Disclaimer: I don't own BLEACH, awesome Kubo-sensei does. But I love it and hope it continues forever, lol. :)

AN: I don't usually write fanfic for this fandom but I couldn't resist contributing something to the BLEACH fandom. I've been following the anime for years and only recently started following the manga chapters. So there may be some details I've missed, since the BLEACH universe is so multifaceted.

Also, this short fanfic is based upon chapter 424 of the manga although this fanfic is set in winter. There aren't many spoilers, except the state of Ichigo and his spiritual powers as they are in that chapter. Hope you enjoy! –Maho-chan :)

Ever Since Then
A BLEACH Fanfic
By Maho-chan

Ever since then,

Rukia hasn't come to Karakura Town once…

The winter sun breaking through the clouds was surprisingly bright, streaming through the bedroom window onto Ichigo as he covered his face with his arm.

Just before fully waking, he thought he could hear Rukia's breathing from where she slept in his closet, nearby. He reached out to hit his alarm, expecting Kon to jump upon his face like most mornings.

But after a few moments, there was nothing, only the regular sounds his family bustling around downstairs. Ichigo opened his eyes and blinked up at the ceiling.

My normal life...like I always wanted.

He sat up slowly, drawing his knees up so that he could lean his chin on his arms. He stared at an indistinct point for a few moments more, and then slowly got out of bed. He blinked at the empty room, and then began to get dressed.

The walk to school was uneventful. Clouds gathered overhead, blocking out the sun.

Ichigo slung his bag over his shoulder. It was pleasantly cold today.

But as it had been for the last year, there were no ghosts on the street corner, no hollows to interrupt his walk. No conversation to annoy him and no one to argue with. Just normal people surrounded him.

Normal people like me…now…

His shoes sank into the fresh snow as he trudged towards school. As he neared the gates of Karakura High School, snow began to fall in wisps of white around him. He saw a flash and for a second, remembered the flash of a white ribbon swirling around an elegant ice sword.

He paused and then began whistling as he continued on. As he entered the entryway to Karakura High School, he approached his friends, who were changing into their indoor shoes.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime exclaimed. "Aren't you cold?"

"Hmm?" Ichigo gave her an odd look. Orihime peered at him and asked. "Did you forget your coat?"

Ichigo looked down and frowned. He had his uniform jacket on. And since when did he dislike ice and snow?

So he shrugged at her and then yawned.

"I'm fine, Inoue. Thanks though." he said as he changed his shoes and then shuffled to class.

Ishida joined Orihime as she watched Ichigo leave. She glanced at Ishida with a look of concern and he nodded with understanding.

Science class was boring today. Ichigo took lackluster notes and tried to stay awake.

He stopped to cough. Clearing his throat, he concentrated harder on the lecture until he was overcome by the urge to sneeze. And sneeze he did, until the teacher sent him to the nurse's office for disrupting the class.

"Don't spread your germs around, Kurosaki-kun! We have a test in two days; you'd better go home and rest! " she called out as he gathered his things.

He left reluctantly, not bothering to glance at his friends.

The school nurse said the same thing. "Go home! You are sick!"

As Ichigo was changing his shoes in the entryway, Ishida tore past him and out the door in a flurry.

Another hollow.

Ichigo watched him leave, his shoulders slumping.

No one was home.

Ichigo coughed as he went up to his room. He dropped his books on the floor and then lay down on his bed. He blearily stared at the ceiling. After a few moments, he sat up and opened his bottom desk drawer.

He smiled slightly as he took out one of the notebooks from the drawer and flipped through it. He lay back on the bed and looked at it for a while until he became tired. And as his eyes closed, the notebook slipped out of his hands and onto the floor.

"Onii-chan?" Yuzu said as she shook his shoulder. Ichigo woke up slowly, his throat burning.

"Yuzu?" he croaked.

"Onii-chan!" she chastised. "Why didn't you tell us you weren't feeling well?"

From behind her, his father gave him a concerned look. Karin peeked in from the doorway.

Ichigo coughed and went to sit up, only to find himself held down by his father.

"Yuzu, go make some soup."

"Karin, extra blankets."

He turned to Ichigo and said "You keep resting."

"I'm fine. You don't have to hold me down." Ichigo grumbled.

Ichigo closed his eyes tiredly and swallowed painfully.

"At least close the window, its cold in here." Isshin said. He went to close the window that was cracked open enough to let the cold winter air in.

On the verge of sleep, Ichigo uttered. "But I like the cold and snow."

Isshin looked back at him, his mouth set into a frown. He spotted the notebook on the floor. Picking it up, he flipped through it and then set it on the desk.

"Not once…" Ichigo mumbled agitatedly. He coughed then grumbled. "Since then…"

Isshin tapped the notebook with his fingertips. As Karin appeared with the blankets, he helped her cover Ichigo and then left to make a phone call.

Yuzu fretted as she stared at the uneaten bowl of soup she had left on his desk earlier.

"Onni-chan, you didn't eat any of it!" she cried as she felt Ichigo's hot forehead.

"Papa!"

Isshin ducked his head in. "Yuzu, it's fine. Come out now. We'll bring him more soup later."

When Yuzu started to protest, Isshin led her away. Closing the door, they went downstairs as Yuzu complained. "But he's really sick! Shouldn't we do something?"

"He'll be better soon." Isshin reassured her. Their voices became faint as they left.

Having passed through the precipice world, Rukia stepped over the threshold of the Senkaimon into the real world, her face impassive. Next to her Hanatarou fidgeted.

"Rukia-san, is it really okay to open the Senkaimon here?"

She turned to him. "Yes, we have special clearance to do this. Thank you for coming with me; I needed your help today."

Hanatarou nodded. "Captain Unohana gave me the needed instructions."

He looked around. "I remember this bedroom!" Hanatarou said cheerfully.

Rukia smiled slightly.

"So this is your special assignment, even though…" Hanatarou's voice trailed off as the Senkaimon closed behind him. He glanced at Rukia. She didn't meet his gaze as she answered.

"Yes. I'm still coming here often."

Hanatarou nodded, deciding from her tone that it would be better not to ask any more questions. He drew near to the bed and hovered over the sleeping Ichigo.

"He looks really unwell." Hanatarou commented. He felt Ichigo's forehead.

Rukia absently smoothed her uniform.

"Ichigo-san." Hanatarou called out, trying to wake him.

"He can't hear or see us." Rukia said in a solemn tone as she rested her hand on the hilt of her sword. Her hand trembled slightly.

"Oh…right…" Hanatarou replied, remembering how Ichigo had lost his powers. He placed his palms over Ichigo and concentrated. As he whispered incantations, blue light appeared under his hands. Rukia took a step forward.

"There's fever…chest fluid." Hanatarou said aloud as he concentrated on healing. Rukia swallowed nervously. She looked around the room to distract herself.

"Congestion…" Hanatarou commented as he drew the healing energy over Ichigo's forehead and face. "Body pain. Some kind of virus."

After a while, Hanatarou sat back. Rukia looked back at Ichigo, to find him sleeping peacefully, his color back to normal. Hanatarou turned to her. "He should be fine now. But Rukia-san, there are also bad dreams."

Rukia came forward. "Bad dreams?"

"Yes, do you want me to do a healing spell for them?" Hanatarou took a piece of parchment out and looked at it.

Rukia read it over his shoulder. It was a simple kidou spell that they had learned in the academy, one that they used for soothing their own bad dreams, should they have them.

As Rukia opened her mouth to answer, Hanatarou's cell phone rang. He picked it up and listened.

"Rukia-san, sorry. I have to go back."

As Hanatarou opened the Senkaimon, he asked. "Sorry, will you take care of the rest?"

Rukia nodded as he dashed through the gate.

She was alone with Ichigo.

Rukia sighed and fingered the parchment in her hands. She sat on the edge of the bed, next to Ichigo and then looked at his wan face.

"Idiot." she said quietly. As she had done during her visits for the past year, she checked her phone for the status of the protection spells that had been placed upon him. As various points around and on Ichigo's body glowed, she nodded with satisfaction.

The kidou protection spells were still holding.

She watched him sleep.

"But I didn't have a protection spell for human illnesses. That is why I asked Yamada Hanatarou to come with me today." she said to him, even though he couldn't hear her.

"Usually Soul Society healers don't treat humans. But even without your powers, you still aren't a completely normal human." she wryly commented as she absently smoothed the blanket over his chest.

"How is school?" she asked, as she gazed upon his face. "We hear that your grades are good. Probably better now that you aren't always fighting hollow."

"Kon says hello. He is always following me around my house when I am home, and getting into trouble when he gets out of our estate. Nii-sama barely tolerates him. And Kon keeps complaining that he'd rather be here."

"Renji and I have been training with Rangiku and Hisagi like I mentioned last time."

"Hey, you haven't been getting into any human fights, have you?" Rukia narrowed her eyes at him. "Remember what I told you about fighting gangsters?"

She checked and found that her protection spell for human fights was holding.

Rukia was quiet for a while, and then she said softly.

"Bad dreams huh?"

Rukia lifted her hand then hesitated. Performing the dream healing spell on others required peering into the dreamer's mind.

Healers were usually the only ones cast this spell on others than themselves because of their medical clearance and because of the strict confidence required to peer into another person's thoughts.

Perhaps she should call Captain Unohana and wait for another healer to come.

But as Ichigo moaned in his sleep then winced, she moved forward and touched his forehead with her fingertips. She glanced at the spell in her hands and began the incantation. As her fingers began to glow, she was drawn into his mind.

Rukia blinked in the murky darkness, and began to walk. Her limbs felt heavy. She looked around her. Above her was a hazy upside down Karakura Town. Below her was Soul Society, shrouded in shadows. She continued to walk, until her surroundings became pitch black. She waited for an image, for further indication of the dream she was to heal. But there was only silence.

And then…

"Zangetsu."

At the sound of Ichigo's thoughts, Rukia turned and looked about her. The atmosphere weighed upon her. She could hear Ichigo's breathing, rough and labored. She tried to move towards where it was coming from, and as she did, he said mournfully.

"Soul Society."

Rukia kept moving forward. Her body moved sluggishly.

And then he called out in his mind.

"Rukia."

She froze.

His voice seemed very near. Rukia reached out blindly and somehow caught his shoulder. She crouched near him.

"As if I'd be lonely." Ichigo said bitterly.

He took a deep breath.

"But you could visit me once in a while." he muttered. "Maybe if you visited, there's a chance I could still see you, even without my powers."

She gripped his shoulder as he whispered.

"Maybe."

Rukia clutched one fist to her heart. She concentrated on the spell and as she did, his inner world shifted, color swirling around them slowly, creating a sphere of light.

As the darkness lifted within the sphere, Rukia found herself crouched before Ichigo where he sat on the ground, her face close to his.

Ichigo stared at her, blinking with surprise. And before Rukia could say anything, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into an embrace.

She gasped as Ichigo held her tightly, his face pressed against her shoulder. Rukia hesitated, and then carefully wrapped an arm around him. When he gripped her harder, her eyes closed as she leaned into him, her cheek resting against his bright hair.

They remained like this for a long while, until a voice interrupted.

"Rukia-san?"

Rukia was startled out of Ichigo's mind by Karin's voice. She turned to Karin and blinked at her.

"Is my brother alright?"

Rukia recovered her composure and looked down at Ichigo, who was sleeping peacefully.

"Yes, we've healed him."

Karin looked relieved. "Thank you."

Rukia nodded.

"Will you stay for dinner?" Karin asked politely.

Rukia shook her head. "No, I should return to Soul Society. I'll be leaving in a moment. But thank you anyway."

Karin smiled and then left the room. Rukia brought her gaze back to Ichigo's face.

As he frowned in his sleep, she placed her fingertips over his forehead again. She whispered the last of the dream incantation. As he relaxed, she whispered one more kidou spell.

As the spell focused her energy and her body became the faintest bit more material, she touched his hand. The slight pressure pressed his fingers down onto the coverlet.

"Remember, no matter what, I can see you." she reassured him. He stirred as her voice resounded very faintly in the quiet room.

"I'll come back again soon, you fool."

As she made to leave, she noticed her notebook of drawings on his desk. Rukia looked back at Ichigo's sleeping face.

She squeezed his fingertips then stood. Adjusting her sword, she drew open the Senkaimon once more.

Rukia glanced back at Ichigo one more time then stepped over the threshold. And as the Senkaimon closed behind her, Ichigo sighed contentedly in his sleep, his hand slowly closing over the blankets, as if she was still holding it.

-Maho-chan :) (5/23/2011)