Author's note: I do not own Bleach or its characters.
Another Year Has Gone By
Rukia let out a sigh and rest her head on Ichigo's shoulder. The two of them were perch on the roof of the Kurosaki Clinic. It was cold out as it was December, but they were both bundled up enough not to notice the temperature. They had both wanted an escape from some of the craziness going on inside. Ichigo's father apparently had the tendency to go overboard when it came to Christmas. The man had spent one Christmas in the U.S.A. at some point, and it had clearly had made an impression on him. There was currently a decorating frenzy going on inside.
But both Rukia and Ichigo seemed to be in a more contemplative mood at the moment. Rukia had actually come up here alone to think, but it hadn't been long before Ichigo had joined her. Neither of them had felt the need to talk. Instead they had just sat together on the roof amidst the Christmas lights Isshin had already put up. The sky was grey, and it looked like it might snow. It had been over a year since they had first met. At the time, Rukia had no idea how much that meeting would change her life.
She wasn't entirely unhappy about how things turned out though. She had made some really great friends, and she wasn't sure if things would have gone as well as they did with the Winter War if it Ichigo and his friends hadn't been involved. Whatever had happened in the past, that was over with now. But Rukia was ready to face what a new year would bring. At least, as long as she had her friends to lean on.