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7. Teamwork
If there was one thing that irked Ichigo about laying in bed while sick or injured was that his insane father still insisted on booming in every morning and attacking him like a mad gorilla.
"GOOD MORNING, ICHIGO MY SON," he would bellow in mid-leap, fist ready, and then he would be promptly smacked straight out the window to bounce off the roof and crash to the ground. The faint cry would float up from below: "YOU HAVE NERVES OF STEEL, MY SON. YOU HAVE LEARNED WELL!"
And Ichigo would curse him for ripping open another healing cut.
Rukia saw this happen nearly every morning. She didn't particularly have a grudge against Ichigo's father - she just felt it a little unjust that a injured person had to go through it so often. If she was in Ichigo's place, she would feel horrible and very irritated. She tried to imagine herself injured in bed, and Nii-sama (?!) leaping into her room to pack her a punch with a yell.
After fighting back a burst of laughter, she quickly decided that analogy to be impossible and not very helpful, because:
a) Nii-sama would not yell.
b) Nii-sama would never punch her.
c) Nii-sama would definitely, definitely, definitely not leap uninvited into her room.
Now that she thought about it, Ichigo would be more likely to jump in at her...
But no. He wouldn't. Not when she was injured.
So in truth, she really had no idea how it felt to be attacked every morning like Ichigo was.
She decided it must be painful.
An idea popped into her mind, quite abruptly and shockingly as some ideas do, and she immediately declared her idea to Ichigo.
"I will guard your door every morning, and impede your father's intents," she proclaimed.
He raised an eyebrow at this. "Guard my door? You? Impede that goat?" A smile pulled at his lips.
"Do not laugh, Ichigo! I am serious!"
"But - really, you don't have to do anything. I'm used to it all."
"But you are injured," she pointed out.
"Well, whatever."
And despite his protests, she plopped herself outside his door every morning, when the sun was still down and the day still young, and kept diligent watch over injured Ichigo.
He always watched over her, after all.
And so, on the first morning, as soon as the sun rose in the sky, Isshin banged about and loudly made his way upstairs.
Oh, here he comes, thought Rukia, and she slipped inside Ichigo's room to shake him awake gently and warn him. Sleepily he struggled out of bed, and stood in a nook of his room, readying himself.
Rukia stepped outside again, and with a smile, paused at the top of the stairs to address Isshin. "Good morning, sir."
"Why, good morning, Rukia-chan," replied Isshin. "If you could please move to the side - I need to wake my sleepy-head-son Ichigo."
"Oh, sir, you really shouldn't. He needs his rest, being injured."
"Now, Rukia-chan, you mustn't underestimate the ability of rough mornings to power up a man for the day."
Okay, Ichigo. You better be ready now. "Well... If you're sure, then go ahead, sir." With her fake smile still plastered on her face, she stepped aside, and stood to watch the spectacle unfold.
With a marvelous yell, the father of Ichigo flung himself through the door and rocketed towards the bed. He immediately found the bed empty - and a well-aimed kick propelled him through the window yet again.
Behind his quickly descending form, Ichigo and Rukia gave each other a high-five.
Their teamwork was always something remarkable, indeed.
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