A/N: Yosh! Here I am!! Long chappy, yay! Some funny stuff in this chapter! Hope you like it. More IchiRuki coming your way!
I Do, Stranger
Chapter 4: Cursed Conflicts
Ichigo and Rukia continued to ignore eachother after the incident in the morning even though it was already after noon. Ichigo's cheek was still swollen from Rukia's earlier beating and wasn't letting down any time soon. They each faced their respective windows, backs to the other.
"Bitch," he mumbled under his breath.
Rukia whipped her head around to face him, spitting flying strands of her hair out of her mouth.
"I heard that!"
"That was my intention," Ichigo said without turning around.
"Bastard," she growled out.
Ichigo glanced at her over his shoulder, a sweet smile on his rough features. "You're too kind, honey."
Rukia rolled her eyes. "Enough with the marriage crap already. It's bad enough we're gonna be living under the same roof."
"You're tellin' me. Do you think I'd like to wake up to that (points at Rukia's face) like this morning?"
"Then why'd you bother?" she asked flatly.
"Don't try to pin that on me. You were moving into my territory." He jerked a thumb at his chest while saying this.
Rukia's scrunched her face up in disgust. "Then why didn't you just pi all over it like the dog you are?"
Ichigo scowled at her, his hands twitching to wringe her neck and snap it.
"Why you..." he snarled.
Rukia smirked at him. "What? What are you going to say to me...dearest?"
"I could kill you right now but unfortunately there would be witnesses." He tilted his head in the driver's direction.
"Whatever. Anyway, how much longer 'till we reach that cursed castle of yours, Ichigo?"
Ichigo turned to look at her warily. "Well, if you hadn't gotten all dramatic we would've reached it by the end of today but thanks to you, we won't be arriving 'till morning."
"So it's one more day, big deal." She reclined back against the comfortable cushioning.
"It isa big deal! I have to spend the rest of today with you breathing my air! It's sickening."
"Well, that'll only make it more pleasurable for me," Rukia said, a smile rising on her lips.
Ichigo gave her a sour face. "Bitch."
"Quite endearing coming from the dog himself," smirked Rukia.
Ichigo's eyes widened and jerked his head around to glare at her. "Urusai, that's not what I meant!"
"Don't get your tail up in a knot, dog-boy. Man, I'm bored. Can't we just stop for a bit and just rest? I could use a stretch."
"No! We'll be even more far behind! My dad's gonna be on my ass for not arriving on time. To top it off, he wants to throw us a party to celebrate our 'marriage'. "
He used air quotes for emphasis on marriage.
"Sugoi! A party! That's great!"
A bored expression crossed his face and he rested his cheek against his palm. "Not really," he murmured.
"You're no fun," Rukia mumbled. She looked out the window, the scenery mocking her as they passed it.
She bit her lip and opened her mouth.
"No."
Rukia frowned and tried again.
"No."
"I didn't even say anything!"
"But I know what you're going to ask and the answer is still 'no'. You've made us way too late on arrival. God, I'm starting to wish I'd let that hollow eat you."
"You and me both, bud."
Rukia sighed as she looked out the window once more. She had been frequently wondering how Renji would react when he recieved the scroll she had aked Hanatarou to deliver for her. Of course, she had done it out of Ichigo's supervision. She couldn't deal with his crap anymore and wasn't going to put up with it.
'He'll never forgive me after reading that letter. Still, I have no regrets for writing it to him. I can't have him tied down to me anymore. I've caused him nothing but anguish.'
Rukia closed, lightly knocking her forehead against the side of the window frame.
'My first friend from Rukongai...I've pushed him away from me. Knowing Renji, he'll completely ignore my heeding and demand Byakuya-nii sama to tell him of my whereabouts. Stupid...stubborn Renji. It's the same as if I've killed Renji. The council might've left him as a mere human. I hear that once a shinigami becomes human, they can already feel their bodies dying...'
She bit her lip as she thought about how painful it must be get your short immortality stripped away from you, to know what it's like to feel human pain. Rukia passed her hand over her eyes and clenched her teeth together.
She looked up when she felt her forearm being gripped tight, Ichigo's face being the first thing she sees.
"Don't tell me you're crying again. What happened to the girl I couldn't shut up a few moments ago?"
Rukia's eyes widened at Ichigo before her face twisted in anger. "I am NOT crying!"
Ichigo quirked an eyebrow at her. "Uh-huh. Then what is this?" He reached out and brushed his finger on the side of her eye, showing the glistening water on his finger.
Rukia gasped lightly. She hadn't even been aware that she was on the verge of tears.
"I'm-I'm just tired, alright?!" she lied quickly.
"Tired of what?"
"I don't know...everything, I guess." She shrugged.
Ichigo nodded. She could tell by the way his jaw tightened every now and then that he wanted to say something to her. Before she could ask him what was on his mind, the carriage suddenly jerked to a halt. Rukia who hadn't been sitting right in her seat, barreled right into Ichigo, knocking him to the floor in the process.
"What...the hell?" Ichigo grumbled, rubbing his head.
Rukia opened her eyes as she lifted her head off of Ichigo's rock hard chest. ( :D) Her hands clung to the material of his hakama as she listened intently to what was going on outside. It wasn't wise to act rash in these cases. The driver wouldn't have stopped the carriage unless he had a legitimate reason for doing so.
Ichigo scowled up at her face. "Oi. Get off."
She clamped her hand over his rough mouth. "Urusai! I can't hear," she whispered harshly.
She removed her hand as Ichigo stiffened to listen himself. There came a soft voice speaking insistently to their fellow driver who seemed to be hesitant to let him approach the carriage any further.
Ichigo's forehead wrinkled as he frowned at the driver's stupidity. "Baka. It's not worth his life."
After a few seconds, Rukia tilted her head in Ichigo's direction. "Let's go help him out. Who knows who we might be dealing with out there?"
"Wrong. I'll go help him." He grabbed both Rukia's wrists and pulled her off of him. He kept a tight hold over her wrists even when he was kneeling.
"You're not going anywhere. You just finished healing from your injuries. Heading into battle again will cause a strain on you. Just stay put and keep quiet 'till I come back."
Rukia shook her head. "I won't be dead weight to you. I won't be useless. I'm gonna fight right alongside you...besides, I can't have you hogging all the fun." She grinned.
The sides of Ichigo's lips quirked up into a brief smile before he let her go and resumed the usual scowl on his face.
"Do whatever you want," he said carelessly.
Rukia lept to her feet and exited the carriage through her door. She and Ichigo met up half-way, walking side by side as they approached the newcomer. When he saw them approach, his permanent smile widened.
"Ah, if it isn't the newlweds! I give ya my congratulations."
Ichigo narrowed his eyes at him. "Cut the crap and get to the point...Gin."
"So you do remenber me."
"What business do you have with me?" Ichigo's hand tightened on the hilt of zanpakutou as he stared Gin down.
"Relax, Kurosaki-kun. I didn't come for a fight, but I would very much like to speak with ya. A man to man talk, I'd like to call it."
"You have five seconds before I rip your damn head off."
Gin chuckled behind his hand as though he found his words amusing.
"Same as always, Kurosaki-kun."
"Enough with the -kun shit."
"This is what I came for actually."
Gin reached into his hakama and pulled out what appeared to be a switchblade dripping in black liquid. Before Ichigo could react, he had slit his stomach. He staggered back until he fell to his knees. Rukia, looking concerned, kneeled beside him and put a hand on his arm.
"Ichigo!"
She pulled open his hakama to inspect the wound, only to find black tentacles piercing through his skin. Ichigo threw his head back in agony at the contact. The tentacles fully seeped into him and left a mark that resembled a tattoo. It had black dagger-like symboles on it intersecting eachother. Ichigo stared down, bewildered as the pain subsided within him.
"What...the hell did you just to me, bastard?!"
The grin on Gin's face didn't falter for even a second. "A shame ya refused Aizen's offer but I'm afraid now that ya don't have a choice in the matter. Embrace it, Ichigo. Don't struggle. Don't deny what ya are."
Gin turned to wave before slashing out his zanpakutou from its sheath and pointing it up at the sky. The earth below began to form a circle until finally, the chunk of rock began floating with him on it. Rukia who had finally gotten over her shock, pulled out Sode no Shirayuki.
With a flick of her wrist, Rukia turned her zanpakutou vertical. The tsuba turned into a circle and a white ribbon forms from the pommel.
"The first dance, white moon."
It created a circle of influence around Gin and began freezing everything within the circle from the ground and shot upwards towards the sky. Gin merely smiled down at Rukia's attempt to slash him down. He unsheathed his wakizashi-like zanpakutou and unleashed its initial release to the maximum.
It extended at a high speed as it cut through Rukia's ice and drove it off course and back in their direction. Ichigo grabbed the surprised Rukia and rolled off with her to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. He turned skyward to glare at Gin who made the clouds part and finally disappeared inside them.
He cursed under his breath and looked down at Rukia beneath him. She stared over Ichigo's shoulder even after Gin was gone with a look of astonishment.
"You make a really good fish impression. You okay?"
Ichigo raised himself on both elbows so that his weight wouldn't squash her as he spoke to her. She nodded absently as he got off her and he pulled her to her feet. She gave a Ichigo a questioning look as he continued to stare at the clouds, her eyes straying to his open hakama that revealed the mark he had recieved.
He caught her looking at it and quickly closed it with a scowl. Rukia raised an eyebrow at this.
"What...what did he do to you?"
"I have an idea but it's not like it matters. As long as I can keep myself in check, the curse mark won't affect me."
Rukia's violet orbs widened a fraction at this and Ichigo quickly regretted it.
"Curse mark?"
"Yeah," Ichigo said calmly as if this was no big deal.
"Don't just stand there! We have to do something!"
He gave her a blank look. "And what do you suggest we do?" he asked flatly.
"I don't know but we can't have you like this."
"Relax. I'm in no danger of dying."
"Then what was the point of cursing you?"
Ichigo placed a hand over his chest, grasping his dark hakama tightly.
"This...is far worse than a thousand deaths."
Rukia reached out to touch his shoulder but he smacked her hand away and began walking back to the carriage in frustration. She bit her lip at his behavior and looked off to her side to see their driver, his eyes wide open in a state of shock. She dropped down beside him instantly and felt his forehead. He was so clammy. Rukia took a hankerchief from the folds of her obi and began wiping it off their poor driver.
He blinked once, twice before turning his head in Rukia's direction. He groaned in pain as he clutched his head and blood began pouring down his forehead. Rukia began wiping at it and tied it over his head.
"Gomen. This will have do for now. I don't think you've suffered a concussion, but castle physician will be able to tell us for sure. What is your name?"
"Asano..." he slurred. "Asano Keigo."
Rukia put an arm around his shoulders and helped him stand up.
"Arigatou, Kuchiki-san. I'm such a bother to you both. Now I can't even bring the two of you to your castle."
Rukia looked off towards their demolished carriage which lay now in shattered pieces along with their belongings. She bit back a sigh as she saw Keigo's solemn expression. She smiled kindly at him as she helped him lean against a tree.
"Daijobu, daijobu! We'll make it...somehow."
This didn't make Keigo feel that better. "Ano...we'll make it. Honto. You just sit back."
He nodded before leaning his head against the bark of the tree and his eyes drifted shut. Rukia nudged him to wake up.
"Onegai, don't fall asleep. It's not good to fall asleep while injured. Just wait here while I go get Ichigo. We need to regroup and figure out what we're gonna do next."
Rukia ran down the hill where she'd seen Ichigo go and sulk. Now as he came into view down below, she saw that he was crouched down in front of the river bank. Even when she was right by his side, he didn't utter a word to her. She simultaneouly felt anger pouring into her. She kicked his back roughly, making him fall into the water.
He sputtered as he resurfaced, his jaw set tight as he fought off a ton curse words to hurl her way.
"W-what the hell did you do that for?!"
She placed her hands on her hips as she glowered down at him with such intensity, that he shrank back.
"We're a huge bind here and all you can think about is yourself!"
"Hey, listen-"
"No, you listen! This is no time to brood, Ichigo.We're gonna be needing you. We still need to make it to the castle before your father and my brother skin us alive!"
Ichigo scowled down at the water around him as he thought over what she had said.
"Okay, okay. Whatever. You've made your point."
He trudged out of the river and began wringing out his clothes. Rukia turned her back on him when he started taking off his clothes to sun them out on the trees. She took out her spirit phone and dialed her sister's number.
"Hisana? Thank, god it's you! I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere with an idiot. You feel my pain, right? No, nothing too...bad happened. Anyway, forget that for a second. We have no transportation right now so we're gonna need you to send a carriage over. We're at-
Suddenly Ichigo appeared behind her and grabbed the phone from her. "Tell Byakuya to fuck off and that we won't be needing him for shit. I'm handling this."
Instead of handing the spirit phone to Rukia, he tossed it into the river. Rukia smacked him upside the head, her eyes blazing with fury.
"What do you think you're doing, you shithead?!" she screeched.
"We're not calling for help," Ichigo ground out. "I'll handle this better than your brother or my father could."
"Dameda! I'm not trusting our survival on you!! That's suicide!" Rukia cried.
Ichigo felt the vein on his forehead begin throbbing dangerously.
"You dumbass! Cretin! Son of a-
Ichigo placed a finger over her mouth in mock sweetness. "Now, now. You must act like a lady with me. No brash tongue unless we're using it on eachother."
Rukia frowned at him dryly before licking his finger. He brought it back to his side in disgust.
"Ugh!"
"Now, listen you- gah!"
Rukia turned around as she suddenly realized that Ichigo had been standing in the nude other than his hand over his middle. She crouched down with her back to him, her cheeks flushing at the sight.
"What?" he asked casually.
"Don't 'what?' me?! Put your clothes on, baka! I don't want to see you in your birthday suit!"
"My clothes haven't finished drying and didn't you notice I was naked earlier?"
Rukia grimaced through her fingers. "I don't happen to look down all the time!"
He chuckled at this and Rukia could hear his footsteps getting farther away.
"It's your fault for pushing me into that damn river. I'm behind the tree now, baka. You can look."
Rukia looked over and quickly regretted it. Ichigo burst out laughing, hugging his sides as his eyes began tearing up.
"You jackass! Get behind the tree before you lose something of great value to you!"
Ichigo's laughter died down at this comment and cleared his throat.
"Fine. For real this time. I'm behind the tree."
"You sure? You'd better be serious."
"Would you just look already?" he asked irritably.
Rukia cautiously peeked around her with one eye open before opening the other. She let out an agitated sigh. Finally...
"By the way, how's our driver?"
"He's fine. I can see him from up here. He's getting some much needed rest."
"I see."
Rukia sighed heavily, seeing nothing else to do so she walked up to the tree and sat on the opposite side of the it.
'At least I got his mind off his curse mark for a moment. Can't even begin to imagine what hell it'll bring him. He never did tell me what it would do to him.'
"It's need to know business," Ichigo replied.
Rukia rolled her eyes. "What did I tell you about peeking into my thoughts?"
"Something about not invading your privacy. After that I just tuned you out," he said carelessly.
She really felt like smashing his face through the ground. And she would do it too if he hadn't just gotten cursed.
"Don't be worrying your pretty head over this. I'm still alive, ain't I? As long as I live, life goes on."
"Can't help but hear regret in your tone."
"..."
"It's not like there's a single person who deserves to die. You can't die meaninglessly, Ichigo. If you...if you have to leave your heart behind after death...leave it with me."
"...I'm not sure I like this serious side of you."
"Same here. So cheer up before I beat you up."
"Oh? So you wanna come to my side of the tree?"
"Urusai! Baka strawberry!"
"Oi! I've tolerated you all this time! I'm not letting 'strawberry' slide! Ichigo means 'he who protects' so respect it!"
"My ass!"
"What ass? You don't have one."
"Don't make me come over there!"
"What's stopping you?"
Rukia felt like ripping her hair out of her scalp as she could practically hear the smirk in his voice.
"You're driving me to my wits end! How the hell am I supposed to live under the same roof as you?!"
"I have a way of getting under people's skin. What can I say? It's a gift."
"We were just having a moment a few minutes ago. You ruin everything," Rukia huffed.
"Don't get your feathers ruffled, sweatheart. You now I love you," he snickered.
She refused to let him know how much that annoyed her so instead she decided to play by her own game.
"Daisuki. I know, Ichigo, " Rukia whispered mockingly.
"...? Not nearly as much as I do, honey. How 'bout a kiss?"
"A kiss? Oh, I couldn't possibly!" she flushed, inwardly rolling her eyes.
"No one's around," he teased.
"I couldn't."
"Doshite?"
Rukia smirked. " ' Cause you kiss like a mutt, Kurosaki!" she said, bursting into laughter.
That seemed to hit a nerve. Oh, she was good.
"What the hell? You said that after you had your little tantrum and hitch-hiked by yourself."
"That's because it's true," Rukia stated matter-of-factly.
"Bullshit! You're the last person I want telling me that!"
"Doshite? Your male ego is already much bigger than average."
"I'm gonna make you regret saying that."
"Oh really?" she smirked. "And how will you do that? Not naked I'm sure?"
"When you least expect it, my dear wife."
His words drove her to the edge and she wasn't exactly sure why. She tried to ignore it but she couldn't help but shiver at the thought. Ichigo was probably just bluffing. Revenge? Him? The thought made her want to laugh. Who could take Ichigo seriously?
"Oi. Snap out of it and hand me my clothes."
"Ichigo, it hasn't even been an hour yet."
Rukia blinked and stared up at the low tree branch above her. She squeezed the hakama before bringing her hand back to her side.
"Still kinda wet."
"Doesn't matter. We need to get going soon."
" Alright, but don't blame me if you catch a cold."
She snatched his hakama and pants off the tree before stretching her hand out behind the tree for him to grab. A moment later, he stepped out from behind the tree and adjusted his hakama, tying the sash around his pants.
"You decent?"
"Yeah, we need to get going and grab that driver of ours. I think there's a town about two hours away from here. If we buy some horses, we might be able to make it home before noon tomorrow without my dad or your brother noticing anything wrong. If they ask, we'll just say we were on a honeymoon or some shit like that."
"Yosh. Sounds like a plan."
And there came their two-hour trek together. Oh the joy, I know. Keigo was still kinda weak from the fall and Rukia was supporting him.
"Arigatou. Thank you for putting up with me, Kuchiki-san."
Rukia smiled kindly at him. "Not at all. It's no trouble."
"Kurosaki-dono is so lucky to have a saint for a wife."
Ichigo snorted at that comment and Rukia turned to glare sharply at him.
"We're stuck with eachother now anyway so it doesn't matter."
"If it doesn't work out, would you be my bride, Kuchiki-san?"
Rukia pretended to blush, placing a shy hand on her cheek.
"Tomare. You're embarassing me, Keigo." She waved the hand on his shoulder in dismissal.
He smiled widely at her behavior, momentarily forgetting her brute of a husband standing a few feet from them.
"You don't want her for a wife. She'll ruin you, trust me."
"Kuchiki-san? Gomen...demo I find that very hard to believe."
"Fine. Just making a warning in advance. I'll happily give her to you."
"Honto?!"
Rukia raised an eyebrow at the overly eager teenager on her arm. She gave Ichigo a sour look before turning to Keigo, smiling brightly at him.
"I'll hold you to that offer."
Ichigo narrowed his eyes at that but didn't say anything. They had been walking for quite some time together until they heard screaming up ahead. They each exchanged puzzled looks before running towards the source of the screaming.
They were completely surprised to find a pregnant woman squeezing her husband's hand. It turned out that he was the one screaming and not her.
Rukia blinked. "A-ano...can we help?"
The man looked desperately at her, mouthing the word 'onegai' as his wife squeezed his hand even harder. He let out a strangled sound as he bit his lip.
"Uh, okay."
Rukia wrenched the man away from her who let out a sigh of relief. She motioned for Ichigo to get closer.
"What the- You don't expect me to help, right? I'm a guy and besides, men aren't allowed to be present during birth."
"Since when do you follow the rules, anyway?" She glared sharply at him before he gave in and kneeled beside the woman.
He grabbed her hand which she unconsiously squeezed as her breathing became much more ragged than before. He had a strong grip so he could endure far much longer than her husband.
"I'm gonna need a blanket and a wash cloth."
The husband immediately got up, and went to grab the sack that was slung on their horses's saddle. Rukia instructed him to wrap one around his wife while she grabbed the hankerchief to dab at the poor woman's sweaty forehead.
She grabbed the woman's arms tightly in her grip and forced her to look up at her.
"Focus only on me. Breathe."
The woman started gushing out huffs of air as she contrapted, her body writhing at the pain. Rukia made her sit upright against the tree that supported her.
"Again. Much harder."
She obeyed and proceeded to suck huge breaths in and out. Rukia turned to Keigo who stood close to them in obvious discomfort.
"Keigo, take the canteen and bring her back some water!"
He jumped suddenly at hearing his name before nodding a second later and running off towards a river. Rukia turned her attention back to the pregnant woman in front of her.
"Slowly now."
She dabbed at the wife's forehead that was now dripping in beads of sweat as she scrunched her face in agony.
"Not much longer now. Keep it up."
A few minutes later, Keigo came dashing back with the canteen's strap swinging on his shoulder. Rukia snatched it from him, and poured it down between the woman's parched lips.
"Breathe!" she ordered.
The woman complied after a gasp, making her arch her body up as she felt herself being penetrated through.
"Again!"
She screamed as she felt the contraptions getting closer now. Rukia smoothed the woman's soaking hair back, wiping her face. She slipped the canteen between the woman's lips and let her drink up as much as possible.
Rukia's eyes widened as she looked down. She turned to Ichigo who had held a stoic expression the entire time.
"Ichigo, I'm gonna need you to catch the baby."
"What?! That's your job! Don't bring me further into this than you already have!"
The woman arched her body up, not able to stand it any longer. Ichigo looked indecisive as he stared at the woman in unfathomable pain and Rukia's 'kill' expression. He grunted as he disentangled himself from the woman, and came to kneel in front of her.
"Someone hold my hand!" she cried.
Keigo gulped as he dropped down beside her and held it, his face contorted in pain as she nearly broke it. Her husband was kneeled on her left and kept whispering sweet nothings to his wife in hopes of gettting her through this as fast possible.
Ichigo spread the woman's legs further apart as he prepared himself. He immediately looked away at the sight. He felt like vomiting so bad right now. Rukia slapped him upside the head.
"Don't just stare, bakamono! As soon as the shoulders appear, try to pull it out. Once you have the baby out, cut embelical cord."
Ichigo glared her way. "With what do you propose?"
Rukia reached into her blue kimono and pulled out a switchblade.
"Oi! Have you been carrying that this entire time?"
"Hai...for certain reasons."
Before Ichigo could ask what those certain reasons were, Rukia pushed the knife into his hand.
"Get to it. Can't you see she's in pain?!"
(censored)
Ichigo had nearly passed out by the time he was done. He had cleaned the baby's body, free of any blood and handed him to her mother. Her husband put his arm around her shoulder and held them both close. Rukia smiled at the sight before smirking slightly at Ichigo's tired form.
"Never...ever ask me to help in labor," he gasped out.
Rukia smothered her laughs behind her hand while Ichigo continued glaring daggers at her. She turned back to the happy family, and the exhausted Keigo who was rubbing his hand.
"How can we ever repay you? You helped me, a stranger, give birth to my baby. If not for you, we would've both died together."
Rukia smiled and waved her hand in dismissal. "There's no need to thank us."
The woman shook her head. "No, we really must repay you in some way?"
Ichigo came to stand beside Rukia. "Well, could you give us your horses?"
Rukia jabbed her elbow into his ribs and hissed out, "Ichigo! Urusai! Don't be so rude!"
"Oh, not at all! Our town is right up ahead. We own a ranch so two horses won't be a loss for us."
"Demo...you've just given birth, you shouldn't be walking yet."
"Oh, I won't be."
The woman wrapped her arms tightly around her baby as she motioned for her husband to pick her up.
"This isn't good for my back, you know."
His wife frowned up at him. "Weren't you the one that said you'd even cut off your pinky for me, Senri?"
"Yeah, but I was caught up at the moment at that time, Kyoko. Besides, I didn't know I'd lose my hand for it."
He tried wiggling the fingers of his right hand, but failed due to the numbess they felt. The woman punched his shoulder playfully. She smiled warmly in Rukia's direction who returned it.
"Arigatou. You've been so much help to us. I hope you have a happy honeymoon with your husband."
Rukia's mouth dropped open. "Nani?"
"Well, I assumed you both were newlyweds. Was I wrong?"
"Right on the money," mumbled Rukia, crossing her arms and looked away.
Ichigo came up from behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to him. Rukia glanced over her shoulder and gave him a weird look.
Instead of looking at her, he smiled cheerfully at the couple before them.
"She hasn't been behaving very well lately so she's not getting one."
Rukia snorted loudly at this. The couple seemed to be in awe at the 'romance' between them.
"Well, we hope you have a grand marriage. It's all worth it in the end," Kyoko whispered, smiling down at her new born.
Senri smiled down at both of them, before placing a chaste kiss on his wife's lips. Rukia looked away at the sudden tender moment, still imobile Ichigo's strong arms. After one last wave, the happy family left the trio with their pair of horses.
Keigo stared at them awkwardly, scratching the back of his head with his uninjured hand.
"A-ano...you should both ride together. Being the married couple and all."
Rukia glared up at Ichigo before breaking free from his arms. "Dameda. I don't think you'll be able to ride like that. Ichigo, can you handle riding on your own," she asked sweetly.
Ichigo growled at her. "Screw you!"
"You said no honeymoon, remenber?"
Rukia climbed onto the horse as gracefully as she could before lifting Keigo into the seat in front of her, her arms around him to grab the reigns. Keigo looked like he'd just died and go to-oh wait, he's already there, isn't he? Ichigo turned away from her in annoyance at how easily she could fool the man into thinking what an angel she was. Either that or Keigo was just plain stupid...
"Next stop! The Kurosaki castle!" Rukia shouted.
She nudged the horse forward and it began galloping at a fast rate, leaving Ichigo in the dust. Ichigo coughed heavily as he watched her ride off.
"Chotto matte! I haven't even gotten on the freakin' horse yet, you midget!"
A/N: Gomen, gomen! I promised they'd arrive at the castle but so many ideas came at me at once as you can see. First thing, in the next chapter, they'll definetely arrive, 'kay? So...how'd you like the chapter? Ichigo is now cursed by the mark...and by Rukia. XD By the way, Ichigo's nudity scene was completely censored by his hand so Rukia didn't see a thing. Poor Rukia would be traumatized! Just thought the scene up in my head and thought it would be funny. And yes, Ichigo does have some modesty, he just likes teasing Rukia. And of course, the birth scene was censored as well for good reason. Keigo was kind of OC but that'll change as he gets more comfortable around Ichigo and Rukia. If you want me to continue, you know the drill. Please R/R for me!
