(A/N) This chapter and the next are related. It was too long to do as one chapter. This one is fluffy but a bit heavy. The heaviness has a point. I wouldn't use the word angsty at all for this one. The next is pretty much a fluff fest, but with both of them, you will get to see a different side of Ichigo, Rukia, Isshin and Karin. Keep in mind, that it isn't what is said but how and in what context. Also, the actions will speak louder than the words. These two chapters will finally end the first day.
I will have the next chapter ready before the craziness of the U.S. holiday shows up and I have to cook dinner for 15 people to host at my house. That is my true angst T-T.
Thank you for the reviews from
Aizawa Ayumu Oz Vessalius, falconrukichi, Szelenit.e, Winly Elric, anika103, CutieTea, Yuna-TheAnimeLuver, DarkSmile, Rukia's Reflection, darklover, MaN6Al0v3r, KurukiXV, Aika Ray Kuroba, Thunder Claw03, amelieraechan, yukifalls, grayqueen, Rikku The Legendary Guardian, blades of blood488, and CharmedNightSkye. I am grateful for your feedback. I hope my replies made some sense.
Thank you for alerts and favourites as well.
All of you are the reason I keep this going. I am so honoured to have readers that like what I produce even if you don't always agree with the direction I take the story. I have nothing but genuine gratitude.
Now, I'll shut up and start the story. Oh, yeah...welcome to the beginning of the evolution of IchiRuki. It will be long and natural, but I hope your heart swells in sweetness.
I neither own Bleach nor its characters.
Chapter 9-Shades of Gratitude & Appreciation Pt 1
After crying her heart out for the better part of an hour, Rukia has quieted down. With the exception of occasional sniffling, she's in a peaceful state. Though she is thoroughly exhausted, somehow, she feels like an encumbrance has been lifted from her being. This has been one very long day. It is has been the epic pinnacle of a two year mess that she was worn out from maneuvering. It had taken a great deal of energy to endure the separation; it has taken an even bigger toll on her to endure the reunion. At this point, she is aware that she needs to get to…wherever in the hell she is staying, take a bath, and deal with her injuries until tomorrow when she should be rested enough to use kido to heal herself. Though the lacerations don't absolutely throb, she knows that as soon as she starts moving, she is going to feel the full brunt of her pain. Additionally, her whole body hurts from all of the fighting and tumbling she has dealt with today. Finally, even though Ichigo is warm, she is still pretty cold now that her mind can process higher levels of operation. Her body is starting to shiver.
Even if she and he are no longer warring, that doesn't mean that it is a good idea for her to stay at the Kurosaki residence or that he would even want her to. He may want some more time to get used to the idea of her being here and truly get over everything. The underlying tension can lead to more fighting and, right now, Rukia is fresh out. If this had been the Rukia of two years ago, she would have started in on him again when he got here about what an asshole he was. In truth, however, she just couldn't go on like that tonight. By the time the switch flipped and she became unhooked, her adrenaline was at a massive high, her control left her, and she used most of her remaining energy to scream, run and cry-in that order. At this point, she feels like a deflated balloon; both unable to re-inflate or to float. Plus, she could tell that he had reasoned though some things enough to be civil so she wasn't about to start up some more crap because she isn't in a position to finish it. And, though he may no longer be angry with her, he may not be at peace with the entire thing either. He may want his space so that he can get all of his internal issues resolved. Maybe she needs that to.
Ichigo is more than relieved for her. After seeing the state in which she left, he was truly worried. Rukia looked completely out of her mind earlier and regardless of the situation, he didn't want her alone out here like she was. Even if he was sideways pissed at her, he would never want anything to happen to her. If something had, he would have been even more pissed with himself and he would have to kill someone if they even thought about hurting her. Plus, he is glad that she doesn't hate him for the way he acted. She deserves to feel that way. The one thing that he really lov-err likes about Rukia is her capacity to forgive; especially him.
He's glad that she finally opened up and let him back into the interworking of her heart and soul. One of the reasons he got so bent out of shape is that he felt so blocked from her. He always had exclusive access to the operations that went on behind her carefully crafted front. He was privileged. When she came back here but walled him off, he felt like he was in the group with everyone else and that just won't do. He doesn't give a shit if anyone else knows what she was thinking; he has to. That is how he watches over her, protects her and finds her, even when she doesn't want to be found. He usually knows what she is thinking and what she will do before she even does it. When she guarded herself from him, it was like sugar free chocolate; it looks the same, but it tastes wrong. He could see Rukia, but he couldn't see inside her. Truth be told, that is the most important piece. The person inside that body was the thing that he couldn't replicate and to have it withheld just felt cruel. At this juncture, he feels better; everything is fitting back into place. Something about her always puts him at ease. His heart feels lifted, his mind is calm and now, he is ready to make good on his word. He is going to look after her tonight; he's going to take care of her. He needs to put the feistiness back into her and get her warmed up. Hopefully, by tomorrow, she'll be ready to start bickering again. Even his heart smiles at the idea.
Rubbing her back slowly with his cheek still on her head, Ichigo asks quietly, "Rukia?"
A much worn out voice responds equally as lowly, "Yeah."
He hates the way her voice sounds right now. She really needs to get cleaned up and go to bed. "It's late, you're shivering, and you're beat. Let's get out of here. Alright?"
Rukia nods slowly and responds while still sounding enervated, "Sure. You're right, let's get going." Though I have no idea where. "I suppose I should go to Urahara's since my stuff is still there."
Ichigo shakes his head and supplies, "Nah, he brought your stuff over a few hours ago."
"Oh, okay."
Once they separate from each other, Ichigo stands, stretches and starts walking toward the sidewalk. He looks to his right and left and notices that the girl is not there. He turns around to see where she is when he realizes that she hasn't moved. She's staring into the ground and her face looks like she's processing. He calls out to her, "Rukia?"
The girl, still staring at the ground, raises her eyebrows and answers, "Hmm?"
Ichigo instantly scowls. What is she worried about? "What's wrong?"
She looks up at him with her eyes unguarded and stares into his. With a half hearted scowl and apologetic eyes, her stare says, 'Maybe I shouldn't stay at your house just yet."
He returns her stare and scowl; only his is confused. 'Why?'
She sighs, looks down and then returns back up with another sigh. Her eyes soften in defeat. 'Because maybe we need a little time apart to get over this.'
His scowl softens as he scratches the back of his head. 'Don't, Rukia. It'll be okay. We'll work it out.'
Her face holds a sad frown and her eyes uncertainty. 'How do you know? What if we come at each other's throats again?'
He gives her a soft smile and shakes his head just as softly while shrugging his shoulders. 'I don't, but you trust me, right?'
Rukia shrugs her shoulders as well. With her own head shaking and softly frowning with incredulous eyes, 'Completely. But what does that have to do with anything?'
He returns her gaze meaningfully and full of self-reproach with the outside corners of his eyes pointed down, blinking slowly, 'Please?'
She can tell that Ichigo feels awful about what happened. After a deep sigh, she nods, 'Okay.'
He smiles at her victoriously, almost childlike, 'Thank you.'
She smiles back at his smile, 'You're always welcome.'
Rukia prepares herself for what she believes is really, really going to hurt. Shaking off the blanket, she puts her right hand on the table top and pushes in conjunction with her legs, causing her to grunt. Though her hands, knees, elbows and feet all hurt like hell, she manages to get herself standing.
He turns to walk again. When he hears her pained grunt, he whips back around and all thinking stops.
The blanket is on the ground, and Rukia is holding on to the table for assistance. This is the first time he has gotten a good, complete look at her since he found her and he is instantly sickened. She looks absolutely wretched. With her locked jaw and fierce scowl, he can tell she is in a great deal of pain. Her face is covered by smeared blood and dirt and she has a bruise from the hit she took from Karin. From her knees down to her ankles is covered with the same material and the nasty, nasty scrapes and cuts are hard to miss. When she attempts to pick up the fallen blanket while still holding the table, he gets a look at the inside of her exposed palm and it is no better; in fact, it's worse. The heel of her palm is ripped so badly, that some of the skin is actually hanging. He automatically shouts, "Rukia! Stay right there!"
As he quickly starts toward her, she tries to stop him. "No, you stay there. I'm coming." As she takes a step, the burning in her feet is a bit too much to ignore and she stumbles to her knees. The pain is mind numbing. She can't help but growl even though she wants to shriek. If the impact to her extremely damaged knees and hands doesn't kill her, the pain from the stretching of her feet just might. Her toes are flat to the ground and the rest of the foot is bent up. The pulling of the ripped and dirt infiltrated skin starts her feet to bleeding again. All of her front teeth are exposed as she grinds them together in an extremely tight grimace.
Ichigo didn't listen to her protest and is over to her in a couple of strides. When he reaches her, he looks behind her and sees a tiny footprint of blood in the dirt that is saturated by the fluid. There is no way she'll be able to walk the nine blocks back home. Bending down, he grabs her waist with both hands and deposits her on the table top. His voice conveys serious concern. "Rukia, let me carry you home. You are in no condition to walk back."
Rukia has her eyes closed and is trying to calm her breathing. The pain coursing through her brain is amazing. After a few seconds, she responds in a tight controlled voice while her eyes are still closed, "Just give me a minute. I'll be fine. I have been in more pain and suffered tougher beatings than this. I just have to get my mind right."
He sighs heavily, and quietly begins, "That maybe so." He bends down to get the blanket, wraps it around her and rests his hands on her shoulders. He then continues, "But that doesn't mean that you have to any more. Come on. Get on." He proceeds to crouch down so that she can basically fall on his back.
She doesn't even have to open her eyes to know what he's doing. "Ichigo, if I come off this table on you, you are going to have all of my weight just fall there. Don't worry about it. I just need a second." She replies in the same tight voice.
"Look at me."
The small girl opens her eyes to look at him. His eyes are pleading. 'Please, let me do this.'
She nods and leans forward until she falls on him. Her arms are around his neck and he grabs her thighs. He moves her around a bit to secure her which makes her let out a small whimper. It makes him feel terrible, but he has to make sure that she won't fall. Once everything is situated with his arms under her knees, he stands. Looking down, he gets a solid look at her feet. Even he grimaces. Her feet are in such bad shape, that he's scared to look at them in the light. He hopes that they are only cuts and there isn't any foreign material lodged in them. If there is, his chi-chi was going to have to dig it out and she was going to piss herself in pain. It makes his stomach actually turn to envision the amount of agony that would entail for her. He needs to get her home as soon as fucking possible. While trying not to sound too worried, he asks, "You ready?"
Her head is resting on his shoulder and her hands are draped around his neck. She has to admit, this is much more agreeable. "Yeah. " She answers wearily.
Just then, his phone rings. "I hate to ask you this, but could you grab my phone? It's in my jacket pocket."
"Sure."
Sitting up a bit, she takes her left hand and reaches into his jacket pocket. Her fingers graze his tummy and it reflexively tightens. He instantly feels badly for the wonderful sensation that just rolled though his body. Thankfully, his line of thought is broken as he hears Rukia answer in a tired but playful voice. "Moshi-moshi! This is the personal secretary to Kurosaki Ichigo's taxi service. If you're under 100 pounds, we'll deliver you-personally."
At first his face is bewildered and once he hears his chi-chi's deep laugh, he rolls his eyes.
"Rukia-Chan! My idiot found you! Where are you?" Isshin asks.
"Uh, hold on." She speaks lowly in Ichigo's ear and asks, "How far away are we?"
He stops walking and closes his eyes tightly. Her breath in his ear causes him to have to hold back a pleasurable shudder. "We are about fifteen minutes away." He answers just as lowly. What is wrong with me?
She nods and then answers Isshin, "We'll be there in fifteen."
"Good! I'll see you soon, then."
"Okay, Isshin-Sama. Bye."
"Bye, Sweetheart."
She closes the phone and puts it back in his pocket causing Ichigo to tighten again. What is that feeling? Once again, she rests her head on his shoulder and puts her arm around his neck. This time she whispers, "Alright, let's go."
Mmmmmm… That soft whisper just made his eyes roll backward. Okay, something is going on with him. He wishes he could say that his symptoms are painful; but they are just the exact opposite. Trying to clear his mind, with a curt nod, he starts walking. After a block and a half, he asks, "Are you comfortable?"
Yawning in his ear, she sleepily replies, "Uhnnhnnn."
"We'll be there soon."
She gives him a monosyllabic answer, "Kay."
Leaning his head into hers involuntarily, he peacefully walks the rest of the way home.
Once they are on the steps, the front door opens with Isshin in the doorway. As Ichigo comes inside the door, the older man speaks and goes from excitement to a horror filled gasp. "Rukia-Cha-Oh, my god!"
The younger man scowls. "Shh! She's asleep and I don't want to wake her up until we have everything ready so that she can get through this as quickly as possible and go to bed. She's hurting pretty badly." He hisses.
"What the hell happened?" Isshin asks quietly.
"I don't know. She was like this when I found her, but it looks like she fell." The boy answers still in a whisper.
"Well, let's lay her on the couch and get everything ready." Isshin says.
Ichigo walks over to the couch and leans back a bit. Isshin reaches over the back of the couch and supports her back as his son kneels so that they can set her on the couch softly. Once the boy stands, he strips off his jacket and lays it over her feet and then kicks off his shoes. He walks to the kitchen and motions for the older man to follow him. Finally, he turns to face his father. "Oyaji, she's scraped up really badly. Her feet and hands are the worst, but her knees, legs, elbows and arms are pretty ugly as well. They all have dirt in them and I don't know if her feet have foreign material in them or not. I wonder why she didn't use kido."
After taking in all of the information, Isshin nods in understanding, "She is too tired. Even her reiatsu is weak. She didn't have enough to put into that and stay conscious. I suck at kido, or I would use it. Well, I guess we should-"
Ichigo interjects waving his hand and signaling his father to stop talking. "Here's what I'm thinking. I'll ask Yuzu to run her a bath. She's not going to want to stand in the shower and, at this point, the bath will relieve some of the soreness and pain that she will have until she can break out the kido. You get some local anesthetic ready. We'll need one to deaden the top layer of skin so that she will let me at least clean some of the debris out of the abrasions. I plan to use the large seated shower in the clinic. That way she can sit while I use the sprayer. Then, you inject them with something that will really deaden it so that she can sit through her bath in comfort and be able to get herself in and out. Once she comes out of her bath, then we finish cleaning and inspecting the wounds and wrap them. Worse comes to worse, we'll call Tessai-San to come and heal her tomorrow."
Isshin raises his eyebrows in pleasant surprise. The little jackass does pay attention to the happenings in the clinic. "Good plan, boy. Yuzu has her stuff out. She said that it was all labeled by type. That girl is really, really anal. Anyway, I'll get my stuff ready, you do the same. I'll give her a little pain medication to let her sleep through the night as well."
With a curt nod, Ichigo is off. He goes up the stairs, and puts on his swim trunks and a t-shirt. He glances at pile of towels and whatnot on the bed and realizes that's the stuff Yuzu set out. Walking purposefully down the hall, he knocks lightly on the twins' door. To his surprise, it is Karin who answers, not Yuzu. "Hey, is Yuzu asleep?" he asks quietly.
Karin nods, "Yeah. Whatcha need?"
"Never mind, if you guys are asleep, then I'll handle it." He turns to walk away and she stops him.
"Hey, did you find Rukia-Chan?" She asks in concern.
The oldest sibling looks away in shame, "Yeah. She's pretty banged up so I was hoping that Yuzu could draw her a warm bath and put her stuff in the bathroom so dad and I can work on her."
Karin looks at the ground for a second and then looks up at him meaningfully. "I got it. Where's her stuff?"
Her brother looks at her in surprise. "You do?"
His sister nods again looking at the floor, "Yeah. It's the least I can do." Then, she pins her brother's gaze and says with conviction, "I owe her an apology… and so do you."
He looks at the floor as well and scratches the back of his head, "Yeah, I know."
"Come on, Ichi-Nii. Show me where her shit is."
After Karin collects Rukia's things, she puts them in the bathroom and turns to her brother. "What's wrong with her?" she asks worriedly.
"It looks like she fell pretty hard and she's cut up from her hands to her feet."
The girl mulls it over and responds, "She won't be able to wash her hair. The hair will dig into the cuts if the shampoo doesn't make her jump." Turning back to the bathroom, she grabs his shampoo, conditioner and her own large comb. She tosses them individually it at him which he catches. "Wash her hair in the kitchen sink for her before she gets in the tub."
Ichigo has to agree to the idea. "I'm going to rinse of her scrapes in the big clinic shower. I'll just wash it there. Thanks."
"No prob." Karin replies and goes about running the bath.
After procuring a few towels, a soft sponge, some antibacterial spray, a pair of surgical scissors and the hair essentials, Ichigo stuffs them in his sling pack and makes his way downstairs. Once at the bottom, he makes a left for the clinic and opens the door. After getting inside, he goes to the shower room and puts down his bag on the drying bench. He turns on the water to the removable shower head and adjusts the temperature. Taking the items out of the bag, he arranges them strategically so that he can use them in order. He then walks back to the house, leaving the clinic door open. When he is at his father's chair, he taps him on the shoulder causing the older man to turn around. "You ready, son?" Isshin asks still keeping his voice down.
"Yep." The teenager answers in the same volume. "Let's do this."
Isshin nods sharply and walks over to the couch next to his son and they both kneel on the floor. Isshin gets the supplies out of his bag while Ichigo rouses Rukia out of sleep in a loud whisper. "Hey, Midget, wake up." He says while gently shaking her shoulder.
She frowns and incoherently mumbles. Ichigo shakes her again. "Rukia, open your eyes." He whispers.
Her violet irises make an appearance but her eyes clamp shut directly afterward from the pain of trying to raise herself. "Ungh!" She groans. A large hand presses her shoulders back.
"Rukia-Chan, stay down. I need to get some topical anesthetic on your cuts so that you can stand to let us address them. We'll get you fixed up so that you can sleep well tonight. Just lay back, take a deep breath and hold it when I tell you to. Okay?" The doctor requests.
She sleepily but silently nods her consent. At that prompt, Ichigo removes the blanket and his jacket so that his father can get to all of her abrasions. He detests the way she begins to shake because she's so cold, but it has to be done.
"Alright, Sweetie, hold your breath." The physician instructs.
Rukia nods and sucks in a deep breath as he begins anesthetizing her wounds. They continue the cycle several times until he is finished. "Give it ten minutes. After that, Ichigo is going to take you to the clinic shower and rinse these off. When he's done, I will give you another anesthetic that is stronger so you can take a bath. Just rest for a few moments." He says with a tender, sympathetic smile.
"Arrigato, Isshin-Sama." She offers.
"No problem, Honey."
After the ten minutes pass, Ichigo addresses her calmly. "Hey. I'm going to pick you up and take you to the clinic. Just hold on, 'kay?"
"'kay."
He carries her bridal style into the shower room and sits her on the in shower wet bench. Looking around she asks, "Who showers in here?"
Ichigo shrugs and responds as if it is common knowledge, "This is for patients that need to have a wound cleaned or to remove a lot of blood if they come in really bad shape. It has to be big enough for a wheel chair, possibly a gurney and several people either separately or at the same time." He stands up to grab the sponge and detachable showerhead.
Rukia nods in understanding. "That sounds very practical."
The boy eye rolls. Only she would think of its practicality. "Well, here comes the unfun part. I am going to spray off the crap on your cuts. I will use the sponge to remove anything that is too stubborn to come off with the water alone. After that, I'm going to wash your hair since your hands are so torn up. Karin has your bath ready so that after Oyaji deadens your injuries some more, you will be able to get yourself in and out of the tub. Yuzu set out your sleep items. Ready?"
"As much as I can be." She answers apprehensively. "Do what you have to."
He gets down on his knees and rests back on the heels of his feet. Staring her directly in the eyes, he wills her to understand his anguish at causing her pain. With a tender voice, he says, "I will be as quick and as careful as I can be. Just hold on, it will be over soon; I promise."
Defeatedly, she sighs, "I know. Go ahead." Closing her eyes, she lets the back of her head rest on the wall.
Her best friend sprays the warm water and cleans each afflicted section with care and diligence. He is mindful of the ripped skin and opened areas, and sponges them off gently. Even with the anesthetic, he knows she feels quite a bit of the pain because she winces, but she doesn't make a sound. Putting the showerhead aside for the moment, he uses the scissors to cut off any skin that is too damaged to reattach. Next he stands, collects the hair products and a shower chair from across the room. He explains, "I'm about to pick you up and put you in a chair to wash your hair. I know that you are sore all over from all of stuff that went on today, but I will be as gentle as possible. Take a deep breath."
Rukia does as requested and he moves her to the chair. After exhaling the breath of agony, she sighs. Understanding the order of events, she leans her head back and closes her eyes again. She really needs her hair washed and she knows that she can't in this state. She is grateful that he isn't too weirded out to help her and that she isn't to weirded out to let him.
Grabbing the shower head again, he wets her head and washes her hair in a circular motion making sure to wash it all the way to the ends and to pick out any debris he sees. After he rinses and conditions it, he takes the comb and picks through it gently. She has very thick hair that has gained some length and it knots quickly but he holds the ends of the hair so that he doesn't have to tug on her neck so hard. After one more rinse and detangle, he dries it as much as he can with a towel and wraps another towel around her head. Never once does she open her eyes.
After shutting off the shower, he dries her wounds as much as possible and puts her on the dry bench. He applies the antibacterial spray and inspects the wounds. It doesn't look like anything is lodged in them which relieves him greatly. "They look good. I'm going to take you to an examination room so my chi-chi can come in here and inject them with a stronger medicine. The needle will hurt quite a bit, but the pain will go away completely after about five minutes." He offers in a comforting tone. Rukia simply nods.
Picking her up again, he dries his feet on the mat and then walks into the exam room. They are both soaked to the bone, but neither of them complains. Sitting her on the table, he wraps another towel around her shoulders and lap. Then, he says in the same soothing voice, "I'll be right back with my chi-chi. Don't move."
She nods in understanding as he goes off to go get his father. She feels like a windup toy with a loose spring. She couldn't move if you made her. However, she is thankful for the help the Kurosakis are giving her. As she looks herself over, she aghast at how horrible she looks. Just as she is basking in self-disgust, the Kurosaki males come in.
"Rukia-Chan! You look better already! Let's get you numbed up, shall we? Alright, same drill as last time, but this is going to hurt more. Take a deep breath when I tell you to. I would tell you to squeeze on something, but I know that you can't due to your hands." He pats her on the shoulder and offers his condolences, "Sorry, Sweetie."
The girl smiles tiredly and speaks softly to the doctor. "Don't worry, Isshin-Sama. I know that this has to be done. Do what you have to. Thank you, though."
He smiles back at her. "Okay, Honey, deep breath."
Rukia does as she is told, but when the needle penetrates deeply into the already raw nerve endings, she jerks harshly and grimaces. This hurts like hell. After her right hand and elbow, she requests breathily, "Can you give me a couple minutes before the next one? Just two."
"You bet. Tell me when to start again."
Ichigo had turned away towards the door as soon as he saw her jump. He can't tolerate watching someone hurt her like that even if it is for the best. When she requests a break, he turns back around and sees her extremely red face counting backwards. Okay, there has got to be something I can do to help her. Going out to the supply closet, he grabs a washcloth. On his way back, he rolls it up and enters the room just in time for him to hear her give her consent for continuation. "Wait! Hold on." He shows her the washcloth. "I am going to put this in your mouth. Bite down on it if you need to."
She nods and opens her mouth. When he puts the washcloth in, she nods at his father and he begins again. The older man has to go deep enough for the medicine to last so he knows it has to hurt. He is impressed that she doesn't scream. Though she has tears running down her cheeks and lets out a few whimpers, she keeps it together.
"Alright, Rukia-Chan, we're down to your feet. This is really going to be painful, but I think you can do it. I'll give you a minute."
She opens her bloodshot, glassy eyes and nods while breathing heavily. God, this is mess. If she could only muster up enough energy for kido, she wouldn't have to do this.
Ichigo can't deal with this. He hates when she's in pain. He turns around to see her tortured face and his chest tightens.
"You ready, Sweetie?" Isshin asks in a soft paternal and sympathetic smile. After one more nod from her he goes back to the task.
Ichigo can tell by the way her jaw is clenching and by how hard her eyes are screwed shut that she would scream if her pride would let her. After about the fifth injection, he instinctually wraps his arms around her tightly from behind so she can press back against him and with her upper arms to relieve some of the pain. Since she can't use her hands to squeeze the energy away, she can push her arms out to accomplish the result. She gets the message and presses outward with all of her might and growls. After about 15 more injections, Isshin is finished and Rukia is out of breath.
"We're done. I did a lot of them and deeply so that you will be able deal with bathing and be comfortable. This should last for the next four hours. When you get out of the tub, we'll bandage you up. In five minutes, you'll be ready for your bath. I'll ask Karin to warm up the water a little. You did well, Rukia-Chan. You did better than many men I have treated. I'm proud of you."
She opens her glassy violet orbs slowly. She blinks while still holding the wash cloth in her mouth and breathing heavily through her nose. With his arms still around her, he reaches up and removes the towel from her mouth and she lets out a big breath. After blinking into nothing for a minute, she responds breathily, "Arrigato, Otou-Sama."
Isshin tears up; for real. What she said makes something in his heart seriously burst. Truly, this is his third daughter. He feels honoured hearing those words come from her. Rukia is a very proud girl. She doesn't throw names and titles around meaninglessly. The way she speaks to you determines how comfortable she is with you. The more commonly she speaks with you, the more she trusts you. When she answered the phone the way she did, it was her way of telling him that she trusts him. He knows for a fact that she would never speak that way to Bya-kun. For her to say that, she means it. He feels honored indeed. He bows to her. "Thank you for protecting my family. Thank you for saving mine and my children's lives. I owe you my sincerest gratitude. Arrigato, Kurosaki-Chan."
Ichigo's eyes snap over to his father. Is what I think is going on, going on? Is Oyaji formally calling her his third daughter in earnest? He had better not be fucking with her. If he says it, he had goddamned well better mean it. This type of thing, in Soul Society, is very serious and not to be taken lightly. For his father to start acting goofy with Rukia in this state would hurt her and he isn't having any of it.
Ichigo pins his father with a deadly serious and meaningful stare. 'Do not fuck with her. She cannot deal with it right now.'
His father stares him down in complete seriousness. 'I am not. I will protect her as my own.'
Ichigo nods in agreement that he can proceed.
She cannot see Ichigo's eyes but, based on the seriousness of the older man's eyes, the conversation between Ichigo and his father is very serious.
When the older Kurosaki turns his gaze back to Rukia, he keeps it serious, but softer and matches his voice. "Rukia, as far as I am concerned, you are a Kurosaki. I will care for and protect you like I would my natural children. Okaeri, Rukia."
Rukia smiles broadly with glassy eyes. When she joined the Kuchiki Clan, it was cold and ceremonious. No one smiled; they told her what she was going to do for them in order to continue to be worthy. This man is telling her what he will do for her. Honestly, it touches her heart. She trusts the older Kurosaki. He has been in her situation, and he understands her problems. He cares for his children deeply and regardless of silly he is, he's a good father. He let her stay long before she made herself overtly known and always made her feel welcomed. He still does; she sees him as a person for fatherly advice and guidance who she can go to if she needs to. She feels that he would never sell her out or put her in an ugly position intentionally. In fact, she believes that he would protect her if needed. It feels good to have a father. In a quiet voice she says, "Tadaima".
Isshin stands up and winks at her with a smile. "If you weren't in this condition, I'd be hugging the life outta ya, kid."
Rukia giggles softly, "It makes me thankful for the injuries." Rukia and Isshin smile at each other in understanding. "Really, thank you, Otou-Sama. I am honored."
"No, Sweetheart, it is I, that am honored. Now, you should be good to go. I am going to check on your bath. Ichigo will take you up there."
She decomposes herself and leans back into Ichigo's chest, breathing heavily. "Can you give me a minute?" She asks as she smiles wearily.
Ichigo leans back a tiny bit and, using one hand, he smoothes down the still damp hair that is plastered to the soaked t-shirt on his chest since the towel has long fallen off. He would have never believed that it was possible, but his respect for her manages to grow even more. His little best friend is officially, the strongest person he knows. She has been to hell and back today and she still has the will to keep going. If she can tolerate this kind of pain, he has no right to doubt her abilities in battle in the future. He always thought that he could bear substantial amounts of pain both physically and mentally. What she has gone through for the last two years only to have to deal with this shit today…she can still manage a smile? It was nice to see. He smiles back and answers soothingly while running his fingers through her damp, dark locks, "Yeah. Take your time."
