A/N: Saussurea Obvallata, or Brahma Kamal, is a flower. It blooms in the Himalayas at an altitude of around ~4'500 m, i.e. in very cold mountain climates. It's very rare to see one and thus it's said to be a sign of luck to see one. Supposedly blooms at night, but I can't really confirm this. Furthermore, although not visible the flower head is purple. Really, it couldn't fit Rukia more if it tried! Anyways let's get on with the story, shall we?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I don't make any money off this story, and all that jazz.

Chapter 1

The doctor's house was nice, it wasn't particularly large but it definitely looked homey. She knew the doctor had children, and rumor has it that he'd treated some of the others' wounds despite their lack of money. Therefore, she thought as she limped towards the back door, she wasn't going to steal any more than what she needed. A frown made itself known on her face as she grabbed her set of -old and battered but still functional- lockpicks. For a moment the raven-haired teenager hesitated, but a determined look crossed her face. She had to get some medical gear, preferably gauze tape and a sewing kit and some painkillers. And maybe rubbing alcohol? Some stuff for her throbbing ankle would be nice too. While she wasn't the most familiar with treating wounds, right now she was the only one who could help Renji so she'd have to make do. She pressed her lips together into a thin line, despair rising in her at her friend's condition. Not him too, she thought, she couldn't lose him too.

The lock clicked open and stormy lilac eyes darted over the backyard before entering the house. It was in the middle of the day, so anyone could've seen her but it'd mean the house was empty. The doctor at his clinic and his children at school, she wasn't sure about the lady of the house but desperate times calls for desperate measures. Filling her lungs to the brim, the girl pushed the door open enough to slip though and promptly closed it behind her.

The house was silent around her. Papers littered a table by the well-used sofa and some dishes from breakfast was still soaking in water, but overall the house looked well cared for. The inside matched the homey feel of the outside perfectly, and a pang of longing and sadness washed over the strange girl. With a quick shake of her head, the teenager gritted her teeth and nearly hobbled upstairs to begin her search.

Kurosaki Ichigo was an ordinary teenage boy, well, sorta. He frowned constantly and got into a lot of fights, which had earned him a bad boy rep. His mother died when he was 9, which accounted for his change in attitude from the happy, smiling child he used to be. Apart from that, he went to high school like any ordinary 15 year old did. Despite that fact, this ordinary weekday Ichigo was decisively not in school. Apparently someone had screwed up the scheduling and pushed all the lectures a day forward, effectively clearing up just this day for everyone going to Karakura high. While the rest of his classmates decided to head to some café or beach or whatever, Ichigo had simply headed home. His bright orange hair was currently being tugged at in frustration as the boy was buried in one of his school books. It really shouldn't be this hard, he thought. Math wasn't a particularly difficult subject for him, but his mind was all over the place. Except for his math homework. With a deep-seated sigh he leaned back in his chair, stretching out his lean body. One of his hands plopped down over his face as he yawned. Maybe he should just nap until his sisters got out of school.

A rustling sound startled him out of his thoughts. Did someone else get home already? The sound of footfalls confirmed his suspicion. Ichigo figured it was most likely his dad, but it was unusually early, just a little after lunch. It was of course possible his father had forgotten something at home, after all the man was half past crazy.

Shrugging lightly, the teenager got up and walked towards the bathroom where his dad was seemingly searching for something. He opened the door to find... A strange girl?!

"Nani?!* Who the hell are you?!" An accusing finger pointed at her out of its own volition. The girl went rigid, her hand still reaching for a carton of some sort just a bit out of her reach. She was short, he noticed. Short and scrawny, with midnight black hair and dirtied clothes. Slowly, her head turned towards him while her hand lowered to accommodate the change. Over her shoulder peaked the most unusual eyes, a dark stormy grey-blue-purple mix he was sure he'd never find anywhere else.

The frown on his face deepened in confusion. He'd never seen this girl before. So why was she in their bathroom?!

"Oi! Answer me. I asked who the hell you are, and what are you doing here?" he shouted at her. She fully turned to face him, her face drawing into a scowl as well.

"You only asked who I was, idiot, you never asked what I was doing here." she shouted back at him. The nerve! He felt a vein throb, she was the one who shouldn't be here.

"Well I'm asking now! And you still haven't given me any answers, midget!" he forcefully ruffled her hair as if to prove his statement. She responded by swatting his hand away and kicking his shin. He cringed at the power behind her kick, damn it but she was strong for a midget.

"Itai!*" a yelp forced it's way through clenched teeth, as a hand came down to cradle an injured leg. Ichigo's wrath lessened somewhat at the mystery girl's obviously pained expression. He felt close to panic as he saw the tears gather at the corner of her eyes. Fuck, he hated it when people cried. To his surprise the tears never fell as she stubbornly held them in.

A defeated sigh escaped his throat. Grabbing her shoulders he plonked her down on the toilet. Before she could protest he grabbed her leg and lifted it up to the height of his crouched posture. Tenderly he lifted the ragged pants leg, not contemplating her sudden inactivity. A hiss erupted from her as he touched the swollen and red ankle, keeping a strong hold on her leg to keep her from retracting it. What he didn't count on was her retracting the leg only to kick out wildly. Curses flew in the air from both of them as her injured foot connected with the face of the orange-headed boy.

"Hey! Stop manhandling me! Besides, you're just injuring your foot more." Big tear-filled violet eyes looked up at him. "H-hey, stop that." With a huff, he grabbed the box she was reaching for when he came in; the medical supplies. Oh, he thought, she was probably trying to patch herself up. Still, how did she even get in? He had locked the front door after he got home, hadn't he? With a shrug he grabbed her around the waist and slung her over his shoulder, his other hand carrying the medical kit. With the girl sprouting insults, wiggling around and punching and kicking him continuously, he made his way downstairs. She nearly bounced off when he threw her down on the couch.

"O-oi! Aren't you trying to fix my leg? Why are you throwing me around?! Idiot!" She shouted at him, ticking him off even more.

"Hey! I'm not the strange girl stealing medical supplies and won't even tell me her name! I should just throw you out instead of helping you!" he shouted back at her, a look of surprise crossing his face as all fight disappeared from her. She bowed her head, a shadow covering the top half of her face, and leaned back more into the couch. Ichigo gave a quick nod at her submission, and set up the supplies. He felt her eyes tracking his motions as he worked on her leg.

"Rukia." It wasn't more than a murmur, but Ichigo easily caught it in the quiet of the room.

"Hmm?" He stopped what he was doing to look at her. Her eyes were downcast, avoiding his own brown ones.

"My name, it's Rukia." she murmured, just as quiet.

He almost smiled at her, instead turning it into a smirk. He stretched out a hand towards her. "Kurosaki Ichigo."

As she took it, a small smile splayed on her lips.

*Nani = what

*Itai = hurts/ouch (are these even necessary since I'll just be using simple terms?)

A/N: Well, I'll just come right off the bat and say this is pretty much my first draft of the story, so I might go back and change around some stuff later on! Anyways, if anybody is interested I'll write some more, but I was wondering which you'd rather have:

A: Byakuya already has adopted Rukia; in which case she's sort of ran away temporarily. Leaning towards this!

B: Rukia is living on the streets/in various foster homes.

Either way Byakuya will eventually be included in the story, as well as a bunch of other characters. On another note; eventual IchiRuki, just so you know.

Let me know what you think, Andy~~