"Human After All"
Everyone agreed that Ichigo had changed since he had gotten engaged. He laughed easier, had become more open and relaxed around others and seemed content and more optimistic in general.
It was the attitude of someone who had discovered true joy in his life, whose will was no longer conflicted and divided, and was exactly where he wanted to be.
There was still a lot they had to learn about each other.
Ichigo learned that Rukia could sketch a rabbit without even looking, that she preferred baths to showers (so she took forever in the bathroom) and although she had more experience in the human world than the average shinigami, she often neglected to do vital things like eat and sleep when she was preoccupied with work.
Rukia learned that if she was calling for Ichigo from the other room and he didn't answer, he was currently zoning out to music on his headphones and she would have to place herself directly in his line of sight to get his attention. He readily did messy or strenuous chores like cleaning the floors or moving furniture but would leave tasks like doing the laundry until he had absolutely no more clothes to wear.
It was all so mundane, so ordinary and human. Almost.
Ichigo had come to accept that he would have to put up with Chappy intermittently when Rukia was not in her gigai. Chappy was more agreeable than Kon at least, and did simple tasks like washing the dishes when ordered by Rukia but more often than not, she amused herself by hogging the tv and being a vapidly cheerful, childish roommate.
There was no way he could mistake one for the other. The soul behind the eyes really was important.
One ordinary day, Ichigo woke to find Rukia's side of the bed vacant. He found Chappy in the den, lying on the rug and playing on his old Nintendo Switch.
"Chappy, where's Rukia?" he asked.
"Gone to Kagoshima, pyon!" she chirped cheerfully. "Division outpost is gonna be established there."
Earthbound Division's reach pushing further and further across Japan meant that its operations were deemed a success. It meant that Rukia would have to travel farther and be away for longer but it was a minor thing, nothing that they couldn't handle.
Chappy then rolled idly onto her side, tapping the buttons on the Switch with a happily muttered "pyon pyon pyon pyon pyon," so Ichigo left her to it.
His day ended up being uncommonly busy due to a full day of classes, a lab assignment that took far too long and a long overdue socialization with Tai and Hiro who wanted every single detail of how his summer vacation had fared. It was past nightfall when he finally returned home to a quiet apartment.
After a quick search, he determined that Rukia's gigai, with or without Chappy was nowhere to be found, but her shoes were still at the door and her keys on the hook. He puzzled over this for a few moments, until his gaze inexplicably fell onto the linen closet door, which was ajar.
Curled up on the spare bedding was Rukia, who startled awake at the sound of the door scraping open.
"What the hell are you doing in here?" He exclaimed.
"Ichigo… don't you ever knock?" She mumbled sleepily.
"Why should I have to knock on the door of a closet anymore? If you want to nap, do it in the bed!"
She looked like she had been pretty deeply asleep- there were pillow lines on her face and she blinked several times to get her eyes focused as she regarded him.
"Were you hoping to catch me doing something different?" She smiled coyly.
He wouldn't rise to her baiting, although his cheeks prickled and his mouth twitched. "Rukia… when is the last time you ate?" He asked as seriously as he could manage.
She genuinely seemed like she had to think about it. "It was daytime… so it could have been this morning. Or was it yesterday?"
"Idiot, you're going to die if you don't remember to eat."
His reprimand only seemed to amuse her. "Ha- such a thing is not going to kill me."
"True- but in the meantime, you're going to feel like shit."
He reached into the closet, pulling her warm, slight body into his arms and she nuzzled into him happily. When he sat her down unceremoniously at the kitchen table she made a small noise of complaint.
"Look- there's all this stuff to eat." He cobbled together an evening meal by rummaging through the fridge, finding rice balls, various leftovers and several oranges to put in front of her.
"You're being very nice to me," she said with a beatific smile.
He gave an exasperated shake of his head as joined her at the table, but she thought he looked rather satisfied when she picked up a bowl and began to eat.
This was to be her everyday life from now on: maintaining a human body in the human world with all its limitations, flaws and weaknesses. Some shinigami might say that it was a demotion to be assigned this duty, to pass a lifetime in the living world. But a single human lifetime was still a fleeting period in the scope of a shinigami's life.
How could she dwell on what she had temporarily lost when she had gained so much?
When she had finished eating she gave a heavy sigh of pleasure. "Oh- I actually do feel better."
"No kidding," he was retorting when her denrei shinki rang.
It could only be Earthbound dispatch. She answered with a short "Kuchiki here" and listened intently, though she was already drawing out her Chappy dispenser from her pocket.
"Huge hollows in sector A-60? How many? No- don't divert other people from their patrols. I will sortie personally."
She also drew out and put on the Soul Glove, brandishing it in Ichigo's direction and beckoning.
"Care to back me up, mister?"
"You know it." He eagerly grabbed her outstretched hand, discharging his soul and they soon stood together in shinigami form, leaving their bodies seated at the table. He strode over to the window, feeling focused and alive with purpose. His energy encompassed him as powerful as ever, radiant, intense and pouring from him endlessly, blazing like the sun.
"Come on, short stuff." He had a smile on his face that she could not help but mirror.
She felt absolutely no regret. For once she felt utterly calm and hopeful. She was exactly where she wanted to be, and there was nothing to fear with him beside her. She couldn't wait to see what the future held for them both.
They stepped out together into the open sky and with a flash of shunpo they sped away, two souls lighting up the dark night.
The End.
A/N and Closing Remarks:
This story started out as a one-shot lemon… can you believe it?!
It is my belief that that smutty and/or lemon writing has a very valid and appropriate place in fanfiction and this is my contribution. Forget PWP- long live sex with a plot!
Thank you for reading all the way to the end. It was fun but insanely time-consuming.
I wrote it for no one but myself but the positive feedback that I got motivated me to push out these updates and see it through to the end.
- blue