Body Shock

A.N: Another update, sorry for the delay. Hope you enjoy it. Thank you for reviewing and thank you for reading even if you don't review.

Have finally caught up on all of the manga but this story is still anime-based.


So much had happened in such a short space of time.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime slid open the door and peeked around. Her eyes were large and curious as she took in the sight of Ichigo sitting cross-legged on the floor, his back to her. "Do you want something to eat?"

"No, Inoue. I'm fine." His shoulders were hunched over and his hands were in his lap, his head slightly bowed.

"Oh...okay. Just let us know, all right?"

"Yeah."

Orihime slowly slid the door shut and walked back into the main room of the Urahara Store where the others were.

Ishida stood up properly, Chad turned to look at her, Tessai stood with his arms folded and even Urahara paused his fanning to eye Orihime from underneath the shadows of his hat. There were only the sounds from outside of Jinta and Ururu sweeping the front lot.

"Kurosaki-kun doesn't...want anything to eat." Orihime smiled sadly at them all.

"Well, I don't imagine he would." Urahara folded his fan up and carefully laid it beside him. "It might be best if you all went home."

"If it's no trouble," Chad said in reply, "then I'd like to stay a little while longer."

Ishida adjusted his glasses. "Me too."

"And me too." Orihime looked behind her in the direction she had just come from. "I was able to heal Kuchiki-san...but I want to see how she's doing."

It had been quite fortunate that they had been nearby. Ishida had said that he sensed a hollow and had brought Chad to investigate. They had seen Orihime on the way and she had come also. When they had arrived on the scene, they had been too late for the battle but just in time for the aftermath.

Sometimes things were convenient. Sometimes things did not work out as planned. And sometimes things were simply unexpected. As soon as Orihime had seen Rukia lying on the ground with Ichigo in his spirit form next to her, she had rushed forward and called forth her power. She had been able to heal Rukia but the girl was still sleeping. Ishida had recommended that they take her to Urahara for the meantime and Chad had offered to carry her there. However, Ichigo had gone back into his body, surprising them all a little as he emerged from around the corner with his school uniform slightly dirty. He had refused to let Chad carry Rukia and had lifted her into his own arms and started to walk. There had been nothing else for the others to do except follow, all of them exchanging glances as Ichigo stalked ahead, his eyes fixed on his path.

And now, he refused to leave Rukia's side. But what could they do? Nobody else knew Rukia as well as Ichigo did.

"Oh dear..." Urahara sighed, adjusting his hat and moving to stand up. He stretched for a moment and yawned, his mouth opening widely. "Well, I'm all for something to eat. How about all of you? On the house!"

Ishida jerked to look at Urahara. "How can you act so light-hearted?"

"Huh?" Urahara's look was innocent.

"I mean, she's just lying in there and Ichigo is there and he's refusing to do anything and he might be injured himself! He's so damn stubborn sometimes!"

"But the fact of the matter is that she is resting and Kurosaki-san is fine." Urahara looked around and spotted his fan, picking it up and meeting Ishida's stare of disbelief with a cool expression. "So what more would you have me do?"

"But...I..."

Ishida closed his mouth and stopped his gaping when Chad put a heavy hand on his shoulder and spoke. "We appreciate your help."

Orihime nodded in agreement. "Yeah." There really wasn't much that they could do. They could try and persuade Ichigo to leave Rukia and come back in the morning but he wouldn't do that. Orihime could picture his face. He would do that funny scowl, pushing his eyebrows downwards. Then he would set his mouth in a firm line. And then he would say something like 'I'm fine' when everybody knew differently, then insist that he would stay where he was.

"You're welcome. But as long as you're staying here, we might as well eat." Urahara grinned and rubbed his hands together. "I'm starving. But you all have to pay your share of the food."

"You said it was on the house," Chad said worriedly.

"Ah...It can't be avoided." He gestured for the others to follow him outside.

"Is it really necessary for all of us to go?" Ishida wondered out loud, hesitating.

"If you don't come with me then you have to pay for the whole lot!" Urahara's cheerful voice rang out, causing Ishida to quickly catch up with them.

It had become a little bit darker in the room. When they had brought Rukia here there had been a little bit of light and now that light seemed to be fading. Was the sun setting? He wasn't aware of how much time had passed. Nor did he really care, to be honest. No, wait, that wasn't it. He did care how much time had passed because the more time that passed, the more time she had spent unconscious.

He didn't doubt Orihime's powers exactly, nor did he not trust Urahara (grudgingly).

It was just that there had been so much blood...

She had shot through the air to deliver a kick to the hollow shortly after Ichigo had swung with his sword and narrowly missed. Her kick had connected and Rukia had looked so graceful as she had flipped to place her hands on the hollow's head, swinging to crouch on top. Then she had begun to chant words with a look of concentration and determination on her face.

But something had gone wrong. Her demon arts hadn't worked and in her shock at the weak blast that came from her hands, the hollow had taken the opportunity to throw her off. Time had seemed to slow down to a crawl as Ichigo cried out for her, rushing to catch her as she fell.

It hadn't happened. The hollow had forced him to dodge an attack and the split second it took for him to move out of the way was precious time lost in his rush to save Rukia. She had collided with a dull thud against a pole, her face contorted in pain as she slid down. As Ichigo called for her, Rukia's world had faded to black. Her body slid down the pole, leaving a thin trail of blood and when she had hit the floor, she had keeled over to lie on her side still but for a pool of red that was slowly gathering.

In his fury, Ichigo had simply lost control. His sword had been screaming to cut and he had allowed it to with no restraint, his attack being so fierce that the hollow didn't even have time to move as it was split in two. And Ichigo had continued to hack and slash away even as the hollow disintegrated.

He had only allowed himself a second before rushing to Rukia. Even then his clothes had soaked up some of the blood and his hand as he reached to touch her was also stained. How had she managed to receive such an injury? Only one reason had been clear to him. He had stumbled back when Orihime and the others had arrived. Orihime had pushed him out of the way to heal Rukia. Ichigo had watched blankly, thoughts fixated on one sentence. He had gone back into his body and carried Rukia to Urahara, that same sentence ringing in his head.

"It's all my fault."

That was what he whispered to himself and thought of as he sat beside her. At least she was breathing, her lips slightly parted, her eyes delicately closed, her chest rising and falling gently. No matter who you were, when you were sleeping was always when you looked your most vulnerable.

But he still felt frustrated. If only he had managed to kill that hollow last night. If only he hadn't lost concentration for a second and had killed it in one blow. If only he had moved a little faster. If only he had fought a little harder. Then he wouldn't be sitting here now feeling like shit and who knew what him and Rukia would be doing?

Enjoying another moment like earlier.

Was it just him or was it a little cold in here? Ichigo came out of his pondering and looked around the room. Things seemed quiet as well. Had the others gone out or something?

What did he care? He wasn't moving for a while, anyway.

It hurt. A lot. And the thought of how it must have hurt Rukia hurt him even more.

His worry would be eased a little if she just woke up. But he knew that he wouldn't be able to force her to. She would have to wake up in her own time.

He had never actually had a chance to look closely at her like this. Ichigo moved to make sure the blankets were tucked around her neatly as she lay in the bed on the floor. They were both in the middle of the room. Had Ichigo himself been here before? He thought that he heard Chad and Orihime mention something about knowing this room.

As he tucked the blankets in, he let his hand rest for a moment on Rukia's side, feeling the shape of her body between his hands and the covers. She was so slim, and so small. Then he paused and withdrew, feeling stupid.

But he wanted to touch her again. To comfort himself and maybe comfort her a little as she slept. Would that even work? What if she woke up and smacked him in the face?

Then he would be happy because she would be conscious.

He would have to restrain himself so that he wouldn't hit her back, though.

The thought made him smile as he stretched forward with his hand, pausing just as his fingers hovered above her hair. Was he actually shaking? What the hell?

"Idiot," he whispered to himself.

Nonetheless, it took him a few moments before he could bring himself to lower his hand so that it was resting on her hair.

Now that he was actually touching her hair, it seemed almost natural for his fingers to move and stroke through it softly. Dammit, his fingers were so clumsy right now. Her hair was silky and dark, his fingers slipping along easily. There was also that funny strand of hair that fell across the middle of her forehead. He smiled a little as he brushed it out of the way only to watch it fall back into place.

"Hey, Rukia," he said quietly. "You better hurry and wake up. Let me know that you're ok already."

It wasn't like she was dying or anything. He hoped.

His fingers seemed to move of their own accord until his fingertips were touching her pale face. Pale almost like china. Together with her dark hair, Ichigo wondered whether she could perhaps be some kind of doll if she wanted to. He then decided that was tacky.

"You're being such a fucking idiot," he said to himself.

What was with all of these corny phrases popping into his head? He frowned. It wasn't like him at all and he knew that Rukia would be seriously offended if he said anything like that to her. She would prefer people to be honest and direct. Just like him. He didn't like dressing things up, either. If it was simple and to the point, then it had much more meaning for him. Romantic poetry had never been his thing. But then again, neither had romance. He had never really paid much attention to girls. Just girl. Rukia. And even then it hadn't been an instant thing. It had started with annoyance, becoming respect, friendship, and then trust. So what was there to do next?

He cleared his throat awkwardly as he realised the next logical step. Well, hadn't they crossed a line earlier with that moment just before that hollow had come back? Rukia had crossed the line by resting her head on his chest and he had crossed it with her by responding.

Which reminded him. They had been about to resolve their little fight. Although he wouldn't really call it a fight as such. Just a misunderstanding.

"That goddamn hollow." Thinking of it made anger rise up in him again so he took a few moments to remind himself that he had won the fight and that the hollow had been destroyed. It still made him wish that he had finished the job off quickly last night and made it back in time to hang out with Rukia. "We have to make up for last night some other time," he said to Rukia, knowing that she probably couldn't hear him. "And this time, we'll make sure that nothing interrupts."

He studied her features, still stroking her face. One finger accidentally skimmed her lips and he froze.

He could feel the gentle whisper of air floating past his finger as it hovered above her lips. Timidly, he moved his finger down to touch her lips again.

Soft. Not in the same way her skin was, but her lips were still soft. If he was touching her lips, then did that mean she was kissing his fingers?

Ichigo pulled his hand away, suddenly feeling very awkward. The room wasn't cold anymore. It was a little hot. Or was his face just burning?

Without realising it, he placed the fingers that had touched Rukia's lips up to his own, then moved back to place the fingers once again on Rukia's lips. There. He had returned the kiss.

What the hell was wrong with him? Something was making him do crazy stuff. Maybe he should just get up and walk around outside the store for a moment, get some fresh air. How long had he been sitting there?

It might be a good idea. Ichigo got up, making sure not to disturb Rukia. He struggled to his feet and stretched a little, turning to leave the room when he thought that he heard something.

Pausing, he turned slowly again to look down at Rukia. She had moved a little bit and the covers were not tucked so neatly around her as Ichigo had done them. Her lips were moving. Was she saying something?

Ichigo knelt down again to get closer and hear her. But she wasn't saying anything. Not anymore, anyway.

But as he moved back a little to look at her again, he saw that her lips were moving. And if he listened carefully, there was the slightest whisper of a word.

"...I...ch...i..."

His eyes widened as she said the last syllable.

"...go..."

"Rukia," he whispered back. "Rukia! Can you hear me? Rukia!" He had to resist the urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake her awake. Instead he placed on hand on her shoulder, making sure not to apply too much pressure. "Rukia!"

She was still again. Ichigo slowly took his hand off her and moved to sit properly on the floor again. He definitely wasn't going anywhere and it was almost automatic for his hand to move to stroke her face again.

After a while he zoned out. Just thinking about how long they had actually known each other. Not a great amount of time really, but most of that time they had spent together. Maybe that was why they had bonded so quickly. Also because they were so similar. He couldn't think of anyone else that he would want to be with.

That is if he did actually want her as a girlfriend.

Maybe he would run the idea by her later.

But right now...

He paused and crouched down, his nose resting inches from her cheek. From here he could smell her skin. That was weird enough but it was a soft, female smell. He couldn't think of any other way to describe it. And from this close, he really could see how smooth and pale she was.

He closed his eyes and gently pressed his lips against her cheek.

He moved away slowly to see that she hadn't woken up. And that was good. Who knew what her reaction would have been? A bad one? Was she smiling in her sleep? No, that was just his imagination.

She was pretty, for sure.

He wanted to kiss her again.

There was definitely something wrong with him. She was asleep, for crying out loud. But Ichigo justified himself by saying that he would still kiss her on the cheek if she was awake.

As his lips touched her cheek for the second time, Ichigo felt a little comforted. It was nice, just kissing her skin as gently as he could. He promised himself that when she woke up, he would kiss her on the cheek. Just like this, but properly.

Did she just say his name again? He had felt a whisper of breath sweep past his ear.

Ichigo opened his eyes and was shocked to see Rukia's dark eyes looking back at him. He froze and was about to pull away but something in her gaze told him not to.

Rukia had stirred and had felt lips against her cheek. When she had opened her eyes, questions of what had happened and how long she had been asleep had died in her throat when she was met by a pair of surprised brown eyes.

They were so close. And Ichigo felt really stupid having been caught. Guilty as charged for kissing a girl's cheek while she was sleeping. What a dumb crime. All of that faded away though as Rukia gazed at him sleepily while she slowly wakened fully. He sighed a little with relief. As realisation came into her expression, it reminded him that she was conscious and uninjured. Thank goodness for that.

But with the relief came another feeling. He was incredibly close to her and felt as if he shouldn't be. But dammit, she was still staring at him like that and he couldn't really move away. Not while she looked at him like that.

Wondering if he was going to regret this, Ichigo remembered the promise that he had made a few moments ago. With that, he kept his eyes open as he lowered his lips to kiss Rukia on the cheek once more.

Rukia felt the slightest of tickles as Ichigo's kiss touched her but she didn't break the small staring contest that was going on between them. She wondered how long she had been asleep, and how long Ichigo had been there. A long time? Only a short while?

Ichigo pulled away, feeling a slight ache in his neck where he had been crouched close to Rukia. He moved his head from side to side to relieve it a little and once finished, he sat normally and looked down at Rukia.

She hadn't wanted him to pull away, but he had. Rukia found her voice and asked a few questions. "Where are we?"

"At Sandal-Hat's place," Ichigo answered. "Inoue healed you and we brought you here."

"Oh." She had to remember to say thank you. She had been in unbelievable pain when she had hit that pole. Why did they put such stupid things in the way? "How long have we been here?"

"I don't know. A long time. I've been here for the whole of it."

Rukia smiled a little. "You should have just left me and checked back another time. I wasn't going anywhere."

"That didn't mean I was going to leave you. Don't be so stupid." Ichigo said this in his normal tone but with a smile.

They hadn't talked about the kiss on the cheek yet and both of them knew it.

Rukia yawned sleepily. "Inoue-san did well. I don't hurt at all."

"You don't?"

"Don't be pleased about it or anything." Rukia rolled her eyes at Ichigo who responded almost immediately.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"I know you didn't."

"I didn't want you to get hurt."

"I know you didn't."

"You know that, right?"

"I just said I did, didn't I?"

Ichigo kept his mouth shut. Why did they always end up bickering like that?

Rukia was glad that Ichigo kept quiet. Even though they didn't mean to, they always ended up sniping at each other like that, even if it had started as a joke. Maybe she just wasn't very good at making jokes.


"Thank you, Ichigo."

"For what?"

"For staying here with me." Rukia avoided looking at him, slightly embarrassed. Although why she was embarrassed she wasn't so sure.

"I wouldn't have done anything else." Ichigo avoided looking at Rukia because he was embarrassed. He swallowed. "I was worried about you."

Rukia's eyes shifted to look at Ichigo who was staring at a spot on the floor deliberately. His orange hair was unruly and she wanted to run her fingers through it for some reason; mess it up a little more. His jaw was a little set and she watched his throat move as he swallowed. His long legs were crossed loosely as he sat and his hands were resting in his lap. Rukia lifted one arm out of the covers, feeling a little bit cold as the air came into contact with her skin. But she ignored it and reached, her fingers stretching out until they eventually touched Ichigo's hand.

Ichigo slowly transferred his gaze from that spot on the floor to where Rukia's small hand was pressed against his own. He watched as he moved his own hand and wrapped his fingers around hers. He simply looked at their hands for a second, her hand smaller than his, her fingers skinnier. When he finally brought himself to look at Rukia, he saw again that she was very pretty. Especially when her expression was so serious. He kept a hold of her hand and carefully eased himself so that he was half-lying, half-sitting next to her. So that he could look at her more easily, and study her much better.

He looked like he was concentrating on something. Her hand felt secure as he held it, and her heart stirred now that he was closer. He had said that he was worried about her. The thought of it touched her, somewhat. He had been worried enough to stay by her side, even though Orihime had healed her. And he had kissed her on the cheek. Strange boy. While she was asleep he had kissed her on the cheek. If he had done it while she was awake, she wouldn't have minded. A kiss on the cheek was nothing really in comparison to what they had done last night.

Ichigo was wondering whether she would mind if he kissed her again. He moved and suddenly he was lying next to her, still holding her hand. With his other hand, he reached up to feel her hair again, resting his thumb against her cheek. "I'm glad you're awake."

Rukia nodded. "Me too."

She hadn't protested when he had kissed her on the cheek the last time. So Ichigo moved and did it again, keeping his lips in place for a little while longer before pulling away again. But Rukia squeezed his hand and he took that as a sign to move closer once more. Their noses were touching.

He was surprised when Rukia returned his kiss, her lips leaving the lightest of touches on his own cheek. It felt different where she had kissed and he looked at her, a little worried. They were definitely crossing a line now. Or rather, he had crossed the line and she had crossed it with him by responding. But when Rukia kissed him on the cheek again, a thought occurred to him.

Fuck crossing lines. This was a pretty good sign that she felt the same way about him that he did about her. Well, she wasn't beating him to a pulp or anything.

He smiled awkwardly and Rukia smiled back.

"Ichigo," she said, still smiling, "you're awfully close."

"I know, Rukia," he replied.

He thought that she was going to kiss his cheek but then he realised that she wasn't quite in the right place to do that. Then she closed the small space that was still between them and kissed him on the lips, closing her eyes as she did so.

It was a few moments before Ichigo actually realised what they were doing. They hadn't separated but were both absolutely still, connected by their lips. They were like that for a little while longer before Ichigo felt his lips being parted as Rukia opened her mouth slightly. He didn't resist but opened his eyes in shock to see Rukia had also opened her eyes and was watching him, measuring his reaction. He felt her tongue gently asking for entrance and he obeyed, opening his mouth a little wider to invite her in. He couldn't help but close his eyes as he did so, giving in to the feeling of kissing Rukia.

So this was why people made such a fuss over kisses. It felt nice. But nice was such a dry word, not enough to describe it. As Rukia's tongue gently pressed against his, Ichigo responded by mimicking her movements, quickly learning how to match her so that they were in sync as their lips connected. He learned the pattern of opening and closing his mouth, nibbling her lips, sweeping his tongue in to taste her, relaxing so that she could taste him.

He realised that the rest of him wasn't doing anything. The rest of his body wasn't doing anything because he had been so focused on the movements of his lips. But he wanted to hold her. Strange how strong the desire was...almost like his arms were drawn towards her. Without thinking, Ichigo put his arms around Rukia, awkwardly at first but as she responded by applying a little more pressure in her kiss, the awkwardness disappeared and he felt Rukia melting to fit his grasp.

He was so gentle, almost as if he was scared to hurt her. Rukia tried to let him know that he couldn't hurt her by being more forceful as she kissed him, but she couldn't help but feel weaker when he took her in his arms. There were still the blankets between them and it was a little awkward being held while she was under the covers and he was still lying on the floor beside her. She felt separated from him even though as he held her and she moved her arms to hold him also, their movements showed that they were connected.

And this was only the beginning because she started to feel that heat again.

What was this feeling? Those covers were in the way. Ichigo didn't want to stop kissing Rukia but he didn't want to stay like this, either. He reached with his hands, still kissing her, and carefully pulled the covers away from her. He felt her shiver slightly. Perhaps it was a little cold in this room.

No matter, he thought to himself as the covers were pushed away and he shuffled closer. They would keep each other warm.

He certainly felt warmer as Rukia wrapped a leg around him to pull him a little closer and in return, he held her just a little bit tighter, still reluctant to stop kissing her.

Some way away, Urahara smiled, lowering his head slightly so that the others couldn't see. The sounds of Orihime chattering away cheerfully with Ishida and Chad occasionally offering contributions to the conversation faded away as Urahara retreated into his own thoughts.

How wonderful for Kurosaki-san and Kuchiki-san. Maybe this was what they needed.

In any case, it looked like they wouldn't be going back to the store for a while. Not if he was right about what was happening.