Notes: I can't believe no one's done a Bleach crossover with Karin yet, I almost felt required to do it from the first episode!

Summary: What do a blood-producing vampire and an unseated shinigami have in common? Nothing, except being in love with the same reincarnated substitute shinigami.

Ichigo a la mode

A Karin/Bleach Crossover by

Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)

It always began with snow.

At first, Karin had just thought that the shinigami carefully timed her visits with the weather, or that she could only appear to others when it was cold. But after witnessing the shinigami's powers, Karin had come to understand that it was the other way around.

Kuchiki Rukia did not visit when it snowed.

It just always snowed when Rukia was in their world.

As for the reason, there wasn't a clear one. Rukia had admitted that it was nothing she was doing consciously. That didn't mean, however, that she wasn't the cause, just that she didn't mean to be.

After a while, Karin decided it didn't really matter. Rukia always arrived at the same times during the year, so Karin always had a chance to warn her friends of a sudden snowfall in June. After all, it wasn't as if she could ask Rukia not to come. Rukia had become one of Karin's most important allies.

It was only because of Rukia that Usui Kenta was here for Karin to love.

Contrary to popular belief, Soul Society had a rather relaxed opinion of vampires. Certainly some did cause trouble occasionally, but compared to the overall population, this number was almost insignificant. Vampires actually helped shinigami, even if they didn't necessarily mean to.

As a rule, Hollows avoided vampires as if they carried the plague (and in a sense, they did). Not only could certain vampires summon and enslave both lost souls and Hollows, but vampires in general had figured out that Hollows were endangering their main food source, and had taken the offense rather personally. The result was curious but ultimately quite beneficial: vampires actively protected humans from Hollow attacks, greatly reducing the shinigami workload, as well as the amount of wandering souls that needed to be policed. Rarely ever did vampires choose to kill humans, and those that did were usually destroyed by other vampires or humans before the shinigami had to step in.

Even better, vampires provided the perfect environment for fallen shinigami to be reincarnated into: neighborhoods with low crime and death rates, and easy access to memory removal in case anything should go wrong. For that reason, Soul Society did have regular contact with certain vampire clans, and even offered protection while they were vulnerable during the day. This had become especially essential after the recent war against Aizen and his Espada. Many good shinigami had been lost, and needed to be safeguarded until they rediscovered their powers.

Among those fallen heroes was the one shinigami who had done the most to bring down the Espada, not to mention that he'd saved Rukia from certain death several times. His name was Kurosaki Ichigo, and he was easily the best (and yet still most infuriating) friend that Rukia had ever known. He had died in her arms, and Rukia had promised that she would ensure his next life contained the one thing that Ichigo had been forced to go without: a kind, loving mother to see him through the bad times. It had taken a great deal of effort, both on Rukia's part, and that of her very influential, very rich older brother, but she had kept her promise.

For some unknown reason, Rukia had issues with front doors. She never used them. Ever.

As such, her visits were never clearly announced. She would just show up somewhere in the Maaka's mansion: usually Karin's room, but sometimes Anju's room, one of the bathrooms, or one of the rarely-used guest rooms. Naturally, all of those rooms either had windows, doors, or trapdoors, so it was never a question of how Rukia got in, so much as why she chose to do it that way.

Ironically enough, Rukia also had a rather strange set of manners. She saw nothing wrong with simply entering the Maaka home without invitation, but despite past assurances, would not even sleep on the floor of Karin's bedroom without permission. Karin had offered to share her bed numerous times, and even began to lay out a sleeping bag when she knew Rukia might be coming. But each time she woke up to find Rukia sitting by the window, watching the snow fall.

The latest time that this happened, Karin lost her patience. "I'm not going to bite you, you know!" she snapped upon finding Rukia by the window again. "It's perfectly safe to share my bed!"

Rukia looked at her in shock. "Maaka-san, that isn't why-"

"And it's time you stopped calling me that!" Karin interrupted, puffing up her cheeks. "We're friends by now, aren't we?"

Rukia's expression softened. "I'd like to think so."

"Well, when Maki and I have sleepovers at her house, she doesn't mind sharing her bed!"

"But... don't I have to be invited first?" Rukia asked hesitantly.

Karin blinked and slowly deflated. "What are you talking about? Why would you need to be invited if you're already in my room?"

"I thought vampires had strict rules about people sleeping in their presence?"

"Why would...?" Karin's eyes widened in realization. "Rukia, have you been reading books about vampires again?"

"Well, yes. The last time I was here, I accidentally offended your sister by trying to perform a soul burial on one of her dolls. I wanted to be sure that I didn't make any mistakes this time. I found a really detailed book that suggested that sleeping around vampires was a very bad idea, so I just assumed-"

"That's only because it would make it easier for a vampire to bite you, which people generally fear," Karin sighed, shaking her head. "Rukia, if you want to know something about vampires, why wouldn't you just ask us? We ARE vampires!"

Rukia frowned. "But your mother always laughs at me when I do."

"That's just the way she is! Anyway, you could always ask my father."

"I'd, um, rather not," Rukia muttered. "He reminds me of someone that I don't like to think about."

"Really?" Karin asked in surprise. "Well, you definitely don't want to ask my brother, so that just leaves Anju. I'm sure if you genuinely apologized, she'd forgive you and be willing to help, at least as a favor to me. And I know I'm not a typical vampire, but I do know some things. Anyway, it's fine to sleep around me, so long as you're not unhappy. You're not, are you?"

"O-Of course not!" Rukia said quickly.

"Good!" Karin cheered, grabbing her hand and dragging her towards the bed. "That means we can share the bed!"

Rukia protested a little, but ten minutes later, she'd been stuffed into a pair of Karin's pajamas (she noticed the considerable difference in their bust size right away), and was staring up at the ceiling while Karin lightly drummed her fingers on the blanket and did much the same.

"Aren't you going to ask me?" Karin finally murmured.

"Ask you what?" Rukia replied.

"How Kenta is doing."

Rukia swallowed hard. "Oh. Well, I just..."

"He's fine. We went to an amusement park with a bunch of friends this week. It was really fun."

"That's nice. So things are going well for you two?"

Karin glanced at her. "Rukia, do you really want to know this?"

Rukia noticed the look, but pretended she hadn't. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because talking about him makes you unhappy."

"What? No, it doesn't!"

"Rukia," Karin whispered softly as she scooted closer. "I told you before, didn't I? My preference in blood is unhappiness. And right now, you smell really good. So please don't lie to me."

"...you can bite me, if you want," Rukia offered, turning her head away to expose her neck.

"Why would you say that?"

"If you do, you'll take away my unhappiness for a while, right? That wouldn't be so bad."

"But you'd probably be really hyper, like your Chappy soul."

"It's better than being sad. You'd be doing me a favor, really."

Karin moved even closer, and Rukia shivered slightly as she felt the other girl's breath on her neck.

"You really are unhappy," Karin whispered. "Rukia... did you love him that much?"

"I must have. But I only realized it after he died."

"And you don't hate me, for being with him?"

Rukia shook her head. "Ichigo is Usui-kun... but he isn't. They just have the same soul. But Usui-kun doesn't know me, and even if he did, I wouldn't do anything about it. You make him happy, and that's what I want for him. No, I want that for both of you. So please, go ahead."

"Only if you're sure about this..."

"I am, Karin. I don't... want to be sad when I see him. I feel like, if Usui-kun sees me that way, he might do or say something that Ichigo would. And that would make me very unhappy. So if you really are my friend, do this for me."

"Okay, but... I've never bitten somebody in a gigai before. I'm not sure how long the effects will last, even once you're out of it."

"I'll risk it."

At exactly 10:15 PM that same evening, Usui Kenta's cell phone lit up and began to chirp the theme from what was easily the goriest slasher film in recent memory, "Night of the Murdering Mutant III: Bloody Harvest." He had seen the movie exactly sixteen times, in a doomed attempt to find some common ground with Karin's little sister. But when Anju had picked up the remote to rewind the movie again, he'd finally cracked and begged her not to. She hadn't, but there had been some rather steep conditions.

First, he had to keep the cell phone she'd bought for him on his person at all times.

Second, he was to answer that phone any time that it rang, no matter what.

Third, Kenta could only use the phone to call Anju or Karin, and they would be the only ones to call him.

Fourth, he was required to use the theme from "Night of the Murdering Mutant III" for Anju's ring tone. That had very nearly been a deal breaker, but it was either that, or Anju would continually address him as "Onii-chan" in front of her father and brother. And while they had more or less accepted him into their family, they still weren't THAT crazy about it.

So even though Kenta was half-asleep, his hand shot out and seized the phone automatically. The fog around his brain had cleared by the second ring, and he managed to finish yawning and offer a barely recognizable, "Hey, Anju-chan."

"Good evening, Onii-chan," said the familiar soft voice. "Did I wake you?"

The obvious answer to this was a resounding yes, but Kenta knew better. "No, no. Did you need something?"

"I thought you should know. Kuchiki Rukia is here again, so dress warmly tomorrow."

"Okay. Thanks for worrying about me, Anju-chan. I really appreciate it."

"It's nothing, Onii-chan. You can go back to sleep now." She hung up before he could protest.

Sighing, Kenta put the phone down and glanced at the window. Sure enough, he could see tiny snowflakes steadily falling. "She really is here. She only comes when it snows..."

He was never sure what to make of Rukia. She was nice enough, but she was always a little awkward around him. Kenta had decided that she either liked him too much or too little, and had yet to tell Karin about it. But there was really nothing he could do to change things. Rukia would never admit her true feelings, and he could never hurt Karin by forcing her to choose between him and a friend. That Rukia only showed up a few times every year was a small blessing, because Kenta never knew how to behave around her. He was polite, of course, but not to the point where it might be taken as something else. He also tried to keep a safe distance between them at all times, but Karin seemed to like putting him in the middle anytime they went somewhere as a group.

But no matter what, Kenta had to put up with it. He loved Karin, and Rukia was not so much a bad person as she was simply an unlucky one. Sometimes when their eyes met suddenly, he would feel as if he could drown in them. And then Rukia would quickly look away, blinking rapidly, and ask what time it was. She never wore a watch, after all, and Kenta had begun to wonder if that was done on purpose.

Karin regretted biting Rukia almost instantly afterwards. Rukia had said there was no need to have anyone alter her memory, as she wanted to recall what Karin had done for her. Karin had agreed, but only because Rukia sounded so sure about it. Perhaps because it was the last time that she sounded anything like the Rukia that Karin had come to know, at least for a while.

Because when Karin woke up the next morning, Rukia was nothing like herself. Just as Karin had predicted, Rukia was overly enthusiastic and cheerful about nearly everything. It should not have been such a startling change, but it was. She was no longer the Rukia that Karin had thought of as her friend, and it was like having a stranger in the house. An upbeat stranger who hugged a lot, that is, but still a stranger.

They already had plans to meet Kenta at the park, but Rukia made it necessary to leave an hour early. Somehow, Rukia had gotten it into her head that waking up Karin's family at the crack of dawn for a group hug was a splendid idea. Karin distracted her with Boogie (who did not appreciate being used in such a fashion, and swore to tell Anju when she woke up) long enough to leave a note for her family: under no circumstances were they to trust anything Rukia suggested until she was back to normal. Then she had to drag Rukia out of the house, where they met another obstacle: Rukia wanted to play in the snow, but claimed the warm clothes she'd borrowed from Karin were too restrictive. She stripped down to her school uniform before Karin could stop her, and it took ten minutes for Karin to catch her, by which point they were both freezing, and another five minutes to stuff Rukia back into her winter gear. Even after all that, Rukia looked like she would bolt at the first opportunity, and Karin could think of only one way to get her to behave. It was slightly underhanded, but it was the only thing that was assured to work, even with Rukia in this state.

"Rukia-chan," Karin said, instantly earning the shinigami's full attention and a large grin, "if you'll be a good girl for a little while, I promise that Kenta will have a big, warm hug waiting for you when we see him." Karin felt like dirt at the way Rukia's face lit up, and knew that Rukia would most likely never completely forgive her for this, but this had all been Rukia's idea to begin with. If nothing else, she would be able to take the memory of being in Kenta's arms with her when she returned to Soul Society.

Kenta arrived at the park a few minutes early, hoping that being the first one there would give him some sort of advantage. Unfortunately, he spotted Karin right away, sitting on a bench and nervously glancing around. There was no sign of Rukia, and Kenta began to hope that she simply hadn't come along.

Before he could continue that train of thought, however, something hit him from behind, and it took a few seconds to realize that he was suddenly bracing another person's weight on his neck and back.

"Usui-kun!" chirped a familiar but oddly out of character voice in his ear.

Kenta slowly turned his head, gaping at the sight of Rukia beaming at him, her face mere inches from his. She showed no signs of letting go in the immediate future, and from the way her short legs were wrapped securely around his waist, he had some concerns for the distant future, as well. Kenta was by no means comfortable with this, and suspected that Karin would feel the same way.

He had no explanation, then, for the way that his arms drifted up to wrap around Rukia's legs. There had been no chance of her falling off, nor did Kenta want her to stay on, but his traitorous arms apparently had other ideas.

"You seem different today, Kuchiki," Kenta noted. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Never better!"

He peered closely at her face. "Are you sure?"

Whatever Rukia had been about to say died in her throat under the close scrutiny from him. Instead, she instantly pushed off of his back, putting some distance between them with a graceful hop. "I'm fine," she muttered, her eyes sliding away from him.

Kenta frowned. "But you just-"

"I said I'm fine, Ich-!" Rukia bit off her angry reply and looked away, obviously embarrassed. "I'm fine, Usui-kun. Really."

She did seem more like herself now, so Kenta let the matter drop and followed her over to Karin, who seemed both anxious and relieved all at once.

"You're feeling better now, Rukia?" Karin asked right away.

Kenta knew better than to say anything when Rukia answered with a clipped nod. He noticed, however, that there was some tension between Rukia and Karin now, which was news to him. He also noticed what looked like a lion plushie in Rukia's coat pocket, and for no reason that he could explain, his right hand began to reach for it.

He was just inches away when Rukia whirled around, moving the lion out of his reach. "What were you doing?!" she demanded, sounding more worried than angry.

"I, uh, don't know," Kenta admitted slowly. He didn't expect her to believe him, but he could see that she did.

"Karin," Rukia said without looking at her, "we should do it today."

Karin paled slightly. "But... you said it could be dangerous!"

"I have the proper tools this time. It should be safe."

"But I don't think-"

"Karin. Please."

Karin stared at her, and then at Kenta, who was growing more confused by the moment. "Okay," she said at last, "but promise me that if anything doesn't look right, you'll stop right away!"

"You don't have to worry. I'm not interested in losing him all over again."

Boogie was Anju's favorite doll. The reason for this had never really been fully explained, but since Boogie's thirst for blood was no less than that of a vampire's, no one had questioned Anju's choice too much. Karin had asked mostly out of curiosity, but even she couldn't get a straight answer out of Anju. It was likely that even Boogie didn't know the true reason.

But the fact remained that being Anju's favorite was something Boogie both enjoyed and was severely protective of. He had destroyed many of Anju's dolls over the years in fits of rage, and while he always got punished, he never lost his position as her favorite. Boogie was naturally suspicious of any new doll that Anju acquired, especially those given as gifts: they had not been personally selected by Anju, after all. Although anyone who claimed to know Anju would also be familiar with Boogie, and should've known better than to give such a gift.

Rukia certainly knew better, and yet she had still given a doll as a gift. Granted, she had only done so as an apology for destroying one of Anju's dolls, so of course she'd attempted to replace it. But Boogie had assumed that as a shinigami, even if Rukia had some way of entrapping a lost soul inside of a doll, she would never actually do so.

Clearly, he had been wrong.

Not only was the doll Rukia provided a disgustingly cute white rabbit, it gave off an aura of malice unlike anything Boogie had ever come across. Anju loved it, of course, and Rukia's previous offense was instantly forgiven.

Boogie had already come up with several plans to destroy the rabbit. But each time he began to turn thought to action, the rabbit would turn its head towards him, its tiny red eyes gleaming with hatred, and slowly draw a ridiculously cute paw across its throat.

Anju never saw that, though if she had, she would've been quite impressed.

Shinigami were, in most cases, a double-edged sword. Rukia was a perfect example of this.

Before they met, Karin had known nothing of Hollows, and had certainly never seen one. She had seen lost souls, thanks to Anju's hobby, but those had always been both maskless and quickly contained in dolls without much effort.

After Rukia began her visits, the Hollows began to appear. Infrequently, and almost only when Rukia was around, but the fact remained that they were drawn by her spiritual pressure, which was easily the highest in the area. The Hollows varied greatly in strength from one to the next, but according to Rukia, they all had one thing in common: hunger had overwhelmed them, and made them desperate enough to enter vampire territory.

The very presence of a vampire was usually enough to drive away a Hollow. An especially hungry Hollow might put up a fight, but without much success. Vampires were the opposite of a Hollow's usual food source: flesh, blood, and no soul, or at least not enough of one to satisfy a Hollow. Beyond that, vampires produced a certain kind of aura that, like a zanpakuto, destroyed Hollow flesh on contact. Rukia tended to call it an "undead aura," and claimed that Karin didn't have one, because her body more closely resembled a human's. A few trials of patrolling for Hollows with both Anju and Karin had confirmed this theory: they feared Anju (and were predictably drawn to Boogie), but had no problems with chasing Karin.

In each of those times, Rukia had quickly dispatched the Hollow with her sword, leaving her gigai in the care of a Chappy soul in the meantime. Not once had Rukia mentioned or displayed kidou in front of Karin, and it was only now that Karin realized why that was.

Kidou appeared to be eerily similar to Anju's method of summoning lost souls, to the point where one almost had to be derived from the other. Karin had a strong suspicion that shinigami had been around far longer than vampires, so she did not bother to ask Rukia about this. But the very idea that Rukia had hidden this information from her was troubling. They were supposed to be friends, after all. And even though Karin had never asked about this specifically, it served to remind her that Rukia's visits were ultimately not social calls, but out of town shinigami business.

Rukia had chosen a stretch of woods near the Maaka mansion for her purposes, which she had only hinted at over time. All Karin knew for sure was that she might see or even meet Ichigo before Rukia was done. She had no idea what impact this might have on Kenta, however, and that was where the bulk of her concern lay.

If Rukia was worried, she didn't show it. She began casting a series of complicated spells without any warning. Occasionally she would pause to direct them to different places, and then her voice was just bordering on harsh. By the time Rukia was done, there was a blue pillar of light rising from the ground, with what looked like dust particles floating inside of it.

"Usui-kun," Rukia finally said, "I need you to stand in there." She pointed towards the pillar of light. "It may tingle a bit, but don't worry. That, by itself, is perfectly safe."

Kenta stared at her. "Is this a bad time to ask what we're doing?"

Rukia sighed. "I want to talk to a friend of mine, but it's difficult to reach him. You're just helping with that."

From the look on his face, Kenta knew there was more she hadn't said, but obediently stepped into the light. He had no immediate reaction to the change in environment, so Rukia had been truthful about that much, at least.

Karin moved a little closer to Rukia and lowered her voice. "Those are spirit particles, right?"

"Yes," Rukia answered. "They may or may not make the process easier, but they can't hurt. I'm simulating Soul Society's atmosphere in the hope that it will help Ichigo maintain his form. I don't expect he'll be able to for more than a few minutes."

"Is there anything I can do to help out?"

Rukia stared at her for a moment, though not unkindly. "Try to keep him calm, no matter what. And I'll need you to do me a small favor once we're done here."

Karin nodded eagerly, glad to be of some help. Though, she was more pleased that Rukia didn't seem to be mad at her anymore.

It was then that Rukia drew something out of her pocket. To Karin, it looked like an overly large, somewhat misshapen coin on a rope. This Rukia placed inside the pillar of light, with the strict instruction that Kenta not touch it unless she told him to. It was only when she moved away that Karin could see a small skull on the coin. Her first thought was that things marked with skulls were usually quite dangerous, and she turned to ask Rukia about that when something stopped her.

Rukia had pulled something from her pocket, and Karin recognized it as an artificial soul in candy form. Karin did not know much about souls, save for what Rukia had told her, but she feared that three souls occupying the same space was very dangerous. In her panic, she'd conveniently forgotten what Rukia had told her over and over again: that Ichigo's and Kenta's souls were not so much separate as one was the natural evolution of the other. Beyond that, artificial souls were designed to first extract any soul already present in the body before they could activate.

Kenta would know none of that, of course, so when Rukia tossed the artificial soul at him, he should've either tried to dodge it, or caught it with his hand. Instead, he leaned forward and caught it in his mouth. His eyes widened, and judging from the expression on his face, Karin thought he would vomit. But his body jerked back almost violently, and suddenly there were two people inside the pillar of light. One was very obviously Kenta, and the other looked a great deal like a transparent outline of him, if he had been wearing shinigami robes and a large sword on his back, at least.

Karin was so distracted by the newcomer that it took her a few seconds to realize that something was wrong. Kenta's face was rapidly turning green, and he looked to be having trouble breathing. Karin was about to rush forward to help him, but Rukia grabbed her arm.

"Don't. Green is a good sign. It means the replacement is working, for the moment. We only need to worry once that color starts to fade."

Karin glanced at Kenta fearfully. "I don't understand, Rukia! What's going on?"

"I've told you that Ichigo is a part of Usui-kun now. But I had to extract the part that is Ichigo's memories. If I just left it like that, it'd be dangerous for Usui-kun. So for now, I've replaced the missing part with another soul, one who has almost as many memories of Ichigo as I do. As long as we switch them back in time, Usui-kun should be safe. But that means your questions will have to wait, as I only have so long to talk to Ichigo."

While Rukia was talking, the Kenta outline had picked up the skull coin and was staring at it. The moment he made contact with the coin, his shape grew less transparent, and some of his features could be made out, if one looked closely. "I remember," he muttered, glancing over his shoulder at Kenta. "Thanks for this, Kon. Sorry I'm making your life hell again. Just hold on a little longer. I won't take long."

Rukia gasped as the outline stepped outside of the pillar. "No, Ichigo! Get back inside! You won't last very long if you-!"

"It doesn't matter," Ichigo said calmly. "I wasn't going to last more than a few minutes, anyway. And what I have to say won't even take that long."

"But-"

"Rukia. Thanks, for everything you did, before and after I died. Don't think I don't appreciate all the trouble you went through to bring me here, but..." Ichigo hesitated, then nodded to himself. "You have to let me go."

The stricken look on Rukia's face was painful enough that Karin had to look away. But it quickly gave way to Rukia's old standby: anger.

"What are you saying, you idiot?!" Rukia screamed at him. "It's only because of me that you lasted as long as you did! You never think, NEVER! You won't survive without me to-!"

"I'm dead, Rukia. Get over it." Ichigo said this with an even tone, and a hint of regret. "Kenta's a good guy. One day, he might figure out my powers and go to Soul Society. Or, he might stay here, with Karin, and live happily for the rest of his life. Whatever he does, it's his choice. Not mine, not yours, just his. This will be the only time you'll be able to see me like this. If you try it again, I won't come out. If you really need me, just call to me and I'll hear you. But no more of this, Rukia. Let him live his life. It's his first, not my second. My family and friends accepted it. Even Orihime did after a few weeks. Stay with them, if you have to, or go back to Soul Society, but don't drag Kenta into this mess anymore. He and Karin deserve better from someone who calls herself their friend."

"Stop making it sound so simple!" Rukia shouted.

"But it is. You can't keep using people to keep me close. It wasn't right with Kon then, and it isn't right now. You know he could really damage himself if this goes on too long."

"But I can't just forget you!"

Ichigo shook his head. "Of course you can't. Who could? But there are other ways to remember me. Dye your hair orange. Piss people off for no reason. Beat up Renji. Hell, you can put a giant Ichigo poster in your room if you want. Just promise me you'll take a picture when Byakuya sees it, I don't wanna miss that."

"Um, Kurosaki-san?" Karin asked hesitantly.

Ichigo looked at her, smirked, and smiled genuinely. "So that's how you got Kon involved. Typical. Anyway, just call me Ichigo. Kurosaki-san is... well, I guess it'd have to be my dad by process of elimination, but that feels so weird."

"Please don't be mad at Rukia. She just... she really loves you."

"Karin!" Rukia hissed, her eyes wide.

"I know," Ichigo answered. "That's why I want her to move on, more than anything else. There's a red, pineapple-headed idiot who would take good care of her, if she only asked him to." He glanced down at the coin in his hand. "Hey, could you hang onto this for me? I doubt it'll work for anyone else, but Rukia might be tempted to try this again. At the very least, it should warn you when Hollows show up."

"Okay," Karin said slowly as Ichigo tossed her the coin. It was surprisingly heavy and cold to the touch, but she liked the way it felt in her hands.

Rukia gaped at her. "Her soul didn't come out! Why?"

"Guess it bonded with me while it was mine. I don't think anyone but Kenta could make it work now," Ichigo explained. "Not that I expect him to need it much. If you limit your visits, there should be less Hollows to worry about." He glanced at Kenta, noticing his color was starting to change. "Time's up. Rukia, I meant what I said." With that, Ichigo yanked open Kenta's mouth, and the green candy came flying out, landing in Rukia's hand. She scowled and wiped it off on the lion plushie in her pocket before inserting into the lion's mouth. By the time she did so, Ichigo had vanished, and Kenta had stopped choking.

"You can come out now, Usui-kun," Rukia said. She sounded distinctly unhappy.

Kenta stepped out, rubbing his head. "Did something just happen? My head feels fuzzy."

Karin quickly pocketed the coin before giving him a hug. "But you're okay now, right?"

"I guess," Kenta murmured, wrapping an arm around her. "But what's with Kuchiki?"

Karin looked at Rukia, who seemed to be arguing with her stuffed lion. Oddly enough, the lion looked like it was arguing back. "Uh, maybe she borrowed one of Anju's dolls."

"No, I think I've seen her carrying that thing around before. See, it's got that funny cross on the back."

Karin had no way to explain that, and was saved the trouble when Rukia stomped over and shoved the lion into Karin's arms with a clipped, "Here, hold this." She thought she heard a muted, content sigh, but neither Rukia nor Kenta looked like they were in an especially good mood.

Boogie was officially in a bad mood. From the moment she'd woken up, Anju had been playing with her new white rabbit. She had barely said two words to him, and ignored him when he tried to talk to her. No matter what the rabbit did, he had decided that today was its last day in the Maaka mansion.

When Anju left the bedroom to get a snack, Boogie attacked, wielding his favorite butcher knife. That rabbit merely sat there, seemingly unaware of its impending doom.

But just as the chop that would've sent its round, fuzzy head rolling began to descend, the rabbit suddenly blurred into motion, appearing behind Boogie and seizing his arms. Then, in a voice that was practically dripping with sugar and sweetness, it said, "And your arms go... BWEAK! Pyon!"

Boogie screeched in pain over the sound of his arms snapping, and it only got worse when the rabbit leaned into him, gradually applying more pressure. By the time Anju returned, he'd been reduced to a whimpering, blubbering mess.

"That's enough, Chappy-chan," Anju said softly, carefully separating them. "Boogie-kun has learned his lesson, for now."

"Hai, Anju-sama!" Chappy chirped, hopping onto her shoulder and rubbing against her cheek. "Chappy is your faithful bunny buddy! Pyon!"

"I'll get you for this!" Boogie shrieked. "If it's that last thing I do, I'll get you!"

Anju smiled faintly. "You are certainly welcome to try, Boogie-kun. But you should wait until your arms are feeling better. In the meantime, Chappy-chan and I are going out. Be sure to be a good boy and get plenty of rest while we're gone." She patted his head before leaving the room again.

Abarai Renji had just left the latest lieutenant's meeting when someone leaped onto his back and locked their arms around his throat. He was reaching for Zabimaru's hilt when someone kissed him soundly on the cheek.

"Hi, Renji!"

Renji's eyes bugged out. "RUKIA?! WHAT THE HELL-?!"

She giggled loudly. "You don't have to sound so surprised!"

He frowned at her. "Did you get hopped up on goofballs or something while you were gone?"

"Or something!" she agreed, giggling louder.

Scowling, Renji shook her off and grabbed her hand. "Look, let's hide you somewhere before Captain Kuchiki sees you like this. I just know he'll find a way to blame this all on me."

"Renji," Rukia purred, "if you wanted to hold my hand, you don't have to make an excuse."

"Shut the hell up!" he snapped, turning bright red. "I'm trying to save both our asses, and you're acting like a schoolgirl in lo-" Realization dawned on his face. "Ah, crap. Why'd you have to pick now to do this?!"

"We could try it later, when we're alone in your quarters," Rukia offered with a smile.

"Well, yeah... NO! Dammit, stop tempting me! There's no time for that right now!" Renji paused and leaned in close. "Hey, what the hell is that on your neck?"

Rukia giggled again. "Renji, I TOLD you, you don't need an excuse..."

Renji wasn't listening. His eyes narrowed as he peered closely at the two small holes in Rukia's neck. They almost looked like teeth marks, or maybe fang marks.

"Abarai," said a cold voice behind him, "I would be quite interested to hear your explanation for this."

Renji winced as he turned to face Kuchiki Byakuya. "You see, it was-"

"Nii-sama, Renji and I are in love!" Rukia said loudly. "We want to be together forever!"

Sighing, Renji reached for Zabimaru again, knowing he was in for a fight.

"Very well," Byakuya sighed. "I trust you will take responsibility for this, Abarai. I will make the wedding arrangements myself." He turned and walked away.

Renji's jaw dropped. "What?! You're supposed to try to kill me! Or put me out of my misery! Do SOMETHING!"

"It's not as if you'll be going anywhere. I can kill you at my leisure later, after you provide me with an heir."

Renji scowled at Rukia, who was clinging to him again. "When whatever this is wears off, we are going to have a long, LONG talk."

Rukia beamed up at him. "Anything you say, my dear husband!"

Renji was not at all comfortable with the somewhat pleasant shiver that ran up his spine at those words. "Shut up and come on," he grumbled, dragging her after him.

The End.

Endnotes:

The title comes from the French saying, a la mode, which actually means, "in the fashion," but is more commonly used to refer to a dessert (usually pie) served with ice cream. Get it? Cuz Ichigo means strawberry, and there's snow, so... ah, forget I said anything.