Much More than Black and White

Chapter One: On Patrol

It had been a three years and three months since the Aizen incident was resolved. Since then, both Ichigo and Rukia had been assigned to Karukara as resident shinigami. Things had been far quieter these past few years, but hollow activity was far from nonexistent.

Ichigo was lying on a roof, Zangetsu in his outstretched hand. Rukia was sitting contemplatively on the apex, Sode No Shirayuki still sleeping within her scabbard. The sun was beating down on them as they rested on the rooftop, Rukia awaiting orders, Ichigo merely enjoying the day although he would much rather have been hanging out with Chad and the others rather than whiling away his precious Saturday on yet another eventless patrol nevertheless, duty called. Duty, these past three years had taught him just how tedious it could be, but in those three years he had come to realize the importance of even the tedious times, if they abandoned their duty out of boredom, many lives would be taken by the hollows. Ichigo remembered his words in the park after he had slain his first hollow, how could he have been so foolhardy back then? He grasped Zangetsu's hilt more tightly. He had become much stronger since then and maybe, he thought, a little wiser.

Tilting his head back, he looked up at Rukia; she was staring at her knees, her sapphire blue eyes half closed and her expression blank. Ichigo knew something was troubling her, but he did not know what and when he tried to confront her about it, she would always change the subject or ignore him completely.

She caught his gaze and for a few moments their eyes met. She half expected Ichigo to turn away, at least that was what she wanted to happen, then her response would be easy; she would insinuate that was having lewd thoughts which Ichigo, of course, would deny ardently and complain that she never trusts him and thus the tension would be broken. Ichigo, however, did not look away. As she looked at him she could see that his expression was kind and full of concern. When had Ichigo became this sensitive to her emotions? She had no answer to her own question and that pained her, she thought she knew Ichigo too well to be surprised by something like that; just how much did he know about what was troubling her and if he did indeed know, where was he getting his information from; the only people who knew were Urahara and Tessai, who had overheard their conversation. She wished for something, anything to come along and break this awkward tension, she was not ready to talk to him about it, not yet anyway, she had to wait until she was sure herself.

Suddenly, an order arrived; four hollows in the vicinity of the park at two, plus/minus fifteen minutes. She heaved a sigh of relief then stood up. "Ichigo, let's go." She said calmly. Ichigo stood up and stretched.

"Aww, just when I was getting comfortable." He said sarcastically as they set off for the park. "How many is it this time Rukia?" he asked as he came level with her. She told him that there were four low class hollows awaiting them. "I doubt I'll even get the rust off my blade fighting them." Huffed Ichigo, feigning disappointment when in reality he was relieved that they ran no risk of injury in this battle, he had seen enough of his friends' blood to last him a lifetime, ten lifetimes in fact.

"You sounded just like Zeraki Taichou there Ichigo" smiled Rukia as they arrived at the gates of the park; "Maybe you two really are alike…" Ichigo gave her a dirty look, one that shouted his disgust at being compared with one who did not even know his zanpakuto's name, one that was little more than a raging beast living for the fight. Rukia smiled, her jab had had the desired effect; now he would surely have put that awkward moment on the roof out of his mind. She however could not; her heart would not allow her. Sitting on a nearby bench, she consulted the order once more, the clock at the top of the display now flashed 13:50; they would arrive any time now. Ichigo had strolled into the centre of the park and climbed atop the swing set and sat on the crossbar, two children were swinging happily below him. Just then, Rukia felt the presence of one hollow, then another closely followed by a third; where was the fourth? "Ah well," she thought as she drew Sode No Shirayuki; "they must have made a mistake. Just then the space above Ichigo's head began to distort and an insect like hollow began to emerge behind him.

Before she could even raise her hand to warn him, she looked on with unbelieving eyes as he, without even looking behind him, swung Zangetsu behind him, slicing the hollow's mask clean in two, causing it to dissolve before it had completely emerged. Had he somehow known that it would appear there when he leapt up there ten minutes ago? If so, how could he? Even she, a seasoned shinigami whose strength and abilities were close to that of a captain, could not sense a hollow before it emerged and even then could only pinpoint its location once it was completely in the real world.

As she looked on, Ichigo dispatched the other two, one pig like hollow by the roundabout and another burrowing hollow under the slide. As she watched him swing Zangetsu nonchalantly over one shoulder, she began to wonder why she was even there; Ichigo was clearly more than strong enough to protect this area, all she ever did was inform him where the hollows would appear. It had been three weeks since she had slain a hollow. Suddenly she felt a burning pain in her upper arm.

"Ssss what's thissss?" hissed the snakelike hollow that had now latched onto her arm, its voice sent chills up her spine; "A sssshinigami caught off her guard? It mussst be my lucky day."

"Dead wrong, today is most unlucky for you, snake." It was Ichigo who spoke. As she looked over her shoulder, she saw the shimmering black blade of Tensa Zangetsu plunged through the hollow's head. It gasped and howled in pain, writhing on the ground as it began to dissolve. She then looked at her arm, she could see clearly where the fangs had penetrated and looked at her wounds in disbelief as her blood gushed out. She then looked over to Ichigo; he had truly used his bankai shihakushou fluttered in the afternoon breeze as he stood over her. Looking up at his face, she saw no anger only concern, concern for her and was that a tear she saw running down his cheek? Her vision was fading fast. She felt Ichigo's arms under her shoulders as he caught her.

He slipped Tensa Zangetsu into his belt and then grasped Sode No Shirayuki from Rukia's trembling hand. Surprisingly, she offered no resistance and Ichigo slipped it too into his belt. Then in a single motion, he picked Rukia's trembling frame up and cradled her in his arms. "Please be home." He thought pleadingly as he shunpoed his way to Orihime's house after three minutes and sixty one successive shunpos he had arrived at Orihime's front door. He knocked but there was no answer. Moments seemed to crawl by, each second felt like an hour; he knew that Rukia was fading fast; he knew that the hollow must have poisoned her and he knew that only Orihime was the only one who could heal her. Why was it taking her so goddamn long to answer her door? As he looked into Rukia's eyes, he could see that darkness was beginning to take them. There was no time. Kicking the door, he sent it flying off its hinges. Laying Rukia down on the sofa, he looked about the room; "Orihime!" he shouted as he began to search the rooms, opening one door after another. As he opened the third door, he found her.

"Kya!" shouted Orihime, her face crimson; "Ku-Ku-Ku-Kurosaki-kun? What are you doing here?" she was standing before him completely nude, having just stepped out of the shower upon hearing his voice. Her hand was fumbling for a towel on the rack behind her, her eyes unable to break themselves free from Ichigo's gaze just as Ichigo's eyes were unable to brake free of her figure.

Ichigo's face was reddening fast, but he knew that this was no time for embarrassment; Rukia's life was in his hands yet he was unable to speak. Embarrassment may have sealed his lips, but he still had control over his limbs. He grabbed Orihime's hand which she had been using to shield her breasts from view. He felt her soft damp skin against the back of his hand, he ignored it. He dragged her into her living room and pointed to Rukia lying motionless on the sofa.

Orihime immediately knelt by Rukia's side and, placing her hands on her hairclips said; "Soten Kishun! I Reject!" Immediately, two beams of light leapt from her hairclips and landed at either end of Rukia's motionless body and soon that familiar orange shield was in place. As she turned to Ichigo, Orihime noticed that he had disappeared. "He must have left so I can concentrate," she thought; "either that, or because he was too embarrassed to stay." She turned back to Rukia. Moments later, she felt something soft being draped over her shoulders. Turning, she noticed Ichigo standing behind her with his back to her, his arm outstretched holding another towel. "Alright," she said; "You can turn around now." She had wrapped one towel about her and wrapped her hair in the other.

"I'm… I'm sorry." Began Ichigo solemnly; "I didn't mean to storm in on you like that, but I had to, Rukia was fading fast." Orihime only smiled and nodded, then turned back to Rukia. Ichigo sat down on the arm of the sofa by Rukia's feet, looking on impatiently. Had he made it in time? He shook his head, driving such thoughts of despair away for there was nothing that Orihime could not heal. He then looked at Orihime, her brow was furrowed and her eyes focused, she was concentrating hard. Inevitably, his gaze began to wander. How innocent she looked, sitting there in nothing but a towel, how easy it would be to take advantage of the situation. Part of him was urging him to do just that, he knew that strong though she was, she could not match his strength; yes, it would be easy. He stood up and rubbed his eyes then went to sit a chair at the other end of the room in an attempt to distance himself from such thoughts and temptations.

After about half an hour, Orihime straightened up and walked toward her bedroom. Although the shield was still in place, Ichigo felt somewhat relieved and moved back to the sofa, this time kneeling beside Rukia's head. The colour was returning to her complexion. Soon, he had been joined by Orihime, now dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, her hair still wrapped in the towel Ichigo had handed her. "How is she?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.

"She will wake up soon, you brought her to me just in time; the poison had already taken a strong hold on her." Comforted Orihime, smiling back at Ichigo.

"Orihime," Ichigo began, his face reddening once more, "can you keep what happened earlier a secret from Rukia, I just know she'll blow it out of proportion." Orihime nodded, saying that it would be best if nobody found out about it or rumours would start to spread about both of them.

Rukia groaned as she regained consciousness. "Wh-where am I?" she stammered, her eyes struggling to focus. Ichigo told her that they were in Orihime's house, taking hold of her hand as she reached out for him. "Ichigo I… I'm sorry." She said in little more than a whisper. Ichigo did not reply, he had no idea what to say; should he criticize her for being caught off guard or should he comfort her, telling her that everyone makes mistakes from time to time? Both responses sounded bad to him, he knew that she needed to hear neither.

Eventually, he found his reply; "It's Orihime you should be apologizing to." He said gruffly; "After all, she's been working tirelessly to heal you for over an hour now." He could not bring himself to look Rukia in the eye, rather looking at her arm which had recently been covered in blood.

"Ichigo's right," said Rukia as she turned to Orihime; "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble."

Orihime jumped to her feet and began waving her hands apologetically before her; "No, it's no trouble at all." she replied. She was a terrible liar; Rukia could see the tiredness in her eyes. She had obviously given it her all to heal her. Rukia sat up slowly rubbing her head, she felt dazed and confused. Evidently, their patrol was over for today, she knew Ichigo would not continue with her in her current state.

"Ichigo," she said softly; "I think we should call it a day." He nodded and offered his arm. Taking hold of it, Rukia struggled to her feet and they made for the door, well, where the door used to be anyway; it now lay against the far wall split in two. Ichigo waved his free hand as they passed through the doorway; "Thanks Orihime, I'll pay for the door." He called as they turned down the steps. "Here." Said Ichigo, he was holding Sode No Shirayuki; "I held onto her when you passed out, I knew you would not want me to leave her behind." He was looking away as he spoke, but she could hear the kindness in his voice.

"Thanks, I hadn't realized that she was gone." She replied quietly.

"Ha," Ichigo laughed; "now who's like Zeraki?"

"That's high talk indeed from someone who did not realize that his zanpakuto was anything more than a katana three years ago." Jibed Rukia haughtily. Ichigo did not respond; he was too happy to that Rukia was back to her usual self to start bickering now.

The sky was beginning to darken as they walked home, Rukia was still clinging to his arm for support and Ichigo liked it, she felt warm against his arm. He liked the feeling of her relying on him, yet his mind was still troubled by how she had appeared on the roof earlier that day; just what was troubling her anyway? They entered the clinic about ten; Isshin as usual paying them no heed as they headed past him and made for the stairs. Soon, Ichigo was back in his body and Rukia in her gigai. They were both tired from the day's events and decided to head straight to bed.

"Ichigo?" Rukia called from within the closet.

"Yeah?" Ichigo replied lazily.

"Th-thanks for saving me today, I don't know what came over me. For some reason, I couldn't sense the hollow's riatsu until it had already struck." Said Rukia quietly, the admission sticking in her throat.

"No problem, you would have done the same thing for me." Ichigo began; "I know that something is troubling you, but if you don't want to or can't talk about it, I won't press the matter any further"

"Thanks Ichigo," said Rukia warmly; "I will tell you eventually but for now, please be patient with me."

"Sure. Goodnight Rukia." Replied Ichigo tiredly.

"Goodnight Ichigo." Returned Rukia sleepily.

The next day, they were once again on patrol. Rather than following their usual habit of heading for the centre of Karukara and finding a nice rooftop to while away the hours whilst awaiting orders from Soul Society, Rukia was now leading the way as they relentlessly flitted here and there looking out for souls in distress. It was plain to Ichigo that she was trying to keep her mind off whatever had been troubling her. On the plus side, they were able to get over eighty konsos done and dispatch a number of tsuki and jibaku spirits along the way.

They now sat atop a bus as it made its rounds, Rukia still looked preoccupied, but Ichigo tried not to take notice of it, for he knew doing so would only upset her. Suddenly, a third shinigami joined them on the roof; it was Renji. What are you doing here Renji?" asked Ichigo gruffly.

"So that's how you greet me after all this time is it?" retorted Renji; "You might want to show the new captain of the Third Division a little more respect; I now have the Captain-Commander's ear you know." Rukia's eyes widened in surprise whereas Ichigo's narrowed in contempt.

"Tch," he snorted; "So you came all this way to wave your title in our faces or do you have any real business here Renji Taichou?"

Thwack! Renji hit Ichigo square on the forehead with Zabimaru's hilt. "As a matter of fact I do." As he spoke, he withdrew a letter from within his shihakushou. Clearing his throat, he began to read aloud; "Due to your unique nature, we have been keeping a close eye on you." Ichigo looked dejected as he realized that after all he had done for them, the Soul Society still did not completely trust him. Renji continued; "Thankfully, your actions have been acceptable thus far and we have no reason to take any further action. Due to this, I have determined that it will be prudent to reassign those currently observing you. Rest assured, we shall still check up on you from time to time." Renji refolded the letter and handed it to Ichigo. As he looked at it, Ichigo recognized the seal of the Second Division. So the Secret Mobile Corps were observing him? Didn't they have anything better to do and why only now, after three years, had they decided to terminate their observation?

Looking over at Rukia, Renji spoke up once more; "They know about the battle yesterday and your injury at the hands of a low level hollow. There are some who wish to recall you for a full psych analysis. Your brother is among them."

"Everyone slips up from time to time, cut her some slack!" interjected Ichigo, unable to check his emotions.

Renji eyed Ichigo curiously; he had not expected such an outburst from him, nor had he any inkling as to its origin, Renji was, after all, quite dense when it came to such matters. "I agree." He said eventually; "That's why I brought her this warning. Watch yourselves and don't give them any more reason to be suspicious." With that said he leapt from the bus as it ground to a halt and stabbed Zabimaru into the space before him. Turning it smoothly, he opened a senkaimon and stepped inside. The doors disappeared as they slid closed behind him.

Ichigo and Rukia looked at one another in bewilderment; neither knew how to respond to such news. Ichigo felt a growing determination within him, determination to do what, he did not know, but he knew it must be important. He could see that Rukia was now even more troubled, as if whatever she had been worrying about had been given a sudden sense of urgency. Didn't Rukia already have enough to worry about without Renji adding more fuel to the fire? Now worrying seemed to be all that Rukia ever did. He cursed Renji under his breath for adding to her worries. He wished he could do something to help her, but he could only sit in agonizing ignorance until Rukia felt ready to talk to him. What they really needed was a break.

As they headed for home in the twilight, silence reigned; each was preoccupied by their own thoughts, as they entered, Isshin could see that something was troubling them but he could not go to them, Yuzu and Karin were sitting beside him; he would have to wait for the most opportune moment to confront them.

Upstairs, Rukia and Ichigo, now no longer in shinigami form, were sitting in the room still locked in awkward silence. "Rukia," Ichigo began, his words weighing heavily in his throat; "If you still don't want to talk about it I understand, but I want you to know that you can trust me; if you need someone to talk to, I will always be here for you, you don't have to bear it all yourself."

Rukia returned a puzzled look; she had rarely known Ichigo to openly show his emotions like this. Was her worrying really concerning him that much? Just what did he think of her? Just what did she think of him? There were just too many unknowns to tell him now; she would have to bear it alone at least a little longer. "Thanks, the same goes for you too." She said at last.

By her response, Ichigo knew in his heart that she was not ready, but he could not stand seeing her, who he had risked and sacrificed so much for, in such pain and not being able to do anything about it. He hated the feeling of helplessness that it gave him. He rolled over, knowing tat he had nothing more to say and assuming that she too had nothing more to add.

Moments later, they heard heavy footsteps on the stairs followed seconds later by a knock on his bedroom door. Ichigo did not answer, yet his ears were soon filled with the sound of creaking hinges as his bedroom door was opened wide. Isshin stood in the doorway, his expression solemn.

"What's eating you?" he said sternly; "I thought I told you that you were far too young to be carrying around such burdens as sadness and despair."

Ichigo looked into his father's eyes and saw nothing but unyielding resolve; his father's was serious, for once, and that meant he truly meant every word he said; but what did he mean? Had he overheard their conversations or did he know why Rukia was always worrying; just what was going on in his head?

"You seem not to have been getting as long as well as you used to. I do not pretend to know the cause or causes, but I do know this; you must overcome this if you are to move forward. You must believe in yourselves and each other. Trust in your heart, listen to it, it will tell you what you must do. Yes, I'm talking to you too, Rukia." The closet door slowly slid open and she popped her head out, her eyes were filled with uncertainty. Isshin smiled at her and continued; "Your main problem is that you are not honest with yourselves. Until you can be honest to your own heart and emotions, you have no chance of being able to be completely honest and open with one another. I've said all I wanted to; take it or leave it as the ramblings of an old man. Come down if you want; Yuzu is getting worried about you Ichigo. It's unsurprising really, she hardly ever sees you of late." With that, he turned on his heel and descended the stairs leaving his son speechless.

"So, shall we go downstairs?" Ichigo asked after a long period of silence. Rukia nodded and they headed downstairs together. It was a welcome break; they sat and talked, watched TV and listened to Isshin's insane ramblings. The hours wore on and soon they were both back in Ichigo's room, Ichigo was sitting on the edge of the bed, Ichigo leaning against her closet facing him.

"He can be quite the amateur shrink." Said Ichigo; "I'm sorry if he upset or offend you."

"No," replied Rukia thoughtfully; "your father did not offend me, although he did make some good points."

"Does that mean that you're ready to talk to me about what has been bothering you?" asked Ichigo hopefully.

"I'm sorry," she replied, her eyes welling up with tears; "I still can't tell you yet, but it's not because I don't want to. It's just that I have to be certain that it is best within my own heart before I can tell you. You will have to wait a bit longer I'm afraid."

"That's fine," replied Ichigo warmly, although he was a little disappointed; "I'll wait just as long as it takes; I trust your judgement Rukia.

She turned toward the closet and stepped in; she did not want to show Ichigo her tears. How could she have put this off for so long, was she really so nervous? One of them would have to make the first move, she knew this but she still wanted him to make his move first.

AN: Thanks to all of you who reviewed my first chapter, most notably Aizawa Ayumu Oz Vessalius and Debido. Your reviews have really encouraged and inspired me. On a side note to Aizawa and all of you who were wondering along the same lines as he was about what is troubling Rukia; it'll all be revealed about chapter five, so I'll be keeping you all in the dark a little longer. As an expression of my gratitude to you all, I have determined to burn the midnight oil and finish chapter two tonight, although I must say that I won't be able to release daily but I hope to release at least one a week. Now on to chapter two: Shopping Trip. Mou Ikkai, mina Arigatou!