Title: At Least He's Cute…

Summary: Ichigo had seen many strange things in his life. And having Kisuke dump a drunk Juushiro Ukitake at his place before fleeing was pretty peculiar. And that was before Ichigo learnt that Juushiro was now sporting a few…neko-features and was a rather cuddly drunk.

Pairings: Mild Ichigo/Ukitake

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of this series and I am making no profit from this whatsoever

Warnings: Ah, I suppose you could say there is some OOCness in this as Juu-chan is drunk?

AN: This oneshot is dedicated to Psycho-Neurotically Disturbed who gave me the idea when reviewing my latest Dabbling with Drabbles fic. This was meant to be a drabble as well, but the idea ran away with me, so here we are. And, also, this is pretty much just pointless humour, so don't take it too seriously, ok? Don't hurt me!

Anyway, please enjoy and let me know what you think. Pretty please! :3

Ichigo really should be used to having his bedroom window flung open at all hours of the night and day. He had been a substitute Soul Reaper for a while now, after all. But the sound of his window scraping against its track as it was thrown open in haste made him jump. Which was quite annoying as he had been doing his school work at the time, and thanks to the unexpected intrusion, his hand had jerked and now he had this huge scribble through his work.

Eye twitching, Ichigo spun around in his chair, half standing up, as he readied himself to give the inconvenient intruder a piece of his mind.

However, instead of the usual culprits, he found Kisuke Urahara perched on his window sill. True, seeing that crazy scientist with his hat shadowing his eyes wasn't exactly uncommon. But what was very uncommon was the fact that he was carrying someone in his arms.

Ichigo froze, his mind falling blank, as Kisuke deposited his…er…bundle onto Ichigo's bed. He wrinkled his nose when he smelt a not entirely familiar scent. Was that…alcohol?

"Did you get him drunk?" Ichigo asked accusingly, getting straight to the point. "And against his will?"

"Well, yes and no," Kisuke said with a surprisingly nervous laugh as he pressed his two index fingers together in front of him. He then brightened up considerably in his usually over the top enthusiasm. But, even so, Ichigo could sense a hint of trepidation in his Spiritual Pressure.

"Now remember, Ichigo," Kisuke spoke as he edged his way back toward the window. "I was never here, I did nothing and I had no part in this whatsoever! Thanks now, buh bye!"

Then, in a flurry of movement, Kisuke had scrambled out of the window, jumped down to the street below, glanced right and then left, repeating this process a few more times, before choosing a direction to make a haste retreat in, holding his hat on top of his head as he ran.

And from his window, all Ichigo could do was watch in muted blankness. He waited until the strange man was out of sight before he closed his bedroom window with a soft click. He then took a deep breath, willing himself patience and strength. Kisuke's actions were surprising, so he had better ready himself for anything.

As Ichigo moved toward the bed, all the while musing who Kisuke would literally dump on him, the figure stirred slightly. And that was when he saw it. A long white Captain's Haori that match long white hair. There was only one person with long white hair like that.

Now, why the hell did Kisuke dropped Juushiro Ukitake at his house before tearing off into the sunset like the hounds of hell was after him?

That was slightly alarming, but as he leaned closer to check if the gentle captain was alright health wise, he noted something far more surprising. Something that made Ichigo jump back, blink several times before hastily rubbing his eyes with his hands.

"Man, I must be working too hard," Ichigo muttered to himself.

Stealing himself, Ichigo removed his hands from his eyes to look at the sleeping man on his bed. And he froze. Nope, they were still there.

On top of Juushiro's head were a pair of what Ichigo could only describe as cat ears. They were as white as his hair with a light pink colour on the inside. And, well, if Ichigo was to be honest, they kinda suited him. But they couldn't be real, right?

Slowly, Ichigo edged closer and lifted up an anxiously trembling hand. One touch and he would be able to tell if they were real or not. With his index finger, he gave the furry feline ear a poke.

And the ear flicked back, causing Juushiro to utter a small sound of distress and roll onto his side. Then, as Juushiro nuzzled his cheek into Ichigo's bed pillow, there was a flash of something white and furry behind him.

Again, Ichigo found himself floundering backwards until his back hit the door of his closet, his unblinking eyes staring at Juushiro on his bed. Slowly, as realization dawned upon him, Ichigo's eye twitched.

…He also had a cat's tail.

He thought he was ready for whatever Kisuke threw at him, but this…this was something else entirely! Captain Juushiro Ukitake had cat ears and a cat's tail! As in real cat's ears! As in a real life cat's tail! That moved!

Dammit, Urahara! Ichigo so desperately wanted to yell, but managed to stop himself so he wouldn't wake the slumbering…neko-captain on his bed. What have you done now?

Really, Kisuke running away like he did should have sent up multiple red flags.

Taking a deep breath, Ichigo tried to calm himself down. Ok, so Juushiro had cat features now. He could deal with that. And, well, he could still smell a slight tang of alcohol, so he was likely drunk. Chances were, if he had any luck, Juushiro wouldn't remember a thing.

So, yeah, all he had to do was to nurse Juushiro through a possible hangover. No problem. He could do that. Yeah, he was actually relieved that the drunkard was Juushiro. It wasn't like he was going to be a violent drunk. It totally went against his nature.

It will be fine.

As long as he ignored the flicking ears and fluffy tail…

"Hmm?"

Ichigo subconsciously tensed when he heard Juushiro's voice, sleepy with a hint of confusion. He glanced over to his bed, his eyes widening as he watches Juushiro push himself into a sitting position, rubbing delicately at his eyes with his hand, his haori falling off his shoulder in a tantalizing manner. And his ears, oh god, his ears twitched.

Slowly, Juushiro focused his gaze on Ichigo, his eyes slightly hazy. He either didn't notice he had feline ears now, or just didn't mind.

Juushiro tilted his head to the side, his right ear giving a light flick. "Ichigo-kun?"

"Ah, Ukitake-san?" Ichigo said as he managed to pull a rather shaky smile on his lips as he approached rather cautiously. "How are you feeling?"

At first, he made no attempt to reply. Juushiro blinked rapidly a couple of times, his head still cutely quirked to the side, his ear giving yet another adorable little twitch. Suddenly, a bright smile appeared on his lips and he made a sound that was distinctly like a happy meow.

"It's Ichi-kun!"

Suddenly, Ichigo had a pair of arms wrapped around his neck and a warm body pressed against his own. In shock, Ichigo instinctively wrapped his arms around Juushiro's waist as they both fell backwards, crashing to the floor with a loud thud.

Dazed, Ichigo found himself staring up at the ceiling, his mind barely registering the bodily weight against him. "Ah…?"

What just happen?

Lying of top of him, totally drunkenly oblivious to their less that elegant positions, Juushiro giggled. And he made no attempt to move.

Slowly, the gears turned in Ichigo's head. Neko-Juushiro, drunk, arms around his neck, Juushiro lying on top of him, both on the floor…

And then, for a lack of a better word, Ichigo freaked. He sat up abruptly, pulling Juushiro with him. His arms flailed out to his sides as the white-haired captain cuddled against his chest, happily purring away, completely oblivious to Ichigo's…what would you call it? Panic attack?

Yeah, that sounded right.

And Juushiro certainly wasn't helping in calming him down. Not with the way he was pressing himself closer to him, moving himself so he was curled up on Ichigo's lap, his head nuzzling under Ichigo's chin. His twitching ears would flick against his face as his tail swished happily, simply drunkenly content.

And he was purring. God dammit, he was purring!

It wasn't right. A man this powerful and respected, a man who had lived for over two thousand years and was a cherished captain should not be purring in a manner that was unfairly adorable.

It was a test. It had to be a test! A test of his restraint or something, right? A test to see how Ichigo, ah, handled himself in surprising situations.

No, wait. It was those women from the Seireitei's Women Association, right? They were behind this, hoping to get some pictures for their next calendar or something. Ichigo had heard many a horror story about those sadistic women. They were hiding around here somewhere…

"Hm, Ichi?"

Pausing midway through his freak-out, Ichigo jerkily looked down at the white-haired man and immediately regretted in doing so. A pair of chocolate brown eyes gazed back up at him looking so dejected and sad.

"You don't look happy," Juushiro murmured.

And if it was even possible, he looked absolutely miserable.

"You don't like me…"

Juushiro then pulled away, scurrying out of Ichigo's lap. He curled his legs underneath him as he sat on the floor, his hands resting on his knees. His feline ears had flatten against his head as he dropped his chin to his chest, his tail curling around to rest against his legs.

He looked far too crestfallen, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes, his bottom lip wibbling in a pout. It made Ichigo feel immediate guilt, like he was the worst being alive.

And his heart twisted when he thought he heard a sniffle. "I just wanted to cuddle…"

So…heartbreakingly…cute…

Was this his Bankai or something? It was…this cuteness…it was like a secret weapon or something! More fearsome than anything Ichigo had ever seen! No one would be able to withstand such adorableness!

"You just surprised me," Ichigo murmured, looking away abruptly, ignoring the fact that his cheeks felt suspiciously warm. "And I-I suppose cuddling is fine…"

He felt a different kind of heat altogether when Juushiro flung his arms around his neck again, happily moving into his lap. For someone so drunk, he could move quickly.

Slowly, as Ichigo nervously wrapped his arms around Juushiro, he started purring again. His tail flicked as he nuzzled his head under Ichigo's chin, just like he did before. He seemed much happier this way.

Carefully running his fingers through the long, silky white strands, Ichigo felt himself relax. This wasn't so bad, having someone to rest with. It felt somewhat reassuring to think that someone has powerful as Juushiro would be willing to 'cuddle' with someone like him, even though he was intoxicated.

And, who knew Juushiro could be so cute, for a lack of a better word. He could now start to understand why Rukia admired Juushiro so much. He wondered if she had ever seen her captain this cute.

Suddenly, Ichigo's window was flung open once again, but this time with such force that other windows in the house could be heard rattling. A mere millisecond after that, Ichigo felt an overwhelming sense of dread, like an ominous black cloud had just descended over him.

Freezing like a deer in headlights, Ichigo slowly lifted his head, his face drained of colour. Standing on the inside of his window, standing far taller and broader than Ichigo had ever seen was yet another captain. The pink kimono gracing his shoulders did nothing to lessen the sheer power of intimidation his mere presence alone was generating.

"C-captain Kyouraku…?"

Shunsui had his hat tilted so he was peering down at Ichigo through one eye. And that gaze, oh that gaze, held so much malicious intent. How an eye that could be all half-lidded and lazy, while blazing with murderous resolved was something that was both admirable and utterly terrifying.

"Mah, Ichigo-kun…"

A drop of sweat slipped down the side of Ichigo's face. Ah, well, at least now he knew why Kisuke ran out of here like a bat out of hell.

"Mind explaining to this old man what exactly you are doing with Juu-chan there?"

…Shit.

AN: Yeah, sorry, I had to put Shunsui in here as well X3 Please review!