A/N: I don't own Bleach.

Chapter 1

The water felt marvelous.

Rukia was so tired and dirty she had hardly been able to stand it any longer. Removing her clothes and taking a dip in the river had been a great idea. She lowered her head into the water one last time and smiled as tiny bubbles tickled her scalp and ran around her ears. I could float in this water all day, she thought. But she didn't do that, since her skin would get all wrinkly and mushy. That was not attractive. Rukia gave a regretful sigh and headed back towards the water's bank, where her clothes lay.

She stopped mid-stride when she saw him.

He was just sitting there, leaning against the trunk of a big pine tree like it was the most natural thing in the world. Her gaze shifted to her clothes, and then back to his handsome face. It was then she realized that his own gaze had dropped. She glanced down and saw that her breasts were just above the water level, and he was enjoying the view.

Rukia dropped down in the water and covered her chest with her arms, blushing in embarrassment. If she hadn't been naked she would have gone and smacked him upside the head. "This is private property. My private property."

"Sure is." He grinned, hinting that his words had nothing to do with her land.

Her face turned a deeper shade of red, this time in anger. "Bastard," She growled. "Leave."

He stood up and brushed the seat of his pants off. A smirk was still on his face when he said, "Well you see miss, I can't really do that right now. I'm a little lost and can't seem to find my way outta here. Care to help? Clothes aren't required." His lopsided grin grew wider.

Rukia frowned at him, eyes narrowing into slits. "Turn around so I can get dressed."

"Why? I already saw the top half."

"Just do it," She ordered sternly. "Now."

He chuckled and turned to face the opposite direction, hands in the air.

She hurried out of the water as fast as she could and snatched up her clothes, eying him to make sure he didn't peek as she dressed herself. When she was finished, she rung out her hair and sighed. "I'm all done now."

He nodded and turned to her. Feeling a little less threatened now, she sized him up a bit. She noticed that he was extremely tall and had a lean, built frame. His blue hair was messy and tousled -obviously deprived of any kind of brushing- and hung in his matching crystal blue eyes. He smiled again, this time in a less perverted manner, and held out his hand to her. "Name's Grimmjow."

She raised an eyebrow but didn't take the hand. "Rukia. Now get off my property."

Rukia turned and began to walk back to her jeep without him, not planning on carrying the conversation with the strange man any further. But he caught her arm. She turned and gave him a questioning look, which he quickly obliged to answer.

"Now, how in the hell do you expect me to do that?"

Her brows scrunched together and she looked up at him like he had just asked the most stupid thing she'd ever heard. "Excuse me?"

"I told you already, I'm lost."

Rukia really didn't know what to say. It was obvious this man had been through a lot lately. His clothes were tattered and worn, and he looked as if a shower and food would do him good. She could easily guess that he was homeless. Still, why would he have any reason to wander into the woods? Her woods, for that matter.

"Fine. Get in and I'll take you to the highway."

She began to walk away again, this time with another pair of feet following after. "Well actually... I was wondering if I could stay at your place for a little while."

"Ugh, don't even!" She stopped again, giving him a warning glare. "I've heard about guys like you, the types that lure nice, generous women into their little traps and take advantage of them. What makes you think-"

Grimmjow calmly put his hand in front of her face. He looked slightly amused as he said, "Just stop right there. You are definitely not a 'nice, generous' woman, and I may be a pervert, but I'm no rapist. If it works better I'll sleep on your porch." He told her. "I just need somewhere to sleep, and I'd rather it not be on the ground for a night."

She sighed and dropped her hands to her sides. He sounded honest enough. Allowing her kinder instincts to take over, she agreed. "Fine." She stopped him before he got too excited. "But, I have some rules. If you're going to mooch off of me, then you must respect my privacy, help out with things, and don't steal anything from me. If you break any of those rules I'll kick you out."

"So that means I can sleep in the house?"

"Shut up." Rukia turned to finally get back into her jeep, wondering what she had just gotten herself into. He didn't seem like a bad guy other than being a little perverted, so how much trouble could he possibly be?

She got into the vehicle and started the engine, and it roared to life. Grimmjow got into the passenger seat and she started to drive across the bumpy terrain. For now, she decided she would set Grimmjow up in one of her many spare rooms and see how that went. If he got out of line she would be true to her word and kick him out, no exceptions. It was that simple.

Grimmjow tapped his long fingers against the door, peering out at the large stretch of grass and trees that surrounded them. His face looked calm and serene, like nothing had happened to him. However, his appearance suggested otherwise. His clothes weren't just dirty and tattered... in some places there were spots of dried blood and quite a lot of grass stains. Whether or not the blood belonged to him still remained unknown.

When she pulled up into the driveway of her mansion, Grimmjow was obviously impressed.

"You own all this?" He asked as he got out.

"Yes."

It was then she noticed that he was walking with a slight limp, like one of his legs were hurt. Why hadn't she seen that before?

"What's wrong with your leg?"

He was silent for a few seconds. "I got bit by a dog, that's all." He shrugged it off and kept limping away like it wasn't a big deal.

She unlocked her front door and walked inside with him. "Sit on the couch and let me take a look," She told him seriously. She didn't want a man with rabies in her house, nor did she want him complaining when it got infected. He did as asked and sat down on the large L-shaped couch, sighing at the comfortableness of it.

Rukia dropped her keys on the coffee table and sat down in front of him. "Give me your leg."

He did, his gaze never leaving her face. He watched her intently as she rolled the pant leg up, not showing any sign of pain when it brushed against the large bite on his leg. It was covered in crusted blood, and there were four clearly visible puncture holes and other smaller ones, showing where the dog's teeth had chomped onto his leg. He was telling the truth about the dog, that much she knew.

"This is horrible..." Rukia told him, scrunching her nose. "I'm going to take you to a doctor."

"I'm fine," He said, and took his leg away from her. "I'll just go wash it off."

Rukia shook her head and stood up. "No. it needs to be treated, otherwise you could get an infection. Take a shower first, then we'll go. You smell like a donkey's ass."

"Nothing like it, eh?"

"I'll find you some clothes. The shower is upstairs and to the far left."

She disappeared from the room, muttering something unitelligible.

Grimmjow watched her go, wondering he had even gotten her to agree to letting him stay in the first place. He was normally turned down before he asked. Pure luck, I guess.

He got up and limped up the stairs, agreeing that he desperately needed a shower. He could smell his own stench, and as Rukia had so kindly mentioned, it smelt like crap.

The bathroom was a bitch to find, as there were way to many rooms in the house, but eventually Grimmjow stumbled upon a particularly nice one in one of the spare rooms. It had a walk-in shower. How convenient.

When Grimmjow finished, he found new, clean clothes lying on the sink in place of the tattered old ones, which were probably thrown in the garbage by now. There were even a shiny pair of shoes, complete with socks. After dressing himself, he walked out and back towards the stairs. His eye caught a group of pictures hanging on the wall.

Rukia was in them, but so was another person. There was a man with spiky orange hair. He was tan and didn't smile very widely.

Who's that guy? He wondered.

Grimmjow shrugged and went back downstairs.

She was waiting for him on the couch, one leg crossed over the other while she read a magazine.

When she heard him limp over to her, she turned her head and stood up, giving him a half-smile. "I already called the doctor's office. Luckily they have an opening, but they're expecting us to arrive soon."

She turned the TV off and grabbed her purse off the counter, heading towards the door and expecting him to follow. Grimmjow watched the soft sway of her hips as she walked, another one of his oerverted smiles creeping up his lips. Pure luck indeed.

Rukia turned and gave him a look. "Come on, or we'll be late."

He followed her back outside, a little too willingly.