Being with You

IX

Oh what is this "hot spring hotel"?! Ichigo and Rukia will have such a fun time :3 This chapter is also longer than usual! Comment vote and share minaaaa~ p.s ENJOY
(o^^o)

"Do you have all your stuff? Ready to go? Have fun kids!!!"

Ichigo's father shoved us out the door and left us staring into the flaming hot sun of June.

"Um, do you know how to get there?" I asked Ichigo, shielding my eyes. He looked down at the tickets again and searched for its location,

"We have to take a train there," he said and walked off with his luggage.

How many days were we staying there? I didn't know and never had a chance to ask. But for some reason, I was looking forward to spending this time with Ichigo. This was going to be another human experience I would have that will bring me closer to him and strengthen our bond...

Before I knew it, we were at the Karakura town train station. I scanned the area and saw many couples dressed in tropical clothing with their luggage, awaiting the train that would take them away from their routinely life. Just then, I felt Ichigo's arm wrap around my shoulders and I smiled, looking up at him,

"We should get there at around dinner time so let's eat!" He beamed. I laughed a bit and nodded. We waited another 10 minutes for our train.

*Welcome aboard, our first stop will be Kyoto, please keep clear of the doors*
We boarded the train and chose our seat in the back,

"Its gonna be a long ride, get some rest if you can," he said, as he lifted our luggage onto the shelf above us. I nodded and relaxed a bit onto the soft chair. I was about to doze off when suddenly, I heard a high pitched shout come from Ichigo's bag.

"NEE-SANNNNN!" A screaming stuffed lion came flying out at me.

"Kon.... Why are you here," I smashed his head and watched as he bounced about the table to the window and onto the floor.

"Oi, Kon! Who told you to sneak into my bag! I thought I left you in my room!" Ichigo picked Kon up and shook him till he wept.

"Ichigoooo! I wanted to come along and see Nee-San!" He tried to wriggle lose from Ichigo's grip but failed and went limp in his fist.

"Eh whatever, I'll just take the pill out," Ichigo said and started for Kon's mouth.

"NOO NOO! Please don't Ichigo I promise I'll be good from now on!" Kon cried.

"Who knows, he could be useful if you need to change into your Shinigami form," I suggested, giving Kon a wicked smile a he continue weeping.

"Sure but I'm still taking the pill out," Ichigo replied and threw Kon back into his bag after retrieving the small green pill, "You should sit over here," he said and patted the seat next to him.

"You want me to sit there?" I blushed, openly.

"Or I could sit there," he smiled and slid over to the bench I sat on. I was surprised a bit and blushed even more,

"Ichigo? Don't you think this is a bit squished?" I said, not exactly wanting him to leave my side but there really wasn't much room left on my bench.

"We'll just have to be closer then," he said sheepishly and put his arm around my waist, "Better?" He asked with a smile.

"Um, sure?" I replied nervously. I was aware of my constant blushing but now my whole body was warm. Despite this, he laid his head back on the bench and closed his eyes, arm still around my waist. I didn't know what to do at first but I was still sleepy. I sat there for a moment, listening to Ichigo's light breaths next to me. I couldn't keep my eyes open and felt myself leaning towards Ichigo, then my head was on his shoulder. I dozed off into pleasant dreams.

I started awake and hit my head against something hard, a stinging sensation surging through me.
"Are you ok?!" I heard Ichigo's voice. He was standing above me, getting the luggage off the shelf. I sat there rubbing my head in pain,

"What did I bump into??" I looked around and saw a metal bar across the window for elderly to hold onto. Sigh...

"Rukia, just stay still for a sec, I'll help you," Ichigo said and quickly brought the luggage down. I stared out the window and saw the sun setting as we climbed higher into the mountains, "Ok, does your head still hurt?" Ichigo sat down next to me and touched my forehead. I cringed a bit at the spot he touched and stopped him from pressing too hard, "You're gonna need ointment for that," he frowned and held my cheek in his palm. He leaned down and kissed the bruise, causing me to blush again, "That should make it better for now," he smiled as his face grew pink as well. When he let go, I sat there, thinking he must be as excited as I was to be going on this trip. He was so unusually happy, it was almost scary...

There was no time to linger on the thought. The train had arrived at it's last stop and there were a fair amount of couples getting ready to leave the train as well.

*This is our last stop! Hajigo Mountain top Hot Springs! Please exit the train carefully and travel with us again in the future! Konbanwa!*

We stepped off the train with our luggage, followed by the other couples.

"Whoa..."

I looked up at the enormous wooden arch in front of us. The neon signs and extravagant marble fountains ahead blinded me. I squinted and saw in the distance, double oak doors that opened into a courtyard filled with flowers of every kind. The woman who opened the door stepped out and greeted us with a smile. She wore a dark blue kimono with wooden sandals and massive amounts of jewels in her tied up hair.

"Welcome to Haijigo!!! My name is Inari and I will be giving you a tour of our amazing facility! But first, please introduce yourselves!" She spread her hands about and walked towards the couple standing closest to her.

"Ichigo," I whispered. He looked at me and lifted his bags. He seemed ready to run all the way down the hill, back to Karakura, "I think we're going to miss dinner tonight..." I sighed.