Small and Humble
Bored.
The word repeated itself mockingly in Rukia's head. It was a nice Sunday afternoon - the sun shone brightly, the wind blew steadily, and Rukia was all alone in the Kurosaki house. Yuzu and Isshin were at Karin's soccer tournament all day and Ichigo was at the convenience store.
Complete silence.
And yet she was bored. Rukia laid on Ichigo's bed, staring at the ceiling. She spent the last hour or so scribbling on some scrap paper, illustrating Chappy & co. on their various adventures. She had thoroughly enjoyed herself at first but now she had exhausted both Ichigo's supply of scrap paper and her imagination. Lifting herself off of his bed, Rukia piled up her paper and placed them on his desk. Didn't Ichigo keep a pile of 'mag-uh-zeens' in here somewhere? She began her search — first under the bed, then inside the drawers of his desk. The magazines of the World of the Living fascinated her. The fashion, especially, was wild and outrageous and so very interesting. She could never imagine herself dressing like that. Nii-sama would surely disown her.
Giving up after coming up empty, she made her way to her closet to retrieve her cell phone - at least, that was the plan until she found the spine of what looked like a magazine sticking out between some folded up futons. Pulling it out slowly and carefully, Rukia was excited to finally get her hands on some reading material — until her eyes caught sight of the cover. Behind the many colorful writing lay a picture of a young woman in a most compromising position with her legs spread wide, leaning backwards on her hands. The lighting complimented her milky, fair skin as her long brown hair fell over her face and shoulders. She was completely naked except for her underwear (which barely counted for anything since it was see-through), her breasts proudly sticking out for the world to see. Rukia's eyes widened in horror as well as intrigue, although she didn't want to admit the latter. She knew Ichigo was a young man who surely had interests outside the realm of school and hollow hunting — but she definitely was not prepared to be introduced to these kinds of interests!
It was strange; he usually didn't show the slightest bit of interest in any girls — not even towards Inoue, who had a body men would kill for, not to mention her undying and very obvious love for Ichigo. And of course he didn't show interest towards Rukia, although she honestly didn't think of herself as ugly. No, she didn't have big breasts like Inoue and she was vertically challenged, but she wasn't unattractive either! Right?
Maybe this is what Ichigo likes, she thought, as she flipped through the magazine to find more beautiful big-breasted women. She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel a little self-conscious. Being surrounded by so many beautiful women — Inoue, Yoruichi-san, Rangiku-san — no man would ever be interested in a short, A-cupped shinigami like herself. I mean, look at them...
"But showing off your body like that, it's disgraceful. It won't mean anything if a man doesn't respect you, you fools!"
"Rukia, I'm ho-"
Condemning the naked women in hopes of making herself feel better, Rukia threw the magazine on the floor, just in time for Ichigo to walk in. He could see that Rukia was visibly upset. Her hands were trembling slightly and her cheeks were the lightest shade of pink, which would've looked endearing if it weren't for the heavy scowl that overtook her face. Shifting his plastic bag in his hands, even Ichigo began to feel irritated from the angry aura that Rukia emanated.
"The hell's wrong with you?"
"This," Rukia pointed at the magazine on the floor, "Is this what you're into? Hm? You pervert!"
With his mouth gaped open and eyes wide, Ichigo dropped his bag in shock. He thought he hid the magazine well; he couldn't risk anyone finding it, especially his dad. But for Rukia to have found it — this was bad.
"Th-That's not mine!" Ichigo put his hands up in defense, "Keigo left it here when he came over last week!"
That horny bastard! Ichigo cursed in his head, instantly regretting ever letting Keigo step foot into his house. The only head Keigo used belonged in his pants, so when he and Mizuiro came over last week and had smuggled a stack of porn into his room he shouldn't have been surprised. I didn't know what you were into, he had said, so I brought a variety! Big breasts, small breasts, amateur, mature, cosplay, S&M, lesbian, ...Ichigo's head spun wildly. Needless to say, he kicked them out immediately. But of course, Keigo, being the sneaky bastard that he is, purposefully left one of his magazines in Ichigo's room.
"Bad excuse! I knew that you were arrogant and stubborn and reckless, but I didn't expect you to be a hentai too!"
"H-hentai! Hey now, I told you it's not mine!"
"Kutabare!"
An uncomfortable silence filled the room as both occupants looked at everything but each other. Rukia played with the hem of her skirt, pulling and picking loose strands, while Ichigo glared at the magazine on the floor. Letting out a loud sigh, Rukia grabbed the magazine off the floor and made her way towards Ichigo.
"Here," she said, shoving the magazine into Ichigo's chest, "Take your junk."
"Wait," Ichigo grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving his room, "Why are you mad, anyway?"
Come to think of it, she didn't have a reason to be angry. Sure, her breasts were small compared to some other women he knew but she was never one to be self-conscious. And what she lacked in cup size, she made up for in her colorful personality. Unless...
"Oi, has someone been teasing you about... you know..."
"Wha-No, you idiot!"
"Well I don't know! I don't understand why you're acting like this!"
Rukia didn't quite understand either, but she couldn't help herself. What was she feeling? Anger? Confusion? ...Jealousy? But there is no way I would feel jealous of those... bimbos! she thought, And Ichigo is a perv-
"Oi, I'm talking to you."
"Let go, Ichigo."
"Not until you tell me what's wrong," he said, tightening his grip.
"I said let go! Let go of me, you degenerate! Freak! Weirdo!"
"What did you say?"
Letting his anger get the best of him, Ichigo thoughtlessly pinned Rukia against his door. She had no right calling him those things, when it was really Keigo who was the freak. All Keigo cared about was a woman's physical attributes — big breasts, beautiful face, soft skin... Ichigo knew better than that. He knew that a women were worth a lot more than what they offered on the outside. He liked a woman who was strong and could pick herself up without a helping hand. A woman who could laugh and cry and be herself and not apologize for it. He liked... Rukia.
"You know what I think?" A devilish smirk forming on his face, "I think you're jealous."
I'm not jealous!
"You're jealous because you think I like girls like that," motioning to the magazine with his head, "And you're not like that."
Of course not!
"You don't have big breasts or a nice, firm ass. You don't lean on me for support. You don't act all cute and girly like normal girls. You're loud and hot-headed and violent."
Well... yes, but...
"...And that's the kind of girl I like."
Rukia immediately looked into Ichigo's eyes - those warm, hazel, comforting eyes - and they stared right back at her. He wasn't lying. And maybe she shouldn't lie to herself anymore, either. She cared about Ichigo immensely. He changed her world just as much as she changed his. He was her knight in shining armor, as much as she didn't want a knight, and she had fallen for her hero. She loved him so much - not in the way a young girl falls for a handsome movie star or a school girl secretly crushes on her senpai - but in a way where two souls find their counterpart and everything feels just right.
Looking at his face — his soft lips slightly parted, his cheeks colored a tint of red, and his eyes watching her with intensity, saying so much without uttering a single word — Yeah, this feels just right.
"Say something."
"...You baka," she smiled.
Rukia found herself back on Ichigo's bed, his strong arms framing her head as he kissed her eyes, then her nose, and finally her lips. She moaned softly, prompting him to move himself lower on her, letting his lips graze her neck and collarbone, finally resting his head on her chest. She hugged his head, his orange hair tickling her arms. He nuzzled between her breasts and kissed them gently. Although Rukia's shirt still covered her completely, his trail of kisses burned her skin as if he had kissed them directly.
"I love you just the way you are."
.
A/N: This was my first Bleach fanfic. I started writing this earlier in the summer and wrote a whole two pages of it until I ran out of ideas and nearly abandoned it. However, being that tonight Hurricane Irene is tearing through my area of the East Coast I finally decided to sit my ass down and finish it! Not sure if I love it but I like it enough.
Kutabare = Go to hell!
Senpai = An honorific used often in Japanese schools for someone of a higher grade level.
Baka = Stupid, idiot.