Chapter 4: Ideas for Her

Rukia excitedly dashed past Ichigo the instant he unlocked the front door to his house, was running upstairs and locking the door.

" What the hell?! Watch where you're going!!" he yelled across the empty house as he sat down on the couch.

He looked for the remote and turned on the television, knowing he wouldn't be allowed in his own room for a few hours. Rukia was now trying on every piece of clothing he bought her and admiring each possible combination of every accessory, color, and overall feel.

In a way Ichigo was glad not to be in his room at the moment. He knew Rukia would have asked him his opinion on every little thing, and he could imagine some of the conversation.

"Ichigo, does this make my butt look big?"

"Yes."

"What?! No it doesn't!"

"Then why did you ask me?!"

He didn't have an ounce of strength left from their trip to the mall to handle another argument. Rukia wasn't the only one tired of all the constant bicker.

As he flipped through random stations he suddenly heard slow, quiet footsteps coming from the staircase. Rukia had tried on her new orange dress and stood at the side of the couch, looking at Ichigo.

He hoped that by not looking at her she wouldn't ask him something about the clothes she was wearing yet his will seem to vanish as her glowing violet eyes simply stared at him, foreshadowing exactly what she was going to say.

"Ichigo……what do you think?" she gently asked, spinning around in her dress.

The instant he turned his head to see her, he felt it. Warmth flew through his body, his eyes shivered in desire, and his heart started to jump at every second. He couldn't believe how attractive she was, more than before.

Unfortunately he could no longer control himself. He felt an odd liquid flow from his face. His nose was bleeding.

"Holy shit!" he thought to himself.

He quickly covered his nose before she could notice and turned away from her, his body trembling as it tried to sustain itself in front of her. He had to get her away before she noticed something was wrong. He had to answer her question.

"You look beautiful!" he snapped.

"Really? Thank you Ichigo!" she smiled as she ran back upstairs.

The door closed, signaling to him it was okay. He got up and peeked at towards the top of the stairs to see if she was standing there but the coast was clear. He made his way to the kitchen and turned on the sink to clean himself.

Until he realized……

"Oh shiiiiiiitttttt…………" he thought to himself.

"Did……I just say she looked beautiful? Ah…….dammit!" he nearly yelled out.

He tried to sit on the couch but was too frantic to enjoy it, starting to pace back and forth.

"What if she figures out that I…..." Ichigo thought to himself.

As he panicked Rukia began to untie the ribbon around her waist, hoping to quickly try something new on and maybe get another compliment from Ichigo. Once the dress became loose she gently pulled it off and hung it in the closet.

"Maybe I should try that shirt that matches Ichigo's hair?" she told herself.

She lifted the hanger from the closet railing. Suddenly she jolted. She noticed earlier when she was downstairs but now she could feel it again. Her heart was beating faster and her cheeks felt warmer. She turned around and looked at the mirror, her hands massaging her cheeks.

In the reflection was a petite blushing girl, her widened eyes seemingly relaxed. Her gentle smile made her feel at peace but her beating chest made her feel excited……unusually excited.

Abandoning the dress she placed on the chair she sat on the bed and felt her chest with a single hand. Her baffled expression would confuse others as sadness or deep pain but she was simply curious and oddly enough, overjoyed.

Time felt slower and the surrounding world seemed insignificant as she focused on this feeling. It consumed every fragment of her mind, her concentration cut off from the world. She tried to define this feeling, she tried to figure out its origins……….but to no avail.

She began to feel slightly depressed at her failure until-

"Rukia. You done in there? I gotta study!" Ichigo shouted as he knocked on the door.

The knocking had snapped her back into reality, the sudden shock causing her to jump in her place. She decided to play it off and feign her normal behavior.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." She scorned as she quickly grabbed one of the pajama sets and dressed up.

"Well, hurry up dammit! My dad said he's going to be home!" Ichigo replied.

"What?!" Rukia yelled out as she fell to the ground, tripping over the one leg in her pants she had a leg in.

"You okay?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia lifted herself up from the ground, angry at the entire situation.

"Yeah. I'm fine! You should have told me about your father sooner! I wouldn't have to rush and trip!" she shouted.

"What the hell?! He just called me now. I couldn't have told you sooner!"

"Whatever…" she murmured.

"What the hell is her problem? Damn mi…….chibi." Ichigo said as he started to lean on the wall, placing a plate down on the ground next to him.

As the door to his room opened, Rukia slowly made her way to the closet as Ichigo handed her her dinner. He sat down at the desk and pried opened his Japanese history book.

Rukia ate the meal slowly, her mind possessed by her troubled heart. She tried to make up as many theories as she could for this emotion. So far, only one has survived all trials, the theory she made from the start.

She cracked opened the closet door and peeked at Ichigo as he studied. She knew the exact reason why she felt that way. Her eyes followed each strand of hair on his head as he read from the book.

He was the doubtlessly the reason and she was happy but at the same time extremely nervous. She wasn't sure but maybe this feeling was………………..

"LOVE!!!" Orihime yelled out.

"Wh…..what?" Rukia asked, shocked at how quickly she said that.

"Orihime's right. It sounds like you like him and he likes you." Tatsuki said.

It was school the next day and Rukia decided to have lunch with the girls to ask them what they thought. But "love"?

She thought about it but still didn't believe it. Tatsuki noticed her thinking and decided to say something.

"You know Rukia, there's a weekend field trip coming up. Maybe you could figure out what it is you feel by hanging out with him all alone."

And it was decided. On the field trip Rukia would decide what she felt for Ichigo but if it was love, what would she do?