Hey everyone. This is a little something I wrote out of my love for the fantasy genre. Hope you enjoy! Please review :)

PS: It hasn't been Beta-ed.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. If I did it would never end.

When Two Worlds Collide

Having him in front of her wasn't as intimidating as she first thought. That boy with the amber eyes, the ones she secretly admired, was fixated in her own eyes. She knew he was dangerous but that didn't stop her from being hypnotized and she thought that he was just as lost as her. So she began to explore the depth of his eyes, feeling that they could get lost in their little fantasy world, and not ever return to the real one, which ordered them to not even speak to each other.

He was a assassin, who had camouflaged himself, and infiltrated normal society. But, he wasn't just any other assassin either, the girl understood eventually. His almost cold look was captivating and made her feel like she was the only living being left. Their connection was so great that they had forgotten that they were in the middle of the most important battle to determine the future of that strange world they called home.

"Hey Rukia," he called her. "Do you really think your pathetic brother is going to win the war?"

She immediately registered his mocking tone, and taunted him back, " What's wrong, Ichigo? Afraid that we'll actually beat you?"

Ichigo didn't look at her, and instead found himself engaged in battle with Rukia's best friend, her bodyguard Renji. Rukia locked eyes with Ichigo for a second, telling him all he needed to know. She began to slip away from the fight, while Kai kept chasing Ichigo around. It was a wild goose chase since Ichigo was ten times more powerful than Kai, since he was the heir of one of the most powerful clans in the world.

Rukia stood watching, partially hidden. She was still trying to figure out the war, her own feelings and specially Ichigo. She didn't understand his true intentions, since there had been a time where he chased her all over the human world to kill her as retribution for the slaughter of his mother. Ichigo's clan, the Kurosaki, was one known for its violent nature, their passion for the art of fighting and their not very strategic methods for conquering their rivals. The war was focused on the two most important clans of Kira, Rukia and Ichigo's world, which were the Kuchiki's and of course, the Kurosaki's. Both Rukia and Ichigo were the heirs of their respective clans, making them hold the titles of princess and prince, respectively; Rukia's brother, Byakuya, had the control of the clan while Ichigo's brother, Kaien, had recently risen to power since their father had died in battle. Rukia knew she should be afraid of Ichigo, but her instincts told her otherwise. She could almost swear that her instincts were telling her to let herself be enchanted, but she was too stubborn to comply. She met him at first in the human world, where she was exiled for safety reasons once the war broke out.

There, Ichigo was one of her classmates, and by the reputation he had, the most dangerous of them all. Of course she thought he was a delinquent, his attitude and demeanor made rumors fly around the school's hallways. She was always fascinated by him, wondering what could he be really like, and every time she looked, he was there studying her. Then, there were the rumors of that he killed people because some students had seen him running on rooftops carrying a big sword, but she didn't pay attention to those. Nobody knew she had left Kira, so there was absolutely no reason to suspect that it was someone from the Kurosaki clan. Among those rumors, she heard that on those escapades, he dressed with a black tunic and a cape accented with red, which made him look several centuries out of place. That is how she knew. It couldn't have been all a coincidence, but when she found herself kidnapped and dragged back to Kira, Rukia understood that nobody had been wrong about what they had seen, and her denial had blinded her letting her drop her guard and be vulnerable. So, the mysterious boy she silently watched was an assassin who did carry a big sword and had a more impressive outfit than any of her classmates could have described, but dreadfully she realized that she was his next victim.

Then, the game changed. Suddenly, as he was dashing with her in tow back to his clan's headquarters, he stopped.

"I swear I'll protect you," he whispered in her ear. Rukia couldn't believe her ears.

She didn't have a chance to respond because they suddenly found themselves surrounded with members of their respective clans, ready to pounce into battle. And that's how she found herself in the middle of the bloodiest battle Kira had ever seen. Rukia still didn't trust Ichigo, but she was too lost in her thoughts to try to fight him off as he hauled her away from the center of the engaging troops. Reacting as fast as her muddled mind could allow, Rukia hit him over the head, making his grip falter slightly just enough for Rukia to break herself free.

"Rukia! What's your problem, midget? Don't you see that I'm trying to keep you safe?" Ichigo was angry and annoyed at the same time. She was very perplexing to him. Rukia thought about it for a moment and immediately hit him again.

"Don't call me midget, got it carrot top? Please, you can't even keep your back safe; don't lie to yourself, it's not healthy. Do I need to remind you who was hunting whom in the human world?" Rukia was on a rampage now, letting off her chest all the conflicts her mixed feelings were producing.

Ichigo didn't reply. He felt ashamed and knew that gaining Rukia's trust would be a great effort, especially after all that he had done to her. He had charmed her, from a distance of course, but those were his orders: make her fall in love with him to gain leverage. But, soon enough, those orders changed: he had to kidnap her to truly keep the Gale clan control. As soon as he was carrying out his second orders, Ichigo discovered that he not only charmed her but that she had done the same without him realizing it. But, it was too late as he was already in Kira, and whether he liked it or not, he had already betrayed Rukia. That is when he decided not to partake in the war anymore and to try to convince his brother to a ceasefire. If that didn't work Ichigo would publicly defy his clan and take Rukia back to the human world. In the beginning, he wouldn't have doubted once to kill the violet-eyed girl, but now Ichigo realized that even in other circumstances, he would have realized that everything was a lie and that it just wasn't worth it to keep staining his hands with innocent blood.

Rukia stood defiantly, waiting for a response, but soon realized that Ichigo had nothing to say. She wondered if that was the real him she was seeing or just another one of those illusions he created as a cover. Rukia had every right to be angry, since, basically, their whole interaction had been a lie, and even worse, that he only paid attention to her because he wanted to kill her. Now, Rukia only has one option, where she's betting everything on, including her life—she has to trust Ichigo: for her sake, for his, for the clans' and Kira's sake.

While Rukia sized him up, Ichigo was analyzing the situation, something he learned to do in spite of the Kurosaki clan's beliefs, but he couldn't seem to find another plausible solution besides one he didn't really like and was sure Rukia wouldn't either: they needed to run away to the human world forever and leave Kira to its destruction. Ichigo knew his best opportunity was that, because he couldn't leave Rukia to perish over a senseless war. But there was a part of him that had a connection with Kira that seemed impossible to ignore, which made his plan to get up and leave a very difficult if not impossible task. In the other hand, he could send Rukia to the human world with his best friend, Ishida, to care for her. In the end, this is what he deemed the best course of action. Ichigo knew that Rukia wouldn't forgive the fact that he was treating her like a damsel in distress, but he also knew that he couldn't forgive himself if his recklessness caused her harm. Everything would have gone according to plan, except for the small problem that Rukia refused to leave Kira and her clan. Ichigo strongly requested that she leave for the human world, but Rukia, being more stubborn than ever, argued that she was a soldier too, a soldier ready for battle.

"Rukia, please reconsider. For which side are you going to fight for?" Ichigo started to reason with her.

"For mine, I guess," she said looking into his eyes, but the hurt she saw made her reconsider. She had just declared her enemies once again with a simple answer. She sighed. "I don't know, Ichigo, I don't know anymore. All I do know is that this is too important for me to just get up and leave, and you can't seriously expect me to leave everything to you"

"If you think you're doing me a favor, you're not. I feel guilty enough for bringing you back here. I'm so angry at my terrible judgment," Ichigo confessed.

Rukia wasn't surprised. She had slowly figured it our from his actions: the way he protected her, his permanent scowl showed her his guilt which didn't let him lose his seriousness. "I'm not doing you a favor. I don't blame you for what you have done, because if I had been in your position I would have done the same. We were both blinded by our clans and brothers, which have cultivated a hate that I don't even know where it comes from," she explained passionately.

Rukia continued, " I propose something. Let's handle this together and when this is all over we can run away from everything back in the human world. Deal?"

Ichigo was staring at her, astonished. Rukia was ready to fight alongside him even if it meant death, which told him that she decided to trust him.

"I only have a condicion," Ichigo said softly, breaking their eye contact.

"I'm listening" Rukia replied curiously.

"We're on the same side. Our side. Not in the Kurosaki or Gale clan. We'll be on the side where we can fight together, not each other" he said seriously.

Rukia held out her hand, while Ichigo took it, and both said: "Deal". They couldn't help but smile, as both found what they were looking for: someone to trust.

After three months traveling around Kira, doing all they could to help, without partaking in any major fighting, Ichigo and Rukia had an idea. They thought that there could be a permanent solution to this conflict: they had to join both clans. But the problem was how. Both clans have hated each other since the beginning of time and it was something so normal that some thought it would be unnatural for it to be otherwise.

Suddenly, it dawned on him. Ichigo and Rukia had received word that Kaien had died and that Byakuya wanted to crown Rukia as head of the clan as he had suffered a grave wound and had to secure her place before he passed. Rukia was disposed to do it but Ichigo didn't want her to pick a side; after all that had been the condition on which they based their alliance. In those three months, Ichigo and Rukia had learned to depend on one another, establishing mutual trust which others claimed made them two halves of the same person. The opportunity to present his plan to Rukia emerged in Rukia's favorite place in Kira: the Shirayuki forest of the everlasting white snow.

"Rukia, we both once discussed that the clans should be united to stop this fighting forever, and I started to think about what kind of union we would need to at least try to keep the peace. I know treaties won't work, as my clan doesn't think too much about documents, but there's one thing both our clans respect: marriage." Ichigo paused for a few seconds, awaiting Rukia's reaction. She was still for a moment, searching for something in his eyes, but made a slight jump suddenly excited for the idea.

"Of course!" she exclaimed," Why didn't I think of this before? This is perfect…" she trailed off, pausing and frowning thoughtfully. "But who would want to get married? Because no one from our clans would agree to the arranged marriage we would propose."

Ichigo had been a little relieved to find that she didn't find the idea to be repugnant, but he wanted to smash his head against the wall when he heard her question. Hadn't he made it obvious? How can a person as smart as her be so naïve?

So he decided to put it bluntly. "Midget, I was actually thinking that you and I should get married," he managed to say as calmly as possible, still managing to bother her about her small size, but that for him had become a term for endearment.

"What did you say?" Rukia replied, shocked. Her mind had stopped working to the extent that not even she noticed that he insulted her height yet again.

"It's obvious, isn't it? Your brother is going to give you leadership of the clan, I'm going to be named leader of mine as soon as I go back to claim it. Our union would mean that our war councils can't expect us to remain fighting since we would be the same nation. Midget, are you listening?" he looked at her, suddenly self-conscious of what he was asking.

"Yes, Ichigo, I understand," Rukia said sighing.

For a moment she had thought Ichigo had really meant his marriage proposal, but she knew that she wasn't that lucky. At least, they would be together, even if it was a sham. They couldn't deny their mutual comprehension that they didn't share with anyone else, but their relationship was strictly platonic and now they were arranging their marriage in a business-like manner. It was just only a way to guarantee the peace between both clans. Rukia had to be satisfied with that, for now. She was ready to sacrifice everything for the wellbeing of Kira.

What Rukia didn't know is that her thoughts didn't differ much from Ichigo's. He was convinced that she would never see beyond what everyone else saw. Even if it was a marriage that was based solely on political interests, Ichigo didn't mind because he would be with the only person in both planets who made him feel like he belonged somewhere.

"So what do you say, midget? Do you accept or not?" Ichigo made the question in a playful tone, but he was shaking inside from the tension eating his insides, just like if it was a real marriage proposal.

"Well I don't know, carrot top. Why would I be married to someone like you, a Kurosaki?" Rukia also tried to hide her emotions while teasing him back.

"Because you know I'm irresistible," he smirked.

"As if I hadn't noticed you staring at me every chance you get" she smirked back.

Both started at each other, until they blushed beet red.

"Just so you know I'm doing it for the wellbeing of Kira and because I know that no one else would do it because of how small you are" Ichigo remarked.

"Oh well, I was going to say yes, but, who wants a small person like me, right?" Rukia looks on defiant. She knows that he will wall right into her trap.

"Want me to admit it? I will. I want to marry you. So what? I thought that I had made it quite clear that I would protect you even if I die trying" Ichigo said with fire in his eyes.

Rukia was astonished, but blushed deeply. Still, she couldn't help but smile as Ichigo would still be the same. He was someone shy that was only direct when he was frustrated or angry enough.

"Well I want to marry you too. Was that so hard to admit?" Rukia was now having fun at his expense.

Ichigo doesn't say anything, but goes ahead and kisses her, acting our of sheer happiness at her acceptance.

They could not believe what they had come to, but they had made it. On their wedding day, they were remembering the opposition they initially found when they announced their plans. Such was the uproar that potential movements for civil wars had to be shut down in both clans, but eventually they managed to control those who opposed them and established a peace era that hadn't been seen in centuries. Now, they could only hope that Kira's stability would be permanent.

"We did it," Ichigo whispered to Rukia, now his wife who was lost in his eyes all over again.