Everything

- because to Rukia, Ichigo wasn't a hero -

A light breeze ruffled through the sakura blossoms on the plentiful trees in the Kuchiki Estate gardens. The flowers seemed to laugh, plump and playful, unconscious to the troubles going on with the Quincy wars.

Kuchiki Rukia sat silently, her short black hair tickling the nape of her neck as she drank in the peaceful atmosphere. It was a rare moment of peace since the war had begun. Everyone was busy training, fighting, scouting, researching. There was no time to relax anymore.

"Hey."

She looked up, startled, her amethyst eyes widening in surprise at who she saw. "...Ichigo."

The orange-haired man smiled a little sheepishly, and plopped down on the wooden porch next to her.

"Fool." Rukia scowled half-heartedly. "Did I invite you to sit next to me?"

It was a small attempt at their usual banter...to return things to how they normally would be.

But nothing was normal after what had happened. Maybe they never would be either.

Ichigo just snorted obnoxiously, waving her off dismissively. He made no move to get up, instead leaning back into a comfortable position on his elbows. The two stared up into the ribbons of light that filtered through the tree branches, basking the entire ground in a warm glow.

It was silent. But they had never needed words anyway. Rukia closed her eyes, feeling inexplicably comforted for the first time in a long, long while.

"I'm sorry." His grave voice resounded next to her.

Her eyes snapped open, the soothing silence come and gone. "For what?" she said, sharper than necessary.

Ichigo turned to her, his eyes searching hers. Warm amber clashed with deep violet.

Like polar opposites.

"For your brother." He paused, hesitating. "For...for not making it in time to help you guys." His speech was casual but his words were heavy, laced with scars.

For not being the hero that I'm supposed to be. For not being the hero that's expected of me and I wish I were different and made different choices and—

Rukia gave an irritable sigh, smacking him upside the head. "You're being an idiot as usual, Ichigo. What, are you letting this kind of thing get you down again? You made it to us in the end, didn't you?"

Ichigo scowled faintly, his brows still scrunched in concern and regret. It was clear that he needed a lot more than just a slap to the head to pull him back to his feet.

"You know, I never expected you to be the hero."

That got his attention. The orange-haired substitute shinigami's head snapped up. He stared at her, his eyes widening. "What...?"

"You know." Rukia gestured faintly with her hands, a small sparkle in her eyes. "Everyone sees you as a hero, get it? The one who appeared like a whirlwind and swept the maiden in distress or whatever off her feet and saved her and the rest of the kingdom."

Ichigo frowned. "What kind of screwed up princess manga have you been reading this time, Rukia?"

"Shut up, asshole. I'll have you know that I've become very educated about the world thanks to those manga." Rukia glared at him, sticking a hand on her hip just for the hell of it.

"And what world would that be? Magical Princess Sparkle Kingdom?"

Rukia ignored his retort. "My POINT, Ichigo, is that you fulfill the role of hero rather perfectly. And we all know you have a hero-complex anyway. And the hero in stories always, always saves people, right? Or at least feels a need to." She nodded, sure of her conclusion.

Ichigo's frown dug deeper into his face. "Are you saying I'm like those frilly princes in fairytales?"

Rukia grinned at him. "No, I'm saying you're far from a hero."

Ichigo gaped at her, his jaw dropping rather unattractively. "WHAT? Then what have you been saying this whole time?"

Again, she simply waved him off and continued her explanation. "You're imperfect. The hero is always boxed up prettily, going around saving people, getting rewards and happily-ever-afters. Ichigo, you're not...you don't need to be a hero." Her voice had become quiet and solemn. "You don't need to be that pretty prince who walks around with his head held high because you're not perfect."

Ichigo scowled, not quite sure if his ego was bruised or inflated. "Are you insulting me or complimenting me?"

Rukia sighed. "You don't need to be the hero, Ichigo. You can't save everyone."

Ichigo stood with a glare. "What do you know? I want to save my friends! I need to...!" He stopped short, his head snapping away from her direction, his amber eyes angled downward.

"You see? You feel the need to be a hero since it's what you've always been, really. Or that's what others expect you to be." Rukia paused to stand up, reaching up and gripping his jaw, making him look into her eyes. "You're NOT. You're just...Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo."

You're my best friend you're my perfectly imperfect hero you're my soul mate you're everything—

"You're Ichigo..." Rukia took a deep breath. "And I don't think you're a hero."

You're better than a simple frilly prince and you're better than a hero and you're better than THAT you're a person and you changed my world and—

"And you're Rukia. Kuchiki Rukia." Ichigo's eyes softened as he caught her hand. "Are you the damsel in distress?"

"Hell no," she scoffed, pulling away. But her eyes seemed to sparkle. "Besides, you're not a hero. What do you care about a damsel in distress?"

"Well, I guess if I'm no perfect hero," Ichigo smirked, "and you're not exactly the whimpering maiden, then you think we could still be a perfectly imperfect pair?"

Stay by me because I need you even though I'm not a hero and even though you're not a princess—

Rukia stared into the eyes of her protector, her best friend, her maybe-possibly-probably love, her EVERYTHING—

"I guess we could." She grinned at him, and as an afterthought: "Fool."

"Midget."

Because as much of a hero as Kurosaki Ichigo seemed like; fought to be...

Kuchiki Rukia never saw him as a hero.

To Rukia, Ichigo wasn't a hero...he was everything.

He was Kurosaki Ichigo, and that was enough.

A/N:

Aghh, so much fluff! I've had a massive case of the Ichiruki feels these past few days, now that the Bleach manga is focusing a lot more on the war. But no spoilers beyond that for those who haven't read that far yet!

I always thought the prospect of Ichigo being the protagonist put him in the role of the typical male hero. Or as Rukia put it: "appearing like a whirlwind and saving everyone in the kingdom." But the bond between Ichigo and Rukia, I think, go to the step where she doesn't view him as a hero since he never was one. He's simply Ichigo to her.

Anyway, I hope I got that point across with that oneshot! Typical disclaimer, I don't own Bleach, obviously. Review please!