Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

Prize of Victory 2
By : NovaAlexandria
Category: Bleach > General
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Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story
Chapter List
- 66
- 67
- 68
Of Mended Lids and Cracked Pots

Rukia finished scrubbing the second of two woks, ran the hottest water the tap had to offer over it to rinse it and placed it gingerly on the counter to dry, along with the rest of the cookware from lunch. While the plates and tableware usually ended up in the dishwasher, the rest of the pots and pans had to be cleaned by hand, as she would in a typical mess hall, and after nearly four months of living at the Ishida Estate, she�d come to think of the place as a substitute Division.

�Uh oh.�

Maybe that was a good thing. Brooding about her sprawling family Estate, the remnants of the Kuchiki Clan and her captive brother wasn�t going to help and this neo-classical, Western-style mansion did little to remind her of the �home� she�d lost when the Seireitei had fallen. Chores like dishes and sweeping also made her feel grounded� something she�d discovered she needed once the Escapees had settled in for a long stay.

�Rukia-chan?�

Unfortunately, there were occasionally �kitchen casualties� with this many people inhabiting the house. She�d pulled the last piece to scrub from the soapy water, one of the wok lids, and then stared at the thin crack revealed when the suds on it dribbled back into the dishwater.

�Rukia!�

There was a hand on her shoulder, one she didn�t remember when it touched her and Rukia realized she�d been woolgathering at the sink. The hot steam rising from the still-running water made the hair at her temples stick to her chin. Brushing it away with the back of a wet hand, she looked back at Yuzu apologetically.

�Sorry, I didn�t mean to waste the water. It looks like this one needs repairing.�

She held it up to show the woman a few feet away, placing clean glasses into their proper place in an upper cupboard. Yuzu peered at it, and then chuckled.

�That�s strange. I didn�t notice it was damaged when I stir-fried the vegetables. I�ll ask the staff and see if anyone knows anything. It�s not the end of the world. The bottom�s the important part, after all, and you know what they say about cracked lids and mended pots.�

�Do you want me to dry?�

Rukia flicked her eyes towards the stack of pots on the counter. Yuzu shook her head and closed the cabinet.

�Don�t bother. Let them air dry. I�ll just dirty them again when I start supper preparations, so storing them for an hour will be a waste of time. Now that you bring it up, I don�t think I�ve actually put any of these away in the cupboards since the beginning of winter.�

Rukia gave her sister-in-law a look that bordered on guilty.

�We�re a horde, nee-san and now there are even more mouths to feed��

�Feh,� the pretty blonde woman replied and being taller, reached up and contemplatively stroked her fingers down the maple wood face of the cabinet door she�d just closed. �It�s silly, but sometimes I imagine the china, the crystal, the silver fish forks and tea services get lonely in this big kitchen with just me and Ishida-san and the occasional dinner party. I�m sure they enjoy being out with such lively company for a change!�

The wistful look in Yuzu�s warm brown eyes, so much like her older brother�s, as she scanned the wine glasses in the cabinet in front of her made Rukia wonder, not for the first time, if they�d done the right thing in allowing Yuzu to accept Ryuuken�s offer. If it was one thing Rukia understood, it was feeling lost in a very large house filled with very expensive things, with new and unexpected ties to someone reluctant to express any feelings.

The kitchen suddenly seemed, for all its size, a tad claustrophobic and the petite Shinigami quickly untied the apron she wore. Hanging it up on the hook next to the refrigerator, she bowed to her sister-in-law and murmured something hasty about checking up on Ichigo�s progress. He�d spent the morning demolishing the last of the compromised retaining walls. Yuzu told her to go ahead, to make sure her �Nii-san� wasn�t �overdoing it, as usual.�

Once out the back door and free of the house, she took a few deep breaths of spring air and tried to hone in on her husband�s unique reiatsu. It was, thankfully, exactly where it was supposed to be. Half of the Ishida Estate�s grounds sloped uphill into the wooded forests that dotted the foothills to the west of Karakura. To protect the main house and the separate, smaller guest house occupied by the majordomo and his family from mudslides and other problems, past generations had built a series of reinforced stone walls and paths, effectively terracing a third of the Estate�s acreage.

While they�d lasted for over a century, the last several years had done a number on their structural integrity. With the Realms so badly out of balance, Japan had been hit by repeated earthquakes, a tsunami along the coast, and unseasonably torrential rains in autumn and record-setting snow and ice over the winter. It had been so cold that Rukia would have sworn she was in Hokkaido, or points even farther north, rather than Honshu. While the snow had begun to recede a month ago, the dramatic warm-up and spring runoff had contributed to the weakening of at least three of the walls and the subsequent crumbling of two of them. The small earth slide that resulted had wiped out the cobbled path that wound its way up the hill to a sitting area that overlooked the Estate and the city beyond it.

Clearing the path of mud and debris was just one of the many chores that Rukia�s little group of survivors had taken on while they were Yuzu and Ryuuken�s guests. Of their motley little band, Ichigo and Kenpachi were the most suited to hard manual labour. Kenpachi, unfortunately, had the strength but not the temperament for drudge work, so it fell to Ichigo to handle excavating the paths of mud, dirt and debris, as well as hauling the supplies the masons would need up the hill to the three spots they�d be most needed.

She paused briefly on the way up to admire the rapidly greening forest around them and to brush her fingers along the newly-unfurled, verdant leaves of a maple. They were all over the property, but that didn�t surprise her very much. Its five-lobed leaves echoed the other Quincy emblems scattered here and there throughout the house and the grounds. She hadn�t realized the orchard had been planted in the shape of a pentacle until Yuzu pointed it out. The hillside would be gorgeous in the autumn. If they were lucky, their motley little band of refugees would get to see it. She had to believe that the events of the last few days meant an end to their running. The alternative was too depressing to contemplate for long. Then she heard the barking, coming from higher up on the hill, followed by vague shouts of masculine outrage.

�Oh, no. Not again.�

Rukia decided it would be best to deal with what she knew she would find once she reached the worksite quickly and used Shunpo to dash past the two sections Ichigo had already dug out to the highest, weather-ravaged wall.

�Aargh! Back off! Stop it!�

The sight that greeted her as she rounded the last turn on the path almost made her laugh out loud. Ichigo sat atop a tall pile of bags of quick-setting cement and sand, draped by a tarp to keep them dry. Two black and tan Doberman pinschers had him cornered, neither looked willing to let their shared quarry escape. It was only a matter of time before the guard dogs tried to climb the pile after him. What made the sight more comical was the fact that Tadashi, the larger of the two beasts, had her husband�s T-shirt in its jaws, shaking it back and forth like a rag and eyeing Ichigo in a way that said �you�re next.� The smaller dog, Jun, paced back and forth at the bottom of pile of bags, waiting for the man above to slip off the tarp or make a mistake and get his work boot within chewing distance.

Sighing deeply, Rukia took a step forward to diffuse the situation and get the animals that were supposed to be an integral part of the Ishida security system under control, when her husband yelled once more, shaking his gloved fist at them:

�Stupid mutts! Go find a rabbit to chase or something! I have work to do! Quit it!�

Her eyes narrowed.

Rukia summarily stepped backwards.

Maybe some time up there would do him some good, she considered.

The noisy arrival of two children scuttled that plan. They nearly ran into her as they barrelled up the path. She deftly moved aside and let them pass, feeling the breeze they created in their wake. The oldest, his eyes huge and his magenta hair tousled, snapped back at his younger, darker-haired sibling.

�Moe, call them off before we get into trouble!�

�Why do I hafta? You�re th�one who messed up and didn� lock the kennel, Ginjou!�

��Cause they listen to you!�

�Jun! Tadashi! C�mere boys!� the smaller of the two children bellowed out, gasping after the hard run up the hill. �You aren�t s�posed to eat people!�

The dogs, upon hearing the young, urgent voice, turned as a unit and made straight for the brothers. Ordinarily, Rukia would have drawn Sode No Shirayuki the moment the Dobermans had shown an interest in a new target, but after spending the last few months at the Ishida Estate, she�d learned a few things about these particular animals.

First, as they demonstrated the moment they got within a few feet of the two children, their entire demeanour changed, from vicious attack dogs to canines whose sole purpose in life was to lick small boys to death. Second, their value as �guard dogs� was somewhat questionable and depended on who they encountered. Rukia watched as Ginjou and Moe�s presence transformed the beasts into whimpering, squirming pups, their docked tails vibrating like a bumblebee�s butt.

�Hey, knock it off, Jun!� Ginjou grumbled as he tried to get his hands on Tadashi�s collar. Meanwhile, Jun had pinned the younger brother to the ground and lapped at the six-year-old boy�s nose until the kid dissolved into a fit of giggles.

Rukia, in the meantime, had cautiously approached the muddle between her and her increasingly irritated husband. Both dogs� heads went up as they caught her scent and she snorted when they gave the canine equivalent of a shrug and went back to trying to wash both children�s faces. Neither pooch saw any of the females who lived there as threats, including Hiyori. They also ignored the ever-serene Hachi. Yoruichi had taught both dogs a lesson with her claws while in her cat form that had stuck with them and they gave her a wide berth.

They obediently followed the staff and Ryuuken�s orders, sat at Yuzu�s feet in the garden while she tended the early vegetables in the raised beds and immediately rolled over and showed their throats when in Kenpachi�s presence. Rukia considered that an understandable reaction.

Ichigo was the exception to their tolerance for the strange. There was something about him that set off both animals, riled their protective instincts and it wasn�t the scowl he�d never really outgrown. At first, Rukia thought it was the Hollow within him, but when they failed to treat Nel-chan, a powerful, presumably dangerous Arrancar, with the same sort of hostility, she discarded that theory.

�Hey, can I get some help here?� she heard Ichigo call down to her and she sighed once more. Catching the eldest boy�s eyes, Rukia cleared her throat.

�Tsukishima-san, can you please return the dogs to the kennel? I�m sure my husband will get more work done if they aren�t trying to eat him.�

�Kurosaki-san! We�re sorry! I� uh� I left the lock undone and they got out. Please don�t tell �ka-san!� Ginjou begged, finally getting a grip on Tadashi, while Moe unsuccessfully made a grab for the Jun�s collar. �Darn it! Sit, Jun!�

She wanted to roll her eyes, really, but refrained. She�d never had a �pet� as a child. The dogs in the Inuzuri were competitors for the scraps she and Renji had scrounged. Sharing those meagre gleanings with the strays that gave that District its nickname hadn�t been something her hungry, younger self would have contemplated. Still, she had learned how to deal with them using a few special tactics, which she employed now.

�JUN!! TADASHI!! SIT!!� she roared out in a voice much too large for her body. Both dogs immediately ceased their wiggling and stared at her attentively while she fished a mochi filled with red bean paste out of her dress pocket. Two pairs of eyes followed her hand as she broke the small sweet, a leftover bit of dessert from lunch, into halves. They licked their chops and when their hindquarters hit the dirt, she moved in and gave the children orders.

�Take them back to the kennel and make sure it�s locked and I might forget to mention this incident to your mother.�

She then offered the mochi pieces to the two sorriest excuses for security dogs she�d ever met. The air of authority she used to reinforce the command wasn�t lost on the wide-eyed kids as they quickly hauled the wayward canines down the hill. Out of the corner of one eye, she also thought she saw Ichigo�s spine straighten out of habit, to her amusement.

�Sorry, Kurosaki-san!� she heard little Moe yell and Rukia wasn�t entirely certain which Kurosaki the apology was for, her or Ichigo. The Shinigami watched them go, waiting to ensure Jun and Tadashi weren�t going to make a break for it and come back to see if she had more mochi.

�Goddammit�� Ichigo swore behind her.

When she turned around, she found he�d climbed down from the stack of bags and had retrieved what remained of his T-shirt from the ground. The dogs had ventilated it, giving it three large, new holes. The normal frown on his face deepened into a snarl as he examined the damage.

�Fuck! This was��

�It was old, Ichigo. That�s why you were wearing it, to do this work.�

�I could have gotten a few more days out of this thing! Now look at it!�

He held it out, thrusting the dog-hair-and-slobber-coated fabric inches from her nose, which Rukia didn�t appreciate. What she did appreciate was the sight of her shirtless husband standing close enough for her to see the sweat that trickled down his torso to disappear below the denim waistband of his jeans. He didn�t seem to realize where her eyes had wandered and she had to prevent them from going any lower. She was trying to make a point, not leer at him. Reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose, partly out of irritation and partly to hide her flushed cheeks, Rukia tried once more.

�Yuzu-chan told me to tell you not to overdo things.�

At the mention of his younger sister, Ichigo�s temper retreated from the boiling point, as she�d predicted. He still glared at the shirt in disgust, however. Then he tossed it into the nearest bush with some mumbled profanity that didn�t quite make it past his lips, but which Rukia recognized as a probable curse on anything that walked on four legs and ate from a bowl.

�Tell her I�m going to try to finish this today. I�ve removed the worst of the debris for the contractors to haul away once they bring in the heavy equipment, but tearing down this old wall can�t wait, unless she wants a mudslide to hit the west wing the next time it rains. I�ve also divvied up the building materials that were delivered last week. The masons will find things ready to go when they show up to build the forms.�

�Why was your shirt off in the first place, Ichigo?�

�Maybe it�s nice to feel the sun after three months of snow and blizzards. Maybe it gets hot out here after about one-o-clock,� he groused at her, picking up the sledgehammer he�d evidently discarded when the dogs went after him. �Do I need a reason?�

Rukia folded her arms across her chest.

�Yes, if you expect me to put lotion on the sunburn you�re going to get.�

�Fine. Go ask Yuzu-chan if she has any sunscreen and I�ll make sure I put it on.�

As much as Rukia wanted to do the right thing and get the stuff, she was smart enough to know that her husband�s bad mood was only partly due to the unexpected attack of the selectively obedient Dobermans Ishida-san owned. Hesitantly, she walked up to him and placed her hand on his back. Her touch made him stop what he was doing.

�Ichigo, what is it? You�re not usually like this.�

The earned her a bitter, angry laugh.

�Like what?�

�Like� this. Ignoring the rest of us in favour of working alone. You�re not going to finish this tonight� not by yourself.�

�Maybe I feel like tearing something apart right now. Besides, once the wall is down, it�s up to the skilled contractors. If the weather holds, they can come in, built the forms and pour tomorrow.�

�You know Ishida-san won�t bring a work crew on to the property with a house full of guests� especially with the Arrancar here.�

�He can tell them he�s having a week-long cosplay party, like all of the rest of the crazy rich celebrities,� he began, before she interrupted him.

�What did you and Grimmjow talk about last night?�

This time the angry look he gave her was all for her, but she held her ground, until he cursed again and dropped the sledgehammer next to a pile of concrete rubble that had yet to be carted downhill in the wheelbarrow.

�What do you think we talked about, Rukia? What could we possibly have in common?�

�You weren�t this angry when you came to bed last night.�

�I had all last night to think about it.�

�What did you conclude, after you two went for a walk?�

�He really does love her� in as much as an Arrancar can love, I guess.�

�I wonder if Nel would like to hear your take on her capacity for feelings.�

�Are we having an argument, Rukia? Because I think you�re trying to pick one with me and I don�t want to leave this for someone else to finish.�

�No, that�s not why I came up here. I came up here to see how you were doing, since you inhaled lunch and left as if someone had set your pants on fire. Yuzu also said to��

�Not overdo it, yeah, I heard.�

�Oh, and �Thank you, honey, for calling off the dogs. I really appreciate it,�� she added sarcastically. Rukia didn�t like this sullen side of her husband and when it chose to make an appearance, her usual manner of heading it off involved calling him on his mulish behaviour.

�Stupid mongrels. Why am I the only one they seem to want to tear apart?�

�Maybe because they haven�t met Renji or Grimmjow yet?�

The silence between them lengthened, until she heard a snicker, which then rolled into real laughter. Ichigo�s hands when to his thighs as he took a seat on the mound of dirty concrete chunks and ran his hands through his sweat-soaked hair.

�Shit� Has anyone warned them?�

�I�m not sure if Nel�s mentioned them to Renji or not. Grimmjow��

�I�d pay to see them tree him, just for a few minutes. Whatever�s in my wallet right now, I�d fork it over to have them run him up the biggest apple tree in the orchard� except I need that for a new shirt.�

�I don�t think little Ginjou will forget to lock the kennel any time soon. I�m not sure what constitutes a �time out� at Majordomo Tsukishima�s house, but from what I�ve overheard, it involves a box.�

�Usually it�s a corner. That�s what Mom did with us if we misbehaved,� Ichigo said, staring at her feet, rather than meeting her eyes. He could dislike the dogs all he wanted, but she didn�t want him resenting Ginjou and Moe for an honest mistake.

�They seem like good children, Ichigo, even if they are a little forgetful.�

�It isn�t them. They�re only boys. I can remember being just as afraid of getting into trouble with my Mom as they are with theirs� though Tsukishima-san is pretty scary, when you think about it.�

�Only if she doesn�t like you. Renji really needs to make things up to her,� she replied, and Ichigo let out a snort when she mentioned the redhead.

�At least he�s consistent with his first impressions. I wanted to kick his ass when I met him too.�

�Are you going to be okay with working with Grimmjow?�

�What about you and Szayel?� Ichigo countered and Rukia bared her teeth.

�That�s not fair. I asked you first.�

Her husband�s shoulders relaxed, though he added resignation to the mix of emotions in his voice.

�Fine. The answer is yes. It isn�t as if I have much of a choice at this point.�

�So again, do you really think he loves her? He�s not just saying it?�

�Yeah, I do. It�s the way he said it, the look in his eyes� it�s like he�s on the edge of a breakdown when he talks about Karin. Kami, I�m having a hard enough time thinking about Karin as a mother, let alone wanting to think about her and Grimmjow in that way.�

She could sympathize. Finding out about Ajuga, after nine long years of silence between the two siblings, had jolted Ichigo badly and the second stab had come when those around them, including Yoruichi, Hiyori, Hachi and Nel, had confessed to knowing about the girl. Maybe her husband�s need for space was the result of more than a few people neglecting to tell him the whole truth, but after his Hollow had taken over during what was supposed to be a mission to try and get Karin to come with them after they had learned about his blood line and the danger it posed to Karin in Soil Society, no one had wanted to hand Ichigo a reason to make a second attempt at dragging Karin back.

At least they now knew why she�d refused to come with them.

�It�s just a little ironic, I guess. Here I am pissed at Grimmjow, the Aspect of fucking Destruction, for taking my baby sister away, when I�ve done the same damn thing to Byakuya. He�s going to be thrilled when he finds out we�re related.�

His sardonic comment rendered Rukia speechless, stunned that he would consider their union in that way. Her hands balled into fists, nails cutting into her palms and the metal of the ring she wore rubbed against the sword calluses on them.

�That�s� that�s entirely different, Ichigo, and you know it! You asked and I said yes and that�s all there is to it for us. No one forced me to marry you!�

�Karin went to him willingly too. Yuzu told us, but I never really believed her until last night.�

Ichigo let out a long breath.

�Sometimes I wonder, Rukia, whether Byakuya will spend as much time hating my guts for becoming your lover and then your husband as I spent hating Grimmjow for Claiming my sister. For all he knows, I�m more dangerous to you than the Sixth ever was to Karin.�

At that, she reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose, fed up with this self-flagellation.

�Look, about Grimmjow� I don�t think your fears were misplaced, exactly. Remember what he did to me when I turned his fraccion into an ice pop?� She gritted her teeth and her frown deepened. �It�s not the same, Ichigo. I was a grown woman when I met you and I was also a grown woman on that day in Yokohama� the first time we, well� and damn it all, I�m not some little girl you need to fret over and protect, even from him!�

Ichigo�s expression darkened at the mention of his Hollow.

�Yet another bastard I�d like beat into the ground with a rusty rake. You should hear his mouth sometimes. Better yet, I�d rather you didn�t hear the crap he spouts. You might decide to gut us.�

Rukia bit her lip. She had, in fact, heard his Hollow�s voice, though she disliked conversing with the thing that shared his skull. That part of Ichigo�s soul had become increasingly vocal and annoying since they�d made things official and each time it spoke to her, the subject was the same.

Would it be �cheating� if she allowed a disparate entity that shared the same body to crawl between her legs and �rock her world�, even if it was part and parcel of the man she�d gladly married? A portion of her thought it would be worse than cheating and she had no desire to let the Vasto Lorde that comprised the other half of Ichigo�s power to exert control over her in the form of a Claim. After witnessing Renji�s abrupt departure from the kitchen table the other night, she knew she didn�t want anyone, not even Ichigo, to direct her actions without her consent.

Another, separate part of her wanted to call the thing�s bluff, to see exactly how accurate all of its wheedling promises were with regard to �making her scream�.

That, in turn, made her reflect on the man sitting before her. Ichigo had placed both hands on the end of the sledgehammer�s handle and his forehead rested on the right one, his posture radiating all kinds of unhappiness. It also allowed her to see the muscles in his shoulders as they hunched over. The sporadic manual labour he�d engaged in for fifteen years, as well as the training he�d done with the rest of the Escapees when time and space allowed had left him with a lean, sculpted body taller and broader than the one he�d worn as a boy. He sported more scars as well, including the angry red line on his lower right abdomen, just visible above his jeans� waistband.

She hated it. It was a reminder of how close they�d come to losing him to a burst appendix, a problem that came out of nowhere. It was evidence of his mortality and that he was still subject to the rules that governed souls tied to human bodies. It chilled her and made her appreciate him all the more.

�Would he have looked like this if he�d had a chance to live out a normal life, if he�d been able to go to college or work for some company in a cubicle? I suppose we�ll never really know.�

Then again, given what they�d found out from Ishida Ryuuken, the odds of Ichigo ever having what one might consider a �normal� life had been slim from the beginning. She�d simply been the catalyst for the change. If it wasn�t her, something else might have awakened the power within him. What Rukia did know was that she�d chosen to share whatever kind of life Ichigo carved for himself with him and that she had no regrets about accepting his proposal.

The sun had crept westward since the lunch hour and they found themselves suddenly standing in the shade as the hillside cast a shadow over the path. It allowed her to see what sort of sunburn her husband had managed to earn for his carelessness. After a few moments of critical examination, Rukia could tell it was too late for sunblock. He�d be hurting in a few hours if she didn�t get him inside and out of the light. She moved to stand directly in front of him, reached down and wrapped one small hand around as much of his bicep as she could manage. Brown eyes looked up at her quizzically.

�You�re burnt. You need to come inside.�

�I had a break at lunch and I�m almost��

��parboiled, like a shrimp turned pink in broth. Ishida-san�s at the hospital, but I think we can both guess what he�d tell you to do for it.�

Ichigo frowned as she rested one of her cool hands on his shoulders and then winced as the difference in temperature between her skin and his became apparent.

�Shit,� he hissed and her expression switched to a familiar, wifely �told you so,� before she made him look at her.

�Right, so let�s put down the hammer and go inside. You�ve officially off the clock.�

�Fantastic,� he muttered and Rukia �tsk-ed� at him, then tugged on his shaggy orange bangs. His hair was getting too long again and she�d have to ask Hachi to trim it, as neither she nor Nel knew how to cut hair and only a fool would allow Yachiru or Hiyori near his or her head with a pair of scissors.

�There is an upside.�

He winced as he looked down, as if seeing his chest for the first time.

�What�s that?�

�I might be able to fix this,� she said as she tapped his shoulder delicately, �with some aloe gel and with Kido, in the privacy of our room. Are you willing to come with me or are you going to spend your energy on a wall that�s going to fall apart anyway?�

Maybe it was the combination of standing close to him and breathing in the scent of the shampoo he used every morning, the underlying smell of male sweat and musk mixed with the faint whiff of the laundry detergent that clung to his clothing. Maybe she�d been thinking a little too much about the last time she�d spoken with his Hollow, when the golden-eyed monster had stuck his tongue out at her and informed her he could breathe through his ears for hours on end. Normally, she�d chide Ichigo for leaving work unfinished, but what ailed him wouldn�t be solved, in the long run, by working himself ragged on demolition.

No, she had a better method of doing that. He had no chance to gainsay Rukia when she pulled his chin a smidgen higher and dropped a kiss on his startled mouth. Drawing back, she saw he seemed very surprised, pleased and just a little wary of her. Then he reached up with both hands and dragged her back down for a far more thorough, open-mouthed exploration.

�Who has the sunburn now?� he murmured.

�Baka!� she snapped, but her retort contained a different kind of heat, as did her cheeks. Ichigo made a rude sound, but got to his feet. Leaning the sledgehammer against the pile of broken concrete he grasped her hand and began walking briskly back down the path, tugging her roughly behind him, in much the same way the boys had dragged off the dogs. Rukia scowled at his sudden change in mood, though she had been the one to suggest, nay, encourage him and she wasn�t going to beg off now.

Yuzu, for once, wasn�t in the kitchen and Rukia considered it a good sign as she slipped off her shoes at the back door, dropping them next to Ichigo�s significantly dirtier work boots. She quickly opened the cupboard containing medical supplies such as a first aid kit among other thing and swiped the extra bottle of burn gel she knew Yuzu kept on hand to treat accidental scalding. Then she �meeped� as Ichigo picked her up bottle and all, and carried her out into the thankfully empty hallway. The rest of the trip to their guestroom was a blur and he soon deposited her on the bed. Her slight weight bounced as her body made contact with the mattress.

He disappeared into the small en suite bath, leaving her a bit disoriented. Rukia heard the shower start and a few muffled curses that let her know he�d turned the water on the coldest setting. That would take the heat from the sunburn on his torso and she could probably manage the rest� if it didn�t give him hypothermia first. Five minutes later, Ichigo wandered out of the shower, teeth chattering and with a towel draped around his hips and another around his shoulders. Rukia swallowed and indicated that he ought to lie down on his stomach and let her get to work.

�It�s too damned early in the year for sunburns,� he grumbled as he rubbed his head with terrycloth and made to toss it back into the bathroom. She gave him a pointed look and he stopped, then took a few steps back and hung it up. Walking back to the bed, he lay down on the blanket and buried his face in his folded arms. Rukia quickly popped the cap of the aloe gel and began smoothing it over his shoulders and down his back, taking a few minutes just to enjoy the feel of him beneath her fingertips. He�d always been on the lean side, but years of manual labour had added about thirty pounds of muscle to his frame.

To think, it was all hers, every last inch if it.

His skin drank in the gel and she debated whether to add more to his back before switching to Kido. Normally, she�d be helpless to heal his material body with it, since her salvaged gigai didn�t allow for its use. However, within the confines of the Quincy fortress, she didn�t need her gigai to interact with him, which made things like this so much easier. There were a lot of things she enjoyed about the Ishida Estate, but her favourite thing by far was touching Ichigo with her real hands, whenever she wanted, which was why she�d given him grief about the towel.

�I don�t want to make the staff�s job harder. I also don�t want you to get too comfortable with having a bathroom of our own just yet. We might have to go back to sharing one with a lot of other people,� she chided him. Her husband turned his head to the side as her small fingers slathered additional aloe to the small of his back.

�Rukia, you know as well as I that this is the last move we�re going to make. That was decided when Yoruichi brought Grimmjow and the others here from the Royal Realm. We�re on a deadline now. It�s either going to be us or Aizen, depending on what Szayel can find. Besides, I can�t see Yuzu allowing us to leave with Nel and the baby, even if Renji hadn�t shown up. She�d insist that they stay and I can�t blame her.�

Rukia listened to her husband�s solemn words and then filled her hands with enough Kido to mitigate the damage to his epidermis. She worked her way from the back of his neck to the line at his hips where the pink ended and the white began.

�She�d be right. So this is our last stand. I expected it to happen sooner than this.�

The body beneath her gel-covered hands moved, twisted and Rukia found him staring up at her with one hand behind his head and the other resting on his abdomen. She quickly poured another dollop of gel into her palm and began rubbing it gently into his right bicep. Her husband said nothing as she finished with one arm and started in on the other.

�Hey, midget��

Her brows knit into a frown when he used her old nickname, the one that reminded her of her tiny stature. Thanks to recent, regular and decent meals courtesy of Yuzu, Rukia had discovered the beginnings of a real figure beneath her shihakusho. While she�d never be as lush as Orihime-chan, Nel-chan or Matsumoto-Fukutaichou, the small amount of extra padding on her hips and in her bust had helped her look less like a scrawny pre-teen girl. It was a goad and she knew it.

�What is it?� she asked, just before he pulled her over him with the arm she hadn�t finished. Scrambling upright, she blushed to find she was perched on his stomach, knees around his waist with her goopy hands pressed against his chest. Unfazed, Rukia took advantage of the position to pour Kido and aloe gel in equal measures over the fool she�d married. To his credit, his serious expression never wavered as he reached up and brushed dark strands of hair away from her forehead and out of her eyes.

�We were going to have to stop running eventually Rukia and I like our chances much more than I did a week ago. This time we have a real chance and I�m not going to let it go to waste. I have to get used to Grimmjow and Kami help your brother, he�ll have to get used to me.�

�Ah, but will you be able to get used to my adoptive third cousins, my great-aunts and uncles and assorted relations? They�re intimidating.�

�Fine, I think, as long as you don�t tell them that you lived in my closet for over a month when I was fifteen.�

�I much prefer sharing a bed than sharing a closet.�

�Glad we agree on something.�

His hands slid up her bare legs, until they encountered her underwear. Leaving the garment alone, he sat up and his fingers made her squirm as they glided along her ribs. Ichigo pushed the dress she wore over her head and tossed it to the side, a slow smile spreading across his face when he took in her near nakedness. One of the advantages of being small busted, even with a few new curves, was that one could go without the torture device known as a brassiere. Bindings were fine while she was in uniform, but support had never been an absolute necessity. That meant one less layer between her flesh and his hands.

What her breasts lacked in size they made up for in sensitivity. Rukia closed her eyes and let her head fall back the moment she felt Ichigo�s tongue and teeth latch on to a nipple while he rolled the other between his thumb and forefinger. The twin sensations shot straight to her groin and she writhed against the hard, towel-covered length she felt growing beneath her.

�I should finish healing you,� she gasped, when the hand that wasn�t busy with her breast snaked underneath the edge of her panties, pulling the thin cotton fabric to the side. His fingertips immediately started toying with her exposed sex. Little sparks of color went off behind her eyelids at each stroke of her clit. Rukia�s breathing grew ragged the longer he teased her. His mouth left her nipple long enough to utter two words:

�Later. Nightstand.�

He gently bit down again, which did nothing to help her get to the drawer he wanted her to open.

�Ichigo�� she warned and he must have realized that he�d asked her to be in two places at once, because he released her. She proceeded to scoot up and over, reaching for the drawer handle, and didn�t sense him lying back until his breath trailed down her abdomen and his fingers hooked either side of the waistband of her cotton panties. Her underwear joined her dress and with the drawer only half open, Rukia moaned as this tongue began to explore her from below.

He took his time doing it too and she soon found her hips moving in synch with every lick and thrust. Large hands cradled her bottom, thumbs spreading her wide and making it easier for his talented mouth to ravish her. It took every ounce of willpower she had to root through the drawer and find what she needed, when what she wanted to do was grab the headboard and ride his tongue. This was the Ichigo that made her stomach flutter at the strangest of times, the one with the hooded brown eyes, flushed cheeks and a desire to toss aside his decorum once the door to their bedroom was locked. Intimacy was difficult when sharing cramped, substandard living quarters with six other people and she didn�t want to take the luxury of a room all to themselves for granted.

She was so close and the only thing that kept her from unravelling completely and cumming was the sharp edge of the packet in her hand, digging into her palm. It was a discordant note and served to remind her that she was neglecting him. Rukia tore it open with shaky fingers and arched her back, fumbling behind her to try to find the towel and get at what lay underneath it.

It required a decent stretch and she heard her spine pop, but her dexterity served her well when her fingers found the towel and dragged it off her husband and the bed itself. Rukia bit down on her lip as her clit became Ichigo�s next target, only to feel him falter when she finally grasped him in one hand and placed the condom over him with the other. Trying to do this with both hands behind her back wasn�t easy, but with determination, anything was possible. Once she�d unrolled it completely, she held his cock by the base, feeling it twitch in her hands. The urge to be filled was overwhelming.

Ichigo�s mouth left her, just as she was about to tip over that elusive edge and a few seconds later, she was in his lap. He sat with bent legs in the middle of the bed, with her straddling him and the lips that had had made such short work of her were now against her throat. He said nothing, but the solid length wedged against her belly told her what she needed to know. Her hands migrated to his shoulder and she pressed down, lifting her hips and letting him position her as he liked. The thick head of his cock slid between Rukia�s slippery-wet inner lips and she lowered herself, taking it in as gradually as she could. Despite the fact the condom was pre-lubricated, she had to work to get him into her and she knew from experience that they would both last longer if she slowed this down. His cock stretched her nearly past the point of comfort. The faint ache created as his girth was like a spice added to a favourite dish, making it that much more interesting, until she felt her bottom come into contact with the tops of his thighs and the tawny curls that surrounded his manhood brushed her already swollen clit.

They stayed like that for a moment, adjusting to one another, until her husband sat back against the pillows stacked against the headboard and uncurled his legs, allowing her knees to reach the bedspread. That gave her the leverage she needed. Biting her lower lip, she rose and fell once, then twice.

�Oh Rukia, that�s� are you alright?�

His palms cupped her bottom, moving in circles over the skin there and warming it.

�I should ask you that. How is your back?� she whispered back, her voice thick. He wasn�t anywhere near cumming; she could tell from his breathing and the way he held himself. The tang of strawberry-flavoured lube, the cool green scent of the gel she�d rubbed into his skin and a fresh round of sweat at his temples mixed with the faint musk clinging to his lips into a heady mix.

�No pain?�

�None. Kami, please� move!�

�Hmph. Making me do all of the work,� she murmured without resentment as his needy fingers dug into her ass and stayed there. Rukia lifted her hips again, her thighs working and just to make her point, clenched on the downward motion, until he filled her completely. Then she found a rhythm that she enjoyed and which made the man beneath her tremble like a leaf caught in a breeze. Ichigo was content to relinquish control and let her lead. He was always so careful of her, despite Rukia�s protests that he didn�t need to worry about breaking her.

Her best efforts to prolong things came to naught when his hands clenched her hips and slammed her down on him harder than she expected. He hit her cervix at the same time he hit her clit and that was her undoing. Rukia came, fighting to contain the scream that wanted to escape her mouth. Her husband quickly swallowed it and wrapped both arms around her to hold her still. Four quick, deep thrusts from below and he groaned. Even with the layer of latex between them, she could tell he�d joined her by the heavy pulsing against her quaking walls.

She heard her name murmured reverently against her collarbone and dipped her head to kiss the one that held her while they gradually came down from their respective, mutual climax.

�I smell like aloe,� she complained, to which he laughed and shrugged. Raising his head, he caught her lips in a swift, sweet and carefully untangled their limbs. The condom went into the trash can beneath the nightstand and while he caught his breath and she tried to get her heart rate under control, Ichigo rolled to his side and pulled her snugly against him.

�You smell just fine. Thank you, Rukia.�

She wasn�t entirely sure if he was grateful for the sex they�d just enjoyed or her treatment of his sunburn or smoothing more intangible, but she was too relaxed to care about the details. Hopefully, he�d let go of some of the rage at Grimmjow he�d carefully nurtured over the years.

�You need to talk to Renji,� Rukia heard him whisper soothingly against the back of her neck. �Work out whatever�s broken between you two� and don�t make another try for Szayel.�

She bristled a bit, but when his arms tightened around her, she knew that arguing about this would only dispel the peaceful, languid feeling between them. Rukia wanted it to last a little while before they reverted to their normal �back and forth�.

�I�ll do it if you make Grimmjow help you finish tearing down that wall. I�m sure he needs the distraction more than you right now.�

Perhaps it was best that they�d ended up together. She couldn�t picture anyone else putting up with her brusqueness and her willingness to go toe-to-toe in an argument. Sometimes it seemed as if they�d been engaged in a very long, drawn-out quarrel since the day they�d met, interspersed with short periods of relative peace and occasional accord. He�d taken so many blows over the last fifteen years, all because of things that were, for the most part, beyond his control and she�d had the difficult job of trying to help him solder the cracks back together. Ichigo had done the same for her, especially on the awful day they�d learned about Zabimaru�s destruction and what it had done to her oldest and best friend. She�d screamed and wept and beat on his chest and cried herself to sleep while he�d held her. He�d accepted her abuse with a stony face and Rukia was certain she�d dented him in a few places before her rage and grief over Renji�s shattered soul had petered out. They hadn�t even been �together� at that point, but he�d been the one she�d gone to for consolation.

�Maybe Yuzu was right about there being a mended lid for every cracked pot,� she thought and relaxed into his embrace. A short nap would do them both good. He could see to the wall tomorrow with the Espada who now numbered as a member of the family and she�d confront her restored friend about his new-found ability to forgive what she considered an unforgivable, monstrous crime. Renji had never been the sort to take a hit without seeking to answer it with one of his own.

�Fine, midget��

Ichigo breathed the words into her ear and sounded on the verge of dropping off. The staff had already seen to the guest bedrooms and baths, so they wouldn�t have to worry about being interrupted while dozing. Ichigo might even be up for a second round when he woke later, a thoroughly enjoyable possibility and it would allow her to distract him from what was coming, if only for a little while. For all their individual imperfections, they created a solid vessel when they came together, one that even Ichigo�s lascivious Hollow couldn�t shake.

One of his hands reached around and found a resting place over her left breast, palming it as the rise and fall of his chest slowed and Rukia reached up to cover it with her smaller fingers.

The wall, Renji, Grimmjow and everything else could wait.

Thank you for the reviews everyone. This Chapter was brought to you by Black Fox. I hope you all enjoyed a brief look into Ichigo and Rukia�s lives. As for the boys, they were named after the Fullbringers that died when Aizen destroyed their town. I kind of homage to their deaths by their parents.

Next Chapter: Aizen pulls a move that will make the Escapee�s plans far more difficult, and will seal the final nail in the coffin of any minor remaining loyalty Starrk held for the man.
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Prize of Victory 2	By : NovaAlexandria Category: Bleach > General Views: 56255 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story

Prize of Victory 2