Here's some stuff you need to know:

1) Starting new FanFictions when you have 11 other non-complete ones that you need to update is not a good idea.

2) I hate IchiHime and fully support IchiRuki. Any IchiHime in this story will never last.

3) Review (because like every author I want reviews)

4) Enjoy ;)


Chapter One

New Leaf

'I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old, and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all six billion people on the planet below.

You got a problem with that?'

- The Doctor.


It's the same every time she comes to watch. The same ordinary, completely human changes. Just a life being lived, with no upcoming prospects except the usual human achievements. She would hate it, being stuck in that life. But then, how is hers any different? Every day it's wake up, do your job, meet people, talk to them, try not to lose it to the emptiness inside of her.

It's been one year, and she decides to see him again.

She hasn't visited in at least six months, and there really is no pattern in the times she comes to see. Every time she comes back, she briefly witnesses him living his ordinary human life without her, and she tries to convince herself that she is not needed. Why should she be? He always would have kept this routine had she not come along and changed him. What's she really expecting anyway? Does she wish for him to miss her? No. He has moved on, and she is proud of it. And yet, deep down the grief is gnawing away at her and she dearly wishes she could just tell him the proper goodbye that she always wanted to give him-

Forget the past, Rukia. Forget it, because it's gone.

She's a lieutenant now, as her brother has finally accepted her potential as recognisable (her fight and victory with an Espada saw to that) and he perhaps feels she is strong enough to take care of herself. She enjoys it in one particular form- it means she is moving on as well, and that is good.

So, when she visits Karakura Town after one year of absence, she is expecting Ichigo to be studying hard at school, beating up his irritating father, helping his sisters with his homework, the usual.

She does not expect him to be round at Orihime Inoue's house.

Rukia feels a horrible slicing feeling deep within her as she watches Ichigo knock on the front door of Orihime's apartment, to find a bubbly, cheerful orange-haired girl planting a quick but passionate kiss on his lips. What hurts Rukia more is how she sees Ichigo kiss back, because he's obviously enjoying it. As they pull apart after a moment, Orihime whispers something with an excited giggle and Ichigo nods. He steps inside and disappears behind the closing door.

Rukia stands on the roof of the house next the Orihime's apartment, staring down for a long time as the realisation settles inside of her.

Oh, yes. Ichigo certainly has moved on.


She wonders around for long time, lost in her thoughts. Sode no Shirayuki is always there to comfort her, and Rukia is sincerely grateful for this, but right now there can be no consolation.

From the moment they met, Ichigo was her whole world. She grew to like him so quickly, choosing to give up her Soul Reaper powers to protect him and his family. And when he rescued her from execution and during the aftermath, she was given quite a bit of time to contemplate their relationship. These feelings she was beginning to have were foreign to her, and under normal circumstances she would have found these human emotions disgraceful, especially as she is a Kuchiki. She had time to assess the way she felt about Ichigo. And during the time in Hueco Mundo, as she lay dying having just defeated the ninth Espada, Kaien's face flooded her mind and quickly morphed into Ichigo's. And it was at that moment, just before everything went black, she realised...

… she loved him.

Rukia closes her eyes, knowing that none of it matters any more. But she clings onto it anyway.

'Life form in need of upgrading.'

Rukia's eyes snap open at the sound of a strange robotic deep voice. She turns around to see the silhouette of a tall human-like creature standing further down the street. With a few metal clangs, it draws closer and Rukia is able to observe its features.

It's a metal man.

The strange silver robot stares at her with empty holes for eyes, it's fists clenched as it stops just mere feet from her. She feels so small in comparison as she stares back, wondering how the thing, whatever it is, is able to see her.

'You will be upgraded,' comes the empty voice from within the creature. Rukia's hand rests on the hilt of her zanpakutô subconsciously, acknowledging that this robot thing is probably not friendly.

'What do you mean, 'upgraded'?'

'You will be upgraded. This is a necessary operation.'

'Look,' Rukia growls, 'I don't know what you are or how you can even see me, but I don't need to be 'upgraded'.'

'Then you will be deleted.'

Quick as a flash, the metal man raises its right hand, flexing out its fingers to grasp her shoulder. Rukia flashsteps out the way just in time and lands behind it, her sword drawn. She lands a blow on its back and is shocked to see that not so much as a dent appears on the metal. The robot spins around and points its clenched-again fist at her, the gun built into its arm immediately firing at her. She flashsteps again and raises her sword, ready for release.

'Dance, Sode-'

A strange whirring noise rings in her ears and the metal man collapses to its knees, clutching where its ears would be, making a robotic moaning noise. Behind it, a man steps forwards and taps it on the head with a strange torch-like device in his hand. The robot falls to the ground, apparently having shut down.

'Finally caught up to you! I don't think anyone's going to be upgraded today. Sorry for the inconvenience,' the man says in a rather playful voice. He straightens the strange red bow tie he's wearing and then turns briefly towards Rukia as he flips the torch thing in mid air and catches it again. 'As you were,' he tells her, and then he turns around and walks off.

'Wh-what?' Rukia stands there, staring at him in shock, and then she begins to run after him.

'Hey! How can see me?'

The man turns around with a confident smile as he points at his face. 'With these funny things here. They're called eyes. They're really useful!'

'Don't mock me!' she shouts. 'Ordinary humans can't see me.'

The man clasps his hands together. 'Well, I'm not exactly an ordinary human.' He looks to the side as if contemplating something. 'Actually, that's completely inaccurate, given that I'm neither...' He looks at her and an analysing look crosses his face, as if he's only just properly noticing her.

'Are we in Japan?' he asks, gesturing at her shihakushô.

Rukia frowns. 'Yes, of course we're in Japan.'

A bright smile crosses over the man's face. 'Oh, that's cool, I'm speaking Japanese! That's new! Wait, no it's not. Honestly, nine hundred years of time and space travel and you actually start forgetting stuff.'

Rukia just stares at him, then she says, 'Who are you?!'

The man grins. 'I'm the Doctor! Oh yes, I really am liking the sound of that! 'I'm the Doctor'! I should introduce myself to people more often! You know, until it starts getting old.'

'And... what was that... thing?!' Rukia asks, gesturing wildly behind her at the metal man on the ground behind her.

'That? Oh, that's a Cyberman,' the Doctor says as if it's the most ordinary thing in the world. 'Cybermen in Japan... what next? Daleks in Hawaii?!' He frowns. 'Oh wait, no, that's already happened as well. I really should keep a log.'

'Doctor... who?'

'Oh yeah, I like that too!' the Doctor exclaims, but for a moment a dark look crosses over his face. 'Although, we should keep the question-asking to a minimum, especially with that particular question.'

'How many people in Karakura Town can see spirits, anyway?' Rukia says, remembering that first night when she met... him.

'Oh, I don't live here!' the Doctor says, pulling out that weird torch-like device again, and before Rukia can react he's scanning her up and down with a strange green light being emitted from the device.

'These readings are... impossible.' The Doctor stares at her. 'Way to discombobulate me. Who are you? More importantly... what are you?'

'I'm a Soul Reaper,' Rukia says slowly, contemplating this not-so-comforting sense of déjà vu.

'It says here that you're not even technically... alive,' the Doctor points out, frowning heavily as he gazes at the device. 'The sonic's never wrong. Or at least, hardly ever. You should be dead.'

'I am dead.'

That shuts the Doctor up.

'I'm a spirit being,' Rukia continues. 'A soul. When humans die, they become-'

'Ghosts?!' the Doctor looks delighted. 'You're the seventeenth ghost I've met! Actually, I don't think that one in 1890 counted... didn't really look like a human anyway... I guess that makes you the sixteenth! And... about the fifth most impressive!'

Rukia frowns. 'Only fifth?'

'Oh come on, that's better than nothing...' the Doctor trails off, looking down at Rukia's side. 'Is that a sword? Oh, cool! I've got to move you up to fourth! No, third! Congratulations, you're my third favourite ghost!'

'Are you for real?' Rukia says incredulously. He is, without a doubt, one of the weirdest people she has ever met.

'Absolutely. I'm a Time Lord, I'm over nine hundred years old and I've always wanted one of those swords!' he says with a grin. 'Are you like a samurai or something?'

'I told you, I'm a Soul Reaper.'

'A 'Soul Reaper'? Is that a good thing or a bad thing, 'cause it sounds like a bad thing and I don't like bad things, as I usually have to stop bad things from doing more bad things.' He says this all very quickly without taking a breath.

Rukia stares at him, wondering exactly how insane he is. 'I've told you what I am- now it's your turn. You've made it clear you're not human.'

'Me? Oh, it's not that important-'

'Exterminate.'

'Get down!' the Doctor yells, and before Rukia can say anything he has pushed her down. They both land on the ground and a blue laser fires above their heads.

'What the-?' Rukia gasps.

'Whoa, Daleks and Cybermen! It's like London all over again!'

The Doctor leaps to his feet and pulls Rukia up with him. 'It's probably a good idea if we just...' He fixes her with an excited smile, '… run.'