even met her? Would I have ever even seen her face?
It takes a few hours, but he finally falls asleep, tossing and turning all night long.
"Uh huh, yes, I saw the building I want. I'll talk to the FBI when I go to assist, and try to get a meeting in with the president of America. Chances are, I won't be able to meet with him, but I'm sure someone important will be willing to speak with me. I'm ready to put the next phase of my plan into operation. I'm not sure how well the idea will go over, but I have to do something to stop the terrorism." Rukia says into the phone, and then she smiles at what's said back to her before she simply hangs up.
Ichigo's mother was killed because of terrorists, and the more research I do, the more I'm disturbed by how much killing is done by these extremists. I'm rich enough, so if nobody else will, I'm going to do something about it.
Rukia sighs. The words "War on Terror" bring about negative feelings in so many people because of how they've been flung around in the past, and how they've been used by America in particular, but there is a real problem, if you simply look at the numbers. How many people died because of terrorism on the day the extremists attacked the Twin Towers, in New York City? That number alone is enough to make Rukia choke back some tears.
Ichigo's mother was simply a statistic. I won't stand for these types of atrocities, anymore!
In general, she hates all of the laws that the Muslim religion imposes to begin with, particularly on women. She hates the laws and the inhumane punishments that they hand out so easily.
I think I'd kill myself if I had to cover myself from head to toe and always be in the presence of a male family member. If I'd be stoned to death simply for being alone in a room with a male who is not my husband or relative. How one human being can do that to another is something I won't ever understand, much less tolerate! Seventy-five virgins in heaven for committing these atrocities? Yeah right. The only place you go for murdering people is hell. Religion or cause doesn't give you any right to slaughter. And from looking at history, it seems there's a very effective way to stop them. After I figure out any and all loopholes they can try to come up with, I'll make a serious effort to put an end to the suicide bombing.
The entire evening, she's researching it, since it's difficult to do it around Ichigo. She's actually a bit afraid to tell him her plan. She does plan to tell him, but only after they're married.
If nobody else will make an effort outside of killing, then I will do it. I'll show them all how you learn from the past.
"Ah! Rukia-chan! You have bags under your eyes! On your wedding day of all days!" Rangiku screeches when Rukia groggily opens the door, and Rukia yawns without much concern showing on her face.
"I fell asleep doing research for the new company I'm starting." Rukia says, smiling ruefully, and Rangiku looks horrified."Now you have increased the time that will be spent on beauty by quite a bit! I hope you're proud of yourself!" Rangiku chides her, and Rukia rolls her eyes at her friend.
"I always have baggy eyes when I didn't get enough sleep. Luckily for me, it goes away on its own after I wake up. Get me a coffee from downstairs, and tell them to add some Irish Crème to it." Rukia says, and Rangiku's eyes widen.
"I'm all for drinking all throughout the day everyday, but not on your wedding day!" Rangiku says, and Rukia laughs.
"I didn't say to load it. I'm starting to feel nervous though, and it will help take the edge off. I didn't drink a drop of alcohol last night!" Rukia says defensively, and Rangiku shakes her head at her friend with an amused expression.
"You heard her Momo, go do it!" Rangiku says, winking at Rukia, but Momo reacts as expected.
"I couldn't possibly! It's not even nine in the morning yet! You do it Rangiku-san, you've at least done that type of thing before!" Momo protests, and Rangiku gives her a shove.
"Tell them it's for the bride." She says, and Momo pouts, but she heads off.
"There won't be any Irish Crème in my coffee." Rukia murmurs as she watches her friend leave, and Rangiku laughs.
"Call downstairs and tell them she's coming to pick up your coffee and to add the Irish Crème to it." Rangiku says, and Rukia grins.
"Good idea."
"And then we're going to start getting you ready!" Rangiku sings but Rukia shakes her head at her friend, letting her down gently.
"I am going to a beauty salon in an hour." Rukia informs her, and Rangiku holds up a beauty bag.
"I can't believe you'd do that considering that's my job!" Rangiku says looking truly hurt, but Rukia grabs her hand.
"You're in the wedding, I can't have you working. Besides, you, Momo, Kiyone, and Ichigo's sisters will all be going with me to get done there. You'll cheer up when you see where we're going." Rukia says, with a wink, and Rangiku's eyes widen.
"You don't mean-"
"Yes I do, the most exclusive place in all of Tokyo that you've been dying to work at since you realized the existence of beauty products." Rukia says, interrupting her, and Rangiku flashes her a huge smile.
"Then I don't have to worry, we'll be well taken care of!" She squeals.
"That's right. Don't forget who I am." Rukia tells her, and Rangiku laughs.
"Like you'd ever let me forget, Kuchiki Rukia." Rangiku giggles, and Rukia grins.
"That'll change soon enough. By the end of the day, I'll officially be Kurosaki Rukia."
"You look like you're about to faint." Rangiku says observantly, and Rukia shakes her head.
"Even now, it's completely unbelievable."
"Why are you pacing? Worried the bride will chicken out?" Isshin asks his son, and Ichigo goes white.
"She wouldn't." Ichigo says, but even Keigo chuckles at him then.
"You don't sound very convinced." Sado is able to remain silent, but Mizuiro laughs a bit at that.
"Shut up! I don't want to hear that kind of talk. She'll show up, for sure!" Ichigo says, speaking slowly but purposefully, and Keigo nods his head so that Ichigo doesn't give him a black eye before his walk down the aisle.
"It looks like pretty much everyone else is here." Sado says, looking at Ichigo, and he looks very stressed to everyone around him.
"You guys just go to your spot. I'm sure she'll pull up any minute, since she probably doesn't want me to see her before the ceremony starts." Ichigo says, even though he's terrified Rukia could have run away.
She's rich enough to get far away if that's what she wanted…I hope to hell she doesn't leave me at the alter!
"It's better not to show your insecurities when there are so many cameras and reporters around." Isshin says, and Ichigo resists the urge to hit his father.
"You're the one who brought it up in the first place!" Ichigo growls under his breath, and Isshin laughs.
"In case you hadn't noticed, that girl is crazy about you. I'm less worried than you are that she'll show up." Isshin says, and Ichigo scowls at his father, even though the words cheer him up.
"Shut up, Pops." Ichigo orders his father, and that's the moment a huge limo comes into view.
She's here!
"It looks like the wedding will start right on time!" Isshin says, and Ichigo lets out a loud sigh of relief which makes his dad laugh a bit.
Ichigo stares, and he sees a window roll down a little bit, and then someone from inside the vehicle calls Mizuiro over to the car. Mizuiro nods his head after a moment and then runs over to where Ichigo is waiting for Rukia near the podium where the ceremony will be performed.
Mizuiro jogs towards Ichigo with a big shit grin on his face, and Ichigo grits his teeth as his friend nears him.
"What?" Ichigo asks, and Mizuiro smiles at him.
"Your future wife wants you to turn around and not look in the direction of her for two minutes." Keigo says, and then Ichigo notices a truck pull in behind the limo. Ichigo sighs but complies. Then he hears lots of loud noises, and his father is laughing quite audibly.
When Ichigo is finally allowed to turn back around, he sees that Rukia had a partition brought along to hide her until it's her turn to walk down the aisle.
I wish mom could see me marrying Rukia…
Ichigo's heart races, since everything suddenly starts to move, right as Mizuiro makes his way back to the other groomsmen.
Rukia had included his sisters with the wedding party in her morning plans, but since he only had three friends he wanted as groomsmen, they had decided his sisters would sit in the front row with his dad, since the grooms side was so small that many on the bride's side were taking up the empty seats since the bride's side was full.
I can't wait to see her…my bride.