Body Shock

Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite, not me. I just make sure that the characters play nicely together.

A.N: Writing is taking longer than usual, probably because this is such a difficult part of the story. Thank you for your patience and thank you for reading. Thank you also for leaving a review if you choose to.

Seemingly pointless chapter, but we need some lightness after recent times.

This story is anime-based.

"Oh dear..." Urahara said half to himself, entering the shop closely followed by the others. "That put a dent in the savings. I really need to get some more customers."

"But Tessai-san!" Orihime cried. "You're so tall I can't reach your glasses! Ishida-kun let me try his, let me try yours!"

"I only let you try mine because you stole them off me," Ishida said in an annoyed tone of voice, polishing his glasses with the bottom of his shirt.

Urahara watched this with a smile, and then his thoughts turned to the pair in the other room. What to do about them? He didn't particularly want to go in there. For one, he would lose the use of his legs as first Ichigo broke one and then Rukia broke the other. Then he noticed that Chad was simply standing there, watching Orihime try to get Ishida to give her his glasses again, after failing to steal Tessai's.

Chad turned his attention from Orihime and Ishida to Urahara, noticing that the man was staring at him. Although it was difficult to tell with his hat covering his eyes in shadow like that. To be fair, sometimes it was difficult to tell whether Chad was staring at someone as well due to the long locks of hair that fell over his eyes.

Urahara smiled at him. "Why don't you go and check on Kurosaki-san? It's late. Maybe it's time to go home."

Chad nodded and walked to the back room.

"It's really dark. Is Kurosaki-kun going home? And what about Kuchiki-san?" Orihime took a break from bothering Ishida to slide the doors open and peek outside. "Wow! The front lot is so clean!"

Chad reached the doors that led to the room. The last time he had been here, Urahara had offered to show him and Orihime a new world. Show him the dangers that came with having a new power. And yes, there were dangers. He had seen them himself. While it was nice to be successful in defeating hollows, it bothered him that in such fights innocent people stood the chance of being hurt. But that was why he worked to protect them as much as he could.

It was quite dark. There didn't seem to be too much lighting in this place. Except for one small bulb hanging some distance away, there was nothing. No windows in this part of the store and if there had been windows it wouldn't have made much difference right now anyway.

Chad looked around for a light switch. He found one eventually and flicked it, the light not doing much to penetrate the darkness. Then he went to the doors again and pulled them apart slowly, not wanting to disturb Rukia if she was already sleeping. He peeked inside.

Ichigo stirred as a tiny light filtered through the door. He had his back to the door, holding Rukia as he lay spooned against her, the curve of her back against his stomach, his arm draped lazily over her body, the covers over both of them. He blinked for a second, realising that the light was coming from outside the room. He turned his head slowly to look over his shoulder.

It was a couple of seconds before Chad registered the full meaning of the clothes on the floor and the two figures curled up in the bed. His shocked expression matched the one on Ichigo's face. In a flash, Chad had pushed the doors shut and stood with his back to them, eyes still wide. At the same time, inside the room Ichigo quickly turned back to face away from the door, now wide awake. In her sleep, Rukia murmured incoherently.

Chad blinked, hopelessly embarrassed. He hadn't known. There was no way he could have known. He cleared his throat awkwardly as he heard shuffling inside the room. Maybe he should go back to the other room and tell the others that Ichigo was busy right now.

Ichigo looked down at Rukia, still sleeping. He looked up to stare at the wall, horribly embarrassed. He could feel his cheeks flaring up. His first instinct was to rush for his clothes and pull them on, hide himself, wake Rukia up and tell her to get dressed as well. But then he wondered what all of the commotion would cause. At least it was Chad. If it had been anyone else, it would have been worse. If it had been Ishida, he would never have lived it down.

Lucky it was him that had seen Rukia and Ichigo in such a way. That was what Chad was thinking. If it had been anyone else... At least he hadn't walked in one anything worse. Chad thought back to Urahara's smile and insistence that they go out for something to eat. Had he known? Well, best not to cause too much of a fuss.

"Ichigo?" he said quietly.

Ichigo swallowed. "Yeah."

"It's late."

"I know."

"Are you going home?"

Ichigo looked at Rukia again. It seemed that she was feeling fine. Well, judging by what had happened earlier, anyway. "I think so."

"Is..." Chad trailed off.

"Yeah. Rukia's c-coming..." Ichigo closed his eyes as he stumbled over the word, "back with me."

"How...is she?" Chad frowned and wished that he had chosen better words. "How does she feel? I mean, is she..." He took a breath. "Is she well enough?"

"Yeah." Ichigo sat up, the covers falling away from his top half. He looked to the door to see a large, faint silhouette. Chad was clearly with his back to the door. "Tell the others we'll be out soon." He saw the silhouette move as Chad nodded and then turned to go. "Oh, and Chad..."

Chad paused, listening.

"Thanks."

Chad nodded again and went back to the front room.

Ichigo sat and covered his face with his hands, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He shook himself awake and then crawled out of bed, reaching for his clothes. He didn't want to disturb Rukia just yet. He quickly got dressed and then turned to face Rukia. He never thought that she would be a heavy sleeper. Maybe she was just tired. It had been a long day, after all.

He touched her on the shoulder and gently shook her. "Rukia..." He bent over to whisper in her ear. "Rukia, it's time to go."

Rukia opened her eyes to feel a tickling in her ear. She scratched her ear and blinked sleepily at Ichigo, who was already dressed. "What time is it?" She sat up, holding the covers around herself. The second time and she had fallen asleep afterwards. She was worn out.

"Late. Chad...told me that everyone is waiting. I said that you were feeling better."

"I am." Rukia smiled and took the shirt that Ichigo passed to her, swiftly pulling it on and buttoning it up. "Much better."

Ichigo smiled back and handed her the rest of her clothes, feeling somewhat regretful that they had to get dressed at all.

Rukia stood up slowly and stretched, then paused, thinking of something.

"Oh, Ichigo, do you think that..."

"That we should let everyone know?" Ichigo finished her sentence, meeting her gaze. "I don't know. What do you want to do?"

Rukia paused, thinking. "I...I'm not sure."

Ichigo scratched the back of his neck, thinking also. Hold on...did this mean that they were...dating? Were they a couple now?

He supposed so and the thought made him break into a grin. "Well, how about we just carry on as normal? There's no need to broadcast...what just happened. And besides, everyone thinks we're together anyway."

Rukia nodded. She had been thinking the same thing. She reached for Ichigo's hand and squeezed it affectionately. Ichigo kissed her on the cheek and they walked together to the door, holding hands. When they reached the corridor, they looked at each other in the faint light.

"Maybe we should let go, then," Rukia said quietly.

"Yeah, I guess."

They let their hands go and walked to the front room side by side

"Kuchiki-san!" Orihime whirled around to face her, beaming brightly. "You're ok!"

"Y-yeah..." Rukia smiled shyly. "Thank you, Inoue-san. For healing me and for the shirt."

"About that..." Ichigo shrugged awkwardly. "Rukia, your shirt...we might have to bleach it white again or something. It was kinda messed up."

Ishida interrupted the conversation. "Actually, if you give it to me I might be able to sort it out."

Everyone looked at him blankly.

"What?" Ishida crossed his arms defensively.

"It's bad enough that you sew." Ichigo rolled his eyes and then looked to Urahara.

Urahara's smile had that little edge to it again. The funny edge that made a person unsure of what to think. Trust him? Or run away?

Ichigo refused to take the bait so didn't ask why he was smiling. Fucking pervert, he thought to himself.

Chad was quiet throughout this exchange as usual. He was thinking about Rukia and Ichigo standing side by side. Rukia was smaller than Ichigo but they both had the same look around their eyes, the look of determination, although Rukia was much better at hiding it than Ichigo. Ichigo's brow was almost always furrowed in a scowl, the reason why quite a few people at school stayed away from him. As Chad pondered this, he wondered why they had never gotten it together sooner. If they were in fact together now. One thing was for sure. He would keep his mouth shut if they wanted him to.

"Hey, Chad!" Ichigo's call roused him and he looked up to see that everyone was leaving. Before he followed, Chad looked to Urahara, who was still smiling.

They shared a look. Urahara adjusted his hat and nodded a farewell.

Chad nodded in return and followed the others.

"Where have you been, Nee-san?" Kon cried as Rukia climbed in through the window of Ichigo's room. "I was so worried!" He bounced up and down on Ichigo's table, his tail bouncing. "Ichigo's not here, though. But who cares about him anyway...I'm so happy you're back!"

"Hey, watch what you're saying." Kon froze as Ichigo's voice reached him, shortly followed by the sight of Ichigo climbing through the window as well. Ichigo easily stepped inside the room and dusted his trousers off. "This is my room and all."

Kon folded his arms and frowned defiantly. "Hmph. Where have you been, anyway?"

"What's it to you?"

"I was just asking because I was worried about Nee-san!"

"Whatever."

Rukia looked between the two. "You guys are too noisy. You'll wake everyone up."

That was right. Ichigo scowled at Kon who returned the same angry look.

Rukia went over to the cupboard and slid the door open, ready to get inside. As she turned to say goodnight to Ichigo, she saw that he was looking confused. "What?" she asked.

"I thought that..."

"What?"

"That you would sleep with me. You know, in my bed." Ichigo fidgeted.

"You snore. And Nee-san wouldn't want to sleep in your stinkin' bed," Kon interrupted, making Ichigo grab him and throw him to one side roughly and insist that he didn't snore so shut up.

Rukia smiled. "It might not be a good idea. You told me yourself what your dad's like." It touched her that he was acting differently from last night, but he had been right before. Besides, she didn't mind the cupboard.

"But nobody comes in here."

"Your sister does in the mornings."

"Not all the time."

"But she still does."

Ichigo sighed. Rukia was right.

Kon lay on the floor. The way he had landed, he was facing away from the pair. So had they... Were they a couple? He closed his eyes briefly and forced himself to stand up.

"What's all this about sleeping in the same bed?" he glared at the two. "It's not like you two are dating or anything."

As Rukia averted her eyes and Ichigo shot him a glare, Kon's suspicions were confirmed.

"YUCK!" Kon yelled, covering his ears with his paws. "YUCK YUCK YUCK YUCK YUCK!" He screwed his eyes shut. "Nee-san! How can you even like Ichigo?"

"It's none of your business," Rukia said sharply.

Kon turned away from them both, acting utterly disgusted and horrified when really he had expected it all along. After the little thing last night, they had obviously sorted something out. But they obviously didn't know what he had done. Otherwise he wouldn't be here right now. They were...together. He didn't want to think about how that had come about. It amazed him that they hadn't worked things out yet but he was glad. It meant that he got to live a little longer.

So Rukia had always been meant for Ichigo. Kon had never stood a chance. So why did it sort of hurt? Mod souls had feelings too. Kon stared as Rukia sat in the cupboard and Ichigo said something to her in a low whisper. They then both looked over at Kon.

"Turn your back," Ichigo said.

Kon turned his back. "I wouldn't want to see you anyway." He knew that they were kissing goodnight or something. This was going to make things unbearable. Constantly reminding him. Shit.

Ichigo didn't deserve her. Kon scowled darkly as Ichigo shut the cupboard door and moved to get changed. He turned away as Ichigo removed his t-shirt and climbed up onto Ichigo's pillow.

At least he had had one night.

But still, it had been in Ichigo's body.

If only he had a body of his own. Then he would probably have stood a chance at winning Rukia.

"Get off my bed." When Ichigo grabbed Kon by the head and lifted him off the pillow, Kon shrieked. He fell to the floor as Ichigo got into bed and pulled the covers over him.

Ichigo didn't deserve Rukia. Kon sighed. He knew that he would treat her so much better. But in this plushie body was the only way he could be near her, and even then she hated him anyway. If only he had his own body…

"What's up with you? What are you sniffling for?"

Kon looked up to see Ichigo staring down at him with that trademark angry look. "No reason."

"Go to sleep, then."

Kon bowed his head meekly. "C-can...I sleep up there?" Even if it was next to Ichigo, Kon didn't feel like being alone on the floor or on the table. He would just have to get used to the fact that he would always be second to Ichigo in Rukia's eyes; even if she found out about last night. He needed to get a hold of himself.

"Sleep in a drawer or something if you wanna be comfy. You're sure as hell not sleeping next to me. You're the one who snores."

Kon should have expected that reply. "I'm not sleeping in your goddamn underwear drawer! That's the last time I let you try and stuff me in there! I don't care if they're clean!"

"Well sleep on the floor or the table like you usually do. I'm tired, I've had a long day and I want some sleep. So just lie down somewhere and shut the fuck up." Ichigo was bad tempered because Kon was always so irritating but also because Rukia wasn't beside him when she should have been. They had been interrupted earlier. He wanted to sleep beside her and wake up to see her next to him in the morning.

"Fuck you."

"Fuck yourself."

"Shut up, you two." Rukia surprised them both by opening the cupboard and popping her head round. "I'm tired and I want to sleep."

"Nee-san!" Kon ran over and leapt up into the cupboard only for Rukia to push him out again. "Please, Nee-san! Let me sleep in there with you!"

Rukia looked down at Kon, who was sniffling. How the hell could plushies sniffle? She had wondered that several times.

Her long pause made Ichigo clench his fist. "Get back here, you little shit! Stop bothering Rukia!"

What was wrong with her? She was actually feeling sorry for the little guy. She reached down and picked him up by the scruff of the neck and threw him into the cupboard. "As long as it shuts you up."

"Hey!" Ichigo moved to get out of bed. "He gets to sleep near you and I don't?"

"It's nothing personal." Rukia smiled at him. "But I don't plan on making this a regular habit. I just want to get some sleep. Goodnight." She slid the door shut.

Ichigo decided to let it go. Kon was annoying but maybe they did treat him a little badly. It was just that he was so frustrating that Ichigo couldn't help but lose his temper. Rukia was better than him, maybe.

Inside the cupboard, Kon grunted as Rukia's foot pinned him to the wall. "Guh...Nee-san...your..."

"I know." Rukia stared at him. "This is just a warning. Wake me up and I throw you out of the window."

"For you, Nee-san, I'd do anything." Kon coughed as Rukia released him.

"Whatever."

"I think Kurosaki-kun appreciated our help yesterday. He hasn't said it yet, though. But he did. I'm sure of it! No matter what funny angry face he makes." Orihime's smile was bright and cheery as usual as she stood in front of Ishida, leaning over his desk with her arms propping herself up.

Ishida blinked. He was sitting down and unfortunately, Orihime's breasts were a little too close for comfort, directly within his line of sight. Why were they so big? He almost couldn’t help staring at them with the way they pressed against the fabric of her shirt. He moved back a little only to have Orihime move forward and bring her face closer to his. At least it was her face she was moving closer.

"Don't you think?" she asked.

"Y-yeah..." Ishida was starting to feel very uncomfortable with Orihime so close. He fidgeted and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Ah! Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime was gone in a flash as she rushed to talk to her best friend.

Ishida coughed and moved to pick his book up again hoping that nobody had noticed.

Over on the other side of the classroom, Tatsuki looked over Orihime's shoulder at the skinny boy reading the book. "You're talking to him an awful lot lately, Orihime."

"Oh? Really?" Orihime smiled, slightly embarrassed. "Not really, I don't think."

"You are." Tatsuki leaned casually on her chair. "He's a scary guy and he's kind of weird. Not a lot of people talk to him as often as you do."

"That's because we're in the sewing club together. It would be wrong not to talk to Ishida-kun."

"You're such a nice person, Orihime." Tatsuki grinned at her.

"As long as he doesn't make any moves on you, 'Hime!" Out of nowhere came Chiziru, flinging her arms around Orihime. "He should remember that you're my target!"

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Tatsuki roared, punching Chiziru out of the way.

"It...looks...like...at least one time more." Chiziru wobbled on the spot for a second or two before falling over.

"Ah, good morning, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime ignored this and waved to Ichigo, who entered the classroom.

"Morning, Inoue."

"Hey! Ichigo!" Keigo's voice rang out from the other side of the room. "You wouldn't happen to know where Kuchiki-san is? She's unusually late today."

Ichigo swallowed, wondering whether anyone had seen them exchange a kiss just around the corner from the school before going their separate ways, not wanting to walk into school together. "How should I know where she is?"

He was glad when Chad came to his rescue. "I saw her talking to a teacher a little while ago." Chad didn't look at Ichigo.

"Ah, there she is!" Keigo stood up and bowed. "Good morning, Kuchiki-san!"

"Good morning!" Rukia said in reply, appearing behind Ichigo in the doorway. "Excuse me, Kurosaki-kun! I want to get to my seat."

"Y-yeah." Ichigo walked over to his seat closely followed by Rukia and they both sat down. Ichigo was amazed at Rukia's acting skills. He looked over to Chad who simply responded with a slight nod.