It's IchiRuki week! And I'm glad I could make it for this update. I really love it that my Tumblr is filled with fanart of Ichigo and Rukia (:

How have you been enjoying IchiRuki week? (:

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters. I do love all of them to bits though. Except, maybe that scary As Nodt thing.

To: My Ichigo-kun3

From: Senna

Sent: 8:02pm

Good morning darling! I had a dream about you last night :) We were dining at Le Chateau and your duck confit came alive into a real duck! It was hilarious! :) I miss you. Hope you had a great day!

-ooo-

She was looking forward to that ramen meal. She really was. But she couldn't say no to this strong temptation as she walked past it. It drew her attention like protons to electrons. She was supposed to be sitting at the counter right now with a bowl of hot steaming ramen before her. But no.

What was she thinking.

It wasn't her first time here. In fact, she indulged in the guilty pleasure of coming in here once every two weeks. Not too little to get withdrawal symptoms, but not too much that she would descend into doing something she'll regret for the rest of her life. But now that she finally has a little extra cash, she simply couldn't resist the urge.

The burning compulsion to purchase...

Her very first Chappy merchandise.

With a slight blush in her cheeks, Rukia stared hard at the shelf of white bunnies before her. It was daylight robbery for these things to be so expensive. A notebook for more than ¥2000. You've got to be kidding me. Within the next few minutes, she went from slowly admiring every single product to frantically searching high and low for something she would consider affordable.

It was a good 30 minutes before she decided on a small trinket. Priced at ¥700, it was still the most stupidest purchase she ever made. But she reasoned with herself that it was a once-in-a-lifetime investment; furthermore, it was a limited edition product from the tele-movie "Chappy's Sea Adventure".

It was worth it.

-ooo-

"Doesn't have a cellph- what day and age is this" mumbled Ichigo as he drove down the streets looking for his "fiancee's" apartment block. After almost an hour of searching, Shuuhei had resorted to contacting her school in order to find out where she lived. Interestingly though, it was also somehow made known to the pair that she had entered the university on scholarship. For someone supposedly that smart, he found it hard to believe that she wasn't caught up in technology.

He weaved through the city center before arriving at what seemed like an abandoned part of Karakura that he didn't even know existed. He slowed down his vehicle just as the lady in the GPS system informed him that he was one kilometer away from his destination.

Outdated flyers, pages of newspapers from months ago and empty beer bottles littered the place. Ichigo scowled. How can a frail-looking girl like her live in such a place. Clutching on to the piece of paper, which contained her address written in Shuuhei's neat, almost typographic, handwriting, he walked cautiously towards a five-stories building that looked like it was left unkempt for years that the paint was severely weathered. Or, it could be that it was painted in a colour that had the description "Dirty Gray". Ichigo chose not to believe the latter.

-ooo-

Holding on triumphantly to her overpriced trinket, Rukia strolled into a supermarket a few blocks away from her house and went straight for the sales corner. Bright starburst signs containing various products and its offered price invaded her vision. Rukia often imagined that this was what heaven truly looked like. With rows and rows of neon-coloured signs and it's accompanying cheap deals.

She picked up a couple of vegetables, some canned food and a box of oolong tea. On her way to the cash register, she stopped to pick up a packet of instant ramen so that it would seem like she didn't actually betrayed her original plan.

Her brisk strides turned to slow steps when she started to notice that everyone clad in the supermarket's ugly green and yellow uniform were looking at her with a shit-eating grin. She immediately checked her hoodie for stains. How queer. The ebony-haired girl narrowed her eyes as she slowly and cautiously placed her items on an empty counter.

Before you could breathe, confetti exploded around her and loud corny celebratory tunes were played throughout the store. Her eyes widened at the sudden outburst.

What in the world is happening?

-ooo-

Rukia lived in the top storey of the apartment building. After a few buzzes that went unanswered, Ichigo let out an exasperated sigh. Where the hell was she? To add to his dismay, none of her neighbours knew her well enough to tell him what time she'd be back.

"Wow. She rarely had any visitors. There's one I remember. Actually... he kinda look like you a little." Her landlord, a burly man who wore sunglasses even though they were indoors, said. Ichigo eyed the man. So this was the guy she talked about. The... Stalin. "Well, I can't say I know much about her. She just comes and goes like a mouse. I barely notice her ... apart from her outstanding bills."

The man walked out of the apartment building dejectedly and stared up at the sky. Should he just leave and postpone the date?

-ooo-

So apparently, she was the supermarket's 50,000th visitor and she had just won herself one of these Beats headphones. She inspected the product in her hands while walking towards her apartment block. She didn't have any device to listen to anything from... so why would she need headphones? Perhaps she could sell it. But where?

"So you really know where Rukia is? Will you bring me to her?"

That voice sounded familiar.

"... y-yeahhh. But mah memory's a lil' dodgy. Would help if I gotten some ... for some dope or sum-fing."

That one... not so familiar. Looking up, she saw her fake fiancé digging into his wallet and handing over a wad of cash to a dubious-looking man clad in an over-sized blazer and tattered pants.

She rolled her eyes.

Snatching the notes before the man's scrawny fingers could reach them, she spoke, "If you had that much cash to spare, you could just donate it to the Rukia Charity Fund."

"R-rukia!"

She slapped the money back in Ichigo's hands and continued, "You do realize that the first time this man has ever heard of the name Rukia was from you right?" She turned to the conman and yelled, "PISS OFF!" Ichigo stared innocently as the man showed a crude hand sign before rearranging his coat and taking off.

"I can't believe you actually thought I was somehow associated with that man. What are you doing here anyway?" She was about to add how he even knows where she lived in the first place, but decided not to. Rich people have their ways, she guessed.

Snapping out of his stupor, Ichigo barked, "Where the hell have you been? Why don't you have any form of communication device on you? Is this a place to even live? We need to go." Without hesitation, he grabbed on to Rukia's arm and walked down the street towards his car. Her bulky plastic bags of groceries a clear hindrance as Rukia struggled to keep up with his pace.

"Where are we going?"

"My house. The family wants to have dinner with you."

"Whaaaaat."

"Yeah, they've been bugging me all week about you with questions like how were you, where have you been, what is your favourite food, which school did you go to, when can they see you again, why don't you have A FUCKING CELLPHONE."

The petite girl frowned. "I thought you would have told them the truth."

"Get in." He demanded as he took the plastic bags from Rukia's hands and placed them in the boot.

"I can't tell them the truth, are you crazy? The old man can't keep a secret even if his life depended on it. I can't trust him."

"Still, I wasn't really informed that I had to attend any family dinners. Posh events where all I have to do is keep my mouth shut, I'm good. But intimate events where I have to actually get to know you... I would not prefer."

"Look, Miss Rukia. As an EMPLOYEE, you don't really have a choice." Rukia scoffed at this. "Though your outfit is really an eyesore, we don't really have time to change now. And we have a few things to discuss."

Rukia instinctively looked down at her clothing. Her yellow hoodie was somewhat new and she just washed her shoes the day before. Paired with her skinny jeans, she didn't look THAT bad. Why is he so obsessed about her fashion choices anyway.

Was he gay?

It all made sense to her now. Why he had to keep his lover under wraps all along. Why his lover had gotten cold feet and abandoned him on the day of their supposed engagement. Rukia narrowed her eyes at Ichigo.

"Right, first things first." Ichigo spoke while keeping his eyes on the road, "They would probably be asking us how we met. And since you're still working at that cafe, we could have met there."

"We did meet there." Rukia stated nonchalantly while she looked around the car. The first time she was in his Porsche, she remembered that it was almost spotless, accompanied with a slight lemony-fresh smell. This time, the lemony smell was still there but she spotted a few shoujo mangas thrown haphazardly in the back seat. Smiling to herself, she thought that her previous hypothesis might not be too far from the truth after all.

"I've been doing some... research and I'm thinking maybe me saving you from falling or something which is why we began conversing."

Pulling her concentration back to the conversation, Rukia flipped her short black tresses and gibed, "Why do I have to be some clumsy person? How about you got dumped by your then-partner, and like a ray of light, I appeared in your life and gave you hope again."

"NO WAY!" Ichigo roared as he glared at his passenger for a split second, "I don't want to sound like a dweeb."

"At least mine was closer to the truth."

"I'm the one PAYING for this fake relationship."

Clutching on to her seatbelt as if holding on to her dear life, Rukia exclaimed in her signature dramatic high-pitched voice, "Ohhhh~ What am I to do? I'm so ditzy, I cannot function real life. Thank the heavens for blessing me with this man of great balance."

His scowl got deeper as he continued, "We mutually agreed to pursue a relationship together within six months of talking. And we've been dating for three years. I've been keeping you a secret all these time because you're still studying. By the way, have you memorized everything in the cue cards from the other time?"

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at "mutually agreed". Who uses that kind of language in a relationship? "Okay. And who has the time?"

"You had two weeks!"

They spent the rest of their journey arguing back and forth about where they had their first date, their first kiss, what their favourite dating activities were, etc. Ichigo preferred quiet places and concerts or plays, Rukia liked carnivals and arcades where she could win stuff. He had to teach her how to pronounce the names of some of his favourite restaurants where they would have had their "dates". She told him about a shop that sells ¥400 for a bowl of ramen in which he promptly declared that didn't really like ramen. He liked the idea of having picnics in the summer; she hated the heat because of her lack of air-conditioning at home. She enthused about ice-skating rinks that gave free admissions during winter festivals; he didn't know how to skate.

"If we ever took a compatibility test, our results would be negative 1395."

"Okay okay, do you have any other hobbies or something?" Rukia asked, as she leaned her head back onto the headrest, exhausted from their discussion.

"Well… There's a… uhh… I used to play soccer. In high school. But now that you mentioned it, I don't have much free time from work anyway to have any kind of hobby."

Knocking her fist on her palm – thonk! – she announced, "Well, that's one thing we have in common."

"That's not going to help with anything." Ichigo sighed agitatedly.

-ooo-

"DO YOU LIVE IN A CASTLE?!" Rukia almost screamed as they drove past the huge metal gates towards the Kurosakis' residence. A bricked pathway led the vehicle past two rows of well-tended bushes before ending at a roundabout with a grand water fountain in the middle. The house was a two-storey mansion with white walls and columns topped by grey tiled roofs. Rukia had lost count of how many windows there were. The place looked straight out of a movie. And marbled flooring, people. MARBLED FLOORING.

A tall man, who she suspected was the butler, greeted them as they stepped out of the car. Her eyes were instantly glued to how shiny and white everything there was and could barely keep her mouth close as she took in everything around her.

"Chad, at your service." The man spoke before giving a curt bow and stretching his hand towards her.

Rukia stared at his huge tanned hands for a second before taking it and giving it a good shake. "Nice to meet you, I'm Rukia!" Her movements slowed down when his face turned from stoic to absolutely mortified.

Okay what did she do wrong this time?

He quickly took his hand back and explained, "Y-your coat or bag. I meant to take your coat or your bag, miss."

The petite woman was flushed red. Oh. Oh.

"It's okay, Chad. We're good here." Ichigo said from behind as he pulled Rukia by her hood. In a low voice he spoke, "So, I know you've met my dad but this is him in his natural habitat. So he tends to be a little... how should I put it... psychotic? Anyway, just be like how you were at the engagement party. Don't speak or react too much. Don't be nervous. He can sense these kind of things."

"If anything, whatever you just said had increased my nervousness by ten-folds. Thank you very much-"

She was rudely interrupted by the sounds of things falling and crashing down from within the house. She frowned. What's going on?

"Oh yeah, and when I say duck, duck."

"Huh?"

"DUCK!"

Of course, she didn't.

And she find herself face flat on the shiny marble she was admiring from before with a huge weight above her. Her eyes grew wide in horror. What's happening? What has she gotten herself into? She felt the thing above her squeezing her sides, she was losing her consciousness…

She should have known. She should have known that there would never ever be a deal this good.

This is it. This is the end.

"YOU'RE SUFFOCATING HER GOAT-FACE!" Ichigo yelled as he kicked his father to the driveway.

"IIIIIIICHIGOOOOO~! Daddy was just trying to give a warm greeting to his third daughterrrrrrrr!"

Coughing air back into her lungs, Rukia felt herself being hoisted up to her feet. "She's not your third daughter!" She heard her saviour holler as he guided her into the house. Psychotic was truly an understatement.

-ooo-

With one trembling hand, Rukia slowly reached her chopsticks out towards the Norwegian Cod baked in Shoyu Sauce. Before she could reach its tantalizing white flesh-

"Sooooo... how did you guys meeeet~~!" Yuzu questioned eagerly.

Damn. They were all seated around the biggest dining table that Rukia has ever seen with a huge spread of Yuzu's homecooked dishes. For the past hour or so, the Kurosakis, minus Ichigo, had whisked her from room to room as they gave her a brief tour of the house. But with such a big house, Rukia was starving by the time they reached the dining room.

"We met at Mitty's, where Rukia also works at." Ichigo explained calmly. Rukia placed her chopsticks by her bowl of rice and looked longingly at the cod.

"Oh! This is so cute! But howww~" Yuzu and Isshin gushed, while Karin couldn't be bothered.

"I was a regular customer. One day, she fell and I helped her up. That's how we started talking." Ichigo replied without missing a beat. Rukia gulped hoping they would buy their story albeit Ichigo sounding so... mechanical.

"Oh... So what did you guys talked about at first?"

"Uhh.. You know. Stuff."

"Right..."

The whole visit has been the definition of awkward. During the tour, the girls had bombarded her with questions like where she studied, what she liked to do in her free time or what sports does she play, etc. She took a quick glance at where Ichigo was supposed to be for the go ahead to speak, only to realise he wasn't there. That bastard had left her totally defenseless. Giving a slight giggle, she tried to reveal as little as possible which really meant one-word answers.

She had continue to keep quiet for most of the dinner, lest she say something wrong and get her pay deducted or something. Which is why, right now, it seemed that the thick veil of awkwardness also affected the dinner. It really didn't help that the black-haired younger sister was currently giving her a disapproving look.

-ooo-

Shutting the door, Ichigo let out a sigh of relief. It was becoming almost unbearable in that environment of cold stares and deafening silence. But, alas, his peace was never meant to last.

"YOU! During the tour, WHERE WERE YOU. You totally abandoned me back there! I didn't know how to react to your sisters!" He turned to face the girl with her hair in disarray from when he practically grabbed her out of the dining room.

"ME?! You're the one acting like you're on mute for the whole dinner!"

Jabbing her slender index finger on his chest, she retaliated. "Don't come blaming me! I was sneaking glances at you for permission to speak but you continued to stare straight ahead at God knows what!"

"I was trying to remember my lines!"

"Some lines!" Rukia slumped onto a cushioned-stool. "Now, the whole visit is a disaster."

Dropping his shoulders, he replied, "You think I didn't notice? That weird atmosphere? Even goat-face was quiet. And he is like the King of Obliviousness."

Hiding her face in her hands, Rukia stammered, "T-they probably think I'm the most unfriendliest person in the planet. Y-you're not going to deduct my pay, right?"

Scratching the back of his head, Ichigo sighed, "Nah. I won't. You tried. And I don't really need them to like you. It won't change the fact that you're my fiancée." He, then, straightened up and stretched his right hand towards Rukia. "Well, come on, let's get this over and done with and just pray they believe us. They're probably waiting for us in the TV room."

She was really tempted to just take his hand and act as if none of this mattered. But she couldn't ignore that nagging feeling in her mind. "No. No no no no."

"No?"

"Ichigo. Would you have liked a person like me?"

Ichigo jumped and almost screamed in shock. "W-what?!"

Rolling her eyes, she continued, "Stop being a child. I meant your family knows you, so if it isn't likely that you would fall for someone as hostile as I was back there, then how are we going to convince them."

"Well, you've got a point. But really, it doesn't matter. I chose you. So they should just accept it..." He trailed off at the end of the sentence as an image of Senna flashed in his mind. The one he had originally chosen.

"I've got an idea!"

-ooo-

"GIFTS." Rukia yelled as she stormed through the door and dumped a plastic bag of stuff on the coffee table. Everyone else in the room just stared at her in shock.

She had long passed her limit of patience having spent a great amount of time running around the mansion trying to find Ichigo's car and where the TV room was while trying to avoid knocking over any of their furniture. She literally did not have enough years in her lifespan to pay for any of these things.

To hell with rich people and their unnecessarily huge houses and expensive shit.

"Gifts?" Isshin broke the silence.

Catching her breath, Rukia nervously answered, "Yes. I brought. Offerings. For you. People. Folks. Family."

Wide eyes were still glued to the frazzled girl as Ichigo walked cautiously towards her. She was in a messier state than when she first sprinted out of the room they were in minutes ago. "Rukia, what's wrong? What are these?" He said in a concerned tone.

"Gifts!"

Rukia took out a box of tea from the bag, stood in front of Isshin, gave a little bow and presented it to him. Squeezing her eyes shut, she hoped and prayed to every deity in the world that he doesn't recognize that this is an inferior brand of tea that was on sale at J-mart. She had removed the price tag as well as the "OFFER PRICE" tag prior, but still.

The next sound she heard, however, caught her totally off-guard.

Isshin let out a hearty laugh as he took the box from Rukia. "Oolong~~! What a thoughtful child you are! Hahahaha!" He said as he patted her head. Rukia felt a small smile crept up to her face.

Based on the information she had on the twins given by Ichigo, she proceeded to pass the headphones she had won to Karin and her beloved Chappy trinket to Yuzu. The latter with much resistance on her part. It was a miracle that the young teen did not notice the tension in Rukia's grip and the veins threatening to burst out of her wrists.

She, then, shakily explained that she had been jittery the whole visit as it was the first time meeting Ichigo's family and that she didn't meant to be rude or anything.

The gifts worked as it spawned a whole lot of new conversations; Isshin asking Rukia if she enjoyed tea, Karin asking her what music she was into, and Yuzu sharing her love for the white bunny. Once again, she gave a nervous side-glance at Ichigo for permission.

This time, Ichigo gave her a smile and a small nod.

-ooo-

"I'm impressed." Ichigo stated as he pulled out of the driveway after saying their goodbyes. "And curious too. Did you buy those gifts beforehand or something?"

In a ghost-like tone, Rukia groaned, "Nooo..." She covered her face as she leaned her head down on the dashboard in front of her. "I spent a whole fortune on that trinket to treat myself. And those headphones. It was the first time ever that I won anything. At all. And now, they're just... gone."

He chuckled. "Thank you, Rukia."

"Bah."

To: Senna

From: Ichigo

Sent: 8:46pm

Hey. Lol, that was a cute dream. I miss you too, Senna. Really wished you were here with me now.

"I'm sure they would have loved you too."

As promised, this chapter is longer than my previous ones! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.

I will be going on a holiday soon! So I would like to apologise beforehand as my next update might be a little late as well.

Reviews are much loved and appreciated! :DD

Replies (Note: There a few "Guest"s this time, so I'm replying by chronological order)

Guest2: I'm glad you found it funny! :D I try. xD Ah. Yes. I didn't enjoy watching Senna near Ichigo in that movie too. Ew. But alas, I have added her in my story. Hahha. Thanks for the review (:

Guest: I do too! I still can't believe she's freaking 150 in the manga. Hahaha and yes, I try to stay true to Ichigo's oblivious personality (: Thanks for the review!

Guest: I'm really glad to hear you loved the story! And yes! I actually added that part upon realising that I've never really mentioned Ichigo's name in front of Rukia. Hahhaa.

Guest: Yes, she doesn't o_o! I guess that's the OOC-warning part for this story. That Rukia is really poor. Hahaha. Awww, that's a really sweet thing to say. Thank you so much for supporting!

Guest: Hahahah, I hope this chapter lived up to what you meant by drama. I do have a few drama moments I'm thinking of actually. But we'll take the time to get to that. Thank you so much for reviewing! -and my lips are sealed (:

Fer: Hahah yes! I would imagine she can't too in the real Bleach universe. I don't know why. Hhaha. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. You take care too! Thanks for the review!

T: Thank you so much for the review! I'm overjoyed that you loved the story! Hope you enjoy this chapter too!