All characters are owned by Kubo Tite except for Rachi.

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Christmas: the one day in every year when we all give each other stuff and make people happy. It was finally here again. The snow was drifting quietly to the ground and the frost completely covered the trees outside. The sunlight made the ice spark to life, and everything seemed to shine with a glimmering radiance.

I stepped out of my house and breathed in the wintry smell. The cold never really bothered me, and I liked being outside anyway. Karin, Yuzu, and my dad were all still asleep because of how early it was, but I didn't want to stay in there in case Kon decided to wake everyone up with his yelling.

I wandered a bit around Karakura Town, watching the sun rise a bit higher every minute. I looked at all the decorations that were hung on the roofs and on their front doors and my thoughts drifted to a certain happy-go-lucky girl. I smiled in spite of myself.

That was when I ran into her. She was running from one door to another, her wavy blond hair in pigtails and a teal scarf floating behind her. I called out, "Raichu!"

She turned her head towards me and nearly tripped over her own feet. And then she slipped on a patch of ice. I ran over to help her, but she was already up and smiling like she always was. It amazed me how quickly she could recover from anthing, and I admired her strength and will-power.

"Ichigo, you're up early! Didn't think I'd actually see you walking around at sunrise. So, how're things at the clinic?" Rachi asked.

"Thankfully, it's been pretty quiet. It's good to know that people are being more careful this year," I replied, looking in the direction of my house. "Especially all the kids."

Rachi looked at me funny for a moment and then grinned, saying, "Aw, you're such a softie, Ichi!"

She skipped off to another door and I followed, helping with her handouts. They were just some tiny little cards, but there's always that feeling of being noticed and appreciated whenever you get something like that.

When we finished, it was still too early in the morning to be doing much more than sleep, so we headed off to get some hot chocolate. During the walk, I couldn't help but realize how much attention I paid her. I'm not really sure when it started, but it's been harder and harder to ignore her little habits, although I don't usually notice them.

"Ichigo, are you okay? You've been kind of quiet lately," Rachi was looking at me with worried eyes. I didn't realize she'd been talking to me the whole time I was off in my own world. I felt kind of guilty, but I shook it off and thought about whether or not I should tell her what I was thinking about.

We talked to each other about pretty much everything. When I became a shinigami, she knew about it. In fact, she watched what happened between me and Kuchiki Rukia. That was when I found out that I wasn't the only one who could see them, the ghosts and Hollows I mean. Ever since that day, the both of us have been telling each other our secrets, ones that no one else could believe.

"Well, there's one thing that I've been wondering about, I guess," I said, choosing my words carefully although I knew that she would understand either way.

Before I could say anymore, the wall in front of us exploded. I couldn't see what caused it, but the dust settled quickly and I saw that familiar white mask.

"Damn it!" I shouted. "Raichu, you have to get out of here!"

"I can't just leave you here with two Hollows chasing after you!" She replied. She said two, but I only saw one. Where was the other?

I quickly turned and saw her facing off against another Hollow. I didn't know what to do. We were pretty much cornered in an alley, two-to-two, but my friend couldn't fight.

She proved me wrong.

She ate a ginkongan and her soul was separated from her body. The next thing I know, I'm using my badge and ordering the other soul to keep my body safe. We stood back-to-back, our zanpakutos out and pointed at our enemies.

"Surprised, Ichi?" Rachi asked without taking her eyes off the fiend in front of her.

"Not really. You've changed a lot in the past month and I knew something was up. Why didn't you tell me, though?"

"I felt like making it a surprise. But I guess it didn't work as well as I'd hoped."

We dashed towards our opponents and the fight started. I slashed at its mask and it screeched out its protest, slithering away. I ran after it and took it down with another.

I turned back and saw Rachi feint one way and then jump up to take it down. She finished it in one clean swing. She dropped lightly to the ground and turned to me, smiling.

My heart fluttered and I smiled back, walking over and wrapping up Zangetsu. "Are you going to tell me more about your zanpakuto?"

She smirked. "Nope. Not until you tell me what you were thinking about earlier."

Right. I forgot.

I didn't want to keep it a secret, so I did tell her. I stuttered a bit here and there but, hey, it's not that easy confessing to someone that you were thinking stuff about them.

She stood there for a moment, looking kind of thoughtful, and she finally said, "Well, I've sort of been thinking the same thing about you. I don't know when that started, either."

We both stood there for a minute, just looking at our feet before we remembered something.

"Oh, shit! Our bodies!"

We hopped up on a roof and frantically searched for them when Rachi, I mean her body, tackled her from behind, yelling, "Yay! You're back! You know how much I missed you? And taking care of Strawberry's body is such a drag! He better be back soon. In fact if he's not here in ten seconds I'm going to - Oh, look! I found him! Yay!"

I laughed and said, "She's bubblier than you are!"

We brought them off the roof and set them down before we were back and noticeable in our own skin. We walked in silence for a bit, then she spoke up.

"You know, it's nice when you laugh like that. I wish you'd do that more often..." Rachi trailed off.

I stopped walking and looked at her for a moment. We were in front of a nearly over-decorated house, with a lot of garlands and twinkling lights strewn around some bushes and trees. There was an archway into the front yard. I realized that this was her house.

I watched her for a moment before saying, "Maybe I will, but only because you asked."

She looked up at me and smiled again, that breath-taking smile I loved. That quickly changed into a puzzled expression as she noticed where we were and looked up, eyes widening. "Oh, boy."

I looked up as well and guess what? Mistletoe.

"We can't go around breaking Christmas traditions now can we, Raichu?" I asked with a lop-sided grin on my face. I looked down at her and found her giggling.

"My family's always trying to get me with that, but I never fell for it until this year," she said.

We both watched each other for a moment before we both started to lean in. Our lips met and an electrifying jolt shut me down. All I could think about was her.

We stopped and searched each other's eyes before I laughed and said, "Damned mistletoe."

She laughed, and we hugged before she jumped up on to her front porch. "We still need to get that hot chocolate. How does tomorrow sound?"

I smiled even wider and replied, "It's a date."

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This is dedicated to my friend.

She's on this site somewhere...most likely snooping around and looking for good stories to munch on. Yes, she devours the tales that she thinks are worthy of her munching. Like candy canes! Though, she doesn't eat candy...

Anyway, this story is for Christmas but I'm sure you can overlook that and focus on how wonderfully fluffy this was. Hope you enjoyed it!