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Rukia likes music.
Rukia had told him, after she’d caught him headbanging with his headphones on -- the volume loud enough for her to hear -- that she’d liked the sound of it. At first, Ichigo thought she was teasing him, but she’d only lifted the headphones off his head, slipped it on hers and made an impatient motion for him to press play.
For a moment her eyes are wide, and then a small smile begins to bloom. And Ichigo doesn’t realized he’s staring until she’s yelling -- saying that she likes the riff of the guitar, the anger in the drums.
And that’s how she officially meets Karin and Yuzu.
And because even though Rukia is a shit actress, she sticks to lies that are easy. I’m Ichigo’s classmate. We’re just hanging out. I’m sorry for startling you, I didn’t realize I was yelling. She’d even had the good grace to look embarrassed. Which was adorable because she looks like she means it. And he thinks his face is doing something weird because Yuzu immediately invites Rukia to stay for dinner, and Karin is shooting him looks as the girls leave them to “hang out”.
It becomes a regular thing for Rukia to “come over for dinner”.
“At least this way you won’t have to sneak food for me,” she tells him smartly when Karin pops her head in to ask them to set the table -- like Rukia actually lives with them and her staying is just something she does now.
It should bother Ichigo, but this way is more convenient, and he thinks - he thinks his family appreciates Rukia being around.
Sometimes when they come home from school, the twins at after school activities, Rukia makes lunch for everyone -- for when his sisters get back, and for when his dad has a break between patients. Ichigo rolls his eyes and complains about it because he can, but he does as he’s directed, and because it’s just the two of them, he gets to play his music on the sound system.
It’s a “ratchet” that no one else in his family appreciates, but Rukia seems to like it, bopping along and swaying, mumbling the wrong lyrics and then shouting them at him when he tries to correct her.
His family comes home to it often enough that on the days when it’s not just Rukia and Ichigo that are home, they’re introducing Rukia to their music.
His dad is old school, and likes more western music. Rukia doesn’t understand English, but she’ll happily duet Bohemian Rhapsody with his dad any time any place so long as his dad does the high notes and she gets the low ones.
They both think they’re so funny for it.
(Yuzu cries laughing, and Ichigo’s willing to concede that they might be.)
Karin’s taste in music is similar to Ichigo’s, though she prefers less yelling and not so hard rock, and she has a particular fondness for rap music because of the lyricism, and Rukia apparently agrees.
The day Rukia successfully raps an entire song at Karin is the day they both scream so loud, Ichigo’s pretty sure he’ll never hear normally again.
(He’ll take it, though. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen either of them so excited.)
Yuzu is the worst, though.
She’s one of those Top 40 people, and she has Rukia hooked on annoying pop songs before it’s even time for dinner. Ichigo can’t tell if Rukia actually likes it or she’s just doing it to spite him.
He thinks she does, actually, when -- while Ichigo is taking a break from homework -- Rukia goes to the kitchen to get started on dinner, and turns on the radio. He’s lying in bed, breathing through his bruised ribs from the Hollow hunt the night before when he hears her sing along.
She doesn’t ever do it properly when other people are watching, but right now, she does. It’s sweet, has a haunting sort of quality to it.
Ichigo finds himself climbing out of bed to follow her voice, drawn like a sailor to a siren, and blinking when he finds her stands under the kitchen light, swaying with her eyes closed and a small smile on her lips.
When she realizes he’s there, she shoots him a smile, her voice goes a little sour -- like she’s embarrassed to be caught, like she’s trying to pass off the quality of her voice entirely -- and abruptly asks, “What’s slow dancing?”
Startled from his daze, he asks, “What?”
“The guy on the radio said you should do it with this song,” she tells him.
“It’s when you dance with somebody.” Rukia gives him a look that says obviously which makes his eyes roll before he says, “it’s like...” When the words won’t come, he shakes his head stubbornly, then, “I’ll show you.”
Ichigo’s never done it before, but he’s seen enough of the girls’ romance movies to have enough of an idea.
He takes her hands, sets one on his shoulder and the other on his waist, and he mirrors it. Their chests are almost touching, and there’s barely a foot of space between them. When, after examining their stance, Rukia looks up at him, he feels his breath catch.
“Like this?”
“Y-yeah,” he clears his throat, then, “And we just kind of...sway, I guess.” Even though their combined movements are stiff, and jerky, eventually they get the hang of it because as Rukia notes, “It’s like fighting.”
“I guess.”
“Except I’m avoiding getting my feet stepped on. I didn’t realize your footwork in dancing needed as much work as it did in fighting.”
Knowing she’s just trying to rile him up with a mischievous smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eye, Ichigo retorts, “Well then, you’re just gonna have to teach me, then.”
She huffs out a laugh and says, “I suppose I will."