Awright! This is a one shot for my friend Marirose, because she wanted my Bleach sweater, but I wouldn't let her have it so she had to settle with a fan fiction, instead. XD I worked so hard on it, and if I have to hear that Hilary Duff song ONE more time, I swear I will rip my ears off. The ENTIRE time I was writing this, I had to listen to that song to get a better idea of it, and I don't think anyone hates Hilary's voice as much as I do. T.T
This should've been a multi-chapter story, too, since it's so long, but knowing me, I'd never finish it if it was more than a one shot, so yeah, it's long, be prepared. XD 4000 something words.. oO yeeeah.
Well Mary, here you go. Jerk. XD
I do not own Bleach or any of the characters. But I do own a Bleach sweater (and a bunch of other Bleach things at that) and Marirose doesn't, so HA! XD
I must be ill to have written this…
"Hey…Rukia, what do girls like?"
Rukia raised an eyebrow. She put down the horror comic she was reading and stared at Ichigo from inside the closet.
"…Huh?"
"What do girls like?" Ichigo repeated. "Y'know…like, flowers, chocolate, things like that."
"Why are you asking me?" Rukia scoffed.
"Because you are a girl," Ichigo said, annoyed.
"Well, I don't know these kinds of things, idiot. Ask Inoue or someone." Rukia snapped, picking up her comic again.
"Yeah, but it's for Inoue."
Rukia dropped her book. "Huh?"
"I wanted to get her something for Valentine's Day…" Ichigo muttered, "And I thought you'd know what she likes…"
"Well, I don't." Rukia said, turning away from Ichigo, back to her comic. She tried to concentrate on what was going on in the story, but her mind was filled with curiosity about what Ichigo had just said, jealousy shooting through her.
"Thanks a lot…" Ichigo said sarcastically. "I'll get her chocolates and roses, I guess. I dunno, I see that in movies all of the time. D'ya think it'll be enough?"
"Whatever." Rukia snapped, not looking at him.
"Why are you acting like this?" Ichigo asked angrily. "Honestly, what's up with you?"
"Nothing." Rukia huffed, sliding the closet door shut with a loud slam. Ichigo sighed and stood up, grabbing his coat and wallet.
"I'm leaving." He said, exiting the room. Once Rukia heard the door shut, she slid open the closet door and hopped out. She sighed, annoyed, and sat on Ichigo's now-empty bed. Why was she so mad? When Ichigo had said he wanted to do something for Orihime, Rukia felt jealous and angry, and suddenly hated Orihime. It's not like she had feelings for Ichigo or anything, so why was she acting like this?
"That idiot…he just always puts me in a bad mood, that's all…" Rukia muttered, reaching into the closet and grabbing her shoes. She slipped them on and hopped out the window, going for a walk.
Tomorrow was Valentine's Day, and all of the girls in Rukia's class were constantly talking about their plans with their boyfriends, who they wished would ask them out, and so on. Personally, Rukia didn't understand the whole thing. She had never had a 'boyfriend', either. So she didn't know anything about that. But sometimes, she had seen males in her class give some of her friends gifts, which resulted in the girl giving him a kiss somewhere, usually on the lips.
That made Rukia angry. What if Orihime tried to kiss Ichigo? 'No… he wouldn't let her.' Rukia thought. '…Hopefully…'
But if Ichigo was now buying gifts for Orihime, then who knew if he'd let her kiss him or not? Rukia groaned and shook her head. Why was she thinking about this so much? She went for a walk to clear her mind, not to think about this even more.
"Maybe I do have feelings for Ichigo…" Rukia said quietly. She looked down and sighed. She wasn't supposed to have feels like this, especially not for Ichigo.
"Kuchiki-saaaan!" a familiar voice called out and Rukia looked to see Orihime running up to her, grinning. Rukia inwardly groaned. She forced a smile.
"Hello, Inoue-san!" Rukia said in a fake, high pitched voice, curtseying. Orihime awkwardly curtseyed back and smiled.
"Can I walk with you?" she asked. Rukia nodded and Orihime fell into step beside her.
"It's really nice outside!" Orihime commented, looking up at the nearly setting sun. Rukia looked up and nodded.
"Yeah, it is…" she said quietly. The sky was orange-red…like Ichigo's hair. Rukia always wondered what his hair felt like. It looked soft and –
'…ew,' Rukia thought, shaking her head quickly. 'Thinking of Ichigo…bad…' What was wrong with her?
"I'm so excited for tomorrow! Valentine's Day is so fun!" Orihime said happily. "Aren't you excited?" she turned to Rukia, who shrugged.
"Should I be?"
"Kuchiki-san! Of course! You're not excited to get a lot of love letters or gifts?" Orihime asked. "Kurosaki-kun probably got you something really nice!"
"What makes you think he'll get me something?" Rukia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, because you two are really close, right?"
"We're not that close…" Rukia faked a laugh and Orihime shrugged, looking up at the sky again.
--
An hour later, Rukia sighed as she quietly opened Ichigo's bedroom window. She slipped her feet through, then hopped out, falling onto someone on the bed. She gasped. She hadn't realized Ichigo had fallen asleep on his bed, and she had fallen right on top of him. Her face was inches away from his.
"Huh?" Ichigo muttered, still half asleep. He looked straight in front of him and saw Rukia staring at him, and his eyes widened. Rukia quickly jumped off of him and onto the floor, brushing off her dress and turning pink.
"S-sorry about that!" she said quickly. "I didn't know you were asleep…"
"S'alright…where were you?" Ichigo asked sleepily.
"I just went for a walk with Inoue."
Ichigo perked up. "Did you?" he asked. Rukia sighed and nodded.
"What happ – " Ichigo was cut off as Rukia climbed into the closet, slamming the door behind her. He looked at the closet curiously.
"What's up with her?" he muttered, flopping back onto his bed.
---
Before Ichigo even woke up the next day, Rukia got ready and headed for school. She wanted to be away from him as much as possible today, she wasn't feeling too happy. She realized she loved Ichigo, and now today he'd be giving Orihime Valentine's Gifts. Rukia frowned. Why was she so jealous? Ichigo liked Orihime, and that was that. She shouldn't like him, anyway. Byakuya would never approve.
An hour later, the bell rang and everyone headed for homeroom. Rukia sat at her desk with her head down, covering her face so she couldn't see anything. But, she happened to look up at the wrong time. In front of her, Ichigo was blushing madly while talking to Orihime, his hands behind his back.
"What's wrong, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked curiously.
"Uhh, well... you see..." Ichigo muttered. He pulled out a box of chocolates and flowers and quickly put them in her hands. "These are for you…" he said, looking away. Orihime grinned and gave Ichigo a big hug.
"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun! I wasn't expecting anything from you, this is really nice!" Ichigo winced as she hugged him tightly. He didn't have any experience with this kind of stuff. Rukia sighed deeply and put her head back down, frowning. As the rest of the day dragged on, she couldn't even pay attention to class, not that she ever did really, and just wanted to go and lie in her closet till she died. …maybe that was over exaggerating it a bit... but that was how she felt.
That afternoon when she climbed through Ichigo's window after school, she noticed Ichigo rummaging around through his drawer.
"What are you doing?" Rukia asked curiously.
"Orihime said she was stopping by…" he said, flinging shirts around his room. "And I…"
"Okay, okay, whatever. Just wear normal clothes. It's not like you're doing anything special, right?"
"Well no, but…" suddenly, Ichigo's doorbell rang and he gasped, looking towards his door. "Okay, I guess I have to wear these…stay in here, okay?" he told Rukia, leaving the room quickly. Rukia sighed and went into the closet, picking up her horror comic.
A few hours later, when Rukia noticed that Ichigo's family was gone, she decided to go downstairs, forgetting Orihime was here. She bounced down the stairs, then noticed Ichigo and Orihime sitting on the couch, watching something. Suddenly, their faces inched closer to eachother as their eyes closed and Rukia's eyes widened. Ichigo tilted his head to the side and was about to kiss Orihime, then noticed Rukia staring at them, and his eyes widened as he backed away from the kiss a bit.
"Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked curiously. Rukia's eyes filled with tears and she rushed past the living room, and out the front door, slamming it behind her. Orihime looked up quickly. "What was that?"
"Uhh, wind…" Ichigo muttered. Orihime nodded. She smiled lightly and inched closer to Ichigo once again, but Ichigo looked down.
"Kurosaki-kun?"
"Listen, Inoue… I… is it alright if you leave? I'm sorry, I just…"
"Sure, it's fine." Orihime smiled and grabbed her purse and hopped up. "Bye, Kurosaki-kun! I'll see you tomorrow!" and she skipped out of his house.
Ichigo sighed and shoved his hands into his pocket, heading for his room.
---
Rukia ran down the driveway and onto the sidewalk, tears blurring her eyes. She ran as fast as her feet would take her, everything whizzing by as she headed for the riverside. Suddenly, she tripped on a tree root and was sent crashing to the ground. She sat on her knees quickly and wiped away her tears, sobbing.
"I hate it here…" she whispered. "I hate everyone, everything…" she cried, hiding her face in her hands as she sobbed. "I'm sick of this place!" she yelled.
"…Rukia? Is that you?" a voice interrupted Rukia and she gasped. She quickly looked up to see Renji stepping out of a gate that had appeared in midair, looking at her, concerned.
"Rukia, what happened?"
"Don't worry about it… What are you doing here, Renji?" Rukia asked, wiping away the remainder of her tears quickly. Renji sighed.
"Listen, Rukia…please don't get mad, okay? But… you have to come back to Soul Society. You've been here too long. They sent me to tell you this."
"Alright, I'll go back." Rukia said without hesitation.
"Rukia, c'mon, you have to - …wait, what?" Renji blinked. "Why are you… you'll come back?" he repeated. Rukia nodded.
"What about… Ichigo?" Renji asked.
"What about him?" Rukia asked plainly. Renji's face darkened in realization.
'That bastard…' he thought, clenching his fists. He looked at Rukia and nodded.
"Be ready tomorrow, I'm coming back for you at noon." Renji said and Rukia nodded. Renji said goodbye and went back through the gate. But instead of going back to Soul Society, Renji transported to Ichigo's house. He hopped on the roof and looked through the windows, searching for Ichigo. Once he saw him sitting at a desk in his room, he opened the window and hopped in. Ichigo quickly looked up as he heard the window slide open.
"Finally, Ruki…Renji?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"
Renji stormed over to Ichigo and punched him with all of his might, sending Ichigo crashing out of his chair and onto the floor. He clutched his cheek.
"What the fuck was that for?" he yelled angrily.
"Bastard! What did you do to Rukia?!" Renji yelled, clenching his fists. Ichigo looked at him oddly.
"Rukia…? I didn't do anything!"
"Stop lying!" Renji roared. "What did you to do her? To make her cry like that?
Ichigo blinked. "Cry…? Renji, I have no idea what you're…" he trailed off, thinking. When he was with Orihime earlier, Rukia had walked in on them about to kiss. Then she had run out before Ichigo could say anything. But that couldn't have been why… it's not like Rukia liked him or anything.
"Okay, if you don't want to admit it, whatever. But you're not going to be hurting her for any longer. She's leaving tomorrow, for good." Renji said, stepping onto Ichigo's bed and pulling one foot over the window edge. He looked back once more. "She's heading back to Soul Society. You'll never see her again."
Ichigo's eyes widened. He stood up quickly. "Wh-what? Wait! Ren – " but Renji was already gone. Ichigo stood there, frowning in confusion. 'Rukia's…leaving? And what was Renji talking about?'
Ichigo waited up almost all night for Rukia. She never came back. He spent the whole night staring at the closet, waiting. Ichigo frowned and sighed. He fell backwards onto his bed. 'I'll probably see her at school tomorrow… then I'll talk to her. She's probably just spending the night at Urahara's or something. But what was Renji talking about? She's leaving?'
Before Ichigo knew it, he had fallen asleep.
--
"Err, Inoue… have you seen Rukia today?" Ichigo asked as he looked around the classroom. Orihime blinked, looking around.
"No, I haven't, actually…" she said. Suddenly, the classroom door slid open and Rukia stepped in.
"Rukia!" Ichigo called, standing up quickly. Rukia looked at him, then looked away. Instead of walking towards Ichigo, she went straight to Uryuu's desk.
"Good morning, Ishida-kun." Rukia smiled, sitting beside him. Uryuu looked up from his book, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Good morning, Kuchiki-san. Why aren't you with Kurosaki?" he asked. Rukia blinked.
"Oh, I just felt like sitting beside you. Is that alright?" Rukia asked. Uryuu shrugged and nodded. Suddenly, Ichigo stormed over and grabbed Rukia's arm.
"Outside. Now." He said, dragging her out of the room.
"H-Hey, let go of me! Bastard!" Rukia's angry yells were heard through the classroom as she was pulled outside.
"What's wrong with you?" Ichigo asked once they were out front. Rukia looked at him.
"Nothing is wrong." She said plainly. Ichigo growled, grabbing her shoulders.
"Why didn't you come home yesterday, first of all?"
"'Home'? I don't remember it ever being my home." Rukia said.
"But you still lived there!"
"Only temporarily."
"Whatever. Second, what happened last night? You ran away, then Renji came to my house, saying I did something to you, and that you were leaving for good today!"
'That bastard… I should've known Ichigo was the first person he'd think of…' Rukia thought bitterly. "That's because I am leaving." She replied.
"Wh…what?" Ichigo asked, eyes wide.
"I'm going back to Soul Society today." Rukia repeated.
"Why?" Ichigo yelled. Rukia shrugged.
"I've been here too long, and besides, I don't belong here."
"Wha…but… you're so… calm about it!" Ichigo exclaimed.
"Why shouldn't I be?"
"But… you want to leave?" Ichigo asked helplessly.
"I do, actually." Ichigo's eyes widened.
"Why? You've got everything you need here! And you've got friends, and – "
"Save it." Rukia interrupted. "I'm going back, so just stop it, okay? I'm sick of this place. I'm sick of everything. Especially you." She spat.
Ichigo was taken aback. "…Huh? Rukia… what?"
"Are you retarded or something? How many times do I have to repeat it for you? I'm sick of you. I'm leaving and never coming back. Did you understand this time?" Rukia said angrily.
"Why? No, I'm not letting you leave!" Ichigo yelled, clutching her shoulders even tighter. "Why the hell would you want to – "
"Let go of me!" Rukia screeched, trying to wriggle herself out of Ichigo's grasp. She had gotten his hands off her shoulder, but before she could run off, he grabbed her arm.
"Let go of me, Kurosaki." Rukia said angrily.
"Rukia… what? 'Kurosaki'?" he repeated. "What the hell?"
"Kurosaki, let me go!" Rukia yelled.
"Call me by my name!"
"You better fucking let go of – "
"Rukia, stop being like this! You're – "
SMACK!
Rukia had turned to face Ichigo, and slapped him with all her might with her free hand. Ichigo immediately let go of her and backed up, bringing his hand to his swollen cheek. His eyes were wide in shock. Rukia gasped lightly. She didn't mean to slap Ichigo. She looked down at her hand. It was red, and it was stinging. She must have hit him really hard.
"Fine." Ichigo whispered harshly. "Fine. Be like that. Leave. Whatever. I don't care anymore."
"Fine, I will!" Rukia yelled. She turned around and began to walk, but her arm was quickly grabbed again by Ichigo, and before she could do anything, he turned her around roughly, and pressed his lips to hers.
Rukia's eyes widened. Once Ichigo broke away, Rukia continued to stare with wide eyes as he tured around without even giving her one last look, and he walked back to class.
"Kurosaki Ichigo, I fucking hate you!" she screamed as loud as she could, running off. Ichigo stopped walking for a moment when he heard her scream, but then continued. He was clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles where white, and blood was threatening to spill out from where his nails dug into deeply.
"Kurosaki-kun? What's wrong? I heard someone scream!" Orihime said, rushing outside. "Huh? Kurosaki-kun…your cheek…" Ichigo ignored her and brushed past her, entering the school and heading for the boy's washroom, leaving Orihime looking back at him in confusion.
Ichigo examined his cheek in the washroom mirror and sighed. It was still swollen; she had slapped him really hard.
"and why did I kiss her…?" he whispered, fingering his cheek. He hadn't meant to kiss her, something just overcame him and he did it. It was his first kiss, and not very good…at all.
"But what I should be worrying about is why she's acting like that, and why she's leaving…" Ichigo muttered, exiting the washroom. Then he froze. "She's leaving!" he gasped. He quickly ran down the halls, looking for the nearest exit.
"Oi, Kurosaki, where are you going?" A voice called.
"Ichigo? Hey, Ichigo! What the hell?" Tatsuki yelled as Ichigo rushed past. He ignored everyone and ran out the back doors, and through the yard.
"Crap…where would she go…" he whispered, running through the woods. After about five minutes, Ichigo made it out of the woods, his uniform now dirty. He was at the riverside. He blinked and looked around, then gasped. He saw two figures by the river, talking. He recognized them immediately. Rukia and Renji.
"R-Rukia!" Ichigo yelled, running over to them. Rukia and Renji turned their heads to see Ichigo skid to a halt in front of them.
"Go away!!" Rukia yelled.
"No, you can't leave!" Ichigo yelled.
"Ichigo, Rukia has to leave. Say goodbye and we'll be on our way, and you need to head back to school." Renji said.
"I said no!" Ichigo yelled. "I'm not letting Rukia leave!"
"Rukia, I'm going back. I'll leave the portal open for you. You better come." Renji turned to Rukia, who nodded.
"Alright, I'll come. Just give me a second, Renji."
"Okay, but don't even think about running away. I will come back and get you if you aren't back in five minutes." Renji said, conjuring a gate with his Zanpakuto and walking through it to Soul Society.
"Rukia…please, don't." Ichigo said.
"Why do you care if I leave or not?" Rukia scoffed.
"Because we're nakama, right?" Ichigo asked, helplessly. He didn't know why he was like this. Why was he getting so worked up over Rukia leaving? "…After all we've been through together…you can't leave, Rukia…"
"Just go to Orihime. You'll get over it. When you get back to school and see her, you'll completely forget about me." Rukia said.
"Rukia, is that why you're mad?" Ichigo asked. "Do you have something against Orihime or something?"
"You're really stupid, huh Ichigo?" Rukia said, near tears. "Ugh…I'm going to start crying again. I don't cry…it's your fault."
"Tell me why you hate me so much! What did I do to you?" Ichigo yelled.
"Because I love you!" Rukia yelled. She gasped and covered her mouth. Ohhh no. She did not just say that. Ichigo's eyes widened.
"Rukia…wha…?" he whispered. The he realized how much he had hurt her. If Rukia loved him, then all of the times he had asked for her help in impressing Orihime, he was hurting her even more. "I…I didn't know."
"It doesn't matter, though. I'm leaving. Bye, Ichigo." Ichigo's eyes widened as Rukia walked towards the gate.
"W-wait!" he yelled. She ignored him.
Rukia was about to walk through the gate, then Ichigo said,
"I..I love you!"
Rukia froze, one foot in the gate. She turned and looked at Ichigo.
"…What?"
"I love you." Ichigo repeated quietly. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize it earlier… I thought I liked Orihime, but truth is… I love you."
"Ichigo, but – " Rukia was cut off as Ichigo walked up to her and pulled her away from the gate, pressing his lips to hers. Before Rukia could react, Ichigo pulled away.
"Rukia, I'm – "
"You're so full of shit." Rukia whispered. Ichigo looked at her, confused.
"Wh-what?" he asked. Rukia's eyes filled with tears.
"Are you trying to joke with me?" she asked, clenching her fists.
"What? I'm not joking, I – "
"Whatever, nice try, Ichigo." Rukia turned away from him, and walked through the gate.
"Rukia, no!!" Ichigo yelled, but she was gone, and the gate closed.
Ichigo fell to his knees and stared at where the door was only a few seconds ago. Rukia thought he was lying? He'd never lie about something like that. It was true; he did love Rukia, not Orihime. It took him forever to realize, and now he was paying for it. Rukia was gone; forever.
"No… she has to come back… somehow. I'll bring her back." He whispered, standing up. He pulled out his Shinigami Representative badge and pressed it to his chest, his soul flying out of his body, dressed as a Shinigami. He leaned his soul-less body against a tree and looked around frantically.
"Shit… how do I get into Soul Society…?" then he remembered seeing Renji open the gate. He did something with his Zanpakuto to unlock it…
"Uhh…" Ichigo unsheathed Zangetsu and held it in front of him, turning it like a key. Nothing happened. He frowned. He jabbed his sword and turned it again. Still nothing.
"Why isn't this working?" he growled. "Open sesame! Whatever! Just open!" he yelled, jabbing the air repeatedly. He was glad nobody could see him right now. "I need to bring Rukia back, dammit, so open!" he yelled, jabbing it one more time. Suddenly, the spot glowed in the shape of a keyhole and the gate appeared. Ichigo's eyes widened, then he smirked.
"So this is it? Alright…" he muttered, entering the gate. He was in a large black tunnel. He remembered this place from the first time he entered Soul Society, and his eyes widened. "Shit!" he ran as fast as he could to the other side before any odd goo thing could come and nearly kill him. Once he was on the other side, he entered a passage and fell from the sky onto the floor. He groaned in pain, then stood up, brushing himself off. He looked in front of him to see Byakuya looking at him, not amused.
"Shit… I just had to land in this room, huh?" Ichigo muttered to himself. "Uhh, hey Byakuya…" he said slowly.
"Ichigo?" Rukia yelled angrily. Ichigo whirled around and saw Rukia looking mad. "Why the hell are you - ?"
"I don't know. I'm bringing you back with me, whether you like it or not." Ichigo said, wrapping an arm around Rukia's shoulder and pulling him close. Rukia growled and tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he held on to her tightly.
"Kurosaki, let go of Rukia." Byakuya said. Ichigo shook his head.
"No, Byakuya. I'm bringing her back to the human world."
"I'm afraid not. Rukia is staying here." Byakuya replied calmly.
"Rukia doesn't belong here! She belongs in the real world with us!With me."
Rukia stopped struggling. Maybe Ichigo wasn't lying when he had said …
"Ichigo, I can't… I have to stay here." She said quietly.
"Then I'll come live here." Ichigo said plainly. Rukia looked up at him sharply.
"What?!"
"I want to stay with you, and I will. No matter what."
"But Ichigo, your family! And your friends! No, I won't let you!" Rukia said angrily.
"Byakuya," Ichigo interrupted. Byakuya looked at him questioningly. "I love Rukia."
Rukia and Byakuya's eyes widened, but then Byakuya gained his calmness back. "And…?" he asked plainly.
"And, I'm asking you…please. Just let her come back to the human world with me… please, I'll do whatever it takes. Or let me stay here." Ichigo said. Byakuya didn't blink. Ichigo sighed. "What do you want me to do, bow, beg at your knees, what is it? Anything that'll make you let her!" Ichigo let go of Rukia, who watched him confusedly as he walked infront of Byakuya. He hesitated, then bowed deeply.
"Please, Byakuya." He said, not looking up. Byakuya raised an eyebrow, and Ichigo stood straight, looking at Byakuya. Byakuya thought for a moment, then sighed deeply.
"Very well… Rukia is allowed to stay in the human world."
Ichigo and Rukia's eyes lit up.
"N-Nii-sama… really?" Rukia asked. "Thank you so much!"
"But remember this, Kurosaki." Byakuya said, walking dangerously close to Ichigo. "Hurt her in any way, and I will kill you."
Ichigo gulped. "Y-yessir… I won't do anything to her."
"Good, now hurry before Yamamoto gets here…" Byakuya sighed. Rukia grinned and hugged Byakuya, taking him by surprise. Rukia broke away quickly.
"Sorry, Nii-sama…but thank you so much! Goodbye!" Rukia said, following Ichigo through the gate to the human world. Once they had disappeared, Byakuya couldn't help but let out a chuckle and smile lightly.
"So, Ichigo…" Rukia said, once they were back on the human side. They sat at the river bank, gazing at the sky. "You really meant it, then? When you said…"
"I meant every word." Ichigo replied, staring at the fish in the river. "I know you might not believe me, because only a while ago I 'liked' Orihime, but I realized… I don't like her. She never made me feel the way you do. I just… can't explain it… but I love you, Rukia…" he leaned back on his elbows, looking at her. Rukia smiled and put a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Wow, Ichigo…" she laughed lightly. "But… what about Orihime? How will she feel about this?"
"I'm sure she'll understand… besides, we aren't going out anyway."
"But you kissed her," Rukia pointed out.
"Actually," Ichigo said, "I didn't." Rukia looked at him curiously. "Yesterday, when you saw us… I ended up not kissing her, and explained to her I just couldn't…and she understood. I realize why I couldn't now."
"Ichigo…" Rukia said quietly, looking at him. Ichigo smiled at her, then leaned closer to her, shutting his eyes as he kissed her. Rukia's eyes widened slightly, but then she closed them, kissing him back. Once they broke away, Ichigo looked back at the river, looking smug, but slightly pink. Rukia laughed.
A few minutes later, the two stood up and while Ichigo wasn't paying attention, Rukia kicked his butt and he flew forward into the river.
"Rukia!" he gasped in shock, shivering as he stood in the water, soaking wet. Rukia burst out laughing, clutching her stomach when she saw the look on his face.
"You little – " Ichigo waded over quickly and grabbed the hem of her dress, making her fall in too with a loud shriek and splash.
"Bastard!" she gasped, shivering along with Ichigo. "I-It's fr-freezing!" she wrapped her arms around her. Ichigo laughed and flung water at her, making Rukia screech.
"Jerk!" she scooped up water and threw it at his face.
From a distance, Orihime was watching the two play in the water. She smiled lightly. "Good for you, Kurosaki-kun…I'm happy for you" and she walked off as she saw Rukia jump on Ichigo, sending him underwater.
Oh man, I typed this all in one sitting. My foot is numb, and my fingers feel fat. Lol. ;; Mary, you better appreciate this! XD Yeah, the ending sucks. To me, it seems like the ending of my other one shot 'Hollow' … serious moment, then some stupid Ichi/Ruki way to end it. XD But yeah, I was running out of ideas and couldn't think of an ending. This story is also kind of rushed. That happens a lot with me. I want to get to the main point so badly that I write as quick as I can and finish it, so my stories always turn out rushed, so I apologize!