Chapter 8: Strawberry Meets Death
Hmm…continuing this chapter with Thursday night. Friday morning is included…. Maybe up to Friday night, ending to enter Saturday morning…. Huh. Seems like a plan :) Some Inoue rejecting, Ichiruki fluffiness…By the way- is Inoue's name Orihime Inoue or Inoue Orihime? I hope the latter! 'Cause I made our Ichigo call her by Inoue, so that better be her "last name" cause he doesn't speak to her so casually! Heh, so yes, I'd like to know :D
Oh, and thanks to pepprie! Your spelling dificulty DOES make me feel better, lol! :) (jk, jk). Thanks for the encouragement :)
On with 'Strawberry Meets Death'!
Disclaimer: I do not own the original concepts or characters of Bleach. The made up stuff is mine.
-----
He tried to ignore her exposed throat, or how her skirt rode up her thigh as she pulled her knee up, resting her foot on the chair.
He tried.
---
"Rukia…." Ichigo's breath became shallow, a blush claiming his cheeks. Her eyes bore into him, slowly pulling him towards them.
His hands on her shoulders tensed, suddenly feeling as if they were on fire.
He came closer and closer to her eyes, to her blushing cheeks.
He could smell her natural scent, practically hear her pulse from within her neck.
Just an inch more and he'd know her taste. Just an inch….
"Ichi-nii! Rukia! I'm home!"
Ichigo blinked, brought out of his trance-like state, straightening himself as Rukia hurried off the chair and out his bedroom door.
He could hear Rukia yelling for Yuzu, his little sister probably hugging her by now.
He dragged a hand through his messy hair, trying to regain his composure.
What was that?! What was I thinking, what the hell am I feeling?!
"Ichigo, are you okay?" His sister stood at his door, concern evident in her expression.
"Y-yeah, Yuzu, I'm fine. Just… gotta go to the bathroom."
He stepped past her, hurrying past the other doors into his sudden sanctuary.
---
Ichigo cupped cold water into his hands, splashing his flustered cheeks over and over again, trying to calm down the heat.
Wiping his face, he looked into the mirror, wondering what changes were taking over his body and mind.
He glanced down, feeling discomfort past his waist.
Fuck. I'm in trouble.
---
"My brother is a strange one… I hope he wasn't lying when he denied being on drugs." Yuzu sat down beside Rukia on the couch, noticing Rukia's intent stare on the floor.
"Rukia, are you alright? Did something happen before I came home?" She couldn't ignore how tense the teens were since calling out for them.
"Nothing happened, Yuzu. We were just startled when we heard you, since the house was so quiet…."
He almost kissed me.
"Ah, sorry about that…. Hey, Rukia! Can you stay late tomorrow night? I'd love it if you could stay for our 'movie night'!"
"Hai. Right now, though, I need to get going." Rukia stood up, heading over to the front door.
"Hold on, Rukia! Let me call Ichi-"
"It's alright, Yuzu! See you tomorrow!" With that, Rukia quickly left the residence, surprisingly hoping to run into Hollows that night.
---
"OW!" Ichigo stumbled back into the bathroom, clutching his throbbing shin.
"What did you do to Rukia, Ichigo?!" Yuzu blocked the bathroom entrance, staring him down.
"Yuzu, what the hell- I didn't do anything!" Ichigo couldn't believe his sweet, little Yuzu just kicked him, shaking his head in denial.
Another kick made him a believer.
"Kurosaki Ichigo, you better apologize to her for whatever you said or did!" With a final glare, she turned on her heel, stomping down the hallway into her bedroom, slamming the door.
Wincing as he walked downstairs, Ichigo confirmed his suspicions- Rukia had left.
Smooth Kurosaki- scare the girl off, why don't you? Oh wait- you already have!
A frustrated sigh and a few limping steps later, he fell into his bed.
---[Next morning]---
He switched his messenger bag to the other shoulder, tugging at his tie.
He stepped over to the other side of their gate, leaning back on the fence.
He took off his tie and tied it again- and again.
Ichigo glanced at his wrist, discovering he'd have to run now to make it to class on time.
He looked down the street one last time, frowning when the girl he waited for didn't appear.
He took off, hoping she had taken another route and still went to school.
---
"Ah, good morning! Glad to see you all present today, hai…. NOW SIT DOWN!" The uniformed students rushed about the classroom, taking their designated seats. Silence held while their teacher took roll, only speaking when their name was called.
"Kuchiki Rukia!" Ochi-sensei pressed the pencil's tip into the paper, about to mark her present- but she didn't hear her student's voice this morning.
"Eh? Rukia?" She glanced at the empty seat, her attention soon on the frowning boy next to it.
"Kurosaki Ichigo! Where the hell is your friend?" Ichigo felt his classmates shift in their seats as necessary to look at him, clenching his fist to control his voice.
"I don't know, Ochi-sensei." His eyes tried to burn through the desktop, struggling to hold back angry tears.
Tatsuki frowned at the sight, wondering if the two friends had a fight. She looked at Inoue, frowning even more.
Her curvy, large-breasted friend had a small smile on her lips, accompanied by a glint of hope in her wide eyes.
---
"Ichigo! Hey, Ichigo!" Tatsuki had to run to catch up with the tall boy, refusing to let him walk off.
"What do you want, Tatsuki?" He continue walking up the stairs, pushing past the students making their way down.
"What's wrong, Ichigo?!" Tatsuki fell behind, but knew where she'd find him.
Pushing the door open a minute later, she found him by the edge of the roof, staring out into the buildings.
"Ichigo… what happened between you two?" She slowly walked to his side, careful to keep her distance.
"I… I don't know what I'm doing these days, Tatsuki." He didn't need to look at her to know she was listening- her silence said it all.
"I don't know why I'm so attached to her, I don't know why I do the things I never thought I'd do. I'm feeling, I'm feeling things I've never felt before, and I don't know what to make of them!"
He finally turned to his friend, looking straight into her eyes.
Tatsuki felt her heart break at the sight- his eyes were clouded with confusion, with anger, with… desire.
That look, Ichigo, is the one I always hoped to hear Inoue tell me about. Yet here I am, witnessing that look, but for someone else….
"Did you get into a fight?" Tatsuki decided she'd known him too long to ignore what he wants. If Inoue isn't part of his heart, then she'll just have to accept it.
"No… well, not really. I screwed up last night. I nearly kissed her…."
Swallowing, Tatsuki braved on; "What did she say? What did she do?"
"Well, Yuzu came home and she left while I was still upstairs…. I waited for her this morning, but she obviously didn't show up."
Tatsuki looked away now, taking deep breaths.
"A certain friend of mine won't know we talked today, Kurosaki. The door behind the landing at the bottom of these stairs is unlocked. It goes out into the street…."
It took him a few seconds to understand her, but in the end, he understood.
She could see him out in the streets below within two minutes.
---
Urahara set the steaming cup down by her folded hands, taking his place across Rukia. He pushed the tissue box towards her.
"Kuchiki, you shouldn't worry about it. You are in a human body now, you are bound to feel these… things."
He knew he had to contact her captain again, no longer wanting Kurosaki to know of her true situation, but rather needing him to know.
"But it's wrong, Urahara! He's just a boy, how could I have feelings for him?!" She ripped the tissue from its place, blowing her nose.
"Well, I have to say he is not a boy, but more like a young man. Also- you were his age before you died, Rukia. You're not older than him, in my opinion. You've just been around longer than he has."
He smiled softly as she took in his words. Rukia finally took her cup, drinking the warm liquid.
"They only have three weeks before they end their junior year, Rukia. He'll soon be a senior, then a college student. If anything, I think you're just right for him…."
Rukia looked into the exiled shinigami's eyes, knowing he meant it.
She felt better; she felt so much better.
---
"Tatsuki, where were you at lunch?" The pair were walking to Inoue's house, exhausted from the day at school.
"I wasn't feeling well, so I went to the nurses' office. Nothing to worry about…." Tatsuki kept her eyes on the ground, hoping Inoue would drop the subject.
"I'm feeling much better today. Even though I haven't seen Kurosaki-kun since the beginning of lunch, it makes me feel better knowing he isn't with her today."
Tatsuki fought to keep her face straight as her friend smiled at that.
---
"Ichigo- what are you doing here?" Rukia stood before him, shocked to see the orange-haired boy.
Ichigo stood up from his position on the ground by her door, sore from sitting there for so long.
"You look like you were crying." He stretched, twisting his tired body out of its stiffness.
"You didn't answer me, Ichigo." She hoped he came to apologize, that way she could tell him he didn't need to. She felt no need to encourage any feelings, but she certainly wasn't going to destroy them.
"I came to apologize." He held his breath as she sighed, closing her beautiful eyes, keeping them from him.
Opening her eyes, he was surprised to see a shine in them, like a flickering dance of light.
"Let's head on inside Ichigo. Your butt is probably sore."
---
Ukitake Jyuushiro was a nervous wreck.
He received a Hell Butterfly from his exiled friend just moments ago, explaining the new urgency in receiving the approvals they wanted.
He knew the 46 Chambers would bend to his word, but it was the petite shinigami's brother he was worried about.
Kuchiki Byakuya wasn't pleased with the idea of furthering Rukia's settlement into the real world. Byakuya may be a noble, but he isn't stupid. A young boy in constant presence of his sister, knowing her truth and teaching her how to live- an attachment was bond to be made. He refused to accept that.
Ukitake downed his sake, hoping to come out of the situation alive. He wanted Rukia's happiness, even if she possibly ended up staying in the real world for good; but the captain also wanted to keep his head.
---
"How long were you out there, Ichigo? You couldn't have made it here so quickly after class…."
Rukia fidgeted in her chair next to Ichigo, feeling slightly guilty she hadn't been home. Only slightly.
"Since around lunch time at school. I couldn't wait, you know…." He looked over to his side, carefully watching the raven-haired girl. He wasn't too sure how to approach his due apology….
"Listen, Rukia- I'm sorry for that shit I nearly pulled last night. I don't know what got into me…."
The teen bit his lip, waiting for her to respond. Rukia started to smile at him- that's good, right?
"Don't worry about it, Ichigo. Seriously." Her smile turned playful as she stood up, heading to her bedroom.
"Ano… Rukia?" Ichigo stood at the table now, unsure what he should do.
What did she mean, exactly?
He was about to follow her in when a duffle bag landed on his head, clearly thrown from inside her room.
"Oi, what was that for?!" He grabbed the bag, opening it to look inside. There were blankets and pajamas in it.
"You invited me over to your 'movie night,' no? I might as well be comfortable." She smirked, glad she had asked Urahara about this 'movie.'
"Ah. Well, let's get going then." He slung the bag over his shoulder, waiting for her to head out.
He was definitely looking forward to tonight.
---
"Inoue! I really don't think we should do this! Inoue?! Are you listening!?"
"Nonsense, Tatsuki! If I'm going to fight for Kurosaki-kun, I have to take every chance! What better chance than now?"
Before Tatsuki could stop her, Inoue knocked on Ichigo's door, hoping he was home.
Halfway towards Inoue's apartment, Tatsuki was dragged off in the opposite direction, oblivious to Inoue's plans until she recognized the house they stopped in front of.
"How the hell did you find out his address anyways, Inoue?" Before she could receive an answer, the front door opened.
"Ah, you must be Kurosaki-kun's little sister! How cute!" Tatsuki nearly slapped her head in shame of her friend.
"Hai. Who might you be….?" Yuzu gripped the door, ready to close it were they found to be strange.
"I'm Orihime Inoue, and this is Arisawa Tatsuki. We're close friends of Kurosaki-kun!"
"That's funny- I thought Rukia was the only friend with breasts Ichi-nii had."
Tatsuki choked back her laughter, biting her lips to keep quiet. The look on Inoue's face was priceless.
She did ask for it this time.
"A-ah, I didn't think you were so… so… Hai, well, is Kurosaki-kun home?" Inoue blushed with embarrassment, unaware of her friend beside her nearly collapsing from silent laughter.
"No. He's probably walking Rukia home right now."
"Ah, but she didn't come to school today, so will he be here soon?"
"Well, he's probably still with her. He needed to apologize for last night and bring her over anyways. We invited her over for some movies."
Yuzu was slowly losing her patience- she could now tell this girl's interest in her brother went beyond simple friendship.
She was having fun knowing Orihime Inoue didn't have the same friendship with him as Rukia did.
"Movies, huh? We have some really good ones at home, you know! Maybe we can join and bring them over!"
Now she's pushing it. Tatsuki decided it was time to step in.
"Inoue, we have a lot of homework. Let's just head home."
"Listen to your friend- it's more of a close, inside-tradition of ours anyways." Yuzu closed the door, ending the conversation.
Inoue felt her cheeks grow red, irritation slowly spreading through her. 'Close, inside-tradition'? His only female friend? With her even though she wasn't even at school?
Inoue walked off towards home, trying to stay calm.
Tatsuki followed behind, feeling she shouldn't confront Inoue until they reached her apartment.
Behind them in the growing distance, a tall boy and short girl made their way down the street, talking excitedly about the movies they were going to watch tonight.
------
Holy crap! Why? Not too sure. I decided I wanted to drag their movie night longer in a whole new chapter, so the plan at the beginning was chopped up a bit. Heh heh heh.... I know many have said they like the slow development of IchiRuki, but Ichigo is a guy and Rukia is "older".... So I felt there could be random little bits of intensity. :) Only every once in a while though... summer is when the fun starts :D
And as for the Inoue torturing... hehe... I like it :) I'll be nice in the end, no worries... until then though, she must suffer! :D
Constructive criticism, questions, comments, or simple love would be appreciated! Take care! :) Also, thanks to YAZ! for her revision.
~KurosakiLove
