I do not own anything in the Bleach universe
May 21st …
Rukia awoke to the sound of chirping birds, she looked out the window and saw a rich blue sky with a couple of crisp white clouds. She sigh peacefully and got off the bed, it was the first day of summer vacation, and she would be spending it with her friends; with any luck perhaps today there would be no Hallows attacking. She opened the window and leaned by it observing the sky above, 'perfect' she thought, 'beautiful' it was a wonderful day. After observing the heavens a little bit longer, she went into the bathroom.
Ichigo walked into the kitchen to be kicked on the face by his father; he retaliated and punched him fiercely on the jaw causing him to crash into the wall.
"You weak bastard and you call yourself our father!" Screamed Karin standing from the table.
"You're right, forgive me Ichigo for being so weak, next time I will be the one victorious I promise you, your dad will become your role model again," said Isshin hugging Ichigo fiercely; then he grabbed him in a headlock and wrestled him, "ha! Got you off guard did I? you must always be on guard!"
After some struggling Ichigo managed to push him off and kicked him on the face causing him to crash into the wall. Rukia walked into the kitchen wearing a yellow sundress; she was not surprised to see them fighting; she took a seat by the table.
"Happy birthday Rukia-san," said Yuzu placing a plate of pancakes in front of her.
"Thank you Yuzu-chan you are very kind," smiled Rukia.
"Rukia! I had no idea it was your birthday! You must come with Karin, Yuzu, and I to watch the martial arts tournament in Tokyo this weekend, we're leaving at noon today so get your stuff ready! It will be wonderful don't you think? All the junk food, violence, entertainment, family fun, violence, sight seeing, blood and gore…"
"Well actually Kurosaki-sama, I was planning on staying here the weekend."
"Stay here? On your birthday?"
"Well, Ichigo said he'd take me into town."
"Oh, did he?" Said Karin smiling at Ichigo mischievously, "about time you made your move bro."
"What?! It's not what you're thinking you stupid little brat! It's her birthday didn't you hear?! You little pervert!"
"I'm not a pervert! You're the pervert!" Screamed Karin.
"Oh no, where have I gone wrong, my son and daughter are perverts and I never realized it," cried Isshin; both Ichigo and Karin punched him in the face. Rukia and Yuzu sighed as they watched the three of them fighting; a cloud of dust formed around them as they kicked and punched each other.
A couple of minutes after the rest of the Kurosaki family left around noon, Ichigo took Rukia to a restaurant for lunch. Ichigo looked around uncomfortably to find that they were surrounded by couples. He looked down at the menu and then sneaked a glance up at Rukia; her purple orbs danced along the menu reading it carefully. He knew this was her first time in an elegant restaurant while in the real world.
He noticed her expression when they walked inside; there were crystal ornaments, flowers, candles, and expensive china displayed everywhere. She wasn't impressed, she was a Kuchiki after all, but rather confused; he had never taken her to a restaurant of this status; they always ate at fast food places, and the most expensive they would ever get was a diner, and even then, they were never alone, always with their other friends.
Her interpretation of the situation set an awkward tension between them; she played with her hands as they waited for the waiter to seat them. She never spoke either, and whenever he occasionally glanced at her she would turn away quickly hiding her expression. She finally relaxed when they handed them the menus, and the anxiety in her eyes was replaced with delight; her thoughts consumed in the delicious images of food
"What should I get? I'm so hungry I can't decide," she said scratching her head confused.
"I heard the steak and lobster is pretty good," smiled Ichigo;. Then his cell phone rang and he answered it; there was an angry Uryuu Ishida on the line.
"Ichigo you baka, you didn't return my physics book and I needed it today for summer school!"
"Well, you don't need to go to summer school. You should be ashamed of yourself, getting ahead in your classes to make the rest of us look like idiots!"
"What?! You don't even take physics Ichigo you just borrowed my book to impress Byakuya and the other captains remember?"
Yes, Ichigo remembered. They were given the opportunity to attend a captains party in the Soul Society. Ichigo wasn't sure why, but he felt very intimidated by Byakuya, and lately he'd felt a strange urge to prove to him that he was not an idiot who lacked all sense of class. They stayed the weekend in the Kuchiki Manor, Byakuya wasn't happy about the situation but allowed them to stay there only because they were Rukia's friends. Ichigo spent most of his free time there pretending to be doing his 'Advanced Physics homework'; Byakuya however, never paid attention to this and didn't change his mind about Ichigo having a poor IQ.
"I know, you don't have to remind me…"
"Yes it was rather amusing watching you try to impress the noble Byakuya Kuchiki out of all people," said Ishida laughing.
"Shut up! Listen I have to go, I'm having lunch right now."
"Are you alone?"
"No, Rukia is with me."
"Hmm…I see…so you're on a date."
"What?! It's her birthday get you mind out of the gutter you pervert!" Screamed Ichigo nervously; the people surrounding them looked at him awkwardly; Rukia however did not, she was already used to him making a fool of himself in public.
"How does that make me a pervert, if anything Kurosaki you are the pervert for thinking that I implied anything more…"
"I am not a pervert!" Screamed Ichigo.
"Well, either way, I want my book first thing tomorrow, I'll see you later."
Ichigo sat back down and saw that many people were staring at him; he tried to hide his face behind the menu; Rukia set her own menu down and looked at Ichigo solemnly.
"Was that Ishida?"
"Yes, why?" Said Ichigo setting his menu down.
"He was supposed to make me a Chappy doll two weeks ago and he has yet to update me on the project's progress."
"What? A Chappy doll?" Asked Ichigo lamely.
"How disappointing, I guess I'll have to wait longer," said Rukia.
After they finished lunch, Ichigo and Rukia left to the Fare by the peer. They got on a couple of rides; Ichigo had a difficult time convincing her to ride the roller coasters, but he finally managed to get her in line. When they got there they were told that Rukia was too short to ride it.
"Come on can't we let this slide? It's not her fault she's a midget."
"Hey!" Glared Rukia at him.
"Well I guess, since you're the same age," said the guy; they both sat in the seats and buckled their seatbelts.
"I can't believe you got me into this," said Rukia.
"Come on, it won't be so bad, this one doesn't have any loops," smiled Ichigo.
As soon as the rollercoaster took off, Rukia clung to Ichigo's arm so tightly that his arm grew numb and he started to lose all feel in it. He looked at her glaringly, but she didn't pull away; her eyes were shut tightly.
"Rukia. Rukia!" He had to scream because she could not hear him due to the crashing wind.
"What?" She asked frightened as she managed to open her eyes enough to look at him.
"I can't feel my arm."
"Oh," she released his arm and held on to the railing, but when the rollercoaster took a sudden unexpected turn, she grasped his hand tightly.
By the time the ride was over, Ichigo had lost all feeling in his left arm. He glared at Rukia as they walked through the many stands, but she was too excited to notice this. They took pictures in a booth and had their names spray painted on hats that they bought earlier, Rukia wore the one with Ichigo's name on it and Ichigo the one with Rukia's name on it. They had their faces painted, Rukia had a bunny on her left cheek and she convinced Ichigo into getting the same painting on his right cheek. She bought numerous useless toys and enough candy to feed a room full of starving children. She was like a kid in a candy store, she looked eagerly at the stuffed animals on the stands.
"Oh Ichigo can you get me one?!"
"But you already have Kon."
"Yeah but Kon is…Kon."
"Fine," sighed Ichigo; he paid the guy money and he was given a dart to throw at balloons. Truth be told he wasn't very good at throwing; he only managed to get a small stuffed animal that seemed to be a cross between a horse and a pig. He looked at it oddly and then gave it to Rukia; Rukia glared at him.
"I want a bigger one." Ichigo fisted his hand and was about to give the man more money for more darts. But someone else paid him before he did. Ichigo turned annoyed to see a satisfied Ishida.
"Ishida what the hell are you doing here?!"
"I'm getting Rukia a better doll," said Ishida smiling at Rukia.
"Thanks Uryuu!" Smiled Rukia batting her eyelashes at him; Ichigo's face reddened in anger.
"You bastard you're not supposed to be here!"
"Well, I can't work on my homework since you haven't returned my book, so I thought I'd join in on your fun. Besides you said it wasn't a date so it doesn't matter," said Ishida looking at him innocently. He grabbed the darts and popped every single balloon. He was given a large rabbit that was almost Rukia's height.
"Thanks Ishida!" Said Rukia smiling as she embraced the large white rabbit.
"Well this should do while I finish making Chappy, by the way, I'm almost finished," smiled Ishida.
'Well you got her toy, now can you leave?" Asked Ichigo annoyed.
"Well actually, I wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel, Rukia would you ride it with me?"
"Well umm…I'm kind of scared of heights," said Rukia timidly.
"Oh don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you, you can hold my hand if you get scared," said Ishida looking mischievously at a very angered Ichigo.
"But what if I get very scared?"
"You can hold on to me as much a you want Rukia," said Ishida looking mischievously at Ichigo again.
"Okay," said Rukia excited; she threw the giant stuffed animal at Ichigo and dragged Ishida towards the Ferris Wheel. Ichigo followed after them and ended up riding in the cubicle behind them with the giant rabbit.
He clenched his fist as he looked at them and saw a frightened Rukia embrace Ishida tightly; the bastard returned her embrace and then looked back at Ichigo and winked.
After the ride, which seemed to last an eternity to Ichigo, they left to the beach where their other friends would be waiting for them; by then it was already night. Orihime and Tatsuki were sitting around a campfire while Keigo, Chad, and Mizuiro were by the grill. As soon as they got there both Orihime and Keigo ran over to embrace her, Rukia returned Orihime's embrace while kicking Keigo on the face.
"Happy birthday Kuchiki-san," smiled Orihime letting go of her.
"Yeah how old are you again?" Asked Tatsuki; Rukia widened her eyes; she turned to Uryuu to whisper something in his ear; he nodded.
"She's sixteen.," smiled Ishida.
Keigo took out a large boom box and started playing music. Tatsuki danced with Keigo and Mizuiro while Orihime grabbed hold of Ichigo's arm and pulled him to dance with her.
"Come on Kurosaki-kun!"
Rukia sat on the sand and laughed as she saw Ichigo almost trip many times. She leaned her head back and looked up at the stars peacefully. She was scared out of her wits when Ishida's face suddenly appeared above her; she fell back on the sand with a thud.
"Hi Kuchiki!"
"Ah! You scared me Ishida," said Rukia sitting back up; Ichida sat next to her and carried a large box in his hands, "happy birthday."
Rukia took the box and opened it eagerly. Inside of it was a white rabbit that greatly resembled Chappy. It was wearing a large pink bow and an adorable pink Lolita dress.
"Oh thanks Ishida, it's perfect," smiled Rukia.
"You're welcome, so how did the idiot treat you today?" asked Ishida motioning to Ichigo who was now stepping on Orihime's toes.
"Very well, I had a lot of fun," smiled Rukia looking over at the dancing couples.
A slow song was playing on the boom box; Tatsuki was dancing with Mizuiro and Keigo was standing next to them swinging his fists in the air in anger. Orihime was holding Ichigo a little too tightly; he was stepping on her toes from their close contact and looked uncomfortable as her enormous breasts pressed against his chest. Rukia knew perfectly well how Orihime felt about Ichigo; having this knowledge made her feel slightly uncomfortable, she didn't know why but she felt a strange emptiness whenever she saw them together.
Rukia suddenly looked over at Ishida and found him observing them closely as they danced. The expression in his eyes was unmistakable, there was a spark of sadness in them. Rukia suddenly came to realize something, Ishida had feelings for Orihime. Of course how did she never notice it. They spent a lot of time together, though Orihime only seemed to look at him as a close friend and didn't even register the feelings he held for her. This was partly Ishida's fault, he never sent her any signals, and Orihime probably thought he was gay considering all the feminine qualities he possessed, such as sewing, cooking, immaculate tidiness, and soft facial features that sometimes made him look androgynous. Ishida caught her staring at him and Rukia looked away quickly.
"What is it Kuchiki? Is something wrong?" Asked Ishida confused.
"Oh. No. It's just, you're very beautiful Uryuu," for a moment he blushed thinking that she was hitting on him, "you should tell her, I know she thinks you're beautiful too," smiled Rukia; Ishida smiled back at her.
Suddenly their peace was disturbed when they felt a Hallow nearby and Rukia's cell phone started ringing. She immediately took out Chappy and swallowed the pill. Ichigo let go of Orihime and took his substitute shinigami badge; he left his body lying on the sand and followed after Rukia and Ishida who had already gone after the Hallow. They didn't have to go far, the Hallow was with them on the beach. The Hallow stepped on their fire and the grill and destroyed everything. Ichigo destroyed it with onbe swing of his sword and they returned to the others; Ichigo and Rukia returned to their bodies.
"He destroyed everything, I'm sorry Kuchiki-san," said Orihime sadly.
"It's all right Orihime, I had a lot of fun," smiled Rukia kindly, "well I'm very tired, I should probably leave now. You can stay if you want Ichigo."
She started to walk away when Ichigo followed after her.
"I'm coming with you."
Their house was very far, but Ichigo had to admit, he liked walking in the night. It was already past eleven and he could hear Rukia yawning for time to time; she used her Chappy stuffed animal as a pillow from time to time as they walked. Ichigo found that he was carrying all of Rukia's stuff, the giant rabbit that Ishida won for her, the bags of candy and all of her toys. He looked up at the sky and closed his eyes; he opened them again when he felt raindrops on his face. He looked over at Rukia who tried to shielding Chappy from the rain with her own body. Ichigo looked around and found a bus bench; there was a roof over it that shielded from the rain. He grabbed Rukia's arm and led her there; they both sat on the bench staring blankly into the rain.
"I'm sorry," said Ichigo.
"What for?"
"For ruining your birthday."
"What are you talking about? I had a great time!" smiled Rukia.
"You did?"
"Of course, it was all going so well until Ishida came butting in."
"Wait…but I thought you were enjoying his company."
"Well I was, but I wanted to spend time with you," smiled Rukia.
"Oh," said Ichigo; his expression softened and they both looked at the rain.
"So how long are we going to stay here?" Asked Rukia.
"Until the rain clears, the bus that passed through here doesn't come by anymore."
Rukia leaned forward and rested her head on Chappy. Ichigo stared thoughtfully into the rain; a while later he felt something soft hit his shoulder. He looked and saw Rukia leaning on him asleep. He smiled softly and moved a strand of hair from her face. Soon he also fell asleep; he rested his head on top of Rukia's.
He woke up two hours later; he checked his watch; it was almost three in the morning and the rain had not stopped yet. He gently shook Rukia and she woke up; she looked at him through hooded eyes still half asleep.
"I'm sleepy Ichigo, come on, let's go back to bed," said Rukia yawning; she rested her head on his shoulder falling asleep again. Ichigo blushed instantly at her words; he shook her gently. This time she fully woke up.
"Oh what time is it?"
"It's almost three in the morning."
"It hasn't stopped raining yet."
"No, we should leave anyway, here you can wear my jacket," said Ichigo placing his jacket on her; it was giant on her small form, perfect to cover her from the rain.
"What about you?"
"Oh I'll be fine, the house isn't too far."
They walked in the rain; Ichigo carried all the bags and tried to cover himself with the giant rabbit but to no avail. Rukia looked at him through amethyst eyes as she held Chappy close. Ichigo caught her looking at him and she turned away quickly blushing.
By the time they reached the house, Ichigo was soaking wet. Ichigo entered his room and was surprised to see Rukia coming inside as well.
"Can I sleep in your closet? I've been wanting to for a while now." Ichigo smiled at her and nodded; she sat on his bed.
"You know, I'm not that sleepy anymore, maybe I'll watch some television," said Rukia; then suddenly the light went out.
"God must hate me," said Rukia sighing; she shrugged off Ichigo's jacket; then she found a letter inside one of the pockets; she took it out and read the envelope.
"To Kurosaki-kun from Orihimie-chan," said Rukia; she was about to open the letter when Ichigo darted towards her to take the letter away.
"I wonder what's in here," said Rukia swaying the letter around for Ichigo to see it but not allowing him to take it.
His tall frame was much larger than hers and he caused her to fall back on the bed; he kept her pinned there hovering above her as he rested his weight on the two hands that rested on either side of her head. He was soaking wet from the rain and droplets of water dripped from his shirt to her body.
"Get off me carrot top you're soaking wet!" He quickly took of his wet shirt and returned to his spot. She couldn't help but look down his chiseled chest. Then she looked back up at him angered.
"You're still wet."
"Give me back the letter," said Ichigo dangerously.
"You're gonna have to take it from me then," said Rukia mischievously. She did not know what tempted her to do what she did next, perhaps it was the jealously sparking through her veins, perhaps the humor she found in it, or perhaps because his body hovered dangerously above her. But she placed the letter inside her bra. Ichigo glared at her.
"Give me the letter you little brat."
"No."
"Then I guess I'll have to take it from you after all," said Ichigo; his expression immediately changed and he gazed at her through hooded topaz eyes; Rukia's eyes widened.
"I..Ichigo, what do you think you're doing?"
"I'm taking back my letter…" she watched shocked as his skilled fingers unbuttoned the top part of her sundress; once he stopped the letter was present before him poking through the side of her bra; he took it and dangled it in front of her face, "got it."
"Well you must be happy now that you got your girlfriend's love letter," spat Rukia.
"Love letter?" Said Ichigo throwing the letter to the floor, "that was the grocery list for your birthday cake," said Ichigo hover dangerously over her again.
"But if you didn't need it anymore why did you…?" She finally came into realization, he was clever, too clever.
"I wanted to chase you," said Ichigo as he tilted his head lower.
"Ichigo what…?" He silenced her by placing his fingers on her lips; he gently caressed her lower lip with his thumb then trailed his fingers up her cheek. Her eyes locked with his soft caring topaz orbs and her judgment was clouded. Her eyes fluttered closed as his face drew nearer; she could feel his warm breath tickling her lips.
"Rukia I…" but they were interrupted suddenly by the presence of three strange reiatsus. Ichigo immediately got off of her and Rukia sat up on the bed.
She recognized the three elders standing before her. They were the elders from the Kuchiki Clan, she had seen them many times but had never actually spoken to them; for that matter she did not even know their names since her brother Byakuya avoided speaking to her about the Clan's affairs. They looked at her and Ichigo disgustedly; she immediately stood up from the bed realizing the compromising situation they had stumbled into, Ichigo was shirtless and Rukia's hair was messy and her cheeks flushed. She kneeled down and bowed before them.
Ichigo had a bad feeling about this, there was something in those men's eyes that he did not trust. The way they looked at Rukia, like she was a rare breed of something. They looked at her with fascination, greed, and malice. Rukia did not notice this because she was still kneeling, but one of the men gave her an evil grin.
"Kuchiki Rukia?" Asked one of the elders questioning whether this was indeed her.
"Yes, it is I," said Rukia looking up at them and standing up.
"You have been summoned to a meeting with the elders of the Kuchiki Clan, you must come at this very moment, no questions asked."
Rukia nodded and walked towards them. Immediately Ichigo's hand shot out and he grabbed hold of her wrist. One of the elders looked outraged.
"Do not involve yourself in Kuchiki Clan affairs, your insolence will not be tolerated."
"Don't worry Ichigo, it's just a meeting, I'll be back before you know it, I promise," said Rukia smiling at him. Ichigo nodded and hesitantly let her go. One of the elders formed a portal on the wall, and she disappeared, smiling at him one last time before the door closed shut.