http://reverse-swirled.livejournal.com/ (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
reverse-swirled.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
tampered2007-02-11 05:45 pm
reverse-swirled.livejournal.com) wrote in tampered2007-02-11 05:45 pm
(no subject)
When; Feb.8th
Rating; PG
Characters; Kuchiki Rukia, Shiba Kaien and Kurosaki Ichigo
Summary; Rukia tries to sneak out of the apartment only to run into Kaien who came over to see how she was doing, and ends up meeting Ichigo too in the process~
Log;
Footsteps soft against the carpet, she carefully slunk across the livingroom, barely daring to breathe as she passed the half-opened door on the other wall. Listening to the even breathing that issued from it, she contented herself with the knowledge that he was, in fact, asleep. And he didn't look to be waking any time soon. Which meant that she could get the hell OUT of the apartment. Rukia bit her lip slightly as she stepped gingerly around the coffee table, hissing slightly as she pulled an oversized flannel shirt on over the cotton tank top she was wearing. Though healed, the scars from the kidou were still red and tender, hence the tank-top, despite the cold of the weather. But...if she was going to try and sneak out, she'd best at least not freeze to death.
The moment Kaien had heard about Rukia, he headed over to the apartment she was staying in. Despite how she told him she was fine, he didn't believe her. He was the one who agreed to let her go train when she asked for his approval, and if something had happened to her, he had to know. He walked down the hallway, just arriving at the door.
Well, even though the shirt's material was soft, it still chafed. She bit back her scowl and carefully shifted her shoulders to try and get the fabric to rest differently as she reached for the door handle. With a last glance back at the door to Ichigo's room, she sighed and smiled slightly before turning the handle and pulling the door open.
Kaien was just about to knock on the door when suddenly the door opened, seeing Rukia standing in there as if she was just about to leave. "And just where do you think you're going, Rukia?"
That was not what she'd expected to see OR hear. Face paled as she froze, blue-violet eyes traveling up from the black robes in front of her, up and up to the familiar face that was doubly familiar due to it's eerie reflection of the face in the other room. She simply stared for a fraction of a second before shock set in and she stumbled backwards with a
shriek of surprise, arms windmilling as she landed on her rear on the carpet, hissing as the recently-healed on protested it's treatment. "K..K..K..KAIEN-DONO!?! What...what are you..d..doing here!?"
At Rukia's reaction, as she suddenly landed on the ground, it was obvious she surprised to see him there. "...I come all this way to see how you are and that's the kind of greeting I get?" He shook his head, "So were were you planning on going off to?"
He wasn't entirely sure how long he'd been asleep for. All he knew was that one moment, he was putting Rukia to bed. The next, he was groggily sitting up in his own bed, trying to work out what had just happened. Oh, he was still tired, but something had woken him up. And that something had been... "Shit." Forcing himself onto his feet, Ichigo tore the door open, storming out toward Rukia's room. Only... "What the fuck are you doin'?" The girl sprawled on the ground, not to mention the man standing at the door. ...who looked..just...like...him?
Oh shit. If things weren't already bad enough, now she'd gone and woken Ichigo up. And just when Kaien-dono expected an answer as to where she was going. Gears in her head spinning rapidly, she tugged the shreds of her dignity around her and climbed to her feet, dusting herself off. "I wasn't going anywhere, Kaien-dono. I just thought I heard someone.
You startled me, though." Now hopefully, both him AND Ichigo would believe her. Though...it was Ichigo's reaction she was more worried about if he didn't believe her. She absentmindedly pulled the flannel around her shoulders, biting back a curse as it rubbed against the tender spots again. Dammit, she kept forgetting how sore those were...
Kaien looked towards Ichigo who had just came into the room, but soon turned to face Rukia. He paused, looking at her supiciously as she gave an explanation.
"Right. Sure, you were, Rukia, just who the hell do you think you're talking to,huh? You were planning on leaving, weren't you?"
It was clear, even without him saying anything, that he didn't believe her. Not for a single moment. "You need me to lock you in the godammed bedroom or something?"
Or something along the lines of tieing her to the bed. Anything to keep her from leaving. Making his way through the main room, he cast a brief glance over the pair, before turning and heading toward the kitchen. "Sit down, idiot."
Her face initially went bright red as a previously-silent portion of it chimed in with something snide about all the connotations of locking her in a bedroom. Stammering, she glared at him.
"D..Don't SAY things like that, what will people think?! Dumbass!" Violet eyes narrowed and watched him as he strode through the room with a defiant look. Like hell she'd be treated like an invalid. But, Kaien-dono was here, and she certainly didn't want to make a scene in front of the man she so admired. So she forced a smile and turned to him as she lowered herself onto the couch. "Kaien-dono, thank you for coming. Please have a seat."
Kaien didn't say much as Rukia and Ichigo argued briefly, and as Rukia sat down on the couch, he just sat down beside her, he turned slightly to face her,"You going to tell me what happened to you, or what?"
Rubbing his face tiredly, Ichigo filled the kettle, leaving it on to boil. Making his way back over to the doorway, Ichigo remained on the outskirts at the question from Kaien. He himself had heard enough of the story already to piece it all together, but if she was going to explain it, he might as well compare versions.
Eyes flickered slightly as she registered his movement, feeling his brown eyes boring into her from her peripheral vision. God, the two of them. She'd known they looked alike, but she'd never really stopped to think how much they acted alike. She nodded. "Hai, Kaien-dono." As much as she really didn't want to go into detail, he was her fukutaichou and she certainly wasn't going to refuse when he'd asked.
"Several weeks back, Soifon-taichou approached me with a proposition to train me for Special Forces. Because of my kidou skills, she and Yoruichi believed I would be a perfect candidate to learn Shunko. I spoke with them regarding a method to speed up the training, by which they would force my reiatsu to leak out of the portions of my body that corresponded with the Shunko. Due to the risky nature of the training, I elected not to disclose my whereabouts for fear that there would be opposition." Obviously, 'opposition' referred to Ichigo, Byakuya, and a number of other parties. "I don't remember very much of what happened, but what I do remember is that it was working. And then..something went wrong. I remember pain, pain like I've never felt before and falling to my knees. Then...just blackness. When I regained consciousness, I was so groggy that I could only stay awake for several minutes. Even then, I was in constant pain like I've never dealt with before that."
"Yeah, I remember that...from what you told me when you asked me about it" Kaien nodded, as he listened to her go on, "...so something happened that caused you to go through that, and...then what, or was that all?"
She nodded. "It wasn't their fault." A glance towards Ichigo, who she assumed had already fixed it in his mind that it was. "They told me it would be dangerous, and gave me the chance to turn back. I didn't wish to." Sighing, she grimaced again and finally just gave up on the flannel, letting the shirt slip off of her shoulders. Which only served to make the raw-looking scars that
stretched from the center of her chest, up over her collarbone and up the side of her neck, over her shoulder and down an inch or two past her elbow stand out like a brand.
"The next thing I really remember is waking up when Ichigo was there. He said that Nell had healed me. I was...tired, weak, painful. But not like I had been. Yoruichi told me that the best guess they have is that my reiatsu got out of control and turned on itself. They...had to restart my heart. Three kidou blasts to do it, according to Yoruichi." She didn't mention it, but she knew very well that was where the burns had come from. And though she didn't like the scars, in a way she felt like she didn't deserve to have them removed.
"I'm not blaming them,...it's my fault, I shouldn't have let you do something so dangerous" Kaien shook his head slightly, as he saw the scars on her body as she revealed them by taking off her shirt, he was speechless for a bit as she continued to talk "...restart your heart? Rukia...does that mean you died?"
"I....really don't know. If I was dead, I wouldn't...have a heartbeat now, and I do. But...I don't remember. I just remember...the blackness. Like some sort of beast, clawing at me, trying to drown me. Yoruichi said my heart stopped for 7 minutes, so....I don't know if that qualifies as...dying." She bit her lower lip slightly, feeling both sets of eyes raking over the scars that were as prominent as the sun right now.
"And...yet here I am too" Kaien sighed,"...I dont' know either, Rukia. All I can say I hope you're right about not having died"
"But...you were dead before coming here, Kaien-dono. Yoruichi seemed to...think that they managed to restart my heart in time. That...I won't be trapped here."
"Yeah, but...in this place, I am somehow alive, even though I died, that's what I meant" Kaien turned his gaze away momentarily, before turning to smile slightly at Rukia, "Well, that's good then"
She nodded. "Yeah. I...don't think I'd like to be trapped here.."
"Hmm, yeah I guess so...just don't let something like that happen again" Kaien said, as he looked at Rukia, seriously.
"H..Hai..Kaien-dono..." For all that the two had so many similarities, one key difference was that nothing Ichigo said or did ever seemed to make Rukia meekly submit the way Kaien's words did. Perhaps it was her sense of humility towards a man she had always admired and looked up to, perhaps it was a simple matter of rank and station, or perhaps it was as simple as the fact that she'd killed this man who had meant so much to her. Either way, Rukia quietly acquiesing to the orders of someone else was NOT a sight to forget.
"Good, because I was worried about you, you know..." Kaien relaxed slightly as she agreed, "If anything even worse than this had happened to you..."
She stammered, turning slightly red. "I...I..that is...I..Ichigo wouldn't-I mean, I wouldn't...let anything..."
"Heh, yeah, I know that...but still I was the one who agrees when you wanted to go, then this happened and..." Kaien paused, "Well the important thing is that you're okay now..."
Swallowing back her slight degree of embarassment, she tried to regain her composure with polite conversation."Kaien-dono, are you...adjusting well to the City? You've seen Ukitake-taichou, haven't you?" Despite the simplicity of the questions, it was simply SO long since she'd actually seen the dark-haired man that she just wasn't sure how to proceed.
"Yeah, I'm adjusting just fine" Kaien nodded, "Ukitake-taichou? Yeah, I've seen him, he was worrying quite a bit over you too, you know"
She frowned, staring down at her hands fisted in her lap. She really hadn't meant to worry everyone so much. And she knew that, especially once some of them saw the obvious scar, that they would only worry more."I'm sorry.....Kaien-dono. I didn't mean to deceive you and Ukitake-taichou. But I knew that if I told you the details, you wouldn't allow me to try it."
Kaien reached over and ruffled her hair gently, "It's fine Rukia, I know you wouldn't have done that if you didn't have your reasons, I'm just glad you're okay now"
A brief flicker of a smile and Ichigo turned back into the kitchen as he began pulling out everything he needed to make some tea. It wasn't something he did normally. But hey, what was normal about all of this? A few minutes of digging around and he finally made his way back out to the others, a tray being placed down on the table in front of them. Another uneasy glance toward Kaien, and Ichigo moved round to take a seat on the other sofa.
She nearly dropped her jaw at the sight of Ichigo being...domestic?! There were many things in Kuchiki Rukia's life that had left her speechless, but this one was definitely topping many of them. But...she could expound on it later. For now..."Ichigo, I don't think you've ever met Kaien-dono. Shiba Kaien, Kurosaki Ichigo. Kaien-dono is my fukutaichou, Ichigo."
Kaien looked towards Ichigo who had just sat down across from Rukia and him. Just looking at the other, and how he looked so much like him, he still thought it was strange. He wasn't really sure what to say to the other, but he just nodded his head in acknowledgement towards Ichigo, before finally speaking "Nice to finally meet you, Ichigo"
"No," was his simple response to Rukia. And if he'd had his way, it probably would've stayed that way. Not that he had a problem with Kaien, per say. But more the fact that, since the man had arrived in the City, the amount of times he'd been told about similarities had been something he'd rather not have had proved for himself. "Yeah, I guess."
Violet eyes narrowed at Ichigo in a look that plainly said "don't be rude", before she turned back towards her fukutaichou. "I thought you might like to know, your family is doing well, Kaien-dono."
Kaien smiled, turning to face Rukia, "They have? That's good to hear"
Shrugging his shoulders in response to Rukia's 'look', Ichigo simply sat back once again, turning quiet. He had nothing to say, nothing he wanted to at least. Afterall, Kaien was a complete stranger in his books, and he had no reason to want it any other way.
With something midway between a sigh and a growl, she cast an unhappy glare towards the orange-headed spot of seemingly perpetual bad-mood that sat across from her. With a wide smile, she turned to Kaien and stood up.
"Can you excuse us just a moment, Kaien-dono?" Stalking the two or three steps across to the other couch, she reached out and grabbed a fistful of the material of the front of his shirt, yanked, and practically drug him off of the couch as she turned and headed for the kitchen, out of earshot. Turning to glance over her shoulder, she beamed at Kaien. "We'll be right back, Kaien-dono"
Kaien nodded at Rukia "Sure, not at all. Go ahead."
Glaring back at the shorter shinigami, Ichigo tore himself from her grip at the first possible moment. ...which didn't seem to happen until they'd reached the kitchen. "What the fuck is your problem?!" Okay, so he already knew what she was going to talk about, but that wasn't his problem right then. ...was it?
"What the fuck is my problem?! You're being rude! Can you at least pretend to be polite? Please?" She didn't normally actually say "please" that much when she was fussing at him, but she was tired, and still sore, and she really didn't want to make a scene in front of her superior officer. With a sigh, she ran a hand through black hair, hissing and pulling it back as the overhead motion stretched the tender scars. "Do it for me?"
Scowling in response, Ichigo folded his arms, clearly annoyed by it all. "He's still sitting there, ain't he?" Which was a good enough sign in itself. He hadn't kicked the guy out yet. The same guy who'd agreed to letting her go in the first place. "Go finish whatever the hell you're doing, then go back to bed." He himself wasn't planning on heading back to join them.
She leveled a scowl of her own at him, crossing her arms gingerly over her chest for a moment before deciding that was painful as well and simply letting them relax. "And who are you, my jailer?"
Well, she'd probably been hoping for too much for him to act nicely. Afterall, it was Ichigo. And she knew perfectly well how he was. Especially considering she had woken him up. With a sigh, she stepped forward, resting her forehead against his chest for a moment. "I'm sorry I woke you up." Stepping back, she nodded her head towards the fridge that was behind him, shifting her shoulder slightly. "Can you get me some ice?"
Turning his back to Rukia, Ichigo headed over to pull out the requested ice, ignoring her previous question. It was all curtosy of her brief apology. They were rare in coming, and even rarer in being believed. But this time, he wasn't going to drag it out. "Go back and do whatever you were doing." Turning back with a tray in his hand, he gave a half smile. "I'll bring this out to you, then I'm going back."
With a nod and a faint smile, she turned and headed back over to the couch, sitting back down with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry about that, Kaien-dono. But, like I was saying, your family seems to be doing well. I...thought you might appreciate knowing that. Your brother and sister actually...helped rescue me from my execution, you know."
"It's alright, Rukia. I'm glad my family has been doing well" Kaien nodded, "Ah, right. I remember you mentioning that to me before"
The ice was tipped out into a teatowel, the tray being tossed into the sink as he headed out with the bundle. Crossing the room to stand behind the sofa, the ice pack was held out in front of Rukia in silence, even as he forced himself to keep his glances to Kaien at a minimum.
Having heard him approach, she didn't jump when the bundle of ice suddenly appeared in front of her. Instead, she glanced back over her shoulder at him with a smile and a soft "thank you" as she
reached over with her other arm to take it from him. Biting her lip slightly, she gingerly placed the cool pack against the front of her shoulder, where the scar looked the angriest. Carefully letting out the breath she'd been holding, she forced herself to relax as the ice soothed the stinging burns. With a smile at Kaien, she nodded. "You're right. Though in a way, they were probably more helpful to Ichigo and the others then they were to me. If not for Ganju and Kuukaku, they might not have gotten through the walls into Seireitei."
"Ah, yeah...I guess so, but if it wasn't for them then helping your friends save you, then you wouldn't be alive after that point," Kaien paused, he stretched his arms lazily, "You know...I probably should get going, so you can get some rest, okay?"
Icepack given, Ichigo gave one quick look to the two of them, settling on Rukia for a moment longer, before he made his way back from the sofa. He wasn't going to stick around and listen to the two of them. But neither was he planning to kick their visitor out. So instead, he made his way off toward another room. Namely, back to his bedroom.
Her eyes caught his look for a moment before they flickered back to Kaien with a nod. "All right, Kaien-dono. Thank you so much for stopping by. It..was very kind of you." Watching as Ichigo made his way back to his bedroom, she sighed as the door closed. "I'm sorry. He...can be like that sometime. I hope he didn't offend you, Kaien-dono."
"Yeah, sure thing." Kaien nodded as he stood up, and with Rukia's last comment, he couldn't help but laugh "No, it's perfectly alright. I understand, we did only just meet,after all..."
She nodded as she stood up to walk him to the door. "I know. I hope he'll eventually give you a chance though, Kaien-dono."
"Yeah, maybe, but it's okay," Kaien shrugged, as she opened the door,"I'll see you later then"
With a bow that was impeded only by the icepack held to her shoulder, she smiled at him and nodded. "Thank you, Kaien-dono." As soon as the door closed between her and her vice-captain,
she turned to glance back at the other door. With a sigh, she adjusted the icepack and headed over to it. She could just go into her room like usual, but....she didn't want to. And he HAD told her before that it would be ok if she stayed with him every now and then. And right now, she was
tired, sore, and stiff. And her room was cold. So, without really even pausing, she pushed open the
The door clicked open, causing Ichigo's eyes to crack open briefly, an amused look on his face as he glanced sideways over to Rukia. Instead of saying anything, he simply pulled back the covers as she got in, before dropping them back over her.
She snuggled down under the covers, good arm down, ice pack balanced on her shoulder as she shifted over to lay up against him. With a yawn, she nuzzled her head up under his chin. "Thank you..."
Arm wrapping round her waist, Ichigo closed his eyes once again, settling down to get some more sleep. "...s'alright. Now get some rest."
With a small nod, she closed her eyes as well, the blackness of sleep and the comfort of his embrace chasing away the ache of recently-healed wounds.
Rating; PG
Characters; Kuchiki Rukia, Shiba Kaien and Kurosaki Ichigo
Summary; Rukia tries to sneak out of the apartment only to run into Kaien who came over to see how she was doing, and ends up meeting Ichigo too in the process~
Log;
Footsteps soft against the carpet, she carefully slunk across the livingroom, barely daring to breathe as she passed the half-opened door on the other wall. Listening to the even breathing that issued from it, she contented herself with the knowledge that he was, in fact, asleep. And he didn't look to be waking any time soon. Which meant that she could get the hell OUT of the apartment. Rukia bit her lip slightly as she stepped gingerly around the coffee table, hissing slightly as she pulled an oversized flannel shirt on over the cotton tank top she was wearing. Though healed, the scars from the kidou were still red and tender, hence the tank-top, despite the cold of the weather. But...if she was going to try and sneak out, she'd best at least not freeze to death.
The moment Kaien had heard about Rukia, he headed over to the apartment she was staying in. Despite how she told him she was fine, he didn't believe her. He was the one who agreed to let her go train when she asked for his approval, and if something had happened to her, he had to know. He walked down the hallway, just arriving at the door.
Well, even though the shirt's material was soft, it still chafed. She bit back her scowl and carefully shifted her shoulders to try and get the fabric to rest differently as she reached for the door handle. With a last glance back at the door to Ichigo's room, she sighed and smiled slightly before turning the handle and pulling the door open.
Kaien was just about to knock on the door when suddenly the door opened, seeing Rukia standing in there as if she was just about to leave. "And just where do you think you're going, Rukia?"
That was not what she'd expected to see OR hear. Face paled as she froze, blue-violet eyes traveling up from the black robes in front of her, up and up to the familiar face that was doubly familiar due to it's eerie reflection of the face in the other room. She simply stared for a fraction of a second before shock set in and she stumbled backwards with a
shriek of surprise, arms windmilling as she landed on her rear on the carpet, hissing as the recently-healed on protested it's treatment. "K..K..K..KAIEN-DONO!?! What...what are you..d..doing here!?"
At Rukia's reaction, as she suddenly landed on the ground, it was obvious she surprised to see him there. "...I come all this way to see how you are and that's the kind of greeting I get?" He shook his head, "So were were you planning on going off to?"
He wasn't entirely sure how long he'd been asleep for. All he knew was that one moment, he was putting Rukia to bed. The next, he was groggily sitting up in his own bed, trying to work out what had just happened. Oh, he was still tired, but something had woken him up. And that something had been... "Shit." Forcing himself onto his feet, Ichigo tore the door open, storming out toward Rukia's room. Only... "What the fuck are you doin'?" The girl sprawled on the ground, not to mention the man standing at the door. ...who looked..just...like...him?
Oh shit. If things weren't already bad enough, now she'd gone and woken Ichigo up. And just when Kaien-dono expected an answer as to where she was going. Gears in her head spinning rapidly, she tugged the shreds of her dignity around her and climbed to her feet, dusting herself off. "I wasn't going anywhere, Kaien-dono. I just thought I heard someone.
You startled me, though." Now hopefully, both him AND Ichigo would believe her. Though...it was Ichigo's reaction she was more worried about if he didn't believe her. She absentmindedly pulled the flannel around her shoulders, biting back a curse as it rubbed against the tender spots again. Dammit, she kept forgetting how sore those were...
Kaien looked towards Ichigo who had just came into the room, but soon turned to face Rukia. He paused, looking at her supiciously as she gave an explanation.
"Right. Sure, you were, Rukia, just who the hell do you think you're talking to,huh? You were planning on leaving, weren't you?"
It was clear, even without him saying anything, that he didn't believe her. Not for a single moment. "You need me to lock you in the godammed bedroom or something?"
Or something along the lines of tieing her to the bed. Anything to keep her from leaving. Making his way through the main room, he cast a brief glance over the pair, before turning and heading toward the kitchen. "Sit down, idiot."
Her face initially went bright red as a previously-silent portion of it chimed in with something snide about all the connotations of locking her in a bedroom. Stammering, she glared at him.
"D..Don't SAY things like that, what will people think?! Dumbass!" Violet eyes narrowed and watched him as he strode through the room with a defiant look. Like hell she'd be treated like an invalid. But, Kaien-dono was here, and she certainly didn't want to make a scene in front of the man she so admired. So she forced a smile and turned to him as she lowered herself onto the couch. "Kaien-dono, thank you for coming. Please have a seat."
Kaien didn't say much as Rukia and Ichigo argued briefly, and as Rukia sat down on the couch, he just sat down beside her, he turned slightly to face her,"You going to tell me what happened to you, or what?"
Rubbing his face tiredly, Ichigo filled the kettle, leaving it on to boil. Making his way back over to the doorway, Ichigo remained on the outskirts at the question from Kaien. He himself had heard enough of the story already to piece it all together, but if she was going to explain it, he might as well compare versions.
Eyes flickered slightly as she registered his movement, feeling his brown eyes boring into her from her peripheral vision. God, the two of them. She'd known they looked alike, but she'd never really stopped to think how much they acted alike. She nodded. "Hai, Kaien-dono." As much as she really didn't want to go into detail, he was her fukutaichou and she certainly wasn't going to refuse when he'd asked.
"Several weeks back, Soifon-taichou approached me with a proposition to train me for Special Forces. Because of my kidou skills, she and Yoruichi believed I would be a perfect candidate to learn Shunko. I spoke with them regarding a method to speed up the training, by which they would force my reiatsu to leak out of the portions of my body that corresponded with the Shunko. Due to the risky nature of the training, I elected not to disclose my whereabouts for fear that there would be opposition." Obviously, 'opposition' referred to Ichigo, Byakuya, and a number of other parties. "I don't remember very much of what happened, but what I do remember is that it was working. And then..something went wrong. I remember pain, pain like I've never felt before and falling to my knees. Then...just blackness. When I regained consciousness, I was so groggy that I could only stay awake for several minutes. Even then, I was in constant pain like I've never dealt with before that."
"Yeah, I remember that...from what you told me when you asked me about it" Kaien nodded, as he listened to her go on, "...so something happened that caused you to go through that, and...then what, or was that all?"
She nodded. "It wasn't their fault." A glance towards Ichigo, who she assumed had already fixed it in his mind that it was. "They told me it would be dangerous, and gave me the chance to turn back. I didn't wish to." Sighing, she grimaced again and finally just gave up on the flannel, letting the shirt slip off of her shoulders. Which only served to make the raw-looking scars that
stretched from the center of her chest, up over her collarbone and up the side of her neck, over her shoulder and down an inch or two past her elbow stand out like a brand.
"The next thing I really remember is waking up when Ichigo was there. He said that Nell had healed me. I was...tired, weak, painful. But not like I had been. Yoruichi told me that the best guess they have is that my reiatsu got out of control and turned on itself. They...had to restart my heart. Three kidou blasts to do it, according to Yoruichi." She didn't mention it, but she knew very well that was where the burns had come from. And though she didn't like the scars, in a way she felt like she didn't deserve to have them removed.
"I'm not blaming them,...it's my fault, I shouldn't have let you do something so dangerous" Kaien shook his head slightly, as he saw the scars on her body as she revealed them by taking off her shirt, he was speechless for a bit as she continued to talk "...restart your heart? Rukia...does that mean you died?"
"I....really don't know. If I was dead, I wouldn't...have a heartbeat now, and I do. But...I don't remember. I just remember...the blackness. Like some sort of beast, clawing at me, trying to drown me. Yoruichi said my heart stopped for 7 minutes, so....I don't know if that qualifies as...dying." She bit her lower lip slightly, feeling both sets of eyes raking over the scars that were as prominent as the sun right now.
"And...yet here I am too" Kaien sighed,"...I dont' know either, Rukia. All I can say I hope you're right about not having died"
"But...you were dead before coming here, Kaien-dono. Yoruichi seemed to...think that they managed to restart my heart in time. That...I won't be trapped here."
"Yeah, but...in this place, I am somehow alive, even though I died, that's what I meant" Kaien turned his gaze away momentarily, before turning to smile slightly at Rukia, "Well, that's good then"
She nodded. "Yeah. I...don't think I'd like to be trapped here.."
"Hmm, yeah I guess so...just don't let something like that happen again" Kaien said, as he looked at Rukia, seriously.
"H..Hai..Kaien-dono..." For all that the two had so many similarities, one key difference was that nothing Ichigo said or did ever seemed to make Rukia meekly submit the way Kaien's words did. Perhaps it was her sense of humility towards a man she had always admired and looked up to, perhaps it was a simple matter of rank and station, or perhaps it was as simple as the fact that she'd killed this man who had meant so much to her. Either way, Rukia quietly acquiesing to the orders of someone else was NOT a sight to forget.
"Good, because I was worried about you, you know..." Kaien relaxed slightly as she agreed, "If anything even worse than this had happened to you..."
She stammered, turning slightly red. "I...I..that is...I..Ichigo wouldn't-I mean, I wouldn't...let anything..."
"Heh, yeah, I know that...but still I was the one who agrees when you wanted to go, then this happened and..." Kaien paused, "Well the important thing is that you're okay now..."
Swallowing back her slight degree of embarassment, she tried to regain her composure with polite conversation."Kaien-dono, are you...adjusting well to the City? You've seen Ukitake-taichou, haven't you?" Despite the simplicity of the questions, it was simply SO long since she'd actually seen the dark-haired man that she just wasn't sure how to proceed.
"Yeah, I'm adjusting just fine" Kaien nodded, "Ukitake-taichou? Yeah, I've seen him, he was worrying quite a bit over you too, you know"
She frowned, staring down at her hands fisted in her lap. She really hadn't meant to worry everyone so much. And she knew that, especially once some of them saw the obvious scar, that they would only worry more."I'm sorry.....Kaien-dono. I didn't mean to deceive you and Ukitake-taichou. But I knew that if I told you the details, you wouldn't allow me to try it."
Kaien reached over and ruffled her hair gently, "It's fine Rukia, I know you wouldn't have done that if you didn't have your reasons, I'm just glad you're okay now"
A brief flicker of a smile and Ichigo turned back into the kitchen as he began pulling out everything he needed to make some tea. It wasn't something he did normally. But hey, what was normal about all of this? A few minutes of digging around and he finally made his way back out to the others, a tray being placed down on the table in front of them. Another uneasy glance toward Kaien, and Ichigo moved round to take a seat on the other sofa.
She nearly dropped her jaw at the sight of Ichigo being...domestic?! There were many things in Kuchiki Rukia's life that had left her speechless, but this one was definitely topping many of them. But...she could expound on it later. For now..."Ichigo, I don't think you've ever met Kaien-dono. Shiba Kaien, Kurosaki Ichigo. Kaien-dono is my fukutaichou, Ichigo."
Kaien looked towards Ichigo who had just sat down across from Rukia and him. Just looking at the other, and how he looked so much like him, he still thought it was strange. He wasn't really sure what to say to the other, but he just nodded his head in acknowledgement towards Ichigo, before finally speaking "Nice to finally meet you, Ichigo"
"No," was his simple response to Rukia. And if he'd had his way, it probably would've stayed that way. Not that he had a problem with Kaien, per say. But more the fact that, since the man had arrived in the City, the amount of times he'd been told about similarities had been something he'd rather not have had proved for himself. "Yeah, I guess."
Violet eyes narrowed at Ichigo in a look that plainly said "don't be rude", before she turned back towards her fukutaichou. "I thought you might like to know, your family is doing well, Kaien-dono."
Kaien smiled, turning to face Rukia, "They have? That's good to hear"
Shrugging his shoulders in response to Rukia's 'look', Ichigo simply sat back once again, turning quiet. He had nothing to say, nothing he wanted to at least. Afterall, Kaien was a complete stranger in his books, and he had no reason to want it any other way.
With something midway between a sigh and a growl, she cast an unhappy glare towards the orange-headed spot of seemingly perpetual bad-mood that sat across from her. With a wide smile, she turned to Kaien and stood up.
"Can you excuse us just a moment, Kaien-dono?" Stalking the two or three steps across to the other couch, she reached out and grabbed a fistful of the material of the front of his shirt, yanked, and practically drug him off of the couch as she turned and headed for the kitchen, out of earshot. Turning to glance over her shoulder, she beamed at Kaien. "We'll be right back, Kaien-dono"
Kaien nodded at Rukia "Sure, not at all. Go ahead."
Glaring back at the shorter shinigami, Ichigo tore himself from her grip at the first possible moment. ...which didn't seem to happen until they'd reached the kitchen. "What the fuck is your problem?!" Okay, so he already knew what she was going to talk about, but that wasn't his problem right then. ...was it?
"What the fuck is my problem?! You're being rude! Can you at least pretend to be polite? Please?" She didn't normally actually say "please" that much when she was fussing at him, but she was tired, and still sore, and she really didn't want to make a scene in front of her superior officer. With a sigh, she ran a hand through black hair, hissing and pulling it back as the overhead motion stretched the tender scars. "Do it for me?"
Scowling in response, Ichigo folded his arms, clearly annoyed by it all. "He's still sitting there, ain't he?" Which was a good enough sign in itself. He hadn't kicked the guy out yet. The same guy who'd agreed to letting her go in the first place. "Go finish whatever the hell you're doing, then go back to bed." He himself wasn't planning on heading back to join them.
She leveled a scowl of her own at him, crossing her arms gingerly over her chest for a moment before deciding that was painful as well and simply letting them relax. "And who are you, my jailer?"
Well, she'd probably been hoping for too much for him to act nicely. Afterall, it was Ichigo. And she knew perfectly well how he was. Especially considering she had woken him up. With a sigh, she stepped forward, resting her forehead against his chest for a moment. "I'm sorry I woke you up." Stepping back, she nodded her head towards the fridge that was behind him, shifting her shoulder slightly. "Can you get me some ice?"
Turning his back to Rukia, Ichigo headed over to pull out the requested ice, ignoring her previous question. It was all curtosy of her brief apology. They were rare in coming, and even rarer in being believed. But this time, he wasn't going to drag it out. "Go back and do whatever you were doing." Turning back with a tray in his hand, he gave a half smile. "I'll bring this out to you, then I'm going back."
With a nod and a faint smile, she turned and headed back over to the couch, sitting back down with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry about that, Kaien-dono. But, like I was saying, your family seems to be doing well. I...thought you might appreciate knowing that. Your brother and sister actually...helped rescue me from my execution, you know."
"It's alright, Rukia. I'm glad my family has been doing well" Kaien nodded, "Ah, right. I remember you mentioning that to me before"
The ice was tipped out into a teatowel, the tray being tossed into the sink as he headed out with the bundle. Crossing the room to stand behind the sofa, the ice pack was held out in front of Rukia in silence, even as he forced himself to keep his glances to Kaien at a minimum.
Having heard him approach, she didn't jump when the bundle of ice suddenly appeared in front of her. Instead, she glanced back over her shoulder at him with a smile and a soft "thank you" as she
reached over with her other arm to take it from him. Biting her lip slightly, she gingerly placed the cool pack against the front of her shoulder, where the scar looked the angriest. Carefully letting out the breath she'd been holding, she forced herself to relax as the ice soothed the stinging burns. With a smile at Kaien, she nodded. "You're right. Though in a way, they were probably more helpful to Ichigo and the others then they were to me. If not for Ganju and Kuukaku, they might not have gotten through the walls into Seireitei."
"Ah, yeah...I guess so, but if it wasn't for them then helping your friends save you, then you wouldn't be alive after that point," Kaien paused, he stretched his arms lazily, "You know...I probably should get going, so you can get some rest, okay?"
Icepack given, Ichigo gave one quick look to the two of them, settling on Rukia for a moment longer, before he made his way back from the sofa. He wasn't going to stick around and listen to the two of them. But neither was he planning to kick their visitor out. So instead, he made his way off toward another room. Namely, back to his bedroom.
Her eyes caught his look for a moment before they flickered back to Kaien with a nod. "All right, Kaien-dono. Thank you so much for stopping by. It..was very kind of you." Watching as Ichigo made his way back to his bedroom, she sighed as the door closed. "I'm sorry. He...can be like that sometime. I hope he didn't offend you, Kaien-dono."
"Yeah, sure thing." Kaien nodded as he stood up, and with Rukia's last comment, he couldn't help but laugh "No, it's perfectly alright. I understand, we did only just meet,after all..."
She nodded as she stood up to walk him to the door. "I know. I hope he'll eventually give you a chance though, Kaien-dono."
"Yeah, maybe, but it's okay," Kaien shrugged, as she opened the door,"I'll see you later then"
With a bow that was impeded only by the icepack held to her shoulder, she smiled at him and nodded. "Thank you, Kaien-dono." As soon as the door closed between her and her vice-captain,
she turned to glance back at the other door. With a sigh, she adjusted the icepack and headed over to it. She could just go into her room like usual, but....she didn't want to. And he HAD told her before that it would be ok if she stayed with him every now and then. And right now, she was
tired, sore, and stiff. And her room was cold. So, without really even pausing, she pushed open the
The door clicked open, causing Ichigo's eyes to crack open briefly, an amused look on his face as he glanced sideways over to Rukia. Instead of saying anything, he simply pulled back the covers as she got in, before dropping them back over her.
She snuggled down under the covers, good arm down, ice pack balanced on her shoulder as she shifted over to lay up against him. With a yawn, she nuzzled her head up under his chin. "Thank you..."
Arm wrapping round her waist, Ichigo closed his eyes once again, settling down to get some more sleep. "...s'alright. Now get some rest."
With a small nod, she closed her eyes as well, the blackness of sleep and the comfort of his embrace chasing away the ache of recently-healed wounds.