Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Odalisque ❯ Chapter 41 ( Chapter 41 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any Bleach affiliates.

 

 

 

 

Odalisque

 

Chapter 41

 

“Today's the day,” Rukia whispered as she sampled her meager breakfast of a single piece of bread. She hadn't bothered to put it in the toaster. It was just too much work this early in the morning.

 

“The day for what?” Momo asked her, sitting across from her on the other side of the table, picking at her own breakfast of dry, flaking, cereal.

 

She looked up at her friend and blinked slowly, gently tugging her bread to pieces, not really eating and not really wanting to either.

 

“I'm going to visit my sister.”

 

Momo's hands stilled as she fiddled uselessly with her food. She brought her hazy gray eyes up to Rukia's dull sapphire ones and blinked a few times. There was nothing but acceptance in her gaze, although it still looked like it was taking her a few moments to figure out what to say.

 

What she ended up saying was simple, direct, and sweet. “Do you want me to come with you?”

 

Rukia looked loathingly at her decrepitly destroyed breakfast and began shoving them into strange-looking pieces of nothing. “No… I think I'd like to go alone.”

 

There was another pause. It was normal for them nowadays. After nearly a week of being alone, being hurt, and barely leaving Rukia's apartment it was customary for them not to speak very much. When they did, they thought about what they wanted to say, they never rushed each other, and they never interrupted. Long pauses before and after statements were blaringly normal.

 

“Alright.”

 

Rukia nodded, got up from her seat, and brushed away the scraps of her morning meal.

 

“Be safe,” Momo told her, her voice quiet and weak.

 

“I will,” Rukia sighed, moving into her room and getting her clothes ready. “I will.”

 

*~*~*

 

Momo had told her to be safe, yet, at this particular point in time, Rukia really didn't give a damn about being safe. She actually didn't really give a damn about anything other than just… being.

 

As she trudged through a rather rough path in one of the more obscure parts of the park's forest, Rukia allowed her eyes to stay on her feet, trained her mind to focus on what was ahead of her, and did not think beyond that.

 

One two one two, she thought as her feet went one over the other, stepping over rocks and large tree roots, wishing that she could get through this faster.

 

She wanted to talk to her sister. No… not wanted. She needed. She hadn't visited her in a while and now the desperation was getting to her. She needed to speak to the only woman who truly knew her. She just… she just… wanted her sister.

 

After nearly twenty minutes of walking through dense forest and rough dirt paths, Rukia finally came upon what she had been searching for: an old graveyard at the very center of the park.

 

The Kuchiki Family, since it was one of the oldest families in Karakura and also one of the large city's main founders, were given this little plot of land in the heart of the park so they might be able to establish their own, private cemetery. It had been theirs now for nearly two hundred years. Even though Rukia had thought that giving a cemetery as a gift sounded creepy, it actually rather useful. One had to consider that the city was now so populated that people had to go outside the limits to find room for burials.

 

It was here that generations of Kuchiki's had been buried; fathers next to sons, wives next to husbands, daughters next to brothers, and infants next to mothers. It was here, in this place, that Rukia's sister, the late Hisana Kuchiki was also buried.

 

Rukia remembered that, at the time of her sister's death, Byakuya had had to consult with the entirety of the Kuchiki family just so that she could have the honor of being buried here.

 

“I will not subject my wife to a run-down and random grave in the middle of the city.” Her brother had said to each and every one of his relatives, be they distant or close. “Hisana Kuchiki will be buried in the Kuchiki Family Cemetery, with or without the agreement of the rest of the family.”

 

It was one of the only things Rukia had seen her brother do where he spoke with his heart instead of his head. He had won though, although Rukia suspected it was simply because of his position as the leader of the Kuchiki Family and that it his wife who had died. The rest of the family had muttered and grumbled, but none of them actually put forth a challenge. They were much too afraid of Byakuya to do anything remotely similar.

 

Of course, at the time, none of this squabbling over grave sites and plots made any sense to Rukia. Her sister had just died… to hear all of her “relatives” talking about moving corpses and cremation and sticking people in the ground only reinforced the notion that her most beloved sister was indeed, gone from this world.

 

It had made her sick.

 

Now, however, so many years after her passing, Rukia couldn't help but be grateful for all the fighting that her brother had done on behalf of his late wife. She was glad because… well… she liked knowing that her sister—in whatever form she remained—was still in Karakura.

 

Slowly, Rukia used her private key to unlock the wrought iron gate around the cemetery and cringed when the hinges creaked loudly as she pushed it back. As quietly as she could, she pushed the gate and allowed it to slide back into place, clicking and locking up again.

 

Rukia moved like a sloth as she traversed her way between headstones, concrete angels, obelisks, crypts, and mausoleums, all to find the one humble grave in the entire plot.

 

Hisana's grave lay at the very outer edges of the cemetery, something that Rukia knew she would have liked. Even when she was alive and well, Hisana had never liked to become entangled in any of the debates that raged within the Kuchiki Family. She preferred it much more to simply sit on the edge of all of that snobbery and anger and watch life go on around her. She loved sitting in parks and watching families, children, animals, and insects just go around her whenever they pleased. That was just the way Hisana was… peaceful, demure, and respectful of the many ways that life could surprise you.

 

After all, Rukia thought tiredly, she had fallen in love with one of the most stoic men on the face of the planet. How is that not a surprise?

 

Gently, she strode over to the simple headstone bearing the words: “Hisana Kuchiki, beloved wife, sister, and friend.” It was, unlike the rest of the ostentatious inscriptions in this place, just like Hisana herself: austere, straightforward, and uncomplicated.

 

With as much respect as she could muster, Rukia sat down on the grass before the stone and laid down the bouquet of daisies she had purchased on her way here.

 

“Hi Hisana,” she whispered. Even after all of the times she had come here to converse with her departed sibling, beginning always felt weird. It felt like she was just talking to a stone slab instead of her sister.

 

“I'm sorry I haven't visited you in a while,” Rukia murmured, “I've been busy…”

 

That's not exactly a lie, she told herself before swallowing hard and clenching her teeth together.

 

“Well…” she whispered, “I was busy… I'm not really anymore because… well, you probably already know, don't you? I mean, if you're watching me and all. Or maybe you have better things to do where you are, I don't know it's just…”

 

Oh great, here come the tears.

 

“I wonder,” Rukia whispered, “If you ever had any boyfriends before Byakuya, because maybe if you did, you'd tell me what it felt like, to be broken up with or dumped or… betrayed… or whatever might have happened to you.”

 

She reached her arm up and tried to wipe away the stream of tears that was already falling down her face. “But I don't remember anyone other than Byakuya. I guess you were just a one-guy type of woman.” She laughed pathetically and sniffled, “Maybe it's just me then. I don't know, maybe there's something wrong with me that makes me attract guys that do… whatever the hell they do.

 

“But I thought… I thought that after Kaien, things would be different, you know? I just thought that I'd know how to spot the good guys from the bad. I thought that I had experience on my side. Maybe then I wouldn't have to go through what I did with him.” She bit her bottom lip, “I guess I was wrong.”

 

The engraved letters stared out at her reverently as she spoke, trying hard not to garble her words in front of her sister. It was unbecoming. “I love him, Hisana,” she whispered quietly, “I love him so much that it hurts to think about him” The tears increased threefold and began to rush down Rukia's face. She didn't bother wiping them away. She knew it was futile.

 

“Momo and I… we're moving away just to stop thinking about the men who've hurt us. I know it's not fair to you or to Byakuya but… I just can't take being here Hisana.” She raked a hand through her hair and fought to keep her voice from wobbling too much. Crying while speaking to her sister was one thing, sobbing unintelligibly to a headstone was another entirely. “Where ever I go it's like he follows me. It's like I've got a video of him playing nonstop in my head all the time.”

 

She laughed dryly, “Maybe I'm just going insane. Hell, maybe I just wish I was insane. At least then I'd have an excuse as to why I fell for him.”

 

A gentle but cold wind rushed through the trees around her, making the dead branches shiver in the winter air. Rukia didn't feel the wind. Although she was quite sure that she was cold, she just couldn't feel it.

 

She couldn't feel anything anymore.

 

“The worst part about this,” Rukia whispered, holding her voice as if afraid someone might overhear. “Is that I want him back.” She closed her eyes and—against her better judgment—pictured Ichigo in her mind; his bright hair, his honeyed-amber eyes, his smirking face, and his furrowed eyebrows. She swallowed hard and tried to force the image away. She knew that if she kept it she'd be in for hours of crying. She couldn't do that again.

 

“I want him back so badly Hisana,” she choked, “I miss him. I miss everything about him, his stupid laugh, his cocky attitude, how he always has to win an argument, how he thinks I'm beautiful, how we make love together…” She couldn't even think about that last one lest all of her mental barriers be reduced to dust. “I miss him so much.”

 

Rukia felt her throat closing up on her and fought to swallow the large lump that was now obtrusively present. She didn't want to do this here. Not in a cemetery, not right in front of her sister's grave, and most definitely not while thinking of Ichigo.

 

She stood quickly and didn't even bother brushing off the dirt that now clung to her jeans. “I'm sorry,” she whispered, rubbing both of her hands underneath of her eyes and swallowing hard. “I didn't mean to come here to complain. I'm sure you've got better things to listen to then just me rambling on about my life.”

 

The air around her was still.

 

Rukia stood straight and pulled in a deep, deep, breath of crisp, clear, January air. She tilted her head back to the sky and closed her eyes. “I'm sorry for impersonating you while Byakuya was in the hospital. I only wanted to save him. But I can understand if you're angry. I know you want to see him as much as he wants to see you.”

 

Her head tilted back down and she clenched her lips together tightly, until they almost wobbled under the pressure. “I love you, big sister.” She wiped away more tears from her eyes and tried to clear her throat. “I promise my next visit won't be as long in coming.”

 

As quietly as she could and with as much reverence as possible, Rukia gently walked towards the gate to the cemetery. Her footsteps sunk into the soft earth and her hands shook as she shoved them into her jacket.

 

She pushed the gate open and exited, bringing her key out from her pocket again. It was only when she was pushing the key into the open slot that something in the atmosphere changed around her.

 

A warm breeze suddenly blew directly onto her face. It swirled around her, as if hugging her every body part in its closely inclusive embrace. Rukia sighed as the warmth pressed against her skin, fluttered through her hair, and flew up her nostrils, filling her entire body with even more delicious affectionate warmth.

 

Then, as suddenly as it was there, it vanished, leaving in its wake a feeling of understanding, of comprehension, and—most of all—of compassion.

 

Rukia smiled and clicked the lock into place. She knew that where ever her sister was, she was smiling down on her, whispering “I love you too.”

 

*~*~*

 

Yuzu Kurosaki had always prided herself on the ability to read her brother's emotions, even though he tried to keep them hidden away as tightly as possible from everyone around him. When she hit the age of about nine, she could tell when he was irritated, when he was sad, when he was angry, and when he was happy. It was difficult, of course, since he always wore that insistent scowl on his face. Still, that didn't stop her from doing her best to read him.

 

Right now she was reading complete and utter misery.

 

As she sat across from her brother, a bagel sandwich wedged between her two tiny hands, she had to fight not to stare at him too blatantly. It was hard though, after all, he was just sitting at the picnic table, mindlessly nudging his bagel sandwich from one side of the plate to the other with his pointer finger. His eyes were a mix of lost thoughts and despair and his body language was enough to tell Yuzu Kurosaki that her brother was depressed.

 

No… not just depressed. More than depressed.

 

She sent a glance over to her twin sister, Karin, and her twin sent her one back instantly. Normally, Karin was the surly one at the table. But the way Ichigo was acting… Karin looked like a blazing spot of sunshine. Something that Yuzu felt she didn't really appreciate.

 

He was even affecting their crazy, always-happy father, who was simply sitting at the end of the table, cup of coffee in hand, staring out into space. He hadn't said a word to anyone at the table other than the occasional question about their lives or how they were doing in school. He was just sitting there… brooding with Ichigo.

 

Yuzu could not take it anymore. She just couldn't. She didn't like this silence. She didn't like the fact that her brother wasn't fighting with her dad and giving him nosebleeds and sprained bones. She didn't like how… normal they were all being.

 

She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off when her twin spoke for her.

 

Twin telepathy, Yuzu thought with a smile, is so awesome.

 

“Okay you two,” Karin snarled, glaring first at her father and then her older brother with a look of near murderous intent. “What the hell is wrong?”

 

Ichigo didn't even look up from fiddling with his food. Isshin only glanced at his daughter before giving her a small shrug and taking a sip of his coffee.

 

That only seemed to infuriate her even more. Fuming, Karin brought both of her hands above the table, formed them into fists, and sent them crashing down on the wooden top.

 

Ichigo didn't even jump.

 

Isshin only looked slightly perturbed.

 

“You two just stop it!” Karin barked, earning several glances from the people sitting around them, “I'm sick and tired of this bullshit! Either you two start with the family therapy or you just leave! I don't want to sit here with you guys moping around like you just had your dicks sliced off!”

 

“Karin,” Yuzu murmured, sliding into her ritual job as the keeper of the peace, even though she had wanted to convey the exact same message to Ichigo… okay maybe not the part about the sliced of genitalia—especially not to her father—but the point was still the same.

 

She turned to her father and her brother, both of whom remained unaffected throughout Karin's little speech, and reached her hand across the table. She gently grasped her older brother's fingers within her own and squeezed gently.

 

He still didn't look up.

 

“What Karin means,” she murmured gently, tightening her hold on Ichigo's hand once again in the hopes that he would look at her, “Is that we're both very worried about you, Ichigo. You haven't been yourself for nearly two weeks and… well… we want you to know that you can always talk to us, Ichigo. Always. No matter what the subject matter might be, we're here for you.” She tugged on his arm fruitlessly, “We're your family.”

 

She waited while Ichigo absorbed all of that information. The squishy feeling she received in her gut whenever she talked like that grew when she heard a heavy sigh come from his mouth. Slowly, he lifted his head and Yuzu placed a warm smile on her face.

 

It dropped as soon as she looked at her older brother.

 

“Oh my…” she whispered. Beside her, Karin looked shell-shocked as well.

 

This isn't Ichigo. Yuzu thought wildly, I know it isn't. This isn't my older brother.

 

It must have been some sort of mask he was wearing. After all, Ichigo Kurosaki would never be this pale, this gaunt, or this hollow. His eyes would never be reduced to a disgustingly grayish shade of amber, like they were now. His lips would never be that colorless and his mouth would never be set into that hopeless a line. Even his ever-present, oddly comforting scowl, wasn't there.

 

He was just… dead.

 

“Ichigo…” she whispered, drawing her hand away from her brother's and fighting a look of horror that was creeping onto her features. “Wh… what happened to you?”

 

Then Karin said the two words that would change the entire course of the family picnic.

 

Her voice was strong and held not one ounce of doubt. It was pure conviction. Pure belief. Pure certainty.

 

“Rukia Kuchiki.”

 

Ichigo flinched violently in his seat. Beside him, Isshin allowed his eyebrows to furrow deeply. Almost as deeply as his son's normal scowl.

 

He jerked his hand back under the table and looked away from both of his sisters. “Please don't say her name,” he rasped, his voice hoarse and dead. It was the first time Ichigo had spoken that morning.

 

It was then that Yuzu felt a sharp jolt in her side. She shot her gaze over to Karin and frowned—in her slightly pouty manner—at her slightly older sister. She opened her mouth to demand an explanation for why she was just so rudely shoved in the side but the look on her sibling's face stopped her mid-breath.

 

Karin was staring, wide-eyed and opened-mouthed, at a person standing on the end of a very small path at the edge of a little grove of trees.

 

Yuzu's eyes widened as she looked upon the woman who was probably the cause of all of her brother's misery. “Oh… my…”

 

Karin sputtered and swallowed hard, “It's…”

 

She ended her sentence when a sharp look from Yuzu was sent her way. However, her one-syllable, stunned, fragment of a sentence was enough to make both Ichigo and Isshin raise their heavy shoulders from the table.

 

The twins on the other end of the table moved as one as they shot their heads in different directions, away from the site of Rukia Kuchiki and hopefully, away from giving any clue to their male relatives.

 

Twin telepathy strikes again, Yuzu thought, panic swelling in her stomach.

 

“What…?” Ichigo began, his voice fading as he frowned at his sisters.

 

Involuntarily, Yuzu's eyes flickered upwards. At first she was only trying to catch a glimpse of Ichigo's face. She wanted to know if he thought what they were doing was weird or just normal. She just wanted to look at him.

 

She didn't mean for her eyes to flicker over to the woman standing—as if rooted to the spot—behind them.

 

But it was too late.

 

Ichigo, as if in slow motion, frowned until his normal scowl was back on his face. He then began to twist his body to the side, his torso making the muscles of his stomach and his sides coil tensely. His head was the last to move, his neck turning, one inch at a time.

 

Finally, he set his eyes on what Karin and Yuzu had seen only a few moments ago.

 

His body went completely rigid.

 

“Rukia…”

 

*~*~*

 

Her walk through the forest had been as uneventful as it had been when she first arrived. Only this time, she was fighting away stray tears still lingering in her eyes. She was also trying to sustain some of the feelings of warmth and understanding that going to Hisana's grave had given her.

 

Her feet, as if they had minds of their own, carried her over rocks, branches, and roots as they wove through the path that would take them to the outer edges of the forest. Then she'd be able to go home and… and…

 

Resume watching the Home Shopping Network.

 

Or I could start packing, Rukia thought with a sigh, more tears flowing down her face. It seemed as though they too had a mind of their own. Rukia shook her head and tried to remember the qualifications for declaring insanity.

 

But if you're technically insane does saying it give you any sort of relief? She shook her head and tried to clear herself of these frustrating thoughts.

 

It's either that or think about him, she told herself ruthlessly as more tears worked their tireless ways down onto her cheeks. Which would you prefer?

 

Rukia only closed her eyes and continued walking until she got to the edge of the forest. Gently, she stepped off of the path and into the bright sunlight of a cold, January day. She tilted her head back and drew in a deep breath; the air felt unnaturally cold against the sensitive warmth of her throat.

 

She brought her head back down, stuffed her hands into her pockets, turned northward, and readied her feet to once again begin their mechanical procession. Slowly, she lifted her head to gauge how long it would take her—as well as how much energy she'd have left by the end of it—and looked up.

 

Her heart stopped beating.

 

It was only then that she realized what day of the week it was.

 

Two pairs of hazel eyes immediately accosted hers. Yuzu and Karin Kurosaki, sitting on the opposite side of a picnic table, were staring at her as though they were seeing a ghost.

 

Rukia's eyes, locked on the twins gaze, was almost instantly ripped away when her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a sight she had been practically dying to see for what felt like an eternity.

 

Orange hair.

 

She swallowed hard and felt her entire body beginning to shake. Her eyes connected again with the twins but this time something was wrong, Yuzu and Karin had their heads turned away, their bodies twisted in different directions.

 

Her eyes immediately flickered back to Ichigo. She saw his back tense and, as if in slow motion, begin to shift.

 

Every cell in her body was telling her to run. Whether run to him or run away from him, she wasn't sure. She just knew that she needed to run. Adrenaline was racing through her veins and a mixture of intense fear and pain were lancing through her body.

 

Wait! Her mind begged her body, Just wait! Just let me see him! Just let me see his face!

 

Her body did not want to listen but her limbs stayed locked in place. She watched as Ichigo Kurosaki turned around, his body ridiculously slow in her racing mind. His back twisted, his neck shifted, and finally, his face turned.

 

Run!

 

The moment his eyes set upon her they widened to the point where they looked more like dinner plates than actual eyes. His mouth parted in surprise and a flush crept onto his face instantly. Then there was something shining in his dull eyes. Something that nearly had Rukia running away right then and there. Something that would cause her to cry for endless hours that very night.

 

Hope.

 

Rukia backed away as she saw, but did not hear, her name slip through his lips, renewed energy now shining in his beautiful eyes.

 

Agony gripped her heart and she fought to control her breathing, her muscles, her mind… hell, controlling anything would be a blessing right now. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't move.

 

Every fiber of her being was telling her to run towards him, to throw herself into his arms and weep like a child, to press her face into his chest and wait while his arms resumed their customary position around her back, and to drag through her nose long, deep, draughts of his scent. Everything about her, every organ, every cell, every piece was demanding that her legs stumble over to him and just be with him.

 

It was only when she saw his body moving out of his seat on the picnic table, his entire family watching with bated breath, did she remember what had happened between them.

 

The words that had run through her head on that fateful Monday shoved their way up from her heart and viciously took control of her mind. Word for word, the truth came spilling out.

 

He lied to me. He made me fall in love with him. He was just trying to get promoted. He tricked me into signing the paper. He was doing all the takeover work behind my back. He made me love him so I wouldn't doubt him. He didn't ever care about me. He was just using me. He never wanted me for anything. He was just doing his job. I was his job. He was making Inoue wait for him. He was sleeping with her on the side. They were kissing. He was going into her apartment. He was an hour late. He was seeing her all along.

 

Her eyesight blurred and she fell back a step, her stiff limbs jolted out of their yearning reverie. Her mind began to pound at what was now echoing inside of her head. The truth… all of it was the truth; brought back to life so that she could stop the ridiculous aches of her body and realize what had actually happened.

 

The words began to sing inside of her mind, again and again, as if it was a song stuck on repeat. She brought her hands up to her ears and pressed down hard. She wanted to stop the flow of words and memories that was coming towards her mind. She wanted to force them back down into her heart. She wanted them to remain inside of her and heal like any other wound did. She didn't want them brought to the surface, tearing and ripping and shredding until all she could feel was fresh blood raining down on her soul. She wanted it to be over. She wanted the pain to go away.

 

She let out a sob and turned, her legs jolting in protest as she brought them into a full run. Her lungs heaved with the pressure she was putting on them and she tried to ignore them. She had to do this. She had to get away or else everything that she thought she had put behind her would be brought back to light. Everything that she had felt, heard, and seen would be dredged to the front of her mind, to be played back with agonizing slowness.

 

She heard him call her name, several times in fact, along with the cacophony of voices that his family added in. He must have run after her but she was too fast. Her hair whipped around her shoulders and her face, stinging and slapping her, as if trying to wake her up from this world of misery she had accrued after only a few short days.

 

Rukia ran like she was running for her life. Sprinting through streets, barely making crosswalks, forcing cars to stop early or late; she did all of that with only one goal in mind: get away.

 

It was only when she was safely on her own street and outside of her own apartment—gasping for air, clutching her side, and holding in her urge to both sob and vomit—did she realize that she had, indeed, been running for her life.

 

Or, more accurately, her soul.

 

*~*~*

 

Ichigo returned to the picnic table, panting, angry, and viciously avoiding the blatant stares of his family.

 

She had been there. She had been so close. Only a few feet away from him. Christ! Why did she have to run? Why when all he wanted to do was just explain everything to her and hold her until… until…

 

He clenched his teeth together and hurriedly discarded his jacket, ignoring the cold in favor of feeling something, anything really. He gripped the fabric tightly in his hands, it crunched and whined under his fingertips, groaning at him to stop the torture.

 

His entire family was staring at him. His sisters' mouths were open wide and their eyes were filled with either horror or tears. He looked away from them and found himself staring at his father.

 

He stopped dead in his tracks.

 

The normally buoyant man was stoic, rigid; sitting in his seat, gripping his cup of coffee with one very tense, very tight hand. His head was turned towards his son, his gray hairs glinting in the sunlight as they stood in stark contrast to the black. He was looking at Ichigo with a look he had never seen his father give him before: Empathy.

 

He clenched his teeth together and marched up to the table, his eyes still on his father. He swiftly grabbed his keys, his cell phone, and what remained of his dignity and fought the glare that was coming onto his face.

 

It was Karin who broke the silence, as she was wont to do.

 

Her voice was filled with uncertainty, awe, and a little bit of fear. No doubt she'd never seen him act like he was right now. Not since Mom died anyway.

 

“Ichigo… what happened?”

 

He shot his gaze over to his sister and his glare withered her on the spot. She quickly glanced down at the table, as if she was ashamed of asking such a question. Isshin did not move and neither did Yuzu, although her nose was twitching from a desire to be wiped and her eyes were blinking in an effort to control the flow of tears.

 

“Well,” he ground out, “You all saw. You saw everything.” Karin and Yuzu had enough decency to look guilty about it. “I think you can figure it out on your own.” He hissed.

 

He jerked away from the table and began walking towards the path that would lead him towards his car. His heart was thudding angrily in his chest and his throat felt like it was burning with acid. He needed to get away from this. He needed to figure out who had done this to them. He needed to find out and he needed to do it now. Family dinners and stupid picnics could wait… Rukia couldn't.

 

“She loves you, Ichigo.”

 

His father's voice stopped him dead in his tracks. His body began shaking and his throat swallowed spastically.

 

He turned and saw that his old man had not moved from his previous position. He was still leaning slightly over the table, he was still gripping his coffee cup with hands seemingly made of iron, and he was still looking at him with eyes as empathetic as Ichigo had ever seen. Ichigo simply stared at him; giving him a look that he hadn't given his father since his mother had died.

 

“She loves you,” he repeated, staring into his son's dazed, hurt, and angry face. “She wouldn't have run away if she didn't.”

 

He and his father locked eyes for only a few seconds more before Ichigo turned away and began marching towards his vehicle.

 

In his mind, two words rang true:

 

I know.

 

*~*~*

 

Yuzu Kurosaki sat on her seat at the picnic table, trying to stop the flow of tears that were currently rushing out of her eyes and down her red cheeks. She couldn't, though, and she should have known it was futile. She was always the first to cry in Kurosaki family; that was just the way things always went. Going to a sappy movie, reading a sad book… anything like that made her tear ducts think they were Niagara Falls. She also had a sneaking suspicion that she might have inherited Karin's slight inability to cry after their mom died, because of the whole twin thing, of course.

 

But this was different.

 

Her eyes stayed pinned on her brother's back as he walked away, shoulders slumped, head bent down, and body incredibly tense.

 

She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed.

 

Seeing her brother run after Rukia Kuchiki… only to have her run even faster to get away from him had nearly broken her heart.

 

What happened between them to make them act like that? She thought; even that was a small whisper in her mind, as if it was too afraid to come out and be louder—and inside of her head no less.

 

Then, to see him come back, a dejected and hurt expression carved into his face, was almost too much to bear. She couldn't believe that her brother, the indomitable Ichigo Kurosaki, was reduced to near tears because of a woman. A large lump was lodged into her throat as she thought of how deeply they must have been involved… and how much both of them must have been hurt to drive them apart.

 

“Yuzu… Karin…”

 

Her head snapped up at the sound of her father's voice. He was still sitting in the same position he had been sitting in for the past few minutes, even when he had spoken to Ichigo. She and her sister turned at the exact same moment to look over at their father. Yuzu swallowed hard and furrowed her normally smooth brow.

 

“Yes Daddy?” She was the only one left in the family that still called him `Daddy.' She knew it was unnecessary but she thought that he appreciated it.

 

He stood slowly from the table and stretched his legs gently; he turned to look at them and gave the two a soft smile. “I'm going to take a walk. You girls can take the keys and drive back home.”

 

Karin looked at his suspiciously, her eyes flickering back to where Ichigo had disappeared. “Are you planning to walk the ten miles home, Dad?” She gnawed of angrily.

 

“Karin,” he said, his voice was soft and didn't even carry a hint of the crazy that usually lurked behind it. “Just go with it, alright?” He tossed her the car keys and she caught them deftly between her fingers.

 

Without saying another word, he turned in the opposite direction that Ichigo had gone and began walking, his hands in the pocket of his coat and a deeply thoughtful expression on his face.

 

Karin and Yuzu sat numbly in their seats, the bitter wind nipping at their faces, their mouths slightly opened.

 

“Were we just abandoned by our brother and our father?” Karin asked, dumbfounded.

 

“Yes,” Yuzu muttered, curling her left hand into a fist, the newly inserted paper inside of it crunching lightly.

 

“Damn,” Karin continued, “What Ichigo just did… I can't… I don't believe it man.” She whistled softly, “All over one chick.”

 

“I don't think she was just `one chick' Karin,” Yuzu admonished her gently, “I think… I know that he's in love with her.”

 

“You're probably right,” Karin murmured, standing from the table and frowning off into the distance. She tightened her jaw and sighed, “I just… I want to know what happened between them, you know? I mean, I know that Ichigo can take care of himself and all but still… he's our big brother you know?” She turned to Yuzu and looked at her insistently. The car keys tightened in her hands and a determined glimmer shone in the depths of her eyes. “Do you think she'd let us into her apartment?”

 

Yuzu pursed her lips and cinched the paper in her hands tighter and tighter. “I… I don't think so…”

 

“We could break in,” Karin suggested, her tone becoming slightly malicious. “Beat it out of her… I mean, you know how guilty Ichigo can get and all but what if this whole thing was her fault?”

 

“If it was her fault,” Yuzu reasoned unhappily, placing all of the uneaten food—practically all of it—back into the basket. “If it was her fault he wouldn't be acting like it was his fault.” She shook her head, “No… this was between the two of them. I just…I want to know what's going on too.”

 

“So let's go talk to her,” Karin said, helping Yuzu put away all of her materials and then hauling the basket into her arms. “If we just want to talk to her… don't you think she'd listen?”

 

Karin's twin shook her head. “No,” Yuzu murmured, opening her fist and taking away a small piece of paper. She held it up, showed it to Karin, and, using her other hand, reached into her pocket, grabbed her phone, and flipped it open.

 

“I have a better idea.”

 

*~*~*

 

Rukia listened blandly to the home shopping channel while Momo's cell phone started ringing.

 

She didn't rise from her position on the couch and only tightened her arms around her legs. She had tried—and failed—to stop crying over an hour ago. All that she could do now was just sit here and try not to think about him.

 

Try and, once again, fail.

 

His face, his eyes, his hair, his body… and the way his lips had moved when he had said her name. She brought her knees in tighter around her body and tried to fight off another sob.

 

How close had he gotten to touching her today? How close? He had only been a few feet away when she had finally come to her senses and run.

 

But he hadn't stopped there. No… he just had to follow her. He had to follow her and scream her name and try and get her to stop. She hadn't listened though. She had only continued running.

 

She was safe now. She was safe. She was here with Momo. She was away from him.

 

Thank God…

 

“Rukia…”

 

The voice seemed to come from far away. Rukia blinked twice, her eyelids cracking and sticking to each other as they moved. She turned towards her friend and stared blandly at the proffered phone. It was Momo's cell phone, held out by a shaking hand, offered by a woman with said shaking hand.

 

“It's for you,” Momo whispered, her voice as quiet as could be. Even the home shopping channel seemed louder than her, and it was practically on mute.

 

Rukia slowly blinked her eyes at her friend, her brows furrowing low. “D—Do you know who it i-is?” She asked, her voice almost as low as Momo's.

 

Her eyes told Rukia the answer before her mouth did. “It's not him,” she murmured reassuringly. “It's a girl. I don't know who…”

 

Hand extended, Rukia's fingers curled around the edges of Momo's phone. She looked at the number displayed on the screen and frowned when it showed up as unknown. Frowning even more, she drew the tiny machine to her ear and spoke.

 

“Hello?”

 

There was a small pause on the other end of the line. “Please don't hang up on me, Rukia.”

 

The moment she recognized the tiny voice on the line her brain immediately screamed at her to shut the phone, shriek, and throw it against a wall. The only thing that stopped her was the desperately pleading tone of Yuzu Kurosaki's small voice.

 

“Yuzu,” Rukia murmured, closing her eyes and pressing her fingers to them. Her throat was so dry.

 

“And Karin,” Another voice said, this one coming from further away. “I'm here too.”

 

Her head began to throb. “What are you two doing?” She croaked.

 

“We got this number from Ichi—our brother's phone,” Yuzu muttered, quickly amending her speech so as not to mention him. Rukia felt like chuckling. So the girls knew enough to know what not to say in front of her. Just what had he told them? “We figured that you wouldn't hang up on us if you didn't know who was calling so…”

 

“Yeah,” Rukia whispered, regretting not hanging up when she recognized who it was. “… So.”

 

The silence that stretched over the phone lines was almost palpable.

 

Until Karin decided to speak, as she was wont to do.

 

Her voice was hard as she demanded. “What the hell happened between you and Ichigo?”

 

Rukia cringed at the question and Yuzu was there immediately to hiss at her twin.

 

“Be a bit more sensitive!” She snipped angrily… or, as angrily as Yuzu Kurosaki could get anyway. “I'm so sorry Rukia. Really, I—I wish that I could apologize for what he's done but I… I don't know what happened so I… can't.”

 

Rukia felt the tears welling up in her eyes again. Such a thing was just so… so… strange to say. Strange and caring and heartbreaking all at the same time.

 

“Yuzu…” Rukia croaked, dropping her head heavily into her hands, tears running rampant down her face. Her throat clogged as she spoke and she choked out the last few words. “I… I just… I can't…”

 

“What did he do, Rukia?” Karin demanded.

 

“Ask him,” she gasped, truly trying hard not to cry while on the phone with his sisters. “I can't… I just can't…”

 

“Rukia,” Karin broke in, her voice sounding pained but strong, “Why won't you two talk to each other—?”

 

Rukia let out a sob but Karin kept going.

 

“—I haven't seen him this depressed since Mom died. And Rukia, this might just be worse than when Mom died. I haven't seen him… I've never seen him…” she let out a frustrated sigh and in the distance Rukia heard her kick something. “You two just need to talk to each other! You need to fix this! You have to get back together. Ichigo needs you Rukia, he does! He just—”

 

Momo's hand appeared on Rukia's shoulder and she gently took the phone away from her ear. Rukia allowed it to slip from her useless fingers. She instantly curled into a ball and wrapped her arms around her knees.

 

Momo brought the phone to her ear and cleared her throat. Rukia could almost hear the voices of his sister's on the other line. “Please don't call again.” Momo said softly, “I don't want you to upset Rukia anymore.”

 

“Please wait!” Yuzu cried while Karin began growling. “Can we… can we come over and see her? Maybe then it won't be so hard—”

 

“I'm sorry,” Momo muttered stoically, “But we're moving away soon. I'm afraid we'll be very busy.”

 

Rukia's eyes closed as she heard the frantic voices on the other end enquire to where they were going. Before she could raise her head and tell Momo not to answer, the words crustily slid out of her friend's mouth. She snapped the phone shut, turned it off, and drew in a deep breath, as if reveling in the silence that such an action brought.

 

She tossed the phone onto the kitchen counter and sat down heavily on the couch. Rukia sobbed beside her while the home shopping channel droned on in the background.

 

*~*~*

 

Ichigo's phone vibrated beside him. The cushion on the couch wiggled infinitesimally in response and he sighed when he looked down at the screen.

 

The name `Yuzu' was spread across the tiny LCD box. He sighed and, with movements almost too slow to actually be classified as moving, he picked it up. Sighing, he opened the phone and placed it next to his ear.

 

“Ichigo!”

 

He winced and brought the little device away from his head. Damn, who knew his little sister could yell that loud?

 

“Yuzu,” he muttered, calling out into the phone to make her stop the incessant… wait… was she crying?

 

A surge of brotherly instincts that forever coated his veins flooded into bloodstream. He sat up a bit straighter against the couch and gripped the phone a bit tighter. Even though he could barely feel his own heart through the thick layers of guilt, horror, and despair covering it, he knew that he would always be there for his little sister.

 

Even if he was dying inside.

 

“Yuzu,” he croaked, somewhat surprised at the sound of his own voice. “Are you alright? What happened? Did someone hurt you? Was it Jin—?”

 

“Ichigo!” Karin screamed from the background, “Shut up you fucking idiot! It's not Yuzu!”

 

He mind jolted and he frowned at the unannounced voice of his other sister. “Yuzu… Karin…” he frowned even more so than usual, “What… what are you two…?”

 

“Rukia's moving!” Karin screamed at him.

 

Ichigo could feel his lungs screech to a halt.

 

“She's moving to New York City!” Karin bellowed, apparently trying to dislodge the phone from Yuzu's bawling death grip. “I don't know when but soon! Really soon! We got her friend's number from your cell phone and we called her to see what the fuck was going on between you two but she told us not to call again and that they would be moving to New York soon!”

 

Ichigo could feel his heart shuddering to a stop.

 

“She loves you Ichigo,” Yuzu sobbed, apparently getting the phone back from Karin. “I kn—know she does! You just… you just have to talk to her! I—I want you two to m-make up!”

 

Ichigo could feel his head spinning.

 

“Please Ichigo,” Karin broke through. “Don't let her go… just don't… she means too much to you… to us. Just… talk to her please!”

 

The phone fell from his hands. He could still hear his sisters screaming at him on the other end.

 

“We like Rukia.”

 

“Don't let her go.”

 

“Find a way to talk to her.”

 

“Make up with her.”

 

“Fix whatever happened.”

 

“Are you listening Ichigo?”

 

He swallowed hard and placed his elbows on his knees. His chest was expanding and contracting rapidly with the hyperventilating breaths he was taking.

 

Rukia was moving.

 

Rukia was moving to New York.

 

Rukia was moving to New York City.

 

That was over three thousand miles away. Three thousand miles away from Karakura, away from him, and away from anything they could have been.

 

“Oh my God,” Ichigo breathed, his eyes dilating in the sudden intensity of what he was feeling.

 

“I don't know when but soon!”

 

If she left, there was no getting her back. She'd move on. She'd find another man to love. He'd be nothing but a horrible memory.

 

“No,” he whispered, dread filling his stomach at the very thought of her going away. He'd follow her, of course; he'd follow her until the ends of the earth just to get her back.

 

But he had to hurry. He had to act now. He had to find out who did this. He had to catch them. He had to make them pay. He had to… or else everything he was would cease to exist.

 

His hands balled into fists and he clenched his jaw together.

 

“I won't lose you,” he whispered, agony ripping at his voice. “I won't.”

 

 

 

 

(A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry for the late update! School has been getting pretty busy.

 

Okay onto announcements:

 

Some of you have brought up good points as to why Ulquiorra is acting on his own instead of strictly for Aizen. You've made good points, very good points. I guess I just wanted to use him so much in this story that I casted him for the wrong part—so to speak. I think once I finish this entire story I'll edit it so that Grimmjaw is the private investigator. I believe that makes more sense seeing as how Grimmjaw works for his own benefit and isn't steadfastly tied to Aizen.

 

Also, we're coming up on the end. I have only the epilogue to write and you guys have about three more chapters to read so… updates might not come as quickly. I apologize but, in all walks of life, I do believe that homework comes first. Plus I actually have to start picking a major before I give myself a worry-induced heart attack. Sigh. Isn't college supposed to be fun?

 

Anyway, sorry for the massive Author's Note. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed for this story. I hope you keep enjoying and:

 

PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!!!)