Disclaimer: Bleach does not belong to me.
Warning: OOC (very), and this is probably where I start changing the rating from T to M. :)
A/N: Big thank you to ChappiRuki, JoTerry and Keira14 for your insights and feedback. This is where it goes slightly off the rails (please don't kill me) I have not read the manga so I went the way of the anime (and then my way). Also this is the longest chapter so far.
And as always, thank you all so much for your reviews, follows, feedback, and favourites. A lot of this writing is driven by your feedback and I am truly grateful. This is also the first time I will have written anything like this, so I am pretty nervous. Thanks for your patience.
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VIII.
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Isshin sends Karin over to invite Rukia and Orihime to dinner at the Kurosaki residence.
Rukia's gigai is brought out of storage and laid out in a chair for her to step into. She stares at her face from nineteen months ago, with her longer hair and slightly rounder cheeks.
It always feels a bit strange for her to slip into this body, especially when she aligns her head into it. There is a moment where it feels like drowning, before her gigai's eyes lock into place. When she opens her eyes again, she finds Ichigo staring into hers.
The surprise sends her jumping a foot in the air. "Kurosaki!" she snarls, heart pounding. "What the heck do you think you're doing?"
He considers her for a long moment. "Hey, Rukia? Did you ever-" His voice trails off.
Panicking, Rukia backs away abruptly, her head slamming into the back of the chair with a loud thwack. He gives her an affectionate half-smile, rubbing the bump with his hand. "Silly girl."
Rukia's heart is racing; his proximity is making her blush. He cradles the back of her head, locking his gaze with hers.
Rukia can suddenly hear her own breathing, but she is drowning in those honey-coloured eyes.
"Come on!" Karin yells out from the living room. "Yuzu just called, the rice is done."
When he turns his head, Rukia takes the opportunity to duck out from under his arm and make a break for the door.
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Dinner at the Kurosakis is always entertaining. Ichigo is greeted at the door with the usual uppercut from Isshin, which distresses Orihime.
Rukia gets a very loud "My third daughter is home!" from Isshin and excited hugs from Yuzu. She is, as usual, overwhelmed, but she swallows the unexpected lump of emotion.
Orihime gets fussed over and hugged as well. Rukia tries not to notice how Ichigo makes sure that she is seated comfortably, and her water glass is filled.
Orihime's big grey eyes flit nervously between her and Ichigo, so Rukia smiles reassuringly at the younger girl, although she doesn't know why Orihime would be nervous.
They seat her across from Orihime, with Ichigo between them at the end of the table.
It is a lot less awkward than Rukia thought it would be, although nobody mentions the elephant in the room which is Tsukushima.
"Thank you, Gods, and Masaki!" Isshin proclaims, after insisting that they all hold hands. "For this table full of good food and beautiful women."
He pauses to wipe a tear from his eye. "Our table is crowded and we are all in good health. Please, Gods, the one thing we need now is…." He smiles in the creepiest way. "Grandkids. For our happiness to be complete. Amen."
Rukia notices that Orihime is grinning at her as Isshin says this, so she averts her eyes. Karin has to hold Ichigo down from launching himself bodily at his dad. Yuzu smiles, calmly ladling out soup.
"So, my third daughter," Isshin booms after dinner has been cleared and dessert is served. "What did you do for the past nineteen months that you were not here?"
Rukia chokes on her pudding, unprepared for the question.
Orihime smiles sunnily as Ichigo pounds Rukia's back. "Actually, Rukia-chan did come here! Didn't I see you at the New Year's countdown? I thought I spotted you in the crowd but then you disappeared." She scrunches up her nose in confusion.
Ichigo pauses his pounding. Rukia squirms under his scrutiny. "Is this true?"
Eyes wide, she chugs down more water to stall for time. Taking advantage of the silence, Karin speaks up in her monotone. "I saw her in early December, too, the first time it snowed. In the park on the -"
Rukia blasts water out her nose, and grabs a napkin, pressing it to her nose and mouth. Isshin starts wailing, "Are you choking, Rukia-chan? Here, let us do the Heimlich maneuver! I don't want you dying at our table. Except that you are already dead! Your face is so red, can you even breathe?"
He hoists her out of her chair, and performs the maneuver. Rukia gasps for air, and manages to struggle out of the arms.
"I am alright," she sputters, noting the huge smile on Orihime's face and the knowing gleam in Karin's eye.
Ichigo's face is blank; this is new. Normally Rukia can read every emotion on his face like a book. She feels uneasy.
She manages to steady herself on the table, flashing a weak smile to the younger girls. "I need to go to the bathroom." She announces, fleeing.
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In the bathroom, Rukia splashes her face with cold water, to ease her burning cheeks. For a moment she considers jumping out the window and escaping. The face of Byakuya hovers above her, looking disapproving.
Rukia sighs. "I know, oni-sama. Kuchikis do not run away." The turmoil in her has her stomach yowling. She looks down ruefully, and then stares herself down in the mirror. "Think, Rukia. What would Byakuya do?"
A mental image of Byakuya at the Kurosaki dinner table has her smiling reluctantly. He would probably never have gotten into this situation in the first place. Sighing, she pounds her forehead against the door.
Rukia yelps as someone knocks from the other side of the door.
"Rukia-chan! Are you okay in there?" Orihime's clear voice comes through. Rukia turns her head, contemplating the door for a moment. Another knock comes through.
"Rukia?" Ichigo. With a groan, she sinks to a crouch, burying her face in her knees.
"I'm okay," she mumbles, wishing she was anywhere but there. "Both of you, I'm fine."
She hears the knob turn. Orihime pops in with a sheepish smile, slamming the door in Ichigo's face and locking it again. At Rukia's questioning look, she holds up a key. "I got it from Karin."
Rukia gets to her feet slowly. "Hey, did you need to use the bathroom?"
Orihime studies her for a long moment. Rukia returns the glance.
This girl, too, has changed, since Hueco Mundo. Two years ago she would have been bubbly and chirping about anything that crossed her mind, but this Orihime feels sadder, a little more careworn, and a little more thoughtful.
She feels a little bad for not keeping in touch with Orihime. Rukia looks at her thoroughly now; longer hair, dark circles under her eyes, and that glow of innocence missing from her eyes.
"Oh, Orihime." Rukia brushes the auburn hair behind the younger girl's ear, feeling her heart break. Orihime had never opened up to anyone about Hueco Mundo. "What happened to you in … I'm sorry we left right after you got back here." Rukia is overcome by guilt. "I should have visited you. Should have talked to you. You can tell me anything."
Orihime takes her hand. "It's okay, Rukia-chan. And please do not feel bad. It wasn't your fault, none of it." She smiles sadly. "I'll tell you someday. But not now."
The red-haired girl sits on the tub's edge. "Rukia-chan, can I talk to you about Kurosaki-kun?"
Rukia blinks, and sinks to sit on top of the closed toilet, mentally bracing herself. "Sure."
"When we were in grade school, and middle school, I was bullied. A lot. And when my brother died- there was nobody left." Tsukushima's face pops into Orihime's head, but she pushes that memory away and goes back to the present.
"Nobody cared. Until Tatsuki-chan. In high school, one day, Tatsuki-chan was away at a tournament and I was cornered by some boys. And Kurosaki-kun rescued me that day." She gives Rukia a rueful smile. "He was like the sun, after I had lived in darkness for so long. It was so easy for me to get a crush on him."
Rukia nods, uncomfortable with Orihime's story.
"And he does that, that Kurosaki-kun, doesn't he glow?" Orihime smiles fondly. "And for the longest time I thought he could fix me, and I could hide behind him, you know? But it isn't because he likes me, that he helps me. It's because he helps everyone."
"That's not true," Rukia says, automatically.
Orihime shakes her head with a laugh. "Rukia-chan, you know it is. If he sees something he thinks is unfair, he will do his best to correct it."
Rukia nods, casting her eyes on the ground.
"And I am a terrible person, Rukia-chan," Orihime says quietly. "When he met you, and you started coming to our school, I did not want to see how happy he was around you. And you were so kind to me, and so smart and so strong, everything I wanted to be. And part of me resented you for it. And all of you kept bailing me out, rescuing me. I got tired of being helpless, and being the one always in danger. That's why I went to Las Noches. Then we came back, and you left. He was not the same afterwards, you know."
She meets Rukia's eyes. "He was broken."
"His Reiatsu...," Rukia starts to say, but stops at Orihime's stare.
"No, Rukia-chan." Orihime reaches forward and puts her hand on Rukia's. "Not just that. He was wandering around like a limb had been cut off. I know how that feels. And I thought for a while that maybe he and I could be one whole person together, instead of two halves left behind. But, for people like us, it doesn't work that way."
She smiles at herself. "Not that he even noticed. He used to bug Urahara-san, asking if you had come to visit. Then he stopped talking about you altogether." Her eyes look sad again. "I know what that is like. When the hole is so big and painful that you just want to pretend it isn't there."
"Rukia-chan. The fact that you couldn't stay away means that maybe you felt this hole too." Orihime grips both her hands earnestly. "Did you not want me to tell him about your visit?"
"B-but," Rukia stammers, her cheeks blazing. "But don't you love him?"
Orihime gives her a faraway smile, and squeezes her hand gently. "Oh, I do, but not like you do. And lately, my tastes in men have changed." Both girls rise and head to the door. "Besides, his eyes aren't green enough."
She unlocks the door, and Isshin and Yuzu tumble in.
"Bathroom's all yours," Rukia smiles.
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Isshin insists that the girls spend the night. Futons are laid out in the spare bedroom, and Orihime, still recovering, passes out immediately.
After an hour of tossing and turning, Rukia decides to get up and grab a drink of water.
The hallway is dark, but having lived here for so long, Rukia doesn't need to switch on the lights. She tiptoes down the stairs, and makes her way to the water cooler humming in the corner.
The familiar kitchen comforts her too, with the green glow of the temperature display blinking in the dark room. She fills her glass halfway and takes a long cold sip. As she puts it in the sink, she feels the trace of reiatsu in the room, barely masked. Her eyes narrow. "Ichigo."
"Couldn't sleep too?" His husky voice carries across the kitchen table. She can barely make out his form in the dark, but the streetlights coming in the windows are reflected in his golden eyes.
All her senses are on alert, as he finds her gaze. "Just thirsty," she replies, unconsciously backing up against the counter.
He cocks his head. "So, Rukia."
This was not the boy she left almost two years ago. She can see the muscles in his broad shoulders, clearly defined under his shirt. She wonders, briefly, if his inner Hollow has taken over, by the almost predatory way he watches her. She looks to the stairs, trying to calculate the distance.
"What?" When she turns back, he is now directly in front of her, two feet away. Close enough to touch.
He takes a half-step forward. She flinches. "Are you afraid of me?" He is now close enough that she can hear him whispering.
Rukia lets out a nervous laugh. "Of course not, Kurosaki." She bites her lower lip as he studies her. He takes another half-step closer, then another. "But you're in my space. Quit crowding me."
Ichigo puts both hands on the edge of the counter, effectively trapping her. "But you seem to be so jumpy," he says quietly, bringing his head down. "Did you miss me?"
"What?" She braces an arm against his shoulder, pushing against it. "What are you doing?"
"I missed you. So much," he whispers, amber eyes shadowed. He keeps his arms loose around her. They both know if she pushes him away he will let her, but Rukia does not. She wonders if he can hear the mad pounding of her heart.
He smiles gently at her. "I just need to check something, okay?" Sliding his hands up to cradle her head, he lowers his. Eyes wide, she covers her lips, palm facing him. He presses a gentle kiss to her fingers, and pulls back slightly, triumphant.
"So that was you." Ichigo smiles, and plants a kiss on her forehead. Rukia, surprised, averts her eyes, unwilling to show him the turmoil going on inside her. He lifts her easily, so she sits on the counter edge, and stands between her knees, tipping her chin up with his fingers. Now they are looking each other in the eye and Rukia is feeling very exposed.
She avoids his gaze, muttering "I don't know what you're talking about." Ichigo locks an arm around her waist, using the other to stroke the hair away from her face, leaving her with nothing to hide behind. "And stop doing that."
"I like your new haircut." His voice is gruff. "I get to see this. Every time I see your neck now it makes me want to bite you here." He runs a finger up the nape of her neck, making her shiver. Rukia heaves a shuddering breath, trying not to close her eyes at his touch. "And your - "
She silences him by placing her fingertips on his mouth, afraid to hear anything more. She feels him smile under her touch, and his eyes are gentle and patient and full of something that terrifies her more than Hollows or Arrancars or runaway Captains. A moment passes, then another. The kitchen is silent save for their quiet breathing. He waits patiently.
Slowly, she slides her hand down, eyes still locked on his. Then she leans forward, brushing her lips almost shyly against his at first. Her eyes slide closed, as she pulls him closer.
Time stops.
The world is reduced to this: hot breaths mingling as his control snaps, hands tangling in her hair, muffled whimpers ('Was that me?' Rukia wonders in a remote corner of her mind), soft slow nibbles, hard nips that have her aching for more, long lazy licks that have tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.
But this is Ichigo. She fights to gain some semblance of sanity, breaking away abruptly and resting her forehead against his. "Ichigo," she gasps out his name, but he goes on anyway, nibbling on the tender spot under her ear. Her toes curl, digging into the back of his legs. His hands pull her closer, locking her into place against him.
He smiles darkly against her neck, pleased with himself and the little catch of breath she makes. "Like that, huh?" She is drowning.
A buzzing in her pocket has Rukia pushing him back abruptly; she picks up the communicator with trembling hands. He rests his forehead against her neck, nuzzling with his nose, unable to stop touching her.
"Hello?" she says, praying that her voice does not betray her.
"Kuchiki fukutaichou." The reminder of her position has her stiffening her back. "You have been cleared to come home with the Substitute Shinigami effective immediately. Please open a senkaimon at your earliest convenience." The line goes dead.
Rukia tries to summon the words that would put an end to this. "That was the Seiritei. We have to go back immediately. This- this was"
A mistake.
Temporary insanity.
But before she can finish, Ichigo pulls away. He eases her off the counter to stand on trembling legs and plants one last sweet kiss on her nose.
"I'm sorry," Rukia tries again, her cheeks rosy. "We can't -"
"We can." Ichigo grins at her. "And we're not done yet. We should let dad and the girls know we are leaving, then let's head out."
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The two of them stand on the riverbank, both in their Shinigami forms.
Rukia is feeling restless, and does not know how to deal with this new development. Also, she has no idea what he is going to say or why he has requested a meeting with the Captain Commander. Usually, lack of preparation has her cranky and unsettled. Now is not an exception.
The calmer Ichigo is, the more nervous she gets.
"What are you going to talk about?" Rukia scowls.
"You'll see." He grins. She stabs her Zanpakuto into thin air and twists it. A door appears.
He steps in, and turns back to her, holding out his hand. Rukia eyes it suspiciously. Is he going to quit being a substitute shinigami? Or is it something else entirely?
Then she looks into his whiskey-coloured eyes and feels her stomach settle.
This is Ichigo Kurosaki, after all. Half-shinigami, partially hollow, and not fully grown, but he has already changed the Seiritei and the world.
Settling her lips into a half-smile, she takes his hand and follows him into the doors.
...
A/N: Still feeling silly.
While the two are in the kitchen, Isshin tiptoes past the doorway, hiding his excited giggles and embracing the photo of his late wife. "Grandchildren!" He beams. "Oh, Masaki! I know I asked you for them earlier tonight, but wow! You are a fast worker!"