More beautiful than the Stars… IchiRuki one shot

It was a clear and warm summer night. The stars were as clear as they have ever been with the moon as their leader. The wind was calm; soothing even, for a raven haired woman standing alone in the park gazing into the distance.

She was dressed semi-formal in human clothes. She wore a spaghetti strap dark pink top, low cut that hugged her body nicely with a white skirt that went just below her knees and flared out. She wanted to wear high heels, especially with a certain "someone" making fun of her height, but she couldn't quite figure out how to work them, so she stuck to a pair of white shoes with a 1 inch heel. The last thing she wanted to do was trip and fall at the party to celebrate the end of the war.

Luckily for her the party came and went rather gracefully. Since the party was honoring shinigami and humans that participated in the war, it was thrown in the human realm. That fact alone worried the raven head a bit, but no one got too drunk or argued; everything went rather nice. This was more than likely due to the fact that the war had just ended a week ago and no one was completely ready to let loose, even if the party was celebrating their success. There were far too many looses and far too many close calls to "let loose", not that she would have done so anyways.

She thought back to the war for a moment. She remembered all the close calls she and her friends had. She couldn't imagine what that party would have like if she had lost any of her friends.

The raven head girl looked around the park for a brief moment and found a tree that looked nice to sit under. She walked over slowly, taking off her shoes as she made her way there. She smoothed her skirt and prayed she wouldn't get any grass stains as she sat down.

The wind blew through her hair again and the young woman took a deep sigh. She gazed up into the sky and admired its beauty.

"Is there anything else so beautiful in this world?" She asked herself as she continued gazing.

Suddenly she took her thoughts back to the party. There was something more beautiful than the stars. She remembered Inoue asking her about it towards the end of the party. The question was strange, and now as she thinks about it, Inoue looked like she may have been crying.

Flashback to the Party

"Rukia!" a girl called from behind.

Rukia paused and turned to see her friend, Inoue. She looked like she was exhausted; whatever it was she was trying to get her attention for must have been important.

"What is it Inoue?' she asked casually.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something, can we step on the balcony?" she asked rather quietly.

'Of course we can." Rukia responded.

The two walked past the crowd slowly and headed for the balcony on the second floor. Inoue walked through the door to the balcony first and Rukia followed, closing the door behind them. The balcony was a decent size and it had candles on the ledges that lightly lit the area they were in.

Inoue walked to the edge of the balcony and looked up. Rukia was a little confused at first, but she followed suit and went to the edge and looked up as well. It was a perfect time to look at the stars.

"The stars in this world are so beautiful." Rukia said smiling slightly.

Inoue turned her face to face Rukia. She smiled and blinked. Her eyes looked a little hazy.

"The stars are beautiful…. But there is one thing that is even more beautiful to look at…" Inoue began slowly.

Rukia turned her head to face Inoue now. "Really, what's that?" she asked.

Inoue turned back and looked up into the sky. She twiddled with her thumbs and breathed rather irregularly.

"Looking into the eyes of someone who loves you," she said taking a breath, "Its unmistakable and a wonderful thing to see."

Rukia continued looking at Inoue more confused than ever. What in the world was she talking about?

"You've experienced this?" Rukia asked now curious.

Inoue chuckled, "No, it's just, looking into the eyes of someone who doesn't love you is the worst feeling in the world, so I figured the opposite would be the best."

Rukia was really curious now.

"And you've experienced this?" Rukia asked reluctantly.

Inoue turned to Rukia quickly and waved her hand frantically in the air surprising Rukia.

"Oh, don't mind me!! I was just talking silly! We should get back to the party before everyone worries!!" she said and turned, quickly walking to the balcony door.

Rukia watched the girl walk through the door. She followed a few moments later, still bewildered by the event.

"I wonder what that was about…" she thought as she continued walking to the party.

End Flashback.

Rukia looked back up to the stars and continued wondering what the whole ordeal was about. And the more she thought about it, the more she thought Inoue was crying.

Rukia continued thinking until a rustling sound took her away from her thoughts. Someone was coming. She stood up and turned to see a tall orange haired man standing behind her. He was still in his black suit, but he held his jacket in his hand.

"Ichigo, what are you doing here?" she asked a little startled.

He chuckled a bit, "You must have really been lost in your thoughts not to notice me. I've been standing there for a little while. I was looking for you."

"I was not lost in my thoughts!" she yelled, "…just a little surprised, and no need to look for me, I'm fine." She finished a little defeated.

"I see…" he said with a smirk on his face.

Rukia rolled her eyes and took her seat again. Ichigo walked over and took a seat beside her. She looked at Ichigo as he sat down.

"What?" he asked "Is something wrong?"

Rukia bit her lip and turned her gaze back to the stars.

"No, its nothing." She said.

"You're lying. What is it?" he pried.

She huffed a little before she answered. "Well, Inoue was acting a little strange toward the end of the party; do you know what was wrong with her?"

Ichigo sighed, "Yeah, I have an idea."

Rukia waited for him to continue, but he didn't.

"Well, are you going to tell me what happened?" she asked looking at him curiously.

It was Ichigo's turn to look at the stars now. He didn't want to say what happened, but knowing Rukia she wouldn't stop until she got an answer.

"Inoue talked to me about an hour before the party was over. She said….she said she was in love with me."

Rukia looked at him with shocked eyes. So that was what Inoue was talking about. That's why she was so sad.

"You turned her down?" Rukia asked.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I'm not in love with her. Why would I lead her on?" he concluded rather plainly, still looking at the stars.

For some reason Rukia didn't believe that was the only reason Ichigo turned Inoue down. She looked at him hard, but he wouldn't return her gaze. Is there something he didn't want her to see? Then suddenly Inoue's words popped back into her mind.

"It couldn't be…." She thought to herself.

The wind blew again and she took a deep breath as it went past her, blowing her skirt and hair. She placed her hand gently on Ichigo's shoulder. He flinched, but still, he didn't look at her.

"Ichigo," she asked slowly, "Will you look at me?"

"What for…" he asked rudely.

"Ichigo, just look at me." She demanded.

Ichigo inhaled and slowly turned his face to Rukia's. She looked at him, straight into his amber eyes as he looked into her violet ones. All was silent for a moment. Nothing but the wind uttered a sound.

"So, what do you see?" Ichigo bravely asked.

Rukia blinked to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. They weren't. Her eyes began to glow a little and she developed a small smile on her face, but still she didn't answer.

"Rukia, what do you see?" he asked her again softly.

"Something…" she began, "Something more beautiful than the stars."

Ichigo looked at her and smiled.

"I see the same thing."

FIN