Thunderstruck! Puberty Hits: When Rukia's injured during a Hollow fight, Ichigo is forced to carry her back and the effects of puberty makes itself known. Enter rain, wet bandages, and naughty thoughts.

"This is all your fault, you know that right?" Rukia asked cheekily, shifting on the hard ground.

"My fault?!" Ichigo demanded incredulously. He stormed up to her and glared at her prone figure. "How the hell is it my fault?"

Rukia sniffed under him. Figures that even when she's disheveled and on the ground bleeding, she still maintains her holier-than-thou attitude.

"If you had been paying attention instead of making long winded speeches, you would have noticed the other presence—"

"You're the one who came out of nowhere and took the blow! And may I add that I didn't need your help."

"Please, if I hadn't come along, you would have been dead by now." She gave him a chilling glare. "Normal people would be grateful Kurosaki; you should be bowing before me now."

"Like hell," he spat back and turned his face to the side. "Can you walk?"

There was shifting under him, and he watched as Rukia managed to pull herself up. Even if he did feel like helping her (which he didn't!) it wasn't like she'd ever accept it.

She was biting her lip with eyes scrunched up in concentration, as if though merely standing was a confusing concept.

"Yes," she said at last. Ichigo didn't believe her in the slightest but decided to entertain her (more like entertain himself).

"Great," he said and turned his back to her, already walking away. "Then hurry up, it's already late and I have homework to do."

Rukia hesitated behind him and glared at his slowly fading back. She just saved this idiot's life and he didn't even have enough decency to wait for her. Blowing the bangs away from her face, she contemplated her situation.

Her left ankle was cut up pretty bad from the Hollow's claw. Searing flashes of pain made their way up her leg at the slightest movement, so there was no way she could walk properly.

She could hop on her left foot.

Screw that, she was Kuchiki Rukia. And Kuchiki Rukia did not hop.

So she let her pride take over and stubbornly placed her wounded ankle down. She hissed in pain and started to fall forward. She braced herself for the collision with the sidewalk, but it never came.

Because the idiot who had so evilly abandoned her had returned and caught her.

By her hair.

He grabbed her hair…to stop her from falling…and pulled her up…by her hair.

And the next thing the poor fool knew, there was a searing pain in his cheek and he went flying back several feet.

"What. The. Hell." He screamed at her as he rubbed the now sore cheek. "I helped you and this—"

"FOOL!!" Rukia screamed and patted her hair tenderly. "You NEVER pull a woman's hair asswipe! And you especially don't keep her from falling like THAT!"

Ichigo made a wise decision and shut his trap.

"Um…sorry." He said awkwardly. Rukia didn't say anything but she didn't curse either, so he took it as a good sign. He turned around and kneeled so his back faced her.

"What?" Rukia asked, clearly confused by his random actions.

"Get on," and before she could complain (like he knew she would) he said: "Well, you're not gonna get home alone and we'll get there a helluva lot faster if I carried you."

Silence met him and for a moment Ichigo thought that she would refuse to cooperate but before he could insist (but not beg, because…he's Kurosaki Ichigo and he never begs, especially not to her) he felt two slender hands grabbing his shoulders.

He waited patiently as she limped closer and gently laid herself against his back. She placed both arms around his neck and leaned forward, resting all her weight on him.

A slight blush crossed Ichigo's cheeks and he was grateful that she was facing the other way. He got up and placed his hands on her legs to supports the weight evenly. Somehow Rukia seemed—

"Try anything Kurosaki," Rukia hissed lowly. "And I swear…" she tightened her hold around his neck threateningly before loosening it again.

Scratch whatever (kind) thought he may have had about her from his mind.

"The house is kinda far and I'm tired so I won't be able to get there as fast as usual," he said. "Think you can live?"

"Don't get cocky idiot," was all Rukia said.

For about two minutes, the walk was quiet and comfortable and Ichigo was starting to think that nothing could go wrong, despite the situation they were in.

But then it got worse when thunder struck.

And sure enough, it was followed by a light drizzle. He looked up at the darkened clouds and squinted through the rain.

"God hates me," he said.

"I hate you too," Rukia added.

"Gee thanks," he replied sarcastically and continued walking. It was only a light drizzle after all, nothing the two of them couldn't handle.

And if on cue, thunder clapped again and the rain grew heavier. His eye twitched rapidly and behind him, Rukia sighed.

"You fool; you thought it couldn't get any worse right?"

"…"

"Idiot, you should read more manga."

"Shut up."

He continued walking in the now heavier rain (liquid proof that God hated him) and made sure to think about anything else besides how it still wasn't that bad.

And through his desperate attempt to not jinx the rain, he started noticing things. Certain things. Certain things like… how wet he was…and how…he had a human umbrella on his back…who was also…very wet…wet…

The thought hit him so suddenly that he froze for a moment before berating himself and continuing his journey. But just because he started walking, didn't mean the thoughts had left.

Indeed, now his skin had turned supersensitive to all her moments. His brain clearly registered how her slick hands would move to get a firmer grip around his neck. Or how cold her skin was where he held her drenched legs. Or also how the rain had soaked every ounce of her clothes, thus sticking it against her skin and then pressing against his back.

Ichigo gulped. He tried praying.

Dear Lord, I know you might hate me, but please God. Please help my thoughts to leave this…evil…place and go somewhere…normal? Ah, dammit Lord, just make this situation a little easier to bear, eh?!

And thus, God smote him.

Rukia fell asleep and her head fell forward until it hit his neck. And then it stayed there. And then her warm breaths hit his ear every few seconds and made him tremble.

Yep, God really hated him.

XOXOXOXOX

At last! At last he was at the safe domain that was his home!! After 7 minutes and 49 seconds of torture, he was finally safe.

No wait…no he wasn't.

Because just then he remembered that his father was at a doctor convention somewhere and his sisters were at an overnight fieldtrip.

So he was alone in the house with a soaked, sleeping, wounded Rukia.

He walked to the clinic towards an empty cot, turned around, pried her fingers off and dropped her ungracefully on the bed.

Rukia only let out a soft snore.

I will not look, I will not look, I will not look…

He looked.

Poor idiot.

He looked and saw dear Rukia lying on her side, with a mound of dark hair encircling her head like a black halo. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips parted as they took in short breaths. And of course her clothes, due to the rain…

Well, you should know by now. I repeated it, like, 50 times.

Ichigo sat in the corner as he tried to control his naughty, teenage, hormonal imagination. When that didn't work, he took a bedpan and started bashing his head with it.

Then he realized, ew, I'm using a freaking bedpan. Ew.

He looked back at her, this time only letting his eyes observe the injury on her leg. Once he saw it, all previous thoughts flew from his head, and he berated himself for not noticing earlier.

The rain had not managed to wash all the blood away and it had dried up around the 6-inch long gash. It was a fresh, red color but the skin around it was slowly turning purple. If he didn't clean it soon, it would get infected and Rukia would get sick.

Taking a deep breath, he found some bandages, alcohol, and cream. He bought a chair by her feet and slipped off her shoe and sock. He pushed aside any thoughts on when he had become her servant, and focused on the cut.

He dabbed a large cotton ball in the alcohol and bought it to her leg. Before making contact, he whispered a 'sorry Rukia' and pressed it hard, wiping all dirt and bacteria away. As expected, Rukia hissed in her sleep and a troubled look overcame her features.

The hard part was over and Ichigo quickly applied the ointment and wrapped the bandage around her now clean gash.

He leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. This woman gave him too much trouble sometimes.

He glared at her still slumbering figure and another thought occurred to him and he began wishing that these stupid thoughts would stop occurring to him!

If Rukia stayed in those wet clothes, she would catch a cold.

Now Ichigo was very helpful today, carrying her home an bandaging her up. But there was absolutely NO WAY IN HELL he was going to change her clothes.

(Even though part of him wanted to)

NO I DON'T!! STOP PUTTING FREAKING WORDS IN MY MOUTH!!

Yes, yes, so Ichigo didn't want to be big and bad and since dear Ichigo is so pure and so kind, he decided that he would do the right thing in this situation.

"Hey you troublesome wench, wake up!" he poked her cheek several times and called her every insult her had ever called her before but still no movement.

He was starting to get worried. So he leaned back and said under his breath,

"This midget is starting to annoy the shit out of me."

"That's not nice, you bastard." Rukia said quietly. Ichigo watched in irritation as she slowly pulled herself up and blinked.

"You're up…" Ichigo said to himself. "…And you have the nerve to say I'm not nice? I—"

"You carried me home and bandaged my leg…Thank you."

"I carried you home and bandaged your leg; the least I deserve is a thank you!!"

"I did thank you…idiot."

"…oh…" Ichigo blushed. "Then…you're welcome, I guess."

"Yeah."

"Hm."

"So…"

"Huh?"

"Why'd you try to wake me up?" Rukia asked and shifted to a more comfortable position.

And Ichigo noticed for the first (third) time that she was wearing a white blouse. And white blouses plus water plus hormones are not a good thing.

"Ichigo, why are you hitting yourself with a bedpan? That's not sanitary."

He paused and sure enough, it was the bedpan from earlier. He threw it out the window.

"Um…change your clothes or you'll catch a cold."

"Wow, you said something smart for once," Rukia noted with wide eyes. She suddenly pulled out a black book. "I must record this for future reference!"

"SHUT UP! I've said smart things before!"

"…"

"…"

"…?"

"…"

"Like what?" Rukia said at last as Ichigo crushed the chirping cricket.

"…I don't remember right now, but I have!"

"…"

"So are you gonna change yet?"

"…"

"Well?"

"You're gonna have to leave for me to change you know."

"…I KNOW!!" Ichigo said as he blushed a bright red. It's not like he wanted to see anything anyway!

CoughLieCough

As he turned to leave he felt a sudden pulling on his shirt and turned around to see Rukia grasping on, hair matted against her pretty face.

He blushed darker as she moved closer.

"R-Rukia?"

Two inches away from his face, Rukia paused and smiled softly. "Thanks again dope," she murmured genuinely. Then she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his cheek for a full five seconds.

"Now get out," Rukia said and pushed him back with a sly smirk on her face.

Oh crap.

The naughty thoughts came flooding in.

"Dammit, where's my bedpan?!!"

"Ichigo?"

THE END

(A/N) BWAHAHAHAAA! I know you all hate me for just making her kiss him on the cheek only, but use your imaginations to fill in the rest.

And yes, even the anti-social Kurosaki Ichigo has naughty thoughts.

Please Review my dear, IchiRuki loving friends.