A Love Confession? What's That?

Author: The Rose Society

Rating: M (per definitions, there is a merest hint of adult suggestive subject matter, but it is a hint)

Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Tite Kubo and respective entities. Borrowed by myself without permission. Plotline and badly written fic are generated by myself.

Prompted by the question: What would Ichigo's reaction be and how would he explain a love confessional letter to Rukia?

"Eh?"

Ichigo looked over at Rukia, who had made the soft noise of confusion, from where he waited for the petite girl to change from her school slippers to regular shoes. "What?"

The petite girl turned, a puzzled look on her face, holding a simple white envelope. Ichigo's ever present semi-furrowed brow settled into a more familiar semi-scowl. "I found this piece of parchment atop of my shoes." She turned it over a few times in her hands. "It has my name upon it. What in the world is this?"

Ichigo picked up their school bags that lay at his feet and covered the distance between them in two long strides. "Finish putting on your shoes, you can read your love letter later."

Dark, delicately arched brows lowered from the surprised position to confused. "Love letter?" She frowned and turned her gaze from the adolescent in front of her down to the parchment in her hand. A piece of parchment that was promptly snatched up by said adolescent.

Narrowing violet eyes flew to look at Ichigo but decided on prudence. If she wanted him to provide more information on this curious bit of human behavior, she would play nice for now. An irritated berry was a non-informative berry. Besides, she could always kick the information out of him better in her solid leather oxfords rather than her school slippers.

Politely (or out of self-protection, but no, he was a gentleman first, damn it, his mother raised him right), Ichigo averted his eyes from the shapely bottom Rukia presented him with as she bent to put on her shoes and looked at the letter. He didn't recognize the handwriting but then again, he knew that barring Keigo, none of his friends whom writing he was familiar with would write a love confession letter to the cool-and-falsely-ladylike-at-school Rukia. Except maybe if Mizuiro decided to forgo his old age requirement (though he really didn't need to, she was really some ten times their age). Or maybe Ishida, that man definitely had expressed an appreciation for the finer details of Rukia's physical aesthetics, something Ichigo had not missed. Hell, even Chad, who had a secret obsession with cute, tiny things and really, at 144 cm, Rukia was eclipsed by Chad's 197 cm frame.

Shaking his head, he handed Rukia back the letter and her bag once she had finished putting on her shoes and closing her shoe locker. "Yeah, love letter. You know, a confession."

The pair fell in step as they began to walk to the school gates, the warmth of the afternoon sunlight dancing upon their faces. Ichigo kept his gaze forward as he made his way toward his group of friends for their shared walks home. Out of the corner of his eye though, he could see Rukia looking at him still, waiting for more information. Heaving a sigh, he opened his mouth for explain further when the loud obnoxiousness that was one Asano Keigo broke the quieter chatter of the emptying school.

"EH!? ANO, KUCHIKI-SAN, IS THAT A LOVE CONFESSION I SEE IN YOUR BEAUTI—"

A solidly muscled arm to the throat halted Keigo's odd dance/dash towards the pair. Ichigo kept walking past Keigo's twitching body. "Don't be a fool, you know what it is, you don't have to freak out about it." Feeling a flare of irritation (due to Keigo's antics, most assuredly), Ichigo joined the larger group.

Mizuiro chuckled, finishing his text to his Tuesday girlfriend, noticing he had to reply to his Friday girlfriend later, put his phone away as he politely stood closer to Rukia to peer over her delicate shoulder to look at the letter. "While the rest of us are, Keigo might not be as familiar with this particular tradition seeing the status of his dismal love life."

Orihime and Tatsuki ignored the ensuing yells from the brown-haired monkey and Tatsuki protectively closed in with Orihime so that neither she nor Rukia would be jostled by Keigo's animated protestations.

"Oh, how exciting Kuchiki-san! Who is it from? Will you accept? Oh, what will you wear? I can see it now, you'll have a delicious dinner with some lovely natto-anko nikuman, and after you two will go on a wonderful adventure climbing Tokyo Tower, base jumping when you reach the top, parachuting all the way back to Karakura where he'll walk you to your door for a good night ki—" At this point in her ramblings, Orihime blushed and paused, her thought train derailing onto a different set of tracks, one involving a certain debonair secret spy Kurosaki-kun smiling suavely at her and leaning in to… Orihime snuck a quick peek at the object of her affections before shifting her gaze to the ground and twiddling her fingers nervously.

Quietly, Tatsuki touched Orihime's back as the group began their shared portions of the walk home, supporting her friend unobtrusively while providing cover for her. "Why don't we find out if Kuchiki-san is going to accept first, Hime?"

Once again sparkling eyes turned towards Rukia, who met Orihime's excited look with a as neutral as possible expression. Rukia felt the need to cover her ignorance of these strange human customs as best as she could with her formidable acting skills. Raising a delicate hand to her cheek, she schooled her voice and face to convey the appropriate shyness and modesty befitting a young lady. "How embarrassing, this is quite the fuss over a letter. This is all quite new to me, and I am not quite sure how I will respond." There, that should cover up the fact she still doesn't understand what this letter is for by emphasizing her discomfort with their reactions.

Hiding his snort, Ichigo tossed his comment over his shoulder, as he and the other guys had made their way in front of the girls. "Not really, we're just surprised a short, violent girl like you got a confession so quickly since you've only been in school for such a short time."

The ensuring brief squabble (Rukia had a facade to protect, damn it, so she wouldn't kick his ass in public but she did quickly jab at a pressure point in his back that made Ichigo squirm as if electrocuted) and laughter eased into a discussion of other topics before the group split up to go their own separate ways. After briefly splitting up to hide the fact that Rukia lived in his closet, Ichigo and Rukia again walked side by side towards Ichigo's home. He was somewhat relieved to escape a beating for his previous comments but frowned a bit more when he saw she was still clutching the letter.

"If you opened it, it would stop being a mystery, you know?" He raised his arms and crossed them atop his head, his school bag dangling from his fingers.

Shooting him a quick glance, Rukia retorted "I still am not clear what the purpose of this is. Explain."

Huffing a bit at the imperious tone, Ichigo scowled at the girl next to him. "When someone has an interest in someone else, they write a letter asking that person to meet them somewhere. The purpose is so they can confess their feelings. Both people can prepare their responses ahead of time and think about it. It is a bit more polite this way since you can confess and the other person can accept or reject all in private. Don't you have this where you come from?"

Rukia shook her head. "Since we don't exactly have schools with lockers and such, there isn't this type of setup." She began to finally open the letter, much to morbid relief of Ichigo's burning (damn it, no, PASSING, not burning) curiosity. "From what I know, most shinigami and other souls handle things more directly. As for nobles, they have a whole other system."

A shadowed look passed over Rukia's eyes, something Ichigo picked up on as they reached the street that the Kurosaki Clinic was located on. He kept quiet as he watched Rukia's eyes read over the contents of the letter. He stopped walking, prompting Rukia to do as well. Best let her finish before dealing with the insanity of Kurosaki Isshin's greeting at the door for him and with the task of sneaking in the second story window for her.

A moment of silence. When he turned slightly to fully look at her, he could see the flash of expectant curiosity on her face, which was replaced with a look of mixed confusion and maybe an almost flattered expression. That irritation was back but it was probably because he was getting hungry. He quietly wondered what Yuzu was making and if he would have trouble sneaking a plate for her or if he should just pretend to be extra hungry again. Rukia was putting the letter in her bag when he finally grunted an almost question and gestured vaguely at the now absent letter.

Rukia scowled at the teen, her ire replacing the look of sadness and disbelief that had been on her face. "What?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Care to share about the letter? Most girls I know like to squeal and jump up and down excitedly with each other before they go discuss such things with their girlfriends. While you look more like a little kid, I thought you might want to talk about it."

This time, a singular raised, sardonic brow. "You want to be my girlfriend, Strawberry-chan?" At the furious splutter and red faced response, Rukia chuckled before adding, "Thank you. You can jump and squeal alone though, I am a Kuchiki and a member of the Gotei-13." She sniffed delicately, her nose turned up in the air. "I do not squeal."

A hand came down heavily and mussed her dark locks. "Just for that, I won't be grabbing you a juice box tonight. Water will do?" Ichigo resumed his progress towards the house in long strides, able to avoid the incoming kicks to his shins. "Hurry up, we have a lot of homework tonight."

Rukia threw him a dirty look. "Try it, Strawberry-chan, and you will find yourself taking your future meals through a straw." Turning quickly down a little alley a few houses short of the clinic, she climbed a wall before jumping nimbly onto a low roof. Ichigo watched while keeping watch as her figure dashed towards his home. Just as he finished taking out his keys and prepared himself to dodge Isshin's impending kick to the face he could see Rukia make the last leap into his window. He jerked a bit and frowned. Did she almost falter just now? But she was able to clear things eventually, although there was a barely perceptible thud. She usually was almost silent in her landings.

—

Maneuvering the plate of curry, a glass of water, and a purloined juice box to one hand, Ichigo opened his door with the other. Closing his door and setting his items on his desk, he tapped on his closet door. "Oi, short-stack, food is here."

The closet door slid open quietly and Rukia, now changed into a casual long dress after most likely sneaking back out to shower at that creepy shopkeeper's place, came out much more subdued than Ichigo expected. "Aah, thank you, Ichigo." She sat down primly and began quietly tucking into her food.

He frowned as he put away some clean laundry Yuzu had just finished folding before taking out a clean shirt to wear with the rest of his uniform and set it to the side. He let her eat as he drank his water, letting himself rest a bit after kicking Isshin, showering, and eating dinner with his boisterous father and sisters. When most of the food was gone (not that she ate much to begin with, didn't she know you had to eat to grow?), he quietly asked "What is bugging you?"

Delicately wiping her mouth and taking another drink from her juice box, Rukia swiveled in the chair to look at Ichigo. "What do you mean?"

"Che," Ichigo scoffed at her response. "Don't avoid the question, you look upset."

Rukia's features twitched in surprise for a moment before she looked to the side, masking her emotions. Not having it, Ichigo sat on the edge of his bed and faced the stubborn girl, staring at her and waiting for her response.

A beat passed before she began to speak. "I am just confused about this confession thing."

This again? Irritation returned as well as something he didn't quite understand. "What about it?"

Sighing, Rukia looked at Ichigo. "You humans do things strangely. Takeo-san wrote many things praising me." So that was who wrote the letter. She reached over to pull it out of her bag and handed it over to Ichigo. He read it quickly as she spoke again. "But I have barely interacted with him and we are not even in the same class. He is very complimentary of my physical appearance," there goes that irritation again, he is feeling quite moody tonight for some reason, "and praises me for some surface characteristics that, while fleetingly flattering, I do not see in myself. He really doesn't seem to know me well at all. Yet based on whatever he sees, he feels he knows enough to want to get to know me better." Rukia skewered Ichigo with a look. "This displeases me, somehow. If this is supposed to be a confession of feelings, Takeo-san's impressions of me, while initially flattering to a degree, only lead me to conclude he really doesn't know me at all and sees only the surface."

Ichigo raised his own brow. "You do act like a total alien being at school though. You're polite, gentle, and quiet at school when we both know that is totally fa—" He took the punch to the shoulder like a man…wincing inwardly instead and trying to surreptitiously roll his now aching shoulder. "Anyways, so he sees you in a positive light. What is wrong with that?" He returned the letter to her and she grasped it with a frown.

An uncomfortable pause. "I would prefer he saw the real me and liked or disliked what he saw there. Also, what is with the 'gentle, pale mien with locks the color of raven's wings, a beautiful pearl of the first water, with eyes that shine brighter than precious amethysts'?"

The tight feeling in his chest eased a bit when he took in her affronted expression. Ichigo snorted and waved a sarcastic hand in the air. "It means he needs his eyes checked and he needs to read some Shakespeare to learn a thing or two, the plebian." At the murderous look he got in response, Ichigo quickly added, "he thinks you're pretty. Why are you mad about it?"

Rukia fisted her hands to control her anger, crumpling the letter within it. "This gigai is a shell; it isn't real and I will shed it when my powers return. Even if he could see me without it, I still am annoyed. Again, I am more than how I look."

Relaxing further, Ichigo could feel a slight quirk of his lips wanting to take place. "Aah." She turned her gaze to his slightly amused face. "Well, that's fine. Everyone isn't the same way, focused on how people look. Just means you prefer someone like that and that might not be Takeo." Something light bubbled within him. Didn't feel like gas. Anyways. "It is also sometimes nice to be complimented on your looks. As long as you're also appreciated in a deeper and true manner, you can have all the aspects of a relationship you want."

There was that damn shadow in her eyes again. She averted her eyes and let out her own little grunt. "No." She turned as if the conversation was over, rising to let him have his desk and turning to start on her homework in the closet.

Ichigo looked at her back. "What do you mean no?" His honey brown eyes sharpened. "Rukia?"

She turned with that placidly pleasant smile on her face. "No is no, Ichigo. Now, it is time for homework, we never know if a Hollow will appear."

"Rukia."

…

…

She sighed and lifted herself to sit on the edge of the shelf in his closet. The pair gazed at each other quietly across the span of the room. "Love, companionship, and friendship, it's troublesome. It's really nothing but a saddening emotion. Humans may have these emotions but I am not human. I am a shinigami. All shinigami shouldn't have these unnecessary feelings. It is disgraceful."

Now, there was a huge wave of irritation…and something. Pain? Across the expanse lay a gulf of emptiness, a distance he disliked so he stood and walked up to the girl in his closet. He tried to salvage something. "Okaaaaay, so maybe you aren't human and don't want a relationship with a human being." Twinge. "Probably for the best since you are old enough to be someone's grandma's grandma. But shinigami have relationships, right?"

She pursed her lips (but not because she wanted to hide a quiver). "They do. Many have relationships, marry, even have children." Ichigo wondered idly how that worked when they were technically dead but saved that for another time. "But I am a Kuchiki."

… "And? What does that have to do with anything?" He crossed his arms and tapped a foot, anything to shake off a bit of the heavy feeling.

She speared him with a look. "As a member of a noble house, even as an adopted member, there is a different process. Prospective matches are based on political power and wealth. The elders discuss if a match is favorable to the clan and if so, an omiai is arranged. Though the prospective bride and groom both need to agree, ultimately no match will occur without the approval of the elders."

Old-fashioned though it may be, humans still practiced that to some degree, so Ichigo understood. "Well, cheer up. You just need to find a fancy noble dude who does give you all that you wanted." There was that tight feeling again. He pasted a smile on his face.

Rukia lowered her head, her eyes hidden by her hair. "You don't get it. Despite the adoption, I am not really a noble. Those that have approached for a match, it is clear that they do so really only because of the Kuchiki name and the advantages possible. They don't really want a commoner from the Rukongai of questionable heritage to be a part of their clan."

…

She suddenly shifted and lifted her face, a sardonic smile on her face. "Maa maa, anyways, I prefer being a member of the Gotei-13 and fulfilling my duties as a shinigami. If I married, eventually I would have to stop. This is much better. Anyways, you really need to get started on that homework, Kurosaki-kun!"

He scowled at the falsely bright note to her voice. What the hell?

"Ru—"

"You needn't bother with the political and personal affairs of shinigami, Ichigo. You are already burdened by the duties of one on top of your human requirements." Her serious tone stopped him more than her words. "Enjoy the time you have to take care of what you must and stop worrying about such matters." She gave him a small, genuine smile, the tension around her eyes having eased.

The unspoken 'please' drifted along the empty distance between them.

Ichigo mustered a small smile. "Aah." For now, he wouldn't press further. There was a distance between the human Ichigo and the shinigami Rukia that was best, for now, left alone and unabridged. For now.

"Let me know if you need any help with the essay later, shinigami, since all you know is some formal, ancient Japanese—" A notebook flew from the closet and straight into his face…followed by a pencil- holy shit, she threw it point first, that nearly took out an eye- and an eraser to the forehead.

Quiet study occupied one Kurosaki Ichigo's room and Kuchiki Rukia's (borrowed) closet until the blaring of a Hollow alert prompted the two to spring into action. Two forms similarly clad in black garbs flew out the window, leaving Kon as Ichigo to yell that he refused to do Ichigo's homework after them before letting silence return to the room.

…for now.