Hey y'all, been a while! I'm really sorry! I meant to update sooner but my internet's been crashed for quite a while now. I'm now uploading this from my cousin's comp...even though I'm supposed to be babysitting :D

As you might have noticed, this is chapter one. I'm gonna redo Drifting again! But this time I'm gonna just keep it to IchiRuki. Hitsugaya and Karin will make appearances but they won't have any history or much of a relationship. I'm gettin a bit fed up of that pairing, dunno why. So, if y'all read any of my HitsuKarin fics, they're all proobably gonna get discontinued...aside from Irresistible, because the idea of Hitsugaya as a vampire is just too good to give up :D Anyway, enjoy!

Kurosaki Ichigo cheered as the black car whizzed by. "All right!" It had been a while since he'd last been on this scene.

He'd only just stumbled through the crowd of spectators to see the faces of the two drivers. The one in the black car (who he apparently supported) was a petite girl with long brown hair who was perhaps no older than he was. The competitor in the blue car was an aggressive-looking man also about Ichigo's age, with blue hair. He didn't know either of them, though he had heard of them girl in passing. Currently, she was at the top of Karakura's drift scene. Her name was Kimura Riko. They called her the Drift Queen.

She held her own against the blue car for a good long while, until shouts began to ripple through the crowd. "Police! Police!" The two competitors should have been able to see the flashing blue and red lights that were headed towards the scene. The race had been set on a hill so it provided a good view of the surrounding roads. A few minutes and the police would be here already. The blue car did a u-turn and raced back and as it did so, it smashed into the back of the black car. The black car skidded and crashed against the railings at the side of the road.

"Shit!" Ichigo cried out, trying to stay in his place as the crowd jostled to escape around him. He had to help that girl out! She wouldn't make it far with the police coming! He turned around and began to run, fishing in his pocket for his car keys as he went.

It was thankful that he'd parked close by. Approximately one and a half minutes passed and he came back to the scene of the accident. The black car was on fire. "What the hell…?" He muttered as he pulled up beside it. The girl was nowhere in sight. The entire road was deserted. The police were just a few blocks away.

He drove his car into a side street and saw the girl walking away lethargically. A small shoulder bag was sitting on her back. She was dressed in a modest plain, knee-length black dress, which was odd because most of the females who involved themselves in the drifting world were usually scantily dressed. Not that he cared. He stopped beside her. "Can I give you a ride?" He asked as he rolled the window down.

She turned to face him and he saw that she was bleeding down the side on the head. "What?"

"Come on! I'm a doctor. I'll help you out. The police are coming!" He pushed the passenger door open and, after a few contemplative seconds, she climbed in. "Thanks."

He didn't ask any questions at first. He just drove as fast as he could. "So, you're the alleged Drift Queen, huh?" He asked conversationally after they had distanced themselves sufficiently from the crime scene.

"Hmm…" she muttered blankly, clutching the side of her head.

"Does your head hurt?" He spared her a glance out of the corner of his eye. He saw something strange so his gaze lingered a little longer than necessary. The brown hair was slipping off. There was black hair underneath.

"Just watch the road, doctor." She said irritably.

Gee, what's with that attitude? I'm helpin ya out here. He thought sourly. "Are you wearing a wig?" He asked instead.

She fixed it immediately. "What's it to ya?"

"Nothin. Just wondering why someone would wear a wig."

"Just drive, please."

When he spared her another quick glance, her eyes were drooping and her head kept knocking gently against the window. It was a good thing she'd strapped herself in, otherwise she'd have fallen. The shoulder of her dress was getting stained by the blood running down her head. It was worse that he'd thought.

When Rukia opened her eyes, she was in a hospital bed. Hers was one in a row of five in the room. Where am I? She thought as she sat up. She put a hand to her head and felt bandages. Oh yeah…the race…anger welled up in her. Bastard Grimmjow! Busting my car up like that! She couldn't believe it! Because of that asshole, she now owed Urahara the money for one more car! This was unbelievable! If she ever saw that bastard again, she would make him wish he had never been born!

"Tch…" she spotted the shoulder bag that she'd brought to the race with her. It was lying on a chair by the side of the bed, along with her brown wig. Oh…no, she thought with dread. Somebody had seen her without her wig! They would know who she was! This was terrible!

She snatched the bag back and stuck the wig on over her bandages (wincing in pain as she did so). She pulled a mobile phone out of the bag and frantically dialled a number, trying hard to remain calm. It would be all right. There was nothing to worry about. This was all right. Come on, Rukia, get a hold of yourself. She took in deep breaths as she put the phone to her ear. Good, Rukia, be calm. That's it. She instructed herself as she continued the breathing exercises. Yes, calm is good…

Someone answered her call. "Hello?"

"OMG, RANGIKU! YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT! I WAS AT THE RACE AND POLICE CAME AND THAT ASSHOLE GRIMMJOW CRASHED INTO ME AND THEN I HAD TO LEAVE THE CAR BEHIND AND THEN SOME ORANGE-HAIRED GUY CAME TO PICK ME UP AND SAID HE WAS A DOCTOR AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE HELL I AM!" So much for keeping calm. It felt like that entire sentence came out in one breath.

"Okay, okay, hold on," the voice was a little slurred but calmed her nerves anyway. "The police came and someone crashed your car?"

"YES!"

"I said calm down, Rukia-chan!" The voice of Matsumoto Rangiku reprimanded. "And then you got rescued by someone who claimed to be a doctor?"

"Yeah."

"You're not hurt, are you?"

"I hit my head against the window but that guy patched me up."

Matsumoto's sigh of relief was heard. "All right, lemme get my laptop." There was some shuffling on the other end. Matsumoto would now get her laptop and find out, somehow or other, where Rukia was. She had a knack for these kinds of things, though she didn't appear too bright often because she acted like a bit of a ditz. "Right, gimme some details. What did this guy look like? What car did he have?"

"Bizarre, spiky orange hair, quite tall and he owned a silver Nissan Skyline." Obviously, one of the first things Rukia noticed about people was what kind of cars they owned. The obsession with cars went back a long way.

Her head was getting a little clearer. Matsumoto always managed to calm her down some. She was thankful for that. After all, if she was in a state of panic, how could she possibly act natural if she saw someone? "Orange hair, tall...Nissan Skyline owner...doctor" Rukia could hear the tapping of keys as Matsumoto typed away on the other side. "You get anyone?" She asked.

"Hang on...ah...there's a few results!" Matsumoto said brightly. "There's quite a lot of guys with bleached hair in this town but they're of varying heights and none of them own Nissan Skylines. And there's only one with the title of doctor. Ooh, he's quite cute." Rukia rolled her eyes. "His name is Kurosaki Ichigo. He's twenty-three years of age and he runs the Kurosaki Clinic with his father, who is also a doctor. He and his father live by their clinic with his two unmarried sisters, fraternal twins called Karin and Yuzu, aged nineteen. His mother is deceased. Kurosaki Masaki died when he was about nine. Says here that the guy's rather antisocial and his hair is naturally orange, heh. His likes include cars, Shakespeare and..."

"Okay, okay, so you know the address, right?" Rukia asked impatiently. Sometimes, if no one stopped her, Matsumoto could go on for ages and ages…and Rukia was in a bit of a rush at the moment. As interesting as the guy's background was, she'd rather she was somewhere a little more familiar.

"Yes. I should be there in about fifteen minutes. Be ready." Matsumoto hung up.

Rukia sighed in relief and threw her phone down onto the covers. She just sat under the covers for a while, pondering her situation. She'd lost another car and, worse, someone knew who she was. This was disastrous! But maybe he wasn't a bad guy? He'd helped her out, after all. But that was before he discovered that she was the Kuchiki heiress! This was a disaster! Her brother would definitely get word of this and then it would be the end of her! She'd never see daylight again! Byakuya Nii-sama would be so disappointed in her! He would look down on her like she was some kind of vermin that didn't deserve the Kuchiki name…and she had to agree that she really didn't. The Kuchiki clan was made up of people who were noble and dignified. Her illicit activities would put a huge blemish on their vast pride! Byakuya would hate her forever!

I should go…she thought dejectedly after a few minutes. It wouldn't be long before Matsumoto showed up. She pulled the covers back and got out of the bed and walked to the door, slipping her bag on as she went.

There was just one light on in the hallway. It was so dull. She didn't dare switch on more, in case someone was around. Weren't there any other patients in the building? She didn't want to wake them. She kept a close lookout as she moved. She soon arrived at the reception desk. Next to it was a pair of glass doors leading out. She tried the handle but it was locked. She sighed and looked around.

There was a smaller, wooden door to the side. She tried that. It led to a hallway. So, the clinic was connected to their room. There were a few doors. Through one of them, she could see the darkened kitchen. She tried the closed door. It opened to reveal the living room.

What was she doing, looking around somebody's house? She had to get out of here! Matsumoto would be here soon! She went to the front door and tried it. Obviously, it was locked. But where was the key? She had to get out of here but the idea of snooping around somebody's living room was not a pleasing one. She didn't want to act like a thief. Where on earth was the guy who'd rescued her, this doctor person?

With trepidation, she stepped into the living room and closed the door behind her. She'd need to turn on the light so it would be better not to risk being seen by someone upstairs. Matsumoto had said that the doctor lived here with his father and two sisters. She didn't want to get caught by someone going to the loo or something.

She gently switched on the light and was about to start searching for the keys to the front door when she heard the stairs creaking. She froze. Was it the guy who'd rescued her? But it might be one of the other three members of his family too! What if the person got spooked enough to hit her or something? She already had a wounded head! It was bad. She switched the light off and waited.

The footsteps headed to the kitchen and Rukia heard a light switch being flicked. A couple of seconds later, there was the faint sound of running water. The light switch was flicked again and the footsteps passed the living room, going towards the stairs. The Kurosakis' house was really old; the floorboards creaked a lot.

Rukia was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the footsteps backtracked to the living room door. The sigh froze in her throat. The door slowly opened and a hand came through the opening and turned on the light. Rukia blinked. The unknown person stepped into the room, eyes half closed. It was a girl (or woman), with long-ish black hair that fell to her shoulders. She was dressed in a large, black t-shirt and pyjama shorts.

She didn't see Rukia immediately. Her eyes were half-closed but when she turned to close the door behind her, Rukia was the first thing she noticed. Her eyes widened and she nearly screamed out, startled. Rukia nearly screamed too but they both clamped their hands over their mouths.

"Y-you're the girl Ichi-Nii brought home earlier." The girl said.

"You don't have to say it like that." Rukia snorted as she got herself under control.

"What're you doing in here?" The girl asked suspiciously.

"Lookin for the keys." Rukia replied. "My friend's coming to pick me up and I need to get out."

"Oh…right." The stranger yawned widely without covering her mouth. "I'm Karin, by the way. What's your name?"

"I'm Riko." She was glad she still had her wig on. Almost subconsciously, she lifted her hand up to make sure it was still in place. The girl noticed the gesture.

"I'm sure you had black hair when you came. Why're you wearing a wig?"

"Wh-what makes you think it's a wig?" Rukia asked nervously.

"Cuz I can see the bandages beneath it." Karin smirked. "That's a poor attempt at hiding your true appearance."

"I-I'm not hiding…" The Drift Queen stuttered.

The Kurosaki girl scoffed. "Yeah, right. I know where my brother goes when he's out so late. He's into the whole drift thing and I'm fairly sure I know who you are."

"Oh yeah?" Rukia tried to keep her tone confident, though she was a little stressed. Now someone else knew who she was! This was not good!

"Yeah, I never heard that Kuchiki Rukia's the Drift Queen, ya know, so after I saw bring you in, I suspected you had an alias or something. I hear your bro's real tight."

This girl was certainly smart, or smart enough to get Rukia into a bit of bother. Rukia sighed. "Will you tell anyone?"

Karin shrugged. "There's nothin in it for me."

"I…see…" Rukia didn't trust that. There weren't many people out there who would just throw away a chance at ridiculing someone who was famous.

"You don't believe me." Karin raised a dark eyebrow expectantly. Rukia didn't say anything so she turned around and stomped over to the sofa. "Do what you want. I'm just here to watch a bit of TV." She plopped down and took the remote and switched on the TV.

Rukia stood regarding her for a few seconds before she sighed. "Please don't tell anyone."

"I told you; if it don't benefit me, I ain't doin squat." Karin flicked through the channels.

"Okay…so, where're the keys?"

She pointed to the mantelpiece above the fireplace. On it were a set of two keys. Rukia walked to them and picked one up. Both little bunches had a different car key attached to them. So, this family had two drivers. One was the man she'd met and maybe the other one was their father. Who knew? Who cared? She had to leave.

"Well, bye." Rukia said awkwardly as she opened the living room door. "Nice meeting you, Karin."

Karin grunted something unintelligible and put her hand up in a lazy wave, her drooping eyes fixed firmly on the TV screen. Rukia smiled as she walked out.

Matsumoto was already waiting in her car. "Geez, what took you so long? I've been waiting for at least two minutes!"

"Well sorry." Rukia snorted. "I got held up having a conversation with one of the twins that you mentioned."

"Aw, how nice. Did you see the guy again? I saw a picture and he looks a bit like Kaien…"

"Matsumoto, please." Rukia sighed. "I'm tired." She took off the wig.

Matsumoto had been about to move off but she glanced over at her friend and saw the bandages. "Hey, I thought it was nothing serious!"

"It isn't! It just looks a little worse that it really is. It just stings a little. It'll be fine."

"But…"

"Just drive, Rangiku."

Matsumoto sighed. "Fine."

"Did my brother call, by the way?" Byakuya had a tendency to check up on her sometimes. Either he worried about her incessantly or he didn't trust her. She would bet that it was the latter. She was thankful that she had a friend like Matsumoto. If she'd had to remain the night at the Kurosaki Clinic, she'd have had to find her way home from here…in a taxi! That was unforgiveable! She hadn't used a taxi since…never. And if she'd turned up at her brother's (and her) home without her own car, then Byakuya would have questioned. She really didn't like to lie to her brother but he would not be pleased with her activities.

"Yes, but I told him you were going to stay the night."

"Phew, thanks, Rangiku."

"What would you do without me, eh?" The blond woman smiled.

"I really don't know."

I hope there weren't any big mistakes! I didn't proofread, as usual :( I'm really too lazy. Anyway, next update, I'm sorry to say, will be next Wednesday, when I have to babysit again :D later, folks!