A/N: I do not own Bleach!

Inside a large moist cave, Ichigo and Rukia battled; by now Rukia was worn out and tired, her leather suit was ripped from the arms and legs by Ichigo's teasing attacks. She glared at him through amethyst eyes; they both stood silent for a moment. The only sounds heard came from the storm outside and water drops dripping from the jagged rocks above.

"You should surrender slayer, maybe then I'd make your death swift and painless."

"To you? I think not," said Rukia charging towards him with her sword again; she managed to stab the side of his arm; Ichigo, glared at her, grabbed her by the neck, and pinned her to the ground.

Rukia tried to escape but Ichigo pressed his body on top of hers and with one of his hands pinned both of her hands above her head. He scanned her body appraisingly and then looked at her and smirked.

"Not bad, not bad at all, I might even regret killing you. Who would have guessed that after ten years…it would be I that hunted down my huntress," said Ichigo laughing wickedly. But he stopped laughing when he received a response very different than the one he expected. She looked at him solemnly; peaceful resignation in her eyes.

"Perhaps it is not such a bad thing…to die in the arms of one's life infatuation. I've been hunting you since I was eleven, learning everything there is to know about you in the process. You may not believe this Ichigo, but no one knows you better than I. And everything I know about you, I've come to admire…I would prefer dying by your hand than anyone else's…"

"You wish for me to kill you? You admire me?"

"Of course, you're the only person in this hell hole that's worth my time, I wouldn't hunt you if I didn't think you were worth the catch."

"And what did you plan on doing after you killed me?"

"Killing myself, for I would have nothing else to live for," said Rukia looking deeply into his eyes. Ichigo instinctively tilted his face down to hers; their noses already touching.

"If I intrigued you so much slayer…you should have taken a different approach," said Ichigo grazing his lips along her jaw line.

"I couldn't, it's forbidden, I'm a human and you're a vampire. Your kind eats my kind, and my kind delights in killing your kind for sport," said Rukia closing her eyes as Ichigo nibbled on her neck.

"So you decided to satisfy your longing for me in a deadly game of cat and mouse. What twisted minds you humans have…substituting love with violence."

"Well, it worked…" said Rukia gasping as he ran his tongue along her collarbone.

"It almost did…because now I won't kill you. You see Rukia…I'm a selfish man, and the feelings you claim to posses for me are not one-sided…now slayer…you will be mine forever," said Ichigo; with that he sank his fangs into her neck; Rukia gasped. Ichigo pulled back; he looked into her horrified eyes and smiled at her kindly. He bit his own lip, blood trickled down his chin; then he tilted his face down and kissed her.

...

"Master Ichigo!" Ichigo was disturbed from his daydream.

He was inside his bedroom at the castle. Originally he had intended to spend the last hour reading a book, but was quickly distracted by a distant memory. Uryu walked inside; he avoided eye contact with Ichigo and gave a small bow.

"Your majesty, there is a girl requesting your presence."

"Tell her to go away."

"Sir, she is the vampire slayer Momo." Ichigo immediately stood up and approached Uryu questionably.

"You sure it's her?" Asked Ichigo as he paced around Uryu, running his index finger along his jaw line.

"Yes Master…"

"How many times must I ask you to call me Ichigo?" whispered Ichigo in his ear; his lips hovered over his neck; he stood close behind him, and placed his arms around his waist. Uryu dazed slightly finding it difficult to keep himself focused.

"Ichigo, I'm positive it's her, she looks a little like Rukia," said Uryu; at the mention of her name Ichigo immediately let go of Uryu.

"So it seems her family has gotten word about what happened…"

"She looks very angry, I don't think she knows exactly what happened."

"What? That Rukia is a traitor? That she broke ever single one of her promises and wound up paying for it with her life?!"

"It's been seven months; I did not realize it still affected you so," said Uryu silently.

"Of course it affects me! Why wouldn't it affect me?!"

"You seemed so calm about it…I'm sorry, I realize this is partly my fault."

"It's not your fault Uryu, she changed…she changed so much after I converted her. She became greedy, lustful, cruel…she only had pity for Toshiro, and so she forced him to become her lover. She wanted to kidnap him and take all of my father's wealth…but my father found out, and didn't tolerate it…"

"What are you going tell Rukia's younger sister?" Asked Uryu looking down at the floor sadly.

"The truth," said Ichigo; he headed towards the door.

"Ichigo, I really am sorry, maybe if Rukia wouldn't have seen what she saw things would have turned out differently," said Uryu sadly. Ichigo looked at him and walked over to him; he embraced him and brushed Uryu's hair our of his face, gazing intently into his eyes.

"Rukia's love for me died long before you came, I was hopelessly in love with a woman that no longer shared the same emotions. You came along Uryu…and freed me from that, and for that I thank you," said Ichigo; he tilted his head down and pressed his lips against Uryu's. they lingered softly for a moment, but then gradually the tension intensified. Uryu moaned slightly and Ichigo slipped his tongue inside his mouth, massaging his tongue tenderly with his. Ichigo finally released him leaving him breathless, he gave him a brief kiss on the brow and immediately left the room.

As Ichigo descended the stairs he saw a beautiful girl of about nineteen standing at the bottom of the stairs. She had black hair that fell down to her shoulders and a stunning slim figure; her skin was smooth and flawless; her features were indeed similar to Rukia's, except her eyes, they were a warm cinnamon brown, and she was a little taller. As soon as she saw him she glared at him; once he descended the stairs he offered to kiss her hand but she quickly pulled it away.

"You killed my sister, I came here to kill you to challenge you…"

"I'm afraid I can't accept your challenge. I have important businesses to tend to. I'll be leaving to the Northern Vampire Kingdom in a week to discuss matters with King Aizen, and once there I'll be there for two weeks. It's important that I do it, my father is in his deathbed and he can't do it himself."

"Then have one of your brothers do it, I am aware you have two other brothers."

"Renji is not in good terms with their King, and Toshiro suffers from severe sun allergies; like the ancient vampires he can't be out in the sun," explained Ichigo.

"I will wait for you then."

"You're willing to spend three weeks in a house full of vampires?" Asked Ichigo surprised.

"My desire to kill you far surpasses my fear of dying, Rukia was my big sister; she didn't deserve to die."

"Hmm…right…yes, she was an angel," said Ichigo sarcastically, "okay then, I accept your challenge, when I come back we will duel, if you win, my family will let you go and provide a small fortune as our condolences for your sister's death. But if I win…you will join the family concubines…" said Ichigo scanning her body.

"All right, we have arrived to an agreement then?"

"I believe we have," said Ichigo; they both shook hands.

She's still here, roaming the tired weary walls of this castle. Her shadow placed itself on every wall, crying, calling his name. How was it then that he was expected to forget her? How was he supposed to forget her when she still roamed the long dark halls night and day? How was he supposed to forget her when her scent was everywhere and was intensified by the cool night air and the morning's crisp breeze? Her memory marked itself in every object, the light steps of her shoes echoing in the silence…her amethyst eyes phasing through the moon…how was he expected to forget her when her mocking laughter resounded in the walls of his mind? She would not leave him, even in death. He no longer owned his own dreams…they now belonged to Rukia, but then again… she always owned them, ever since he first met her and she resolved to hunt him down.

How was he expected to forget her when he had only himself to blame for her wicked jaded heart? How was he to forget that it was he who corrupted her untainted innocence by converting her into a vampire? Because of his own selfishness, because of his longing to have her? Rukia was untamable, strong, independent, she would never lower herself for any man. She gave him her heart but only until she realized she was no longer in control of it. Therefore the angel ripped out her own heart, so that if she could not control it, no one else could, not even the man for which her affections pulsated into oblivion. The heartless cannot feel, cannot be controlled by foolish emotions, and therefore are not weak, that was her conclusion, and with the last heartbeat of her doomed heart, she loved Ichigo and Ichigo alone, her love for him would be the only scar that marred her self reliance. She knew that there would always be Ichigo…and her weakness would always be displayed on his face, mocking her…

Ichigo sat up on his bed, he could not sleep, Rukia haunted him so, her pain, her insecurity, her screams of doubt plagued him to the point of insanity. He looked to his side at the space occupied by Rukia in their happier days; Uryu was there, sleeping soundly, clinging to the sheets that enveloped his bare body. He stood up and placed his night robe over his naked body; the silk glided softly on his skin, just like Rukia's touch. He wandered the moonlit hall until he stood in front of a door, it was Rukia's room, and conveniently enough, Momo was occupying it during her stay. 'What am I doing here? I should not be here', thought Ichigo, but regardless, he entered the room, so silently that human ears would not detect him. He surveyed the room and noticed that everything was exactly as it was when Rukia occupied it. The dresses still in the drawer, the jewelry, makeup, combs, and perfumes still set out in front of the mirror, waiting for their owner to use them. He looked over to the bed and saw Momo's sleeping form, her outline was exactly like Rukia's.

Ichigo made his way towards the bed very quietly; once he reached it, he sat next to her and observed her sleeping. She did not take his advice and change into one of Rukia's night gowns; she still wore her dirty torn slayer clothes. She did remove her leather jacket leaving her black tank top exposed, which allowed Ichigo a better view of her skin. It was soft, smooth, almost appeared porcelain. He extended his hand towards her and ran his fingertips from her cheek down to her collarbone, ever so lightly so that she would not feel his touch in her sleep. Her skin was warm, and indeed as soft if not more than it appeared. He drew his hand away and stood up; he glanced at the window and found his brother Renji standing there, Ichigo approached him and stood in front of him.

"What are you doing here Renji? You might wake her…"

"I'm sorry brother, wouldn't want to wake your precious Rukia, but she couldn't possibly hear us even if she's a vampire, she's not pure blooded like we are."

"A lot has happened since you left Renji, she's not Rukia, Rukia is dead; I had to kill her," said Ichigo sadly.

"What? Why? I thought you were infatuated with her."

"Yeah, but Rukia changed, you were there to see the beginning of it, but it worsened, she went very far."

"I did hear a bit about that, burning villages, killing by the masses, sacrificing virgins for brunch…I thought they were only rumors though, you know one is not to trust what is spoken by women's tongues."

"Well, it's true, and if anything it's much worse. That's why I called for you to come, I need you to care for Toshiro; I need to make amends with King Aizen about the damage Rukia did to his kingdom, and I know you can't speak with him because he's still pissed at you for leaving his daughter at the altar."

"I'm glad to be back, five years is a long time, but you know how hectic a popular bachelor's life can be, I didn't even get the chance to call," smirked Renji.

"I can imagine, all those parties and events you must attend, how dreadful," said Ichigo sarcastically.

"So if she's not Rukia, then who is she? Your lover," said Renji smiling mischievously.

"No, if anything you'll be extremely shocked to see who I chose as a lover, no, this is the slayer Momo, and she's here to kill me."

"Kill you?! Then why on earth would you allow her to stay here, you could have her killed in a matter of seconds, just send the guards on her."

"No Renji, the fact of the matter is I did kill her sister, and I plan to respect her pain. We'll duel once I come back."

"I don't think I will ever understand why you do the things you do Ichigo," sighed Renji, "but if you must…that gives us time to prepare for her an attractive grave, I'll have the servants on it tomorrow."

"I'm not going to kill her Renji."

"You're not? Isn't that the point of a duel?"

"We made a deal, if she wins I die and we provide her family with a small fortune. If I win, she joins the family concubines."

"Concubine…that's an interesting arrangement, well is she attractive enough?" Asked Renji.

"Take a look for yourself."

Renji walked over to the bed; he ran his eyes over Momo's sleeping form. His mouth fell open and his eyes filled with warmth, he sat next to her and ran one of his hands along the side of her body, outlining her subtle curves. He ran his hand up to her cheek and ran his thumb lightly over her lips.

"But Ichigo, she's too beautiful, too beautiful to become a concubine," said Renji gazing intently.

"That was our arrangement, and if I win that's what she'll become."

"But such innocence…death would be better than corrupting such innocence," said Renji still gazing at her and caressing her cheek.

"It'd be wise of you to stay away from her Renji. Your simple touch is corrupting her. Your love would be cyanide to her kind soul. Don't romance her, don't make the same mistake I made with Rukia…she's human, you're vampire. The laws of nature were set for a reason, it would only bring you tragedy," said Ichigo silently; Renji was broken from his trance and he stood up and walked back over to Ichigo.

"Yes, you are right, I don't know what came over me."

"Let's go then, you must be tired after your long trip," said Ichigo as he and Renji left the room.

"Yes, I'm craving a hot bath," said Renji.