Standard disclaimer applies

Looks around Hello? Is there anyone there? Oh Hi!! Yup, another chapter to this story! I know, I know, It took me a while to get back but you know how it is. Real life and what not. Anyways, hopefully we'll see more development and more IchiRuki fluff!! Enjoy

Chapter 12: Aftermath

“Dammit”

Renji gripped his drumsticks tightly in between his fingers, summoning all the little patience he had so the damn sticks wouldn’t break in half in his hands. He let out an exasperated sigh and looked around the rehearsal room. Shuuhei was playing some notes on his guitar absentmindedly while Ikkaku tuned up his. Uryuu was going over some notes and would erase a note once in a while, pushing up his glasses along the bridge of his nose.

The red head then turned to the front of the room, where the microphone stood, alone. He sighed again. When had things gotten so complicated?

Well, he knew the answer to that question. He knew when, how, where and why. It scared him to think about it because, if things continued to go the way the were, then the future for The Shinigami was looking very grim

“This is bullshit!”- Shuuhei suddenly exclaimed, ripping an angry note from his guitar. The loud noise made everyone in the room turn to him

“What’s your problem doodle-face”-Ikkaku deadpanned, now playing on his own guitar. Said doodle face frowned

“What do you mean ‘what’s my problem’? It’s our problem. We should be rehearsing right now for the festival, not sitting around doing nothing”

“How do you expect to rehearse if our lead singer isn’t here?” Uryu asked calmly, looking at Shuuhei over his glasses.

“I don’t know, but we should do something. Can’t you talk to her dad Renji?”

“Are you fucking loosing your mind? Did all the ink get to your brain cells or something? The man hates me! He thinks it’s all my fault-that I’m the one who put all of this into her head” Renji replied, running his fingers through his hair. He blew out some air before sitting up again

“Listen guys, I know right now it seems like there’s no hope, but we must have faith in Rukia. She just confronted the scariest man in the whole world who also happens to be her father. We just need to give her some time”

“That’s cool and all man I mean, you know we’re all standing by her but” Ikkaku stopped strumming his guitar to look at Renji “can we have faith that she’s going to be ready for this Saturday?”

The guys all turned to look at the red head, waiting for his answer. No, Renji didn’t know if Rukia would be ready for the festival. Normally, when they were preparing for an event, she would be rehearsing everyday, but she hasn’t even stepped into the rehearsing room ever since that day. It didn’t matter though-he would drag her in there if he had to

“Yeah, she’ll be ready”

--

Ichigo didn’t bother stifling a huge yawn that came to him as he sat next to his window in the classroom. The warm breeze was making him drowsy and he was drained from trying to come up with clever little articles for the paper. Senna was constantly on him for new information and he was up to his head with news paper clips, books and homework.

However, none of those things were bothering him at the moment as much as the empty seat next to him. He glanced at the empty desk and settled his eyes there, wondering where she could be. In the last couple of days, Rukia had been a bounding hurricane. She would never stay in the same room for more than 10 minutes except for classes, and even then some teachers would pull her out of class for some thing or another. He couldn’t remember the last time she had lunch with the group or go to the doujo. And when was the last time she had gone to rehearsal? Wasn’t the festival this Saturday?

The bell rang for lunch time and Ichigo slouched his way out, stifling another yawn. Just when he was about to turn a corner, he caught a glimpse of a bun pacing up and down a hall. The nurse’s hall.

“No, no, I don’t think so. No mom please, you don’t have to really, I’ll just tell Renji to take her home. Yes she’s fine; you know how she hates when people make a fuss about her. Ok…ok bye” with a deep sigh, Ichigo saw Momo close her cell phone with a snap and turn on her hells…to crash into his chest with a squeak

“Oh sorry Momo”

“Ichigo-kun! What…what are you doing here?” she asked nervously, her eyes darting from his face to the door behind him

“I saw you here and I was wondering if everything was alright”

“Oh! That’s nice of you. Yes, yes I’m fine, everything’s fine” she nodded enthusiastically, causing Ichigo to scowl

“Where’s Rukia?” he asked suddenly. He saw the youngest of the Kuchiki’s eyes widen and her lips part slightly.

“Uhhh…Rukia-nee? Oh she’s…She’s…”

“She’s in there isn’t she?” he asked, pointing to the door behind him. Momo lowered her head in defeat, nodding gently. He was about to turn to the nurse’s office when Momo’s hand encircled his arm, causing him to stop.

“Ichigo-kun, please. Don’t” He turned to glare at her but saw the girls eyes lowered, worry etched on her delicate face. He turned towards her and placed his hands on her shoulder

“Momo, what’s going on with Rukia? Why hasn’t she been around lately? I know she hasn’t been to rehearsals either. What is it?” Before raising her eyes to meet his, Momo sighed gently.

“Listen, I wish I could tell you but, it’s not my place. I already made that mistake once before. What Rukia is going through, only she can tell you. Ichigo-kun, can I ask you for a favor?” she asked suddenly, causing the orange-head to raise his eyebrows. He nodded

“Could you please…take care of Rukia-nee?”

His eyebrows stayed raised as he looked down at her in silence. There was no hesitation in her eyes. She was serious and he understood. It was just as all of Rukia’s friends had said. His brows returned to their usual scowl and he grinned slightly

“You don’t have to ask” he said. Momo smiled

“Thank you”

--

The doujo was as busy and noisy as usual. Apparently Ukitake-sensei was feeling healthy, so he decided to give the lessons himself. The guys were all showing off their skills while the girls waited for their turns.

“Ahh Kurosaki-san! So glad you decided to join us!” The white-haired teacher greeted happily at a panting Ichigo, who was so out of breath that all he could do was raise his hand as he bended over, trying to catch his breath.

“Ok guys, let’s take a little break. Be back in 20” Ukitake-sensei announced, stepping out if the room. The guys relaxed, walking up to Ichigo.

“Yo man, where you in a marathon or something?” Renji asked, his sword resting over his shoulder. Ichigo stood up straight, taking in one last deep breath

“I ran from school. I was doing something for the paper”

“Aha. Get ready then, ‘cause Ukitake-sensei is gonna teach us some awesome advanced shit” the red head said excitedly, swing his sword around expertly. Ichigo snorted and walked into the dressing room, finding it empty.

He was suddenly distracted by the soft humming of a guitar that was coming from upstairs. Ichigo frowned, looking at the ceiling, trying to figure out who it was. It couldn’t be any of the guys, since they were all out there, and as far as he knew none of the girls knew how to play an instrument.

Except for Rukia

He walked out of the room, going towards the stairs. It couldn’t be her right? She hadn’t been in the doujo all this time, so why would she suddenly come here?

Ichigo reached the landing where the rehearsal room was, and found the door slightly open. The slow and soft sounds of the guitar were drifting out of the room and only then did Ichigo hear a low and melodious voice accompany the music. He slowly stepped into the room, and stood a few feet behind the raven haired girl that was sitting before an open window, her upper body hunched over an acoustic guitar

I lose my way

And it's not too long before you point it out

I cannot cry

Because I know that's weakness in your eyes

I'm forced to fake, a smile, a laugh

Every day of my life

My heart can't possibly break

When it wasn't even whole to start with

He noticed her voice was a little cracked and there was a small sob in between lines. Her fingers were just numbly stroking the strings as she sang, low and weak. Ichigo was resisting the urge to crouch next to her and just…just…

Because of you

I never stray too far from the sidewalk

Because of you

I learned to play on the safe side

So I don't get hurt

Because of you

I tried my hardest just to forget everything

Because of you

I don't know how to let anyone else in

Because of you

I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty

Because of you

I am afraid

Because of you

Because of you

She ended the note with a ragged sigh, setting the guitar down and sitting straight. She took one deep breath and stood up, her fingers lightly skimming the skin of her cheeks.

She turned to find a pair of ochre eyes boring into her violet ones, causing them to widen in surprise

“Ichi…Kurosaki” she muttered, biting her tongue at the sense of familiarity she felt around him. She noticed his eyebrows furrow and his lip pursue into a thin line

“Rukia” He said, his voice firm. He didn’t want to stay in that circle they were in. He needed to move forward, and the mention of her name meant just that. He saw her take in a deep breath and bristle under his intense scrutiny.

“What are you doing here?” she asked softly. He softened his features

“I heard the music from downstairs so I came up here to check. Where have you been?” he asked suddenly

“I’ve been busy”

“Bullshit” Ichigo muttered, cutting Rukia off. It was her eyebrows now that were furrowed as she scowled at the orange head before her

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t give me that Rukia. You’ve been distant all this time and don’t tell me it’s school because you’re always busy with school but that never stops you from having lunch with your friends” Ichigo replied, his eyes hard on hers. He was going to make her talk, no matter what it took

“Don’t assume you know me Kurosaki, you have no idea what I’ve been through” she hissed, taking a few steps forward

“Stop it with the Kurosaki, its Ichigo and no, I don’t know what you’re going through so why don’t you just tell me!”

“Why? Why would you even care? It’s none of your business so I would appreciate it if you would just stay out of it” Rukia made to storm out of the room, passing right next to him. She gasped when her wrist was suddenly held and she was spun around, her eyes meeting once again with his fiery ochre’s. His hand holding her wrist was the only thing between them

“I know you were at the nurse’s office yesterday” he whispered suddenly. Her angry face crumbled and her eyes softened. Her hand went limp in his. She just couldn’t understand. Why was he so interested? And why was she so willing to comply?

“Why were you there? Talk to me Rukia” he added after her silence. He was still scowling but his lips weren’t strained anymore. He was looking at her almost pleadingly.

“I…was sick”

“Obviously” he said, his grip tightening a little around her wrist. She lowered her eyes to stare at their feet.

“I…had an asthma attack” she muttered. He looked at her curiously

“You have asthma?”

“Yes, ok, I have asthma” she replied defensively looking up at him, to find a playful grin on his face

“What?” she asked

“Nothing it’s just…I thought it was something else”

“Something else?”

“Yeah I mean, you don’t seem like someone who would have asthma that’s all”

“Right, because you have me all figured out right?” she said in a low voice, still looking at him. He smiled

“I’m getting there”

They both smiled and scoffed lightly at each other. Their eyes were still locked with each other and only then did they realize how close they were to each other. Ichigo’s hand was no longer gripping Rukia’s wrist, but holding her hand gently in the air. Rukia’s breathing was slightly hitched and Ichigo couldn’t tear his eyes away from her lips. They both took a deep breath and in a second were ten feet away from each other, their fingers running through their hair nervously

Was I about to?...

Was he going to?...

“Rehearsal” Ichigo suddenly exclaimed, turning to look at the raven haired girl. She frowned

“What?”

“The festival is this Saturday, so you should be rehearsing” his hopeful face fell once he saw her violet eyes lower themselves

“Oh yeah, the rehearsal” she muttered. Ichigo took a step closer to her

“Rukia?”

“You’re right! We should get the rehearsal going. I’ll go get the guys” she exclaimed, heading for the door. Before she left, she stopped and turned back to look at Ichigo, a small smile on her face

“Thank you…Ichigo”

Ichigo watched as Rukia left the room. She finally said his name. Grinning with self satisfaction, he headed downstairs to get ready for the doujo. He found Renji in the dressing room changing out if his uniform. Once the red head spotted him, he pounced on Ichigo and trapped him in a bear hug

“Renji what the hell?!”

“It was you wasn’t it? You were the one that convinced Rukia to rehears right?” Ichigo couldn’t help the grin on his face, although he was blushing slightly. Renji patted him in the back effusively

“Ah man that’s great! I can’t believe it. And I thought she had been serious about before, but if she’s doing the festival, then maybe she didn’t change her mind”

“What are you talking about?”Ichigo asked, the grin slowly fading from his face. Renji looked at him, realizing that the orange-head before him was lost

“She didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“Rukia told me that, after the festival, she was giving up the whole band thing. She said she was going to Todai and study laws”

Ichigo stood there, remember the look in Rukia’s face when he mentioned the festival, and the determination in her face when she said they had to rehears. He scowled

Ichigo really didn’t have Rukia all figured out.

Oh noes!! Is Rukia really quiting her singing? Will the Shinigami be no more? And what about that little moment they had there huh? wink wink

I want to take the time and thank everyone who has reviewed and has stayed with me with this story. You guys are awesome and I promise I wont delay this story so much!! Thank you