Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Seireitei Monogatari ❯ Rukia's Dating Service - Aizen ( Chapter 116 )

Title: Rukia's Dating Service - Aizen

Characters: Ichigo/Aizen, Rukia, Momo

Rating: T

Warning: boykisses, slight language

Words: 2252

Description: What else was he supposed to do when the evil overlord of Hueco Mundo shows up on his doorstep?

 

 

Rukia, as only a temporary resident of the household, usually never bothered with things like answering the doorbell or the phone when it rang. Mostly because it was never for her and it was none of her business. Besides, Shinigami rarely used doors.

 

On a balmy Saturday morning, however, just before noon struck, she found herself wandering to the front door and answering the persistent guest. By the third ringing of the door bell, she assumed no one else was going to get it. Kurosaki-san was at the clinic, Karin off to soccer, and Yuzu presumably was helping her father. Ichigo, for his part, was asleep upstairs, and she didn't particularly care where Kon was.

 

Dragging herself off the couch and pressing pause on the movie she had been watching, Rukia wandered to the front door. She momentarily attempted to sense who could have been on the other side, but either the person could hide themselves well or didn't have any reiatsu at all. Probably just a salesmen then.

 

She opened the door.

 

“Good morning, Kuchiki-san. I received your invitation.”

 

Her mouth dropped. Definitely not a salesman. In fact, Aizen Sousuke stood just outside the door, dressed in his finest and looking quite handsome.

 

Rukia blinked several times. “Invitation?”

 

And then, she remembered in a rather desperate moment sending Aizen a request to take Ichigo on a date in hopes of him finding true love. It appeared that the lord of Hueco Mundo was actually interested in the offer. Surprise, surprise.

 

“You actually came,” she added, eyes widening with bewilderment. Honestly, she hadn't expected him to take her offer seriously.

 

Aizen smiled slowly. “Of course. I did send you an affirmative response. I can assume Kurosaki-kun is not ready yet?”

 

She momentarily panicked. “No, but he will be.”

 

Rukia's thoughts were spinning in a thousand directions. At last! A date that might actually work. All her effort was coming to fruition, she was sure of it.

 

And Rukia herself smiled, already stepping aside to let Aizen wait inside rather than out front where their neighbors would look on in confusion. They thought the Kurosaki's were weird enough as it was.

 

Ichigo was going to be so surprised.

 

* * *

 

A sudden rush of air-conditioned air attacked Ichigo's body, propelling him out of sleep with little warning as his covers were whipped off of him. Blinking hazily and groping about for the missing sheets, he found them nowhere nearby and rolled over, instantly laying sight on Rukia. It was she who had stolen his sheets.

 

Bitch.

 

“What do you want?” he grumbled with a yawn as his fatigue washed over him. He'd been up half the night because of some experiment the geta-boushi wanted to run.

 

“Get up,” Rukia barked at him, dropping his stolen sheets to the ground. “And take a shower. Get dressed. Hurry. We're on a schedule here.”

 

Ichigo grabbed his pillow and flung it at her because sometimes that was the only way to shut her up. Unfortunately, she caught it, still grinning like a fool. He felt a bit concerned for his chastity, considering that gleam in her eyes.

 

“Schedule?”

 

He could have sworn that there was a twinkle, a sparkle of evilness surrounding her form. “Your date's here. You don't have much time.”

 

Date?

 

Oh, hell no. Ichigo was through with her ideas of a date. Sitting up and raking fingers through his hair, he fixed her with a firm glare.

 

“No.”

 

“No?” she repeated as she threw open his closet and pawed through his clothing like she had every right to do so. “You can't say no; he's already here.”

 

Ichigo gritted his teeth, feeling them grind together. “I can and will. I'm not going, Rukia.”

 

“And why not?” She whirled to face him and pulled a shirt out at the same time. Rukia gestured with one hand, flinging the fabric in all directions. “He went through all the trouble to come here.”

 

“I don't care.”

 

And with an angered - probably immature - flop, he tossed himself back on his bed, folding his arms behind his head. He contemplated returning to his nap.

 

She harrumphed loudly. Rukia tossed the shirt over the back of the chair and returned to the closet in order to locate a pair of matching pants. “You'd better.” And there was a hint of threat in her voice, though what she thought to threaten him with Ichigo didn't know.

 

He should have realized that she would stoop this low. She'd blackmailed her own damn brother, after all. And even if it was for the sake of love, Rukia really was quite devious. And dammit, Ichigo was happy with his single life. He'd be happy with it forever if it meant he didn't have to suffer on anymore of these terrible dates.

 

Rukia really was more trouble than she was worth.

 

With an aggravated sigh and promising dire retribution later, Ichigo rolled off the bed and headed for the shower. If anything, it would at least give him a brief reprieve from the sound of her nagging voice. Rukia seemed to cheer her victory, still digging for a matching pair of pants.

 

Ten minutes later had him freshly scrubbed, nicely dressed, and fighting off Rukia who was trying to comb his hair flat against his head. He thwarted her attempts, threw the comb out the window and was shoved out of his own bedroom.

 

“Good luck!” Rukia called after him as he yawned and scratched at his throat, where his collar itched. He wasn't even sure he'd worn this shirt yet. “Enjoy the play!”

 

Grumbling under his breath about annoying Kuchiki and how fun it might be to strangle them, Ichigo descended the stairs and stepped into his living room. Only to come to a complete and surprised halt. For none other than Aizen Sousuke was standing there, waiting patiently with a gentle smile on his face.

 

“Err... Aizen?” Ichigo questioned tentatively, hoping he wasn't mistaking faces and this really was the evil overlord of Hueco Mundo standing in the middle of his house.

 

Aizen's gaze flickered over him before he inclined his head in approval. “You may call me, Sousuke, Ichigo-kun. It is only fair.”

 

A bit stunned, and gaping like an idiot, Ichigo dropped down from the last step. “I... What... How is this possible?” Not only did he look like an idiot, but now he sounded like one, too.

 

The evil overlord didn't seem to mind and smiled patiently. “I received a charming little invitation from Kuchiki-san and acted accordingly. I hear that you are fond of Shakespeare?”

 

Did everyone know that? Was his appreciation that obvious?

 

Rubbing the back of his neck and catching a few straggling drops of water from his shower, Ichigo nodded. “Apparently so.”

 

“Good. I bought tickets for Othello.” Aizen - errm, Sousuke - paused to glance at his watch. “It starts in fifteen minutes. We'll have to hurry.”

 

Still a bit dazed, Ichigo could really only agree. True, he should have probably declined since Aizen was the enemy and there was this whole war thing going on. And well, a lot of what happened was Aizen's fault and he was trying to take over Soul Society. But he really wanted to see that play, and Aizen did go to all the trouble.

 

In the end, Ichigo left the house with Sousuke as they hurried to the theater. The traitor somehow managed to hail a taxi for them, though Ichigo strongly suspected that the possibly blond driver was actually Ichimaru in disguise. He kept grinning like an idiot. Luckily, they arrived in time, and true to fashion, Sousuke had prime seats, which must have cost him a good fortune. How much did evil overlord's make?

 

The wondering, however, was only a passing thought. In that moment, the curtain's rose, and Ichigo's attention was soon fully captivated.

 

It would later prove to be a very good show indeed.

 

- - -

 

After Othello came dinner. And after that, a short walk home. The mysterious Ichimaru-resembling driver had been dismissed at the end of the meal. Ichigo hadn't minded so much. He was feeling a bit too privileged with all the special treatment.

 

Not only that, he had been pleasantly surprised by how much he enjoyed the “date.” Once he got past the whole “Aizen is my enemy and therefore evil incarnate,” he found Sousuke to be an agreeable companion. He was intelligent and thoughtful, and it appeared that he too carried an interest in Shakespeare.

 

Sousuke was a very attractive man as well, being much easier to his eyes without those clunky glasses that Ichigo had heard so much about. And despite being the ultimate evil, he had such a nice smile. Rather than talking down to Ichigo, they shared a great conversation. It was much, much different than the usual disaster of Rukia's dates.

 

Ichigo had actually enjoyed himself.

 

The only issue remaining was whether or not he could get past the whole problem with being mortal enemies. And well, there was this tiny problem. The entire time, as they watched the show, ate a nice meal, and walked back to Ichigo's house, the substitute Shinigami felt as if he were being watched. Not just watched but avidly observed. Every motion that he made being seen by an unknown eye. He could feel it, sending shivers up his spine. But whenever he turned to look, he couldn't see anyone there. And he was certain it wasn't Rukia. They were so familiar that he would have been able to sense her reiatsu easily.

 

He'd commented to the feeling of being watched to Sousuke, and the overlord - perhaps not so much evil - had agreed with him. In fact, he'd gotten this weird twinkle in his eye that suggested he knew the identity of the perpetrator. But Sousuke wasn't sharing, and a part of Ichigo didn't want to ask. Especially if it turned out to be Ulquiorra. He simply didn't want to know.

 

Still, it was eerie.

 

The feeling did not fade, even as they stood on Ichigo's doorstep, the date drawing to its inevitable end.

 

“Okay, so I admit it,” Ichigo began a bit sheepishly, his companion giving him a rather bemused expression. “This was better than I thought it would be.”

 

Sousuke lifted a single eyebrow. “I suppose I should take that as a compliment?” he replied, and it was just a bit teasing.

 

“Yeah,” Ichigo answered and then blanched a bit as he remembered most of Rukia's other set ups, which had been utter failures. “You have no idea what I've been through.” And frankly, he never wished to speak of it again.

 

“The pleasure was mine.”

 

And Ichigo realized suddenly that this was one of those moments. Like in all the movies and books and manga that his sister liked to read and impress upon Rukia. The atmosphere was there, and he was even expecting it. Sousuke seemed so inclined, and Ichigo found that he didn't really mind at all. In fact, it would be nice to finally get something out of all these terrible dates.

 

Ichigo licked his lips nervously. “Yeah, I had fun, too.”

 

Sousuke leaned closer, placing one foot on the step and putting him at perfect height. “We should consider doing this again.”

 

“Yeah, we should.”

 

The overlord smiled a little wider and leaned closer. His eyes were very pretty this close. For the moment, Ichigo let him take the lead. He figured he would get his chance later. And dammit, the eyes in the back of his skull were really annoying!

 

“Aizen-taichou! Nooooooooo!” The fearful and alarmed cry rang through the night as Ichigo felt a sudden stirring of crazed reiatsu.

 

“Dammit, Hinamori! You're not ruining this!” And that was most definitely Rukia's voice.

 

Suddenly, the door to Ichigo's back flew open and said Kuchiki came barreling out, colliding midair with another person in a Shinigami's uniform who had been approaching from behind Sousuke. The two went flying, rolling across the ground.

 

Ichigo blinked. “What the hell was that?” he wondered aloud, shifting a little to get a better glimpse of the two grappling.

 

Rather than answer, Sousuke took that moment of distraction to kiss him. Ichigo felt himself blush to the roots of his orange hair, despite the kiss being mostly chaste. And it was over far faster than he would have liked it to be. Sousuke's lips were surprisingly soft, though the kiss had been firm.

 

Pulling back, Sousuke smiled genuinely at him. “There will be another date,” he stated, as though there would be no argument.

 

Behind him, someone attempted to shout in protest. But it was garbled and immediately muffled by Rukia kneeing her belly.

 

“Yeah, sure,” Ichigo replied, feeling a bit dazed. Were things always going to be crazy around him?

 

Sousuke chuckled a bit and then took a step back, a Garganta forming behind him with seemingly no effort at all. He glanced at the grappling Shinigami only once, a vague sense of fear entering his expression before he disappeared into the gate. It closed behind him just as the stranger broke free from Rukia's hold and dove for it. She was too late and went down under another fierce Kuchiki tackle.

 

“I worked hard for this!” Rukia was howling. “You're not going to screw it up!”

 

Ichigo, however, hardly noticed. He licked his lips and recalled that Sousuke smelled faintly of lemongrass and chocolate. Strange.

 

But worth it.

* * *