Author's Note: I do not own Bleach or its characters. This is AU.
Slender and Pale
Rukia was exhausted. This whole ordeal was beginning to take a toll on her. She doubted she would still be fighting this if it weren't for Ichigo. Between strategy sessions with Ichigo and his friends on what to next and her regular school work things were stressful enough. But now the fact of her pending expulsion was public knowledge. A lot of people were supportive, but some weren't, and going any place other than the apartment no longer held much appeal. Plus, she had been forced to tell Byakuya about all this. That alone had been enough to put her stomach in knots and make her depressed.
Byakuya had taken the new moderately well. He hadn't scolded her or told her she was a disgrace to the family. Of course, he hadn't been that supportive either. Truthfully, Rukia couldn't tell what he had been thinking. It was a little like talking to a stone. It hadn't exactly been encouraging. Ichigo's friends on the other hand had been amazingly supportive. Rukia hadn't really realized how much they considered her one of them until this had started.
Ishida, Orihime, and Chad had thrown themselves into her defense with a ferocity that had surprised Rukia. They had been more supportive of her than many of her other friends, including some of her oldest friends. Oh, Rukia knew that Renji was worried about getting caught up in this and losing his scholarships in retribution, but he could at least act like he was convinced of her innocence. And he didn't have to avoid her all the time. Still, even with all the support she had, there were times when Rukia didn't think they were getting anywhere.
And she worried about what might happen to her friends who were sticking their necks out for her. Rukia didn't want to get them expelled too. That was a worst case scenario, but it could happen. And given her luck lately, Rukia was a little afraid that it would. She didn't want that to happen to her friends. She had tentatively pointed out that scenario to Ichigo who had laughed and told her that if he got expelled he'd apply to Arrancar University because they would probably accept him just to piss Seireitei University off. It didn't make her feel any better about it though.
"Hey," Ichigo poked her shoulder. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for class?"
Rukia sighed. "What's the point? It's not going to make any difference."
Ichigo frowned at her. "You're just going give up like that?"
She snuggled deeper into the couch. "We can't win this. No one is getting anywhere, and it seems like most people believe that I really plagiarized. I refuse to drag everyone through the mud for my own benefit. They deserve better than that. No one besides me should get hurt by this."
His frown deepened, and Ichigo hauled her up to a sitting position, so they were eye to eye.
"You're not the only one who gets hurt if you get expelled. Did you ever think of that? For one, if it could happen you, it could happen to another. For another, it would mean we failed you. We care about what happens to you. You've helped us all out one time or another. We want to be able to help you." Ichigo was almost scary in his intensity. "If you give up, they win. We're not going to--"
To her complete surprise, Ichigo cut himself off, leaned forward, and kissed her right on the mouth. Rukia blinked in shock then kissed him back. It only lasted a moment or two. Ichigo pulled back, and they just looked at each other. Where had that come from?
