AN: Thanks for reviewing. Really quite flattered. Hahaha, especially Guety. Anyway, I guess you could take this as a continuation of the one-shot before. But you could also read it separately, and still understand. I like thinking about it in chronological order though. Kinda makes the story flow a bit.
A thing you should know: oysters are an aphrodisiac.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach
Accidentally in Love: Home
They had left the meadow, but it was obvious it was only a few minutes or so. The grass still hadn't sprung up in two particular places that indicated that there were two people there.
If time was rewound, you could see the two figures get up from the grass and start to walk back to the main town area. And, if you fast forwarded time, you could see the two figures walking, their backs to the sunset.
Ichigo hadn't said anything on the way home, Rukia noticed. Well, she wasn't exactly saying anything either, but usually they were arguing about something – or at least disagreeing, or fighting even. This was not happening today. It reminded her of the time when he became sick on the way home from school one day.
She had walked a few steps behind him that day. She was very excited, since Ichigo's dad had taken the girls on some sort of family bonding camp that would last the whole weekend, starting today. That meant she got to watch the TV, and use the kitchen. She skipped happily behind him.
She had thrown a couple of comments in the air, but to her surprise Ichigo hadn't argued or fought back – he simply kept silent. She was about to ask him what was wrong, but thought better of it. She would observe him first. She quickened her pace, just to catch up with his long strides. When she thought he wasn't looking, she peeked at his face, noting that it had turned a pale shade.
This wasn't a good sign, she thought. She said something casually, something that the normal Ichigo would disagree with, yell at her etc. But today, this Ichigo merely looked at her and continued walking. This got Rukia really worried.
"Ichigo, what's wrong?"
Her tone had changed, but he kept walking forward, like a pre-programmed robot, slumping over slightly.
"Ichigo!"
He still kept walking.
She ran up to catch up, and then stood in front of him, her arms outstretched. Ichigo really did look pale today.
"Tell me what's wrong," she stated, holding her ground.
Ichigo shoved past her, not saying anything. Angered, she put out her foot where he could see it, to trip him. This was her last resort. The normal Ichigo would have asked her if she thought he was stupid for placing such an obvious trap in front of him. This Ichigo just walked straight forward, abruptly tripping over her outstretched foot.
Rukia was surprised. Something must really be wrong, she thought as she knelt next to the fallen Ichigo.
"Ichigo…" she said, this time softer.
"…I…feel sick."
She remembered the rest of that day quite well. She had to struggle with Ichigo's fallen body all the way to the house. Then, she had to carry him up all those stairs.
If that wasn't enough, she had to tuck him in! Not that she didn't enjoy it; it was just that his body was so heavy.
After she had gotten him in the bed, school clothes and all, she watched him instantly fall asleep. She sighed to herself. There went her weekend. Out the window. There went watching the TV. She didn't think that watching Ichigo could be more interesting. Instead, she glared at his sleeping face, annoyed – it was his fault, after all.
Why did he have to go get sick, she thought to herself as she trotted downstairs to mix up some brew that (she thought) would heal the passed-out Ichigo. Well, at least she still got to use the kitchen.
She hummed to herself as she looked through the cupboard for medicine. Maybe this would be fun after all.
Hm…she found a bottle of pills with no labelling. She shrugged, and placed two in a clear plastic cup. What else would be good for the poor boy? Something that would wake him…make him feel alive…she grabbed the bottle labelled "Chilli". She placed a few in the cup.
The mixture was still missing something. Salt, pepper and vinegar had somehow been added into this mysterious concoction. As an afterthought, thinking he might like his brew sweet, and keeping in mind the old proverb 'you catch more flies with honey than vinegar', she grabbed the jar of honey and scooped a large dollop and generously deposited it into the cup.
She scanned the kitchen for anything else that looked like it might be of some use for her brew then her glance abruptly stopped on the onions and garlic. Shrugging, she picked up one of each and placed it on the bench along with the cup with the miscellaneous ingredients. By this time, the plastic cup, a mere 250ml, was already at its limits.
Surprisingly to Rukia, she found the contents in the cup almost solidified to the point where it could not be mixed. There was also the matter that the onion and garlic could not fit in there. A pot was conveniently drying on the dish rack; Rukia grabbed that and filled it halfway with water. She turned on the stove and put the saucepan on it to boil. Five minutes later, ingredients were added to make quite the unique solid, erm, liquid. It didn't really help that the garlic and onion hadn't been peeled before they were thrown in.
While waiting for the brew to cook, she vaguely remembered one of the captains saying that oysters were good for ill people. Na-na-o-chan! I'm sick! Feed me some oysters. Rukia cringed. Yup, definitely Shunsui. But surely the old man had some sense. And since there were some oysters in the refrigerator, why not use them? There was nothing to lose.
And so the oysters were readied on the bench on a platter. By this time, Ichigo's 'medicine' was finished. A brown, sticky, gooey substance. Rukia stared at it, wondering what had gone wrong, but just shrugged it off. Ichigo was sick anyway; anything would do.
She poured the brown substance into a mug, placed the mug onto a tray, placed the platter onto the tray, and smiled triumphantly. This, she thought to herself, could probably cure cancer. Little did she know that she was half-right. By killing the person, the cancer couldn't survive.
She gave him the cup. He really did look, sick she thought, as she told him to drink it. His eyes were half lidded as he looked down at the gooey brown liquid. He must have been really sick, because he downed the cup in one go.
Neighbours heard the scream, but they dismissed it as 'just another weird thing' that occurred at the Kurosaki household.
Rukia took a step back in surprise. She looked at the Ichigo in front of her, his eyes were bloodshot, and his tongue was hanging out, as if it couldn't stand being it his mouth.
"…water…" he whispered weakly.
Rukia looked around her. No water in sight. She looked down and her gaze fell on the plate of oysters.
"Here." She shoved the plate in front of him, feeling slightly guilty at the fact that her Ichigo had changed from a frowning, orange haired boy, to a deranged, drooling, pale, 'thing', one could possibly mistake for being a human…once upon a time.
Ichigo didn't look, but grabbed the oysters off the plate, also downing them in one go (shell and all). He gulped, and a silence of about five seconds prevailed. After which, he promptly passed out.
Rukia had gone up to the roof after that. It was night outside, and she was slightly saddened at the fact that her special brew, which she had spent so much time in making, had been cruelly rejected.
How long she had been up there, she did not know, but it was surprising to hear Ichigo climb up on the roof. He looked a bit more normal now, and he had changed from his school uniform.
They looked at each other. Rukia didn't say anything, but looked to the side guiltily. She would ignore him, she decided.
"Yo."
She didn't reply. She just sat there, looking at the lights of Karakura. That was why, when she felt Ichigo slide behind her, she reflexively stood up, and nearly fell off the slanted roof.
They had reached the house. For once, Ichigo and Rukia entered through the same door. Rukia suddenly felt uncomfortable in Ichigo's room – he had been acting weird today. She waited until he went out of the room and then climbed up on the roof, through his window.
Then she sat there. It wasn't night, like that time, but she still enjoyed it.
"Rukia?"
She looked down, towards where the sound came from. It was Ichigo, leaning outside of his window, a worried expression on his face.
When Rukia didn't answer, Ichigo furrowed his brow. There were times when she didn't answer anything he said, which made him extremely agitated and annoyed. For some reason, he just wanted to know about her – everything about her.
Then Rukia stood up. Ichigo's frown became deeper. If she fell, he wasn't exactly in the best position to catch her.
He had caught her. That night. For some unexplainable reason, he had positioned himself behind her, and was about to put his arms around her (another unexplainable reason – he just felt that she looked rather good that night, or something), when she suddenly stood up.
But, before she could fall, he had caught her, his arms encircling her waist.
She had muttered a small word of thanks, and he knew she expected him to let her go. He sighed to himself. There were all these times where he had caught her, or held her – for necessity only.. But this night, he had just felt…so romantic. She probably didn't feel the same.
In the end, he had let go, albeit reluctantly. They sat down together, and didn't say a word. It was awkward, after all, Rukia had tried to cure his sickness with some foul tasting, thick liquid which had nearly killed him. Then, she had given him oysters. Oh sure, it wasn't her fault that those had nearly killed him as well (with the shells!), but still… It had given him a troubled sleep.
But from that day on, he had always wondered what she would do if he held her just for the sake of holding her.
"Oi."
Rukia looked down at the orange-haired boy who was now on the roof.
"What?" she said, slightly cross, because he had interrupted her moment of freedom.
"You'll fall again."
"No," she retorted. "The only reason why I fell last time was because you" – she pointed an accusing finger at him – "sneaked up behind me."
She saw him disappear, but she didn't see him move. The next thing she heard was his voice coming from behind her saying, "Like this?"
This time, she really felt like she was going to fall. But, Ichigo caught her. Again. It was exactly the same as that time, his strong hands encircling her waist, pulling her close to his body.
Ichigo's mind was having a quiet battle. He shut it out, and continued holding her for longer than was necessary, saying to himself that if she resisted one bit, he would let go immediately. She didn't. He tried to calm his beating heart, and slowly sat down, bringing Rukia with him. It was a good thing neither could see each other's face, for it really was not a normal colour at all. Well, beet red could be described as a normal colour.
For a while, they just sat there, neither wanting to move – lest they disturb the comfortable position that each other were in.
"Ichigo…" Rukia said, after a few minutes of silence.
"Mm…"
"I…like this."
"…"
"I don't know why, though. I've been alive for longer than you…but I don't understand this thing," she said hurriedly.
"I…" I'm in love with you, Rukia. "…same."
Rukia didn't say anything after that. But, Ichigo could somehow tell she was a bit disappointed that he hadn't said anything. He shook his head. For now, he was just content with holding her. Sorry, he apologised in his head.
I'll tell you sometime.
AN: This one took slightly longer to write. Than usual. Anyway, I'm going to go study. If you like it, review it. My first attempt at one-shots. This weird fic will continue. I think I'll finish either next chapter or the chapter after that. Thanks!
