A/N: Hey everyone, welcome to my story. This takes place a couple weeks after the last battle in Karakura against Aizen. Aizen wasn't killed, just defeated. Ichigo is going through his usual emotional turmoil, and his friends are trying to figure out how to help him cope and grow stronger. He is also beginning to realize his feelings for someone... But more on that later. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read and review! I won't be adding author's notes very often, if at all, unless I get some great reviews...

Birds chirped outside the Kurosaki Clinic's second floor window, signaling a new day of Ichigo's hectic life. He slowly pushed himself out of bed, scowling at the sun as it poured through the glass, illuminating his vibrant hair as well as the mess every teenage boy calls a room. Trudging over to his dresser, he pulled out the first items he saw and walked out his door to take a shower, pausing only to knock lightly on his closet and wake up the sleeping shinigami inside.

Inside the bathroom, he undressed and gave a quick glance at the mirror. Man, he thought, looking over his heavily bandaged torso, that Hollow last night put up a helluva fight. Slowly unwrapping the bandages, he winced as a few wounds were re-opened, but completed the task and stepped into the warm shower. As he washed away the grime and blood his mind wandered to the years before that night when he met Kuchiki Rukia, shinigami.

God my life was boring, he chuckled, although, I can't say I don't miss coming home without internal bleeding. Pops may be a doctor, but I don't think he'd be okay knowing I think 'getting clawed up by hollows' is a gift compared to the usual 'accu-organ-puncturing' treatment.

Rinsing shampoo out of his hair, he stopped, "I could never go back to that," he realized. "Now that I can finally protect everyone, I could never go back to that life and be okay with it. Hell, even if I didn't remember all of this I'd still hate that life."

He ended his shower and quickly toweled off, reapplying the bandages Rukia had carefully wrapped him in earlier that day (it had been midnight when they got home, so technically it was morning, right?). A small grin appeared as he thought of the little raven-headed shinigami he worked with. She had the cutest look on her face when she healed-WAITAMINUTE. Cute? No, I definitely did NOT call that little monster 'cute'. Bad! he scowled as he walked up the stairs, attempting to push such thoughts out of his mind.

He entered his room and noticed Rukia hadn't even left her closet yet, even though they needed to eat breakfast and leave in the next ten minutes if they were to get to class on time.

"Oi! Rukia! Wake up already, dammit!" the scowling boy yelled, pounding on his closet door.

Shit, he thought angrily, she's gonna make us late! Ochii-sensei warned us if we're late today we get extra work! Dammit Rukia!

Of course he didn't mind the extra work for himself, he was smart enough to finish anything that crazy woman assigned before school got out. He was more worried about dealing with that midget and her infatuation with kicking his shins til he did HER work as well. Oh yes, many nights had he spent doing twice as much work while she was "forced" to lay on his bed and read manga. Bitch.

He huffed, "Rukia, I'm not gonna do the extra work we're gonna get for being tardy for you! So hurry the hell up already!"

"I-I'm not coming to school today, Ichigo. I feel ill. Perhaps that hamp-urger you bought me last night was poisoned?" called out a nervous voice from within the closet. "Yes, that must be it! Well, nothing to do but sleep it off I suppose!"

Ichigo could have boiled water with the heat of frustration in his mind.

"I told ya a hundred times, its a HAM. BURGER. HAMBURGER!" he shouted. He always had to tell Rukia exactly thirty-seven times how to pronounce words properly, no matter how simple they were. Yesterday had been mortifying to say the least. She kept asking what a "hamp-urger" was urging when we went to the BurgerLounge, in in front of all our classmates! He shook his head, clearing those memories away. "Eh?" he asked, knowing full-well it wasn't food-poisoning. He smirked, "Tsch... Lemme take a look at ya then, I know the signs of food poisoning, not that I'm buyin that 'food-poisoning' crap!"

Rukia's voice squeaked a little, "No! No, it's um... It's fine, I don't need you to come in. In fact I just realized that I must have caught a cold! Y-yes, that's it! A cold. No worries, I'll just stay here and tomorrow I'll come to school, okay? Goodbye Ichigo!"

"The hell? Rukia! You're in a gigai dammit! You CAN'T get sick!" Ichigi cursed, ignoring her continued insistance to not open the door, and slid open his closet. Instantly he regretted not just leaving the brat.

*THWACK*

"YOWWWWWWW!" howled a now bleeding Ichigo, holding his head where the little but strong foot had hit him. "You little...! What was that for?"

"I told you not to come in Ichigo!" yelled Rukia, covering up something on her brow while clenching her arms to her stomach. "I look hideous with this... This 'thing'! My sides hurt and I cannot move! I cannot attend class like this!" she wailed.

Ichigi leaned closer and ignored her protests, moving her hand away to see what she was hiding. His face was only inches away from her own, and a small blush began to creep into her cheeks. Ichigo suddenly realized their proximity as well and, with a brief look of embarassment, backed away. He scowled darkly, "You idiot, it's only a zit and a cramp! Drink some freaking water for the cramp, and wait three days for the zit to disappear, you baby."

"What? Three days?" she cried, frantic. "But I have to prepare for midterms, and attend the lectures, and-" she went on with wide eyes as he raised a hand to silence her.

"Look, midget, you aren't skippin class just because you got a zit, okay? I'm NOT going to deal with your 'catching up' to school."

"But I don't want them to see me like this! Stupid Strawberry, you don't understand! I hate how I look already, this doesn't help!"

Ichigo looked at her, sighing as he thought of how to console the obviously distraught Shinigami in his closet. And also how to best drag her out so she wouldn't be able to get any blows in, as he knew her first reaction being dragged out would be a swift kick to the you-know-whats. "Rukia, don't worry about that, you look... just fine." he said, a slight blush forming as he met her violet eyes only a foot away.

She looks good, who cares about that zit? Wait! Dammit! What the hell is wrong with me? Why did I just think that? Why do I even care if she comes to class...?

"Dammit!" he said, glancing at his watch to break his reverie. "Now we don't have time for breakfast!" He dragged Rukia out of the closet (she had dressed while he was in the shower and had just noticed the pimple before he came back) and practically threw her out the window along with her backpack. He met her outside, a disgruntled look on her face. "Don't give me that look, midget. You're face ain't-OW DAMMIT!" he cursed as hopped on the foot she hadn't crushed beneath her own, "You freakin bitch! OW! What the HELL is your problem today?"

"Don't call me a midget! And DON'T throw me out windows, I thought we discussed the throwing of me after you flung me from the Soukyouku like some sort of futtbowl." she said with a look that promised extreme pain if he didn't agree.

"Foot. Ball." he growled, nursing his head after being kicked there only seconds earlier. "Whadya have PMS today or something?" he asked with a sneer.

"Pee-Em-what?" asked Rukia, suddenly curious and no longer violent (Thank god!)

"Whaaa?" Ichigo balked, suddenly thrown out his mood by the embarrassment he was going through at that moment,"Um... Rukia, have you ever... Uh... Oh dammit I can't do this kinda crap! Rukia hasn't anyone ever had 'the talk' with you before?"

"The talk? Talk about what, Ichigo?" she asked, truly curious and clueless.

He smacked a palm to his face, wishing for the second time that day he would've just left her at home.

"Don't bother askin' me Rukia, just wait til we get to school and ask one of the girls. Tell them... Tell em you're on your period or something, they'll understand."

"Period? Ichigo, why would I be on the end of a sentence?"

"It's not the end of a - never mind." he sighed. This was a really awkward moment, at least nobody else - "IIIICHIIIGOOOOO!"

Ichigo cursed every god in existence for his horrible luck. Keigo ran up to the pair a block away from school.

"Ichigo! Kuchiki-chan! How are you! Oi, Kuchiki-chan, I have tickets for the conce-OOF!" he was interrupted by Ichigo's fist colliding with his jaw. "Wwwaaagggh! So cruel Ichigo!" he whined, rivers of tears on his face.

Ichigo walked over and bent down to put his face six inches away. "Shut it, Keigo. She can't go to the concert with you." Ichigo stated. It was true, they had a scheduled training session at Urahara's later that day, so neither of them could make some dumb concert.

Unless...

"A concert?" Rukia looked excited, bouncing slightly.

Fuck.

"Hai! It's for Sado's band!" Keigo answered with a gleam in his eye. "We can go together! It'll be like a da-AUUGH DAMMIT ICHIGO, WHY?"

"Stop tryin' to ask her out dammit!" shouted Ichigo, stomping Keigo into the ground in front of the school.

Keigo leered and, unwisely, asked "Why? Are YOU dating her?".

Ichigo answered by kicking him into the nearest tree, roughly twenty feet away. "Hmph! Like I'd date some little midget terror like her!" he said, jabbing a thumb in Rukia's direction. "She's got ZITS too!"

Next thing he knew, he was slumped in front of the tree next to Keigo, a familiar shoeprint on his face.

Rukia gave him one look of pure demonic rage and stomped into the school as the bell rang. Keigo got up and brushed himself off. "Heh, you two fit together perfectly! So violent! Are you sure you aren't dating Ichigo?"

"I said shut up, Asano-san, unless you want this tree to be your headstone..." threatened Ichigo.

"Why so unfamiliar Ichigo?" he cried, ignoring the threat. "My name is Keigo! Call me Keigo!"

The two made their way into class, stopped by the teacher as they walked through the door. "Oh-ho-ho-ho! So Kurosaki-san and Asano-san wanted extra work today, eh?" Ochii-sensei smirked. "That's fine, I just happen to have an extra essay prompt laying around from my advanced English class!"

Both boys sweatdropped, Ichigo turned and gave his best scowl to Rukia, letting her know he blamed her for this. "But Ochii-sensei, we don't know English that well!" cried Keigo.

"Mm, but you must! Clearly you don't know Japanese, at any rate, because I was VERY clear about being late to class on the first day back." she said, handing them each a paper with their prompts.

"Sensei!"

"Shut it, Asano, and get to your seat."

"Hai..."

Ichigo walked over to his desk, sat down, and immediately began scowling at Rukia. He wasn't going to let her get away with making him late just because he called her short. "Oi! Midget! What the hell'd you kick me for back there?"

She sighed and looked over at him, frowning, a Chappy Band-aid covering her zit. "You made fun of me. Honestly, Strawberry-head, you should be used to the consequences by now."

Ichigo was too busy trying to hold back his laughter at her Chappy Band-aid to respond to her slight on his name. "What... What the heck is that?" he chortled, pointing at her bandage.

"This is Chappy, and if you say anything mean about him right now, I promise you'll be covered in these by the end of today." she threatened through gritted teeth.

Ichigo suddenly stopped laughing and replaced his smirk with a look of sheer terror. He suddenly became very interested in the lecture on Japan's impact on the global economy.