281A/N: Who to thank for reviews? Let's see… Eradona, kalthurin, curio cherry, Dark Inu Fan, , Shiso no Kitsune, hollownature, novicestar, Rukia's Reflection, Assault Godzilla, SilverStella, and xtheBLEACHEDalchemistx. And thank you to anyone who put this or its author on their lists.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Bleach characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Tite Kubo et al.
Every Teen's Worst Nightmare
Of Promises Made
The next morning Ichigo dressed and packed his duffle, intent on dropping it off at home before he and Rukia left for school. The house was a hive of activity, the maids and other servants Byakuya had brought along packing what little they were bringing back with them to the Soul Society. A wail from Raiden let the daiko know that the doll's world was in upheaval and he sighed before straightening to his full height and going to his "son's" room.
Rukia was holding the electronic child tightly, trying to pull a plushy out of its hands with no luck. "Come on, give Mama the toy. You're coming with us today." There was a small hitch in her voice that Ichigo ignored in favor of achieving peace.
"Let him keep it for now. Are your things packed? I'll take them home before we leave."
"Yeah, the bag's in my room. I'm going to say farewell to Nii-sama." Rukia let go of the plush bear and turned on her heel. The maid who had been packing the room exchanged a knowing glance with Ichigo before turning back to her work. When the war hero remained where he was, she looked over her shoulder.
"Is there something I can help you with, Kurosaki-san?"
"Yeah, take all this back with you and store it some place she'll never think to look," he ordered and left the older woman with a knowing expression on her face.
"As you wish," she murmured, a smile blossoming on her lips.
Rukia clutched Raiden to her on their walk to school, unwilling to let him go even though her arms were getting tired. Ichigo had repeatedly offered to trade but she'd shot him a glare so often that he finally stopped and kept quiet. "I'm being silly," she sighed. "It's only a doll."
"Mama?" Raiden questioned. He took the stuffed bear's ear out of his mouth briefly to smile at his mother. "Mama want?" he finally asked.
"You keep it," she said, brushing her fingers through his ginger hair.
"'Kay," Raiden agreed readily, going back to sucking on the soft ear.
"Rukia…" Ichigo finally ventured. She was still having a hard time letting go.
"I know," she said, finality in her voice.
"All right," he agreed. A spike of disturbed reiatsu down the road let them know she wasn't the only one who didn't want to give the electronic dolls back. It appeared that Orihime had become inordinately fond of the dolls too.
The healer and her partner came into view when they rounded the corner, the latter handing the former a handkerchief embroidered with the Quincy cross. Ishida really had to stop putting that on his clothes if he wanted to keep his identity secret from the few people in the universe that didn't know. "Inoue-san?" Rukia inquired, her own troubles immediately forgotten. Dark blue eyes shot up at the sound of her voice, pleading with her to do something, anything, to stop the tears from being shed.
"Kuchiki-san, good morning," the archer greeted, relief in his voice. He ignored Ichigo.
"Morning, Ishida. Inoue-san, what's wrong?"
"He's so cute…" Orihime sniffled, clutching Kei to her. "I don't really want to give him back. He's learning more words too…"
"Oh… I understand," Rukia sympathized. Raiden reached out and patted the other young woman on the arm.
Ichigo sighed, scratching the back of his head. He was at a loss for words as to how to comfort the Rikka wielder. She was just attached, if not more so, to their project than Rukia. "Inoue…" he trailed off, coming up empty.
"She's been like this since last night. I tried to explain that even though I know Urahara would probably let us keep the dolls, it's not really feasible. We don't have anyone who could take care of them for us that's in the know. Especially if something happens that requires us to go save your Shinigami hide again."
"Gee, thanks. I'm sure that went over well," the daiko commented.
"She yelled at me," Ishida admitted.
"Inoue yelled?" Ichigo asked in disbelief, not recalling a time when the healer had ever gotten angry enough to yell at someone. He vaguely remembered learning that she'd slapped one of her captors when in Hueco Mundo but that's about as far as she'd ever gone that he knew of.
"Something about me being insensitive but I couldn't really understand it around all the tears." The Quincy gave a sigh of his own, shifting uncomfortably.
Looking at him closely, Ichigo noticed that the normally neat and tidy archer was slightly disheveled. "Ah…" Seeing that the girls had gone ahead of them, the orange haired teen fell into step next to his friend as they trailed behind. "It probably has something to do with the fact that they were abandoned and lost family at a young age. The dolls are so life-like that it's hard for them to think of them as completely unreal. Of course, being able to blur the line between life and death could have something to do with it too."
"Hmm, you could be right, Kurosaki."
"You don't have to sound so amazed, Ishida. I'm not all brute strength, you know."
"True."
They reached the school gates before Ichigo could retort, Tatsuki shooting the two males dirty looks when she caught sight of Orihime's tear streaked face. He put up his hands in surrender, letting her know that he had nothing to do with the ginger haired girl's mood. Chad murmured a greeting to them, holding his little computerized bundle of joy, a slightly anxious look in dark brown eyes. "Looks like it's not only Inoue and Rukia that doesn't want to give the dolls back," Ichigo commented.
"We should have seen that one coming," the Quincy said softly. "He does have a penchant for cute things," he continued, remembering Kon's rant one time when he had patched up the mod soul's plush body. "If he took Kon home once, he'd definitely want to keep this doll."
"Well, on the bright side, no one else seems to be in tears," the daiko pointed out, noticing the bright smiles on his classmates' faces as they went to the classroom.
"I doubt they got as much out of the project as we did," Ishida returned. "Of course, they didn't have dolls that aged and emitted spiritual energy like ours either."
"I'll give you that one," Ichigo allowed. He put Rukia's bag on her desk and sank into his seat gratefully. Holding out his arms, he took Raiden for one last time while his partner got herself settled. Rukia took Orihime to the bathroom with Tatsuki, leaving the males of their group with the dolls.
The girls were gone until class started, coming back composed and if not happy, at least no longer on the verge of tears either. The war hero shook his head, marveling at the effects "girl talk" had on a female's mood. "Mama!" his doll called, scrambling to get out of his arms. He let him go, and watched him toddle unsteadily to the petite death goddess.
Rukia kept her face in a pleasant smile, refusing to give in to her sudden sadness. The doll was a fake child, and there was no reason for tears. She was not abandoning her child, no was she or it dying. "Come here," she said softly, picking Raiden up and sitting him in her lap. Absently she played with the toddler, unaware of the looks she was getting.
Ichigo noticed the confused expressions she was getting from their classmates and glared at the ones who looked like they wanted to comment. Naturally they backed off, still afraid of him even if they'd gotten to know him over the past year. He might not be as bad as the rumors had said, but he was still someone that shouldn't be messed with. He and his friends had a reputation for getting into strange things and it was best not to anger the orange haired "leader."
"Good morning, class!" Ochi-sensei called from the doorway, her smile bright and she looked just as refreshed as the day before.
"Good morning, sensei," they chorused in greeting, a bunch of infant and toddler babble added for good measure.
"Ah, I see you're taking good care of your projects. Urahara-san is running a little late so we'll take attendance and I will collect your papers while we wait." The woman opened her book and went through the list, not surprised when the usual two didn't show up.
Ichigo pulled the report out from his bag, something he'd typed up on his dad's office computer late last night. He'd have to convince his old man to get him his own if he was going to do any more of these things. Waiting until clinic hours were completely over and the files updated for the day might not be feasible in the future. Making sure the staple would hold the three page paper together, he passed it to the class rep as she collected them, noticing that most were only the one page Byakuya had said was the least they could do.
Ten to one they were mostly filled with complaints.
Ochi-san glanced at the reports, making mental notes already. Kurosaki's friends seemed to be the ones who took the project most seriously, and she was slightly surprised, as those were the ones the parents had complained about. Perhaps wherever they had really run off to earlier in the school year had matured them in a way that was beyond their years. She really had no reason to worry about that bunch. Well, if one didn't count Asano and Kojima. Those two still needed some growing up if their actions were anything to go by. Ah, well, as long as no one becomes pregnant before graduation, I'll consider this experiment a success.
A knock on the door prevented further thought and the jovial call of the inventor interrupted the class' chatter. "Good morning, students. Your favorite shop keeper/inventor is here to take your dolls back."
Several of the first years breathed words of thanks, others cheered. Ichigo and his friends stayed quiet, the occasion different for them than for their classmates. The orange haired Shinigami watched his partner under hooded eyes, noting the way she brought Raiden closer to her chest. They didn't have to wait long, as the teacher called them alphabetically, and the daiko thought that that was probably best. Better do it quickly then let Rukia think about it anymore.
"Kurosaki, Kuchiki, your turn," Ochi-san said, seeing that the female half of the duo was reluctant.
Rukia made to hand over Raiden to Urahara so he could shut the doll off but the child clung to her, shaking his head adamantly. "No go!"
"Ah, I see we have someone who takes after his parents," the striped hat man said, chuckling under his breath. He pulled a Chappy doll from inside his haori, not surprised when the toddler reached for it. While the electronic marvel was taking in his newest toy, Urahara quickly deactivated the doll.
Rukia's violet eyes widened at the loss of Raiden's spiritual energy. She had gotten so used to feeling it brush up against hers when he was with her that it surprised her when she could no longer feel it. Her orbs flew to Ichigo's and he nodded, understanding her shock. Without a word he led her from the room, taking her to the stairwell that led up to the roof. Sitting her on the stairs, he squatted down in front of her before looking her in the eye.
"Spill it," he demanded, knowing there had to be some other reason for her depression. Despite her looks and occasional silliness, she was a grown woman and normally wouldn't have been so disturbed about losing a doll.
"There's nothing wrong," she denied. "It just startled me when I didn't feel our combined energies anymore. I hadn't realized how used to it I was."
"I see," he said, not believing her for a second. "As long as you weren't thinking something stupid like this body of yours is just like the doll's."
"It is, you know," Rukia retorted, her voice pragmatic. "This gigai is nothing but fake flesh."
"It's only fake because it doesn't have any life to it when you're not in it," Ichigo argued. "My body is nothing but dead weight when my soul's not in it too," he reasoned. "The only difference between our bodies in this world is that mine developed in the womb and yours in a test tube. Besides, the human body is made up of a certain percentage of elements and chemicals. I'm sure for someone like Urahara, recreating that outside of human reproduction would be easy."
She looked at him, wondering when he had matured when she wasn't looking. "Your concept of life and death is skewed, Ichigo."
"Maybe. I guess being the son of a Shinigami and a human gives me a different perspective on things. Look, you know I'm not good talking about feelings, but if you miss the doll, you miss the doll. He was extremely realistic. Now let's get back before Ochi-sensei thinks that I've decided to give you a baby to make up for returning Raiden."
"Baka, I can't get pregnant while in a gigai," she said, slapping his arm. He could always be counted on to say something stupid to lift her mood.
"Really? Could have fooled me, cause I'm pretty sure it was you who started your period yesterday," he said, red dusting his cheeks even as he teased her. It had kind of surprised him when he'd first learned of it way back when she had come to stay with him again but living with his sisters gotten him used to some things. It still embarrassed him but if it made her forget about her problems, he'd use it.
"Pervert!" the petite woman growled, holding up her hand and aiming a bolt of energy at him. He barely dodged her first attempt and she shot another, adding a third when he gave a satisfying yelp of pain.
Back in the classroom with the last of the dolls collected, Urahara was about to take his leave when a kido-fried daiko opened the door. "My, my, Kurosaki-san, you seem to be having a bit of a problem."
"Shut up," Ichigo snapped and limped into the room. After shooting him with a couple of her brother's favorite spells, Rukia had taken the opportunity to knee him in the kidneys.
"I see you've decided to rejoin us," his teacher said. "Where is Kuchiki?"
"She wasn't feeling well," he excused. He glared at the inventor, daring him to call him a liar.
"Well, as long as she gets better," the other woman dismissed easily. "Take your seat and bid Urahara-san goodbye."
"See ya, Hat-n-Clogs." Ichigo smiled threateningly at the ex-captain, his eyes filled with meaning.
"What a scary look, Kurosaki-san," Urahara chuckled, mentally calculating the odds of getting out of town before school let out. "Well, my job is done. I was glad to be of service and do not be afraid to give me a call should you choose to do this project again," he said to the young teacher and bowed before making a hasty retreat. The large box filled with dolls hindered his quick escape and he wasn't able to completely leave without running into Rukia on her way back from the bathroom. When she gave him the same look her partner had, he didn't bother commenting but quickly made his way back to his shop.
It looked like the kids were finally remembering who was at fault for all the trouble they'd had for the past week and more.
Orihime healed the burns from Rukia's attack during lunch, her usual bubbly demeanor coming back as the day wore on. No matter the reason for her upset, there wasn't much that could keep the healer down for long. "Thanks, Inoue,"
"Sure, Kurosaki-kun, but what did you do to upset Kuchiki-san?" she asked.
"To get her mind off things, I said something to distract her. It embarrassed her and she let me have it. You're looking better," he commented, hoping that she wouldn't ask what he had said to make his partner barbeque him.
"Yes, Tatsuki reminded me that even if I kept the doll, I couldn't take care of it forever. There's college to think about and if something happened that we had to go to the Soul Society again, there'd be no one to take care of it while I was gone."
Ichigo blinked, thinking back on what Ishida told him that morning. "Didn't Ishida tell you that last night?" he hazarded, hoping she wouldn't burst into tears or try to injure him with her attack flower.
"He did?" Orihime blinked, tipping her head. "Oh, so that's what he meant."
"What did you think he was talking about?"
"I thought he meant that I wasn't capable of taking care of Kei without him."
"Eh, I highly doubt he's ever thought that of you," Ichigo said, feeling as if he was starting to play cupid. "As far as I know, he's always thought that you were very smart," the daiko continued. A klutz and a bit scatterbrained on occasion but smart, he thought.
"Really? I should go apologize," the healer murmured and wandered away to talk to the Quincy.
"What are you up to now?" Rukia asked sharply, seeing the self-satisfied smirk on his face.
"Apparently playing matchmaker," he answered, tilting his head toward their friends.
"I didn't know you had it in you," she said, smiling.
"Neither did I," Ichigo chuckled. "Well, he's liked her for a long time. I guess they just needed a little help." It was a lot better than having Inoue sigh over him.
Rukia watched Ishida smile softly at Orihime and rested her chin on the heel of her hand briefly. "Yeah, you're right. There's nothing like getting two people together that can't see that they're perfect for each other."
"Aa," he said and smiled. "There's nothing like it," he echoed.
Ochi-sensei returned from her break to find her classroom humming with quiet conversation. She gazed over the crowd of students, noticing that some new couples had emerged thanks to the project. Her eyes centered on Ishida and Inoue, the class leader in academics talking softly to the bubbly girl while they finished their drinks. Kuchiki and Kurosaki were having silent conversations with their eyes again and she smiled at that pair. They'd been close since the girl's first day and the educator had been cheering for their relationship from the beginning. It appeared that pretending to be parents together had done the trick. Giving the room one last survey for damage, her eyes landed on the small hole in the opposite wall.
"All right, which one of you delinquents punched a hole in my wall?" Going to inspect it, she found that she could see through to the next classroom.
"Kuchiki-sensei did that," one of the boys said with a shrug.
"Is that so?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, he threw something and scared the crap out of us," another affirmed.
"Oh, well, that's okay then," their teacher said, suddenly unconcerned. Her students watched her return to the podium as if nothing had happened.
She'd just get someone to patch it later.
The last bell was greeted with various reactions. The "Substitute Group" lingered in the classroom, their intentions entirely different from the other students. Normally they'd go home either by themselves or in pairs, knowing that they could reach each other by phone or a flash step if needed. And usually they met at Urahara's to discuss anything of a supernatural nature. As he was the subject of their talk, staying in the classroom after school was the best way to plan.
"So, how do you want to go about getting revenge?" Tatsuki asked. "I mean, we could go in guns blazing or we can be sneaky. Ichigo already gave the game away when he glared at Urahara this morning so the guy's probably high tailing it out of town as we speak."
"Arisawa-san's right," Ishida said. "He's in a gigai that hides his spiritual energy so finding him that way is out," the archer surmised.
"Forget Urahara for the moment. The one that we can get without any trouble is my old man. If you think he's blameless in all this, then you're nuts. I bet you he was in on this from the start. The clinic will be closed by the time we get home so if we want him to be a captive audience, cornering him there is the best bet. He does paperwork before dinner."
"Or better yet…" Ishida began, his dark eyes narrowing. "We could split up. I heard Urahara promise Ochi-sensei that he would print out the results from the dolls' computers and send it to her immediately. If we leave now, he'll probably still be cackling over the information. And with any luck, he'd have gotten lost in all the data from our projects and lost track of time."
"Your plan has merit," Tatsuki agreed, nodding.
"Ishida-kun, is this really necessary?" Orihime asked, frowning slightly. "I can understand Tatsuki-chan wanting to get back at him but you should be used to his schemes by now."
The Quincy didn't answer her right away and his face became hard when he finally did. "His scheme made you cry this time, Inoue-san," Ishida finally admitted. For his part he could have let it go as the project had brought him closer to the girl he liked but the healer's tears had renewed his anger.
Orihime stared at him, at a loss for words. "Ishida-kun…" she finally sighed and turned back to her other friends. He was always such a gentleman when it came to a woman's feelings.
"Then it's settled. Chad, you can come with either group or ignore this whole thing but I did notice that you were awfully attached to that little girl doll you had…" Ichigo trailed off, letting the large teen make up his own mind.
"I will follow you," Chad decided. While he didn't want to fight, he'd prevent the man they were going after from escaping.
"We'll go see Urahara, you go after Kurosaki-san," Rukia said, pointing to Tatsuki and Ishida. "He'd expect us to go to Urahara first, then home. Since this one can't hide his spiritual energy, it would be pointless for us to take Ichigo's dad. You two, on the other hand, are perfect. He's not use to detecting Arisawa and Ishida can hide his presence with ease."
"Orihime, you come with us. Kurosaki-san is going to need healing after I'm done with him," Tatsuki said, picking up her bag and dragging her protesting friend after her. The archer followed at a sedate pace, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Shall we go?" Ichigo asked, standing to stretch. Digging Kon's pill out of his pocket, he swallowed it and popped out of his body. "Keep the girls away from the house for a while," he ordered the mod soul, giving a glare for good measure so that Kon would know the trouble he'd be in if he disobeyed. "And keep Chappy out of trouble," he added as an afterthought when he noticed the expression on the other replacement soul's face.
"You're not asking for much," his doppelganger muttered before leaving with Ichigo's homework and a trailing Chappy.
"We'll meet you there," Ichigo told Chad and went out the window with Rukia beside him.
It was time to meter out some well deserved punishment.
Yoruichi leaned up against the wall and watched her childhood friend as he poured over the information he'd collected from Ichigo and his friends. Almost from the moment he'd come home he'd been printing off scores for the high school students and studying the patterns of colored lines created by the computer program inside the dolls. "Kisuke, I thought you had all of this information already," she said, referring to his cataloging of the spiritual energy he'd collected over the several days.
"Some of the readings were sent to my computer but the rest I let stay in the dolls. The way their energies seamlessly combined is fascinating. I knew they shared a connection but I hadn't expected this…" Urahara gave a joyful laugh, ignoring the Flash Goddess as she rolled her eyes.
"That's nice," the cat woman sighed, looking up as Ichigo and Rukia walked into the room without waiting to be invited. "Hey, Kisuke, you've got company."
"Not now, I'm busy."
"Oh, I think you'll make an exception for this," she laughed quietly, stepping out of the way of the duo's war path. "I'll come back when they're through with you. Maybe I'll take the others out to eat," she mused, watching as the scientist froze and looked up.
"Hello, Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki-san. What can I do for you…?" The tips of Zangetsu and Sode no Shirayuki gleamed in the soft light of the Shoten and rested not a centimeter from his nose. "Now, now…"
"I'd run," Yoruichi advised before leaving using shunpo. She wanted to be far away when those to let out their frustrations. Sticking around might have proved amusing if it wasn't so dangerous. The back of the shop exploded in a shower of debris, Urahara's call for help echoing as she went to meet up with the other residents of the candy store. Another explosion shot blue sparks into the air in another part of town and she could only assume that the two cohorts were being attacked on duel fronts. "Idiots…" she chuckled.
Sometimes she wondered how she ever became friends with them.
Urahara ducked, tucked, and evaded as much as possible, calling on his Benihime when he couldn't avoid a direct hit. So far the only saving grace had been when he'd fallen into the underground training room, the large expanse giving him more opportunities to save his skin. Ichigo and Rukia were working in tandem, neither having to call out to the other. Their attacks were timed to give him no chance to strike back and he had the growing suspicion that he was going to end up either charred or at the very least frostbitten, if not hypothermic.
"I'll give you your doll back!" he offered, hoping that it would lessen Rukia's anger. It didn't work. Instead, a long yellow energy rope shot towards him in a effort to hold him still.
The blond ex-captain managed to make his way to the ladder and scrambled his way up. Instead of a clear shot to freedom, he was met with the imposing features of Chad. Before he could bribe the giant with his electronic child, Ichigo grabbed the back of his robes and threw him to the ground where Rukia pointed her sword at his throat. Both Shinigami hadn't spoken the entire time they'd been there and he thought that they were going to finish him that way as well.
"What do you think, Ichigo?"
"Well, I could fry him with Getsuga Tenshou but I don't think that would be as satisfying as if you encased him in ice and let him stay there until it melted. Without Benihime to help him get himself out, of course."
Rukia let her Zanpakutou create a ribbon of ice along the shopkeeper's haori. "I like how you think, Ichigo."
"Now friends, don't you think you've taken things too far?" Urahara asked nervously as his sword was taken from him. He was burnt and frozen in several places, along with being bruised in a number of places. It would take some extensive kido to break out of one of Rukia's attacks before the ice did permanent damage.
"After what you've put us through?" Ichigo snorted and lifted his mentor up. "You ready, Rukia?"
"Go for it," she said and began the ritual to call forth her second dance. "Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!" Rukia shouted, the white pillar of ice nearly catching Ichigo's arm in its path as he tossed Urahara towards the far wall.
"That looks thicker than you usually make it," Ichigo commented, barely able to see the scientist through the large chuck of ice that had adhered to the wall.
"Thank you, that's what I was hoping for," Rukia said, putting her sword away and dusting her hands of any lingering ice crystals. "Let's go see what Ishida and Arisawa have done to your father."
"I hope he's pinned to a wall somewhere with his mouth taped shut."
Urahara watched from his prison as the partners went home and called for his sword spirit once he was sure that he was alone. Benihime materialized and stood next to her blade, gazing at him as if he was a lower life form than she. Benihime, could you be a dear and get me out? he asked mentally, knowing that she could be temperamental if not approached right.
For an answer, the Crimson Princess tossed her head and gave him the cut direct before returning to his inner world. You made them angry, get yourself out, she replied, her tone indicating he could stay there and freeze for all she cared.
I was afraid you were going to say that. It was going to be a while before he could move his hands enough to use an effective kido spell that did more than melt the ice. It really was too bad he was essentially still in hiding.
Being able to emit a large burst of spiritual energy would have been really helpful at that moment.
Isshin wasn't in any better shape than his partner in mayhem. He'd been working dutifully on updating his patients' charts, humming to himself at the thought of his son and "third daughter" getting together when a deadly Quincy arrow had given him a bald spot from in between his eyebrows to the back of his head. It had embedded itself in the wall behind him before dissipating, leaving a slight tingle in the air.
"Ryūken, I haven't done anything…" he'd trailed off as he'd looked up. The younger Quincy had stared back at him with deadly intent, another arrow at the ready. "Uryuu-kun, how nice to see you. You too, Tatsuki-chan."
"Prepare yourself, Shinigami," the archer had growled and let the arrow fly. The ex-captain had given a frightened shout of surprise before leaving his once neat desk in favor of trying to save his life.
That was what had led him to his present position of being pummeled by the second strongest girl in Japan. Tatsuki had ignored all his attempts at flattery, reason, and finally apology. "You've grown strong," he groaned, wondering if it came down to it, who would really beat whom—his son or her.
"Shut it, old man. Do you have any idea how much sleep I've lost over the last several days? My mother thinks it was the cutest thing since Chappy and my father didn't bat an eye at having a near male stranger living right across the hall from my room the entire time. If Chad had been any other kind of person, there would have been war. I could have lived with the damn thing if it hadn't decided to develop some weird power. By the time I handed it in, it could see ghosts!"
"Does that mean you can, my dear?" he asked, right before she cracked his jaw.
"Of course I can! I confronted Aizen, didn't I?" Tatsuki snapped. Isshin tried to praise her but his injured mandible prevented him from getting any words out.
"I think you've done enough," Ishida told his temporary partner; ready to call Orihime in from where she'd begun patching the office wall. His first arrow had left a rather large hole in the plaster. The fight had progressed to the living room and Tatsuki had just managed to avoid breaking any of the major electronics or ripping down the giant poster of Ichigo's mother.
"Have you had enough?" the martial artist asked, rubbing her bruised knuckles.
"For the moment. I have one last thing I'd like to do but let's get him healed first. I'm sure the twins don't need to come home to an invalid father. Having him moan and groan for the weeks it would take to heal from all the damage you just inflicted would just punish them. That's always assuming he doesn't use kido to heal himself or Kuchiki-san does get sick of listening to his complaints and permanently shuts him up."
"All right," Tatsuki said and stepped on a downed Isshin on her way to going to get her friend.
Ishida stood over Ichigo's father, a Steele Schneider in one hand, swinging lazily back and forth. "I should have figured that you were in on this. You were after all the one that suggested Urahara to our teacher. My deductive reasoning must be slipping now that we're in a time of relative peace." Isshin made some sort of noise that the Quincy took as agreement and was poked for his efforts with the sword arrow. His doctor's coat sizzled from the contact and he immediately fell silent.
"Ishida-kun, it's time to stop. Kon is bringing the girls back and we don't want them to see this," Orihime said, motioning to her flower spirits to heal the older Kurosaki.
"You're right, Inoue-san, my apologies."
"They really got you good, Kurosaki-san," the healer said, looking at him through the golden glow of her shield.
"You could have too, if you had let me at him," Tsubaki grumbled, perching on her shoulder. He'd wanted to see all the action but had been stuck watching two of his fellow spirits patch a hole in the wall.
"Hush, Tsubaki-kun. I let you come out but if you're going to complain, you might as well go back," she admonished.
"Nah, this is better than nothing. Serves him right for making us put up with all that horrible crying." The spirits had cheered when the project ended.
Ishida watched the scene between Orihime and her spirits with a small smile. The way they interacted was not unlike how Shinigami communicated with their Zanpakutou although he doubted any of them had six different beings flying around their inner worlds. However, if Kurosaki was anything to go by, perhaps having more than one other personality inside your head wasn't healthy.
"You're really stuck on her, aren't you?" Tatsuki whispered while Orihime finished what she was doing.
"Inoue-san is a dear friend," Ishida tried and knew by the raised eyebrow she shot his way that she didn't believe him. "I seem to recall you getting along better with Chad."
"Don't try to turn this around to me. Chad's a friend and that's it," Tatsuki retorted. "I'll give you the same warning I give to anyone who tries to get close to Orihime. If you hurt her, I'll destroy you. And in your case, not even your powers will save you."
Gazing briefly at the healed doctor, the archer nodded. "Understood." Once Isshin was standing, Ishida put away his Seele Schneider and knocked back his bow. Concentrating his power, he used five arrows to pin the man to the wall. "And my revenge is complete, for the most part. Come on, Inoue-san, I'll treat you to dinner before picking my stuff up and going home."
"That's so nice of you, Ishida-kun," Orihime said, leaving Tatsuki to explain to Ichigo's sisters why their father was pinned upside down to the wall next to their mother's poster. Tsubaki and the others went back to their dormant state, intent on catching up on much needed rest.
Tatsuki watched the two leave, happy that her friend was on her way to, if not forgetting, than to putting aside her feelings for their orange haired friend. Personally, she thought the archer a much more fitting match for the gentle girl even if he had some personality quirks of his own. "Oh, well, at least he can cook."
"Tatsuki-chan, won't you help me down?" Isshin pleaded. "The blood is rushing to my head and the girls will be home any minute. I don't want my precious daughters to see me like this."
"Stop whining. You're a big, bad Shinigami. Use that kido stuff and get yourself down," the dark haired teen said before settling on the couch and turning on the TV. She'd stay until the twins came but after that she was leaving.
And there was no way in this world or the next that she was helping that idiot man get free.
By the time Ichigo and Rukia returned home, Isshin had managed to free himself of all but one arrow. The daiko and his petite partner stood gazing at him in grim satisfaction, contemplating their own retribution. The damage Tatsuki had inflicted was nowhere to be seen thanks to Orihime but the doctor still sizzled slightly because of Ishida's torment.
"Onii-chan, you should really get him down," Yuzu said as she began dinner.
"Yeah, if you and Rukia-nee leave him there, he'll only whine and cry the whole night," her twin seconded. "The neighbors will think we got an animal and are mistreating it," Karin added.
I guess you're right," their older brother sighed, wishing they could leave the ex-captain trapped as they had Urahara.
"Wait a minute, Ichigo. I want to ask your father something." Rukia crouched next to the older Kurosaki and glared at him meaningfully. "You didn't by any chance set it up so that Nii-sama came here, did you?"
"Why do you think that, Rukia-chan? Daddy would never do anything to…"
"Yeah, that's what I thought," she snarled and had to rein in her impulse to kick him. Ichigo felt no such need and once again Isshin ended up with most of the wounds the healer had kindly taken away.
"You can just hang there until dinner's ready," the orange haired war hero decided and turned away. "Let us know when that is, Yuzu. I'm going to try to get some work done," Ichigo said, ignoring his father. "You coming, Rukia?"
"Yes. If I stay here I might do something I'll later regret," she answered, giving another disgusted look at the other male. Turning on her heel, she followed Ichigo out of the room and up the stairs to his room. The twins watched the whole thing with mild interest before turning back to their respective activities.
"You know, goat chin, one of these days, they're going to kill you," Karin commented and left it at that.
Wisely Isshin said nothing.
While Ichigo and Rukia left Isshin hanging on a wall, Chad was sitting down for one last meal with the Arisawas. Tatsuki's mother had cajoled him into staying, saying that no one should have to eat their own cooking all the time. The fact that he had been consuming her culinary efforts for the last several days was politely ignored. It hadn't taken much to get the gentle giant to agree and Tatsuki later told him that her maternal parent had a need to feed everyone she could. Orihime was the recipient of her mothering most often, but now that the older Arisawa woman knew that he lived alone, he would probably be on the receiving end just as much in the future. Chad had quietly accepted the fact, wondering how he could thank the matriarch.
"You should just let her fuss," Tatsuki said when it was time for him to go home. "She likes taking care of people."
"Aa," he murmured in return.
"Well, I guess that's it. See you at school." The martial artist stood at the door and watched him leave, closing it with a sigh.
"Oh, did your friend leave already?" her mother asked from the table as she returned. "He's such a nice boy. It's a shame he lives on his own."
"Yeah, but I think he prefers it like that," her daughter answered, slouching into her seat.
"Really?" the matriarch asked.
"He's used to it. I think staying here kind of threw him off balance."
"I hope we didn't make him uncomfortable."
"Not a lot can upset Chad." The large teen hadn't been entirely comfortable but she figured that had more to do with having to sneak out to take care of Hollows without getting caught than being around her family.
After all, the one good thing about living on his own was that there was no need to make excuses.
Ishida brought Orihime home after taking her to dinner and collected the bag he had packed that morning. She fussed and offered him tea, which he politely declined and he got the feeling that she didn't really want to be alone. He could have stayed and done their homework with her but the Quincy was afraid of over staying his welcome so he thought it best to simply go while the getting was good.
"Ishida-kun," the healer started hesitantly while he checked one last time to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything.
"Yes, Inoue-san?" he inquired.
"I want to thank you for being so patient with me and helping me with Kei. I know you didn't like the project." Orihime offered a tentative smile, her hands crossed in front of her.
"It was a pleasure to have you as a partner. There's no one I'd rather have been assigned to and I will always assist you if the need arises," he answered, a light dusting of red coloring his cheeks. "I mean…"
"Thank you, Ishida-kun, you're always such a gentleman!" she said, taking a step closer to him.
The archer wasn't sure that was a good thing but by her generous smile and happy face she thought it was so. "Thank you, Inoue-san." Giving her his own smile, he started for the door. "I'll see you tomorrow," he continued.
"Oh, Ishida-kun…" she started.
"Did I forget something?" he asked, turning back around. Soft lips landed on his cheek and he nearly choked. Stunned dark blue eyes met grey and neither could think of anything to say.
"I'm sorry!" she apologized hurriedly, her face turning the same shade of red as his.
"No, that's all right," he said, clearing his throat. Giving her another smile, he gently touched her cheek. "It's quite all right," Ishida said again before taking his leave.
Maybe he wasn't as far out of the running for her heart as he'd first thought.
Some of their friends might have been on the verge of new love but for Ichigo and Rukia, they were simply enjoying the quiet. There was no baby to interrupt their normally silent after school time nor were there any Hollow attacks to ruin what little peace there was at the moment. Someone had obviously forgotten to tell the resident Shinigami that the gang's project was finally over.
With a sigh Ichigo set aside his textbook and leaned back against the wall. Looking to the side, he studied his partner and contemplated arguing briefly about her sitting on his bed. Deciding that it wasn't worth the hassle, he closed his eyes and dozed. He felt her reiatsu wash over him in a comforting wave and instinctively returned the favor.
"Baka, you're going to get a crick in your neck if you continue to sit that way," he heard her say and was surprised when she angled his body enough so that his head rested in her lap. Rukia went back to the manga she was reading as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Until she used his face as a book rest.
The sharp sting of heavy magazine on his nose woke him and he glared up at the glossy pages. "What are you doing?" he growled, although still too tired to make much of an issue out of her behavior.
"You're using my lap as a pillow, I think it's only fair if I use your head as a book rest," Rukia replied calmly.
Ichigo crossed his eyes long enough to notice that that the magazine was upside down. Swatting it away, he stared up at her. "You're not reading it," he shot back. "And it has hearts and flowers all over it. That's not your usual choice of manga."
"I enjoy a shouga every once in a while." She closed the book anyway, knowing he was right. "Besides, how am I supposed to learn about modern relationships if I don't study?" Rukia asked. "I might be asked to teach at the Academy someday, you know. Having all this Living World experience makes me an expert."
"I hate to tell you this, midget, but you have a long way to go before you're an expert," Ichigo informed her, lifting a hand to protect his nose when it looked like she was going to slam the magazine into it. "For one, those manga are often exaggerated or downright false in the way they portray things. It's never as easy as it looks. I don't know of anyone who looked at someone and instantly fell in love with that person."
"I think Nii-sama and Nee-sama were like that," she said softly. "Nii-sama probably would never have taken a second look at a Rukon resident otherwise."
"Maybe," he allowed. "I think connections can be formed in an instant though. Look at us, we had no choice but to trust each other the night you lent me your powers. And I don't think I could have taken them so easily or so thoroughly if we hadn't been connected in some manner before that."
"You think I knew you in another life?"
"It's possible, isn't it? Even if we don't have memories of that time, our souls somehow know. Zangetsu seems pretty tight with Shirayuki-san. They fought together perfectly," he mused.
"You're basing our previous acquaintance on the fact that we can fight together without getting in each other's way?" Rukia asked skeptically. She put the manga collection aside and slipped one hand into his bright orange hair without paying much attention to what she was doing. With her hand there, she could always pull the locks out by their roots if he said something offensive.
"Think about it," he continued. "How many times have we actually fought together? At first it was you saving me, and then it was me saving you. It seems like we're either fighting different foes or one of us can't fight at all. We've never trained together so how do we know what moves the other is going to make?"
"I've watched you enough times, Ichigo. Since you only have one attack, it makes things easy to predict." Rukia wasn't quite willing to let him win the argument.
"But you don't. You have several and only in the instant before you say the name of the dance does anyone know what you're going to do. Yet somehow I know before that."
"Kurosaki-kun, have you been watching me?" she teased. "I didn't know I fascinated you so," Rukia continued.
"Maybe I have," he returned. "And maybe you do," Ichigo admitted, lifting one of her hands up to study. "You appear so small and fragile yet you have undeniable strength. I want to protect you just as much as I want to protect my family even though I know that you can protect yourself." Most of the time, he added silently.
"Ichigo…"
"You stopped the rain," he said simply.
Rukia smiled softly, all thoughts of hitting him for his unspoken qualifier about being able to protect herself gone. She knew that he'd been thinking about the times when she hadn't been able to keep from getting hurt. "You stopped it too," she said.
Ichigo smirked up at her, his eyes shining with confidence. "Of course I did, I'm the 'Black Sun,'" he boasted lightly. Turning serious, he lifted a hand to touch her face. "I always will."
"Thank you." She tugged gently on his hair, surprised when he turned his head and kissed her abdomen.
"And I promise to give you a child someday, when we're ready."
"When we're ready," she echoed, closing her eyes. "I'll hold you to that promise," Rukia whispered, letting the warmth of his presence lull her to sleep.
"You do that," Ichigo said softly, his own eyes closing.
A contrite father found them moments later and leaned up against the door frame. Giving a soft sigh of his own, he repositioned them and covered them with blankets. "In time, children," he advised quietly and left them to their slumber. For all that he teased them; he knew that now was not the time for them to become real parents.
Someday, when everything had sorted itself out, and there were no more villains to be fought, then it would be time for the Black Sun and the White Moon to make a family of their own.