A/N: I've been told that the cultural notes stuff at the end is really helpful and nice to have, so I'll keep them up! Thanks all you reviewers! You're comments have really spurred me to update and make the story interesting. Enjoy!

A Late Start

Ichigo listened to the silence of the sun rising as the world began its groggy morning routine. He glanced at his phone again, noting that it was almost nine and stretched like a pet in the sun's rays as they poured over his bed. He pulled himself out of bed and slid into his desk chair. Unlatching his laptop, he began to hit the return button with such impatience it would seem he was an incessant alarm clock, drilling the key into the laptop's drowsy monitor. The screen flared to life begrudgingly and Ichigo opened a new window in his browser.

Rukia could hear the sounds of Ichigo's keyboard clicking away from beyond her door. She didn't want to wake up and look at him, fearing that he'd look back and see that she had been awake to feel his touch during the night.

She fluffed her pillow and dropped her head back down with a grimace. Her body was starting to cramp from curling herself up in such a small space. It was going to be impossible to stay "sleeping" for much longer.

Luckily, she didn't have to wait. A soft rap at the closet door startled her and she sat up. There was a small moment where she was afraid that it was one of Ichigo's sisters suddenly aware that a woman lived in their brother's closet. Once she realized that the clacking of his keyboard had ceased, she relaxed and pushed the door open.

"Morning," she mumbled, faking a bleary greeting. Ichigo didn't say anything, but stared down at her. She blinked a few times, looked down at her chest and looked back up at him with a curious expression.

"What are you wearing?" he asked, pointing at her slip. She looked down and grinned with self-satisfaction. For a split-second before he had said anything, she thought he may have been disgusted, but his tone of voice proved otherwise. She was starting to really believe that Megumi had been right about men in this world.

"It's a night gown! Megumi-san said it was more comfortable to sleep in than stuff like Yuzu's pajamas. She should probably invest in something like this," Rukia said poking at her sheer garb. Ichigo nearly fell in shock.

"NO SHE SHOULDN'T!" he screamed, suddenly a very protective older brother. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, his face beet red.

"Well it's true! It's smooth and comfy!" Rukia replied, her arms crossed. Ichigo scowled in an attempt to hide his grin. There was that pout he had been thinking about during the ni–

"In any case, get up. We're leaving," he snorted, turning away. He sat back down grumbling to himself and stared blankly at his printer for several dumb moments. Shaking his head, he grabbed the things he had printed out and folded them into his wallet. As he turned to yell at Rukia to hurry up he quickly clamped his mouth shut and turned back to his laptop, typing nonsense frantically. Rukia's slip barely covered her thighs. He had turned to see her pushing her bangs behind her ears and bending to look into her drawer. Though the intricate lace design that had covered her breasts was thick enough not to need something underneath, the rest of the garment was a soft, translucent blue material. He hoped to Byakuya that only his hormones had imagined seeing a skimpy pair of panties beneath the see-through fabric.

As he hurriedly looked up ah…chia pets…right, chia pets online he could hear her turn the knob to his door and jumped up suddenly hysterical.

"NO!" he yelled, holding his hand out in a yielding fashion. Rukia looked back at him with a confused, innocent look and he felt that though his body was frozen in place, ablush rushed like a thermometer in boiling water over his face and ears. They stood there for a moment while he regained his composure and slowly stood back up.

"You can't go out in the house. My family's home," he snorted, putting his most arrogant grimace forth. Rukia refused to turn around and face him, probably because of her new clothes, Ichigo thought. This left her rather exposed and her roommate closed his eyes in an attempt to keep himself intact. If Rukia thought he was slobbering over her figure, she'd surely rip off a limb or two…

"Um…Then get out?" she said after a moment, rather haughtily. Ichigo was ripped from his thoughts as his eyes strayed over her bare legs. At school he a lot of girls wore their skirts pretty short, but there was something about the wa– His eye twitched and his fists became white. Rukia stood between Ichigo and freedom from his hormones.

"Move already!" he said, stomping towards the entrance to his room. She hopped away from the door and he rushed past her, slamming it shut behind him. Yuzu and Karin said good morning as he sat down for some rice and miso soup, but were very careful to keep away from their brother that morning. He seemed a little distracted…

(A/N: This is where the chapter originally ended, but I hate writing chapters less than at least one thousand words, so it continues where the next chapter would start!)

Ichigo knocked quietly at his door, gritting his teeth. Of course he'd be kicked out of his own room for an hour. They didn't have that much time to screw around if they were going to go where he had planned. As the urge to break the door down pulled at his limbs, the sound of Yuzu's cheerful humming could be heard down the hallway. She would hear if he started pounding at his own door screaming threats…Then again, he could always pick the lock…

The lock on the door clicked and Ichigo rushed inside and shut the door behind him. He would have stopped to gawk and babble an argument over her scandalous outfit, but instead shooed her toward the window.

"What's the big idea, baka?!" she yelled, pushing back against him. He stopped and panted a bit.

"I told you, we're leaving."

"To where?"

"Somewhere, now meet me outside, damnit!" Ichigo shoved Rukia out of the window and she yelped with surprise. By the time she had twisted and landed on her feet, he was already waving goodbye to his family and running out the door. As he sped past her, he grabbed her hand and dragged her behind him.

"Ichigo! What the –"

"Shut up! We're going to miss the train if we don't hurry!" he yelled back at her, sprinting down the road. She yanked her hand from his and came up beside him, breathing heavily. Rukia nearly ran into his broad chest as he turned a sharp corner and ran up the steps to the train station. He flashed their e-tickets as they hopped over the turnstile and rushed up the terminal stairs. Ichigo grabbed Rukia's hand again as she lagged behind and pushed her into the train, barely making it in after her.

"Damnit," he breathed, tugging at his jacket. It had gotten shut in the doors as the train began rolling. He pulled it free and slumped down into a cushioned seat speckled with little stick figures of pregnant women and old men with canes. He eyed the somewhat worn-out upholstery and caught an elderly woman looking at him condescendingly over her magazine. With a heavy sigh, he pushed himself off the seat and crossed to a set of regular seats, pulling Rukia along behind him. He shoved her towards the seat across from him and she fell into the cushions with a glare.

"Why did we have to make this train? Couldn't we have gotten the next one?"

"The next one to Hiroshima doesn't come for another two and a half hours. We wouldn't have gotten there for at least four hours and that's just not enough time," he said, still breathing rather heavily. A trickle of sweat fell down Rukia's brow and she wiped it away with a disgruntled sniff. She rubbed her wrist absently and looked out the window at the dark interior of a tunnel.

"My bad about your wrist," he mumbled. She looked back at him and immediately dropped her hand from where he had gripped her. He grinned. Typical Rukia. No weaknesses, right? Cheh.

"So where are we going anyway?"

"You'll see when we get there."

They were silent for a long while, watching the rice paddies and run-down, cluttered villages get left behind as they sped past. Ichigo kept his gaze on the outside world, but he was really looking back in. Rukia's reflection became one of awe as the shinkansen (bullet train) flew faster and faster along its tracks, topping at speeds of about two hundred fifty kilometers an hour. Though it was one of the smaller rail lines, it was still impressive for the shinigami.

Rukia began to nod off and fall deeper into her seat. Ichigo watched her jaw bob with drowsiness and as she slid farther, so did her small white skirt. Ichigo was about to yell at her about being too much of a show when he noticed she had finally dozed off. With a small, half-hearted swear he pulled off his stylishly retro jacket and laid it over her lap and arms. The air conditioning in those things could be frosty to say the least…

Why would Rukia be wearing something like that anyway? White gogo boots? Ichigo could understand wanting to fit in, but it seemed like "Megumi-san" had talked her into buying clothes suited for clubbing rather than casual wear. It probably didn't help her case that he refused to believe that her outfit matched his jacket perfectly…

"Rukia, wake up," he said, tapping her arm. Her eyes fluttered open and she took a deep breath, working out the kinks in her neck. She was still sore and cringed when she tilted her head in an attempt to stretch.

"Are we there?" she slurred. A red mark…graced…her temple where she had let her head fall to the glass and Ichigo smirked once he noticed it, planning to embarrass her with it later.

"Aa. C'mon. The train's slowing down," he said, standing. Rukia followed after him, stumbling a bit as the train turned into a bend in the track. She grabbed onto the back of Ichigo's shirt to regain her balance and they both watched his jacket fall to the ground.

"Oops," Rukia said, stretching her hand towards it. Ichigo made a rather peculiar noise and held out his hands.

"No no no no! I got it!" he said, bending quickly and scooping the jacket up. A man sitting behind them let a grin slip off his face and scowled, averting his eyes to the train station outside his window.

"Next stop: Hiroshima City. Please exit through the left doors. Hiroshima City. Please exit through the left doors," a fakely cheery woman chirped quietly over the speakers. Her voice was followed by a few short "bings" and the two shinigami exited once the doors opened.

Ichigo slung his jacket over one shoulder and beckoned to Rukia. The number of people was almost ferocious, roaring with the sound of clunking heels, banging briefcases, and venders calling over customers. Ichigo stared at all the heads of black hair and had a spine-shuddering vision of Rukia seeing some child's rabbit-covered backpack and running off, never to be seen again. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the stairs despite her protests. After they cleared the busiest part of the terminal, she plastered herself to a vending machine and pointed at a juice box with a cartoon bunny on the front. "Qoo" it read.

Ichigo withdrew the change from her shopping trip (which he was glad to have put in his jeans before they'd left) and slipped it into the coin receiver without a word. She listened intently as the juice crashed to the bottom of the machine and snatched it, holding it up to Ichigo.

"You know how to do that, Rukia," he said, looking at the crowds around them.

"Fine," she blurted and ripped the straw from the side of the large juice box. She stared at the straw and tilted her head, trying to figure out where the pointy part was…

"Baka," Ichigo breathed, pulling the juice box from her hand. He pulled the bottom of the straw out from the top of its tube and stuck it into the tinfoil hole. Rukia blinked.

"The straw wouldn't fit on the side of the box if they didn't compact it," he said flatly, walking away. Rukia ran after him and cursed quietly in his direction. They walked in silence out of the train station and Ichigo guided the small shinigami to a trolley station.

"Miyajima? What's Miyajima?" she asked, looking at the destination of the streetcar. Ichigo showed the driver another set of internet tickets and pushed Rukia into the car.

"You'll see. Now just get in there and damnit, Rukia, put on my jacket."

A/N: Yey! If you want to know what's in store for them, look up a google image search for "Miyajima." It's one of my favorite areas in Japan. This is where it starts getting interesting, folks! Wait for my next updates tomorrow and maybe you'll get a little taste of what you've all been waiting for (not the dress, harhar).

Cultural Notes! (You knew it was coming, don't lie.)

Shinkansen literally means "New Track Vehicle" put in really simple terms. There are different lengths and speeds for different lines. Nozomi and Sanyo are probably the most famous rail lines. The Sanyo has the longest track, reaching from Tokyo to Hakata. Usually when you ride between Tokyo and anywhere south of the city, you'll ride the Sanyo line if you're traveling by shinkansen.

Those weird stick figures? What's up with that, right?! On all trains in Japan (except high class shinkansen) there's an area reserved for people with handicaps: pregnant women, people with disabilities or crutches and the elderly. The upholstery is an ugly brown and the figures are red, yellow, blue and green. And yes, old women really do look at you funny if you're young and sit in that area.

Qoo is a fruity kind of drink in Japan. I'm pretty sure they sell it in Suncoast here in America if there's one near you. In any case, there's almost always either a small retro bear on the front of the can or a bunny. You should also try Haichuu! Yummmmm…