OPrincess ShinigamiO here! Whoa, I'm on a roll! I can't believe my IchiRuki mood's been going strong lately! Hopefully this trend would last for awhile, or at least long enough until I could finish this fic. I'll have to thank all the *spoiler* - (*spoiler*IsshinXMasaki*spoiler*)- flashbacks in the latest chapters for inspiring me. Things are getting a lot more exciting in the manga! Not to mention, all the lovely reviews I received from the first chapter! This fic is probably my most successful story debut, and I couldn't be any happier! So thank you to all those who bothered to review, favorite, and follow my story!

Please enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you think! :D

Kurosaki For A Year

…..

February

…

The first week was quite, I daresay, uneventful.

Really, you'd think that Yuzu would be so excited making chocolates for the human holiday called "Valentine's Day".

But of course, the boys her age would be quite disappointed this year.

The surviving Kurosaki offsprings were nothing but silent wallflowers during the first week of my stay.

Sure, they functioned as normally as they used to; waking up seven in the morning, Yuzu preparing a delicious hot breakfast for everyone (as I tried observing and taking notes on my Chappy notepad every time), everyone going to their respective schools (of which I took as a task upon myself to escort the twins to theirs in their father's place), and when that's over, they return home, eat dinner without a word, and then lock themselves up into their bedrooms until the next morn came.

It was sad, really, to see the family that was once filled with such jubilance turn so dull and robotic.

Robots. That's what I thought to myself. And I've had enough of that. No amount of Chappies would help me get through the heavy atmosphere if I absolutely don't do something!

I promised Isshin and Masaki that I would make their children happy. I had no plans on going back from my word.

…

"Yuzu, do you mind helping me out with this?"

The honey-blonde Kurosaki blinked slowly, as if waking up from a dream, and looked up from her cookbook. Obviously she was surprised when she noticed the giant basket of laundry I happened to carry.

"Rukia-nee? What are you doing with the laundry?"

"Well," I blinked innocently, "Since you and the others haven't really had the time to do the chores yet, especially since you're studying more extensively nowadays, I decided to make use of my housework skills and help out with the laundry while you guys were away."

I paused. And with a slightly apologetic look, I lifted the basket of clothes, of which somehow looked suspiciously different from when I first washed them, for Yuzu to see.

"Unfortunately, I seemed to have made a mistake of some sorts. For some reason when I took them out of that "washing machine", the clothes sort of came out a little bit…. smaller." The young girl winced. I gave a tiny sheepish smile in apology.

"A~nd… don't be surprised if some of your white dresses ended up in color." I finished, biting my lower lip in nervousness.

At that, Yuzu's hazel brown orbs widened. Just when she took some clothes out of the basket to examine them, the one and only strawberry suddenly decided to enter the scene without warning.

"RUKIA! MY FAVORITE SHIRT!"

Snatching a tiny pink fabric from my grasp, the idiot began spouting curses as he stretched out to see the poor outcome of his shirt. The shirt was faded light pink, with a picture of what used to be a hand forming a peace sign, which unfortunately for him now looked somewhat like a mini Chappy. With it stretched out as far as possible in Ichigo's hands, it now looked nothing more than a little girl's duster dress. Despite my guilt, I couldn't help but suppress a giggle at his horrified face.

"Why, Ichigo. I didn't know you had a shirt like that! If I knew you actually owned something so small and pink and Chappy-printed like that-"

"That's because you used frickin' HOT WATER you idiot!" Ichigo roared, flailing the tiny pink scrap of clothing around, "Did you even bother reading the label on the back!"

Ichigo pointed furiously at the very miniscule rectangle the size of my pinky nail knitted on the shrunken collar. I frowned as I tried to make out any words from the tiny patch. I mean, really. How did they expect me to read any instructions from the tiny bits of ink that were no larger than ants?

"This used to be red, Rukia! RED!"

"Well I'm sorry, Mister Strawberry-san." I pouted, fists curled and rested on my waist. Sheesh, I didn't do THAT badly. Did I?

"I didn't think that reading tags were that important. Besides, that shirt didn't look too good on you anyway. I can have it if you want, unless you'd rather keep hold of it."

Of course, Ichigo began raging like a barbaric Hollow.

"Rukia…" He warned.

"Onii-san! Stop it!" Yuzu begged, standing in between her furious brother and me. "It's our fault for not teaching Rukia-nee anyway. It's her first time to do the laundry, after all. She only wanted to help us. Right, Rukia-nee?"

"Exactly."

Ichigo wasn't having it. Behind the innocent twin's head, I pulled the skin under my right eye and stuck out my tongue. Obviously, this childish act irritated the idiot even more.

Predictable amateur.

"You'd better not use this as an excuse to shop for your stupid rabbit fetish." Ichigo hissed.

"I told you, Chappy is not stupid."

"Whatever. I knew there was a catch when you decided to stay here." He mumbled.

We argued as soon as we entered his room after dinner. Before that, I received a rush lesson from Yuzu about separating colors, knowing how much amount of bleach was needed, and when not to use hot water. She promised afterwards that we'd make time for some shopping that weekend, much to my delight and Ichigo's frustration.

Dinner that night was, as I expected, not much of an event. But I knew there and then, that my goof earlier at least made its mark.

Instead of simply asking the twins about how their day was and scowling his trademark scowl, Ichigo was stabbing his cherry tomatoes with a slight passion, mumbling about how his other favorite clothes became minced meat sacrifices for the Devil Rabbit. Knowing that something was up, Karin raised an eyebrow at her brother's suspicious actions. I guessed that Yuzu hadn't told her about my little fluke just yet.

Even so, I doubted the tomboyish twin would take it as badly as her idiotic brother. Sure enough, when I decided to tell her about it, all she did was shrug and continued on with her miso soup while the strawberry began furiously mincing at the rabbit-shaped apples after the main meal.

"Give her a break, Ichi-nii." She said in between sips. "It's not like Rukia-nee's got the time to do laundry in Soul Society. Even so, I'm not even sure they know of the existence of washing machines. Not to mention, she is practically royalty."

Ichigo began mutilating the apple slices even faster.

I hid all my Chappy-themed items under Yuzu and Karin's bed for several nights.

"Besides," Yuzu chimed in, "It's been long since we spent some family outing time together. Ever since you and Otou-san-"

Everyone went silent at their father being mentioned. I cringed slightly at the incredibly thick atmosphere that I could've sworn was worse than the past nights.

That was not good.

That was the first time either of the twins mentioned his name. And it was obviously not easy.

After a few clinking utensils here and there, I sighed and clapped my hands together in a hopeful attempt to end the tension.

"So!" I began in a cheery tone, "How about Ichigo and I wash the dishes tonight?"

…

"Look, Rukia." Ichigo grumbled, scratching the back of his bright head. "I know what you're trying to do. But you really didn't have to make a mess of things just to distract us!"

I frowned at him as I reached for a horror manga in the closet. Seriously, was I really that bad?

"What? It's not like I did them on purpose." I replied impatiently. "So maybe I goofed up, but at least something actually happened in this household."

Ichigo sighed, dropping onto the bed with his toned arms crossed together.

"You didn't have to do that, idiot." He mumbled softly.

I clenched my teeth, feeling the veins on my head popping out in frustration. So I did something that would most likely be shameful in Nii-sama's eyes.

I threw the horror manga away, hopped down from my position in the closet, marched towards the impulsive idiot, and tightly held his head on both sides.

"R-Rukia?!"

And I rammed my forehead directly on his. Hard.

Not the smartest thing to do.

"Owowowowowowow! Dammit, bitch! What the hell's wrong with you?!" I heard Ichigo swore. It was a bit disappointing that I couldn't see him clearly writhing on the ground in pain.

My eyesight became incredibly blurry, and I swore I could see spinning stars and red spots everywhere. But I held my ground. I placed my clenched fists on my waist, pulled my chin up, and tried my best to keep a straight firm face.

I pointed accursedly at Ichigo. Or at least, I hoped it was him and not a chair.

"BAKAMONO! The question is, what the hell's wrong with YOU?!"

Stunned, Ichigo sputtered incredulously while nursing his bruised forehead.

"W-w-what?!"

"It's painful isn't it? Just like the death of your father!" I shouted harshly, determined to continue on even when his expression visibly darkened. The world began spinning faster. "But don't think that you're the only one who's feeling sorry for himself! Even if I was the one who hit you, I still ended up getting hurt myself, didn't I?"

"That's exactly what your father would feel if he sees you in this sorry state! His death may have caused you and the twins pain. But know that he died all because he loved you and wanted to save your sorry ass! If you continue to do nothing to nurse the pain, then that will surely result to a big black bruise that'll stay on your head for a very long time. The same goes with your situation. If you just continue sulking here like a helpless little crybaby, that's like saying that you're feigning ignorance to your own father's sacrifice! And worst of all, your attitude's not helping the twins' situation at all! If you keep doing this, then eventually all of you would drift apart!"

I paused to collect my breath.

Ichigo was silent and still on the ground. His dark amber eyes were overshadowed by his bangs.

My eyes softened at the pitiful sight. The stars were beginning to disappear. Deeming it safe to move, I shakily knelt down in front of the depressed strawberry.

"Ichigo." I began gently. "You never really change, do you?"

"It's been difficult to see you being so hard on yourself. Even now, it pains me to see that you're still blaming yourself for Isshin-san's death, no matter how many times I've already assured you otherwise. I understand that feeling completely."

I closed my eyes as I painfully recalled Kaien-dono's death.

"But if you keep hurting yourself like this, then surely Karin, Yuzu and the rest of our nakama would also be burdened with insecurity and loneliness. Especially Karin and Yuzu."

When he still said nothing, I urged on.

"Be strong, Ichigo. Lean on us once in a while. For the twins' sake. For your father and mother's assurances so that they can see that they made the right decision to trust you. For your own sake… please be stronger."

I clenched my fists harder, the nails digging deeply into my skin.

The room was completely silent for awhile. Only the silent breeze from the window played in the background.

"… You talk too much, you know that?"

I blinked. Suddenly, he leaned down towards me, playfully bumping his sore forehead against mine. I winced slightly, seeing tiny stars again before Ichigo rested our foreheads together.

For some reason, the room suddenly turned a little bit warmer.

"… Thanks, Rukia." He murmured, his breath lightly fanning my cheeks. "I'm sorry."

He opened his warm brown eyes, and I could tell immediately that he meant it. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, savouring the cool touch of our throbbing foreheads.

His pain, and my pain. Through thick and thin, we'll share our burdens and move on together. Because we're nakama. (a/n: That's what you think :P)

I smirked smugly, poking a finger to push his head away.

"You better not make me do something like that again."

Immediately, Ichigo returned back to his trademark scowl, though the corner of his mouth slightly lingered upwards.

"Heh. It's your fault that you couldn't have thought of a better way to hammer it in my head."

"For once, I relied completely on my impulses. Honestly, Ichigo." I shook my head and crossed my arms together, "I can't believe you're starting to rub on me. It's such a terrible thing."

To that, Ichigo chuckled lightly. Only to wince when he felt the throbbing pain on his forehead again.

"Damn, Rukia. That's one hard nutshell you have there." He mumbled. "I better get some ice packs."

I couldn't help but feel a little guilty. So maybe I hit him a little too hard. What's important was that hopefully the message was nailed down into his head for good.

Isshin-san, you'd better be grateful for my efforts.

Suddenly, a tiny alarm rang in my pocket. Immediately, I took out my cell phone and checked the screen.

Ichigo quickly became alert.

"Hollow?"

"As usual. Three of them. Better save the ice packs for later."

"Good." Ichigo grinned as he took out his Substitute Shinigami badge. "I was hoping to release some of my frustration for what happened earlier."

I rolled my eyes as I took out my Chappy soul candy.

"Really, Ichigo. Get over it."

…

"Rukia-nee?"

I turned around to see Yuzu at Ichigo's doorway, her arms wrapped around a pillow and a pink blanket.

"Oh, Yuzu. I was just on my way to bed."

"Is your head feeling better?"

I winced slightly as I touched my bruised forehead. It's been a week since the head bump incident.

The Hollows took much more of our time than expected. So by the time we were finally able to come home, our foreheads were already hard and blue. I had to explain to the baffled twins of how I literally knocked some sense into their brother.

"It's getting lighter."

I paused as I studied her down expression. "… Is something the matter?"

"Um, I was wondering if I could sleep here with Onii-san. Could you stay here with us too?" she said, clutching her pillow even tighter to her chest.

I began to worry. Was she sick? Did something happen to her in school? Did I do something wrong with the laundry again? (In my defense, at least the clothes didn't shrink anymore.)

"Well, I don't mind. But what's wrong, Yuzu? You can tell me." I assured her.

Yuzu bit her lip nervously. Her golden brown orbs suddenly began tearing up.

"I dreamt of Otou-san." She whispered. "He said… he said that I have to take care of Onii-san and Karin-chan. He… he looked happy…. And sad at the same time."

She broke down into silent sobs. I looked at her sadly.

Isshin-san, even in dreams you still haunt them.

I gave the crying girl a tiny reassuring smile, closing the door behind us as I led her inside Ichigo's room. The strawberry was already long asleep before I finished compiling and trying out all the Chappy-themed art materials I bought when shopping earlier.

Swiftly, I took out a bed mat from Ichigo's closet and laid it beside his bed. Yuzu sniffed softly as she lay on the mat, careful as to not wake her brother up.

"It'll be fine, Yuzu." I whispered, caressing her honey-blonde hair to calm her down. "I'm sure he's very proud of you. He'll be even more proud if you would stop crying for him and smile instead for the life you still have. Smile, Yuzu. Like the way you used to when he was still alive. I'm sure he'd want you to be strong."

Yuzu nodded slowly. It didn't take long before she soon fell asleep, with a tiny smile on her lips.

"She'll be alright."

I turned just in time to see Karin close the door and tiptoe into the room. Like Yuzu, she carried her own pillow and blanket.

"I know she'll be. But you too?"

"Well, I didn't feel like sleeping." She said, scratching her shoulder-length locks. "And then I looked around and wondered where in the world Yuzu ran off to."

"It's alright, Karin." I smiled. "You can sleep here too."

The brunette twin shrugged nonchalantly. Then she sat on the space Yuzu didn't occupy and laid her head beside her twin's.

I smiled at the idyllic sight. All the living Kurosakis huddled together in one room. Maybe there really was some progress made in my first month here. Hopefully, things would be a little different from now on.

I was about to climb onto the closet when a tiny voice interrupted.

"Rukia-nee?"

I blinked as I watched Karin pull her blanket against her chin.

"I want to learn how to fight."

I studied her for a moment, contemplating whether I should bother to respond or not.

"... Shouldn't you consult Ichigo first?"

Karin scoffed.

"If he could help it, Ichi-nii would probably never let me touch a sword for as long as I'm alive. But I want to learn how to protect him. And Yuzu as well. I'm not asking to become a shinigami like Ichi-nii and Otou-san. I just want to learn real and effective techniques that could help me defend my family. Ichi-nii has sacrificed so much for us. It's just not fair for him to take every responsibility for himself. There's a reason why I could see ghosts clearly, and I'm not so defenseless that I can't help protect this family. Especially since the old goat's not around anymore."

I studied her shadowed face solemnly.

It's obvious that Karin was trying to hide her vulnerability. But even I could tell that saying her father's name gave her slight shivers.

"… I'll think about it, Karin. I can't promise you though, since it's also going to involve your safety."

"I'm used to getting hurt, Rukia-nee. I've fought Hollows before via soccer ball, believe it or not. I've seen shinigami fight before."

"Believe me, Rukia-nee, I know what I'm asking for. And it's not playing it safe."

She looked at me with pleading eyes. Even in the darkness, I could see her onyx orbs glittering with hope and longing.

I sighed. This girl was definitely has fire in her. No doubt she'd be a great shinigami when the time comes. Just like her brother.

"As I've said, I can't guarantee that I'll do it, since I have to respect Ichigo's decisions." I said before giving her a gloating smirk. "You'll need to get his consent. But don't worry. I'll definitely help him see your way."

To that, Karin sighed in relief and suddenly gave a sly smile.

"You know, Rukia-nee. I admit that I initially hated how you entered Ichi-nii's life and indirectly almost get him killed. But I caught on eventually. It's obvious Ichi-nii can't truly live without you. When you're gone, he's just like some lifeless machine waiting for deep shit to happen. Believe me, I've seen it when he lost his powers."

I turned abruptly and stared incredulously at her. Did she just imply what I thought she implied?

"W-w-what?"

"So thanks, Rukia-nee. For making him happy even now."

At that time, I really wanted to slap the smug smile off her face. But then I had to remember that she's not Ichigo.

"Oh, and by the way, remember when you and Yuzu decided to hang around the pet shop to coddle some puppies during our shopping trip earlier? Well, if you didn't know, Ichi-nii actually bought you some chocolates while you were distracted. You'll find them hidden in the fridge. And you didn't hear it from me. Goodnight!"

Karin gave one last smirk before she rolled over and hid under her blanket. The conversation was over.

Realizing that, I shook my head in disbelief. Seriously, she's a lot similar to her father than she thinks.

I climbed onto the closet and took out my spare Chappy blanket.

When I watched the three Kurosakis sleep together that night, I sighed as I realized that my first month here was nearly over. If the next few months would prove to be as difficult as this, then I'll have to brace myself.

It's all going to be worth it.

Oh, and I guess I'll have to find a job as well. Can't stay at home doing housework the whole time, can I? I think Ichigo's clothes have suffered too much.

Hm… and I have to learn how to cook as well…

Oh well. I have all year to do all that.

I closed my eyes and waited for the next morning to come.

Of course, Ichigo wasn't too happy the next day when he found that I already devoured the chocolates he bought for me before he could give them himself. (What? I was craving chocolate so badly...)

...

A/N: Oh, Rukia. You cruel, cruel bunny-lover...

Anyway, I know that Rukia adapts pretty easily when the situation asks for it, but you have to admit that she could be pretty clueless at times, especially during her time in the Living World. And although there's a 50/50 probability that washing machines DO exist in Soul Society, I'll pretend that it doesn't just to add comedy in the plot. Even so, Byakuya would obviously not let Rukia wash her own clothes, therefore even if washing machines do exist, Rukia wouldn't really know what to do with it. And I know that I've used the word 'Idiot' in both English and Japanese, but Bakamono sounded much stronger when Rukia reprimanded Ichigo.

Tried to add a little pinch of parallelism from the manga ("Man In My Heart" speech anyone?), though the head-bump was totally original. Ichigo seriously needed that. :P

Anyway, please continue to look forward for the next chapters and leave a review! If you haven't found out the subtle hint of what's going to happen next... well, you'll just have to keep watch and find out in the next chapter! :)