When Ichigo opened his eyes her saw many colors. He saw the red of Renji's hair, the white of Ishida's clothes, the brown of Chad's skin and the orange of Orihime's hair. But of all the colors he saw, the one that stayed in his mind as he drifted off again was the brilliant purple of Rukia's eyes. When he woke up again, he saw them all hovering over him. The pain in their eyes for his impending fate was quickly hidden behind happiness for his awakening. They all started talking and asking questions but he didn't hear any of it. He looked around for her. He found her standing behind Renji, staring at her feet.
Rukia was usually very loud and always had something to say when it came to Kurosaki Ichigo. But now, the midget shinigami was at a loss of words upon seeing him conscious again. She had thought of so many things she wanted to say in such a situation but now all her words were stuck in her throat so she looked down at her feet. She couldn't look at him because she felt that she would lose control of her emotions. After all, no one has ever seen Kuchiki Rukia cry and she wasn't about to let that change.
Orihime was generally oblivious. However, today she was more perceptive than ever. She had told herself when Ichigo woke up she would tell him how she felt about him. As she was about to, she saw the look in his eyes. He opened his eyes and looked right at her and she felt her heart stop and her breath hitch. She told herself it was now or never. But as quickly as he had looked her way, he looked away, searching for something…someone else. She followed his line of sight and saw him look at her. Kuchiki Rukia. Orihime found herself tearing up a little. She could see the way he looked at her and wished he would look at her the same way. At that moment, Inoue Orihime gave up all hope that Kurosaki Ichigo would ever be hers.
Ichigo's throat was dry when he wanted to speak her name, to get her to look at him. He cleared his throat a bit and tried to speak. His voice came out as a whisper and all he could say was "Rukia". Rukia looked up as soon as she heard him whisper her name. Her eyes were filled to the brim with tears and upon hearing his voice they threatened to spill. She saw his beautiful brown eyes staring at her, full of hope. She couldn't bear to see that anymore knowing she may never see them again. So she ran. She ran out of the room, down the stairs and out the front door only to fall to her knees on the front step. She didn't try any longer to stop the tears as they flowed freely down her cheeks. She finally thought of what may come to be. She may never see him again. She felt strong hands fall on her shoulders to steady her. She didn't want to turn around even though she secretly wished it was Ichigo. She heard Renji's voice say something but she didn't hear it. Renji shook her a little and spoke again.
"Rukia, go talk to him". She didn't know what to say to Ichigo anymore so she just shook her head no. Renji started again, "Rukia, he looked so heartbroken when you ran out. Just go talk to him. Talk to him before it's too late. You know you don't have too much time". She knew Renji was right but she couldn't move. Renji waited for a bit and then said, "Look, both of you have been very stupid because neither of you told the other how you felt when all you had was time. Now that you don't have any left to spare, don't you think it's as good a time as any?" And then Renji grinned and said, "Besides, once you get back to Soul Society, I don't want you to start moping because you didn't tell him when you had the chance. This made Rukia smile a little and Renji took that as a sign of approval to lift her off the ground and drag her back to Ichigo's room.
Once there, she saw Ishida, Inoue and Chad start to walk out, saying goodbyes to Ichigo laced with promises to see him again soon. Renji whispered good luck to her with a grin and follows the trio downstairs. Rukia stood awkwardly at the door as Ichigo's gaze never moved away from her face. She finally took a step in and shut the door behind her. Sitting up slowly, Ichigo called her name again tentatively as he was worried she may bolt again. However, with newfound resolve, Rukia walked up to him and pulled him into a tight hug. As happy as he was by this action, he was still a wounded man so he let out a yelp signaling her was in pain. Rukia immediately jerked back but didn't move far as he grabbed her hand quickly to keep her close. She looked up to see him wearing an uncharacteristic grin and he very rudely yelled, "So this is the thanks I get for saving the world eh? A midget tries to kill me with a hug?" Rukia started smiling back and whacked his arm playfully yelling back, "Nobody asked you to save the world. We would've been just fine without an idiot strawberry like you. I am sure Nii-sama could have done it all. After all, he is way better than you". Ichigo's smile got bigger as he called her a chappy obsessed weirdo. However before she could retort, he pulled her in a little and placed both his hands on either side of her face. Rukia quickly noticed that her face was only a couple of inches away from his and upon discovering this, she forgot how to breathe.
Ichigo's smile slowly disappeared as he furrowed his eyebrows and started speaking in a low voice, "Rukia, I need to tell you something before this happens. I have enjoyed having you as a partner and a friend. You have always been there to support me and pick me up when I'm down. I don't think I could've come this far if you hadn't stopped the rain all those times. I cannot thank you enough for all of that Rukia". Ichigo then looked down a little, his orange bangs creating a shadow over his eyes.
Rukia's eyes started to tear up again. She heard everything he said and deduced immediately that he valued her friendship and that was all he saw between them. She decided immediately to change her speech to a good luck and hope you move on and find happiness. But even as she decided this, she couldn't help but feel like he had just struck her straight in her heart by saying those words. Ichigo looked back up and continued, "But Rukia, thank you hardly begins to cover everything I want to tell you. I am going to miss you terribly and I don't think I can ever forget anything that has happened. But most of all I wanted to tell you that I truly love you midget".
Rukia's eyes widened when he confessed how he truly felt about her. She sported a very unreadable look on her face which Ichigo immediately believed to be impending rejection so he began speaking again, "I know it's kinda big to hear someone confess that. I just wanted to let you know. I don't expect you to say anything back to me. Just thought I would let you know once…before I can't see you again".
Rukia smiled slightly and lightly punched him on the arm and said, "Strawberry, you really are stupid. I love you too. I am not going to leave without saying it back to you!" In that moment, Ichigo forgot all about his injuries and pulled her into his arms for a tight embrace. Rukia finally felt at peace, even if it was for a few minutes. They both pulled back slightly to be back in the position where their faces were inches apart.
Ichigo, who had never done anything like this before slowly whispered, "Rukia, can I –". Before he could finish, Rukia crashed her lips on his. It started out slow with them experiencing the novelty of this action but soon it started becoming more feverish and passionate. They broke apart in a few minutes to catch their breath and get some oxygen to their lungs. That's when he noticed it was starting. Her right hand was starting to look slightly translucent. His face slowly twisted to a frown as he knew soon enough he wouldn't see her at all even if she was standing right in front of him. Rukia followed his line of sight and was confused to see him stare at her hand.
"Ichigo…?" she started with slight panic in her eyes.
Ichigo looked into her eyes and spoke softly so that only she could hear him. "It's starting. I can feel my powers leaving. But I want you to know that I will come for you as soon as I get them back. I will not stop trying to get back to you. Don't go off and find someone else because I am coming for you midget. And when I come to get you next time, I will make sure to never let you go again."
Rukia looked at him with hope and sadness mixed in her eyes. She never heard Ichigo ever make statements with "ifs" and "maybes". He was always sure that he would get something done and he always did and she felt certain that he really would come back for her. She already knew she would wait for him for as long as she could but hearing him say that made her smile. "Well, I am a hot commodity in Soul Society so you better not keep me waiting for too long strawberry." She then kissed his smiling lips again but instead of a passionate kiss like before, it was a slow, soft kiss, one that felt like it had happened a hundred times before then. They broke apart and Ichigo rested his forehead on hers and let out a small but content sigh.
Just then, they heard a knock on the door and Renji came in to tell Rukia that the portal was open and she had to leave. They walked outside to be greeted by their friends. They exchanged a little playful banter even though their hearts are heavy. They both had a painful look in their eyes that the other couldn't bear to see. She started to slowly fade away from his sight as she stood her ground in front of him. Finally, he couldn't see her anymore and he whispered thank you.
Kuchiki Rukia heard the thank you and felt the tears resurface again. She knew it wasn't really just a thank you. It was an all encompassing statement of his love for her and she whispered a thank you back to him even though he would never hear it. She followed the other shinigami through the portal and looked back at the man she loved, one last time, standing in the same spot he was in before staring straight through her retreating form and thought: I will see you soon my strawberry.
This is my first story. Please no flames. RXR