At the End

When the dust had settled it was hard to call the battle a victory, large tracts of Karakura town had been annihilated along with a substantial portion of the soul society. All around her she could see destruction and death; the moans of the dying filled the air. Rukia did her best to shut out the sounds of suffering and pressed on through the smoke and chaos; in the distance she could still sense Ichigo's spirit pressure however faint. She cursed him for allowing himself to be injured; she felt the need to help him, it was the least she could do. He had saved her life on numerous occasions, most notably from her execution, where he had nearly died fighting her brother. Besides, she would not let her friend die, friends helped each other, or that's what she kept telling herself.

She would not admit it to herself but deep down she just did not want him to die, she refused to let it happen. The feeling was not logical but she did not care; if there was one thing Ichigo had taught her it was ignore logic and follow your heart, and that was what she planned on doing.

Before she had met Ichigo she would not have run recklessly through a burning city that had been a war zone minutes before, the air still thick with putrid smoke. But she had changed; Ichigo had taught her the lesson of listening to her emotions, and her emotions told her to save him. She could sense Ichigo, he was severely wounded but alive, she wouldn't let him die, no one would understand but deep down she refused to let him perish, not after everything they had been through.

Rukia stared dumbfounded at the sight of the final battle, what had once been a pinnacle of their society, a symbol of the Shinigami's power the Seireitei had been reduced to little more than smoldering rubble. She could not fathom the powers that had caused such damage, in their final fight Ichigo and Aizen had lowered half of the Seireitei to the ground. Such power… she thought to herself, even after the battle had ended she could still sense the power resonating in the air. Despite the residual energy she could still feel Ichigo; it was less proper detection and more of an instinctual gut feeling.

Rukia pressed on tracking Ichigo's power until she could see him at last, thank you… she thought as she flash stepped to his side, his Zanpakutō was snapped in half and laid at its master's side. She leaned over her friend and saw his chest was rising and falling and felt a sense of relief wash over her; she did not know why but knowing he was alive, still with her made her happy.

"Hey midget," Ichigo croaked weakly as he opened his eyes and looked up at her, "I thought you said soul society was a paradise, but I wake up here and look what I find, Rukia Kuchiki is my welcoming committee, not very inviting," Rukia moved to slap him but held back remembering what he had just been through.

"I was worried, I thought I'd help," she stammered becoming flustered, even so close to death Ichigo still had his humor.

"Don't worry about me, feel free to hit me even," he chuckled weakly as his face turned into a wide grin.

"I might just take you up on that offer," Rukia rebuked, "here I'll find a healer, just hold tight," and she went to stand only to feel a tight grip on her ankle.

"Don't sweat it," Ichigo murmured "coul-"

"What do you need then, I'll get anything you need," Rukia interrupted ready to assist in any way possible.

"Hold your horses midget," he chuckled and rested his head on a rock, "please, just stay here for now, I'll be fine and I'm sure the healers have more pressing worries," he explained.

Rukia felt her heart skip a beat, and looked at him shocked. After a moment she sat down beside where he laid,

"Are you sure you'll be fine," she asked again, mostly to reassure herself that Ichigo would live.

"Of course," he said happily, "but that sounds like you care, so thanks" he continued.

Rukia felt her face going red and glanced away from Ichigo, but not for long and looked back only to lock their gazes,

"I owe you one," she mumbled becoming more flustered with each passing moment.

"You never owed me anything," Ichigo said, his face relaxed and eyes closed, "you saved me and my family, you gave me the strength I have now… no you never owed me a thing, if anything I owe you," he explained.

"Thank you," Rukia replied feebly, she looked down at Ichigo and smiled, he was one of her few friends and although they had only known each other for slightly over a year they had been through a lot together.

She should be performing her duties she thought to herself, the soul society was in disarray and all hands would be needed, yet she could not bring herself to leave Ichigo's side. She did not know what she should do, but she did know what she wanted to do, and that was stay by Ichigo's side.

"So what happens now?" he asked as if reading her mind, "Aizen is gone, I made sure of that, the arrancar won't be a threat anymore" he paused thoughtfully, "does that mean everything will go back to normal?"

"I suppose that does," Rukia replied still processing the information herself. Could everything really go back to normal? She thought to herself. It seemed impossible, but weirder things had happened in the last year.

"Damn," Ichigo cursed taking Rukia by surprise,

"Why what's wrong, do you need something," she asked worriedly.

"It's just that if everything goes back to normal," Ichigo paused, "if things are like they were before," he stammered again searching for words, "if things are normal you won't be there" he finished as quickly as possible his cheeks beginning to blush.

Rukia looked down at him in surprise; he wanted to stay with her? What did that mean? A thousand thoughts passed through her head but her heart only had one answer…

"I don't think I could stand it, never seeing you again," Ichigo continued struggling for words.

"Don't worry, I'm not sure what will happen next, but I won't let that happen, I'll be here don't worry," Rukia replied . "But for now, let's not worry about it," and with that Rukia gently took Ichigo's hands in hers and smiled.