Chapter 10
Rukia stood in front of the entrance to the manor pretending like she didn't just witness the entire scene between Ichigo and Renji.
"I'm so dumb, how could I not have thought about this before." Rukia said as she scribbled in the handheld notepad Matsumoto had given to her to take notes in during Ichigo's dates. The sound of approaching footsteps forced her to snap the notepad closed and hide it deep into the pockets of her uniform.
"You called?" Ichigo asked suddenly. Rukia nodded and smiled like she had just walked out of the front doors of the manor.
"Are you ready to head back?" Rukia asked.
"As ready as I'm going to get." Rukia replied almost bitterly.
"Man! I forgot something in my room." Rukia said suddenly. "Why don't you start heading up there now and I'll catch up." She said. Ichigo nodded and headed off in the other direction. Instead of going back to her room like she said she was going to do she turned and went to the bench were Renji was still sitting.
"Hey Renji!" Rukia said happily. Renji looked away from the sky above him and looked at her with a cocked eyebrow.
"What do you want now?" he said. Rukia frowned.
"What makes you think that I want something?" Rukia asked.
"Because when you walked over you said hey Renji, you never greet me like that unless there's something that you need from me." he said. Rukia rolled her eyes.
"Well I don't want anything in particular, but there is a favor I want to ask of you." She said. Renji groaned.
"And what is that?" he asked.
"What are you doing tomorrow?" she asked.
"I finished my paperwork today, so there's nothing for me to do here tomorrow." Renji replied.
"Why don't you come to the beach with us in the real world tomorrow?" she asked.
"When are you leaving?" Renji asked.
"Now,"
"Now?"
"Right now." she said.
"I guess I can go." He said. Rukia smiled and hopped off of the bench.
"Alright, let's get going then." She said.
"But I have to clear it with a captain first," Renji started.
"Don't worry I'll explain it when we get back." Rukia said quickly. She took Renji by the arm and pulled her in the direction the Ichigo had disappeared in minutes before.
The Next Day
Ichigo
'Why won't she ever let me sleep?' Ichigo thought to herself as her entire body rocked against the force of Rukia bouncing on the end of her bed trying to wake her up.
"Wake up Ichigo!" Rukia yelled as she ripped the covers away from Ichigo and her bed. Rukia dropped the covers on the floor and waited for Ichigo to get out of the bed.
"What time is it?" Ichigo asked
"9 o'clock." Rukia replied.
"Too early," Ichigo groaned.
"It's really not that early." Rukia replied bluntly.
"It's too early to be awake." Ichigo insisted. "Is there even a reason why we're getting up this early?"
"We're going to the beach today." Rukia said with a big smile on her face. Ichigo grabbed her pillow and placed it on top of her head to try to shield herself away from the light.
"When did we make this decision?" Ichigo grumbled.
"Orihime and I came up with the idea last night on the phone after you went to sleep." Rukia answered.
"That's nice….I don't want to go." Ichigo said. Rukia grabbed the pillow and pulled it off of her head.
"You don't have a choice. I've already set up a date for you at the beach." Rukia said. Ichigo groaned again.
"I don't even own a bathing suit." She said.
"I know that, that's why we're up so early. It's because we're going to go get one." Rukia walked over to Ichigo closet and grabbed a pair of pants and a t-shirt. She threw them on top of Ichigo along with a pair of shoes.
"You almost hit me in the head!" Ichigo yelled, sitting upright on the bed.
"Sorry, that was an accident." She said. "Now hurry and get dressed. We have a lot of shopping to do." She said as she walked out of the rom and closed the door behind her. Ichigo rolled out of bed and stood up from the floor. She quickly pulled on the outfit that Rukia had thrown at her then pulled on her shoes. She grabbed her blanket from the floor and threw it back on the top of the bed.
She contemplated fixing it for a second but decided against it when she remembered who messed up her bed in the first place.
"You take a really long time to get dressed." Rukia said when Ichigo finally walked out of her room and down into the living room where Rukia was waiting.
"You're making my bed when we get back." Ichigo said.
"Whatever you say," Rukia said hopping up her place on the sofa and heading out the front door behind Ichigo.