DISCLAIMER: Toshiro looks so hot in the new chapter... I don't fawn over my own creations


Rukia walked towards school slowly, wanting to enjoy the weather. She loved the cold, she practically hated summer. She only liked it because there was a month long break that came with it. She finally met up with Momo and entered the school gates together. Rukia found the scene odd when there were no fangirls huddling together in annoying groups.

Rukia shook of the feeling and continued to walk inside. They switched their shoes and dropped off their instruments in the music room. As soon as they entered the classroom, she had expected to hear his annoying morning greeting but it didn't happen. Her eyes quickly scanned the room and she couldn't help but ask.

"Excuse me... What happened to I- Kurosaki?" Rukia asked a random classmate.

The average guy shrugged. "Hasn't come in yet... Maybe he's sick." he replied before resuming his conversation with his male friend about their typical playboy magazines.

Rukia shook her head at the disgustingness of it all. She walked over to her seat and sighed. That was when Momo assaulted her.

"Missing your master Rukia?" Momo teased.

She shook her head and glared at her friend. "Hell no... I'm glad he's not here." Rukia replied abruptly.

Momo had to laugh before maintaining her mocking grin. "You're not gonna miss all the things he makes you do on a daily basis?" Momo asked.

"Hell no... That rotten bastard and go to Tartarus for all I care." she replied.

"Ouch, that's harsh... But what if he really is sick? He really wouldn't know what to do."

Rukia's head sharply turned in her friend's direction. "Then let him learn." she snapped at him.

Momo sighed fitfully as she sat properly. "Oh Rukia... Be more honest with yourself... You know, ever since Hisana-san passed away, you've been different. You always immerse yourself in music as if you're trying to forget your problems and everything else, like music's your only release... You've changed a lot since then…It's been a while since I've seen you focus on something other than music. Even if that thing happens to be Kurosaki Ichigo." Momo said seriously before not talking to Rukia for the rest of the morning.


Rukia finally managed to get Momo to talk to her and Rukia finally admitted that his nonexistence felt really weird as though there was something important missing. Turns out, it was Momo's elaborate ploy to get Rukia to fess up but what's done is done. Though Momo meant half of what she said. They ate on the roof top for lunch.

Rukia told her everything that happened when Momo wasn't looking and Momo only had one single conclusion in mind.

"That means you're falling in love! Oh my God... You're falling in love!" then she sighed. "I wanna fall in love too I mean... Of all the people to fall in love with but then again, you have an advantage. He finds you interesting and you guys have kissed so many many times already!"

Rukia smacked Momo at the head. "I am not in love with Ichigo!"

"You say his name so passionately." Momo teased mercilessly.

"I do not." Rukia quickly retorted.

"However... You should seriously check up on him. I heard from the student office that Kurosaki-kun called in sick today... He's a rather tenacious and persistent person and if he's staying home then he must be seriously sick." Momo said in a stern tone and Rukia simply nodded as she ate her Yakisoba Bread.

"Okay okay... I'm just gonna check up on him... I can't have him dying on me before the school festival which is coming soon." Rukia said stubbornly.

"Wow... School festival already huh? We should make original songs and... You and Kurosaki-kun should totally have a duet! And and... Let's invite Nanao-senpai to play the piano! We'll be great."

Rukia's eyes glinted with excitement. "Yeah! We should do that! I'll finish my duet then let's play Listen to One Story!"

"Good thinking! Hmm... Let's do SCANDAL! They're pretty big right now... What's that song?"

"Shojo S?"

"Yeah! That one and we should get Kurosaki-kun to sing UVERWORLD!"

"Which song?"

"Koishikute, that will get the females screaming." Momo recommended.

"Good call..."

"You're pretty popular among the boys... We should give them some fanservice!"

"Absolutely not!"

"It's not fair that Kurosaki-kun is the only one giving fanservice."

"Then what do you propose?"

"Hmm... I really don't know. What's your favorite song right now?"

"Sayonara My Friend... It's stuck in my head."

"Okay, we'll do just that!"

"We're only allowed a maximum of five songs."

"So it's Shojo S, Listen to One Story, glow, Koishikute and Sayonara My Friend?"

They were happily chatting when a certain red head came barging in. His hands were stuffed in his pockets. He was rather handsome but not Rukia's type of handsome. "It's almost time you guys... Why are you screaming?"

The two girls grinned. "It's the setlist for the Cultural Festival next week."

"I need to approve it too and so does Kurosaki."

"Ichigo won't mind." Rukia scoffed without thinking. "So it's Shojo S, Listen to One Story, glow, Koishikute and Sayonara My Friend."

Renji raised one of his tattooed brows. "Ichigo?" there was a hint of jealousy in his tone.

"I meant Kurosaki... It was just a slip of tongue Renji... So, what do you think?"

"I think it's good... So what's the arrangement?" he said rather bitterly since Rukia shrugged off his problem so easily. Since when were they on first name basis?

"We're inviting Nanao-senpai for piano. I'm singing Listen to One story with Kurosaki for backup vocals. He's singing Koishikute, I'm singing Shojo S and Sayonara My Friend."

"What about glow? You're not done writing it."

"I'm finishing it, I'm making it a duet for me and Ich- Kurosaki. I'm transcribing it to the piano and Renji, we need a soft beat."

He saluted. "Aye aye ma'am."

Then the three friends left for the classroom.


"Kienu you ni... Kaki nagutta... Kiyoku wo tada... Nagamete wa... Haya sugita... Aimaisa ni... Fui kaetteru..."

Rukia sang as she though of how to finish her song as she walked the familiar path to his house. The sunset was just so beautiful right now. It painted the sky in a beautiful shade of orange. She enjoyed the sight and the cold. His apartment was in sight and after climbing a few stairs, she found his door. She rang the doorbell and waited but there was no reply. She sighed as she went to his mailbox and opened it. One of the envelopes was glued to the bottom so the mailman ignored it. She opened the envelope and grabbed the key. She went back to the door again and unlocked it.

Once she entered, she found the room to be rather cold. She instantly turned on the heater and made an educated guess about checking the bedroom. She opened it and found him practically half naked on the bed groaning and breathing heavily.

Without thinking, she rushed to his side and placed her cool hand against his forehead and found him to be burning up really badly. He was half asleep and he was sweating like mad. He found this temperature to be hot? This room was freezing. What the hell did he do? Rukia went to find a bunch of towels and a small tub of water. She checked his cabinets and found some medicine in them. She even took his pajamas.

Rukia ran back to her phone and called Momo to bring some ingredients for her and she didn't wait for an answer knowing that whenever she demanded like that, it was urgent. She returned to his room and transferred the heater there. She began to turn him around and wiped off all of his sweat. As she was wiping him, he woke up.

"R-Rukia...? Why are you here? What time is it..." he groaned pitifully.

"Shut up, don't talk... You're gonna tire yourself out." she ordered as she finished wiping the sweat off of him.

His amber eyes were blazing as he looked at her. "But..."

Rukia's eyes trailed towards his still glistening body and blushed but remembered that this man was literally sick. His body was actually quite nice without the shirt, he had nice firm and well defined abs she was tempted to run her hands all over.

She shook her head vigorously.

She took his pajamas and lifted him up. She helped him get the shirt on. She was slightly dismayed, she helped put his pants on and he lied down again in a groan. She shook the thermometer before sticking it into his mouth and telling him not to touch it when she heard the doorbell. She went there and found Momo.

"This is what you wanted right?" she asked.

Rukia took the plastic and checked it out. She smiled gratefully. "Thanks Momo... Seriously, thanks..."

"You sounded worried, I ran as fast as I could... Is he that bad?"

"I don't have a number but it already looks and feels bad..."

"Can I help out?"

Rukia nodded. "Sure... Come on in."

Rukia instructed Momo to prep the ingredients for some porridge and while she attended to him. She checked his thermometer and found it to he 39.06 degrees Celsius or rather, 102 degrees fahrenheit. This was really bad. She placed a towel on his forehead.

She went back to the kitchen and began to make the porridge. She instructed Momo to watch him and to change the towel occasionally. Rukia sighed as she kept cooking.

It was funny how fast she reacted when she found him burning up. She didn't even think about it... She just did it.

Fifteen minutes later, she poured some of the porridge in a bowl and grabbed a spoon, she took a glass of room temperature water and returned to Ichigo. Rukia pulled a chair next to Momo and the two of them woke him up once the porridge cooled down and they helped him sit up.

"Oh, Hinamori... You're here too?"

"Yeah, you should've heard Rukia freak out when she called me earlier. She was frantic cause you were sick." Momo mocked.

He chuckled lightly before coughing and glancing at the porridge. "Oh, did my cute maid make porridge for me?" he asked.

Momo saw a vein pop on her forehead. "If you have the strength to tease me then I think you have the strength to eat."

"I shouldn't get sick more often... If that means my little Rukia-chan's gonna feed me more often." he chuckled as Rukia moved closer. She asked Momo to get the meds Rukia found earlier.

"Shut up." Rukia said as she took a spoonful and blew it to make sure it wouldn't scald him. She fed it to him and he ate it gratefully. He tasted it before smiling.

"It's really good... You know, know one's made me porridge in such a long time..."

"Really?"

"My mom made me porridge when I was sick... But then again, my father's always busy and whenever he's around, it'd infuriating... I only get some medicine..." Ichigo replied as Rukia fed him another spoon.

He smirked at her. "Though seriously... Thanks."

Rukia blushed but she quickly shook it off. She blew another spoon and fed that to him. He ate it gratefully.

"Look, I'm gonna leave you after this. Don't go to school tomorrow, sleep and rest up. Take your meds and drink plenty of water. I'm gonna call in every few hours and don't do anything stupid. If you need me or you feel worse, I'll come over straight away you hear me?" she said assertively as she fed him another spoon.

He saluted sloppily as he consumed every bit of her of porridge. "Of course..."

Ichigo smiled and patted her head in a nice way. "Thank you Rukia... No one aside from my family has ever done this much for me..."

They were a few inches apart as they stared into each other like they had done yesterday. Their eyes were slowly closing as they inched towards each other. Their lips brushed against each other and Ichigo was kissing her. His lips were very warm while hers were cold but it felt good. They didn't move as their lips slowly moved against each other. Suddenly, the door burst open and the two separated. Both of them were beet red.

Momo raised an eyebrow as she gave Rukia the pills. She told Rukia that she needed to go and left abruptly. Ichigo and Rukia looked at each other and laughed. They smiled at each other.

"Hey Rukia... Stay for a night... I won't last without you... Just for tonight though..." he asked.

She sighed but smiled anyway. "You got that right. I don't trust you enough to take your meds..."

He chuckled dulcetly. "Yeah... I don't tryst myself either... I still have a headache right now actually..."

Rukia stood up. "I want you to sleep while I go get my clothes... Don't do anything stupid okay?"

Then she left.

Ichigo closed his eyes and sighed. What was that just now? Maybe it was his fever messing with his head. Why did he kiss her like that?


She came back with a small bag. Rukia came back with some more food for most likely herself and a bit for when Ichigo got hungry later one which was bound to happen knowing his appetite. She dropped them off in the fridge and went back to his room to find him fast asleep like she told him too. She took the thermometer and stuck it in his mouth again.

Rukia went back to the cabinet and brought out a futon. She went back to his room and pushed it to a corner while it was still folded. She sat back on the chair to wait for the thermometer. She took it out and sighed I'm relief when it read 38.09. That was way better than 39.06.

He was so much nicer when he was sleeping. He didn't insult her.

He woke up again minutes later with a really bad stomach ache.


"How did you get sick anyway?" Rukia asked as she looked at the clock. It read eight pm in the evening.

"I fell asleep while I was wet and naked." he simply replied as he took his meds and drowned them down in water.

"You what!"

Ichigo nearly threw his meds back out of his throat when she screamed at him. "Don't shout..." he said hoarsely.

"Well I'm sorry... So, answer me... Why did you do that?"

He looked away towards the wall. "I won't tell you."

He could feel her wrath slowly building up. "It's not over anything stupid right?" she asked angrily. Ichigo knew she was holding her temper.

"It's stupid... But it was a mental thing... Don't worry about it..." he replied. His head was still throbbing.

Rukia was about to snap at him angrily but she managed to hold her tongue. Ichigo was surprised how nice she was being when he was sick. If this is what it took to tame her, he should be sick more often. She breathed in deeply and looked at him. Her eyes were concerned. "If it's too personal... I won't ask you to tell me but if it's something you can tell me... Then please do."

He thought about it before smiling. "I was thinking about you."

Rukia blushed as he eyebrows scrunched downwards. "Fine, then... I don't mind of you don't tell me the truth." she said bitterly and stubbornly.

He laughed inwardly. It was the truth, he was thinking about her but if he seriously told her that it was really the truth, she would never look at him the same way.

Rukia shook her head and stood up. "You should get more rest Ichigo."

He closed his eyes and smiled. "Yeah... Help me lie down?"

She smirked. "Of course..." she said as she helped him go back to lying down. He felt kinda horrible but he presence was more than enough to make him forget he was sick.

She turned off the light and unfolded the futon in the darkness.

It was pretty early but she felt tired running all around the late afternoon just to get him at a better temperature. She slipped between the sheets seeing as though she took a bath already. She closed her eyes.

"Rukia?"

"Yeah?"

"Goodnight."

She smiled.

"Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"You shouldn't just rely on yourself... If you need help, you can always ask me... And, I know this is too much to ask, but I want you to trust me a little more... Sometimes I feel so close to you but then sometimes you feel so distant it's unnerving..."

He smiled. "I do trust you. That's why I'm your master and you're my cute maid right?"

She shook her head. "There you go again... I'm your only friend in this country."

"Touché."

"Well goodnight Ichigo..."

Then they fell into deep slumber.


AN: Grammatical errors shall be fixed as soon as my lazy self allows it…

So I know I said I'd update the day after and it is true that I did finish writing a day after but the thing is, the Philippines was hit with a really strong Tropical Cyclone and it's been flooding everywhere and luckily I'm in the safer side of things, it doesn't flood much in my area. So I'm asking for your prayers, if you can, please pray for the typhoon victims and for those who have passed away or ar still missing. The Philippines has many flaws but it's still my country and I don't want my fellow Filipinos to suffer when they don't deserve it so I'm sincerely asking for your prayers if you can spare some time but I won't force you.

I lost electricity and therefore no internet…

Now then, I'm Cosplaying Rukia this weekend and if my friends are so kind enough as to take pictures of me I will post them in my deviant: moi12ica3

For your information, I drew those when I was twelve so IGNORE them…. Now then, if you go there and do a little math you'd guess my age, if you do, please keep it to yourself and don't announce it to the world…

Shojo S by SCANDAL: Bleach OP 10

Sayonara My Friend by SCANDAL: Temptation Box album

Koishikute by UVERworld: from Neo Best Sound (tentative to change to CHANCE! "

Listen to One story by the brother sister Kuchiki duo, love this song

glow by IchiRuki

AkaBaka-chan signing off!