THE HITS KEEP COMING

It's Hard to Cage a Monster

Ichigo wakes up startled. He starts, bolting into an upright position. He scours the room for any enemies, yet he comes up empty handed. What the hell? What woke him up?

Rukia is not in the bed with him. He looks around for signs of his wife. There's a sound of a faucet turning and water running. Clad in only his sleeping pants, he goes to investigate. He creeps around the corner like a silent predator on the hunt. If someone dared to touch his wife while she laid in their bed... He doesn't let the thought finish. He peeks around the corner into the bathroom.

Rukia is leaning over the sink as she brushes her teeth. Her bed head frames her face in messy waves, and her eyes droop heavy from sleep. She's wearing one of his old shirts from the World of the Living. She's always wearing his old shirts.

Ichigo moved a lot of his stuff out from his dad's house. He knew his dad would hoard his stuff and leave his room as is if he didn't, well, die. He kept a lot of Masaki's stuff after she died and hung a large framed photo of her by the dinner table so she was with them when they ate. It's actually really depressing to think about. He didn't want his dad and sisters to do the same to him, so he packed his stuff. It's all tucked away in a closet in his shared chambers. Rukia typically gets her sleepwear (his shirts) from there.

The ginger stops lurking and enters the bathroom. He kisses Rukia's neck as a hello. She leans back into him, toothbrush still working. Her skin always feels cold to him. Her eyes meet his as she asks a silent question.

"I'm fine," he lies.

The wrinkling of her brow proves she knows he's lying. Her eyes urge him to tell the truth. She's still actively brushing her teeth.

"No, no. I promise I'm fine."

Her expression doesn't change. She won't believe him. Maybe he should tell her what's bothering him?

"I visited my mindscape before going to sleep," he confesses.

Rukia's eyebrows raise in curiosity. She tilts her head to show her interest in what he has to say.

"Hogyoku's seal is breaking. Shiro told me they're all surprised the seal worked at all, much less for this long."

Her gaze moves away from him in thought. She hums in wonder. Finally, she leans forward to spit out the foaming paste from her mouth. She rinses off her brush, eyes on what she's doing. There's pale green foam in the corners of her mouth.

"Why didn't they say anything sooner?" Rukia asks.

Ichigo steps to his own sink. He needs to brush his teeth, too. He grabs his brush from its holder and squeezes paste onto the bristles.

"I don't know. Shiro said Hogyoku wouldn't deny me in at least trying to gain control," he states, and a shrug follows his sentence.

He wets his toothbrush and gets to work. He is having a relatively important conversation with his wife about his ability to not wipe a mile radius off the face of the realm if he tripped. He's not entirely joking either for the sake of no one knowing what the limit to his powers are.

"What are we going to do? Would breaking her seal now be a good idea?" Rukia asks, wiping off foam from her face.

Ichigo spits in the sink so he can speak coherently. "No, I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, I would break the seal if we weren't in a time of war. But since we are-"

"You're going to be fighting a lot," Rukia finishes. "The impact if your range abruptly changes would be devastating."

Hell's Prince nods, going back to brushing. It never feels like he's brushing his teeth enough. He could sit there for hours and not be satisfied with how his teeth feel. Is that weird? Probably. He spits in the sink and rinses his toothbrush off. That'll have to be enough for now.