A/N-I decided to make a different story for all Holiday or Special Occasion IchiRuki stories, so you'll only see this updated for something like a holiday chapter or something really special that inspires a chapter. A bit OOC, but lots of people are happier at Christmas.
Hit up my profile to see other IchiRuki stories written by me, along with AMVs, and you can also get to the Black & White IchiRuki forums through my profile! Please enjoy, and Merry Christmas!
Santa-san
Ichigo sighs since his father has completely lost his mind. Since Rukia has never experienced a real Christmas, Isshin is determined to make the season a fun one for her, and has gone all out with decorations and his own holiday scheme.
How did I let him bribe me into this?
Ichigo sighs again. He knows how it happened…his father promised not to wake him up obnoxiously from Christmas to February if Ichigo cooperated, and Ichigo now thinks he may have answered too quickly.
Like she'll even believe that I'm Santa-san…
But Isshin had gone all out to make sure the costume was perfect. With the stuffing in his belly, the white wig covering all traces of orange hair, red hat, beard, color contacts to turn his eyes blue, fake white eyebrows, and spectacles, he won't resemble Kurosaki Ichigo at all. He'll look like Santa-san. He'd worried Rukia would sense him through his reiatsu, so he got a cologne from Urahara to spray on the costume, to mask his reiatsu, and give it a different feel.
Ichigo has already been filled in on his father's plans, and to his own horror, he found himself wanting to succeed in convincing Rukia that he's Santa-san, because she's been all into the whole celebration of Christmas, and he doesn't want her smile to fade away.
The holiday for lovers in Japan…
Ichigo knows if his father's plan succeeds, Rukia will probably have a really great time, so he's worked on disguising his voice a bit, and he hopes Rukia is radiantly happy when he appears as Santa.
Ichigo sighs nervously, since he's supposed to pull some sort of Clark Kent and Superman act, disappearing just before Santa-san arrives, and coming back after Santa-san leaves. Ichigo figures it works out best this way, because if anyone else were playing Santa-san, he'd be standing next to Rukia, rolling his eyes, and feeling generally annoyed.
Isshin has had a lot of fun explaining to Rukia that the holiday is for lovers, and then he'd even asked her if she had a gift in mind for Ichigo, which had made both of them turn crimson.
"Am I supposed to get him something?" Rukia had asked, with her face still bright red, and Isshin had laughed.
"Only if you love him!" Isshin's response had been enough to make Ichigo throw his cup at his father.
"Shut up old man!" Ichigo's shout was loud enough that it made his sisters cringe.
After much thought and consideration, Ichigo went and bought Rukia a stuffed white rabbit, just in case she got him a present.
If she doesn't give me one, I'll just save it for her birthday…
Then, all this morning, before the Kurosaki family party started, Isshin got Rukia all excited, by proclaiming that he had heard from Santa-san, and that the jolly old man will be making a special trip to the Kurosaki residence, in order to meet Isshin's honorary daughter.
"Really!?" Rukia had actually squealed…
"Yes, Rukia-chan! When he gets here, you'll have to sit on his lap and tell him what you want for Christmas!" Isshin had replied enthusiastically, not missing Ichigo's embarrassment at that statement.
"What I want for Christmas?" Rukia had echoed, and Isshin had nodded.
"You've been a really good girl this year, so I'm sure Santa-san will give you whatever you want." Isshin had said, and Rukia had smiled happily.
"I can ask for anything?" Rukia's next question had been, and Isshin had winked at her, completely delighted that he's helping her experience her first real Christmas.
"Santa-san is magical Rukia-chan. He can even give you presents you didn't know were possible. You can ask him for anything in the world, if I know Santa-san, he'll move heaven and earth to give you what you want." Isshin had said, and Rukia had looked thrilled.
"Then I can't wait to meet him!" Rukia had responded, and Isshin found her response to be highly entertaining.
"Yuzu-chan! Did you prepare the cookies for Santa-san?" Isshin called out, and his light haired daughter gave him a thumbs up.
"We have his favorite! Milk and chocolate chip cookies, with extra chocolate chips!" Yuzu announces, and Ichigo had felt his mouth water up.
At least there are some benefits to playing Santa Clause for the night!
Now that the party has started, Rukia is really restless, and excited about Santa-san's visit.
"When do you think he'll get here, Ichigo?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo shrugs.
"He's a busy man, but I'm sure he'll be here in the next hour! Shall we prepare his throne?" Isshin asks, and Rukia is happy to help him.
Ichigo crosses his arms as Rukia and Isshin push a big chair over by the fireplace, near the stockings, with the milk and cookies in reach.
"I really can't wait to meet him! I want to know his secret for visiting all of the children in the world in one night." Rukia says, and Isshin grins at her.
"I thought I already told you, Rukia-chan! Santa-san is magical!" Isshin says, and Rukia nods.
"You did say that, but I still wonder if he has a special trick he'll reveal to me." She explains, and Isshin laughs.
"I don't think he'll give away the secrets of his trade away to anyone other than his wife!" Isshin says, and Rukia smiles.
"Then I won't ask...I wonder how long he'll be able to stay." Rukia says, and Isshin gives her a regretful look.
"He'll stay as long as he can, but he does have to work tonight, so he can't stay a really long time." Isshin says, and Rukia nods her head.
Isshin gives Ichigo a look, and on cue, Ichigo grabs his stomach.
"My stomach hurts…I…I'll be back…" Ichigo grumbles, holding his stomach as if he's in pain.
"Hurry back or you'll end up missing Santa-san!" Rukia yells out, and Ichigo just gives her a hand wave as he hurries for the his father's bedroom, where the Santa costume is stashed.
He hurries, but the contacts give him the creeps, so it takes a couple of minutes for him to get them in. He secures the wig and hat, and puts on the beard before he gets into the costume, complete with black belt and boots. He sprays his costume with the special cologne, and hopes he's able to fool Rukia.
He puts on the spectacles, and then checks himself in the mirror to make sure not one strand of orange hair sticks out. He grabs the fake eyebrows to stick on top of his own, and then he sees the bouquet of pink roses with a note from Isshin to bring them for Rukia.
Ichigo studies himself for a good minute, to make sure there is nothing to give him away instantly, before he grabs the roses and slips out the back door connected to his father's bedroom.
"Can you get a fresh glass of milk, since this one has been sitting out too long, Rukia-chan?" Isshin asks, and Rukia hurries to do exactly that.
Isshin gives his daughters a pointed stare and puts his finger to his lips, before he hangs a bit of mistletoe above the chair that they have prepared for Santa Clause to sit in.
Rukia walks back in, carefully carrying the milk, but when there's a loud knock on the door, she drops the glass and milk spills all over the place from being startled.
"Oh no! Now he'll think I'm bad!" Rukia exclaims, and Karin rolls her eyes, while Yuzu jumps up.
"It's okay Rukia-chan it was only an accident! I'll clean it up, Karin-chan will get a fresh glass, and you should answer the door!" Yuzu says, and Rukia nods, even though her heart is pounding.
I'm about to meet one of earth's biggest celebrities!
Rukia throws open the door, and her face lights up like a Christmas Tree when she catches sight of the large bearded man smiling down at her.
"Ho ho, ho! Merry Christmas! Ah the famous Rukia-chan." Santa says in a low voice, and Rukia immediately curtsies.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Santa-san! Please come in!" Rukia says, and he gives her an apologetic look before he hands her the roses.
"The truth is that I'm far too large to have an easy time removing my boots…would you mind helping me?" Santa asks her, and Rukia blinks a few times before offering him a cheerful smile.
"Of course!" She hands the roses to Isshin before she drops to her knees, and assists Santa in the removal of his boots, not noticing the satisfied smile Santa is wearing due to her efforts.
It only takes her a moment to remove his boots, and offer him some indoor slippers.
"Ah Santa-san! Welcome back! I'm so happy you could make it to meet my honorary third daughter!" Isshin gushes, and Ichigo has to suppress the urge to roll his eyes at his dramatic father.
"You insisted." Santa says, and Rukia grins at Isshin, impressed that he was able to talk Santa-san into visiting.
"You're very persuasive!" Rukia says to Isshin, before she looks around to see if Ichigo has returned.
The idiot still hasn't made it back! I knew he'd end up missing Santa-san!
"I don't have a lot of time though, I have a full schedule tonight…" Santa says, as Karin walks into the room with milk, and Yuzu gets to scrubbing the spill on the floor, she smiles up at the fat guest who has arrived though.
"Welcome, Santa-san!" Yuzu says cheerfully, and Karin waves, even though she doesn't want to, in order to keep up her father's appearances.
"We have a chair right over there for you!" Isshin says, pointing it out, and Rukia's eyes are lit up with happiness as she watches Santa make his way to the chair and get settled.
"Are you comfortable, Santa-san?" Rukia asks, and the old man meets her eyes, holding her stare with his own bright blue eyes as he nods his affirmation.
"If you're hungry or thirsty, we have cookies and milk there for you." Yuzu tells him, and he nods again before taking a cookie, and eating it while watching everyone else curiously.
"Rukia-chan has never experienced Christmas before Santa-san, and since we know you're busy, we're only going to have her sit on your lap to tell you what she wants." Isshin says, and Santa sets down the half eaten cookie to take a gulp of milk, but his cheeks seem a tiny bit redder.
Santa nods again, and Rukia smiles.
"Was the cookie good?" She asks, and he rubs his belly appreciatively.
"I'm always left the best cookies in the world at this house…" Santa says, before he picks up the rest of his cookie and eats it.
"Thank you, Santa-san!" Yuzu sings out, and Rukia can't stop smiling as she studies Santa.
He seems sort of familiar…who is it that he reminds me of?
"Are you ready for Rukia-chan?" Isshin asks, noting how his son can't stop turning red at the idea of having the petite Shinigami in his lap.
All Ichigo can do is nod, and Rukia beams at him as she approaches him. She settles in his lap, and looks at him in the eye, even though he looks a bit distracted. He puts his arm loosely around her though, and tries not to think dirty thoughts.
"Santa-san?" Rukia asks, and he looks fairly disgruntled at this point.
"What?" Santa asks, and he feels hot in his heavy clothing, as she leans closer to his ear.
"For Christmas…I want…" Rukia trails off for a moment before she starts again. "…uh…I want the strength to say I love you to the man I love." Rukia says it so extremely softly, that her words make it to Santa's ears alone.
"Who?" Santa can't help but whisper, and he watches as Rukia's face goes crimson, but she leans back to his ear.
"Kurosaki Ichigo." Rukia's voice is like the wind it's so soft, but the feel of her breath against his ear makes him shiver a little bit.
"I'll see what I can do." Santa says, in a low voice, but it cracks the tiniest bit in his nervous excitement. Luckily for him, she doesn't notice.
"Thank you." Rukia says, and Isshin stands there with a camera.
"You want a picture with Santa-san don't you Rukia-chan?" Isshin asks, and Rukia nods excitedly.
Ichigo wants to die as his father takes several pictures, but he keeps one arm around Rukia, and manages a smile for the picture taking.
"Her first pictures with Santa!" Yuzu says with a happy smile, and Karin nods as she looks over at the pictures of all of the Kurosaki kids at one point or another with Santa.
There's even one of Karin on one knee and Yuzu on the other on Santa's lap from a few years ago.
"Now he's going to put hers out with ours next year." Karin says, with a thoughtful smile, since she's well aware that her brother is playing Santa for this occasion.
"Hey Santa-san! Look up! I know your wife won't mind if you follow the tradition associated with mistletoe!" Isshin says with a gleeful smile, and Ichigo about dies as he looks up, and does indeed see mistletoe that he's sure wasn't there before.
"The tradition associated with mistletoe? What is it?" Rukia ask, excited to take part in a tradition with the famed Santa-san.
"When caught underneath it, you have to kiss." Isshin says, and Rukia blinks.
"Really?" She asks, as she starts wondering how she can get Ichigo near the mistletoe.
He's not here, so he doesn't know it's here…unless he saw it earlier…
"Kiss her Santa-san!" Isshin says with a wink, and he holds up the camera as Ichigo throws him a quick glare, before he leans over to kiss Rukia on the cheek.
The problem is, she turns her face to look at him, so he catches her lips at the same time he sees a flash.
"Rukia-chan kissed Santa-san!" Yuzu exclaims merrily, and even Karin can't stop smiling at that spoken fact.
Even well disguised, I can tell Ichi-ni is embarrassed…
"It's okay we won't tell his wife." Isshin says with a smirk, and Ichigo wants to die since he knows there will be a picture…
"I don't have any time left…" Ichigo says, holding his voice in disguise, even though Rukia looks sad.
"But Ichigo hasn't come back yet!" Rukia exclaims, and Isshin shrugs.
"His loss. Thanks for stopping by Santa-san!" Isshin says, and Rukia gets off of his lap.
Santa stands, and walks over to his boots.
"Do you need help, Santa-san?" Rukia asks, and Santa nods his head.
"Thank you, Rukia-chan." Ichigo hates adding 'chan' at the end, but he's playing a damned role, with a performance that outshines her typical schoolgirl act.
"Sayonara, Santa-san." Rukia says softly as he opens the door, and he glances back at her.
Isshin is able to sneak another piece of mistletoe above the entrance to the kitchen, without anyone noticing. He smirks at his own ingenuity as he watches his son end his debut performance of Santa Clause.
"Merry Christmas! Ho ho, ho!" Santa says, before he walks out the door.
Ichigo scrambles back in through the back of the house, through his father's bedroom, and rushes to get out of the entire disguise.
The whole time he's getting rid of the Santa Clause disguise, he can't stop thinking about what Rukia said to him.
I guess I'll give her the rabbit even if she doesn't have anything for me…since I know she wants to tell me she loves me, maybe it will make it easier for her…
Once again he has trouble with the contact lens, but he manages, and hurries back into the living room.
"Ichigo!" Rukia's voice is loud and annoyed, and he looks surprised.
"What?" He asks, and she puts her hands on her hips.
"You missed Santa-san!" Rukia tells him, before she grabs him by the ear, and drags him down to her level.
"Ouch! Sorry Rukia, my stomach was hurting!" Ichigo yelps out, and she releases his ear.
"Rukia-chan…" Isshin says with a triumphant smile, and she looks at him questioningly.
"Yes?" She asks, and he points up.
Rukia and Ichigo both look up and turn bright red when they see the mistletoe. Rukia's mouth opens and closes a few times.
Somehow this was less embarrassing with Santa-san.
"When did that get there?" Ichigo nearly wails, since it was bad enough that his family witnessed their first kiss with him in disguise…now he's supposed to share his second kiss with her in front of them too?
"I think I saw Santa-san perform a bit of magic, and put it there before he left." Isshin says, and Ichigo throws his father a warning look.
Like hell! I was Santa-san, and I'd know if I did something like that!
"Sure…" Ichigo mutters, and Isshin raises an eyebrow.
"Son…don't you know what you're supposed to do when you're under the mistletoe? You're supposed to kiss her." Isshin says, gently massaging the camera in his hand, excited to snap this picture as well.
"I know what I'm supposed to do, shut your trap old man!" Ichigo snaps, before he lets out a sigh of defeat and leans down to kiss Rukia gently on the lips.
They both close their eyes, and sure enough, Isshin snaps more pictures.
Rukia turns pink, and doesn't move while Ichigo kisses her, but his lips only rest on hers a tiny bit longer than necessary before he pulls away and looks away from her.
"Ichigo?" Rukia says, and he looks back at her, suddenly worried she'll make her confession in front of his family…and he doesn't want that, because there will definitely be pictures taken of that too, if she says it now.
"What?" Ichigo asks nervously, and Rukia beams at him.
"Merry Christmas, idiot." She says softly, and he grins back at her.
"Merry Christmas." Ichigo says softly, and Isshin smiles at the change he can already sense between them.
Merry Christmas to me! Rukia-chan will definitely be my daughter for real, after she marries my son!
"You're too proud of yourself." Karin mumbles, and luckily only Isshin hears her. He nods at her with a conspiratorial wink.
"You betcha!" Isshin sings softly.
Later…
"Ichigo…I made you something for Christmas, since I didn't have any money, and your sister helped me…" Rukia says, and Ichigo looks at her with interest.
"You did? What did you make me?" He asks, and she runs over to the closet to pull out a small wrapped gift, before she hands it to him.
He opens it up, and finds that she made him some homemade fudge.
"Merry Christmas." Rukia says softly, and Ichigo smiles happily at her as he eyes the fudge.
"Fudge! Fudge is my favorite!" Ichigo exclaims, but he sets down the gift and opens up the drawer in his night stand, with the Christmas theme bag, and stuffed rabbit on the inside.
"You got me something?" Rukia asks with a pleased smile, and Ichigo nods as he blushes, since he knows she remembers his father had told her that Christmas is a holiday for lovers…
"Merry Christmas, Rukia." Ichigo says softly, and he watches as she snatches the bag and pulls it open.
Her eyes widen, when she sees the stuffed rabbit on the inside.
"Chappy!" Rukia squeals, before she pulls it out and leaps on Ichigo to hug him.
He hugs her back as she laughs into his shoulder.
"I knew you'd like it." Ichigo says in an embarrassed voice, but she surprises him by pulling back just enough to kiss him…their first private kiss.
"I love it…and you." Rukia tells him, and he feels like his heart is about to take off flying in the sky from his happiness.
He yanks her back into his arms.
"I love you too. Always have." He mutters against her soft skin, and he realizes that for Christmas, he got the most wonderful gift in the world.
Finally! For Christmas, I got Rukia's love…