VIII. Don't Go Where I Can't Follow
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Rukia could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her surroundings were dark and she could barely make sense of where she was, but the ground beneath her was solid and her feet were already planting themselves one footstep after the other, the sound of their impact echoing in her ears; before she could make sense of anything more.
She instinctively knew that she was running away from someone or rather, something. With no further information to back her up, she could only urge herself to run faster, reminding herself that she'd be safe once she outran the thing chasing after her.
There was no time to waste.
She was still running when she felt a change stirring in the air. From behind her, she sensed a lumbering mass moving towards her at speed disproportionate to its size. Fear gripped at her. The monster has already caught up with her.
Feeling brave, Rukia turned to look behind her, only to realize that the thing was closer than she expected. With a few large strides, it could easily catch up with her and make her its dinner. Rukia felt its breath on her and she nearly gagged at the smell.
In the dark, she could barely make out its shape. Its mouth was a bottomless pit and around it, she saw serrated teeth, crooked and jagged- gleaming brightly. She gulped, desperately urging herself to run faster.
Suddenly, she tripped and the monster closed in on her. The smell was getting worse and the moist heat of its bad breath fanned her cheeks. She huffed, wincing in disgust at the feel of drool gathering on her face.
A weight settled on her chest and she gasped, trying hard to push back against it to no avail. The monster was sitting on top of her, its gigantic body pressing down on her chest and slowly draining her of air.
She choked, feeling it harder to breathe with every passing second.
Not one to give up, Rukia writhed, her arms shooting up to grapple at the monster. She grabbed hold of a handful of what must have been the monster's fur and tugged, determined to push the weight off her by any means necessary.
The monster immediately heaved and gave a loud whine, but didn't let up. Instead, Rukia quickly began to regret her decision as she felt more drool dripping down her face. She angrily swiped them away with the back of her hand, retaliating by tugging even harder, but the monster did not seem affected by her efforts at all.
The more she swiped at the dripping slobber, the more it gathered, seemingly growing thicker, while she gasped for air. Her lungs were burning and her vision was starting to blur.
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Rukia woke up with a painful groan. As she opened her eyes, she quickly found herself in her bedroom, lying on her bed with her legs tangled in her blanket. Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the window blinds and when she turned to her side, the alarm clock on her nightstand showed that she had 10 minutes before her alarm rang.
She heaved a sigh, rubbing at her eyes with the back of her hand. It was just a dream.
She tried to sit up only to frown when she realized that she was rendered immobile by the weight currently lying on top of her, pinning her to her bed. She gave it a big shove, unsympathetic at the slightest when her actions earned her a pitiful whine.
A pair of big amber eyes stared deeply at her as a shock of tawny fur raised his head upwards. Rukia took advantage of the moment to push him completely off her. She raised herself up, sitting on the bed with her feet dangling off the side. She winced, gently massaging her stiff legs as she felt her blood circulation returning to her limbs.
"Kon, you're too heavy for this!" Rukia scolded. She reached out to scratch her dog behind the ears, making his back legs thump against the bed. Years ago, he would have gotten away with snuggling with her on the bed and waking her up like this. Rukia would have even found it cute, but now, Puppy Kon was no more. In his place was Kon the Goldie- a full-grown golden retriever that unfortunately, still operated under the misconception that he was lapdog size.
She wiggled her toes. Her legs still felt numb, no thanks to the heavy weight of Kon pressing down on her earlier.
Frowning, she chided at Kon. "You're not a puppy anymore!"
Kon gave a low whine at that as if to protest but Rukia's tone was firm as she pointed at the floor next to the bed. "Down! Now!"
The puppy dog eyes might have worked once upon a time, but Rukia has developed an immunity to it over the years. The latter came hand in hand with the realization that nothing in her house would ever be completely free of golden dog hair ever again.
As Kon reluctantly hopped off, Rukia climbed out of bed, stretching her stiff muscles as she planted her feet on the carpeted floor. She stifled a yawn, still only half-awake as she made the bed. With that done, she walked towards the window and rolled up the blinds, enjoying the bright glow of daylight as the morning sun shined on her.
She drew a deep breath, willing herself to relax and smile. The morning skies were bright and blue, not a single cloud in the sky. She could hear the birds chirping in the background and as she opened the window, she welcomed the chill of the morning air with a smile on her face.
Rukia turned around to see that Kon had petulantly plopped himself back on the bed, his head lying flat on the bed and between his front paws. Sulking, he pointedly looked away from her when he saw her looking at him, a low-pitched growl rumbling from the back of his throat. Rukia snickered in response.
"Come on, you big baby! It's time for breakfast!"
Kon's ears perked up at the mention of food, his bushy tail wagging excitedly as he looked up. Without even waiting for Rukia to respond, he leaped off the bed, barking as he led the charge towards the kitchen. The sound of him clambering down the stairs on all four was unmistakable and Rukia watched on with an amused grin.
Before Rukia could follow suit, her phone started vibrating. She frowned when she noticed the caller ID. It couldn't be helped though, she thought to herself as she reluctantly answered the phone and pressed it to her ear. The mission came first.
"Hello?"
"THANK FUCK ONE OF YOU FINALLY DECIDED TO ANSWER THE PHONE? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS? WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN?!"
Renji's voice rang out loud and clear from the other end. The volume was loud enough to make Rukia wince, instinctively moving the phone away from her ear.
Unimpressed, Rukia switched the phone on to loudspeaker and shouted back just as loudly at him, "USE YOUR GODDAMN INDOOR VOICE WHEN YOU'RE ON THE PHONE!"
There was some nonsensical grumblings and muffled background noises heard from the other end, but eventually Rukia heard a grunt from Renji. "This better?"
Rukia's lips twitched. His voice was still gruff but the volume was on a manageable level that didn't make Rukia's eardrums bleed.
"Much," she snipped archly. "Now, if you're ready to be civilized, Renji; what can I help you with?"
"Don't you use that tone with me! Unlike you two lovebirds who've gone AWOL on me and fucked off to the beach last week, I've been here carrying the team and doing my job! I can't believe both of you even missed your check-ins last week!"
Rukia rolled her eyes. "We just got back yesterday, Renji! What did you expect? Also, it's a little hard to check-in with you without raising suspicions when we're being surrounded by so many other people, don't you think?"
Even if she wanted to, Rukia wasn't sure she could get away completely with contacting Renji at the Kuchiki summer home. Knowing her luck, the conversation was bound to be eavesdropped by someone and the last thing that she wanted to do was to explain to Ichigo's sisters why she's always on the phone with a 'friend' while they're on holiday. They might accuse her of cheating on Ichigo and that would just create more trouble for everyone involved.
Renji grumbled unintelligibly on the other end, but didn't push the matter any further. "Whatever. So, where is he? Dr. Kurosaki is not completely off the hook just yet and if he knows what's good for him—"
"He told you weeks ago," said Rukia, cutting in. "He's attending a medical conference in Naruki City with some of his colleagues. For someone who's supposedly 'doing his job', I don't think you're being very good at it."
"Hey, you take that back! You have no idea how worried I was! I still think you're putting way too much trust in Kurosaki. Don't forget! He could still be the killer, you know! The murders stopped after he got caught and when he was in custody, there were no new bodies found."
"And there's been no new bodies found now that he's been released from custody. What's your point, Renji?"
"The point is I think you're putting yourself at too much of a risk. You're not a member of the force anymore. There's nothing in it for you to pretend to be his fake girlfriend. I still can't believe you invited him to your family's private beach for a holiday! He could have- he could have done something to you on the way there and gotten rid of your body before anyone could report you as missing!"
Rukia's eyes narrowed as she bit at the tip of her tongue, trying her best to keep her cool. "First off, I didn't invite Ichigo to the beach. Nii-sama did. And second, we went with his sisters. Even if he was the killer, Ichigo wouldn't be stupid enough to off me in front of witnesses!
"We didn't plan for Nii-sama to meet Ichigo, nor did we expect to be invited to the Kuchiki party. We didn't do it for fun and it wasn't a trip for leisure. I don't think you realize that, Renji. Please don't tell me you're trying to insinuate that Ichigo and I are slacking off!"
Renji growled. "Stop being so defensive, Rukia! I'm not insinuating anything. I'm just saying that you're being too trusting. I don't think that that's the stance that you should be taking."
"I'm not being defensive! I'm simply saying that we've both worked really hard for this mission and it's frustrating to be—"
Renji's voice suddenly turned sharp as he cut in. "See that's what I don't get either! Who's this 'we' that you're going on about, Rukia?"
Rukia wrinkled her nose in distaste. She was trying hard to be professional with Renji, but her patience was wearing thin. It was hard not to take offense or notice the jealousy that was seeping from Renji. It was uncalled for when he knew full well that the relationship between Ichigo and her wasn't like that. Renji couldn't possibly think that they—
Rukia shuddered, refusing to allow her thoughts to delve any deeper than that. "Don't be pedantic, Renji. You know what I mean! Ichigo and I—"
"Rukia, you're doing it again! This is why you shouldn't be on the case at all. Do you know whose side you're on? Ichigo Kurosaki is a suspect. You're on this mission to prove that he is innocent. Why are you siding with him? Why are you calling him 'Ichigo'?"
Rukia stiffened. She felt her blood grow cold; the ice turning into magma flowing through her veins. She clenched her fists tightly, resisting the urge to end the call then and there. Sure, Renji and her may have had their differences in the past, but it had never escalated into something like this. She had never had a reason to doubt his principles and morality until now.
To dress up his own jealousy and insecurity and use it to gaslight her; to completely disregard the lack of evidence on Ichigo and all the hard work and effort she's put into the mission—
She was angry, she realized- angry at Renji for what he was doing, for stooping so low to the point that he would even say things like that to her face; angry at herself for only realizing now that Renji never changed his mind to begin with.
To him, Ichigo Kurosaki was still the prime and only suspect to the case.
This was against everything that she stood for. She should have never made that deal with Renji. Maybe then she could still delude herself into thinking that the man she once called her partner was good; that the force stood for something; that she made a difference during her brief stint on it.
Everything was different. Renji's changed, to the point that Rukia wasn't sure she even recognized him anymore. At the back of her mind, she heard herself whispering: or maybe that's how he really was after all and she should really be thanking him for finally letting her see his true colours?
The line had gone eerily quiet by the time Rukia found her voice again.
"I thought that they were all innocent until proven guilty."
"Shit! Rukia, please! You know that's not what I mean! I—"
"I'm here on your request as a 'consultant' to the case. I didn't have any stance to take until you forced me to and I accepted the mission as a favour to you because you promised that you'd leave me alone after this wraps up!"
"Rukia—"
"I'm not taking any sides here, Renji," she told him coldly. "I'm here doing what I need to do to catch a killer. I thought you knew that. Ichigo is not the issue here. Instead of wasting your time trying to find evidence proving that Ichigo is the killer, maybe you should be making better use of that time to investigate the case properly.
"The real killer is still out there and if I were you, I'd spend time worrying about that instead."
Renji chuckled bitterly. "Funny you should say that, Rukia. I wonder if you'd still vouch for him so staunchly if you knew what we've found at one of crime scenes."
Rukia frowned. She didn't like what he was doing. The bait dangling in front of her was so obvious that it felt like Renji was taunting her. She drew in a sharp breath.
"Ok, I'll bite. What did you manage to find out?"
"We found his fingerprint and DNA on one of the cups at the first crime scene."
Rukia stilled at the unexpected news. She heard Renji's smug tone coming from the other end, making her twitch with the need to reach across phone lines and smack him in person.
"Your boy is hiding things from you. Still think he's innocent as he says he is?"
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"Rukia!"
Rukia looked up from the already spilling cup of coffee, cursing when she realized the excess of it staining the counter top. She hurriedly set the kettle down, grabbing the tea towel from Momo with a murmur of thanks.
Momo gave her a look of concern as she wiped up the spilt coffee. "What's gotten into you?"
"Nothing."
Rukia's a terrible liar, Momo thought as she snorted under her breath. "Ok, I'll take it to mean that you're 'nothing' like your normal self. You messed up two coffee orders this morning, almost broke a glass and you tried to grab at some of your freshly-baked muffins without your oven mitts."
"No—" Momo quickly held out a finger, halting Rukia before she could say a word— "Don't even try to deny it. You know I'm right. I was there and if I hadn't handed you the oven mitts, you'd have burnt your hands!"
Rukia looked contrite after being admonished. She knew better than to try to argue with Momo. Her friend was only trying to help and she did owe the woman. She really would have burnt herself if Momo hadn't stopped her.
"What's going on?" asked Momo softly as she watched Rukia take a small sip of her coffee. It was past the rush hour and there were only two more hours to go before the business day ended for them at the café. There was only an old couple seated by the window and they didn't seem to be in any rush to be served or have their coffees refilled then.
"You can tell me about things too. I mean you're my boss, but we're also friends. Just as long as you promise that you're not trying to fire me."
Momo's joke earned her a small chuckle from Rukia, who remained otherwise quiet. Undeterred, she gave Rukia another look, taking in her pursed lips and the crease between her brows before sighing. "Is this something to do with your man?"
Rukia winced, hesitating before she nodded with a weak smile. Momo wasn't wrong there. Yes, it was about Ichigo; but Rukia was willing to bet her bottom dollar that it's nothing like the sort of boy troubles that Momo perceived them to be.
"What is it? Did the bastard cheat on you? Just say the word—" Momo leaned in conspiratorially, her voice dipping low— "I know a guy."
Rukia gave a tired sigh, unsure of whether to laugh or to cry when it came to Momo's tendency to think the worst of Ichigo. She didn't even want to know what this guy that Momo knew did for a living and what the other woman had in mind for revenge. "Momo, please don't assume such things about my boyfriend. Ichigo is not that sort of man."
Momo shrugged. She decided that she couldn't be blamed if she came to the conclusion so quickly. She still remembered Rukia's gangster-looking boyfriend. It was hard not to stereotype. He didn't seem particularly friendly or attentive to Rukia. Also, his strange, eccentric father didn't exactly leave a good impression on Momo.
She felt sorry for Rukia. To her at least, it seemed that her boss was more invested in the relationship than her boyfriend. Momo may not be as experienced as she would like to be in love, but Rangiku, her older cousin has imparted lovely nuggets of wisdom to her. Love is war and those who fall first already lost the battle even before it began.
"You really do like him, don't you?"
"I like him."
As my fake boyfriend.
Rukia stared at the still steaming cup of coffee held in her hands. Her relationship with the man might be fake but she didn't mind being Ichigo's friend. They didn't exactly get off on the right foot and their first 'date' (if it could be called as such) was a disaster, but they moved past the little blunder.
Unbidden, her mind drifted to the memory of a night by the beach with just the two of them. It happened like a hazy midsummer dream. Their lips brushing softly against each other. Ichigo's brown eyes peered into hers, the warmth of his much bigger hands made her shiver as they rested on her body, keeping her close by. The taste of champagne was still sharp and sweet at the tip of her tongue and if Rukia tried hard enough, she swore that she could still smell the scent of Ichigo's shower gel lingering in the air.
Her lips twitched at the memory. Her cheeks grew warm. She was much drunker than she'd liked to admit that night. But Ichigo was a perfect gentleman to her. He even walked her back to her room after that. Surely a man like that couldn't be the serial killer that Renji made him out to be?
Unbeknownst to her, her silence and the pensive look on her face was just the sort of evidence that Momo needed to prove that her instincts were tried and true. Her boss was hung up on a man who just wasn't as into her as she'd like him to be.
Momo made a face. Her impression of the man couldn't get any worse. What sort of irresponsible cretin was he? The bastard didn't even know how lucky he was. How dare he make poor Rukia go through this ordeal!
She was almost afraid to ask. "What did he do?"
Rukia blinked, repeating the question dumbly as she tried to come up with a believable reason. "He uh- he didn't do anything? I um..."
"Yes?"
A look at Momo's expectant eyes and Rukia already knew that the woman won't be satisfied with just silence from her end. "Um... Ichigo that is to say, my boyfriend is um... not in town?"
"Oh, where did he go? Is that why you're being all moody and absentminded? Because you miss him?"
Rukia gulped. "Y-Yes?"
Almost immediately, she could see how Momo was struggling to keep her face neutral. Rukia winced. She didn't like the way Momo wrinkled her nose at her when she said that. Under normal circumstances, Rukia would have shared Momo's sentiments on the matter; thoroughly unable to comprehend why a woman would be so impossibly blinded in love that her entire being devolves to the singular point of revolving around her husband/boyfriend.
Right now though, she'd much rather subject herself to Momo's disapproval than wreck her brain trying to come up with a more convincing excuse. The former might be embarrassing but compared to fumbling for a believable cover story to satisfy Momo's curiosity, it was still the lesser of two evils.
Momo cleared her throat loudly. She may not like Rukia's boyfriend and she did think that her friend was better off without him, but she was also a supportive friend. If he was what Rukia wanted, then Momo would do her best to help her friend win him over. Failing that, she could at least make sure that Rukia was the one doing the dumping and not the other way round.
With her mind made, she drew a deep breath. "Do you know where he is right now?"
Rukia nodded. "He's at a medical conference with some of his colleagues. Well, um... what about it?"
Momo pursed her lips and folded her arms. The stern expression on her face made Rukia nervous- enough to make her take a step back while Momo closed in with a gleam in her eyes.
"M-Momo?"
"Whatever you do," said Momo, "Don't call him. You gotta make sure he's the one making the first move. Let him come to you."
"Um... ok?"
Rukia didn't know what more to say. She wasn't expecting relationship advice from Momo, who clearly thought that she was only agreeing to it to humour her. Exasperated, the younger woman gripped at her wrist; eyes boring into Rukia, urging Rukia to take her advice to heart.
"I mean it! No matter how much you want to call him, you need to resist it! You can't let him think that you need him more than he needs you."
Rukia blinked owlishly. Momo's response to that was a stern nod, telling her solemnly. "Remember, you are a queen! He needs to appreciate that. Show him you mean business! You can't let him win!"
Rukia was saved from responding to that when the old couple by the window motioned for the bill and Momo hurriedly left her side to serve them. Rukia heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that she'd dodged a bullet.
If only Momo knew the truth about the nature of her relationship with Ichigo, then her friend would know that there was nothing to worry about. Ichigo's not really her boyfriend. She has nothing to fear from Ichigo because there was nothing to be gained to begin with.
And even if she were in a relationship with Ichigo—
Her grip on the cup tightened and her lips twitched into a smirk. Rukia was confident what Momo imagined would never happen to her.
She's not the needy kind.
The only reason that she found it a bit hard to concentrate today was because of what Renji said to her and the so-called new developments about the case. Renji was wrong of course. Ichigo was not the killer. Of that, Rukia was sure.
Unlike Renji, she has been in close contact with Ichigo for the past few weeks. She has the chance to observe him in his interactions with the people around him. She has seen how he treated his sisters and family. Compared to his strange friendship with Grimmjow, his relationship with his colleagues and hospital staff bordered on nonexistent. With his patients, he was the very epitome of professionalism, so much so that sometimes Rukia believed it to be bordering on polite indifference, especially when it came to the female patients on his surgery list. Sure, he cared about them, but once they were out of the operating room and he pronounced a clean bill of health for them, that was it. He didn't have anything more to do with them and Rukia couldn't fault him for that.
Rukia couldn't find anything suspicious about him. With his busy work schedule, it had been a miracle for them to sort out the time to stage and show off their romantic relationship in front of everyone. Where and how would he find the time to select a victim, lure them into a false sense of security and murder them in their own house?
Rukia downed her cup of coffee, her determination burning. She was convinced that Ichigo was not the killer. She would do her very best to prove Ichigo's innocence and stick it in Renji's face.
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Dinner at the Kurosaki's was always a boisterous and lively event. Tonight was no exception to the rule. For dessert, they had homemade crème brulee. Rukia happily dug her spoon into her portion.
"Once again, Papa sends his compliments to the chef!" exclaimed Isshin happily.
Yuzu blushed when she heard that. She looked up from Kon who was lying flat on his back, his soft, fluffy tummy exposed. Kon barked twice before he tried to bite and tug at Yuzu's sleeves with his mouth; trying hard to regain Yuzu's attention when he sensed her attention drifting.
"Kon, behave!"
Rukia tutted at Kon, worried that he'd damage Yuzu's shirt. She had brought him along for dinner after mentioning to both Yuzu and Karin that she has a pet golden retriever and Kon was the stereotypical sort of goldie- all floof and no brain; dumb enough to befriend a thief than to guard her house against them.
The twins were more than excited about meeting Kon and their enthusiasm showed with how much affection they had showered on him the minute Kon crossed the threshold of the Kurosaki residence. His tail had not stopped wagging since he arrived.
Yuzu welcomed the fluffy canine into the house with open arms and a handful of dog treats. She cooed at the dog, speaking to him in a baby voice and calling him the handsomest of dogs. Kon, true to his friendly nature, easily became friends with her. In no time at all, he's turned himself belly-up for her, pawing at Yuzu for treats and head-butting her to give him more scratches behind the ears.
Kon spent dinner time with them in the dining room area. While his human companions chatted and ate, Kon was getting spoilt rotten by Karin's side. With Rukia's permission, Karin has been openly sneaking the dog bits of chicken and Kon happily gobbled every bit of it up.
Under Rukia's reproach, Kon reluctantly got back onto his feet. He left Yuzu's side with a low whine, lumbering back over to Karin and laid his head on her lap. Karin gave an amused grin at that. The effect of those big brown eyes peering up innocently was a tried-and-true method of getting scratches and pets; even Karin couldn't deny his charms.
Still beaming, Isshin sipped his cold beer loudly, proudly declaring that a cold beer was the best end to an evening meal on a summer day. Neither of his daughters responded to that, but Isshin was undeterred in his bid to make conversation.
"With Karin now engaged to Toshiro, I suspect that it'll only be a matter of time before my idiot son pops the big question too. Rukia-chan—" Isshin turned to her— "you'd say yes to that, won't you?"
W-What?!
Rukia almost spat out the water in her mouth. Her eyes widened at the question and in her panic, she choked on the water. She spluttered and coughed loudly. Seeing that, Yuzu rushed to her side from across the table, patting her on her back and shooting her father a disapproving look.
"Look at what you made Rukia-nee do! Otou-san, shame on you! You should know better than to pressure Rukia-nee and Ichi-nii about this! They've not known each other for a long time. It's perfectly fine if they take their time to figure things out between themselves!"
Karin who was seated to Rukia's left, helpfully supplied her with more information, whispering to her, "Ignore him. He's been badgering Ichi-nii about this as well. He kept telling Ichi-nii how pretty you'd look with a ring on your finger."
Rukia stayed mute, unsure of how to respond to that. She pushed the half-eaten dessert away from her. She was no longer hungry.
"B-But Yuzu, Papa is simply trying to do his best by his children! A woman like Rukia-chan is worth her weight in gold," Isshin mumbled defensively. He stopped to give Rukia a winning smile before he continued. "If that idiot son of mine knows what's good for him at all, he should hurry up and propose before Rukia-chan gets snapped up by some other guy."
His eyes glimmered with tears as he pouted. "Rukia-chan, please say that you'd say 'yes'!"
Rukia couldn't help but blush under his expectant gaze. She gave a wan smile to Isshin. Even when the twins tried to appear nonchalant, she could still feel the weight of their gaze and the hope gleaming in their eyes. Rukia forced her lips to twitch, giving them what she had hoped to be a shy smile.
"Well, it's a bit hard to commit to anything yet when Ichigo hasn't even asked. I'll like to hear it from him."
"Of course, Rukia-nee! We understand completely. Otou-san, you should really watch what you're saying. You'll scare off Rukia-nee at this rate before Ichi-nii can ask her!"
"Yeah, Goat-chin! I'm telling on you the minute Ichi-nii comes back from Naruki!"
"KYAAAA! Masaki, our daughters are so mean to Papa!"
Rukia kept her polite smile plastered on her face, watching on quietly as Isshin proceeded to spill crocodile tears, wailing at a large human-size poster suddenly dangling from the ceiling. Her finger traced at the pattern of the tablecloth, her mind wandering. The twins' smiles hadn't faltered or dimmed, but Rukia couldn't help but feel that they were disappointed at her response. She knew that the Kurosakis were genuine people. She liked Ichigo's family, especially the twins and she was honoured to be accepted by them.
Rukia's fists clenched. She suddenly felt sick. What would the Kurosakis think of her when they find out that her relationship with Ichigo was all made up?
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It was way past her usual bedtime when the phone call from Ichigo finally came. Rukia squinted at the brightly lit phone screen, her mind blanking when she noticed the caller ID. She shot up from her bed, scaring Kon who had just about doze off next to her. Kon cocked his head at her, puzzled and mystified by the suddenness of her movement.
He barked, his head nuzzling against Rukia's hand, but she quickly shook him off. As much as she appreciated it, she didn't need his affection right now. "Not now, Kon!"
Rukia chewed at her lower lip, hesitating. Should she answer it?
She didn't want to pick up too quickly. She'd be the first to admit that it was ridiculous, but her mind couldn't help but think back to what Momo said. Would it make her look needy if she answered the call too quickly?
How long should she leave the phone ringing before she answered the call?
While she was pondering about the timing, the call suddenly ended, much to her dismay.
"Urghh!" Rukia groaned, throwing herself back on the bed, kicking at the blanket. Seeing that, Kon settled back into his spot on the bed.
Rukia glared at her phone and the missed call notification. Huffing, she decided to set the phone on her nightstand and switch off the light. She should get some sleep after such a long day and she reasoned that she could call him back tomorrow.
Before she could do that, she felt the phone vibrating in her hands. She bolted upright, all thoughts of sleeping gone. Her palms were suddenly clammy. She gulped.
It was a video call, she realized.
Ichigo was calling her via a video call!
She looked to Kon in distress. But Kon learned his lesson well. This time, he did not even bother to flick his ear in her direction.
"Well, you're no help," Rukia grumbled. She chided herself, suddenly feeling silly. Why was she behaving like this?
But that didn't stop her from running a hand through her hair, doing a once-over at her surroundings and fluffing the pillow behind her. With a deep breath and shaky fingers, Rukia heaved a breath that she didn't even know she held as she slid the tab across the screen, answering the call.
"Hi."
She gave an awkward wave at the man on the screen. Ichigo looked well enough. His hair was messy and wild and if she squinted, she swore she could see the dark circles under his eyes, but seeing her, his lips instinctively curled into a smile. He was seated on a chair. His surroundings were brightly lit and from it, Rukia deduced that he must be somewhere in his hotel room.
Ichigo stiffened when he saw her face. Rukia noticed it straightaway as he rubbed at his nape, his eyes avoiding hers. He cleared his throat loudly, holding his phone in a different angle so he was no longer looking down at her on the phone. Rukia smiled, leaning back against her pillow and the headboard. The lighting was better this way and his face didn't look as big.
"Ah, yes, there's your neck," Rukia teased, grinning impishly at him. "That's a much better angle, Ichigo."
"H-Hey!" Ichigo grumbled. He chose to ignore her teasing, realizing by now that Rukia didn't mean anything by it. "Sorry, it must be late over there. I um... pressed the wrong button and um... didn't realize that it's a video call."
Rukia tucked her stray bang behind her ear. "It must have been a long day for you. It's ok I'll forgive you just this once."
In comparison to his own surroundings, Rukia's room was dark and the only source of light was a soft yellow glow from the nightstand nearby. She was lying on her bed, looking snug and warm; a hint of white and rabbit print showing from her nightdress that wasn't covered by her covers. The nightdresses that she wore tended to feature thin shoulder straps and seemed a size bigger than she actually was. Ichigo knew firsthand how soft and thin her dresses were. Breathable and exceptionally comfortable against the humid summer heat; no doubt the reason why Rukia favoured them.
He doubted that she realized that one of the straps of her nightdress has slipped over her shoulders. He could feel his cheeks warming in response to that, his mind unhelpfully drifting back to the memory of that night on the beach. He hadn't had a chance to say anything to Rukia about the kiss after that night. In fact, neither of them mentioned anything about the kiss at all when they saw each other the morning after.
Rukia greeted him normally without giving away a hint of what she felt about the kiss. Ichigo agonized over it, eventually chickening out and opting to bite at the inside of his cheeks instead. What if she was drunk and hadn't remembered anything about the kiss at all?
He didn't want to scare her or make things uncomfortable between them. He was happy being her friend and he didn't want things between them to change.
Besides, he hadn't forgotten the events leading up to their acquaintance. He's a suspect in a string of murder cases. There's a serial killer targeting his patients and Rukia only volunteered to be his fake girlfriend to be bait for the killer.
There was a niggling worry at the back of his mind that Rukia would reject him if he said anything to her. Maybe he was the only one who was in too deep in this fake relationship. It would have made things to awkward for both of them. It was better to keep things as they are. There was no reason why Ichigo couldn't just keep his mouth shut and enjoy the moment while it lasted.
Right?
He could be rational, he told himself. He could lie and say that he did not remember everything about the kiss in perfect clarity. He could pretend that he didn't know how soft Rukia's skin felt under his touch; deny that there was a thrum of something that sparked within him when he saw her smiling at him under the soft glow of the moonlight.
He blinked. It was just unfortunate that his control slipped every now and then and his emotions sweep through him, taking over and overwhelming him with the depth of his wants. The brush of their lips against each other was electrifying and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her again.
The thought spurred him on and before he even knew it, he was already calling Rukia, eager to hear her voice even if he couldn't see her. It was a good thing that Rukia hadn't pushed him for an answer as to why he called her. Ichigo wasn't exactly sure if he had one and the old 'making-sure-my-colleagues-know-we're-insufferably-clingy-to-each-other' seemed unusually weak when there was only a handful of people who've come away for the conference.
Rukia yawned sleepily. She turned to her side and tucked the covers under her chin, setting the phone in front of her, so Ichigo could still see her.
"So how was your day? Did you like the conference?"
"It was ok. One of the speakers was talking about a new technique in diagnosing and treating breast cancer. It was pretty neat. Urahara- he's a guest speaker who used to be a consultant at Karakura General- was there; he brought everyone a round of drinks at the bar. There's some ongoing rumour that he left Karakura General because Ryuuken gave him an ultimatum: that he came to work on time and dressed appropriately or get fired. Urahara decided that he'd hand in his resignation letter instead."
Rukia gasped exaggeratedly. "That's very ballsy of him!"
Ichigo nodded. "I don't blame Ryuuken though. Urahara's brilliant but he puts a lot of people off. You should have seen the way he dressed. Today. He was wearing wooden clogs and a green-white striped bucket hat. It was so weird!"
Rukia couldn't help but chuckle. "Since when did you turn into such a horrible gossip!"
She stifled a yawn, her eyelids fluttering shut. Ichigo looked at the time, suddenly remembering that there was a three-hour time difference between them.
"It's late," he said, "go to bed. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Mm-ok. Before the flight?"
"Before the flight."
Rukia nodded sleepily. Ichigo couldn't help but keep his voice low, his eyes softening when he saw her like that.
"Go sleep," he whispered, "I'll hang up."
Rukia must have dozed off then because he didn't hear her give any more responses. Ichigo stilled. He could hear some muffled shuffling in the background.
"Hey Rukia," he called out experimentally, only continuing when he was sure that she didn't answer him. He gulped, feeling both incredibly bold and stupidly shy at the moment as he licked at his dry lips. The sound of his heart thundered like a stampede of elephants rushing through the flat plains.
"I-I missed you."
He ended the call immediately after that, pocketing his phone. He nearly jumped out of his seat when he raised his head up to see Uryuu leaning against the door, looking down at him. The bespectacled man was smirking as he sipped at the icy cold bottled water. Ichigo could feel the tip of his ears burning. How much of their conversation did he overhear?
"The fuck, Ishida! When did you get here? Haven't you heard of knocking?"
"It's my room too, you know," Uryuu drawled, unimpressed. "You're so whipped."
He's heard the rumours of course, that his best frenemy and childhood rival has gotten himself a girlfriend. Uryuu had been surprised by the news, dismissing stories of Ichigo being head-over-heels in love with the woman and the over-the-top public confessions as nothing more than tall tales and exaggerated rumours. Yet, seeing is believing. Uryuu doubted that Ichigo even noticed how soft he looked when he was on the phone with her. He wished he could show him a picture of the dopey-looking grin he was wearing when the call ended.
A part of him was happy for his friend, even when he couldn't help but notice how the timing of the relationship was a bit … strange, given the unsavoury rumours that Ichigo murdered some of his female patients. He knew that it wasn't true of course, but he still couldn't forget the day the police came into the hospital and demanded that the hospital admin team hand over the patient files. No one among the staff dared to look Ichigo in the eye for weeks after the incident. Some of them even thought he was done for when the police took him away for questioning.
Ichigo rolled his eyes in response, clearing his throat loudly. "Whatever, Ishida. Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you were doing shots with Urahara, Chad and Inoue in the bar."
"Urahara said he knows a better bar with better drinks and live music. They sent me up to ask if you wanted to join."
"Pass," Ichigo replied unthinkingly.
There was another full day of conferences and lectures from guest speakers tomorrow. Ichigo didn't plan on being hangover during them.
Uryuu shrugged as he went out the door. "Your loss."
.
On the other side of the door, Uryuu gave an apologetic smile to the orange-haired woman. The walls were thin and Uryuu didn't think that an observant woman like her would have missed it. It wasn't much of a secret among the hospital staff that Nurse Inoue was hung up on Ichigo. Ichigo being Ichigo was just unnaturally dense about things. Uryuu bit the tip of his tongue. It wasn't his place to comment or judge.
"Sorry, Orihime," he said, "Ichigo decided that he'd stay in for the night."
Orihime's face fell. She looked beautiful tonight and the pale blue midi dress with the square neckline she chose for the occasion flattered her figure. She could have easily gained the attention of any men in the vicinity, but the only man that she wanted to impress wasn't even looking.
Uryuu looked at her worryingly, afraid that she might cry. To his relief, she merely nodded, keeping her lips pressed. "Of course, Dr. Kurosaki must be more tired than we'd realized. Let's join the others at the hotel lobby. I think everyone's there already."
With Uryuu trailing behind her, the two of them entered the lift.
Orihime forced herself to remain calm, digging her nails into the meat of her palm as the lift slowly descended, taking her further and further away from Dr. Kurosaki. It wasn't his fault of course. Orihime knew better than to blame Dr. Kurosaki for that.
It was that bitch who's led him astray. She's taking him further and further away from her. Ichigo was being tricked and manipulated by that woman, but he's simply too blinded by love to see her for what she truly was.
The lift opened at the hotel lobby and Orihime made her way out with her head held high. The bitch should enjoy it while she can.
Soon, she thought to herself, Dr. Kurosaki would come back to her soon enough.
.
.
.
Author's notes:
Teehee! Day 11: Don't go where I can't follow