Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Beneath You ❯ Concede ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

AN: Haha! We have arrived at Chapter Four, have we not? I do believe we have. Anyway, thank you to all the reviewers. Any input or encouragement always is helpful. I always love reading them, they make me brim over with joy. Really... they do. Okay, enough of that. Enjoy the following chapter.

"Sir, Lieutenant Kuchiki has arrived in her office."

"Thank you. I am on my way."

The door slid shut, and the 13th Squad Captain rose to his feet. He straightened out his robes, took a deep breath, and stepped from behind his desk toward the door. He exited his secluded office and made his way down the hallway to see his lieutenant. Last night, he was a little angry with her for her lack of appearances. But after a night of thinking and a nice sleep, he was feeling a little more jovial and relaxed than before. He planned to tell her his feelings with his head held high and plenty of confidence.

Stopping at the door of his destination, he knocked on the frame. No answer. "Lieutenant?"

"Yes sir?" a voice behind him said.

A little startled but hidden well, he turned to see Rukia looking into his face. She was carrying a large paper bag with folders sticking out of the top. "You were looking for me?"

"Yes... I was. Let me get that for you," he said, taking the bag from her quivering hands. "I hoping that we could talk for a moment or two."

She nodded as she passed him to open her office door. "Sure. But we should probably --"

A deep gasp escaped her throat as she beheld the sight in her office. Every place she looked was yellow; mostly because the room was filled with bright dandelions. She tip-toed inside the room, in awe at the beautifully colored flowers. A wide smile playing on her face, she carefully moved the vase that sat in her chair. She lowered it to the floor with so much care one would think the flowers would dissipate if handled too roughly. Ukitake followed behind her and took a scan of the room. Based on his expression, it was clear that he was not very happy with what he was seeing. Forcing as much hostility as he could out of his voice, he asked, "where should I put these?"

"On my chair," she told him over her shoulder as she searched for a card. "I wonder who sent these?"

"Me too." He slowly was losing the anger battle. But quick thinking gave him a plan. "Rukia, can we talk before you look for the card? I have other things I have to do."

She stood up from her stooping position. "Sure. We'll talk first. I don't want to keep you, sir."

He rubbed his hands together. "Good. Listen, I wanted to tell you that --"

"Oh! There it is!" she squealed, diving for the small tan envelope. "Excuse me sir, I won't be able to concentrate on anything until I find out who sent these."

Wide-eyed, he watched her open the envelope and pull the paper out. "Wait, Rukia --"

"Junichi? He sent these?" she asked herself aloud, looking around the room once more. "Wow. He was serious about yesterday."

"Yesterday? What happened yesterday?"

She looked at her superior with an embarrassed smile. "Nothing. As you were saying..."

He was surprised by her answer. Nothing? In the past, she told him if she was seeing anyone, and he was a bit rattled that she wouldn't tell him anything. But he didn't have time to contemplate their current relationship; he now had her attention, and finally he can tell her what was going on inside him. "Rukia... I wanted to say --"

"Sir, what time is our training sessions?" his third seat asked from the open door.

Ukitake had to close his eyes and breathe deeply to keep from crying out. Over his shoulder, he nearly growled, "This afternoon. Around three. And tell everyone not to come in here until I have left. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

Training his eyes on her once more, he decided to blurt it out before anymore interruptions came along. "Rukia, I wanted to know if you would like to have dinner with me tonight."

Her mouth dropped and her eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Of course. But may I ask why you would like dinner with me?"

"It's because I would like to spend more time with you. I think that we could be closer than we are now."

She nodded her head in comprehension. "I see. A captain and lieutenant should be good friends to work effectively together."

This time, his eyebrows hit the ceiling. She didn't understand. "No, I mean that I want us to be closer. More than friends..."

"... more than friends? You mean like... "

"Yes."

Her mouth formed an 'O'. "Well... I'd love to, but...."

"But what?"

Her eyes found the ground and didn't want to leave. "I sort of told Junichi that I'd have dinner with him tonight."

Ukitake shrugged. "Okay then. Maybe we could go out tomorrow. Is that alright?"

She lifted her eyes. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. "Y-yes. Tomorrow will be fine."

"Great," he said, smiling down at her, eyes twinkling. "Have a good day."

"Yes sir." She stared after him as he left her office, and once he was gone, she collapsed onto the floor.

I can't believe that he wants us to be.... more than friends. I had no clue he felt that way! My heart almost burst in my chest when he said that! And while I've been waiting for so long to hear him say those words, I feel almost... torn between him and Junichi. Well, maybe what I feel for Junichi isn't really anything at all; just something to hold me over long enough for Jyuushiro to come for me. Yes, that's it! There's nothing real between me and Junichi. Tomorrow night will be great; I just have to get through tonight.

AN: Wow, Rukia's in a predicament, isn't she? Maybe everything will turn out the way she's hoping, or maybe it won't. I'm sure we're all pulling for her... maybe not. Chapter Five is coming soon. Review if you like and have a nice day!