Disclaimer: I am Tite Kubo. In disguise… No, really

This is the first drabble in my crack!couple fic. Most of it is just exposition filler but the next drabbles are hopefully worth it =).

Curiosity

"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." - Ellen Parr

Rukia was bored. Immensely so. She had already finished all of her holiday assignments from all her classes, double-checked each problem, and read several chapters ahead in her texts. Oh yeah, Rukia was all-ready to drop her studies, embrace the holidays... and make up for some lost time with Renji.

She sighed, blowing her bangs out of the way. Everywhere around her were signs of the winter holidays. The general cheer alone did wonders to the usually jeering students of the academy. Rukia sat in the corner mildly heeding the cluster of students, who were content to ignore her. Fine with her, she could play the game, too.

Still, it didn't change the fact that she was bored out of her mind.

She could already hear Renji's reproachful voice, "Rukia, you should be grateful to the academy for giving us access to so many books." She snorted as she got up, slowly wandering away from the group and deeper into the library. Grateful she was, but after a month of intense studying… Suddenly, an afternoon with Renji, who would probably still be very preoccupied with finals, looked dim.

Shaking her head, Rukia eyed the endless stretch of shelves that made up the in rows of assorted books and scrolls belonging to the Shinigami Academy's library. She hummed to herself as she rounded another corner, meeting an entrance to the Classified section reserved only for top classes. Rukia paused momentarily and continued. The librarians weren't around, anyways.

Random titles jumped out at her. An Advanced Kido Spells – Volume XIV here and a Darker Times of Seretei there. Out of the corner of her vision, she spotted something stuffed behind row of books.

Hmm. What's this?

She sighed as her still street-calloused fingers maneuvered it out of the shelf. It was a journal, the green leather had soften with age, hand written. Opening it to the first page, she read aloud, "Technology of the Shinigami: Break-through Inventions. A Collection of Essays written by Urahara Kisuke."

Rukia blinked. Urahara…

Kisuke.

The infamous shinigami captain of the 12th Division of the Gotei 13.

Founder of the Shinigami Research Institute.

Exiled…

And banished.

Slowly, she made her way back to her seat, all the while reading intently trying to process the first of his writings.

A loud, familiar voice rang through the room, "Rukia!" Her hands sprung from the book as if burned. Quickly, she hid it in the folds of her robes and greeted her friend.

XXXX

After exhausting themselves exploring the streets of Seretei, Rukia and Renji sat in the almost abandoned cafeteria.

"… and I think I totally screwed up on that stupid science arts test."

Rukia took a sip of her water. "If it makes you feel better, I pretty much failed in sword arts."

"Yeah, but not as bad as I failed science."

She rolled her eyes. "It's okay, Renji." The journal faintly poked her ribs. As if it needed to remind her it was still there. Rukia bit the inside of her lip. "...Renji?"

"Yeah?"

"What have you heard of Urahara Kisuke?"

Renji's eyes widened comically, tempting her to laugh.

"Where did you hear that name?"

She waved her hand dismissively.

"A book mentioned him in passing." Still sensing his wariness, Rukia added, "I just wanted to know more, Renji."

He relaxed. "He was the Captain of the 12th Division. The founder of the Research Institute of Technology."

She prompted him to continue.

"Well, you've heard haven't you? He was exiled." Renji said in a matter-of-fact tone, as if that was all there was to it.

Rukia's eyebrows furrowed.

"Why?"

He paused, surprised. "Well, he got power hungry. Built an untraceable gigai that would slowly drain you of its power."

"And they couldn't just take it away? Put him on probation?"

Renji raised a tattooed brow in disbelief.

"It was probably… only scientific interest. I mean surely Captain Kurotsuchi-san has done worse." Her probing eyes searched the bottom of her cup for an answer.

Renji snorted. "C'mon, Rukia. Don't be naïve. He was clearly plotting something with that thing. It was untraceable, after all." He shrugged. "Besides what does it matter?"

She shook her head. "Just curious."

Quickly, she turned the conversation back to the finals.

Months later, while trying to adjust to her new bedroom in the Kuchiki estate, the simple journal would become one of her most prized possessions.

End-

AN: Well, it must be said that I am primarily an ichiruki shipper but Kisuke just quite loudly demands attention. I figured he must be at least somewhat infamous among even the shinigami students and it went from there. One day I'll most likely completely rewrite this drabble considering how much I dislike it. Hopefully, it's not too discouraging and I do hope you push the little next arrow on the bottom =)

08/02/09