A/N: Over twenty to thank again for reviews: Thunder Claw03, Kiss of Imortality, janeway74656kat, Black Sun Upon An Icy Sky, novicestar, Rukia's Reflection, Mist Valley Apex Avian, bcsaturdai, sinfullwish, 1290r5, Frost-EVA-04, keniamunguia13, littlenaoki, theaCoi, karling08, "Anya," okami11235, hitsugayatoushiro1220, Assault Godzilla, Amaterasu Ai, and darklover. And thank you to everyone who put this or its author on their lists. For all of those of you who read the last chapter before I fixed it, I humbly apologize for the slip. I know this is really late but writer's block is a nasty thing.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Bleach characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Tite Kubo et al.
Saying I Will
Food Poisoning
Rukia and Ichigo's return to the apartment was uneventful. They had shared a train with Uyruu and Orihime and the four friends had traveled home together. Chad would be settling down in the dorms in a week and had stayed behind to pack up his things and close up his apartment in Karakura. Even Kon and Chappy had been happy to be back.
The first order of business upon returning had been to go grocery shopping. They'd restocked the cupboards and refrigerator, slumping in exhaustion when the task was done. Ichigo had picked up the TV remote to turn on something that they could watch; only to remember that Toushiro had never replaced the one that Hyroinmaru had inadvertently broke.
"We'll get another tomorrow." Rukia wasn't budging the rest of the night.
"Sounds like a plan. Got any ideas about dinner?" Ichigo put down the useless tool and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend.
"As long as I don't have to cook, I don't care."
The orange haired warrior debated about bringing up the subject of her cooking but decided that if he wanted to sleep in his own bed tonight he wouldn't utter a word about the overly salty stew that she had created for dinner the one time Yuzu had let her do things without watching her with eagle eyes. "I agree. Why don't you go take a shower and relax while I call something in?"
Rukia smiled, her lips tilted in the impish way that had always made his gut tighten. Until he had been older, he hadn't understood that it had always been desire that had made him want to wipe that look off of her face by covering her mouth with his own. "You're such an attentive boyfriend."
"You say that now but you'd only give me hell if I didn't let you have the bathroom first." Ichigo grinned when she went to kick him, pulling her against him and lifting her up to kiss her. It stopped her imminent tirade and he wished he'd thought of the method sooner.
"Hmph!" she managed when he let her go. Rukia turned away and left to go take her shower, wanting nothing more than to relieve the tiredness that had settled in. She made sure to soak for a long time, not getting out until she heard the doorbell. The petite Shinigami dressed in a lightweight yukata before going out to eat. Despite the fact that September had started, it still resembled summer. Their air conditioner was set on low but it was still plenty warm for her to dress as she was. Sleeping with Ichigo often meant that she had her own private heater next to her all through the night. The tag of "Black Sun" certainly applied.
They ate quietly, nothing about their day needing to be rehashed as they had spent it together. Plans for tomorrow were set and therefore there was nothing to be said. Ichigo reflected on the fact that some of their best times together had been when they had simply shared space. He recalled times when he'd sat on his bed reading a manga and she was at his desk doodling. Like then, they had neither Hollow nor Shinigami visitors to worry about.
Rukia looked at Ichigo, smiling softly at the look of contentment on his face. "Are you happy to be away from your family?"
"Not really, just glad for the peace. We'll have to get together with the others soon and try to figure out if there's a way that we can look out for Hollows without missing class. Maybe we can have shifts or something."
"Ichigo, it's my job to patrol the city for Hollows. I can't let the rest of you endanger your education just to help me."
"Rukia, you and I are partners, but we're also part of a team." Ichigo stood and started to clear the table of the empty containers. "You're not alone in patrolling. Besides, Ishida would probably never forgive you if you didn't let him get his fair share. Although, I do wish he'd learn how to purify rather than destroy."
"Quincy powers were developed specifically for eradication, not salvation."
"I know but that doesn't mean he couldn't learn."
"Speaking of learning, your bankai needs to be concentrated on."
"I know. I just don't have enough power at the moment to maintain it. Toushiro's lucky that Hichigo didn't wake up because of his stunt. I'm nowhere near ready to put up with his BS at the moment."
"You'll get there." Rukia joined him at the sink and began washing the dishes that they'd used.
"And if I don't get there when you want me to, you'll kick me, won't you?"
"Oh, I think I can come up with worse punishments than that." Giving an impudent grin, she turned to look up at him.
Ichigo blinked, wondering if she meant what he thought she did. "You don't mean…?"
"You really don't want to find out, do you?" Rukia lifted a brow, daring him to voice the rest of the question.
"No," he strangled out. He really didn't want to find out whether or not she would really cut him off if he failed to develop his powers as fast as she wanted him to. "You wouldn't do that. The faster I regain everything, the sooner you have to go back. Don't you want to stay here with me as long as you can?"
Consideration filled violet eyes. "Yes, but don't you want to regain all of your powers as quickly as possible?"
"Only if it becomes necessary. I want to discover everything there is to know about being a Shinigami. I really do want to learn kido, Rukia. I want to be able to heal you like you heal me. I want to see if Zangetsu has more than one attack that he can teach me like you have more than one dance. Most all of though, I want all the time I can get with you. Visiting you in the Soul Society is something that I'll do only if there's no other way to keep you by my side. There's no telling when Gramps is going to get tired of letting me have my way or if the new Central Forty-Six is going to decide that I'm too much of a pain."
Ichigo paused for breath, trying to remember the last time he had said so much at once. Taking a moment to collect himself he took the wet dish out of her hand and placed it in the drainer. Delicate hands wrapped around his and pulled until he was looking at her. Determination, fierce and hot burned in her eyes, deepening their violet. "I won't let them ever think that. You saved everyone. If you hadn't used the Mugetsu, Urahara would never have been able to bind Aizen as he did."
"Are you sure? I'm a Vizard, power wise, Rukia. I have a Hollow, there's no getting around that."
Smiling in reassurance this time, Rukia led him out of the kitchen. "I guess I never did tell you. The other Vizards are now allowed in the Soul Society. Their transformations weren't of their own doing and so can't be blamed for training to control the Hollows inside. To have done otherwise would have created powerful killing machines that would have resulted in thousands of souls being devoured and destroyed. Plus, they helped during the war so had to be rewarded somehow. If Central thinks any differently of you, I'll set them straight. I've got your back, remember?"
Using the tie of her yukata, Ichigo pulled her against him. "You've got me, period."
The next morning came early for Rukia. Opening her eyes, she felt her stomach revolt and dashed to the bathroom, ignoring the grumbling her bed partner gave. After emptying her stomach of everything that could conceivably be left, she sat in front of the toilet, wondering why she'd gotten sick. It wouldn't have been the first time that she'd had problems but it was a rare occurrence.
"I told you not to have any of Inoue's dessert." The strawberry blonde had given them one of her creations when they got off the train and Rukia had eaten it in the middle of the night as a snack. Ichigo pulled back Rukia's hair as she went on retching.
"I don't think it was Orihime's stuffed rice balls." Getting up, she rinsed her mouth out and brushed her teeth, the taste currently there disgusting her.
"Hmm, could have been dinner although since I had something different, I can't tell one way or the other. Why don't you go back to bed?" He felt for a fever but found none. Slipping her under the covers, he frowned at the pasty complexion her face had taken on. "You stay here and rest. I'll go get our books from the store. Chappy will look after you and I'll take Kon just in case. If you feel worse or develop a fever, call me right away."
"I was hoping to sleep in but not like this."
Ichigo sat on the edge of his bed and brushed back her unruly locks. "I know. It's better that you rest though and get this over with. If you're not well again by tomorrow I'll see if Hanataro or someone else from the Fourth can't come and check you out."
The daiko put off going as long as he could, Rukia finally yelling at him that she was fine alone for a few hours and to get to the bookstore for their textbooks because if he didn't leave right then she was going to show him that neither her kido nor her ability to wield Sode no Shirayuki was affected by a measly case of upset stomach. Once again filled with the fear of being beaten up by his girlfriend, Ichigo put a cup of tea on his desk and with a kiss left to go about his appointed rounds.
Even though he was given odd looks when picking up two students' worth of texts, Ichigo didn't pay any attention to anything but getting the supplies that they needed and getting back to Rukia. Staring at the list Rukia had written he went in search of the calligraphy set that she needed. Smirking slightly, he figured that this was one of those "noblewoman" classes that the clan elders had pressured her into taking. No doubt she would pass it with flying colors just as she had the flower arranging. There wasn't any part of being a noble his girl couldn't master.
Ichigo ran into Ishida and Inoue on the way back to the apartment. The flower wielder grew concerned when he mentioned that Rukia had been ill and the two others followed him home. Rukia was up and dressed when they arrived, a cup of ginger tea in her hand. She gave him a look that told him that he'd pay for his overprotectiveness later but submitted to Shun'ō and Ayame's examination.
"There's nothing wrong with her," Ayame said, her features puzzled.
"I told you, Ichigo. It was just an upset stomach. I'm fine."
"Whatever it was, is gone," Shun'ō affirmed. "You have nothing to worry about, Kurosaki-san."
"Thanks, guys." Rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, Ichigo chuckled ruefully. "I guess I overreacted."
"That is understandable. I do not believe I have ever known Kuchiki-san to be sick," Uyruu said, trying to cover for his friend. A guy had the right to worry about his girlfriend's health after all.
"I am rarely ill," Rukia admitted, thinking that she might let Ichigo off the hook this once. "Thank you for being concerned. I appreciate it."
Orihime smiled, ready to call her flowers back to their dormant state. "If you don't feel like eating anything heavy, I made some more of those stuffed rice balls."
The group present watched as Rukia's face turned green and she raced to the bathroom. The flowers let out shouts of surprise and followed her to make sure they hadn't missed something. Ishida had a slightly green cast to his face, probably having been on the taste-testing end of her creation.
"Sorry, Inoue but that might have been what did it to her. She ate the ones you gave her yesterday late last night."
"Oh, dear; maybe I used too much honey and hot sauce."
Ichigo blanched and coughed into his hand. No wonder Rukia had gotten sick. "Ah, yeah, that was probably it." Tilting his head towards Ishida, he kept his voice low. "How do you do it, man?"
"You really don't want to know," Ishida returned. There were some things that just defied explanation. "Just be glad that your girlfriend has a normal sense of taste."
"I'm more and more thankful every second."
"What are you two talking about?" Orihime asked; confusion in her grey eyes.
"Nothing," they chorused.
What else they could say?
