While still keeping an ear out for all that Ichigo has to say, Rukia quickly shifts on the couch, positioning herself by one of the armrests, the small of her back pressed up against the cushion before she leans forward to wrap thin fingers around broad shoulders, trying to coax Ichigo to lay his head on her lap.

Once there, she threads her fingers through Ichigo's hair, focusing along the stretch of hairline just past his temples and massaging in slow, lazy circles.

"Worrying isn't going to make you more ready. When someone worries as much as you do, it ends up doing the opposite, Ichigo. You should know that," she says quietly, tracing fingertips over his forehead to keep any wrinkles from surfacing. "And believe me, I'm as ready as you are to leave this place the first chance we get, but until that's possible, we have to learn this place. We have to pay attention. I'd even say that we have to learn how to live here."