"ICHIGO!"

The sound of Rukia's scream penetrated my ear drums, sending a wave of panic over my body. What had happened? Was she alright? What was going on?

"ICHIGO, HURRY!"

I raced as fast as I possibly could up the stairs and barged into my room only to see Rukia curled up in a ball in the corner. She was slightly trembling, hugging her knees tightly to her chest.

"Rukia! What happened! Are you okay?" I asked with panic.

"Ichigo, kill it! Kill it! Stomp on it or something, just please kill it!"

"What are you-"

"Just kill the damn spider, Ichigo! Please!" she cried, terror written all over her face.

Spider? She screamed like that over a little bug?

"Where is it?" I asked calmly, reaching for a tissue.

"Right there, on the wall!" she said.

Sure enough, a spider the size of a fly was resting peacefully on the wall. I sighed and grabbed the bug from the wall with the tissue before making my way over to the window.

"What are you doing?" she asked me.

"Setting him free," I explained.

"But I told you to kill it!" she shrieked.

I let out a small laugh as I flicked the spider onto the roof below.

"There, problem solved. You can come out from the corner now." I said to her.

She stood up slowly, inspecting the walls carefully for another pest, and sighed.

"Thank you." She said, a look of relief sweeping over her face.

Seriously, she was scared of a spider? This girl can stare down a hollow and kill it with no problems, but she was afraid of something so small? I felt a slight smile break on my face at the thought of Rukia trembling in the corner over something so silly.

"What are you smiling about?" she asked, snapping me back to reality.

"You," I admitted.

"What about me?"

"I find it hard to believe you were afraid of a bug." I said with a giggle.

"Are you making fun of me?" she said, her cheeks turning pink.

"Maybe," I said to her.

"It's not funny, Ichigo!" She yelled, gently pushing me backwards.

"Yes it is. Call me crazy, but I always thought you had more courage than that."

"Shut up!"

"Admit it! You were terrified! You should have seen your face! 'Kill it, Ichigo! Kill it!'" I teased. I knew it would make her angry, but this was just too amusing.

"You're a jerk, you know that?" she said, turning away from me.

"Hey, wait a minute." I said, reaching for her wrist to stop her. "Look, I'm sorry. I won't laugh anymore."

She looked at me, a hint of suspicion in her eyes. "I don't trust you…"

"You should. I'll make you a personal promise, how about that? I promise I'll stop laughing." I said to her, looking straight into her perfect violet eyes.

"Alright…fine. I believe you."

"Good," I said, letting go of her wrist. "And while I'm at it, let me make you another promise."

"Another one?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I promise you I'll save you from things that scare you. It doesn't matter if it's a deadly hollow or a harmless spider, you can count on me to be there to protect you."

Se stared at me for a moment before a small but sweet smile broke on her face.

"Okay, deal. But you have to make it a pinky promise." She said, holding her fragile finger out towards me.

I smiled and looped my pinky with hers. "Deal."