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tampered2007-01-01 06:20 am
untame.livejournal.com) wrote in tampered2007-01-01 06:20 am
Log: Complete
When; New Years eve
Rating; PG-13
Characters; Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia
Summary; Hoping to try and get some answers, Rukia takes the next opportunity to find out why Ichigo is so down. Cue a massage, some fireworks, and some long overdue sap. Yep, you heard me right~
Log;
That ticking was going to send him mad! It'd been going on for ages now, growing faster and louder by the second. Why wouldn't it just shut up?! Ah, that was right. It grew quieter when you were around people. Well, Nell was out of the question. Her recent fascination with a certain Arrancar had decided that. And Rukia would probably be off with the other Shinigami. So who else? Short of going off to find someone else, he was stuck.
Heading out of the bedroom, his answer was practically forced down his throat at the sight of the raven-haired Shinigami. "What the hell are you doing here?"
She frowned at Ichigo's sudden outburst, a retort quickly finding it's way out of her mouth. "I live here. At least, I thought I did. Unless you're taking back the offer."
"That ain't what I'm talking about!" He couldn't help but feel relieved at how easy it was to slip into old habits, even with everything that was going on. All because of who it was he was talking to. "I thought your friends had some big plan for tonight."
"I thought they were your friends too, you know. So why are you still here?" She stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. Something was bothering him. All the time spent fighting Hollows together counted for something, after all. Even if she couldn't necessarily tell WHAT was on his mind, she always knew when he was bothered by something.
"Yeah right. They ain't my friends." They weren't even his allies as such. Sure they were all on the same side right now, but Soul Society had been quick to back out of helping him. His opinions of them hadn't changed since their withdrawal.
She sighed and shook her head slightly. Regardless of what happened, he seemed determined to not trust the other shinigami. It didn't matter that they were on the same side against Aizen and the Arrancar, Ichigo was convinced they weren't even allies. "Fine, if you say so." Walking past him and sitting down on the couch, she cocked her head to one side. "What is it?"
"What is what?" A passing glare as she headed to the sofa, his own feet leading him into the kitchen to pull a couple of cans of coke from the fridge. Heading back, he placed one down in front of Rukia, but stayed on his feet.
"Thanks." She took the can and studied it, trying to figure out exactly how the contraption opened. She'd never really paid much attention to them. Especially not after she'd spent so much time finally figuring out how the box with the straw worked. "What's bothering you. I can tell, you know."
Pulling his can open without trouble, he raised an eyebrow at her reaction to the can. Though this time, he wasn't in the mood to mock her. "Here." Swapping his can for hers, he paused briefly at her question. "Forget it." It wasn't anything he really wanted to talk about. Not now.
Violet eyes narrowed as she took the can from him, taking a sip. So he didn't want to talk about it. Well, that in itself was fine. But not when he was being this pissy and irritating. "No. Tell me."
Opening his own drink, he took a sip, before placing it down. Yet still, he refused to sit. "What the fuck do you expect me to say?" A new glare, directed both at her and himself. He knew she was trying to help, but right now, he didn't want anything to do with it.
Rukia sighed. "I thought you might actually talk to a friend. I don't know what happened, but I can tell it's bothering you, you know." She didn't want to feel like she was forcing it out of him, but she not only wanted him to tell her, she wanted him to stop being such a bad-tempered pain in the ass. Well...at least be LESS of a bad-tempered pain in the ass.
"It's..." A sigh. "...being taken care of." At least she'd managed to deflate him. That one single word had been enough to do that. A friend. She was his friend, so why was he so set on keeping all of this from her? "Yeah, it's pissing me off. But it's only temporary." He'd make sure that certain things didn't happen. And some, not again.
She nodded slightly. At least he wasn't being so defensive anymore. She nodded towards the other half of the couch. "Sit."
Even if he'd given her that much, he wasn't about to spill everything. Of course not. That just wasn't in his plans. Though considering how 'out of his plans' things had already gone, he had no clue as to how long that idea would last. "...fine." And so, he sat down stiffly, refusing to look at the other just yet.
Rolling her eyes and with a sigh, she slipped over next to him, small hands on his shoulders. Frowning, she started kneading tense muscles. "Geez, don't you ever relax?"
That only served to make him tense up further. Though it also worked to pull his gaze to her. Only, it was confused eyes that stared back in response. "...the hell are you doing?"
"Trying to help, for all that you seem to appreciate it.. Now relax." As if to punctuate her "order", she dug the knuckle of her thumb into a particularly troublesome knot in his shoulder muscles.
"And how the fuck are-" He was cut off at her movements, refusing to give her the satisfaction of knowing that it actually...kind of...sort of...maybe...helped. "...whatever."
Rukia frowned, but continued her work on his tight shoulder muscles. "What, you can't conceive that I might actually be doing something nice?"
Another sigh and this time he did actually relax, his shoulders slumping as he stared down at the ground. "...I guess." And that was all he was willing to give.
That might have been all he was willing to give, but at least it was something. She couldn't help but smile slightly as she felt his shoulders relax a bit. "That's better. How the hell do you sleep with your shoulders this tense, anyway? Geez..." She fell silent, hoping that he'd eventually open up to her without her having to drag whatever it was out of him.
A half glare, but he just...couldn't be bothered to aim it at her. Instead, he merely shrugged his shoulders. "I sleep just fine." Though he was fairly sure that wasn't all she was going for right then. "You gonna tell me what you're after, or what?"
She shrugged slightly. "I just want to know what's bothering you. You know, sometimes it does help to tell someone about it."
"How long've you known me now? You should know by now that I ain't the kind of guy to start talking about my own shit. I can fix it all myself." If only he had as much faith in his words as he wanted.
"And you should know that I'm not the sort to sit and put up with you being an irritable and depressed pain in the ass." Whether he knew it or not, she could read him quite well. And sure, he thought he was being tough, fixing everything himself. But Rukia knew better then that.
Okay, that one got his attention. Sitting up straight, his eyes narrowed, fixing Rukia with a clearly pissed off look. "Then don't sit here. Go off and see your friends or something. I'm sure my fuckin' twin wants to see you again."
Her eyes narrowed in response and she whacked him in the back of the head. "Look, I'm HERE, and not with them, because I'm trying to make you feel better. Now will you STOP being a dick, and just talk to me? Besides, Kaien-dono is NOT your twin, and I'm sure he has better things to do then talk to me." She bit back the retort that was building, and glanced away. "It's not like I was ever anything to him but a younger officer..."
It was a further testament as to how 'out of it' he was that Ichigo only reacted by bringing a hand to his head. No retaliation. No yelling. Just a serious look and a low voice. "Fine. If you really want to fuckin' well know, a pile of shit has happened and I've only been here a few weeks." Expecting a victorious look from her, he stopped, his expression his only warning.
Rather then a triumphant look, he instead simply got a nod and what could almost be termed a...hug? Well, it wasn't a real hug, per-se, but her hands slid forward slightly and gave his shoulders a quick squeeze. "Gomen, Ichigo. Sounds like you've had it rough."
He hadn't been expecting that. Not in the slightest. As her arm wrapped round him, he could only freeze up. He was never comfortable with physical contact, especially under circumstances like this.
"So....are you gonna tell me about it, or do I have to drag it out of you, huh?" She smiled slightly at him, hands moving up the column of his neck and rubbing the tension out of his muscles. It wasn't really in her nature to be so patient, but she could tell that he'd been under so much stress lately that she just couldn't bring herself to respond with her usual biting manner.
"You're gonna keep buggin' me about this, aren't you." A statement and not a question. He already knew the answer to it. After all, he'd known her for too long to even think that she'd back out of things once she had her mind set on something. "...fine." And his eyes were back on the ground. "Which bit d'ya want first? Aizen? The Arrancar? Or...that curse?" None of which were anything he was happy about.
"Just...start at the beginning." She sighed, fingers moving up into the edge of his hairline, seeking out the tenseness that she could find. "Seriously, I just want to help. And you'll feel better getting it off of your chest, you know. That's what friends are for. And we are friends, aren't we?"
"...do you really need me to answer that?" Out of everyone stuck in the City, Rukia was the one person he knew he could trust. And though he'd never say it aloud, he was pretty sure she knew that. Well, he hoped she did. "When I got here, I made a point of the fact that I wasn't with Soul Society again. They backed out, so I can't call 'em allies. Even now." And until he got Inoue back, he doubted his opinions would change. "I ended up fightin' Aizen." And his voice grew quiet, embarrassed at though outcome. "...he knocked me out. Then I fought Grimmjow." And the less he said about that, the better. "...one of the Shinigami ended up havin' to heal me."
She smiled slightly and nodded. He was right, of course. She knew he considered her to be an important person to him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone through so much to rescue her from her execution. She also knew that a defeat by both Aizen and Grimmjow had to have been a heavy blow not only to his pride, but to his confidence. No wonder he was in such a slump. Rukia fought back the bite of irritation at his assertion that the other shinigami had backed out of helping him. They were her comrades, certainly. And she could easily understand how they considered Ichigo to not truly be 'one of them'. But Aizen was still their common enemy. Which made their refusal to help inexcusable. "You shouldn't be ashamed of the thing with Aizen, you know. Even captains with centuries of experience under their belt haven't been a match for him." She didn't know whether it would help, but she hoped it would at least dull some of the embarrassment he seemed to feel.
Strangely enough, "The fight with Aizen, I didn't really give a shit about. It wasn't a proper fight." But the fight with the Arrancar... "What the fuck was all that training for? I'm still nowhere near strong enough to fight that bastard. Even Bankai AND him. The two together were useless."
So that was the problem. Not that he was ashamed of his defeat by Aizen, or even with Grimmjow. It was that he felt as though all of his work, all of his struggles, had been for naught. And she didn't know what to say to make it better. She wanted to. Rukia didn't really know necessarily why, but she knew that she wanted to lift the gloom that seemed to surround the tall shinigami. But how? She settled for nodding slightly, fingertips rubbing across his scalp, more scratching now then massaging. Hopefully the touch would at least help him relax. "It wasn't for nothing, Ichigo. It just means that we have to work some more at it."
"What do you think I've been doing all this time? The second I could move, I went off to keep training." And was randomly stumbled upon by an old 'sensei' of his. "Yoruichi gave me a hand trying to find some other way. It kinda worked for a bit." But then the curses had been kind enough to come back and bite him. "I'm not gonna let him hurt you guys 'cause I can't control it."
Rukia smiled at the back of his head, fingers sliding down behind his ears in their easy tracing of his skull. He really was a fairly noble guy, despite the rough exterior. And she knew that he was serious when he said that he wouldn't let his inner hollow hurt any of them. "I know you wouldn't. I trust you, Ichigo."
And therein lay the real problem he had. "...you can't trust me anymore." Not after what he'd seen; after what that curse had shown him. "One of the curses..." He turned, looking seriously at her. "It sent me to a world where...where he was free." He doubted he needed to expand on it.
And that was the heart of the problem. She sighed inwardly. No wonder he was acting even more distant and short with her then usual. He was worried about her, about all of them. Worried of what his inner darkness might do. And while the thought of what would happen were that to actually come to pass, the foremost thought in her mind was what to do to reassure him. And...what could she do? "Ichigo...." Without thinking, she leaned forward, arms going around his chest, forehead resting on his shoulder. "I'll always trust you....even...even if that did happen. I'd still be here, Ichigo."
His eyes widened, body frozen in place. If not for the words that followed her movement, Ichigo would've been on his feet and halfway out the door at that very moment. But...she was trying to help. She was reassuring him. And it seemed to be...exactly what he wanted just then. Even if he didn't understand why, a small smile began to appear on his face as he glanced sideways at her. "I...thanks."
"You don't have to thank me, Ichigo. I...anyone who cares about you would feel the same way." She pulled back slightly, face red. Why had she done that? Hugged him like that? It...it didn't make sense. But...what made even LESS sense was that she'd enjoyed it. And even though there was a small part of her mind that seemed interested in a detailed analysis of the reasoning behind her enjoyment, the majority of her psyche won over and pushed that part back into it's corner.
A small nod and he was looking away, once more finding the floor to be the most interesting place in the world. "They ain't here. You are." He wasn't quite sure why, but he knew it wouldn't have been the same from someone else anyway. He doubted he would've even said anything in the first place.
Glancing up at the sound of soft explosions from outside, she frowned and turned to look at the clock. Eyes widening with a smile, she hopped up, the motion made a bit more difficult then it might have been had she been wearing her normal attire instead of the light purple and indigo patterned yukata. Grabbing his hand, she tugged, trying to get him off of the couch. "Fireworks! I've never seen them before. Come on! We can watch them from the balcony."
She really was like a kid sometimes. So eager to see something new. Looking over to the window, it was only when she started tugging on his hand that he realised what she wanted to do. Well, it was a special day. Or that was what he'd use as an excuse. Standing up, he let her lead him over to the windows, opening them up wide. A flicker of a smile passed over him at the familiar scent. It'd been a long time...for a number of things.
Like a child indeed, with the way her eyes widened in delight at the explosions of bright colour. She stood enthralled by the flower-like bursts of embers in the air, having totally forgotten that she was still holding his hand. "Beautiful..."
He stood alongside her, looking up at the colourful sky. At her single word though, his gaze dropped, glancing out of the corner of his eyes at the other. Standing there like that, especially wearing those clothes, it was hard to believe that she was really a powerful Shinigami. That she faced creatures hundreds of times bigger then her without so much as a flinch. "...yeah."
Her fingers tightened slightly around his, her head tilting sideways to land against his shoulder. Whether she was aware of it or not, it didn't really matter, as her eyes were still trained on the heavens above. It really was a beautiful sight, and she couldn't help but feel glad that it was Ichigo that she was sharing it with. Glancing up at the tall shinigami, she smiled. "Happy New Year, Ichigo."
She may've not noticed how close she was getting, but he had. And for some reason...he didn't seem to have a problem with it. Not this time. Perhaps under other circumstances, things would've been different. But that didn't matter right now. Turning to look properly down at Rukia, he nodded his head lightly. "...happy new year."
Her cheeks turned slightly pink, though it was probably hard to tell with the glow from the fireworks overhead. "I...I'm glad you're here." As if to punctuate the remark, she squeezed his hand slightly.
"...right." Which may've not seemed like much of an answer to her. At least, not until he pulled his hand free from hers and placed it around her waist. The moment he had, his head turned back to the fireworks, not really paying any attention to them as he fought against his own blush that threatened to erupt across his face.
Her eyes widened slightly, and while she might have usually pushed him away with a red face and a myriad of excuses and retorts to hide her embarrassment, this time she simply let her head rest against his shoulder and watched as the fireworks rang in the new year.
Rating; PG-13
Characters; Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia
Summary; Hoping to try and get some answers, Rukia takes the next opportunity to find out why Ichigo is so down. Cue a massage, some fireworks, and some long overdue sap. Yep, you heard me right~
Log;
That ticking was going to send him mad! It'd been going on for ages now, growing faster and louder by the second. Why wouldn't it just shut up?! Ah, that was right. It grew quieter when you were around people. Well, Nell was out of the question. Her recent fascination with a certain Arrancar had decided that. And Rukia would probably be off with the other Shinigami. So who else? Short of going off to find someone else, he was stuck.
Heading out of the bedroom, his answer was practically forced down his throat at the sight of the raven-haired Shinigami. "What the hell are you doing here?"
She frowned at Ichigo's sudden outburst, a retort quickly finding it's way out of her mouth. "I live here. At least, I thought I did. Unless you're taking back the offer."
"That ain't what I'm talking about!" He couldn't help but feel relieved at how easy it was to slip into old habits, even with everything that was going on. All because of who it was he was talking to. "I thought your friends had some big plan for tonight."
"I thought they were your friends too, you know. So why are you still here?" She stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. Something was bothering him. All the time spent fighting Hollows together counted for something, after all. Even if she couldn't necessarily tell WHAT was on his mind, she always knew when he was bothered by something.
"Yeah right. They ain't my friends." They weren't even his allies as such. Sure they were all on the same side right now, but Soul Society had been quick to back out of helping him. His opinions of them hadn't changed since their withdrawal.
She sighed and shook her head slightly. Regardless of what happened, he seemed determined to not trust the other shinigami. It didn't matter that they were on the same side against Aizen and the Arrancar, Ichigo was convinced they weren't even allies. "Fine, if you say so." Walking past him and sitting down on the couch, she cocked her head to one side. "What is it?"
"What is what?" A passing glare as she headed to the sofa, his own feet leading him into the kitchen to pull a couple of cans of coke from the fridge. Heading back, he placed one down in front of Rukia, but stayed on his feet.
"Thanks." She took the can and studied it, trying to figure out exactly how the contraption opened. She'd never really paid much attention to them. Especially not after she'd spent so much time finally figuring out how the box with the straw worked. "What's bothering you. I can tell, you know."
Pulling his can open without trouble, he raised an eyebrow at her reaction to the can. Though this time, he wasn't in the mood to mock her. "Here." Swapping his can for hers, he paused briefly at her question. "Forget it." It wasn't anything he really wanted to talk about. Not now.
Violet eyes narrowed as she took the can from him, taking a sip. So he didn't want to talk about it. Well, that in itself was fine. But not when he was being this pissy and irritating. "No. Tell me."
Opening his own drink, he took a sip, before placing it down. Yet still, he refused to sit. "What the fuck do you expect me to say?" A new glare, directed both at her and himself. He knew she was trying to help, but right now, he didn't want anything to do with it.
Rukia sighed. "I thought you might actually talk to a friend. I don't know what happened, but I can tell it's bothering you, you know." She didn't want to feel like she was forcing it out of him, but she not only wanted him to tell her, she wanted him to stop being such a bad-tempered pain in the ass. Well...at least be LESS of a bad-tempered pain in the ass.
"It's..." A sigh. "...being taken care of." At least she'd managed to deflate him. That one single word had been enough to do that. A friend. She was his friend, so why was he so set on keeping all of this from her? "Yeah, it's pissing me off. But it's only temporary." He'd make sure that certain things didn't happen. And some, not again.
She nodded slightly. At least he wasn't being so defensive anymore. She nodded towards the other half of the couch. "Sit."
Even if he'd given her that much, he wasn't about to spill everything. Of course not. That just wasn't in his plans. Though considering how 'out of his plans' things had already gone, he had no clue as to how long that idea would last. "...fine." And so, he sat down stiffly, refusing to look at the other just yet.
Rolling her eyes and with a sigh, she slipped over next to him, small hands on his shoulders. Frowning, she started kneading tense muscles. "Geez, don't you ever relax?"
That only served to make him tense up further. Though it also worked to pull his gaze to her. Only, it was confused eyes that stared back in response. "...the hell are you doing?"
"Trying to help, for all that you seem to appreciate it.. Now relax." As if to punctuate her "order", she dug the knuckle of her thumb into a particularly troublesome knot in his shoulder muscles.
"And how the fuck are-" He was cut off at her movements, refusing to give her the satisfaction of knowing that it actually...kind of...sort of...maybe...helped. "...whatever."
Rukia frowned, but continued her work on his tight shoulder muscles. "What, you can't conceive that I might actually be doing something nice?"
Another sigh and this time he did actually relax, his shoulders slumping as he stared down at the ground. "...I guess." And that was all he was willing to give.
That might have been all he was willing to give, but at least it was something. She couldn't help but smile slightly as she felt his shoulders relax a bit. "That's better. How the hell do you sleep with your shoulders this tense, anyway? Geez..." She fell silent, hoping that he'd eventually open up to her without her having to drag whatever it was out of him.
A half glare, but he just...couldn't be bothered to aim it at her. Instead, he merely shrugged his shoulders. "I sleep just fine." Though he was fairly sure that wasn't all she was going for right then. "You gonna tell me what you're after, or what?"
She shrugged slightly. "I just want to know what's bothering you. You know, sometimes it does help to tell someone about it."
"How long've you known me now? You should know by now that I ain't the kind of guy to start talking about my own shit. I can fix it all myself." If only he had as much faith in his words as he wanted.
"And you should know that I'm not the sort to sit and put up with you being an irritable and depressed pain in the ass." Whether he knew it or not, she could read him quite well. And sure, he thought he was being tough, fixing everything himself. But Rukia knew better then that.
Okay, that one got his attention. Sitting up straight, his eyes narrowed, fixing Rukia with a clearly pissed off look. "Then don't sit here. Go off and see your friends or something. I'm sure my fuckin' twin wants to see you again."
Her eyes narrowed in response and she whacked him in the back of the head. "Look, I'm HERE, and not with them, because I'm trying to make you feel better. Now will you STOP being a dick, and just talk to me? Besides, Kaien-dono is NOT your twin, and I'm sure he has better things to do then talk to me." She bit back the retort that was building, and glanced away. "It's not like I was ever anything to him but a younger officer..."
It was a further testament as to how 'out of it' he was that Ichigo only reacted by bringing a hand to his head. No retaliation. No yelling. Just a serious look and a low voice. "Fine. If you really want to fuckin' well know, a pile of shit has happened and I've only been here a few weeks." Expecting a victorious look from her, he stopped, his expression his only warning.
Rather then a triumphant look, he instead simply got a nod and what could almost be termed a...hug? Well, it wasn't a real hug, per-se, but her hands slid forward slightly and gave his shoulders a quick squeeze. "Gomen, Ichigo. Sounds like you've had it rough."
He hadn't been expecting that. Not in the slightest. As her arm wrapped round him, he could only freeze up. He was never comfortable with physical contact, especially under circumstances like this.
"So....are you gonna tell me about it, or do I have to drag it out of you, huh?" She smiled slightly at him, hands moving up the column of his neck and rubbing the tension out of his muscles. It wasn't really in her nature to be so patient, but she could tell that he'd been under so much stress lately that she just couldn't bring herself to respond with her usual biting manner.
"You're gonna keep buggin' me about this, aren't you." A statement and not a question. He already knew the answer to it. After all, he'd known her for too long to even think that she'd back out of things once she had her mind set on something. "...fine." And his eyes were back on the ground. "Which bit d'ya want first? Aizen? The Arrancar? Or...that curse?" None of which were anything he was happy about.
"Just...start at the beginning." She sighed, fingers moving up into the edge of his hairline, seeking out the tenseness that she could find. "Seriously, I just want to help. And you'll feel better getting it off of your chest, you know. That's what friends are for. And we are friends, aren't we?"
"...do you really need me to answer that?" Out of everyone stuck in the City, Rukia was the one person he knew he could trust. And though he'd never say it aloud, he was pretty sure she knew that. Well, he hoped she did. "When I got here, I made a point of the fact that I wasn't with Soul Society again. They backed out, so I can't call 'em allies. Even now." And until he got Inoue back, he doubted his opinions would change. "I ended up fightin' Aizen." And his voice grew quiet, embarrassed at though outcome. "...he knocked me out. Then I fought Grimmjow." And the less he said about that, the better. "...one of the Shinigami ended up havin' to heal me."
She smiled slightly and nodded. He was right, of course. She knew he considered her to be an important person to him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone through so much to rescue her from her execution. She also knew that a defeat by both Aizen and Grimmjow had to have been a heavy blow not only to his pride, but to his confidence. No wonder he was in such a slump. Rukia fought back the bite of irritation at his assertion that the other shinigami had backed out of helping him. They were her comrades, certainly. And she could easily understand how they considered Ichigo to not truly be 'one of them'. But Aizen was still their common enemy. Which made their refusal to help inexcusable. "You shouldn't be ashamed of the thing with Aizen, you know. Even captains with centuries of experience under their belt haven't been a match for him." She didn't know whether it would help, but she hoped it would at least dull some of the embarrassment he seemed to feel.
Strangely enough, "The fight with Aizen, I didn't really give a shit about. It wasn't a proper fight." But the fight with the Arrancar... "What the fuck was all that training for? I'm still nowhere near strong enough to fight that bastard. Even Bankai AND him. The two together were useless."
So that was the problem. Not that he was ashamed of his defeat by Aizen, or even with Grimmjow. It was that he felt as though all of his work, all of his struggles, had been for naught. And she didn't know what to say to make it better. She wanted to. Rukia didn't really know necessarily why, but she knew that she wanted to lift the gloom that seemed to surround the tall shinigami. But how? She settled for nodding slightly, fingertips rubbing across his scalp, more scratching now then massaging. Hopefully the touch would at least help him relax. "It wasn't for nothing, Ichigo. It just means that we have to work some more at it."
"What do you think I've been doing all this time? The second I could move, I went off to keep training." And was randomly stumbled upon by an old 'sensei' of his. "Yoruichi gave me a hand trying to find some other way. It kinda worked for a bit." But then the curses had been kind enough to come back and bite him. "I'm not gonna let him hurt you guys 'cause I can't control it."
Rukia smiled at the back of his head, fingers sliding down behind his ears in their easy tracing of his skull. He really was a fairly noble guy, despite the rough exterior. And she knew that he was serious when he said that he wouldn't let his inner hollow hurt any of them. "I know you wouldn't. I trust you, Ichigo."
And therein lay the real problem he had. "...you can't trust me anymore." Not after what he'd seen; after what that curse had shown him. "One of the curses..." He turned, looking seriously at her. "It sent me to a world where...where he was free." He doubted he needed to expand on it.
And that was the heart of the problem. She sighed inwardly. No wonder he was acting even more distant and short with her then usual. He was worried about her, about all of them. Worried of what his inner darkness might do. And while the thought of what would happen were that to actually come to pass, the foremost thought in her mind was what to do to reassure him. And...what could she do? "Ichigo...." Without thinking, she leaned forward, arms going around his chest, forehead resting on his shoulder. "I'll always trust you....even...even if that did happen. I'd still be here, Ichigo."
His eyes widened, body frozen in place. If not for the words that followed her movement, Ichigo would've been on his feet and halfway out the door at that very moment. But...she was trying to help. She was reassuring him. And it seemed to be...exactly what he wanted just then. Even if he didn't understand why, a small smile began to appear on his face as he glanced sideways at her. "I...thanks."
"You don't have to thank me, Ichigo. I...anyone who cares about you would feel the same way." She pulled back slightly, face red. Why had she done that? Hugged him like that? It...it didn't make sense. But...what made even LESS sense was that she'd enjoyed it. And even though there was a small part of her mind that seemed interested in a detailed analysis of the reasoning behind her enjoyment, the majority of her psyche won over and pushed that part back into it's corner.
A small nod and he was looking away, once more finding the floor to be the most interesting place in the world. "They ain't here. You are." He wasn't quite sure why, but he knew it wouldn't have been the same from someone else anyway. He doubted he would've even said anything in the first place.
Glancing up at the sound of soft explosions from outside, she frowned and turned to look at the clock. Eyes widening with a smile, she hopped up, the motion made a bit more difficult then it might have been had she been wearing her normal attire instead of the light purple and indigo patterned yukata. Grabbing his hand, she tugged, trying to get him off of the couch. "Fireworks! I've never seen them before. Come on! We can watch them from the balcony."
She really was like a kid sometimes. So eager to see something new. Looking over to the window, it was only when she started tugging on his hand that he realised what she wanted to do. Well, it was a special day. Or that was what he'd use as an excuse. Standing up, he let her lead him over to the windows, opening them up wide. A flicker of a smile passed over him at the familiar scent. It'd been a long time...for a number of things.
Like a child indeed, with the way her eyes widened in delight at the explosions of bright colour. She stood enthralled by the flower-like bursts of embers in the air, having totally forgotten that she was still holding his hand. "Beautiful..."
He stood alongside her, looking up at the colourful sky. At her single word though, his gaze dropped, glancing out of the corner of his eyes at the other. Standing there like that, especially wearing those clothes, it was hard to believe that she was really a powerful Shinigami. That she faced creatures hundreds of times bigger then her without so much as a flinch. "...yeah."
Her fingers tightened slightly around his, her head tilting sideways to land against his shoulder. Whether she was aware of it or not, it didn't really matter, as her eyes were still trained on the heavens above. It really was a beautiful sight, and she couldn't help but feel glad that it was Ichigo that she was sharing it with. Glancing up at the tall shinigami, she smiled. "Happy New Year, Ichigo."
She may've not noticed how close she was getting, but he had. And for some reason...he didn't seem to have a problem with it. Not this time. Perhaps under other circumstances, things would've been different. But that didn't matter right now. Turning to look properly down at Rukia, he nodded his head lightly. "...happy new year."
Her cheeks turned slightly pink, though it was probably hard to tell with the glow from the fireworks overhead. "I...I'm glad you're here." As if to punctuate the remark, she squeezed his hand slightly.
"...right." Which may've not seemed like much of an answer to her. At least, not until he pulled his hand free from hers and placed it around her waist. The moment he had, his head turned back to the fireworks, not really paying any attention to them as he fought against his own blush that threatened to erupt across his face.
Her eyes widened slightly, and while she might have usually pushed him away with a red face and a myriad of excuses and retorts to hide her embarrassment, this time she simply let her head rest against his shoulder and watched as the fireworks rang in the new year.