"Rain, rain, go away, come again another day."
Rukia watched the boy with the bright orange hair from a distance as he repeated the same lines to himself. Curled up in a tight ball all alone on the edge of the river, the boy seemed to be waiting for something. The boy sang about the rain, and yet it was a fine summer's day, with not a cloud to be seen. What a strange child . . . she thought to herself. She had known the song to be cheerful, a children's song that softly mocked the weather, but as she listened to the boy singing all alone, Rukia found that the song took on a feeling of melancholy.
Curious, Rukia moved closer to the boy, and was taken aback by what confronted her. The boy had been crying, but seemed to have run out of tears, and he had purple bags under his eyes that made Rukia wonder if he had ever slept in his short lifetime.
The dry grass crunching underfoot alerted the boy to her presence. His head whipped up, and his eyes, full of fear, met hers. He opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped himself, instead burying his face into his arms. Only slightly fazed by the fact that he could see her, Rukia moved closer to the boy and sat down beside him in a similar position. The boy peeked out from the corner of his eyes, curious, then relented and went back to staring at his shoe laces.
"Rain, rain, go away, come again another day."
Startled, the boy raised his head and looked at her. Smiling back she answered his unspoken question, "I don't really like the rain, either, you know?"
The boy replied, "The rain took her away . . ."
Rukia instantly understood what he meant. Looking up at the sky she replied "The rain took him away, too, but I still have the others . . . my brother, my friends, I still have them, so, I guess I can still be happy, even if I miss him." She continued "Even though I can't see him anymore, I know he's there. That's why I still smile, because I know that he'd be sad if he saw me cry." She lowered her head, and smiled at the boy. "You know, as long as you remember them, they never truly disappear; as long as you remember . . ." she reached over and placed a hand over the boy's heart. ". . . they will always, stay in here."
The boy's bottom lip trembled, letting out small whimpers, the boy cried, throwing himself into Rukia's arms. Rukia smiled, returning the gesture and gently rocking back and forth.
" . . . Thank you . . ." said the boy, in between sobs.
Ichigo stood on the edge of the river, at the place where his mother died, the place where he had been comforted by a stranger in black clothes . . .
"Hey Idiot, quit spacing out, we have work to do." Ichigo turned to see Rukia glaring at him half heartedly.
"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya, I'm coming," he replied, following her as she flashed into the direction of the hollow's spiritual pressure.
After they had defeated the hollow, Ichigo returned to the spot, and sat down, hugging his knees to his chest and looking out across the river.
Rukia watched him, and as she did so an image of the little boy with orange hair from so long ago . . .
"Rain, rain, go away, come again another day"
Ichigo looked up, and saw Rukia looking down at him with a knowing smile.
"As long as you remember," she said, smiling, "they will always, stay in here." She finished as she placed a hand over her heart.
Ichigo's eyes widened in recognition as it dawned on him, "So it was you!" he cried, "It was you that I remember from when I was 9! Why didn't I realise that sooner?"
Rukia smiled, "You never asked me for my name."