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Author's notes: Ah, the time has come for another update. I've got not much to say other than thank you for your wonderful support and your reviews from both old and new readers. Thank you very much!Enjoy and see you soon!

Drunken Games
04.06.2006

The black-haired female watched in awe. There was something mildly amusing about now eighteen-year-old Kurosaki Ichigo balancing on one foot trying to make a four with his body. Yes, she thought with a snicker, there was definitely something amusing about this drunken boy. Very, very amusing.

Rukia felt slightly guilty... somewhat.

Well, not really.

She'd been the one to slip the alcohol in his beverage when he wasn't looking, alright, but he should have known better, right? He must have noticed the strange taste in his drink, surely, and since he still drank it, it meant he must have wanted it too. Why yes, this wasn't her fault. This was just a little, inoffensive prank. No one got hurt… yet.

They had held a small celebration for end of courses that day at the Kurosaki household, but the small party had ended some hours prior and their friends had filed out one by one. The two of them had been left to clean up and Rukia was glad for it. Ichigo would kill her if she let someone see him like this, even more if someone turned out to be his father or worse, his little sisters. With luck, they'd arrive from the movies some hours later, at least enough for her to put the baka to bed.

Her eyes grew large when she spotted Ichigo on his way to the main dishes table.

"Hey, idiot! Stop playing with those plastic grapes. No, do not put them inside your mouth! Do you want to choke yourself to death!" She yelled, hurrying off to him as soon as she caught sight of the way Ichigo was making eyes at the green grapes. They were those of the table decoration Yuzu had set on the kitchen table before leaving.

"You're a bitch…" he was saying while he grimaced because the grapes had been taken away from his hands. It was as though he'd developed some great fondness over the plastic fruit in a matter of minutes and now his expression told that he felt that he had been ripped away from his beloved. He scrunched up his nose at her and looked at her for a long while. "But I still like yooou"

"Yeah, yeah," she shrugged him, ignoring the blatant confession, "I like you too, whatever."

"NOT whatever!" he protested in a drunken drawl, swinging his arms around her waist. He looked at her with groggy eyes and sloppy smile, "This is serious, Kuchiki Rukia!"

She rolled her eyes. "Sure, Ichigo," she replied, patting his head. Rukia vaguely thought she shouldn't have had added so much alcohol in the juice, after all.

She was trying to get Ichigo in a straight posture when suddenly her world was shaken upside down. In a matter of seconds Ichigo had seized her closer by the waist and she ended up pressed tightly against his chest. Her eyes widened as she realized what was happening. Ichigo's hands flew to face and cupped her chin. She felt the warmth against her cheeks radiating from the tips of his fingers.

"I am serious," he repeated, his breath heavy with alcohol fanned her face.

He was leaning closer to her and his weight was coming down on her. Their gazes locked with each other's and Rukia felt herself gulp down the knot in her throat involuntarily. She could still feel his breath against her face and his chest rising and falling against her own as he inhaled and exhaled. His fingers dug into the skin of her waist, grazing against the soft fabric of her blue dress as his grip grew tighter and firmer. Her own hands also grasped his shirt for support, clenching the cloth in her fists. His tall figure towering over her made her feel even smaller than she actually was. Ichigo closed his eyes and leaned down some more, Rukia was tempted to close her eyes too before the inevitable came.

And then she narrowed her eyes at him and pushed him away.

He'd stumbled back if it weren't for his strong grip on her hand that helped him balance himself, though it nearly threw her off her feet as well.

"Ichigo," she hissed warningly, "I swear that if you even try to kiss me, I'll kick you ass, drunk or not."

"Huuuuuuuh?" Ichigo drawled and he seemed to be disappointed by her rejection. He let go of her and turned away, plopping to the floor. "Party-pooper!" he admonished heatedly, "It's not like you didn't want it too!"

At this, Rukia perked up. Her common sense told her not to get so easily ticked off by something as unimportant, especially if it came from an Ichigo who wasn't on his five senses. She told her common sense to shut up. "What?"

Ichigo grinned, seeming more conscious of what he truly was, and said, "I see it in the way you look at me. You want it too. You want it so much you can't help it!" His grin grew wider and wider. "You want to kiss me sooooo much, don't you? You want me to kiss you!"

Rukia flushed a bright pink. "Ichigo, shut up! You are just drunk!" she squeaked, brushing her hands nervously through her dark locks of her and looking away, "Gee, I didn't think you'd get like this."

"I am not drunk," he muttered for what seemed the nth time.

And then he passed out.

She glanced at him and the black-haired girl was back to sighing to herself. Ichigo had slumped down onto the floor and lay completely sprawled, snoring and all. Taking a deep breath, she lowered down to her knees and slung the boy's arm over her shoulders, trying to hoist him up. It was time to put him to bed and end this. The female shinigami hadn't actually thought he'd have such a low tolerance to alcohol and much less the consequences it would bring upon the both of them.

Rukia sighed in relief once more as she helped him up the stairs. That had been really close… he'd been really close. Her heart racing wildly like that one more time wouldn't be good for her health.