Ahh... and yet another of my favorite manga couples ~ Ichigo & Rukia!! So let me explain a bit why I love this couple so much.
For one thing, Rukia is not your typical bib boobed, beautiful, girl-next-door (cough cough Orihime). Abandoned by her older sister, she grew up a street rat only to be adopted by her brother-in-law who seems to hate her. She has no kind of female role model; it's obvious with her tomboy personality. Being a Kuchiki, all eyes are on her to be the best, especially compared to her perfect older brother. When she messes up BAD and gets stuck with Ichigo, she throws away her pride to save him, being realistic about her situation an his.
Usually, her drawings are made fun of and her obsession with Chappy the Bunny is laughed at, but those are just more instances where her awkward femininity are so adorable. I wanted to illustrate her as cute but still sexy, even though she's supposed to have a childish figure. I got the idea from a Victoria's Secret PINK outfit and changed around the styling a bit.
I loved Ichigo from the very start. He's rough and tough but cares for people more than anything. He's got the looks and the attitude and yet he's a big softie when it comes to Rukia barging into his closet! The anime and manga both do not put very much sexual tension between the two... If anything, there much more sexuality focus put on Orihime (for the obvious reasons *snorts*). They characterize Orihime as the beautiful, innocent, and pure love candidate who becomes stronger and stronger. She's just to typical and too boring. Rukia, on the other hand, is often denied her femininity and for that, I love to see what she might be.
To put Ichigo and Rukia in the same sleeping quarters together is BOUND to bring on some kind of conflict. Teenage boys are not so innocent at night, and Rukia would easily confront Ichigo on any kind of his strange behavior *wink**wink*.