Hey guys, I'm back! I wrote this a while ago, but didn't bother to put it up. This goes with my other AU stories, not sure where in the timeline. I don't know much about dance in general, so most of the stuff here won't make sense. Thank Youtube and Wikipedia for the info :) Oh and happy halloween, even if this thing has nothing to do with it. Hope you get lots of candy ;)

By the way, this is set in America.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Unfortunately.

"…What did you just say?" yelled Ichigo and Rukia simultaneously.

"I just said, we've been selected to go to the Notorious IBE!" Urahara clapped his hands together in delight. "Juushiro just called to tell me the good news! You've passed the pre-selections in the house category!"

They looked at each other, stunned by this news. The Notorious IBE was an international breakdancing competition, unofficial because there weren't any judges, but still one of the most well-known.

"Wait, but how did Ukitake-san find out before you did?" Ichigo asked confusedly. "He's a ballroom teacher."

Urahara said matter-of-factly. "Let's just say that he's more well-known in the dance circle, so naturally, news moves faster to him."

"Well, let's get to practicing then, shall we?" the studio manager rubbed his hands together. "This is the first time that you've ever been to an international gathering, so work hard to impress! Ichigo, it's your job to coach Rukia."

Ichigo was dumbstruck. Me, teach that midget?

Rukia was equally surprised. Carrot-top, teach me?

Oh, crap, both thought simultaneously.

"All right, show me what you got," Ichigo said casually. He walked over to one of the chairs scattered around the dance studio and plonked himself in it.

Hmph, I'll do just that, Rukia thought contemptuously. How dare he think that he was better than her just because he was a pro and she was an amateur? She was just one step, one tiny step away from crossing into the professional world.

Kick step variation, Shuffle Variation. God she loved this sequence. Rukia smiled slightly. Toprock had always been her speciality. Hip twists, Slide steps, Battle Rock! She only just managed to stop herself from yelling out loud. She loved the Battle Rock sequence. Each time she did it, it felt like the first time all over again.

Step variation travel. Do you feel scared now, Ichigo? I'm not going to go easy on you, even if you're not battling against me right now. Rukia smirked at his expression. Frowning, always frowning, but slightly intimidated. Hip twist, Slide, Finish! This was only the beginning.

Helicopter, Side slide, Flag. Ichigo's eyes widened. She can do a flag? It was one of the most difficult freezes that there were, a one-hand handstand with both legs together leaning to one side.

Body Glide, One-hand airflare. Rukia decided not to do any more power moves. Too taxing. Ok, maybe one more, she thoughtwhen she saw Ichigo's awestruck face. Airtrack 1.5, Suicide. It gave her a lot of satisfaction to see him flinch.

Rukia got up slowly. She hadn't done a suicide move for quite a while, focusing more on her toprock skills. And it hurt more than it was supposed to! She winced. There were going to be a few bruises on her back when she got home.

"Nice moves. So, you're one of those toprock-obsessed types?" Ichigo commented after recovering from shock.

Rukia shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." She hadn't really thought about her style before, but she did know that she usually just relied on her toprock and footwork.

Ichigo glanced at the clock up on the wall. 4:30pm. "Damn. I'm late!" he cursed. "I'll see you again tomorrow, bye!" and ran out the door.

Late? For what? Rukia raised an eyebrow at his running figure. It was too early to leave. As in, waaaaay too early to leave. The studio was going to be open for another three hours!

Rukia was walking home back to her apartment when she saw a huge crowd of people gathered around something. Did someone just die?

She pushed her way through the crowd and was greeted by the sight of her so-called "coach" b-boying with a bunch of other people behind him. Opposite him was another group of teenagers, smirking at him. There was obviously a dance battle going on.

"Ichigo?"Rukia mumbled to herself. Then it clicked, "So that's what he was late for…"

They were already executing power moves, so Rukia guessed that they were near finished. Ichigo steadied himself for another power move, and she caught a glimpse of his face. Surprisingly, he wasn't scowling like he usual was, but was smiling.

Cute, Rukia thought absently. Wait what? I do not think about him like that. He is an annoying idiot, an irritating strawberry that's all. Ok, a friend, but nothing more. Then she was shocked back into normal thinking. That sequence was all too familiar to her. Airflare, 2000, 4 Flares, Wait, what? That's, that's –

Airflare 1.5! She had seen Ichigo do one, just one, before, and that was around a year ago when he first started learning it. It was one of the most difficult and dangerous of all the Airflare/Airtrack moves, and now he did it flawlessly.

Ichigo's dance crew cheered around him. Finally, they could have some peace. Their opponents had been constantly harassing them for the last few weeks, and now that they had proved that the territory was theirs, they wouldn't be back anytime soon.

"You're awesome, Ichi!" one of the crew members slapped him heartily on the back. "No wonder you're a pro!"

"Aw, thanks bro!" Ichigo replied, laughing.

"Ichigo Kurosaki!"

"Who the hell –" Slap! Ichigo never got to finish his sentence.

"So you ditched practice for this dance battle, and didn't even think to tell me?" Rukia yelled in his face. "We have a major competition coming up fast and we can't waste time!"

"Hey, Ichi, who is this?" The rest of the dance crew had gathered around because of the commotion. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"Ha! That's a good one!" Ichigo laughed. "No way that midget's my girlfriend."

SLAP

"Correction, no way that murderous, violent midget's my girlfriend."

SLAP

"Call me a midget again, and you can say goodbye to your laptop," Rukia snarled. "Don't forget, it's under my control at the moment."

"Fine, fine." Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Guys, this is Rukia Kuchiki, a... friend, I guess," he introduced her. "Toprock specialist."

Rukia just waved. "Yo."

"A b-girl? She doesn't look like one," said a girl with spiky black hair dubiously. "She looks too small to break." Rukia's eyelid twitched.

Ichigo laughed. "Oh, she doesn't look like a killing machine either, Tatsuki! You have no idea how fierce she can be."

"Shut up, carrot-top," Rukia said bluntly.

"Hmph. Mid-" Ichigo began, but caught Rukia's violet glare and thought better about it.

"Hey, you wanna join us?" offered Tatsuki. "We need more b-girls. Right now this is all male-dominated. And god knows we need some fancy footwork."

"Erm…" Rukia looked at Ichigo. She had only met them for a few minutes, and here they were asking her to join them.

"Don't worry, they're nice people," he said reassuringly.

Rukia immediately felt better. "Okay then," she promised.

"Well, show us!" a well-endowed, orange-haired woman said. "No wait, I have a better idea! Why don't you have a dance battle against Kurosaki-kun? Toprock-based."

"Sure!" Rukia grinned. She looked at Ichigo's dumbstruck face. Toprock was her speciality after all. And it was Ichigo's weakness.

"Oh my god, Kuchiki-san!" Orihime squealed. "You totally flattened Kurosaki-kun!"

"Welcome to the crew, Rukia," Tatsuki grinned. "You're damn good."

"Thanks. But I have to go now. See you!" Rukia ran off. Damn, nii-sama won't be happy if I'm late!

"Hey, Rukia!" What now, Ichigo?

"Did you enjoy it?" he asked.

"Hmm?" Rukia hadn't particularly thought about whether or not she liked it. "Yeah, I guess."

After another few seconds of thinking, a huge grin broke out on her face. Who am I kidding? "No, scratch that. It was AWESOME!"

"I never knew dancing with a crew could be so fun!" she babbled on, "It's like you're a bunch of siblings together, not always getting along but caring a lot about each other. And we all love breakdancing, so it's good."

She stopped when she saw Ichigo staring at her with an amused smile on his face. "What?" she asked confusedly. "Is there something on my face?"

"No, it's nothing," Ichigo looked away. "It's only that I've never seen you smile like that before." God she looked cute with that smile. No, shut up, Ichigo, you do not feel that way about her. Mental head slap. No, no, no. You do not like the Rukiator like that.

Rukia felt heat rising up her cheeks. "Sh-Shut up, Ichigo!" She whacked him with her bag.

"Ow! What was that for?" Ichigo complained.

"For saying something so soppy and completely un-Ichigo-like!" Rukia hit him again.

They continued to argue all the way down the street, smiling slightly all the time.

Most of the other crew members were already there, sitting on the sidewalk. They all waved back. "Ichigo not here yet?" asked Chad, who had just arrived.

They shook their heads. "I think Kurosaki-kun's still at the studio practicing," Orihime said. "Kuchiki-san is probably there too."

"Hey, everybody!" called Tatsuki, running up to them. "You won't believe this!"

She held out a piece of paper to the others, who crowded around her. "I got this off the internet. It's a list of all the people going to the Notorious IBE!"

"No way! Ichigo and Rukia are both going?" asked a girl with platinum blonde hair in a long ponytail in disbelief.

Tatsuki nodded. "It's not really that surprising that Ichigo is going, but Rukia? She can't floor rock for her life! But her toprock and airflares are really awesome," she added as an afterthought.

"Hey, does anybody think that there's something going on between them?" asked another girl with bubblegum pink hair.

"Always the romantic, aren't you, Sakura?" Orihime punched her playfully.

She pouted. "But really, isn't it just really strange that they're always bickering like a married couple, and yet manage to get along so well? And their battle yesterday seemed like it was one big dance, not like they were trying to beat the other up. Ichigo doesn't act the same way in front of her either! When she's around, he's more gentle and reserved, and doesn't beat up Keigo as usual."

All the other members mumbled in agreement. They had noticed the change in Ichigo, but never really bothered about it until now.

Byakuya Kuchiki looked up from his stack of papers. "You're late, Rukia."

"Sorry, nii-sama. I was held up at the studio," Rukia bowed her head politely at her brother.

"Very well, dinner will be ready in a few minutes." The Kuchiki head and White Light Dance Studio's business partner returned to his work.

Rukia flopped onto her bed with a huge smile on her face. Who would have known that street dancing was so fun? She had only ever breakdanced in the studio, never out in the open. The crowds that gathered, the tension between the two battlers and the loud cheers were so different from the environment inside a dance room. She was hooked.

Her phone's monitor started flashing and vibrating. "Hello?"

A very familiar voice emanated from the speakers. "Hey, Rukia."

"Oh, it's you, Ichigo."

"Hey, don't sound so disappointed, it's mean," Ichigo teased. "Are you coming again tomorrow?"

"Coming? Where?"

He laughed. "Street dancing, of course!"

"Erm… okay," she said.

"Alright then, we're having another dance battle tomorrow. Two-on-two mixed. Me, Tatsuki and Chad are competing. But I'm missing a partner."

Rukia rolled her eyes. "Oh, get to the point already. I'll be your partner, okay?"

"Yes! Thanks, shortie!"

Her tone turned icy. "Say goodbye to your laptop, Ichigo."

"Nooooo!" and she snapped her phone shut. As usual, she was only kidding. It was some sort of hidden satisfaction to tease Ichigo like that, at her complete mercy.

"Welcome to the 'Kings and Queens of the Concrete' dance battle!" Keigo yelled at the crowd. He recognized quite a few faces in the sea of people that had gathered around. Regular audience, most probably. "You'd better prepare yourself for some amazing performance, because we have a new toprock genius!"

"You're going down, Ichi!" Tatsuki told Ichigo.

He just laughed it off. "You won't be keeping your position as Queen of the Concrete for very long, Tatsuki!"

Chad said nothing. Rukia just rolled her eyes.

"This is a two-on-two battle, each person goes alone once, then in a pair once. Are we clear?" All four of them nodded. "Then, music START!"

Rukia went first. Hip twists, Slide steps, Kick step variation, Shuffle Variation, Step Variation travel. She danced until she was right in front of Tatsuki and Chad, and suddenly eyed them with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She was going to play her toprock trump card. Battle rock sequence.

The crowd went wild. Tatsuki and Chad were stunned. They hadn't seen Rukia's battle rock sequence yet. It was amazingly fast and detailed, and was full of playful challenging intent. She was daring them to be better than her, but she knew that they wouldn't be able to beat it.

Helicopter, one-handed reverse Airbaby. She could have gone further, but her time was up and it was Tatsuki's turn.

All through Rukia's performance, Ichigo had been fascinated. She really became a different person when she was dancing on the street than in a studio. She seemed more fun, more carefree.

Tatsuki's routine was bland and boring in comparison to Rukia's. The crowd still cheered, but with less enthusiasm. Chad's routine was more or less identical to Tatsuki's, and the cheering subsided even more. The time passed exceedingly quickly, and before he knew it, it was Ichigo's turn.

He followed Rukia's sequence, only faster and with some different variations. He also did the battle rock sequence twice, and his ending was a Thread flare. This prompted huge screams and yells from the crowd. Ichigo smiled even wider. He loved to show off.

Chad wasn't too pleased with their pair performance either. He messed up on one of his flares and landed flat on his back. Tatsuki was pretty disappointed with her own performance, having nearly fallen on one of her freezes, but she couldn't help smiling at Ichigo and Rukia's pair show.

They really were the perfect couple. They even did power combos at the same time! One-arm forearm airflare, Handcuffs, UFO, Spinning Flag, Airtrack 1.5, Suicide! Everybody winced at the seemingly painful ending, even the other crew members. Then the crowd went crazy with wolf-whistles, cheers and catcalls when they got up.

"Aaaaand, here we have it, the new King and Queen of the Concrete!" Keigo yelled over the noise. "Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki!"

Ichigo picked Rukia up and spun her. She squealed at the suddenness of it all and automatically started punching him.

"Let go of me, Ichigo!" she yelled. He put her back down on the ground, grinning widely in mischief. She looks really cute when she's flustered. I really should do this more often.

"What the hell was that for?" she demanded.

He shrugged. "Nothing. I just felt like it." He looked at his watch. "We'd better get going. You're brother's not going to be happy if you're late again."

"Damnit. See you tomorrow Ichi!" she called as she ran down the street.

Ichigo stared at her retreating silhouette, dumbstruck.

…Did she just call me Ichi?

Over the next few weeks, Rukia and Ichigo would dance with the crew after practicing at the studio. Rukia participated in numerous dance battles, one-on-one, two-on-two, and even crew versus crew for "territory". Their crew was now the dominant one in the area, possessing the best at all aspects of breakdancing.

Gradually, their skills became more polished and refined, and so did their relationship. They had progressed from just being "dance partners", to "friends", and now from "friends" to "best friends". They didn't argue as much anymore, instead, it was more of the teasing type.

Byakuya had noticed the change in his sister-in-law. She came home later than usual, and seemed more unfocused. He had seen her with an orange-haired teenager standing outside their door, and he wasn't sure he liked it.

The rest of the dance crew had also picked up on some "strange behaviour" between the two. They weren't especially against it, but they weren't really supporting it either. Tatsuki believed that it would be best if they didn't interfere with anything and left it alone, and the rest of the crew followed her example.

Byakuya Kuchiki pressed his forehead against the cool glass of his window. He had been working on the family business matters for the White Light Dance Studio since he got backhome from work, and he was exhausted. Trust Ukitake to be difficult with numbers.

A knock on the door signified the arrival of his sister-in-law. Rukia pushed it open a little. "Nii-sama? I brought your coffee."

Byakuya waved his permission. Rukia walked carefully into the study. She knew that her brother didn't like people messing with his stuff. Her eyes searched for a spare place to put the coffee on the paper-filled desk, and in the end placed the steaming mug on the small side table.

She just stood there in front of him, and he looked up. "Is there something you wanted to speak to me about?"

"Erm… yes, actually," she started awkwardly. How was she meant to ask such a sensitive question? "When you were with nee-san, how did you feel?"

Byakuya's pen stopped abruptly in its tracks. Hisana… Just the memory of his late wife was too painful to think about. "Why do you want to know?"

"Well, erm, I wanted to know how it feels when you love somebody." Rukia fidgeted uncomfortably.

He was silent for a few moments. Then he asked a very unexpected question. "Does this have anything to do with that orange-haired boy that I often see you with?"

Rukia froze. Damn. How did he know? She decided that her best course of action was to be honest. "Yes, nii-sama."

"Then I am afraid I cannot help you."

She felt a little hurt. He was choosing not to help her. Obviously he disapproved of Ichigo. But his following statement disproved all of her suspicions.

"There is no way to define or describe love."

He looked at her over his coffee. "You will only know love when you feel it. So I am afraid I cannot be of any help, Rukia. I apologize for that."

Rukia bowed politely. "It's alright, nii-sama. Thank you." She left the room in silence.

As she walked down the corridor back to her room, she thought about her brother's answer. I will only know love when I feel it, eh? But how can I feel it if I don't know what it is?

Oh whatever. I'll find out soon.

"Dad?"

"Yes, my son?" asked Isshin Kurosaki, looking at his six-year-old child.

"What is love?"

"Love, eh?" Isshin stroked his chin. "That's a hard question."

Ichigo Kurosaki just stared at him, waiting for an answer.

"Let's just say that it's a feeling between people like me and your mother, okay?"

Ichigo was obviously satisfied by this answer. "Okay then, Dad," he replied, and walked off.

"You're getting better!"

Rukia beamed. She really was improving with her floor rock under Ichigo's instruction. If her performances before were good, now they were outstanding.

"You're not bad either!" she said back.

Ichigo grinned widely. It was true, he guessed. His toprock was improving, especially his slide steps. Before, they were so jerky you would have thought he was dancing robot-style, but now there was a new fluidity in them, flowing from one foot to the next.

"Do you think we're ready for the Notorious IBE?" he asked.

"Yeah! Our opponents don't stand a chance!" she said excitedly. "My footwork with your moves, it'll be perfect!"

"Well, I'm just thankful."

"For what?" she asked curiously.

"That Urahara put you as my partner and not anybody else," he smiled. "I wouldn't know what I would have done without your help."

"Aw, shut up, Ichigo," she slapped him playfully. "I wouldn't have been able to finish those floor moves either without you, so thanks as well." And she kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Oh damn, what did I just do? Teenage hormone alert! Rukia mentally screamed. Ok, calm down. She liked him, a lot, but just doing that completely out of the blue was so unbelievably stupid! God knows what he thought of her now.

What the hell? Ichigo thought over and over again. She just kissed me!

He was a mess inside. He was happy, no, overjoyed that that just happened, but it was so sudden he didn't know what to think! There was no denying that he liked her now, but he didn't know if she liked him.

"Sorry," she squeaked, and was about to flee from the studio when a hand gripped her wrist, stopping her. "What, Ichigo?"

"Do you like me?"

It was such a simple question, and yet so difficult to answer. Rukia struggled inwardly, to confess or to lie? To be honest, or to deceive? To tell him, or to save her pride in case he rejected her? In the end, her emotions got the better of her thinking, and she said, "Yes, yes I do! But so what? It's not like you like me back or anything. You'd never like -"

"Is it really so hard to believe that I like you back?" His voice was drenched in hurt and frustration. "I love you, Rukia. After all this time together, I've come to that conclusion." He smiled slightly. "I'm too far gone with you."

They were standing so close together, Ichigo still gripping Rukia's wrist tightly, as if afraid she would disappear the second he let go. He leaned down slowly, and she shivered at the contact of his breath on her neck. Instinctively, she shied away slightly, but controlled herself from wrenching her hand out of his. She had been waiting so long for this moment, and she wasn't going to chicken out now.

His lips touched hers, just brushing them softly. That small contact sent sizzles of electricity down their spines, and Rukia's free hand automatically reached for his other one. That small, innocent brush transformed into a fiery passionate duel for dominance and control, both of them attacking each other fiercely. A dragon seemed to awaken in the two, roaring it's constrained emotions to the heavens.

They didn't let go until a long time afterwards, beaming at each other.

So this is what love feels like.

"Are you ready to rock the competition?" he asked after a long, but comfortable, silence.

"If I'm with you," Rukia answered.

"Of course I'll be with you. Every step of the way."

He wrapped her in a tight embrace, her head leaning against his chest, listening to the beating of his heart.

"Whoo! We're baaaaack from Holland!"

"Ichigo! Rukia! Long time no see!" A purple-haired woman hugged them both tightly. "How was the Notorious IBE?"

Ichigo squirmed out of Yoruichi's grasp. "It was great! I came third in the Longest Power Move Battle, and we OWNED everybody else in the pairs! Right, Ruki?"

Rukia prised open Yoruichi's arms, nodding, "Yep, we RULED! And don't call me Ruki!"

"Hey why? You call me Ichi."

"That's 'cause everybody else calls you Ichi."

"But, but, I'm your boyfriend!"

Urahara squealed like a schoolgirl, waving his paper fan in their faces. "Oh my god! You're dating? I'm so proud of you both!" They sidestepped neatly out of the way of another suffocating embrace. Just like Isshin, they both thought.

"Um… Ichi?"

"Hmm?"

"I, I'm moving."

"Where?"

"Tokyo."

"WHAT?"

"Sorry, Ichi, I don't have any say in this. Nii-sama wants me to go back."

"But why?"

"I'm not sure, but it'll be ok. I'm going to study under Tousen Kaname."

"Tousen Kaname? The breakdancing legend who won the Juste Debout three times in a row?"

"Yeah, that's him. He's working at White Light now, you know?"

"Really? So you'll see Hisagi and Toushiro and all the others? Well, ok then."

"Huh? You're not complaining?"

"I don't especially like it, but it's not like I can do anything to stop it right? Besides, it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing to train under Tousen. You'd better give it everything, Ruki, or else."

"You're going to visit me, right? I mean, Karin and Yuzu are studying there too, so you'll come in the holidays?"

"Definitely. I wouldn't miss it. Because I'd be missing you too much."

"Shut up, baka."

And that's it! :) Thanks for reading. Reviews and constructive criticism appreciated :)