Yes, I know...I should be working on my other stuff instead of starting something new, but...i just can't help it! On my other stories I'm suffering from the dreaded writer's block! T_T But this idea literally kinda just popped up and I couldn't resist myself! Either way, I hope you enjoy!

One in a million: chapter 1

Stepping out of the hot shower, Kuchiki Rukia sighed. The sudden lack of warm, relaxing water made her remember what she was going to have to put up with in about an hour. Taking a towel from the rack nearby, she wrapped it tightly around her small body. She definitely wasn't pleased at the moment.

The event she was referring to was an arranged marriage meeting. Lately they were becoming one of the raven-haired girl's least favorite things. Her stupid brother, insisting that she carry out their late father's will... She stepped out of the bathroom, feeling the warm steam that once enveloped her be replaced by the cool air of her bedroom, causing goosebumps to rise on her pale skin. She shivered slightly, opening up the drawers of her wooden vanity to try and find something 'suitable' to wear.

One of her father's last wishes...it was for her to be married-or at the least be engaged-by the age of 20. She was 19 now, not much out of high school, and her 20th birthday wasn't too far down the road. It was absurd to her, completely absurd...getting married at such a young age. It was one thing back in the old days of Japan, but nowadays...she growled at the ignorance of it. No one ever knew whether it was one of his great wishes because he was a traditional man, or because it was just his old mind starting to go, but even with this bothersome burden she was glad about one thing: the fact that she wouldn't be forced into an arranged marriage. True, since she was reaching her father's requested age limit, the family was trying to set her up with men that they found 'suitable', or 'desirable.' But she wouldn't be forced if it was against her will. She knew that her brother would never allow it, father's will or not, especially since he himself had married not only out of love, but of a much lower class. That was why she was even in this family in the first place. But disregarding their low class, her step-father had opened his arms lovingly, taking Hisana, and especially herself, in as if they were his very own. Rukia herself, even though she was never spoiled in the least, was always daddy's little girl, probably because when she and Hisana had entered the family, she had only been 5, while Hisana was 22 and married, and because her step-father never had a daughter of his own and never could because of the fact that his wife had passed years ago. And even though her brother's exterior was generally cold and distant, he did love her like she was his real sister, and she was one of the only one's that had ever seen his emotional side, that was aside from Hisana of course. So no, they weren't forcing her. Pfft, they're not physically forcing me, anyways, she thought. With every passing day she was pressured more and more to get married, especially by the elders of the family, and it was driving her crazy, not only with its redundance and annoyingness, but also with the slight guilt it was starting to cause her.

They would surround her, saying things like, 'Do you not want your father to rest in peace?' and 'Don't you respect your beloved father's wishes?' And not only that, but they would purposefully wait in various rooms in the large manor, leaving the door slightly cracked, and waiting for her to come by. When she did, they would start having conversations in slightly louder voices than normal, saying things to each other that they would never dare say to her face, but knowing that she could hear them loud and clear. She had heard various things, like, 'She is shaming the family by refusing to abide by what her father wished for her,' and, 'She should be more more grateful! That selfish girl! She was taken in by this noble family from the life of a street rat and yet she refuses to obey just one of her father's desires!' These comments that Rukia would hear made her tighten her fists, sometimes to the point where blood would drip down her palms. It wasn't so much the fact that they were insulting her, but the fact that they were trying to bully her. They were trying to bully her into getting married against her will. She hated it, absolutely hated it, but the thing she hated about it the most(and found the hardest to admit to herself)was that it was actually working. Every time she would be confronted, every time she would pass by in the halls and hear them...every sentence made another tic on the clock that determined when she would break and give in to their wishes.

Scowling to herself, Rukia pulled on a dress that the family insisted she wear for these stupid things. It was a yellow sundress, a plain yellow sundress. Quickly slipping on the matching shoes, she made her way back to the vanity to brush out her short hair. The small girl tried not to let herself get too bummed out as she began thinking about the 2 hours or so she was going to have to waste entertaining a complete stranger. Not to mention her family never did pick the most interesting men. Either they were men 30 years older than her that looked at her like in creepy ways, like they wanted to act out their creepy, perverted fantasies on her body, those old, disgusting perverts, or they were uninteresting stock brokers or something that wouldn't stop jabbering on about politics and math. She had actually almost fallen asleep at some of these meetings, and was positive that this one wouldn't be any better. This time it was a guy that was her same age, at least...thinking back, she was pretty sure that he was 20 or something. She couldn't quite remember his name, it was Kenji Arabai or something...and she had seen one picture of him.

He had wild red hair-she suspected it was dyed-and crazy, spiky tattoos all over. Plus, he was tall. REALLY tall. 6 feet 2 inches or something. That was a huge contrast to her height of 4 feet 8-and-a-half inches. Not like it was a deal breaker though. He actually had been pretty good looking in the picture she had seen, the best looking yet actually. Didn't matter though. She was sure that he would just be some boring grad student who was going for his masters degree in something or other and who was 'sure to make millions of dollars in his future career.' The thought made her sigh again. Stupid assholes, trying to lure her in with their money. She scoffed inwardly. Like she was that kind of girl. Though it seemed a bit sappy and out of character for her, she did care about marrying out of love. If she was going to spend the rest of her life with someone, she wanted it to be someone who she had a deep connection with, someone who she could trust, who she could tell anything. Someone who she could love and depend on, and who could lover her and depend on her. Not that she loved someone currently-she never had been in love before in fact, and was still a virgin even-but it was still what she wanted. Another sigh. Sometimes she thought that all the romance novels she read were softening her up.

And believe it or not, she DID give these men a chance. She didn't automatically reject the idea, if only her stupid family would pick men that would interest her instead of men that interested them. Every time it was just someone who either completely repulsed her or completely bored her, and she was positive that this new guy wasn't going to be any different.

She figured she would use the usual method though. When there were these meetings, there was a member from each family present to assess their own view of the match, but near the end they would step out for a few minutes, giving the two individuals who had been matched up a bit of time to themselves. When the family members were present, she had to act proper and polite and put on her 'acting voice,' as she called it. But during the time they were gone, she would basically tell the guy straight out that she wasn't interested, and that even if he was, that he should stay away from her and say he wasn't or else. These threats were accompanied by one of her murder glares and an intimidating tone. Not surprisingly, the men would never even stop to question what she could possibly do to them, they were just so scared shitless of her that they agreed. It worked every time.

Rukia walked out her bedroom door, heading downstairs towards the front door. Outside was a car that was waiting to drive her and her brother to this meeting, and she already had it all planned out again, what she would do. She didn't even consider the fact that he might be different, for she knew that that chance was one in a million.

Good god, thought Renji as he rode in the expensive car towards his arranged marriage meeting, watching the passing scenery that reflected off the window while his chin rested lazily in the palm of his hand, fingers brushing his cheek. Another stupid meeting. He inwardly sighed. These things had become his ultimate nightmares.

Stupid Aunt Retsu, making me go to these things... His aunt, Unohana Retsu, who had taken him under her care when his parents died at the time was was only 2 years of age, was recently starting to force him to attend arranged marriage meetings. It was one the reasons he sometimes wished he hadn't been born into a rich, high-status family like he was. He thought that her reasons were absurd; something about him supposed to be developing into a man and finding a nice woman for himself. Renji really didn't think that his aunt understood men. He was 20 fucking years old, for christ's sake! Not that he would've minded settling down, that is if it was with the right woman. Even though most wouldn't think it by his personality, Renji did want to marry out of love.

Many people's impressions, though, were that he was some womanizing playboy that slept around and went to clubs to party his ass off every night. But actually, he was the exact opposite-hell, he had never even had sex! And all these women he was being set up with-he had concluded that they were all gold-digging whores. No one he could ever love. They had annoying, high-pitched voices and were all giggly, laughing at everything he said, even though he knew they were just trying to woo him. Even though they were pretty to look out on the outside, he knew that they had rotten hearts. And not even their easy-on-the-eyes exteriors were actually real. Every woman he had met with so far had either had some kind of plastic surgery, a nose job or a tummy tuck or something, or they wore gobs of makeup, so much that he could tell that they weren't the prettiest under it all. And sometimes, it was a combination of both.

And not only that stuff, but they annoyed the shit out of him. They would always throw fake insults his way, things like, 'Oh, Abarai-kun, you look so strong and handsome,' or, 'You're so charming, Abarai-kun!' And they would always ask to do things like feel his arms or something, in an attempt to seduce him while at the same being able to pass it off as something totally innocent, and to his disgust he always had to be polite and agree, allowing them to touch him. Their attempts never worked, though. Not that Renji didn't have enough hormones to have a good libido. He desired sex just as much as any 20 year old man, but he didn't want to waste it-especially his first time-on some meaningless slut that was just doing it for his wealth and didn't have the slightest bit of love for him.

That was the part that disgusted him the most; they didn't care about him, they only cared about his stupid money and status, even though they were already rich themselves, and couldn't care less what happened to him. He scowled at the thought. The redhead didn't have any hope that this latest girl was going to be any different. Some 19 year old named Yuki or something...a real shrimp.

He had seen a picture of her once when the meeting was first arranged. Short black hair, big, violet eyes, a petite figure...actually she was probably the prettiest yet, for in the picture, even though he wasn't sure, he didn't think she had had any cosmetic surgery, and she hadn't been wearing makeup. And she had looked pretty fair in that picture too. He scoffed. Renji was sure she was like the rest of them, her method was probably whipping out those big eyes of hers and playing cute little innocent damsel to attract all the rich men she could find. He planned on doing the usual thing though; when the accompanying family members gone, he would basically tell them that he wasn't interested, and that he wanted them to back out. Sometimes, they would just give in right then and there, obviously thinking that there would be other suckers to snag. But other times, they would persist, almost forcing themselves on him and even trying to do some strip teases in an attempt to 'change his mind.' At that point, he would turn merciless in his sayings, straight out glaring at them and saying harshly that he didn't want to marry some cheap two dollar whore who only wanted his money and status. They would have shocked looks, surprised, and even though at that point he knew that they knew that they weren't going to get him, they would still pout, disappointed that they had wasted all that effort on a guy that actually cared about real love and connection.

"Renji, we're here," chimed Unohana, interrupting her nephew's bitter thoughts as the car stopped. She was always sweet with everything she said, however from time to time she could also be very intimidating, and when she did that creepy nice-voice-scary-aura thing, then you knew that you should better just obey her wishes. That was what got him going to these stupid meetings in the first place.

"Hai, Aunt Retsu," he answered her, quickly opening the car door and stepping out into the sun. He wasn't expecting this girl to be different; it was a one in a million chance that she would be.

Rukia and her nii-sama walked side-by-side to the meeting location. The car had driven them to the park where the meeting was to take place, and now they were heading towards the benches where they were to meet. Rukia could feel warmth from the small patches of sunlight that hit her skin through the trees. A nice, gentle breeze was blowing, too; she could hear the sound of children playing happily nearby. The air was filled with the scent of summer, and for a moment she felt completely content...but her mood was suddenly ruined as they approached the people they were supposed to meet with and she remembered why she was here.

As they got closer, Rukia prepared her acting voice, and got ready to put on her nice routine. She truly did hate these things, and just wanted this stupid crap to be over. They eventually reached the waiting two, taking seats in benches across from them. Rukia eyes almost wanted to widen as she took in this guy's appearance. He was...pretty damn handsome, she realized. Sure, in the picture, he had been pretty good-looking to begin with, but in person...she even found it a little hard not to stare, especially at his covered chest, which she was sure was rippling with muscles underneath. And she couldn't deny the slight want to trace over his surprisingly sexy tattoos with her finger and run her hands through that long red hair of his. He was as tall as they said too, she noted, his knees jutted out from the bench and the lower part of his leg was folded all the way back under the bench so that his knees were jutting out instead of way up in the air. But she noticed the look on his face, it was all proper and business-like...dammit. He was surely like the others, she concluded.

Renji was amazed. This girl that took a seat in front of him...she was gorgeous, to say the least. Much better than in the picture even, and the picture was pretty good to begin with. She wasn't wearing any makeup either, and he could tell that she hadn't had the slightest amount of plastic surgery. This was natural beauty, and Renji also noticed that even though she wasn't that well-endowed, the simple dress she wore clung to her curves surprisingly well. The large man couldn't deny his slight desire to run his hands over her pale skin, and to kiss her in inappropriate places, all the while allowing himself to drown in those big, beautiful eyes she had. He also noticed that she was as short as he had heard, so much so that her feet almost dangled off the side of the bench.

But then he caught the look on her face. It was all happy and polite. Renji could also see the dishonesty in her violet eyes. She was faking it, faking the whole thing. He scowled inwardly. This was just going to be another long, depressing evening.

First were the introductions.

"Hello, Abarai-kun," said Rukia happily, bowing in her seat to show respect. "I am looking forward to getting to know you." She said nothing more. Even though she was supposed to be polite, it didn't necessarily mean that she had to ice the cake with extra compliments.

"As am I," replied Renji, also bowing. He was hating every moment of this, and he knew that it would just end like it always did. He just prayed that the family members would leave soon so that he could tell this bitch to back off. Although, even with these thoughts, he did notice something different about this girl. Though she was pretending to be nice and charming, she wasn't trying to butter him up or anything. It was almost as if...it was almost as if she was acting nicely against her will.

Next was the conversation.

"So," said Byakuya. "What do you all think about the latest in the stock market?" That was Rukia's brother all right, delighted at any time to speak about economic and political matters. They didn't strike Rukia as interesting at all, though. In fact, they bored her half to death most of the time.

"Oh, well," began Renji. Rukia scowled inside. Of course, he was just another boring man. She was pretty sure he was pretending to be interested in the things nii-sama was, just to impress him, too. Whether he was or not didn't really matter, though. She knew he was probably just another sick, twisted pervert that couldn't stop thinking about doing creepy, unmentionable things to her. The thought made Rukia's skin crawl. She hated men like him.

Rukia zoned out into these hateful thoughts, until Renji asked her what she thought. She had to be polite and answer, which she did, and after that she was paying her full attention to the conversation, even though it still didn't interest her in the least. But, as she watched them speak-Unohana had joined in-she noticed something. Renji was pretending, but he didn't even look like he wanted to be pretending. He almost...he almost looked like he was having as bad a time as she was. But she shook those thoughts away. It was impossible, she thought.

Soon, Unohana and Byakuya announced that they were leaving for a bit, and would return shortly. Both Renji and Rukia were excited. This was what they had been waiting for, and they watched the two depart with anticipation.

When they were finally out of sight, Renji opened his mouth to reject her, but was surprised when she spoke first.

"Listen, bastard," said Rukia, dropping her acting voice completely, tone turning to that of harshness. "I don't care if you're interested in me or not, but I'm sure as hell not interested in you, so you'd better back out." She was shooting him one of her famous death glares too, in hopes that he would just do as she said without an argument like all the others.

Renji was astonished. She wasn't a greedy whore...she was just like him, she didn't want to be here. Her acting was just so for when the family members were around. Renji would've whooped for joy, but the matter plaguing his mind at the moment was that she had just told him what to do. He scowled.

"Oh yeah, well for your information I don't want to be here either," said Renji. If Rukia were drinking tea, she was sure that she would've spit it out all over his tattooed face. He didn't want to be her either? She would've delved more into this, but Renji spoke again.

"But the last time I checked I didn't have to take orders from a little girl like you."Rukia completely forgot about his not wanting to be here, as her anger flared. That bastard had just challenged her. It was on now.

"Oh yeah, well the last time I checked, I couldn't be talked down to by a freakishly tall and tattooed freak with a weird hair color!" she retorted. Renji's own anger rose higher. Now both were completely overlooking the fact that they had mutual feelings about these arranged marriage meetings, and were totally focused on their battle of mocking.

"Well, I think that I can very well talk down to you 'cause your such a midget!" They were in each others faces now, teeth bared while they spewed saliva at each other.

"Whatever, you freak, I can't stand you anyways, so you can just go and rot in hell!" she yelled.

"Pff, you too, 'cause I can't stand you either!"

"Yeah, well I know that even though you're the most irritating person in creation, I could still put up with you longer, you coward!"

"No way, you little elf, I could so stand you longer, I bet you couldn't even keep up you charade nearly as long as I could!"

"Oh yeah! I bet I could!"

"And I bet you couldn't!"

"Yes I could! You wanna make a real bet out of it! Loser buys dinner!"

"Yeah, why not!" They slapped their hands together, shaking them slightly, and at the same time they they screamed,

"WELL IT'S A DEAL THEN!"

END OF CHAPTER 1

Well, as you can see there will be more future meetings, as these two have angrily made a deal to agree to more arranged marriage meetings so that they may see who can stand the other for longer. Well, what do you think? Again, sorry for not working on other stuff, but it's just this stupid, stupid writer's block...I don't own Bleach, Tite Kubo does, and opinions are always welcome and appreciated.