A/N: Don't know where this came from. And yes I got my other OTP in there. So what?

As an aside: thank you all for the response to Protocol. :D Made my evening. P

Disclaimer: Kubo-sensei's world, I'm just playing. But

"Spirited Away"

The pub they are going to is in the First District, a short walk away from the West Gate, so Rukia and Ichigo head over as soon as they are free of their duties at the Thirteenth. Overhead the moon is full, covering everything in its pearlescent light and making the water droplets in Ichigo's still wet hair glitter like diamonds. Rukia had been forced to literally drag him from the training grounds where he had been sparring all afternoon with the new recruits and toss him into the showers.

Well maybe "sparring" was too generous a term for what he was doing. More like "schooling" the new members on just how hard they all had to work to keep up with him. In less than ten minutes he had taken out half of them. Frankly, it was more than a little disappointing. Some of those shinigami were people Rukia had picked herself.

She glanced over at Ichigo in the dark. He had only truly been a full shinigami and Soul Society resident less than a year but he had already picked up their habits. He walked with his hands folded into the sleeves of his kimono, head high, gaze trained ahead though every now and then scanning their surroundings for signs of trouble. It was unlikely that anyone would attack them, not with Ichigo's monstrous reiatsu and dual zanpakuto, but war had taught him well.

A prickle in her heart and she dropped her gaze away.

Around them the First District was bustling with activity, though the sun had set hours before. They were late actually, though no one in their group had specified a time and on the occasions that it was possible for all of them to have an evening out like this it was generally accepted that they would drop in when they could. Still, Rukia disliked being the last to arrive anywhere. It was bad form to be late for anything for a Kuchiki and no amount of reassurances would change that.

Evenings after work in the First District were usually lively and tonight it was no different. In the main square there were a series of food stalls peddling everything from hot ramen to sweet treats. The air was filled with the scent of spice and sugar. Beside them were vendors selling cheap jewellery, clothing accessories and fake flowers. One woman held out a flower to Rukia as they passed, which she refused with a slight headshake before the woman turned to Ichigo. He smiled at her and shook his head. Was it wrong that for a moment Rukia had hoped he would have taken up the vendor's offer and presented it to her for her ear?

A blast of flame caught Rukia's attention and she turned to see fire-eaters and jugglers and even a group of musicians had begun to set up shop. It felt as if there was going to be a festival soon though she could remember none.

"Hey, hey, do you know where this place is or are we just walking around hoping for the best?" asked Ichigo suddenly, jerking her from her daydream.

She snapped her head up to look at him. He was not looking at her but the fire, the yellow glow enlivening his ridiculous hair and adding warmth to his eyes. The prickle in her heart became a flutter in her stomach and she dropped her gaze again, clenched her fists at her sides and snapped, "Of course I know where it is!" She started away, stomping her feet to avoid kicking him in the shins and starting an unnecessarily physical fight she would not win, and continued, "You're just gawking at everything so I have to slow down to make sure you don't get lost!"

"Oi!" was Ichigo's cry of protest and Rukia hastened her steps to get away before he decided to grab her.

If she was younger, she was sure she would be in a denial about these feelings. She was much too old for him, they were from different worlds (well, not anymore,) and for goodness sake, he had so many other things to worry about than her cold little heart. Ha. She should have known she would be in trouble from the day she showed him her bankai. Like Nii-sama and Renji before him, he made it his solemn vow to watch out for her in battle just in case. It was probably why he had decided to apprentice with the Thirteenth when they gave him the option. But that was just her body, her life; her heart was her own problem.

It did not take him long to meet up with her again, just as she was about to turn onto the street that led to the pub. It was just a little way down, the doors open, Ikkaku's voice clear above the other sounds of revelry, challenging Rangiku to a drinking contest. He always lost and yet he insisted, as if he did not know that the busty woman could hold her liquor. As if Nii-sama would not kill him if he got mad after losing and tried to fight her.

Ichigo never drank with them, no matter how much they tried, no matter how many times Rangiku tried to slip sake into his tea. He was too young, he said, though he had crossed the Japanese legal drinking age during the war. Rukia suspected that he just did not want to end up like the rest of them: flat on their face on the dirty floor, snoring or groaning or throwing up. And besides, he would add, someone had to take Rukia home before she took off someone's head.

That had only happened the one time but he was never going to let her live it down.

They got to the door just as someone went flying out. Ichigo put one hand up to stop Rukia's advance and another reached for his zanpakuto. She bristled and glared up at him, but a moment later the proprietor of the pub was at the door yelling, "Don't let me see you back here until you've sobered up some and can pay! My place doesn't run on favours! And—oh hey, Kurosaki-sama, Lieutenant-san, your friends are waiting for you, let me show you…"

He turned before finishing his sentence and once again, Rukia noted, without remembering her name. But of course not, who would remember something as unimportant as that? It was not as if Ichigo's whole presence in Soul Society had begin with her or anything. Not that she was jealous, because that was absurd, but really, how hard was it to remember the name Kuchiki?

As they made their way to their regular booth in the pub, Rukia noticed that heads turned once slightly-glazed eyes caught sight of Ichigo's flaming hair. Then shoulders were shaken or poked or jabbed, followed by whispers which quickly spread and suddenly, somehow, despite the din of orders being called and celebratory shots taken and bawdy songs being recited the whole pub knew that the Hero of Soul Society had arrived.

Rukia was not surprised to spot a few familiar faces. Some were shinigami, some were nobility and most of them were drunk. No one looked at her.

No one looked up when they finally got to their friends. The proprietor slid open the screen door, bowed, murmured something about their regular server and left. Ikkaku and Rangiku were seated facing each other with a dozen sake bottles between them, a cup in one hand and the other hand on their zanpakuto. Renji, Momo, Izuru, Shuuhei, and Yumichika were arranged around them apparently in the manner of the sides they took. Then Ikkaku counted, "Ichi! Ni! San! Kampai!"

On three they threw back the shot, slammed the cups on the table and waited. After a moment Ikkaku's eyes watered but Rangiku's remained clear and she smiled. Nope, Ikkaku was not winning this one tonight either.

Then Momo looked up and said "Oh hey, Kuchiki-san! Kurosaki-kun!"

The others snapped their heads up to look at them and Renji groaned, "How come you're not in uniform? I knew I had time to change!"

Rukia shrugged and straightened the sleeves of her dark red yukata patterned with a recurring print of gold fans. Ichigo, beside her, wore striped dark grey. She replied with a smirk, "Perhaps if you weren't so slow you would have."

He scowled at her but before he could retort, Rangiku said, "Speaking of slow, did you two take the scenic route to get here?"

She looked at Rukia with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Rukia had known that she would regret it to the day she died that she had ever told Rangiku about her feelings, even more so since she knew that the woman and Orihime were close. But Rukia had very few female friends and since Rangiku was now technically her sister-in-law, well, who else could she turn to? Yoruichi was back in the Living World, Karin and Yuzu were many times younger and also in the Living World and her gossipy Third Seat was out of the question. At first she had feared that Rangiku would disapprove and rightly shame her for her interest but instead the woman had given her a nice little speech about the mind not being responsible for the heart, reminded her that at least this guy was not married (or dating for that matter) and then immediately began teasing her about it. She had not let up ever since.

Fighting the blush that was threatening to form across her pale cheeks, Rukia snapped as angrily as she could, "We would be here sooner if this idiot wasn't gaping like a monkey!"

She turned to glare up at Ichigo, ready to kick him in the shins when he snapped back at her, but instead he replied, "The First District is so…lively."

"What?" Rukia asked, anger deflating like a balloon.

"I was just thinking," said Ichigo, going over to sit at the table next to Ikkaku.

Rukia hurried over to Rangiku's side, muttering as she went, "Don't hurt yourself now."

If Ichigo heard her he ignored it to continue, "It reminds me of summer nights at home."

And just like that, all the liveliness went out of the room. He did not mention it often but Ichigo missed Karakura Town and his family and friends. The Second Quincy War had seen to it that he could not return, not without multiple limiters and special permission from the Captain Commander and Central Forty-Six. At the same time he did not look that broken up about it but that did not stop others, like Rukia from feeling like they were those yokai of legend who had spirited him away. And then he said, "Of course, we would not be late if this midget could keep up with her little midget legs."

He stuck out his tongue at her. She lunged across the table to grab him by the hair, only to be stopped halfway by Rangiku before she could knock over the sake. So instead she snarled, "Who're you calling midget, you overgrown carrot?"

Renji tried to play peacekeeper. "Hey, now, Rukia, you don't want to get us tossed out again, do you?"

That had only happened once and it was Ikkaku's fault. Nii-sama had not been pleased about it though and that was enough to cool her as surely as if she had been doused in ice water. She settled back into her seat and said, "Double drills tomorrow morning!"

Ichigo's eyes widened and then narrowed as he said, "Oi, you can't do that!"

She folded her arms and turned her nose up at him. "I just did. As long as you're in the Thirteenth, I'm your lieutenant and I can punish you."

Renji intervened again, "No, you can't."

She turned to glare up at him, protesting, "Hey, whose side are you on?"

"Everyone else's who's here to have a good time not watch you two squabble like a pair of old women!" he retorted.

Rangiku put a hand on Rukia's arm before she could reply and slipped a cup of sake into her hand. When Rukia turned to her to refuse it, she said, "Oh stop it you three. Now be a good girl and drink this and let's have some fun, okay?"

Ichigo had gone back to smirking, Renji was watching her with a raised eyebrow and the others were apparently deeply interested in everything else but the trio. Ah, yes, loosen up. She smiled, downed the shot and slammed the cup unto the tabletop with forced cheer, "Kampai!"

ooo

The world was rocking slightly, from side to side, and up and down and boy was it warm and smelled like sword polish and sake and sweat and…strawberries? Rukia blinked open her eyes and was hit with a wave of nausea that threatened to sweep her off her perch. She squeezed her eyes shut again and groaned. Then her carrier said, "Yeah, I don't think I'll be taking you back to the manor tonight."

Her eyes snapped open and this time she very nearly fell off at the sight of bright orange hair mere inches from her face. "Whoa there, easy, it was raining earlier so the ground's pretty much mud right now."

She dared to look down, but the lights were dimmer here, the moon much higher in the sky and she could not see much around them. She could hear the squelch of his sandals on the muddy ground though and she asked, "Where are we?"

"On the way to the barracks, where your brother isn't so I won't get killed for letting you get drunk. Death by cherry blossom, what a stupid way to die," he replied.

Rukia could not muster the strength to hit him so she settled for blowing harshly on his neck and was rewarded with his shoulders seizing up as he shuddered. Then she said, "Nii-sama's release is beautiful!"

"Ru-Ru—do you want me to drop you!" he snapped. She felt the skin at his neck warm, his heart rate pick up under her chest and from his stammer she guessed he was blushing.

Her eyes went wide but then she smirked and asked, "Oh right, I forgot you're still real sensitive about these kinds of things…what a kid."

"Who're you calling a kid? Who's carrying who here?" he demanded, barely able to contain his outrage. He had come to a stop in the middle of the street and though he was not shouting his whispers were loud in the quiet.

Rukia adjusted her position on his back, climbing higher to settle with an arm atop his head and her face on his shoulder before replying, "You're my manservant. I am a lady of the ancient Great Noble House of Kuchiki and you a mere half-human boy. Of course you have to carry me."

"Oh yeah?" asked Ichigo and he leaned backward until she wrapped both hands around his neck and clamped her legs to his side to stop from falling off. Then he gasped out (she squeezed as tightly as she could,) "Are you sure about that?"

If she was not Kuchiki Rukia, former Inuzuri street rat, Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division, sister of Lord Kuchiki Byakuya and veteran of the Winter and Second Quincy wars she might have screamed. Instead she settled for a slightly panicked protest, "Hey! Hey! I'm falling! I'm falling!"

Ichigo burst out laughing, straightened and started walking again. Then he said, "I think I should have recorded that for Renji."

Rukia growled at him but said nothing as she shifted back into her original position on his back. It was nice to be carried, since she was very sure now that she would not have managed the walk back. So maybe she could ignore Ichigo's coddling this one time. But something still bothered her, so she asked, "Hey Ichigo?"

"Hmm?" he asked.

"Do you ever wish sometimes…I don't know…that you never met me?"

He came to an abrupt halt and asked, "What?"

Rukia wished he would move on. Her stomach was beginning to roil again and she did not really want to throw up over his nice yukata. But she had started this and so she said, "If you had never met me you could be home with your family now instead of here with us. You would be able to do all the things you ever wanted. You could be a doctor now."

Ichigo said nothing, just stood there. She began to worry. Had she shocked him so badly that he was frozen? Goodness, would she have to carry him back home on her shoulders? She did not like to acknowledge it but she was awfully small and he was ridiculously tall. And then he said, "Never."

Now it was her turn to ask, "What?"

He started walking again but said, "I have never wished, not for an instant, and I never will wish that I had never met you."

Well what was she going to say that? She was just making conversation, and he had to go and take it seriously and now she was feeling all warm and wonderful inside (though it could be the sake) and she could not help the smile that formed on her face. But now that he had said that, she was curious and she asked, "Even with all that's happened? Don't you miss the others?"

At this Ichigo stopped again and asked, "Where is this coming from? Don't you want me around anymore?"

Rukia turned her head and pressed her forehead into his spine. He froze up again but did not move or say anything, for which she was grateful, and then she said, "I want you to be happy. I'm worried, Ichigo, that we took you away, that I took you away from your family and you're trapped here. I'm so sorry."

Again he was silent for a long time, and then he exhaled and said, "I am happy, Rukia. I am here with you and Renji and Byakuya and Rangiku and everyone and I can protect everyone. You didn't take me away from anything, you set me free."

He did not start walking again after this but just stood there with Rukia on his back, feeling his heartbeat through his clothes, listening to his breathing and around them the quiet of the late night. And then she said, "Okay, put me down here."

He half-turned to look back at her, protesting, "Hey, Rukia, the ground…I don't think—"

"Put me down, plebeian!" she commanded.

He complied, grumbling about ungrateful midgets with Napoleon complexes, whatever that was, setting her gently on her feet. But before he could straighten, she threw her arms around his shoulders and quickly kissed him on the cheek.

Predictably, he reacted to this by launching himself backwards, knocking her off balance and down into the mud with a plop while he hopped the other way, hands up as if to fend off an attack. Unable to get up again, both from the mud and the alcohol in her system, Rukia groaned and pondered the injustice of her life that she would have to fall in love with this brute. But love him she did and he reaffirmed this a moment later when he plucked her up out of the mud, set her on her feet and busied himself trying to clean the worst of it off her face, hair and clothes, blushing bright red the whole time.

Finally, when he decided that she was clean enough and he had recovered from his shock he stammered, "W-what was that for?"

She gave him the hand signal to turn around, which he did, allowing her to hop onto his back. Then she said, "For being you."

She could feel his blush and she supposed that if she was not so tipsy she might have been blushing too. She was certainly going to be completely mortified by this in the morning, but that was hours and a hangover away. For now she settled for climbing a little higher and wrapping her hands around his neck and then resting her head into the crook of his shoulder. He tensed for a moment but then relaxed and started walking again.

They continued in this way for some time too, that is until Rukia's nausea became too much and she threw up. Too bad she did not manage to hop away from Ichigo in time. His cry of horror probably woke the whole Seireitei.