Some of you guys are mentioning how I'm not keeping my characters in, well, character. I want to defend myself my saying of course Ichigo and Rukia have a case of OCC! Ichigo just started randomly making out with Rukia, so of course things are going to be a little weird. I haven't gotten very far in the series, and so far I haven't seen any of them in romantic situations, so I'm writing them how I think they would react. There—rant over. Read and enjoy.

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The walk to his house didn't take long, and they watched some hilarious comedy movie. But when it was over, it was still only lunch time, so the passed the time playing classic games like charades—which they had to stop after Keigo fell over the back of the couch and hit his head while miming a ballerina—and trivia games on recent movies—Rukia did horribly, for obvious reasons. Keigo had found a twister mat somewhere, but no one trusted him in that game, so Ichigo and Mizuiro had to overpower him while Rukia and Tatsuki rushed off to hide the matt somewhere.

As it started to get dark, the cloudy weather turned rainy and windy. Ichigo and Rukia were getting ready to go before the storm got worse, when suddenly the lights went out. Ichigo cursed loudly as the others hurriedly tried the lights switches—no luck. "You have got to be kidding me!" Ichigo groaned, putting a hand to his face. The room was almost completely dark, it getting lighter only slightly by the window.

"I'll go get the flashlights and some candles…" Mizuiro muttered, stumbling slightly out of the room.

"Ichigo," Rukia whispered, tugging his sleeve. "How will we leave now if a hollow attacks?" she asked urgently.

"Crap, your right. They'll want us to stay here—"

There was the crack of lightning, and Rukia yelped, practically jumping on top of Ichigo. He stumbled backwards, his feet hit the back of the couch, and toppled over it, Rukia still clinging to him. He gave a small yelp of his own as his head connected solidly with the hardwood floor and lay there, dazed.

"Ichigo! What happened?" Mizuiro dashed in, fumbling with a flashlight and waved it around like a light-saber, trying to find him. The light blared in Ichigo's eyes and he turned away, groaning.

The rest of the group stared at them, most of them laughing but confused, and in Keigo's case whipping out his cell phone.

"Rukia…get off me," Ichigo coughed.

She shook her head, burying her face into his shoulder as a second crack sounded. "Rukia…off!"

She bit her lip and sat up, still straddling him and looking terrified. Ichigo did an awkward shimmy to get out from under her and helped her up. "Mizuiro, does your phone still work?"

"I'm not sure…" he swung the flashlight around and searched for the phone, passing it to Ichigo. He clicked a button and was relieved to hear a dial tone. "Is it alright if we spend the night?" he asked.

His friend nodded, saying, "Actually, I think you all should stay over, it wouldn't be safe to go home during a thunder storm."

Ichigo punched in his home number and waited as it rang. His sister Karin picked it up. "Hey, Karin? It's me, Ichigo. Could you tell dad that I'll be staying over at Mizuiro's until the storm lets up?"

"Yeah, sure," she said, and hung up.

Ichigo gave the phone to Tatsuki so she could call her parents and gently removed Rukia's current talon like hands from his arms. She ducked her head, looking irritated at herself but terrified at the same time.

Ichigo sighed and sat down on the couch, Rukia beside him. She was biting her lip and trying her best not to cling to the closet thing possible, but her hand still had a vice-like grip on Ichigo's arm. He frowned down at her, wishing he could comfort her but not knowing how.

Once everyone had called their parents, Mizuiro passed out blankets and lay out on the floor. Keigo and Tatsuki glanced at each other, then lunged for the chair. Keigo got their first, but Tatsuki easily pulled him off and settled down, smiling like a pleased cat. Rukia give a small smile as Keigo glowered and pulled his blanket over his face, but dived against Ichigo as another thunderclap shook the house.

Ichigo sighed and gently stroked her hair, using his other hand to pull the blanket they had been given over her. He blinked, noticing the blanket had little flowers all over it and passed Mizuiro an odd look, but he wasn't looking his way.

As Rukia drew away, Ichigo slipped off the couch and stretched out. Rukia watched him with her big eyes, confused. Ichigo was about to explain when he glanced around. He pushed himself and whispered, "We won't both fit on the couch." He rather not let his friends know that they usually slept together, not just the one time he had told them about.

She chocked her head. "Yes we can."

"Rukia, just go to sleep."

Rukia frowned at him and Ichigo felt a pang of guilt, but he shook his head and rolled onto his side. After a few minuets, Ichigo realized he wouldn't be able to go to sleep. His body felt cold, and his arms didn't feel right lying by his sides. He closed his eyes and sighed, his fingers itching to hold Rukia.

He was quickly relieved when thunder sounded and Rukia jumped so suddenly she fell off the couch right onto Ichigo's chest. He groaned loudly and Tatsuki threw a pillow at him, muttering to be quiet. He threw it back and quickly soothed Rukia, moving to the couch even with her on top of him. He rolled his eyes and pulled the blanket around them both, lying on his side. With both of them on the couch it was a tight fit, but that suited Rukia fine. She snuggled up to Ichigo and wrapped her arms around her neck, pulling herself even closer, making him blush slightly. Ichigo ignored his awkwardness and wrapped one arm around her small body.

Just as morning was coming, Ichigo was woken by an annoying buzzing. He grumbled and sat up, Rukia's arms slipping off him. Mizuiro grumbled and rolled over, pulling the pillow over his head. With a jolt he realized what it was and shook Rukia, whipping the blanket off them.

She noticed the sound and quickly dug in her pocket, pulling out her cell phone. "It's just around the corner," she said, and jumped to her feet. Ichigo followed her out the door and they hid his body in some bushes down the road. They raced down the street and clashed with a small hollow. Ichigo quickly dispersed it and stood there, panting. He turned to look at Rukia and saw the sun was just rising. He cursed and ran back to his body, then he and Rukia rushed back to Mizuiro's house. They went back to the room where everyone was sleeping, Rukia taking the couch and Ichigo lying down on the floor.

A few minuets later the two heard someone in the kitchen, making breakfast. Soon a delicious smell of pancakes filled the air and Mizuiro's mother stepped into the room and loudly said to wake up, wearing a large smile. Ichigo and Rukia sat up, Ichigo giving Keigo a swift kick. He jumped and stood, then quickly bounced into the kitchen once he smelled food. Tatsuki stirred and opened her eyes, and Mizuiro was already following Keigo.

As Rukia and Ichigo followed Tatsuki, she rubbed her eyes tiredly and muttered, "Ugh, what a nightmare."

Rukia froze and Ichigo almost walked into her. Without explaining anything, she suddenly grabbed the front of Ichigo's shirt, said "Sorry, Mizuiro, we've got to go. Now," and dragged Ichigo out the door.

"Rukia w-what are you doing?" Ichigo demanded, jerking out of her grip and walking beside her.

"I can't believe I was so stupid!" Rukia scolded herself. "It was right in front of me the whole time!"

"What was in front of you the whole time?"

"It's a hollow!" Rukia burst out. "That's what has been causing all these nightmares!"

"Rukia, how is that possible?" Ichigo asked, struggling to keep up with her quick walk even with his long legs.

"It doesn't hunt like normal hollows, it's too weak to outright attack its victim," she explained. "Instead, it weakens people with high spirit energy by keeping them from sleeping with nightmares. It's a bit famous, actually, because no one's been able to corner it since we can't track it."

"Why can't you track it?"

"Because it isn't a normal hollow. Look, it isn't that complicated."

Ichigo thought the opposite, but kept his opinion to himself. "So how do we catch it?"

Rukia explained it all out to him, and they waited for dark. Since they were pretty sure it would still be hanging around Ichigo's house, they had a kind of stake-out on a neighbor's roof. As soon as it got dark and his sisters went to sleep, they didn't have to wait long.

One of the ugliest hollows Ichigo had ever seen materialized on his roof, shuffling around on six legs and whipping a barb-like tail around in agitation once it realized it's usual victims weren't in bed sleeping.

Ichigo leaped over and slashed at it, but it sensed him and whirled around, catching him in the stomach with its tail. Grunting, Ichigo fell back and rolled to the side as its tail slammed down like a mace by his head. Ichigo sprung up and managed to get a slice in the tail, only to be struck aside by one of the legs. He grunted and quickly regained his balance, hefting his sword and using it protect him as the tail came whizzing out to meet him. As it struck off the blade, he switched his grip and sliced down. There was a piercing screech that made Ichigo flinch as the tail thudded sickeningly down. He grit his teeth and met the hollow as it spun around in agony, smashing through its mask.

Rukia congratulated him as the hollow dissipated and Ichigo stuck his sword into the ground. He let himself grin and called, "I'm kind of disappointed! Wasn't that supposed to be the big bad nightmare master?"

She made a face. "Nice nickname. Now let's get inside before we freeze." She disappeared into his window. Ichigo rolled his eyes and followed her, slipping back into his body once he got inside his room. He pulled off his shirt and went over to his bed, then stopped. "Rukia, you don't need to sleep in my bed anymore, there won't be any more nightmares."

"I like sleeping here," she stated, and proved her point by pulling the blankets up.

Ichigo shook his head and crawled in beside her. As he took her into his arms, he said, "You, I might actually miss them…"

Rukia sighed. "What, going to miss when I clung to you in fear? Don't worry, there are still lightning storms to look forward to," she said sarcastically.

Ichigo laughed. "I think I prefer you just like this."

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End

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There you go! My MTLCS series is finished. Please comment, whether it be negative or positive. And thank you all for reading! If you want, please tell me which part was your favorite in your reviews.