Sorry this is so late into the night! I was reading a Rangiku and Gin fanfic and lost track of time... But I still made my deadline! Hope everyone enjoys!
Oh, and we're getting close to... 400 reviews!? 0.0 Holly chilly burrito barf... Um, well, as usual:
The 400th reviewer gets ONE of the following-
1. A one-shot request that I will write out for them. Or,
2. If he/she has a story published, I will take a look at it and review, plus give a shout-out to that story. Or,
3. dedicate a chapter to them + write them a small prose or poem. It can be for anything, fanfiction, original work, whatever. Up to them.
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Rukia wasn't exactly happy with Ichigo. He was giving off his thick, over-protective big brother like aura. He thought of Orihime as a sister and loved her very much, she got that. But he didn't have to be so wound up about everything! She knew that Orihime would be just fine and that the girl was probably having a fine time wherever she was. Orihime was a girl who, when in love, didn't mind where she was or what she was doing all that much, she was happy with little things.
But of course, every time the quiet got to be a little too stretched out, he would talk. And it seemed every time he talked, he just had to ask the same question.
"Are you sure you know where we're going, Rukia?"
Shaking with anger, she stiffly turned, and then forced forward her nice, brimming schoolgirl smile. "Are you saying you doubt me, Ichigo?"
He knew the act- and he knew to fear it. A single bead of sweat slipped down his temple, his hands going up in a gesture of peace. "Uh, what would make you say that?"
"You've asked me several times now!" She cheerily informed him.
"Oh. I have?"
Her smile cracked. He didn't even know?! She put on her nice smile again, though, at full blast. "Ichigo?"
"Y-yes?"
"You," she said, her smile still there. Suddenly, the expression was gone, and the raging Rukia was back, leaping into the air to kick him in the face. "Are a fool!"
His butt hit the sand, his hand going up to hold the red sandal printed on his face. "What the hell, Rukia?!"
"Oh, I'm sorry!" She sarcastically drawled. "Do you want me to kiss it better?"
He blinked, once, and then smirked. He blushed, along with the smirk, but it didn't take away from his rebuke. "Yeah, that sounds nice. Why don't you?"
She lit up in red, suddenly not able to reply. "Uh…"
She was saved having to further embarrass herself (or possibly redeem herself) they were both hit with a sudden wave of spiritual pressure. Rukia and Ichigo both looked up in surprise, eyes wide, as Tia Halibel came racing out across the desert in a fierce wave of sonido.
Ichigo had time to stand and hold his sword out, his counterpart whipping out her own zanpakto and taking up a stance.
The espada woman stopped in front of the two, looking slightly agitated. "You are becoming meddlesome, Ichigo Kurosaki." Were the first words out of her mouth.
Rukia decided she liked the woman.
Ichigo just stood there, gaping like a fish, on the brink of spluttering. "Wh… What…. Huh?"
"Come with me. I will show you to the palace." She turned.
Ichigo, having recovered himself, spoke. "Wait, hold on!"
Tia stopped, icily glancing over her shoulder. "What is it?"
"We're not just going to follow you! What if it's a trap, or-"
Rukia walked in front of him, grabbing his hand and tugging him along behind her as she went. "You worry too much, Ichigo." She said with a smirk. "The war's over. Come on."
Grumbling, he followed her as she followed Halibel, trying to convince himself that he was the one in control of their relationship, even though deep down he knew that was just about the biggest lie he had ever told himself.
Tia actually knew the quick way to the palace, as she was not fooled by any distance illusions the gigantic monument put out. She easily had them there in just an hour of using flash step- entering through the great doors in the front and then guiding them to the meeting hall.
When they stopped, Ichigo's first question was "Where's Inoue?"
Rukia nodded beside him, still clutching his hand though nether realized it. "We would really like to see her if that is at all possible, Halibel-chan."
The woman nodded once. "Yes, I will bring you to her." She turned, about to take a step, and then stopped. Her agitated expression from earlier re-appeared suddenly, and she scowled at the ground. "It appears I am the only one whose evening was disturbed." She muttered to herself.
"Huh?"
She turned back to the shinigami duo, and then frowned lightly. "You will have to wait until morning, she is asleep."
"Well wake her up!" Ichigo ground out. "We came her to bring her back and we don't have time for all this!"
Rukia scowled at her boyfriend- how she loathed the term- and crushed his hand in her grip, making him wince. "She's sleeping you idiot! We can't just barge in and wake her up!"
"Oh yeah?" He grinned at her through the pain of his hand being crushed. "Just watch me." He added, putting his own force into the hand that was being crushed in her own, trying to match her grip.
"You will stay here tonight, or the two of you may retire to a room. The residency compound is still in its construction stage, but I have a room in my own tower that is currently vacant." She made sure not to mention that the room had just been moved out of the other day by her on of her fracìon, Sun Sun, whom hadn't been lying about purple being very attractive and thus had gotten herself a boyfriend.
At the same time, the two answered. One with a very firm, "Hell no!" and the other with her warm, "That would be great!"
Halibel was a bit of a woman-ist. She would take the word of a female over a male most of the time when it came to trivial matters as such, so she turned on her heal and started to walk that way.
Relucantly, Ichigo followed, Rukia leading him along with a vice-like grip on his hand.
When they got to the room, Halibel had bid them a good night, and had gone back up to her own room. As soon as the door opened, she found Stark leaning there, looking slightly bored. She blinked in surprise, eyes going wide when he pulled her into the room and shut the doors.
"Now… where were we?"
Maybe I do get to relax. Halibel thought to herself. Even if it is only every once and a while.
Meanwhile, in their own room, Rukia and Ichigo had broken apart from their death-grip handhold.
"What. The hell. Is this?" Ichigo ground out, just as soon as the doors were closed.
The room was like a bubble, the whole area a sphere, both floor and walls bending into the shape. There were no windows, rather small wholes as big as one's finger fit with glass all along one wall. There wasn't any furniture but a vanity table in the wall, arching with the rest of the room, and a bed. The bed was a large circle raised up out of the floor, the only thing breaking out of the sphere in the room. The sheets were black, the rest of the room white marble.
"It's a room." Rukia meant to sound sarcastic, but in the end it came out sounding like a question more than anything. She herself wasn't quiet sure.
Ichigo just tilted his head to the side. His whole face confused. "This… I don't even know… what?"
Rukia just nodded.
"Uh…"
Rukia broke from her stupor when a yawn popped from her mouth, filling her mouth with warm air as her drowsiness finally caught up to her. "Well. We might as well get some sleep. Orihime will still be here in the morning." With that, she merrily hopped over to the bed, sliding under the covers and curling up in the nest-like resting place.
"Yeah, good i-" It was then, of course, Ichigo realized there was only one bed. His face went red at the prospect of sharing a bed with Rukia. Sure, she had lived and slept in his room (or his closet anyway) for the better part of his life, but the same bed?
When he didn't move, Rukia looked up over at him questioningly. Seeing his blush, she smirked, suddenly feeling cocky again. "What? Scared to share a bed with me?" She let her smirk grow. "I don't bight." A pause. "Much."
Grumbling under his breath about arrogant midgets and stupid rooms in the desert, he stomped over to the bed. He made a point of ripping the blankets from the bed, throwing himself down beside her, and then yanking the covers over the both of them.
"Goodnight!" He spat.
She bit back a laugh and rolled over so that she was facing him, inching just a scoot closer. "Goodnight, Ichigo." She cooed, pursing her lips at him like he was a child. "Don't let the Rukia-bugs bight."
"That's about as accurate as you've ever described yourself." He muttered, flipping over to face the wall. "Pest."
Her gaze narrowed, face darkening. "Oh, so I'm a pest, am I?"
Without waiting for an answer, she pushed her leg up over his side, curling herself around him and resting his head back against her. She smirked evily, running her index finger down his neck. She opened her mouth and breathed out a hot gust of air.
"R-Rukia."
Victory acquired.
"Ichigo." She purred right back. And after planting a seductive kiss on his neck, she smiled again. "Oh… Ichigo…" And then, suddenly, she switched back to her normal voice, revenge already tasting sweet on her tongue. "Yep! You're right, I guess I am a bit of a pest! Goodnight!"
And with that she drew completely away from him, turning to lay on her side, and closing her eyes to go to sleep. She was out like a light.
Ichigo, still awake and blushing, glared over his shoulder and added another point to the tally board in his head. Rukia was in the lead, big time. "Damn you." He muttered, though his gaze softened even as he said the words.
~)o0o(~
Rukia suddenly bolted up in bed, her internal clock telling her that it was morning. That wasn't what had woken her up. "Captain Soi Fon?" She gasped to herself, feeling the sudden spiritual pressure come zipping to their door. "What-"
Bam!
Their door flew open, a streak of black flying inside. Ichigo sat strait up in bed, dodging the streak when it landed where his head had been, thinking it was his father out of habit and nothing thinking much of it.
He did, however, think something when Grimmjow burst into the room right after the streak, shirtless and with a flower blooming over the right side of his chest.
"Fucking shit, Soi Fon! Give it back!" He roared.
Ichigo froze. Then his hand went up, pointing, eyes wide, air coming from his open mouth in a noise that sounded like choking. "Ah-gah-ah-ahhh-ah!"
Rukia's mouth was also open, but she didn't have anything to say. Her heart was racing, mostly in surprise, but also in fear of the man who had once shoved his bare hand strait through her torso.
"YOU!" Ichigo finally roared, jumping from the bed.
"Huh?" Grimmjow, not one to take in anything of his surroundings, finally turned to Ichigo. His mouth fell open. "YOU!"
Soi Fon took this operatunity to dash from the bed, lightly jumping off of Ichigo's head and sending the boy crashing to the floor as she raced from the room.
Grimmjow looked between his fallen foe and the door, several times, before looking back at Ichigo. "I'll find you and kick your ass!" He yelled. "Uh, right after I kick her's!"
"As if." Soi Fon taunted, suddenly appearing behind him.
He spun around, slashing out at her, but missed when she flashed behind him again. She waved his shirt in the air. "Come and get it, kitty cat." She daunted, and then disappeared out of the doorway.
"GET BACK HERE, BITCH!" Grimmjow bellowed, right before disappearing after her.
For a second, both Ichigo and Rukia sat where they were in shock. And then, finally, after some time Rukia broke the still. "Was that… Captain Soi Fon? … Playing?" Never in her life had Rukia ever seen the woman anything other than deadly serous. Or, just plain deadly.
Ichigo recovered mere seconds after that, jumping up from where he had been on the floor. "I'll kill him!" He yelled, turning to stomp after the sixth espada.
Rukia sighed, clambering to her feet and out of bed, smoothing down her hair. "Ichigo."
He stopped. "What?!"
She sighed. "Orihime." She reminded him.
"Oh yeah!" He looked to be at battle with himself for a couple of minutes, but then finally he nodded. "Yeah… you're right. Let's go find her."
"Where do you think that Halibel-san is?" Rukia asked, walking past him and out into the halls.
He followed her. "Hell if I know."
A passing aranncar stopped before them, bowing quickly. "Miss Halibel is currently occupied." The boy said, his brown hair tousled. The boy kid looked to have had a long day, as if he had been out chasing down Grimmjow and Soi Fon or something equally as horrifying for a while.
"Well tell her we need her." Ichigo growled, agitated and ready to go home already. "She said she would take us to Orihime in the morning."
He blushed slightly. "Uh, that w-won't be possible, sir."
"Well why the hell not?"
His blush went up worse, his bad day seemingly having just got worse. "She, uh, is, um, i-in dispose. And she, uh, w-will not b-be coming out of her quarters until noon."
Ichigo, ever the oblivious one, just furrowed his brow. "Well we'll go get her, then."
The boy waved his hands urgently, shaking his head. "N-no, sir! No, no one is to enter!"
"What? Well why the hell not!?"
Rukia finally stepped forward and grabbed his sleeve. "Ichigo, she's busy." The woman stressed.
Ichigo just stared at her dumbly. "What do you mean?"
Just then, Lillenet went racing past, jumping over the arrancar boy's shoulder and vaulting down the hall. "Ha ha! Catch me if you can, messenger boy!"
He paled. "Please, Miss Lillenet! I have strict orders from Mister Stark to keep you away from Miss Halibel's room!"
She blew a raspberry at him, taking off again, the poor boy running behind. "Why am I always in charge of these things?" He cried, trying desperately to catch up.
The two gone, Ichigo blushed, finally getting it, and nodded. "Ooh."
Rukia rolled her eyes, face palming. "Baka." She mumbled.
"I, um, guess we'll have to find Inoue without her." He shrugged. "It's what we did last time, too…"
Rukia didn't point out that he had never actually found the girl last time. "I'll locate their spiritual pressure." Rukia offered.
"No, I'll do it. I could use the practice." With that he closed his eyes, concentrating, and was silent for a minute. "Hey, I think I found her, she-" What ever he had been about to say was cut off as his eyes snapped open, his aura burning with rage.
"What is it?" Rukia asked him, confused.
"That bastard!" He growled. He turned to Rukia, eyes aflame. "He's in the same room as she is!"
Rukia sweat-dropped. "What?"
But Ichigo was already gone, racing down the halls.
"I-Ichigo!" Rukia yelled. "Wait!"
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So, I didn't exactly continue from the cliffy last time. *nervous smile* heh heh... yeah... sorry about that. Anywho... Review? You guys do know how I love those things. I might *hint hint cough cough* update tomorrow *HINT COUGH HINT* becuase of the cliff hanger from last if I get a bunch of reviews. (In the background somewhere, come yells "You whore! You can't just do that!" I, of course, own up to the fact they scream the truth. "Yep...")