Supernova
By Willow Athena
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters, but Rien and this story are definitely mine
Author'snote: I just want to thank anyone who has ever reviewed this story. Thank you for your encouragement. There are a few vague spoilers for anyone who has not watched up to episode 310 in the anime. Some things are real, and some just my imagination, so it's up in the air which is which if you haven't watched the anime to that point.
CHAPTER 25 – Lifeline
As Inoue walked besides Rein, she smiled shyly and rambled about how Ishida loved cooking, and would never let her cook because he was so dedicated to the task. Rien had been to Inoue's place for dinner, a few times, and Ichigo had thankfully warned her to eat before she went, unless she wanted to eat something close to bean paste and curried bananas. Rien remembered what a good cook Ishida was, and then spontaneously blushed, only now realising how many private romantic dinners he had made her while they were friends.
"You don't have to be embarrassed, I'm sure Byakuya-san already knew about it," Inoue assured her, assuming that was the reason for the spontaneous blush.
"Hai. Um…are you and Ishida…living together?" Rien suddenly asked. It was more than just the living together she was interested in knowing, but she was too polite to ask, and this answer would be sufficient.
"How did you know, Rien-kun?" Inoue blushed profusely, more than Rien thought was possible for anyone.
"I…um, I didn't, you both just look really happy together, like nothing's holding you guys back anymore," Rien added. "He loves you a lot, and I'm glad you make eachother so happy," Rien conceded.
"Inoue," Rukia bellowed once they encountered her already on patrol. "Is Ichigo with you?" she worriedly asked.
"It's nice to know your main concern is if one of your helpless boyfriends is around, and not if your brother tried to kill me or not this morning," Rien joked in better spirits.
"Did Nii-sama…?" Rukia's eyes opened wide.
"No, but he was furious," Rien acknowledged. "He even shouted at me," she smiled, remembering what he looked like holding onto her shoulders.
"NOooo…he actually shouted. You must have been terrified," Rukia looked pale just thinking about the possibility of her Nii-sama shouting at her.
"He is not nearly as terrifying as he thinks he is," Rien assured her.
"Maybe not when he's with you," Inoue interjected, suggestively smiling at Rien.
"He's not affectionate with me," Rien explained and then flashed on him carrying her to her bed earlier.
"What were you just thinking about?" Inoue almost pounced on Rien, staring straight into her eyes, their noses touching. People on the streets of Rukongai stopped to look at the two beautiful girls, both the same statuesque height, and an inch away from eachother. "You have beautiful eyes – liquid electric blue – just like Ishida's," Inoue side-tracked herself, before moving away.
"T-Thank you, Inoue, that's a big compliment coming from someone so beautiful," Rien returned the truthful compliment. "Are they really like his?" Rien hadn't looked into a mirror for a long time, and had never compared the two.
Inoue nodded. "I first noticed it in the picture Yoruichi has of you and Ishida, at Urahara-san's shop. It's from when you two were…dating," Inoue awkwardly added.
"Um…we weren't …really…dating, not really," Rien felt like she had some explaining to do, but there was nothing she could of said to make the awkwardness go away. "What were we doing?" Rien tentatively asked hoping it was PG 13 at least.
"I think Kurosaki-kun took the picture when Ishida was teaching you archery," Inoue added more innocently.
"I'll extract one of Yoruichi's lives, and then ask her to take it down," Rien offered.
"It's not necessary, Rien-kun," Inoue assured her. "I know he loves me, and that's enough, everything before that doesn't matter," Inoue dreamily smiled at her. "Ichigo and I dated for a while, Ishida knows, but he is not jealous about the past because he knows how much I love him, now and forever," Inoue added.
"You and Ichigo dated?" Rukia had stopped in her tracks.
"Don't worry Kuchiki-san, it was very short lived, only a month, and it was not what I expected. I had, had a crush on Ichigo for a few years, so I thought we should give it a shot. You had been gone for a long time. I think he only agreed because you had told him you decided to stay in soul society and wouldn't be visiting since there was so much Seireitei business to handle after the battle with Aizen in Soul Society, but when you came back two years later, after Aizen managed to escape from prison, I knew it was not worth continuing the relationship," Inoue explained to the guilty looking Rukia.
"Did you...love him, Inoue?" Rukia tentatively asked.
"I thought I did, but once we actually started dating, I realised it was mostly gratitude because he saved me so many times. I mistook his concern for affection for so many years, and then once we dated, I realised I deserved better than someone pining for someone else," Inoue was far sharper than she often let on.
"In high school, I always thought Ishida had a crush on you," Rukia tried to steer the subject away from her and Ichigo.
"He told me he did, but I never knew it at the time – he is pretty good at hiding his feelings when he wants to. He told me he never said anything because he knew I had feelings for Ichigo, but I wish I had known," she looked down and smiled as they walked, glancing at her ring.
"When Ishida started dating Rien, he stopped paying as much attention to me, and it made me jealous for the first time. I took his affection for granted for so many years, and then suddenly it was gone," Inoue confessed.
"We weren't...dating," Rien whispered, but they ignored it.
"I found out they had broken up when Rien was in hospital. We spent so much time together trying to figure out a way to help, Rien, and everytime he touched me I suddenly knew I had to be with him forever. He felt so guilty," she confessed, looking into Rien's eyes.
"It wasn't his fault. He was only here to try to save me from myself. He would never have been in that situation had I not put him there," Rien acknowledged.
"Thank you so much for saving him, I owe you everything," Inoue gushed, forcefully hugging Rien.
"You don't owe me anything," she tried to assure Inoue. "It was all my fault – everything! Byakuya would never have had to feel regret, or Ishida guilt, or Jyuushiro gratitude...I should never have existed," Rien admitted, still consoling Inoue in her arms.
"Don't be an idiot," Rukia suddenly scolded Rien. "I never want to hear you say that again," she added, pointing an angry finger at Rien.
"I jus...," Rien began, but was cut off.
"You live and die in every emotion you feel, you are truthful, fearless, and considerate in everything you do, and you bring these things out in everyone you meet. Your example constantly challenges us to reveal ourselves and be unafraid of who we are. And if my idiotic brother ever allowed himself to be happy again, I know you would protect his fragile heart with everything you had," Rukia revealed, the intensity of her expression was echoed in her violet eyes.
"Rukia...," Rien whispered , trying to stop the tears welling in her eyes from falling.
"She is right, Rien-kun," Inoue added. "Ishida and I would never have had the courage if it were not for your example. The way you openly love Byakuya-san, even though he pushes you away, it takes a lot of courage and humility to love him as intensely as you do, and to hope, but not expect him to return your feelings," Inoue acknowledged.
"I...It's not easy. It feels like its constantly raining inside me, and recently it's been feeling like I'm slowly drowning from within because of it – I'm drowning and I can't get enough air," Rien felt some of the tears roll down her face. She wiped them away and took a deep controlling breath. This is what it had felt like before she had fainted – drowning.
"We will not let you drown, onee-sa," Rukia said, taking Rien's hand in hers; Inoue also took hold of the other hand. "As long as the people who love you are near, you are never alone," Rukia assured her.
"You have given me the courage to be happy once again," Rukia explained. "You gave Renji the courage to finally tell me how he feels. We owe you the happiness we now have. I always hoped, but I never dared tell him in case he did not feel the same. You could have told me his feelings a long time ago, but you knew it was more important for us both to be honest with eachother," Rukia beamed at Rien's suddenly smiling face. Rien hugged Rukia tightly, lifting her off the ground slightly and twirling her around.
"Okay, okay, you can put me down now," Rukia laughed, "people are watching."
"I cannot control my happiness. It's everything I wished for," Rien explained, beaming from ear to ear. This living vicariously thing, really worked, she idly thought.
"I am also happy for you, Kuchiki-san. There is nothing more rewarding than to finally hear those three beautiful words escape from the lips of the man you love," Inoue revealed. Realising what she had just said, she apologetically looked in Rien's direction.
Rien dimmed slightly, but controlled her pain, and pushed the thought away for later. "Don't worry so much about my dreary non-existent love life. We have so much to celebrate," she smiled back at them. "Two of my closest friends are happily in love, and for that I am grateful," she sincerely acknowledged. "And as the proclaimed reason for your happiness, Rukia, I must know everything about your date, in excruciating detail," Rien winked at her.
Rukia turned red, but did not refuse as she shyly recounted her romantic date.
Rien had insisted Rukia wear a violet kimono as the blossom festival was a special occasion, else Rukia would have probably stealthily left the house in her uniform. Rukia hadn't told anyone about her plans with Renji that afternoon, and they both had made a mandatory show at the lunchtime Seireitei Blossom festival; where Rukia had seen Rien yawning on her date with Hisagi. As afternoon drew near Rukia began to be more nervous, and she kept telling herself it was just an outing between friends. But if that was all it was, why had she kept it a secret from everyone. Rukia shunpo'ed to Inuzuri, where they had grown up, and Renji had asked her to meet him at 5pm. Rukia was exactly on time, but Renji was already there waiting for her.
"Hey, short-stack," Renji joked, trying to lighten his heavy mood.
"What's up, pineapple," Rukia insulted back, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief that everything was as it always was when they lived here.
"Come, let's go. Follow me...if you can," Renji taunted.
"The day you beat me in shunpo is the day the sun falls from the sky," Rukia countered as he she shunpo'ed away following him.
He had taken her to a picnic at a restricted lake. Rukia recognised the beautiful landscape, but could not put her finger on why. A picnic blanket was laid out with a feast, right next to the water and near a blooming sakura tree. No one was around, and Rukia was getting nervous as she had not expected to be alone with Renji. Renji was in a dark green kimono, which Rien had insistently chosen, to apparently enhance the beauty of his long red hair. Renji's red hair was flowing beautifully long and framing his softened face – not his usual intense expression during battle, or the playful smirk Rukia was used to.
Renji began the date by presenting her with the first blossom of the season, that he had apparently stopped Byakuya from throwing away because its beauty had instantly reminded him of Rukia. Rukia's heart raced as Renji bent down , his one knee on the ground and opened the expensive box in which the flower rested in suspended animation, and removed it to carefully place it in her hair behind her ear. Rukia had been about to protest that removing the flower from the box would cause it to wither eventually, but then...
"This flower would gladly give up eternity to be next to you, just as I would," Renji's brown eyes vulnerably widened as he spoke to Rukia on bended knee. "Rukia, I have loved you all my life, and I will never stop loving you, even if you don't feel...,"
Rukia's kiss cut him off. At first he could not believe her lips were touching his, but he soon gave in to the intensity of her kiss, slowly rising from his kneeling position, lifting her with him, snaking his arms around her and vowing to never let her go. Who knew the deserted lake where Rien had almost died could be so beautiful, and so private, Renji reminded himself to thank Rien later, but soon forgot everything and everyone as Rukia's small fingers flitted through his long hair and tugged gently. He vowed to never tie his hair up ever again.
Author's Note
I hope you guys enjoyed the RukiRen, and my backtracked explanations of previously only hinted at behaviour. I think it was nice of Byakuya to let Renji have the gift he was going to give Rien.
SettingUpdate:Don't read the following if you have not reached episode 310 in the anime. I envision my story set a while after that, and like I said all the humans are a bit older, around 22/23 years, where my story currently is, but were around 21 when this story started. I just wanted them to mature a bit so the content would be appropriate. I have set this after Aizen escapes from prison in Soul Society, it's now 4 years later, and since he is now immortal, I think he eventually would of hatched a plan to escape and get up to his usual schemes. So, everyone is stressed and on alert because Aizen is out there somewhere, up to his usual tricks, and he has gotten it into his head that he wants to be Soul King. Aizen arrogantly thinks that if there has to be a Soul King to maintain the balance, why shouldn't it be him since he already has a god-complex. R&R
~Willow~