Disclaimer - I don't own Bleach or any of its characters.
Well, here's the last chapter. (sobs) It was such much fun writing this and now I have to say goodbye. Thank you to all my reviewers, new and old. This story couldn't have survived without you. Many thanks to Cherrie.Checkaz, Toblerone3, wohaitatsuo, fireblazie and the many others who reviewed this fic. Thanks for putting up with me.
And it just has to be Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia, the two main protagonists of Bleach, in this grand finale. Who could not love the chemistry between these two? From the beginning to end, this is my favourite pairing in Bleach. And I hope you like it too.
Please read and review!
Chapter 8 - What Binds Us Together
1. Grand Opening
He shouldered Zangetsu as he prepared to leave the underground. He never felt more stronger, more ready to rescue Rukia from Soul Society. " I'm off, Yoruichi-san," he called over his shoulder.
" Wait." The violet-haired beauty had her arms crossed, as if something was bothering her. Or she was just irritated at his lack of sense. " You can't just walk out like that."
A frown marred across his face. " Why not?"
She knowingly wagged a finger at him. " Don't you know heroes need to have a dramatic introduction when saving the damsel in distress?" Yoruichi said, making him fall to the ground in exasperation. " Here." She handed him a tentouken, some sort of cloak. " This will help."
He sighed, accepting the cloak and flinging it over his shoulders. Even heroes need a flashy entrance once in a while.
2. Beauty
To Ichigo, Kuchiki Rukia wasn't pretty.
Compared to some people and shinigami, like Orihime, Matsumoto or Yoruichi, Rukia wasn't pretty. She didn't have the well-refined curves as they have. Her voice is deep and more brusque, not soft and feminine. Her attitude was boyish, leaping at the chance to pick fights or just to pick a fight with him, rather than to solve it with words (she does use words. Just mean ones).
She hated makeup and called it "an absolutely waste of time". She wears dresses not because they make a girl look more ladylike but they are cozy and hug around her just right. She refuses to wear jewellery, saying they weight too much and drag her down in a battle.
As Ichigo had said before, he didn't think Rukia was pretty.
He thought she was beautiful.
3. Ichigo
" So, Kuchiki-san, you like Ichigo?"
She nearly choked on the straw she was drinking through. Painfully swallowing the remaining juice, Rukia quickly smiled at her. " What are you talking about, Mahana-san? Why would I like Ichigo?"
" You know what I am talking about," Mahana winked. " Besides, who wouldn't like Ichigo?"
Rukia laughed a fake laugh. " Yeah. Who wouldn't."
Really. Who wouldn't. Kurosaki Ichigo was your typical guy: he was rude, swears a lot, picks fights with other people, sensitive on the inside and cold on the outside. He's her fellow shinigami, protector of Karakura Town, ally to Soul Society, friend to some, comrade to many, abnormality to others and ...
There were no words to describe her feelings for him. Whether it was love, friendship or merely something in between, she aimed to keep it the way it was. At least for now. With the arrancar and Aizen on the move, the less she worries about, the better.
" Oi Rukia." The very subject on her mind approached with his ever present frown. In his hands, was a small basket full of something red and delicious-looking." Do you like Ichigo?" he abruptly asked.
" What?!" she spluttered. Now this was just getting weirder. Ichigo doesn't just go up to you and ask you if you liked Ichigo - Wait. Did he just asked if she liked Ichigo?
" What did you say again?"
" It's strawberries," he explained with an annoyed expression on his face, thrusting the basket into her hands. " Strawberries are a type of fruit that grow a lot during this time of year. So?" he asked, watching her take a tentative bite. " Do you like it?"
" Yeah," she smiled. " I like Ichigo."
4. Unawareness
He didn't realize that today that started like any other, would end so much differently.
He didn't realize that tiny girl emerging out of thin air from his wall, was at least ten times older than him and was as deadly and sharp as the sword she now handled.
He didn't realize he would actually find amusement in watching this inattentive shinigami try to stuff a straw through the small hole where the straw was suppose to go through. Instead, she poked a hole at the side of the box and watched dumbfoundedly as all the juice flowed out of it.
He didn't realize that stupid fortune cookie he just ate would have a slip of paper that said something like " Your romance life will begin in the smallest forms. Beware of foretold violence and unexpected awards."
He didn't realize that midnight would become his favourite time to spend with her because it was torn right between yesterday and tomorrow.
He didn't realize how happy she was to see him fly above the bridge, so heroic and dashing, and all the more happier she was when they started arguing over the silliest thing. Just like how they used to.
He didn't realize that she was very insistent and demanding about her sleeping arrangements so she could sleep in his closet again.
He didn't realize her kisses were so wildly passionate, leaving him breathless and wanting more.
He didn't realize her brother was watching them from behind and planning a whole lecture for him the next morning about behaving in that sort of matter in front of his sister.
5. Water, Water Everywhere
Drip. Drip. Drip.
The leaking of the tap drove her crazy. And by the furrow of his brow, Rukia could tell that Ichigo didn't like it either.
She crossed her arms, hoping it would stop. But it didn't. It just kept dripping and dripping, its racket as loud as an elephant stomping through a field of tin cans. Unable to suppress her impatience any longer, Rukia stormed over to the sink. She twisted and turned the stupid tap, though the water continued oozing as if nothing. In fact, it began to flow faster.
" I'll turn it off for you," Ichigo said, walking over to her, placing his hand casually over hers in the attempt to shut the water off.
Thankfully that her face was not facing him, Rukia quickly retort in anger. " I'm fine! I can do it by myself!"
" You're not doing it right." He leaned over, his muscular chest pressing against her back. Rukia nearly sighed in exasperation. Was he that oblivious to his situation and his posture?!
Anyways, Renji and the others did interrupt them and afterwards, they were chased by the water dolls and their masters, Ho and Ban. Nevertheless, Rukia wished that she and Ichigo could remain in that awkward position a little bit longer.
6. Confession
She regarded him with an amused expression on her face. " That wasn't my first."
" What?!" Her expression grew more gleeful as his grew more envious. " Who?" he demanded.
Rukai shrugged. " Not telling."
" Renji?" he accused.
" Nope."
" It isn't ... it isn't Byakuya, is it?" he asked, his face horrified.
She kicked him in the shin. " No you idiot!"
" Then who is it?!"
She was having too much fun watching him splutter to tell him that she actually kissed him when he was asleep.
7. These Little Hands
All her life she has never seen anything more beautiful than these little hands.
When she was younger, living in Rukongai, all children's hands are dirtied, rough and unkempt. Even when she moved to Seireitei to become a Shinigami, the hands she saw may be clean on the outside but they were covered in filth and blood. Her own hands were smeared with the red drops of a murderer and the corruption of Hollows.
These hands now that hooked itself around her fingers were delicate and pure. No stain or blemish marked them. They grabbed her own hand, examining it and squeezing it in its tiny fist.
Rukia smiled and gently lifted up her son. His hair was as aflamed as his father's but his eyes, clear and midnight black, were much like his mother's. She loved him from first sight, even though she didn't with his father.
This hands, one day, might have the power to give life or take it away just as easily. Would he have a healer's touch, like Auntie Orihime? Or perhaps would he follow more after his uncle, Byakuya, the skillful and deadly warrior?
She bestowed another kiss on his forehead. Now wasn't the time to think of such things. Just being able to hold him, sing to him, spoil him with hugs and kisses and tell him all the adventures his daddy and mommy went through, was more than enough for Rukia.
8. First The Worst
What they called a casual meeting between friends, everyone else called it a date. Just a trip to the local mall to to satisfy Rukia's curiosity as to why the girls in their class talk so much about it.
There were plenty of "What's this? - What's that? - Look at this - Wahhh! It moved! - Buy this, Ichigo - Stop dragging me around." followed by a chorus of his own "That's not for sale - Don't touch that - Stop running like the idiot you are - Are you even listening to me?! - Come back here!"
Rukia stood at each store, pressing her face against the glass opening, looking in wonderment at the arrangements displayed there. She would gasp and point excitedly, jabbing him with thousands of questions before bounding away to the next window. Anything seen was grabbed by her, examined thoroughly and tossed carelessly back when she lost interest in it.
Watching over her was worst than looking after a four-year-old with a major craving for ice cream and chocolate. Not to mention the constant stares they were receiving and the muffled whispers of the two of them being such a cute couple.
As the saying goes, first the worst ... second the best. Which meant that he can only hope that their second date would be better than the first.
9. Guardian Angel
When he first thought of what angels were, he expected them to have a golden halo hanging above their heads, singing beautifully and playing a harp and with great, white wings billowing behind at their backs.
He had his childish dreams crushed when he first met her.
There was no halo hanging above her head (except maybe some red horns if he squinted hard enough). Her singing was horrible, maybe as bad as his dad singing in the shower and who needs a harp when she's got a zanpakuto? She doesn't need wings to fly, but sometimes, Ichigo can see a faint outline of feathers coming from her back as she leaps into the air as if one with it.
Angels aren't suppose to swear or be violent. Angels aren't suppose to kick boys in places that shouldn't be kicked. Angels aren't suppose to cheat and copy off someone else's test. And angels most certainly aren't suppose to fall in love with orange-haired, fight-loving, shinigami-turned delinquents.
Then again, Rukia isn't your average angel.
10. Metamorphosis
It began with unfamiliarity.
She saved his life and his family. He saved her from the Hollow by taking all her powers. He felt that he owed something to her for saving his and his family's lives and she felt that she owed him for completely shattering his once "normal" life.
It turned into an alliance.
He could have swore that his heart jumped out of his chest in shock when he saw her standing before him in the classroom in her brand new uniform. She smiled sweetly at him before she held out her hand in what seemed like a friendly gesture but had death threats written on her palm.
Then, it became partnership.
For the first time in his career of being a substitute shinigami, he fought not for someone else or for the sake of protecting someone close to him. It was for himself. It was his revenge. The monster that stole his mother's soul away, bringing grievance upon his family and him too.
She didn't pester him with questions. She understood that he needed time and when he was ready, she would listen. But until then, she would wait patiently. She even had a chance to hold him while she thought he was unconscious.
It grew into friendship.
Two months passed so quickly for him. Their classmates were used to see the two of them hang on, wondering if they were dating or not. Some people claim they might disappear for long periods of time, doing who-knows-what, then reappearing, following their lame excuse of "going to the bathroom".
One day, she was taken away from him. By her older brother. And he was helpless, crushed by one blow. As he laid there, in a pool of his blood, his thoughts only went towards her. Even when she was about to walk towards death, she saved him.
At first, he thought the only reason he went to Soul Society was to repay Rukia for saving him those months ago and defeat her brother for the humiliation he received. But the longer he spent in Soul Society, fighting each battle with his sole thoughts on her, shedding blood for her sake and overwhelming anyone who stood in his way, he was now convinced that he was fighting not just for to save her, not just for that debt he owed her, not just to triumph over her brother, but to relinquish Rukia's tears.
Now, it was what Urahara called the friends-to-lovers relationship.
After returning from Soul Society, he didn't pine for her. It did, however, felt like a piece was missing in his puzzle. Not that he wasn't complaining too much about it. He still had Chad, Orihime, Ishida - and Kon, as much as he hated to say. But after going through all those life-and-death situations, high school life seemed so boring. When he finally tasted the tinge of battles again, it didn't have the same comparison as it did when he was with her.
What a shock he had when she appeared on the window still of his school. So shocked, he couldn't find the words to say hello as he did with the other shinigami who came along ... or even pluck up the courage to say her name.
He half-expected her to do her usual greeting of fake smiles and a girly curtsey to the class explaining her appearance. But he didn't expect her to land a kick across his face and slap him a few times.
Yelling at her, she had already taken off with him, dragging him in his shinigami form, even making him give her piggyback ride! She forced him to confront his worst fears, to fight back and to be stronger until he can conquer those fears. To hold his head high even in the face of defeat. "That's the kind of man you have been in my heart, Ichigo!" Her words rang in his ears, sinking in and giving him the strength and confidence that he needed all along. Only Rukia knew what to say to him to revert him back into his normal, vigorous self.
At this point, their affiliation has evolved into what people would call love.
It wasn't the mushy, always-kissing or always-hugging kind of love. It was more like they are still best friends but more intimate and closer to the point where their souls were connected, intertwined. Yes, they have their differences. Yes, they have quite the age gap. And yes, she was a shinigami while he was a human.
But like the ugly duckling or the diminutive caterpillar, they evolved - from strangers, to classmates, to comrades, to friends and finally, to the amazing couple that they are now. They went through both good and bad times during the time they've met. The fun, memorable times and certainly the expected ones too. They laughed, cried, argued and interacted.
They simply lived.
Isn't that what life was all about?