Just my take on what Rukia was thinking in the Shrine of Repentance. All mistakes are mine.

I don't own Bleach or the characters.


Why can you never listen? Not that first night, that fateful night when we met, and not the last night, the night you should have died. That habit of yours is what caused me to ruin your life. If you had listened at first, you wouldn't have tried to take on a Hollow dressed in your pyjamas and armed only with a chair. If you had listened, I would never have had to set the whole series of events in motion by transferring my powers to you.

It just got worse from there. You'd hear me, but not listen, and go off and do things your own way. At first I thought you didn't understand, so I drew you pictures. You just insulted my artwork. I understand now that it's just the way you are.

I tried to give you basic instructions, and you just went off and bashed everything in sight. In time, I came to understand the important thing about you. You do listen; you just decide whether what you've heard is important enough to actually pay attention to.

That last night, I told you to stay home. You should have listened. If you had, my last sight of you wouldn't have been of you lying on the ground, dying from my brothers' stoke. Do you know how hard it was to not run to you, to try to heal you? Instead, in an effort to save your life, I stood by my brother, and prepared myself to face my punishment. I told you I'd never forgive you if you came after me. You should have known by that how serious I was. I had never threatened you like that before. Punched, kicked, and yes, even drawn on you, but never something like that.

The tears brimming up should also have told you something was different. I don't think that I cried in the two months you had known me. I was hoping with all my heart that just this once, you would listen to me. You couldn't know what would be waiting for you in Soul Society. You could never hope to defeat all that would stand in your way. I begged you to listen to me just this once. It was my fault you were so close to death, and I'm not worth dying for.

But no. Once again, you didn't listen to me. Renji told me he heard you were here. Why!? Why couldn't you listen, just one time! I knew you were safe in the Land of the Living, here, you're anything but. Now I have no way of helping you, or even of knowing what's going on. Ichigo, please, don't die. Maybe the fact that I'm not asking or telling you in person will help. Please listen. Don't die.