Change Me

Summary: Rukia has had her heart broken, witnessed murder and been through living hell. Ichigo has had his life changed and now wants to change himself. When they meet, will they smoothly sail to happiness or will their pasts haunt them. A/U. They don't have powers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the fantastic characters. But I will give Kubo my tiny piggy bank for them if he wants!

Warning: There is some violence and a tad bit of cursing. Also, there is no Ichigo in this chapter. However I promise he will be in the next one so please please read!

Chapter 1

Rukia's tear streaked face was pressed against the hard ground where all she saw was red liquid. She always hated blood, it made her sick to her stomach but in this moment she just looked at it with tranquility. She felt pain and she knew her life was ending soon. How did it end up like this?

Rukia moved her head slightly to see her comrade lying next to her, already dead. A fresh tear slipped down her face as she remembered everything that had happened, everything he had been to her. She thought again, How did it end up like this?

Rukia had been an orphan since she could remember. She was found alone by social workers in a tiny apartment she supposedly lived in with her family, crying. She had apparently been saved from her drug addict parents who hardly cared for her well-being. The day she had been found, they had been driving to get their next fix and had died in a car crash. Rukia didn't remember their family name. For as long as she could remember, the only part of her name that stuck was Rukia. She got sent from different foster homes over the years because she had no relatives to live with. She had different "families" and different last names with each. In the end, she was always Rukia. She saved up money to make sure that when she was 18, she could leave the system and become independent and start her life. She saved all the money she got as allowance and tried working to scrape some more. She had a plan and she gave it her everything to get there. Until that one day…

Rukia had been walking along a chain linked fence, running her hands along it as she hummed a tune she had heard.

She had just yelled at her new foster mom for being too pushy and run out of the house. I will be out of here soon, just bear with it, she thought to herself. She had run for a miles before reaching a park. Whenever she needed to clear her head, no matter which city, she would find a park and swing as high as she could. It was the only way she would calm down. She sat in the park and swung high, staring up at the blue sky as she did. She felt like the whole world disappeared as she went higher and higher. She wished she could fly, be above the world and never care about those underneath her. I bet it would be awesome to be an angel…or even a bird! Rukia had calmed down after half an hour and decided to go back. She unfortunately forgot where her new home was. She decided to try to trace back her steps as best she could but she could hardly remember which way she had turned when she had tears in her eyes. The 15 year old started walking away from the park, hoping she was going in the right direction. She came to the chain linked fence which reminded her of a song she had heard this morning. She started humming it as she walked along the fence.

She got to the end of the fence and looked around her. She definitely did not recognize a single building in her surroundings. She kept walking, hoping she could run into someone who might know where she was. Rukia had never been afraid and she told herself she wasn't going to start now. She started to walk past a dark alley where she saw a man with brown hair holding a gun to a woman's head. Near the woman's feet lay a man, a pool of blood under him. Oh god, I need to get out of here. She wanted to leave but her feet felt like cement blocks. The man turned his head towards her and smiled before he pulled the trigger. The woman in front of him crumpled to the ground. Her blood splattered on the wall near them. Rukia wanted to scream but her fear kept her quiet. I am just a kid, maybe he will spare me. Please spare me, her mind screamed at the man. However, no words came out of her mouth. The man started towards her and at that moment Rukia decided she would risk moving and started to run. She ran into something hard and fell to the ground. She looked up and saw a man with dreadlocks and sunglasses standing above her. She felt trapped, knowing the other man would close in on her soon and this one was blocking her way. She was small and frail and knew she probably couldn't outrun him. She thought, even if she could outrun him, she wasn't faster than a bullet. The brown haired man placed his hand on her shoulder and she spun around, staring him straight in the eye. Don't show weakness Rukia. They prey on weakness. The man smiled at her. At first, she felt at ease by his smile, it looked so kind and warm. But then when she looked at his eyes more closely, she saw the devilish qualities to that deceiving smile.

"Now why would you try to run away from us? We haven't even gotten to know each other!" The man said in an eerily calm voice. "My name is Sosuke Aizen and this here is my friend, Kaname Tosen. You are?"

Rukia just stared at him, speechless. She could almost not imagine this man, who spoke with a kind voice would kill anyone. Almost. If she hadn't seen it happen in front of her eyes.

"A shy one isn't she Kaname? We are not going to hurt you little girl, just want to know your name."

Rukia slowly choked out her name in a low voice. It was barely louder than a whisper.

"My name is Rukia." She held eye contact with him showing that she could be strong even though she was shaking on the inside.

"Well that certainly is a beautiful name. What are you doing in these parts Rukia? You seem like you aren't from here." He spoke to her with a smile that made her want to believe that she would get out of here alive.

"I'm not. I got lost." She spoke with her voice starting to tremble. "Please Mr. Aizen. I just want to go home. Can you please let me go home?"

His smile faded a little.

"Rukia, I would love to send you home. Under any other circumstance, I would have. But you have seen too much. You could go to the police and then what would happen to me? I am so sorry my dear, but I can't let you go like this."

Rukia was paralyzed by what he had just said. I can't leave! He is going to kill me. This realization made tears form in her eyes. I am never going to become anything. I am going to die an orphan with nothing to my name. I will never get to leave the system and become anything. I am going to die right here. Tears were now streaking her face as she tried to form a coherent sentence.

"Please Mr. Aizen, please spare me. I wont go to the police. I promise. I don't want to die. I just wanted to leave the foster care system not leave the world forever. Please!"

She kept sobbing the word 'please' over and over again. Her knees buckled and she felt to the floor sobbing uncontrollably.

Aizen's smile had completely vanished. "Kaname, what should we do with her? She is just a little girl. But we can't just let her go back to wherever she came from."

The dark skinned man seemed to ponder for a minute before he spoke to Aizen. "She could work for us. Not on the actual work. She would die if she did those. But since we lost the last maid to that "accident", we could use another one." He finished the statement with finality in his voice.

Aizen thought over the proposition before deciding. "That's not a bad idea at all. Rukia my dear, please get off the floor. You have a new home now!" he said with a smile. "One that you will never leave again."

With that he grabbed her arm and pulled her up, dragging her with him as he walked towards a black car parked a few feet away from them.

Rukia had been a maid for the past 6 months. She cleaned, washed the dishes, did laundry. All the chores she hated doing. Now however, she appreciated the chores she used to do. At least they were chores that were just for me, rather than for all these people. While she was thinking about the not too distant past, a sweatshirt flew at her face, bringing her focus back to the laundry she was picking up.

"Pay attention idiot! I was saying, there are more clothes in that corner." The tall man, whom the rest called Nnoitora, yelled condescendingly. "I don't know why Aizen hires such airheads and morons to do work around here." He muttered as he was about to walk out.

"He hires people because lazy slobs like you wont do anything around here. Someone has to pick up after you after all." A low monotone voice mocked Nnoitora. Rukia didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Ulquiorra Schiffer, Aizen's most loyal follower. Rukia turned to see his large green eyes focused on her. She shifted uncomfortably in place before turning back around to pick up the rest of the clothes. Ulquiorra's eyes always freaked her out. She always felt like he could read her perfectly and see into her soul. Since she came here, all she wanted was to be left alone and stay hidden from them. He was the only one there who had not been treating her poorly but she couldn't help but to be afraid of him. He hardly said two words to her, but then again, he hardly said anything to anyone.

She didn't like anyone at this place they called Hueco Mundo. She felt so out of place among all these rugged men (and one woman) who were so obviously doing something wrong. She never really got told what they did but she pieced a few things together. She got that Aizen was the leader of this gang of thugs. She knew they killed people among other crimes.

"Whatever Ulquiorra. It's not my job to pick up after myself. I'm getting paid for what I am good at. I shouldn't have to deal with trash Aizen brings in." Rukia had started to lose focus again but Nnoitora's harsh voice brought her back to the current scene. Ulquiorra simply made a noise of disapproval before he left. Nnoitora turned back to Rukia.

"Make sure you get all the clothes on the floor. If even one of them is missed, you will regret it." With that, he took two long strides and was out of the room, leaving Rukia shaking. Nnoitora didn't seem too strong since he was extremely skinny but he scared her a lot. He always gave her a really hard time by yelling at her about everything. He had even gone as far as to hit her a couple of times. But these seemed minor compared to other reasons she was truly afraid of him.

Each member of the group, the Espada, had to brand themselves to show their loyalty to Aizen. They each were assigned a number in order of importance by Aizen himself and they tattooed it on themselves. Nnoitora had gone as far as to tattoo himself on his tongue and this made Rukia wonder about his sanity. When Rukia was brought in, they had left her alone at first but then everyone started to question her loyalty. Rukia had no intention of being loyal, she just wanted to live. In the midst of this questioning, Nnoitora took a hot iron and branded her. Since that day, she became quieter and was nervous being around him.

Once Nnoitora left, she checked his room again to make sure she had everything, she walked out only to run into someone. She looked up to see a man with spiky black hair and sad eyes looking right at her. She had dropped some of the clothes in her hand from the impact of the bump. They both bent down and starting picking up the clothes. Once they had picked them up, he handed her the clothes he had before walking past her. No one smiles around here.

That night at dinner, she saw him sitting with the Espada again. As she served the food, she couldn't help but look at him. She noted that he looked nothing like the others. His face looked kind which was quite unlike the menacing looks the others had. You also thought Aizen had a kind face Rukia, she mentally chided herself. Aizen, who sat at the head of the table pointed to the man.

"This is Kaien Shiba. He is going to be working for us from now on. Aren't you?" Aizen smiled warmly at him.

"Do not call me by my name. You are all scum here. I am simply here for Miyako." Kaien spit the words out shooting a glare at Aizen. He then pushed his plate away and walked out of the room.

"Well, if he doesn't want me to call him by his name, what should I call him by? Such a bratty child isn't he Gin?" Aizen chuckled a little as he addressed his right hand man.

"Quite bratty. He can't starve forever. He will eventually get over this phase. As for his name, why not Aaroniero? I read it in some magazine today." The fox faced man grinned wider knowing the newcomer would hate the name. Gin had always liked to play mind games with people.

"Aaroniero. Interesting. I think that should be his name. Good thinking Gin." With that Aizen started to eat and the others followed. Conversation among the Espada was very limited. They never spoke much to each other unless someone had a new job to do.

That night as Rukia started packing up leftovers she remembered that the new guy hadn't eaten anything. Not new guy. Kaien. She made sure to remember his name. She thought of him as another victim of Aizen's cruelty. Maybe I can be his friend. The thought was fleeting but it definitely crossed her mind. She just shook her head and took some leftovers to his room. She knocked on it and within the first few knocks he opened the door quickly.

"What?" He asked her sharply, his eyebrows furrowed. He looked at the food in her hands. "I'm not hungry. Leave me alone." With that, he went to close his door.

Rukia found a random burst of courage and started speaking. "I know this sucks but I am also stuck here. I just wanted to give you some food. You don't have to speak to me, I just didn't want you to die of starvation."

He gave her a quizzical look. After a few minutes he sighed and the features on his face became more relaxed. "Fine." He walked towards his bed, leaving the door open for her. She walked in and placed the food in front of him on the table. He looked at the food suspiciously before looking at her.

"What's your story? You don't seem like the others." His voice was still harsh but the anger behind it was gone.

"My name is Rukia…" With that, she told him about her life. She didn't understand why she was so comfortable talking to him but she just wanted to tell him everything. She was so glad that soon enough he started to eat the food next to him.

"So that's why I am here. I keep telling myself it is a fate better than death but I still haven't believed it." Rukia ended her story, her eyes now sad remembering everything that happened to her. Kaien noticed this change in expression. He walked over to her and put his arms around her, engulfing her in a warm hug. Rukia immediately stiffened when she felt his touch but slowly melted into it. I think we can be friends. Kaien let out a deep sigh.

"I am here because of Miyako. She was the love of my life. We had been together for 3 years and I proposed to her last week. Her father got involved with some idiots who ended up hiring Aizen to do their dirty work. I was at their house when they killed her father. They were going to kill us both but I fought off two of his men. Aizen was apparently impressed with my fighting or something so he made me a deal. He said if I worked for him, he would let Miyako live. I didn't think twice. I just agreed and left Miyako standing there. I may not ever see her again but at least she is safe." He was clutching her even tighter as he told her how he ended up there. A tear was running down his cheek. Rukia couldn't help but tear up herself. That's the saddest story I have ever heard. I hope he sees her again. She made up her mind right then that she would do whatever she could to make his life better in Hueco Mundo. As best she could.

Kaien suddenly unwrapped his arms and walked back to his bed and sat down, staring at her. They spend the next few hours sitting there quietly, with the occasional question like 'How old are you' or 'Have you lived in Kyoto all your life', etc. Eventually, Rukia noticed that it was late and she needed to clear the entire kitchen before she went to bed. She stood and told him she had to finish her work and go to bed. He nodded and told her a quiet bye.

"By the way, everyone is going to start calling you Aaroniero from now on. Just a forewarning." Rukia said with a smile before she left his room. The small smile on her face never wavered that night.

Kaien and Rukia became really good friends, telling each other everything and always having each others' backs. He would help her with chores and she would help him train. Rukia knew that Kaien still loved Miyako, even after a year and a half of him being under Aizen's rule but she started having a crush on him. She knew she would never have him because he would always belong to Miyako but she let that crush grow inside her. They would always talk about how they would get out of this hell hole and how he would introduce her to Miyako. He would talk about how she would definitely be in their wedding and how they would stay friends forever. They both knew it was just wishful thinking but they didn't want to tell the other that they doubted that they would ever escape.

It was an impossible feat. Only one person technically escaped Aizen's grasp. He had left following a girl but still worked for Aizen. He had sworn his allegiance to Aizen and since he had lived with him all his life, Aizen trusted him enough to let him leave Hueco Mundo. Anyone else that betrayed Aizen or tried to escape had been killed mercilessly. They both knew this but they still wished they could get out of there. No one went on missions unless there were more than two of them present at all times. Aizen usually accompanied those he didn't trust completely. This definitely included Kaien, or Aaroniero, as they all called him, much to his chagrin.

They both were happy with the bubble they had around themselves. However, this "perfect" world they both constructed quickly collapsed one day. When Kaien went on a mission with Aizen and Ulquiorra he recognized the place as being a block away from Miyako's residence. In the commotion that came along with killing the store owner they were sent to "take care of", Kaien escaped and ran to Miyako's place. He knocked several times before a black haired woman opened the door.

"Can I help you?"

"I am looking for Miyako? Does she not live here anymore? She must've been the previous owner." Kaien, still catching his breath, asked anxiously.

"How do you know Miyako?" She now had a curious look on her face. She looked at Kaien suspiciously

"I am…was her fiance. Kaien Shiba."

"Oh honey." Her face immediately fell and her eyes started to tear up. "I am Miyako's aunt. Her father and her were killed a year and a half ago. I'm sorry you didn't know this." She was now crying.

Kaien froze when he heard that she had been murdered. He had sold his soul for her life and she had been murdered anyways. He didn't know what to do anymore. He was only able to get through his life because he hoped he would always have Miyako if he ever got out. Now that he knew she was dead, he felt like a part of him had died too. Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder.

"There you are. Aizen-sama is looking for you. Let's go." Ulquiorra spoke in a monotone voice. He pushed Kaien away from Miyako's old place, leaving her aunt confused. Once they got outside, Kaien decided to ask.

"You killed her anyway. I came with you people and you killed her anyway." Kaien whispered as a tear ran down his face.

"It was nothing personal. We never do a job wrong. We were told to get rid of them both. We just did our job." Ulquiorra's indifference angered Kaien.

But he did nothing. When he saw Aizen, he still did nothing. He just stood in place.

"There you are! We thought you tried to run away. Let's go back." Aizen started to lead them towards the car. Kaien silently followed and sat in the car. He stayed quiet through the ride and when they arrived, he just walked to his room.

Rukia had never seen Kaien look so emotionless. She followed him to his room. She saw him sitting on his bed, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. She walked up and knelt in front of him.

"Kaien, what's wrong?" She whispered softly. It seemed like hours before he finally spoke to her.

"They killed her the same day. She has been dead the whole time." His voice broke a little. "Rukia, we are not staying here anymore. We are leaving tonight. We cannot stay here with these monsters." He spoke with an unbreakable resolve that scared Rukia a little. She didn't know what to do. She really liked Kaien, she thought she might even love him and here he was saying he would take her with him. She just nodded mutely and whispered 'Tonight' back to him.

That night they both left through the back doors around 1AM when they were sure everyone was asleep. They stayed quiet the whole time. Kaien told her that as long as they got out of Kyoto, they wont be able to track them. She believed him completely and followed wordlessly as he held her hand and dragged her along. They had made it three blocks before they both finally felt a little relieved to be a away from Hueco Mundo and she felt safe with Kaien. We made it. We are free. Just as she thought that she heard a gunshot near them. Kaien and her, both froze.

"Did you really believe you would make it out of there alive?" They heard Aizen's voice, with a little malice laced in his words. "I understand your motivation Aaroniero but you Rukia? I let you live. I obviously was too soft on you."

You were hardly ever soft on me. Rukia thought sadly.

They both turned their heads to see Aizen standing with the gun in his hand and his men standing behind him.

"Well it is truly disappointing that you both decided to betray me. But you both were loyal for a little while. So don't worry. I will make this quick. I won't miss next time."

Rukia was shaking as she held Kaien's hand. However, this time she was not going to beg. It was actually a fate worse than death, not better. She realized she would rather die here with Kaien than do anything else.

"I am not scared. You are a sick bastard and I don't care what you do. You took everything from me anyway." Kaien spit at Aizen.

"I guess I am doing you are service then aren't I?" Aizen smiled and pulled the trigger. He shot Kaien straight at his heart. Rukia screamed.

"Oh my god Kaien don't die please!" She started to cry hysterically when she heard another gun shot. Then she felt pain. Aizen hadn't stopped for Kaien. He just went ahead and shot Rukia. She dropped near Kaien. She felt pain near her shoulder but she couldn't locate where exactly she had been shot.

Kaien felt his life leaving him when he saw Rukia drop near him. He dragged her into this and now she was going to die because of him.

"Rukia…" He started. That was all he could say before he took his last breath.

Rukia closed her eyes and cried because she knew Kaien wasn't with her anymore. How did it end up like this. She continued to ask herself. The pain, the blood, and Kaien were all she kept thinking about. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her temple before she heard someone bark orders at another. She then felt herself being lifted. She saw Kaien still laying there on the cold road, laying dead. Kaien, I'm sorry. I love you. With that Rukia closed her eyes and lost herself in darkness.

A/N: Phew! I had to get some serious back story going here. Just an idea that popped in my head. Pretty please read and review. I am open to suggestions and ideas.