Leave Out All the Rest, a bleach fanfic

A/N: This is my VERY FIRST story for bleach…so be gentle please!! It's about my newest favorite couple Ichigo x Rukia!!

This is songfic base on Linkin Park – Leave Out All the Rest (from their newest album Minutes to Midnight) There was no specific time setting for this but I think it would go well if it was right before in the beginning of the SS arc.

Obviously I do not own the characters or the song…

Leave Out All the Rest

I dreamed I was missing
You were so scared
But no one would listen
'Cause no one else cares

Rukia's Dream
Rukia was going to school like she does every day. She entered class and greeted all her classmates but strangely no one notices her. She gives a quizzical look and runs up to Orihime waving her hands in front of the brunette. Completely ignoring the confused shinigami in front of her, Orihime just shares her recipe for last night dinner with Tatsuki. Confused and on the verge of angry, Rukia looks around her classroom hoping to find someone to notice her presence. Her dark blue orbs settle onto to a bright orange spikey hair. Ichigo let his gaze fall onto the empty seat next to him, his scowl deepening and something in his eyes that Rukia couldn't really name. Fear? Sadness? She couldn't tell. She runs up to him trying to hold his arm but only to have her hands pass right through him.

After my dreaming
I woke with this fear.
What am I leaving,
When I am done here?

Rukia bolts up with beads of sweat running down her face. It wasn't the typical nightmare but daunting enough for the petite shinigami's heart to beat like crazy. She closes her eyes to catch her breath and calm down. She sighs and opens the closet door – his closet door – and watches the young boy slumber like nothing has happened.
The dream reminded Rukia that she can't stay at this place forever. She can't stay with him forever. The more and more time she spends with Ichigo, the more her feelings for the substitute shingami grew. She sighs knowing that it's useless for such petty emotions, she's a fully fledged shinigami and her place is in Soul Society. She couldn't help but wonder what does she want when she leaves?

So if you're asking me I want you to know...

When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some reason to be missed.
And don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest, leave out all the rest.

She silently steps out of the closet, just like the first day she silently entered his room and he noticed her. She kneels next to his bed, studying his peaceful face. It wasn't in a scowl like it is every day, she likes this look. Her eyes couldn't help but water as she imagines what she would do when she had to leave him.
She knows her time was coming and she was hoping desperately that something would happen so that he could remember her, and maybe he'll miss her when she leaves. She wants Ichigo to remember her. Not as a nagging, shin-kicking, yelling, punching little brat but as a friend at least.
She wants him to be strong without her to guide him with hollows. She hopes that he wouldn't blame or resent her for turning his life upside down with his new duties of defeating hollows and sending souls to Soul Society. She hopes that he'll forget all that but just remember her as a friend who was willing to stand by him as long as she could and protect him.

Don't be afraid
Of taking my beatings
Of shit behind me.

She wishes that he's strong enough or smart enough not to read into every single detail of what she does. She doesn't want him to think that she hates him every time she punches him in the gut. She doesn't want him to hate her if and when he finds out the dark past about her.

I'm strong on the surface
Not all the way through.
I've never been perfect
But neither have you.

She gently touches his forehead and strokes his spikey locks. She lets a single tear fall as she smiles sadly as she hears him gruff a little. 'It's okay, I'll cry for tonight'. Tomorrow would be different, she'll be strong she'll put on her façade like she always does. Like how he always does. He may seem uncaring, but he's protective, he may seem slow, but he can read people well, he may seem clumsy, but she knew he was strong enough.

Forgetting
All the hurt inside you've learned to hide so well.
Pretending
Someone else can come and save me from myself.

She wishes that before she has to leave, that he will open up to her. That he'll be ready to talk about all the things that he hides so well. She'll be strong and caring enough to listen. Then she hopes that he'll be strong enough too. Strong enough so that she can open up to him to finally let all the things that have been killing her out.

So if you're asking me I want you to know...

She gets up and readies herself or another short sleep. As she turns around she feels a warm hand grasping hers and Ichigo mumbling something that sounds very similar to mommy… Rukia smiles gently and kisses him on the forehead. Feeling his grip loosens she steps away. She knows that he won't remember the kind and loving act, but she can't help but wish that he would. That he would remember the moments when she took care of him, all the good things, and leaving out all the useless details.