I do not own Bleach.

An A/U set after Aizen's defeat and before Ichigo lost his powers.

Rukia bolted upright, the sheets soaked with perspiration. Her breaths were heavy and laboured, her heart thundering in her chest. She had had the dream again. Nightmare, she corrected herself. She swallowed the lump in her throat. She refused to cry again, no matter that she was alone right now where she was. She carefully reminded herself not to make any startling noises. Ichigo was sound asleep in the bed across the room. She quietly slid open the closet door and peered out tentatively.

The moonlight shining across Ichigo's bed highlighted the orange hair above the covers. From the stillness in the air she could tell he was in one of his deep sleeps and wouldn't awaken even if she blasted a hole through his wall. It was perfect for her. The suddenly comfortable closet had become a smothering claustrophobia. She needed to get out. She silently changed her pyjamas into the blue dress lying across Ichigo's desk chair. She sat on the floor and laced up her shoes. Then she crept to the window and pulled it open. The chilly night breeze swept into the room, billowing the curtains across the bed. She froze for a second, her uncertainty making her doubt the solidity of her previous claim. She was unsure if Ichigo would awaken due to the drastic decrease in temperature but heaved a silent sigh of relief when he did nothing.

Rukia closed the window behind her and dropped to the ground. Then she took off running. She had no destination in mind, only knew she needed to clear her turbulent head. She couldn't focus with the after effects of the nightmare still hanging over her shoulder, and if she was unfocused the people she was protecting could get hurt. Of course, they didn't know she was watching over them.

It was a strict instruction from the Captain-Commander himself. She was to keep an eye on things in Karakura Town. Most especially on Kurosaki Ichigo. Who knew what would come out of the shadows once Aizen's defeat had reached the four corners of the earth and beyond. The Captain-Commander didn't want to take a chance so he stationed Rukia there, since no one would suspect her presence in the town.

Rukia ran until the memories evaporated into nothingness. When she focused her vision she found herself by the river, in the same spot where Ichigo's mother had been killed years ago. She sucked in a deep mouthful of air she desperately needed. The irony didn't escape her, that of all the places she had expected to find herself at, the spot where Ichigo frequented as a child hadn't even been on her list. She stood at the edge, staring into the dark abyss, fists clenched tightly at her sides.

The nightmares were happening with more frequency. At first it had been just fragments of images flitting briefly across her subconscious, but lately they were becoming more lifelike. This latest one had been an entire bloodbath of Seireitei. She had seen monstrous things happening to all those she cared about. Her brother had been butchered like an animal, blood staining his once white haori. Thousands of Shinigami heads had been atop spikes, dotting the Sokyoku Hill, all faces she knew and loved flashing relentlessly through her mind, Renji, Matsumoto, Hitsugaya-taicho, Ichigo. In the background fire blazed through the streets of Seireitei, buildings crumbling beneath the heated encounter. It was one giant tomb.

She shook her head to prevent the horrific images from coming back to her when she heard a noise behind her. Footsteps had her spinning around, ready to fight the intruder who was disturbing her desperately needed solitude. When Ichigo's face appeared from the shadows she relaxed her stance, dropping her fists to her sides. He surveyed her silently, his eyes missing nothing. It was something she wished she could hide from him but he would figure it out eventually. His hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his jacket. He came to stand beside her, gaze boring deep beneath the surface of the water.

"What are you doing here?" Rukia finally asked, unable to bear the weight of the silence between them.

"Making sure you're safe," was the short reply.

Rukia shot him a look. "I can take care of myself, Ichigo."

"I know."

The unnatural nature of his answers made her worry. She studied him carefully in the little light cast from the moon. He looked like something was bothering him. She waited patiently, knowing that if he wanted her to know what it was he would tell her. She folded her arms across her chest and stood with him in comfortable silence. And then she started thinking about her nightmare again. Goose bumps broke the surface of her skin and she involuntarily shivered.

Suddenly warmth enveloped her and she turned startled eyes to Ichigo. He had shrugged off his jacket and covered her shoulders with them. His hands rested lightly at the nape of her neck before moving away. She gripped the edges of his jacket gratefully and pulled them closer together. His scent drifted off the jacket and a blush heated her cheeks. She did her best to suppress it.

"I thought you were asleep," she said, breaking the silence once again.

His continued silence caused her to shoot him another glance. His face was a light shade of red and he shoved his hands into his jean pockets. He refused to even meet her gaze and Rukia wondered if what was worrying him was that bad.

"I was asleep," he started in a low voice. "Until you started calling out my name in yours."

Rukia's eyes widened, her pupils dilating, and she stepped away from him, spluttering and pointing her finger at him. "Are you sure you weren't just dreaming?"

He finally turned his eyes to her. They were haunted by shadows of the past. Her arm lowered and uncertainty swamped her. She didn't know why he was acting this way but his sadness was really bothering her. He just watched her for a while before turning back to the water.

"You're right. Perhaps it was a dream."

The way he said it made her realise he was just humouring her. She appreciated it nonetheless. She couldn't handle anything serious in her life now and the way he had been looking at her was pretty serious. She wracked her brain, trying to remember if she had said anything in her sleep and froze as she remembered calling out his name in anguish when she had seen his head on the spike. Another blush heated her cheeks. She hadn't realised she had spoken it out loud.

"It was just a bad dream," she murmured.

"Are your dreams always that intense?"

"Lately, they have been."

"Do…do you want to talk about it?"

She appreciated his willingness to listen to her but she didn't want to share the horror that existed in her mind. It was too soon to talk about what she'd seen. She didn't want to see the trepidation in his eyes when she spoke of it. Maybe one day soon, but not yet.

"Not particularly," she responded.

"Rukia…" Ichigo hesitated.

In the space of an instant, everything changed. A garganta opened up in front of them. Ichigo was too stunned to react, Rukia supposed. Maybe that's why she was pulled from his side in a split second. The hand that gripped her arm was merciless and would probably leave bruises behind. It was an inane thought, especially given the circumstances, but the combined effects of the nightmare and the surprise attack was enough to render her useless. She was yanked violently away from Ichigo, and so quickly she herself didn't even have time to react. No words escaped her mouth as her world started to spin. She gripped tightly onto something but she was tilted away, whatever was in her fist going with her.

And then she knew no more.

"Rukia!" Ichigo yelled when the garganta closed. He was so stunned he could only gape at the point where Rukia had disappeared. "Rukia…"

Horror had him spinning around and sprinting to Urahara Kisuke's little shop. His heartbeat hammered painfully in his chest as he ran. What the hell just happened, he wondered. WHAT THE HELL! Today the distance seemed even longer than usual. He was shouting long before he reached the little shop and found Urahara standing outside, his clothes billowing in the wind. The man was looking up at the sky, his face expressionless.

"Stop shouting, Kurosaki-san," he said.

"We have to go after her," Ichigo snapped. "We have to go now."

Urahara pinned him down with a bland stare, his gaze sharp and intense even at this time of the night. He pulled his green and white striped bucket hat back from his eyes with a sigh. "And where do you suppose we start? She could be anywhere."

"We start in Hueco Mundo. A garganta opened up over the river. Come on, stop wasting time."

"Kurosaki-san, listen to me. By the time you get to Hueco Mundo she might not be there anymore."

"How would you know unless we go look?" The worry in Ichigo was starting to grow, and with it, another emotion, one so powerful he nearly took a step back from the sheer force of it.

Fear. Pure, unadulterated fear.

Rukia had been taken from right under his nose and he hadn't done anything to stop it. The anxiety was eating away at him like acid, sharp and painful. He glared at the ground, fists clenched tightly. How could he have been so lax? The only reason he had followed her was to make sure she would be safe. And he hadn't even done that. Through his haze of self reprimandation he heard Urahara's voice.

"Kurosaki-san, I'm sending you to Soul Society. Speak to Kurotsuchi-taicho. Tell him everything that's happened. Tell him I think they've discovered the existence of the Shiryoku. I have a very bad feeling about this."

The look on the old man's face gave Ichigo pause. He looked afraid. Of something? Of someone?

"Urahara-san, what's going on? Who would want to capture Rukia and why?"

"She has something that they want."

"What?"

Urahara suddenly moved toward his shop. "Hurry, Kurosaki-san. We don't have much time. The longer Rukia is gone for the worse our situation will get. Find Kurotsuchi first, understand? Speak of this to no one else. And remember, you can't trust anyone from Seireitei. Aizen taught us that lesson well. Do you remember what I told you to say?"

Ichigo nodded. "I do, but why?"

"The time for questions will come later. Right now we need to get you to Soul Society."

Meanwhile in Hueco Mundo…

"Wake up, little one…"

The voice was like a tether, pulling Rukia away from the torture in the farthest reaches of her subconscious. She gripped onto the voice like a lifeline, wanting to get away from the bloodshed she was seeing. The pressure around her felt thick with sedation. All a part of her wanted was to fight to stay locked in her own mind. The other, the stronger part, wanted out. She fought her way through the density, determined to escape her mental prison.

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up. The first thing she saw was the man standing half in the shadows at the foot of the bed she was lying on. He was wearing loose robes, not unlike a Shinigami, yet from that she could tell he wasn't one. His arms were crossed over his chest and a chuckle passed his lips when he noticed her startled gaze on him.

"Who are you?" she demanded, trying to stand but failing. She felt so weak, like her body couldn't handle the simple task of getting to her feet.

"Rest, little one. Do not harm yourself. I've been waiting a long time for you…"