Chapter 35: Ye Of Little Faith

Kaien Shiba felt like drowsy. He understood that they had put him under a lot of meds just keep him from getting agitated but this was overkill. It's not like he was an alcoholic or anything, he just overdosed on booze. He was just depressed at that time but now he felt like an idiot, he had been acting like a total ass because he lost the girl of his dreams to some sleazy actor.

No offense but he was an actor, you usually don't trust those Hollywood types.

But yeah, he was a complete jerk. He was just fueling his pride and arrogance. Rukia Kuchiki wasn't the girl of his dreams, he thought she was. He understood perfectly that he fell in love with this image of her he created, he also forced this image on her. He didn't love her, not anymore and he just woke up and smelled the coffee.

He wasn't too keen on marrying her now, he understood that he couldn't say no. The Shiba family was relying the Kuchiki family for financial support, he needed to marry Rukia and the Kuchiki elders didn't see a problem.

From their perspective, Kaien Shiba was a guy she used to love luckily enough, and that it was going to be a beneficial marriage. They didn't want her of all people to go off and marry Hollywood bad boys with horrible reputations. He hated those elders with a passion, Rukia was so much better than the rest of them. Why did she deserve to bear all of their burdens?

She was a brilliant lawyer, she had a brilliant mind and she was an amazing woman.

Why couldn't they see that.

Kaien sighed and fixed his position on the hospital bed. The bed was currently upright and he was watching televisions, he could have gotten discharged but the doctors wanted to watch him for a little while longer. After all, he near died but so what? Big deal, he got gutted like a fish a couple of years back. A little alcohol poisoning was nothing.

At least, in the aftermath of his little bout of stupidity. He was going to change himself and be the same old Kaien he was to Rukia, back when she was still a rookie lawyer. If they were going to be married, the least he court do for her was make it comfortable. Kaien ran a hand through his raven hair before changing the channel.

He hated hospitals.

He glanced at the clock and found it to be around lunch time, he expected the food guys to come in with his paid meal. Hey, if he was gonna stay in the hospital, he might as well pay for the good hospital meals. The free ones tasted like crap, seriously, they did. The knock came and he grinned, he was getting pretty hungry.

"Come in."

What came in wasn't a food tray.

Oh no, it was a person and Kaien was caught completely off guard.

Standing before him was Rukia Kuchiki in a winter coat and a signature Chappy the Rabbit scarf. Her hair was tied up into a not so neat bun, the cold wind probably blew it out of proportion. Her cheeks were a little red from the weather but she was still generally pale. Her amethyst eyes were as beautiful as always.

Kaien quickly salvaged himself and managed a grin. "And to whom do I owe this pleasure?" He asked in a happy manner.

She winded up smiling and sighing in relief. It was obvious that she was nervous, considering how strained their relationship had become recently. "Hey Kaien."

"Hey Kuchiki... I heard you went to Hokkaido with tangerine head." He replied in a jesting tone.

She smiled softly. "I just wanted to check on you... Who told you that?"

"Sources... What is a lawyer without a few ears here and there?" He replied.

She approached him and casually sat on the edge of his bed, there was some old familiarity to her gesture. She leaned on the bed and he simply sat straighter. "That's true I suppose... It's pretty obvious that you wouldn't settle free hospital food. Therefore, I brought you some lunch."

He grinned, she was being nice and civil.

That was cool, he supposed.

"Yeah, but I paid for the special food service."

"As if that crap can hold a candle to General Chen's House of Dimsum." She replied in a cocky manner while pointing towards the plastic on the table. "It's still hot, I passed by the courthouse this morning and decided to get you some lunch."

He smiled. "Ahh... What lawyer worth his salt doesn't love General Chen's? Thanks Kuchiki, I haven't eaten there in forever."

"It's the least I can do after being a total bitch to you." She replied as she hopped off the bed and rolled off the adjustable table. She made it go higher to accommodate the hight of the hospital bed before putting the goods on the table. Rukia put out the food and gave him the the chopsticks along with the spoon.

Kaien took it from there and quickly opened all the styrofoam packaging. He found that she had ordered him Xiao Long Bao, Chao Fan and some duck on the side. She even got him some of that herbal soup, she got General Chen's specialties. "Wow... Now I really want to leave."

She shook her head. "Not a smart move to get yourself beyond drunk though. It's not exactly a shining moment for you."

"Hey, I wasn't myself for a couple of weeks. So what? My head was in my ass, my bad."

She laughed in her old lighthearted manner but she spoke to him in a different way. He realized that she was being careful with her words back then and that he was talking to the real Rukia now. "So how are you really?"

"Drowsy... I feel like I can doze off anytime."

"How much meds are they putting you on?"

"Enough to make you puke for sure." He replied.

"Well, you deserve it." She scoffed with a smile on her face.

He separated the wooden chopsticks and began to grab a piece of the dumplings before the soup inside them dried up. "Have you eaten Rukia?"

She nodded. "Pretty much..."

"So what brings you here? How did you know I was in this dump?" He asked her.

She shrugged and gave him a piece of paper. He instantly recognized the handwriting and he handed it back, he merely shrugged. "I'm flattered that he thought of my wellbeing."

"Well, you are marrying his little sister after all." Rukia replied nonchalantly.

"That's true." He replied in the same casual manner. "Now it's your turn to tell me how you're doing Kuchiki?"

Rukia shrugged and sat down on the bed again. She looked out at the huge window behind her and watched the city in all of its controlled chaos. "I don't suppose that saying I'm fine will suffice. You'll just see right through that... If you are the Kaien I knew that is."

"Oh yeah, definitely. Look, just say your peace and we'll just see how that works."

She nodded before closing her eyes in thought. She then looked straight into his aqua blue eyes as he ate his lunch. "This is stupid but I guess you can say I ran away again..."

"Again? Well... I can't blame you. All you can really do is run anyway." He reassured her.

"But I'm usually the girl who faces problems head on. Usually, I pummel right through them."

Kaien laughed before sipping some of his hot herbal soup. He winced when he scalded himself but continued on. "Well counselor, if you pummel through your problems like a faulty testimony, those aren't problems. People don't just pummel right through them, they struggle to get over them. This is probably the first time you've ever had to face a wall you can't climb."

"Well yeah, fine. Maybe this is the first time I've felt like I'm falling in quick sand, so what?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean so what? You're acting like a rookie Kuchiki."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah yeah, mentor away Kaien."

He smirked. "Listen Kuchiki. Going with tangerine head is in a way, running from your problems here in the city. Namely, your family and all that shit. At the same time, coming back here means your running away from fully committing to Ichigo. You're probably here because you're scared of ruining him because of everything you're running from. There's no sanctuary here or there for you."

"But—"

"You're rushing. Slow down Rukia... Damn, it's like your first year all over again." He sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

She scowled.

"I'm sure you get me... Nowhere is safe. Not for you at least but look at Ichigo. The man is as free as a bird, he has no obligations but to himself. He listens to no one and does everything he wants to do. You envy him for that, it's probably one of the reasons why you love him right?" He reasoned.

Rukia shrugged. "Well yeah... But are we seriously doing the Dr. Phil–Momo time?"

"Hey, Dr. Hinamori is an excellent therapist. She makes perfect sense, you are lucky to have her."

Rukia nudged him with her elbow. "Don't you mean Dr. Hitsugaya."

"Didn't she get that hyphenated for her job?"

She crossed her arms. "She'd appreciate it if you just called her Mrs. Hitsugaya."

"She's always gonna be Hinamori to me."

Rukia chuckled. "That's true... She's still the same old Momo Hinamori."

"Lovely best friends aside... All I'm saying is that you're a caged bird right now. The captors are your uptight family... At least, that's how you feel. In reality however, you have no bonds. You just think you're caged up."

"Oh, so it's all in the mind. I fail to see how."

"It looks ridiculous but in the end... You are chained down by nothing. Of course, I could go on forever but it really depends on you and if you actually do listen. I highly doubt that, you're as stubborn as a mule."

She frowned even deeper. "Try being in my position."

He shrugged as he drank more soup. "I can't... I'm not some genius prodigy with height problems and a temper." He joked in his usual light manner.

"Look, I'm not guy who punches people as an introduction."

He laughed. "Okay fine. Apparently, your end sucks more than mine. I get that..." He ended his statement by eating for a moment before continuing. "Though seriously Kuchiki, why are you here?"

She sighed a long one. "I was worried... How do you think I would feel if my ex-fiancé slash current fiancé was in the hospital for alcohol poisoning. Byakuya implied that it was because of me so I wanted to check. Am I here for the right reason then?"

"Half and half. I was in this thing called depression for a while because everything started going south for me. Look, I couldn't even hold onto the girl who used to love me. I know you've noticed but I've been getting on the boss's nerves back at the Prosecutor's Office. Me and my siblings have been fighting a lot recently. You were super mad at me for not telling you that we are getting married and my ass got kicked by your boyfriend. Yeah, that bottle of whiskey looked pretty good at that time."

Rukia raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "Oh, even the bottle after that and the bottle after?

He shrugged. "Can you blame me?"

"Well... You did get yourself gutted like a fish, that's the worst thing I've ever been subjected to. I don't ever want to see your guts again... and that much blood either. Other than Coyote Stark nearly killing me, you did forget to mention that the Kuchiki family is trying to get us hitched. I like you Kaien but not in that way."

Kaien grinned as he ate more of his dumplings while the soup in them was still hot. "Look, I'm way over that. It's not like you were my first serious relationship... Just the first one I proposed to."

"Ditto." Rukia replied in a casual manner.

"Okay... Looks like we're good. However, you really didn't have to come back here. You should have just enjoyed your days with Ichigo." He stated in a straightforward way.

"I could have done that but even I need some distance from Ichigo right now. It's all good and fun but I just need some time to think." She sighed.

"You've had nine months to do that... Well, nearly ten now maybe."

She looked right at him and held he gaze. "Yeah but I wasn't thinking clearly... Now I have all the chess pieces, I just need to make the first move."

"Good for you Rukia but a man like him won't wait forever. He's used to waiting and hoping for some new love to come along. You were that... He's been waiting but maybe he's tired. The man isn't getting any younger and I can say the same for you." Kaien reasoned out.

She ran a hand through her thick ebony hair and looked back out the window. "I know, I have to do something about everything. And I need to do it fast or else I'll be hitched to you and my only reprieve from you would be a divorce."

"Ouch, you didn't have to use the word

Reprieve. It sounds like I'm some sort of a capital punishment to you, care to rescind that statement counselor?" He joked.

"Not a chance. But still... I don't think the cavalry would let me get away with divorcing you... It's a complicated little bugger." She groaned.

He pointed the chopsticks in her direction. "I'm glad you're making contingency plans already. Planning ahead is good and all but what are you going to do about Ichigo? You basically left him up there to pasture."

She shrugged. "It'll come to me don't worry... It's already be nagging at me, you don't have to say it out loud Captain Obvious."

He shifted on the bed and pushed himself up, he was slowly sliding down. An annoying problem when it came to wearing hospital gowns and being on an inclined plane of a bed. "How did you leave him anyway?"

"Secretly ran out, he caught me by the elevator." She started before taking Kaien's water and drinking some for herself after an angry protest. "He asked me where I was going, I told him I was headed for the city. He didn't stop me, he just looked sad and eventually, he turned his back on me."

"Oh."

She looked at him with a worried expression. "I know, that was a bad move on my part but it felt right at the time and I still don't regret that. Pretty mean of me huh."

He smiled reassuringly. "You're only human Kuchiki."

"Yeah... Now I feel like the douche. No matter, what's done is done and you're just fine. I've ascertained that you're alright, now I have to make decisions for my life now."

Rukia then hopped off the hospital bed and grabbed the bag she had dropped off on a chair. She looked back at him and smiled. "I shouldn't stay too long. I've also brought you some yogurt and ice cream. Staying in this hospital must be killing you." She grinned.

"Thanks Rukia, I appreciate it. And ah, do you have Ginger Ale?"

"I picked up a few cans... I still don't get why you love 'em."

Kaien shrugged. "I just do."

Rukia just looked at him hard.

Kaien Shiba was back to normal now. His coral blue eyes sparkled in mischief and his healthy glow came back to him. He was the same old Kaien, the Kaien that the old Rukia fell in love with. She was glad for that, she didn't want to be stuck to the shadow of his former self. Rukia couldn't help but smile genuinely, at least some things were looking up for her.

"Don't overdose yourself with ale now. I didn't buy them so you could go on a frenzy with soda for old guys." She scoffed.

He saluted her. "Ye of little faith.

She approached the door, yanked it open and crossed the threshold. She stocked her head in for one last remark.

"Goodbye Kaien, stay out of trouble. I won't be held accountable for any incidents during your stay."

"Yes ma'am."

Rukia Kuchiki left while feeling a little bit better about the whole situation.

AN: So there you go guys, two chapters after a very long time. I am currently working on Chapter 36 and hopefully I keep my current state. It's been a while since I've published a chapter and for that I apologize and thank you guys for your patience. I've been writing a lot of original fiction lately that I could publish at Fictionpress, the sister sight of Fanfiction. Still though, that's been proving to be quite the distraction but it's mostly out of my system now.

So Yeah, Cheers!

AkaBaka-chan signing off~