6.

She lied deep asleep in her bed, comfortable. After all the sadness. All the heartbreak. She was finally, comfortable. She moaned softly, adjusting her sleepy eyes to the bright rays of sunlight shooting through her window. How long was I sleep? She groaned softly, sitting up in her bed, stretching up tot he ceiling. Seems like things were finally looking up... The bursting sound of running water shocked her out of her state of comfort. It was coming from her bathroom, looking closer she noticed clouds of steam rolling out from under the door as well. What the Hell...? She blinked, the doorknob of the bathroom door turning slowly. Her heart pounded in her chest, almost bursting right out of her rib cage...

Ichigo stepped out from the clouds of steam rolling behind him. Topless, wet, wearing nothing but the jeans he wore the day before on their date. Their "date". Their date... Rukia's face lit up cherry red, she pulled the blankets up closer to her chest gasping in shock.

"Se- sensei!" she cried, rolling out of her bed, wearing her blankets like a long dress. Ichigo stood, blinking. Clueless. Confused. He smiled, "Good morning, sunshine." he laughed, running his hand through his wet hair. She swallowed heavily. God he's so sexy. Looking around her room she began to put clues together in her head...their clothes scattered along the ground. Her sheets and mattress were a mess. He was here. She was here, naked. Oh my God.

"Oh...my God." she choked, slapping her hand over her mouth, she looked up at him in terror, "Ichigo!"

"Hmmm?" he responded, thrusting his finger in and out of his mouth along his teeth as if he were brushing them, in front of her mirror.

"Wh- - you're just standing there! Like, nothing happened!"

"I know what happened." he smiled brightly, "I was there. Remember?"

"I...I was..."

She blushed harder, he was right. She had just given herself to this him. Dammit.

"You're an animal." she mumbled.

"You were the animal, last night." he hummed back at her.

Her eyes widened, and so did her mouth, but not a word was spoken. She hurled her pillow at the back of his head, he dodged it dashing out at her and sweeping her off her feet. She gasped as the air was shot out of her body, being tackled onto the bed by Ichigo. He smirked, pinning her wrists to the mattress, biting on her bottom lip and pulling gently. He ran his finger across it puckering his lips while he made kissy noises. "Remember when you kissed me?" he said, standing up from her. She inhaled heavily, brushing bright and looking away from him as she sat up, holding the cloth to her naked body.

"No." she murmured.

"Really? Well, it felt a lot like this." he said, leaning into her. She sat paralyzed, holding her breath. She exhaled softly, in short shallow breaths, blowing on Ichigo's lips. He grinned deviously, sliding down in the bed, on to Rukia. He pressed his lips gently against hers, pulling away for a moment, staring her in the eyes. She bit her lip gently, leaning forward and kissing him again. Over and over, dropping the blankets from her chest. He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, curling his fingers in her hair and pulling gently. She moaned, her tongue dancing with his inside the heat of her mouth. Melting...melting...

She pressed her hands hard against his chest, shoving his body off of her, "S-stop it!" she yelped, recoiling the blankets back around her naked body. Ichigo chuckled, standing up to his feet again and scanning the room for the remainder of his clothes.

"Are you going home?" Rukia asked.

"I don't exactly feel as welcome as I did yesterday." He smiled, running his hand through his hair, "Guess I'm better off heading back to that dreadful place."

"Your mansion?"

"You wouldn't think so, but it's not all it's cut out to be. As luxurious as it is, it's quite lonely. Gloomy in fact. Which is why I prefer to explore farther out from it." he explained, grunting as he bent over to scoop his shirt up and off the ground, "You should probably shower now." he smirked slipping on the top and sliding out the door. She blushed heavily, pursing her lips and looking around the room. A lonely feeling creeping in quickly.

She panted wildly, pushing her sweat soaked locks of strawberry blonde out of her face, flashing her catty grin.

"I can't believe you talked me into that." Hitsugaya panted, looking over at Rangiku. She laughed, running her fingers through his glistening white hair.

"C'mon. You know you had as much fun as I did."

"The only reason you wanted to is because you heard Rukia and her little man friend through the walls."

"It sounded like fun. It wouldn't be fair if they were the only ones." she smirked rolling over on her side, "You know he's a doctor?"

"Hm?"

"Rukia's little man friend."

"That's an upgrade considering the last loser she was dating. No job, no car...forgot the poor guy's name though." Hitsugaya groaned, lifting himself up off the mattress, "Doctor for which hospital?"

"KGH."

Kurakara General Hospital.

"Name?"

She shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head slowly, "Ichigo, something..."

"Orange hair? Brown eyes? Tall?" Hitsugaya raised his eyebrow in curiousity. Rangiku pursed her lips.

"You know 'im?"

"Yeah," he chuckled, running his hand through his hair, "he fixed me up when I broke my wrist from that biking accident...yeah." he sighed, reliving the painful memories.

"Oh yeah. That 'accident'. When that guy accidentally mauled you with his bike and you accidentally called him a dumb ass and you two accidentally got into that huge fight."

"You done?" Toshiro grit his teeth. She burst out laughing, tussling her thick strawberry hair. He sighed heavily, scratching his head in thought, a smile creeping up on his face. "We should go visit them. Later on." he smirked. Rangiku raised her eyebrow in shock, never had she thought he would've cooked up such a plan in his head. She grinned deviously, nodding in agreement.

I can't believe... Rukia breathed heavily, scrubbing her delicate skin roughly with a bath sponge. It became red and sensitive from the intensity of her scrubbing, all over her body. I can't believe I let him do that that to me. She closed her eyes tightly, cutting off the water flow from the shower head. Sighing. She wrapped herself tightly in a clean towel. "He better not be here still or else...I'll..." she paused. What would she do? She pursed her lips in aggravation, stepping out of her bathroom and into the spaciousness of her bedroom. Her nostrils flared immediately after the thick scent of fresh coffee flooded into them, filling her head. Coffee.

"I didn't make any..." she paused, throwing her towel to the ground. She stormed over to her dresser throwing on her pinstripe pajama pants and a white t-shirt, neglecting to put on any undergarments what-so-ever. Furiously storming into the kitchen. There he was, sipping casually from one of her coffee mugs, looking at her in question. She twitched.

"I thought you were leaving." she hissed.

"I am. I just, I saw your coffee pot. And it was dirty, so I cleaned it, and made some more coffee."

She blinked. The tenseness in her body dissipating gradually. She glimpsed over at her once overflowing sink, empty.

"You...you washed my dishes?" she squinted questioningly.

He nodded.

"I didn't ask you to do that."

"Didn't need to. I'm a, clean freak kinda guy. I see something dirty, I just go at it." he chuckled, sipping on the hot coffee.

She could really use one of those around here...a maid kind of guy. Or girl. Didn't matter, as long as she didn't have to slave over cleaning her condo. Their silence was broken by the soft purring emerging from behind a cabinet door. A large gray tabby cat pushed it's head against the door, thrusting it open, and leaping on to the counter top.

"H-Ham!" Rukia cried extending her arm towards the cat. Ichigo raised his eyebrows.

"Ham? Are you hungry?"

"No! Ham, is my cat! Get down from there right now!" she demanded. The animal ignored her, caressing its head on the sleeve of Ichigo's shirt. He awed, scratching the cat in between it's ears. Rukia twitched. Un-freakin-believable. Everybody just loves this guy.

"Funny. I would've never taken you to be a cat person." He smiled, stroking the animal's fur.

"I'm not. I just. I found her outside, a long time ago and she didn't belong to anybody and...I just took her in."

"How compassionate."

"Alright, alright," Rukia blurted out, flustered, "don't you have some place to be or something?"

He shook his head, "Just home. Then work in the morning."

Shit. She had forgotten all about the hospital.

"Well?" she crossed her arms over her chest, "Shouldn't you be going home?"

He snickered lightly, setting his cup down on the counter, "If you're eager for me to leave," he said lowly, stepping towards Rukia slowly coming to a halt only inches away from her, "then why not just come out and say it straight forward?"

Can't he take a hint? Rukia twitched, his shadow covering her entire being. She swallowed hard, opening her mouth to speak, but said nothing. Instead she maneuvered around him, picking up his cup and pouring the remainder of his coffee back into the coffee pot. He smiled slightly, crossing his arms over his chest. Guess not.

"Just say it." he raised his eyebrow, "It's not hard."

"You should've gotten it by now." Rukia scolded.

"But it doesn't mean anything until it is spoken from the mouth."

She pursed her lips. What's with this guy? So. Philosophical...and whatnot. She slammed the cup down aggressively on the counter top, stomping up to Ichigo, "What are you hiding?" she squinted intensely. He smirked, chuckling a bit.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Cut the crap." she snapped, sticking her finger in his face, "I know there's something going on. Something's not right with you...I'm going to find out what it is!" she said confidently. But then it hit her, what was she saying? If there was anything mysterious about him, what was it, and how would she find it? She dropped her hand and sighed heavily.

"Does it bother you that much?" he questioned, ruffling his hand through her hair, "Would you really like to know?"

Her eyes widened. Was he really going to tell her whatever it was that was so mysterious about him? Would you really like to know? Suddenly, she felt unsure of herself. "Tell me." she spoke softly, "Please."

He leaned in slowly, pulling her closer to him until their bodies were pressed tightly together, breathing softly on her neck. She closed her eyes tightly, scratching on the fabric of his shirt, trying to keep herself from becoming excited. His breathing came to a halt, and he brought his lips up to her ear lobe, "You wouldn't believe me." he whispered, running his hand down the arch of her back. She shivered aggressively, gasping sharply. Her body was melting again, just from his touch. Maybe his secret was that he's a porn star. Or something like that.

"Try me." she spoke through trembling lips, biting on them to keep them still.

"Have you ever heard of an incubus?"

She froze, her eyes slowly opening wide, pulling away from his body. He stared her down heavily, their eyes never leaving each other. "I..." she started, swallowing hard, "Huh?"

"An incubus."

The Hell is an incubus?

"What's...what is an incubus?" she took one step back, "Is that some type of religion?"

He laughed softly, standing up straight and exhaling through his nose.

"I should be getting home now." he smiled, leaning down to give her one last kiss on the cheek, "I'll see you at work."

She froze, baffled. Paralyzed. Only watching as he slipping out of her door, leaving her in the middle of her kitchen. Clueless.

"Incu...what." she mumbled to herself, rubbing her chin in thought. "Incubus." she snapped her fingers, gasping in realization. If she didn't know what it was, the internet would. She dashed to her bedroom, flinging open her dresser drawer and removing from it a sleek silver laptop.

"In...cubus." she sounded the word out out loud, typing slowly in her search engine bar. Her eyes widened in paralyzing horror.

Demon. She screamed mentally, scanning the page word-for-word, over and over. This is nonsense. He was playing her. Still, an uneasy feeling settled in the very bottom of her stomach. Things like this didn't really exist right? He had to be lying to her. There was simply no logical explanation...

"Rukiaaaaaa.~" Rangiku hummed, knocking on her door. She gasped in shock, slamming her laptop closed.

"C'mon, hon! Open up! Toshiro and me wanna meet Ichigoooo.~"

She opened her door slowly, looking Rangiku harshly in the eyes, "He left." she said, starting to close it again. Rangiku propped it open with her foot.

"Oh my God. What happened?" she gasped, "All the color completely just...drained from your face! Are you sick?"

She shook her head slowly, "I'm just tired." she insisted, mustering the most honest smile she could make.

"No!" Rangiku blurted, bursting through Rukia's door, Toshiro following closely behind her.

"Ran, she said nothing was wrong..."

"She's lying, and I won't leave until she tells me what happened!" she scolded, plopping down on the couch, crossing one leg over the other.

Damn she was persistent. Rukia sighed in defeat, closing and locking her door.

"It's about the doctor, right?" Toshiro asked.

"How do you know about..."

"Details!" Rangiku cried, "Did he dump you?"

Rukia rolled her eyes, taking a seat on her coffee table in front of Rangiku. "He's just. So. Shady." she mumbled, running her hand through her hair. Toshiro sat himself close to Rukia, throwing his arm over her shoulders.

"There, there." he said giving her a friendly shake, "Nothing lasts forever."

"No!" Rukia exploded, flailing her arms, "He didn't break up with me! What I say...we're not even together!"

"You two sounded pretty together last night." Rangiku smirked cattishly. Rukia's face burned bright red.

She flew back into the wall farthest away from Rangiku and Toshiro, sliding down it dramatically. They heard me...she dropped her head, quickly shaking herself back into reality. "He's just strange! And I asked him what it was about him that I didn't know and he..." she stood to her feet, pacing back and forth across the room. Toshiro and Rangiku exchanged the same confused look. Maybe Rukia's finally lost it.

"Well? Spit it out." Rangiku urged her on.

Rukia bit her lip, sighing softly, "He didn't say it directly...but..."

"Oh my God!" she gasped, "He's married isn't he?"

"No! Will you just let me...finish!" Rukia snapped, groaning loudly, "He asked me if I knew what an incubus was!"

Pause.

"He said he was an incubus?" Toshiro raised his eyebrow.

"No, it was more like..." she turned, reenacting the scene that took place only a few minutes ago, "Why're you so mysterious? 'oh, if I told you you wouldn't believe me' Try me 'do you know what an incubusis' then he left when I said no." she blushed bright red.

"Oh yeah. He was totally implying that he was an incubus." Rangiku said nonchalantly, "My uncle is an incubus."

"Here we go." Toshiro rolled his eyes.

"No really!" Rangiku bellowed, "He is! His dad was an incubus, and he mated with his mom then bam. Hybrid baby."

Rukia snorted, trying to hold back her laughter. "Hybrid baby?"

"This is some serious shit." Rangiku said sternly, her facial expression the most serious Rukia had ever seen, "If he really is, you need to ask him. Because they don't hang around for long. They hop from woman to woman until they die, if they die." she said, standing to her feet, "Just don't get attached or your heart will get broken!"

"Alright, crazy let's get out of here before you scare her with more of your 'my relatives are demons' stories." Toshiro said sarcastically, pushing Rangiku to the door. Rukia stood silently, watching as the couple left taking their bickering out with them. She bit her thumb in thought. Incubus. The word floating around in her head relentlessly. She dragged her hand down her face, sighing loudly. Trailing back into her bedroom, she flopped down on her bed mentally exhausted. If he really is, you need to ask him. Rangiku's words flooded her brain...she looked over at her cellphone. Ask him. She sat up in her bed, taking the mobile device in her hand, staring at it. How would she ask him such an odd question and expect a truthful answer when she herself didn't believe in such things? Slowly, she commenced to sifting through her contacts. Ichigo. She highlighted his name, hesitantly pressing down on the "talk" button.

Ring.

Dailtone.

She waited patiently.

"Yes?" He answered casually.

Silence, she looked for words to say.

"Come back." she choked up, covering her hand with her mouth. What'd you say that for?

Ichigo smiled, snickering softly, "I'm on my way." he said, ending their conversation.

She plopped back down on her mattress, face buried in her pillow. Stressed. Today was not her day, already.

"It's such a beautiful day!" Orihime giggled, rocking side to side in happiness on the wooden park bench. Ulquiorra smiled, sitting close beside her. "Ah! Doesn't it feel great being outside of the hospital?"

"As long as you're here it feels great no matter where I am." he said, wrapping his arm around her, pulling her close. She blushed heavily, leaning her head on his shoulder. Staring into the clear blue sky, it was quite serene. "Do you have to go back?" she asked quietly, staring down at their feet. No answer. She sighed heavily, because she herself had already known the answer to her own question, gripping tightly onto his shirt.

"Everything's going to be alright."

"But what if it's not?" Orihime whimpered, her eyes welling up with tears. "Ulquiorra...if you go I'll be miserable."

He held her tighter, "If I go, I'll be with you everyday so you don't have to be." he said, kissing her lightly on her forehead. She closed her eyes, nuzzling her face in his shirt. Trying so hard not to cry.

"Hey." he said, standing to his feet, "Let's walk. I want to buy you an ice cream cone."

She sniffled loudly, running her hand across her eyes. "Okay." she smiled, taking his hand in her and leaning close onto his arm. Everything was going to be alright. He promised her, so she had to believe it. Everything's going to be...alright?