Strawberries and Pomegranates
Chapter 1
IchigoXIsane
A.N.: This takes place after Ichigo gets his powers back but before the Thousand Year Blood War arc.
Squad 4
Ichigo POV
Ichigo cringed as he limped down the hallway, his leg aching with every step. He was still surprised how he managed to survive another encounter with Kenpachi, though not without cost. Though he managed to escape, the huge captain did manage to bring a lot of punishment down on the fleeing Ichigo. Luckily for him he managed to run into Renji, who promptly sped Ichigo away to Squad 4 for medical treatment.
That was three days ago. By now Ichigo had mostly recovered, though his leg was still injured and throbbed in pain madly at times. He limped down the unfamiliar halls of the squad, looking for somebody to give him directions.
Rounding a corner, Ichigo was relieved to see Captain Unohana walking by. "Captain Unohana," he addressed.
The ebony-haired captain turned to see the substitute making his way towards her and smiled. "Hello Ichigo. I hope your leg is healing up?" She was going to scold the boy for applying pressure on his injured leg but knew that Ichigo had remarkable recovery time.
"It hurts but not as bad as before, thank you." Ichigo looked around confused. "Um…can you point me to where your squad's showers are? I haven't taken a shower ever since I got here and I'm not familiar with your squad's layout like I am with Rukia's and Renji's." He gestured to the towel and spare clothes tucked under his arm.
Unohana smiled before turning around, pointing down the hallway. "Of course. Go down the hallway and make a left. The showers are at the end of the hall, the last door on the right." Ichigo thanked the captain and proceeded down the hall per her instructions.
As she watched the boy leave, Unohana turned around and continued walking. But after a moment something started to bug her. "Hmm, I can't help but feel I forgot to tell him something…."
Meanwhile….
Ichigo walked through the double doors, feeling the heat of steam bask over him. The sound of a sole shower running echoed in the changing room. Figuring it to be Hanataro or one of the other male members of Squad 4, Ichigo paid it no mind. Setting his spare clothes and towel down on a wooden bench and undressed, removing his bandages and white patient outfit. Ichigo shivered as his feet touched the cold shower floor but figured he could deal with it.
Still limping on his injured leg, the naked Ichigo walked around the wall into the large shower. The steam obscured his view for a moment, but while he couldn't see he could hear…humming? 'Weird. Who hums in the shower?' he thought as he stepped inside. Though the shower's steam heated up his body, once his eyes managed to cut through the shroud of steam all the blood in his body rushed to his head.
Before him was a naked Isane Kotetsu, bearing it all before the teen. Softly humming a tune, the lieutenant softly ran a sponge up her side, letting Ichigo see everything the girl had to offer. With her wet silvery hair, soap running down her body, and all of her curves and assets on display, Ichigo was rooted to the spot, almost in awe of her beauty; having never seen a woman naked aside from the one time with Yoruichi, Ichigo had no idea that the girl could look so beautiful.
Isane was almost finished scrubbing herself when she reached for her bottle of shampoo on the shelf next to her. However, her wet hands made the bottle slippery and it slipped from her grasp. "Oh nuts…" she groaned as she bent down to pick it back up. However, in doing so she noticed a shadow right at her feet, and it wasn't hers. Whirling around, her mouth gaped open as she saw Ichigo Kurosaki standing in the entrance to the shower, just as naked as she was.
Though she was horrified, she couldn't help but ogle the boy standing before her. She had treated him before so this wasn't the first time she'd seen him with no clothes on but this was the first time she saw him… aroused. Her eyes immediately sailed down to Ichigo's hardened member, standing at attention in front of her. For several seconds she stared at him, never knowing that the substitute was so big.
And then the realization hit them both.
Unohana POV
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Unohana was walking to the showers herself, a bag full of clothes and shampoo in her hand when she heard her lieutenant scream. In moments, she saw a hastily dressed Ichigo dashing through the doors. As he ran past by she saw his face was blood red, a look of embarrassment on his face. The boy didn't regard the captain as he ran, not stopping until he made it back to his room.
Unohana's puzzlement ended when Isane emerged from the showers, dressed in a white bathrobe. Her face was equally red and embarrassed, letting Unohana know exactly what happened. "Oh that's right!" she mentally slapped herself. "I forgot to tell Ichigo that the showers here were unisex." Walking over to her adjutant, Unohana placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright, Isane? You were rather vocal a few moments ago."
"I uh… I didn't know that Ichigo was coming in. I wouldn't have taken a shower had I known. "
Unohana chuckled. "Yes, I forgot to tell him that our showers were unisex and that you were currently using it."
Isane continued to wear the mask of embarrassment. "Captain, why do you insist on keeping the squad's showers unisex? It's so embarrassing…."
"Oh, I felt it would stop everyone from complaining how their showers were too inadequate compared to the other sex," Unohana replied.
Isane mumbled an inaudible reply before heading back to her quarters. As Unohana watched her leave, an idea came to her; one that made her smile warmly. 'Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise. I always told Isane that she needed to experience some romance in her life….'
Unohana began to walk into the currently empty shower feeling giddy for the first time in ages. 'It's always so much fun to play matchmaker….'
To Be Continued….