Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Bleach or any of the related titles. For further information, please see Tite Kubo.
A/N: Hey everyone. I've been pretty excited to update this next chapter, because I know it's going to have some things that you guys will enjoy. (No, no lemon yet, but hey, we've gotta start somewhere don't we?) Anyways, please enjoy!
Chapter 9: The Heat Wave
The spring was definitely starting to make it's presence known as a sleepy humid air made its way through town. Lazy dogs lay on their owner's front porches, tongues lagging, their tails whipping half-heartedly at the flies that lingered about them. The children that roamed the streets were half-clad, even some in bathing suits, although it was only April.
A sleepy stupor had even made its way into the Kurosaki household, as Ichigo lay splayed across his bed in a desperate attempt to take an afternoon nap. Rukia however, sat in the doorway of the closet, peering out the window curiously. She wore shorts she had stolen from Yuzu along with a very small tank-top, though she still seemed to be sweating profusely.
"It's hot…" she pointed out bluntly.
"Thank you for the update…" Ichigo replied, draping an arm across his eyes as to block the blinding sunlight.
"Why is it so hot?" she asked, still staring out the window. Even the houses seemed to glow with sweat.
"I don't know…" Ichigo said half-heartedly.
Rukia narrowed her eyes in deep thought, though they didn't close once, not even to blink. "Is this normal?"
"Yes," Ichigo rolled over to face the wall. "Happy now?"
Slowly, Rukia stood and made her way over to the window. She had half expected a slight breeze to be blowing through the air, though none came. Frowning, her eyes scanned the town, searching for something else to talk about.
"Ichigo…" she said, glancing toward the direction of the school. "Let's go to the park…"
"It's too hot, Rukia…" he mumbled, yanking the blankets over his head. He was more than annoyed. Why did she have to be so immature?
Rukia turned to face him, cocking an eyebrow in his direction. Stepping toward him, she leaned over the bed, picking up the corner of the blanket to peer at his resting form.
"You make no sense to me, Ichigo…" she said loudly, breaking him from his moment of rest.
Growling, Ichigo rolled over to face her, his eyes gleaming with annoyance. "What? What is it?!"
"You claim it's too hot and yet you continue to hide underneath this blanket of yours," she pointed out. "It makes no sense…"
Ichigo stared at her, making no response. Rukia blinked back at him slowly, waiting for some sort of comeback. Sighing deeply, the boy rolled over once again, hiding his face from hers.
"Just find something to do…" he spat at her. "Go to the park yourself."
"You know I can't go by myself," Rukia said, settling down next to the bed, allowing the blanket to drape over her head. "I don't know the way…"
"Then read…" Ichigo suggested, hoping she would go for it, for he had no other ideas. The heat seemed to be preventing his mind from working properly.
Frowning, Rukia pulled away from the bed, letting the blanket fall back. She returned to her original place in the closet, sighing deeply. She had no intention to read. She had finished all her books, and didn't feel like sneaking into the girls' room again to find another.
"Whoo…" a voice came from beside her. "Who turned the heat up in here?"
Kon scrambled out from underneath Rukia's pillow, wiping his stitched brow with one of his paws. Sitting beside Rukia, he looked over at Ichigo's lump-shaped form on the bed.
"How can he sleep like that?!" he yelped. "Doesn't he know it's a bazillion degrees out here?"
Rukia didn't respond, though she did follow his gaze. A few tufts of orange colored hair peeked out from the top of the blanket, causing her to chuckle lightly. Kon didn't seem to notice her eyes glaze over as she began to slip into a state of nostalgia.
His hands had slid down her bare sides, his lips making small circles along the pink skin. Her fingers twisted in his hair, pulling him back up to her, then allowing one hand to free itself and wander down his side, tugging at the plaid fabric of his boxers.
But that had all been different. That was nothing more than a fantasy. There was another time…
She knew there was another time…
His lips were on hers. She had been jerked to him so suddenly, as though it were all a spur of the moment idea. She had hardly the time to react, only able to pull away for a moment before being crushed back to him, easily giving into the way his lips felt upon hers.
Her mouth had opened almost instantly once he'd shown signs of wanting entrance. She had never felt herself become so submissive under anyone else. This was different. And although neither would admit to it, this was different than the times before.
It was real.
"Nee-san?" Kon said loudly, trying to capture Rukia's attention. "Are you listening to me?"
"Huh?" she finally broke her gaze from the bed. "What did you say?"
"The heat is getting to you, Nee-san…" he said, sliding down from the closet. "I'm going to cool off…"
Rukia didn't bother to ask how he planned on doing that, finding herself drifting off once again, her gaze returning to the tufts of hair still sticking out at odd angles.
The heat…
Yes…
It's hot.
It's very hot…
Rukia didn't notice that she'd crossed to Ichigo's bed until she was leaning over his snuggled form, staring down at him fondly. Breathing deeply, she decided to go for it, crawling onto the bed slowly.
She didn't dare make any moves for a good few minutes, sitting in silence as she thought over what she was going to say once she was caught. Finally, with a few swift moves, Rukia managed to yank the blankets from his face and straddle herself across his stomach with his hands pinned firmly on each side of his head.
"What the he-" Ichigo yelped, having been jerked so suddenly from his sleep.
Rukia stared down at him intently, her eyes burning with a strange look Ichigo was certain he'd never seen before. It took him a moment to realize the position he was in, and a moment longer for him to lose it once again.
"What the hell is going on?!" he asked, struggling with her tight grip on his wrists.
"I need to talk to you," she said firmly.
"Then talk to me!" he hissed. "Don't take me captive!"
"Ichigo, this is serious…" she said, glaring at him.
"I'm serious, too!" he growled through gritted teeth. "Get offa me!"
"Ichigo…" Rukia's eyes seemed to be boring into his, her gaze never wavering. "Look at me…"
"I am looking at you!" he continued to struggle with her, finding it strange that she had suddenly acquired such amazing strength.
"What do you see?" she asked.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he stared at her as though she were insane. "What do I see? I see you! A pain-in-the-ass midget, who just doesn't seem to understand the idea of personal space."
Rukia gripped his wrists tightly. "You're not taking this seriously!"
"I don't know what you want me to say, Rukia!" he shot at her loudly. "Is this some kind of interrogation or something? Couldn't you ask me this from a seat? Why are you sitting on me?"
"Tell me to get off…" she ordered.
"Get off!" he snarled.
"Throw me off…" she continued.
"Don't make me do that," Ichigo warned.
"If you want me to get off you, go ahead, and make me get off you!" her voice had grown loud, and neither of them seemed to care that Ichigo's father could very possibly hear every word of their conversation.
Ichigo didn't move. "I don't want to hurt you! Move!"
Rukia stared at him, suddenly growing silent. Her face relaxed a bit, and the furious glare in her eyes had disappeared. "You don't want me to move, do you?" she asked softly.
"What?!" he yelped, glaring up at her. "What are you talking about? I just told you-"
"If you wanted me to move, then you'd make me move," Rukia said matter-of-factly. "You've done it before, so what makes now any different? Go ahead, Ichigo. Throw me across the room. You know I won't care. I'm telling you to do it."
"Rukia, what is this about?" he asked, finding the whole situation confusing. Why was she on top of him in the first place? He couldn't say that he actually wanted her to be there, but he couldn't say he wanted her to leave either.
"It's about the other day!" she said finally, easing the grip she had on his wrists. "You know just as well as I do that that was no dream…"
Ichigo jerked his gaze away from her, the tips of his ears growing red. "I don't know what you're talking about…"
Rukia wrenched one hand away from his and took his chin between her fingers to force him to look up at her. His eyes suddenly held the same flare Rukia's had only moments before, however, he didn't appear angry.
"I-I was talking about this…" Rukia replied, bringing her lips to his suddenly.
Ichigo didn't move as Rukia kissed him, her lips moving against his roughly as she tried to get him to respond, to do something, other than just lay there.
His free hand finally made its way down the side of her face, cupping the back of her neck to pull her closer to him. She felt a strange moan creep up the back of her throat as Ichigo began to respond, pushing her mouth open. She could feel his tongue flickering over her lips and was about to give in when-
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Rukia sat up quickly, glaring in the direction of the closet. Ichigo watched as she hurried across the room to pick up the small beeper-like contraption that alerted them whenever there was a Hollow attack.
Of course there'd be a Hollow right now…Rukia thought bitterly, finding it impossible to look back over at Ichigo who had fallen back to his original position, a hand held firmly to his forehead as though he could hardly believe what he was just doing.
"There's a Hollow on the other side of town…" Rukia said, breaking the heavy awkward silence that had fallen between them. "A big one…"
Ichigo nodded, still staring at the ceiling. Sighing, Rukia rushed over to him, grabbing him by the arm and helping him to his feet. He seemed to come to his senses once Rukia had repeated herself. Slipping on her glove, Rukia gave a sharp blow to Ichigo's chest, letting his body fall back onto the bed. She hastily threw the blanket over him and pushed Ichigo toward the window.
"GO!" she shouted, following closely.
As the two ran down the street as fast as they could, they couldn't help but exchange furtive glances every so often. It was clear they were both embarrassed about what had happened, but slightly relieved that something was out in the open.
At least, a bit of something. No matter if they weren't entirely sure what that something was.
They had taken a step forward. A step they'd been to stubborn to allow before, but this time put their egos aside for a single moment of weakness. It was them. All them.
After all, the heat could only be blamed for so much.
A/N: Hey, yeah, see, it wasn't much, but trust me, how can they deny anything at this point? So we can only progress from here, right? Hehe. Anyways, tell me what you think and I hope to update rather soon! Thanks!
