Body Shock

Disclaimer: Bleach and its characters are the property of Kubo Tite. This story is my property.

A.N: On the home stretch. Thanks for reading and reviewing.


"So there you have it." Ichigo cleared his throat as he finished telling Chad what had happened between him, Kon and Rukia.

Chad said nothing but sat next to Ichigo perfectly still. Both of them sat with their arms resting on their knees, chins resting on their arms in turn. One boy with long dark hair falling in his eyes, one with a spiky orange mop for hair. One boy was obviously much taller and had a bigger build. In comparison, the other boy was skinny but his t-shirt hung loosely off his upper half, disguising the toned musles that were underneath it. Both of them had serious expressions, their lips straight with no hint of the upward curve of a smile.

"It's just that...I know that..." Ichigo paused, thinking of what he wanted to say. "I thought that Rukia had only been with me. I didn't know that son of a bitch had taken my body."

"Hm."

"I mean, he took advantage of it completely. And Rukia...I mean what the hell was wrong with her at the time? Surely it would have been really easy to tell that someone else was in my body. And last night. What does that make last night? She thought that it was the second time, but it wasn't. It was our first time."

Chad wondered whether Ichigo was sharing too many details.

"I know that she didn't know about it but that's not the point. She should have known. And Kon. For fuck's sake, I let him sleep in my room. I trusted him as well. The night before when he came to join us fighting that hollow...I mean, what the fuck? Does he not have a conscience at all?" He grumbled with frustration.

"Do you hate him?"

Ichigo looked sharply at Chad. "What do you mean? Of course I hate him! You heard what he did."

"Hm."

"Sleeping with Rukia, messing around in my body. Thinking that he can do whatever he likes, taking advantage of things that aren't meant for him..." Ichigo was ready to ramble further but he was interrupted by Chad's next question.

"Do you hate her?"

He had to pause to think about it. Chad's question had caught him off-guard. Ichigo turned his head to look at his friend but Chad was staring straight ahead, not wanting to intimidate Ichigo into answering by looking at him.

"I..."

He would wait patiently for an answer. While he waited, Chad sifted once more through Ichigo's story, thinking of how to approach this. Ichigo always reacted quickly. Chad had learned a long time ago that quick reactions caused problems sometimes. Maybe he just needed to think about it a little more. Although Chad had to admit that it was a rather sticky situation.

"I..." Ichigo closed his eyes, an image of Rukia emerging. "I..."

Chad continued to wait.

Ichigo let his head drop so that he was staring at the grass between his feet. "I don't know."

Both of them were quiet for a while. Chad cast a glance over at Ichigo. He had never known him to get so hung up over a girl before. But then again, he even had to agree that Rukia wasn't an ordinary girl. From the moment that she had transferred into their class, he had felt that there was something different about her.

"Chad, do you like any girls?"

"Me?" Chad never blushed but if he had been able to, he would have. "No."

"Why not?"

"I just never thought about it."

"Me neither." Ichigo smiled wryly. "Do you like any boys?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Chad smiled thinly. "I just never thought about it."

"Good. Stay that way. Relationships are just so much hassle. I haven't even been in one for a week and I've got a massive headache."

"Do you hate her?" Chad repeated his earlier question. He was certain that Ichigo knew the answer but was confusing his immediate anger.

Ichigo didn't hesitate this time. "No. I'm just hurt. Hurt really badly."

How long had they been friends? If Ichigo thought really hard he could probably work it out but most of the time he was too lazy. It was easier just to accept that Chad had been there for him for a long time, without complaint and without complications.

"Maybe..." Chad hoped that Ichigo wouldn't explode at his suggestion, "you should talk to them."

Ichigo sighed heavily. "Yeah. Eventually. But what Kon did was unforgivable."

"I suppose so." Chad was in agreement with Ichigo that what Kon did was a horrible thing. But he wondered why he had done it.

"You suppose so?"

"Yeah." He had to choose his words carefully. "But I believe that everyone has the right to forgiveness. It is simply that the worse the deed, the harder it is to forgive."

Ichigo scratched his head thoughtfully. "Dammit, Chad. Why do you have to go all high and mighty on me?"

"I'm not."

"Yeah you are. I'm ready to murder that little bastard the next time I see him, and you tell me that he can be forgiven in some way. And now I'm feeling a little pissed that I lost control back there. And now I'm feeling pissed that I made Rukia cry."

"You didn't make her cry."

"I reckon I did. I was a bit cruel earlier."

"Perhaps."

"Although it was justified."

"Perhaps."

"But...I don't know if things can ever go back to the way that they were going. Everything was so good and it's all just gone in a matter of seconds."

Chad turned to look at Ichigo. "Who says it's gone?"

"Huh?"

"Difficulties face everyone. The best thing to do is pick yourself up and try again. And once you've made your way through something, you get stronger."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying don't give up. Think your way through things before losing your head."

"You don't think he should be punished?"

Chad considered his answer carefully. "If he is suffering already then perhaps no extra punishment is necessary. That is if he is suffering."

"What do I care what he's feeling?" Ichigo snorted derisively. "He messed me around."

"Yeah." Chad stood up. "There's school tomorrow."

"Yeah." Ichigo didn't move. Chad was leaving already? Then he realised that Chad felt as if there was nothing else that he could say, or that could be discussed. He was going to leave Ichigo to his own thoughts now. It seemed too quick, but it felt necessary. He had asked for advice, and he had gotten it.

Chad looked down at Ichigo. "Are you going back?"

"Not just yet. You go on home."

It was a long moment before Chad nodded. There was nothing more he could do, anyway. Still, he looked back once or twice at Ichigo as he walked away.

"Hey, hey..." Urahara leaned lazily against a streetlamp. "Did you find the other one, Tessai?"

"Yes." In the dark, Tessai looked formidable.

"So you know what to do?"

"Yes." Tessai bowed quickly and left.

As Tessai left, Urahara sighed. This was so much trouble. Normal people would be sleeping or getting ready to go to bed now. He knew that Ichigo would eventually go back home, and he knew that Rukia was probably still there. But he also knew that Ichigo still had to sort some things out before he went back.

"You guys are causing me so much trouble." Urahara talked to himself as he swung his cane around playfully. With another sigh, he walked a little way to see Ichigo still sitting down, but alone this time. It wouldn't be long, now.

Kon sat on a fence, swinging his legs. Maybe he would have to sleep in the bushes or something. Or maybe he could just go back to Ichigo's house and sleep somewhere. Maybe Ichigo's little sister would let him in. At this point in time, he didn't really care if he was made to wear a little dress or something like that. As long as he was indoors, and he was with somebody.

Because out here, it was kind of scary.

Not because it was dark, of course. No, Kon wasn't scared of the dark. As long as there was somebody around. The light from the streetlamps left good sections of the surrounding area in darkness and because there was nobody with him, Kon felt a little apprehensive. Maybe even fearful.

Perhaps it stemmed from always being part of a group before. He had always been surrounded by people even if he had been alone in the sense of having nobody to talk to. He had become used to it.

A rustle in the bushes made him quiver slightly, wobbling on the fence. He didn't fall but sat completely still, looking around to see if there was anybody who could have made the sound. But the streets were empty. He was reminded how small he was. And being small usually meant being vulnerable. He wished, not for the first time, that he had gotten the chance to be in a much bigger body. A proper body of his own. Then this whole mess wouldn't have happened.

He needed sewing.

The bushes rustled again. Kon debated whether to ask who was there, simply stay where he was, or make a break for it. As the bushes continued to move and he heard a rumbling rush of heavy breathing, Kon jumped down from his seat and started to run.

Tessai emerged from the bushes, snorting out the leaves that had tickled his nose. He hated hiding in greenery. He had no problem with plants, he just didn't appreciate leaves getting in his way. At least his glasses prevented them from poking him in the eyes.

And at least he had done what Urahara had wanted. Although he had intended to simply ask the plushie what he was doing rather than scare him off like that.

Reluctantly, Ichigo got to his feet and began walking. It was late and there was school the next day. Although he had stayed out later killing hollows, he thought that it was about time to head back. He didn't know where Rukia or Kon would be. Whatever happened, he would deal with it. Right now, he just wanted to go home. Maybe Rukia had left. If she had, Ichigo didn't blame her.

Why were there no hollows out tonight? Maybe even they had sensed that this was not the time to be messing around and trying to get something to eat.

Meanwhile, Kon dashed down the street, eager to get away from whatever he was sure was chasing him. He could hear pounding footsteps. Or was that his heart? Wait, he didn't even have a heart. Did he? As he looked behind him to see whether there really was anyone chasing him, he missed seeing Ichigo and ran smack into his leg.

Ichigo looked down at what had hit his leg. "Oh, I don't believe this."

Kon fell back, about to yell at whoever he had crashed into that they should look where they were going, despite the fact it was him who had crashed into them. But then as his eyes travelled up the dark trousers, the coloured t-shirt and then met the brown eyes under untidy orange hair, he gulped.

No, he would face this like a man. He got to his feet.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ichigo asked curtly, staring down at the plushie.

"Nee-san told me to leave."

"Well don't get in my way." Ichigo drew his foot back, aiming a kick. As he thrust his foot forward, Kon acted instantly and clung with all his might to Ichigo's shoe. As Ichigo's foot completed the kicking motion, Kon hung on for dear life, clinging desperately as Ichigo realised what had happened and started shaking his foot madly, angrily yelling for Kon to get off.

"Please, while we're here!"

"Get the fuck off my foot!"

"I just want you to listen!"

"Listen to what?" Ichigo kicked furiously but Kon wasn't budging.

"Just...talk to me Ichigo! I'm sorry!"

"You know what? You're pathetic." Ichigo dropped his foot and glared down at Kon angrily. "Why should I listen to you after all of that?"

"B-because..." Kon struggled to find a reason. "Just...please."

As Ichigo watched Kon, Chad's words about forgiveness resonated in his head. Damn Chad. Always making him feel guilty. He should just waste the little guy and be done.

But then he remembered how Kon had kicked a dying hollow upwards, risking falling off the building just to protect a bunch of ants.

Pathetic.

"Fine." Ichigo stayed still as Kon looked up hopefully and then slowly dismounted Ichigo's foot. "Talk. But I don't guarantee anything."

Now that Kon had been given the opportunity to talk, he wasn't entirely sure what he should say. Thinking that it would be best if he started with an apology, he said sorry once more.

Ichigo looked down at Kon, who had bowed his head. "Why did you do it?"

"Well..." Kon fidgeted a little. "It was kind of hard to...well..."

This was too awkward. Hearing a plushie talk about sex was a little too disturbing for Ichigo. The obvious solution was to switch, but Ichigo wasn't sure whether he wanted to do that. He was angry at Kon for using his body, so why should he willingly hand over his body once again?

"Nee-san was all..."

With a frustrated groan, Ichigo reached down and picked up Kon by the head.

"Hey! Ouch! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"I can't talk to you like this. But I'm not letting you out of my sight, you got that?"

Ichigo's stare was harsh and Kon simply nodded. He felt like he was choking when Ichigo reached into his mouth but he went still when Ichigo's fingers closed around the small green pill. As it was pulled out of the body, Kon could see everything going dark. The sensation was one of being disconnected, gradually losing all feeling. This lasted for a little while until with a shock of awareness, he was in Ichigo's body, pushing Ichigo out. Kon blinked uncertainly, getting used to being much bigger. He shook his head and stretched a little, then bending to retrieve his plushie form from where it was lying on the floor.

"So."

Kon turned to see Ichigo standing in his shinigami form, arms folded.

"Carry on, then."

"I went to deliver that message for you and Nee-san was upstairs. And...she looked really pretty." Kon sighed, thinking of how beautiful Rukia had looked at that moment. "She...asked why I was staring. I didn't think of...hugging her like I usually would have done." That was when it had all started. That was when it should have stopped. Kon looked at the ground as he said all of this to Ichigo, avoiding his stare and letting his mind think back. "Then she asked whether you had taken me to Urahara and I got confused. Because she couldn't tell that I was...me. She thought that I was you."

So Rukia hadn't known. Ichigo kept his arms folded.

"She said something about having the night planned or something like that. And then she kinda..." Kon swallowed.

"What?"

"She..."

"What? Spit it out already."

"She unbuttoned the front of her dress. And she said she'd been waiting for this for ages."

Ichigo closed his eyes, pained. "Why didn't you stop her? You should have stopped her and come clean."

Kon looked up. "But it was Nee-san's night...And I wanted to make her happy."

"Happy." Ichigo snorted. "Yeah."

Kon had to resist the urge to say how much Rukia had enjoyed it.

"Anything else you wanna say?"

"Sorry?" Kon shrugged. He had nothing else to say. "Also, um..." He smiled hopefully. "Can I...come back to your room now?"

"What?" Ichigo gaped. "No way!"

"Why the hell not? I said sorry already!"

"That's not the point!" Ichigo's hand was itching to use his sword.

"But can we go back now? It's just that Nee-san is on her own there and she wasn't happy."

"Did she save you?" Obviously Rukia had because Kon wouldn't have been able to make it back into a body on his own.

"Yeah."

"Hm." Ichigo's expression said clearly that he felt that Kon shouldn't have been saved and that was when Kon lost it.

"Hey, you bastard!" Kon clenched his fists and shouted angrily. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"What?!" Ichigo clenched his fists and shouted back. "I'm the one who should be asking that question!"

"You think you're better than me. And sure, I did something bad but get over it already! Stop being so dramatic! And most of all, stop treating me like I'm inferior!" Kon's face was starting to go red from the rage. "You're always so up yourself thinking that just because I haven't got a real body of my own that you can push me around like I'm nothing!"

Ichigo couldn't believe what he was hearing. Kon was daring to get angry with him? Kon had no right to be angry. Ichigo told him so fiercely. "You are nothing! You're scum, leeching off my body and thinking that you can do whatever the fuck you like! Forcing Rukia into something...You son of a bitch! I should never have taken pity on you in the first place. There's not a shred of decency in you!"

"No shred of decency in me?" Kon gritted his teeth. "Coming from you that's big."

"Fuck you."

"Did I hurt your ego or something? Well, you might think I did something wrong but I didn't do it to piss you off. I did it for Nee-san. I did it because she wanted it. And yeah, she wanted you. Whatever. But I was there and I knew that she wouldn't be able to get what she wanted from you without some fucking hassle because you're such a fucked up person, Ichigo. Always making things so goddamn complicated. I helped her! And admit it, I helped you too!"

Ichigo let out a roar of frustration and put his hands to his head. The stuff that stupid mod soul was coming out with! He was ready to explode.

"Yeah, I didn't force her into it." Kon was too far gone to care. He had had enough. "Nee-san's a much better person than you are, treating me nicely more often than you. You're not the only one who cares about her! And she cares about you even though you were too fucking stupid to see it for ages! You only saw it after I slept with her! Face it; you don't like Nee-san one bit! It's not you that should be with her, IT'S ME!"

"Now that's it!" Ichigo reached forward and grabbed Kon by the neck, lifting him up off the floor. His breaths were deep and harsh, his teeth were clenched and his eyes were narrow slits of fury.

Kon looked down at him. "What, you gonna kill me?" He snorted. He didn't have much to live for, anyway.

Ichigo held him where he was.

"It's your body."

With a growl, Ichigo let Kon drop to the floor.

Kon got to his feet, leaning with his hands on his knees, steadying himself. He coughed, his neck aching from where Ichigo's grip had been. He rubbed his throat and coughed again, getting used to breathing normally once more.

"You had no right." Ichigo stood with his back to Kon. "You had absolutely no right."

Kon looked up. Ichigo's back was to him.

"You took something that should have been mine." Ichigo was forcing himself to stay calm. "And you lied to us. And maybe I haven't been the greatest person in the world to you, but we had some sort of agreement, some sort of trust."

"And I said I was sorry." Kon stood up properly. "But I don't want to beg for your forgiveness anymore. I had my reasons."

"It'll never happen again."

"That's one of the reasons I did it. Can you honestly say you would pass up a once in a lifetime chance if it was offered to you, no matter what the consequences?"

Ichigo pondered this, staring ahead blankly. Could taking shinigami powers from Rukia be an example of that? It had felt right at the time.

"Admit it. You might hate me, but you need me."

Ichigo knew that Kon was right. Perhaps they did need him.

"You're never going to be with Rukia like that again."

"Yeah. I know. She's always liked you, anyway. I'm just an annoyance to her." Kon smiled wryly, blinking back the heat that was rising behind his eyes. "Just as long as I get to be near her, I guess."

"You are an annoyance." Ichigo turned around to look at Kon. It was disconcerting actually looking at his own body but he could see that Kon made him look different. His shoulders were slumped a different way. His stance was different. His wry smile bordered on goofy. "But...Rukia's just that kind of girl. Even if I hate you for it, I can sort of understand."

"Hm." Kon shrugged. "Maybe there is a shred of decency in you after all."

"Maybe." Ichigo nodded. "Fine, you can come back. We just forget this. You apologize to Rukia. Then we go back to how things were. Except you don't complain. And I'll try and be a little nicer to you. We try and have some sort of mutual respect. For Rukia’s sake at least."

They stood there looking at each other.

"Don't you think that this is a little quick?" Kon asked. "I mean, I wouldn't forgive someone so easily."

"Who said I forgive you? It'll be a very long time before I can do that. But the fact of the matter is that I'm with Rukia now and I don't want to mess that up. And I know that you won't."

"Yeah." Kon bowed his head. "I won't because I want to see her happy."

"Yeah."

They nodded in agreement.

"Besides, would you rather this was dragged out?" Ichigo shifted his sword so that he was gripping it more easily.

"N-No," Kon said hurriedly, waving his hands.

"Good. Don't come back until tomorrow night, though. I wanna get some sleep before school and talk to Rukia. Tell her what we've agreed on."

"Ok."

"All right then."

They both stood there, realising that they had no way to get Kon out of Ichigo's body. Ichigo cursed and Kon bit his lip, looking around. Neither of them wanted to disturb Rukia.

"Hey, Kon."

"What?"

"You reckon I have a shred of decency in me?"

"Yeah. I guess."

Ichigo hit Kon with a sudden punch to the side of the face. Kon reeled with a cry of pain and then stood up, clutching his cheek. "Dammit! What the hell was that for?"

"I wanted to see whether I could knock you out of my body that way."

"You bastard..."

"Kurosaki-san!"

Both of them turned towards the musical voice to see Urahara standing with his cane ready.

"You always seem to show up everywhere." Ichigo frowned at Urahara. "You're such a pervert."

Urahara shrugged. He had his own reasons. "Do you need me or not?"