Name: Puddle Jumping
Rating: PG
Genres: Romance/Fluff
Summary: Rain ... it rained that day. But this time ... she helped him enjoy it.

Author's Notes: I like puddles. And jumping in them. Yees, this is another work of fluff by meee!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the characters.Thanks to CrystalRaindrop007 for Beta'ing!

Puddle Jumping

"Make sure to wear a coat, Ichi-nii! It's really cold," Yuzu said, hands on her hips and a cooking spoon clasped tightly in her fingers. She was scowling a little, for both Ichigo and Rukia had nearly run outside into the rain without coats. Why were they in such a hurry, anyway? ... "You, too, Rukia-chan; I don't wanting you and Ichi-nii to get sick!"

"Whatever!"

"Sorry, Yuzu-chan!"

The two responses were totally different, and Ichigo sighed, backtracking a little, as he grabbed both his and Rukia's coats off of the coat hanger in the doorway. After handing Rukia hers and pulling his own on, the two continued to rush out.

Yuzu sighed.

When they came back with colds, she wasn't going to be the ones to take care of them.

"Hmm ... when did it start raining?" Rukia asked, clasping her hands behind her back as she let the rain fall down on her face; she was trying to see into the sky, but she was being blinded by the pouring raindrops. Ichigo, beside her, shrugged.

"Don't know, don't care."

"Suck it up, Ichigo; just because Ishida-kun got the Hollow and you didn't get to fight is no reason to pout."

Ichigo just grunted in response. He hadn't had any good Hollows to fight in days because that I'm-God-worship-me Quincy had been killing them all. Sighing, he stuck his hands in his soggy pockets. Why did it always seem like it was raining? But ... for some reason, the rain didn't seem to bother him today. He changed his mind, however, when Rukia jumped into a very large, very full puddle; all the water flew into his face, and as she giggled, he just glared at her, water dripping off of his now soaked orange hair and his nose.

She smiled, saying, "C'mon, loosen up, Ichigo."

"You just splashed me with a ton of water and you say loosen up?" he asked, frowning as he tried to spike his hair back up; it didn't work, however, as the rain was pouring down on it. Rukia stuck her tongue out at him as she shrugged off her coat.

"Pee-brain! What are you doing? Put that back on!"

"No; I want to feel the rain on my skin. It feels refreshing."

"Hn."

Ichigo ignored her as they continued to walk.

Until she jumped in another puddle.

And he was soaked again. It didn't make much of a difference; he was already completely soggy. But the water was freezing and it felt like she has just dumped a whole ton of it on his bare skin.

"R-Rukia, I swear, if you do that again ... "

"You'll do what, Ichigo? Glare at me?" Rukia asked, turning to walk backward as she continued to hop though the puddles; not only was Ichigo getting wet, but she was, too.

"No more puddle jumping!"

"What's puddle jumping?" she asked, her hands at her side as she bounced in the air and landed in a very large puddle. Her cheeks were bright red from the cold and her khaki skirt and maroon sweater were already soaked. Her sweater was hugging her small body tightly from the water that was caked into the threads and her socks were squishing in her shoes with each step she took.

"Puddle jumping is ... jumping in puddles."

It struck Ichigo odd that someone who was so good at the Demon Arts couldn't figure out what puddle jumping was. It was like ... 'Duh, dope'.

"Hmm ... well, puddle jumping is fun! Come on, Ichigo. 'Puddle Jump' with me." She was grinning, and the red tint to her cheeks had only grown as she grew wetter and wetter. Ichigo sighed; there was no way in the world he was going to jump through puddles with some short, feisty little Shinigami. No way.

"Please, Ichigo?"

Her lip was sticking out. She was pouting.

He growled in the back of his throat, then, surveying his current soaked state, he sighed, saying,

"Why the hell not? I'm already soaked to the bone so I-."

Rukia smiled and proceeded to jump into a huge puddle fight next to Ichigo. When the water flew up and covered him head to toe, he stopped speaking, his eyes closing briefly. Rukia laughed as water dripped down his nose.

He sighed, running a hand though his hair. "You do realize ... "

"Hm?"

"This means war!"

Rukia let out an impressive squeak as Ichigo jumped into a puddle only inches from her. It sprayed them both pretty well, and as she ran off, presumably in search of another large puddle, Ichigo smirked. There was no way he was letting her go after she had pouted like that to get him to play.

Happy shouts filled the air as puddles were jumped in and Ichigo and Rukia grew more and more soaked. Ichigo actually found fun in jumping into the puddles, and soon, they were no longer trying to soak each other, but trying to soak themselves as badly as they could.

Rukia had just jumped into a very deep puddle of water which had flown up her skirt and made her shriek when Ichigo lifted her up and placed her on his shoulders. She shrieked louder and he smirked up at her. He said, "If you're up there, you can't jump in puddles and therefore, I win."

Ichigo's smirk was still in place as he continued to jump through the puddles. Rukia protested loudly.

"Hey! That's cheating! The idea was to see who could get the most wet, not put Rukia on your shoulders so you could cheat!"

"Hn. You're too loud," Ichigo observed. "Ouch."

The latter was added as Rukia kicked him. He held tighter on her ankles and said, "Besides, the puddles are getting deep and you might drown, you bein' so short and all."

That was the last straw.

Rukia kicked Ichigo with both her feet at once and he, surprised, let go of her ankles. And she, surprised, fell backward into a patch of grass ... and a puddle. Now, covered in mud from head to toe and soaked in water, Rukia, eyes wide with shock, tried to form words, but her lips just opened and closed a few times. Ichigo laughed.

"Serves ya right. But it's safe to say you win."

Rukia just glared at him as he rolled his eyes and reached out his hand for her to take; she grasped it up and, once she was on her feet, she wiped some of the mud off of her cheeks and began to make patterns on Ichigo's nose. He just stuck his tongue out and slumped, letting her draw chappy bunnies on him; they would wash off before the got back home, anyway. When she was finished, she wiped her hands off on her soaked skirt and began trailing behind him as he walked.

"C'mon, we should be getting home."

"Ah."

"What's wrong, dope?" Ichigo asked, watching as Rukia walked a little ahead of him as he paused in his tracks.

"Home."

She would never cease to confuse him. Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, Ichigo started to trail behind her again.

"Achoo!"

Another sneeze, another Kleenex and another sigh from a sister who was constantly saying, "I told you so," to the two bodies laying out on the couch; it was a pullout bed and Isshin insisted that he needed the other whole couch for his feet, so they were forced to share.

"I think I hate you, Rukia."

"I hate you, too, Ichigo."

He was never, ever, puddle jumping again, he decided as he sneezed again; even if Rukia gave him puppy dog eyes.

Don't have a clue where it came from, but I hope you like it!

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