A/N: Hi guys! So it's definitely been a while since I've written any type of fan fiction. I use to write on a site called quizilla years and years ago so this a huge difference to me in terms of websites and what's allowed. Regardless, I think I'm getting the hang of it. Like I mentioned before, I haven't written any type of Fan fic in years so I hope this story doesn't seem to awkward and I hope I don't murder the character's personality and things like that, too much. Hope you enjoy the story, I'm not too sure where I'm going with this or even how but bear with me! Have fun reading :D

"Oi! Ichigo!"

"Ichigo! Wake up already! We're gonna be late!"

"Ichi-"

"Alright I'm up, god damn it!"

Ichigo Kurosaki. 18 years old. Male. Student/Substitute Shinigami/ Quincy/ Fullbringer / Visored...you get the point.

Rukia Kuchiki. Appears 18 years old. Female. Shinigami.

Ichigo slung his school bag over his shoulder as he started to make his way to school, the petite shinigami beside him. "How long are you staying this time Rukia?" He asked, glancing at her through the corner of his eyes. The female Shinigami looked up at Ichigo and then back down at the sidewalk.

"I'm staying until I finish my duties…" She stated looking back at him with curiousity.
"Oh, alright" Ichigo murmered, looking straight ahead of him with the famous scowl on his face. Rukia smirked and tapped his arm with the back of her hand.

"Don't be so sad Ichigo, I'll come back as soon as I get more orders" She chuckled crossing her arms and giving him a playful look with her eyes.

"w-what!? I'm not sad! You can stay in Soul Society for all I care" he said, grumbling the last part under his breath while glancing to the side and nervously shoving one of his hands into his pocket. Rukia raised her eyebrow at him and responded.

"Whatever you say Ichigo" She hummed her words and continued walking towards Karakura High School…

~ It's been a year since Juha Bach attacked Soul Society with his quincy army... The war had ended, but not without casualties unfortunately. The Captain Commander was dead, along with many shinigami and quincys alike. Needless to say, the war ended with Ichigo fighting Juha Bach to the death. After learning about his mother, and his very own quincy powers, Ichigo overpowered Juha Bach and his army…leaving them to flee with what they had left. They didn't get far, however, because the Captains from Soul society caught up to them and jailed them almost instantly. The situation was a mess after everything had ended, there was a lot of rebuilding to be done, considering the fact that Soul Society was left in ruins. They did end up rebuilding it, although the pain and memories would still remain there, regardless. It's been difficult for everyone, but somehow they're managing. Ichigo went back to the world of the living and continued to go to school. He was finally a senior in high school and this was the year he would graduate with his peers. There's only about a month left, being a substitute shinigami took up most of his school year, but at least there would be one more month to enjoy. Rukia visits the world of living occasionally when she has specific duties to take care of…and yes, she still lives in Ichigo's closet. She's still unaware of Ichigo's family history, and he is still unaware of her previous love interest . . . ~

"ICHIGOOOOO!"

A loud and sing songy yell was heard from the door of Ichigo's classroom. Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows and looked over his shoulder at the person screaming his name. "What!?" He yelled back in a more irritated tone then he intended.

Keigo Asano, a long time friend of Ichigo's, ran towards him with his arms open wide only to receive a kick to the face. Ichigo pushed him away and sat down in his seat with a grumpy look on his face.

"Ichigo you're so cold" Keigo stated with a sad expression upon his face to which ichigo simply gave a 'hmph'.

Only about a few seats away sat Orihime Inoue with a large and cheerful smile on her face.

"Kurosaki-Kun! Good morning!" She cheered loudly waving her hand in the air towards the orange headed male.

"Oh hey Orihime." He responded in a calm tone and then turned to face the front of the class with droopy eyes. One would think that after fighting hollows day in and day out all year long, school would be nothing but a piece of cake. Clearly, however, that wasn't the case seeing as how ichigo's grades have spiraled downward since he took the occupation of a substitute shinigami.

"It's easy for Rukia, all she does is show up whenever... She doesn't even have to do the school work or worry about grades, tests, homework.. None of it." The thoughts rummaged through his mind as he let out deep sigh and glanced over at the girl sitting diagonally from him. She had short black hair which she had cut during the 17 months they were apart. How did he remember it was 17 months? Who knows... It's not like he was counting the exact days since she had departed from him when he lost his powers or anything like that. Rukia was shorter than him by quite a bit but boy did she have a temper on her. Whenever they would argue with each other she would get on her tippy toes and he would lean down so that they were face to face and it was only then that either one of them could get their point across. They argued, that was eminent but it wasn't the type of argument you would have with someone who betrayed you or stole something from you. It was one of those arguments that never really lasted long and ended fairly quickly but had the two involved almost screaming at the top of their lungs. Ichigo and Rukia weren't necessarily always angry at each other they just loved to tease each other over things that maybe got the other person going for a couple minutes. That was the way they interacted and although those on the outside looking in would think it was strange or dangerous, they knew that it was harmless.

Rukia was the girl who showed up one night and completely changed his life, she was the one who gave him the power to protect...a power he cherished deeply to the point that if it were to disappear he would feel hopeless. She was the girl who lifted his spirits when he was down. When he was in some sort of predicament that he didn't necessarily know how to get out of himself, she would be the one to give him a kick in the ass literally to get him going once again. Ichigo never really understood how a girl like Rukia could have such a huge impact on him but she did. Rukia was always there for him and she never once doubted his abilities even after she was sentenced to death, even after he lost his powers, even during the war... Not once did she doubt this man. He was thankful to have someone like her in his life...

Rukia on the other hand had no idea who Ichigo was when she first met him. Hell, he surprised her the first second they met... And ever since then it was just surprise after surprise. At this point she was expecting some new information to pop up, although in her mind she can't possibly think of anything else about him left to be exposed. He shocked her when he could see her the night they met, when he survived after Byakuya took his powers from him, when he saved her and convinced soul society to keep her alive, when he beat Aizen to a pulp, when he saved soul society time after time... She couldn't believe how many times he would surprise her in just a month, but that was Ichigo. A strong man...A man that wanted...no...yearned for the power to protect his friends and family over anything. A man that, no matter what the situation, would fight till his friends were safe and he had won. He let things bother him occasionally, and she knew exactly how to get him out of his depression, but of course the strong have their moments too. Rukia hated to see him that way because she knew that he was full of so much potential. She knew that he was strong and that he could break through any walls that stood in his way; It was why she would always try to knock some sense into him by hitting him in some sort of way...but it wasn't like it was dangerous or anything. Ichigo fought Aizen, Ulqiourra, and Juha Bach. A little kick from her wouldn't faze the guy physically no matter how hard she would hit him. She hated to admit it, but Ichigo helped her realize a lot of things about herself. Ever since Kaien had passed away Rukia shut herself away from everyone, but could anyone really blame her? It's as if she didn't feel like she was worth the time spent on her...but it was Ichigo who changed her mind. He made her see that she was important to someone and that she was worth so much more than she had originally thought. He proved it to her and he didn't stop, every single time she was in trouble he was there to try to help her. It might have had to do with the fact that she was a very close and dear friend of Ichigo's but regardless... He saved her over and over again. He made her feel like she was worth it and to her that was something that would forever remain in her heart...

They were two halves of the same circle, connected by a strong red string of fate that could never be torn or cut through with just any old pair of scissors. Ichigo and Rukia may have bumped heads here and there but the desire to protect each other was something a little argument couldn't falter or destroy. Rukia dried his rain, and Ichigo saved her from herself. Nothing could break the bond they shared...

"Oi Ichigo!" Rukia yelled with an almost-irritated look on her face. Ichigo shook his head, removing the blank stare he had previously held and brought back his scowl.

"What the hell are you yellin' at me for?" He responded with annoyance. Rukia had been yelling at him since this morning, first telling him to wake up and now for no reason, what was her deal anyways?

"You were spacing out and staring in my direction, Baka! I have every right to yell at you" Rukia stated raising an eyebrow at him, wondering what he could have possibly been thinking about this time.

"Yeah yeah...whatever you say" he muttered turning his direction back towards the front of the classroom with his arms crossed in front of him.

Rukia hated when he spaced out like that in front of her. Blame it on her need to know what he was thinking about but she had to make sure he stayed focused in school this last month. It was her fault after all that his grades had started to drop... She was the one who got him involved in all of this Shinigami work and she couldn't have him failing high school on her conscience for the rest of her life. She was determined to have him graduate, regardless of what he decided he wanted to do when he finished. It was something that had always been in the back of her mind, ya know, whether Ichigo would remain a Shinigami, or go off to a university and get a degree, but Rukia chose not to think about it to much since it was his decision.

Rukia faced the front of the class listening to the teacher talk but not really trying to retain most of the information and Ichigo sat there with a blank expression. He had attempted to take notes but in the end he just listened till class was dismissed for lunch.

"Ichigooo!" Rukia shouted with a smile on her face and a juice box in hand. Ichigo raised an eyebrow, he knew that she was attempting to act nice in front of his friends. Why? Who knew... He just thought it was strange since his friends already knew what Ichigo and Rukia were and what they did during the later half of the day.

Ichigo rolled his eyes and sat himself down against the fence located on the roof of the school. Rukia walked directly behind him and sat herself down next to him while the others placed themselves in the available spots. While everyone began their usual chit chat about class, a topic Ichigo dreaded came up.

"Kurosaki-Kun! What are your plans after graduation?" Orihime asked with a kind smile on her face. Ichigo grimaced and let out a deep sigh followed by his response " I dunno, I haven't really put too much thought into it actually"

"We only have a month left Ichigo" Uryuu stated with his eyes narrowed towards Ichigo. Without a second after Uryuu's response Ichigo quickly responded with a "yeah I know" and then looked up towards the top of the entrance to the roof.

Rukia parted her lips in an attempt to say something about the topic at hand but she merely lowered her gaze towards her juice box placed in her lap and instantly had a regretful look appear on her face. She felt bad... There was nothing she could do about it quite frankly but she was feeling regretful for putting him through everything. She rubbed the edge of the juice box with her thumb and took a deep breath looking back at Ichigo. Her lips parted again and she began to speak

"Ichigo!-" she had been interrupted by the sound of the bell letting the students know it was time to go back to class. Ichigo looked towards the group of his friends standing up and he too decided to stand. Rukia placed her eyes back on her juice box and brought the straw to her mouth, finishing what had been left at the bottom and then she also stood up along side Ichigo. It wasn't long before he took notice however..

"Don't tell me you just now finished that?" He questioned placing his hands in his pockets.

"Huh? Oh sure..." Rukia looked up at him with a blank expression and began to walk towards their classroom with him closely behind her.

"You're a bit slower than usual, aren't ya?" Ichigo stated with a smirk.

"Hm, yeah I guess so" Rukia responded with something short and simple surprising the man behind her. Ichigo had an almost shocked look on his face as he registered what she just said. He had teased her plenty of times before and she would respond with a fiery temper and an even more fiery insult...but this time...this time she actually agree'd with him? Based on her answer he knew there was something on her mind and he intended to find out what it was.