Chapter 4: Recuperation

Rukia ultimately had to admit that her ankle spring was a blessing in disguise. Because of this incident, she actually had a legitimate excuse to call off work, which she had always been reluctant to do before, afraid of the disapproval from Byakuya towards anyone whom he even slightly perceives as "slacking off." As a result, the day after Yuzu and Karin's move-in had been one of the rare genuine leisure days Rukia has had recently.

She soon came across the problem of finding a proper way to spend all this newfound free time, being so unused to the precious luxury. Her left foot still hurt whenever she put weight on it, rendering any activity that involved excessive mobility unreasonable options. All things considered, however, she still was the type to feel restless if she stayed homebound for too long ... a dilemma indeed.

In the end, she accepted the prospect of a sedentary day ahead of her and settled herself into the couch right in front of the television, ice pack pressed onto her ankle.

Laziness and inactivity were not things she would make a habit out of, but that does not mean she can't grow to appreciate an occasional day of utter nonproductivity, right?

That was how she spent the better half of a day, watching whatever programs happened to come up on TV, occasionally leaving for the kitchen–albeit in a slow, lopsided limp–to grab a quick meal or snack. The monotony was broken only when she received a text notification from Momo, who informed Rukia that she will be paying a visit shortly with comfort food, which consisted of all of Rukia's personal favorite pastries that Momo made herself.

Sorry I wasn't able to come by earlier, but I'll be at your apartment in about half an hour, Momo's text read. Things have been busy with the bakery lately, so I haven't had much time lately to hang out. :(

No worries, I've got all the time in the world today, Rukia replied.

Sure enough, her friend arrived right on schedule thirty minutes after sending the text.

"The door's not locked!" Rukia called out after hearing the knock at the entrance.

Momo opened the apartment door, carrying in a large plastic tupperware container filled with miscellaneous baked goods. She announced as she approached Rukia, "I come with sustenance."

Laughing, Rukia told Momo to lay the food down on her dining table and then wobbled her way over to examine the selection. It indeed had all her favorites, and she soon wolfed down two cupcakes with cream cheese icing within the span of five minutes.

"Momo, you are a lifesaver."

"Thank you, I try," Momo bowed dramatically.

The two of them had grown up as neighbors and became fast friends as a result of the proximity. They were separated during their college years, with Momo staying in Karakura and Rukia traveling halfway across the country before returning to her hometown after graduation. Whilst Rukia remained a studious student throughout those four years, her friend had been much of the opposite, dropping out after three years to start her own art studio. When that path did not work out, she then dabbled within several other businesses before deciding to open a bakery.

When Momo told Rukia that she was attempting to finance her bakery startup through crowdfunding, Rukia had greatly doubted her methods, which was why she had been so surprised when it actually ended up being successful.

"So how has the bakery been lately?" Rukia asked while looking at the tupperware box, seeking out the next pastry to devour.

Momo groaned. "More and more people have been coming lately, which I should–and am–happy about, but everything has just been busy busy busy." Her eyes widened suddenly. "That also reminds me ... there's been this one person who's been coming a lot lately ..."

"Go on."

"He always takes a long look at everything I've got on display then asks me for recommendations."

"What's so weird about that?"

"Yeah, but the thing is he almost never seems to buy anything," Momo pouted. "Like occasionally he might get one fruit tart or one cupcake but mostly he just leaves empty-handed. It's such a waste of my time!"

Rukia smiled inwardly. "Does he try to make conversation a lot?"

"Yes, which he's not really good at."

"Okay, let me venture a theory: he probably has a crush on you."

Rolling her eyes, Momo waved off the comment. "Oh please, I don't even know who he is, I just needed to rant. Forget I ever brought this up."

"No, no, no," Rukia edged her seat closer to her friend. "Tell me more. What does he look like?"

After some more prodding, Momo finally relented and decided to humor Rukia, "He's shorter than me, I swear, and has a very kiddish face and–"

Her description was cut short by the sound of another knock at the door.

"Nobody told me they were planning to show up." Rukia frowned and then raised her voice, "Who is it?"

"Uh, Ichigo." The hesitant tone made it sound almost like a question.

Rukia found that her role with Momo quickly switched as she now became the one who was interrogated. She whispered, fending off the accusatory gaze of Momo, "He, um, I'll explain later. It's a bit complicated."

With great effort, Rukia made her way to the door after instructing Momo to stay put at the dining room table. She opened the halfway and peered out. "Oh, Mr. Driver."

"I have soup," he said.

"I see that," she looked down at the large bowl he held in his hand.

"Or rather," he continued on quickly, "Yuzu and Karin made soup as an apology for what happened and as thanks for your help yesterday. And, uh, they told me to bring this over for you."

He looked so uncomfortable that Rukia had to put all her effort in not bursting out laughing. Somehow, Yuzu and Karin both had it in their heads yesterday that part of the blame for Rukia spraining her ankle went to Ichigo, so it was not to her surprise that they would make their brother personally trek over and say sorry.

In no way had Rukia seen the event as any fault but her own for becoming too careless–though she was genuinely surprised at how easy it was for Ichigo to make her lose her composure–but ultimately, the twins' reactions did help alleviate some of her own embarrassment at injuring herself in such a thoughtless way.

Hating that she was caught off guard like this, though, Rukia wanted this exchange to be over quickly so she could properly explain the situation to Momo. She held out her hands to accept the soup bowl.

Instead of handing it over, Ichigo said, "It's a bit heavy, are you sure you're able to walk okay with it?"

Realizing that he made a fair point, Rukia found herself caught at an impasse. There were several options, each of which had its own cons. She could possibly tell him that her ankle was feeling perfectly fine and then just take the bowl, which held the very real chance that she will proceed to trip while trying to walk on her injuries and spill the soup. Then, there was the other choice of asking Ichigo to take it inside for her, which would result in Momo seeing him and potentially getting the wrong idea from seeing Rukia invite a man inside her apartment so nonchalantly.

Ultimately, Rukia didn't have to make a decision, because Momo made one for her. A mix of curiosity at this mysterious "Ichigo" and boredom from waiting by herself at the dining room table urged her to approach the front door to see exactly what was happening.

"Why don't you invite your friend inside, Rukia?" Momo asked, laying a hand on Rukia's shoulder. "It's rude to keep guests standing right at the door."

"Oh, I didn't know you had someone over," Ichigo said. "I'll be on my way then. Here, would you be able to take the soup?" He directed his last question towards Momo.

"Actually," Momo smiled apologetically at him and gave Rukia a light, sly pinch on the arm, "I was just planning to leave. I still have a lot of things to take care of, so don't worry about me, feel free to...do your thing. That soup smells good, by the way."

"Wait, hold on–"

"It's okay, you don't need to–"

Before either Rukia or Ichigo managed to finish voicing their objections, Momo bid her goodbyes and quickly slipped away, leaving the two by themselves.

Sighing, Rukia reconsidered her limited options, which were even more limited now that Momo had ran out, and then mumbled, "Do you want to come in?"