Prologue.

He was pacing again.

Around and around the same place, over and over again as if something might change.

She knew it wouldn't and she guessed that he knew it too, so why was he doing it?

The boy was funny; at least that's what she thought the first time she saw him. He was there with his uniform smiling and talking to the nice looking woman, his mother she supposed, about how he always lost against Tatsuki… Hell, the boy was seriously a lost cause but she couldn't care less; all she wanted to know was why his hair was so striking?! Unfortunately they never saw her, she didn't mind. Adults always turned a blind eye to her.

Then the accident happened.

She had been looking of course; she was always looking. They used to take the route near the place she had been living; it couldn't be considered a house but she was safe from the dangerous streets. That day the rain had been pouring harder than ever, the boy was talking with his mother again when suddenly out of nowhere a drunk driver ran over them, well… over her. The mother was fast enough to save her son.

It was horrible.

No wonder the boy was now pacing over the same place; the street near the riverbank would never be the same for him that was for sure… she couldn't really blame him. Although she couldn't understand him either because she had been alone as long as she could remember and she knew that even if things were rough it wasn't the end of the world.

Hell, she knew that better than anyone.

So she decided to make him react. One afternoon he was coming from school, it had been a month since the accident happened, and when he started his pacing she jumped from her hideout and kicked him as hard as she could on his little funny ass and he fell on the ground painfully and looked at her frowning.

"What was that for?!" He asked.

"You were acting stupid again." She said.

That was when she really looked at him for the first time; his eyes were amber and his hair was definitely more striking up close; carrot, that was the first word that ran through her mind at the time.

Ichigo on his side was annoyed; he was sad and was trying to be alone when suddenly out of nowhere a girl kicked him. The only reason why he didn't return the kick was because his father had told him how he should never hurt a girl; his mother had told him that too but it was still too painful to think about her. He looked at the girl in front of him and he couldn't help but notice that she was dressed with rags. Her face was hollow but still she was pretty…

She had raven hair and huge violet eyes. He had never seen violet eyes.

"Who are you?"

She shrugged and offered him a hand to help him stand up.

He took it.

"My name is Rukia." She said with a smile "what's yours?"

"Ichigo" he answered "Kurosaki Ichigo."

She laughed.

"As in strawberry?!"

He frowned and crossed his arms defensively. He wasn't going to answer her that.

"What do you want?" he asked rudely but his lack of manners didn't affect her; in fact she seemed to brush his words off her easily.

She shrugged and smiled at him again.

"How old are you?" He asked because he was curious, extremely curious and because standing there in the riverbank without saying a word to the girl in front of him would be awkward.

"I'm five years old." She answered proudly and Ichigo rolled his eyes. They had the same age.

"I have to go" he said. He didn't want to leave the weird girl alone but it was almost time for him to get home and he guessed that her parents must've been waiting for her too.

She sighed.

Maybe the boy wasn't so fun at all.

"You should go home too… your parents might worry." He told her after hearing her disappointed sigh.

She snorted and he rose a questioningly eyebrow at her.

"I don't have parents, idiot." She said, the smile never leaving her face. Then she pointed at his uniform which looked expensive and well taken care of and after that she extended her arms and circled on the same spot once to show him her rags.

His eyes widened; he would never understand how an orphan could smile.

"You shouldn't look surprised" she said.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked.

She wanted to tell him how free she was and how she was glad that she was no longer inside the orphanage with those bullies who used to pick on her because she was the shortest one. She also wanted to tell him how she could now sleep on the highest branch of her favorite tree on the park without being bothered but all she said was…

"Well, why are you sad? You have a home, right?"

He blinked.

Yeah, he had a home and sisters and a father but he had lost the most important woman of his life a month ago. He had the right to be sad and angry and to feel guilty but something about this girl was telling him that there were worst things…

First of all he wasn't wearing rags.

"Everything will get better." She said.

In that moment; five year old Ichigo made a decision and took five year old Rukia's hand and started to walk. He didn't know why and how he was going to explain everything but he had extra space in his house and she thought that she was right.

Yes, things were going to get better.