Back Up

"DUCK!" Ichigo screamed inside his head and his body obeyed, causing him to narrowly escape Rukia's attempt to crush his face with her knee. He lurched himself backward, almost hitting his own bed. He regained his footing quickly and bounced back toward her.
Rukia screamed, "DAMMIT ICHIGO!" then she slammed the closet door shut on him again.
"WHAT THE HELL RUKIA! You almost killed me!"
Rukia slammed the door open again, this time completely dressed. While she finished buttoning the last couple of buttons on her blouse she said, "YOU DESERVED IT! You NEVER open that closet door without permission!
Ichigo stood up and towered over her. "I KNOCKED THREE TIMES!"
"Well, I didn't hear you – I was BUSY getting DRESSED!"
"I made enough noise! Hell, Yuzu's been yelling for me for ten minutes! Didn't you hear her?"
Rukia turned away from him and said, "Oh yes. I heard her loud and clear."
"But you didn't hear ME KNOCKING AND YELLING FOR YOU?"
Rukia said in a huff, "You're such an idiot all the time; I guess I've just learned to TUNE YOU OUT!"
"FINE! See if I ever try and make sure you're ON TIME for school any more. You can just go yourself!"
"FINE! I WILL."
Both Ichigo and Rukia grumbled at each other as they left the bedroom and headed downstairs.
As soon as both entered the kitchen, Karin noticed them. She said, "Oh great. They're fighting – AGAIN." Ichigo and Rukia glared at each other, then crossed their arms and turned their backs on each other.
Yuzu said, "Is that all you two ever do is fight? We heard you all the way down here."
Ichigo looked around then and said, "We weren't fighting. It was a misunderstanding."
Rukia stuck her finger in his face and said, "MISUNDERSTANDING? WRONG! YOU saw me while I was half naked!" Both Karin and Yuzu gasped.
"I DID NOT! You were clothed! You had on a blouse, a bra and bunny undies!" Rukia fumed and her face got red from anger mixed with embarrassment.
Yuzu clapped her hands and said, "You have bunny undies Rukia? Really? HOW CUTE!"
Karin said, "That's not the point Yuzu. Ichigo invaded Rukia's privacy, and that's a capital offense as far as I'm concerned."
"Oh, so now you're taking HER side Karin?" Ichigo said pointing his thumb at Rukia. Rukia stood there and gloated.
Yuzu quickly interrupted and said, "You're both late already. Grab your lunches and go!"
"Right," Rukia said, and she walked in front of Ichigo, grabbing for the lunch that he was going to take. She elbowed him in the stomach, took the lunch and trotted out the door.
"Dammit," Ichigo grumbled as he rubbed his stomach. He picked up the left over lunch and headed for the door.
"You'd better catch up to her," Karin said.
"And if I don't?" Ichigo called back.
"She'll be mad at you all day."
"She'll probably be mad at me all day ANYWAY. Hey wait, where's Dad?" he asked as he prepared to leave.
Karin said, "He had to run out and pick up a few things for the clinic. He'll see us tonight after school."
"Ok. I'll see if I can catch up to Rukia then. See you two later."
Karin smiled to herself. So did Yuzu.
. . .
Ichigo caught up with Rukia shortly. She swung her arms purposefully as she walked toward the school. He heard her mumble, "I swear to GOD I am going back to Yuzu's room!"
"I heard that!"
"So what if you did? It's true. I should just move out of your closet. Or maybe I'll go live with Orihime. At least SHE wouldn't burst in on me while I was changing!"
"Don't be stupid. You're supposed to stay with us."
"I'm not SUPPOSED to stay anywhere. I'm supposed to be here to do my job and then head back to Soul Society again."
Ichigo looked at her and said, "Listen, we all just went through hell to get you back. Is it so wrong to want to keep you here for a while?" Rukia's mood and expression softened a bit. She was eternally grateful that Ichigo and his friends, now her friends as well, had rescued her from being executed, but that still didn't give him any "rights" to see her semi-naked. Not unless she offered, which she had no intention of doing.
"I know," Rukia said quietly. Then she said, "Listen, just don't mention what happened to anyone. I'm going to go see if I can find Orihime."
"Are you going to ask her if you can live with her?"
Rukia saw Ichigo's face – he looked as if he were pleading with her not to go. She said, "Probably not. She bought a new piece of exercise equipment that she wanted to tell me about. I'll just see you at school later, ok?"
"All right," Ichigo said, and with that Rukia took off in a run in the direction of school.
. . .
Ichigo walked to school slowly. He rubbed his head. His forehead hurt from his face hitting the floor when he tried to get out of bed, and his ears were still ringing a little from when he tried to block out Yuzu's screaming. For a second or two, he felt like ditching school and going back home to spend the rest of the day in bed, "recuperating." The more he thought about it, the better it sounded. "It'd be nice just to go back to bed for a little while, at least until my head stops pounding. I think I need an aspirin," he thought, "But then again, I've missed enough school already. What should I do?"