My Lovely Dancer

By: Dancing-Shadows34

Gender: Romance/drama/action

Rating: Mature rating for graphic dancing, explicit, violent scenes, and attempted rape- absolutely no yaoi.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the Bleach characters (unfortunately) but any other characters are only mine. Please, please, PLEASE don't take them unless you ask permission. Thanks so much!

Author's note: Hey guys! Thanks so much for choosing my story! I noticed that there weren't ANY Bleach fanfics that include Rukia, Ichigo and all them people in a story like this so I thought "hey, what the hell, let's be the first to make one", so I did. I'm surprised people are actually considering reading this because it was probably a 'hint-hint' not to write a story like this because no one else has. Oh well. You people are wonderful and thanks again for reading.

Prologue; El Tango De Roxanne

It was the night that would change Rukia's life forever. She and her dance partner were already known as Japan's premiere dance duo. Having been noticed after their stunning performance of reenacting Moulin Rouge's El Tango De Roxanne, they instantly moved up from there. Touring all over Japan and America, they quickly became known as "The God's of Dance", but tonight's performance topped it all.

They were asked to reenact El Tango De Roxanne for the Emperor of Japan and his entire family, along with half of the Japanese population. The house was packed. Not a seat was left empty, and even the ally ways were filled with people all gathered to see them perform.

The stage hissed as they scraped their shoes across it's polished surface. Kaine and Rukia were moving as one as their tango piece glided along. Rukia's small body was pressed up against Kain's large trunk as they slid across the stage together. Kaine whipped Rukia around than brought her back against him, her leg up on his hip and her hand now gently caressing his cheek.

Than, he tangled his hand in her free one, and twirled her around only to slam her against his body again. She looked up at him and he looked down at her, lips nearly touching into what the audience thought would be a kiss. But before they were too close, Rukia and Kaine stomped a foot and dragged themselves about a yard apart from each other. They were approaching the climax of the number, and both hearts were thumping with such adrenaline.

In their head, they were counting the steps as they preformed a very short solo. One, two three four- left foot. Two, two, three four – step ball change. Three, two three four, slide and stomp. Rukia shot one arm in the air, and the other she slapped on her hip. Than with a tap of her toe, she sprinted for Kaine.

He was ready for her- arms out in an almost hug like fashion and one leg bent forward for balance. Rukia lept up in the air and Kaine caught her by one arm, twisting her around his body all in one swift motion. Than, she locked both legs around his waist, gripping him tight as she slammed her body against his again. He had one arm around the down of her back and the other held out stiffly at his side. Rukia was very close to his face and had one hand on his cheek and the other stretching out behind her. The song came to an end, the spotlight hit them, and Rukia and Kaine were frozen in their positions as the auditorium roared with applause.

They stood up like a wave, all dressed in formal apparel but clapping and whistling as loudly as they could. Rukia could feel Kain's chest heave against hers as he fought to catch his breath. Kaine could feel Rukia's rib cage give with each breath she took. They had gave it their all and were totally out of breath. But in spite of that, they were happy with themselves. Rukia was smiling between puffs of air and so was Kaine. They always looked at each other that way. It was their silent way of saying 'good job'.

The audience continued to cheer on, their cries echoing through the auditorium with such a thunder it shook the walls.

The streets were packed now with people trying to exit the stadium. Now, instead of claps echoing through the night, it was car horns. It was a warm night, but the wind had an eerie chill, leaving most of the women clinging to their jackets and the men tucking their arms under themselves. Rukia and Kaine, after dancing up a sweat, welcomed the cooling breeze.

They came out of the backstage exit of the stadium, linked by the arms and walking in unison. They were laughing at something Kaine had said when they glided into the parking lot.

"I know, I know, I was worried too. You always drop me on the move," Rukia replied to an early remark Kaine had made.

"Yeah well, all in all I think it's safe to say I didn't drop you tonight," Kaine replied, looking down at the road as they walked. Rukia smiled at him.

Kaine was what society would call a triple threat. He could sing, dance, and act like no one Rukia had ever met. His hair was dark and his eyes were softer than his skin. He was a very large man who held himself with grace. Rukia had trained under him, had learned all she knew from him, and even…came to love him. In fact, just recently, Kaine and Rukia had been engaged. In her eyes, she couldn't have picked a more perfect man to wed. And it went same for Kaine.

They slipped into their black Firebird parked in the very middle of the lot, than they slipped into traffic without so much a flinch. They had pulled right into a red light, however, and Kaine slammed the brakes before he went into the middle of the intersection. Rukia caught herself on the dashboard, her seatbelt not reacting to the sudden stop. She sent a glare over Kaine's direction. All he did was smile innocently than look forward again.

" I can see out of all the years I've known you, you still haven't mastered driving yet," Rukia stated dully, situating herself back in her seat and crossing her tiny legs over each other. Kaine chuckled, keeping a sharp eye on the light at the same time.

"Alright, then. Next time I'll think twice and drive right through the red light and into traffic." Rukia only smirked and rolled her eyes at his remark. She glanced out her window into the lit up city of down town Tokyo, her eyes reflecting every neon signs, flashing light bulbs and advertisements she saw.

She was so distracted by them; she didn't even notice the light turning green and Kaine pulling forward. She was so distracted; she didn't even notice the drunk driver behind the wheel of an Oldsmobile heading right at them.

It happened in a flash. Kaine had seen the car careening at them, but was trapped. Slamming on the brakes wouldn't work; the car would run right into them. He couldn't speed up because his car didn't have that much of a pick-up-and-go. He was stuck in a place known as the point of no return. And he knew by how fast the Oldsmobile was going, there would be no living through this wreck.

The last thing Rukia could remember before the car t-boned them was the sound of Kaine screaming her name and the feel of his body wrapping her up in a protective hug. The screeching of car breaks, the smell of burnt tire, and then…. nothing.

Rukia woke up hearing the sound of nurses and doctors shouting orders over her. She felt like she was floating, her body was completely numb. When she let her eyes flutter open, she could see the bright hydrogen lights on the hospital ceiling shining the doctors around her into a dark silhouette. She didn't know what was going on. When she listened around, her ears only picked up little pieces of what they were saying. Things like "car wreck…. Head impact…. death…nothing they could do…"

She forced herself to speak, but her mouth wouldn't work the way she wanted them to. She felt like her mouth was stuffed with cotton.

"Where's…. Kaine?" she managed to say, biting her lip in hopes someone heard her squeak of a voice. One did. A female doctor, and she looked down right after spouting some orders to respond.

"He's fine, honey, you just concentrate on yourself."

Rukia could hear something in the doctor's voice. Something unsure, like a flute trying to fool a cobra. Rukia knew that tone. It was the lying tone. Something was wrong with her fiancé, but she didn't know what. She stared to loom around the room, her neck suddenly stiff so she could only turn it about an inch. She couldn't see through the bodies of the doctors pushing her on the bed down the hall.

They were practically flying down the halls to the ER, and Rukia could see only blurs of objects flying by. That it caught her eye- the only coherent and real thing in the hospital. It was Kaine. He was in the hallway parallel to her own, laying on the same bed, surrounded by just as many doctors, but the only difference was…his face was covered in red. She could see the doctors rapidly whipping at blood, but more would seem out. Rukia couldn't see where all the blood was coming from. All she knew was that it just kept flowing with no end.

She smiled to know he was there with her, but it was short lived when she saw them bring out the defibrillator paddles. She didn't know much about those things. All she knew was that doctors used them to jump-start the heart when it gave out. That's when she started to panic. Kaine's heart had given out.

Rukia forced her mouth to work, forced her lips to move the right way and her tong to pronounce her words correctly.

"K-Kaine…" at first, she could barely speak above a whisper, but she forced her lungs to work harder.

"K-Kaine…" her voice was growing louder. At least now she could hear herself talking. She forced more out of herself.

"Kaine!" she finally screamed, forcing her arm out just barely, reaching for him across the hospital. "Kaine! Kaine! Kaine!" the words ripped form her throat as she screamed at the top of her lungs. Two doctors held her down, cooing her with easy but demanding tones to calm down. Rukia wouldn't listen. The doctors steered her into the ER room, causing Rukia to lose sigh of Kaine. She began to cry, her adrenaline only adding to the pitch of her screams. The doctors did all they could to calm her down, but she didn't listen. All she wanted was Kaine, and when his form disappeared behind the doors she was just pushed through, she lost all composure.

"Clear!" called the doctor as he pressed the ice-cold defibrillator paddles to Kaine's chest, sending a jolt of electricity through his body. Kaine's chest jumped, as did the heart monitor before going flat again. The doctor pumped him again, but got the same reaction. Two other doctors pumped air into his lungs with use of the balloon, while three other doctors worked to stop the bleeding.

Kaine had a gash about five centimeters deep and about three inches wide leaking quarts of blood every second. He also had a punctured neck artery that was flowing red liquid. The doctors had used up many a medical pad trying to keep the blood from flowing long enough for them to stitch it closed, but the blood just kept coming.

"Clear!" called the doctor, before pumping the paddles again. Kaine jumped, but didn't respond other than that. His heart monitor was still flat. His blood was slowly starting to go down. The doctor tried one more time to revive him… but they failed.

The doctors looked up at each other, a look of failure on their faces. Even to trained professionals, death was always a sad matter.

They drew up the white sheet over Kaine's pail body, covering him head to toe in the white veil of death.

The next morning, Rukia woke up in a comfortable hospital bed, with IV's in her arms, and the light blue sheet dragged up to her breasts. Her leg was held up tight in a sling and she could feel it throb with each breath she took.

It was never a good thing when a dancer breaks their leg. Sometimes, the fracture can be so bad that they can't go dancing ever again. Rukia's reputation was on the forefront of all her friend's minds, but Rukia herself, all she could care about was weather or not Kaine was alive.

It was the sound the hospital door closing that knocked her out of her sound sleep and back into the world of the living. She could feel the steady pain in her leg.

"Hey, it lives," came calm and gentle voice. Rukia looked to her side to see her childhood friend and backup dance partner, Renji walking up beside her, a large bouquet of roses in his hand.

Renji was a handsome young man with a friendly composure and brotherly figure to everyone he meets. Besides Kaine, Renji was the best male dancer in the studio, and not to mention the most professional about his job. He had known Rukia since kindergarten, and ever since than never left her side. After everything Rukia had just gone through, it felt nice to see a friendly face like his.

Rukia smile as big as her bruised face would allow than welcomed Renji into a hug.

He pulled up a chair and sat by her bedside, a soft smile on his face. Renji starred at Rukia with his piercing red eyes. He could see it in her mellow face- she was worried. Renji knew she was glad to see him but…also knew that he probably wasn't the most anticipated man she wanted to walk through the door. He chewed his bottom lip and bowed his head slightly. He couldn't tell her the news. Just couldn't. Renji was the one who always said the good news and left the bad for some other unfortunate soul to say. But looked like today might just change that completely. It was silent between them for a few beats before Renji spoke out.

"So…um… doctor says you'll be out in a few days," Renji attempted to cheer Rukia up, trying his best to smile, but failing.

Rukia didn't look at him when she replied, "Is that so?"

Renji sighed and bowed his head again. He shouldn't have come yet. Rukia was still in shock and couldn't think strait. He placed the roses on the table by her bed than stood up to leave. He'd come back later and see her…. when she didn't have so much on her mind. He was about half way to the door when Rukia stopped him.

"Renji…" she began, sitting upright and looking up at him with her deep blue eyes. He stopped, paused, than slowly turned around. He knew what was coming. She was going to ask the question that he so didn't want to answer. But he forced himself to stay. Be by her side even though he didn't want to be the one to break the horrible news to her.

Rukia could see it in the way Renji looked at her. His face wasn't as convincing when he smiled and his eyes weren't as commanding as usual. But she needed words to prove it to herself. She needed to know what had happened to her only love.

Rukia paused when she opened her mouth. She bowed her head and gripped her sheets nervously. She didn't want to ask but…. at the same time she did. She knew Renji never liked to be the barer of bad news, but if something did happen to Kaine, she wanted a friend she could cry with and not some strange doctor she didn't even know.

"It's okay, Rukia,' Renji suddenly spoke out, taking Rukia by surprise. She looked up at him with wide eyes as if to ask 'really?' Renji nodded his answer than said, "You can ask me. I don't care."

Rukia just barely nodded back, than looked away. She didn't know why it was so hard for her to ask the question. She could only imagine what Renji was feeling. She licked her lips than looked back up at Renji. And then she asked the question.

"Is Kaine…" she didn't have to finish the question. They both knew it, and now Renji had to give the answer.

Deep down, Rukia knew the answer and thought she had prepared herself for it. But it's always different when you hear it for real.

Renji sighed when he heard her ask, and he licked his lips and looked to the floor. "He uh…" Renji began; trying his best to find the words- any word he could use to put it softly. " He…took the brunt of the hit…punctured his neck and head. He uh…he didn't live, Rukia…" he looked up at her with pity in his eyes and he shook his head slightly as he replied, " I'm so sorry."

Rukia bit down hard on her lip…trying her best to keep the tears at bay. She felt them coming fast and she quickly turned her head away. She didn't want Renji to see her cry. At first she didn't care, but now…

Renji saw her look away and heard her sobs coming, and he swallowed hard.

"Rukia…" he began, walking up to and kneeling beside her. Rukia felt him sit next to her and without thinking or caring; she threw her arms around him and just cried. Renji held her back, stoking her black hair and let her cry as much as she wanted.

He couldn't tell her that everything would be okay, because it wasn't. He couldn't say that's she'd find others because she probably wouldn't. Rukia was never one to tie the knot with someone. But when she found that surtant someone, she changed completely. Who knew how'd she be now? And not to mention her leg.

Renji had talked to one of the doctors before he came to visit Rukia, and had asked about her injuries.

"She'll be able to walk after some…intensive care," he told Renji.

"But what about dancing?" Renji asked quickly, demandingly.

The doctor shook his head. " That depends. She might and she might not. It's advised that she never dances again but…since when to kids with such talent listen to us, hm?"

Renji hoped that Rukia will dance again and at the same time, hoped that she doesn't. If she hurts herself again, she might not be able to walk on that leg ever again. But to see a dream like that just die? It was going to be a hard time for her, and he could only pray she'd come out of it all safely.