Disclaimer: I do not use big words and I do not own Bleach. Also, I do not have beta reader.
"What the hell, Kurosaki!" Ishida yells from behind his desk when he sees Ichigo's face. The swelling has gone thanks to the meat in the freezer but the bruise is still very noticeable. Ichigo rolls his eyes. Just as he had expected, Ishida is flipping out. His manager is so predictable.
"I know. I am sorry. Can we cancel the photo shoot? I don't think they'll be too eager when they see my purple face," Ichigo said as he sits down on one of the two seats in front of Ishida's desk.
"But what happened?" asks Ishida, his concerns for Ichigo is obvious. He too sits again before adjusting his glass. A habit of his. "You got robbed or something?"
Ichigo shakes his head. "Was trying to be a hero"
Ishida tilts his head curiously. "Saving who?"
"A girl. She was cornered by three guys. Ended up she beats the crap out of them"
Ishida's eyebrow raises a little. "I thought you were the one saving her?"
"Like I said, I tried," Ichigo scowls at Ishida. Remembering the fact that he actually wasn't of any help is pissing him off. Ishida knew Ichigo enough to see that this girl is bothering his friend.
"Is the girl OK?"
"I think so. She left after she beat them to pulp."
"You just let her walk away?"
Ichigo scowls again remembering how rude the girl was. "She's a bitch."
"Whoa… where is that comes from?" Ishida ask, adjusting his glass at the same time.
So Ichigo recalls the whole story again for Ishida's sake omitting the fact that he thinks she's pretty and all that.
"That girl got spunk," comments Ishida after Ichigo finished his story.
"That girl got something up her ass. That's what she got," grumbles Ichigo.
Ishida smiled. It is not everyday you can see the calm and collected Ichigo got worked up by something as trivial as this. Ishida and Ichigo had known each other for more than five years now and he considered himself not only as his manager, but as his friend too. Ichigo, being well known as he is, never really has a close friend. His grumpy personality definitely does not fit too well with other people. The fact that he is always scowling doesn't help the matter either.
When he first met Ichigo, it was on the street. The orange haired boy was making deliveries, trying to make ends meet and he was on the other side of the street. One look at him Ishida knows that this guy has potential and his instinct has never failed him. He had chased Ichigo and he was mistaken as a pervert at first. Miraculously Ishida managed to convince Ichigo to take up modeling as a career and since then Ishida has turned Ichigo into a house hold name. He's the face of Hugo, his face is plastered everywhere in ads and billboards and he is booked for all the fashion campaigns that mattered. Yes, Ichigo has gone a long way from being a delivery boy.
Ishida never really asked about Ichigo's personal matters. He knows very little about Ichigo's family having met them only twice in five years. Ishida suspects that something bad must have happened in his family but he is not going to ask him about it. Ishida respects Ichigo’s privacy and knows Ichigo likes it that way.
"So... the photo shoot is cancelled eh?" Ichigo's question brought Ishida back from his reverie.
"Hold on," Ishida grabs the phone and punches in some numbers. After a few seconds he hears an answer from the other end. "Hai Eileen, Uryuu Ishida here. About the photo shoot, Kurosaki can't make it today... Yeah he got his face pummeled yesterday... He's OK. He'll live... OK I'll make sure to tell him that... Yes I understand. Sorry again... OK... I'll have Grimmjow over... Yes... OK. Appreciate the help Eileen. I owe you one." Ishida looks at Ichigo who has raised an eyebrow, questioning him.
"Grimmjow?"
"Yeah Grimmjow. Who else is there that is good enough to replace you?" Ishida adjust his glass again.
"Fuck Ishida. You know I don't like him to-"
"I know but in this matter, it's not up to you to decide." Ichigo scowls even more after hearing this. Grimmjow is a senior model at the agency and Ichigo does not like him ever since he laid his eye on the blue haired guy. The feeling, (un?)fortunately, is mutual. Grimmjow naturally will hate the guy who was immediately put on a golden throne at the agency, the throne that was previously belongs to him.
"Whatever."
"Yeah whatever"
Awkward silence.
"Listen, Kurosaki. Eileen says they want you to go to the clinic and have your face checkup."
"What?!"
"I know it is stupid but she wants evidence to say that you were really beaten up yesterday. The people from the ads demanded it. You're lucky that they are not picky or I could have been in serious trouble," Ishida explained. Before Ichigo could response, his phone rings.
"Yeah, what do you want?" answered Ichigo in his annoyed tone because on the other end of the line is his father. Ichigo listens for a few second. "Again? Geez Karin... Alright... I'll go," he hangs up the phone. Ishida looks at him curiously.
“Karin broke her leg again while playing football," explains Ichigo. Karin and Yuzu are his twin sisters and Karin, who is the tougher one between the two, always got herself injured one way or the other. If it's not football, then it's fighting. Ichigo sighs. "I guess I'll go for the checkup after all."
Ishida stands up when Ichigo decides to leave his office. Ichigo raises an eyebrow questioningly.
"I'll go too," Ishida said and grabs his coat from the back of his chair. Ichigo shrugs and walks out of the office with both his hands in his pockets. Ishida follows closely behind.
"By the way Kurosaki, did you get that girl's name?"
"Yeah"
"What is it?"
"Bitch"
--
Rukia is sitting on a chair looking out the windows. The only bed in the ward is occupied by a man with jet black hair.
She had called the police right after she managed to get away last night. She had waited by the corner for the police to arrived knowing the orange haired guy was looking over his shoulders when she walked away from the scene. She wasn't comfortable with him showing concerns for her.
She yawns. Her body still hurts from the fight she had yesterday and she needs sleep. "Damn those bastards," Rukia swore under her breath.
She looks at the man who has been lying there in a coma for the past three years.
"One of them grabbed me from behind. Curse me for not noticing his footsteps," she said, still not able to put the blame on anyone else but herself for being too careless. "Then the other guy came out from behind the building and knocked my head with something hard. Of course I passed out then. I woke up just before they... you know... rip my clothes off..." she shudders when she remember the scene where her attackers were upon her. One of them already got her shirt off. Her hand automatically traces the bump on her head.
"I do the next logical thing of course," she smiles satisfactorily when she remembers the feeling of her knee connecting to the groin of her attacker which sent the bastard kneeling on the floor beside her. But of course she then received a punch on the face from the second jackass who had replaced the first bastard and was now on top of her. For a second she can see stars but only for a second. She took the opening that was given to her to do the Jodan Shotei Uchi. Tucking her thumb in and the wrist area tight, she thrust the palm towards the bastard. This sent the bastard backwards and off of her.
"This is where the good part started," she is recalling yesterday's incident to the man. The smile of satisfaction is now spreading across her face. "When he was off of me, I stood up and swore that these sons of bitches will pay for the torn shirt. But a torn shirt is better than walking around with only your bra in the middle of the night, right? So I grabbed the torn shirt from the bastard and buttoned it up. During all this, the third bastard just stood there, looking aghast. Can you believe it? I bet he wet his pant yesterday."
Rukia chuckles and then she stops, looking intently at the man as if listening to what he's saying. "I know what you think... you think I should have taken the opportunity and run away ..." she shifts her gaze towards the windows once again.
"Yeah, right... Kuchiki never runs away," she sighs.
Rukia had waited for the two bastards to stand up and faced her. She had been readying herself for the first attack, making sure her left leg leading her stand and her left arm at an angle of 45 degrees to her body. When they finally rounded her, she didn't waste any time to attack the first bastard. She jabbed punch her left arm and followed it up with a reverse punch with her stronger right hand. The bastard doubled over and produced a scream between his gritted teeth (This was the first muffled scream Ichigo heard). Without leaving any chance for the other bastards to attacked her, she did the Kizami Zuki to the second bastard as well. This time she shouted as she attacked and the second bastard produced similar sound as his friend (This was the second muffled scream Ichigo heard).
"And then he had to show up and make a fool of himself," she rolls her eyes, allowing herself to think about the guy with that orange hair again.
Yeah I can see his outrageous hair color even in the dark.
If Rukia is being honest with herself, she knows that she wasn't that angry at the orange haired guy. If anything she felt quite pleased that there are still heroes in this modern cruel world. The only reason she felt anger rising up in her last night was because she didn't want anyone else to get injured because of her. She does not need any defending. She can take care of herself. She won't be able to forgive herself should anything happened to him. And God knows she was right. The guy was a pansy-good-for-nothing in such situation and only made matter worst.
The smile has vanished from her face. Again she looks at the man lying there on the bed besides her. In her head, she imagined him giving her a quizzical look. "Don't ask me who the freak of nature was. Must be some moron who thinks he can play hero for a day..."
The pager buzzing in her pocket made her looks at her wrist watch. She has been in here for almost an hour. Time always flies when she's with him.
"Looks like I have to continue my story another time, mister." She gets up, bends and kisses the man's forehead.
"I am sorry..." these three words is her good bye for the man. She must have said it countless time but still it feels like it would never be enough.
Rukia walks to the door. She caught her reflection in the mirror and touches her right cheek lightly and winces. The purple is there not for decoration only.
For any other girl, the experience of nearly getting rape by a bunch of drunkards might be traumatizing but for Rukia, it was all in a day's work. She was shaken a bit when she woke up from the initial blow to the head but then, like always, she begin to take control of the situations. Knowing this, she just dealt with the problems and gets it over with. Her colleagues had been asking about the bruise but she just shrugged it away. Kuchiki Rukia is a tough nut to crack.
--
Karin is lying on the bed with her right leg plastered. Yuzu, being useful as always, is cutting the fruits for Karin. Ichigo is telling the story of the incident yesterday to his family since they had been pestering him about the bruise on his cheek. Right after Ichigo concluded his story, a small woman wearing the doctor's robe comes knocking on the door but the knocks stop short.
Rukia is standing at the door looking at Ichigo.
Ichigo is in the room staring wide eyed at Rukia.
"You!" they both exclaimed.
Ishida, Isshin, Karin and Yuzu look from Ichigo to the small doctor back to Ichigo again.
"What are you doing here?!" they asked each other the same question, at the same time, almost in unison.
"She's my patient," Rukia answered while pointing at Karin.
"She's my sister," Ichigo replied also pointing at Karin.
Silence.
Ichigo couldn't believe his eyes when the small girl from the night before appeared. He instantly recognizes her when he saw the violets. Not to mention the purple cheek on her face. A clear evidence of what had happened yesterday is not a dream. It was as real as she is now, standing at the door glaring at him.
Rukia stopped on her track when she saw the orange haired man from yesterday. The nurse who was following at her heels almost stumbled upon her. Oh yes, Rukia recognizes that hair miles away on any given day. The purple cheek on his face convinced her that she is not jumping into any conclusions either.
"You both know each other?" Isshin asked to break the awkward silence.
"No!" Rukia said.
"Yes!" Ichigo answered.
"So which one is it?" asks Ishida, confused.
"She's the bitch that I was telling you all about."
"What?!" exclaimed all the other persons in that room including Rukia. Then all eyes were on Ichigo demanding further explanation. Rukia could not believe her ears.
Did he just call me bitch?
Smirking, Ichigo looks at Rukia with a smirk on his face. "You heard me.”
"Urgh whatever. It wasn't my fault you are a pansy." Rukia who knows better than to satisfy this asshole decides to ignores him completely. She is not dumb to mix her personal life with work. And right now she has her duty to think about. She is not even sure why on earth this asshole is angry at her when all she did was saving his life yesterday.
Rukia takes a deep breath and musters all the patience that she had in her (which are not much) to try to stay calm and professional. The nurse hands Karin's chart to her timidly and she checks on Karin pretending nothing happened. She even smiles while explaining Karin situation to Isshin. Karin, according to her medical condition, can be discharged tomorrow morning if there are no any other complications occur.
This act of ignorance of course only makes Ichigo exasperated. He is not prepared to be ignored. He does not really know why the anger he felt yesterday resurface when he saw her.
Just admit it idiot. You were owned by a midget and that pisses you off. And because she just called you a pansy in front of everybody!
"I am not!" Ichigo blurts out.
Isshin who is still discussing with Rukia turns to his son and tilts his head in confusion. Isshida adjusts his glasses. Karin and Yuzu both look at Ichigo as if their brother has finally lost his mind. The nurse cowers behind Rukia.
Rukia raises her eyebrow. "What?"
"Pansy," Ichigo said glaring at Rukia.
"Yes, I believe we all have established the fact that you are one."
"Fuck you. I AM NOT A PANSY!"
Rukia looks at her watch. "Took a while for you to try and convinced yourself that you're not eh?" Rukia mocks him. Ishida and the nurse try hard to conceal their laughter. Isshin and Karin shake their heads in sympathy while Yuzu is as clueless as always.
Rukia's mock turns to chuckles and chuckles turn to cackles. Ishida, the nurse and even his father do not bother to conceal their laughter anymore.
Ichigo looks at the small girl in front of him. He has been humiliated by this midget in front of everyone. He is sure that his father is going to remind him of this forever and Ishida will use this against him someday. But for some unexplainable reason, listening to her laughter makes his anger dissipates just like when he saw her eyes for the first time yesterday. He notices that when she laughs, the sadness in her eyes vanishes. If he thinks those eyes are beautiful before, without the sadness clouding them, they are like a pool of moon's light, absolutely breathtaking. For a moment the scowl on his face disappear but no one in the room notice it. They are too busy laughing at him.
"Well?" Rukia asked Ichigo when the laughter has subsided. She had ordered the nurse to leave first. Rukia still has an unfinished business here.
"Well what?"
"What were you so mad about?"
Ichigo snaps his mouth shut. He does not know how to answer that question. He sure as hell would not want this girl to find out the real reason why he was so pissed off with her. He got his reputation he needs to consider -
"Because he cannot accept the fact that you ended up saving his life yesterday," Ishida answered on Ichigo behalf. His hand adjusts the glasses on his nose. Ichigo shot a look at Ishida and if look could kill, Ishida would have been dead by now.
"The bitch wasn't. I was -"
Rukia smirks and extends her hand which makes Ichigo stops in mid sentence.
Ichigo looks at her hand bewilderedly.
"It's not bitch. It's Rukia" she says. Her hand still extends towards Ichigo.
Isshin comes forward and smacks Ichigo's head. Hard.
"What the hell, old man?" yelps Ichigo holding his head on his hand. He can already feel a bump where his old man's knuckle connected with his skull.
Ishida shakes his head. For someone who is always smooth with the ladies, Ichigo sure does not act like one today and Ishida muses at how this small lady in front of him can have such a big impact on Ichigo. "The lady is introducing herself you moron."
"Oh... well yeah," now Ichigo feels like he wants to smack himself for acting so uncool.
Calms down you idiot.
He catches Rukia’s extended hand and shakes it once. He notices how small her hand is and how it fits perfectly with his own hand. "Ichigo."
Ichigo waits for the jeering to come from the midget's sharp tongue. Almost anyone would make fun of his name when he introduced himself. That is the reason why Ishida had insisted to use Kurosaki as his commercial name instead of Ichigo.
"The one who protects," says Rukia looking at Ichigo. She has to look up to see his face. Her full height is only up to Ichigo's chest.
Ichigo gulps. This midget is so full of surprises. For the first time in his life, someone knows the meaning of his name without the need for him to correct them. But come to think of it, she acts like she does not recognize him at all, which is unlikely. His face after all has been plastered on almost every billboard in this town and on every magazine there is.
"But you probably know me by the name of Kurosaki," Ichigo said try to jog her memory.
"Nope. Doesn't ring a bell." Rukia shakes her head. Ichigo sweat drop. He can hear Ishida and Isshin snickering behind him.
"I love to hang around but I still need to finish my round," Rukia said addressing all the people in the room. "Nice to meet all of you," she bows to excuse herself before she walks out of the room, leaving Ichigo dumbfounded and the rest of the family (including Ishida) in awe.
This has become like a bad habit: meet midget, turn into a moron.
Fuck I forgot what her name is!
Ichigo turns to Ishida. Ishida noticing his friend's panic face smirks before he put his hand around Ichigo's shoulder. Ichigo is always bad with names. "It's Rukia," he pecks Ichigo's cheek with his lips.
"Fuck you Ishida!" Ichigo pushes the laughing Ishida away. Isshin and his sisters do not need invitations to join in the happy hour.
Ichigo scowls as he wipes his cheek with his hand feeling disgusted. "Let's go for the checkup."
Without waiting for Ishida, Ichigo walks out of the room and as if his eyes work on auto mode, they immediately search for the small girl, with raven black hair and eyes to die for.
Rukia... I wonder what's her surname is.
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