Disclaimer: I am not 久保 帯人. Therefore I don't own Bleach. :3
Author's Note: Here's a thanks and a shout out to LithiumRukia and ninjapirate6 for reviewing my first Bleach fic! And as LithiumRukia suggested, I wrote a new one-shot in second person as Rukia. This one is definitely not an angsty fic at all since I was feeling quite the IchiRuki love and felt like writing some fluffiness. I tried not going too overboard with the fluffiness so hopefully it's just right. Again time setting is all up to your speculation. Please review with any thoughts, constructive criticism, and I definitely don't mind some good ol' praise. ;D They make me nice and warm reading them. XD
Yosh! よろしくお願いします！
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Stupid Dream
You feel your body toss and turn, rolling side to side. Your palms are sweaty as you clench your fists. Your chest is damp with perspiration causing your nightshirt to stick to your skin. It is all too much to bear that you finally open your eyes and your mind is conscious of your surroundings. You're breathing is hard and your pulse is racing at high speeds.
"It was just a nightmare." You say. "It wasn't real." But you can't fool yourself. The nightmare was too close for comfort and every touch, sensation, and emotion you felt could not have been more real. You get up from your bed quietly to not disturb the two sleeping girls snoozing off in their own beds.
You slip your feet into your Chappy slippers and with bunny heads facing forward, you open the door of the room and tiptoe out. It's dark in the house but you've lived here long enough to know its passageways. You pass by the door with the number 15 on it and hesitate, your feet in mid-step. You bite gently on the bottom of your lip and hold back from turning and knocking on the door.
You continue downstairs and head into the kitchen to get a glass of water. There are still traces of sweat on your body after you down the whole glass. The images from your nightmare are relayed in your mind and the hot atmosphere doesn't help one bit. You need a cooler place to think.
You decide it'd be best to go outside and get some fresh air. As you step out, a cool breeze meets your face and you welcome it by walking entirely out of the house. The slight breeze dances around your hair, making a few strands lift and fall. You reckon it's around 3 AM from the color of the sky and soft shining of the moon above you.
You stand there in front of the clinic and take a good look at the moon. It is full and bright as a star tonight. This triggers instantly for your mind to conjure up an image from your nightmare. You close your eyes, trying to block it out but it's a persistent thought that rams itself into your memory by sheer force. Behind your closed eyelids you picture the bloodshed, you feel the fear, and the emotion comes back. You automatically say his name. "Ichigo."
"Aye, Rukia. What are you doing outside at this time of the night?" You shoulders jump as you open your eyes quickly and turn around. A bed head Ichigo in his pajamas is standing in the doorway, his head tilted to the side in confusion. You notice his eyes are a bit squinted from just waking up.
"I-Ichigo." You are surprised as ever. You took great measures to tiptoe throughout the house in the dark nonetheless and not make a sound. You even closed the front door at a snail's pace so that it wouldn't creak. There was no possible way he heard you. "How did you know I was outside?" You ask and fold your arms over your chest.
"Idiot, why are you answering my question with a question." He says while he rubs his eyes of their weariness away. "I woke up because I felt your reiatsu leaving the house." He answers your question any way. "You running away?"
You shake your head. "No… I just needed some fresh air. That's all." That's not all though and the tone in which you say it is apparent to Ichigo. You see him raise an eyebrow as if it was all bull crap. He steps outside and closes the door behind him.
You turn back around to look at the moon and clutch your arms tighter. It seems to get a bit colder but you fight it off for the time being. You hear Ichigo's footsteps from behind you until he stops next to you and stands a foot away. You see him crossing his arms too and you're glad that you're not the only one feeling the cold.
From the corner of your eyes you can see that he's also staring up at the moon. It takes only a few seconds before he blurts out, "You had a bad dream, didn't you?"
Before you can answer with a cover-up, Ichigo continues. "Kurosakis are usually heavy sleepers and I'm no exception but tonight was different for some reason. I never noticed how thin those walls are." He pauses. "I heard you talking to yourself. At first I thought you might have been talking to Yuzu or Karin but I didn't hear their voices or any one else for that matter. It seemed normal until it sounded like you were getting frantic. Before I could react, it stopped so I figured you just went back to sleep. But I was wrong and here you are." He looks away from the navy blue night sky and turns his head toward you. "I heard you say my name in your sleep…" He pauses again and you can tell he feels a bit uneasy saying it. "What did you dream about?"
You throw all seriousness aside and say, "It's nothing like that if that's what you're thinking. Although fitting as it since it was a nightmare."
Ichigo shakes his head in frustration, although even in the minimal light you can see his face turn a shade of pink. "No, I didn't mean it like that! Is Kon influencing your thoughts or something? And a nightmare, sheesh, thanks for that. "
You answer him with a bonk to his head. He rubs his head in agony afterward but before he can retaliate you speak. "Yes, you were in my dream." Although you're still looking up at the moon, you can feel his focus is on you. "We were both battling two extremely powerful hollows, they might as well have been arrancar. I'm a bit vague on exactly what they were. But it was a difficult fight. Too difficult."
There's a certain part where you're afraid to explain any further. The temperature gets a few degrees colder that goose bumps form on your arms. You start rubbing them for a little warmth. You're not sweating anymore, thank goodness. But you have to continue since there would be no way Ichigo would let you stop it at that.
"I held it out on my own while you did the same for your battle. I managed to come out victorious but I tried looking for you and…" Your head drops a bit as your eyes focus on the ground. Your eyes are burning and you know what's trying to come out. You're fighting as hard as ever for it not to happen.
"… I found you. But you were… dead." The burning sensation of your eyes is cooled off but not in the way you wanted it to. The tears start to flow freely, dropping as little blots on the pavement. The saltiness of the droplets over your mouth is an unfamiliar taste.
"I don't know why I'm getting so worked up over it. It was just a stupid dream. I don't even know why my eyes are getting we-" You can't even finish. Ichigo grabs you and before you know it, your head is buried in his chest and his arms are wrapped around your body. You can sense that he's just as surprised as you are.
Still in his grasp you slowly move your head away from his chest, noticing your wet tear stains on his shirt. You look up into his face and there's something in his eyes that you've never seen before. He looks genuinely worried but there's something else you can't quite put your finger on. That something else scares you a bit but it enthralls you at the same time. It enthralls you enough to the point where you don't squirm out of his grasp but instead return the gesture. You raise your arms and encircle them around his torso.
Ichigo's lips form into a smile and it makes you feel safe enough to gently rest your head sideways back onto his chest. You feel him place his face atop your head, softly breathing in the scent of your hair of strawberry shampoo. He holds you tighter to him in the process. You can feel the warmth radiating from his body to yours. You swear that you've never felt something fit so perfectly.
"I'm so glad it was just a dream." You whisper to him.
"A stupid dream, right?" He murmurs.
You laugh a little and hug him tighter just to make sure he is real. It'd be an almost strangling hold to any one else but you know he can handle it. You know Ichigo's strong. You would have it no other way.
Your tears have stopped flowing and your lips form into their own content smile. You also notice that the cold has gone away but the goose bumps on your skin are still intact. You both stand under the moonlight as Ichigo holds you to him for a little while longer.
Then he mumbles something into your hair. You don't quite understand what he says until you look back up at him and see his eyes in their drowsy state. You mentally remind yourself that it is past 3 AM and a growing teenage boy like him needs all the sleep he can get.
But Ichigo repeats himself again when you don't answer him automatically. "I think I'm in love with you, Rukia." Your eyes widen in shock but you feel excited. You want to say it back to him too. Say it a million times over announcing to him and the world. But you aren't sure if it's him saying it in his conscious state or just the sleep talking.
You decide it's the former. "I think I'm in love with you too, Ichigo."
大好きだと思う。
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Author's Note: Yay fluffiness! I think fluffiness makes me feel good, how about you? I hope this made you feel good! I wrote this mostly to make readers feel happy inside so please review so that I'll know it's a mission accomplished! Thank you! Ja ne! 3
ありがとうございます！