A/N: This is my first fan-fiction so please, do be honest with feedback. The setting in the timeline of the story is immediately after the rescue of Rukia from the soul society, or something close to it. Rated M for safety.
Disclaimer - As I'm sure you're more than well aware, I do not own anything in the Bleach universe, all characters, places, etc are properties of their respective owners.
He wasn't sure what had woken him up, but he did know it made him rather uneasy. Stretching, he got out of bed and headed to the bathroom; that was, until he noticed that the door to the closet was open. Out of slight curiosity, he peered inside, wondering why the usually closed door was left open, if only slightly. However, much to his expectations, the closet was empty, and the bed contained within was neatly made.
"Now where the hell did she go?" Sighing inwardly, he knew she could more than easily take care of herself, but for some reason, he felt something prickling at the back of his mind. Whether it was related to Rukia's absence or something else entirely, he did not know. As he turned around and started headed back to his bed he almost knocked over a startled Rukia.
"Rukia?! Where the hell were you?"
Teasingly she replied, "What's the matter? Concerned about my well-being? Well Ichigo, I never knew you cared."
Feeling himself redden slightly in both irritation and slight embarrassment he replied, "Yeah right, the only thing I care about is you not getting into trouble out there. It would be a pain in the ass if I had to come rescue you...again." He always hated it when she said stuff like that and wasn't sure why.
With an angry "humph", Rukia climbed into the closet and shut the door tightly behind her. He shrugged inwardly and laid back down to sleep. As he drifted off to sleep, he felt something sinister lurking on the edge of his consciousness. He wasn't sure exactly what it was, but he did know two things, one, it wasn't the familiar presence of his inner hollow, and two, whatever it was both intrigued and terrified him.