Chapter 25: Strawberry Meets Death
Eep! So many lengthy reviews :] Thank you very much! I'm working on responding to them, but if you don't get a reply, please let me know!
Anyways, this one is a little light compared to the ones coming up, but you'll find some interesting hints ;] Heh heh heh
If my stab at the Hell Butterflies and shinigami relationship is iffy, let's discuss it! Haha :]
So here it is, chapter 25!
And I don't own Bleach. :]
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The Kurosaki residence was silent and peaceful, the loudest sound asleep while the female of the house tossed around in a fit, her dream filled with chefs and pans, fires and spoons.
Ichigo was resting on his side, the moonlight pouring onto his bed, dancing along Rukia's skin just as his fingers were.
Deciding he wasn't feeling enough of her, Ichigo slid his entire hand along Rukia's thigh, traveling back down to her knee, soaking up as much of her heat as possible.
Rukia was asleep, snuggled against his entire form, her leg hitched over his hip, her skirt having ridden up her thighs.
Ichigo's hand became still as a single, black butterfly fluttered into his room.
---
"Hisagi fukutaichou, ready to report- Kuchiki taichou."
Shuuhei bowed before the noble captain, straightening his back to level their gaze.
"Proceed."
"Hollows have been appearing at a constant rate, taichou. Between Kuchiki Rukia of the thirteenth squad and I, the cleansing of the Hollows has been successful without problems."
Taking the cold silence from Rukia's brother as a cue, Shuuhei continued; "After much consideration, I decided to leave the Hollows as priority for now, taichou, and begin Kuchiki Rukia's training once she finishes the living world's academy."
"You will report weekly to me once you begin her training."
"Hai; Kuchiki taichou."
Byakuya made a small movement that could fairly be labeled as a nod, returning to his paperwork scattered- neatly- about his desk.
Shuuhei bowed in dismissal, using flash step to return to the Senkai Gate.
"I'll burn in hell for lying to that man."
---
Ichigo frowned as he thought back to the odd butterfly, deciding he shouldn't leave his window open when his girlfriend was already through it.
He smiled as he looked at Rukia beside him, all thoughts of the little insect gone.
He resumed caressing her smooth skin, slowing down his movements as she began to stir.
Violet eyes peered up at his amber ones, her leg tightening around Ichigo's hip as he rested his hand on her thigh.
"Hey, midget."
"Don't call me-!"
Ichigo silenced Rukia as he pressed his lips against hers, pulling back just enough to let him speak, their lips teasing each other.
"Or else what, Rukia?"
"Or else I'll go let Keigo take me out on one of his dates."
Rukia gasped as Ichigo suddenly moved above her, his arms boxing her in as he supported himself up against them; "You wouldn't."
"And why not, Kurosaki-kun?"
Ichigo let a low growl escape him as he crushed his lips onto Rukia's, a hand trailing down her body to push her leg aside, settling against her heat.
"You're mine, shorty." His voice was husky as he whispered into her ear, distancing himself to look straight into her dark eyes.
Rukia simply pulled him back down to her, granting him entrance to her mouth as she recognized the pleading drag of his tongue against her lip.
Ichigo couldn't seem to get enough of her taste, of her skin against him; moaning into her, he pressed his hips against her, shoving her skirt higher along her thighs, his hand running their length.
Rukia's hands dragged along his naked chest, exploring his structure and muscles, mesmerizing the spots that made him moan, pulling him down onto her, arching her body to meet him along every inch.
Their pants became heavy, sweat building up as they struggled to keep under control, exploring each other's body just a bit more than they already had.
Rukia pushed on Ichigo's shoulder, forcing him to roll over; he kept his hold on her as his back connected with his mattress, taking advantage of their move to breathe.
Rukia crawled up a bit further on his body, laying down on him, resting her head on his chest; Ichigo's heart slowly calmed down, Rukia hearing every beat.
Ichigo wrapped an arm around her, hugging her closer to him as he found her hand, locking their fingers together, kissing her soft hair.
Within minutes, Ichigo could hear her soft, even breathing, carefully reaching over to his side and pulling the blanket over their bodies.
Sighing, he looked up to his ceiling, thinking back to the past three weeks.
Smirking, he clearly remembered the looks of other girls as he and Rukia became close or walked together, remembered the shock his friends had when he "finally gave in to the curiosity of the female body," in their eyes.
He was brought out of his thoughts when Rukia moved against him, her movements riding her shirt up; Ichigo let out the breath of air he had held when she became still, shyly wrapping his arm around her exposed waist, burning the feel of her slim stomach against his into his mind.
He closed his eyes, reluctantly giving in to sleep, hugging her close once more before he completely lost himself in the darkness.
---
Ichigo woke with a start, his alarm blaring loudly on his desk, pounding fists at his door.
"ICHIGO! You're cheating, how dare you lock your door!"
Struggling to keep awake, Ichigo slapped his alarm's button, groaning as he rolled over, pulling his pillow over his head.
Wait.
He shoved his pillow aside, quickly searching underneath his body before searching his bed for his petite shinigami.
"ICHIGO!"
The boy jumped when his door suddenly slammed open, its hinges ripping off; Isshin burst past the mess, launching his body at his son's bed.
Ichigo growled, quickly rolling of his bed, standing as his father crashed into his bed; "What the hell, dad?! My damn door is broken!"
"Ichigo! Your bed's covered with a woman's smell! Now I see why you loc-"
"GET OUT, NOW!"
Isshin whined as his son grabbed his arm, dragging him off his bed and past his doorway, earning a solid kick to his head.
"Owie! Why do you treat me so badly?!"
"Because you broke my door and I can't slam it in your face!"
"Ichi-nii, what's all the yelling about? You usually just beat him up and finish."
Yuzu made her way up the stairs, gasping when she saw the mess of Ichigo's precious door.
"He should know he's not allowed to lock his door!"
"I wanted fuckin' privacy!"
"Watch your language, boy!"
"Dad! Breaking Ichi-nii's door was too much, why-"
"No locks!"
"Then stop bothering me!"
"BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!"
The Kurosaki males paled as Yuzu fumed beside them, her small body shaking with irritation.
"YOU!" She pointed her large, wooden spoon at her father, ignoring his loud whimper.
"The very moment you step into this home after work, your taking Ichi-nii's door to the shop to get fixed! I won't let you have a single crumb of food until you come back with his door ready to be put up!"
Isshin nodded in agreement immediately, cowering under his youngest child's stare.
"Get to the clinic already!" Yuzu glared as her father crawled past her, smacking his arm with her spoon.
Once they heard the front door close, Yuzu turned to her brother, her glare long gone; "Sorry, Ichi-nii…."
"Ah, Yuzu- don't apologize; it was you to put him in his place…."
"If you're going to have your fun with Rukia, go to her apartment; you act like it's safe to lose your virginity with dad underneath the same roof!"
"YUZU!"
Ichigo gaped at his younger sister, reddening at his cheeks.
"What? I'm thirteen and a light sleeper; accept it already, Ichi-nii!"
With that, Yuzu turned to the stairs, leaving her brother in the hallway, his jaw hanging dangerously low.
---
"I went back to Soul Society to report to the captains last night."
Shuuhei swiftly raised a cup to catch the stream of juice sprayed from Rukia's mouth, her surprise causing her to choke out the rest.
"What? Why didn't you inform me, you fool!"
Shuuhei smirked as he played with the cup, waiting for her to catch her breath again.
"Well, I went to go get you last night, but you were a bit preoccupied."
Rukia blushed as she held her stare with Shuuhei, wondering just when last night he went for her.
"But that's not the interesting part. Ichigo stopped moving when I went through his window by my Hell Butterfly."
At first I thought it was coincidence, but his gaze followed me as I went in further, then out his window again."
Shuuhei paused as he took in Rukia's reaction, certain she knew without him having to state the obvious.
Shuuhei stopped playing with the cup in his hands, crossing his hands behind his neck as he tipped his chair back.
Let's just make sure we're on the same page; "Kurosaki Ichigo was able to see the simplest form of our world."
---
"ALRIGHT! Summer starts this very afternoon!"
Keigo bounced happily about the classroom, landing back in his chair beside Chad.
They were well into their day, a few minutes left until lunch.
Rukia sat on Ichigo's desktop, Ichigo lazily leaning against her as he tried to stay awake, Shuuhei sitting silently beside them.
Chad and Tatsuki had joined them, along with Mizuiro and Keigo.
Tatsuki frowned as she glanced over to Inoue sitting across the classroom, finding her burning gaze on the couple beside her.
"Oi, Tatsuki; do you have any tournaments coming up during summer?"
Turning back to her friends, Tatsuki smiled as she pumped her fist into the air; "You bet! I have exactly ten tournaments to train for, so I'll be busy most of the three months!"
"My band and I are traveling out of town to play some local shows."
"I'm heading out to visit my girlfriend at her college, and then we're going on a cruise!"
"WHAT?!"
Everyone quieted down as they finally noticed Keigo's mortified look, waiting for him to recover.
"What do you mean you're training, and you're performing, and you're leaving? WHAT ABOUT MY SUMMER TRIP TO THE BEACH?!"
"Oh! I completely forgot about that, Keigo! Sorry, I I can't skip out on my girlfriend."
"Yeah, my bad." "Must have slipped my mind." "Didn't know about it." "Yeah, sorry."
""W-w-what? Well, what about you, Ichigo? Kuchiki-san, Kuchiki's brother's aunt's daughter's son?"
Keigo anxiously waited for them, dropping to the ground at Ichigo's response; "We'll be busy sleeping."
And eating, too. But mainly catching up on sleeping."
Keigo pouted as he sulked off, a cloud easily imagined above him.
"Really, Ichigo; what will you three be doing?"
"I wasn't kidding, Tatsuki."
Tatsuki and Chad laughed, as Mizuiro agreed with a nod that sleep definitely had priority over Keigo.
---
"Ahhhh, finally! No more school as of right-"
Ichigo kicked off his shoes, dropping his bag to the floor; "- now!"
"Baka."
"Oi! Don't be calling me names, midget."
"Use your own advice!"
"Like hell I will!"
Shuuhei slipped past the bickering couple, sitting down at the table.
"Your sister's not home, Ichigo?"
"Eh? Oh, no; she'll be out in about two hours."
Ichigo walked over with a new bump on his forehead, grumbling about being caught in an abusive relationship.
"Kuchiki-"
"Shut up, Shuuhei."
"Rukia, then?"
"That's better."
"Well, I was about to say I'm going over to Urahara's. Maybe he has somewhere we can start your training."
Groaning, Rukia let her head fall onto the table, not catching Ichigo's wince at the sound of the loud thud.
"Idon'twannatrainyoustupidoaf!"
"…What?"
"I said I don't want to train, fool!"
"That's not very noble-like, much less lady-like, Kuchiki Rukia."
Ichigo laughed as Shuuhei fell to the floor, Rukia's throw of the book beside her a blur to everyone's eyes.
"How's that for nobility, Hisagi fukutaichou?"
---
Shuuhei sat down across from Urahara, holding a tissue to his bleeding nose; "Thank you for seeing me, Urahara."
"Ah, I see you finally dropped the formality! About time."
Urahara ignored Shuuhei's glare, his attention now on his bleeding nose; "Kurosaki?"
"Kuchiki."
"Ah." Urahara decided not to push the shinigami, opening his fan to hide his wide smile.
"I came to see if you have anywhere I can train Rukia, now that school has ended just this afternoon."
"Yare! I completely forgot about her training!"
I can easily handle the location. I assume you'll be training her with kidou as well?"
"I assume need to improve in all areas…except in hand-to-hand combat. I think she's fine there."
Urahara nodded in agreement, smiling as Ururu came to offer Shuuhei a clean tissue to replace his soaked one.
---
"Ichi-nii, Rukia; I thought you'd be at school!"
Ichigo looked up from his place at the table, frowning as Yuzu came in with Shuuhei.
"Oi! I thought you had gone to hat-and-clogs! Not to my sister's school!"
"I ran into her by the river."
"The river? Why did you take the river, Yuzu?"
Yuzu bit her lip as her brother stared at her, trying to gather up her strength to lie to his face.
"I-"
"I had told Yuzu about the small stand with puppies there; told her when she could find it."
Yuzu sighed in relief as Rukia took her brother's attention from her, sending an appreciative glance at her.
"I'm sorry, Ichi-nii."
"Nah, don't worry about it, Yuzu. If the squirt here told- OW!"
Ichigo rubbed his throbbing shin under the table, keeping an eye on Rukia's feet.
She's wearing sandals, yet she can still break my leg!
"I am not short, Strawberry!"
"As if! Shuuhei, aren't I right?"
Ichigo glanced expectantly to the tall shinigami, frowning when he glared.
"I barely stopped the bleeding from my nose. At least wait until after Yuzu cooks to ask me that."
---
Yuzu had gladly made them an early dinner, already cleaning up when she suddenly forced them out the door, having heard her father yelling down the street.
Making their way up the stairs to Rukia's apartment, Ichigo and Shuuhei groaned as they finally made it to the door, their stomachs not appreciating the work it took to move.
"Fools; I ate as much as you, so if I can handle it, so should you!"
"Quiet, you. It's not as long of a drop to your stomach so you're already digesting while we have to keep waiting."
Ichigo yelled as Rukia pounced onto his tall form, pulling him down to her height.
Shuuhei smiled as Ichigo was held in a head-lock, her small fist digging painfully into Ichigo's head.
"Ah, stop, stop, stop! I'm sorry, I take it back!"
"Fine!" Rukia released the boy, letting him fall to the ground.
Ichigo eventually followed them in, kicking the door close behind him.
"Oi, Shuuhei! Where are you?"
"Here."
Ichigo laughed as he turned to find Shuuhei already in his tub, his body slouched lazily within the white edges.
"I'll leave you to recover, then."
"Eh."
Ichigo made his way to Rukia's bedroom, blushing as he caught sight of her barely slipping her sleeping shirt past her chest.
Coughing, Ichigo stepped in, closing the door behind him.
Rukia glanced at him before jumping into her bed, snuggling into the pillows.
Ichigo crawled over her, fitting between her wall and her body.
Rukia turned to look at him, scrunching her nose when he poked her forehead.
"Is it safe to be this close now?"
"Never."
"Fine by me, then."
Rukia pretended to yawn as Ichigo grabbed her slim waist, rolling her over to him.
Rukia's back hit Ichigo's chest, his arm immediately around her, holding her close.
"Ichigo, have you seen any of the black butterflies?"
"What?"
"Any of the black butterflies, around Karakura?"
Ichigo rested his chin on her shoulder, thinking back for any.
"No, don't think I- oh wait! Just last night, one flew through my window. Never saw one like that around here."
"Oh…."
-
"Do you think his reiatsu will keep growing, Shuuhei."
"It was barely anything when I came just a few days ago, Rukia; and now he can see the Hell Butterflies. Soon, I think he'll be seeing us and the Hollows…."
"Has Urahara told you why this is happening?"
"He has no idea. He wants us to bring Ichigo with us to training, so that he can study him."
"What if he does see us, grows a strong reiatsu… what will happen to Ichigo?"
"Soul Society doesn't allow humans like that to exist."
-
"Why do you ask?"
"I just found them interesting…."
Ichigo smiled, nuzzling her neck, settling down as the moon light began to pour through the window.
Rukia stayed awake as the clock ticked on, Ichigo's breathing calm and peaceful, his arm loose around her.
Staring at the shadows playing along her wall, Rukia gripped Ichigo's arm, pulling it closer around her body.
-
"Shuuhei; what if… what if Ichigo became a shinigami?"
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EEEE! x]
Summer begins! The day-by-day section has ended! If I ever do it again, it's for utter importance.
Other than that, we just go along.
My chapters might start becoming longer :O! So my updates might start to lag.... I'll keep you informed :]
Thanks again for all the support :] Please review this chapter or simply show some love!
:]
-KurosakiLove