Third person POV:
A small drop of sweat rolled down Ichigo's forehead as he put away his zankpakuto. He had just finished fighting a hollow and it had sucessfuly made him tired. Not because the hollow was hard to defeat but because of all the stress school had caused. Luckily for him another school day had just ended.
"Come on Ichigo were going to be late for dinner!" exclaimed Rukia as she got back into her gigai.
Ichigo didn't hesitate and followed her. When he got back into his normal human form Rukia and him began to head home.
"You look tired. If you needed help killing the hollow you could have just asked. We are a team," Rukia said.
Ichigo gave a barely noticeable smile. "I wasn't tired because of the hollow you idiot. It's all of the school work," he said.
"Oh I see. I thought Orihime was helping you with that," Rukia replied.
Yeah she has been but I never actually focus. Your always on my mind so I can't process her words, Ichigo thought to himself.
"Yeah but let's just say it's isn't helping," he replied. He gave a small sigh as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants.
"If you want I could help you," Rukia replied. She felt that if she was the one who was tutoring him, she would be able to spend more time with him. He wouldn't have to go to Orihime's house after school every single day.
"You barely understand it yourself," Ichigo teased.
"I do you idiot! I have a better grade then you!" Rukia replied. She lightly hit Ichigo on his arm.
"Yeah yeah whatever, I guess you could tutor me. I'll just tell Orihime I appreciate the help but don't need it anymore," Ichigo replied.
As the words reached Rukia's ears she felt all of the sudden saddened. Her best friend, Orihime, liked Ichigo. When he went over her house to study she always appeared so happy. That was valuable time for her because she was alone with him. Rukia felt bad for ruining this for her.
Why him? Out of all of the people why did you have to like him too? Rukia thought to herself.
"You okay?" Ichigo questioned. He noticed how she suddenly was quite and had a deep frown on her face.
Rukia shook her head slightly as she focused back on Ichigo. She couldn't tell him what she was thinking.
He can't know how I feel, not only would it complicate things between us, it would hurt my best friend, She thought.
"I'm fine," she lied. Ichigo could tell she was lying, he always could, but he let it slide. If she wanted to talk about whatever was on her mind, he would be there. He would wait until then.
"You said before we were a team. People in a team help each other through there troubles and helps them get stronger. You can trust me Rukia," Ichigo stated.
Rukia knew she could trust Ichigo, had since the moment they met. What she didn't know is how he would react if she told him how she felt. Would he reject her, or is possible he felt the same? These questions had kept her from sleep more often these days.
"I'm fine Ichigo," she answered him with a firm tone.
"If you don't want me involved in your business then I won't bother you any longer. If we don't hurry were going to be late and Yuzu will worry," Ichigo replied. He began to walk faster, leaving Rukia behind.
