I Wanted To Look Perfect For You

"Hey, um, Nii-sama...can I borrow some money?"
Byakuya glanced up at sister from his paperwork with a look of suspicion. She never asked for money. She usually took it without a second thought. Then again, she usually only took it if she decided she wanted to go shopping in a servant's stead. Rukia was never the type of person to go spend money willy nilly on things she wanted or gifts for someone. So having her standing before him, twirling her short raven hair nervously, made him just a little curious to what was going on.
"What for?" he questioned smoothly.
Rukia swallowed and shrunk a little. Although she knew how sweet her brother actually was, it didn't make him any less intimidating. "Well, you see...Yuzu wants me to help her throw a Valentine's Day party – "
"Yuzu?"
"Uhhh...Ichigo's sister. Remember?"
"Ah. Yes. The blonde one?"
"Yeah."
"Huh. A party, hmm?"
"Yes! And I want to help her as much as I can."
"And you need to borrow money? Money you have free reign to?"
'This is harder than I thought...' "Well...I wanted to make sure it was okay. I've never used the Kuchiki money for play before, so I wanted to clear it with you." She threw in one of her cutesy smiles in hopes of buttering her big brother up.
Byakuya's brows raised in suspicion. There was more to this than his sister was leading on, but who was he to say no to her? It was hard to tell her no. Always was. Took everything he had to ever tell her no. The main reason: he felt like he was telling Hisana no and not Rukia. He heaved a sigh and nodded his head. Rukia's face lit up and she clapped her hands together to further show her excitement.
"Thank you so much, Nii-sama! This means a whole lot to me!"
"And to Yuzu, too, I'm sure."
"Oh. Yeah. Yuzu too."
Rukia gave a nervous laugh before she left Byakuya alone in his office. He stared at the spot where she once stood, and heaved another sigh.
'Maybe I'll get Abarai to spy on her later.' he thought to himself slyly.



Rukia felt bad for lying to her brother...but if he knew the truth he'd kill her! Yes, Yuzu was involved, along with Karin, Rangiku, Momo, Kiyone, Orihime, Tatsuki, Soi Fon, and Yoruichi...but it wasn't for a party. Not even close! What was actually going was the girls were helping Rukia out to impress who she loved for Valentine's. There was a catch however. None of them knew exactly who Rukia was trying to impress. They threw around their ideas, but Rukia somehow managed to stay silent.
'Thank God I've been hiding this for so long! If they knew it was Ichigo...ugh! I don't even want to think about it!'
She shuddered at the sudden visions of the girls' reactions if they knew the truth. Sure, Tatsuki, Karin, and Soi Fon wouldn't be bad at all...but the rest of them...she was sure they'd give her a run for her money for how ridiculous how much they'd freak out, hover over her, or tease her. None of it sounded fun. Not one bit! So Rukia was ever so thankful that her lips were sealed and the girls didn't bother her much since then.
As she walked out of the Kuchiki mansion, thousands worth of yen when transferred over in her hands, Rukia suddenly thought about how easy it was to wriggle this out of her brother. Maybe he was planning something. It wouldn't surprise her in the least. He was surprisingly devious when he wanted to be. She made a mental note to have Soi Fon keep an eye out for Renji most likely. Other than that – the day should go over smoothly. Or...so she thought...



"The first thing you need is something cute to wear!" Orihime pointed out in her normally over cheerful voice.
The group of ten girls were currently walking down a market street known for selling things from food to antiques. They were an odd bunch to look at. Yuzu and Rukia were in sundresses, Karin in a T-shirt and soccer shorts, Tatsuki in her dojo uniform since she would eventually have to go to work in the middle of all this, Soi Fon in what appeared to be a black dress fit for a funeral, Kiyone and Rangiku is schoolgirl attire, Momo in a frilly dress she saw in a magazine advertising Marie Antoinette outfits, Orihime in a long lime green skirt and a gray sweater, and Yoruichi in the clothes Rukia first met her in. They were all being given a mixture of looks – some confused, some intrigued, and some were worthy of getting suckered punched.
"Perfect, Inoe-san! Something cute!" Yuzu cheered.
"No no! Something seductive!" Rangiku interjected.
"Maybe with a hint of kinky..." Kiyone added.
"Kiyone!" squeaked Rukia, her cheeks going bright red.
"How about lingerie?" suggested Yoruichi with a sly grin.
'I shouldn't have invited them. I shouldn't have invited them. What was I thinking? I wasn't that's my problem.' Rukia thought as she groaned.
"Hey, this is Rukia's choice. Let her pick out what she wants to wear." said Tatsuki bluntly.
'Oh, thank God Tatsuki came along...'
"I agree. Rukia should pick. We are here to give her second opinions." Momo said sweetly.
Rangiku and Kiyone pouted, but in the end agreed with Tatsuki and Momo. Since there were a ton of clothing stores on the street, Rukia decided that each girl could pick a store to go to and have her try on clothes. It wasn't long before she was regretting her choice.
First, they went to a very girly store that Orihime said had some of the best stuff. That should've been a hint to Rukia that it probably wasn't a good idea to go in there. Sure, she loved Orihime like a sister...but she was very...odd. The store was full of so much pink, because Valentine's was tomorrow, that it made Rukia nauseous. There were some blues and greens and yellows – but there was mostly pink. And when Rukia tried on everything Orihime picked out for her, which was about twenty different outfits, none of them looked good on her. She either felt washed out or like she was going to a birthday party for a little girl with a princess theme.
Second, they went into a sporting store. Rukia wasn't surprised by this choice. It was Tatsuki after all. She wasn't too bothered by going into this store...but she didn't think Ichigo would think her very 'cute' in clothing that just had sport brand names on them. It didn't help that some of the clothes she tried on were somewhat cute on her. She thought about possibly buying them later for a different time.
Third, Rangiku practically dragged Rukia into a very questionable store called Spencer's. The only ones that seemed to be enjoying themselves in the store was Rangiku and Yoruichi. Everyone else was somewhat uncomfortable or unsure how to react. It was an interesting place and there were some cool stuff that Rukia found she liked...but sadly most of the clothes in there that Rangiku said she should get didn't fit her boob size...
Fourth, they strolled into one of Yuzu's favorite stores. It was full of super cute sundresses and adorable accessories to go with each one. There were flower sundresses, Hello Kitty sundresses, panda bear sundresses, quirky little shapes sundresses – pretty much any sundress under the sun. They were all adorable and Rukia was tempted to buy every last sundress that was thrown at her by her love interest's little sister, but then it hit her. She wore Yuzu's sundresses when the last time she was in the world of the living. She was wearing one right now! A sundress would be predictable. She wanted something unpredictable.
"This is harder than I thought..." Rukia mumbled as the group of girls sat down in an ice cream parlor after Tatsuki had to dismiss herself.
"Don't worry, Kuchiki-san! You'll find something!" chirped Orihime.
Rukia sighed sadly. "Maybe."
"You still have five more stores to go to. I'm sure we'll find something." Karin said.
Karin did have a point. There were still five more stores to go in for the remaining girls. But still...it was discouraging. Then, Soi Fon tapped Rukia's shoulder. Rukia turned her attention to the stuck up woman, ignoring the chattering of mostly Rangiku and Kiyone and Yoruichi about heaven knows what. Soi Fon pointed to a roof across from the parlor. Rukia followed her finger to find Renji sitting there looking bored out of his mind.
'I knew it!'
"Want me to take care of him?" asked Soi Fon with a straight face.
"Damn right I do!" Rukia responded in agitation.
"Alright then." Soi Fon stood up from the table they were sitting at and bowed lightly. "I'll take care of the situation and meet up with you later."
And with that, Soi Fon was out of the parlor. The other girls were confused about her sudden leave, but soon quickly understood after Rukia pointed out Renji's location.
"That Byakuya. Always such a stiff." sighed Yoruichi.
"Big party pooper!" Kiyone agreed with a pout.
"I'm sure he's just worried." Momo pointed out.
"About what? He has nothing to worry about! Rukia is with a group of responsible women!" huffed Rangiku.
Every last one of the girls stared at Rangiku with 'are you kidding me' expressions. That sentence, coming from her, was almost like an oxymoron in of itself. It wasn't long after the comment that they all finished their ice cream and continued their little adventure.
The fifth store they went to was a  dream place for a person into Steampunk. Surprisingly, this was Kiyone's pick. Rukia half expected Momo to pick it out because of her current outfit, but nope, Kiyone did. Rukia had to admit that she thought there were a ton of cute clothes in there, but it didn't seem to be appropriate for this holiday nor for impressing Ichigo. She would definitely come back in there for Halloween. There was one good thing about this store though. Karin happened to point out a pair of small boots that Rukia absolutely had to buy! They were a dark tan color with a few bundles of flowers in different spots, three dark silver chains hanging from near the zipper in the back with a heart locket on the third chain, and a black heal that was designed as an antique key.
Rukia was beaming with glee as she and the others were heading to the sixth store, which was Yoruichi's pick. The joy she had from at least finding one thing vanished as soon as she walked into the store. Victoria's Secret – of course Yoruichi would pick this. Rukia wasn't even in there for a minute before walking straight out. Rangiku and Kiyone were busting up, telling Yoruichi that they knew that would happen.
"Wha-hut? Thought you'd like a little something in case it goes really well with your mystery man." Yoruichi teased.
"You're not funny!" Rukia screamed, her face now as bright as a cherry.
"Oh, quit being such a prude. It's not like Renji's gonna see. Soi Fon's taking care of him right now."
"Not my point!"
Rangiku and Kiyone proceeded with their laughter. Even Orihime, Karin, and Momo were starting to join in! Rukia began to think that she was never going to find the perfect outfit with these people helping her out.
Her attitude slowly started to change when Momo lead her into a store that only sold jewelry, hair accessories, gloves, and arm warmers. If she couldn't find a cute outfit – she could at least perk up one of Yuzu's dresses with her newly purchased boots and some accessories, right? And when the girls handed her some of the things they found – her spirits rose a little bit more. Momo and Orihime showed Rukia a cute little black rose hair accessory that had four petals with skull designs, which she, oddly enough, adored. Yuzu and Karin flashed a silver necklace with a charm that were a pair of wings molded into a hear shape and three rows of diamonds on each wing, and Rukia just had to have it. Since she liked that necklace so much, Rangiku found a pair of earrings that also had wings shaped into heart on them and had dangling silver droplets (at least that what she called them) to match the necklace. Kiyone found two sets of bracelets that Rukia found cute. One was a black block bracelet with two silver circles to separate each block that had on every other block red hearts with what appeared to be stitches on them. The other was a stack of bracelets that went together that were black, silver, and dark red. Yoruichi, oddly enough, found a pair of arm warmers made of lace that had  intricate flower and vine designs that Rukia immediately swiped from her hands and proceeded to purchase along with the other items.
Soi Fon eventually came back, not saying a word of what she did with Renji, and took the girls to the store she picked out. It was a ninja's paradise. Rukia wouldn't dare be caught dead in these clothes! She politely declined and walked out, head drooped in disappoitment.
The last store was Karin's pick. Karin was her last hope. If Karin didn't pull through for her – she was doomed! She would wear something ordinary, with a few things to spice it up, to her meeting with Ichigo. She felt a sense of dread sweep over her. She wanted to look...different for him. Wear something that would shock and amaze him! Peek his interest a little! Maybe get him to say she looked nice before she confessed to him! If Karin's choice didn't have something that would do just that...she didn't know how she could face Ichigo...
'What am I saying?! It's just a meeting at a park where I'm just going to tell him my feelings! And maybe get him some chocolates... This isn't the end of the world, Rukia! Quit being such a whiner!'
"Here we are!" Karin announced.
The group stood there for a minute in complete awe. This place didn't seem like something Karin would pick out. It was too...dark. It was a store that would be a dream hang out for a goth or a punk! But, by looking at was on the racks on the inside, there were some cute things in there. Then, Rukia spotted things she had seen Ichigo wear. A crooked smile spread across her face.
"Karin...you're awesome." she said with a slight chuckle.
"Well, don't just stand there! Go in! We'll wait out here for you." Karin replied with a smirk.
"What?! Why do we have to wait out here?!" whined Rangiku, Kiyone, and Yuzu.
"Because Rukia needs just a little privacy in this place. Let her browse and find something she likes instead of a million of us telling her yes or no." snipped Karin.
Rangiku, Kiyone, and Yuzu continued to protest Karin's suggestion, but in the end it didn't matter. Orihime nudged Rukia inside the store and told her good luck. Feeling free from so many voices saying this and that, Rukia browsed the store looking at all the little things they had. She found a pair of black knee high stockings that on the back of them had a design that made it look like they were being unzipped that she liked...now to find something to wear with it.
"Can I help you?"
Rukia jumped at the sudden voice and nearly jumped again at how the owner of the voice looked. The girl was no taller than Rukia with gauges and multiple other piercings, and wore a black and red plaid dress with knee high combat boots. She was smiling at staring at Rukia with curiosity, which didn't make Rukia feel any better.
'It's okay. She's a human being too.'  "I'm just looking for something to wear to impress this guy I've liked for a while now."
"Oh? Like what?"
"Erm...a dress?"
"What color?"
"Hmmm...something with blue. I think that's his favorite color."
"Something edgy or something a little more innocent?"
'There's something innocent here?'  "Um...hmmm...erm...uh...you know what? I don't know."
The girl giggled. "Would you like me to grab a few things and have you try them on to see what you like?"
"That would be nice. Thank you."
"Alright. Well, if you could follow me, I'll set up a dressing room for you."
"Okay."
The girl lead Rukia to the back of the store to a row of dressing rooms that had no doors but black curtains Rukia could've sworn that she had seen them on the stage at Ichigo's school. Rukia sat on the bench in the dressing room as the girl went off to find different blue dresses. She began to swing her legs as she waited, wondering how Ichigo would react to her confession of love. Hopefully, he would be nice about it if he didn't share her feelings. It wasn't long before the girl came back with a pile of six dresses. Some were full on blue, others had blue on them. She told Rukia she would be right outside if anything was needed and once again left Rukia alone. Nervously, Rukia tried on the first dress. It was...cute...but not what she was looking for. It was the same with the next five she tried on. Finally, she reached the sixth dress and slipped it on. When she stared at herself in the mirror to see how it looked, it was like the world made sense.
The dress had a black top that was thin. When it got to above the breasts, it turned into lace with small designs of flowers with sleeves that were black ruffles that had a blue line in them. The bottom of the dress had a black belt with golden studs and two silver chains hanging from it around the middle. Under the belt was blue and white plaid with black lace at the very bottom and more black lace on top of the plaid that was bunched up in two spots near the chains. On a normal basis – there was no way Rukia would even like this dress. But right now...she was so in love with it and just wanted to race to Ichigo to show it to him right now! This was it. This was what she was looking for!
"I'd like to purchase this one!" Rukia called from within the dressing room.
The girl poked her head in to see which one was picked. She smiled and said, "Excellent choice. I'll have that ringed up for you when you get out."


Valentine's Day had arrived. Rukia sat in the bed Kisuke had allowed her to borrow, so that she didn't have to go back to face Byakuya, in anticipation. She was nervous. Dreadfully nervous. What if Ichigo didn't share her feelings? What if he laughed at her? What would she do after that? She scolded herself for thinking so negatively, but it didn't matter. Her nerves outweighed her normally strong resolve. She sighed slowly and got out of bed. She had to get ready eventually. She had to text Ichigo eventually. Why delay the inevitable?
Rukia poked her head out of the room she was in and shouted, "Is there a towel I can borrow? I need to shower!"
"I'll get one in a minute!" came Kisuke's voice from down the hallway.
Rukia brought herself back into the room to gather everything for her outfit. Just as she had them all gathered and was about to leave the room, her phone rang. She stared at it in confusion. Hardly anyone knew her number. Who was calling her? She raced to it and quickly answered it on its last ring.
"Hello?"
"Hey. How are you?" Ichigo's voice asked from the other end.
Rukia's heart thundered rapidly. How did he get this number?  "Um, hi. I'm doing good. How about you?"
"I'm...good."
'Is that...nervousness I hear?'  "What's up?"
"Uh...well...could I talk to you today? I have something I need to let you know."
"O-o-o-okay. When – "
"One hour at the new restaurant in downtown Karakura! Kay thanks!"
Then the line went dead. Rukia gawked at her phone in disbelief. She had never heard Ichigo talk so fast in her life! He was clearly nervous about something...
"Here's a towel!" Kisuke announced as he opened the door without knocking.
"Oh! Thank you! And, uh, Uraharha?"
"Yes, Kuchiki-san?"
"Where the hell is the new restaurant in downtown Karakura?"



'I'm starting to regret these shoes. Ugh! But they were so cute...'
The walk to this restaurant Ichigo wanted to meet her at was a long walk from Urahara's shop, and the boots' heels were making it difficult for her to properly walk. And it was pissing her off that all the guys, single or not, were all gawking at her like they never saw someone of the female species before. It was pure stupidity! And the guys that wolf whistled at her...that really aggravated her! She nearly kicked one of them in the stomach, but thought against it since she was wearing heels and didn't know if her heel would go into his stomach with how strong her kicks are. Hitting him with the purse she had that was carrying Ichigo's chocolates had to do.
'When I get my hands on Ichigo...I'll kill him for making me walk this far!'
It wasn't long before she saw the restaurant in view. Wasn't hard to spot. How many restaurants are there in Japan that are ran by people from Italy and run an authentic Italian restaurant? She turned her limp into a jog, wanting to sit down as soon as she possibly could. When she reached the door, she tripped. The door swung open and she saw herself as a victim of humiliation within a few seconds. Rukia closed her eyes, not wanting to see her impact to the floor. She felt an arm catch her inches above the floor. She sighed in relief and glanced up to thank the person that saved her. A lump formed in her throat. How did she not know that those strong arms that caught her belonged to Ichigo? It was so obvious! She quickly pushed herself away from him and collected herself before he scolded her. When she made eye contact with him again, she was shocked to see his expression.
Ichigo had a light blush on his face. His soft, amber eyes were wide with wonder and awe. He appeared as if out of breath, but wasn't breathing heavily. Rukia felt her ears burn and she hurriedly snapped her fingers in his face to break his trance.
"Huh?" he squeaked.
"Don't 'huh' me! You were standing there staring off into space! What's wrong with you?!" Rukia barked, trying to mask just how nervous she was.
"Oh. Uh...sorry. It's just...you look...really nice."
Rukia's face went pink. Never would she thought in a million years that Ichigo would think her edgy look would be 'nice'. This made her smile a bit and shrink back in bashfulness. "Th-thank you. You look nice too."
Ichigo looked at his outfit with confusion. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans with a chain hanging on the right side, a nice dark blue button up long sleeve shirt, and black sneakers. It was simple, but it looked good on him. Well, in Rukia's opinion, he looked great in everything he wore. When he looked back up at her, his cheeks were darker and he had a child-like excited expression.
"I guess. I just grabbed something." Ichigo chuckled nervously. "But you...you look stunning."
Rukia shrunk back even more. Anything to make herself smaller. Her heart was about to explode with joy. "You have no idea how long it took me to find all the pieces for this. I...I wanted to look perfect for you..."
Ichigo appeared taken aback by what she had said. Then, a heart melting smile spread across his lips. He leaned in close to her, causing Rukia's chest to sting with how hard her heart was beating. His mouth touched her ear and he began playing with the little ponytail on the side of her head that was under the rose hair piece.
"You always look beautiful to me." he whispered tenderly.
"Table for two?" a male voice asked in perfect Japanese with a slight Italian accent.
Ichigo immediately pulled away from a dazed Rukia, and answered in a friendly tone, "Yes, sir."
"Follow me, sir and madam."
Rukia and Ichigo followed the Italian man to a table in the very back corner – isolated from the rest of the customers. A perfect spot. They sat down in the chairs as the host left to get the waiter.
"Well...while we have a few minutes..." Ichigo leaned in on the table, his expression antsy. "I have something to give you."
"Y-you do?" said Rukia in a high pitched voice.
"Yeah. I...well...um..." He sighed and started fiddling with his jean pockets. "We've known each other for a long time...and you just came back...and it's Valentine's Day...and you look amazing..." He pulled out a small box from his pocket and drooped his head. "Sorry. I'm not good at these things, so bear with me."
"As long as you're paying for the food." joked Rukia.
Ichigo chuckled nervously. He then cleared his throat and looked Rukia dead in the eyes. "Ever since I've met you...I...I never could get you out of my mind. Sure...at first it was annoying and I didn't exactly understand what was going on with me...but certain events have made me realize what's going on with me. The biggest one...the biggest one was when you were gone for seventeen months."
"O-oh..."
"I know you had things going on and you couldn't come pay a visit..."
"Actually...I...um...did come visit. Mostly when you were asleep. Which when I think about it now...that was kind of creepy..."
Ichigo reached for her hand and stroked it with his thumb. "Just a little. But that makes me feel a little better that you actually did come by. Still...those months made me really realize some things. Mostly how you make me feel."
'Oh my...is he...?' "A-a-and how do I make you feel?"
Ichigo flashed the biggest smile he has done since he was a kid. "What can I say? You make my heart race so hard that sometime I think it's going to leap out of my chest. It's...it's actually a feeling I've grown to like."
"I really do that?"
"Yeah. Especially right now. I never thought I'd see you in something like this. It's...edgy...new. Looks really good on you. Really helps amplify just how beautiful and unique you are."
"R-r-r-really? It does?"
"Yes. You said you wanted to look perfect...well...you nailed it!"
Rukia couldn't help but giggle. "Thank you. That means a lot."
"Good. And I hope that...these next few words will mean a lot too." He pushed the small box towards her. "Open it."
Rukia shakily took the box and opened it. Inside was a beautiful amethyst crescent moon ring. Rukia gasped and nearly burst into tears. She took the ring out and slipped it on her middle finger. Fit like a glove.
"It's beautiful..." she managed to say, choking back tears.
"Just like you." Ichigo said softly. He took both of her hands within his very gently, as if he was handling a porcelain doll. He let out  some shaky air and grinned. "Rukia Kuchiki...I love you. I have for a very long time. And I don't see myself loving anyone else ever in my life."
That did it. Rukia couldn't hold them back anymore. She allowed those tears to flow down her face, along with some laughs. She should've saw this coming. He asked her to come to a nice restaurant with him on Valentine's Day, kept saying she looked perfect, and gave her a beautiful ring. It was so obvious...but at the same time...she was thankful for being oblivious. At least now her worries of him not returning her feelings was null and void.
"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, you idiot." Rukia laughed through her tears. "You just beat me in every single way with how I was going to do this."
"Huh?"
"Oh, silly. I love you too."
Ichigo's face lit up so much that it could light the entire restaurant. He was like a giddy child on Christmas. Rukia took this as her chance to pull out her heart shaped box full of chocolates that the girls helped her pick out last night and give it to him. Ichigo became even more giddy that it made Rukia bust up. She had never seen him so happy, so relaxed...
Ichigo scooted his chair over to her and put his arm around her. "Thank you. This is the best thing you could ever give me."
"Really?!" gasped Rukia.
"Well, just like anything you wear, anything you give me is perfect."
"Oh, so it's gonna be that way, huh? I see."
"Damn straight it is!"
They both laughed. Ichigo then nuzzled his nose against Rukia's cheek, making her face him. He stroked her other cheek, then proceeded to kiss her lips. Rukia was on cloud nine. She never imagined this would happen. And even how she imagined it...it was never as good as this. They released each other from the embrace and rubbed their noses together.
"Love you." Rukia whispered.
"Love you too." Ichigo whispered back.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang – interrupting their intimate moment. The new couple whipped around to try and find where the noise came from. Next thing they knew...Byakuya was storming straight towards them with a look of death in his eyes.
With pale faces, Ichigo and Rukia muttered, "Ohhhh shit..."