.:Sick Days:.

A raven-haired girl sat up in her bed, her violet eyes drooped with fatigue. Her skin looked pale, and when she slid the door leading out of her tiny bedroom aside, her hands shook.

"Ugh," she gurgled, "I feel terrible."

She stumbled out of bed and tried to focus her vision on the room in front of her, but everything seemed to sway and shift around her.

What is this? Is something wrong with me? She thought, trying to reach out and regain her balance. She latched onto something, what seemed to be the corner of a desk, and sighed in relief.

She stood up straighter, her hands grasping the wooden edge like it was a lifeline. Taking deep breaths, she was gradually able to see better, but her body felt incredibly weak, her bones and muscles aching.

"Is something wrong with my gigai?" she contemplated aloud, frustrated with her tiny substitute body.

"What the hell are you doing, Rukia?"

The voice made her turn swiftly. Big mistake. She felt her head begin to pound, white splotches clouding her vision. Was this what humans called a headache?

"Ichigo?" she questioned, not wanting to let go of the desk for fear she might fall over.

She heard him sigh. "Yeah, it's me." His tone shifted. "But, why are you just standing there? You don't look so good."

Rukia could see him now, standing just inside his doorway, a backpack at his feet. He looked slightly concerned, and he began to walk over to her.

"I…" she didn't want to show weakness, but how else was she supposed to discover what was wrong with herself.

"I don't feel right." She finally assented, as she felt the back of his hand reach up to rest against her forehead. She blushed madly at his actions, not sure what to make of them.

"W-what are you doing?" she sputtered, feeling his body so close to her.

Ichigo looked down and laughed. "I'm checking your temperature." His smile quickly turned into a frown as he checked his own head. "You definitely have a fever."

Rukia looked up at him in dismay. She knew vaguely what that meant. "You mean…I'm sick?" In the Soul Society, she never got sick, and could only remember being ill a few times while she had been alive.

Ichigo bent down to look at Rukia closer. She gulped loudly, feeling way too scrutinized for her liking.

"How long have you been like this?" His voice was soft, comforting. At his tone, she felt the full weight of her affliction. Whatever was bothering her, it made her feel absolutely awful. She slumped forward, feeling her arms fall like dead weights to her sides.

"I don't know." She mumbled. "Maybe since last night."

Ichigo reached over and held her shoulders. "Well, you need to get some rest." He was calm and sure as he helped her over to his bed and gently laid her down. Rukia normally would have protested at such help, but she was too weak to raise her voice.

She looked up gratefully at Ichigo as she settled under the covers. "Thank you," she said, feeling her muscles relax at the soft mattress underneath her.

He gave her a kind grin. "No problem. Lucky for you, I live in a hospital, so you should be up and fine in a couple of days."

Rukia's eyes went wide, and she would have jumped up in anger at his words if not for how tired she was. Instead, she settled for the most evil glare she could muster, and ground out, "Days?"

Ichigo smirked. "What? Did you think you would be fine in a couple of hours?"

Rukia grumbled, her violet eyes smoldering. "Maybe."

Ichigo lifted his chin and laughed loudly. "You've never been sick in your life, have you?"

When Rukia didn't answer, but turned her head to pout silently, the orange-haired teen stood up and looked down at her, highly amused.

"Stay here. I'll be back with some soup and medicine." He went over to the door and was about to leave, but made a grand show of pausing, and turned back, emphasizing,

"Remember: Don't move."

His sarcasm was clear, and Rukia could have punched him. She hated being sick! But before she could reach over and throw a pillow at his face, her eyes were already beginning to close, and the most she could do was murmur "idiot" before sleep knocked her out.

---.:.---

Ichigo sat at his desk, his back hunched as he worked on his math homework. His eyes darted back and forth between his calculator and his paper, but occasionally, his chocolate orbs would stray to the sleeping girl across from him.

After Rukia had fallen back asleep, he'd made her a bowl of soup and given her some medication that would help with her fatigue. He had woken her as gently as possible, but she still flew up in a panic at the slightest touch of his hand. Once she saw him, however, she immediately fell back onto the bed, her eyes shutting in obvious pain.

"Oh," she muttered, "Sorry. I was just…having a dream."

"A dream?"

She had dismissed it quickly, but her eyes looked troubled. "It's nothing."

He had given her the soup on tray, and sat next to her while she ate in silence. She seemed to be well-rested at the time, but he could tell she was still sick. Her body seemed to droop down, and the usual glint in her eye had faded. Her mood was one of resoluteness, but he could tell she was only trying to cover up how bad she really felt.

After she'd eaten most of the soup, he'd given her the medicine, and laughed inwardly as she puzzled over the idea of something so small making her well again.

With much protest on her part, Ichigo made Rukia go back to sleep.

"I don't need to sleep anymore. Look!" She had gestured to the open window, "Its still daylight!"

"So? You won't miss much." This clearly wasn't the right answer, for she crossed her arms and peirced him with her gaze.

"What if a hollow comes around?" She had spoken seriously, her voice hinting at her concern for him.

He had given her his most reassuring smile. "I'll take care of it, Rukia." When she didn't seem to relent, his smile turned down. "Really," he replied softly, "I can protect you."

Her eyes had gone wide at his words, and she quickly looked away, saying, "Okay, Ichigo. I'll go to bed."

He sighed and leaned back from his desk, stretching his arms overhead. Even he didn't know where those words had come from. A part of him knew that he would protect Rukia in a situation of life or death, but when did he suddenly feel like telling her that? He got up from his seat and went to stand over Rukia's sleeping form.

She was breathing softly, but he could see that her cheeks were still flushed from the fever. At least she didn't look so angry when she was asleep. Without thinking, he reached down to move a sweep of hair off of her forehead. The gesture seemed so unlike him that he felt a blush rising in his own cheeks.

What's wrong with me? He thought to himself, pulling his hand away from the girl.

He didn't have time to think about the answer, because a feeling overtook him like a shockwave, an electric volt that sent shivers down his spine. In a second he was scrambling for Kon, who had been downstairs sneaking food, and grabbed him.

"Ichigo! What's up?" Kon cried out, as the teen pulled apart his stuffed mouth.

Ichigo's brow furrowed as his lips set in a firm line. "It's a hollow."

Kon could only sit still as Ichigo reached into him and pulled out the tiny green pill. Popping it quickly into his mouth, Ichigo seemed to float away from his body, leaving it lying there on the floor of his kitchen. His shinigami outfit was in place, and he quickly reached for his zanpakuto. Grasping it behind his back, he turned and said,

"Kon, watch my body."

"You got it! Where's Rukia?"

Ichigo was about to run, but stopped at the soul reaper's name. "She's in my room. Watch out for her, too."

Kon gave him a salute in response, already reaching down to pull his body out of the kitchen.

Ichigo didn't waste any more time, but quickly took off out of the first story window, racing in the direction of the spiritual pressure he sensed. He could tell this hollow would be big, and pretty strong too. He increased his pace, thinking only of defeating this creature and getting back to the sick girl in his bed.

---.:.---

Rukia tossed and turned in her sleep. She seemed restless and a soft moan issued from her lips.

"No…" she mumbled, "I can't…Ichigo, don't go…No…No…No!"

Suddenly, reddish light formed around her body. She continued to cry out, her eyes open now in both shock and fear, but the light continued to glow. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished. When it did, Rukia's motions ceased, and her body fell limp once more. No breathe came from her lips, and her skin looked pale as death. Her eyes looked vacant and unmoving, but a single tear slipped down, trailing a line across her white cheek.

Somewhere in the city, a dark figure loomed, his smile laughing, his red eyes bright with evil.

"I have you now, Kuchiki Rukia."

AN: So, originally, this was going to be a one-shot, but I think I'm going to divide it up into two parts. Look for part two soon! Thanks for reading and reviewing! Love all—

&Niiroke&