Carefree Days | Ichigo x Rukia [IchiRuki]

1 - Free Time

Summary: Ichigo and Rukia find themselves with free time during the weekends, and Rukia gets curious about the human lifestyle.

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Kurosaki Ichigo wasn't always a busy person. Well, given the fact that he'd now been endowed with the duties of a substitute Soul Reaper all while leading a regular high school life, nobody could blame him for not having enough time. This isn't to mention how his newfound duty would include having a raven-haired girl wake him up in the middle of the night to hunt down hollows and protect the people of his town.

Rukia, oh Rukia...

The woman responsible for introducing such chaos into his life, and also the answer as to why he'd been napping so much at school lately. It's a wonder how he had still been holding up until now. Perhaps it was his sense of justice which had continued to push him, or the simpler fact that he would be chided by the headstrong girl living in his closet anyways.

"Hey Rukia." Asked the orange-haired soul reaper. The girl who was lazing about in his room raised her head in response. "Haven't there been fewer hollow attacks recently?" Rukia pondered on that thought with an eyebrow raised. It's been a few weeks since she had passed on her powers of a soul reaper to Ichigo, and the number of hollow attacks in the city had certainly reduced, to the point where they would only occasionally appear during the nights. This was great news for Ichigo, who'd felt like he hadn't been able to catch a break since the fateful night where he'd driven Rukia's Zanpakuto into himself.

"Yeah, you're right. It's probably because you're finally able to suppress your spiritual pressure a little." Rukia chuckled. "Took you long enough." This remark didn't slide by Ichigo though, the comment mildly getting on his nerves.

His fists clenched and raised towards the girl. "Like I had a lot of time to learn it!". This was true. In fact, he hadn't even known about the existence of hollows prior to the attack he'd witnessed in the city a few weeks back. "At least I could slay the hollow which gave the oh so experienced Soul Reaper trouble, enough that you had to rely on a human." Ichigo playfully snickered in a mocking tone while pointing at Rukia.

"Shut it! Rukia responded in kind. "If you hadn't been acting like a fool and ran right in, I would have been able to take care of it by myself." Rukia's arms were crossed and looked away from the orange-haired boy, pouting at the fact that his remarks were half true. Though, Ichigo had felt relieved. Had Rukia not approached the area, his family would have been in danger with the hollow targeting him. Ichigo expression softened, feeling thankful of the fact that amidst all of the trouble that came with being a Soul Reaper, she was able to help him protect his friends and family.

It was a nice and lively day in Karakura. Neither had to attend classes with the weekends in place, which gave the two ample time to bicker as they had. Ichigo's younger sister Yuzu had taken Kon for a makeover, a declaration which brought tears of laughter to the two Soul Reapers when they'd thought about how the orange lion would turn out. The slow day brought a thought into Ichigo's mind.

"Rukia, " he paused, waiting for a nod of  acknowledgement before continuing. "How do you usually spend your time in Soul Society anyways? Is there even anything to do there?"

The conversation went on for about an hour. Ichigo would listen while Rukia would talk about the things which she would have to study, the regular training, and the rare moments where the soul reapers would be allowed to do whatever they wanted. Ichigo didn't look like the kind of guy who would be such a good listener given all the arguing and bickering which happens without fail between the two, where in reality, he could listen well if he'd wanted to. "Man, I still can't believe that soul reapers have to go to school."