Disclaimer: Bleach ain't mine.
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A PLACE TO CALL HOME
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It started as a typical Sunday morning, and just as he thought it'd stay that way, the doorbell rang.
Ichigo looked up from his bowl of cereal and called out, "Yuzu, someone's at the door."
Yuzu popped her head from the kitchen. "Onii-chan, would you mind getting it yourself? I'm still busy preparing our food." Her head then abruptly vanished from his sight.
He grunted, but he was still getting up from his seat and proceeded to head for the front door.
"Yes, what," he greeted in a monotonous tone while simultaneously opening the door. "…do you want?" he finished lamely, feeling his eyes widening.
The raven-haired girl before him wore a sickeningly over-bright smile, and he swore there were sparkles (yes, sparkles!) flowing from somewhere to surround her face. "Good morning, Kurosaki-kun!" she greeted with an equally bright tone of voice.
"Who the heck are you?" he asked, the words popping out from his mouth before he could even properly think about it.
A tick appeared on her left brow, and before he knew what was happening, he felt the force of a tiny fist hitting his midsection. The pain sure didn't feel tiny.
"Ow, that hurt!"
"I'm sure you remember now," she said in a dead tone. She then proceeded to enter, dragging a black bag about half her size behind her.
He mentally shook himself and unceremoniously carried the bag out of her arms.
She looked strangely at him. "Thanks," she said, a little hesitant.
"Yeah, well, I just thought it'd look weird if a girl like you carried anything almost your size," he said, smirking.
She glared warningly at him, daring him to continue. He wasn't perturbed in the slightest.
"Ah!" he exclaimed, shifting the weight around his shoulders and looking at anywhere but the girl before him. "What if the neighbors saw you? They might think you were carrying something suspicious. I imagine, in the distance, all they could see is a figure carrying a huge black bag… huge enough to carry a body, perhaps?" He was grinning like a fool now. "Oh, my! Someone, call the police! There's a person – no, a criminal! – carrying a corpse! And it's stuffed in a bag!" he cried, his voice an octave higher, a hand cupped around his mouth.
The weight was suddenly taken from his arms. He blinked in surprise. Then, he felt that same weight hit him hard, and he suddenly found himself crumpled on the floor, a huge bag on top of him.
The little she-devil was crouching to his level, grinning like a mad man. "You better be grateful it's not your body inside then, Kurosaki-kun!" she chirped.
By then, his family had arrived, drawn to the commotion.
Isshin perked up when he saw who had arrived. He comically ran (imagine him running, but in painfully slow motion) towards the person, taking her in a huge bear hug.
"Rukia-chan! You've arrived!" he exclaimed, said girl still in his arms.
He could see Rukia wriggling in his grasp, and he seriously began to worry if she could still breathe. He pushed himself up from his position on the floor and pulled his idiotic father off of the poor girl. Isshin struggled in his hold for a bit before his face turned up in a grin.
"Aw… Ichigo's concerned for my dear third daughter!" he gushed.
Ichigo closed his eyes shut, taking a deep calming breath. Must not strangle dear father, he said repeatedly in his mind.
"Karin, Yuzu, your brother's finally in love!"
His eyes flew open. Screw calm. "What?!" he shouted in his father's ear, tightening his grip almost to the point of straining his muscles in the effort.
"You…are…in denial…my son!" Isshin gasped out, hands clutching his arms, trying to pry them off.
Yuzu quickly rushed to their side. "Brother, calm down!" she pleaded, eyes going round.
"Listen…to…your sister, Ichigo…" At this point, Isshin was wheezing.
He suddenly felt a hard knock to the back of his head. "Ow!" he yelped, grip loosening. Isshin took advantage of this and quickly crawled off to safety. Yuzu patted his head weakly. "Are you okay, dad?" she asked in a meek voice.
Meanwhile, he had whirled around, looking for the perpetrator. He did not need to look far, for the midget was poised for another strike a mere foot away. He dodged, this time, and he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him.
"Whose side are you on, anyways?" he yelled in her face.
"Not yours, that's for sure!" she yelled back, pulling at her wrist. They were so close he could almost see the veins popping in aggravation on her forehead.
They heard a loud "Ew" sound and both of them turned towards it. Karin was smirking at them. "If you're going to grope around at each other, do it somewhere else."
They blinked, and then realized their awkward position. Ichigo was still clutching her wrist, but his other hand had settled at her waist (when the heck did it get there?) so that her body was almost crushed to his. His head was bent towards her, and Rukia had her face up, as if to meet his. Meanwhile, her other hand (the one that was not held securely in Ichigo's grasp) was tangled in his hair when it got caught in the act of pulling at it. If anyone disregarded their expressions and the angry sounds they made, they'd surely make another, more perverted, scene.
Needless to say, they both sprang apart from the other in an instant. While they reddened in embarrassment, Isshin hooted in the distance.
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When everyone had somehow calmed down, Rukia found herself being led upstairs. Ichigo carried her bag like it was nothing, and she might have found that feat admirable, if circumstances had been different. Right now, it only irritated her.
He stopped abruptly near the foot of the stairs, and she gasped, clutching the railing for support.
"Idiot," she gritted out, "mind where you stop!" He turned to frown at her briefly, before opening the door in front of him.
He went inside, and she followed, making sure there was a good enough distance between them in case he decided to pull another abrupt halt, or worse, drop her bag on her head.
She saw the extra bed first, and she had to raise an eyebrow at that. It was made of metal, the kind you see in hospitals and clinics. And it was right smack in the middle of two other small beds, the normal kind. A note was taped at its foot, and she peered closer at it.
"For Rukia-chan," she read. She glanced wryly at her companion. "Wow," she drawled out, "way to show your welcome. I can see the effort put into this."
"Sh-shut up!" he stammered, a blush across his face. "We're not filthy rich like you, and it's the best we can manage at such short notice."
She bit her lip, and turned her face away. She did not mean to imply that… She shook the thought away.
"I was just teasing," she hastily amended, taking the bag from him. She failed to notice the weird expression on his face when she said it.
She was only then taking in the entire room. It was smaller than what she was used to, sure, but it had a nice and comforting feel to it. She also just then noticed that it was unusually tidy, not a speck of dust on the window sill, and the pens, notes, and other school things were neatly tucked away. She regretted even more her earlier comment, and she resolved to contemplate on her words more before saying anything, at least in front of the twins.
Perhaps the orange-haired buffoon was not as unperceptive as she thought, for he was clearing his throat and muttering small talk with her about the weather and such, as if to ease her mind. She almost smiled gratefully at him. Almost - if he hadn't shot out his hand at that very moment to grab her bag. Since she was still holding it firmly (more like struggling with it, really) in her grasps, she got pulled along with it. Then, when he realized what he had done, he let go abruptly. Down fell her bag, and she along with it.
"Ouch!" she yelped, feeling her backside bounce once on the floor (like a freaking ball) from the impact. She pulled her hands from the grips of her bag to rub her aching back.
"Sorry," he muttered, before proceeding to (once again) grab her bag and place it on an open cabinet above her makeshift bed.
Sorry, my ass. She cringed mentally at the thought.
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It was just noon, yet Ichigo could no longer count the number of times he got hit today. Sure, his days always started with a (not so) surprise attack from his stupid father, but now… this midget was quickly becoming his number one source of apprehension. Geez, it certainly put a new meaning to the words "size doesn't matter". Man, she sure had a mean right hook. Where'd she learn to hit like that? He thought she was just supposed to be some delicate, bratty princess!
Speak of the devil. She was…wait, was she skipping? Yes, she was! She had just finished changing into more comfortable clothes than what she was wearing earlier, and was now making her way to the dining room. The one-piece blue dress with small flowers dotting all over it reached just above her knees. He smirked. She really looked like a little kid.
She glanced at him, found him smirking, and her expression darkened considerably. She had stopped her skipping, and was now just calmly walking over to pour herself a drink from the pitcher on the counter.
He frowned. "Are you still angry about earlier?"
She glared up at him from the rim of her glass. Oh.
He busied himself with his lunch, and he was on to his second helping when a question popped in his mind.
"Hey," he said, still chewing, "hawd oo het ere?"
She stared at him, one delicate eyebrow raised.
He swallowed, and then tried again, "I asked how you got here? I didn't see your brother when you arrived." He reached for a random fruit in the middle of the table. He looked at it briefly before munching on it.
"I took a bus," she answered casually.
It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "Wow, I'm surprised you know how. I was thinking dear brother would never consent to you commuting in public, without a chaperone even."
"I-I'm not a complete fool! I know how to ride the bus, or any other mode of public transport for that matter, thank you very much!"
"Ah," he replied, his tone clearly saying he was unconvinced.
Crash! Ichigo's eyes widened. He glanced at his back at the glass that was now lying broken on the floor near him, before whirling back to the girl.
"Midget! What do you think you're doing? That was dangerous!" He was now standing, and yelling his chords out at the unrepentant devil before him. She even smirked!
She snorted in an unladylike manner, crossing her arms.
An idea formed in his head, and while he was hesitant to turn to such an unprincipled method, the smirk that refused to leave her face just made him lose all sense.
"Ah," he casually groaned out, slowly walking around the table towards her. She was looking cautiously at him, he noted. He glanced idly at the ceiling to avoid meeting her eyes. "To think you had to throw that particular glass! It was a gift from my mother's parents at her wedding (as he said that, he felt a bitter taste burn in his throat, but he couldn't stop now). Yuzu's going to be heartbroken!" Take that, you devil!
He sneaked a glance at her from the corner of his eye. Her eyes were wide, and she was biting her lip as if to keep them from trembling. His own eyes widened. Whoa! Was she going to cry? She raised both hands to her face and turned away from him, her usual confident stance gone. Oh, shit! Had he gone too far?
He opened his mouth to say something, but the words just won't form.
He could hear muffled sniffs, and he glanced up in alarm at her. Oh, my gosh! She's really crying! Kurosaki Ichigo did not deal with crying girls. Never!
He patted her trembling shoulder awkwardly. "Hey, I'm sorry," he murmured, hoping his voice sounded comforting enough. "I-I didn't mean what I said earlier. Yuzu won't be that upset about it." Well, he was pretty sure she won't.
From the corner of his eye, he saw her grip the pitcher of water tight in her hands. He frowned a little at that. Did she want another drink of water? He shrugged and was about to turn around to get her a new glass, when he finally heard it. What he thought were sniffs were really muffled chuckles! And she wasn't trembling from crying… she was trembling with laughter!
His eyes widened in alarm, and a split second later, he felt the cold water hit him. Literally. And the little imp held the now empty pitcher high up in the air, triumphant smirk in place.
That's it!
He growled, and took a step menacingly at her. She laughingly dodged his reaching hands.
"Midget!!! You are so dead!"
In the living room, Karin and Yuzu eyed each other. "Not again," they both uttered in a similar dead tone.
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The day passed in a similar manner. One of them somehow managed to aggravate the other, and the other would retaliate. The occupants of the house had already gotten used to it by the fourth bout.
Ichigo was lying in his bed, pillows propped under his back to keep him upright against the headboard. Dinner had proved to be disastrous, too.
"Ichigo, you idiot! I was about to get that piece of meat!"
He rolled his eyes at her. "Get your own meat," he replied childishly. He was about to pop it into his mouth when a pair of chopsticks pulled the meat from his grasp.
Groaning as his mouth ate air, he turned to glare at Rukia, who held the meat halfway up her mouth.
He smirked, and then did the same to her. She snapped her gaze at him, and found his pair chopsticks on her piece of meat.
"Let go," she gritted.
"Hell no," was the quick and mulish reply.
They continued their little tug-of-war with their chopsticks. Ichigo knew he was winning by the third pull. He smirked triumphantly at her. Giving a last tug, he freed the much abused meat from her (chopstick's) grasp. He was about to feed himself the much coveted prize, when the she-devil decided to do the unthinkable. Her dirty little mouth chomped on it.
Thump. Huh? What the heck happened?
His brain somehow managed to reactivate. Unfortunately, it has just decided to process her uncomfortable proximity, and the fact that her mouth was still clamped to his chopsticks, all at once.
He gave a small yelp, tugging in the process. Rukia released her hold on it, and just calmly leaned back in her chair, not realizing the weight of her actions.
He was staring in horror at his chopsticks, and he hoped that his flustered state did not manifest itself on his expression. Unfortunately, luck didn't seem to be with him at all today, and he could actually feel the heat rise up in his cheeks. He heard snickers in the background, but he was too afraid to look up just then.
He scowled at the recollection. Then, just as he finally decided to lower himself and get his much needed sleep, he heard a (by now) familiar voice cursing silently from somewhere in the hall.
He got up and opened his door.
Rukia stared at him, hand clutched at the throat of her shirt.
"Geez, Ichigo! You had me in quite a scare!" she reprimanded, but she kept her voice to a whisper.
"What are you doing?" he queried. Noting the white bunnies scattered all over her pajamas, he quirked an eyebrow at her. She had a dangerous gleam on her eyes, though, so he decided to keep it at that.
He glanced at his watch, before turning to her. "It's quite late," he commented.
She was not looking at him. "I-I usually tire myself to sleep by looking at the stars," she stammered out.
Huh?
The stars, she said.
Okay…
He sighed. "Come with me," he muttered, before turning back to his room. When he heard no footsteps following him, he glanced back at her. She was wringing the ends of her shirt.
"Are you… scared I'm going to do something?" he teased.
She gasped, and then she glared at him. But his teasing did the trick. She followed him bravely as he led the way over to his balcony.
She opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off by gesturing with his hand.
She… pouted a little, and he almost grinned at her expression.
He grabbed a steady hold on the rail, and pulled himself up. He quickly calculated, then nodded to himself.
He held out a hand towards her to help her up, but she ignored his hand. This time, he did not stop the grin from forming. Stubborn midget…
She made her way up on her own (the distance from the edge of the rail to the roof really wasn't that much, just a couple of feet or so), but he held an arm out, just in case.
A minute later, they were sitting on the roof in companionable silence, gazing up at the sky and the multitude of stars that twinkled at them.
And just as he thought they were going to spend the entire time there in silence, Rukia spoke up in a quiet voice.
"It's my first time…seeing the stars…with someone."
He studied her from the corner of his eye, but remained silent.
She didn't speak to him again after that first lone statement, so he decided to take the initiative, just to break the silence.
"So… how did you find my home?" he asked. He stared intently at one star, finding it weird how it could glow brighter than the rest.
He was expecting her to give a dry laugh, or give a sarcastic comeback, but her response was nowhere close.
"I adore your family. I'm almost envious."
He had to grip the side of the roof to keep his self from falling. He quickly turned to face her. "Come again?" he asked, finding her statement ludicrous. Is she for real?
She drew her knees up to her chin, wrapping her arms around her tiny self.
"Nii-sama… though I love and respect him, was almost never home. He always had some business somewhere, and he'd come home late, or not at all. When I first arrived at the Kuchiki manor, I used to stay up and wait around for him. But after a while, I realized it was futile, and I gave up on waiting." Her tone of voice made him feel as if there was some deeper meaning hidden in her words, and as she continued on her musings, he could almost glimpse a lonely little girl in this woman before him. He gripped the cloth of his sweatpants tight in his fists.
"The house was too big, too silent. And there may be a lot of people in it, but it was never...alive." She slowly turned her face to him, head still propped on her knee. "In the end, it was just a house. Not a home."
Then, she frowned a little, finally noticing his tensed state.
"Ichigo?" She had a questioning look on her face.
He forced himself to relax. He turned away from her searching gaze, taking a deep breath. In the sky, that lone bright star seemed to wink encouragingly at him.
"You don't have to wait anymore."
He paused, contemplating his words. Then, before he had a chance to question himself, he faced her and gave her a rare soft smile.
"Welcome home."
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to be continued...
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