Disclaimer: Bleach is not mine. We all know that.

Remorseful because he envies them and mainly because…

"Ichigo" His train of thought was interrupted when he heard Rukia call him. He straightened up and glanced towards the bathroom door to see her head peeking.

"What?" He asked.

"Can you please ask Inoue-san for a scissor? I need to fix my hair."

"Sure." He answered without hesitation and started to walk down the stairs. "Thanks" Rukia mumbled as she proceeded to close the bathroom door. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and frowned. She really didn't know what overcome her to do that. It was really silly but…amusing. Seeing that Ichigo seem to always have a hard expression on his face it was actually surprising to her that his face was smooth and soft. And she noticed that he was actually handsome. Oh my Kami-sama! What did she just thought!?! It's a sin! Unforgivable, to think of a man like that, no, it was more like a heavier sin since it was her guardian spirit she was having…mushy thoughts about. She shivered then shook her head. Rukia willed herself to focus on her tasks at hand. Now, where was that scissor? Why's he taking too long?

Ichigo scratched the back of his head, a habit he had developed since he came to the human world. He went to look for that 'Inoue-san' girl. She would probably be on the kitchen making breakfast. And he was right; he could smell the food along the hallway.

"Inoue-san, Rukia was asking if --" he inquired as he entered the small kitchen but was cut short when he saw that there where other three men present. Their gazes were confused and…was that furious. The man with the striped hat cut the silence.

"It seems we have a guest, Inoue-san."

"Ano- I was just about to tell you. They were from the capital. This is Kurosaki Ichigo-kun, Lady Kuchiki's guardian spirit." The girl replied.

"What could be the reason that we have been graced with a visit by a priestess and a shinigami?" It was a dark-haired man with spectacles and was currently glaring daggers at him. If it was even possible, Ichigo scowled at them even more.

"They couldn't possibly mean any harm." A brown-skinned man with black hair commented.

"Of course not. Why would we think of something like that?" 'Striped-hat-man' as Ichigo named him had spoken again. Ichigo was about to say something when Inoue had beaten him to it.

"They are very nice. They even helped Nell-chan yesterday. Please don't think of them that way. They only needed a place to stay for the night. The inn is a long walk away from here. And you know it is rather…not nice. I think it wouldn't be good for Kuchiki-san" 'Striped hat man' brightened with the statement and grinned wickedly.

"I see. Well if that is the case then, Thank you Kurosaki-kun! We are also glad we could be of assistance."

"Ah."

"You were saying something before Kurosaki-kun." Inoue inquired.

"Yes. She was asking for a scissor."

"It's on that drawer just beside you." She pointed at his side then scurried off to check the food she was cooking.

Irritated Ichigo went to look for the scissor on the drawer. The other three men unpacked the new supply of food on the table. He just realized that he doesn't have any idea what a scissor is. He turned to Inoue's direction. "Uhh, Inoue, What is a scissor anyway?" he asked really clueless. "Oh" was her only reply. The spectacled man chuckled, Ichigo growled. Inoue went towards him and began rummaging the drawer. "Here" she handed him something like a two short broad blade with pointed tips and two circles for a handle. He eyed it curiously, so this is what a scissor is. "Thanks" he grumbled then went towards the stairs. What is the problem of those three? They seem like they have something against priestesses and guardian spirits. Most importantly Rukia is going to kill him for taking too long.

"Oi Rukia, here's the-AHH!" Ichigo banged the shoji door of the bathroom. He was cut short when the petite girl opened it and hit him on the head.

"What took you so long!?!" she shouted.

"What the- that hurt you know!"

"You deserved it for making me wait!" They were practically yelling at each other.

"Well, I didn't know what a scissor was!"

"Oh." Rukia nonchalantly replied.

"Besides some people arrived. I think they help here too, I didn't get to ask."

"Baka! Why didn't you ask!?!" Rukia slapped his forehead.

"Heck!! Don't hit me! I didn't because they were so frustrating! It's like they hate us or something."

"What?" The petite girl was puzzled. How could anyone possibly hate a priestess and a guardian spirit? All members of the clergy were practically always treated like saints. She frowned and speculated the situation while Ichigo was staring at her incredulously.

"Maybe…it's because of that scowl of yours that they got offended."

"What was that supposed to mean!!"

"It means what it means."

"Shut up!"

"Uhm, Lady Kuchiki, Kurosaki-kun, breakfast is ready." Inoue suddenly showed up from downstairs cutting short their bickering.

"Oh. We'll follow shortly Inoue-san." Rukia replied charmingly.

"Ok." Inoue bowed before leaving.

"You really are pretentious around people aren't you?" Ichigo inquired or more like asked rhetorically.

"I'm not pretentious."

"Not just you, the other priestesses too. You all tend to become different whenever there are other people. But to me you're violent and snappy!" Rukia heaved a sigh.

"Well, yeah. I can only be myself when I'm with you and the others, and Renji. It's just that we have to show to the people that we are proper since we uphold the law of the Spirit King. We have to behave well and be responsible so that we can convince more people to believe in us and have faith don't you think." She became sullen for a moment.

"I just didn't understand." Ichigo scratched his head. Rukia scoffed.

"Well, it's because you're an idiot." She entered the bathroom immediately after retorting.

"I was trying to be nice!"

"Try again because it didn't look like you were!"

Ichigo began to grumble something incoherently. After several minutes of silence passed Rukia finally went out of the bathroom.

"How do I look?" she asked him. Ichigo blinked twice and raised a brow.

"Uhh…you look…you?"

"What!?!"

"Well you asked me how you look; of course you look like yourself just with short hair." He gestured his hands indicating the difference of the hair length.

"Ugh. What do I expect, you really are an idiot."

"I'm just saying the truth."

"Whatever. Let's go. We shouldn't let the food wait."

They walked down the stairs and headed towards the dining room which had a very long rectangle table. It was just a whisper, she didn't really know if he intended for her to hear it. But she knew she really did say something.

"I like your hair better now."

That's why she had a faint smile on her lips as they continued to walk along the hallway.

Baka – idiot or stupid

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I was really busy at school. Then this vacation I enjoyed playing Persona 4 and also started playing Granado Espada. I hope you like it, I really had a problem writing this. This was supposed to be longer, though I had to cut it to concentrate the on the near turning point of the plot.