Ichigo was shoving in his clothes into the duffel bag that he brought with him from Tokyo. He kept looking around the room to check if he's forgotten anything.
One and a half weeks have gone by, and it was now time for Ichigo to return to Tokyo.
Rukia walked into his room and closed the door.
"What's up?" Ichigo asked.
Rukia smiled as she handed him some shirts. "You almost forgot these."
"Thanks," he replied as he took them and shoved it into his bag that was already full.
Rukia sat on the edge of his bed and watched him struggle with his bag. She knew this day would come sooner or later. But it was still hard for her. She remembered how everyone reacted when Ichigo decided to tell them that he was leaving again. Takeshi was silent at first but soon recovered with a big smile. Mai and Isshin cried like crazy and kept hanging onto Ichigo. The orange head didn't mind his daughter clinging to him, but it was different with Isshin. He threw the old man across the room and picked up his orange-haired daughter who wouldn't stop crying. Ichigo was utterly lost at what to do, but thankfully Takeshi stepped in.
Flashback
"But I don't want Papa to go!" Mai cried.
Ichigo was stroking her orange hair but nothing was comforting his little princess. Rukia would do something but she was too busy making dinner since Yuzu was crying and hugging Karin to death.
So Takeshi took it upon himself to help his father. "Mai, stop crying—"
"But Taki-nii!" Mai turned to her brother, "Papa is leaving! What if he doesn't come back again! WAAAA!"
Ichigo felt an iron grip on his stomach. He hated the way this was affecting his kids.
Takeshi handed Mai a Kleenex and continued. "Mai, do you know what Otousan has been doing these past seven years?"
Mai shook her red face. "No," she answered weakly.
"Well, he was saving lives… Like Superman!" Takeshi threw his arms up into the air.
Mai's eyes suddenly grew wide with excitement. "You mean..." She turned to her father, "Papa is Superman?"
Ichigo did NOT know what to say. He looked at the excited eyes of his daughter and quickly turned his attention elsewhere.
Takashi stepped in again. "Yup, something like that. So now he has to go back to save more lives or else he wouldn't be fulfilling his duty as a superhero."
Mai suddenly jumps off her father and smiled widely at him. "Papa! Go save lives! Mai understands now! Hehe!"
Ichigo smiled as he patted both of his children on the head. "I promise to come by more often. And you guys can come visit me during the weekends with your mother, ok?"
The two kids nodded. Ichigo was about to say 'thanks' to Takeshi when Isshin suddenly appeared and grabbed all three of them into a bear hug.
"Oh! Masaki! Did you hear how smart our grandson is? And how sweet our granddaughter is? Our family is so—"
"Get off of us old man!" Ichigo yelled as he wiggled one of his arms free and punched Isshin across the face.
End of Flashback
Ichigo looked over at Rukia who had a distant look in her eyes. He leaned towards her and startled her when he placed one of his hands on her cheeks. "You okay?"
Rukia nodded. Then she grabbed his hand and pulled him into her embrace. "I'm going to miss you," she whispered into his neck.
"Me too," Ichigo replied, kneeling in front of her and returned the embrace.
The two sat there for a few more seconds until Yuzu came running up the stairs. "Oniichan! You got to go now if you want to catch your train!"
"'kay," Ichigo replied back. He stood up, zipped up his duffel bag, and pulled the strap over his shoulder. He looked back at Rukia and gave her his usual grin. "Com'on, let's go."
He held out his hand which she eyes for a second before taking it. The two, hand in hand, walked down the stairs where his family was waiting.
"Papa!'
Ichigo looked up to see his daughter jumping on him, causing him to fall, yet again.
Damn, his children were becoming more and more like their grandfather!
"Hey there princess," Ichigo smiled back as he stood up and walked towards the door where Takeshi, Karin, Yuzu, Isshin, Urahara, Yoruichi and Jinta were waiting.
"Alright," Ichigo said as he set Mai on the ground, "Time for me to go."
"ICHIGO!" Isshin cried as he also jumped on his son, "Papa is going to miss you!"
"Goddamit it old man!" Ichigo yelled, "Stop crying like a three year old and let me go!" He grabbed Isshin's wrist and threw him out of the house. Ichigo straightened up and looked at his sisters. "You guys take care, okay? And watch out for dad."
Yuzu gave him a big smile while Karin snorted. "Don't worry about us. We can handle the beardy."
Ichigo snorted back as he patted both of their heads and walked out.
"Well, Kurosaki-kun," Urahara said behind his fan, "Next time you come back, I'm expecting presents!"
"Whatever," Ichigo replied as he walked past the shopkeeper and his family. He then stopped in front of Takeshi who was leaning against the open door. "Hey there."
Takeshi, who was expressionless at first, smiled widely when Ichigo placed his hand on top of his head. "I'll see you soon otousan!"
Ichigo loved that smile Takeshi wore because it looked just like the smile he used to give his mother. Ichigo smiled back as he rustled his son's raven hair. "Yeah. Take care of your mother and sister while I'm gone okay?"
Takeshi nodded his head. "Of course!"
"Ichigo."
The said man looked up to see his bruised father standing in front of the van with a calm smile. "Com'on, I'll take you to the station."
Ichigo nodded his head. He turned around and faced everyone. "Well, guess I'll be seeing you guys at Christmas!" He waved as he grabbed Rukia's hand and walked towards the van.
"Bye Papa!"
"See you later oniichan!"
"See ya' Ichigo!"
"Later!"
"Bye otousan!"
Ichigo looked back to see his family and friends waving at the van as it turned around the corner.
Ichigo waved back at his father as he walked towards his deserted deck with Rukia following behind him. The two sat down on the bench and quietly waited for the train to arrive.
"Ten Minutes. Ten More Minutes Until The Train For Tokyo Arrives," it announced in the speaker above.
Ichigo sighed as he looked down at his fingers that were interlaced with hers. "Rukia?"
"Hm?"
Ichigo leaned over and gently kissed her lips. He pulled back and looked into her violet eyes. "You'll never leave me, right?"
Rukia smiled as she returned the soft kiss. "As long as you don't leave me again, then no, I won't. I'll always be here waiting for you."
Ichigo smiled as he leaned back down and deepened the kiss. He lifted his hand off of her fingers and wrapped it around her shoulders to pull her closer to him.
Their body heat was starting to rise up when they suddenly heard the train whistling not too far away. Ichigo reluctantly pulled himself away from Rukia and looked at her flustered face. The two kept staring at each other as the train past by them and slowed to a halt.
Ichigo got up with his bag on his shoulder and stepped closer to the train. Rukia was standing behind him. When the train finally stopped, Ichigo turned around and gave Rukia another passionate kiss. They tore apart as Ichigo stepped in the train and sat on the seat with the window still facing Rukia.
He pulled down the window and leaned his head out. "Come by the weekend before Christmas with the kids so we can do some gift shopping. And we can come back home together."
Rukia gave him a wide smile as she nodded. "I'm going to spend a lot of money, strawberry!"
Ichigo snorted. "I'll be busy making money until then, midget."
As the train slowly pulled away, Ichigo flashed her one big smile. "See you in three weeks!"
Rukia waved as the train sped up and the orange hair slid back in the window. She dropped her hand and watched until the train was fully out of sight. She let out a sigh and walked outside to the parking lot.
"Ready to go?"
Rukia looked up and saw Isshin leaning against the van.
"Yes," she replied.
The two sat in the van as they drove home, waiting for their favorite strawberry to come home for Christmas…
A/N:So Rukia and the kids are going to meet Ichigo up in Tokyo a week before Christmas...well, the story might come out a bit different since Rukia is going to give Ichigo a little surprise..
I'll try and update ASAP but I really want to finish my other fanfic first. I'll see what happens after this weekend since I'm almost done.
ps. these days i've been creating a prequel to this story. about how Ichigo and Rukia first met and their lives up until Ichigo leaves. What do you guys think? If you guys support me and I can create a decent plotline, I might be able to make it once I finish this story first...
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