A/N: Here's the next chapter! A bit of a switcheroo, and shorter, but the next chapter will take us away from the angst a little.
Ichigo's Care
When Ichigo awoke two days later, the birds were chirping in the early morning glow. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the light of the room before turning his head toward Rukia. Her eyes were closed in a restless sleep, her head propped up against her forearm. He looked down at his stomach and tentatively lifted one of the linens covering his wounds. He was happy to see that they had completely lost the glisten of fresh blood and much smaller than what he remembered from the fight.
Rukia breathed sharply and Ichigo's eyes immediately swept over her form, looking for injuries. Her skin was pale and her eyes sunken. It was obvious she'd not slept or eaten in several days. Her usually silken hair was matted and unruly in the early morning light.
"Rukia?" Ichigo whispered. He repeated her name a few times, but got no reply. Carefully, he sat up and found that the ache in his stomach was now just a dull pain and quickly let his senses inspect the rest of his body. He swung his legs over the side of his bed and placed a hand on Rukia's shoulder, shaking her slightly. A frown crept over his face when she still refused to wake.
As Ichigo stood, mumbling curses half-heartedly about Rukia's lack of attention, he felt the bottom of his feet twinge with the weight of his body. He stood for a few moments, his hand clutching his desk as the dizzy spell washing over him subsided. Rukia's slight form was bent pitifully in his chair and he watched her shallow breath for several minutes before finally using what strength he had to pull her onto his bed and cover her. He felt one of his wounds rip a little, but when he inspected it, was relieved that only a trickle of blood stained his skin.
"Stupid girl," he grumbled, sitting down next to the small shinigami. He brushed her hair out of her face and his features softened slightly, only showing a glimpse of emotion behind his scowl. "Why do you always have to push yourself too far?"
He persuaded his weak body off the bed with shaky limbs and limped down the stairs. He'd be damned if she was going to get away with hurting her body for his sake. Warming up some cream bread in the microwave oven and preparing some rice, Ichigo made sure he ate as well. A creak on the stairs caught his attention and he turned.
"Ichigo!" Kon yelled, attaching himself to Ichigo's leg. He looked down with slight surprise and simply turned back to the rice, shoveling it into a bowl with some salmon and seaweed flakes.
"Get off, Kon," he warned, shaking his leg. The stuffed animal skidded across the tiles and scrambled back to his feet.
"Where's onee-san? Shouldn't you still be asleep?" he asked suspiciously. Whipping out some pompoms, the toy began to cheer radically. "Ooooh, are you making her breakfast in bed?! THAT'S SO SWEEEEET! Two love birds! Oh but if only I could hug her between those voluptuous moun–"
"SHUT UP KON!" Ichigo yelled, a vein bulging on his forehead. He pushed himself into a coughing fit and held his chest in an attempt to soften the force to his diaphragm.
"Oops! My bad!" Kon said, whirling and twirling around the kitchen. He hummed to himself as he danced up the stairs in an attempt to escape the shinigami's wrath. Ichigo watched him, growling and red-faced. Picking up the bowl and a hot glass of tea, he made his way back up to his room. As he approached the bed, he saw the toy lion stealthily making his way up the sheets. With a nonchalant kick, Ichigo shoved him into the closet and shut the door.
"Oi! Open up! You've had her for four days! SHARE THE LOVE!" he whimpered, pounding on the door.
"If you don't shut your trap, she'll wake up!" Ichigo hissed against the door. He made a few more threats before turning away from the closet, rolling his eyes.
Rukia was still and her skin was ghostly white. For a fleeting moment, Ichigo thought she may actually be dead, but brushed the idea away with a rough mental shove. He sat the food on his desk and shook her shoulders gently.
"Rukia? Rukia, you need to eat. I brought you food," Ichigo said with frustration. Her eyes fluttered open hesitantly and she gasped, looking at where she was lying.
"Ichigo! You need to be in bed, what am I doing in here?! Baka!" she yelled, sitting quickly. His hands were still on her shoulders and he held her down. He saw her arms shaking, trying to keep her upright beneath the weight of his arms and he growled.
"I got you food."
"What?!"
"You need to eat. You passed out on my desk."
"I'm fine, now stop holding me down!" she said with gritted teeth, resisting the great urge to hit or kick him.
"Shut up and lay back down!"
"No!"
"Do it!"
"Why?!"
"Because I'm trying to take care of you, damnit!" he blurted angrily. They stared at each other for a moment and both turned a deep shade of pink. Rukia stopped struggling and eased herself back on the pillow, her eyes turned away from him. It was as much as her pride could allow her to surrender.
"Well it's good to see you back as your old self," she lashed quietly. Ichigo sighed and grabbed the bowl of rice, pulling a mouthful onto the chopsticks. He remembered her feeding him at some point in the last week, but could hardly count on his sense of time at the moment. With his free hand he pulled her chin back toward him and held the chopsticks firmly in his hands. They shared another devilish stare, one that Ichigo actually won. Rukia opened her mouth and took the bite of rice without complaint.
"You should probably take a shower," he said after a few moments of silent eating. Rukia looked at him, perplexed.
"A shower?"
"Yeah, you're starting to smell."
"At least I don't smell like burnt flesh."
"Shut up."
Another silence ensued. Kon could be heard mumbling incoherently from the closet and both could almost imagine him with his arms crossed in the corner. Rukia shifted uncomfortably under the covers and Ichigo inclined his head.
"Ichigo."
"Aa."
"What's a shower?"
He blinked, chopsticks paused midair.
"A…a bath. Only the water sprays down at you instead of you sitting in it."
"Oh."
Rukia finished her bowl of rice and quickly gulped down her tea. The color in her skin became rosy and healthy again as she hopped out of bed and motioned for Ichigo to lie back down. He shook his head.
"I'm going to show you how to take a shower."
A/N: I know, it sounds like he's going to try something right? Or something is accidentally going to happen? Or it'll just be WAY too OOC to be considered good? You'll just have to find out, but I guarantee the latter isn't true at all. TGK
