Behind the Scenes
What goes on in the world of Bleach when off-screen?
Summary of chapter: Ichigo tries to get to the bottom of Rukia's strange behavior. Rated T, for mentions of menstruation.
A/N: I could not think of a better idea, sorry! I am almost out of ideas so I should be finishing 'Behind the Scenes' in the next few chapters.
Characters © Kubo Tite
V.
Female Phenomenon
"Good morning, ICHIGO!"
"God, don't you ever shut up!"
Kurosaki Isshin's face met his son's foot with a resounding smack. Grumbling something low and indistinct, Kurosaki Ichigo ran a hand through his bedridden orange hair and proceeded to get dressed, stepping lithely over the twitching form of his father. Picking himself up with an effort, Isshin headed downstairs to the kitchen with a dark bruise swelling on his cheek.
Once his father was carefully out of hearing distance, Ichigo rapped once on the wooden sliding door to his closet.
"Wake up, Rukia," he said as he finished buttoning up his shirt. "It's the first day of summer, don'tcha know?"
There was no response on the other side of the door. Ichigo frowned, then smacked the door louder.
"Oi, Rukia! Did you hear me? Wake u—"
"I'M UP, ICHIGO!"
Ichigo winced at her volume, which drilled straight through his head at this hour in the morning. "Alright, alright, you don't have to shout," he griped.
"Anyway, I'm goin' to that new ice cream store that opened up by the high school around lunchtime. Wanna com—"
"—No."
"Uh, you sure?" The thick wood of the closet door did not conceal the petulance in her voice.
"I said no, Ichigo."
"Hmph. Fine, then." Ichigo huffed and grabbed his wallet. "Sleep your day away. See if I care."
The only response he got from behind the closed door was silence.
Ichigo sat under an umbrella-ed table outside of the ice cream parlor, seething. Chad was currently training in Seireitei with Renji and Orihime had plans with Tatsuki for the day, which had left Ichigo with only two options left. Unfortunately for him, Mizuro and Keigo had both cancelled on him at the very last minute, leaving the orange-haired shinigami sitting by himself at the parlor.
Not the best way to start off a summer vacation.
Well, as long as he was here, he might as well make the best of it.
Ichigo rose from his little table, stepping out into the warm sun momentarily before entering the café. Once inside, he glanced at the colorful assortments of ice cream and gelatos, finally deciding on a plain vanilla cone (you would have thought strawberry, ne?).
The ice cream wasn't half bad, he thought as he made his way outside, licking the smooth flavor from its cone. He returned to the shade of his umbrella-ed table, closing his eyes at the decadent flavor that was so pure and cool against the balminess of the summer day.
"Yo."
Ichigo's eyes flew open. "IyaaarrRukia?!" He attempted to transform his yell of surprise into something coherent at the sight of the small person sitting across from him at the round table, barely succeeding. Several customers seated outside glanced their way briefly before returning to their business.
The small, dark-haired shinigami recoiled, squinting one indigo eye shut. "Not so loud, fool."
"What are you doing here?"
Rukia threw him a sulking glare. "What does it look like? I'm at an ice cream store for my health?"
Ichigo ignored the blatant sarcasm. "I thought you didn't want to go, idiot."
"I…changed my mind," Rukia stated embarrassedly. The other looked at her, eyebrows raised.
"I see."
"Now, Ichigo, I would like this ice cream," she said flipping a rogue tress of dark hair out of her face.
"'This ice cream?'" Ichigo repeated. "Don't tell me you've never had it before."
Rukia replied, "I only had it once before, many years ago. I do not remember the taste, so I thought I'd refresh my memory. The humans seem to like it a lot here."
"Well, who doesn't like freaking ice cream?"
She chose not to answer this. "Ichigo," she said, her eyes shut. "Get me a chocolate ice cream."
The orange-haired boy started. "Eeh? What makes you think I'm going to get it for you?"
Rukia's eyebrow twitched. "Because I said so, fool."
Crossing his arms, Ichigo stated, "Nuh-uh. If you want it so badly, go in and get it yourself." Big mistake.
Rukia leaned over the little glass table in a flash and grabbed the front of his collar, her expression livid. Ichigo gave a startled squawk.
"You will go inside," she hissed. "And you will get me a chocolate ice cream. Now."
"F-fine, I'll go get your chocolate ice cream, wait here," Ichigo mumbled, a bit uneasy by her sudden flare in reiatsu and fiery indigo eyes. "Teme," he growled under his breath as he rose once again from the shaded table and headed into the store, straightening out his shirt.
Irascible today, aren't we, Rukia? He wondered what was up her ass.
Just to make sure to satisfy her, Ichigo ordered the largest cone of chocolate ice cream on the menu. He didn't want to piss Rukia off.
Wait, what do I care if she blows her top at me again? He thought as he watched the man behind the counter whip the silky ice cream in soft swirls around the cone. She's the one who started it.
"Here you go, customer-san," the man said as he finished, holding up the oversized, glistening cone.
"Ah, thanks," Ichigo said as he left some money on the counter and walked out.
His henna eyes widened when he approached the table and saw Rukia looking rather odd. Her legs were drawn up to her torso in an almost fetal position and her arms were wrapped around her knees tightly. As he got closer Ichigo saw that her face was pale and strained; she was biting her lip and a bead of sweat rolled lazily down the side of her face.
"Um, Rukia? Here's your chocolate cone." He gave her a quizzical look.
"Thank you, Ichigo." Her tone was soft and kind, much unlike the explosive demeanor that she had exhibited only minutes ago. Odd.
"What's up with you?" He asked casually as he seated himself at the table. She took the cone tentatively from him and brought it to her nose, sniffing it.
"N-nothing. Don't concern yourself with my matters." God, she looked almost in pain, Ichigo thought. He felt some of his annoyance at her ebb.
"You sure?" Was all he could say.
"Mm," Rukia answered, nodding. Hesitantly, she poked the tip of her tongue out and gave the cone a small lick. Ichigo watched as her eyes sparkled, and she began to consume the ice cream with more confidence. It was kind of cute, really.
Cute? Ichigo dismissed the passing thought as nonsensical, giving his head a shake as he immersed himself in his own vanilla cone (which was starting to drip slightly), forgetting all thoughts.
"The ice cream was good," Rukia noted after she had finished the entire cone. Suddenly, her face scrunched up uncharacteristically.
"What is it, Rukia?" Ichigo inquired hurredly, taken aback by her expression. "Brainfreeze?"
"No, not that," she replied, actual tears standing in her eyes. "It's just that…that—"she emitted a small sob—"the chocolate ice cream is all gone!"
With that said, Rukia promptly let a tear course its way down her pale, smooth cheek. Ichigo stared at her, dumbstruck. His visage of stupefaction was for a number of reasons.
One, Kuchiki Rukia never cried.
Two, even if she did, it certainly would not be over such a trivial matter.
Kurosaki Ichigo just gaped at the dark-haired shinigami, unsure of what to do. He ran a hand awkwardly through his bright, spiky hair and waited for her to finish.
"Umm…should I get you another one?" He asked cautiously.
Rukia shook her head vigorously. "No, no, don't, I'm good.." She swiped at her eyes and caught him staring at her.
"What?" she snapped.
"N-n! Nothing," Ichigo stammered. She gave a curt nod.
"That's what I thought. I'm ready to go home now, fool." She stood up, and Ichigo noticed how she wobbled slightly upon standing.
The two walked home in a silence that was not all entirely unpleasant. When they reached Ichigo's house, Rukia went straight up to his room and to the bed in her closet.
"Night, Ichigo."
"Night?" He looked at the digital clock on his bedside table. "It's only three thirty!"
"You got a problem with that?" She gave him a violet glare. Feeling her reiatsu seeping out, Ichigo only shook his head, bewildered.
A sudden noise pulled Kurosaki Ichigo slowly from his slumber. A hollow, his mind instinctively thought as he sat up to look at the full moon in the sky, which could be seen from his bedroom window.
No, that couldn't be right, he thought. He did not feel any hollow presence nearby. His eyes widened as he did see his closet door open fractionally and a faint light emitting from under his bathroom door.
Careful as to not wake anyone else in the house, Ichigo slid off his bed and slinked towards the bathroom.
"Oi, Rukia." He spoke softly to the door.
"What are you doing up, fool?" could be heard mutedly from the other side.
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I'm throwing that right back at'cha," he replied. "Seriously though, you okay? You've been acting strange since this morning, Rukia."
The words were out before he could stop himself. After a moment of quiet, the bathroom door opened to reveal Rukia clad in silky striped pajamas standing to face him with an annoyed look on her face.
She sighed. "I thought I told you not to concern yourself with my matters, Ichigo? It is nothing."
"Oh really? Then what is that 'nothing' behind your back?"
Rukia blanched. Terrific, the brat had noticed. He craned his neck to look behind her and she quickly switched what she was hiding to the other hand. After a moment of this Ichigo grew tired and simply gripped the shinigami's thin shoulders and spun her around.
Ichigo saw what was in her hand and immediately let go of Rukia, taking a voluntary step backwards. A wave of understanding, yet not understanding washed over him.
So that's why she's been acting strange, he thought silently. I should've known.
Rukia was glowering up at him, a slight flush on her cheeks. "Happy now?" she muttered indignantly. She waved the thing in her hand around dismissively. It was a box of tampons, the seal having already been broken.
"So now you know, okay?" She sighed. "Now go to bed."
"Ah-um, au—" Ichigo grasped for words, still eyeing the box suspiciously.
"What, cat got your tongue?" Rukia waved the box around again, and observed how Ichigo flinched from it, almost as if he was afraid of the little bits of plastic.
A devious grin formed on Rukia's lips, a grin so devilish and wide that it made her eyes slit like a feline's. This could be fun. Without another word, she slipped her hand into the depths of the box and pulled out a tampon. Ichigo's dark eyes widened.
"Ne, Ichigo. Do you know what this does?" she asked slyly. He did not answer, but merely mouthed like a fish out of water. She continued.
"It's like a syringe really, used when women have their periods." At the mention of the word "period" Ichigo recoiled. Rukia did not miss that.
"Yes, periods. So, when a woman is leaking, do you know what she does?"
Ichigo found his voice at last. "No-No! I don't know and I don't want to know!" He shook his head fiercely.
"This big thing here is just to help, but the little one here—"she tapped the smaller tube—"you use a finger to push it into your—"
"Nya-la-laa laaaah, I'm not listening!" Ichigo clapped his hands over his ears frantically and turned away from her. Rukia chuckled.
"Why so afraid, Ichigo?" she asked innocently. "After all, this is a completely natural process in the cycle of life."
"And tell me what is so natural about that thing?" Ichigo said hoarsly, pointing to the tampon.
"Well, since you asked, I will tell you—"
Ichigo cut in, as quiet as possible. "No way in hell. I already said I don't want to know.
Rukia chortled coldly, the sound eerily filling up the entire bedroom.
"Want me to show you?"
Ichigo's eyes bugged out and he turned bright red. "N-n-n-aaargh! Just leave me alone, dammit!" He turned to dash back to his bed, but Rukia followed.
"What's so scary about this little thing?" She dangled the tampon by its string in front of him.
He let out a small yelp and scurried to the other side of the room. Rukia chased him with the tampon suspended from her hand.
"Look, Ichigo, it even has a string to make it easier to pull out!"
"Fuck! Leave me alone!"
"But if you don't put it in right it can hurt!"
"ARGH!"
Some time later, Ichigo lay on his bed, panting, while Rukia lay on the floor next to him, propped up against the poster of his bed. She had chased him around his room until they both had grown too exhausted to move. Already the first peaks of dawn were poking their way through the night sky and sending a faint glow into the room.
"I've just realized, Rukia," Ichigo said breathily, staring at his ceiling, "How lucky I am to be a guy."
"Kisama," Rukia replied with her eyes closed. "At least we can't get kicked in the balls."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"OW!"
End.
I'm running out of ideas! A review would be nice, thanks. =