A/N: New IchiRuki fic you guys! I'll upload the update to What Flour Bags Can Do To You either today or tomorrow, depending on how much time I have. This one's gonna be a 4-6 chaptered fic, so let me know if I should continue it after reading this. You can call this one the Pilot. :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the storyline!

Enjoy!

Vanda Miss Joachim. The first orchid hybrid from Singapore and the first Vanda hybrid to be registered.

Chapter 1

"It's a Tuesday…" Ichigo muttered to himself as he leaned against the wall. He huffed and adjusted his skullcap over his eyes as he noticed a few of his vibrant hair peeking out of his hat. He shuffled his feet a little and glanced at his watch, wincing as the light reflected into his eyes. He cursed at his expensive Rolex as his pupils readjusted to the light, but he knew he would never take it off –he worked too hard for it! It didn't matter that it didn't match with his outfit –a dirty green skull cap, a brown overcoat on top of a white T-shirt and white-washed jeans; paired with worn-out red Vans. The long sleeves of the overcoat covered the watch so it wouldn't blow his cover.

What cover? Oh, just the one he used when-

He was stalking her.

Seriously, why would a beggar be lurking outside of her apartment, across the road from her front door, and keep glancing at his watch then back to her door every few minutes?

Not that she was watching him or anything. Because she wasn't!

Although, come to think of it, recently she had been looking out her window to where he was stationed-

Well. Back to the point. There was no way he was stalking her! It's not as if she were well versed in the whole 'Stalking Experience', so for all she knew, she was overreacting and being paranoid. But her brother had told her –on the rare occasion he actually spoke to her- that Kuchiki's were to regard themselves above the average human, and that unbelievable circumstances (such as stalking) were considered normal when one was from the Kuchiki family. So… did that mean he actually could be stalking her? Her? Kuchiki Rukia?

Oh. Okay.

And then it sank in.

Crap! He's-

I'm not stalking her!

…Okay, even that sounded like a total lie in my own ears.

Ichigo huffed loudly to himself, looking away and scowling when two blushing high school girls giggled as they walked past him.

I thought women wouldn't look at me if I were a beggar.

Feeling uncomfortable, he stuffed his hands into his coat pockets, thoughts turning to the girl who lived in the house he wasn't (was) staring at.

It had been a Tuesday when he first met He was strategically located in her line of sight so that she could see him from her window or when she came out of her front door when she left the house at 45 minutes past 7 in the morning. He was nervous, since he was new to the whole 'undercover' thing, but had successfully managed to convince her he was a hobo.

He had seen her before of course –pictures, the Internet, and in person many years ago, but her beauty still took his breath away. It was a completely foreign feeling for him; to be attracted to someone. To a person he had just met no less!

Although that wasn't entirely true…

But the feeling was unmistakable. His chest had aced a little –a good ache- when he watched her walk towards him, as he took in her every feature. His could feel his heartbeat in his ears, his hands became clammy, and he suddenly felt very self-conscious. Which simply did not happen to Kurosaki Ichigo. He didn't want to look at her as she came closer, but at the same time, he just couldn't help but keep looking! It was confusing to him, since in all the 23 years of his life, he was never attracted to anyone. His father set up the only date he'd been on, and as expected, it had been a total disaster. She tried to kiss him when they first met!

Needless to say, the date barely lasted 5 seconds; and those seconds were spent on him trying to get away from her as she ran after him. The only consolation would be that he had managed to get away without being molested. Or worse, get his first kiss stolen from him! He was lucky that fateful day.

His father… not so much.

Besides, didn't he already know of the woman who held his son's heart?

Ichigo coughed when he noticed said woman leave her house a little later than usual, strangely, not making any eye contact with him. He was unnerved for a while, but then again, maybe she just forgot it was a Tuesday today. He supposed he was a little hurt, since he only got to see and have a short conversation with her every Tuesday, but there was nothing he could do. They weren't close enough for him to be able to call out her name so familiarly, and he didn't want to embarrass her in front of her neighbours for knowing a 'beggar'. He looked down at a random sticker on the floor and sighed sadly, about to get up from seat he had taken on the floor near an alley when the sound of approaching footsteps made him pause.

He first noticed the familiar pair of high-heels in front of him, and then her shapely calves, and then the bottom of her pencil skirt, and then the apex of her thighs-

And only then did he notice he was looking up the skirt of his beloved. He flushed so bright his face looked like a stoplight, and looked up hurriedly to see if she noticed his unintentional blunder, which she thankfully (for him) didn't, seeing as she was looking away. He narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows, inspecting her face closely when he noticed a pretty blush adorned her small heart shaped face, which seemed too dark for it to be by a blusher.

He wondered why she was being so flustered, and started to worry if she was sick when the sound of someone calling him interrupted his unnecessary concern.

"Ichigo? You alright there?"

"Huh? Oh, uhh… no… problem?"

He suddenly felt embarrassed when she laughed loudly, and tried to keep from smiling when she snorted involuntarily; she gasped, aghast, and blushed scarlet.

She hadn't realised she was walking towards him until she was halfway across the street.

Wasn't the plan supposed to be that I completely ignore him and act like he didn't exist? Rukia, what the hell are you doing? Turn back around this instant! Turn… back-

And then she forgot why she tried to stay away.

He was looking down at the floor, his long eyelashes brushing his cheekbones as he glanced at a Pokemon sticker glued to the ground he was sitting on. The sun hit his sharp features at a certain angle that seemed way too perfect for it to be a coincidence, She supposes others would call him handsome, or hot, but she thinks he is like a god. Like the one's from Olympus that people seem to describe exceedingly beautiful people, such as him.

As she walked closer, she saw the sun hit his eyes, and she stumbled a little.

His eyes- God damn his eyes!

Those molten amber orbs were staring into space, and she had a feeling they were hiding a deep sadness. His eyes fluttered a little when they were only a few feet apart, and she realised he did not know she was near. When she stopped in front of him, she looked away to stop herself from blushing too much, which she always had to do when she talked to him.

He's just way too beautiful for my faint heart to handle!

When she called out to him and he gave her that 'Whoops-What-Did-She-Say-Again' look, she couldn't help but laugh. It was times like these when she felt like he wasn't some intimidating demigod and just a normal human-

Which is kind of weird considering he's a beggar, and I shouldn't be feeling that way in the first place...

Nonetheless, she couldn't stop the usual snort that escaped her when she laughed heartily. She gasped and felt her face grow warm as tears of embarrassment formed in her eyes.

How mortifying.

A/N: So... review? XD

Yes, Ichigo hasn't had his first kiss yet, which shall be explained in one of the following chapters (should I continue) :D

And a quick question. Should Inoue be in the story? O_O