She's Like the Moon, an xSilverWingsx fanfic
Even the best fall down sometimes, and even the stars refuse to shine. –Howie Day
...
Ichigo's birthday was only a day away, and drawing closer by the second. Isshin was bustling around as if he were insane in his rush to get everything in order, but his son was... less than anxious for the sixteenth anniversary of his life. Every year his father ushered all the relatives up for a humiliating party and Ichigo seemed to spend most of it hiding in his bedroom. Ninety percent of the family doted on Ichigo's height 24/7 and he was getting sick of the uproar. Why couldn't they just eat some cake and go on home?
It was the fourteenth of July and the sun beat mercilessly down on the tiny hamlet of Karakura, making the residents hot and irritated. Ichigo didn't sense any difference, since he was usually irritated anyway, but he still wore shorts and T-shirts. His father still wore slacks and a lab coat. Crazy bastard. Isshin Kurosaki was a strange man in many ways, but the clothing nonconformity was just disturbing.
Ichigo sighed and got slowly off the couch to his feet, yawning. He had done nothing but sit around today... again. There had been a very interesting television special on the eight-limbed girl in India, but it freaked him out a little so he had stayed on the Food Network. There was nothing scary about Crème Brule, unless you read the nutrition facts.
The phone rang and jerked him out of his reminiscing. Its shrill tone hit his immune system immediately and he yanked the receiver up into his otherwise idle fingers.
"Hello?" his voice sounded tired and bored. As usual.
"Ichigo?" came a quiet voice from the other side. Its placid tone told him that it was none other than Rukia Kuchiki.
"Hey midget," he said tritely, sitting back down on the sofa and sighing.
"I told you not to call me a midget. I'll let it slide this time but if it happens again I will be forced to destroy you." Ichigo was sure Rukia was smirking on the other end, because her voice was colored with that haughty undertone she used.
"Uh-huh, sure. Now what do you want?" his little orange kitty, Masaki, stalked past and rubbed her head against his ankle. Ichigo scratched her behind the ears in a reflection of his own boredom.
"Tatsuki told me that your birthday is tomorrow. Is it?" terrific. Even the annoying little Rukia knew about Ichigo's birthday. Why didn't his father just put an ad in the paper?
"Yeah." He rolled his amber eyes, annoyed.
"Well, you're having a party, right?"
"…Yes." Ichigo deadpanned. A birthday party with Rukia, his father and the twins all in the same room together. How fun.
"What time is it starting?" she truly seemed curious. Ichigo, surprised, rolled his eyes in a spiteful manner and bit his lip. Maybe he should lie.
"Noon." Maybe if he got to torment Rukia it wouldn't be so bad. "And try not to be so damn conspicuous, would you please?" Ichigo had told the truth but he was going to convince her out of it.
Rukia scoffed.
"There's nothing conspicuous about me, Ichigo. I'm just a little girl who is very innocent and caring."
"Sure." Ichigo reeled from the nonsense of her statement. "I think you're a rich brat who doesn't know crap from applesauce." A cup full of the sweet fruity snack sat on the counter; it had been part of Yuzu's now abandoned breakfast.
"I may very well be, but your family doesn't know that. First impressions are everything, Ichigo, and if you execute them right you can get anybody to believe just about anything," Rukia said matter-of-factly. "I myself am I master of the craft."
"Yeah, whatever." Ichigo picked up a dusty old photo album off the shelf and opened it to see a six-year-old version of himself, sitting in a lawn chair with cake frosting all over his face. Above him loomed Masaki, her long strawberry blond hair pulled back in a long ponytail. She was trying to wipe the frosting off but apparently, Ichigo had refused, because he was attempting to dodge his mother.
"Well, I have to go! See you tomorrow, twelve o'clock!" Ichigo had almost forgotten that he was on the phone with Rukia when she hung up. The carrot top nearly smashed the receiver back onto the base, but refrained when his sister Karin entered the living room with her soccer ball.
"I'm gonna go play with Jinta and Kita," she said quietly. "Tell Dad if he asks." His sister had always been very distant, because she wasn't really good at anything other than sports. Ichigo could not believe that Rukia had thought the two of them were babies. They were fragile, though. When Yuzu woke up, she immediately began to cry because of her nightmares that happened almost every night. When Karin awoke, she would be upset about it too. The younger of the two, Yuzu, followed Ichigo and clung to him because Isshin was at work a lot. Karin would usually stay shut up in their bedroom. Despite their childish looks and attitudes, the girls were not babies. They were clearly kids with their own personalities. Rukia had probably taken their cries the wrong way. Sometimes she could be narrow-minded, but that was what made her so enjoyable.
"Be back before six," Ichigo chided, shutting the photo album hastily and placing it back on the shelf. "I'll make something to eat.." his mind drifted to the TV dinners that lay frozen in the cavernous freezer and shuddered. They tasted like hundred-year-old cat crap...
"Bye." Karin shut the door noiselessly and Ichigo listened to the sound of her fading footsteps, appalled by how little he had done this summer. Sure, he had hung around with Dwarf Kuchiki occasionally but every occasionally he wondered why she even bothered to hang around with him anyway.
Because I care. Rukia's words rung in his head like a loudspeaker and Ichigo pondered the meaning of them. What was there to care about? He was no mental patient. The redhead was perfectly sane in all respects. Maybe he was the conspicuous one. Or maybe Rukia was just a worrywart.
As Ichigo contemplated Rukia's motives for befriending him, the doorbell rang twice. He glanced at his disheveled self in the mirror before opening it. At the door was the buxom redhead, Orihime Inoue, who wore gray track pants and a pink T-shirt. Her long red hair hung down past her upper back as always.
"Hi, Ichigo!" she said merrily.
"Hey Orihime," Ichigo said. "What's up?"
"Tatsuki's off on a run, Rukia's out shopping, and I have absolutely no one to talk to right now!" she said, as if it were something to be proud of.
"All... right," Ichigo said tritely, scratching his head. "So like... you wanna hang out with me, right?" he didn't really care all that much, but Orihime was a nice person and her brother worked a lot.
"Yeah!" she said sweetly. "I brought boneless chicken smothered in pumpkin filling! Won't it be yummy!?" she looked down at the basket in gleeful anticipation, her gray eyes alight.
Ichigo cringed. "Y-yeah. I'm sure it will be..."
...
Rukia was stumped as she stood in the center of Wal-Mart, her mind buzzing with ideas that Inner Rukia immediately shot down. Ichigo couldn't be very particular about gifts. So why was she having such a hard time?
"Need any help?" asked a pretty girl with dark brown hair chestnut-colored eyes. She had a full face with nice features and had on a loose fitting yellow sundress that made her creamy-white skin look nice.
"Um, sort of." Rukia gestured to her empty shopping basket with a feeling of shame. "My friend's birthday is tomorrow, and... well, to be perfectly honest I haven't the slightest idea what to get him."
"Well..." the girl looked puzzled. "What's he like?"
"He's kind of distant and he can be a little cold. But once you talk to him for a while he makes jokes and he's really nice." Rukia remembered the memories of walking through the forest and lying in the field with the boy in question.
"My best friend is like that," Momo said knowingly, nodding. "And he's really cold, too. Sometimes it hurts to touch him because he's kind of... well, he doesn't like hot weather." She smiled as if remembering some long forgotten joke. "Your friend probably likes rock music, I bet."
"Yeah." Rukia smiled and made her way down the aisle until she reached a smattering of CDs. Momo picked up one that read 'Sugarcult' and brandished it in Rukia's face.
"Sugarcult might be nice!" she said, her tone sugary to match the word.
"Ichigo might like it," Rukia agreed. The genre read General/Alternative Rock and it had twenty-six songs.
"Ichigo Kurosaki?" Momo's dark eyes widened at the thought. "I know him! He was in my eighth—no, ninth grade class!" Momo grinned from ear to ear. "I didn't know his birthday was tomorrow!"
"Yeah, he told me about it a while ago," Rukia was lying, but it felt too good.
"Can I come to the party?" Momo pushed, looking more and more excited by the second. Lying was beneath Rukia (although she did it anyway), but bursting other peoples' bubbles sure wasn't.
"You might want to ask Ichigo first."
...
"Onii-chan, you'll like what I got for your birthday!" Yuzu said, obviously excited. Ichigo was glad his family was approaching his birthday with gusto, but it was a bit too much occasionally. "Here's a hint: it's red!"
"Great, it'll match Onii-chan's outfit," said Karin dryly, gesturing to the red shirt and shoes Ichigo had lain out. Nothing else was clean and he didn't feel like doing laundry on his birthday, even though he personally hated birthdays.
"And mine!" Isshin bellowed, suddenly appearing with a red silk shirt and pants. "This will be a red birthday for Ichigo!" he put a hand on his son's shoulder.
"Let go of me or it'll be even redder," Ichigo warned, "when I spill your blood all over the place. It's such a shame that it takes so long to bleach and cover a stain..." he shook his head and his father immediately let go. The redhead smirked and took a huge bite out of his pizza.
"Onii-chan also invited a girl," Yuzu said suddenly, as if it had come back to her.
Isshin beamed. "Did you really, my son?"
Ichigo deadpanned. "What if I did? Besides, it's not like that, you perverted old geezer." The eldest Kurosaki child downed his Dr. Pepper.
Isshin smirked. "Fine then... use protection and make me proud," he whispered, only to be greeted with a powerful forehead kick from Ichigo. "Oh, Mother!" he suddenly glanced skyward with a simpering expression, "Ichigo has become involved with a girl that he denies! Why, why? If only you were here..."
"If she were here I bet you wouldn't bug me as much. And I'm not involved with anyone."
"But you left with Orihime earlier!" said Yuzu.
"All I did was sit around and eat her disgusting food," Ichigo said truthfully. Yuzu looked confused, but Isshin seemed appeased. "Freakin' pie filling… Anyway, who's coming to this party?"
"Hmm… your mother's parents, mine, your cousin Renji and his girlfriend, um, I think your friend is coming, then Orihime, and a few other locals," Isshin explained, counting each title off on his fingers as he said them.
"Yay," Ichigo said dryly, crushing the soda can within his fingers and letting it drop to the floor. "Anyway, Dad, I'm gonna help Renji with moving tomorrow. So if you wake up and I'm not here, don't piss yourself."
Isshin deadpanned. "Mother, why doesn't our son love me?"
Ichigo sighed. "I could say anything I wanted right now and no one would notice," he said waspishly, taking a seat at the kitchen table. "I really could."
...
Rukia woke to the angry screeching of that infernal alarm clock. (O.o Wasn't it already... dead?)
After murdering it, she slid on her red lace party dress and nestled a rose in her hair (the outfit Hisana had delighted at picking out when she had forced Rukia to bring her some options). It was a little girly, but for someone's birthday she should probably show a little respect, even if it was just Ichigo. She picked up the CD, wrapped in plain blue paper, and walked into her closet.
The raven-haired girl put on red ballet flats and grabbed one of the many purses she had bought but never used. They had all wound up too feminine in the end. She was not associated with those pretty, preppy girls whose biggest concern was hairspray buildup. Then again, she didn't hang around jock-girls either. Rukia decided that she was biologically female, but culturally impartial.
Finally, she reached the cobbled sidewalks that wound around the Kuchiki Estate.
The heel of her foot became shortly wedged in one of the stones but it did not take long to pull it out as she strode quickly forward. The midmorning air hung quietly around her, the humidity making her hair feel slightly more voluminous than it should. Rukia cursed herself for not applying for a learner's permit and straightened the straps on her party dress.
A delightfully evil realization that Ichigo might still be sleeping shot across her mind like wildfire in a dry wood forest. Rukia could picture him now; his face was contorted into that same annoyed expression that was always there, the planes of his cheeks curved on their sides. His thin mouth was wide and slack in a slightly despondent grimace. The look fit him well.
The words 'Kurosaki Clinic' were starchy and dew covered this early. Rukia inhaled and knocked quietly on the door. As soon as she had begun to lower her fist, the door swung open merrily to reveal a tall, smiling man in a red shirt and silk pants. At first, Rukia wondered how many Kurosaki's there could be in town, but in his features, she could see a hint of Ichigo.
"Dr. Kurosaki?" she asked quietly, feeling deeply out of place.
"That's Isshin to you!" he said in a booming voice, and Rukia trembled in shock. As the father of Ichigo, she hadn't expected him to be quite so friendly.
"Hi there!" she said, feeling a little more at ease with him. "I'm Rukia!" she added this as an afterthought because she was polite, and also because he probably didn't have a clue who she was.
"Oho, you're Rukia!" he seemed pleased and Rukia went pink. What had Ichigo said about her? "My son's at the house, right next door!" whoops. Maybe going to the family business wasn't the best idea.
"Nice to meet you, Isshin," she said nicely, accenting the goodbye with a kind wave. "And thank you for having me over."
"No problem!" Isshin beamed as Rukia reached the wooden door that led into Ichigo's house. She liked his dad already, but didn't know about the little girls. She knocked on this door too, and waited a moment before it was opened by the timid little girl with honey blonde hair. She remembered her as Yuzu from the pool.
"Hi there," Rukia said, leaning over.
"Hi," Yuzu said in a sweet voice. She wore an overlarge chef's hat on her head and her hands were covered in flour. "Ichi-nii!!" she called back into the house behind her.
"What?" Ichigo's voice called back, and Rukia's stomach flipped at the notion that he was up this early.
"Rukia's here!" she remembered Rukia's name. The older girl felt a sudden surge of warmth toward the little girl in the cooking garb. But it faded slightly when Ichigo's lanky form came onto the porch with her. His orange hair was ruffled in casual disarray over the side of his face, and it was slightly wet. He didn't seem mad but he didn't quite seem happy.
"Well, midget showed up early," he said playfully, whipping out a hand to pat the top of her head in a mocking fatherly way. Rukia's agitated feelings for him quickly returned as she tried to protect the rose that was carefully embedded in her tresses.
"Skyscraper is over-observant," Rukia came back with, shoving his hand off and watching it fall limply to his side before he shoved it in his pocket. "Anyway, why is Yuzu cooking? That's your job as a big brother!"
"Like you know anything about being the older sibling," Ichigo reminded her bitterly. "Yuzu likes to cook for us." He stood up with a look of pride and Rukia felt that surge again. It was suddenly manifesting itself inside of her, like a quirk that waited to be acknowledged. Weird. "Speaking of sisters, today we help yours move."
"Right…" Rukia gave a nod as she smelled chocolate from the kitchen and sucked back the string of drool that longed to be free.
"My cousin's provoked easily," he informed. "So try not to get him really riled up or he'll be over stimulated and start being pissy." Ichigo looked off into the distance as if he were remembering some long forgotten joke. "She used to be my babysitter," he laughed aloud.
"Who did?" Rukia demanded, surprised by the sudden female reference.
"Akamori." Ichigo scratched his chin. "When I was ten my dad sent her over all the time and she used to make pudding." Ichigo stared at the growing cloud cover. "I loved that pudding." His amber eyes were off in the distance. "Chocolate with sprinkles."
"She probably made it out of a can," Rukia said, bursting his bubble. "My sister isn't very old fashioned."
"It was still good pudding," Ichigo said matter of factly, leaning back against the railing with a pissy expression.
"I'm sure." Rukia rolled her amethyst eyes.
"So how'd you swing this with Kuchiki?" Ichigo inquired. It took Rukia a minute to realize what he meant.
"Oh! I guess… my mom knows. I'm not sure about Byakuya." She had no problem calling him by his first name, if it wasn't straight to his face.
"Yeah, well, let's go inside."
...
Akamori awoke to the sound of a lawnmower in the distance, and it slowly dawned on her that she no longer lived in the Kuchiki house. There would be no more house cleaners or fancy dinners, just cooking and cleaning for yourself.
She caught sight of herself in a small mirror hanging on the wall. Her hair curled wildly over her face and shoulders; her skin was milky and unhealthy looking. This was disgusting, she had to go to a party today! Repulsed by herself, Akamori turned away and was greeted by a pair of brown eyes.
"Renji!" she said in shock, as he took in her facial features with nothing less than amazement. The look made her blush.
He shook his head like a wet dog. "Mornin'." His ponytail was disheveled this early.
"What's up?" Akamori asked, reaching for her glasses from the bedside table. She usually wore contacts but nowadays they had gotten annoying.
"Nothing important. Ichigo's birthday." He picked up his cell phone from the bedside table and clicked through it.
"I know that, I don't live in a padded room," Akamori rolled her eyes playfully and slid off the bed to her suitcase, pulling out a simple black dress with a plunging neckline. Renji would like that. "What are you going to wear?"
"What's wrong with this?" he was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt. "Sorry if it isn't fancy enough for you."
"Renji," Akamori walked forward and clasped his hand in both of hers; the cell phone tumbled to the floor and Renji flushed deeply. "I know you're not fancy. If you were I wouldn't be with you, and you know that." The corner of her mouth curled. "I was a flamingo born into a flock of pigeons. So naturally I'm gonna seek out the peacock."
"If I'm a peacock," Renji smirked, "what's Ichigo?"
"An orange," Akamori fastened a cross necklace over her neck. "And my sister is a… hm…"
"I know you're going to say something evil yet funny."
"My sister is a swan," she said, her orange eyes huge with some hidden emotion.
"Huh?"
"My sister is beautiful." Akamori blinked slowly and took a seat on the scarred leather couch near the door, looking like a diamond in a pile of rocks.
"Where did that come from?" Renji questioned, locking an arm around his girlfriend's neck. "You're random."
"My life is random," she said dramatically, faking a pained expression. "Woe is me; Renji… woe is me…" her sun colored eyes shut.
"Woe is you," Renji agreed with a smirk. "Now, Madam Woe, get up and help me find my tux…"
...
"You have TiVo?" Rukia gasped as she fiddled with the remote.
"Yeah." Ichigo was still getting used to the fact that Rukia was in his living room. "Click on the name of the show and it'll record." He watched as she clicked the buttons in awe, and a sudden thought struck. "If you're so rich, why don't you have TiVo?"
"Byakuya says that if you need to watch a program, you watch it when it comes on. If you miss it, that's too bad."
"Sounds like he's got some pearls of wisdom," Ichigo rolled his eyes.
"Something like that," Rukia smiled.
It was then that Yuzu called to them. "Onii-chan! Daddy says you need to put up the awning!" she sounded exhausted. Poor kid, thought Rukia. Why does she feel like she has to cook? They could always order a cake…
"Hey, you dead in there?" Ichigo's voice pulled her from her thoughts.
"Uhm… I didn't hear…"
He sighed. "I said I could use your help with the awning."
"Oh, right." Rukia went pink as she followed the redhead out the back door to a large green yard lined with red balloons that Ichigo shoved aside. In the middle of the scene were four giant poles and a gigantic sheet of firm-looking fabric. Rukia supposed that was the awning.
"Grab the sheet; I'll put up the poles. In the mean time, pull some of the dandelions up in the yard."
"Why?" Rukia asked, confused.
"They're weeds and they bring down the property value. Pull them up." Ichigo shoved one of the poles into the dirt. Rukia handed him the long sheet, and he tied one of the corners around the pole.
Rukia approached the field of dandelions. They were swaying happily in the breeze, and it almost made Rukia sad to look at them. She plucked one from the ground, brought it to her lips, and thought hard. Finally, the answer came to her
I hope Ichigo is happy on his birthday. She blew the seeds and they scattered freely to the winds.
...
Hisana struggled to keep her eyes open as she waited anxiously for Byakuya's return. She hadn't gotten any sleep; her stomach churned violently every once in a while. She was excited to be having a baby, but at forty it was a little surprising.
And then the door opened slowly to reveal her husband, pallid and cold looking even though it was about a hundred degrees outside.
"Byakuya," she said quietly. "How are you?"
"Fair." He hung his coat on the rack woodenly, then took a seat at the impeccably hewn cherry wood table.
"I saw the doctor this morning." She bit her lip as his eyes solidified.
"There's something wrong." It didn't sound like a question but Hisana's heart jumped.
"I know the gender," she announced proudly, sipping her tea and walking over to pour him a cup. He didn't look at her.
"Isn't it a bit early to tell?" he said softly.
"They told me girls have bigger bladders than boys. And we're having our third girl."
Byakuya breathed a sigh, and he sounded relieved.
"I thought you wanted an heir," she reminded him, slipping an arm around his neck. The skin was hard and cool, like marble.
"I'm fine with daughters. Besides, I was afraid of a son."
Hisana was confused. "A son is always a good thing... don't you always say?" Byakuya wasn't one to contradict anyone, particularly himself.
"Yes. But in a house full of women... he is bound to become a homosexual, to put things bluntly." Byakuya's lips thinned at his wife, who looked appalled. "Speaking of children, where is Rukia?"
"She went to her friend Ichigo's birthday party."
"I've never met this Ichigo..." Byakuya's grip on the table tightened.
"Rukia tells me about her, and she seems like a nice girl," Hisana assured him, running a hand through his long hair. "Besides, since when has Rukia been one to fall in with a bad crowd?"
"I suppose that's true. Akamori is the one we need to worry about..." his eyes flashed to a childhood photograph of his estranged daughter.
"She's basically left this family, love. Let her sew her wild oats."
Byakuya's left eye twitched once. "Do you have to phrase it that way?" he pulled quietly away from his wife and stood up. "I'm going to sleep."
"Okay." This conversation had gotten Hisana nowhere.
...
"We did good," Ichigo stated proudly.
They had done good, no matter how gramatically incorrect that statement is. It looked like a scene from a hit summer movie, what with the platters of snacks and bunches of red balloons everywhere. Rukia had accidentally let one float away; it was now a red dot somewhere in the sky. Had she not known that it would burst when it left the atmosphere, Rukia would pray for the balloon to reach heaven.
"Yeah," she agreed.
"Only took--holy crap. Everyone'll be here in like fifteen minutes."
"Relax, everything's done. I thought you didn't like parties."
"I don't, but if Dad has to throw me one he can at least plan ahead!" he grumbled. "Yuzu was nice enough to bake a cake... not sure where Karin is..."
Karin. Right, the other twin. Rukia had never seen her before, and wondered briefly if she were just a carbon copy of her twin.
"Hm..." she peered over the hill, seeing a small amount of her father's estate in the distance. "Oh, right! Momo's coming..."
"I know, there's nothing wrong with my answering machine," Ichigo reminded sardonically, chewing on a cracker.
"Right..." Rukia rolled her eyes.
"I bet you don't have one..." he smirked and donned a deep, frosty voice. "'If you cannot reach the phone when a person calls... then you will wait for them to call you back.' Your dad's psycho."
"Thanks." Rukia's cell phone beeped from within her pocket, indicating a text.
Akamori: Where are you?
Rukia rolled her eyes and responded.
Rukia: I'm in Guam. Where do you think I am?
Akamori: Jeez. Okay, well, we'll be there soon. Tell Ichigo not to eat everything like he did last time...
Ichigo looked over at the message, his mouth full of crackers. "Whatcha writin'?" he said thickly.
Rukia: Gotta go. Carrot top is nosy.
"I am not!" Ichigo bellowed. But Rukia didn't need to retort; the doorbell rang just seconds later.
...
Done! Sorry about the wait. Gah, I still couldn't get the Akamori-Renji-Ichigo-Rukia scene. But obviously it'll be next chap, so try not to be too mad at me. I hope you like this; I tried to tone down the wordiness I usually have in it... because I was rambling on and on in my descriptions. Sorry... I hope no one was OOC. Hisana I can basically give any personality, since only one episode/volume featured her. Akamori is an OC, so the same goes for her. Everyone else is tough, but... I hope I'm doing a good job. Anyways, thanks to all who reviewed so far: rukiaichigo15chappy, Tituba3, Berry M., bleachfan, darkchocol8807, emo1girl, MillieEllie, RukiaHailee, want to be a vampire, and seccaberry. All of your opinions help me; so tell me what you think! :)
Silver Wings