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Being in a long-distance relationship isn’t easy. Being in a long-distance relationship when the love of your life lives in another world is even harder. But they make it work, through sheer stubbornness and the shocking permissiveness of both Captain-Commander Kyouraku and Rukia’s older brother, Byakuya.
It’s temporary: Ichigo is in his first year of studies at university and the knowledge that he will move to Soul Society afterwards and be at Rukia’s side permanently burns hot in his mind. It drives him to plan for the maximum course load every semester, to study late into the night and type essays until his fingers ache. It drives him to plan out a course of study where he will graduate a full year early – and join Rukia that much sooner. His advisor doesn’t like it, but Ichigo has explained that he has family obligations that cannot be delayed.
But the separation in the meantime hurts, as he and Rukia go weeks at a time without seeing one another. Soul Society needs her: they are still removing rubble from the streets, still rebuilding entire divisions from the ashes. The Thirteenth Division is no different, with the death of Ukitake still raw and the unseated ranks decimated by the Sternritter.
Ukitake’s death is the reason that Ichigo is in Soul Society tonight, having used the official pass provided by Kyouraku. It’s the first anniversary of the man’s death, of his sacrifice. His death, Ichigo knows, passed largely unremarked amid the chaos of war. He also knows that Rukia has been working herself into the ground as acting captain ever since, sans lieutenant.
He barely has to wave in greeting to the guards outside of the division building before they step aside to let him pass; despite the time between their reunions, Ichigo is known here, and in fact one guard leans closer to murmur, “She’s still in her office, Kurosaki-sama.”
Sama. Ichigo is never sure how he feels about being addressed as Kurosaki-sama, though all of Soul Society credits him with killing Yhwach and saving them once more. He picks his way past rubble and the half-rebuilt barracks to the offices, which are intact. Well, mostly intact – there’s still a hole in the ceiling of Rukia’s office, he sees, with a bucket on the floor to catch rain.
The thoughts of the rebuild, of the continued devastation, leave him when Ichigo sees her. Rukia is working by lamplight, face pale and shadows deep beneath her eyes. Her hair is getting long; it’s past her shoulders, and longer than it was the day they first met. She looks up when he steps closer, reiryoku gentle against hers. “Ichigo. I didn’t expect you,” she murmurs, and sets her calligraphy brush down.
Ichigo smiles down at her gently and when she stands, he pulls her close, lips brushing hers chastely. “I know I’m a few weeks early. And I also know that you’re working yourself too hard and need to take a break,” he says quietly.
“Says the man who could carry luggage beneath his eyes,” Rukia jokes, but her voice is tired and she leans into him when he slides his arm around her.
“Yeah. S’why I’m taking us both away for a couple of days,” Ichigo explains.
“Fool. I don’t have time to go away, and neither do you. What about class?”
He just slides his hand up her back and rubs lightly, where he can feel the stress set into her muscles. “It’s the weekend, and I got an excused absence from my Monday class,” he explains. “I told Sentarou that I’m stealing you away until then.”
“You told my subordinate that you’re taking me away?” Rukia repeats and pulls back from him.
But Ichigo just keeps his hand on her back. “After he told me that you’ve been working until dawn all the time, yeah. Just for a couple of days, Rukia. You need the rest, and I know it’s…a difficult few days.” Her eyes are on his again, and he says, “Come on. I promise you’ll feel better afterwards.”
Finally, she sighs and offers him a nod. “Where are we going?” Rukia asks.
“The World of the Living. I found a quiet place that I think you’ll like,” Ichigo explains, and though he steps back from her, he holds out his hand for her to take.
“Right now?”
“Right now.” Then her hand slides into his, and Ichigo’s smile is soft as they flash-step to the Senkaimon and then pass through its gates into the World of the Living.
Ichigo has thought of everything, he’s pretty sure. He has a gigai ready for her courtesy Urahara, one dressed for the early-summer warmth in a fluttery pale blue dress. His car is parked just outside the shoten, and he ushers her into it, then sets off on the drive outside of Karakura and northwest. “It’s just a couple of hours’ drive,” he explains as they leave the city. “You can sleep if you want.”
Rukia hums under her breath and drifts off, leaving Ichigo to navigate the highway and then the rural roads to a small town nestled in the hills. It’s only mid-afternoon in the gensei, and Rukia wakes as he parks the car outside of a pretty, quaint ryokan at the edge of town. “Where are we?” she asks as she stretches.
“We’re not far from Karakura but it’s a lot less built up. There are hiking trails and campgrounds, and the river’s pretty,” Ichigo explains as he gets out of the car and comes around to her side to open the car door. As Rukia brushes the wrinkles from her dress Ichigo grabs a suitcase from the trunk. “I brought some of your things from my apartment,” he explains when Rukia looks meaningfully at the luggage.
“Thank you,” she murmurs, and follows Ichigo into the plaster-walled building. They take their shoes off and check in at reception before being led to their room, a pleasantly decorated space in the back corner of the building. When the proprietor has left them with the key and a tray of tea, Rukia turns in a circle around the room. The large bed is modern and made with a crisp-looking sapphire-hued duvet, while the pale wood nightstands hold simple, rectangular lamps. Through an open door she can see a bathing room and water closet, while the other is clearly a closet in which to hang their clothes. The floor beneath their feet is covered in tatami mats. “Where’d you find out about this place?”
“Hm, one of my professors mentioned it. I just wanted to bring you somewhere quiet,” Ichigo murmurs and sets the luggage down. He slides his arms around her and bends down to kiss her forehead. “I know today’s hard for you. I…have a plan for that after dinner if you’re up to it.”
She stiffens in his arms but leans her head against his chest. “You remembered.”
“Yeah,” he says. “It’s something that’s usually done during Bon, but I thought – since Soul Society is still so chaotic and hasn’t…”
She leans up and kisses him lightly. “Thank you, Ichigo,” she whispers.
Dinner in the ryokan’s dining room is quiet. Ichigo is the youngest guest there by over a decade, and Rukia’s gigai puts her in the same category, but no one remarks on it. There are only a few other guests despite the good weather: two elderly couples in traditional yukata and another couple in their thirties wearing more modern clothes. Even with just the eight of them, the meal that the ryokan’s staff serve is delicious. Afterwards, Ichigo retrieves a bag from their room and leads her outside, beneath the just-rising moon. The path to the river is well-lit, but Ichigo hands Rukia a flashlight just in case. They walk down to the water in silence, not touching but close to one another.
“I think this is a good spot,” Ichigo says when they reach a pretty, painted wooden footbridge over a narrow stretch of water. He kneels and opens the bag, revealing two white water lanterns fitted with votive candles. “We should each light one.” He pulls a book of matches from his pocket and offers them to her.
“What are these?” Rukia asks quietly.
“Water lanterns. Here in the World of the Living we release them into the water as a way of honoring and remembering the dead. I thought – we could remember Captain Ukitake together.” It sounds stupid to him as he says it; it’s just the two of them, nothing like the Bon Festival, and Rukia knew her captain so much better than he did.
But Rukia strikes a match and kneels to light the votive in the first lantern, then hands the matchbook to Ichigo. He repeats the process with his lantern, and gently lowers it into the water so that it can float slowly downstream. Rukia takes a deep breath and places her lantern in the water as well. They stand and watch the glowing lanterns float, their light reflecting in the water.
Ichigo wraps an arm around Rukia and they stand on the footbridge, beneath the pale moonlight, until the moon has moved across the sky and the lanterns are out of sight. Once or twice someone passes by them, but mostly they are alone, and after a while Ichigo feels Rukia’s shoulders begin to shake beneath his arm. He doesn’t say anything, though he can see the silvery tear tracks on her cheeks, just tucks her closer and lets her take all the time she needs.
“We should go back inside,” Rukia whispers finally, and self-consciously rubs at the tearstains on her cheeks. “It’s getting late.”
“Yeah,” Ichigo agrees and lets her out from beneath his arm. He rolls the bag up and shoves it into his back pocket. They walk back along the path, fingers twining together, and let themselves back into the ryokan. So late at night the building is quiet, and they take care not to disrupt the silence as they walk to their bedroom. They get ready for bed in silence, although Rukia casts him an appreciative look at the fact that he has packed pajamas for her. He half-expects her to keep her distance – they haven’t done that, yet, although they’ve shared a bed.
But when Ichigo turns off the lights and they climb into the luxurious bed together, Rukia tucks herself close to him. It isn’t sexual: he can still feel the occasional tremble in her body against his. So, he kisses her forehead and keeps his arms around her and his legs twined with hers until her breathing evens out. Then he finally closes his own eyes and lets the sound of the river through the open window lull him to sleep as well.