I'm a bit rusty when it comes to IchiRuki. I usually only ship them as brother and sister. And I'm not even sure if this fic counts as them anyway. But I figured I'd give it a shot. Please let me know how you feel I did C:

When she had first encountered him, she had been an outsider. Sure, she was a noble. But only because she was adopted into the Kuchiki family. Even when she found out her long lost sister , Hisana, had been with Byakuya, it still didn't make any sense as to why it took him this long to welcome her.

When she had reached the Kuchiki mansion, she felt so small.

It was a huge place, one that was fitting for a noble like Byakuya. But it felt so lonely as well. For it was only him and her in this place. There were maids, but they weren't her friends.

She missed Renji.

She wondered if he was still happy that she had a family, a place she could call home. Would he be happy without her? Would he be able to eat right? Those were questions that had pondered Rukia's mind for that week.

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It was a few months that she had met him.

Kaien Shiba.

Her new Assistant Captain, and later her new best friend.

She wondered why her brother didn't want her to be on his squad. But she knew better than to question him. For Byakuya Kuchiki was a scary man. So she had kept her mouth shut, only speaking to him about matters that she felt were important to him.

She didn't know that Kaien was going to be so nice, so gentle. Yes, he loved teasing her, but he also gave her good advice.

Next thing she knew, she was always around him.

She would spar with him, master her zanpaktou and hone her skills. And he would let her. He would grin his silly grin and release his zanpaktou. His moves were so elegant, and yet they held a lot of power. Something she wished she had. He showed confidence in his skills, something she lacked. And for that she envied her assistant captain.

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When he had died, she was so heartbroken. Her mind was numb, just like her heart. After it had somewhat thawed, she had felt the pain. And for the next few weeks, Rukia had cried herself to sleep. However, this pain wasn't just because she lost her best friend.

She had been the one to take his life.

Had she'd known the hollow was able to possess another soul's body, she would have warned him. She would've gotten stronger and fought with him. Instead of running away from danger.

Like a coward.

For the next few months, she had resolved to get stronger, to be the person Kaien wanted her to be. She had even trained with Renji, when he wasn't busy with his own life. She wanted to prove her worth.

Not just to her brother, but to herself.

She felt if she couldn't fight and save other souls, she had no business being a soul reaper.

And so, Rukia Kuchiki continued to train to avenge her best friend Kaien.

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A few months after that, Rukia was sent to go to the world of the living. It was her first time going by herself, so she was nervous to say the least. But she never showed it. For she had pride, and she didn't want to shame her family.

When she had gotten there, she felt drawn to the place. She wasn't sure what it was, but she felt like it was familiar to her. Even though she had never been to this town before.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Rukia continued on her way, slaying hollows as they came.

She had landed on a rooftop of a very tall building. The sound of laughter had made her turn her head. What she saw shocked her.

There, standing amongst the group of students was a orange-haired teen. His hair wasn't what shocked her. It was the face.

For the human had looked just like Kaien.

At first, she thought it was him, but when she noticed that he was young and so very tall, she realized it wasn't him at all. Though the boy had looked like him, he wasn't him.

Said boy turned to look in her general direction. Before she could hide, their eyes locked, freezing her to the spot. His eyes held a look she couldn't name. Perhaps it was curiousity, but Rukia couldn't stand it.

It had never dawned on her to think that he couldn't see her. Perhaps he was just looking in that general direction because he felt like it.

But she didn't want to take a chance.

So she fled.

From the boy that looked like her best friend.

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A few years later, after the winter war was over, there she was again. Standing on the roof of the very tall building. Though this time, she knew it was Karakura High School. And the boy beside her she knew was Ichigo Kurosaki.

They were just standing there, watching Tatsuki and Orihime heading home from school, Keigo following behind with Chad and Mizurio. A small smile had appeared on her face as she watched them interact with one another. She was proud to call them her friends.

"Huh. I remembered something."

Turning to the shinigami beside her, she blinked in confusion. Though she didn't speak a word, instead opted to hearing him talk.

"This was the spot I had first seen you. Though I wasn't sure if I was just dreaming."

Turning to face her, he smiled. "Looks like I wasn't."

A small grin was on her face. "No. You weren't."

Yawning, Ichigo turned towards the door exiting from the roof. "C'mon midget. Let's get going before the old man thinks we're doing something."

"Alright."

As she followed behind his footsteps, only one thought was in her mind.

"Thank You Ichigo."