Pride (IchiRuki Fanfiction) 💗

Part 5

Before he got a chance to say anything, Rukia vanished into the thin air. He started to regret every single word he said. He shouldn't have done that. He acted like a complete jerk, not caring about hurting her feelings. She missed the entire school day. He waited for school to finish so he could go home and check if Rukia's there. But she wasn't. He opened the closet, expecting her tiny body to be wrapped up with the blankets and pillows, but none of her stuff were there.
She's gone. No way. Where could she go? Back to Soul Society!? No way!
He went outside and transformed into his gigai. He quickly teleported to Urahara's shop, expecting to find some information about her there.
"Ichigo! What a surprise, come in! I wasn't expecting to see you here, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Urahara said.
"Kisuke, I did something terrible."  Ichigo admitted.
"What? What happened, my friend?"  Urahara asked.
"Rukia and I got into a fight. I said some really cruel stuff which I didn't mean, made her cry and now she's gone. All of her stuff is gone from my closet. Do you think she's gone to Soul Society?"  Ichigo asked.
"Rukia? Hmm, I don't know, I am not sure. I think I have heard that the portal was facing some issues lately."  Urahara added.
"I really need to find her and apologize. I don't know what has gotten into me."  Ichigo was persistent, not giving up.
"Why did you two get into a fight anyway?"  Urahara asked, confused.
"Well, she was happy about this Kaien guy coming to visit her and I completely ruined it for her by saying she secretely likes him and apparently he's married to some girl in Soul Society. That didn't stop me, so I literally called her immoral and said that her behaviour is questionable. She would usually scream at me and kick me, but this time she cried. I couldn't get in touch with her ever since. Do you have any idea where could she go to?" Ichigo finished, sighing.
"Dear Lord, Ichigo! She's a girl! I know that Rukia acts all tough and strong sometimes, but deep down, she is just a girl with a big heart. You have to learn to be more careful with women, they're sensitive!"  Urahara hit him in the head.
"Ouch, I know. But I got so annoyed for some reason. I don't know why did I do it, even if you ask me!"  He said.
"Think about it Ichigo. You are smart, it won't take you too long to figure it out."  Urahara said.
"What do you mean Kisuke?" Ichigo asked him.
" Oh come on, don't give me that! You know exactly what I mean. My advice is not be so proud and to man up." Urahara told him.
"How about you rephrase that for me Kisuke? How on Earth am I being proud and why do I need to man up?" He asked.
"Everyone around you two can see it, except from you two. But fine, so be it then. Don't worry. Time will make everything fall into it's place. As for Rukia, she will forgive you once you apologize to her. She can't stay angry with you for too long. Just show her that you are truly sorry about what you said and tell her that you didn't mean that. I know for a fact that she didn't leave the human world because the portal's gate door has been messed up lately. People from Soul Society can come to the human world but they can't go back properly because there's been some sort of broken balance between nature's forces. Kaien probably won't be allowed to leave Soul Society until that's investigated, so I reckon he won't be seeing Rukia tonight. She must be in the human world. Just look for her in the town."  Urahara gave him his advice.
"You think so?"  Ichigo asked him.
"Yeah, I am pretty sure she must be around here somewhere. And don't worry, you two will work everything out in the end. Now go and find her. Fix that." He encouraged him.
"Thanks Kisuke. I'm off to find her then." He said and vanished into thin air. After a lot of time, he managed to search the whole town yet he didn't feel her presence anywhere. It was as if her Spiritual Pressure completely disappeared. It was as if she wasn't here. He ran through the town and stopped by the lake when he felt something. He closed his eyes to make sure he didn't just imagine it. He knew that he didn't. There was this blue string of Spritual Pressure by the lake. This familiar presence. It has to be her.
He walked until he noticed a petite figure lying in the grass by the lake. He quickly rushed over to her.
"Rukia!"
"Ichigo?"
"Rukia. What are you doing here? Where did you take all of your stuff so suddenly? I came back home and your stuff was gone."
"I went to Orihime's. I...I will be spending some time at Orihime's place from now on."
"Rukia, you don't have to do this. I am sorry for everything. I was a real jerk for saying all those mean things, I never meant them."
"You were angry and it was quite scary to be honest."
"I never wanted to make you cry, I swear on my life. It was never my intention to hurt you, but I did anyway, and I'm sorry. Please forgive me."
"Ichigo...How much faith can I put in those words of yours? One minute you are angry with me and then the next one you're sweet to me...What's going on?"
"I don't know...I got really annoyed that you were happy because of some guy coming down to pay a visit to you."
"Why would you get so angry though? I barely recognized you out there. You weren't yourself."
"I don't know Rukia...I am sorry...I was never supposed to say what I said today. How can I fix this?"
"Tell me why."
"What do you mean?"
"Tell me what made you get so upset you screamed at me because of Kaien."
"I am not sure."
"Do you not like him? Have you met him before?"
"No, I guess I just had one of my moments...I must have been moody. I am sorry."
"Okay. I forgive you. By the way, Kaien is not visiting me today. Portal doesn't work well these days so he can't come and see me."
"That's a shame. You were really excited to see him."
"Yeah, I was. But nevermind. We can see each other once portal starts working properly again."
"Call Orihime and tell her that you are coming back to my house."
"Actually, I want to stay with her tonight. Just for tonight though. We are gonna have a girls night and gossip together. Besides, she lives alone, so she is quite lonely. I am going to stay over at hers tonight."
"Fine. Whatever you want. You two have fun."
"Thanks, we will. I will see you tomorrow then."
"Yeah, see ya."
After the conversation, Ichigo went straight home to his bed. He was always fighting with Rukia. Ever since they met. But this time...It was different. It wasn't their usual kind of fight. This was something else. Lying down in his comfy bed, Ichigo was drowning in his own thoughts. He was really glad that he fixed things with Rukia, but he was confused as well.
Why did I overreact like that? I still don't know what made me so angry today.
"Think about it Ichigo. You are smart, it won't take you too long to figure it out."
He remembered Urahara's words.
What on Earth did he mean by that?